International Events IX: I feel like a mushroom

[maarsen]

50 minutes ago, Zorral said:

These observations are important nationally, bringing information that so many people don't have -- it has been heartening to see Juneteenth observations here becoming something that matters nationally now, where, throughout the rest of the 19th and the 20th centuries, Juneteenth was uttterly unknown outside of some Black communities whose families had been enslaved in Texas.  (Quite a few of them moved to NY state, so when young I mistakenly believed that Juneteenth was a New York matter -- I didn't know about the enslavers' messes in TX back at the end of the Waw of Rebellion.)

I always liked to think that I was well read and aware of history but I had never heard of Juneteenth until just a few years ago. Live and learn. I am glad I am still learning.

[TheLastWolf]

Floods in Assam (again) here in India

[TheLastWolf]

And polarizing politics is back with a bang after the ruling right wing religious fundamentalist govt's party spokesperson insulted the Islamic Prophet leading to riots, beheadings and general mutual resentment. In India of course.

[TheLastWolf]

Late triple post

 

This caused the expected outrage

Quote

A film poster that depicts a woman dressed as Hindu goddess Kali smoking a cigarette has sparked anger in India.

Director Leena Manimekalai had tweeted the poster of her new film Kaali on Saturday.

On Tuesday, police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh registered a complaint against the director for the "disrespectful depiction" of Hindu gods.

Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction, is worshipped by millions of people.

Ms Manimekalai's tweet had generated thousands of responses from angry Hindus, who accused her of offending their religious sentiments.

On Monday night, the Indian High Commission in Canada said it had asked the organisers of the event where Ms Manimekalai's film was to be screened to withdraw the "provocative" poster.

It added that it had also conveyed "complaints from leaders of the Hindu community in Canada" to the organisers.

Earlier in the day, Ms Manimekalai's name had trended on social media in India as many called for her arrest.

The filmmaker, who is currently studying in Canada, told the BBC that the goddess she depicts in her film "champions humanity and embraces diversity".

"As a poet and filmmaker, I embody Kali in my own independent vision," she said.

The depiction of religious figures on screen is a sensitive issue in India. In 2015, the country's censor board demanded several cuts in the Bollywood film Angry Indian Goddesses, which showed images of Hindu goddesses.

Many other filmmakers and actors have faced protests for portraying religious themes or references in their movie.

India has also recently seen major protests from Muslims over comments made by a politician about the Prophet Muhammad. Last week, police in Rajasthan state arrested two Muslim men who have been accused of killing a Hindu man - in a video, they said the act was in retaliation for his support for the remarks.

Several Twitter users said the depiction of the goddess on the poster was an insult to Hinduism and called for legal action against the filmmaker.

Others asked for all religious sentiments to be respected.

Vinit Goenka, a spokesperson for the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, said the projection of the goddess hurt "the sentiments of Indians across the world" and asked the Indian government to ensure the tweet was taken down.

A lawyer in the capital, Delhi, tweeted that he had filed a police complaint against Ms Manimekalai.

The director, who is from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is a film student in Toronto. She was among 18 graduate students chosen under a programme managed by the Toronto Metropolitan University to make works on multiculturalism.

The film, Ms Manimekalai says, is a "candid shoot" of herself dressed up as a goddess walking the streets of Toronto.

"In my film, Kali chooses me as a spirit, holds a Pride flag and a camera in her hands and meets the First Nations (indigenous people), the People of African, Asian, Persian descent, the Jews, the Christians, the Muslims and the mini-universe that one can capture across any cross-section of Canada," she says.

Deities are a recurring theme in Ms Manimekalai's filmography. Her 2007 documentary Goddesses was screened at the Mumbai and Munich film festivals. Her 2019 film, Maadathy - An Unfairy Tale, told the fictional story of how a young girl from a marginalised caste group is immortalised as a deity.Minor gets raped so sensitive

Ms Manimekalai says that the scene in the poster depicts the goddess showing love as she "kindly accepts the cigarette from the working-class street-dwellers at the park around the Kensington Market".

She also adds that in village festivals in southern India, people often dress up as Kali, drink country liquor and dance.

"We artists cannot be choked by the climate of fear. We need to be louder and stronger," she said.

Maadathy imdb 

It is worth noting that the director has come under flak for depicting the LGBTQIA+ rainbow flag alongside a goddess from a society that is very conservative and homophobic. Also that Kali (Parvati/Sati/Shakti other incarnations or avatars) is the consort/wife of Lord Shiva, one of the most important gods in Hindu mythology who incidentally is the psychedelic hippie trippie meditating dancing in a trance guy. He is also seen depicted smoking a ganja (marijuana) filled chillum in several places. Kumbh mela aghori sadhus for the anthropologists. It's just that the idea of a female goddess being depicted with woke modern sensitivities is troubling for the bigots.

