FEATURED ARTICLES
- A SEAT AT THE TABLE; Struggling For American Indian Religious Freedom, Kifaru Productions
- Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Karen Armstrong, NOW
- When God Goes To War, by Karen Armstrong
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"From the very beginning, religion got sucked into conflicts that were originally secular. In the past, however, prophets and sages recalled their co-religionists to the prime duty of compassion. Today, we need religious people to be proactive in reforming their own traditions away from extremism. It is not enough simply to condemn other people's violence. We need bishops, rabbis and imams to search for the seeds of aggression in their own scriptures, admit that their own faith has a history of hatred, and revise bigoted, self-serving textbooks. We should also question the efficacy of the current war against religious terror. By increasing violence in troubled regions, we contribute to the conditions that have always mobilized the faithful in their pernicious holy wars."
- - Karen Armstrong (From today's Rhino's Bottom Line)
KNOW YOUR HISTORY - APRIL 14th
2000 -- At a 3 day summit in Havana, leaders of 77 developing nations called for a "New Global Human Order' to spread the world's wealth & power. The Group later expanded to 133 countries.
SAME DAY -- US stock markets plunged with the Dow down 617.78 to 10305.77 & the Nasdaq down 355.49 to 3321.29. Inflation fears were cited. This capped one of the worst weeks ever for US stocks.
SAME DAY -- In Washington, protesters dumped manure on Pennsylvania Avenue, seeking to disrupt meetings of the World Bank & International Monetary Fund.
RHINO HERE:
First, a brief Rhino response to the shrub's long past due press conference. I'll make it brief. Real Republicans stand on principles; like state's rights, fiscal responsibility & maybe most importantly, personal responsibility. The neo-robber barons currently inhabiting La Casa Blanca don't stand on principles, except accumulating money & power no matter how many lies must be told and no matter who suffers or dies for their successes. In the press conference & in the 9/11 hearings, not one shrub gang rep has been willing to accept one iota of personal responsibility for the horrors they have led us into. How do they sleep?
Today I offer deepest condolences to Frank Dayish, Jr., Vice President of The Navajo Nation, & his wife Virginia & their family on the loss of their nephew, Sgt. Lee Duane Todacheene who was killed in Iraq on April 5th. Sgt. Todacheene was a husband & father and will be sorely missed by many. Frank became a friend during our lobbying efforts to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court "Smith" Decision which threatened the religious liberty of the 250,000 members of The Native American Church. That legislation, the 1994 Amendment to The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) was passed; a rare victory for Indian people in the struggle to protect their ceremonial ways. A Navajo Nation Press Release regarding the loss of Lee Duane Todacheene is posted at: http://www.navajonationcouncil.org/April_pr/040804_obs.htm
Information on the documentary, "The Peyote Road; Ancient Religion In Contemporary Crisis," which I produced & co-directed along with Fidel Moreno & Phil Cousineau, to help pass the AIRFA Amendment, is posted at: http://www.kifaru.com/peyroad6.html
Frank Dayish is also featured in my latest documentary on Indian religious freedom issues,which has been screening at film festivals across the country. Here are the next few screenings of, A SEAT AT THE TABLE; Struggling For American Indian Religious Freedom April 16th - Stars In The Desert, Tuba City, AZ
http://www.starsinthedesert.com
April 24th - The Artivist Film Festival, The Egyptian Theatre. Hollywood, CA
http://www.www.artivistfilmfestival.org
May 15th - Taos Film Festival of The Arts, Taos NM
http://www.www.taosfilmfestival.com
May 17th - Amnesty International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
[Screening sponsored by UCLA Indian Studies Program]
http://www.www.amnestyusa.org/filmfest
Summary of A SEAT AT THE TABLE; Struggling For American Indian Religious Freedom
In December of 1999, seven thousand spiritual leaders and scholars from around the world converged on Cape Town, South Africa, to participate in the 3rd Parliament of The Worlds Religions. Legendary Professor of religious studies, Huston Smith (The World's Religions) attended, and hosted one-on-one conversations with a delegation of 8 American Indian leaders regarding the problems Indian people face in practicing their ceremonies in this day and age. The program includes excerpts of messages by His Holiness The Dali Lama, South African President Nelson Mandela and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anon. The ceremonial opening of the week long Parliament flamboyantly displays the rich variety of religious traditions from around the world including the performance of an Iroquois ancestral song by Grammy nominated singer Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida), who also serves as narrator for the documentary.
More info & endorsements (by Vine Deloria, Jr., Peter Coyote, Bonnie Raitt & James Cromwell) at:
http://www.dreamcatchers.org/aseatatthetable
If there is one underlying theme of Indigenous peoples' ceremonial ways, it is respect. That is, respect for every aspect of the creation. Likewise, if there is one underlying theme of the documentary, A SEAT AT THE TABLE, it is that one should not have to understand another person's religion to be able to respect it. Alas, there is a long human legacy of the followers of one religion believing themselves to be superior to the followers of other religions, even unto persecuting, even enslaving them, this in spite of edicts which teach love & compassion.
To The Rhino, it seems gravely ironic that religious beliefs, at least what some think are their religion's beliefs, are currently the source of the greatest threats to world peace. The writer Karen Armstrong has devoted years to understanding the positive & negative aspects of the world's religions. She wrote today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE, entitled, "When God Goes To War", last December, but the issues discussed are obviously as vital now as they were then, & for that matter, as they were 50 & even 500 years ago. But before that article are links to a Bill Moyers interview with Ms. Armstrong and a description of one of her many fine books, "The Battle for God; A History of Fundamentalism."
Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Karen Armstrong
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_armstrong.html
The Battle for God; A History of Fundamentalism
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?0-345-39169-1
8:21:26 AM 
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