We Are the 99%

We Are...

We are the 99%. The ones who are misinterpreted. The ones who are criticized with not having a coherent message even when our message is as clear as day; we want change, we want to live, we refuse to be slaves, we will not be bullied anymore, we will not allow anyone to deny us our human right to live and be free from the world economic system of veiled slavery.

We are the 99%. The ones who the 1% can’t seem to understand, the 1% that live a life of exuberant luxury while the 99% live in worry of how they will pay the next bill, how they will feed their starving children, how they will get out of the hell they live in. 

We are the 99%. The Arab Spring, the Israeli Summer, the American Autumn, the Global Winter. From Asia to Africa to the Middle East to Europe to South America to North America, the people are waking up from their long slumber. 

Long Have we set aside our collective and individual frustrations in favor of the “greater good of the Nation”, whatever nation that may be. Long have we bent ourselves over in order to keep the economy flowing for those who control the gateways of finance. 

Our governments are taking us for a ride, to accommodate the 1% who own everything in this artificially created concept of an economy, and our rights are eroding further and further, in order to make us pliant citizens (at least for those of us who are lucky enough to be living in a country where complaining about your situation does not land you in jail or the morgue or some random mass grave), in order for the 1% to live their lives believing they are “descendants of gods”, or “god’s gift to humanity” (the arrogance of the rich and powerful, though tempered, is not that different from that of a bloody tyrant), pushing us around, literally, physically, emotionally, economically, psychologically, softly, harshly, as though they had a right to do so. 

We are the 99%. We are the people, human beings, whom have had enough of the lies and theatrics of the capitalist elite. 

We are the 99%. We are assured by the government that we are privileged citizens living in a “free” society, except for the fact that the rich and powerful have found yet another method to turn us in to their slaves without making it so obvious; the world and sovereign financial systems. 

We are being artificially enslaved by the financial system. We are being forced to conform to the will of a capitalist economy that is built in the shape of an economically hierarchal pyramid. 

Do not be deceived; when we work from 9-5 to insure the maximization of profits for the ones at the top of the establishment, we are working for their “success”, not ours. They make millions and we get paid just enough to pay our bills (but not enough to get out of debt), we are nothing more than slaves to the system that is owned by the 1%. Debt that you where tricked in to acquiring. Debt that was forced on you under the guise that “you will have a better life if you are in debt”. 

We are the 99%. If they say that we live in a “free” society then explain to me why it is that we have to worry about how we will feed our children, how we will pay our bills, how we will afford a house, or a decent apartment, how will we provide our children with the best education, how can we get the best medical treatment, why should someone who is supper rich have veiled preference over us, why do tyrants (of nations and corporations) think that they can bully us, why do governments and corporations think that we are nothing more than expendable recourses… a statistical number… We are not a number… we are people. 

We are the 99%. We who fund the government, with the exuberant taxes that we pay, expect the government to remember that it exists to serve us, the 99%, not the 1%. This is the same message of the protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Australia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Belgium, Iceland, Sweden, Chili, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Japan, North and South Korea , Thailand, Cambodia, China, Pakistan, The USA, Canada, and many, many more people who are trying to say that they have had enough. 

Tyrants may be ruthless, merciless, butchers, even criminals against humanity when compared to western leaders, yet Western “civilized” leaders are not any better. One use force to bully us around, the other uses “economic incentives” to bully us around… which is worse?... both. Both violate our rights as human beings though the method is in apparent stark contrast. 

There are those that say that if you work hard the System will treat you good. That is true… anyone who works hard is entitled to a better life….but that is not the reality for the majority of us who do work hard. 

There are those who work harder than everyone else and yet never get recognized. Never get appreciated. Never get promoted. They are the best at what they do and they work hard to ensure that they remain so. 

These are professionals. People who will work hard because they believe in their work, yet who will never join the craze for a “corporate career” that does not appeal to them, just because the artificial system we live in dictates that this is what we should do it does not mean we should kill our spirit just to conform in a system that is just as ruthless as Middle Eastern tyrants. 

We are told that in order to be financially successful we have to have a career. To rise and rise and rise further to the top where the “gods” entertain themselves at our expense. 

When we are criticized we are told that “anyone can be comfortable and wealthy if they work hard for it”…. That is true…. But what they don’t tell us is that we will be forced to gradually abandon our humanity (even when disguised otherwise) in order to climb to the top upon everyone else’s back, as aggressively and ruthlessly unmerciful as possible before we get anywhere… 

I, for one, have no wish to become a monster devoid of humanity in order to accommodate the delusions of the 1%. 

Yes, “anyone” can reach the (corporate) “dream” of being at the top. But what they do not tell us is that many of us have to remain right where we are so that those very few who are ambitious enough about their career can get to the very top. Of course they do not tell us that someone has to clean the streets, fix the roads, file the papers, man the stations, in order for all that we have built to work as it should, and for us all “to rise together as one people” (especially in a system where the cost of living skyrockets higher than we can afford). 

The world we live in is built on a system of inequality. Privatization of resources utilities health education and everything else when thy should be ours by right. 

Education (not the propaganda type, and certainly not the dumbed down versions of governments who see fit to cut educational expenses), is the key to improving any “troubled” community. 

Centers of academic learning, from nursery to higher education, have become corporatized. Education has become a commodity. Education has attained a commercial value, it is even traded in the stock market in an indirect manner. 

Yes there are scholarships… but how many of us slip through the cracks? 

Yes there are student loans… but why do we have to start off our lives in debt? 

Why should the 1% be entitled to the best of everything when there are those among us who deserve it based on merit alone? 

I am a dyslexic. In the system that I live in I am considered “learning disabled”. But the truth is that I am a faster learner than the average person… if you can figure out my unique learning style. As a dyslexic I have had to exert myself at great length in order to conform to what the majority deems as “normal”. 

Why should anyone dictate what is “normal” to me when time and time again I have proven myself, my value, my worth, my professionalism, my valued experience, my honesty, my determination to be the best that I can, appreciated, respected, yet still discriminated against because of my “different” way of accomplishing things. And believe me when I tell you that I have accomplished miraculous feats in order to accommodate the powers that be of the work places I have been at. 

I am Dyslexic and I am proud to be so. I am not learning disabled. I have my own unique style of learning. The majority of schools and academic centers rarely consider the unique learning style of the “learning disabled” because in this world of commodity, finance, and economics, it makes more “sense” to establish a system that resembles that of a factory assembly line. 

We are not manufactured machines. We are not digital beings. We are analog human beings. We are all similar yet each of us is unique… so how can education be given according to a one-size-fits-all system of economics. 

We are not lazy. We are hardworking people who excel at what they do yet don’t get the chance to rise up the proverbial ladder. Those of us who are unemployed are infuriated when we go to a government employment service and are told by an official that there are no jobs. “Go on welfare “they say. We do not want to live on welfare… this actually did happen to an immigrant friend of mine. She was furious. She had no intention to live on welfare. We want jobs… we want to put our experience to good use. We want to be productive but we want to do so on our own terms too. 

We refuse to be exploited anymore. The system we live in is based on inequality and exploitation. We are told that we are all equal and that we are free. If that was true then a hungry homeless man should have the right to enter a posh restaurant, sit down at a table, and have himself (or herself) a good hearty meal fit for a king. Bu that is not possible because the meal, in the system we live in, would be unaffordable to the homeless man. Yet we are equal? 

