Right's pre-modern 'Masculinist' fantasy

(The Ezra Klein Show) Helen Lewis on the Right's pre-modern 'Masculinist' fantasy

Happiest Place on Earth: Buddhist Bhutan

(60 Minutes Australia) Is Bhutan the Happiest Place on Earth?

• Bhutan's economy: Gross Domestic Happiness

Buddhism in Bhutan

Guru Rimpoche Padmasambhava

(World Travel Guides) A French man journeys to Bhutan to become a Buddhist monk. Buddhism in Bhutan. Vajrayana Buddhism is the most widely practiced religion in Bhutan. It is the state religion of Bhutan, and Buddhists comprise 75% (with Hinduism at 23%) of the population. Although the Buddhism practiced in Bhutan originated in Tibet, it differs significantly in its rituals, liturgy, and monastic organization.

What lifestyle leads to longevity?

The state religion has long been supported financially by the government through annual subsidies to Buddhist monasteries, shrines, monks, and nuns.

In the modern era, support for the state religion during the reign of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck includes the manufacture of 10,000 gilded bronze images of the Buddha, publication of elegant calligraphic editions of the 108-volume Kangyur (Collection of the Words of the Buddha) and 225-volume Tengyur (Collection of Commentaries), and the construction of numerous chorten (stupas) throughout the country. Guaranteed representation in the National Assembly and the Royal Advisory Council, Buddhists constitute the majority of society and are assured an influential voice in public policy.  🔔 @travel-guide

THIS IS LIFE IN BHUTAN: The most isolated country in the world?

The Last Buddhist Kingdom

(WOW) From ethic polyamory to royal monogamy: marriage in Bhutan

(Lifeder) This video embarks on a journey full of charm and mystery through Bhutan, a majestic former kingdom (now a constitutional semi-monarchy) located in the heart of the Himalayas. Its culture is preserved in its purest state due to its geographical isolation and its strong devotion to Buddhist traditions. Get to know what life in Bhutan is like, from the serenity of its ancient Vajrayana Buddhist monasteries to the joy of the colorful festivals. Discover the impressive fortresses called dzongs, silent witnesses of Bhutan's rich history, understand the monarchy and why it stepped aside to invite modernization, as it was formerly an integral part of the country's history, ethnic groups, what the people are like, and much more.

• LIFE IN BHUTAN: Most isolated country in the world?
• Museum quality Buddha statues (HD Asian Art)
• Lifeder, June 10, 2023; World Travel Guides; 60 Minutes Australia, Oct. 2025; Buddhism in Bhutan, May 6, 2022; WOW; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Lies and deception about Stonehenge

(Paul Whitwick)

Free movie: 'The Gods Must Be Crazy'

What have the gods wrought?

The Gods Must Be Crazy is a comedy film written, produced, edited, and directed by Jamie Uys. An international co-production of South Africa and Botswana, it is the first film in the popular The Gods Must Be Crazy series.

Set in Southern Africa, the film stars Namibian San farmer Nǃxau ǂToma as Xi, a hunter-gatherer of the Kalahari Desert whose tribe discovers a glass Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane.

The Gods Must Be Crazy

They believe it to be a gift from their gods. When Xi sets out to return the bottle to the sky gods, his journey becomes intertwined with that of a biologist (Marius Weyers), a newly hired village schoolteacher (Sandra Prinsloo), and a band of guerrilla terrorists.

The Gods Must Be Crazy was released in South Africa in 1980 by Ster-Kinekor and broke several box office records in the country due to its immediate popularity, becoming the most financially successful South African film ever produced up to that time. More

• The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) with Paddy O'Byrne as narrator (IMDb)

Agent Nasty: Real Russia, punks (video)

What Russian cities actually look like

Grossgliederung Europas: Eastern Europe and map of European regions with Russia

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(Agent Nesty) Nov. 22, 2024: Agent Nesty [not Nasty, which refers to WQ Correspondent Eli from Russia seen below] at your service. 😏 In this video, I’ll take you on a tour of a typical Russian (formerly USSR) city today — or maybe an Eastern European one. (Spoiler, yes, they are that grey and drab and made of concrete panels, but it’s just our ✨aesthetic✨).

