So, You Wanna See a God?

GO JIMI....COME BACK TO LIFE!

Ask for Experience Not Knowledge

When it comes to current religious understanding, all of them trumpet the things that you can't see, feel or experience. Believe in God, Heaven and Hell. Not one can be proven to exist. Even in the east, the belief of Karma, is a pure belief unless it becomes experiential. What I did in the past life doesn't concern me now, nor do I know for fact it is true. I am declaring I don't believe in anything except for what I experience

You spend your whole life believing, your only hope is to die and you had chosen wisely, it is a very risky maneuver.

Instead, Ask to experience god, to experience the divine. Do they have a way? Follow only what helps you to experience.

I am not an atheist either... the atheists also believe They believe there is no god..So what makes them so different I don't know. Both systems are exactly the same, they don't want to put any efforts in finding the truth of their existence but rather will settle for believing in something and relax..

Women's Hejab in Islam and emergence of contemporary sites

Most Muslims believe that Hejab (Hair cover for women) is an important element in Islam. Except some groups such as the Ismailis, most Sunnis and Shiaat's believe that women need to wear Hejab. Women grow confused, if they don't like it they feel guilty, and if they wear it, either they look down on others who don't wear it or they simply hate, take it out and forget about all of the Hadiths Or Koranic verses that asked her to wear it.

Around 10 years ago, Dr. Shahrour from Damascus wrote a great book called "The Book and the Koran". In it he opposed Hijab as an Islamic element. Instead his research indicated that it is more of an historical element, cultural element. His book was best seller and many countries welcomed it except off course few countries that banned it such as Saudi Arabia. But in Syria, ,where he is from, it was a big hit.

Today, I found another site that falls into the same new thinking about Islam.
I support such studies and I feel it is about time to wake up from our nightmares and get rid of these dead ideologies that has stung for over a thousand of years.

This site explains how the Hijab is nothing but a cultural element http://www.submission.org/dress.html
But it seems to be a generally good site. A good step toward freedom. Freedom of dead Ideology and perhaps a return to a real submission to the divine.. Check it out http://www.submission.org/

Other contemporary sites are:
Progressive Muslims
Feminist Muslims
Dr. Shahrour

Why Microsoft will never beat Google..at least for now

Microsoft Bussiness Module used to excite me a lot. Their business module is based on low price Large volume, similar to Wal Mart. In fact I did write about that at one point here.

Microsoft was able to beat Apple in this area using same concept. Apple was always more expensive, Microsoft concentrated instead its effort on building software at cheap prices and let others do the hardware. More and more companies came abroad and more and more people liked to buy it for its price tag. Soon every desk had a computer with Microsoft Logo stamped on it.

Other areas Microsoft lacked such as Databases, customized software and others. The reason is they couldn't apply their business module that fast because the volume is not there, IE; they can't reach everyone as in windows. But even then, SQL Server came a big contender, and Visual Studio stole many developers from Java ground, I personally know many Java developers that left Java without saying good bye, my company is leaning toward Microsoft again for the same reason. Microsoft again is playing the same tune..but cheaper.

Now came Google... A company that charges nothing on its product which is available to all on the internet for free... They are using the same business module but in much extreme extents. The money comes from advertisements companies buy because of their traffic but they never (yet) force you to buy anything.

Microsoft' search engine still lacks a lot of simplicity but that is not the reason they will always be second or third best at this game but it is a strong reason. Microsoft likes to really complicate things. Things get really ugly before they get better for some reason. What people need is simply to type a search criteria and come up with an answer as soon as possible. No complicated customization and no need for settings. Go to live.com and check it out. Try searching for images or do one of their customizations and compare them to Google.

But the big reason that Microsoft will not be able to side Google is that Google will not hold on improving its software for any reason other than giving you simple and great software. Microsoft's business module needs to market something, build something, offer it for low price then take away some features and sell them separate or increase their prices. This was carried unfortunately on the web. What they did on hotmail.com for example, they gave you calendar and other features, then they stopped and asked for yearly fee. Also they gave you 2MB and charge yearly fee for 25MB. At one time, hotmail.com was offering 2MB while Google was offering 2GB. Microsoft's group on msn is still sitting at 3MB while everywhere the disk space is offered for free in GigaBytes.

Unless Microsoft really changes its business on the Web from the roots up, and I don't see it happening anytime soon. With the introduction of live.com it is apparent that they will not be able to compete with Google easily. What will Google do next beside keep creating more innovative and great software? Can they compete with Windows? can they offer a thin client so people don't need to have Windows anymore? I bet you there are already plans for some similar ideas.

Ellisa my favourite Lebanese

Global Centre for Pluralism

Government of Canada

And

Aga Khan Sign Funding Agreement for Global Centre for Pluralism

I am not Ismaili , However I support this kind of work for diversity which by nature spreads peace and understanding among religions. For more information Click Here

World best pictures 2006

Above is this image of a peppercorn and a grain of salt taken by David McCarthy is the overall winner (and close-up category winner) in this year's Visions of Science Photographic Awards



An eye studies a self-contained ecosystem in which every organism feeds on another, or its waste products. All this sealed globe needs to sustain it is light, so that the plant can produce oxygen. It is like a mini-earth

Breast Cancer Risk Linked To Red Meat, Study Finds

Younger women who regularly eat red meat appear to face an increased risk for a common form of breast cancer, according to a large, well-known Harvard study of women's health.

The study of more than 90,000 women found that the more red meat the women consumed in their 20s, 30s and 40s, the greater their risk for developing breast cancer fueled by hormones in the next 12 years. Those who consumed the most red meat had nearly twice the risk of those who ate red meat infrequently.

More...here

Ambrose shifting gears, but will she walk the talk?

Politics is politics. The only thing that can change it is pressure from own nation or others.

The conservatives in Canada have blamed the liberals since they got into office about not making any progress in Kyoto to a degree that they wanted to back off from this accord.

Canada, a country that the world expects a lot from regarding environment has been siding with the policies of the U.S. That was such a shame. Now in the U.N, and under a lot of pressure, Ambrose seem to change her tone. Is it only politics at it dirtiest? I hope not...
More

You shoot Bullet, Bullet goes up, Bullet comes down...

A Palestinian gunman shoots on the air next to a crowd on and around the house of Mohammedweil Baroud , leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, in Beit Layiha, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday. (AP /Hatem Moussa)..

All things aside, and all the tragedies that the area has been hit with, , a normal way in the Middle East to show victory is to shoot straight up in the air... After a day of such festivities, you hear all the tragedies the next day. One guy sitting on a chair in his balcony gets hit with fallen bullet, a car gets bullet in the windshield, a kid gets one while crossing the street... Why no one is paying attention to this issue? Until when innocent people will keep on dying for such stupidity? When will happy-events-bullet be exchanged with rice or flowers or whatever thing that doesn't kill?

Rape victim subjected to lashes in Saudi

AL-AWWAMIYA, Saudi Arabia - When the teenager went to the police a few months ago to report she was gang-raped by seven men, she never imagined the judge would punish her — and that she would be sentenced to more lashes than one of her alleged rapists received...
“The big shock came when the judge sentenced me and the man to 90 lashes each,” said the woman. The sentence was handed down as part of the rape trial. Lashes are usually spread over several days, dealt around 50 at a time...More

The 70+ Virgins Of Heaven - A Preview

Metallica..You will always have a big part of my heart

Unforgiven I and II ..Enjoy

Syria's flags

Before 1918

by Antonio Martins

Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire and used the Ottoman flag.

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1918-1920

by Filip Van Laenen, 03-NOV-1996

In 1918 the British forces established an Arab military administration in Damascus and inner Syria under Faysal (son of Hussein ibn Ali, Grand Sharif of Mecca and King of Hejaz), using the Aarb Revolution flag.

Britain turned effective control of nowadays Syria and Lebanon to France on September 1919.

The 2nd Syrian National Congress held in Damascus on March 8th, 1920 crowned Faysal I King of Syria, who was not recognized by Britain or France and claimed a Great Syria (with Palestine and Lebanon). A similar flag was adopted but with a seven-pointed white star in the red triangle. Faysal adopted a standard that was the same flag with a star and a royal golden crown in the central green strip.

