Thursday, October 29, 2015

Bernie Sanders Crushes U.S. Bigotry and Islamaphobia

Sam Seder of The Majority Report comments on Bernie Sanders campaign in which Sanders says he will stand against racism, bigotry , Islamophobia etc.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Trump On Shutting Down Mosques: Yeah Sure Whatever

The Young Turks discuss how far will Trump go . Will he act upon his Islamophobia demonizing all Muslim Americans.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Netanyahu Absolves Hitler for Holocaust While He Blames Palestinians

Netanyahu and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem :
(Note for more on these subjects see my notes and selected bibliography included in pages listed above just below header  on "Anti-Semitism"and "Islamophobia")

Netanyahu is now aligning himself and Israel with the likes of Islamophobes such as the hysterical hate mongers Pamela Geller, Brigitte Gabriel, Shoebat, Robert Spencer, David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes , Melanie Phillips , Geert Wilders, John Bolton , Michelle Bachmann , Newt Gingrich, Andrew McCarthy, Bat Ye'or who also believe that Islam and all Muslims are inherently or genetically disposed or taught from the cradle to being anti-semites . So no Palestinian or Arab or Muslim can therefore be trusted to live peacefully alongside Jews or anyone who defends the Jews.

This is extremist rhetoric which therefore absolves Hitler and Christendom for the Holocaust but also absolves Israel and its allies for preaching intolerance and even the elimination of all Palestinians, Arabs and by extension Muslims. In order to get more support from Christian Europe and Christian America etc. Netanyahu has now absolved Christendom for its 2,000 years of rabid virulent anti-semitism. So he ignores the Blood libel of the Middle Ages, the massacres of Jews during the Crusades by Christians and the Inquisition and later pogroms and the ousting of Jews from one European nation after another and that no Christian nation would take in the Jews from Europe during the Holocaust. All of that is dumped down the Memory Hole by Netanyahu and his virulent anti-Arab anti-Muslim and Jewish supremacist supporters.


and so it goes, GORD.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Time to OUst PM Stephen Harper : Harperman - The Animation (Harpermanimation)

Days of Revolt - The 51 Day War Max Blumenthal and Chris Hedges on Israel's War Crimes

Via Alternet :
MEDIA
'Sadism and Savagery I've Never Seen Before': Max Blumenthal & Chris Hedges Discuss 2014 Assault on Gaza

As tensions rise in the occupied territories again, last summer's brutal siege of Gaza can't be forgotten. By Adam Johnson / AlterNet October 16, 2015

Recent tensions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have brought the long-standing Israeli occupation of Palestine back into the news again. Discussion of a Third Intifada and a "wave of violence" have John Kerry rushing to the region to "calm things down" and pundits scrambling to lay blame. Missing from recent news has been an important piece of context: a Palestine still reeling from the Israeli assault on Gaza last summer that left 11,000 wounded and over 2,200 dead -- 70% of whom were children.

Pulitzer-prize winner Chris Hedges and AlterNet's Max Blumenthal recently sat down to discuss this context on Hedges' new teleSUR show, Days of Revolt, a series that focuses on people around the world fighting injustice in the face of unimaginable odds.




and so it goes,

GORD.

Friday, October 16, 2015

The Young Turks Network :Media Swears Hillary Won Debate. EVERY Poll Says Bernie.

The Young Turks wonder why even liberal media ignore how average Americans reacted to the Democratic debate. Is the Fix in for Hillary to win the primaries and leadership of the Party and eventually become president of the United States.

But the opinion polls all show Bernie Sanders as the winner of the debate.
The liberal media favors Hillary and is dismissive of Bernie Sanders.
In the end the members of the elite including media believe they should pick who runs and who wins.





And so it goes,

GORD.

Friday, October 09, 2015

Bill Maher - Republicans Don’t Like the Real Jesus So They Made Up a Fak...


