2023 Quotes

If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But, if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.

Culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves.

It must be most dangerous then to be a man. It is indeed, madame, and but few survive it. ― Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon (Zinc Read, February 21, 2023) Originally publishedJanuary 1, 1932

stocks of companies selling commodity-like products should come with a warning label: “Competition may prove hazardous to human wealth.

But then it dawned on me that the opinion of someone who is always wrong has its own special utility to decision-makers.

Our role here on earth is not simply to maximize the advantage in our lives. It’s to maximize (protect, regenerate) all of life. We are here not just to make sure we as individuals survive, but to make sure that life survives; not to chase clout, but to chase life.” — Naomi Klein, Doppelgänger: a Trip into the Mirror World (2023)

Many shall be restored that now are fallen and many shall fall that are now in honor.

If your employees, including your CEO, wish to give to their alma maters or other institutions to which they feel a personal attachment, we believe they should use their own money, not yours.

our experience with newly-minted MBAs has not been that great. Their academic records always look terrific and the candidates always know just what to say; but too often they are short on personal commitment to the company and general business savvy. It’s difficult to teach a new dog old tricks.

The C part is in here and it wants to play. Do you want to see it? Or are you going to pussy out on me again?" This quote is taken from "As Easy As ABC", written in 2014, scheduled to be included in the as yet unpublished 3rd book of the Killing Time Legacy Series (expected c.2023).

The bird carried me inside his song. It was so beautiful that I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and tried to embrace it, the bird, and when I did, I put my arms around you.

May 2023 be a year of new beginnings and not of recycled endings...a blessing tree of of new beginnings and unopened chapters waiting to be written.

What are we talking about in 2023? We are talking about our shared grief. We are talking about our collective gratitude.

Vampires are not real, even in 2023. So far, anyway. Though if you’d put it on my bingo card for 2020, I might have bought it.

What I’m praying is that you will choose those beautiful possibilities over any self-annihilating alternatives. My whole life on earth has been the weaving of a single powerful spell. The best part of all my magic was loving you.” (as spoken by the character Valerie Hyerman)

There is no tougher job in corporate America than running an airline: Despite the huge amounts of equity capital that have been injected into it, the industry, in aggregate, has posted a net loss since its birth after Kitty Hawk. Airline managers need brains, guts, and experience—and

Talking to Time Magazine a few years back, Peter Drucker got to the heart of things: “I will tell you a secret: Dealmaking beats working. Dealmaking is exciting and fun, and working is grubby. Running anything is primarily an enormous amount of grubby detail work . . . dealmaking is romantic, sexy. That’s why you have deals that make no sense.

February Soup by Stewart Stafford The February fog, Turns all into blobs, Orange street lights, To Valentine's Night. When the wind strays, Fog's mantle is grey, Laying misty bouquets, On barren, muddied days. The daffodils of March, Can cheer up Plutarch, Adorned in Kelly green, No sign of foggy screens. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

(Don’t ask the barber whether you need a haircut.)

Charlie’s dictum: “All I want to know is where I’m going to die so I’ll never go there.

Am Israel chai, the people of Israel are still alive, and they will exist, and they will always exist - no matter how many times they try to destroy us. We will always stay here.

If I must die, you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze– and bid no one farewell not even to his flesh not even to himself– sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above and thinks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love If I must die let it bring hope let it be a tale

In 2023, as I write this, librarians in America are on the front lines of the culture war. Censorship is at an all-time high. According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, “a record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship in 2022, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021.” This is the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than twenty years ago.

Despite our policy of candor, we will discuss our activities in marketable securities only to the extent legally required. Good investment ideas are rare, valuable and subject to competitive appropriation just as good product or business acquisition ideas are.

A line from Bobby Bare’s country song explains what too often happens with acquisitions: “I’ve never gone to bed with an ugly woman, but I’ve sure woke up with a few.

A new year is to hide the old scar by hoping to heal the new ones...

Live well and read correctly.

I want my authors to believe fully in the worlds they create, and I want their belief to generate my belief in turn.

Oggi, 31 dicembre 2023, ho scelto un buon proposito da realizzare nell'anno che verrà .... No, non si tratta di qualcosa di irrealizzabile come mettersi a dieta e andare in palestra

Alas, my “fiddle playing” will not get me to Carnegie Hall — or even to a high school recital. Berkshire, on your behalf and mine, will send the Treasury $3.3 billion for tax on its 2003 income, a sum equaling 2½% of the total income tax paid by all U.S. corporations in fiscal 2003.

CNN and Fox news are not divided over Trump. They are united in dividing the American people through him. [From “The Trump Age: Critical Questions” published on CounterPunch on June 23, 2023]

Five-Year,” a term given to cash minted before 2023. That was the last year cash was produced without embedded chips that could trace every use of the currency as if it was a debit or credit card.

A Cephalopod Wish by Stewart Stafford O, to be an Octopus, Sporting three hearts, Two that won't break, To go on and love more. O, to have its nine brains, To spread a migraine load, Fogless coordinates clear, A tower fire, now contained. O, to have a boneless form, A body fitted to life problems, Not ail from a tumour's grasp, Flee to safety in inky clouds. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved

There would be no 'quiet quitting' if people didn’t feel that they are being quietly marginalized and bullied in the first place. [From “On the Great Resignation” published on CounterPunch on February 24, 2023]

We Close In Fifteen Minutes by Stewart Stafford Found myself the only taker, Of a minefield guided tour, Through no man's land life, Every exit is now invisible. Stardom magnified my flaws, A broken man lost in a maze, A deadly structure's hostage, A hermit in denial's labyrinth. Glimpse dwindling fragments, In the looking glass of hubris, Flounder in glossy quicksand, The solutions devoured whole. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

From this irritating reality comes The First Law of Corporate Survival for ambitious CEOs who pile on leverage and run large and unfathomable derivatives books: Modest incompetence simply won’t do; it’s mindboggling screw-ups that are required.

The emerging medical research into treating Long COVID in 2023 was matching my research into treating the long-term effects of altitude sickness that I published in my 2022 books. Amino acids appear to be key in treating both hypoxic conditions.

and most especially the opportunity to hug our loved ones wherever we want, whenever we want. We honor the ones we have lost. What are we talking about in 2023? We are talking about our shared grief. We are talking about our collective gratitude.

The Atlantean Road by Stewart Stafford A snake of stones beneath the waters Soldiers march past spectral daughters Phantom travellers To work or home Atlantean lives replay in foam The water drowned out extinct times Of joy and war Of love and crime The divers rapt by sound immemorial Echoes entombed Sweet voices choral The flame of Erasmus and barking sounds Of canine guards and strangers found The road roused from silent sleep To tell explorers how ancients weep © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

For white Americans (whiteness itself a societal construct that has changed in it definition over time), this new national holiday of Juneteenth, this day off from work, should be like an American Yom Kippur, a Day of Atonement, a day of reflection, a day to keep learning more about how we have failed as a society to live up to our ideals, and what we as individuals can do to make it better, more real, closer to our vision of justice and liberty, a vision that our founding forefathers could not even imagine. 'Do better' should be what all who carry any kind of privilege in this society should say to ourselves and to each other - what can we do, what can you do, to 'do better'?

students need only two well-taught courses—How to Value a Business, and How to Think About Market Prices. Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily-understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, ten and twenty years from now. Over time, you will find only a few companies that meet these standards—so when you see one that qualifies, you should buy a meaningful amount of stock. You must also resist the temptation to stray from your guidelines: If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes. Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio’s market value. Though it’s seldom recognized, this is the exact approach

Straw" I still keep the last straw I picked from the harvested wheat field near my home before the war forced me out… I have the straw framed and take it with me everywhere I go… And when asked about it, I tell people: It is the straw that broke my back… [Published on April 7, 2023 on CounterPunch.org]

When Mercury is retrograde, stay flexible, allow more time for travel, and don’t sign contracts. Review projects and plans but wait until Mercury is direct again to make final decisions. In 2022, Mercury will be retrograde during January 13–February 3, May 10–June 2, September 9–October 1, and December 28–(January 18, 2023).

being an asshole doesn't make you seem like a rock star--it just makes you seem like an asshole.

