The persecution continues.

The arrested associates of the BIHE

After a long history of systematically denying the Bahá'ís living in Iran the right to an education, amongst many other things, the Iranian Government has taken it even further. The Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) is a initiative offering higher education to the young Iranian Baha'is that have been barred from attending university. They have been the victim of the latest attacks. 16 people with association to the BIHE were arrested just short of a month ago, not to mention at least 39 homes have been targeted. 


The reaction to this inhumane and unjustifiable act has aroused international condemnation, including the Austrian government, top academics in the United Kingdom, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom just to name a few. For further information, please read the following: Worldwide outrage at Iran's attack on Bahá'í educators

FutureSpeak

Who would've thought a song could be written, using google! The Guitar Doodle appeared in place of the regular google logo last week. The clip below is a song written by a friend (Arlen), and his group FutureSpeak, wrote using this funky little doodle. Enjoy!





To listen to some of their other songs: CLICK HERE

The Rubaiyat

I recently purchased another (beautifully illustrated) copy of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat. By far one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read and definitely a recommendation of mine to everyone. Here is one of my favourite stanzas in the Edward Fitzgerald translation (of course).





66
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd "I Myself am Heav'n and Hell" 

Mercury in retrograde

You didn't see it coming, in fact it was the last thing that crossed your mind, the last thing you perceived to possibly become reality. And by fighting back, you prove them to be right. You showed them the reaction they sought, as a response to their actions.

You spent an immeasurable amount of time building up a facade, a facade that had the sole purpose of protecting you from such an ordeal - and in a flashing moment it dissolved like jelly crystals in boiling water. Not only did it dissolve but you were also infiltrated beyond your veneer - forming an abyss, a gaping chasm, only realised in absence, emptying and creating a void that previously knew no such existence.

Then there is the aftermath. Mind races through past fleeting moments, moments that were most likely taken for granted, moments that were previously unnoticed, unthought of, only known in your subconscious. Now they surge, cascading from the highest height, gushing down like a river rapid. Reminding you of what once was, what no longer is, what exists no more.

Like rubbing salt into a wound or pouring cold water on a sensitive tooth, your subconscious gives you no reprieve. As night succeeds day and the dream-state envelopes, you continue the torture brought about by the unknown, the unforeseen and unfathomable. Only with morning do you come to an agreement for a temporary armistice that will allow the progress of the new day, knowing full well that the ceasefire will end as night falls.

Picture courtesy of: under.a.glass.moon