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Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Traffic, Then and Now

I live in a state that doesn't have mass transit anywhere in the state; if you want to go anywhere, you have to go by car. I grew up in a city that depended on mass transit to move its millions of people from place to place.

Elsewhere in the state, you drove your car but I didn't see bicycles or motorcycles on the highway. I'm sure they existed but they didn't have the right of way and, in those years, there were no bicycle lanes in traffic.

When I hear my clients talk about traffic in their European or Asian cities, I can see such a different life from when I was growing up. Of course, it may be that there are so many years separating my life then and my life now.

At the time, there were much fewer cars on the highway and everyone traveled by subway to get to where they were going. On the weekends you could take your car into the city and there was relatively little traffic and you could always find a place to park.

Nowadays, it's not only easier to take the subway to wherever you're going in the city but it's also more cost-effective because parking is so limited and so expensive.

The one thing that has not changed in all these years is that when you live in a metropolitan city, you are surrounded by everything you need or could want.

If you want to go out to lunch in the city, when you walk out of your office you're just a few blocks away from some of the best restaurants. Of course, you have to get there before the lunch crowd if you want to get a table because restaurants fill up very fast during peak times.

For the most part, I remember that it didn't pay to take a bus in the business district because most things are within walking distance. And, unless you were having a working lunch in your office, it didn't pay to order food to be delivered because restaurants were a hop, skip, and a jump away from your office.

I don't imagine much has changed in that regard between metropolitan cities and suburbia but I'm just very glad I grew up in a metropolitan area when I was young enough to enjoy all it had to offer. Nowadays, I'm just very glad I can get to where I'm going by car.

Connie H. Deutsch is an internationally known business consultant and personal advisor who has a keen understanding of human nature and is a natural problem-solver.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8959094

A Modern Display Of Lost Tradition

Mourning Cross Bereavement Pins

A modern display of a lost tradition, what is old and lost, is found and new again.

In many of our cultures and societies of years past, when a death occurred we outwardly displayed our mourning with jewellery, black mourning arm bands or buttons. Many people also wore black for a period of time.

An Irish mother and her three daughters who has experienced the loss of so many of their loved one's has revived this old tradition as a result of a conversation between them. During the conversation one sister who had been to a wake of a friend's grandmother explained how uncomfortable and embarrassed she felt as a result of not being able to locate her friend who was not in the house at the time, and not knowing the immediate family with whom she should sympathise. Each of the sisters gave examples of wakes and funerals that they had attended and experienced similar, uncomfortable and embarrassing situations. They also recalled their own family wake of their father explaining that some visitors had walked past them not realising that they were daughters and how uncomfortable that felt. They talked about the embarrassing whispers of people asking who was who and the stories that are lost about the deceased as a result of missed opportunities to share their cherished memories.

We use signs and symbols in our daily lives all the time and that symbols are important to help steer people in the right direction. She also said that after the funeral families like to wear the bereavement pins as an outward expression of their grief, its unique design and unspoken message provokes conversations of what the Pin signifies... allowing those who are mourning to share the memory of their loved one.

The family believe that reviving and preserving this true tradition provides a symbolic and special significance in remembering the departed, respecting the grieving at what is a very difficult time. The family are passionate in reviving this old tradition using a respectful symbol to enhance the funeral experience not only for attendees but families who benefit from wonderful stories that would have been lost.

The elegant pins, which also serve as treasured keepsakes, are offered in either black or white enamel in the shape of a cross or, as a non-denominational option, a circle. Both have a center image of a dove in flight and are presented on a card with the expressive poem, "It's My Time".



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8249908

Poverty As a Fuel for Rage

Poverty is the absence of all human rights. The frustrations, hostility and anger generated by abject poverty cannot sustain peace in any society.

~Muhammad Yunis~

Recently a newspaper ad offered up to one percent interest on a one year bank certificate of deposit, described as a bargain. Of course it was taxable as well. On the next page I found an article describing banks as swimming in money. It is estimated that about sixty or so families control half the wealth of the world.

Various news stories in recent months saw many cities simmering in unrest and increasingly boiling over into downright violence. Sometimes the violence relates to concern about police brutality but other times no clear provocation is evident.

It seems to me that much more effort goes into controlling and reacting to violence than into understanding and preventing it. Communities often react with outrage and repressive attempts to contain the surge of violence.

In recent years, police departments have acquired a wide range of non-lethal weapons to stem the tide, but there are all too often incidents of over-reaction by police and a disturbing number of deaths among agitated but unarmed citizens.

Is this a problem among undisciplined police officers or something larger? In my view, we are asking the police to handle a problem often created and ignored by the larger society. We shake our heads over the violence but don't do a great deal on a personal or societal level to understand why people are restless and agitated.

Imagine being born into a family in which none of your relatives have completed high school. Your relatives try to help each other survive but no one has much to share with each other. You can't remember your parents living together. The best you see around you is quiet desperation. At worst you see neighbors engaged in outright battles. You can name three people from your block now rotting in jail.

How easy would it be for you to be the least bit optimistic about your future? Could you even dream of a college education or a good job when no one you can name has escaped the poverty which surrounds everyone you know?

We live in a society where the elite few grow richer by the day. Legislators constantly pass laws making it easier to become even richer while cutting programs to aid the less fortunate.

To be fair, the newspapers have also celebrated the few poor people who have been given the opportunity to change their lives and have gained a sense of pride. What about the rest of those mired in poverty?

Our world community contains the resources to eradicate poverty. The problem is that we do not think as a community responsible for each other. Even in our democratic society, freedom has come to mean everyone for themselves rather than collective responsibility to care for each other. Maybe it is time we rethink what it means to be a human being and how we can all have the chance for a satisfying life.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8967623

Current Affairs News Online - Information About The World Available At Your Home

News can be transmitted faster through technology all over the world.

People can have complete control of what news they want to read about. Traditional newspapers convey local news more than international news while online newspapers from different countries can be accessed for free through the internet. There are many advantages for people to convert reading from traditional newspapers to online newspapers.

Any news around the world can be published online within a matter of few seconds. People can be more updated with the help of online newspapers. Current affairs news can be viewed immediately through the internet rather than waiting for a day in order to read it on the printed newspapers.

The online newspapers are updated every few minutes and the headlines keeps changing as and when new incidents occur in the world.

Most of the news that is available online is free of cost. People only need a computer and internet connection for browsing through the world news.
It is easy and convenient to read news online and people can multitask while they read online newspaper.

With the help of technology, customization of the news can be done. People, who are interested only in certain sections of news like business news or Sports News, can be provided with options on the website to display only that specific section instead of the entire newspaper.

Certain websites provide the viewers with the ability to discuss the news and events of the world among the peers. The interaction while reading news can make it more interesting.

Different viewpoints can be discussed by people all over the world for specific news.

The online newspapers provide the medium for the society to communicate back to the media. It can help them improve their ways of publishing news.

As traditional newspapers are printed on papers, the invention of online newspapers helps to create a greener environment by preserving the trees that are used for papers.

Purchasing newspapers can use up plenty of time and money which can be minimized by reading online newspapers.

Any news from all over the world can be viewed with just one click of the mouse from the comfort of each person's home.

People prefer updated and comprehensive news. The unlimited space available on the internet can publish a variety of news and events from all over the world in order to attract as many viewers as possible. Gradually, people are converting themselves into avid online news readers.

Find the latest technology news, internet updates, computer news, recent tech information, analysis on web, blogs, at latest news 360.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8966666