Your heart is like a divine machine. With this machine, you put in God's name and you reap God's Light from it.

You shall not find God through physical worship but through the passage of an enlightened heart.

You will only hurt and harm others when you are spiritually, emotionally and morally dead.

The best among all is one who possesses God's love no matter what religion he belongs to.

The Lord wants you to look at yourself from His perspective. He sees so much beauty in you, more than you can see when you look at yourself.

Travelling broadens the mind

The real you is not your body. The real you is your soul.

Train yourself to only think about things that you wouldn't mind sharing if someone were to suddenly ask you what you're thinking.

The world is in constant flux, and life is a matter of perception.

Etes-vous là ou n'y êtes-vous pas ? Si vous y êtes, n'y soyez plus ; si vous n'y êtes, je n'ai que dire.

The happiness of life lies in thoroughly understanding the true nature of everything: what it's made of, and what its form is.

Consider how small a portion of vast and infinite eternity is allotted to each of us, and how quickly it disappears into the general age of the world.

don't regard anything else in the world as important except this: to do only what your own nature requires and to conform to what common nature provides.

The great blot on his name, and one hard indeed to explain, is his treatment of the Christians.

Not only does one act unjustly by doing certain things, but also by not doing certain things. Inaction, too, can be a form of injustice.

If queen can name himself queen, why can't I be a king?

carefully examine your motives in everything you do.

The goal of a rational constitution is to act thoughtfully, be kind to others, and willingly submit to the gods.

Remember, a person can only truly live in the present moment.

Remember, everything comes either directly from God, from a chain of events, or from coincidence.

Without a connection to God, you will never succeed in any worldly actions; nor will you succeed in any divine actions without some consideration of human affairs.

Why then should it be painful to you if nature, which brought you into the world, now sends you out of it? It's like a director kindly dismissing an actor from the stage after a while.

... Just because someone doesn't ask for help doesn't mean they don't want it or need it. Particularly women. Women are so used to coping that sometimes they don't even realize there's another way...

finding a place to hide during the day while I search for another job. Not easy, considering that it’s still August in New Jersey, and that free places with AC and Wi-Fi are not common enough in the year of our Lord 2023. I find myself rediscovering the Paterson Public Library: it’s changed very little since I was seven, and welcomes me and my battered laptop to its underfunded bosom. God bless libraries.

Black Widow by Stewart Stafford She blinds me with her caress. Hand upon my chest, Venom kisses like snake bites ecstatic and unbecoming night. She drags me to her tomb, graveyard of many a groom, Lovers wrapped in silken lace, In webs of death, find their place. Creeping dawn on morn, Frostbitten and reborn, Clinging on so tight, Her kiss, the shroud of night. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

It is more important to look holistically at the root of why anyone would want to avoid work so badly that they’d game the system and leave the workforce altogether. When work is fulfilling, dignifying, respects our skills and nourishes our talents and souls, it becomes a pleasure not a burden; something we would look for not run away from. [From “On the Great Resignation” published on CounterPunch on February 24, 2023]

The Lucky Looking Glass by Stewart Stafford Woken from a nightmare, He walked to his bathroom, Treading on a hand mirror, Breaking it, to his horror. Payback of a reflection dodged, With a lifespan of scars healed, Dark energies bilaterally wiped, A poisonous duo counterbalanced. From then on, Plutus's grin shone, A Midas touch with an off switch, Winning streaks of a Texan width, Cracked mirror coffin for the next life. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

The truce was over; the walls were up; they had reminded her why she'd abandoned them, which was that she could never really, properly, be one of them. And Letty, if she could not belong to a place, would rather tear the whole thing down.

