Comedian Lou Conran talks about her experience of having to give birth to her daughter, Emma, at just over 20 weeks following a scan that indicated her baby wouldn’t survive.

Talks could be held with the US “under the right conditions”, South Korean media reports.

DA NANG, Vietnam ? The street that leads to David Clark?s home is marked with a sign that says ?Ushi?s house.? That?s the name of his wife, born in the year of the buffalo under the Vietnamese zodiac. Clark is also a buffalo ? that?s what makes them a good match, he says.

In other ways, they?re a surprising pair: Clark first came to Da Nang in 1968 as a 19-year-old Marine fighting in the Vietnam War. He returned to the country four decades later to see what had become of it. He met Ushi, who is Vietnamese, a few years later at a restaurant she owns in the town of Hue.

He remembers she was wearing a chartreuse dress, with long earrings and a watch to match. They later danced in the street as Ushi?s favorite song ? the Beatles? ?Eight Days a Week? ? played at a festival.

The two fell in love and married in a Catholic church while wearing traditional Vietnamese wedding clothes. Later, they bought a house near the beach in Da Nang and remodeled it to add some Western elements, including a filter that lets them drink straight from the kitchen sink. 

On a warm night this spring, with the sounds of karaoke wafting through the streets from nearby bars and restaurants, Clark?s house offered another example of worlds colliding. A group that in the late 1960s wouldn?t have been caught under the same roof ? let alone sharing an appetizer of deep-fried Vietnamese spring rolls ? gathered around a large kitchen table.

The guests included Floyd Henderson, a Vietnam War draft dodger who fled to Canada in 1969; Cathy Wilkerson, a former member of the militant Weather Underground group who landed on the FBI?s ?10 Most Wanted? list; and Chuck Searcy, who also served in the Vietnam War and has since returned to live in Hanoi.

Searcy is also the vice president of the Vietnamese chapter of Veterans for Peace, an anti-war nonprofit. Through the organization, he leads tours of the country geared toward Vietnam War veterans and activists, but anyone is welcome to join. That?s what brought the unlikely group together at that kitchen table ? it was 12th day of their trip from Hanoi to Saigon.

For some, going back to Vietnam is a way to make peace with the past. For others, the trip is a chance to connect with a place and a cause that still matters deeply to them.

War tourism isn?t a new concept, and veterans have been returning to Vietnam for years. But Searcy says he probably won?t keep hosting his tour. The affected generation is aging, and it?s difficult to get enough interest in the trips to justify them. Ten people traveled with him this year; usually about 15 people join.

Searcy was stationed in Saigon from 1967 to 1968 as part of an intelligence battalion. He returned to the country for the first time in 1992, and moved there three years later to take a job at a nonprofit in Hanoi. 

His tour takes a little over two weeks. It costs $2,750, plus airfare, and participants are asked to bring a gift of $1,000. At the end of the journey, they decide together how to donate the money. 

Clark has been on the board of Vietnam?s Veterans for Peace chapter for several years, which is how he met Searcy. He describes Searcy in military terms: a point man leading others to learn how to make amends for the United States? role in the war.

Clark has taken part in a few of Searcy?s trips, but this is his first year hosting a dinner and welcoming people on the tour into his home.

?If you had told me 40 years ago that I?d be here in Vietnam, I?d have said you?re full of shit as a turkey ? a Christmas turkey,? he said. ?I came here in 1968 to die for my country. Thank God I didn?t. You know what?s the greatest gift I have? I get to die here of my own choice.?

For Wilkerson, the 2017 trip was a chance to complete a journey she started 50 years ago.

In 1967, she and three other members of Students for a Democratic Society flew from the U.S. to Cambodia by way of Paris. Their goal was to make their way to meet with the Viet Cong in North Vietnam and bring back information to help their anti-war efforts in the U.S. 

It was a bloody year in the Vietnam War, and Hanoi wasn?t accessible by a commercial flight. But the activists planned to hitch a ride on a mail plane that made a daily trip to the city because an international agreement dictated that it wouldn?t be shot down, Wilkerson said.

They never made it across the border. The U.S. had started bombing the northern city, and the North Vietnamese decided it was too dangerous for the students to make the trip. So the North Vietnamese met them in Phnom Penh for four days of meetings and discussion.

