Just a reminder that in the P.R.C., with a population exceeding a billion people, Tibetans aren't the only ones pissed off at Beijing:

BEIJING — Thousands of people have rioted in a county in southwest China,
setting fire to government buildings and overturning cars in angry protests over
the official handling of the death of a local teenage girl, according to a human
rights group, state news media and videotapes of the events.
The protests in
the county of Weng’an in Guizhou Province are another reminder of how quickly
public anger can ignite in China over cases of perceived official corruption and
malfeasance. For the past few years, public discontent has erupted into small
demonstrations and violence across the country.
The protests in Weng’an on
Saturday appear to have been larger, reportedly involving thousands of
residents, including children. News agencies reported that protesters clashed
with paramilitary police officers sent to the county.

via The_New_York_Times

Soka Gakkai cult trouble in Japan

"Ex-New Komeito [so-called "Clean Government Party"] chief lashes_out_at_Soka_Gakkai":

According to Yano, Soka Gakkai forced him to abandon his activities as a
political commentator, published libelous statements about him in the group's
Seikyo Shimbun newspaper, and has attempted to force him into selling his house
to make a ¥200 million to ¥300 million donation to the group over the last
several years.

Yano, who had been a member of Soka Gakkai for more than 50 years, also
said he and members of his family have been under surveillance and shadowed by
strangers on a daily basis.

Pretty much standard operating procedure for the "Value-creating_study_group".

I plan on visiting some mainstream Nichiren Buddhist temples while I'm in Japan this July and August to gather critical info on S.G.I. that I haven't been able to find in any Japanese bookstore abroad or in New York (I do own a copy of Japan's_militant_Buddhists, and would like to get a copy of I_Denounce_Soka_Gakkai, but I'm assuming that much more must be available in Japanese).

Dianne Feinstein- the human slug

This_story in the New York Sun about California Senator Dianne Feinstein pushing to allow Chevron Oil to do business in Burma/Myanmar brings me back to the time in 1997 when she compared the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to the 1960s shootings at Kent State ( here and here ).

And she has the gall to pretend_that_she's_friends of the Dalai Lama and gives a rat's ass about Tibet.

My Republican friends are pretty hard on Nancy Pelosi (often with good reason) but Speaker Pelosi (on these issues) is an absolute angel compared to this fiend . . .

transcend THIS!

So I heard a TV report of Barack Obama's win on the local Fox_affiliate, and I got to hear yet again (from a straight face) that Barack Obama's campaign so far has "transcended race and politics"- hell, for all I know he very well could be the second coming of Jesus (or maybe Louis Farrakhan's Syrian carpet salesman, Mr. Fard).

Needless to say (I know, but I need to get it out of my system), it may be just a bit hard to avoid "politics" if your career choice is p-o-l-i-t-i-c-i-a-n (I'm too sleepy to look up the original Greek root but you catch my drift).

And if many (and I do mean m-a-n-y) Americans simply refuse to vote for the Obamessiah in the primaries or the general election because of his "race", how exactly is Obama "transcending race", then, exactly?

Look, I knew Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I worked closely with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for many years, and Barack Obama, you are no Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Not that I'm "offended", but . . .

what a bunch of utterly pathetic wankers.
Kind of reminds me of why I prefer to hang out with East (e.g. Somalis, Ethiopians) and West (e.g. Nigerians, Togoans) African immigrants- they're not yet aware that they're supposed to play the part of the emmasculated, knuckle-headed "victim".

Oh, sure- I went through my own "Black Liberation Theology" phase in the '80s, but I eventually threw away those magazines and videos and got a hobby (or two).