Posing nearly naked in Islamic IRAN (video)

I. Rony, Ashley Wells, Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian; FEMEN.org; Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women (facebook)

Iranian harlots with totally exposed heads and faces and not a male relative in sight.

Sexism in a matter of point of view. We worship capitalist exploitation, they worship patriarchal Islam. In either case, women suffer just the same (Evans)

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US/Israel aching for war on Republic of Iran

TEHRANGELES, California - Western imperial capitalist corruption has arrived in beautiful Islamic Iran with, of course, a Facebook page. Thank you, FBI. Sure, we like it and think it's "beautiful" and "liberating." But we're raised on imperial corruption. We would likely feel this was a tragedy if we were living in a happily modest country on the verge of being attacked by Israel and its Western allies, most notably the warlords of the CIA and Pentagon. (We already half-ruined the country along with England when we deposed one leader and installed another favorable to our exploits). There are more Iranians than Jews in America, most of them in L.A., but one would never know it by exposure to the mainstream media.
 
("Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi) about The Richest City Under the Sun in the form of a cartoon/graphic novel about a precocious young girl during Iran's Islamic Revolution following British(MI5)  and American (CIA) subterfuge

Topless in New York City

• Don't forget to be afraid of Boko Haram today! :) And be terrified of "Kony" enough to support sending US troops into Africa. Heck, why not be afraid of all dark skinned people while you're at it? Terror is the mantra in our US/MIC "War on Fear"
• Topless FEMEN protesters say no to Islamic sexist
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• "It's horrific": Muslim girls around the world react to the Nigeria kidnapping Oh, no! Help us, CIA!
• Ill-advised selfie leads to American guy's arrest
• Wango Tango (Shakira, Paramore, Maroon 5, Ariane Grande...) out competes United We Stand in LA Saturday
• Glenn Greenwald: the explosive day we revealed Edward Snowden's identity to the world
• North Korea's Kim Jong-un is worth how much?!
• Oakland company on verge of revolutionizing solar

• 

  Vatican oppresses nuns, who also wear hijabs
  Catholic Pope Francis, Vatican CEO (not to be confused with the Eastern orthodox pope), is throwing nuns under the bus for sharing his beliefs

Spread of Buddhism: from its origins in Afghanistan (Gandhara) and India (Magadha) to Iran

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Women posting hijab-free selfies

Jezebel, wanton woman, an Eve, a Lilith!

Saeed Kamali Dehghan (Guardian.co.uk)
"Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women" was set up 10 days ago and has since attracted thousands of photos. 

 

Thousands of Iranian [Persian, Ariyan] women are taking off their veils and publishing pictures of themselves online, igniting a debate about the freedom to wear or not wear the hijab [the mandatory headscarf demanded by ultraconservative, puritanical Wahabbi Islam, a fundamentalist and extremist faction sponsored by the U.S. and its tentacles].

• Western Globalists created Wahhabi-terrorism to destroy Islam and justify global war 

A Facebook page set up by London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad 10 days ago has attracted more than 130,000 likes, with women across Iran sending unveiled pictures taken in parks, at the seaside and in the streets.

 

"My stealthy freedom while driving in the streets of Tehran," wrote Maryam alongside an image showing her behind the wheel. "I like to feel the wind blowing on my face."

• Alinejad is not opposed to the hijab -- her mother is veiled -- but she believes we should have the freedom to choose.
  

Iranian beauties in L.A. (kcet.org)

Another post showed a mother with her daughter. "The beautiful seaside in Kish [Island]," the younger woman wrote. "We strolled on the rocks and experienced the cool breeze flowing through our hair. Is this a big request?"

 

A young woman from the city of Fuman, in the northern province of Gilan, sent a picture of her in the woods. "I took this picture stealthily in the spring," she wrote. "It makes me feel happy." Another young woman was pictured unveiled just next to a big billboard in Tehran' Yas sports complex asking women to respect the Islamic hijab.

 

Alinejad told The Guardian she had been bombarded with messages and pictures since launching Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women. "I've hardly slept in the past three days because of the number of pictures and messages I've received." More

The N.W.O. wants a new world order, which means invading Iran. It's amazing. Look at a map: Iran is squeezed between Iraq and Afghanistan and therefore of strategic importance.

