I just wore my long trench black hooded leather jacket which seemed to everyone to be enough of a costume from everyone as I got all the Neo, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Sidious, or some type of monk comments possible but then again it was a play on my being so intensely spiritual as well. Yeah well, well, well... what has been going on as of late? Let's take a look shall we:

"The New Orleans disaster was meant to happen. It was an act of God."
~ Curtis James Jackson, Rapper 50 Cent

"I am a fashion god"
~ Incompetent Bureaucrat, former head of FEMA, fashion God & George Bush's pal...Mike Brown

"You don't take a mentally retarded child and beat him with a belt."
~ so-called anti-christ 'Dr. Phil'

"I heard from a very reliable source who saw a 25 foot deep crater under the levee breach. It may have been blown up to destroy the black part of town and keep the white part dry."
~ Louis Farrakhan speaking in regards to Hurricane Katrina and the after effects on the city of New Orleans

"We have known for 200 � well, at least for 100 years, I wouldn't say all the way back to the Indian times � that the United States government had the policy under Democratic and Republican presidents, we will go to war as approved by the international agreements if our own security is directly threatened. That particular premise concerning peace has been abandoned. We now have preemptive war, which means we will go to war, we will bomb people, we will send missiles in to attack people, we invade countries if we disagree with their leader and think he ought to be removed or if we think that someday in the future they might pose a military threat to us. That's a complete and unprecedented and dramatic change in basic values of America."
~ Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States

"(Alexander) Hamilton said Senate confirmation would be an excellent check against a 'spirit of favouritism' in the President. And he warned against candidates who came from the same state, those who were 'personally allied' to the president or whose pliancy would render them 'obsequious instruments of his pleasure.'"
~ Lionel Barber

"The outlook of Richard Nixon was that he was above the law. Watergate disabused him of the notion. The position of George W. Bush is that he is a law unto himself."~
Lincoln Caplan, editor of Legal Affairs

"The torture of detainees was so widespread and accepted that it became a means of stress relief for soldiers. Soldiers said they felt welcome to come to the PUC [Person Under Control] tent on their off hours to 'Fuck a PUC' or 'Smoke a PUC.' 'Fucking a PUC' referred to beating a detainee, while 'Smoking a PUC' referred to forced physical exertion sometimes to the point of unconsciousness."
~"Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division," Human Rights Watch, September 2005

Well that some of what has been in the 'news' on a recent viewing online. Most News however fails to show any source material. They the so-called journalists do not focus, but usually play gossip and misinform thereby promoting ignorance. It is better to observe rather than judge. Look at the root, not read a book by its cover..see inside!

Here is a 'news story' that I found intriguing:

"Dalai Lama backs fight against terrorism"

NEW DELHI, Nov 2: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today supported the fight against terrorism but cautioned against branding the entire Muslim community as militant.

"I take appropriate action when I see malaria-carrying mosquitoes because they are not very friendly," the Dalai Lama said while answering a question about terrorism, Gandhiism and Islamic fundamentalism after a talk on �achieving peace in our times� here.

But he said he did not believe that "a few mischievous Muslims" represented the entire Muslim community.

"Such people are there among Buddhist, Hindus, Jews and Christians also. But such cases should be not used to generalize...," the Dalai Lama remarked.

In another answer, he frankly admitted he would not know how even Mahatma Gandhi could have responded to terrorism.

"I really do not know. I wish Gandhi was here. Terrorism is a different problem, an invisible one," the Tibetan leader said. "It�s foolish to say compassion when you see (charging) mad dogs," the Dalai Lama said as he deplored Saturday�s deadly bomb blasts in Delhi, in which 59 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.

He, however, said inter-faith dialogue was key to resolving religious conflicts.

Making pilgrimages to centers of other faiths was another way of promoting inter-religious understanding, he added.

"All religious leaders should come together to speak for peace and spirituality."

In his talk as part of the Indira Gandhi memorial lecture earlier, the Dalai Lama said globalization has rendered war and violence irrelevant.

"In new realities, everything is interdependent. The concept of war is no longer relevant. It�s obsolete."

The Dalai Lama cited India as a classic example of non-violence and religious tolerance as he also appreciated the country�s democratic traditions.

He recalled that former South African President Nelson Mandela too had adopted Mahatma Gandhi�s concept of non-violence in his endeavors to end apartheid.

"But when India exports non-violence, it should also keep producing it at the same time," he joked.

The Dalai Lama praised the Indian community for its religious record of over 1,000 years, saying it has displayed a great religious tolerance.

"Some problems may have occurred here and there because of local and individual reasons, but India�s religious tolerance is really great," the Dalai Lama said. (PTI)

That ends the article...

Okay now I am back again...
There is a story about Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as the Buddha who as he was meditating on enlightenment in a large open field. 'Naga' a large seven headed snake bit Siddhartha Gautama to scare him away. The Lord Buddha looked down at Naga, blessed him and forgave him for biting him. Naga surprised by the Lord Buddha's piety and forgiveness befriends him and commits to protecting him.

Shortly there after a storm came up on the horizon. Naga wanted to protect the Lord Buddha from the storm. Naga rose high above Buddha and flares out his hood revealing all of his seven heads. Naga the snake now became Naga the protector. Covering the Lord Buddha and protecting him from the wind and rain during a fierce storm as Buddha meditates on enlightenment.

My point? That it is not foolish to say 'compassion' when one sees charging mad dogs, terrorists, or even snakes. The problem is that terrorism is only invisible because we allow such in ourselves. The Dalai Lama would be wise to come to know on his own that which Siddhartha Gautama knew all to well. Yes, as the zen proverbs goes "Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it's dark." Yes and even better one to make my point is by Jesus "Behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Why because Jesus teaching was that God equals love.