So what’s happening in France?

The question everybody has been asking me.

 

Weeks of strikes, protests and demonstrations have brought much of France to a standstill as workers, students and others voice their strong opposition to a government proposal to raise the age for a minimum pension from 60 to 62. A quarter of the nation’s gas stations were out of fuel, hundreds of flights were canceled, long lines formed at gas stations and train services in many regions were cut in half. Protesters blockaded Marseille‘s airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon. The unpopular bill is edging closer to becoming law as the French Senate is preparing to vote on it today. Collected here are recent images of the unrest around France. Update: Pension reform bill just now passed by French senate. (40 photos total)

 

 

Spectacular photos and the rest of the article:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/10/france_on_strike.html

Related Articles

• French Senate Passes Controversial Reform Bill, At Last. (teabreak.pk)
• French Senate passes pension bill (bbc.co.uk)
• French Senate Approves Retirement Age Increase, Protests Still Raging (businessinsider.com)
• French Senate passes pension bill, more strikes planned (politics.ie)
• French Protesters Block Marseille Airport (foxnews.com)
• Lady Gaga’s Paris gigs called off (mirror.co.uk)
• French Senate Passes Pension Overhaul (foxnews.com)

The “Fake” Family Tree (via Monica’s Tangled Web)

It was the kind of homework assignment a self-conscious Latina dreaded most. Picture if you will, 1964. LBJ is in the White House. Muhammad Ali beats Sonny Liston and is crowned heavyweight champion of the world. The Beatles make their U.S. debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. And me? I’m in Queens, attending school at P.S. 154, sitting in the second row of Mrs. Green’s third grade class. Oh, and I’m sweating bullets. For Mrs. Green, my third grade tea … Read More

via Monica’s Tangled Web

I don’t care about your politics, I care about humanity!

I don’t care about your politics, all promising so much and delivering so little.

Elections in Britain, elections in Belgium, a small country in which people fail to cohabit  peacefully.

Who to trust, who to choose, the lesser of many evils ?

Who will stand for humanity, peace and harmony?!

Yes, I know, I’m a dreamer.I’m not the only one.Many people want to see change and a fairer society.

Who will listen?

I choose to believe in humanity, sometimes difficult looking around you and further afield with so many people too self-absorbed or apathetic to stand up and make difference.

I do not understand a world where millions of people go hungry, are homeless, suffering and dying needlessly of diseases that can either be prevented or better treated.

A world where people forget to respect others, hate some for the way they look, come from or what they believe in.

What is the sense in that? this world frightens me ,saddens me, horrifies me and makes me doubt.

Until, fortunately, I am reminded of all of us who are trying, who do care, who want to make  a difference, however small.The ones who respect others and want to contribute to a better, fairer, more humane society.

Too much information

Sometimes, watching the news unfold can be all too overwhelming.

So much suffering, hatred, violence…

Why does the society we live in behave in such a way?

• A woman finds herself, pursued by a man and forced to perform fellatio on him.It’s the middle of the night, in a deserted street in France.
• Her crime, she overtook him.
• Reactions to an article reporting this appalling incident included crude remarks, forgetting the horror of the situation.
• Tweets abounded on Twitter, some rather disgusting.
• Cheap comments on how she should have done this or that, easy to say when you haven’t been in this situation.

Sometimes, it’s nice to take a step back and go back to your own reality.I have my own battle with health to

fight and my lovely children to look after.

Being passionate, at times, hurts too much and saps your energy.There is only so much one person can do.

It is often my downfall to care too much and to get too involved.

Luckily, I have someone by my side who reminds me to look after myself.

I look at my children whom I want to give all I’ve got, all the energy I have.

• We can all do our bit to contribute to a better world, on our own and also united.
• We should always remember to respect each other.
• I believe in humanity, I am also a dreamer.
• A dreamer like John Lennon singing “Imagine…”

So, I won’t stop caring, obviously.I’ll just try and remember to

take better care of myself and I certainly will not forget to

spend precious time with my children.