We R OneSoul

Kore Issues: Vulnerability: The Real YOU.

04/21/2012 04:30:00

This year I realized that I have been protecting myself from being vulnerable, even before I was born. I deal with much crisis but I also avoid just as much. I have created many defense mechanisms in order to protect myself from hurt, pain, suffering.... So many of the same things that I start my show introduction encouraging my audience to deal with and move through.

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/03/the-power-of-vulnerability-10-life-lessons/

Today I will start being vulnerable and will no longer push against it.

Special Guests: YOU. Call in at (573) 443-TALK

Kore Issues goes in 3 waves.

1st Wave: Facts and Statistics
Vulnerability:
1. capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon: a vulnerable part of the body.
2. open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, etc.: an argument vulnerable to refutation; He is vulnerable to bribery.
3. (of a place) open to assault; difficult to defend: a vulnerable bridge.
4. Bridge . having won one of the games of a rubber.

Origin:
1605, from L.L. vulnerabilis "wounding," from L. vulnerare "to wound," from vulnus (gen. vulneris) "wound," perhaps related to vellere "pluck, to tear."

Opposite:
"closed, guarded, protected, safe, secure"

Invincible. Are any of us invincible?

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-being-vulnerable-can-expand-your-world/

2nd Wave: Personal Experience
My daughters have freed me.

"Strong love without the chance for strong pain, with no regrets!"

Song of the week: Cudbwurz by OneSoul

Cudbwurz - Koppa 2 Gold album

OneSoul f/ Klaye (4 years old)

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Quotes from Brene Brown: Check her out.
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

“When we numb [hard feelings], we numb joy, we numb gratitude, we numb happiness.”

“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”

“Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.”

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. ”

“Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous.”

“We are the most in-debt, obese, addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history.”

“You cannot talk about race without talking about privilege. And when people start talking about privilege, they get paralyzed by shame.”

“If you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence and judgment.”

“The two most powerful words when we're in struggle: me too.”

Other Quotes on vulnerability:
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/vulnerability?id=vulnerability

3rd Wave: The Word of God on the topic.
A good friend told me yesterday that if a person is disenfranchised, that it is normally their choice to be in that state. When I talked to him about it, we shared a few viewpoints and I could not disagree with him. He also agreed with me that it was probably because that person had allowed themselves to be vulnerable and was hurt in the process and was healing or trapped from being vulnerable again.

Imagine god's vulnerability.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

A few days before His passing, `Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk in His home in Haifa to some Persian Bahá'ís who had gathered there for a meeting with Him. These notes of `Abdu'l-Bahá's address were taken down in Persian at that meeting and later translated:

"His Holiness the Christ loved both his disciples and believers to such an extent that he sacrificed his life for them. His holiness the Supreme (the Báb), loved the friends to such an extent that he gave his life for them. The Blessed Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) loved the friends so much that for their sakes he accepted a thousand difficulties and afflictions. Four times he was exiled. He was banished from one place to another. His properties were confiscated. He gave all his family, his relatives, his possessions. He accepted imprisonment, chains, and fetters. His holy person was imprisoned in the fortress of Akká....He was made to suffer more calamities, afflictions and difficulties than could be enumerated. He had not a moment's rest. He had not an hour's comfort. He was continually under the greatest hardships and ordeals. What great persecutions he endured from his enemies! What great afflictions he bore from his own relatives!

"He accepted all these trials for our sakes so that he might educate us, so that he might make us heavenly, so that he might change our character, change our lives, so that he might illumine our inmost self. All these troubles he accepted for our sakes. He did indeed sacrifice his life for us. This love is the real love. This is the inner attachment and the genuine friendship. This love is the love which sacrifices one's all, one's life. This is the reality of love...."

`Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in "The Universal Language of the Spirit," Star of the West, 13, no. 7 (October 1922), 163-164

Dukkha (Suffering): The First Noble Truth in Buddhism
http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/dukkhaexplain.htm

Trusteeship: http://info.bahai.org/article-1-9-1-4.html

The fourth Taraz concerneth trustworthiness. Verily it is the door of security for all that dwell on earth and a token of glory on the part of the All-Merciful. He who partaketh thereof hath indeed partaken of the treasures of wealth and prosperity. Trustworthiness is the greatest portal leading unto the tranquillity and security of the people. In truth the stability of every affair hath depended and doth depend upon it. All the domains of power, of grandeur and of wealth are illumined by its light.
("Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas", p. 37)

Bonus song of the week: Message in a bottle - Sting

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Sting - Message In A Bottle

Bonus Information of the week: Bahai's in Iran are vulnerable.
http://www.bahai.org/persecution/iran/update

Check this event out. https://www.facebook.com/events/333323413392390/

Closing Statements.

