Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

——————————————————

Mindy first introduced me to this about a year or so back, when I was in school and all stressed out with projects and CCA commitments. I think that I have grown to become an increasingly unpleasant person who gets angry and aggressive about things really easily. I really hope to be able to know how to control my emotions better. I’m still trying to devise methods to keep myself calm when situations occur.

The boyfriend shared with me a simple method – think of someone whom you admire (not as in celebrity popstar, but someone who you think is capable). So when times like these arise (angsty panic etc.), just think of what this person would do. So for me, when I mess up, I think of………………

STEPHANIE KO. I will never forget how she gets things done so efficiently and doesn’t seem to be bogged down by anything that comes her way.

Example: When a misunderstanding occurs and people get unhappy and I am indirectly the cause of it, I start to feel very sian-ed/guilty/defensive, then the I will think – ‘What will Stephanie Ko do?’. So I’ll wake up and send smses to clarify the misunderstanding and propose ways in which such incidents can be avoided in future.

Does help me quite a bit. I got upset again just now, and I think I really need to figure out how to make myself stop getting such negative feelings in the first place.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope to have a white Christmas sometime soon:)

Will be going shopping for lovely Christmas decor at discounted prices with Mr Rem soon! haha

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it’s a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantement, it is as perrenial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

~ Written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)

_

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Advice for the New Horse Owner

Ten Ways To Get In Shape To Own A Horse

1. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don’t pick it up right away. Shout “Get off,stupid! Get off!”
2. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice “Relaxing into the fall”. Roll lithely into a ball, and spring to your feet!
3. Learn to grab your checkbook out of your purse/pocket and write out a $200. check without even looking down.
4. Jog long distances carrying a halter and holding out a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you’re doing.They might as well know now.
5. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling it to a halt. And smile as if you are really having fun.
6. Hone your fibbing skills. “See hon, moving hay bales is fun!” and ” I’m glad your lucky performance and multi-million dollar horse won you first place – I’m just thankful that my hard work and actual ability won me second place”.
7. Practice dialing your chiropractors number with both arms paralyzed to the shoulder, and one foot anchoring the lead rope of a frisky horse.
8. Borrow the US Army slogan; “Be all that you can be’…(add) bitten, thrown, kicked, slimed, trampled.”
9. Lie face down in the mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself: “This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience,…”
10. Marry Money!

You Know You’re A Horse Person When…
…your horse gets new shoes more often than you do.
…your mouth waters at the sight of a truck full of hay.
…every time you drive past a road construction site you think what nice jumps the barricades would make.
…you consider a golf course as a waste of good pasture land.
…your friends no longer ask to get together after school/work or on a weekend because they know you’ll say, “I can’t, I have to ride.”
…you pull a $17,000 horse trailer with a $1,000 pick-up truck.
…you buy duct tape by the case, and carry rolls in your pocketbook, briefcase, backpack, and car trunk.
…you realize finding a horse shoe is truly lucky because you’ve saved ten bucks.
…your boyfriend complains that you love your horse more than you love him and you say: “And your point is..?”
…someone does something nice for you and you pat them on the neck and say ‘good boy’.
…you try to get by someone in a restricted space and instead of saying “excuse me” to him/her, you cluck at them instead.
…you show up for an appointment in your city clothes and when you get there people reach across the table to pick alfalfa out of your hair.
…no one wants to ride in your car because they’ll get sweet feed and hay in their socks and on their clothes…but that’s ok because you’ll have to rearrange all the tack to make room for them anyway!
…you look at all the piles of laundry sitting next to your washing machine and most of them are breeches, horse blankets, saddle pads, etc…. but you don’t even care about the Horse Hair residue that will be left in your washer and dryer.
…you say “whoa” to the dog.
…your mother, who has no grandchildren, gets cards addressed to Grandma, signed by the horses and dogs.
…you see the vet more than your child’s pediatrician.
…you groom your horse daily for hours and you haven’t seen a beautician since…?
…someone asks for a screwdriver and you hand them a hoof pick.
…you clean tack after every ride but you never, ever, wash the truck.
…on rainy days, you organize the tack room, not the house.
…you can remember worming schedules, lessons, and Farrier visits in your head, but often forget your class schedule, household chores, and meals.
…you are unreasonably pleased to get a horse item, ANY horse item, as a gift.
…you stop channel surfing at Budweiser  Clydesdale commercials.
…books and movies are ruined for you if horsemanship references aren’t correct.
…you actually get to a point where flies don’t bother you that much anymore.

