Bears require respect, not fear.
They also do not want to do more than eat.
Therefore citizens in suburbs close to bear habitat need to invest in bear-proof garbage containers, and the municipalities containing bear habitat need to enact bylaws to protect bears.
As well, citizens must keep natural habitat away from their property i.e. remove invasive blackberry bushes.
In this way, the bears are protected and so are the people.
For my limited observations of bears have shown to me that they respond to threats such as loud noise with counter threats, but usually are present for a free meal.
Thus, bylaw officers need to observe problem behavior of humans to mitigate bear-human interactions i.e. enforced litter laws since any wrapper smells like food and poses a risk to the bear.
Since a person cannot eat wrappers, it makes sense that bears cannot eat them and will risk similar problems to what humans risk when ingesting alumnium foil, paper, and plastic found in food wrappers.
If we wish to respect the bear, then communities near bear habitat need to be bear proofed.
Reference:
Bear Intelligence: http://www.all-creatures.org/bear/b-bearintel.html
20121130
Heightened Security Risks Invasion of Privacy
Even the Broadwell-Petraeus fiasco in the US demonstrates how privacy concerns are ignored when security is risked.
This has been going on for some times prior to 9-11.
The last time I visited my hometown in Aldergrove, at the town corner of 272 St and Fraser Hwy, there are two cameras. One is a hi def camera to record license plates of vehicles going west and north.
There also is a pedestrian camera near the north west corner. You can tell this is a pedestrian camera as it is not as large as the hi def camera.
Closer to home, at 72 Ave on Scott Rd, there are two pedestrian camera for east west and north south traffic.
There are also cameras at Scott Rd and Nordel Way.
Overall, I'd feel safer if we had peace officers on foot. Tho that practice was done away with after the assaults and killings of foot police circa 1950 and before.
As well, there is no guarantee a policeman walking the beat is more law abiding than the average citizen is.
Read the history about Vancouver police, Edmonton police, and Winnipeg police.
Overall, a Christian belonging to a conservative denomination (Baptists ) is less likely to be corrupt than a policeman.
However, Jehovah Witnesses are more likely to have dealt with adultery, drug abuse, and fraternizing with prostitutes in their history; this may also be true of all denominations where most of the people who report Christian as their badge of spirituality do not pray daily and only go to church once a week i.e. nominally Christian).
It also depends on whether the person is from the country or lived in cities. Corruption depends on your willingness to condone crime in the city in fear of your life, and likewise, your willingness to report crime in the town because it's what anyone believes in his smalltown believes.
This has been going on for some times prior to 9-11.
The last time I visited my hometown in Aldergrove, at the town corner of 272 St and Fraser Hwy, there are two cameras. One is a hi def camera to record license plates of vehicles going west and north.
There also is a pedestrian camera near the north west corner. You can tell this is a pedestrian camera as it is not as large as the hi def camera.
Closer to home, at 72 Ave on Scott Rd, there are two pedestrian camera for east west and north south traffic.
There are also cameras at Scott Rd and Nordel Way.
Overall, I'd feel safer if we had peace officers on foot. Tho that practice was done away with after the assaults and killings of foot police circa 1950 and before.
As well, there is no guarantee a policeman walking the beat is more law abiding than the average citizen is.
Read the history about Vancouver police, Edmonton police, and Winnipeg police.
Overall, a Christian belonging to a conservative denomination (Baptists ) is less likely to be corrupt than a policeman.
However, Jehovah Witnesses are more likely to have dealt with adultery, drug abuse, and fraternizing with prostitutes in their history; this may also be true of all denominations where most of the people who report Christian as their badge of spirituality do not pray daily and only go to church once a week i.e. nominally Christian).
It also depends on whether the person is from the country or lived in cities. Corruption depends on your willingness to condone crime in the city in fear of your life, and likewise, your willingness to report crime in the town because it's what anyone believes in his smalltown believes.
Letter to Rogers Communication: Retention of Creditor
Here's my letter to Rogers Communication; with personal information redacted to prevent a lawsuit from Rogers:
Dear Sirs,
This is in response to mail sent to me August 30, 2012.
As you know I owe you over $1400 in debt for three accounts registered with you.
I also know the purpose of retention, which is to retain accounts even if they are endebted to you, so that you (the corporation) can show it as an asset.
However, this is not sound money management, as no matter how I try to trick my bookkeeping, I cannot get my debt to you declared as an asset.
Yet, you as a corporation have rights under corporate law as a person, despite the fact that Rogers Communication is not a person but a corporation.
The proof of this surmise is that you fear placing my account with a debt collector because you get paid pennies per dollar for it while the debt collector gets the outstanding balance of over $1400 plus whatever it is able to tack on. Indeed, I could settle for 1/4 - 1/3 of what I owe you, which according to my calculations is about 36 x $350 or $18000. for the three year terms on three of my smartphones.
The debt collector will then settle my account for $4500-6000.
So you see, you are in no position to sell my debt to a debt collector because you don't get $4500-6000 for transfering debt collection from your collections agents to theirs.
Therefpore you have no business dictating payment in full of what I owe you. In future correspondence with me, please do not cast me in a negative light or anything remotely like this. This includes the mention of ruining my account and the like. Since I have managed to do that without your help, it makes no sense on your part to play that line with me.
Thank you for your time.
Dear Sirs,
This is in response to mail sent to me August 30, 2012.
As you know I owe you over $1400 in debt for three accounts registered with you.
I also know the purpose of retention, which is to retain accounts even if they are endebted to you, so that you (the corporation) can show it as an asset.
However, this is not sound money management, as no matter how I try to trick my bookkeeping, I cannot get my debt to you declared as an asset.
Yet, you as a corporation have rights under corporate law as a person, despite the fact that Rogers Communication is not a person but a corporation.
The proof of this surmise is that you fear placing my account with a debt collector because you get paid pennies per dollar for it while the debt collector gets the outstanding balance of over $1400 plus whatever it is able to tack on. Indeed, I could settle for 1/4 - 1/3 of what I owe you, which according to my calculations is about 36 x $350 or $18000. for the three year terms on three of my smartphones.
The debt collector will then settle my account for $4500-6000.
So you see, you are in no position to sell my debt to a debt collector because you don't get $4500-6000 for transfering debt collection from your collections agents to theirs.
Therefpore you have no business dictating payment in full of what I owe you. In future correspondence with me, please do not cast me in a negative light or anything remotely like this. This includes the mention of ruining my account and the like. Since I have managed to do that without your help, it makes no sense on your part to play that line with me.
Thank you for your time.
Could Homosexuality Be Precipitated by Heterosexual Aggression?
Anecdotal evidence also indicates that women associate sexual aggression including the desire to have orgasm with selfishness, and they tend to be more reluctant to seek satisfaction than men due to being raised to associate such aggression with being anathema to being feminine.
This may explain why women, both gay and straight, tend to be more openminded about male homosexuals and condoning latent homosexual behavior in adolescence than men.
IMO the homophobic fallout of the 1920s further emphasized this double standard in the public school system, where it was considered to be sissy to not act like all boys and any boy who was a sissy was bullied to the point of rebelling against heterosexual groupthink.
Am I implying that heterosexual aggression may influence both men and women to choose to become queer?
Yes, because there is evidence that queers of both sexes are victims of child abuse (mainly physical abuse).
This may explain why women, both gay and straight, tend to be more openminded about male homosexuals and condoning latent homosexual behavior in adolescence than men.
IMO the homophobic fallout of the 1920s further emphasized this double standard in the public school system, where it was considered to be sissy to not act like all boys and any boy who was a sissy was bullied to the point of rebelling against heterosexual groupthink.
Am I implying that heterosexual aggression may influence both men and women to choose to become queer?
Yes, because there is evidence that queers of both sexes are victims of child abuse (mainly physical abuse).
Hasidic Jewess Fights Back
On Google Plus, this Jewish women led me to find out that this alone is her battle.
"Though the young woman’s parents had asked her to drop the case as recently as this spring, the victim testified, about 20 members of her family came to show their support in court."
I am certain that her husband supported her decision to help bring closure.
It is a touching story, and one that most people would like to ignore, just as the Hasidic community does to anyone who reports such things to outsiders.
While I do not have a problem with Hasidism, its rules promote social isolation which makes it a ripe hunting ground for sexual predators within the community, as well as increasing the risk for depression due to its rules imposed on the community.
Thankfully, because this young 18-year-old woman is female, there is a ground swell of support both inside and outside the Jewish community.
Hopefully the next male victim of a reb who is a pedophile will come forward, and the advocates against child abuse will rally to his cause, too.
"Though the young woman’s parents had asked her to drop the case as recently as this spring, the victim testified, about 20 members of her family came to show their support in court."
I am certain that her husband supported her decision to help bring closure.
It is a touching story, and one that most people would like to ignore, just as the Hasidic community does to anyone who reports such things to outsiders.
While I do not have a problem with Hasidism, its rules promote social isolation which makes it a ripe hunting ground for sexual predators within the community, as well as increasing the risk for depression due to its rules imposed on the community.
Thankfully, because this young 18-year-old woman is female, there is a ground swell of support both inside and outside the Jewish community.
Hopefully the next male victim of a reb who is a pedophile will come forward, and the advocates against child abuse will rally to his cause, too.
20121129
Middle Brother Online Martial Arts
In the following list, I will try to describe the four most important tips for on-line users of browsers and the like, both on the PC and on a smartphone. After that, I'll manage a conclusion, I swear.
1) When, in an on-line discussion, bone up on the topic at hand. Your web browser has tabs for a reason.
2) In said discussion, remember it is almost make believe, until the other guy takes things too personal. At extreme risk, lives might be lost.
3) Never argue with an avatar. Ask the person to chat and discuss it like two mature adults. Have witnesses.
4) Never meet anyone you've met on-line unless it's in a mall food court. That way, you can tell from the way he eats, if he's housebroken.
5) If you indulge in cybersex, then remember that you both live far away from each other, which it makes the safest of safe sex, but never cyber a cousin even if she is once removed and the cousin's in-law, i.e. the aunt's first child. You know what I mean and where this is going to go.
In conclusion,the on-line experience requires patience, peace of mind, and a lot of meditation, both on Buddhist sutras and on the worst case scenario.
Without patience, your impatience could ruin the moment. Lacking peace of mind, a few people have lost their minds. Finally the best way to develop peace of mind and patience is to study martial arts and get a black belt.
Then you spend a year meditating on what you have learned in martial arts.
After that do you realize even though your body is a dangerous weapon, you have the capacity to control it and observe each situation, acting on the information you have collected to ascertain the situation and take control of it.
For that will prepare you for college.
1) When, in an on-line discussion, bone up on the topic at hand. Your web browser has tabs for a reason.
2) In said discussion, remember it is almost make believe, until the other guy takes things too personal. At extreme risk, lives might be lost.
3) Never argue with an avatar. Ask the person to chat and discuss it like two mature adults. Have witnesses.
4) Never meet anyone you've met on-line unless it's in a mall food court. That way, you can tell from the way he eats, if he's housebroken.
5) If you indulge in cybersex, then remember that you both live far away from each other, which it makes the safest of safe sex, but never cyber a cousin even if she is once removed and the cousin's in-law, i.e. the aunt's first child. You know what I mean and where this is going to go.
In conclusion,the on-line experience requires patience, peace of mind, and a lot of meditation, both on Buddhist sutras and on the worst case scenario.
Without patience, your impatience could ruin the moment. Lacking peace of mind, a few people have lost their minds. Finally the best way to develop peace of mind and patience is to study martial arts and get a black belt.
Then you spend a year meditating on what you have learned in martial arts.
After that do you realize even though your body is a dangerous weapon, you have the capacity to control it and observe each situation, acting on the information you have collected to ascertain the situation and take control of it.
For that will prepare you for college.
Nude Martial Arts
I just Googled for "Nude martial arts" and came up videos on the topic by the yin-yang.
Here's a playlist of related videos on dailymotion.
The purpose in doing martial arts nude is to overcome self-consciousness.
By doing so, the woman is able to focus and go with the flow.
Redtube - Censored Review
Disclaimer: This post is rated mature. Anyone reading this review who are shocked, please reread this disclaimer. For the record, viewing on-line pornography is not a perversion unless I act on what I see. After an orgasm, though, I lose all desire to act. On that note, here is the review of Redtube.
5-7 years ago that I discovered Redtube. On that website, I found categories of videos of sexual acts, most of which I've never done. My first reaction was to get aroused. With respect to delicate minds, it resulted in a happy ending. >:)
Since then I have visited Redtube at least once a week to have said happy ending. :p
However, I deny that I am addicted to Redtube as I forget about going there for days, sometimes weeks, or maybe a month.
One of the most arousing videos consisted of male-female coitus in which the female was loudly vocalizing her pleasure. Epic moment!
Today I occasionally peruse the contents of Redtube in private. This is why the categories I pick will not be posted in this blog.
In fact, I recommended Redtube to the curious mature adult who has Google skills. ;)
Good luck and have a fine happy ending! I know I will!
5-7 years ago that I discovered Redtube. On that website, I found categories of videos of sexual acts, most of which I've never done. My first reaction was to get aroused. With respect to delicate minds, it resulted in a happy ending. >:)
Since then I have visited Redtube at least once a week to have said happy ending. :p
However, I deny that I am addicted to Redtube as I forget about going there for days, sometimes weeks, or maybe a month.
One of the most arousing videos consisted of male-female coitus in which the female was loudly vocalizing her pleasure. Epic moment!
Today I occasionally peruse the contents of Redtube in private. This is why the categories I pick will not be posted in this blog.
In fact, I recommended Redtube to the curious mature adult who has Google skills. ;)
Good luck and have a fine happy ending! I know I will!
Attention Potential Blackmailers, Online Bullies, and Assorted Harassers
Legally, in doing any of the above (blackmail or on-line bullying and/or harassment), you are committing a hate crime, and if you get a bunch of your friends to participate, then that's criminal harassment.
As well, if what you write to me causes me distress, then that's assault. If the content of your letter or message is a death threat, then that's an indictable offense. Further more, should you follow through with a note tacked to my front door and continued until there is a physical confrontation, that too is criminal harassment.
