tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47510823820972347032011-11-13T16:29:57.262-10:00Quotations from my readings, that I want to remember, to share, and to discuss.Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.comBlogger2651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-85297844172381859472011-05-01T11:05:00.003-10:002011-05-01T11:14:52.369-10:00

"You don't stop running because you get old. You get old because you stop running."Jack Kirk, still running races at age 96 when quoted in Christopher McDougall's book "Born to run".May I also be able to run all my life!

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-72549940430490381172011-02-19T11:03:00.004-10:002011-02-19T11:20:52.470-10:00

A tous ceux qui auraient peur d'une montée de l'Islamisme à la suite des événements récents et en cours dans le monde arabe, écoutez donc la réponse de Béchir Labidi, Tunisien:"Je comprends que la peur de l’Islam est un vrai problème. Mais derrière cette peur se cache surtout la peur du fanatisme et de l’extrémisme.  Ce fanatisme et cet extrémisme ne sont que le résidu de la frustration et du

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-58862716133876491502010-11-21T12:10:00.005-10:002010-11-21T12:19:01.332-10:00

"[...] qui leur fera faire par goût et par passion ce qu'on ne fait jamais assez bien quand on ne le fait que par devoir ou par intérêt."Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "Les considérations sur le gouvernement de Pologne et sur sa réformation projetée", Ecrits politiques.Rapporté dans "Manière de voir", Le Monde diplomatique, no 112 (août-septembre 2010, p. 30).

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-71536542426856911502010-11-13T12:02:00.007-10:002010-11-13T12:26:43.097-10:00

"Quel est le premier objet de la société? C'est de maintenir les droits imprescriptibles de l'homme. Quel est le premier de ces droits? Celui d'exister. La première loi sociale est donc celle qui garantit à tous les membres de la société les moyens d'exister. Toutes les autres sont subordonnées à celle-là; la propriété n'a été instituée ou garantie que pour la cimenter...Les aliments nécessaires

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-52417424940481969022010-07-31T22:59:00.003-10:002010-07-31T23:12:40.599-10:00

"Elle est à l'horizon, dit Fernando Birri. Je me rapproche de deux pas, elle s'éloigne de deux pas. Je chemine de dix pas et l'horizon s'enfuit dix pas plus loin. Pour autant que je chemine, jamais je ne l'atteindrai. A quoi sert l'utopie? Elle sert à cela: cheminer."Eduardo Galeano, Las Palabras andantes, cité par Dominique Vidal dans l'éditorial de Manière de voir, Le Monde diplomatique, no 112

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-87581227274842726372010-07-11T10:19:00.003-10:002010-07-11T10:25:45.641-10:00

"Mais les évènements importants restent toujours ignorés du monde - comme cet enfant qui a pu regarder, émerveillé, un papillon voler, sans le tuer."Iouri Norstein, Courrier International no 784.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-44935971702339288642010-07-04T07:50:00.003-10:002010-07-04T08:02:03.313-10:00

"Oser refuser l'immobilisme face à l'injustice, la souffrance, et décider de s'engager en faisant le premier pas là où l'on est. Quant à savoir là où il mènera, cela n'appartient à personne. Mais le seul fait de s'engager et de se mettre en marche ouvre un "champ du possible". [...]En témoignant de l'impact du premier pas, nos pionniers révèlent une valeur majeure pour l'individu: celle de

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-82954197294473614652010-06-25T11:56:00.003-10:002010-06-25T12:10:42.513-10:00

"Cette année si particulière nous a décentrés de nos habitudes et de nos repères occidentaux. Elle nous a donné le sentiment d'une possible "citoyenneté du monde".Il ne s'agit pas d'une formule mais d'une conviction qui s'est forgée au gré de nos étapes: au-delà de nos spécificités de culture, d'histoire, de réalités géographiques, économiques, sociologiques, nous avons rencontré des êtres

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-654322447615405192010-04-14T11:39:00.002-10:002010-04-14T11:45:00.292-10:00

"Ne peut rien pour le bonheur d'autrui celui qui ne sait être heureux lui-même."André Gide (quoted by Marie-Hélène et Laurent de Cherisey, Passeurs d'Espoir, vol. I).

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-37880186828035724962010-04-01T11:04:00.002-10:002010-04-01T11:27:32.694-10:00

"Pour allumer les plus grands feux, une petite allumette suffit!"Marie-Hélène et Laurent de Cherisey, Passeurs d'Espoir (vol. I).

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-70836100872162588842010-03-04T06:34:00.002-10:002010-03-04T06:43:38.025-10:00

"Il ne faut pas sauver le monde malgré l'homme: il faut sauver l'homme pour sauver le monde."Laurent de Cherisey, Recherche volontaire pour changer le monde, chapitre "Trois idées pour conclure ou... pour commencer".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-55317744045070074012010-02-19T13:53:00.001-10:002010-02-19T13:57:58.044-10:00

"Lors d'un déjeuner à Caux en famille avec Mohammed Sahnoun, nous lui avons posé la question: «Vous avez été haut dignitaire de l'ONU, ambassadeur de votre pays, vous avez eu des responsabilités au coeur des organes de pouvoir politique internationaux. Pourquoi avoir accepté de "basculer" dans le monde associatif en acceptant la présidence d'Initiatives et Changement?» En se tournant vers nos

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-54491617446012039472010-02-12T07:51:00.005-10:002010-02-12T08:11:13.228-10:00

