What was in the Editorial section in Washington Examiner?

Enough is Enough at Gallaudet (I copied and pasted below from that link)

WASHINGTON – It doesn’t matter whether Gallaudet University students had reasonable grounds for being unhappy at the choice of Jane Fernandes as incoming president of the well-known school for the deaf in Northeast D.C. By going so far as to shut down the campus for three days, the protesters made themselves into nothing better than hooligans. As such, they deserve neither sympathy nor respect.

With even the elementary and high school students denied access to their own classrooms on campus, university officials had no choice but to ask the police to start making arrests.

Of course, every American enjoys the right to peaceful assembly, to protest and to unhindered political speech. But nobody has the right to deprive other people of their liberty or their property (including intellectual property or the pursuit thereof) without due process of law. The other Gallaudet students who weren’t involved in the protest over Fernandes paid for their education — to the tune of $11,359 per semester. To deprive them of that education by forcibly blocking their entrance to campus was robbing them just assuredly as if the protesters had taken their wallets. It was a criminal act — and university officials finally treated it as such.

Even worse was the bad example set for the deaf children in elementary school who share the same campus. These young students did not have access to other venues where they could get education tailored to their special needs. The example of lawlessness that the older protesting college students set could do lasting damage, giving the younger students the idea that free speech is not a respectful exchange of ideas, but instead a matter of brute force.

And despite the fact that there was no physical violence by the Gallaudet protesters, their blockade nevertheless used force to make a point. What would have happened if somebody tried to cross the blockade in order to exercise their own legal right to the education they paid for?

Back during the campus unrest of the 1960s and early ’70s, anti-war activists made the same mistake, thinking their cause more important than other people’s rights. Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, knew what to do with those protesters: He had them arrested. His tough stance did not make him a pariah but a hero in his state. He was re-elected to a second term by a huge margin of 600,000 votes, and went on to become president. Gallaudet President I. King Jordan demonstrated similar courage by ordering the arrests and reopening the campus on Saturday. Jordan is not a “traitor,” as some of the students who once supported him are now calling him. By standing up to the mob, he demonstrated precisely those qualities of character and leadership that earned students’ initial respect. His will be very big shoes to fill.

The lesson here is that protesters who take things too far often do their own cause more harm than good. The American people are more than willing to listen to reasoned — and sometimes even strident —arguments. But they have no patience with self-absorbed law-breakers.Gallaudet’s campus should never have been closed in the first place.But it was necessary to reopen it by the force of law — which is the only legitimate force there is.

What do I think of this?

Well, I think it is wrong to block Gallaudet entrances… why ? Students have classes. Teachers have to teach for those students who come to the class. You realize how much it costs to have an education? 11,359 dollars a semester! That is alot of money. The entrances should be permanently open.

Well, I am not there. And I dont know if any students, faculty, and staff are still going on with their daily lives either working or going to classes or join the protests completely, but I am sure some of them still want to continue their education and not part of the protest. I think there are about 1,100 students. I doubt that all are joining the protest.

It is not like that I am against what is going on with Gallaudet. I support you 100 percent! I support the non-violence protest. I support a peace assembly! I have no problem with that. I say you keep up with it, until you get what you want. I think Jane should be resigning. I think we need a new BoT … But why choose to block the whole Gallaudet’s entrances? I think they can do better than that. They have not done nothing wrong — I mean students, faculty, and staff who want to enter Gallaudet — while you block them, they are stuck. Let them have the access to Gallaudet completely. Well, I am glad that it is not blocking any more. But please don’t do that again

I realize that it said MSSD elementary students are not going to classes because of the blockage. That is pretty serious. I think they should be in the classes, not out of class. I thought the leaders should have allowed them enter to their school. The education is very important. I understand that the protest is very important, too, but blocking them is not helping. It makes us look bad.

FYI, I have written a longest entry in my blog history, the title will be: What do I think of Jane Fernandes? It will be published shortly after I proofread … so far it is my third time proofreading.

Correction: I was informed that MSSD and KDES (high school and elementary schools) were allowed to open for students to come to school. Protestors did not close that entrance. But IKJ forced to close it. I was also told that IKJ told the PR to lie to the media… If that is true, it is a very bad image for IKJ and PR!

However, my opinion about closing the entrances still stands. It is very wrong, either by protestors or by IKJ.

Blogged with Flock

Live News!

