This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
- His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Prologue

The Panchen Lama, meaning “Great Scholar,” is the highest-ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The sect controlled western Tibet from the 16th century until the establishment of Chinese sovereignty in 1951.

The successive Panchen lamas form a reincarnation lineage, and they are believed to be the incarnations of Amitabha Buddha.

The Panchen Lama bears part of the responsibility of identifying the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama and vice versa, a fact that appears crucially important to the Chinese government when it comes to establishing their territorial claim on Tibet.

On May 14, 1995, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama identified a six-year-old boy by the name of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama, but only three days later the boy and his parents were taken into Chinese custody.

In November of the same year the Chinese had officially enthroned six-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu, the son of two communist party members, as the 11th Panchen Lama.

The Panchen Lama Controversy

My research on the Panchen Lama controversy is, to a good part, based on Online resources, i.e. websites I find through search engines. The mere intention to write about the subject is pointing to a specific aspect of the troubled Tibetan-Chinese relationship, admittedly a crucial aspect for the futureof both countries. Writing about this particular aspect must include a presentation of the historical background, but it is important to emphasize that my intention was not to write a history book. My account on the rich Tibetan history can only be incomplete, but it is, nevertheless, sufficient to understand the controversy. In the same sense, I do not claim to have new and unique insights on the Tibetan problem. My research on the topic is, in all consequence, a data collection focussed on a single issue and put into one work.

While my sympathies are primarily with the Tibetan people and not with the Chinese government, I have tried to present the facts as objective as possible. However, I do take the liberty of referring to the 14th Dalai Lama as “His Holiness.” The Dalai Lama’s path during this lifetime and his next incarnation are inextricably linked to that of the Panchen Lama.

To read more log on to The Punchen Lama Controversy.

His Holiness was concerned that the Chinese government plans to seize control of his reincarnationand assign the 15^th Dalai Lama by breaking with the traditional selection process.

Such an interference with the Tibetan religious system is not unheard of, as the Chinese had officially enthroned a boy named Gyaltsen Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader of Tibet, in November of 1995.

Earlier in the year, on May 14, His Holiness had identified a six-year-old boy by the name of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th incarnation of the Punchen Lama, but only three days later the boy and his parents were taken into Chinese custody.

As of today, there are no records of the boy or his parents.

In The News: Dalai Lama Celebrates 75th Birthday

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama celebrated his 75th birthday today with hundreds of cheering followers in Dharmsala, northern India, which has been his home since he fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Looking at posters depicting his life as a child, a young man and aspiritual leader, the man who has come to symbolise Tibet’s struggle against China said: “I remember my past and I feel that I haven’t wasted these years.”

In neighboring Nepal, police detained at least 22 Tibetan exiles on their way to a celebration for the Dalai Lama, according to an Associated Press reporter who was at the police station in Katmandu.

Read more…

The 14th Dalai Lama – A Brief Biography

Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, usually shortened to Tenzin Gyatso was born as Lhamo Thondup on July 6,  1935. He is the 14th Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader revered among the people of Tibet. He is the head of the government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors.

Read more…

The Last Dalai Lama – Reincarnation

By the Himalayan tradition, phowa (Tibetan) is the discipline that transfers the mindstream to the intended body. Upon the death of the Dalai Lama and consultation with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama’s reincarnation, or yangsi (yang srid), is conducted. Traditionally, it has been the responsibility of the High Lamas of the Gelugpa Tradition and the Tibetan government to find hisreincarnation. The process can take around two or three years to identify the Dalai Lama, and for the 14th, Tenzin Gyatso, it was four years before he was found.

Read more…

The Panchen Lama Controversy

The present (11th) incarnation of the Panchen Lama, who will select the next Dalai Lama, is a matter of controversy. The People’s Republic of China asserts it is Gyaltsen Norbu, while the current Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyimaon May 14, 1995. The latter vanished from public eye shortly after being named. Chinese authorities state that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has been taken into protective custody, but there is no information regarding from what, or from whom, he must be protected, where he is being held, or under what conditions.

Read more…

His Holiness The Dalai Lama – Literature

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935 to a peasant family in northeastern Tibet and was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The world’s foremost Buddhist leader, he travels extensively, speaking eloquently in favor of ecumenical understanding, kindness and compassion, respect for the environment, and, above all, world peace. His Holiness has written and co-authored a great number of books of which a few are listed in this post.

