by Tahar Ben Jelloun, as quoted by Jean Marie Gustave Le Clezio in Tahar the Wise, Translated from French by Margaret Obank.
La grenade rouge et juteuse
lourde de grains et de souvenirs
tombe avec la lune
dans les mains des enfants nus.
(The red and juicy pomegranate grenade
heavy with seeds and memories
falls with the moon
into the hands of naked children.)
Here’s my translation:
The red juicy grenade
heavy with seeds and memories
drops with the moon
into hands of nude children
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has a report card for American politicians:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
4th term Republican from Arizona. First elected in 1986.
Our CommentsD
(3 out of 9 votes with IAVA Action, not a Post-9/11 GI Bill cosponsor)
Here’s what they say about McCain on the Senate “D List”
These legislators must improve their voting records if they are to legitimately claim that they support our troops and veterans.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)
1st term Democrat from Illinois. First elected in 2004.
Our Comments
B
(5 out of 9 votes with IAVA Action, plus 2 points for Post-9/11 GI Bill cosponsorship)
Both California Senators were rated A+
A single report card also shows the spread of who in Washington supports troops and veterans.
Thaindian discusses new findings that indicate Brazilian (Forelius pusillus) ants may have a form of self-sacrifice to ensure the general welfare of their colony:
The authors said that given the typical nest populations of 100,000, the sacrifice of up to eight workers a night is worth paying for the security of the nest.
Tofilski said that the ants are probably older workers approaching death who are more dispensable than their younger nest mates, and so are programmed to perform riskier tasks as they age.
The OCRegister.com has a nicely written opinion piece on California’s Proposition 8:
The state Supreme Court ruled that the right to marry is a fundamental individual right that must be provided equally to all people desiring to marry. Allowing same-sex couples to share in this right does not denigrate or degrade the marriages of the vast majority of people who enter into the traditional man-woman form of marriage. It strikes us as simple fairness.
[…]
In an ideal world, the state would have little or no role in defining or regulating so intimate a relationship as marriage. However, the state has inserted itself into all too many aspects of our private lives. Given that it has done so, it is only fair that it afford equal protection to all who choose to make loving lifelong commitments to one another. We recommend a “no” vote on Prop. 8.
They raise a good point. Interesting to see such a notoriously “conservative” community paper take a stand for progress. Given that, why should a regulatory body be asked to deny equal-protection by constitution? What harm, or risk, is being addressed by Proposition 8? The Proposition seems like a colossal waste of time and energy, to me, especially compared with more pressing issues of real economic and social consequence like privacy, health care and education.