text:
Chandra Yoga - The moon light, a drop of immortality
The elixir of life
The divine rays of the moon
The soft reflection of cool light
In the water of the stream that flows
The sounds of the ripples
Awakens the primordial sound
Bringing alive the subtle world
As I immerse my being in this flow
The universe brightens
The night sky all clear
The chill in the air sweeps by
In the pure breath that dives within
I am jeeva, I am life
I am this phenomenon present now
The shimmering waters cover my soul
Opening the channels of life within my breath
I drink this elixir of life
This wholesome breath enriches my soul
My body submerged in these divine ripples
I hear the primordial sound in my ears
I rise out of the waters
Tiny silvery droplets cover me
I wear this shimmering cloak
Moon droplets cover my being
The night has set in, the moon rises high as I step into this ocean of peace. The waters are silent shimmering in the moon light bathe me in this heavenly theater. I breathe, taking in this silent intoxication as I wake up to the shining rays of the moon defined by Kaala that brings energy of a different kind that needs to be consciously experienced during the pattern of regular breathing.
In the pleasant silence under the night sky shimmering with stars and other heavenly celestial bodies, my mind drifts into the wholesome breath that fills my lungs. Cool breeze in steady flow, pass through one nostril as I hold my breath to feel the chill in the air. The calm in the air brings alive the moment of lull, the equilibrium that knows no time, no kaala, no breath but just this cool sensation that begins to grow within myself. The breath gets slower, the exhalation lesser and the air turns into this growing elixir that stays on longer, bringing the senses to a halt.
The body relaxed, the senses settled, the mind at rest is the definition of this equilibrium. The night is quiet and all have slept leaving its beauty ready to be experienced by inner vision. The full moon glows, the light penetrates the space, the air settles and the magical world of the celestials comes alive. They have come too, to worship the supreme, to appreciate the untouched beauty of divine creation while the world rests in deep slumber.
As the moon waxes the kaalas expand, the rays become stronger and brighten this world, and as the moon wanes they contract fading into the darkness slowly. Every night I visit this stream, I breathe and experience this beauty that appears in my mind, this world that awakens within my consciousness. This is the world of Kundalini, as it rises from the Muladhara to the Sahasrara. This is the heat, this is the fire, and this is the Agni Kundalini that arises from the Muladhara to the Anahata as it awakens me at every point, as the lotus of my consciousness blooms. I rise from the Anahata, the Kundalini now glows as bright as the sun, bringing alive the surya mandala that has been lying dormant in me. This awakening is silent, in the moon lit night as the energy rises up towards Susumna. My breath is rhythmic, the nadis open, I breathe in wholesome and rise to Chandra Kundalini. Here the Kundalini resides at Sahasrara, here my energy converges into the divine as Turiya Kundalini.
With every rise of Kundalini I hear my heart resound, I hear the beat of creation as the rhythm of subtle life is ignited with every breath that flows through me. I am the self sustaining, I am one with the divine, and I am life that lives a thousand years. I stand here under the starry sky, as I feel the celestials arrive, blessing me in their divine light, that bathes me in the silence of this moonlit night. This is the world of the divine - of the devas, of the gandharvas and of the greater Gods, who bless me - as the Sun glows in his splendor blowing his conch and awakens the celestial world, welcoming me home.
This is pure consciousness, this is "chit", this is the moment of truth, and in this silent moon lit night, I hear the divine couple play this beautiful game of dice. This is another world so far removed from the noise of maya that I have been sucked into. This is the pure sound of the pranava mantra, the sound of creation, the sound of OM. As the divine dice roll on, it is a small play of love, of union between Lord Shiva and his consort, Tripurasundari. This is the world of Lord Shiva and Tripurasundari, their beauty overwhelming as the Mother blesses me with her half opened eyes that bloom like water lilies in the night sky. This is pure elixir, this is pure amrita, this is somaskanda, that bring me to witness the divine couple within my mind, awakening my soul to new renewed undying consciousness.
The depth of Dakshinamurthy Shiva
Srinivasan breathed a heavy breath, he was exhausted and he wanted to just settle his mind on the form of Dakshinamurthy. Shiva, the intellectual, with his eyes closed in dhyana sits under the fig tree with the six great sages; the Sanakadimunivars listen in silence as the pearls of wisdom fall into existence. This is a form of Shiva who is composed of bliss, intelligence and existence, who controls the world of Maya at will, who has no beginning nor end and yet is formless himself.
There is eloquence in his being; there is purity in the air around him and the soft verses of praise rhythmically bathe the ambience for the seeker to listen.
Through the illusion of Atman, he who sees the universe exist within himself during his hours of sleep, like a city exists within a mirror, such that the universe looks like a manifestation of its own, he who beholds himself when awake, his own, the incarnate of the teacher, to him, the teacher who faces south, to him I bow.
He manifests himself in the bodies of all, of Brahma, of the devas, of Purusha (man) and of pashu(lesser animals). He is within those that are womb born, egg born, sweat born and earth born. When he is realized the world melts into him as if it were a blissful dream. And therefore I come into existence, I am life, I am consciousness, and I am pure.
Tat Tvam Asi
But I am a prisoner in this thick fog of Maya, my consciousness manifests itself as imagination, doubt, confusion, memory, determination, guess... Thus I adopt a school of thought, to understand and find, to realize myself. And thus I hold on to life, to meaning and to philosophy, to escape the clutches of this Maya that imprisons my mind. And so philosophy was born.
Charvaka: or Lokayatas hold that nothing is real except that which is revealed to the senses.
Kanada: founder of the Vaiseshika school of thought, believe that character and attributes are inherent in the atoms themselves and thus gives rise to objects of creation as well as their qualities.
Sugata: the popular Buddha believes Atman is not independent of the state of consciousness which is ever changing with every moment
Sankhyas: who follow the doctrines of Kapila and Patanjali, that the universe consists of two realities, Purusha(consciousness) and Prakriti(phenomenal realm of matter), the experience and the experienced, and where ultimate realization is achieved by following Ashtanga yoga.
Vedantins: who believe in the system of Sariraka-mimamsa, that explains the nature of Brahman
Pauranikas: who believe in the puranas that explain the creation of the universe and its beings and explain the histories and descriptions of various Gods and Goddesses.
Pratyakshas: who believe in sensuous perception, right knowledge obtained by sense organs coming in contact with external objects, like color is obtained through the eye.
Anumana: right knowledge obtained from the process of inference, that where there is smoke, there has to be fire. Hence the inference is fire as the presence of smoke reveals it.
Sabda: right knowledge obtained through verbal statement from a trust worthy source.
Upamana: right knowledge that is obtained from the process of comparison
Arthapatti: knowledge in the form of presumption, surmising a thing to account for something else that is known.
Abhava: immediate consciousness of the non existence of something by the non perception of it, therefore if it existed it should be perceived.
Sambhava: the right knowledge as to the existence of a part, when we know the whole of which it is a part also exists.
Aitihya: right knowledge obtained by centuries of tradition, transmitted generation to generation of which the source is unknown.