Read more…

Literature On Tibet – 50 Years Of Struggle, Resilience And Hope

Freeing Tibet is the story of a culture that has been struggling to survive for half a century… FreeingTibet is not the chronicle of a hopeless cause—au contraire. It tells how an engaged global community could liberate the Tibetans.

Read more…

Are Eastern Religions More Science-Friendly?

by Philip Goldberg
HuffingtonPost.Com – July 5, 2010

Religion comes into conflict with science when it is defined by unprovable claims that can be dismissed as superstitions, and when it treats as historical facts stories that read like legends and myths to non-believers. Other aspects of religion — what I would consider the deeper and more significant elements — are not only compatible with science but enrich its findings. The best evidence of this is science’s response to the religions of the East over the course of the last 200 years. As the French Nobel laureate Romain Rolland said early in the 20th century, “Religious faith in the case of the Hindus has never been allowed to run counter to scientific laws.” The same can be said for Buddhism, which derives from the same Vedic roots.

Read more…

In Search Of The Real Panchen Lama

The Chinese Communist Party resolved to do whatever it took to ensure that it would appoint, train and control the lamas who they saw as the key to political control of Tibetans. It proclaimed that the Dalai Lama-endorsed Panchen Lama was “illegal” and Xinhua news agency denounced the six-year-old boy for having “once drowned a dog”.

For most Chinese citizens, the Communist Party offers broad religious freedom, a process of law and at least an effort to win their hearts and minds. But it is different inside the frontier regions of westernChina.

Read more…

For a short time after the release of my first novel The Bleeding Hills I felt like living in a mental vacuum. The work on the novel and researching the background information was intense, and that intensity vanished the day we submitted the finished work for distribution. It is said that the actual work comes when promoting your novel, and I engaged into a number of marketing activities, some of them not as effective as others. Nevertheless, I learned a lot about the market, for instance, by reading printed as well as online publications.

The idea for American Male Prostitute came after reading my favorite, most useless magazine, Writer’s Digest. Well, it is not totally useless, since it provided me with enough information to learn about the bizarre world of book publishing. Just the other day, I found yet another advertisement that made my blood broil, and I was ready to get my hands on that computer keyboard and add a flaming entry to my blog. Maybe, I thought, I’ll make this a series and share my experiences with every new, aspiring author.

To put it in a nut-shell, today’s publishing world is a shark tank. There is a great number of sharks out there, circling the waters, prying on the vast number of wannabe-authors who will never have a chance to sell their work, but are nevertheless naive enough to spend their money with useless services. It is a shame that a magazine such as Writer’s Digest is in the business to support these dubious businesses.

Through my research I found that the market for nonfiction on writing and publishing is cluttered ad nauseam. The majority of these works are – excuse my French – full of crap. Then I remembered the saying “Don’t anger me or I will write a novel about you”, and that is what I am currently doing. There is no better weapon than writing a novel about the industry. They deserve it.

Originally, I had in mind to publish American Male Prostitute as a regular paperback version, but during time I found that I was quite successful with promoting my personal website, FrogenYozurt.Com. I created FrogenYozurt initially to promote my first novel, The Bleeding Hills, but as it turned out, I had way too much fun writing about pretty much everything that interested me. According to my web statistics FrogenYozurt experiences continuously increasing web traffic, and that little fact encouraged me to go with a not-entirely-new idea of book promotion.

Since I am having so much fun and success with maintaining my blog, why not post the progress on my newest novel on the world wide web? The best promotion for your first novel is the release of your second, and I didn’t have the patience to wait that long. Promoting and selling your first novel is by far the toughest task in the business world, and the profit per sold book is ridiculous, not mentioning the virtually non-existing return of investment. Promoting my writing using an aggressive, yet very inexpensive method, and on top having so much fun doing it, seemed to be the logical consequence.

You can see the result at http://www.AmericanMaleProstitute.com, meaning you can read the novel free of charge. Please be aware that this is a work in progress. Instead of adding to and modifying my novel in Microsoft Word I will continue writing through WordPress – the technology behind the website. In addition I hope to receive feedback from other writers, wannabe-writers, or just regular readers. I am looking forward to a lively discussion with my readers.

