Koinonos (Ancient Greek κοινωνός, consort, partner) was generally thought to mean "companion." However, this covers up its true meaning. It has been used extensively in ancient writing with a wide variety of meanings. Its original form is κοινωνός and was later translated to koinonos.
It can be read as "koy-no-nos," which can mean a partner (in marriage or business or a spiritualendeavor), noble friend, consort, or companion in faith as well. It is generally used with reference to "sharing" [1, 2].
The Apocryphon of John (the "Secret Book or Secret Revelation of John") is a 2nd-century SethianGnostic Christian pseudepigraphical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by Irenaeus in his Christian polemic Against Heresies, placing its composition before 180 AD. It tells of the appearance of Jesus and the imparting of secret knowledge (gnosis) to his disciple John. The author describes it as having occurred after anointed [DMT-awakened] Jesus Christ had "gone back to the place from which he came." More
(Inside Politics) What just happened in the House Judiciary Committee was a blistering, evidence-driven rebuke of Attorney General Pam Bondi — and Congressman Jésus "Chuy" García left no doubt why he called her “one of the worst AGs in our history.”
I brownnose the right asses to get ahead. Jealous?
In this video we break down García’s specific allegations:
selective prosecutions,
weaponized DOJ priorities,
a heavy-handed immigration enforcement shift, and
disturbing claims that federal agents and local victims in Chicago were mishandled — including cases involving ICE and CBP.
García also pressed Bondi on the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein Files and alleged cover-ups that protected powerful figures tied to the Trump administration. He cited reporting from the Wall Street Journal, showing even the President Tryno privately criticized Bondi as "weak." He named local cases — including allegations around Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, René Good, and Alex Peretti — and a chilling example of a Montessori teacher, Marimar Martinez, who was reportedly labeled a domestic terrorist. This is not a partisan rant — García’s critique is supported by court outcomes, career prosecutor resignations, and pushback from conservative judges. Watch the full breakdown to understand the scope of the allegations, the legal and political stakes, and what this hearing could mean for DOJ accountability going forward.
It was a contentious year, with many votes for Kenya Grace's "Strangers," which would have won had it not been for the fact that it came out earlier and only broke through later. LIVE / BBC
Artemas (musician): Artemas Diamandis (Greek Αρτέμας Διαμαντής [1]) was born Sept. 23, 1999, and is known mononymously as Artemas. He is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer.[2] He is best known for his singles "If U Think I'm Pretty" and the viral "I Like the Way You Kiss Me" [3]. He is signed to the record label 10K Projects. More
The British song doesn't work at normal pitch and has a horrible video
(The Daily Show) FIFA giving Trump a gold pacifier during his looming War on Venezuela for the CIA's drug sales and American industry's oil gives Jon Stewart Iraq deja vu.
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) Kennedy Center Honors (KCH) presenter DJ Trump, attacks "horrible" Jimmy Kimmel [who's never hosted the KCH], gets embarrassing fake award. Kimmel announces one-year show renewal
(SNL) Trump "wins" newly invented "FIFA Peace Prize for supporting wars, dictators, and extrajudicial murders of suspected fishermen by labeling them drug-runners; Democrats release Epstein Island photos
The first ever recorded kiss [discovered so far] happened 4,500 years ago, scientists suggest after discovering evidence that puts the event 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. A study published in the journal Science points to evidence of kissing in the ancient Middle East, in early Mesopotamian societies, documented in ancient texts from 2,500 BCE.
It's just a "Complicated Game"
XTC (Ecstasy), British band with a deep message in "Dear God"
Ah, romance, it will be the death of us, dragging out our time in samsara (the "Continued Wandering On" of death and rebirth, chasing pleasure first here then there always in search of fulfillment that cannot be found in things.)
(BBC via MSN) Humans do it, monkeys do it, even polar bears do it. And now researchers have reconstructed the evolutionary origins of kissing. Their study suggests that the mouth-on-mouth kiss evolved more than 21 million years ago, and was something that the common ancestor of humans and other great apes probably indulged in.
The same research concluded that Neanderthals may have kissed too – and that [modern] humans and Neanderthals may even have smooched one another. The scientists studied kissing because it presents something of an evolutionary puzzle -- it has no obvious survival or reproductive benefits. Yet, it is something that is seen not just in many human societies, but across the animal kingdom. More
(The Kim Iversen Show) Dare to bring a humanitarian flotilla to our land to embarrass us as we commit genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, atrocities, and ethnic cleansing? We'll teach you to make our ethnostate look bad in the eyes of the world media. Who is the madman Zionist Jew Itamar Ben-Gvir?
PALESTINE - Right wing Zionist Jew and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (Hebrew אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר, May 6, 1976) is a lawyer and Israeli politician who has served as minister since 2022, except for a two-month gap in early 2025.
He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power"), an Israeli far-right, Kahanist, and anti-Arab party that won six seats in the 2022 legislative election and is part of the 37th government of Israel.
Beni is a "settler" [illegal invader and occupier] in the illegally-occupied West Bank (of Palestine), whose "political background lies in Kahanism — a violently racist [Ashkenazi Jewish] movement that supports the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands" [2], where "expulsion" means ethnic cleansing, a legally defined form of genocide.
We want a biblical bloodbath to steal this land.
Beni has a long history of anti-Arab activism [killing, maiming, oppressing, terrorizing, robbing, and expelling], leading to dozens of indictments and at least eight convictions of crimes including incitement to racism and support for, as well as possession of propaganda of, a terrorist organization (the now-illegal Kach political party)[3].
As a Jewish lawyer, he is known for defending Jews accused of Jewish extremist terrorism in Israeli courts [4].
Ben-Gvir is known for being a provocateur and has attracted headlines for a variety of reasons:
threatening Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on live TV in 1995 shortly before his assassination;
having had a portrait in his living room of Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish extremist terrorist and mass murderer;
calling in 2019 for the expulsion of Arab citizens of Israel who are not loyal to the state [5];
inciting violent clashes between Jewish "settlers" and indigenous Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in 2021; and
making highly controversial visits to the Temple Mount, where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located, in 2023 and 2024 [6].
On January 18, 2025, it was reported that Ben-Gvir intended to resign from his ministerial position in protest to the approval and implementation of the three-phase Gaza war ceasefire deal. He resigned on January 19, 2025.
Two months later, it was announced that he and other party members would return to the government after an agreement was reached, following the continuation of genocidal airstrikes in Gaza. More
(The Grayzone) Oct. 5, 2025: The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal interviews Thomas Becker, a human rights attorney and freelance journalist, who is currently aboard the Conscience ship that's part of the Sumud Freedom Flotilla. Becker discusses the strategy behind the flotilla, and what he and other crew members expect as they approach the Israeli siege lines near the shores of Gaza, and news that other flotilla activists are currently being abused in Israeli jails.
The Grayzone: Find more reporting at thegrayzone.com. Support original journalism at Patreon: grayzone. #TheGrayzone. (The Grayzone) Freedom flotilla attorney-journalist challenges Israel's Gaza siege and talks about it with Max Blumenthal
Reports are coming out that the IDF, Israel's state-sponsored terrorists, illegally interfered with the Global Sumud Flotilla in international water, kidnapping participants, detaining and torturing them, forcing Greta Thunberg to kiss an Israeli flag, which may as well be blood-soaked for the ongoing Nakba ("Catastrophe") and genocide it represents. Who will enforce international law to rein in criminal Israel?
It might be more entertaining to see Babymetal at the Intuit Dome, LA
Get ready for the ultimate K-POP experience. 102.7 KIIS FM and China Airlines from Taiwan are sending one lucky winner and a guest on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tokyo, Japan, to see BLACKPINK live in concert—all thanks to China Airlines, proudly from Taiwan since 1959.
(BLACKPINK) Killing it at Coachella 2023 with "Pretty Savage"
The grand prize includes:
Two roundtrip flights to Tokyo on China Airlines from one of the six China Airlines U.S. gateways
$1,200 in cash to use toward hotel stay
$1,000 in spending money for food, shopping, and unforgettable experiences
Two tickets to see BLACKPINK live at the Tokyo Dome on January 16th, 2026
Depart from one of these U.S. gateways:
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Ontario, CA (ONT)
San Francisco, CA (SFO)
New York, NY (JFK)
Seattle, WA (SEA)
Phoenix, AZ (PHX)
From city lights to stage lights, experience Asia on beat and in tour with China Airlines—from the blinking lights of Bangkok to the circus of Seoul and ending with the mayhem and madness happening in Tokyo.
It’s also possible to stop in Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore along the way—where every stop is part of the journey. Book now at China-Airlines.com. History’s calling. Are you boarding?
Sex is a sticky subject. Uh, mmm, icky finicky touchy (not touchy) sticky subject -- ooh, it's nasty. Don't talk about it! What's brown and sticky? A tree. We aim to unstick it.
See her weekly (Wednesday night) Peace Class at prs.org. The subject this warm month? A theme of passion, romance, getting down and dirty, and summer love with an OPEN MIC segment running throughout the reading. That means YOU can come and read, too.
What is the sound of one hand... Uh, mmm, no, what is the sound of 1,000 jaws dropping?
Just say "no," Adults. No one should have sex. Better those energies were expended following something far more useful. But what could possibly be more useful, or more enjoyable, than sex?
Once the Bodhisattva (Buddha-to-be) reflected, "Why do I, being subject to aging and death, also seek things that are subject to aging and death? What now if I were to seek out that which is beyond aging and death?"
But if everyone dies and everything eventually passes away, what is not subject to aging and death? What is beyond impermanence?
There is one element that has overcome aging and death and that transcends all suffering, that has overcome sorrow, lamentation, and disappointment. And that is the unconditioned element called nirvana.
Nirvana is better than sex? Nirvana is better than anything. Everything else is ultimately disappointing. Why? Everything else is subject to incessant arising and passing away. We cling. It fades. We hurt. We are left empty and dissatisfied. Things reveal themselves to be impersonal, unable to stand independently.
As close as nirvana is, realization of it is a long way away from those who do not practice, who do not apply themselves, who do not determine to realize it in this very life.
Even for such people, there is serenity or samatha meditation, which gives access to amazing levels of bliss, serenity, and -- by adding vipassana on top of right samadhi -- degrees of liberating-insight.
As close as calm-and-insight meditation are, realization serenity or wisdom are a long way away for those who do not practice, who do not determine to realize them in this very life.
There's a reason to sit, a better form of pleasure?
Even for such people, there is virtue, which is a more sublime form of joy (piti, rapture, pleasure, bliss) beyond reproach, beyond blame, worry, or any remorse.
As close as virtue is, it is a long way away for those who do not practice, who do not determine to realize it in this very life.
For such people, endowed with virtue, they may enjoy sex that harms no one and does not involve anyone dependent on others. For those who are independent, self-supporting, who are capable of consenting and making their own decisions. Let's talk about sex between them.
Hey, did you ever consider Tantra?
One need not imagine that sex brings one closer to enlightenment -- as Great Vehicle (Mahayana and esoteric Vajrayana) practitioners following the pre-Buddhist Indian path of yogic Tantra may imagine.
As ordinary householders living in the world -- interested in wealth, prosperity, and personal satisfaction through gain, fame, and endless distractions -- sex may serve that purpose.
It of necessity will be disappointing (dukkha). If it were not, the Buddha would never have pointed out a better path to pursue, a way thing to strive for, a superior form of pleasure. There is another way that goes against the stream (the current, the flow), does not pull one by the floods, does not entangle one in the revolving wheel of rebirth and redeath (samsara).
Is anyone going against the stream?