Ah, voici exprimé clairement l'argument de bon sens qui rend les critiques des sceptiques du changement climatique stériles, sinon dangereuses.Lors d'un entretien avec Le Monde, à la question "Les erreurs commises par le GIEC remettent-elles en cause sa crédibilité ?", Nicholas Stern répond:"Si nous agissons comme si la science avait raison et que, in fine, les risques s'avèrent moins importants,

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-76778510739130864632010-02-08T09:07:00.000-10:002010-02-08T09:09:14.208-10:00

"La liberté ne consiste pas à faire ce qu'on a envie de faire, mais à aimer ce qu'on fait."Étienne Primard, cité par Laurent de Cherisey dans Recherche volontaire pour changer le monde, chapitre "Que faire de ma vie?".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-50965270548898046592010-01-27T14:34:00.003-10:002010-01-27T14:44:18.211-10:00

"Le monde n'est pas tel qu'il est. Il est tel que nous le faisons. Soyons le changement que nous voulons voir dans le monde."Mohandas Gandhi, cité par Laurent de Cherisey dans Recherche volontaire pour changer le monde, chapitre "Le pire n'est jamais sûr".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-64251188887903800592010-01-17T14:23:00.003-10:002010-01-17T14:46:26.643-10:00

"une seule génération formée aux enjeux de la planète... Une seule génération volontaire pour changer le monde... Le temps d'une génération pourrait suffire à bâtir les grandes réponses dont ce monde a besoin. Une génération... Celle de nos enfants si nous les aidons à libérer leurs audaces*."Laurent de Cherisey, Recherche volontaire pour changer le monde, chapitre "Il n'y a pas d'âge pour

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-45894004314945189532010-01-11T13:44:00.001-10:002010-01-11T13:49:32.222-10:00

Faced with the predictions of the impacts of global warming on our society, the most natural and easiest answer is denial. Some deny the fact itself that global warming is happening, or the scientific consensus that it is almost certainly caused by human emissions of green-house gases. Other recognize the overwhelming evidence, but find a variety of reasons not to act (to quote Mark Lynas: "I am

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-45653136606143793132010-01-06T13:16:00.003-10:002010-01-06T13:50:54.135-10:00

"According to sophisticated computer modeling of future rates of climate change, we do have a short time left to cut back emissions in order to avoid "dangerous" levels of warming, and can still aim for a "safe landing" within the one-to-two-degree corridor. This window of opportunity is very nearly closed, however. My conclusion in this book, one that is supported by the 2007 IPCC report, is

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-22322188525047762462009-12-08T01:40:00.001-10:002009-12-08T01:44:37.206-10:00

Six degrees by Mark Lynas is the most poignant wake-up call for humanity about fighting global warming that I have read so far. Sometimes it sounds like science fiction, as the possible consequences of a runaway global warming are almost beyond imagination. But it is all based on hard science (Mark Lynas does not invent anything, he draws everything from the scientific litterature), from the

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-70312992071166546212009-12-01T12:52:00.003-10:002009-12-01T12:57:08.819-10:00

"Je crois que le plus bel héritage qu'on puisse transmettre à nos enfants, ce ne sont pas les biens matériels mais ce qu'on croit."Marie-Hélène et Laurent de Cherisey, Passeurs d'Espoir (vol. I).

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-74741504872139551172009-11-25T13:07:00.001-10:002009-11-25T13:09:23.993-10:00

"All the urges of the passions express vital natural impulses, and it is the animal in us which gives rise to them. The wise man is conscious of them, he knows how to give them their true name and to make use of them as you direct your donkey. But the wise man is rare, and egoism finds a thousand reasons for giving those impulses legitimate motives and flattering names. The human passions are

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-32312459175454634602009-11-15T12:36:00.002-10:002009-11-15T12:43:25.547-10:00

Although I often criticize numerical models, since they often don't manage to reproduce correctly the observations I am working on, I have to recognize the following statement by Mark Lynas:"Nevertheless, many skeptics base their objections on the suspicion that models are somehow fiddled in advance to come up with the "right answers" by scientists eager for the next global warming grant - "you

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-45309102516881090552009-11-12T14:35:00.004-10:002009-11-12T14:48:52.616-10:00

"D'une vie entière inutile, il n'y aura eu que l'amour qui brille".Mano Solo, "Des années entières", Rentrer au port.Mano, j'ai enfin eu le plaisir de te voir et t'entendre en concert ce soir.Ta voix a rempli l'Olympia et ma tête.Pas très sympa par contre d'avoir gueulé sur ce pauvre fan qui chantait a tue-tête avec toi... Mais bon, c'est ton caractère, c'est sûrement pour ça que tu nous ponds

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-6554096820041829682009-10-27T13:44:00.002-10:002009-10-27T13:47:09.417-10:00

"Fixing climate by taking carbon dioxide back out of the atmosphere is not the same as fixing climate by putting sulfur dioxide in. It is not "geoengineering". It is much more conservative than that. Our problem with carbon dioxide is an unintended consequence of a long series of fantastic inventions - from trains, planes, and automobiles to electric light, television, and computers - that have

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-85300254557402623852009-10-22T12:32:00.001-10:002009-10-22T12:34:39.045-10:00

"The greatest challenge of man's future is to provide the energy needed to lift the world's population out of poverty without imposing a cost on the planet that neither humans nor the rest of its inhabitants can bear. The answer to the challenge is in part political and in part technological, but none of the possible technologies are ready. Over the next twenty years, say, we need a massive

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-2387531311287890732009-10-13T11:57:00.002-10:002009-10-13T12:03:00.373-10:00

"The biggest problem confronting the world, Lackner was deciding at that time, is not whether quarks could exist in a free, unconfined state outside the atomic nucleus - the question that had exercised his brain as a theoretical physicist, and that he pursues these days as a hobby, the way other men might go bowling. The biggest problem was environmental. Malthus and his followers were right: we

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-67457937682709073332009-10-08T11:48:00.001-10:002009-10-08T11:50:57.287-10:00

A rational critic of nuclear energy as a practical solution to our energy and global warming problem:"It's a measure of how urgent the CO2 problem has become that some antinuclear environmentalists have lately been willing to reconsider their long-standing opposition. Nuclear power, as its proponents frequently remind us, has killed far fewer people than coal mining, not to mention pollution from

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-44149940595883655522009-09-28T09:55:00.004-10:002009-09-28T10:07:11.376-10:00

"Comment se résigner, quand on voit que le superflu des uns est sans limites, alors que l'essentiel des autres n'est même pas satisfait?"Bande-annonce du Syndrôme du Titanic, de Nicolas Hulot et Jean-Albert Lièvre.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-3736742053197881202009-09-26T10:39:00.002-10:002009-09-26T10:48:07.949-10:00

A good explanation and discussion of the concept of carbon pie:"Yet any realistic solution to the climate problem will have to resolve that conflict between the powerful drive to use fossil fuels and the real threat CO2 poses. One way to get an idea of both the scale of the problem and of what an equitable solution might look like is to think in terms of a "carbon pie". The pie represents the

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-29995765471046110282009-09-16T12:22:00.003-10:002009-09-16T12:30:46.626-10:00

To all those global warming skeptics who have withdrawn from its denial to diminishing its threats, I would like to quote this:"There is no proof that global warming will cause a megadrought, or a sudden sea-level rise for that matter. There is only a reasonable argument based on common sense - and on a metaphor. We have learned that Earth's climate has been capable of megadroughts and other

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-91829965834284152542009-09-11T11:01:00.003-10:002009-09-11T11:13:23.213-10:00

"He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts."Samuel Johnson, quoted by Ram Dass, Remember: Be Here Now, chapter "Cookbook for a sacred life", section "Drop out / cop out".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-23566832584680027832009-09-07T11:28:00.000-10:002009-09-07T11:29:41.639-10:00

"By letting it go it all gets doneThe world is won by those who let it go.But when you try and tryThe world is then beyond the winning."Quotation from Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu) by Ram Dass, Remember: Be Here Now, chapter "Cook-book for a sacred life".It is a bit the same with girls!...

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-7220940880949791632009-09-03T05:39:00.002-10:002009-09-03T05:43:52.959-10:00

"Les scientifiques ont été accusés pendant des années d'être des alarmistes. Mais les vrais alarmistes, ce sont ceux qui disent que l'on ne peut engager une action pour le climat car cela ralentirait la croissance économique".Ban Ki-moon, secrétaire général de l'ONU, 3e Conférence de l'ONU sur le climat, jeudi 3 septembre 2009 (rapporté par Le Monde).

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-3461314897594114542009-09-01T12:04:00.001-10:002009-09-01T12:06:39.172-10:00

"The best I can tell you about karma is:if you are pure spirit, you are not matter!...You are that eternal spirit...If each of us is that very old being...and not this young body, or this body that is going through this life...Why don't we remember?Why don't we remember it all??Why can't we read the entire Akashic record??Because of our attachments to the physical plane or reality...Because of

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-40252262543404042872009-08-25T11:46:00.001-10:002009-08-25T11:49:17.290-10:00

"If a man gives way to all his desires, or panders to them, there will [be] no inner struggle, in him, no "friction", no fire. But if, for the sake of attaining a definite aim, he struggles with the desires that hinder him - he will then create a fire which will gradually transform his inner world into a single whole."Ouspensky, quoted by Ram Dass, Remember: Be Here Now, brown pages.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-48989971767232072482009-08-18T11:22:00.001-10:002009-08-18T11:25:01.347-10:00

"Young man," the Austrian said gravely, "a disaster happens to many, many of our best scientists. They become administrators. And the day they do that, they're lost to science. So you never want to become an administrator. You have to guard against that.""But Dr. Suess," piped Broecker, "how do I do that?""Be a dynamic incompetent! Do at least three outrageous acts a year. Then no one will want

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-71020214389183800632009-08-13T12:27:00.002-10:002009-08-13T12:30:48.912-10:00

"As they say in the Sikh religion - once you realize God knows everything, you're free. I had been through many years of psychoanalysis and still I had managed to keep private places in my head - I wouldn't say they were big, labeled categories, but they were certain attitudes or feelings that were still very private. And suddenly I realized that he knew everything that was going on in my head,

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-41388937711094141702009-08-10T11:14:00.001-10:002009-08-10T11:30:22.603-10:00

"As regards private property, the first and most basic distinction is between (a) property that is an aid to creative work and (b) property that is an alternative to it. There is something natural and healthy about the former - the private property of the working proprietor; and there is something unnatural and unhealthy about the latter - the private property of the passive owner who lives

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-38843404631361520442009-08-01T12:44:00.004-10:002009-08-01T12:56:30.013-10:00

"La décision de rechercher ce à quoi on est appelé, sa vocation la plus haute, au lieu de rechercher son avantage immédiat (...) constitue un choix de carrière."Rajmohan Gandhi, président d'Initiatives & Changement international (et petit-fils de Mohandas Gandhi), discours aux Etudiants d'Oxford, 2005.Cité par Antoine Jaulmes dans Changer International, 337, Mai-Juin 2009.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-54309641882556325402009-07-30T10:29:00.004-10:002009-07-30T11:15:41.714-10:00

"Broecker likes figuring things out. He likes, above all else, putting a new piece in the puzzle. That is the best fun, the deepest joy.Science is a system, a way of thinking and acting, and a community that allows you to taste that joy, on your luckiest days. It is the belief that if we observe the world carefully, test our ideas skeptically, and communicate honestly, we can figure things out."

