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January 28, 2006
From Hamas to Copenhagen
Hamas ( Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya ) or Islamic Resistance Movement, has won the election in Palestine. With Sharon at his death bed, what happened last week really puts the Road to Peace in Middle east in jeopardy. At least that is the sentiment of most political articles I have read.
However, let's be optimistic, lets give Gammas the same chance that was given to Sharon upon his election. Fattah party the long rulling party in Palestine had proven to be a corrupt political entity that profited from the chaos in middle east. Mrs, Arafat demand and receiving twenty seven million dollars, before releasing Arafat's body was the last draw. For the longest time, political analyst had said hat Ariel Sharon and Vassar Arafat were the main problems to achieve peace. Sharon proved them wrong. Arafat's death though helped bring Abbas to the Peace treaty. However it is curious that any Israeli's Prime Minister that has moved toward giving back the occupied territory was never given the chance to finish what they started. Barak was removed by election, and Robin was assassinated. and now Sharon that probably would never see the peace between Israel and Palestine.
I was shaken by Sharon's sudden stroke and had thought it would have a negative effect on the peace process. However I thought there was so much positive sentiment in Israel for peace that no new Prime Minister would dare to derail it. Hamas election however would bring back more pessimistic view of the Road to Peace process. Bush administration has vowed not to honor their commitment to Aids for Palestine if the new leadership goes against the peace process. Ariel Sharon had also made it a policy to get rid of the most of Hamas's leadership by assignations. So we hope that there is enough insight within the new Hamas leadership to understand that in order to survive they have to stay with the peace process.
There are also other elements involved, elements outside Palestine, like the Iranian Government. I am sure they have already reached the Hamas leadership and have committed to support them against Israel. I do believe that in many aspect, the Iranian government is more dangerous to the peace all over the world than even are old enemy Osama Bin Laden. But the Iranian government would have an awakening in next few month in its quest for becoming a nuclear power. Bush administration has had a more conciliatory attitude toward Iran and has left most of the diplomacy to Europeans, Russia and China. A complete overhaul of the regime in Iran would also help the situation in Lebanon with Hezbollah faction, and the raise of moderates (if there is any ) in Syria. So in many ways Job one for all the politicians in the free world toward peace is to change the government in Iran, either trough diplomacy or military action.
Last night I did not feel good, so after having my dinner I went upstairs and slept. I have had fever and feeling all aching, so sleeping was the best medicine. I woke up around one thirty, and went down stairs to watch some TV, and to my surprise I came across the movie Copenhagen . It was a fascinating movie , written beautifully as a play that came to Broadway and had been produced by PBS for their Hollywood on PBS series. The movie deals with two scientist in 1940's on the verge of creation of the Atomic Bomb. I highly recommend it. It is a Mystery and it does keep you on the edge of your seat. The dialogues are breathtakingly masterful and the script, probably one of the best I have seen lately. Find it and watch it.
Posted by Idinraha at 10:59 AM | Comments (1)
January 22, 2006
Retailing after 9/11, a new reality
Tuesday September eleven started for me just as another day. I got ready to go to work, I had slept late, so I was leaving the house later than usuall. I got in my car and turned on the Radio, listenning to Imus in the morning, as I do everyday on my way to work. I remember exactly where I was on Huntington street when I heard the news. My first thought was to remember where my kids and wife were at that moment. I knew the kids were at school, and my wife was on her way to the gym for her daily work out.
The first news that I had heard was that an airplane had hit one of the two towers . I thought to myself what a disaster, and felt happy that I don't fly often. Then the came the news of the second plane hitting the second tower, and by now I knew as many other people that this was more than an accident, and it was the work of the terrorists. I felt a certain shock and anger, knowing how the world as I knew it had just changed and it would never be the same.
Once I got to the store, I turned on the TV, and saw how the towers collapsed, one after another. It seemed unreal, my brain could not process what I was seeing as reality. It was more like a scene from another Arnold Schwatzeneger's movie. I immidiatley thought about John, and Kevin my friends. Kevin worked in Manhattan, and John was supposed to go to Manhattan that day. I called their wives and they both told me that John, and Kevin were allright and they had recieved calls from them. I then called my mother, since she would have known about the were abouts of my sibblings. She told me that every one was allright.
I went to the Gym that afternoon, trying to make up the session I had missed in the morning, I also knew I needed the work out to release some of the tension I felt after hearing the news, and watching it on TV. I remember I was on the treadmill, when the TV anchor reported how the firemen that morning went to the buildings after taking absoulotion and blessing from their priest, well knowing they will not survive. I stopped. I could not help the tears that welled my eyes, and cried.
