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Daily Titan
Tuesday December 2, 2008
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
DTSHORTHAND Campus Life The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is having a presentation today in the Ruby Gerontology Center about technology and its effects on the elderly. Where do grandparents and parents begin to learn and interpret the language of this technology-savvy generation? The discussion will also focus on differences in each generation’s communication styles and norms, the use of disclosure and how to bridge the gaps. The guest speaker will be Daley Hilburn For more information please call (714) 278-2446.
Atheists proselytize this year’s holiday season OLYMPIA, Wash. (MCT) – In the latest round of what’s become almost a winter tradition – conflicts over religious symbols in public places – a group of atheists and agnostics have put up a sign in the Capitol building that says, in part: “Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Freedom From Religion Foundation members put up the sign Monday, partly in response to a nearby Nativity scene. They also debuted a billboard in downtown Olympia that reads: “Reason’s Greetings.” “Nonbelievers are a part of the fabric of America and we claim our place at the table to exercise free speech and freedom of religion, which includes freedom from religion,” said Dan Barker, co-president of the Wisconsin-based foundation. The organization claims 12,800 members nationwide and 670 in Washington state. Debate over such displays have become a regular occurrence in recent years. In 2005, Republican state Rep. John Ahern created a stir when he said the fir tree inside the Capitol rotunda in Olympia should be called a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree. This year’s tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for Friday. In 2006, there was a brouhaha when Port of Seattle officials took down Christmas trees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a local rabbi requested that an 8-foot-tall menorah also be displayed.
Show off ends up in a ‘soccer fail’
‘I’m not a terrorist’
(MCT) Hasan Elahi has spent most of the past six years trying to prove that he isn’t a terrorist. This is odd in a way, because during that time no one has ever said publicly that the San Jose State University assistant professor is an accused terrorist. Except Hasan Elahi. While re-entering the country following a trip to Africa in 2002, Elahi says he was accused of stockpiling explosives for al-Qaida in a Florida storage locker. Elahi went through six months of questioning and the questioning finally ended after nine consecutive polygraph tests. He has been attempting ever since to disprove that he is the most malign threat to civilization of the post-Sept. 11 world. Elahi says he is still fearful that he could be dragged off an airplane and taken to the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. So Elahi reasoned that if he was fated to live under a perpetual cloud of suspicion anyway, he would turn his
Watching ‘Big Brother’ Question and answer with Daily Titan Staff and Hasan Elahi DT: What is the purpose of your Web site? HE: There are multiple purposes and the main purpose is to question our surveillance culture and to question our methodology of collecting information because I think one of the things that I really try to get at with the Web site is that it is not really about gathering or collecting information about an individual but about the analysis of that information. And because I am providing so much information to you, I am providing everything and nothing at the same time. So much of my information demonstrates that you really have to analyze everything in order to get the complete picture. Whereas if you were to look at our security policy we are still stuck in our Cold War mentality of information gathering and we haven’t fully made that transition from a Cold War intelligent operation to a information age intelligent. There have been some advances but we are still operating on a much older model.
See HASAN ELAHI, Page 2
By hasan elahi An excerpt of some of the toilets used away from home in 2005 and 2006.
By hasan elahi Still sequence from Rua Bin Laden. Originally shot on the streets of Bissau shortly after civil war and new election in 2002.
DT: What are some of the responses you have gotten from your Web site? HE: Oh I get all sorts of responses. The most interesting thing I get is when people say “Oh wait a minute, if this idea catches on. We’re in trouble because the government will expect this type of behavior from all of us.” That’s the main thing. DT: What is the statement you are trying to make on the Web site and in your art? HE: Well, the work I am doing on the Web site is part of my work and art. That is my art in a lot of ways. What I am really trying to do is question and try to get people to question what is happening around them. While I am hopeful that with the new administration in Washington, things will change, unless people recognize that things are seriously wrong with the way we are doing things ... nothing will change. We need to take this to the next level where we really do question what we are doing and how we are going about it. DT: Are you still afraid of being mistaken for a terrorist? HE: Well, not really mistaken for See Q&A, Page 2
CSU budget cuts force admission impaction WEATHER
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Many campuses set early deadlines, decrease new students and transfers By christian brown
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
With the CSU facing significant mid-year and future budget cuts, CSU officials will eliminate 10,000 admission spots from the 20092010 academic year by declaring “statewide impaction.” This stipulation allows the 23campus system, the nation’s largest, to reduce its 450,000-student enrollment by pushing up its application deadlines while raising academic expectations for incoming freshmen, said CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, during a conference call with reporters in November. As the state’s budget deficit continues to mount, Reed said the CSU system expects $66 million in midyear budget cuts and further reductions for the 2009-2010 academic
year. Teresa Ruiz, CSU spokesperson, During the teleconference hosted acknowledged the increase, but exby Reed, California Lt. Governor pressed regret that cuts must be John Garamendi asserted that the taken. CSU serves a pivotal role in the state “We’ve already seen a spike in apand must be sustained. plications. That’s good,” Ruiz said “The biggest university system in during a telephone interview. “The the nation is on a starvation diet, outlook, however, is not positive. and the CaliforThe cuts will nia economy is have a tricklegoing to be seridown effect at ously weakened all of our CSU if we do not adecampuses.” quately fund this Popular CSU university syscampuses, such tem,” Garamendi as San Diego – Mary Jo Wilson, State, said. Long High School Counselor Though the adBeach State, Cal mission cuts will State Fullerton, restrict transfers, and Cal Poly San out-of-state and international stu- Luis Obispo have had impaction redents, California high school gradu- strictions for many years. ates will bear the brunt of the downThis year only CSU campussizing, according to CSU officials. es in Sonoma, Channel Islands, Since impaction, many campuses Northridge, Chico, San Jose, San moved application deadlines to Nov. Marcos and San Francisco will ac30, despite reports from CSU offi- cept all qualified students living in cials that Fall 2009 applications have their communities. increased 10 percent compared with Guidance counselor Mary Jo Willast year. son of Sunny Hills High School in
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Popular universities like Fullerton have always rejected people.
