Flying to...
9 years ago
Friday, August 17, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Death
A few months ago, one of my colleagues died, while mountain climbing in Scotland. They said he had an heart attack….Disbelief is probably the first reaction people have, when they hear such news. Now, I can’t deny it: I’m fascinated by death. Isn’t it strange that the most important event of human life is, in fact, its very end? Or perhaps it’s not even that important. There are many other interesting things about death, like the fact that it’s obscure, mysterious… and inevitable.
Today, I was caught surprised by another sad news. A person who I used to work with had died a few weeks ago in Italy.
Why do people travel so much these days?
The strange thing about death is that people’s reaction to it is not all about empathy; it’s also existential fear… fear of your own death. For one moment, you’re off guard. You’re faced with the senselessness and unpredictability of you life. A moment of insight and vulnerability, just before your damn barriers of denial take over again.
It feels strange that I just booked a ticket to Scotland… and Italy is on the schedule for August.
Read one of my other posts on death here.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Bush goes against the Congress
In a democracy: "one man, one vote".
In the U.S.: "one man, one veto".
In the U.S.: "one man, one veto".
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Abuse of power by the U.S. police state
‘UCLA Police officers shot an (Iranian-American) student several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library computer lab late Tuesday night before taking him into custody.
The student's name is "Mostafa Tabatabainejad". He was selected for a random student ID check by a student worker, but he failed to provide his ID card. He was heading towards the door with his stuff when the cops showed up and tried to escort him out. One cop put a hand on his arm to get him out and he yelled "get off me!" as a second cop walked up and the rest was taped.…’
Tabatabainejad was subjected to multiple shocks, despite the fact that he posed no resistance against his removal from the library. As a matter of fact he screamed “I’m not fighting…”, when oddly instructed not to resist.
He was forced to stand up after each shock, in spite the fact that the use of Taser guns can induce temporary muscle spasm and paralysis, making it impossible for the victim to move. Read an eyewitness account here.
Another disturbing fact is the refusal of the officers to provide their ID numbers, when students asked for it explicitly. These students were instructed not to intervene, or otherwise they would be shot by Taser as well.
Since the Police Department’s early announcement [pdf], which was released a day after the incidence, seems biased in favor of its employees, I kindly request every visitor of this site to do the following:
- Spread the word. Please send this text to as many people as you can.
- Call, fax, or mail the UCLA Police Department, and express your concern.
Telephone: 310-825-2151
Fax: 310-206-6030
E-mail: chancellor@conet.ucla.edu
You may also send an e-mail anonymously by using this link. The recipient cannot discover your identity. Flood their goddamn mailbox, be my guest!
Please remember that this case is not only about an Iranian-American student. It is about the abuse of our civil rights in the name of security and "protection".
The use of Taser gun has been considered as torture by Amnesty International.
The student's name is "Mostafa Tabatabainejad". He was selected for a random student ID check by a student worker, but he failed to provide his ID card. He was heading towards the door with his stuff when the cops showed up and tried to escort him out. One cop put a hand on his arm to get him out and he yelled "get off me!" as a second cop walked up and the rest was taped.…’
Tabatabainejad was subjected to multiple shocks, despite the fact that he posed no resistance against his removal from the library. As a matter of fact he screamed “I’m not fighting…”, when oddly instructed not to resist.
He was forced to stand up after each shock, in spite the fact that the use of Taser guns can induce temporary muscle spasm and paralysis, making it impossible for the victim to move. Read an eyewitness account here.
Another disturbing fact is the refusal of the officers to provide their ID numbers, when students asked for it explicitly. These students were instructed not to intervene, or otherwise they would be shot by Taser as well.
Since the Police Department’s early announcement [pdf], which was released a day after the incidence, seems biased in favor of its employees, I kindly request every visitor of this site to do the following:
- Spread the word. Please send this text to as many people as you can.
- Call, fax, or mail the UCLA Police Department, and express your concern.
Telephone: 310-825-2151
Fax: 310-206-6030
E-mail: chancellor@conet.ucla.edu
You may also send an e-mail anonymously by using this link. The recipient cannot discover your identity. Flood their goddamn mailbox, be my guest!
Please remember that this case is not only about an Iranian-American student. It is about the abuse of our civil rights in the name of security and "protection".
The use of Taser gun has been considered as torture by Amnesty International.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Immorality
Our world is governed by immoral leaders. Immorality!
Immorality has different faces, of which inappropriate e-mails are perhaps one of the least important….
_______
About the image: Najaf, Iraq, 31 March 2003. Iraqi man comforts his son at a holding center for prisoners of war. Photo by Jean-Marc Bouju, France, The Associated Press. World Press Photo of 2003.
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