Srinivasan sighed, feeling the silence and bliss within him. Time doesn't exist, its part of the very Maya we are engulfed with, Kala defines the change that is felt or perceived in that which is living, that which has prana, that which is Atman. Srinivasan stood bewildered with the thought of the great Lord of the South, who touches the consciousness, who governs the ever open mind into a state of everlasting bliss.
He had awoken to the truth of Dakshinamurthy and yet he could scarcely comprehend it. The truth echoed in his mind and yet the fog didn't lift. The peace of equilibrium and high emotional bliss touched him and yet he felt it was momentary. The thought of coming back to this world brought his mind crashing into the depths of Maya we all know so well.
Srinivasan opened his eyes, Lord Dakshinamurthy continued to be in dhyana with his eyes closed. The apasmara purusha, the emblem of ignorance felt like that of Shrinivasan's as he felt the warm force of divine Lord gently crush his "imagined" self. He was the seventh present, who tried hard to listen to the truth of the universe and yet those words felt like they fell on deaf ears.
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu | Gurur Devo Mahesh Varaha||
Guru Shakshat Para Brahma|Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha||
Guruve sarva lokaanaam Bhishaje bhava roginaam|
Nithyai sarvadhiyaanam Dakshinamurthaye namo namaha||
Guruve sarva lokaanaam Bhishaje bhava roginaam|
Nithyai sarvadhiyaanam Dakshinamurthaye namo namaha||
Content Courtesy:
Dakshinamurthy stotra of Sri Shankaracharya, text translated by Alladi Mahadeva Shastri
Labels: anumana, apasmara, charvaka, dakshinamurthy, kanada, Nataraja, pauranikas, pratyaksha, purana, sabda, sanaka, sankhya, Shiva, south india, sugata, veda, vedanta, vedantins
Kalabhairava, the ughra form of Lord Shiva
Puja brings peace to the mind, and as one observes the Lord in the lamp light, there is certain brilliance to his being as he appears to reside at his seat, within a humble puja room, enhancing this throne, this space to a higher spiritual level with his presence.
Fire has divine light, and as it glows, it brings alive the invisible presence of the Lord to us. This silent conversation brings deep thought as the Lord plays with the thoughts in the mind. Here is one such conversation.
Be it the chilling presence of the Lord on the river side in the cold wintry morning or be it the warmth of the Lord in the darkness of the Garbha griha, his form rings with enigma as one wonders about the various avatars he has taken in different mythologies. We are very accepting when it comes to his soumya forms, where he is depicted with Parvati as a gentle husband, as the divine Lord, but we can scarcely accept his presence as Kalabhairava, the fierce self.
As the conversation proceeds, the mind dwells on the fact that it's not just material detachment that one is expected to do away with for higher spiritual satisfaction. That is probably the beginning of it. Detachment from the material world brings additional concentration and more time and mind space that can be spent on the Lord. It brings peace of mind and creates the ambience for higher thoughts to take shape. And then the subtle universe awakens in the mind.
Kala Bhairava rules the land of Ujjain and also the Ghats of Varanasi. And the bhaktas follow the rule when they life and experience the presence of the Lord here. Be it the aghoris of today's world or be it the ancient world of Karraikkal Ammaiyar, the gore of the cremation ground and the fearful aspect of death is what echoes in these places. Kalabhairava creates fear, with well documented spells that state that blood and flesh needs to be sacrificed to win the trust and blessings of this form of Lord Shiva. This is enough to make us take a step back, us as in the so called civilized world.
Mahakala, Kalabhairava, Rudra are all fierce expressions of Lord Shiva, dressed in a garland of skulls, smeared with red kumkum on the forehead, free flowing matted hair and shown in a posture that spells destruction. Rudra on the other hand is red eyed and signifies tears with a fiery halo that makes him appear even more dynamic. These forms of the Lord do not look half as scary but the reality of these forms bring fear when the normal aghoris try to ape them, for they have not reached that level of divinity that calls for the warmth that is felt even in these wild forms when the Lord takes them.
This is the subtle world, a world of no bias towards preconceived ideas. This is the second level of renunciation that is expected of us. The first was material, the second is attitude. Did Lord Shiva take on these forms to teach us that there is no room for fear even if he appears fearsome? This appearance can make us squirm or this appearance can intrigue us that there is warmth and protection even when he appears to hold the kabala of a human in his hand and demands blood in his bowl!
Multi handed, the all powerful form of Mahakala is seated on his throne at Ujjain, in front of whom Bali is offered, it has been a blood bath of animals or people. This blood of sacrifice was religiously offered to the deity by pouring it into the cup he held in his left hand. In all his forms, with the variations in the number of hands he is depicted with, he is depicted holding a bowl in his left hand in which is offered blood or grain depending on where he is and the form he takes. Bhikshatana, or Nataraja, Kalabhairava or Mahakala, he walks with matted hair and little cloth roaming the forests or the cremation grounds. This is also Shiva.
In the holy city of Ujjain, Mahalaka here is offered liquor, liquor that is visibly consumed. This liquor represents the blood that used to be offered in ancient days. Mahakala's association with liquor, may appear to be for the wrong reasons, be it an offering into his cup in the ancient temple at Ujjain or be it into the funeral pyre by the aghoris at Varanasi. This liquor is a lot more than an alcoholic offering for consumption by the deity. What could possibly be the association of liquor to blood that is considered so sacred, be it any form…
In this awry image of the Lord I am forced to make a distinct parallel. In the Bible, Jesus Christ held up his wine glass during the Last Supper and said "This is my blood" and then he held up a piece of bread and said "This is my flesh". The Last Supper was recorded as a turning point in the life of Christ where he headed towards sacrificing his life for the rest of mankind, to be crucified at the cross. His last words "forgive them Lord for they know not what they are doing".
Disconnected though it may seem, I am unable to ignore this rare co-incidence of commonality between two very different faiths. What then is the significance of blood to wine/liquor? As one of the interpretations in the bible says, blood that flows as an offering to the Lord is the river of everlasting life, liquor or wine is the world of illusion, and the bread was the body of Christ in this case. And the forgiveness is towards mass ignorance, not towards crucifying him.
This description brings alive the presence of Mahakala Shiva, to whom human and animal sacrifices were once made, the flesh or the body of the deceased represented the corpse, the end of time, the end of life similar to that on which Ma Kali walks. This is the obvious description that hits the eye and that which has been documented. What is missing is the subtle thought of renunciation, where the blood flowing is the life that is within me, where the liquor is this illusion, this bias or attitude to differentiate that I wish to give up as I present it in the bowl that the Lord holds towards me. I give up my fear, I give up my colored thoughts, I give up the self that is so disillusioned. I am pure and I have lost every sense of attachment, to the world and to my thoughts, to my bias and to my attitude. And then I can join Karraikkal Ammaiyar in her unending bhakti towards Lord Shiva, who dances the tandava among the flames of the cremation ground, and all I see is pure love, pure bhakti, and pure thought.
Labels: bhikshatana, bible, jesus christ, kalabhairava, kali. chamunda, mahakala, Nataraja, Rudra, ujjain, Varanasi
A journey from Pictures to Temples to Yantras to Nirvana.
The temple, sacred in its presence and alive with energy that sets the heart beating when a devotee walks in wanting to catch the sight of Paramatman again in his aniconic form, is the seat of the universe itself.
