Good luck proposing such a political platform.
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| Gemini´s fantasy picture of Vimala |
This is something of a niche subject, but I read two articles from "Orissa Review" about the goddess Vimala (or Bimala). She is worshipped in a temple inside the temple complex associated with the god Jagannath at Puri in the Indian state of Odisha (Orissa).
Jagannath is usually seen as a form of Krishna and hence a Vaishnava god-form. Both the chariot festival Rath Yatra at Puri and the god himself have been popularized internationally by the Hare Krishna movement, despite the fact that their non-Indian devotees are barred from entering the temple complex. However, the cult of Jagannath isn´t entirely Vaishnava in character. Vimala´s temple is one of the complicating factors.
Vimala is usually offered symbolic left-overs from the main offerings to Jagannath (which are strictly vegetarian). While this may suggest subordinate status, the main offerings to Jagannath apparently don´t become "prasad" (blessed food) until a portion of them have been given to the goddess. During certain celebrations, Vimala receives her own independent sacrifices. These are *not* vegetarian, and include a goat and fish. These rituals are secret and are in fact closed to Vaishnavas (who oppose animal sacrifice).
The Vimala Temple is "Tantric" in character. It contains depictions of couples engaged in various erotic activities. There are sculptures of goddesses trampling on corpses. There are also pictures of various Tantric deities. The Tantrikas refer to Vimala and Jagannath as "Bhairavi and Bhairava". At the same time, Vimala is clearly seen as a form of Durga. Absurdly, during Durga Puja, women are excluded from the temple!
Bottom line: clearly much more is going on in the Jagannath temple than a straightforward worship of a Vaishnavite god-form.
Vimala Temple at the Jagannath temple complex, Puri [click article title in the left column]
Many of these lawsuits failed since G-d doesn´t have a home adress and hence can´t be served?!
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| Credit: Jdpfive |
LOL. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, recently triggered a by-election in his own constituency of Clacton by resigning as Member of Parliament, only to declare his intention to run for the seat again. In other words: the by-election is political theater, probably to deflect from various parliamentary inquires into Farage´s finances. Labour, the Tories, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Restore (!) have all declared that they will boycott the by-election. This has opened the field for various micro-parties and novelty candidates, with Count Binface as the apparent front-runner in the anti-Farage camp.
Yes, Count Binface. *That* guy again.
He unsuccesfully tried to challenge the next Labour leader Burnham in Makerfield recently, and it seems he has now taken his rubbish to Clacton instead. Ahem, don´t you actually have to *live* in the constituency the seat of which you are contesting? Still, Farage´s opponents are in on the joke. From Wikipedia:
>>>Many mainstream politicians reacted to Binface's candidature with a mixture of amusement and approbation.
>>>Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition said that if the by-election was a "people versus the establishment" contest, Binface might be the people's candidate. Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said he could not endorse him due to Labour Party rules. Andy Burnham, the favourite in the race to become the next Labour leader, posted a picture of himself shaking hands with Binface at a by-election.
>>>The New Statesman´s business editor, Will Dunn, endorsed Binface and called for a united front in support of his candidacy. Martin Bell, who served as the independent MP for Tatton between 1997 and 2001, called for voters in Clacton to rally behind "the right independent candidate". Stephen Pollard, writing for The Spectator, called the election a straight "two-way fight" between Farage and Binface, and speculated that the latter could win.
>>>Binface received a surge of support from activists after announcing his candidacy, raising more than £15,000 in donations in a day. He said he hoped to appeal to voters from all sides of the political spectrum and said he could even court the immigrant vote, given he was "the ultimate alien".Green energy industrialist Dale Vince, who has previously donated to the Labour and Green Parties, offered to fund Binface's campaign. His campaign gained global media attention.
The latter seems to be true, since I read (with some surprise) about Binface´s splendid intervention in a Swedish newspaper just now. Or rather at their on-line site. And no, I don´t think Harvey (the Count´s real name) can win over Farage, who carried Clacton with 46,2% of the votes in 2024. That being said, I admit this was a rather jolly little distraction!
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| Credit: Centro Televisivo Vaticano |
Is this even true? Are you telling me that *Vatican City* has a women´s football team, a cricket team named after St Peter, and also competes in taekwondo?! Apparently, Pope Francis had a honorary 10th dan degree in taekwondo. An occasion for scandal, maybe?
