International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma
Rev. Danny Fisher
Just a Buddhist Minister Trying to Benefit Beings
Month: February, 2010
February 25, 2010
Support Ugandan Voices
CLIMATE OF FEAR: Frank, a Ugandan human rights advocate fighting the bill, has received threats & must protect his identity.
This from Avaaz.org:
The extremists behind Uganda’s so-called “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” — which would sentence gay people to death, and send their friends to prison — are drowning out voices of reason. The growing Ugandan movement opposing the bill needs help to be heard.
Even small donations can make a tremendous difference — donate now to support:
- Bold billboards, newspaper ads, and radio spots appealing to Ugandans’ deep commitment to human rights
- Opinion polls to demonstrate the public’s unease with mass execution
- Local and global lobbying and campaigning for justice
This struggle will be won or lost by the Ugandans on the front lines. Our help now can give them the support they need to be heard.
Donate here.
February 25, 2010
The Importance of Burma VJ‘s Oscar Nomination
"A scene from the documentary 'Burma VJ.'" Image via Oscilloscope Laboratories.
The New York Times‘ The Carpetbagger blog reports on U Gawsita, an activist monk featured in the critically-acclaimed Burma VJ and his thoughts about the importance of the film’s nomination for the 2010 Best Documentary Feature Academy Award. Here’s a snippet:
If ever you doubted the greater good of an Oscar nomination – if ever you thought this whole awards season stuff was just a bunch of razzle-dazzle designed to give people who already hold themselves in pretty high regard even more cause for self-congratulation, not to mention giving them more money, more glamorous stuff to wear, parties to attend and free stuff to paw through – then perhaps you should talk to a Burmese monk.
Someone like U Gawsita, who is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Burma VJ,” about a group of underground Burmese video journalists who risked their lives to cover an uprising against the repressive regime that had shut down all other news media. U Gawsita, one of the protesters (he’s seen shouting into a bullhorn in the movie), was at a screening at the Museum of Modern Art and a dinner party at Osteria del Circo the other day; he went to the Oscar nominees luncheon, too.
[...]
“People inside Burma feel that this nomination not only represents the Burmese people, but they represent the people around the world who are repressed by the military regime or the oppressed government,” U Gawsita said, through Mr. Win. (That they even know about the nomination is a testament to its status and the reach of alternative global media sources.)
Read the rest here.
February 25, 2010
Buddhist Novels
At uuworld.org, Kimberly French examines the phenomenon of “Buddhist novels,” with looks at a few good examples. Take a look.
I previously answered a “From the Mailbag” question about Buddhist fiction. Check it out here.
