Rev. Danny Fisher

Just a Buddhist Minister Trying to Benefit Beings

Month: May, 2009

May 27, 2009

A Great Movie about Food and Health

Cinetic has made the full version of Morgan Spurlock’s Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me available online here. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend taking a look. The film was inspired by a lawsuit brought against McDonald’s by two young, morbidly obese girls and their families, who claimed that the fast food giant was to blame for their weight problems. Spurlock looks at food, public health, consumer culture, fitness, addiction, corporate responsibility, and other issues as he undertakes an awful experiment: eating nothing but McDonald’s for thirty days straight. Initially turned off by this stunt aspect of the picture, I found myself turned around within seconds when I first saw the film: as Spurlock points out, the judge in the aforementioned lawsuit said that if the two girls’ lawyers could show that McDonald’s intended for people to eat their food for every meal of every day, and that doing so would be “unreasonably dangerous,” then they could state a claim. So, it’s less a stunt than (dare I say) a necessary experiment. Anyway, I think it’s a terrific film. Give it a watch:

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May 27, 2009

Tibet News (5.27.09)

“Protesters throw stones on military trucks in Lhasa, Tibet, on March 14, 2008.” Image via Reuters.
Here’s the latest Tibet-related news:

  • Time Magazine brings us the news about a new report from a group of independent Chinese scholars that has “for the first time challenged China’s official explanation that the deadly riots that broke out across Tibet in March, 2008, were inspired by ‘overseas forces’ — namely the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile.” The article continues:

      The report, which was recently published on a Chinese website, blames the riots not on outsiders but on Beijing’s policy toward Tibet, claiming the central government has backed incompetent local officials, created an economy that provides few options for young people, and deprived Tibetans of access to equal justice under the law.

  • Meanwhile, Voice of America reports that “at least six Tibetan women suffered gunshot wounds when Chinese security forces opened fire on a group of protesters in western Sichuan province bordering Tibet.”
  • Lastly, the Associated Press reports that “the Dalai Lama is likely to be honored by the mayor of Paris during a June visit, a Tibetan representative said Tuesday — a meeting that could once again strain relations between France and China.”

    • May 27, 2009

    Cambodia Considers Opening Angkor Wat at Night

    SEAArch – The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog points us to an Associated Press story which informs us that the Cambodian government is considering opening Angkor Wat temple at night.

      Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia. More than a million foreign tourists are expected to visit this year, with most from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of tourists visit the Angkor temples, by far the country’s biggest draw.

      Visitors are now ushered out of Angkor at sunset, but authorities are considering extending visiting hours to as late as 8:30 p.m. local time.

      [...]

      But conservationists have long expressed concerns about tourism’s impact on Angkor.

      They say the uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet the rising demand of hotels and residents in the nearby town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the temples.

    2 comments
    May 26, 2009

    Bill Moyers Interviews Daniel Goleman

    On this week’s Bill Moyers Journal, the venerable host spoke with Daniel Goleman about developing a sustainable and ecologically responsible economy. Among other things, Goleman has been an important thinker on the subjects of Buddhism and psychology: he is a member of the board of directors for the Mind & Life Institute, and his book Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama is made up of parts of the 8th Mind & Life Conference that was held in Dharamsala, India, in 2000.

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    May 26, 2009

    Burma News (5.26.09)

    “A Buddhist monk, center, stands next to riot police officers at a checkpoint on a road to the main entrance of Insein Prison where the trial of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is ongoing Monday, May 25, 2009 in Yangon, Myanmar. Suu Kyi will testify Tuesday at her trial for allegedly violating terms of her house arrest as the prosecution’s withdrawal of its nine remaining witnesses suggested the military government wanted to quickly wrap up the proceedings. Suu Kyi, 63, is widely expected to be found guilty for allegedly harboring an American who swam across a lake to her residence. She faces up to five years in prison.” Photo by Khin Maung Win for the Associated Press.
    [This post has been updated as of 7:30 p.m. PST on 5.26.09.]

    Here’s the latest on what’s happening in Burma with Prime Minister-elect and Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently on trial before the ruling junta:

  • The Associated Press and the New York Times report on Suu Kyi’s testimony today, in which she said she did not violate the terms of her house arrest.
  • The Washington Post is reporting the junta has officially ended Suu Kyi’s house arrest, though she remains in prison awaiting the outcome of the trial.
  • The BBC reports that U.S. President Barack Obama has called for the “immediate and unconditional” of Suu Kyi in a written statement.
  • Voice of America is reporting that “a group of Southeast Asian politicians is urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to suspend Burma’s membership if it refuses to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.”
  • The Post writes about how the junta’s trial of Suu Kyi is further isolating them from the rest of the world–even from those people they would call allies.
  • Former political prisoner Aung Din writes about Burma’s “last chance” for the Far Eastern Economic Review.
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