Screen Shot torrent2crazy.com

Here we go again, yet another website that offers copyrighted material for free. According to torrent2crazy.com my book “A Comprehensible Guide to Controller Area Network” has already been illegally downloaded more than 27,000 times (Click on picture to the left to enlarge)! If that number is correct, it translates into a sales loss of roughly $220,000! I immediately send them a request to remove copyrighted material; they made the conditions for removal very clear, but at least they promise to comply to US law. They also recommend to involve legal counsel to send the request.

However, they ask you to “Note that emailing your complaint to other parties such as our Internet Service Provider will not expedite your request and may result in a delayed response due the complaint not properly being filed.”

After sending the request for removal I found the following:

8 Important Torrent2Crazy Facts!
1. Torrent2Crazy does not host .torrent files in any way, shape or form.
2. Torrent2Crazy links to other independent web pages that do host .torrent files. We have absolutely no control over those pages.
3. Torrent files are simply metadata and cannot be copyrighted, and we don’t host any, nor link directly to any.
4. Torrent2Crazy is similar to Google. Google might sometimes link directly to a .torrent file, we do not.
5. Torrent2Crazy will gladly ban any search queries that may contain links to sites with copyrighted content.
6. Torrent2Crazy respects reasonable copyrights.
7. Torrent2Crazy has a spotless relationship with copyright owners.
8. Torrent2Crazy loves you.

Especially items 1. and 2. got my attention, and the claim is true. The largest illegal distributor of my books is a website, downloadaccess.net, that charges for membership, but not for the actual content. This is apparently an overseas operation, because on their contact form they write: “DOWNLOADACCESS.NET does not comply with the DMCA or any other American laws.”

The full message is:
“If you’re contacting us regarding a takedown notice, please keep in mind that DOWNLOADACCESS.NET does not comply with the DMCA or any other American laws. If you send us a kind mail, you will get a kind response. If you are rude, you will get a rude response. If you send us a DMCA notice or threat us with any American penalties, you will not get any response.”

Screen Shot DownloadAccess.Net - Click to enlarge

Well, I did send a very polite request, explaining I was the author of the book and that I was losing a good amount of money. I can only hope they comply with my request. Since they make it clear that US law does not apply to them, I am at their mercy.

Supplement

I just received an e-mail from DownloadAcess.Net stating: “We don’t host any files or link to any files. It’s not possible to download your copyrighted material by joining our website. All search results are generated from scratch, you get search results for any keyword, fake or not.”

So, the question now is, who is actually offering the downloads they are offering…? If you have any background information, or any similar experiences, please feel free to post a comment at the bottom of this post.

How I shamelessly promoted my novel with sex, lies, and deceit.

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

Available in all good bookstores and Online by September 2010.

Stuart Martin Berry has only three months left to find a publisher for his first novel. In a desperate attempt to reach his goal he leaves his home to live in New York. His wife has given him free reins to do whatever it takes to get a book deal. Her only request was not to give her any details on how he got there. If he fails he will be forced to give up his dream of being a famous writer and take a regular forty hour a week job. For Stuart this is sufficient motivation to start a three month adventure full of sex, lies, and deceit, without losing focus of the ultimate goal. When he finally reaches the finish line, he has evolved and become a top expert in the publishing world.

The idea for American Male Prostitute came after reading my favorite, most useless magazine, Writer’s Digest. Well, it is not totally useless, since it provided me with enough information to learn about the bizarre world of book publishing. Just the other day, I found yet another advertisement that made my blood broil, and I was ready to get my hands on that computer keyboard and add a flaming entry to my blog. Maybe, I thought, I’ll make this a series and share my experiences with every new, aspiring author.

To put it in a nut-shell, today’s publishing world is a shark tank. There is a great number of sharks out there, circling the waters, prying on the vast number of wannabe-authors who will never have a chance to sell their work, but are nevertheless naive enough to spend their money with useless services. It is a shame that a magazine such as Writer’s Digest is in the business to support these dubious businesses.

