Monthly Archives: August 2019

“Daydreams for Ginsberg” by Jack Kerouac

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I lie on my back at midnight
hearing the marvelous strange chime
of the clocks, and know it’s mid-
night and in that instant the whole
world swims into sight for me
in the form of beautiful swarm-
ing m u t t a worlds-
everything is happening, shining
Buhudda-lands,
bhuti

blazing in faith, I know I’m
forever right & all’s I got to
do (as I hear the ordinary
extant voices of ladies talking
in some kitchen at midnight
oilcloth cups of cocoa
cardore to mump the
rinnegain in his
darlin drain-) i will write
it, all the talk of the world
everywhere in this morning, leav-
ing open parentheses sections
for my own accompanying inner
thoughts-with roars of me
all brain-all world
roaring-vibrating-I put
it down, swiftly, 1,000 words
(of pages) compressed into one second
of time-I’ll be long
robed & long gold haired in
the famous Greek afternoon
of some Greek City
Fame Immortal & they’ll
have to find me where they find
the t h n u p f t of my
shroud bags flying
flag yagging Lucien
Midnight back in their
mouths-Gore Vidal’ll
be amazed, annoyed-
my words’ll be writ in gold
& preserved in libraries like
Finnegans Wake & Visions of Neal

–Jack Kerouac

(Submitted by Gwyllm Llwydd)

Wave Particle Picture

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MARCH 2, 2015 (phys.org)

The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave

by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave

(Phys.org)—Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first-ever snapshot of this dual behavior.

Quantum mechanics tells us that  can behave simultaneously as a particle or a wave. However, there has never been an experiment able to capture both natures of light at the same time; the closest we have come is seeing either wave or particle, but always at different times. Taking a radically different experimental approach, EPFL scientists have now been able to take the first ever snapshot of light behaving both as a wave and as a particle. The breakthrough work is published in Nature Communications.

When UV light hits a metal surface, it causes an emission of . Albert Einstein explained this “photoelectric” effect by proposing that light – thought to only be a wave – is also a stream of particles. Even though a variety of experiments have successfully observed both the particle- and wave-like behaviors of light, they have never been able to observe both at the same time.

A research team led by Fabrizio Carbone at EPFL has now carried out an experiment with a clever twist: using electrons to image light. The researchers have captured, for the first time ever, a single snapshot of light behaving simultaneously as both a wave and a stream of particles.

The experiment is set up like this: A pulse of laser light is fired at a tiny metallic nanowire. The laser adds energy to the charged particles in the nanowire, causing them to vibrate. Light travels along this tiny wire in two possible directions, like cars on a highway. When waves traveling in opposite directions meet each other they form a new wave that looks like it is standing in place. Here, this standing wave becomes the source of light for the experiment, radiating around the nanowire.

This is where the experiment’s trick comes in: The scientists shot a stream of electrons close to the nanowire, using them to image the standing wave of light. As the electrons interacted with the confined light on the nanowire, they either sped up or slowed down. Using the ultrafast microscope to image the position where this change in speed occurred, Carbone’s team could now visualize the standing wave, which acts as a fingerprint of the wave-nature of light.

The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave
Credit: Fabrizio Carbone/EPFL

While this phenomenon shows the wave-like nature of light, it simultaneously demonstrated its particle aspect as well. As the electrons pass close to the  of light, they “hit” the light’s , the photons. As mentioned above, this affects their speed, making them move faster or slower. This change in speed appears as an exchange of energy “packets” (quanta) between electrons and photons. The very occurrence of these energy packets shows that the light on the nanowire behaves as a particle.

“This experiment demonstrates that, for the first  ever, we can film  – and its paradoxical nature – directly,” says Fabrizio Carbone. In addition, the importance of this pioneering work can extend beyond fundamental science and to future technologies. As Carbone explains: “Being able to image and control quantum phenomena at the nanometer scale like this opens up a new route towards quantum computing.”

The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave

Explore further

Optical ‘watermills’ control spinning light

More information: “Simultaneous observation of the quantization and the interference pattern of a plasmonic near-field.” Nature Communications 02 March 2015. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7407

Journal information: Nature Communications
Provided by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

 

Link at:  https://phys.org/news/2015-03-particle.html?fbclid=IwAR02wpEFHS5O9b3tIEJo_3mLNGoRwu_VTQrPCUMrtlZI-a7RFSLD1n5Cpvc

Maximizing shareholder profits can no longer be corporations’ main goal, say top U.S. CEOs

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A group representing more than 100 of the biggest corporations in the U.S. has released a statement updating its definition of the purpose of American corporations.

STEPHEN JOHNSON

19 August, 2019 (bigthink.com)

  • The new statement says corporations shouldn’t only be concerned about maximizing shareholder profits.
  • Instead, corporations should focus on all of its stakeholders.
  • The idea that corporations need only focus on maximizing shareholder profit took hold in the 1970s and has since remained, more or less, the dominant viewpoint on Wall Street.

Since around the 1980s, most American corporations have agreed their main purpose is to maximize shareholder profits. Now, amid growing concerns about income inequality and Democratic policy proposals that call for restructuring American capitalism, some of the nation’s biggest corporations are saying it’s time to change the definition of corporate purpose.

The Business Roundtable, a lobbying group of American CEOs, released a statement Monday describing how the corporate world’s long-held definition of purpose — often called “shareholder primacy” — “does not accurately describe the ways in which we and our fellow CEOs endeavor every day to create value for all our stakeholders, whose long-term interests are inseparable.”

“Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity,” the statement reads. “We believe the free-market system is the best means of generating good jobs, a strong and sustainable economy, innovation, a healthy environment and economic opportunity for all.”

The Business Roundtable updates its guidelines periodically, but Monday’s update is the most explicit to date in rejecting shareholder primacy. The statement — signed by 181 of 192 current members of the Business Roundtable, including CEOS from companies such as Apple, Pfizer, Mastercard, and Ford Motor Company — says members commit to:

  • Delivering value to our customers. We will further the tradition of American companies leading the way in meeting or exceeding customer expectations.
  • Investing in our employees. This starts with compensating them fairly and providing important benefits. It also includes supporting them through training and education that help develop new skills for a rapidly changing world. We foster diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.
  • Dealing fairly and ethically with our suppliers. We are dedicated to serving as good partners to the other companies, large and small, that help us meet our missions.
  • Supporting the communities in which we work. We respect the people in our communities and protect the environment by embracing sustainable practices across our businesses.
  • Generating long-term value for shareholders, who provide the capital that allows companies to invest, grow and innovate. We are committed to transparency and effective engagement with shareholders.

The statement doesn’t promise any concrete changes, and it’s unclear how corporations might change their practices, if at all. One governance expert said the statement actually decreases these executives’ accountability.

“It limits accountability for these people to anyone, because if you have multiple stakes with whom you’re accountable, you’re always going to get it right on someone,” Charles Elson, who directs the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, told The Washington Post. “You can always make an argument that no matter what you’ve done, some stake will benefit. If your watch stops, it still gets the time right twice a day.”

Still, at the very least, the statement signals a symbolic change in ethos of the American corporate elite.

“It really is quite significant,” Peter Cappelli, a professor who studies labor economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told the Post. “It sounds like what they’re describing is what was the standard view before the mid-1980s — before the shareholder value idea really started to spread.”

‘Maximize shareholder profits’

The idea of shareholder primacy can be traced back to the economist Milton Friedman, who wrote a New York Times Magazine article in 1970 deriding the claim that corporations ought to be socially responsible, calling it a “fundamentally subversive doctrine” in a free society, adding, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business — to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”

CBPP

In short, “social responsibilities” are for individuals; corporations need only focus on making as much money as possible without breaking the law.

“That article was very well received in Wall Street,” Joseph L. Bower, a professor of business administration at Harvard University, recounted to Forbes. “They loved it. You could see the change in compensation practices. The use of the phrase ‘maximize shareholder value’ exploded at that time.”

Bower once said the idea that corporations need only “maximize shareholder value” is “pernicious nonsense.” In a 2017 article for Harvard Business Review, Bower and Lynn S. Paine suggest that Friedman’s essential idea “could be damaging to the broader economy,” mainly because it gives extreme consideration to shareholders over a short-term timeframe, while ignoring other stakeholders, such as employees or society at large. This results in an “accountability vacuum,” they write, because in this governance approach shareholders are effectively treated as owners of the company, when in fact they’re not held accountable for any company decisions.

Bower and Paine suggest that a more company-centric governance approach would benefit American corporations’ many stakeholders, including but not limited to shareholders. (You can read their detailed piece here.) Meanwhile, some Democratic lawmakers have proposed policy that aims to wrest some amount of corporate power from executives and shareholders and give it to other shareholders.

For example, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D–VT) wants to prohibit corporationsfrom buying back their own stock, which drives up share prices, unless they boost employee pay and benefits. Separately, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Accountable Capitalism Act aimed to restructure corporate decision-making, in part by mandating that corporations allow 40 percent of board members to be elected by employees, and by limiting the ways in which directors and officers sell company shares.

Your Horoscopes — Week Of August 20, 2019 (theonion.com)

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Leo | July 23 to Aug. 22

You’ll learn too late that love and deception often go hand in hand when the eloquent stranger sending you love letters turns out not to be the real Sarah Vowell.

Virgo | Aug. 23 to Sept. 22

The flame of true love will finally gutter and die in your soul, but take heart: The flame of too many video game systems plugged into a single outlet is burning bright in your den.

Libra | Sept. 23 to Oct. 22

You’ll be unable to think of anything sadder than the sight of the hooks which once held her picture, but there’s absolutely nothing else in the room to stare at for hours on end.

Scorpio | Oct. 23 to Nov. 21

When you were a child, you spoke as a child, you understood as a child, and you thought as a child; so no real changes, then.

Sagittarius | Nov. 22 to Dec. 21

Your lifelong search for your soul mate will comes to an end at last when you discover it was Robert Kearns, inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper, who died in 2005.

Capricorn | Dec. 22 to Jan. 19

You’ll do your part for the environment this week when you recycle what’s left of the nurses into furniture, decorative items, and innovative storage solutions.

Aquarius | Jan. 20 to Feb. 18

Just when you think all subtle beauty has finally faded from the world, you’ll remember “So Into You” by the Atlanta Rhythm Section.

Pisces | Feb. 19 to March 20

Love may mean different things to different people, but it’s surprising how many definitions include heavy investment in real estate.

Aries | March 21 to April 19

Just when it seems that all hope is gone, you’ll discover a deep untapped reservoir of hope deep within you, which will soon be gone too.

Taurus | April 20 to May 20

You’ve always wanted to yell “Stop the presses,” but when it looks like you’ll finally get an opportunity to do so, they’ll feed you in head-first.

Gemini | May 21 to June 20

Readers across the nation will finally be exposed to your literary genius and scintillating wordplay now that the DOT has approved your custom license plate.

Cancer | June 21 to July 22

You will make medical history this week as the first person to recover from smallpox only to die from a never-before-seen strain of enormouspox.

“The Significance of the 1619 Project” by Jesse Jackson

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August 20, 2019

by Chicago Sun Times

The project tells the “unvarnished truth” of slavery. We will face the horrors of our past, as well as the triumph of our progress. It is a telling that is long overdue.

by Jesse Jackson
The Statue of Liberty. (Photo: USA Pyron/Dreamstime.com.)

The Statue of Liberty. (Photo: USA Pyron/Dreamstime.com.)

On Sunday, the New York Times unveiled “The 1619 Project,” a journalistic series in the Sunday magazine that seeks to tell the “unvarnished truth” about slavery and its impact on America’s history.