Wilkerson caught the attention of national news ? and the FBI ? when her father?s New York City townhouse, where she and other activists had been building a nail bomb, exploded in 1970. Three people died in the incident, and Wilkerson spent the next decade evading authorities by working minimum-wage jobs without an ID. She surrendered to law enforcement in 1980 and spent 11 months in prison.

Wilkerson is petite and shy, with silver-framed glasses. Her outward appearance doesn?t match with the ?60s radical who got caught up in a group advocating for an ?armed struggle? against the U.S. government. But she still describes herself as an activist.

Floyd Henderson describes how he feels today about his choice to flee to Canada instead of being drafted into the Vietnam War. Listen above.

Henderson joined Searcy?s trip for the first time in 2014. Forty-five years earlier, he?d received a bench warrant for his arrest after ignoring several draft notices.

When his brother threatened to turn him into the FBI, Henderson took the $700 he had in his sock drawer and spent $250 of it on a Buick. He packed his typewriter, guitars and other possessions and drove with a friend to International Falls, Minnesota. Henderson had no intention of coming back once they crossed into Canada. 

?I didn?t want to kill ? I had no desire whatsoever to shoot another human being for any reason,? he said.

Although he?d made it across the border, he didn?t have a legal right to be in the country permanently. ?I spent that winter living pretty much on the street,? he said.

Henderson later secured a legal right to be in Canada, but eventually returned to the U.S. after President Jimmy Carter pardoned draft dodgers.

Henderson is gentle and thoughtful when he speaks. He has spent a great deal of time considering his choice to flee the U.S. in 1969 while so many others were getting drafted. ?Sometimes it?s an almost constant ? regret might not be the right word for it, though it?s probably the closest I can come to it ? that I did not go to Vietnam.?

That group included many combat veterans, which made Henderson nervous. ?I went with a huge amount of trepidation because I wasn?t sure what kind of reaction I was going to get from these guys,? he said.

He was surprised at the response he received. ?Without a single hesitation, they accepted me as one of them,? he said. ?Even going so far as to call me a veteran and one of their brothers.?

He joined the trip again this time for another chance to see the country.

Clark joined the United States Marine Corps on his 17th birthday. On a warm day in March at the hotel where Searcy?s group was staying, he recounted arriving in Vietnam for the first time. He couldn?t legally vote or drink in his hometown, but here, he could carry a gun. He remembers that vividly.

It was a court-martial offense to leave the compound without a weapon, so Clark always had his M16 and rounds with him. And when he encountered a Vietnamese person, he remembers what he?d do.

?Every time I came across the Vietnamese ? I didn?t care if it was a man, woman or a child ? I would point that M16 in their face. And I wanted them to fear me. Because I felt if they feared me my chances of going home were much, much better,? Clark said. 

Clark was outwardly successful in the U.S. after the war, but he struggled emotionally to come to terms with his experiences. He couldn?t forget that look of fear he?d put in people?s faces. Or the battles where he?d shoot into the fray, not knowing whom or what he might be hitting. Certain dates or moments that were meaningless to others would trigger terrible memories of the war.

In 2007, a friend who had been in the Air Force suggested Clark try going back to Vietnam. So he went for it. He landed in Saigon and was waiting nervously at immigration when the humidity hit him, then the smell ? and then he saw people. The memories came right back. He wanted to turn around.

But he didn?t. In fact, the trip turned out to be a positive experience. He couldn?t believe how welcoming the Vietnamese people were. He visited several other times, and in 2013, he returned to stay for a year.

He hasn?t left since.

Clark likes to visit the Marble Mountains outside Da Nang, which he used to climb when he was stationed here. He watches the sunrise and looks out over the landscape ? sometimes it?s cloudy, sometimes it?s rainy. But the sun always comes up.

?When I?m in the United States, the American war in Vietnam haunts me every day and every night. I see many sights, and I see those faces,? he said. ?But when I?m in Vietnam and I?m on the top of Marble Mountain and I?m looking around and I don?t see no flares, no tracers, no choppers, no gunfire, no artillery fire, no rounds going over your head ? the American war was over 40 years ago. They?re at peace here. And I find peace here.?

David talks about how living in Vietnam has helped him come to terms with his experiences from the war. Listen above.

As everyone sat around the big kitchen table enjoying Ushi?s homemade yogurt for dessert, Clark poured two glasses of Johnnie Walker Red Label scotch. He clinked glasses with George Mische, another participant on the trip. Mische burned draft cards with homemade napalm in 1968 as part of the Catholic group that became known as the ?Catonsville Nine.?