Noah Levine, scandalized founder of Dharma Punx, Against the Stream, Refuge Recovery
A path to go against the stream
The path of the spiritual revolutionary is a long-term and gradual journey toward awakening (enlightenment, bodhi). If we want a quick fix or easy salvation, this is not it. Turn back now, plug back into The Matrix, and enjoy that delusional existence. The Buddha's Dharma is a path for real rebels, malcontents, and truth seekers. The wisdom and compassion of the Buddha is available to all, but the journey to personal freedom is arduous. It takes a steadfast commitment to Truth and, at times, counterintuitive (against instinct) action. We have at our disposal everything we need to undertake this journey. There is only one prerequisite -- the willingness to play, to do the practice, to follow the path through the darkest recesses of our minds and hearts, to stand in the face of great resistance and fear and continue in the direction of freedom. For those who are willing, the ability is a given. The Buddha isn’t a god or deity to be worshipped. He was a rebel and ford finder (who rediscovered the way crossing over), an overthrower, destroyer of ignorance, the Master Physician who re-found the path to complete freedom from suffering. The Buddha left a legacy of Truth for us to experience for ourselves, not to believe in him. The practices and principles of these Teachings, the Dharma, lead to our direct experience of knowledge, wisdom, compassion, and full liberation. This is not a faith-based philosophy, but an experiential one. The point of the spiritual revolution is not to become a "good Buddhist," but to become a wise and compassionate being, to awaken from our life of complacency and delusion and ignorance and to be a buddha, an awakened being. In order to do this, it is helpful to study the life and teachings of the original rebel, the Wandering Ascetic Sid — the Buddha.
What about love and relationships? That is different. We are talking about sex.
Love is grand. Most people have nothing higher to live for. And as an English word we confound it with all kinds of loves, when it only refers in this context to romantic love, which feels great but is not what people really mean. It is like referring to the prestigious and selfless faculty when one really means the greedy and despised administration or the mishmash of students. "School" means all three, but we put the best face on it.
The same with relationships. They can be great educators, harder to endure than a monastic life. But most are not. We pretend they are because they can be. But most of them, most of the time are not. Yet everyone claps and says "Awww" when anyone gets engaged. Awww, what? Awww, they're going to be so unhappy, and then the world can say to them, "Welcome to the club."
So let's stick to the subject and talk about sex.
Men want sex, it is said.
Yes, so do women -- even though it is said that they do not.
Well, if they repeatedly indulge and stress about it, they will be caught up in stress and disappointment. But that stress is the only happiness they know.
Right! It's like the Buddha comparing sexual craving to a leper's itch. The itch gets so bad, the sores so itchy, that placing an arm over an open fire can feel like a downright relief. Fire cauterizes the wound and so soothes the itch. It keeps one from going crazy, even at the cost of great pain or disfigurement.
If only there were a way not to feel crazy yet not get burned.
We don't have to have wait for heartbreak to feel "burned."
Oh, totally. Good sex, great sex, unreal sex is still disappointing, to say nothing of the mediocre sex we mostly all settle for.
Should independent people have sex?
If they want to. They're free to. They can even do it while practicing virtue (sila). There is no reason for guilt, self-recrimination, or holding wrong views about it. Abstain, it's better, but indulge with a clear conscience that we are not "forbidden" to do it. One day, some days, meditate, too.
They might succeed in meditation.
Successful meditation (jhana, absorption) is better than sex -- full of rapture, joy, and supersensual bliss called piti.
I've heard. But how could bliss be supersensual?
There's a higher bliss, a better form of pleasure that is not dependent on the body or bodily feelings and pleasant sensations.
You think?
I know.
Then why would anyone go back to sex as a source of relief or attempted-happiness?
Those blissful states aren't always available to everyone; they take practice, which takes persistence and a little commitment. They are not permanent or reliable all the time. I mean, they are always there but not always available to everyone. We have base cravings and very strong habits.
Restraint is good.
Yes, it is great. But that's not always what the mind wants. And the mind usually gets what the mind wants.
That's for sure. The body is weak compared to the mind even when the spirit is willing.
How To (video); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly, orig. 12/15/11-4/23/24; Noah Levine on going against the stream (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)
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