The Daily Grind by Stewart Stafford Crooked broker flashes teeth, Cannibal flesh on their napkin, The traffic jam zombie shuffle, Stars, take me home quickly. Follow the screaming off a cliff, Panic echoes as the land recoils, Sea spray whipping up at you fast, Splash down into drowning lessons. See a shark fin’s scything slash, Fangs picked clean with a toothpick, Dark eyes wander to exposed midriff, Chomp, and all the problems cease. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

The Wretched Rulers of Freiland by Stewart Stafford A two-faced mirror, vainly warm, A beauteous sheen to a swinish form, Bloated with gold and wanton pride, As cormorants in cuckoo nests, they hide. They gorge on fabrication, binge on strife, Parasites living off another life, Suckers draining every dream, Like leeches in a poisoned stream. Shells crack, the rotten egg cabal; The bonfire of inanities banal, Power loosened in a fading grip, Fleeing the wake of freedom's ship. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

The fact that Fox news condones or glorifies Trump’s deeds or those of his supporters, while CNN supposedly bashes him or his supporters doesn’t necessarily indicate that these two channels, both controlled by the wealthy, are divided on Trump. It is more an indication that their coverage of him and his supporters is for the purpose of keeping the American people fighting with each other instead of together against the wealthy and the powerful. [From “The Trump Age: Critical Questions” published on CounterPunch on June 23, 2023]

Cowards want to cancel, change and delete history because It offends them. Heroes want to learn from history so that we never let it happen again. Be a hero. Stop bending to the will of the cowards. History is what it is, accept. It and use it to make the future better.

He also realized that success in the field of artificial intelligence would come from having access to huge amounts of real-world data that the bots could learn from. One such gold mine, he realized at the time, was Tesla, which collected millions of frames of video each day of drivers handling different situations. “Probably Tesla will have more real-world data than any other company in the world,” he said. Another trove of data, he would later come to realize, was Twitter, which by 2023 was processing 500 million posts per day from humans.

The Cliffs Of Consolation by Stewart Stafford Don't fall meekly off Life's precipice, With Death stamping on weak fingers, Cling on, scream, fight the inevitable, For gravity’s jury's karmic reprieve. Souls crash in the surf beneath, The perennial tide of plankton orbs, In effervescent flows above the bluff, Doves flying back when the flood's over. If beyond salvation, down you plunge, Assuage yourself with lifetime efforts, All is pardoned, wiped clean in death, A phoenix risen from bodily constraints. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

The ideal set before each was nominally much the same. The Stoics aspired to ἁπάθεια, the repression of all emotion, and the Epicureans to ἀταραξία, freedom from all disturbance; yet in the upshot the one has become a synonym of stubborn endurance, the other for unbridled licence.

Are you Afraid of Sadness?" In an old interview with a famous and talented Iraqi actress, the interviewer asked her: “Why are you afraid of sadness?” The actress responded: “I am afraid of it because it quickly takes you to a place from which you can never return.” And exactly as she was answering, an insightful viewer could notice a sadness on her face indicating that the famous and talented actress herself wasn’t really present in the interview for sadness had long taken her with no return… [Original poem published in Arabic on November 19, 2023 at ahewar.org]

Jedha. The Holy City was a sight to behold, a beacon of faith for the entire galaxy, sacred to… well, sacred to just about everyone. Above all, Jedha was a haven. A sanctuary. It was a place to retreat, to reflect and renew. A place where you could discover who you truly were… and who you could become.

He raised her, and smiled with such kindness and affection that I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature: they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I have never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food; and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear these emotions.

