Hawaii Leads Women’s Rights

March 22, 2008 > MAUI TODAY, > Maui Yesterdays No Comments
Aloha    

Click for Kahului, Hawaii ForecastWorld Water Day
Day 81 of 2008
285 days left in this year
HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Na pono o ka lahui kanaka: Human rights
 PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY— Wara: Water
HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “You didn’t say there was no water below.”
 HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY —  “Clean drinking water is a basic human right.” (A. Non)

 WEB SURF SPOT OF THE WEEK — Support Tibet Against Chinese Atrocities
 WEB VIDEO OF THE WEEK — Ken Kesey Across the Border
 PODCAST OF THE WEEK — Global Podcasting Directory
 BLOG OF THE WEEK —  The Daily Kos


Wonderful Water

TODAY, March 22nd, 2008: UN World Water Day
March 22, has been designated World Water Day – an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of those without access to safe drinking water. On this important date, WaterPartners celebrates its progress and renews its commitment to achieving its vision – the day when everyone in the world can take a safe drink of water. Read more …

March 22, 1972: Another first for the state of Hawaii: the state becomes the first to improve the equal rights amendment, not 45 minutes after Congress passed the amendment. The ratification falls three state short, and is marred by several probably unconstitutional actions on the part of various state legislatures to rescind their previous ratification votes.

EVENTS ON THIS DAY — March 22nd

  • 1622: The first Native American massacre of European settlers (in Jamestown Virginia, 347 people are slain) 
  • 1630: The first colonial legislation is enacted prohibiting gambling (Boston) 
  • 1638: Religious dissident Anne Hutchinson is expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
  • 1733: Joseph Priestly invents carbonated water 
  • 1778: Captain Cook sights Cape Flattery in Washington state 
  • 1872: Illinois becomes the first state to require sexual equality in employment 
  • 1873: Slavery is abolished in Puerto Rico 
  • 1882: Congress outlaws polygamy (again) 
  • 1946: The first U.S. rocket is launched that leaves the Earth’s atmosphere (50 miles up) 
  • 1972: By a vote of 84 to 8, the Senate approves the ERA amendment, banning discrimination against women (it is never ratified) 
  • 1986: Debi Thomas becomes the first African American to win the world figure skating championships 
  • 1990: A jury in Anchorage Alaska finds former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood innocent of three major charges in connection with the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (but convicts him of a minor charge of negligent discharge of oil and to help clean up Prince William Sound and pay $50,000 in restitution for his role in the spill) 
  • 1997: At age 14 years and 10 months, Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest women’s world figure skating champion 
  • 1999: Acting as his own lawyer, Dr. Jack Kevorkian goes on trial for murder
  • 2003: Twelve U.S. soldiers of the 507th Mainenance Unit, including 19-year old Army supply clerk Jessica Lynch, go missing after they “take a wrong turn”

BORN ON THIS DAY — March 22nd

  • 1599: Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Flemish painter
  • 1887: Chico Marx, (Leonard Martin) comedian 
  • 1923: Marcel Marceau, mime 
  • 1930: Stephen Sondheim, composer/lyricist
  • 1931: William Shatner,  actor 
  • 1938: Glen Campbell, singer
  • 1943: George Benson, singer/guitarist
  • 1943: Keith Reif, rocker
  • 1945: Jeremy Clyde, rocker 
  • 1948: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Broadway composer/producer
  • 1947: James Patterson, author
  • 1948: Wolf Blitzer, newscaster
  • 1955:  Lena Olin, actress
  • 1952: Bob Costas, sportscaster/talk show host 
  • 1957: Stephanie Mills, singer/actress 
  • 1959: Matthew Modine, actor  
  • 1976: Reese Witherspoon, acrtress

The e-Sense of Nonsense

March 22, 2008 Raphael O'Suna No Comments

As soon as men began to form hierarchical groups, nonsense became ritualized. Organizations, societies, civilizations, cultures, tribes or other groups of human beings require that members either consent to specific nonsense, or remain ignorant of the nonsense.

Nonsense comes in all forms. Politics brings nonsense. Religion brings nonsense. Economics brings nonsense. Science brings nonsense. Medicine is almost wholly nonsense.

There are several ways to live in a nonsensical world. As I said, one can accept the nonsense as necessary or remain ignorant of it. But one can also profit from it or spend one’s life pointing it out. It is virtually impossible, however, to avoid it.

Our minds are full of nonsense. Most of our knowledge is nonsense. Our ideas of ourselves, what we stand for, where we come from or where we are going, are all nonsense. And mystery. We try to assure ourselves with nonsense. We try to affirm and confirm the nonsense of our beliefs by forcing others to believe in our nonsense or to pay tribute to it. But it is all nonsense.

We have no real knowledge. No satisfactory individual destiny. No permanence. No continuity and no understanding.

Those who are least conditioned or harmed by nonsense, are those who greet others–all others–with good cheer, open hands and hearts and joyful compassion.

Only the person who realizes that he is a spark from an anvil, momentarily lighting up the darkness, but following an unknown, unplanned and unnecessary trajectory, can begin to see the nonsense that has encrusted his life.

– Raphael O’Suna,   Haiku