Posts
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Paul & Louise
An amazing French singer group singing either in French or English. They "think in French and dream in English". Very romantic and pure. An excellent classical background. You also can listen to their songs on http://www.myspace.com/pauletlouise with some video clips. Listen carefully to Here in the place (Private Domain). Their future will be bright because they are so talented.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
La France et les boucs émissaires
Thierry Morin (dirigeant de Valeo) est la nouvelle victime expiatoire d'un système contrôlé par les représentants de gauche et de droite du "bien penser". Ce monsieur a montré depuis de nombreuses années sa capacité à bien diriger son groupe. Viadeo a été la victime de l'éffondrement total de l'industrie automobile que personne n'avait anticipé. Je trouve lamentable les procès d'intention qui sont faits de façon SYSTEMATIQUE à l'ENSEMBLE des grands patrons qui ont dédié leur vie à des institutions tout en créant beaucoup de richesses et d'emplois dans le passé. Certains patrons ont peut-être pris de mauvaises décisions ou ont profité de façon éhontée d'un système de caste et, à ce titre, doivent normalement être sanctionnés pour cela. Mais généraliser cela à l'ensemble des grands patrons est irrésponsable et lamentable. De quel droit nos politiciens peuvent-ils juger les difficultés auxquelles certaines entreprises sont confrontées? Combien d'entre eux ont dirigé une entreprise? Les hauts fonctionnaires sont-ils redevables de leurs résultats? Non, bien sûr. Il est grand temps que notre société puisse faire face à la réalité: nous ne sortirons pas de la crise sans un consensus national. Arrêtons de chercher des boucs émissaires. Sinon, nous nous dirigeons dangereusement vers une nouvelle révolution avec la conséquence logique qu’elle peut entrainer: le chaos et la dictature. Pourquoi n’apprenons-nous rien de l’histoire? Les Français sont-ils un peuple responsable?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Why taking so much time to nationalize the banks?
According to Nouriel Roubini, the only solution to clean the toxic assets from the global banking system is to nationalize banks. See his comments on: http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor/255546/nationalize_the_banks_were_all_swedes_now
I think he is right. To what extend the Obama's administration will have the courage to move forward to that solution? If the toxic assets are not cleaned within the next 3 months we will run into a stag-deflation economy (near depression) and we might be stuck for 10 years in an economic crisis.
I think he is right. To what extend the Obama's administration will have the courage to move forward to that solution? If the toxic assets are not cleaned within the next 3 months we will run into a stag-deflation economy (near depression) and we might be stuck for 10 years in an economic crisis.
Friday, October 17, 2008
A major economic crisis
We are facing one of the largest economic crisis of this century.
People do not realize it. It is like a tsunami that started and the people do not see it coming.
Crises are useful. They generate rebirth.
People do not realize it. It is like a tsunami that started and the people do not see it coming.
Crises are useful. They generate rebirth.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
A love testimony from my friend Carl to his beloved girlfriend
Three months ago, a very good friend of mine wrote this wonderful letter to his girlfreind who died from cancer. He transmitted it to his friends from Stanford. I found his words so amazing. A pure love testimony.
My Girlfriend Is an Angel
Let me ask you a question. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, or next week, or even next month, how would you face death? Or better yet, how would you want to face death? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure I can answer that question myself. But I can tell you how it feels to lose someone that you love very much.
Anne was born in Wisconsin, but she always considered herself a California girl. Anne was well educated. She graduated Cum Laude from Butler University in Indiana with a degree in Performing Arts, and later earned a Masters degree in Special Education. She loved the ballet and started taking lessons at the age of five. Later she joined a professional dance troupe and performed all over the country. Then she spent five years with the San Francisco Opera ballet.
We met at a wedding, and I fell instantly in love with her. Our first date was the very next day. I was 45 minutes late because I was trapped on a tour bus and couldn't get back to my car. But she was kind enough to wait and immediately forgave me when she understood the circumstances.
We dated for a couple of years, and then tragically broke up. While we were apart, she was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer was treated and went into remission. She told me that when you face death, you learn what's important to you in your life. That's when she decided that our relationship was important to her. So she contacted me and we got back together.
Later on, the cancer came back. This time it was more aggressive and the prognosis was terminal. However, this time around we were facing the cancer as a couple. She leaned on me, and I did what I could to learn how to best help her. After a couple of years, the doctors told her that they had reached the limits of what they could do for her and that she only had six to eight more months to live.
Throughout these months and months of pain and suffering, she still had a sense of humor. She jokingly chided me for not taking her to Hawaii. She started speaking French, a language I forgot she spoke, and started calling me, "Al-bear"-- which is Albert in French. And when we had to change her position in the bed to prevent the spread of bedsores, she would say, "yowsa" instead of crying out in pain.
She showed her love for me in a lot of little ways -- every day. She resisted moving from the bed we both shared to the hospital bed that was set up in our living room. She said that she would miss touching me at night, and I must admit I felt the same way too. I did end up spending a lot of time on the couch just to be near her. And, during the last days of her life, I shared her hospital bed with her. Proximity to each other was a comfort to both of us.
During her last day of life, her breathing became quite irregular. She had what can best be described as a kind of sleep apnea where she would stop breathing for long periods of time, then suddenly gasp for air and start breathing again. This worried me greatly, but I found that her breathing would become more even if I held her hand and talked to her. So I crawled into bed with her and put her hand on my heart and I read to her for several hours.
On the night that Anne died, I was reading, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" to her. It is a book of short stories devoted to various acts of love. The last story I read to her was this one by a person named Jacque Hall. It goes like this:
After church one Sunday morning, my five-year-old granddaughter was intently drawing on a piece of paper. When asked what she was drawing, she replied that she was drawing God. "But no one knows what God looks like," I said.
"They will when I finish this picture!" She answered.
I didn't plan to make this the last story that I was ever going to read to her. But it was around three o’clock in the morning and I was just too tired to read anymore. Ironically, I think it was God's way of telling me that she was finally going to see what He looked like. She died a few minutes later, while I was resting beside her. Her hand was still on my heart.
Later on that day, I went to a friend’s house to give him the tragic news in person and something miraculous happened to me. On his wall was a poem that I'd never seen before in all the times that I had visited his house. It said:
I'm Free
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path that God has laid you see
I took His hand when I heard His call
I turn my back and left it all
I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work or play
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found the peace at the close of day
If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joys –
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow
My life's been full, I savored much
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief
Lift up your hearts, and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free
It was as if the words were written expressly for me.
It was as if Anne was speaking directly to me.
It was as if she was whispering words internally, "I'm free my love, be happy my love, for I am with He. And I will watch out for thee.”
A couple of years ago I had to undergo major surgery for sleep apnea. It was during that time that Anne and I were apart. So my mother volunteered to fly from Texas to be with me during my surgery and help me recover afterwards. I told her that she didn't need to do that, that somehow I would make it on my own. She told me that I didn't understand the situation. That she "had to" be there for my surgery and subsequent recovery. Because she was my mother, and I was her son, and she couldn't bear to be apart from someone that she loved, who needed her. It wasn't until Anne got sick, that I understood what my mother was trying to tell me. When you love somebody -- I mean really love somebody, taking care of them is not a chore. It's a celebration of your love for that person.
The Bible says, "Above all else, love each other deeply." Anne made loving her so very easy for me.
With Deep Love for you my Angel
My Girlfriend Is an Angel
Let me ask you a question. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, or next week, or even next month, how would you face death? Or better yet, how would you want to face death? To tell you the truth, I'm not sure I can answer that question myself. But I can tell you how it feels to lose someone that you love very much.
Anne was born in Wisconsin, but she always considered herself a California girl. Anne was well educated. She graduated Cum Laude from Butler University in Indiana with a degree in Performing Arts, and later earned a Masters degree in Special Education. She loved the ballet and started taking lessons at the age of five. Later she joined a professional dance troupe and performed all over the country. Then she spent five years with the San Francisco Opera ballet.
We met at a wedding, and I fell instantly in love with her. Our first date was the very next day. I was 45 minutes late because I was trapped on a tour bus and couldn't get back to my car. But she was kind enough to wait and immediately forgave me when she understood the circumstances.
