Socialism at the wake of Capitalism failure

"I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is alienating... because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition."...F. Castro

Since I started graduate school, I have been fazing in and out of my socialism and Communism class. Well really I should probably mention that there are a couple of brownnosers in the class and being that half of the time I wanted to wring Marx and Engel's necks...it did not help with my situation. But then I began thinking on the consequences of Capitalism....
Since Capitalism is the father American Economy, I wondered how this could be the reason for third world socialism.
SO what do you know, I am doing a research paper on that. THIRD WORLD SOCIALISM...okay someone shoot me now....before I turn into a socialist myself. haha SYKE! not gonna happen.

Okay so we know that most of the third world is poor and well they have no choice but socialism. Not that capitalism is doing any good in the US now, especially with the present economy.
Fidel Castro, in all his magnimonity was the one quoted saying, " They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?" And he is right, Capitalism seems to have failed everyone else but Americans. ( I could go into theories of why this is the case...but lets not do that now)
Socialism has failed too...it has caused as much as capitalism has..."wars and competition" However, in the developing nations, it is easier to be a socialist than a capitalist. Not to mention to an extent, capitalism and Capitalists have driven it to be so.
For example, Somalia. if you don't know the awful situation there, well go and do some research.
Somalia is one of those nations that was able to kick the US out of the country after trying to
"save" it. It is one of those international humiliations that Clinton will never live down. it is also has become a very very dangerous area for the US. Not to mention harboring those pirates we keep hearing of. To be honest, I admire these young somalians. They are stupid for sure, but they figured, they had to take the chance that no well meaning, well reasoned person would ever take- attacking an american vessel.
History has rendered that the US-Somali relations will always be rocky. The US butts in wanting to put in some kind of Capitalist economy, and that fails. then off course now they are threatening to stop food from flowing into a country whose people have no government nor food. These people are dying, and all US can think of is...well, they kinda deserve it.
In some ways, the US is no better than those terrorists really. I know that is a radical thought. LEt me explain this..
Terrorism by defination is...

1.	the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.

2.	the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.

3.	a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

In many ways also...the US is much better off that terrorist. but at the game here...I am talking about Somalia. How can you deny people food when they are starving...especially when more than half of your food ends up in the garbage. isn't this a coercion by using food as means of bargain. Plus, as the word goes, you incite fear/terror in people that it is hard to have independent thinking. NO country wants to piss the US off and give Somali food. Otherwise they would be on the next terrorist list. Forget International problems...what about local problems? I mean seriously...people in the US are starving...EVERYDAY, and the US gvt with its red tape does not have any viable solutions on how to give all the excess food to those people who are in desparate need of it.

dear AU.... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?????

(I am aware of the ethical implications of having two blogs on the same day, but today, is just that day that one needs to have more than one blog...and its okay. As I write this, it is my fifth blog of the day, and its only 3:30pm)

In my short career in politics, I am yet to meet a man or politician who has had the ability to earn my admiration and loathing at the same time. That is a great task to achieve. The honor goes to none other than Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi or simply....GADDAFI!
If you had the honor of watching his 15 minute turned 90 minutes speech at the GA of the UN, you noticed a lot head turnings, and alot of twisting in the chairs...most I should say by African leaders who are members of the AU and who I might add voted him as their leader. Not that I like calling people names but does "idiots" fit in this category? oh I enjoyed reading The Wall Street Journal on the 24th, especially since it had Ali Abdussalim of Libya hanging in shame.
The man ripped up a copy of the UN charter; called the Security Council a "terrorism" council; declared a two-state solution in the Middle East unatainable, and proposed a lifetime term for US President Barack Obama. I am very surprised it took him only 90 minutes. Okay, so no leader has been this bold for a long long time. Actually scratch that..>NEVER> and alas it had to be an african leader- a mad one at that.
You think I am exagerating, well, his delegation arrives in the US where no one wanted to put him up. I mean, he was literally not welcome anywhere in states. He ends up pitching a tent in Bedford on a property owned by Trump. And just like his style, he appears before the UN regally like the prince he believes himself to be. After calling Obama "our Son" continuously, I wonder why Obama did not invite him to the UN reception. Yikes, that must have hurt.
Albeit he was shably treated by NY State. He needed the respect that every leader deserves...he might be crazy, but we are not in high school anymore where you could treat bad people by shunning them away and mistreating them. Imagine if Obama visited the middle East and got the same treatment that Gaddafi got. Imagine the image now that Libyans have of America. Oh, and this was Gaddafi's first visit to the US. So he probably won't be coming back.
40 years in power and the man is still a symbol of either madness or sheer brilliance. That is where he gets my admiration. He pretty much gave the middle finger to the world. But he also pointed out something that I agree with...(its kinda hard not to find something to agree with in a 90 minute speech.) he said that Article 2 of the United Nations Charter states that the "Organisation is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members". But as Gaddafi rightly pointed out, in practice this isn't the case as long as the Security Council is a closed club of big powers. he noted that while the UN was set up in 1945 to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war", it has failed dismally in that task. There have been 65 wars since the establishment of the Security Council, he said, waged in the interests of "one country, or three countries or four countries".
Oh but he lost it again when he started having conspiracy theories on Swine flu and the Assasination of JFK. Thats probably why to some the speech he gave was brilliant and to some, pure madness and ramblings of a mad man.