The walls don't just house the supreme emblem inside but fortify the very energy center along a ground plan that is the blue print of the yantra that forms the mystic symbol of the individual Gods and Goddesses.
The yantra is the mystical base on which either temples rise or Gods descend into puja rooms. Be it an elaborate architectural wonder or be it a picture of deity well decorated within the puja room, the form takes on that which is intricately woven into the sacred syllables within the yantra - the geometrical representations of these deities.
This is not just about geometrical patterns that mystically define a form that we feel a lot familiar with in pictures, these are sacred beeja mantra syllables that define a lot more and call upon the very living force to bless the home or the temple with their presence.
Entering into the main temple shrine is defined by the number of gates that surround it, in the south of India, this is defined by the gopurams in four cardinal directions as well as the number of walls one crosses to get to the main shrine, which is the same as depicting 4 square gateways that lead into the center of the yantra from its four square sides describing the same gates geometrically in abstraction. This in popular terms is possibly called Vaastu Shastra.
Coming into the vicinity of this energy center entails one to be pure physically as per the scriptures. Be it a bath before the puja or be it a dip in the temple tank one is purified physically before they make their way to the main shrine. With offerings of flower and fruit, coconut and small flame of life the devotee offers moments of contemplation to the Istha Devata.
Walking around the temple as one advances towards the sanctum, brings the devotee face to face with the many Avatars the deity took to bring calm into the universe, the same is described by sacred syllables and minute depiction of the sacred self in the geometry of the yantra either obviously or through direction that emphasizes the respective forms as in the case of Sadashiva who is made of 8 forms of himself, each representing a cardinal direction. Back in the picture, this might not be depicted altogether but is largely understood.
In contemplation, deities appear either 2 handed,4 handed, 8 handed or 16 handed. Each hand carries an element, that visually appears like a noose, a sickle, sword, axe, arrow or bow etc. but also carries a profound sound that is capsuled with energy around the deity, defining their presence a lot more effectively in contemplation. These profound sounds are small syllables that appear in petals around the main geometrical form, in numbers of 4, 8, or 16 petals of a lotus inscribed in the yantra. In the picture at home, the deity is seen carrying these elements or is seated on a lotus seat of similar number of petals.
The Yantra described triangles with colors representing various Gods and Goddesses, the same is redefined in the clothes they wear in the pictures. Authentic pictures always show Devi in red and Ganesha in green and yellow. Decorating the deity with a crown and ornaments with flowers and clothes is similar to doing alankaram to the yantra after regular abhishekam. The same is done in a more elaborate way within the temple walls where the deities are dressed in the same colors in silks.
Contemplation involves invoking these forms of the supreme by regularly reciting the sacred syllables and mantras that bring them alive. Back at home, this leads the bhakta into silent japa, at the temple the priest utters these sounds during abhishekam. The energy is kept alive and the deity invoked blesses the bhakta.
On completion of this contemplation, as the peace sinks in, the devotee raises the small deepam in aarti, culminating the puja to an end. The priest raises the aarti in various lights, of numbers 1, 3, 5, 27 and 108, with mudras and offerings of a parasol, fanning and other sacred symbols of divine praise, offering them to the devata who is seated on their throne, beautifully decorated within their sanctum. This is the same form that is captured in a picture that comes alive within the puja room, a visual and far more familiar and understandable form as compare to a yantra, that strangely asks for more rule and greater care in its worship.
As one goes deeper into worship, spending more time in contemplation, one comes into understanding deeper levels of worship, superior forms of ritual that define methodology that helps realize the secrecy of this mysticism which brings alive a different world to the bhakta. This mysticism can just be realized and experienced, as the devotee is blessed with heightened emotion, mesmerized by the very form that they see of the supreme paramatma. These are in the form of mudra, natya, song, japa, vrata and sadhana.
This entire ritual through life, awakens the istha devata within the self and triggers energy of a different kind within the physical temple that we are built of, awakening each chakra within our system and converting us into a living temple where the apasmara is smashed to give way for the supreme to be enthroned within the seat of our sanctum - hrudaya kamalam.
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text: TECH SPHE Chief Predicts Resurgance in Consumer Content Ownership 5:49 PM PDT 5/3/2011 by Carolyn Giardina FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Reps from Lionsgate, Starz also weigh in on the topic at the Digital Hollywood conference Tuesday. The DVD business may be in decline, but a resurgence of consumer content ownership driven by product and service enhancements is imminent, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment executive Jason Spivak said Tuesday at the Digital Hollywood conference. Calling the notion that consumers don't want to own their digital content a "misconception," Spivak suggested that "there is an appetite for ownership. ... (But) we haven't done a good job of bringing value to ownership." Spivak, senior vp worldwide digital distribution at Sony, thinks this will change because "we are doing a lot with enhanced extras and services to improve interoperability." He sees the rebound beginning sometime in the next 12 months. The executive pointed to the launch this year of UltraViolet, the cloud-based, digital-rights management system that will essentially create an online virtual library for each consumer. The model allows a consumer to buy once and watch wherever and whenever when using a supported device, app or service. "The proposition is simple," Spivak said, suggesting that this model has several advantages; it could be future-proof and take technology out of the equation when a consumer is making a purchasing decision. "A problem in the digital business from day one has been the lack of standardization," said Curt Marvis, president of digital media at Lionsgate. "What UltraViolet is trying to do ... is create some standardization around the user experience. That is one of the big areas that continues to be vexing. I think consumer confusion has been and remains a barrier to digital taking off more that it has today." Added John Penney, executive vp strategy & business development at Starz: "It's about letting you know that what you are buying can spread across your devices. ... We might have to think about new pricing models as customers begin to own content that flows around devices." UltraViolet was developed by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, a consortium of more than 60 leading companies including manufacturers and Hollywood studios. UltraViolet is expected to begin its U.S. rollout mid-year. Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Fox, Universal and Warner Bros. plan to begin offering UltraViolet content through digital online retailers and digital rights that come with packaged media. Apple and Disney have not joined the DECE consortium. Underscoring the importance of reaching a growing list of personal devices, Penney pointed out that more than 24 million tablets have shipped worldwide. Apple's iPad controls about 90% of that market, he said. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Carolyn Giardina firstname.lastname@example.com CGinLA

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"God never spoke; only the Gurus spoke."
– –
God never spokeAugust 30, 2011
"God never spoke; only the Gurus spoke."
Unholy GodJuly 30, 2011
"The holy preachings and teachings have already polluted this planet beyond repair, down the lines for centuries and centuries. May UG do some Unholy God barking there."
– –
UG is for lifeMarch 26, 2011
UG friends and admirers gathered at 'Hridaya Vihar' – UG House – Bangalore on 22 Mar 2011 thanks to the splendid hospitality extended by Mrs. Suguna Chandrasekhar and Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Babu, to mark or make 'the 4th UG Aradhana' event; not for UG, but for the sake of UG friends themselves, so to say.
Meetings and manthans (churnings) are always the best parts of our life. It's not just an occasion to pay our respects or remembrances to UG, which he never wanted to happen. At least as far as UG is considered, we may take it as an occasion to hit our backs as to see whether we are living our 'life' in its freshness and fullness. And that's all that we may do to UG.