In 1619, just 12 years after the founding of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, the Jamestown colonists bought the first slaves, 20 to 30 enslaved Africans, from English pirates.

Blacks suffered under slavery for 250 years, and brutal racial apartheid for a century more.

The Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, issued America’s founding creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, … among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As Nikole Hannah-Jones writes in her stunning introduction in the New York Times Magazine, at 43, she is part of the first generation of black Americans in the history of this country to be born into a society in which blacks had equal rights of citizenship.

Blacks suffered under slavery for 250 years, and brutal racial apartheid for a century more.

We have been legally free for just 50.

Americans prefer not to face this reality. Our history classes address it gingerly, if at all.

Even as President Donald Trump and cynical politicians stoke racial divisions for political profit, we too often look away from it. Trump has recently decided to make four young, newly elected congresswomen of color a central target of his already launched campaign for re-election, scorning them as un-American, suggesting that if they don’t like America, they should go back to where they came from.

This though all four are American citizens, and three were born right here. Trump is poisonously invoking the old lie of slavery and segregation that people of color are somehow not real Americans.

Yet, as Roger Wilkins wrote in his book “Jefferson’s Pillow” and Hannah-Jones in her introduction, it is the freedom struggles of black Americans that propelled the cause of equal rights for everyone.

The Constitution excluded women, Native Americans and black people, and did not provide the right to vote to most Americans.

The Constitution excluded women, Native Americans and black people, and did not provide the right to vote to most Americans. It is the laws born out of the civil rights movement that extended the right to vote to everyone and banned discrimination not simply on race, but on gender, nationality, religion and disability.

Without the idealistic and patriotic struggle of black Americans, as Hannah-Jones notes, “our democracy today would most likely look very different — it might not be a democracy at all.”

Recently, Ken Cuccinelli, Trump’s acting director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services, sparked outrage when he brazenly reworded Emma Lazarus’ famous poem found at the foot of the Statute of Liberty that reads “give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

What Cuccinelli probably had no clue about is that the Statute of Liberty was a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France and was dedicated in 1886 to celebrate the national abolition of slavery.

It is the figure of Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom.

A broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as she strides forward, commemorating the abolition of slavery in 1865, an abolition that turned out to be the first step in America becoming in fact, as well as in word, the land of the free.

In telling the “unvarnished truth” of slavery, we will face the horrors of our past, as well as the triumph of our progress. It is a telling that is long overdue.

© 2019 Chicago Sun Times


Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH.

15 ‘habits’ of people who grew up with an ’emotionally fragile’ parent

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Having an emotionally fragile parent can leave lasting damage.

By Tod Perry

08.20.19 (upworthy.com)

viaThe Mighty

If you grew up with an “emotionally fragile” parent, chances are, you didn’t have the typical, idyllic childhood you often see in movies.

Maybe your parent lived with debilitating depression that thrust you into the role of caregiver from a very young age.

Maybe your parent was always teetering on the edge of absolute rage, so you learned to tiptoe around them to avoid an explosion. Or maybe your parent went through a divorce or separation, and leaned on you for more emotional support than was appropriate to expect of a child.

Growing up with an emotionally fragile parent can leave lasting damage on a person as they leave childhood and enter adulthood.

Though it’s true many kids who grow up with emotionally compromised or neglectful parents struggle with their mental health in adulthood, it’s important to remember parents seldom set out to abuse their kids.

Oftentimes they simply do not have the support or resources to care for their own mental health. If you are a parent struggling with your mental health, we want you to know there is no shame in struggling, but it’s important to seek the support you need.

Our partners at The Mighty wanted to know what “habits” people who grew up with emotionally fragile parents have now as adults, so they asked their community to community to share their experiences with us.

Here’s are the “habits” our community shared with us:

1. Constantly Apologizing”

“Constantly apologizing is just one of many things I do as a result of an ’emotionally fragile’ parent. Another is panic and, again, apologize if someone looks at their watch or checks the time when I am doing something, particularly if shopping. It is why I prefer to be alone and do things at my own pace, the anxiety and fear such an innocent thing like checking the time because of me is horrible.” — Jodie B.

