Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.   – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.    - Dalai Lama

I know I take this picture every year and every season, but I still like it.

Click for full screen slide show

A bit of paradise in the British Virgin Islands.

Here is a photo taken in about 1930 of Frank and Marietta Ellis of York Beach, Maine, along with their children and grandchildren. Some of the families represented, in addition to the Ellis’s, include those with the surnames Boardman, Hancock, Bridges, and Chase.

My father is among the rather startled looking children. For a key to some of the names that I think I’ve figured out, go to my Flickr page.

Here is the best explanation I’ve seen yet on the current banking crisis. Scary stuff.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

From ThisIsIndexed.com.

Kiva is a great organization that allows anyone to be a micro lender for as little as $25.

From CNN.com: Your $25 can start a business, change a life
“This is microfinancing. It allows everyday people to invest as little as $25 to help people in developing countries climb out of poverty. The concept of microfinancing is nothing new. At its essence, it’s making small loans to the working poor. The loans are used to establish or expand small businesses to help families earn more money.”

Frontline has an excellent 15-minute video report that brings the subject to life:

More background information at the Frontline site: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/