We dated for a couple of years, and then tragically broke up. While we were apart, she was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer was treated and went into remission. She told me that when you face death, you learn what's important to you in your life. That's when she decided that our relationship was important to her. So she contacted me and we got back together.
Later on, the cancer came back. This time it was more aggressive and the prognosis was terminal. However, this time around we were facing the cancer as a couple. She leaned on me, and I did what I could to learn how to best help her. After a couple of years, the doctors told her that they had reached the limits of what they could do for her and that she only had six to eight more months to live.
Throughout these months and months of pain and suffering, she still had a sense of humor. She jokingly chided me for not taking her to Hawaii. She started speaking French, a language I forgot she spoke, and started calling me, "Al-bear"-- which is Albert in French. And when we had to change her position in the bed to prevent the spread of bedsores, she would say, "yowsa" instead of crying out in pain.
She showed her love for me in a lot of little ways -- every day. She resisted moving from the bed we both shared to the hospital bed that was set up in our living room. She said that she would miss touching me at night, and I must admit I felt the same way too. I did end up spending a lot of time on the couch just to be near her. And, during the last days of her life, I shared her hospital bed with her. Proximity to each other was a comfort to both of us.
During her last day of life, her breathing became quite irregular. She had what can best be described as a kind of sleep apnea where she would stop breathing for long periods of time, then suddenly gasp for air and start breathing again. This worried me greatly, but I found that her breathing would become more even if I held her hand and talked to her. So I crawled into bed with her and put her hand on my heart and I read to her for several hours.
On the night that Anne died, I was reading, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" to her. It is a book of short stories devoted to various acts of love. The last story I read to her was this one by a person named Jacque Hall. It goes like this:
After church one Sunday morning, my five-year-old granddaughter was intently drawing on a piece of paper. When asked what she was drawing, she replied that she was drawing God. "But no one knows what God looks like," I said.
"They will when I finish this picture!" She answered.
I didn't plan to make this the last story that I was ever going to read to her. But it was around three o’clock in the morning and I was just too tired to read anymore. Ironically, I think it was God's way of telling me that she was finally going to see what He looked like. She died a few minutes later, while I was resting beside her. Her hand was still on my heart.
Later on that day, I went to a friend’s house to give him the tragic news in person and something miraculous happened to me. On his wall was a poem that I'd never seen before in all the times that I had visited his house. It said:
I'm Free
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
I'm following the path that God has laid you see
I took His hand when I heard His call
I turn my back and left it all
I could not stay another day
To laugh, to love, to work or play
Tasks left undone must stay that way
I found the peace at the close of day
If my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joys –
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
Oh yes, these things I too will miss
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow
My life's been full, I savored much
Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief
Lift up your hearts, and peace to thee
God wanted me now; He set me free
It was as if the words were written expressly for me.
It was as if Anne was speaking directly to me.
It was as if she was whispering words internally, "I'm free my love, be happy my love, for I am with He. And I will watch out for thee.”
A couple of years ago I had to undergo major surgery for sleep apnea. It was during that time that Anne and I were apart. So my mother volunteered to fly from Texas to be with me during my surgery and help me recover afterwards. I told her that she didn't need to do that, that somehow I would make it on my own. She told me that I didn't understand the situation. That she "had to" be there for my surgery and subsequent recovery. Because she was my mother, and I was her son, and she couldn't bear to be apart from someone that she loved, who needed her. It wasn't until Anne got sick, that I understood what my mother was trying to tell me. When you love somebody -- I mean really love somebody, taking care of them is not a chore. It's a celebration of your love for that person.
The Bible says, "Above all else, love each other deeply." Anne made loving her so very easy for me.
With Deep Love for you my Angel
Friday, October 3, 2008
Some dark and optimistic thoughts(what a paradox!)
I have always been fascinated by what happened between the Christ and Simon-Peter ( « Peter » the Apostle, the founder of his church). Peter loved the Christ like nobody else and still betrayed him.
How can you betray someone you love ? This always has been a puzzle for me.
Once the Christ told Peter "Peter, before the cock crows you will deny me three times.". peter did not react. It seemed for him to be impossible to betray the Christ.
But he did it.
The Christ asked Peter :
"Simon, do you love me more than these? You said you did. You said you would never betray me, even though they would. Yet you betrayed me. Now tell me, Simon, do you love me more than these?" "Lord, you know that I love you."
Again, Christ asks, "Simon, do you love me more than these?" "Lord, you know that I love you."
And Peter, despite his infinite love for the Christ, and his commitment to his love, betrayed his beloved God.
Later on Peter refused to deny his love for the Christ and he was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross, according to church tradition because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus Christ had died.
In a certain way he expiated his betrayal.
Why some people could be unfaithful or disloyal, even if it goes against their principles and values ?
I put loyalty, faithfulness, reliability as major values in my mind.
But was does it mean to be unfaithful ? Is it only by the acts or by the intentions ? Those are very hard questions to answer.
Intentions are not innocent because the gap between intentions and the acts is so small. It is so easy to fall into it.
What is faithfulness ?
Faithfulness is persisting, even when you want to quit,even when no one is there to cheer you on.It is keeping your promises, even when you feel like bailing. Faithfulness is stepping out in trust, even when you don't see it.
We are not perfect in this world and could be tempted to be unfaithful to someone or not loyal even if the word does not come to our mind when we act – even in our intentions- in an unfaithful or a disloyal way.
And there is nothing that hurts more than unfaithfulness in the intentions because the « betrayed » one never knows if it will become one day a reality or not. If I have the proof that he or she intended to be unfaithful, why would not he or she make it happen one day ?
Trust is then questioned.
Then, how do you get back to a trustful status?
Frank Cane once said « You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don't trust enough. »
Not trusting enough is the ultimate pain. A hard reality is better than doubts. Doubts just kill you from the inside.
According to me the best way to get rid off doubts is to speak, communicate. Silence brings more doubts. Communicating is the first move. It assumes honesty.
Buddha used to say « Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world. »
It is so hard to communicate but it opens so many doors ! Silence closes them all.
But communicating, even if it is essential, it is not enough. Acts should follow. Two people build up trust by communicating and acting in the direction they both chose to take. Every step towards that direction until the goal is reached should be validated and approved by both. The goal is never reached but the fact that both approach it in a very close way is the key for happiness.
Two people also build trust by forgiving. Forgiving is such an art ! You need to be so strong to be able to forgive !
The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. But it is so hard to forgive when you have in your mind sources of resentment. Why did he or she lied to me ? Why did he or she intended to betray me ?
When do sources of resentment disappear ? How do they disappear ?
I think they disappear from kindness.
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
It is never too late to give up our prejudices. With a little time, and a little more insight, we begin to see both ourselves and our enemies in humbler profiles. We are not really as innocent as we felt when we were first hurt. And we do not usually have a gigantic monster to forgive; we have a weak, needy, and somewhat stupid human being. When you see your enemy and yourself in the weakness and silliness of the humanity you share, you will make the miracle of forgiving a little easier.
We should see our beloved partner in the following way :
« I'm glad that you too make mistakes. It shows the essence of your humanity much more than any of your daily good deeds. I love you so much more for it than if you were an ideal, yet cold and inhuman person whose judgement never failed. »
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love
will have the final word in reality. Patience, forgiveness and kindness will succeed in defeating resentment and lack of trust.
« I can forgive, but I cannot forget », is only another way of saying, « I will not forgive ». Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.
Mother Theresa said : »If you judge people, you have no time to love them. »
Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes. That is why the stairway to full trust and love is such a difficult one. It does not come from one person only but from both of them working on themselves and going in the same direction.
As Gandhi once said, « We must become the change we want to see. »
How can you betray someone you love ? This always has been a puzzle for me.
Once the Christ told Peter "Peter, before the cock crows you will deny me three times.". peter did not react. It seemed for him to be impossible to betray the Christ.
But he did it.
The Christ asked Peter :
"Simon, do you love me more than these? You said you did. You said you would never betray me, even though they would. Yet you betrayed me. Now tell me, Simon, do you love me more than these?" "Lord, you know that I love you."
Again, Christ asks, "Simon, do you love me more than these?" "Lord, you know that I love you."
