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I find this extremely disturbing... Secret trials. Forced confessions. Remind you of anyone?
Confess or die, US tells jailed Britons. World: The two British terrorist suspects facing a secret US military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay will be given a choice: plead guilty and accept a 20-year prison sentence, or be executed if found guilty. [Guardian Unlimited]
10:47:54 PM 
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Took off a whole week (and will take another in a short while) to move my elderly parents to a retirement home. It's a good place. Good services, good people. Activities, watchful but non-intrusive staff. Friends have recommended it. The folks have sufficient money to fund it. My four brothers and I are working as a team to make sure Mom and Dad are as comfortable and comforted as possible. We're taking elaborate measures to make sure they have their favorite, familiar things around them. Can keep with their routines. Can have what they want. We're even keeping the house - winterized, of course (this is Buffalo, NY) - although it will be rarely used or even looked at.
I felt for awhile as though I was dismantling my family, but then I cast that off as nonsense. I'm actually preserving the core of the family. They could not continue on their own, and we are helping them to maintain not simply dignity, but a whole life. So why am I exhausted beyond the capacity of a good night's sleep to repair?
Pray for us. We're trying desperately to do the right thing.
{GM - Bone Lace}
10:20:51 PM
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Yes, there are astonishing abrogations of the constitution lately. Yes, the current administration appears populated by a collection of morons, liars, empire builders and various other tyrants. But is self pity the answer? I think not. I suggest action, not mourning. Resolve, not despair. Noise, not whining. What would Jefferson or Franklin say about the article below? Find something to do...even a small something. Nobody gave us this as a guarantee - just a chance.
"This Fourth of July Is Yours, Not Mine...". While some spend July 4 at parades and fireworks displays, many Americans see reason to mourn, not to celebrate. [Blogcritics].
9:49:46 PM
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You don't suppose anyone in a corporate environment would pay attention to this, do you? Some of my most innovative ideas have been conceived doing something entirely outside my workgroup...
A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy.
A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy
The reason we initially get involved in communities is often not the reason that keeps us motivated to stay on - we grow as people...and communities grow and evolve. For example, when I'm learning a new subject (or exploring a new field of interest), my reasons for joining a community are to learn. After a period of time, once I've acquired the language and have an understanding of main concepts of the field, my involvement moves to participation. If I'm truly passionate about the field, I may begin to try and impact directions (i.e. contribute at a "meta-level").
This article has a focus on the technology side of communities (and while this us very necessary) I'm more interested in how ANY community - virtual or face to face - evolves, yet maintains relevance to beginners and veterans...while meeting the changing needs of why people are involved. I think of The Well as an example of a community that was once vibrant...but has failed to grow with the changing needs of how people organize online. A growing community is like an ecology - based on the environment...certain things will "grow"...and others won't. A physical environment cannot be home to every type of plant/animal because of its own ecology. Same for the gathering of people. Each community is unique. What works in one will not work in another...and what works today may not work tomorrow.
[elearnspace blog]
9:39:02 PM
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Call for Papers - Largest listing of call for papers in all areas of specialization
http://www.papersinvited.com/
Useful idea, though they do need to eliminate events that have long since taken place.
[Neat New Stuff]
9:31:13 PM
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Hear, hear!
Appreciating what we've got. I advocate a little quality time on the 4th of July for a more intellectual meditation. After the partying and fireworks are done, perhaps you might wish to spend a half hour or an hour actually reading one of our founding documents. [Blogcritics]
9:31:03 PM
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The Spiritual Blogosphere..
The Talmud may have been the first hypertextual document.
   
You can see the original text in the middle surrounded by rabbinic interpretation, argument and commentary (much of it threaded) and off-page cross references. Very wiki.
I see similar dialog among bloggers, increasingly about matters of religion, spirituality, ethics, and philosophy. Beyond a place of reflection, the blogosphere is a social medium. Through linking and writing, our intercourse creates relationships.
As the blogosphere grows, real life shines through. Religion especially.
