Rev. Danny Fisher

This via past interviewee Lori Hefner: If you live in the Los Angeles area, you might want to attend an upcoming seminar offer at Bukkyo University’s Los Angeles Extension in Little Tokyo. It’s entitled “Buddhism and Christianity: American and Japanese Moralities”, and will be held Saturday, March 14th on the extension’s campus (at 442 East Third Street in Los Angeles). The seminar is described in this way:

Is Harmonious Coexistence possible in this world filled with ignorance, misunderstandings, and conflict? Bukkyo University is sponsoring a provocative academic seminar entitled Buddhism and Christianity: American and Japanese Moralities in an attempt to answer this question. The differences and similarities between Eastern and Western theologies will be explored in depth with the goal of gaining insight into the two distinctly different religious cultures. As one presenter, University of Pennsylvania’s Dr. William R. Lafleur summarizes, “…Christians and Buddhists who live and work near one another here in Southern California have all of the potential to provide a positive example, not only of concentration, but of reciprocal understanding. Our world needs it. The opportunity is surely in place.” This seminar is an opportunity for Buddhists and Christians, faiths of East and West, to begin the road to Harmonious Coexistence.

For more information, follow this link.

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) Medical Coordinator Gabriela Popescu writes about the plight of Burma’s Rohingya minority:

The scandal over Thailand’s treatment of the Rohingya, washed up in Indonesia and on the Andaman Islands after being set adrift by the Thai military forces has finally brought the plight of these people in the headlines. Seeing so much press coverage has filled me with both a competing sense of promise and frustration.

Promise because finally their desperate situation is gaining public recognition. For decades these people have fled the hardships they face in Myanmar, only to suffer horrible living conditions and a lack of official recognition as refugees in Bangladesh and elsewhere. And frustration because of the atrocities that people continue to suffer and because the situation is not always understood for what it clearly is – a chronic humanitarian crisis – with its roots firmly in Myanmar.

Read her reflections in their entirety here.

[Photo by Rafiqur Rahman for Reuters. "Rohingya woman Nur Kahtun cries at Fadanardal near Cox's Bazar. Her husband was among a group who left Bangladesh in a rickety wooden boat, lured by agents promising a job in Malaysia."]

This from Amnesty International:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. Some organizations and United Nations member states are calling for the UN Security Council to suspend the execution of the arrest warrant. The U.S. government has gone on record opposing any compromise on justice. Write to Secretary of State Clinton and UN Ambassador Rice today to urge the U.S. to continue to oppose any calls to bargain justice away. As part of U.S. efforts to support accountability for crimes committed in Darfur, also urge Secretary of State Clinton to use her good offices to ensure a Special Envoy on Sudan is appointed as soon as possible. A Special Envoy is needed to deal with the interlocking issues of Darfur and broader security and peace in Sudan.

Send your message here.

This from the Save Darfur Coalition:

The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for [Sudanese] President Bashir’s arrest, and we have to move fast. These next few days and weeks are critical. Depending on the actions of world leaders, Darfur could take bold strides toward peace, or the violence could grow worse.

We are springing into action with an emergency advocacy effort that can move us toward an end to this crisis. But it won’t be successful without your help.

Donate here.

KRON 4 reports that actor/activist Sean Penn and California State Senator Mark Leno yesterday announced the reintroduction of a bill proposing the establishment of “Harvey Milk Day” in California.

San Francisco City Supervisor Milk was, according to Time Magazine, “the first openly gay man elected to any substantial political office in the history of the planet.” The effects of his life and work on the gay rights movement in this country were, as you can imagine, enormous. Sadly, in 1978, he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former city supervisor Dan White.

Last week, Penn deservedly won his second Oscar for portraying the man in Gus Van Sant’s film Milk. KRON 4 captured his comments to the audience for the reintroduction of the bill: