The Asian Tsunami (movie)

DarlowSmithson Productions Ltd. for Channel 4; Wisdom Quarterly

"Tsunami: Caught on Camera" (Part 1 of 7)

The Asian Tsunami that struck on Boxing Day 2004 has now been made into a film -- using real footage from three vantage points. Buddhist Thailand and Sri Lanka and formerly Buddhist Indonesia are all shown close up as the earthquake and waves hit. The footage was recorded by European tourists on Christmas vacation in paradise.

The deadliest tsunami in history?

• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5 
• Part 6 
• Part 7

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Compassion vs. "Idiot Compassion"

Steven Goodheart (Metta Refuge Blog), Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living

Don’t impose the wrong notion of what harmony is, what compassion (karuna) is, what patience is, what generosity is. Don’t misinterpret what these things really are. There is compassion and there is idiot compassion; there is patience and there is idiot patience; there is generosity and there is idiot generosity. For example, trying to smooth everything out to avoid confrontation, not to rock the boat, is not what’s meant by compassion or patience.
  

It’s what is meant by control. Then you are not trying to step into unknown territory, to find yourself more naked with less protection and therefore more in contact with reality. Instead, you use the idiot forms of compassion and so forth just to get ground. When you open the door and invite in all sentient beings as your guests, you have to drop your agenda. Many different people come in. Just when you think you have a little scheme that is going to work, it doesn’t work. It was very beneficial to Juan, but when you tried it on Mortimer, he looked at you as if you were crazy, and when you try it on Juanita, she gets insulted. Coming up with a formula won’t work. More

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"Topless Warriors" of FEMEN (video)

PripyatPripyat; FEMEN.livejournal.com; Wisdom Quarterly

WARNING: Nudity! FEMEN is a Kiev, Ukraine-based group of activists and topless protesters.

This is a documentary from Finnish TV about the Ukrainian female rights organization FEMEN (WARNING: nudity). English subtitles added: click the CC-button (located on the bottom of the video screen, above the number of video views). The Finnish subtitles are hard coded and could not be removed. The English subtitles are present simply by clicking the CC.

• PHOTOS: Topless protests in Europe (allvoices.com)

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The (Other) Lord of Asia (video)

BBC; Alexandros1821; Wisdom Quarterly

  

In the footsteps of Alexander the Great

Alexander shown as Nordic-style Greek god

The Battle of Gaugamela (Greek, Γαυγάμηλα) took place in 331 BCE between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the Ancient Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.

During the two years after the Battle of Issus, Alexander proceeded to occupy the Mediterranean coast and Egypt. He then advanced from Syria against the heart of the Persian empire. Alexander crossed both the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers without any opposition. 

• The great conquerors who shaped Afghanistan were the Buddha, Alexander, and Genghis Khan
• Alexander the Great

Darius was building up a massive army, drawing men from the far reaches of his empire. He planned to use numbers to crush Alexander, and according to some contemporary historians he gathered around 100,000 men. Darius also picked a flat plain for a battlefield so Alexander would have no advantages in terrain, allowing Darius to use his vast horde more effectively.
  

Detail of Alexander mosaic

After the battle, Parmenion rounded up the Persian baggage train while Alexander and his own bodyguard pursued Darius. As at Issus, substantial amounts of loot were gained following the battle, with 4,000 talents captured, as well as the King's personal chariot and bow. The war elephants were also captured. In all, it was a disastrous defeat for the Persians and possibly one of Alexander's most decisive victories.
 
Darius had managed to escape the battle with a small core of his forces remaining intact. The Bactrian cavalry and Bessus managed to catch up with him, as did some of the survivors of the Royal Guard. Alexander continued on through Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and on into India.

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