Ma Cher Pauline...

After much thought, I have chosen to share my meditation on Pauline Marois with the world.  

First she plucks us of our rights.

Then we remind her of who and what she is.

I'm not sure how La Marseillaise found its way into the mix.  Are you Pauline?

(Not that it much matters since so few read my lonely little blog anyway.)

For those who may not know, Alouette is a song about a sweet lark having its feathers plucked out, bit by bit, as Pauline proposes to do with the rights of the people of Quebec.  A lovely children's song.
Here is a translation.

  Lark, nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you
I will pluck you the head
I will pluck you the head
And the head, and the head Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you
I will pluck you the nose
I will pluck you the nose
And the nose, and the nose Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you
I will pluck you the eyes
I will pluck you the eyes
And the eyes, and the eyes Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you
I will pluck you the neck
I will pluck you the neck
And the neck, and the neck Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you
I will pluck you the wings
I will pluck you the wings
And the wings, and the wings Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you
Alouette, nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you
I will pluck you the back
I will pluck you the back
And the back, and the back Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you
I will pluck you the legs
I will pluck you the legs
And the legs, and the legs Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you Lark,
nice Alouette Lark
I will pluck you Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you
I will pluck you the tail
I will pluck you the tail
And the tail, and the tail Alouette,
Alouette O-o-o-o-oh Alouette,
nice Alouette Lark I will pluck you

Read more: Children - Alouette (english Translation) Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

DANGER! DANGER!! BEWARE!!! DANGER!!

BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.

With Our Brothers, We Will Share

I have had a week now to think about the killings in Wisconsin and I still have nothing profound or moving to say, only the image of  Bhenji Paramjit Kaur matha teking to Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji and rising to find herself at the feet of Satguru.

We have six new shaheeds.  When we mourn, we do not mourn for them.  They died well and they are fine.  We mourn instead for ourselves who have lost their sweet presence on our planet and in our lives.

The futility of these needless killings brings to mind a song from an old 1970s movie, Billy Jack.  We Sikhs are, after all, willing to freely give what we have.

"With our brothers we will share

All the secrets of our mountain, 

All the treasures buried there. 

Those of my generation will probably remember it.  I hope the rest of you listen and understand its message 



For those unfamiliar with the movie, I should explain that the man being arrested in the video is the hero who has been unjustly accused and the people standing and raising their fists in salute are his supporters, many of them Native American children from the school he was trying to save.  .

Nanak naam chardi kala
Tere bhane sarbat da bhala

An AHA Moment

My Telephone Bill

A commentary on 21st century life or just my telephone bill put through various filters? Meaningful art or just a waste of time? What is art, anyway? What is its purpose? I must be really tired. I think I'll go to sleep now. BTW, I pixelated all the personal stuff before I did the transformations, although I suppose anyone from military intelligence could decode it, if they really wanted to waste their time.

I AM THE 99% WHO ARE YOU?

SOME ASSUMPTIONS ARE WRONG

Not original, but too good to pass up.

WOMEN WHO KNOW THEIR PLACE
 
Barbara Walters of 20/20 did a story on gender roles in  Kabul, Afghanistan several years before the Afghan conflict.
 
She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands.

She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands.
Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem happy to maintain the old custom.

Ms Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, 'Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?'

The woman looked Ms Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, "Land mines."

Moral of the story is (no matter what language you speak or where you go):

BEHIND EVERY MAN, THERE'S A SMART WOMAN!

Thanks to Friend Asha