Skip to main content

15 global challenges that cannot be addressed by any government acting alone

  The 15 Global Challenges  from t he Millennium Project, a global participatory think tank. 1. How can sustainable development be achieved for all while addressing global climate change? 2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict? 3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance? 4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes? 5. How can decisionmaking be enhanced by integrating improved global foresight during unprecedented accelerating change? 6. How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone? 7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between rich and poor? 8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune micro-organisms be reduced? 9. How can education make humanity more intelligent, knowledgeable, and wise enough to address its global challenges? 10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflicts, terroris

The Old Man Who Lost His Horse

Percy Wakefield was born in 1891. In 1910 he moved to Derby and got a job working with horse at the midland Railway depot.

At the out break of the First World War, he volunteered to enlist but was rejected by the Army, again, as unfit. He was reported to have a 'weak heart'. Frustrated at being rejected again, he volunteered to become a railway ambulance man. His duties included unloading the wounded off the specially-built ambulance trains that arrived at Derby station. These trains arrived at night so as not to draw attention to the dreadful carnage they contained. He transported these poor souls to hospitals and nursing homes around the county. He was very moved by the suffering he saw and became grateful to the medical board that had declared him 'unfit'.

Percy retired from the railway in 1963 and had an active retirement enjoying his garden and reading just about anything he could get his hands on. He lived in the same house and remained fit and strong until his death at age of 95 in 1986 - he just wore out - so much for his weak heart!

This story reminds me of a Chinese story, "the old man who lost his horse":

There was once an old man who lived with his only son at the border of the state. They were fond of horses and often let them graze freely in the meadow.

One time a servant reported to the old man, "A horse is missing! It must have gone into the neighbouring state."

His friends felt sorry for him, but the old man was not bothered at all by the loss. As a matter of fact, he said, "Who knows! The loss may bring us good fortune!" a few months later, a strange thing happened. Not only did the missing horse return home safely, it also brought back with it a fine horse from the neighbouring state.

When his friends heard the new, they congratulated the old man on his good luck. But the old man said, "Who knows! This may bring us ill fortune!" One day, when the old man's son was riding the fine horse, he accidentally fell off the horse, broke his leg, and was crippled.

Many friends came to comfort the old man, but the old man was not the least disturbed by the accident. "Who knows! This may bring us good fortune after all!" he said.

A year later, when the neighbouring state sent troops across the border, all the young and strong men were drafted to fight the invaders, and most of them got killed. The old man's son was not drafted because he was crippled and so his life was spared.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

coat-of-arms

Heraldry probably began with the knights in armour. When wearing a helmet in battle or in tournaments a knight could not be recognised; so he used symbols to decorate his shield and surcoat. The surcoat was the loose garment worn over the armour to protect it from rain or hot sun and actually was the "coat-of-arms"; it was decorated on the front and back with the same device as on the shield. The correct expression for entire design is an achievement . An achievement consists of the shield, helmet, rest, wreath, mantling and motto. These are the main parts. To them can be added supporters and a compartment. In the centre is the most important part, the shield . The surface of the shield is called the field  and on it the colourful charges are placed. The shield is called the arms or coat-of-arms  and can be drawn in any shape - in an upright position or slanting, which is the position it would fall into if hung on a peg. In Heraldry it slants to dexter. The helmet denot

You can find your Wireless Network Key on Virgin Media Wireless Router

We have a new netbook computer, and don't know where to find network key, which is needed to setup wireless connection. A network key may also be called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) key or WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) key. A wireless network key is a security feature that prevents unauthorized users from accessing a wireless network. An unprotected network is an unlocked virtual door, anybody within range can piggyback on the network undetected. I use Virgin media broadband with a Virgin media wireless router, this router has a WPA key taped on the router, that WPA key is an English word consisting of 10 letters. To tape network key on the router is a good idea, because we may never lose or forget a wireless network key as long as we possess the router.

The Meaning of Derby City Council Logo

Derby City Logo The logo of Derby City Council looks quite abstract and modern. I wonder what's the meaning of it? The lower-left part of the logo looks like a snail (or the initial letter D in Derby?), the upper-right part seems a river, (Derwent river?) these two parts are connected by a straight line at the bottom. I did some searches on the web trying to find out the true meaning of Derby City Council logo, but without success. So, I wrote to tourist information, and got the answer from Michael: The Logo is a representation of two of Derby's oldest emblems, one being a ram the other a buck (deer). Obviously the logo is a modern interpretation of these two figures so it is not obvious unless you know what to look for. Most people do seem to agree with you that it looks like a snail however. Ram! the curly horn of ram looks like a snail indeed. The ram and the deer are from coat of arms of City of Derby, In this coats of arms, we can see the deers both in shield (arm