Through my research I found that the market for nonfiction on writing and publishing is cluttered ad nauseam. The majority of these works are – excuse my French – full of crap. Then I remembered the saying “Don’t anger me or I will write a novel about you”, and that is what I am currently doing. There is no better weapon than writing a novel about the industry. They deserve it.

Excerpt (Unedited version)

My name is Stuart Martin Berry, and until last week I was an editor for one of the largest magazines dedicated to the dreamworld of writers and poets. Like many of my ex-colleagues, I am also a failed novelist. My first and so far last novel never made it into publication. That was almost two years ago, and, with my pregnant wife pressing me to get a job that actually created an income, I considered my writing career as being over and done with.

For a short while after my failure, literary agents, snobby bastards that they are, treated me like I was the carrier of a deadly disease. But they started kissing up to me as soon as I got my job as editor for the above mentioned magazine. Until then, during an intense three month period of shamelessly promoting my book, I had learned my lesson on effective bull-shitting. Suddenly, if you believe my job description, I was not a failed novelist, but an accomplished author, who had decided to share his knowledge with the aspiring writer, to provide advice and inspiration. These days you see my photo in various publications, printed or Online, identifying me as a top expert on all aspects of fiction writing. My job included, among many other things, writing about writing without being allowed to actually write something substantial like, let’s say, a novel.

Another essential part of my work as an editor was to maintain a dreamworld for the tens of thousands of wannabe-writers who made the mistake to subscribe to our magazine or the even more useless Online forum. You see, a writers’ magazine cannot exist without the vast number of illusional writers who will never have the slightest chance of ever being published. In order to have your book published you need to be good and, as I was told from day one, the vast majority of our subscribers weren’t. I was also directed to keep the information in my articles at a fairly superficial level, and for God’s sake not to write anything that might interfere with the business of the sharks who paid good money for advertisement in our magazine. That wasn’t difficult for me. As I said, bull-shitting was one of my acquired talents.

Well, the bull-shitting time is finally over, and, honestly, I hated every single day. Deep in my soul I am an honest guy. Unfortunately, honesty doesn’t pay the bills.

Fortunately, though, about four weeks ago, my wife Sophie had accepted a job offer for a $150,000 annual salary plus benefits, and I had offered to be a stay-at-home Dad. Our daughter Magda is now almost two years old, and my wife was itching to get back to her former job as the manager of the Human Resources department of a major insurance company based in Washington, D.C.

I have not yet decided what I will do during the copious spare time between play-group-mornings and afternoon walks in the park. Llysha, another aspiring author and good friend of mine, had jokingly suggested to start our own publishing business, and she touted BBS, Inc. as the business name. BBS stands for “Baffle me with your Bull-Shit”, and, believe me, the name alone was a guarantee for success in the publishing industry.

To stay with the truth, I am done with writing. I am with Groucho Marx who once said, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” Nevertheless, I am burning to take a final hit at the system. It deserves it.

While we’re at it, my name is not Stuart Martin Berry, and events and names have been changed to protect my family, especially my wife. I will tell you about the weirdest three months of my life, during which I tried to find a publisher for my book. My wife had given me totally free reins to do whatever it would take to get a book deal. Her only request was not to share any details of how I got there.

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

The Bleeding Hills, my first novel, is divided into three time lines; they keep the reader glued to the story by providing some surprising twists and turns. The first time line describes the life of Finnean Whelan and his first contact with the Irish Republican Army in the late 1960s. The second line is set in the presence and it portrays Whelan’s journey to Northern Ireland where he intends to accomplish his final plot. The third time line is dedicated to the activities of British Intelligence Services, namely the MI5, attempting to apprehend Whelan and his co-conspirator, Martin Sheehan. All time lines come together in the end and they make for some intriguing twists.

During the writing I have tried to weave real events of recent Irish history, namely the Irish Troubles, into the life story of Finnean Whelan. They are, just to name a few examples, the events of Bloody Sunday, and the murder of Captain Robert Nairac, an officer with the British Army. The historical facts have been thoroughly investigated, but I also took some liberties for interpretation; these interpretations are, nevertheless, based on meticulous research. One theory, for instance, is that Captain Robert Nairac was the victim of child abuse at Ampleforth College in England, which, consequently, caused Nairac’s violent behavior during the Irish Troubles.

