Peace

Happy Christmas, World!

Peace,
Ali :)

Happy Solstice

Now, I don't want to minimize the importance of the pagan celebration of Solstice, which can - contrary to this editorial - be a religious celebration. However, I like the overall message. Solstice is science and wonder and miracle and mystery; no matter where you think this majestic creation originated.

Happy Solstice.

Take some solace in this day
By the Register Editorial Board
Des Moines Register
December 21, 2005

Wish someone a "Happy Solstice" today. It should be a pretty safe thing to say. It makes no reference to "Christmas" or "holiday," which literally means "holy day." Winter solstice isn't religious or controversial. Celebrate today. You don't have to light anything or decorate anything or buy anything or believe anything.Solstice just is. It's the day the sun is farthest south in relation to the equator. It's when daylight hours begin to expand. It's a reminder that eventually spring will arrive. Solstice is a turning point. It's also a day to pause and reflect on the wonders of the universe. Before humans were decorating trees or arguing over seasonal greetings, they were wondering about the sun, about the mysteries of nature. The forces of the universe quietly march on, even as people frantically shop and bake and wrap. Solstice happens quietly in the background. And anything quiet this time of year is reason to celebrate. Happy solstice.

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Fictional

Recently Forbes published a list of the 15 Richest Fictional Characters. It's awesome!:

The List
1. Santa Claus
2. Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks
3. Richie Rich
4. Lex Luthor
5. C. Montgomery Burns
6. Scrooge McDuck
7. Jed Clampett
8. Bruce Wayne
9. Thurston Howell III
10. Willy Wonka
11. Arthur Bach
12. Ebenezer Scrooge
13. Lara Croft
14. Cruella De Vil
15. Lucius Malfoy

Lost from the 2002 list: J.R. Ewing, Auric Goldfinger, Charles Foster Kane (that's "Citizen Kane" to you), Gordon Gekko and Jay ("the Great") Gatsby

I was totally glad to see Scrooge McDuck on the list, cuz he was the first that came to my mind. I mean, how can one forget the image of him swimming in a room full of gold coins? :)

Random geeky observance - in Batman the super-rich is the super-hero and in Superman the super-rich is the super-villian. Interesting... Not to mention that there really aren't that many rich characters in the Marvel universe. Most of the heros are everyday joes or government funded - at best. Although one does wonder how Professor X funds that school, especially since it has been destroyed and rebuilt so often.

December 1 - part 2

It's World AIDS Day
Here are some facts taken from http://www.worldaidsday.org/about.asp

GLOBAL STATISTICS

Last Updated: December 2005

HIV and AIDS around the World

People living with HIV and AIDS 40.3 million
Adults 38.0 million
Women 17.5 million
Children under 15 2.3 million

New HIV cases in 2005 4.9 million
Adults 4.2 million
Children under 15 700,000

AIDS deaths in 2005 3.1 million
Adults 2.6 million
Children under 15 570,000

Total HIV cases to date 64.3 million

Total AIDS deaths to date 23.1 million

HIV by Region 2005

Sub-Saharan Africa
Adults and children living with HIV 25.8 million
Women living with HIV 13.5 million
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 3.2 million
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 2.4 million

Asia
Adults and children living with HIV 8.3 million
Women living with HIV 2.0 million
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 1.1 million
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 520,000

Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Adults and children living with HIV 1.6 million
Women living with HIV 440,000
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 270,000
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 62,000

Caribbean
Adults and children living with HIV 300,000
Women living with HIV 140,000
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 30,000
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 24,000

Latin America
Adults and children living with HIV 1.8 million
Women living with HIV 580,000
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 200,000
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 66,000

North America, Western and Central Europe
Adults and children living with HIV 1.9 million
Women living with HIV 490,000
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 65,000
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 30,000

Middle East and North Africa
Adults and children living with HIV 510,000
Women living with HIV 220,000
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 67,000
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 58,000

Oceania
Adults and children living with HIV 74,000
Women living with HIV 39,000
Adults and children newly infected with HIV 8,200
Adult and child deaths due to AIDS 3,600

* December 1 - part 1

True to my word, today I would like to Blog Against Racism:

I was all pondering what, oh what, to write when it hit me: two days in a row now, when I have signed on to CNN.com the top story has been regarding upcoming executions. So, I figure (although it's nothing really new) a note about the racism that pervades capital punishment is worth reiteration.

"In 82% of the studies [reviewed], race of the victim was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty, i.e., those who murdered whites were found more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks."
- United States General Accounting Office, Death Penalty Sentencing, February 1990

In fact, since 1976, 206 Black persons have been executed for killing whites while only 12 whites have been executed for killing blacks.

An interesting statistic to note regarding a "jury of our peers": More than 20% of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries.

We are quickly approaching the 1000th execution since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Recently the 122nd person was released from death row. So, in > 10% of cases we (as a society) have admitted to being wrong... which makes me think there must be more innocent people that were not released.

Maybe I'm bringing my Christian bias into this, but it seems that even if we accept capital punishment as a valid deterant and/or bit of retributive justice (which I don't) it is far from just to risk sacrificing the innocent to "punish" the guilty. To bring it back to race, especially if we know that we have biases that still play a part in who we put on death row.

All statistics taken from information on the Death Penalty Information Center website. There is so much info there - lots of graphs and articles and stuff... you should totally check it out.