Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Artist: Fixx
Song: Stand Or Fall


Crying parents tell their children
If you survive don't do as we did
A son exclaims there'll be nothing to do to
Her daughter says she'll be dead with you
While foreign affairs are screwing us rotten
Line morale has hit rock bottom
Dying embers stand forgotten
Talks of peace were being trodden

Stand or fall state your peace tonight
Stand or fall state your peace tonight

Is this the value of our existence
Should we proclaim with such persistence
Our destiny relies on conscience
Red or blue what's the difference

Stand or fall state your peace tonight
Stand or fall state your peace tonight

An empty face reflects extinction
Ugly scars divide the nation
Desecrate the population
There will be no exaltation

Its the euro theatre
Its the euro theatre
Its the euro theatre

Stand or fall state your peace tonight
Stand or fall state your peace tonight

Its the euro theatre
Its the euro theatre
Its the euro theatre
Its the euro theatre
"I always wanted to be an activist because I knew that if I wasn't an
activist I would have to close my eyes -- and I wanted to see the world.
So I became an activist for very selfish reasons."
- Amiko Mayeno (Activist and Buddhist Practitioner)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Tits Up For Knocked Up!!





Ok... I honestly thought I would hate this film... What an IDIOT I can be sometimes... I am not sure why i was so judgmental...

(I was this sure I would hate 40 Year Old Virgin, too... yet I ended up liking that movie greatly...)


Knocked Up, I Love... This movie had everything for me... Romance, great dialog, realism (including believable stoner banter, and not inane stereotyping )...
a family film for the modern family... I am not exaggerating when I say... This is currently my favorite movie!

Good Work Everybody.

Oh, and THANK YOU for making this film!






It Rocks!






La Vie Boheme

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Pakistan's courts in lockdown

  • Story Highlights
  • Pakistan police, lawyers clash in Islamabad on Tuesday
  • An estimated one out of four attorneys are in nation's jails
  • Police sources: Cash bonuses given for beating lawyers
  • Cell phone service in Islamabad fails on Tuesday

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Baton-wielding police fought with lawyers outside courthouses in Islamabad and Lahore again Tuesday, arresting dozens more as they enforced Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's crackdown on judicial activism.

With one in four lawyers now jailed and many judges detained in their homes, surrounded by soldiers, Pakistan's judicial system is in lockdown three days after Musharraf suspended the constitution and declared a state of emergency.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto left Karachi for Islamabad Tuesday for meetings with other opposition leaders about how to respond to Musharraf's declaration.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry -- fired by Musharraf Saturday -- in a phone call to a gathering of lawyers urged them to go to "every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice."

Musharraf's declaration noted a "visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks" and it blamed a judiciary that was "at cross purposes" with his government's efforts "to control this menace."

Opposition leaders, however, suggested the judicial activism Musharraf was really targeting was an expected Supreme Court ruling that would bar him from another term as Pakistan's president.

About 3,000 Pakistani lawyers, rounded up since Saturday, sit in jails across the country with no courts operating to which they can seek release. Pakistan has an estimated 12,000 lawyers. VideoWatch Aamir Ghauri of Geo TV discuss the crackdown »

Police earned cash bonuses for beating and arresting hundreds of lawyers Monday who had gathered outside of Lahore's courthouse, police sources said.

Any lawyer who attempts to enter the Lahore or Islamabad courthouse Tuesday was immediately arrested, witnesses said. Some were grabbed by police as they walked toward the court, sources said.

Chief Justice Chaudhry, speaking by phone to lawyers gathered in Islamabad Tuesday, told them to carry the message of sacrifice.

"Don't be afraid of anything," Chaudhry said. "God will help us and the day will come when you'll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time."

Chaudhry's remarks were interrupted when Islamabad's cell phone system suddenly died. There has been no way to confirm the disruption was planned by police.

Chaudhry has been unable to leave his home since it was surrounded by soldiers Saturday night. His house arrest prevents Chaudhry from participating in rallies with lawyers, something he did last March when he was previously sacked by Musharraf.

Chaudhry, who was reinstated to the court in July, has led key rulings that have weakened Musharraf's grip on power -- including lifting the exile imposed on opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 bloodless coup. When Sharif attempted to return to Pakistan last month he was immediately ordered back into exile.

Musharraf defends actions

Despite Tuesday's arrests, the day has so far been less eventful than Monday when Pakistani security forces used tear gas and batons on lawyers and journalists demonstrating against Musharraf's declaration.

Despite strong pressure from the United States, Britain and other countries to reverse his decision, Musharraf has been unresponsive and unapologetic, according to diplomatic officials who met Monday with the president to deliver their concerns, particularly about "heavy-handed" measures taken in Lahore.

