Sri Aurobindo writes,
When I spoke of being faithful to the light of the soul and the divine Call, I was not referring to anything in the past or to any lapse on your part. I was simply affirming the great need in all crises and attacks,- to refuse to listen to any suggestions,impulses,lures and to oppose to them all the call of the Truth, the imperative beckoning of the Light. In all doubt and depression, to say, " I belong to the Divine, I cannot fail"; to all suggestions of impurity and unfitness, to reply, " I am a child of Immortality chosen by the Divine; I have but to be true to myself and to Him- the victory is sure; even if I fell, I would rise again"; to all impulses to depart and serve some smaller ideal, to reply, "This is the greatest, this is the Truth that alone can satisfy the soul within me; I will endure through all tests and tribulations to the very end of the divine journey". This is what I mean by faithfulness to the Light and the Call.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Child exploitation and prostitution
I was surprised to know that there are more than 200k children trafficked in united states.
The website says,
"Among children and teens living on the streets in the United States, involvement in commercial sex activity is a problem of epidemic proportion. Approximately 55% of street girls engage in formal prostitution. Estes Report, Executive Summary at 7. Of the girls engaged in formal prostitution, about 75% worked for a pimp. Id. Pimp-controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children is linked to escort and massage services, private dancing, drinking and photographic clubs, major sporting and recreational events, major cultural events, conventions, and tourist destinations. Id. About one-fifth of these children become entangled in nationally organized crime networks and are trafficked nationally. Id. at 8. They are transported around the United States by a variety of means – cars, buses, vans, trucks or planes, Id., and are often provided counterfeit identification to use in the event of arrest. Id. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. Estes Report at 92. It is not only the girls on the streets that are affected -- for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry into prostitution is 11-13"
The website says,
"Among children and teens living on the streets in the United States, involvement in commercial sex activity is a problem of epidemic proportion. Approximately 55% of street girls engage in formal prostitution. Estes Report, Executive Summary at 7. Of the girls engaged in formal prostitution, about 75% worked for a pimp. Id. Pimp-controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children is linked to escort and massage services, private dancing, drinking and photographic clubs, major sporting and recreational events, major cultural events, conventions, and tourist destinations. Id. About one-fifth of these children become entangled in nationally organized crime networks and are trafficked nationally. Id. at 8. They are transported around the United States by a variety of means – cars, buses, vans, trucks or planes, Id., and are often provided counterfeit identification to use in the event of arrest. Id. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. Estes Report at 92. It is not only the girls on the streets that are affected -- for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry into prostitution is 11-13"
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Audacity of Hope
The Audacity of Hope
President Obama writes about important issues concerning politics, constitution, faith, race, international politics and family.
Other than the debate about the Democrats and Republicans favoring different economic and social policies there is a touch of a caring father, husband and some one who understands the race problems in this country. Most of the time such brilliant people do not succeed in life. But Mr. Obama has proved that it can be done. That gives me a lot of hope.
I am personally touched by the book. I feel this book is a must read for anyone interested in current politics, the issues that concern all of our lives. I liked his broadmindedness, liberal and well thought out ideas.
The struggles he had to go though and how luck had favored him sometimes and how he
took challenges and most of all how he balanced all these things in his life is amazing. Gives me a lot of hope.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Plate tectonics
It is interesting to know why mountains form and the cause of volcano and plate tectonics.
The Cascade range extends from western Canada to California-nevada ranges.
Subduction discovered
A profound consequence of seafloor spreading is that new crust was, and is now, being continually created along the oceanic ridges. This idea found great favor with some scientists, most notably S. Warren Carey, who claimed that the shifting of the continents can be simply explained by a large increase in size of the Earth since its formation. However, this so-called "Expanding Earth theory" hypothesis was unsatisfactory because its supporters could offer no convincing mechanism to produce a significant expansion of the Earth. Certainly there is no evidence that the moon has expanded in the past 3 billion years. Still, the question remained: how can new crust be continuously added along the oceanic ridges without increasing the size of the Earth?
