tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88581972024-03-13T14:50:31.326+11:00Hoosier Neighbour...in Oz!Reflections, thoughts off-the-beaten-path and (in)digestion of current events by a hospital chaplain from Indiana (where we're called Hoosiers) who moved to Australia in June 2008. Taking faith seriously, trying to make a real difference in the lives of people, and seeking to maintain a "balanced" perspective by clowning around on a unicycle and twisting animal balloons as my alter ego: "Clair de L'uni" are some of my favourite ways to journey through life. Grandfatherhood is also exhilarating!Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.comBlogger302125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-21488296350695642892013-02-17T09:18:00.001+11:002013-02-17T09:18:49.247+11:00Click on this link to port over to my new blog site....HERE!Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-50456815540937075742012-05-16T18:59:00.001+10:002013-02-17T08:57:40.867+11:00Palestinian Prisoners Galvanize the World's Attention Through Nonviolent Action!This historic action and at least its short-term result might very well be later viewed as a key turning point in the long hard struggle to end the apartheid occupation policies of the state of Israel. Palestinians as a whole now realize the tremendous power they have ignited and harnessed to make a real difference. By uniting together in this collective non-violent action they have finally Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-91579163981303079752012-04-21T18:48:00.001+10:002012-04-23T16:18:46.671+10:00O Happy Day!Here are my two grandsons with their daddy. Benton seems to be in a pensive mood - probably not sure what to make of his new baby brother Sawyer being cuddled by Justin on the day of his birth. My daughter Megan gave birth to Sawyer on April 19 at 4:30 pm in Chicago but it was already the morning of April 20 here in Australia and I was doing a bit of grieving about my brother Donald -Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-45436579614687697392012-04-01T01:41:00.001+11:002012-04-01T10:11:54.312+10:00Excited to be attending the Australian National Folk Festival in Canberra Easter Holiday (Thurs eve through Mon)No fooling! I've finally blocked out the time to serve on the volunteer staff full-time at the Australian National Folk Festival here in Canberra at the Epic (fairgrounds) during the holiday next week. I got matched to work 20 hours with the Kids Festival (see detail below) from Friday through Easter Monday - four hours each day, which allows me to still participate in things Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-42791636869683697852012-03-20T10:42:00.000+11:002018-08-15T14:44:45.466+10:00Blessing the Bombs - Father George Zabelka's ConfessionLast evening a group of us here in Canberra who regularly gather to discuss books and articles that provoke moral and theological reflection, were engaged in a very lively discussion of "The Song of Nagasaki" and the issues it raises for our contemporary situation. At one point we were reflecting on the difficult and challenging role of military chaplains (one among our group has served Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-5727849149045791882012-03-17T00:46:00.002+11:002012-03-31T22:34:20.942+11:00They say my theology is 'bent - but don't ignore this uni-fying strategy for maintaining a healthy "balance!"Three years ago, soon after travelling the yellow brick road all the way to Oz - and spite of friends like Ann (who touts those wonderful Spiderflex seats for the traditional push bike) I converted to this pre-owned 'bent (recumbent) version of human-powered vehicle for travelling around. (Yes, with two "ll"s. That is how they spell it here in the land of Oz. And, by the way, in Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-36144253166720852502012-03-14T18:42:00.003+11:002012-03-14T18:57:41.427+11:00So let me get this straight...William Rivers Pitt of Truthout.org recently wrote:
"So let me get this straight.
Rick Santorum, who we are somehow supposed to believe is a serious candidate for the highest office in America, thinks people should not go to college because education is somehow a code word for socialist indoctrination. Mitt Romney, another walking joke, was for birth control before he was against it before he Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-84639234847829300322012-02-13T14:57:00.000+11:002012-02-13T15:03:31.450+11:0024 Funniest Ways To DieThis hilarious material from a site sponsored by an Australian life insurance consortium is simply too wide to fit into this space properly -- so just go here after considering that there are some "adult themes" involved! -ClairClair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-84415966246655096162012-01-27T21:48:00.000+11:002012-01-27T21:49:51.194+11:00What the Frack?President Obama's State of the Union address framed and endorsed hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale deposits as a clean energy strategy (it also endorsed opening up "more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources"):
[...] Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we've opened millions of new acres for oil andClair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-3463964986859642072012-01-19T15:45:00.000+11:002012-01-23T14:32:29.760+11:00We're on an Adventure! Figuring out "Plan D" by the 28th of JanuaryThis message is for our local Canberra network of friends in particular: It's time for us to get creative in developing a solution to a particularly vexing and urgent need of ours. So here goes - exploring whether a bit of creative "social networking" will help us. (I've posted the following on Facebook.)
