I have mixed feelings about pictures like this. Conservation and shepherding sometimes makes this necessary, but in general man has been far too wanton about raping the surface of our planet for monetary gain. And the beat goes on.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
“Dusk”: Iran – Photo by Mohammadreza Momeni. Found at 500px.
This appears to be another view of the village above.
A view of Palangan village in Kurdistan province, about 660 km (412 miles) southwest of Tehran, on May 11, 2011. Iranian Shi’ite and Sunni Kurds live in harmony with each other in Palangan, although Sunni is the religion of the majority of the people. (Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl) Found at The Atlantic (that article is worth a look).
Masouleh Village in Alborz mountains, Gilan Province (Northern Iran). Found at reddit.
Mountain village in Tibet
People live in amazing ways and in amazing places. To those of us accustomed to our own comfortable dwellings, it may seem mind-boggling. To them it’s just another Wednesday.
The title of this post was taken from this book, written by a man with whom I attended elementary school back in the Pleistocene era. A review from Library Journal:
The commonly heard phrase that a writer has “put a lot of himself into the book” is especially apt for describing Schwartz’s six-year journey through Africa and Asia. In that time Schwartz managed to get into the most obscure places imaginable and amazingly get out alive and intact. During much of his odyssey he had little or no money, so he slept on sand, floors, or in parking lots and ate whatever portion of the lo cal fare the natives whose languages he seldom understood tossed his way. The most wonderful thing about the book is the innocence Schwartz preserves despite the dangers. However the locals react to him, Schwartz makes the best of it and continues with his careful observations. He has written a really memorable book about them and himself. Laurence Hull, Stanly Cty. P.L., Albemarle, N.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Found at Shorpy.
Women garage attendants at the Atlantic Refining Company. Photo by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information.
UPDATE: The Dutch police are aware of these scammers. See this post for a letter from the Dutch police secretariat, a way to report correspondence, and their advice (send no money, do nothing).
Business owners beware – the “European Trade Register” scam is still operating. Why these bottom-feeders have not been shut down by the relevant (i.e. Dutch) authorities is beyond me.
Here’s the email I received today (identical to one I got about 4 years ago):
To: My Business
From: “Marta Low” <info@plumzz.com>
Subject: Business Registration Update 2014
Ladies and Gentlemen.
In order to have your company inserted in the registry of World Businesses
for 2013/2014 edition, please print, complete and submit the attached
form (PDF file) to the following address:
European Trade Register
P.O. BOX 3079
3502 GB, Utrecht
The Netherlands
email: register@etr2013.net
fax: +31 20 524-8107
Updating is free of charge!
Pay attention to that “Updating is free of charge” up there – notice it’s repeated in bold on the PDF application form they send you.
What they’re counting on is that many people won’t read that itty-bitty fine print down there, which says (emphasis is mine)
The signing of this document represents the acceptance of the following conditions and the conditions stated in “the terms and conditions for insertion” on web page: http://www.european-traderegister.com.
The signing is legally binding and gives you the right of an insertion in the online database of the european trade register which can be accessed via the internet, and a cd rom with european businesses is granted, all in accordance with the contract conditions stated in “the terms and conditions for insertion” on web page: http://www.european-traderegister.com. The validation time of the contract is three years and starts on the eighth day after signing the contract. The insertion is granted after signing and receiving this document by the service provider. I hereby order a subscription with service provider eu business services ltd “european trade register”. I will have an insertion into its database for three years. The price per year is euro 990. The subscription will be automatically extended every year for another year, unless specific written notice is received by the service provider or the subscriber two months before the expiration of the subscription. Your data will be recorded. The place of jurisdiction in any dispute arising is the service provider’s address. The agreement between the service provider and the subscriber is governed by the conditions stated in “the terms and conditions for insertion” on web page: http://www.european-traderegister.com
So, if you thought you were getting a free entry in a European business database, which is what they want you to think, you will be surprised when you’re invoiced for €990 and have legally obligated yourself to pay it. And, if you’re not careful, your entry will be automatically updated every year (at the reasonable rate of €990) unless you notify them in writing.
If you happen to fall for this, these things will happen:
The solution:
| Column A Europe European World Global |
Column B Company Trade Business |
Column C Directory Register Registry List |
Again, I’m not sure why the Dutch authorities have not come down on these scum-suckers like 16 tons of Gouda – hopefully at some point they will be shut down.