Vatican Amateur Sports Association
Vatican City national football team
Vatican City´s national women´s fotball team
Vatican City at the 2022 Mediterranean Games
Call me a cynic, but how likely is it that the protests against Jared Kushner´s plans to build a posh resort in Albania are organic? Are Albanians *that* enamored of flamingos or sea turtles? Somehow, I doubt it.
OK, let me guess. Either the usual "N"GOs are financing the protests against Kushner (since he is Donald Trump´s son-in-law). Or, if the protests somehow are organic, they are organized by people opposed to the current Albanian prime minister Edi Rama for other reasons than turtle eggs.
Or maybe both. According to all-knowing Wikipedia, Rama has been criticized for (anti)democratic backsliding, et cetera. Which doesn´t rule out NGO involvement, of course. I admit that I don´t really care which at this point. And neither do most Albanians, since they are mostly trying to leave the country!
But sure, I would probably prefer sea turtles (and the fair flamingo) to a corrupted American oligarch...
In most forms of Christianity, that is. Mahayana Buddhism is somewhat different. Here is a Chinese legend about a "harrowing of hell". From Wikipedia (Miaoshan is a form of Guanyin):
>>>A variant of the legend says that Miaoshan allowed herself to die at the hand of the executioner. According to this legend, as the executioner tried to carry out her father's orders, his axe shattered into a thousand pieces. He then tried a sword which likewise shattered. He tried to shoot Miaoshan down with arrows but they all veered off.
>>>Finally in desperation he used his hands. Miaoshan, realising the fate that the executioner would meet at her father's hand should she fail to let herself die, forgave the executioner for attempting to kill her. It is said that she voluntarily took on the massive karmic guilt the executioner generated for killing her, thus leaving him guiltless.
>>>It is because of this that she descended into the Hell-like realms. While there, she witnessed first-hand the suffering and horrors that the beings there must endure, and was overwhelmed with grief. Filled with compassion, she released all the good karma she had accumulated through her many lifetimes, thus freeing many suffering souls back into Heaven and Earth.
>>>In the process, that Hell-like realm became a paradise. It is said that Yama, the ruler of hell, sent her back to Earth to prevent the utter destruction of his realm, and that upon her return she appeared on Fragrant Mountain.
In Greek mythology, the deity associated with wine is Dionysus. In other words, a male god. In Hinduism, by contrast, the deity associated with really strong forms of liquor and intoxication is...a goddess?!
Varuni is sometimes said to be the wife of the Vedic god Varuna, sometimes his daughter. Apparently, Varuni was "demoted" to an asura (an anti-god or titan) when Indian civilization became more skeptical of heavy drinking!
The picture above is Gemini´s very "civilized" take on Varuni. Link below to Wikipedia.
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| Copilot´s rather puritanical take on Vinayaki |
There is an almost unknown female counterpart to Ganesha, known as Vinayaki?!
Wikipedia still cites me as a source in their entry on Alexander Slepkov! Don´t ask, I no longer remember.
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| Credit: Qrdz |
Good grief! Christians can´t even agree on when to commemorate / celebrate Easter. Here are links to two Wikipedia entries on the Memorial and Quatrodecimanism.
Billy Graham seems to have been...I don´t know...an unofficial American diplomatic envoy? His contacts with genocidal maniac Efraím Ríos Montt in Guatemala are well-known (and scrubbed from Wiki´s Billy Graham entry!), but I never heard of his North Korean exploits until now. For whatever reason, *they* are briefly mentioned on Wiki. Hmmm...
Here is Wikipedia:
>>>In a 1999 speech, Graham discussed his relationship with the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, praising him as a "different kind of communist" and "one of the great fighters for freedom in his country against the Japanese". Graham went on to note that although he had never met Kim's son and then-current North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, he had "exchanged gifts with him". [The link to the source doesn´t work on my computer]
And here is Gemini:
Can you tell me more about Graham´s relation with North Korea?
Billy Graham’s relationship with North Korea was one of the most surprising and debated chapters of his career. Despite being a staunch anti-communist who once called Communism "the greatest challenge the church has ever had to face," he became a rare bridge between the West and the "Hermit Kingdom."
His connection was deeply personal: his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, had attended a missionary school in Pyongyang in the 1930s (before the Korean War), which gave the family a unique emotional tie to the region.
Graham visited North Korea twice, in 1992 and 1994, meeting directly with the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung.
Preaching in Pyongyang: Graham was the first foreign religious leader allowed to preach in North Korea since the war. He spoke at the Bongsu Church (one of the few state-sanctioned churches) and lectured at Kim Il-sung University.
