Entries Tagged 'Reflexion' ↓

I took much pleasure in reading my preferred columnist of the New York Times:

A Biblical Seven Years

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Beijing

After attending the spectacular closing ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and feeling the vibrations from hundreds of Chinese drummers pulsating in my own chest, I was tempted to conclude two things: “Holy mackerel, the energy coming out of this country is unrivaled.” And, two: “We are so cooked. Start teaching your kids Mandarin.”

However, I’ve learned over the years not to over-interpret any two-week event. Olympics don’t change history. They are mere snapshots — a country posing in its Sunday bests for all the world too see. But, as snapshots go, the one China presented through the Olympics was enormously powerful — and it’s one that Americans need to reflect upon this election season.

China did not build the magnificent $43 billion infrastructure for these games, or put on the unparalleled opening and closing ceremonies, simply by the dumb luck of discovering oil. No, it was the culmination of seven years of national investment, planning, concentrated state power, national mobilization and hard work.

Seven years … Seven years … Oh, that’s right. China was awarded these Olympic Games on July 13, 2001 — just two months before 9/11.

As I sat in my seat at the Bird’s Nest, watching thousands of Chinese dancers, drummers, singers and acrobats on stilts perform their magic at the closing ceremony, I couldn’t help but reflect on how China and America have spent the last seven years: China has been preparing for the Olympics; we’ve been preparing for Al Qaeda. They’ve been building better stadiums, subways, airports, roads and parks. And we’ve been building better metal detectors, armored Humvees and pilotless drones.

The difference is starting to show. Just compare arriving at La Guardia’s dumpy terminal in New York City and driving through the crumbling infrastructure into Manhattan with arriving at Shanghai’s sleek airport and taking the 220-mile-per-hour magnetic levitation train, which uses electromagnetic propulsion instead of steel wheels and tracks, to get to town in a blink.

Then ask yourself: Who is living in the third world country?

Yes, if you drive an hour out of Beijing, you meet the vast dirt-poor third world of China. But here’s what’s new: The rich parts of China, the modern parts of Beijing or Shanghai or Dalian, are now more state of the art than rich America. The buildings are architecturally more interesting, the wireless networks more sophisticated, the roads and trains more efficient and nicer. And, I repeat, they did not get all this by discovering oil. They got it by digging inside themselves.

I realize the differences: We were attacked on 9/11; they were not. We have real enemies; theirs are small and mostly domestic. We had to respond to 9/11 at least by eliminating the Al Qaeda base in Afghanistan and investing in tighter homeland security. They could avoid foreign entanglements. Trying to build democracy in Iraq, though, which I supported, was a war of choice and is unlikely to ever produce anything equal to its huge price tag.

But the first rule of holes is that when you’re in one, stop digging. When you see how much modern infrastructure has been built in China since 2001, under the banner of the Olympics, and you see how much infrastructure has been postponed in America since 2001, under the banner of the war on terrorism, it’s clear that the next seven years need to be devoted to nation-building in America.

We need to finish our business in Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as possible, which is why it is a travesty that the Iraqi Parliament has gone on vacation while 130,000 U.S. troops are standing guard. We can no longer afford to postpone our nation-building while Iraqis squabble over whether to do theirs.

A lot of people are now advising Barack Obama to get dirty with John McCain. Sure, fight fire with fire. That’s necessary, but it is not sufficient.

Obama got this far because many voters projected onto him that he could be the leader of an American renewal. They know we need nation-building at home now — not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, not in Georgia, but in America. Obama cannot lose that theme.

He cannot let Republicans make this election about who is tough enough to stand up to Russia or bin Laden. It has to be about who is strong enough, focused enough, creative enough and unifying enough to get Americans to rebuild America. The next president can have all the foreign affairs experience in the world, but it will be useless, utterly useless, if we, as a country, are weak.

Obama is more right than he knows when he proclaims that this is “our” moment, this is “our” time. But it is our time to get back to work on the only home we have, our time for nation-building in America. I never want to tell my girls — and I’m sure Obama feels the same about his — that they have to go to China to see the future.

I can only agree fully to Thomas Friedman’s Editorial on all three counts:

1. The energy coming out from China is unrivaled.

2. For seven years China has been preparing for the Olympics, they put in their efforts and might to build their nation whilst America has been for the last seven years postponing the build up of the nation. The Americans were too busy sorting out terrorism.

