Author Archives: MALA


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Food for thought

 for the birds

Borrowing a page from Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy on non-violence, inmates at El Paso County Jail in Colorado went on a brief hunger strike to combat unnecessary cruelty.

After surviving five straight days of turkey dinners the prisoners protested this inhumane punishment by refusing to eat.

(And all this time I thought convicts were fed bread and water in prison. Silly me.)

Officials finally reasoned with the inmates and explained that the turkey meals were not a form of punishment – unlike the threat of water boarding (dripping water into a wet cloth over the suspect’s face so it feels like drowning).

And since U.S. policy has embraced such novel interrogation methods for detainees, prison officials have toyed with the possibility of instituting these new policies across the board at all U.S. detention centers, for all prisoners.

Within 30 minutes the strike ended.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe in Iran, investigative reporter Akbar Ganji is also on a hunger strike. The journalist, imprisoned in April 2000 and charged with acting against national security for participating in an academic conference in Berlin, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment plus five years of exile.

Ganji staged this hunger strike to protest his treatment in prison. His health is in serious decline after losing more than 50 pounds in 55 days. He is very weak, frequently loses consciousness, and is in danger of starving to death say human rights groups who continue to monitor his condition.

Now forgive my ignorance – but what exactly is the point of a hunger strike?

I know it’s a form of non-violence and political protest, but how does it motivate a tyrant to action? Government officals in Iran obviously don’t care about an enemy of the state starving to death in prison. Eight nobel laureates fom three countries have appealed to Iran to release Ganji and still nothing – no response.

And in a surprise move, even President Bush issued a statement expressing outrage at Ganji’s imprisonment and in Iran’s refusal to allow him legal representation and access to family.

Now you can just imagine how well that went over. I think I can still hear hoots of laughter coming from that region of the world.

But getting back to the purpose of starving yourself in protest. Remind me – what IS the point?

I mean if I went on a hunger strike today to protest against the war in Iraq, my maintenance guy would find my dead body in October and chalk it up to another incident of DC mortality.


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The most beautiful sphere in the world

 earth

I get shivers when I look at photos of our planet. I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Now I admit, I’m partial to blue and green and white color schemes, but even I couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to live.

Would I feel the same way if I had grown up on Mars? Had I lived in a constant rustish environment, would I be seduced by the red planet and believe it was the prettiest of them all? Or would I peer at my blue neighbor through a telescope and think, “Gosh, I really wish I lived on Earth.”

Or would Earth appear completely different, because its atmosphere had evaporated and the blue orb was no longer blue, but brown and beige and orange – more like Venus?

It really really upsets me when government leaders stand on the pulpit and declare there is no evidence of global warming. That the Earth’s climate goes through cycles, and killer hurricanes are just one small part of a normal weather pattern.

For the sake of the pretty blue ball we all call home… consider leaving the car in the garage and biking to the mall, ask the lady to bag your groceries in paper and not plastic, line-dry your clothes, turn off the air conditioning and lights when you leave your home (I know, I know, it’s bloody HOT out there, but every little bit counts).

As Commander Eileen Collins said today from the International Space Station that orbits 220 miles (352km) above the Earth, “The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it’s so very thin. We know that we don’t have much air – we need to protect what we have.”


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Size matters

pluto

Poor Pluto is going through an identity crisis.

Some scientists believe it’s not really a planet, but some forlorn rock that belongs in the Kuiper Belt – the remains of the outer disk that originally formed our solar system.

Is this planetary discrimination? Or are we trying to force an object to fit into a system where it clearly doesn’t belong?

One problem is that scientists haven’t defined what a planet is. One general explanation is – an object whose luminosity is fainter than that of the star it orbits. Since Pluto orbits a star (the Sun, for those of you out there orbiting your own galaxy), and is also much less luminous, then it satisfies the criteria and stands a decent chance of retaining its status of 9th Planet.

But wait…. there’s also a matter of size.

Pluto is so small (2,200 kilometer diameter) it might not be worthy of full planet status. It’s less than half the size of any other planet in our system …. in fact it’s even smaller than our moon.

