Thursday, December 18, 2014

Via JMG: TURKEY: US Diplomat Charles Hunter To Marry Local Musician Boyfriend



Charles Hunter, US Consul General to Turkey, has confirmed to the local press that he will marry his Turkish boyfriend with the ceremony to take place in Wisconsin.
Hunter was at an event at the Dutch consulate the previous day where he sang at an a capella choir. He responded to reporters' questions afterward. Naturally, almost all questions were about his affair with Turkish artist Ramadan Çaysever, and Hunter spoke about the affair for the first time. He said he "confirmed" all the reports in the press about his affair and planned marriage, but avoided elaborating on the matter. Çaysever, who frequently accompanies the Consul General at events, was absent at Tuesday night's event. Meanwhile, rumors made the rounds in the media about the top diplomat's affair. Some media outlets claimed Çaysever converted to Christianity for his partner. Milliyet, a Turkish daily, claimed Hunter asked for assignment of a bodyguard for Çaysever who has moved in with him, but has not been assigned one yet.
Hunter reportedly met Çaysever at one of his concerts. His music sounds quite like 80s Italo.







Reposted from Joe Jervis

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME 2014


"The strangest things happen on the London Underground!"


Sesame Street: Ian McKellen Teaches Cookie Monster to Resist


Via JMG: Tim Cook Gives Big To HRC



The Human Rights Campaign today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a large donation to help fund LGBT advocacy in southern states including his native Alabama.
The amount of Cook's contribution to the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign wasn't disclosed, but the advocacy organization called it "substantial." Organizers said it would help fund a three-year, $8.5 million campaign launched in April in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. Called Project One America, the goal of the public relations effort is to build acceptance for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the states. The campaign includes advertising on TV and elsewhere, direct-mail fliers and staff members hired in each state. "We hope Tim Cook's substantial personal investment inspires others to support this vital and historic project," Jason Rahlan, a spokesman for Human Rights Campaign, said in an email.
Cook formally came out in October, spawning widespread condemnation by anti-gay groups but no organized campaign to boycott Apple has yet developed.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JustaBahai: How is the following statement by the N.S.A. of Guyana not about human rights?

“The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Guyana asks that your Government ensure that any legislation enacted safeguards the rights of all, but only insofar as the limits of morality may not be transgressed. It would not be acceptable for example, if the Constitution implicitly allows same sex persons to demand the right to be married. We do not believe this may have been the intention of the Amendment, but it should be sufficiently carefully constructed that such a situation does not automatically follow.”

Found at:  http://justabahai.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/mainly-about-homosexuality/#paederasty

Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 18/12/2014

“A jornada da alma nesse planeta é um movimento em direção à união; essa é a essência do jogo. Mas, como é difícil para o ser humano ser realmente amigo - de si mesmo e do outro. Se a grande meta é criar união porque a humanidade segue criando desunião? Por que você se machuca? Por que cria situações difíceis? Por que não consegue interromper o fluxo do mal através de você? A resposta está na compreensão do casamento da sua energia vital com o sofrimento. Isso quer dizer que você tem prazer na maldade, e é esse prazer que faz com que ela continue existindo.”

“El camino del alma en este planeta es un movimiento en dirección a la unión, esa es la esencia del juego. Pero cómo le es difícil al ser humano ser realmente amigo – de sí mismo y de otro. Si la gran meta es crear unión, ¿por qué la humanidad sigue creando desunión? ¿Por qué te lastimas? ¿Por qué creas situaciones difíciles? ¿Por qué no logras interrumpir el flujo del mal a través de ti? La respuesta está en la comprensión del casamiento de tu energía vital con el sufrimiento. Eso quiere decir que tienes placer en la maldad, y es ese placer que hace que ella continúe existiendo.”

“The journey of the soul on this planet is a movement towards oneness. Union is the essential nature of the game, but still, it is incredibly difficult for human beings to really be there for each other. If the greater goal is to create unity, why does humanity continue to create disharmony? Why do we hurt ourselves? Why do we create difficult situations? Why can’t we stop evil from flowing through us? The answer lies in understanding just how our vital energy has become intrinsically connected to suffering. We take pleasure in evil, and it is this pleasure that keeps it alive.”


- Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


Reversing Our Priorities | December 18, 2014

If we are serious about combating selfishness and promoting compassion in the world, then is it not vital that we develop the tools of intellectual self-defense to deal with these assaults on our minds and hearts? The solution must lie in reversing the priorities, in subordinating dead things—money, capital, profits—to life: people, animals, the planet.

- David Edwards, "Life or Death"


Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 17/12/2014

“Quando falo do processo identificação e transformação do eu inferior, me refiro a um processo de cura que às vezes chamo de “ABC da espiritualidade”. Esse é o nome de um dos instrumentos do método Caminho do Coração, mas também é um estágio do processo evolutivo da alma, no qual precisamos lidar com os aspectos sombrios da personalidade: mágoas, vergonhas, sentimentos negados... Sem tomar consciência desses aspectos, não é possível realizar a alquimia do sofrimento para alegria, pois estando relegados ao plano da sombra, eles geram impulsos que agem a revelia da nossa vontade consciente, causando destrutividade.”

“Cuando hablo del proceso de identificación y transformación del yo inferior, me refiero a un proceso de cura que a veces llamo “ABC de la espiritualidad”. Este es el nombre de uno de los instrumentos del método Camino del Corazón, pero también es un estadio del proceso evolutivo del alma, en el cual necesitamos lidiar con los aspectos sombríos de la personalidad: heridas, vergüenzas, sentimientos negados... Sin tomar consciencia de esos aspectos, no es posible realizar la alquimia del sufrimiento a la alegría, porque estando relegados al plano de la sombra, ellos generan impulsos que actúan más allá de nuestra voluntad consciente, causando destructividad.”

“When I speak of the process of identifying and transforming the lower self, I am referring to the healing process known as the ‘ABC of Spirituality’. This is one of the tools of the Path of the Heart method, but it is also a stage in the soul’s evolutionary process. At this stage we deal with the shadowy aspects of our personality, such as grudges, shame, and all sorts of denied feelings. Unless we become aware of these aspects we can't alchemize suffering into joy. When these aspects are relegated to the realm of the shadow they generate reactions which bypass our conscious will, causing destruction.”