https://www.dailykos.com/tags/Tibet News Community Action Copyright - Kos Media, LLC Tue, 17 Mar 2026 03:10:29 +0000 Tue, 17 Mar 2026 03:10:29 +0000 rsshelp@dailykos.helpscoutapp.com rsshelp@dailykos.helpscoutapp.com https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/12/10/2357797/-The-Agnostic-s-Diary-The-Bardo-Thodol-A-Tibetan-View-of-Afterlife-States?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><span><span>The</span></span> <em><span><span>Tibetan Book of the Dead</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>or</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em><span><span>&nbsp;is a collection of Tibetan texts that describe two<em>&nbsp;sets of&nbsp;</em></span></span><em><span><span>death-related&nbsp;</span></span></em><span><span>states of consciousness. These are called the</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of death and the</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo&nbsp;</span></span></em><span><span>of the afterlife. The texts discuss some practical ways to prepare for death based on the descriptions of the states provided</span></span><span><span>. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>The realm of the afterlife exists in a space which Tibetan Buddhist religious practitioners describe as a</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo.</span></span></em></p> <p><span><span>These</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardos</span></span></em> <span><span>literally mean</span></span> <em><span><span>In-between places</span></span></em> <span><span>and are also sometimes referred as “<em>the between”</em>. They define the experiences of the dying person at the time of death, and in the afterlife leading up to the person’s next incarnation (most Buddhists believe in reincarnation).</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Many western or westernized writers such as Walter Evans-Wentz, Carl Jung, Richard Alpert, Timothy Leary, Chogyam Trungpa, and Sogyal Rinpoche have described the places or states mentioned in the text as symbolic in various ways. They often see these states in psychological terms as “dream-like” or a mental projection of the unconscious mind.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>They are therefore reduced to psychological or mental realities which are in significant ways “less real” than objects and beings encountered in the material world. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>For instance, Leary and Alpert (Ram Das) thought</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>experience to be like LSD experience where the mental phenomena generated were real and valuable in the sense that they gave insight into the nature of the individual’s personality and the structure of the human mind in general. They were also real in that they could bring about insight into a deeper, spiritual reality. </span></span> <span><span>But at the same time, they were illusory projections of the mind which distracted the person both from these deeper spiritual states and were contrasted with a more concrete physical reality. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>However, in our discussion, we will accept the possibility as most Buddhists do that different elements of</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>states described are real in the same way that the physical world is real, and also assume such spiritual phenomena as the Buddhist <em>clear light</em> and the celestial buddhas may be more real than the physical world. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>Robert Thurman, a Buddhist scholar who wrote a book on and translated</span></span><em> </em><em><span><span>The Tibetan Book of the Dead,</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>is one scholar or religionist who seems to agree that the text is to be taken more literally and as descriptive of actual after death worlds as opposed to mind-generated illusions.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The Focus on Death in Buddhism </span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>Tibetan Buddhism has arguably concentrated more attention on helping the dying person cross the borders of death than any other major world religious tradition. The <em>Tibetan&nbsp;Book of the Dead</em></span></span> <span><span>gives detailed descriptions of the stages of death and afterlife, as well as instructions about how the dying individual should confront and react to these mysterious places and events.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The</span></span></strong><strong> </strong><strong><em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em></strong><strong> </strong><strong><span><span>Text’s History </span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>The</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em> <span><span>has a unique history. It&nbsp;was a somewhat obscure Tibetan religious text that surfaced in 1919. It was acquired in Darjeeling, India from a British officer stationed in Northeastern India by the Theosophist and traveling religious studies scholar Walter Evans-Wentz.&nbsp; He was an Oxford scholar who went to India to discover the "secrets of the East" sometime after his graduation which was consistent with his Theosophical interests (Theosophy was a late 1800’s philosophical effort to integrate Eastern and Western religious ideas begun by the British psychic Helena Blavatsky).&nbsp; Evans-Wentz had the text translated and exposed its ideas to Western scholars interested in Buddhism and comparative religion.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em> <span><span>was written primarily as a book to be read to those close to death and as a guide to those following their death. </span></span> <span><span>In Tibet, it was believed that the sense of hearing was maintained for some period of time after the body was dead and that some of the dead retained an intuitive connection with those that they knew in life for a period of time following their deaths. So it was advantageous for the dead person to hear or intuit religious information and instruction as they entered the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em>&nbsp;</em><span><span>of death and beyond. The text is therefore associated with the sense of “hearing” as a source of religious guidance for the dead.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>In Tibet, the text would likely have been considered a</span></span> <em><span><span>terma</span></span></em> <span><span>or</span></span> <em><span><span>treasure text</span></span></em><span><span>. It would have been one among</span></span> <strong><span><span>thousands of texts</span></span></strong> <span><span>that were created and hidden by the Indian monk Padmasambhava during his visit to Tibet in the 7th century CE.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>It is also somewhat mysterious as to <strong>how it became the most read and commented upon Tibetan religious text in the Western world.</strong> </span></span> <span><span>Many think it had to do with the Western interest in death and contacting the dead after WW I when so many Europeans had died horrible deaths often from chemical weapons in trench warfare. Knowledge of afterlife whether from mediumship or Buddhism and the belief that the soul moved on to a different hopefully better world may have helped assuage the mass grief of those left behind following the war. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>Preparation for Death </span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>As the Buddhist Scholar Robert Thurman writes,</span></span></p> <p><strong><span><span>“No intelligent tourist would embark for a foreign land without a good guide book giving instruction on basic preparation, necessary equipment, dangers, and obstacles.”</span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>The five main preparations for death are described in the text as, informational, imaginal, ethical, meditational, and intellectual. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>Informational is having a clear general picture of what to expect in the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of death. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>Imaginal is being able to imagine clearly the contents of Buddhist or other religious paradises which are clearly described in various texts from Pure Land and other forms of Buddhism so that one is not overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of these worlds and inclined to reject them out of fear. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>Ethical preparation requires that people become more detached from and less obsessed with the material world along with practicing generosity, sensitivity to the needs of others, tolerance, and thinking about what is good for others instead of only for one’s self.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Meditative preparation may involve quieting and calming the mind partly though mindfulness and concentration forms of meditation, as well as meditation designed to bring about inner worldly spiritual travel or dream yoga experiences. There are a great variety of meditations that one can explore in preparation for death. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>Finally, there is intellectual preparation which involves reading Buddhist sutras or other spiritual literature and gaining a depth of understanding. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The Process Leading Up to Death </span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>In Tantric Buddhist cosmology, existence has a foreground which consists of the many worlds of incarnation, and also a background which is the space between these worlds which is called the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>world. The stars are the many worlds, and</span></span><em> </em><em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of the afterlife is like the night sky which is the backdrop or the space where the stars are hung.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The first</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>or the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of death follows the initial experience of the dissolution of the four elements of the physical body at the time of death. These consist of something similar to the concepts of earth, fire, water, and air in the West, and are related to the progressive dissociation of the soul or consciousness from the physical body. This dissolution follows a prescribed progression: the senses fail and the muscles lose their strength as the body becomes inert and still resembling physical matter (earth), there is loss of control over bodily fluids (water), the body loses its warmth (fire), and the breath fails (air). All this is experienced in sequence by the dying person when the person is able to remain conscious during the entrance into the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of death.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Note here that the "soul" in Tibetan Buddhism is only a collection (or bundle) of karma - credits and debits based on previous actions which mold both the habit patterns of the individual and the kinds of conditions encountered in life. In Buddhism, the soul has no substantial nature but otherwise the soul and this "collection" seem very similar and are functionally equivalent for our purposes. We therefore use the term soul above even though it is not generally considered a Buddhist concept. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>So now let us leave the theoretical or background discussion and attempt to describe the raw experience that people encounter when dying and, in the afterlife, based on descriptions from the</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em><span><span>.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The</span></span></strong><strong> </strong><strong><em><span><span>Bardo</span></span></em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><strong><span><span>of Death</span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>Following the process leading up to death, the person's experience of the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of death commences. However, for most individuals, it passes by in a split second and goes unnoticed. Only those who have undergone training in and practiced meditation, contemplative prayer, and similar spiritual disciplines will likely even be aware of the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of death. One commentator described the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of death as a “crack” where the clear light of the Buddhist Void briefly shines through into the dying person’s consciousness. The</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of death is said to begin when the dying person breathes their last breath. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>As an example of the use of the text by a Westerner at the time of his death, Aldous Huxley, the novelist and author of the psychedelic classic The</span></span> <em><span><span>Doors of Perception</span></span></em> <span><span>asked that this passage from the</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em> <span><span>be read to him as he died: </span></span></p> <p><span><span>“Now the time has come to seek the way. Energy and pure love are needed. Just as your breath stops, the objective clear light of the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>will dawn. Your breath stops and you experience reality stark and void like space, your immaculate naked awareness dawning clear and void without horizon or center. Do not be afraid! Do not panic! You must stay with that experience. You must recognize it as your truest self.”&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>One description of the kind of meditation done by advanced practitioners during the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of death consists of a conscious effort to "dissolve space into light", which if successful will propel the dying soul into a state of light, wisdom, and bliss beyond the continual cycles of birth and death to which most souls are subject. The way this bliss and light is symbolized will vary from individual to individual and from religion to religion.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The practice of <em>phowa </em>or “transference of consciousness” is well known in Tibetan Buddhism. It can be done by the individual in meditation or by a lama for the individual. Popular Buddhist destinations for the soul’s transfer are various heavens and paradises such as the Tusita heaven, the Copper Colored Mountain, or the heaven of Sukhavati.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>For those less familiar with such formal meditation practices, the act of remembering very bright light such as, for example, remembering an experience of staring into the sun</span></span><span><span>&nbsp;and seeing that light as a source of pure awareness or divine love could produce a similar effect.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The spiritual aperture that opens presents is believed to provide a valuable opportunity to those who can remain conscious and control their thoughts as they enter the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of death. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>This is probably why there is a common folk belief in the Hindu tradition which puts much emphasis on controlling and directing the</span></span> <em><span><span>last thought</span></span></em> <span><span>of the dying person. If this thought is strong, clear, and of a spiritual nature, it may permit the person to enter through this doorway into a spiritual world immediately at the time of death, and thus avoid the confusion of the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of the afterlife or of transmigration. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The First</span></span></strong><strong> </strong><strong><em><span><span>Bardo</span></span></em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><strong><span><span>of the Afterlife</span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>Following the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>of death, for those unable to perceive and enter into the clear light or a heavenly world, the first</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of the afterlife begins. For many souls including especially those fortunate souls who were spiritual seekers and have sought spiritual experience during life through religious practice, there will be several opportunities to meet with spiritual beings (i.e., different celestial buddhas for Buddhists) and enter the paradises or realms of enlightened beings.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The goal of most Buddhists is a state of spiritual or blissful emptiness which sees the universe as an illusion of the mind that dissolves at the time of enlightenment. However, some Buddhists seek to enter Buddhist paradises or heavens which are often associated with specific celestial buddhas or Bodhisattvas .&nbsp; Paradises are sometimes described as foam on the ocean of this spiritual Void. The paradises are half in the Void and half on its surface like foam that rests on churning water. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>In the first <em>bardo</em>, various spiritual beings are believed to appear to the dead person.&nbsp; They are often&nbsp;frightening to the individual because of their spiritual power. Their appearance is accompanied by powerful lights and sounds that frighten and bewilder those who have not encountered intense spiritual states in the past. The spiritual light is described as having a terrifying brilliance and as luminous, clear, bright, and sharp.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The individual is also presented with a means of ending these encounters by paying attention to images and lights that feel comforting and familiar, and sometimes represent one of the passions that appeal to the person. This is where people's unconsciousness tendencies take control as they are variously attracted to jealously which can bring future lives of fighting and quarreling, pride which leads to another human rebirth, or aggression and violence which can lead to a rebirth in a hell world. Being attracted to these lights and images will cause the spiritual being to disappear and the opportunity to gain insight and enter the spiritual world will be lost. This is one of the important reasons for seeking mystical experience in life so that encounters with powerful spiritual states of consciousness become familiar and desirable instead objects of fear to be avoided.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>For those who experienced mystical or religions states during life, the first</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>may offer an opportunity to enter into these areas shortly after the time of death. Also, those with a devotional disposition who were able to develop a strong bond with a deity (in, for instance, Christianity or Islam) during life may have similar opportunities to enter into one of the heavens of that deity during the first</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><span><span>. The devotion must usually be intense and concentrated to draw the deity's or one of the deity's representative's attention in this circumstance.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>In addition, those who were devoted to a guru or spiritual guide during life can call upon that being and ask for guidance. Although the Tibetan Buddhist tradition is not primarily devotional, it like most of the world's great religious traditions contains devotional aspects where practitioners are encouraged to focus on powerful teachers or saints of the past or present as well as dakinis, bhairavas, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and other helpful beings.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Many people are concerned that they did not find a teacher in life and feel they might be alone in the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo.</span></span></em> <span><span>We should therefore note that the</span></span> <em><span><span><span>Near-death experience&nbsp;</span></span></span></em><span><span><em>literature demonstrates that many people have guides and are not aware of them</em>, and the guides appear as needed. So not knowing a guide does not mean one does not have one. These helpers and guides can appear as the person enters the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>just as they commonly do when people have NDEs.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The traditional Western guides in the Catholic tradition were guardian angels with specific names and roles. The spiritual person could invoke and meditate on these angels during life, and they could appear to act as guides at the time of death if requested to do so. In addition, there are Kabbalistic angels that were part of older, more esoteric forms of Judaism who could also serve as guides to the dead</span></span></p> <p><span><span>But from a Buddhist perspective, one cannot depend on the good fortune of having a guide appear and should therefore make every effort to develop spiritually and not depend on others. However, some Tantric Buddhists get initiated and are linked with specific guides in the process. These helpers can guide them in meditation during life, and also during their entrance into the <em>bardo </em>world after death.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The Second</span></span></strong><strong> </strong><strong><em><span><span>Bardo</span></span></em></strong><strong> </strong><strong><span><span>of the Afterlife</span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>If the first</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>passes and attempts to access spiritual states were unsuccessful, the next</span></span><em> </em><em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>begins. The second</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>or the "<em>bardo</em></span></span> <span><span>of becoming" is a stage in which the desires of the individual are said to carry the largely helpless soul through a great variety of intense emotional states. Good thoughts bring great bliss and pleasure, and hateful or negative thoughts bring great pain and desolation. The soul bounces from thought to thought as a torrent of thoughts and feelings come like a waterfall. Existing thought habits and desires are said to define the experience of the soul during the afterlife in this way. These extremes of confusion and disorientation are generally associated with more passionate and conflicted souls. More mature or detached people may have a less intense and less negative experience during the second</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><span><span>. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>The focus of Buddhism is to limit desire and passion in individuals, and this goal becomes even more desirable because the negative results of such passion affects their experience in the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo.</span></span></em> <span><span>There such passion and the negative emotions it may engender is magnified and becomes like a world that can surround individuals and dominate their perception.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Recently we see people who are passionately attached to lies broadcast on the Internet and in the media which are easily proved false. But they focus their tribal identity around such lies and feel such lies give them and their tribal group increased power.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Embracing lies in a systematic fashion is like swallowing a spiritual poison that can draw people into unpleasant places following death. It is something to be avoided at all costs.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>However, on the more positive side of things, life experiences and memories of compassion, kindness, joy in other's good fortune and other Buddhist (or Christian) virtues will also influence their experience in the</span></span><em> </em><em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><span><span>. This motivates Buddhists to practice compassion and create good karma in life so that their experience in the second</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em> <span><span>will be more joyful.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The Third B<em>ardo</em></span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>The third and last stage of the</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>of the afterlife is the stage of reincarnation where the soul is pulled into another body to start a new life, sometimes but not always in the physical world. Tibetan Buddhists generally believe that the most desirable world to be born in is the physical world, since it affords the most opportunity for spiritual growth and realization. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>The third</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>usually consists of a series of images determined by the soul's karma that lead to psychic vortices that draw the soul into a womb. The soul's reaction to the images (attraction or repulsion) determines which vortex the soul enters and in which womb the soul ends up. The text gives detailed advice on which representations to choose and which to avoid in order to gain a desirable rebirth.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>This ability to choose a good incarnation requires discrimination, good karma, and a certain degree of conscious awareness. The New Age approach to reincarnation which claims we choose our new incarnation is idealistic and not always true from this vantage point. Many souls whose thoughts in life were tinged with or dominated by negative emotions or those who have repressed and denied such emotion through lack of awareness or an unwavering commitment to "positive thinking" may be desperate to escape the confusion of the third</span></span> <em><span><span>bardo</span></span></em><span><span>. They are therefore likely to grab on to the first opportunity that presents itself like a swimmer who grasps a log in dangerous rapids in hopes of making it to calmer waters. Choosing the first object (or incarnation) that comes along may not be the wisest choice.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The average person is said to spend a period of about forty-nine days in these three b<em>ardos</em>. However, passionate souls with strong desires or those responsible for evil or criminal acts in their most recent life are said to reincarnate almost immediately. In exceptional cases, the individual can stay in the b<em>ardo</em></span></span> <span><span>state for longer periods, and be drawn into its currents awaiting rebirth.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>The Six Worlds</span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>If the individual does not reincarnate in the physical world, he or she will go to one of the other five worlds of rebirth. These are the heaven worlds, the hell worlds, the world of hungry ghosts, the asura (or demigod) worlds, and the animal worlds. Each of these is believed to be limited and inferior to obtaining another body in the material world. This is because they are believed to exist mostly to receive good or bad karma (the results of previous actions), and are not considered places to create new karma. Note that there are some forms of Buddhism such as Pure Land Buddhism which emphasize Buddhist paradises and disagree with this approach. They, in contrast, believe that enlightenment can be pursued while residing in paradises. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>Of the five worlds, the least familiar is the <em>asura</em> world which is a place of conflict and struggle where kings, knights, and warlords battle each other for dominance. The asura worlds are full of beings seeking power, especially by warfare and betrayal.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The hungry ghost realm, the second realm, is a place of need and desire where souls are denied fulfillment or given only small rewards. Here souls experience states of continuing anxiety and frustration.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The animal world is reserved for those whose extreme instincts for violence, gluttony, or sexual gratification dominated their previous lives in the physical world to the extent that they devolved into the instinctual and unreflective state of animal existence.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p><span><span>The heaven and hell worlds have wide variations, but it is interesting that the Tibetan tradition has both burning hells (as in the Christian tradition) and freezing hells –&nbsp; &nbsp;these are present in Dante's</span></span> <em><span><span>Divine Comedy</span></span></em> <span><span>but not commonly known in Christianity.</span></span> <span><span>&nbsp;The study of heavens and hells in various religious traditions is a challenging and sometimes fascinating undertaking.&nbsp;</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:center"><strong><span><span>Conclusion </span></span></strong></p> <p><span><span>This concludes our discussion and commentary on the</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em><em> </em><span><span>and its relationship to after death experience. </span></span> <span><span>This discussion has been an effort to conceptualize the stages of death and the afterlife so people may know something about what to expect. Knowing something of these stages may allow the person to act in a way that may make their death experience more satisfying and spiritual instead of focusing on fear of death and the pain of loss of the physical body. </span></span></p> <p><span><span>In recent Western literature, the study of Near-death Experiences has shown the positive side of death and how it can provide an opportunity for both ecstatic experience and spiritual growth for those who undergo such experiences. The</span></span> <em><span><span>Bardo Thodol</span></span></em><strong> </strong><span><span>also shows a potential positive side of death and some ways people can prepare themselves or their loved ones for a “good death.”</span></span></p> <p class="is-empty-p"><span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p> rss@dailykos.com (pouncecafe) afterlife bardo Death deity heaven Hell meditation nde reincarnation Tibet Worlds _2357797 Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:47:27 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/11/12/2353434/-Do-you-want-a-side-of-Genocide-with-your-car?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" href="#">x</a></div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=kRAhH9VMTB0" data-frameborder="0" data-height="281" data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kRAhH9VMTB0" data-width="500">YouTube Video</a></div> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Wayne Borean) Automobiles BYD Cars CCP China Genocide Tibet Uyghur _2353434 Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:35:41 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/1/7/2295721/-Overnight-News-Digest-January-7-2025?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <div> <div> <p>Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and &nbsp;JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.</p> <p>OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. &nbsp;</p> </div> <div> <p>Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.</p> </div> <div></div> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Chitown Kev) AileenCannon CaliforniaFires Canada DonaldTrump Kurds Meta MikeMadigan OND OvernightNewsDigest Recommended Syria Tibet Turkey _2295721 Wed, 08 Jan 2025 04:59:08 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2024/2/16/2223980/-Overnight-News-Digest-Friday-Night-Around-the-World?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p><span>Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.</span></p> <p><span>OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. &nbsp;Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>You can pick and choose among the international stories this evening.&nbsp; I’ll leave it at this: the Navalny story and Ukraine and NATO are widely covered in this blog and elsewhere. There is a lot of good information out there, so as usual this diary will focus on the less widely discussed news. And because it is me hosting tonight, and I am in that kind of mood, I wanted to start with a couple of archaeology stories. The first is from Explorers’ Web:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="https://explorersweb.com/alexander-the-great-family-tomb-mystery/" target="_blank" title="">Controversy Persists in Troubled Tomb of Alexander the Great’s Father</a></h3> <div><span><a href="https://explorersweb.com/author/swander1988/" title="">Sam Anderson</a></span></div> <p>One tomb containing a who’s who of fourth-century Macedonian royalty has been a bone of contention in the archaeological community for decades.</p> <p>Now a recent report in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X23004546?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" title="">the Journal of Archaeological Science</a> claims to have resolved the controversy. But has it?</p> </blockquote> <p>From The Guardian:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/egypt-scraps-plan-to-restore-cladding-on-one-of-the-three-great-pyramids-of-giza" target="_blank" title="">Egypt scraps plan to restore cladding on one of three great pyramids of Giza</a></h3> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <p><strong>Antiquities authority drops proposal for Menkaure pyramid after review prompted by international outcry</strong></p> </div> </div> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/egypt">Egypt</a> has scuttled a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, a committee formed by the country’s tourism minister said in a statement.</p> <div> <div> <div id="maincontent"> <div> <p>Mostafa Waziri, the secretary general of the supreme council of antiquities, announced the plan last month, declaring it would be “the project of the century”.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>And from Haaretz:</p> <blockquote> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2024-02-15/ty-article-magazine/israeli-archaeologists-beg-state-dont-build-road-over-only-roman-legion-camp-ever-found/0000018d-ac0b-d221-af9f-efeb7feb0000" target="_blank" title="">Israeli Archaeologists Beg State: Don't Build Road Over Only Roman Legion Camp Ever Found</a></h3> <p><strong>The extant highway is deadly but new finds at Legio, the Roman Legion base at Armageddon, spur archaeologists to urge government: Consider other ways to save drivers from themselves</strong></p> </div> <p><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da24-d249-ab7f-fbe4b5f00000" title="">Ruth Schuster</a></p> <div> <div> <p><em>"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. ... And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" – Revelation 16:1,16</em></p> <p>At the foot of Tell Megiddo lies a sprawling Roman army camp. This was no temporary military encampment with tents and a mangy grunt on guard. This was a full-fledged base of the fearsome Roman legions. Over no less than 180 years from the second century, it served the Legio II Triana and then the Legio VI Ferrata, aka the Ironclad Legion.</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>And before we go below the fold, your Taylor Swift news from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/16/taylor-swift-concerts-sydney-asbestos-crisis-olympic-park" target="_blank" title="">The Guardian here</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/13/taylor-swift-eras-tour-philippines-fans-tickets-travel" target="_blank" title="">here </a>(I seem to be geographically obliged to include Taylor Swift news, as my local news comes from Kansas City).</p> rss@dailykos.com (annetteboardman) AI AirCanada AlexandertheGreat Archaeology Australia Cambodia Canada China Colombia Egypt Espionage FGM Germany Greece HumanRights India Indonesia Israel Japan JulianAssange Kenya OvernightNewsDigest Russia Senegal Singapore Space Spain Spies Taiwan taylorswift Tibet UK Uyghur _2223980 Sat, 17 Feb 2024 05:36:08 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/7/4/2178865/-Nonfiction-Views-Ukrainian-novelist-killed-by-Russian-missile-the-Dalai-Lama-and-new-nonfiction?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Hello on this Fourth of July, everyone. A slow week in publishing, but below are eight new nonfiction books that caught my eye. Work continues on my redesigned website. I’m pretty happy with how its going. I have an online screen-share meeting on Thursday with the people at the American Booksellers Association eCommerce platform, on which many of the indie bookstores in the US are run, including the Literate Lizard. I’m hoping I’ll be cleared to take the redesign live very soon.</p> <ul> <li>Ukrainian novelist and poet <span style="text-align:start"><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/92695-ukrainian-writer-victoria-amelina-dies-after-russian-attack.html" target="_blank" title="">Victoria Amelina was killed in a Russian missile attack</a> on </span>Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast. She was only 37. I don;t believe any of her books are available in English.</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p><span style="text-align:start">As<span>&nbsp;</span></span><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/92686-russian-attack-hospitalizes-writers-after-kyiv-book-arsenal.html" title=""><em>PW</em><span>&nbsp;</span>reported on Friday</a><span style="text-align:start">, the three were visiting Kramatorsk after attending the Kiev Book Arsenal, Ukraine's main literary festival. All three writers were heavily involved in peace advocacy efforts. From the start of the war, Amelina had worked with Ukrainian non-governmental organizations, including Truth Hounds and the Center for Civil Liberties, as a field investigator of Russia’s war crimes in the liberated territories in eastern, southern, and northern Ukraine. During her investigations in Kapitolivka, near Izium, she found the diary of the writer<span>&nbsp;</span></span><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/91178-ukrainian-publishers-fight-on.html" target="_blank" title="">Volodymyr Vakulenko</a><span style="text-align:start">, who was killed by Russians. She was killed before finishing a work in progress, a nonfiction book called<span>&nbsp;</span></span><em>Looking at Women Looking at War: War and Justice Diary.</em></p> </blockquote> <ul> <li>This week also brings the 88th birthday of the Dalai Lama on July 6th. For those new to my writings here on Daily Kos, I thought I would link to two of my diaries from this week two years ago. My Nonfiction Views that week discussed books about the Dalai Lama and Tibet: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/7/6/2038413/-Nonfiction-Views-Happy-Birthday-Dalai-Lama" target="_blank" title="">Nonfiction Views: Happy Birthday, Dalai Lama!</a>, and a companion photo diary recounted my trips to Dharamshala, India (where I attended a teaching given by the Dalai Lama, as well as my two visits to Tibet: <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/7/6/2038233/-Happy-birthday-Dalai-Lama-My-visits-to-Dharamshala-amp-Tibet-Photo-Diary" target="_blank" title="">Happy birthday, Dalai Lama! My visits to Dharamshala &amp; Tibet (Photo Diary)</a>. Wonderful memories.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp; </p><p class="AlignCenter" style="text-align:center"><strong>THIS WEEK’S NEW NOTABLE NONFICTION</strong></p> <p></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780063233928" target="_blank" title=""><em>Evidence of Things Seen: True Crime in an Era of Reckoning</em></a>, edited by Sarah Weinman. <p>In <em>Evidence of Things Seen, </em>fourteen of the most innovative crime writers working today cast a light on the cases that give crucial insight into our society. Wesley Lowery writes about a lynching left unsolved for decades by an indifferent police force and a family’s quest for answers. Justine van der Leun reports on the thousands of women in prison for defending themselves from abuse. May Jeong reveals how the Atlanta spa shootings tell a story of America. Edited by acclaimed writer Sarah Weinman, this anthology pulls back the curtain on how crime itself is a by-product of America’s systemic harms and inequalities. And in doing so, it reveals how the genre of true crime can be a catalyst for social change. These works combine brilliant storytelling with incisive cultural examinations—and challenge each of us to ask what justice should look like.</p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781639364411" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Rough Rider and the Professor: Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and the Friendship that Changed American History</em></a>, by Laurence Jurdem. <span>Theodore Roosevelt was a uniquely gifted figure. A man of great intellect and physicality, the New York patrician captured the imagination of the American people with his engaging personality and determination to give all citizens regardless of race, color, or creed the opportunity to achieve the American dream.</span><br> <span>While Roosevelt employed his abilities to rise from unknown New York legislator to become the youngest man ever to assume the presidency in 1901, that rapid success would not have occurred without the assistance of the powerful New Englander, Henry Cabot Lodge.</span><br> <span>Eight years older than Roosevelt, from a prominent Massachusetts family, Lodge, was one of the most calculating, combative politicians of his age. From 1884 to 1919 Lodge and Roosevelt encouraged one another to mine the greatness that lay within each of them. As both men climbed the ladders of power, Lodge, focused on dominating the political landscape of Massachusetts, served as the future president’s confidant and mentor, advising him on political strategy while helping him obtain positions in government that would eventually lead to the White House.</span><br> <span>Despite the love and respect that existed between the two men, their relationship eventually came under strain. Following Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency, T. R.’s desire to expand the social safety net—while attempting to broaden the appeal of the Republican Party—clashed with his older friend's more conservative, partisan point of view. Those tensions finally culminated in 1912. Lodge's refusal to support the former president's independent bid for a third presidential term led to a political break-up that was only repaired by each man's hatred for the policies of Woodrow Wilson.</span></p> </li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781982146917" target="_blank" title=""><em>President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier</em></a>, by C. W. Goodyear. This biography charts the life and times of one of the most remarkable Americans ever to win the Presidency. Progressive firebrand and conservative compromiser; Union war hero and founder of the first Department of Education; Supreme Court attorney and abolitionist preacher; mathematician and canalman; crooked election-fixer and clean-government champion; Congressional chieftain and gentleman-farmer; the last president to be born in a log cabin; the second to be assassinated. James Abram Garfield was all these things and more. <p>Over nearly two decades in Congress during a polarized era—Reconstruction and the Gilded Age—Garfield served as a peacemaker in a Republican Party and America defined by divisions. He was elected President to overcome them. He was killed while trying to do so.</p> <p><em>President Garfield</em> is American history at its finest. It is about an impoverished boy working his way from the frontier to the Presidency; a progressive statesman, trying to raise a more righteous, peaceful Republic out of the ashes of civil war; the tragically imperfect course of that reformation, and the man himself; a martyr-President, whose death succeeded in nudging the country back to cleaner, calmer politics.</p> </li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781639364275" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Red Hotel: Moscow 1941, the Metropol Hotel, and the Untold Story of Stalin's Propaganda War</em></a>, by Alan Philps.<span> </span>In 1941, when German armies were marching towards Moscow, Lenin’s body was moved from his tomb on Red Square and taken to Siberia. &nbsp;By 1945, a victorious Stalin had turned a poor country into a victorious superpower. Over the course of those four years, Stalin, at Churchill's insistence, accepted an Anglo-American press corps in Moscow to cover the Eastern Front. To turn these reporters into Kremlin mouthpieces, Stalin imposed the most draconian controls – unbending censorship, no visits to the battle front, and a ban on contact with ordinary citizens. <p>The Red Hotel explores this gilded cage of the Metropol Hotel. They enjoyed lavish supplies of caviar and had their choice of young women to employ as translators and share their beds. On the surface, this regime served Stalin well: his plans to control Eastern Europe as a Sovietised ‘outer empire’ were never reported and the most outrageous Soviet lies went unchallenged.</p> <p>But beneath the surface the Metropol was roiling with intrigue. While some of the translators turned journalists into robotic conveyors of Kremlin propaganda, others were secret dissidents who whispered to reporters the reality of Soviet life and were punished with sentences in the Gulag. Using British archives and Soviet sources, the unique role of the women of the Metropol, both as consummate propagandists and secret dissenters, is told for the first time.</p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780525510604" target="_blank" title=""><em>A Terribly Serious Adventure: Philosophy and War at Oxford, 1900-1960</em></a>, by Nikhil Krishnan. What are the limits of language? How can philosophy be brought closer to everyday life? What is a good human being? These were among the questions that philosophers wrestled with in mid-twentieth-century Britain, a period shadowed by war and the rise of fascism. In response to these events, thinkers such as Philippa Foot (originator of the famous trolley problem), Isaiah Berlin, Iris Murdoch, Elizabeth Anscombe, Gilbert Ryle, and J. L. Austin aspired to a new level of watchfulness and self-awareness about language as a way of keeping philosophy true to everyday experience. A Terribly Serious Adventure traces the friendships and the rivalries, the shared preoccupations and the passionate disagreements of some of Oxford's most innovative thinkers. Far from being stuck in their ivory towers, the Oxford philosophers lived. They were codebreakers, diplomats, and soldiers in both World Wars, and they often drew on their real-world experience in creating their greatest works, masterpieces of British modernism original in both thought and style.</p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781639364299" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Madam and the Spymaster: The Secret History of the Most Famous Brothel in Wartime Berlin</em></a>, by Urs Brunner, Nigel Jones and Dr. Julia Schrammel. "Salon Kitty" was the most notorious brothel in the decadent Berlin of the Weimar Republic - the city of "Cabaret." But after the Nazis took power, it became something more dangerous: a spying centre with every room wired for sound, staffed by female agents specially selected by the SS to coax secrets from their VIP clients.</p> <p>Masterminded by Reinhard Heydrich, one of the masterminds of the Final Solution and the spymaster whom Hitler himself called "the man with the iron heart," the exclusive establishment turned listening post was patronized by the Nazi leaders themselves, not knowing that hidden ears were listening.</p> <p><em>The Madam and the Spymaster</em> reveals the &nbsp;sensational true story of this forgotten part of espionage history. &nbsp;The deep research undertaken by &nbsp;Nigel Jones, Urs Brunner and Dr Julia Schrammel sheds new light on Nazi methods of control and coercion, and the way sex was abused for their own perverse purposes. &nbsp;</p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780593421062" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Light Room</em></a>, by Kate Zambreno. The author <span>her most profound and affecting work yet: a candid chronicle of life as a mother of two young daughters in a moment of profound uncertainty about public health, climate change, and the future we can expect for our children. Moving through the seasons, returning often to parks and green spaces, Zambreno captures the isolation and exhaustion of being home with a baby and a small child, but also small and transcendent moments of beauty and joy. Inspired by writers and artists ranging from Natalia Ginzburg to Joseph Cornell, Yūko Tsushima to Bernadette Mayer, Etel Adnan to David Wojnarowicz,<span>&nbsp;</span></span><em>The Light Room</em><span><span>&nbsp;</span>represents an impassioned appreciation of community and the commons, and an ecstatic engagement with the living world.</span><span> How will our memories, and our children’s, be affected by this time of profound disconnection? What does it mean to bring new life, and new work, into this moment of precarity and crisis? In<span>&nbsp;</span></span><em>The Light Room</em><span>, Kate Zambreno offers a vision of how to live in ways that move away from disenchantment, and toward light and possibility.</span></p> </li> <li> <p><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780063066410" target="_blank" title=""><em>Twentieth-Century Man: The Wild Life of Peter Beard</em></a>, by Christopher Wallace. <span>Peter Beard lived an astonishing life. The artist, wildlife photographer, and bon vivant enthralled and inspired both because of his work and his legendary lifestyle. A scion of American industry turned explorer of Africa and environmental advocate, Beard embodied the extremes of his time: grand adventurer and sexually voracious partier, friend of everyone from the Rolling Stones to Jackie Onassis to Andy Warhol to Karen Blixen. And Beard had a passion—probably more like an obsession—with the faults of the entire human experiment, with the ways in which our consumption of the world’s resources have come to consume us all. </span></p> <p>Capturing the varied social and cultural scenes that Beard moved through with glamorous ease over five decades, Wallace also makes a powerful case for the lasting impact of his work.</p> <p>In<span>&nbsp;</span><em>Twentieth-Century Man</em>, Wallace has rendered this towering figure in all of his contradictions and complexities—a deeply romantic and idiosyncratic personality, beloved by so many, whose sensibilities nonetheless remained firmly rooted in an era characterized by racist and colonialist attitudes.</p> </li> </ul> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p><span>All book links in this diary are to my online bookstore</span><span>&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.theliteratelizard.com/" target="_blank" title="">The Literate Lizard</a><span>. If you already have a favorite indie bookstore, please keep supporting them. If you’re able to throw a little business my way, that would be appreciated. Use the coupon code DAILYKOS for 15% off your order, in gratitude for your support (an ever-changing smattering of new releases are already discounted 15% each week). We also partner</span><span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://libro.fm/literatelizard" target="_blank" title="">Libro.fm for audiobooks</a><span>. Libro.fm is similar to Amazon’s Audible, with a la carte audiobooks, or a $14.99 monthly membership which includes the audiobook of your choice and 20% off subsequent purchases during the month.</span></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-md"><img alt="LitLizLogoIC2.png" class="width-md" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1204913/large/LitLizLogoIC2.png?1688341563" title="LitLizLogoIC2.png"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <h3><strong>READERS &amp; BOOK LOVERS SERIES SCHEDULE</strong></h3> <div class="table-wrapper"> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="table-wrapper"> <table class="dk5-table"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">DAY</th> <th style="text-align:center"> <p>TIME</p> <p>EST/EDT</p> </th> <th style="text-align:center">SERIES</th> <th style="text-align:center">EDITOR(S)</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">SUNDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">4:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"> <p><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/LetsTalkBOOKS" target="_blank"><em>Let’s Talk BOOKS</em></a></p> </td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Angela Marx</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"></th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">6:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/YoungPeoplesPavilion" target="_blank" title=""><em>Young People’s Pavilion</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">The Book Bear</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"> <p>(LAST SUN OF THE MONTH)</p> </th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">7:30 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/LGBTLiterature" target="_blank"><em>LGBTQ Literature</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Chrislove</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">MONDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/news/TheLanguageoftheNight" target="_blank"><em>The Language of the Night</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">DrLori</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">TUESDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/ContemporaryFictionViews" target="_blank" title=""><em>Contemporary Fiction Views</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">bookgirl</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"></th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">10:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/NonfictionViews" target="_blank"><em>Nonfiction Views</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">DebtorsPrison</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">WEDNESDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/Bookchat" target="_blank"><em>Bookchat</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">cfk et al.</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">THURSDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/write%20on">Write On!</a></em></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">SensibleShoes</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">(FIRST THURS OF MONTH)</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">2:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/AdmiralNaismith">Monthly Bookpost</a></em></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">AdmiralNaismith</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">FRIDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"> <p>7:30 AM</p> </td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/news/WAYR" target="_blank" title=""><em>WAYR?</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Chitown Kev</td> </tr> <tr> <th class="AlignRight" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">(OCCASIONALLY)</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/BooksGoBoom" target="_blank" title=""><em>Books Go Boom!</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Brecht</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"></th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">9:30 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/CLASSICPOETRYGROUP" target="_blank"><em>Classic Poetry Group</em></a></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Angmar</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color:#f9f9f9"> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">SATURDAY</th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Noon</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"> <p><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/ycrt">You Can't Read That!</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</em>or</p> <p><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/paulsreviews">Paul's Book Reviews</a></em></p> </td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">pwoodford</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"></th> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">9:00 PM</td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/bookssobadtheyregood" target="_blank"><em>Books So Bad They’re Good</em></a><em>*</em></td> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top">Ellid (*<em>on temporary hiatus</em>)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p><em>If you’re not already following Readers and Book Lovers, please go to<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/groups/Readers%20and%20Book%20Lovers" target="_blank"><strong>our homepage (link)</strong></a>, find the top button in the left margin, and click it to FOLLOW GROUP. Thank You and Welcome, to the most followed group on Daily Kos. Now you’ll get all our R&amp;BLers diaries in your stream.</em></p> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (DebtorsPrison) Books DalaiLama NonFiction NonfictionViews R&BLers RandBLers Readers&BookLovers ReadersandBookLovers Tibet Ukraine _2178865 Wed, 05 Jul 2023 02:00:17 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/1/20/2148410/-Overnight-News-Diary-Chinese-New-Year-s-Edition?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p>Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and now moi, JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.</p> <p>OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. &nbsp;Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.</p> </blockquote> <p>Pictures of the week come from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/world/gallery/photos-this-week-january-12-january-19/?dicbo=v2-2677fcbcae3e1ca413e7496d41237e6c&amp;hpt=ob_blogfooterold" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p> <p>And because of the season, we will start with east Asian news and news about east Asians, with this from CNN:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/asia/taiwan-mandatory-military-service-conscription-intl-hnk-dst/index.html" target="_blank">‘If war breaks out … I will just become cannon fodder:’ In Taiwan, ex-conscripts feel unprepared for potential China conflict</a></h3> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div>By<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/profiles/eric-cheung"><span>Eric Cheung</span></a>, CNN</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <p>Rising concerns over increasingly aggressive military maneuvers by China have prompted<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/specials/asia/taiwan" target="_blank">Taiwan</a><span>&nbsp;</span>to extend the mandatory military service period most of its young men must serve. But former conscripts interviewed by CNN say Taipei will need to do far more than that if it is to make the training effective.</p> <p>Outdated, boring and impractical. That was the verdict of six young men who spoke to CNN about their recent experiences of mandatory service in Taiwan’s military.</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From KXAN:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWKfVhg-1zU" target="_blank">Texas bill would ban some immigrants from buying property</a></h3> </div> <div style="text-align:start"> <div> <div> <div><span><span>A bill filed in the Texas Senate aims to ban citizens of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing real estate in Texas, following national security concerns from top Republicans and prompting condemnations from Democrats. KXAN's Ryan Chandler reports.</span></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=lWKfVhg-1zU" data-frameborder="0" data-height="315" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lWKfVhg-1zU" data-width="560">YouTube Video</a></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>From Reuters:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/year-rabbit-not-so-fast-vietnams-lunar-new-year-celebrate-cat-2023-01-20/" target="_blank">Year of the Rabbit? Not so fast! Vietnam's Lunar New Year to celebrate the cat</a></h3> <div> <div>By<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/authors/minh-nguyen/">Minh Nguyen</a><span>&nbsp;</span>and<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/authors/thinh-nguyen/">Thinh Nguyen</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div style="text-align:left">HANOI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - As China, Japan and other East Asian countries prepare to celebrate the start of the Lunar Year of the Rabbit on Sunday, the people of Vietnam will be an exception - welcoming instead the Year of the Cat.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the PBS News Hour:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <h3>COVID casts shadow over Lunar New Year celebrations in China</h3> </div> <div style="text-align:start"> <div></div> <div> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@PBSNewsHour"><span>Medical experts predict China could see tens of thousands of deaths a day over the Lunar New Year holiday. Since the dismantling of the government’s zero-COVID policy, many have been anxious about the wave of infections that have swept through. As special correspondent Richard Kimber reports, most are brushing risks and fears aside to celebrate the most important festival on the Chinese calendar.</span></a></p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=_lDmm_SQAdQ" data-frameborder="0" data-height="315" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_lDmm_SQAdQ" data-width="560">YouTube Video</a></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>From The Guardian:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/20/the-last-generation-young-chinese-people-vow-not-to-have-children" target="_blank">‘The last generation’: the young Chinese people vowing not to have children</a></h3> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <p><strong>Negative population growth that arrived a decade before forecasts has been exacerbated by Covid and restrictive government policies</strong></p> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <figure> <div> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/verna-yu">Verna Yu</a></p> <p>Talk to any young woman in urban<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/china">China</a><span>&nbsp;</span>about the prospects of having children and the chances are, they are not keen.</p> <p>“It costs too much to give kids a decent life. The stuff they teach at school is propaganda, so I’d want to send them to an international school or abroad. But I can’t afford that,” said Kongkong, a 26-year-old researcher who swears she will not have children.</p> </div> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From NBC:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <h3><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRILYm7dIr8" target="_blank">60 homes destroyed as fire rips through Seoul shanty town</a></h3> </div> <div style="text-align:start"> <div> <div> <div><span><span>Firefighters battled a blaze that broke out in a shanty town near to the upscale Seoul district of Gangnam. Hundreds of people were evacuated but there were no immediate reports of casualties.</span></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=jRILYm7dIr8" data-frameborder="0" data-height="315" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jRILYm7dIr8" data-width="560">YouTube Video</a></div> rss@dailykos.com (annetteboardman) Afghanistan AirIndia Amazon AnglicanChurch BBC BenjaminNetanyahu Brazil China ChurchofEngland Colomvia Economics EmmanuelMacron Environment France India Iran Israel Italy JacindaArdern LaborRelations LGBTQ Mafia Mexico NarendraModi NewZealand OvernightNewsDigest Pakistan Peru Russia SaudiArabia SouthKorea Strikes Syria Taiwan Terrorism Texas Tibet UK UnitedStates Vietnam VladimirPutin WomensRights _2148410 Sat, 21 Jan 2023 06:13:37 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2022/5/3/2094449/-Building-New-Complex-for-Untouchable-Kids-in-India?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><em>New York, N.Y. </em>I traveled to Delhi in South Asia just before the Pandemic to open the office of ‘The J. Luce Foundation India.” This is in Bodhgaya, Bihar on the border with Nepal. Eight years prior, I had met our team there on a Buddhist pilgrimage with Japanese friends directed by Dr. Kazuko Tatsumura to attend the <em>Kalachakra </em>and we had an audience His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Dr. Kazuko first met His Holiness in 1972.</p> <p>Bihar is the poorest and wildest state in India. This is where Lord Buddha sat under a bodhi tree to gain enlightenment and is the seat of Indian Buddhism. Buddhists today mostly only visit and the majority there remain Hindu. Most Muslims fled to Pakistan (and today’s Bangladesh)&nbsp;during the Partition when Gandhi went on a hunger strike in 1948.</p> <p>On Indian Republic Day this January we began construction of our 17,000 sq. ft. Saraswati Centre opposite the first tree Buddha sat under, named after the Buddhist and Hindu ‘God of the Arts,’<em>Saraswati</em> (known as “<em>Benzaiten</em>” in Japan). This is located on the outskirts of Bodhgaya, on an island. The internationally recognized shrine to Buddha is located by the second tree he sat under, in downtown Bodhgaya.