The Buddha on judgement and acceptance
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist Siddharta Gautama the Buddha was born in Southern Nepal in 563 or 480 BC, depending which scholar one chooses. Buddhists around the world celebrate his birthday in the months...
Category: Nick Gier
‘Panama Papers’ force resignation of Iceland’s Prime Minister
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist The “Panama Papers,” millions of documents released by a German newspaper, has uncovered major international financial misdealing. The papers were leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, which...
Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist As we celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s 273rd birthday next week, we need to be reminded about what a controversial figure he was. In the election of 1800 he was called...
The nation’s public defender crisis:
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist For almost a century the American Civil Liberties Union has been in the forefront in protecting the people’s constitutional rights. For this column I will focus on the Sixth...
America’s largest slave rebellion and the mutilation of Louisiana cane cutters
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist “If heads on poles were symbols of control, they were also symbols of the ritual violence that was the constant underlying element of Louisiana society.” —Daniel Rasmussen, “American Uprising:...
Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn:
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist “Sanders would be a GOP dream. America will never go socialist.” —Bill O’Reilly The last stop on my month-long trip to Europe last September was London. The London papers...
Republicans still clinging to a mythical Ronald Reagan
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist February 6 is former President Ronald Reagan’s 115th birthday, and the myths about him, many times over refuted, continue to intoxicate the minds of many Americans. The GOP presidential...
Bayard Rustin:
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist As a politically active black man in 1950s and 1960s, Bayard Rustin had, in addition to his race, three strikes against him: he was a pacifist; he was a...
The Genocide of the Hazaras:
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist “All Shias are liable to be killed. We will rid Pakistan of [this] impure people. Pakistan means land of the pure, and the Shia have no right to live...
Three faces of Domestic Terrorism:
By Nick Gier Reader Columnist Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, speaking about his decision to open his city to Syrian refugees, said that he was more afraid of domestic attacks rather than those inspired by...