3. Let Obama bring the wind of change. Let him proclaim the moment and time of nation building in America.

Le 28 août, c’est la fête de Saint Augustin. Cette date évoque en moi plusieurs souvenirs qui m’ont marqué toute ma vie. Je revis encore les séquences du baptême de mon grand père YIPTONG qui s’est tenu à notre maison de Port Louis. Grand Père était malade depuis quelque temps, à cause de son diabète : la plaie il avait a son pied ne guérissait pas. En effet, une gangrène rongeait peu à peu ses orteils et s’entendait vers sa jambe. Les médecins avaient décidé qu’il fallait amputer sa jambe. Il fut averti de la décision et il demanda immédiatement de recevoir le baptême avant d’entreprendre l’opération surgicale. (Ouvrier de la dernière heure, dirai je. Car il succomba a l’opération quelques jours après.)  Le Père Paul Wu bienveillamment accepta de baptiser grand père et grand mère à domicile et de donner à grand-père le sacrement des malades. L’atmosphère et l’ambiance, ce jour la, était lourd et triste car les conséquences du moment n’était guère réjouissants. Quoiqu’au fond du cÅ“ur de ma maman Cécette, je pensais qu’elle avait toujours souhaité et prié pour la conversion de ses beaux parents au christianisme. Dans d’autres circonstances cela aurait été un jour de fête.
Dans la panique et l’empressement, Père Paul demanda : quel est le nom de baptême choisi ? Un grand silence régna. Personne n’y avait pensé. Père Paul en regardant le carnet liturgique du jour nota que c’était le jour de la fête de Saint Augustin. Grand Père reçu ainsi le nom d’Augustin et grand-mère le nom de Rose en honneur de Sainte Rose de Lima que l’église fêtait quelques jours après.

Qui était donc Saint Augustin ?

Déjà, Monsieur Aimé Laval, mon professeur de primaire, nous racontait de temps en temps, surtout au jour de leur fête, l’histoire des grands saints que l’Église honorait. Saint Augustin fut l’un d’eux. Grand philosophe et docteur de l’Eglise, Monsieur Laval, nous racontât un jour Augustin marchant sur la plage, il était absorbé dans ses pensées par la résolution de prouver que Dieu existait. Voyant un enfant qui remplissait un trou dans le sable de l’eau de la mer, il s’arrêta et demanda à l’enfant : que souhaites tu accomplir là ? L’enfant lui répondit : je souhaite remplir le trou de toute l’eau de la mer. C’est impossible lui répondit Augustin. L’enfant ajoutât : de même que tu ne trouveras pas la résolution de ton énigme. Il suffit seulement d’y croire.

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Saint Augustin est l’un des plus grands génies qui aient paru sur la terre et l’un des plus grands saints dont Dieu ait orné son Église. Moine, pontife, orateur, écrivain, philosophe, théologien, interprète de la Sainte Écriture, homme de prière et homme de zèle, il est une des figures les plus complètes que l’on puisse imaginer. Ce qu’il y a de plus admirable, c’est que Dieu tira cet homme extraordinaire de la boue profonde du vice pour l’élever presque aussi haut qu’un homme puisse atteindre; c’est bien à son sujet qu’on peut dire: “Dieu est admirable dans Ses Saints!”

Augustin naquit à Tagaste, en Afrique, l’an 354, et, s’il reçut de la part de sa sainte mère, Monique, les leçons et les exemples de la vertu, il reçut les exemples les plus déplorables de la part d’un malheureux père, qui ne se convertit qu’au moment de la mort. A l’histoire des égarements de coeur du jeune et brillant étudiant se joint l’histoire des égarements étranges de son esprit; mais enfin, grâce à trente années de larmes versées par sa mère, Dieu fit éclater invinciblement aux yeux d’Augustin les splendeurs de la vérité et les beautés seules vraies de la vertu, et le prodigue se donna tout à Dieu: “Le fils de tant de larmes ne saurait périr!” avait dit un prêtre vénérable à la mère désolée. Parole prophétique, qui renferme de grands enseignements pour les nombreuses Moniques des Augustins modernes.

C’est à Milan, sous l’influence d’Ambroise, qu’Augustin était rentré en lui-même. La voix du Ciel le rappela en Afrique où, dans une retraite laborieuse et paisible, avec quelques amis revenus à Dieu avec lui, il se prépara aux grandes destinées qui l’attendaient.

