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.