2009 July 07 « Rev. Danny Fisher

Burma News (7.7.09)

Here’s the latest on Burma:

The Associated Press reports on the ruling military junta’s “stage-managing” of U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon’s recent visit to the country.

Reuters reports on Mr. Ban’s urging of the junta to hold credible democratic elections next year.

The New York Times writes about the observation among analysts that “the fact that Mr. Ban emerged empty-handed after his two-day visit that ended Saturday provides the strongest evidence yet that a different approach is overdue.”

The Times also reports that “a North Korean freighter suspected of carrying banned cargo [to Burma] was expected to return to home port, according to a South Korean defense spokesman, as American officials claimed that international sanctions had forced the ship to turn back.”

The AP also reports that Burma “earned more than 209 million euros ($292 million) from the sale of jade at a government-sponsored gems show despite a U.S. ban on their import.”

On the heels of this news, The Irrawaddy reports that “two identical resolutions have been introduced in the US House of Representatives and Senate calling for the renewal of sanctions on the Burmese military junta under the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.”

The AP also reports further on the “uneven” rebuilding efforts in the year after Cyclone Nargis.

Lastly, the BBC reports on the University of Ulster’s Magee Campus awarding an honorary degree to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s Prime Minister-elect and Nobel Peace laureate who is currently standing trial on trumped-up charges of violating the terms of her house arrest by the junta.

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July 7, 2009

The Dalai Lama Center Launches a New Website

Via Maha Sangha News: The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education has launched a new website. Check it out at:

http://dalailamacenter.org

July 7, 2009

Dr. Arri Eisen on Teaching Science to Tibetan Monks

Over at Religion Dispatches, Dr. Arri Eisen, Senior Lecturer in Biology, Director of the Program in Science & Society and of the Science, Ethics, & Society Initiative of the Ethics Center at Emory University, writes about teaching science to visiting Tibetan monks at his institution.

I’ve blogged previously about Emory’s experiment–in this post about the New York Times‘ coverage of it, and in this post about Religion News Service journalist Daniel Burke’s critique of that coverage.

[Image via Religion Dispatches.]

July 7, 2009

Rod Meade Sperry Continues His Conversation with Frank Ostaseski at Shambhala Sun Audio

Over at Shambhala Sun Audio, the great Rod Meade Sperry continues his conversation with Frank Ostaseski of the Metta Institute and the Zen Hospice Project. Mr. Ostaseski also answers listener questions in the comments–so, leave him one! Get it all right here. (You can listen to the first part here.)

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