أتأمّل كافّة العلاقات الإنسانية التي مررتُ بها، بكافة أشكالها وطبيعتها لأجدَهَا أنّها بشكلٍ أو بآخر أتتت لتعلّمنِي معنى التوازن وتوصلنِي إليه داخليًا .. جميع التفاعلات الإنسانية بيننا وبين الآخرين لو ننتبع مسارهَا في الأخير سنجدهَا تأتِي لتسير في هذا المسار لو تعلّم الإنسان الإستفادة من الناس في حياته ومراقبة ذاته، مراقبة متفحصة للمشاعر والأفكار والسلوك .. سنجدُ أنها تأتِي لتعزّز صفة حسنة فينا، أو تُظهر عيبًا خفى عنّا، أو تُصلحَ شعورًا فينا، أو تجعلنا نُبصر ذواتنا بالصورة الصحيحة .. إن الأشخاص المتطرفون، الذين يبالغون في مدحنا أو ذمّنا وإظهار عيوبنا هُم في الحقيقة يدفعوننا للتساؤل بصدق إن كنّا كذلك أم لا، وبعد تلك الرحلة من التساؤل نجدُ أننا شكلنا صورة صحيحة عن أنفسنا .. إن الذينَ يُثيرونَ في صدورنَا مشاعر الغضب، والقلق، والشك والريبة يجعلوننا أمام رحلة البحث عن أسباب هذه المشاعر والبحث عن جذورها، فنتعلّم بذلك ضبط انفعالاتنا، فتخفّ فينَا الانفعالات غير الطبيعية .. إنّ الذين يستغلّوننا بشكل أو بآخر، يعلّموننا كيف نرسمُ حدودنَا فلا يتخطّاها أحد إلا بإرادتنا .. لو نجلسْ ونتأمل عن قرب أثر العلاقات التي مرّت بنا، إمّا كانت سعيدة أو مؤلمة، مثمرة، أو أدت بنا إلى الخسائر، هِي كلّها أتتْ لتسير بنا نحو عمق آخر من معرفة الذات، وكشفت لنا عن سبيل آخر للإصلاح .. ولكنْ ذلك لا يحدث إلا عندَما تُفتح عين البصيرة ويبدأ الإنسان بالتساؤل : كيف ولم وماذا لو .. ؟ وكيف يمكنني أن أستفيد من الذين مرّوا بي ومررتُ بهم. 7.10.2023

The House of the Seven Gables (Nathaniel Hawthorne) - La tua evidenziazione a pagina 37 | posizione 567-571 | Aggiunto in data venerdì 17 marzo 2023 11:52:39 Nevertheless, if we look through all the heroic fortunes of mankind, we shall find this same entanglement of something mean and trivial with whatever is noblest in joy or sorrow. Life is made up of marble and mud. And, without all the deeper trust in a comprehensive sympathy above us, we might hence be led to suspect the insult of a sneer, as well as an immitigable frown, on the iron countenance of fate. What is called poetic insight is the gift of discerning, in this sphere of strangely mingled elements, the beauty and the majesty which are compelled to assume a garb so sordid.

My love goes out to every woman; the lovers, the doers, the caregivers, the rebels, the leaders, the builders, silent movers, and more! You give being a woman a huge difference. A beautiful meaning. Thank you for becoming all without reserve. Most importantly, thanks for being many layers on many weather, and thanks for refusing to be defined by standards that don't sing your praises enough!

I sat on the edge of my bed for a minute. Then, just like she’d told me to do, I opened my curtains. The sky was blue, and the windows of my apartment were in the right direction to get morning sunshine. I started my coffee, then went to open Twitter to read while it brewed. A pop-up message appeared instead: Don’t read Twitter. Here is a link to the Abelique discussion board community for artists.

We should think of others not as objects to be used, or annoying people in the way of realizing our projects, but rather as those whom we are called to serve. Instead of saying, “Why is this annoying person in my way?” we should ask, “What opportunity for evangelization has presented itself?” Has God put this person in your life precisely for this purpose? Reflect: How are evangelization and love connected?

I do wish, however, that Ms. Olson would give me some credit for the progress I’ve already made. In 1944, I filed my first 1040, reporting my income as a thirteen-year-old newspaper carrier. The return covered three pages. After I claimed the appropriate business deductions, such as $35 for a bicycle, my tax bill was $7. I sent my check to the Treasury and it — without comment — promptly cashed it. We lived in peace.

As for the gods, either they have power or they don't. If they don't, why pray to them? If they do, why not ask them to help you overcome fear, desire, and pain, instead of praying for specific outcomes? If the gods help us with what's within our control, why not pray for strength in these areas? Instead of wishing for external things, pray for internal strength and resilience. Redirect your prayers to seeking personal growth and understanding, and see the difference it makes.