</p> <p>The Dalai Lama himself lives in Dharamshala, India, quite a way from Bihar, high on a mountain with disputed Kashmir to the north Punjap (Pakistan) to the west and Tibet (China) to the east. He escaped Tibet in 1959 and traveled over the mountains to Tawang, now in India, and then onto Dharamshala. The town of Tawang, 8,000 feet high in the Himalayas, is accessible only by helicopter or a two-day trek in 4 x 4’s over seven majestic mountains.</p> <p>Dr. Kazuko Tatsumura coordinated the funding to build&nbsp;a grand three-story Tibetan-style academic building for Manjushree Orphanage in Tawang <em>(photo below). </em>It is in a war zone where one needs a special visa to visit. This orphanage is home to 240 formerly destitute children, started with 18 orphaned Tibetans, the majority of whom go proudly on to university in India. The original 18 children escaped violence hidden under hay in a truck. Lama Thupten Phuntchuk discovered these children and Dr. Kazuko joined the team to save their live and educated them for the future.&nbsp;Our partner Dr. Kazuko Tatsumura heads this development effort in the U.S. and provides each graduate headed to college with an iPad.</p> <p>Saraswati Centre is being built in a farming community of<em> Dalit </em>formerly known as “Untouchable” in the Caste system, with <em>Brahmin</em> at the top. Gandhi called this group “Harijan,” meaning ‘Children of God,’ but this term is now considered outdated, similarly to “negro.” The Caste system was outlawed in 1949.</p> <p>Our Centre will comprise an elementary school for 120 students, an orphanage for 18 children, a health clinic with three consulting rooms, and a combination leadership center and dormitory/youth hostel. The school and leadership centre will be branded “J. Luce Foundation,” the orphanage will be named “Gaia Holistic Home” to be operated by Orphans International Worldwide, and the health clinic will be associated with Lions Clubs International, led by the New York Global Leaders Lions Club. All will open this year.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Picture2.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1046969/large/Picture2.jpg?1646942192" title="Picture2.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> <p>The J. Luce Free School, a primary school, will open with a red ribbon cutting ceremony on April 29 with Jim and Bix Luce and Dr. Kazuko Tatsumura in attendance. The ceremony will be led by a Hindu priest.</p> <p>Our cooperation with Chinese professionals through our foundation and Lions International continues. We are extremely honored to have the “MIT of China” – Tsinghua University Department of Architecture design the compound for us.</p> <p>After India, we will focus on creating a new compound in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The original home in Sulawesi, opened in 2001, graduated its eight children with the majority going on to university.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="SaraswathiCommunityCentre0309b.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1046965/large/SaraswathiCommunityCentre0309b.jpg?1646941992" title="SaraswathiCommunityCentre0309b.jpg"> <figcaption>First Floor plan fo the <em>Saraswati Centre of the J. Luce Foundation India</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Orphans international Worldwide was founded in 1999 in honor of my mother, Frances Dudley Alleman-Luce, a child psychologist. The J. Luce Foundation was founded in 2009 in honor of my father, Dr. Stanford L. Luce a college professor. The New York Global Leaders Lions Club was founded in 2015. Dr. Kazuko Tatsumura is Vice President of both charities. This project in Indonesia will be run by my son Mathew Tendean Luce who was originally adopted there.</p> <p>In addition, Dr. Kazuko and I&nbsp;are working with partners in Tanzania to assist Maasai children in the future, in Bangladesh to assist Muslim orphans, in Panama to help destitute Catholic children including refugee children tragically abandoned by their parents trekking to the U.S.-Mexican border.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="SaraswathiCommunityCentre030c9.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1046962/large/SaraswathiCommunityCentre030c9.jpg?1646941979" title="SaraswathiCommunityCentre030c9.jpg"> <figcaption>Second floor plan of the <em>Saraswati Centre of the J. Luce Foundation India</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Most importantly, we have been asked to create a center on the Romanian-Ukrainian border to assist war orphans in their passage to Europe. Helping Ukrainian children will test our capacity, commitment and connections, but I am confident we will be able to <em>make a difference</em> as we always done.</p> <p>Historically, Orphans international provided housing and programming for children who survived the Indian Ocean Tsunami in both Sri Lanka and Aceh, Indonesia. The children in Sri Lanka were Buddhist and the children in Aceh, Indonesia Muslim.</p> <p>Orphans International built another home in Indonesia, in what used to be called the Celebes Islands and today known as Sulawesi. This is where my adopted son Mathew is from; Matt today is 28 years old. The children in Sulawesi were Protestant. In addition, we ran a program for orphan children in Bali who were Hindu. Our Tsunami work was supported by Giorgio Armani and H.S.H. Prince Albert of Monaco.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Picture1.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1046968/large/Picture1.jpg?1646942188" title="Picture1.jpg"> <figcaption><em>Manjushree Orphanage Academic Building built by<br> Dr. Kazuko Tatsumura with Orphans International Worldwide<br> on the Indian border with China high in Himalayas.</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Orphans International also ran homes for children after the earthquake in Haiti who were primarily Catholic and Voodoo. In the Dominican Republic we ran an educational program for disadvantaged children, and another program for aids orphans in Tanzania, both Muslim and Christian.</p> <p>The J. Luce Foundation today mentors youth in New York, NY, Beijing, China, and Kingston, Jamaica. We were establishing a leadership center at the Caribbean Maritime University, where I was an adjunct professor, but this was brought to a halt by the Pandemic coupled with political reshuffling.</p> <p>Orphans International Worldwide received recognition and appreciation from the U.S. Congress (C.arolyn Maloney and Charlie Rangel), as well as the governments of Haiti, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.</p> <p>Our partner <strong>Dr</strong>. Kazuko Hillyer Tatsumura founded Gaia Holistic Foundation after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. She has pledged to fund nine orphan projects, both housing and education:</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1) Manjushree Vidyapith in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India for Tibetan and Hindu children; <em>as well as</em></p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2) Saraswati Centre in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India for so-called <em>Dalit</em> (“Untouchable”) Hindu children;</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;3) Presbyterian children in Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia;</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;4) Catholic children living in Panama; <em>and possibly </em></p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;5) Hindu children in Bali, Indonesia;</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;6) Maasai children around the Great Lakes of Tanzania;</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;7) Native American Lakota children of the Pine Ridge Reservation of South Dakota;</p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;8) Children abandoned in Japan; <em>and </em></p> <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;9) Eastern Orthodox children from Ukraine living on the border inside Romania.</p> <p>I am honored to serve with Dr. Kazuko as vice president of the Gaia Holistic Foundation for the last several years. Dr. Kazuko and I have traveled to Cuba, Haiti, India, and Indonesia together and she is also a member of Lions Clubs International.</p> <p>All the projects of the J. Luce Foundation and Orphans International are advanced with assistance of more than sixty Luce Young Global Leaders and current interns, as well as numerous Luce Global Advisors.</p> <p>Today, as president of the New York Global Leaders Lions Club, I am a candidate in line to become District Governor of Lions Clubs in New York City, District 20-R2. I believe the service I have dedicated the last two decades of my life has laid a foundation to serve within Lions International.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Jamesluce) Aceh AIDSorphans ArunachalPradesh bali Balinesechildren Bangladesh Beijing Benzaiten Bihar BiLuce BodhGaya BodhiTree Brahmin Buddhistchildren Buddhistpilgrimage Buddhists CaribbeanMaritimeUniversity CarolynMahoney CasteSystem Catholicchildren CelebesIslands China Christianity Communityhealthclinic Cuba DalaiLama delhi Dharamshala disadvantagedchildren Dominicanchildren DominicanRepublic Dr.Kazuko Dr.KazukoHillyerTatsumura Dr.StanfordL.Luce EasternOrthodochildren Education ElementarySchool Europe FrancesDudleyAlleman-Luce GaiaHolisticHome Gandhi GiorgioArmani GodoftheArts Haiti HaitianEarthQuake Harijan Himalayas Hinduchildren Hinduism Housing India Indian-PakistaniPartition IndianBuddhism IndianOceanTsunami IndianOceanTsunami2004 Indianuniversities Indo-Chineseborder Indonesia IndonesianMuslims Islam J.LuceFoundationIndia J.LuceFreeSchool Jamaica Japan JimandBiLuce Kalachakra KazukoTatsumura kingston LakotaChildren LeadershipCenter LionsClubDistrictGovernor LionsClubsInternational LordBuddha makingadifference ManjushreeOrphanage mentorship Muslims nativeamericanchildren Nepal NewYorkCity NorthSulawesi orphanage orphansinternationalworldwide Pakistan Panama Pandemic PineRidgeReservation PrinceAlbertOfMonaco refugeechildren Romania School September112001 southasia SouthDakota SriLanka SriLankanchildren Tanzania Tibet Ukraine Volunteerism _2094449 Tue, 03 May 2022 15:44:31 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2022/4/14/2082129/-College-students-in-the-U-S-have-the-right-to-protest-but-not-when-Beijing-gets-its-way?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><span>Over the course of the 21st century, it’s a safe bet that the most impactful relationship between any two countries will be that of the U.S. and China. To describe that relationship as ”complicated” is an understatement so vast, one might just be able to </span><a href="https://www.universetoday.com/25364/can-you-see-the-great-wall-of-china-from-space/" title="">see it from space</a><span>. The complexity goes beyond geopolitics, the contrast between democracy and autocracy, and economic competition. </span></p> <p><span>A recent </span><a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/george-washington-u-s-president-called-the-posters-offensive-now-he-says-theyre-protected-speech?cid=gen_sign_in" title="">incident</a><span> at George Washington University (GWU) is just one example of how complex the relationship between the countries is. Combining freedom of speech issues;&nbsp;a desire to avoid inflaming the rampant, increased hate and violence Asian Americans have faced since the outbreak of COVID-19;&nbsp;protests against state-sponsored oppression;&nbsp;and the Chinese government’s efforts to influence discourse on American college campuses, this incident is unfortunately far from an isolated one, and it’s deeply indicative of a larger problem. </span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Ian Reifowitz) AAPI Activism Badiucao brandeis China College Covid CSSA DalaiLama DonaldTrump FreeSpeech gwu JudyChu NathanLaw Olympics Recommended StopAAPIhate Tiananmen Tibet Uyghurs Xinjiang _2082129 Thu, 14 Apr 2022 13:29:11 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2021/9/3/2048727/-New-Day-Cafe-Friday-Tibet?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p>The Tibetan Empire came into existence in the seventh century when Emperor Songtsän Gampo united numerous tribes of the region. From 1578, leadership of Tibet has been in the hands of the <a href="https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dalai_Lama">Dalai Lamas</a>, whose succession is based on the doctrine of reincarnation, and who are known as spiritual leaders, although their historical status as rulers is disputed.</p> <p><a href="https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Tibet" target="_blank">www.newworldencyclopedia.org/...</a></p> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content="&amp;lt;blockquote class=&quot;twitter-tweet&quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p dir=&quot;ltr&quot; lang=&quot;en&quot;&amp;gt;Planning on visiting &amp;lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tibet?src=hash&amp;amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&amp;gt;#Tibet&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;? Here&amp;amp;#39;s the documents you need: &amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://t.co/Y0y01eriD5&quot;&amp;gt;http://t.co/Y0y01eriD5&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;via &amp;lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/NomadicSamuel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&amp;gt;@NomadicSamuel&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/hashtag/visittibet?src=hash&amp;amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&amp;gt;#visittibet&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href=&quot;http://t.co/XlDiKlURhb&quot;&amp;gt;pic.twitter.com/XlDiKlURhb&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— What Doesn&amp;amp;#39;t Suck? &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; Jeff &amp;amp;amp; Anne (@whatdoesntsuck_) &amp;lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/whatdoesntsuck_/status/603138560019996673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&quot;&amp;gt;May 26, 2015&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Planning on visiting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tibet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tibet</a>? Here's the documents you need: <a href="http://t.co/Y0y01eriD5">http://t.co/Y0y01eriD5</a> <br><br>via <a href="https://twitter.com/NomadicSamuel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NomadicSamuel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/visittibet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#visittibet</a> <a href="http://t.co/XlDiKlURhb">pic.twitter.com/XlDiKlURhb</a></p>— What Doesn't Suck? &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jeff &amp; Anne (@whatdoesntsuck_) <a href="https://twitter.com/whatdoesntsuck_/status/603138560019996673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2015</a></blockquote></div> rss@dailykos.com (Youffraita) Balep ButterTea ChickenCurry Laphing NewDayCafe OpenThread PhingMokru Recommended ShogoMomo SpicyCurryTripe Thukpa Tibet _2048727 Fri, 03 Sep 2021 14:30:10 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2021/7/6/2038413/-Nonfiction-Views-Happy-Birthday-Dalai-Lama?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>In honor of <a href="https://www.dalailama.com/" target="_blank" title="">HH The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s </a>86th birthday today, I <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/7/6/2038233/-Happy-birthday-Dalai-Lama-My-visits-to-Dharamshala-amp-Tibet-Photo-Diary" target="_blank" title="">published a photo diary this morning</a> about my visits to Tibet and to Dharamshala, India, seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, in 1998 and 2000. Go read it if you haven’t already. This evening, for my Nonfiction Views, I’m taking a quick overview of a number of books on Tibet and the Dalai Lama.</p> <p>The recent <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780358410904" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Dalai Lama: An Extraordinary Life</em></a>, published in 2020 and out in paperback earlier this year, is a very good overview of his life and his place in Tibetan religion, history and politics. Author Alexander Norman has a long relationship with the Dalai Lama, having been a co-author of several of his books, including his autobiography <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780060987015" target="_blank" title=""><em>Freedom in Exile</em></a>. He also is a scholar of Tibetan history, having written&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780385530705" target="_blank" title=""><em>Secret Lives of the Dalai Lama: The Untold Story of the Holy Men Who Shaped Tibet, from Pre-history to the Present Day</em></a>&nbsp;(out of print in paper, but available as an eBook.)</p> <p>Puzzled by the reference to pre-history in the subtitle of that <em>Secret Lives</em> book? Well, that’s part of the fun of Norman’s writing. While he hews mostly to facts and history, he’s not afraid to mix in a bit of Tibetan mysticism as well. He pulls the same trick in his new bio of the Dalai Lama&nbsp;(bear with me here):</p> <blockquote> <p>“It is tempting to begin our story with the first Saturday in July, 1935, when, by the Gregorian calendar, the present Dalai Lama was born….In a way, it would be more accurate to begin with the evening of the seventeenth of December 1933 [as] the death of the previous Dalai Lama is what precipitates the birth of the next….Yet there is also a case for beginning with the birth of the First Dalai Lama, since, after all, each incarnation is considered to share the same mental continuum. But...it turns out the First Dalai Lama was in fact the Third...because Sonam Gyatso was in fact the third incarnation of a lineage connected with Drepung, Tibet’s largest monastery….There is an added complication, however….Sonam Gyatso is also considered to have been the 42nd in an unbroken lineage going back to the time of the historical Buddha, who lived during the fifth century BCE. It is this lineage that associates the Dalai Lamas with Chenresig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, whom they are understood to manifest on earth. And yet this lineage itself is antedated by yet another that connects with a young prince who lived 990 eons ago.”</p> </blockquote> <p>And how long is an eon, you ask? The Buddha is said to have defined it thus: <em>Suppose there were a great mountain of rock, seven miles across and seven miles high, a solid mass without any cracks. At the end of every hundred years, a man might brush it with a fine Benares cloth. That great mountain would be worn away and come to an end sooner than an eon.</em></p> <p>In other words, a bloody long time.</p> <p>But mostly the book is an excellent recounting of the Dalai Lama’s life: The portents that identified him as the reincarnation of his lineage; his boyhood and training in the Potala Palace; the Chinese invasion, and his journey at age 18 to Beijing for a meeting with Mao Zedong; his escape from Lhasa and journey to exile in India; his awareness of the CIA-assisted Tibetan resistance movement;&nbsp;his growth over the ensuing decades into the figure of global stature he is today; and his views on Tibet, politics, and what happens after he dies. On that last subject, the Dalai Lama has said that it may be he is the last reincarnation, or if the lineage continues that he will give clear direction as to where his reincarnation will be found, that it could be a woman, that it will not be in China, and that the Tibetan people will never accept a Dalai Lama named by the Chinese government.&nbsp;</p> <p>There are plenty of books if you want to dig deeper into the Dalai Lama’s life and history. Mary Craig’s&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781887178914" target="_blank" title=""><em>Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama</em></a>&nbsp;expands the story to the Dalai Lama’s parents, four brothers and two sisters, who have played their own roles in Tibet’s struggle. Some of them have written books of their own: the Dalai Lama’s mother,&nbsp;Diki Tsering, wrote&nbsp;<em>Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother's Story&nbsp;</em>in 2000,&nbsp;his sister Jetsun Pema, one of his sisters, wrote <em>Tibet: My Story</em> in 1996, and earlier, his elder brother Thubten Jigme Norbu, himself a reincarnated lama, wrote&nbsp;<em>Tibet Is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama</em>, in collaboration with Heinrich Harrer. All three are out of print, but Heinrich Harrer’s <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781585427437" target="_blank" title=""><em>Seven Years in Tibet</em></a> is still available, detailing his improbable friendship with the young Dalai Lama just before his escape from Lhasa. (You can always go for the movie versions, both of which are entertaining: Martin Scorsese’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119485/" target="_blank" title="">Kundun</a>, and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120102/" target="_blank" title="">Seven Years in Tibet</a>, starring Brad Pitt.)</p> <p>Thomas Laird’s <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780802143273" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Story of Tibet: Conversations With the Dalai Lama</em></a>, is an interesting take on all of Tibetan history, as it was created through 60 hours of conversation with the Dalai Lama. Given that the Dalai Lama devotes his life to understanding his religion and its history, this book offers some exceptional insights.</p> <p>Regarding the CIA’s murky involvement in assisting the Tibetan rebellion, there is still much to learn, but one of the best books is <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781891620850" target="_blank" title=""><em>Orphans of the Cold War: America and the Tibetan Struggle</em></a>, by John Kenneth Knaus, published in 1999, one of the CIA’s operatives.</p> <p>Regarding the geopolitical struggle between the Dalai Lama and China, there are some good books that are unfortunately becoming hard to get. Pico Iyer’s&nbsp;<em><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780307387554" target="_blank" title="">The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama</a></em> and Tim Johnson’s&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781568586014" target="_blank" title=""><em>Tragedy in Crimson: How the Dalai Lama Conquered the World but Lost the Battle with China</em></a>, though both over ten years old and not reflective of the Dalai Lama’s latest strategic thinking, provide good analysis of the clash between a repressive&nbsp;superpower and ‘a simple monk.’ Matteo Pistono’s&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780452297517" target="_blank" title=""><em>In the Shadow of the Buddha: One Man's Journey of Discovery in Tibet</em></a> is an exciting memoir of his smuggling documentation of China’s repression out of Tibet. Isabel Hilton’s <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780393321678" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Search for the Panchen Lama</em></a> is a good history of China’s abduction of the Dalai Lama’s designated&nbsp;reincarnation of the 2nd most&nbsp;important figure&nbsp;in Tibetan Buddhism. China spirited him away at age six, and he has not been seen in public in the ensuing 26 years. Meanwhile, China put forth their own choice, who has been utterly ineffectual and totally rejected by Tibetans. This story provides a good preview of what will unfold when the current Dalai Lama dies.</p> <p>It’s been over twenty years since my&nbsp;two trips to Lhasa, Tibet described in <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/7/6/2038233/-Happy-birthday-Dalai-Lama-My-visits-to-Dharamshala-amp-Tibet-Photo-Diary" target="_blank" title="">my diary earlier today</a>. I know that so much of the traditional Tibetan architecture we saw is now gone. The Tibetan quarter was much reduced already 21 years ago, and China has been on a binge of destruction ever since. Abraham Lustgarten’s 2008 <a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780805090185" target="_blank" title=""><em>China's Great Train: Beijing's Drive West and the Campaign to Remake Tibet</em></a>&nbsp;is a great look at the engineering marvel of the train China constructed 710 miles over the permafrost from Golmud to Lhasa, opened in 2006, but for me, the book was also heartbreaking in its description of the economic, architectural and cultural transformation of Lhasa. I treasure my copy of the $75.00 Lhasa Atlas from 2001, now out of print. It’s filled with detailed street maps and building schematics of a world now largely destroyed. Another nice atlas still available, and covering monasteries and shrines from the entire country, is&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780226732442" target="_blank" title=""><em>A Historical Atlas of Tibet</em></a>. Another lovely read is Robert Barnett’s 2006 <em><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780231136815" target="_blank" title="">Lhasa: Streets With Memories</a></em>.</p> <p>Another book becoming hard to get is George&nbsp;Schaller’s&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781610915069" target="_blank" title=""><em>Tibet Wild: A Naturalist's Journeys on the Roof of the World</em></a>, a good overview of the Chinese development’s impact on Tibet’s natural world.</p> <p>Let me end with the trips not taken. Our week-long land rover trip from Lhasa back to Kathmandu, Nepal in 2000 took us to the tiny town of Tingri, near the border. It is the jumping-off point for the Tibetan Everest Base Camp, but we didn’t take the two day side trip to visit. But we could see Mount Everest among the line of Himalayan peaks on the horizon. Finally, there is the sacred Mount Kailash circumambulation in remote&nbsp;western Tibet. Tibetans say a single circuit will wash away a lifetime of sins, while 108 circuits offers instant nirvana. I dream of it, and read Colin Thubron’s&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780061768279" target="_blank" title=""><em>To a Mountain in Tibet</em></a>,&nbsp;or the out of print <em>Circling the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas</em>, by Robert Thurman, but doubt it will ever happen. I’ll just have to keep lugging these sins around with me.</p> <p class="AlignCenter"><strong>BOOK NEWS</strong></p> <p>Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) has a memoir of his Iraq military service coming out November 9th:&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780063045811" target="_blank" title=""><em>They Called Us "Lucky": The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War's Hardest Hit Unit</em></a>, available for preorder now.</p> <p>HarperCollins announced that it has <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/press-releases/harpercollins-to-be-the-official-publisher-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-archives" target="_blank" title="">acquired world publishing rights</a> to the Martin Luther King, Jr. archives. They were the original publisher of his earliest works.</p> <p>A few weeks ago, the Trump Justice Department’s&nbsp;attempt to suppress John Bolton’s 2020&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781982148034" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir</em></a>&nbsp;was <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/86682-doj-drops-case-against-john-bolton.html" target="_blank" title="">dropped by the Biden administration.</a></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="text-align:start">In a statement, Bolton’s Lawyer, Charles Cooper, said the decision to end the litigation against Bolton was a complete vindication—and suggests wrongdoing by the Trump DoJ. "By ending these proceedings without in any way penalizing Ambassador Bolton or limiting his proceeds from the book, the Department of Justice has tacitly acknowledged that President Trump and his White House officials acted illegitimately,” Cooper said in a statement.</span></p> </blockquote> <p class="AlignCenter"><strong>A SELECTION OF THIS WEEK’S NEW HARDCOVERS</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780063092365" target="_blank" title=""><em>Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department</em></a>&nbsp;by Elie Honig. A comprehensive review of what we already know from CNN’s senior legal analyst. (See <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/7/5/2038354/-Ways-in-which-Barr-trampled-the-prosecutor-s-code-and-ways-to-repair-the-damage-in-Hatchet-Man" target="_blank">bookgirl’s review</a> posted yesterday)</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781250174819" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age</em></a> by Amy Sohn. Anthony Comstock and his use of postal laws to battle against women’s rights.</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780593296905" target="_blank"><em>This Is Your Mind on Plants</em></a> by Michael Pollan. The author takes another crack at psychoactive plants&nbsp; following his earlier&nbsp;<a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780735224155" target="_blank" title=""><em>How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence</em></a>.</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781541762435" target="_blank"><em>To End a Plague: America's Fight to Defeat AIDS in Africa</em></a> by Emily Bass. Tired of reading about former guy’s disastrous handling of the pandemic? Here’s the tale of a GOP president who actually had some success handling an earlier crisis.</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780062887672" target="_blank" title=""><em>Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy</em></a> by Jeffrey Garten. Another GOP golden oldie. Make that a golden-ending oldie.</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780306874468" target="_blank" title=""><em>From the Streets of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga</em></a> by S. H. Fernando, Jr. This week’s musical offering.</li> </ul> <p class="AlignCenter" style="text-align:center"><strong>OUT IN PAPERBACK THIS WEEK</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781541619586" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States</em></a> by Walter Johnson. “A searing and "magisterial" (Cornel West) history of American racial exploitation and resistance, told through the turbulent past of the city of St. Louis.”</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780143110705" target="_blank" title=""><em>Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich and the Rise of the New Republican Party by&nbsp;Julian E. Zelizer.</em></a> The book came out in hardcover on July 7th, 2020. Little did Zelizer know that six months later a mob of Republicans would literally be trying to burn down the House.</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781538747582" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America's Wilderness</em></a> by Jon Billman. This book is about search-and-recue for backpackers and such.</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9781455536528" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Golden Thread: The Cold War and the Mysterious Death of Dag Hammarskjöld</em></a> by Ravi Somaiya. “One of the most enduring unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.”</li> <li><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/book/9780062873064" target="_blank" title=""><em>Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots</em></a> by Morgan Jerkins. A memoir of her family roots, as well as a meditation on&nbsp;Great Migration, and the displacement of black people across America.</li> </ul> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p><span>All book links in this diary are to my online bookstore</span><span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://theliteratelizard.indielite.org/" target="_blank" title="">The Literate Lizard</a><span>.<span>&nbsp;</span></span>If you already have a favorite indie bookstore, please keep supporting them. If you’re able to throw a little business my way, that would be appreciated. If you write ‘Daily Kos’ in the comment field when placing an order, I can offer 15% off (an ever-changing smattering of new releases are already discounted 15% each week). We also partner with<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://theliteratelizard.mymustreads.com/" target="_blank">Hummingbird Media for ebooks</a><span>&nbsp;</span>and<span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://libro.fm/literatelizard" target="_blank" title="">Libro.fm for audiobooks</a>. The ebook app is admittedly not as robust as some, but it gets the job done. Libro.fm is similar to Amazon’s Audible, with a la carte audiobooks, or a $14.99 monthly membership which includes the audiobook of your choice and 20% off subsequent purchases during the month.</p> </blockquote> <p class="AlignCenter" style="text-align:center"><strong>READERS &amp; BOOK LOVERS SERIES SCHEDULE</strong></p> <div class="table-wrapper"> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="table-wrapper"> <table class="dk5-table"> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">DAY</th> <th style="text-align:center"> <p>TIME</p> <p>EST/EDT</p> </th> <th style="text-align:center">SERIES</th> <th style="text-align:center">EDITOR(S)</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">SUNDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">6:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/YoungPeoplesPavilion" target="_blank"><em>Young People’s Pavilion</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">The Book Bear</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left"> <p>(LAST SUN OF THE MONTH)</p> </th> <td style="vertical-align:top">7:30 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/LGBTLiterature" target="_blank"><em>LGBTQ Literature</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">Chrislove</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">MONDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/news/TheLanguageoftheNight" target="_blank"><em>The Language of the Night</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">DrLori</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">TUESDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/ContemporaryFictionViews" target="_blank"><em>Contemporary Fiction Views</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">bookgirl</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left"></th> <td style="vertical-align:top">10:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/NonfictionViews" target="_blank"><em>Nonfiction Views</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">DebtorsPrison</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">WEDNESDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/Bookchat" target="_blank"><em>Bookchat</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">cfk et al.</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">THURSDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/write%20on">Write On!</a></em></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">SensibleShoes</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">(FIRST THURS OF MONTH)</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">2:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blog/AdmiralNaismith">Monthly Bookpost</a></em></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">AdmiralNaismith</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">FRIDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top"> <p>7:30 AM</p> </td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/news/WAYR" target="_blank"><em>WAYR?</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">Chitown Kev</td> </tr> <tr> <th class="AlignRight" style="text-align:left">(OCCASIONALLY)</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">8:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/BooksGoBoom" target="_blank"><em>Books Go Boom!</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">Brecht</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color:#f9f9f9"> <th style="text-align:left"></th> <td style="vertical-align:top">9:30 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/CLASSICPOETRYGROUP" target="_blank"><em>Classic Poetry Group</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">Angmar</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color:#f9f9f9"> <th style="text-align:left">SATURDAY</th> <td style="vertical-align:top">Noon</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"> <p><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/ycrt">You Can't Read That!</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</em>or</p> <p><em><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/paulsreviews">Paul's Book Reviews</a></em></p> </td> <td style="vertical-align:top">pwoodford</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color:#f9f9f9"> <th style="text-align:left"></th> <td style="vertical-align:top">9:00 PM</td> <td style="vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/news/bookssobadtheyregood" target="_blank"><em>Books So Bad They’re Good</em></a></td> <td style="vertical-align:top">Ellid</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (DebtorsPrison) Books DalaiLama NonfictionViews R&BLers RandBLers Readers&BookLovers ReadersandBookLovers Reading Tibet _2038413 Wed, 07 Jul 2021 02:00:03 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2021/7/6/2038233/-Happy-birthday-Dalai-Lama-My-visits-to-Dharamshala-amp-Tibet-Photo-Diary?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Today is the 86th birthday of <a href="https://www.dalailama.com/" target="_blank">HH The 14th Dalai Lama</a>, and I’ll be posting two diaries today to mark the occasion. This is the first, with memories of my visits to Dharamshala/McLeod Ganj, India and to Tibet in 1998 and 2000. And this evening, at 10:00pm EDT/7:00pm PDT, I’ll be posting my weekly <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/tags/NonfictionViews" target="_blank">Nonfiction Views</a> column for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailykos.com/blogs/Readers%20and%20Book%20Lovers" target="_blank">Readers and Book Lovers Group</a>, where I’ll discuss various books on Tibet and the Dalai Lama.</p> <p>In 1998, my wife Phyllis and I took a two month trip to India, Nepal and Tibet. One of the highlights of that journey was a week in Dharamshala, India, seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile, while the Dalai Lama was giving his annual post-Tibetan New Year public teaching, attended by thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns, Tibetan exiles and foreigners like us.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Dharamshala, India street scene, 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962714/large/CroppedDharamsala.jpg?1625337723" title="Dharamshala, India street scene, 1998"> <figcaption>Dharamshala street, 1998 [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962714/large/CroppedDharamsala.jpg?1625337723" target="_blank">Click to Enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p>Dharamshala, or more specifically McLeod Ganj, the commercial town just up the mountain from the seat of government itself, was pretty ramshackle back then, two main streets lined&nbsp;with basic shops, restaurants and hotels, with the Namgyalma Stupa and its dozens of prayer wheels right in the center.&nbsp;Smaller streets radiate&nbsp;off up and down the mountain, to schools, meditation caves, monasteries and more, through stands of pine, Himalayan oak and rhododendron. Snow-capped peaks were visible from numerous outlooks. Temple Road leads out the far end of town to the Tsuglagkhang Complex containing the main Temple and the Dalai Lama’s residence. Around this complex, the kora, or traditional ceremonial path Tibetans follow around sacred sites, winds through the forest, past piles of mani stones and strands of prayer flags. Occasionally, monks in their crimson robes would march through town, chanting support for the Dalai Lama and for Tibet.</p> <p>We stayed at the Hotel Tibet. Out our window, we could see a maze of tin roofs with large rocks and pieces of slate scattered about to hold them down. Monkeys scampered. Across the way, at the Shangri-La Guest House, there were many monks staying. We would watch them on the roof of the building, brushing their teeth or studying their scriptures, giving us a wave and big smile when they spotted us.</p> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Mani Stones along the meditation path around the Dalai Lama" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962734/large/CroppedManiStonesDharamsala.jpg?1625343206"> <figcaption>Mani stones on the meditation path around the Dalai Lama’s compound</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Walking the kora around the Dalai Lama's compound, Dharamshala, India 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962732/large/CroppedWalkingthekoraDharamsala.jpg?1625343145" title="Walking the kora around the Dalai Lama's compound, Dharamshala, India 1998"> <figcaption>Walking the kora, the ceremonial meditation path around the Dalai Lama’s compound [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962732/large/CroppedWalkingthekoraDharamsala.jpg?1625343145" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Tibetan monks relaxing, Dharamshala, India, 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962730/large/CroppedMonksrelaxingDharamsala.jpg?1625343040" title="Tibetan monks relaxing, Dharamshala, India, 1998"> <figcaption>Monks relaxing and enjoying the view, Dharamshala, 1998 [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962730/large/CroppedMonksrelaxingDharamsala.jpg?1625343040" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p>As with everything else, I understand that the town and its tourist trade has grown considerably&nbsp;in the ensuing decades. There’s now&nbsp;even a Hyatt Regency hotel. I’m grateful to have seen it back in its more modest days.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-left"><img alt="Tibetan Monks marching in Dharamshala, India, 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962726/large/CroppedMonksonparade2Dharamsala.jpg?1625342744" title="Tibetan Monks marching in Dharamshala, India, 1998"> <figcaption>Monks marching, Dharamshala, 1998 [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962726/large/CroppedMonksonparade2Dharamsala.jpg?1625342744" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p>On the day the teachings began, crowds streamed to the Temple complex early in the morning. It was a chilly, drizzly early March day, but most of the outdoor seating area in the courtyard alongside the Temple was protected from the elements by&nbsp;corrugated plastic or with fabric. The area was packed with people sitting on the ground or on concrete bleachers, yet miraculously, monks carrying huge iron kettles of milky tea managed to pass through the crowds, filling everyone’s cups, or in the case of one cup-less pilgrim, the tiny cap of his compass.</p> <p>The Dalai Lama finally appeared at the back of the courtyard, having evidently walked up from his residence, carrying his own umbrella. He reached the dais, and there followed a long series of guttural chants by the monks. The Dalai Lama spoke in Tibetan, but translations were broadcast in multiple languages; we would listen by tuning in on transistor radios to the appropriate station.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="The Dalai Lama, Dharamshala, India 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962735/large/DalaiLamaDharamshala.jpg?1625343304" title="The Dalai Lama, Dharamshala, India 1998"> <figcaption>The Dalai Lama during a teaching in Dharamshala, 1998 [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962735/large/DalaiLamaDharamshala.jpg?1625343304" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Tibetan Monks marching, Dharamshala, India 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962729/large/CroppedMonksonparadeDharamsala.jpg?1625342935" title="Tibetan Monks marching, Dharamshala, India 1998"> <figcaption>Monks marching, Dharamshala, 1998 [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/962729/large/CroppedMonksonparadeDharamsala.jpg?1625342935" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p>We didn’t attend every teaching. The days were long and uncomfortable, and in truth the level of Buddhist instruction was beyond our ready understanding. Some days I would just walk to the outside of the compound, without bothering to enter the courtyard through the security, and simply spend some time listening to the Dalai Lama’s voice over the loudspeakers, and to the translation on my radio. But it was a thrill and an inspiration to see him in person, and when he passed just a few feet in front of us during one of the breaks, I swear you could feel the energy radiating from him.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Prayer wheels, Dharamshala, 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963093/large/PrayerwheelsDharamsala.jpg?1625439650" title="Prayer wheels, Dharamshala, 1998"> <figcaption>Prayer wheels, Dharamshala [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963093/large/PrayerwheelsDharamsala.jpg?1625439650" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p>During one of the sessions I listened to, the Dalai Lama spoke of the hunger strikes begun the week before by the Tibetan Youth Congress&nbsp;in Delhi, the Indian capitol, demanding freedom for Tibet. He said he had received a letter from the hunger strikers asking him not to order them to end their action. The Dalai Lama spoke of his torment. On the one hand, self-harm in the form of a hunger strike was a form of violence, which he could not condone. On the other hand, he respected their commitment.</p> <p>After we returned to Delhi, we visited the hunger strikers. They were in a tent in the public Jantar Mantar park. It was now late March, about three weeks into their protest. They were lying in beds, already quite weak; one of them spoke softly to us as we held his hand.&nbsp;A month later,&nbsp;Indian police forcibly removed the strikers (some say at the request of Gen Fu Quanyou, head of China’s Peoples’ Republic Army, who had arrived on an official visit to India.) In protest, 55 year old Thupten Ngodup&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/magazine/the-restless-children-of-the-dalai-lama.html" target="_blank">set himself on fire</a>&nbsp;at the scene. He died a few days later, though not before the Dalai Lama had visited him in the hospital. Afterward, the Dalai Lama <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/0504/050498.intl.intl.1.html" target="_blank">spoke of his conflicted view</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>"My middle approach up to now in certain fields has brought no results, so they are trying to bring some more notice to this to everyone including the Chinese government," the Dalai Lama said after meeting a group of recent escapees from Tibet. "Therefore I felt if I stop them I have to offer some other kind of alternative. But that is not there unfortunately. I myself am in a state of dilemma over what to do and I frankly told them I am confused now."</p> </blockquote> <p>After India, it was on to Nepal. From there, we planned to take a two week trip to Tibet. Alas, Phyllis came down with pneumonia, probably due to the awful air pollution in Delhi. However, we had met numerous Tibetans in India and Nepal who had given us katas, the ceremonial white scarves used to signify respect and gratitude, asking us to place them on the Jowo Shakyamuni Buddha in Lhasa’s Jokhang Temple, considered the most important in Tibet. In order to fulfil this obligation, we decided I would travel alone to Lhasa on a quickie three day organized tour.</p> <p>While I did get to see the major sights—The Jokhang Temple, the Potala Palace and the Norbulinka Summer Palace—the trip was more interesting for the glimpse it gave me into Chinese control of Tibet. At that time, you had to be part of an organized tour to visit Tibet, so travel agencies in Kathmandu would conspire to assemble sham ‘groups’ for going through customs in Lhasa. My ‘group’ consisted of myself, three American women, a newlywed couple from Singapore, two German women and another solo woman from another Asian country, all with different itineraries and slated to be staying in three different hotels.</p> <p>The corruption seemed to go smoothly at immigration in the Lhasa airport, though it was a bit disconcerting. Some, including myself, had obtained Chinese visas beforehand. These were stamped ‘cancelled’ at immigration, and the only documentation seemed to be the ‘group’ visa with all our names on it. I received nothing specific to myself: no stamp in my passport, no paper visa, no personal documentation of any sort that would show I was in the country legally. After going through customs, I was somehow swapped into another faux ‘group’ for the 93 kilometer bus ride to Lhasa and the Lhasa Hotel (formerly a Holiday Inn.) There, I was stripped away once again by my personal, non-group handler for the short ride to where I was slated to stay: the Grand Hotel, which was listed in no guidebook and which no one had ever heard of. But first, I asked my guide if I could change money at the Lhasa Hotel. In theory, only guests could exchange money, but my guide said “Just write down any room number.”</p> <p>I wrote down Room 204 in the designated space.&nbsp;</p> <p>“There must be some mistake,” said the woman behind the counter in perfect English. “All our room numbers have four digits.”</p> <p>Caught! “Um...well, I’m with the group just checking in,” I stammered. “They told me Room 204…..”</p> <p>“I think perhaps they meant Room 3204,” the woman helpfully prompted. I added a 3, and, the farce complete, she swapped my travelers checks for Chinese currency.</p> <p>Then it was a quick ride to the Grand Hotel, which did in fact exist. It seemed new, it seemed huge, and it seemed empty. There was some initial consternation at the front desk, as I had no visa number for the registration form; as I mentioned, I’d been given zero actual documentation for myself, and existed only as part of the fictional ‘group’ visa. There was quite a bit of back and forth between my guide and various hotel personnel, and the matter was finally—albeit mysteriously—resolved. I was assigned Room 2233, which, I silently noted, had four digits.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="Grand Hotel, Lhasa, Tibet, 1998" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963076/large/CroppedGrandHotelLhasa.jpg?1625434040" title="Grand Hotel, Lhasa, Tibet, 1998"> <figcaption>The creepy Grand Hotel, Lhasa, Tibet, 1998 [<a href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963076/large/CroppedGrandHotelLhasa.jpg?1625434040" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>]</figcaption> </figure> <p>The hotel had a sort of sterile luxury, and the corridors were comically long, with Muzak softly playing “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” and “Theme From ‘The Sting.’” My room was similarly sterile, though comfortable, with Chinese touches like little rubber slippers at bedside and a thermos of hot water for tea. As there were still several hours of daylight, I decided to explore a bit on my own.</p> <p>No one stopped me as I left the hotel, and, despite&nbsp;feeling a bit vulnerable without documentation and without a guide to bail me out,&nbsp;turned left onto a broad avenue lined with Chinese shops. There were stores of all types, from hole-in-the-wall noodle shops to large stores to karaoke bars, nothing seeming Tibetan. There was also a two-story department store with what might have been the only escalator in Tibet. Tibetans, from children to adult monks, were riding up and down, laughing with delight.</p> <p>I walked past the Potala Palace, then walked all the way into the old Tibetan quarter and the Jokhang Temple, wandering through the festive Barkhor Square in front. Though it was only from the outside for both, I was happy to have seen them without a handler. My official guided tours to both, as well as to Sera Monastery and the Norbulingka summer palace, would take place over the next two days.</p> <p>Not wanting to overdo it in the 12,000 foot altitude, I headed back to the Grand Hotel, thinking I would have dinner there. Near the stairwells of the long hotel corridors, there was always a desk with two women to monitor you. I asked if there was a restaurant in the hotel. This seemed to cause a bit of consternation and prompted a telephone call, after which I was sent to the lobby. I saw no restaurant in the lobby, so asked at the desk, where I was directed up a flight of stairs. There I was confronted by a cavernous, desolate dining room and six staff, who seemed shocked to see me. This prompted more discussion and phone calls, after which it was determined I could have some rice and vegetables and egg drop soup. They turned on the lights, seated me, and I ate my miserable meal in lonely silence.</p> <p>It was nice to see Lhasa, but the trip felt very constrained and rushed. But at least I accomplished my mission: I draped the various katas entrusted to us in front of&nbsp;the Jowo Shakyamuni statue in the Jokhang Temple.</p> <p>Phyllis and I returned for another two month trip to India and Nepal two years later, in 2000, and that is when we took our postponed dream journey to Tibet together: one week in Lhasa, and then one week overland back to Kathmandu, Nepal, all arranged by a Tibetan travel agency (new back then, but still in business and highly recommended:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basantaadventure.com/" target="_blank">Basanta Adventure</a>&nbsp;or <a href="https://www.basantatibet.com/" target="_blank">Basanta Tibet</a>.)</p> <p>This trip was everything my dreary excursion two years earlier had not been. We stayed in a modest Tibetan hotel, the Banak Shol, in the Tibetan quarter, where Tibetan men on the rooftop outside our window played Sho, a popular dice game. On our visit to the Jokhang, we were allowed to wander around on the roof, where we watched a team of women working in formation as they sang and tapped out a rhythm with long poles. At Sera Monastery, where two years earlier I’d been subjected to a rushed visit and dreary lecture, we got to watch the monks debate in the courtyard, and then went to our Tibetan guide’s nearby home to meet his new baby. On Sunday, we joined his family on the grounds of the Norbulingka for a traditional family picnic. We had plenty of opportunity to wander on our own, both in the ever-dwindling area of traditional Tibetan architecture around the Jokhang (being steadily destroyed by the Chinese,) and the more modern Chinese city.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The seven day trip across Tibet back to Nepal was equally amazing, visiting the cities of the more modernized Shigatse and more traditional Gyantse, the Tashilhunpo and Samye monasteries, seeing the glowing blue of the sacred Lake Yamdrok, going over mountain passes of 15,720 and 17,120 feet, and the final night in the tiny, rustic town of Tingri, jumping off point for the Tibetan base camp for Mount Everest, visible in the distance. It was the adventure of a lifetime.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Incense burner outside the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963131/large/CroppedIncenseBurnernearJokhangLhasa.jpg?1625444696" title="Incense burner outside the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Incense burner outside Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Devout Tibetans performing prostrations in front of Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963130/large/CroppedJokhangprostrationsLhasa.jpg?1625444609" title="Devout Tibetans performing prostrations in front of Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Devout Tibetans performing prostrations in front of the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Yak butter venders in the market, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963129/large/CroppedYakbuttervendorinLhasamarket.jpg?1625444519" title="Yak butter venders in the market, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Yak butter vendor in the market, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Women working on a roof near the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963127/large/CroppedWomenworkingonroofnearJokhangLhasa.jpg?1625444428" title="Women working on a roof near the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Women working on a roof near the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Our guide Samdup and baby, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963126/large/CroppedTibetGuideandbaby.jpg?1625444314" title="Our guide Samdup and baby, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Our Tibetan guide Samdup and his baby near Sera Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Monks debating in the courtyard of Sera Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963125/large/CroppedSeraMonasterymonksdebate.jpg?1625444237" title="Monks debating in the courtyard of Sera Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Monks practicing debates, Sera Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Tibetan sector, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963124/large/CroppedTibetansectorLhasaTibet.jpg?1625444140" title="Tibetan sector, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Street in the old Tibetan sector, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Barkhor Square, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963123/large/CroppedBarkhorSquareLhasaTibet.jpg?1625444036" title="Barkhor Square, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Barkhor Square, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963122/large/CroppedPotalaPalace1998.jpg?1625443956" title="Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet"> <figcaption>Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Street scene, Gyantse, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963121/large/CroppedCartGyantseTibet.jpg?1625443835" title="Street scene, Gyantse, Tibet"> <figcaption>Street scene, Gyantse, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Rural restaurant, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963119/large/CroppedTibetRestaurant.jpg?1625443640" title="Rural restaurant, Tibet"> <figcaption>Rural restaurant, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Lake Yamdrok, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963118/large/CroppedLakeYamdrok.jpg?1625443539" title="Lake Yamdrok, Tibet"> <figcaption>Lake Yamdrok, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Lake Yamdrok, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963114/large/CroppedLakeYamdrok2.jpg?1625443444" title="Lake Yamdrok, Tibet"> <figcaption>Lake Yamdrok, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Restarant of the Amdo Hotel, Tingri, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963109/large/AmdoHotelRestaurantTingri.jpg?1625443208" title="Restarant of the Amdo Hotel, Tingri, Tibet"> <figcaption>Restaurant at the Amdo Hotel, Tingri, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Hotel Amdo, Tingri, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963108/large/CroppedAmdoHotelTingri.jpg?1625443124" title="Hotel Amdo, Tingri, Tibet"> <figcaption>Amdo Hotel, Tingri, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Tingri, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963135/large/CroppedManiStonesandPrayerFlagsTingri.jpg?1625445957" title="Tingri, Tibet"> <figcaption>Outside Tingri, Tibet. Mount Everest is one of the peaks in the background</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned"><img alt="Women walking near Tingri, Tibet" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/963111/large/CroppedWomenwalkingTingriTibet.jpg?1625443322" title="Women walking near Tingri, Tibet"> <figcaption>Women walking near Tingri, Tibet</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (DebtorsPrison) DalaiLama Dharamsala Lhasa PhotoDiary Tibet Travel _2038233 Tue, 06 Jul 2021 15:00:08 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2021/4/8/2023794/-PWB-Peeps-Open-Thread-Way-Up-There?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Some animals are natural mountaineers.&nbsp; Just recently a lizard, a type of tree iguana, <em>Liolaemus tacnae,</em> was found at a record-setting&nbsp; (for reptiles) 5400 meters altitude in the Andes.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="a tree iguana on rocks in Chile" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935327/large/Kaldari_Liolaemus_tenuis_01.jpg?1617910738" title="a tree iguana on rocks in Chile"> <figcaption>slightly different species of tree iguana, in Chile</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>In 2008, a colony of bumblebees was found at over 5600 meters on Mount Everest.&nbsp; Insects are also known to kite along in high altitude winds for long distances.</p> <p>Fish at altitude have remodeled their gills, and grow smaller and slower to deal with low oxygen saturation and limited foods.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="naked carp in Lake Qinghai" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935328/large/1620px-Gymnocypris_przewalskii_2013.JPG?1617910884" title="naked carp in Lake Qinghai"> <figcaption>naked carp</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Adapting to high altitude takes a set of genetic and behavioral changes for the long term.&nbsp; A few mammals have made the upper reaches their permanent homes, and others move up and down slopes, tolerating a wide range of environments.&nbsp; Yaks are the highest dwelling mammals, at 3000 to 5000 meters.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="2 yaks on grass" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/737781/large/DSC02291.JPG?1573632598" title="2 yaks on grass"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Ibex, Tibetan gazelle (goa), llamas, vicunas, and mountain goats are all adapted.&nbsp; The Tibetan plateau has wolves, wild asses, chiru (Tibetan antelope)</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="The Tibetan antelope or chiru has extremely long, straight horns" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935320/large/Atilope_du_Tibet.png?1617909456" title="The Tibetan antelope or chiru has extremely long, straight horns"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>snow leopards, foxes, tahr, markhor, chamois,</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="the chamois is a goat/antelope that lives in mountains all over Europe and Asia" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935319/large/Gamse_Rupicapra_rupicapra_Zoo_Salzburg_2014_g-crop.jpg?1617909195" title="the chamois is a goat/antelope that lives in mountains all over Europe and Asia"> <figcaption>the chamois lives in mountains all over Europe and into Asia</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>pikas, and even water buffalo.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="The Himalayan pika lives at up to 4200 meters above sea level." class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935316/large/1440px-Himalayan_Pika.JPG?1617909011" title="The Himalayan pika lives at up to 4200 meters above sea level."> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Guinea pigs and deer mice at altitude have a genetic tweak in their hemoglobin gene for getting more oxygen, and they also breathe faster and have larger lungs and hearts.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="DiGangi-Deermouse.jpg" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935323/large/DiGangi-Deermouse.jpg?1617909817" title="DiGangi-Deermouse.jpg"> <figcaption>deer mouse</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Birds are adapted to altitude as well. All birds have super efficient lungs, which makes flight at altitude easier for them. Their muscles, hearts, and brains are all extra rich in capillaries to supply oxygen. The bar-headed goose regularly crosses the Himalayas on migration.</p> <div class="align-center"> <figure class="image-captioned width-xl"><img alt="Ruppelsvulture.jpg" class="width-xl" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/935325/large/Ruppelsvulture.jpg?1617910161" title="Ruppelsvulture.jpg"> <figcaption>Ruppels vulture can fly up to 11,200 meters above sea level.</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>One of our human ancestor species made some adaptations, too, and passed them to the people who now live on the Tibetan plateau. Changes are also seen in those who inhabit the Andes and the Ethiopian highlands. There are structural changes in hemoglobin, larger lungs, and a higher resting metabolism. They also have darker skin tone to deal with the increased ultraviolet exposure.</p> <p><span><em>PWBPeeps is a group that posts a daily diary and nightly open thread for animal lovers. We share photos, seek &amp; give advice about pet health and behavior issues, support each other in times of sadness and stress, celebrate together when times are good, and on most days have an inordinate amount of fun.</em></span></p> <p><span><em>You are welcome to join us!</em></span></p> <p class="AlignCenter" style="text-align:center"><span><span><u><em>Here are few not-too-onerous PWB rules</em></u></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span><span><em>Do not “Troll” the Pootie Peeps Diaries. If you don’t like animal diaries, there’s no need to tell us about it. Just go find some other diary more to your liking.</em></span></span></li> <li><span><span><em>Whatever happens in the outer blog STAYS in the outer blog. This is a place to relax and play; please treat it accordingly.</em></span></span></li> <li><span><span><em>If you would like a pic from the comment threads, please ask the poster. He/she may have a copyright to those pics. Many thanks!</em></span></span></li> <li><span><span><em>There are some pics we never post: &nbsp;snakes, creepy crawlies, any and all photos that depict or encourage human cruelty toward animals. &nbsp;These are considered “out of bounds” and will not be tolerated.