Mr. Oil Man, start your machines Source: Das passt überall! / … This is valid everywhere! – Stella, oh, Stella

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the idea of Ukraine conceding Donetsk Oblast as part of a "peace deal" originated from Russia, not from US President Donald Trump's team. Source: Zelenskyy during an online press briefing on 9 December, as reported by European Pravda Source: Zelenskyy: Idea of Ukraine conceding Donetsk Oblast came from Russia, not US | Ukrainska Pravda

Source: Trump's new security doctrine gives Putin exactly what he wants

Source: Officers at Texas immigration detention facility accused of beatings and sexual abuse | US immigration | The Guardian

Source: Doctor groups form united front against RFK Jr’s efforts to limit vaccine access | CIDRAP

illustration from « Amazon Rainforest Magic – The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » « Last year, I purchased the two « Amazon Rainforest Magic » books as a Christmas present for my nephew. Although my nephew is autistic, he can read if he is engaged by the storyline and Illustrations. He is extremely visual. « The Wizard of Oz” is his favorite movie; if he has watched it once, he has watched it one hundred times.

Source: Weekly Wisdom 9 December – MiddleMe

“We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period, we must try do something good, something useful, with our lives. If you contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life.” His Holiness the great 14th Dalai Lama Source: The True meaning of Life  – Silent Songs of Sonsnow

“So much trouble in the world…” So sang Bob Marley in the 1970s. Nothing much has changed, except that global events, geopolitics and the rest of it all seem so heightened in intensity. I suppose this is due to the expanded, more complex media landscape, including of course social media. We are overwhelmed, at times. We are the Caribbean. We are relatively small, in a corner of the globe.

I only realized this afternoon that I didn’t do a music post for today!  I was so exhausted last night that I kept falling asleep while trying to find a song I wanted to play, and when I got up this morning, I completely forgot!  Well … better late than never, right?  I probably wouldn’t have played one at all, but I was reading some of your comments from this morning and saw that Pete had mentioned this one … one that I play  once almost every year, and I haven’t played it yet this year! 

Do you still need a gift for someone? Here are a few ideas that are ecofriendly. It should be high on I-get-what-you-care-about and low on stuff/packaging/plastic/weird chemicals. Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com Donate to a charity that does work they care about in the person’s name. Give food you know they will eat. Give an experience, a gift certificate for bowling or a movie or dinner out.

...New York State Attorney General James was accused of mortgage fraud, of getting a mortgage on a home used as an investment property while claiming it would be her secondary residence, in order to lower the cost of borrowing. Trump wants Senator Schiff and Congressman Eric Swalwell prosecuted on the same charge of mortgage fraud; charges have not yet been brought against them.

आँसुओं का कोहरा प्रकाश में, चमक के बीच उकेरता जो एक मुस्कान- बनता कोमल आनंद का स्रोत… 💧💧💧💧💧💧 Tear mist turns to light, Through the shine a smile appears- Source of gentle joy… —Kaushal Kishore   Source: मुस्कान / Smile – Kaushal Kishore

SANTIAGO GALICIA ROJON SERRALLONGA Derechos reservados conforme a la ley/ Copyright Las estaciones y el tiempo, quizá transitarán indiferentes y sin apegos, y tal vez hasta modificarán el paisaje, borrarán los rostros y disiparán algunos recuerdos; sin embargo, seremos grandiosos en la medida que vivamos cada período y descubramos, al mirar atrás, que dejamos huellas fieles y seguras, reflejo de nuestros sentimientos, ideales y pensamientos, en otros seres humanos, en la gente que nos amó y creyó en nosotros, en las personas que estuvieron cerca y lejos, en hombres y en mujeres que también, como tú, yo, ella, él, ustedes y todos, pasaron por el mundo.

Some say love heals all, others say it’s time. Through time, your heart will heal.  As for me, I’m not sure yet. I don’t know what I believe; maybe it’s a mixture of both! If you have someone who can show you mercy, grace, love, and compassion, and who can bring peace to a loud, chaotic mind, then perhaps, with time, your heart will indeed heal.

The dataset contains images of children’s faces downloaded from websites about autism, which sparked concerns at Springer Nature about consent and reliability. — Read on www.thetransmitter.org/retraction/exclusive-springer-nature-retracts-removes-nearly-40-publications-that-trained-neural-networks-on-bonkers-dataset/

Hypocrisy:  the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense. NBC News’ Kristin Welker asked the following question of Senator Tom Cotton: “Are you comfortable having the United States target a boat in which you have not seen evidence that it’s actually heading to the United States?” And his reply:

When Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was once struggling to find a job, he often shared his worries with friends of his age. In their youthful frustration, they concluded that it was their fathers who had erred by bringing them into a country where unemployment was so widespread. Carrying this mix of anger and helplessness, Amitabh went to his father the next day and, without any any preface or context, asked him bluntly:

Source: Tuesday’s Maps & Stuff | beetleypete

Sometimes when people talk about the cartoons they watched as kids, I just smile quietly. I don’t have any big cartoon memories. I didn’t grow up waiting for a show to start or running to the TV. My childhood was different. A little quieter, a little real… and honestly, very sweet. Most of my days were spent with my cousins. We didn’t need a screen.

Today I feature a song from 1965 that I feel sure everyone has heard. I will add that I don’t like the song at all. I find it rather dreary, to be perfectly honest. But it has been covered no less than 2,200 times! That has to put it into the cover versions hall of fame. And it is 60 years old!

This collection features playful ideas found in public spaces: a makeshift “Hollywood” hill, a tree given googly eyes, a reimagined deer sign with … Funny Street Art (9 Photos)