Change in Paris…

This past Sunday, French people yet again showed the rest of the world the true meaning of a democracy. As Americans we love to attack and make fun of the French but once again they showed us how things should be done. I was amazed to see that the presidential election had an 85% turnout unlike our last election where we had a turnout of 54%. The funny thing about all of this is that our politicians spent over $500,000,000 in the last presidential race and only attracted 54% of the population. The French on the other hand use a state run television program so that the entire population has access to it and in return have a massive turnout. Wouldn’t it be great to see people being more interested in our presidential elections rather than worrying about voting for the next American Idol???

Finally...

This by far has to be one of the best news stories of 2007. After years of having to deal with one of the most annoying individuals of all time, a California judge sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail for driving with a suspended license. It’ nice to know that on rare occasions the law can’ be bought by the wealth / power of celebrities. The only sad thing about this story is that once she is set free, we once again have to suffer as a society…

Illegal immigration Day...

May 1^st marks yet another day of massive demonstrations around the country for illegal immigration. Many illegal immigrants were marching here in Los Angeles trying to gain support for their cause. As a legal immigrant who’s parents had to wait in line for over ten years in order to have the privilege of receiving a Green Card and gaining access legally, I believe that its not right for people to have the same rights if they choose to brake the laws of the land and not wait in line like the rest of us. Therefore I am absolutely against having amnesty for illegal immigrants; that being said I also realize that illegal immigrants are the backbone of our country due to their willingness to perform jobs that most “Americans” simply wouldn’t do. Many illegal immigrants are good hardworking citizens who actually help our society and therefore should have access to healthcare and education. I guess what I am really trying to say is that I don’t know what the right response to this crisis is; we shouldn’t reward people for breaking laws and at the same time we should find it in our hearts to help one another, especially if they are helping our economy and society. On a side note, I think all students who skip classes to attend these demonstrations should be suspended… odds are they are trying to get out of school and don’t really give a damn about the issue!!!

More Tenet !!!

The Tenet Story keeps getting better and better. Here is his full interview with 60 minutes:

Medal of Freedom!!!

Today six former CIA officers wrote a nasty letter to the former Director George Tenet who is blamed by many for being one of the main reasons why we are at war. Interestingly enough the former officers accused Tenet of misleading the American public and our congress with the type of information he chose to release in order to make a case for Iraq. The officers expressed their anger and frustration with tenet because the reports from officers on the field clearly showed that there were no WMD in Iraq and that Saddam and Al-Qaeda had no ties to one another. The officers also requested Tenet giving back the Medal of Freedom he received from President Bush before leaving the Agency. What amazes me is that Tenet’s new book is coming out on Monday and he actually gets to profit from all the pain and suffering he has brought to our nation and the rest of the world.

NFL Draft...

Its NFL draft time and I am happy to report that the most overrated college player of all time Brady Quinn ended up being the #22 over all pick and not #1 as expected by the bias media. I am so sick of ND getting all the hype from the media even if it’s clear to most fans around the nation that they lack talent!!!

Farewell Senior Year…

Today was the last day of class for many seniors, including myself. As tradition has it at USC, all seniors must partake in one last activity before leaving USC and entering the real world. This activity is known to many as “The Fountain Run”!!! On the last day of classes all seniors at SC gather up near the Finger Fountain at night and all run as a group and jump into each and every single fountain in our campus. I am talking about more than 32 fountains, 2 miles of running, and lots and lost of screaming. Tonight was no different, my friends and I joined forces with hundreds and hundreds of students and ran across campus, jumped in every fountain and finally completed our right of passage. I highly encourage all undergrads to continue the senior tradition when their time arrives.

Worlds Largest Illegal Gun Market...

This is a great video that shows the reality of what is going on in Pakistan. The Afghan and U.S. government have tried to weaken the Taliban for the past few years; and yet based on what we have seen so far the Taliban have managed to rearm / regroup thanks to the support of many powerful Pakistani lords that use their dominance of the worlds largest gun market to support the Taliban’s who are their number one customers.

I am not even going to title this...

Chess...