Redrum by Stewart Stafford A Winter's tale of horrors profound, The haunted hotel's dark tapestry, Supreme isolation's moonscape snowbound, A father gripped by homicidal history. He sought to write, heal, absolve sins, Overlooked the hotel’s Redrum plans, Vomiting up daymares of phantom twins, His mind possessed by unseen hands. Room Two Three Seven, malevolent, Forbidden to enter its dark hole, Where ageless ladies bathed decadent, Luring caretakers to an adulterer's role. His wife and son sensed the danger, A bloody elevator with nowhere to run, A father's warpath with axe and anger, He became the monster, the devil's son. It might horrify 42 ways from Sunday, Only his shining son grasped the fact, May as well be across the galaxy, As in a labyrinth with that maniac. He failed to kill, he froze, met his fate, The hotel consumed his spirit as its own, Purgatorial torture in damnation's bait, He smiled in the photo, eternally alone. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

[I]f we objected to any blanket statements that would portray Black people in a certain way, or statements that insinuate that any Muslim is potentially violent or a terrorist, or that queer people are pedophiles, why aren’t we using the same basic critical tool to reject the assumption that being white necessarily makes one privileged or racist? Why are we not using another basic critical tool by asking yet another important question: what percentage of white people is extremely wealthy and privileged, and how/why it is problematic to put all whites in one basket as it would be if we do to any other group of people? Anyone who has traveled through the poor parts of white America, places like West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and many others that I have personally visited and observed, will know that there is a big percentage of white people who are, in some cases, as poor as newly arrived undocumented immigrants. [From “The Trump Age: Critical Questions” published on CounterPunch on June 23, 2023]

prerelease: Snuggie Bobo grew up in the rural Midwest, but soon became enticed with running the streets of the hood. It became an area to be conquered by all means necessary! This, of course, led to a long stay in ‘upstate’ maximum security correctional college nicknamed ‘Gladiator School’. It was the school of hard knocks where men left better criminals than they entered. In the process of trying to omit the truth of the past years’ regrets, Snuggie became educated, going as far as obtaining a PhD with the hopes to rejoin society. Unfortunately, society tends to look down upon street hoods and ex-felons! Now, Snuggie lives in Chicagoland spinning tales based on this lived history to bring the reader into his world. Sean Jr. was one of the people in this world. He was a gay brother, who lost his father to crack. His father was dealing with their family problem. Sean’s mother abused him due to his forbidden illness: lusting for men. Snuggie knew Sean since he was knee-high to a grasshopper and years later took him in. He was his mentor. These are tales out of Sean and Snuggie’s life. © Snuggie Bobo 2023

C’era un tempo in cui ci potevamo toccare, anche solo sfiorare. In quel tempo potevamo sorriderci, potevamo guardarci. Adesso il tempo ci insegue, sembra il nostro peggior nemico, ci inganna e ci rifiuta, ci tiene lontani più di quanto lo fossimo allora. Il tempo crede di poterci aiutare riportandoci “indietro in questo futuro”, non ci lascia però respiro, non ci lascia scampo, non ci lascia scelta. Siamo delle pedine, gli apparteniamo. Le nostre anime appartengono a lui e lo faranno finquando ci ritroveremo, e ancora… potremo appartenerci… solo l’un l’altro. - Anime del Tempo

Here we must ask a critical question: what does it mean when American media outlets deliberately censor and silence anything related to Palestine, the voices of war atrocities in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria, while at the same time glorifying the Ukraine war or presumably covering Black Lives Matter or police brutality against black people? Can we believe that such media has good intentions? Can we believe that they really care about Black people, or are they more interested in deepening the divide in the society? I personally find this suspicious and ill intentioned. I believe the purpose here is not to support any Black causes or push for meaningful changes, but rather, exploiting the already existing and strong structural racism and white supremacy weaved into the fabric of the entire society to make people even more alienated from each other. Mistaken are those who think that “divide and conquer” is only practiced in remote places and in so-called “third world” countries. There are many ways to divide and conquer, but we need to have the right critical tools to detect and fight against them, as is the case here. [From “The Trump Age: Critical Questions” published on CounterPunch on June 23, 2023]