We live in a world where we are all equal… its just that there is the 1% that for some reason is more equal than everyone else. 

Health is of paramount concern. Health care is a right… not a commodity… the insurance of our health, to its full extent, is one of the reasons we pay so many taxes. Where is the healthcare system? Why are we paying private companies to do a job that should be taken care off by the government.. we are paying taxes. 

In every country, the healthcare system is somewhat to overwhelmingly privatized… one of the tricks that medical giants employ to their empowerment is that public healthcare is poorly funded… the long waiting times… the lack of doctors working for lower earnings… they try to convince us that by paying a premium we can get VIP status… but tell me why should someone, who’s merit is the depth of his pocket, get preferential treatment over someone who is in more urgent and dire need of it? 

Pharmaceuticals, in the system that we live in, are commercially competitive, and inevitably playing with our lives by selling us legal, but addictive, drugs, or exuberantly priced cures for diseases that kill many who cannot afford it. 

Government exists to serve the need of the people and to provide the same kind of services for all people. Governments take our taxes and give us poor services and then they encourage us to seek private help. The same with public and private education. Government should be providing service that is better than the best of the private “services”.. the government services should be the standard all others should aspire to emulate. Government has to be flexible with technology and to always be ready to deal with any citizen’s demand rather than the individual citizen who has more wealth and power. We are all powerful. We are the one that fund our government by our sheer numbers. This is our government and not the government of the of the 1%. 

We are all united in our cause. People around the world are rising up to reclaim their lives and their governments. We are united in cause. Borders have been shattered. Let us work together. Let us never give up. Let us create a new system together. A system we can all be proud of. A system based on equality for all. This is our human right. 

We are the 99%. 

We Are…

The quagmire and the coming storm

So the Russians do not want Bashar to step down because they have a lucrative business going on with them, and also because it is their hand in the Middle East. The Turks don’t want Bashar to step down because they are terrified of a Kurdish uprising and probable declaration of independence. the Israelis do not want Bashar to step down because they are terrified of a free Arab world much more than they are of a despot who terrorizes his own people. So they, the Israelis, are doing the best they can to make the Arabs look as bad as possible to thwart the efforts of the Palestinians of gaining recognition for their statehood... can any one remember the price that was paid by the Palestinians for recognizing Israel as a state? 

the Israeli government of Netanyahu where taken by surprise when they had an uprising of their own... a terrorist attack, followed by a bombing of Gaza, followed by the accidental killing of Egyptian border patrol. Following that, elements in Gaza declaring the end of the cease fire that has prevailed for a couple of years, just on the heels of the Palestinian declaration of statehood.... I suddenly can’t find any news of the Israeli protesters in the main stream media. All a little too convenient perhaps? There are reports that the Israeli forces had “prior knowledge” to these attacks. I don’t think the Israeli government expected Egypt to pull its ambassador all of a sudden. That frightened Netanyahu even more and caused them to apologize to the Egyptians when they outright refuse to apologize to the Turks, who by the way used to have very good ties with Israelis... strange that. Eleven the Israel social protesters realize that this is no more than a ploy to hit at the Palestinian bid for statehood and, at the same time, a ploy to divide the Israeli social protesters. 

Stranger still is the fact that turkey now stands poised in a perfect position to take over Syria’s mantel as the bastion of defiance against the great and "evil Zionist state". A little too convenient. Apparently the Turks are not yet ready to interfere with Syria because they do not yet have a clear candidate to be their puppet. 

The protests in Syria are a perfect example of the importance of a unified movement that is well coordinated and that lacks a leader… an unnecessary leader. This is democracy. Not the commercialized version that the west is so eager to sell the Arab world. People working hand in hand, watching out for each other, hand in hand, never relenting to chant and defy oppression without resorting to violence themselves. They, who are about to die protesting salute you, people of the free world. This is the anonymous movement of a unified people. 

Israel, who, ironically, does not recognize the Armenian genocide because of their strong ties with the Turkish state, even after the Mavi Marmara incident and the severing of ties between these two states, has all too quickly apologized to the Egyptians for the border patrol death. Turkey seems to have applied for the job of powerbroker in the area to replace the Syrians and the Iranians. So, ironically, the Turks are now terrified of the fast pace of events that are moving and are at a loss that they still do not have an inside candidate suitable enough to be their puppet and who will be accepted by the people... so naturally, the Turks, like the Israelis, they are terrified of an "unstable Syria" (as if it is not unstable as it is in the hands of Bashar and his lackeys) and fear more than anything a currish uprising against them and the creation of a Kurdish state. After all, the Turks do still occupy Kurdish land, as do Syria, Iran and Iraq. Why does this sound familiarly similar to the Arab/Israeli problem? 

So the Turks will not heed the calls and cries of widows and orphans, they will not heed the appalling murder of 2 1/2 year olds. Will not heed the cries of a mother who lost her child, will not heed the cries of indignity, humiliation and physical violation, and murder of Syrian women and children, they will not heed the cries of the Syrian people calling for Bashar to go, they will not heed anything that is of real human value because they are terrified of what the Kurds will do if they do not install a puppet of their own in Damascus. At least every one knows that the Arab league is an ineffectual entity controlled by despots so there can never be anything expected from them. The Turkish government seems to be even worse than the Arab League. The Turkish state has now not only helped Bashar stab the Syrian people in the back, they also twisted it. 

The Russians... well Putin still thinks he is fighting the cold war... but that may not be too far from the truth. Putin wants to maintain some semblance of the old USSR and its allies as much as possible. Besides, the Russians have capital interests in Syria’s current regime. Putin is a delusional Stalin wanabe. He is just as bad as Bashar in that he suppresses the voice of decent, thou he does so more discreetly. 

China is just plan and simple terrified because it fears an insurrection of its own severely oppressed people. And why is Kim Jong-il visiting Russia right now? And why is it that the North Koreans are now becoming more vocal with their threats against the US and South Korea? And why has Iran suddenly right now found the American hikers guilty of being spies? Whatever was going to happen this weekend, whatever the west and their allies had planned for Syria has been thwarted by blackmail by the other side. 

Maybe the cold war is still raging but at a much colder temperature.. Or this is the impression I am getting at least. 

The stock market suddenly takes a dive and just as suddenly all the momentum that was building up this week against the Syrian regime dematerializes. It is now back to being a game of tug and war except the stress has increased, and where ever there is a massive pressure buildup, expect it to burst. 

So while everyone of these states and leaders sit there with their head up that place that don’t shine, trying to figure a way out of this quagmire of who-will-do-what-and when-would-be-the-right-time, and being all so concerned about stability and security-and wondering if Bashar would still be a viable partner in the Arab Israeli conflict business corporation that they have established, the Syrian people are still being murdered by the butcher of Syria. 

The US said that they want Bashar to "step aside" not "step down" this means they want him to lay low and out of site while he pretends to give over to the peoples demands and establish a new "reformed" sate while he continues to control things from behind the curtains, the Syrian people will not accept this, the people of the Arab Spring will not accept this either. 

Obviously western states have also lost their sense of humanity and lost every last shred of "legitimacy" along with Bashar losing his. The west, apparently, does not believe in the power of the people nor in granting them real democracy, not if it will threaten their commercial interests, and more so that of Israel and Israel’s security. 

Every time a child is killed, every time a Syrian is killed, every time a Syrian is raped, every time a Syrian is disappeared, the west loses its own legitimacy as much as Bashar and his lackeys have long lost theirs. 