Searcy told the group his story of first returning to Vietnam after the war, describing how he panicked as his plane approached the Saigon airport.

His anxiety was so intense that he would have turned the plane around, he said. But he couldn?t. 

The group listened, smiling and nodding over their shared history. 

As the evening drew to a close, Searcy?s tour participants bid goodbye to their hosts. They got back on a bus and made their way to their hotel. The next morning they?d eat warm, salty fried rice or pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup, at the hotel breakfast buffet before heading to the airport. From there, they?d fly south to Saigon.

Clark left the house and walked down dark, warm streets to one of his favorite local cafes. He smoked thuoc lao, a Vietnamese tobacco, out of a water pipe, the bubbles gurgling. Motorbikes hummed along past the café, and he greeted the two children inside the shop. It?s his favorite place in the city, he said.

Heading back home afterward, he called ?hello, hello? to the Vietnamese people he passed. They smiled and waved back.

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage articlesList=58f62c21e4b04cae050dcae7,58ab30cbe4b03250fc905d7f,581edc7ce4b01022624118aa

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A golf watcher spotted a fault Saturday against Lexi Thompson, resulting in a four-stroke penalty.

This year’s Baileys Prize hopefuls include one debut novelist and a previous winner.

BBC Sport gears up for the Masters by looking back at some great moments from previous competitions, starting with Louis Oosthuizen’s hole-in-one from 2016.

The blast occurred while President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was in the city. News outlets initially reported two explosions, but later revised that account.

Two explosions in Russia struck St. Petersburg’s Sennaya Ploschad and Tekhnologichesky Institut subway stations, killing at least 10 and injuring several others.

An ad for the bomb-boosting isotope lithium 6 suggests how far the North?s nuclear program has come, and how difficult President Trump?s vow to halt it will be.

Here?s what you need to know to start your day.

The chances of a nuclear weapon being used in a war are almost infinitely small. This is because of the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction. Which means that in the event of Prepare yourself to explore the true wildness of a forest, just a few kilometers far from the urban city of Louisville, KY the use of nuclear weapon both the countries would inevitably end up destroying each other. There is no other possibility.

Lisa Bloom, the attorney for a former Fox News guest holding a press conference Monday, ripped the network?s handling of sexual harassment lawsuits against top-rated primetime host Bill O?Reilly and called for an independent investigation. 

?How many women have to come forward?? Bloom, who has also served as an NBC News legal analyst, asked Sunday on CNN?s ?Reliable Sources.? ?How many millions of dollars have to get paid before Fox News takes sexual harassment seriously?? 

?In my opinion, this network is the Bill Cosby of corporate America,? she continued, in reference to the dozens of women who have accused the famous comedian of sexual assault. ?Women over and over again are driven out.?

Bloom?s comments followed a bombshell New York Times investigation published Saturday that revealed payments of about $13 million to five women accusing the primetime star of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior, or verbal abuse. One of the five suits, involving former producer Andrea Mackris, made headlines in 2004. Another suit, involving Fox News employee Juliet Huddy was only reported in January. The other three had not been previously reported. 

A sixth woman, Dr. Wendy Walsh, told the Times that she rebuffed O?Reilly?s advances and he later didn?t follow through on an offer to make her a network contributor. In a release, Bloom said Walsh will speak out at a press conference Monday in Los Angeles and they ?will reveal their new demands to the network.?

The revelations about O?Reilly only shed more light on the toxic culture inside Fox News.

Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who built the network with Rupert Murdoch in 1996 and ran it for two decades, resigned in July following a sexual harassment lawsuit from former Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson and amid widespread allegations from women inside the network, including former primetime host Megyn Kelly and many others throughout the executive?s five decades in media and politics. Former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros is also suing Ailes and top executives at Fox News, which she compared to a ?Playboy Mansion-Like Cult.?

Federal investigators are currently looking into whether parent company 21st Century Fox didn?t properly notify investigators about payments to Ailes?s accusers and other business practices.

While Fox News recently posted its highest quarterly ratings ever, and enjoys the best access to President Donald Trump, the post-Ailes network continues to be embroiled in scandals related to allegations of employee mistreatment. 

Last month, 21st Century Fox reached a settlement with former Fox News contributor Tamara Holder after she accused former network Fox executive Francisco Cortes of sexual assault. And last week, two black former employees, Tichaona Brown and Tabrese Wright, filed a racial discrimination suit against longtime Judith Slater, Fox News, and 21st Century Fox. The network had fired Slater just days earlier for what it dubbed ?abhorrent behavior.?