It just happened not long ago. I was at Chipotle with my friend. Then I came out and saw the falling tree on the sidewalk, just right by PotBelly on Connecticut Avenue and R Street NW. I am not sure what happened to it. I don't see a car that could hit the tree. The firefigthers and police officers were there to tape the yellow line around… and everyone is looking at it, as if they are bewildered at what happened. I will find out what happens later. Maybe you will know when it is on News tongiht or in the newspaper tomorrow.

I was very lucky, I could be hit by the tree if I was there. Because that is where I head to work from Chiptole…

UPDATE: My friend who also left from Chipotle a few minute later. We did not come out together. She has a male friend. Her friend spoke to the officer what happened to it. He told her that it was a car hitting the tree. She did nto see a car. So either did I. Maybe it was like a 'hit and run'? I don't know. But it was a strong fall. I hope no one is injured…

More Info on the Standing Room Only…

Graystorm mentioned the standing room only while flying in his blog… So I decided to research bit about it. Of course, I am a curious person. I want to see what it would look like if they ever have designed one. Turns out, I found two images via Google, and I thought you would like to see what it looks like in a bit. The idea was researched in 2003, but abandoned since then. According to a source, Airbus denied planning the idea of standing room only…

The Airbus official went on to say: “It is not something that Airbus has been working on and if flies in the face of what we’re doing with the A380, which is more room. We can assure you it is not an Airbus idea, we have not talked about it inside Airbus and our customers have not asked us about such an idea.” via [Guardian Unlimited

An evolution of seating

The picture of the airplane you saw in Miss Graystorm’s entry (the link is given in the beginning) is Airbus A380. I heard about that plane. It is the largest airplane. But I was in awe to learn that the plane, itself, can carry 555 passengers. It did not occur to me until now… I always have known that most airplanes can hold 200 to 250 passengers. But over 500, wow…

Now if the idea of standing ‘seats’ is going to happen, it will able to hold a whopping 853 passengers on that plane…Also, I read somewhere said that Airbus A380, depending on the configuration, is big enough to have a casino, nurseries, shops and bars.

In that case, I would not mind standing while flying. Usually, when the plane is in the air, I can unhook the belt, get up and walk around. I would go on a little shopping and drink some martini at the bar (only if they have them, and I will make sure of it.) When it is ready to land, of course, I have to go back to my standing position and belt up.

Further reading:
Will you stand for less room on flights?

Update on Purple Line

I mentioned WMATA (Washington Metro Area Transmit Authority)'s Metro expansion, dubbed Purple Line a while ago though it has not started the plan yet. It has been in talks for some time. In fact, the Purple Line was first discussed in 1970's by Montgomery County Council, but finally was proposed in 1989. Since then, they are trying to get the plan start up as you can see the planned Purple Line map below:

In the recent article in Examiner newspaper, that Montgomery County Council has started talking about it. Actually, they talked mostly about Bethesda Metro expansion… worth 50 million of dollars. They said that the Purple Line likely will start from Bethesda to Silver Spring, for a start. Possibly, going to New Carrollton. It has not said when, but Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal said, "It is a small step, but an important one."

I hope that they will start very soon because it will help riders to take short trips from Silver Spring to Bethesda, or the vice versa. Right now those people form Bethesda or Silver Spring would have to take a long commute on red line if they work on the opposite. It possibly is the reason why the 495 highway, or the Beltway in that area is very bad. Heavy traffic during rush hours. WIth the purple line installed on Metro map will help the traffic go smoothly, hopefully!

You can read the article where Purple Line has been mentioned briefly.

If you were ever rich, …

Would you wish you were not?

Well the article at cnnmoney.com, Bill Gates has said something…

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday he wished he were not the world’s richest man.

I think I understand him. It is not exactly easy to be rich (thought you can spend many things (like big house and fancy car). It is not always easy to avoid the attention. Once you are rich, you would always be rich unless you go bankruptcy. It is very tempting when you have a lot of money… But it is always nice to have that dream. For me, I would not want to be the richest man in the world. I would want to be rich. Maybe with a few hundreds of thousand dollars. It is sufficent.

Read more on the article at cnnmoney.com.

Dang, Anything Can Happen…

I could not believe what happened at Walmart! I suppose I have to be careful with public restrooms anywhere… you never know it could happen to you like this below. I copied and pasted from Washington Examiner. Scary! Poor that 20-year-old boy!

