Imam Azhar Subedar of Masjid Nur (Islamic Community of South West Florida) in Port Charlotte, FL, became the first Muslim American to deliver the Opening Prayer in the Florida Senate in its 174 year history. He was sponsored by Sen.Dwight Bullard of the 39th District.
In his eloquent he prayed for the peace and prosperity of the state and the nation.
“From distant lands, with array of cultures, it is not the color of our skin or the languages we speak; not even the way we live or the faith and belief we ascribe to. Rather the common ground that unites us all and makes us one and all here in this nation of ours, is our pledge to our flag and the promise to uphold our Constitution.â€
(l-r) Mahdi Bray, USCMO Secretary General Oussama Jammal , Warith Deen Mohammad Jr. of the organization The Mosque Cares.
WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/12/14) — Ten major national American Muslim organizations held a news conference today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to announce the formation of the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), an umbrella group that will serve as a representative voice for Muslims as that faith community seeks to enhance its positive impact on society. [SEE:http://uscmo.org/ ]
The new national council’s first priority will be to build on Muslim citizenship rights by conducting a census of American Muslims to create a database that will be used to enhance civic and political participation in upcoming elections.
*Organizations participating in the initial launch included: The Mosque Cares (Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed), Muslim American Society (MAS), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North American (ICNA), Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), American Muslim Alliance (AMA), The Mosque Foundation (Chicago).
Sarah Harrison, an editor at WikiLeaks who has also worked with NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, won’t return to her home country of England because she fears being prosecuted as a terrorist for seeking to influence her government.
Harrison’s fear comes straight out of the language of the U.K. Terrorism Act of 2000. Writing in The Guardian, Harrison reports the act defines terrorism as “the use or threat of action […] designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation†or which “is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause†or “is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.†Elsewhere the act defines “government†as the government of any country, including the United States.
Britain has used this act to open a terrorist investigation against the journalists who used Snowden as a source, Harrison says. The detention and interrogation last summer of David Miranda, the partner of former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, in which Miranda was forced to answer questions related to Greenwald’s work and hand over documents, proves this, she argues. When Miranda brought a legal case against the British government’s use of Schedule 7 of the act, a court ruled that the law was fairly applied, ignoring “the well-defined protections for freedom of expression in the European convention on human rights,†Harrison writes.
“If Britain is going to investigate journalists as terrorists take and destroy our documents, force us to give up passwords and answer questions—how can we be sure we can protect our sources?†she asks. “But this precedent is now set; no journalist can be certain that if they leave, enter or transit through the UK this will not happen to them. My lawyers advise me not to return home.†Indeed, Harrison continues, “Schedule 7 is not really about catching terrorists. … It is now decreed by our courts that it is acceptable to interfere with the freedom of the press, based on a hunch. … This act—it is now crystal clear—is being consciously and strategically deployed to threaten journalists. It has become a tool for securing the darkness behind which our government can construct a brand new, 21st-century Big Brother.â€
“From my refuge in Berlin,†she says, “this reeks of adopting Germany’s past, rather than its future. I have thought about the extent to which British history would have been the poorer had the governments of the day had such an abusive instrument at their disposal. What would have happened to all the public campaigns carried out in an attempt to ‘influence the government’? I can see the suffragettes fighting for their right to vote being threatened into inaction, Jarrow marchers being labelled terrorists, and Dickens being locked up in Newgate prison.â€
By following these policies, British authorities have made themselves every bit as dangerous to the British people as the real or imagined threat of terrorism, Harrison concludes.
An oil lamp is an object used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and is continued to this day, although not commonly anymore. Often associated with stories about genies, rubbing the lamp in which a genie would live was said to summon it.
Oil lamps are a form of lighting, and were used as an alternative to candles before the use of electric lights. Starting in 1780 the Argand lamp quickly replaced other oil lamps still in their basic ancient form. These were, in turn, replaced by the kerosene lamp in about 1850. In small towns and rural areas these continued in use well into the 20th century, until such areas were finally electrified, and light bulbs could be used for lighting.
Most modern lamps (such as fueled lanterns) have been replaced with gas-based or petroleum-based fuels to operate when emergency non-electric light is required. As such, oil lamps of today are primarily used for the particular ambience they produce, or in rituals and religious ceremonies.
Lamps of the Ancient Mediterranean can be divided into six major categories
Wheel made: This category includes Greek and Egyptian lamps that date before the 3rd century BCE. They are characterized by simple, little or no decoration, and a wide pour hole, a lack of handles, and a pierced or unpierced lug. Pierced lugs occurred briefly between 4th and 3rd century BCE. Unpierced lugs continued until 1st century BCE.
Volute, Early Imperial: With volutes extending from their nozzles, these lamps were predominately produced in Italy during the Early Roman period. They have a wide discus, a narrow shoulder and no handle, elaborate imagery and artistic finishing, and a wide range of patterns of decoration.
