The Gifts of Eternal Greece – The New York Times

We knew our purpose. We love Greece and the Greeks; and if ever there were a time to proclaim that love, it is now.

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We each have our reasons. “Greece,” someone remarked — perhaps it was Lawrence Durrell — “gives you the gift of friendship.” That is at the head of my list. I am never happier than in the midst of one of those freewheeling agglomerations of Greeks that form autonomously in kafenia like a flock of starlings over a marsh. If London’s social matrix is continental in scale, then Athens is just a village. How often have I sat in Kolonaki Square, an icy frappé in hand, only to be hailed by a passerby.

And Greece gives you the gift of health. A week spent in sight of the Aegean adds a year to my life, or so I firmly believe. Beauty, too, of course: not just the Parthenon golden at sunset or an island emerging from the blue, but an Athens bookshop named for the muse of lyric poetry where poets are still to be found. The pleasure of small anarchies: Smoking is banned in Greek restaurants, but you’d never know it, Karelias being to Greeks what Smith & Wessons are to Texans, not to be plucked from their fingers by any paternalistic state. Citizens of the surveilled North regard such attitudes as mildly insane, but then we have lost our taste for liberty.

via The Gifts of Eternal Greece – The New York Times.

The Real Lives at Risk in the Supreme Court’s Health Care Decision | National Women’s Law Center

To say that I’m ecstatic about the Supreme Court ruling is an understatement. Not only for myself—that I get to keep my health care and finish cancer treatment—but also for millions of others that get to keep their insurance. Who knows how many people, just today, will be diagnosed with a life threatening disease. Now that SCOTUS has once again ruled that the ACA is the law of the land, perhaps our legislators will work together to make health care better for everyone instead of waging a futile war against this law. This was not a victory for either political party, it is a victory for America. I am so happy and feel a huge weight has been lifted.

It’s because of the brave voices of people like LaDonna that we better understand the importance of this law – and why we’re so grateful we can keep it.

via The Real Lives at Risk in the Supreme Court’s Health Care Decision | National Women’s Law Center.

LegCo President Jasper Tsang jokes about clearing Occupy sites with ‘half a dozen Africans’ in recording

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Jasper Tsang, the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, has come under fire for a recently published audio clip in which he can be heard repeating a racist joke about Africans. The clip was secretly recorded during a private talk given by Tsang at Hong Kong University’s renowned St. John’s College on November 3, as the Occupy Hong movement was in full-swing.

(Someone will always be recording from now on when anyone in power thinks they are talking in “private.”)

via LegCo President Jasper Tsang jokes about clearing Occupy sites with ‘half a dozen Africans’ in recording.

The Wandering Tree. | Rebelle Society

With a heavy heart — he knew his decision would greatly sadden his neighbors — and the stiffness born of centuries of stillness, the Tree began to move.

Slowly, slowly he pulled one great cluster of roots from the earth, and then another, and another. As each limb broke free, clods of dark soil rained back to the ground, and the air around the Tree became a furious dark swirl as he worked to free himself.

With a final groan and burst of strength, he wrenched free of the place that had supported him all his life, and he began to walk. The other trees were sad to see him go, but they knew it was too late to change his mind.

Thus began the great Tree’s journey through the world.

via The Wandering Tree. | Rebelle Society.

“Soy la única mujer. Siempre siento que esperan menos de mí que de mis hermanos por ser mujer.”—“I’m…

“Soy la única mujer. Siempre siento que esperan menos de mí que de mis hermanos por ser mujer.”

“I’m the only girl in my family. I always feel like they expect less from me than from my brothers because I’m a woman.”

(Ella tiene el poder real para mantener vivo el ser humano!)

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via “Soy la única mujer. Siempre siento que esperan menos de mí que de mis hermanos por ser mujer.”

“I’m…
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My dad, Mike, died at the age of 69 today. And so I wanted to share what I wrote about him 10 years…

My dad, Mike, died at the age of 69 today. And so I wanted to share what I wrote about him 10 years ago in March of 2005:

“On the theory of the American Dream:

I was watching MTV a few days ago and they had one of their trying to be intelligent issue type programs like Made or True Life. On the show was this Indian kid who was talking about how his family was the American Dream. The reason? His parents came over to America from India to go to school here. His grandfather paid for his dad to come over. His grandfather is a plastic surgeon over in India, but he wanted his son to recieve better training. He also paid for his son’s wife to come over. His wife later became a chemical engineer. This kid goes to a prep school, drives an Infinti to school and lives in a 7 bedroom home outside Beverly Hills. He smirked at the camera while talking about his parents having an “average” existence in India, but now they can truly be happy here in America. He also said you have to be foreign to appreciate the “American Dream.” He has been accepted to Yale, which his parents are going to pay for because he doesn’t qualify for financial aid. This is his one gripe about America. He can’t go to college for free. He is, indeed, living the American dream because the American dream has become entitlement and not working hard, but smart.

Now let me tell you about the American dream. My family has lived the American dream as it was. It was originally bringing yourself up out of your circumstances, usually poverty, and providing a better life for yourself and your family through working hard, education and sacrifice. Maybe that kid’s family lived the American dream in India, but they have never wanted for anything. One aspect of the American dream is wanting for something, being hungry for it and working hard to gain the means necessary to achieve it. Maybe his dad really wanted to be a plastic surgeon, but he had the means to easily accomplish it. There is nothing easy about the American dream. His family is rich, his parents are rich, and his parent’s parents were rich. He comes from old money. Maybe the American dream was lived back a few generations and that’s the point MTV was trying to make. Somehow, I doubt that.

My case in point: My dad. He was born in 1945 in Defiance, OH. His family was not rich. In fact, he was very poor. He never had it made for him, he was never privileged. He went to a public school instead of a pricey prep school or private school. His father was frequently sick. Not sick with a cold, but tuberculosis. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he continued with his education and joined the Navy. He didn’t want to, but he did to serve his country and to help pay for college because he didn’t have generous parents paying his way.

He worked at a number of jobs, none of them glamorous or easy, to help pay for college. The GI Bill didn’t cover everything and at one point he had to drop out due to lack of money. Instead of giving up, he worked and saved up to go back. He received his bachelor’s degree in English, but couldn’t find a job in which he could use his degree. Instead of giving up or pouting like most people would, he took a job with the city of Defiance. This job provided a paycheck. He joined the union to try to provide a better work environment for the workers there and eventually became president of the union. As a kid, I was taught to say “Go Union!” Of course I was a kid, so it came out “Go Onion!” However, the intent was there. But I digress.

My dad met my mom in 1982 and were married in 1983. They bought a small, 2 bedroom house on 206 Williams St. in Defiance, OH. It had a large back yard and was across the street from a nice city park. I grew up in that house and felt in no way disadvantaged by not living in a 7 bedroom mansion. I went a private Catholic school, along with my brother, for several years and went to public school at my choice. My brother got to play baseball and soccer and I got to be involved in drama and on the cross country team. My dad’s job provided us health insurance and dental insurance. I got braces to fix the gap between between my teeth I inherited from my dad, along with generally bad teeth. My brother and I didn’t get a huge allowance, but that motivated us to get jobs and learn how to work hard. My brother had a paper route and I waited tables. I paid for most of my new school clothes and school supplies myself. We went on family vacations out west. I never went to Disneyworld, but I turned out alright regardless. He taught me Disneyworld is an overpriced sham, and he’s right.

In 2001, my dad and mom retired to Buffalo, WY after buying 35 acres of land and putting a house on it. My dad also bought a new car. When he was 9 years old and watching his John Wayne movies, I’m sure he never thought he’d own what he does and accomplish what he did. He and my mom raised my brother and I well and any mistakes we have made or will make we cannot blame on our upbringing. We learned the value of the dollar and hard work. I learned you appreciate things more when you have to work for them versus them being given to you. I have been unemployed before, but on the day I lost a job I started looking for a new one. I got back up again. And again. I haven’t been taught anything less.

It’s taken me until now to appreciate everything my mom and dad did for my family. I was a typical teenager and thought I had it so rough. That’s bullshit. My parents gave a lot. Especially my dad. There were days he worked 16 hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. then 4 p.m. to midnight and then back at 8 a.m.) and he didn’t see any of us really for a few days just so we would have that extra money for a family vacation. One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my dad, besides the value of a dollar, is to always look for the good in people, but don’t be surprised if you can’t find it. That allows me to trust, but not too much. He has given me my love of reading. Almost all my favorite books are ones he gave me. He also told me to question what I’m taught and not to accept it as gospel. Perhaps with the way the world is today, that is one of the most valuable lessons I have learned.

So, in summary, my dad has lived the American dream. He has worked hard, educated himself, and sacrificed for his family to give them a much better life than he had. He has rightfully earned everything he has and deserves his retirement. You don’t need to be a plastic surgeon or engineer to appreciate the American dream. You can be blue collar. And I am, as is the rest of my family. And we’re nothing less because of that.“

CDC: Salmonella cases in 40 states tied to live poultry

Boy with chick
Robert Roos | News Editor | CIDRAP News
Jul 02, 2015

The outbreak with links to chicks and ducklings involves four different strains.

via CDC: Salmonella cases in 40 states tied to live poultry.

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