View allAll Photos Tagged selfless
President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address
24 January 2012
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 24, 2012
Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
State of the Union Address
“An America Built to Last”
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
Washington, DC
As Prepared for Delivery –
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought – and several thousand gave their lives.
We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.
These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.
Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.
We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. My grandfather, a veteran of Patton’s Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line, was part of a workforce that turned out the best products on Earth.
The two of them shared the optimism of a Nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share – the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.
The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.
Let’s remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.
In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn’t have the authority to stop the bad behavior.
It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.
Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again.
The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we’ve come too far to turn back now. As long as I’m President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.
No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last – an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.
This blueprint begins with American manufacturing.
On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.
We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back.
What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh. We can’t bring back every job that’s left our shores. But right now, it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. Today, for the first time in fifteen years, Master Lock’s unionized plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity.
So we have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it. Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.
We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it.
So let’s change it. First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home.
Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and hire here.
Third, if you’re an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you’re a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making products here. And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers.
My message is simple. It’s time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I’ll sign them right away.
We’re also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world. Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years. With the bipartisan trade agreements I signed into law, we are on track to meet that goal – ahead of schedule. Soon, there will be millions of new customers for American goods in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Soon, there will be new cars on the streets of Seoul imported from Detroit, and Toledo, and Chicago.
I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules. We’ve brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration – and it’s made a difference. Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It’s not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they’re heavily subsidized.
Tonight, I’m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing finance or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you – America will always win.
I also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the United States but can’t find workers with the right skills. Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. Think about that – openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work.
That’s inexcusable. And we know how to fix it.
Jackie Bray is a single mom from North Carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. Then Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte, and formed a partnership with Central Piedmont Community College. The company helped the college design courses in laser and robotics training. It paid Jackie’s tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant.
I want every American looking for work to have the same opportunity as Jackie did. Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. My Administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers – places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.
And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need. It’s time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work.
These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.
For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we’ve convinced nearly every State in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning – the first time that’s happened in a generation.
But challenges remain. And we know how to solve them.
At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies – just to make a difference.
Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.
We also know that when students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.
When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars. And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.
Of course, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid. We can’t just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who’ve done just that. Some schools re-design courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it’s possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury – it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.
Let’s also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: The fact that they aren’t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.
That doesn’t make sense.
I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my Administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office.
read more at:
iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2012/01/201...
Candle Light Earth Hour at the 3 Finger Club LOHHAS Lifestyle Lounge
*********** Be Part Of the Solution: ****************
Share "3 Finger Wednesday" with everyone you care about -
www.sustainabilitysymbol.com/what-are-3-finger-wednesdays/
MORE INFO: www.WorldSustainability.Org
**************************************************
Lights were out between 8:30 and 9:30 while we told stories and discussed our Lifestyle Of Health, Happiness And Sustainability (LOHHAS) using the 3 Finger "Peace Plus One" Sustainability Salute to remind us about Peace, Harmony and Balance between Society, Environment and Economy
People were the best jugglers of "Society, Environment, Economy" balls won "EARTH HOUR 60" T-Shirts WOW \!/O\!/
Photo Courtesy of the McMaster Institute for Sustainable Development in Commerce
In the Spirit Of "Bai Qiu En" (Dr. Norman Bethune) at an event celebrating the balance between Society, Environment and Economy, and identifying people who are "Part Of the Solution" (POS) - - - discovering "the spirit of absolute selflessness in people - where, in this spirit, everyone can be very useful to each other, Individual Social Responsibility (ISR), and recognizing that whether a man or woman's ability is great or small, if they have this "Bethune" spirit, they are already noble-minded and pure - - demonstrating moral integrity and above vulgar interests, each one a person who is of great value to the World Sustainability Project. www.WorldSustainability.Org
all participants in the Earth Hour Discussion got a copy of "Letter to Maddie" featured below:
We Screwed Up
A Letter of Apology to My Granddaughter
By Chip Ward
[Note: I became politically active and committed on the day 20 years ago when I realized I could stand on the front porch of my house and point to three homes where children were in wheelchairs, to a home where a child had just died of leukemia, to another where a child was born missing a kidney, and yet another where a child suffered from spina bifida. All my parental alarms went off at once and I asked the obvious question: What’s going on here? Did I inadvertently move my three children into harm’s way when we settled in this high desert valley in Utah? A quest to find answers in Utah’s nuclear history and then seek solutions followed. Politics for me was never motivated by ideology. It was always about parenting.
Today my three kids are, thankfully, healthy adults. But now that grandchildren are being added to our family, my blood runs cold whenever I project out 50 years and imagine what their world will be like at middle age -- assuming they get that far and that there is still a recognizable “world” to be part of. I wrote the following letter to my granddaughter, Madeline, who is almost four years old. Although she cannot read it today, I hope she will read it in a future that proves so much better than the one that is probable, and so terribly unfair. I’m sharing this letter with other parents and grandparents in the hope that it may move them to embrace their roles as citizens and commit to the hard work of making the planet viable, the economy equitable, and our culture democratic for the many Madelines to come.]
March 20, 2012
Dear Maddie,
I address this letter to you, but please share it with Jack, Tasiah, and other grandchildren who are yet unborn. Also, with your children and theirs. My unconditional love for my children and grandchildren convinces me that, if I could live long enough to embrace my great-grandchildren, I would love them as deeply as I love you.
On behalf of my generation of grandparents to all of you, I want to apologize.
I am sorry we used up all the oil. It took a million years for those layers of carbon goo to form under the Earth’s crust and we used up most of it in a geological instant. No doubt there will be some left and perhaps you can get around the fact that what remains is already distant, dirty, and dangerous, but the low-hanging fruit will be long-gone by the time you are my age. We took it all.
There’s no excuse, really. We are gas-hogs, plain and simple. We got hooked on faster-bigger-more and charged right over the carrying capacity of the planet. Oil made it possible.
Machines are our slaves and coal, oil, and gas are their food. They helped us grow so much of our own food that we could overpopulate the Earth. We could ship stuff and travel all over the globe, and still have enough fuel left to drive home alone in trucks in time to watch Monday Night Football.
Rocket fuel, fertilizer, baby bottles, lawn chairs: we made everything and anything out of oil and could never get enough of it. We could have conserved more for you to use in your lifetime. Instead, we demonstrated the self-restraint of crack addicts. It’s been great having all that oil to play with and we built our entire world around that. Living without it will be tough. Sorry.
I hope we develop clean, renewable energy sources soon, or that you and your generation figure out how to do that quickly. In the meantime, sorry about the climate. We just didn’t realize our addiction to carbon would come with monster storms, epic droughts, Biblical floods, wildfire infernos, rising seas, migration, starvation, pestilence, civil war, failed states, police states, and resource wars.
I’m sure Henry Ford didn’t see that coming when he figured out how to mass-produce automobiles and sell them to Everyman. I know my parents didn’t see the downside of using so much gas and coal. The all-electric house and a car in the driveway was their American Dream. For my generation, owning a car became a birthright. Today, it would be hard for most of us to live without a car. I have no idea what you’ll do to get around or how you will heat your home. Oops!
We also pigged out on most of the fertile soil, the forests and their timber, and the oceans that teemed with fish before we scraped the seabed raw, dumped our poisonous wastes in the water, and turned it acid and barren. Hey, that ocean was an awesome place and it’s too bad you can’t know it like we did. There were bright coral reefs, vibrant runs of red salmon, ribbons of birds embroidering the shores, graceful shells, the solace and majesty of the wild sea…
…But then I never saw the vast herds of bison that roamed the American heartland, so I know it is hard to miss something you only saw in pictures. We took lots of photos.
We thought we were pretty smart because we walked a man on the moon. Our technology is indeed amazing. I was raised without computers, smart phones, and the World Wide Web, so I appreciate how our engineering prowess has enhanced our lives, but I also know it has a downside.
When I was a kid we worried that the Cold War would go nuclear. And it wasn’t until a river caught fire near Cleveland that we realized fouling your own nest isn’t so smart after all. Well, you know about the rest -- the coal-fired power plants, acid rain, the hole in the ozone...
www.tomdispatch.com/images/managed/fear2.gifThere were plenty of signs we took a wrong turn but we kept on going. Dumb, stubborn, blind: Who knows why we couldn’t stop? Greed maybe -- powerful corporations we couldn’t overcome. It won’t matter much to you who is to blame. You’ll be too busy coping in the diminished world we bequeath you.
One set of problems we pass on to you is not altogether our fault. It was handed down to us by our parents’ generation so hammered by cataclysmic world wars and economic hardship that they armed themselves to the teeth and saw enemies everywhere. Their paranoia was understandable, but they passed their fears on to us and we should have seen through them. I have lived through four major American wars in my 62 years, and by now defense and homeland security are powerful industries with a stranglehold on Congress and the economy. We knew that was a lousy deal, but trauma and terror darkened our imaginations and distorted our priorities. And, like you, we needed jobs.
Sorry we spent your inheritance on all that cheap bling and, especially, all those weapons of mass destruction. That was crazy and wasteful. I can’t explain it. I guess we’ve been confused for a long time now.
Oh, and sorry about the confusion. We called it advertising and it seemed like it would be easy enough to control. When I was a kid, commercials merely interrupted entertainment. Don’t know when the lines all blurred and the buy, buy, buy message became so ubiquitous and all-consuming. It just got outta hand and we couldn’t stop it, even when we realized we hated it and that it was taking us over. We turned away from one another, tuned in, and got lost.
I’m betting you can still download this note, copy it, share it, bust it up and remake it, and that you do so while plugged into some sort of electrical device you can’t live without -- so maybe you don’t think that an apology for technology is needed and, if that’s the case, an apology is especially relevant. The tools we gave you are fine, but the apps are mostly bogus. We made an industry of silly distraction. When our spirits hungered, we fed them clay that filled but did not nourish them. If you still don’t know the difference, blame us because we started it.
And sorry about the chemicals. I mean the ones you were born with in your blood and bones that stay there -- even though we don’t know what they’ll do to you). Who thought that the fire retardant that kept smokers from igniting their pillows and children’s clothes from bursting into flames would end up in umbilical cords and infants?
It just seemed like better living through chemistry at the time. Same with all the other chemicals you carry. We learned to accept cancer and I guess you will, too. I’m sure there will be better treatments for that in your lifetime than we have today. If you can afford them, that is. Turning healthcare over to predatory corporations was another bad move.
All in all, our chemical obsession was pretty reckless and we got into that same old pattern: just couldn’t give up all the neat stuff. Oh, we tried. We took the lead out of gasoline and banned DDT, but mostly we did too little, too late. I hope you’ve done better. Maybe it will help your generation to run out of oil, since so many of the toxic chemicals came from that. Anyway, we didn’t see it coming and we could have, should have. Our bad.
There are so many other things I wish I could change for you. We leave behind a noisy world. Silence is rare today, and unless some future catastrophe has left your numbers greatly diminished, your machines stilled, and your streets ghostly empty, it is likely that the last remnants of tranquility will be gone by the time you are my age.
And how about all those species, the abundant and wondrous creatures that are fading away forever as I write these words? I never saw a polar bear and I guess you can live without that, too, but when I think of the peep and chirp of frogs at night, the hum of bees busy on a flower bed, the trill of birds at dawn, and so many other splendorous pleasures that you may no longer have, I ache with regret. We should have done more to keep the planet whole and well, but we couldn’t get clear of the old ways of seeing, the ingrained habits, the way we hobble one another’s choices so that the best intentions never get realized.
Mostly I’m sorry about taking all the good water. When I was a child I could kneel down and drink from a brook or spring wherever we camped and played. We could still hike up to glaciers and ski down snow-capped mountains.
Clean, crisp, cold, fresh water is life’s most precious taste. A life-giving gift, all water is holy. I repeat: holy. We treated it, instead, as if it were merely useful. We wasted and tainted it and, again in a geological moment, sucked up aquifers that had taken 10,000 years to gather below ground. In my lifetime, glaciers are melting away, wells are running dry, dust storms are blowing, and rivers like the mighty Colorado are running dry before they reach the sea. I hate to think of what will be left for you. Sorry. So very, very sorry.
I’m sure there’s a boatload of other trouble we’re leaving you that I haven’t covered here. My purpose is not to offer a complete catalog of our follies and atrocities, but to do what we taught your parents to do when they were as little as you are today.
When you make a mistake, we told them, admit it, and then do better. If you do something wrong, own up and say you are sorry. After that, you can work on making amends.
I am trying to see a way out of the hardship and turmoil we are making for you. As I work to stop the madness, I will be mindful of how much harder your struggles will be as you deal with the challenges we leave you to face.
The best I can do to help you through the overheated future we are making is to love you now. I cannot change the past and my struggle to make a healthier future for you is uncertain, but today I can teach you, encourage you, and help you be as strong and smart and confident as you can be, so that whatever the future holds, whatever crises you face, you are as ready as possible. We will learn to laugh together, too, because love and laughter can pull you through the toughest times.
I know a better world is possible. We create that better world by reaching out to one another, listening, learning, and speaking from our hearts, face to face, neighbor to neighbor, one community after another, openly, inclusively, bravely. Democracy is not a gift to be practiced only when permitted. We empower ourselves. Our salvation is found in each other, together.
Across America this morning and all around the world, our better angels call to us, imploring us to rise up and be as resilient as our beloved, beautiful children and grandchildren, whose future we make today. We can do better. I promise.
Your grandfather,
Chip Ward
A Love Song by St. Teresa of Avila
Majestic sovereign, timeless wisdom,
your kindness melts my hard, cold soul.
Handsome lover, selfless giver,
your beauty fills my dull, sad eyes.
I am yours, you made me.
I am yours, you called me.
I am yours, you saved me.
I am yours, you loved me.
I will never leave your presence.
Give me death, give me life.
Give me sickness, give me health.
Give me honor, give me shame.
Give me weakness, give me strength.
I will have whatever you give.
Amen.
The above poem/prayer can be found on the following link:
www.2heartsnetwork.org/Avila.htm
More Prayers: www.christian-miracles.com/stteresaofavila.htm
The stained glass window art can be seen inside of the Saint Teresa of Avila Mausoleum which is located on Passaic Avenue in Summit, NJ, USA.
Photograph Copyright 2010 Loci B. Lenar
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr & his selfless work in the Civil Rights Movement and to celebrate his birthday I produced a musical remix of his 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech.
The akiey remix can be heard Over Here
Feel free to share it with your family & friends.
Opinions, comments & observations are welcome via Flickr email.
- b/w MLK photo courtesy of Time Magazine.
- image design: akiey5Gallery
That look from the mother shows how much she cares for her children. She needs that corn but not for herself and this is something that you always will see from a mother irrespective of which species they belong to.
Salute!
7. The Goddess
Thereupon, Manjusri, the crown prince, addressed the Licchavi Vimalakirti: "Good sir, how should a bodhisattva regard all living beings?"
Vimalakirti replied, "Manjusri, a bodhisattva should regard all livings beings as a wise man regards the reflection of the moon in water or as magicians regard men created by magic.
He should regard them as being like a face in a mirror;
like the water of a mirage;
like the sound of an echo;
like a mass of clouds in the sky;
like the previous moment of a ball of foam;
like the appearance and disappearance of a bubble of water;
like the core of a plantain tree;
like a flash of lightning;
like the fifth great element;
like the seventh sense-medium;
like the appearance of matter in an immaterial realm;
like a sprout from a rotten seed;
like a tortoise-hair coat;
like the fun of games for one who wishes to die;
like the egoistic views of a stream-winner;
like a third rebirth of a once-returner;
like the descent of a nonreturner into a womb;
like the existence of desire, hatred, and folly in a saint;
like thoughts of avarice, immorality, wickedness, and hostility in a bodhisattva who has attained tolerance;
like the instincts of passions in a Tathagata;
like the perception of color in one blind from birth;
like the inhalation and exhalation of an ascetic absorbed in the meditation of cessation;
like the track of a bird in the sky;
like the erection of a eunuch;
like the pregnancy of a barren woman;
like the unproduced passions of an emanated incarnation of the Tathagata;
like dream-visions seen after waking;
like the passions of one who is free of conceptualizations;
like fire burning without fuel;
like the reincarnation of one who has attained ultimate liberation.
"Precisely thus, Manjusri, does a bodhisattva who realizes the ultimate selflessness consider all beings."
Manjusri then asked further, "Noble sir, if a bodhisattva considers all living beings in such a way, how does he generate the great love toward them?"
Vimalakirti replied, "Manjusri, when a bodhisattva considers all living beings in this way, he thinks: 'Just as I have realized the Dharma, so should I teach it to living beings.' Thereby, he generates the love that is truly a refuge for all living beings;
the love that is peaceful because free of grasping;
the love that is not feverish, because free of passions;
the love that accords with reality because it is equanimous in all three times;
the love that is without conflict because free of the violence of the passions;
the love that is nondual because it is involved neither with the external nor with the internal;
the love that is imperturbable because totally ultimate.
