Freshlyground

I went to this beautiful concert last night. It was so uplifting it was actually depressing

Ninja cat comes closer while not moving!

I really miss my cat...

KEITH OLBERMANN ON DAVID LETTERMAN SEPT 24th, 2008 McCAIN

David Letterman destroys McCain for backing out of an interview. 

Been missing Asterix these days...

...or imagine just pining for my not so innocent youth.

Hellboy II

I watched it for the second time today. There's something very personable about the whole thing.

Woody Allen

"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying."

The most evil Cyanide and Happiness yet

Lady Ishikawa (7th C. CE): Poem by Lady Ishikawa in response

Waiting for me,
you grew wet there
in gentle foothills,
in the dew drops of the mountains--
I wish I'd been such drops of dew.

*****************
Although I come to you constantly
over the roads of dreams,
those nights of love
are not worth one waking touch of you.

********************
I can give myself to her
In her dreams
Whispering her own poems
In her ear as she sleeps beside me

The Mysterious Stranger - Extract

Strange, indeed, that you should not have suspected that your universe and its contents were only dreams, visions, fiction! Strange, because they are so frankly and hysterically insane - like all dreams: a God who could make good children as easily as bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave his angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice and invented hell - mouths mercy and invented hell - mouths Golden Rules, and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites this poor, abused slave to worship him! . . .

"You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly creations of an imagination that is not conscious of its freaks - in a word, that they are a dream, and you the maker of it. The dream-marks are all present; you should have recognized them earlier.

"It is true, that which I have revealed to you; there is no God, no universe, no human race, no earthly life, no heaven, no hell. It is all a dream - a grotesque and foolish dream. Nothing exists but you. And you are but a thought - a vagrant thought, a useless thought, a homeless thought, wandering forlorn among the empty eternities!"

- Mark Twain

Mao Zedong...

"The enemy advances, we retreat. / The enemy camps, we harass. / The enemy tires, we attack."

Jaafar Al Sadiq - Guarding Oneself (Ri'ayah)

Whoever guards his heart from heedlessness, protects his self from appetites, and guards his intellect from ignorance, will be admitted into the company of the vigilant. Then he who guards his knowledge from fancies, his faith from innovation, and his property from the forbidden is among the righteous.

The Messenger of Allah said, 'It is a duty for every Muslim, man and woman, to seek knowledge,' that is, knowledge of the self. Therefore it is necessary for the self to be in all states either expressing his gratitude or proffering his excuse for lack of gratitude. If this is acceptable to Allah it is a favour upon him, and if not it is justice upon him. For every self it is necessary to work that it may succeed in its acts of obedience, and for its protection in its efforts to abstain from doing harm.

The basis of all this is recognition of total need and dependence on Allah, caution and obedience. The key to it is in delegating your affair to Allah, cutting off expectation by always remembering death, and seeing that you are standing in the presence of the All compelling. This gives you rest from confinement, rescue from the enemy, and peace for the self. The means to sincerity in obedience is harmony, and the root of that rests upon considering life as being only as long as a day.

The Messenger of Allah said, 'This world lasts but an hour, so spend it in obedience to Allah.' The door to all of this is always to withdraw from the world by means of constant reflection. The means to this withdrawal is contentment, and abandoning such existential matters as do not concern you. The means to reflection is emptiness [desirelessness], and the buttress of emptiness is abstinence. The completion of abstinence is precaution, and the door to precaution is fear. The proof of fear is glorification of Allah, adherence to obeying His commands with sincerity, fear and caution, and holding back from the forbidden; and the guide to this is knowledge. Almighty Allah said,

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاء

Those of His servants who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah.(35:28)

Jaafar Al-Sadiq - On Leaving your Home

When you leave your home, do it as if you will never return. Leave only for the sake of obedience to Allah or for the sake of the faith. Remain tranquil and dignified in your bearing, and remember Allah both secretly and openly.

One of the companions of Abu Dharr asked a member of Abu Dharr's household where he was and she said, 'He has gone out.' When the man asked when Abu Dharr would return, she replied, 'When he returns is in the hands of someone else,' for he has no power on his own.

