I guess it helps to be fit if you’re in the Nepal cabinet. Prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and those politicians physically fit enough will be meeting at the Mount Everest base camp (17,192ft above sea level) “to highlight the threat global warming poses to glaciers.”

While you (if in the US) were busy celebrating Thanksgiving, there’s another holiday you may have missed. This year, Thanksgiving coincided with Eid-al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice.

It recalls the obedience of Ibrahim to God, demonstrated by his willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Those observant Muslims who are financially able usually sacrifice a sheep, goat or other animal according to the religious tradition and local custom. This meat is divided and given to friends and to charity while some is kept by the family for eating as part of a huge feast of holiday delicacies that lasts several days and includes travel to visit extended family.

One source of African news that I often find interesting (and that you can also follow on Twitter) is Pambazuka News (“Pan-African Voices for Freedom and Justice”). The next several African news items are all from Pambazuka News.

Waving the Ethiopian flag: Its beauty and contradictions, by Etyopian Simbiro moves from a reflection on the Ethiopian flag to discussion of how best to move Ethiopia in the direction of greater democracy.

Some, who oppose the current regime, advocate that Ethiopia must copy Ghana’s centralist system. I am sure there is a lot Ethiopia can learn from Ghana, especially in the fields of building democratic institutions and respecting the rule of law, two of the many qualities that have made Ghana a shining star in the continent. However, it can be dangerous to wholeheartedly imitate Ghana’s centralist policies. Ethiopia has already welcomed a federal system that favours decentralisation in theory, though this has not been yet fully realised practically. In addition, everything that works in Ghana may not work in Ethiopia; the two countries have evident cultural and historical differences. I would argue that Ethiopia, as the second most populous country in Africa, could draw better lessons from other democratic yet federalist countries such as Canada, India, South Africa or the USA, whose diversity/geography-based political systems resemble ours comparatively. Nevertheless, the solution to end Ethiopia’s political crisis is not to simply imitate other countries but to look at our own values and traditions and to combine these native ideas with what we have learned or have borrowed from outsiders. We have been imitating others throughout our history; it is now time to think and act locally, while keeping our eyes open on the global.

(Ghana is indeed one of the sources of happier African news. Maybe I should start doing Ghana news round ups to balance the much more depressing Darfur news round ups.)

Eritrea: Alone against the world, by Nikolaj Nielsen.

Eritrea was the promise that never evolved. Three decades of guerrilla conflict, a struggle for independence hard won, the blood of tens of thousands spilled, for a brief semblance of peace and reconciliation in 1993 that has since been spoiled by a kleptocratic dictatorship and a Horn unable to come to terms with lasting peace. According to Professor Bereket Habte Saleassie, himself a former Eritrean freedom fighter, peace in this part of the world is defined simply as the temporary absence of war. The protracted border dispute with Ethiopia has implicated Eritrea’s leadership in countless human rights abuses upon its own people.

Land grabs: Africa’s new ‘resource curse’? Khadija Sharife.

The global food crisis of 2008, forcing 100 million people below the poverty belt, may have been a catastrophe for the working poor of the world – peoples living in slums and on streets with no name, but for Wall Street, the ‘crisis’ – pushing up the price of grain by 140 per cent, was nothing less than the beginning of a new frontier: Harvesting power through dominion over farmland. Though the US squarely laid the blame for increased food prices on scarcity and the rapidly growing ‘middle class’ segment of both China and India – estimated at 650 million – a leaked document written by senior World Bank analyst Don Mitchell, revealed that 65-75 per cent of the increase was caused by the conversion of ‘crops for fuel’ ie: biofuels.

St. Vincent just voted on a new constitution, and the new constitution lost. Global Voices rounds up the varied views of Vincentian bloggers on the referendum.

15 Toys NOT To Buy Your Kids This Christmas (actually, the one where you filet a fish doesn’t look so bad to me, but some others …).

Twitter Explains the New Retweet Feature.

Nutty Newswire passes on one of those news items that leave me conflicted over whether to just laugh over the nuttiness of it or offer a dash of skepticism: a study shows that buzzing flies are more likely to wake men than crying babies. The reason offered for why this might be so is, of course,

These differing sensitivities may represent evolutionary differences that make women sensitive to sounds associated with a potential threat to their children while men are more finely tuned to disturbances posing a possible threat to the whole family.

Now, it’s entirely possible that this finding is, on average, correct (I do know that, when we’re both awake, I tend to get bothered more quickly by crying babies than Joel, while he gets bothered more quickly by buzzing flies). It’s even possible that the reason it’s on average correct has some biological basis rather than being entirely socially conditioned. But (here’s the dash of skepticism) I feel compelled to point out that the Telegraph, the paper reporting this finding, is a conservative paper, and that there’s no indication that the study (carried out by a private firm on behalf of a company selling an all night cold and flu tablet) was published anywhere peer reviewed. So, there could also be selection bias in the reporting here. (Though, if it’s biology, does that mean it’s men’s job to kill all flies and mosquitos?)

Tiger Beatdown provides a feminist semi-defense of the Twilight franchise and its sexy sparkly vampire in The Edward Cullen Underpants Conundrum. Meanwhile, Racialicious discusses the portrayal of the Indian werewolves.

Since sparkly vampires aren’t my personal sex fantasy (though shirtless werewolves are actually kind of appealing if I only had reason to believe I’d like the story line that goes with them), I’m waiting instead to see whether I can view the new TNT series “Men of a Certain Age” online, when it comes out next week. Not, of course, for sex fantasy material (it doesn’t sound as if that’s what the show is selling), but for good actors. If I can, I mean to give it a try through at least the first couple of shows, if only for Andre Braugher (I think I’ve blogged this a time or three already). So now, having read the various interviews of all three actors about how cool the show is going to be, I finally get to see the first reviews. Here’s one that’s mostly favorable.

“It is not the beginning of the end, merely the end of the beginning.” These words are particularly appropriate this week, as I finish out Nanowrimo. Tomorrow is the final day, at which time I will have my very first finished novel. Of course, I say finished, but as stated above, this is an illusion. My Novel will have been given shape, but it has not yet been given life. That will require several months of intensive editing, re-editing, reading, re-reading, and possibly some re-writing. However, the basic form which it has now will not change.