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1920-1922

The Allied Supreme Council gave the mandate of nowadays Syria and Lebanon to France on April 25th, 1920 (confirmed July 23rd, 1922). General Gouraud occupied Damascus, Faysal was defeated in Maisselum July 24th, 1920, dethroned and forced into exile in Iraq. The French organized Syria into 5 states under the mandate:

• Sanjak of Damascus (Summer 1920) (Damascus or Syria proper): A green/white/green (or green/white/black?) horizontal tricolor with a canton of the French flag. According to Jaume Ollé however, the flag of Damascus (adopted 1922) was blue with a white circle.

  
  by Santiago Dotor, 13-JAN-1999

• Sanjak of Aleppo (Summer 1920)

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• Alawite State (September 29th, 1923, including Alexandretta), later renamed Sanjak of Latakia (after its chief town, September 22nd 1930): White, French flag in the canton, triangles in other corners of red, gold sunburst in center. Separate existence as a French mandate in 1920-30 and as a republic in 1930-6.

  
  by Santiago Dotor, 13-JAN-1999

• State of Souaida (March 4th, 1922), later Jebel Druze State (1927) with the addition of Damascus' Hawran (Jabal ad-Duruz or Druze Mountains): White, French flag in the canton, to right of canton equal horizontal stripes of green, red, yellow, blue and white (reading down).

  
  by Santiago Dotor, 13-JAN-1999

• Greater Lebanon (May 1920): French flag with a cedar centered on the white stripe.

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1922-1932

by Santiago Dotor, 13-JAN-1999

In June 1922 France established a loose federation between the four Syrian puppet states (Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo, and Jebel Druze); Lebanon was considered a separate entity thereafter. According to Jaume Ollé, the federal flag is created, horizontal green-white-green with French flag in canton.

The partially Turkish populated Alexandretta was turned into a sixth division within the French mandate on March 4th, 1923.

France reunited Aleppo and Damascus on December 1st, 1924, adopting the federal flag (green-white-green with French canton) as the Syrian flag. This encouraged the nationalists who formed the People's Party. The Druze Revolt started and lasted till 1927.

A constituent assembly summoned by France and enjoying nationalist majority drafted a Constitution not recognising the French mandate and was thus rejected. The French introduced a Constitution which was approved May 14th 1930, establishing Damascus and Aleppo as the 'Syrian Republic'.

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1932 (Autonomy) - 1946

Green-white-black horizontal tricolor with three red five-pointed stars pointing downwards, ratio 2:3. According to National Geographic [geo32], the stars should be upward and the ratio 5:8, but maybe they got the flag from Syrians already preparing/wishing for independence. Maybe the autonomous republic was proclaimed in 1934. The flag adopted had a ratio 1:2 (see Flagsmaster, last issue, flag of 1936). It was first hoisted in Aleppo on January 1st, 1932 and in Damascus on June 11th. The three stars stood for the districts that formed the Republic (Aleppo, Damascus and Deir es Zor).

Elections were held in 1932 and a Treaty acceptable to both parties was concluded in 1936, adding Latakia (including Alexandretta) and Jebel Druze to the 'Republic'. The stars then stood for Aleppo with Damascus and Deir es Zor (one), Jebel Druze (one) and Latakia (one).

On September 2nd 1938 the French turned the Alexandretta district into the autonomous Republic of Hatay. It was thereafter handed to Turkey (June 23rd, 1939).

During the Second World War, after invading Vichy-governed Syria, General Catroux proclaimed the independence of Syria in September 1941. The French troops evacuated Syria in May 1945.

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1946 (Independence) - 1958

by Vincent Morley, 12-APR-1997

Green-white-black horizontal tricolour with three red five-pointed stars pointing upwards, ratio 1:2. Source: National Geographic, February 1951.

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1958-1961

by Zeljko Heimer, 07-FEB-1996

Syria and Egypt united on 22nd February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. Red-white-black horizontal tricolor with two green stars.

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1961-1963

by Vincent Morley, 12-APR-1997

Syria left the union with Egypt (UAR) on 28th September 1961 and reverted to the 1946-58 flag.

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1963-1972

The Ba'ath party made a coup d'état in 1963. Red-white-black horizontal tricolor with three green stars.

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1972-1980

by Zeljko Heimer, 29-JUL-1996
modified by Santiago Dotor, 07-MAY-1999

Syria joined Egypt and Libya on 1st January 1972 to form the Federation of Arab Republics. They adopted the same flag, with minor variations, for the three countries: red-white-black horizontal tricolour with the hawk of Quraish (the tribe of Mohammad) looking to the hoist (at the right side) [?] on the white band with a small inscription of the name of the federation below. Unlike Egypt or Lybia, the name of the country did not appear below the scroll.

The Federation of Arab Republics ended March 1977, but Syria retained its flag.

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Since 1980

Reintroduction of the United Arab Republic flag of 1958-61, ratio 2:3.