doberman pizza. a baha'i blog. doberman pizza. a baha'i blog. The personal blog of a Canadian Baha'i believer from Ottawa, full of spiritual contemplations, news, events and links. Articles
international women?s day
2007-03-09 07:54:02 Joyeuse journée internationale de la femme! / Happy Inter national Women ’s Day! This day, marked on March 8th each year, commemorates the social, economic and political achievements and contributions of women the world over. The theme of this year’s commemoration, as adopted by the UN, is “ending impunity for violence against women and girls“. Baha’is believe in the equality of women and men, as a matter of principle, and see it as an expression of justice?since we are all members of one human race and are each accountable to one and the same God, it is only just that we manifest a spirit of solidarity and unity in all our dealings with one another, men and women alike. The achievement of equality between the sexes is seen not only as the cornerstone of a society free from domestic violence, but also as a pivotal step in achieving international world peace. Exalted, immensely exalted is He Who hath removed differences and established harmony. Glorifi... More About: National , Men
fasting through daylight saving time
2007-03-08 07:53:02 for all the Canadian and American Baha’is out there who are fasting right now: here comes the fun part. as mentioned in a previous post, we’ll be switching to daylight saving time (DST) during the Fast this year. Unless you live in Saskatchewan, Arizona or Hawaii, DST will come into effect in the wee hours of March 11, 2007, or the ninth day of the Baha?i Fast. So how will it work? well, let’s say you’ve been waking up at 5:30 AM local time, having breakfast and saying prayers at sunrise (which varies by location, but let’s suppose that happens around 6:30 AM). on the morning of the 11th, you’ll be waking up at the same time reckoning by sunrise, but the clock time will be one hour later. so instead of setting your alarm for 5:30 AM that morning, you’ll set it for 6:30 AM?and reckoning by sunrise, you’ll be waking up at the same time as before. At sunrise, your clock will say 7:30 AM. Confused yet? I?ve compiled a list of links t... More About: Time , Light , Daylight , Through , Sting
iran?s baha?i students get the revolving door
2007-03-08 07:53:02 So the news is making the rounds: despite what Iran ’s international representatives may say, Baha’is are persecuted in Iran?and it starts from all the way at the top. On the heels of a recent press release denouncing the expulsions of Baha’i students from Iranian universities, the Baha’i World News Service (BWNS) offers proof of the existence of a systematic campaign to deny Baha’is the right to higher education. This in itself is nothing new?according to the Baha’i International Community’s website Closed Door s: Iran’s Campaign to Deny Higher Education to Baha’is, such systematic denial of education goes at least all the way back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. So why is it newsworthy today? Until very recently, entrance exams for Iranian universities contained a mandatory “Religion” field. Baha’is who attempted to submit their exams were automatically rejected. After 25 years of being barred from any sor... More About: Student , Students , Ving
to rise at dawntide
2007-03-05 07:51:01 From March 2 to March 20, members of the Baha’i Faith begin their annual Fast, in which they abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. Fast talk: Baha’i?s begin 19 days of daylight fasting for ?inner refreshment?, us.bahai.org The past month or so has been very odd indeed. first off, a one-centimetre-wide kidney stone floors me in the middle of the night and sends me packing to the emergency room; then, upon returning from the hospital, I spend a good week or so recuperating at home without even leaving the house (not cool), all the while working from home; then, upon seeing my doctor and being declared fit to return to work, I do so and promptly get a nasty case of the winter blues—just in time for Ayyam-i-Há (blah). I want my month back. The brightest spot in all of this is that, along with sending me back to work, my doctor indicated that I would be OK to observe the Fast. ever since I reached the age of fifteen, the 19-day Baha’i F... More About: Dawn , Rise , Tide
the baha?is of iran? in 1980
2007-03-02 07:49:01 amazing video here, sent over by a fellow baha’i blogger. it’s a news feature from 20/20, back in 1980—during the peak of the persecutions of Baha’is of Iran . even more amazing when you think about how little has changed in 27 years… find the video on google video. thanks Marco for the link.
