Monthly Archives: February 2008

Exxon Valdez Dispute Goes To U.S. Supreme Court

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Exxon Valdez Dispute Spills into U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, DC, February 27, 2008 (ENS) – Nearly two decades after one of its tankers crashed into a reef and spilled some 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound, ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court’s decision that would force the company to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages to Alaskan fishermen, cannery workers and others impacted by the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Justices appeared skeptical of Exxon’s claim that it is not liable for punitive damages, but sympathetic to the company’s view that the $2.5 billion award is excessive.

Make ‘em pay, and pay, and pay.  They destroyed the livelihood and way of life of an entire region by not bothering to supervise their employees.  (Drunk captain, in case you don’t recall.)

We are fighting a losing battle, UN admits

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Feed the world? We are fighting a losing battle, UN admits | Environment | The Guardian

The United Nations warned yesterday that it no longer has enough money to keep global malnutrition at bay this year in the face of a dramatic upward surge in world commodity prices, which have created a “new face of hunger”.

“We will have a problem in coming months,” said Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). “We will have a significant gap if commodity prices remain this high, and we will need an extra half billion dollars just to meet existing assessed needs.”


Half a week’s worth of war.

Monks battle monkeys to save Buddhism’s holiest tree

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Guards ring bells, burst crackers or flash torch lights to scare off
the invading primates, but Buddhism won’t allow the use of violence to
deter the monkeys….

…The tree already arguably has the tightest security in Sri Lanka. It is surrounded by a gold-plated fence and protected night and day, spiritually and physically, by an army of soldiers and police as well as monks.

AFP: Monks battle monkeys to save Buddhism’s holiest tree

And speaking of bodhi seeds and so forth, as we were below…

Presidential Candidates IAT

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 It is well known that people don’t always ‘speak their minds’, and it is suspected that people don’t always ‘know their minds’. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology. This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. This new method is called the Implicit Association Test, or IAT for short.

We will ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes toward or beliefs about these topics, and provide some general information about yourself. These demonstrations should be more valuable if you have also tried to describe your self-understanding of the characteristic that the IAT is designed to measure. Also, a variety of factors may influence your IAT performance. The score is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Data exchanged with this site are protected by SSL encryption, and no personally identifying information is collected. IP addresses are routinely recorded, but are completely confidential.

This is a revealing exercise, but it requires concentration and time.  Don’t even try it if you are unable to provide both.

Implicit Association Test

This is a revealing exercise, but it requires concentration and time.  Don’t even try it if you are unable to provide both.

Buddhist Bible Study

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A young friend of mine over on FaceBook has started a group to discuss Buddhist scripture. I was asked to invite people. Here is my response.

Good Evening, (name witheld),

I would not, at this time, be comfortable inviting people to the group, although I joined myself in order to support you. There are two reasons for this.

  • Dharma is traditionally passed on through direct teaching rather than discussion (except, sometimes, moderated discussion among those who are being taught).
  • Neither do Buddhists proselytize. Seekers are free to find themselves in the Dharma if it seems right for them.


Personally, while I am in favor of providing information, both for the Sangha and for others who might be interested (as I attempt to do on my site) I am not in favor of the Barnes & Noble Buddhism that seems fashionable nowadays. Continue reading →

Re: Not Dead Yet

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For those what wuz innerstid, temp. is down below 99 (37.2) for the first time in 4 days.  Sat. it was up to 102.6 (39.2).  Had some interesting dreams.  Definitely on the mend.  Back to work on Thurs., looks like.  Shel back at work 2nd day.  She had it bad, but we think her flu shot helped.  I missed mine this year.

Not next year.

Anatomy of a Bodhi Seed

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Let us say your very dear friend and teacher returns from a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya with a wonderful gift — an antique mala — of bodhi seed. You would be very pleased, perhaps, (although remaining unattached, of course). Let us say that later on the cord breaks and that you decide, before restringing, that the seeds are very dry despite occasional soakings and that, since they have long since lost their distinctive odor anyway, you can best rejuvenate them by applying lemon oil.Should something similar occur in your trip(ping) down the Dharma road, here are a couple of things you need to know.

Wondering…

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Sometimes I wonder.

I’ve just been cleaning out my blogroll and, in the process, accessed a number of Buddhist sites to see if they were still active and refresh my mind about their content.

Some sound so wise! It makes me wonder about what I do here. Seems as though I should be expounding upon some abstruse passage in the Diamond Sutra, or discussing the principles that Dogen grafted onto the teachings of those before him, or something equally deep.

But you know, I just sit. Apart from reading (some of which I post for your edification or for you to ignore — your choice), talking with my teacher from time to time, and the occasional shesshin, well, I…just…sit.

I mean, here I am, 63 years old, been practicing for years, know Roshis and Rinpoches and professors and lots of folks with many-syllable names, read all sorts of stuff about dharma and sangha and my-oh-my — and I can’t think of anything wise to say.

And I can’t seem to get upset about it, either.

What could be wrong?

Why I Hope Juno Doesn’t Win an Oscar

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“…though I had to suspend disbelief to compute Juno and her cohorts’ quick, hyperintelligent wit, I bought Ellen Page’s performance and screenwriter Diablo Cody’s tale of a precocious, love-struck high schooler navigating the emotional fault lines of social norms and personal mores.

“While director Jason Reitman and Juno’s producers have no chance of nabbing Oscars for directing or best picture, Page and Cody have a real shot at best actress and original screenplay. And they’ve earned those bald gold men. But come Sunday, I don’t want to see them stumbling up the Kodak Theatre’s stage….”

Why I Hope Juno Doesn’t Win an Oscar

On Being and Not Being a Buddhist

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On Faith: Faithbook Blog

The journey from born-again Christian to wanna-be Buddhist was both long and short. It was short because Buddhism was the first religious tradition I turned to after I ceased to believe in God. It was long because I did not immediately adopt Buddhism as my re-bound faith. I casually flirted with Islam and Hinduism, and had a more serious relationship with Reform Judaism. At my most desperate moments I have to admit I read Ekhart Tolle and even sent away for some Rosicrucian pamphlets. Obviously, I’ve got a lot of faith to give.

Between my brief trysts with Moses and Muhammad, I would always return to Shakyamuni. …