A HORSE WIFE IS:
A sentimental fool! She displays a minimum of 6 8×10 color photos of her horse, and carries a crumpled snapshot of you (taken before you were married) somewhere in the bottom of her purse! Easy to locate! She’s either out on the horse or in the barn! Upholds the double standard! Smooches with the most bewhiskered beast, but recoils when you need a shave! Owns but one vacuum cleaner and operates it exclusively in the barn! A social butterfly! Providing the party is given by another horsy wife! Falls asleep in her soup at all other functions! Economy minded! Won’t waste money on permanents, facials or manicures! A culinary perfectionist! Checks every section of hay for mold but doesn’t blink when she petrifies your dinner in the microwave! Occasionally amorous. But never leaves lipstick on your collar! At worst a slight trace of Chapstick! Easy to outfit! No need for embarrassing visits to uncomfortable little boutiques! You can find all she wears at your local tack store. Features a selective sense of smell! Bitterly complains about your sticky sweet cigar smoke while remaining totally oblivious to the almost visible aroma of her barn boots drying next to the heater! Unmistakable in bathing suits! She’s the one whose tan starts at the nose, ends at the neck, and picks up again at the wrist! A dedicated member of the clubs in town as long as the words “horse” and/or “riding” appear in its name! Has your leisure at heart! Eliminates grass cutting by turning every square inch of lawn into pasture (which, in turn, converts itself into MUD)! A master at multiplication! She starts with one horse, ads a companion, and if it’s a mare she breeds it! Keeps an eagle eye on the budget! Easily justifies spending hundreds of dollars but croaks when you spend $10 for a tie! An engaging conversationalist! Can rattle on endlessly about training and the pros and cons of castration! Socially aware! Knows that formal occasions call for clean boots! A moving force in the family! House by house, she will get you to move closer and closer to horse country (and farther from your job)! Easy to please! A new wheelbarrow, custom boots, or even a folding hoof-pick will win her heart forever! Shows her affection in unusual ways! If she pats you on the neck and says, “You’re a good boy”. Believe it or know that she  loves you!  There is no secret so close as that between a rider and her horse.

How to Read:  Classified Advertising

Horse Terminology!
Event Prospect = Big Fast Horse
Dressage Prospect = Big Slow Horse
Hack Prospect = Pretty Color
Sporting Prospect = Short Fast Horse
Camp Prospect = Fast Horse which can turn
Endurance Prospect = Fast Horse which will turn sometimes
Flashy = White Socks
Attractive = Bay
15.2hh = 14.3hhh
16.2hh = 15.3hh
To Loving Home = Only Expensive
To Show Home Only = Very Expensive
Needs Experienced Rider = Potentially Lethal
Elegant = Thin
In Good Condition = Foundered
Free Moving = Bolts
Quiet = Lame in Both Front Legs
Dead Quiet = Lame in All Four Legs
Good in Traffic (Bombproof) = Lame all Round, Deaf and Blind
Loves Children = Kicks and Bites
Pony Type = Small and Hairy
Arab Type = Looks startled
TB Type = Looks Terrified
Quarter Horse Type = Fat
Warmblood Type = Big and Hairy
Draught Type = Big and Exceedingly Hairy
Easy to Catch = Very Old
Must Sell = Wife has left home and taking kids
All Offers Considered = I am in Traction for 6 months
Reluctant = Sale Comes with Title Deed to the Golden Gate Bridge

I love this poem. It applies to all people- regardless of race, class, gender, age or where they are in their lives and careers. It was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann. I’ve come to a point in my life where I feel lost. Sometimes I don’t even know who I am. I’ve changed so much within these past couple years. Recently I’ve been trying to find inner peace and faith. Faith in what? I’m not sure exactly yet, but without faith, life feels lonely.

DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
And remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly & clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull & ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud & aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain & bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing future of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment
it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue & loneliness.
Beyond wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees & the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labours & aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

Here is a wonderful quotation that got me thinking about one of my favorite poems (Desiderata) by Max Ehrmann.

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”   — Saint Francis de Sales

Die Desiderata ist ein Gedicht zum Thema „So führst du ein glückliches Leben“. Es wurde 1927 von Max Ehrmann (1872–1945), einem Rechtsanwalt aus Terre Haute (Indiana), USA verfasst.

“Gehe gelassen inmitten von Lärm und Hast und denke an den Frieden der Stille. So weit als möglich, ohne dich aufzugeben, sei auf gutem Fuß mit jedermann. Sprich deine Wahrheit ruhig und klar aus, und höre Andere an, auch wenn sie langweilig und unwissend sind, denn auch sie haben an ihrem Schicksal zu tragen. Meide die Lauten und Streitsüchtigen. Sie verwirren den Geist.

Vergleichst du dich mit anderen, kannst du hochmütig oder verbittert werden, denn immer wird es Menschen geben, die bedeutender oder schwächer sind als du. Erfreue dich am Erreichten und an deinen Plänen. Bemühe dich um deinen eigenen Werdegang, wie bescheiden er auch sein mag; er ist ein fester Besitz im Wandel der Zeit.

Sei vorsichtig bei deinen Geschäften, denn die Welt ist voller Betrügerei. Aber lass deswegen das Gute nicht aus den Augen, denn Tugend ist auch vorhanden: Viele streben nach Idealen, und Helden gibt es überall im Leben.

Sei du selbst. Täusche vor allem keine falschen Gefühle vor. Sei auch nicht zynisch, wenn es um Liebe geht, denn trotz aller Öde und Enttäuschung verdorrt sie nicht, sondern wächst weiter wie Gras.