High Imperial: These are late Roman. The shoulder is wider and the discus is smaller with fewer decorations. These lamps have handles and short plain nozzles, and less artistic finishing.
Frog: This is a regional style lamp exclusively produced in Egypt and found in the regions around it, between c. 100 and 300 CE. The frog, (Heqet), is an Egyptian fertility symbol.
African Red Slip lamps were made in North Africa, but widely exported, and decorated in a red slip. They date from the 2nd to the 7th century CE and comprise a wide variety of shapes including a flat, heavily decorated shoulder with a small and relatively shallow discus. Their decoration is either non-religious, Christian or Jewish. Grooves run from the nozzle back to the pouring hole and it is hypothesized that this is to take back spilled oil. These lamps often have more than one pour-hole.
Slipper lamps are oval shaped and found mainly in the Levant. They were produced between the 3rd to 9th centuries CE. Decorations include vine scrolls, palm wreaths, and Greek letters.
Factory lamps: Also called Firmalampen (from German), these are universal in distribution and simple in appearance. They have a channeled nozzle, plain discus, and 2 or 3 bumps on the shoulder. Initially made in factories in Northern Italy and Southern Gaul between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, they were exported to all Roman provinces. The vast majority have been stamped on the bottom to identify the manufacturer.
Do What You Can, With What You Have, Where you are.
~ Theodore Roosevelt
By Almas Akhtar, TMO
Our kids are our future: encourage them, celebrate them.
Almas Akhtar, a resident of Bloomfield Hills and a mother of three, started the Annual Youth Art Exhibitions in 2011 to encourage not only her children but children of the community.
It’s free for all children residing in the state of Michigan.†The smile on the children’s faces when they look at their art project displayed in the exhibition is my reward,†says Almas.
The exhibition usually starts around noon, guests look around at all the paintings, sculptures, photographs and small craft pieces displayed in the exhibition hall. Larger pieces are displayed on easels and smaller pieces on the tables. Professional artists are the judges of the competition. The competition is divided into three age groups; 5 to 9 year old, 10 to 14 year old and 15 to 19 year old kids.
Every child can present up to two art projects. In 2013 at the 3rd youth art exhibition, 5 local schools participated in the group competition.
The exhibition has grown considerably in the last 4 years.
Over 180 art projects were set up for exhibition in 2014 the 4th youth art exhibition held at the Dearborn Inn.
3 prizes are awarded in each age group, plus 3 special prizes.
Each child was awarded a certificate.
Mr. John Smith, president of the Michigan state Board of Education was the chief guest, who awarded prizes among the winners.
The names of the winners were: Najeeb Baig, Shiraz Arshad, Ammar Akhtar, Divya Alluri, Kylie Lala, Harout Watersen, Marah Baibijaan, Amber Akhtar and Suha Asadullah.
The audience listens to the interfaith “trialogue†in Arizona.
The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona partnered up with Salaam-Chai-Paradise for their annual three-part series of interfaith discussions where perspectives on who Moses (as), Jesus (as) and Muhammad (s) were, and how they are perceived, and their significance to the three faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam was discussed.
The third and final part of this tri series was held at the Islamic Center of the Northeast Valley on March 13 where Muslims, Jews and Christians attended with an open heart.
Imam Anas Hlayhel began the evening with the call for maghrib prayer. After the prayer, Imam Anas introduced Prophet Muhammad (s) to the audience starting with his childhood then adulthood, and finally his journey into prophethood.
He even went on to say that Moses (as), Jesus (as) and Muhammad (s) were introduced in Islam and to Muslims as prophets who were brothers but with different laws and were sent by the same God.
Imam Anas concluded by sharing the mission of Prophet Muhammad (s) was sent to teach people the importance of being merciful.
After sharing the Islamic perspective on Prophet Muhammad (s), Rabbi Tracee Rosen of Temple Chai shared the historic perception on the relationship between Jews and Muslims during Muhammad’s (s) prophethood. Rabbi Rosen added that the Jews at that time valued Muhammad’s (s) knowledge of their holy text and moral history, and the similarities between their stories is also mentioned in the Noble Quran.
In her final note, Rabbi Rosen highlighted Muhammad’s (s) role as a successful mediator between various tribes in Arabia.
The last presentation of the night on Muhammad’s (s) contributions to humanity was given by Pastor David Summers stating that the Muslims and Christians to be cousins serving the same God. He concluded by emphasizing Christian’s admiration of Muhammad (s) as a faithful spiritual leader.
As the event came to a close, roundtable discussions reflected on the knowledge shared from the tri-faith presentations.
To learn more about Salaam-Chai-Paradise and its interfaith programs, visit: www.templechai.com
Muslim Americans from Pakistan, Africa, Oakland, Sacramento and Elk Grove came to Oak Park on Saturday for the grand opening of Masjid As-Sabur, California’s newest mosque and the first built by African Americans in Northern California.
