To My Children by Barbara Chaney

I like this poem by Barbara Chaney. I did get Barbara’s  permission to publish it in my blog. Here it is:

 

To My Children

Life’s journey started deep within:

From roots of loving trust you grew,

Firm bound to me by cord of flesh

My every breath linked me to you.

 

But stronger yet were cords of love,

Unseen, but springing from my heart

Not severed when the flesh was cut.

No blade can slice this bond apart.

 

I hold your tiny perfect form,

So small, so helpless, needing me.

I marvelled at the miracle,

Can this be really mine? Look. See!

 

You were the stunning revelation

Of a mystery profound

It reaches back through mist of Time

To me – ’twas joy new found.

 

No matter where your paths may lead

Or if you cause my heart to ache,

Or shun your roots. Remember this –

The cords of love you will not break.

 

(c) 2006.

 

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Conflict Resolution – The Psychology of Conflict

In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hartcher

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-one-bright-spot-amid-the-worlds-problems-20171023-gz67gh.html

I found the following about Sharia law:

” . . . an international group of psychologists interviewed some 80 men who had fought with or lived under Daesh and published their conclusions last month in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.Daesh, they said, “has imbued a generation of young Sunni Arabs with a strict belief in Sharia law as the only way to govern society; and this is a value they are willing to fight and die for. They described strict Sharia as the only way to eliminate oppression and corruption, and many believe that ISIS’s foreign fighters truly fought for this.” Unless governments can show their people a better way to wipe out oppression and corruption, the appeal of Islamist extremism will live on.”

To my mind the key words were “oppression  and corruption”.  I googled these two words and ended up reading this article:

http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/oppression-power

“Overcoming Oppression with Power” was the heading. It was interesting what was said about Nelson Mandela’s  strategies. Some very interesting, mind boggling details were mentioned. The article was written by Morton Deutsch.  Here is what it says about Morton Deutsch’s work in the field of conflict resolution.

http://www.beyondintractability.org/contributors/morton-deutsch

“Morton Deutsch is one of the founding fathers of the field of conflict resolution, specializing in the psychology of conflict. Currently Professor Deutsch is the E.L. Thorndike Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He founded and is still active in Columbia’s International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. He is the author of countless articles and books, including the 1973 Resolution of Conflict, which is still in use today.”

All this shows me that in academia people know so much about such subjects like “oppression and corruption” as well as conflict resolutions.

Why is it that most people are not much aware of that knowledge? Should not at least the people in power be made aware of all that knowledge?

Last Sunday in October 2017, Uta’s Diary

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“White Princess”

The “White Princess” was given to me recently. After replanting a lot of the flowers have opened now. I am very happy about this. We can see the plant through our dining room window or when we sit at an outside table. Today we have very mild weather in the mid twenties (Celsius). In the morning the outside table is in the shade. Peter and I were sitting there having a cup of lemon/ginger tea each and admiring this beautiful plant with the white flowers. After our morning tea break we got ready for a drive to Kiama. Peter took these photos from the spot where we had fish and chips as well as ice-cream for our lunch.

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In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power (Dispatch Books) Paperback – September 12, 2017 by Alfred W. MCCoy (Author)

 

by Alfred W. MCCoy (Author)
 https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-American-Century-Decline-Global/dp/1608467732

In a completely original analysis, prize-winning historian Alfred W. McCoy explores America’s rise as a world power—from the 1890s through the Cold War—and its bid to extend its hegemony deep into the twenty-first century through a fusion of cyberwar, space warfare, trade pacts, and military alliances. McCoy then analyzes the marquee instruments of US hegemony—covert intervention, client elites, psychological torture, and worldwide surveillance.

Peeling back layers of secrecy, McCoy exposes a military and economic battle for global domination fought in the shadows, largely unknown to those outside the highest rungs of power. Can the United States extend the “American Century” or will China guide the globe for the next hundred years? McCoy devotes his final chapter to these questions, boldly laying out a series of scenarios that could lead to the end of Washington’s world domination by 2030.