</em></span></span></li> <li><span><span><em>If you’re not sure about an issue...please ask. &nbsp;Someone is always glad to help.</em></span></span></li> </ul> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (strawbale) Andes Animals highaltitude OpenThread PWBPeeps Recommended Tibet _2023794 Fri, 09 Apr 2021 02:00:06 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/10/5/1983810/-Circular-Tracing?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p style="text-align:center">Circular Tracing:</p> <p style="text-align:center">Lots of Threads to Pull -&nbsp;Bring the Comments On.</p> <p> Last night my brother sent me a link to an article from <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/k-overlooked-variable-driving-pandemic/616548/"><u>The Atlantic</u></a>, that funny enough, I had just recently sent to another brother. This article discussed how Covid has unusually high clumping in clusters that indicate uneven spreading. Some clumping is expected in random processes, though our current observations are much higher. This means efforts to reduce R0 while having value, may benefit from efforts aimed at k. Normally we think k is constant, however currently this proves not true. For society this means backward tracing should take precedence over forward tracing meaning try to figure where a positive became infected as opposed to try to figure whom that positive has infected. Test types could then be matched for better efficiency and effectiveness to groups backward and forward. This article led me to some thoughts that I sent this brother regarding small insular highly intra-connected groups. While I was sending these&nbsp;to him another brother sent me a thought for the day which turned into interesting conversation. These had many ideas worthy of exploration so now I’m sharing with you. Please explore! As in most conversations, topics wonder, bounce, and occasionally interweave.&nbsp;<br> I’m sure screen shotting would be easier though that would dox, so here’s a typed&nbsp;transcript.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Here’s a thought for you.</p> <ol> <li>It seems White House is doing forward tracing only. Such started with Hicks though as others were found getting earlier, they became new starting places moving forward.</li> <li>Was such an attempt to make Hicks a <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/8/1975947/-Liars-and-Fires-Scapegoating-101"><u>scapegoat</u></a>?</li> <li>Does forward only tracing matter inside a small insular group? I can go clockwise 90 or counterclockwise for 270. I’ll still hit the same spot. Alternately, “Wheel of Friends,” type network, I go to any node and there’s a path forward to the desired original node. Like a Jersey left.</li> </ol> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: Thought of the day. In Europe, most people see sick leave as a way to keep everyone else safe so overall capacity is highest. US sees sick leave as way for low performer to recover more quickly so they can quickly get back to work. Parts of India shift you to “unclean“ for the rest of your life. These views are cooked into culture, each is going to struggle. US is going to have really tough time accepting that “available” to work (no longer on deathbed) but didn’t is better for overall org. And other parts of the world might need to stop shunning when recovery is complete. And who likes a smug EU saying “logically this is best.”</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Sick leave is an interesting topic. VENT IN HQ follows European thinking, if you’re sick, get the fuck out, we don’t want it.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Brings a different thought that Vice Admiral Donegan would regularly ask, “which is more important to avoid, tired leaders or tired troops?“</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: Corporate US celebrates everyone who toughed it out, back to work same day as surgery, 20 years without a single sick day, … fired if you take more than three without a doctor’s note, endless examples. Now same expectations are driving White House work.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: If you aren’t performing, you are slacking. Anyone else who gets sick can take care of themselves.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: this, in turn, relates to differences of opinion between surface navy and aviators as to the purpose of the duty officer. Surface navy see the duty as a point to collect and collate information and relay to the commander for decision action. Aviation navy see the duty as the person to initiate action so as to protect the rest of all other aviators such that they can fly the next day’s missions. The commander is one of those aviators.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: and to all that, remember perfect attendance awards. I thought those should be marks of shame.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: @India way of thinking, isn’t the 737 now the safest airplane? Aren’t your recovered now full of antibodies?</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: Taylorism at its best. We pay others to think. If you aren’t here, you can’t do.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Seems spell check got me, “vent in” is CENTCOM.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: Speaking of Boeing, is it true South Carolina built 787 is crap (nearing EU ban) while Seattle built is ok?</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: No idea but wouldn’t be surprised.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Does that in any way tie to right to work? Or state educational standard differences? Mindsets, blue states tend to consider the group (European) while red state only cares about self? Sum of all of the above?</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Also, how does that relate to new tankers, as I believe they’ve had similar issues? How about Boeing’s space capsule and losing to fucking Musk?</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: just got an email, didn’t get the TACAIR job. Haven’t heard back from Scaled either.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: &nbsp;Different thought. AutoCorrect should use different defaults for swipe and audio entered words as opposed to letter by letter typed words. It should also color code adjusted words until you hit send. Perhaps texting being more conversational than papers should also be less sensitive.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: I too can be a “product owner.”</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: Need tibetan test that one</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Brother: To beta test. It failed.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Me: Well, you know it wasn’t Chinese programmed.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Fffflats) 737 787 agile BackwardTracing Boeing China CircularTracing Covid ForwardTracing Ghosted Hicks HopeHicks India Musk Navy ProductOwner scrum SpaceX Tibet trump WhiteHouse _1983810 Mon, 05 Oct 2020 22:20:01 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/6/12/1952796/-Overnight-News-Digest-Friday-Night?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align:left">Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Interceptor7, Magnifico, annetteboardman, jck, and Besame. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Man Oh Man,<span> </span><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1519053/61203883#comment_61203883" target="_blank">wader</a>, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw.</p> <p style="text-align:left">OND is a regular<span> </span><a title="" href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/01/07/821138/-Welcome-New-Users-Celebrating-DKos-Communities-with-poll">community feature</a><span> </span>on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.</p> <p style="text-align:left">Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.</p> </blockquote> <p>We begin with this from Belgium, via Reuters:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a title="" href="https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN23J26I-OZATP" target="_blank">Leopold not to blame for Congo abuse, Belgian king's brother says</a></h3> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div><span><a title="" target="_blank">Marine Strauss</a>, </span><span><a title="" target="_blank">Philip Blenkinsop</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div></div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The brother of Belgium’s king joined a swelling debate about its past on Friday by saying that King Leopold II, under whose rule millions of Congolese were killed or maimed, could not have “made people suffer” because he never visited his colony.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From CNN:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/business/brexit-uk-border-controls/index.html" target="_blank">Britain delays border controls to soften Brexit blow to its crashing economy</a></h3> <div> <div> <p><span>By <a title="" href="https://twitter.com/hannaziady" target="_blank">Hanna Ziady</a>, <a title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/business" target="_blank">CNN Business</a></span></p> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>London (CNN Business)The United Kingdom will delay the introduction of <a title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/11/business/brexit-frictionless-trade/index.html" target="_blank">border checks</a> on imports from the European Union by as much as six months in a bid to avoid piling on the pain for British business and choking off vital food supplies.</p> </div> <div>The <a title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/11/economy/uk-coronavirus-brexit-business/index.html" target="_blank">UK government on Friday </a>backtracked on plans to impose full border checks on EU imports on January 1, 2021, in the hope of relieving pressure on companies <a title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/08/business/uk-jobs-crisis/index.html" target="_blank">already slammed</a> by the coronavirus and uncertainty over <a title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/31/business/brexit-trade/index.html" target="_blank">terms of trade</a> with the country's biggest export market.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From The Washington Post:</p> <blockquote> <div> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/winston-churchill-statue-boris-johnson/2020/06/12/f1dc4a48-acb0-11ea-a43b-be9f6494a87d_story.html" target="_blank">Winston Churchill statue is put in a protective box, as British culture wars sideline Nigel Farage and a John Cleese sitcom</a></h3> <p><span><a title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/william-booth/"><strong>William Booth</strong></a><span> </span></span></p> </div> <div> <div> <div> <p>LONDON — In the predawn hours Friday, workers boarded up an iconic Winston Churchill statue outside the Palace of Westminster to protect the public art work from further vandalism. Last weekend, protesters tagged the wartime prime minister with graffiti calling him a racist.</p> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From CNBC:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/12/british-airways-to-auction-off-art-worth-millions-as-pandemic-weighs.html" target="_blank">British Airways is auctioning off art worth millions as pandemic weighs on earnings</a></h3> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div><a title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/chloe-taylor/">Chloe Taylor</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <p>British Airways plans to auction off art worth millions as the airline looks to raise capital amid the coronavirus crisis.</p> <p>The auction, first reported by U.K. newspaper <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/business/cashstrapped-british-airways-to-sell-artworks-worth-millions-a4464891.html" target="_blank">The Evening Standard</a>, will include works from Damien Hirst, Peter Doig and Bridget Riley, with one of the pieces valued at more than £1 million ($1.26 million).</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From The Hill:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <div style="text-align:left"> <h3><a title="" href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/502471-prime-minister-apologizes-for-saying-there-was-no-slavery-in-australia" target="_blank">Prime minister apologizes for saying there was 'no slavery' in Australi</a>a</h3> <div style="text-align:left"><span>   By <a title="" href="https://thehill.com/author/morgan-gstalter">Morgan Gstalter</a></span></div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Prime Minister <a title="" href="https://thehill.com/person/scott-morrison">Scott Morrison</a> apologized at a Friday <a title="" href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/pm-scott-morrison-addresses-his-no-slavery-in-australia-comments/video/11275fda7a4b302898ade40a62210a9a" target="_blank">news conference</a> for saying earlier that there was “no slavery in Australia” after critics accused him of denying the country’s history of racial injustice and forced labor.</p> <p>“My comments were not intended to cause offense and if I did, I deeply regret that and apologize for that,” Morrison said, adding that there were in fact “all sorts of hideous practices that have taken place.”</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the NYTimes;</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/world/asia/korea-nuclear-trump-kim.html" target="_blank">Two Years After Trump-Kim Meeting, Little to Show for Personal Diplomac</a>y</h3> </div> <p><strong>North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is far larger than it was when President Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea first met.</strong></p> <div> <div> <div> <p>By <a title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-e-sanger"><u>David E. Sanger</u></a> and <a title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/choe-sang-hun"><u>Choe Sang-Hun</u></a></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <p>The timing was hardly coincidental when North Korea’s foreign minister <a title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-trump.html">declared on Friday</a> that hopes for finding peace with South Korea and its protector, the United States, “faded away into a dark nightmare,” and that talking with President Trump had given way to focusing on a more “reliable force to cope with the long-term military threats from the U.S.”</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>from aL Jazeera:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/hong-kong-protesters-mark-anniversary-major-police-clashes-200612140259919.html" target="_blank">Hong Kong protesters mark anniversary of major police clashes</a></h3> <p style="text-align:left"><strong>Rally marks one year since crackdown on demonstrators surrounding legislature, leading to months of violent protests.</strong></p> <p style="text-align:left"><span style="text-align:left">Thousands of people in Hong Kong have again taken to the streets, singing a protest anthem and chanting slogans as they marked the first anniversary of a pivotal moment in the pro-democracy protest movement.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>From the BBC:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52822943" target="_blank">The Indonesian fishermen whose bodies were thrown overboard</a></h3> <div style="text-align:left"><span>By Callistasia Wijaya and Rebecca Henschke</span></div> <div style="text-align:left">A video showing the body of a young man being callously thrown into the sea has sparked an international investigation, and shone a spotlight on the "slave-like" conditions allegedly suffered by Indonesian fishermen on board Chinese-owned vessels. This is the story of just two families, mourning sons and brothers who died trying to build a new life.</div> <div style="text-align:left"> <p>Sepri had never been to sea before, when he heard through a friend about the chance to work on a Chinese-owned fishing boat.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Also from Al Jazeera:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/coronavirus-indian-hospitals-overwhelmed-thousands-cases-200612174704411.html" target="_blank">Coronavirus: Indian hospitals overwhelmed with thousands of cases</a></h3> <p style="text-align:left"><strong>In India's worst-hit cities New Delhi and Mumbai, reports of people being turned away from hospitals continue.</strong></p> <div> <div> <div><span>by <a title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/profile/elizabeth-puranam.html">Elizabeth Puranam</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div style="text-align:left"> <p style="text-align:left">A dire picture is emerging of how the world's second-most populous nation is coping with the coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p style="text-align:left">India has nearly 300,000 cases, but the number is climbing rapidly and the health system is struggling.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the BBC:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53008093" target="_blank">Zahra: Pakistan couple face polygraph over child maid 'tortured to death'</a></h3> <div style="text-align:left"><span>By M Ilyas Khan</span></div> <div style="text-align:left">A couple in Pakistan accused of torturing their seven-year-old maid to death will be held in jail for two weeks while police arrange a polygraph.</div> <div style="text-align:left"> <p>Hospital staff in Rawalpindi alerted police at the end of May after the couple brought the injured girl, Zahra, for treatment. She died a day later.</p> <p>It is illegal to employ anyone under 15 in Pakistan but it remains common.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Another from Al Jazeera:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/deadly-blast-hits-kabul-mosque-friday-prayers-200612092826021.html" target="_blank">Deadly blast hits Kabul mosque during Friday prayers</a></h3> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>At least four people, including prayer leader killed and many others wounded, says Afghanistan's interior ministry.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>A blast in a mosque during Friday prayers in the western part of capital Kabul has killed at least four people and wounded at least eight, Afghanistan's interior ministry said.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the BBC:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53031683" target="_blank">Lebanon protests: Hundreds take to streets for second night</a></h3> <p>Hundreds of people have protested in cities across Lebanon for a second night over the handling of the country's economic crisis.</p> <div style="text-align:left"> <p>The Lebanese pound has fallen to record lows, having lost 70% of its value since October when protests began.</p> <p>The financial crisis has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the BBC:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53027704" target="_blank">Canada indigenous chief battered during arrest</a></h3> <div style="text-align:left"> <figure> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> </figure> <p>Video of an indigenous chief's violent arrest has shocked Canada, turning a spotlight on systemic racism in the country's police force.</p> <p>The footage shows Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam being floored and repeatedly punched by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.</p> <p>The confrontation took place in Fort McMurray, Alberta, on 10 March.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>From NPR:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/12/873091962/coronavirus-hits-indigenous-groups-in-colombian-amazon-on-brazilian-border" target="_blank">The Coronavirus Is Spreading Through Indigenous Communities In The Amazon </a></h3> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p><a href="https://www.npr.org/people/703048123/john-otis">     John Otis    </a><em>  </em></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <p>With nearly 40,000 deaths, Brazil has registered the world's third-highest COVID-19 death toll and the <a title="" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html__;!!Iwwt!CpfOQwK7uC7QE85ceoHLS8YSQFQKWIum92KiYJ7GjDya1scBWCHf10Iyn2E%24">second-highest</a> confirmed caseload. Its neighbors fear the disease is spilling across Brazil's borders. Indeed, one Colombian frontier town has already turned into a coronavirus <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DtZndi4rwQ__;!!Iwwt!CpfOQwK7uC7QE85ceoHLS8YSQFQKWIum92KiYJ7GjDya1scBWCHfgOK5_zY%24">hot spot</a>.</p> <p>Located at the southern-most tip of Colombia, Leticia is an Amazon River port abutting Brazil and Peru. There are few flights and no roads connecting the town to the rest of Colombia. So, Leticia's 50,000 people get the vast majority of their food and supplies from the neighboring South American countries.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>From The Guardian:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/12/brazil-black-boy-fall-death-racism" target="_blank">Five-year-old's fatal plunge provokes hard questions about Brazil's racism</a></h3> </div> </div> <div> <div> <p><strong>Miguel Otávio Santana da Silva fell nine storeys after being left alone by his mother’s employer, one of many richer white Brazilians employing black domestic workers</strong></p> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <p><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/dom-phillips"><span>Dom Phillips</span></a></strong> </p> </div> </div> <figure></figure> <div style="text-align:left"> <p>Mirtes Santana weeps when she remembers finding her son dying on the pavement outside the luxury seaside apartment block where she worked in north-eastern <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/brazil">Brazil</a>.</p> <p>“I can’t bear it,” said the 33-year-old domestic worker. “It breaks my heart.”</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>And we end this evening with this from the BBC:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-53028343" target="_blank">Dalai Lama: Seven billion people 'need a sense of oneness'</a></h3> <div style="text-align:left"> <figure> <p class="is-empty-p"><span> </span></p> </figure> <p>The leader of Tibetan Buddhism sees reasons for optimism even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. People are helping one another, he tells the BBC's Justin Rowlatt, and if seven billion people on Earth develop "a sense of oneness" they may yet unite to solve the problem of climate change.</p> <p>The first time I met the Dalai Lama he tweaked my cheek.</p> <p>It is pretty unusual to have your cheek tweaked by anyone, let alone by a man regarded as a living god by many of his followers.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (annetteboardman) Afghanistan Australia Belgium BlackLivesMatter Brazil Canada DalaiLama FirstNations HongKong India Lebanon NorthKorea OvernightNewsDigest Pakistan Tibet UK WinstonChurchill _1952796 Sat, 13 Jun 2020 03:56:46 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/10/13/1892149/-The-Trump-Children-are-Fair-Game-now-So-let-s-look-at-the-lil-Grifters-starting-with-Princess?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Now that Liddle Donnie Dotard has decided the children of political rivals are fair game, it’s time to return the favor. Today it’s Princess Ivanka’s turn.  There is a lot to work with here, so I will focus on just one thing, her trademarks and China.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>As previously <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/31/1667524/-Trump-Traded-Tibet-for-Trademarks" target="_blank">noted</a>,  Trump <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/trump-regime-proposes-zero-aid-to-tibetans-in-2018/article18582298.ece" target="_blank">abandoned</a> Tibet to the depredations of China once Ivanka got her coveted trademarks.  Now we must bear witness to the consequences of this betrayal of human rights, this selling off of fundamental principles formerly championed by Americans.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>We start in Larung Gar, <span>the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institution.  </span></p> <blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p>Chinese officials announced on March 12, 2017, that 3,225 homes at Larung Gar, the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institution, would be torn down by April 30.</p> <div> <p>Many of the monks and nuns already expelled from Larung Gar and the nearby religious community at<span> </span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/09/14/china-1000-evictions-tibetan-buddhist-centers">Yachen Gar</a>, both in Tibetan areas of Sichuan province, have been forced to return to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and subjected to exceptional restrictions on their liberty and to degrading treatment.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>“China is aggressively dismantling religious freedom along with religious life at Larung Gar by subjecting many expelled monks and nuns to forced re-education,” according to Sophie Richardson,</span><span> China director at Human Rights Watch. “The restrictions imposed on former residents should be removed so they can exercise fully their rights to religious practice, including freely joining religious institutions and observing religious rituals.”</span></p> <p>What exactly is the treatment meted out to these newly displaced monks and nuns?  Here’s a small example:</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=zjqVzwuYMi0" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zjqVzwuYMi0">YouTube Video</a></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p><span>The video shows Tibetan women with shaven heads, who appear to be nuns, dressed in military jackets and standing in rows inside a police or government office decorated in Tibetan style. The women are chanting in unison, “The Tibetans and the Chinese are daughters of the same mother, the name of the mother is China,” part of a song often used by officials in Tibet to propagate the view that Tibetans are genetically or culturally Chinese.</span></p> <p><span>This is what “re-education” looks like.  Buddhist nuns usually make a commitment to “refrain from singing, dancing, and viewing entertainments” as the sixth of the 10<span> </span></span><em>sramenerika</em><span><span> </span>or novice vows taken by nuns or monks when they are first ordained. This strongly suggests that these performances were coerced and that officials required these nuns to sing to humiliate or embarrass them.   </span></p> <p><span>Compare and contrast that to this video of nuns from the Drepung Monastary in Lhasa, Tibet.</span></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=5EYn2rDIgm0" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5EYn2rDIgm0">YouTube Video</a></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <p><span>A senior abbot in a recent speech said that the monks and nuns “who have left had never wanted to leave... And whether or not they had some place to go, they still had to leave.” He<span> </span></span><a href="http://www.rfa.org/tibetan/sargyur/sarta-demolash-restart-2017-03232017160640.html">added that</a><span><span> </span>“the demolitions and expulsions come from the policy of the senior levels of government, and cannot be discussed” and called on all monks and nuns to “show great forbearance and not react with protest, suicide and the like.”</span></p> <p><span>The last comment is particularly concerning.  Suicide as protest has been a growing problem for a long time.</span></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=S9WUwl0wvZQ" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S9WUwl0wvZQ">YouTube Video</a></div> <p>Why lay this at Ivanka’s feet?  </p> <div style="text-align:start"><span style="text-align:start">Ivanka says “<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/politics/ivanka-trump-complicit/" target="_blank">I don’t know what it means to be complicit.</a>”  Here’s a clue. Trading the lives of millions so you can secure trademark rights is a good example.  These are not just words.  There are consequences.   The oblivious princess goes on to whine:</span></div> <div style="text-align:start"></div> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"><span>I don't know that the critics who may say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I am doing,</span></div> </blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"><span style="text-align:start">Really?  I don’t think I would trade the fate of Tibet for money.  But that’s me.  I am a poor magician </span>and I never could understand how you make tears disappear through sleight of hand. Of course, it wasn’t always this way.   Before Ivanka had dinner with China’s President Xi and got three Chinese trademarks as a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ivanka-trump-china-trademarks-dinner-president-xi-jinping-mar-a-lago-chinese-government-a7689071.html" target="_blank">“thank you” gift,</a>  the current administration had actually promised <a href="http://tibet.net/2017/02/trump-administration-to-support-tibet-issue/" target="_blank">support for Tibet's issues.</a>   <p>Funny how things change once a Trump gets involved. Don’t expect to hear a peep out of the hypocrites who like to bray about religious freedom in the United States.  They’re too busy counting their 30 pieces of silver.</p> <p>Speaking of money — and that is all that matters with Team Trump — with Jared also courting China for money, expect the beatings, demolitions, and “re-education” to continue unabated.  China knows they have as free reign here as Duterte has in the Philippines, Erdogan has in Turkey, and Putin has in the United States.</p> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> </div> <p>Ever wondered what hundreds of crying nuns sounds like?  Now you don’t have to wonder…</p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=wEvsd5oGN9o" data-src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wEvsd5oGN9o">YouTube Video</a></div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (Victor Klemperer Respawned) 8ackgr0undN015e FreeTibet Ivanka IvankaGenocide IvankaGrifter MythingThePoint Recommended Tibet TrumpGenocide trumpgrifter _1892149 Sun, 13 Oct 2019 15:36:31 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/3/13/1841123/-India-takes-voting-rights-seriously-wish-we-did-too?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>India is a poor country. Its per capita income ($2,000/yr) is just 3% that of the US ($60,000/yr).  Yet, despite its relative poverty, India takes the voting rights of its citizens far more seriously than our vastly wealthier country does. </p> <p>In April and May of this year, India will go to the polls to elect a new central government. That means almost 900 million eligible voters across its length and breadth will have a chance to cast their vote. And Indian officials will move heaven and earth to ensure every last soul has a reasonable chance to vote. </p> <blockquote> <p>Voters are electing lawmakers for the 543-member lower house of parliament, or<span> </span><a href="https://loksabha.nic.in/" target="_blank">Lok Sabha</a>. In 2014, the<span> </span><a href="https://eci.gov.in/" target="_blank">Election Commission</a><span> </span>of India deployed 3.7 million polling staff, 550,000 security personnel, 56 helicopters and 570 special trains to conduct a five-week-long exercise in close to a million polling stations. — <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-11/seven-reasons-you-can-t-ignore-the-world-s-biggest-election" target="_blank">www.bloomberg.com/...</a></p> </blockquote> <p>In 2014, the electorate was 830 million strong, voter turnout was 66.4%. 553 million Indians eventually voted. By comparison, in our own 2016 general election, a mere 138 million Americans cast a ballot and turnout was a comparatively low 55.7%.</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="20100115270100501.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/653590/large/20100115270100501.jpg?1552508390" title="20100115270100501.jpg"> <figcaption>Political rally in Hyderabad</figcaption> </figure> <p>The scale of this election is almost incomprehensible. The picture on the right is an election rally in Hyderabad. I can say with some certainty that none of our Presidential candidates will attract a crowd close to that size to any rally this cycle.</p> <p>The logistics and scale are so challenging that the polls simply cannot be conducted on a single day. Instead, the country will vote in phases over a five-week period.</p> <p>And everyone will indeed be able to vote because the Election Commission of India runs the process. It is an independent entity vested with almost absolute constitutional authority over election mechanics. Removing the Chief Election Commissioner from his or her office is as arduous as removing a justice of the Indian Supreme Court. It takes its responsibility to guard the voting rights of Indian citizens seriously.</p> <p>The EC will ensure that every single eligible voter has a polling station within 2 kilometers of their home. No matter how remote that home may be. This is done so that even the poorest, even someone who may not be able to ride a cart to the polling station, can walk or be carried if needed. This means poll workers carry polling machines high into the mountains, and deep into forests, often so a handful of fellow Indians can exercise their franchise.</p> <blockquote> <p>Millions of poll workers, police and security personnel are deployed in cities, towns, villages and hamlets. They use planes, boats, trains, helicopters, elephants, and camels and travel by foot to reach far flung voters, from the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the north to tiny islands in the Arabian Sea to the south, the desert in the west and the deep forests in the east.</p> <p>This time, the commission will mobilize 11 million officials to conduct the election at 1.04 million polling stations which will use over 2 million electronic voting machines. — <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-11/seven-reasons-you-can-t-ignore-the-world-s-biggest-election" target="_blank">www.bloomberg.com/...</a></p> </blockquote> <p>That is not a typo, literally millions of civil servants will be entrusted with portable polling machines and they’ll take helicopters, trains, cars, bullock carts, camels, horses, donkeys and sometimes walk to get to some of the most remote places on earth. It’s going to be relatively expensive to run for a poor country. But there are unusual expenses to cover, like elephant rental.</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <div> <div> <p>Some of that may be used for elephants to carry electronic voting machines to relatively inaccessible regions, and boats to ferry men and materials across the mighty Brahmaputra river in the northeast.  — <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/lok-sabha/india/why-indias-election-is-among-the-worlds-most-expensive/articleshow/68367262.cms" target="_blank">economictimes.indiatimes.com/...</a></p> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <figure class="image-captioned align-left"><img alt="1920px-%E9%9B%85%E9%B2%81%E8%97%8F%E5%B8%83%E5%A4%A7%E5%B3%A1%E8%B0%B7Q30026988.jpg" src="https://images.dailykos.com/images/653593/large/1920px-%E9%9B%85%E9%B2%81%E8%97%8F%E5%B8%83%E5%A4%A7%E5%B3%A1%E8%B0%B7Q30026988.jpg?1552508971" title="1920px-%E9%9B%85%E9%B2%81%E8%97%8F%E5%B8%83%E5%A4%A7%E5%B3%A1%E8%B0%B7Q30026988.jpg"> <figcaption>Yarlung/Tsango weaving its way around Namcha Barwa</figcaption> </figure> <p>As an aside, “mighty” is not hyperbole. The Brahmaputra carves a route across Tibet and then cuts through the Himalayas. There it has created the longest and deepest canyon in the world, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarlung_Tsangpo_Grand_Canyon" target="_blank">Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon</a>. Its walls are 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) high. The river runs East across Tibet till it can slide past the Easternmost 25,000 foot peak in the Himalayas, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namcha_Barwa" target="_blank">Namcha Barwa</a>. There it bends around this remote behemoth, which has been summited only once by humans, and enters India to become the Brahmaputra. Here, as it winds through the hills and valleys of Assam, one of the rainiest places on Earth, the river swells to a width of 5 miles at times. Then the river enters Bangladesh and splits in two. Its western branch joins with the Ganga. The Eastern joins the Meghna, and there it ends, having carried the snowmelt of the Himalayas 1,800 miles through three countries, to deliver it into the Bay of bengal.</p> <p>Back to elections. Election spending is expected to exceed $7 Billion, which if realized would make it more expensive that the 2016 US election.</p> <p>The highest polling station is in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikkim,_Himachal_Pradesh" target="_blank">Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh</a>, 4,400 meters or 14,400 feet above sea level. That’s high as Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in the Rockies, and about 100 feet lower than Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48. Hikkim is relatively accessible, other mountainous villages are even more remote.</p> <blockquote> <p>The midday sun was blazing when Biswajit Roy, a middle-aged Indian high-school teacher, gingerly pulled himself, and two voting machines, into a modified dugout canoe.</p> <p>His mission: Traverse crocodile-infested mangrove swamps, cross a stretch of open sea and then hike through a jungle to the remote village of Hanspuri so its 261 voters could cast ballots in India's national elections. — <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-india-election-officials-brave-hungry-crocodiles-to-reach-voters-1398303887" target="_blank">www.wsj.com/…</a></p> </blockquote> <p>Despite all its many flaws, when it comes to election mechanics, India gets a lot right.</p> <p>Oh yeah, one more thing, Indians will vote on modern voting machines. No differing and complicated ballots. Since many older Indians are illiterate, each party picks a symbol which is represented on the machines. And every voter has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_ID_(India)" target="_blank">biometric voter ID as well</a>, it’s issued at no cost and the system is controlled by the election commission to prevent political parties from interfering.</p> <blockquote> <p><span>during the last general election, air force helicopters carrying polling officials were unable to land in a remote region tucked in the high Himalayas in Ladakh. Undeterred, a polling team trekked for 45 kilometers through knee-deep snow in the high mountains to reach 35 voters.<span>  [...]</span></span></p> <p><span>Deputy Election Commissioner R. Balakrishnan told VOA that traversing this last kilometer is not always easy. He cited the example of a polling station with just one voter in the western Gujarat state.</span></p> <p><span>“This polling station is located 20 miles deep into the Gir forest jungle. To secure this one vote, we will send a team of officials. Even one voter we try and reach out, and then for reaching out that one voter we do what it takes. And it involves sometimes using all modes of transport, from helicopters and elephants and camels and what not and sometimes involves days of trekking,” said Balakrishnan. </span><span><span>— </span></span><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/indias-election-involve-daunting-logistical-challenges/1878514.html" target="_blank">www.voanews.com/...</a></p> </blockquote> <p>Every single vote matters.</p> <p>This is not to say the elections will be flawless, there will be fraud. Political parties in some places still make a habit of literally distributing cash to voters ahead of the election. Though gerrymandering is futile since an independent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delimitation_Commission_of_India" target="_blank">Boundary Commission</a> draws the electoral map, past governments have delayed when new boundaries go into force for partisan advantage. That is still quite a lot better than the extreme partisan gerrymandering we in the USA have been subjected to. </p> <p>Reading about the extreme lengths Indian officials go to extend the franchise to each of their fellow citizens is both uplifting and inspiring. It reinforces your faith in democracy. In contrast it’s dejecting and depressing to consider the lengths to which American politicians and officials will go to to obtain partisan advantage by suppressing the vote or frighten their fellow Americans away from the polls. It makes us, as ordinary voters feel powerless.</p> <p>In India, hanks to an independent, powerful election commission, most attempts to sap the power of the people in this way go nowhere. There are a lot of things that we do better, but on this one, we might want to take a leaf from India’s book.</p> <p>PS. At some point I may do a diary about the parties and candidates in this election. That will be a lot more depressing than this I’m going to put it off.</p> <p>— @subirgrewal | Cross-posted to <a href="https://theprogressivewing.com/india-takes-voting-rights-seriously-wish-we-did-too/" target="_blank" title="">TheProgressiveWing.com</a></p> rss@dailykos.com (subir) Assam Bangladesh Brahmaputra Democracy electioncommissionofindia Elections Gerrymandering girforest himachalpradesh India International loksabha Tibet VotingRights _1841123 Wed, 13 Mar 2019 21:32:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/3/30/1753393/-Overnight-News-Digest-Asia-and-Elsewhere?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Pictures of the week come from<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/week-pictures-march-lives-egyptian-election-180330032418843.html" target="_blank" title=""> Al Jazeera</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2018/mar/30/the-week-in-wildlife-in-pictures" target="_blank" title="">The Guardian</a> (wildlife), <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-43584282" target="_blank">BBC</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43582473" target="_blank" title="">BBC</a> (Africa at this latter link), and <a href="https://sputniknews.com/photo/201803301063061264-pictures-week-march-30/" target="_blank" title="">Sputnik</a>.</p> <p>From ABC News (Australia):</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-31/caterpillar-crisis-wont-distract-indonesias-top-skateboarders/9604074" target="_blank">Caterpillar crisis won't keep Indonesia's skateboarders from Asian Games gold</a></h3> <div style="text-align:left">By Indonesia correspondent<span> </span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/adam-harvey/7308412" target="_self">Adam Harvey</a></div> <p style="text-align:left">Indonesia's national skateboarding team has suffered a training crisis in the leadup to the Asian Games: an uncomfortable rash caused by a caterpillar infestation at the training venue.</p> <p style="text-align:left">"There's a lot of rambutan trees so there's lots of caterpillars," veteran skater Pevi Permana said.</p> <p style="text-align:left">"When the wind blows the hairs of the caterpillars are carried by the wind and get onto our skin and we get all itchy.</p> </blockquote> <p>From the Inter Press Service:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/03/indonesias-women-activism-beyond-suffrage/" target="_blank" title="">Indonesia’s Women Activism– Beyond Suffrage</a></h3> <div style="text-align:start"><span>By<span> </span><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/author/devi-asmarani/" title="">Devi Asmarani</a> </span></div> <div></div> <p style="text-align:start"><strong>JAKARTA, Indonesia, Mar 30 2018 (IPS)<span> </span></strong>- More than a century has passed since Putri Mardika, Indonesia’s first ever women’s organization, was established but challenges persist in the efforts to influence national politics to bring progress to all women.</p> <p style="text-align:start">Like many countries with a colonial past, it was not suffrage that first ignited early women activism in what is now Indonesia. Rather it was nationalistic aspiration and basic women’s empowerment issues such as education and women’s rights in marriage that mobilized the movement.</p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align:start">From The Straits Times:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <h3><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/runaway-chinese-space-station-tiangong-1-streaks-across-malaysian-skies" target="_blank" title="">Runaway Chinese space station Tiangong-1 streaks across Malaysian skies</a></h3> </div> </div> <div> <div>KUALA LUMPUR China's Tiangong-1 Space Station, which is currently falling towards Earth, left a streak across Malaysian skies for 81 seconds from 3.19am Friday (March 30).</div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>It was estimated that for the 90-second duration, the altitude of the Tiangong-1 dropped from 182.462km to 182.407km, according to the re-entry forecast issued by the National Space Agency (Angkasa).</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From CNN:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/30/asia/india-tibet-china-dalai-lama-intl/index.html" target="_blank" title="">Dalai Lama caught in the middle as India and China reboot ties</a></h3> <div> <div> <p><span>By<span> </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/profiles/sugam-pokharel" title="">Sugam Pokharel</a>, CNN</span></p> <p>New Delhi (CNN) Is India distancing itself from the Tibetan exile community six decades after the Dalai Lama fled to the country?</p> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div>That's the question many are asking after celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the spiritual leader's arrival in India have been moved or canceled, as Beijing and New Delhi seek to reboot ties in the wake of a tense year in bilateral relations.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From Quartz Media:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="https://qz.com/1241066/china-is-engineering-the-biggest-project-yet-to-force-rainfall/" target="_blank" title="">China is engineering the biggest project yet to force rainfall</a></h3> <div> <div><a href="https://qz.com/author/zschlangerqz/" title="">Zoë Schlanger</a><span> </span></div> <div>Five years ago, China was the<span> </span><a href="https://qz.com/138141/china-creates-55-billion-tons-of-artificial-rain-a-year-and-it-plans-to-quintuple-that/" title="">most trigger-happy cloud seeder in the world</a>. It was creating 55 billion tons of artificial rain a year, with plans to quintuple that amount. In 2013, launching cloud-seeding chemicals by rocket into the sky or spraying them from planes were the preferred methods.</div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Now, reportedly equipped with new military weather-altering technology, China is embarking on its biggest rain-making project yet, the South China Morning Post<span> </span><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2138866/china-needs-more-water-so-its-building-rain-making-network-three">says</a>. Using a system developed by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Hong Kong news outlet reports, the country plans to build tens of thousands of combustion chambers on steep Tibetan mountainsides. The chambers would burn a solid fuel, which would result in a spray of silver iodide billowing towards the sky.</p> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From The Times of Central Asia:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="https://www.timesca.com/index.php/news/19553-us-embassy-promotes-silk-road-connectivity-with-bike-trip-across-turkmenistan" title="">US embassy promotes Silk Road connectivity with bike trip across Turkmenistan</a></h3> <p><span>ASHGABAT (TCA) — Public Diplomacy Officer J.R. deLara will bike across Turkmenistan March 31 – April 12 to demonstrate support for regional connectivity, promote U.S. educational and exchange programs, and learn more about life in Turkmenistan outside the capital, the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat said. J.R. will depart from Farap on March 31 and expects to reach the Caspian resort of Awaza on April 12, covering approximately 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) total and approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) each day. Along the way, he will give public presentations at the American Center in Ashgabat and the American Corner in Turkmenabat.</span></p> </blockquote> <p>From Xinhua:</p> <blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <div class="table-wrapper"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="905"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="center"> <h3><a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-03/31/c_137078068.htm" target="_blank"><strong>Two more suspects face criminal charges over Kemerovo fire in Russia</strong></a></h3> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p>MOSCOW, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Two more people will be charged in the criminal case of a shopping mall fire in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, Russia's Investigative Committee said Friday. </p> <p><span><span>Tanzilia Komkova, chief inspector of the Kemerovo Region's construction watchdog, and Julia Bogdanova, general director of the Kemerovo confectionery plant which owns the shopping mall, were detained on suspicion of dereliction of duty, and will be charged with<span> </span>abuse of power and violation of fire safety requirements, according to the committee.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>Investigations showed that Komkova had not taken measures to stop the unauthorized construction of the shopping mall in Kemerovo, while Bogdanova did not adopt stronger safety measures despite repeated warnings by her subordinates, the committee said in separate statements.</span></span></p> </blockquote> <p>News of the season, from The Washington Post:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/filipino-devotees-reenact-good-friday-crucifixion/2018/03/29/8ff397ec-33cb-11e8-b6bd-0084a1666987_story.html?utm_term=.5eb96c7b2750" target="_blank" title="">Devotees nailed to crosses on Good Friday in Philippines</a></h3> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div><span>By<span> </span><span>Aaron Favila | AP</span></span><span> </span></div> <p>SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines — Seven Filipino Roman Catholic devotees, including a woman, were nailed to wooden crosses in a Good Friday reenactment of Jesus Christ’s suffering that was watched by thousands of spectators but frowned upon by church leaders.</p> <p>Three devotees wearing crowns of twigs were nailed to crosses by villagers dressed as Roman centurions on a dusty hill in San Pedro Cutud village, and four others were nailed to crosses in nearby farming villages in San Fernando city north of Manila, tourism officer Ching Pangilinan said.</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>And from The Guardian:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2018/mar/30/good-friday-in-indonesias-catholic-enclave-larantuka-in-pictures" target="_blank" title="">Good Friday in Indonesia's Catholic enclave, Larantuka – in pictures</a></h3> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>By Anthony McKee</div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Larantuka – the Catholic heart of Indonesia – is near Kupang in Flores, at the far east of the archipelago. An estimated 6,000 Catholic pilgrims visit for<span> </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/30/good-friday-in-flores-secrets-stamina-and-spiritual-devotion" title="">the religious festival of<span> </span><em>Semana Santa</em></a><span> </span>– a period that begins on Ash Wednesday and reaches its crescendo on Good Friday. The town boasts three religious statues that washed up on its shores in mysterious circumstances in the 1500s.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>Nows news from the Arts, this first from Variety:</p> <blockquote> <div> <h3><a href="http://variety.com/2018/artisans/production/malaysia-production-incentives-2-1202736589/" target="_blank" title="">Malaysia Combines 30% Filming Incentive With Exotic Locations and Low Costs</a></h3> <p><strong><a href="http://variety.com/t/malaysia/" title="">Malaysia</a><span> offers filmmakers tropical rainforests, beaches scattered among a wide variety of islands, the modern and bustling city of Kuala Lumpur with its iconic Petronas Towers, and enough budgetary savings to tantalize the most fiscally conservative of producers. And all this comes on top of a 30% rebate.</span></strong></p> </div> <p>Comprised of 13 states and three federal territories separated by the South China Sea, the multi-ethnic nation also provides many cultures to serve as background for varied stories – including Chinese neighborhoods, Hindu temples and indigenous people.</p> </blockquote> <p>From Artsy:</p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <h3><a href="https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artist-duo-land-art-rejuvenating-environment" target="_blank">The Artist Duo Whose Land Art Is Rejuvenating the Environment</a></h3> <div> <div>By<span> </span>Eli Hill</div> <div>A turtle basks in the sun atop a braid of willow branches winding through a watershed in Nevada––all thanks to an artwork. Just months before this moment, that same floodplain was deplete of a diverse wildlife and healthy ecosystem, until two environmental artists took up the area as the site for their next installation.</div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Artists Mary O’Brien and Daniel McCormick––a duo who have been partners in life as well as artistic collaborators for the last 30 years—create living sculptures that not only draw inspiration from landscapes, but<span> </span><em>use </em>their natural materials to rejuvenate the environment.</p> <p>To create<span> </span><em>River Fork Ranch Flood Plain<span> </span></em>(2014), the artists teamed up with hundreds of volunteers to harvest willow branches from the site, tie them into “willow wattles,” and place them inside of a 360-foot-long armature made of stakes. The result is a sinuous and majestic sculpture that anchors soil, prevents erosion, enhances water quality, and introduces a home for the aforementioned turtle (incidentally, the first animal the pair saw using the sculpture). The work is one of five created by O’Brien and McCormick for their “Nevada Rivers Project,” which is entirely crafted out of materials found on-site in three Nevada watersheds.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From The Star-Tribune Artcetera blog:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:left"> <h3><a href="http://www.startribune.com/at-walker-native-american-artists-discuss-the-art-world-these-changes-need-to-be-permanent/478407813/" target="_blank">At Walker, American Indian artists discuss the art world: 'These changes need to be permanent'</a></h3> <div> <div><strong>By Jenna Ross</strong></div> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <p>Halfway through a discussion about valuing the voices of indigenous artists, one of the four panelists onstage pointed out how unlikely the gathering was.</p> <p>What are the chances, "that we're here right now in this venue," artist Nicholas Galanin pointed out, "based on its history and who's been sitting in these seats."</p> <p>The venue in question: the Walker Art Center.</p> <p>On Thursday night, Minneapolis-based artist Dyani White Hawk, who is Sicangu Lakota,<span> </span><a href="https://walkerart.org/calendar/2018/special-event-native-arts-panel" title="">moderated a panel</a><span> </span>that has been in the works since last year, when the Walker faced intense criticism for installing "Scaffold" in the revamped Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Native Americans and others protested Sam Durant's sculpture -- based partly on the gallows used to hang 38 Dakota men in 1862 in Mankato -- <a href="http://www.startribune.com/wood-from-controversial-scaffold-sculpture-to-be-buried-in-secret-location/442515593/" title="">leading to its dismantling</a>.</p> <p>Then came the touring retrospective of Jimmie Durham, who has identified himself as Cherokee, despite not being recognized by the three Cherokee tribes. After White Hawk and others met with Walker leaders, the Walker tweaked that show's introduction and edited language throughout the galleries.</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From The Wall Street Journal:</p> <blockquote> <div> <h3><a href="https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2018/03/30/what-it-takes-to-build-a-100-million-art-collection/" target="_blank">What It Takes to Build a $100 Million Art Collection</a></h3> <p><strong>Investors can learn a lesson in portfolio diversification from the collecting career of John Maynard Keynes</strong></p> </div> <div style="text-align:left"> <div> <div> <div><em>By </em><em>Jason Zweig</em></div> <p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-keynes-played-art-buyer-1522422454" title="">A hundred years ago this week</a>, the most influential economist of the 20th century began assembling what became one of the best collections of modern art then in private hands.</p> <div> <p>Every investor hoping to diversify a conventional portfolio with nontraditional assets can learn from the collecting career of<span> </span><a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html">John Maynard Keynes</a><span> </span>(1883-1946).</p> <p>Wealthy investors<span> </span><a href="https://wealth.barclays.com/content/dam/bwpublic/americas/documents/wealth_management/US_Wealth_Insights_15_FINAL.pdf">often say</a><span> </span>they keep about a tenth of their net worth in art, antiques, fine wines and other collectibles.<span> </span><a href="https://www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2469/faj.v70.n2.8">Research has suggested</a><span> </span>that the returns on such assets may beat cash, bonds and even gold over the long term, although the costs of trading — and holding — them can significantly reduce net results.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> rss@dailykos.com (annetteboardman) Art China DalaiLama Easter Indonesia Malaysia OvernightNewsDigest Philippines photosoftheweek Recommended Religion Russia Siberia Tibet Turkmenistan Weather _1753393 Sat, 31 Mar 2018 04:00:40 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/2/21/1743402/-Did-China-start-fire-of-Jokhang-Temple-in-Tibet?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <div>Fire appears to have engulfed the gilded roof of Tibetan Buddhism's holiest temple, though details on the extent of the damage are scarce even two days later.</div> <div>Chinese state-controlled media confirmed a blaze broke out Saturday at the Jokhang Temple in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, and reported that it was quickly brought under control. No injuries were reported.</div> <div>Authorities appear to be censoring mentions of the fire online and suppressing any details of the cause or aftermath.</div> <div>Some social media posts on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform like Twitter, appear to have been erased by government censors. The ability to re-post and comment on other posts was disabled by Monday afternoon after working earlier in the day.</div> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/asia/tibet-monastery-fire-intl/index.html" target="_blank">www.cnn.com/...</a></p> <p>I am posting this in hopes someone has news on the <span>Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet. The world needs to know if this is another act of cultural genocide by the totalitarian Chinese government. </span></p> rss@dailykos.com (zenshin) China JokhangTemple Tibet _1743402 Wed, 21 Feb 2018 15:15:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/10/3/1703718/-An-Audience-with-the-Dalai-Lama-Who-Has-a-Small-Difference-of-Opinion-with-the-US-President?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>In early September, I joined a group of representatives from a Taiwan-based NGO on a trip to Dharamsala. This NGO was formed by Taiwanese and Tibetan activists in Taiwan to focus on human rights issues relating to Taiwan and Tibet, and to promote communication between Taiwan and Tibetans. Its members include activists at various human rights NGOs in Taiwan, Tibetans living in Taiwan, professors, scholars and several members of the Taiwanese legislature. In fact, one legislator was originally going to join our group, but at the last minute was unable to go, though her assistant joined us (two legislators did go on a prior trip to Dharamsala with other members of the NGO). My wife is one of the founders of the NGO, along with her sister, and I joined as a volunteer (I helped with some of the English material put out by the group) and someone who has spent a fair amount of time studying the political history of China and Tibet. Over several days, we met with a number of people from the Tibetan Central Adminstration (the Tibetan government-in-exile), but the highlight came on our first morning, when our group had an audience with the Dalai Lama himself.</p> rss@dailykos.com (evsxrk) AmericaFirst DalaiLama Environment ParisAgreement Rescued Taiwan Tibet trump _1703718 Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:59:48 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/9/1660414/-Who-are-these-people-hanging-out-with-Nancy-Pelosi?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Yesterday I posted a quick diary about Nancy Pelosi heading a congressional delegation on a trip to Nepal and today I learn who was in the party with her. I found a <a href="https://mcgovern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397023" target="_blank">press release from Congressman Jim McGovern</a> that listed the others accompanying Mrs. Pelosi. I need some help — can somebody from each district below share some info as to how their representative was chosen (or decided...) to join this?</p> <blockquote> <p> Joining Congressman McGovern and Leader Pelosi on the delegation are:</p> <ul> <li>Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Foreign Affairs Committee, Judiciary Committee</li> <li>Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee; Energy and Commerce Committee</li> <li>Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Appropriations Committee</li> <li>Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Ways and Means Committee; Small Business Committee</li> <li>Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Financial Services Committee</li> <li>Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Vice Ranking Member, Budget Committee; Judiciary Committee</li> </ul> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (guavaboy) DalaiLama HumanRights NancyPelosi Sensenbrenner Tibet _1660414 Tue, 09 May 2017 16:30:30 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/31/1649269/-Overnight-News-Digest-Stuff-Happens-in-South-and-Southwest-Asia-a-bit-of-art-from-elsewhere-too?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <p>Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Doctor RJ, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Man Oh Man. Alumni editors include (but are not limited to) palantir, wader, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw.</p> <p>OND is a regular<span> </span><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/01/07/821138/-Welcome-New-Users-Celebrating-DKos-Communities-with-poll" title=""><u>community feature</u></a><span> </span>on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time (or if it is Friday night and the editor is me, a bit later).</p> </blockquote> <p>We start tonight with news from Asia, from the <a href="http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2083799/why-china-india-and-dalai-lama-are-pushing-boundaries-tawang" target="_blank">South China Morning Post</a>:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <h3>WHY CHINA, INDIA AND THE DALAI LAMA ARE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES IN TAWANG</h3> <p><strong>A small Himalayan district is the focus of intense diplomatic heat stemming from long-standing, unresolved border issues reignited by a planned visit from the Tibetan spiritual leader</strong></p> <p>BY<span> </span><a href="http://www.scmp.com/author/debasish-roy-chowdhury">DEBASISH ROY CHOWDHURY</a></p> <div>L<span>ast month, the</span><span> </span>Australian cricket team dropped by the Dalai Lama’s McLeod Ganj monastery in northern India seeking “peace of mind”. Ahead of a Test match in a fractious series with India marked by sniping between the two sides, Aussie skipper Steve Smith asked the Tibetan spiritual leader for help with his sleep. The monk rubbed his nose against his, and Smith went back to his hotel hoping for better sleep during the five-day Dharamsala Test.</div> </div> <div style="text-align:start"> <p>The Dalai Lama’s other recent engagements have been far less reassuring for some, rubbing them up the wrong way. Beijing, for one, is losing sleep over his planned trip this week to Tawang, a small district on the western flank of what India calls its Arunachal Pradesh state in its northeast and China claims as its own South Tibet territory. This sleepy 2,000 sq km Himalayan district with less than 50,000 people has become the newest flashpoint between China and India, sparking a fresh round of jousting over their disputed border and the Dalai Lama.