a certain state of enlightenment...

Myanmar: UFO or flying Buddha?

By Michael Cohen

The reader, from Myanmar, who sent us the link to this video (below) told us that:

'This footage is taken by a unknown teenage girl in Myanmar (Burma).Posted on youtube by Nyi Nyi. There are kids voice in the footage saying flying 'Ya Han Dah' It is believed to be a flying Buddhist monk.Said to have been taken on the First day of the Myanmar New Year 2009. This is definitely not CGI cause i have studied it many times and i am a graphic artist myself. This is definitely not visual effects.It is a monk wearing a so called yellow robe but really deep-red in color. In my country many sighting such as this has happened in the past and thousands have witnessed these events but this is a first time on tape that i have seen so far. In Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist monks are able to achieve flight through achieving a certain state of enlightenment.
Those monks who has become enlightened are not known as being enlightened until they die. On burning their corpse, instead of pile of ashes, balls of ashes are left and then it was known that this monk was enlightened and has pass to a higher realm or Nirvana. Some monks don't rot and their fingernails kept growing even after they die. This is not something u would find on casual BBC or CNN news as this world is immersed by Christianity and Islams. Buddhism is not a religion its a practice of good. So whoever reading this should rethink what is what. Sorry.. I got a little carried away.

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“Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.”

“Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.”

- Alan Perlis

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I guess I am in here somewhere

nerd-venn-diagram-9420-1252236207-2.jpg (JPEG Image, 434x407 pixels)

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Musical Tribute: Heard to be believed...

If You Can Read This, Your Eyes Are The Leet.

If You Can Read This, Your Eyes Are The Leet.

Hat tip to HumorZo

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It took me a minute...

Cartoons by Andertoons

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I only have eyes for you...

from all creatures [great and small]

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I am a Leader - Reposted from The Elder Storytelling Place

I am a Leader

from The Elder Storytelling Place by Ronni Bennett

By George Baker

I AM A LEADER
When faced with any decision, I will do the right thing and refuse to do nothing.

I AM A LEADER
I have no desire to manage a work force.
My desire is to lead a team.
I will not get behind and push and coerce my team.
I will get out in front and pull and inspire my team.

I AM A LEADER
I am a product of my decisions, not a victim of my conditions.
It is my choice to make things happen and to never make excuses.
I refuse to merely be reactive to my circumstances.
I resolve that proactive planning will determine my destiny.

I AM A LEADER
I will practice self-discipline and self-control before asking others to do so.
I will never be satisfied with the status quo.
I will not complacently do what is expected.
I will eagerly exceed expectations.

I AM A LEADER I will communicate more vision than supervision. I will stimulate and communicate a futuristic vision. I will not futilely fight the changing tide. I will excitedly ride the wave of the future.

I AM A LEADER
My values will not vacillate depending on who I am with.
My integrity will remain immutable, no matter what the circumstances.
I will not blame, belittle, besmirch, or begrudge another person.
I will try to excite, exhort, encourage, and empower others.

I AM A LEADER
I will not have to be coddled, cajoled, coerced, or kowtowed into doing my job.
I will have the caring, character, courage, and commitment to perform my duties to the utmost.
I am committed to being a life-long learner.
The day I stop learning, is the day I stop breathing.

I AM A LEADER
I refuse to spend my time fighting the fires of the urgent.
I resolve to proactively plan my time to focus on the critical.
I refuse to waste my time in the present worrying about the future.
I realize that the best way to predict the future is to create it.

I AM A LEADER

(Thank you George Baker and Ronni Bennett)

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Media: Right, Left and unbiased?

A recent report brought to the surface the difference between media and society...

Sri Lanka: A Journalist Sentenced For 20 Years

Sepia Mutiny reports that Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who has written articles critical of the Sri Lankan government for a magazine, has been sentenced for 20 years hard labor.

Groundviews first highlighted the case of J.S. Tissainayagam last year, noting that,

Salient points of Tissa’s case point to a larger and more chilling deterioration of media freedom in Sri Lanka under the Rajapakse administration. Tissa’s case in particular reveals a particularly twisted logic, and through it, confirms fears that the regime in the South now completely mirrors the intolerance of media freedom and free expression the LTTE is known and reviled for.

In contrast I reflect on our right guaranteed by the first amendment, the freedom of speech.  As a society we are both burdened and blessed with this freedom.  We must endure the seeming endless tirades of self-interested parties bent on swaying public opinion.  As well, under the same protective freedom we enjoy the privilege of publicly expressing our values in art, theater, dance, literature and more.  Sometimes even unfettered political criticism.

What we as a society has learned is that our democratic form of government compensates for the polar extremes of freedom of speech.  Further, we know that the onus of responsibility for filtering, affirming or dismissing a given free speech expression falls squarely on our shoulders.  This is in sharp contrast to nation-states such as those sited above as well as a myriad of others. Governments and power brokers who would believe that by repressing the free press, by stifling freedom of expression, that they are in some way protecting the people.

In fact they are only trying to keep their people ignorant.  They are not repressing a free press as much as they are suppressing knowledge.  This deprivation of knowledge is the primary means used to maintain power.  Power, after all, is what it is all about.  Frightened despotic governments who rule not by popular mandate but by the imposed shadow of ignorance cannot be taken seriously in this day and age.  They are laughable.

Sadly, while they laugh at their population's enforced ignorance, the free world cries for a journalist sentenced to 20 years hard labor.

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