Tweet your comments to @Koppa2Gold and I will share on the air or comment on the event or message me directly at byndom@facebook.com.

Blessings to your life, your loves, your movement and your legacy.

Call 1-800 22 UNITE to learn more about the Bahai Faith or visit www.bahai.us.

How to Deal with a Street Evangelist Who Tells Everyone They Are Going To HELL!

04/01/2012 00:11:00

Went downtown to enjoy myself on 9th and Broadway and talk to some of the fellas when I was rudely interrupted by a street evangelist. I was nice once, twice and then I decided to get off of my phone call and shut it down.

The fella's in the crowd was like "You are messing with the wrong guy!" He knows his stuff.

I simply asked him a series of questions, and then shared my Faith with him, and then he laughed at me and told me, and everyone else in the crowd that they were going to hell.

So, I taught him, humbled him, and then shut down the operation. It was cool. Also the guy dressed in the Black, which was one of his buddies, was silent as a church mouse.

A few keys points was:

Hell is not a location, but a spiritual condition.

The creator that I know is all-loving. Gave an example of how I would treat my kids and that surely if my capacity was that high, the omniscient God's perfection's were greater.

Shared a few scripture references from the Gospel.

Informed him that the thief in the night, was visiting him at this very moment, and that he should show humility, especially when he is sharing the message with others and expecting the same respectful response.

Shared how all religions agree and are apart of the same family.

Then I chastised him for his method, told him that the clergy was abolished, and then spent some time, un-teaching his affects on my brethren who were present.

I then shared with him the good news for this day and wished him well as he packed up, and gave him my card with information to research for himself.

Sidenote: There is not one social place in town that allows more than 100 black folk to congregate socially and that is culturally relevant. Also there is not one place of entertainment designed for those that dont drink. We are very base as a species at this time.

Check out the Facebook conversation that is happening in real time. It's getting deep. Of course you will have to friend request me first. :)

https://www.facebook.com/byndom/posts/10151459381030437?comment_id=31529696&notif_t=like

Bring It On!!!

04/01/2012 00:07:00

Took my daughter Tionna to see "Bring it On" the musical today at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Great trip and awesome musical. 5 stars.

http://www.bringitonmusical.com/

I doubt that all of the white people (98% of the crowd) were expecting to see so much rap, hip hop influence. I was one of the only one bobbing my head, many times.

At the end of the show, they were all clapping and I thought that they deserved a standing ovation. My daughter was like "Daddy NO!", when she say me about to get up. I said "I can give a damn what anyone thinks about me sweetie!", and then stood up and clapped. 30 seconds later, the whole crowd was on their feet cheering.

1. Either they did not want a brother to seem more civilized than them.
2. They simply agreed with me.
3. It took them a minute to warm up.
4. They was waiting for their legs to start working again. (old crowd surprisingly)
5. No one wanted to stand out or be the first to stand.

The funny thing is that the whole musical was about self-esteem, being yourself, loving yourself, and being true to you, while living the present to the fullest. But after it was over, most people stayed in their box. Or at least it seemed.

I wish that I could spend some quality time with all of my children, especially my beautiful daughter in Cali. Thanks to Bob for the hook up.

The tickets were so good that the Black lady, at the isle, instead of just looking at my ticket and showing us the way, did a double take, and said "These are some good tickets, probably the best in the house!" and then she winked at me and said "I will show you to your seat myself!"

It was good to be back in my hometown of the STL. I didn't realize that I missed it so much. Might be time to leave this little country town, who really do not want Black folk to have an level of financial, governmental, and social equality, but expect us to be happy, be obedient, non-violent about our in your face statistically proven plight and disparity, and truly spread my wings. A brother with talent and perfections can go far in a big city. I have been fertilizing this soil, and sharing the good news in this city since 1999 and only 5 souls, have embraced the message of truth, out of possibly 10,000 personal connections and myriads of radio connections. The murder capital of the world could use some help right now. Just musings. I will follow my Lord's wishes and my heart, which is His home.

Last thought: REVERSE WHITE FLIGHT was in FULL AFFECT in STL!!!! They took back all of the beautiful land that they once discarded to the Negros, for the County life. The number one way to keep Blacks away from Whites, or the NEW JIM CROW, is to make the prices so high, that they can't even consider that option and even if they can, it will seriously hurt the pocketbook and it will be a rare occurrence.

GENTRIFICATION.
gentrification, the rehabilitation and settlement of decaying urban areas by middle- and high-income people. Beginning in the 1970s and 80s, higher-income professionals, drawn by low-cost housing and easier access to downtown business areas, renovated deteriorating buildings in many cities, reversing what had been an outmigration of upper-income families and individuals from many urban areas. This led to the rebirth of some neighborhoods and a rise in property values, but it also caused displacement problems among poorer residents, many of them elderly and unable to afford higher rents and taxes.

20twelve - spoken world jam

12/06/2011 01:05:00

Inspired by my fellow servant of Baha, Benny Cassette.

I am what I am and thats all that I am,

Healing the souls of man, my generation selling they grams,

Against the whole industry, need 2 be, just got taken over,

You put yourself in the category, lover or soldier,

None get unprogrammed, washing brains like uncle sam,

Misguided, so the kids mature to kill their kind, and slam a jam,

But on the flip, who else gone keep they ass in line, Yes Mam!

Calling a Terrorist a Muslim, is like Tyree Paladon Byndom an atheist,

A 3 year agnostic, because the examples made me sick,

Use the force like Luke, except I'm walking skies now,

A deep gentleman, fine as a mofo, you could say that Im the cats meow,

Slightly boastful, you could toast 2, but really satirical and pure at heart,

Comes from thinking I can move the world even with how long it's been apart,

Stop what you're doing, cause Im about to ruin, the graven images and the idols that you're use to,

Multi-talented, tasking, breaking stereotypes and assumptions is what Im use to,

Everything I use to do, seems so vain and plain,

Just think, so healthy, no need for anything from Fast lane,

It's all provided, eat it raw, drink your fluids, and do good deeds,

Follow the guidance, momma's wisdom, pace yourself, & do not speed,

We live eternally, future harmony, so give yourself some time to believe,

You believe regardless of what you believe, so your decision is so critical,

How can any claim to be holy that still sins consciously? Hypocritical!

Lead astray for quest for minerals, but think you're at the pinnacle,

Very cynical, it's called being passed in line, not ready for the spiritual,

Heaven is where your soul is, but if you dont pray, then you dont visit,

Your own true self, sculpt your soul, let me repeat that so you dont miss it,

But continuing on, breaking the dawn, and tucking in the midnight moon,

The twilight blooms, as I dream, I am informed, that there is only one way to prove,

Your loyalty, and that is sacrifice, this life, your will, and time on Earth,

You only have one time, and a million tries, to show me u know your worth,

You see, I understand, omnipresent, I signed off on every act,

The whole creation is connected to me, unequivocal, it is a fact,

My Messengers, My Creation, and My Kingdom, all come from my Word,

Reflections of My Essence, Golden Emanations for My herd,

Not cattle, no longer chattel, I free the minds from themselves,

I also created the ego, to force them to hear the bells,

Harps and tambourines, a myriad things, to visualize reality,

I am Truth, and when you are truthful, you are breathing in the spirit of me,

My Lord, who otherwise am I, that I should dare to stand at the gate of the city of Thy nearness, or set my face towards the lights that are shining from the light of Thy will?

I am aware of the gifts that you offer to me, to us, your human BE,ings,

Can you imagine a King of Kings, with no one to call Him King,

We are created to know and be in love with Thee, and with that, all it brings,

Lord, help us accelerate, our collective state, so that we can be in bliss,

And let us collectively, unite behind your banner, with no duties remiss,

I thank you so, for taking over my wall, with your Pen of The Most High,

2012, we will not die, but like the Phoenix, we will Arise!!!!!!!!!!!

Paladon

I am performing this on Straight Talk this weekend. Every Saturday from 4-5pm on 89.5 FM, my dude Miky T Belongstoher Varner and Paladon will start the show with a new spoken word. Never know, it might end up being a project for your souls consumption. Until then, it is live, and only for those who listen. Blessings to your life, your legacy and your movement.

Kore Issues Talk Show: How to trust again after infidelity.

12/03/2011 06:53:00

Hello Loved Ones,

I hope that your life is full of meaning, and that the trials you experience encourage you to continue down the path of endeavors, to find your destiny, your purpose and your end picture. You know. The you, that God sees. The perfect creation.

Like is full of a cornucopia of suffering and healing. It is the lot of man.

It is actually the only way that we grow as souls, and detach from the world, and focus on the everlasting. Our Lord.

BUT, some things happen, that are so severe, that is rocks us to the kore, and everything that we knew, everything that we loved, that we hold dear, changes and is in jeopardy. We learn true reality, and who we really are, and what we are really made of. Infidelity is one of those things.

The life that we knew was a lie. The person that we loved, was absent and getting what they needed elsewhere, whether it was emotional, mental, or physical, we still feel cheated, and a loss, and it forces us to refine and choose our standards.

I have cheated and have been cheated on, in my life. All of us have experienced it. Sometimes it is our fault, sometimes we are innocent, but either way, it is our test, independent of the individual who is causing us the pain.

Why does till death do us part, not include infidelity? It is the ultimate betrayal, and the leading contributor to the 53% divorce rate in the world. No one is safe from failing unions.

