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Saturday, July 31, 2010
One day in the email life of Vlasta Molak
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
If you have never met Vlasta Molak, perhaps you have not ended up on the mysterious BCC list of her voluminous emails sent daily. Perhaps she sends even more than on this strand, as I don’t know if I appear in every BCC list she distributes. Anyway, here is one day in the email life of Vlasta Molak—from July 30th, 2010. Enjoy!
8:17 AM
from Vlasta Molak
to Mary Ann Lederer
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 8:17 AM
subject Plant thief in OTRIt would be interesting to know WHY this man steals plants…Does he sell them? Does he have a glasshouse? Does he destroy them? It seams to be strange to make a crimal career out of stealing plants…
VM—————Forwarded message—————
From: Cheryl Curtis
Date: Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:37 PM
Subject: Main, Mulberry & McMicken Safety Sector Meeting
To: Cheryl CurtisAt last evenings meeting we were informed that a plant thief is out and about again.
Attached are photos of the areas, most famous suspect.
Thanks to everyone who attended, it is great to see so many people taking an interest in working together to make the neighborhood safer and cleaner.
Through your continued attendance, we look forward to working together on your ideas and concerns to make OTR a better place.Be sure to contact our office if you are interested in attending the September Citizens on Patrol Class. Applications are due September 9th.
The Main, Mulberry & McMicken Safety Sector Meeting takes place the fourth Wednesday of each month (except holidays). Our next meeting is Wednesday, August 25th. Be sure to invite your neighbors.
Cheryl Curtis
Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce
513 241-2690—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
9:01 AM
from Vlasta Molak
to Dan La Botz
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:01 AM
subject Control of women by menYou mean the burkha ban in France? Have you seen the slide show about what burkha represents: severe oppression of women being locked into this canvas jail and an insult to Muslim men, assuming that if the woman uncovered her face the man would jump on her to rape her?
I heard an interesting interview on BBC, where both a Muslim woman opponent and the proponent of burkha were questioned. The proponent of burkha, who wears it on the streets of London, but not in her school where she is a teacher (presumable she would lose her job as a masked teacher) sounded rather pathetic. The opponent of burkha said that this argument (about being safe from men) is an insult to Muslim and non-Muslim men, assuming that they are rapists who, when they see a pretty face, would jump on the woman. She (the modern Muslim woman) gives more credit to men’ honor than making such an assumption about them.
I agree with the explanation of the Muslim woman opponent of burkha. FACE is a representation of a PERSON. Not seeing a face, one cannot relate to the masked creature as to a person. Thus, burkha has no place on the streets of a civilized world.
If you read the slide show below, you will see that burkha has nothing to do with Islam (except that it originated in Afghanistan during kingdom there in 19th century), but it is way to keep women locked up from social and family life, relegated to a “thing”. Burkha and female genital mutilations are a way to impose control of women by men: Their sex and their social life, and have no place in ANY society!
VM
VMOn Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:46 PM, Dan La Botz
wrote:
I agree about this one, but it is a very different question than the others you have written to me about. Dan
Dan La Botz
On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 8:52 AM, Vlasta Molak
wrote:
While we may be tolerant of all kinds of customs and religions, there are some customs that should be relegated to the stone age, where they belong, especially customs concerning women.
It is about time that men all over the world realize that having parternship with women is far more satisfying and fun than domination and disparaging and opressing women, for religious or cultural reasons.
Read the article below and let me know what you think.
VM
To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/25/female-circumcision-children-british-law
British girls undergo horror of genital mutilation despite tough laws
Female circumcision will be inflicted on up to 2,000 British schoolgirls during the summer holidays ? leaving brutal physical and emotional scars. Yet there have been no prosecutions against the practice
Tracy McVeigh and Tara Sutton
Sunday July 25 2010
The Observerhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/25/female-circumcision-children-british-law
Like any 12-year-old, Jamelia was excited at the prospect of a plane journey and a long summer holiday in the sun. An avid reader, she had filled her suitcases with books and was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when her mother came for her. “She said, ‘You know it’s going to be today?’ I didn’t know exactly what it would entail but I knew something was going to be cut. I was made to believe it was genuinely part of our religion.”