Statement on Hamas (October 10th, 2023) When Israel strikes, it's "national security" - when Palestine strikes back, it's "terrorism". Just like over two hundred years ago when native americans resisted their homeland being stolen, it was called "Indian Attack". Or like over a hundred years ago when Indian soldiers in the British Army revolted against the empire, in defense of their homeland, it was called "Sepoy Mutiny". The narrative never changes - when the colonizer terrorizes the world, it's given glorious sounding names like "exploration" and "conquest", but if the oppressed so much as utters a word in resistance, it is branded as attack, mutiny and terrorism - so that, the real terrorists can keep on colonizing as the self-appointed ruler of land, life and morality, without ever being held accountable for violating the rights of what they deem second rate lifeforms, such as the arabs, indians, latinos and so on. After all this, some apes will still only be interested in one stupid question. Do I support Hamas? To which I say this. Until you've spent a lifetime under an oppressive regime, you are not qualified to ask that question. An ape can ask anything its puny brain fancies, but it's up to the human to decide whether the ape is worthy of a response. What do you think, by the way - colonizers can just keep coming as they please, to wipe their filthy feet on us like doormat, and we should do nothing - just stay quiet! For creatures who call themselves civilized, you guys have a weird sense of morality. Yet all these might not get through your thick binary skull, so let me put it to you bluntly. I don't stand with Hamas, I am Hamas, just like, I don't stand with Ukraine, I am Ukraine. Russia stops fighting, war ends - Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Israel ends invasion, war ends - Palestine ends resistance, Palestine ends. However, I do have one problem here. Why do civilians have to die, if that is indeed the case - which I have no way of confirming, because news reports are not like reputed scientific data, that a scientist can naively trust. During humankind's gravest conflicts news outlets have always peddled a narrative benefiting the occupier and demonizing the resistance, either consciously or subconsciously. So never go by news reports, particularly on exception circumstances like this. No matter the cause, no civilian must die, that is my one unimpeachable law. But the hard and horrific fact of the matter is, only the occupier can put an end to the death and destruction peacefully - the resistance does not have that luxury.

Epicurus shared that during his illness, he didn't dwell on his physical discomfort. Instead, he continued his philosophical discussions, focusing on how the mind can remain calm and maintain its integrity despite the body's sufferings. He didn't dramatize his condition or give doctors the chance to act as if they were performing some grand action. His life continued to be positive and content. So, he advises, should we approach life, whether in sickness or health. We shouldn't abandon our philosophical principles or get caught up in meaningless conversations with those who lack understanding of nature's ways. Instead, our focus should be solely on our present actions and the means we use to carry them out. This approach, respected by all philosophical traditions, keeps us centered and purposeful, no matter what life throws at us.

The Seer's Map by Stewart Stafford Howling dog, thou cursèd hound, Plaguest thy master with baleful sound, The cur's yelps taint the air around; A dirge for all that hear thy wound. The rooftop magpie foretells: Herald of guests to visit soon, A noisy speech announceth, Companions of the afternoon. Lucky horseshoe and iron key, Bringeth good fortune to the finder, But spilling salt provokes fate, And draws the evil eye's reminder. A shoe upon the table laid, Tempts the dead to live anon, For this ungracious gesture waketh, Flesh and blood from skeleton. Who crosses the path of hare or priest, A perilous milestone on thy road, Their very presence signifies That gathering trouble doth forebode. A toad on thy merry travels, Brings sweet smiles and kindest charms, Keep one about thy person warm, To shelter safe from danger's harms. Red sky at night delights the eye, Of shepherd that beholds thy light, Thy colour doth betoken dawn Of weather fair and clear and bright. Red sky at morn troubles the heart, Of shepherd that surveys thy shade, Thy hue doth presage day Of stormy blast and tempest made. December's thunder balm, Speaks of harvest's tranquil mind, January's thunder, fierce! Warns of war and gales unkind. An itchy palm hints at gold To come into thy hand ere long, But if thou scratch it, thou dost lose The fair wind that blows so strong. A Sunday Christmas forewarns: Three signs of what the year shall hold; A winter mild, a Lenten wind, And summer dry, to then unfold. Good luck charm on New Year's Day Maketh fortune bloom all year, But to lose it or give it away, Thou dost invite ill-omened fear. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Trama Luci flebili di candele, obnubilamento. Un castello. Un volto noto al cuore e dimenticato dalla mente, o quasi. Nei sogni di Selene fin da piccola, frammenti non di questa vita. Due anime antiche smarrite in un continuo tornare, vivere e morire e non trovarsi mai, fino a quando vivranno di nuovo nello stesso tempo sulla terra. Mai conosciuti, ma con gli stessi ricordi, lo stesso amore e lo stesso dolore. La stessa spada, quella notte... Gradara, secolo XIII. Così nell'ultimo respiro Francesca fu di Paolo per sempre... e Paolo divenne anima della sua anima... cercandosi disperatamente fin oltre l'oblio della vita che si spende e fino a ritrovare la luce negli occhi di Selene e di Mirko, dove le loro anime riebbero il respiro. Essersi amati tanto, essere traditi da tutti, traditi dalla vita stessa e perduti… si erano solo sfiorati nel tempo e nello spazio. E se il tempo non finisse con la vita? Se quando il tempo finisce non fosse per sempre? E se non andasse tutto perduto? Se si potesse andare oltre l'insperato e oltre la vita... se l'amore fosse tanto forte da tornare e con esso dare luce a un altro tempo? E se quel tempo fosse qui, adesso, nel nostro secolo…?

