Catégorie : World People

Linked with Amnye Machen Institute (with its Centre for Advanced Tibetan Studies).

He was a Buddhist monk of Tibet. A film about him is called ‘the angry monk’.

He said: « In Tibet ist alles, was alt und traditionell ist, ein Werk Buddhas. Alles Neue hingegen ein Werk des Teufels. Das ist die traurige Tradition meines Landes » … and: « Now we’re fucked! » (at the occupation of Lhasa by the Chinese army).

Gendun Choephel was born in 1903 in a small village in eastern Tibet, near the silk road, at the Chinese border, in a remote region populated by nomads. This region was inhabited by Muslims, Chinese and Tibetans that were constantly fighting each other. The villages often were attacked and looted by warlords. In this explosive and mixed cultural climate Gendun Choephel started to be interested in his Tibetan identity early on. He received a traditional education as a monk in the most important monastery of the region, where he developed a friendship with an American missionary that the other monks and his family resented. In 1927 he left the monastery and moved to Lhasa with a caravan of merchants. (full text).

Gendun Choephel – Tibet (1903 – 1951)

Apart from his occasional dabbling in poetry, Gendun Chophel wrote little in Tibet. By the time he returned from India twelve years later, he had authored a staggering number of works: a travelogue, an unfinished history book, an erotica literature, a pilgrimage guidebook; also an English translation of a Tibetan tome on history of Buddhism, Tibetan translations of Indian classics like Shakuntala, Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana, and the Pali Theravadin cannon, Dhammapada; numerous Tibetan newspaper articles and essays in English for one Mahabodhi Society Journal. His muse, in short, hit him bad when he was on the road. (full text).

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She is a filmmaker. She had an extensive portfolio at a young age. After directing her first play in 1994 when she was just 23 years old, Mehreen went on to create a work which ranges from short independent art films to commercial serials and series for television. Her success as a director can be assessed by the fact that her work has appeared in many film festivals around the world including The Hong Kong International Film Festival, The San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival, and The Leeds Film Festival in U. K. to name a few and her short film, Beauty Parlor, was recently screened in New York. At home, in Pakistan, her unconventional style of story telling has earned her much acclaim and several awards. (full text).

Cannes is a marketplace: As for Mehreen Jabbar, director of her upcoming movie ‘Ramchand Pakistani’, she (Actor Nandita Das) says, “Mehreen has a unique cinematic sensibility, very quiet and dignified, a bit like the European style of cinema. The fact that she has her roots in Pakistan reflects in her work », May 08, 2007. (full text).

Mehreen Jabbar – Pakistan

Listen to her short video presentation, 1.25 minutes.

Discussing gender, sexuality through a film festival (Cannes): … « Beauty Parlour » comes from Mehreen Jabbar in Pakistan … , May 10, 2007. (full text).

She says: « I don’t really look at plays as issues, I look at stories. The stories that appeal to me are small stories, like conflicts within a household and conflicts between two individuals. More than social issues, that obviously plays a part, but I don’t direct to make a point » … and: « I’ve never had an interest in acting.
I think it’s an extremely difficult job and it’s not for me! I find directing is my forte because this is how I love telling stories. Directing is like giving birth, creating, moulding. the high is incredible as are the rewards. To see all the elements come together from the script to the actors, to the camera work, to the crew and to see that produce something that was the original vision is irreplaceable » … and: « I have not written my own plays but I work with the writers. We come up with a story, sometimes the writer will come up with something, sometime I will and then I sit with them and they write and we just take the whole script from start to finish, and then it is devleped from there on. So it’s a very collaborative process. I work with only a couple of writers » … and: « I’ve never worked in the film industry. That is in Lahore, mostly. But a group of us (independent filmmakers) have started the KaraFilm Festival which is Pakistan’s only international film festival. We started that two years ago and it was developed with the aim to encourage producers and directors to produce and show their works at the festival and to enable people to view films from around the world and meet with other filmmakers ». (full interview text).

Read: Acting is a self-obsessed profession.

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Linked with Asian Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development APWLD.

She is APWLD‘s Regional Coordinator.

She says: « My involvement with APWLD was through Imrana Jalal, who invited me to attend the first Feminist Legal Theory and Practice training in the Pacific back in 1998, it was my introduction to feminism and a critical analysis of the law in theory and practice.

