How do you want to be remembered?

If in those who encounter me
An unfaithful or an angry thought arises,
May that eternally become the source
For fulfilling all their wishes.

May all who say bad things to me
Or cause me harm,
And those who mock and insult me
Have the fortune to fully awaken.

May I be a protector to those without protection
A leader for those who journey
And a boat, a bridge, a passage
For those desiring the further shore.

May I be an island for those who seek one
And a lamp for those desiring light,
May I be a bed for all who wish to rest
And a slave for all who want a slave.

May I be a wishing jewel, a magic vase,
Powerful mantras and great medicine,
May I become a wish-fulfilling tree
And a cow of plenty for the world.

Just like space
And the great elements such as earth,
May I always support the life
Of all the boundless creatures.

And until they pass away from pain
May I also be the source of life
For all the realms of varied beings
That reach until the end of space.

I’m disturbed to learn the Feds are sifting through our financial records just like they’re sifting through all of our phone, e-mail, web, IM, and general internet records and activity.  It’s amazes me that there appears no limit to how far outside the law this administration is willing to go.

So Republicans in Congress spoke up this week to declare we had in fact found WMD in Iraq.  Many of the Conservative blogs I read have of course jumped on this as though it is finally the vindication and justification for which they have been searching.  Not!  It’s a ploy, a play in advance of this year’s election.  To wit: They’re the same weapons we found and discussed in 2003; the weapons were made prior to 1988 and the original Gulf War; the weapons are so old that the agents inside them are now relatively inert; these weapons were known to exist since we knew he had them in 1991; these are not an indication of a more recent weapons program that was used as justification to invade in the first place.  The timing of this re-release of information is laughably transparent, and it’s rather disturbing that so many warmongers are jumping up and down about this being proof when in fact it’s irrelevant.  Ugh.

Pluto’s new moons get names: Nix and Hydra.

“If the US does not protect its Earth-orbiting satellites, the equivalent of a car bomb in space could take the economy back to the 1950s…”  That’s frightening.

Kill the feather duster!  Great pic.  Click on it for a larger version where you can more clearly see the vicious attack.

Friday Ark #92 is up and will continue to grow throughout the weekend.  Check it out for all the animal news and photos you might want.

Indonesian bird flu news: bad, worse and uninformative.  I also saw news this week that China has yet again hidden information about bird flu in that country; one such report seems to indicate cases there go back much further in time than has been reported to date.  In fact, there are now questions as to whether some previous SARS cases were (intentionally?) misidentified, meaning they were actually avian flu cases.  Despite China’s apparent intention to ensure this situation ends up much worse than it should be, the entire state of affairs is disturbing, and the spread of H5N1, not to mention the apparent mutation mentioned in this most recent update, seems as though it could either explode in our faces or fizzle out of existence as quickly as it appeared.

Time for another internet quiz.  It’s Friday, after all.

It’s intriguing and telling that my result is Amsterdam when that is one of the places I want so badly to visit.  Is the reasoning sound?  Of course, but there are other reasons to visit that city…

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern – you’re the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.

— Thomas Edison