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-19540210119747923022009-07-09T12:54:00.003-10:002009-07-09T12:59:07.306-10:00

I think this one is originally from somebody else, but I read it again in this book anyway:"The future cannot be forecast, but it can be explored."E. F. Schumacher, Small is beautiful.See also this related and much more developed post from my friend François.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-39722347855049731702009-07-07T12:09:00.001-10:002009-07-07T12:11:03.518-10:00

I used to like and look for optimality when I was younger, but since then I have learned the following bit of wisdom:"I think the stupid man who says "something is better than nothing" is much more intelligent than the clever chap who will not touch anything unless it is optimal."E. F. Schumacher, Small is beautiful.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-21285478392884936112009-06-30T11:19:00.000-10:002009-06-30T11:20:51.223-10:00

"Is education to be a "passport to privilege" or is it something which people take upon themselves almost like a monastic vow, a sacred obligation to serve the people ?"E. F. Schumacher, Small is beautiful.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-62161004371352882012009-06-23T12:19:00.004-10:002009-06-23T12:46:39.612-10:00

"[...] maintaining public order and curbing violence [...] is potentially a big and underappreciated advantage of centralized societies over noncentralized ones. Anthropologists formerly idealized band and tribal societies as gentle and nonviolent, because visiting anthropologists observed no murder in a band of 25 people in the course of a three-year study. Of course they didn't: it's easy to

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-85947006252251128332009-05-18T23:18:00.001-10:002009-05-18T23:20:29.961-10:00

"Man is small, and, therefore, small is beautiful."E. F. Schumacher, Small is beautiful.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-83047135027170709562009-05-10T22:54:00.001-10:002009-05-10T22:58:22.633-10:00

"It is my experience that it is rather more difficult to recapture directness and simplicity than to advance in the direction of ever more sophistication and complexity. Any third-rate engineer or researcher can increase complexity; but it takes a certain flair of real insight to make things simple again."E. F. Schumacher, Small is beautiful.See also this post.From a scientific perspective, I

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-53243621694358960342009-05-03T21:41:00.005-10:002009-05-03T22:04:19.099-10:00

Lorsque l'enfant paraît, le cercle de familleApplaudit à grands cris.Son doux regard qui brilleFait briller tous les yeux,Et les plus tristes fronts, les plus souillés peut-être,Se dérident soudain à voir l'enfant paraître,Innocent et joyeux.Soit que juin ait verdi mon seuil, ou que novembreFasse autour d'un grand feu vacillant dans la chambreLes chaises se toucher,Quand l'enfant vient, la joie

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-16661701174101525772009-04-23T23:19:00.001-10:002009-04-23T23:22:58.313-10:00

"The burden of proof is placed on those who take the "ecological viewpoint": unless they can produce evidence of marked injury to man, the change will proceed. Common sense, on the contrary, would suggest that the burden of proof should lie on the man who wants to introduce a change; he has to demonstrate that there cannot be any damaging consequences. [...]All changes in a complex mechanism

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-5223679346507502292009-04-22T22:27:00.002-10:002009-04-22T22:32:22.594-10:00

"From a resource point of view, the main threat in nonsustainable development is not so much that we are running out of non-renewables (for instance fossil fuels or heavy metals). The main threat is that the productivity of our renewable resource base (vital ecosystems) is declining. The main problem is that waste molecules from the use of nonrenewables have negative effects on our renewable

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-55560746448694794612009-04-13T23:54:00.002-10:002009-04-13T23:57:13.088-10:00

"The great arises out of small things that are honored and cared for. Everybody's life really consists of small things. Greatness is a mental abstraction and a favorite fantasy of the ego. The paradox is that the foundation for greatness is honoring the small things of the present moment instead of pursuing the idea of greatness. The present moment is always small in the sense that it is always

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-60145679785878793432009-04-08T23:22:00.000-10:002009-04-08T23:26:41.344-10:00

"The source of all abundance is not outside you. It is part of who you are. However, start by acknowledging and recognizing abundance without. See the fullness of fife all around you. The warmth of the sun on your skin, the display of magnificent flowers outside a florist's shop, biting into a succulent fruit, or getting soaked in an abundance of water falling from the sky. The fullness of life

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-82433355123777420002009-04-02T23:23:00.001-10:002009-04-02T23:24:35.248-10:00

"Although women have egos, of course, the ego can take root and grow more easily in the male form than in the female. This is because women are less mind-identified than men. They are more in touch with the inner body and the intelligence of the organism where the intuitive faculties originate. The female form is less rigidly encapsulated than the male, has greater openness and sensitivity toward

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-25670869809847514962009-03-23T23:15:00.000-10:002009-03-23T23:21:33.677-10:00