Colbert skyrockets to Letterman's "Late Show"!

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Stephen Colbert (colbertnation.com); David Letterman

Eat it! Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon (scpr.org)

[Thank you, Suey Park, for tipping the scales. They're cancelling Colbert! ;-) But...]

CBS's announcement this morning (Thursday, April 10, 2014) that Stephen Colbert is taking over from David Letterman as the host of "The Late Show" in 2015 trumps all rivals -- including Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy O'Brien, and all the Jameses, like the head of the now shuttered and very controversial CCDD Foundation.
  

Fallon is funny but not funny enough (DM)

But now it seems the likelihood the show will move to Los Angeles is dim, despite lobbying from L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. Reasons likely include everything from trying to retain "The Colbert Report" staff on his new show, family, and more.
  

But here's Southern California Public Radio's Top 10 reasons "The Late Show" is probably staying in New York:

1. He doesn't want "Saturday Night Live" to make fun of him the next time they do "The Californians"
2. He can't remember which Kardashian is which
3. He's already got a great deal living in Jon Stewart's pool house
4. The L.A. sun is a problem for his delicately pale skin... More

• Buddhist Jokes! Do Dalai Lamas Laugh?
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• VIDEO: More sexist white male garbage: Superman at 75

C, don't kill my vibe! Fallon, Anne Hathaway can keep rapping

Suey Park vs. The Colbert Report (video)

I. Rony, Amber Larson, CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; NPR "#CancelColbert Let Asian-Americans Call Out The Real Ding-Dongs"; Colbert Report (colbertnation.com)

I won't stand for that white hipster ironical racism; people might misunderstand it.

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Stephen Colbert responded to criticism about a tweet about his show from his TV network last week, saying he would dismantle the imaginary foundation that created the stir.

 

It surely says something about our culture that a single tweet (when the twit hit the fan) can turn into a major racial incident: Colbert's send-up of Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's new foundation to help Native Americans.

 

The controversy erupted when a Twitter account associated with Colbert's Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, took the joke too far -- away from its original context.

 

"I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever," read the tweet from @ColbertReport.

 

Hipster (ironic) racism? It's not Colbert's Twitter handle, and Colbert himself had nothing to do with the tweet, but a lot of people -- specifically Asian-Americans -- didn't think it was funny. They thought it was racist.

 

But not everyone thinks so, not, for example, Jay Caspian Kang, an Asian-American who wrote a piece about the controversy for newyorker.com. Where some saw racism, he tells NPR's Rachel Martin, he saw a big misunderstanding.

 

"When the tweet came out, without the sort of context of the first part of the joke, then it does seem a little bit shocking," he says.

One of those offended was activist Suey Park, 23. Park re-tweeted in outrage, and the #CancelColbert social media campaign began. Kang understands where the anger comes from.

 

Seeing Red

Colbert responded on his show by saying he would "shut down" the imaginary foundation that sparked fury among select critics. The most vocal has been Suey Park (Twitter nickname Angry Asian Woman). She began the #CancelColbert campaign.

#CancelColbert's Suey Park, activist

In an article for Time, Park wrote last week: "The problem isn't that we can't take a joke. The problem is that white comedians and their fans believe they are above reproach." She also discussed her motivations in a video interview with Huff Po. In another tweet she stated: "White people -- please keep #CancelColbert trending until there's an apology."

Rachel Stark has the right idea: "Calm, reasoned debate among comics about which jokes should be off limits doesn’t exist"!

We love you, Suey Park, but be an activist about something more serious than satire. For if we lose our hero and white-ally Colbert because of your humorless campaign, we will not be amused, not amused in the slightest, and we'll start our own offensive imaginary foundation to continue the mission of calling attention to a racist #Redskins owner Dan Snyder by mocking Asians in the blogosphere. (Please send all complaint letters in response to our rant to "Attention: I. Rony, Features Editor, Wisdom Quarterly" via EFF.org).