Höre freundlich auf den Ratschlag des Alters, und verzichte mit Anmut auf die Dinge der Jugend. Stärke die Kräfte deines Geistes, um dich bei plötzlichem Unglück dadurch zu schützen.
Quäle dich nicht mit Wahnbildern. Viele Ängste kommen aus Erschöpfung und Einsamkeit. Bei aller angemessenen Disziplin, sei freundlich zu dir selbst. Genau wie die Bäume und Sterne, so bist auch du ein Kind des Universums. Du hast ein Recht auf deine Existenz.

Und ob du es verstehst oder nicht, entfaltet sich die Welt so wie sie soll. Bleibe also in Frieden mit Gott, was immer er für dich bedeutet, und was immer deine Sehnsüchte und Mühen in der lärmenden Verworrenheit des Lebens seien – bewahre den Frieden in deiner Seele. Bei allen Täuschungen, Plackereien und zerronnenen Träumen ist es dennoch eine schöne Welt.

Sei frohgemut. Strebe danach glücklich zu sein.”

.

Desiderata (Max Ehrmann c.1920) may evoke memories of the flower power and optimism of the 60’s for many but, amidst the cynicism and pessimism of the 21st Century, it now seems more relevant than ever.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

The first year of my sobriety (1999-2000) my physical health improved because I worked as a janitor and abstained from alcohol. However, nothing else in recovery quickened my mind or soul. This included daily antidepressants and monthly counseling that Kentucky’s Drug and Alcohol Program (DAP) provided, plus medical treatments supplied by Comprehensive Care and the Fayette County Health Department.

Truth is, I wanted faster recovery. But none existed. The damage I had done to my neurological system was significant—a quarter century of drinking, capped off by two-plus years of taking Welbutrin, then Zoloft, while abusing Absolut vodka. Only God and Alcoholics Anonymous kept me from killing myself.

A decade later, Harold C. Urshel III, M.D., provides science-based perspective on early recovery. ”The brain does repair itself (a fact that scientists have only recently discovered),” he writes, adding: “This is true even in older people. But at any age, it takes a long time to restore the brain to its original, sober form—and in many cases, it doesn’t completely return to its original, pre-addiction state…. The length of the repair process depends on many factors,” which he describes as the substances that were abused, the length of use, the extent of the abuse, and the individual’s genetic and biochemical makeup. Then he concludes: “As a general rule, it takes at least six to ten months of sobriety before significant brain repair is achieved. There are no quick fixes for the disease of addiction….”

On the flip side, what I did not undertand was the extent to which being debt poor, alone and slow to heal actually aided me spiritually in ways that I would come to view as important. Here are some examples:

1. Most nights I found cash. Back then, U.K. students were remarkably careless with coins and currency. So while I vacuumed, emptied trash, mopped restrooms or operated the floor buffer, I usually found money on the floors. Most nights, that found money paid for my supper at student center shops or across Limestone at Tolly-Ho Restaurant. It seemed like pennies from heaven—or modern-day manna, only more so—as if God answered my Lord’s Prayers by, literally, giving me money to buy daily bread.
2. I did a lot of walking. As a young man in Manhattan, I had enjoyed the enormous amount of walking that New York City exacts from residents. However, as a middle-aged man in Kentucky, walking was difficult; Lexington is designed for cars, trucks, horses, trains and buses, in that order. Pedestrians must fend for ourselves (with or without sidewalks, with or without vehicles yielding). Over time, though, I actually treasured those walks. One of my favorites was along a figure-eight-shaped brick sidewalk in historic Gratz Park. And while I walked, I prayed. Sometimes that allowed fleeting glimpses of how spirituality works. “Your eye is a lamp for your body,” Matthew 6:22-30 explains, encouraging us in this type of spiritual perspective. “A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul…. Look at the birds…. Look at the lilies and how they grow…. Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.”
3. Strangers started mattering to me. Because I had been verbal and selfish most of my life, I possessed few understandings about the power or importance of quietly observing strangers. Yet loneliness drove me outside myself. It made me watch people. In turn, that provided spiritual benefits, just as my AA sponsor Jack had advised when giving the Desiderata while I was in rehab. “[Listen] to others, even  to the dull and the ignorant,” it instructs. “They too have their story.” And remarkably, that’s how it happened any days that I remained spiritually vigilant. In passing near me, some stranger would say or do something that turned out to be powerfully important for me in the days that followed. Strangers are as close to seeing God as I’m likely to experience on this earth.

More, tomorrow….

Copyright © 2009 by Randall E. Greene

Having a bit of a rough spot the last few weeks, and someone reminded me of this piece by Max Ehrmann.  It’s always worth reading these lovely words.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

International morality

The ‘Green movement’ – the coalition of opposition forces inside and outside Iran – will collectively apologise to the United States for the hostage-taking that took place thirty years ago at the US Embassy in Tehran. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, brilliant film-maker, is articulating this politically savvy and symbolically potent move:

Women play fierce football

“Thirty years ago in the turmoil of the revolutionary zeal an indefensible act of hostage taking was committed that the new generation of Iran are not proud of at all,” he said. “We know very well how that deplorable action hurt the noble American people and how it led to three decades of unnecessary and painful bad relations between our two nations. “Only a small and repressive minority who rule Iran today still insist on keeping Iran on a confrontation course with the US, Britain and the West … [T]hey have now taken the Iranian people as hostage to their destructive policies.”