This should be a special show. Please feel free to call in live at (573) 443-TALK and share your experiences.

1st Wave: The Facts and Stats

The Numbers:

Some researchers say there's a 50–50 chance today that one partner will have an affair during a marriage including non-physical relationships.

It is estimated that roughly 30 to 60% of all married individuals (in the United States) will engage in infidelity at some point during their marriage. Some authorities (for example Frank Pittman in 'Grow Up' (Golden Books)) observe infidelity is involved in 90% of first time divorces.

A 1997 study with Kristina Gordon found “more than half of the marriages that experience infidelity ended in divorce”.27% of people who reported being happy in marriage admitted to having an affair.In a recent survey of 16,000 university students in 53 countries, 20% of long term relationships began when one or both partners were involved with someone else. Studies suggest around 30–40% of dating relationships and 18–20% of marriages are marked by at least one incident of sexual infidelity. Men are more likely than women to have a sexual affair, regardless of whether or not they are in a married or dating relationship.By contrast John Gottman with his 35 years of research into marriage, is reported as saying, "Only 20 percent of divorces are caused by an affair. Most marriages die with a whimper, as people turn away from one another, slowly growing apart."

Fifty United Kingdom divorce lawyers were asked to name the most common causes of their cases in 2003. Of those who cited extramarital affairs, 55% said it was usually the husbands and 45% said that it was the wives who cheated.Rates among older women tripled from 5% in 1991 to 15% in 2006; rates among men rose from 20–28%. About 20% of younger men and 15% of younger women say they cheated, up from about 15% and 12%, respectively.

Infidelity studies show that extramarital sex occurs in up to 25% of heterosexual marriages in the USA, according to Adrian Low, a Michigan State University professor who is a marriage and family therapist. Many experts believe this increase in cheating is due to greater opportunity (time spent away from a spouse) and young people developing the habit of having multiple sexual partners before they get married.Children can be witnesses to an affair and outcomes of an affair.

Between 2–4% of children are conceived as a result of an affair. A 2005 scientific review of international published studies of paternal discrepancy found a range in incidence from 0.8% to 30% (median 3.7%), suggesting that the widely quoted figure of 10% of non-paternal events is an overestimate.Infidelity which does not involve sex or conception may be referred to as a romantic friendship or an emotional affair. Some people consider virtual sex, which is an on-line relationship, as infidelity.

Types of Infidelity:

Each case of infidelity serves a different purpose. Being able to justify the behavior of a spouse and define it will lessen some of the confusion.

There are five categories of infidelity:

opportunistic infidelity:-example debauchery.
obligatory infidelity
romantic infidelity
conflicted romantic infidelity, and
commemorative infidelity

Opportunistic infidelity occurs when a partner is in love and attached to a partner, but surrenders to their sexual desire for someone else. The opportunistic infidelity is driven by irrepressible lust, situational circumstances and/or opportunity, and sometimes, pure risk-taking behavior.

Obligatory infidelity is based on fear that refraining from someone's sexual advances will result in rejection, and being unwilling to handle such rejection, resulting in surrender to them. Some people end up cheating solely on the need for approval from somebody, even though they still hold a strong attraction to their committed partner.

Romantic infidelity occurs when the cheater is in the process of "falling out of love" with his/her partner. The person's self-perceived obligatory commitment to the relationship's tenets and overall life-meaning is likely the only thing still keeping them with their partner in this example.

Conflicted romantic infidelity takes place when a person both falls in love with and has a strong sexual desire for multiple people at one time, even though s/he may already be committed to a partner. In this circumstance the person feels s/he cannot tell his/her committed partner about what has happened, but is in any unable to resist the compulsion; this lack of open discussion is usually what separates conflicted romantic infidelity from things like a well-defined open relationship or polyamory.

Commemorative infidelity occurs when a person has completely fallen out of love with their spouse, but is still in a committed relationship with them.

Reasons that people cheat on their significant others or spouses.

2nd Wave: Personal Experience or calls

The Mind of the Cheater: free think

The Mind of the Innocent: free think

The Mind of the 3rd Party: free think

Quotes on Fidelity: Good quotes

Song of the Week: Lalah Hathaway - Lie To Me

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Lalah Hathaway - Lie To Me

3rd Wave: The Word of God

How do we trust again after infidelity?

All the various views on Adultery

The Bahai Perspective on this topic.

Closing Comments: freestyle

For more information on the Bahai Faith, visit www.bahai.usor call 1-800-22-UNITE to receive information. If you would like to become a Bahai, comment on the blog and I will personally answer your questions.

Tyree addressing the City Hall about the Ward Reapportionment Process!!!

11/06/2011 01:42:00

I went to city hall and shared my views.