I knew that my business would be effected by what happened, I had just put a new advertizing in the Westport Magazine. A full page, full color ad, showcasing a superior, collectible antique rug, priced at $ 175,000,00. It was a daring venture for me. You see after I separated from my father and brothers in 1993, and started my own business, I had decided to focus my business on fine antique rugs. There was not any other rugs outlet in Connecticut that mainly sold fine antique rugs. It was a risky venture, for you have to invest big capital and time to collect such pieces, and you also had to position yourself in the market with different style of Marketing, selling and advertizing.
It had taken me eight years to achieve that. By September 2001, I had moved to a location next to HAYDAY market, and my store had become a highly regarded retail outlet for patrons with discriminating taste and the discrisionary income to afford it. I had worked seven days a week, for the last eight years, with no vacations. I had used Westport, and Greenwich Magazine and Weston Magazine, as my main tools of marketing, displaying full page full color advertising of fine rugs. I had been also able to convince my customers to allow me to take a picture of the rugs they had purchaed in their houses, and showcase them in my advertising. I had made new connection in the suppliers market of fine antique rugs also, which had enabled my store to be one of the destinations for many antique rugs that were purchsed in Europe and were brought to United States.
I had solved the problem of capital for my purchases by making new connections with some of my wealthy customers, borrowing money from them and in some cases making them partners in purchases I made, halving the profit upon the sales of the rugs. They were happy since I was paying them higher than the market interest, and they were making good return on their investment. Jus the year before I had sold an antique Farahan of an impecable beaty 6X9 for $98,000.00 and another Antique Farahan 7X10 for over $ 75,000.00. An avarage customer would spend at least over fifty to seventy thousand for few rugs in my store, and I had customers that spend over half a million to furnish their houses with my rugs. The profit margins were healthy and my accountant was baffled by my good fortune. Again, this was product of senev days a week working habit and a sharp focus on the demographic of my market, with using the right advertising vehechle and a consistant quality in my advertising. I had never ran a Sale in the last five years, there were no Sale signs in my windows, and I had no price tags on my rugs. I had customers that would never ask for the price of rugs, they just chose what they liked and paid for it.
I knew that all of that would change, it was only the matter of time. But to my surprise I had a couple who came to my store, on the weekend after September 11, and asked to see the rug that I had advertised for $175,000.00. But that rug was never sold. It seemed the reality of 9/11 had not sank in people's mind yet. My business stayed the same, and by the end of 2001, my sales had increased another twenty percent.
I remember a week after 9/11, one of my brother in laws called me and told me, that I should shave my beard. with my dark hair, eyes , and a beard, I had a very ehnic look that could pass as a terrorist with right clothing. I laughed at him, and my looks never gave me any trouble during my trips to Manhathan to meet my suppliers.. Funny that the same brother in law that gave me the advise, and is usually clean shaven, was stopped behind the Loncoln Tunnel and his van was searched for a hour. I was once stopped entering D&D building and was asked for identification, which I obliged smiling. It took the war in Afghanistan, and then the war in Iraq before I felt the effect of 9/11, and the new realities of life on my business.
By the March of 2003 my sales nose dived, and it was off to the tune of 60%. That was also the result at the year end. my total sales were 60% off from the year before. My other collegues, my brother and brother in laws that also are involved in the same business, but their main stay is much lower priced rugs did not suffer. I tried to stay the course, I had amased a huge inventory, and I had to pay my suppliers, so they would keep me in good terms. I had to raise cash, but this time I had to come up with my own money. An injection of $ 250,000.00 cash by borrowing against the rental house I have, helped me to get through the 2004. I had cut cost any way I could. at work and at my household. But the sales were still falling and at many occasions I thought that I might have to close shop and look for employment elsewhere. The problem was my inventory. I had focused so much on my purchases of antique rugs, and had reffered so many of customers that were looking for new rugs to my brother in law, and my other competitors that i had not had many new customers. I had to change my inventory.
In December 2004 I was sitting in my family room when my seven years old daughter Kiana, came to me. she informed me that she has a new business now and her new job was to be a consultant for any problems people might have. She asked me if I had any immidiate problem that she could help me with. I said yes , I have business problems. She asked me to explain, and I told her about my declining sales. She told me that she would have a solution for me tommorow and I have to pay her seven dollars for her wisdom. I did. The next evening when I got home, she gave me a refference card, on the card there was her solution. PUT SALES AND CLEARANCE SIGN IN YOUR STORE WINDOWS, AND ADVERTISE. I was surprised, her suggestion seemed well thought of and logical. I asked my wife if she had put her up to it, but she didn't have anything to do with it.
The next morning, I woke up thinking, that she made sense. Once I got to the store, I ordered five large SALE and CLEARANCE sign, and within two days I had them up in the windows, and one by the road side. That weekend I did some good business, I had brought down the prices and many of my old antiques and my first customer was a gentleman who had visited me a few times before, eyeing a beautifull antique Mashad runner, and he bought the piece at half the price he was quated before. The new sales allowed me to change my inventory little by little. I set up a rack sample of new rugs. Purchased samples from a supplier of Tebatan rugs, and some Indian and Peshawar rugs. Since then my business has estabilised more. I have been selling most of my collection of fine rugs and replaced them with more up todate designs and colors in new rugs.
I think some of the reasons for the decline in my old business has been that americans have been exposed to the rest of the world and its problems more than ever and it has effected their spyche to some extent. None of us feel as safe and as rich as we all did brfore 9/11. The low interest rates have also had their effects. More and more people have purchased many large houses in the Fairfield County and they are HOUSE POOR, with no money left to furnish inside their houses. The eocnomy is good, the war has become a fact of our every day life, and the uncertainty of geo politics have lost some of their luster. I do not have a collection of very fine antique rugs any more, and have become just another rug dealer, seeling new rugs, but I am still here, and my business is doing okay.
Posted by Idinraha at 12:12 PM | Comments (2)
January 21, 2006
As long as.......................
" As long as Patriot act does not infringe on any American citizens civil liberties, it should be renewed ", That quote is part of a rant I wrote a few days ago. My friend Live life seems not to agree. Again as a Moslem American citizen who looks very much like one, with dark hair, beard and all I like to confirm my belief about what I said. I like to even go further and say that even if American government chooses to use profiling as a tool to combat terrorism, it is all right with me.
My friend Live Life had asked me " How do you feel if the government ease drops on your personal conversations. Well there is a program that came to inception during Clinton administration, it is called ASHALAN ( I am not sure about the name). Under this program, all the cellular conversations that goes on is collected by the government, and reviewed. The agents look for terms and words that might be suspicious and then review the conversations. So you see my friends, we are under surveillance already, and this happened long before 9/11. That is how Newt Gingrich's private conversations on his cellular phone was picked up, and was written about in the media.
Our main civil liberty and the most vulnerable one at these times is the liberty to live our lives, to be alive, since if we ever were robbed of that liberty, the rest does not really matter. We live in a different times after 9/11. And these times require us to use any technology we have to protect ourselves. I do not care if the government ease drops on my conversations. It is a well known facts to all of us that the minute we pick up our cellular phones and converse, the signal we use is in danger on being incepted by almost any one. and by using our cellular phones we are accepting that vulnerability. I personally am not much fond of the cellular phones, and only use it for business when I go to New York. Again I like to emphasize, the only element that allows us all the Civil Liberties we have , is the fact that we live in United States of America, and we are rich enough, all of us in our lives and liberties we enjoy, to put some of them on hold in order to protect our existence.
However I feel this way since I do like this president and trust his instincts. I probably would have felt differently if another president like Bill Clinton was in office.
Posted by Idinraha at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2006
Bush & Executive power
On Monday, Former Vice President, Al Gore, had a major speech about power grab by executive branch of our government. Mr Gore has spent most of his life as a respected civil servant, a senator from Tennessee, and the Vice President of united states, during Bill Clinton's presidency. He has been the champion of many environment laws, and defender of american civil liberties. His aspirations for presidency became to end after his narrow loss to George W Bush in 2000 elections.
I have tremendous respect for Mr Gore's opinion but on this point, I beg to differ, under the second Article of the constitution, the president as the head of the executive branch, has the ultimate power to wage war and detain our enemies, also the power to gather information to protect our nation. This power has been used by most of our presidents, from Abraham Lincoln, to Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton. The power has given to an elected president by our forefather, not to the legislative branch, or the Judiciary. Our constitution has proven to be the most important and the most valuable cornerstone of our Federal Government and the reason America has had such growth domestically and internationally.
Surprisingly since 9/11 the legislative body and the Judiciary has come to encroach on this power, by passing laws and reversing precedents. If the same political environment existed during the Civil War, or the second World War, it would have resulted in breaking this nation in half, and the rise of Nazi Germany through out Europe, and the Imperialist Japan in far east. During Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, revoked the writ of habeas corpus and jailed many of his political opponents until the end of the war. Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of finest presidents, and most influential political power in our young republic.