For there are God Bloggers. Defenders of the faith. Scholars who interpret scripture. Some people blog their personal explorations, their tribulations, their palpable experience of the divine in ordinary life. In the writing, they hope to improve themselves. In the sharing, they serve others on a similar path.
A few, clerical bloggers who have God for a job, blog to educate, to coordinate parish work, even to evangelize a little.
None of this is possible without an offline Freedom to Worship. The United States was founded, in part, by people fleeing religious persecution. With the freedom to worship as I see fit, I also have freedom from government intrusion into spiritual life. In this I am fortunate to live in the American republic instead of a theocracy.
So I ask of you,
Are you "out" on your weblog about your religious thoughts?
Are you blogging your own spiritual education?
Have you connected with others on a similar journey?
Do you blog for your religious community?
Do you bring your personal values to your blog?
Do you conduct yourself online in ways you would be proud of offline?
Has your weblog brought you closer to your fellow man?
If your government protects those rights, you have the power to reach out further than ever.
Blog your way to heaven, one post at a time.
[a klog apart] [a klog apart]
9:30:46 PM
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Blogging as Free Speech..
The first freedom, the one that ensures others, is speech.
Tolerance of the contrary voice, of dissent from within.
Knowing you can speak your mind without repercussion, however distasteful to others, lets you censor yourself less.
The soap box. The broad sheet. The pamphlet. Weblogs are in this tradition.
The power of the press has never been more available to the citizens of any nation. For the past 500 years, if you wanted to spread your ideas beyond the reach of your voice, you needed serious money. Capital to commission the construction of a printing press, to buy paper, to pay type setters, to pay for distribution. Blogging collapses all of that, putting the power of personal publishing within reach of the poor, the homeless, and the ordinary netizen. If you are connected to the Internet, blogging is nearly free.
This is not universal. Anonymity is popular among Persian bloggers. The People's Republic of China blocked Blogspot. Industry critics use pseudonyms. Offline consequences are real.
Yet people write to the web as citizens. Citizens of the world. Of their nations. Of their neighborhoods.
So, let me ask you...
Of what do you blog?
Do you comment on your elected officials' behavior? On your civil servants'?
Do you point to injustice and call for reform?
Do you cite abuse of power, and call for redress?
Do you witness calamities, small or large, and mobilize help?
Do you organize your neighbors to participate in local government?
Do you rally behind a political candidate?
Do you learn about issues from people close to the ground?
Do you find yourself thinking like a journalist, protecting sources, checking your facts, putting yourself where you can report to your readers?
The Fourth Estate, a free press, gets that name as the fourth institution in the balance of government powers. As the tools of reportage become democratized, a Fifth Estate has emerged. Letters to the Editor run wild. Citizen journalists. The peoples' voices.
One of the things I value as an American citizen is that free speech, constitutionally protected, enables change. We occassionally run off course as a nation, but discourse, frank and uncomfortable, lets us find out way home.
[a klog apart public policy] [a klog apart]
9:29:49 PM
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Taking a Quick Swipe at Cancer. An Italian company is working on a cheap, non-invasive method to detect cancer. Rather than making patients sit through a trying MRI scan, doctors may be able to wave a microwave-enabled wand to detect tumors in less than five minutes. By Louise Knapp. [Wired News]
9:29:25 PM
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The Brouhaha over Homebrew. Many people like to have some sort of pet, perhaps a dog or a cat. Some people, like me, like to keep their critters in little jars in a cabinet or the fridge. No, I'm not talking about bonsai kittens. I'm talking about yeast. These little critters can make everything you'll ever need, from bread to beer. Or maybe that's all it can make. In any case, we've seen how to make a fine sourdough bread already. My aim is to show you how to make your very own cold ones. Or, if you prefer, room temp-a-ture ones. [kuro5hin.org]
9:28:43 PM
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© Copyright
2004
Gail Marsella.
Last update:
6/27/2004; 6:52:49 PM.
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