Landschlacht, Switzerland, St. Patrick’s Day 2017 I am a Turkey watcher. I have twice visited this beautiful country and I have rarely met a Turk I haven`t liked. I began to talk about Turkey in this blog, because of the event that began 2017: the ISIS attack on a nightclub in Istanbul. Above: The Reina restaurant/nightclub,… Continue reading The rise of Recep
Big Yellow Taxi
Landschlacht, Switzerland, Ides of March 2017 These are interesting times we live in, where nothing seems as certain as it once was. Uncertainty as to whether foreign governments can determine other national elections… Increased irrationality and xenophobia and hate crimes against folks whose only offence is the appearance of being different… Wars that never end,… Continue reading Big Yellow Taxi
A Revolution of One: The Power of Passion
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 14 March 2017 Pick up a newspaper. Read a book. Explore the Internet. And the thinking man is left with one conclusion… There is much that is wrong in the world: disease, division, war, terror, discrimination, denied opportunities, environmental degradation and pollution, a scarcity of water, unequal distribution of resources, hunger and starvation,… Continue reading A Revolution of One: The Power of Passion
Slave to the Machine / One Flew Over the Internet
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 12 March 2017 I like Facebook. There I said it. I like the variety of news items that appear, the exchange of ideas, the casual contact with friends and family close or far away, and I find Facebook gives me a forum to share my thoughts. But a few days ago I began to notice… Continue reading Slave to the Machine / One Flew Over the Internet
Deserving democracy?
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 9 March 2017 As a Canadian who grew up exposed to American culture, and now as an expat with a fair number of American friends, the US remains for me what Allan Fotheringham called “the Excited States of America”. Above: Allan Fotheringham and his wife Anne For Americans always seem overly agitated by everything.… Continue reading Deserving democracy?
Behind the veil: Islam(ophobia) for dummies
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 1 March 2017 There are moments when the well runs dry, the fire is out, the spirit extinguished. Moments when I look at this blank screen and ask myself: What should I write about? Regular readers of my blog (both of them?!) patiently wait for some blog series to continue and/or conclude –… Continue reading Behind the veil: Islam(ophobia) for dummies
Bleeding Beautiful
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 28 February 2017 There are friends and stories that remain in the back of your mind that sometimes require some dramatic moment to have their memory come rushing to your forethoughts. Such is the case of my Indian friend Sumit, originally of Orissa Province, India, and now Canadian resident of Ontario. I have known… Continue reading Bleeding Beautiful
Just another day?
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 24 February 2017 Perhaps all of this is none of my business. Perhaps I should just quietly go about my life ignoring the world around me. What does one man’s opinion matter, especially if that man lacks wealth, power or fame? I believe that no man is an island, that each man is… Continue reading Just another day?
Snowbirds
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 22 February 2017 In pauper’s fields the daisies grow There are no crosses, sadly, no To mark the place beneath the sky There is no singing from up high Scarce heard beneath the ground below These pauper’s fields. We are the dead, some time ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow Loved… Continue reading Snowbirds
The great adventure
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 21 February 2017 Sometimes words flow out of you, rushing and pouring out of your heart and soul like a waterfall that can´t be stopped. Other times ideas and thoughts trickle down into words upon a screen like a desiccated desert drain from which only gasping drops remain. And then there are moments when… Continue reading The great adventure