This question particularly intrigued Harry Hess, a Princeton University geologist and a Naval Reserve Rear Admiral, and Robert S. Dietz, a scientist with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey who first coined the term seafloor spreading. Dietz and Hess were among the small handful who really understood the broad implications of sea floor spreading. If the Earth's crust was expanding along the oceanic ridges, Hess reasoned, it must be shrinking elsewhere. He suggested that new oceanic crust continuously spreads away from the ridges in a conveyor belt-like motion. Many millions of years later, the oceanic crust eventually descends into the oceanic trenches — very deep, narrow canyons along the rim of the Pacific Ocean basin. According to Hess, the Atlantic Ocean was expanding while the Pacific Ocean was shrinking. As old oceanic crust is consumed in the trenches, new magma rises and erupts along the spreading ridges to form new crust. In effect, the ocean basins are perpetually being "recycled," with the creation of new crust and the destruction of old oceanic lithosphere occurring simultaneously. Thus, Hess' ideas neatly explained why the Earth does not get bigger with sea floor spreading, why there is so little sediment accumulation on the ocean floor, and why oceanic rocks are much younger than continental rocks.
The Cascade range extends from western Canada to California-nevada ranges.
Subduction discovered
A profound consequence of seafloor spreading is that new crust was, and is now, being continually created along the oceanic ridges. This idea found great favor with some scientists, most notably S. Warren Carey, who claimed that the shifting of the continents can be simply explained by a large increase in size of the Earth since its formation. However, this so-called "Expanding Earth theory" hypothesis was unsatisfactory because its supporters could offer no convincing mechanism to produce a significant expansion of the Earth. Certainly there is no evidence that the moon has expanded in the past 3 billion years. Still, the question remained: how can new crust be continuously added along the oceanic ridges without increasing the size of the Earth?
This question particularly intrigued Harry Hess, a Princeton University geologist and a Naval Reserve Rear Admiral, and Robert S. Dietz, a scientist with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey who first coined the term seafloor spreading. Dietz and Hess were among the small handful who really understood the broad implications of sea floor spreading. If the Earth's crust was expanding along the oceanic ridges, Hess reasoned, it must be shrinking elsewhere. He suggested that new oceanic crust continuously spreads away from the ridges in a conveyor belt-like motion. Many millions of years later, the oceanic crust eventually descends into the oceanic trenches — very deep, narrow canyons along the rim of the Pacific Ocean basin. According to Hess, the Atlantic Ocean was expanding while the Pacific Ocean was shrinking. As old oceanic crust is consumed in the trenches, new magma rises and erupts along the spreading ridges to form new crust. In effect, the ocean basins are perpetually being "recycled," with the creation of new crust and the destruction of old oceanic lithosphere occurring simultaneously. Thus, Hess' ideas neatly explained why the Earth does not get bigger with sea floor spreading, why there is so little sediment accumulation on the ocean floor, and why oceanic rocks are much younger than continental rocks.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Baden Powell de Aquino
There is a kind of music my soul has been searching and I found it in Baden Powell. Music talks to you. It has its own language. How many hours I have spent listening to music. It has lifted me from utter distress and during the worst times in my life. You can perceive the divine quality to it. It is unspoken ambrosia.
Canto de Ossanha by Baden Powell/kolosko
Canto de Ossanho by VinÃcius de Moraes
This song is a blend fo Afro-brazilian music creatively brought out by Baden in his Os Afro-Sambas album.
Canto de Ossanha by Baden Powell/kolosko
Canto de Ossanho by VinÃcius de Moraes
This song is a blend fo Afro-brazilian music creatively brought out by Baden in his Os Afro-Sambas album.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Quote of the day
None knows God but they can go as far as taking lives of others. Neither a Hindu nor a Muslim or a christian knows God. God is hidden within everyone. Only the one who can look within can get a glimpse of Him. Others are all confused and ignorant and fight in vanity.
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