They took off their shoes to pray, availed themselves of free health screenings, signed up for Covered California and listened to about a dozen children recite verses from the Quran.
As-Sabur means “patient and consistent,†and the Moroccan-style temple with beige stucco walls next to Curtis’ Style Shop at the corner of Stockton Boulevard and 15th Avenue represents the culmination of a 39-year dream, said Imam Haazim Rashed. “Our community appeals to people who can relate to the fact that a lot of our members are African American, and our goal is to be a positive influence in the Oak Park/Tahoe Park area, where most of our 100-member congregation is located.â€
The congregation was praying in a 100-year-old white clapboard house before the 3,500-square-foot mosque was built from the ground up on an open field. They have worked “to eliminate prostitution on our streets, getting rid of drug dealers, giving out 250 backpacks to school kids and groceries to those in need near the end of the a month,†Rashed said.
They also feed the homeless at Loaves and Fishes the fourth Sunday of every month and work to end truancy, vagrancy and graffiti in the neighborhood, Rashed said. The mosque is open for prayers at 6 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and plans to start a youth outreach program. It also has a public-affairs TV show on Access Sacramento, Rashed said.
Along with people living in the neighborhood, “we have some Afghans, Pakistanis, Ethiopians, Saudi Arabians, Fijians and Asians coming in to pray, including those who work down the street at the UC Davis Medical Center,†said board member Aliane Hasan.
The new mosque is open to all people, “but it’s important to celebrate your own and take pride in being able to build and construct and add value to America,†Hasan said. “A lot of our African American history has been lost, and a lot of the slaves were Muslims from Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia and Egypt. Because this new building is standing, this history cannot be erased.â€
Rashed, the imam, said the most of $700,000 needed to build the new mosque came from Hasan and her husband, retired longshoreman Marion Hasan, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the Sacramento Kings’ director of player personnel and general manager of the Kings’ Development League franchise, the Reno Bighorns.
Abdur-Rahim said he’s been coming to worship in Oak Park since he moved to Sacramento 81/2 years ago. “The people here remind me of the community I grew up in in Atlanta where my father was an imam,†he said. “They are decent people collectively working and sacrificing to do something in their community with not a lot of resources, and I am blessed I could be a part of those efforts.â€
While the new mosque is modest compared to other mosques in Sacramento or around the country, “the people inside are really caring, dedicated people,†Abdur-Rahim said.
Saturday morning, children from Madarasat Nuru Islamic Studies for Children took turns reciting Quranic verses in Arabic. Ruhma Akbar, 10, recited Chapter 2, verses 183-188 – “The Cow†– discussing fasting, morality and repentance. Her mother, emergency-room doctor Aliya Akbar, is a Pakistani immigrant living in Elk Grove who came to watch her daughters read verses and support the new house of worship. “I’m here in solidarity – this is a day of celebration,†she said.
The congregation’s roots date back to the Nation of Islam, Rashed said. “About 20 of our members started there and left the Nation to follow Elijah Muhammad’s son, Warith Deen Mohammed, into the Sunni religion about 30 years ago,†Rashed said. “The primary difference is in the Nation of Islam, we at the time referred to God as a man, but we no longer do that–our Sunni religion basically goes back to the Prophet Muhammad (s) as the last prophet of God, and the Quran his last revelation.â€
While many mosques around the country were erected with help from immigrant populations and/or Muslim nations, “we are the first mosque that was built primarily by African Americans,†Rashed said.
Bashir Salaam, 74, came from Oakland on Saturday “because I had to witness this accomplishment. God had a plan for African Americans when he brought us here as slaves … we are the new Africans, and God is with us in America right here in Sacramento.â€
NEW LONDON,CT–New London Public Schools have added Muslim holidays to their calendar. The Board of Education had Jewish and other holidays already added to its list.
“We welcome the inclusion of Islamic holidays in the school calendar because it will serve to enhance the learning environment for Muslim students,†CAIR-CT Executive Director Mongi Dhaouadi, who is also a New London Public Schools parent, said in a statement.
Though school will still be held on those days, teachers are asked to be mindful of the religious holidays and to refrain from scheduling tests or major activities on these dates. Students who observe the religious holidays will be excused from classes.
Salman Khan to be honored with Heinz Award
Salman Khan, of Khan Academy fame, will be honored with a Heinz Award from the Heinz Family Foundation. The $1.25 million in prize money will be shared with four other winners.
Salman Khan was chosen for improving the human condition. The Khan Academy has revolutionized learning by producing videos and software to allow students to learn skills at their own pace.
The awards were established in 1993 by Teresa Heinz Kerry and the foundation as a way to honor the memory and spirit of her late husband, U.S. Sen. John Heinz III.
This year’s recipients, Mrs. Kerry said in a news release, “are willing to challenge the status quo, to be passionate in the pursuit of bettering the world we live in and to apply whatever strengths we have to the hard work of transformation.â€
Mohammed Khan, others among Science Fair awardees
Mohammed Khan of McNair Academic High School was among thirteen lucky students to be awarded with gold medals at the Jersey Journal’s 2014 Hudson County Science Fair.
