City of Lights and more..

Paris, more than 1 million people poured into the streets across France and strikers disrupted air, rail and bus travel today. They even shut down le tour Eiffel! Scattered violence erupted throughout Paris, and riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the thousands of youth after an otherwise peaceful demonstration to protest the controversial new employment contracts for the youth. More than 240 people were arrested.


I don't understand. A peaceful march by the yoots and then arrests. The student unions say that the law treats the young as a "disposable" commodity. Unions complain that it drives a wedge into decades of accumulated legal protections of employment. The law has also become a symbol of what many on the French left see -or like to see- as wicked, anti-social, "ultra-capitalist" influences from the US & Britain. Why can't we all just get along??


You know it's difficult to understand how the possibility of peace could ever begin to enter into our world with such contension existing amongst EVERYONE. It makes me nervous because I love France. I speak French and have visited several times. It saddens my heart to think they hate us and we hate them and frankly everyone hates us!


I can't wait to travel back there and I suppose this blog is just a plea for prayers of peace. Here's mine...ok, I stold it from 6th century, Chinese philosopher Lao-tse:


If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

Late Chinese New Year

Considering it's getting close to the point of no return for tonight, and the prospect of sleep looms,I shan't write too much tonight.

This may be interesting to some, though...and it would explain my pic choice. (Chinatown, London, England on Jan. 29th btw.)

Happy (belated) Chinese New Year to everyone! It's the year of the dog. The Chinese lunar New year fell on January 29th this year. Although theChinese celebrate the New Year on January 1st with the rest of the world,they also celebrate their unique animal zodiac during the Chinese lunar NewYear. The use of animal symbols is said to have been adopted in Japan in 604, during the reign of Empress Suiko. Unlike the Western Zodiac, which is divided into 12 months, the Asian Zodiac is divided into 12 years. Each year is named after an animal: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. They are called "eto" in Japanese.The year 2006 (Heisei 18-nen) is the year of the dog (inu-doshi). If you were/are born this year (or in 1994, '82, '70, '58, '46 and so on, every 12 years), you are a dog in the zodiac.

Here's a cool website to get some more info on all this v. cool stuff: http://chinese.astrology.com/dog.html
Have a wonderful new year!