LOS ANGELES:American rapper Cardi B has apologised for appropriating Goddess Durga’s image for a magazine cover shoot.
The 28-year-old musician recently appeared on the cover of Footwear News magazine, posing as Goddess Durga with shoes in her hands, while promoting her first line of sneakers with Reebok.
In the magazine’s cover photo, Cardi B is seen holding a shoe while multiple arms stretched out around her from her shoulders.
The singer was then slammed on social media with many Indian users claiming that she has insulted the Hindu goddess, while others took offence to her outfit.
On Wednesday, Cardi B took to her Instagram story and apologised to her Indian fans.
In a video message, the musician said, “When I did the shoot, the creatives told me I was going to represent a Goddess; that she represents strength, femininity and liberation, and that’s something I love and I’m all about.”
“And though it was dope, if people think I’m offending their culture or their religion I want to say that was not my intent.
I do not like offending anyone’s religion; I wouldn’t like it if someone did it to my religion,” she added.
Cardi B maintained that her intention was not to disrespect anyone’s god.
“When people dress as Virgin Mary and Jesus, as long as they do it in a beautiful, graceful way”.
But I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful; maybe I should have done my research.
I’m sorry, I can’t change the past but I will do more research for the future,” she added.
The Dalai Lama has appealed to world leaders to take urgent action against climate change, warning of ecological destruction affecting the lives of billions and ruining the planet, including his birth country, Tibet.
As well as global climate change, industrial projects such as mining, damming and deforestation are leading to the Tibetan glacier melting at a faster rate, contributing in turn to further global warming.
Before the Chinese occupation there was almost no Tibetan industrialization, damming, draining of wetlands, fishing and hunting of wildlife. Tibet remained unfenced, its grasslands intact, its cold climate able to hold enormous amounts of organic carbon in the soil.
China has now moved millions of Tibetan nomads from their traditional grasslands to urban settlements, opening their land for the extraction of resources and ending traditional agricultural practices which have sustained and protected the Tibetan environment for centuries.
As a call to action he has brought out a new book declaring that if Buddha returned to this world, “Buddha would be green”.
In an interview for Channel 4 News and the Guardian, the Buddhist spiritual leader spoke from the Indian city of Dharamsala, where he has been exiled for six decades. He warned that “global warming may reach such a level that rivers will dry” and that “eventually Tibet will become like Afghanistan”, with terrible consequences for at least a billion people dependent on water from the plateau “at the roof of the world”.
The Tibetan plateau, dubbed the “Third Pole” and part of the “Roof of the World”, holds the third largest store of water-ice in the world and is the source of many of Asia’s rivers. Tibetan climate also generates and regulates monsoon rains over Asia.
For China’s government, Tibet’s water is another resource to be exploited, for hydro-electric power, diversion to supply people elsewhere in China, bottling as a consumer product, and even as a source of strategic influence over countries downstream who rely on water from Tibet’s rivers.
Damming has taken place or will soon take place on every major river in Tibet. These dams change water flow, create new lakes, disturb local ecosystems and have significant effects downstream, including stopping the flow of silt which makes agricultural land fertile. Dams and infrastructure such as new roads can force Tibetans from their land.
In a massive engineering project, China even plans to divert water from Tibet to feed 300 million of its own citizens.
The 85-year-old Nobel peace laureate is considered by his followers to be the earthly manifestation of an enlightened one who has chosen rebirth in order to help liberate all living beings from suffering through compassion.
Lhamo Thondup, as he was named at birth, was discovered as the latest incarnation of the Dalai Lama when he was just two years old. He uses Zoom to communicate with people around the globe these days, unable to travel or invite visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He insists, as he announced in 2011, that he is retired from politics and his leadership of the struggles for Tibetan freedom from China, and that ecology is now the thing that is “very, very important” to him.
In the week the Cop26 UN climate conference was to have been held in Glasgow, he says has high expectations of world leaders, and wants them to act on the Paris climate agreement.
Free Tibet is calling for international recognition for Tibet at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow in 2021.
Help us secure a place for Tibet at COP26. Sign our petition today and in the autumn we will take your signatures to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Environmental Affairs of participating countries.
Tibetans deserve representation and a say in their own environment.
“The United Nations should take a more active role in this field,” he says. Asked whether world leaders are failing, he says: “The big nations should pay more attention to ecology. I hope you see those big nations who spent a lot of money for weapons or war turn their resources to the preservation of the climate.”