The students were among 231 high school and elementary school students to participate in the 56th annual event, which was held Monday at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Among the silver medal winners are Samavia Khan, Tasfia Tasnim, Ali Hameed, and Hajra Jamal.
Prof. Hamada Hamid of Yale University speaks to the audience at the “Promoting Healthy Marriages†meeting.
Bloomfield–March 14–The Muslim American community is increasingly coming to terms with the fact that it is subject to the same pressures that have unfortunate effects on the rest of the society, such effects as substance abuse and divorce.
And so on Friday the ISPU conducted an informational seminar at the Bloomfield Muslim Unity Center, where they displayed the results of the study on marriage that they had sponsored, presented by researchers Amal Killawi and Hamada Hamid.
Amal Killawi is a clinical social worker and researcher, previously associated with ACCESS, the hugely successful and regionally dominant Dearborn community services center. Hamada Hamid is a professor in Neurology and Psychiatry at Yale University.
The researchers presented a brief form of their findings to about 100 people who gathered from Bloomfield’s community.
They had interviewed in the course of their research a small number of married Muslims and a small number of divorced Muslims, and several imams, and had gone in depth into the reasons for success or failure of each marriage, with an eye toward building community programs nationwide for the Muslim community to help prevent divorce and to help foster successful marriages.
The theme of their speeches was that the underlying need is for more communication–communication to teach kids what they can expect when they marry, communication to imams to let them know that clinical social workers and psychologists are available and “waiting in the wings†to help with marital and family problems, and communication to “train†imams for dealing with family issues.
In fact both researchers seemed to emphasize the importance of counseling when marriages are in difficulty–but also that it is better for counseling to begin before difficulty escalates into full-blown problems.
ISPU emphasized that this is only the first study of its kind–and that future studies will be able to build on the lessons and successes, and perhaps the holes left unstudied, by this current study.
Some of the discoveries from this first exploration of the topic included that 1) many Muslims got into marriage without really evaluating the person they were marrying, 2) many Muslims were unaware in advance that marriage required preparation and an investment of time and effort (even prior to the wedding)–and put more effort into planning the wedding than into planning the marriage.
The researchers emphasized that the community should de-stigmatize, and rather encourage, seeking counseling before marriage. They found that many of their interviewees would easily have been swayed to engage in premarital counseling, if their imam or someone had merely suggested it was a good idea.
The result of the ISPU study was a long list of recommendations at different levels of the community–for counseling professionals, couples planning to marry, and imams and mosque leadership including a marriage database to track the success of community marriages and explicit celebration of healthy marriages.
One takeaway from the meeting was that marriages in the Muslim community are sometimes haphazard and rushed affairs. Another takeaway was that people intending to marry must take some time to think about who they are, and perhaps to learn more about what to expect in marriage by talking to others, and to seriously consider and question their own and their partner’s assumptions about how the marriage will be–since perhaps they are assuming contradictory things–perhaps not a big deal if addressed sincerely from the beginning and not glossed over–but potentially painful if left unresolved or unrevealed, and in conflict. Another takeaway was that the study’s researchers felt very strongly that imams and also married people should work early and often with counselors.
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest civil rights organization for American Muslims, is holding its 14th Annual Banquet, “Faith in Freedom,†on April 13, 2014 at the Burton Manor in Livonia, Mich. The Keynote Speaker is Mehdi Hasan, a British political journalist and TV anchor. Hasan is known for a debate at the Oxford Union called, “Islam Is a Peaceful Religion,†which has more than one million views. Registration for the banquet begins at 1 p.m.
CAIR-MI board and staff invite you to join and celebrate over a decade of civil rights advocacy through education, media, and law. In the past year, CAIR-MI staff has been quoted or appeared in the news more than 150 times and guest appeared or lectured in 60 events and programs.
CAIR-MI Safe Spaces Coordinator Warda Kalim has worked with various institutions to implement Muslim friendly policies such as in Crestwood Public Schools, and Melvindale Public Schools. Accommodations include providing access to halal meals, prayer space and anti-bullying sensitivity training for students and staff. CAIR-MI staff has provided diversity training to the administration of Oakland University, where Kalim worked with university officials and students to renovate and re-open a reflection room. In prisons and jails, Kalim worked to facilitate halal food, gender-friendly facilities, copies of the Quran, and allow American Muslim incarcerated women to wear hijab, the headscarf.
Following a wave of unexplained and unexpected bank account closings by Chase bank, CAIR-MI filed a federal complaint on behalf of community members. Our office facilitated federal monitors through the Department of Justice for Hamtramck voters, where voter discrimination has been previously reported.