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When soccer players try to show off their many skills on the field, they may need to put into consideration that others can and will get hurt. Check out this soccer fail because it looks painful.
Fullerton, believes that the admissions cuts only add to the difficulty students face when attempting to get into a CSU school. “Popular universities like Fullerton have always rejected people,” said Wilson, who encourages her students to apply nonetheless. By moving up the admissions deadline to Nov. 30, Reed agrees that the statewide impaction could potentially be hitting minority and low-income groups the hardest. “Many of these students come from families that are underserved and families of color,” Reed said. “They are unsure about financial aid and when and how to apply for that. So that hesitancy will put them at a disadvantage.” For Jessie Pawling, a counselor at Santiago High School of Garden Grove, the announcement adds one more hurdle for her students to jump over. “It’s a shame,” she said. “Our students are told that if they meet limited eligibility, they will be able to get into a CSU. That may not be the case.”
Page Two
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December 2, 2008
IN OTHER NEWS HASAN ELAHI: ON CAMERA EVERY MINUTE INTERNATIONAL
Pakistan village yields clues about captured gunman
ARIDKOT, Pakistan (MCT) – For the past three days Pakistani intelligence agents and police have been combing this sleepy village in search of clues to the identity of the lone gunman captured in the Mumbai terror attacks, residents said on Monday. Indian officials and news media officials identified him variously as Ajmal Amir Kamal, Azam Amir Kasav, or Azam Ameer Qasab, and Indian news media quoted police as saying that the alleged killer’s home village was in Faridkot, near the city of Multan in the southern part of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Local residents, however, are bewildered and alarmed. They said there was no one by those surnames in this village, and no missing resident who fit the pictures and description shown in the Indian news media. “All the agencies have been here and the (police) special branch,” said village elder Mehboob Khan Daha, referring to Pakistan’s plainclothes counterterror police. “We have become very worried. What’s this all about?” Agents from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also appeared to be present on Monday, questioning locals. Shown a picture of the alleged militant, Daha said: “That’s a smart-looking boy. We don’t have that sort around here.”
NATIONAL
In space, a cluster of health dangers
PHILADELPHIA (MCT) – Space shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson and his crew took a small but crucial step for space travel in the past two weeks, enlarging the International Space Station so it can house six astronauts instead of three. But a bigger leap is needed for humans to survive weightlessness, exotic forms of space radiation, and the loss of the earthly rhythms of light and darkness, scientists say. In orbit about 200 miles from the ground, the space station pushes mankind just a baby step into the cosmos. Even going that far can put astronauts at an elevated risk of cataracts, bone loss and possibly heart problems. A Mars mission would take at least six months each way, during which the crew would face unknown dangers cancer, depression, dementia, cardiovascular disease, accidents associated with sleep deprivation and possibly premature aging. The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour just completed its challenging 16-day mission, delivering what Ferguson called “the most jampacked logistics module we have ever carried up there.”
STATE
Homosexuality tied to genetics, researchers say
SAN JOSE (MCT) – Compared to straight men, gay men are more likely to be left-handed, to be the younger siblings of older brothers, and to have hair that whorls in a counterclockwise direction. Researchers are finding common biological traits among gay men, feeding a growing consensus that sexual orientation is an inborn combination of genetic and environmental factors that largely decide a person’s sexual attractions before they are born. Such findings including a highly anticipated study this winter would further inform the debate over whether homosexuality is innate or a choice, an undercurrent of California’s recent Proposition 8 campaign in which television commercials warned that “schools would begin teaching second-graders that boys could marry boys,” suggesting homosexuality would then spread. Some scientists say the political and moral debate over same-sex marriage frequently strayed from established scientific evidence, including comments by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin that homosexuality is “a choice” and “a decision.”
For the Record It is the policy of the Daily Titan to correct any inaccurate information printed in the publication as soon as the error is discovered. Any incorrect information printed on the front page will result in a correction printed on the front page. Any incorrect information printed on any other page will be corrected on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also will be noted on the online version of the Daily Titan. Please contact executive editor David Carrillo at 714-278-5815 or at execeditor@dailytitan.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.