The Dalai Lama says that if he joined a political party now, “I would like to join the Green party. Their idea is very good.”
The Dalai Lama has been known to put his foot in it with inadvertent enthusiasm, such as when he said it was possible he could be succeeded by a woman, but that she should be “very, very attractive”. He later made clear that he had meant no offence and said he was deeply sorry that people had been hurt by his words.
His suggestion for how to make world leaders see sense on climate change may also raise eyebrows, but again seems to be the product of a lively 85-year-old sense of humour. The Dalai Lama chuckles as he suggests we should lock them all in a room and “pipe carbon dioxide into it until they realise what climate change really means”. He explains that “people who have a certain luxury sort of style of life in a room without proper oxygen” would realise “it is very difficult”.
The Dalai Lama says he is in favour of large-scale tree planting to help tackle climate change. He also believes meat consumption worldwide should fall dramatically, but explains that since his own decision to go vegetarian in 1965, health problems have led doctors to advise him to resume eating a little meat.
He says his greatest personal contribution to fighting climate change is education and promoting the concept of compassion. The Dalai Lama is most passionate when talking about his idea of oneness among 7 billion people. “We see too much emphasis on my nation, my religion, their religion. That really is causing all these problems due to different religions and different nations are fighting. So now we really need oneness.” He even says he can now live as one with China, which he claims is “the biggest Buddhist population now”.
A Changpa nomadic shepherd watches over his pashmina goats near Korzok, a village in the Leh district of Ladakh. Many are rethinking their way of life, in part because of climate change. Photograph: Noemi Cassanelli/AFP/Getty Images
Nearing the end of this life, the Dalai Lama has not publicly explained how his reincarnation should be sought, or whether a 15th Dalai Lama should be found at all. He jokes that in his next life “I may be born on the Moon or Mars. Then I will starve.”
In the past he has raised the idea of being the last in the line of Dalai Lamas, perhaps to prevent China naming a politically cooperative successor. For now, he says he wants to leave that decision to others. “As long as I live I should be useful to help other people. Then after that, not my business. These are the concerns of other people.”
His advice for the rest of us living through the coronavirus pandemic is similarly practical, crediting an unnamed Indian scholar with the idea that “If there’s a way to overcome [coronavirus], then no need to worry. If there is no way to overcome, then it’s no use to worry too much either.”
The environmental changes wrought by the coronavirus were first visible from space. Then, as the disease and the lockdown spread, they could be sensed in the sky above our heads, the air in our lungs and even the ground beneath our feet.
Joint statement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Sub-Regional Representation for Central Asia, and WHO/Europe
12 November 2020
As Tripartite partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Sub-Regional Representation for Central Asia, and WHO/Europe are united in support of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2020.
Since 2015, WAAW has been focusing on awareness-raising and education towards the responsible and prudent use of the antimicrobials. Previously World Antibiotic Awareness Week, the name was changed this year to World Antimicrobial Awareness Week to reflect the breadth of the initiative. Antimicrobials include antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal and antiprotozoal agents, which are critical tools for treating diseases in humans, animals and plants.
WAAW is particularly important this year as the COVID-19 crisis is increasing the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials, including antibiotics. Unless something is done, this could worsen the growing, long-term problems of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The Tripartite recognizes the need for access to antimicrobials, as they are essential to ensure human and animal health, food supply, and food safety. However, countries need to step up implementation of their national AMR strategies and policies across sectors, as well as their commitment to tackling the emergence of AMR.
AMR is a global crisis. There is no time to wait. Everyone has a role to play in preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobials. The Tripartite calls on their Member States to strengthen measures to combat AMR, widely publicize the global challenge and encourage people to change their behaviour regarding the use of antimicrobials. Human and animal health agencies, the environment and food sectors, as well as civil society must unite efforts to preserve antimicrobial efficacy through a multisectoral One Health approach.
The AMR crisis applies to everyone. So, let us act for the sake of all humanity.
In this week’s edition of “Gospel Truth”, the late Jill Bevilacqua and Seán-Patrick Lovett bring us readings and reflections from the Gospel of St. Matthew 25:14-30.
Listen to our reflections
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'”
I was finally chosen to be in a polling sample. I was elated. I often wonder about polls, and I know plenty of people but so few of them have ever been part of a sample. But this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) chose my suburb to test run the 2021 Census.