It will still be a story about a Dragon named Aurelia who collects books, and is a scholar. She will still set out on a a quest to locate an object with several human companions. And she will still narrate the Story for us. So, I thought this week it would be appropriate to give a synopsis of the Novel as it now stands.

The Story is set in an alternate history Europe, with both Medieval elements and Classical elements, as well as some purely fantastical elements. The Narrator, Aurelia, is a Bookewyrme, though throughout the story she, and other bookewyrmes are referred to as “Librarians” as that is usually their occupation. Aurelia’s library is housed in the castle of the Prince of Durham, the younger brother of the King of Brittania. The Prince has three children, a daughter who is the eldest, and two younger sons. Unfortunately, the daughter cannot inherit, though she is the most suited to do so, because the Law of the Kingdom forbids this. The Princess is on the verge of being married to a Prince of another Kingdom, thus separating her both from her Rightful Inheritance and her beloved Lady Marisa, when she comes up with a desperate plan. She decides to set out to find an artifact associated with the Helenic God Hermaphroditus which is said to be able to change the gender of whoever uses it. She is accompanied by several Guards, the Lady Marisa, our Narrator Aurelia, and Aurelia’s plucky maid, Elsie.

They travel through many lands, and encounter many different people and beings, including an ordinary (and very bad-tempered) dragon, a woman who is one quarter Valkyrie, and a Dwarf. One of the places they visit is the Land of the Elves, which is based rather heavily on Ancient Egypt. Here they encounter the oldest living Bookewyrme, and several Elven Gods. At last, they finish their Journey to the Temple of Hermaphroditus in Eastern Helas, returning the Artifact to its proper place, and gaining the God’s gratitude. The Novel ends with the Princess returning to her own Kingdom to claim her proper place as her Father’s Heir.

Of course, there are a few twists and turns, but as I hope to publish this story some day, I will not spoil them for anybody. The novel is actually the first in a trilogy featuring Aurelia, called The Librarian Chronicles. Currently, the title of this work is “Princess” but it is possible this will change over time.

Many apologies for the short post today. I still have about 3,000 more words to chase around the page before Midnight tomorrow, and if I leave them for too long, they start to Escape.

Until next week, Dear Reader!

Thought for the Day: “You can’t wait for Inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London

Currently Reading: Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

One of the most common declamation pieces back in high school, elementary days. sad to say, i wasn’t introduced to this by my teachers. Just heard this through my sister and I’m posting this because, yeah, I heard it again tonight.

———————

Vengeance is not ours, It’s God’s

Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged.

Why are you staring at me? With my eyes I cannot see but I know that you are all staring at me. Why are you whispering to one another? Why? Do you know my mother? Do you know my father? Did you know me five years ago? Yes, five years of bitterness have passed. I can still remember the vast happiness mother and I shared with each other. We were very happy indeed.

Suddenly, five loud knocks were heard on the door and a deep silence ensued. Did the cruel Nippon’s discover our peaceful home? Mother ran to Father’s side pleading. “Please, Luis, hide in the cellar, there in the cellar where they cannot find you,” I pulled my father’s arm but he did not move. It seemed as though his feet were glued to the floor. The door went “bang” and before us five ugly beasts came barging in. “Are you Captain Luis Santos?” roared the ugliest of them all. “Yes,” said my father. “You are under arrest,” said one of the beasts. They pulled father roughly away from us. Father was not given a chance to bid us goodbye.

We followed them mile after mile. We were hungry and thirsty. We saw group of Japanese eating. Oh, how our mouths watered seeing the delicious fruits they were eating, Then suddenly, we heard a voice call, “Consuelo……Oscar……Consuelo……Oscar……Consuelo. ……Oscar……” we ran towards the direction of the voice, but it was too late. We saw father hanging on a tree…… dead. Oh, it was terrible. He had been badly beaten before he died……and I cried vengeance, vengeance, vengeance! Everything went black. The next thing I knew I was nursing my poor invalid mother.

One day, we heard the church bell ringing “ding-dong, ding-dong!” It was a sign for us to find a shelter in our hide-out, but I could not leave my invalid mother, I tried to show her the way to the hide-out.

Suddenly, bombs started falling; airplanes were roaring overhead, canyons were firing from everywhere. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Mother was hit. Her legs were shattered into pieces. I took her gently in my arms and cried, “I’ll have vengeance, vengeance!” “No, Oscar. Vengeance, it is God’s,” said mother.

But I cried out vengeance. I was like a pent-up volcano. “Vengeance is mine not the Lord’s”. “No, Oscar. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God’s” these were the words from my mother before she died.

Mother was dead and I was blind. Vengeance is not ours? To forgive is divine but vengeance is sweeter.

That was five years ago, five years…… Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged. Vengeance is not ours, it is God’s……It’s……God’s……It’s…

———————-

Ready, set… The stage is yours my friend.

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”[e]

20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,[f] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

MOST -THE MOVIE

When I was a little boy, my father showed me the movies and television shows that would influence nearly all of the cultural loves that would follow me the rest of my life.  We watched and re-watched Errol Flynn classics like The Crimson Pirate and, in particular, The Adventures of Robin Hood, a movie whose love I would soak in even more when I bought it for cheap on HD-DVD.  Perhaps I’ll need a blu-ray copy someday, but for now, I’m good.

We would follow the adventures of Zorro, “the fox so cunning and free” who “makes the sign of the ‘z’.”  He also showed me the Arnold Schwarzenegger “classics” Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer, as well as the awesome Disney adaptations of the life of Davey Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (which ends at The Alamo, where, in case you slept through history, Mr. Crockett didn’t fare so well) and Davey Crockett and the River Pirates (a prequel which was made because the original film proved so popular that Disney needed to put the guy in another movie despite him fighting to the death in the most famous last stand in American history).

I love heroes.  It’s a topic that has always fascinated me, and something I imagine will stay with me for the rest of my life.  Despite not really being into comic books until middle school, I always dug superheroes, which I’d see in old cartoons rented from the library or the old Fleischer Studio Superman cartoons, which still look fantastic today.