The Coming Hurricane of Change.

It is time to intervene in the affairs of Syria. Be they internal affair or not. We, as a human race, should no longer stand idly by while we witness the slaughter and destruction of innocence. Not for religious dogma or celebration of self righteousness, not for political ambitions, not for financial gains, but for the welfare of our humanity and our compassion. 

Innocence is being mercilessly raped time and time again. Children are being cruelly disposed of, depriving the future of humanity of its greatest assets.

The time to intervene has come upon us and we must act now for the preservation of our humanity. It does not matter who you are, where you come from, what religion you believe in, what political ideology you follow, what way of life you choose for yourself. Stand up for humanity. Stand up for the dignity of the human race. Not for a specific race, not for a single peoples. Not for a single dogma. But for all that is living on earth and in this marvellous universe in which we live ever so insignificantly in.

It is we, the compassionate, the humanitarians, the conscientious, who will pave the way to the salvation of mankind, with our humanity, not with our discrimination, not with our prejudice, not with our dogma and ideologies but with reality of existence and with proper human concern and consideration.

The time to intervene is upon us. If we are to avert the terror that approaches us fast, this is one of the many things we should begin doing. We should agree to accept the consequences that will arise from our determination to end the injustice that our human brothers and sisters endure under totalitarian regimes as much as greedy capitalistic, nationalistic, egotistic, bigoted regimes of both the eastern and western worlds.

While the world is in turmoil over a man made problem that has a manmade solution for the flailing economy, debt, and such other meaningless concepts). Though radical, for such is the solution for the so called world economic problem of debt and what not. While nations pursue their selfish interests rather than those of humanity. While so called leaders continue to exaggerate their importance and superiority over others of different color, state, religion, gender preference, political thinking, and what ever else along these lines. 

Real innocent children, real innocent mothers, sisters, daughters and friends, real fathers, brothers, sons and friends, real people, are dying on the streets of many Syrian cities, and other parts of a struggling wide world.

The Syrian’s only crime is the pursuit of a better life rather than continue living under an oppressive regime that denies them even their liberty to complain about the harsh realities of everyday life.

The time to intervene and take charge of the very moment that will define what is left of our humanity is upon us. 

This is our chance to establish the foundations for world peace.

This our chance to alter our path from the collision course we are currently set up on by the speeding train of apathy and the trespasses against our existence, against the hopelessness that we feel as individuals, and the humiliation of our dignity as human beings. We are on a course of self annihilation because we have not yet learned to put aside our differences and work for the common good of our collective kind.

Inevitably what we fail to realise is the obvious message of every lesson in history, time, era, religion, and the evolution of idea across time, space, and peoples.

That we should all strive to be better, to accept our individuality ,and that of others, but to also be responsible towards others, be they strangers or loved ones, and to strive for the improvement of our individual and collective humanity.

Either we fall to our knees in to the servitude of the darkness that is coming, or we embrace the liberty and collectively of our humanity and strive for, at least, the unity of the mutual respect of our individuality and of our collective consciousness. 

We cannot conscientiously allow any wars to continue. We cannot conscientiously allow anyone to live in poverty. We cannot conscientiously continue to allow any man, woman, or child to die of starvation. We can no longer conscientiously continue to take advantage of others and deny others from living a comfortable, peaceful, and fruitful life. We cannot afford not to act conscientiously lest we abandon our humanity and become nothing more than monsters about to get extinct because of our arrogance, greed, indifference, and selfishness.

We are all one people. East, west, north south. Black, white, yellow, red, and a mixture of one or more. Religious belief, sexual preference, political ideology. We are all one people in spite of our uniqueness and differences. We are individuals and we are also part of a huge community. We have a responsibility towards each other regardless of all that we know and believe in. We have a responsibility to preserve life, human and non human. We can no longer survive the way we are doing now. The world is changing and we must learn to adapt individually and collectively or risk our own extinction.

Rise up for humanity. Rise up against the tyranny of tyrants, the inhumanity of apathy, and against the injustices of what is sold to us as a “free world”. Rise with peace and demand peace and an end to all the atrocities that are and will be in the near and far future. We alone decided our destiny. Choose wisely and humanly.

Follow Your Bliss

Follow your bliss... forbidden or allowed.. brake all your barriers and just follow what you feel is right, uncolored by your prejudices and see the reality for its goodness, though sometimes cruel, and accept the yourself as you are, spiritual and physical, and  deiced, for yourself,  based on your experiences, what the way to your bliss would be... and then act upon it only if it means that you do not infringe on anyone else's bliss and no one infringes on yours. its not easy. but its not impossible, but the out come rarely turns out as we expect it. so we also have to learn how to let things be.

The Hypocrisy of the Lebanese; the Still Uncured Plague that Rapes my People

The Hypocrisy of the Lebanese; the Still Uncured Plague that Rapes my People

On the 30th of July 2011, my wife and I attended a candle light vigil march in Montreal, in solidarity with the protesters in Syria, and especially with the children of Syria. I met a young Lebanese compatriot who was also participating in the march. I thought to myself that it is good that some Lebanese are liberated from the homeland mentality of follow-the-sectarian-leader-no-matter-what, and has decided, for himself, to participate in a march for dignity and true solidarity with the oppressed.

Then I spoke with him and was severely disappointed. From the start he flaunted his diseased mentality to me, claiming that what “these people” need is the sage guidance of the Hakim (the doctor or Wise Man). A reference to one of Lebanon’s extremist Christian leaders, Samir Geagea, leader of the infamous Lebanese Forces. I was utterly stunned to see someone living in North America with such an anachronistic sense of purpose.

I told him that I was of the opinion that people like him are like sheep that follow their respective nefarious and sectarian feudal lords, and that it is the sheep of Lebanon that are infected with a deadly disease called hypocrisy who have caused people like me to leave. Most Lebanese would agree that the politicians of Lebanon are ALL corrupt, but (and somehow there is always a “but”) this or that leader (whom they follow) is better than the rest. It does not matter if that leader has committed far too many atrocities to earn the title of “better”, it does not matter if the leader in question had contributed to the rape of Lebanon, they, the infected sheep, will follow the wolf blindly.

“They are all bad, but this one is good and wise” this is a common phrase I have heard from many Lebanese: Shiaas who follow Nasralah or Beri, Sunnis who follow Hariri or Mikati or whomever elese, Druze who follow, Jumblat or Arslan, Maronites who follow Geagea or Gemayel or Aoun, or one of the many splinter groups, and many.... far too many more. Then there are the other lesser groups like the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and a few other such minor factions as the communist party and the representatives of the criminal cartels of the rich, famous and powerful kingpins. Each one of these so called leaders has contributed to the rape of Lebanon, the theft of its riches, the desecration of its sanctity, the oppression of a learned people, and the slaughter and defilement of the innocent.

The stupidity of those who will use force and political influence to violently repress a group of free thinking individuals, not associated with anyone, who stood up for what is a human cause and paid for it with a rain of hate and ground braking ignorance of a generation lost to the follies of our countries sectarianism and the kind of scum, crime, and subversion it nourishes.

A movement in Lebanon had embarked on an attempt to spark a revolution to end Lebanon’s sectarian regime. The movement had many supporters, the majority of Lebanese believe in the “ideals” of the movement, but the problem was, as it has always been, that the people think the time is “not right” for such a change yet. Why not? “Because the Muslims will overrun us” say the Christians. “Because the Christians will overrun us” say the Muslims. So they support the secular movement in principal, but they will not join it for sectarian reasons? That has never made sense to me……… I still draw a blank every time I think about it. This is a SECULAR movement….. You cannot agree with a secular movement and then reject the invitation to join it based on SECTARIAN REASONING.

While the rest of the Arab world is rising up in revolt against the corruption and brutality of their own regimes, the Lebanese are still bickering about which leader they would prefer to rape them. This is the Lebanese disease, hypocrisy at its purist level. A betrayal to Lebanon’s self-professed enlightenment. For you see, the Lebanese are an arrogant people. They regard the Syrians, the Egyptians, and especially the Palestinians, as beneath them… savages… desert dwelling camel riders. On the other hand, these very Lebanese, get offended when people from the west regard them in the same light as the Lebanese regard the Syrians, Egyptians, and Palestinians. How ironic.

One of the first questions a Lebanese asks you when they first meet you is; “where are you from?” This is not a genuine question. This is a loaded question to figure out to which sectarian feudal kingpin you belong to…. Not follow… BELONG TO…. As in “property of”, for that is how our leaders see us; nothing more than property that they can use and discard at will.

Lebanon Needs UNITY. We are all Lebanese. Our religious beliefs have no bearing on our nationality. It is everyone’s right to exercise their religious beliefs as they see fit, however... let us not mix religion with politics, for this has proven, and always will prove to be, a dangerous mix. Or have we all forgotten the great civil war that ravaged our beloved Lebanon for 15 years.

It was not the Palestinians who were to blame. It was not the Syrians who were to blame. It was not the Israelis who were to blame. No one other than the Lebanese people are to be blamed for the start of that war. It is us who gave our so-called leaders permission to lie to us, and then gave them our consent to rape us. We brought this upon ourselves. And we will do so again, if we do not shed our sectarian values, deny the feudal lords of our support, and continue to think of ourselves as Christians, Muslims, or Druze, first and foremost before we think of ourselves as Lebanese.

It is time to shed our old ways of dealing with one another and to finally stand united as one Lebanese people against the tyranny of the sectarian régime and all its lackeys, the feudal lords, and the diseased sheep that follow them blindly to their own demise.

We area a sick people. And the only cure to our aliment is to shed our sectarian hypocrisy and demand what is rightful ours: a peaceful Lebanon with a properly functioning government that looks out for the interests of the people rather than the interests of one group or another, or the interests of one feudal leader (za3im ya3neh) or his or her despicable tribe.

The Lebanese have scoffed at and denigrated the Syrian people for being the sheep who follow the regime with brutal blindness. Yet it is the Syrian people who now are teaching us a valuable lesson; tyranny will not be tolerated anymore, nor will oppression or corruption. And though Lebanon does not have a specific tyrant, Lebanon is ruled by several mini-tyrants; the feudal lords who preside over our heads because we gave them that power. Lebanon is rife with corruption. There is no party that is “less” corrupt than the other. There is no party that has “better” values than the other. If you believe the opposite of what I just said then you need to stop lying to yourselves.

Look around you. Look at the humiliation we have endured. Look at the disgrace we continue to endure every day. Look at the degradation of our society. It is not western values that have done this to us. It is not outside interference that has done this to us. It is WE who have allowed this to happen because we chose not to listen to the true teachings of our own religions and followed the liars who had us believe that we are in danger of being overrun by the others.

Lebanese enlightenment? It does not exist any more. Not while we cling on to our anachronistic ways.

Look at what is happening in Israel. The free thinking people of Israel where almost delegitimized by a right wing regime supported by ultra-right settlers. The government grew corrupt and attempted to curtail the peoples freedoms undemocratically and now Netanyahu and his coalition or right wingers are about to pay the ultimate price. The people of Israel have risen and are about to at least cause a change for the better of Israel and the Arab world.

Look at the unity and shaky discipline that the Palestinians factions in occupied Palestine are exercising. See how the people have begun to realize that they can do much more damage to Israel through peaceful means rather than trying to fight a losing battle. See how they now begin to ascend against all the bigotry, discrimination, and denigration that spews out of the Israeli propaganda machine. The Palestinian people have taken destiny in to their own hands and they are beginning to succeed like never before.

Look at the Egyptians. They ousted Moubark and grudgingly accepted the military transitional rule but are now again rising to ensure that things do not go back to the old ways. It is not enough to get rid of a leader, we must also make sure that what comes after is a massive improvement rather than just the better of two evils.

To my brothers and sisters in Lebanon.

If you want a country to be proud of. A country that takes care of your needs. A country that puts its people first and foremost rather than individuals like the feudal lords. If you want better economic conditions. A better life. A future. A cure to the dieses that plagues all of our people. Then you must work for it. Stand up for your rights. The political leaders are your enemies. March 8 and March 14. They are both toying with our lives. They are both guilty, equally, without exception, of raping our beloved Lebanon.

Rise up my brother and sisters and demand what is rightfully ours. A peaceful Lebanon, a secular Lebanon that views all its inhabitants as equal before the law, man, woman, child, Christian, Muslim, Druze, we are all Lebanese.

Cure yourselves from the plague of hypocrisy and ignorance that you have induced upon yourselves. Take to the streets and make your voices heard. Tell those leaders and their thugs to be gone, just like the every-day civilian Palestinians in Ein-el Helweh, came out of hiding during a gun battle between two factions, and forced them to disengage.

Tell them we want the fall of the sectarian régime. Tell them we want an end to corruption. Tell them we want an end to sectarian strife and values. Tell them we will support them no more. Tell them that we refuse to be raped any more.

Take to the streets and raise your voices as one. And when the elections come, go to the ballots. But instead of voting for any particular person or party or list or coalition, put in a vote for the end of corruption, the end of sectarianism, then end of our plight, the downfall of the sectarian régime and all the parties and leaders that make up its foundation.

Either that, or watch the events the area around us unfold and feel the shame for not being a part of this new destiny. Feel ashamed of falling behind and becoming the laughing stock of the world. We made ourselves sick. Now is the time to heal ourselves.

The Evolution of an Idea.

“Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds.” The words uttered by Julius Robert Oppenheimer, sometime after he helped create the first atomic bomb and finally realized the Pandora’s box he had opened. Greek mythology credits a female called Pandora with opening a box that let out all that was evil into the world. The words are from the Hindu scriptures known as the “Bhagavad Gita”, a conscientious precursor to Machiavelli’s “The Prince”. Yet the truth is that man is a week creature not accustomed to accepting failure, thus the unleashing of all evil was scapegoated upon poor unsuspecting Pandora, who, in her turn was but a pawn in the hands of the Olympian gods to upset the balance of nature and the wisdom of an early form of a Christ like figure, Prometheus, giver of the flame of knowledge, a possible minor equivalent to the biblical eve and the tree of knowledge.

Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds. The words ring in my ears as I witness the events of the world unfolding before my senses. An Arab Spring, an African American president, hacktivists, anonymous internet revolt, these represent the hope that remained when all evil escaped “Pandora’s” Box, faced against war, famine, greed, bigotry, in-humanity, and retardation of human evolution.

“Where is God?... God is dead… we Killed him…” wrote Nietzsche, and the world misunderstood his meaning and others, including Hitler, latched on to what they never understood. Used to it to their malcontent end. “Gott ist tot” “God is dead” Killed by the crusades, and the jihads, and the hypocrisy, and the lies of the church, the mosque, the synagogue, and all the politicians who used the, what was once the purity of faith in something greater than humanity, to their own personal worldly ends, killing god, killing faith, leaving humanity devoid of its soul and place.

Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, are all part of the same idea. Islam sprang out of Christianity, the prophet, and all prophets must be mad (a compliment rather than an insult), Mohammad was inspired by the teachings of the original gospels of Christianity, Jesus was a Jew who benefited from the trade of ideas with Hindu and Buddhist ideologies traveling along the roots of the world’s communication systems. Roads, caravans, merchants of ideas and manufactured products, like Mohammad thought to bring a positive change to his community and the world, amending the understanding of the Jewish texts in time and space. Though Judaism is not even the beginning, for the idea of faith goes back to when we were cave dwellers and maybe even before. Humanities attempt to explain the unexplainable and to describe the feeling of ones and individuality within the context of their understanding of the world. Everything is relative. Our perspective is relative. The seed of this idea has existed far longer than is believed, yet we fight to enforce which is the most riotous faith of all…… non, though few have grasped this idea yet.

Religion is no the only idea that has evolved over the long stretch of time and space beyond recorded history, all the way back to the origin of the vast universe in which we, insignificantly, live in. The uprising of the downtrodden, the peasants, the lower class, the poor, the oppressed who wish to learn and be enlightened and prosper with dignity and humanity.

God is dead, we have killed him, and in so doing we have doomed ourselves. Not that god is important but because we have, in our selfish pursuits of God, and godly ambitions, destroyed our own humanity. Just look at the news today and understand that we have gone astray and our ideas are in desperate need of evolving beyond the status quo that we cling on to with dear life, stifling our own evolution and enlightenment.

The world is about to change. The tidal waves of change will be unrelenting. The down trodden are rising up against slavery of the mind, body and soul. one way or the other, every evolutionary revolt has succeeded and will continue to do so…. So brace yourselves for the coming winds of eternal change.

The Turning Point

Is this the turning point? For Israel, for the Palestinians, for the US, for the world? The Arab Spring was the first sign of the massive worldwide change that is almost upon or door step? Maybe the Mayans where right. Maybe what we are about to witness will be the end of the world as we know it. As we know it from our current unenlightened and single minded perspective. What if everything was about to change? EVERYTHING. Surely any change is an end of what we know. But like anything and everything in the universe, there exists a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. A star lives its life until it consumes all its fuels and then explodes in a massive super nova ball of fire from which a nebula is born, a nebula from which new stars are born. With every death there are more reborn. Life falling into death and death falling into life. The hunter and the goddess. Everything is changing everything else. All falling together in to a spiral of eternity.

Not a circle, for in a circle we relive all that was exactly as it was. And ‘was’ becomes ‘is’. We relive all that is, exactly as it is. The universe is not like that. The universe, everything in it, moves like a spiral, everything keeps repeating itself, all ideas are recycled, evolution moves towards improvement, everything changes, everything is in fact repeated, but everything is repeated differently. Similar, but not the same. Always different, yet the same. 

So yes. Change is coming. It has happened before and it shall happen again. The same story, but with different actors, more refined script, yet the same. Those who resist change have historically always been crushed by the weight of time.

A big change is coming, that much is obvious between the world’s two most dominant ideologies. Conservatism vs. liberalism. Conservatism holds back and resist change, always working against the due process of evolution and thus fighting back the inevitable. The only thing that is inevitable is perpetual change. Which we try to measure by units we call time, but time is a matter of perspective; A Teran year is shorter than a Jovian year and longer than a Mercurian year. Time is not absolute nor is it finite nor is it infinite. Time is a perception. A measure of constantly moving perspectives. This is the tsunami that those who resist change have to survive. 

And what are we at the universal scale where we are nothing more than subatomic particles by sheer contrast and similarity in scale over space and time.

Change is inevitable. We have two choices, either explode, then implode and become black holes, which some dying stars that are too massive for their own good end up being. A black whole, the sheer powerful pull of something greater than gravity. Death incarnate. The definition of absence of light. A monster from which there is no escape not even for light. Or die gracefully as brilliant super nova turned into a nebula, a star nursery. But who is to say that life does not begin with a black hole. Out of chaos comes order and of order comes chaos. An eternal spiral of change. A spiral galaxy, a local cluster of galaxies, a super cluster of galaxies with a heart, a black hole.

From life comes death and from death comes life. A cycle from our perspective but really a spiral because though everything is the same everything is also not the same. Change is coming. This September will get interesting but it is in 2012 that much of what is happening now will erupt like a volcano and change everything forever. Not the end of the world in a biblical sense, but the end of the world as we know it consciously. Just as forever also has an end. To see things like conflicts as ancient repetitions of the same thing, will repeat itself but never the same

Norway under fire

It really stumps my mind every time someone commits an atrocity on any scale. My thoughts go out to the victims and families of this heinous act. 

Anders Behring Breivik, 32, carried out a double, premeditated act of terror against his fellow country men and women. He has already admitted to the attacks and has stated that it was "necessary" to carry out such a terrible act and claims that all his reason shall be made public when the court hearing starts. 

His Facebook page already draws an unkind picture of him. He associates with the likes of bigoted groups like the English Defence League and Geert Wilders' Freedom Party. These are ultra-nationalist groups who believe tin the superiority of their race and culture over that of others, which ever way they wish to describe themselves, bigotry, really, is the only word that truly describes the true face of these so called nationalists.  Breivik, a conservative, took maters in to his own hands and attempted to illuminate as many non-conservative thinking compatriots as possible , first with a bomb and then by shouting indiscriminately at a crowed of Labor Party youth activists.

All that Breivik wanted to really accomplish was to put himself in the spot light and earn his 15minuts of infamy. He wanted to get the attention of the nation and by doing so has also gained the attention of the world. I am sure his intentions are to bolster support for his  anti "cultural Marxists/ multiculturalist traitors" agenda. But alas, I believe what will be accomplished by his act of terror is to wake people up and make them realize that ultra-nationalists and bigoted conservatives are a mistake and can be compared with the bigoted conservatives and ultra Islamist of al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and all those who carry out acts of terror against innocent civilians.  What Breivik may have accomplished with his madness is to turn the tied against this wave of ultra conservatism and nationalism that now threatens to drown Europe.  

There are better ways, more peaceful ways, more appropriate ways, to catch the attention of the world and media than to commit a crime so hideous that the lives of the innocent are painted with sorrow of their flowing blood.  Hate never wins.  Hate may oppress, hate my silence, but hate can never win.

What is wrong with this world is that the education system, along with the unchecked bigotry of corrupt politicians, and single minded religious clerics, not to mention the worsening economic situation of the world, have all contributed to the demise and erosion of our humanity.  I hope the world wakes up now and realizes that an end to this madness is demanded and desired immediately. drop all your weapons and march in solidarity with peace and the flowing blood of innocence. 

Natanyahu The Mad usurper of peace.

I seam to be on a "MAD" tangent... but here goes anyway.......

If what CIA man Robert Baer Sais is true; That the current rightwing Israeli government is planning on attacking Iran's nuclear facilities this fall, then for certain, the world will be going to hell. For those of you who think the world has already gone to hell I tell you that what is coming if the Israelis do attack Iran is far worse than anything we have seen so far.

The Israelis, without thinking of the consequences, plan to do this attack as a way to divert attention and swart the efforts of the Palestinian declaration of statehood expected this September. Undoubtedly the US will be forcibly drawn in to this war.

The Israelis are once again pursuing the wrong approach out of their arrogance and unwillingness to compromise for the cause of peace. Netanyahu’s rightwing government would rather condemn the world to darkness rather than make peace with the Palestinians, as they should have done more than a decade ago. At the same time Netanyahu’s government has greedily consolidated its maritime borders and annexed what should be Lebanese waters all because they, the Israelis, are too greedy to share the natural resources beneath these waters with the Lebanese state which is in desperate need of those resources to bring itself out of the chaos it exists in. 

Netanyahu the mad man is willing to plunge the entire world in to chaos out of nothing more than sheer greed. Anyone who claims that this is an action being taken in "self defense" or to "insure the security" of Israel is deluded. The way to security is through peace, the way to peace is through mutual compromise and not through the two faced statements of agreeing to appear to negotiate for peace while on the other hand doing all that is possible to make swart peace, as the Netanyahu government showed us with the case of the illegal continuation of settlement expansion on land that is internationally agreed to belong to the Palestinians.

A war with Iran right now would also swart the efforts of the Arab spring as the "greater Zionist enemy" (so referred to by Arab leaders and zealots) will once again be used as an excuse to subjugate the people as the Assad regime so appallingly does. It would also silence the growing voice of decent in Iran where people are increasingly getting fed up with tyrannical regime. It is abundantly clear that Netanyahu has no interest in fostering peace and would prefer to have the old tyrannical regimes of Al-Assad and Mubarak over a democratic and peaceful Arab world. Thus Netanyahu not only is greedy for recourses and contemptuous of peace but also a supporter of tyranny and a hypocrite who would be willing to support the very enemies that threaten him just for the unjust purpose of wrongfully "insuring the security of Israel" at the cost of the freedom, dignity, and blood of the Arab people who have rallied behind the call of democracy. Netanyahu is the usurper of the people’s aspirations; he will succeed where Bin Ali, Moubarak, Gadafi, Saleh, and Assad failed.

Iran is not Afghanistan, nor is it Iraq. The consequences of war with Iran will be dyer and sever. It could spark the third world war, but it will certainly increase and revitalize terrorist activities which have over the last few years dwindled, especially after the beginning of the Arab Spring.

Netanyahu the mad man is about to plunge us in to a world financial depression that will make the Great Depression seem like a walk in the park.

Against all reason and against the advice of even his own high-ranking military and intelligence officers, and against the advice of the USA that supplies and equips Netanyahu’s war machine much in the way that Iran supplies and equips Hezbollah, against peace, against any valid reason, the mad man, the war monger Netanyahu is about to deliver, not just the region, but the entire world in to the unrelenting clutches of darkness and chaos. There, I have said it, the IDF is not any better than Hezbollah.

People! Where ever you are, please writing to your governments and ask your policy makers to stop this madness before it begins for the sake of humanity and the future of our children. We have had enough wars. Where is the peace we were promised... whatever happened to "never again" or are these just convenient words to be used when it is necessary and to be ignored at free will? 

Stow away your guns and give us peace. Stop the madness NOW. Send Netanyahu, the mad man, a clear, but peaceful message; we will not support your madness or your war.

I am going Mad

Mad with the desire to be consumed in the flames of passion, yet the flames are out of my reach. 

I feel my body stirring. I know I am about to explode in to a brilliant ball of light.  

The longing of my heart, consumed in those flames, yearns for to be lost in the oblivion of her eyes. consumed, my soul yearns, to warp it self around the giver of life, the light that haunts my dreams and humbles me before the ecstasy of her power over me. 

I am going mad, anticipating her next move. will she accept me, bring my cold body in to the warmth of her terrifying heart?  willfully I await my destruction. will she deny me, and thus condemn me to in to Hades care? I know not and care not for I am lost in the oblivion of her eyes.

Will she ignite my passionate heart like a star born in the loins of of Andromeda's nebulous womb?

will she deliver me from the madness that now consumes me? my body yearns for the touch of her soul, scorching as it may be, engulfing my love in her eternal embrace.

The Way I Write

I have come to an important realization. I started this blog in an effort to vent my emotional frustrations born out of reading the news or every day events that make me cringe with emotional pain. The idea is a good exercise for me, a dyslexic who learns everything intuitively and more poignantly learns everything emotionally.  

My moods swing as a result external emotional stimuli which triggers my complicated brain mechanism. Complicated not necessarily superior but capable of performing in unique ways that others cannot.

My emotions are intense and I try to keep them at bay as best I can. But under such constant emotional pressure I need to vent it somehow or ells I will pay for it dearly with physical illness. I am a nonviolent person, I would like to think of myself as a pacifist and for the most part I am.

So writing was the obvious choice for many reasons. It would help me improve my writing skills which I depend upon a lot, and it would allow me to find a way to communicate my thoughts and ideas better since I have such a hard time doing it verbally that I am fed up of being miscomprehended most of the time. My perspective is usually so strange that no one quit gets it until after some time when they get to the same conclusions i have but which i had a hard time explaining coherently. 

Even at work they call me the mar man because of my strange ideas and advice which at first are dismissed until something happens that makes them realize my idea was not so farfetched after all. 

More than anything, writing would help me vent all those emotions that i keep under lock and key. 

Wonderful idea. Except for one problem. I have fallen into what I call the bureaucrat trap, where I am spending more time writing things in a method that would be more likely to be understood by someone else. 

This little realization has prompted me to remember that I am not like this. That I am expressing my self the wrong way. Well using the wrong method at least. 

Describing the process of a brain that functions emotionally is difficult. Describing an emotional thought is just as difficult if not more. I use the tools at my disposal, news articles, research, and citations, all of which I generally refer to as clutter when I write. I use them to describe how i feel about specific issues. 

But this method defeats some of the purposes behind the reasons for writing. It takes away from my essence because I am too focused on getting it all right and in format. This is not me. I write emotionally, connected rather than detached from the subject. What i have been writing is charged but missing the point.

But nothing goes to waste. Something good is always learned from a perceived mistake. Now, I have to set onto an effort that would shift me back to my more serene form of writing and not worry whether any one will connect with it or even like it.

My emotional thoughts need to come out more as myself.

Brain Has crashed.

My brain has crashed with the overload of information of news, thoughts, and feelings.  The hard thing about reading the news is that I get too worked up, especially when I see horrible situations that could, or rather should, be better.  I have always dreamed that I can help change the world for the better.  But I realized long ago that the world will go as it wills and not as we would have it. Still that does not stop me from trying and getting so worked up that I loose perspective and myself in an endless spiral of disparity and despair.

Its time reboot my brain.

Gaza Flotilla hampered by political manoeuvring

Israel seems to be not only "allegedly" involving itself in cross-national attempts of sabotage, as witnessed last week, but also exerting a harsh diplomatic effort to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza. 

Obviously, the Israelis do not want a repeat of last year’s fiasco and are thus trying their best to prevent the Flotilla from sailing on to its intended purpose. If the Flotilla does move and reach Israeli waters, all eyes are going to be fixed on the way Israel handles this event with great scrutiny, not something the Israelis want. To the extent that the Flotilla might actually succeed when they find that the Israeli forces are being cautiously timid in front of the eyes of the media. 

Israel has recently attempted to discredit the Flotilla by spinning its propaganda machine as best it could. A video, allegedly made by a gay participant claiming that the Flotilla organizers rejected his participation on the grounds of his sexual orientation and accusing the organizers of being Hamas lovers, turned out to be a hoax that involved an Israeli entrepreneur and some Israeli public servant. The flotilla organizers have repeatedly said that any one, no matter their sexual, racial or whatever orientation, can participate in the Flotilla. 

Among the participants is a Jewish holocaust survivor and another is a former Israeli air force pilot. One would think that this sends a clear message to the Israeli government that this is a legitimate Flotilla carrying aid and activist, not weapons, not terrorists, just peace loving human beings. 

Now, Israel seems to have succeeded in exerting enough diplomatic pressure on an already embattled, to prevent all Gaza Flotilla ships from leaving port. One US ship, The Audacity of Hope, had set sail when it was accosted by Greek cost guards and commando units with guns who forced them back to port. 

Will the Flotilla sail? Or will the covert activities of the Israeli government prevail. 

For some reason this incident reminds me of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. I hope that we do not see a repeat. 

US Betrays Syrian People

According to an article from the UK based The Guardian. It would seem that the US has been poking its head where it does not belong again, back dealing with the Syrian regime at the expense of the Syrian people. The US, the article claims, is promoting a roadmap for Syrian reforms, which is a good idea in itself, but not when it involves keeping Bashar al-Assad in power. The proposal does not even mention any Syrian official by name. How can the US propose such an unacceptable notion after the atrocities perpetrated by the Syrian Bathist regime of Bashar al-Assad and his butcher of a brother, Maher al-Assad? How can the US make such a preposterous proposition when the blood of more than 1,300 civilians is still freshly spilt on the streets of Syria? How can the US even suggest the idea of keeping Assad in power when he and his regime stand accused of torturing the Syrian people for voicing their grievances? How can such a proposal even leave the table when children are being tortured, mutilated, castrated, and cold bloodedly murdered like the case of Hamza al Khateeb, Thamer al-Sahri, and countless of others. How can the US even propose such an appalling proposal when the fate of Tal al-Mallouhi is yet unknown and feared dead at the hands of her Syrian jailers, put away in prison for nothing more than voicing her opinion on a her blog. 

The Syrian people will not accept this. It may be forced upon them but eventually it will falter. Not to mention that Bashar al-Assad is not going to just sit there and be a figure head. He will become the hand that rocks the cradle, publicly powerless but a back stage fiend. 

I hope the US will reconsider their "proposal" for the sake of humanity and the rights of the Syrian people. For just like Mubarak, ben Ali, Saleh, and Kaddafi, deserve to be tired for crimes against humanity so should Bashar, his brothers, and their minions. 

It would seem that the US has not learned from their past mistakes of supporting seditious tyrants like Sadam Husain, the Taliban, Bin laden, and scores of other dictators, all in the name of American interests... whatever happened to the interests of the people and their right to live as do all Americans, free, peaceful and democratic. Who ever came up with this proposal should wake up and smell the coffee... the world has changed and these old support the tyrant methods never worked and will work less so now with the Arab Spring almost at full swing. 

Palestinians are beginning to learn an important lesson; non-violent protests will get them where they need to be

The Palestinians have begun to learn a very important lesson. One that Gandhi preached and practiced following in the footsteps of one Jesus of Nazareth. While the Palestinians have every right to be angry and an unquestionable right to fight for their right to exists without the oppression of a merciless occupation force, the methods Palestinian freedom fighters have employed have proven to be fruitless over the last few decades. Resorting to violence and terrorism never got anyone anything, nor does a nation stand firmly when its foundations are socked with blood. Violent methods also delegitimize an otherwise just cause, especially when the casualties are innocent civilians, women, children, elderly and peace loving individuals, not just because its bad for public relations, but because the murder of innocents is out right wrong (haram), and unacceptable.

The way to peace is through peaceful means. The majority of Palestinians are Muslims, but Islam is a religion that reveres Jesus, Isa as he is known in the Arabic language, thus the teaching of Jesus are integral to Islam. One of the most important teachings of Jesus is the way of peace and love. Both powerful ideas, more powerful than any weapon that exists, and never destructive or a merciless destroyer of life. Peace is the right path that the Palestinians should embrace in order to achieve statehood and force an appropriate peace deal with the Israeli government that is bent has so far succeeded by painting the Palestinians as a violent and terroristic people and used readily available proof of indiscriminate suicide bombings to de-legitimize the Palestinian claim for a land that the Israeli government has no intention to give up. 

Deny the Israeli propaganda machine these facts which they use as ammunition to de-legitimize the Palestinians with, by rising up to the challenge of a peaceful revolution. The best way to deal with a bully is not to hit him back but to confront him as peacefully as possible with his wrong doing.

Now, if only Hamas can learn this lesson too and realize that their militant ways have achieved nothing more than the death, destruction, and devastation of the Palestinians people.

The road to peace can only be achieved through peace. A lesson that the Israeli decision makers should take measure of and learn for themselves also.

Relativity from a dyslexic dragon's perspective.

Relativity from a dyslexic dragon's perspective.

Or at least from this specific dyslexic’s perspective. While most dyslexics have far too much in common, each dyslexic is unique. Dyslexics have a gift that allows them to understand things in multiple perspectives. It is a little bit like multidimensional thinking only we dyslexics see and understand things from a relative multi perspective.

For instance. The word love has multiple meanings and more often than not when we use that word it can mean multiple all those multiple meanings. Loving a friend can mean many things like physical love, maternal love, puppy love, brotherly love, sisterly love, romantic love, painful love, ecstatic love, and so many more. When we use the word love we mean it in all its forms even when it means just one or is directed at a person with one kind of love.

The reason every dyslexic is unique is because each one of us understands how things like’s events, concepts, ideas, culture, customs, mannerism, are relative. The truth is relative to that of the observer. Much like time is relative, the concept we have of time is that it flows at a constant. But that is only true from our perspective, a species that has built an empire dependent on the constancy of this temporal measurement we take for granted as absolute because that is how we experience time on a human scale. So time is relative to how we experience it. Time is multi dimensional; it can be warped with space. What we call time can run faster or slower depending on how we experience it.

Time can be slowed down by the intensity of a black hole’s gravitational pull; anything that has mass generates the kind of pull that distorts time-space.

We think of time as constant but the reality is that time is relative to how we experience it. Time is relative just like love........ and Einstein was dyslexic.

Hariri speaks on STL indictment results

What a load of crock. 

Let me be clear on one thing before I start ranting; I do not doubt the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) or that Hezbollah members were involved in the assassination of Rafic Hariri.

But to hear the slain ex-prime minister’s son, Saad Hariri, who also is an ex-prime minister, spewing hypocrisies out of his orifice I feel compelled to say a few words.

"Today, I find myself closer than any time before to my family and the people of my country. I am with them in all cities, towns and homes. I am with the families and crowds who rushed to the Freedom Square and the grave of Martyr Premier, filling the squares all over Lebanon, defying desperation, intimidation and threats, and vowing not to surrender to the will of the killers and criminals. Today, I find myself closer than any time before to my family and the people of my country. I am with them in all cities, towns and homes. I am with the families and crowds who rushed to the Freedom Square and the grave of Martyr Premier, filling the squares all over Lebanon, defying desperation, intimidation and threats, and vowing not to surrender to the will of the killers and criminals." Saad Hariri 

This man, who is a billionaire and who hides behind fortified mansions, who travels in armored convoys, who fled Lebanon to France after he ceased to be prime minister, has the audacity to claim that he finds himself "closer" to the people. What a load of crock. 

Not only that, he also, as a Lebanese leader, applauds the flock of sheep that filled "squares all over Lebanon" as if that was a good thing. I call them sheep because they follow our corrupt leaders so blindly that they will not listen to reason or facts. Hariri Jr. applauds the fact that he has followers who are willing to spark sectarian strife just because their leader, a Sunni, is at odds, politically, with the leader of the Shiaas. This man is guilty of propagating sectarian strife just as much as Samir Gaagaa, leader of an extermist branch of christins known as the Lebanese Forces - those there is nothing Lebanese about it and it certainly is no force-, and just as much as Hassan Nasralah, secretary general of Hezbollah -though I am certain if god was around would sue them for trademark infringement-

"Defying desperation, intimidation and threats" Really? He says it as if Hezbollah is the only political entity that intimidates and threats, not that they do not, but let Hariri not throw stones in a house of glass for he, and the rest of his alleys of the March 14 farce, are equally guilty of intimidation and threats. Hezbollah may be the only overtly armed group in Lebanon, which should without a doubt be disarmed, but the rest of Lebanon's political parties are also armed though not openly. Also, the lackeys of the March 14 group, much like the March 8 group, engage in subterfuge, coercion, and mafia like threats against anyone who defies their will. How many great Lebanese men,, women, and companies have suffered at the whims of the likes of Hariri, Gmeyel, Gaagaa, Mur, Aoun, Jumblat, Biri, Narsalah et all? How many families have been torn apart because the leaders willed it so? How many businesses went under because these so called leaders where more interested in illuminating the competition by abusing their strong position of power? How many good people's reputations where smeared because the leaders needed a scapegoat for their illegal activities? How much have the leaders of March 14 and March 8 stolen what should belong to the Lebanese people? How many times have these so called leaders placed themselves above the law and gave themselves and their family members, close and extended, more rights than the average Lebanese? And he has the audacity to call himself "close" to the people and to speak of "justice"?

If there was any justice in Lebanon then all the politicians and their lackeys would be in jail by now. These are the political leaders who have robed Lebanon blind, who run organized crime syndicates that enjoy state protection, these are the "leaders" or the sons of the "leaders" who forced us over the brink and brought us nothing but death, destruction, and destitute throughout the civil war and its aftermath. 

This is the same Hariri, whose slain father, "legally" stole Lebanese land from Lebanese people, evicted people out of homes their homes which they, the people owned, sold our land, our pride, our dignity to the highest bidder, and left the Lebanese people with almost nothing. Much like Hezbollah sold Lebanon to the Syrian and Iranian regimes.

How dare this despicable man who calls himself a leader speak of justice, truth, and being close to the people?

What a load of crock, and the sadder part is that people believe him and still follow him blindly.

This ex-prime minister has done nothing for Lebanon. He has done much for himself, his allies, and the lackeys but little or nothing for the Lebanese. How dare he speak as if he represents the voice true voice of Lebanon.

Lebanese politicians are corrupt; it is a prerequisite to become a Lebanese politician.

Although I think that Hariri is a hypocrite, this should not de-emphasize the obligation that is now upon Hezbollah, the only openly armed Lebanese group, to respect the processes of law, politicized or not, western plot or not, and turn over the Hezbollah members who stand accused of murdering 22 Lebanese citizens, not just Rafic Hariri because he was an important person, but all those who were killed as a result of conspiracy and criminal activity of some people or groups.

Hezbollah claims that it is an honorable entity; if this was the case then Nasralah should not violently protect those who stand accused of this crime. He, Nasralah, has been known to say that he will “cut off the hand” of anyone who attempts to arrest any Hezbollah member no matter what. These are not the words of an honorable entity or of an honorable man. The due course of law must prevail and either convict or acquit those who are accused, this is the proper way to proceed. Hezbollah has the double responsibility to follow through with the due course of law because they now hold the greater share in the current government. Failure to hand in the accused to the authorities proves that Hezbollah, the entity was complicit in this crime.

Knowing the stubbornness and tribal mentality of Nasralah and Hezbollah, though, it is almost certain that they will not do the honorable thing. They will protect the accused men and risk throwing the country in to further diary and civil strife. The reason given by the paranoid Hezbollah for refusing to hand over the accused is that the STL is controlled by “the Zionist entity” otherwise known as Israel. Which may be true but where is the proof? Let Hezbollah prove that their accusation is true and again, the only way to achieve this is through the due process of law and not by taking unilateral and stubborn decisions that will bring us further to the brink just because Nasralah is deluded in thinking that he and his Hezbollah are above the law. It would have been better for Nasralah not to have spoken, for he has truly shown his colors and his disregard for the Lebanese public and Lebanese judiciary system. No one is above the law and this is something he must learn now or else remove himself from political life as he is unfit and unqualified to fill this role…. Not that there are any Lebanese politicians who are any better than him, mind you, but as a matter of principle, if such a thing still exists.

I keep hoping that someone will act honorably but I am not holding my breath.

Four Trillion Dollars

The US has, so far, spent in excess of four (4) trillion dollars on the Afghan and Iraqi wars in the last 10 years. Four Trillion Dollars. that’s $4,000,000,000,000.00 in numeric values. It is a mind boggling cost for two wars that have, in essence, failed. Afghanistan is not really better off than it was before the war and neither is Iraq. Sure, Sadam Husain was deposed, Bin laden killed, and the Taliban ousted. But conditions have become worse for the average Afghani and Iraqi citizens. Only a handful few have benefited from these wars. 4 trillion dollars is the value of the lives of 6,051 US soldiers, 2,300 contractors, 18,000 members of the Iraqi and Afghan security forces, 3,520 Pakistani soldiers, and the number to trump them all, 137,000 civilians. All killed because of these two meaningless wars.

4 Trillion dollars distributed evenly among the entier population of the wolrd of 6,775,235,700 would have given everyone of us $590.

4 Trillion dollars that could have been used to fight poverty, to fight diseases like aids and cancer, to feed the entire world many times over.

4 trillion dollars that could have been used to educate, instead of kill, Afghani and Iraqi children, which would have been a better way to bring on the deposition of both the Taliban and Husain.

4 trillion dollars that could have been spent to bring peace to the Middle East.

4 trillion dollars that could have been invested in researching alternative energy sources.

4 trillion dollars that could have gotten us to Mars and back many times over.

Instead, we got two failed wars that had no strategy, no specific objective, and a plethora of lies, deceit and subterfuge. Two wars that helped propagate the 2009 financial crisis. Money well spent? More like a waste. And now the money holders are terrified and forcing governments, like Greece, to cut down on essential social programs.

Meanwhile more people continue to die. More soldiers come back home with barley adequate support. Afghanistan is falling apart and looks likely to be overrun by the Taliban all over again. Al-Qaida still exists even without Bin laden. Iraq is about to fall in to further chaos. The poor keep getting poorer while the few who benefited from these wars get richer.

This is Bush legacy. 4 trillion dollars is the cost of 137,000 dead civilians.