"The ego may be clever, but it is not intelligent. Cleverness pursues its own little aims. Intelligence sees the larger whole in which all things are connected. Cleverness is motivated by self-interest, and it is extremely short-sighted. Most politicians and businesspeople are clever. Very few are intelligent. Whatever is attained through cleverness is short-lived and always turns out to be

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-40608502316371928182009-03-19T22:39:00.001-10:002009-03-19T22:43:07.549-10:00

"Some pre-established roles we could call social archetypes. To mention just a few: the middle-class housewife (not as prevalent as it used to be, but still widespread); the tough macho male; the female seductress; the "nonconformist" artist or performer; a person of "culture" (a role quite common in Europe) who displays a knowledge of literature, fine art, and music in the same way as others

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-57278021871728346182009-03-11T13:02:00.003-10:002009-03-11T13:15:48.130-10:00

A profound analysis of shyness and over-confidence :"A shy person who is afraid of the attention of others is not free of ego, but has an ambivalent ego that both wants and fears attention from others. The fear is that the attention may take the form of disapproval or criticism, that is to say, something that diminishes the sense of self rather than enhances it. So the shy person's fear of

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-63121478298493618872009-03-06T13:07:00.001-10:002009-03-06T13:12:06.199-10:00

The following quotation does not apply to my life so far, fortunately, but should it become relevant one day, I would like to remember it."Whenever tragic loss occurs, you either resist or you yield. Some people become bitter or deeply resentful; others become compassionate, wise, and loving. Yielding means inner acceptance of what is. You are open to life. Resistance is an inner contraction, a

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-27925737456959423442009-03-05T06:59:00.002-10:002009-03-05T07:05:28.511-10:00

"Ego-identification with things creates attachment to things, obsession with things, which in turn creates our consumer society and economic structures where the only measure of progress is always more. The unchecked striving for more, for endless growth, is a dysfunction and a disease. It is the same dysfunction the cancerous cell manifests, whose only goal is to multiply itself, unaware that it

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-72283819764561561832009-02-26T17:31:00.001-10:002009-02-26T17:36:15.622-10:00

"The history of Communism, originally inspired by noble ideals, clearly illustrates what happens when people attempt to change external reality - create a new earth - without any prior change in their inner reality, their state of consciousness. They make plans without taking into account the blueprint for dysfunction that every human being carries within : the ego."Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth -

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-36002287679070301302009-02-16T04:09:00.004-10:002009-02-16T04:16:26.092-10:00

"Quel serait le secret de la réussite d'une destinée ? Il me semble que l'essentiel, au départ, est de trouver sa vocation profonde, c'est-à-dire d'élucider où le meilleur de soi - intelligence, volonté, coeur - trouvera à s'épanouir pour soi et pour les autres, et ensuite de s'acharner pour l'actualiser, sans changer de route à chaque difficulté."Soeur Emmanuelle, Confessions d'une religieuse,

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-12320452259858696162009-02-08T08:24:00.001-10:002009-02-08T08:27:20.072-10:00

"J'ai enfin compris que la raison accepte ou rejette Dieu selon des critères rattachés à l'éducation, l'environnement, les lectures, les événements de la vie, critères personnels qui paraissent difficiles ou même impossibles à changer. C'est une question d'intellect que chacun résout comme il peut, non sans quelques doutes, qu'il soit croyant ou non. Mais l'essentiel n'est pas là. La valeur d'un

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-51513204920951285722009-02-03T16:00:00.002-10:002009-02-08T08:18:16.889-10:00

"Où l'homme trouve-t-il donc son bonheur ?Cette même question, je me la poserai plus tard en Europe, où je découvre souvent un climat de morosité, une insatisfaction foncière. J'ai l'impression que les individus sont empêtrés dans un autre genre d'esclavage. Des désirs impossibles à maîtriser, sans cesse renaissants, une course haletante sans rémission étouffent dans son germe le plaisir de vivre

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-20323745989866918902009-01-29T14:39:00.003-10:002009-01-29T14:57:02.885-10:00

"Doute pour absurde, je choisis le doute : qu'il me ronge, qu'il m'assaille, je vais défendre ma foi ! Je préfère marcher dans la nuit que me dissoudre dans le néant."Soeur Emmanuelle, Confessions d'une religieuse, chapitre "Du doute à l'ouverture".Voilà sa conclusion après avoir passé des années à remettre sa religion en question et à étudier les autres grandes religions et les philosophes. Elle

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-7566695346503578752009-01-26T16:53:00.003-10:002009-01-26T17:01:24.256-10:00

"J'insistais surtout sur l'importance de l'effort. Mes élèves apprenaient par coeur cette phrase de Victor Hugo: "Ceux qui vivent, ce sont ceux qui luttent." Je leur citais Marc Aurèle: "L'obstacle est matière à action." C'est dans la lutte que les potentialités d'un être atteignent leur apogée."Soeur Emmanuelle, Confessions d'une religieuse, chapitre "Tempêtes et accalmies".Voir aussi ce post.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-48751040895391882492009-01-23T15:46:00.005-10:002009-01-23T15:52:29.058-10:00

"Ce que tu donnes t'appartiendra toujours, ce que tu gardes, tu le perds !"Poète du XIIè siècle, cité par Soeur Emmanuelle, J'ai 100 ans et je voudrais vous dire..., chapitre "Il s'agit toujours de partager avec ceux que l'on veut aider".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-65731778669711608732009-01-18T10:18:00.003-10:002009-01-18T11:28:37.118-10:00

"The European imperial powers withdrew from their colonies after World War II not because their armies were militarily defeated but because their armies could not secure the political objectives of maintaining imperial rule and legitimacy.At play is a fundamental issue of politics. In the post-World War II era, after generations or centuries of colonial rule, the forces of nationalism and

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-60851198876734409252009-01-15T14:13:00.003-10:002009-01-15T14:22:55.853-10:00

"La fierté, c'est la recherche de sa dignité personnelle. Ce n'est pas un défaut."Soeur Emmanuelle, J'ai 100 ans et je voudrais vous dire..., chapitre "Péter de joie parce qu'on s'aime".Il faut que je médite cette citation. J'ai toujours considéré la fierté comme un défaut, un amour excessif de sa propre personne. Mais Soeur Emmanuelle m'offre un autre angle de vue...