But what it is about heroics and larger-than-life characters that so strongly grasps the human imagination?  Why are films such as The Dark Knight and Iron Man making hundreds of millions of dollars, other than simply being good or great movies?  After all, tons of great pieces of cinema make a fraction of that, although they often lack a pop-culture icon like a Batman or Spider-man.

But then, how do these characters become pop-culture icons in the first place?  Frankly, the concepts of their existence are a bit silly, something even I’ll admit as a self-confessed comic book fan.  Batman lost his parents to crime as a child, so decided to spend the rest of his life dressed in tights and viciously beating criminals in the alleyways of his hometown.  If we took an even remotely realistic view of something like this, we can all admit that someone like this would be locked up for assault and battery, and while they could possibly get off with an insanity plea, nearly every criminal they busted up would never be jailed in the first place.  Superheroics and the logic that goes along with accepting them are absurd, and yet it’s something that worldwide audiences cling to.

I was thinking about that today, and why the United States has created worldwide cultural phenomena in the form of masked vigilantes.  Ultimately, I believe it’s about history and myth.

Countries such as Greece and Egypt have histories so extensive that they have created a series of cultural characters that are well-known across the globe, a small side dish that came along with democracy, architecture and mummification.  Egypt may be a bit of a harder sell in the storytelling department (although tons of Americans have probably heard of Isis or Osiris, and nearly all know the story of the Ten Commandments thanks to The Bible and Charlton Heston), but Greek myths are told in nearly every school in America.  Heck, I taught Oedipus Rex last year, and every kid at least knew who Zeus was.  But even going beyond the Gods, a bunch of kids know about the Trojan War (thanks Troy, and Brad Pitt’s Achilles!), and others know about Perseus and Medusa, or Theseus and the Minotaur.  These stories are so well known that they find places in cultures formed millenniums after their fall and half a world away.

The United States, a country only slighter more than 230 years old, doesn’t have an ancient pantheon of Gods and historical warrior kings to play with, although Neil Gaiman gave it a shot (a book, alas, I haven’t finished reading.  Sorry, Neil), creating new Gods of television and radio to combat the old of all cultures, such as Loki or Khali.  Certainly, the US has created a few tall tales and magic men in its short time on this earth, most notably Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan, but there simply hasn’t been the time to create characters that can carry over to foreign shores.  No one in Japan or Germany gives a damn about Paul Bunyan, or nearly any other character in the small patch of mythology called “Americana.”

But they know who Spider-man is, now don’t they?

(Next time, a look at comic books as the true American mythology…)

Suicide Bombing

Al-Nisa (The Women) Sura 4: Verse 29 (Partial)

“… And kill yourselves not, for God is truly Merciful to you.”

People who are driven to despair are thus reminded to have faith in God’s mercy in the hope that they may be relieved of their suffering. Since suicide is prohibited, anyone who tries to facilitate it, or acts as an accomplice, is also liable to a deterrent punishment that may be quantified by the court while taking into consideration the material circumstances of the case. Commentators have, moreover, drawn a five-point conclusion from this verse as follows:

1. the obvious meaning is that suicide is forbidden;

2. the text also stipulates that ‘you may not kill one another’ nor facilitate suicide;

3. one may not undertake a task which is likely to cause his own death, even if it be in lieu of a religious obligation;

4. no one should deprive himself of the necessities of life to the point of self-destruction; and

5. the text covers cases of self-destruction regardless of the manner in which it is done.

The manuals of Islamic law are silent on the issue of suicide bombing, a disturbing phenomenon of our time that became frequent in connection with Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially when Israel unleashed a new wave of aggression on the street processions of unarmed Palestinian youth in 2000-1. The aftermath of 11 September 2001 and more recently the horrendous violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, added new dimensions to the incidence of suicide bombing among Muslims.

Suicide bombing in the name of Islam is a ’sociopolitical phenomenon, not a theological one’. And any long-term solution to the problem must also address the causes that have brought so much pain and hopelessness to many Muslim societies.

It would be simplistic to lump the Palestinian suicide bombing with Al-Qaedah terrorist activities. One can hardly deny the genuine suffering of the Palestinian people and legitimacy of their struggle against sustained Israeli brutalities. It would appear equally simplistic, however, to equate suicide bombing with martyrdom and jihad. This is because suicide bombing contravenes two fundamental principles of Islam: prohibition against suicide, and deliberate killing of non-combatants. The argument that proceeds over reciprocity and retaliation is also flawed by the involvement of innocent non-combatants in suicide bombing.

Those who have raised the issue of ‘collateral damage’ in this context have also exaggerated their case, simply because non-combatants are chosen as the direct target of suicide bombing. They are, as such, neither collateral nor incidental.

The Muslim fighter who is motivated by the spirit of jihad enters the battle, not with the intention of dying, but with the conviction that if he should die, it would be for reasons beyond his control. Martyrdom in Islam does not begin with suicidal intention, let alone the linkage of that intention with the killing of non-combatants.

To justify suicide bombing under the banner of retaliation, or as a form of jihad, is therefore questionable, simply because it begins on an erroneous note, which goes against the essence both of just retaliation and justified jihad.

Compiled From:

“Shariah Law – An Introduction” – Mohammad Hashim Kamali, pp. 283-288

if you’re still looking for your son, ask the old watchmaker who lives precarious at the top of town–i think years of bending metal into dimensional timepieces have warped him to god (that’s why he’s blind and deaf to everything but the second-hand ticktock) so if you can phrase your question in the cold sweep of eons he might hear. and when he does, expect an answer of cogs and slipstream (gears rust and degrade, watchsprings want coiling; your son has gone where the other broken parts have gone.)

Bhubaneshwar boy behind the cigarette,
puffing out his Old Town dreams;
Black grooves on his fingers,
dark as Maalisaahi streets.

Smirk on his face, bitterness in mouth,
Cuttack in the north, Bhubaneshwar to the south;
Open pits and uncovered drains,
sweeping away the filth from sinful rains.

A city of non-believers, slimy serpents,
a forgotten past and of course,
Gods staring out of walls,
armed with swords and tridents,
from their seats lest they fall.

The glowing cigarette, a riot in the night,
like a ghostly galleon in space,
circled by puffs swirling in the dim light;
When Gods creep indoors and Demons rule the roads,
darkness ushers in a tormenting sight.

