The Garden State Surrounds Princeton

 

Now, I know I have written about the town of Princeton, New Jersey in the past. I guess I could expand and write about our entire area for your enjoyment. Many beautiful towns  and lands surround our world-famous centers of learning here, such as Princeton University, amid the pricey real estate in Mercer County.

Towns immediately surrounding Princeton are to the west and southwest, Lawrenceville, a town within Lawrence Township. Both Princeton, surrounded by Princeton Township and Lawrence Township have their own school systems.  Further southwest is the state capital of Trenton, originally a centre of industrial porcelain manufacturing, china and pottery.

West and northwest of Princeton, to the north of Lawrence Township are the towns of Pennington surrounded by Hopewell Township. Hopewell Township also extends to the north of the Princetons, Princeton town and Township, and includes the town of Hopewell to the north. They have pharmaceutical research companies, and offices of technology companies.

lawrenceyerkes.com

To the east of Hopewell is the dividing line between Mercer County (the 609 area telephone code) and Somerset County, which is more to the north. The suburban towns of Skillman and Montgomery are contiguous to the east with the Borough of Rocky Hill, an old small town. All the housing here is either existing, with old farms, large and small, being divided into lots for already existing housing developments.

lawrenceyerkes.com

Highway 206 is an important north/south route that extends up to North Jersey, and divides Skillman from Rocky Hill, in general. These are all within Mercer County which has 13 municipalities, and has a  2009 population of 366,222 (est.) amid New Jersey's 8.7 million people.

To the east of Rocky Hill and south is the town of Kingston which extends all the way south past Highway 27, which becomes Nassau Street, the main street in Princeton, and then stops and joins Route 206, which it is named and extends west to Lawrence Township. 

South of Route 27 is Route 1, the classic old route with traffic lights between New York City and Philadelphia, where new housing developments in Plainsboro have expanded rapidly in the last ten years. South of Princeton are the towns of West Windsor, and Princeton Junction, the location of the major train station with trains to New York and Philadelphia, airports and beyond. A small train connects Princeton town with Princeton Junction Train Station and is a useful alternative form of transportation.

Further south of West Windsor are the towns of Cranbury, Hightstown (pron. HEIGHTS-TOWN), Robbinsville, Hamilton and many more. The area is dotted with parks, shopping centers, and golf courses.

Princeton is about half an hour to the Jersey Shore, 45 minutes minimum to Wilmington, Delaware , south of Philadelphia -  a speed record I heard about.

lawrenceyerkes.com

Whichever way you arrive,  when you get to Princeton, New Jersey, it's a great place to  visit.  The surrounding area also has many farms to visit, and to choose from in case you are in the market to buy a new property. There are many sizes of farms for equestrians which are very popular. And farm estates are available for those without a big interest in horses, many of which will allow you to raise sheep, chickens, cows and alpacas.

A Crime Women Usually Cover Up

Following a woman's arrest after she broke news of her rape to foreign journalists in Libya, I feel moved to comment. To naysayers, I seriously doubt she is making this up. I believe her  story, and any story of rape automatically, and here's why....

Imagine for one moment if your loved one - your wife, your mother, or your sister - went through the same unspeakable atrocities this woman claimed to have suffered. Would they lie about it? Of course, not. Why would they? There is no gain in admitting to rape, and so much more to covering it up.

This Libyan woman is probably no different. She went to the foreign press since they  have acted more responsibly than the Libyan police. She had nothing more to lose. Even the social humiliation of talking about rape did not stop her.

False accusation of rape is inconceivable to me. Victims often will not talk about rape out of fear. In some societies, rape has bad consequences for the  unfortunate, innocent victim, as has happened here. Anyone who thinks a woman talks about rape without cause, unnecessarily, seriously mistakes the gravity of the crime and its consequences.

No one claims rape, in my limited experience, without having been a victim. It is an unspeakably uncivilized crime that cuts to the core of human life. The traumatic event is personally embarrassing and humiliating. It is impossible for me, and likely all women, to imagine gaining any political, social or material advantage in some warped scenario in Libya or anywhere, really, by claiming rape (and more abuse) as this lady has. One can only imagine the punishment her assertion has caused her to endure since rape is, by definition, an unwanted physical intrusion.