In the meantime, be careful out there.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Shaker barn
Off Maine Street at the crest of a rolling hill, just northwest of New Gloucester, Maine, one finds a tidy settlement of white clapboard houses nestled around a quiet road. If one had not seen the signs, one would not know that this is the last surviving active settlement of Shakers, which now consists of three members. During a recent vacation trip to Maine to visit my wife’s mother and her family there, we spent some time getting to know this peaceful settlement, largely run by a cadre of volunteers known as “Friends of the Shakers,” who help the last members of the order keep their lifestyle going.
Map and key of the Shaker settlement, from the historical landmark website.
Google Earth capture of the Shaker settlement.
The Girl’s Shop
We were taken on an hour-long tour (which seemed all too short, given the amount of things there were to see) by a friendly volunteer; we were able to visit the meetinghouse and the ministry’s shop; had we asked for “Tour B,” we would have seen the Girls’ Shop instead of the ministry’s shop. We’ll have to go back next year and do that one.
Sadly, photography inside the buildings was prohibited, because there were 101,000 wonders that I would have loved to record. But it was fascinating to sit in the meetinghouse where men and women would enter by separate doorways, visit the living quarters of the traveling elders and eldresses who formed the upper levels of Shaker leadership, and see a number of places where they worked at creating simple but extremely beautiful (as well as utilitarian) objects for their daily needs.
We learned of a number of Shaker inventions, among which were those little wobbly casters that people put under school chairs, knowing that folks like to rock back on them; the Shaker version was made of wood, and I’ll be dipped if I know how it was done. We also saw beautiful examples of their handicraft, including cabinetry, chairs, tables, clothing, boxes, pegs for hanging everything on, as well as the functional architecture of their buildings. The books… oh, the books. I would have paid large money to be able to examine some of the volumes that were displayed in desks and cabinets around the buildings.
Volunteers working in the herb garden
The Shaker Library, back view
Shaker Library, front view. With an advance appointment, one can visit this building. Next time.
The Girls’ Shop, front view.
Meetinghouse, built in 1794, and ministry’s workshop.
The Herb Garden
My wife (the Goodwoman of the House) in front of the museum office, which used to be the boys’ shop; exhibit museum on the right, formerly the spinhouse.
After the tour and visiting the museum, we spent (too much) time in the Shaker Store (formerly the Trustees’ Office; the trustees were members of the order who dealt with the outside world and were in charge of temporal matters, and often only associated with the rest of the community during worship services.) We bought some lovely yarn (I’m planning a nice fair-isle hat), some herbs, and a few books.
Much can be learned about the Shaker faith and history at their official website; theirs is a story of quiet faith, diligence, and devotion which has weathered many changes in the world around them. Their motto, “Hands to Work and Hearts to God” has essentially defined their way of life, although it is not their devotion to celibacy that has ultimately fueled their decline, but rather the concept of community over individualism. A well-written article in the September 1989 issue of National Geographic entitled “The Shakers’ Brief Eternity” presents a respectful and intimate look at their history and their present.
This map from the National Geographic article shows past and present Shaker communities; in 1989, there were two dozen members in two working settlements, the one at Canterbury, NH having since ceased operation with the death of its last member, Sister Ethel, in 1992. (Bangor Daily News, Sep 9, 1992). Despite the devotion to God, there was philosophical disagreement between the communities at Canterbury and Sabbathday Lake; a 1988 article from the Los Angeles Times summarizes the essential point of division:
In 1957, after months of prayer, the three Eldresses [of Canterbury] — Gertrude, Emma and Ida — decided to close the covenant to membership.
In the past 10 years, three men and a woman in their 20s and 30s have become residents of the community at Sabbath Day Lake, but Eldress Bertha does not recognize them as members.
“To become a Shaker you have to sign a legal document taking the necessary vows and that document, the official covenant, is locked up in our safe,” she said. “Membership is closed forever.
“We must live true to our faith and must follow what our leaders say. Our leaders decided it was over, done with. It is sad, but Mother Ann predicted that in time you would be able to count the members on the fingers of your two hands and then the Shakers would be no more. This is where we are now. . . .”
There were words; there were actions. For a while, Canterbury cut Sabbathday Lake off from community funding; after negotiations by their respective legal teams, access was restored. The National Geographic article stated,
Canterbury Shakers accept the quiet ending. They believe Shaker values will endure but in different form. Canterbury slowed down decades ago. Sabbathday Lake chooses a more energetic path. There are sheep to be tended, herbs to be dried, a fence to be mended, meals to prepare. Those seriously interested in the life are sometimes invited to try it. Some stay; some don’t.