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From Page 1
moment of it into “surveillance art.” If government agencies wanted to track his movements, Elahi would do it for them, letting his life play out in surreal time for the whole world to see on the Internet. If Big Brother was watching, Elahi would bore him to death. Part paranoia, part performance art, his project titled “Tracking Transience: The Orwell Project” went broadband nearly five years ago at http://trackingtransience.net. Since the 36-year-old Elahi began, he has documented the vast seams of incident and insignificance characteristic of the non-jihadist lifestyle. He has taken more than 22,000 pictures of virtually every meal he has eaten, of the rooms including most of the public toilets he has visited, and of the roads he has traveled down. He has turned his life into a data stream, and recently redirected that stream through Silicon Valley, where he has been teaching at San Jose State University’s School of Art and Design since August, hoping to create something brand new: database art. “We don’t know what the next generation of art is going to look like,” he says. “We’re kind of making it up as we go along. Not unlike the tech industry.” An offline version of the project was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it played
on 139 video screens in a single room part of what the festival’s organizers referred to as “expanded cinema.” The installation attempted something akin to building a human genome by collating the pictures of every Chinese takeout meal Elahi has ever eaten. His move to San Jose in August seemed like the logical next step, a chance to see other artists working in the technology medium whom he had met at “nerdfests” in New York and Berlin. For the aspiring database artist, Silicon Valley evidently offers much of the same promise as Florence during the Renaissance. “The Medicis created this culture of curiosity, a culture of visionary thinking,” Elahi says. “It creates an environment that lets a certain type of thought flourish. It’s all about trying to find where that bright line is, then pushing and pushing it.” It’s unlikely any of this would have occurred to him if he hadn’t been briefly taken captive at an Immigration and Naturalization Service facility, given a series of polygraph tests, then released without being charged. “They told me in order to formally clear me, they would have to formally charge me,” Elahi explains. “And they couldn’t do that.” His name was placed on a terrorist watch list used by airport screeners throughout the United States, Elahi says. “There really is a serious danger underlying all this,” he adds.
“When that plane comes back into the U.S. now, I don’t know what the interaction with Homeland Security is going to be. To this day, I get very nervous coming back into my own country.” Born in Bangladesh and raised in Brooklyn, Elahi is convinced that having a Muslim name remains the source of his problems going through airport security. His predicament is so unusual, it even got an airing on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” in May.“Having this identity imposed upon me that completely misrepresented who I am,” Elahi says, “I was given no choice but to take my identity into my own hands. I’m convinced that if we don’t define ourselves, other people will do it for us, and inaccurately. In my case, not only was it wrong, it had potentially disastrous consequences for my life.” The FBI will neither confirm nor deny Elahi’s claim that he was detained because there is no official record that it ever happened. A field agent in the bureau’s San Francisco office responded to a description of Elahi’s story as “not likely,” but no one at the FBI with direct knowledge of the case returned calls. Assuming there ever was a case. There’s no proof that Elahi is making up his story, but then again, there’s no proof that he isn’t. It turns out that even the most tech-driven “database art” requires the underpinning of a compelling
story. Without it, Elahi would be just another guy posting cell phone pictures online, like the compulsives on SnapMyLife.com. “He’s grown up in a generation for whom everything is media-ized, and therefore is subject to question,” said Joel Slayton, executive director of the digital art festival 01SJ and the man Elahi replaced on the San Jose State faculty. “Everything is suspect, and the only way you can survive is by being slightly schizophrenic both in it and out of it at the same time.” Elahi’s Web site includes bank records and credit card receipts, proving that he has actually lived every scintillating second of the life he is posting. He has a software filter that scrubs out his name, address and credit card numbers, so he won’t become easy prey for identity thieves. But, as he says, “Would you really want my identity the next time you’re getting on an airplane?” He doesn’t know exactly when the project will end, but Elahi has come up with a denouement to it that even Kafka would admire. He has been commissioned by the city’s public art program to design an installation for Mineta San Jose International Airport’s new terminal, scheduled to open in 2010. “He’s a very interesting artist,” says Barbara Goldstein, the program’s director. And she’s never even seen him go through a metal detector.
q&a: element of danger is still present From Page 1
a terrorist but one of the things is that there is so much that surrounds this entire thing. There are approximately a million people on the government terrorist watch list. If there are a million terrorists we have a huge problem, but what I think is happening is ... (we) dont know and (are) not clear. Once you’re taken into one of these things you’re really never cleared. I don’t know what is going to happen and when I will be taken in if I am ever on a flight. So yeah, I am truly afraid of that. It is inevitable that mistakes will be made. It is impossible to expect an
organization (government) this huge to be 100 percent efficient and to be 100 percent accurate because that is just not possible.
DT: Are you still afraid of “Big Brother”? HE: My process at looking at this work is not to victimization or one to be afraid but as one to take matters into this situation where we are actually in control and not necessarily allowing someone else to be in control of the situation. That is what is important. If the government wants to watch me that’s fine, but I can watch myself way better than you can. So really what happens is
the way I control my privacy and my identity.
DT: Has the government bothered you ever since? HE: It is an interesting word, “bother.” I mean I do get harassed occasionally by the CBP, which is the customs border protection. It’s a nuisance these days rather than actually danger. At the end of the day I am still a U.S. citizen and they have to let me back in, but it is definitely a nuisance. But there is still an element of danger where I don’t know what’s going to happen. The last person could have not gotten the memo and here we go all over again.