So now I wonder...after all the history of bad blood between this leader and the US or rather the West...what was the AU thinking? Electing him as the President of the AU...and basically giving him power of negociation between that organization and others international entities. As if they are not facing enough trouble, they had to lose face infront of the International community.

BF Virtue 3: Order

"Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."


It’s a common story that we have all heard, or lived. A man wakes up and realizes his life is a complete mess. Not just his mental capacity, but physically, his surroundings are just in shambles. His bed is never made, papers and magazines are stacked all over the place, and dirty clothes lie on the floor. What is he to do? So he decides that he needs to take charge of his life.
Where to start? Order. This is among the personal virtues among the 13.

We never think of this, because to some of us...well order is just a very very tedious task...(ask me in HS, and I would have told you of stories of how I hated to clean my room) Then I moved to college, and well, disorder was my way of rebellion from everything that I was taught as a child. Then I would feel guilt, and I would clean my room, and then after two days, it would be in a tidy mess again. This by the way, still happens today. Except my excuse this time, I am working on clearing my junk and keeping what I need.

Now to the question of the Why?
Why is it so hard to keep order? Hmm...yes, the basic answer to that is Entropy. Every time that man creates order, he goes against this force. You agree with me that it easier to keep a messy room than a tidy room...
Here is a scientific explanation....

The first law of thermodynamics tells us there is a fixed amount of energy in the universe. Energy can be changed from one form to another, but never created or destroyed.

Although energy cannot be destroyed, it is of little use to anyone if it cannot make things happen. Unfortunately, the second law of thermodynamics tells us all energy changes decrease the amount of useful energy in the universe.

Consider a box of small magnets. If the small magnets are lined up in the same direction, as a group they can attract other metal objects. If they are not lined up in the same direction, individual magnets cancel each other’s effect and cannot do useful work. The same is true of energy – it is useful when it is ordered, but when it is disordered, its effects cancel each other out.

Entropy is a measure of the lack of order in the energy.

Now, since I am not a scientist, I am probably not sure how to expound on this, from its basic understanding. Or my basic understanding stated above.
The secret to beating this is well, being efficiently efficient. Easier said than done. But the idea that if you have to make order, you have to act. You have to be able to just stand up, and do it, at that moment, without giving yourself excuses of "later"

Virtue 2: Silence

"Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; Avoid trifling Conversation"

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt". ~ Mark Twain
Silence is really one of the hardest things to practice. No offense but especially to women. I find that sometimes, I JUST CAN"T SHUT UP!. Its a disease.
but Why is silence a virtue?
Have you ever tuned out or tried to tune out everything, to just have silence? Other might call this inner peace, but essentially, to be silent is to find peace. Or the inner escape.
BF however speak of silence as basically "know when to speak, and when you do, make sure it is not rubbish"
I mean, how hard is that, in this modern world...where technology is king, and you can speak without ever having to open your mouth. We have twitter, facebook, myspace, Hi5 and my favorite, Bebo---all which really point to our vanity.
So how do we avoid being so trifling in our conversations?
Here are a few things you could do:
1. Don’t talk on your cell phone when you have a captive audience.
It needs not explanation...it is simply rude.

2. Don’t talk or answer your cell phone while talking to ANYONE in person.
I am yet to meet anyone who loves to be the third party in at two-way conversation. Not cool

3. Don’t use your phone in any place in which people expect a certain atmosphere.
like the Libraries, Banks..if you speak in a restaurant, don't be the idiot who speaks loudly for everyone to know what you are saying.