how we can save the world
2007-02-26 19:47:01 Life is not easy for the young people of this generation. They enter life with a heart full of hope, but find before themselves nothing but failures, and see in the future nothing but darkness. What they need is the light manifested by Bahá’u'lláh, for that brightens their soul and stimulates their vigour in facing difficulties. (on behalf of Shoghi Effendi) I was recently given the inordinate bounty to have a one-centimetre kidney stone removed from my body. Wait a minute, I hear you protesting. Of all the possible things that could be described as bounties, having a kidney stone that big is definitely not one of them. Well, that’s true?the stone itself hurt like a thousand hells squished together into a little gel cap. I wouldn’t wish one on my very worst enemy. In all my life, with only one exception when I was very young, I’ve never actually spent more than a few hours at a time in hospitals. Most of my impressions of hospitals has been decidedly ne... More About: World , The World , Save , Save the World
those nutty neighbours
2007-02-26 19:47:01 so down the street over there’s this little house where some of our neighbours live. oh yeah and they’re Baha’is. James Howden is one of them and he’s a prolific and passionate writer—so much so that he was hired on by Adrienne Clarkson as her speechwriter during her tenure as Governor General of Canada. He and his eco-friendly wife, Diana Cartwright, recently returned with their young son Sam from a trip to the beautiful Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and wanted to share their adventures with the world. Check them out on flickr! BTW you may know the Howden/Cartwright couple from previous posts in my blog: they had a long string of fireside discussions on Saturday evenings that would draw large numbers of people to muse about everything spiritual and philosophical of great import; Diana attended the World Summit on Sustainable Development as a Baha’i representative back in 2002; their son Sam also attends the children’s class I blog about. More About: Neighbours , Those , Hose
baha?i video games: but do they pwn?
2007-02-26 19:47:01 Back in the day (let’s say, oh, 1997) I was much more strongly into video games than today. For me, that included a plethora of various simple Macintosh-based shareware games (the Mac SE/30 was my first introduction to desktop computing), as well as first-person shooters such as Quake 2, Quake 3 Arena and Half-Life (as well as the now-legendary oldschool games such as Doom and Wolfenstein 3D). I did my share of fragging, rocket-jumping, camping, and sniping; I even distinctly remember pwning a n00b or two. Now, the subject of video games is a touchy one with some people; much of this is due to the violence displayed in many of them, particularly the first-person shooter genre. Game s such as Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake were shocking for their time due to their inclusion of animated blood, gore and guts (colloquially known as “gibs” or “giblets”). Perhaps as a reaction to this, many denounced video games and refused to have anything to do with them. ... More About: Video , Video Games , They
canadian media tune in to the plight of egypt?s baha?is
2007-02-26 19:47:01 Bilo, the author of the blog Baha’i Faith in Egypt , posted the following news from the Cana dian Baha’i News Service—which I hadn’t even noticed until now. I guess I was too busy posting other stories that it never grabbed my attention. Thankfully, that’s not the case for everyone. Briefly put, the case of the Egyptian Supreme Court’s ruling against the right of Baha’is to obtain valid identification cards has caught the attention of the Canadian media. For example, Gerald Filson, the Canadian Baha’i community’s Director of External Affairs, was featured in an interview on Radio-Canada International, giving a summary of the plight of Egypt’s Baha’is. See below for more details. Egyptian court ruling against Bahá’ís attracts Canadian media attention TORONTO, ON, 24 January 2007 (CBNS) — The outcry in the Middle East over an Egyptian court ruling against a Bahá’í couple has drawn the attention of s... More About: Media , Light
update on the baha?is of iran
2007-02-26 19:47:01 A new baha’i blog focusing on the plight of Iran ’s Bahá’ís has recently seen the light—perhaps following in the footsteps of the successful blog Baha’i Faith in Egypt—and it seems poised to be a promising source of information on the situation of the Bahá’ís of Iran. The most recent post features a Bahá’í World News Service press release that announces the release of a recent report from the Connecticut-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) on the situation of Iran’s Bahá’ís. The 60-page report expresses concern that Iranian Bahá’ís “may soon face another cycle of repression and violence”. You can read the original press release. Also of interest may be a photo that appeared on iranian.com and was blogged on the portuguese Baha’i blog Povo de Bahá a few days ago. The photo shows an anti-Baha’i display... More About: Update