"Thereby he generates the love that is firm, its high resolve unbreakable, like a diamond;
the love that is pure, purified in its intrinsic nature;
the love that is even, its aspirations being equal;
the saint's love that has eliminated its enemy;
the bodhisattva's love that continuously develops living beings;
The Tathagata's love that understands reality;
the Buddha's love that causes living beings to awaken from their sleep;
the love that is spontaneous because it is fully enlightened spontaneously;
the love that is enlightenment because it is unity of experience;
the love that has no presumption because it has eliminated attachment and aversion;
the love that is great compassion because it infuses the Mahayana with radiance;
the love that is never exhausted because it acknowledges voidness and selflessness;
the love that is giving because it bestows the gift of Dharma free of the tight fist of a bad teacher;
the love that is morality because it improves immoral living beings;
the love that is tolerance because it protects both self and others;
the love that is effort because it takes responsibility for all living beings;
the love that is contemplation because it refrains from indulgence in tastes;
the love that is wisdom because it causes attainment at the proper time;
the love that is liberative technique because it shows the way everywhere;
the love that is without formality because it is pure in motivation;
the love that is without deviation because it acts from decisive motivation;
the love that is high resolve because it is without passions;
the love that is without deceit because it is not artificial;
the love that is happiness because it introduces living beings to the happiness of the Buddha.
Such, Manjusri, is the great love of a bodhisattva."
Manjusri: What is the great compassion of a bodhisattva?
Vimalakirti: It is the giving of all accumulated roots of virtue to all living beings.
Manjusri: What is the great joy of the bodhisattva?
Vimalakirti: It is to be joyful and without regret in giving.
Manjusri: What is the equanimity of the bodhisattva?
Vimalakirti: It is what benefits both self and others.
Manjusri: To what should one resort when terrified by fear of life?
Vimalakirti: Manjusri, a bodhisattva who is terrified by fear of life should resort to the magnanimity of the Buddha.
Manjusri: Where should he who wishes to resort to the magnanimity of the Buddha take his stand?
Vimalakirti: He should stand in equanimity toward all living beings.
Manjusri: Where should he who wishes to stand in equanimity toward all living beings take his stand?
Vimalakirti: He should live for the liberation of all living beings.
Manjusri: What should he who wishes to liberate all living beings do?
Vimalakirti: He should liberate them from their passions.
Manjusri: How should he who wishes to eliminate passions apply himself?
Vimalakirti: He should apply himself appropriately.
Manjusri: How should he apply himself, to "apply himself appropriately"?
Vimalakirti: He should apply himself to productionlessness and to destructionlessness.
Manjusri: What is not produced? And what is not destroyed?
Vimalakirti: Evil is not produced and good is not destroyed.
Manjusri: What is the root of good and evil?
Vimalakirti: Materiality is the root of good and evil.
Manjusri: What is the root of materiality?
Vimalakirti: Desire is the root of materiality.
Manjusri: What is the root of desire and attachment?
Vimalakirti: Unreal construction is the root of desire.
Manjusri: What is the root of unreal construction?
Vimalakirti: The false concept is its root.
Manjusri: What is the root of the false concept?
Vimalakirti: Baselessness.
Manjusri: What it the root of baselessness?
Vimalakirti: Manjusri, when something is baseless, how can it have any root? Therefore, all things stand on the root which is baseless.
[the remainder of this chapter]
Thereupon, a certain goddess who lived in that house, having heard this teaching of the Dharma of the great heroic bodhisattvas, and being delighted, pleased, and overjoyed, manifested herself in a material body and showered the great spiritual heroes, the bodhisattvas, and the great disciples with heavenly flowers. When the flowers fell on the bodies of the bodhisattvas, they fell off on the floor, but when they fell on the bodies of the great disciples, they stuck to them and did not fall. The great disciples shook the flowers and even tried to use their magical powers, but still the flowers would not shake off. Then, the goddess said to the venerable Sariputra, "Reverend Sariputra, why do you shake these flowers?"
Sariputra replied, "Goddess, these flowers are not proper for religious persons and so we are trying to shake them off."
The goddess said, "Do not say that, reverend Sariputra. Why? These flowers are proper indeed! Why? Such flowers have neither constructual thought nor discrimination. But the elder Sariputra has both constructual thought and discrimination.
"Reverend Sariputra, impropriety for one who has renounced the world for the discipline of the rightly taught Dharma consists of constructual thought and discrimination, yet the elders are full of such thoughts. One who is without such thoughts is always proper.
"Reverend Sariputra, see how these flowers do not stick to the bodies of these great spiritual heroes, the bodhisattvas! This is because they have eliminated constructual thoughts and discriminations.
"For example, evil spirits have power over fearful men but cannot disturb the fearless. Likewise, those intimidated by fear of the world are in the power of forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, which do not disturb those who are free from fear of the passions inherent in the constructive world. Thus, these flowers stick to the bodies of those who have not eliminated their instincts for the passions and do not stick to the bodies of those who have eliminated their instincts. Therefore, the flowers do not stick to the bodies of these bodhisattvas, who have abandoned all instincts."
Then the venerable Sariputra said to the goddess, "Goddess, how long have you been in this house?"
The goddess replied, "I have been here as long as the elder has been in liberation."
Sariputra said, "Then, have you been in this house for quite some time?"
The goddess said, "Has the elder been in liberation for quite some time?"
At that, the elder Sariputra fell silent.
The goddess continued, "Elder, you are 'foremost of the wise!' Why do you not speak? Now, when it is your turn, you do not answer the question."
Sariputra: Since liberation is inexpressible, goddess, I do not know what to say.
Goddess: All the syllables pronounced by the elder have the nature of liberation. Why? Liberation is neither internal nor external, nor can it be apprehended apart from them. Likewise, syllables are neither internal nor external, nor can they be apprehended anywhere else. Therefore, reverend Sariputra, do not point to liberation by abandoning speech! Why? The holy liberation is the equality of all things!
Sariputra: Goddess, is not liberation the freedom from desire, hatred, and folly?
Goddess: "Liberation is freedom from desire, hatred, and folly" that is the teaching of the excessively proud. But those free of pride are taught that the very nature of desire, hatred, and folly is itself liberation.
Sariputra: Excellent! Excellent, goddess! Pray, what have you attained, what have you realized, that you have such eloquence?
Goddess: I have attained nothing, reverend Sariputra. I have no realization. Therefore I have such eloquence. Whoever thinks, "I have attained! I have realized!" is overly proud in the discipline of the well-taught Dharma.
Sariputra: Goddess, do you belong to the disciple-vehicle, to the solitary-vehicle, or to the great vehicle?
Goddess: I belong to the disciple-vehicle when I teach it to those who need it. I belong to the solitary-vehicle when I teach the twelve links of dependent origination to those who need them. And, since I never abandon the great compassion, I belong to the great vehicle, as all need that teaching to attain ultimate liberation.
Nevertheless, reverend Sariputra, just as one cannot smell the castor plant in a magnolia wood, but only the magnolia flowers, so, reverend Sariputra, living in this house, which is redolent with the perfume of the virtues of the Buddha-qualities, one does not smell the perfume of the disciples and the solitary sages. Reverend Sariputra, the Sakras, the Brahmas, the Lokapalas, the devas, nagas, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas who live in this house hear the Dharma from the mouth of this holy man and, enticed by the perfume of the virtues of the Buddha-qualities, proceed to conceive the spirit of enlightenment.
Reverend Sariputra, I have been in this house for twelve years, and I have heard no discourses concerning the disciples and solitary sages but have heard only those concerning the great love, the great compassion, and the inconceivable qualities of the Buddha.
Reverend Sariputra, eight strange and wonderful things manifest themselves constantly in this house. What are these eight?
A light of golden hue shines here constantly, so bright that it is hard to distinguish day and night; and neither the moon nor the sun shines here distinctly. That is the first wonder of this house.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, whoever enters this house is no longer troubled by his passions from the moment he is within. That is the second strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, this house is never forsaken by Sakra, Brahma, the Lokapalas, and the bodhisattvas from all the other buddha-fields. That is the third strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, this house is never empty of the sounds of the Dharma, the discourse on the six transcendences, and the discourses of the irreversible wheel of the Dharma. That is the fourth strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, in this house one always hears the rhythms, songs, and music of gods and men, and from this music constantly resounds the sound of the infinite Dharma of the Buddha. That is the fifth strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, in this house there are always four inexhaustible treasures, replete with all kinds of jewels, which never decrease, although all the poor and wretched may partake to their satisfaction. That is the sixth strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, at the wish of this good man, to this house come the innumerable Tathagatas of the ten directions, such as the Tathagatas Sakyamuni, Amitabha, Aksobhya, Ratnasri, Ratnarcis, Ratnacandra, Ratnavyuha, Dusprasaha, Sarvarthasiddha, Ratnabahula, Simhakirti, Simhasvara, and so forth; and when they come they teach the door of Dharma called the "Secrets of the Tathagatas" and then depart. That is the seventh strange and wonderful thing.
Furthermore, reverend Sariputra, all the splendors of the abodes of the gods and all the splendors of the fields of the Buddhas shine forth in this house. That is the eighth strange and wonderful thing.
Reverend Sariputra, these eight strange and wonderful things are seen in this house. Who then, seeing such inconceivable things, would believe the teaching of the disciples?
Sariputra: Goddess, what prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female state?
Goddess: Although I have sought my "female state" for these twelve years, I have not yet found it. Reverend Sariputra, if a magician were to incarnate a woman by magic, would you ask her, "What prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female state?"
Sariputra: No! Such a woman would not really exist, so what would there be to transform?
Goddess: Just so, reverend Sariputra, all things do not really exist. Now, would you think, "What prevents one whose nature is that of a magical incarnation from transforming herself out of her female state?"
Thereupon, the goddess employed her magical power to cause the elder Sariputra to appear in her form and to cause herself to appear in his form. Then the goddess, transformed into Sariputra, said to Sariputra, transformed into a goddess, "Reverend Sariputra, what prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female state?"
And Sariputra, transformed into the goddess, replied, "I no longer appear in the form of a male! My body has changed into the body of a woman! I do not know what to transform!"
The goddess continued, "If the elder could again change out of the female state, then all women could also change out of their female states. All women appear in the form of women in just the same way
as the elder appears in the form of a woman. While they are not women in reality, they appear in the form of women. With this in mind, the Buddha said, 'In all things, there is neither male nor female.'"
Then, the goddess released her magical power and each returned to his ordinary form. She then said to him, "Reverend Sariputra, what have you done with your female form?"
Sariputra: I neither made it nor did I change it.
Goddess: Just so, all things are neither made nor changed, and that they are not made and not changed, that is the teaching of the Buddha.
Sariputra: Goddess, where will you be born when you transmigrate after death?
Goddess: I will be born where all the magical incarnations of the Tathagata are born.
Sariputra: But the emanated incarnations of the Tathagata do not transmigrate nor are they born.
Goddess: All things and living beings are just the same; they do not transmigrate nor are they born!
Sariputra: Goddess, how soon will you attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood?
Goddess: At such time as you, elder, become endowed once more with the qualities of an ordinary individual, then will I attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: Goddess, it is impossible that I should become endowed once more with the qualities of an ordinary individual.
Goddess: Just so, reverend Sariputra, it is impossible that I should attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood! Why? Because perfect enlightenment stands upon the impossible. Because it is impossible, no one attains the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: But the Tathagata has declared: "The Tathagatas, who are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, have attained perfect Buddhahood, are attaining perfect Buddhahood, and will go on attaining perfect Buddhahood."
Goddess: Reverend Sariputra, the expression, "the Buddhas of the past, present and future," is a conventional expression made up of a certain number of syllables. The Buddhas are neither past, nor present, nor future. Their enlightenment transcends the three times! But tell me, elder, have you attained sainthood?
Sariputra: It is attained, because there is no attainment.
Goddess: Just so, there is perfect enlightenment because there is no attainment of perfect enlightenment.
Then the Licchavi Vimalakirti said to the venerable elder Sariputra, "Reverend Sariputra, this goddess has already served ninety-two million billion Buddhas. She plays with the superknowledges. She has truly succeeded in all her vows. She has gained the tolerance of the birthlessness of things. She has actually attained irreversibility. She can live wherever she wishes on the strength of her vow to develop living beings."
And to sacrifice...
67/365
Hmmm maybe I'm getting a bit too dark, it is 2am afterall... Sleep it is!
Have a good week people!
Red Cross volunteers distributing Masks to the population.
The selfless collaboration of these volunteers has made it possible for help and information to reach many people in need.
On Monday, November 7, 2022, VA Secretary Denis McDonough spoke at the National Press Club Headliners Luncheon.
McDonough discussed the impact of the PACT Act, a bill signed in August by President Biden that expands medical benefits to veterans exposed to toxins from burn pits on military bases, and delivered an update on the state of Americaâs veterans and their families. (VA/Robert Turtil)
The following is his speech: Good afternoon. Jen [Judson, 115th Pres., NPC], thanks for that kind introduction, and for leading this truly great, and important, organization. Let me recognize the Press Clubâs American Legion Post and its commander, Tom Young, and all the Veterans Service Organizations represented here. You are critical to helping us serve Vets, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
In just a little bit, as the sun starts setting over the Vietnam War Memorial Wall, theyâll begin the solemn tradition of reading 58,281 names etched in those slabs of polished black granite. Among them, approximately 1,500 still Missing in Action. So, in this 40th anniversary year of the Memorial Wall, Iâm honored to welcome home Vietnam Veteran Corporal Jan Scruggs, and all the Vietnam Vets. Corporal Scruggs, Welcome home. And on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you.
Thank you for your courageous service, for opening hearts to Vietnam Vetsâ heroic service, and for so well-honoring your brothers- and sisters-in-arms who died for this country, and for each other. Corporal Scruggs, and all Vets here today, would you stand, if youâre able, and be recognized?
Words can never express the depth of our gratitude to you, our Vetsâyour courage, selflessness, service, and the sacrifices made by you and your families. But, there is virtue in trying, in reminding everyone how these courageous men and women put their lives on the line, for all of us; how much they gave, often their last full measure of devotion; how much each is willing to give so the highest of ideals of our nation might endure for all Americans. Veteransâ valor is a constant reminder of true loyalty, true courage, true patriotism.
Finally, to all you courageous journalists here today: many of you have gone to battlefields, to cities under siege, and risked great danger to tell servicemembersâ and Veteransâ stories. And in so doing, you help us serve Veterans better than we ever could do alone. Thank you for holding all of us accountable, to all of the Vets.
â¦
Itâs a privilege to be here as we prepare for Veterans Day. As we all know, Veterans Day is a day to honor Vets, to remember what theyâve done for our nation, and to recognize that when those Vets serve and sacrifice, so do their families, caregivers, and survivors.
But Veterans Day is something more. Itâs a call to action for all Americans to fulfill our sacred duty, as Americans, and serve Veterans as well as theyâve served us. Not just on Veterans Day, but every day. So, I want to talk about what weâve done at VA over the past year to serve Vets, and what we will do this next year to deliver for them.
With the Presidentâs leadership, Congressâs support, the work of VSOs, and many others, weâre stepping up for Vets. Since President Biden took office, weâve delivered more care and more benefits to more Veterans than at any other time in our nationâs history.
When it comes to benefits Vets have earned and deserve, weâre processing their claims faster than ever before. In fact, VA processed 1.7 million Veteran claims in Fiscal Year 22âshattering the previous yearâs record by 12%. And weâve gotten the claims backlog down to the lowest in yearsâdown to nearly 144,000 claims as of this month.
When it comes to honoring Vets with lasting resting places they deserve, weâre now providing almost 94% of Vets with access to burial sites within 75 miles of their homes. Thatâs possible by building and maintaining our 155 VA national cemeteries, and by funding construction, maintenance, and expansion of 121 state, territorial, and tribal Veteran cemeteries. And weâve expanded our online Veterans Legacy Memorial program to about 4.5 million Veterans, keeping Veteransâ stories alive long after theyâre gone.
When it comes to providing world-class healthcare to Veterans, study after study shows weâre delivering better health care for Veterans than the private sector, which is why 90% of Vets who come to VA for outpatient care trust that care to be, easy, effective, and based in respect for that Veteran.
And when it comes to advocating for Veterans, President Bidenâs leading the way. Heâs challenged all of us to make Vets a core part of a Unity Agenda that rises above partisanship and politics. And heâs hell-bent on fighting for Vets with the same kind of indomitable will and sheer determination they bring to the battlefields we send them to. When it comes to our Veterans and their families, heâs unyielding.
All of that work adds up to the one statistic that will always matter mostâVeterans lives saved, Veterans lives improved. Thereâs nothing more important than that.
Now, weâve made this progress by challenging ourselves every day with three questions.
First, âAre we putting Veterans at the center of everything we do?â That means making sure we meet Vets where they are, so they can access all we have to offer. It means making VA easy for Vets to use, with tools like new VA mobile apps that give Vets access to their benefits, right on their phones. It means making sure weâre delivering for Vets on time, every time, through initiatives like claims automationâcutting claims processing time for certain conditions from several months, to several days.
