Muslims Are Losing Ground
December 31, 2008
Salmon Rushdie may have been the first to flee the wrath of angry Islamic hardliners but now whole nations are on the alert. It is an easy thing to hide one man but nations are another matter. World reaction is followed by world opinion and depending on how much dust has to settle, following close behind is worldwide action. That action has been everything from hunting down major terrorists and dangerous extremists to digging for the root causes for all this anti anything that isn’t Muslim.
Immediately after 9-11 President Bush sought to encourage Americans and warn the perpetrators of the attack in New York. We rallied around his comments with ears fully opened and hearts still burning with grief. Almost un-noticed in the melee of words and emotions he also said, that we knew the Muslim religion was a peaceful religion. Do we really know that? Up to that propitious moment in our history we knew pretty close to nothing about the Islamic faith. Since those remarks were made there has been a rush to correct our general lack of knowledge about Islam. So what do we know now?
The Armaments Industry and Holy (?) Roman Emperors
December 30, 2008
“The time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every movement to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money… The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier.” - Thomas Jefferson
Henry Kissinger made a presentation to the Bilderbergs in Evian, France in 1984; wherein he spoke of the need for society to deal with the right wing religious extremists in order to prepare the Earth for acceptance by alien cultures. Although he spoke of the benefit of a common goal for the Nations of the Earth in the advent of the end of the Cold War, it is entirely possible these world leaders are working to a new Revolution like Jefferson was still aware was needed after the end of the American Revolutionary War. It is my sincere hope that this is the case and that they have something like ‘Star Trek’ in mind for us. Here is Jefferson’s letter to another high Mason who helped bring the U.S. into being and who Jefferson had spent a lot of time with when he was Ambassador to France. That was a time when Jefferson received the ‘Great Seal of the United States’ from some unidentified party (as the story goes, it may have been connected with Napoleon’s time in the Great Pyramid).
Native American Indian Art Wood Carvings of the Pacific Northwest
December 30, 2008
Native American Indian art in the American southwest is dominated by the magnificent pottery and jewelry in the region. When it comes to the Pacific Northwest region which covers the states of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia (Canada) and the southern part of Alaska, the Native American art here is mostly wood carvings. This is not surprising since unlike the southwest desert, the Pacific Northwest is abundant with forests which have provided the wood as raw material for the region’s Native American Indian art.
The wood carvings of the Pacific Northwest Native American art come in many different forms. The huge totem poles which are carved on entire tree trunks are probably the most famous. Certainly the most common form of contemporary Pacific Northwest Native American art is the plaque wood carving. The entire range of Pacific Northwest Native American Indian art subjects including eagles, ravens, thunderbirds, bears, killer whales and salmons are carved as plaques to be hung on the wall. A more complex project and usually higher priced would be the masks which are also carved out of wood. The Pacific Northwest Native American artists make some of the most striking aboriginal masks in the world.
The Elusive Butterfly of Happiness
December 29, 2008
Are You Chasing the Elusive Butterfly of Happiness?
For many people happiness is an elusive butterfly in the garden of life. Imagine a young child in the garden on a summer day. The child sees a beautiful butterfly flitting from flower to flower. With eyes of wonder the child wants to see it close up, touch it, and hold it in their hands. The child goes towards the flower that the butterfly is resting on, with arms out stretched, only to find as he just gets in reach, the butterfly moves to another flower. Undeterred the child follows the butterfly to the next flower, and then the next, but the butterfly always stays just out of reach.
As adults, happiness can seem just like that butterfly, always just out of reach. It becomes almost an obsession and the words "if only?" become an increasingly large part of our thoughts and vocabulary. If only I had more money I would be happy, if only I was in a great relationship I would be happy, if only I could have a different job???.and the list goes on. Even if we achieve one of our "if only” desires, the happiness we seek is still just out of our reach. The truth of the saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" becomes our focus and perception. If this becomes our focus, we find that dissatisfaction and unhappiness increasingly keep growing in our life and experience.