O?Reilly, however, has remained seemingly untouchable at Fox News despite the headline-grabbing allegations of sexual harassment over a decade ago and the latest revelations. That?s presumably because ?The O?Reilly Factor? draws nearly 4 million viewers nightly, the most in cable news, and his show brought in more than $446 million from 2014 to 2016, according to the Times.

?Just like other prominent and controversial people, I?m vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity,? O?Reilly said in a statement on his website. ?In my more than 20 years at Fox News Channel, no one has ever filed a complaint about me with the Human Resources Department, even on the anonymous hotline.?

In a statement to HuffPost, 21st Century Fox ? the Murdoch-family owned parent company of Fox News ? noted that no current or former network employee used the company?s hotline ?to raise a concern about Bill O?Reilly, even anonymously.? The company said it had ?looked into these matters over the last few months and discussed them with Mr. O?Reilly. 

?While he denies the merits of these claims, Mr. O?Reilly has resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility,? the statement continued. ?Mr. O?Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News.?

The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch?s News Corp., reported Saturday that O?Reilly?s contract, originally set to expire at the end of this year, was recently renewed.

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A federal judge has ruled against the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by protesters regarding injuries sustained during a Trump campaign rally in Louisvile, Ky.

Donald Trump will be the first president in 36 years to be absent at the White House Correspondents Association dinner ? an annual tradition where media figures, politicians and celebrities schmooze for a night.

And while he and his staff likely turned down their invitations because of the president?s deep hatred for the media and so-called ?fake news,? the folks over at ?The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? have figured out how to get Trump to attend: Invite the Russians.

What would that dinner look like? In Trump?s mind (or ?The Late Show?s? version of Trump?s mind), it would probably include a Russian man like ?Boris Yacanovich? riffing on journalists.

It would feature jokes like:

A journalist criticized the administration. And he was shot dead in the street. In broad daylight.

And other knee-slappers, including:

Another journalist expressed dissent. And he was dropped out of window. Kaboom.

Fingers crossed that the actual WHCA dinner never ends up looking like this.

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Afghanistan has been labelled one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman. One place in Kabul offers hope to women escaping abuse.

Israel’s Security Cabinet approved construction of the first Jewish West Bank settlements in 20 years. Martin Indyk, former Ambassador to Israel, discusses how this affects U.S.-Israel relations.

After five days of early voting in the special election for Georgia?s 6th congressional district, Democratic voter turnout has significantly outpaced that of Republicans.

That is a good sign for Democrats hoping that the surge in liberal enthusiasm after the election of President Donald Trump will be enough to elect 30-year-old candidate Jon Ossoff. The seat opened up when Trump named former Rep. Tom Price to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Of the more than 8,100 people who have voted so far in the suburban Atlanta district, 44 percent were Democrats and 23 percent were Republicans, according to an analysis by Michael McDonald, a political science professor and election specialist at the University of Florida.

McDonald identified Democrats and Republicans based on the last primary each early voter participated in, information that can be found in state voter files. The remaining voters ? roughly one-third of the total so far ? have no record of primary voting in Georgia. 

Although voters? preferences can change from primary to primary, making that data imperfect, it is the most reliable indicator of partisanship in a state with nonpartisan voter registration.

McDonald?s end-of-week estimates are consistent with the findings of New York Times election expert Nate Cohn for the first day of early voting. Using a slightly different methodology, Cohn found that Democrats constituted 60 percent of voters of those who voted on Monday, compared with 28 percent of Republicans.

It is important to note of course that early voting is not a rock-solid indicator of final election outcomes. Early general-election voting patterns in North Carolina and Florida, for example, appeared to favor Hillary Clinton, but she ended up losing both states in November.

And early voting in Georgia?s 6th district continues until April 14. Election Day itself is April 18.

In Georgia?s jungle primary system, Ossoff faces many Democratic and Republican challengers. A candidate can win outright in the first round by capturing 50 percent of the vote. Short of that, the top two contenders proceed to a runoff election on June 20.

Democrats across the country have seized on the race as an early opportunity to inflict damage on Republicans after Trump?s election. Ossoff?s candidacy has attracted millions of dollars in donations, including $1 million alone from the readers of liberal news site Daily Kos.