Another interesting theory is based on the claim that British Intelligence Services, even to the present day, are instrumental in a plot to disrupt the peace process in Northern Ireland. Whether or not these claims are true is of no consequence; I hope that reading The Bleeding Hills is not only entertaining, but that it also effectively tickles the reader’s mind to learn more about recent Irish history.

For more information see my blog at FrogenYozurt.com.

Blog History

The Boys of Barr Na Sraide

I first heard the song The Boys of Barr Na Sraide in Ireland on the small isle of Inishbofin off the coast of Galway. My wife’s grandmother was born here and she immigrated to the United States in the early 1920s. We had visitied Paddy Joe and Regina King, some distant cousins of my wife’s. Their son, Peadar (the Irish version of Peter), had shown me a CD by Colm O’Donnell, Farewell to Evening Dances, which he was very fond of and I share that feeling now. The title of Colm O’Donnell’s CD is taken from the song The Hill of Knacknashee, another sentimental and lyrical ballad on the CD. I shamelessly copied the idea and took a line out of The Boys of Barr Na Sraide, the line that goes “And when the hills were bleeding and rifles were aflame…”, to use it as the title for my book “The Bleeding Hills“.
Read the blog entry.

March 7, 2009 – Terror Returns to Northern Ireland

Isn’t it ironic – The storyline of my novel-in-the-making “The Bleeding Hills” invokes the possibility of a plot to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland, an idea that could have been viewed as somewhat preposterous. Yesterday, March 7, 2009,  two British soldiers were killed and four others, among them two pizza delivery men, were wounded in what is the first major terrorist attack in the province for over a decade. The shootings occurred at the Massereene army base in Antrim, 16 miles north of Belfast, at 9.40pm. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but security sources said the incident was undoubtedly the work of dissident organisations opposed to the peace settlement. In my novel I refer to the so-called Real IRA as the force behind the assassination plot. The Real Irish Republican Army was founded in October 1997 by former members of the Provisional IRA, who were dissatisfied with the direction of the Irish peace process, especially the position of Sinn Fein.
Read the blog entry.

British Undercover Operations in Northern Ireland

Yet again the idea behind my book “The Bleeding Hills” has been strikingly confirmed by the the latest attack on British soldiers on March 7th. In my blog entry – and my book – I refer specifically to the operations of the so-called Real IRA and, ironically, the RIRA has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, one comment in the first report of the attacks caught my attention, since my book also addresses British undercover operations in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland’s chief constable, Sir Hugh Orde, had confirmed that undercover British army troops were on paramilitary surveillance duties in Northern Ireland. In my mind I had started another blog entry, complaining that British officials are inexplicably unable to learn from past mistakes, but I have been pre-empted (if I may say so) by somebody more competent to talk about such affairs.
Read the blog entry.

Eerie Coincidence

Yes, the storyline of my book “The Bleeding Hills” is being repeated by reality. Well, just a little bit… It seems that the idea behind my storyline is compliant with the reality in Northern Ireland.
Read the blog entry.

Bloody Sunday – January 30, 1972

I have often criticized the lack of good literature explaining the events of Bloody Sunday untainted and comprehensible. I have been faced with the same dilemma, now that I am in the middle of writing chapter four of my novel “The Bleeding Hills“, where Bloody Sunday takes center stage. For the record, I am not looking down on those who were present at Bloody Sunday and wrote a book about it. An atrocity like this should be a part of a well recorded history, but I also believe that, in order to spark the interest of future generations, you need to start with the basics and these basics should, first of all, not be politically tainted; consequently they will lose credibility. In regards to comprehensiveness of recorded history, it does not help to confuse the newcomer to Irish history by frequently referring to Unionists, Republicans, Loyalists, MRF, SAS, MI5, MI6, Real IRA, Continuity IRA, RUC, Provisional IRA, INLA, NICRA, Saville, Widgery, MP, PM, etc., etc., without providing a comprehensible reference. The majority of books and web sites I found on the subject were written by experts for experts, having only their own indulgence in mind. What a waste of resources and what a waste to make it so difficult for our children to understand history!
Read the blog entry.