Eli from Buddhist Russia goes to Kalmykia

CHAPTERS

• 00:00-02:39 Sad Grey Soviet Neighborhoods
• 02:39-06:11 My Life in Soviet Panelki
• 06:11-07:20 LingoPie (Watch to hear me rap...)
• 07:20-09:48 New Affordable Districts and Mortgages [lit., "death pledges"]
• 09:48-10:38 Parks: From Basic to Best in Russia
• 10:38-11:39 Fancy New Neighborhoods
• 11:39-13:05 Private Sector: Old Shacks and Rich Mansions
• 13:05-17:34 City Center: Bars and Downtown Life

See what everyday neighborhoods, parks, and city centers look like. I’ll also break down the cost of housing at different levels, show where people actually live (and where they dream of living), and give a sneak peek into what regular Russians do every day. Curious about Soviet buildings, panelki, or just life beyond Moscow? 🥧 Learn languages the fun way with Lingopie! Start a free trial today: learn.lingopie.com/nestyagent. 

Soviet Punk Rock Explained

Soviet Punk Explained (Coolea, September 23, 2023)

What about Ukraine, the Soviet Union's heart?

Join the agency: The mission is to have fun! 🕵🏻‍♂️ Ways to support: ♡ Patreon: inesty ♡ Boosty: boosty.to/agentnesty. (Platform similar to "Patreon" but I can use it without VPN, lol, with a one-time donation option). ♡ YouTube membership (get a badge next to name on YouTube and I can easily notice comments, also some ✨exclusive✨ emoticons here) @agentnesty. 🫂USDC (ERC20) Oxddeae7862f5d2cbb5e9c90064ca7a06c23f70f70 COME SAY HI! ♡ Instagram: i.nesty

I'm open to all suggestions and comments on my socials. Thanks for likes and support! 💌 For business inquiries only: agentnesty@inbox.ru #russian #realrussia #russiancity

Buddhism and modern life in Bhutan

Mary Kay Magistad in Bhutan (TheWorld.org)

Above: Tktsang Palphug Monastery, also known as Tiger's Nest. Below: Bhutanese high school students Nanjita (left) and Sonam (Mary Kay Magistad).

BHUTAN, Himalayas - The guys in the band are in black, with shaggy hair, and attitudes. They do a sound check in their rehearsal room and then let it rip.

Guitars shriek through a familiar opening then move into a hyper-paced riff on the Pachelbel Canon. This might not be the usual punk rock fare -- but then, not all self-proclaimed punk rockers are polite, well-spoken Bhutanese college students.

• AUDIO: Why travel in Bhutan costs $200 a day (MP3)
• Bhutan* wants to boost tourism while keeping the number of visitors under control. So it requires tourists to spend a minimum of $200 per day. The amount goes up next year.
  

“Most of our audience is not into hard music, like what we like to play,” says 19-year-old guitarist Ughyen Phuntso, a communications major. “So mostly, we end up playing in my garage.”

Or they play here, at the Youth Development Fund’s youth center in [the capital of] Thimpu, where rehearsal space and instruments are offered free as an attempt to keep young people off the streets and out of trouble.

“We had noticed there were very few places where the youths could engage productively,” says Dorji Ohm, the center’s program director. “They’d go to the movies or to the bars. In fact, we did a survey and found 500 bars and one library, which was shocking.”

• SLIDESHOW: The Last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom
  
• Postcard from Bhutan: Gross National Happiness

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so shocking in many places, but Bhutan is experiencing growing pains. It has long been a mostly rural, deeply Buddhist, largely isolated [Himalayan] mountain kingdom. But in the dozen years since it decided to modernize and opened up to television, Internet, and other... More plus photos

*Bhutan is a small, landlocked mountain kingdom wedged between giants India and China with more than 70 percent of its population living in rural areas, 50 percent illiterate, and much of its budget coming from overseas aid [to turn it into a strategic military asset in the region] and grants.