And as we approach the one year anniversary of the untimely death of Major Ian Fishback, let me underscore the vital importance of this questionâputting Vets at the center of all we do. Every door at VA has to be a front door, with multiple touch points for all of our services. And that means wherever a Veteran is treatedâat the local, state, or federal levelâthat care has to be integrated, it has to be coordinated, especially when it comes to mental health care. Vets and their families should expect that, demand it. And going forward, with the new tools we have in place in VISN 10, they will have that.
The second question, âAre we improving outcomes for Veterans with everything we do?â That means timely access to world-class health care, earned benefits, and the lasting resting places Vets deserve. No matter what. Because, ultimately, Vets will judge, not us, our success.
And the third goes back to something President Biden charged VA with the day I was sworn inââFight like hell for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.â Thatâs our North Starâare we fighting like hell for Vets. Thatâs what we seek to do, every day.
â¦
Let me give you a few examples.
First, weâre fighting like hell to maximize access to world-class care for Vets across America. Weâll stop at nothing to make sure Veterans have the best possible experience, wherever they access VA careâat home, in the community, or at VA. For those Vets getting care at home, weâre meeting them where they are, doubling down on tele-appeals, tele-health, and tele-oncology. VA clinicians have seen more than 9,000 Vets through tele-oncology, and we are expanding this life saving tool to include clinical trialsâmeaning that rural Vets are now getting opportunities previously unavailable to them because of their remote locations.
Weâre also supporting our caregivers by expanding the program of comprehensive assistance in October to cover all generations of Veterans, and by changing our policies so even more Vets get that support they need. For Vets getting care in their community, weâre working to make their experiences as timely and seamless as possibleâso they get the care they need, wherever they live, and when they need it. And for those getting care directly from VA, weâre going to modernize our facilitiesâbecause Vets in the 21st century shouldnât be forced to get care in buildings built in the early 20th century. We need a VA health care system with the right facilities, in the right places, to provide the right care for Veterans in every part of the country.
So, the bottom line with access is the same as ever. Vets who get their care at VA do better. Our VA clinicians know Veteransâin many cases those clinicians are Veteransâand thereâs nobody better at caring for Vets than them. Thatâs one reason why Vets who come to VA emergency rooms by ambulance are 20% more likely to survive in the following 30 days than those who were transported to private hospitals.
So, if anybodyâs asking where Vets should get their care, please, send Vets to us. Weâre going to get them the world-class care theyâve earned.
Next, weâre fighting like hell to end Veteran homelessness, a phrase that shouldnât exist in America. Our focus is on two simple goals: getting Veterans into homes, and preventing them from falling into homelessness in the first place. And weâre making real progress. Last year from this podium, I told you about two ambitious goals for 2021 to address Veteran homelessness in LAâwhere there are more homeless Vets than anywhere else in the United States.
The first goal was getting all of the roughly 40 homeless Veterans living on Veterans Rowâa homeless encampment out in LAâinto housing. The second goal was getting 500 Veterans in LA into housing by the end of the year. We not only accomplished those goals, we exceeded themâand used that to demonstrate that if we can tackle this problem in LA, we can tackle it anywhere.
So, we set another ambitious for this year. We will place 38,000 homeless Vets into permanent housing by the end of 2022. At the end of September, weâd already housed nearly 31,000 Vetsâover 81% of our goalâputting us on track to house even more Veterans than we anticipated.
And weâre not letting up. Weâre driving hard on homelessness prevention by increasing housing supply, making existing housing more affordable, and getting every Veteran the wraparound services they need to prevent homelessness in the first instance.
And last Thursday, we released the 2022 PIT Count results. It shows that the number of Vets experiencing homelessnessâon a single night last Januaryâwas 33,136, a decrease of 11% over January 2020, which was the last year a full PIT Count was conducted. Thatâs the biggest improvement in more than five years.
So, weâre not just taking our best shot at fighting Veteran homelessness. With the help of partners like HUD, USICH, VSOs, local communities, and front-line staff in VAâs Homeless Programs Office we are going to end Veteran homeless. Because no Veteran should be homeless in this country they swore to defend. Not now, not ever.
Third, weâre fighting like hell to prevent Veteran suicide. You saw VAâs recent report on Veteran suicides in 2020âthe most current data we have. A couple big things stand out from that report. First, more than 6,000 Veterans died by suicide that year. Thatâs devastating, unacceptable, and itâs why this work is so critical.
But that report also reminds us that suicide prevention is possible. There is hope. There were 343 fewer Veteran suicides in 2020 than in 2019âthe second year in a row weâve seen a decrease. Thatâs 343 Vets alive today, getting a second chance at life. Nothing matters more than that.
So, weâre building on that momentum. Weâre providing first-of-their-kind grants to suicide prevention organizations in communities, on the ground, across the country. Weâre ramping up our lethal means safety efforts to prevent warning signs from turning into tragedies. Weâre continuing to offer tele-mental health sessions to Vets who want them. Weâre making sure they get their mental health care exactly when they need itâand not a second later. And we rolled out 9-8-8, the new national suicide prevention lifeline thatâs connecting Vets quickly and directly to the Veterans Crisis Line by just dialing 9-8-8, then pressing 1. Because preventing Veteran suicide is our top clinical priority, and we will stop at nothingânothingâto ensure that Vets not only survive, but thrive.
Fourth, weâre continuing to fight like hell to make sure all Vets feel welcome and safe at every VA. Not some Veterans. All Veterans. Weâre doing that by helping non-citizen Veterans stay in the United States, where they belong, and making sure that eligible, deported Vets have access to VA benefits.
Weâre delivering care and benefits to those with Other-Than-Honorable discharges. Weâre eliminating any racial disparities that exist at VA, and setting up processes to prevent them in the future. Weâre making sure LGBTQ+ Vets are supportedâand well-servedâacross VA. Last month, for example, we closed a gap in benefits for surviving spouses of LGBTQ+ Vetsârighting a wrong thatâs a legacy of the discriminatory federal ban on same-sex marriages.
And weâre getting women Vetsâour fastest growing cohort of Vetsâthe care theyâve earned and deserve. A few weeks ago, I visited the Military Womenâs Memorial for their 25th Anniversary. Etched in the glass panes in the ceiling are powerful words of courageous women Vetsâwords the sun illuminates when the light hits that glass just right. None of those words are more illuminating than those of World War II Veteran Lieutenant Anne Brehm, words that always bear repeating. âLet the generations know,â she said, âthat women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom ⦠that our resolve was as great as the brave men who stood among us.â
My late colleague and friend, and a great friend of Americaâs Veterans, Secretary Ash Carter, was committed to that principle. It was Secretary Carter who opened all military roles to women. Heâd be proud that women Vets have been our fastest growing cohort, and weâre proud to serve them. But we havenât always done as well by women Vets as we should have. So, weâre fighting like hell to serve them as well as theyâve served us.
Weâve done that by taking important steps to make our health care facilities and programs safe, respectful, and welcoming to women Vets; by providing Women Vet Coordinators in every regional office to help them access benefits and provide assistance specific to them; by having VBA dedicate one specially trained team to review each military sexual trauma claim, so we do not re-traumatize survivors who come forward to seek the benefits theyâve earned; and by listening to VA health care providers and Vets from across the country who sounded the alarm that abortion restrictions were creating a medical emergency for pregnant Vets. Thatâs why we made the patient safety decision to offer abortion counseling, andâin certain casesâabortion services to pregnant Veterans and eligible VA beneficiaries.
Because at VA we donât serve some Vets. We serve all Vets. For far too long, too many Vets who fought around the world to protect our rights and freedoms have had to fight brutal battles here at home for their own rights and freedoms. But at VA, those fights are over. In this administration, no Vet has to fight for the quality care and benefits that theyâve earnedâno matter who they are, where theyâre from, or who they love.
Last but in no way least, weâre fighting like hell to deliver for toxic-exposed Veterans. One of your own has led the country in that fightâVeteran and journalist Kelly Kennedy. About this time 14 years ago, Kelly started the thankless and rigorous task of holding people like me accountable when she published her first of dozens of articles on the casualties of burn pits.
Over the years, her work catalyzed the national conversation on burn pits, educated us on the effects of toxic exposure on the battlefield in stark terms we could no longer turn away from. She told painful stories of servicemembers deteriorating, dying, after exposure to poisons they breathed when deployed. She first introduced us to the enormous dangers of things we had never heard aboutâlike fine and superfine particulate matter, chemicals troops may have been ingesting that sound as horrific as they are: arsenic, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid.
Kelly told the human stories of Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and families who were suffering, so we as a nation would not, and could not, forget. Now, I imagine part of that was about being a good journalist, guided by the spirits of greats like Joe Galloway, Dickey Chapelle, and others. And I imagine a lot of it was about compassion, deep devotion to servicemembers and her fellow Vets.
And now, nearly a decade and a half later, as a result of her workâand, certainly, the hard work, heavy lifting, and persistent voices of many, many others in this roomâone of the biggest expansions of Veteran benefits in history was signed into law by President Biden, a law that will deliver care and benefits to millions of toxic exposed Veterans and their survivors.
With this new law, VA has recognized new presumptions of service connection for more than 20 health conditions related to toxic exposureâincluding exposures like Agent Orange, burn pits, and more. Weâll bring generations of new Vets into VA health care and increase the health care benefits of many moreâand that will result in better health outcomes, across the board. Weâll deliver benefits to more survivors of Vets who passed away from toxic exposure. And weâll invest in our workforce and our infrastructure to deliver those additional servicesâand modernize 31 more VA health care facilities.
This is a great thing. And I donât think it would have happenedâsurely not have happened nowâwithout Kellyâs dogged pursuit of the truth, with all our VSO partnersâ dogged pursuit of the truth. Thatâs what I mean when I say that you that you all make VA betterâtelling the stories that need to be told, and holding us accountable to Veterans and their survivors.
Like anything else of this importance and magnitude, implementing this law wonât be easy. So, weâre counting on you for your helpâto hold us accountable, yes, and especially, to communicate to Veterans, and their family members, what this law means for them.
This is what we want every Veteran to know about the new law on toxic exposure.
First, we want Veterans and survivors of Central Command from 1991 to 2021, 30 years of war, to apply for their toxic exposure benefits right now. So far, Veterans have filed nearly 137,000 claims under this law.
Second, and I want to be very clear here, because itâs important. We made all conditions outlined in this new law presumptive August 10, 2022âthe day the bill was signed into law, rather than phasing them in over years, as the law anticipated. VA will begin processing benefits claims filed under this new law on January 1st, the earliest date possible. And beginning tomorrow, weâre offering enrolled Veterans a new toxic exposure screeningâan important step toward making sure that all toxic exposed Vets get the care and benefits they deserveâeven if they donât know today that they were exposed.
Because Vets have waited too long. Weâre not going to make them wait any longer.
Third point. For Vets who file for a toxic-exposure-related condition before the one-year anniversary of the signing. That is, for those who file before August 9, 2023, their claim and benefit will be retroactive to the date of signing, August 10, 2022.
Fourth point. Iâm proud to announce for the first time today, on National Cancer Awareness Day, that weâre expediting benefits delivery for Veterans with cancer conditions covered by the law. This work is a part of President Bidenâs vision for the Cancer Moonshot, which will end cancer as we know it. And itâs a part of his broader efforts across the government to do so.
So, we will expedite Veterans claims if they have been diagnosed with melanoma, brain cancer, neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, glioblastoma, head cancer of any type, respiratory cancer of any type, reproductive cancer of any type, gastrointestinal cancer of any type, lymphoma of any type, and lymphomatic cancer of any type.
Fifth, any Veteran, family member, or survivor can learn more about this new law by visiting VA.gov/PACT, or by calling 1-800-MY-VA-411. 1-800-698-2411.
So, thatâs what every Vet needs to know about this law. And we need your help communicating it, so every Veteran gets the care they need, and the benefits they deserve. We wonât rest until they do.
â¦
So, from access, to ending homelessness, to suicide prevention, to toxic exposure, thatâs where weâre going. Thatâs how weâre going to keep fighting like hell for Vets, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Now, let me say a final word to the Vets. Your honorable service in uniform set the example for the rest of us in this great country. In so many ways, youâre the keepers of our national ethosâthat deep and abiding sense of purpose you learned in serving, your camaraderie, your sense of teamwork that made you stronger, together, in combat and, now, in your communities. Itâs so unique in the country.
Looking around, thatâs exactly what we need today. Camaraderie. Truth. Togetherness. True service. True patriotism. And itâs something that all of usâeach of usâcan learn from. Because we all are stronger when weâre togetherâwhen we are one.
â¦
So, again, to all the Veterans here today and watching, thank youâfor everything. And, to the Press Club, my thanks for all that you do holding us accountable to Vets, their families, their caregivers and survivorsâtelling their stories in the powerful ways that you do.
God bless each of you, and God bless our nationâs servicemembers, our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Made with polyester satin. Full blogpost here sewamysew.com/2013/10/13/selfless-sewing-and-a-box-of-vie....
IFS Batch of 2005, the Media proclaimed her as Mizoram’s greatest Pride when it comes to the Indian Civil Service, making a new earth shattering NATIONAL RECORD in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) by bagging BOTH the two most prestigious IFS Award recently, namely, the Ambassador Bimal Sanyal Memorial Gold Medal for the Best Officer Trainee and the Ambassador Bimal Sanyal Memorial Silver Medal for the Best Dissertation. Nobody in Indian history has ever received both awards before!!! She was deservingly declared as The Best Probationer of 2005 Batch of IFS Officers.
On her first UPSC attempt in 2003, she made it to IA&AS (Indian Audits and Accounts Service). She wrote the exam again in 2004 and got into IRS (Indian Revenue Service)! But again, she decided to aim even higher and wrote the exam again in 2005. She made it to IFS (Indian Foreign Service)!!!
She’s always been my inspiration and role model when it comes to the civil service exam. Apart from that, she’s also my role model when it comes to leading a devoted life. She’s selfless, cheerful, and always ready to help out anyone. If there is one true example of “What goes around comes around”, then she is it. Good things come to those who are pure at heart. Amen!
In spite of her hectic schedule (she’s flying to South Korea next week for her new posting), she managed to find time to meet me (surprise surprise, she’s even a regular reader of my blog!). She even agreed to do an interview!
Some of you may be familiar with my style of interview. I’ve interviewed Mizo celebrities like Jenny (Former World Boxing Champion) and Zonunsangi (Zonet TV anchor) before. I like adding a lot of humor and good clean fun to my interviews. The Print media and other professionals have interviewed such personalities before, so I don’t want my questions to sound redundant. Hence I ask them questions that others wouldn’t have asked before. Some people strangely considered that as an insult and that I am making fun of people we should be proud of. That is not the case. I have the utmost respect for such people. It’s just that, when I add the “zing” in my questions, I bring out the “fun” in them. If you can’t stand such sense of humor, then with all due respect, I wouldn’t recommend you to read this post.
The interview was a great success. Muanpuii was sporty as usual, laughing out a lot and blushing sometimes, but nevertheless, answered every question.
We picked her up from JNU and proceeded to CP for the interview. We had a small problem initially with the interview venue, because it was Sunday AND Friendship Day, so all the hangout places like CCD, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Costa’s etc were all jam packed. We finally found a good place at Baskin Robins.
The interview:
What subjects did you take for the UPSC 2005?
I took Public Administration and Anthropology.
How many hours did you use to study?
Well… ummm… I never used to time myself but let’s say… approximately 8 hours a day. That was for around 6 months until the Prelims exam. After that, for the Mains exam, there were so many different coaching classes I go to that there was hardly any time to study at all! That hectic lifestyle went on for around 5 months until the Mains exam.
Is it true that you used to wrap your study materials in a transparent polythene bag and read them while taking a shower? (yeah it was really hard trying to keep a straight face while asking this question).
NO!!!! (laughs out loud)… but… (gives a silly grin) sometimes I read while washing my clothes!
Oh! And how long do you wash in between, say two chapters?
(laughs out again) it was never like that…
Ok maybe it’s easier to answer this way. How much do you read while washing a blouse?
(giggles) well… two A4 size study materials…
And jeans? How much do you study while washing jeans?
(laughs again) I need both hands to wash my jeans, so I don’t read anything then.
So you’re saying jeans is bad, and that if we want to become like you we shouldn’t wear jeans…
Yes… NO!!! I mean… what? You can wear what you want… I’m just saying…
That we cannot read anything while washing jeans.
Yes.
So we shouldn’t wear jeans if we want to read.
Yes... NO!!! Aaaargh. I’m going to kill you!!!
(After 2 minutes of uncontrollable laughter and a chase inside Baskin Robins that cannot be mentioned here…)
Apart from all the studies then and the work now, how is your romance life?
(blushes) romance? Ummm…… uhhh…. It’s like the waves (shows the up and down action of waves and then laughs out loud. I was biting my lips not to laugh too. After sometime she became serious) Well… seriously speaking, you know me personally. There had never been such waves in my life so far. And I haven’t found Mr. Right yet, but yeah I have my fair share of suitors (smiles).
That’s not surprising. You’ve got the looks and the brains. Right now you’re the most eligible woman in Mizoram.
Yeah rightttt….
Seriously! And just to give some chance to your ardent fans, what would be the minimum criteria or eligibility for somebody to woo you?
(giggles) comon! You don’t expect me to reveal that (giggles again).
Be a sport please (smiles) Just give us 4-5 points on what you see in a future life partner.
ummm… (smiles) well.. first and foremost, he should be a man of God. And then after that, he should have brains, obviously. Thirdly… he should have a great sense of humor. And last point… ummm… he must be polished.
Polished? As in…
Polished as in… you know… polished.
As in Cherry Blossom polish?
(laughs out again) NO! I mean polished as in, refined, well mannered… someone who opens the door for me…
So basically you mean a door man?
(laughs and punches me) You…. You….
And moving on to my next question…. (yeah I was enjoying it!) lets talk about your new posting. Where in South Korea?
It’s in the capital Seoul (she pronounced it “Soul”).
Oh! It’s pronounced “Soul”? I always used to say “C-OL”.
The “e” is silent.
Ok. Thanx for letting me know. And what’s the language called?
Korean.
Script?
Hangeul (han-gul)
Currency?
Won.
What’s the equivalent of Won in Indian rupee?
1 rupee would equal to around 20 Won. But the cost of living is much much higher than here in India.
Which side of the road do the people drive over there?
They drive on the left side of the road.
Ah. So it is a former British colony?
No. But it was once under the Japanese. Even today, there is quite a strong Anti-Japan sentiment among the general population because of its violent history.
Uhuh… and what about Korean movies which are a big craze among the Mizos. You watch Korean movies?
Not that much. But I’ve seen two Korean movies recently and I really love them.
What are they?
“A moment to remember” and “Spring Summer Fall Winter... and Spring”.
Source amazon.com
Well, will you send us Korean movies from Korea?
Of course! That I definitely will do!
Thank you, thank you. Now coming to your posting, what exactly is your designation? Imagine you are explaining that to a layman.
Well, I will be working as “3rd secretary” when I join the Indian Embassy over there. The hierarchy is usually like this: Ambassador followed by Counselor, followed by 2nd Secretary, followed by 3rd Secretary. Since the Counselor is not there, I will be third in command at the Indian Embassy.
That’s so cool! And will you be staying at the Indian Embassy?
(laughs out again) No, it’s not like that. It’s similar to the fact that politicians don’t live in the Parliament House here in India. They just go there for work. Similarly, we will be going to the Embassy on a daily basis for work, but our residence is outside the Embassy premises.
Oh! Ok. And what about diplomatic immunity? Do you have it, and do you mind explaining it briefly to us?
Yes, I do have diplomatic immunity. Diplomatic immunity is that special privilege we diplomats have at a foreign soil, in which we cannot be tried for any case at a foreign Court. But we can be deported back to our country and tried there.
Uh huh. And what about North Korea. Do you have diplomatic immunity over there?
As a diplomat, yes something like that… but the situation at North is more complicated because of the obvious reasons. Plus I need to be assigned to the Embassy over there and all other red tapes and bureaucracy etc. I can’t just explain the situation just like that, plus it will not be a wise move to make to talk about any of our foreign affairs relationship…
Yes yes I completely understand. So let’s not talk about sensitive information anymore. Instead let’s discuss about your romance life again (grins).
Noooo… (buries face with her hands).
Oh comon! This is what most Mizo bachelors would want to know! (Points at my friend Tawia) Imagine he is one of your suitors (Tawia nearly gets a heart attack). What are the ten questions you would ask him?
Ten???? That’s too much!!!
Just ten. The first ten questions at the top of your head. Remember it’s all in good fun.
(laughs) ok ok. Well the first question is…
Look at him, not me.
I am so going to kill you (laughs). Ok my 10 questions would be (looks at Tawia):
1.Are you a man of God?
2.Do you have a steady job?
3.How is your relationship with your mother or a significant woman in your life?
4.What kind of relationships did you have with women in the past?
5.What kind of books do you read?
6.When was the last time you cried and why?
7.Do you like kids?
8.Can you cook?
9.What’s your idea of a romantic date?
10.What is your dream woman?
(Tawia turned towards me and gave me a look. I understood that look immediately: He failed in all ten questions.)
Wow! Thank you so much for that important information, Miss Muanpuii. I can picture many of the Mizo hopefuls out there writing the ten questions down on a note pad.
The pleasure is all mine (smiles sweetly).
[So we ended the interview then, and got down to more important discussions like how to prepare for the upcoming MCS (Mizoram Civil Service) examination and which chocolate flavored drink should we order next. Finally we headed back to her hostel. She was kind enough to invite us all up to her room, even though it was already past 10pm.]
Nice room!
Thank you.
I was expecting it to be a bit untidy, with all your heavy schedules and stuff. It’s as if you ran ahead in front of us and cleaned up your room before letting us in.
Ummm…
So (looking at the map on the wall), can you tell us where exactly is South Korea?
Of course, its right over here (points it out on the map).
Now can you just pose (aims the camera)…
No!!! Min bawl eee!!!
Bawl lo. Seriously, I’m just taking the snap for my collection.
Ok (posing).
Now smile.
*click*
Let’s talk about Music now, shall we?
Yup. At last, something decent (smiles).
So what kind of music do you listen to?
I listen to mainly P&W songs. Then there’s Sarah McLachlan and Josh Groban. I like classic rock too, like Queen and Manfred Mann. Wait! Don’t mention Manfred Mann, people will think I listen to such old genre of music!
Ok I won’t mention Manfred Mann.
When it comes to style of music, I love Baroque… you know Bach?
Well, I never knew him personally, but yeah I heard he’s a great composer (grins). Speaking of Bach, I hear you are really really really good with the keyboard!
(blushes) I’m not thaaaat good…
What is your… rank when it comes to music, like a yellow belt, black belt etc in karate?
I am a Grade 7.
And to a layman, that would be…?
Well, the maximum grade is a Grade 8. We have to write an exam called The Royal School of Music exam, and an English man comes to conduct the exam all the way from UK.
Wow! So you are just one grade away from becoming the next Beethoven! So how long did you take to reach grade 7 from 1?
Well actually I started from Grade 5 since I could play the keyboard pretty good then. It didn’t take me long to reach 7.
That is so impressive! And speaking of Beethoven, can you finish his unfinished symphony?
(throws a book at me)
There is one small part I can play on the keyboard. My sisters used to teach me when I was just a kid. I don’t even remember the name but I still remember bits and parts of it.
By all means, the piano is all yours.
(I sat on the huge piano and my fingers went “ting ting ting ting ting ting…”)
(laughs out loud) That is so sweet of you to know that. That symphony is called “Fur elise” by Beethoven and it’s one of my all time favorites. Here I will play it for you.
(Muanpuii sat on the piano and her fingers moved like magic, full of passion and sleight. My friends and I couldn’t move even a bit until she finished playing. We were entrapped in the beauty of her sheer talent and rapture. We all applauded after she played it.)
Thank you thank you (smiles)
Can you teach me?
Sure
Thank you so much for teaching me, Muanpuii. It was an honour.
You’re welcome.
So do you have the medals you won?
No, they are with my parents in Mizoram. It’s safer there (laughs).
Are they running trophies type, you know, where you have to hand it over next year…
No no, it’s mine for keeps (grins).
Gold plated?
Yup.
And what was the name of your dissertation topic that won you the medal?
“Reemergence of the left in Latin America and it’s implication for India”. My guide was JNU Professor Varun Sahini.
Phew! That’s a pretty long topic! I’m sure a couple of marks were added on the length alone (grins). Speaking of adding, how come you don’t look like the stereotype Civil Servant with protruding belly and double chin? Isn’t it true people add a lot of weight once they join the service?
No that is a gross misconception. There are many thin Officers too (smiles). I guess I watch what I eat to a certain degree.
What’s your weight? (smiles)
Hmmm… if I tell you that, then I’ll have to kill you (laughs). Actually I am around 56.
Do you mind if I show the people that?
Well… (thinks for a long time) ok (smiles) Anyway my weight is quite proportional to my height and body mass, so it’s ok.
Thank you dear Muanpuii. It has been a real pleasure for sparing us some time to get to know you better. May the good Lord protect you in South Korea and may you continue carrying the good name of India and Mizoram wherever you go.
That is so sweet of you. God bless you too and all the best for the upcoming MCS exam.
Thank you Miss Muanpuii.
We stayed at her apartment for a few more minutes, singing while Muanpuii played the piano. She is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known, and she truly deserves all the accolades she had received. We wish her all the very best in her endeavors and may she continue making the Mizo name proud wherever she goes. May the good Lord watch over her in everything that she does and once again, a very big thanks to her for the interview. God bless you Muanpuii Saiawi. You are not only studious, hard working and dedicated, but also a whole lot of fun, sporty and humorous.
mizohican.blogspot.com/2007/08/chp-138-interview-with-mua...
[
LOS ANGELES - Groups of dedicated volunteers were formally recognized on February 20, 2018, by the City of Los Angeles Fire Commission and Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas, for their critical help at recent historic wildfires in Los Angeles.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Rio Hondo Fire Academy, Notre Dame High School and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - VA of Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System exemplified a giving spirit during the multiple and sometimes concurrent crises that threatened homes and lives.
The Los Angeles Fire Department expressed particular appreciation for the hard-work the volunteers demonstrated for several weeks during the “La Tuna”, “Creek” and “Skirball” wildfires by establishing base-camps, assisting with supplies and providing logistical support that freed up firefighters to continue battling on the front lines.
The volunteers provided over 800 lunches in one hour during the La Tuna wildfire, assisted with the pick up of tens of thousands of feet of fire hose, fueled vehicles and even patrolled base camps for spot fires caused by embercasts, and extinguished them.
These noble volunteers under the oversight of LAFD Captain Christopher Winn proved themselves as invaluable members of our LAFD Team at a time of immense challenge.
The willingness of these volunteers to perform community service of their own free will, without any manner of monetary compensation, remains a historic achievement.
Among those recognized in Fire Commission chambers were:
LAFD CERT VOLUNTEERS:
Carl Ginsberg, Gregg Aniolek, Rachel Black, Barry Watkins, Terrance Gomes, Renato Akerman, Steve Weinberger, Kobey Horn, Michael Godfrey, Lori Atwater, Rodolfo Rotondo,
Tony Gomez-Hill, Erik Clarke, Aaron Yee, Phil Jamtaas, Linda Muhlmeyer, Orlando Bohr, May Braido, Renee Dutreaux, Gizelle James, Jacqueline Kozak, Lorraine Curry, Matt Towner, Douglas Choi, Christy Adair, Martin Rumpf, Israel Lopez, Kevin Kong, Jackson Jang, Sam Ward, Ron Terrell, Steven Cammarata, Emanuele Rodrigues-Berardini, Bob Adjemian, Manny Hernandez, Patrick Botz-Forbes, James Anderson, Mathis Chazanov, Alton Reed, Bonnie Shatun, Ken Weston, Bill Hopkins, Barry Woods, Seraphine Segal, Paul Beauregard, Jon Hum, Cindy Kurland, Mary Davidson, Kolja Erman, Sue Bullough, Chin Thammasaengsri, Pat Hall, Jeff Hole
RIO HONDO FIRE ACADEMY VOLUNTEERS:
Spenser Nail, Cameron Velasco, Robert Amaya, Isaiah Escoto, Quinn Dorman, Eric Agliozzo, Seth Jones, Michael Tettleton, Giovanni Mendez
NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS:
Rose Profozich, Jessica Yang, Bellamy Suter
VETERAN AFFAIRS of Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System:
Michiko Riley, Public Affairs Specialist; Blake Anderson, Web Communications Specialist/Public Affairs; Nikki Baker, Associate Chief Public Affairs
OTHER VOLUNTEERS;
Sofia Sanchez, Tarin Wilson, Francesca Mercier
- - - -
To learn more about the specialized LAFD volunteer programs welcoming your year-round involvement, visit: www.lafd.org/volunteer
Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | David Ortiz
LAFD Event: 022018 - Wildfire Volunteers Saluted by Fire Commission
Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk
Uyirum Neeye Udalum neeye uravum neeye Thaaye..
You are the Life, you are the Body, you are the relationship, dear Mother.
thann udalil sumandhu uyirai pagirndhu uruvam tharuvaai neeye..
You took care of me in your womb sharing your life and soul with me
to make me get this form.
un kannil valiyum oru thuli podhum, kadalum urugum thaaye..
a single drop of tear in your eyes is enough, to make the sea also cry..
un kaaladi mattum tharuvaai thaaye..sorgam enbadhu poiye
just your feet is enough...even Heaven will be trivial.
vinnai padaithaan, mannai padaithaan, kaatrum kadalum oliyayum
padaithaan
He created the sky, created the earth, created the air, and created
light..
boomiku adhanaal nimmadhi illai...saami thavithaan, thaayei padaithaan
no peace for earth, and the Lord pondered, and created Mother.
• Uyirum neeye ♪
"A mother holds her children’s hands for a while, but their hearts forever"
..
Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.
~ Erich Fromm
if the image of the loved one remains alive in your heart, the whole world is your home. My name is Red, Orhan Pamuk
Luckily for me, my sweetheart has really taken to the ice cream maker I so selflessly got for his birthday. Here, he's stirring some fresh Lapin cherries that he's candying on the stove top to make one of my favourite summer treats: Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream!
I used my 50mm lens for this and shot it in a swath of afternoon sunshine coming through the window. I really like the blue sky reflections around some of the cherries and the numerous little starbursts that this 50 mm lens sometimes produces when I shoot in natural sunlight.
With my friend Paul, I spend five days in Osaka, Japan. The trip provided much refreshment, and excitement, not to mention many challenges. It was my first visit to the country, and, I feel, it certainly won't be my last, as there are still many places left to see, and so many new things to learn.
We had several destinations highlighted on our itinerary, the foremost of which was Universal Studios. We spend an entire day there, going on rides and more often than not, queuing for them. The excruciating wait times were worth it, however, for such exhilarating fun, especially on the Hollywood Roller Coaster, my personal favorite. The next morning we followed up that successful endeavor with a trip to the Himeji Castle, a place which came highly recommended by my colleague, whose succinct description of the heritage site was, "awesome." Indeed, as a history buff, I enjoyed walking the storied grounds and climbing through the maze-like interior of the keep which was designed not so much to comfortably house the royal family as to confound the invading enemy. The castle is a must-visit. Other attractions of note include the Osaka Aquarium, and the Tennoji Zoo; both teemed with animals of every shape and size. We also at length ventured into several shopping districts inside of which were myriad stores, selling all sorts of fashion and gadgetry, countless restaurants and several gambling parlors - the Japanese, it seems, love their slot machines as much as the Hong Kong Chinese love their horse racing. Lest I forget, we frequented several video arcades to play the latest and greatest games; Paul played well, while I more often than not got 0wn3d. There is a lot to do in Japan.
Japanese culture, of which I've heard so much, really is distinct and separate from other Asian cultures. Their patterns of action and their peculiar artifacts certainly aren't the same as those which feature prominently in Hong Kong. For one thing, the MTR culture was more civilized and less stressful: people queued up for trains and let passengers alight first before permitting themselves to board; cellphones never rang and cabin cars were as quiet as bedrooms at midnight; and to imagine all of these people enforce their norms without public service announcements, without any coddling, conspicuous signs - that's amazing. What proved difficult was trying to find a garbage can. It was easier to find a vending machine, from which one could purchase a variety of drinks or cigarettes, than a bin in which to dispose of these delectable, perishable goods.
As for the general citizenry, they were most accommodating and hospitable, with several individuals going out of their way to help Paul and I find our way around the dense sprawl of the city. Language wasn't a concern despite our limited Japanese; amazingly enough, our comfort was their concern! I won't forget their selfless service, as one day, I hope, I'll be able to return the favor. That the girls were quite attractive and that I demonstrated a propensity to ask attractive girls for directions go without saying; however, I understand now that their sexiness and sophistication stem not from comely faces but coherent attire. Rather than adorn themselves like a typical Mong Kok girl in a ridiculous neon rainbow palette, with jeans or unseemly spandex underneath dresses, skirts or other tops better left to stand alone, Japanese girls opt for more somber, sensible colors - black and cream-colored - and what's more, they aren't afraid to whip out the tasteful pantyhose or to show some skin, even. We had plenty of time to ogle the ladies, and to their credit, freezing temperatures weren't enough to dissuade many of them from forsaking, icing their shorts, as we saw countless pairs being worn on the street. That's what I call fashion professionalism!
Overall, Japan is a marvelous little land full of the eccentric, as well as the endearing. It was a fascinating place to explore, and I'm thankful that it was done in the company of my friend , with whom candor was not at a premium. We both learned a lot and look forward to the next trip!
LOS ANGELES - Groups of dedicated volunteers were formally recognized on February 20, 2018, by the City of Los Angeles Fire Commission and Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas, for their critical help at recent historic wildfires in Los Angeles.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Rio Hondo Fire Academy, Notre Dame High School and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - VA of Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System exemplified a giving spirit during the multiple and sometimes concurrent crises that threatened homes and lives.