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>More from India, via <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/31/africa/racism-africans-india-photgrapher/" target="_blank" title="">CNN</a>:</p> <blockquote> <h3>The photographer giving Africans in India a voice</h3> <div> <div> <p><span>By<span> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/briticoyemo" target="_blank">Yemisi Adegoke</a>, CNN</span></p> <p><span><strong>After a violent attack on a 21 year old student in Bangalore last year, photographer Mahesh Shantaram felt compelled to do something.<span> </span></strong></span><br> (CNN) In February 2016, a Tanzanian student was<span> </span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tanzanian-girl-stripped-beaten-in-Bengaluru-deeply-pained-says-Sushma-Swaraj/articleshow/50839297.cms" target="_blank" title="">'beaten and stripped'</a><span> </span>by a violent mob in Bangalore.</p> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div>The incident quickly became national and international news, sparking a fierce debate about the number of racist attacks against Africans in India.</div> <div>Photographer<span> </span><a href="http://thecontrarian.in/" target="_blank" title="">Mahesh Shantaram</a><span> </span>who lives in Bangalore, says the event sparked a moral compulsion to do something.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indian-student-beaten-to-death-in-poland-sushma-swaraj-seeks-report/story-Zs3R64wl3aw34Bq98Ejf3N.html" target="_blank" title="">Hindustan Times:</a></p> <blockquote> <h3>Indian student survives brutal attack in Poland, Sushma Swaraj seeks report</h3> <p>An Indian student, who was allegedly brutally assaulted in Poland and was reported to have died, has survived the attack, according to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.</p> <p>Swaraj spoke to the Indian ambassador to Poland Ajay Bisaria on Friday regarding the assault on an Indian student in Poznan city whose name was not disclosed.</p> <p>She asked Indian ambassador in Poland Ajay Bisaria for a report after an Indian, Amit Agnihotri, tagged her and the ministry to a media report that said an Indian student was “beaten to death” in Poznan city of Poland.<br> “There was an incident of beating. Fortunately, he has survived. We are inquiring into all aspects of the incident,” she tweeted.<br> Bisaria had earlier tweeted, “Prelim enquiry suggests student attacked in Poznan tram on Wed. Thank God, he survived. Getting details.”<br> Agnihotri later posted: “Racist issue similar to USA, the person shouted at him and then start hitting.”</p> </blockquote> <div> <div> <div>Speaking of Asian in Asia, this is from<a href="https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/uzbek-secret-services-monitoring-phone-calls-emails-and-texts-uzbek-refugees-europe" target="_blank"> Amnesty International</a>:</div> <div> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <h3>Uzbek secret services monitoring phone calls, emails and texts of Uzbek refugees in Europe - new report</h3> <div style="text-align:start"> <p><strong>‘The Uzbek authorities have designed a system where surveillance and the expectation of surveillance is not the exception, but the norm’ - Joshua Franco</strong></p> <p>The Uzbekistani government is conducting unlawful surveillance of its citizens and fostering a climate of fear and uncertainty for Uzbek people in Europe, said Amnesty International in a new report today.</p> <p>The 25-page report -<span> </span><a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur62/5974/2017/ru/" title="">‘We Will Find You, Anywhere’</a><span> </span>- shows the impact of unlawful Uzbek government surveillance on the lives of seven Uzbek people, living inside and outside the country. The cases include a refugee living in Sweden whose correspondence with family members back home was monitored, and a journalist forced to flee to France after being watched by secret service officials.</p> <p>One case is that of Dilshod (not his real name) a refugee living in Sweden and an activist in the Uzbek political opposition. Members of Dilshod’s family are no longer willing to be in contact with him after receiving visits from the police shortly after speaking to him on the telephone. His dying aunt even received a visit from secret service officials following a telephone conversation with her nephew.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>From <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1370474/19-year-old-pakistani-sportswomans-staggering-experiences-captivate-un/" target="_blank">The Express Tribune</a>:</p> <blockquote> <h3><a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1370474/19-year-old-pakistani-sportswomans-staggering-experiences-captivate-un/" title="">This 19-year-old Pakistani sportswoman's staggering experiences captivate UN</a></h3> <div> <div>By<span> </span><a href="https://tribune.com.pk/author/2226/ferya-ilyas-2/" title="">Ferya Ilyas</a></div> </div> <div> <p>On March 10, 2017, Noorena Shams, a 19-year-old sportsperson from Lower Dir, addressed a youth event at the United Nations headquarters on women’s rights and education.</p> <p>The Commission on the Status of Women, a UN body working for gender equality and women empowerment, organises a two-week session every year on women’s rights and is attended by representatives of UN member states, civil society organisations and UN entities. Shams was invited by Malala Fund to address this year’s session which was themed around the issue of women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.</p> <p>Currently residing in Peshawar, Shams has been playing quite a few sports professionally. At the age of 15, she disguised herself as a boy to play cricket because there was no accessible academy for girls in the city. As a squash player, she joined the world ranking in just three years. She was also among the top 40 junior players of Asia in 2015. She has participated in several national and international sports competitions and has won 63 gold, 24 silver and five bronze medals so far. In 2008, she became the youngest South Asian to win a silver medal in Junior Olympics for cycling.</p> <p>“Growing up, I felt intense energy inside me and I knew I had to channel it somewhere positive. So I started playing different sports,” she explains.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Happy news (/snark) from India and Pakistan, courtesy of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/world/asia/india-long-at-odds-with-pakistan-may-be-rethinking-nuclear-first-strikes.html?_r=0" target="_blank" title="">New York Times</a>: </p> <blockquote> <h3>India, Long at Odds With Pakistan, May Be Rethinking Nuclear First Strikes</h3> <div>The Interpreter by Max Fisher</div> <div> <div> <p><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/india/index.html?inline=nyt-geo">India</a><span> </span>may be reinterpreting its<span> </span><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/atomic_weapons/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="">nuclear weapons</a><span> </span>doctrine, circumstantial evidence suggests, with potentially significant ramifications for the already tenuous nuclear balance in South Asia.</p> <p>New assessments suggest that India is considering allowing for pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Pakistan’s arsenal in the event of a war. This would not formally change India’s nuclear doctrine, which bars it from launching a first strike, but would loosen its interpretation to deem pre-emptive strikes as defensive.</p> <p>It would also change India’s likely targets, in the event of a war, to make a nuclear exchange more winnable and, therefore, more thinkable.</p> <p>Analysts’ assessments, based on recent statements by senior Indian officials, are necessarily speculative. States with nuclear weapons often leave ambiguity in their doctrines to prevent adversaries from exploiting gaps in their proscriptions and to preserve flexibility. But signs of a strategic adjustment in India are mounting.</p> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From Agence France Presse, via<a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1077356/middle-east" target="_blank"> Arab News</a>:</p> <div style="text-align:start"> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> <blockquote> <div> <h3>Iranian women players snookered for ‘un-Islamic’ acts</h3> </div> <div>TEHRAN: Iran has banned some of its women players from billiard sports competitions for a year for violating the Islamic codes of conduct at a tournament in China, sporting authorities announced.<br> The Disciplinary Committee of Bowling, Billiard and Boxing Federation did not reveal the nature of the alleged offenses, saying it would name the transgressors later.<br> “Women sent to China Open (billiard) competitions will be banned from all domestic and foreign competitions for one year for violating the Islamic code,” it said late Thursday, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies.<br> The category of billiard sports includes billiards, pool and snooker. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has required women to wear the Islamic headscarf in public. The Islamic code also forbids women touching, dancing or singing with men outside their families.</div> </blockquote> <p>From <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/sm424-985" target="_blank">The Huffington Post</a>:</p> <blockquote> <div> <h3>Research in Iran in the Time of Trump</h3> <p><span style="text-align:left">Shervin Malekzadeh, Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Middle East Center</span></p> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Days after America had inaugurated its first African American president, I found myself back in Iran and in an electronics shop near Aryashahr Square in western Tehran, sent there by my grandmother to buy light bulbs for our apartment.  With Barack Obama’s Cairo speech still weeks away, and the<span> </span><a href="http://www.rferl.org/a/Tehran_Eyewitness_Under_Slate_Skies_They_Came_To_Protest/1756313.html" target="_blank" title="">Green Movement</a><span> </span>many months more, I listened to the owner of the small family-run store explain to one his regulars just how bad the coming years were going to be.</p> </div> <div> <p>“Things are awful enough around here,” he intoned.  “Now that the Americans have elected a Muslim to the presidency, all of us, the whole world, we’re all screwed.”  Ever the native informant, it fell to me to correct this bit of unexpected fake news.  Barack Obama was not a Muslim, I told them.  I left the rest of it, the question of whether or not Muslims were up to the task of running a government, alone.</p> </div> <div> <p>Iran can be this way, full of surprises that double up as revelations.  Obama’s popularity with ordinary Iranians had done little to diminish their pessimism about their own prospects or the ability of their government to change (some, as we just saw, were already finding ways to make the new president complicit).  His election would have even less effect on my ability to carry out fieldwork, my reason for being in Iran.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <hr> <p>And our art news for the evening, beginning with this from the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider-blog/bal-city-police-save-light-city-art-installation-from-a-watery-grave-20170331-story.html" target="_blank">Baltimore Sun</a>:</p> <blockquote> <div> <h3>City police save Light City art installation from a watery grave</h3> <p><strong><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-chris-kaltenbach-20141007-staff.html#nt=byline" title="">Chris Kaltenbach</a></strong></p> </div> <div> <div> <div>An umbrella-festooned sailboat, part of an art installation for<span> </span><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/entertainment/light-city-baltimore-EVFES000224-topic.html" title="">Light City</a><span> </span>2017, was saved from sinking Friday morning by the quick action of the city police department's marine unit.</div> </div> <div> <div> <p>Around 10 a.m. Friday, the marine unit was on patrol in the<span> </span><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/travel/tourism-leisure/inner-harbor-PLTRA000101-topic.html" title="">Inner Harbor</a><span> </span>when officers saw the boat, from an installation by artist Stephanie Imbeau titled "Drift," taking on water, police spokesman Det. Jeremy Silbert said.</p> <p>"Our officers were able to assist with pumping the water out of the sinking boat," Silbert said. There were no injuries, he said.</p> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-39456304" target="_blank">BBC</a>:</p> <blockquote> <h3>Gallery celebrates the art of comics</h3> <p>Work by one of the world's top comic book artists has been put on display at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery.</p> <div style="text-align:start"> <p>Glasgow-born Frank Quitely, who still works in the city, has worked on titles such as DC's Superman, Batman and Marvel Comics' X-Men.</p> <p>Books he created in collaboration with Scottish writers Alan Grant, Mark Millar and Grant Morrison have sold millions of copies.</p> <p>Items on display include an original Batman comic strip.</p> <p>Frank Quitely said: "When I was growing up I thought everything exciting that was happening was happening somewhere else, usually America.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>From<a href="http://myfox8.com/2017/03/31/greensboro-police-to-use-sidewalk-art-to-make-pedestrians-safer-in-downtown/" target="_blank"> MyFox8</a>:</p> <blockquote> <h3>Greensboro police to use sidewalk art to make pedestrians safer in downtown</h3> <div><span><a href="http://myfox8.com/author/adrienne-dipiazza/" title="">ADRIENNE DIPIAZZA</a></span></div> <div> <div> <div> <p>GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Pedestrian deaths are up across the country and are rising faster than deaths of drivers. Last year there were 6,000 pedestrians killed in the US.</p> <p>North Carolina is not immune to that. Pedestrian deaths are up 24.7 percent when you compare the first six months of 2016 to same period of 2015.</p> <p>Greensboro police are hoping to draw attention to the serious problem with a new grant the department received in conjunction with the Greensboro Police Foundation.</p> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/91097660/two-valuable-gottfried-lindauer-paintings-stolen-in-auckland-ram-raid-burglary" target="_blank">Stuff </a>(New Zealand):</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <h3>Two valuable Gottfried Lindauer paintings stolen in Auckland ram raid burglary<span> </span></h3> <p>There was "no evidence of political motivation" in the theft of two valuable<span> </span><a href="http://www.lindaueronline.co.nz/maori-portraits">Gottfried Lindauer</a><span> </span>paintings from an Auckland auction house, police say.</p> </div> <p style="text-align:start">Thieves smashed into the International Art Centre in Parnell and took the paintings about 4am on Saturday.</p> <p style="text-align:start">The two portraits,<span> </span><em>Chieftainess Ngatai – Raure</em><span> </span>and<span> </span><em>Chief Ngatai-Raure,<span> </span></em>date from 1884.</p> <p style="text-align:start">International Art Centre spokesman Ian Stuart said the paintings, which were due to be auctioned on April 4, were worth between $350,000 and $450,000 each.</p> </blockquote> <p>From the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/hamilton-art-exhibit-weaves-the-immigrant-stories-behind-the-sewing-of-men-s-suits-1.4049655" target="_blank">CBC</a>:</p> <blockquote> <div style="text-align:start"> <div> <div> <h3>Hamilton art exhibit weaves the immigrant stories behind the sewing of men's suits</h3> </div> <p><strong>The work is on view until May 14, and a walking tour scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 1</strong></p> <p><span>By Kelly Bennett</span></p> </div> </div> <div style="text-align:start"> <div> <div> <div> <p>Inside a monolithic white stone building on York Boulevard in downtown Hamilton, Coppley Apparel has been making men's suits for more than 130 years.</p> <p>Wave after wave of new immigrants to Hamilton have worked there, their stories woven into the fabric of the city and the company.</p> <p>For decades, the work of their hands has gone, anonymously, into crafting high-end suits, the ultimate image of Western masculinity.</p> <p>Now the hands and labour and stories of those workers, in that monumental building, are at the heart of an art installation, "Piece Work," on view at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p>From<a href="http://www.sevendaysvt.com/LiveCulture/archives/2017/03/31/young-writers-project-wins-grant-to-promote-islamic-art-and-culture" target="_blank"> Seven Days</a> (Vermont):</p> <blockquote> <h3>Young Writers Project Wins Grant to Promote Islamic Art and Culture</h3> <p style="text-align: start;">POSTED BY<span> </span><a href="http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/ArticleArchives?author=2641292" title="">KYMELYA SARI</a><span> </span></p> <div>For the first time, the<span> </span><a href="https://youngwritersproject.org/" target="_blank" title="">Young Writers Project</a><span> </span>will receive a grant from the New York City-based<span> </span><a href="http://www.ddfia.org/" target="_blank" title="">Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art</a>. YWP is one of 11 organizations nationwide receiving the grants, which are funded by<span> </span><a href="http://www.ddcf.org/what-we-fund/building-bridges/" target="_blank" title="">DDFIA's Building Bridges Program</a> and designed to foster understanding of and reduce bias against Muslims across the U.S.<span> </span><br> <a name="more"></a><br> The grant — $90,000, over two years — is intended to support a youth-led project that will "engage Muslim and non-Muslim youth in Vermont with storytelling, performances and publication of work that expand their understanding of Muslim cultures and related social justice issues," according to a statement from the foundation.<br> <br> Alluding to the current "intolerance and incivility in our political climate and society," YWP director Geoffrey Gevalt noted that the project is particularly well timed.<span> </span></div> </blockquote> <p class="is-empty-p"></p> </div> </div> <div></div> </div> <div></div> </div> rss@dailykos.com (annetteboardman) Art Baltimore China Comics DalaiLama India Iran Islam Islamicart NorthCarolina NuclearWeapons OvernightNewsDigest Pakistan Recommended Tibet Uzbekistan War Women _1649269 Sat, 01 Apr 2017 04:05:14 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/21/1562358/-How-Trump-Could-Get-Elected?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Last Thursday, Trump said:</p> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_1.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290101/large/TRUMP_1.jpg?1471789031" title="TRUMP_1.jpg"> <figcaption></figcaption> </figure> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_2.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290102/large/TRUMP_2.jpg?1471789036" title="TRUMP_2.jpg"> <figcaption>Next Thursday, he could say</figcaption> </figure> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_3.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290103/large/TRUMP_3.jpg?1471789039" title="TRUMP_3.jpg"> <figcaption>The following week, he could say</figcaption> </figure> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_4.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290104/large/TRUMP_4.jpg?1471789045" title="TRUMP_4.jpg"> <figcaption>The following week, he could say</figcaption> </figure> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_5.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290105/large/TRUMP_5.jpg?1471789050" title="TRUMP_5.jpg"> <figcaption>The following week, he could say</figcaption> </figure> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_6.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290106/large/TRUMP_6.jpg?1471789054" title="TRUMP_6.jpg"> <figcaption>The following week, he could tweet</figcaption> </figure> <figure class="image-captioned align-right"><img alt="TRUMP_7.jpg" src="http://images.dailykos.com/images/290107/large/TRUMP_7.jpg?1471789065" title="TRUMP_7.jpg"> <figcaption>The following week, he could say</figcaption> </figure> <p>And a month later, he’d win by a landslide!</p> rss@dailykos.com (DocChap) Enlightenment Humility Integrity Karma Lhasa Tibet trump _1562358 Sun, 21 Aug 2016 14:34:47 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/11/1525520/-Dalai-Lama-We-change-humanity-not-through-prayer-or-religious-teaching-but-through-education?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>He’s considered one of the most compassionate human beings in the world, but don’t let his <em>“kindness is my religious”</em> ever fool you into believing he is anything but strong. The 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is also one of the most wise and intelligent world leaders and he proves this in a recent tweet. (Yes, <em>His Holiness, the <span>14th Dalai Lama of Tibet</span></em> is on Twitter @DalaiLama.)  </p> <blockquote> <h3> <strong><span>“The time has come for us to consider seriously how to change our way of life not through prayer religious teaching, but through <u>education</u>.” </span></strong><span>-Dalai Lama</span> </h3> </blockquote> <div class="dk-editor-embed center-block" data-twitter-content='&amp;lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&amp;gt;The time has come for us to consider seriously how to change our way of life not through prayer or religious teaching, but through education&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) &amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DalaiLama/status/721994406518075392"&amp;gt;April 18, 2016&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;'> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">The time has come for us to consider seriously how to change our way of life not through prayer or religious teaching, but through education</p>— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) <a href="https://twitter.com/DalaiLama/status/721994406518075392">April 18, 2016</a> </blockquote> </div> <p>Here is the YouTube video (via the <a href="http://dalailama.com/webcasts/post/355-contributing-to-a-better-humanity">DalaiLama.com</a>) showing part of his speech at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota on February 29, 2016. In the short clip, <strong>Dalai Lama’s English is broken, but his message has the capacity to repair humanity.</strong></p> <div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <a class="iframe_placeholder youtube dk-embed" href="//youtube.com/watch?v=TRaqC" data-height="315" data-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TRaqC_FyRwM?rel=0" data-width="560">YouTube Video</a> </div> <p>Dalai Lama talks about how change starts with each of us—as individuals. And it takes work. It takes action. We must help humanity become a compassionate humanity by setting an example which ultimately leads to the education of others. Here are some excerpts from the video:</p> <blockquote> <p>“I dedicated all my life until my death…I said try to make little contribution as much as I can.” ​</p> <p>“We have to work. Change starts from individuals.” </p> <p>“Firstly we are individuals. We should practice these things, then make an example to others. Then, more and more people will share your experience. From one person, at least there are family members and friends. Then ten people. These ten people share with their friends. That means a hundred people. A hundred people.. the same way. Then thousands of people, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, a hundred million...”</p> </blockquote> <div> <p><span>Given the state of this country, a nation that has allowed a racist, bigoted, xenophobic, and misogynistic man like Donald Trump become the<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/3/1522882/-Elizabeth-Warren-on-Donald-Trump-s-Republican-nomination-Here-s-what-else-is-real" target="_blank"> presumptive Republican presidential candidate,</a> it is clear we need to educate others, and we have it within each of us to educate others by speaking, seeking, and living truth. </span></p> <p><span>Here are other <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/570218.Dalai_Lama_XIV" target="_blank">well-loved quotes</a> by His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet:</span></p> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Leslie Salzillo) Compassion DalaiLama Education Humanity Kindness Prayer Religion religioushypocrisy religiousteachings Tibet _1525520 Thu, 12 May 2016 00:32:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/7/24/1405327/-Chinese-Police-Seize-Ashes-of-Tibetan-Monk-Tenzin-Delek-Rinpoche?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was a buddhist monk and community leader actively engaged in human rights and environmental issues. He was admired for his activism against deforestation, mining and logging in western <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan">Sichuan province</a>, a mountainous area that has historically been part of Tibet.</p> <p>In 2002, the Chinese government arrested him and charged him and an assistant with planting bombs. They were both sentenced to death. His assistant was executed quickly, Rinpoch's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He had been in prison for the past 13 years. He was widely considered a political prisoner and various western governments raised concerns about his trial and treatment in prison. Human Rights Watch did a very extensive report a few years ago on his activism, trial and sentence titled: <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/02/08/trials-tibetan-monk/case-tenzin-delek">Trials of a Tibetan monk</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c5905118d4194caf9bd2b4f52f4b5005/tibetan-lama-tenzin-delek-rinpoche-dies-chinese-prison">Rinpoche died on July 12, 2015</a> and this is where things began to get seriously strange. The Chinese government claims he died of cardiac arrest and had refused medical treatment. He was suffering from a heart condition which had been the basis of an appeal for his release a couple of years ago.</p> <p>There were a series of demonstrations and an immediate crackdown:<br /></p> <blockquote>the police on Friday detained a sister and a niece of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, 65, a widely revered monk and community leader who was serving a life sentence on terrorism and separatism charges. Human rights advocates contend that the allegations against Tenzin Delek were politically motivated.</blockquote> <blockquote>Dolkar Lhamo [Rinpoch's sister] had been at the center of a highly public campaign seeking the return of her brother’s body. Last week she and another sister were among nearly 100 Tibetans who staged a sit-in outside the building in Chengdu where Tenzin Delek was thought to have been imprisoned for the 13 years before he died. <p>She later presented prison officials with a petition demanding an investigation into his death, a document that Tibetan exile groups obtained and posted on the Internet.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote>The authorities have imposed an information blackout across the region, a detail confirmed on Saturday by a man who answered the phone at the Public Security Bureau in Litang. “The Internet has been shut down for half a month here. It is a control measure,” the man said before hanging up.</blockquote> Chinese authorities would not permit relatives to take his body back to his hometown to perform rites. He was cremated quickly after a few friends and relatives were permitted to view the body. As they were taking Rinpoche's ashes back to his hometown of Garzê;, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/world/asia/chinese-police-are-said-to-seize-ashes-of-tibetan-monk-tenzin-delek-rinpoche.html">this happened</a>:<br /> <blockquote>Geshe Nyima, a cousin of the revered religious figure and community leader, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, 65, said that four Tibetans transporting his cremated remains to his hometown, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, for Buddhist funeral rites were held at gunpoint by Chinese police officers last Thursday night in the town of Luding and forced to hand them over. <p>“The ashes were taken back and not given to the family,” said Geshe Nyima, speaking in a conference call from Dharamsala, India, where he lives in exile.</p> <p>“Police said that they would throw the ashes into the nearby river. The four people don’t know what happened to the ashes.”</p> </blockquote> Let us remember Tenzin Delek Rinpoche for his courage. And remember all activists fighting oppression under difficult circumstances. That the Chinese government is threatened by a dead man's ashes is a testament to the power of his words and deeds. <p>A few notes that describe Rinpoche's activism are below the Great Orange Firewall.</p> rss@dailykos.com (subir) buddhism China Civil Rights CivilRights Dalai Lama DalaiLama Environment ForeignPolicy Human Rights HumanRights International Law TenzinDelekRinpoche Tibet _1405327 Fri, 24 Jul 2015 15:33:23 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/17/1385504/-Overnight-News-Digest-May-17-2015?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><img alt=" title=" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4347819829_3fe4af44bd_o.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=qthvk61g5j1plu6p9b725a304s%40group.calendar.google.com&amp;ctz=America/New_York">OND Editors</a> &nbsp;OND is a community feature &nbsp;on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. &nbsp;Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00AM Eastern Time.</p> <p>OND Editors &nbsp;Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, rfall, Doctor RJ and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw. The guest editor is annetteboardman.</p> <p>Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.</p> rss@dailykos.com (side pocket) Egypt Indonesia John Kasich JohnKasich KateBlanchett Nepal OND OvernightNewsDigest Recommended Tibet _1385504 Mon, 18 May 2015 03:58:04 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/1/13/1331060/--Because-It-s-There-George-Mallory-and-the-First-Attempts-to-Climb-Everest?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>It is one of the longest-running debates in the history of mountain-climbing: who really was the first European to climb Mt Everest? The first people we know to have successfully climbed to the summit of Mt Everest were Sir Edmund Hillary and his local Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, in 1953. But there had been previous attempts, and one of them, some historians say, may have succeeded. The mystery could be solved by a camera--a camera that has been missing for almost 100 years.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Lenny Flank) England Himalayas History mountaineering Nepal Tibet _1331060 Tue, 13 Jan 2015 20:53:35 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/8/10/1319689/-Why-the-laser-focus-on-the-Palestinians?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Why this laser-like focus on Israel/Palestine here and by the rest of the world. &nbsp;Does anyone give a damn about the Chechens, who have and are suffering much more the the Palestinians. See this photo of <a href="http://www.muslimpopulation.com/Europe/RUSSIA/images/_567704_launcher300.jpg">Grozny's devastation</a>. Does anyone give a damn about the Uighurs, &nbsp;the Tibetans, or the Roma? How many diaries were about their plights lately? For the plight of the Chinese minorities see <u>The Emperor Far Away: Travels at the Edge of China</u>,’ by David Eimer <a href="http://www.bookwormhole.net/?search_target=The+Emperor+Far+Away%3A+Travels+at+the+Edge+of+China&amp;search_submit.x=19&amp;search_submit.y=17&amp;search_submit=Search&amp;search_sort=popularity&amp;page=1">reviews here</a>.</p> <p>Hardy a peep. &nbsp;Why the focus?. &nbsp;Are Russia and China too big and too powerful to challenge? Any ideas.</p> rss@dailykos.com (interguru) Chechnya China Israel Palestine Russia Tibet Uighurs _1319689 Sun, 10 Aug 2014 11:40:10 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/2/21/1279275/-Obama-Dalai-Lama-to-Meet?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/21/dalai-lama-obamatomeetonrightsabuses.html">President Obama and the Dalai Lama will meet</a> over Chinese objections. The President does not support Tibetan independence; however, he supports a solution which involves neither independence nor assimilation, along with the Dalai Lama.<br /></p> <blockquote>Obama is scheduled to host the Nobel laureate for a private, morning meeting in the Map Room of the White House. Traditionally, when Obama meets with presidents and prime ministers, he hosts them in the Oval Office and allows reporters to witness a short portion of the meeting. The decision to hold the meeting elsewhere and to close the meeting to reporters could signal an attempt to avoid the appearance of a formal meeting between two heads of state.</blockquote> The US supports China talking with the Dalai Lama without preconditions. rss@dailykos.com (Eternal Hope) Barack Obama BarackObama China Civil Rights CivilRights Dalai Lama DalaiLama International Law Tibet UnitedNations _1279275 Fri, 21 Feb 2014 15:02:24 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/4/2/1198601/-This-Yak-is-NOT-aerobatic?