Love Is Making Its Way Back Home
3 hours ago
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Self-portrait on a tree
This world is full of things alive, departing from a general definition of a life form as an independent entity, which has a capacity to mutate over a finite life-span, in a response to a changing environment. A common phenomena of obsessive-compulsive disorder: touching inanimate objects to make sure they haven't come to life. Obsessive animification (made-up word, derived from anima: psychological mechanism of projecting spiritual onto matter in an attempt to explain it's changeability).
A few years ago I worked long hours on a virtual reality software; after, while walking home, I couldn't help touching railings, doors, vegetation - to enjoy the feeling of them being "more pleasantly real": unlike a VR glove, the "real" things did not vibrate.
In the middle of glass-and-concrete capital cities we are nevertheless surrounded by unsupervised mutation: birds, trees, insects; businesses that open, close, readjust. Faces coming through the random stains on the park benches... faces on the inhomogeneities of wooden decks. Reflections on reflections of reflections - caught through a window of a passing tram; patterns...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Letter to Irish Times
Sir,
On behalf of the organizers, participants and supporters of the pro-choice rally in Dublin we wish to express our concern over an unsatisfactory state of healthcare services available to women in Ireland.
Criminalization of abortion not only violates women's sexual and reproductive rights, it also continues Ireland's shameful history of state policy motivated by religious arguments, which violates the fundamental human right of Freedom of Religion, as well as contradicts the Irish Constitution which established freedom of (and from) religious belief (article 44).
We organized a counter-rally "Rally for Choice" at "Rally for Life" in order to demonstrate that the views of pro-life organizations do not represent the Irish public. There is wide support for safe and legal abortion on demand in Ireland (http://www.ifpa.ie/eng/Media-Info/News-Events/News-Events/Three-quarters-of-population-favour-liberalisation-of-abortion-laws-in-Ireland). 4,402 women living in Ireland accessed abortion services in UK in 2010 (UK Department of Health, http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_126769). Irish Medicines Board confirmed that the Irish Customs Authority seized 1,216 illegal abortion pills in 2009 (http://www.ifpa.ie/eng/Media/Files/Abortion-in-Ireland-Briefing) which provides evidence that women order medication online for a self-induced abortion.
Safe and legal abortion, in line with international standards, would reduce the levels of maternal mortality and injury related to unsafe abortion. When performed in a proper medical environment, abortion is among the safest procedures in medicine. In Ireland, however, women are still denied access to modern reproductive healthcare. Poor and very young women are particularly vulnerable, as for them it might be difficult to afford to travel abroad. As a consequence many have no other option but to go even as far as attempt self-induced abortions at home, which in some cases resulted in life-long disabilities and deaths.
It is deeply unsettling that in a modern European country the accessibility of healthcare services to women can still be dictated by theological arguments. "Rally for life" cynically pushed all their young supporters to the front of their march, so that the mainstream press would fail to get pictures of the dour clergymen, women waving rosary beads, virgin-Mary statues and crucifix-thrusting that characterised the majority of voting-age participants; "no to abortion, no to sodomy, no to Norris", read one proudly-held sign. In addition to those religiously motivated participants, "Rally for life" cynically used children, who have no understanding of the issues involved, for PR purposes.
"Rally for life" had tens of thousands of euro at its disposal, and bussed its participants in from all over the country. We, on the other hand, were a handful of Dubliners who organised our demonstration at the last minute. This group of approximately 200 of us endured with dignity the slanders and threats from the large pro-life rally. Contrary to assertions from previous letter writers, we did not choose to respond in kind to these aggressive provocations. The gardai deserve praise for protecting the safety of the pro-choice group in very antagonistic circumstances.
We demand a review of the abortion policy and legislation for the X case as a matter of urgency.
Yours,
....
On behalf of the organizers, participants and supporters of the pro-choice rally in Dublin we wish to express our concern over an unsatisfactory state of healthcare services available to women in Ireland.
Criminalization of abortion not only violates women's sexual and reproductive rights, it also continues Ireland's shameful history of state policy motivated by religious arguments, which violates the fundamental human right of Freedom of Religion, as well as contradicts the Irish Constitution which established freedom of (and from) religious belief (article 44).
We organized a counter-rally "Rally for Choice" at "Rally for Life" in order to demonstrate that the views of pro-life organizations do not represent the Irish public. There is wide support for safe and legal abortion on demand in Ireland (http://www.ifpa.ie/eng/Media-Info/News-Events/News-Events/Three-quarters-of-population-favour-liberalisation-of-abortion-laws-in-Ireland). 4,402 women living in Ireland accessed abortion services in UK in 2010 (UK Department of Health, http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_126769). Irish Medicines Board confirmed that the Irish Customs Authority seized 1,216 illegal abortion pills in 2009 (http://www.ifpa.ie/eng/Media/Files/Abortion-in-Ireland-Briefing) which provides evidence that women order medication online for a self-induced abortion.
Safe and legal abortion, in line with international standards, would reduce the levels of maternal mortality and injury related to unsafe abortion. When performed in a proper medical environment, abortion is among the safest procedures in medicine. In Ireland, however, women are still denied access to modern reproductive healthcare. Poor and very young women are particularly vulnerable, as for them it might be difficult to afford to travel abroad. As a consequence many have no other option but to go even as far as attempt self-induced abortions at home, which in some cases resulted in life-long disabilities and deaths.
It is deeply unsettling that in a modern European country the accessibility of healthcare services to women can still be dictated by theological arguments. "Rally for life" cynically pushed all their young supporters to the front of their march, so that the mainstream press would fail to get pictures of the dour clergymen, women waving rosary beads, virgin-Mary statues and crucifix-thrusting that characterised the majority of voting-age participants; "no to abortion, no to sodomy, no to Norris", read one proudly-held sign. In addition to those religiously motivated participants, "Rally for life" cynically used children, who have no understanding of the issues involved, for PR purposes.
"Rally for life" had tens of thousands of euro at its disposal, and bussed its participants in from all over the country. We, on the other hand, were a handful of Dubliners who organised our demonstration at the last minute. This group of approximately 200 of us endured with dignity the slanders and threats from the large pro-life rally. Contrary to assertions from previous letter writers, we did not choose to respond in kind to these aggressive provocations. The gardai deserve praise for protecting the safety of the pro-choice group in very antagonistic circumstances.
We demand a review of the abortion policy and legislation for the X case as a matter of urgency.
Yours,
....
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Extraordinary Adventures of Massimo Benis.
Page 1. (Let me tell u my story...)
Page 2 (Massimo's Trip)
Page 3. (Challenging and exciting)
Page 3.(Death in the office)
Page 4. (Moving For Ward)
(to be continued...)
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