lotusinthemud

earth from mars

Stunning photos of the Earth and the Moon taken from Mars by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera
::link to boingboing

monks say they were falsely accused

BEIJING (Reuters) -

Tibetan monks disrupted an official news briefing at a temple in Lhasa on Thursday, shouting that Chinese authorities were lying about unrest in the Himalayan region, foreign reporters said.....

"They just don't believe us. They think we will come out and cause havoc -- smash, destroy, rob, burn. We didn't do anything like that -- they're falsely accusing us," said one monk.

::link
::link to photographs - very saddening

photos of the free tibet march, london 22-03-08

::link to photos on flickr

nancy pelosi calls on the international community to denounce china's rule in tibet

Speak out on Tibet, says US politician The Speaker of the US House of Representatives urges international denunciation of China's rule in Tibet.

::link to BBC Radio 4 site I was pleased to wake up to this, which seems a significant message, on the 7am news.

A senior US lawmaker, Nancy Pelosi, has called on the international community to denounce China's rule in Tibet.

Ms Pelosi is holding talks in northern India with the Dalai Lama, who Chinese authorities accuse of inciting the violence.

As Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Ms Pelosi is outranked only by the president and the vice-president.

Her visit to Dharamsala was planned before the anti-China protests began.

"If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China and the Chinese in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out on human rights,"

Ms Pelosi told a crowd of thousands of cheering Tibetans, including monks and schoolchildren.

::link

tibetans in nepal join with lhasan protesters - american attacked

At least 44 Tibetan exiles shouting "Free Tibet" were detained in the Nepal capital yesterday after police broke up two protests outside a UN complex, using sticks and tear gas.

::link to article with many more photos, an email from the American who was attacked while protesting with the refugees, and more eye witness accounts from Lhasa

::via tricycle editors' blog

what's odd-looking? the police will decide

....and, if you are judged to be looking odd, and you take photographs in London - watch out!

Updated - ::link

....many people have taken a crack at redesigning the posters to point out the absurdity of them.

happy, happy

BigHappyBuddha's photos and quotations always make me smile

photos of burmese peace march

::here's a link to an excellent selection of photos

a gorgeous picture of simon and jack from our visit on saturday

::from Simon's blog

new buddhist - ceremony at amida newcastle for ivan

Yesterday evening we held a Taking Refuge ceremony for Ivan Presho, whereby he was confirmed as being a Buddhist. It was a lovely evening with our local sangha in very good heart. I was celebrant and Rachel Abel was Bellmaster.