The president power to detain enemy combatants came to the courts in 1950 in "Johnson v. Eisentrager", to provide more rights to detainees outside the United States's territory. The Supreme court, under and opinion written by Justice Robert Jackson denied such a right. However in 2004, the congress, the same congressmen and senators that defend the merit of the precedent during the Alito confirmation hearing, brought it to themselves to change this precedent and the Supreme Court reversed the law, allowing the enemy combatant, the detainees held in Guantanamo bay ( not a territory of United States), the same privileges to have their day in court as any American Citizen. " Rasul v. Bush ",The majority opinion was written by Justice John Paul Stevens,, with no regard to its encroachment on executive power.
There was also a further amendment to the law "Detainees Provision " passed recently, championed by John Mc Cain of Arizona that allows enemy combatants to appeal the military tribunal rulings to the appeal courts, and limits the military and CIA in their efforts to gather information, and using torture as a tool to reach that end. This is also an encroachment on the executive power, since as we said under the article two of the constitution such power has only been given to the president. There is also the FISA court that again takes the power of the president to use any means to defend us under the constitution and the WAR ACT, that was passed by the congress, and gives the power to an appointed Judges to approve of any surveillance.
The New York Time, in an article, head lined misleadingly as DOMESTIC SPYING AND EASE DROPPING, has written how the Bush administration, has short cut the FISA law, by not obtaining any court approval to spy on the phone conversations between Al qeada Terrorists and their counter parts inside America. The Attorney general Gonzales has defended the administration's action by pointing at how the technology and the rapid changes in counter intelligent surveillance does not allow us the privilege of due process. President Bush is adamant that he has only executed his constitutional power, and he would continue to do so. Mr, Bush Believes he is elected by the majority to be the president and his main duty as the president is to protect American people.
The media has also neglected to inform people that, many senators and congressman, mostly the heads of the committees have been informed of such act, and have been in the know. However not all the representatives have been informed since leaking information has been mostly practiced by our congressmen and senators, and their aids. The New York Times has been privy to this information for more than a year, and the sudden publishing of the article when the Patriot Act was to be renewed by the congress and immediate publishing of a book by the author of the article has not been coincidental.
On Tuesday, the ACLU lawyers brought suite against the government. and if the 2006 election changes the majority and dominance of the republicans in congress, we probably will see committees that would investigate this further, and there has been also whispers of the I word around Washington, Impeachment. Senator Sc hummer has defended the CIA Leakey as a whistle blower, although there is going to be an investigation by the attorney general into the leek and the proponents of it. Mr Gore has also asked for Independent Investigation of the process, and president Bush's authority.
As an American, a Moslem American I have been in support of the Iraq war. and I do believe taking the fight to the enemy has been the best tool in our war against Terror. The reason for the war could be as elementary as Iraq being the weakest dictatorship in Middle East, and the easiest road and scene for us to confront our enemies. Sadam's atrocities, protecting the oil field from the terrorist, and even the idealistic Neo cons plan of bringing democracy and peace to middle east, they all have different places in legitimizing the Iraq war for me. The geo politics of middle east has always been complex. I know there is a cost to the peace and security we all have enjoyed since 9/11. over two thousands young American lives, much more wounded, maimed, and scared for life. Over fifty thousands Iraqis killed on the other side. But I believe our mission in Iraq and in defending ourselves from terrorists is noble, and we would have had many 9/11 since the last one, if we did not take the war to our enemies.
I also believe that the Patriot Act has been a major tool in our fight against he the terrorists, and keeping peace inside our country, and as long as it does not infringe any civil rights of any American citizens, it should be renewed. I also give kudos to Mr Bush for risking his presidency
for the good of the Americans and the country. I also think as many Americans do that the ease dropping on our enemies without the court approval would only help us in our struggle.
Posted by Idinraha at 11:59 AM | Comments (1)
January 11, 2006
Q&A with g & i
g- So, what do you think?
i- About you?
g- yeah, about me, Sam, his theory, the whole enchilada
i-well, you are here, Sam does not deny your being, he has problem with how your being is utilized by religions
g- He is an interesting man, and committed to his cause, I like men like that. The thinking man
I-But isn't he also promoting a new idea, by denying and old one, maybe even a new religion, isn't thatwhere the religions begin, by an idea.
g- In a way yes, he is. you guys have a way to get lost in your ideas and the way their popularity strokes your ego, nothing is as soothing to you as hearing your own voice, so where do you stand?