An interesting part of this gathering was the varied and candid exchanges of views on the newly published book, "My mission, if there is any, should be, from now on, to debunk every statement I have made. If you take seriously and try to use or apply what I have said, you will be in danger."
[More]The Biology of Enlightenment: Unpublished Conversations Of U. G. Krishnamurti After He Came Into The Natural State (1967-71), edited by Mukunda Rao. [More about this Book] Even though a more common view is expressed there that now UG is more approachable and reachable, as in this book UG moves on a sanguine and sane way unlike his hardcore utterances of the later period – through 1980s, 1990s and till his death-bed statement in March 2007; but for those who have really read in between the lines of this rare new book, there is absolutely no different UG – it's the same hardcore staring UG. Only the lingo may be a little traditional and not aggressively radical, otherwise it is the same UG.
This book may be considered as the 'essence' phase of UG; and the later period till the physical death of UG may be considered as the 'enforcement of the essence' phase, where the only focus of UG was to push an individual to the dead end of the hard wall so that there is no escape and he can directly stare into the very life force on his own. It is in this second phase that UG used his own inimical lingo of slang and extreme abuse. He used the worst possible kind of filthy language, only to make us healthy so that we may 'see' life directly here now and 'free' ourselves from the dead burden of the so called hell lot of the past holy heritage and knowledge shits.
It is absurd and may not be of any use to say that UG was either against or for the traditions or holy scriptures or gurus or religions. UG's only focus is to see that there is no space or screen between you and your life. It's so straight and simple. But the words may again spit and split – no end there.
Another point of discussion was as to whether UG proposes or gives any 'technique' for arriving at the natural state. Absolutely no 'techniques' we find in the utterances of UG there to hang on to it. Techniques and tools may never dare to touch 'life'. We are left entirely naked and alone here now in the life. The so called gurus, hopes and techniques may only add to more and more hurdles and blocks to life there.
For all those of us who have had the continuous hardcore doses of the UG of the later period, this book may give a sudden little soothing touch; but the hardcore UG always remains in the forefront.
(On the other day, one best and aggressive contributor of this blog, Mr. Madhusudhan D. Rao (Madhu) has had a detailed exchange with me of his 'way of seeing' as to whether the hardcore UG is in anyway diluted due to this new book (The Biology of Enlightement). He firmly says NO. It is hoped that Madhu may be posting his way of perceiving this new book and UG out of his own trauma and journey of life, here in the pages of this site, shortly.)
UG "Aradhana" 22 March 2011, Bangalore, India: a view from
Mr. K. Chandrasekhar's Photo Album [Link]
Life needs nothingMarch 14, 2011
"Life needs nothing, and the whole mankind is busy chasing their false greeds."
– –
From Disease to DivinityDecember 19, 2010
The great debunker (UG) of any belief system talks with Luc Sala in
Amsterdam about "The black hole of (any) belief", from disease to divinity. UG died 22 march 2007. A critical interview.
UG: 'Yes, I shall maintain Sankara was a bastard! Mandukya is shit!'October 13, 2010
His name was Chakravarti Ananthachar. As his name indicates, he was born in a Vaishnava family which followed the tradition of Vishistadvaita (qualified nondualism) taught by Sri Ramanujacharya. Although Mr. Ananantachar was profound scholar in Sankrit grammar and logic and an authority on Ramanajacharya's philosophy, he was also a great admirer of Sankara and his Advaita philosophy. He lectures on Sankara's Advaita Vedanta always drew large crowds and earned him a good standing in the spiritual circles of Bangalore. That is how several of my friends got to know of him. Once upon a time, my friend Krishnamurthy was very close to him and was attending his lectures almost every day.
One day in June 1998, our friend Venkata Chalapati spoke about UG to Anantachar describing UG as a "Jivanmukta". Anantachar was impressed and expressed his interest in meeting UG. But UG dissuaded Venkat Chalapati: "Why do you want to bring him? You say that he is a scholar and professional speaker. Such people have an investment in the tradition they believe in. How can he listen to me?" But Venkat Chalapati's eagerness prevailed.
At last, on Sunday June 21 1998, Anantachar walked into Major's Farm house to meet UG. He was accompanied by Venkat Chalapati and Krishnamurthy.
UG respectfully offered a seat next to him on the sofa. Some of us on the floor and some on the available chairs. I wrote down the points of discussion between UG and Anantachar. Here is the text of the conversation that took place on that bright sunny afternoon.
Anantachar introduced himself as a theoretical Vedanta exponent, and a mere speaker and scholar on matters of Vedanta. He started his conversation with UG saying, "Those who are in the highest spiritual state are said to be in possession of several powers."
UG made no comment.
Anantachar: Don't you think that through meditation one can achieve great heights in spiritual life?
UG: Meditation should not be given any importance at all. That's my feeling.
Anantachar: Then what shall we do?
UG: Nothing; do nothing.
Anantachar: [Smiling] In that case everyone becomes a yogi.
UG: I am not a yogi.
Anantachar: Anyway sir, you are a widely travelled person. Don't you think it is possible to bring out a universal philosophy to end all conflicts?
UG: Universal philosophy as such doesn't exist except as an idea. That goal has created the actual problem.
Anantachar: Do you mean to say that a universal life doesn't exist? All the masters of all religions talked of the oneness of life.
UG: You are an expression of that life. The mosquito that is sucking your blood is another expression of that life. The garden slug out there is another expression. The problem is we want to understand life. We try to understand life. We try to understand. That attempt is bound to create conflict.
Anantachar: Advaita Vedanta talks about that life as anivachaniya, indefinable.
UG: In that case, why should they talk about it? [Now UG's tone got sharper.] If there is anything as the "beyond", it can never be captured, contained or given expression to. How can they describe it as bliss, beatitude and all that nonsense? If they know that it is anivarchaniya, they should have stopped right there.
Anantachar: As philosophers they wanted to postulate…
UG: What good is that to you sir? Philosophers as I know are lovers of wisdom. That's what they are. Philosophy only helps to sharpen the intellect.
Anantachar: Sir, how to determine whether a man is wise or not?
UG: You have no way of knowing.
Anantachar: Sankara describes the characteristics of an enlightened man. Even in the Gita it is said…
UG: They are all empty words and empty phrases, sir! They mean nothing. What's the use of all those words? You haven't helped you. You are still asking the same question.
Everybody laughs. Anantachar is visibly shaken. He asks for a cup of water and empties two cups, one after the other.]
Anantachar: We have to use words to communicate with each other.
UG: I say and maintain that no communication is possible and none is necessary.
Anantachar: But we have no other way to wisdom.
UG: Why are we not ready to accept that "wisdom" is a real block?
Anantachar looks the people around helplessly. He turns to Venkata Chalapti and says "I can't understand what he is saying." He then turns to UG.
Anantachar: You have gone a little above my head. I am not able to follow you. I have worked for several years academically…
UG: But I am an illiterate…
Anantachar: No. No. I can't agree. You are an enlightened person. Only a few are gifted to be enlightened. An enlightened person is above everything. In my opinion, when a man forgets all his surrounding in the contemplation of the undivided Self, that state, according to Sankara, is the "Brahmi State". My practice of meditation is very poor. I haven't done any sadhana. But I want to. I am only a Jnanamaargi.
UG: I am not a scholar like you. But I studied Advaita philosophy. Prof. Mahadevan was our teacher of Advaita philosophy.
Anantachar: Sir, how can we understand the world?
UG: There is no need to understand the world.
Anantachar: Otherwise, how can we be in contact with the world?
UG: Do you think you are really in contact withy anything? Do you think you are looking at that man? Do you think you have ever looked at your wife even once? If you once looked at your wife, that would be the end of the whole relationship. You look at everything through the knowledge you have. It's the knowledge about the things around that creates the world for you. You can not experience anything that you do not know. In that sense I say and maintain that there is no such thing as new experience at all. How can you have contact with the world?
Anantachar: As long as we breathe and live in this world we keep the contact.
UG: No, on no level can you contact anything.
[Ananatachar was disturbed with the rise in UG's voice. He became fidgety in his seat next to UG. He asked for more water and Mohan gives him some.]
Mohan: [to Anantachar] Do you accept what he is saying, sir?
UG: How can he say anything? He is not in a position to say.
Anantachar started quoting the Mandukya Upanishad. "There is Para wisdom and there is Apara wisdom. When once you renounce Vritti Gnana, then Swarupa Jnana dawns on you. Ultimately, upasantoyam atma, as the instructions in the Mandukya indicate."
At this point, UG suddenly flared up. He burst out saying that Mandukya Upanishad does not even have as much worth as toilet paper. He called Sankara a bastard for writing commentaries on Upanishads. He started his tirade on Gowdapada for writing the karika to Mandukya and called him also a bastard.
This was too much for Anantachar. He started trembling with anger. He could no longer sit in a composed manner. Mohan was trying to calm him down handing him more cups of water. "Drink more water sir, and sit comfortably," Mohan told him.
Anantachar: [In an agitated voice, looking at the people around]. "This is too much, sir. He uses such uncivilised terminology. How can he call Sankar a bastard? How can an enlightened person use such foul language?"
Then UG again flared up.
UG: Yes, I shall maintain Sankara was a bastard! Mandukya is shit! It is his shit that is coming out of your mouth. What do you have to say? That is my question. Don't repeat Sankara, Gowdapada and all that nonsense. You are just repeating. A tape recorder does a better job than you. What you say, does it operate in your life? You can teach fools from the platform and make a living. I have no objection. But it has not touched you. How can anybody describe that state a love and bliss? Love divides and separates. There is already division. How can there be love?
Anantachar stood up. He couldn't take it anymore. He said, "I came here hoping to see an enlightened person. I never expected I would be meeting such a negative person instead."
UG countered immediately saying, "You came to the wrong man. You can go now."
Anantachar folded his hands as a mark of respect and walked out of the room.
The above excerpts are sourced from the book:
Stopped in our tracks: UG-anecdotes, comments and reflections (Second series). From the Notebooks of K. Chandrasekhar; translated by J.S.R.L. Narayana Moorty. Bangalore: Firsthand Publications, [2010].
Even an Ant can Beat UsAugust 27, 2010
Humans need to be more humble to understand that our intelligence is just peanut, and that even an ant can beat us.
An interesting paper just published in BMC Biology:
A mixed community of actinomycetes produce multiple antibiotics for the fungus farming ant Acromyrmex octospinosus. Barke J, Seipke RF, Gruschow S, Heavens D, Drou N, Bibb MJ, Goss RJM, Yu DW, Hutchings MI BMC Biology 2010, 8:109
Published: 26 August 2010
The (provisional) Full-Text of this paper may also be accessed [Link]
Interesting reports on this paper there:
Ants found to use multiple antibiotics as weed killers
Scientists at the University of East Anglia, have shown that fungus-farming ants are using multiple antibiotics as weed killers to maintain their fungus gardens.
Ants ahead of humans in antibiotic use
Read more: http://xenophilius.wordpress.com
The Excerpts from the above links are reproduced here:
Research led by Dr Matt "It's also very exciting that ants not only evolved agriculture before humans but also combination therapy with natural antibiotics. Humans are just starting to realise that this is one way to slow down the rise of drug resistant bacteria – the so called superbugs."
– Dr Matt HutchingsHutchings and published today in the journal BMC Biology shows that ants use the antibiotics to inhibit the growth of unwanted fungi and bacteria in their fungus cultures which they use to feed their larvae and queen.
These antibiotics are produced by actinomycete bacteria that live on the ants in a mutual
Although these ants have been studied for more than 100 years this is the first demonstration that a single ant colony uses multiple antibiotics and is reminiscent of the use of multidrug therapy to treat infections in humans.
The work, which was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, has also identified a new antibiotic that could be used to treat fungal infections.
Fungiculture in the insect world is practiced by ants, termites, beetles and gall midges.
Dr Hutchings' research investigates the Acromyrmex octospinosus leaf cutter ant, endemic in South and Central America and the southern US. These ants form the largest and most complex animal societies on earth with colonies of up to several million individuals. The garden worker ants researched were collected from three colonies in Trinidad and Tobago.
"How strange humans are! Despite their claims of high intelligence and great wisdom, they are the only animals that dirty air they breathe, poison the water they drink, and kill the soil that is the base of their food."
– Tony Oposa Jr
(source)Dr Hutchings said: "This was really a fun project which started with a PhD student, Joerg Barke, streaking leaf-cutting ants onto agar plates to isolate antibiotic producing bacteria. Joerg, with his colleagues Ryan Seipke and Sabine Gruschow, really pushed this project forwards and made these major discoveries. They really deserve most of the credit for this work."
"We found a new antifungal compound that is related to a clinically important antifungal named nystatin so we're excited about the potential of these ants and other insects to provide us with new antibiotics for medical use.
"It's also very exciting that ants not only evolved agriculture before humans but also combination therapy with natural antibiotics. Humans are just starting to realise that this is one way to slow down the rise of drug resistant bacteria – the so called superbugs."
"We are not created for any grander purpose than the ants that are there or the flies that are hovering around us or the mosquitoes that are sucking our blood."


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The lists below are some exceptional Motion Typography videos of designers in the community. Take time to view the short list we have here. This may give you an idea how kinetic typography works -for neophytes out there, that is. Feel free to leave a comment as to how you perceive the creations posted here… Enjoy!
Motion Typography (Dumb and Dumber) from James Campbell on Vimeo.
Typography Project from Stephen Siegel on Vimeo.
Portal - Still Alive typography from Trickster on Vimeo.
Dexter Typography from Koos Dekker on Vimeo.
House Typography from Koos Dekker on Vimeo.
Kinetic Typography from samskee. on Vimeo.
Motion Typography from Ahmad Ghazi on Vimeo.
Kinetic Typography from Aidan Keith-Hynes on Vimeo.
kinetic typography from Mihai Militaru on Vimeo.
kansas city shuffle typography from krwawyjepetto on Vimeo.
Usual suspects Kinetic typography from Gary Dumbill on Vimeo.
Video Apresentacao DMS Box from Douglas Frigeri on Vimeo.
"Love Away" kinetic typography from chris brice on Vimeo.
Women At The Well from matthew borrett on Vimeo.
Ocean's 11 Motion Typography from Carlos Batlló on Vimeo.
Law & Order Typography from Koos Dekker on Vimeo.


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MIRABEL, Quebec (AP) — Angela Stanford and Ai Miyazato took advantage of soft greens and calm conditions to top the leaderboard Friday after the second round of the Canadian Women's Open.
Stanford shot a 6-under 66 and Miyazato had a 68 to reach 11-under 133 on the tree-lined Hillsdale Golf Club course north of Montreal.
"The wind never really kicked up, so that helps, and the greens are still pretty soft," Stanford said. "It's not surprising people are playing well."
Song-Hee Kim was third at 9 under after a 68, with eight players another stroke back, including defending champion Michelle Wie, who shot a 69. Paula Creamer also was in the group after a 68.
The cut was at 1 under, tying the record in the national championship set in 1998 – when the event was the du Maurier Classic – at Essex in Windsor, Ontario. Eighty of 155 players in the field broke par Friday.
Stanford had seven birdies and a bogey. She joked after her first-round 67 that her putter had finally shown up for a tournament, but cautioned a day later that "it's still to be determined because I have two days left. I can't fall in love with him just yet. We're on speaking terms though, so that's good."
Miyazato began the day tied for the lead at 7 under with Pernilla Lindberg, who shot 71 to join Wie, Creamer, Seon Hwa Lee (65), Becky Morgan (67), Sophie Gustafson (68), Gerina Piller (66) and Brittany Lincicome (68) at 8 under.
"The fairway is wide open, the greens are big," said Miyazato, the Evian Masters winner last month in France. "You can be aggressive hitting the second shot. "So this weekend, will be close to 20 under, but it depends on the weather and it depends on the pin positions. I'll try to make as many birdies as I can."
Wie, the winner last year at St. Charles in Winnipeg, Manitoba, had five birdies and two bogeys.
"It's what I wanted for the weekend," Wie said. "I'm motivated to go out and try to get this thing done. I'll do like I've done the last two days – stay patient and try to make a lot more birdies."
Top-ranked Yani Tseng had her second straight 71.
Suzann Pettersen, the Safeway Classic winner Sunday in Oregon, had her second straight 73 to miss the cut. Pettersen won the 2009 event at Priddis Greens in Calgary, Alberta, and tied for second last year.


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domingo, 26 de maio de 2013
Syria is like riding a rollercoaster of hilarity, absurdity and downright lies.
Listening to Western "governments" - otherwise known as criminal regimes led by war criminals - pontificating and pronouncing on Syria is like riding a rollercoaster of hilarity, absurdity and downright lies.
A selection of the "best", that is, the worst, of these Western talking points has been compiled below into a top 10 Western 'hits'.
This list is by no means complete or in order of importance. Press TV readers are invited to add more in the comments section below this column.
It has to be said, however, that this is no laughing matter; more a heart-crying shame, given the massive unnecessary human suffering that these criminal Western regimes are inflicting on a sovereign people and country over the past two years, with a total death toll of nearly 80,000 and counting - most of them civilians, men, women and children.
The rollercoaster of depravity seems to be gathering dizzying speed as the so-called international peace conference in Geneva looms sometime over the next few weeks. This is the political confabulation allegedly aimed at finding a negotiated peace settlement between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and members of the Syrian so-called "opposition".
Supported by Iran, Russia and China, these aforementioned governments can be appraised as honest brokers in trying to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis. This is because their collective position is eminently reasonable, making no preconditions on the outcome and promoting a genuine dialogue between the Syrian people.
However, the same cannot be said for that other sponsor of the Geneva event, the United States, and its NATO allies, Britain and France, along with their regional Turk, Arab and Israeli puppets.
Here follows a recent selection of their dubious credentials and duplicities - a top 10 - which taken together does not augur well for a successful peace settlement to end Syria's torment.
1. US, Britain and France arming up for peace
All three rogue states are now openly saying that they will escalate the supply of weapons to their proxy mercenary army of "rebels" in Syria if the Syrian government does not "get serious" about negotiating a "peaceful settlement". The more relevant question is: are these Western regimes "serious about peace"?
It rather sounds like the Western powers are trying to hold a gun to Damascus' head and demanding that it sign up to Western terms for "political transition", that is, regime change. Note that US Secretary of State John Kerry is now backing Britain and France in their attempt to scrap the European Union's embargo on weapons sales to Syria.
That embargo is, of course, a ridiculous charade anyway, as all of the three above Western regimes have been funneling "non-lethal" weapons and other military support to their proxy mercenaries via the conduits of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. But what the latest thinly veiled threat of aggression from the US, Britain and France portends is that if the Geneva summit does not go according to their geopolitical objectives of regime change in Damascus, they will then flood Syria with even more killing power. Perhaps also "no-fly zones" and Western boots on the ground.
The British Guardian newspaper quotes UK foreign minister William Hague's spellbinding cynicism: "We have to be open to every way of strengthening moderates and saving lives." So, in Hague's warped world, giving anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to the Western-backed terrorists running amok in Syria will lead to peace and save lives.
Hague, Kerry and their French counterpart Laurent Fabius should be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against peace, indicted on their own words, instead of being indulged as statesmen.
2. Western unelected minions make demands on sovereign Syrian government
As it turns out, Syria's government has quickly responded to declare its willing participation in the Geneva peace summit next month. The Assad administration has even nominated possible negotiators, including the Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi. Meanwhile, the Western and Arab patronized exile group, the so-called Syrian National Coalition, with their American-educated accents and predilection for luxurious Qatari hotel suites, are pooh-poohing whether to even attend the Geneva conference. The SNC leader Ghassan Hitto, a Texan-based Syrian businessman, is being groomed as "premier-in-waiting", but like many of his exile cronies, he has no popular base or mandate from the Syrian people. This is the same offshore foreign party that is demanding that President Assad abandons his office forthwith and takes refuge in some overseas land.
This Western political excrescence imposed on Syria is distinct from the genuine internal political opposition within Syria. There are legitimate voices for political reforms within Syria, whom the Damascus government has recognized as necessary for a national dialogue to advance Syrian society. But this legitimate opposition is ignored by the Western regimes. Wonder why?
3. EU funds al-Qaeda
This shocker follows the news that the European 27-nation bloc is to end its embargo on the sale of oil from Syria that is under the control of the mercenaries. It is a deliberate and stated EU policy to help boost the war chest for the militants. So who are these "deserving rebels"?
More than 100 militant groups are believed to be operating in Syria, which have come from nearly 30 countries, including Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the Russian Caucus, Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, as well as Britain and France. Most of these groups are self-styled Jihadists who claim to be Muslim, but in reality are nothing more than psychopathic terrorists, cutthroats, rapists and opportunistic bandits. The name "Free Syrian Army", supposedly led by the tin-pot Brigadier General Salim Idriss, is in fact a baseless hologram that the Western sponsors of these proxy terrorists use to create the illusion that the Western, Turk and Arab regimes are supporting "moderates" with a "good cause". That's why these "moderates" set off no-warning car bombs to kill and maim "fellow Syrians" or mutilate and cannibalize corpses.
