The Dharma, sutras, and commentarial interpretations of interest to American Buddhists of all traditions with news that not only informs but transforms. Emphasis on meditation, enlightenment, karma, social evolution, and nonharming.
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France strikes: Violent clashes, fires, and teargas mar Dictator Macron's vision
(Bloomberg Television) March 27, 2023. Protests continue across France against Dictator President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.
[That, of course, is not the only complaint but the one made much of by the Western press to belittle the French as if they were so lazy that this increase would cause French society to fall apart.]
Bloomberg's Caroline Connan looks at what it means for his political future.
ABOUT: Capitalism-promoting Bloomberg is for business news and analysis, up-to-the-minute financial market data, features, profiles, and more: bloomberg.com. twitter, facebook, instagram.
Protests continue, escalate after Macron pushes through pension reform in France
(ABC News) March 28, 2023. #pension #abcnews #france
ABC News’ Ines de la Cuetara breaks down the latest on the protests in Paris after French Dictator President Emmanuel Macron pushed through reforms to the country’s pension program.
"France is furious": Anger grows at Macron for raising retirement age as millions strike and protest
(Democracy Now!) March 24, 2023. French unions say nearly 3.5 million people took to the streets Thursday in a nationwide general strike to protest Pres. Emmanuel Macron's deeply unpopular move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Dictator Macron forced the legislation through the French National Assembly last week, using a constitutional clause to bypass a parliamentary vote. Macron's government survived a vote of no confidence Monday by just nine votes, but public anger shows no signs of abating, with France's major trade unions planning another nationwide protest for Tuesday.
"Not only is the government trying to do this pension reform that people see as fundamentally unfair, but they're ignoring historically large protests even by French standards," says journalist Cole Stranger from Marseille. His new guest essay in The New York Times is headlined "France is furious." Latest shows
Today (March 31st) is the annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. When a person feels as if sh/e was born in the wrong body and is the other sex or no sex at all or both (non-binary, not male, not female).
When trans people regret transitioning (Heartbreaking)
(Answers in Genesis) Nov. 4, 2022. This North American culture has been proudly touting gender transitioning as a solution, when it’s actually the problem. As medical gender transitions become more common so, too, have regrets about undergoing them. In this video, Bryan Osborne views several clips of trans people expressing their fears and regrets for what they’ve done then points us to the only solution: finding our ultimate identity in his god.
Protests in Israel after Dictator Netanyahu fires defense minister
(Guardian News) UK, March 26, 2023. ISRAEL - Protests erupted across Israel on Sunday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. His firing (sacking) came a day after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. In [the luxury coastal city of] Tel Aviv, protesters flocked to the main highway Ayalon, blocking traffic for hours and setting up bonfires along the multi-lane road in both directions. In Jerusalem, crowds gathered outside Netanyahu's residence and at one point breached a security cordon. ► Subscribe: Guardian News on YouTube.
Israel's "Day of Shutdown" sees arrests, roads blocked as Netanyahu destroys judiciary
(Global News) March 23, 2023. Roads were blocked and police clashed with protesters in Israel as a "Day of Shutdown" was held in opposition to proposed judicial changes ("reforms") by ousted and reinstalled Prime Minister Netanyahu's government.
Thousands of protesters carried flags and signs blocking roads in multiple cities, including Tel Aviv, as police also tried to disperse crowds with water cannons. The demonstrations have escalated since the start of the year when Netanyahu introduced the legislation that critics say would weaken Israel's democracy.
Earlier on Thursday, a law was ratified limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed [bringing Netanyahu closer to being an all-powerful dictator].
Amid the latest protests, Netanyahu appeared to crack down on his plan.
"We are determined to correct, responsibly promote the democratic reform that will restore the proper balance between the authorities," Netanyahu said in a televised address.
But in Jerusalem, those protesting criticized the remarks, saying it was sad a compromise could not be reached. #GlobalNews
Israeli protests intensify over Netanyahu gov’t weakening Israel's judiciary as Palestinian rights are ignored
(Democracy Now!) March 27, 2023. Israel's workers are taking part in a general strike Monday (3/27/23) to protest plans by newly re-installed CIA-groomed Prime Minister Ben "Bibi" Netanyahu to disempower Israel’s judiciary.