When Syrians fled from the civil war, which has claimed countless lives, CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Lena Masri filed more than 60 Syrian political asylum and Temporary Protected Status cases since 2013, with a 100 percent success rate, Alhamdulillah. Masri has filed lawsuits against the CBP and FBI over the detention and religious questioning of Muslims at ports of entry; the Michigan Department of Corrections to change policies regarding the Ramadan fast; on behalf of the Michigan Islamic Academy, an Islamic school which was denied the right to build on its’ property; and a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a religious leader who was killed during an FBI raid in Detroit. Masri has settled the cases of an inmate who was denied a halal diet due to religious screening, and a Muslim employee who was fired after choosing to wear hijab.
CAIR-MI joined a dozen coalitions to seek justice for cases such as Trayvon Martin, 17, who was killed by George Zimmerman in Florida, Renisha McBride, 19, who was fatally shot by a Dearborn-Heights man, and challenged police brutality in Metro Detroit and the Stop-and-Frisk program in Detroit, similar to the program implemented by the New York Police Department. CAIR representatives met with 170 Congressional offices to discuss issues on behalf of American Muslims during the CAIR 7th Annual Capitol Hill Advocacy Days in Washington D.C. CAIR-MI staff met with Senator Vincent Gregory at the CAIR-MI office to discuss community concerns of being put on watch lists, Syrian political asylum and Islamophobia, as documented in the HBO documentary, “The Education of Mohammad Hussein,†which features CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.
Learn more about CAIR-MI’s work by purchasing a ticket at cairmichigan.org. Tickets are $50 per adult, $30 per student, $10 per child, and a table of 10 for $450. Limited tickets will be available at the door. Call 248-559-2247 for sponsorships. Visit our website for more information.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef listens to the national anthem as members of the Saudi security forces take part in a military parade in preparation for the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca in this October 20, 2012 file photo.
REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Files
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia loaned $1.5 billion to Pakistan last month to help Islamabad shore up its foreign exchange reserves, meet debt-service obligations and undertake large energy and infrastructure projects, Pakistani officials have told Reuters.
The Saudi assistance has contributed to a sharp recovery of the Pakistani rupee, which rose to a nine-month high of 97.40 from 105.40 against the dollar between March 4 and 12, its strongest rally in 30 years.
“On a personal guarantee of the prime minister, Saudi Arabia has given $1.5 billion, which has helped bail out the rupee,†one senior Pakistani government official close to the deal told Reuters, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to disclose the source and purpose of the funding.
The governor of the Saudi central bank declined to comment, and officials gave no details of the loan terms.
Another top official who is based in Lahore said the money went into an account known as the Pakistan Development Fund set up to channel money from “friendly countries†like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“We have a promise of a total $3 billion, of which $1.5 billion has been received so far,†the second official said. “Most recently, we got $750 million from the Saudis.†Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has long enjoyed close relations with the Saudi royal family. After his second term as prime minister was ended by a military coup in 1999, he was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Saudi financier and member of the House of Saud, has described Sharif as “Saudi Arabia’s man in Pakistanâ€.
Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on Wednesday that $1.5 billion was received under the development fund but declined to comment on the source. “Why do you want to expose our friends?†he told reporters. “The countries who have helped us don’t want us to disclose the source.â€
NEW FUND
Dar announced the creation of the new fund on February 18, the same day Saudi crown prince and deputy prime minister Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud concluded a three-day-visit to Pakistan. Pakistan’s new army chief, General Raheel Sharif, also met King Abdullah and top Saudi military commanders during a trip to the kingdom two weeks before the new account was set up. Other high-profile Saudi visitors to Pakistan this year have included Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal and Prince Salman bin Sultan, the country’s deputy defense minister. According to the finance ministry, gross official reserves -including the latest injection of $1.5 billion – stood at $9.52 billion on March 11. A third loan tranche of $550 million from the International Monetary Fund, expected before the end of March, will push reserves close to $10 billion.
Pakistan is expected to receive $150 million from the Islamic Development Bank in March, as well as $150-200 million under the Coalition Support Fund, reimbursements for assistance in the U.S.-led coalition’s Afghanistan war effort.
Pakistan will also launch eurobonds of $500 million in May and plans to raise billions of dollars in privatization revenue by June.
An increase in foreign investment and remittances by overseas Pakistanis have also helped lift the rupee. Remittances increased by 11 percent to $10.2 billion during the first eight months of this fiscal year.
The finance ministry has also attributed the currency’s recovery to punitive action against exporters withholding export receipts abroad and warnings to foreign exchange speculators.