Wal-Mart Worker Finds Man Glued to Toilet
The Associated Press
May 2, 2006 9:37 PM (1 day ago)

SALISBURY, Md. – A 20-year-old was found by a Wal-Mart employee in the bathroom Sunday night after he sat down and was glued to the toilet seat.The man, whose name was not released by police, was taken to the hospital late Sunday night, said Lt. Cheryl Rantz of the Salisbury Police Department."The man had gone into the bathroom and sat down," she said. "He was banging on the wall when the employee came in."

Rantz said the man was treated and released.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

via [Strange News - Examiner.com]

Today’s Random of News

i was stumbling upon two different newspapers… found a few interesting things…

I have seen Britney on the most recent People magazine. She was in Washington Post Express, as well. She looks great as always!

She quoted It’s kind of sad beacuse I can’t walk down the street with a stroller. I am not expecting people to pity me. I am just telling the truth. in the Washington Post Express.

Well, yeah, it is tough being a mega star or singer. I say the paparazzi often is out of control. They should give them the space. They are not working, but running a normal life like rest of us. They need to go out to do errands, shopping, and many things. I don’t know if there is any law to do something about paparazzi. I think they should have a new law on that. I dont want to feel sorry for her, but hell she has the right to feel secured and do whatever what is best for her and her son. She cannot help that. Blame on paprazzi!

Anyway, I just saw her new pictures online at people.com.

Last Friday, one full page was a marriage proposition in Look Out in Washington Post Express.

I am sure you have seen it on the newspaper…

That guy’s name is Rahul Chhablani, who was proposing the ring to Adradhana Kaushal in the newspaper, and she said yes! She said, “I certainly wasn’t expecting it now” after a few months of talking about engagement. She said she must had called him 500 times to get ahold of him… but Adradhana’s supervisor took her to him while he crouched his knee down to the floor, with roses, the ring, and the copy of the paper, in case if she missed it.

Awww, how romantic it is! They will plan to get married on either Memorial Day weekend or Fourth of July in 2007! Congrats to you, Rahul and Adadhana.

Have you ever read Scoop! in Washington Examiner? I do read them whenever I get a chance. Some are shocking, some are interesting, some are sad. Mostly they are rumors of celebrities’ life.

It shocked me to learn that Matthew McConaughey, a Sahara star, makes his own colognes and never use deodorant.

Never use deodorant? Amen. I wonder if he ever smells bad? I hope not, because he is fucking HOT! Nice bod!

I believe that he just won the Golden Globe award for his role in Sahara. I also knew that he lives in his trailer. I read it about him in Details magazine, I think. It is interesting. I bet that he never comb his hair as well. His hair was out of control when he received his award.

Interesting Health’s Today Tip. As exact, it said: NO SLEEP MAKES YOU FAT

I will quote from the newspaper below:

Sugar, carbs, fat — it’s hard by news that these are big contributors to unwanted weight. Now add a fourth: lack of sleep. According to a recent study by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania, people who get less sleep at night are more likley to choose food the next day that will put on extra pounds. “It’s possible people are less motivated to make healthy food choices when they are really tired,” said Tony Wells, a graduate student who co-wroe the study of phychology.

A few links you can check it out:

Does the lack of sleep make you fat?

Can You Sleep Off Fat?

Forget Cranky. Lack of Sleep May Make You Fat

awww…

101-year old Li Bingxiang (L) holds a bouquet of roses as Zhang Liying, his 97-year old wife talks in a village in Jinan, Capital of East China's Shandong Province on Valentine's Day February 14, 2006. They have married each other for 73 years.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Teen Opens Fire In Gay Bar

My friend just informed me about the fire in gay bar. So I checked, and true biz, he did it… It happened in Beford, Massachusett. check the the short excerpt of the article from CBSnews.com below:

(CBS/AP) A teenager armed with a hatchet and handgun opened fire inside a gay bar early Thursday, wounding at least three people in what police are investigating as a hate crime.

A bartender at Puzzles Lounge told The Associated Press that the young man, dressed all in black, ordered a drink and asked if Puzzles was a gay bar. He finished his drink shortly after midnight, ordered another, then started attacking people, the bartender said. Three were hospitalized Thursday. (more)

Picture of the Day

I don't follow Middle East politics…

My friend told me a little about the Palestine election. I dont follow their election. Anyway, that picture stunned me below, which was happened after the winning election of Humas. About this election, it is fear, elation, and shock. Yet I don't know why it is a shock. Looks like Humas is not meant to be won? I don't know much about Humas. However, I hope it will be better for Palestine. Palestine has a long history of war, problems, and enemies. Am I correct?

What is the wrong with this picture?