tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post5714237590390078307..comments2024-03-18T02:14:50.959-07:00Comments on ADORED BY HORDES: MarcLordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17036432624426967890noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-6565396746105171622008-02-26T14:00:00.000-08:002008-02-26T14:00:00.000-08:00Davo:Fascinating--and the reason for it being the ...Davo:<BR/><BR/>Fascinating--and the reason for it being the land itself. The same reason is generally given for the islanders, the islands being so finitely constrained. But there may be more to it. Is there any book you could recommend on the subject that would illuminate?MarcLordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17036432624426967890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-5012552989329224242008-02-25T14:52:00.000-08:002008-02-25T14:52:00.000-08:00"Thus spake Zarathustra" .. heh.It's getting off t..."Thus spake Zarathustra" .. heh.<BR/><BR/>It's getting off the topic of this post but ..<BR/><I>Did they practice head-hunting or cannibalism for population control,</I> .. the short answer is - no.<BR/><BR/>It's actually a fascinating subject, but the Australian aborigines are probably unique .. in the sense that - after their ancestors arrived (probably from the Indonesian archipelago) some 40-60,000 years ago there was no further contact with the rest of the world - until the British arrived in roughly 1770. They had NO NEED to develop (or invent) any systems of warfare or defence, not even among themselves. They lived within the landscape, looked after it and the landscape looked after them. They are (or were) - basically - a gentle, communal, community based peoples. Had no need for "chieftains" or any "heirarchical" political or "spiritual" structures, either. Decisions were made either individually or though a "council of elders".<BR/><BR/>All that, of course, is a simplistic overview - and one of the reasons why their communities are in strife, now.<BR/><BR/>Some have postulated that much of their "basic" philosophy infuses Australian culture, even now - and Australia, as a Nation, is quite unique - especially when one considers that a population of only 21 million occupy a land area roughly the size of the USA. While we DO have "immigration" controls in place - we don't have any "land borders" and it is the LANDSCAPE that influences our attitudes and the size of population.Davohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02785126939071213905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-24077109673489921772008-02-24T21:02:00.000-08:002008-02-24T21:02:00.000-08:00Yup, Ahura and Ahriman!Yup, Ahura and Ahriman!Najhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17728668942925956610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-61049617174361985532008-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:002008-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:00Davo, I believe the Persian gent is known as Sir D...Davo, I believe the Persian gent is known as Sir Dualism. And as for the southern, anciently nature-tuned philosophies, I know little of the Aborigines. Did they practice head-hunting or cannibalism for population control, as the Islanders did so commonly?<BR/><BR/>Dualism surely makes for grander flights and convulsions, it must be said.MarcLordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17036432624426967890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-67859060138204958892008-02-24T04:22:00.000-08:002008-02-24T04:22:00.000-08:00i suppose it is rather irrelevant, in the context ...i suppose it is rather irrelevant, in the context of educated and informed writers, to point out that it was, it seems, a Persian who began the whole concept of "good" and "evil" that seems to be the bedrock of, and infuse Northern Hemisphere religious philosophy? I could also, perhaps, point out that there was a Southern - unknown - hemisphere at that time .. and there were intelligent human beings here who also formed their own philosophy about how "society" should be constructed - and the "spirituality" of the "unknown". .. heh.Davohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02785126939071213905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-62069612094749819012008-02-23T23:10:00.000-08:002008-02-23T23:10:00.000-08:00I'm familiar with fatwahs and appearances. My one-...I'm familiar with fatwahs and appearances. My one-time religion had a favorite quote: one must "avoid the appearance of evil."<BR/><BR/>Near the Mecca of that religion (the state of Utah, the Mormons), desperate young people would also get temporary marriages by driving to Las Vegas and having a ceremony there, then obtain a divorce later. <BR/><BR/>Although temporary marriage wasn't terribly common, pre-marital sex was common enough. Whether the sex was technically correct or simply pre-marital, there would be tremendous pressure placed on a couple to get married, and an abortion was almost unthinkable. Such would mean permanent execution for the girl, loss of most (or all) friends, and often loss of one's family relationships. And not much better for the guy.<BR/><BR/>If our church had passed a similar ruling to Mazaheri's, there would have been an all-out Sexual Revolution at my college. As I assume there will be in Iran, and elsewhere.MarcLordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17036432624426967890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32850048.post-48416312341031194612008-02-23T22:15:00.000-08:002008-02-23T22:15:00.000-08:00This fatwa is the first in its kind. Unlike teh ca...This fatwa is the first in its kind. Unlike teh catholics, Iranian "mojtaheds" are not against birth control. You can do anything you wish to prevent pregnancy. But if a life is conceived, then up to now, you were not allowed to abort UNLESS mother's physical heath was in danger!<BR/><BR/>Now, what has happened is that this Ayatollah is treating a woman's "social" and psychological life, just as seriously as her physiological one!<BR/><BR/>Abortion clinics are already plenty in Iran; not publicized but there. It has always been that way.<BR/><BR/>What is significant about this is that, "temporary marriage" has become the Iranian loophole that allows sexual intimacy without marriage. This, expectedly, increases the risk of unwanted pregnancies. Usually, girls ended up marrying the man with whom they conceived, in order to save face/reputation. Pregnancy and marriage will deprive girls of attending regular high school and they will have to enroll in adult schools. Now, girls can have a temporary marriage and then go get an abortion--I would assume.<BR/><BR/>If one Ayatollah sanctions abortion, 2000 clinics can pop, and claim that they are servicing the followers of Ayatollah Mazaheri! A lot of these things are just heart-pledges, and suddenly, ALL Iranians can turn into followers of Mazaheri.<BR/><BR/>What you may find interesting, however, is that the concept of "courtage" is very openly discussed amongst families and women and it is not as big a taboo as it is in the west. I remember my mother's friends talking about abortion, and my own friends having done it. Unwanted pregnancy, get an abortion! And no one passes a moral judgement on you in Iran!<BR/><BR/>And the religious men ... pfff, Iranians <B>really</B> don't care for what mullahs say! It's just about keeping up an appearance!Najhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17728668942925956610noreply@blogger.com