Learn from Allah's creation, both the pious and the deviants, wherever you go. Ask Allah to place you among His sincere and truthful bondsmen, and to join you to those of them who have passed on and to gather you in their company. Praise Him, and give thanks for the appetites He has made you avoid, and the ugly actions of the wrongdoers from which He has protected you. Lower your gaze from carnal appetites and forbidden things, and pursue the right course on your journey. Be vigilant, fearing Allah at every step, as if you were crossing the straight path. Do not be distracted. Offer a greeting to His people, both giving it first and answering with it. Give help to those who ask for it in a righteous cause, guide those who are lost and ignore the ignorant.

When you return to your home, enter it as a corpse enters the grave, its only concern being to receive the mercy and forgiveness of Allah.

A conversation with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This is likely the best interview I have ever seen with him.

The moths and the flame

Moths gathered in a fluttering throng one night
To learn the truth about the candle's light
And they decided one of them should go
To gather news of the elusive glow.
One flew till in the distance he discerned
A palace window where a candle burned -
And went no nearer; back again he flew
To tell the others what he though he knew.
The mentor of the moths dismissed his claim,
Remarking: "He knows nothing of the flame."
A moth more eager than the one before
Set out and passed beyond the palace door.
He hovered in the aura of the fire,
A trembling blur of timorous desire,
Then headed back to say how far he'd been,
And how much he had undergone and seen.
The mentor said: "You do not bear the signs
Of one who's fathomed how the candle shines."
Another moth flew out - his dizzy flight
Turned to an ardent wooing of the light;
He dipped and soared, and in his frenzied trance
Both Self and fire were mingled by his dance -
The flame engulfed his wing-tips, body, head;
His being glowed a fierce translucent red;
And when the mentor saw that sudden blaze,
The moth's form lost within the glowing rays,
He said: "He knows, he knows the truth we seek,
That hidden truth of which we cannot speak."
To go beyond all knowledge is to find
That comprehension which eludes the mind,
And you can never gain the longed-for goal
Until you first outsoar both flesh and soul;
But should one part remain, a single hair
Will drag you back and plunge you in despair -
No creature's Self can be admitted here,
Where all identity must disappear.

-Farid Ud-Din Attar

Iranian President Speaks to UN

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday 23 September 2008

An American friend of mine, a dear close Republican friend watched it too. He said, "Yeah this guy is saying this stuff, but I know he's scum and just wants to destroy the world." I responded, "How do you know?" He realised then that he didn't know, he didn't know if this man was evil or just maligned.

I also realised then that I also will never know. I have come to understand that in this life it is very difficult to tell good from evil. It's hard to even know if there is such a thing. We are also affected from our perspective. If I am evil then what is good will seem foul, and if I am evil my evil will appear good.

I'll let you be the judge and ultimately He will be the judge and we will know what we really are.

EGYPT: Judges victims of police brutality, report says

In reports of another show of Egyptian police brutality, two judges were allegedly beaten by three police officers Monday in the departure hall of the Luxor airport on grounds that they did not carry valid tickets.

According to a report in al-Masry al-Youm daily, the police tried to force the justices out of the departure hall after refusing to acknowledge their electronic tickets. The judges were insulted and punched by the policemen, according to the newspaper. A police source speaking to the local press on condition of anonymity said that negotiations were underway to reach reconciliation.

Yet, the judges said no reconciliation was conceivable and that the cops should be prosecuted.

The incident again calls attention to Egypt’s poor humanrights record -- even those who mete out law and order may not beimmune to abuse and humiliation. According to local human rights organizations, torture is practiced systematically by Egyptian police.

Human rights have long been a point of contention between Cairo and Western capitals. Earlier this week, the release of the U.S. State Department 10th annual report on international religious freedom dealt a blow to the Egyptian government. The report states that “although there were some positive steps in support of religious freedom, the status of respect forreligious freedom by the government declined overall during the period covered by this report.” The Egyptian government, as it usually does when criticized, disputed the validity of the U.S. report and blamed outside forces for meddling: “The report contains false information and interferes with matters that only concern the Egyptian society and government. It is not acceptable from external parties to interfere with purely Egyptian domestic matters,” said Hossam Zaki, the foreign ministry’s official spokesman. — Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Mickey Mouse must die, says Saudi Arabian cleric

Someone sent me the article below.  Reading it, one gets the impression that it was an angry shaykh condemning Mickey Mouse to death.  Watching it you realise it's just another example of the sloppy use of Shariah by many scholars. Saying that Divine Law dictates that a fictitious character must be executed is ridiculous and ill thought out.  So is the immediate of so many cultural conservatives of the insidious effect of cartoon's on childrens' minds.  Although, I do find mice quite cute so maybe I've simply been brainwashed - by Mighty Mouse in my case. The point is that these kinds of statements, while providing ample ammunition to those who enjoy humiliating us over our follly, show a general disrespect for the great tradition of Islamic Law.

