Ashram leaders have lost touch with the public interest, says MP

KUALA LUMPUR: Trustees of Vivekananda Ashram in Brickfields have been urged to step down and allow more responsible and caring people to manage the historic building.

DAP national vice-chairman M Kula Segaran said today that the trustees had lost touch with public needs and interests by rejecting a government proposal to preserve and conserve the ashram as a national heritage.

The Heritage Department issued a conservation notice on Jan 14 to the trustees.

However the trustees rejected the proposal, and proposed to go ahead with redevelopment on the ashram site and the surrounding area to numerous open protests and signature campaigns by concerned citizens.

The trustees should just leave. Let people who have the heart and soul to manage the Ashram in the interest of the people, said Kula, who is MP for Ipoh Barat.

He reminded the trustees of the words of Swami Vivekananda about truth: Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go; the sooner the better.

He urged the lay public to force out the trustees. Let us tell the trustees, the so called intelligent people, the truth and demand they leave, the sooner the better, he said.

The Vivekananda Ashram site has been earmarked for a proposed a 23-storey residential tower with 264 apartment and an eight-storey car park.

Public protests have mounted against demolition of the ashram. Kula said the redevelopment would change the character of Brickfields and erase the historic ashram. This must not be allowed to happen.

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Get out, Kula tells trustees of Vivekandanda

BANGKOK In deeply religious Thailand, monks have long been revered. But badly behaved clergy, corruption scandals, and the vast wealth amassed by some temples has many asking if something is rotten at the heart of Thai Buddhism.

From selfies on private jets to multimillion-dollar donations from allegedly crooked businessmen, Thailands monks are coming under increasing fire for their embrace of commercialism so much so that even the military junta is threatening to intervene.

In Wat Hua Lumphong, a temple in downtown Bangkok, garlands of bank notes flutter in the breeze as trader Sakorn Suker slips a 20 baht note ($1) into an urn.

It makes me feel good, boosts my health and makes me do better business, Suker said.

His donation entitles him to take a lucky floating candle in the shape of a flower.

Nearby, coin-operated machines similar to jukeboxes, but with a Buddha statue on top churn out lucky numbers for the faithful as kneeling devotees hand over envelopes stuffed with cash. Many pick up a tax-reduction certificate on their way out.

In one corner of the temple complex sits a monk in an air-conditioned box.

Donation means sacrifice. You sacrifice your things, sacrifice your time, sacrifice your money, sacrifice your heart, explained the monk, Pra Maha Noppadom.

In contrast to the increasingly empty pews and coffers of many European churches, temples remain a boom business in Thailand.

The overwhelmingly Buddhist nation is one of the most generous countries in the world, according to the 2014 World Giving Index.

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Checkbook Buddhism offers Thais a stairway to heaven but brings corruption to temples

Thank the lord, nobody got dragged today. Kandi

Pretty much no one and nothing escapes these Real Housewives shows without tarnishing their character to an irreparable degree, embarrassing themselves, and wearing some weave/statement necklace-chandelier/booty short that will one day haunt their dreams. But the Philippines has done the unthinkable: It came in, it made a splash, it solved everyones problems, and it exited with its head held high, nothing but Porshas ass imprint on the back of a tiny horse left as proof that Bravo was ever there at all.

In the last two episodes of RHOA, the Philippines served as the psychological healing that Dr. Jeff wishes he was. Im sorry, Dr. Jeff, but in order for Atlantas fanciest professional fighters to do the work, they need a fleet of massage therapists, horses, and tour guides to lead them up to their own personal volcano photo shoot, and a butler from whom to demand even more massages. Basically, they need a bunch of people to do the work for them so that theyre greased up enough to squeeze out a few tears and apologize for all the times they reminded a few million people that their co-workers last name rhymed with whore.

I dont believe for a Manila-minute that all this peace, love, and booty roll will last much longer than a bottle of moscato in Claudia refrigerator when these seven women get back to Atlanta, but I am thankful for whatever peaceful moments we get, especially if it means putting Kenya and Phaedras feud behind us and forgetting WhoreGate 2013-15 ever happened (that means you too, Cynthia). But thats easier said than done, so after agreeing to have a conversation to try and move past their troubled past, Phaedra and Kenya spend the majority of tonights episode working up to following through on their word. The women continue to call this pending conversation a one-on-one and I continue to think, Can you imagine being on an international trip with someone that you have to schedule an appointment with in order to be able to have a rational conversation? I continue to answer myself, No, I cannot, so why do I keep watching this? Who cares, lets rewind to that twerking competition on a moving bus one more time! RHOA is breaking me.

The episode begins with the seven women taking a charter bus that seats 50 from their peaceful spa to the city life of Manila. The sheer amount of gas wasted for Real Housewives trips has probably shaved 10 years off of humanitys life span. But if they didnt have all that space then Porsha couldnt throw out her fishing line to try and see if anyone takes the bait on telling her she has the best ass in the cast (even though shes not in the cast). Everyone is saying Demetriacoincidentally, also not in the castis surely the best twerker but Porsha didnt leave most of her butt cheeks hanging out on a two-hour bus ride for nothing, and stands up to jiggle her hat into the ring. If this trip to the Philippines has done anything, its asserted that each lady has an impressive behind. Also, that theyre capable of having a really good time together, but surely thats secondary to all the asses.

After checking into their presidential suite, Claudia has arranged a horseback ride to the top of a volcano, and man, does it look like a cool thing to do, and man, is envy not an emotion Im accustomed to having while watching this show. Snapping me right back into reality though, is the constant parade of outfits that everyone is wearing; probably the best thing about this episode is looking at all seven women while theyre in a group and realizing that they got dressed in preparation for the exact same event, but ended up in such widely ranging ensembles. For their horseback ride, Cynthia is in overalls and a cowboy hat, Porsha is wearing kind of an even more S&M version of the Princess Leia bikini (the Princess of THOT-land, rather), Phaedra is rocking a Canadian-shorts-tuxedo, and in the end, it starts to rain so theyre all wearing yellow plastic emergency ponchos, which is just delightful. When they get back to the bottom of the volcano, Phaedra has a moment with her tour guide, who has told her on the way down that her husband had passed away a few years ago and she has five children she is supporting on her own. Phaedra gives her some money and tells her through a translator that she doesnt want her to give up, and that her story has blessed her. Its niceIm not used to nice Phaedra.

And the people of Manila probably arent used to seeing women in six-inch stilettos breeze through their local market to try durian. In short, here are the most baffling things that happen in regard to produce on this episode of RHOA:

3. Cynthia tries to explain what a lychee fruit is by saying, you know, like a lychee martini, all the while, Im pretty sure what shes actually looking at is a mangosteen you know, like a mangosteen martini. 2. Porsha acts affronted that the only shopping theyll be doing is in a local marketWheres Tom Ford, Wheres Gucci, Wheres my Louboutin? Girl, theyre back in Atlanta, now have some respect! 1. But really, the less I know about what Porsha shops for and does back in Atlanta, the better. At some point, she looks at a somewhat phallic fruit that one of the other women describes as being soft and says, I say put it in the microwave and have a good night. I say, NO.

NEXT: They say the neon lights are bright on

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Atlanta 'Housewives': 'From Zen to Sin'

SALT LAKE CITY Victor Pardini lived 20 years with the heart of a woman.

He received the heart, which belonged to a 35-year-old female aerobics instructor from Idaho, after doctors said he wouldn't live more than mere minutes after suffering a sudden heart attack. That was in 1995.

Pardini, however, lived until about eight months ago. He died from a kidney infection in August.

"He went through quite an experience for several years, but he really did lead a very good life," his wife, Karla Pardini, said Wednesday. She said the transplant process and meeting the family of the woman who gave her husband life has been "an incredible experience."

More than 123,300 people in the United States are awaiting vital organs, 800 of them living in Utah, according to Intermountain Donor Services, the federally regulated organ procurement organization serving Utah, southern Idaho and southwestern Wyoming.

"When a family is faced with making the decision about organ donation, it's often a traumatic event," said Alex McDonald, director of public education and public relations for Intermountain Donor Services. He said a lot of people have questions and a lot of those questions stem from religion.

"As you can imagine, when you're talking about death, heaven, hell and eternity, these things are extremely important," McDonald said.

Become a Donor

Representatives from various religions agreed Wednesday that organ donation is a very personal decision that can benefit families in many ways, but it is not a shameful thing if declined.

"Anything we can do to further life is a blessing, is a mitzvah, is a commandment," said Rabbi Ilana Schwartzman, leader of the Jewish Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City. "We know we live on in the memories of the people we knew in the world and in the acts of good we do in this life."

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Religious leaders weigh in on organ donation