Chinese exhibit shows new Tibet

Photo tour, now in Nepal, in Mexico City on 10/21/08 (Xinhua/en.tibetculture.net).

China's Official State Media, August 5, 2009

KATHMANDU, Nepal - There is a popular saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." So it is not hard to get a one-sided view of the "development" of the Tibetan Autonomous Region from a pro-China perspective -- so long as China controls the exhibition. Therefore, a 217 photo exhibit has been launched [in a likely propaganda campaign Nepal is obliged to allow to tour through] showing Tibet's antique past and modern Chinese present.

Visitors of the exhibition entitled "Tibet of China: Past and Present" spoke of their experience after viewing the exhibit in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Wednesday. "An exhibition of lively pictures has unveiled the bitter truth of past as well as glimpse of prosperous present of Tibet," Nepalese Minister for Information and Communications Shankar Pokharel is reported to have said after viewing the array of carefully selected images.

Adding that relations between Nepal and China, culturally and socially, has roots extending back to ancient times, Pokharel said that phases of development and modernization of Tibet could be a new strategy of development in Nepal. More>>

• New Dangers for Tibetans in Nepal
• Move to allow Dalai Lama pictures: no policy change
• China: Ensure Fair Trial for Tibetan Filmmaker
• Crackdown on lawyers: legal think-tank shut down
• US Congress legislation to fund help to Tibet
• Right Way to Help China's oppressed Uighurs
• savetibet.org

End of Organic Farming? (H.R. 875)

LINK or DOWNLOAD (iPod/PSP)

"The end of organic farming as we know it?"
The Accidental Yogist (April 10, 2009)

Recently there has been a flurry of messages about HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, and how it could criminalize organic farming. Here's one message:

Protect our organic foods!!!!
Let your voice be HEARD, SPREAD the word, and SPEAK UP NOW!

H.R. 875 Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, if passed, will criminalize organic farms, force ORGANIC farms to use pesticides and force us to use them in our own backyards. No surprise here as MONSANTO is one of the backers of this bill. Monsanto is the world's largest herbicide and pesticide company and the leading producer of genetically engineered seeds [GMOs] which are now causing unexpected diseases in humans and evil on many other levels. Watch the Future of Food.

• There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next two weeks before people realize what's happening.
• This bill will require organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated to "make sure there is no danger to the public food supply."
• There are 40 co-sponsors to the bill and six of the 40 are from California.

Leavemyfoodalone.org talks about the consequences of the bill, which is currently under review:

In its current form, the bill could prevent small local organic farms and community gardeners from growing and selling you nutritious, truly fresh, organic produce. It would crush our small local food producers by imposing heavy government regulation that only large corporations could adhere to. Imagine:

• No more farmers markets.
• No more garden fresh, seasonal ingredients from the local farmer at your favorite restaurant.
• No more roadside stands with fresh picked sweet corn, juicy ripe tomatoes, or refreshing watermelons in the summer.
• Americans would essentially be forced to only eat corporately manufactured, chemically treated, hermetically sealed, irradiated fruits and vegetables.
• Stop this abomination now!

Always the skeptic, I've postponed signing any petitions until I've had a chance to learn more about the issue.

And on April 11th, on KCRW's Good Food, host Evan Kleiman talked with Tom Philpott of grist.org about the myths and facts of this bill. The interview is accessible from the archives and downloadable free for podcast from KCRW. More>>

• Would new food-safety legislation "criminalize organic farming"?

No? The Internets are abuzz with accounts of a House bill, allegedly sponsored by Monsanto and pushed through Congress by its lackeys, that would "criminalize organic farming" and even backyard gardening. "The bill is monstrous on level after level — the power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the prison terms, and confiscatory fines for farmers, the 24 hour GPS tracking of their animals, the easements on their property to allow for warrantless government entry, the stripping away of their property rights... There have been hysterical missives about H.R. 875. They are difficult to square with the text of the bill, which is admittedly vague. For example, the bill seeks to regulate any "food production facility" which it defines as "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation."