tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post6092980367331621597..comments2023-04-03T22:30:04.509-07:00Comments on P-04 Referent talks: Dourak 3 : Afghanistan infernoPascal [P-04referent]http://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-76785916441964324962008-05-31T19:43:00.000-07:002008-05-31T19:43:00.000-07:00Shame on you, man. What would Gandhi's spirit say,...Shame on you, man. What would Gandhi's spirit say, after all those efforts to DE-WESTERNIZE India?<BR/><BR/>;-)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-87329523395213740472008-05-31T17:38:00.000-07:002008-05-31T17:38:00.000-07:00Yes, I have checked the girl with the western atti...Yes, I have checked the girl with the western attire. But western attires are becomin' more and more of a norm which I very happy about. Maybe I might be known as the father of westernization in India. LOL!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-29687169124703878322008-04-29T19:37:00.000-07:002008-04-29T19:37:00.000-07:00I'm mostly disturbed as to how they dared even THI...I'm mostly disturbed as to how they dared even THINK of sending soldiers (even mere lightsaber fodder) to arrest him AFTER that stunt, if he displayed those Jedi powers of his, knowhatimsayin'? I mean, that execution gig, and all. A big risk. The Roman Empire was THIS close to falling prematurely, had he gone berzerk over the little unpleasantness on that cross.<BR/><BR/>Oh, wait, I've got it: <I>THEY KNEW</I>. Samson lost his powers if he had a (bad?) haircut, and "the jewish troublemaker" if a guy kissed him in a remote garden at night. Darth Treacherous strikes again! Oh, those Rotten Romans were devious allright! More Vicious than the Vikings, more Terrible than the Tudors, more Vile than the Victorians...<BR/><BR/>P.S.: I knew about the disturbance. You think I didn't notice the mess you made while you were searching for my lack of faith?<BR/>Um... BTW, where was it? Hadn't seen the darned thing for years.Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-25084737428239100242008-04-29T05:42:00.000-07:002008-04-29T05:42:00.000-07:00Well, Pascal, he did have those gnarly powers. If...Well, Pascal, he did have those gnarly powers. If the soldiers had been sent to arrest him, he could have just wasted them with his Jedi powers. "I find your lack of faith disturbing..."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-65387756751092188882008-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:002008-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:00Dripping from his ears, at the very least. I figur...Dripping from his ears, at the very least. I figured so much in Catechism when I was 7.<BR/><BR/>The way people describe/retell the story of what they religiously believe in, often isn't much more plausible than the rest. More akin to a legend, Beowulf style. For instance, they tell us this country carpenter guy just walked in the Temple and kicked all the merchants out. All their wealthy and powerful bunch, single-handedly, "just like that"? Um... didn't they have security? I mean, 'twas the blumen' Temple, you know, holiest of places and all... "Oh yeah? You and what army?"<BR/>That was no humble commoner walking barefoot in the dust. He HAD to enjoy a high social status, and to have many supporting friends, or they'd've arrested him way earlier if he was merely a lowly troublemaker. We know the idea of arresting him inspired great caution to his many and very influential enemies, but there are little details logically explaining WHY.<BR/>Another mystery: as a kid, he was already discussing with the Temple priests and amazing them. Early blooming talent for theology, like Mozart. Yet, he only went public at age 30, apparently still single. What did he do with his time and life between, say, 18 and 30? Just mope around in his parents' basement? Did he get a job? Apprenticize carpenting? Run for mayor? Try to get a date? We haven't got a clue. <I>"The public has the right to know, you're a public figure, Mister J.<BR/>- Verily I tell you, no comment. Just... trust me on this, okay?"</I><BR/>I really wonder how "blind faith" can be compatible with "the enlightenment of the Truth". Another great unfathomable divine mystery? Or fear of questioning the version of the many clergies, threatening the influence of their EARTHLY authority?...<BR/><I>"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."</I> - Galileo Galilei [courtesy of Eo]<BR/><BR/>Have you checked my link of a "pretty girl in sexy western attire" above? :-)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-51882687964843809902008-04-22T11:34:00.000-07:002008-04-22T11:34:00.000-07:00One thing about all this: People don't give that ...One thing about all this: People don't give that Joseph guy enough credit. That whole virgin birth thing? If it happened - I mean, sure, after the fact it's all great but before...okay, he must've had faith and all that shit out the fucking wazoo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-40624894154101609532008-04-21T20:07:00.000-07:002008-04-21T20:07:00.000-07:00As you said, Joe: ONE of the definitions. such wor...As you said, Joe: ONE of the definitions. such words are blurry in meaning, with many details <I>implied</I>.<BR/><BR/>As for the rest of what you say... hey, what can I say, when you're right, you're right, man! And don't I know it from Catechism!<BR/>In fact, I read a recent neuro-psychology article which said that by very definition, religious belief means accepting impossible things [like, say, a virgin having a baby]. It turns out from the study that the more unlikely, the bigger chances are that one will believe in them.<BR/>So, that new religion I planned to found based on the infinity of human stupidity hasn't got the ghost of a chance to take off. Too plausible to be believed! Ah well, I'd better write super-hero comics:<BR/><I>"Thor, asgardian son of Odin, came to Earth to join Herc and the Avengers in fighting the commie nazis in Baghdad. Why? Well, he was getting bored of gettin' no more respect in Walhalla, see, so he thought, </I>`d'uh, hey, there are groupies in Amerika, ja, and they worship jocks with long blonde hair and big muscles, I could even surf with that metal Oscar guy or get elected State Governor on the West Coast`<I>. And thus, the legend begun. So did the groping allegations, but that's unpermitted by the Comics Code Authority."</I><BR/>Hey, I'm good at that supernatural junk!<BR/>I wonder if I can mention Quetzalcoatl dumping Isis for Kali because her many arms promised more Kama-Sutra potential... Yeah, that's the kind of stuff that would sell with <B>true believers</B>! :-)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-32755960782040229822008-04-21T19:01:00.000-07:002008-04-21T19:01:00.000-07:00Pascal, I haven't yet read in its entirety your an...Pascal, I haven't yet read in its entirety your answer to good ol' Johnnie Walker, but a damsel is an unmarried woman and wouldn't really make sense; one of the definitions of maiden <I>is</I> "virgin".<BR/><BR/>Anyway there is no point in talking about what evidence there is because that should be irrelevant. The basis of all religions - and without which no religion could work - is blind faith. "Proof" or "facts" should have nothing to do with it - and religious people will agree with that <I>except</I> when a discovery confirms or appears to confirm their beliefs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-38832417064445050432008-04-08T16:42:00.000-07:002008-04-08T16:42:00.000-07:00Oops! Correction.I did some checking, and it appea...Oops! Correction.<BR/>I did some checking, and it appears I made a smal mistake: <I>amah</I> isn't equivalent to the hebrew <I>almah</I>. It actually means "servant" or "slave". (Again, both these nuances were quite similar in ancient times.) So one marries "the humble servant of the Lord", not "the Lord's maiden".<BR/>Just for the record.<BR/>Speaking of servants, in Arabic the same word, <I>"abed"</I>, is used to describe a black African and a slave. Very revealing culturally...<BR/>But then again, some Europeans still use the expression "work like a negro" to mean "treated like a slave". The echo of the howls from the ghosts of the past can still be heard...Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-59486659058725784752008-04-07T16:27:00.000-07:002008-04-07T16:27:00.000-07:00It's traditionally accepted as an evident fact in ...It's traditionally accepted as an evident fact in the Oriental christian community. You have to understand that Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic are very closely related languages. While the West relies on second or third translations like King James' version (further influenced by the specific culture of the times), over here we have the Texts available practically in their original formulation. Most figures of speech used haven't changed since Year One A.D. and are still in use! (Some of the culture is also unchanged...) When a Lebanese reads the Gospel, he needs nobody's help to understand, for example, that the term "brother" has a much broader meaning than just the children of one's mother and father. [Remember the African-American community speak: it can be almost as general. Cousins, friends, members of the same ethny...]<BR/><BR/>Similarly, the word "virgin" is a european interpretation, among many possible choices at the time of translation. The original word is closer to "maiden" or "damsel", to be understood as "a pure nubile young girl from a fine family". Therefore, around twelve, typical age for marriage in these days, according to the accounts of some apocryphal Gospels -which HAD to conform to the contemporary beliefs to be plausible!- and also, I believe, historical evidence.<BR/>In other words, "it's pretty obvious where I stand from". Much less if you're entirely a modern Westerner. Also, it is confirmed by many scientific articles I read in (Western) mainstream publication over the last years.<BR/>[From Wikipedia:] "The Gospel of Matthew describes Mary as a virgin who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew word <I>almah</I> that appears in this verse, and the Greek word <I>parthenos</I> that Jews used to translate it in the Greek Septuagint that Matthew quotes here, have been the subjects of dispute for almost two millennia, since <I>almah</I> simply means <I>young woman</I>, rather than <I>virgin</I> (in Hebrew, the word <I>betulah</I> would be an unambiguous translation)."<BR/>I can confirm personally: Lebanese Christians worship <I>Maryam al-betulah</I> (also pronounced <I>batulah</I> or <I>batul</I>), and at weddings the priest asks "Do you take *****, the Lord's <I>amah</I>, for your wife?"