It remains true that, by flouting the norms of diplomatic behaviour, established over centuries, as they did, the Islamic revolutionaries branded themselves unmistakably as forms of low-life not seen before; and by not allowing any of the hostages to come to harm revealed their true fear of American power.

Do not expose us

Should we laugh or cry? Perhaps laugh. Laughter has a knack of putting things in proportion, of setting things in their right perspective.

Islam is on its march of death on many fronts. A very dangerous front has been recently re-opened at the United Nations (UN) by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the largest group of nations within the UN, by introducing a new resolution. The resolution under consideration—Defamation of Religions—aims to enlist the power and prestige of the UN in defence of religion by declaring religions to be immune from the general discourse practiced in non-religious domains. The aim of the resolution is to impose a gag order on people against breathing a word that religionists may find defaming or offensive.

This is our old friend, Islamic defensiveness, trying to obliterate freedom of speech, never an Islamic value, especially where it might itself be the object of criticism. No matter that the entire world is in the throes of a cataclysmic revulsion against Islam, so that it is not too much to describe this paroxysm of disgust as the death of a religion. No matter that the backward, inferior character of Islam as a faith has already been exposed everywhere and by all means. This is a naked political attempt to shore up the ruins.

What needs to sink into the Western peoples’ mind is the realization that, to the Muslims, the idea of freedom and free thinking is largely an alien concept … From birth onward, a Muslim’s brain is packed with the notion that everything in life is predicated on the will of Allah. Allah is in charge of all things and at all times. Allah is very much of a hands-on God. He does the thinking, he does the ordaining, and he decides the outcome for everything large and small. And since Allah is the all-knowing as well as the all-everything, the duty of the faithful is unquestioned obedience in all matters, irrespective of any and all contradictory evidence. All disproving and contradictory evidences about the Islamic precepts are labelled as deceptive machinations of the accursed Satan. Hence, it is the sacred duty of the believer to put his Islamic blinders on and submit wholeheartedly and unhesitatingly to what is preached to him.

Women prepare to drive fast

This is a “fatalistic pathological system,” as has become globally obvious in only eight years:

Islam is loaded with faulty and bizarre beliefs as well as many primitive, discriminatory and shameful practices. So, they need to build a steel fence around their corral of absurdity to protect it from crumbling under the assaults of truth. They have much to hide and fear exposure the most.

The hilarious thing is, proponents of the resolution cannot bring themselves to mention any other religion, presumably as they do not consider any other religion admissible. A sudden coyness sets in. Other religions cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Islam, because they are not true religions. Indeed, it may not even be possible to admit that Islam itself is a religion! So the resolution would defend from criticism and offence perhaps the only ‘religion’ so weak as to be unable to withstand the light of day!

Would Saudi Arabia allow Christians to build a church in that country, or even the Bible be sold in bookstores? Would the Islamic Republic of Iran stop its genocidal agenda against the Baha’is? Would the mullahs desist from imprisoning the Baha’is for months and years, without any formal charges and even without a sham trial for which they are infamous? … It is time for Islam to shed its Burqa. The cat is out of the bag, so to speak. In the age of instantaneous communication and … rising literacy, the task of keeping this stone-age belief called Islam under cover is an impossibility.

Also amusing is that apparently this resolution is wheeled out and pushed into play, and defeated, every year! Not too much to fear, then.

Viewer numbers

I would like to report that the surge in numbers of viewers/voyagers recently (see chart) is down to the quality of the journalism ─ freshness of information, incisiveness of analysis ─ in this blog.

Viewer numbers at this blog to end of Oct-09

Fat chance. It seems that I mentioned Adolf Hitler, complete with familiar photograph, on 22-Sep-09 and that half the world’s deskbound eo-fascists have been storming by ever since. Now that I have mentioned him again, the site may well crash with visitor numbers. Eat your heart out, Carla Bruni!

It would help the cause, though, if these Hitler fans could spell their hero’s name correctly! Most searches seem to be for someone called Hitter. In any case, they should prepare, once here, to learn something of the deep convictions associated with human rights and freedom of conscience.

Plumbing the depths

Women even drudge close to home

It’s not always clear, after all the atrocities reported here during the last five months, how the Iranian regime could sink any lower. We have met with numerous actions of moral imbecility perpetrated in the name of Allah. Nevertheless, the destruction of Bahá’i cemeteries may just about fit the bill.

There is little else than a campaign of hatred involved ─ no attempt at a political pretext, however thin. No wonder members of the opposition are avid to learn more abut this Faith.

There is something unbelievably disgusting about interrupting burials, digging up corpses, bulldozing cemeteries and desecrating religious memorials, removing headstones for building. The recent UN Report on Human Rights goes into some detail here:

Baha’i cemeteries, holy places, and community properties are often seized or desecrated and many important religious sites have been destroyed. In recent years, Baha’is in Iran have faced increasingly harsh treatment, including increasing numbers of arrests and detentions and violent attacks on private homes and personal property. Baha’i property has been confiscated or destroyed and dozens of Baha’is have been harassed, interrogated, detained, imprisoned, or physically attacked. In February 2009, a Baha’i cemetery in Semnan was desecrated, and in January, another Baha’i cemetery was destroyed in Ghaemshahr. Baha’i cemeteries also have been destroyed in Yazd and outside of Najafabad.