The author of the National Geographic article related,
The territory separating the two villages is a minefield of hard feelings. I had been cautioned not to mention my Canterbury visit to SabbathdayLake and vice versa. I ignored the advice with predictable results. At Canterbury there had been a silence when I mentioned Sabbathday Lake. It was an unpleasantness to be swept under the table. At Sabbathday the rancor is blunt, the hurt palpable. “They say Sabbathday was always the least of Mother Ann’s children in the East,” Sister Mildred observes.
While Canterbury functioned, the feelings were hard on both sides. Now that Sabbathday Lake is the last remaining community, memories and feelings may endure, but anyone who will is welcome to explore and embrace Shaker life. According to the tour guides there, the community receives somewhere in the area of two inquiries a week. However, the mean age of the three surviving Shakers is 65, and a fourth member left the community some years ago after he fell in love; the way of the “three C’s” – Celibacy, Community Property, and Charity – is not an easy one to follow.
I was delighted to explore the lives and history of these gentle people. I learned that the Shakers invented one of the first perma-press cloths in existence; that their blue wood stain lasts almost forever; that the finials on their chairs are all different, depending on which community made them; that they wove cloth out of fine wood strips to cover their boxes and other artifacts; and that they were skilled in just about every area needed to be self-sufficient. I look forward to my next visit, and hope that I can learn even more about them in the meantime.
What is the future of the Shakers? No one knows, but the last members put their trust in God as their community has always done. In a 2006 article in the Boston Globe, Brother Arnold Hadd is quoted as saying,
“I don’t know the mind of God. However, I do believe that if we live in faith – as we do – that, as we have been called and chosen, there will always be others who will also be called and chosen to this life. So, our intention is that there will be more Shakers.”
A view of Shaker Meeting from 1885. A photographer from the Poland Spring Hotel took this image. The Shakers are seated in the front benches. The spectators and guests from the Poland Spring Hotel are in the back rows. The women’s entrance can be seen at the back; the men’s entrance is just outside the right frame of the photo. In earlier days, a stairway existed at each end of the hall leading to separate living quarters for the traveling elders and eldresses of the ministry. Collection of the United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake, Inc.
Eldress Elizabeth Haskell (left) and Eldress Harriet Goodwin (right) pictured in their fancy goods workroom at the Ministry’s Shop at Sabbathday Lake in 1899. Collection of the United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake, Inc.
Sisters and girls, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, ca. 1902
Pictured from left are, back row, Sisters Clara Stewart, Amanda Stickney, Mamie Curtis, Katherine McTigue, Lizzie Bailey, Laura Bailey, Sarah Fletcher, Jennie Mathers, Ada Cummngs and Claire Chace. In the front row, from left, are Rosamond Drake, Ethel Corcoran, Grace Freeman, unidentified girl, Irene Corcoran, Iona Sedgley, unidentified girl, Emma Soule and Emma Freeman. Although organized as celibate religious communities, Shakers still made provisions for the raising of children. By this time, most of the children who entered the community were orphans. They were placed in either the Girls’ Shop or Boys’ Shop, apart from the adults in the Dwelling House. Caretakers looked after the children, supervising their education, work and play. The group is on the front porch of the Girls’ Shop, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village.
From Maine Memory Network.
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.
“Simple Gifts” was written by Elder Joseph Brackett while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
This “Chinese Curse” is a wish for the recipient to experience trouble and strife. However, it had nothing to do with the Chinese or China, at least not in this form. Robert Kennedy was the one who popularized the saying in Cape Town in 1966, but the original stems from at least 1936, possibly 1929, and refers to “an interesting age.” Read a more detailed treatise here.
Again, not a Chinese proverb; originated rather by Anne Isabella Ritchie, daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray, who wrote,
“He certainly doesn’t practise his precepts, but I suppose the patron meant that if you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour; if you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn.”
More details at The Phrase Finder
Nobody seems to know where this old saw comes from. Quote Investigator has some ideas, but one thing’s for certain – it’s not an “Ancient Chinese Proverb.”
老狼說。
I’ve been out of town for a week and have not had regular computer access. But here’s a preview of some things to come.
On fire from the top down. Color was at its peak in the north and west, but just beginning to show in the south and east; still got to see some beautiful displays, though. More to come soon.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
This needed to be said. This needs to be shared.