[Entire text of article deleted from this post…]
—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
10:05 AM
from Vlasta Molak
to “Winburn, Charlie”
cc “roxanne.qualls”
“laure.quinlivan”
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address),
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address),
“chris.monzel”
“mark.mallory” ,
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address),
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address),
“Bortz, Chris”
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:05 AM
subject >18,000 new jobs in Cincinnati?Dear Council member Winburn,
We would like to present 3 projects of the Gaia Foundation (http://www.gaiafoundation.net) , which have a potential to create over 15,000 jobs in Cincinnati and Hamilton County:
1. SEARCH (Sustainable Environment and Advanced Renewal of the Cincinnati Heart) ~5,000 job for unemployed in OTR and surrounding blighted areas on fixing empty buildings (about 2,000).(see SEARCH at http://www.gaiafoundation.net). Cincinnati has a beautiful housing stock that has been let deteriorate and get infested by vermin and drug addicts. The City needs to FIX what is already has, rather then venturing into questionable expensive development (usually employing companies from out of town without creating jobs in the City), while leaving the blighted area to further deteriorate and demolishing the sturdy old buildings, replacing them with flimsy sterile boxes, under the guise of LEED certification.
2. Sky Gardens, with Rainbow Town, an alternative version in the Banks, that would be a sustainable Town for about 5,000 people to live, work, have schools, recreation and everything in the Banks in addition to becoming a tourist attraction since it has a totally green design that everybody would want to visit . One could still use the garages that were already built with the public money and the same contractors from Atlanta, but with a design which will represent Ohio history (buildings in a shape of mounds completely covered by vegetation and a Serpent mound to produce organically grown food in all seasons) and sustainable future of Cincinnati. This can create ~8,000 new jobs, not only in construction stage but for maintaining the green infrastructure, gardens and renewable energy solar/thermal, photovoltaic, hydro and wind renewable power plants, which will be permanent jobs. (see description at http://www.gaiafoundation.net Sky Gardens)
3. Sustainable Hamilton County, a project proposed to the Hamilton County Commissioners, that will create over 5,000 jobs in energy conservation, efficiency, audits etc., which will decrease by 50% the utility costs in 50% of houses in Hamilton County in 5 years. We believe that such jobs will be the the most meaningful jobs in Cincinnati, in which the employees will work in producing things and services that will make Cincinnati the leader in sustainable development. Project 50/50/50 in 5 (of 3x50 in 5). This will also include a totally GREEN solution (payed by itself) to the MSD storm sewer overflow problem, which in left on the current trajectory will costs the consumers $3-4 BILLIONS, which is 3 TIMES the cost of the stadium/banks accumulated costs so far ($1,400 MILLIONS).
Let me know when we can present Gaia Foundation job creating projects, which will serve the interests of ALL people living in Cincinnati and Hamilton County and substantially decrease joblessness and crime (employed people who have something to lose are less likely to turn into criminals). Also, creation of those jobs for performing the work that is actually necessary to do rather then make work, will not costs the taxpayers anything, since they will all pay for themselves in a true spirit of free markets: Let the best ideas and work win by the strength of their argument. IF implemented, these three projects will solve the budget deficits both in the County and the City and the Council and the Mayor will be able to turn their attention to creating a more livable city rather then haggling about budgets.
Sincerely,
Vlasta Molak, Ph.D.
—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:45 PM, Winburn, Charlie wrote:
JOB CREATION COMMITTEE
CHARLIE WINBURN, CHAIR MONDAY
CECIL THOMAS, VICE CHAIR AUGUST 02, 2010
CHRIS BORTZ 1:00 P.M.
ROXANNE QUALLS DUKE ENERGY CONVENTION CENTER
LAURE QUINLIVAN ROOM 205
AGENDA
PRESENTATIONS
Small Business Enterprise Compliance
· Quarterly Report on Construction, Professional Services, and Supplies
· Update on Status of OPEN Cincinnati
Mr. Milton Dohoney, Jr. – City Manager
Mr. David Holmes – Assistant City Manager
Mr. Scott Stiles – Assistant City Manager
Changing Fair Hiring Policies in the City of Cincinnati
· Opportunity to Hire Ex-Offenders
Mr. David Singleton, Ohio Justice and Policy Center—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
10:48 AM
from Vlasta Molak
to Leon Spitz
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:48 AM
subject Genetics and spiritualityI don’t know if anybody did any genetics research on sabras and surrounding Arabs, some of them may be descendants of the original Jews, who stayed on their land, and who converted to Islam rather then die out…
Not that the genetics matters that much (except that inbred people have more birth defects and imbeciles), because Judaism (and other positive religions) is a matter of spirituality and ethical behavior, except for the monsters like Hitler and Ahmadinijad and their copycats among various antisemitic terrorist organizations and their supporters.