Families are told they may not bury their dead in burial gardens legally owned by Bahá’is, but they are not told of any available alternative. No doubt it will soon be illegal to die. Cemeteries have been excavated to a depth of one metre and earth and rubble piled to a height of 10 metres.

From September 6 through September 10, using large trucks and bulldozers, a number of unknown individuals destroyed and excavated the Baha’i Cemetery of Najafabad and Vilashahr [near Isfahan]. The cemetery, which belongs to the Baha’is of Najafabad and Vilashahr, and which is known as Gulestan Javid [“eternal garden”], is situated about 9 miles from Najafabad. This land was given to the Baha’is of Najafabad and Vilashahr in the winter of 1995; it has been attacked 18 times since them. It has been reported that 119 graves are located in this cemetery – 95 are in the first section and 24 more are in the second section.

Bulldozed Baha'i cemetery at Najafabad and Vilashahr

Following this, some burials are being prevented except at the cost of violating basic Baha’i beliefs:

After the destruction in recent days of the Baha’i cemetery of Vilashahr and Najafabad, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence are preventing the burial of a deceased Baha’i in that same cemetery. Azizu’llah Subhi Najafabadi, born 1924, was a resident of Najafabad. He passed away on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, in Namazi Hospital due to old age. Since then, the family’s effort to receive the body has been unsuccessful. The family’s appealed to authorities in the local police station, the security office and the local branch of the Ministry of Intelligence, the law enforcement agency, the municipality, and the mayor’s office in Najafabad. But they have only met with the same consistent response: “His remains will be given to you only if you do not bury him in the [recently destroyed] Baha’i cemetery of Vilashahr-Najafabad, and inter him instead in the Baha’i cemetery of Isfahan.” According to Baha’i teachings, Baha’is are not permitted to bury their dead far from the place of passing. It is for this reason that the family is exerting efforts to bury their dead in the aforesaid cemetery, near the place of his passing. Currently, because of the destruction of the Baha’i cemetery of Vilashahr and Najafabad, the Baha’is of these towns have no place for the burial of their dead. Reports receive from the field indicate that authorities are putting considerable pressures on Baha’i residents in this region aiming to prevent them from adhering to their religious precepts.

This sort of thing is so contrary to basic human customs and civilised practices that it once again elicits that most common reaction to Shi’a mentality ─ acute disgust. More dispassionately, it provokes the recurrent observation that these people are obsessed with death.

Again a post which has nothing to do with my stated interests.

Came across Max Ehrmann’s “Desiderata” . Happy Reading.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

A few days back, I posted some of my favorite poems. Now is the time to append that list with stuff suggested by others, and some that I mistakenly left out. This selection will be somewhat more spiritual and self-reflection oriented than earlier, just so you know before you tread further

I loved the Song of Six Perfections by Milarepa, which I came across through Nisheeth’s blog. Reproduced below, it is a concise, practical expression for enlightened living.

A Song on the Six Perfections, by Milarepa

For generosity, nothing to do,
Other than stop fixating on self.

For morality, nothing to do,
Other than stop being dishonest.

For patience, nothing to do,
Other than not fear what is ultimately true.

For effort, nothing to do,
Other than practice continuously.

For meditative stability, nothing to do,
Other than rest in presence.

For wisdom, nothing to do,
Other than know directly how things are.

Dhaarini was kind enough to remind me of the beautiful poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. It is another gem of love and wisdom, that begins with these simple lines:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

We all go in to the noise and haste, and get caught up. But to go placidly, and to remember the peace that there may be in silence… is the essence. To me, “remember” here does not mean to keep thinking about silence, but to go in to the world, with a deep-seated inner peace, and let the external stay confined to waves on the surface of a deep ocean. I could go on meditating on these lines, each one for some time, but well… Here is how the poem ends:

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

It is still a beautiful world. In the 13.7 billion years of the cosmos’s known existence, we are born in the one tiny window of time where we can comprehend, travel, witness, communicate, share, love and celebrate. Most of all, a fact that is often forgotten, we are in the best conditions that there have ever been to live.

Gibran’s Prophet is another favorite. It is a poem with chapters on topics like work, love, self-knowledge and more. In one of the chapters, Gibran shares brilliant insights on Good and Evil:

You are good when you are one with yourself.
Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.
For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.
And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.

I have not read much of Rumi, but here are the verses that I found very close to my own reflections on cosmic unity.

A stone I died and rose again a plant;
A plant I died and rose an animal;
I died an animal and was born a man.
Why should I fear? What have I lost by death?

I begin to digress, but the work below is another testament to the genius of Rumi — from a poem on love: Like This

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.

Like this. Like this.

Update(s)

Kabir’s couplets bring the esoteric to the confines of our comprehension. Brief and subtle, they have a haiku-like feel, their essence somewhere far beyond the words. I’ll reproduce two of them here (translations from Rajender Krishan):

Bura Jo Dekhan Main Chala, Bura Naa Milya Koye
Jo Munn Khoja Apnaa, To Mujhse Bura Naa Koye

Translation:
I searched for the crooked, met not a single one
When searched myself, “I” found the crooked one

Chinta Aisee Dakini, Kat Kaleja Khaye
Vaid Bichara Kya Kare, Kahan Tak Dawa Lagaye

Translation:
Worry is the bandit that eats into one’s heart
What the doctor can do, what remedy to impart?

