Contemporary Thoughts

To Blair or Not to Blair

2009-02-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

This is a Muslim PhD student's view of the class Tony Blair gave at Yale.

And so it went on. I was always polite, never argumentative. I felt like Katy Couric with Sarah Palin - intrusive enough to expose the holes without being rude. At one point in the semester, as soon as he walked into class, he looked around, his gaze finally stopping on me. He winked and said with a smirk, ‘So, Yas-eer, have you got your question up your sleeve already?’ To which I retorted, ‘Not yet, but by the time you finish your lecture I will!’

Nice read. Enjoy

Breathe, breathe...huh, huh--- $3 trillion!

2009-02-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

Looks like some serious money coming into the picture here.

On a single day filled with staggering sums, the Obama administration, Federal Reserve and Senate attacked the deepening economic crisis Tuesday with actions that could throw as much as $3 trillion more in government and private funds into the fight against frozen credit markets and rising joblessness.

This is of note

Obama said in Florida, "I'm going to be personally making an announcement in the next couple weeks what our overall housing strategy is going to be. ... We've got to provide some direct relief to homeowners."

How Bin Laden Bankrupted America

2009-02-09T22:28:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting editorial on the http://www.anti-war.com website. It discusses the how the political confluences of the neocons and the"fundementalists" with the wars in the Middle East contributed to bankrupting the US.

The genius of bin Laden's pinprick attacks, costing a few hundred thousand dollars, has left America reeling with two unending multi-trillion-dollar wars it doesn't know how to get out of. He knew that his own strength was mainly in his appeal to the minds of men, particularly to the lost dignity of Muslims trampled under the heel of their own dictators, Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and America's military. Getting rid of the "far" enemy was the way to take on the "near" ones.

The article talks about five ways this has happened. What is very interesting is that some of the pundits have actually predicted something like this. From the article:

Editor John Feffer forecast the wars' consequences precisely in 2002:
"The successful realization of bin Laden's secret strategy will happen not with a bang but with a whimper. Having failed to use the unipolar moment for the world's advantage, the United States runs the risk of following the examples of Russia and England and Turkey, all faded empires whose ambitions overreached themselves. In the worst-case scenario, the U.S. will become the sick man of North America, a victim of military hypertrophy, extremes of wealth and poverty, decay of civil infrastructure, and loss of competitive economic advantage."

Read it. Interesting stuff.

But what is more interesting is this last quote. See the link for the full article. Here is an excerpt from that article. Remember this is written in 2002.

Bin Laden has apparently absorbed the Reagan strategy. It is difficult to know whether he really thought that a handful of terrorist acts would hobble the United States or that al Qaeda and the Taliban could defeat the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan. What he must have anticipated, however, was the predictable U.S. response: to throw money at the Pentagon.
The Bush administration has obliged by lifting defense spending into the stratosphere. The proposed 14 percent increase brings the military budget to $379 billion. Another $17 billion will be spend on defense programs outside the Pentagon. By 2007, Bush predicts a staggering $451 billion military budget. These figures don't even include the enormous sums devoted to paying for past wars through veterans' payments and interest on the debt associated with military spending ($229 billion in 2001). Coupled with tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy, the proposed defense budget will eliminate the budget surpluses and do nothing to improve the health, educational level and long-term employment opportunities of U.S. citizens.

A Muslim in America - "A voyage of discovery"

2009-02-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

Thinking out of the box to bring Islam to non-Muslims in America.

He told the story of answering a tear-filled question posed by a Midwestern woman who admitted that she'd never met a Muslim.

" 'Do they love their children?' " Hayden, 30, remembered her asking. "We were able to tell her that, yes, they love their children. ... But the fact that she asked that question told us so much."

Very good article.

UK Jewish MP: Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza

2009-02-07T23:28:00.000-08:00

From the mouths of...

President Obama authorizes aid to Gaza

2009-02-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

This is quite a change from a few months back. $20 million from the US government has been authorized to go to NGOs serving the situation in Gaza.

This is a short memorandum from the office of the president. Read the link and see for yourself.

And, of course, not a word on the front page of CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, or LA Times.

Is Peace Out of Reach

2009-01-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

CBS 60 Minutes.

This is worth watching. Views are changing across the world about the Palestinian situation, and about the whole Israeli stance.

Obama's Inaugural Speech

2009-01-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

This is a different era. This speech is sobering, realistic and is of leadership caliber of the highest degree. It is interesting in that it inspires hope, faces challenges and reaches out to get the best from people. We all hope and pray that the sincerity exhibited is true and, more importantly, inspires many across the world to actually change paths to the betterment of humanity. We need to seize the moment individually and collectively and move forward seeking Allah's guidance for all of the human family.

For many, the most important thing is that he is African-American. I think this is a very myopic view. Past the irrelevance of his skin color, is the vision, leadership and caliber of this man. Say what you might, and so far we have not seen much to criticize, this is a person with a vision, determination and a sense of collective can-do.

How you are serving your community

2009-01-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

Watch the inauguration here

2009-01-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

Watch live streaming video of Obama's inauguration on http://CNN.com/live

On Tuesday, January 20th, watch President-elect Barack Obama become the next President of the United States on http://cnn.com/live. You can watch the live video online from anywhere with broadband access.

Coverage begins at 8am EST, with the swearing-in ceremony at 12pm EST, followed immediately by Obama's inauguration address.

UN accuses Israel over phosphorus

2009-01-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

From the BBC about yesterday's Israeli bombing (with phosphorus) the UN compound.

The whole article is quotable. Just take a look.

In 8 years: 20 Israelis die from Gaza rockets, 4000 from car accidents

2009-01-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

Prespective! Sometimes that is what is needed. This is an article by an Israeli that is much more pragmatic and humane--for both sides. The headline is

700 Israelis arrested for protesting against war

On the number of Israeli deaths, Gordon said: "between ten and twenty people, Israelis, have died from rockets in the eight years that rockets have been launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel. During the same amount of time, 4,000 Israelis have died from car accidents."
But Israel still used that as an excuse to bomb Gaza.
"From these twenty people, we’re allowed to enter into the Gaza Strip and bomb them from the air into their cage and kill 275 children," said Gordon, who is also the author of the book Israel’s Occupation.

Gordon also talks about the propaganda war.

On the media war, Gordon noted: "Israel is dealing with a propaganda war. Israel is the one that disseminated a video of Hamas shooting rockets from a school, a video that’s almost two years old, claiming that the video was taken a day or two earlier. So Israel is in a propaganda war."
Gordon noted that "although Hamas did launch an incredible amount of rockets at the end of the ceasefire," it was Israel which broke the ceasefire on November 4th "when it attacked in the Gaza Strip."

and that Israel promotes state sponsored terrorism

"Yes, the Hamas is fighting out from a civilian population, but Israel has the choice whether it’s going to bomb the civilian population or not, and it is intentionally deciding to bomb the civilian population. So in terms of intentionality in bombing areas where there are civilians, Israel is acting like a state terrorist. So, if your definition of terrorism doesn’t take into account the identity of the actor—and state actors can also be terrorists—then when you bomb a school and when you bomb a university and when you bomb a neighborhood and you’re killing much more civilians than militants, then you’re doing something that is an act of terror," he explained.

Very interesting read. Don't miss it.

This is really insane...no respect for anyone or anything

2009-01-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

How long do we tolerate this insanity? The world is full of blessings from Allah and man-certain men-choose to make it so ugly. This is from Yahoo News...the headline reads:

Israeli forces shell UN office in Gaza

Israel launched the offensive Dec. 27 to end Hamas rocket attacks on Israel. Gaza medics say about 1,100 Palestinians, half of them civilians, have died; 13 Israelis have also been killed.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, visiting Israel, said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told him the attack on the U.N. compound was a "grave" error and apologized for it.
"I conveyed my strong protest and outrage to the defense minister and foreign minister and demanded a full explanation," said Ban, who arrived Thursday from Egypt.
Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu, said the military had not clarified the incident and that an investigation was under way.
"If it becomes clear that we returned shots at the source of fire, we will say so, and if it turns out we operated by mistake, we will not hesitate to confess," Benayahu told Israeli television.
Ging described the Israeli claim as "total nonsense" and "typical misinformation."
He said his staff in Tel Aviv was told by the Israeli liaison office "that there were no militants in the compound. There were militants operating ... in the area, but no militants or any firing from our compound. That's the official position of the Israeli authorities that deal with us. It happens, to my knowledge here, to be representative of the facts."

Allah is our guide and He suffices for us.

Changed the blog template

2009-01-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I just changed the blog template to get a wider view than before. I hope you don't mind the change

Leaders Lie, Civilians Die --- very apropos

2009-01-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

Another one of Robert Fisk's very well written arguments.

Is Hamas going to say: "Wow, this blitz is awesome – we'd better recognise the state of Israel, fall in line with the Palestinian Authority, lay down our weapons and pray we are taken prisoner and locked up indefinitely and support a new American 'peace process' in the Middle East!" Is that what the Israelis and the Americans and Gordon Brown think Hamas is going to do?

Read the article.

The real numbers of Israelis killed vs all others

2009-01-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

Robert Fisk is one sane voice in the middle of the insanity of the Middle East. How can it be that the 10 Israeli dead since Israel launched its well-scheduled attack on Gaza (lame duck President Bush) get more attention than the hundreds killed and thousands injured from the Palestinians in a few short weeks?

Twenty Israelis dead in 10 years around Gaza is a grim figure indeed. But 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week, thousands over the years since 1948 – when the Israeli massacre at Deir Yassin helped to kick-start the flight of Palestinians from that part of Palestine that was to become Israel – is on a quite different scale. This recalls not a normal Middle East bloodletting but an atrocity on the level of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. And of course, when an Arab bestirs himself with unrestrained fury and takes out his incendiary, blind anger on the West, we will say it has nothing to do with us. Why do they hate us, we will ask? But let us not say we do not know the answer.

Read this article. It is very interesting how Mr. Fisk gets the other side, while all other mainstream journalists are just government mouthpieces.

Robert Fisk’s World: Wherever I go, I hear the same tired Middle East comparisons

2009-01-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

This man should be thanked by the whole Middle East. He is standing up against the unfair justifications for the genocide that Israel regularily visits on the Palestinians. The quote below is an excerpt from his article.

It took Fintan O'Toole, The Irish Times's resident philosopher-in-chief, to speak the unspeakable. "When does the mandate of victimhood expire?" he asked. "At what point does the Nazi genocide of Europe's Jews cease to excuse the state of Israel from the demands of international law and of common humanity?"

When are we going to stop blaming the victim and victimizing the culprit? Check this other quote.

My favourite moment came when I pointed out that journalists should be on the side of those who suffer. If we were reporting the 18th-century slave trade, I said, we wouldn't give equal time to the slave ship captain in our dispatches. If we were reporting the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp, we wouldn't give equal time to the SS spokesman. At which point a journalist from the Jewish Telegraph in Prague responded that "the IDF are not Hitler". Of course not. But who said they were?

No shame...no feelings

Who's the boss?

2009-01-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well, from this, it is very clear.

How can people collaborate at this level knowing full well the results of their actions will be pain and misery for fellow human beings? What is worse, is that it is evident. It is not even being covered up.

Well, I guess, when you have no shame, you can do what you want!!

San jose protest to stop Isreali bombing of Gaza

2009-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

In Santana Row and at the intersection of Winchester and Stevens Creek.

Young Lake Two Panoramic

2007-09-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

Young Lake Two Panoramic, originally uploaded by J.H.C..

You just have to love this view in the Yosemite back country. Not the typical views you have of Yosemite. By the way, you can see some of my photos of Yosemite right here

Reflect

2007-09-16T22:48:00.001-07:00

Reflect, originally uploaded by J.H.C..

Just an awesome photo that I wanted to share with everyone. This is in the Yosemite back country

Time to resurrect this blog

2007-09-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone...

Well it is time for me to resurrect this dormant blog.
I am going through it right now and deleting all dead
links, adding and updating things. I will be starting
the blogging again soon.

I would love to read any comments.

First audio blog

2006-02-01T23:28:00.000-08:00

21st Century Lifelessness

2004-12-22T01:24:00.000-08:00

Our communication........Wireless
Our business......................Cashless
Our telephone..................Cordless
Our cooking.......................Fireless
Our youth.........................Jobless
Our food............................Fatless
Our labor...........................Effortless
Our conduct....................Worthless
Our relation......................Loveless
Our attitude....................Careless
Our feelings......................Heartless
Our politics......................Shameless
Our education...............Valueless
Our Follies.........................Countless
Our arguments...............Baseless
Our commitment..........Aimless
Our poor..........................Voiceless
Our life..............................Meaningless

Finally,
Our existence..................Useless????

Dirty Politics of Discreditation

2004-12-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

It is one thing to disagree with someone and present arguements against his or her case and then let the best idea stand up. But when you activly try to discredit people and try to find and manufacture dirt, it can only point out the weakness of your argument.

The adminsitration is now looking for ways to get into Iran, now that it has egg on the face with Iraq. ElBaradei is not phrasing his words exactly the way the administration wants them to be phrased. Therefore, they take the liberty to tap his phones.

The first link below is a recent CNN article about this. The second is some of the analysis by Paul Craig Roberts about the readiness of the US to attack Iran, even with strong European opposition.

Here is an excerpt from the analysis (2nd link).

The important unanswered question is: why do the neocons with their proven record of duplicity and delusion still hold the reigns of power in the Bush administration? Why isn’t Feith in prison? Martha Stewart is in prison for "lying" about a noncrime. Feith’s lies have killed thousands. The Iraq war is based entirely on neocon lies. The war is costing the US a fortune it does not have. The war is producing US casualties comparable to those of the Vietnam war and has killed a minimum of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

The neocons have destroyed Iraq’s infrastructure, alienated the entire Muslim world and made the US the most hated country on the planet.

U.S. taps ElBaradei phone

A Dose of Non-Delusional Reality for Douglas Feith