Strong-willed public servants WASHINGTON (MCT) – The members of the national security team that President-elect Barack Obama named Monday are all strong-willed public servants who at times have vehemently disagreed with changes he proposes to U.S. national security policy. His future national security adviser quite possibly voted for his opponent in the presidential election. His future secretary of state warned Iran of retaliatory attacks, where Obama has advocated talks without preconditions. His future defense secretary directed the military’s surge of additional U.S. forces into Iraq, which Obama opposed. Despite those past differences, what matters is how their views might change now that they’re part of an administration led by Obama and insulated from domestic politics. Will Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embrace his call for talking to Iran? Will Secretary of Defense Robert Gates back Obama’s plan to withdraw from Iraq? Will national security adviser and retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones, a former military commander of NATO, embrace Obama’s call to engage with Russia? Obama named the three Monday along with Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary and Susan Rice, a former assistant secretary of state, as United Nations ambassador. The president-elect has yet to name a new CIA director. Despite Obama’s campaign promise of change, Clinton, Gates and Jones pride themselves on being career public servants, not visionaries. Introducing them Monday, Obama said they would bring a “vigorous debate” to the White House, and that he’d bring the change. “They operate within a familiar, centrist framework,” said Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University. “But they have not been willing to ask fundamental questions about national security. ... The vision will come from the president.”
Obama has said that under his administration, national security will be less dependent on military prowess and more on diplomacy. He’s called for more money for the State Department and foreign aid. He’s said he wants to draw down troops in Iraq to make a bigger push in Afghanistan. Where the Bush administration has resisted high-level direct talks with Iran and Syria, Obama has called for more dialogue. Despite serving under the Bush administration, Gates has been a maverick. He’s endorsed boosting the State Department budget and has said the “long war” on terrorism is in Afghanistan, not Iraq. Despite that, the leaders of Obama’s national security team not only have disagreed publicly with the presidentelect but they’ve also disagreed with one another. Until now, domestic and partisan political considerations largely have shaped Clinton’s foreign policy views, but as secretary of state, those considerations should be irrelevant. “She’s been hawkish on a number of issues not because she’s hawkish but because she was trying to prove that she isn’t soft on defense,” said one congressional staffer who is familiar with her work on the Senate Armed Services Committee and who refused to be identified in discussing her. “I wouldn’t assume anything now.” Clinton and Obama have disagreed most notably on Iran. During the presidential campaign, she called his willingness to talk to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without preconditions naive. When she said that she’d “obliterate” Iran as president if it attacked Israel, Obama likened her to President George W. Bush. Gates served on the Iraq Study Group in 2006, which called for talks with Iran and Syria. Jones, who is a close friend of John McCain, the defeated Republican presidential contender, has said that more resources are needed in Afghanistan. Gates has pleaded with U.S. allies to send more troops. Gates, Clinton and Obama have called for linking U.S. policy in
Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying that one can’t be solved without the other. However, Clinton criticized Obama for his call for unilateral action against targets in Pakistan if necessary. The president-elect and his secretary of defense disagree on missile defense. As Bush’s defense secretary, Gates, a former Soviet expert during his long tenure as an analyst at the CIA, has made several trips to Russia and Eastern Europe advocating a ballistic missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, drawing the ire of Russians. Obama is likely to pull back on the Bush administration’s push for such a system.
December 2, 2008
features
Don’t let Web scams ruin the holidays (MCT) Sacramento –‘Tis the season for making merry or in some cases, making mischief, especially on the Web. Whether you’re shopping online or just checking your personal email, don’t get financially fooled this holiday season. “In this economy, when we’re all trying to get the most bang for our buck, we’re letting down our guard,” said Parry Aftab, a privacy attorney and the new family Internet safety adviser for McAfee Inc., a computer security firm. The hectic holidays, when people are hurrying and hunting for bargains, are especially ripe for online rip-offs, experts say. How do the scamsters do it? Let us count the ways. There are the phony FedEx and UPS e-mails, describing a package delivery waiting for you. The fake bank e-mail, warning that your account is overdrawn. The heartfelt appeal seemingly from a favorite charity asking you to donate as little as $5 by clicking a link. Not to mention all the pseudo-shopping sites masquerading as the real thing.