According to a press release from Musharraf: "The president assured the diplomats that efforts were being made in a phased manner to move toward complete democracy."

The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that Musharraf told the diplomats that he took the action he did because certain decisions by the judiciary "created impediments in the fight against terrorism."

He also said the media "in some cases seemed to be helping the cause of extremists and terrorists by showing the gory scenes of suicide bombings that encouraged these elements to carry on with their heinous acts," according to the APP.

Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, and opposition leaders say Musharraf took the action days before a Supreme Court ruling that would have nullified the October presidential results.

Musharraf garnered a vast majority of the votes in the election, which the opposition had boycotted. Opposition attorneys had asked the court to rule on their contention that the Pakistani constitution forbids a sitting military leader from running for president.

Musharraf, who is the Pakistani army's chief of staff as well as president, had promised to relinquish his ties to the military before taking the oath of office for a third time on November 15.

Washington and London are reviewing their aid packages to Pakistan in light of the state of emergency, which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called "highly regrettable."

But a senior U.S. administration official said that the issue of aid is "a card that has to be played fairly carefully" and that the White House wanted to see what transpires in Pakistan over the next few days before making any kind of decision.

"President Musharraf is the leader of his country -- but, in our judgment, he's made a mistake," the official said.

"The question is: What do you do when someone makes that mistake that is a close ally? You know, do you cut him off, hit him with sanctions, walk out the door? Or do you try and see if you can work them to get them back on track?"

"And the president's guidance to us is see if we can work with them to get back on track."


CNN's Mohsin Naqvi in Lahore contributed to this report.
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Keep our eyes open...


La Vie Boheme

Thursday, November 01, 2007

The Mantra



Om Mani Padme Hum

The Mani mantra is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras, and open to anyone who feels inspired to practice it -- it does not require prior initiation by a lama (meditation master).

The six syllables of the mantra, as it is often pronounced by Tibetans -- Om Mani Padme Hum -- are here written in the Tibetan alphabet:


Reading from left to right the syllables are:

Om
(ohm)

Ma
(mah)

Ni
(nee)

Pad
(pahd)

Me
(may)

Hum
(hum)


The vowel in the syllable Hu (is pronounced as in the English word 'book'. The final consonant in that syllable is often pronounced 'ng' as in 'song' -- Om Mani Padme Hung.

There is one further complication: The syllable Pad is pronounced Pe (peh) by many Tibetans: Om Mani Peme Hung.

---

The mantra originated in India; as it moved from India into Tibet, the pronunciation changed because some of the sounds in the Indian Sanskrit language were hard for Tibetans to pronounce.

Sanskrit
form

Om Mani Padma Hum
(mantra of Avalokiteshvara)

Tibetan
form

Om Mani Peme Hung
(mantra of Chenrezig)

---

The True Sound of Truth

An old story speaks about a similar problem. A devoted meditator, after years concentrating on a particular mantra, had attained enough insight to begin teaching.

The student's humility was far from perfect, but the teachers at the monastery were not worried.

A few years of successful teaching left the meditator with no thoughts about learning from anyone; but upon hearing about a famous hermit living nearby, the opportunity was too exciting to be passed up.

The hermit lived alone on an island at the middle of a lake, so the meditator hired a man with a boat to row across to the island.

The meditator was very respectful of the old hermit.

As they shared some tea made with herbs the meditator asked him about his spiritual practice.

The old man said he had no spiritual practice, except for a mantra which he repeated all the time to himself.

The meditator was pleased; the hermit was using the same mantra he used himself -- however, when the hermit spoke the mantra aloud, the meditator was horrified!

"What's wrong?" asked the hermit.

"I don't know what to say. I'm afraid you've wasted your whole life! You are pronouncing the mantra incorrectly!"

"Oh, Dear! That is terrible. How should I say it?"

The meditator gave the correct pronunciation, and the old hermit was very grateful, asking to be left alone so he could get started right away.
On the way back across the lake the meditator, now confirmed as an accomplished teacher, was pondering the sad fate of the hermit.

"It's so fortunate that I came along. At least he will have a little time to practice correctly before he dies," thought the meditator.

Just then, the meditator noticed that the boatman was looking quite shocked, and turned to see the hermit standing respectfully, on the water, next to the boat.

"Excuse me, please. I hate to bother you, but I've forgotten the correct pronunciation again. Would you please repeat it for me?" Said the hermit.

"You obviously don't need it," stammered the meditator... but the old man persisted in his polite request until the meditator relented and told him again the way he thought the mantra should be pronounced.

The old hermit was saying the mantra very carefully, slowly, over and over, as he walked across the surface of the water back to the island.


From Dharma Haven






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La Vie Boheme