Being a member of the network has brought me into contact with many women activists and advocates from the Asia Pacific region, who come from diverse backgrounds and have shared experiences. I have come to realise what empowerment means and the importance of understanding the experiences and realities of women’s lives when applying the law to address women’s issues to bring about social change. It has also equipped me with the skills and knowledge to mobilise communities to bring about policy, legislative and constitutional change in the Cook Islands where I come from.

Lynnsay Rongokea Francis – Cook Islands

As a newly appointed Regional Coordinator, I bring to APWLD a combination of experiences and skills in non-formal training, project planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and management, having worked in community development, on issues of gender, human rights and the law at both national and regional levels in Pacific Island countries, with government and non-government as well as regional organisations. Although some progress has been made in some areas within the Pacific region, women are still disadvantaged in political, social, cultural and economic life, due to the fact that Pacific political decision makers continue to be overwhelmingly male and are reflected in the failure to address issues that concern women.

With the support of the APWLD governance bodies, the secretariat and members of the network and especially with the support of my Pacific women colleagues, friends and network and my commitment to the organisation and women’s movement I believe I have the experience and skills that are much needed at this time to ensure APWLD continues at the forefront of the women’s movement to shape and lead the way forward towards shared goals ». (on apwld.org, scroll down).

She is also founding member of the PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT, in Suva, Fiji.

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(alias former Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh).

Linked with Sakyadhita, The International Association of Buddhist Women,
and with The Chaing Mei Declaration.

Dr Chatsumarn Kabilsingh is a scholar and activist in social justice and women’s issues in Asia. She is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Thammasat University in Bangkok, and author of the book Thai Women in Buddhism. She is also past President of Sakyadhita (Daughters of Buddha) International, a Buddhist women’s organization. Monte Leach interviewed her for Share International. (full text).

She is now a Buddhist nun.

See photos:
on pluralism.org;
on bpf.org (click on links).

She says: « I am very much a feminist for Buddhism, and I draw my strength as a feminist from Buddha’s teaching » … and: « The Buddha set up the bhikkhuni order more than 2500 years ago to give women equal access to spiritual practices, He warned that the strength and wellbeing of the movement relied on four pillars: bhikkhu (male monks), bhikkhuni (female monks), upasaka (male laypeople) and upasika (female laypeople) » … and: « it was difficult to give up wealth and career », (but she felt the time was right). (full text).

Sr. Bhikkhuni Dhammananda alias former Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh – Thailand

A lone female monk has riled the religious hierarchy by waging a fight for ordination of women, reports Connie Levett from Nakhon Prathom, Thailand. (full text).

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Linked with TOWARDS THE RISE OF WOMEN IN THE ARAB WORLD, with Yemeni Federation of Women’s Organizations, and with the Human Rights Information and Training Center HRITC.

She is Minister of Human Rights in the Yemen Government, see the Yemen Embassy, London, and see also the Ministry of Human Rights of the Yemen Gov.

She is also:

• the Dean of the National Institute for Administrative Sciences.
• A professor of Political Sciences in Political Sciences section – Faculty of Commerce and Economics, Sana’a University.
• A vice-Manager of Women Studies Center, Sana’a University.
• A member of censorship on printings and publications in the Ministry of Culture.
• A professor in the following: International Relations, the Principles of Politics, Political Geography, Women and Development in the Faculty of Commerce and Economics and Women Studies Center.
• A coordinator of women and development subject in Women Studies Center.
• A supervisor on special studies and researches on women and development subject in Women Studies Center.
• The first Yemeni lecturer in the Faculty of Command and General Staff in Sana’a (military college).
• A founder member of The Gulf and Arab Island Union in Sana’a.
• A local consultant in the Council of Environment Protection in the Cabinet.
• A member in the Arab Teaching Staff Syndicate of in Sana’a.
• A member in the Council of Olympic Committee Administration and the General Association in Sana’a.
• A member in the National Organization of the Censorship on Elections in Sana’a.

Khadija Al-Haisami (Khadigah Ahmad al-Haisami) – Yemen

She says: “It’s of crucial importance to pay closer attention to public rights and freedoms and it is important to reinforce a culture of human rights culture Yemenis and further social awareness by initiating a partnership between the ministry and civil society organisations in Yemen. To ensure the success of such an initiative the Ministry has signed an agreement with the European Union to initiate a joint project to develop the partnership between the Ministry and civil society organisations » … (Yemen Times).

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Linked with the Social Science Research Council SSRC, and with Economic risk has shifted … .

He is Professor of Political Science and Resident Fellow of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. He is also a Fellow at the New America Foundation and a former Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows … Currently, he is heading a Social Science Research Council project on the « privatization of risk, » co-chairing the National Academy of Social Insurance’s 2007 conference. (full text).

He says:  » … No matter how well educated and hard working, many Americans fear that bankruptcy could be just one unexpected lay off or health crisis away. In The Great Risk Shift: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Health Care, and Retirement And How You Can Fight Back, New America Fellow Jacob S. Hacker lays bare the new economic realities facing American families ».

Listen to his conference-video on Google, The Great Risk Shift, duration 1 hr 26 min 57 sec., registered on Oct 31, 2006, by The New America Foundation.

Jacob S. Hacker – USA

About actual HEALTH CARE DEBATE:

• Read: The best won’t be the easiest, April 21, 2007.
• Read: PREVENTION IS THE ONLY REAL HEALTH CARE SOLUTION, April 10, 2007.
• Read: Where Will The Sick Go Now? April 12, 2007.
• Read: Meaningful Reform Requires Thinking Outside the Box, April 11, 2007.
• Read: The Missing Link in the Health Care Debate, by Sara Horowitz … In all the plans we’re seeing from Democrats, which Jacob Hacker has helpfully anatomized, one thing seems to be missing: intermediaries. There’s the single-payer model; the public/private hybrid, which assumes that competition will drive efficiency; … (full text, April 24, 2007).

He says also: ‘(Hacker is the progressive Dems academic guru on health care. At the conference, we asked him – why not single payer? – ) … “I am someone who is quite appreciative of single payer,” Hacker said. “But countervailing that political story, which is certainly a true story, are the political risks of displacing the private insurance of highly paid workers and the fiscal costs of creating the system in one fell swoop.

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Linked with American Theocracy.

Kevin Phillips (born November 30, 1940) is an American writer and commentator, largely on politics, economics, and history. Formerly a Republican Party strategist, Phillips has become disaffected with his former party over the last two decades, and is now one of its harshest critics. He is a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio, and is a political analyst on PBS’ NOW with Bill Moyers. (full text).

He says: « Now what I get a sense of from all of this – and then topped obviously by spending all the money in 2000 to basically buy the election – is that this is not a family that has a particularly strong commitment to American democracy. Its sense of how to win elections comes out of a CIA manual, not out of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution » …

… and: « Few have looked at the facts of the family’s rise, but just as important, commentators have neglected the thread – not the mere occasion – of special interests, biases, scandals (especially those related to arms dealing), and blatant business cronyism. The evidence that accumulates over four generations [of the Bush family dynasty] is really quite damning ». (full text).

Kevin Phillips – USA.

Videos:

• Kevin Phillips speaks in San Diego, 29 minutes.
• Kevin Phillips – What’s Next for the Republican Coalition? 6.36 minutes.
• Revelle Forum: Kevin Phillips on Religion, Oil and Debt, 59 minutes.
• Bush – Signs of the Apocolypse (on CNN), 6.07 minutes.
• Comments on the Forthcoming 2006 Elections, 1 hour 26.03 minutes.

He says also: « Well, the plutocracy … and I think we have one now and we didn’t, 12 years ago when I wrote THE POLITICS OF RICH AND POOR is when money has ceased just entertaining itself with leveraged buyouts and all the stuff they did in the ’80s, and really takes over politics, and takes it over on both sides when money not only talks, money screams. When you start developing philosophies in which giving a check is a First Amendment right. That’s incredible. But what you’ve got is that this is what money has done. It’s produced the fusion of money and government. And that is plutocracy »…

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Linked with The Democratic Left Movement DLM, with A time to rethink, and with ‘Why do many Muslims mistrust secularism?‘.

Samir Kassir (May 5, 1960 – June 2, 2005) was a university professor, journalist and historian born to a Lebanese Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. He held both Lebanese and French nationality. A prominent left-wing activist, he was a strong advocate of freedom for the Palestinians, democracy in Lebanon and Syria and a vocal critic of the Syrian presence in Lebanon. He was assassinated on 2 June 2005 and his assailants remain unknown. A French investigation is currently underway but its results have yet to be released. (full bio, works, sources, links).

