The Supreme Court decided that the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute cases will not be taken up now, but in January, after just a four-minute hearing. “We have other priorities,” a bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said. – News 18

The demand for the Narendra Modi government to take the ordinance route to facilitate early construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya grew louder on Monday as several BJP leaders and Sangh outfits voiced their frustration with the judicial process “getting delayed”.

The demands were spurred by the Supreme Court deciding that the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute cases will not be taken up now, but in January, after just a four-minute hearing. “We have other priorities,” a bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.

Union minister Giriraj Singh sounded an ominous warning, saying he feared the consequences if there was a further delay in building the temple.

By Robert A. Vella

I hear it everyday.  People all over the world are expressing shock and disbelief over the rise of dangerous political extremism, especially the far-right variety, in the U.S., across Europe, and now even in Brazil.  That so many people still don’t understand, or simply cannot accept, the fundamental reasons why this is happening may be the biggest problem of all – for this collective ignorance and denial provides the social cover necessary for extremist movements to flourish.

If you’re looking for overly-simplistic answers (e.g. good versus evil) which can conform to your particular worldview, then you’ll be disappointed with this post.  If you are committed to the cold, hard truth, then this post provides some resources and perspectives which might be helpful.  Although I’ve been discussing the issue of rising political populism and extremism on this blog for several years, I’ll try to keep my…

• TransCanada is building a gas pipeline in southern Mexico that’s threatening to cast indigenous communities off their land. But some are refusing to yield to the pressure to leave and are taking their fight to court.

Article originally published by DW.com

As Dona Maura Aparicio Torres finished planting her corn, she saw a man walking through her field. He trampled over her plants, took photographs and scribbled in a notebook as he approached her house.

A few days later, he was back. This time, he came with a demand that she give him the paperwork for her land. “We’re going to build a pipeline here,” he told her. That was in May 2017.

Two years earlier, the Canadian company TransCanada won the contract to build the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline, a 287-kilometer (178-mile) structure that will run across four states in southern Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. The state energy authorities had…

held
to the earth
by a blossom

“What does ‘protecting people and forests,
supporting economic growth’ mean to you?”
Forest News, Gabrielle Lipton, July 12, 2018, Dateline: Indonesia

At the 2018 Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit, Forest News spoke to the director for The Nature Conservancy about rethinking the way forests factor into development, if they are to keep giving us the things we want and need.

The initial economic growth of these countries has been fueled by harvesting and selling of timber. This area holds about 60% of the world’s population, and as people’s lifestyle improves, forested land disappears in favor of agriculture, animal husbandry and mining. This results in poor air quality because of carbon emissions.

The organizations attending the Summit are working to advance ideas about ways to help the population’s economic growth continue to expand without cutting down all the trees.

Read this article here.

T Agitprop—12 Artists on Climate Change, by…

This 26 October 2018 video says about itself:

Breaking News – Newly found species of the ‘first bird’ Archaeopteryx discovered

Scientists have discovered a new species of Archaeopteryx. Dubbed Archaeopteryx albersdoerferi (artist’s impression), the late species had a number of bird-like features.

From The University of Manchester in England:

New species of ‘missing link’ between dinosaurs and birds identified

October 25, 2018

Known as the ‘Icon of Evolution’ and ‘the missing link’ between dinosaurs and birds, Archaeopteryx has become one of the most famous fossil discoveries in palaeontology.

Now, as part of an international team of scientists, researchers at The University of Manchester have identified a new species of Archaeopteryx that is closer to modern birds in evolutionary terms.

Dr John Nudds, from the University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the team have been re-examining one of the only 12 known specimens by carrying out the first…

Another paper written for my Supernatural Anthropology (ANTH 4751) class, written on December 10, 2015.

The Bishnoi, Svādhyāya, and Jain

An interesting concept any budding anthropology student is bound to come across is the idea of analyzing two seemingly different cultures and finding the similarities between them. Along with that, however, comes the skill of being able to discern the differences between two cultures that seem to be practically identical from an outsider’s point of view.

Such was the case in our assignment to compare and contrast three religious communities which share similar morals and ethics, yet differ in their focus and philosophies.

The communities we studied are the Bishnoi, the Svādhyāya and the Jain, each of which seem to be environmentally-minded religious groups that ascribe to the dharma. Though each of the communities are renowned for their ecological co-existence, the differences between them lie in their…

By Mikayla E. Sievers

Many people in the United States do not know about the religion Sikhism. Its followers, Sikhs, have made significant contributions to the US and have been a part of this country for decades. This religion has great perspectives to offer. I want to write about this religion because it is not always well-understood in the US. As I share my experiences with Sikhism, I want to recognize that my examination of this religion comes from my lens of growing up in a Judeo-Christian society. I was not raised Sikh, and my article does not represent all Sikhs and their respective thoughts. That said, I highly admire this religion and have close connections to some Sikhs, including my boyfriend.

Sikhism began over 500 years ago in a region of India called The Punjab. At this time, The Punjab faced the Mughal empire invasion, and a mix of…

Carlotta Joaquina Maury (January 6, 1874 – January 3, 1938)

In the 18th and 19th centuries women’s access to science was limited. Early female scientists were often born into influential families, like Grace Milne, the eldest child of Louis Falconer and sister of the eminent botanist and palaeontologist, Hugh Falconer. Unfortunately, their contribution has not been widely recognised by the public or academic researchers. Women collected fossils and mineral specimens, and were allowed to attend scientific lectures, but they were barred from membership in scientific societies. By the 1880, in the United States, geology was a marginal subject in the curricula of the early women’s colleges until an intense programme was started at Bryn Mawr College, a decade later.

Carlotta Joaquina Maury was born on January 6, 1874 in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. She was the youngest  sister of astronomer Antonia Maury, who worked at the Harvard College Observatory as one of the so-called Harvard Computers. She was also the granddaughter of John William…