"We may not be able to create or control all of the events that impact our lives but we can create and control our responses to everything that we experience."

Comments & Feedback

Racheldora chooses seeds with a thoughtful and insightful intellect. A warm and kind personality permeates her column and her well-written articles are full of grace. So lovely to have you here, racheldora :)

— Tamh

Racheldora is perceptive, compassionate and a natural mystic! Her column has become one of the first I turn to. Thank you so much Racheldora.

— Djehuty

500 Darfur refugees absorbed by Israel, now turning them back to Egypt

Seeded on Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:55 PM EDT (Haaretz)

The young Darfurian suggested that a bond of suffering could unite his people and the Jews, concluding: "We are asking the Jewish people to take us in. We, survivors of the genocide in Darfur, now live in the land of Zion."

world-news, darfur, refugees, israel, sudan, genocide

Architectural anarchy ~ Quixote Winery Napa Valley

Seeded on Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:12 PM EDT (quixotewinery.com)

I love this man. a true anarchist architect. gotta check this out.

home-garden, friedensreich-hundertwasser, northern-california, architecture, philosophy, napa-valley

American Food Writing: An Anthology With Classic Recipes

Seeded on Sat Jul 14, 2007 4:02 AM EDT (The New York Times)

Shall we begin with a little amuse-gueule? Thoreau on watermelon? Or, better, the remarkably sinless selection from Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which he tells of catching little bream from a stream that was dismayingly muddy (uh-oh) and of how savory (ah!) these small panfish were fo …

history, food, american-historical-anthology, classic-recipes

Jerusalem mayor asks Turkey to return ancient Judean tablet

Seeded on Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:07 AM EDT (Haaretz)

Jerusalem's mayor has asked the Turkish government to return a famous 2700-year-old tablet uncovered in an ancient subterranean passage in the city, Jerusalem officials said Friday.

history, jerusalem, biblical-heritage, ottoman-empire, turkey, siloam-tunner, book-of-chronicles

In Poland, a Jewish Revival Thrives — Minus Jews

Seeded on Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:15 AM EDT (The New York Times)

In Krakow, a new generation of non-Jewish Poles is rediscovering a culture that was nearly annihilated by the Holocaust.

nytimes, world, europe, jews, poland, krakow-poland

The Fever: Fast chat with Vanessa Redgrave

Seeded on Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:06 AM EDT (Newsday.com)

"The Fever" includes a sequence that explains through animation the "fetishism of commodities," the Karl Marx theory about how social relationships center around the values placed on material goods, such as clothing.

entertainment, poverty, wealth, class, commercialism, film, liberalism, hbo, angelina-jolie, vanessa-redgrave

1,000 Sudanese & Eritreans take Refuge in Israel: What will be their fate?

Seeded on Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:12 AM EDT (Haaretz)

A group of 45 Sudanese refugees was bused Monday to the Knesset Rose Garden in Jerusalem, since the Be'er Sheva municipality - which, along with Eilat, has absorbed most of the refugees until now - recently announced it could not absorb any more and would not allow newcomers to r …

world-news, sudan, darfur, israel, egypt, refugees, displacement, west-africa, islamic-extremism

Look for life not as we know it, U.S. report urges

Seeded on Sat Jul 7, 2007 4:56 AM EDT (Yahoo! News)

Extraterrestrial life may well be so weird we would not immediately recognize it, and scientists looking for alien life should be seeking the unfamiliar as well as the familiar, experts advised on Friday.

science, extaterretrial-life, aliens, nasa

Throwing Yourself Against the Wall

Seeded on Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:45 AM EDT (The New York Times)

Parkour, a French discipline of urban gymnastics with philosophical underpinnings, is a burgeoning sport in the U.S.

nytimes, travel, escapes, travel-and-vacations, parkour

Foreign Policy: Angelina Jolie's Mighty Heart

Seeded on Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:22 AM EDT (foreignpolicy.com)

Her voice at this moment is so important because she is somebody who, when confronted by such brutality and terrorism, somehow kept clear and was able to see the bigger picture. She didn't jump to fear and hate, with good guys and bad guys.

entertainment, mariane-pearl, daniel-pearl, terrorism, language, angelina-jolie, a-mighty-heart, movie

High court upholds student's suspension for 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' banner

Seeded on Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:30 AM EDT (The San Francisco Chronicle)

The Supreme Court ruling is Morse vs. Frederick, 06-278. It is available at www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/06-278.pdf.

politics, justice, chief-justice-john-roberts, morse-vs-frederick, first-ammendment, bong, free-speech

Can't we all just get a bong?

Seeded on Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:25 AM EDT (Language Log)

Seeded by Ben Josephs (Clipped by racheldora)

The US Supreme Court has just decided that when an Alaska high school principal punished a kid for displaying, off school property, a 14 foot sign saying Bong hits for Jesus, that didn't contravene the kid's right to free speech.

odd-news, bong, paraphernalia, marijuana, supreme-count, ken-starr

At Home Depot, How Green Is That Chainsaw?

