Category Archives: Uncategorized

US bans students from “blacklisted” countries from getting a free education

dumb – does not accomplish much of anything except make US look bad.

Hummus For Thought

I’m following a Coursera course entitled “Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World” and just received a rather odd email. All students from Syria, Sudan, Iran and Cuba will no longer be able to access Coursera. As some of you may know, Coursera is an online website that offers free courses from many of the world’s top universities.

Here’s the email, which can also be viewed on the Course’s main page.


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Dear AllI write this email under protest and with a considerable degree of anger and sadness. Few things illustrate the bone-headedness, short-sightedness, and sheer chauvinism of the political structure of the United States better than the extent to which…

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Interview with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen – SPIEGEL ONLINE

“I guess, I will just never feel comfortable about Germany thinking it needs to look after its interests with its army in Africa.”

Von der Leyen: The main focus will be on Mali. Already, the Bundeswehr is training African soldiers in Mali and is assisting in the establishment of an army. Currently, the maximum number allowed by the mandate is 180 troops, 99 soldiers are there. We can strengthen this engagement and our allies, the French first and foremost, expect as much. I can imagine increasing the mandate to 250. In addition, European Union foreign ministers last week cleared the way for a Central Africa mission. Now we have to ensure transparency regarding this mission. The chancellor, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and I completely agree that it should not become a German combat operation. But the Bundeswehr, with its MedEvac Airbus for example, possesses the special capability of rapidly treating and evacuating the wounded. Should no other ally be able to make this capability available, we should offer to do so. A precondition for such a mission, however, is that the Bangui airport be secured. It is also clear that an expansion of the Mali mission and the aid for Central Africa would each require a parliamentary mandate. Ultimate control of the Bundeswehr lies with parliament.

via Interview with German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

“All It Takes Is One Good Man With A Gun……” – ‘There Has Been An Average Of One School Shooting Every Other School Day So Far This Year’

We are an effing dumb nation to be held hostage like this!

The Last Of The Millenniums

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‘Though the sample size is far too small to draw any definitive conclusions, 2014 is off to a deadly start’:

‘In the first 14 school days of the year, there have been at least 7 school shootings’.

‘For sake of comparison, there were 28 school shootings in all of 2013, according to gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action’.

‘That number could have been even higher were it not for several near-misses’.

  • ‘An eighth grader was arrested in Georgia last week after he brought a gun to school on consecutive days and robbed a classmate’.
  • ‘On Tuesday, Portland police rushed to an area high school after a student was reportedly showing off his gun to a fellow classmate during lunch’.
  • ‘And early on Wednesday four teenagers were arrested after they were seen pointing a gun at a school bus in Norfolk, Virginia’.

From : http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/23/3192911/normal-school-shootings/

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Where Eagles Fly #TanRenga #photography #poetry

penned in moon dust

moon contrail

flight of the eagle
stepping into the world of dreams –
a silent cry

(c) Chèvrefeuille

spirited up to the clouds

drawing lines with the sky

(c) MDW

A Tan Renga is a duet of sorts where one poet echos the primary poet. Kristjaan at Chevrefeuille’s Carpe Diem is constantly stretching the writers to soar with  the eagles.

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Three Years of Female Struggle

Men in Egypt are good and bad – the problem is that good men do little to halt the actions of oafs, rapists, and bullies who target women for abuse to make these weak fools seem strong.

Egyptian Streets

By Nora P. Knobloch, contributor, EgyptianStreets.com
Is there any reason to celebrate the third anniversary of the Egyptian revolution? It is important to ask: what, in human rights, society, or politics, progressed and what has regressed?

It is crucial to observe the complexities in the political struggles that Egypt has witnessed over the past three years. It is also crucial to not become silent that the rights of Egyptian women are continuously ignored.  

Two months ago, Egypt was labeled the “worst Arab country for women” in a (study of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. According to the report, public places increasingly became a commonplace of sexual violence and abuse, especially during the last three years. Another report by the UN declared that more than 99 percent of the female Egyptian population has experienced sexual harassment.

Thus it is important to ask, in relation to the female populace: Where did the progression…

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Let Go or Be Dragged*

Let it go – easy to say – hard to do – Shavawn helps

lettinggo1

“Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.” ~ David Foster Wallace

When I ran across the above mentioned David Foster Wallace quote, I laughed. I hooted and pounded my fist on the desk. I thought it was so hilarious, I posted it on my Facebook page where a large number of my posse ‘liked’ it.  Clearly, it hit a raw nerve.

It’s funny, but it’s painfully funny.

Ouch.

Let it go  

I realized I need to stop trying to catch the river of life in my bare hands.

Life must continually move and flow. Otherwise, we stagnate or atrophy. Our souls wither. Letting go is a huge part of that. If we don’t let go and allow ourselves to be changed, we will find ourselves becoming more and more stuck, and end up mired in things that we do not want, rather than…

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