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[ by Charles Cameron — let me present a little personal joy ]
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This evening, a little sweetness entered my life, via my long-time friend Jon Lebkowsky. JonL, as I think of him, posted one of a cluster of photos on his FB page — upper panel, below — and Pat Pagani Adams asked, innocently — with question mark — lower panel —

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You know, I’ve thought of cardinals and Cardinals, many times, toyed with the idea of cardinals and Cardinals, toyed with the idea of pairing them, of an appropriate DoubleQuote to feature them — but today that opportunity has arrived.

Maybe arisen is the better word.

Today, JonL and Pat Pagani Adams have brought me, all unknowing, the ideal visual image and the ideal surprised question:

Richelieu?

I thank you both — and enjoy, friends!

[ by Charles Cameron — where Buddhists p;lay the violence card first ]
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Militant Rohingya Group Declares Cease-Fire in Myanmar https://t.co/fWsRVSH3gi

— raffpantucci (@raffpantucci) September 11, 2017

and —

on a government-sponsored village, staged photos and looters burn down a Muslim village: https://t.co/Ik9INreP3j

— Diaa Hadid ???? ???? (@diaahadid) September 11, 2017

strong>BBC, Rohingya crisis: Seeing through the official story in Myanmar

Let the photps speak for the people. They speak in water and fire as a cameo of the fight earth faces from sea, wind and fire:

Wire, >If you want to warn about global warming, this photo might do it.

[ by Charles Cameron — yes, we can feel for Muslim victims as we do in a different register for their persecutors, Buddhists untethered from their moorings ]
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When Muslims are the victims of terrorism, there isn't the fraction of western attention as when they're the perpetrators. https://t.co/yxFOR8O4TY

— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) September 2, 2017

I must respond:

Burma: #HRW Satellite Images Show Massive Fire Destruction of #Rohingya villages pic.twitter.com/laVDsLZp4D

— hipbonegamer (@hipbonegamer) September 3, 2017

Yes, the core, the deepest stratum of being — zen’s “original face” == the soul goes out. Whether heart and mind follow is variable, utterly human, as you observe.

**

Readings:

Washington Post, Hundreds are dead in Burma as the Rohingya crisis explodes again

Human Rights Watch, Burma: Satellite Images Show Massive Fire Destruction

[ by Charles Cameron — nothing origibal, others have had the same thought i
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**

Sources:

NY Times, Clinging to Her Drowning ‘Mama,’ a Little Girl Survives the Raging Flood

CBS News, Mumbai paralyzed as Flood in India kills more than 1,000

Must I choose between them?

[ by Charles Cameron — part for whole, what’s that called, synechdoche in Kabul, Houston ]
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Shoes outside places of worship tell two very different tales in these two recent news photos.

Afghanistan

The shoes here are those left behind by worshippers who entered the Shiite mosque in Khair Khana area of Kabul, Afghanistan, which was blown up by ISIS. The death toll was 43 as I am writing this.

As day follows night follows day…

Houston, Texas:

This picture is of shoes donated for those in need of them at Joel Osteen‘s Lakewood Church, which had taken something of a PR beating after Osteen said it hadn’t been opened as a shelter because the authorities hadsn’t requested it — whereas many Houston area mosques were openws without any official request begind given.

Buzzfeed reported on the resentment of OSteen that may lie behind the criticisms leveled against him on this occasion:

The speed, tone, and volume of criticisms leveled against Osteen and Lakewood Church speak to the seriousness of the flooding crisis in Houston, but also to a larger powder keg of resentment directed at a particular strain of American Christianity — Osteen’s pro-wealth prosperity gospel, and the larger evangelical movement it’s associated with — that many see as failing to be charitable to people who are truly in need.

That’s worth pondering — the backlash in itself is a significant “marker” in the sociology of American religion.

WWJD? — Matthew 6.19-21, anyone? Where’s Osteen’s treasure?

**

Sources:

TRTWorld, At least 43 dead in Daesh-led attack on Shia mosque in Kabul

Buzzfeed News, The Joel Osteen Fiasco Says A Lot About American Christianity

ShiaWaves, Dozens of Houston Area Mosques are 24/7 Shelters without being Asked