This Monday marks the eleventh anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq—a solemn punctuation mark to the steadily increasing violence that has gripped that country over the past two years. Sectarian violence claimed more than 8,000 Iraqis in 2013 alone, and this year’s toll has already surpassed 2,000. Iraq today is a broken and failing state: the war that many would prefer to believe ended in 2011 continues unabated, with Iraqis continuing to suffer, as much as ever, the fallout from this country’s callous lies and avoidable mistakes. Despite Colin Powell’s sanctimonious “Pottery Barn rule,†John Feffer wrote on his Foreign Policy in Focus blog at TheNation.com last month, the United States has made no effort to “own up to our responsibility for breaking the country.â€
To a regrettably unsurprising extent, the issue of The Nation that went to press just as American tanks crossed over the border from Kuwait accurately predicted what would happen in the wake of an invasion. Our lead editorial in that issue began:
The Bush Administration has launched a war against Iraq, a war that is unnecessary, unwise and illegal. By attacking a nation that has not attacked us and that does not pose an immediate threat to international peace and security, the Administration has violated the United Nations Charter and opened a new and shameful chapter in US history. Moreover, by abandoning a UN inspection and disarmament process that was working, it has chosen a path that is an affront not only to America’s most cherished values but to the world community. The UN did not fail; rather, Washington sought a UN imprimatur for a war it had already decided to wage and scorned it when the Administration couldn’t get its way.
Jonathan Schell, in an article in the same issue titled “American Tragedy,†described the wider implication of the Bush administration’s action: an existential threat to the separation of powers, the protection of civil liberties, the commitment to the international and domestic rule of law.
The decision to go to war to overthrow the government of Iraq will bring unreckonable death and suffering to that country, the surrounding region and, possibly, the United States. It also marks a culmination in the rise within the United States of an immense concentration of unaccountable power that poses the greatest threat to the American constitutional system since the Watergate crisis. This transformation, in turn, threatens to push the world into a new era of rivalry, confrontation and war. The location of the new power is of course the presidency (whose Augustan proportions make the “imperial†presidency of the cold war look like a mere practice run). Its sinews are the awesome might of the American military machine, which, since Congress’s serial surrender of the constitutional power to declare war, has passed wholly into the President’s hands. Its main political instrument is the Republican Party. Its financial wherewithal is the corporate money that inundates the political realm. Its strategy at home is restriction of civil liberties, deep secrecy, a makeover in its image of the judiciary, subservience to corporate interests across the board and transfer of personal wealth on a colossal scale from the average person to its wealthy supporters. Its popular support stems from fear engendered by the attacks of September 11—fear that has been manipulated to extend far beyond its proper objects. Its overriding goal, barely concealed behind the banner of the war on terrorism, is the accumulation of ever more power, whose supreme expression is its naked ambition to establish hegemony over the earth.…
The tragedy of America in the post-cold war era is that we have proved unequal to the responsibility that our own power placed upon us. Some of us became intoxicated with it, imagining that we could rule the world. Others of us—the Democratic Party, Congress, the judiciary, the news media—abdicated our obligation to challenge, to check and to oppose, letting the power-hungry have their way. The government of the United States went into opposition against its own founding principles, leaving it to the rest of the world to take up our cause. The French have been better Americans than we have. Because the Constitution, though battered, is still intact, we may still have time and opportunity to recoup. But for now, we will have to pay the price of our weakness. The costs will be heavy, first of all for the people of Iraq but also for others, including ourselves. The international order on which the common welfare, including its ecological and economic welfare, depends has sustained severe damage. The fight for “freedom†abroad is crippling freedom at home. The war to stop proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has provoked that very proliferation in North Korea and Iran. More ground has already been lost in the field of proliferation than can be gained even by the most delirious victory in Baghdad. Former friends of America have been turned into rivals or foes. The United States may be about to win Iraq. It has already lost the world.
In her column, “War: What Is It Good For?†The Nation’s Katha Pollitt wrote about the consequences of the US invasion at home and abroad:
Whatever the immediate results—this many dead children versus that much freedom from repression—the fundamental issue has to be the perils of “pre-emptive war†in volatile times. However it works out for the Iraqis, invading their country will be bad for the rest of the world. It will aid terrorist recruitment, it will license other countries—India and Pakistan, for example—to wage pre-emptive wars of their own, it may even consolidate Islamic fundamentalism as the only alternative to American power in the Middle East. Those are the fears not just of the American antiwar movement but of the majority of people around the world, even in the nations whose leaders have joined with ours.
But who cares about the majority of the world’s people? We’ll go to war unilaterally, with our pathetic collection of allies (Britain, OK. But Spain? Italy? Latvia?), while the rest of the world stands by appalled. We’ll boycott the Dixie Chicks, eat our freedom fries and even, as documented in the New York Times, pour Dom Perignon by the gallon down the toilet (“I’ll bet it was just water,†said the manager of my local liquor store. “Nobody would waste great champagne like that!â€). People will be called traitors if they wear peace T-shirts, fail to salute the flag or dare to suggest that anyone in the Administration has lower motives than the selfless salvation of humanity. Journalists “embedded,†as the odd phrase goes, in military units will send back an endless stream of heartwarmers that will reinforce the confusion of “support the troops†with “support the war.†If, in the end, the Iraqis turn out to hate and resent the nation that bombed them into freedom, we’ll shake our heads in angry bewilderment: After all we did for you, this is the thanks we get!
The issue raised by the invasion of Iraq is American imperialism. That won’t go away, no matter how this particular adventure turns out. See you at the demonstration.
Finally, the issue carried a report from “Inside Baghdad†by Jeremy Scahill, whom The Nation nurtured as a journalist, publishing his dispatches from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, and ensuring that they became the bestselling books, Blackwater and Dirty Wars. On the eve of the Iraq War, Scahill wrote of the hopes and fears of the Iraqi people, as one horrific chapter of their nation’s history was about to end and another to begin:
Perhaps it’s twenty years of unending war and sanctions; perhaps it’s the tremendous repression; likely, it’s everything together, but Iraqis want it all to end. They are exhausted and, most of them, miserable. In the early stages of the imposition of the US-led sanctions against Iraq, US officials made clear that Iraqis would be made to suffer until Saddam Hussein was no longer in power. The last decade has represented one of the most brutal campaigns of targeting innocent civilians to achieve Washington’s policy aims. The constant bombing, the massive shortages of medicine, the rapid decimation of a once-proud middle class, the tens of thousands of innocent children withering away in filthy hospital beds, the unclean drinking water, the total dependence on the government for food, have all made ordinary Iraqis pay an incredible price for a government over which they have no control.…
There is no question that hatred of the US government is strong in Iraq, regardless of what people think of Saddam. And few accept that America has any right to overthrow the Iraqi government. Iraqis have seen what occupation looks like, both through British colonization of Iraq and through the lens of the Palestinians. “We don’t want Saddam, but that doesn’t mean we want America, either,†said Mazen, an unemployed engineer. He said his father’s name is Jihad. The name, Mazen said, was given because his grandfather fought against the British colonialists in the 1920s. “It’s in my family blood. We will not accept a foreign invader or occupier, even if it damns us to more years under an Iraqi dictator. At least he is one of us…
But even those people who would welcome a US victory over Saddam are concerned about what might come after. People across the map say they fear a civil war that would pit the surviving Baathists and loyalist forces of the regime against masses of angry civilians and disaffected army deserters. Some Christians say they also fear that Islamic fundamentalists will attack them. Over the past twelve years, Iraq has seen a rapid desecularization of its society, and Islamic groups hope to replace the Baathist government with an Islamic state. “You know why we Christians want Saddam to stay in power?†asks a restaurant owner in Baghdad. “Because he is protecting us from radical Muslims. He always has done this, and if he goes, we are afraid what will happen to us.â€
Scahill also interviewed Iraqis who looked forward to the Hussein regime’s downfall, even at the price of a US invasion. But that didn’t change the fact that even if that happened quickly and relatively smoothly, the violence would be by no means at an end:
Even if some Iraqis celebrate in the streets if Saddam’s government is brought down, it will reflect no success of US policy. It will simply represent a violent end to a horrifying chapter in the vast, unfinished book of Iraq. It will be the fruits of a merciless economic and military war waged against the innocent for twelve years. Regardless of what happens, it is the ordinary Iraqis—the doctors, the engineers turned taxi drivers, the shoeshine boys, the mothers and fathers—who should be praised for having found the will to live and the will to survive a heartless war waged against them by a superpower and a tyrant.
Though both are now gone, their entwined legacies remain disastrously oppressive to the Iraqi people.
2006 – Israeli Children | The girl wrote: “I waited for this moment for so long…â€
2005 ended with hope for a peaceful future for Lebanon; now that the Islamic resistance movement, known as Hezbollah, evicted Israeli forces out of southern Lebanon in May 2000.
The country was on its way to stability, rebuilding the homes and infrastructure that were blown up by Israeli missiles. Syria’s claim for their presence in Lebanon was to put an end to the internal violence, as well as to be the unifying factor in the torn state of Lebanon. So a year after the eviction of Israeli troops, in June 2001, Syria withdrew 6,000 of their troops from Beirut. About 20,000 still remain in northern and eastern Lebanon, which is the border that they share. Syria itself, which had controlled most of the non-occupied territories, did not withdraw the rest of its troops until 2005. It only did so after being pressured out by powerful diplomatic intervention from the United States and the United Nations.
Yet, it just so happens that in the following year, Israel invaded Lebanon once again. This war later became known as the July War. To make matters worse, since it was in the summer, families of Lebanese descent, from all-over the world, were there visiting. One of those families had a daughter, whom we spoke with, and wishes to be anonymous, so we’ll just call her Ann. She was 19 years old at the time, and staying in the southern village of Tibnine. “We were sitting on the porch drinking tea when out of nowhere we heard a blast, and saw smoke in the distance,†said Ann.
“We didn’t know what was going on, but all I knew was that this was an all too familiar reality for my family living in Lebanon,†Ann said.
