For everything you have, for every situation that involves you, always be thankful,
For there is always an opposite, usually something negative, and someone else is stuck with it,
To be thankful means you are alive and that you can take any path you choose in this world.

Only four things are certain in this life- birth, school, work and death…
All that is in between are just the side dishes and condiments and different sauces to put on your rice.

 What Baylion said in this movie makes a lot of sense.  Jerusalem is the holy city of all Jews, Christians and Muslim, and as then, nobody has brought any peace to that city and it continues to be a thorn in the feet of everyone both directly and indirectly. 

Here’s what I am thinking- what if Jerusalem became its own city-state free of any other country and a place were Jew, Christian and Muslim all share the responsibilities of running the city as one entity?  Each head of state would rotate in succession of a Jewish head, Christian head and Muslim head so that neither religion could take the upper hand and a governing/judicial  body that is made up of equal shares of the three.  Protection of Jerusalem would be the responsibility of a police force made up of its own citizens with a wider role being provided by the UN with a rotating multi-national contingent on hand forever.  A free city-state that can control its destiny and a place where Jew, Christian and Muslim can come and worship unmolested.  A sanctuary.  A place where nobody can emigrate to without special consideration and invitation.  I believe with Jerusalem out of the equation, it would take a lot of the wind out of any cause that it should be Jewish, Christian or Muslim, for it would be all three without outside influences.  Ask yourself how many groups are outside of Jerusalem who are currently active and working to see that it falls to one faith or the other.  Ask yourself how much money Jerusalem has cost the world directly and indirectly for all these centuries.  Ask yourself why it should belong to one faith or another and then ask yourself is Jerusalem worth all of the fighting and the bloodshed that has been spilled all this time up til now.

It is my belief, and I really don’t care if you like it or not, but all three groups have done a piss poor job of keeping the peace, and to me, Jerusalem does not belong to anyone.  Jerusalem belongs to the world, and it should be the center of peace and neutrality and a place where we can take our grievances if we cannot solve them without mediation.

Your thoughts?

For myself- as a business owner, I have made a choice of doing the work that is needed myself for a few reasons, such as keeping my overhead down, lack of certified professionals in the business I run (tuning performance cars; building racing engines and chassis and customizing mid- to high-end vehicles) and lastly, not wanting to further perpetrate the use of laborers from south/southeast Asia. Even in my villa, I don’t have domestic help (I’m a single guy; I do my own cooking and cleaning and chores) with the exception of a yard man (his yard services came with the villa; not full time).

I’d like to hear your feelings on the use of foreign manual labor, as well as skilled professionals.

I came across a music video by a man named Corneille entitled “Too Much of Everything”, and the video is simple and doesn’t detract from the song and the lyrics. My interest was peaked, and I searched MySpace for him. Wow! Born in Fribourg, Germany to a Rwandan couple finishing their studies, lived there for a while, moved to Rwanda, got caught up in one of the worst genocides in recorded history, escaped and was taken in by a German couple who were friends of his parents, finished his studies there, faced a little bit of racial prejudice and moved on to Montreal, Canada and got picked up by Motown Records (a rarity, since Motown is known to not look outside the USA to sign on artists). By listening to his songs, this man is so full of love and you will hear the tinge of loss occasionally before it is moving back over to love.

Corneille is definitely a survivor, a person who questioned his identity before just accepting it as “just is”. If you like R&B, and this is definitely R&B with a twist, I think you will enjoy Corneille.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CRd4ynBMU[/youtube]

This article is about Vaxjo, Sweden. In 1993, the city chose to reduce carbon emissions to manageable levels through a few innovative ideas and maximizing their local resources. As a result, they have reduced their emissions by 30%, and now cities and leaders from around the world are going there to get ideas and see how it all works firsthand.

Here’s the story.

What are some cities around you that are doing something to reduce reliance on fossil fuels? Is it working? Please share.

Here’s his official site.  

One important thing he does stress is self rule but not breaking national unity. The minority Sunna’a Arabs in the central region have long felt that if such a system were put into motion, they would lose out, since the central region is mostly desert with little to no natural resources (I know, I’ve been there), while the Kurdish region in the north and the Shia’a region in the south contain most of Iraq’s oil reserves. That is the one fly in the ointment. Incidently, al-Hakim is gaining popularity within certain circles of the Washington Beltway especially with growing sentiment on the withdrawal of US forces. My feelings on this is I am all for it if the movement can stop the fighting, guarantees some sharing where three regions do walk away with fair concessions, makes available a climate where Iraqi refugees stuck in Syria and Jordan can be repatriated without fear of harm/persecution and helps foster good working relationships between Iran and the USA.

Here’s an article released a few hours ago.

What are your feelings? Is this a good move or not?