VM
—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
11:44 AM
from Vlasta Molak
to Sohaib Khan
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 11:44 AM
subject What do Palestinian Arabs want?The answer to this question may be of interest to you. Rather than having US, UN and Russia decide the fate of the Palestinian Arabs, let them have a chance to express what they believe is best for THEM.
VM
Click on this link:
IT HAPPENED AGAIN: MORE EAST JERUSALEM ARABS TELL ME THEY PREFER ISRAEL OVER THE PA
——
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
12:04 PM
from Vlasta Molak
to The Dean of Cincinnati
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 12:04 PM
subject Money makes the world go round!
Dear VLASTA,
Here are a couple of numbers that might shock you.More than $3,000,000—that’s how much BP has spent on lobbying this year alone. $800,000 a day—that’s what the Chamber of Commerce spent trying to defeat health care reform. With that kind of money, corporations are powering armies of lobbyists and a slew of misinformation campaigns. Election Day is less than 100 days away, and we have to ensure that the TRUE majority of everyday Americans is heard in November.
We may not have their deep pockets, but we have you—our grassroots supporters—and that gives us our edge. We’ll use our time-tested TrueMajority grassroots organizing tactics with the incredible reach of the Internet to fight back against lobbying spending sprees by Big Oil and others.
We simply can’t do it without you. Help us get 300 donors before midnight, July 31 to reach our goal.
Click here to make a donation to TrueMajority right now. Become one of our 300 donors before July 31. We don’t take any corporate or government money—we’re counting on you.
BP’s $3 million doesn’t include their trade group, the American Petroleum Institute, which spent another $2.3 million this quarter. Add that to the $2.52 million and $5.52 million ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips spent in the first quarter, and we start to get a sense of just how much money Big Oil is pouring into Washington.
Now, think about all of the other industries that have something to gain by blocking progress.
We need your help to respond before it’s too late. They may have spent millions on lobbying, but we’re uniting millions of grassroots activists to change the national dialogue.
We’re counting on you to help us reach our donor goal before the deadline on midnight, July 31.
Click here to make a donation to TrueMajority right now. Become one of our 300 donors before July 31, 2010. Mega-corporations are using everything they have to sway this election in their favor, and we need to fight back.
Sincerely,
Matt Holland
Online Director, TrueMajority
1:37 PM
from Vlasta Molak
to Justin Jeffre
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 1:37 PM
subject DELETE key!It takes less time to press a DELETE key than to send a message to be taken off a mailing list. As I told you before, I have NO mailing lists and my messages are directed to specific people, who had in the past showed interests in particular topics, as you did, regarding environmental issues and Israel, which is in this message which you had rejected.
An inflated EGO is often an obstacle to listening to those who know and can teach you something, and thus achieving deeper understanding. Your undisguised anti-semitism is rather acute, well in line with other misguided peacenicks, who are are a real obstacle to the peace in the Middle East, because of their biased and erroneous vision of reality
! That is an ostrich approach of expanding one’s vision
As the old Chinese Proverb said: When you see somebody you like, emulate their behavior. When you see somebody whom you dislike, examine your own self!
Have a great day!
VM
—————Forwarded message—————
From: Justin Jeffre
Date: Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 1:55 PM
Subject: Re: Facts and fiction
To: Vlasta MolakTAKE ME OFF YOUR EMAIL LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 9:35 AM, Vlasta Molak wrote:
On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 11:00 AM, Leon wrote:
Humans are nuts if they think having a high birth rate will resolve issues.
Palestinian birthrate, for example, will only lead to more bloodshed and catastrophe for them.
Overpopulation in any place that exceeds the carrying capacity of the land is bad, since then people become dependent on outsiders to feed them. That is not so different from haredis, whose men apparently do not care to work for a living (70% unemployed). Those are the same haredim who harass women on Egged buses and get women arrested for praying at the Kotel.