 

"Some of what Suey Park was saying [was about] Asian-Americans who are second-generation: It's sort of ingrained in our heads to always protect that idea of assimilation and upward mobility," Kang says.

 

"One of the things that upsets us," he says, "is when somebody comes and agitates in a way that would reflect badly upon us."

 

But Kang defends Colbert. It's also upsetting to "reflect badly upon the people who[m] we would consider our allies, who are trying to help us have this sort of assimilation, post-racial dream," he says.

 

In his article, Kang writes, "There's a long tradition in American comedy of dumping tasteless jokes at the feet of Asians and Asian-Americans -- [which] follows the perception that we will silently weather the ridicule."

 

"I think the writers in Hollywood know that it's just not going to be an issue the way that it would be if the joke was on another minority group," he says. LISTEN
 

All jokes and satire aside, there are discomfit ting conversations to be had.

• Someone else's tweet stirs up accusations of racism
• In #CancelColbert firestorm an opportunity is lost
• On being a black woman who writes (Kima Jones)
• Demi Lovato and (distraction) Hollywood sex scandals
• Appalachia is not (only) full of white morons (reverse racism?)

Stephen Colbert vs. Angry Asian (comedy)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Colbert; Suey Park (Angry Asian Woman); Josh Zepps

So long as we tolerate remnants of the patriarchy and colonization, are we free? (FEMEN)

(95Colbert) Stephen Colbert responds to the controversy was epic humor, irony, and biting satire. It is the genius of wit that redeems a person not in need of redeeming.

 

The eye roll that turned the tide (Huff Post)

Suey Park has a point, more than one, but anger is no way to express it. Here she tackles the white male and the racist patriarchy in general menace by attempting to take down Josh Zepps, who was concerned enough to let her air her side of the controversy on Huff Post Live. She may have explained, but she may also have made things worse by biting the hand that holds the mic. Indeed, there is racism in  this country, and some fight it with satire. Others with anger. Which side is Park on when we could all be together? (And, privileged Josh, let guests talk).

FEMEN activists agitate for Muslims, too

Woody Allen pointed out that liberals are like fish that eat each other. There are bigger pieces of plankton to pry from the sea, Suey. So please aim it at those guys rather than worrying if all of the rest of us are PC enough to end sexism, racism, stereotyping, bias, prejudice, and inequality with you. If we join forces, each approaching the cultural inequities of the day in our own way and as a team, we can bring about a better world. If we squabble, aren't the real movers-and-shakers, the problem-makers, just loving it as they multiply and coat this baby blue watery planet in green slime?

• VIDEO: Angry white male may nevertheless have a point
• VIDEO: Another white male gives his analysis on Park
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• FASHION: Is Vogue trivializing domestic violence?
• LAPD shooting: How to keep public out of police stations?
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• 2020 Commission issues blunt challenges to City of LA

Wisdom Quarterly to go Baptist (cartoon)

I. Rony, Wisdom Quarterly, April 1, 2014

Another Lord, or avatar, is born unto the world! The Sun of the Sky is now the Son of Man but still the Son of God, the Father, and that Pigeon the Holy Spirit.

 

Christ, Budai, Chrisna, Holy Cow, Tiki

Given that Lord Jesus -- like Lord Vishnu, and Lord Brahma, Lord Sakra -- was a Buddhist, our work is done.

Wisdom Quarterly: American Baptist Journal will be going Protestant, fundamentalist Christian and literalist. So when the Holy Bible says, "Thou shalt not," we shall not. 

And when it says, "Thou shalt," for example, "not suffer a 'witch' [a wise person or pharmacist] to live or tolerate sassy children who sass their parents," we shall "stone them to death" as literally commanded.

Why for? For the Lord God hath said so, and who are we to argue with the Controller, All-Knower, and Everywhere-Be'er? Maybe we should change our name to Faith Daily: U.S. Christian Diary.

 

Now that God gave us this child, I was thinking to name him Stewie. - I was thinking Jessie.

  

Better PR and humble, if fetishistic, hygiene

But, you know, the New Testament is a lot more Jesus-friendly than that creepy Father-friendly first part.

Maybe we won't be fundamentalists, but still very literal. When the new-and-improved Bible, which leaves off that Jewish-heavy winner-writes-the-history first part, says: Our creed(s) is this,

Our New Creed

A new creed means a new uptight lifestyle

"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; By whom all things were made; Who for us men [not women, slaves, or animals], and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man [a tulku]; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he shall come [reincarnate again] to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost [spirit, breath of life, prana]."

Why Baptist?
Well, truth be told, we needed a B sect. That way we won't have to alter our letterhead that much -- out with the Budh (awakening), in with the Bapt (napping).

Buddhism was too free, too much about individual responsibility. It's concise propaganda statements of faith like this, which every Christian is forced to agree with, that really sells seats and pews.
 

Like us, God the Father probably likes TV (TIR)

Because, you know, like, "God so loved the world that [He didn't bother to come Himself but sent his young son in His place because He was probably busy with other stuff]."

On second thought, we may be going Catholic instead, not literally "universalist" but we can enlist in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. It's not so bad, what with the new and improved Papa (Father, Pontiff, Pope), His Holiness il Papa Francisco de Argentina, CEO Pope Francis I. At least Catholicism kept one symbolic woman (the Kwan Yin Mother Mary), and that way we can still be members of Pussy Riot singing the Punk Prayer.

The Exorcist priest got possessed

The Evil Pope (Cardinal Ratzinger, who by his own admission was once a Nazi, Pope John Paul II's right hand man), Benedict Arnold XVI, abdicated the throne. But his Chief Pontificate(r) history is amazing: He ran the "Holy Inquisition," which got a nice name change to the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," according to former Catholic-insider now Episcopalian priest Mathew Fox. Maybe we should convert to EAS or the world's newest religion Jediism or Peter's faith:

Not easy being Father, harder to be His kids

(FOX) When Peter's dad visits the Griffins, he tries to impose his religious beliefs. Son Stewie ends up living in a bubble, and father Peter searches for a new religion. He find faith in his TV  hero the holy spirit of the Fonz. But "Happy Days" are not here: the newly established Church of the Fonz struggles to keep members.

• Blowing Catholic minds: Father Matthew Fox tells all
• Buddhist "awakening" (Bhikkhu Bodhi)
• VIDEO: Buddha and Jesus: A Comparison (Powell)
• A missing piece of the Christian puzzle: Buddhism
• Inside the "Electronic Omnivore": New leaks show NSA spying on U.N., Climate Summit, text messaging

Ode to Heroin! - A Buddhist Solution

I. Rony, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Heroin used to be chic (lelaid). Thx, Big Pharma!

Oh, Heroin, you take all my pain away (temporarily).

And no matter what they say ordinarily,

I won't support our invasion of Afghan fields.

So I'm turning to fentanyl and Vicodin...

And any synthetic painkiller

My doctor can prescribe

Because roses are maroon

Orchids rainbow spread,

I know I'm doomed;

I'm so Hoffmanesque.

 

Bulging opium poppy pods? No, it's the "Buddha Belly plant," Jatropha podagrica, which grows from the bottleplant shrub (1guy2be/flickr.com)

A Buddhist solution?

Wisdom Quarterly

Levine's new book on recovery

Is there a "Buddhist" solution? Kevin Griffin, author of One Breath at a Time and A Burning Desire) says yes! Noah Levine and others agree. Siddhartha was born in Afghanistan, according to maverick historian Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. Poppies must have grown there at the time. And what is "addiction" but craving, the curable source of suffering? Where there is craving, there is also likely to be aversion, usually manifesting as fear: fear of pain, aversion to pain. And without exception, whenever craving or aversion are present, each is supported by the true cause and condition of all suffering, disappointment, and woe: ignorance. The solution? Enlightenment.

