You can't believe in a Dream until you can believe in Yourself - Liste des derniers articles parus sur www.jmdedeyne.com

Listening Shows Me the Way

by Wade Rathke

“The more people talked and the more I listened, it became almost inevitable, maybe even irresistible, for us to organize and do something effective.”

Wade Rathke has been an activist and organizer for more than 35 years. He founded ACORN, a national network of social justice groups representing low and middle-income people. He also helped unionize hotel workers in New Orleans, where he now lives.

January 29, 2007 · I believe in listening, even if that's not the typical image of an organizer. Movies provide the scenes: The organizer climbs on the soapbox to make the speech that turns the crowd, calls the strike and galvanizes the community into action. I've done all that, but none of that is the heart of organizing — at least to me.

I started doing this work when I was a teenager. What did I know about being a mother on welfare? What did I know about housing, education and jobs? Nothing.

But I found out quickly that if I listened — really listened — to what people were telling me about their lives and their problems, then I did know something. I knew what they knew.

Any morning of the week, for the price of a cup of coffee, Max Allison held court at the Walgreen's on Main Street in Little Rock. Allison, the political wizard behind a dozen Arkansas politicians, would lecture me on what he called "the equation" — how politics really worked. I listened. On long phone calls late at night, Mamie Ruth Williams taught me everything she had learned about dealing with the press from the 1957 school desegregation fights. I listened.

The more people talked and the more I listened, it became almost inevitable, maybe even irresistible, for us to organize and do something effective. I was just a young kid filled with rage, fear and passion who wanted to make a difference, who wanted to be part of the sweeping changes all around me. Thirty-five years later, this is still how I feel.

When Hurricane Katrina happened, none of us knew up from down. We worried that New Orleans had become a biohazard zone, that houses would have to be demolished, and that it would be irresponsible to help people to return. I was at a loss about what to do, how to organize.

So I listened hard to our members who were dislocated and relocated. Long-time ACORN leader Paul Fernandez was fighting to prevent foreclosure on his flooded home in the Lower Ninth Ward. He taught me that protecting that right, the right to return, was what our organization's role should be. I had been lost, but listening showed me the way.

Listening is good for everyone. When people have to explain something to me, it helps them understand their own needs better. We can decide together what needs to be done, and then take action. Listening strengthens all of our beliefs.

Source : NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7031085

Les résolutions 2007 pour sauver notre planète !

La planète est en danger et des gestes simples peuvent la sauver. Pour bien commencer l'année, suivez nos conseils pour apportez votre pierre à l'édifice de l'écologie.

Cliquez ici !

Pour 2007, L'Internaute Magazine vous propose d'adopter des résolutions simples pour protéger la planète. Tour d'horizon des astuces éco-citoyennes.

Dossier réalisé par Elsa Sidawy, L'Internaute

Mission Antarctique : pour sauver l'environnement
Baromètre du réchauffement climatique, l'Antarctique accueille les scientifiques à la base Dumont d'Urville. Les images d'un continent consacré à la science.

Réchauffement climatique : ce qu'il faut retenir
Source L'Internautre

Etes-vous acteur ou spectateur de votre vie ?

Salut les ami(e)s,

Je tenais à partager cet enrichissant test avec vous.

"Ecrivons le livre de notre vie et essayons de ne pas laisser le hasard s’en charger ! ".

Le test c'est ici
Par Lise Bartoli www.psychologies.com

Bye

Marco

Be Cool

by Christian McBride

Growing up in Philadelphia, Christian McBride learned how to play bass from his father and uncle. His grandfather taught him how to be cool. McBride has played with jazz legends McCoy Tyner and Freddie Hubbard, as well as pop artists BeBe Winans and Sting.

“I believe it pays to be cool. Most people in this day and age are always terribly stressed... They will age quickly. Cool people stay young forever.”

January 22, 2007 · I believe people have become tighter, meaner and less tolerant than ever. I never remember people being so uncool. I don't remember people getting the third degree because they decided to wear brown shoes instead of black. If you get too close to someone on the road, they want to get out and shoot you for possibly hitting their car. What's wrong with these people?

I believe it pays to be cool. Most people in this day and age are always terribly stressed and hypersensitive to absolutely everything. They will age quickly. Cool people stay young forever.

Ten years ago, cell phones were still a luxury. People still had "land lines" for their primary phone numbers. Remember when it was okay to have dial-up? Now, people don't even bother asking for a home number anymore. Is it because we're so busy, people don't even bother being at home anymore? Or is business so important that people need to get in touch with you upon demand? Didn't people survive just fine not being contacted by their boss while having dinner with their families?

As for the Internet, it amazes me that when you walk into a Starbucks, it looks like CompUSA with all the doggone laptops and people stressing out over whatever. When people need to work on stressful work-related issues on their laptops, they go to Starbucks to drink coffee?

Me, on the other hand, I'm cool! Why do I know that? Because I sleep well at night, and I work with people who apparently like to work with me.

Now let me make something very, very clear: I'm not always cool. I've had my meltdowns in life. Once I had a musician in my band who was a little less than cool — he was flat out lazy! After 15 months of playing the same music, he never bothered to memorize it. Instead of pulling him aside and addressing the situation like a rational person would have done, I let him have it like I've never let anyone have it before. After it was over, I realized that I'd cleared the room. Everyone was so scared (or annoyed), that they just left. Well, "lazy guy" left the band and has never spoken to me ever again. I'm very sorry for that. I wish I could have that moment back, but I can't. I can only learn from that, and I try very hard not to have another meltdown, ever.