And Peter, despite his infinite love for the Christ, and his commitment to his love, betrayed his beloved God.
Later on Peter refused to deny his love for the Christ and he was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross, according to church tradition because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus Christ had died.
In a certain way he expiated his betrayal.
Why some people could be unfaithful or disloyal, even if it goes against their principles and values ?
I put loyalty, faithfulness, reliability as major values in my mind.
But was does it mean to be unfaithful ? Is it only by the acts or by the intentions ? Those are very hard questions to answer.
Intentions are not innocent because the gap between intentions and the acts is so small. It is so easy to fall into it.
What is faithfulness ?
Faithfulness is persisting, even when you want to quit,even when no one is there to cheer you on.It is keeping your promises, even when you feel like bailing. Faithfulness is stepping out in trust, even when you don't see it.
We are not perfect in this world and could be tempted to be unfaithful to someone or not loyal even if the word does not come to our mind when we act – even in our intentions- in an unfaithful or a disloyal way.
And there is nothing that hurts more than unfaithfulness in the intentions because the « betrayed » one never knows if it will become one day a reality or not. If I have the proof that he or she intended to be unfaithful, why would not he or she make it happen one day ?
Trust is then questioned.
Then, how do you get back to a trustful status?
Frank Cane once said « You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don't trust enough. »
Not trusting enough is the ultimate pain. A hard reality is better than doubts. Doubts just kill you from the inside.
According to me the best way to get rid off doubts is to speak, communicate. Silence brings more doubts. Communicating is the first move. It assumes honesty.
Buddha used to say « Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world. »
It is so hard to communicate but it opens so many doors ! Silence closes them all.
But communicating, even if it is essential, it is not enough. Acts should follow. Two people build up trust by communicating and acting in the direction they both chose to take. Every step towards that direction until the goal is reached should be validated and approved by both. The goal is never reached but the fact that both approach it in a very close way is the key for happiness.
Two people also build trust by forgiving. Forgiving is such an art ! You need to be so strong to be able to forgive !
The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness. But it is so hard to forgive when you have in your mind sources of resentment. Why did he or she lied to me ? Why did he or she intended to betray me ?
When do sources of resentment disappear ? How do they disappear ?
I think they disappear from kindness.
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
It is never too late to give up our prejudices. With a little time, and a little more insight, we begin to see both ourselves and our enemies in humbler profiles. We are not really as innocent as we felt when we were first hurt. And we do not usually have a gigantic monster to forgive; we have a weak, needy, and somewhat stupid human being. When you see your enemy and yourself in the weakness and silliness of the humanity you share, you will make the miracle of forgiving a little easier.
We should see our beloved partner in the following way :
« I'm glad that you too make mistakes. It shows the essence of your humanity much more than any of your daily good deeds. I love you so much more for it than if you were an ideal, yet cold and inhuman person whose judgement never failed. »
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love
will have the final word in reality. Patience, forgiveness and kindness will succeed in defeating resentment and lack of trust.
« I can forgive, but I cannot forget », is only another way of saying, « I will not forgive ». Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.
Mother Theresa said : »If you judge people, you have no time to love them. »
Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes. That is why the stairway to full trust and love is such a difficult one. It does not come from one person only but from both of them working on themselves and going in the same direction.
As Gandhi once said, « We must become the change we want to see. »
Lindsey Buckingham
I just want to start my first post by telling you about Lindsey Buckingham.
Who is he? He is one of the most striking, emotional guitarist of all the classical rock history.
Listen to "I am so afraid" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QUvD4mDvo0) and you will be addicted forever. It is just awesome, violent, tremendously emotional and so loving. It is just THE masterpiece of the rock history. With no doubt Lindsey improved his emotion while getting older. It is more mastered but so more intense. The lyrics now reflect his life which was necessarily not the case when he first wrote that song. I personally prefer the 1997 live version. In order to feel the difference, listen to the various versions in You Tube. You will understand what I mean.
I would love you to tell me what you feel while listening to that song. It is so rich and so intense.
Lindsey is my favorite. I just love his music! Visit his Web site : http://lindseybuckingham.com/default.asp
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