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-75461519901697581992009-01-11T12:14:00.004-10:002009-01-11T12:29:08.720-10:00

"Le divertissement est nécessaire à l'homme. J'ai connu des jeunes femmes très tendues entre leur travail, la maison, les enfants, les parents âgés parfois... C'est moi qui leur disais de filer au cinéma, ou à la montagne, à la campagne. Le divertissement est source d'équilibre. Mais tout est une question de mesure. Il existe des divertissements exagérés, inutiles, dangeureux. Pascal appelait

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-32773295254093592142008-12-31T00:23:00.005-10:002008-12-31T01:04:13.853-10:00

"As societies become more prosperous and more urban, they tend to consume more meat. This dietary transformation has been explored in detail by Vaclav Smil*, among others. The basic issue is that meat is a roundabout and energy-inefficient way to get nutrients to the human population. To fatten a cow by one kilogram, around eight kilograms of feed grains must be fed to the cow, but if we take

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-58387538531737306342008-12-20T21:15:00.003-10:002008-12-20T21:58:18.692-10:00

A plausible deep root for Africa's problems (see also this post):"A notable scientific contribution in establishing [the] link [between rising water stress and conflict] was made by Edward Miguel and his colleagues, who found that "drops in rainfall [in Africa] are associated with significantly more conflict...There is strong evidence that better rainfall makes conflict much less likely in Africa

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-41187409054982489962008-12-18T22:05:00.004-10:002008-12-18T22:23:49.341-10:00

"The Kyoto commitments were very modest (a 5 percent reduction) and short term (till 2012). At best, the treaty formed a very early step to set the world on a carbon management trajectory. Even so, the protocol generated a political firestorm in the United States. The so-called Byrd-Hagel Senate Resolution, passed 95-0 in 1997 in the lead-up to the final round of negociations on the Kyoto

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-73110176597903231182008-12-16T19:54:00.003-10:002008-12-16T20:03:01.393-10:00

"We must keep remembering that complex global problems can be solved by collective global goal setting, reliance on scientific evidence, mobilization of technology, and most crucially, thinking ahead. We will have to appreciate, with urgency, that the ecological challenges will not solve themselves in a "self-organizing" manner. Markets, we have emphasized, won't do the job by themselves. Social

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-29725314462266281332008-12-09T22:47:00.003-10:002008-12-09T22:56:17.996-10:00

"The world is facing enormous ecological and environmental problems, but running out of natural resources is not the right way to describe the threat. Earth has the energy, land, biodiversity, and water resources needed to feed humanity and support long-term economic prosperity for all. The problem is that markets might not lead to their wise and sustainable use. There is no economic imperative

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-38594554133705975502008-12-01T20:57:00.003-10:002008-12-01T21:08:06.915-10:00

"When R & D* is aimed mainly for general scientific knowledge, the needs of the poor, the global commons, or rapid social uptake, public financing is advantageous compared with reliance on patents. When R & D is targeted mainly for the rich or private use or gradual uptake, the patent-based incentives are relatively advantageous. In general, a healthy innovation system will use a mix of public

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-66709715616012305872008-11-29T09:37:00.002-10:002008-11-29T09:59:42.413-10:00

Un très bon réquisitoire contre la pub.Morceaux choisis :"Nous nous « humanisons » grâce à certaines « valeurs » : les valeurs qui motivent notre engagement sont la liberté, l’égalité, la fraternité, comme il est écrit sur le fronton des mairies de notre pays, mais aussi l’amitié, le partage, la tolérance et le respect de la différence, ou encore le souci des plus faibles d’entre

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-48995202276065630592008-11-27T22:24:00.003-10:002008-11-27T22:34:51.131-10:00

"L'homme n'est ni ange ni bête, et le malheur veut que qui veut faire l'ange fait la bête.*J'en ai fait l'expérience. J'ai longtemps couru vers une sainteté exemplaire, conformément au modèle que je me faisais de Thérèse d'Avila, la grande mystique. Je me battais contre le mur de mes défauts et j'enrageais de rester en échec. J'oserais dire que c'est un cas classique, je l'ai souvent rencontré.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-47187623704242384332008-11-25T22:43:00.002-10:002008-11-25T22:48:41.536-10:00

"L'amour est mystère : il n'est ni ici ni là. Il est mystère parce qu'il est "mouvement". Et il est mouvement parce qu'il est relation. La relation, cela ne se laisse pas saisir, ni maîtriser, ni posséder. La relation, elle ne tient ni à toi, ni à moi, mais au mystère entre nous. Elle est la réciprocité du mouvement de chacun qui sort de soi vers l'autre."Soeur Emmanuelle, Vivre, à quoi ça sert ?

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-22088941738501735842008-11-24T22:44:00.003-10:002008-11-24T22:54:14.050-10:00

"L'acte pur, le don gratuit à 100 %, existe-t-il ? La réponse est non. Notre nature cherche son épanouissement. Elle contient en elle-même la soif de jouir et de posséder, de "se faire mousser", comme elle contient aussi l'élan du don, du service, de la compassion. Tout cela est inextricable. L'idéal, me semble-t-il, est de travailler dans le même mouvement à son propre bonheur et à celui des

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-1105297962276881102008-11-20T21:16:00.003-10:002008-11-20T21:29:46.801-10:00

"Mais c'est la vie de couple, surtout, qui n'est pas satisfaisante. Parfois, ça colle très bien, mais souvent, ça ne marche pas. En effet, les manières d'aimer de l'homme et de la femme sont différentes. Or chacun attend d'être aimé à sa manière, chacun souhaite que l'autre réponde à ses propres attentes. On ne sort pas du cercle de l'ego. Beaucoup d'amours ne sont ainsi que des mouvements de soi

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-66948267926658806422008-11-18T20:39:00.003-10:002008-11-18T20:47:02.063-10:00

"Tous les corps ensemble, et tous les esprits ensemble, et toutes leurs productions, ne valent pas le moindre mouvement de charité. Cela est d'un ordre infiniment plus élevé."Blaise Pascal, Pensées, cité par Soeur Emmanuelle, Vivre, à quoi ça sert ?, chapitre "Le mouvement d'amour".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-18346875889403962402008-11-16T22:19:00.005-10:002008-11-18T20:37:59.214-10:00

"La sagesse nous envoie à l'enfance.* [...]La métaphore de l'enfance signifie un état, et non un âge, qui ne connaît pas la libido, qui n'est pas inconsciemment avide de s'emparer de la jouissance, de s'emparer de l'autre, mais qui s'offre ingénument, avec confiance. Cet état ne dépend pas des années brèves ou longues, il se manifeste chez celui ou celle qui fait l'expérience de la faiblesse, de

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-87872398823463297452008-11-12T22:48:00.001-10:002008-11-12T22:51:15.968-10:00

"Le jour vient où, entre le plaisir et le bonheur, il faut choisir."Soeur Emmanuelle, Vivre, à quoi ça sert ?, chapitre "Jouir".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-71161764185068080022008-11-10T22:52:00.004-10:002008-11-11T05:53:12.542-10:00

Today, I read in last week's issue of Nature an excellent short essay about economics science, written by Jean-Philippe Bouchaud, head of research of Capital Fund Management and a physics professor at École Polytechnique in France. Extracts :"Compared with physics, it seems fair to say that the quantitative success of the economic sciences has been disappointing. Rockets fly to the Moon; energy

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-19925100462705534372008-11-09T21:55:00.003-10:002008-11-09T22:09:14.202-10:00

"Il est juste et bon d'agir, mais il est bon aussi de se rendre compte des limites de l'action et d'accepter de n'être qu'humain, fini. Le cercle infernal est alors brisé, le cercle du perfectionnisme, le cercle de la course aux résultats, à l'efficacité. Vient alors l'action équilibrée, sereine, qui a renoncé à l'idéalité."Soeur Emmanuelle, Vivre, à quoi ça sert ?, chapitre "Jouir".Le problème

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-12413944665382071672008-11-06T22:34:00.003-10:002008-11-06T22:49:03.560-10:00

"L'argument concret de l'existence tempérait l'échec du raisonnement abstrait. [...]Le Dieu vivant qui se révèle à l'homme vivant ne se trouve ni à force de raisonnement ni au bout d'une lorgnette. Croyant ou non croyant, il faut se méfier d'un pur intellectualisme, évasion du réel et de l'action. Croyant ou non croyant, il faut se méfier de l'impérialisme de la raison. Livrée à sa seule

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-90601121193420898802008-11-04T22:59:00.002-10:002008-11-04T23:08:45.585-10:00

Tonight, this chorus from the Scorpions song "Wind of change" keeps playing in my head:"Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change"Tonight, I am proud of the American people !Obama, there are so many things to change, I count on you.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-23317687554957591702008-11-03T14:01:00.003-10:002008-11-03T14:18:37.396-10:00

"Jetons d'abord un regard sur la fascination du pouvoir, cette soif de domination dont on retrouve les ravages en tout temps et en tout lieu. Quelle lutte implacable pour devenir le leader incontesté d'une entité politique, religieuse, industrielle, mafieuse ou même familiale ! Tous les moyens sont bons pour écraser l'adversaire ou le gêneur. Nous sommes là, pour ainsi dire, au commencement du

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-73506389224271837732008-11-01T18:53:00.006-10:002008-11-03T14:19:47.021-10:00

"C'est une fausse piste - et combien décevante ! - que de vouloir sortir de notre contradiction essentielle en niant en nous la bête, le corps, la matière. J'en sais quelque chose. Toute une partie de ma jeunesse religieuse, j'ai lutté pied à pied contre les "tendances de la chair", que je croyais coupables. Je me forçais à peu manger, à moins dormir, à me donner la discipline. Résultat : j'étais

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-32137074728700420252008-10-29T22:27:00.004-10:002008-10-29T22:40:07.565-10:00