Augustin n’accepta qu’avec larmes l’évêché d’Hippone, car son péché était toujours sous ses yeux, et l’humilité fut la grande vertu de sa vie nouvelle. Il fut le marteau de toutes les hérésies de son temps; ses innombrables ouvrages sont un des plus splendides monuments de l’intelligence humaine éclairée par la foi, et ils demeurent comme la source obligée de toutes les études théologiques et philosophiques.

Si les écrits d’Augustin sont admirables par leur science, ils ne le sont pas moins par le souffle de la charité qui les anime; nul coeur ne fut plus tendre que le sien, nul plus compatissant au malheur des autres, nul plus sensible aux désastres de la patrie, nul plus touché des intérêts de Dieu, de l’Église et des âmes. Il passa les dix derniers jours de sa vie seul avec Dieu, dans le silence le plus absolu, goûtant à l’avance les délices de l’éternité bienheureuse.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16,13-20.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

This reading flashes me back to my visit to Caesarea Philippi in Israel some 15 years or so ago. Our selected group of pilgrims came back from Galilee went to visit Caesarea Philippi. I recall of the human size sculpture on a roman soldier placed at the entrance of the town.

‘But who do you say that I am?’ This is the question I am asking myself now. Who is Jesus to me now? What is the relation I have with him now? True enough, from the teachings that I had, I know and believe that He is the messiah, the son of the living God, the Saviour of humanity. My God is not some great remote organizer and Omni powerful being that is distant from me. My Saviour is a personal benefactor who out of love for me, has decided to come to take care of me. Somebody I can talk to, someone with whom I have to build an intimate relationship. Alas all too often, I forget of His existence. Forgive me Lord, for putting you often aside and neglect your presence.

You instituted a church and gave all powers to Peter to manage it. We are so grateful to you Lord Jesus. May we be reminded of you, and worship you through the church and its teaching. Give us to be closer to you and to be more aware of the love that you are showering on us now and forever.

Maranatha. Maranatha.

I am amazed with the number of gambling addiction cases I know of and the damages that such behaviours can bring to the lives of people. In the recent past I was very closely involved with a case which was about to turn to a dramatic situation. The guy later told me that he was so depressed that he spent the night on his own on the cliff of Gris Gris thinking of committing a suicide.

I was very pleased today, to have spoken to the person mentioned above and to learn that he has quited gambling, done his term of community service as ordered by the courts and is now slowing rebuilding his career and life.

I have heard of yet another case this last fortnight, perhaps not as devastating as the one mentioned but still as painful for the family of the addict. This affliction seems to be very frequent in the Chinese community, I have to admit that I have a cousin who has been an over gambling experience. The son of yet anotherdistant cousin had to be expatriated to another country to save him from bad habits. How does one prevent addiction to occur? How does detect the addiction n early enough? I went through the internet to look for possible answers.

Understanding gambling addiction and problem gambling

Gambling addiction, also known as compulsive gambling, is a type of impulse-control disorder. Compulsive gamblers can’t control the impulse to gamble, even when they know their gambling is hurting themselves or their loved ones. Gambling is all they can think about and all they want to do, no matter the consequences. Compulsive gamblers keep gambling whether they’re up or down, broke or flush, happy or depressed. Even when they know the odds are against them, even when they can’t afford to lose, people with a gambling addiction can’t “stay off the bet.”

Gamblers can have a problem, however, without being totally out of control. Long before an addiction has fully developed, gambling can have a negative impact. Problem gambling is any gambling behavior that disrupts your life. If you’re preoccupied with gambling, spending more and more time and money on it, chasing losses, or gambling despite serious consequences, you have a gambling problem.

There are two types of compulsive or problem gamblers. While their behaviors are similar, they gamble for very different reasons:

• Action gamblers are addicted to the thrill of risk-taking. Gambling itself is their “drug.” They usually gamble with others, since part of the rush is beating the house or other gamblers. Action gamblers usually prefer games of skill, such as card games, craps, and sports betting. They may also play the stock market.
• Escape gamblers gamble to escape emotional pain, worries, and loneliness. Rather than gambling to feel a rush, they gamble to feel numb. Escape gamblers prefer more isolated activities such as slot machines, bingo, and online poker. They also prefer games that don’t require much thought, so they can “zone out.”

Signs and symptoms of problem gambling

Gambling addiction is sometimes referred to as the “hidden illness” because there are no obvious physical signs or symptoms like there are in drug or alcohol addiction. Problem gamblers typically deny or minimize the problem. They also go to great lengths to hide their gambling. For example, problem gamblers often withdraw from their loved ones, sneak around, and lie about where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to.