So, dutifully, on 29 October, those in my household answered all the questions we were asked to address. The process was straightforward, easy to follow, and all done online. We were glad to be part of a process which will help researchers and policy-makers to understand the nature and composition of the Australian community.
All except when it came to the question concerning religion. I presume the sample was produced because the Bureau wants to get this right. If so, the questions that are asked about religion must change. Researchers and policymakers need an accurate picture of our religious landscape. Without significant improvement, the Census will give poor quality, confused, and — worse — misleading information. Whether intentional or not, the question elicited information that is necessarily misleading or unrepresentative.
Want the best of Religion & Ethics delivered to your mailbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Newsletter Subscribe
The question on religion provided multiple choice answers organised by “no religion”, denomination of choice, and religion of choice. The initial (perhaps, the default?) position went to “no religion”, which was left in a category of its own and separated by a line before denominations and religions were listed. The religions and denominations seemed to be listed in descending order according to their number of adherents as per the last Census. So Catholic and Anglican were at the top of the list, while others like Hindus and Baptists were further down. Finally, there was a box to indicate any other religion that did not appear on the list.
I find Census information to be most useful and I’m glad that our nation devotes the time, attention, and resources to gathering accurate information about the population. As a person deeply involved in religion, I’m particularly interested in religious statistics — as, I’m sure, are other “religious practitioners”. It is important to measure the steady decline of the old European denominations of Christianity, and the increase in both non-Western, non-Christian religions and “no religion”.
But a partial picture can be worse than no picture at all — especially when the part that is provided comes with the authority and imprimatur of the ABS. Such a partial picture can lead not only to the perpetuation of inaccuracies and outright falsehoods in journalistic reporting (which is far from uncommon when it comes to religion) and polemical lobbying, but also to bad decisions in the area of public policy. Our national life suffers when the make-up of the nation is misrepresented due to sloppy census data collection.
The right question to ask is not which denomination you belong to, but which religion — Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism or Islam. Furthermore, to ask only about Christian denominations ignores important distinctions between, for instance, Sunni and Shi’a within the Muslim community. The way the question was framed, moreover, ignores or elides the reality that within Australia there is a growing number of active Christians who have little to no denominational affiliation or interest.
With 30 per cent of Australians identifying with the description “no religion” in the 2016 Census, it is important to clarify the meaning of “no religion”. So, for example, some Australians claim they are “spiritual” but not religious; others say they are agnostic or largely disinterested in religion; and still others insist they are convinced atheists. Lumping all those who describe themselves as having “no religion” together, while differentiating Christians down to denominations that make up less than one per cent of the population, cannot help but produce a distorted picture of Australian society and the ways it is changing.
It is easy to make a complaint and not offer an alternative, but not particularly helpful. So, let me recommend to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the following:
1. That all options, including “no religion”, be presented alphabetically.
2. That the basic question be divided between:
Buddhism
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
No religion
Other
3. That one’s belonging to particular religious denominations or sects (including those within Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and so on) and more precise specifications of what one means by “no religion” (atheist, agnostic, no interest, spiritual) be offered as sub-questions beneath these more basic religious groupings.
For the sake of continuity and the discernment of emerging trends, it is important that such questions allow for comparisons from one Census to the next. What I am suggesting would allow such comparisons to be made, but it would also give us a more accurate picture of a vital aspect of Australian society.
As a Christian, I am concerned for the truth. Of course, I would like to see Christianity growing in Australia. But that has to be a reality, and not a wish or a distorted Census report. A picture of reality is what the Census should provide. But at the moment, if the ABS continues with its sample Census, we will not have reality but half-truths and distortions that are impossible to usefully evaluate.
As our society changes and grows increasingly multicultural and religiously diverse, it is vital that the questions we ask about religion keep pace with those changes and not keep repeating anachronistic or unrepresentative categories. The changes that a regular Census shows must change the Census itself. The growth in the number of, say, Muslims and Hindus in Australian society warrants finding out more about their particular religious adherence.
The growth of “no religion” — since being moved from the bottom of the list to the top in the Census — also warrants clarification. At its most basic level, it is important to understand whether this represents a growth in atheism or a rejection of organised religion. Likewise, differentiating between Christian denominations at a time when such differences are diminishing, but leaving the far more differentiated category of “no religion” as a single entity, strikes me as ridiculous. If the “no religion” category has grown over recent decades to nearly one third of the population, it is archaic and anachronistic for the Census itself to remain unchanged.
The European Union said earlier this week it will impose tariffs on up to four billion dollars’ worth of U.S. goods and services, including some agricultural imports.
The move comes out of a dispute over U.S. assistance for Boeing, which is a bitter rival to Europe’s Airbus. According to NewsTribune.com, European trade ministers agreed on the move a few weeks after international arbitrators gave the EU the go-ahead for implementing the tariffs.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that some of the U.S. support for Boeing was illegal and said the EU could make up for that with a limited amount of duties on U.S. trade. The tariffs are officially in effect on Tuesday.
“Regrettably, despite our best efforts and due to the lack of progress from the U.S. side, we can confirm that the European Union will exercise our rights and impose the countermeasures,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Commission’s executive vice president.
It was a year ago that the WTO ruled similarly for the United States, allowing it to impose duties on EU goods worth up to $7.5 billion because of European support for Airbus.
The EU Trade Commission is calling on the U.S. to agree that both sides will drop their countermeasures immediately so that they can put the issue behind them.
… head out to the Voices Book Nook in the old Lincoln … advantage of their half-price book sale that continues until Saturday … pick up all kinds of books on travel, adventure, mystery, love … to have at least 10 books by my bed, beckoning me …
ANKARA — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned visit to Turkey got off to a rocky start on Wednesday when Ankara criticised his decision to raise the issue of religious freedom.
Washington’s top diplomat will be in Istanbul next Monday and Tuesday as part of a seven-nation tour that also takes him to France and parts of the Middle East.
The Istanbul leg is notable for an absence of scheduled meetings with any top Turkish officials.
His only planned talks are with Bartholomew I of Constantinople — the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox world.
The State Department said Pompeo wanted to “discuss religious issues in Turkey and the region and to promote our strong stance on religious freedom around the world”.
The meeting with the patriarch will come four months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan converted Istanbul’s emblematic Hagia Sophia monument into a mosque.
Pompeo publically criticised the conversion in July.
The Turkish foreign ministry called Pompeo’s chosen subject matter for the visit “completely irrelevant”.
“It would be more suitable for the US to first look in the mirror and show the requisite sensitivity towards human rights violations in the country such as racism, Islamophobia and hate crimes,” it said in the English-language statement.
Relations between Washington and its strategic NATO ally have run hot and cold during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Erdogan has cultivated close personal relations with Trump and been able to call him up directly to try to influence specific policy decisions.
But Ankara and Washington have also sparred over US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey views as a grave security threat.
Erdogan congratulated Joe Biden for his election victory on Tuesday — three full days after it was called by US media.
He followed that up by sending a separate message to Trump a few hours later expressing thanks for his “warm friendship” and saying he stood by his side “no matter how the official election result is certified”.
The Turkish foreign did not explain why none of its officials had planned meetings with Pompeo.
But it noted that its “reaction” to his visit “has been duly conveyed to the US side, together with our advice to focus instead primarily on increasing the cooperation between our countries regarding regional and global matters”.
The free movement of capital is a key long-standing objective of the European Union. It is one of the pillars of the Single Market, along with the free movement of people, goods and services. Despite the Commission’s efforts to achieve the ambitious goal of building a capital markets union (CMU), results are still to come, according to a report presented by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) today.
In an ideal world, I shouldn’t know a politician’s or Supreme Court justice’s religious beliefs.
I think religion should be a private matter that isn’t used to garner support from voters and other people.
I especially don’t think taxpayer dollars should be allocated to churches.
Churches have seen an increase in federal funds
According to NPR, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said President Trump and Vice President Pence “made sure” churches would be included in the Small Business Administration (SBA) providing economic relief.
Under the Trump administration, the federal government has already been providing funds directly to churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious organizations, according to NPR.
In 2018, the Federal Emergency Management Agency changed its rules to make houses of worship eligible for disaster aid.
The new SBA program significantly increased federal funding of religious institutions.
Under the new Paycheck Protection Program, businesses with fewer than 500 employees, including faith-based organizations, are eligible to receive loans of up to $10 million, with at least 75% of the money going to cover payroll costs.
The loans are largely forgivable, so churches and other houses of worship don’t have to worry about paying all the money back.
Bankruptcy exceptions
According to Associated Press, four dioceses sued the federal government to receive loans, even though they had entered bankruptcy proceedings due to the mounting number of clergy sexual abuse claims.