And it marches to the beat of its own drum, with an orbit at an angle from the plane of the other planets traveling around the Sun.

The 9th planet was discovered 75 years ago by an American, before the discovery of the Kuiper Belt. Astronomers now argue that had they known of the existence of the belt, Pluto would have been classified as a giant Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) – like Ceres in the Asteroid Belt.

Some believe the reason the debate hasn’t settled is because Pluto’s discovery in 1930 was made by U.S. astronomer Clyde Tombaugh – and it’s the only “planet” discovered by Americans.

Until this week.

A team of researchers from CalTech, Yale, and the Gemini Observatory in Hilo, HI, report the discovery of a new outer “planet” – 2003 UB313, a giant lump of rock and ice, and the largest object detected in the solar system since the discovery of Neptune and its moon Triton in 1846.

So once again astronomers can’t agree whether 2003 UB313 is a planet or just a suped-up asteroid. Its discoverers claim it is the 10th planet, but other astronomers, the ones who want to downgrade Pluto to a minor planet, insist it’s just another KBO.

Clearly, there are more important matters going on in the world.

I mean, who really cares whether Pluto and 2003 UB313 are classified as planets or KBOs or asteroids?

Our President on Monday endorsed teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in our classrooms. This week, 21 Marines and an interpreter were killed in Iraq. And U.S. intelligence predicts Iran is about ten years away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear bomb – in other words they’ll probably have a weapon up and running in a couple years.

So why am I taking space to write about some obscure astronomical debate? Because it could turn vicious. Pluto’s fate is in the balance as well as millions of science textbooks and plastic placemats. And maybe, just maybe, a reasonable solution will appear that might inform other world crises.

There could be a compromise. Pluto could remain a planet, as well as a KBO. And all other KBOs would be categorized as KBOs, with no nonsense to recognize them as major planets.

So what do you think?


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Delusions of extra sensory perception

esp

Last week I watched The Emperor’s Club. I usually read the book before seeing the film. But in this case, I learned during the DVD special features that the story was based on the short story The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin.

A few days later I bought the book.

Now, you all know I can’t walk into a bookstore and purchase just one book. As I stood at the counter, credit card in hand as the cashier rang up my purchases, I thought, “This is going to come out to $107.”

A minute later the total appeared – $107.

This happens to me occasionally… a random coincidence that will startle me out of my reverie and into the present.

Surprisingly the film is very similar to the short story. Not like the travesty of casting Tom Cruise to portray Lestat in Interview with a Vampire. Or the later revision of Queen of the Damned.

I struggled to remember the name of the actor who replaced Cruise in that installment… could picture him in my mind… his name at the tip of my brain.

When suddenly, he appeared on tv in a teaser for a new series on ABC called Night Stalker. And I remembered… Stuart Townsend.

Is this a cosmic coincidence or have I discovered my sixth sense?


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The night sky

perseids

I end my day beneath hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars that form initials of past loves, imaginary solar systems and favorite constellations like Cassiopeia and Orion.

One thing I miss about living in the city is the night sky. In Massachusetts, I would lay in a lawn chair, wrapped in an afghan, and wish on the stars as they’d sparkle in the night sky. I’d reach 1,000 and give up counting their multitudes, instead remembering the story of the star that led the three kings to the manger or recall William Shakespeare’s exquisite line from Henry VI about using stars to foretell events — “Comets, importing change of time and states, Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky.”

Stargazers, like me, have an exciting month coming up.

August 7 – The crescent moon meets Venus low in the western sky at dusk.

August 8 – Neptune reaches its closest approach to Earth in the constellation Capricorn.

August 11 – 12 – The Perseids build up after midnight and peak before dawn.

August 20 – 27 – Mercury meets Saturn in Cancer in the predawn eastern sky.

August 31 – Venus and Jupiter make a two-day close approach at dusk.


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God.

God

God.

What is God?

To me it is a spirit, a wise being that created everything we see and don’t see. I believe this higher being created something beautiful and then let it’s creation (s) run its course.

Then there’s my mom. A devout Catholic who believes that if you don’t believe in HER god, you will burn in the flames of hell.

But she’s not alone.

My best friend’s Irish parents also believe in one path to salvation.

As do my other friend’s Jewish parents – a path very different from that of my grandparents and parents.

Tonight a Lebanese Christian, a Turkish Muslim, a Greek Orthodox Catholic, a Roman Catholic and an agnostic met over drinks for a meeting of the minds.

We all believed in one God or spirit.

We all agreed that our parent’s faith was significantly different from our own.

What is it about religion? These organized groups and rules that separate great civilizations here on Earth?

Why are we compelled to defend our beliefs, to kill for our faith in  – let’s face it – these man-made religions?

I’m a student of Judaism, Islam, Wiccan, Hindi, Taoism, Confucianism, science and, of course, Christianity – and have come to one conclusion… there is one God, there is no sure path to salvation, and the Golden Mean seems like the surest way to go – “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.”

I’m a strong believer in Karma – the “wrong” you do will revisit you threefold. How can a person go wrong listening and respecting the opinions of their fellow man?

I was brought up a devout Roman Catholic, but after learning of other religions I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a supreme being, who leaves us to our own devices, and provides us with tools (knowledge) to make decisions, good and bad.

Needless to say, the conversation of the United Nations of Religion was illuminating. Most of us came from the same perspective, while we all agreed that our parents came from stringently different perspectives. It might be a DC thing, but I found the night’s conversation illuminating.

And not one I’ll soon forget.

Especially in light of Northern Ireland’s call to a cease of its violence earlier today.


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It’s the end of the world as I know it

 martini

The phone rang at 1:30 p.m.

“So what are you doing?” my best friend asked.

“Working, but I’ll meet you for lunch.”

“How about a drink instead?”

“Well I need to touch base with a few reporters in Chicago this afternoon, so why don’t I meet you at 4:00?”

“Ok”

*click*

My best friend moved back to DC a few months ago. She’s the sister I never had. We lived together as roommates for almost four years with our brothers, at one point or another, crashing on air mattresses on the floor or on the sleeper-sofa for months at a time.

This afternoon, we met at a shi-shi new bar for a martini supper. And talked about… the glory days. For hours.

I mean, we discussed the new job she’s starting next week, and that her parents’ cat died this past weekend (don’t ask), and the guys we’re each interested in.

But the night was devoted to stories. About the man on the street we begged to carry two kegs to our third story apartment because we hadn’t considered how heavy they’d be. We paid him with beer. And the time her brother’s friend crushed Advil on the gross coffee table and snorted the powder for fun. The martinis we drank poolside in Puerto Rico, and the guys we met in Montreal three years later. The time we cooked dinner for an Irishman (her date) and an Englishman (my date), and how our one request was ‘bring bread’ and their reply was ‘WonderBread.’

As I walked home in the 100 degree heat, I thought, “how odd – our conversation, almost the entire four hour conversation, was based in the past. Is this it? Am I doomed to relive the glory days because my present is too stable and boring to talk about? Have I inadvertantly turned into Al Bundy? Are all my stories now based in what has already happened?”

So now I’m feeling bummed and motivated to make new stories. Because the old stories are so… yesterday. And the thought of going over those past episodes one more time is depressing. It makes me feel really, really old.


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Discovery in space

Discovery

NASA celebrates a return to space with today’s successful launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. This mission, the first since the Columbia tragedy more than two years ago, will test the new safety measures in place, including repair techniques. The crew will also participate in three spacewalks to replace broken parts on the International Space Station.

I know some people who don’t realize the shuttle missions halted back in 2003. That shocks me. To them, US space travel is a given, and they take for granted our ability to fly to the heavens.

Not me.

I think it’s a miracle that in one mere century, humans went from riding trains and trading in their horse-and-carriage for an automobile to stepping on the moon. It makes me wonder what new frontiers we’ll embark on in 2105.

How will we communicate? Will the 40-hour work week still exist? Where will tourists vacation? Will we purchase discount tickets on Expedia to one of several space stations? Or perhaps to a resort located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean?

In twelve days the shuttle will return to Earth, mission accomplished. Until then, god speed to the crew members on Discovery.