Do I have a gambling problem?

You may have a gambling problem if you:

• Neglect work or family to gamble
• Gamble in secret
• Lie about how much you gamble
• Feel compelled to keep upping your bets
• Feel remorse after gambling
• Gamble until you’ve spent your last dollar
• Gamble with money you need to pay bills
• Steal, borrow, or sell things to get money for gambling
• Dream of the “big win” and what it will buy
• Gamble to escape worries
• Gamble in order to solve financial problems or win back losses
• Celebrate by gambling

While the warning signs of problem gambling can be subtle­, there are some red flags that should put you on alert:

• Secrecy over money and finances
• New desire to control household finances
• Overdue or unpaid bills
• Unexplained loans or cash advances
• Lack of money, despite the same income and expenses
• Unusual increase in credit card activity
• Asking friends and family for money
• Missing jewelry, cash, or valuables
• Dwindling savings or assets
• Missing bank or credit card statements
• Calls or letters from bill collectors
• Unexplained cash, especially when there are unpaid bills

The “four phases” of problem gambling and gambling addiction

People with gambling problems typically go through four phases, progressing from recreational gambling to problem gambling and finally to gambling addiction. Each phase can last from months to years.

• Winning phase – The winning phase often starts with a big win, leading to excitement and a positive view of gambling. Problem gamblers believe they have a special talent for gambling and that the winning will continue. They begin spending greater amounts of time and money on gambling.
• Losing phase – Problem gamblers become more and more preoccupied with gambling. They start to gamble alone, borrow money, skip work, lie to family and friends, and default on debts. They also begin to “chase” their losses: gambling in order to win back money that was lost.
• Desperation phase – Problem gamblers lose all control over their gambling. They feel ashamed and guilty after gambling, but they can’t stop. They may cheat or steal to finance their addiction. The consequences of compulsive gambling catch up with them: they may lose their jobs, get divorced, or get arrested.
• Hopeless phase – In the hopeless phase, problem gamblers hit “rock bottom.” They don’t believe that anyone cares or that help is possible. They don’t even care if they live or die. They may abuse drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. Many problem gamblers also consider or attempt suicide.

Treatment for problem gambling

Attitudes that get in the way of treatment for problem gambling:

• “I know I should quit, but I love gambling.”
• “Lack of money is the real problem, not my gambling.”
• “I can learn how to manage my gambling without stopping entirely.”
• “I’m only in treatment to appease my family or employer.”
• “I can’t imagine life without gambling.”
• “Quitting gambling is impossible.”

In order to overcome a gambling addiction, you must first admit that you have a problem. For many problem gamblers, this is the hardest part. But recovery won’t happen if you’re minimizing the addiction, making excuses, or blaming others.

Once you’re ready to own up to your gambling problem, the work of recovery can begin. Start by seeking professional help from an addiction specialist. This is also the time to come clean to your loved ones and ask for their support. Overcoming a gambling addiction or problem is never easy. But recovery is possible if you stick with treatment and seek support.

Treatment options for gambling addiction and problem gambling

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy for problem gambling focuses on changing unhealthy gambling behaviors and thoughts, including rationalizations and false beliefs. It also teaches problem gamblers how to fight gambling urges, deal with uncomfortable emotions rather than escape through gambling, and solve financial, work, and relationship problems caused by the addiction.
• Gamblers Anonymous is a twelve-step recovery program patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous. It is widely viewed as the most effective treatment for compulsive gambling. Gamblers Anonymous provides a supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere where you can share what you’re going through and get feedback and advice from fellow gamblers who understand your problem. To find a Gamblers Anonymous meeting in your area, click here.
• Medication won’t cure a gambling problem, but it may be helpful if depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, or another mental health problem is fueling the compulsive gambling. Medications used in the treatment of problem gambling include antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Naltrexone, a medication that reduces drug and alcohol cravings, may also reduce gambling cravings in action gamblers. Naltrexone must be carefully monitored because of serious potential side effects.

The Four Steps program: A gambling treatment that can “rewire” your brain

Jeffrey Schwartz has created a variation of a cognitive-behavioral therapy called The Four Steps Program. It has been successful in treating a wide range of conditions, including compulsive gambling. The Four Steps program takes advantage of neuroplasticity, the remarkable ability of our brains to change throughout our lives. The goal of treatment is to “rewire” the addicted brain by thinking about gambling in a new way. You can literally change your brain — developing new neural pathways and restoring brain chemical balance—by practicing the following four steps:

• Step 1: Relabel. Recognize that the urge to gamble is nothing more than a symptom of your gambling addiction, which is a treatable medical condition. It is not a valid feeling that deserves your attention.
• Step 2: Reattribute. Stop blaming yourself and try to understand that the urge to gamble has a physical cause in your brain. You are separate from the disease of addiction, but not a passive bystander. With practice, you can learn to control your unwanted thoughts about gambling.
• Step 3: Refocus. When the urge to gamble strikes, don’t wait for it to go away. Instead, shift your attention to something more positive or constructive. Do something else, even if the compulsion to gamble is still bothering you.
• Step 4: Revalue. Over time, as you practice the first three steps, you’ll gradually learn to revalue your flawed thoughts about gambling. Instead of taking them at face value, you’ll realize that they have no inherent value or power. They’re just “toxic waste” from your brain.

Self-help for problem gambling and gambling addiction

Tackling a gambling problem is possible if you avoid tempting environments, give up control of your finances (at least at first), find exciting or enjoyable activities to replace gambling, and surround yourself with people to whom you’re accountable. It’s also important to keep stress in check, since stress can trigger compulsive gambling or make it worse.

Getting Control of Problem Gambling

One way to stop yourself from problem gambling is to analyze what is needed for gambling to occur, work on removing these elements from your life and replace them with healthier choices. The four elements needed for problem gambling to continue are:

• Decision: Before gambling occurs, the decision to gamble has been made. If you have an urge to gamble: stop what you are doing and call someone, think about the consequences to your actions, tell yourself to stop thinking about gambling, and find something else to do immediately.
• Money: Gambling cannot occur without money. Get rid of your credit cards, let someone else be in charge of your money, have the bank make automatic payments for you, and keep a limited amount of cash on you at all times.
• Time: Gambling cannot occur if you don’t have the time. Schedule enjoyable recreational time for yourself that has nothing to do with gambling, find time for relaxation, and plan outings with your family.
• A Game: Without a game or activity to bet on there is no opportunity to gamble. Don’t put yourself in tempting environments or locations. Tell the gambling establishments you frequent that you have a gambling problem and ask them to restrict you from betting at their casinos and establishments.

Helping a family member with a gambling problem

If your family member has a gambling problem, you can help by encouraging him or her to get treatment and by offering your support. This doesn’t mean bailing the gambler out of trouble or covering up the problem. It’s important to hold problem gamblers responsible for their actions—including the consequences. It’s also important to take care of yourself. You have a right to protect yourself emotionally and financially. Don’t blame yourself for the gambler’s problems. You don’t control your family member’s behavior; the choice to stop gambling is theirs alone.

Tips for family members of problem gamblers:

• Take over the family finances
• Review bank and credit card statements
• Request credit reports from the three main credit bureaus
• Monitor Internet use to see if the person is gambling online
• Be honest about how the gambler’s behavior makes you feel
• Get counseling or join a support group such as Gam-Anon
• Encourage the person to go to Gambler’s Anonymous

Dans un discours le 15 aout 2008, notre saint père le pape Benoit XVI a parlé d’un saint missionnaire dont la sépulture se trouve en Chine.

Chers frères et soeurs,

je suis profondément ému de l’accueil aussi chaleureux que j’ai trouvé ici, et je ne peux que vous remercier de tout mon coeur. Et je remercie le Seigneur qui nous a donné ce grand saint, saint Giuseppe Freinademetz, qui nous montre la route de la vie et est également un signe pour l’avenir de l’Eglise. Un saint d’une très grande actualité: nous savons que la Chine devient toujours plus importante dans la vie politique, économique et même dans la vie des idées. Il est important que ce grand pays s’ouvre à l’Evangile. Et saint Giuseppe Freinademetz nous montre que la foi n’est une aliénation pour aucune culture, pour aucun peuple, parce que toutes les cultures attendent le Christ et ne sont pas détruites par le Seigneur: plus encore elles atteignent leur maturité. Saint Giuseppe Freinademetz, comme nous l’avons entendu, voulait non seulement vivre et mourir chinois, mais également rester chinois au ciel: il s’est ainsi idéalement identifié à ce peuple, dans la certitude qu’il se serait ouvert à la foi en Jésus Christ. Prions maintenant afin que ce grand saint soit un encouragement pour nous tous à vivre de nouveau, à notre époque, la vie de la foi, à aller vers le Christ parce que Lui seul, le Christ, peut unir les peuples, peut unir les cultures. Et prions aussi pour qu’il donne à de nombreux jeunes le courage de dédier leur vie totalement au Seigneur et à son Evangile. Toutefois, simplement, je ne peux que dire “merci” au Seigneur qui nous a donné ce saint et “merci” à vous tous pour cet accueil, qui me donne la preuve visible que l’Eglise est vivante aujourd’hui aussi et que la foi est une joie qui nous rassemble et nous conduit sur les routes de la vie.
Merci à vous tous!