The Los Angeles Fire Department expressed particular appreciation for the hard-work the volunteers demonstrated for several weeks during the “La Tuna”, “Creek” and “Skirball” wildfires by establishing base-camps, assisting with supplies and providing logistical support that freed up firefighters to continue battling on the front lines.
The volunteers provided over 800 lunches in one hour during the La Tuna wildfire, assisted with the pick up of tens of thousands of feet of fire hose, fueled vehicles and even patrolled base camps for spot fires caused by embercasts, and extinguished them.
These noble volunteers under the oversight of LAFD Captain Christopher Winn proved themselves as invaluable members of our LAFD Team at a time of immense challenge.
The willingness of these volunteers to perform community service of their own free will, without any manner of monetary compensation, remains a historic achievement.
Among those recognized in Fire Commission chambers were:
LAFD CERT VOLUNTEERS:
Carl Ginsberg, Gregg Aniolek, Rachel Black, Barry Watkins, Terrance Gomes, Renato Akerman, Steve Weinberger, Kobey Horn, Michael Godfrey, Lori Atwater, Rodolfo Rotondo,
Tony Gomez-Hill, Erik Clarke, Aaron Yee, Phil Jamtaas, Linda Muhlmeyer, Orlando Bohr, May Braido, Renee Dutreaux, Gizelle James, Jacqueline Kozak, Lorraine Curry, Matt Towner, Douglas Choi, Christy Adair, Martin Rumpf, Israel Lopez, Kevin Kong, Jackson Jang, Sam Ward, Ron Terrell, Steven Cammarata, Emanuele Rodrigues-Berardini, Bob Adjemian, Manny Hernandez, Patrick Botz-Forbes, James Anderson, Mathis Chazanov, Alton Reed, Bonnie Shatun, Ken Weston, Bill Hopkins, Barry Woods, Seraphine Segal, Paul Beauregard, Jon Hum, Cindy Kurland, Mary Davidson, Kolja Erman, Sue Bullough, Chin Thammasaengsri, Pat Hall, Jeff Hole
RIO HONDO FIRE ACADEMY VOLUNTEERS:
Spenser Nail, Cameron Velasco, Robert Amaya, Isaiah Escoto, Quinn Dorman, Eric Agliozzo, Seth Jones, Michael Tettleton, Giovanni Mendez
NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS:
Rose Profozich, Jessica Yang, Bellamy Suter
VETERAN AFFAIRS of Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System:
Michiko Riley, Public Affairs Specialist; Blake Anderson, Web Communications Specialist/Public Affairs; Nikki Baker, Associate Chief Public Affairs
OTHER VOLUNTEERS;
Sofia Sanchez, Tarin Wilson, Francesca Mercier
- - - -
To learn more about the specialized LAFD volunteer programs welcoming your year-round involvement, visit: www.lafd.org/volunteer
Photo Use Permitted via Creative Commons - Credit: LAFD Photo | David Ortiz
LAFD Event: 022018 - Wildfire Volunteers Saluted by Fire Commission
Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk
I once worked with a kid who had Aspbergers. He was obsessed with lightbulbs and all things electrical. When we wanted to get him to behave, we bribed him with Home Depot ads. I went to his house for a home visit once. When I drove up I saw him floating mid-air in a shaft of golden stars, suspended above a trampoline in a quiet catholic country neighborhood. He was naked with blue-white skin. Beneath the trampoline were a set of sprinklers he had collected from different eras- all hooked to one hose, creating an eerie trajectory of light and motion over his suspended little frame. I went inside and met with his mother. The living room was barren except for sturdy pieces of large furniture. She was young and holding an infant daughter. She said they used to try to get out some, go to cafes, but it was just too difficult...she saw me looking around the room. She apologized. She said they used to have family photos on display but he was uncontrollable. He liked to run around the room- jumping from the top of the 8' tall china cabinet, to the couch, and on to the dining room table. He never tired of the manic circling. As we were talking he came inside. He leaned into his mom's ear & asked if he could show me something, his favorite thing. She nodded. He ducked into his room & came right back with a soft bulging object held behind his back, sticking out on either side of his thin little frame. "Are you closing your eyes?" he asked. Yes, I said. Okay, open up, he said. " LIGHTBULB!" A gigantic grin filled his face as he held a pillow shaped like a lightbulb & larger than his 5 year old self in front of him. "My mom made it for me! Isn't it great?" He said. I looked at her and she shrugged. That's love, I thought. Selfless love.
The Appearance of Anger
It was the next day that I understood the value of keeping money on me even if I was just going to the haram a minute away. It was after Zuhr when I saw two women looking lost and panicked. Clad in shalwar kamiz I knew they were from the homeland. I asked them what was wrong.
“Kya baat hai Amma?” I asked in Punjabi.
In Medina Shareef apparently I liked to try out all the terms of address otherwise missing from my life. Baji, Apa (although I do have one very special Apa!), Amma, Maa ji!
“We want to go to Gate 5. We asked a couple of men but everyone says it far.” I looked around. Turned out they were separated from their party and now didn’t know how to meet them again. They had a card, it had a number scribbled on it but when I tried it, it seemed to be short some digits. We were in front of 16. I could see 7 towards the other side of the Mosque in the middle. I pointed at it and said 5 would not be much further but it didn’t make them any less distressed.
“Can you just take us? Please, we cannot go alone.”
“Sure,” I said. I needed to pay penance for a reaction of haste I had had earlier in the morning with my housekeeping staff. This was perfect! Repentance in the form of a walk might redress that. I thanked God for the ability to be kind, for the ability to be helpful, for the opportunity to be selfless and as it later turned out, for a reason to spend on another. And we made our way towards the said destination.
On the way, I placed my hand on the shoulder of the older woman as if being lead by her while it was actually the opposite. Within a second, I felt the fingers of the other lady making a bracelet around my wrist. I started smiling. We were now physically entwined in a curious way. It wasn’t like I was going to get separated from them but I guess they didn’t want to take any chances. The Mosque was full and the area we were going through was not segregated.
They were from Bukkhar. I had no idea where that was. My ignorance in geography is firmly inclusive of the homeland as well. When we approached Gate 7, I realized that 5 was in fact quite a bit further. It was bang opposite where we had started from. Parts of the marble were piping hot so we moved quickly over it. I realized that the older lady had no shoes on her feet and none in her hand.
“Aap ke jotey kahan hain Amma?”
“Pata nahin,” she said, replying in Punjabi. She said she didn’t care. She just wanted to meet her “men-folk.”
It was in that walk that I realized something remarkable. The whole way there the two women talked and the only thing they said in different ways was how Beneficent God was and how He was going be The One who would make them meet their relatives. “Sohna Rab kareesi, Sohna Rab san milesi.” They never mentioned me :)
Later that night, while waiting for the ziyarat of the Rauza Mubarik, I gave some sadqa to the woman sitting next to me. That was another act of penanace. I had spoken to her a little sharply when she squeezed herself between me and the edge of the wall I myself was stuck in. But the older women around me had let her do it so I had no choice but to acquiesce as well.
Later we ended up chatting, sharing my dry fruit which she seemed to like a lot. She was also from Lahore. I had asked her where and had not been familiar with the answer she gave. I wanted to probe but was worried it would only unveil my ignorance. My markers for the places I know nothing of are too touristy. At one point I heard her daughter tell another Pakistani woman about the mark on her face. It was of a purple colouring, like a splash on one cheek that then crawled up in a vein like pattern to one side of her forehead.
I could tell from her exasperated look that the Pakistani woman was hounding her about it. I just heard her say again and again, “But I don’t want to do that” so I guessed unwarranted and deeply offensive suggestions were being put forward. Of the variety of how to lose weight as soon as one kilo was gained and one appeared “healthy!” Except this was probably more cruel.
Her mother seemed impervious to the commentary although I wasn’t sure she could hear anything if I couldn’t.
“I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “The night she was born, it was a lunar eclipse and her father was smoking a hookah. The mark is of the moon covered by his smoke,” she beamed. “Rabb ditta he, Sohne Rabb di nishani he.”
Since I’m in love with the moon, I wholeheartedly agreed. Any nisbat to it in any form was indeed divine fortune in my opinion. But for her it was not about the moon. Her love for the mark was precisely because it came from her God.
“Yes,” I said. “It’s a picture of the moon on that night when it was hidden. It’s beautiful.”
How lucky some kids are, I thought, that what the world judges as “flaws,” their parents think of as beauty. She kept looking over at her daughter with such tenderness, even my heart, stranger to both, felt her love.
Just when I thought the time had come for the doors to open, I gave her daughter some money. The mother raised her dupatta with her hands towards the sky and said, “Rabb da langar he! Rabb da langar he!” I was so happy that she was happy that I had pulled out all the notes in my pocket and handed them to her. “He sent it for you too,” I said smiling and she laughed. But she only looked up again and again and thanked Him. It was extraordinary, the instant, spontaneous, gut reaction, no the reaction of the heart, that all of everything came only from Him, from His Love.
Later while I read the Tafseer e Jilani I came upon the word Rabb again and again in different verses. The exegesis of the word by Ghaus Pak (ra) was magnificent. Each time it was different. But I focused on the word because I came across it accidentally while at the Riyaaz ul Jannah on my first day. After praying nafal, I sat way back at the end and just stared around the Mosque. In the distance, I saw verses written in gold on the wall. I zoomed in and took a photo. At the hotel I sent it to Qari Sahib to ask him which verse in the Quran it was.
It was Aal e Imran, Verse 36-37. The words of the wife of the Prophet Imran (as) when she gave birth to her daughter:
Then when she delivered her, she said, "My Lord, indeed I (have) delivered [her] a female." And Allah knows better (of) what she delivered, and is not the male like the female. "And that I have) named her Maryam and that I seek refuge for her in You and her offspring from the Shaitaan, the rejected."
What were the odds?
I happened to have the first volume of his tafseer with me because I was reading Surah Baqarah. I went to the verse above and it was the word “Rabb” that caught my attention. In Urdu it said:
Apni Taaqat aur Qudrat aur apne Mubarik Qaul se meri parwarish farmane waley Rabb!
The tafseer by Ghaus Pak (ra) for the word Rabbi as used by Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) was even more intense.
The One who has raised me with the most special qurb (closeness).
The poor women I met that day had only called God by that name. They never said Allah or Khuda, only Rabb. I have been saying a tasbeeh of Allah o Rabbi since I read that it was on the Ghilaaf of the Ka’ba. It was also in the verses of Qaseeda Ghausia. Being the God that raises me from a child to the rest of my life, that was how I wanted to address my God as well. That was the word I used when I asked him to raise my niece, teach her that which the world and those in it never could.
Strangely enough, it wasn’t until the women’s use of the word Rabb coincided with the words used by Bibi Maryam’s (ratu) mother that I read in the Mosque that I realized I had, all the while, been saying Rabbi, just like her and other Prophets, in all my prayers, in each and every ruku’ of each and every rakah.
Subhan Rabbi Al-Adeem when I bent my back to touch my knees.
Subhan Rabbi Al-Ala’ each time I went into sajda.
I had, way before reading a tasbeeh and because the words appeared on the House of God, been saying Rabbi my entire life. It was just that since I had been focusing on the speed of my prayer, slowing it down to a crawl, which had come about only because of the study of the translation, I had been preoccupied with the beginning, the Fateha, and then the dialogue at Ascension, Attahatu lillah he…Even the Darood e Ibrahimi. But except for the Fateha, which would take several lifetimes of someone like me to truly unveil and even then not, the other prayers were not in every rakah. But the use of the word Rabbi was.
What could be better than being raised by God Himself?
Being saved from every single decision by humans that could be wrong and cause devastating consequences for the soul. Be it in language then speech, food, clothing, shelter, the learning of knowledge and most important, the shaping of behavior, the carving of morality. A character formed as only one’s own under His Direction. No emulation induced by sharing time and space but only chosen.
Suddenly being in a boarding school at 5 that I joked about as being an orphan-esque experience didn’t seem so bad. Even the grief of separation from my mother which was probably what was still exuding from eyes was worth it. When I was around her again at 10, my heart was formed. I can’t say it was normal but it was independent nonetheless, for its identity had been shaped in another realm by someone other than my parents. As I sat in the haram between prayers, I pondered over what would be my definition of Rabbi when I would use it going forward. Different thoughts went in and out of my head.
The One who raised me such in the absence of my parents that He granted me the will to explore the capacity to change in life. Who gifted me the ability to learn and listen when I would be shown my flaws, then repent over them, then forgive me again and again. Who taught me to obey instruction and feel love. Bi lutfi-ka (by Your Special Kindness), bi rahmati-ka (by Your Mercy), bi fadli-ka (by Your Bounty), bi ehsaani-ka (by Your Favour)…
The blessings we are granted that we are entirely unaware of made me sigh deeply till the sun lost its whiteness of the lit afternoon sun and gave way to the pinks and purples, then darkness of the night. But wait, I haven’t finished my other story yet.
We got to Gate 5. There was no family waiting. “Now what?” I asked.
“We want to go back to the hotel,” they said. “We can wait for them there. He will unite us there,” they said.
That was when I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out a 50, breathing a sigh of relief. Done! We got into a taxi, where luckily all the drivers speak Urdu no matter who they are. I told the driver to drop me at my hotel and take them to theirs. I told the women the plan and they seemed ok with it. But I could hear their urgent murmurings of “Bismillah” recitations in repeat.
“Nothing will happen,” I said as I left the car. “He is a good man,” I pointed at the driver. I took the change and handed it to who was now my Amma. “Buy a new pair of shoes,” I said jokingly. She held up her hand in refusal but I insisted. “You will need them” and off they went.
I entered my hotel with a smile only to find the fruit and tip I had given my housekeeping guy was sitting on the bed. He had returned it. It didn’t damper my mood. I went outside and walked the floor to find him. He was a young Bengali chap, very competent but I had been impatient about getting a softer pillow earlier and complained to Housekeeping that he had forgotten, mentioning like a ghatia loser that I had tipped him as well.
When I saw him I offered my best smile.
“Bhai,” I said. “Aap naraz ho gaye hain. Please yeh fruit to leh lein. Aur yeh paise bhi.”
He looked away from me. “I will call my supervisor,” he said.
I was continuing to apologize when the supervisor appeared. I started smiling at him. “Yeh mujh ae naraz ho gaye hain. I should not have said anything about the pillow. I’m sorry, I got impatient and thought he had forgotten and left for the day.”
The supervisor was Pathan. “You said you tipped him. That is not good.”
“But tipping is a done thing,” I replied. “Everyone does it.”
“No,” he said emphatically “everyone does not do it.” And then came the retort. “And if someone does do it, they don’t then speak of it.” “Koi de ke batata nahin hai” were his exact words!
Now I started apologising to him too. “Mujhe pata hai. Aap mujhe maaf kar dein. Please. Mere se ghalti ho gaye. Mujhe ghussa aa gaya tha.”
There it was! The admission that I had lost my temper. That demon beast of anger that lies dormant for so long sometimes that I forget it and then it gets the chance to rear its head and appear in full form in an instant, making Iblis feel over the moon. That was in fact the worst of it for me now, doing something that would make Satan happy! I had known when I left that I should not have said anything but I had no expectation of returned fruit and the tip, plus a young man upset with me.
Still, the supervisor was gracious. He accepted my apology and when he left, I looked at the housekeeping guy again.
“Bhai,” I said, “teen dafa to maafi maangi hai. Ab to de do.”
He smiled. “Theek hai.”
While waiting for Asr the same day, I noticed two cats near me on the carpet. The cats are the only animal privileged to walk around the Mosque as if they own it. If one plants itself where one has to rest their head for sajda and for some reason decides not to move from there, the pilgrims do instead. One cat, white in colour, kept clawing at the carpet repeatedly while spread on it sideways. It did so a few times until the other smacked its hand as if to say, “Stop that!”
After that the white cat kept raising its claw slowly as if it was going to attempt it again and again but never actually did it. It was hilarious. Like when a child does something and gets a slap on its wrist from the mother to behave, then keeps acting like it might do it again but doesn't out of fear of the next smack.
On the carpets, I saw men pressing their mother’s feet and receiving all the prayers of health and life and wealth and goodness in repeat. I saw men laying their heads on their wives’ laps while their children played nearby. I saw women distributing food before Maghrib, dates and croissants, candy and juice, from large bags. Some had their young children with them and made the child take the food out and give it away. Those children were lucky! The experience was going to stay with them forever if not transform them.
During Maghrib, I realized that I knew the verses recited in the first raka’h. They were from Surah Muhammad and I had just read it the previous night. I was trying to read the surahs that are Nabi Kareem’s (peace be upon him) names. Ya Seen was my favourite. As I fixated all my energy on the words with a hidden smile, I noticed something pulling on my leg. I looked down to find that the cat that had swiped the other’s claw from the carpet was scratching my pants. I jumped in surprise and it moved back. It was funny. The coincidence of it coming to me out of the blue just as I was listening to something I recognized. Maybe like the other cat which it had admonished earlier, it was also telling me to stop feeling glee about the recitation and to focus on it seriously. It was like the Mullah cat of the Masjid!
