
Christmas Banners by: Simon Howden

Believe By Josh Groban
On Life, Love, Health, Books, Politics and Human Rights
Photographer: Tina Phillips
When you RT your friends, please don’t cut off the person who originated the info. It’s not good twitter etiquette and the person you cut off will not forget it. A few days ago, I RTd a tweep on some great photography he had researched. A friend of mine RTd me, cut off his name and just used my name. Then others who knew him ended up RTing the photographs, giving me credit for it. And although I really do appreciate the fact that they went out of their way and RTd me, I was embarrassed at the same time. Because had it not been for the originator, I would have never had that link to begin it.
Photography by
“Youth is wasted on the young” ~George Bernard Shaw
Today I’m a much happier person than when I was in my 20s and 30s. My whole life, I have never been a sheep by following other people's path. I have lived my life exactly the way I wanted and have done everything I have always wanted. So if I happen to die tomorrow, I will die a happy person with no regrets. But many people are not like me. Their eyes are always on what someone else has and does - they compare themselves to those around them. However, this is not a good philosophy because it makes them feel unfulfilled - the more they have, the less satisfied they feel.
Photograph by: Juan Gnecco
For centuries, Iranians have made fun of the Turks the same way Americans have made fun of the Poles and of course I would never laugh at these jokes because not only are they not true but also they encourage racism and bigotry. However, after reading that the Turkish judicial system spent a two-year-long trial on two men for negligible crimes, I can’t help but to think many of the jokes were actually true but should have been aimed at the Turkish judicial system rather than at the average citizen who is far more superior to some of these judges.
The average person with an average intelligence and no law degree might ask a simple question, namely, what were their crimes? Did they murder someone? Were they involved in armed rubbery? Did they rape a child? And the answer would be no to all of the above questions. Their crime my dear friends was that they stole four pairs of shoes. What was that you ask? Two years of trial for stealing 4 pairs of shoes? Doesn’t the Turkish government have better things to do with their time? Obviously not.
Well, here is the irony that’s worse than the 2 year trial – they were sentenced to 21 years. And in a normal circumstance thinking that it was all a stupid joke, I would guffaw, giving my stomach a good exercise, but unfortunately I cannot laugh at this. It is all true. Twenty-one years for four pairs of shoes and thus this post explains why I picked out a Jackass to represent
Image provided by Dino De Luca
I open my email box and the fist thing I see is not the list of unopened mail but rather the news of a 5-year-old murdered. My fingers freeze on my key board. My body is numb. Not because I have never seen or heard of such things but because the article says her mother sold her. The article stares at me, taunting me to react. I can no longer hold back and give in. How do you forget this? How do you put it out your mind? A child who must’ve suffered so horrifically before death, never given a chance to live life. I don’t get it. I don’t think I will ever understand this world. So much cruelty. Everyone keeps saying focus on the good but it’s difficult when a mother sells her child for sex. It’s not yet 100% certain what has happened but if she did sell her daughter, I will never understand her. Never…Never...
How can we defend human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan when according to VFP (veterans for peace) and a new department of defense study, 1 in every 3 woman in US military is raped. In 2007, 10% of the rapes reported were army men. On
It all started with a March in
Leah Bolger, another member of the VFP who was never sexually assaulted because of her rank in the army, says “when you’re an officer, your chances of getting raped is less than when you are a junior who is afraid to report the rape in fear of losing his/her job.” Unfortunately, recruiters aren’t warning the recruits that they have a 33% chance of being sexually assaulted when they join the
Staff Sgt Sandra Lee has been threatened and booted to leave by the
On the surface, the cap and trade bill seems as though it’s an effort to tackle climate change but the legislation which is over 1000 pages long is filled with obscure language in order to confuse the politicians and the public. Waxman of California who rarely represents the needs of “Californians” told News Week: “Today we have taken decisive and historic action to promote
The Cap and Trade Bill, as explained by Campaign for liberty, should be labeled as “Cap and Tax” and if passed, it will give our government unprecedented control over the private sector and our lives. They would be able to ask that you change the way you live by forcing you to use government-approved light bulbs, refrigerators, water heaters, toilets and etc. Then the government will send around federal officials into your homes to make sure you comply.
You may say, so what? It’s good for the environment. Bzzzz…It’s another way for the government to push for control of their citizens and residents. This Bill specifically authorizes intrusive home visits by the U.S government. They will enter your homes and snoop thorough your closets, basements, attics and everywhere else they want. Had Mr. Waxman of
I mean really…do we need more threats to our liberties? As it is, we have the horrible Patriot act that we’re still trying to get rid of. So, please…please…speak up against this bill or soon we will have no liberties left.
My life was threatened yesterday. Couldn’t sleep well last night. Got up kind of early for a Sunday. Made some tea with sugar and had it with Persian bread and Feta cheese, what my mom used to make me every morning before school when I lived in
Which reminds me, social networking isn’t safe. I recently had some really freaky people follow me on Twitter, people who were angry about me writing what I write and speaking my mind. Someone threatened to chop off my fingers, torture and burn me. So, not only are we not allowed to help those who need us, we’re not even allowed to speak up our minds. And then what are we supposed to do? Shut our eyes and pretend that those whose rights are being violated do not exit? Are we to pretend that we live in a perfect world? Wouldn’t that just makes us nothing but a blob with no brain or soul? I guess that’s what they want us to be…
For me, the
I have been a lucky person my whole life and never really had major tragedies. I left
In June and July of this year, many Iranians were killed. I saw their faces all over my television set and on the internet. I have never felt death until now. I have never seen such suffering with my own eyes. I have never seen such courage up until now. Sure, I have read and heard about it and I have seen it in movies, but I have never felt something so real and so close to home. I feel the pain of all Iranians as if it were my pain and the naïve and carefree girl inside of me has departed forever. I will always remember June of 2009 as the beginning of one of the darkest times in my life and the only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I am half American. No, I am not half American by blood but I am half American in essence because The United States is where I grew up for the majority of my life. And I know that
Politics and I will never mesh even if I do love to keep up with it to see the faux pas many politicians make. Many of them are a funny lot. They dance around a problem and by the time they make a decision, it is too late. And that’s not the only thing that frustrates me but rather their uncanny stupidity. Here is an example: “A European Union-wide proposal to coordinate aid for the wounded Iranian demonstrators is expected to be discussed Wednesday in
Now, let me get this straight. In
Of course let’s not forget
Oh and before I end this article, I have to say that I am also grateful to the United States government for asking Twitter not to shut down for its scheduled updates in order to keep the communication open.