"Tout d'abord, le mal-penser est partout. Tous les genres de totalitarisme en donnent de sombres et suprêmes exemples. Au nom d'un faux idéal, on massacre des milliers, voire des millions d'hommes. On arrive même à faire de sa propre mort un instrument de gloire. Celui qui se tue pour provoquer la tuerie de ceux qui ne pensent pas comme lui est à ses yeux et à ceux de ses partisans le héros, le "

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-23771224454785288632008-10-26T18:22:00.003-10:002008-10-26T18:31:36.960-10:00

"Le divertissement est roi : dans un tourbillon vertigineux, il offre une succession de plaisirs ou de devoirs à honorer sans cesse pour échapper au vide. On se noie dans la fête, la consommation, le travail, l'activisme. Le nez dans le guidon, un tour de roue doit impérativement succéder à l'autre pour nous empêcher de tomber, sans que jamais une orientation, un horizon, un sens, enfin, soit

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-5251365669257974002008-10-22T21:45:00.003-10:002008-10-22T21:52:18.753-10:00

"Le propre de l'homme, dans sa grandeur et sa misère, est de chercher, de ne pas se satisfaire de son état ou de convictions prêtes à porter."Soeur Emmanuelle, Vivre, à quoi ça sert ?, chapitre "L'inquiétude du sens".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-50061522527153287802008-10-18T22:32:00.003-10:002008-10-19T07:27:33.184-10:00

"[We must] recover the awareness that there are higher and lower levels of knowledge. The lower level deals with what [Schumacher] termed "convergent" problems, that are solvable through logic or scientific research. "Divergent" problems, on the other hand, are those that require accomodating irreconcilable things in ways that challenge our central convictions. They require us to know that what

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-9573074548473406732008-10-05T22:18:00.002-10:002008-10-05T22:20:52.034-10:00

"Education can help us only if it produces "whole men". The truly educated man is not a man who knows a bit of everything, not even the man who knows all the details of all subjects (if such a thing were possible) : the "whole man", in fact, may have little detailed knowledge of facts and theories, he may treasure the Encyclopaedia Britannica because "she knows and he needn't", but he will be

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-67858544226882734092008-09-30T20:57:00.001-10:002008-09-30T20:59:19.326-10:00

"Shall I teach you the meaning of knowledge ? When you know a thing to recognise that you know it, and when you do not, to know that you do not know - that is knowledge."Confucius, quoted in Small is beautiful, E. F. Schumacher.

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-66378537879813074262008-09-21T22:06:00.001-10:002008-09-21T22:12:56.283-10:00

A beautiful speech by John F. Kennedy, still vividly of actuality today :"Too many of us think [that peace] is impossible. Too many think it is unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable, that mankind is doomed, that we are gripped by forces we cannot control. We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade ; therefore, they can be

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-86548767361213138082008-09-17T22:16:00.004-10:002008-09-17T22:33:27.660-10:00

After talking about the surprise that World War I was to the European people that believed war was passé because of the intricate economic relationships between European countries, Jeffrey Sachs continues with:"It may seem impossible to conceive of such a cataclysm today, yet the widening arc of war and vituperation, often pitting U.S. foreign policy against global public opinion, reminds us

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-74986555076512382612008-09-14T20:51:00.003-10:002008-09-14T21:05:51.007-10:00

"Notre livre, après bien d'autres, pose une question cruciale : cette complexité croissante que nous percevons tout au long de l'histoire de l'univers est-elle viable ? Quinze milliards d'années d'évolution pour l'avènement d'un être capable de découvrir l'origine de l'univers dont il est issu, de déchiffrer le comportement des atomes et des galaxies, d'explorer le système solaire, de mettre à

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-78105998505821205572008-09-11T14:15:00.001-10:002008-09-11T14:20:42.580-10:00

Allez, encore un bon mythe néoconservateur à casser.À la question de Frédéric Lenoir :"Pour en revenir à la pauvreté dans le monde, je voudrais faire une nouvelle fois allusion au livre du Danois Bjorn Lomborg1, qui affirme que tout va mieux sur la terre, que la pauvreté a plus régressé au cours des cinquante dernières années que dans les cinq derniers siècles et que, pour preuve, l'espérance de

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-45774955281673878502008-09-08T21:12:00.005-10:002008-09-09T10:12:53.059-10:00

For once, this post is not going to be a quotation, but I am going to relate an experiment which I have done tonight, and which left me baffled !I am reading in parallel to other books the book by B. Blake Levitt, Electromanetic fields, a consumer's guide to the issues and how to protect ourselves. After a first part on the fundamentals of electromagnetism and standards historic, a second part on

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-44241116496142779292008-09-03T23:03:00.003-10:002008-09-03T23:12:53.799-10:00

"Les vivants existent de leur plein droit et n'ont pas à se justifier d'exister. Les expressions « espèces nuisibles » et « mauvaises herbes » ne sont que le reflet d'un préjugé séculairement ancré dans la Genèse* que les plantes et les animaux sont là pour nous servir ou nous réjouir et que nous avons sur eux un droit discrétionnaire. En réalité, nous ne sommes qu'une espèce parmi tant d'autres,

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4751082382097234703.post-61317974766710755632008-09-02T21:35:00.003-10:002008-09-02T21:55:17.965-10:00

"Je suis le frère en Dieu de tout ce qui vit, de la girafe et du crocodile, comme de l'homme, et le concitoyen de tout ce qui habite le grand hôtel garni de l'univers."Gustave Flaubert, cité par Hubert Reeves, Mal de Terre, chapitre "Les animaux, nos frères".

Cedrichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13066363389837957323noreply@blogger.com0