An Open Letter from the Buddhist Community on Islamophobia " REPOSTED from 2012




Buddha Dordenma statue






 Buddha Dordenma statue

Caption:
Buddha Dordenma (Gallo Images) is a gigantic Shakyamuni Buddha statue under construction in the mountains of Bhutan. The statue will house over one lakh (one hundred thousand) smaller Buddha statues, each of which, like the Buddha Dordenma itself, will be made of bronze and gilded in gold. The statue alone is being built at a cost of US$47 million, by Aerosun Corporation of Nanjing, China, while the total cost of the Buddha Dordenma Project is well over US$100 million.
Date Created:09 July 2012 Photographer Name:Danita Delimont

--------------------------------
"An Open Letter from the Buddhist Community on Islamophobia"

--------------------------------------------------------------


As disciples of the Buddha who live in the West, we would like to take the holy month of Ramadan as an opportunity to express our growing concern about Islamophobia, both within our governments and within the Buddhist community worldwide.
In North America and Europe, the past decade has seen peaceful Muslim communities targeted by hate crimes, police profiling, and even challenges to their basic human rights of free religion and free assembly. The New York Times reports that the New York City Police Department infiltrated peaceful Muslim groups across the Northeastern United States for indiscriminate surveillance. The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in Murfreesboro, Tennessee has faced vandalism, arson, and legal challenges opposing their new mosque, while France and Belgium have outlawed wearing niqāb in public over concerns about immigration, the status of women, and the diluting of European culture.
In the wider Buddhist community there have been media reports of Buddhist leaders—including monastics—endorsing human rights abuses against Muslim ethnic groups. For example, The Independent reports that Buddhist monastic organizations in Burma are blocking aid shipments to refugee camps for ethnically Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine. The article also accuses monastic associations of encouraging ethnically Rakhine Buddhists not to associate with Rohingya. Ethnic tensions have resulted in human rights abuses and loss of life on both sides of this conflict.
Meanwhile, Newsweek reports that the Thai government has set up military encampments inside Buddhist temples—even using some of them as torture chambers—in their ongoing fight against a violent Malay Muslim insurgency in the southern states of Patani, Yala, and Narathiwat. More disturbingly, Newsweek reports the Thai government is paying ethnic Thais to resettle in majority-Malay areas in order to dilute the Malay population. Once again, there have been many human rights abuses and much loss of life on both sides of the conflict.
In this time of conflict, we believe that the life and teachings of the Buddha can be a shining example for the world. He taught us to practice mutual respect among all people without prejudice, to work for the mutual benefit of all beings, and to try to solve our problems without resorting to violence. In those rare instances where violence is necessary, he taught us to practice restraint and to protect innocent lives. It is in this spirit that we are writing.
In our own countries, we ask law enforcement agencies to stop targeting Muslim communities with indiscriminate surveillance and profiling. And we call on Americans to see their Muslims neighbors as fellow citizens, bound together with them through the shared values of democracy, equality, and freedom.
In the wider Buddhist community, we ask our fellow Buddhists to refrain from using the Dharma to support nationalism, ethnic conflict, and Islamophobia. We believe that these values are antithetical to the Buddha’s teachings on loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
The vast majority of Muslims the world over are peaceful, law-abiding people who share much the same dreams, hopes, and aspirations as their non-Muslim neighbors. They are our friends, our relatives, our colleagues, our neighbors, and our fellow citizens. Most importantly, they are our fellow sentient beings, all of whom, the Buddha taught, have loved and cared for us in the past. We stand with them during this holy month of Ramadan and denounce Islamophobia unequivocally.
Signed,
Joshua Eaton, M.Div., Boston, MA, USA
Rev. Danny Fisher, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Rod Meade Sperry, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA
Sharon Salzberg, Barre, MA, USA
Mushim (Patricia) Ikeda, Oakland, CA, USA
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Carmel, NY, USA
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, San Diego, CA, USA
Charles Prebish, State College, PA, USA
William Aiken, Washington, DC, USA
Diana Winston, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Rev. Maia Zenyu Duerr, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Rev. James Ishmael Ford, Providence, RI, USA
Shastri Ethan Nichtern, New York City, NY, USA
Lodro Rinzler, New York City, NY, USA
Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown, Boulder, CO, USA