I- On my feet mostly.
g-Don't get cute. I like to know.
i-But I thought you are the all knowing
g-Well, there's a lot of PR in that, you guys like looking up, and pedestal placements. Okay, I know , but I like you to know if you do.
i-You promise no retribution, I am very happy with my placement in life right now.
g-you want a carte blanch?
i-In a way
g- You know I would not do to you any more than you do to yourself
i-You saw me do my prayer this morning, so I believe, its hard not to. but doubts are always there, in a way they challenge you resolve
g-challanges are good
i-So what about consciousness
g-Call it whatever you want, as long as it takes you there, and keeps you connected to us, I am not choosy, you make the names any way.
i-What about religions?
g- well lets say, there has been many committed thinkers, and philosophers, and some of them have been more successful than others, and they are close to us for their nobility and purity of their conscious living. I don't care what you call yourself, or call me, as long as you call. And remember you set the rules, you govern your being, you reward yourself and you punish, and as usual you are most extreme in each, much more than I would have been.
i-So you think if I spend forty days in a desert and try to talk to you, I could come up with my own religion?
g-in your case a week would be fine, and I like to see you try, incidentally next time, put my initial in capital letter, I'm kinda used to it.
I-Vanity?
G- what ever fits.
Posted by Idinraha at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2006
Talk Dirty to me
here, the dagger
Here, my skin, my
submission to your affair
Giving in to you, what come may
here's the vessel, dare closer
I await a sunset
here my lips
here my breasts,
here my flesh, the longing
the wait, here you, your breath
your eyes, in a full circle
here in my palms, a quiet prayer
here a calling, a request,
here I wait
come in, come...in
I've set the spread, my
skin heaving, my blood
whooshing away, the images
come to unrest, in golds, saffron'
and purples, skin to skin, breath to breath
my tongue hissing, as I simmer, layers and layers
lick the dry season
mount the seared gashes
let the worm to crawl in, then away
here and there, take the savage
by the neck, say, say all that's not said
and yet, stay after the sunset
Posted by Idinraha at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
Inside your palms..................................................for Marjan
I could live
inside your palms
where my lips mouth
your skin soft, tonguing
you peta patter, sniffing
you skin, yes, I could live
within your palms
You could hide me
in your pockets, and
when the day cuts the
light from the branches,
and we are left to ourselves,
you would bring me out, to
live again, inside your palms
Posted by Idinraha at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
Heresy of your syllables................................... for Pat Robertson
I'm so sick of your Gods
You, torturous wicked serpents
and the rights they bestow upon you,
The deity of warmongers, the heresy
of your syllables, and the ignorance
that yellows your irises
And the tinge of
your breath, soured and
spiked by the hatred of men,
the ones you chewed and swallowed,
the ones you mounted and took
with your shameless penises, the
only extensions of all you are
It's the hollow orifices
within you, the neglected
accidents of your birth, and breeding
the weeding of you as you trespass
on images of your holly noblemen and clergies
It's the puss that oozes on your skin, the
ugliness of your intentions, and the
thickness of the masks you wear,
it's you in the loneliness of the ages
And yet you crawl
in the public circles, in
every day rotations of the
days, as you hide your fangs
under your robes, calling on
your benefactors, your Gods
Posted by Idinraha at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2006
Merits of God within the terrains of Reason
Yesterday, I wrote a rant ,THE WAY I SEE IT, about my vision of the life on this lonely planet. In the rant I also had many praises for Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, and his role in the peace process in Middle East. I also mentioned that as a Moslem I do pray for his well being and recovery. My friend Fereydoon, asked me in a comment why I call myself a Moslem, and how as a self claimed(I don't remember such claim though!) intellectual I could brand myself a Moslem.
Any body who has read my rants for the last year knows how I am wrestling with the presentation of my religion Islam in the world, and how I am desperately trying to hold on to what I have or Have had. These days more than ever the whole idea of religion and the necessity of it in our lives is on the attack. Again to some extent, the attack is coming from the conscious mind of the writer than any other source. The abstract ideas of religion has always been moked by the factual doubts and the intelligent inquiries of all, but now more than ever because of the rise of fundamentalism and the terror it has brought to the world, we feel the need to examine the whole phenomenon of Religion even further.
