What Makes People Tick?

Some quotes by the amazing and inspiring Yoko Ono. Dear Yoko,  You make me want to be a better person.  Thank you for being you. “War is over if you want it.” “ You change the world by being yourself.” “A dream you dream alone is only a dream.  A dream you dream together is reality.” “Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world.  Just start thinking peace, and the message will spread quicker than you think.”

Vox.com presents an interesting article with 40 maps that show the start and spread of the internet. It looks like it all started in America, spreading from there to Europe and beyond. Reading this article made me wonder - didn't Dan Brown once write that the internet started at CERN? (Or some part of the technology that makes the internet possible anyway... Heck, it was a long, long time ago that I read his books...) "The internet increasingly pervades our lives, delivering information to us no matter where we are. It takes a complex system of cables, servers, towers, and other infrastructure, developed over decades, to allow us to stay in touch with our friends and family so effortlessly. Here are 40 maps that will help you better understand the internet — where it came from, how it works, and how it's used by people around the world." Source:  40 maps that explain the internet , Vox.com Maps 14 and 15 shows domain names around the world. The first map shows E...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Middle East this week. He met Israeli Prime-Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and gave a speech on Tuesday 22 July 2014 from Tel Aviv, Israel. It gladdens me that the United Nations fully support Israel's right to protect itself. It gladdens me to see that the UN condemns the use of their facilities for terrorist purposes. It gladdens me to see that the UN, unlike so many people I hear from and speak to these days, seem to care about both sides instead of praising one side and condemning the other. "My message to Israelis and Palestinians is the same: Stop fighting. Start talking. And take on the root causes of the conflict, so we are not back to the same situation in another six months or a year." Source: Ban Ki-moon's speeches: Remarks at press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu , United Nations News Centre

Many years have passed since 1948 and whether one likes it or not (I'm looking at you, Hamas!), the State of Israel is an established fact. The only way to remove the State of Israel is to wipe every last bit of it off the map entirely, which would equate to the mass genocide of millions of innocent people. Seeing the world already tried that 'solution' some seventy-odd years ago, let's try building bridges this time instead of fences. Just as the State of Israel is an established fact, so are the Palestinian people in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank and their aspirations for a united Palestinian state. Just as the horrors of the Holocaust must always be remembered so that we will never repeat such crimes against humanity, so too must the Palestinian people find a way to live without feeling like refugees, safe and secure, in a place they can call their own, in a land that they call their own. It is time that Israelis and Palestinians realise that they can keep fight...

Source :  The Happy Nomads -  Rainy Day Hikes and Emily the Cow “War is over ... If you want it.” ― John Lennon Dreaming of peace is easy. Working towards achieving peace -- true and lasting global peace based on respect for all of humanity and all living things, mutual understanding between peoples and common goals the world over -- is a lot harder than just dreaming of it. Yet peace is something worth dreaming of and also worth fighting for, or rather - It is something worth struggling for, worth working towards and worth supporting unconditionally. “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.” ― John Lennon True . Sad but true. Perhaps more true today than it was when John Lennon lived, over thirty years ago. Imagine if, instead of demanding things like television sets, mobile phones and music players we start demanding justice, equality, understanding, cooperation, liberty, religious freedom and peace for a...

The Guardian reported yesterday (25 May 2014) that the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, Pope Francis, visited the security barrier separating Israel from Palestine at Bethlehem to speak and pray there. "It is an image that will define Pope Francis's first official visit to the Holy Land. Head bowed in prayer, the leader of the Catholic church pressed his palm against the graffiti-covered concrete of Israel's imposing "separation wall", a Palestinian girl holding a flag by his side. It was, as his aides conceded later, a silent statement against a symbol of division and conflict." Source :  Pope Francis offers prayers at Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem The Guardian

An interesting article from The Algemeiner looking at the Israeli - Palestinian conflict and how the (fight for the) establishment of a Palestinian state is viewed by Arab nations. A quote from the article to give you an idea of why I find it interesting: "Ignoring reality, Western policy makers consider the Palestinian issue the crown jewel of Arab policy-making, the core cause of Middle Eastern developments and the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict. An erroneous underlying, Palestinian-driven assumption has produced an erroneous policy, radicalizing Arab and Palestinian expectations, fueling terrorism and inherent Middle Eastern instability, distancing the parties from peace and bringing them closer to war, and undermining Western national security and vital economic interests." A Palestinian State - Not a Priority , The Algemeiner Writer: Yoram Ettinger; Dated 23 May 2014. Article originally published by Israel Hayom

"Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one"