I always automatically believe a woman has been raped if she says so with no exceptions. Rape is a crime,  after all, of power over the powerless. I feel so sorry she is back now in harm's way. The people who took her away, whatever their motives, are not behaving as rational, civilized human beings. The tragedy is human; her rape was not. It was unnecessary and tragic, and my heart goes out to her.

UPDATE 1: An article quotes a top Libyan official who insulted her and diminished her worth as a human being amid reports she has now been freed. A woman's social status has nothing to do with her allegations of brutality as claimed, and is a classic example of "blaming the victim." Whatever her profession or wealth, I continue to truly believe whatever she said, not  some  "official" with many reasons to cover up the crime and deny the truth.

UPDATE 2: More coverage in the media makes this story continue to be hot, and yet it seems to me that some say I am wrong, that women do accuse men of rape when it is not true, for many reasons. Unfortunately, I can't agree, and do not waiver...I think it probably never happens without justification of some sort. Usually, the accusation fades away. It's can't be denied that the number of unsolved rape cases remains astronomically high in America, according to endthebacklog.org. It's just that I think accusations tend to be justified.

How To Have More Meaning and Happiness in Life

What really gives people meaning and happiness is a combination of four things:

1. Control over what they're doing.
2. Progress in what they're pursuing.
3. Connectedness: being connected with others, and 
4. Belonging: Being part of something they enjoy that's bigger than themselves.

 from "When Rich People Do Stupid Things" Motley Fool

Japanese Tsunami Video Shows Violence of Waves

For the most graphic view of the Japanese Tsunami, here's a video. Wait for the most shocking views of widespread destruction that happen later on.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/video/aerial-view-catches-tsunami/article1938236/

Fantastic Video of the Appalachian Trail

 This amazing video can be watched by anyone with a few minutes and I can't believe it's now free. Watch it!!!! - for a fast motion trip along the Appalachian Trail. Imagine really being there, and see a preview of a trip to take someday.


Green Tunnel from Kevin Gallagher on Vimeo.

First of all, to stress the obvious, this video is terrific. Most of the footage made me want to stop, listen, watch, and stay a while, and only a very few scenes were not my favorites.

The journey goes fast, and it looks, first time through, mostly straight ahead not uphill as it must be.  The accompanying music is great and soothing. It's also a very clean and safe experience, perfect for the armchair traveler.

Doesn't it make you restless for a trip of your own to the great outdoors?

Why Not Let Women Drive? Saudis Question Old Restrictions

A senior Saudi,  Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, nephew of King Abdullah has reportedly asked for answers:

"The Saudi society wants fewer foreign labourers ... so why the hesitation, why this hesitation (with women driving cars)? I want answers," he said.

Why indeed?

The benefit to men is, they will know how to be better to other men if they learn how to be better to women, too. One way to learn  more about  "gender equality"  - Saudis could watch old American movies. They could have business meetings and include women for "gender equality" and then true equality will happen down the road.

This subjugation of women is a useless old habit that is currently in the process of being dropped following the wave of social awareness sweeping through the Middle East. Let's support common sense. Let's hope men will lose old ways that are of no use now and they will  learn to work better with women.

Saudi women do not have the most basic freedoms of Western women. They cannot travel, work, get health care or meet many other basic human needs  without express  male permission. This is unacceptable in Western countries and anti-capitalistic for the large segment of the population that is female.

To create prosperity, women -- half of the population of a country -- need freedom of activity. To help a country prosper, they need money, time, freedom and gender equality.

Why do young men in Saudi Arabia have authority over younger and older women? 

Why are sisters denied opportunities equal to their brothers? 

Why not hire women if they know more and do a better job than the male competition?

Here's a fact :  subjugated Arabian women generally get hassled and abused more in their daily lives - why?

The American Human Rights Watch Group has a report entitled: Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia. It documents civil rights abuses and discriminatory policies directed wholesale against women in that country. For example, Saudi Arabia is the only country that bans women from driving. 

Saudi men should let women drive, get health care, equal education, equal work environment, and get everything else a free and open country can offer. I want answers, too, please!