Saturday, May 31, 2008

Two unrelated questions

Our Earthlink service was down for half the day. A forced media fast.

Finally, about a half hour ago, it reconnected us to the rest of the earth. I rather enjoyed the respite, but here we are again — Earth-linked.

Here are two not-so-burning yet intriguing questions.

I've been seeing these stenciled figures on the pavement in our neighborhood. They may be part of some scavenger hunt, but I can't be sure. Any ideas?

Second: The following is part of a speech famous for a single phrase not to be found in this excerpt. Question: Whose speech is it and on what occasion. (Extra credit: what is the famous phrase, more timely today than when it was made.)

Sure, you can find the answer on a search engine, but take a guess.

Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war – as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years – I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.

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1 Comments:

Blogger MTP said...

Beware the military (corporate) industrial conplex... MTP

2:22 PM  

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