A quick blurb in the June/July Ode special advertising section caught my eye: United States Institute of Peace. Their website is usip.org. Their website says, “The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) provides the analysis, training and tools that help to prevent, manage and end violent international conflicts, promote stability and professionalize the field of peace-building.” Who knew there even was one?   Read more...

The subtly of Japanese behavior can be very complex. A quick glance or the hint of a frown can be pregnant with meaning. But much of that is often lost to those not brought up here. Japanese laughter, too, is one of the ongoing mysteries of this fascinating culture. What outsider can know for sure what a Japanese smile or laugh really means?   Read more...

Last June President Medvedev of Russia visited the Netherlands. During that visit he opened, together with Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Balkenende of the Netherlands, a Dutch branch in Amsterdam of the famous Russian museum The Hermitage. On the website of The Hermitage Amsterdam is written that the museum has special attention for the cultural education of children. In fact, this museum will have the largest space dedicated to educational programmes in a museum in the Netherlands.

While President Medvedev visited Amsterdam, prime Minister Balkenende of the Netherlands lobbied for a more intensive Russian-Dutch cooperation for the winning of natural gas in the East of Russia. Nearly a week after Medvedev’s visit, Gazprom, the Russian gas-company, put Royal Dutch Shell on a shortlist of companies that can take part in a liquefied natural gas project at the Peninsula of Yamal in Russia. Royal Dutch Shell already agreed with Russia that it gets delivered 1.000.000 tons of natural gas for the European market.   Read more...

As my children get older, I find myself wondering what their teen years will be like, in terms of our relationship. They are 12 now, so one more year until they are official teenagers. We have attended 3 unschooling conferences in the past 3 years, and I love observing the teenagers while we are there. I also love hearing about the relationships that my unschooling friends have with their teenagers. It is amazing to me to see the trust and the honesty that is present in their relationships. Before finding the unschooling path, I didn’t think this was possible! Once again, I am thrust into shifting my perspective on parenting, while learning to "grow" with the flow.   Read more...

Leymah Gbowee of Monrovia, Liberia was featured in the July issue of Guideposts, that lovely little magazine about Christian faith in action. For 14 years, Liberia’s military dictatorship along with the armed rebels against it had made the country a battleground.

Ms. Gbowee’s story begins on a steamy day in Accra, Ghana, during peace talks which were rapidly disintegrating. That was the day she ran out of hope despite the fact that it was due to her efforts that these peace talks were even occurring.   Read more...

Often when my students hand write a paper, they confuse "h" and "n", "d" and "a", or "l" and "e" because of not paying attention to the differing length (of one line) between the two letters. They always act surprised when I point out this error. And sure enough the next time they inevitably make the same mistake. I have almost given up on "l" and "r" differences, knowing my own inability to distinguish short and long vowels in Japanese.

Once after a long and trying day I was thinking about the stresses at work and also wondering what I could do about my chronic dry-eye problem. My poor eyes are constantly irritated and red. I use drops and creams and go to a doctor for treatment, but am always looking for better relief in some way. Winter is a nightmare with the dry heating systems; and summer is not much better with its allergy-causing grasses and flowers. In other words, I am in year-round discomfort.   Read more...

Wat is MVO nu eigenlijk? Een nieuwe economische moraliteit? Zeker met het oog op de oorzaken van de kredietcrisis en de teruggang van de economie zou je op die manier naar MVO kunnen kijken. Onderzoek heeft uitgewezen dat MVO in ieder geval een van de pijlers onder de reputatie van een bedrijf is, naast onder meer financiële prestaties en getoond visie en leiderschap. Dat is MVO dus ook. En volgens MVO Nederland is MVO een belangrijke bron van innovatie. Meervoudig Vernieuwend Ondernemen dus. Marketeers zien MVO als onderdeel van hun instrumentarium, ondanks dat recent onderzoek onder deze groep liet zien dat ze geen geloof meer in de waarde van MVO hadden. Anderen, waaronder niet in de laatste plaats vele ondernemers, zien MVO als een nieuwe naam voor veel zaken die westerse bedrijven al heel lang normaal vinden. MVO wordt daarnaast door veel bedrijven gezien als een strategie – of in ieder geval een onderdeel daarvan of iets waar je een strategie op kunt formuleren (waarop eigenlijk niet?).   Read more...

A Long Way From Home from B-Rilla on Vimeo.   Read more...

You know by now that I’m all for peace in any way I can promote it so it delighted me when I found Peace Cereal - an excellent way to start the day!

Their website informs us, "At Peace Cereal our mission is to serve you by making deliciously natural and healthy cereal, as well as to serve the community by utilizing responsible business practices and donating 10% of our profits to support community projects."   Read more...

I often take late night walks. Since parks are risky options, I walk around my colony streets. I take listening walks. Does it sound absurd? Let me explain.

Listening walks are one of the best experiences we can have. It helps to hone our listening skills. It helps us to be alert and get fine tuned to the various sounds of life, which we do not take into account during our rush hours. It helps us to practice being more attentive, intuitive, wakeful and connected to the life around us. It helps us to become a person who listens.   Read more...

Keep The Country Country from B-Rilla on Vimeo.   Read more...

Vanuit mijn werkveld en studie weet ik dat al veel organisaties en consumenten in Nederland een bijdrage leveren aan de reductie van uitstoot van broeikasgassen. Ondernemers innoveren in de efficiency van brandstofverbruik, proberen energie zelf duurzaam op te wekken of compenseren niet te reduceren broeikasgassen met behulp van Co2-credits. Echter nog niet iedere ondernemer of consument heeft het oplossen van het klimaatprobleem hoog op de agenda staan. En dat terwijl we volgens het Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) vóór 2012 ingrijpende maatregelen moeten nemen om de uitstoot van broeikasgassen te reduceren. Op welke manier zou je nu snel en kostenevenredig zowel producenten als consumenten kunnen betrekken bij het herstellen van de klimaatschade die wordt aangericht als gevolg van ons consumptiegedrag?

De commissie Brundtland van de Verenigde Naties definieerde in 1987 duurzaam ondernemen als ‘een wijze van ondernemen die voldoet aan de behoeften van de huidige generatie zonder de mogelijkheden van toekomstige generaties om hun behoeften te bevredigen te beïnvloeden’. Organisaties zouden volgens Brundtland bij de productie van goederen en diensten een evenwicht moeten creëren tussen de economische, ecologische en sociale belangen van hun bedrijfsvoering.

In het kader van duurzaam ondernemen zou dan een verplichting voor het herstellen van aangerichte klimaatschade gerechtvaardigd zijn. Dat betekent dat er een economische waarde toegekend wordt aan het herstellen van alle klimaatschade die we door ons productie- en consumptiegedrag veroorzaken. De vervuiler betaalt. Door al vanaf de bron van een product, bijvoorbeeld bij het winnen van grond- of hulpstoffen, te onderzoeken welke schade wordt veroorzaakt aan het klimaat en het herstel hiervan op te nemen in de kostprijs, worden herstelkosten door de bedrijfskolom heen getrokken. De meerprijs die producenten en consumenten vervolgens moeten betalen voor hun goederen en diensten wordt ingezet om te investeren in bijvoorbeeld duurzame energietechnologiën of het herstellen van de biodiversiteit.   Read more...

Sustainability is a no-no. At least according to marketeers, judging on various recent publications. The economic crisis undoubtedly is a factor in that, though surely not the only one.

Some weeks ago, Marketing Online, the website of the Dutch ‘Tijdschrift voor Marketing’ (Journal of Marketing), reported that marketeers are done with CSR. Research consultancy Anderson Analytics reached a similar conclusion based on their own piece of research: sustainability can no longer count on the undivided enthusiasm of sales people. We just seem to have no other choice than to accept it: sustainability will only decrease in importance the coming period – and the recession will only accelerate that process.   Read more...

In my last post, I wrote about how unschooling really doesn't have anything to do with school. I would like to give unschooling a different title, but I haven't come up with one yet. It really is a way of life rather than just an alternative to school. I wanted to start with that definition so that the rest of my post makes sense.

Unschooling teaches kids how to give from the heart. Here is an example: My husband and I do not force our children to do chores, to say please and thank you, to clean their rooms, or any other arbitrary thing that we have decided they must be taught. We don't teach them any of these things, yet they choose to do them when they feel the need, or when they know that it would really help someone out. They are empathic children. They are sensitive to the needs of others, and they are authentic and honest. I am not saying these things to sound as though I am bragging about my children. I am hoping that by saying these things, it will encourage people to consider another way to relate to children.   Read more...

The year before I turned 50, AARP began its membership campaign on me. Invitations. Information. Enticements. Good deals. An automatic community. One of the fall-outs of membership is their wonderful magazine, AARP. The July & August 2009 issue featured a story called “The Flower of Positive Thinking” by Lynne Schreiber.

Iris Lee Underwood is a lavender farmer in Lakeville, Michigan, and she knows what it is to have a broken heart. Her daughter died of drug abuse and Underwood lived under a cloud of grief for seven years until...   Read more...

It's Not A Party In New Orleans from B-Rilla on Vimeo.   Read more...

Het jaar is begonnen met een oorlog in Gaza en een gasconflict in de Oekraïne. Maar gelukkig ook met strenge vorst en een nationale schaatsgekte! Helaas, één strenge winter maakt nog geen ‘global cooling’ maar leuk is het wel! Oud Hollandsche ijspret!

In tegenstelling tot voorgaande jaren geen nieuws over voorspellingen van beursanalisten. Grote stilte.... Ze hebben geen idee wat de AEX dit jaar gaat doen. Ik ook niet maar ik durf wel beleggingsadvies te geven.   Read more...