The Small Business Administration rules prohibit loans to applicants in bankruptcy.
However, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a now-closed and notorious treatment center for predator priests, prevailed in court, receiving nearly $1 million.
On the U.S. territory of Guam, well over 200 clergy abuse lawsuits led the Archdiocese of Agana to seek bankruptcy protection, but they received at least $1.7 million.
Pandemic relief
According to Associated Press, the U.S. Roman Catholic Church’s haul of federal aid may have reached, or even exceeded, $3.5 billion, making them among the biggest winners in the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts.
So, while according to the Internal Revenue Service, “churches and religious organizations are generally exempt from income tax and receive other favorable treatment under the tax law,” they are receiving billions in taxpayer funds that they are largely not contributing to in the first place.
Meanwhile, many small businesses that do not have mounting numbers of sexual abuse cases and bankruptcy found themselves with a dire lack of aid, causing thousands of businesses across the country to close their doors either temporarily or permanently.
These bailouts were a gross misuse of emergency aid.
‘In God We Trust’
The phrase “In God We Trust” should absolutely not be the official motto of the U.S., nor should it be printed on our money.
In 1956, President Eisenhower (R) signed a law making “In God We Trust” the official U.S. motto. The law also mandated that the motto must be printed on all U.S. currency.
In an entry in The Society Pages, Lisa Wade, an author with a PhD in sociology, wrote that the political motivation behind the new official motto was not to appease Christian Americans, but to claim moral high ground over and demonize the Soviet Union.
Wade wrote, “Placing ‘In God We Trust’ on the U.S. dollar was a way to establish the United States as a Christian nation and differentiate them from their enemy.”
But, the U.S. is not a Christian nation. According to Pew Research Center, only 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade.
About 26% of Americans describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” up by 9% since 2009. This means about 85.3 million people in the U.S. do not affiliate with a religion.
Besides the decline of Christianity, a nation founded on valuing a secular government should not be endorsing a deity of any kind in its official national motto.
Instead, we should be using our original de facto motto, “E pluribus unum,” which is Latin for “out of many, one.” This motto was put on the Great Seal by the Founding Fathers. Or, come up with a new one altogether.
‘Under God…’
I also strongly believe the phrase “under God” should be taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
According to USHistory.org, the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by a socialist minister named Francis Bellamy.
Originally, the pledge didn’t have “under God” in it. It wasn’t until 1954 that President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add “under God” to the pledge, an obvious violation of religious freedom.
While no one is forced to say the pledge, it doesn’t make sense for a part of it to be directly citing God, a deity many people in the U.S. don’t believe in.
On top of that, having God in the pledge directly infringes on the Bill of Rights.
In the very first amendment, the Bill of Rights states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Putting God in the pledge is prohibiting the free exercise of religion.
Public schooling
The unwilling indoctrination of children into a religion should not be taxpayer-funded, meaning prayer and religious religious rituals should definitely be kept out of public schools.
Children and their families can practice whatever they’d like in private schools and at home, but following a religion should not be part of what public schools teach.
Political campaigns and religion
Politicians should not make their religion one of their main campaign themes to encourage people to vote for them.
Instead, they should prove they are ethical through their policies and what they plan to do for the country.
Politicians can, of course, draw upon their religion for guidance, but gaining votes through claiming to be a part of a religion is an exploitation of people’s religions and beliefs.
Religious symbols on government property
In addition to these things, religious symbolism should not be displayed on government property.
With the exception of someone’s private office, any symbolism of religion on government property violates the first amendment.
If any religious symbolism is displayed, then symbolism from all other religions should be displayed as well. If this is not the case, then it is discriminatory.
What if it weren’t Judeo-Christianity?
If anyone objects to the principle of separation of church and state, I ask you, would you be okay with your tax money being funneled into a religion you are not a part of?
Your child being taught a religion that you don’t believe in public school?
How about religious symbolism from a religion you oppose on government property?
It is easy to turn a blind eye, or even support it, when a religion that is being funded by the government is a religion you’re a part of.
The church and state should not coincide with each other. Politicians shouldn’t be endorsing churches and vice versa.
Taxpayer money should absolutely not be given to any religious organization, and if the church expects bailouts then they need to start contributing taxes.
According to the Bill of Rights Institute, Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, writer of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the U.S., wrote in a letter to a Baptist Church:
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