This comes after Netanyahu -- who is facing prosecution for corruption -- fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday (3/26/23) over Gallant’s warning that the judicial overhaul represents “a clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the state.”
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken part in protests in recent days, shutting down large parts of the tiny country [divided and occupied Palestine] and demanding the government withdraw its plan, which would give parliament more power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and overturn its rulings.
The Supreme Court is one of the few independent checks on the Israeli government [which by design does not have a constitution], and critics warn Netanyahu’s judicial reforms would turn the country into a dictatorship. For more on the political crisis, we speak with journalist and activist Haggai Matar in Tel Aviv.
I predicted this. I have an illegal source of information I pay for. I didn't do anything! It's election interference! The grand jury is interfering with my re-election. I didn't do anything. I have never lied! Ask my lawyer, Rudy. No, he's fired. Ask my boy, Junior, on Rumble. He knows his Daddy is innocent like George Washington, Jesus, and the Beatles. I'm going to use this to win the next election, so help me Alex Jones and the Salem Radio Network!
Get the cuffs on this @$$hole! Hey, guys, let me grab a selfie with the Prez for my gun club.
.
Donald Trump INDICTED
They better not send me to jail or else!
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) March 30, 2023. The day that many of us thought would never come has finally arrived as Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan grand jury for his role in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, Trump “truthed” a statement lashing out, now that he has been indicted he has no choice but to turn himself in for criminal processing, Don Trump Jr. jumped in with a special edition of his Rumble.com podcast to lament and fight back against the long arm of the law, Ivanka has vowed to stay out of all of this, when the news came in FOX was busy whining about trans athletes in college sports, we got more insight into what went down at Fox News after the election, George Santos answered a bunch of questions on Fox News and he also has a great new product available. #Kimmel
Indicted: Trump faces criminal charges in NY; three other investigations into ex-president continue
(Democracy Now!) March 31, 2023.
In an unprecedented move, a Manhattan grand jury voted Thursday (3/30/23) to indict former Pres. Trump for felonies and campaign finance violations related to hush-money payments he order his attorney Mike Cohen to make to prostitute and adult film star "Stormy Daniels" (Stephanie Clifford) during the 2016 presidential campaign to hide an alleged affair, making Trump the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.
Chris Hedges explains WHY Trump was indicted
Because the indictment is still sealed, the precise details of the charges are not yet known. This development culminates years of political corruption, fraudulent business, and personal legal troubles for Trump, who still faces three other major criminal investigations. Democracy Now! looks at the charges in this case and others that Trump faces, with Prof. Ellen Yaroshefsky, who teaches legal ethics at Hofstra University Law School.
"Lock him up, lock him up, lock him up!" over-the-Hillary Clinton was probably singing in her bathroom on the toilet, while Trump's friend Billy C. probably was saying, "Come on, Hill, don't be mean."
NEW YORK, New York -
Ex-Pres. Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury today (Thursday, 3/30/23), FOX News confirms.
Trump is facing at least three (3) other active criminal investigations, including federal charges, so his troubles are far from over.
This is the first criminal case ever brought against a former U.S. president and an extraordinary development after years of investigations into his criminal business, political, and personal dealings.
(NBC News) LIVE: Grand jury votes to indict Trump for falsifying business records. But since this misdemeanor was done in the furtherance of another crime, it's a felony.
Prosecutors from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have been presenting evidence to the grand jury and calling witnesses since January.
This week, the hearings ended and the grand jury determined enough evidence existed to indict Trump – which, in New York, is the equivalent to issuing a formal felony charge.
ABOUT: FOX 10 Phoenix delivers breaking news, live events, politics, entertainment, business news and local stories from Phoenix, Arizona and across the nation.
#fox10phoenix #live #donaldtrump
SPECIAL REPORT: Former Pres. Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury
(6abc Philadelphia) Streamed live at 2:40 pm Los Angeles time. [When is the perp walk, and where will the mugshot be posted?]
Power feels so good, doesn't it, Joe?! - Shush!
A New York grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump after investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign (federal charges), sources tell ABC News.
The grand jury has been probing Trump's involvement in an illegal $130,000 payment made in 2016 to the porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with the orange Republican years earlier. #donaldtrump#politicsMore
United Nations spokesman claims U.S. soldiers are NOT in Syria -- and gets immediately owned -- because there are. And they are not there by invitation but as a part of the CIA, U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of War Defense, the Pentagon, and the U.S. military-industrial complex's desire to be there to promote an American imperial (U.S. as empire) agenda, that is, to take things, control sovereign governments and people, and bring hardship to the world to enrich nominally-U.S. but actually multinational corporations and the lives of some citizens in the U.S.
Jennifer Aniston has been starring in comedies for nearly 30 years, from the launch of NBC’s Friends
in 1994 to the upcoming release of her latest Netflix movie Murder
Mystery 2 [which is getting horrible reviews as unfunny garbage], which means she’s had a front row seat to watching comedy
tastes change over three decades.
Aniston recently told France's AFP (via Yahoo News) that “comedy has [d]evolved” so much that it’s a bit tricky these days to be funny.
“Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which
makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that
we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life,” Aniston said.
“[In the
past] you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh: that was
hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people
were. And now we’re not allowed to do that.”
“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to
episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive,” Aniston added.
“There
were things that were never intentional and others…well, we should have
thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like
there is now.” More: variety.com
What is Food Not Bombs (foodnotbombs.com)? It's an anarcho-punk collective that feeds the needy sustainable vegetarian and vegan food. Actually, it'll feed anybody. They needn't be needy, co-organizer Scott used to say at L.A. Food Not Bombs in DTLA. Volunteers gather to prepare donated foodstuffs into delicious meals distributed around downtown and Skid Row. They recently fed us at the Apache Stronghold "Save Oak Flat" pre-trial gathering, as part of the spiritual convoy of a Salish totem pole, in Pasadena's Hahamongna Watershed Park in light rain. What is Zorthian Ranch (zorthianranch.com)? It's an anarcho-hippie commune, collective, art colony, film shoot location, permaculture demonstration site, and farm. Nikki Minaj visited recently, rode a horse, and dressed like a cowgirl for some photos.
The Gwyneth Paltrow trial is too white for Bailiff Roy
(The Daily Show) March 29, 2023.
Just another day for Black Bailiff Roy Wood Jr. as he oversees Gwyneth Paltrow's uber-white trial, aka the whitest sh*t he's ever seen. #DailyShow #Comedy #GwynethPaltrow #RoyWoodJr #DigitalOriginal #Goop.
The Daily Show: @thedailyshow
(Law&Crime Network) March 30, 2023. The jury overseeing Gwyneth Paltrow and Dr. Terry Sanderson’s ski crash trial returned a verdict completely siding with the famous actress. The jury found Dr. Sanderson at fault, awarding Paltrow $1 in damages plus attorney’s fees [which could run into the hundreds of thousands if Paltrow's attorney bills the hours].
#GwynethPaltrow#SkiTrial #LawAndCrime
Autopsy suggests “Cop City” protester sitting cross-legged, hands up, when shot 14 times by police
(Democracy Now!) New details from an independent autopsy of the activist fatally shot by Atlanta police in January concludes the victim's hands were raised up and in front of the body when police decided to execute the meditator, Manny Teran, who uses they/them pronouns, to death.
Georgia State Patrol shot Manuel "Tortuguita" Terán at least 14 times during a raid on an encampment of forest protectors opposing the forest's destruction to clear the way for the construction of a $90 million police training center dubbed "Cop City."
An independent autopsy released Monday also shows 26-year-old Tortuguita ("Little Tortoise/Turtle") was likely seated cross-legged when shot to death.
Tortuguita's family on Friday sued the city of Atlanta after the release of more video evidence of the police crime and conspiracy to conceal the illegal shooting was blocked.