J’étais heureux de lire ce message,

1 premièrement il s’agit de mon homonyme Guiseppe étant l’italien pour « Joseph »,

2 deuxièmement il s’agit ici de la Chine, mon pays natal, et

3 troisièmement il est question de ‘culture’ et de ‘foi chrétienne : la foi chrétienne n’est une aliénation pour aucune culture parce que toutes les cultures attendent le Christ pour y trouver leur maturité.

Et dire qu’à Maurice trop souvent nous confondons culture et religion.

L’Evangile de ce dimanche nous renvoie t-il pas a l’universalité de la foi Chrétienne ? Sur la grande insistance de la Cananéenne dans le récit Jésus qui mettait la femme a l’épreuve en insinuant qu’il était venu  pour les enfants d’Israel et non pas pour les étrangers. En égard à sa grande foi, Jésus finit par concéder la guérison à sa fille également. Le salut est donc à toute l’humanité, indistinctement de races ou de cultures.

We are living a period of oil crisis are we not? This past week the pressure seems to have subsided with a drop of the world market price to a lower level of 125 US dollars the barrel. Forecasters are still maintaining that very soon we shall strike the level of 200 dollars the barrel. Energy or Oil crisis we are all aroused to the issue, we are all concerned. Is it enough? More importantly what are we doing about the crisis? What action each one of us at micro level, macro level, and as a community is taking? Crying over spilled milk and talking about it over the media only raise our conscience to the issue. Does it move us to action?

A bunch of toads were thrown in a pot of warm water. A fire was lit under the pot to warm up slowly the temperature of the water. The toads developed high adaptability to adjusting to the change in temperature. At first, as the temperature rose, they enjoyed the nice and warm environment. The toads felt good, relaxed and even sleepy. Later the temperature became so warm that the toads though they realised the forth coming deadly temperature, they could no more jump away from the pot.

Are we not still in the crisis in spite of the recent adjustments? Do we have to experience another dramatic surge in the price of energy to spur us to action? Does the temporary lull in the rising curve of the price blind our long term visibility? Do we have the acumen to address the issue timely and move to action?

I found a recent article written by E. Ted Prince addressed to business leaders on the subject, from which we could learn. Here are some extracts:

Companies need to identify leaders such as these as a high priority in order to bring human capital solutions to the oil crisis. Ultimately any disruptive environment is a human capital crisis. The crisis will eventually be addressed and solved. The issue is who will address and solve it most rapidly and in the best manner. This will occur through having leaders who, among all the other qualities needed to lead successfully, must also possess high business acumen. This is the challenge for leaders and their HR and LD executives.

Explore three channels:

1. Ask HR and LD to develop an oil-focused human capital action plan based on implications of the oil crisis. In the plan, cover selection, recruitment, on boarding, development, and assessment. Contrast what is happening at present and the areas that need to be changed to meet the challenges.

2. Improve your people’s capability to respond to the oil crisis by developing and implementing a business acumen assessment and development program for managers and executives. The program should focus on assessment of business acumen and on its development to prepare managers and leaders for the new financial and value challenges posed by the oil crisis.

3. Develop new oil-focused succession plans and planning. Stress capabilities that will enhance your ability to address the crisis and choose those managers best suited to confront these issues. We also suggest:

• Prepare an HR impact statement
• Redesign recruitment criteria for new hires and promotions
• Redesign on boarding programs
• Run a simulation on one aspect of the oil crisis
• Integrate acumen approaches with oil issues into LD programs
• Organize an oil crisis workshop
• Develop business acumen courses in corporate universities aimed at oil crisis and addressing it creatively
• Organize an “oil literacy” seminar for high potentials and other leaders
• Establish a human capital crisis team to address the oil crisis issue
• Redesign structures to enhance capability to deal with the crisis
• Prepare recommendations for changes to TM to address crisis
• Hire people with an understanding of oil industry in certain key positions.