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Tyree Byndom Addresses the Columbia City Council

https://www.facebook.com/groups/douglasspark/ www.koppa2gold.com Check him out every Saturday from 2-6pm at www.kopn.org or on the radio at 89.5 FM. www.facebook.com/tyreebyndom koppa2gol...

RIP Tevin Nelson - aka Slunk "Dey dont call me slunknasty fa nuthn"

11/01/2011 01:31:00

So right now I am just absorbing that a young man that I talk to a least every few weeks, just passed on to the next world, Tevin Nelson.

Please feel free to call (573) 443-8255 on Lokal Vokalz 89.5 FM, on the radio this Saturday from 2-4pm and share your last respects. I will also do a moment of silence for him at 3pm.

He was a kind soul, a person who was trying to live a good life, and he had a good heart. His smile was genuine, and his demeanor was slunknasty. He was dedicated to family and focused on his legacy.

That his life was taken at a young age, is a tragedy, but also I am aware that this young man was special, and was probably ripe for the next world, since he exhibited a maturity of an old soul.

I dont know his whole family, but I know Avery Nelson. I offer prayers for them all, and while I am aware that any of us would want to extract vengeance and retribution, please know that it will continue and will not bring him back. Justice will be served. Trust in God.

We MUST, as a people, realize that we are not our own enemy, and start some healing that is long overdue. I have been working alot of connections and doing efforts to change our environment, but it is something that we all must do as a collective body.

On Tuesday, November 7th, 2011 at 7pm at Centro Latino, the Douglass Park Neighborhood Association will be having a meeting to discuss some changes that are needed in the community, in the policies, and in our city. We will assist the neighborhoods who have none, and aid you to create your own, so that this tool can be used, and that we may avert the useless loss of additional lives of our youth and community members.

This prayer is for this young man, that was a special person and a unique individual.

O my God! O Thou forgiver of sins, bestower of gifts, dispeller of afflictions!

Verily, I beseech thee to forgive the sins of such as have abandoned the physical garment and have ascended to the spiritual world.

O my Lord! Purify them from trespasses, dispel their sorrows, and change their darkness into light. Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy splendors on the loftiest mount.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

When you find out about his service please let me know and I will share it here.

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DRS - Gangsta Lean

Kore Issues Talk Show - BIHE: Education Under Fire

10/01/2011 02:47:00

Hello Loved Ones,

I was so busy this week that I did not get a chance to enter a full, deep, eloquent blog for this topic.

I will say that the show will still be very rich and meaningful.

The world is going through growing pains, because the stage that we are in, is so glorious on the other side and the people are growing restless to achieve their birthright, which is a united humanity. The rotten to the core leaders and ecclesiastics benefit from the people being disenfranchised and distant from the process of community betterment. It is hard to be in that position with all of the corruption forcing their very morality to be tested in every way, daily.

Some nations totally lose their focus and forget why they even existed.

Iran is one such country.

This blog is in support of the members of the Bahai Faith in Iran.

What is BIHE?

The Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was founded in 1987 in response to the Iranian government's continuing campaign to deny Iranian Bahá'ís access to higher education. As its graduates excel in post graduate studies internationally, the BIHE's commitment to high academic standards, international collaboration, and an innovative teaching-learning environment is increasingly recognized. The BIHE offers 32 university-level programs across 5 faculties and continues to develop and deliver academic programs in Sciences, Engineering, Business & Management, Humanities, and Social Sciences.Faced with unrelenting religious persecution involving a wide range of human rights violations, including systematic denial of access to higher education, BIHE developed several unique features which have become its defining strengths. Courses delivered at the outset by correspondence for security reasons are now provided on-line, using leading-edge communication technologies. In addition, an affiliated global faculty has been established comprised of hundreds of accredited professors from universities outside Iran who assist BIHE as researchers, teachers and consultants.

The need to create a new university for those who were denied access to higher education captivated the talents and minds of exceptional faculty and staff from within Iran. For twenty years they have dedicated their efforts to building an exemplary institution and cultivating a student body prepared for fulfilling careers, future study, and social responsibility. BIHE provides its students with the necessary knowledge and skills to not only persevere and succeed in their academic and professional pursuits, but to be active agents of change for the betterment of the world.

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Guilty As Charged!

If education is a crime, then I'm guilty as charged This is a video made by a group of Baha'i youth in response to what is happening in Iran. Baha'is in Iran are barred from studying and teaching in ...

Please go to the Facebook page and look at all of the links in order to familiarize yourself with this topic if it interest you.

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=226854524036382

Read the story below and tell me what you would feel if it was you.

Shohreh's story: How Iran violated a top student's rights

GENEVA, 28 September 2011 (BWNS) – Like many young people the world over, Shohreh Rowhani grew up with high hopes of a good university education.