intense week
2007-02-26 19:47:01 well it’s been an intense week for sure. the Ottawa Baha’i community held another reflection meeting last Saturday, launching the eighth cycle of its intensive program of growth. JARGON WATCH: basically what this means is that a bunch of people got together to reflect on and discuss the growth, vitality and vision of the Baha’i community, to share their best practices and to set goals. An “intensive program of growth”, which is composed of many “cycles” marked by these “reflection meetings”, is basically a way for Baha’is (and those who throw their lot in with them) to manage the growth of the Baha’i community and channel their efforts to bring the Message of Bahá’u'lláh to those who are out there waiting for it. it was a blast, as usual; there were lots of young people there, junior youth (12-14 yrs) and youth (15+ yrs) alike. That was awesome and really encouraging. we put someone on a table... More About: Week , Ense
post-pilgrimage six
2007-02-26 19:47:01 Waft, then, unto me, O my God and my Beloved, from the right hand of Thy mercy and Thy loving-kindness, the holy breaths of Thy favors, that they may draw me away from myself and from the world unto the courts of Thy nearness and Thy presence. (Bahá’u'lláh) lost in a sea of subtle fragrance and deep abounding joy i sigh you ask me hello are you there you need to concentrate what are you thinking of looking longing across the bay like a magnet it draws me back it feels like flying like being there and curling into a stance of prayer my forehead touches the carpet and as the faithful utter wordless devotions i smell the scent of roses in the air turning to face that sacred spot that holy threshhold drink deep from the cup of His presence for in nine days you return to your previous life to find that it can no longer be lived the same way back at work on a grey day I hear chatter while deep inside noiseless waves crash and break upon my heart and their silent roar ... More About: Post , Image , Grim , Pilgrimage
mona?s dream
2007-02-26 19:47:01 I just got this email from a friend: Jack Lenz is in the process of producing a film on Mona [note: Mona Mahmudnizhad, a 16-year-old woman who was executed in Shiraz, Iran along with nine others because of her beliefs]. See more information at: www.monasdream.com. For those who would like to dedicate service projects to Mona, please click on “service” as he would like to compile a list of those projects on his web site. Also read the Story of Mona: 1965-1983. More About: Dream
doberman pizza 2.0
2007-02-26 19:47:01 welcome to the brand spanking new “world citizen” version of doberman pizza. the site’s new, long awaited design is partly an homage to my recent pilgrimage. if you were wondering why there were so few signs of life during the past week, this is why. I’ve been working on putting together the new design, now running on wordpress. it’s my little way of saying happy ayyam-i-há 2007! here’s hoping all of you have an excellent week and a great lead-up to the Fast—don’t forget that we change our clocks during the Fast this year. by the way, you may find that certain links are no longer working or that they get displayed using the old design and interface. there are so many links in my blog that it’s going to take me a little while to do sanity checks on them all, so please bear with me—and feel free to report any such broken/crazy links as comments to this post. and above all, do keep checking back in the weeks to co... More About: Pizza , Erma
about this year?s baha?i fast
More articles from this author:2007-02-26 19:47:01 I know it’s a little bit early to be thinking about the Baha’i Fast , but I thought I’d take this opportunity to remind you all of important changes to Daylight Savings Time that will affect all fasting Baha’is in North America. As you probably heard, a congressional act was passed into law in the United States that changes the official beginning and ending dates for Daylight Savings Time. According to Canada’s National Research Council, the Canadian provinces and territories have agreed to follow this new standard as well. Beginning in 2007, Americans and Canadians (unless stated otherwise, e.g. Arizona or Saskatchewan) will begin observing DST on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. For American and Canadian Baha’is, this will introduce a new level of difficulty in observing the Baha’i Fast: setting clocks ahead one hour in the middle of the Fast. Daylight Savings Time will come into effect in the wee hours... More About: About , This , Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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