From Columbus IndyMedia – Friday, December 30, 2005
Around 400 people, mostly Somalian, gathered around Columbus’ city hall today at 2pm to protest the death of Nasir Abdi. Abdi, 23, who has a history of mental illness was shot Wednesday by four Franklin County Sheriffs as they attempted to take him from his home to be committed in a mental hospital that force-fed him medications on a previous visit.
The protest began in front of the city hall building with most protesters holding signs saying things like “Nasir Abdi needed medication not a bullet” and “the Somali community mourns the unjust death of Nasir Abdi”. The protesters also had pictures of police officers drawn like cowboys shooting Abdi as well as pictures of Abdi.
The mood of the protesters was angry over the death but with an empowered overtone as the protesters shook their fists in the air. Around 2:45 the protesters with a mock casket at the lead began to march around city hall, which went around several times in between stops in front of city hall, going along the sidewalks chanting “we want justice!” and “no justice, no peace!”
The police presence was large for the protesters’ numbers, which were shy of the expected 2000. The police stationed horses in the front of city hall and watched the protesters by bicycle and by car, but thankfully they were not violent and did not try to provoke the crowd.
The protesters disputed early claims by other media sources about the allegation that Abdi was armed with a six-inch kitchen knife and had provoked the police into responding with deadly force. Some claim that Somali and non-Somali witnesses to the tragedy saw no knife and fear a cover-up. The Somalian community is demanding a full investigation into the matter.
Here is the Columbus Dispatch coverage of the story.
by Emma Goldman
[Published in Mother Earth, Vol. IV, no. 5, July 1909.]
When, in the course of human development, existing institutions prove inadequate to the needs of man, when they serve merely to enslave, rob, and oppress mankind, the people have the eternal right to rebel against, and overthrow, these institutions.
The mere fact that these forces–inimical to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness–are legalized by statute laws, sanctified by divine rights, and enforced by political power, in no way justifies their continued existence.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all human beings, irrespective of race, color, or sex, are born with the equal right to share at the table of life; that to secure this right, there must be established among men economic, social, and political freedom; we hold further that government exists but to maintain special privilege and property rights; that it coerces man into submission and therefore robs him of dignity, self-respect, and life.
Continue reading ‘A New Declaration of Independence’
on a holiday break from the NCCC, Ms. Margaret is in town for a few days. welcome back to c-bus!
check out this too-good-to-be-true picture:
Continue reading ‘welcome back to Ohio Margaret!’
My good friend James sent me this really addicting link to MyHeritage Face Recognition, it analyzes a photo and compares your face to a database of celebrities. There’s only 2,400 in the database so far, and usually i get told that i look like Ellen Degeneres but she must not be in the database yet.
my first result was Halle Berry!
Continue reading ‘Fun with photo recognition’
8 days with no blog! I didn’t know I was capable of doing that. Well it’s back to life as usual now.
I am glad to announce that even this self-proclaimed grinch who is too jaded to fully give in to such a material holiday managed to have a very enjoyable week. Complete with Tofurkey, a cute little elf named Dillon, and lots of Grandma’s cookies. And okay, I did receive a kick-a$$ Fuji FinePix A350 digital camera and 256 MB memory card which I am totally in love with. Even the anti-consumerist part of me admittedly gave in to that one.
But the holiday fun isn’t over yet! Today is Ujamaa (oo-jah-mah), the third day of Kwanzaa. The word means Cooperative Economics, with the idea “to build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.” A very appealing idea to anyone I would hope, regardless of religious affiliation.
download this program (made by Jason Freeman) and it analyzes your iTunes library to make a 40-second clip of your music tastes. you can select how long you want the clips to be, how many are layered at a time, etc.
so next time someone asks “so what kind of music do you like?” you can give them this .wav file and they can see for themselves. it’s actually really hilarious to hear all your music put together, but it makes a good sampling!
I almost forgot that today is Winter Solstice! A quick lesson if you’re unfamiliar with this day: today and today only, due to the earth’s tilt on its axis, the daytime hours are at a minimum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a maximum.
Some interesting Solstice facts:
- In Ancient Greece the winter solstice ritual was called Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women. In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day. Later in the ritual, Dionysos would be reborn as a baby.
- The Ancient Incas celebrated a festival of Inti Raymi at the time of the Winter Solstice. It celebrates “the Festival of the Sun where the god of the Sun, Wiracocha, is honored.” Ceremonies were banned by the Roman Catholic conquistadores in the 16th century as part of their forced conversions of the Inca people to Christianity. A local group of Quecia Indians in Cusco, Peru revived the festival about 1950. It is now a major festival which begins in Cusco and proceeds to an ancient amphitheater a few miles away.
- The Pueblo tribes observe both the summer and winter solstices. Although the specific details of the rituals differ from pueblo to pueblo, “the rites are built around the sun, the coming new year and the rebirth of vegetation in the spring…. Winter solstice rites include… prayerstick making, retreats, altars, emesis and prayers for increase.”
- Wiccans recognize eight seasonal days of celebration. Four are minor sabbats and occur at the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The winter solstice sabbat is often called Yule. It is a time for introspection, and planning for the future. Wiccans may celebrate the Sabbat on the evening before the time of the actual solstice, at sunrise on the morning of the solstice, or at the exact time of the astronomical event.
Continue reading ‘Fun with Winter Solstice’