Pleasing everyone doesn't always mean saying "yes" or "that's great" or "no problem." Sometimes you have to say the opposite, but with a clear, sensible and gracious tone. Being cool is not what you say or do, but how you say or do it.

So I say, "Be cool." You'll see more. You'll learn more. You'll make better decisions. You'll be happier.

Source : NPR – I Believe Deborah Feingold

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6946089

http://christianmcbride.com/home.html

http://www.myspace.com/christianmcbrideband

Some favorite quotes !

"We are born to act."
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
French writer

"If you want it you must obtain it by great labour."
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
American-born English poet and man of letters

What's happening ?

Bonjour les ami(e)s,

Samedi 20 janvier 2007 à 16h20. Une chaleureuse et aimable pensée depuis San Francisco.

Je vous écris depuis un Starbucks (où je déguste, devinez quoi ??? un p’tit rhum heu non un Caramel Macchiatto) situé à deux pas du quartier Chinatown (Avenue Grant).

Je suis à San Francisco pour le week-end, rencontre les membres de l'association BAY French Overseas (BAY FO) et m’évade un petit peu.

Je n’ai pas été très bavard ces derniers temps sur mon blog. Pour cause, j'ai connu une très grosse frayeur suite aux graves soucis de santé de mon père, mon retour à Los Angeles fut une catastrophe (coincé une nuit dans l'aéroport de Dallas) et enfin je me suis un peu trop de pression avec le TOEFL. J'avoue avoir paniqué, perdu et été très angoissé. Je tiens à remercier spécialement mes amis Isabelle Verdun, Laura Bonnelli (mon amie Argentine à LA), Rose, Mary, Marc Henri Michaux, Jessica Vautor et ma famille.

Je vais mieux et continue d’y croire plus que tout. Je poursuis à fond les cours d’anglais et cherche à me perfectionner en vue du TOEFL. A ce propos, j’ai décidé d’étendre de 3 mois supplémentaires mes cours d’anglais, car je considère ne pas être tout à fait prêt. Mon nouvel objectif est de démarrer mon programme business en septembre 2007 (au lieu du mois d'avril).

En parallèle, je réponds à quelques sollicitations pour des jobs de commerciaux.

Informations sur le TOEFL :

Le but du TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (T.O.E.F.L.) est d'évaluer les compétences en anglais de ceux dont la langue maternelle n'est pas l'anglais. La plupart des collèges et des universités aux Etats-Unis et au Canada anglophone utilisent les résultats du TOEFL dans la procédure d'admission des étudiants étrangers. De plus, un certain nombre d'entreprises utilise les résultats du TOEFL pour recruter les non-anglophones.

Le TOEFL iBT (Internet-Based Test) est administré sur Internet dans des centres sécurisés. Cette nouvelle formule du TOEFL dure un peu plus de 4 heures et se compose de quatre sections :

- Listening

- Speaking

- Reading

- Writting

Je vous parlerais prochainement de mon Noël en Martinique, du Nouvel an à Los Angeles, de l’association BAY FO et de mes dernières aventures.

Je vous embrasse. Prenez-soin de vous et Jouissez de la VIE !

Marco.

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you can’t do something… You got a dream, you gotta protect it … if you want something, go get it. Period”. Chris Gardner.

From : The Pursuit of Happyness

Que fait BAY French Overseas ?

Our Mission is to provide a framework to: encourage, foster, stimulate and promote education and exchanges between California and the French Overseas Islands (Martinique, Guadeloupe et Reunion).

- Develop tourism between California and Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion (FOI)

- Attract FOI Students to the Universities of CA

- Foster development aid projects

- Give the FOI access to the latest high technologies of the valley

- Facilitate Cultural (Music & Entertainment ) Exchanges.

Hier soir, nous nous sommes réunis dans les locaux des Ateliers de BNP Paribas à San Francisco et avons tenu l’ordre du jour suivant :

- Vote des statuts

- Election du board

- Mise en place des comites

- Ebauche du programme d’activités 2007.

Pascal Etzol, President Bay FO

pascal@bayfrenchoverseas.org

415 305 2881

The Pursuit of Happyness - 'Pursue It' The Ultimate Internship Contest

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you can’t do something… You got a dream, you gotta protect it … if you want something, go get it. Period”. Chris Gardner.

Source : The Pursuit of Happyness

Chris Gardner History

What's up ?

Bonjour les ami(e)s,

Je vous présente à nouveau mes meilleurs vœux pour 2007.

"Nous sommes à l'aube d'une nouvelle Année. Que tous les obstacles se changent en chemins... Vous mènent à l'Amour, la Joie et la Santé ! Excellente Année 2007 !"

"Whatever is beautiful, whatever is meaningful, whatever brings you happiness… May it be yours this Holiday Season and throughout the coming year."

Je suis de retour depuis le 30 décembre à Los Angeles après un épique voyage (qui a duré près de 2 jours). J’ai fais les frais de très gros retards suite aux intempéries qui ont sévis aux Etats-Unis juste avant le nouvel an.

Ce week-end, je posterais un article sur mes chaleureuses et traditionnelles vacances en Martinique. Je vais également faire le maximum pour vous raconter mes aventures du retour et mon Nouvel An à Los Angeles.

Je vous dis très vite. Je retourne à mes préparations de la rentrée universitaire. Je reprends les cours demain matin.

Aux plaisirs de vous lire. Prenez-soins de vous.

PS : mon blog est inscrit depuis peu sur le site de Mondissimo

Je souhaite partager avec vous, cette jolie et profonde citation, que j’ai appréciée dans le film Akeelah and the BEE (je vous le recommande grandement).

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

About Me !

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."
Confucius

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