The violence of despair

Even the most miserable of prisoners, damned without hope of any kind, can turn the tables for a while:

Gohardasht Prison

A group of prisoners took control of Ward 1 of Gohardasht prison in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, on Sunday during a riot against appalling prison conditions and the harsh treatments by the authorities. The prisoners clashed with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) disarming two of the guards, Mohsen Khalesi and Marjani, before taking control of the Ward. Other prison guards and torturers fled the premises. Angry prisoners managed to get hold of the keys to solitary cells and release[ed] all the inmates. The riot continued until 21:00 local time, [after which] the prison’s special guards … took back the control of the Ward … The Ward 1 that houses solitary confinements is known as “dog house” because of harsh conditions and barbaric tortures deployed there. The prisoners are subjected to humiliation, insults and various physical tortures such as hunger and rape and are facing gradual death in the appalling living conditions. Every year a dozen of them commit suicide.

Bomb plots

Still worried about Af/Pak? According to David Blair, writing in the Telegraph,

Tehran’s nuclear ambitions have overtaken Afghanistan as the biggest security problem.

Breaking the Ramadan fast in Mashhad 06

That’s bigger then all the currently highly irritating wars. Negotiations continue ─ after a fashion. The Gang of Six make a proposal. Iran accepts (it has just been caught with its pants down; Russia is miffed). Rejoicings. Then Iran gives a different version of what had been agreed. Despondency. Then Iran has to respond by a deadline. Iran secures an extension of the deadline. Yawn. Then it makes counter-proposals instead. These are said to be unacceptable to the Gang of Six.

In one of those anonymous but sublime diplomatic jokes,

“It’s like playing chess with a monkey,” said one diplomat close to the talks. “You get them to checkmate, and then they swallow the king.”

Is this what is known in the trade as ‘refreshing candour’?

Daily, there is news of bombs going off. So try plotting them on a map. Baghdad, Islamabad, Kabul. Occasionally also Mosul, Sistan, Lahore, Kashmir, Rawalpindi. Get the idea? Lots of orange flashes in an Islamic Crescent. What an explosive religion.

In Iran, everyone goes to jail

Hossein Rassam

It is said that you are nobody in Iran if you haven’t been to jail. Nevertheless I feel sorry for Hossein Rassam, chief local research analyst for the political section of the British embassy. First he was arrested because the Little Satan must have sparked off the June/July protests. Then he was released on bail. Now he has been sentenced to four years.

For what exactly? For spying? For bringing God into disrepute? For wearing a multicoloured pullover? For spreading malicious tales about prison violence? No, for working for the British.

First Miliband spoke out. Now the whole European Union has spoken with one voice:

The European Union presidency [what Presidency?] … reiterates that any action against one EU country, a citizen or member of embassy staff, is considered an action against the entire EU, and will be treated accordingly.”

That’s the stuff. Make them tremble in their sandals. Threaten them with a return of Jenghiz Khan.

Border frictions

Women play cricket ... well, sort of

On 18^th October, a suicide bomber managed to kill six senior Revolutionary Guard commanders in Pisheen, in the Sistan-Baluchistan province in south-eastern Iran. The Iranians have all sorts of trouble with their minorities who live along the borders who consider themselves Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Afghans or Baluchis respectively, depending on where they live. This lot are Sunni Moslems, which makes matters worse. They prefer Caliphs to Imams. There is a local resistance (“terrorist”) movement, the Jundallah, who may or may not have been responsible.

Anyway, a total of 42 people was killed. The Iranian government was quick to blame the United States, Britain and Pakistan. Somehow one gets the feeling that these people want to be taken seriously … but are going the wrong way about it.

A week later, an apparently secret mission involving Iranian soldiers, including Revolutionary Guards, in two vehicles was intercepted by Pakistani forces inside Pakistan’s territory, fired on and its cover blown. Eleven soldiers were taken into custody. The Iranians have been downplaying the incident.

This is a sideshow for Pakistan, however. Having for years made glowering faces and shaken nuclear fists at their Hindu superstate neighbour (because this is easiest for nationalist Islamic sentiment), the Pakistani government is now facing virtual national extinction from the northerly threat of Islamic extremism (Al-Qaida, Kashmiri militants, Taliban, Afghan insurrectionists), all done on its own territory and in the name of Islam. They are responding with uninhibited and successful ferocity, but already bombs are going off daily in the national capital and outside their military headquarters.

Bold student

During a visit of the Wise Donkey to Tehran students on 28^th October,

a student from Sharif University, named by some websites as Mahmud Vahidnia, criticized the Iranian leader, state broadcast media, the postelection crackdown, and the closure of the reformist press — for a whole 20 minutes. The student reportedly told Khamenei that he had never seen criticism of Khamenei in the Iranian press. He said those surrounding Khamenei have turned him into “an idol.” He then went on to accuse state media of biased reporting and giving a false picture of postelection events. He added that since the supreme leader appoints the head of state broadcast media, he is responsible for its content and biased coverage.