Today I had my first final of the semester in Chess… that’s right chess. As part of our final we had to play against our instructor Jack Peters who is an international master in chess; that means he is only one win away from being an international Grandmaster (the best in the world). As part of the setup we all position our chessboards around the room forming a circle and he would play all of us at once. I am talking about over 40 different games that he had to play at once one move at a time; and not surprisingly he ended up beating all 40 of us!!! I had fortunate enough to out last most of my classmates before loosing to him. Here is the recoding I have from the game: (looks like alien language)

1. e4 d5 2. Nf3 dxe4 3. Nh4 e5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 Bxh4 6. gxh4 Qxh4 7. O-O Nf6 8.
d3 Bf5 9. Qe1 O-O 10. Nc3 exd3 11. Qxe5 Bh3 12. Qg3 Qxg3 13. fxg3 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 dxc2 15. Rf2 Nc6 16. Bf4 Nd4 17. a3 c5 18. Bd6 Rfc8 19. Ne2 Nb3 20. Re1 Ne4 21. Rf3 c1=Q 22. Nxc1 Nxc1 23. Rxc1 Nxd6 24. Re1 Re8 25. Ref1 Re2+ 26. R1f2 Rae8 27. Kf1 Rxf2+ 28. Rxf2 f5 29. b3 Re3 30. Rb2 b5 31. a4 bxa4 32. bxa4 c4 33. Kf2 Rb3 34. Ra2 c3 35. Ke1 Rb1+ 36. Ke2 Rb2+ 37. Kd3 Rxa2 38. Kxc3 Rxh2 39. Kd4 Kf7 40. Kc5 Ne4+ 41. Kb5 Nxg3 42. Ka6 f4 43. a5 f3 44. Kxa7 f2 45. a6 f1=Q 46. Kb7 Rc2 47. a7 Qb5+ 48. Ka8 Rc8# 0-1

I lost in 96 moves

Educational Reform from A-to-Z

This was my slogan when running for office this past fall. Today I ran into the professor that came up with the slogan and as a result I decided to revisit my old website. I was amazed to see the number of visitors I have had over the past few months even thou the election is long over. The funny thing about it is that the visitors are all leaving comments about how great the website looks and only if they knew I have no idea how to maintain or create a website. The guy on the right hand corner of the bottom picture is really responsible for my website!!!

QVC Shopping...

Ever since I found about the “wine making” video, I have been going around showing it to everybody that I know. Today one of my friends from China told me about another video which is also really funny. It amazes me how she knew about the wine making video and in fact had seen it over a year ago.

Grey's Anatomy...

Tonight I decided to watch some T.V. (other than the news) for the first time in weeks. As I was surfing through the channels I realized that I indeed failed to watch a single episode of Grey’s Anatomy this season; it was then that I remembered one of the discussions we had in our classroom regarding ABC putting all of the episodes online for FREE. Three hours later and I am now good to go; the one amazing thing about the episodes being online is the lack of too many commercials. One can watch an episode with only three 30 second advertisements in the middle. For the first time in my life I have not been bothered by the advertisements during a show. Its Great!!!

Thank You...

Thank you so much for a great semester Marissa; this was one of the best classes I have taken at Annenberg. This class is VERY practical because we all get a chance to see professionals from the field come in to our classroom and share their experiences with us. Believe it or not, I am going to miss our class and I can now say that I have a greater appreciation for blogs and bloggers. Thanks for not making this class boring!!!

Wine Making...

Unfortunately this has been a sad week for many around the nation. Everywhere we look, we see people talking about the tragic events that took place on Monday. I have been watching the news for the past few days and like most students have been sickened by the images I have seen. So to make myself feel better, I decide to search for some funny clips on the internet. I feel as if this isn’t the right time to for blaming, questioning and playing politics. I am sure I will partake in questioning the gun control laws in future posts; but for now I hope this clip can help some of you by putting a smile on your face.

In Our Prayers...

The Media...

All day the media has been going after the administration for not doing enough. I on the other hand would take the administrations side because I just get really sick of the media going crazy and trying to find somebody to blame after every major tragedy that we are faced with as a nation. In this particular case, I think the administration took the necessary steps to deal with the situation; the first group of officers at the first scene believed that it was a domestic dispute that resulted in a shooting. The officers then surrounded the building and started looking for proper evidence (talking to witnesses) as a means to collect information on the suspect. I don’t think that it would make sense for a university that large (population of more than 36,000) to have all operations stopped over what was thought as a single incident by the university police. That being said, I believe that there is always room for improvement and I am sure that all universities around the country are going to review there emergency policies over the next few weeks. I also like the idea of warning the students using helicopters after it was known that a madman was going on a shooting rampage. But in my opinion, for us to be so quick in pointing fingers at one another is not the best way to deal with such a catastrophe. Now is a time for mourning and reflection, those who are to bed held accountable will be so at a later date, for now let us stay united.

Great Speaker...

First of all I wanted to say how much I enjoyed our speaker this past week; over the semester we have had a lot of great speakers and I always found myself asking a lot of questions because they were all so interesting. Angela Wilson like all of the other speakers was extremely fascinating and she managed to cover everything during her lecture; it was so good that I couldn’t come up with a question to ask her. I absolutely loved the “Kitty Calendar” episodes and therefore thought I would post the 3^rd episode so those of you who were in class would get to see what happened next…

Row Cup...

Today the men of Phi Delta Theta participated in the “Row Cup” challenge to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House as part of a philanthropy for Alpha Delta Pi sorority. This event is a popular fraternity soccer tournament that brings in over 5,000 dollars each year. The Phi Delta team managed to win the 2^nd bracket of the tournament which means we won some sporting equipments (we don’t know what it is yet) for our house. I had a great time participating in this event as one of my last things I do before graduation.

Mastercard Commercial...

I just ran into this clip that my brother had sent me back in January. I think this is one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life.

Gamma Class...

This past week, we had our initiation for the Gamma class of Phi Delta Theta. Before initiation we had to perform one last mission which consisted of running down the Golden Gate Bridge in shorts, walking a chicken on a leash around San Francisco and many other tasks. This gave all of us a great chance to bond as a group one last time before becoming actives. Above are few pictures from the trip!!!

Testing Out...

Today I passed the last major hurdle before graduation. Few weeks ago I was informed by my undergraduate advisor that I had to either take three semesters of a foreign language / or test out of a language before graduating in May. Fortunately my native language is Farsi and therefore I had the opportunity to test out of it; the problem however was that I would only get one try to pass the test which consisted of reading, writing and speaking. The scary concept was the fact that I only got one chance to pass all three areas and that failing to reach that goal would have meant not graduation. So after a two hour test I am happy to announce that I indeed passed the test and are now one step closer to graduating !!!!

Spring Break Pics...

Over this past spring break I visited some friends in San Francisco; and I finally have the pictures to prove how much fun I had flying over the Golden Gate bridge. It was my first type flying a small plain.

Drunk Driving...

Last night, the director of “A Christmas Story,” Bob Clark, and his son Ariel were killed in a drunk driving accident in Pacific Palisades. One of Hollywood’s greatest talents, gone. Just like that. Gone because someone decided to drive home after a few drinks instead of letting his wife drive, or just calling a friend. Irresponsible people like THIS are the true terrorists in America—completely disregarding the safety and well-being of others by driving drunk. How many parents, children, friends, teachers, brothers, sisters, grandparents have to die before people wise up and do the right thing?

Diplomacy!!!

Well, the hostages are free once again. I must say, I was surprised that the British admitted to their mistake, whether it was true or not, and that the Iranians accepted it and returned their men. Who knew diplomacy could actually work in this world. In fact, this relatively painless transfer of POWs actually gives me hope for future diplomatic relations with Iran, it proves to the rest of the world, or just the rest of America, that they are not mindless fundamentalists, but that they are reasonable when it comes to making deals with other countries.

Money Money Money... Money!!!

So, Obama is close on Hillary Clinton’s tail with fundraising. He has already raised $25 million, which apparently almost matches the amount that Clinton has raised. Furthermore, he has tapped over 100,000 donors, two times as much as Clinton. Does this mean that Obama is holding his own in the race for the democratic nomination—that he may be developing a quality base of constituents? I hope, in the midst of this frenzy to gain money and popularity, that Obama can actually prove his worth as a leading political candidate. I’m still waiting to hear, other than his homely background and charismatic public appeal, what his platform is, and how he truly represents the wishes of America.

Nashville...