Lopon Rita Gross, Eau Claire, WI, USA
Gary Gach, San Francisco, CA, USA
Allan Badiner, Big Sur, CA, USA
Ven. Zenkei Blanche Hartman, San Francisco, CA, USA
Ken & Visakha Kawasaki, Swartz Creek, MI, USA
Rev. Wakoh Shannon Hickey, Alfred, NY, USA
Koshin Paley Ellison, New York City, NY, USA
Steve Kanji Ruhl, State College, PA, USA
Martin Aylward, Cubjac, Aquitaine, FRANCE
Karma Yonten Gyatso, Richmond Hill, Ontario, CANADA
Rev. Beth Kanji Goldring, Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA
Chap. Mikel Ryuho Monnett, M.A., BCC, Columbus, OH, USA
Acharya Sujatin Johnson, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, ENGLAND
Rev. Josho Pat Phelan, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Tomoe Moriya, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, JAPAN
Rev. Daishin Eric McCabe, Pennsdale, PA, USA
Rev. Patricia Dai-En Bennage, Pennsdale, PA, USA
Kobutsu Malone-osho, Sedgwick, ME, USA
Carole Craven, Mableton, GA, USA
Genko Blackman, Seattle, WA, USA
Ouyporn Khuankaew, Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province, THAILAND
Helen Hobart, Sacramento, CA, USA
Sarah Weintraub, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Gyokuzan Steve Williamson, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UNITED KINGDOM
Dr. C.S. “Sam” Wu, Rosemead, CA, USA
Arun Gandhi, Rochester, NY, USA
Claire Michalewicz, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA
Martin Whelan, Slingo, County Slingo, IRELAND
Lesley Grant, Fairfax, CA, USA
Susan Wirawan, Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Luke McKean, Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Miguel Marcos, Madrid, Community of Madrid, SPAIN
Catherine DeLorey, Boston, MA, USA
Stephen Hale, Muir Beach, CA, USA
Rik Center, San Francisco, CA, USA
Kris Freedain, Laguna Niguel, CA, USA
Rev. Michael Tran, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Brant Henne, Swampscott, MA, USA
Craig Thomas, York, PA, USA
Zoey Roy, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA
Angela Gunn, Savannah, GA, USA
Laurie Knowlton, Boothbay, ME, USA
Jessica Bizub, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Robin Reed, San Francisco, CA, USA
Prof. Kristopher Short, Cranston, RI, USA
Vivien Phung, Laguna Niguel, CA, USA
Jean Lamont, State College, PA, USA
Kathleen de Vries, Napa, CA, USA
Peter Muller, New York City, NY, USA
Dee Levy, Swindon, Borough of Swindon, ENGLAND
Sandra Madera, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Chaplain Karen Morris, M.Div., Johnson City, TN, USA
Anda Peterson, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Matthew Gegenhuber, Hawkins, WI, USA
Dean Hill, Albany, NY, USA
Karla Passalacqua, Atlanta, GA, USA
Ven. Hue Hai, Alhambra, CA, USA
Terry Evans, Bangor, North Wales, WALES
Jim Hasse, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Karma Sonam Lhamo, Penllyn, PA, USA
Geoff Haynes, Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA
Lynnea Bylund, Dana Point, CA, USA
Victor Spence, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
Upāsaka Raymond M. McDonald, La Verne, CA, USA
Imtiaaz Gafoor, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SOUTH AFRICA
Nisar Ahmed, Karachi, Sindh, PAKISTAN
David Cabrera, Hollywood, FL, USA
Rev. Michael W. A. Henderson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA
Christina Omorochoe, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
Kelly Hills, Ardmore, PA, USA
Thom Stromer, Baltimore, MD, USA
Roger K. James, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, BRAZIL
Stephanie Cianfriglia, Endicott, NY, USA
John Christensen, Chicago, IL, USA
Tanis Moore, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
Nancy A. Jefferis, Santee, CA, USA
Rev. Michele Kaishin Tae, Boise, ID, USA
David Coleman, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, IRELAND
Rev. Jim Hokyo Dunn, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Penny Nakatsu, San Francisco, CA, USA
Robert McConnachie, Uithoorn, North Holland, THE NETHERLANDS
Shelly Griska, Monroe, GA, USA
Steven Ganci, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Ettianne Anshin, Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Ericson AF Proper, Naples, FL, USA
Jaime Heiku McLeod, Lewiston, ME, USA
Tiffany Puett, Austin, TX, USA
Connie Nelson Ahlberg, Burnsville, MN, USA
James Cox, Omaha, NE, USA
Tracey McFadden, Elburn, IL, USA
Jim Hsiung, Taipei, Taiwan, REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Samuel Harmon, San Francisco, CA, USA
Aron Weinberg, Austin, TX, USA
Darcie Price-Wallace, Chicago, IL, USA
Dr. Juanita Rice, Fairmont, Nebraska, USA
Chaplain Nathaniel Vose, M.Div., San Rafael, CA, USA
Dave Lavis, Caloundra, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
Petra J. Drysdale, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Akasa Skye, Rosemead, CA, USA
Susan Carol Terris, Richmond, CA, USA
Emily Rana, Tampa, FL, USA
Andres Montano, Guatemala City, GUATEMALA
Shian-Ling Keng, Durham, NC, USA
Kathleen Clark, Murfreesboro, TN, USA
Khrystene Dalecki, Kingswood, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Zach Kadro, Seattle, WA, USA
Leakthina Ollier, Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA

Monday, October 05, 2015

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Mental Health (HBO)

Rape culture in universities - News - CBC Player






And my personal story about first contact with Rape Culture:

Here's a personal story when I began University in 1973 at Dalhousie , Halifax, NS, I was staying in a Fraternity house where I was introduced to University rape culture. Being male these Frat Brothers took it for granted I would get a kick out of their stories about getting under age college girls drunk and then raping them either the one guy raping a girl or gang raping a drunk barely conscious esp Freshmen underage girls. They thought this was funny. I was shocked and disturbed.


I went to University inpart because I hoped to find more open minded but thoughtful and compassionate people who were interested in scholarly issues. I was wrong most people just wanted to party get drunk and the males main thing was raping young drunk girls or finding girls they believed were easy or sluts or now they would say skanks etc. Sluts and skanks according to male rape culture are fair game and cannot really be raped because they have no real values or limitations or boundaries.

To me some of these girls were suffering from emotional or psychological problems so to me they like the really drunk girl were to be considered off limits or at least one had to make sure there was actual rational consent on their part and not merely assume such consent.

To my peers this type of thinking and talk was considered unmanly, immature, wimpy, effeminate and they wondered if I were Gay. Surely they thought no straight real Canadian male would refuse to take advantage of an under age drunk female or a drunk female who was of age. I was in a long term relationship at the time and so I often merely used that as my excuse for not taking part in these sexual exploits rather than have to explain myself.

It is sad and disturbing to realize in 2015 42 years later this is still a contentious issue and that many men and some women make excuses for this rape culture at universities. As the video from CBC explores this issue which appears absolutely surreal to me after all these years.

Later on I worked at Dalhousie security and so came to know about rape victims who were just told they brought it on themselves and that boys will be boys and that this sort of sexual exploits were adventures that mature people come to deal with and those who make too much of a fuss were simply encouraged to be quiet or withdraw from the University.