4. Never say something to a stranger on the internet that you would not say to a stranger in person.
As if the internet is not full of rubbish already. Think before you write.

5. Don’t attack people personally
listen, it is everyone's prerogative to have an opinion and to disagree with anyone. But do not attack them personally. That is not only uncalled for, but is show poor means of argument.

6. Don’t just debunk things
GUILTY as charged. I love to disagree, but do not just disagree for the sake of disagreeing. Do not be mean just to be mean...and by goodness sake, do not be a cynic unless you have some good points to make.

7. Stop the excessive vulgarity
Nothing shows a juvenile mentality and a lack of class like excessive vulgarity. If you need to use these words, then there is really nothing meaningful that you needed to say. I mean, getting salty in a conversation is not a crime, but if every three words are followed by F- then you might need to go back to language school.

Virtue 1: Temperance

- Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation-

To have study BF it would be a mistake to assume that for this virtue to be the first, was a matter of coincidence. After a close look at what it really means to own up to this particular virtue, you find that it is a foundation for the next twelve...or rather a foundation for life.
Temperance is defined as " moderation in action, thought, or feeling OR habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions" (Webster Dictionary)
Look at the definition, is there anything really appealing to the idea of restraint? Its not sexy, it is not "rational" to the modern world where we are taught to take, take and take it all if you can. This is the world where more is better, and less is just an ugly word. If one can master Temperance, then the rest comes easy. If you master the art of moderation of appetites, then the rest is not much to conquer. You see, eating and drinking are some of our primary and most demanding primal urges. Without either, you die, and too much of it, and that also leads to its own kind of destruction.
In the words of BF...temperance "tends to procure that coolness and clearness of head, which is so necessary where constant vigilance was to be kept up, and guard maintained against the unremitting attraction of ancient habits, and the force of perpetual temptations"...and there you have it ladies and gentlemen.

Even so, the importance of temperance is emphasized by the fact that, it is one of the four cardinal virtues in the ancient "hellenic"greek culture...and one of the seven heavenly virtues.

THe Virtues of Ben Franklin (Intro)

I had Posted this on Facebook, but decided that it is better suited here....

Lets face it, I love history, and I enjoy reading about historical figures. I wish some of them were alive so I could have a shot at marrying one of them...haha. A gal can dream right?

Anyways, one of my favorite people, (after I read his work) is Ben Franklin. There are some points of his theories that I do not agree with. Simply because Deism for me is sourced from One being. That would be maybe the one point we might not agree with. Lets not forget that he was claimed to be major skirt chaser...(although this might never really be confirmed)
Anyways, so my days at Malone were spent mostly in history and pol sci books. While I owe a lot of my political growth to Dr. Waalkes, I owe my appreciation for history to Dr. Miller, but this particular interest Ben Franklin is owed to the one and only Dr. Case.
A while after my study of Ben Franklin while in High School, I learned about his 13 virtues. But I never gave them thought until I was in College.
After carefully reading the autobiography and then some biography, I came to appreciate these virtues.

Franklin admitted that he was never able to live the virtues perfectly nor really accomplish them all, but admittedly become a better and happier man for having made the attempt to follow these virtues.
I have adopted these virtues, and I think them so honorable that if we were all to try and live by these, the world and us for that matter would be better for it.

Therefore, for the next 13 days, I am going to do something I did a while back. I took each of these virtues and wrote and explored them in my personal journals. Now I want to do this again...it has become what I have found to be a "healthy" habit
Join me for the journey.....

Here are the virtues simply listed...
Ps: if you look at the virtues closely, you see that they range from personal to social traits.
1. "TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
2. "SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
3. "ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
4. "RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
5. "FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
6. "INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
7. "SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
8. "JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
9. "MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
10. "CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
11. "TRANQUILITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
12. "CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
13. "HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates." (this will be interesting)

Oh lovely Cuba....

For a small country, Cuba has a way of shaking things a bit.
How is it...that a nation...scratch that..an empire like the US has no idea if Castro is dead or alive?
Seriously, he is becoming my favorite villain. he is sleek, he is deadly. The man has the US guessing for years. (Unless of course he is dead, in which case, Raul is very smart on protecting his brother) btw...this is the same Raul who met with the USSR back then.

Unless of course the US knows he is dead, and the CIA are running things in Cuba. That is another option, or rather theory...but then there is Raul, which means that this theory is rubbish. So lets think about Castro. He was in power for 50 years or so...managed to piss off 10 US presidents (lucky Obama, he came just in time for Raul) Either way, he made sure that the US became the "big bad neighbor" and managed to get sympathy from some pretty powerful countries. (was very low key on support here) and the missile crisis did not help much either. Then, managed to get Hugo Chavez into his grip...I would say the man is well, in a weird sense, to be admired.
He was the same one who was caught saying, "I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is alienating... because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition.",...Never mind that he is right on this. But at the same time wrong on the issue...but still there are economists who will be quoting him for a long time.

Cuba oh Cuba...poor, and socialist...but they still have better health care system than the US. Now how about that!

Fears in Healthcare....

I get a lot of emails from several organizations...and today, Sojourners send me one that I thought was interesting, so I will share this with you.
Glenn Beck has received a lot of attention for his inflammatory rhetoric lately. Recently, he shared a personal story about his daughter who has cerebral palsy, which gets to the heart of his fears about health-care reform:

They [the government] will say exactly what doctors said about my 21-year-old daughter: "She may not really have a quality of life. She may not walk or talk or feed herself. But then again miracles happen." The "then again, miracles happen" part of that will be left out of the conversation. And I will not be able to see my daughter's 21st birthday, where I can reflect with her how miracles do happen. Because really, as I was told at the beginning of her life: Well, what kind of quality of life is she going to really have? I don't know, but that's for God to decide, not the government. -The Glenn Beck Program, 8/6/2009

His predictions that health-care reform would lead to government bureaucrats euthanizing people like his daughter are dead wrong, but we agree with Glenn on this point: God is the giver of life. However, what Glenn fails to realize is that lack of affordable, accessible health care is one of the reasons that people choose to terminate difficult pregnancies.

Consider two very close friends of the Sojourners family who recently found out that their unborn baby daughter has a brain tumor. To protect their privacy, we'll call her Milagro - meaning "Miracle" - or Mila, for short.

The tumor is the same size as her brain and is causing a build-up of fluid and the enlargement of her head. Significant brain damage is near certain. She's been given a 15 percent chance of survival and then only with a severely impaired quality of life. And yet, they've been told what Glenn's doctors told him: "miracles happen."

Mila will likely be delivered in December. With their current coverage, premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs for a complicated pregnancy will cost 20 percent of their modest income. But if their total bills exceed $250,000, they must pay all additional expenses. It's unclear how likely this is, but multiple brain surgeries and the additional care Mila may need could spell deep financial trouble.

But their worries don't stop there. Our friends receive their insurance through the mother's university. After she completes her Ph.D. this spring, her coverage will end in August. After that, with the possibility of Mila's severe pre-existing conditions, they may not be able to get any coverage at all.

Our friends do not fear a future where a government bureaucracy forces them to kill their child. Doctors in the current system have already suggested abortion. Their fear is much more immediate: If by some miracle their child survives beyond the womb, will they be able to afford the care she'll need once the insurance coverage ends?

Contrary to Glenn's fears, nothing in any of the proposed legislation would take away the right of a parent to carry her child to term. Nothing in any of the current legislation would deny life-saving treatment to anyone in need.

Those painful decisions would still be left to the families, and ultimately, yes, to God - just like the choices Beck had with his daughter Mary. It's our current system that does not ensure that families have all the care they need - before or after the birth of a child.

All of the reform proposals being debated include provisions to cap out-of-pocket expenses, end exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and eliminate limits like our friends' annual $250,000 cap on coverage - removing the financial pressures that currently lead many families to terminate difficult pregnancies.

it is amazing to me what fear can do to people.

it is also amazing that there can be so many misunderstandings among people.

Glen Beck, well the poor man...I understand his fears especially with his daughter...but he has a responsibility to his listeners and if he inflames fear in them, off course the whole public is going to be in a propagated chaos.

Hot Heads

We have too many of them.
And it is no surprise that most of them are men.
Surprise Surprise
......
It is about a week later and I had to finish this post. I just had to...because I am just not sure that some people understand the ramifications of being a hothead.
By hotheads, I mean know it alls.

Every generation has them. and eventually they either become bitter or dillusioned old men or women. It happens....well actually some of them are lucky enough to have the saving grace of being wise.
Lately, I have had the pleasure if not the horror of encoutering some people, who call themselves deists, or atheists. Very interesting concepts. Now, these are self-proclaimed know-it-alls. and at my age, we all have gone through this, and I am probably still going through some of it.
I mean, we think we know it all, we think that there can never be truth beyond what we know. My saving grace has been that, I really do not think that I know it all. and that I know that I am not as stupid as I seem. that being said...I also know that there is part of life that I will never be able to explain, and that with my finite brain, I cannot possibly embody ALL truth. We want truth..unfortunately, we are just born to be that. Naturally curious. However, wanting truth, is not the same as pursuing truth. I mean, honestly, and fervently pursuing truth. Some of us find the truth faster, and some of us, well, we just lag behind a bit, thinking we are the best, and we have cracked the code of life. This we forget that, there are people who have lived past 100 years, and even they still haven't cracked that code. So what makes us think that at 16 , 19 or 23, we know what truth is? or what life is all about?
Hotheads is actually another word for arrogance. Let me go back to the Deists and Atheists wannabes. I say Wannabes, because thats it, they don't really know what they believe in. They claim in (picture this in an oratory manner), "I was Once fooled, but now my eyes are open and I KNOW THE TRUTH" aka, those stupid morons that we call our elders know nothing, and we the hotheads, young hip generation...know what truth is. We have been ENLIGHTENED! You know Franklin was truly an man of enlightment...and even he did not embody arrogance, or claiming to know the truth. and he was a deist.
When talking to these people, I get testy, because I know that these enlightened wannabes, will be the rubbish leaders of tomorrow. So I shake my head and walk away sometimes. Because if it is anything I have learned, you cannot reason with stupidity.

Are we just that Dumb?

my guess will be yes, we are that dumb.
Eight years ago, there was hit, and pretty serious that it shook the world. After all, it was America. The world superpower!
But how soon we forget about that.
What happened to that to all those people who on 9/12/2001 were flying American flags from their homes, and on their cars?

Every disagreement dissipated. No longer were we Republicans or Democrats. No longer were we white or black. THERE WAS UNITY. Now, I am not fond of all things America, but on that day I was proud to see people united, people coming together. I was proud to be a student here...( I was also scared out of my mind...and would have taken the first flight back home if I could)

But it wasn’t long thereafter that the display of flags dwindled and that unity, well just turned into hatred. Things did change...if you would call it positive. Now we have colors for emergency alerts, and there are definitely more restrictions on travel. But who are we kidding, things are just as normal...only that every year, on 9/11, there is the false sense of unity.

Are we forgetting? Maybe not, but people, well I think that they no longer thought it a relevant memory for a life change.

Soon, this will be another Pearl Harbor, even though according to Roosevelt, that day was to live in infamy. Now, some kids in school do not even know what December 7, 1941 represents. In fact not even some of the adults could say they have a knowing of what that date represents.

I am not American, but I know that this day was important enough for it to mean something.
So what is bad about dedicating this day to be the day of Service? how about being so meaningful and actually do something worthwhile. Remember those lives by serving others....is that so bad?

But as human beings, we are so dumb sometimes. Really, because we want the flowers and the tears...I gues that is what memorials are about...but what about doing something useful.

I Can Do Bad All by Myself

I am going to skeet off political issues a bit, and maybe deal with this tid bit that we call humanity.
That title is the new movie by Tyler Perry.
I can do bad all by Myself...and to which Mary J. Blige sings the titled song that is sure to make it into the charts. However, now I am examining at the pain and suffering that is represented in the movie. I admit, I have a weakness, and that is people who are going through pain. I seem to have a radar for that, and it breaks me every time. I am still working on getting to know how to control heartache in the midst of pain. But I gues you cannot just turn that off, and on.
The act of caring for others is called common decency, and I wonder why we lack that as days go by.
Why is it we lack compassion? Why is it, instead of helping each other, we turn against each other like leeches, feeding on other people's misery? Does it makes us feel better to not care? Does it make us feel better to just make sure that someone else is suffering more than you are?
As it is said, pain is a price to pay sometimes, but some seem to have a bit more than their share, and I wonder if it would break us to just help those people out. I wonder if it would hurt to be kind to others.
Would it kill us, to stretch out our hand and help out? would it hurt our pride? Would it makes feel less than we are?

Inconsistencies in American Politics

Read the title, and find it not so shocking. If you think I am wrong, then you might need to revisit your history.
Republicans have disgusted me lately. I mean really.....but then so have democrats. This is to say, I am neither a liberal nor a conservative, which gives me an objective on the matter of principled politics. Here is my beef with both, especially when it comes to faith. Conservatives seem to think that they are carrying God's agenda. Democrats seem to rebel to this because in truth, conservatives are not carrying God's agenda. For me, it brings a struggle to do God's will that always falls short of the goal. There is no where on earth that we will ever complete God's agenda, or even completely come to know of this agenda., so why are the Republicans tripping with morality all over their agenda. I seem to remember, they like their Democratic counterparts are sleezies, and can lie and cheat, and be adulterous as the rest of the other parties.

But let me bring it back to the reason why I am writing this article. Lately, Obama Addressed school kids. "Back to school " speech. But off course, it wouldn't be a speech without parents (mostly Reps by the way) freaking out because they are afraid of Nazi germany repeating. Actually that sounds stupid just writing it, so I am not sure what they are afraid of.
I ask these same parents, where why they when President Bush Senior made similar assertions with the kids in 91. I mean, a republican says "Kids talk to me" and it is seen as an encouragement, but a democrat says the same and it is called propaganda, socialism, etc....
I mean am i the only one who is seeing hypocrisies in this, and the idiocy in the reaction to Obama's speech?
lets be fair, this event would have been so much tamer if Cable news hadn't just blown this out of proportion. Not to mention the newspapers.

Americans need to chill, liberals and conservatives alike.

The Politics of Friendships

There are few things I do not like talking about, or rather exploring, and one of them is the bounds of friendships. However, lately I find myself vexed at some particulars who I am not sure I understand. It seems that friendships have rules that can be broken, and some that are as elastic as rubber, (in that if exposed to heat....it becomes very pliable or melts)
Growing up, I learned the art of diplomacy, maneuvering and outmaneuvering situations. Those are talents that are overlooked yet they make the world go round. I have applied these lessons in most parts of my life, and have always trying to find one area in my life where diplomacy is not essential. The one place for me is friendships. I have never had to worry about my friendships, because once they are not working for me, I just walk away. Not a good policy...but it seems to have worked.
But lately, I have developed some strong friendships that I can't walk away from even if I wanted to. Therefore, I have found that diplomacy has to come into play even more so, because you learn to mask your feelings, and maneuver situations that hurt you, and work on the smile even when you want to scream.
Now I am working on answer to the question of whether friends are supposed to hurt you?...How do you deal with friends who are so self-absorbed that they hurt you, unintentionally?

Nobody Wants Peace in Israel/Palestine

It is strange that I am inspired by The West Wing for this post. It occurred to me, as I lazied around the computer monitor enjoying my favorite show, that no one would want peace in the in this region. I mean, the media, the US, the world...would assume that Israel wants peace. They would also assume that the Palestinians are okay with Hamas- both not really true.
Lets see, this crisis has what I would like to call-- a conflict of interest!. Really! Israel wants THE land, and Palestinians want THEIR land. As I said, conflict of interests. This is even enhannced when Israel shows no mercy, and Palestine wants no bargaining. (which makes for a pretty good, hearty discussion rounds in the UN summits)
It would also seem that there is a big assumption, that International Community (IC) wants peace and peace only- which is also a farce
Really what fun is that? That means that Iranians would have no one to want to blow up (if indeed they want to blow them up) The US will have no Palestinians to feel sorry for, and Israel to baby around. and all around the IC will have nothing to blast about when it came to the Middle East. This conflict is the soul of most of ME policies held by different countries. Policies which translate into "you are either for Israel, or you are not"

Lets face it, Israel is a war state that is fed by the endless conflict, paranoia and grandiose dilusions(megalomonia). Don't agree with me? Read your Bibles and History books lately? if not...go back and then tell me I am wrong.
There is also a factor that is downplayed, and cannot be ignored. Israel is a regional superpower. They have for what it counts the fourth Army in the world and enjoys the patronage (for a lack of better word) of the world's Superpower and mostly Europe. ( talk about Major guilt here) Lets contrast it with Hamas, ( who we talk of, shuddering and doing the cross sign as if it is a dirty word). Hamas has, hmmm...has no tank, no apaches, no fighter jets and have the littlest of support Iran and the Hezbollah. So, why would Israel be considered to be so frail?
Given, they have a land, that is just as small as my country (Burundi) if not bigger. They also have the disadvantage that were they to lose a war, that would be it for them...they definately owe the US for the Yom Kippur War....
all that said, do they really want to have peace, where they won't be babied anymore by the IC? don't think so. They depend on PROPAGANDA! bet you haven't heard that word before...I mean its only used rarely.
Some have suggested that for peace to reign here, there has to be a repeat of Oslo, and to them I ask..."Do you want another Antifada?"
Some suggest a 1967 border...eh, yea not gonna happen if Israel has anything to say to that.
so whats left? Peacemakers? if Elias chacour has anything to say to this, it is that peacemakers are the hope for both sides..... but I have feeling that if US and Israel has anything to say to this, peacemakers will not prevail.

So who wants peace then?
-the US? Nope, they would rather portray their might with the guns and tanks, and fighter jets
-The Irab nations? nope, then they wont have a reason to hate Israel and any IC supporters.
-Palestine?- not really, they want to play victim...even though it might be unfair because they are among all these groups mentioned, the ones who want the peace much more.

I hardly doubt that anyone will live to see the end of this war. generations before are feeding hate and revenge to the generations after, and it might be the unending circle after all.

AFRICAN MEN!!!!

Sometimes I am simply given to ranting, because it simply makes me feel better.
Well, today, I became just a little bit offed by a comment that was made.
What is it about African men, that the idea of women being independent threatens them?
I am working on a research project that would be in efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa, women will have to be empowered. They will have to be given a right to ownership, and the right to say NO.
What is that? I think that is called progress.
Anyways, I told this to a friend of mine, who happens to be African. He is very educated, but sometimes I forget that he is very African, and believes that we should go back to stomping and using spears...seriously, sometimes the way he speaks, I wonder if he is not just a chauvinist, using his African genes, to prove even much more so unbearable to the women.
So I told him of the idea that I am researching, and he was like, "THAT IS SO AMERICAN" and I was first shocked, then I realized he was serious. Apparently, thinking of progress has become an American thing. Thinking that women can actually go beyond being second-clad citizens is not American, it is a will to progress.
Anyways, my rant is done for now. I am sure this will come up again

Rebranding Africa

if I am not careful, I wont have any entries for july.
Anyways, did anyone read the article by Bono, about having a new face of Africa? Hopefully you did not miss the great campaign by ONE, for the YES AFRICA CAN promo.
It has not been a secret that Obama Chose Ghana because of its apparent democracy.
Excuse me if I am not so easily taken in by the so called democracy.
Lets be fair, Ghana is safe, and moderately speaking, peaceful. Democracy has been coming to them for years. And their government (which by the ways has a similar governmental structure as the US) has already gone through 4 republics....but are they wanting us to believe that corruption is dead? hardly. I am not so optimistic about that.
However, the message was clear. Ghana was getting the special treatment and the previlege to honor Obama, because they were doing well, and working hard to do so. Think of it as a "scooby snack". You know, present for good behavior.

but I do agree with Bono:
Africa is not just Barack Obama’s homeland. It’s ours, too. The birthplace of humanity. Wherever our journeys have taken us, they all began there. The word Desmond Tutu uses is “ubuntu”: I am because we are. As he says, until we accept and appreciate this we cannot be fully whole.

Anyways, I am waiting...waiting...lets see what happens. Africa might be inspired!

Caught in a Gay Pride Parade

What started as a nice day, turned berserk when I decided to go shopping after going to church. I should have known to go out then.
Nowadays, everybody wants to have a parade....
Anyways, this past sunday was the gay pride parade...Joy oh joy...yes. But being that I have alienated myself from news in the last MJ-hysteria days, I did not know. So here I go, calmly navigating through 34th St, I reach 5th ave, and I end up being caught in the most amazing parade ever. Gay pride parade! I mean, its all good, I gues. They are allowed to celebrate especially since they have 'come out of the closet'. Interesting though because there are a lot male bodies that are really really not supposed to be in mini skirts of boom boom shorts...or for that matter in bikinis., this goes for the females too actually. Now if this was not an inconvenience to my day , I might have just crossed the street and went on to my shopping (which I happen to not like very much)
Now its one thing to have a thanksgiving parade, or a Mets parade, because really they are showing off something, fruits of their labor, or whatever new products are in...but having a gay parade is a whole different thing. By the way, this goes in the same category as having a PR or Irish parade, or any kind of cultural parade.
Celebrate culture, celebrate your identity, but not doing so in a manner of "we are here, look at us, celebrate us"

soon restaurants will have to carry not only free-trade coffee, but homophobic-free coffee, or wine that is gay appropriate. This will actually be an occasion because these days, everyone wants to be recognized, and wants the whole world to know, in the words of Movado, "I am so special"
Well at the moment, I am waiting for the Atheist parade...lol