I have the habit of saying prayers under lips, while driving for the first ten minutes of my ride , no matter where I am going and I did that last night too. I had dinner with my In-laws, as we do every Saturday night, and then went home. Put on my pajamas and turned on the TV. What came up made me believe that they might be a divine order in making me think about my doubts further. On C-span, there was a speech and Q&A session with Sam Harris, He is a PhD in Nero science, who is studying to find the origins of the beliefs in human mind (Heavy)! He was talking about his new book, The End Of Faith: religion and terror, and the future of Reason. I felt ambushed, but he is a capable speaker, and he sounded good. There was no way avoiding it, so I sat and watched.
Afterward I did ask myself, so now what? There was no way to avoid his reasoning, and to any intelligent being his ideas had merit. On top of it all, Last week watching TV, I caught the tail end of a movie. What The Bleep Do We know. It was most interesting, filled with testimonials of PHD scholars, challenging the depth of our knowledge, and the rise of the consciousness in relation to study of Quantum Physics(Heavy again)!. I was guided to a site on the Internet by the movie credits, and there I logged in and found the sight also most interesting. You see as a contemparory man I do crave learning, knowing , as the most of you do. We all want to know: What are we doing here: What is the purpose. Sam Harris's reasoning for creation of religion by men, was that- we have to be honest with ourselves and our fellow men about our emotions and reality of our death, and since we have been shy about this, we have created religion to ease us through , and the interesting part is also that creation of the religions have made us lazy in pursuit of the ultimate truth.
Sam Harris thinks, we have a lot to do to find out, and he is pursuing his goal by more research in the Nero development of human brain to find out the origins of Beliefs. He does not claim to be a heretic or an atheist, since he does not believe in religions and God, he does not sincerely believe in anti God either. He thinks as intelligent people we have the capacity to use the tools of reasoning to find out the truth of our origins, and God. He also praises the rise of studies in Consciousness, the state in which we become more than all we are as a self. more than a unit, and mostly parts of a whole we are. It is the realization of this stage that has been hard for us, we have labeled it Spirituality, another abstract term, and have tried to reason our way through it. Sam Harris sees religion as a stepping stone that has barred us from reaching the consciousness, since contrary to religions, there is no difference in consciousness and no bigotry, no Jihads, Heretics, Crusades, Fanatics, or any other schools of thoughts that are embedded in Religions.
Mr Harris, sees all the religions, as means to divide the masses, and differentiate amongst them. with ultimate cruelty of inhalation for any one or sects that would not believe in that particular religion. I do admit that this particular part of religions is egotistic, and divisive, and religions, or any schools of thoughts we adhere to should not be devisive since they do not better our lives by dividing us. Now lets look at it differently. I have seen in Quran, and it is on the first page of most of the Quranic sites that Islam does not condone terrorism, or killing another human beings for any reason but in defense of one's life. However we have heard through Hadises(proverbs), credited to Mohammad, our prophet, that anyone who does not believe in God is a heretic and If we can not pursue them to become believers, they can be killed. That is the same in Christianity, and Judaism. They only believe that their own believers can be accepted to Heaven, and the rest are only worthy of Hell. That is the most troublesome part of any religion to me.
So what to do, read more, pursue different venues of reasoning, and try to understand the meaning of our little adventure on earth, while holding to some of what we are brought up with, the part that points to kindness, generosity, truth, and happiness. For the time being I do tell myself that the ultimate sign of God is the consciousness, and because of lack of understanding and limited intelligent of the audience and their imaginations, we have been represented by the whole idea of God, Evil, Heaven, and Hell, although I am not at ease with this either.
Posted by Idinraha at 12:43 PM | Comments (1)
January 07, 2006
The way I see it
Well, here we are, in a new year of a young century. They say to learn about your future, you should study your past. The conflicts we are facing now have the same historic elements to them, just wrapped in new circumstances and new characters, But more than ever it's the same historic elements that we face, and more than ever we need good men and women to afford us our survival.
Living in this part of the world, this vast continent, it is easy to be uninformed, although they are so many new venues available to us to find the information. Americans have changed a great deal within the last thirty years that I have lived here. They have a better sense of the world and are not as isolated in their visions of other societies. The last two wars, and what happened at 911 has brought a new awakening to them of the complex issues of social and political life that people live with on the other side of the Oceans. They feel more exposed and more vulnerable to the rest of the world and hopefully that allows them more compassion and understanding of the wide differences in societies and their cultures..
