78 78s - In Search Of Lost Time - is a streaming mix of beautiful 78s from around the world, collected and curated by Ian Nagoski. "I started sifting through boxes of junky old 78s that no one else wanted about 15 years ago, and almost right away, I made a rule: Anything that wasn't in English, buy it."
[more inside]
posted by carter
on Jan 29, 2012 -
15 comments
For 100 years, Buddhists and Muslims lived side by side in southern Thailand. In 2004, a small fraction of the Muslims started killing the Buddhists indiscriminately. This conflict is now the
most violent in Asia, with murders of Thai civilians, including children, monks, and Muslims who refuse to cooperate, occurring on a daily basis.
[more inside]
posted by shii
on Jul 27, 2011 -
54 comments
In 2009, four Buddhist nuns (Bhikkunis) were
secretly ordained in Australia - the first ever ordination of Bhikkunis in Australia, and a first for the
Thai Forest tradition anywhere. London-born
Ajahn Brahm, a
long-time supporter of women's equality in Buddhism, facilitated the ordination. For this he was
expelled from his community, the
Wat Pa Phong Sangha, and his monastery's status was
revoked. This
video summarizes the conflict, and is possibly the first use of the Downfall meme related to Buddhism. This March,
more nuns were ordained in the UK for the first time since the Australia controversy, but they're
still not equal to male monks.
This blog post discusses sexism, fundamentalism, and the conflict between East and West.
The modern opposition to bhikkhuni ordination is no ancient Buddhist tradition. It can be traced no earlier, so far as I am aware, than the abhorrent 1928 ruling against bhikkhuni in Thailand, made by monks who thought it reasonable to arrest nuns and throw them in jail for ordaining. [more inside]
posted by desjardins
on Apr 14, 2010 -
72 comments
June has been a good month for political upheaval and mass protest.
Peru (
update),
China, and
Iran were discussed here previously. But how many of the following were you aware of:
Canada,
Thailand,
Honduras,
Venezuela,
Bangladesh,
Kashmir,
Pakistan, and
India? The latter four reflect a quite serious electricity shortage throughout the Indian subcontinent, during a record-breaking heat wave that has
caused over 100 deaths. But don't worry, not everyone is dealing with life-threatening problems. In
Israel 30,000 turned out to protest a parking lot. Meanwhile,
Indymedia continues to cover all the bourgeois first-world protests you've never really wanted to know about.
posted by shii
on Jun 30, 2009 -
8 comments
If you've ever been to Bangkok you might've run into
one of them and not even known it. They are a ubiquitous fixture on the
bar scene and can be found in the
Nana Plaza area. If you're asking yourself the same question that I was then
this maybe your answer. Although they enjoy a certain amount of acceptance, they still have a
long way to go to be recognized as full citizens with equal rights. Of course, this hasn't
stopped them from staking their claim to the
spotlight, and trying to become as much of the
mainstream as they can. But, if you thought that they were pushovers, well then,
think again.
[previously mentioned here]
posted by hadjiboy
on Apr 13, 2008 -
21 comments
The modern slave trade is thriving. The Dept of State
estimates that 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are trafficked - brought across borders and forced to labor. Among them, DOS estimates, hundreds of thousands are minor children. Some of those children - as young as 5 years old - are being sold as slaves and
kept in cages while they are raped and sold for sex, some servicing as many as
30 men a day. They are bought for as little as $10 from
desperate parents. But all is not lost:
Somaly Mam, a former child prostitute, is the Mother Theresa of Southeast Asian child prostitutes, using
AFESIP as her vehicle for saving them.
Glamour awarded her their Woman of the Year honor, and she has been lauded in
other ways internationally. Cambodian sex traffickers weren't as happy with her, though - her opponents kidnapped her 14-year old daughter, held her hostage for days, and raped her. It's hard to be on the wrong side of this issue, but
some advocates raise a few hackles by claiming legalized prostitution and porn contribute to sex trafficking and child prostitution. Sex trafficking, and child prostitution, is a
sizeable problem in the US as well. Although trafficking is
illegal in the US, combating trafficking is tough in part because victims often fear authorities, personal reprisals, harm to their families at home, or even deportation (although special visas -
T visas - are available to them in certain circumstances). In Southeast Asia (and throughout the world), child sex tourism is even harder to stop.
posted by Amizu
on Jan 24, 2007 -
41 comments
Coup leaders urge Thai soldiers to smile Military coup leaders in Thailand — often called the "Land of Smiles" — apparently don't want to ruin that image. They've ordered soldiers to smile. Army radio broadcasts are reminding soldiers to be friendly and courteous, especially to children. Many Thais have described this as the friendliest coup ever seen in a land with a history of violent coups.
posted by dwarfplanet
on Sep 25, 2006 -
45 comments
Howard French - Asia photos Photos from across Asia by Howard French, who works for the New York Times. Includes many photos of the 'Disappearing Shanghai' that is being obliterated by the city's relentless urbanization.
posted by carter
on May 29, 2006 -
6 comments
