Social strife in US, UK, and MX (video)

Wisdom Quarterly; Plan B; Mexican Institute of Sound; LifeAfterHate.org; Occupy LA

Plan B's "Ill Manors" (translation: "bad ghetto housing projects") illustrates that England's problems are rooted in class warfare. Socioeconomic status trumps race as a cause of social strife. The US masks our class warfare as a correlated racial issue.

Sikh vigil, Madison, WI (LAH)

The post-racist organization and magazine "Life After Hate: A Journal of Basic Human Goodness" shares the pain of the Sikh Community after the tragic violence in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. LAH outreach Kindness Not Weakness is honored to bring Wisconsin Wars B-Boy/Breakdance Battle, a statewide tournament celebrating B-Boys and B-Girls and the healthy challenge they engage with. Support this magnificent example of diversity, inclusion, and fearless creative expression! More

SkidRowFilms Police attack Occupy Movement for chalking

 

Police state to crack down on Occupy Art Walk

(OccupyTogether.org)

Art Walk chalk protests, using the concrete jungle that is downtown Los Angeles, are being given a chance to usse a wall with LAPD provided chalk. This is in marked contrast to last month's Art Walk that was met with arrests and beatings. What is the crime? Chalk is messy and requires precious water to rinse off, so naturally Special Weapons And Tactical (SWAT) forces have to be deployed to tamp it down. Otherwise, who knows, Occupy activists might get carried away and start playing unauthorized games of hopscotch. Public order and what Shephard Fairy calls "obedience" must be maintained at all costs even if civil liberties are exchanged for the veneer of "security."

• Occupy LA's Art Walk protest

Mexican Institute of Sound's Mexico illustrates that its problems are rooted in the false US "war on drugs," a hypocritical campaign aimed at arresting and imprisoning racial minorities while simultaneously militarizing civilian police agencies and destroying neighboring Mexico from the inside out by increasing demand while pretending to exhaust all avenues to reduce it.

• AUDIO: From Mexico with Love and Beats (NPR)

NPR "Alt Latino" (Latin alternative) music blog 

Ranchera accordions. Romantic boleros. Maybe some sweet cumbias. Those sounds spring immediately to mind when discussing Mexican music. But Mexico is a playground for musicians of all genres and backgrounds. Dig a little deeper and you'll find sensual son jarocho stylings alongside astounding rock 'n roll and heart-accelerating electronica. Every week on the Alt.Latino podcast, co-hosts Jasmine Garsd and Felix Contreras explore the sounds of Latin America.

The Alyona Show (July 13, 2012) Occupy Movement LA Chalk Walk 1

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Reviewing "Not in God's Name" by Paula Fouce.

India. The cradle of Eastern spirituality (if not the capital of world religion) is where the documentary, Not in God's Name begins. And the nourishment of that spiritual child is the Ganges river. The beginning scenes on this mystical and legendary body of water are stunning in color, lighting and scope. Truly the imagery evokes sensations of viewing a unique and sacred place.

However, we are also reminded in these initial moments of the dark side of religion--hatred and violence. We are guided through this mine field by the Paula Fouce who spent many years traveling the subcontinent. She saw the best and worst in religion.

Including militant Sikhs who sought to secede from India but were violently expelled from their sacred shrine, which mixed two traditionally explosive ideologies together--religion and politics. In the aftermath many dead Sikhs and soldiers littered the streets and even the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi became a casualty of this clash.

She was assassinated for ordering the raid. As Indira Gandhi was a Hindu, her assassination pitted radicals of the two great religions of Hindiusm and Sikhism against each other. Religions that at their heart are supposed to be about peace and acceptance. I was moved by the images and in one particular quote by Blaise Pascal:

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious convictions."

The Dalai lama is interviewed for this documentary and he reminds us that the aim of most religions is to provide inner peace. In addition, he admonished us that there need not be one religion, and that they exist because of the various types of personalities upon this planet. In part I would suggest based on our different and varied karma.

The film goes on to spotlight the main religions of India (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism) and how they have influenced the culture to create such a unique place in the spiritual world. Hindu sages and Muslim Imams speak about tolerance in the movie yet we are reminded as well that the two religions have often violently clashed. The movie made me think that unfortunately many adherents become blinded by pride and in doing so pervert their faith into a cause that succeeds only by the downfall of the faithful in other religions. This has often taken the form of violent clashes over disputed holy sites in a deluded clinging to the outward, physical representations of their faith. Sadly many see holy sites as able to provide some sort of outward infusion of spirituality into their inner lives. And while they can be helpful, clinging to them and fighting over them is not just counter to teachings of these great religions but violations of human dignity.

The Buddhist part was short but good and I especially liked the quote the great non-violent Ashoka would said that if you denigrate one religion who denigrate yourself. I also really liked how the narrator spoke of the Dalai Lama as not only being a symbol of political and religious freedom to Tibetans but to all people of the world.

My only complaint about this documentary was that the time line and narrative 0often jumped around a bit but yet the message was never diluted or lost because of that editing.

Not in God's Name is a testament and a potent, timely reminder of just how quickly religions can become the opposite of helping mankind evolve toward a more harmonious life and society. Overall I would suggest this documentary to anyone looking to better understand the many religions of India and how they interact. Another reason to see this film is that it is in the running for an Emmy award nomination in the Non-Fiction Special Category. The Los Angeles Times listed it as a front runner.

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