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><a href="http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag111/airshowconsultants/yak1_zps5b429b76.jpg"><img src="http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag111/airshowconsultants/yak1_zps5b429b76.jpg" /></a></p> rss@dailykos.com (shortfinals) Bosgrunniens domesticatedyak grunting IYAK Menden Recommended Southwick's Zoo SouthwicksZoo Tibet TibetanWolf Yak yakmilk _1198601 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 11:19:43 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/1/25/1182116/-Anonymous-Targets-China-s-Propaganda-Site-On-Amdo-Tibet?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>"This week has seen a number of Chinese government websites disabled by Anonymous in an ongoing exercise in what is a clear example of ethical hacking. Operation Tibet has struck again today with news that a site representing China’s regime in the occupied region of Amdo has been crashed once again. The site <a href="http://www.gansu.gov.cn">http://www.gansu.gov.cn</a> is, at the time this post was uploaded, not loading, a matter of celebration for Tibetans, whose own official sites have come under relentless cyber attack from China’s state approved hackers. Our thanks to @tibettruth for alerting us on this." <a href="http://tibettruth.com/2013/01/25/anonymous-targets-chinas-propaganda-site-on-amdo-tibet/">full post</a></p> rss@dailykos.com (3generations) Anonymous China Free Tibet FreeTibet Hacktivism nonviolentprotest onlineprotest Tibet _1182116 Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:39:01 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/12/2/1166641/-Questing-Traveler-Finds-World-Full-of-Friendly-People?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239087/Graham-Hughes-British-man-person-visit-201-countries-WITHOUT-using-plane.html"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img641/4830/grahamhughesatsouthsuda.jpg" title="Graham Hughes shows final visa in South Sudan (Daily Mail)" align="left" /></a></p> <blockquote><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2012/1126/Global-first-Brit-visits-all-201-states-without-flying">The main feeling today</a> is just one of intense gratitude to every person around the world who helped me get here, by giving me a lift, letting me stay on their couch, or pointing me in the right direction.</blockquote> Thus spoke <a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/">Graham Hughes</a> Monday from Juba, South Sudan -- the 201st and last country of his surface journey to every country in the world. A hiker and filmmaker from Liverpool, Hughes made the quest alone, on one continuous route, without flying and without driving. Along the way, he shot video, blogged, and hosted the "Graham's World" show on the National Geographic Adventure Channel. With the publicity, he raised money for <a href="http://www.justgiving.com/theodysseyexpedition">a charity</a> that brings sanitation and safe drinking water to the world's people that lack it.<br /> <p>Hughes began his journey on New Year's Day, 2009, after reveling in Buenos Aires the prior night. He got up late, rushed to catch the ferry, and crossed the first border of his journey -- the River Plate into Uruguay.</p> <blockquote><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/2009/day-1-hey-ho-lets-go">They say that every journey</a> begins with a first step. Mine began with a drunken stumble.</blockquote> Staying on a shoestring budget of, on average, less than $100 a week, Hughes traveled with and stayed with local people, and ate only local food. <blockquote><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20100516x3.html">I think if I didn't harbor certain personality traits</a>, I couldn't actually do this. I'm stubborn and fairly arrogant, but I'm also friendly and jovial with pretty much everyone I meet, which goes a long way.</blockquote> Though being outgoing and friendly, Hughes did not join every crowd he came upon. <blockquote><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/2009/day-119-carlos-the-jackal">I arrived in Bucharest</a> around lunchtime and headed to the coach station. A political rally was taking place in the park between -- I gave it a wide berth. I've never been one for mob mentality; I prefer to operate under the radar, subverting people'™s opinions by means of stealth, cunning and outright ridicule.</blockquote> And while skilled at <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/blag">blagging</a>, Hughes could not sway every person he met. <blockquote><a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20100516x3.html">The first time I was thrown in jail</a> was after a boat ride to Cape Verde ... I'd arrived on a fishing boat with a bunch of Senegalese fishermen, and naturally the policemen at the port assumed I was a people smuggler. No talking them out of it. I ended up sleeping on the floor of a tiny jail cell with 10 other people for five nights before I was freed without charge.</blockquote> Hughes knew from the start that he was taking a leap of faith in strangers. <blockquote><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/about/the-odyssey-expedition">There is no precedent</a> for this. I can'™t refer to a single book or call up one person and ask them how to do it --€“ I'€™m making it up as I go along, dealing with the best information I can lay my heads on and leaving myself completely at the mercy and good will of my fellow human beings from Timbuktu to Kathmandu.</blockquote> And strangers came through for him. Hughes posted a picture of and a note about many of them -- for example: <blockquote><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/heroes/heroes-asia"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img832/6338/grahamhugheshosseinandg.jpg" title="Hossein and Grandmother, Iran &amp;nbsp;(theodysseyexpedition.com)" /></a><br /> <br /> The other reason that <a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/heroes/heroes-asia">Iran is now in my Top Ten</a> countries of the world is this guy here. I was on the overnight coach from Shiraz to Khorramshahr when the dear old lady in front of me who didn'™t speak a word of English passed me her mobile phone. The guy on the other end of the line explained that the lady was his grandmother and that she was concerned that the bus got in at 5am and I'™d have nobody to meet me. He invited me for breakfast at Granny'™s house (how could I refuse?) and sure enough, Hossein picked me up the next morning and we shared the most <a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/2010/day-465-breakfast-of-champions">scrummy breakfast</a> in the world in Granny'™s flat. After breakfast he drove me down to the port and made sure I made it safely onto the ferry to Kuwait.</blockquote> But there were many more helpful strangers than Hughes could list. <blockquote><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/heroes">The following people</a> are just some of the many ODYSSEY HEROES -- believe me, there are many more, but it'™s not always possible to snap a pic of border guards who welcome me into their country with a cup of tea, the policeman who slips his mobile phone through the cell bars so I can call for help or the bus driver who drives through the night to get me where I need to be.</blockquote> As you might imagine, Hughes' journey brought many highlights. <blockquote><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/">I ... spent seven days in Tibet</a> and warned schoolchildren in Afghanistan about the dangers of men with beards.<br /> <p>I met the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, rode on top of a 18-wheeler through the northern badlands of Kenya, hitched a ride on a cruise ship to The Dominican Republic, joined a Bwiti tribe in Gabon, screamed at the ocean in El Salvador and watched a space shuttle blast off in the USA.<br /></p> <p>I've fed the crocs in Australia, hunted the dragons of Komodo, befriended the orangutans in Borneo, played with the lemurs in Madagascar, washed the elephants in India and eaten live octopus in South Korea.<br /></p> <p>I ... danced with the Highlanders of Papua New Guinea and was rescued from Muslim fundamentalists in The Philippines by a ladyboy called Jenn.<br /></p> </blockquote> But, for Graham Hughes, one broad highlight stood out. <blockquote><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/after-201-countries-man-ends-world-tour-in-south-sudan/1553532.html">The main highlight</a> I have to say, ... for me, has been the reaffirmation of my faith in humanity and the fact that people I have met on the road have been so friendly and hospitable.</blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/maps/MegaMap.html"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img42/6315/grahamhughesgpsroutemap.png" title="Graham Hughes' route as GPS bread crumb trail. (theodysseyexpedition.com)/&gt;" /></a><br /> <small>Graham Hughes' route as GPS bread crumb trail.</small><br /> <a href="http://www.theodysseyexpedition.com/proof/country-checklist">CLICK for Country Checklist</a>.<br /></p> <p><br /> <br /> (From <a href="http://theparagraph.com/2012/12/questing-traveler-finds-world-full-of-friendly-people/"><em>The Paragraph</em>.)</a> <a href="http://theparagraph.com/2012/12/questing-traveler-finds-world-full-of-friendly-people/#sources">[Sources &amp; Notes]</a><br /></p> <br /> &nbsp;* * *<br /> <p style="/*text-align:left;*/"><a href="http://theparagraph.com/about#Copyright">By Quinn Hungeski,</a><a href="http://theparagraph.com/">TheParagraph.com</a>, <a defang_rel="license" href="http://theparagraph.com/about#Copyright">Copyright</a> <a defang_rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/">(CC BY-ND)</a> 2012</p> rss@dailykos.com (hungeski) Afghanistan Australia Blagging Borneo Bucharest BuenosAires Bwiti CapeVerde Culture DominicanRepublic ElSalvador faithinhumanity Gabon GPS GrahamHughes GrahamsWorld Humanity India International Iran Juba Kenya Khorramshahr Komodo Kuwait Liverpool Madagascar Muslimfundamentalists NationalGeographic Odyssey OdysseyExpedition PapuaNewGuinea Phillipines RiverPlate Senegal Shiraz SouthKorea SouthSudan TheOdysseyExpedition Tibet Tuvalu Uruguay USA WaterAid World _1166641 Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:45:06 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/5/8/1089655/-book-of-the-dead-in-memory-of-adam-yauch?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><strong>"I have some sad news."</strong> "What?" "Mart Laar had a stroke last night." "He did? Is he alive?" She nodded. "He's in the hospital."</p> <p>And has been ever since. My wife is the bearer of bad news. I've gotten used to it. "Michael Jackson died." "Oh, really?" "The Polish president's plane crashed." "Jesus." "Bon Jovi died of a heart attack." "That's weird. Last time I saw him, he was in pretty good shape." I spent half of that morning adjusting myself to a world without Bon Jovi, only to learn later that it was a hoax when a dated photo of the rocker surfaced holding a sign, "Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey."</p> <p><em>(More after the jump)</em></p> rss@dailykos.com (Giustino) AdamYauch BeastieBoys PaulWellstone StudentsforaFreeTibet Tibet _1089655 Tue, 08 May 2012 13:15:05 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/21/1076655/-HH-the-Dalai-Lama-s-Advice?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>I'm pretty sure he's saying "forget." &nbsp;Still awesome.</p> <p><object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HbC-TXNGK1M?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HbC-TXNGK1M?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object></p> <p>Om mane padme hum</p> rss@dailykos.com (Xavier Onassis EMTP) buddhism Dalai Lama DalaiLama Humor Tibet Tolerance _1076655 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:11:49 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/2/1064846/-Books-That-Changed-My-Life-The-Bodhicharyavatara-by-Shantideva?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <blockquote>It is easier for a tortoise<br /> to put its neck into the hole of a yoke<br /> tossed about in the middle of the ocean<br /> than to find a human existence<br /> - the teacher of gods and humans has said. <p>How much more difficult it is<br /> to find a precious human body<br /> that is a unique occasion and the right juncture!</p> <p>Therefore, from today onwards<br /> you just have to make efforts.</p> <p>-Longchenpa, <em>Sems-nyid-ngal-gso</em><br /> from <em>Kindly Bent to Ease Us</em><br /> Herbert V. Guenther, translator</p> </blockquote> I turned eighteen while tolerating the rigors of Navy boot camp in San Diego. On the day they made us dog tags they asked what religion to stamp on mine and I said "none." When I got the tags they identified me as Mormon. As it happened, I grew up knowing church as an imposing building in which no one I knew had any business, excepting at the end of great grandma Agnes's life; the choir sang beautifully that day. I joined the Navy thinking the world and everything in it was set in solid concrete and soft, vulnerable skin. Little did I know I was a tortoise in search of a yoke…. rss@dailykos.com (William W Wraith) bodhi bodhisattva Books BooksThatChangedMyLife Buddha buddhism LSD R&BLers Readers & Book Lovers Readers&BookLovers Rescued Tibet _1064846 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:00:01 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/9/1/1012572/-International-Fight-for-Tibetan-Refugees-in-Nepal-Reported-from-Kathmandu?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>1,200,000 Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese since 1950. Millions more have been beaten, imprisoned, or tortured by the Chinese government. Even more astounding than the numbers is the fact that this seems to have a free pass on the world stage. With little more than slaps on the wrist for the past 60 years, the Chinese government has caused far more casualties than Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Muammar Gaddhafi combined, and yet we all know which group has had the attention.</p> <p>Countless diaries could (and should) be written about this issue, but I have only one for now. This focuses on the issue of Tibetan refugees in Nepal, and international issues there. This was written in Kathmandu while I was there last month, which I (stupidly) forgot about until now. I've left it almost entirely unedited in order to try and retain the legitimacy of the "Reported from Kathmandu" part. It was for a class, but written in a few hours in a cheap internet cafe, so it is only sort of halfway formal and cited. I would recommend reading the two articles linked at the end. Read on below the fold:</p> rss@dailykos.com (thePhoenix13) China ForeignPolicy India International Refugees State Department Tibet U.S. UN UnitedNations _1012572 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:48:25 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/7/1/990223/-Rubin-Museum-Young-Explorer-Quentin-Roosevelt-Searched-Art-in-Wartime-China?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p><em>Edited by Jim Luce.</em></p> <p>In 1939, at the height of the Sino-Japanese War, a 19-year-old Harvard art history student set off for the remote region of Lijiang, China, in search of the mysterious ancient culture of the Naxi (Nah-shee). &nbsp;Launched on his quest after receiving a gift of a 40-foot Naxi funeral scroll depicting a soul’s journey through heaven and hell in a pictographic script, Quentin Roosevelt, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, traveled for four months before he finally reached the mountainous region on the Tibetan border. &nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oiww/5888227285/" title="Young_Roosevelt_Wartime_China_A by jimluce, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6018/5888227285_0253b2bbcf.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Young_Roosevelt_Wartime_China_A" /></a><br /> <em>Crown. Northwestern Yunnan Province. 18th-early 20th century.<br /> Paint on cardboard. 4.3 x 7.3 in. Private Collection, Spain.</em></p> rss@dailykos.com (jimluce) AncestralRealmsoftheNaxi Anthropology Art AsianCulturalCouncil Bhutan Bonculture buddhism Burma CarlGustavJung CentralAsia China ChristineMathieu CindyHo Dalai Lama DalaiLama DelhiUniversity Fundaçao Oriente HarvardUniversity HeLimin India JimLuce JosephRock LeavingMotherLake Lijiang MartinBrauen Mongolia Mosuopeople Myanmar Naxi NaxiDongbareligion Nepal New York City NewYorkChinaInstitute NewYorkCity NewYorkFoundationfortheArts QuentinRoosevelt QuentinRooseveltsChina RubinMuseum RubinMuseumofArt Sino-JapaneseWar SoutheastAsia TheodoreRoosevelt Tibet TrailingtheWrittenWord YunnanAcademyofSocialSciences ZurichUniversity _990223 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:35:37 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/30/897600/-Blood-Gold-Chinese-Shoot-and-Kill-Tibetans-Protesting-Mines-in-Their-Country?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <blockquote> <p>"There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. &nbsp;There is no greater guilt than discontent. &nbsp;And there is no greater disaster than greed." &nbsp;~ Lau Tzu </p> </blockquote> <p>Gold is the trendy investment in 2010. While the dollar is weak and Wall Street rides a roller coaster, gold just keeps going up and up---</p> <p>And some of that gold is blood tainted. This OP is about how China is destroying Tibet's natural resources---and, sometimes, its people---in order to feed its hunger for gold and other precious minerals.</p> rss@dailykos.com (McCamy Taylor) ChineseoccupationofTibet Colonialism environmentalissues Gold Mining Tibet _897600 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:57:20 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/10/891846/-106-years-ago-Tibetans-Choose-War?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>For a curious reason, NYT decided to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/world/asia/10gyantse.html?_r=1">revisit</a> the British invasion of Tibet in 1904. An invasion that was long forgotten and was never mentioned by any western media organization during the Olympic protests.</p> <p>It is interesting to compare the new report today with NYT's report of the same event <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980DEED8153BE733A25755C0A9619C946597D6CF">106 years ago</a>: </p> <blockquote> <p>TIBETANS CHOOSE WAR; BRITISH ATTACK FORT; Armistice Expires with No Overtures by the Natives. TO STORM GYANG-TSE TO-DAY Macdonald's Troops Will Assault the Villages and Stronghold -- Difficult Task for Them. </p> </blockquote> <p>More below the fold.</p> rss@dailykos.com (xgz) China New York Times NewYorkTimes Tibet _891846 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:12:01 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/7/2/877361/-Elephants-Are-Big-In-Thailand-And-Nepal-4?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p> &nbsp; Royal Chitwan National Park in the Terai of Nepal is a fine example of a nature preserve. The Terai where it is located, has much swampland and &nbsp;is a haven for migrating birds. Tigers, leopards, and other predatory animals roam through its jungles. Elephants can bred safely and crocodiles live in its rivers. A hundred years ago this region was a &nbsp;hunting preserve for the royal family of Nepal and for its guests who slaughtered beautiful creatures and brought home their skins as trophies to be made into rugs or hung on walls. For example, King George V of England, on &nbsp;hunting trips along the Rapti river, disposed of thirty nine tigers, some rhinos, and a bear. It wasn't until the middle of the twentieth century that light dawned on the Nepalese government and the then king. The Royal Chitwan National Park was created as a place where wildlife can live at its own &nbsp;pace, undisturbed by humans with an urge to kill.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Charlotte Lucas) BigGameHunting Nepal Photos Rescued RoyalChitwanNationalPark Thailand Tibet Travel _877361 Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:38:06 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/16/858012/-Pelosi-on-Benefit-Extension-Solis-on-West-Virginia-Mine-Disaster-Amnesty-Int-l-Supporters-in-NYC?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Follow us on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/newsunfiltered">Twitter</a>!</p> <p>There are some items up on <a href="http://www.newsunfiltered.com">News Unfiltered</a> that may interest the community.</p> <p>Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after a benefit extension passed today:</p> <blockquote> <p>Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after final passage of H.R. 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, extending temporary unemployment and health benefits for out-of-work Americans. The bill now heads to the President's desk for his signature: "Since the start of the recession, unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits have provided a lifeline of security for the millions of Americans struggling to find a job, care for their families, and pay the bills. Many are out of work through no fault of their own, and it is up to our nation's leaders to stand up for the interests of every American and extend vital assistance to our hardest hit families until they get back on their feet." </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/04/pelosi_statemen_184.html">Read more.</a></p> rss@dailykos.com (News Unfiltered) AmnestyInternational BarackObama Benefits Burma Congo Congress extension Hilda Solis HildaSolis Human Rights HumanRights minedisaster Nancy Pelosi NancyPelosi President Obama Sri Lanka SriLanka Tibet West Virginia WestVirginia _858012 Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:18:45 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/21/839241/-Losing-Tibet-in-Translation?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Below the fold are two paragraphs are from <del>what is left of</del> <strong>Isaac Stone Fish</strong>'s February 17 <em>Newsweek</em> article "<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/233726">Charity Case -- Whether they like it or not, China has been good for Tibet</a>" [as it was translated into Chinese and published in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_News">&#21442;&#32771;&#28040;&#24687; <em>C&#257;nk&#462;o Xi&#257;ox&#237;</em></a>, China's answer to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courrier_International"><em>Courrier International</em></a>].</p> <p><a href="http://www.bruce-humes.com/?page_id=5">Bruce Humes</a> does a nice job of highlighting which parts of Fish's original article were <del>censored</del> [abridged] and which parts of the &#21442;&#32771;&#28040;&#24687; <em>C&#257;nk&#462;o Xi&#257;ox&#237;</em> version were inserted by <del>the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda</del> [conscientious editors].</p> rss@dailykos.com (brunoken) Barack Obama BarackObama China Dalai Lama DalaiLama Tibet _839241 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:23:38 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/14/824942/-Google-Did-The-Right-Thing-in-China?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>I heard about this on NPR and no one else has diaried the latest developments. I thought I should spread the news.</p> <p>On Wednesday, internet users in China could go to the Chinese version of Google and find links to information about the <strong>Dalai Lama</strong>, <strong>Tibet</strong>, the outlawed group <strong>Falun Gong</strong> (aka Falun Dafa), and pictures of the heroic man blocking the tank at <strong>Tiananmen Square</strong>. These topics and many others were previously censored.</p> <p>Wow! Google removed their filters in China. Who knows how long it will last? I&rsquo;m absolutely certain that the government is working hard to rebuild the internet version of the Great Wall of China. More below.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Dbug) Censorship China Dalai Lama DalaiLama Falun Gong FalunDafa FalunGong Google Hacking Internet Net Neutrality NetNeutrality Tiananmen Tibet _824942 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:35:55 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/12/824496/-2010-World-Peace-Gala-Awards-Juan-Mendez-Peace-Prize-in-Chicago?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Chicago witnessed a spectacle last week in their magnificent Auditorium Theater on East Congress Parkway &#8211; &#8220;The 2010 World Peace Gala.&#8221;</p> <p>The Hon. Juan M&#233;ndez, first Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide to the Secretary General of the United Nations, was honored for his efforts to help create a world with less hatred.</p> <p>The event &#8211; &#8220;Carnival, China Style&#8221; &#8211; featured over 70 magnificent performing artists from China, allowing Chicagoans the rare opportunity to witness the various beautiful ethnic cultural arts from Beijing.</p> <p>The event featured marvelous artistic performances of the China Broadcasting Performing Arts Troupe, sponsored by the All China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and the World Harmony Foundation.</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oiww/4269888771/" title="JOfficials from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Consulate-General participated. by jimluce, on Flickr"><img width="500" alt="JOfficials from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Consulate-General participated." src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2780/4269888771_d57995528d.jpg" height="370" /></a> <br /><em>Officials from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Consulate-General participated.</em></p> rss@dailykos.com (jimluce) 2010WorldPeaceGala AllChinaFederationofReturnedOverseasChinese AuditoriumTheater BaiChunpu Barack Obama BarackObama Beijing CarnivalChinaStyle CharityHelpInternational Chicago China ChinaBroadcastingPerformingArtsTroupe ChinaStarMedia ChineseConsulate-GeneralChicago Chineseculturalperformances ChineseMinistryofCulture DawayZhou GlobalChinaConnection GlobalCitizens Huffington Post HuffingtonPost JimLuce JohnLee JoyAShanaberger JuanMendez JudyGibson KofiAnnan LiuJiayin MargaretOConnor orphansinternationalworldwide PaulStevers Peace Prize PeacePrize PreventionofGenocide RotaryInternational RotaryInternationalPeaceCentersProgram SpecialAdviseronthePreventionofGenocide TheSongFlyingonEarth ThoughtLeaders Tibet U.N. Secretary General U.NSecretaryGeneral WorldHarmonyFund WorldPeace WorldPeaceAward _824496 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:38:47 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/6/818259/-Into-the-Orient-4?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p> &nbsp; When Buddhism came across the Himalaya range to Tibet in the seventh century, it found fertile soil and thrived. It came from India. In 1959 its Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, returned there for sanctuary. &nbsp;In 1992 the Tibetans we met revered him as they always had. Our tour guides had a few postcards picturing him and made instant friends by giving them away. We had seen the two great Buddhist university monasteries Sera and Drepung. Now we were to visit the smallest but first built one. It was here in the fifteenth century that the scholar monk Tsonghapa founded the the Yellow Hat (Gelugpa) sect. Its fantastic curved headgear is a feature of the exotica belonging to Tibet. Here is a statue of Tsonghapa: <br /> &nbsp;</p> rss@dailykos.com (Charlotte Lucas) Ganden Photos Rescued Tibet Travel _818259 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:09:13 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/20/814142/-Into-the-Orient-2?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p> &nbsp; In preparation for the visit to Tibet the members of our group had read two books advised by the Smithsonian Institute: TRESPASSERS ON THE ROOF 0F THE WORLD by Peter Hopkirk and TIBET by Elizabeth B. Booz. Both &nbsp;were absorbing as well as illuminating. I had not realized that Lhasa, like the Beijing's Forbidden City had for centuries been a closed and secret place, a religious center visited only by devout Buddhist pilgrims, and that a large percentage of its &nbsp;population were monks. No foreigner had penetrated this "city of golden domes" until the early twentieth century. Then a relatively small British force with superior weapons and by brutal means, overpowered the Tibetans who tried to defend their sacred city. It was the beginning of the end for Lhasa and for Tibet. Only a few years before our journey there, the Chinese, by much more brutal means, had conquered this hidden country, protected on all sides by majestic mountain ranges.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Charlotte Lucas) Bombing buddhism Rescued Tibet Travel _814142 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:42:59 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/7/790328/-The-Dalai-Lama-President-Obama?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>The Dalai Lama is visiting Washington this week a meeting with President Obama is not on the schedule.</p> rss@dailykos.com (garak99) BarackObama China President Obama TheDalaiLama Tibet _790328 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:50:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/13/781518/-Mena-meets-some-Tibetans?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Yesterday me and my 20-month-old granddaughter went to a religious ceremony hosted by some local Tibetan holocaust refugees, and it was very inspiring. Mena played with the Tibetan kids like she had known them all of her life, but hated the little red ceremonial pills they gave out. She slept through half of the event and made friends during the other half -- and I saw Tibetans there that I hadn't seen in years. And then Mena presented her ceremonial scarf to Nechung Rinpoche like she had been doing this all of her life.</p> <p>To see photos of the event (well worth your extra time), please click here: <a href="http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/2009/09/mena-meets-some-tibetans-yesterday-we.html">http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/...</a> (That little kid that you can barely see who is getting tapped on the shoulder by Nechung Rinpoche? That's our Mena.)</p> <p>PS: I'm leaving for Russia and Ukraine tomorrow. If I run into David Duke in Kiev, I'll ask him if I can see a photo of his private parts as well -- to check and see if he was actually born in Oklahoma like he says he was.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Jane Stillwater) DavidDuke MenaStillwater NechungRinpoche Tibet _781518 Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:34:33 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/28/773472/-Yogis-the-Dalai-Lama-Paul-McCartney-and-Vegetarians?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>Earlier this year, Paul McCartney "lashed out" at the Dalai Lama for not being a vegetarian.</p> rss@dailykos.com (OrganicKitchen) .PaulMcCartney buddhism Cancer Chutzpah Dalai Lama DalaiLama knighthood LindaMcCartney Nutrition Organic Kitchen OrganicFood OrganicKitchen Organickitchen.com SadieNardini Tibet Vegetarianism Yoga Yogis _773472 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:11:39 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/30/737092/-PROPOSALS-TO-PEACE-TIBET-OF-CHINA?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>In order to peace Tibet,China and world,I write this article.I hope the world leaders should reference my proposals.So all over the world can be happy.</p> rss@dailykos.com (hanyouchina) China Peace Tibet _737092 Sun, 31 May 2009 02:44:27 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/25/724307/-The-Most-Deadly-and-Destructive-Change?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source= <p>In climate change, drought, reduced water supplies and famine will affect billions of people. The global catastrophe is beginning on the high plateaus of the Andes, Tibet, and western north America. Disappearing alpine glaciers are threatening global water supplies. The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2009/apr/20/bolivia-climate-change">"Water People"</a> of the high antiplano of Bolivia are at ground zero of the drying. Rivers have slowed to a trickle and pastures have turned to dust bowls. Bolivia's glaciers, the source of their rivers have melted to remnants.</p> <p><a href="http://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=andesgallerytimelapse70.jpg"><img width="500" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/6594/andesgallerytimelapse70.jpg" border /></a><br /></p> rss@dailykos.com (FishOutofWater) Bolivia China Climate Change ClimateChange Environment faminedrought Glaciers Global Warming GlobalWarming India Montana Tibet Water watersupplies _724307 Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:05:39 +0000