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry

The story line behind my novel “The Bleeding Hills” would not be complete without a look into the two inquiries of Bloody Sunday, the Widgery Report of 1972 and the official Bloody Sunday Inquiry initiated in 1998. The Widgery Tribual was held in the immediate aftermath of the events of Bloody Sunday; it was set up to look into the events. This was conducted by Lord Chief Justice Widgery. The report was widely criticized as a whitewash. Even though the judges of the official Bloody Sunday Inquiry retired on November 23, 2004, there has been no measurable result to this day. Statements regarding a possible publication of the Inquiry’s Report have been modified from year to year. The current statement on the Wikipedia web site is that the publication “was expected at the end of 2007, or possibly early 2008.” – Note: This blog entry was written on March 22, 2009.
Read the blog entry.

Robert Nairac – Hero, Butcher, Homosexual…?

During the research for my book “The Bleeding Hills” I stumbled upon the intriguing story of one charismatic character, British Captain Robert Nairac, an undercover agent active during the Irish troubles (For more references see the hyperlinks at the end of this article). While Irish republicans consider him a butcher, and the British Army calls him a war hero, they all share the view that “he was strange” – to use a mild expression. First of all, after studying various articles on the life and death of Robert Nairac, I have come to the conclusion that Nairac was driven by a death wish, a point that may not be disputed by many of those who knew him. My next conclusion may be, however, far more controversial. After applying a simple method of studying behavioral patterns and comparing it to recent as well as historical cases, I have come to the personal conclusion that Captain Robert Nairac was either gay and/or the victim of sexual abuse during his childhood.
Read the blog entry.

Robert Nairac – Supplement to previous entry

At this point I am satisfied with the view that my suspicion, that Nairac may have been gay and/or the victim of sexual abuse during childhood, is not without substance. I take the research for my novel seriously, and while I do have the liberty of “distorting the facts”, I wouldn’t want to include claims just based on a hunch. I found two more references referring to Nairac as being gay.
Read the blog entry.

A Writer’s Lament

Even though I felt sure that the research for my novel was meticulous, it leaves a bitter aftertaste when you hurt the feelings of somebody with something you wrote, and, naturally, doubt arises. As a result, I spent all of yesterday and this morning – starting at 5:30 am – with further research on the subject of Julian Ball and Robert Nairac. Without going into details – it doesn’t make sense to drag this matter on and on – I was relieved to find that my research was not flawed. Let me also state that my references to Julian Ball and Robert Nairac in my novel add only one small aspect to the Irish troubles as it takes place in my novel.
Read the blog entry.

Sigerson Clifford (1913 – 1985)

Sigerson Clifford was an Irish poet and playwright. I took a line from his poem The Boys of Barr Na Sraide, the line that goes ”And when the hills were bleeding and rifles were aflame…”, to use it as the title for my book “The Bleeding Hills”. The research for my also revealed that there is not a lot of information available that would describe the person Sigerson Clifford in more detail, and that is the reason I created a web site in the hope that people all over the world find it and possibly add more data.
Read the blog entry.

Sunday Bloody Sunday – Beyond U2

January 30th marks an anniversary in recent Irish history that most people living outside of Ireland and the Northern Provinces recognize only through a famous U2 song, Sunday Bloody Sunday. Unfortunately, the song is still misinterpreted as a “rebel song.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The band was aware of the controversial nature of Sunday Bloody Sunday, that its lyrics might be misinterpreted as sectarian, and possibly jeopardize their personal lives. Some of The Edge’s original lyrics explicitly spoke out against violent rebels, but were omitted in order to protect the group. The result is a song with virtually null relevance – other than its title – to the events of Bloody Sunday, and, in all consequence, U2should have taken the efforts to find a different title for an otherwise extraordinary anti-violence song.
Read the blog entry.

Ian Paisley Will Not Seek Re-Election

Former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley will not seek re-election in the forthcoming general election. The 83-year-old founder and ex-leader of the Democratic Unionist Party is to relinquish the North Antrim seat he first won in 1970. Mr Paisley announced his decision to stand down in his local constituency paper, the Ballymena Guardian. Famed for his firebrand oratory, Mr Paisley was a founding member of the Free Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1951. His evangelical theology heavily influenced his political views and throughout the Troubles he forthrightly denounced Catholicism and the papacy.
Read the blog entry.