A Moment of Silence

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“In times of grief and sorrow I will hold you and rock you and take your grief and make it my own. When you cry I cry and when you hurt I hurt. And together we will try to hold back the floods to tears and despair and make it through the potholed street of life.” 
 Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

The unspeakable tragedy of the attack on Malaysia Flight MH17, killing all 298 passengers and crew members, has shocked the world.

298 people… 80 of whom were children.

Dozens were renowned AIDS researchers, en route to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

They hailed from 11 different countries:

  • 192 from The Netherlands (1 of whom was also American)
  • 44 from Malaysia
  • 27 from Australia
  • 12 from Indonesia
  • 10 from the United Kingdom
  • 4 from Belgium
  • 4 from Germany
  • 3 from the Philippines
  • 1 from New Zealand
  • 1 from Canada

The world community is united in grief for these men, women, boys and girls.

A heinous crime against humanity has been committed. There is no doubt that those responsible for this mass murder will be brought to justice.

But, for now, let us focus our prayers and thoughts on the families and friends who are mourning such tragic loss.

Below is The Lord’s Prayer, spoken in Dutch … and the written words (scroll further down) in Dutch, English, Filipino, French, German, and Indonesian (which is also … I think, the same in Malaysian).

in DUTCH:

ONZE VADER 

Onze vader die in de hemel zijt
Uw naam worde geheiligd.
Uw rijk kome.
Uw wil geschiede op aarde zoals in de hemel.
Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood.
En vergeef ons onze schuld,
zoals wij ook aan anderen hun schuld vergeven.
En leid ons niet in bekoring,
maar verlos ons van het kwade.

Amen.

in ENGLISH:

OUR FATHER 

Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

in FILIPINO:

AMA NAMIN

Ama namin, sumasalangit Ka.
Sambahin ang ngalan Mo.
Mapasaamin ang kaharian mo
Sundin ang loob Mo dito sa lupa para nang sa langit.
Bigyan Mo kami ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw
At patawarin Mo kami sa aming mga sala
Para nang pagpapatawad namin sa nagkakasala sa amin.
At huwag Mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso
At iadya Mo kami sa lahat ng masama

Amen.

in FRENCH:

Notre Père

Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
que ton Nom soit sanctifié,
que ton règne vienne,
que ta volonté soit faite
sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offenses,
comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre-nous du mal.
[Car c’est à Toi qu’appartiennent
le règne, la puissance et la gloire,
pour les siècles des siècles.]

Amen.

in GERMAN:

UNSER VATER

Unser Vater im Himmel,
dein Name werde geheiligt,

dein Reich komme,

dein Wille geschehe

wie im Himmel, so auf der Erde.

Gib uns heute das Brot, das wir brauchen.

Und erlaß uns unsere Schulden,

wie auch wir sie unseren Schuldnern erlassen haben.

Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,

sondern rette uns vor dem Bösen.

Amen.

in INDONESIAN (and also MALAYSIAN):

BAPA KAMI

Bapa kami yang ada di Surga,

dikuduskanlah nama-Mu.

Datanglah kerajaan-Mu, jadilah kehendak-Mu,

di bumi seperti di surga.

Berikanlah kami pada hari ini makanan kami yang secukupnya,

dan ampunilah kami akan kesalahan kami

seperti jami juga mengampuni orang yang bersalah kepada kami.

Dan janganlah membawa kami ke dalam percobaan,

tetapi lepaskanlah kami dari yang jahat.

[Karena Engkaulah yang empunya kuasa dan kemuliaan

untuk selama-lamanya.]

Amin.

 

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A book with a local story, but a global message

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Around the world with Casualties of the (Recession) Depression….
… amazingly, the Kindle (eBook) edition is available virtually everywhere!
 

Although Casualties of the (Recession) Depression is about middle-class America, the experiences narrated in this book, along with the issues of recession, hunger, joblessness, homelessness… are experiences and issues that have no geographic boundaries.  They are global.  Especially in today’s world economy. 

There are approximately 870 million people, worldwide,  who are experiencing  hunger. 

Book Details:

Genre: Non-fiction

Categories: Commentary, Economics, Economic Condition, Politics

Topic: Economic crisis in middle-class America. Real people. Real stories. Real issues. Complete with commentary, historical/comparative economic analysis and statistics, helpful resources, and philanthropic programs.

Available (in English) through the following worldwide Amazon sites:

        Europe:

amazon-kindle-and-bintang

 

Image via spartantraveler.com.

heatherfromthegrove’s story spotlight for today: “Oscar and Lucinda” by Peter Carey

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Let’s wrap up fiction week, here @ heatherfromthegrove, with a love story.

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“She held out her hand, like a man. He hesitated, then took the hand and shook it. It was very warm. You could not help but be aware of the wild passage of blood on the other side of its wall, veins, capillaries, sweat glands, tiny factories in the throes of complicated manufacture. [He] looked at the eyes and, knowing how eyes worked, was astonished, not for the first time, at the infinite complexity of Creation, wondering how this thing, this instrument for seeing, could transmit so clearly its entreaty while at the same time—-Look, I am only an eye—-denying that it was doing anything of the sort.”

Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda

What better way to enjoy a summer weekend than to curl up in your favorite chair and read a love story?  Written by Australian author Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda is a satire about two star-crossed lovers in mid-nineteenth century England and Australia. Growing up in a strict, religious (Plymouth) household, the shy young man rejects his father’s religion in favor of the C of E (Church of England), and becomes an Anglican priest.  Lucinda is a headstrong Australian heiress who is a feminist before her time. She buys a glass factory, in the hope of one day building a church made from glass and transporting it (intact) to the Australian Outback. Oscar and Lucinda meet on a ship, en route to Australia and discover they share a common vice:  gambling  (he, the racetrack; she, a deck of cards). When they arrive in Australia, neither one fits well in their social circles and the two “outsiders” form a bond.  The wickedly witty gambling duo make a wager that unleashes a series of events that affects the course of their lives.  The wager?  Lucinda bets Oscar her entire inheritance that he would be incapable of transporting the glass cathedral (without any breakage or damage) to the Outback.

Told in a long flashback, this enchanting story is about two people who were truly meant to be together.  And we, the readers, fall in love with them – vices and all.

Other novels by Peter Carey:

* adapted into a film (1997, USA) by the same name; directed by Gillian Armstrong, and starring Ralph Fiennes (as Oscar) and Cate Blanchett (as Lucinda).

** adapted into a film (1986, USA) by the same name; directed by Ray Lawrence.

In addition, he has written a large body of work: short story collections, uncollected short stories, juvenile fiction, non-fiction and screenplays.