"There's no reason to withhold this evidence. The public deserves to know. More importantly, the family deserves to know," says civil rights attorney Jeff Filipovits, who is representing the family.
He adds that even if law enforcement claims that Tortuguita may have fired on officers, there is no evidence of any such accusations.
Sharon Salzberg is delighted that Wisdom for Life came to her with the idea of creating a summit based on the themes of her new book, Real Life, to be published on April 11th.
The book is based on the possibility of moving from contraction and isolation, the “narrow straits” of habit and assumption, to a world of greater spaciousness, creativity, and connection.
In this summit, too, we will look at common states of narrowness and pain and how to work with them.
We will look at when we feel most expansive and open (e.g., states like loving-kindness and compassion) and how to cultivate them.
We will look at what we want to take along on this journey and what’s a burden best left behind. And we will look at the power of that more open and expansive state and how it can change our lives.
Sharon Salzberg is hosting the Summit and conducting many of the interviews with 30+ speakers. She’s joined in conducting the interviews by Andrés González, Ali Smith, Atman Smith of the Holistic Life Foundation, and Lily Cushman.
Speakers include meditation teachers, playwrights, activists, scientists, poets/rappers, and more. Several of these extraordinary people will be quite familiar, and some will be the most delightful new discoveries.
QGR, 3/4/17; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
What is Reality? (official film)
(Quantum Gravity Research) March 4th. Host Marion Kerr asks, What if the very fabric of space and time isn't made of one-dimensional strings or energy as we think of it, but is instead simply a code or language made of a geometric projection?
ABOUT: Quantum Gravity Research (QGR) is a Los Angeles based team of mathematicians and physicists working on developing a theoretical framework for a first-principles unified quantum gravity theory they call emergence theory. Still in the early stage of development, emergence theory attempts to unify, through mathematical and scientific rigor, the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and consciousness.
FILM: This film is presented in layperson terms and explains basics tenets of emergence theory, quantum mechanics, and digital physics in ways that are meant to be communicative and fun. However, if you'd like to read any of the scientific and more technical papers, please visit website.
But first enjoy the movie.
QGR's YouTube channel contains various videos and presentations that are far more math/physics-heavy, technical, and detailed. To follow QGR's journey, subscribe. QGR hopes it's enjoyable.
Film credits
Host: Marion Kerr
Einstein and Heisenberg's voices: Devin Harjes
Written, directed, edited by David Jakubovic
Director of Photography: Tony Ditata
Cartoon animation and design: Sarah Winters
Original ,usic by Daniel Jakubovic
Rerecording mixer: Patrick Giraudi
Line Producer: Piper Norwood
3D Effects by Raymond Aschheim and Matt Beets
Quantum Gravity Research was founded by Klee Irwin in 2009
Emily Bloch, photographer Heather Khalifa (Philadelphia Inquirer, inquirer.com, 2/29/23); Crystal Q., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Gen Z is moving to big cities — while older generations flee
Formal religion means very little to us.
Reports and Census data show that as older generations [Boomers, Greatest Gen, venerated elders] are trying to escape larger cities, Gen Z [Zoomers] is flocking to them.
Moving to a big city? "Slay." Or at least, that’s how Gen Z sees it. As older generations are trying to escape larger cities, Gen Z is flocking to them. Philadelphia is no exception.
It's better than DeSantis' Florida. Don't say gay.
A recent report shows that the country’s five largest cities — New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia — all experienced net increases in the number of Gen Z residents (ages 18 to 24) and net decreases for all other generations between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021.
An analysis of the Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey by Today’s Homeownerrevealed that Gen Z-ers (or Zoomers) are consistently breaking tradition with older generations’ migration patterns, targeting the areas their predecessors now deem too expensive or too crowded.
In Philadelphia, for example, census data estimates that 12,947 Gen Z movers settled. How Philadelphians feel about housing security and affordability:
Repairing all the homes in the Philly area would cost at least $3.7 billion. Black and Latino residents in the Philly region can get help buying their first home from new mortgage program.