Chic Phillip Seymour Hoffman (cracked.com)

Easier said than done. How did the drugs and drink help your quest for awakening? Even people who drop LSD, DMT, GHB, E, and/or 'shrooms do NOT suddenly awaken to the liberating-truth. Which is odd, isn't it? One would think Space Cadets would because they're so far out, so "beyond the beyond" (Heart Sutra). The real "ambrosia," the nectar of the divine, is deathlessness, a synonym for nirvana. See, getting "high" is a kind of delusion, alcohol a "liquid ignorance," the urge to get stoned or s-faced a dream. We're already in a dream (maya)! Maybe "mind-expanding" (entheogenic) substances can help. But the best "drugs" of all are endogenous, that is, internally-manufactured by these great bodies. So stop taking artificial, external drugs. And take care of your pineal gland. How? For one thing, avoid pharmaceuticals like Prozac.
  

Death of a Drug Addict

A Martinez and Alex Cohen, Take Two, scpr.org

The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman of an apparent drug overdose was a shock to almost everyone who heard the news. Hoffman, it has been widely reported, had over two decades of sobriety under his belt before relapsing into addiction last year. Journalist Seth Mnookin, co-director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing and a recovering drug addict, joined "Take Two." He wrote about it in Slate.

AUDIO INVESTIGATION: Heroin's Resurgence

Salvation in a dirty spoon?

Take Two talks to author and LA Times reporter Sam Quinones about the resurgence of heroin in the US. More than 90% of opiate abusers are white and getting it delivered like pizza. 

Authorities are still investigating the official cause of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death, but the actor struggled with addiction, and investigators have confirmed the presence of heroin in his apartment.

It's a growing problem in this country, and heroin use here has doubled since 2007. According to the DEA, heroin seizures in New York State are up nearly 70 percent over the last four years. LISTEN 

Spock: Cigarettes gave me cancer. Don't smoke.

• BOOK: A Buddhist Path to Recovery from Addiction 
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• Bill Nye "the Science Guy" debates Creation Museum's Ken Ham

COMEDY: "Saturnalia" by Jimmy Dore (audio)

Wisdom Quarterly; Jimmy Dore (jimmydorecomedy.com), Wikipedia edit

Greco-Roman: Ruins of Temple of Saturn (eight columns to the far right), with three columns from the Temple of Vespasian and Titus (left) and the Arch of Septimius Severus (center)

• AUDIO: The Jimmy Dore Show (12-27-13)
• True origins of Xmas: Pagan  "Saturnalia"  orgy

In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labor in a state of social egalitarianism. 

 

The sexual revelries of Saturnalia (held around the winter solstice and the famous date of Dec. 25th) were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age, not all of them desirable. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia, an Athenian festival held in honor of Cronus (Greek Kronos. More

 

In the most classic and well known version of Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos (Greek Κρόνος) -- not to be confused with Chronos (the personification of time) -- was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans (Buddhist asuras), divine (deva) descendants of Gaia (Mother Earth or Bhūmi), and Uranus, the sky (space). He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus. 

Elysium, Gravity, asteroids in space (video)

I. Rony, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Nicole Alvarez ("Fact Zone"), The Onion

The Onion's head film critic Peter K. Rosenthal reviews Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in "Gravity" in this week's Film Standard.

(Schmoes Know) The follow up film to "District 9" is about a wasted Earth, and the new Spanish-dominated Los Angeles of the future is making trouble for the rich, largely French speaking, predominantly Anglo white-flight suburb of "Elysium" in near-earth orbit space. "Illegals" trying to get there for medical attention from machines (likely to already exist as secret, reverse-engineered technology) are systematically killed or arrested, abused, and deported. The maniacal Jodie Foster, in charge of immigration and "homeland security" on Elysium, plans a coup de'tat against President Patel. In the meantime, Max (Matt Damon) wants to liberate Earth to share in human technology rather than leaving it in the hands of elites.

(ONN/IFC) The Onion News Network: "Approaching Asteroid Will

End All Life On Earth Soon." For entertainment purposes only.

• VIDEO: The real "Gravity" - NASA's Shuttle spies on Russia
• ANIMATION: "Sexpectations" (College Humor, Rated PG-13)
• VIDEO: Miley Cyrus rides wrecking ball, workers watch (CH)
• FEATURE: "Instructions Not Included" (comedy parenting)
• HEALTH: From Excuse-itarian to Vegan (Colleen P-G, PV)