As far as I am concerned, extreme religions and customs (such as genital mutilation or burkhas or shaving women’s head and keeping women barefoot in the kitchen and pregnant) of ANY religion, combined with having maximum number of children that somebody else has to feed and take care of, are all very bad for Earth and other humans and animals. As some wise person said: The Biblical commandment rvu v pru (multiply and spread) was given when the world had only Adam and Eve. I think that God would give a different commandment now, with Earth having 7 BILLIONS people. Perhaps: “constrain and desist!” would better fit for the current reality on Earth
And, believe it or not, many Palestinian Arab families are originally from places other than the West Bank.
Yes, from my readings, it appears that many of them followed Jewish immigration to Palestine, since the Jews made land livable and arable again, and cities livable, after centuries of neglect of Palestine. I remember talking to some old timers when I lived in Israel (1971-1976) who proudly told me how they love every acre of the land, which they themselves cleared…One guy showed me the stones on the side of the fields, which were cleared to make land fertile again.
I don’t know if anybody had studied Ottoman archives on population and land ownership and also Jews land ownership in Arab Countries prior and around IIsrael proclamation in 1948. It would be good to have exact data, so that fair exchange could be worked out. I do not think that people whose secret and not so secret goal is to destroy Israel, rather then getting their own country, are mature enough to get such a country. Look what had happened in Gaza when Israel let them govern in 2005? The Arabs and the world need to be confronted by FACTS and the misinformation spread by the antisemites around the world need to be demolished.
Several probably have Jewish DNA in their blood due to forced conversion by Muslims over the centuries.
Also, I don’t know if anybody did any genetics research on sabras and surrounding Arabs, some of them may be descendants of the original Jews (who never left after the destruction of the second temple in AD70), who converted to Islam, rather then die out and had eked living for many generations…But as far as genetics goes, most of us have mixed genes, which is a very good thing, since it avoids imbecility due to inbreeding
V.
Leon
From: Vlasta Molak
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 10:48 AM
To: Tal, Margalit
Subject: Roger CohenThere were some problems with Roger Cohen when he was reporting from Bosnia also, some 18 years ago….He did not fully understand the situation on which he commented. It appears almost like he lives in some idealized bubble, rather then looking into total reality of the situation. He is really doing a disservice to Jews and Israel, and to the cause of peace, with this article in NYT. Many peace activists are also postponing peace, by not helping Palestinian Arabs see their role and incitement of the conflict in the Middle East. When they are ready to behave like mature adults (although more than 1/2 half of population is under th age of 15 because of their horrendous birth rate and unemployment, causing ecological catastrophe), who want their own state more than hating Jews and wanting to destroy Jewish state, the peace will come.
Thank you for your input. My opinion is similar to yours…Also, I do not know why is American life singled out here? Why are lives of others less important? How about lives of Israelis who were barraged by rockets, which this Turkish flotilla may have carried with them, as some previous boats did? How about the lives of Kurdish people who are often killed by the Turkish army? Would Turkey tolerate if Israel helped organize flotilla to bring supply to the Kurds, who were planing bombs in Turkey?
Vlasta
On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 1:48 PM, Tal, Margalit wrote:
There is no taboo. Roger Cohen doesn’t read the Israeli press and makes waves by knee jerk sympathy for the Palestinians and their supporters. I am very sorry for the outcome of the flotilla’s mishap. I am very sad for the young man’s death.He did however volunteer for the mission that did involve a sizeable level of risk. He did respond to the call of the fundamentalist religious jihadist organization. Like going for climbing – you can not deny that there is a higher chance you’ll break your bones while doing it. If you are really worried about your arms (you’re a piano player), do not goo climbing – get your energy out in the safety of the air-conditioned gym.
Going out in the boat filled with international but communist and militant crowd to break the American blockade of Cuba would also involve the level of risk that includes loss of life.
MargalitFrom: Vlasta Molak [mailto:drmolak@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 10:11 AM
To: siva heiman
Subject: The Forgotten AmericanWhat do you think about this point of view?
OPINION | July 27, 2010
Op-Ed Columnist: The Forgotten American
By ROGER COHEN
The Middle East requires more open debate and the dropping of taboos.
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
1:48 PM
from Vlasta Molak
to Mary Ann Lederer
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 1:48 PM
subject ‘Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.’Women got a right to vote in USA in November 1920, after a long and horrendous struggle (see below). There are still countries in the world where women have to be hide in their houses and under burkhas. Think about it when you have an oportunity to vote…
VM[The rest of this email features many links and pictures that would take too long to try and recreate…]
2:53 PM
from Vlasta Molak
to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
cc The Dean of Cincinnati
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 2:53 PM
subject DELETING reality?Wrong analogy, dear… Using DELETE key takes about one second of your time
Since I had developed a very fast screening system for messages that I receive, it is worth my time to scan them and make a fast triage for future use. I get messages from Republicans, as well as leftist antisemites, from Buddhist, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and atheists…Since I do not belong to ANY party of more than 2 members (including me), everybody thinks that they can attract me to their point of view.
Therefore, I listen to the arguments of all sides and consider them (and discard them if they are of no use to my better understanding of a reality in which we live). It is a matter of efficiency in using information to derive more complete knowledge and wisdom out of multiple sources, with diverse points of view (remember the story of five blind men and an elephant?)
I have not bothered Justin Jeffre, who often expresses antisemitic views and condemnation of Israel, and does not want to see anything that does not fit his distorted image of Israel, but occasionally I had sent him stuff to help him see a more complete view of reality. Since he obviously has a large blind spot when it comes to Jews and Israel and is not interested in an honest discussion of issues connected with the peace in the Middle East, he will not be getting any more messages. That will save me more time (putting his E-mail in bcc) than his using DELETE key to throw them out of his E-box
V.
P.S. Do you want to borrow the BEEF BUSTERS book that I told you about?
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 2:09 PM, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) wrote:
That’s like saying the problem of noise pollution would be more quickly solved if people would just wear ear plugs, or if you don’t want someone constantly inviting themselves or breaking into your house, go to another room where they are not; it may seem simpler (to the one generating the noise or entering the house) but that’s hardly the point. If Justin wants you to stop electronically bothering him, stop! Don’t put the onus on him when it’s you who are the intruder, Vlasta. You’re smart enough to figure that out.
——Vlasta Molak wrote:
> It takes less time to press a DELETE key than to send a message to be taken
> off a mailing list. As I told you before, I have NO mailing lists and my
> messages are directed to specific people, who had in the past showed
> interests in particular topics, as you did, regarding environmental issues
> and Israel, which is in this message which you had rejected.
> > An inflated EGO is often an obstacle to listening to those who know and can
> teach you something, and thus achieving deeper understanding. Your
> undisguised anti-semitism is rather acute, well in line with other misguided
> peacenicks, who are are a real obstacle to the peace in the Middle East,
> because of their biased and erroneous vision of reality
> ostrich approach of expanding one’s vision
> > As the old Chinese Proverb said: When you see somebody you like, emulate
> their behavior. When you see somebody whom you dislike, examine your own
> self!
> > Have a great day!
> > VM
4:47 PM
from Vlasta Molak
to Achi Brandt
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 4:47 PM
subject Education and EarthI have given some thought to the idea that the failure in world educational systems is somehow responsible for all the troubles and triumphs in the world, from Aardwark, Arabs, Burkhas…to Wars, Yad wa Shem, and Zion
Such a statement is almost a tautology and lacks operational value, because it assumes an absolute value system promoted by various educational systems. However, as you know, various cultures have values systems that differ:
1. Western rational education believes in the supremacy of humans and their rational mind in conquering and subjugating other species of the Earth in a most efficient way. This kind of human hubris had led to “conquering” other people and lands, which were useful for the promotion of industrialization of the world, and measuring well being primarily by its material growth, which inevitably led to depletion of resources and pollution of Earth. In the USA, the main emphasis of education is on test taking and eventual graduation to obtain better paid job. Thus, the purpose of education seams to be to promote conquering of ecological systems and gross material enjoyment, resulting from a better paid job. Naturally, bankers, business managers, and lawyers command the highest salaries, since they are deemed valuable for promotion of the capitalist society in which we live. Those who grow food and provide shelter or are teaching future generations are low on the value rank and command law salaries.
Lately, this approach had been modified since people had become aware of damage that gross exploitation of resources causes and it cannot last for ever, and eventually leads to the demise of society, as it had happened to the cultures in the past. Hopefully, the changes will be implemented soon, or else we are out of luck and may go the way of Roman Empire
2. Buddhist and Hindu approach is where material world is considered as an “illusion” Samsara (Buddhist) or Maya (Hindu) and which promotes letting things in the material world stay as they are, and concentrate on internal mind development through various rituals and meditation. The lack of concern for physical environment that one can see in Boddhigaya and Buddhist monks’ expectation that somebody else should be cleaning the streets and taking care of the material necessities of life does not fit well with the Western notion of progress
3. The extreme madrases approach (many of them in Pakistan), which consider human beings as subjugated to Allah a rather narrow interpretation of Koran as the ultimate word of Allah. Those madrases often promote violent jihad, not as a way to conquer one’s own selfish and damaging impulsive behaviors, but also to force everybody on this planet to follow the same path. According to the most extreme of such educational systems, women are relegated to a second class status and often are controlled by men, by burkhas and severe punishements (like that poor woman in Iran to be stoned). Madrases in the past (see Wikkipaedia) may have promoted much more harmonious approach to living especially during the zenith of Islam in the middle ages, when they rediscovered and translated Greek phylosophers, matematicians, and scientists and transmitted them to the medievil Europe, which then progressed into Renescaince.
Therefore, when you say that the troubles of the world are caused by the failures of our educational systems, you must include values, which form the basis of those educational systems. There is a variety of human cultures which can be cherrished, as long as it does not deny others right to life and pursuit of happiness. I like Aldo Leopold’s criteria for what is good: What brings joy and happiness to all (presumably also animals, who are a part of our biosphere). The exact way on how to bring such joy and happiness is up to cultures in which we grow, and which can create a wanderful diversity suitable to different parts of the world. I am sure that Krishnamurthi and other great educators and phylosophers had discussed those issues in depth far greater than this E-mail.
V.
—
Dr. Vlasta Molak, President & CEO
GAIA Foundation Inc.
8987 Cotillion Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45231
USA
Telephone 513/252-9702
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website: http://www.gaiafoundation.net and http://www.ccas.ru/cito/gaia
8:05 PM
from Vlasta Molak
to Dan La Botz
date Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 8:05 PM
subject Rate of information flowI do understand that the rate of information absorption varies from person to person. What to me may appear as current information useful to improvement of a dialoge relevant to the issues of mutual interest, it may appear as “bombardment” to you and/or Justin and other people who are not used to my rate of information stream
Anger does not enter my vocabulary, and/or my emotional set up, since I went to the Kopan monastery in Kathmandu in 2004 to learn Tibetan Buddhist meditation techniques. As you may know , in Buddhism, anger is considered as the most damaging emotion and one is strongly encouraged to let go of anger, in order to have a happy emotionally balanced life. Shouting is also not in my style
Have a great evening.
VM
P.S. I have a Court date on October 13, for my real estate problem. If you know of others whose houses had been valuated in more than their real value (and thus had been paying more tax since 2000) let me know, and perhaps we can join the forces against the HC Treasurer and Auditor. In the meantime I will be gone to my trip to Asia, Middle East and Europe (most likely from August 27-October 10).
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 4:51 PM, Dan La Botz wrote:
Dear Vlasta,While I share and I know that Justin shares many of your values, concerns, and objectives, we have both asked you to mail to us less frequently, and perhaps only things of particular interest to us. I don’t think that either of us are such egoists that we can’t learn from you and others, but you should also respect that we are feeling bombarded by you. It is as if someone in a room starts shouting at you about something, you tend to walk away. There may be good reasons to be angry, but all that gets conveyed is the anger and not the reason. So shouting doesn’t work, neither does email bombardment. Will all due respect and appreciation, don’t drop me from your mailings but include me less often.
Thanks,
Dan
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31 Jul 2010 at 01:28 pm | #
“An inflated EGO is often an obstacle to listening to those who know and can teach you something, and thus achieving deeper understanding.”
heehee
02 Aug 2010 at 03:01 pm | #
Vlasta is completey insane
07 Aug 2010 at 05:29 am | #
nufsed.
10 Aug 2010 at 08:28 am | #
Ah, Vlasta. I remember her from back in the old “Tri-State OnLine” BBS days. Remember, she’s a Doctor so no matter what she says, she’s right and if you disagree, you are wrong!!!
<chuckle>