My reflection on the Shahbazi presentation.

I was really disappointed with how critical of Shahbazi some of the other students in class were being. Going far enough with thoughtless statements to call such a heroic man "dumb" was in my opinion, pretty narrow minded. How can such bravery be overlooked? What Shahbazi did for his beliefs was beautiful, brave, and amazing. Not to mention, it is far more than any of us have done.
I heard people saying, "But he's just one man, what can one man really do?" Haven't you all heard of Jesus Christ or Gandhi? Think of the following that those two have! The most monumental movements have begun with one person, and if they die in support of their cause, it does not end there. I heard people saying, "But now he's dead, so what good is it going to do?" I'll tell you. Now our class knows about it, the community members who strive to inform themselves know about it, and his children are continuing his legacy through activism. This is an opportunity for individuals who care about the cause to stand up and continue what Shahbazi began. It's not over.

I heard people say that "everyone needs oil, we rely on it!" If you genuinely care about the oil conflict, you don't have to rely on it. Ever heard of riding a bike? I know plenty of people who dis-continued supporting the oil industry by selling their cars, relying on public transportation, walking and biking. If you truly care, you take responsibility through your own actions by adjusting your life accordingly. You can live in a small community with biking access to everywhere, or you can live in a city with a subway system. It's unstudied and naive to assume that our reliance on oil is predestined or incessant.
I was so caught off guard by the negativity in the class that day that I couldn't even contribute. I didn't even want to be in the room, let alone speak. The presentation was awesome, but the feedback could have been far more compassionate, wise and well thought.

Buying the War

I remember when U.S. government suddenly switched its focus to Iraq, after 9/11. It was a good example of 1st Amendment rights shifting during wartime. When I felt skeptical, and unclear on the connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq, I heard comments that made me hush my doubts. People were saying things like, "That's easy for you to say, cuz you didn't lose your entire family in 9/11." People with doubt or dissent were made out to be unpatriotic.
The film Buying the War was eye opening, because I wasn't aware that the entire world was duped. I figured there must be some link of truth amongst the decisions of the Bush administration. It made me think back to the days when I questioned the real purpose of the war, yet had faith that there must be reason. Now, I can't believe that high school and college kids knew 6 years ago what Buying the War is revealing to the whole world today, and our questions were hushed in light of patriotism. And now, 6 years later, thousands of Iraqi's have been killed. More U.S troops are dead than victims of 9/11.

FCC

I just finished watching the film, "Massing of the Media" on blackboard. The chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, seems like he's fresh out of high school. His response to every question was "Um..." He didn't listen to the public pleading to keep democracy alive, by avoiding the loosening of FCC regulations. I really enjoyed the film because it shows how many concerned citizens there are, as well as the senate's responsiveness. I'm interested in what the outcome is. click here to view.

Meat Freaks

In response to blogdog's post:<------(link)

What is most discouraging about this topic is the fact that two thirds of the crops shipped abroad are to feed livestock, not the hungry people in the world. Roughly fifty percent of the grains we grow in the country are used to feed our livestock, because of America's obsession with the meat-based diet. I'll quote Howard F. Lyman, author of Mad Cowboy, because I can't say it better myself:


"Producing beef is incredibly inefficient. According to Frances Moore Lapp, "It takes sixteen pounds of grain to create one pound of beef." (Diet for a Small Planet) The same amount of grain needed to produce one pound of meat could feed thirty-two people a day if they ate the grain directly. As our population grows we will basically face the choice of whether to continue feeding our corn, soybeans, oats, barley and wheat to animals, while letting untold millions go hungry, or else to eat our grains directly and have many times as much food available for human consumption."

As our Westernized and meat-based diet catches on in affluent families overseas, such as China, there is inevitably a rise in health problems within those communities, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.

"If stress itself were really a leading cause of heart attacks, surely the number of heart attacks would have risen dramatically during World War 2. But in fact, the death rate from heart attacks fell, as people in war ravaged countries were forced by circumstances to eat less rich, high fat, cholesterol laden foods. in other words, it's demonstrably better for your heart to eat a low fat, vegetarian diet while bombs drop all around you than to enjoy your steak in peace." (Lyman)

Marry Our Daughter

I guess anything goes on the web. As far as I can tell, we are free to post anything but child pornography, but the U.S. can still access it through international links. Gee whiz. I'm not sure if you've already heard about this website which has outraged many. Take a look : nothing is shocking.

Click here

then click here for relief.

Is it art?

I am amazed by the work of Marla Olmstead, a (now six year) old painter. She has been compared to Jackson Pollock and Picasso. There is controversy in the art world surrounding issues of genuine "art." A lot of conversation around the possibility that if a little kid could do it maybe Jackson Pollock wasn't such a genius. Maybe Marla is just a kid having fun with some paint. Or is she a child prodigy? A documentary titled: My Kid Could Paint That just came out about Marla. View her work here.

the other side.

After watching Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, I got an email from my fundamentalist Christian cousin in Georgia. She sent me a link consisting of a trailer for a creepy I.D. movie coming out in the Spring. It's called Expelled.
check out this link