Michael Jackson-

Original postings from this blog were of media, thanks to Dr. Rudd. So I am going to honor or speak of MJ as he is a media icon, and some friends point out...humanitarian.
Okay, so I was really upset yesterday. I come home from a whole long day and reports are flying high that he is dead. And I was thinking...okay, he is dead. But i did not know that I was going to be called a witch or compared to an uncaring human being because I really thought it was funny how people were going into hysterics about his death. But I guess being a witch couldn't be the worst thing in the world.Yes, he died. So will everyone. Each one will have their day to die.
However, I understand the magnitude that is MJ, but treating him like a god of sorts was a little disturbing. He was a great musician...a greater star because the songs he wrote could touch the coldest of hearts. You only have to listen to songs like "heal the world", "Earth Song" Human Nature or my favorite "you are not alone"-to understand where I am coming from.
But all in all, MJ was flesh and blood. I mean, he deserves to be mourned, but mourn him without judging others that are not doing so.
Stupidity like wishing u died instead of him is foolishness beyond compare. He had his life to live, he made choices that brought him to this point. He made his bed, and laid in it, so why wish that u were the one who was dead?
Well I can pretty much say that Paul McArtney is not so upset, even though he might be sad that the one man who cheated him out of money is dead.

But it is not fair for me to judge him, and cast stones at the great MJ. so I will leave the rantings to that.
He was a great man. He even received a humanitarian award-albeit still on trial-but nevertheless, well respected. He gave millions to different charities, and the world will appreciate him for that.

Kite Runner/Thousand Splendid Suns

Two books...same author...both splendid.
I had made a promise that when i had my head all about, I would write more on these two books. Well the Kite runner is now a movie too...(but I cant bring myself to finish the movie, not matter how hard i try. it is very rare for books to move me to tears...but these two could move the toughest to tears. The movie...makes it even hard to watch it because you cry, you laugh, and become angry, joyful all at the same time...
To think of a culture so distinctly different from the one here(US), you have to wonder if there is knob missing somewhere.
Both books explore a theme of adultery, and how such an offense is dealt with, in both cases-execution. Their moral codes are( or maybe used to be) of the highest order, yet, in the eyes of the american society, oppressive to women. For the women looking from the outside in, we see women who have no freedom, those who are living with double standards, and education is a privilege.(something that is slowly changing...thankfully)
To slowly move into a tangent here...but double standards are found everywhere, por ejemplo...women, so delicate(or expect to be treated so...but want the same rights as men)....or the whores are women, but men are just men when they sleep around...double standards...they are everywhere.
okay, back to the books.
So the thought is then, what is society's influence on individual choices? I mean this to imply to the fact that these women have no way out of that cultural boundary they have been put in...or do they? Can they possibly escape? or would women do what Mariam(A thousand splendid suns) did by sacrificing her own life so that her co-wife(for lack of a better word) would have a better life?
Here is another question, are we all then victims of our own cultures or benefactors? I was almost at loggerheads with my brother over this issue a couple of weeks ago. I admit...being raised in an african society has given me some prejudices that are hard to get over. So it is not surprise that I find it surprising that men can cook as well as women, if not better. Shocking! lol
I love these books, and I've read them more than I should, and I will probably read them again. There is a lot of history, and for a history lover, i cant get enough of that.
Hosseini is probably one of the most talented authors i've come across.
So definately, if you ever have the chance, grab the books and they are worth every penny

Feeding the Hungry

Feeding the hungry, like taking care of of the OVC falls to "them". and sometimes u have to wonder who is Them?
I am a christian, so for this issue, I am going to tackle it from a faith standpoint.
You see I strongly believe that God gave us a sacred responsibility to the hungry. We are called to steward the earth and this does not give us the license to abuse the creation, which we are participants of. Yes...that includes and very much so,- the human race.
Faith does not dictate whether u should be feeding the hungry or seating at home and watching TV- or caring not for what happens to those who are around you.
Yunus the founder of the Grameen bank stated once, "If I could be useful to another human being, even for a day, that would be a great thing...it would be greater than all the big thoughts I could have at the University." If you are familiar with him, he is a Hindu. Then there is Choi of South Korea who has put the idea of "loving your enemies" into practice by provide means for those in North Korea to receive food. Maybe some of you are familiar with the Union for Reform Judaism, and the work that they do.
All this to say, feeding the hungry is not a christian thind, or a judaism thing or even a political thing. it is an "US" thing, without looking at color, age, or religious affiliaiton.