The couple for whom we had plans to house/pet sit all of February have Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-1966166396397991992012-01-19T10:44:00.000+11:002012-01-27T22:01:19.842+11:00"I Shall Not Hate" - Dr. Izzeldin AbuelaishHere is an interview at the Sydney (Australia) Writers' Festival in May 2011. It features one of the most extraordinary human stories you're likely to encounter. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a Palestinian doctor and infertility expert who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He trained in Egypt, London, Israel, Italy, Belgium and the US, and spent most of his working Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-19152177227130248282012-01-19T07:28:00.003+11:002012-01-19T09:31:34.480+11:00Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-61043550830378597892012-01-13T16:51:00.001+11:002012-01-13T17:01:19.164+11:00Iran has NOT even attempted to build a nuclear weapon -- but does the average person know that based on current news headlines ?!Today I sent the following as a letter to the editor of the main newspaper here in Canberra, asking that if they choose not to print it (due to it's length) that they seriously consider writing their own editorial to help bring the public's attention around on this issue. I hope my friends who share these convictions will follow suit in their own contexts, as I fear that we have Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-49993506933033898672012-01-09T09:31:00.005+11:002012-01-09T18:31:10.473+11:00HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED!Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-72066109493638651932011-12-27T17:54:00.003+11:002011-12-27T17:54:38.636+11:00
Benton, the water boy - Christmas 2011Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-89489779184597797912011-12-04T00:42:00.001+11:002011-12-04T00:45:59.932+11:00The Colbert Report: Exclusive Story on "The Enemy Within"Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-62110854632927585102011-11-28T17:09:00.000+11:002012-03-16T17:15:46.827+11:00Wake up, Australia! The US is playing with fire now, infuriating a nuclear-capable Pakistan
Letter I sent today to the editor of the Canberra Times. We shall see if they print it! (Note: they did, after editing out a crucial part! -Clair)
Dear people:
I'm reflecting on the implications that NATO admits it's probably to blame for that latest deadly helicopter raid on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, that killed up to 28 Pakistani soldiers and Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-77179501639906691742011-11-27T19:26:00.001+11:002011-11-28T09:16:30.968+11:00Implications of a US Marine Base in Darwin, Australia
5 Lessons of U.S. Plan for a Permanent Military Presence in Australia
By Max Fisher
Nov 10, 2011
What Obama's plan to build a marine base here means for China, Japan, Afghanistan, and global politics
An Australian naval officer watches a frigate arrive in Darwin / Reuters
The U.S. has arranged with Australia to install a Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-21488906354935603962011-10-25T02:38:00.000+11:002011-10-25T07:28:48.905+11:00Rant Regarding the Spurious Idea That America is "Withdrawing" from Iraq -- is this a "Teachable Moment?"Should we really be celebrating the President Obama's declaration of an end of the “war” in Iraq? So yes, a decision, long overdue, was finally made that all the troops are supposed to leave by the end of the year. BUT the troops remain in Afghanistan. And we are in essence simply contracting out an ongoing military presence to mercenaries - the continuation of our current policy to "ensure Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-84895500470277539962011-10-14T19:44:00.000+11:002011-10-14T19:44:41.079+11:00Wishing I could be there with Leymah Gbowee (Nobel Peace Prize Winner) at EMU Homecoming this weekend!It’s wonderful to feel some sort of connection with an alumnus from the same university where I graduated who received a Nobel Peace Prize this year! If I were in America now, instead of back in Canberra already, I would be shaking Leymah Gbowee’s hand sometime this weekend at our annual “Homecoming” in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-16503121437068694032011-10-10T22:21:00.000+11:002011-10-10T22:23:36.891+11:00Is the world too big to fail? (Asking the question like that puts it all in perspective, doesn't it?)Is the world too big to fail? -ChomskyClair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-4125546049484683022011-10-10T19:05:00.001+11:002011-10-10T21:27:51.785+11:00Planet of the PlutocratsPaul Krugman has so hit the nail on the head with his latest op-ed in the New York Times, exposing hypocrisy of the highest order.
And it's refreshing to read the text of this powerful speech Naomi Klein delivered at the OWS rally in NYC Thursday night - or at least what she was hoping to deliver had the authorities allowed amplification - which Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-29193586258545610802011-10-07T06:14:00.003+11:002011-10-07T06:54:26.994+11:00Steve Jobs (1955-2011) - focused and reflective on what is truly important in life, with no shortcuts!In some very touching remarks Steven Jobs made during his memorable commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, he considered his own death and envisioned how his last years at Apple could become his finest (which they were!)
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — Clair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-79350937502062456002011-10-07T00:29:00.004+11:002011-10-07T08:49:18.868+11:00What "Occupy Wall Street" is all about...
What do they want? (click on that for a good response)
-----------------------------------------------------
"I Am That Voice" - a Poem from Spain by Amado
I am the voice that gathers the shouts of the distressed,
the voice that rise your yearning and takes it to the place
where the insatiable liar concealed in his walls
watches you from his fear and ever bleed your dove.
Behind theirClair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858197.post-4360341498081051662011-07-14T02:35:00.001+10:002011-10-06T19:30:17.724+11:00The True Cost of America's WarsA few recent excerpts from "Talking Points" by Phyllis Bennis at the Institute for Policy Studies in the U.S. (Source: http://www.ips-dc.org/ )...
The dog days of summer have socked in, with Washington’s heat and humidity made far worse by the hot air coming out of corporate board rooms and hearing rooms and White House and Capitol conference rooms, as DC’s powerful debate the budget crisisClair Hochstetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10611851143759058424noreply@blogger.com0