@the.softest.heart
In an unprecedented act of selflessness, Tacoma's Only Political Cartoonist will donate this original, classical bronze statue to the City of Tacoma for reason of saving Toffefson Plaza from complete entropic disaster.
The cartoon artist, Mr. RR Anderson is waving his artist fee and only asks for a token "Donation Fee" of $750,006.66 tax payer dollars which should cover the several Environmental Impact Reports needed before creation of bronze statue & installation in plaza could take place.
"Tollefson Plaza is one of the worst urban planning disasters ever visited upon the people of Tacoma since the ill fated Tacoma Dome, Aramco Copper Smelter and David Brame put together" announced Mr. Anderson at a press conference in the Courtyard Marriot Hotel's womens restroom, "Only though charitable donation of my outrageous public art alone is there any hope to reverse the damage done by our inept public officials."
RIP - Tribute to Tony Perez
written by Omino71
photo by Jessica Stewart
This is the story of an artist, a virtual friend whom you’ve never met in person, but with whom you share an undying passion for art. It’s a friend that was chosen from the thousands of photos on Flickr and whom, almost by chance, becomes part of your daily life through the exchange of comments on photos, sharing of ideas, and invitations to events, all leading to the inevitable exchange of artworks. These artworks arrive at any time of the year, packages coming in as a sort of “Santa Claus,” to celebrate the idea of spontaneous art, fun, generosity, and selflessness. It is this friend that we have the honor to celebrate in this corner today at Sk8 Like Canvas Vol. 2, thanks to an idea by Mr. Klevra.
>TonyTony< was the screen name of Tony Perez, an artist born to Spanish parents in northwest London and who landed in the US, more precisely, Kentucky. It’s from there he sent his beautiful multi-layer stencils out into the world via internet. His hyper realistic stencils reflect his own experiences and passion for vintage “Made in the USA” of the 1920s and 50s, including hot rods, swing, jazz, rockabilly, cult horror films, and so on. Pitched somewhere between low brow and urban art, he was an outsider who loved to march to the beat of his own drummer, just like us.
Tony posted his last masterpiece on Flickr on December 6, 2010. It was a beautiful 70x100, 13-layer stencil done in red tones that realistically captured the spirit of John Lennon in celebration of the 30-year anniversary of his death. It was still there on December 21 when Tony wrote his last commenting thanking everyone for the kind words that he’d received – punctual and polite as always. At 11 pm that same night a sudden heart attack took Tony away from his loved ones, friends of his posting comments immediately following the incident to let everyone know. It was a lightning bolt that struck through the clear blue sky, as they say in these cases.
While it isn’t our place to sing his praises or comment about him personally, being a person we never knew personally, what we can do, as both artists and curators being “on the ground,” is to continue to circulate his art to the public. This display starts with two skateboard pieces that Tony had already completed for the first edition of Sk8 Like Canvas. To this we have added some of the pieces that we had the pleasure to exchange with him, stencils on vinyl, record covers, cardboard, newspaper, and canvas, which are consistent with his practice of transforming everyday objects into masterpieces. His compositions, full of tonal subtlety, which layer upon layer show a rich hyperrealism that was always present whether the subject was a lost pop icon, vintage portraits of strangers, or old school tattoos – Tony was a window into his own time.
We’ll leave you with Tony’s own words, taken from his Flickr profile, which reminds me of a time this summer when, with Mr. Klevra and Jessica Stewart, we pasted up some of his stencils on newspaper in Pigneto. This long distance paste-up was an honor and it is thank to these exchanges that Tony’s work was able to arrive millions of miles away from Kentucky to places like Rome, Paris, Bogota, and Sao Paolo, Brazil, just another reminder of the power of his art to find its way into the hearts of the many users of Facebook and Flickr.
For more details: www.flickr.com/photos/26253553@N06/
www.facebook.com/pages/In-loving-memory-of-Tony-Perez/170...
Tony:
“Thank you for looking and I hope that you enjoy my work and that you will all so comment. If I add you as a contact it is because I find you your work Interesting, Inspiring and over all awesome. Thank you for sharing your artistic endeavors with all of us on flicker. Art is what I do for fun, and the love of art is very much why I am on flickr.
So I had to do some kind of bio, thought I may as well post it here, :-)
Name. Tony Perez
Currently living in Kentucky, USA
Born and raised in North west London, England to parents from Spain. Being an outsider and out of odds was a blessing and a way of life that has remained a constant thyme in my life.
Started painting and stenciling again after a couple of years of trying to find a balance in my life.
My art is influenced by many things but mainly my love of vintage Americana, thyme's such as Hot rods, 20's through the 50's, music swing, jazz, rockabilly and the life styles, classic movies specially of the horror type, knowing that below the lime light there has always been an underbelly of speak easy's and teenage delinquents. Growing up in London and old enough to remember the late punk scenes has inspired a love for going against the grain. Be it lowbrow or urban art it is a blending of images and thoughts that inspire me.
Every ones art is a reflection on their own personal experiences in life, the small things in life that seem to stand out as we make the journey. The way we view our surroundings and the times we live in. With such a mish mush of culture and commercialism it is easy to look to the past but all ways keeping an eye and your feet planted in the present.
Please read this before adding me.
Please DO NOT ADD me as a contact if you are only interested in having a large number of contacts. If you do not comment or at least say "hi" I will with all due respect not add you back. It is not about the numbers but about the art. You do not have to comment in English. Thank you :-)
I have art items for sale on ebay, if you are interested, mainly pinstriped items bur on occasions some paintings. If your interested in some thing just email me.
Just search under sales name atomickulture”
Copyright All Rights Reserved - Black Diamond Images
Happy mothers day to all those selfless mothers who make all our lives so much more fulfilled.
This image was taken in Collins Street Melbourne on a wet wall on a wet day in early May 2012.
Every day I walked past that wall there was a different configuration of leaves but this one seemed representative of mothers day if not so many other occasions.
More Melbourne images - HERE
So I was out and about in London today and thought I would pop in at the poppies installation at the Tower of London, when we came across this young lady who was done volunteering for the day decided to sit and take a selfie among the poppies - it became comical while the assembled crowd watched her embark on a 10 minute selfie photo shoot trying to capture that perfect 'relaxed but happy shot' finally as the crowds amusement grew she seemed to find one acceptable for upload to the world! and so did I :-)
This image is dedicated to the people, families, and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that were all affected by the deadly circumstances on Saturday, January 8th. Since I am a native Tucsonan this whole situation was quite difficult to believe happening across town. I am amazed by the courage of the individuals who stood up to serve in such trying times. The memorial service at the University of Arizona was a humbling tribute. I also want to thank all those people that are so selfless.
RIP - Tribute to Tony Perez
written by Omino71
photo by Jessica Stewart
This is the story of an artist, a virtual friend whom you’ve never met in person, but with whom you share an undying passion for art. It’s a friend that was chosen from the thousands of photos on Flickr and whom, almost by chance, becomes part of your daily life through the exchange of comments on photos, sharing of ideas, and invitations to events, all leading to the inevitable exchange of artworks. These artworks arrive at any time of the year, packages coming in as a sort of “Santa Claus,” to celebrate the idea of spontaneous art, fun, generosity, and selflessness. It is this friend that we have the honor to celebrate in this corner today at Sk8 Like Canvas Vol. 2, thanks to an idea by Mr. Klevra.
>TonyTony< was the screen name of Tony Perez, an artist born to Spanish parents in northwest London and who landed in the US, more precisely, Kentucky. It’s from there he sent his beautiful multi-layer stencils out into the world via internet. His hyper realistic stencils reflect his own experiences and passion for vintage “Made in the USA” of the 1920s and 50s, including hot rods, swing, jazz, rockabilly, cult horror films, and so on. Pitched somewhere between low brow and urban art, he was an outsider who loved to march to the beat of his own drummer, just like us.
Tony posted his last masterpiece on Flickr on December 6, 2010. It was a beautiful 70x100, 13-layer stencil done in red tones that realistically captured the spirit of John Lennon in celebration of the 30-year anniversary of his death. It was still there on December 21 when Tony wrote his last commenting thanking everyone for the kind words that he’d received – punctual and polite as always. At 11 pm that same night a sudden heart attack took Tony away from his loved ones, friends of his posting comments immediately following the incident to let everyone know. It was a lightning bolt that struck through the clear blue sky, as they say in these cases.
While it isn’t our place to sing his praises or comment about him personally, being a person we never knew personally, what we can do, as both artists and curators being “on the ground,” is to continue to circulate his art to the public. This display starts with two skateboard pieces that Tony had already completed for the first edition of Sk8 Like Canvas. To this we have added some of the pieces that we had the pleasure to exchange with him, stencils on vinyl, record covers, cardboard, newspaper, and canvas, which are consistent with his practice of transforming everyday objects into masterpieces. His compositions, full of tonal subtlety, which layer upon layer show a rich hyperrealism that was always present whether the subject was a lost pop icon, vintage portraits of strangers, or old school tattoos – Tony was a window into his own time.
We’ll leave you with Tony’s own words, taken from his Flickr profile, which reminds me of a time this summer when, with Mr. Klevra and Jessica Stewart, we pasted up some of his stencils on newspaper in Pigneto. This long distance paste-up was an honor and it is thank to these exchanges that Tony’s work was able to arrive millions of miles away from Kentucky to places like Rome, Paris, Bogota, and Sao Paolo, Brazil, just another reminder of the power of his art to find its way into the hearts of the many users of Facebook and Flickr.
For more details: www.flickr.com/photos/26253553@N06/
www.facebook.com/pages/In-loving-memory-of-Tony-Perez/170...
Tony:
“Thank you for looking and I hope that you enjoy my work and that you will all so comment. If I add you as a contact it is because I find you your work Interesting, Inspiring and over all awesome. Thank you for sharing your artistic endeavors with all of us on flicker. Art is what I do for fun, and the love of art is very much why I am on flickr.
So I had to do some kind of bio, thought I may as well post it here, :-)
Name. Tony Perez
Currently living in Kentucky, USA
Born and raised in North west London, England to parents from Spain. Being an outsider and out of odds was a blessing and a way of life that has remained a constant thyme in my life.
Started painting and stenciling again after a couple of years of trying to find a balance in my life.
My art is influenced by many things but mainly my love of vintage Americana, thyme's such as Hot rods, 20's through the 50's, music swing, jazz, rockabilly and the life styles, classic movies specially of the horror type, knowing that below the lime light there has always been an underbelly of speak easy's and teenage delinquents. Growing up in London and old enough to remember the late punk scenes has inspired a love for going against the grain. Be it lowbrow or urban art it is a blending of images and thoughts that inspire me.
Every ones art is a reflection on their own personal experiences in life, the small things in life that seem to stand out as we make the journey. The way we view our surroundings and the times we live in. With such a mish mush of culture and commercialism it is easy to look to the past but all ways keeping an eye and your feet planted in the present.
Please read this before adding me.
Please DO NOT ADD me as a contact if you are only interested in having a large number of contacts. If you do not comment or at least say "hi" I will with all due respect not add you back. It is not about the numbers but about the art. You do not have to comment in English. Thank you :-)
I have art items for sale on ebay, if you are interested, mainly pinstriped items bur on occasions some paintings. If your interested in some thing just email me.
Just search under sales name atomickulture”
Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who is a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer but selflessly came to share with the D1 class his life experience on 19-Jan-2012.
Hi good morning to all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse, so please bear with me. I thought I'll just introduce myself. My name is Richard, I'm a medical doctor. And I thought I'll just share some thoughts of my life. It's my pleasure to be invited by prof. Hopefully, it can get you thinking about how... as you pursue this.. embarking on your training to become dental surgeons, to think about other things as well.
Since young, I am a typical product of today's society. Relatively successful product that society requires.. From young, I came from a below average family. I was told by the media... and people around me that happiness is about success. And that success is about being wealthy. With this mind-set, I've always be extremely competitive, since I was young.
Not only do I need to go to the top school, I need to have success in all fields. Uniform groups, track, everything. I needed to get trophies, needed to be successful, I needed to have colours award, national colours award, everything. So I was highly competitive since young. I went on to medical school, graduated as a doctor. Some of you may know that within the medical faculty, ophthalmology is one of the most highly sought after specialities. So I went after that as well. I was given a traineeship in ophthalmology, I was also given a research scholarship by NUS to develop lasers to treat the eye.
So in the process, I was given 2 patents, one for the medical devices, and another for the lasers. And you know what, all this academic achievements did not bring me any wealth. So once I completed my bond with MOH, I decided that this is taking too long, the training in eye surgery is just taking too long. And there's lots of money to be made in the private sector. If you're aware, in the last few years, there is this rise in aesthetic medicine. Tons of money to be made there. So I decided, well, enough of staying in institution, it's time to leave. So I quit my training halfway and I went on to set up my aesthetic clinic... in town, together with a day surgery centre.
You know the irony is that people do not make heroes out average GP (general practitioner), family physicians. They don't. They make heroes out of people who are rich and famous. People who are not happy to pay $20 to see a GP, the same person have no qualms paying ten thousand dollars for a liposuction, 15 thousand dollars for a breast augmentation, and so on and so forth. So it's a no brainer isn't? Why do you want to be a gp? Become an aesthetic physician. So instead of healing the sick and ill, I decided that I'll become a glorified beautician. So, business was good, very good. It started off with waiting of one week, then became 3weeks, then one month, then 2 months, then 3 months. I was overwhelmed; there were just too many patients. Vanities are fantastic business. I employed one doctor, the second doctor, the 3rd doctor, the 4th doctor. And within the 1st year, we're already raking in millions. Just the 1st year. But never is enough because I was so obsessed with it. I started to expand into Indonesia to get all the rich Indonesian tai-tais who wouldn't blink an eye to have a procedure done. So life was really good.
So what do I do with the spare cash. How do I spend my weekends? Typically, I'll have car club gatherings. I take out my track car, with spare cash I got myself a track car. We have car club gatherings. We'll go up to Sepang in Malaysia. We'll go for car racing. And it was my life. With other spare cash, what do i do? I get myself a Ferrari. At that time, the 458 wasn't out, it's just a spider convertible, 430. This is a friend of mine, a schoolmate who is a forex trader, a banker. So he got a red one, he was wanting all along a red one, I was getting the silver one.
So what do I do after getting a car? It's time to buy a house, to build our own bungalows. So we go around looking for a land to build our own bungalows, we went around hunting. So how do i live my life? Well, we all think we have to mix around with the rich and famous. This is one of the Miss Universe. So we hang around with the beautiful, rich and famous. This by the way is an internet founder. So this is how we spend our lives, with dining and all the restaurants and Michelin Chefs you know.
So I reach a point in life that I got everything for my life. I was at the pinnacle of my career and all. That's me one year ago in the gym and I thought I was like, having everything under control and reaching the pinnacle.
Well, I was wrong. I didn't have everything under control. About last year March, I started to develop backache in the middle of nowhere. I thought maybe it was all the heavy squats I was doing. So I went to SGH, saw my classmate to do an MRI, to make sure it's not a slipped disc or anything. And that evening, he called me up and said that we found bone marrow replacement in your spine. I said, sorry what does that mean? I mean I know what it means, but I couldn't accept that. I was like “Are you serious?” I was still running around going to the gym you know. But we had more scans the next day, PET scans - positrons emission scans, they found that actually I have stage 4 terminal lung cancer. I was like "Whoa where did that come from?” It has already spread to the brain, the spine, the liver and the adrenals. And you know one moment I was there, totally thinking that I have everything under control, thinking that I've reached the pinnacle of my life. But the next moment, I have just lost it.
This is a CT scan of the lungs itself. If you look at it, every single dot there is a tumour. We call this miliaries tumour. And in fact, I have tens of thousands of them in the lungs. So, I was told that even with chemotherapy, that I'll have about 3-4months at most. Did my life come crushing on, of course it did, who wouldn't? I went into depression, of course, severe depression and I thought I had everything.
See the irony is that all these things that I have, the success, the trophies, my cars, my house and all. I thought that brought me happiness. But i was feeling really down, having severe depression. Having all these thoughts of my possessions, they brought me no joy. The thought of... You know, I can hug my Ferrari to sleep, no... No, it is not going to happen. It brought not a single comfort during my last ten months. And I thought they were, but they were not true happiness. But it wasn't. What really brought me joy in the last ten months was interaction with people, my loved ones, friends, people who genuinely care about me, they laugh and cry with me, and they are able to identify the pain and suffering I was going through. That brought joy to me, happiness. None of the things I have, all the possessions, and I thought those were supposed to bring me happiness. But it didn't, because if it did, I would have felt happy think about it, when I was feeling most down..
You know the classical Chinese New Year that is coming up. In the past, what do I do? Well, I will usually drive my flashy car to do my rounds, visit my relatives, to show it off to my friends. And I thought that was joy, you know. I thought that was really joy. But do you really think that my relatives and friends, whom some of them have difficulty trying to make ends meet, that will truly share the joy with me? Seeing me driving my flashy car and showing off to them? No, no way. They won’t be sharing joy with me. They were having problems trying to make ends meet, taking public transport. In fact i think, what I have done is more like you know, making them envious, jealous of all I have. In fact, sometimes even hatred.
Those are what we call objects of envy. I have them, I show them off to them and I feel it can fill my own pride and ego. That didn't bring any joy to these people, to my friends and relatives, and I thought they were real joy.
Well, let me just share another story with you. You know when I was about your age, I stayed in king Edward VII hall. I had this friend whom I thought was strange. Her name is Jennifer, we're still good friends. And as I walk along the path, she would, if she sees a snail, she would actually pick up the snail and put it along the grass patch. I was like why do you need to do that? Why dirty your hands? It’s just a snail. The truth is she could feel for the snail. The thought of being crushed to death is real to her, but to me it's just a snail. If you can't get out of the pathway of humans then you deserve to be crushed, it’s part of evolution isn't it? What an irony isn't it?
There I was being trained as a doctor, to be compassionate, to be able to empathise; but I couldn't. As a house officer, I graduated from medical school, posted to the oncology department at NUH. And, every day, every other day I witness death in the cancer department. When I see how they suffered, I see all the pain they went through. I see all the morphine they have to press every few minutes just to relieve their pain. I see them struggling with their oxygen breathing their last breath and all. But it was just a job. When I went to clinic every day, to the wards every day, take blood, give the medication but was the patient real to me? They weren't real to me. It was just a job, I do it, I get out of the ward, I can't wait to get home, I do my own stuff.
Was the pain, was the suffering the patients went through real? No. Of course I know all the medical terms to describe how they feel, all the suffering they went through. But in truth, I did not know how they feel, not until I became a patient. It is until now; I truly understand how they feel. And, if you ask me, would I have been a very different doctor if I were to re-live my life now, I can tell you yes I will. Because I truly understand how the patients feel now. And sometimes, you have to learn it the hard way.
Even as you start just your first year, and you embark this journey to become dental surgeons, let me just challenge you on two fronts.
Inevitably, all of you here will start to go into private practice. You will start to accumulate wealth. I can guarantee you. Just doing an implant can bring you thousands of dollars, it's fantastic money. And actually there is nothing wrong with being successful, with being rich or wealthy, absolutely nothing wrong. The only trouble is that a lot of us like myself couldn't handle it.
Why do I say that? Because when I start to accumulate, the more I have, the more I want. The more I wanted, the more obsessed I became. Like what I showed you earlier on, all I can was basically to get more possessions, to reach the pinnacle of what society did to us, of what society wants us to be. I became so obsessed that nothing else really mattered to me. Patients were just a source of income, and I tried to squeeze every single cent out of these patients.
A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves. That was what happened to me. Whether it is in the medical, the dental fraternity, I can tell you, right now in the private practice, sometimes we just advise patients on treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. And even though it is not necessary, we kind of advocate it. Even at this point, I know who are my friends and who genuinely cared for me and who are the ones who try to make money out of me by selling me "hope". We kind of lose our moral compass along the way. Because we just want to make money.
Worse, I can tell you, over the last few years, we bad mouth our fellow colleagues, our fellow competitors in the industry. We have no qualms about it. So if we can put them down to give ourselves an advantage, we do it. And that's what happening right now, medical, dental everywhere. My challenge to you is not to lose that moral compass. I learnt it the hard way, I hope you don't ever have to do it.
Secondly, a lot of us will start to get numb to our patients as we start to practise. Whether is it government hospitals, private practice, I can tell you when I was in the hospital, with stacks of patient folders, I can't wait to get rid of those folders as soon as possible; I can't wait to get patients out of my consultation room as soon as possible because there is just so many, and that's a reality. Because it becomes a job, a very routine job. And this is just part of it. Do I truly know how the patient feels back then? No, I don't. The fears and anxiety and all, do I truly understand what they are going through? I don't, not until when this happens to me and I think that is one of the biggest flaws in our system.
We’re being trained to be healthcare providers, professional, and all and yet we don't know how exactly they feel. I'm not asking you to get involved emotionally, I don't think that is professional but do we actually make a real effort to understand their pain and all? Most of us won’t, alright, I can assure you. So don't lose it, my challenge to you is to always be able to put yourself in your patient's shoes.
Because the pain, the anxiety, the fear are very real even though it's not real to you, it's real to them. So don't lose it and you know, right now I'm in the midst of my 5th cycle of my chemotherapy. I can tell you it’s a terrible feeling. Chemotherapy is one of those things that you don't wish even your enemies to go through because it's just suffering, lousy feeling, throwing out, you don't even know if you can retain your meals or not. Terrible feeling! And even with whatever little energy now I have, I try to reach out to other cancer patients because I truly understand what pain and suffering is like. But it's kind of little too late and too little.
You guys have a bright future ahead of you with all the resource and energy, so I’m going to challenge you to go beyond your immediate patients. To understand that there are people out there who are truly in pain, truly in hardship. Don’t get the idea that only poor people suffer. It is not true. A lot of these poor people do not have much in the first place, they are easily contented. for all you know they are happier than you and me but there are out there, people who are suffering mentally, physically, hardship, emotionally, financially and so on and so forth, and they are real. We choose to ignore them or we just don't want to know that they exist.
So do think about it alright, even as you go on to become professionals and dental surgeons and all. That you can reach out to these people who are in need. Whatever you do can make a large difference to them. I'm now at the receiving end so I know how it feels, someone who genuinely care for you, encourage and all. It makes a lot of difference to me. That’s what happens after treatment. I had a treatment recently, but I’ll leave this for another day. A lot of things happened along the way, that's why I am still able to talk to you today.
I'll just end of with this quote here, it's from this book called Tuesdays with Morris, and some of you may have read it. Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself off all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live. I know it sounds very morbid for this morning but it's the truth, this is what I’m going through.
Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you're supposed to do. Those things happened to me. And I led this life thinking that these are going to bring me happiness. I hope that you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your own life. Not according to what other people tell you to do, and you have to decide whether you want to serve yourself, whether you are going to make a difference in somebody else's life. Because true happiness doesn't come from serving yourself. I thought it was but it didn't turn out that way. With that I thank you, if you have any questions you have for me, please feel free. Thank you
Photo Credit Cutty McGill
Jay Heritage Center (JHC) Founder Catherine "Kitty" Aresty and New York Preservation Advocate, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel were recipients of the 1st Annual "John Jay Medal for Service" awarded at JHC's 20th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, October 13, 2012. In keeping with the legacy of one of America's greatest Founding Fathers, the John Jay Medal recognizes individuals who demonstrate a selfless spirit of commitment and engagement with their community.
As an early member of the Jay Coalition, Catherine "Kitty" Aresty helped harness the energy of thousands of volunteers and citizens to save the Jay Property when it was threatened by commercial development in the early 1980s. She was one of 5 dynamic women who formed the vanguard for preservation of the site, finally securing a victory in 1992 but her total commitment to seeing the property restored for public use extends more than 30 years including 22 consecutive years on the JHC Board.
Similarly, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel's career spans more than 40 years. She has been a pioneering champion of preservation and the arts, credited with bringing the first public art to Bryant Park and the first public performance to Central Park. The first Director of Cultural Affairs for New York City, she was the longest term Landmarks Commissioner in the city’s history, spanning four mayoral administrations from 1972 to 1987. Her expertise and advocacy of historic preservation has garnered her countless honors and prestigious appointments from nor fewer than 4 US Presidents. Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel is the current Vice Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino served as Honorary Co-Chairs of the evening which drew over 170 people from Manhattan, Westchester and Greenwich to the National Historic Landmark site. While the event also marked an important 2 decade milestone for the organization, adding to the festive feeling was the recent announcement of a public private partnership between JHC, New York State Parks and Westchester County to manage and restore the entire 23 acre Jay estate as a historic park and educational resource.
See the announcement here:
www3.westchestergov.com/news/all-press-releases/4358-asto...
The site has been a member of Westchester County's African American Heritage Trail since 2004 and was added to the prestigious Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area following its nomination in 2008 by County Legislator Judy Myers.
JHC President Suzanne Clary commended the men, women and coalition of non-profits that first saved Jay's home but also emphasized the "new coalition" they are forming with other museums and preservation groups like the NY Preservation League, The Landmarks Conservancy, Audubon NY, the World Monuments Fund and more. Congresswoman Lowey recognized the power of bi-partisan support that continues to guide JHC's success. Ken Jenkins, Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators presented a proclamation to both honorees and added his strong words of support for the Jay Heritage Center's mission to revitalize one of Westchester's premiere heritage destinations. Steve Otis, former Mayor of Rye brought accolades from Sen. Suzi Oppenhiemer and personally congratulated the two medal awardees on their vision and tenacity; he reminded the audience how dilapidated the Jay site was when first acquired and how miraculous its transformation had been under JHC's trusted stewardship. Both honorees gave moving remarks and thanks and underscored the continued need to stay "passionate" about preservation.
The theme of the night was Roaring 20s - guests dressed in everything from raccoon coats and spats to flapper dresses and boas made for an evening that was simply "the bees knees!"
Jay Heritage Center
210 Boston Post Road
Rye, NY 10580
(914) 698-9275
Email: jayheritagecenter@gmail.com
Follow and like us on:
Twitter @jayheritage
Facebook www.facebook.com/jayheritagecenter
Pinterest www.pinterest.com/jaycenter
YouTube www.youtube.com/channel/UChWImnsJrBAi2Xzjn8vR54w
www.instagram.com/jayheritagecenter/
A National Historic Landmark since 1993
Member of the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County since 2004
Member of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area since 2009
On NY State's Path Through History (2013)
November 24, 2013 - CHEVERUS AWARD RECIPIENTS.
Congratulations to the 95 Cheverus Award recipients for 2013 who are receiving their recognition at this moment at Holy Cross Cathedral in a Mass with Cardinal Seán. The award recognizes years of selfless service, often unheralded and done with no recompense but the knowledge of having given all to the Lord. The recipients are:
Susan Abbott, St. Theresa of Avila, West Roxbury
Laura Albaladejo, St. Patick, Brockton
Josephine and Charles Anastasia, St. John Chrysostom, West Roxbury
Ruth Andrews, St. Katharine Drexel, Boston
Mother Teresa Benedicta, OCD, North Region
William Bibeau, St. John the Baptist, Haverhill
Madelyn Brown, The Catholic TV Network, Watertown (2012)
Judy Burton, St. Mary/St. Catherine of Siena, Charlestown
Jacquelyn Butterfield, St. Anne, Littleton
James Buxton, Holy Trinity, Lowell
John Carter, Sacred Heart, Waltham
Everett Casey, Sacred Heart, Middleborough
John Cheboryot and Mercy Anampiu, St. Michael, Lowell, Kenyan Apostolate
Antonio Jr. and Gracita Chiefe, St. Mary, Randolph, Filipino Apostolate
Deacon Charles Clough, West Region
William Corrigan, St. Anthony of Padua, Allston
Marileia Costa, St. Anthony of Padua, Everett, Brazilian Apostolate
Paul Daly, Sacred Heart, Quincy
Joan DeGuglielmo, St. Francis of Assisi, Cambridge
Sister Thomasita Delaney, RMS, Merrimack Region
Samuel E. DeMerit, St. Paul, Cambridge
Jose DePina, St. Peter, Dorchester
Barbara Devita, St. Thomas of Villanova, Wilmington
Linda Devoll, St. John the Evangelist, Canton
Rose DiMare, Immaculate Conception, Revere
Anne Doherty, St. Camillus, Arlington
M.J. Doherty, Archdiocese of Boston
Kevin Dolan, Sts. Martha and Mary, Lakeville
Thomas Dwyer, Esq., Archdiocese of Boston
Joanne Eagan, Sacred Heart, Lynn
Stephen Fair, St. Mary of the Assumption, Brookline
Walter Faria, St. Mary of the Nativity, Scituate
George and Linda Furtado, Immaculate Conception, Everett
Rosa Garcia, St. James, Haverhill
Deacon Alfred Geneus, St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge, Haitian Apostolate...
photos by George Martell - Pilot New Media, Archdiocese of Boston.
made with polyester satin and cotton bias binding. Full blogpost here sewamysew.com/2013/10/13/selfless-sewing-and-a-box-of-vie....
new models,ismail 143Best Quality and Collection Of Telugu Hit Movies, Old Telugu Movies, Classic Telugu Movies, Full HD Movies In Our Official Youtube Channel,Latest Tollywood News. Check out all the Tollywood movies, which is still fresh in the memory of Telugu audience. ... sympathies in their hearts for the hero's selflessness and sacrifice for the sake of love. For all the latest Entertainment News, download Indian Express App,Bollywood Life Entertainment News
Now as per the latest development,HYDERABAD: As Telangana is gearing up to make Telugu compulsory across all schools in the State, both public and private,I became a model,by someone I know that the makers of this movie were searching for a new face,Have you watched any Telugu movies in the past I do watch Telugu movies dubbed into Hindi on TV,Le Mans Classic 2018 sets new records in every way ... the Le Mans Heritage Concours, which showcased 24 models that made history,male model in India, and his fiercely bearded look set a trend,one of the most sought after faces when it comes to shoots requiring the rustic Indian man aesthetic. He models for several high,For most Indian male models, a stable income remains elusive. Also, there just isn't enough glory to go around. The pie, aspirants quickly learn,It also differentiates the use of aerial photography by Survey of India,Being the first Indian photographer to shoot for the Playboy ... being done with transgender models,photo shoots and on the runway, the British Indian also realise,
November 24, 2013 - CHEVERUS AWARD RECIPIENTS.
Congratulations to the 95 Cheverus Award recipients for 2013 who are receiving their recognition at this moment at Holy Cross Cathedral in a Mass with Cardinal Seán. The award recognizes years of selfless service, often unheralded and done with no recompense but the knowledge of having given all to the Lord. The recipients are:
Susan Abbott, St. Theresa of Avila, West Roxbury
Laura Albaladejo, St. Patick, Brockton
Josephine and Charles Anastasia, St. John Chrysostom, West Roxbury
Ruth Andrews, St. Katharine Drexel, Boston
Mother Teresa Benedicta, OCD, North Region
William Bibeau, St. John the Baptist, Haverhill
Madelyn Brown, The Catholic TV Network, Watertown (2012)
Judy Burton, St. Mary/St. Catherine of Siena, Charlestown
Jacquelyn Butterfield, St. Anne, Littleton
James Buxton, Holy Trinity, Lowell
John Carter, Sacred Heart, Waltham
Everett Casey, Sacred Heart, Middleborough
John Cheboryot and Mercy Anampiu, St. Michael, Lowell, Kenyan Apostolate
Antonio Jr. and Gracita Chiefe, St. Mary, Randolph, Filipino Apostolate
Deacon Charles Clough, West Region
William Corrigan, St. Anthony of Padua, Allston
Marileia Costa, St. Anthony of Padua, Everett, Brazilian Apostolate
Paul Daly, Sacred Heart, Quincy
Joan DeGuglielmo, St. Francis of Assisi, Cambridge
Sister Thomasita Delaney, RMS, Merrimack Region
Samuel E. DeMerit, St. Paul, Cambridge
Jose DePina, St. Peter, Dorchester
Barbara Devita, St. Thomas of Villanova, Wilmington
Linda Devoll, St. John the Evangelist, Canton
Rose DiMare, Immaculate Conception, Revere
Anne Doherty, St. Camillus, Arlington
M.J. Doherty, Archdiocese of Boston
Kevin Dolan, Sts. Martha and Mary, Lakeville
Thomas Dwyer, Esq., Archdiocese of Boston
Joanne Eagan, Sacred Heart, Lynn
Stephen Fair, St. Mary of the Assumption, Brookline
Walter Faria, St. Mary of the Nativity, Scituate
George and Linda Furtado, Immaculate Conception, Everett
Rosa Garcia, St. James, Haverhill
Deacon Alfred Geneus, St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge, Haitian Apostolate...
photos by George Martell - Pilot New Media, Archdiocese of Boston.
On Monday, November 7, 2022, VA Secretary Denis McDonough spoke at the National Press Club Headliners Luncheon.
McDonough discussed the impact of the PACT Act, a bill signed in August by President Biden that expands medical benefits to veterans exposed to toxins from burn pits on military bases, and delivered an update on the state of Americaâs veterans and their families. (VA/Robert Turtil)
The following is his speech: Good afternoon. Jen [Judson, 115th Pres., NPC], thanks for that kind introduction, and for leading this truly great, and important, organization. Let me recognize the Press Clubâs American Legion Post and its commander, Tom Young, and all the Veterans Service Organizations represented here. You are critical to helping us serve Vets, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
In just a little bit, as the sun starts setting over the Vietnam War Memorial Wall, theyâll begin the solemn tradition of reading 58,281 names etched in those slabs of polished black granite. Among them, approximately 1,500 still Missing in Action. So, in this 40th anniversary year of the Memorial Wall, Iâm honored to welcome home Vietnam Veteran Corporal Jan Scruggs, and all the Vietnam Vets. Corporal Scruggs, Welcome home. And on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you.