If in the process of harassing me face to face, you then strike or push me, that's assault and battery, a misdemeanor.
Getting back to the potential blackmailers, using email to blackmail me won't work, because try as you might, you cannot block your original IP address. In addition, I will treat email using remailers which hide your IP address as spam.
You have been warned.
Oh, by the way: I am not a lazy welfare bum; I am a person with disabilities. Nor am I a sex addict; I'm a virgin (as in unmarried) who prefers masturbation.
You finding dirt on me will get responses like, "I wrote that in 1993 before I got hit on the head at work. I don't write like that anymore."
Have a nice day, my foes! >:)
20121127
Illegal Removal of Trees in Surrey BC on Rise
View Larger Map
See the lot in the centre of the larger map view from Google? Notice that there are no trees left on that property.
In 2008, a developer in Surrey, BC removed all the trees on that empty lot next to St Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church near the Southern BC Rail tracks on 104 Avenue.
What's the problem with that? The city of Surrey has a tree-protection bylaw that states all property being developed must protect trees from harm during development. Under this bylaw, developers also have to pay for a tree permit before cutting down trees.
Instead of complying by the bylaw, the developer went ahead and cut down the trees. After seeing this infraction, neighbours in surrounding properties complained to city council,
Once the city assessed the damage, it contacted the developer to issue a fine.
Rather than pay the fine for the downed trees, he tried to bribe a city clerk.
Since then, illegal removal of trees has gone up this year, with 58 removed by August 2012 compared
to 38 removed in 2010, and 31 in 2011.
Reference:
Surrey Leader: $175,000 penalty for Surrey tree cut:
http://www.surreyleader.com/news/172567511.html
20121125
State Abuse Leads to Suicide
Anna Caroline Jennings (1960 - 1992)
Anna Jennings was sexually abused when she was less than three years old. This was the first of several abuses that occurred over her lifetime, and put a confused, frightened child into a mental health system that neither recognized nor treated Anna's real problem. Diagnosed 'schizophrenic'.. she was institutionalized for more than 12 years from age 15 to 32. Although she attempted to communicate the 'awful things' that had happened to her, there was no one to listen, understand or help her. She took her life on October 24, 1992, on a back ward of a state mental hospital.
PTSD due to sexual abuse may look similar to "schizophrenic" symptoms, but the labeling is used by the authorities to pretend the abuse never occurred.
This is similar to Freud's rewrite of his "women's psychiatric disorders are due to incest" into the psychoanalytic theory co-opted by the State.
In a sense, psychoanalysis is a form of patient abuse. This is why it has the worst record for "cures" and lots of case histories of relapse and possible further victimization of clients of psychoanalysts.
As it stands today, the effective therapies accept life history as real to the patient, but do not address the history directly. Rather, the patients are given coping skills and strategies to do a continuing self-assessment on their own.
HERV and cancer: a hypothesis
Has anyone researched the role of (human endogenous retrovirus) HERV and its role in causing cancer?
The following is hypothetical. If any of it is does not happen, then I require MEDPLUS and other database evidence to improve it.
HERV are formed from human DNA in response to immuuological challenges. Its role during pregnancy is to prevent cell death in response to aggressive attack by the mother's immune system (mainly any macrophages that make it past the placenta filter).
In response to threat, HERV even infects macrophages, which stops producing hydrogen peroxide and becomes a HERV factory. Once the HERV uses all of the DNA and RNA in the white blood cells, new NERV emerge, and the blood cell dies.
At this point, the liver detects the dead white blood cells and begins to process it. HERV virii are then released and infect liver cells.
HERV in the liver replicate when exposed to cortisol during stress. Their purpose is to infest stem cells in the liver, which then go everywhere in the body causing cancer.
The following is hypothetical. If any of it is does not happen, then I require MEDPLUS and other database evidence to improve it.
HERV are formed from human DNA in response to immuuological challenges. Its role during pregnancy is to prevent cell death in response to aggressive attack by the mother's immune system (mainly any macrophages that make it past the placenta filter).
In response to threat, HERV even infects macrophages, which stops producing hydrogen peroxide and becomes a HERV factory. Once the HERV uses all of the DNA and RNA in the white blood cells, new NERV emerge, and the blood cell dies.
At this point, the liver detects the dead white blood cells and begins to process it. HERV virii are then released and infect liver cells.
HERV in the liver replicate when exposed to cortisol during stress. Their purpose is to infest stem cells in the liver, which then go everywhere in the body causing cancer.
Why the 3rd World is Fighting Modernization
- The assumptions of the pioneers of scientific psychiatry about the negative influences of modern western civilization on mental health were not unfounded;
- Rapid Westernizing modernization of tradition-directed societies has been shown to have pathogenic effects on social and mental functioning, and these pathogenic effects are especially deleterious for tribal societies.
- The further exploration and identification of the psychiatric sequelae of rapid sociocultural change and the working out of preventive measures are today among the
greatest challenges confronting transcultural psychiatry.
-- http://www.mentalhealth.com/newslet/tp9901.html
It is these three factors which have had Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and much of the 3rd World wonder if Americanization is worth the suffering.
For people not currently treated for mental illness but treated within the socio-cultural framework (via shamans and medicine men) are able to be integrated back into society, either due to remission of their transient psychoses or initiation into the magico-religious setting to replace the shaman they were "cured" by.
Yet it is the fear of psychosis felt by society which stigmatizes the mentally ill regardless of culture.
The true fear of undeveloped nations is that rapid urbanization would overwhelm the often underfunded and underdeveloped health-care system.
As well, the replacement of shamans and medicine men with psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers would imply that the ancient healers would become marginalized and not integrated into the urban landscape as a vital link to the nation's cultural traditions at first.
However, Africa seems ripe to have a civilized African be both priest and shaman, doctor and medicine man.
Indeed, it is possible to integrate cultural tradition with Westernized medicine, so that no loss of cultural tradition is incurred.
Let's hope that America does not force a loss of tradition in the new nations born in the ashes of Yugoslavia.
Let's also hope that both Afghanistan and Iraq manage to retain the best that is of imams and of psychiatrists to take care of the shell-shocked.
And let us hope that the Wahabis' influence dies so that the most enlightened of Islam revives the equality of men and women in their rich culture.
Honour Killing is Domestic Abuse!
"An unapologetic, incessant message to women and girls living in abusive situations that they don’t have to, and should not, put up with it, backed up with well-funded resources like safe houses and punitive criminal sanctions for offenders. Where specific communities face specific problems, they should be targeted: billboards, multilingual television and radio ads, whatever it takes."
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/18/chris-selley-recipe-to-reduce-honour-killings/#ixzz0s6tKh2Si
Why the agencies behind the anti domestic abuse strategy are mum regarding honor killings only shows us that the message needs to be in Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian and African languages, too.
Honor killing is domestic abuse!
!جرائم الشرف والعنف المنزلي
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/18/chris-selley-recipe-to-reduce-honour-killings/#ixzz0s6tKh2Si
Why the agencies behind the anti domestic abuse strategy are mum regarding honor killings only shows us that the message needs to be in Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian and African languages, too.
Honor killing is domestic abuse!
!جرائم الشرف والعنف المنزلي
Racism as Patriarchal Legacy
IMHO racism began 40,000 years ago, about the time we assimilated the Neanderthal, outside of Africa, and just before the ancesters of the Native Americans, the Asians and the like migrated out of Central Asia.
When India was invaded by Aryans, patriarchism arose, matriarchism was suppressed and demonized, and gylandry was wiped out of existence before history began.
Today in India the essentially democratic societies are the tribals, because they practice the essence of what the Buddha taught. Hinduism does not because it is essentially patriarchal. It instead practices the essence of the Vedas.
Am I suggesting racism is a patriarchal ideology? Yes.
For racism exists as long as women of color remain oppressed.
When India was invaded by Aryans, patriarchism arose, matriarchism was suppressed and demonized, and gylandry was wiped out of existence before history began.
Today in India the essentially democratic societies are the tribals, because they practice the essence of what the Buddha taught. Hinduism does not because it is essentially patriarchal. It instead practices the essence of the Vedas.
Am I suggesting racism is a patriarchal ideology? Yes.
For racism exists as long as women of color remain oppressed.
20121124
Africa Oppressed by American Economic Empire
AFRICOM is why Africa consists of mostly 3rd-world nations.
Also all mention of "African peacekeepers" is propaganda. The truth is African troops aid in keeping Africa backwards so that America and its allies can continue to keep African nations poor and underdeveloped by restricting who can invest US dollars in foreign aid in a manner that America approves.
Humanitarian aid is being reduced, in a cruel effort of population control by starvation and manufactured conflict caused by unfair mistreatment of refugees and condoning internal strife in Sudan where Darfur became a contentious problem because of AFRICOM's military-industrial imperialism.
In essence, the US is the new economic empire whose policies in Africa are designed to extract natural resources cheaply, imposing a 21st-century colonialism which will only worsen the risk of civil war, sectarian violence, and impoverishment of Africans for decades to come.
Most conflict therefore are the US government's responsibility, since internal strife in African nations justify moving African troops in to support the corrupt regime in Somalia (run by a Somali-American who used to work in the US Dept. of Transportation), promote sectarian violence in central Africa, and maintain a SNAFU situation in Africa.
Therefore, Africa's problems originally due to previous European colonialism since the 18th century are continued under the US-backed colonialism by the American economic empire.
Today after a long day at work, I arrived home at our round 10 AM but have severe insomnia, being up since 1245 PM yesterday.
After being over 27 hours awake, I am getting "flashbacks" where I experience a memory without audio, but "hear" parts of an ad. Then I see a car drive away.
The audio track also has background traffic noises as "inspiration" to me, due to mild traffic outside (we live on a road with high traffic due to proximity of high schools).
However, when I concentrate harder on typing and breathing ala meditation style (inhale slowly in, hold for 5 seconds, and out. Then the vivid memories fade.
Earlier I saw numbers appear as I tried to sleep. Now I'm up since 1115 PM.
The numbers may be due to anticipating paying my bills online. I'll do that before sleep.
It's now 1507 PM, so good night gentle followers, the penultimate in observance of web pages. ;)
Jihad Isn't Holy War but is a Martyrdom Wasted
According to what I have read of Muslim public opinion, dreams of unbelievers are entertainment, and make believe,a mass media disgrace.
In contrast, the dreams of believers are a serious matter inspired by the Beloved, a gift for the lover of God.
So say both Shi'a and Sunni,both Salafi and Qaefa, until the West is confused, due to ignorance about Arabic culture, and the Salafi missionaries.
For the conquest of the New World was originally an Arabic dream, long before Islam became a vital part of international trade. Then Catalan "borrowed" it.
In the wake of Columbus, and de Gama came Jesuits forcing natives to convert, or face death by overkill by overwork, guns and disease, using the Inquisition as a weapon.
Indeed, the Inquisition was used like a religious marketing tool to force Jews and Muslims to convert, to ensure that tithes go to Rome, rather help create the Heaven on Earth, al-'Andalus, the dream of the Ummayyads.
Over 1200 years later, this same dream helped form the United Arab States, which splintered due to Western machinations behind the scene, due to Salafi sentiments arising from Saudi Arabia, which culminated in the Suez War.
For Salafi thought inspires the Muslim to battle with real foes, whilst the true battle of all warriors is to conquer ego, so that the islam of the heart subjugates the ego.
Yet to a Salafi warrior, the holy war ought not be fought in the heart, lest it weaken resolve in battle. For a Salafi cannot battle both the ego and serve as martyr, or be embraced by madness as God's punishment for serving two battles in his mind and on the field.
Thus the Salafi may be clearheaded in being pious, but in jihad forgets love conquers all. For the seduction of holy war is the promise of what awaits in heaven for martyrs, beautiful angels — religious marketing for simple folk.
And the only cure for this, which Muslims fed the religious marketing scheme of holy war by Salafi preachers reject intelligence, equality of women, and Christian symbology (Cross, church arch).
Were the US to appease the Salafis, like Petraeus appeased the Sunnis in Iraq by sending experimental weapons and strategic material to Saudi Arabia via a government program, the social activists would leak word of it exposure to publicly embarrass the Saudis and America, citing friendlies to Salafis so "the most happiest years."
So it is best to entertain Western dreams for the Muslim activist , but to keep cherished dreams of Kalifa with non-violent confrontation, without conflict and with good intentions.
Otherwise, the road to martyrdom will continue to be littered with martyrs in name only, whilst looking as though the name of shaitan was on the radical Muslim's mind, though the radical soon made it fair game for any target due to misinterpretation of Salafi ideals.
So I urge following the true warrior's path: the holy war on desire, lust, passion and related ways shatain find to tempt you by meditating on absolute power and reverse absolute corruption
In contrast, the dreams of believers are a serious matter inspired by the Beloved, a gift for the lover of God.
So say both Shi'a and Sunni,both Salafi and Qaefa, until the West is confused, due to ignorance about Arabic culture, and the Salafi missionaries.
For the conquest of the New World was originally an Arabic dream, long before Islam became a vital part of international trade. Then Catalan "borrowed" it.
In the wake of Columbus, and de Gama came Jesuits forcing natives to convert, or face death by overkill by overwork, guns and disease, using the Inquisition as a weapon.
Indeed, the Inquisition was used like a religious marketing tool to force Jews and Muslims to convert, to ensure that tithes go to Rome, rather help create the Heaven on Earth, al-'Andalus, the dream of the Ummayyads.
Over 1200 years later, this same dream helped form the United Arab States, which splintered due to Western machinations behind the scene, due to Salafi sentiments arising from Saudi Arabia, which culminated in the Suez War.
For Salafi thought inspires the Muslim to battle with real foes, whilst the true battle of all warriors is to conquer ego, so that the islam of the heart subjugates the ego.
Yet to a Salafi warrior, the holy war ought not be fought in the heart, lest it weaken resolve in battle. For a Salafi cannot battle both the ego and serve as martyr, or be embraced by madness as God's punishment for serving two battles in his mind and on the field.
Thus the Salafi may be clearheaded in being pious, but in jihad forgets love conquers all. For the seduction of holy war is the promise of what awaits in heaven for martyrs, beautiful angels — religious marketing for simple folk.