“Constantly apologizing for normal things like having an opinion and crying, bending over backwards to please everyone and keep the peace, not standing up for myself because when I did at home I’d get blown up at, etc.” — Natalie J.

2. Overthinking

“I overthink everything all of the time because I’m trying to prepare myself for the next thing you will be disappointed in.” — Faith L.

3. Always Feeling Afraid of Upsetting Others

“Not talking or doing anything for fear of getting into trouble or making people upset. Feeling like you can’t move or speak without permission, even amongst your closet friends.” — Rye B.

4. Having “Control Issues”

“I have huge control issues because I felt responsible for everyone’s feelings. My father had a hairpin trigger temper and my mother was a perpetual victim, so I tried to micromanage every little thing to keep him from exploding, and protect her. Now I have debilitating anxiety and it becomes worse if I feel like something is out of my control. Because if I can’t control everything, then something might upset someone, and it’ll be my fault and not only will I be in trouble, but no one will love me. It’s exhausting.” — Murphy M.

5. Being a “Parent” for Others

“Be the mom for all my group friends. The mature person who will be there to give you the advice someone else can’t.” — Gladys M.

“Automatically parent everybody because I had to do it my whole life, but then I break down when it comes to trying to take care of myself.” — Chloe L.

6. Struggling to Make Decisions

“I have a hard time making choices, or having an opinion. When you spent your whole childhood, teens and part of your 20s without the ability to choose things for yourself, you either feel guilty, or really uncomfortable having an opinion. Because you feel like you’re going to get in trouble, or you’re going to have a panic attack.” — Kaylee L.

7. Ignoring Your Own Feelings

“I feel like I always have to fix everyone, take care of everyone, control everything. I feel like I have to ignore my feelings, and I have a hard time reaching out to people.” — Kayla O.

“[I] try so hard to hide my feelings rather than rock the boat.” — Jodi A.

8. Being a “People-Pleaser”

“I find it impossible to talk about how I feel. I constantly try make others happy, even if it means hurting myself. But I grew up with a dad who was both physically and emotionally abusive.” — Jamie J.

“Being a people-pleaser. I do a lot of ‘fawning’ now because I always had to watch what I said in case it triggered either severe depression or anger.” — Sela M.

9. Feeling Like You’re a Supporting Role in Your Own Life

“I always feel like I’m just playing a small supporting role in the great drama of other people’s lives instead of my life being a story of my own. I have a really hard time believing my feelings are valid and matter.” — Susanna L.

10. Constantly Fearing Abandonment

“Constantly fearing abandonment… And no matter how much reassurance I get, I keep waiting for the moment where that love disappears.” — Monika S.

11. Overanalyzing the Behavior of Others

“I overanalyze how people talk and their body language. When you’re used to looking for small clues to try to make life easier or prepare for a meltdown, it’s… a hard habit to break.” — Lexi R.

12. Pushing People Away

“I push people away when I hit my depression low since that’s what my mom did. I’m trying to learn how to let people in but it’s hard to do at times and I never know how to tell people.” — Jennifer B.

13. Getting Offended Easily

“My daughter would say I cry too much and get offended too easily, and she isn’t wrong.” — Kat E.

14. Cleaning Up After Others

“Cleaning other people’s homes while you’re there because you grew up cleaning up after everyone because your parents didn’t clean.” — Des S.

15. Being Very Empathetic

“Yes there has been some negative impact but I also recognize that I learned how to be empathetic at a really young age. I remember my mom crying — I was only about 3 years old — and I went and got her the stuffed bear she had in her room.” — Lauren A.

If you grew up having to take care of an emotionally fragile parent, you’re not alone. Whether you’re struggling to assert boundaries in your life, have trouble communicating your needs or don’t know how to take care of yourself, we want you to know there’s a community of people who want to support you in your recovery journey.