But now she has run up against a system which – while promising opportunity on the surface – is cruelly designed to block her and other young Iranians from ever getting a degree.

Ms. Rowhani is a Baha'i, and her experience is made all the more unjust by the fact that she is among Iran's most gifted students; she ranked 151 in the country after passing the national university exam in her chosen field of languages. In other words, her result put her among the top 1% of candidates who took the exam.

Buoyed by her impressive grades, Ms. Rowhani – who comes from the northern Iranian city of Nowshahr – began the online process of selecting her courses. But when the results of those applications were listed, she discovered that her submission had been rejected as an "incomplete file."

It is a phrase well known to young Baha'is. For several years now, the term has appeared frequently as one among several ruses crafted to prevent them from actually matriculating even if they pass the national university exams.

Undeterred, Ms. Rowhani courageously went to the regional office that oversees the examination process and asked officials to explain what was wrong.

"They told me that this has happened because you are a Baha'i," she reported in a letter recently sent to several human rights organizations.

"Since you are a Baha'i you do not have the right to enter university," she was told.

She decided to take her case to the next level, managing to get a meeting with the head of the admissions department.

When confronted, this official simply "expressed his regret for this matter and told me that there is nothing he can do," said Ms. Rowhani. "He said there is no way out of this and even if you enter university you would be expelled after three or four terms."

She asked him if the results would have been different if she had said she was a Muslim.

"He said it makes no difference, as they know you," she wrote. "'The ministry of intelligence has identified your family and all of the Baha'is already.'"

"They told me that I will not get any result, no matter who I might refer to," she said.

The experience of Shohreh Rowhani is also a familiar story for thousands of Baha'is in Iran who are barred from higher education on religious grounds.

Even for the fortunate ones who might be offered a place, expulsion often follows during the course of their studies. In recent months, two students at the Isfahan University of Technology were prevented from registering for the next term, also for having "incomplete documents;" a Baha'i studying English literature was thrown out of the University of Kerman; a biomedical engineering student at the University of Sahand was dismissed; and a physics student at the University of Mazandaran was expelled after completing eight semesters on the honor roll and gaining admission to a Master's program.

Three decades of exclusion
All kinds of methods have been used by Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to prevent Baha'is from attending university – firstly, by expelling them all, and then, imposing an outright ban on their accessing higher education.
In response to international condemnation, the Iranian government changed the rules in 2003, declaring that Baha'is could now take the examination. But when nearly a thousand Baha'is moved ahead in good faith, they encountered new barriers.

At first, exams were returned with "Islam" written in the religious affiliation slot – something unacceptable to Baha'is, who are taught by their faith to tell the truth at all times, especially about their religious beliefs.

So the government indicated that the word "Islam" referred only to the particular sub-test on religion that each applicant is required to take, allowing Baha'is in good conscience to apply for higher schooling. Then, in the mid-2000s, a number of Baha'is successfully entered various universities around the country – only to find that they were then often expelled soon after matriculation.

In March 2007, for example, the Reuters news agency reported that some 70 Baha'i students had been expelled that academic year from universities in Iran. In that report, an anonymous spokesperson for the Iranian Mission to the United Nations was quoted as saying in reply: "No one in Iran because of their religion has been expelled from studying."

After another international outcry, Iran changed tactics again. Baha'is who took the exam began to find their results were simply being withheld. When they went to the national website to find out their scores, many received the message that they had "incomplete files" – leaving them in a bureaucratic limbo.

"Unjust and oppressive practices"

In an open letter sent last month to Iran's minister for higher education, the Baha'i International Community called for an end to the "unjust and oppressive practices" that bar Baha'is and other young Iranians from university.

The letter also addressed the government's crackdown on the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), an informal community initiative run by Baha'is to educate their youth who are barred from university. In May, government agents raided the homes of more than 30 individuals associated with the BIHE and arrested 14 of them. Seven educators have this week appeared in court. Dozens more, including students, have been called in for interrogation – all in an effort to close the project down.

"Such actions, as you know, have been conducted as a matter of official government policy and as part of a systematic campaign to eliminate the Baha'i community as a viable entity in your country," said the open letter, addressed to Kamran Daneshjoo, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology. Read the open letter here: <http://news.bahai.org/story/848>

For Shohreh Rowhani and her co-religionists, the fight for their right to education continues.

In her letter to human rights organizations she has expressed her desire that everyone should "know how senselessly my rights have been violated."

To read the article online and access links, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/853

For the Baha'i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/

________________________________________________

Copyright 2011 by the Baha'i World News Service. Stories and photographs produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freely reprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization as long as they are attributed to the Baha'i World News Service. For more information, go to http://news.bahai.org/terms-of-use/

BONUS: I create this song for the Roma, but also created it for the Bahai's in Iran and Egypt! We see what happened to Egypt. Iran is next.

Egyptian Moon

Paladon f/ El Morro

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Kore Issues Talk Show - Night Owls: The Importance of Sleep.

09/24/2011 10:28:00

Hello Loved Ones,

It is so ironic that I am up at 2am, starting this research after a very long, productive and truly beautiful week. Oh, I had my share of trauma and trials, but I am sure that they were exactly what the angel ordered for my growth. How about you? Leave a comment on your week and on this blog.

I wrote in one of my songs "I done lived off 4 hours sleep for the past 20 years"...

It is so true. I never liked going to sleep as a baby, and a youth, and now as an adult, I still dont go to sleep early. I think that I am a night owl that has learned how to work a 9 to 5, and just deal with it. When I worked 3rd shift, once upon a time, it was some of my most productive times as a human being.

What prompted this show at this time in the world, you ask?

Well, I have noticed that when I dont get enough sleep, I get real grumpy. If I didn't see any affects, I might not be doing this research now, but since it has garnered my awareness, it is imperative that I learn more about it and ultimately, make a decision and change my behavior for the better.

How many hours a night do you sleep? Click on this link to Email me your answer and I will share it on the air.

1st Wave: Facts and Statistics

Statistics:

According to National Sleep Foundation polls dating back to 1999, over 1/2 of America’s adults experience one or more symptom of insomnia at least a few nights a week.

In 2005, the following percentages of adults reported having the following symptoms this often: 38% woke up feeling unrefreshed; 32% wake often during the night; and 21% of the population reports waking too early, not being able to get back to sleep and difficulty falling asleep.

Of this last group, almost 1⁄4 state that it takes them at least 30 minutes to fall asleep. These people are likely to be women (28% vs. 16%) and not to have a bed partner (27% vs. 19%).

People who drink >4 caffeinated beverages a day are more likely to have difficulty falling asleep and wake unrefreshed. Those who are obese are more likely to have a symptom of insomnia. Adults who have daytime sleepiness at least 3 times a week are experiencing a symptom of insomnia (86%) compared to those who rarely or never have such symptoms (31%).

This is also true for those who say sleepiness has a strong impact on their daily activities (83%) versus those who experience very little impact (44%). More people who take >2 naps a day report symptoms of insomnia (62%) compared to those who do not take a nap (48%).

Definitions:

Sleep:

sleep [sleep] verb, slept, sleep·ing, nounverb (used without object)

1. to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodilyfunctions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, ofconsciousness; cease being awake.
2. Botany . to assume, especially at night, a state similar tothe sleep of animals, marked by closing of petals, leaves,etc.
3. to be dormant, quiescent, or inactive, as faculties.
4. to be careless or unalert; allow one's alertness, vigilance,or attentiveness to lie dormant: While England slept,Germany prepared for war.
5. to lie in death: They are sleeping in their tombs.

What happens when we sleep? (this is the different stages and what happens when we are sleeping)

How much sleep do we need at the various stages of the human life?

What substances alter your sleep?

2nd Wave: Personal Experience

When someone can't sleep, when can you consider it a sleep disorder?

Consequences of lost sleep:

According to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research (1998) and reports from the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA)(2002), high-profile accidents can partly be attributed to people suffering from a severe lack of sleep.Each year the cost of sleep disorders, sleep deprivation and sleepiness, according to the NCSDR, is estimated to be $15.9 million in direct costs and $50 to $100 billion a year in indirect and related costs. And according to the NHSA, falling asleep while driving is responsible for at least 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths each year in the United States. Young people in their teens and twenties, who are particularly susceptible to the effects of chronic sleep loss, are involved in more than half of the fall-asleep crashes on the nation's highways each year. Sleep loss also interferes with the learning of young people in our nation's schools, with 60 percent of grade school and high school children reporting that they are tired during the daytime and 15 percent of them admitting to falling asleep in class.

Quotes about sleeping:

Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation. ~Author Unknown

There is no hope for a civilization which starts each day to the sound of an alarm clock. ~Author Unknown

Don't fight with the pillow, but lay down your head

And kick every worriment out of the bed.

~Edmund Vance Cooke

All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: but each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own. ~Plutarch

Fatigue is the best pillow. ~Benjamin Franklin

Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds. ~JoJo Jensen, Dirt Farmer Wisdom, 2002

When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep, and you're never really awake. ~From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke

Spoken Word of the Week:

Song of the week: Wiz Khalifa "No Sleep" I have the clean and dirty version. The dirty is first. ;)

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Wiz Khalifa - No Sleep [Music Video]

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No Sleep- Wiz Khalifa (Clean Version)

3rd Wave: The Word of God: Bahai Perspective

Prayer - evening

Prayer - morning

What happens when we sleep?