And the only cure for this, which Muslims fed the religious marketing scheme of holy war by Salafi preachers reject intelligence, equality of women, and Christian symbology (Cross, church arch).
Were the US to appease the Salafis, like Petraeus appeased the Sunnis in Iraq by sending experimental weapons and strategic material to Saudi Arabia via a government program, the social activists would leak word of it exposure to publicly embarrass the Saudis and America, citing friendlies to Salafis so "the most happiest years."
So it is best to entertain Western dreams for the Muslim activist , but to keep cherished dreams of Kalifa with non-violent confrontation, without conflict and with good intentions.
Otherwise, the road to martyrdom will continue to be littered with martyrs in name only, whilst looking as though the name of shaitan was on the radical Muslim's mind, though the radical soon made it fair game for any target due to misinterpretation of Salafi ideals.
So I urge following the true warrior's path: the holy war on desire, lust, passion and related ways shatain find to tempt you by meditating on absolute power and reverse absolute corruption
20121123
The Effect of Stress on Me
Early this morning, I had a panic attack at work.
Last night, I was assigned to work at a job site — though I will decline to mention the venue.
It began around 3 AM when the 2-man fence crew arrived. However, its full manifestation occurs about 3-4 hours later.
Around 4 AM, I was informed by mall security that having me sit on the steps inside the mall was incorrect procedure. So one of the guards provided me a chair to sit on while I monitored the venue being protected. He also informed me that a security camera monitors the venue, and the supervisor wanted presence to be regular outside.
In response I ensured that presence by circumnavigating the venue — this consisted me of walking around it for most of that time. When a man and a woman arrived to be out of the rain, and away from the desolate bus exchange, I assessed the situation and realized that they were not a threat. Then I continued my circumnavigation of the venue.
Around 7:30 AM the man bringing in the plywood boards to use as cover on the concrete surface around the venue asked if he could do so. This requires using a hoist on his truck to move the boards from the bed of the trailer to the ground.
After I directed him to the guard desk in the mall, I continued to monitor the venue. However, I felt self conscious because it was getting light out, and students for the university and office workers were arriving.
In response to the increase in crowd presence from a night of no presence of people, I felt it was important not to br in light of sight of the man I mentioned earlier, because of the inaccurate impression that my presence would be a distraction.
As well, at one point I thought another man was attempting to approach me in a threatening manner, only to have him change his mind and walk into the coffee shop in the mall. However, in retrospect, this was a part of the etiology of my panic attack.
Unconsciously, I may have had a flashback to the early morning attack on me on July 19, 2004. This flashback has plagued me since I was injured, though it only occurs during moments of stress. In this case, the stress resulted from the impression that I wasn't doing my work properly which occurred after talking with the mall guard regarding the camera monitoring my movements both outside and inside the mall.
During the panic attack, I also experienced brief flashes of paranoia i.e. seeing people in the mall and outside the venue that turned out to be shadows or my eyes playing tricks on me).
Also, moments of elation consisted of admiring the pretty blinking lights of the fake Christmas trees inside the mall and finding the unlit tree, which is the venue, and the way rain made everything outside beautiful by reflecting the traffic lights on pavement, and the neon sign of the restaurant reflecting on the wet concrete.
In addition, the cold wet rain exhilarated me, helping to clear away the fog in my head due to the combination of sleep and stress. Although sitting on the concrete steps in the mall allowed me to meditate to the point of clearing my mind, by cooling me down enough to clear my head, my subsequent circumnavigations of the venue stopped working, and my mind was getting foggier as the end of my shift grew near. Instead, the cold was not helping to clear my head.
I even tweeted thankfulness about Christmas tree lights with respect to workers who make the lights in China and the city in which I worked for putting up the Christmas lights. Heck, I was thankful for all Foxconn workers in China for making my Samsung smartphone!
Even the one and only time I sat in the chair that the guard provided me did not clear it. This meant that I was stressed by fatigue precipitated by walking outside in the cold for an hour.
However, after I arrived home after 8 AM, I went to bed and woke up refreshed after about 3.5 hours of sleep.
This afternoon went by with no problems, because I had picked up my work cheque and used part of it to buy a good Japanese meal that consisted of bakake miso soup, a rice bowl with hamburger and special sauce on top, and a small sake served hot.
Tonight I have to work at the same venue, but will have a partner with me. So I anticipate no repeat of the stress-induced panic attack I experienced early this morning at work.
Last night, I was assigned to work at a job site — though I will decline to mention the venue.
It began around 3 AM when the 2-man fence crew arrived. However, its full manifestation occurs about 3-4 hours later.
Around 4 AM, I was informed by mall security that having me sit on the steps inside the mall was incorrect procedure. So one of the guards provided me a chair to sit on while I monitored the venue being protected. He also informed me that a security camera monitors the venue, and the supervisor wanted presence to be regular outside.
In response I ensured that presence by circumnavigating the venue — this consisted me of walking around it for most of that time. When a man and a woman arrived to be out of the rain, and away from the desolate bus exchange, I assessed the situation and realized that they were not a threat. Then I continued my circumnavigation of the venue.
Around 7:30 AM the man bringing in the plywood boards to use as cover on the concrete surface around the venue asked if he could do so. This requires using a hoist on his truck to move the boards from the bed of the trailer to the ground.
After I directed him to the guard desk in the mall, I continued to monitor the venue. However, I felt self conscious because it was getting light out, and students for the university and office workers were arriving.
In response to the increase in crowd presence from a night of no presence of people, I felt it was important not to br in light of sight of the man I mentioned earlier, because of the inaccurate impression that my presence would be a distraction.
As well, at one point I thought another man was attempting to approach me in a threatening manner, only to have him change his mind and walk into the coffee shop in the mall. However, in retrospect, this was a part of the etiology of my panic attack.
Unconsciously, I may have had a flashback to the early morning attack on me on July 19, 2004. This flashback has plagued me since I was injured, though it only occurs during moments of stress. In this case, the stress resulted from the impression that I wasn't doing my work properly which occurred after talking with the mall guard regarding the camera monitoring my movements both outside and inside the mall.
During the panic attack, I also experienced brief flashes of paranoia i.e. seeing people in the mall and outside the venue that turned out to be shadows or my eyes playing tricks on me).
Also, moments of elation consisted of admiring the pretty blinking lights of the fake Christmas trees inside the mall and finding the unlit tree, which is the venue, and the way rain made everything outside beautiful by reflecting the traffic lights on pavement, and the neon sign of the restaurant reflecting on the wet concrete.
In addition, the cold wet rain exhilarated me, helping to clear away the fog in my head due to the combination of sleep and stress. Although sitting on the concrete steps in the mall allowed me to meditate to the point of clearing my mind, by cooling me down enough to clear my head, my subsequent circumnavigations of the venue stopped working, and my mind was getting foggier as the end of my shift grew near. Instead, the cold was not helping to clear my head.
I even tweeted thankfulness about Christmas tree lights with respect to workers who make the lights in China and the city in which I worked for putting up the Christmas lights. Heck, I was thankful for all Foxconn workers in China for making my Samsung smartphone!
Even the one and only time I sat in the chair that the guard provided me did not clear it. This meant that I was stressed by fatigue precipitated by walking outside in the cold for an hour.
However, after I arrived home after 8 AM, I went to bed and woke up refreshed after about 3.5 hours of sleep.
This afternoon went by with no problems, because I had picked up my work cheque and used part of it to buy a good Japanese meal that consisted of bakake miso soup, a rice bowl with hamburger and special sauce on top, and a small sake served hot.
Tonight I have to work at the same venue, but will have a partner with me. So I anticipate no repeat of the stress-induced panic attack I experienced early this morning at work.
20121122
Israel is Testing DIME Munitions on Hamas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dense_Inert_Metal_Explosive
The explosive used in DIME munitions is HMX & paraffin or RDX plastic explosive mixed with a high density alloy of tungsten, cobalt and nickel or tungsten, nickel and iron.
This makes DIME munitions kill less people immediately but kills the wounded due to carcinogenic nature of tungsten, tungsten oxide and cobalt.
The fine powder of tungsten alloy is less lethal than trinital (90% TNT and 10% aluminium powder), though there is no indication that titanium and magnesium powder is substituted, both of which burn in water (heavy rain actually makes burning metals pull oxygen out of the water and ignite the hydrogen).
However, the wounds within the kill zone consist of sliced off limbs and other serious medical injuries which lead to rapid loss of blood after concussion of blast has caused internal bleeding.
In contrast, outside the kill zone, wounds are of the sliced limbs type. This requires tying off the limb(s) above cut site to reduce bleeding.
However, removal of fine heavy inert metal particles is impossible. Even if the victim just had a flesh wound without amputations, the chance of cancer occurring is increased by the amount of particulates left in body.
If nanoparticles created by the explosion enters a wound, then it could enter blood vessels and be transported to the liver, leading to eventual metastasis in cancer i.e. the liver will help duplicate cancer cells and send them off instead of health stem cells converted into white blood cells, white blood cells converted to red blood cells by removed nucleus, and other tissue cells, including neurons.
To reduce this health hazard, a dense material that true is inert should be substituted e.g. rock dust of a dense type which is homogenous i.e. made of one type of crystalline structure i.e. jasper not granite. Another suggested substitute would be chemically treated ground glass e.g. gorilla glass, to increase density of the inorganic plastic.
This assumed that neither side will stop using DIME munitions.
As well, to save costs, Hamas could improvise cheaper bombs by filling empty space in warheads with finely ground silica sand.
Solution: petition the US to declare DIME munition a WMD.
The explosive used in DIME munitions is HMX & paraffin or RDX plastic explosive mixed with a high density alloy of tungsten, cobalt and nickel or tungsten, nickel and iron.
This makes DIME munitions kill less people immediately but kills the wounded due to carcinogenic nature of tungsten, tungsten oxide and cobalt.
The fine powder of tungsten alloy is less lethal than trinital (90% TNT and 10% aluminium powder), though there is no indication that titanium and magnesium powder is substituted, both of which burn in water (heavy rain actually makes burning metals pull oxygen out of the water and ignite the hydrogen).
However, the wounds within the kill zone consist of sliced off limbs and other serious medical injuries which lead to rapid loss of blood after concussion of blast has caused internal bleeding.
In contrast, outside the kill zone, wounds are of the sliced limbs type. This requires tying off the limb(s) above cut site to reduce bleeding.
However, removal of fine heavy inert metal particles is impossible. Even if the victim just had a flesh wound without amputations, the chance of cancer occurring is increased by the amount of particulates left in body.
If nanoparticles created by the explosion enters a wound, then it could enter blood vessels and be transported to the liver, leading to eventual metastasis in cancer i.e. the liver will help duplicate cancer cells and send them off instead of health stem cells converted into white blood cells, white blood cells converted to red blood cells by removed nucleus, and other tissue cells, including neurons.
To reduce this health hazard, a dense material that true is inert should be substituted e.g. rock dust of a dense type which is homogenous i.e. made of one type of crystalline structure i.e. jasper not granite. Another suggested substitute would be chemically treated ground glass e.g. gorilla glass, to increase density of the inorganic plastic.
This assumed that neither side will stop using DIME munitions.
As well, to save costs, Hamas could improvise cheaper bombs by filling empty space in warheads with finely ground silica sand.
Solution: petition the US to declare DIME munition a WMD.
Can you hear me now?
Phone Etiquette from the Point of View of That Annoying Person Talking Loud/Soft
When I have a cellphone at full volume at my left ear which has 1/8 the sensitivity of my right, the other 7/8 of the sound going to my left ear makes it to the right ear.
However, I am getting about 1/2 the information, which is just enough to understand someone who speaks at "normal" loud enough for everyone to hear so that they keep their distance) in public.
On the other hand, the reason for talking quietly on the phone is to ensure that EVERYONE listening pays closer attention to what you say on the phone.
YMMV
Male and Female Triad of Archetypes in My Dream
It's been about 5 days on my new cyclobenzaprine (10 gm) & gabapentin (100 mg) prescription.
I've noticed dreams during onset to stage 2 sleep. The content of the dreams isn't upsetting, though in the one which awoke me, the main theme I notice is three paired male-female archetypes. Another thing I've notice is that these dreams have started over the past two days when I have used 100 mg gabapentin rather than the usual 200 mg.
Most likely this is due to a combination of having had a full day of being outdoors.
Tuesday I spent time in Vancouver first at the library, then at English Bay and took a lot of pictures; then I went to UBC for the pizza & Pepsi for $3.50 & went home. Wednesday I spent time at UBC, used the free Internet, did some errands and then returned home.
The reason why I feel that the dreams are due to being out and about is because in the past, sometimes I have a dream that's so full of content that I wake up.
While I cannot prove if my dreams are the result of recent existential memories being transfered from short-term to long-term memory, the fact that I awoke tonight implies that I had a larger set of memories accumulated over two days to transfer.
My hypothesis is that dreams are the side effect of memory transfer from short-term to long-term memory. Everything in that dream is symbolic of that memory transfer even though the content of that dream may be off-topic and sometimes out of this world.
Tonight the characters in the dream were 3 females, one a young girl (virgin), the same age as my roommate (maiden), and possibly an elderly woman (crome). The young girl had been befriended by the maiden, but on asking the maiden if she had called the virgin's mother, the maiden got upset. At some point some kind of kitchen utensil is involved and there is a risk of harming the virgin. The maiden is getting angrier and angrier because I am questioning this polite thing to do. The "I" is the observer and I've forgotten the other two male archetypes. Another aspect of the dream is that it's the same place I am going to which is dreamland's analog of reality. Oh, I met the young girl's family, though have forgotten how many members in that family. Possibly it's three including the girl.
The virgin-maiden-crone archetype appears to be similar to the Freudian id-ego-superego, so I will refer to the male archetypes as id, ego, and superego.