The "Messenger" Role: During his 1992 trip, Graham carried a verbal message from President George H.W. Bush to Kim Il-sung.
A "Cordial" Relationship: Kim Il-sung reportedly welcomed Graham warmly.
Following his 1992 visit, North Korean state media (Rodong Sinmun)
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) immediately and forcefully denied these reports, stating that the quotes were state propaganda and did not "even remotely resemble" Graham’s theology.
Graham's visits opened a small window for humanitarian work that continues today:
Samaritan’s Purse: His son, Franklin Graham, took over the mantle, visiting the country multiple times.
Back-Channel Diplomacy: Many historians believe Graham’s 1994 visit helped pave the way for former President Jimmy Carter’s landmark trip later that year, which temporarily defused a nuclear crisis.
Graham was often criticized for "legitimizing" a regime known for extreme religious persecution. His defense was consistent: he believed that to reach the people, he had to speak to the leaders. He once said:
"I didn't go as a politician; I went as a minister of the Gospel... I think there's going to be some changes."
While the "changes" Graham hoped for (in terms of religious freedom) never fully materialized, his visits remain a unique example of "faith-based diplomacy" during the Cold War era.
Did he praise Kim Il-sung as a "different kind of Communist" and a national liberation hero?
Whether Billy Graham actually praised Kim Il-sung in those specific terms is a matter of significant historical debate, largely because of the "he-said, she-said" nature of North Korean state propaganda versus the official records of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Here is the breakdown of those specific claims:
It is widely documented that Graham spoke of Kim Il-sung with a level of personal warmth that shocked his Western critics. He did occasionally suggest that Kim was a leader who deeply cared for his people’s well-being, which some interpreted as labeling him a "different" or more humanitarian type of leader.
However, it is important to distinguish between Graham’s diplomatic politeness and ideological endorsement. Graham was desperate to maintain access to the country to continue his ministry, so he often avoided criticizing the regime's brutality in public, choosing instead to focus on Kim's "personality" and "hospitality."
The claim that Graham called Kim Il-sung a "hero of national liberation" or a "great revolutionary" originated primarily from North Korean state media (KCNA).
The Propaganda Angle: The North Korean government was notorious for "ghostwriting" quotes for visiting dignitaries. They regularly published reports claiming that Graham—one of the world's most famous Christians—had recognized the Juche ideology or praised Kim Il-sung as a god-like figure.
The BGEA Denial: Graham’s team consistently refuted these reports. They argued that the North Korean government twisted Graham’s standard diplomatic pleasantries (e.g., acknowledging Kim’s role in Korean history) into full-blown ideological endorsements.
While he denied the most extreme "God-like" quotes, Graham did make several public statements that were highly controversial:
Social Order: Upon returning from Pyongyang, Graham noted he was impressed by the "health" and "discipline" of the North Korean people, famously remarking that he saw no crime or drugs in the streets—a comment that critics said ignored the reality of a totalitarian police state.
Religious Freedom: He was criticized for suggesting that there was a degree of religious freedom in North Korea based on his visits to the Bongsu and Chilgol churches, which many experts considered "show churches" designed to deceive foreigners.
| Aspect | Graham's Public Stance | Critics' Perspective |
| Goal | Evangelism and "building bridges." | Legitimizing a dictator. |
| Tone | Diplomatic, focusing on "mutual respect." | Naive or complicit in propaganda. |
| Theology | Remained strictly Christian. | Accused of staying silent on human rights for access. |
Ultimately, Graham walked a razor-thin line. He never renounced his Christianity or his belief that Communism was fundamentally flawed, but he was willing to use flattery and diplomatic "softness" to ensure he was the one Westerner Kim Il-sung would actually listen to. Whether that was "wise diplomacy" or "compromise" remains a point of contention among historians today.
Does this clarify the distinction between what he actually said and what the North Korean media claimed?
Some fun facts (or factoids?) about the space rock we currently inhabit. From Wikipedia, I believe.
>>>Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects.
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| Credit: Michael Tracey(?) |
Is it just me or has ChatGPT deteriorated really badly the last couple of weeks or so? The free version, obviously. But nah, I´m not paying for any upgrades. YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING MY AZZ. At the moment, I actually get better responses from Gemini, and I can´t say I trust that system very much either!
Maybe it´s time to simply leave the LLMs to their (inevitable) fate and move on. Or rather move back...to books published before the LLM era. Or in a really tight spot, even Wikipedia. Never thought I would say *that* in a lifetime...
But sure, it was fun while it lasted. Really.
Somatoparaphrenia is a type of monothematic delusion where one denies ownership of a limb or an entire side of one's body. Even if provided with undeniable proof that the limb belongs to and is attached to their own body, the patient produces elaborate confabulations about whose limb it really is or how the limb ended up on their body. In some cases, delusions become so elaborate that a limb may be treated and cared for as if it were a separate being.
Somatoparaphrenia differs from a similar disorder, asomatognosia, which is characterized as loss of recognition of half of the body or a limb, possibly due to paralysis or unilateral neglect. For example, asomatognosic patients may mistake their arm for the doctor's. However, they can be shown their limb and this error is temporarily corrected.
Yes, I do want to talk to "the manager"!
Some bizarre facts (or factoids?) coined from various Wiki entries. I mean, wtf.
>>>In traditional medicine in Europe, human fat was believed to have a healing magic significance until the 19th century. Many executioners recovered the fat from the bodies of their executants, called "Armsünderfett" or "Armsünderschmalz" (German: fat or grease from poor sinners put to death), and sold it.
>>>For some executioners the marketing of human fat was a major source of revenue. The human fat was used to make ointments for treatment of various diseases such as bone pain, tootache and gout. It was also regarded as a panacea for particular diseases associated with cachexia (e.g. tuberculosis). Also an analgesic effect in rheumatoid arthritis was attributed to human fat.
>>>From the late 19th century, human fat was produced and offered under the trade name Humanol as a sterile, liquified preparation for injections in Germany. In 1909 it was introduced for surgical treatment of scars, wound disinfection, and wound revisions. In the 1920s it became out of fashion after low cure rates and the incidence of fat embolisms caused by its application.
>>>The Italian surgeon Giovanni da Vigo (1450–1525) defined mumia as "The flesh of a dead body that is embalmed, and it is hot and dry in the second [grade], and therefore it has virtue to incarne [i.e., heal over] wounds and to staunch blood", and included it in his list of essential drugs. The Swiss-German polymath Paracelsus (1493–1541) gave mummia a new meaning of "intrinsic spirit" and said true pharmaceutical mummia must be "the body of a man who did not die a natural death but rather died an unnatural death with a healthy body and without sickness".
>>>The German physician Oswald Croll (1563–1609) said mumia was "not the liquid matter which is found in the Egyptian sepulchers," but rather "the flesh of a man that perishes a violent death, and kept for some time in the air", and gave a detailed recipe for making tincture of mumia from the corpse of a young red-haired man, who had been hanged, bludgeoned on the breaking wheel, exposed to the air for days, then cut into small pieces, sprinkled with powdered myrrh and aloes, soaked in wine, and dried.
>>>He [Pierre Belon] said Europeans were importing both the "falsely called" mumia obtained from scraping the bodies of cadavers, and "artificial mumia" made by exposing buried dead bodies to the heat of the sun before grinding them up. While he considered the available mumia to be a valueless and even dangerous drug, he noted that King Francis I always carried with him a mixture of mumia and rhubarb to use as an immediate remedy for any injury.
>>>The barber surgeon Ambroise Paré (d. 1590) revealed the manufacture of fake mummia both in France, where apothecaries would steal the bodies of executed criminals, dry them in an oven, and sell the flesh; and in Egypt, where a merchant, who admitted to collecting dead bodies and preparing mummia, expressed surprise that the Christians, "so dainty-mouthed, could eat the bodies of the dead".
>>>A mellified man, also known as a human mummy confection, was a legendary medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver in honey. The concoction is detailed in Chinese medical sources, including the Bencao Gangmu of the 16th century. Relying on a second-hand account, the text reports a story that some elderly men in Arabia, nearing the end of their lives, would submit themselves to a process of mummification in honey to create a healing confection.
>>>This process differed from a simple body donation because of the aspect of self-sacrifice; the mellification process would ideally start before death. The donor would stop eating any food other than honey, going as far as to bathe in the substance. Shortly, the donor's feces and even sweat would consist of honey. When this diet finally proved fatal, the donor's body would be placed in a stone coffin filled with honey.
>>>After a century or so, the contents would have turned into a sort of confection reputedly capable of healing broken limbs and other ailments. This confection would then be sold in street markets as a hard to find item with a hefty price.