Another dangerous neoliberal word circulating everywhere that is worth zooming in on is the word ‘resilience’. On the surface, I think many people won’t object to the idea that it is good and beneficial for us to be resilient to withstand the difficulties and challenges of life. As a person who lived through the atrocities of wars and sanctions in Iraq, I’ve learnt that life is not about being happy or sad, not about laughing or crying, leaving or staying. Life is about endurance. Since most feelings, moods, and states of being are fleeting, endurance, for me, is the common denominator that helps me go through the darkest and most beautiful moments of life knowing that they are fleeing. In that sense, I believe it is good for us to master the art of resilience and endurance. Yet, how should we think about the meaning of ‘resilience’ when used by ruling classes that push for wars and occupations, and that contribute to producing millions of deaths and refugees to profit from plundering the planet? What does it mean when these same warmongers fund humanitarian organizations asking them to go to war-torn countries to teach people the value of ‘resilience’? What happens to the meaning of ‘resilience’ when they create frighteningly precarious economic structures, uncertain employment, and lay off people without accountability? All this while also asking us to be ‘resilient’… As such, we must not let the word ‘resilience’ circulate or get planted in the heads of our youth uncritically. Instead, we should raise questions about what it really means. Does it mean the same thing for a poor young man or woman from Ghana, Ecuador, Afghanistan vs a privileged member from the upper management of a U.S. corporation? Resilience towards what? What is the root of the challenges for which we are expected to be resilient? Does our resilience solve the cause or the root of the problem or does it maintain the status quo while we wait for the next disaster? Are individuals always to blame if their resilience doesn’t yield any results, or should we equally examine the social contract and the entire structure in which individuals live that might be designed in such a way that one’s resilience may not prevail no matter how much perseverance and sacrifice one demonstrates? There is no doubt that resilience, according to its neoliberal corporate meaning, is used in a way that places the sole responsibility of failure on the shoulders of individuals rather than equally holding accountable the structure in which these individuals exist, and the precarious circumstances that require work and commitment way beyond individual capabilities and resources. I find it more effective not to simply aspire to be resilient, but to distinguish between situations in which individual resilience can do, and those for which the depth, awareness, and work of an entire community or society is needed for any real and sustainable change to occur. But none of this can happen if we don’t first agree upon what each of us mean when we say ‘resilience,’ and if we have different definitions of what it means, then we should ask: how shall we merge and reconcile our definitions of the word so that we complement not undermine what we do individually and collectively as people. Resilience should not become a synonym for surrender. It is great to be resilient when facing a flood or an earthquake, but that is not the same when having to endure wars and economic crises caused by the ruling class and warmongers. [From “On the Great Resignation” published on CounterPunch on February 24, 2023]