The reason why I remember more about the female archetypes than the male has to do with my hypothesis that a person dreams about the opposite gender to help balance out the dominance of his or her own gender. I feel that the romantic notion of a sex dream is wishful thinking on the part of psychotherapists designed more to entertain than to an accurate description of a dream. YMMV
The female triad of archetypes is also myth-poetic, which appeals to me; the male triad of archetypes is not, which represents my current rejection of Freudian archetypes. Indeed, that is why I do not remember nor can I describe the other two males besides the observer. This is because I feel that one cannot separate the male triad of archetypes, for they are homogeneous elements i.e. id=ego=superego, mixed together as one. This implies that I = (id+ego+superego) in the past two dreams.
Even in the dream, the virgin and maiden were only present, I believe, because the maiden is actually the composite of maiden-crone. As a side note, my female roommate had a hysterectomy, and that might have been encoded into the dream as the composite female archetype.
I'm pretty sure this familiar place I return to in my dreams is the analog of the memory transfer going on. This implies that each building I have seen in my dreams, and the different places are actually places where I store memory. This even includes the cars, the river, and the people. It would take a dream dictionary to discover what emotions are being stored with the experiences I have had over the past 60 hours.
I also believe that dreams are entertainment to help relieve the boredom of sleep.
Anyway, I"m going to take another gabapentin, and see if I have another dream...
I've noticed dreams during onset to stage 2 sleep. The content of the dreams isn't upsetting, though in the one which awoke me, the main theme I notice is three paired male-female archetypes. Another thing I've notice is that these dreams have started over the past two days when I have used 100 mg gabapentin rather than the usual 200 mg.
Most likely this is due to a combination of having had a full day of being outdoors.
Tuesday I spent time in Vancouver first at the library, then at English Bay and took a lot of pictures; then I went to UBC for the pizza & Pepsi for $3.50 & went home. Wednesday I spent time at UBC, used the free Internet, did some errands and then returned home.
The reason why I feel that the dreams are due to being out and about is because in the past, sometimes I have a dream that's so full of content that I wake up.
While I cannot prove if my dreams are the result of recent existential memories being transfered from short-term to long-term memory, the fact that I awoke tonight implies that I had a larger set of memories accumulated over two days to transfer.
My hypothesis is that dreams are the side effect of memory transfer from short-term to long-term memory. Everything in that dream is symbolic of that memory transfer even though the content of that dream may be off-topic and sometimes out of this world.
Tonight the characters in the dream were 3 females, one a young girl (virgin), the same age as my roommate (maiden), and possibly an elderly woman (crome). The young girl had been befriended by the maiden, but on asking the maiden if she had called the virgin's mother, the maiden got upset. At some point some kind of kitchen utensil is involved and there is a risk of harming the virgin. The maiden is getting angrier and angrier because I am questioning this polite thing to do. The "I" is the observer and I've forgotten the other two male archetypes. Another aspect of the dream is that it's the same place I am going to which is dreamland's analog of reality. Oh, I met the young girl's family, though have forgotten how many members in that family. Possibly it's three including the girl.
The virgin-maiden-crone archetype appears to be similar to the Freudian id-ego-superego, so I will refer to the male archetypes as id, ego, and superego.
The reason why I remember more about the female archetypes than the male has to do with my hypothesis that a person dreams about the opposite gender to help balance out the dominance of his or her own gender. I feel that the romantic notion of a sex dream is wishful thinking on the part of psychotherapists designed more to entertain than to an accurate description of a dream. YMMV
The female triad of archetypes is also myth-poetic, which appeals to me; the male triad of archetypes is not, which represents my current rejection of Freudian archetypes. Indeed, that is why I do not remember nor can I describe the other two males besides the observer. This is because I feel that one cannot separate the male triad of archetypes, for they are homogeneous elements i.e. id=ego=superego, mixed together as one. This implies that I = (id+ego+superego) in the past two dreams.
Even in the dream, the virgin and maiden were only present, I believe, because the maiden is actually the composite of maiden-crone. As a side note, my female roommate had a hysterectomy, and that might have been encoded into the dream as the composite female archetype.
I'm pretty sure this familiar place I return to in my dreams is the analog of the memory transfer going on. This implies that each building I have seen in my dreams, and the different places are actually places where I store memory. This even includes the cars, the river, and the people. It would take a dream dictionary to discover what emotions are being stored with the experiences I have had over the past 60 hours.
I also believe that dreams are entertainment to help relieve the boredom of sleep.
Anyway, I"m going to take another gabapentin, and see if I have another dream...
20121119
SPOILERS! Dr Who Series 7 Episode- Asylum oft he Daleks
SPOILERS: please move on if you have yet to see any of Series 7 of Dr Who.
We now blank the screen until the people who haven't seen Dr Who have moved on!
Oh wait! Sorry, this is about the Daleks.
Dr Who makes it to Hong KOng, and Youtube gets the bootlegs.
Only a couple weeks ago I could only get a audio copy as a torrent. So anyway Series 7 Episode 1 is about the Asylum of the Daleks.
Because of a security breach, the council of Daleks want Dr Who and the Ponds to help save them. If all the Daleks who were defeated by the Doctor the universe could be threatened.
I sort of love the Daleks. They hate the Doctor's compassion, his unwillingness to let a Dalek express the beauty of hate, which the Doctor finds disgusting.
Reviewing my memories of the old Daleks and the new, I'm trying to remember what country they remind me of... the soviet union? Communist China? Asian crime gangs? Drug addicts in cold turkey? People on the dole queued up?
Then I looked in the mirror, and felt sad.
The Daleks represent our negative emotions and those rare moments when we enjoy them so very much.
Then we apologize, or worse, spent time in jail.
Then maybe, our peers just might forgive us...
Well, usually they don't and become like Daleks just because we exposed their hate to the world.
Anyway, this isn't always the case. "To err is human; to forgive, divine."
I dunno why people don't like being divine; I guess they're just too human to be kind and nice and loving.
A wise man once said before the mob crushed him, "Forgive them for they know not what they do..."
In a real stretch to left field, the Doctor is a bit like that wise man who is so lonely, he needs a human companion to share his travels with.
Recently Series six we had the Ponds, and in three more episodes, they'll meet the Weeping Angels and the crack in Emily's wall will be fixed forever.
Until then, we have dinosaurs on a spaceship... and a couple more, including Rory's Dad on an adveture with the Doctor.
Until I see them, I'm gonna give it rest.
For I don't need eggs, eggs, ex, exterminate!!!
We now blank the screen until the people who haven't seen Dr Who have moved on!
Oh wait! Sorry, this is about the Daleks.
Dr Who makes it to Hong KOng, and Youtube gets the bootlegs.
Only a couple weeks ago I could only get a audio copy as a torrent. So anyway Series 7 Episode 1 is about the Asylum of the Daleks.
Because of a security breach, the council of Daleks want Dr Who and the Ponds to help save them. If all the Daleks who were defeated by the Doctor the universe could be threatened.
I sort of love the Daleks. They hate the Doctor's compassion, his unwillingness to let a Dalek express the beauty of hate, which the Doctor finds disgusting.
Reviewing my memories of the old Daleks and the new, I'm trying to remember what country they remind me of... the soviet union? Communist China? Asian crime gangs? Drug addicts in cold turkey? People on the dole queued up?
Then I looked in the mirror, and felt sad.
The Daleks represent our negative emotions and those rare moments when we enjoy them so very much.
Then we apologize, or worse, spent time in jail.
Then maybe, our peers just might forgive us...
Well, usually they don't and become like Daleks just because we exposed their hate to the world.
Anyway, this isn't always the case. "To err is human; to forgive, divine."
I dunno why people don't like being divine; I guess they're just too human to be kind and nice and loving.
A wise man once said before the mob crushed him, "Forgive them for they know not what they do..."
In a real stretch to left field, the Doctor is a bit like that wise man who is so lonely, he needs a human companion to share his travels with.
Recently Series six we had the Ponds, and in three more episodes, they'll meet the Weeping Angels and the crack in Emily's wall will be fixed forever.
Until then, we have dinosaurs on a spaceship... and a couple more, including Rory's Dad on an adveture with the Doctor.
Until I see them, I'm gonna give it rest.
For I don't need eggs, eggs, ex, exterminate!!!
Philosopher / To Philosophize (poem)
Philosopher, c'est apprendre à mourir
Vivez comme si vous n'avez jamais à mourir
et ne connais personne, vivre de manière
et faire l'amour avant de mourir
vous ne mourrez seul et inconnu.
To philosophize is to learn to die
Live as if you never have to die
and not know anyone, so live
and make love before you die
lest you die alone and unknown.
Vivez comme si vous n'avez jamais à mourir
et ne connais personne, vivre de manière
et faire l'amour avant de mourir
vous ne mourrez seul et inconnu.
To philosophize is to learn to die
Live as if you never have to die
and not know anyone, so live
and make love before you die
lest you die alone and unknown.
9-11 Was Never the Reason for "war on terrorism"
Afghanistan wasn't invaded because of 9-11. It was invaded to get Osama bin Laden for terrorist plots in America predating 9-11.
After initial denial on Sept 16, 2001, Osama waited 3 years before claiming responsibility for 9-11, on Oct. 18, 2004. This date is important because it was over 6 months since Lt. General Petraeus had pulled out of Iraq, leaving behind a Stryker force and a small command centre at Mosul. By then Iraq was in the middle of a civil war that Petraeus couldn't stop when he left in February 2004.
Why? Because the rebels loyal to Saddam Hussein were defending their homeland from an unprovoked invasion based on the rumor that Iraq had caches of WMD, none of which were ever found.
This fabrication of WND was helped by one of Iraqi American Ahmed Chalabi's contacts in his Iraq National Congress (founded in 1992 as a front to funnel US money into Chalabi's hands). It is possible part of this money was used in the $32 million offer to bank customers bilked of money in the 1970s when Petra Bank in Jordan failed to pony up 1/3 of its money in the Central Bank and Chalabi fled the country with his clients' money.
Since 1998 INC collaborated with Judith Miller of NY Times to plant stories of WMD in Iraq. This propaganda helped to convince the UN to go to war in 2003, not 9-11.
Other journalists that helped Chalabi include American Enterprise Institute's Iraq specialist Danielle Pletka, whoi defended him; and the Irish scriptwriter and commentator Eoghan Harris, who coached him on presentation techniques i.e. how to act in front of a camera.
However when Lt. General Petraeus left Iraq in February 2004, Chalabi commented on the WMD controversy, "We are heroes in error. As far as we're concerned, we've been entirely successful. That tyrant Saddam is gone and the Americans are in Baghdad. What was said before is not important. The Bush administration is looking for a scapegoat."
I guess executing Hussein wasn't enough for the Americans, so they went after a fraudster who's friends with DC, a Shi'ite Muslim who had a few papers on advanced algebra as graduating as a mathematician and a loyal Iraqi-American.
YES, 9-11 HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE IRAQ WAR or the AFGHANISTAN WAR!
Afghanistan was invaded to get Osama bin Laden, and to eliminate Qaeda militants.
Iraq was invaded to get its oil.
After initial denial on Sept 16, 2001, Osama waited 3 years before claiming responsibility for 9-11, on Oct. 18, 2004. This date is important because it was over 6 months since Lt. General Petraeus had pulled out of Iraq, leaving behind a Stryker force and a small command centre at Mosul. By then Iraq was in the middle of a civil war that Petraeus couldn't stop when he left in February 2004.
Why? Because the rebels loyal to Saddam Hussein were defending their homeland from an unprovoked invasion based on the rumor that Iraq had caches of WMD, none of which were ever found.
This fabrication of WND was helped by one of Iraqi American Ahmed Chalabi's contacts in his Iraq National Congress (founded in 1992 as a front to funnel US money into Chalabi's hands). It is possible part of this money was used in the $32 million offer to bank customers bilked of money in the 1970s when Petra Bank in Jordan failed to pony up 1/3 of its money in the Central Bank and Chalabi fled the country with his clients' money.
Since 1998 INC collaborated with Judith Miller of NY Times to plant stories of WMD in Iraq. This propaganda helped to convince the UN to go to war in 2003, not 9-11.
Other journalists that helped Chalabi include American Enterprise Institute's Iraq specialist Danielle Pletka, whoi defended him; and the Irish scriptwriter and commentator Eoghan Harris, who coached him on presentation techniques i.e. how to act in front of a camera.
However when Lt. General Petraeus left Iraq in February 2004, Chalabi commented on the WMD controversy, "We are heroes in error. As far as we're concerned, we've been entirely successful. That tyrant Saddam is gone and the Americans are in Baghdad. What was said before is not important. The Bush administration is looking for a scapegoat."
I guess executing Hussein wasn't enough for the Americans, so they went after a fraudster who's friends with DC, a Shi'ite Muslim who had a few papers on advanced algebra as graduating as a mathematician and a loyal Iraqi-American.
YES, 9-11 HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE IRAQ WAR or the AFGHANISTAN WAR!
Afghanistan was invaded to get Osama bin Laden, and to eliminate Qaeda militants.
Iraq was invaded to get its oil.
20121117
Zen is not all Zazen
Buddhist extremists are often overlooked when they pop out of the woodwork.
A Buddhist becomes an extremist when she believes her practice of zazen to be superior to reading the sutras.
If such a student of Zen feels that way, then I will point out that the founder of Ch'an was not illiterate and did study the sutras.
When zen says one must do away with the sutras, the meaning is not do not be literate; it means, do not rely on quotes from sutras to awaken you spiritually.
Hence the reason why zazen is important over mere book learning.
If Zen promoted zazen in favor over reading the sutras and meditating on their ability to achieve satori, then it may be that Zen also does not promote magical thinking.
For one magical thinking concerns the delusion of sutra as granting one a short cut to Nirvana.
In Zen there is no such short cut; you will have to sit on your ass for a long time before that would work.
This post was written from the viewpoint of a Pure Land practitioner. If any of the Zen practitioners would like to critique this post, then feel free too.
For I anticipate the dialog to be interesting.
A Buddhist becomes an extremist when she believes her practice of zazen to be superior to reading the sutras.
If such a student of Zen feels that way, then I will point out that the founder of Ch'an was not illiterate and did study the sutras.
When zen says one must do away with the sutras, the meaning is not do not be literate; it means, do not rely on quotes from sutras to awaken you spiritually.
Hence the reason why zazen is important over mere book learning.
If Zen promoted zazen in favor over reading the sutras and meditating on their ability to achieve satori, then it may be that Zen also does not promote magical thinking.
For one magical thinking concerns the delusion of sutra as granting one a short cut to Nirvana.
In Zen there is no such short cut; you will have to sit on your ass for a long time before that would work.
This post was written from the viewpoint of a Pure Land practitioner. If any of the Zen practitioners would like to critique this post, then feel free too.
For I anticipate the dialog to be interesting.
Personality Disorder Quiz Devalues DSM
| Personality Disorder Test Results
|
Personality Test by SimilarMinds.com
20121116
How Mass Media Failed to Sell the Tea Party
Once you get deeply into the inner workings of science, the mainstream world's concept of science is mere superstition. There is no magical thinking involved in science.
Hence, the placebo effect has a limited lifespan depending on the patient's belief that the drug works and her faith in the drug's ability to relieve her symptoms.
Another example is quantum physic's Theory of Everything.
This theory unifies gravity, strong interaction, weak interaction and electromagnetism.
While scientists are able to observe the effects of gravity, sub-atomic forces such as strong and weak interaction, and electromagnetism, their causes are subject to debate.
In the real world, superstition occurs when it is assumed that gravity on a distant planet will have the rate of acceleration that it does on Earth.
Another form of superstition occurs when the study into Higgs Boson led to unfounded fears about "the end of the world" scenario when the worst that happened was a scientist left a connection unplugged, leading to the mistaken impression that neutrinos could travel faster than the speed of light.
With regard to electromagnetism, one kind of superstition concerns a perpetual energy machine made of magnets.
Another kind of superstition occurs when the truth about the Tea Party is dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Its sympathetic supporters have been from the mass media, the Republican Party, and the business community. Yet the Tea Party is not a grassroots mass movement, nor are regular meetings of the Party being held.
Rather, the Tea Party is an invention of the radical Right designed to compete with the social activist mass movement, and is facilitated by mass media.
Rather than empowering the people, mass media appears to be empowering the Tea Party. Its popularity is measured in web hits bolstered by political marketing of the Tea Party brand on CNN after Fox News broke their story.
One example of political marketing occurred during the September 12 Tea Party debate on CNN when Republican candidates who had taken up the Tea Party mantle took issue with Texas Governor Rick Perry's controversial executive order in 2007 regarding human papillomavirus (HPV), a common STD which causes cervical cancer.
However, Perry said he had made a mistake by pushing through his executive order, and would have done it differently.
Perry's presence rankled the other candidates with Michelle Bachmann accusing the Texas governor of profiting from the vaccination program by receiving $5000 in political donations from the drug company, Merck.
Mitt Romney used the analogy of a poker player to describe Perry, to which Perry retorted, "You were doing pretty good until you got to talking poker."
However, the issue that annoyed Romney concerned Perry originally labeling Social Security "a Ponzi scheme", which led to the Texas governor asking for Social Security reform while dropping the label in a later editorial in US Today.
Romney defended Social Security strongly, stating "under no circumstances would I ever say by any measure it's a failure. It is working for millions of Americans, and I'll keep it working for millions of Americans."
CNN's intent in air the Tea Party debate was to give the other Republican presidential candidates a chance to show that it wasn't a two-person race between Romney and Perry.
In this debate, the Tea Party candidates discussed job, Social Security and Medicare, and HPV but panned President Obama regarding the $800 billion stimulus package which was supposed to create jobs.
In contrast, jobs had increased in response to the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Governor Perry's executive act gave parents the option to not let their daughter take the HPV vaccine.
Historically Social Security and Medicare tax rates had been the same since 1990.
In 2013, Social Security tax rates will rise by 2%. Also included are other changes to income tax which are too complicated to describe here.
As for jobs, during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) back on September 7, 2012, former President Clinton credited Republican presidents with creating 24 million jobs during their 28 years in office versus Democratic presidents creating 42 million jobs in their 24 years in office.
Thus, much of the rhetoric of the Tea Party presidential candidates does not fit the reality, and CNN presented the kind of political marketing that predominantly appeals to the emotions rather than a delicate balance of emotions and reason.
Consistently, the candidates presented disinformation throughout their debate while demonstrating showmanship which was not backed up with any rational content to support their emotional appeal.
Throughout it all, the Tea Party candidates tried to create the myth that Obama's second term in office would be worse than his first, which in their minds, resulted in no jobs for Americans with the prospect of higher taxes looming in 2013.
If any of the Tea Party people believe this myth, then the mass media had much to do with it. For it is myth that the Tea Party is a mass movement. Instead, the Tea Party is a political marketing ploy funded by supporters in the business community, mass media and the Republican Party. Through the use of censorship, manufactured dissent, and the radical Right, mass media tried hard to sell the Tea Party brand to save America but failed.
This is why Obama won: his market appeal increased precisely because not only did he appeal to emotions but also his rhetoric stood to reason.
Reference:
Wikipedia: Superstition and Psychology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition#Superstition_and_psychology
Wikipedia: Tea Party movement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement
Counterpunch: Anthony Dimaggio and the rise of the Tea Party
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/28/the-rise-of-the-tea-party/
Hence, the placebo effect has a limited lifespan depending on the patient's belief that the drug works and her faith in the drug's ability to relieve her symptoms.
Another example is quantum physic's Theory of Everything.
This theory unifies gravity, strong interaction, weak interaction and electromagnetism.
While scientists are able to observe the effects of gravity, sub-atomic forces such as strong and weak interaction, and electromagnetism, their causes are subject to debate.
In the real world, superstition occurs when it is assumed that gravity on a distant planet will have the rate of acceleration that it does on Earth.
Another form of superstition occurs when the study into Higgs Boson led to unfounded fears about "the end of the world" scenario when the worst that happened was a scientist left a connection unplugged, leading to the mistaken impression that neutrinos could travel faster than the speed of light.
With regard to electromagnetism, one kind of superstition concerns a perpetual energy machine made of magnets.
Another kind of superstition occurs when the truth about the Tea Party is dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Its sympathetic supporters have been from the mass media, the Republican Party, and the business community. Yet the Tea Party is not a grassroots mass movement, nor are regular meetings of the Party being held.
Rather, the Tea Party is an invention of the radical Right designed to compete with the social activist mass movement, and is facilitated by mass media.
Rather than empowering the people, mass media appears to be empowering the Tea Party. Its popularity is measured in web hits bolstered by political marketing of the Tea Party brand on CNN after Fox News broke their story.
One example of political marketing occurred during the September 12 Tea Party debate on CNN when Republican candidates who had taken up the Tea Party mantle took issue with Texas Governor Rick Perry's controversial executive order in 2007 regarding human papillomavirus (HPV), a common STD which causes cervical cancer.
However, Perry said he had made a mistake by pushing through his executive order, and would have done it differently.
Perry's presence rankled the other candidates with Michelle Bachmann accusing the Texas governor of profiting from the vaccination program by receiving $5000 in political donations from the drug company, Merck.
Mitt Romney used the analogy of a poker player to describe Perry, to which Perry retorted, "You were doing pretty good until you got to talking poker."
However, the issue that annoyed Romney concerned Perry originally labeling Social Security "a Ponzi scheme", which led to the Texas governor asking for Social Security reform while dropping the label in a later editorial in US Today.
Romney defended Social Security strongly, stating "under no circumstances would I ever say by any measure it's a failure. It is working for millions of Americans, and I'll keep it working for millions of Americans."
CNN's intent in air the Tea Party debate was to give the other Republican presidential candidates a chance to show that it wasn't a two-person race between Romney and Perry.
In this debate, the Tea Party candidates discussed job, Social Security and Medicare, and HPV but panned President Obama regarding the $800 billion stimulus package which was supposed to create jobs.
In contrast, jobs had increased in response to the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Governor Perry's executive act gave parents the option to not let their daughter take the HPV vaccine.
Historically Social Security and Medicare tax rates had been the same since 1990.
In 2013, Social Security tax rates will rise by 2%. Also included are other changes to income tax which are too complicated to describe here.
As for jobs, during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) back on September 7, 2012, former President Clinton credited Republican presidents with creating 24 million jobs during their 28 years in office versus Democratic presidents creating 42 million jobs in their 24 years in office.
Thus, much of the rhetoric of the Tea Party presidential candidates does not fit the reality, and CNN presented the kind of political marketing that predominantly appeals to the emotions rather than a delicate balance of emotions and reason.
Consistently, the candidates presented disinformation throughout their debate while demonstrating showmanship which was not backed up with any rational content to support their emotional appeal.
Throughout it all, the Tea Party candidates tried to create the myth that Obama's second term in office would be worse than his first, which in their minds, resulted in no jobs for Americans with the prospect of higher taxes looming in 2013.
If any of the Tea Party people believe this myth, then the mass media had much to do with it. For it is myth that the Tea Party is a mass movement. Instead, the Tea Party is a political marketing ploy funded by supporters in the business community, mass media and the Republican Party. Through the use of censorship, manufactured dissent, and the radical Right, mass media tried hard to sell the Tea Party brand to save America but failed.
This is why Obama won: his market appeal increased precisely because not only did he appeal to emotions but also his rhetoric stood to reason.
Reference:
Wikipedia: Superstition and Psychology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition#Superstition_and_psychology
Wikipedia: Tea Party movement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement
Counterpunch: Anthony Dimaggio and the rise of the Tea Party
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/28/the-rise-of-the-tea-party/
20121114
Brad Alan's I Wanna Rock For Christmas
Here is my Youtube friend, Brad Alan, and his Christmas song, "I wanna rock for Christmas."
Human Barbie Doll Teaching Job Exposed
Valeria Lukyonova, the Russian girl who is a Barbie Doll, is back in the news. According to the Daily Mail, she got a modelling contract with V Magazine.
As well, she is a teacher at the School of Out-of-Body Experience (OOBE) in the Ukraine.
Using Google I found the school run by Michael Raduga, a person who would evoke "tin-foil hat" insults from skeptics.
Think New Age. :p
One of the UFO people is skeptical of him too because he declared that OOBE is a mental state he calls "The Phase", and mistook that to mean their abductions are "all in their head".
However, their cognitive dissonance may have occurred because he debunked UFO abductions in Russia. UFO people take it personally since their abductions are more real than their daily lives. o_0
As far as I can tell, the OOBE people accept Raduga's explanation of OOBE up to a point. However, they hold onto preconceptions about OOBE which deny that it's "all in the brain."
All I will do to sum this all up is to debunk the assertion that there is only one reality, which we know as real life (RL).
As well, there is also an inner reality (the mind). Indeed, the mind is the sixth sense according to Buddhist thought.
Therefore, the UFO abductions are real to the people who experience them, and it would be impolite to call them "delusions" because of their strong denial and unwillingness to accept a psychological explanation for the phenomenon.
Furthermore, it is equally impolite to deny that the Phase described by Raduga works. If it works for 1 person in 5000, then it works.
After all, scientists have discovered that microtubules in human cells remain "alive" after death, and are purported to be the closest thing to the soul.
However, this too is a theory, and so is Raduga's Phase.
Valeria Lukyonova is however real.
20121113
Daily Maily as English Satire
The Daily Mail Online is English satire at its finest.
The current headline for Nov. 13 2012 is proof of this.
"The Immoral Tax Avoider" — what kind of rubbish is this headline but the reporter being high and mighty???
It's no wonder I cannot read any article in the Mail Online without either thinking of the legacy of the British Empire and its effect on Third-world nation the UK later abandoned, or just laughing off the effect of revulsion for WASP society. >:)
For nobody really cares if tax avoiders are immoral. Us common folk are more concerned about dole supplements and public health commitments to keep us from dying from injuries sustained whilst working for corporations who may be run by tax avoiders who think common folk should be enslaved to make profits without sharing their wealth with the masses who helped them be that rich.
You know what's really immoral? A society that condones bullying amongst children and is ignorant of the fact that for every kid that is non-violent and socialized, there is a lot which is privileged to use violence to maintain the pecking order.
For the high and might rhetoric is all that is wrong with certain WASP societies like the one the Daily Mail is promoting these days! o_0
Tax avoiders immoral? Bully for them! >:)
The current headline for Nov. 13 2012 is proof of this.
"The Immoral Tax Avoider" — what kind of rubbish is this headline but the reporter being high and mighty???
It's no wonder I cannot read any article in the Mail Online without either thinking of the legacy of the British Empire and its effect on Third-world nation the UK later abandoned, or just laughing off the effect of revulsion for WASP society. >:)
For nobody really cares if tax avoiders are immoral. Us common folk are more concerned about dole supplements and public health commitments to keep us from dying from injuries sustained whilst working for corporations who may be run by tax avoiders who think common folk should be enslaved to make profits without sharing their wealth with the masses who helped them be that rich.
You know what's really immoral? A society that condones bullying amongst children and is ignorant of the fact that for every kid that is non-violent and socialized, there is a lot which is privileged to use violence to maintain the pecking order.
For the high and might rhetoric is all that is wrong with certain WASP societies like the one the Daily Mail is promoting these days! o_0
Tax avoiders immoral? Bully for them! >:)
Depression As Disease Manufactures Mental Health Consumers
Social isolation leads to the feeling of being left out of most of what happened to almost every one of my peers.
The only people who know what I was going through are close friends.
All that society sees is a socially inept man who is Asian. Then they make unconscious assumptions about cultural differences which influences their biases favouring the West.
This is highly inappropriate to my recovery from depression.
A more holistic pro-active choice would be to publicly object to the current manufacturing of "depression as a disease."
This isn't a disease: this is the result of all actors' participation in isolating depressed people from mainstream society until the depressed think that anxiety and resultant phobia are normal when they are not.
Normality demands so much of a person that most anxious people who later develop depression is stressed to the point of devloping neuroticisms.
Society's current "all or nothing" approach, complete with one-sidedness, only promotes the "depression as disease" to compliant mental health consumers.
It is this rampant consumerism which aids in manufacturing depression according to the mental health catalog DSM.
What a bag of coals the gift of diagnosis is!
The only people who know what I was going through are close friends.
All that society sees is a socially inept man who is Asian. Then they make unconscious assumptions about cultural differences which influences their biases favouring the West.
