China claims regulatory power over reincarnation

The Next Lama: The Dalai Lama says he won't reincarnate in Tibet

By Matthew Philips
Newsweek

Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.


At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it's under Chinese control. Assuming he's able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks. "It will be a very hot issue," says Paul Harrison, a Buddhism scholar at Stanford. "The Dalai Lama has been the prime symbol of unity and national identity in Tibet, and so it's quite likely the battle for his incarnation will be a lot more important than the others."

So where in the world will the next Dalai Lama be born? Harrison and other Buddhism scholars agree that it will likely be from within the 130,000 Tibetan exiles spread throughout India, Europe and North America. With an estimated 8,000 Tibetans living in the United States, could the next Dalai Lama be American-born? "You'll have to ask him," says Harrison. If so, he'll likely be welcomed into a culture that has increasingly embraced reincarnation over the years. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 20 percent of all U.S. adults believe in reincarnation. Recent surveys by the Barna Group, a Christian research nonprofit, have found that a quarter of U.S. Christians, including 10 percent of all born-again Christians, embrace it as their favored end-of-life view. A non-Tibetan Dalai Lama, experts say, is probably out of the question.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc

Iraq: A Neoconservative Paradise

Democracy Now! - Noami Klein on the Privatization of War









A Film by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein, directed by Jonás Cuarón.
"When I finished The Shock Doctrine, I sent it to Alfonso Cuarón because I adore his films and felt that the future he created for Children of Men was very close to the present I was seeing in disaster zones. I was hoping he would send me a quote for the book jacket and instead he pulled together this amazing team of artists -- including Jonás Cuarón who directed and edited -- to make The Shock Doctrine short film. It was one of those blessed projects where everything felt fated." - Naomi Klein

The Shock Doctrine

Friday Flashback: The Band - "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (Live) 1976

Press Play

..

The Velvet Revolution

The most popular song of 1968 was "Hey Jude" and to the ears of the Czechs and Slovaks it must have sounded deliciously meddlesome. McCartney's shrill yelps. The thump-clang percussion. Its orgasmic coda. "Hey Jude" was seven minutes of subversion openly broadcast over the radio in a Soviet satellite. This was the Prague Spring. A time when a progressive leader, Alexander Dubcek, took power and reformed the draconian restrictions of Mother Russia. Censorship of the state press was lifted so dissidents could express their views free of harassment, new independent political parties challenged the one-party system, bands performed without the impediment of state registration, and radio exhibited a distinctly Western rebirth. It was only a matter of time before Czechoslovakia was liberated from the Soviet Union's manacles.

Then it ended. In August of that year Soviets rolled their tanks into Prague killing dozens and squashing the reforms enacted during the Prague Spring. They reasserted their control, "normalizing" the media of Western influence. These changes extended into the artistic sphere, limiting the range of content of writers and forcing musicians to once again earn state approval before gaining professional status. Many bands complied and softened their material to fit cleanly inside Soviet parameters, but a small underground movement refused to compromise. The most important of these groups was The Plastic People of the Universe.

Taking their name from the Frank Zappa song, "Plastic People", the Plastics channeled the kaleidoscopic silliness of early Zappa and the Mothers of Invention as well as the dark caterwauling of the Velvet Underground. The music was too challenging, and they were labeled "morbid" and denied professional status by the state, prohibiting them from making money off their music.

But they didn't stop, instead the Plastics found chinks in the Soviet armor. For example, a friend of the band, a professor, would deliver a ten minute lecture about the music of the Velvet Underground or the Fugs then invite the Plastics to demonstrate the songs for the last few hours of the presentation. They performed at weddings, a couple even remarried in order to give the Plastic People a venue. Information about these events was spread in secret by word of mouth and shows were set in secluded locations such as farms and forests. Despite this forethought the police often discovered and shut down the events at times beating and arresting audience members. This pattern continued culminating into what became known as "Magor's Wedding", a festival helmed by the Plastics who wanted to launch the "Second Culture" and refurbish their society through rock music. In attitude, this was to be the Czech Woodstock, the police responded by arresting the band and confiscating their equipment.