Killing Red Heads
December 28, 2008
“With regard to the ancient Egyptians we have it on the authority of Manetho that they used to burn red-haired men and scatter their ashes with winnowing fans {So the atoms of energy would spread with the wind to all present.}, and it is highly significant that this barbarous sacrifice was offered by the kings at the grave of Osiris. We may conjecture that the victims represented Osiris himself…
?found in the general, though not unanimous, voice of antiquity, which classed together the worship and myths of Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Dionysius {A root in de Danaan and Dianistic female worship} and Demeter, as religions of essentially the same type. The consensus of ancient opinion on this subject seems too great to be rejected as mere fancy. So closely did the rites of Osiris resemble those of Adonis at Byblus? themselves maintained that it was Osiris and not Adonis whose death was mourned by them {Remember that Mount Olympus was originally on Cyprus and the home of the Greek gods, now called by a different name.}? Herodotus found the similarity between the rites of Osiris and Dionysius so great that he thought it impossible the latter could have risen independently? Plutarch, a very keen student of comparative religion, insists upon the detailed resemblance of the rites of Osiris to Dionysius…. resemblances of ritual are matters of observation.”(1)
When We Was Kids In Chicago (Part 2)
December 27, 2008
From an early age my Mother sent me to the schools, she thought, would do the best for my education. Whether or not, my Father agreed, mattered little. Of course, they were all Catholic schools, and they were all child discipliners. Learn or Die, was their motto. I guess I didn’t quite learn, and, I almost died a number of times, at least it felt like it.
The transition of leaving school, and meeting up with your friends after school, was like, caviar meeting the bologna sandwich over tea. We were boys who acted course and rough. I guess it was expected of us, because that is how we all acted.
While in school, we learned the art of language, and refinement. On the street, we learned the way of the fist, and survival. My Mother never had to learn these things, although, she was one tough cookie.
We used linguistic delicacies such as, dem (them), or dose (those), dees (was another favorite). My Father was a master linguist, and highly skilled in the art of irritating my Mom. While he condoned the highest level of street lingo. My Mom, groaned in dispare as she recounted the huge amount of money which they spent to send us to the best schools.
Its All About Me: Why Its Good to Be Selfish
December 26, 2008
I started thinking about this topic during a discussion of "What You Wish You Knew Then". People were talking about the differences in their lives once they discovered that what makes them happy is just as important as what makes other people happy.
It really is true…if you are not happy, then it’s likely that no one around you is happy. Sounds self-centered to some people, especially women, but it’s not. And it is not even close to Gordon Gecko’s philosophy of "Greed is good."
Thomas Leonard, the founder of Coach University, said, "When you become truly selfish, you’ll have the extra reserves needed to really care about-and be generous with-others."
Think about it. When you truly take care of yourself, only then can you have the reserves necessary to be generous with others. How many of us have this backwards? We take care of everyone (and everything) else, and leave ourselves for last. How can we even think about being generous with what we don’t have to give? For many of us, this phenomenon is a significant contributor to our stress levels. And we’re accomplishing great things in spite of our stress levels, so what’s wrong with that?
The Reign of Insanity
December 25, 2008
I know you want to kill me, and I wish to do all I can to help you succeed. Well? that would be insane, but what about this?
I know you want to kill my children, destroy my country, and erase all historical evidence of our existence, and I want to do everything I can to help you achieve your goals.
Would that be the epitome of insanity? If the leaders of your country were doing these things would you cry out "Treason"? That is exactly what is happening in Israel today, and Israeli’s are left stunned wondering what can be done to stop the insane leaders who have wrestled complete control over the government, military, and economy of Israel.
Ok? so I am going too far you say? another conspiracy nut.
American President George Bush says "I will bring peace to the Middle East". Wait a minute? isn’t he supposed to be a Christian? Isn’t Jesus the only one who will ultimately bring peace to the Middle East? Isn’t the anti-Christ the one who will make a false peace agreement? Hmmm? think I am stretching a bit? It gets better.
Purity
December 25, 2008
Is being purified only for the men of the cloth? Well let’s see what the Bible says. In the book of 2Samuel David sang a song to the Lord. He says at verse 25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. What a wonderful phrase, and heartfelt passage, to be able to sing about the good things the Lord has bless you with. It is also good to ask for forgiveness, in the book of Psalm 51:10 it says Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Now in Psalm 199:9 it says How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from you commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. In the book of Isaiah 52:11 it says Depart, Depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
When We Was Kids In Chicago
December 24, 2008
Radio was the big communicator, back when I was a kid. Whole families huddled around the speaker of that hulk. Our minds, working like a cotton picker on a hot summer day. We had imagination. Vivid, plentiful thoughts, moving throughout the story which was being broadcast.
The characters, were like people we somehow knew. People who lived right down the street from us, in the three story apartment building. That apartment building, was a warehouse of eclectic personalities, popping from every floor, and every door.
Old cars, now relics of the past. New, when we were young. Cool cars too, metal so thick, you could hurt your hand just bumping into it. Lasted a long time, and made moving about the big city of Chicago much easier than taking the trolley, bus or “EL”, short for elevated train.
Oh yes, want to get the scare of a lifetime, ride the “EL” around one of those sharp corners, thirty feet off the ground. Steel wheels grinding against steel tracks, making sounds so shrill,the devil himself, would cringe. I know my Mom’s hands were crimped for a week, when I would grip her hand so tight around those curves.
