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Mukhtar Mai and the women of Pakistan win a roundAs more and more women in Pakistan raised their voices in protest against the lopsided judgment by the high court in Lahore, on March 18th the prime minister ordered the men accused of raping Mukhtar Mai to be re-arrested. This act by Premier Shaukat Ali was a recognition not only of the growing strength of the women of Pakistan but also the strong condemnation around the world.Let's hope that justice will prevail for Mukhtar Mai and the women of Pakistan. More power to them.BBC-Mukhtar MaiFootnote: This post is for MS of Lahore (Pakistan)--bright, exuberant, and passionate in her views--currently a student in the United States.

Glorious Spring"What is all this juice and all this joy ?A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning..."---Gerard Manley Hopkins, "Spring"Dogwood Blossoms, Sequoia Natl Park,CA. Mount Timpanogos, Utah California Poppies and Lupines Freesias, lovely and fragrant More Freesias Go to:First day of Spring

They squawk about increase in the minimum hourly wage!Captains of Piracy, Nicholas D. Kristof's column in The NY Times 3/19/05 will make you gasp. The numbers are staggering and bear no relation to performance."A study for The Wall Street Journal by Mercer Human Resource Consulting found that at 100 major U.S. corporations, bonuses for C.E.O.'s last year rose more than 46 percent, to a median of $1.14 million. Both the amount and the percentage increase were the highest since comparable studies began five years ago."The full article is accessible at:NY Times-Piracy

Zen thoughts and HaikusMatt Conigliaro - Legal facts about the Schiavo CaseNon-attachment"Do not permit the events of your daily life to bind you, but never withdraw yourselves from them. Only by acting thus can you earn the title of A Liberated One."---Wan Ling Record of The Zen Master Huang Po (translated by John Blofeld)"Not even a hat--And cold rain falling on me?Tut-tut! Think of that!---Basho (translated by Harold Henderson)Is-Ness"The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflectionThe water has no mind to receive their image."---Zenrin KushuNow-ness"Nothing exists; all things are becoming"--- Reiho Masunaga, The Soto Approach to ZenThe Zen Eye"And do not change. Do not divert your love from visible things. But go on loving what is good, simple and ordinary; animals and things and flowers, and keep the balance true."---Rainer Maria RilkeAttribution: All quotations are from The World of Zen by Nancy Wilson RossMatt Conigliaro's Abstract AppealFor those who are interested in a balanced, dispassionate summary of the Terri Schiavo case, Matt Conigliaro's "Abstract Appeal-Web Log Devoted to Florida Law and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals" is the best I have found on the world wide web. Mr. Conigliaro, a Florida attorney, has done a masterful job.Abstract Appeal

Republican Senators to use woman in coma as prop for a dog and pony showI had decided not to write any more about hapless Terri Schiavo. But the news about the cynical move by Republican zealots in the Senate to force the brain-damaged woman and her husband to appear before them to testify broke my resolve. Testify!!! It is obvious that they have no shame."The Senate Health Committee has requested that Terri and her husband Michael appear at an official committee hearing on March 28. A statement from the office of House Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., on Friday said the purpose of the hearing was to review health care policies and practices relevant to the care of non-ambulatory people."Really? You could have knocked me down with a feather. This might, just might, be the last straw for Terri Schiavo. The stress of traveling from Florida could be too much for her frail body. In that case the ploy of the Senators would turn out to be an act of kindness, although kindness is far from their minds as they prepare for a despicable act of grandstanding.

"Jury finds Ebbers guilty on all counts"How sweet it is. The former CEO of Worldcom is facing jail time. The jury found him guilty on all charges. He certainly deserved it. I don't believe in hell but I hope that Mr. Ebbers rots--slowly rots--in prison. Let's not forget that for every Bernie Ebbers there are many more who laughed their way to bank and are sitting pretty.Dan Ackman in Forbes 3/16/05:"In fact, the Ebbers case is a freak by any measure. Start with the simple fact that he went to trial. Of the 82,910 defendants accused in federal courts in 2004, just 3,393, or 4%, stood trial at all, according to the U.S. Office of Court Administration. Securities fraud cases are also extremely rare: In 2004, there were just 116 defendants whose cases were disposed of in the entire U.S., a remarkably small number considering the number of financial restatements, corporate blowups and dream-state analyst reports in recent years. If you are a CEO among the 116, that's cold comfort, but it's not something you really need to worry about."General Augusto Pinochet, one of our former pet dictators A report in The Guardian,UK, reads: "Pinochet's web of bank accounts exposed"Deaths of Prisoners in American Custody (NY Times 3/17/05)"Now the White House has its own gulag: C.I.A. agents snatch suspects and fly them to places like Egypt and Syria to be strung up in chains and tortured. And The Times reported yesterday that at least 26 deaths of prisoners in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan may be criminal homicides. So it also has its own Soviet-style propaganda campaign." Links:Guardian-PinochetNYTimes-Dowd

