Well, here goes.
I am going to put down a few of my thoughts about what is happening today, like the Israeli bombing of Gaza juxtaposed with the financial crisis juxtaposed with the Inaguration of our new President Barack Obama. Boy, this is what is called extremely hazardous.
I first wondered this morning why nobody keeps a public tally of the Hamas bombs into Israel in the last 8 years; why do we go from frits and starts in these cycles of violence in the Middle East. I think if there was a public tally on somebody's website, this situation would be a lot easier to handle, The way it is now, nobody knows what the truth on the ground is, so it is missiles away in both directions.
Then I think the State Department should work up 2 tallies: those countries where it is likely that things can get done and those countries where there is going to be no change at all but will make a lot of demands on world peace. I think the two positions could be played off against each other and maybe there can be some kind of balance struck. Maybe the State Department already has this tally somewhere, but it should go public so Americans can really feel involved in their own workings of war and peace. Right now, I think there is no system of checks and balances going on in global matters, so, believe it or not, each and every country in the world feels vulnerable because of so much lack of information on the part of democratic governments. We all know, that many countries will always try to keep everybody in the dark so they can feel in charge, but I think this is an extremely hazardous way to conduct global affairs.
I have to say again that I am so grateful for people like Barack Obama and all of his Administration for taking on this huge and unfun responsibility facing us. I wish everybody in the Obama Administration the very best of wishes and successes in 2009.
These are my thoughts for today.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Dec. 20, 2008: Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Well here goes,
Things have started to move along pretty good for me. After waiting and watching for a sign to help me in my conversion to Tibetan Buddhism, I finally got a break. I met this retirey Canadian couple just like myself who rent in Bangkok at really good rates. Well, there is a possibility that I can get an apartment from a friend of theirs or in the same building at a really good rate; so now I can look around Bangkok without having to worry about all the baht's that I am spending.
Buddhism Institutes are all over Bangkok and quite unregulated, so it takes a lot of looking around to get some kind of chance at studying Buddhism in Bangkok. So now after these 5 years on the road, maybe now I have found my nice little place where I can park my things. This would mean that the break with Hindiusm is almost over; and, it has not irreparably damaged my relationships with Indians. I think the intent of the Visa Officers in Pondicherry and New Delhi was to try a botch up my trip so I would not know what to do. I have had way too much of this kind of maliciousness in my life; and especially on my path. I hope for the Buddha that things start to become more auspicious and revealing and I can start to move up the ladder again.
This also means that I will be leaving Sihanoukville behind for the time being, which is no big deal for me. I have read loads while I have been here; but its good to let it go for now and go to the "land of smiling faces" or the polar opposite of here. This is the land of skulls and crossbones and all messed up. I will hope and pray for Cambodians that they can face up to the Tribunal and come to the understanding that this is the 21st Century and mass murder is a big deal, a heinous crime that must be dealt with or perish.
It is also the Christmas time and a year ago at this time, I was just arriving in Cambodia for the first time. I remember going to the The Correspondant's Club in Phnom Penh for Christmas Dinner and then moving to Simon II's for 40 days before going to Angkor Wat for the first time. t Somewhere along the line, I decided that the most important thing for this place is the here and now of what is going on in society. That Cambodia is kind of frozen in the gloss of tourism and the tourism mulah; and, thinking they can focus on this and not the necessary. There really is very little Democratic insitution building going on outside of the really good free press and the open discussions.
Because Asia is so very deeply infected with their cultural and historical arrogance, I think that history has a good potentail to repeat itself here many times. In fact, they say that in the silence
of Chinese communism, the Tibetan genocide is going on unabated.
These are my thoughts for today.
Things have started to move along pretty good for me. After waiting and watching for a sign to help me in my conversion to Tibetan Buddhism, I finally got a break. I met this retirey Canadian couple just like myself who rent in Bangkok at really good rates. Well, there is a possibility that I can get an apartment from a friend of theirs or in the same building at a really good rate; so now I can look around Bangkok without having to worry about all the baht's that I am spending.
Buddhism Institutes are all over Bangkok and quite unregulated, so it takes a lot of looking around to get some kind of chance at studying Buddhism in Bangkok. So now after these 5 years on the road, maybe now I have found my nice little place where I can park my things. This would mean that the break with Hindiusm is almost over; and, it has not irreparably damaged my relationships with Indians. I think the intent of the Visa Officers in Pondicherry and New Delhi was to try a botch up my trip so I would not know what to do. I have had way too much of this kind of maliciousness in my life; and especially on my path. I hope for the Buddha that things start to become more auspicious and revealing and I can start to move up the ladder again.
This also means that I will be leaving Sihanoukville behind for the time being, which is no big deal for me. I have read loads while I have been here; but its good to let it go for now and go to the "land of smiling faces" or the polar opposite of here. This is the land of skulls and crossbones and all messed up. I will hope and pray for Cambodians that they can face up to the Tribunal and come to the understanding that this is the 21st Century and mass murder is a big deal, a heinous crime that must be dealt with or perish.
It is also the Christmas time and a year ago at this time, I was just arriving in Cambodia for the first time. I remember going to the The Correspondant's Club in Phnom Penh for Christmas Dinner and then moving to Simon II's for 40 days before going to Angkor Wat for the first time. t Somewhere along the line, I decided that the most important thing for this place is the here and now of what is going on in society. That Cambodia is kind of frozen in the gloss of tourism and the tourism mulah; and, thinking they can focus on this and not the necessary. There really is very little Democratic insitution building going on outside of the really good free press and the open discussions.
Because Asia is so very deeply infected with their cultural and historical arrogance, I think that history has a good potentail to repeat itself here many times. In fact, they say that in the silence
of Chinese communism, the Tibetan genocide is going on unabated.
These are my thoughts for today.
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