Photo of the Week Caption

[Guest guest]

Here are the captions for this week's featured photographs, located on

the group's splash page, just below the Sri Chakra:

 

/

 

*****

 

1. A Hindu woman holds the feet of a young girl as part of a

religious ritual ceremony in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata March

27, 2007. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA)

 

2. A woman practices breathing exercises with hundreds of others

during an open air yoga camp of yoga guru Swami Ramdev in Kolkata

March 21, 2007. Ramdev, a bare-chested guru who wears a saffron

wraparound and shawl, is the rage in many parts of India and claims to

cure illnesses through breathing exercises and traditional medicines.

REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA)

[Guest guest]

i love this group. i don't participate often and could be called a 'lurker'

but the feeling of bliss i get from partcipating leads me to tell a story

that has implications. they could be misunderstood as tragic unless you

really try

to understand.

 

my guru was named Chang when she was in the flesh. she immolated herself in

1995

as a protest of civil injustice and to call attention to political

atrocities. we danced together

in Philadelphia PA USA a lot, doing satire and talking about global issues.

 

this is her picture.

[image:

kathleen.gif]<http://www.maj.com/gallery/cataleptik/kachang/kathleen.gif>

Chang was what you might call a hippie. She and I would eat food made

out of ganja. She prepared it and fed it to me. She was a severe meditator

and also a load of laughs to hang out with and know, and a great dancer.

 

Dancing with her on the college green i felt a sense of consciousness beyond

consciousness.

 

She (American name Kathleen) was not the same Chang as Iris Chang who wrote

extensively

about the rape of Nanking and then comitted suicide. But it is a

connection...

i work hard now for world peace as an activist. It's fun.

 

I am including some of her writings. That she comitted suicide by self -

immolation

is something that I am sure will affect people differently

i feel now that she is in the abode of the blessed, like a bodhisattva,

smiling on us all.

 

she typed these words, she was the teacher, i remain the student.

[image:

democratic_selfgovernment.jpg]<http://www.maj.com/gallery/cataleptik/kachang/dem\

ocratic_selfgovernment.jpg>

[image:

political_freedom.gif]<http://www.maj.com/gallery/cataleptik/kachang/political_f\

reedom.gif>

 

[image:

spiritual_benefits.gif]<http://www.maj.com/gallery/cataleptik/kachang/spiritual_\

benefits.gif>

[image:

crisis_dialogue.jpg]<http://www.maj.com/gallery/cataleptik/kachang/crisis_dialog\

ue.jpg>

 

there is more if anyone has interest --

she meant to inspire the world to awaken.

 

our connection is uncanny...

 

Kathy Change From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Change#column-one>,

search <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Change#searchInput>

 

*Kathy Change* (1950 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950> - 22

October<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_22>

1996 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996>) was a West

Philadelphian<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Philadelphia>performance

artist and political activist who killed herself in an act of

self-immolation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation> on the

University

of Pennsylvania

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania>campus in

1996. Born Kathleen Chang, she legally changed her name to Kathy

Change to indicate her commitment to political and social change. For 20

years she gave colorful one-woman street performances on Penn's campus and

around Philadelphia to protest the government, during which she danced,

sang, played the guitar, waved handmade flags, and made speeches. In a

packet of her writings that she delivered to *The Philadelphia

Inquirer<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer>

*, the *Daily Pennsylvanian<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Pennsylvanian>

*, and several of her friends and acquaintances on the morning of her death,

she explained the rationale behind her suicide:

" I want to protest the present government and economic system and the

cynicism and passivity of the people…as emphatically as I can. But

primarily, I want to get publicity in order to draw attention to my proposal

for immediate social transformation. To do this I plan to end my own life.

The attention of the media is only caught by acts of violence. My moral

principles prevent me from doing harm to anyone else or their property, so I

must perform this act of violence against myself. . . . It is a waste of

energy to get angry and gripe at the government. The government must be

replaced with a truly democratic self-government of, for and by the people.

Those working in industries essential to maintaining life should

democratically take over their workplaces and

organize<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_organizing>an

emergency economy to supply the needs of the people. The rest of the

people should meet in their communities to organize a new directly

democratic community-based self-government. "

 

Change was briefly married to Chinese American writer Frank

Chin<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Chin>

..

 

University police officer

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_officer>William Dailey was

subsequently honored at a 1997 ceremony held by the

school's Division of Public Safety, for attempting to prevent Change's

suicide. A speech given at the event cited Dailey's " heroism under

emotionally stressful and physically dangerous circumstances " . Dailey was

attracted by the flames from Change's immolation, and when he determined

that the source of the conflagration was a person, he ran forward, pushed

her to the ground, and extinguished the fire by rolling her and smothering

the flames with his patrol

jacket.[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Change#_note-0>

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 3/29/07, Devi Bhakta <devi_bhakta wrote:

>

> Here are the captions for this week's featured photographs, located on

> the group's splash page, just below the Sri Chakra:

>

> /

>

> *****

>

> 1. A Hindu woman holds the feet of a young girl as part of a

> religious ritual ceremony in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata March

> 27, 2007. REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA)

>

> 2. A woman practices breathing exercises with hundreds of others

> during an open air yoga camp of yoga guru Swami Ramdev in Kolkata

> March 21, 2007. Ramdev, a bare-chested guru who wears a saffron

> wraparound and shawl, is the rage in many parts of India and claims to

> cure illnesses through breathing exercises and traditional medicines.

> REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw (INDIA)

>

>

>

 

 

 

--

http://old.punx.com/

anti-racist-action

fight fascism, racism, sexism and homophobia

http://www.antiracistaction.com/

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Namaste, Chip the Hipster:

 

You wrote:

 

*** i love this group. i don't participate often and could be called a

'lurker' but the feeling of bliss i get from partcipating leads me to

tell a story ***

 

That's awfully sweet of you to say. It would be even more touching if

you didn't simultaneously spam the same message to a half dozen other

groups ... but who keeps track of such trifles? Oh well, it's the

thought that counts, I guess.

 

*** a story that has implications. they could be misunderstood as

tragic unless you really try to understand. ***

 

Yes, the implications could be understood in many ways indeed, but all

of them are pretty much way off topic. But thanks for sharing, luv.

 

*sigh*

 

DB