Self-Immolation

A supporter of Donlad Trump set himself on fire across the courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial. 

Actually, the practice of self-immolation was started in India many centuries ago thru sati. This was a practice in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. This practice was stopped by Lord William Bentinck in 1829. He was the first Governor General of British-ruled India. 

In modern history, the first self-immolation was conducted by Thich Quang Duc during the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese monk set himself on fire in Saigon in 1963 in protest of the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. A few others in USA self-immolated as a means protest during the Vietnam War. 

Many Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest of Chinese rule in Tibet. 

Self-immolation was not just to protest war. During the 1960s several people in Tamil Nadu self-immolated in protest of the implementation of Hindi as a national language. 

Some psychologists call self-immolation is a form of suicide and due to mental illness. 

Do these people achieve their goal by doing self-immolation. I know, at least in one instant, they did not. And here are the details. 

Vaiko was an upcoming leader in the DMK party. Karunanidhi thought Vaiko may become a competition for his son Stalin. So Vaiko was thrown out of the DMK party. He formed his own new party called MDMK. Many people who followed Vaiko came out of DMK and joined Vaiko’s new party. 5 followers of Vaiko who could not bear him being thrown out of DMK self-immolated and died. 

Vaiko kept the photos of these 5 guys in the living room of his home. But what is happening today! The same Vaiko begged Stalin for a single seat for his son during the recent Lok Sabha election. Those 5 guys would be spinning in their graves.

In Search of Food

Decided to go to Davis, California, today. Wrong decision. 

Today, Sunday, is Easter Sunday. Religious holiday. Freeways were flooded with cars and traffic jam. Davis is 77 miles (124 km) from my home. Usually, it takes about one hour and 7 minutes. Today, it took more than 2 hours. 

There were 2 of us visiting a student in Davis. University of California is located there. It is a typical university town. That means 95% of the population is connected with the University. Students, Professors, Staff, etc. 

We were looking for a restaurant to eat lunch. Never try to eat out lunch on a religious holiday. Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas. Most of the restaurants will be closed, except of course fast-food joints like McDonald’s, Taco Bell. It also depends upon the franchisees. 

Mexican restaurant was the unanimous choice of all 3 of us. The local host said he knows a very good restaurant and we drove there. It was closed due to Easter Sunday. He said he knows another restaurant. This time I told him to call and enquire if they are open. He called and said they are open. We drove there. They are open but only for “take-out” and no sit-down lunch. 

There was a momos restaurant that was open nearby. But I vetoed it because I don’t like momos. 

We walked aimlessly for 15 minutes. Then I saw an Indian restaurant. I said we can go there. The other 2 guys were reluctant because they are not fond of Indian cuisine. The host even said he never heard of this restaurant.  I said at least we should try this restaurant. 

It was a all you can eat buffet. I usually avoid Buffet in Indian restaurants. They would advertise 14 items. At least 8 of them are different pickles, salad, raita, and papad. It was a pleasant surprise in this Indian restaurant. Buffett consisted of the following: 

Onion Pakoda, White Rice, Veggie Briyani, Chicken Briyani, 6 veggie dishes, 6 chicken dishes, naan, and gulab jamun. 

We came out satisfied. Went in expecting a 2 but came out with a 7.

Juicy Court Case

Donald Trump is facing many court cases as a result of his disagreement with the 2020 Presidential election results. They are: 

Classified Document Case – Trump is charged with taking secret classified documents with him when he left office in 2021. 

Election Interference – Trump is charged with instigating his supporters to protest at the Capitol building (Parliament) challenging the election results. 

On the above 2 cases, Trump is pleading Presidential Immunity. That is, he is absolutely immune from any law suit while in office. The prosecutors rejected this argument. They asked the supreme court to rule. The SC refused and asked them to go thru court of appeals. The court of appeals rejected Trump’s claim. Now Trump has appealed this to the Supreme Court and they said they will hear his case. (Remember Supreme Court has 6 to 3 judges in favor of Trump.)

Now for the juicy court case. 

State of Georgia – Trump and 18 others have charged with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. Miss Fani Willis is the District Attorney (Public Prosecutor) handling the case. She appointed in 2022 a special prosecutor named Nathan Wade to be the lead prosecutor to handle this case. Mr. Wade was paid $650,000 for this. 

One of the defendants’ lawyers filed a motion with the judge that Willis had an improper and clandestine relationship with Wade and demanded all charges against her client be dropped. That lawyer argued that Willis should be disqualified from the case because “the district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner.” 

Willis admitted her romantic relationship with Wade but said it happened after she appointed Wade in 2022. But the opposition lawyer filed that the romance began in 2019 and she knowingly appointed her romantic partner in 2022 and paid him $650,000. The lawyer claimed they took trips out of the country and cruise. Willis testified that she reimbursed Wade for her portion of the expenses thru cash and other means. (I wonder what other means mean) 

The judge gave his ruling today. Either Willis or Wade withdraw from the case. This will help Trump because when his trial begins along with 18 others, their lawyers will bring up this case again and again in front of a jury. 

Latest news. Special Prosecutor and boyfriend Wade resigned.