I leave you with this, from your humble corrupted infidel...





http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1850.htm



Sheikh Muhammad Munajid claimed the mouse is "one of Satan's soldiers" and makes everything it touches impure. But he warned that depictions of the creature in cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, and Disney's Mickey Mouse, had taught children that it was in fact loveable. The cleric, a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed.

Mr Munajid was asked to give Islam's teaching on mice during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.

According to a translation prepared by the Middle East Media Research Institute, an American press monitoring service, he said: "The mouse is one of Satan's soldiers and is steered by him.

"If a mouse falls into a pot of food – if the food is solid, you should chuck out the mouse and the food touching it, and if it is liquid – you should chuck out the whole thing, because the mouse is impure.

"According to Islamic law, the mouse is a repulsive, corrupting creature. How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry?

"Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice.

"Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases."

Saudi maid verdict 'outrageous'

Human Rights Watch has called on Saudi judges to overturn a decision to drop charges against a Saudi couple accused of severely abusing an Indonesian maid.

A judge in Riyadh awarded $670 damages to the maid, Nour Miyati, but dropped all charges against her employers.

The female employer, who admitted the abuse and was originally sentenced to 35 lashes, had her sentence overturned.

Human Rights Watch said the ruling on Monday was "outrageous", and sent "a dangerous message" to Saudi employers.

Ms Miyati, 25, contracted gangrene after allegedly being tied up for a month and left without food in 2005. She had to have several fingers and toes amputated.

New York-based Human Rights Watch called for an appeals court to "impose stiff penalties on the employers, including imprisonment, and payment of significant financial compensation".

Saudi officials have not commented on the report.

'Impunity'

Human Rights Watch says Ms Miyati was treated in a Riyadh hospital in March 2005 for gangrene, malnourishment and other injuries.

All charges against Ms Miyati's male employer were dropped early in the investigation, Human Rights Watch says.

On Monday a Riyadh judge found the female employer not guilty, despite her earlier admission and "compelling physical evidence", the group says.

A prior Saudi judgement, subsequently overturned, had seen Ms Miyati convicted of falsely accusing her employers and sentenced to 79 lashes.

Human Rights Watch said the latest ruling "sends a dangerous message to Saudi employers that they can beat domestic workers with impunity and that victims have little hope of justice".

Rights organisations say many foreign domestic maids in Saudi Arabia work in harsh circumstances and often suffer abuse by their employers.

The Saudi Labour Ministry has acknowledged some problems, but the government also says foreign workers' rights are protected under Islamic law.

The Reciter

Blue Sky Sudios

UnderCover Mosque: The Return

A compelling documentary on the women's section of London Mosques. These are not obscure mosques, but central ones to London's Muslim life like Regent's Park - one I have attended many times. My question is how did we reach the point of intellectual barrenness that has led us to see a world in such pathetically simplistic terms.

The Evolution of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

An excellent interview about living beyond our means

Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS

Is an imperial presidency destroying what America stands for? Bill Moyers sits down with history and international relations expert and former US Army Colonel Andrew J. Bacevich who identifies three major problems facing our democracy: the crises of economy, government and militarism, and calls for a redefinition of the American way of life

Habib Ali Jifri's advice to the west

Click here to listen to Habib Ali Jifri's presentations to Western audiences. A very interesting look at our own responsibilities and an antidote to the blame game. You can find the rest of the presentations here.

Matam on Park Lane

I was walking along with a friend in Hyde Park and noticed this familiar sound. It couldn't be? Nope, it was. Commemoration of the assassination of Imam Ali, on Park Lane. I'm not sure what the council thought it was approving, probably just a small religious ceremony. I love London.