This is highly inappropriate to my recovery from depression.
A more holistic pro-active choice would be to publicly object to the current manufacturing of "depression as a disease."
This isn't a disease: this is the result of all actors' participation in isolating depressed people from mainstream society until the depressed think that anxiety and resultant phobia are normal when they are not.
Normality demands so much of a person that most anxious people who later develop depression is stressed to the point of devloping neuroticisms.
Society's current "all or nothing" approach, complete with one-sidedness, only promotes the "depression as disease" to compliant mental health consumers.
It is this rampant consumerism which aids in manufacturing depression according to the mental health catalog DSM.
What a bag of coals the gift of diagnosis is!
Amanda Todd Singing "Outside Looking In"
RIP Amanda Todd
RIP Amanda Todd
Suicide took away this talented girl's life. Yet the tributes in her memory will continue.
One day, the people who wished her dead will realize that their own death wish externalized led to her death.
Yes, that's right: a child's internal death wish is so terrifying that rather than admitting to having such a feeling, it seems safer to tell a person they do not like much that they wish another person dead.
This may be due to jealousy or horror over discovering the person they are bullying is doing something they disapprove of.
If Amanda Todd was sexually active, then it began with being dared by the stalker to flash her boobs at 12. Such sexual interference could lead to pressure to have sex with boys who may have received email from the stalker about her earlier exposure.
So, let's return to jealousy here. Perhaps the girls who bullied her were jealous of her early sexual experience because they would never dare do such a thing.
Thus, the pure and virginal may have called her crude name and other insults to compensate for their sexual innocence.
This indicates to me that good girls are able to be as rotten as the object of their derision. In even calling her names that they are innocent of being, they still stooped to her level.
Therefore as a society, with sex selling cars and the escapades of celebrities stars on TV, and movies exposing children to fictionalized violence, we adults have failed them.
Think of the names you want to call Paula Broadwell, the ex-lover of the former director of the CIA David Petraeus. For those of us who remember former President Bill Clinton, what did we think of Monica Lewinski?
We have many names for women of ill repute, and I'm not going to indulge in ad hominem insults which are sexist and hate-filled, and which cause other people to speak evil of such women. For that too would be stooping to the level of the person you are insulting.
Though I find it ironic that we cannot come up with many names to call men whose sex life began before they graduated from high school.
Indeed, by calling a person names, the people who hurl such insults are turning that person into someone less human than they are. Once that has happened, then it becomes easy to assault them.
As well, it becomes easier for boys to take advantage of her, because lacking friends, she'll sleep with any boy who asks to raise her low self esteem high enough to feel loved.
So this train of thought I have validates my earlier contention that the boy she slept with, which led to her being beat up by her best friend,most likely used the email sent by her stalker to pressure her to have sex with him.
Society failed Amanda and girls like her. Some of them grow up, older than their age, to be preyed upon by men and reviled by women. Remember this the next time you see someone bullied. Remember this too when you see a prostitute.
Yet I am sure a few members of society will deny what I have stated, perhaps forgetting how a girl in their class turned out "bad".
When good people act to put bad people in their place, I say good people have failed to act to reform those people.
For all people are people but the people who are better than others, and rub it in the faces of people they think beneath them, do so because they will get away with it. As for the people beneath them, the resultant loss of self esteem may turn them wayward.
However, I feel that it is the obligation of good people to aid the people they once thought were beneath them, to prevent them from enduring a life of hardship.
If anyone has no time for such an action, then it is true that once again, another girl dies because of our inhumanity.
I am reminded of a phrase: "Evil is when good people fail to act".
In the case of Amanda Todd and girls like her, even the chaste ones, her peers failed to act to prevent her demise. Each and every one of them are culpable, and more so culpable when they tell their next victim to die like Amanda Todd.
As for the alpha females, the reason why you hang with boys is you can outdrink them and they are too afraid to pressure you for sex because they fear your parents!
Anyways, I am all out of words to express my feelings on this topic.
20121112
7-11 Speak Out Works On Rogers Phones
Speakout.ca
Today I decided to get a 7-11 Speakout SIM card. Since I have an extra Rogers cellphone lying about, and know that Rogers phones work with the Speakout SIM without unlocking, I decided to register the card with Speakout.
This only took 20 minutes to do and check out the phone settings after registration.
The phone can receive text messages, but unfortunately I could not afford to get a voucher to top up minutes on the phone because the cheapest voucher is $25.
So that means I have my main Bell phone, my Virgin phone, my two Fido phones, and now a Speakout phone.
My two extra phones (Motorola W510 and LG Neon) are on Fido, which means they would need to be unlocked since a Rogers SIM wouldn't work in either phone.
Fido phones are locked because they use the Microcell network, which is owned by Rogers but were originally owned by Microcell when Fido first started out in
The Unofficial Speakout website is at http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/
Howard's Forum has a 7-11 Speakout webpage at http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1432496-7-Eleven-SpeakOut-Wireless-Canada-Useful-Info
20121111
Top 10 Peaceful Nations for 2012
The Top Ten peaceful nations for 2012 are:
- Iceland
- Denmark
- New Zealand
- Canada
- Japan
- Austria
- Ireland
- Slovenia
- Finland
- Switzerland
Reference: Background on Global Peace Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index
20121110
Sex Sells! A Commentary on the Use of Women in Consumer Marketing
Here is a propaganda piece in Spanish. The youtube comment that rankles me is this one:
"Why do you think women have breasts? Why do you think they flash them all the time. It's advertisement."
No, actually in certain circles of post-modern descendants of Roman culture it's expected of women to dress like this. You will see this in Portugal, Spain, Italia, Romanian and even Greece with culturally distinct flavors of it across Europe and the Americas, especially in the US, Latin America, Central America, and South America.
A careful search of Youtube for TV broadcasts in the US, Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, Guatamala, Panama, Brasil, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and other Latin American countries tends to confirm this.
It is actually a form of propaganda called marketing that attracts men more effectively to television based on their focus on women who dress in such a manner.
Since the objective of media outlets is to generate revenue from advertising,which is the most popular form of marketing today helping corporations to manufacture consumers from willing viewers of radio and television.
For advertising is consumer marketing, and subtle forms of the motto, "Sex Sells" are proven daily.
All you need is one picture.
In the case of the woman I chose to focus on, Natalia Domestico is a reporter for Noticias En Vivo, a Spanish language TV news for KRCA in Los Angeles, California.
KRCA is owned by Liberman Broadcasting, a media company operating out of Burbank, California. It caters mainly to the Spanish-speaking community of greater LA and Houston but is affiliated with Vida TV, which targets the Spanish-speaking immigrant community, HTTV and STV which targets the Mandarin-speaking Chinese community.
Since the 1990s and early 2000s, Liberman Broadcasting has expanded into Dallas and San Diego.
However, this is but a Latino macrocosm that extends into the countries mentioned above. I have also included Italy, Greece and Romania to acknowledge the post-modern descendants of the ancient Roman culture which enriched the language and traditions of these nations and the Romantic Language macrocosm.
20121107
A Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free) Feat. Cristina Scabbia - Music Video by Megadeth
Before I comment on this song, I wish to make the following disclaimer: I do not endorse suicide and thus am not responsible for any life-threatening choices made by anyone who reads this post.
According to Dave Mustaine, this song is actually Megadeath's contribution to people healing from the death of a loved one.
Even so, MTV still banned this song lest a suicidal person aspire to be set free.
IMHO Megadeath officially does not have respect for such suicides mainly because of the myths that suicidal people are cowards.
I have no doubt that such disrespect for suicide might inspire those people contemplating it to get pissed off and tragically end their lives.
Thus, suicide is the end result of rage at the hopelessness of their existence, which has been painted darkly both in the media and by misinformed people, including a few survivors.
Since I am of the opinion that the depression that precedes suicide is suppressed rage, suicide prevention requires informing and showing the depressed of the many alternatives which provide a fulfilling platform where they are heard, listened to, and consequently discreetly asked to rethink their final solution.
Indeed, suicide is one option which should only be taken IF AND ONLY IF it would promote a sympathetic pro-active movement to remedy the pain and thus prevent the possibility of copycats (humane euthanization).
My reaction to suicide is this: the fanciful wish that the ghosts of suicide victims haunt whoever the victim may claim is responsible for their demise.
If it is proven that the victim only has herself to blame, then the people responsible for saying so are irresponsible since each and every lack of sympathy by bystanders may have precipitated the crisis leading to suicide.
Such carelessness shown by a person's peers might result in a preventable tragedy.
However, the questions I will pose to potential suicide victims are: how can you throw your life away so easily? Why can't you save your life, which is so precious and beautiful? Can you see that whatever method you choose to end it all might not dignify your death?
FWIW, I feel that death by fentanyl which cancer victims choose is more dignified than a gun, jumping off a bridge or building, slit wrists, and hanging. This is because self-inflicted violence often is morally reprehensible to me i.e. each method desecrates the body and may cause unnecessary suffering.
However, death by drugs are also a desecration if the victim suffers. IMHO this is why death by a combination of opioids and another drug that amplifies the opioid's effect on breathing is cleaner than other methods. As well, government regulations make it difficult to obtain such drugs.
Returning to this song, Dave Mustaine appeared to disrespect Kimveer Gill in his response to the speculation by armchair journalists that the song inspired his mass school killing of one innocent victim and the wounding of 19 bystanders.
Yet I do not feel that Mustaine was disrespecting Gill as he was actually telling off the speculators.
By writing this article, my intent to show that the suicidal have suppressed their rage against the world so much that death is preferable to living in a world that consistently oppresses men for being gentle and good people like Kimveer Gill used to be before the three weeks of hell that he chose to live prior to his tragic end.
Ultimately, a suicide victim is often the victim of his short-sighted choices. Thus, suicide is the end result of self-victimization, made in isolation from the society that he chooses to condemn through his violent act of death by suicide.
Finally, let me against state clearly that I do not endorse suicide and thus am not responsible for any life-threatening choices made by anyone who reads this post.
References:
Original posted: November 7, 2012 1045H
Update edited : February 26, 2013 2114H
December 6th Should be a Canadian National Day of Awareness of Child and Domestic Abuse: http://gandhara.blogspot.com/2007/12/december-6th-should-be-canadian.html
Things I Learned From Seung-hui Cho: < href=http://gandhara.blogspot.com/2007/04/things-ive-learned-from-seung-cho.html>http://gandhara.blogspot.com/2007/04/things-ive-learned-from-seung-cho.html
I'm Glad I'm a Nobody: http://gandhara.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-am-glad-i-am-nobody.html
20121106
The Golden Ring of True Love (poem)
True love is compassion;
compassion is loving-kindness;
loving-kindness is love that is true;
and love that is true is true love...
Human love pales before such reason!
For such reason solves the question: What is true love?
It also explains why we humans rarely find the love that is true.
Few of us even understand that loving-kindness is the highest love.
Indeed, everywhere we seek true love, only to overlook compassion.
For compassion is true love;
true love is love that is true;
love that is true is loving-kindness;
and loving-kindness is compassion.
Indeed, compassion is true love!
For true love is the balm that heals a broken heart;
once healed, that heart is able to share the love that is true,
because loving-kindness is true love shared.
Even your mother knows this love that is true.
Her compassion brought you to her breast,
so that you could suckle the milk of human kindness,
For loving-kindness is love that is true;
love that is true is true love;
true love is compassion;
and compassion is loving-kindness.
Such kindness is this love that is true which soothes
the brow of the beast within that dies in our arms
so that the life of compassion reveals the heart of our humanity
which yearns longingly for what the romantics call true love!
For true love is love that is true;
love that is true is loving-kindness;
loving-kindness is compassion;
and compassion is true love!
compassion is loving-kindness;
loving-kindness is love that is true;
and love that is true is true love...
Human love pales before such reason!
For such reason solves the question: What is true love?
It also explains why we humans rarely find the love that is true.
Few of us even understand that loving-kindness is the highest love.
Indeed, everywhere we seek true love, only to overlook compassion.
For compassion is true love;
true love is love that is true;
love that is true is loving-kindness;
and loving-kindness is compassion.
Indeed, compassion is true love!
For true love is the balm that heals a broken heart;
once healed, that heart is able to share the love that is true,
because loving-kindness is true love shared.
Even your mother knows this love that is true.
Her compassion brought you to her breast,
so that you could suckle the milk of human kindness,
For loving-kindness is love that is true;
love that is true is true love;
true love is compassion;
and compassion is loving-kindness.
Such kindness is this love that is true which soothes
the brow of the beast within that dies in our arms
so that the life of compassion reveals the heart of our humanity
which yearns longingly for what the romantics call true love!
For true love is love that is true;
love that is true is loving-kindness;
loving-kindness is compassion;
and compassion is true love!
20121105
The Buddha Is not A God
It's like deja vu, because I remember writing a previous blog about this topic a few years ago. However, this present entry is based on a higher realization than the previous post was. When I'm done with this one, it's in my best interest to find the previous one, to reference a link to it.
Regarding Buddhism, the Buddha is not a god, yet Buddha-essence is like a gift given to everyone on birth. It takes the Buddha's story to awaken this essence, and every Buddhist who keeps his story a secret is turning the Buddha away. For everyone is free to become a buddha, yet few of them are ready. For they who are unready have yet to understand what the Buddha means to them.
For me, the Buddha means peaceful bliss and the aspiration to be of service to anyone seeking the calm awakening that meditation provides.
Indeed, meditation leads to Nirvana, for it is peace of mind and it is the "other shore" from samsara, this world of birth-life-death.
If this is a turn-off to atheists, then that's their karma for confusing Mahayana Buddhism with monotheism. IMHO Zen Buddhists are closet atheists.
Since Buddhism is the source of my pacifism, my opinions about other Buddhist streams like Zen are biases inculcated in my heart due to the sometimes patriarchal nature of the master-disciple relationship.
True Mahayana Buddhism encourages the equality of all, yet Zen is still stuck in a hierarchal structure that oppresses rather than frees its disciples.
Being free of book-learning, Zen does not promote ignorance as the wise Zen sages have read the sutras. Rather, the no-books faction in Zen imply that quoting the sutras does not make you a Buddhist. Right action then is when the earnest Buddhist practices what he has learned from the sutras in his life.
This then is the essence of Mahayana, for we are all disciples of the Buddhadharma.
Reference:
Amida Buddha is not a God: http://gandhara.blogspot.ca/2011/05/amida-buddha-not-god.html
Regarding Buddhism, the Buddha is not a god, yet Buddha-essence is like a gift given to everyone on birth. It takes the Buddha's story to awaken this essence, and every Buddhist who keeps his story a secret is turning the Buddha away. For everyone is free to become a buddha, yet few of them are ready. For they who are unready have yet to understand what the Buddha means to them.
For me, the Buddha means peaceful bliss and the aspiration to be of service to anyone seeking the calm awakening that meditation provides.
Indeed, meditation leads to Nirvana, for it is peace of mind and it is the "other shore" from samsara, this world of birth-life-death.
If this is a turn-off to atheists, then that's their karma for confusing Mahayana Buddhism with monotheism. IMHO Zen Buddhists are closet atheists.
Since Buddhism is the source of my pacifism, my opinions about other Buddhist streams like Zen are biases inculcated in my heart due to the sometimes patriarchal nature of the master-disciple relationship.
True Mahayana Buddhism encourages the equality of all, yet Zen is still stuck in a hierarchal structure that oppresses rather than frees its disciples.
Being free of book-learning, Zen does not promote ignorance as the wise Zen sages have read the sutras. Rather, the no-books faction in Zen imply that quoting the sutras does not make you a Buddhist. Right action then is when the earnest Buddhist practices what he has learned from the sutras in his life.
This then is the essence of Mahayana, for we are all disciples of the Buddhadharma.
Reference:
Amida Buddha is not a God: http://gandhara.blogspot.ca/2011/05/amida-buddha-not-god.html
Meditation on The Three Marks of Existence
"I", "me" , "my", "mine" - these are merely conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
"You", "you", "your", "yours" - these too are conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
"We," "us", "our", "ours" - these are conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
"They", "them", "their", "theirs," - these are conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
To fixate on "me" is the root of anger, for this body is not our possession. Indeed, it was merely given to us at birth, and death takes it away easily.
To fixate on "you" is the root of desire, for your body is not my possession. It was given to you at birth, and death shall take it away with ease.
To fixate on "us" is the root of ignorance, for our bodies are no one's possessions. We are given them at birth, and death shall remove us from them easily.
To fixate on "them" is the root of suffering, for their bodies ar no one's possessions. They are given to us at birth, and death shall take them away easily.
Knowing this, the wise one does not cling to her body, nor does she gaze in the mirror for vanity's sake. Instead, she completes the mind's own mirror and sees Ego for what it is: the false "I", subject to change and thus impermanent.
Only the fool denies the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering due to dissatisfaction, and non-self. For the wise know that the self is the mud house of the Ego. When this body is dust, where is the self?
In truth, all things are in flux. Nothing lasts forever. For life is truly unsatisfactory. When each of us lets go of the Ego, true freedom surely is within reach. Anything else, be it liberty or licence is merely the work of men.
Let peace be the result of this meditation. Let it enlighten the ignorant and affirm the work of the wise.
"You", "you", "your", "yours" - these too are conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
"We," "us", "our", "ours" - these are conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
"They", "them", "their", "theirs," - these are conventions, for when the body is dust, where are they?
To fixate on "me" is the root of anger, for this body is not our possession. Indeed, it was merely given to us at birth, and death takes it away easily.
To fixate on "you" is the root of desire, for your body is not my possession. It was given to you at birth, and death shall take it away with ease.
To fixate on "us" is the root of ignorance, for our bodies are no one's possessions. We are given them at birth, and death shall remove us from them easily.
To fixate on "them" is the root of suffering, for their bodies ar no one's possessions. They are given to us at birth, and death shall take them away easily.
Knowing this, the wise one does not cling to her body, nor does she gaze in the mirror for vanity's sake. Instead, she completes the mind's own mirror and sees Ego for what it is: the false "I", subject to change and thus impermanent.
Only the fool denies the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering due to dissatisfaction, and non-self. For the wise know that the self is the mud house of the Ego. When this body is dust, where is the self?
In truth, all things are in flux. Nothing lasts forever. For life is truly unsatisfactory. When each of us lets go of the Ego, true freedom surely is within reach. Anything else, be it liberty or licence is merely the work of men.
Let peace be the result of this meditation. Let it enlighten the ignorant and affirm the work of the wise.
20121103
Hysteria? Wrong Diagnosis! It's Anxiety Disorder!
Circa 1991 I was diagnosed with a personality disorder. This is based on the one interview with the nice Canadian-born English psychiatrist who tried to interest me in getting diagnosed for schizophrenia, too.
After Googling the diagnosis, I learned that Borderline Personality Disorder used to be called Hysteria & used to be diagnosed predominately in women.
11 years later, I seriously doubt the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Rather, I have an anxiety disorder which is predominant among Japanese. It is nurtured in the family. My elder brother, my younger sister and myself have a spectrum of anxiety disorders; both my mother has it and my father used to have anxiety about being in Zellers. Thankfully he passed away in 2007, so he no longer has it. :p
In my case, I find that adequate rest is the key to beating anxiety. Secondly, I use 200 mg at bedtime of gabapentin (Neurontin) to keep it at bay, and rely on 10 g at bedtime of cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) to sleep.
In addition, the gabapentin helps me achieve deep sleep so even if I get 6 hours of sleep, I feel adequately rested. Though, on the average, 9 hours of sleep is optimal for me. As a matter of fact, the medication has stopped the social anxiety I used to get 5 years ago.
If this is a placebo effect, then Flexeril is the perfect sugar pill for me.
After Googling the diagnosis, I learned that Borderline Personality Disorder used to be called Hysteria & used to be diagnosed predominately in women.
11 years later, I seriously doubt the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Rather, I have an anxiety disorder which is predominant among Japanese. It is nurtured in the family. My elder brother, my younger sister and myself have a spectrum of anxiety disorders; both my mother has it and my father used to have anxiety about being in Zellers. Thankfully he passed away in 2007, so he no longer has it. :p
In my case, I find that adequate rest is the key to beating anxiety. Secondly, I use 200 mg at bedtime of gabapentin (Neurontin) to keep it at bay, and rely on 10 g at bedtime of cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) to sleep.
In addition, the gabapentin helps me achieve deep sleep so even if I get 6 hours of sleep, I feel adequately rested. Though, on the average, 9 hours of sleep is optimal for me. As a matter of fact, the medication has stopped the social anxiety I used to get 5 years ago.
If this is a placebo effect, then Flexeril is the perfect sugar pill for me.
Pharaonic princess's 4,500-year-old tomb found near Cairo | CTV News
Pharaonic princess's 4,500-year-old tomb found near Cairo | CTV News
After reading this news report from CTV, I Google mapped Saqqarah, and discovered that Egypt is paranoid about satellite resolution less than 1000 metres.
However, the pharaoh's daughter's tomb is near four of the ruler's advisers.
As well the Czech archaeology team are convinced that there may be more tombs in the general area.
Hopefully, no tomb raiders stole the princess's sarcophagus.
After reading this news report from CTV, I Google mapped Saqqarah, and discovered that Egypt is paranoid about satellite resolution less than 1000 metres.
However, the pharaoh's daughter's tomb is near four of the ruler's advisers.
As well the Czech archaeology team are convinced that there may be more tombs in the general area.
Hopefully, no tomb raiders stole the princess's sarcophagus.
The Nembutsu is the Name-That-Calls
When I say the Nembutsu,
Amida is calling, not I.
For the Name-that-calls
is Amida calling to me.
Namu Amida Butsu.
When I say the Nembutsu,
it is as though the flames of hell
become rain from the heavens above
while I say Namu Amida Butsu.
Namu Amida Butsu.
When I say the Nembutsu,
The Name-that-calls calls for me
from the Pure Land of Bliss.
Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu
Amida is calling, not I.
For the Name-that-calls
is Amida calling to me.
Namu Amida Butsu.
When I say the Nembutsu,
it is as though the flames of hell
become rain from the heavens above
while I say Namu Amida Butsu.
Namu Amida Butsu.
When I say the Nembutsu,
The Name-that-calls calls for me
from the Pure Land of Bliss.
Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu
My Smile Reminds Me of The Face I Had Before I was Born
One day an aged Zen master met an old lady who was unlike most that he'd encountered.
While most old people were glum and gloomy, this lady was happy and lively. On her arm was basket filled with pretty flowers.
"Hello, Ma'am," he said. "How are you doing?"
"Hello, honoured master. I am fine."
"Why are you so bubbly and full of cheer?"
"Well, though I am old and grey, I know that soon when I am gone, I shall be reborn in the Pure Land and will meet Amida Buddha, all my deceased relatives, and perhaps even Saint Shinran, too."
"Ah, but where is this Amida Buddha?"
"Right here," replied the old woman, pointing to her heart with a smile on her face. Then she gave the Zen master a flower, and went merrily on her way.
To himself, the master exclaimed, "Now that woman knows the Pure Land intimately."
One Zen koan that is posed to a Zen practitioner is the question, "What is the face that you had before you were born?"
While "Mu" would be the stereotypical Zen answer, I feel that the smile of peaceful bliss, constitutes the Shin Buddhist's answer.
In the Pure Land of Bliss, Buddha-essence incarnates as a bodhisattva. That bodhisattva receives instructions from Amida to prepare for the wonderful journey in the human realm.
In the human realm, that bodhisattva is transformed into Buddha-essence which is incarnated in a human being as a karmic seed being nurtured by positive life events in preparation for the spiritual mission which all Buddhists undertake: to be of service to others.
Thus it is the prime objective of a Shin Buddhist to be reborn in the Pure Land so that the Buddha-essence incarnated within is reborn as a bodhisattva to prepare for future rebirth in the human realm. Furthermore, the aspiration of a Buddhist is to be reborn in a Buddhist family.
Is this the same as reincarnation? No, because the Buddha-essence is not a soul. It is but a karmic seed which is nurtured by the positive life experience of the person within whom it incarnates. Most of the life experience is spiritual in nature, and suitably ought to be Buddhist.
If the Buddha-essence is incarnated in a person born to a family who is not Buddhist, then the karmic seed lies dormant until that person hears of Amida Buddha and his 48 Vows, and aspires to become a Buddhist. Otherwise, that seed lies dormant.
If, after hearing those 48 Vows, a person aspires to be reborn in the Pure Land, then iss there anything that he does to prevent rebirth? Because his aspiration to be reborn in the Pure Land is activated on hearing Dharmakara's 48 Vows, it still requires sincere practice on his part to prepare for rebirth. Therefore, the Buddhist is still required to practice the Five Precepts (non-violence towards other sentient beings, refraining from theft, appropriate sensual conduct, speaking the truth, and refraining from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness).
However, reciting Nembutsu is supposed to generate spiritual merit and sow seeds of good karma to help undo failure to follow the Five Precepts, provided that the Buddhist practitioner follows the precepts.
Returning to the question "What is the face I had before I was born?", if the answer is "peaceful bliss", then the question then becomes, "What is the face of peaceful bliss?" The answer is, a smile.
To quickly achieve such bliss, the Buddhist practitioner is advised to practice the Name-that-calls (the Nembutsu) with utmost devotion and sincerity.
This makes it easier to visual the thirteen contemplations found in the Amitāyus Meditation Sūtra. However, not everyone is able to complete the contemplations without a visual guide.
Such a visual guide is found in the Taima Mandala.
Since the thirteen contemplations are not for the average layperson, usually the Nembutsu suffices, provided that the practitioner knows why: to hear Amida's call to be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss. This is why it is called the Name-That-Calls.
In Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, the Nembutsu is known as as Nianfo, and the practice of reciting the Nianfo is called Buddha Remembrance.
Since this Pure Land is the Buddha world of Amida Buddha, it is both a state of mind (peaceful bliss) and an afterlife (the Pure Land of Bliss). Knowing that I go there after my death relieves me of all anxiety about death. Being relieved of such anxiety, I still recite the Nembutsu to achieve the state of mind called "peaceful bliss".
For a mind bathed in the calm waters of such bliss is freed of anxiety about death. Being freed of such anxiety, I am able to realize that happiness is a journey, not a goal. Knowing happiness is a journey, the practitioner is free to enjoy life as it is.
What is life as it is? Well, for one thing, it surely is not life as it is supposed to be, which for most people is disappointing. If life is supposed to be easy, then people experiencing hardship would be disappointed. If life is supposed to be hard, then people should be relieved that it is sometimes easy. In any case, life as it is supposed to be is a life that is so unsatisfactory that a person may wish for a life more satisfactory. In the end, experiencing life as it is is satisfactory.
For life as it is is a life which is enjoyed, and the path to such a life is obtained by reciting the Nembutsu mindfully, with the aspiration of being born in the Pure Land.
Returning to the question, "What is the face I had before I was born?", I can only answer "peaceful bliss" and claim not to know what that face looks like. It is not the Nembutsu's purpose to know that.
Yet, on deeper examination of the question, it becomes possible to see the only similarity between my face and the face I had before I was born is a smile!
When I smile while reciting Nembutsu and when I smile while meditating, my mind is becalmed and peaceful bliss arises.
For the smile is the result of bliss.
So the more precise answer to the question "What is the face I had before I was born?" is to smile and hand the Zen master a flower.
While most old people were glum and gloomy, this lady was happy and lively. On her arm was basket filled with pretty flowers.
"Hello, Ma'am," he said. "How are you doing?"
"Hello, honoured master. I am fine."
"Why are you so bubbly and full of cheer?"
"Well, though I am old and grey, I know that soon when I am gone, I shall be reborn in the Pure Land and will meet Amida Buddha, all my deceased relatives, and perhaps even Saint Shinran, too."
"Ah, but where is this Amida Buddha?"
"Right here," replied the old woman, pointing to her heart with a smile on her face. Then she gave the Zen master a flower, and went merrily on her way.
To himself, the master exclaimed, "Now that woman knows the Pure Land intimately."
One Zen koan that is posed to a Zen practitioner is the question, "What is the face that you had before you were born?"
While "Mu" would be the stereotypical Zen answer, I feel that the smile of peaceful bliss, constitutes the Shin Buddhist's answer.
In the Pure Land of Bliss, Buddha-essence incarnates as a bodhisattva. That bodhisattva receives instructions from Amida to prepare for the wonderful journey in the human realm.
In the human realm, that bodhisattva is transformed into Buddha-essence which is incarnated in a human being as a karmic seed being nurtured by positive life events in preparation for the spiritual mission which all Buddhists undertake: to be of service to others.
Thus it is the prime objective of a Shin Buddhist to be reborn in the Pure Land so that the Buddha-essence incarnated within is reborn as a bodhisattva to prepare for future rebirth in the human realm. Furthermore, the aspiration of a Buddhist is to be reborn in a Buddhist family.
Is this the same as reincarnation? No, because the Buddha-essence is not a soul. It is but a karmic seed which is nurtured by the positive life experience of the person within whom it incarnates. Most of the life experience is spiritual in nature, and suitably ought to be Buddhist.
If the Buddha-essence is incarnated in a person born to a family who is not Buddhist, then the karmic seed lies dormant until that person hears of Amida Buddha and his 48 Vows, and aspires to become a Buddhist. Otherwise, that seed lies dormant.
If, after hearing those 48 Vows, a person aspires to be reborn in the Pure Land, then iss there anything that he does to prevent rebirth? Because his aspiration to be reborn in the Pure Land is activated on hearing Dharmakara's 48 Vows, it still requires sincere practice on his part to prepare for rebirth. Therefore, the Buddhist is still required to practice the Five Precepts (non-violence towards other sentient beings, refraining from theft, appropriate sensual conduct, speaking the truth, and refraining from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness).
However, reciting Nembutsu is supposed to generate spiritual merit and sow seeds of good karma to help undo failure to follow the Five Precepts, provided that the Buddhist practitioner follows the precepts.
Returning to the question "What is the face I had before I was born?", if the answer is "peaceful bliss", then the question then becomes, "What is the face of peaceful bliss?" The answer is, a smile.
To quickly achieve such bliss, the Buddhist practitioner is advised to practice the Name-that-calls (the Nembutsu) with utmost devotion and sincerity.
This makes it easier to visual the thirteen contemplations found in the Amitāyus Meditation Sūtra. However, not everyone is able to complete the contemplations without a visual guide.
Such a visual guide is found in the Taima Mandala.
Since the thirteen contemplations are not for the average layperson, usually the Nembutsu suffices, provided that the practitioner knows why: to hear Amida's call to be reborn in the Pure Land of Bliss. This is why it is called the Name-That-Calls.
In Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, the Nembutsu is known as as Nianfo, and the practice of reciting the Nianfo is called Buddha Remembrance.
Since this Pure Land is the Buddha world of Amida Buddha, it is both a state of mind (peaceful bliss) and an afterlife (the Pure Land of Bliss). Knowing that I go there after my death relieves me of all anxiety about death. Being relieved of such anxiety, I still recite the Nembutsu to achieve the state of mind called "peaceful bliss".
For a mind bathed in the calm waters of such bliss is freed of anxiety about death. Being freed of such anxiety, I am able to realize that happiness is a journey, not a goal. Knowing happiness is a journey, the practitioner is free to enjoy life as it is.
What is life as it is? Well, for one thing, it surely is not life as it is supposed to be, which for most people is disappointing. If life is supposed to be easy, then people experiencing hardship would be disappointed. If life is supposed to be hard, then people should be relieved that it is sometimes easy. In any case, life as it is supposed to be is a life that is so unsatisfactory that a person may wish for a life more satisfactory. In the end, experiencing life as it is is satisfactory.
For life as it is is a life which is enjoyed, and the path to such a life is obtained by reciting the Nembutsu mindfully, with the aspiration of being born in the Pure Land.
Returning to the question, "What is the face I had before I was born?", I can only answer "peaceful bliss" and claim not to know what that face looks like. It is not the Nembutsu's purpose to know that.
Yet, on deeper examination of the question, it becomes possible to see the only similarity between my face and the face I had before I was born is a smile!
When I smile while reciting Nembutsu and when I smile while meditating, my mind is becalmed and peaceful bliss arises.
For the smile is the result of bliss.
So the more precise answer to the question "What is the face I had before I was born?" is to smile and hand the Zen master a flower.
20121102
Jodo Shinshu and the Afterlife
"Those patients who have not been able to vocalize or come to terms with their conceptions of the afterlife are consistently glummer, grimmer, and gloomier than those who speak with conviction about looking forward to meeting the Buddha Amida, their relatives, or other saints in the world to come." — Carl Becker, "Aging, Dying, and Bereavement in Contemporary Japan"
For some time I have held a repressed belief that "I" will be reborn in the Pure Land to receive further instruction in preparation of rebirth in the human realm. That "I" is not the ego, since it fears death; rather, it is the Buddha-essence which is incarnated in my present form.
I too look forward to meeting with Amida Buddha, my father and relatives who died before me, or even Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu!
However, that Buddha-essence could provide the answer to the Zen koan "What is the face you had before you were born?".
Since I am not an advanced student of meditation, it is impossible for me to answer this question as I have yet to encounter the Buddha-essence which has incarnated within my body.
As well, Jodo Shinshu provides no training in this respect since it was founded mainly to help settle the mind of the Buddhist practitioner regarding the afterlife. Once settled, the mind is able to accept death and not fear it. Without such a fear, all anxiety about death is forgotten. Being freed of this anxiety, the practitioner is able to carry on with life in a manner that is positive, happy and full of joy.
Thus is it possible for me to view death, not as the end of life, but as the gateway to the Pure Land.
Having said this, I feel that a separate blog entry is necessary for me to discuss Buddha-essence with respect to the koan I mentioned.
Reference:
Carl Becker: http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/publications/EJPhilosophy/PDF/EJP4-Becker.pdf
For some time I have held a repressed belief that "I" will be reborn in the Pure Land to receive further instruction in preparation of rebirth in the human realm. That "I" is not the ego, since it fears death; rather, it is the Buddha-essence which is incarnated in my present form.
I too look forward to meeting with Amida Buddha, my father and relatives who died before me, or even Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu!
However, that Buddha-essence could provide the answer to the Zen koan "What is the face you had before you were born?".
Since I am not an advanced student of meditation, it is impossible for me to answer this question as I have yet to encounter the Buddha-essence which has incarnated within my body.
As well, Jodo Shinshu provides no training in this respect since it was founded mainly to help settle the mind of the Buddhist practitioner regarding the afterlife. Once settled, the mind is able to accept death and not fear it. Without such a fear, all anxiety about death is forgotten. Being freed of this anxiety, the practitioner is able to carry on with life in a manner that is positive, happy and full of joy.
Thus is it possible for me to view death, not as the end of life, but as the gateway to the Pure Land.
Having said this, I feel that a separate blog entry is necessary for me to discuss Buddha-essence with respect to the koan I mentioned.
Reference:
Carl Becker: http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/publications/EJPhilosophy/PDF/EJP4-Becker.pdf
20121101
STOP TANKERS
Dear geeps+,
Some of the largest and successful companies BigOil owns may bring crude oil tankers to B.C.'s coast. This action jeopardizes the livelihoods of tens of thousands of British Columbians. Also threatened in the name of profit are stability of the great bear rainforest and southern gulf islands ecosystems.
We delay their arrival indefinitely to keep our water systems healthy and livelihoods secure, but it's going to take more people working together.
So join me and sign the petition at http://www.notankers.ca/petition calling on the BC and Canadian government to stop oil tanker traffic expansion on B.C.'s coast.
KEEP BC GREEN!
Tyvm
Some of the largest and successful companies BigOil owns may bring crude oil tankers to B.C.'s coast. This action jeopardizes the livelihoods of tens of thousands of British Columbians. Also threatened in the name of profit are stability of the great bear rainforest and southern gulf islands ecosystems.
We delay their arrival indefinitely to keep our water systems healthy and livelihoods secure, but it's going to take more people working together.
So join me and sign the petition at http://www.notankers.ca/petition calling on the BC and Canadian government to stop oil tanker traffic expansion on B.C.'s coast.
KEEP BC GREEN!
Tyvm
Belief in Buddha Nature Root of Transmigration
Sometimes I get asked, "Do Buddhists believe in an immortal soul?" by Christians.
As a Buddhist, "immortal soul" is like blasphemy. This is different from an afterlife in heaven eternally with Jesus. The eternal life Paul wrote of does not suggest an immortal soul. Rather, it appears to be a guarantee of living with Jesus in heaven eternally in the afterlife.
Except for the "eternal life" part, that afterlife is painted with similar elements in the Pure Land tradition.
Additionally, most Christians and all atheists find the tradition of Pure Land hard to swallow, because for Christians, the Pure Land is a benign Purgatory where every "soul" (a spark of Buddha Nature actually) is there to receive instructions before being reborn in the human realm. As for atheists, they cannot stomach religion, despite its influence on the body politic both now and in the past.
Yet the Buddhist heavens extend beyond a Buddha's Pure Land. In layman's terms, Pure Land refers to the state of mind a practitioner aspire towards, be it love, happiness, compassion, justified wrath, etc. Ergo, the Buddhas of Mahayana bring life to a Buddhist's emotions and feelings, and to the mind itself.
As I have written before on my blog, the word for God for most Buddhists is the Absolute. Some commentators mistake Heaven for it. Yet the Absolute too is a temporary thing. Most Buddhists believe that even their Buddhas have a finite lifespan, even in their respective Buddha worlds / Pure Land.
Indeed, the Buddhist afterlife extends from heaven down to hell. Our human realm (reality) is just one of those after-lives. This belief does not suggest the soul is immortal since that violates the non-self ideal i.e. self is impermanent with limited life span. A reborn "soul" evolves through successive life times. Ergo the original essence is but a part of the Buddha i.e. Buddha-essence. Thus, Buddha-essence replaces the soul for most Buddhists.
Buddha-essence is the sacred nature that is the inspiration for sentient beings becoming Buddhas. This is why Sokka Gokai call its members bodhisattvas, which means more than "angel". It also means "a person aspiring to be a Buddha".
Yet Buddha-essence has less to do with a soul and more to do with the nature of human consciousness and the means of spiritual awakening, i.e. becoming aware that one's purpose in life is to be of service to others.
To sum up, Buddhists do not believe in an immortal soul. They may have a belief in the Buddha-essence which is the fruit of the karma of the Buddha, freely given to all sentient beings at birth. Indeed, it is not the soul that transmigrates in a new incarnation, it is the karma that bears fruit in a new birth.
For all the actions of an infant's parents and their parents before them bear fruit in that child. As a Japanese person, this is important to me as my ancestors before me worshipped their ancestors, not due to pagan ideals, but out of respect to them. Thus ancestor worship is the ideal of respect for the dead.
Hopefully the gentle reader now knows that I do not believe in an immortal soul but in the Buddha-essence that incarnates first in a Pure Land and then returns to this human realm, despite being given the choice of the many heavens of Buddhist cosmology.
For Buddhists soon wish to be reborn in the human realm because it is the home of human suffering. Indeed, on this shiny blue planent is where we find the face before we, as bodhisattvas, were born.
As a Buddhist, "immortal soul" is like blasphemy. This is different from an afterlife in heaven eternally with Jesus. The eternal life Paul wrote of does not suggest an immortal soul. Rather, it appears to be a guarantee of living with Jesus in heaven eternally in the afterlife.
Except for the "eternal life" part, that afterlife is painted with similar elements in the Pure Land tradition.
Additionally, most Christians and all atheists find the tradition of Pure Land hard to swallow, because for Christians, the Pure Land is a benign Purgatory where every "soul" (a spark of Buddha Nature actually) is there to receive instructions before being reborn in the human realm. As for atheists, they cannot stomach religion, despite its influence on the body politic both now and in the past.
Yet the Buddhist heavens extend beyond a Buddha's Pure Land. In layman's terms, Pure Land refers to the state of mind a practitioner aspire towards, be it love, happiness, compassion, justified wrath, etc. Ergo, the Buddhas of Mahayana bring life to a Buddhist's emotions and feelings, and to the mind itself.
As I have written before on my blog, the word for God for most Buddhists is the Absolute. Some commentators mistake Heaven for it. Yet the Absolute too is a temporary thing. Most Buddhists believe that even their Buddhas have a finite lifespan, even in their respective Buddha worlds / Pure Land.
Indeed, the Buddhist afterlife extends from heaven down to hell. Our human realm (reality) is just one of those after-lives. This belief does not suggest the soul is immortal since that violates the non-self ideal i.e. self is impermanent with limited life span. A reborn "soul" evolves through successive life times. Ergo the original essence is but a part of the Buddha i.e. Buddha-essence. Thus, Buddha-essence replaces the soul for most Buddhists.
Buddha-essence is the sacred nature that is the inspiration for sentient beings becoming Buddhas. This is why Sokka Gokai call its members bodhisattvas, which means more than "angel". It also means "a person aspiring to be a Buddha".
Yet Buddha-essence has less to do with a soul and more to do with the nature of human consciousness and the means of spiritual awakening, i.e. becoming aware that one's purpose in life is to be of service to others.
To sum up, Buddhists do not believe in an immortal soul. They may have a belief in the Buddha-essence which is the fruit of the karma of the Buddha, freely given to all sentient beings at birth. Indeed, it is not the soul that transmigrates in a new incarnation, it is the karma that bears fruit in a new birth.
For all the actions of an infant's parents and their parents before them bear fruit in that child. As a Japanese person, this is important to me as my ancestors before me worshipped their ancestors, not due to pagan ideals, but out of respect to them. Thus ancestor worship is the ideal of respect for the dead.
Hopefully the gentle reader now knows that I do not believe in an immortal soul but in the Buddha-essence that incarnates first in a Pure Land and then returns to this human realm, despite being given the choice of the many heavens of Buddhist cosmology.
For Buddhists soon wish to be reborn in the human realm because it is the home of human suffering. Indeed, on this shiny blue planent is where we find the face before we, as bodhisattvas, were born.
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