Thank you for your courageous service, for opening hearts to Vietnam Vetsâ heroic service, and for so well-honoring your brothers- and sisters-in-arms who died for this country, and for each other. Corporal Scruggs, and all Vets here today, would you stand, if youâre able, and be recognized?
Words can never express the depth of our gratitude to you, our Vetsâyour courage, selflessness, service, and the sacrifices made by you and your families. But, there is virtue in trying, in reminding everyone how these courageous men and women put their lives on the line, for all of us; how much they gave, often their last full measure of devotion; how much each is willing to give so the highest of ideals of our nation might endure for all Americans. Veteransâ valor is a constant reminder of true loyalty, true courage, true patriotism.
Finally, to all you courageous journalists here today: many of you have gone to battlefields, to cities under siege, and risked great danger to tell servicemembersâ and Veteransâ stories. And in so doing, you help us serve Veterans better than we ever could do alone. Thank you for holding all of us accountable, to all of the Vets.
â¦
Itâs a privilege to be here as we prepare for Veterans Day. As we all know, Veterans Day is a day to honor Vets, to remember what theyâve done for our nation, and to recognize that when those Vets serve and sacrifice, so do their families, caregivers, and survivors.
But Veterans Day is something more. Itâs a call to action for all Americans to fulfill our sacred duty, as Americans, and serve Veterans as well as theyâve served us. Not just on Veterans Day, but every day. So, I want to talk about what weâve done at VA over the past year to serve Vets, and what we will do this next year to deliver for them.
With the Presidentâs leadership, Congressâs support, the work of VSOs, and many others, weâre stepping up for Vets. Since President Biden took office, weâve delivered more care and more benefits to more Veterans than at any other time in our nationâs history.
When it comes to benefits Vets have earned and deserve, weâre processing their claims faster than ever before. In fact, VA processed 1.7 million Veteran claims in Fiscal Year 22âshattering the previous yearâs record by 12%. And weâve gotten the claims backlog down to the lowest in yearsâdown to nearly 144,000 claims as of this month.
When it comes to honoring Vets with lasting resting places they deserve, weâre now providing almost 94% of Vets with access to burial sites within 75 miles of their homes. Thatâs possible by building and maintaining our 155 VA national cemeteries, and by funding construction, maintenance, and expansion of 121 state, territorial, and tribal Veteran cemeteries. And weâve expanded our online Veterans Legacy Memorial program to about 4.5 million Veterans, keeping Veteransâ stories alive long after theyâre gone.
When it comes to providing world-class healthcare to Veterans, study after study shows weâre delivering better health care for Veterans than the private sector, which is why 90% of Vets who come to VA for outpatient care trust that care to be, easy, effective, and based in respect for that Veteran.
And when it comes to advocating for Veterans, President Bidenâs leading the way. Heâs challenged all of us to make Vets a core part of a Unity Agenda that rises above partisanship and politics. And heâs hell-bent on fighting for Vets with the same kind of indomitable will and sheer determination they bring to the battlefields we send them to. When it comes to our Veterans and their families, heâs unyielding.
All of that work adds up to the one statistic that will always matter mostâVeterans lives saved, Veterans lives improved. Thereâs nothing more important than that.
Now, weâve made this progress by challenging ourselves every day with three questions.
First, âAre we putting Veterans at the center of everything we do?â That means making sure we meet Vets where they are, so they can access all we have to offer. It means making VA easy for Vets to use, with tools like new VA mobile apps that give Vets access to their benefits, right on their phones. It means making sure weâre delivering for Vets on time, every time, through initiatives like claims automationâcutting claims processing time for certain conditions from several months, to several days.
And as we approach the one year anniversary of the untimely death of Major Ian Fishback, let me underscore the vital importance of this questionâputting Vets at the center of all we do. Every door at VA has to be a front door, with multiple touch points for all of our services. And that means wherever a Veteran is treatedâat the local, state, or federal levelâthat care has to be integrated, it has to be coordinated, especially when it comes to mental health care. Vets and their families should expect that, demand it. And going forward, with the new tools we have in place in VISN 10, they will have that.
The second question, âAre we improving outcomes for Veterans with everything we do?â That means timely access to world-class health care, earned benefits, and the lasting resting places Vets deserve. No matter what. Because, ultimately, Vets will judge, not us, our success.
And the third goes back to something President Biden charged VA with the day I was sworn inââFight like hell for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.â Thatâs our North Starâare we fighting like hell for Vets. Thatâs what we seek to do, every day.
â¦
Let me give you a few examples.
First, weâre fighting like hell to maximize access to world-class care for Vets across America. Weâll stop at nothing to make sure Veterans have the best possible experience, wherever they access VA careâat home, in the community, or at VA. For those Vets getting care at home, weâre meeting them where they are, doubling down on tele-appeals, tele-health, and tele-oncology. VA clinicians have seen more than 9,000 Vets through tele-oncology, and we are expanding this life saving tool to include clinical trialsâmeaning that rural Vets are now getting opportunities previously unavailable to them because of their remote locations.
Weâre also supporting our caregivers by expanding the program of comprehensive assistance in October to cover all generations of Veterans, and by changing our policies so even more Vets get that support they need. For Vets getting care in their community, weâre working to make their experiences as timely and seamless as possibleâso they get the care they need, wherever they live, and when they need it. And for those getting care directly from VA, weâre going to modernize our facilitiesâbecause Vets in the 21st century shouldnât be forced to get care in buildings built in the early 20th century. We need a VA health care system with the right facilities, in the right places, to provide the right care for Veterans in every part of the country.
So, the bottom line with access is the same as ever. Vets who get their care at VA do better. Our VA clinicians know Veteransâin many cases those clinicians are Veteransâand thereâs nobody better at caring for Vets than them. Thatâs one reason why Vets who come to VA emergency rooms by ambulance are 20% more likely to survive in the following 30 days than those who were transported to private hospitals.
So, if anybodyâs asking where Vets should get their care, please, send Vets to us. Weâre going to get them the world-class care theyâve earned.
Next, weâre fighting like hell to end Veteran homelessness, a phrase that shouldnât exist in America. Our focus is on two simple goals: getting Veterans into homes, and preventing them from falling into homelessness in the first place. And weâre making real progress. Last year from this podium, I told you about two ambitious goals for 2021 to address Veteran homelessness in LAâwhere there are more homeless Vets than anywhere else in the United States.
The first goal was getting all of the roughly 40 homeless Veterans living on Veterans Rowâa homeless encampment out in LAâinto housing. The second goal was getting 500 Veterans in LA into housing by the end of the year. We not only accomplished those goals, we exceeded themâand used that to demonstrate that if we can tackle this problem in LA, we can tackle it anywhere.
So, we set another ambitious for this year. We will place 38,000 homeless Vets into permanent housing by the end of 2022. At the end of September, weâd already housed nearly 31,000 Vetsâover 81% of our goalâputting us on track to house even more Veterans than we anticipated.
And weâre not letting up. Weâre driving hard on homelessness prevention by increasing housing supply, making existing housing more affordable, and getting every Veteran the wraparound services they need to prevent homelessness in the first instance.
And last Thursday, we released the 2022 PIT Count results. It shows that the number of Vets experiencing homelessnessâon a single night last Januaryâwas 33,136, a decrease of 11% over January 2020, which was the last year a full PIT Count was conducted. Thatâs the biggest improvement in more than five years.
So, weâre not just taking our best shot at fighting Veteran homelessness. With the help of partners like HUD, USICH, VSOs, local communities, and front-line staff in VAâs Homeless Programs Office we are going to end Veteran homeless. Because no Veteran should be homeless in this country they swore to defend. Not now, not ever.
Third, weâre fighting like hell to prevent Veteran suicide. You saw VAâs recent report on Veteran suicides in 2020âthe most current data we have. A couple big things stand out from that report. First, more than 6,000 Veterans died by suicide that year. Thatâs devastating, unacceptable, and itâs why this work is so critical.
But that report also reminds us that suicide prevention is possible. There is hope. There were 343 fewer Veteran suicides in 2020 than in 2019âthe second year in a row weâve seen a decrease. Thatâs 343 Vets alive today, getting a second chance at life. Nothing matters more than that.
So, weâre building on that momentum. Weâre providing first-of-their-kind grants to suicide prevention organizations in communities, on the ground, across the country. Weâre ramping up our lethal means safety efforts to prevent warning signs from turning into tragedies. Weâre continuing to offer tele-mental health sessions to Vets who want them. Weâre making sure they get their mental health care exactly when they need itâand not a second later. And we rolled out 9-8-8, the new national suicide prevention lifeline thatâs connecting Vets quickly and directly to the Veterans Crisis Line by just dialing 9-8-8, then pressing 1. Because preventing Veteran suicide is our top clinical priority, and we will stop at nothingânothingâto ensure that Vets not only survive, but thrive.
Fourth, weâre continuing to fight like hell to make sure all Vets feel welcome and safe at every VA. Not some Veterans. All Veterans. Weâre doing that by helping non-citizen Veterans stay in the United States, where they belong, and making sure that eligible, deported Vets have access to VA benefits.
Weâre delivering care and benefits to those with Other-Than-Honorable discharges. Weâre eliminating any racial disparities that exist at VA, and setting up processes to prevent them in the future. Weâre making sure LGBTQ+ Vets are supportedâand well-servedâacross VA. Last month, for example, we closed a gap in benefits for surviving spouses of LGBTQ+ Vetsârighting a wrong thatâs a legacy of the discriminatory federal ban on same-sex marriages.
And weâre getting women Vetsâour fastest growing cohort of Vetsâthe care theyâve earned and deserve. A few weeks ago, I visited the Military Womenâs Memorial for their 25th Anniversary. Etched in the glass panes in the ceiling are powerful words of courageous women Vetsâwords the sun illuminates when the light hits that glass just right. None of those words are more illuminating than those of World War II Veteran Lieutenant Anne Brehm, words that always bear repeating. âLet the generations know,â she said, âthat women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom ⦠that our resolve was as great as the brave men who stood among us.â
My late colleague and friend, and a great friend of Americaâs Veterans, Secretary Ash Carter, was committed to that principle. It was Secretary Carter who opened all military roles to women. Heâd be proud that women Vets have been our fastest growing cohort, and weâre proud to serve them. But we havenât always done as well by women Vets as we should have. So, weâre fighting like hell to serve them as well as theyâve served us.
Weâve done that by taking important steps to make our health care facilities and programs safe, respectful, and welcoming to women Vets; by providing Women Vet Coordinators in every regional office to help them access benefits and provide assistance specific to them; by having VBA dedicate one specially trained team to review each military sexual trauma claim, so we do not re-traumatize survivors who come forward to seek the benefits theyâve earned; and by listening to VA health care providers and Vets from across the country who sounded the alarm that abortion restrictions were creating a medical emergency for pregnant Vets. Thatâs why we made the patient safety decision to offer abortion counseling, andâin certain casesâabortion services to pregnant Veterans and eligible VA beneficiaries.
Because at VA we donât serve some Vets. We serve all Vets. For far too long, too many Vets who fought around the world to protect our rights and freedoms have had to fight brutal battles here at home for their own rights and freedoms. But at VA, those fights are over. In this administration, no Vet has to fight for the quality care and benefits that theyâve earnedâno matter who they are, where theyâre from, or who they love.
Last but in no way least, weâre fighting like hell to deliver for toxic-exposed Veterans. One of your own has led the country in that fightâVeteran and journalist Kelly Kennedy. About this time 14 years ago, Kelly started the thankless and rigorous task of holding people like me accountable when she published her first of dozens of articles on the casualties of burn pits.
Over the years, her work catalyzed the national conversation on burn pits, educated us on the effects of toxic exposure on the battlefield in stark terms we could no longer turn away from. She told painful stories of servicemembers deteriorating, dying, after exposure to poisons they breathed when deployed. She first introduced us to the enormous dangers of things we had never heard aboutâlike fine and superfine particulate matter, chemicals troops may have been ingesting that sound as horrific as they are: arsenic, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid.
Kelly told the human stories of Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and families who were suffering, so we as a nation would not, and could not, forget. Now, I imagine part of that was about being a good journalist, guided by the spirits of greats like Joe Galloway, Dickey Chapelle, and others. And I imagine a lot of it was about compassion, deep devotion to servicemembers and her fellow Vets.
And now, nearly a decade and a half later, as a result of her workâand, certainly, the hard work, heavy lifting, and persistent voices of many, many others in this roomâone of the biggest expansions of Veteran benefits in history was signed into law by President Biden, a law that will deliver care and benefits to millions of toxic exposed Veterans and their survivors.
With this new law, VA has recognized new presumptions of service connection for more than 20 health conditions related to toxic exposureâincluding exposures like Agent Orange, burn pits, and more. Weâll bring generations of new Vets into VA health care and increase the health care benefits of many moreâand that will result in better health outcomes, across the board. Weâll deliver benefits to more survivors of Vets who passed away from toxic exposure. And weâll invest in our workforce and our infrastructure to deliver those additional servicesâand modernize 31 more VA health care facilities.
This is a great thing. And I donât think it would have happenedâsurely not have happened nowâwithout Kellyâs dogged pursuit of the truth, with all our VSO partnersâ dogged pursuit of the truth. Thatâs what I mean when I say that you that you all make VA betterâtelling the stories that need to be told, and holding us accountable to Veterans and their survivors.
Like anything else of this importance and magnitude, implementing this law wonât be easy. So, weâre counting on you for your helpâto hold us accountable, yes, and especially, to communicate to Veterans, and their family members, what this law means for them.
This is what we want every Veteran to know about the new law on toxic exposure.
First, we want Veterans and survivors of Central Command from 1991 to 2021, 30 years of war, to apply for their toxic exposure benefits right now. So far, Veterans have filed nearly 137,000 claims under this law.
Second, and I want to be very clear here, because itâs important. We made all conditions outlined in this new law presumptive August 10, 2022âthe day the bill was signed into law, rather than phasing them in over years, as the law anticipated. VA will begin processing benefits claims filed under this new law on January 1st, the earliest date possible. And beginning tomorrow, weâre offering enrolled Veterans a new toxic exposure screeningâan important step toward making sure that all toxic exposed Vets get the care and benefits they deserveâeven if they donât know today that they were exposed.
Because Vets have waited too long. Weâre not going to make them wait any longer.
Third point. For Vets who file for a toxic-exposure-related condition before the one-year anniversary of the signing. That is, for those who file before August 9, 2023, their claim and benefit will be retroactive to the date of signing, August 10, 2022.
Fourth point. Iâm proud to announce for the first time today, on National Cancer Awareness Day, that weâre expediting benefits delivery for Veterans with cancer conditions covered by the law. This work is a part of President Bidenâs vision for the Cancer Moonshot, which will end cancer as we know it. And itâs a part of his broader efforts across the government to do so.
So, we will expedite Veterans claims if they have been diagnosed with melanoma, brain cancer, neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, glioblastoma, head cancer of any type, respiratory cancer of any type, reproductive cancer of any type, gastrointestinal cancer of any type, lymphoma of any type, and lymphomatic cancer of any type.
Fifth, any Veteran, family member, or survivor can learn more about this new law by visiting VA.gov/PACT, or by calling 1-800-MY-VA-411. 1-800-698-2411.
So, thatâs what every Vet needs to know about this law. And we need your help communicating it, so every Veteran gets the care they need, and the benefits they deserve. We wonât rest until they do.
â¦
So, from access, to ending homelessness, to suicide prevention, to toxic exposure, thatâs where weâre going. Thatâs how weâre going to keep fighting like hell for Vets, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Now, let me say a final word to the Vets. Your honorable service in uniform set the example for the rest of us in this great country. In so many ways, youâre the keepers of our national ethosâthat deep and abiding sense of purpose you learned in serving, your camaraderie, your sense of teamwork that made you stronger, together, in combat and, now, in your communities. Itâs so unique in the country.
Looking around, thatâs exactly what we need today. Camaraderie. Truth. Togetherness. True service. True patriotism. And itâs something that all of usâeach of usâcan learn from. Because we all are stronger when weâre togetherâwhen we are one.
â¦
So, again, to all the Veterans here today and watching, thank youâfor everything. And, to the Press Club, my thanks for all that you do holding us accountable to Vets, their families, their caregivers and survivorsâtelling their stories in the powerful ways that you do.
God bless each of you, and God bless our nationâs servicemembers, our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Each bird flies in its own color
=
Before the processing, there were a few more Swift Birds in the photo. Only after the processing did I notice that each Swift Bird has its own background color
=
לפני העריכה היו בצילום עוד כמה סיסים. בעריכה התכוונתי רק להתרכז בפחות סיסים. רק אחרי העריכה שמתי לב שלכל סיס יש צבע רקע משלו
NORTH HOLLYWOOD - The selfless efforts of an a observant plumber and other motorists helped save the life of a despondent teen precariously perched on a Hollywood (SR170) Freeway overpass on December 28, 2012. © Photo by Mike Meadows