Nashville is a changing city—an influx of immigrants beginning in 1990 has begun to upset the traditional black/white ethnic makeup. Ethiopians, Somalis, Kurds and Latinos have settled in, causing native Nashvillians to begin working on a law that encourages the use of English over any other language. It seems that the chemical makeup of America is changing, forcing cities to deal with new social, economic and political issues similar to what southern California has been going through this past decade.

Poverty in LA?

Yesterday, I read an article in the Los Angeles Times about the poor Coachella Valley. In it, David Kelly outlines the poverty-ridden lifestyle of Latino workers who are forced to live in ‘ramshackle’ mobile home parks with contaminated water. It’s a shame that in such an affluent society as the southern California, such poverty can reign. Its suffering like this, when citizens live in surprising misery, that is the source of real terrorism in this country. It’s the terror of not knowing whether a parent can feed their children at night, of not knowing whether the water they give them is filled with disease or industrial remnants. Perhaps, before spending billions of dollars to maintain the comfortable lifestyle of the middle and upper classes, maybe politicians should consider representing the best interests of his constituents, including the lower class, instead of corporate business interests like Enron and Haliburton.

Drugs and Smith...

So, even in death it seems Anna Nicole Smith must maintain her status as a tabloid princess. Today, they ruled, after weeks of ridiculous legal hearings and speculation, that, yes, contrary to popular belief, she died of a drug overdose. I must say, upon finding that she was on nine—yes, nine—drugs, I was surprised not that she overdosed, but that she survived as long as she did. But, how can a drug overdose be accidental when someone is taking high doses of painkillers and sleeping pills? How can it be accidental when the world has witnessed her downward spiral for years, and did nothing but take pictures as she drowned in the depths of her own depression.

OH OH...

Its my birthday and i cant wait to go out and celebrate with family and friends ;) Its sad that i feel old and I am only 22...

Our Roads...

On a blog post for the LA Times sponsored Bottleneck Blog , it was mentioned that the mayor of LA is finally going to do something about the terrible status of our highways and sidewalks. As if traffic itself wasn’t bad enough, driving down streets filled with potholes and uneven cracks makes driving in LA must more pleasurable, right? Furthermore, how can ‘experts’ encourage more citizens to walk or ride bicycles to lessen traffic when the streets are completely uneven—which could, for the disabled, cause accidents that result in physical injury. It’s about time someone began brainstorming on what would make LA a better city to live in.

Golden Gate...

Last weekend, I was led to San Francisco for a fraternity event. While running half naked down the Golden Gate Bridge, we were encouraged by crowds of clapping and amused attention. Terrifyingly enough however, only thirty feet away someone committed suicide by jumping off the bridge. It was striking how some people can enjoy themselves so much in one place, but someone else could be so despairing that they give up on life altogether. This person had given into a temporary solution for a long-term problem. Upon discussing this with a friend of mine who had lived for some time in San Francisco, it turns out that suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge is extremely common, perhaps as frequent as “once or twice a week.” This issue is discussed in a recent documentary entitled, The Bridge; the filmmaker originally set out to glorify the Bridge, but upon finding out about the frequency of suicides, he re dedicated the film to explore this controversial issue within the city itself. Only in America would men like Dr. Kevorkian be persecuted for assisting suicide while nothing is being done to prevent the large number of suicides that happen on that monument in San Francisco.

Sign of War?

Last week, 15 British mariners were taken hostage in Iran. The Iranian government claims that they entered closed Iranian waters and that they therefore had the right to arrest them. The British claim that they were in neighboring Iraqi waters when the Iranian officials scouted and approached them. In times of growing tensions with the Middle East, one can only wonder when the kidnappings and abuses will stop. Will they continue to escalate into war, or will they be the source of fear for years to come? Which sources can we trust, the Iranian government that says they are safe and healthy, despite the fact that they have a history of violence toward westerners? Should the British be trusted—those who for centuries exploited ethnic differences in order to maintain control? When national identities blend during international cultural conflicts, who is right and who is wrong? Those who are desperate to maintain economic prosperity, or those who struggle to maintain political independence despite international efforts to stifle the growth of their own nation?

No on Rudy Giuliani !!!