Television star Alyssa Milano has done her part to pitch in for Ossoff, offering early voters rides to the polls.

Ossoff is campaigning on standard mainstream Democratic priorities. On his campaign website, he declares his commitment to containing health insurance premiums, increasing the minimum wage, and fighting gender and racial discrimination in pay.

Although the 6th district has voted Republican consistently in the past, it is home to a more educated, wealthier type of Republican voter that has typically been more averse to Trump?s populist style. While Tom Price cruised to reelection by a 23-point margin in November, Trump defeated Clinton in the district by a mere percentage point.

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Reality television personality Mama June Shannon revealed her new look on Friday’s episode of her docu-series “From Not to Hot.”

On April 1, 1946, a massive earthquake near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands created a tsunami that slammed into the Hawaiian Islands causing widespread destruction.

North Korea said the United States deployed a supersonic bomber five times in the month of March.

My parents really enjoy watching the rabbits that graze in their yard. They’ve been getting increasingly concerned about the predatory birds nearby, though. I’ve sent them to Chiropractor of Columbus Facebook page. Hopefully, they can find some advice there.

The edge over the recent Sunday-Tuesday format may be fuller arenas and less time away from school and work, but there are trade-offs.

Transparency International yesterday released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) that ranks 176 countries on a scale from zero (highly…

The post Mexico Plummets in Annual Corruption Rankings appeared first on Development Channel.

Luisa Ortega, the country?s attorney general, called a court ruling to seize power from the National Assembly ?a rupture in the constitutional order.?

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill labels Ronald Koeman a “master of the blame game” in their escalating row over James McCarthy.

WASHINGTON ? Famed British physicist Stephen Hawking says President Donald Trump?s attacks on the scientific community leave him unsure if he?s still welcome in the United States. 

?I have many friends and colleagues there, and it is still a place I like and admire in many ways. But I fear that I may not be welcome,? Hawking said in a Monday interview with Piers Morgan on ?Good Morning Britain.?

Hawking, who previously characterized Trump as a ?demagogue,? told Morgan the president was ?elected by people who felt disenfranchised by the governing elite in a revolt against globalization.? Trump?s priority, Hawking added, ?will be to satisfy this electorate, who are neither liberal nor that well-informed.? 

Hawking said this is already playing out in Trump?s promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico boarder, his signing of executive orders to push forward the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and his appointment of climate-change denier Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Much like Trump, who has dismissed climate change as ?bullshit? and a Chinese ?hoax,? Pruitt scoffs at mainstream climate science. Pruitt this month said he does not believe carbon emissions are the primary cause of global warming. 

Trump?s election, Hawking said, ?represents a definite swing to a right-wing, more authoritarian approach.?

?There was reported to be a memo that government scientists must get White House approval for any announcements,? Hawking said. ?A similar ruling in Canada had a chilling effect on science there.? 

Asked what message he would like to relay to Trump, Hawking said the president should replace Pruitt at the helm of EPA.

?Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it?s one we can prevent,? Hawking said. ?It affects America badly, so tackling it should win votes for his second term ? God forbid.?

This is not the first time Hawking has spoken against Trump. In May, he called Trump ?a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator.? And in September, Hawking was among hundreds of leading scientists who warned in an open letter that a Trump presidency would prove disastrous to global efforts against climate change.

In his interview with Morgan (see below), Hawking also addressed gender equality, Trump?s controversial travel ban and Brexit. 

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At least 11 people killed a sheep, undressed, and chained themselves up at the former Nazi camp.

New FDA rules limit how farmers can give antibiotics to animals raised for meat. But a Government Accountability Office report says the FDA doesn’t collect the data to know if that policy is working.

The Republican legislation, called the American Health Care Act, would, in a rare step, roll back a major social welfare program ? with a vote set for Friday afternoon.

A look at how the seed of a South American tree is increasingly being used as an alternative to ivory.

One of the best tools we have today is the Internet. But instead of using it for productivity, we are using it for our leisure. This shows that everything has a good and a bad side.

Adele’s victory over Beyonce at the Grammys isn’t a matter of racism, says the Recording Academy..http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38982994
dele’s victory over Beyonce at the Grammys isn’t a matter of racism, says the Recording Academy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38840296

Declan Collier, head of London City Airport, shares his business tips for the CEO Secrets series.