He said: « Still, there is space for this secular movement that has become frustrated with the liberal experience. In my opinion, there is a need for an effort that helps he establishment of social justice while taking into consideration all the qualifications and reservations against the welfare state ». (full text).

See his Homepage (english, french, arabic).

Samir Kassir – Liban (May 5, 1960 – June 2, 2005)

There was created a Samir Kassir Award for freedoom of the press, see their Homepage: in english, en français. Read:

• the SAMIR KASSIR AWARDS FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2007;
• Enter the Samir Kassir Award contest, March 8, 2007.

Samir Kassir (très exhaustif) dans le wikipedia français.

The work, and the questions, continue:

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Linked with THE WORLD – upside down.

Udo Ulfkotte (born 20 January 1960), in Lippstadt, Germany is a professor and journalist, renowned as a security and intelligence services expert, as well as a critic of Islamic extremism. His was formerly an editor for one of Germany’s main dailies, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).

Dr. Ulfkotte studied jurisprudence and politics at Freiburg and London. He was an advisor to the Kohl government. Between 1986-1998, Ulfkotte lived predominantly in the Islamic states of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan. (full text about his work).

He says: ”Islam is slowly but surely taking a grip on the European culture, … traditional values, customs and judicial standards are gradually customized to meet Muslim requirements ». (full text).

Udo Ulfkotte – Germany

He says also: « On the Interneht, Islamists celebrated the statements of the Office of the Prosecution in Frankfurt . Most of the media joined them in their triumph. Suddely I was a criminal. Old friends started avoiding me, neighbors started to refuse to accept packages for a “criminal”, and my wife lost her means of income. A picture of her offices from the outside appeared in a yellow-journalism newspaper and made sure that the clients of her accounting service were warned not to do business with a “criminal”. As her lease ran for another 12 months, my wife had to pay rent for a full year without income from clients, collateral damage from the German security authorities. At the same time, Lueneburg Universitry had decided to give me a full professorship. Now I have to wait for the criminal charges against me to be dismissed ». (full long text).

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Linked with Geneva Centre for the DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OF ARMED FORCES DCAF, with 4th General Conference of the ECPR, and with Political Islam and Europe.

Robert Springborg holds the MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle East Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and is Director of the London Middle East Institute.

He says: ”We stop the Mohamed Atta’s of the future in the same way that it seems to me to deal with the rest of Egypt and the third world. We help them to develop. That one needs to see opportunities in this society, opportunities for economic development, for the practice of one’s profession, for the expression of one’s beliefs and that can only come about with higher rates of economic growth and as presently constructed, this economy is incapable of taking advantage of opportunities provided by globalisation and is indeed threatened by that globalisation so there needs to be some reconfiguration of the relationship between the first world and the third world and Egypt to enable that development to occur more successfully because if there is not, then there will be protests of various sorts whether of the Islamist variety or others and they will continue odd infinitum so the answer in my mind is one word, it’s development ». (full text).

Look at: Oil and Democracy in Iraq, edited by Robert Springborg, Publication Date 23 Jan 2007: This is the first major study of the alternatives confronting Iraq as it seeks to rebuild its vital oil industry while simultaneously constructing a new political system. A key challenge facing the country is to allocate the revenues oil generates in a way that avoids economic and social instability. Reviewing the present status of the industry, the authors – including Clement Henry, Massoud Karshenas, Roger Owen, Mona Said and John Sfakianakis – use comparative analysis to suggest how it might best be rebuilt. This book is an important and timely assessment of Iraq’s oil industry. (full text).

Robert Springborg – UK AU USA Egypt etc.

He says also: « My impression of Iraq [when I worked there] is that it had been the most effective developer of human resources of any Arab country other than Lebanon. It had built fine institutions in terms of health, education and other human resources. The Iraqi people were talented and great to work with, which makes the present situation all the more tragic. By the early 1980s, before I left, I visited the front with Iran during the Iran-Iraq conflict. The Iraqis had built substantial recreation centres underneath the bunkers with fine fittings and fixtures, with the help of many immigrant workers, including Koreans. It was a pretty opulent situation with Iraqi soldiers commuting to and from Baghdad, almost as weekend soldiers, probably a very different situation than their Iranian counterparts. The Iraqi army was almost a carbon copy of the Red Army under Stalin, with political commissars who were present calling the shots over military commanders ». (full text).

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