In the time of sleep this body is as though dead; it does not see nor hear; it does not feel; it has no consciousness, no perception – that is to say, the powers of man have become inactive, but the spirit lives and subsists. Nay, its penetration is increased, its flight is higher, and its intelligence is greater. To consider that after the death of the body the spirit perishes is like imagining that a bird in a cage will be destroyed if the cage is broken, though the bird has nothing to fear from the destruction of the cage. Our body is like the cage, and the spirit is like the bird. We see that without the cage the bird flies in the world of sleep; therefore if the cage becomes broken, the bird will continue and exist. Its feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater, and its happiness increased. In truth, from hell it reaches a paradise of delights because for the thankful birds there is no paradise greater than freedom from the cage. ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions

What is the religious use of sleep? I will freestyle this part.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE ENLIGHTENED SOUL

As to the seven qualifications (of the divinely enlightened soul) of which thou hast asked an explanation, it is as follows:

KNOWLEDGE. Man must attain the knowledge of God.

FAITH.

STEADFASTNESS.

TRUTHFULNESS. Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues of the world of humanity. Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds of God are impossible for a soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also become realized.

UPRIGHTNESS. And this is one of the greatest divine attainments.

FIDELITY. This is also a beautiful trait of the heavenly man.

EVANESCENCE or Humility. That is to say, man must become evanescent in God. Must forget his own selfish conditions that he may thus arise to the station of sacrifice. It should be to such a degree that if he sleep, it should not be for pleasure, but to rest the body in order to do better, to speak better, to explain more beautifully, to serve the servants of God and to prove the truths. When he remains awake, he should seek to be attentive, serve the Cause of God and sacrifice his own stations for those of God. When he attains to this station, the confirmations of the Holy Spirit will surely reach him, and man with this power can withstand all who inhabit the earth.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 383)

What is the perfect use of sleep? Here is an example.

What purpose is exalted that we should not worry about sleep?

This is also powerful!

For more information on the Bahai Faith call 1-800-22-UNITE.

Bonus: Humanity's Ordeal: Are we all asleep? You judge.

Kore Issues - Purely Personal Pt 1: Sensitive

09/17/2011 17:08:00

Hello Loved Ones,

Most people that look at my life, think that I have it all. A great marriage, wonderful kids, a strong united family, a good job, community recognition, radio shows, a record label, talent, spirituality, and more. They could be right. But if the people that are in your life, dont feel the same happiness or joy, in their lives, and you are the cause of this feeling at times, it causes one to reflect and really see what is real.

I have many different hats that I wear and sometimes they blend together. I am pretty good at not taking work home, and home to work, but sometimes you just can't help it. Sometimes you have to stuff it in. Sometimes it spills out, onto the people that you love the most.

This series is purely personal to me, and will be a sort of counseling session with myself.

Most of the time, I talk to my audience, and my future legacy, about the challenges they would face. This time, I am talking to myself as a 40 year old man, processing what habits I learned at 20 years old, and charting a path so that when we are 60 years old, our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, can be that much richer.

Everyone can conquer themselves, but we lose this battle alot. We choose to lose this battle.

I am called the Paladon because I choose to not embrace entropy, to not become lethargic, and to not give up on a spirit-filled life.

This week, 4 people that I love told me that I was to blunt, that I was not tactful, that I was not considering other people's feelings, that I was not sensitive. They all shared this with me independent of each other. For all I know, maybe they DID talk, and team up on me, but if that is the case, then I must really be bad.

I am a typical guy. I am in charge of mostly everything in my sphere of influence. I am a HR Manager, CEO, LSA Member, Radio Talk Show Host, DJ, and Father, so I am use to sharing my opinions, and most of the time sharing it freely, or being BLUNT. I try not to be rude, or mean, or vindictive, but I try just as hard to be witty with my comments. This is where I get in trouble.

I need to be more sensitive to others. I need to be more tactful. I could just tell them to deal with me as I am, but I could possibly be alone in the future, because no one wants to deal with me, as I am. Also since this is the greatest test right now, this is the one that I will tackle.

1st Wave: Facts and Statistics

Definition: Sensitive

Urban Dictionary: Sensitive

2nd Wave: Personal Experience

What ways can I be more sensitive to my:

Mother

Wive

Friends

Employee's

Children

Song of the Week: Ralph Tresvant "Sensitivity"

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Ralph Tresvant - "Sensitivity"

If you have any requests, just send me a message! Ralph Tresvant - "Sensitivity" Album: Ralph Tresvant Released: 1991

3rd Wave: The Word of God

Diplomacy:

Courtesy:

Tact:

Closing Statements:

Next Weeks Show: Purely Personal Pt 2: The Importance of Sleep