<BR/><BR/>Which doesn't keep the vast majority of people in the parish around me from firmly believing that Mary conceived a virgin, "gave birth a virgin" (meaning that by some mandatory miracle her flesh hymen didn't even break THEN), and died a virgin (correction: "ascended"), never "knowing" her husband for the following thirty years of their marital life. Why would it have been sinful, I haven't got a clue, the guy wasn't the revered founder of the Christian Church yet, didn't even mean to start something SEPARATE from the judaic tradition. Which, incidentally, RECOMMENDED that rabbis marry and have children, and still does...<BR/><BR/>Someone once even explained to me very learnedly that baby Jesus was born "by crossing matter and coming straight out of her belly without passing through the shameful place, a miraculous birth concluding a miraculous conception, that left her a virgin". There's the Texts, and then there's the (ahem!) "enlightened insight brought by blind faith".<BR/><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_virginity_of_Mary" REL="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_virginity_of_Mary</A><BR/>You wouldn't believe how much of what one hears in local Catechism comes from Apocryphs, and is unmentioned in the Canons. Same with islamic education: Qur'an and Hadith (Text and Tradition) are inextricably mixed.<BR/>People love to focus on details of cult and religion rather than on the core spirit. Not me (see my profile). <BR/>"Morality is everywhere the same for all men, therefore it comes from God; cults differ, therefore they are the work of men." - <A HREF="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire" REL="nofollow">Voltaire</A><BR/><I>"La morale est la même chez tous les hommes, donc elle vient de Dieu; le culte est différent, donc il est l’ouvrage des hommes."</I><BR/><BR/><BR/><I>"You've got to love that Mo. He had class."</I><BR/>You said it! [John XVIII, 37]<BR/>But let us not flirt with the Danish Syndrome, a.k.a. <I>jyllandis posteniasis hyperthermia</I>. I have plans for the next 50 years of my life, and they include breathing...<BR/><BR/>Goes without saying as a conclusion, but I care very little about what label of religion one believes in. I care infinitely more about the spirit they believe with. In ALL religions, I've seen all kinds, the best, the worst, and the average. Including in atheists.<BR/>Sometimes, living in a very diverse country like Lebanon can be immensely enriching. You SEE the others, live with them, instead of just trusting the hear-says of your own isolated community. If you have the potential, you can see and know for yourself that all humans are equal, and one's sole choices make a difference.Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-67732080030619784852008-04-06T13:58:00.000-07:002008-04-06T13:58:00.000-07:00I heard somewhere that Mary of Nazareth, mother of...<I>I heard somewhere that Mary of Nazareth, mother of Jesus, got engaged at age 12 or 13, 2000 years ago.</I><BR/><BR/>I'd like to know where this "fact" came from.<BR/><BR/>You've got to love that Mo. He had class.Johnnie Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18220503304597959440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-73922852554226579632008-04-04T22:00:00.000-07:002008-04-04T22:00:00.000-07:00Well, its one of the classies which I don't prefer...Well, its one of the classies which I don't prefer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-80955183540886692372008-04-04T16:21:00.000-07:002008-04-04T16:21:00.000-07:00Pajamas also are very comfy. But I wouldn't work i...Pajamas also are very comfy. But I wouldn't work in a metal factory while wearing them, either.<BR/><BR/>Here's a small friendly suggestion: next time, you can put your name at the top of your comments by clicking the "<B>Name/URL</B>" option instead of "<B>Anonymous</B>".<BR/>I don't know if it's comfy, but it's classy. :-)Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-84099631932326959122008-04-04T04:29:00.000-07:002008-04-04T04:29:00.000-07:00Yes, it is but did you know that women find it qui...Yes, it is but did you know that women find it quite hard to wear and stay in shape with that attire. Its not appropriatte in jobs for women who need to do their jobs fast. Women themselves don't find it comfy, its just most Indian males lie that a sari is quite comfy. <BR/><BR/>AnuragAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-7586678114126199292008-04-01T00:30:00.000-07:002008-04-01T00:30:00.000-07:00Well, a sari can be very comfy. :-)I also like sex...Well, a sari can be very comfy. :-)<BR/><BR/>I also like sexy western attitre. Especially sexy western attitre like the pretty girl pictured in this interview:<BR/><A HREF="http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/5667/Sally-Mae-Beauregard-Interview" REL="nofollow">http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/5667/Sally-Mae-Beauregard-Interview</A>Pascal [P-04referent]https://www.blogger.com/profile/12828897559998855623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426563469607299902.post-26176037562351848862008-03-31T03:02:00.000-07:002008-03-31T03:02:00.000-07:00Its nice to see women in India rising up but I per...Its nice to see women in India rising up but I personally don't like sari, seriously, but please don't think that I hate India. I prefer a more western sexier attire. :-) How about you?<BR/><BR/>AnuragAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com