It’s what’s known as “phishing,” posing as a legitimate Web site in order to entice you into entering your credit card, Social Security or bank account numbers. Or they’ll lure you into clicking on an e-mailed link, which then unleashes all sorts of nasty spyware and malicious gremlins into your computer. “It always increases around the holidays, when more people are shopping online,” said David Jevans, chairman of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of business and law enforcement entities that tracks Internet fraud and scams globally. Phishing attacks cost U.S. consumers $3.2 billion last year, according to a survey by technology research firm Gartner Inc., which said 3.6 million adults were bilked out of money online, compared with 2.3 million in 2006. The average loss: $886. Jevans and others say the scammers are increasingly getting more sophisticated. Even holiday-themed greetings and e-cards can be imbedded with
peril. “People think, let’s send a friend a cute holiday screen-saver ... but while you’re listening to Santa singing ‘Jingle Bells,’ it’s downloading spyware,” said Aftab. Spyware is the malicious coding that can infect your computer, leading to unwanted pop-ups, password and data theft, or silently using your computer to send spam. Aftab said parents should be especially careful as many kids are home from school and busily downloading lots of Santa screen savers, holiday puzzles and games or reindeer ringtones. How to avoid online dangers? First, be sure your computer is loaded with the most up-to-date firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software and spam blockers. When your computer system sends a message asking you to download the latest free security update, don’t ignore it. You can also pick up free software, such as Ad Aware, which protects against spyware, or McAfee’s Site Advisor, which issues safety ratings
on thousands of Web sites. Pay close attention to the Web address of incoming e-mails. A fake message from PayPal, for instance, may change a letter or add a suffix. It could read “PayPlal,” with an extra letter included. Or “Amazonaccount.com” with an extra word tossed in. Be wary of friendly-sounding subject lines like “Happy 2008!” or “Christmas Blessings” from oddlooking Web addresses. Don’t open any attachments unless you’re sure who it’s from. If you bank online, log into your account often to check for fraudulent charges. And be alert when shopping online, too. During December, Internet shopping kicks into high gear. Among the millions of avid online shoppers is Joanne McNabb of Sacramento, Calif. As a consumer, McNabb hasn’t set foot in a shopping mall for the past five holiday seasons, preferring to do all her gift-buying for 25 friends and family members on the Web. She peruses her favorite print catalogs,
picks out her choices, goes to the Web for a little comparison shopping, then hits the “Submit” button when she finds the best site for her purchases. But, as head of California’s Office of Privacy Protection, she’s also well versed in how to avoid getting ensnared in seasonal scams. Her advice: As with any brick-and-mortar store, know whom you’re doing business with. Check the Web address to be sure it’s recognizable. Don’t click on a link to a store’s site; type it yourself to be sure you’re on the real Macy’s Web site, not a phony one. Be sure there’s a “Privacy Policy” at the bottom of the retailer’s home page, explaining where it may share your information. If the privacy policy is not there, take your business elsewhere. Don’t use a debit card online. If someone gets access to your card, your bank account could be drained quickly. And, McNabb says, the time frame to report a debit card loss is shorter and the liability limits less generous than with a credit card.
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“If you’re using a credit card, you’re in a very good position. When you get your bill, you can protest any fraudulent transactions,” she said. To keep track of her purchases, McNabb creates an online folder where she stashes her transaction confirmations, receipts and any correspondence with a Web-based retailer. That way, if there are any questions about an order, she has everything in one convenient location. But even if you’re nowhere near a computer this holiday season, be a careful consumer. When shopping, leave all your credit cards and checkbooks at home, except the one you’ll be using. Limit how much cash you carry (although paying with cash is the ideal way to stay within budget). Don’t leave any packages in your vehicle, unless they’re locked in the trunk. Keep all your receipts with you, not only for exchanges/returns, but also to check purchases against your bank or credit card statement. And last, be mindful but don’t let it hamper the real reason for the season: being with family and friends.
Yoga: Ancient Indian practice has been turned on its head (MCT ) Miami – You can do it in the air. Or by sea. You can do it if you’re young. Or old. Or in 100-plus-degree rooms (Bikram yoga). Indeed, yoga - the ancient Hindu practice for the mind, body and spirit has evolved from breathing exercises and meditative poses to physical therapy, aerial choreography to a new way to firm your face, calm your child or limber up while pregnant. “The thing about yoga is it’s such a vast system, there’s a million variations you can do,” said Dayna Macy, spokeswoman for Yoga Journal, a monthly magazine. “Like any other pursuit in any other area, you can make lots of different judgments on what’s good, what’s not good, who knows, who doesn’t know.” Macy has been a practitioner for two decades, but says the practice has grown into a fad over the past few years, thanks to its popularity among stars like Madonna and Sting. Sting’s wife, Trudie Styler, will be among a host of yoga enthusiasts and experts who descended upon South Florida last weekend, for Yoga Journal’s South Florida Conference. With that in mind, we tried out some of the more unusual yoga classes out there: Antigravity Yoga Wings
Like a high-flying circus act, with acrobats snaking up a rollicking trapeze, AntiGravity Yoga Wings promises the thrill of dance-defying gravity yoga in the air, albeit at a safer altitude. Practitioners of AntiGravity Yoga Wings perform traditional yoga poses or asanas while suspended in a hanging fabric hammock. “The class is a fusion of everything,” says Robin Retherford, a former dancer and fitness buff. Retherford teaches a weekly class at Crunch Fitness in Miami Beach, Fla. “It combines yoga postures, dance and Pilates movements that help align the body and really strengthen the body from the core out.” It is also something else: not for the faint of heart. For first-timers, moves like the monkey wrap (hanging upside down with legs wrapped around the hammock, palms free or touching the ground) can prove daunting. “You have to be muscular for that. You have to be a little bit trained,” says Pascale Cowell, 45, a dancer from France, who has taken a handful of classes. With the finesse of a ballerina and flexibility of a gymnast, Cowell executes a perfect midair arabesque and jumping plies all while straddling or holding the hammock. The moves, she said, keep her
muscles strong. “Yes, you are sore after,” she admits, laughing. There are occasional collisions, notes Dylan Giordano, an exceptionally flexible 16-year-old, who has found that out the hard way. “It’s the perfect class to get exercise and relax at the same time,” said Giordano. “I’m not the scared type. You pick up on it.” Pre-Natal Yoga Bending, stretching and pregnant bellies? In Elizabeth Bonet’s class, it makes sense. Part yoga class, part group therapy session, the twice-weekly Pre-Natal yoga classes at Lisa’s School of Dance & Gymnastics in Plantation, Fla., appeal to pregnant women looking for a different yoga class. Many have tried regular yoga and find themselves standing around much of the time. “A lot of times the instructor doesn’t know what to do with them,” she said. Her class is “more gentle” than a traditional yoga session, but still offers health benefits like relieving pressure on the back, positioning the baby in the womb. “It’s a pregnancy support group with fun exercises,” says Lindsay Stewart, who is more than eight months along. “It’s really nice to have that connection with people that you don’t have at home or work.”
Courtsey of MCT Campus Dylan Giordano, from left, Shari Portnoy, and instructor Robin Retherford participate in a flip during an Antigravity Yoga with Wings class at Crunch Fitness in Miami Beach, Florida.
Led by Bonet, a clinical psychologist who treats women and men suffering from postpartum depression, the classes begin with an informal chat. Seated in a circle, the soonto-be mommies talk about what’s new in their lives. Bonet recounts recent birth stories from former classmates.
“She swam into the world weighing a whopping 8 pounds, 21 ounces,” begins the birthing story of baby Kate, delivered during a water birth just days earlier. As yoga classes go, the poses are not particularly challenging for those not expecting. The emphasis is on stretching and breathing, and
an extended relaxation session at the end. “Give these moments to your baby. Know that the birth that they will have will be beautiful no matter how it happens,” Bonet intones. Says Erica Zarchin, 38, who is expecting her first child: “The yoga part that’s the icing.”
opinion
4
Titan Editorial Providing insight, analysis and perspective since 1960
National Bureau of Economic Research states the obvious Brace yourself, Daily Titan readers. The National Bureau of Economic Research dropped a bombshell on Monday. According to a report by the Associated Press, the NBER said the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007. Time for a Fox News alert because this is certainly the first time we have heard of this. For the past year we have been operating under the assumption that America and the rest of the world was in the highest state of economic prosperity in the last hundred years! It is not like one of the powerhouse industries of our economy – the U.S. auto industry – has been struggling financially and is on the verge of some kind of bailout. Oh, wait a second. They are. Well, it is not like the housing market peaked and then plummeted, causing thousands of people to lose their homes and force banks into bankruptcy. Actually, that happened too. Well at least the job market is still intact and people with and without college degrees are having no trouble finding good jobs with solid benefits. No, scratch that.
Letters to the Editor:
According to CNN, employers have trimmed payrolls by cutting 1.2 million jobs in the first 10 months of this year. Sarcasm aside, if you live in America it probably is not news to you that our country is in a recession. However, there are a few promising signs that we will pull out of it and be OK. According to NBER, there have been 10 recessions since the end of World War II. And you know what? We have made it out alive from all of them. That is not to say the situation we are in is not serious, but with fiscal responsibility and better economic policy, we will eventually be all right. Another good sign for Americans is the price of gas. One year ago the average cost of gas in the U.S. was $2.76, according to www.gasbuddy.com. On Dec. 1, 2008 it was $1.82 – a difference that is putting more money in people’s pockets on a daily basis. So thank you NBER for pointing out the obvious and informing all of us about the recession. If it were not for you we may have continued our reckless spending and bought houses we could not afford.
Any feedback, positive or negative, is encouraged, as we strive to keep an open dialogue with our readership. The Daily Titan reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar and spelling. Direct all comments, questions or concerns along with your full name and major to Daily Titan Opinion Editor Austen Montero at opinion@dailytitan.com.
December 2, 2008
Castle’s Corner By Ryan Castle
Daily Titan Columnist
Love is the most dangerous game we can play The most baffling of human emotions also happens to be the most common. What really is “love?” It is arguably the most powerful force known to man, capable of bringing us the highest of highs and lowest of lows, sometimes within minutes. Wedged between "the meaning of life" and "why we’re here," the question of what love is stands at the top of the list of great mysteries searched for since the dawn of mankind. Each person attempts to find his or her own unique answer to the sensitive question, while continually searching for a clearer definition. I believe the most effective way to dissect love is to explore the relationship it has with its greatest enemy and closest friend, hate. In both cases love and hate take on a yin and yang relationship, being its greatest rival yet closest companion all at the same time. The transformation from love to hate can occur at light-speed when the trust that accompanies love is betrayed, making the line between the two notably fine. Yet an even finer line exists between love and friendship. Friendship and love; what is the difference, and where is the line? It can be argued that love is just a stronger version of friendship, but I think it is deeper than that. And the confusion of that idea is why the line is so fine. It’s a dangerous line, but it has to be. Friendship and love cannot exist without each other. You can't be friends without love, and love that isn't with a friend is just infatuation. They must find a balance and co-exist. Tiptoeing along the hazardous line of love and friendship can be exciting and yet confusing at the same time. Developing feelings for a friend can be scary and the risk of ruining a great friendship is very real. But
should one run from such powerful feelings? Would the discovery of something real not be worth the risk? What if the friend you're developing feelings for turns out to be the one you've been looking for? Wouldn't that be worth it? Only once the thin line between love and friendship is crossed do the differences between the two become so clear. Friendship is happiness, love is ecstasy. Friendship is trust, love is devotion. Friendship is being there, love is being there together. How do we know if what we’re experiencing is love? Each person’s heart beats differently, and sometimes we wrongfully think we’ve found it. Infatuation, physical attraction and giddiness are all clever disguises of love, but love is something much deeper that must be battle-tested to be true. Sometimes the twisted cruelty of a lonely life causes a tortured soul to jump into a relationship they normally wouldn't have, like a drowning victim in a vicious pool of sharks grabbing on to the first lifesaver available. That’s not to say a successful relationship cannot be built in such an instance, but sometimes the stubborn human mind will attempt to build love that isn’t there, and personal happiness is compromised. A true relationship based on passion and respect will overpower feelings of stress and negativity. If you take a look at the person you’re with and find more questions as to why you're with them than answers, than perhaps an apparition of love has you chasing something that doesn't exist. As agonizing as it can be, love cannot be forced. Our heart is the most precious
part of our body, both physically and figuratively. We must take care of it. In a way, guarding our hearts is like raising a child: We must protect it, but at the same time let it run free. Just as your child must grow, so does your heart – it must learn from its mistakes, and strengthen itself through experience. Just as a child needs discipline, so does your heart. It is unhealthy to let your child run your life, and it is even unhealthier to let your heart do such. A crying child cannot be given whatever they want. The same discipline must be applied to your heart when it wants to mourn over heartbreak – sometimes simply getting over it is the only thing that can be done. This can be difficult, as heartbreak can be harder to recover from than
any physical injury. No physical pain can cause the loss of focus and lack of sleep that heartbreak can. But training your heart to deal with and overcome such pain is as necessary as teaching your child how to deal with loss and suffering. In both cases maturity and strength are gained as a result. Love is blind, love is pain, love is beautiful. We’ve heard all the clichés, and they are all true in their own way, which is why love is complicated. Is the magic and beauty worth the complication? I believe so. The pain and agony that accompany the "L" word make it all the more satisfying when it is truly found. I may not be the expert, but who is? That’s my answer to what love is; it’s up to you to find yours.
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December 2, 2008
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Aries (March 21 - April 19) Today is a good day to exercise that special magic you have, of making people smile. Try telling everyone “smile when you say that, buster”, for example. Taurus (April 20 - May 20) You will need two torches, a sword, leather armor, and a significant amount of courage today. Gemini (May 21 - June 20) Everyone you work with will bring Kim Chee for lunch, today. They’re just doing it to be difficult. Cancer (June 21 - July 22) Things aren’t going as well as they should for you. The main thing to do is to find someone else to blame, and move on. Leo (July 23 - August 22) Uh oh. The cows have come home, and the fat lady is about to sing. Better come up with some new excuses, quick! You can do that while you’re coping with the unpleasant result of the cows coming home. Virgo (August 23 - September 22) Try to avoid things that are squooshy today. Especially giant green squooshy things that probably came from outer space. Libra (September 23 - October 22) You’ll have a freakish number of plumbing difficulties, today. This is due in part to the age of your plumbing fixtures, but mostly it’s because Neckna, Queen of the Undines, has taken a strong dislike towards you. Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) You will finally get the television exposure you’ve been wanting, by organizing a group of protesters to block the entrance to a physics lab, holding crudelylettered signs saying “Down With Gravity!”. Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) Excellent day to study gastroenterology, or possibly to go bowling. Capricorn (December 22 - January 20) You will be granted a religious experience of startling significance, similar in some respects to the accounts of statues of the Virgin Mary weeping. Aquarius (January 21 - February 18) You will invent a cool machine that will automatically make over 800 different varieties of coffee drinks. Unfortunately, everyone will go back to drinking just plain coffee. Pisces (February 19 - March 20) You will develop a strange fascination with steamed vegetables. Which is OK. Much better than, say, an enthusiasm for steamed toast.
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sports
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December 2, 2008
New Titan brings inside force Retooled Titans look to transfer Gerard Anderson to shore up forward position with his all-around ability By Melissa Caster
Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com
By Don Nguyen/Daily Titan Staff Photographer Cal State Fullerton forward Gerard Anderson slam dunks the ball in the Titans 75-69 loss to Wake Forest on Thursday at the Anaheim Convention Center.
After spending his first year at Cal State Fullerton training and constantly practicing with the team, Gerard Anderson has finally made his Titan debut. Anderson, a junior forward for the men’s basketball team, began playing basketball in second grade. While growing up, he watched his favorite player Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dominate the NBA. However, being from Los Angeles, he also followed the Lakers, hoping to play with them one day and spend his entire career in California. “He has the potential to go professional. It’s just going to amount to if he’s going to put in the work every day and push towards that goal,” Administrative Assistant Eric Glass said. Even though his father played triple-A baseball, Gerard didn’t have any interest in playing anything but basketball. “My father played for about four or five years, but for me it’s always been basketball,” Anderson said.
Think Different. Think Simon. By Simon Liang
Daily Titan Columnist sports@dailytitan.com
LeBron James is arguably the best player on the planet. Word has spread quickly about what his intentions may be in the summer of 2010 when his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers expires. He has not made it clear whether his desire is to leave his hometown Cavs or to declare his allegiance to Cleveland. Regardless of what he has said, rumors have spiraled out of control about him going to New York in the near future. There was even talk about him
going to the New Jersey Nets when they move to Brooklyn because of his friendship with rap mogul JayZ. Again, all this chatter is purely speculation. If he does make the move to a new address, it will be because Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry has not done an adequate job in shaking up the DNA of this team. Clearly, LeBron cannot win a championship with Mo Williams and Delonte West on the wings and an aging Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the middle. We all saw him in the 2007 NBA Finals trying to do it all. It’s not rocket science – basketball is a team game. The intriguing thing is the two
Anderson spent three of his four high school years at Carson High. During his freshman year he played frosh-soph, then his sophomore year he made the big leap to play at the varsity level. While at Carson, Anderson averaged 17 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and two steals at small forward. He was named a two-time Most Valuable Player of the Marine League as a sophomore and junior, two-time first-team All-City selection, most improved player as a sophomore and second-team allstate pick as a senior, according to fullertontitans.com. Anderson left Carson High his senior year when Head Coach Richard Masson retired. “Coach Masson was kind of a mentor to me, so once he left, I left,” Anderson said. Upon leaving Carson High, Verbum Dei High School’s coach, who was a friend of Anderson, asked if he would join their team. Anderson agreed to join the team and finished his high school career there. After high school Anderson went to play for Saddleback College. He
was a two-year starter for the Gauchos. As a sophomore he earned firstteam All-Orange Empire Conference honors. According to fullertontitans. com, he averaged 12 points and seven rebounds for the season, including 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in conference play. Anderson said his proudest moment and most memorable at Saddleback was during the game against No. 4-ranked Riverside City College. He hit a 7-foot bank shot with 1.4 seconds left to give the Gauchos a 44-43 victory. Once Anderson completed his two years at Saddleback, he considered attending University of Nevada Las Vegas as well as CSUF. However, UNLV hired a new coach, so Anderson said he decided to attend CSUF. He said other than the coaching staff, the offense the Titans run is what attracted him to the team. “The big thing was we knew the way that we play he would really fit in great with our style. We’re a fast break team and we really like to pressure on defense and play that way,” Titan Head Coach Bob Burton said.
Burton said last year Anderson chose to sit out when he was given the opportunity to be redshirted. Burton said that due to having a lot of seniors on the team last year it was best for Anderson’s career for him to sit out and not use up a year of eligibility. “In Gerard’s instance he has so many seniors that had been in the program for two or three years already in front of him that it was going to be a waste for him to play that year,” Glass said. “He would have just had limited time. Now he’ll be able to play all the minutes this year, hopefully, and all the minutes next year. He’ll have two really solid years.” Burton said Anderson is one of the Titan’s best defenders and one of the best athletes he has ever coached. This season he hopes Anderson will bring his athleticism and become a great defender who can help carry them through the Big West Conference in the team’s quest to repeat as Conference champions. Anderson is starting at the four spot, and according to Burton he is one of the most consistent players in that position.
Likelihood of Cavs retaining King James dwindles while rumors circulate
key moves the Knickerbockers have made in the last couple of weeks. They traded their two best players in Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph. Who in their right mind would do that? GM Donnie Walsh would, because he is thinking one step ahead of everyone else. He traded his two stars in order to clear cap space for the 2010 free agent market. Sure, LeBron is headlining that summer, but Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade will also be free agents then. If my calculations are correct, the Knicks would be able to sign two players to max contracts. Two. Buy
LeBron and get one superstar free. No coupon needed. Sounds like the winning formula that he has been craving since he entered the league. Some said that it is the big market that is tempting James, but that’s not that big of a factor. He is already a big name; he is probably one of the most recognizable athletes in the world. He has been on numerous magazine covers since he was a teenager. No matter where he is, the spotlight is on him at all times. Ultimately, if he does make the move to the Big Apple it will be about the Knicks being able to give him the personnel to make another trip to the NBA Finals.
James has said that his focus is on the Cavs and their championship aspirations, but I’m sure all this talk has been a major distraction to his team. I understand when he says he wants the right players around him so he can win championships. He wants to be mentioned in the same sentence as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Disregarding Jordan’s third stint in the NBA, he and Magic won championships with the teams that drafted them. They are the faces of those franchises. LeBron can be that for the Cavaliers. If he decides to call Madison Square Garden home, will he be able to be Mr. Knick? Sorry, Patrick Ew-
ing already took that title. Who knows when we will ever see a player with the drive-and-finish ability of Dominique Wilkins combined with Magic’s vision and Oscar Robertson’s skills, while being built like a tank? New York City, be ready for King James in 2010.