A Walk in the midst of Wild Flowers"Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough, A flask of Wine, a Book of Verse--and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness-- And Wildnerness is Paradise enow."---Omar Khayýam, Persian Poet, Astronomer (1048-1123*) Translated by Edward Fitzgerald*1131, according to some sources.Bush Lupine at Russian Ridge Picnic on the Grass Russian Ridge, Wild Flowers I Russian Ridge, Wild Flowers II Russian Ridge, Wild Flowers III JHL and I went to look at wild flowers at Russian Ridge, high up in the peninsula, near the crossing of Skyline Boulevard and Page mill Road. It was a lovely day, unusually warm. But the breeze blowing from the Pacific about 6 miles away made our hike quite enjoyable. It was clear enough to look to the east and see Hoover Tower in the Stanford Campus and, further on, the outline of the Dumbarton Bridge. To the west we could catch glimpses of the ocean near Half Moon Bay.The display of flowers was not spectacular. Perhaps it would take another week or two for them to appear in force. We looked at some. The photographs are limited in what they depict because I did not carry a telephoto/macro lens.There was no singing, and the book was "California Spring Wild Flowers" by Philip A. Munz but we had bread (Foccacia), wine--a German Riesling, risotto with shrimps; butternut squash sauteed with pine nuts and fresh sage (learned to make this flavorful dish from my friend Arani Sinha); fruits....and dark chocolate. One could ask for nothing more. For a few hours all was well with the world.

A Democratic Senator ? Always thought that Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut was one of the typical, gutless Washington politicians. He tried to please all sides. Paul Krugman's column in The NY Times, March 15,2005, about Senator Lieberman's position on the Social Security debate and his vote on the Bankruptcy legislation clearly outlines how the senator straddles the fence.Christians in Action Against the BBC The BBC is facing a law suit for broadcasting "Jerry Springer, The Opera". Interestingly, part of the complaint by the Christian Institute of Newcastle,UK, is based on violation of "human rights act". No fan of Jerry Springer, I fully support the BBC's right to select programs aired by its stations.Crime fighters brought to book in MexicoFrom Jo Tuckman's report in The Guardian,UK, 3/8/05"The leftwing mayor of Nezahualcoyotl, Luis Sanchez, has ordered all 1,100 members of the municipal police to read at least one book a month or forfeit their chance of promotion."We believe reading will improve their vocabulary and their writing skills, help them express themselves, order their ideas and communicate with the public," Mr Sanchez said. "Reading will make them better police officers and better people."The list of books includes: "The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz, weighty classics such as Don Quixote, simpler gems such as The Little Prince."Three cheers for Mayor Luis Sanchez.Abortion not a Poll Issue -- in EnglandThe Catholic Church in England has taken a stand to support Tory leader Michael Howard because of his position on legal limits for abortion. Unlike in the United States, this is not going to be a substantive factor with majority of British voters. Yet the fact that the issue has surfaced portends ill for women in the United Kingdom. Maybe not in the near future but they could find themselves facing the same kind of restrictions on reproductive rights that the Bush administration is determined to impose on American women.Links$600 Billion ManJerry SpringerBooks and Police OfficersAbortion rights, UK

First Lieutenant Brian Slavenas (1972-2003) An extraordinary young man--pianist, weight lifter, skier, chess player, helicopter pilot Hero who died for a cause or a victim caught in geopolitical machinations ? To those who knew and loved him, he was a son, a brother, a friend. A gentle human being who "wouldn't hurt a fly". Calvin Trillin's "Lost Son" in the March 14th issue of The New Yorker is not available on-line. However, Mr. Trillin's interview with Matt Delinger is. Here is an extract. "Brian’s parents have very different takes on his death. His father, who is supportive of the war, wanted a military funeral, and his mother, who has protested the war, did not. The family seems to be a microcosm of the nation." Go to: Lost Son (added June 18, 2011) All-American Boy

The "Compassionate Conservatives" taking care of their own"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to soften the effect of tougher bankruptcy rules on families with children and close a loophole for the wealthy were rejected by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday as the legislation moved toward expected passage."That is what it boils down to. The report by Susan Cornwell of Reuters is under the headline "The Senate Nixes Efforts to Soften Bankruptcy Bill".The shameless, double-talking legislators in Washington, DC, passed another bill custom-crafted for their friends in high places.bankruptcy"A government, for protecting business only, is but a carcass. and soon falls by its own corruption and decay."---Amos Bronson Alcott, American Educator, Social Reformer (1799-1888)