 

Also with Stranger things trending now, Kali is the name of 008/011's sister. Also in S04v01E01 pre opening credits, Dr.Brenner solves a crossword in '79, where 54 down is the name of Shiva's wife four letters. He writes Kali ofc. 

[TheLastWolf]

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-ex-prime-minister-abe-may-have-been-shot-taken-hospital-nhk-2022-07-08/

Minutes ago 

[JGP]

Craziness. 

Just saw something citing he may have had a heart attack as well, enroute to the hospital.

[Corvinus85]

Based on a photo shown of him, he may have been shot close to the heart, hence the cardiac arrest, too.

And didn't he step down as PM because of health reasons?

[A Horse Named Stranger]

The media talk is about cardiac and pulmonary failure (or something). Which apparently is code for presumed dead. It's not official as the death certificate is not signed (yet?), but it probably means Abe is dead.

Edit, their National Television reversed their initial reporting. So his condition is unclear. 

[Wall Flower]

According to the Japanese PM's press conference, doctors are still working to save Abe's life - currently in critical condition. Confirmed as a shooting.

[TheLastWolf]

Gone

[Heartofice]

Quite shocking news, especially from Japan. The event has highlighted just how few gun deaths occur there, there was 3 in 2017. The gun laws there are incredibly strict, the hoops you need to go through to get one are many. 
 

I don’t know enough about Japan to understand why someone might want to kill Abe however 

[Padraig]

14 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

I don’t know enough about Japan to understand why someone might want to kill Abe however 

He certainly seemed to be the most controversial Japanese PM in recent times (last 30 years).  The only one I could easily name.

He had a more nationalistic view of things, most notably by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine several times (which commemorates those who died in wars, including war criminals), which upsets China and Korea.

[Luzifer's right hand]

23 minutes ago, Padraig said:

He certainly seemed to be the most controversial Japanese PM in recent times (last 30 years).  The only one I could easily name.

He had a more nationalistic view of things, most notably by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine several times (which commemorates those who died in wars, including war criminals), which upsets China and Korea.

On a sidenote gun related homicides are so low in Japan that this will probably effect statistics...

[Fez]

1 hour ago, Padraig said:

He had a more nationalistic view of things, most notably by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine several times (which commemorates those who died in wars, including war criminals), which upsets China and Korea.

True. But an anti-nationalist assassin seems somewhat odd, especially in a country where political violence is basically non-existent. And even moreso considering he was retired.

I've no idea if Japanese police publicly disclose investigation details though, or if we'll never know what the motives here were.

[Padraig]

15 minutes ago, Fez said:

But an anti-nationalist assassin seems somewhat odd, especially in a country where political violence is basically non-existent. And even moreso considering he was retired.

Fair point and apologies.  My post does read like it was responding to the question "why was he killed?"  I was just making a general point about Abe attracting controversy but i'm sure there were many potential salient issues (not just nationalism).

The BBC is saying that the suspected shooter told officers he had a grudge against a specific group he believed Abe was connected to.  But it doesn't mention what the group is.

[TormundsWoman]

2 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

On a sidenote gun related homicides are so low in Japan that this will probably effect statistics...

Lol I know it’s horrible to laugh when considering the event but this is hilarious. 

[Luzifer's right hand]

16 minutes ago, TormundsWoman said:

Lol I know it’s horrible to laugh when considering the event but this is hilarious. 

I'm not kidding.

In 2021, there were 10 shooting incidents, eight involving gangsters, according to police data. One person was killed and four wounded.

According to a quick googling...

That is without suicides or accidents only attacks.

[DMC]

3 hours ago, Padraig said:

The BBC is saying that the suspected shooter told officers he had a grudge against a specific group he believed Abe was connected to.  But it doesn't mention what the group is.

Similarly, the AP report says the assailant's motives were non-political:

Quote

NHK reported that the suspect served in Japan’s navy for three years in the 2000s and that he said he wanted to kill Abe because he had complaints that were not related to political views.

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Abe held some horrible views. The most disugsting one, was his desire to do away with Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Which outlaws war as a means to settle international disputes.

He failed on that account, as there were not enough crazy people to follow him. In short he was a nationalist piece of work.

[Ran]

1 hour ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Abe held some horrible views. The most disugsting one, was his desire to do away with Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Which outlaws war as a means to settle international disputes.

He did not want to do away with it, as I understand it, he wanted it revised to broaden Japan's capabilities to defend itself against North Korea and China, especially at the urging of the US who feels that even with American security guarantees that Japan's Self-Defense Forces would be woefully unprepared if China started an armed conflict.

The revision he wanted was simply an added clause to acknowledge the existence of the JSDF, which currently is not explicitly defined in Japan's constitution and only has legislative and judicial imprimatur that not everyone accepts.