Iran passes new bill that lets men marry adopted daughters
Within the same month as the news told of an eight year old girl in Yemen died from internal injuries sustained from being forced to perform her “marital duties” to her 40 year old husband on her wedding night, a man five times her own age, the lawmakers of Iran cough up a bill that will allow men to marry their adopted daughters from as early as the age of 13.
“Officials in Iran have tried to play down the sexual part of such marriages, saying it is in the bill to solve the issue of hijab [head scarf] complications when a child is adopted.
“An adopted daughter is expected to wear the hijab in front of her father, and a mother should wear it in front of her adopted son if he is old enough.”
This is the…
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The below opinion was posted on Facebook by Ezra Horne. It is reposted here by permission. The point is to look carefully at the knee-jerk response, because it may just be counter-productive. Consider all the factors, and think first.
WARNING: Long unpopular rant about the remarks by CEO of Barilla Pasta:
“[Guido Barilla] added: “Everyone has the right to do what they want without disturbing those around them””
I translated this article in google, but it shows his statements in context a lot better than the media here.
“”Okay, if they like our pasta and our communication, then eat, or eat another pasta. One can not always please everyone. ” “I respect everyone” – adds Barilla – “do what they want without disturbing others. I am also in favor of gay marriage, but no gay adoption for a family. From the father of several children I think it is very complex to raise up the children in a same-sex couple. “”
I think the LGBT community loses credibility with these fights. We can express our disapproval and even boycott, but constantly calling for boycotts on everything is ridiculous. You could boycott Barilla, but how do you know that some other CEO for some other pasta brand doesn’t have the same opinion but is smart enough to lie when asked? Or that the checkout girl or the manager of the super market doesn’t approve of gay marriage personally, but isn’t actively fighting it. By encouraging this “groupthink” we are basically sending the message that it’s not even okay to intellectually disagree with us. It’s pretty 1984 if you ask me. When you punish honesty, however hard to hear, you encourage people to lie, and lying will make the progress we’re trying to make a lot harder, as we will think we have more support than we really do.
Maybe the guy IS actively fighting gay rights, but during another part of the interview, he says that is okay with gay marriage, just not gay adoption. So I predict this guy’s opinion of gays is going to actually get WORSE.
Why not get Dan Savage to invite him for a Pasta Dinner to show him gay families are healthy, normal and stable? Help him see why he should be more supportive, not lash out at a guy who is not really “antigay” but has a perception that women are central to the family, (as MANY people do) and needs help seeing how it can be done.
I am not boycotting this brand. I understand if you do, but it’s a good product at a price point I can afford, and the man doesn’t hate gay people, he just has an opinion which needs to be changed.
A boycott is just going to make him lie, say he’s changed his mind to save sales, and then teach his children about how the gays BULLIED him with hate speech even though he just shared an unpopular opinion. So you pick the outcome you’d prefer.
Over at reddit, a user posted a question under the heading “Atheist looking for knowledge in light of the horrible events in Kenya.” A user named /u/Alienm00se responded with a very clear and cogent look at the extremist mentality, one I wish were shared openly by more members of the Muslim faith. It’s worth repeating, so I share it here.
First; you need to understand the extremist mentality. This is simultaneously independent of any single, and inclusive of any and all religious (Christian/Muslim/Jew ), socioeconomic ( Communist/ Capitalist ) and political beliefs ( White Supremacist Conservative/Eco-terror Liberal ). The extremist believes that their way of life, the circumstances in which they grew up, are the only righteous/fair/proper way to live and believes this with such fervor that they are offended merely by the existence of other lifestyles and points of view.
Now (thank God), most religious, socioeconomic and political beliefs do not claim this extremist view, and in fact preach against extremism in favor of tolerance of – if polite disagreement with – other points of view. The extremist must therefore seek twist the belief system in order to make it seem as though its original intent was to promote the destruction of other points of view.
Extremists in Islam, admittedly, perhaps have an easier time with corruption this than other groups, because Islam itself was born in a rebellion of sorts against the ruling pagans of the city of Mecca – the Qurayish. In an effort to liberate themselves from Qurayish rule, and to guarantee their right to freedom of religion and speech, the early muslims fought a revolution against the Meccans for many years; and both the Prophet Muhammad and the Holy Qu’ran give lessons on the rules of war to guarantee that the Muslims did not lose their humanity whilst fighting for freedom.
The Islamic rules of warfare are as follows:
- “Fight in the name of your religion with those who fight against you.” (read; for self-defense only)
- “And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers.”
- “Permission to take up arms is hereby given to those who are attacked because they have been oppressed – Allah indeed has power to grant them victory – those who have been unjustly driven from their homes, only because they said: “Our Lord is Allah”.
Explicitly forbidden is:
- Murder of women and children, old men, monks, peasants, employees and traders who are not engaged in the battle.
- Fighting during months that are sacred to the muslims and to their enemy.
- Fighting solely to make the enemy muslim; “There is no compulsion in religion. The right way has become distinct from error.” , “But if the enemies incline towards peace, do you also incline towards peace. And trust in God! For He is the one who hears and knows all things.” , “Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! God loveth not aggressors.”
- Disturbing the peace of civillians: “‘Anyone who disturbs free passage in the streets and renders them unsafe to travel, striving to spread corruption in the land by taking money, killing people or violating what God has made it unlawful to violate is guilty . . .”
- Sneak Attacks – Muhammad (saw) mandated that 4 months notice be given before an attack.
- Any violence that is not absolutely essential to one’s survival; ““Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong (even) if they do evil.” , “And do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness.”
- Cutting off water to an enemy population
- Depriving them of food by destroying crops/livestock; “I instruct you in ten matters: Do not kill women, children, the old, or the infirm; do not cut down fruit-bearing trees; do not destroy any town…”
- Mistreatment of the enemy’s body while living (torture) or dead (mutilation)
CLEARLY – Terrorist attacks of any kind, including the atrocious massacre in Kenya, goes directly opposed to all muslim teachings; including and especially laws governing war because the terrorists:
- Killed innocent men, women, the old and children and
- Did so in an unprovoked sneak attack that
- Disturbed free passage of the streets for the purpose of
- Attacking people for not being muslims to make non-muslims fear for their lives because
- They were filled with hate so strong it prevented them from being just and righteous human beings
Obviously, many religions do not have any rules regarding warfare, so as stated above the arguments made by other extremists are intellectual, rather than having the ability to point to scriptural mentions of war. However, these laws regarding warfare lead to many lives being saved and the reputation of the Muslim army as good and honorable in its time. For example, when the Christian armies took Jerusalem during the Crusades, they murdered every muslim or jewish man, woman and child in the city. Despite this fact, when the Muslims came to re-conquer the city, Saladin allowed even the surrendered soldiers to leave peacfully with their families, despite the earlier massacre, and allowed christians and jews to visit the city for pilgrimage. Despite their claims to the contrary – today’s Mujihadeen are nothing like the early Islamic warriors.
Finally; The Qur’an assures Christians and Jews of paradise if they believe and do good works, and commends Christians as the best friends of Muslims. I wrote elsewhere, “Dangerous falsehoods are being promulgated to the American public. The Quran does not preach violence against Christians.
Quran 5:69 says (Arberry): “Surely they that believe, and those of Jewry, and the Christians, and those Sabeaans, whoso believes in God and the Last Day, and works righteousness–their wage waits them with their Lord, and no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow.”In other words, the Quran promises Christians and Jews along with Muslims that if they have faith and works, they need have no fear in the afterlife. It is not saying that non-Muslims go to hell– quite the opposite.
When speaking of the 7th-century situation in the Muslim city-state of Medina, which was at war with pagan Mecca, the Quran notes that the polytheists and some Arabian Jewish tribes were opposed to Islam, but then goes on to say:
5:82. ” . . . and you will find the nearest in love to the believers [Muslims] those who say: ‘We are Christians.’ That is because amongst them are priests and monks, and they are not proud.”So the Quran not only does not urge Muslims to commit violence against Christians, it calls them “nearest in love” to the Muslims! The reason given is their piety, their ability to produce holy persons dedicated to God, and their lack of overweening pride.
The actions of the extremists on rampage killings in Kenya are no more loved by us Muslims than any of the school, temple, workplace, mall, parking lot, or movie theater mass shootings are loved by Americans, and we condemn and despise them for their actions every bit as much as you do.
Asalaamu Alaykum!
The doctrinal differences in belief systems in this context is irrelevant. Neither Christianity nor Islam is practiced perfectly by imperfect people. But hearing a declaration of this nature from a practicing Muslim goes a long way toward reassuring me that Islam is a religion of peace, at least with respect to their non-Muslim neighbors, and those who are guilty of extremist violence are defiling the very faith they claim to honor.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Playing in the World Game 