Our boy walks alone, prince of the dark streets;
Pleading Gods and fearful Ghosts brushed arrogantly aside;
Bhubaneshwar on the tip of his cigarette,
the kid lights it up with that knowing smile in his eyes.

I first had contact with this God back in December of 2007.  I had just basically finished watching the Magical/Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok anime, and had the characters on my mind a lot. So that’s when it seems He took it that I at least was somewhat paying attention to Him.

I did some research on Him a day later and found all sorts of neat things. On January 1st of 2008 I put an altar up to Him, since He’s a god of new beginnings. His altar had the side closest to the window, so the rising sun could peek onto His altar first, since I’d read an association with Him and the first rays of the morning sun.

I oathed to Him on October 1, 2008, and that had to be the most I’d done before, even though it truly wasn’t much.  I was honoured to have written a part for an unpublished book, but still, the honour was all mine.

I’ve become quite a better person under this God’s influence I think, being even more protective and watching over others. I’ve also learned to do right by people and things. A good example was to offer to help a friend I don’t even know in person. She could’ve walked away from my friendship, but she didn’t, and I let her know the offer stands, whether or not she ever takes me up on it.

I find I get a kick out of when my friends associate me with Him. That’s an absolute honour and joy I think. Associations I have for Him (and some is UPG) are rainbow colours, gold, white, Amethyst, lavender, purple, lilac, Palomino horses, and hawks.

I wrote an invocation to Him -

Heimdall -

Lord Heimdall, Far sighted watchman with unequaled hearing, You Who stand courageously alone against all on comers at Your post.

May I be courageous to take action when and where it is needed.

May I always strive to do the right thing, and be able to see all sides before I judge.

May my counsel be wise.

May I not stand idly by while injustices occur around me.

May I be vigilant to stand up for or speak for those weaker than myself, and protect and defend them if necessary.

May I be ever watchful against prejudice, hatred or any other negative behaviour, including that within my own self.

Hail to you Lord Heimdall, ever vigilant protector and defender of the Gods, Father of mankind, wise of counsel, Lord of Himinbjorg, Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge.

Songs I have on a playlist for Him -

Heimdall -

Abingdon Boys School -”Innocent Sorrow”
Adams, Bryan – “Heaven”
Branch, Michelle – “Everywhere”
Brown, Chris – “Forever”
Carey, Mariah – “Lovin’ You a Long Time”
Carlisle, Belinda- “Heaven is a Place on Earth”
Collective Soul – “The World I Know”
D.J. Sammy – “Heaven”
Hamasaki, Ayumi – “Angel’s Song”
Hamasaki, Ayumi – “Rainbow”
Hearts Grow – “Yura Yura”
Hikaru, Utada- “Passion”
Journey – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Journey – “Open Arms”
Journey – “When You Love a Woman”
Lavigne, Avril- “Keep Holding On”
Nickelback – “Hero”
Nickelback – “I’d Come For You”
Nickelback – “Never Gonna Be Alone”
The Calling – “Anything”
TM Revolution – “Slight Faith”
Toy Box -”Fantasy Dream World”
Vanilla Sky – “Umbrella”
Westlife- “Obvious”

It’s an absolute joy to have this God (and the others!) in my life. Like Njord and Ullr, He’s just not one I would have ever thought that would be in my life, and I honestly never paid Him much attention before I saw the anime. He’s taught me to be more honourable, noble and trustworthy. I can’t say enough nice things about Him.

The Sunnah in Performing “Ablution”

1.  Mentioning the name of Allah-In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful [saying: bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim]

2.  Washing the hands thrice.

3.  [Starting by] Rinsing the mouth and nose before washing the face.

4.  Rinsing the nose by one’s left hand. This is because it is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “washed his hands thrice, then he rinsed his mouth and washed his nose with water by putting water in it and blowing it out, and he washed his face thrice…) [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim].

5.  Exaggerating in rinsing one’s mouth and nose if not fasting by moving water around the mouth and snuffing water to the end of one’s nose. This is because of the hadith, “…and snuff with water well except when you are fasting”. [Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawoud, ibn Maja and An-Nasa'i].

6.  Rinsing one’s mouth and nose with the same handful of water. This is because of the hadith, “He [the Prophet] put his hand [into the vessel containing water] rinsed his mouth and his nose”. [Bukhari and Muslim].

7.  Using tooth stick [Ar. Siwak] before rinsing one’s mouth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him says, “Had I not thought it difficult for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to use the Siwak (tooth-stick) before every Prayer.”[Narrated by Ahmed and An-Nasa'i].

8.  Running one’s wet finger through the beard upon washing the face. It is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him used to run his wet finger through his beard while performing ablution. [Al-Thirmithi].

9.  Wiping over one’s head. This is performed as follows: passing one’s wet hands over the head from front to back and so forth. As for obligatory wiping over one’s head, it is to wipe over one’s head in any way. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah used to pass his hands over his head [in ablution] from the front to the back. [Bukhari and Muslim].

10.     Running wet fingers between the fingers and toes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Perform your ablution perfectly and let water to run between the fingers [and toes]“.

11.     Washing the right [limb] before the left. It is narrated in the hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “Used to start from the right side on wearing shoes, combing his hair, cleaning or washing himself and on doing anything else” [Bukhari and Muslim].

12.     Performing the actions thrice when washing the face, hands and foot.

13.     Saying the two testifications of faith [Ar.Shahadatan] after finishing ablution. Meaning, to says, “I testify that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger”. It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ” If anyone amongst you performs the ablution perfectly and then says: I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger, the eight gates of Paradise would be opened for him and he may enter by whichever of them he wishes”. [Muslim]

14.     Performing ablution in one’s house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever purifies in his house and walks to the mosque to perform obligatory prayer, his steps are counted as one expiates a sin and the other raises his rank” [Muslim]

15.       Passing one’s hand over the limb while or after washing.

16.     Using little amount of water. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to use little amount of water in ablution. [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

17.     Washing above the limits of the four limbs [hands and foot]. It is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) performed ablution, he washed his arm up to the elbows and his feet up to the ankles and said: this is how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution”. [Muslim]

18.     Performing two rak’ahs [Eng. Units of prayer] after ablution. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ” He who performs ablution like this of mine and then stood up (for prayer) and offered two rak’ahs of prayer without allowing his thoughts to be distracted, all his previous sins are expiated” [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

In a report by Muslim through ‘Uqba ibn ‘Amir: “He will be rewarded by nothing except Paradise”.

19.     Perfecting one’s ablution: washing each part perfectly. Muslims vary in times of performing ablution during the day, and everyone has to observe these Sunan in every time he performs ablution.

   Virtue of observing the above Sunan:

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who performed ablution perfectly, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails.” [Muslim].

i saw The Merlin at an ATM;

he dropped his gold card and i knelt at his feet.

i tried to hand it back to him, 

but he’d disappeared down the street.

i talked with Saint Lazarus on the crosstown bus;

i thought someone would give him a seat.

he smiled at me and said not to worry that

everyone else looked beat.

Gautama was driving a cab i jumped in;

i probably tipped him too much.

White Tara was shopping on Fordham Road;

She seemed to be a rush.

Milagros was at Barnes and Noble,

Ganesha on line at Whole Foods.

Sekhmet was selling hotdogs;

I was starting to feel really good.

Apollo was sweeping a theater;

La Madama was a CEO.

Lakshmi was giving a manicure;

The Morrighan was taking in a show.

the masters are descending

we’re more open to love now they say

this dimension is  finally bending

i hope to goddess they’ll stay.

Last year, it is only 5months before I am able to be back home, at that point of time, missing home wasn’t even a thought in my mind. However, as I come to know more of Christ and being away from my family, my thoughts are re-shaped to something like, “Will it be better to have a stronger family bond?” However, it seem like there are so many problems that I seem to ignore… Or probably afraid to faced it… Gosh, how am I able to go through them? God, help me!!!

The very first day. Woke up, found myself back in a familiar place and smiled, “I’m back.” *=)* Finally, could get another read on Life! newspaper and watching news on the TV, a coffee on the table and a slice of kaya toast. Something I missed for the past few months. However, I guess habits do change when you got too used to not having much from watching TV, not having your usual solid newspaper, I felt like I left out a lot about the world I used to be in but the newspaper don’t seem to attract me any more.

The many changes… Extra stops for MRTs, new buses, new buildings, freshly painted buildings, new constructions, new decorations, new transport systems, change of people, etc…

Having a jog around the same area seem to introduce to me a lot of new things or thing that are happening around my current neighbourhood. Fascinating yet depressing too… Haha, I guess I just felt like the place is changing without giving me any notice… I guess God is really telling me, “Keep up with them (People) my dear child.”

God, is it really a time to step out and adapt to the changes? I guess, the good thing out of all the realisation is that I know I have changed too for the better. In terms of getting to talk to my Ah Ma, thinking through before I go “bursting” at my dad or bro. Or doing anything stupid before my mum receive the resulting trashes…

Saw Ivan on Wednesday (Sis’ Birthday!), both of as was so surprise, and officially welcomed him when he said, “Woah, Singapore is very small.” Haha, looks like he is adapting well in Singapore. Heard he like it here, however, work is pretty demanding. Well, again, welcome to Singapore! I guess, that is like how you see peoples faces in Singapore, you could hardly see a smile around. I have always asked myself, “Why don’t you be that person who smile? Pass the smile around and see what that smile could do?” It is like saying, “Do your best, and God will see your heart and He will help you overcome the problems.”

Told him that my dad didn’t know that I already accepted Christ long ago. He asked, “You want me to tell him?” I was shocked and said, “No. Immediately.” However, after we went back to our seat, I thought, “I could have said OK! instead of a no.” Am I not ready?

But Lord, You had given me one of the best dinner after I came back from Brisbane! Fried Yam, fresh oysters, Chinese herbal soup, non-fake fruit punch, yummy desserts and a good family gathering! Can’t ask for more. Thank you Lord! I am sorry…

***

God. I still can’t figure out so many things. Why is it that I can’t accept that I am unable to behave the way I am when I am in Brisbane, when I am with Dydy? I seem to be still filled with anger… Frustration… Questions of why is it so hard to talk to him or even make him understand? Why is my brother still playing with games for hours? And I am saying solid HOURS!!! He is 32!!! What is wrong with him??? Is he really serving God wholeheartedly or blindly? Is he going to church as an excuse? Does he like to make excuses? Dydy? What about him? Why is he so easily angered? Why is he stubborn? Why is he always blaming mom for all the problems? Is he just a person who PLEASED people who is so called “high-class” lawyer? Why must he look down on people’s capabilities? Is his view ALWAYS right?

Lord what about me? Am I living the way I should? Why am I not listening to You? Is my obedience even there when I face them? I am suppose to be who I suppose to be and someone I like to be? Why couldn’t I control my temper sometimes when I am with them? I am too in a rush, that I forgotten to pray and wait upon You?

God. Is it right to come back? Sometimes I felt blessed to be back, sometimes I hated to be back. Am I running away? Hiding? Facing head straight? Or doing well under Your command?

I wished to consider further one of the implications of my previous tongue-in-cheek suggestion that Jehovah, God of the Jews, Christians and Muslims was actually Loki, embittered and angry, causing what turned out to be considerable trouble for the Aesir and Vanir and even more for their faithful followers in Midgard.

How should a heathen look at the Gods of other pantheons, in particular those of closely related Indo-European systems? How do our Gods fit in with those of more distantly related or even unrelated religious systems?

I will set out my thinking on the matter, which has answered a few problems I faced in the attempt to reconcile the existence of many pantheons among the various nations of the world.

Of course, you might have the attitude that whether or not other systems can be fitted into ours is irrelevant, what other nations have done is not important. I do not agree with that for the following reason: If we accept the world creating, maintaining and defending roles of our Gods, one must presume that they created, maintain and defend Midgard for everyone, from Anglo-Saxons to Zulus. If the Slavs worshipped a God called Perun who travels in a chariot pulled by a goat, who throws thunderbolts, has a double headed axe (occasionally described as a hammer) that when thrown returns to his hand, it is difficult not to recognise our world warder Thunor. Here is Perun fighting a serpent:

Does this remind you of anything?