What business, you may ask, does Rudy Giuliani have running for President? None, I say. His campaign rests only on the fact that he was mayor of New York during September 11^th and not a solid political career with clear objectives. His entire political career rests solely on his mayorship and appointment as a federal prosecutor. He has held no state or federal-level jobs that would give him the diplomatic and political skills needed to be president. As mayor, he made his name being ‘tough on crime,’ but his extremely moderate political stance has alienated him from the conservative Republican base. He claims to be a Republican, but his pro-choice, pro-gay marriage beliefs do not correspond to accepted Republican doctrine. How can he represent his Republican constituents if he doesn’t share their beliefs? How can he assess national political issues if he contradicts his own party?
The only experience he has in the federal government is the fact that he prosecuted corrupt politicians in the 70’s—but his prosecuting career is most memorable for his efforts to weaken organized crime. His legal career aided him in his campaign to become mayor, but is not sufficient enough to carry him through a national presidential election. After surviving the Bush administration, America deserves better than the immoral Giuliani, whose extra-marital affair was made public in 2000. If he is willing to disregard his marriage vow, how do we know he won’t disregard his presidential oath? The fact of the matter is that Rudy Giulini is just not what America needs. Frankly, he cannot back up his popular face and his memorable attachment to 9/11—he has a weak political career and an unclear partisan base.

Happy Noruz!!!

It’s that time of the year again. For over 2,566 years Persians around the world have celebrated “Noruz” (the new year) with their family and friends. As part of this great tradition, all Persians gather around the dinner table with their immediate family to exchanging gifts and stories. This is followed by the young visiting the elder for a period of 13 days as a sign of respect toward them. I personally would like to wish all Persians a Happy New Year and hope that the year (1386) would bring in prosperity and happiness for all.

Politics...

One of the biggest stories in the news today is the new online add that is attacking Hillary Clinton. I thought it was really interesting that we just talked about the Apple add a few weeks ago and now we have this. Let the dirty politics begin and may the best mud-slinger win.

Sweet Victory,

Its my senior year and I have waited so long for this day. After last years Rose Bowl game I was devastated and was looking forward to see Texas loose. What a great game it was. Our basketball team beat texas 87-68 and moved on to the sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 and only the second time since 1979. What a SWEET REVENGE … a great day for TROJAN NATION.

My Hall of Shame...

Hello all, I am here in Beautiful San Francisco enjoying my spring break and have finally got access to the internet. So the topic of discussion is once again going to be about politics. We all know that politics is dirty and that there isn’t much we can do to change that. Over the years I have been really frustrated by all the dirty politics that have played out on the national stage. But I have finally found who I believe to be the dirtiest and most sickening politician of them all… that’s right Ladies and Gents his name is Newt Gingrich!!! I am sure most of you have heard by now about him cheating on his wife while trying to impeach President Clinton for messing around with Monica. What a hypocrite… for someone to have the audacity to do that is unbelievable. Again I know politics are dirty and that we have “bad guys” on both sides, but Gingrich has earned the top spot on my Hall of Shame.

Spring Break

For those of you that have yet to make plans for spring break, this article provides some great information about the top 10 beaches to hunt for shells in the United States. Now you have to keep in mind that this wasn’t exactly designed for “college students” (meaning don’t expect to party all day); but if your like me and you just want to go away for few days to relax and/ or maybe spend some time with the family then you should look into it. I am thinking about visiting Stinson Beach with some family and friends and are looking forward to some time off from school. I wish all of you a great Spring Break and hope you all stay safe

Guilty!!!

On Tuesday, Libby was found guilty of four out of five counts that he was charged with. As his punishment he could face up to 25 years in prison; but I have a feeling that he is only going to get the very minimum which is about two years. And even with that, his lawyers are going to drag the appeal process for another two years so that he could easily avoid prison time when President Bush pardons him before leaving office. I have to say that I am happy that somebody from the administration was finally found guilty and at the same time I feel bad for Libby because I think we all know that he was the scapegoat of this administration. I can’t imagine how he feels… lets face it… he is targeted and hated by all sides.

