記事の中にある自民党が勝ち続ける理由解説（英語字幕付き）が面白く、納得。
日本の将来を憂う。
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Essay
Living now for the future
未来のために今を生きる
My daughter was born in 2021 and, based on the life expectancy for women in Japan, there’s a good chance she’ll be around to see the start of the next century and beyond.
That has me thinking about what kind of world she’ll be living in at that time and what technology will have been invented by then. My own grandparents, who were born nearly 100 years before my daughter, were alive to see the world’s main communication methods develop from mail and rudimentary telephones to the internet and smartphones. They also saw the evolution of airplanes, cars and trains — to the point where the world is now incredibly connected compared to the time of their youth, and the pace of progress has only been accelerating.
More importantly, I wonder (and worry) about the effects of climate change by the time my daughter is a senior citizen. While scientists have long made projections about how much warmer the planet will be at the start of the next century, the year 2100 always felt far in the distance — until I became a dad. Scientists say the Earth could face several degrees of warming by the turn of the century. That makes me anxious about what that might mean for my daughter. It’s an important realization: Not only are the signs of climate change already apparent, but the more severe floods, storms and heat waves that will affect the lives of millions of people are on the near horizon.
With those scary thoughts in mind, I have also been pondering the changes I should make in my own life to become more environmentally friendly.
I’m already living a greener life in Japan compared to when I lived in Canada and relied on a car to commute, get groceries and go just about anywhere. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t make greener choices, especially when it comes to what I eat.
Recently I’ve been extra conscious about buying locally sourced ingredients that are in season, as that can have a big effect on reducing emissions. I’ve also been better at reducing food waste by finding ways to use leftover vegetables and meat before they spoil. I also buy less at the grocery store and shop more often.
Then there’s meat, a major contributor to greenhouse gases.
I have to confess that I don’t see myself giving up meat — too many of my favorite foods include chicken, beef and pork — but I do think I can reduce how much of it I eat by adding more tofu, fish and beans to my diet.
At the end of the day, these are all small lifestyle changes but they can have a positive impact on the planet — and my daughter’s future. (Joel Tansey)
20221223-06x.mp3 - Google ドライブ
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Numbers 023
Chapter 23
Numbers 023x.mp3 - Google ドライブ
***** Balaam’s First Message *****
1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
( parable《古》 なぞ(のようなことば); 諺 (proverb); 講話, 説教 (discourse).
take up one's parable 《古》 語り始める, 説教し出す (cf. Num. 23: 7).
8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
***** Balaam’s Second Message *****
13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder.
16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?
18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?
***** Balaam’s Third Message *****
27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.
28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon.
29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