I have every good reason to count my blessings by having reminders from great teachers and saints and now one remarkable book that just fell into my lap: Eberhard Arnold’s The Individual and World Need, from Plough Publishing. Eberhard’s reflections help keep me together. I believe his ideas provide a map to that necessary part of our human survival that we need every day. And it comes to us from professional voices throughout the world for our happiness, health and well-being, both physical and mental. And if I find their wisdom moves my heart once more, or causes me to tremble in recognition, I recognize this as a tap on the shoulder, indicating that God is calling me to rise to this place and help bring them to you. I hope this helps for those who might not yet understand what’s calling them.

However, even if you’re not a reader or seeker; you don’t have to go very far to read the signs that will lead you to better health, peace, and happiness. It’s calling us through nudges or taps on the shoulders that we might have ignored or misunderstood. But, when we hear what these nudges are telling us, we are brought forward to move in the right direction to stretch and begin our work. Each of us have a different part to play in the whole scheme of things. Each of us is unique but totally dependent upon each other. When we believe how we are being led in our lives, we all thrive. It’s not easy for us to grasp this meaning because we are taught to believe that success is a driven series of positive actions that requires either extensive study or many hours of work, and, to a degree, this might be necessary for some things, but this was not meant to be our only measure. I believe knowing what’s calling us through our driven need to succeed is essentially created for each of us individually. Our strength and endurance that instills hope in our hearts and alleviates our own pain comes from doing all that we can to alleviate the pain of those around us. This is our daily replenishment that erases fear and brings us peace and happiness. Although this might seem to be the opposite approach to the modern-age ideals of positive thinking and positive feelings to achieve success, I believe that being aware of our choices to act for one another frees us from pain and unwanted consequences we might face later. It is the only drive that’ll bring us home safely.

Please allow me to share a brief story: I once knew a woman who suffered because she had been very poor as a child, and had had to quit school as a young girl to go to work and help her family. When she married and had a family of her own, she worked and saved every penny, eventually becoming a millionaire. She told me that her greatest pain from being poor provided all the determination and endurance she needed to tolerate doing without most everything in life; she had continued to make-do with the bare minimum throughout her entire life. But unbeknownst to her, the vow she’d made to herself to never be poor again only brought her a lifetime of unnecessary doing without, while still overseeing the needs of those around her. And sadly, her fear of being poor hid the faces of needy and suffering children from her, including her own, and she herself lived as a poor child for her entire lifetime. I had the opportunity to talk with her just before she died and asked her, “Now, in hindsight, what would you have done differently?” She said, “I would’ve had a lot more children!” Neither of us brought up anything about her driven life and how she had saved millions. I believe she finally found peace and compassion to forgive that little girl inside of herself by her last wish for more children to nurture and love. I saw this as a beautiful and humble testament and believe she saw the true innocence of all children, including for herself. I am sorry for her life of pain, but in the truest sense, we all carry pain in one form or another, and I know that I’m no different from anyone else in that regard. But what’s most important for us is to know there is a better way to deal with that pain that cuts deep in our hearts. Only then are we sure to rise to the meaning of our suffering and fill that void for someone else. Our pain, whatever it may be, will only be alleviated by lessening the pain of others. This is the mystery that is revealed to us, both from Sacred Scripture to the master teachers’ words of wisdom.

As Eberhard Arnold says so eloquently in his book,

“When we dare to share in the suffering and life of those who are exposed to the most extreme want, we learn to understand what Schopenhauer means when he says, Optimism is a truly wicked way of thinking; it mocks the unspeakable way of humanity.” If we are living cheek by jowl with the unjust suffering of the masses, it becomes impossible to enjoy for ourselves alone the material goods of this world, the pleasures of life, or even the “just of universal history.”

About Catherine Nagle: Catherine grew up in Philadelphia with 16 brothers and sisters, reared by loving, old-school Italian parents. Catherine’s artist father’s works graced churches and public buildings; her mother was a full-time homemaker. A professional hairdresser, Catherine worked in various salons while studying the Bible and pursuing spiritual growth through courses, seminars, lectures, and the works of Marianne William. She is also a contributor to Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. The mother of two children and a grandmother, Catherine lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and son. She is the Author of Imprinted Wisdom and a contributor to These Winter Months: The Late Orphan Project Anthology.

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I would like to learn how to play the organ one day soon near . My grandmother played and it was really nice to listen to.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38798220

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe mocked a colleague’s “boob job”.

It has been a busy few weeks for foreign policy analysts in Beijing as they struggle to determine how China…

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