“Obesity surgery triples amongst U.S. Teens”

This was one of the major headlines on the news today. It made me think about our society and the obesity that goes with it. I can’t make up my mind; On one hand I am happy that teens are looking out for their health by having the surgery considering the amount of risk involve in it. And yet on the other hand I am not sure if surgery is really the answer for these kids. Its almost like taking the easy way out. The real question in my mind is what kind of a massage we want to send out to our youth: “that it’s ok to eat unhealthy food and taking the easy way out” or that “hard work and self discipline can lead to success”. Let’s face it, we all hate to work out and eat healthy food all the time; but the reality is for the most part we get what we ask for.

Career ???

Here is a question for everybody at large? If you were planning on running for political office later on in life, which one of the two following carriers would you partake in right out of college? Please explain your reasoning.

A) FBI

B) CIA

Whats the verdict?

Is anybody else watching this courtroom battle for Anna Nicole Smith’s body. I have never ever seen anything like it. First of all, I can’t believe that the most important news story in the land is about Ana Nicole; and second of all, I cant believe that I am watching all of this lol. Is this judge for real? Who needs 19 lawyers for a single case? And why are they showing everything live on TV?

USC ELECTIONS!!!

Lady’s and Gents, Its that time of the year again!!! The 07-08 USG elections are coming up this Tuesday-Thursday and I encourage all of you to get out there and vote. Remember that we can’t complain about anything that goes on at our school, unless we take the time to vote. I personally have done my research and are going to vote Ryan Bethea and Ross Ruschhaupt for USG President and V.P. I have to go to class now, but I will submit a follow-up to this post with my reasoning for voting for them :).

Basketball

I am a big fan of quick surveys and many times find myself taking them on different websites such as CNN, BBC and ESPN. I am interested in the surveys because I want to see how others think and look at different issues facing our society. This morning I ran into yet another survey and felt obligated to participate in it, especially because I found the question to be ridiculous. This particular survey was focused on “breaking news” in the sports world; the news that a former basketball player came out of the closet!!! The question was “If a player with your favorite team came out as gay, how would you react?” The options were A. Support the player, or B. Change Teams. The first time I red the question, I immediately told my self that 99% of the sample population would choose option A. As always, I cast my ballot and went on with my daily life. Later on during the day, I returned to check my emails. At this time, I happened to recheck the results of the poll. To my surprise, 22% of the 44,633 respondents voted for option B, which is to “Change Teams”. Now this is what scares me about our world and the society that we live in. To think that anybody that could be so fundamental / religious has the ability to elect the next leader of the free world. I mean come on, would somebody really stop supporting a team or a political party because of a single issue!!!

ALS ???

So here I was sitting in Doheny library during mandatory study hours for my Fraternity and I ran into to this article on CNN. I found the title of the article to be intriguing because this past year, my Fraternity participated in a philanthropy event and was able to help raise over $300,000 for the ALS foundation. It amazes me how many people (including me before our event) have no idea what ALS is and yet it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans have this disease at any given time. This article provides us with a real life example of what it is like to live with ALS and I hope that this post will help spread the word about this disease.

Here is the website for those who are interested on learning more about this disease and/ or are interested on donating to a good cause.

No Really???

What a surprise; one of the major headlines of today is that Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) has announced that he will not run for president in ‘08. I am shocked. Did anybody actually think he was going to run again? Kerry’s name brings a shiver down my spine, as it does to Democrats everywhere, especially since we actually thought he stood a chance in the last presidential race. Nevertheless, why did so many vote for him, was it desperation or true support? Yes, I voted for him in the ’06 election, but not because I liked him. For me, it was the lesser of two evils—in the great words of Paul Simon, “every way you look at it you lose…” Let’s just say it’s a relief that he isn’t running again in ’08, let him leave room for someone more, shall we say, charismatic?

Can He Do It ???

America has a history of infatuation with their political leaders, from FDR to JFK. While both were sincerely qualified leaders, it was their popularity that carried much of their ideas into practice. During the Depression, America was desperate to repair the system, and the ultimate faith in FDR allowed him to maneuver in favor of the New Deal. Similarly, during the uncertainty of the early 1960’s, Kennedy rose through his popularity to introduce quality reforms. Now, while the haze of Iraq has yet to settle in American politics, the time has come for a new leader to step up. I also agree with the author of Obama’s (Gary) Hart Problem in that he is lacking substance and experience and that is why I believe we (the Democrats) are going to choose Hillary as our presidential candidate for 2008.