Barry Graham's Blog, page 24

The Heart of the Matter: Why Torture is Now De Facto a Policy Choice, Not a Crime

The Heart of the Matter: Why Torture is Now De Facto a Policy Choice, Not a Crime:

Barry Eisler, author and former C.I.A. agent:

Obama had a duty to prosecute torture; instead, he decided to “look forward as opposed to looking backward,” rendering torture a de facto policy choice instead of a crime.

If President X has the power to prohibit torture, it follows that President Y has the power to permit it. Well, now we have President Y. This was not only predictable; it was predicted.

Buddhists bring meditation to the streets and subways of NYC

Buddhists bring meditation to the streets and subways of NYC:

I think the comparison with Bernie Glassman’s“street retreats” is invalid, and also unfair to Giovanna Maselli and Bhante Suddhaso; Glassman and his students are bourgeois who essentially play at being homeless for a week or so, a practice which is self-centered, the opposite of what Maselli and Suddhaso are doing.

H.L. Mencken on Reclaiming Democracy from the Mob Mentality That Masquerades for It

H.L. Mencken on Reclaiming Democracy from the Mob Mentality That Masquerades for It

We’ve Been Here All Along

We’ve Been Here All Along

Tanka

Gray sky, gray cement,

used condoms, needles on sidewalk—

athlete running, flying over them,

saying,“Good morning. Have a great day”

to everyone she passes

Commentary: Why this gay Buddhist teacher is dubious about Buddhist refuge in the Trump era

Commentary: Why this gay Buddhist teacher is dubious about Buddhist refuge in the Trump era:

“I read statements like one that said if we could get through Nixon, Reagan, and Bush, we could get through this too. I thought to myself: who’s the “we” that got through Reagan and Bush?”

I said these exact words when talking with a friend last week. Many people didn’t get through it, and Trump will be far worse.

Photo

Naming Thoughts as Thoughts

rainbowtwo:

‘If you know a view as a view, you can be free of that view. If you know a thought as a thought, you can be free of that thought.’

- Norman Fischer, Beyond Language.

William Hope Hodgson & The Questions that Haunt Us

William Hope Hodgson & The Questions that Haunt Us:

Yesterday was the 139th birthday of William Hope Hodgson. Here’s an essay about him (and others) I wrote for The Big Click.

guardian:2016′s word of the year is…Oxford Dictionaries has declared ‘post-truth’ to be its...

guardian:

2016′s word of the year is…

Oxford Dictionaries has declared ‘post-truth’ to be its international word of the year. The use of the term has increased by around 2,000% in 2016 compared to last year. Oxford Dictionaries explains that this is in context of Brexit and the US presidential election. Last year’s word of the year was the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji: