The Answer

When I was assigned postcard US-2921298 to Maine, the recipient stated her loves of poetry in the profile and asked to include a line of a poem on the card. What came to my mind was from the Answer by a Chinese poet Bei Dao (北岛, born August 2, 1949 in Beijing): "卑鄙是卑鄙者的通行证，高尚是高尚者的墓志铭" that would be directly translated into: "Despicable acts are the passport for the Villain; Honorable deeds are the tombstone for the Noble." As Bei Dao is the most notable representative of the Misty Poets (朦胧诗), a group of Chinese poets who reacted against the restrictions of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) in China, he opens his 1976 poem by reflecting what a twisted world was where the Villain got a free pass and the Noble was met with death. You can read the full poem with English translation in a blog on sciencenet.cn or a blog on sina.com.cn.

Bei Dao has won numerous awards, including the Swedish PEN Tucholsky Prize, International Poetry Argana Award from the House of Poetry in Morocco, and the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. He is a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, elected in 1996. He has been nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

While China is moving toward a more open and free society, thanks to many advocates like Bei Dao, it is not lost on me that such a twisted world could exist anywhere where the power is absolute and without supervision. That's why we need to vigorously safeguard our civil rights and civil liberties so that we can maintain a society where the Villain will be punished and the Noble will be honored.

Pride + Joy: One Year After Historic Supreme Court Ruling

One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two landmark rulings on June 26, 2013: one striking down part of the the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and the other allowing same-sex couples to marry legally in California.

Since then, huge advances for the same-sex marriage have brought pride and joy to many couples who could not marry before. Before the rulings, same sex couples could marry in only 10 states and the District of Columbia; today, that number has almost doubled to 19 states and the District of Columbia, covering near 44% population of the country.

Most recently on Wednesday June 25, 2014, a federal judge struck down same-sex marriage ban in Indiana. Meanwhile, a 2-1 decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, the first issued at the level of the federal appellate courts, ruled that the same-sex marriage ban in Utah was unconstitutional. Marriage-equality lawsuits are now pending in all 31 states where same-sex couples are still barred from marrying.

Postcard US-2333973 to Indiana, which was sent on July 25, 2013 and has since expired, was made out of a hand fan distributed by Macy's during the 2012 Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Parade in San Francisco. The 2014 Parade, themed "Color Our World with Pride," will start at Market & Beale and end at Market & 8th Street in downtown San Francisco at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday June 29, 2014.

Same-sex Marriages Started in Wisconsin

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb declared the gay marriage ban in Wisconsin unconstitutional Friday, June 6, 2014. Same-sex couples began getting married in Madison and Milwaukee shortly after the ruling, in spite of confusion over the effect of the ruling. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's vowed to appeal the ruling and to seek an emergency order in federal court to stop the wedding.

Wisconsin is the latest of the 15 consecutive lower court cases won for the same-sex marriages since a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June, 2013, although many of those rulings are still being appealed.

Postcard US-2576413 shows the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison.

25th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Protest

I mailed myself a card today to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Protest in 1989. It is slightly different from the one I made last year. It was a big disappointment that there had been no redress so far after 25 years. However, there is no doubt that who is on the right side of the history. I am confident that it will not take another 25 years to properly honor the memories of innocent people who lost their lives in and around Tiananmen Square.

Update: the card was received next day

DefCon

DefCon 20, 2012

DefCon 21, one of the world's largest annual hacker/computer security conventions, is currently held in Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada from August 1 to August 4, 2013. The first DefCon took place in June 1993. The postcard, sent to Taiwan last year, shows the logo of DefCon 20, July 26-29, 2012.

Attendees to DefCon include computer security professionals, journalists, lawyers, security researchers, and of course, hackers. However, the trend has been shifted from "hacking" in early days to "computer security" in recent years. For me, it's a great place to learn the impact of advance of technology to the civil liberties and privacy. ACLU will present a panel discussion: "NSA Surveillance and More" this year. Electronic Frontier Foundation has a session called "Ask the EFF: the Year in Digital Civil Liberties". 

Federal law enforcement agents from the FBI, CIA, Department of Defense, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other agencies regularly attend the DefCons. Last year, four-star General Keith Alexander, head of the NSA, was a keynote speaker at the event. However, DefCon founder Jeff Moss requested government agencies to stay away from the event due to the recent revelation of the NSA surveillance program by Edward Snowden. 

Goddess of Democracy and Statue of Liberty

Goddess of Democracy (middle), Statue of Liberty (left) and its replica (right)

I made this 5"x7" postcard to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Student Protest. The picture in the middle, taken before dawn in the Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, on June 3, 1989, features the Goddess of Democracy. The 10-meter-tall (33 ft) statue was built by students of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China (中央美术学院) using foam and papier-mâché over a metal armature. It was placed at Tiananmen Square on May 30, 1989. Also known as the Goddess of Democracy and Freedom, the Spirit of Democracy, and the Goddess of Liberty, it became a rally point after the martial law was declared on May 20, 1989.

The statue was crashed down by tanks and destroyed by soldiers entering the Tiananmen Square to clear out protesters pre-dawn on June 4, 1989, less than 24 hours after this photo was taken. 

Although the sculptors of the statue played down the speculation that it was modeled after the Statue of Liberty, for fears of being labeled as "pro-western", there is no denial of their resemblance. However, when memories fade along with the elapsed time, we tend to forget what really happened. Ironically, now we see the erosion of the civil liberties in the U. S as well. We thought freedom and civil liberties can and should be sacrificed in the name of security. When we pass by the replica of the Statue of Liberty in front of the New York New York Hotel and Casino, how many of us will pause for a second to ponder what freedom and civil liberties mean in current time, rather than just treat it as an imitated attraction in front of an amusement park ride? 

I found Stephen Foster's song Gentle Annie on Youtube, performed by the National Taiwan University Chorus. For the lost or hurt during and after the Tiananmen Square Protest, you will not be forgotten.

Several replicas of the Goddess of Democracy have been erected worldwide permanently or temporarily to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Student Protest. I am collecting postcards and photos of those replicas. I will appreciate it if you can send me a copy.

Photos on this postcard:

• Goddess of Democracy: Beijing, China, June 3, 1989
• Replica of Statue of Liberty: Las Vegas, Nevada, June 4, 2011
• Statue of Liberty: New York City, New York, November 21, 2011

US Constitution and Civil Liberties

ACLU of Nevada Foundation's Annual 11th Annual Event 

226 years ago and 4 years after the United States won its independence from Great Britain, state delegates, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, convened in Philadelphia to start composing a new United States constitution on May 25, 1787. The resulted United States Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, provided the blueprint on how the federal government should work and function, and how the three branches should behave and interact with each other under checks and balances.

In the Bill of Rights (collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution) and the other subsequent amendments that established the "due process" clause and the "equal protection" clause, we are guarantee a number of personal freedoms and civil liberties that include the freedom of speech, religion, protest, assembly, and press.

However, the rights guaranteed under the Constitutions do not mean they will be automatically extended to you. In addition, there are segments of people who have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities. There are also debates on what rights legal and illegal immigrants have.

I received a card a few days ago, advertising American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada Foundation's Eleventh Annual Celebration of Civil Liberties. Ruby Duncan, a local civil rights advocate and activist, will be honored as the 2013 Emilie Wanderer Civil Libertarian of the Year. The event will be held at Springs Preserve Cafe on June 14, 2013 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. The ticket costs US$ 100. You can find out more information and purchase a ticket online.