The West's proxy terrorists have gloated in the most unspeakable cruelties against Syrian civilians and consistent with this vile conduct is their proclaimed affiliation with the Wahhabi al-Qaeda network. This is the clandestine network created and trained by Western military intelligence, funded by Saudi oil money, to carry out global operations of terrorism and destabilization, most notoriously the 9/11 attacks in the US.
Thus while instigating a fake global "war on terror" cover for ruling elites to hijack and ransack democracies, including their own, the US taxpayers have been saddled with $6 trillion in debts from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - just those two criminal genocidal wars alone - according to a recent Harvard University study.
After all this expenditure to "defeat" terrorism, the European Union is proposing to pay these same terrorists for the oil that they can loot from the fields and people of Syria. Meanwhile, the EU maintains economic sanctions on the Syrian government, depriving citizens of badly needed welfare and services. Whoops, the rollercoaster just did a loop-the-loop.
4. Israel provides air force for al-Qaeda
When the Israeli air force hit Damascus earlier this month, the al-Qaeda extremists on the ground were reportedly ecstatic over the attack on an Arab country by the Arab-land-thieving Zionist regime.
The strikes were also in part timed and designed to provide air support for these same mercenaries trying to make military headway against Damascus. This has got to be the apogee of absurdity in the Syrian conflict. The Zionist regime has been telling the world ever since its criminal inception in 1948 that it is living under an existential threat from Arab revenge. Yet this same self-pitying genocidal regime teams up with the most extreme and deformed Arab Wahhabi ideologues and throat-slitters. That really shows that the Western-backed Zionist and Wahhabi despots are one and the same.
5. West goes to war in Africa, but supports same terrorists in Syria
France, supported by the US and Britain, is still conducting a war of conquest in the West African country of Mali. This was justified by President Francois Hollande as an intervention to wrest control of northern Mali from "Islamist extremists". The French media helped in this duplicity by reporting on "floggings, amputations and prohibitions on civil freedoms" under "Sharia law" imposed by militants in northern Mali before the French invasion. But when reports and video footage emerged this week of similar barbarities being imposed in the self-styled "emirates" of northern Syria by Western-backed Al-Qaeda groups, Hollande and his Western allies had nothing to say about that. Indeed, the Western regimes want to impose "no-fly zones" in those Syrian areas "liberated" by extremists, so that they are more free to extend their reign of terror on Syrian civilians.
6. West accuses Russia of "destabilizing" Syria and the region
Washington's John Kerry this week castigated Moscow for going ahead with the supply to Syria of the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft defense system. This followed the same protest from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Russian President Vladimir Putin. These statements have surely got to qualify Western politicians as certifiable for a mental hospital. The destabilization of Syria and the entire region is a verifiable result of institutionalized violence emanating from Washington, London, Paris and Tel Aviv. Only a few weeks ago, the Zionist regime perpetrated yet another war crime by launching its third air strike on Damascus since January - acts of aggression countenanced by Washington. The Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov displayed charitable patience when he explained to the Western imbeciles the probity, and indeed necessity, of the S-300 batteries. "The system is sent to countries that need to defend themselves from air strikes," said Lavrov. Don't count on the Western imbeciles comprehending that simple truth.
Meanwhile, the Americans, British and French are flogging billions-of-dollars-worth of fighter-bombers, tanks and missiles to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the other Persian Gulf dictatorships. Much of this offensive capability is directed at Iran. Talk about Western doublethink and duplicity about who or what is destabilizing the region.
7. Blame it all on Iran and Hezbollah
Similar to the Western perverse logic about Russia "destabilizing" the region, US President Barack Obama and others have denounced Iran and Hezbollah for supporting Syria - a country that is besieged by a covert war of aggression instigated by these same Western powers. In a saner world, Iran and Hezbollah should be lauded for their international solidarity and neighborly compassion. And let's remember that Hezbollah was incited to intervene against the foreign-backed terrorists in Syria after the latter began firing missiles and rockets into Shia villages along the Syrian-Lebanese border in recent months. Under international law of self-defense, Hezbollah is entitled to join forces with the Syrian army to rout these criminals from their havens, as they have done this past week in Qusayr in Homs Province.
John Kerry said: "Active military support to the Assad regime simply exacerbates the sectarian tensions and perpetuates the regime's campaign of terror against its own people." Make-believe stuff from the Kerry fairy.
Kerry should be asked about illegal Western active military support for renegade killers attacking a sovereign country? How is that for sectarian tensions?
William Hague added this mental somersault: "It is very clear that Syrian regime is receiving a great deal of support… from outside Syria from Hezbollah and Iran. This is a regime that is increasingly dependent on external support," added Hague, who apparently cannot see the glaring irony that it is the terrorist mercenaries who are increasingly dependent on external support, that is, American, British, French, Turk, Israeli and the despotic Arab dictatorships of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan.
8. Invisible American, British and Israeli troops
While Western politicians make unfounded allegations against Iran over military assistance to Syria, these same politicians appear to be blind when it comes to the well-founded knowledge that American and British troops are running training camps in terror techniques for the extremists ripping Syrian society apart. These NATO troops have set up camps in neighboring Jordan and Turkey from which the operatives launch into Syria. Video evidence has also emerged of Israeli commandos operating within Syrian territory, as well as violating the ceasefire demarcation line in the Golan Heights. Western mainstream news media have added to this absurdity by reporting that the "Syrian army has fired into Israel" - meaning that Syrian troops have responded to Israeli violations in the territory of Syria that Israel illegally annexed in 1967 and continues to illegally occupy in contravention of international law.
9. Turkey and Jordan appeal for help over refugee crisis… that they themselves created
Up to five million Syrians - 20 per cent of the population - have been burned out or turned out of their formerly safe and comfortable homes to eke a miserable living under tents. Some 1.5 million of these refugees are subsisting in campsites in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The humanitarian crisis is costing the Turk government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan some $50 million a month, or a total of $1.5 billion over the past two years. That bill is set to skyrocket as the number of Syrian refugees fleeing to Turkey is projected to double to more than 900,000 by the end of this year. Thus Turkey and Jordan are pleading for financial help from the international community. Yet, these countries would not have this refugee and financial problem if Turkey and Jordan did not allow mercenary armies to operate from their territories to maraud, pillage and terrorize Syrian people from their homes. Turkey and Jordan have taken an active part in creating a humanitarian crisis and now they want to the rest of the world to stump the bill. Indeed, so do the US, British and French rogue regimes.
10. Violence 'spills over from Syria into Iraq'
This is how the Western media report it, but the truth is that violence and mayhem is spilling over from Iraq and Afghanistan into Syria and into many other countries across the region and the world. When the US-led NATO powers embarked on their criminal wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, the world has been living ever since under a Western reign of imperialist terror. The genocidal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost more than 1.5 million lives. Those huge crimes have paved the way for a lawless world where Western regimes feel emboldened to attack and ransack any country they deem. Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Mali are some of the present sites of Western imperialist warmongering. Libya was previously. Iran is probably next. The US-led war on Syria has therefore necessarily to be understood as part of a criminal continuum for global dominance in the service of global capital. And the Western regimes and their leaders should be seen as criminals working hand-in-glove who should be arraigned in a democratic court of justice.
