Here's a great website where you can find 360-degree views of many World Heritage Sites: http://www.world-heritage-tour.org/map.html

Speaking about the First World War, the philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his country's pride."

"The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. "
- G.K. Chesterton

"Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware, and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this each day, your meditation will have been successful."

-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"

Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org
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Klan Anti-Gay Rally Outnumbered

by Kelley Shannon, Associated Press
Posted: November 6, 2005 12:01 am ET

(Austin, Texas) A showdown over a proposed state constitutional ban of same-sex marriage pitted a small Ku Klux Klan group Saturday against a massive rally by opponents.

Only about a dozen members of the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan appeared at Austin City Hall for the group's "pro-family values" rally. None wore the traditional hoods or robes of the white supremacist group. Some displayed Confederate flag symbols.

"Let's meet their hate with love and understanding," Glen Maxey, an openly gay former legislator and a leader of the counter demonstration, told hundreds of opponents as they marched toward the Klan event.

At issue was Proposition 2, a proposed constitutional amendment on Tuesday's election ballot stating that marriage in Texas is only between a man and a woman.

"We're asking Texans to support Proposition 2 because God supports it, not because the KKK supports it," said Steven Edwards, the grand dragon of the Klan group.

Maxey, director of No Nonsense in November, an anti-Prop 2 campaign organization, said Tuesday's vote is important, but changing Texans' minds about discrimination is more important.

An estimated 3,000 protesters showed up during the Klan event, said Austin Police Department spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz. Two people were arrested. One was carrying a club and causing a disturbance, and another was arrested on outstanding warrants, Chovanetz said.

The city blocked off several streets to keep members of the public at least a block away from the Klan in all directions. A contingent of 200 police officers - some of wearing riot gear and at least one toting a rifle - stood along police barricades and patrolled the area.
Many anti-Klan demonstrators carried yellow daisies, sang peace songs and chanted anti-Klan slogans. Some held banners or signs that said, "Vote Against Bigotry," "Vote Against the Klan" and "Killers, Kowards, Kooks Go Away."

Some social conservatives who are actively supporting Proposition 2 made it clear they weren't associated with the Klan event.

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement saying it "hopes all Texans will understand the significance of an organization with a history of hatred and bigotry supporting a discriminatory amendment."

Austin Mayor Will Wynn and other city leaders had declared Saturday a "day of tolerance" and urged that citizens stay away from the Klan and do community work instead.

But many came to speak their minds and get a glimpse of a faction of the white supremacist group that got its start in Texas in the 1860s.

Ronda Swain, 25, said she was curious because she'd heard her mother speak of segregation and violence toward blacks when her mother was growing up in North Carolina. She spoke by cell phone with her mother, Rose Horton of Austin, describing the Klan scene to her.

"It's, like, making it real for me that these people really still exist," Swain said

www.365Gay.com

Dreidel (Noun)

Pronunciation: ['drey-dl]

Definition 1: A dreidel is a four sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The four letters are nun, gimel, hey, shin, which stand for Nes gadol hayah sham "A great miracle happened there." (In Israel the letters are nun, gimmel, hey, pey, which represent, Nes gadol haya poh "A miracle happened here.")

Usage 1: The dreidel is the center of one of the traditional games played by children after dinner as the candles of the 8-day Jewish Festival of the Lights (Chanukah) burn in the menorah. Each player puts a token—a piece of candy, a raisin, nut, or chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil (gelt)—in the pot. Then the first player spins the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter that is facing up determines the play: "nun" means nothing happens, neither win nor loss; "gimel" means the player takes all tokens in the pot; "hey" means the player takes half of the pot, and if "shin" turns up, the player must put one token into the pot.

Suggested usage: The game of dreidel was played throughout Europe in the Middle Ages under various names. The Hebrew letters are probably taken from the German: N(un) for nichts "nothing," G(imel) for ganz "all," h(ei) for halb "half" and sh(in) for stellen "put in."

However, the dreidel has been invested over the years with a rich mantel of important Jewish history. First, it now represents the four ancient kingdoms that dominated the Jewish people: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Legend also has it that children would spin the dreidel as they studied the Torah and Talmud, an activity forbidden by their Persian and Greek persecutors. This way, if they were seen, they would be thought to be playing and not studying holy writ.

Etymology: The word "dreidel" is a Yiddish word built on the German word drehen "to spin, turn." This word is related to English "throw," which originally meant "to turn or twist." Albanian tjer "I spin" as well as Latin torquere "to spin," whence our words "torque" and "torment," are also cousins.

(We wish all our Jewish friends the happiest of Chanukahs, especially those in Israel, where we hope the lights of this Chanukah illuminate a brighter, more peaceful future in that part of our world.)

—Dr. Language, www.yourDictionary.com