Category: Inspiration

1. Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
2. Don’t enter a pool by the stairs.
3. The man at the BBQ Grill is the closest thing to a king.
4. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
5. Request the late check-out.
6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
7. Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
8. Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
9. Play with passion or not at all…
10. When shaking hands, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
11. Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
12. If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
13. Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
14. You marry the girl, you marry her family.
15. Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
16. Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
17. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
18. Never turn down a breath mint.
19. A sport coat is worth 1000 words.
20. Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
21. Thank a veteran. Then make it up to him.
22. Eat lunch with the new kid.
23. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
24. Ask your mom to play. She won’t let you win.
25. Manners maketh the man.
26. Give credit. Take the blame.
27. Stand up to Bullies. Protect those bullied.
28. Write down your dreams.
29. Always protect your siblings (and teammates).
30. Be confident and humble at the same time.
31. Call and visit your parents often. They miss you.

An educator writes: For the last 30 years surveys have been handed out at the beginning of all my seminars. So, I have a good idea what issues parents have been struggling with. One of these is Disrespect for Parents.
https://jokereederarticles.wordpress.com/2018/03/01/disrespect/

It’s outrageous — Nestlé draws 4.7 million litres of water from Ontario every single day, and is looking to take more. Nestlé’s permits have expired — some of them years ago — and yet the government is refusing to make a decision on whether to renew them.
https://actions.sumofus.org/a/premier-wynne-phase-out-bottled-water-permits-now

When the Carmina Burana baritone soloist collapses, Patrick steps up to save the day with a great performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T2Qc0cn9-c

The common denominator of tyranny and authoritarianism is a demand to agree with authority. Accompanying that is an insistence that you do not look and observe for yourself. The reason for this is that if you looked for yourself you might see the truth rather than the authoritarian line you are being force fed.
Unfortunately these days the education system is the ne plus ultra of authoritarianism in demanding that you not only do not inspect for yourself but that you are forced to learn what is dictated in the fashion dictated, regardless of whether or not that is your best learning style.
This is the opposite of freedom and is a very unfriendly was to lead people. And as an Australian there are two things on which I am keen, freedom and friendliness!
Many’s the stellar sales person I have met who could not easily assimilate the written word but who could listen and recall better than those who could read well.
I went to a workshop last night where the speaker encouraged us to take three areas of our lives (health, relationships and work) and asked us to look closely at what was actually there, not what we were hoping or wished was there or thought we wanted others to know was there or, or or… …but what was ACTUALLY there!
He then asked us to really duplicate that, understand it, and answer the question, “What would happen if you did nothing about that?” asking us to extrapolate into the future the natural consequences of inaction.
And then, “What would you need to do to improve that scenario?”
So, my message to you this week is to, just for a week, take note of your life. Really stop and look at each area of your life, personal health, hobbies and interests, family, friends, social groups, work, the area you live in and see what is really there.
Ask yourself, “If I do nothing to alter this scene, will it head where I want it to go?”
If the answer is, “No”, then ask, “What would I need to do to alter it?”
Remember those who fail to plan are planning to fail.

Australia’s national environment laws are a laughing stock. They don’t work. Nature is in decline and the Australian Government seems to have little interest in fixing the problem.
Over the past month, The Guardian has published a damning series of important articles revealing the complete breakdown of Australia’s environment laws and a total lack of care by the Turnbull Government.1 Old growth forests are being logged, hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and woodlands are being cleared, and action to protect endangered and threatened species is either not happening or is woefully inadequate.
Case in point is the farcical draft National Strategy for Nature which experts have called a “global embarrassment”.
The government quietly released the strategy before Christmas. The new plan scraps targets for protecting the environment. It doesn’t even mention new nature laws or the need for an independent watchdog.
It is time to get angry, to get vocal and to get active.
The draft National Strategy for Nature is open for public submissions for another three weeks. Your voice matters—so make sure it’s heard.
Click here to send a quick email to the government telling it that Australia needs a real plan for nature. https://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/tell-malcolm-australias-nature-needs-real-plan
We’ve got until 16 March to send a powerful and clear message: this national strategy doesn’t cut it, and the government needs to go back to the drawing board.
National environment laws shouldn’t be about ticking off big developments, like they are now. They should be about making wildlife safe from extinction, and protecting nature from the chainsaws and the bulldozers.
This is what I qwrote:
The lack of a master plan for protecting our natural habitat is contributing to a colossal failure to create a desirable future for our children.
Criminals are irresponsible, short-sighted and cannot conceive consequences.
One could argue that irresponsible, short sighted actions that do not contribute to an improved environment are criminally negligent.
Don’t be criminally negligent with our children’s future!
https://www.wilderness.org.au/campaigns/tell-malcolm-australias-nature-needs-real-plan