All of the above is but a shortlist of Western regime crimes and duplicity that is most saliently exposed in the terrible conflict being imposed on Syria.
The Syrian people deserve peace and all good people around the world no doubt wish them success in future negotiations. But, given the litany of crimes, lies and deception attributable to the US, Britain and France in particular, the omens leading up to the Geneva summit do not bode well.
That raises the question: should Syria and its allies in Iran, Russia and China even attend this so-called conference in Geneva? Perhaps Iran could convene an alternative summit dedicated solely to the internal Syrian parties, and deliberately excluding the enemies of Syria from the US, Britain, France and their myriad puppets. That alternative peace summit in Tehran could be held under the auspices of the Non-Aligned Movement, of which Iran is currently the presiding chairman.
quarta-feira, 22 de maio de 2013
Hezbollah,war in Syria
The most fascinating aspect of the war in Syria this month – and perhaps also the most significant in terms of long-term regional geopolitics – is the direct involvement of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite party and resistance group that is closely allied to Iran and Syria. The significance of Hezbollah's participation in the battle for the Syrian town of Qusair comprises several distinct elements – its reputation as a fighting force, its political wisdom, its perception among Lebanese, its independence from Iran, and its standing in the region and globally as it identifies more closely with the Syrian regime that has been increasingly isolated and sanctioned.
Together, these factors make this a potential turning point for the organization whose history since its establishment in the early 1980s has been one of the most remarkable achievements in modern Arab political life. It can be credibly argued that Hezbollah is the single most successful political party or organization in modern Arab history, given its many accomplishments: It has transformed Lebanese Shiites from a downtrodden and subjugated community to the most powerful single group in Lebanon; it has forced Israel to end its occupation of southern Lebanon, and it has helped shape a regional "resistance and deterrence front" with Syria and Iran that defines many regional policies and confrontations.
These achievements have been countered by its single biggest weakness to date, which is inherent in all such resistance or revolutionary movements: difficulty in making the transition from liberation hero to governance maestro. The multiple strengths that have defined Hezbollah's many successes in community empowerment and military resistance – secrecy, external support from Syria and Iran, anchorage in a powerful form of theocratic nationalism, independence from state controls or public accountability – have all proven to be weaknesses in its slow and imprecise move into the political arena in Lebanon.
Since driving Israel out of Lebanon in 2000, fighting a major war against Israel in 2006, and asserting its military supremacy in Beirut in May 2008, Hezbollah has repeatedly shown it is far more proficient at military resistance against its foes than at political engagement with domestic compatriots.
Based on its history, Hezbollah will not much care if Lebanese and Arabs criticize it for fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's regime and buttressing Iranian strategic interests in the region. It does what it feels it must to carry out its mission, which it sees as protecting Lebanon from foreign predators, resisting the regional hegemonic threats of Arab or Western parties, and achieving these goals by assisting its allies, most importantly Syria and Iran, and forever ending the humiliation and mistreatment of Lebanese Shiites.
Fighting inside Syria alongside the Assad regime will exacerbate all the pressures and constraints that Hezbollah already feels. More Lebanese will criticize it for dragging Lebanon into the Syrian war and fostering greater internal fighting in Lebanon among pro- and anti-Assad groups. Many Lebanese say Qusair exposes Hezbollah as a puppet of Iran, as many had always charged. Some of the party's own supporters may grumble about why dozens of able young Lebanese men are dying in a battle for a small provincial town in Syria. Many foreign countries will seek new ways to pressure, sanction and isolate Hezbollah, and public opinion around the Arab-Islamic world will become more critical and hostile, seeing Hezbollah as mainly as a militia beyond state authority that responds more to Iranian commands than to Arab-Lebanese popular sentiments.
The bigger threat emanating from this episode is that by asserting dramatically its ability and willingness to fight wherever, whenever and whomever it wishes, Hezbollah could add to existing forces that threaten to fracture the integrity of the Lebanese state. This could force it to assume a greater role in running the entire country – something it has always said it does not seek.
Should the Syrian war and Hezbollah's role there lead to all this, it would also vastly increase the likelihood of massive internal Lebanese strife between pro- and anti-Hezbollah groups, pitting Sunnis and Shiites against each other, while also inviting another major war with Israel, or possibly participation in an American-Israeli-Iranian-Syrian war.
The battle for Qusair is only the haphazard spark within the larger Syrian war that could ignite this fire. The real causes of this combustible condition of the Arab region are the dysfunctional nature of modern Arab states and governments, the ascendancy of police states and military regimes, the repercussions of the century-long conflict between Zionism and Arabism, and the fact that the Middle East is a proxy battleground for regional and foreign powers.
We will find out in the coming years if Hezbollah is merely another symptom of these problems, as its critics say, or the first credible and historical antidote to Arab-Islamic weakness, complacency, subjugation and vulnerability, as its supporters say.
sábado, 18 de maio de 2013
Estádio-Arena Corinthians ,Maio 2013
Arena Corinthians, que avançou 75,24%. Um dos destaques é a montagem das estruturas metálicas do telhado do prédio oeste, serviço que deverá ser encerrado na próxima semana, com a instalação do décimo módulo. As estruturas do lado leste já estão prontas para receber a manta sintética. Na área do campo de jogo, estão em curso os trabalhos de montagem do sistema de drenagem e resfriamento da grama, que começa a ser plantada em junho. Há concentração ainda na execução das estruturas metálicas das grandes paredes de vidro das fachadas oeste e leste e na montagem das instalações internas dos sistemas de ar condicionado, elétrico, eletrônico e de água e esgoto. Trabalham hoje na obra mais de 1.420 profissionais.
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Subscribe To Why Aquaman's Classic Comic Costume Presented Real Challenges To James Wan Updates
The DC superheroes have signature suits that can be recognized by fans all around the world. Superman has his cape, and the oversized "S" that takes up his entire chest. Wonder Woman has the gauntlets on her wrists, and a crown that completes her garb. And Aquaman, for better or for worse, suits up in a green-and-orange number that presented real issues for Aquaman director James Wan. As the filmmaker recently told CinemaBlend:
Many of you may recall that the suit featured in the photo at the top of this story closed off the last full trailer for James Wan's Aquaman. It was a massive reveal for the DC Comics character, as his costume in the ensemble Justice League was more toned down, and dull. It had a green and yellow tint to it, and looked nothing like his signature apparel from the comic books:
The reveal of the orange-and-green Aquaman suit was so major, we falsely assumed that this meant it would be the final shot of the movie, with Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) finally embracing his role as the King of Atlantis, assuming his spot on the throne of the underwater kingdom that he has spent years rejecting.
And without giving anything away, that trailer shot -- the one of Arthur stepping out in the suit for the first time -- is NOT the last shot in the movie. Not by a longshot.
You are so close to being able to go see Aquaman for yourself. The movie opens in theaters on Thursday, Dec. 20, and is a proper step in the right direction for DC. For more on what's to come in the DCEU, head on over to our DCEU hub, which is brimming with all of the latest developments.