Template for Disruptive Change

This issue is not only about the oil crisis—we will soon face more crises whose nature will be unpredictable. All we can do is to prepare and anticipate that crises incorporate challenges that require leaders with exceptional business acumen, independent of their other leadership qualities. So leadership developers need to address the issue of how these challenges will also be addressed and faced.

Answer three questions: Does the leadership template cope with disruptive change? Can the template lead to higher shareholder value? Does it have formal ways to assess the financial and value creation impact of leaders in measuring response to disruptive change?

Fear mongering is a very powerful motivational tool and it will only last a spur or jolt.

I quote Jim Collins: <<I had a personal experience that helped me understand that dynamic. Shortly after receiving a teaching award at Stanford, I began to dread my course. I worried that I could not repeat the performance and that the quality of other courses would exceed mine. I felt motivated, to be sure, but it was a kind of motivation that sapped away the sheer joy I normally felt in teaching.

Around the same time, I was reading about John Wooden, the UCLA men’s basketball coach who led his team to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years during the 1960s and 1970s. It dawned on me that Wooden had never made it a goal to repeat the previous year’s performance—not even if it had been an undefeated season. He focused his attention entirely on how to improve on the previous year. Wooden highlighted for me a supreme truth: that excellence is the residual result of continual creation and improvement for its own sake. Whereas the fear mongers concentrate on the demoralizing effect of failure, Wooden capitalized on the inspiring payoff of achievement—the pure, reenergizing glee that comes from simply creating something new and doing something better.

It was an epiphany that changed my approach. Instead of obsessing about not losing what I had, I shifted to focusing on making the course better, even if just by a little bit. It was a liberating shift that restored the joy of preparation that had formerly guided me. I had fun again! And, most important, the course did in fact improve.

I acknowledge fear as a powerful motivator for all of us. I’m as subject to it as anyone. But the dark side of motivation by fear is that it is like a powerful stimulant: it can jolt you for a while, but it also inevitably leaves you more drained than before. Wanting to survive—to merely avoid losing what we have—is not a goal that can motivate over the long haul. It offers no promise of forward motion, of accomplishment. (You can’t ever finish “not losing” something—until, that is, you’re not alive to “not lose” it anymore.) Indeed, had Beethoven focused primarily on not losing his stature after the Third Symphony, rather than pushing further, I suspect we would not have the Fifth or the Ninth symphonies. And Beethoven would not have become Beethoven.

So the next time you encounter a “Change or die!” lecture, in print or in person, remember the words of Royal Robbins, the great rock climber who pioneered ascents of Yosemite’s big walls: “The point is not to avoid death—if you want to do that, simply stay on the ground. The point is to reach the top, and then keep on climbing.”>>

I am reminded of the days when as a young boy of 7 years, my teacher preparing me to receive my first communion, motivated me by fear: avoidance of ending up in hell. Our church and the teachings of the time were very much in the spirit before the changes brought by the Vatican II council. ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid’ shifts my focus to loftier highs. ‘And Peter’s reply: Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water’ calls me to go in the direction of my Lord. What a liberating shift! Lord I praise you.

Lord with your help and blessings I want to reach the top with you.

As a keen Toastmaster, I immediately moved to get a copy of the speech, to study Obama’s discourse and to analyse his style. I read the text a couple of times to model the way, he catches the attention of his audience, and he keeps the interest of his audience whilst at the same time conveying the message he wants.
The use of repetition and the structuring of the speech and the use of chosen and appropriate words, I thought were great. How would you, listener, not associate ‘Berlin’ with ‘ the fall of Wall’? How did he arouse emotions of his audience in his delivery and what were the keys words he used to leverage passion and the desired effects? Unfortunately, I miss a recorded version of his speech, where I could have experienced the power of his voice, tones, and variations in delivery which no doubt would enhance the written text.
May I suggest to my toastmasters’ fellows to use this very topical, up to date speech, where we are in the understanding of the context and purpose of the speaker, as a model for building a speech in a speech craft lesson.

Text of Obama’s speech in Berlin 24 july2008 (Courtesy of International Herald Tribune)

BERLIN: Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.
I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.
I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father – my grandfather – was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.
At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning – his dream – required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.
That is why I’m here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.
Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.
On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.
This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.
The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.
And that’s when the airlift began – when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.
The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.
But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city’s mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. “There is only one possibility,” he said. “For us to stand together united until this battle is won�The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty.
People of the world: now do your duty�People of the world, look at Berlin!”Where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.
Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.
Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.
People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.
Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.
The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers – dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.
The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.
As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.
Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.
In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we’re honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.
In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe’s role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth – that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.
Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more – not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.
That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.
The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.
We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid.
So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.
That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations – and all nations – must summon that spirit anew.
This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.
This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.
This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.
This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century – in this city of all cities – we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.
This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.
This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.
This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations – including my own – will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.
And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust – not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.
Now the world will watch and remember what we do here – what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?
Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words “never again” in Darfur?
Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?
People of Berlin – people of the world – this is our moment. This is our time.
I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived – at great cost and great sacrifice – to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom – indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us – what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America’s shores – is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.
These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people – everywhere – became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation – our generation – must make our mark on the world.
People of Berlin – and people of the world – the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.

Since I got to see the full speech on Youtube. It was great seeing and living this superb delivery. The last poll gives both candidates 40% . I sincerely wish OBAMA to be the next president in November.

Evangile de Jésus-Christ selon saint Matthieu 14,13-21.

Quand Jésus apprit cela, il partit en barque pour un endroit désert, à l’écart. Les foules l’apprirent et, quittant leurs villes, elles suivirent à pied.
En débarquant, il vit une grande foule de gens ; il fut saisi de pitié envers eux et guérit les infirmes.
Le soir venu, les disciples s’approchèrent et lui dirent : « L’endroit est désert et il se fait tard. Renvoie donc la foule : qu’ils aillent dans les villages s’acheter à manger ! »
Mais Jésus leur dit : « Ils n’ont pas besoin de s’en aller. Donnez-leur vous-mêmes à manger. »
Alors ils lui disent : « Nous n’avons là que cinq pains et deux poissons. »
Jésus dit : « Apportez-les moi ici. »
Puis, ordonnant à la foule de s’asseoir sur l’herbe, il prit les cinq pains et les deux poissons, et, levant les yeux au ciel, il prononça la bénédiction ; il rompit les pains, il les donna aux disciples, et les disciples les donnèrent à la foule.
Tous mangèrent à leur faim et, des morceaux qui restaient, on ramassa douze paniers pleins.
Ceux qui avaient mangé étaient environ cinq mille, sans compter les femmes et les enfants.

Le Seigneur révèle la véritable signification du don de sa propre vie pour tous les hommes, nous montrant aussi la profonde compassion qu’il a pour toute personne. En effet, à de nombreuses reprises, les évangiles nous rapportent les sentiments de Jésus à l’égard des hommes, tout particulièrement des personnes qui souffrent et des pécheurs. À travers un sentiment profondément humain, il exprime l’intention salvifique de Dieu pour tout homme, afin qu’il atteigne la vraie vie.

En pensant à la multiplication des pains et des poissons, nous devons reconnaître que le Christ, encore aujourd’hui, continue à exhorter ses disciples à s’engager personnellement : « Donnez-leur vous-mêmes à manger ». La vocation de chacun de nous consiste véritablement à être, avec Jésus, pain rompu pour la vie du monde.

(Pape Benoît XVI Sacramentum caritatis, 88)

Quand j’habite l’esprit du Seigneur dans ce récit de Saint Matthieu, je rejoins justement la compassion profonde que notre Pape Benoit nous parle. Un regard des autres, dans une union des sentiments pour être ‘saisi de pitié envers eux’ et d’agir pour guérir les infirmes. Puisse que je voudrais que le Seigneur habite en moi, que j’ai Son regard en tout temps, apprends moi Seigneur Dieu d’avoir ce regard de compassion profonde et de donner à manger, et de soulager ceux que je rencontre.

Comment Cinq pains et deux poissons peuvent nourrir une multitude ? Si j’étais présent à cette scène, j’aurai réagi devant l’impossibilité de la tache. Dois-je encore reconnaitre que les voies du Seigneur ne sont pas celles des humains. Les disciples ont exécutés scrupuleusement les instructions du Maitre. Une confiance sans conteste et une foi inébranlable. Fait grandir ma foi en toi et donne moi le détachement. Je voudrais tellement que je vis pour Toi et par Toi. J’aurais à aguerrir la partie ‘homme’ en moi pour me transcender vers la partie ‘divine’. Donne-moi Seigneur les grâces, la force, le courage et la volonté pour y arriver. Comme le miracle de la multiplication des pains, opère le miracle de ma transcendance vers Toi.