My thoughts are that Thunor is likely to have revealed himself to other nations and while I would not be so confident as to state that Perun is Thunor, I do think it is likely.

Things start getting more difficult when we start moving a little further afield. There is a West African god: Shango, who is also a thunder god, he has a double headed axe which looks quite like a hammer as well – here’s a picture:

The trouble is that apart from these rather superficial similarities, he has very few similarities to Thunor, especially not in the stories told about him. In short, the similarities seem to be a coincidence rather than a part of the character’s identity.

If we accept that our Gods are creators and defenders of the entire universe (or multiverse) we have to recognise that, for some reason, other nations do not seem to realise this.

I have a generally hard polytheistic attitude: I do not believe, as some people do, that all Goddesses are just aspects of one Goddess, or that all Gods are aspects of one God. For one thing, the world demonstrates a clear interplay of various forces and interests. The limited human mind may find it easier to simplify things down so you only have two or even one basic divinity to deal with, but this seems to be taking the easy way out. Just because you can’t explain the relationships between various different forces, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. If I say that Perun is a different description of Thunor, I mean that there is one being, called different names in different mythologies, but that they are identical. Maybe one nation experienced and experience the God in a slightly different way from another, but the two are the same God.

I would not like to claim that all the Gods in the Slavic pantheon are Germanic Gods as well. How then to describe them in a way that does not demean the special status of the Aesir and Vanir, yet, as our ancestors often did with foreign Gods, recognises them as powerful beings and possibly worthy of worship when in their territory? I believe our ancestors and our Gods have already come up with a most elegant solution to this problem. The tale concerning the war between the Aesir and Vanir and their subsequent unification, shows that divine status can be held by more than one group of beings. The Aesir are clearly able to interbreed with giants, Bestla, the mother of Woden himself is a giant, as is Aegir, Frey’s wife Gerd etc. etc. Not all giants are antagonistic towards the Aesir; despite his mighty reputation as a giant killer, Thunor often received help from giants and even sleeps with giantesses, fathering children with Jarnsaxa.

This shows that there is not so much of a difference between Gods and giants as those of us brought up under a monotheistic system might be lead to believe. Being a bit of a Bolshevik, I see a parallel with the East German United Socialist Party. The Party was formed through a merger of the KPD and SPD in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, much as the Gods as a group stem from a merger of the Aesir and Vanir. Within East Germany, there were party members (Gods), and non party members (Giants). Not being a member of the party did not imply opposition to the party, just as being a giant does not necessarily imply hostility to the Gods, but some non-party members were inimical and were attacked by the party, and some party members (playing a Loki-like role) betrayed the revolution themselves. In essence, members and non-members were all much the same, it is one’s formal membership of a group that defines one’s label rather than any kind of internal peculiarity.

As a non-party member such as Skadi could join up, and a party member like Loki could be expelled, I would suggest that a good way of seeing gods from other pantheons is to accept them as giants or their equivalents. It is quite possible that other nations worship what we might consider little more than powerful local land-wights, I see the boundaries between these categories as being fairly blurred anyway.

My thinking on this matter allows me to do several things:

1) To acknowledge the superiority of the Aesir and Vanir among other beings of similar, if, in the heathen view, inferior status.

2) To recognise that other nations worship powerful beings that, while not as excellent as our Gods, still are worthy of respect in their own territories.

3) To see these other deities, not as necessarily evil creatures or demons as Christianity is wont to do, but as potential allies of our own Aesir and Vanir.

As such, I am happy to recommend my viewpoint to others.

]]> http://1minionsopinion.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/offer-blood-to-gadhimai-and/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:53:09 +0000 1minionsopinion http://1minionsopinion.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/offer-blood-to-gadhimai-and/

benefit from good fortune five years from now, apparently. But it’s not good enough to open one of your own veins. At least 10,000 buffalo have to die in order for a whole country to benefit. And that’s not all. 250,000 animals from rats, to chickens, to pigs and bigger get the chop for this twice-a-decade ritual.

With up to a million worshippers on the roads near the festival grounds, this year’s fair seems more popular than ever, despite vocal protests from animals rights groups who have called for it to be banned. “It is the traditional way, ” explained 45-year old Manoj Shah, a Nepali driver who has been attending the event since he was six, “If we want anything, and we come here with an offering to the goddess, within five years all our dreams will be fulfilled.” .

Gadhimai is a Hindu goddess of power. So the people get dreams coming true. What do animals get? They get their heads sliced off and their bodies sold to meat markets and anyone else who can make a profit off their remains

On the eve of the event, protesters made a final plea to organisers by cracking open coconuts in a nearby temple as a symbolic sacrifice. “It is cruel and inhumane. We’ve always been a superstitious country, but I don’t think sacrifice has to be part of the Hindu religion,” said the protest organiser, Pramada Shah.

The campaign has the support of the French actor Brigitte Bardot, who has petitioned the Nepalese prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, about the issue. But the government, which donated £36,500 to the event, has shown no sign of discontinuing the centuries-old tradition. An attempt by the previous government to cut the budget for animal sacrifice provoked street protests.

I think if it’s possible to fight this tradition, it needs to be fought. It’s harder when a government backs it, obviously, but it’s still necessary to try.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.

~G. K. CHESTERTON

There was a little boy who once heard how many people in the world do not know the love of Jesus. The boy had a great desire to become a missionary so that he can travel places sharing the love of God. Unfortunately, one day he met with an accident and lost both his legs. He was laid on the bedside of a window and was supplied with his daily needs. The boy grieved in his heart that he can no longer go places to share the love of Jesus. He was so disappointed. Then one day an idea struck him, everyday he made small chits with one liners in it that read messages like Jesus Loves You, Jesus Heals You, Jesus Saves You etc. He threw these chits from the window on the travelers who passed by the road. He did these for years but did not see any response. One day a stranger knocked at the door. He asked if there is anybody on the window-side throwing chits on the road. The stranger was led to the boy. The stranger said, “I am a rich industrialist. Two years ago I was struck by a strange disease which had no medicine in the medical world. I was then being taken in an ambulance for an emergency surgery. The ambulance happened to stop by the signal that is beside the window when a paper came flying and stuck to the glass window of the ambulance. It read, “Jesus heals you”. The message renewed my spirit and encouraged me. Jesus healed me miraculously and today I’m completely restored with good health. Thank you for sharing His love with me” No matter in which state we are, we can still share the love of God with others and change their lives…

Heroic Squirrel Saves It’s Baby From Dog.