The article was originally published by our partners at the Mighty and was written by Juliette Virzi. 

“Fire On The Hills” by Robinson Jeffers

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Earth Rites.jpg

 

The deer were bounding like blown leaves
Under the smoke in front the roaring wave of the brush-fire;
I thought of the smaller lives that were caught.
Beauty is not always lovely; the fire was beautiful, the terror
Of the deer was beautiful; and when I returned
Down the back slopes after the fire had gone by, an eagle
Was perched on the jag of a burnt pine,
Insolent and gorged, cloaked in the folded storms of his shoulders
He had come from far off for the good hunting
With fire for his beater to drive the game; the sky was merciless
Blue, and the hills merciless black,
The sombre-feathered great bird sleepily merciless between them.
I thought, painfully, but the whole mind,
The destruction that brings an eagle from heaven is better than mercy.
– Robinson Jeffers

(Contributed by Gwyllm Llwydd)

“A SACRED JOURNEY” by Calvin Harris, H.W., M.

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How One Student Grows For Self & Others

Calvin Harris H.W. M.  isn’t simply teaching classes. He is deeply invested in how to better embody its lessons.  He takes to heart these words: “What An Educator Does In Teaching  Is To Make It Possible For The Students to Become Themselves” – quote by the Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Reglus Neves Freire known for his work with adult illiterates and for promoting critical pedagogy, a theory, and practice of helping students achieve critical consciousness. Calvin’s learning of Critical Consciousness came from a different path, for as a young person his search for Truth and self-understanding lead him to the teaching and later apprenticeship from Master Teacher Thane Walker, in his School The Prosperos, founded 1956 in Florida and operated in California since the 1960’s

Calvin uncovered his calling or dharma in 1969, in the Prospers, and his ultimate goal is to be able to facilitate change. To help build and sustain a holistic community, organized in a way so one can experience more intensive programs of self-discovery and learning. Calvin says: “My students, I want to give extraordinary experiences, perspectives that they would not be able to experience singularly. Training that is immersive, found in intimate group settings using handpicked subject matter with  unique perspectives, all with the goal of providing a sense of  drawing forth from within, and creating  transformative knowing within the student, in both mind and in spirit.”

This speaks to his teaching trajectory, of offering practices and a way for the teachings to have embodiment. He says: “I love the idea of belonging to a strong community collectively working to become a more aware, insightful, sensuousness, conscious organization. I like to support creating leaders and role models that can extend our community with a positive message. Extending to others the challenge and joy of practices to know thyself.

I like the feel of working with others,  of when I am conversing, eating, drinking, exercising, just moving with conscious intention surrounded by others, all who are doing the work – then I am at home, living my dharma in the core of beingness.”

New “Find Yourself and Live” listening and dialogue group

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A new “Find Yourself and Live” listening and dialogue group will begin on Tuesday, September 10, at 5 p.m. Pacific time online via Zoom.  FYL is a series of some 34 lessons by Thane of Hawaii (co-founder of The Prosperos) meant to help students expand their understanding and application of the principles of Translation and Releasing the Hidden Splendour in their daily lives. Listening to these lessons will be followed by group discussions done on the basis of group-centered leadership in which each member of the group learns how to think with the group rather than about it.  Students must have successfully completed The Prosperos classes Translation and Releasing the Hidden Splendour.
When Sep 10, 2019
from 05:00 PM to 07:00 PM
Where online via Zoom
Contact Name Alex Gambeau
Contact EMAIL AlexGambeau@yahoo.com
Add event to calendar  vCal
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Thane of Hawaii

Thane of Hawaii

FYL is about Group Dynamics.  The group works as a mirror to help  in the use of the tools of Translation and Releasing The Hidden Splendour which help remove the blocks, traumas and walls that have been built up around us over the years in our lives and bring out the invisible essence of that which is so of our own Creation and Intuition.

–Alex Gambeau

For more information email:   alexgambeau@yahoo.com

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