On 7 December 2017 the Coalition quietly introduced a number of bills to Parliament. Their aim? To silence every single one of us – environmental groups, humanitarian organisations and people like you. The three bills in question- the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017; the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill 2017, and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017, represent an attack on Australian charities and not-for-profits and more fundamentally on our democracy. There is a lot of legalese involved, but let’s try to cut through that to get to what the problem is with each of these bills.
https://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/charity-attack-laws-explainer/#.WpZ97WpuZhE

I received this email from Greenpeace:
Hi Tom,
It started as a low haze on the horizon. As strong winds pushed the wall of dust over Port Augusta, we realised our problems with the defunct coal-fired power plant were far from over.
We were facing choking dust and an unbelievable stench, and it felt like the power company and the Environmental Protection Authority didn’t care about the aftermath of the power plant’s closure.
With our throats burning and our eyes stinging from the fine coal dust swirling around us, we knew we had to take this into our own hands.
That’s why we’re taking this message to the next Premier of South Australia: clean up the defunct coal power plant site, for the health of our town.
Help us get our video out to thousands of people in the lead-up to the election. https://give.greenpeace.org.au/justice-for-port-augusta
Dr Amanda Bethell, GP of the Year and Port Augusta resident with a message for the next Premier.
Port Augusta’s a great place to live. I brought my kids up here, and I run the local cinema. I hate seeing my community’s health at risk. I’ve been fighting to get the old power plant site cleaned up since it was shut down in 2016. I don’t think what we’re doing here is heroic – we just care about our community’s right to breathe clean air.
With the help of thousands of people like you, Tom, we got an independent air monitor installed last year so we can keep the power company and the EPA accountable.
But our plea to be able to breathe clean air is going unheard. That’s why in the lead up to South Australia’s state election, we’re asking the next Premier of South Australia to commit to cleaning up the defunct coal power plant site.
We want a proper remediation of the site. That means research into best practice for coal power plant closures. We want an independent investigation into the health effects from the dust events that left us coughing and struggling to breathe. And we want the restoration of the polluted Bird Lake to a scenic attraction, rather than a stinking mess.
We know our state’s politicians are sensitive to public pressure during elections – any bad press could wreck their chance at becoming SA’s Premier. We want them to feel the pressure of knowing that their voters care about Port Augusta, and that we’re all watching their next move. Let’s show them this isn’t an issue they can just sweep under the rug.
?$20 will get this video out to 1000 South Australians on Facebook
$50 will get this video out to 2500 South Australians on Facebook
$250 will get this video out to 12,500 South Australians on Facebook
With $2500 we can run a half-page ad in local newspapers for a day
With $6000 we can run a half-page ad in the Adelaide Advertiser for a day
We’ve got even bigger ideas brewing: help us make them a reality!
CHIP IN NOW
Our community is taking our power back, with the help of all of you. We’re not going to be the last community to face this problem, which is why it’s so important that our leaders start taking us seriously and take action to clean up after coal.
We’re ready. Are you?
Michelle, Port Augusta resident
PS. We’re so proud of our local doctor Amanda, who was voted Australian GP of the Year for 2017! She’s on board with our campaign, for the health of our community, past and present. Watch Amanda’s video message here. https://give.greenpeace.org.au/justice-for-port-augusta
https://give.greenpeace.org.au/justice-for-port-augusta

Ehud Barak has “broken the silence”. He has published an article in The New York Times attacking our prime minister in the most abrasive terms. In other words, he has done exactly the same as the group of ex-soldiers who call themselves “Breaking the Silence”, who are accused of washing our dirty linen abroad. They expose war crimes to which they have been witnesses, or even participants.
But apart from the attack on Binyamin Netanyahu, Barak has used the article to publish his Peace Plan. A former chief-of-staff of the Israeli army and a former prime minister, Barak is obviously planning a comeback, and his peace plan is part of the effort. There seems to be, anyhow, open season for Peace Plans in our region.
I respect the intelligence of Barak. Many years ago, when he was still the deputy chief-of-staff, he unexpectedly invited me for a talk. We discussed the military history of the 17th century (military history is an old hobby of mine) and I soon realized that he was a real expert. I enjoyed it very much.
On a spring evening In May 1999, I was part of a huge jubilant crowd in Tel-Aviv’s Rabin Square after Barak had won the Knesset elections and become prime minister. He promised us “the dawn of a new day”. In particular, he promised to make peace with the Palestinians.
Intellectually, Barak is superior to all other politicians on the Israeli scene. Soon enough it appeared that this may be a handicap.
Intelligent people tend to be arrogant. They despise people of lesser mental powers. Knowing that he had all the answers, Barak demanded that President Clinton call a meeting with Yasser Arafat.
On the morrow I spoke with Arafat and found him deeply worried. Nothing has been prepared, no prior exchange of views, nothing. He did not want to go to the meeting which he thought was bound to fail, but could not refuse an invitation from the president of the US.
The result was catastrophe. Barak, sure of himself as usual, presented his peace plan. It was more accommodating than any prior Israeli plan, but still fell far short of the Palestinians’ minimum. The meeting broke up.
What does a diplomat do in such circumstances? He announces that “we had a fruitful exchange of views. We have not yet reached total agreement, but the negotiations will go on, and there will be more meetings, until we reach agreement.”
Barak did not say that. Neither did he say: “Sorry, I am totally ignorant of the Palestinian point of view, and I shall now study it seriously.”
Instead, Barak came home and announced that Israel had proposed the most generous terms ever, that the Palestinians had rejected everything, that the Palestinians want to throw us into the sea, that we have “no partner for peace”.
If this had been declared by a right-wing politician, everybody would have shrugged. But coming from the leader of the Peace Camp, it was devastating. Its effects can be felt to this very day.
So here comes Barak, the new Barak, with a brand-new Peace Plan. What does he say? The aim, he writes, is “separation” from the Palestinians. Not peace, not cooperation, just separation. Get rid of them. “Peace” is not popular just now.
How separation? Israel will annex the new Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the “settlement blocs” – the clusters of Jewish settlements beyond the Green Line but close to it. He agrees to “land swaps”. And then comes the killer: “overall security responsibility in the West Bank will remain in the hands of the Israel Defense Forces as long as necessary.”
And the sad conclusion: “Even if it is not possible to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at this stage – and it probably is not…”
If there is one Palestinian who would accept these terms, I shall be surprised. But Barak, then and now, does not care for the views and feelings of the Palestinians. Just like Netanyahu, who at least has the decency not to propose a “Peace Plan”. Unlike Trump.
Donald Trump is not a genius like Barak, but he also has a Peace Plan.
A group of right-wing Jews, including his son-in-law (also no genius, he) have been working on this for months. He has proposed it to Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s successor, to the new Saudi Crown Prince and other Arab princes. It seems to provide for a Palestinian State composed of several small isolated enclaves on the West Bank, without Jerusalem and without an army.
This is sheer lunacy. Not one single Palestinian and not one single other Arab would accept this. Worse, anyone proposing such a caricature of a state betrays utter ignorance.
That’s where the real problem lies: it is much worse than just not knowing. It demonstrates abysmal contempt for the Palestinians and for Arabs in general, a basic belief that their feelings, if any, don’t matter at all. This is a remnant of colonial times.
Palestinians, and Arabs at large, do have deep feelings and convictions. They are a proud people. They still remember the times when Muslims were incomparably more advanced than the barbarian Europeans. To be treated like dirt by the US president and his Jewish entourage hurts them deeply, and may lead to a disturbance in our region that no Arab prince, hired by the USA, will be able to control.
This especially concerns Jerusalem. For Muslims, this is not just a town. It is their third holiest place, the spot from where the Prophet – peace be upon him – ascended to heaven. For a Muslim to give up Jerusalem is inconceivable.
The latest decisions of Trump concerning Jerusalem are – to put it mildly – idiotic. Arabs are furious, Israelis don’t really care, America’s Arab stooges, princes and all, are deeply worried. If disturbances erupt, they may well be swept away.
And what for? For one evening’s headline?
There is no subject in our region, and perhaps in the world – that is more delicate. Jerusalem is holy to three world religions, and one cannot argue with holiness.
In the past I have devoted much thought to this subject. I love Jerusalem (contrary to the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, who was disgusted by it and left it in a hurry after one single night). The early Zionists disliked the city as a symbol of all that is wrong and foul in Judaism.
Some twenty years ago I composed a manifesto, together with my late friend, Feisal al-Husseini, the leader of Jerusalem’s Arabs and the scion of its most noble family. Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians signed it.
Its title was “Our Jerusalem”. It started with the words: “Jerusalem is ours, Israelis and Palestinians, Muslims, Christians and Jews.”
It went on: “Our Jerusalem Is a mosaic of all the cultures, all the religions and all the periods that enriched the city, from earliest antiquity to this very day – Canaanites and Jebusites and Israelites, Jews and Hellenes, Romans and Byzantines, Christians and Muslims, Arabs and Mamelukes, Othmanlis and Britons, Palestinians and Israelis.
“Our Jerusalem must be united, open to all, and belonging to all its inhabitants, without borders and barbed wire in its midst.”
And the practical conclusion: “Our Jerusalem must be the capital of the two states that will live side by side in this country – West Jerusalem the capital of the State of Israel and East Jerusalem the capital of the State of Palestine.”
I wish I could nail this Manifesto to the doors of the White House.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/11/from-barak-to-trump/