Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Tricycle: Better Blogging

Tricycle: the Buddhist Review magazine cover (Summer 2006)

New location: blog.tricycle.com

This is the Editor's Blog with Wendy Johnson
Tricycle’s longtime contributor Wendy Johnson continues to pop up right and left. An article in Voice of America profiles her work at Green Gulch, while Wendy herself will be reading from her new book, Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate, at East West bookstore in Manhattan tonight at 7:45 pm (78 Fifth Ave., between 13th and 14th).

RECENT BLOG ENTRIES (July 30, 2008)
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India and Terror Posted by Philip Ryan in : General, Peace , add a comment
Terror attacks are becoming routine in India. Do they need a Department of Homeland Security?

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UN suckered by junta; ASEAN wakes up; Bush continues to hassle junta
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Burma
The UN has a great reputation for being careful with its money. Hope this doesn’t tarnish it: The UN has admitted losing about $10m (£5m) to the Burmese regime while delivering emergency aid to the country in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis because of a distorted official exchange rate.

The UN’s senior humanitarian aid official said it had suffered the “significant” loss because the junta enforced an artificial exchange rate that was at least 15 per cent lower than the genuine rate. It has been alleged that the UN had been aware of the loss for weeks and had accepted it as the price of “doing business” with the regime.

Also is ASEAN getting serious about Burma?
Foreign ministers from member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Singapore expressed their “deep disappointment” with Burma’s continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. They also called for the junta that for decades has ruled the nation with an iron grip to hold “meaningful dialogue” with opposition figures. ASEAN is a consensus-based organization that is loath to speak out on the internal affairs of its members. Given that human rights figured prominently in the meeting’s agenda and the political climate in Burma has deteriorated over the past year, the organization may have decided the time was right to speak out.
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They also were encouraged by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who credited ASEAN with growing influence in Rangoon. She said the group was instrumental in persuading the junta to reverse its initial obstruction of assistance and accept international aid after Cyclone Nargis killed at least 78,000 people along the Irrawaddy Delta in May. She urged the group to continue engaging Burma to push it toward democracy. Condi to the rescue. And Bush continues to pile on sanctions against Burma’s gem trade and overseas assets. Thank goodness he is showing more restraint than usual and hasn’t sent Rambo in yet.

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Monks in Korea Stick up for Disgraced Scientist Posted by Philip Ryan in : Science
But why?
South Korea’s Buddhist monks have urged the government to allow disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk to continue his stem cell research. “It is deplorable that research by Hwang Woo-suk and his team is suppressed unreasonably,” the monks said in a resolution. “The government should approve the research in order to save a greater soul.” The resolution came ahead of the Health Ministry’s decision Saturday over whether to approve Hwang’s request to restart his work. Hwang, once considered a national hero, has been on trial for alleged fraud and violation of bioethics laws after his team was found in January 2006 to have fabricated results to claim success in his study.

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Meditating Monks Ignore Earthquake Posted by Philip Ryan in : Meditation
An earthquake rocked L.A. yesterday, fortunately causing little damage. It managed to scare the usually unflappable Judge Judy, but a group of monks meditating at a Thai temple were unfazed.
A meditator was also shown to have special insight in problem-solving according to the New Yorker. Hat tip: the good folks at Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s Metta Forest Forest Monastery. And it seems someone is saying meditation can slow HIV. Most of this article is behind a free registration link.

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Colorado = Little Tibet Posted by Philip Ryan in : Dalai Lama, Tibet
The Dalai Lama, touring the U.S., apparently feels very at home in Aspen, Colorado.
It reminded him of the Tibetan home he fled as a child, he told the crowd. “Very beautiful,” he said. “Mountains all over the place.” More here on how Colorado become such a dharma hotspot.
Posted by Sarah Todd in : Books
Joan Halifax’s Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death is now available in hardcover. Joan’s Spring 2008 article for Tricycle, “The Lucky Dark,” addressed the topic of how best to prepare a gentle and meaningful death for our loved ones and for ourselves. It’s available for free here.

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Answers to your questions on Burma
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Burma
Gail Seneca of the Foundation for the People of Burma answers reader questions on Burma.

Other Tricycle-related links

ChatteringMind (Amy Cunningham)

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