The Economist on The conceit of deceit: How people make up good reasons for bad behaviour. (Via Neuroanthropology)

Bruce Schneier on How Smart are Islamic Terrorists?

Drima the Sudanese Thinker on Taqwacore – The Birth of Punk Islam.

Susan Russell on Suffragan Q&A Link for the upcoming Episcopal Church suffragan bishop election in Los Angeles.

New Books: Different Aspects of Asian American Life.

Arranged marriage howto.

Rowan Williams in Rome.

A Mormon (Feminist!) Image: Fearless.

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good.

David Dobbs on dandelions vs. orchids

Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming spectacularly if given greenhouse care. So holds a provocative new theory of genetics, which asserts that the very genes that give us the most trouble as a species, causing behaviors that are self-destructive and antisocial, also underlie humankind’s phenomenal adaptability and evolutionary success. With a bad environment and poor parenting, orchid children can end up depressed, drug-addicted, or in jail—but with the right environment and good parenting, they can grow up to be society’s most creative, successful, and happy people.

More at the link. Via Eve Tushnet.

The Economist on Turning the screw some more: A UN report suggests that striking progress is being made in the fight against AIDS.

This post will no doubt raise the level of incivility a bit, but in the long run, it might provide a basis for a more civil, if less hopeful, and less righteous, sort of discourse. My premise is, the debate about same sex marriage has nothing to do with “equal protection of the laws.” In other words, if I had the deciding vote on the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, when it considered the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, Ms. Goodridge would have lost. Looking on the bright side, she would not now be divorced.

Now, to keep the outrage down to a dull roar, let me note that I voted against my state’s “defense of marriage” amendment, on the ground that it was utterly redundant, and poorly written. If my state’s legislature ever considered a statute to license same sex couples as marriages, I really wouldn’t stir myself to either advocate for it or to stop it. But, as a disciple of James Madison’s arguments for the federal constitution, I am concerned with the integrity of the courts as guardians of our liberties. The arguments against Ms. Goodridge were as badly reasoned as those submitted to the court on her behalf, perhaps worse, which is one reason the decision fell out as it did. It was not a paragon of sound and rational judicial reasoning, nor of clear principles by which government can be restrained from infringing on the liberties of a free people.

Essentially, the four-judge majority in Goodrich reasoned that before the court were two demographic groups, one denominated heterosexuals, the other denominated homosexuals. On that premise, of course, it is quite natural that the one group should not be denied a benefit available to the other. But the court failed to perform the most elementary task of any legal analysis, whether writing a statute or making a judicial ruling. The court failed to define its terms.

I’m not sure it is possible to define what “a homosexual” is. Is there any objective basis to it? Is is purely subjective? Is it a matter of self-definition? Is it in the eye of the beholder? That may become an important question in counseling adolescents. Can we be sure that certain adolescents “are gay,” certainly and irrevocably? Even if some are, is everyone who feels a burst of love for someone of their own gender definable for life by that momentary warm glow? Throughout history, there have been individuals who, for various reasons, in various circumstances, were motivated by both heterosexual and homosexual impulses. Greek warriors, for example, had wives to bear lawful heirs, and military comrades with whom they formed strong bonds while away for years fighting wars. That is, most likely, what Achilles and Patroclus were all about.

But the real problem was that the court didn’t base its analysis on a definition of “marriage.” Without knowing what a marriage IS, there is no way to analyze who does or does not have a right, or access, to that status. The court analyzed whether the existing definition of marriage violated equal protection of the laws. The court did not either accept the existing definition, which it recited at length, nor did it offer a better one. The court treated marriage as a vague bundle of emotions, legal duties, and legal benefits. That made it easy to assign this bundle to anyone who wanted it. If the government pays me $600 to stimulate the economy, it ought to pay everyone the same $600. But marriage is not simply a bundle of benefits to be handed out.

There had been a definition of marriage up to the time the case was heard: it was the union of a man and a woman. It created a social context for a specific biological phenomenon. Perhaps that definition was flawed. If so, what definition would replace it? Individuals deeply in love with a person of their own sex have expressed some annoyance with the question “If a man can marry whatever he wants, why not his horse, his dog, his cat, his car, or his living room couch?” (Ditto for women). But the question simply points out, there must be a clear and precise definition. If it is completely open-ended, then we are talking about anything or everything, therefore we are talking about nothing.

Suppose, arguendo as the lawyers say, that marriage is “the union of one man and one woman.” That definition has a certain historical precedent, not unbroken from the dawn of time, but certainly several centuries of precedent in European and North American jurisprudence. With this definition accepted as premise, is there any “unequal protection of the laws”? No. Every man, and every woman, has the right and opportunity to enter into the unique relationship known as marriage.

Every person ever labeled as “homosexual” or “gay” is either a man, or a woman. If this were not so, then the term “homosexual” would have no meaning at all. No law ever said “gay people may not marry.” As a matter of fact, many people now retroactively claimed by the gay pride movement as among their own have married, throughout history, and have married a person of the opposite sex. Today, those men and women who are attracted in some sense to others of their own sex do not wish to enter into the relationship known as marriage, as it is currently defined. That doesn’t mean they have been denied the equal protection of the laws.

The State of Massachusetts erred, or was poorly represented, when attorneys for the state admitted to a policy and practice of denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples. There was no such policy. Until same-sex couples started showing up at town clerks’ offices applying for marriage licenses, nobody had considered the idea, much less made provisions banning it. The notion simply was not contemplated in the law, therefore it could not have been banned. What the state had was a policy of licensing a particular connection between a man and a woman, called marriage. Two individuals of the same sex simply did not compute. Instead of telling applicants “I’m not allowed to do that,” clerks should have simply said “That isn’t a marriage.”

Frequent parallels have been drawn to Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision which terminated all laws banning inter-racial marriage. If a state can’t tell people who they will marry, then people should be as free to marry someone of their own sex as to marry someone of a different race, right? That is a very superficial analogy. Even if providing marriage licenses for same sex couples is a righteous cause, fair, just, the right thing to do, analogy to Loving isn’t the way to establish the point. Generations of state officials in Virgina had anticipated that a man and a woman of two different racial designations might apply for a marriage license, and taken steps to prohibit it by specific language.

Mr. Loving was a man. Mrs. Loving was a woman. Nobody on either side of the controversy had the slightest doubt that the very essence of marriage was the union of a man and a woman. But, the state of Virginia had constructed laws which restricted which men could marry which women. The law said, essentially, “you have to marry your own kind.” In fact, no state has ever had a law saying that gay men may only marry gay women, and must not marry heterosexual women – which would be a more exact analogy to the anti-miscegenation laws. The Supreme Court didn’t say, the state may not define what marriage is, it said, having recognized by law an institution called marriage, the state may not treat some men differently from other men, and some women differently from other women.

There is of course a difference between men and women. That is why, when we abandoned the absurd practice of having separate restrooms for “white” and “colored” people, we did not abandon separate restrooms for men and women. One distinction was wholly artificial. The other was quite real and rational. It is arguable, based on biology alone, that there is a unique purpose and meaning to the sexual and familial union of a man and a woman, which is simply not present in any other pursuit of sexual or social gratification. This union is THE reason for sexuality to exist at all, whether by divine command or by utterly random evolutionary selection. There is no bigotry specific to homosexual impulses, there is simply a general exclusion from consideration of any deviation from the norm. The term “deviant” is not applicable as a noun, only in its objective sense, that there is a norm, and there are, almost inevitably, deviations from the norm.

Now, let’s recast that in human terms, for individuals. Nobody would choose to be “a deviation from the norm,” and our culture tends to broadcast the message “we’re all really the same.” Well, we’re not. Diversity and sameness are mutually exclusive concepts. There is no objective legal reason why individuals who are motivated mostly or exclusively by homosexual impulses should therefore feel bad about themselves, or their devotion to a same-sex partner. Such a partnership will never, in and of itself, produce a child, it may never be accepted as a marriage, but biological deviation need not be the foundation for ostracism.

Recognition of such a partnership as a marriage is not a right. It is the collective and formal approbation of the entire community, as a whole. At present, numerous referenda strongly suggest that most communities are not prepared to offer such recognition to same-sex couples as a marriage. There are some who believe that same-sex couples are in overt violation of divine intention or explicitly revealed divine commands. There is no legal reason people who believe that should not say so. There is no legal reason people who disbelieve that should not ignore it. There is already an unambiguous decision from the Supreme Court of the United States (Lawrence v. Texas) that the state may not employ its police power to interfere with same-sex couples. That was decided as a matter of privacy, which is a distinct legal principle from equal protection of the laws.

One of the worst pieces of news coverage after Lawrence was a Newsweek front cover with the headline “Is Gay Marriage Next?” The only common thread between the right to privacy and the right to marriage was “What do gay people want next?” That common thread is not a constitutional principle. It’s just not. Constitutional principles are not about doing things for gay people, or any other group of people. They are about rights possessed by all individuals. A right to be left alone is not a right to the approval and recognition of the community. We each have a right to make choices. Some of our fellow citizens may find our choices offensive. As long as we are not causing them actual harm, we don’t have to give up our choices because others are offended. Those who are offended have the right to say so. There are many sub-issues which could be addressed, such as visitation and property rights, but until someone proposes a new definition, and secures its adoption by the legislative process, marriage is what it is, and each individual citizen has a right to enter into it, or not, as they prefer.



Corn was the food of the gods, that is why we would give the gods our best harvest.  We wanted to keep them from becoming angry at us.  And yes, once in a while we did remove a heart from a young virgin, but this was a part of the sacrifice.  Most families considered a sacrifice of their daughter’s heart to be of utmost honor, so there were few protests.  We had very good herbal remedies for almost everything but I’m sorry to say that we were a bit lacking in the anesthesiology department–so yes, the heart was removed while the girl was alive and her screams made everyone’s spines quiver.

Things changed when the Europeans came.  The bastards.  First they called us Indian, and we had no idea what that was, but we were taught about sharing, we even shared food and shelter with our slaves, and people were only made slaves as punishment for crimes or to pay off debts.  It wasn’t something we were proud of, but it was the law.  Anyway, they told us that we were a part of their kingdom.  At first we thought that perhaps we had done something to displease the gods, so we fasted, had festivals in their honor, built bigger shrines and temples for them, we sacrificed more parts of our harvest and young virgins, but to no avail.  The Europeans didn’t stop coming.  They questioned everything we did, then they began to order us around, everyone was angry about this and finally–war.  They had guns.  It wasn’t fair and many of us died.  We honored our dead because we thought that the gods thought this was a more efficient way of getting their sacrifices.  Then we realized that certain things that didn’t exist before were killing us.

Then it became certain that our gods had left us.  We did what we could, but their desire to kill us was much greater than our determination.  They had very advanced warfare weapons.  That’s about the only thing those Europeans, and now Americans continue to improve upon–warfare.  Today children practice the art of war on their television sets, what the hell do you think those video games are for anyway?

When the Europeans came and pillaged our food supplies, or raped local women so as to make them unfit for sacrifice, our gods began to starve.  They began to do unusual things in order to get their sacrifices from us.  Tenochtitlán wasn’t as rainy as as it is today.  The city was a lot like Venice, Italy in that canals connected everything, but the lake on which the city was built was simply always there.  The Europeans forced us to deviate our lakes so they could more easily find gold and other precious metals, they forced us to destroy the natural equilibrium of our natural environment, and the gods caused the city to become rainy most of the year.  We, who had always lived in water but had never seen a flood, knew this was a sign that our gods were hungry.

People will tell you that this is not true, that there are no Aztec gods, but then, every once in a while during an autopsy, I find a body without a heart.  Usually the person was buried alive or had drowned, it is usually someone who is innocent and had no enemies.  It seems as if the gods stopped caring about the race, gender or age of their victim, they just want someone innocent and friendly.  Of course, I hear some of these gods have become vegetarians and others have begun to accept industrial waste as their meals, go figure, our former greatness has been reduced to a few spiced plant dishes and garbage.