The oceans do not protect us any more, and the hatred and jealousy of the others that are witness to our privileged ways of living has become the new reality of this age. We do live in the richest house in the neighborhood (as Thomas Friedman has said)of the world and if we do not come up with solutions for the rest of the neighborhood, we will feel the rage and that stains of materialistic and intelligent poverty of the other societies. I definitely believe that America's vision of the world and its middling's in its affairs is not Imperialistic as the simple minded ideologies of uninformed masses would say. It is visionary, and the future of this land and its survival depends on this new world order. Our gift to the rest of the world can not be anything but Freedom and democracy.
I was at a party not long ago where I was seating between two Physicians, and I was exposed to their belly achings. They were smiling as they were discussing how the whole motive behind the conflict in Iraq is for Oil and nothing else. Soon their voices got louder as they were confirming each other's sentiment, that although they live a privileged lives in this country, they were human enough to see the atrocities of Bush administration and how they felt for their fellow men . I looked across the table and saw my beautiful wife shaking her head, telling me not to say anything and since we were the hosts, I stayed quiet while itching so badly to give them a lesson in all the reasons that had brought us to Iraq and the conflict that we are involved.
I do make it my business to listen, to read and learn. I go across the Internet and find different opinions of many about the state of our living. I go further and read more, because I am interested and because I have to know. I always welcome a good discussion or a debate, as long as it is based on facts, and not sentiments. And I think, if I feel good enough about myself and my opinion to start preaching, I better be clear about my facts. There is a certain responsibility in putting words on paper or projecting an idea in a crowd. I expect the same from others. It is much easier to do otherwise.
The news of Ariel Sharon's illness and the effect it would have on the problems of the middle east and the world has shaken me. I have a certain admiration for Mr Sharon in his quest for peace, and hate to see that all he has done unravels. It's interesting that as Iranians, many of my friend, my contemporaries and I have been poisoned about the state of Israel and plights of the Jewish nation. When I came here like most of Iranian Moslem men of my generation, I did have a certain dislike for Israel and Jews. However after living in this
country I have a more positive and moderate opinion of them and what they have accomplished in the last fifty years. I also think what happened at 911 has brought us more sympathy and better realization of their plight. I have learned that the eternal conflict I have witnessed in my life between Moslems and Jews has a deep root in ignorance, hatred and geopolitical policies. As Mr Ahmadinejad(Iran's new president) put it so eloquently in his many speeches, the ultimate goal for Islamic ideology he represents is the inhalations of the Jewish state and all the Jews. And I wonder what would be next, probably Jihad against America and west, for in their opinion if you are not a Moslem you are a heretic, and deserving of death.
Unfortunately I still see the same bigotry amongst many Moslem friends against Israel and the right of Jews to live in an independent state. Mr Sharon is much despised amongst Moslems for what happened in Beirut, when the Christian militia slaughtered the Moslem Mojahedins. He was a general at that time and in war with Islamic fractions in Beirut. When he cam to power I was as apprehensive about what would be the result of his leadership and ideologies for Israel and Palestinians. But Mr Sharon came to accept that his main duty as a Prime Minister was to bring peace to the region. He had approved the policy of assassination of Hamas leaders and the opposition, one by one before, which helped the situation and now as a politician he had to come up with a form of diplomacy to bring Palestinians to the peace table. Giving up Gaza, and the most of the West bank, although very much against the popular opinion in Israel, was the main solution. He was brave enough to understand this and accept it. That is what made him an statesmen and brought an era of Seize fire and the road to peace initiatives. and that would be the main legacy of Ariel Sharon.
I hope his replacement would have the same vision and understanding to stay with the peace talks. As a Moslem I have been praying for his health, I think Palestinians should too, since he has been their worst enemy first and now their best friend.
Posted by Idinraha at 10:49 AM | Comments (4)
A Firelight Conversation in Martyr Square
Posted by Idinraha at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2006
Tatiana
Tatiana made her way through the Museum door. She was coming from the rain, she stood by the door for a minute, took a deep breath, then she carefully put her colorful umbrella on the side close to the door. Afterward she took off her raincoat folded it carefully and put it in the large bag she carried with her. She walked to the guard "may I leave my umbrella here, would it be okay"? she asked while she smiled. The guard walked closer to her" We can not be responsible for it, you know some one might like it and then you have to walk home in the rain", he said while smiling back at Tatiana. She nodded her head and turned back, toward the umbrella, picked it up, and folded it carefully, then took a plastic bag from her bag and put the folded umbrella inside the plastic bag and back in the large bag. she then held up the large bag to see what kind of impact the bag would have on her carrying it around with her. It was a but heavier than she hoped for. She made a face and then she walked on.
She walked inside after buying a ticket from the guard man. Once inside the main auditorium the lights were bright and the air was warmer. She took a Paphmlet from the side of the desk were the guard was stationed. and looked through it. she then slowly walked to the side of the wall, put her bag on the floor. and looked more thoroughly at the pamphlet. She had the whole after noon. There was nobody home waiting for her, and there was nothing else that demanded her attention at all. she could take her time and enjoy her quiet adventure. She decided to see the paintings firs. they were exhibited on the first floor and not too far from where she was. She picked up her bag again and walked toward the right of the auditorium.
The Museum was not crowded. and she could walk freely. she liked the quietness of the museum, since the girls had moved away, living alone by herself had made her appreciate the silence that comes with loneliness. At first it was a bit cumbersome for her, but she had learned to enjoy it. At Seventy she was still in good shape, she had gained a bit of weight lately, but she had always been energetic. She used to run her husband's shop single handedly, talking to customers, taking orders, and sometimes even help them carrying the merchandise to their car. Raising two girls and running her over size house at the same time. she had learned long time ago that to avoid the black clouds she had to stay busy and staying busy, she did most of her life.
Posted by Idinraha at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)
untitled
To claim that I was conscious of my being and surroundings during my birth might sound much unrealistic, but I am not obliged to see it through your eyes. I am the story teller and this might be a tall tale. My mother has always been amazed of what I claim to remember, and she does have her own theory about my claims. She knows that most of what I say has many aspects of truth to it. She believes that I do have a very good memory and a keen sense of listening. So most of my memories are recorded inside my mind of what others have said and remembered. However she does enjoy when I use old words in my tales and how I do make them memorable.
I was born yellow, my skin was yellow , not Canary yellow, but to the skilled eyes of the obstetrician who had the pleasure of welcoming me to the world I was jundas. I could see the expression in her blue eyes and puffy sweet face, as she thought, well he would not last long. And I would also like to claim that it was that expression that made me more aware of my situation and pushed me into survival mode. I knew immediately that I had to try harder to live through this. Once they washed me and wrapped me, they put me back in my mother's arms and suddenly I felt in familiar territory. I looked deep within my mother's eyes and I knew well that those eyes will be with me for a long time.
My mother had looked exhausted, her hair still wet by the sweat, but the expressions on her face was all of love and happiness. So in a very short time I had come to experience the expressions of surprise and doom by my obstetrician's face and love and hope by my mothers. It looked like a good start and since I was the second child of my mother, she was a pro in breast feeding , so soon I was holding to her like dear life and her life was coming through me, spiked by hope and love what she was feeding me was heavenly . It was the warmth of the fluid that was running through me and the touch of her breast on my face the promise of the life that was within her, and the scent of her, all and all cradling me in bliss, and soon I was sleep.
I don't remember how impressed I was upon my introduction to my father. I could imagine that his touch would not have been as soft and his arms did not smell of milk and he would have been in a hurry to go somewhere or do something, and our introduction would have been short. Realistically, my birth would not have had as much novelty for him since he already had a son, my brother who was two years older than me, and I was not a fresh discovery, and later on we found out how stale was my introduction since he has had a busy schedules and many secrets to keep. I immediately should had known and maybe I did, that this relationship with my father would not amount to too much, and maybe as my analyst has told me recently, there is the base for my ever fascination with women and my dismay for men.
Posted by Idinraha at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)
January 02, 2006
I am lit
I all humid today, all aches. usually this happens in spring, when I grow taller and my skin feels the air, like a sordid lover. I am all expectations today, and I think I could love more, and I think I could stretch my skin over my bones and feel more. Wanting is so easy today, longing, I can cry easier, and laugh harder, and feel the little fusions of urges exploding within the synapses of my brain.
And I could break this mold, shed this skin and walk out like a hue that bleeds at the end of a sunset sky, I could flow, and take, like a flood, like rain, and caress the edges of surfaces, I could leap and run, let the air tangles in my hair, and the life I have within me presses further, I want so much today, I am needy, yet generous, I am breaking in small pieces, dusted by air, I am calm yet so apprehensive, like a Jin out of the bottle.
I am all stars, lighting the night, I am lit within and out, and I want so much, and I need so little,
like this life inside me wants an out, so it could roam the earth, the planets and the universe, I am so able today, and yet so little. and loving comes so easy to me, and to think you have done this to me, with a glance, a stare. I am all heaving, all skin, all flesh, and this thirst I can not abide with, I can not handle, even if I drink you in multiple glasses, and hold you inside my mouth, and down my throat, I need so much today, .....
Posted by Idinraha at 05:01 PM | Comments (1)