In attendance at the Plastic People's trial was a playwright and poet who witnessed the birth and death of the Prague Spring. His name is Vaclav Havel and the misconduct of the court so incensed the young firebrand that he penned a petition entitled "Charter 77". In short, Charter 77 was "ask[ing], simply, that the Czechoslovak government adhere to the Final Act of the 1975 Helsinki Agreement -- specifically its covenants on civil, political, and economic rights -- to which it had recently become a signatory." (source) This act was indeed revolutionary. The government jailed Havel for his "crime" but the deed was done. Charter 77 lent guidance and hope not only to his own countrymen but to the neighboring European countries who also wished to slide free of the Soviet stranglehold.

At the tail end of the Soviet Union Charter 77 evolved into an outright revolution. Appropriately enough it was named the Velvet Revolution after one of the Plastic People of the Universe and Havel's favorite groups - the Velvet Underground. The Plastics still perform under the name Pulnoc, and Havel lead the revolution, and the country, after the Communist empire crumbled as well as becoming the first president of the Czech Republic.

Somehow artisans have been stereotyped as a flighty lot whose product should only benignly entertain. Too often people dismiss the potency of words or notes or images and those who arrange them. The idea that a rock group or poet could provoke authentic change is derided as immature daydreaming. But if these goalless punks never rise above the level of street magicians then why are they muzzled and jailed? Art is dangerous. Art is transformative. It explores the geography of our minds and illuminates the interiors of the human heart. It satisfies our hunger for a shared experience of interpersonal progress and because of that fact it is impossible to know when those books and albums might go nova and ignite the next revolution.

Senator Feingold Responds

One thing that's nice about Feingold is that he responds to his constituents such as my letter I wrote him about the impeachment of the President. I'll let his letter speak for itself. Unfortunately, Russ has decided not to be a leader on this matter even though he knows it's right which makes his middle-of-the-road position even sadder.


Dear Mr. Basche,

Thank you for contacting me regarding my recent introduction of
two censure resolutions condemning the President, Vice President
and Attorney General for misconduct relating to the war in Iraq
and for repeated assaults on the rule of law. I appreciate hearing
from you.

One resolution, cosponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA),
censures the President and Attorney General for undermining the
rule of law with respect to the following: (1) the illegal NSA
warrantless wiretapping program, (2) extreme policies on torture,
the Geneva Conventions, and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, (3)
the refusal to recognize legitimate congressional oversight into the
improper firings of U.S. Attorneys, (4) misleading the American
public about the Patriot Act, and (5) the issuance of signing
statements suggesting the President does not believe he has to
follow the laws Congress passes.

The other resolution, cosponsored by Senator Harkin and Senator
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), censures the President and Vice President
for misconduct relating to the war in Iraq. This misconduct
includes the following: (1) overstating the case that Saddam
Hussein had WMD, particularly nuclear weapons, and falsely
implying he had a relationship with al Qaeda and links to 9/11, (2)
failing to plan for the civil conflict and humanitarian problems that
the intelligence community predicted, (3) over-stretching the
Army, Marine Corps and Guard with prolonged deployments, and
(4) seeking to justify our military involvement in Iraq by distorting
the situation on the ground there.

I have attached for your review a copy of each of the resolutions. I
hope you find this information useful.

Introducing these resolutions of censure is an appropriate and
necessary step that allows Congress to rebuke an administration
that is responsible for such egregious misconduct. When future
generations look back at the actions of this administration, they
need to see that a co-equal branch of government stood up and held
to account those who violated the principles on which this nation
was founded. I am pleased to be working with Representative
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), who has introduced companion
legislation in the House with 19 cosponsors.

I appreciate your support for impeachment, and I respect the anger
many Americans feel at the outrageous actions of this
administration. I believe that the President and Vice President may
well have committed impeachable offenses, but with so many
important issues facing this country and so much work to be done,
I am concerned about the great deal of time impeachment would
take. Because censure does not require multiple impeachments in
the House and trials in the Senate, or the support of two-thirds of
Senators, it is far less cumbersome than impeachment. However,
if the House of Representatives does decide to move forward with
impeachment, I will take seriously my role as a sworn impartial
juror in any impeachment trial.

Thank you again for contacting me. I look forward to hearing
from you again.


Sincerely,

Russell D. Feingold
United States Senator

If you wish to contact me again, please visit
http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html.

censure- Iraq.pdf


censure- Rule of Law.pdf

The Unknown Aung San Suu Kyi

Find out more about Aung San Suu Kyi