Seeded on Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:57 AM EDT (The New York Times)

An electric chainsaw? Green, because it was not gas-powered. A bug zapper? Ditto, because it was not a poisonous spray.

business, green-movement, social-responsibility, home-depot, corporate-governance, supply-chain

A Slow Demise in the Delta

Seeded on Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:02 AM EDT (The Washington Post)

The wide disparity between subsidies for farmers and Rural Development money for agriculture communities highlights one of the contradictions of federal farm policy, which favors big agriculture over small farms and poor rural towns.

business, agriculture-department, mississippi-delta, farmsubsidies, big-agriculture, smalll-farms, social-justice, economic-security

Hamas Seizes Broad Control in Gaza Strip

Seeded on Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:18 AM EDT (The New York Times)

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, faces the collapse of Fatah power in Gaza and a putative Palestinian state divided between Fatah and Hamas.

nytimes, world, middleeast, palestinians, gaza-strip, fatah, al, hamas, mahmoud-abbas

Israeli researcher wins prize for epilepsy breakthrough

Seeded on Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:38 AM EDT (israel21c.org)

The Ben-Gurion University (BGU) professor . . . first began exploring the field after a clinical observation that the only thing patients suffering from epilepsy after a trauma or an illness had in common was a breakdown in the brain-blood barrier.

health, epilepsy, ben-gurion-university

Hamas is taking control of Palestinian schools

Seeded on Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:36 AM EDT (CNN)

"You are seeing the gradual transformation of a largely secular national ... education system and curriculum into a more ideological, closed system," said Ashrawi.

politics, hamas, secular, religious, islam, palestine, power

ON THIS DAY 1967: Cease-Fire in Syria Accepted; Israelis Hold Border Heights; Soviet Breaks Ties to Israel

Seeded on Sun Jun 10, 2007 5:30 AM EDT (The New York Times)

still living in ths shadow of 40 years ago.

history, 1967, six-day-war, middle-east, war, peace

Israelis Ask, What Have We Gained Since the '67 War?

Seeded on Sat Jun 9, 2007 6:19 AM EDT (The New York Times)

As Israel marks 40 years after an extraordinary victory, there is far less exultation than questioning about the war's impact on the country.

nytimes, world, middleeast, politics-and-government, palestinians, history, israel

Israeli Non-profit to direct Arab volunteers to civilian national service jobs

Seeded on Fri Jun 1, 2007 2:52 AM EDT (Haaretz)

Alkarinavi is aware of criticism from Arab public figures, who have called national service a prologue to mandatory military service. "This is not serving in a tank or holding a gun," he says.

politics, negev-bedouin, national-service, israel, arab-israelis, ultra-orthodox, social-equality

Panda that was released into wild dies :(

Seeded on Thu May 31, 2007 12:42 PM EDT (Yahoo! News)

Pandas are threatened by loss of habitat, poaching and a low reproduction rate. Females in the wild typically have a cub once every two to three years.

panda-bears, endangered-species, threatened-habitat, xiang-xiang

Leopard in visit to Israeli home

Seeded on Wed May 30, 2007 6:21 AM EDT (BBC News)

An Israeli wildlife guide has overpowered an ageing leopard that jumped into his bed during the night. This is in my neighborhood ofSede Boqer! Poor leopard. He was so weak, he was eating cats. He is the last of his kind in the desert. very very sad.

world-news, desert, israel, leopard, wildlife, endangered-species, extinction

Planet hunters spy distant haul

Seeded on Tue May 29, 2007 8:04 AM EDT (BBC News)

Seeded by Red Wolf (Clipped by racheldora)

A haul of 28 new planets beyond our solar system has been detected by the world's most prolific planet hunters. The finds were among 37 objects seen orbiting distant stars by a US and Anglo-Australian team in the last year.

science, astronomy, planets, space, discovery

Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The @!$%# He Makes For Americans |

Seeded on Mon May 28, 2007 10:17 AM EDT (The Onion)

Chen Hsien, an employee of Fenghua Ningbo Plastic Works Ltd., a plastics factory that manufactures lightweight household items for Western markets, expressed his disbelief Monday over the "sheer amount of @!$%# Americans will buy."

entertainment, satire, china, imports, u-s-consumerism

In Historic Test, Trains Cross Korean DMZ

Seeded on Fri May 18, 2007 8:05 AM EDT (The Washington Post)

For the first time in more than half a century, trains crossed Korea's tense demilitarized zone on Thursday, carrying 150 people each from the North and South and new hopes for peaceful reunification of the divided country.

world-news, dmz-north-korea, south-korea, korean-war, trains

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