Women sleep rough

According to his own website, Khamenei

reacted by saying that he welcomes criticism and knows that there is a lot of it.

Since you can go to jail in Iran for a lot less than this, we hope to hear that Mahmud is alive, well ─ and free.

Human rights at the UN

Demonstrators and Nobellists alike have long called for attention to switch from the nuclear issue to that of human rights. And it is true that with a more human government in Tehran the West would take a very different view of the risks involved in a peaceful nuclear programme. But little has happened until now.

“Today [i.e. 29-Oct-09], at the United Nations General Assembly, Canada will table the toughest resolution on the human rights situation in Iran,” Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said in the House of Commons just ahead of the UN filing. “For the first time, under this government, we are calling on the investigators to focus on Iran’s appalling human rights record.” The United States and five other big powers have long led the international focus on Iran’s suspected bid to develop a nuclear bomb. But Canada has emerged as a catalyst for UN scrutiny of Iran’s human rights record since the 2003 torture and murder of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi while she was in Iranian custody.

Women wait for the right train

So even gentle, agreeable Canada can be goaded into action. Good for them ─ and may the memory of Zahra burn brightly!

Friends Come In All Sizes

 
They will 
support you…..

 And 
respect your creativity
for thinking 
outside the 
box….

  They’re 
there when you need a shoulder to lean 
on..

 Or a 
great big hug….

 A true 
friend takes interest in
understanding what you’re all 
about….
They see 
beyond the black and white
to discover 
your true 
colors….

 And 
accept you just the way you are…
Even when you just wake up in the morning………..

So make 
your own kind of music….

Follow 
your heart wherever it takes 
you….

And when 
someone reaches out to you,
Don’t be 
afraid to love them 
back…..

They may 
just be a friend for life…

Some friends are adopted family and share that brotherly Love

Practice 
patience and tolerance…..

Good 
friends are hard to find,

 harder to 
leave….

And 
impossible to forget!

What size friend are YOU?

Why not share this with all your

unforgettable friends 

today… I just did!!!

The following are some of the terms people used to find my blog.

• summary of sm manila

→May summary ba SM?

• ang paboritong website ni hudas

→Galing! Paboritong website pala ni Hudas yung site ko!

• filipinos are not worth dying for

→May kapareho na ba kong nag-iisip na filipinos are not worth dying for?

• creed of bob ong (english subtitle)

→Gumaganon na! May creed of Bob Ong na pala ha.

• ang kristal na bola ambeth ocampo

→ May sinulat na ang kristal na bola si Sir Ocampo? Ang alam ko lang na ang kristal na bola yung play.

• simple reaction about desiderata poem, reaction paper for ambeth ocampo, reaction paper, reaction paper about some stage play

→Nag-aral pa ‘tong mga estupidyanteng tulad nito. Copy/paste ng mga reaction paper.  Tamad mag-isip. Sarap-sarap mag react e.

• sino ang ina ni sisa

→Who cares? Wala naman nanay ni sisa na character sa Noli at Fili di ba?

• ano ang epekto ng panonood ng dvd

→Masama. Bangungot epekto sa ‘kin nun.

I found, tucked away in a hardcover copy of Emily Dickinson, a card. One of those cards for which people overpay when they want to let somebody know they are thinking of them without actually having to stop and think of them. Hallmark cards, but as far as I can tell this one is a brand called Recycled Paper Greetings.

On the very top of the front, it says Desiderata.

Then, with a designed border, the front has these words:

Go placidly amid the noise & haste & remember what peace there may be in silence. • As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. • Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others. Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. • Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. • Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. • Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. • But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. • Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

And on the inside of the card:

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. • Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be; and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

It is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Death in the afternoon

As I sit here in France, watching the sun go down over the noyers, it all seems a little surreal. Most surreal of all is that Pravda (but no one else) should be telling us that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Wise and Gracious Donkey, is dead. Long live the rahbar, the supreme authority for all prison rapes!

Breaking the Ramadan fast in Mashad 01

Wait a minute here, can this be true? Not that one idiot or another, equally idiotic, won’t succeed him, but his death at this time will surely cause factional ripples, so partisan had this particular Supreme Leader become. People even seem to have stopped arguing over the Velayat-e-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists), the Khomeinist doctrine that there should be a Supreme Ruler, because the Chaplinesque antics of the underqualified Ali Khamenei had rendered theological dispute superfluous.

In some societies the bad people lock up the good people. When Stalin died, the zeks in the prison camps rattled their tin bowls with delight, crowing, ‘The cannibal is dead!’ If you live in a society where the good people lock up the bad, just be glad. And if there should be a similar charivari in Tehran, with dancing in the streets, you will read it here first.

Trial of Karroubi?

Although unconfirmed, there are plans afoot to try Mehdi Karroubi for refusing to withdraw his ‘claims’ that male and female protestors have been raped in Iranian jails. Since the whole world knows a great deal of detail about these cases, which this blog has always emphasised, and no impartial and informed observer has doubted their authenticity, it is to be wondered what possible evidence could remain for authorities to ignore?

Women are keen on park exercise

In which case, no indictment could succeed that stated Karroubi presented false information. It must therefore be, on the contrary, that he will be tried for telling the truth.

Let them wear what they like

Even in a jolly country like Kuwait, a hubbub of opinions and tubby women, there is still apparently an “Islamist movement” with a grip on parliament. (Yes, there is a parliament, which likes to criticise its ministers and gets dissolved from time to time by the ruling family.) Women MPs are supposed to wear the hijab when they attend the sharia-ruled precincts. Fortunately two of them are objecting and trying to have the stone age code reversed.

Breaking the Ramadan fast in Mashhad 02

Not a minority opinion

Obama got singed by his previous, ultra-paranoid pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who thought that AIDS was invented by the CIA to keep black people in their place. He was genial enough on occasion, though, to marry Mr and Mrs Obama and show Christian faith and leadership.

Now the President has other messages to think about, notably that

extremist manifestations, such as the actions of suicide bombers and crazed gunmen, don’t arise out of thin air … They are part of a religious tradition that from its very birth has used the edge of the sword as a means to convert or conquer those with different religious convictions.

Mr Obama denies that the Rev Carey Cash is his new chaplain, but he’ll have to listen to him at Camp David, where the President has opted to attend the tiny Evergreen Chapel, far from the prying Cyclops eye of the media. The Rev Cash also

Women cox female crews

baptised more than 50 men during the Iraq invasion in 2003 … and believed a “wall of angels” protected his men as they fought their way from Kuwait to Baghdad.

Inevitably, any manifestation of faith is equated in our secular society with schizophrenia (“hearing voices”, of course). More interesting, perhaps, is this indication of anti-Islamism as a commonplace, unashamed opinion.

So let us hear nothing of Islamophobia, an entirely bogus term invented to ride with the jargon of political correctness, itself an expression of modern squeamishness.

Telling it like it is

The United Nations has produced a 19-page report criticising human rights abuses in Iran. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been reticent, to say the least, until now. But yesterday he

Man attacked in own home 01

expressed strong criticism of Iran’s human rights record, voicing concern about the use of excessive force after Iran’s presidential election, the harassment of women’s rights activists, the ongoing execution of juveniles, and the continued persecution of minorities … a pattern of concern arises with respect to the protection of minorities, including the Baha’i community, the Arab minority in Khuzestan, the Nematollahi Sufi Muslim community, the Kurdish community, the Sunni community, the Baluchi community, and the Azeri-Turk community.

Naturally he needs to sound encouraging. So he concludes

I encourage the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to address the concerns highlighted in the report and to continue to revise national laws, particularly the new penal code and juvenile justice laws, to ensure compliance with international human rights standards and prevent discriminatory practices against women, ethnic and religious minorities, and other minority groups.

The report is available here.

The careers of butchers

Some very grim pictures are circulating of a particular privileged torturer/executioner, present at numerous rallies and occasionally photographed. Perhaps he too has not long to live. But in the meantime he is able to act in flagrant and flagitious ways (see the photographs on this page).

Man attacked in own home 02

It is a feature of revolutions that they throw up criminal and psychopathic types like this, sometimes from the depths of prisons. Charles Crawford, retired diplomat, in his blog, instances the very detailed and at last undisputed account of the Katyn massacres in July 1940 of Polish officers by the Red Army and the extraordinary rôle played therein by a certain Vasili Blokhin, who personally conducted the execution of 7,000 of the prisoners. He was therefore

ostensibly the most prolific official executioner in recorded world history.

The Iranian revolution is no exception. Like all revolutions a backward, reactionary and elitist show, it has already thrust into garish prominence a number of executioners and torturers, Basiji and Sepah, who have been photographed and identified. Their time has come. Justice will follow.

Go placidly, amid the noise & haste
and remember what peace there may be in silence
As far as possible without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons
Speak your truth quietly & clearly and listen to others
Even the dull & the ignorant, they too have their story
Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter
for always there will be greater & lesser persons than yourself
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans
Keep interest in your own career, however humble
it is a real possession in the changing fortune of time
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world full of trickery
but let this not blind you to what virtue there is
Many person strive for high ideals and everywhere life is full of heroism,
be yourself
Especially, do not feign affection, never ever be cynical about love,
for the face of all aridity & disenchantment, love is as perennial as the grass
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings,
many fear are born of fatigue & loneliness
Beyond a wholesome of discipline, be gentle with yourself
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars,
you have the right to be here,
and whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be
And whatever your labours & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,
Keep peace with your soul, with all its sham, drudgery, & broken dreams
It is still a beautiful world,
Be cheerful & strive to be happy.

Those who know me, know that I’ve been going through a rough and interesting time lately… Here’s my official response to the universe:

- It’s easy to be shaken when something either technically or artistically challenges your working foundation. That something can either be simple or an indication of a greater problem. BUT… the task ahead is to find the solution and then “LEARN” from one’s mistakes.
- The cool thing that helps me feel good and confident about the steps ahead, is that I believe the music (the ultimate foundation of my art) is really good. So, my job in life is to simply learn  “the big lesson” and then move ahead.
- I haven’t had a Desiderata (read poem) moment in quite a while and was due for one… for that, I’m grateful!