VIDEO: 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake, and Tsunami Rattles Japan.

May all beings be happy and safe. May they have happy minds.'

Let him not perform the slightest wrong for which wise men may rebuke him. (Let him think:) 'May all beings be happy and safe.

May they have happy minds. Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings. Source link: Access to Insight.

---Excerpts from the Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Discourse on Loving-kindness---

James: That footage is shocking, yet humbling as to the small nature of man in the face of the greater picture of nature. I was amazed at the fire burning atop of the tsunami waves crashing into the Japanese countryside. The size of the tsunami makes the boats look like toy boats tossed around in the wake of a bathtub filling with water. It's surreal to be sure.

I send my heart and loving-kindness energy to the Japanese people in this hour of need and turmoil. May the loss of life and suffering be as minimal as possible. May those who survive, find peace in their minds in the wake of this devastating and mentally shocking disaster. May those who lost loved-ones be comforted and shown deep compassion.

May we around the world open our hearts and wallets to give freely of our good fortune to help our brothers and sisters in Japan. We are all one and will get through these disasters as one. May we reach out with our loving energy to hug the people of Japan in our caring arms and minds. We must not ignore their plight and needs, for to do so is to ignore our own humanity.

How to help: The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, one of the biggest charity groups in Taiwan, announced earlier in the day that it has set up a command center to prepare for launching relief aid to Japan. Click on this sentence to access their page to donate money for earthquake relief and aid. The Tzu Chi Foundation is a reputable organization that can be trusted with your money. It looks, however, like the donation is by phone--I'll look for an online donation option and update if I find it. UPDATE: A specific Red Cross page for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami has finally but set up. Click here to access page.

~Peace to all beings~

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Illinois Becomes 16th State to Abolish Death Penalty.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a death penalty ban into law on Wednesday, making Illinois the 16th state to end capital punishment. Quinn also commuted the sentences of the 15 inmates on death row in the state. Instead, they will serve life in prison without parole. The ban on executions will take effect July 1. -by Jennifer Epstein for Politico.

James: State sponsored killed is the wrong way to show people that killing is wrong. Seriously, why do we kill people to show other people that killing is wrong? I believe that life in prison without the possibility of parole is a just, yet humane punishment as it avoids that taking of a life while ensuring that they will never kill again. It also gives them plenty of time to think about the horror and pain that they have caused.

They say that time heals all wounds, and I think there is some truth to that phrase. I've seen plenty of documentaries about men on death row who are older now and speak of how much they regret their previous actions. I've seen hardened criminals cry like a baby as an old man at the suffering they causes for their victims, themselves and the criminal's family.

Ending the death penalty is also a cheaper policy than maintaining a death row. As it turns out, it's ten times cheaper despite most people thinking the opposite says Donald McCartin, a former California jurist know as, "The Hanging Judge of Orange County." This from an article by the Associated Press.

And, what of the moral cost to the individuals that we task with the actual killing of the prisoner? I saw a documentary on the death penalty that interviewed several former executioners for prisons who are now emotionally scarred and experiencing nightmares from their former, grisly jobs. If we couldn't kill a person ourselves then how can we ask someone to do it for us and act like that blood isn't on our hands? And, what of the innocent blood that has surely been spilled from executing an innocent person? It seems we can't go a month without hearing someone being exonerated from prison after 20-30 years thanks to DNA evidence.

We can not hope to heal our society of violence when we are sanctioning it's practice in our name via capital punishment. It is my hope that all states in the U.S. move in this enlightened direction.

~Peace to all beings~

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Looking for Books to Help Navigate a Mean World.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has noticed in the last decade or so that much of society has become increasingly mean, disrespectful, rude, greedy, selfish and heartless toward their fellow humans--as well as toward animals. Now, I realize that not everyone is this way but at least in my area of the world, social politeness has degraded severely in my lifetime.

As many of you know, I have a debilitating psychiatric condition called, schizoaffective disorder, which is basically bipolar with some schizophrenic symptoms. Along with having a.d.d., it's hard for me to filter out the toughness and harsh social relations that are poisoning our society. Since I have trouble screening the constant bombardment of stimuli in this world, I have little bandwidth, so to speak, to absorb this nasty behavior.

Thus, I get sad, angry and frustrated with the world, rather easily. Whether it's navigating reckless driving, dealing with selfish people at the market, or living amongst others who live a shallow, superficial life; it's hard to learn how to live amongst such heartlessness and ignorance without it depressing you to the point of wanting to give up!!

So, I am looking for some suggestions on some books that I could read about how to deal with mean, nasty, rude, selfish people. I'm not talking about any of the traditional Buddhist texts/books but rather those specifically dealing with how to live in this world without it getting to you, and turning you into a cynical person from a purely psychological, clinical point of view. To narrow it down further, I'm looking for a "self-help" type book on tips for dealing with such cruelty. Of course, meditation helps a lot, (as do Buddhist books) but I need something that's more related to specific tips on living in the modern world of cruelty from a non-religious point of view.

Please, don't criticize me or condemn me for my struggles. I'm a very tender person and gets easily depressed, down on myself and easily over-whelmed with negativity. If you don't know of something that can help, and would rather tell me my problem is not being a "good enough Buddhist," then please have some compassion and keep your thoughts to yourself.

I know this is the anonymous dominated cyber-land, but please treat me with respect and remember that behind my profile is a real person who struggles a lot with psychological issues. I'm a strong person but also quite fragile to stress. This is a very hard issue for me to deal with and talk about. I don't need criticism--I need support, understanding and some tips on a few books that might help me deal with my psychological stresses from having to live with this world. Thank-you for understanding my sensitivity. It's hard enough writing this out and exposing myself, so please, treat me how you'd want to be treated. Thanks, again--James.

~Peace to all beings~

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25+ Best Movie Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 Tutorials

Best Video editing’s Tutorials using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, there is collection from some famous websites layersmagazine, 5min and some of from youtube, I really like these of all for you who like to work in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and also trainings for beginners and professionals, in listed Video tutorials you may get trainings of clip trimming, use clip notes, add titles, create sequence, reconnecting footage, time remap, slow motion effects, adjust frame sizes, chroma key, hold and clip speed, text rolls and crawls, storyboarding, text attributes, creating transitions and custom titles show very professional inspirations for your future projects.

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Manfaat Ping Artikel Blog

Sebuah blog tentu mengharapkan artikel yang diupload ke blog dapat bermanfaat bagi orang lain dan mengharapkan pengunjung yg sebanyak-banyaknya untuk membaca artikel blog yg diupload tersebut.

Artikel blog yg diposting pada blog sangat diharapkan dapat ditemui oleh pengguna internet, nah untuk membuat agar artikel di blog kita mudah ditemui, maka seorang pemilik blog harus melakukan promosi

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