The specific attacks leading to yet another war depend on whom you ask. Though the most common recollection is regarding the large number of prisoners of war. Israel had five prisoners of war; Lebanon had approximately 360 prisoners of war, and Palestine had over 6,800 prisoners of war. There was an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah that the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) would release an agreed upon number of not only Lebanese prisoners of war, but the Palestinian ones as well; in exchange for all of the five that Hezbollah had. But for whatever reason, Israel did not follow through with this agreement, thus leading to the next course of retaliation. On July 12th, 2006, Hezbollah fighters crossed into Israel and attacked an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) patrol, capturing soldiers.
Hezbollah’s leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, stated that, “Upon kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers, we were ready for any kind of war. We were waiting for it and believing it had been delayed. The Resistance was neither confused nor worried, but had clear strategy battle, because it had been prepared deliberately,†according to www.almanar.com.
He continued with, “While in Bint Ja Bail, the decision was to remain and fight till the end, and to prevent the Israelis from entering the town.â€
They then returned to Southern Lebanon with their prisoners. Sayed Nasrallah, said the men were taken in order to set up the prisoner exchange with Israel that was promised, but never acted on. Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, declared the attack to be an “act of war†on Lebanon’s part, and promised a strong response. They delivered on that response, literally. Literally, because in the early days of this war, images were spread throughout the world of missiles that were sent from Israel into Lebanon. On these missiles were messages from Israelis of all ages, but mostly young girls, and included messages such as “I waited for this moment for so long.â€
After going to the wreckage site caused by these missiles, another discovery was found along with the messages on them, it was the American flag. So for a country that is already untrusting of western influences, specifically American involvement, discovering this USA flag only deepened the distrust. To make matters worse, people such as Ann who were caught in the cross fire, were stuck. Since there were so many families from every part of the world there visiting, every county made huge efforts of getting their people out, except America. “I can remember sitting in the basement of the hospital, our shelter, and watching rescue teams from countries such as France, coming in to retrieve their people. So we sat and waited for our rescue team. It was hours, then days, which with bombs flying over you, felt like years,†described Ann.
Israeli Prime Minister Ohud Olmert ordered attacks to all of southern Lebanon, at any cost. Thus, without any direction of massive bombs and missiles, over 1,300 Lebanese were killed. These were children, women, elders, and even infants. The economical loss to Lebanon was in approximate number of $1.6 billion. But still in the end, Israel failed to meet its objective of “getting rid of Hezbollah in a week†as Prime Minister Olmert promised America it would.
After Hezbollah’s alleged cross-border raid, Israel attacked Lebanese infrastructure, from bridges, airport, ports, depots, to hospitals. Hezbollah responded by launching hundreds of rockets into northern Israel, but one attack stands out amongst the rest. It was during a speech given by Sayed Nasrallah that was also being televised all-over the world. He discussed the need for strength and resistance against oppression of all kinds. And with the high amount of Lebanese civilian casualties, he reassured the people that Hezbollah would free the land of Lebanon of all occupiers. In speeches given in the previous days, he urged Israel to stop their attacks to avoid further retaliation. Israel knew that they were supported and financed by America, so they did not take Hezbollah seriously. So in his speech, Sayed Nasrallah directed everyone’s attention to the Mediterranean Sea that could be seen in the distance. And at that very second, an Israeli warship ten miles off the Lebanese coast was rammed into and exploded.
The Israeli strategy seemed two-fold: cut off Hezbollah from any aid, as well as from its suppliers and allies in Syria and Iran, while also striking Lebanese infrastructure targets with no apparent connection to Hezbollah. Israel hoped to show the Lebanese government and people that Hezbollah brought death and destruction to their county, hoping that this lesson would turn popular opinion against the resistance group. The opposite effect seems to have taken hold, however, with most Lebanese, Muslims and non, increasing their support for Hezbollah. Even Lebanese Christians, normally not friendly to Islamic parties, blamed Israel for attacking civilian targets as an act of punishment. While this political and psychological goal failed, Israel also failed to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns. In the end this small Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, declared victory in this 34-day war. But this definitely was not the end for Israeli offensives, or even of the Lebanese saga.
This whole article covered only the summer of 2006.
All that glitters is not gold; all that shivers is not cold
Mythology has it that Midas, the king of Phyrgia, was able to turn everything he touched into gold—“the Midas Touchâ€. According to Aristotle, the legendry figure died of starvation as a result of his greed to transmute everything from its natural substance to gold. This myth is a tragic reality when it comes to America and its neocolonial adventures; America’s reach into Ukraine may well be the ‘touch’ that will end America as we know it today.
For decades, American neocons[1] have engaged in coups, false flag operations, and covert and overt wars in order to institute their goal of global domination. The end of the Cold War emboldened them, and 9/11 enabled them. Nations and societies became battlefields facilitated by the concept of “jihad†versus “crusadeâ€[2] thanks to neocon Bernard Lewis, who initiated this idea. As country after country fell to America’s ruthless touch—Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, (attempts in Venezuela and Iran)—little attention was paid to covert activities against Russia (and China), considered to pose a challenge to America’s global domination.
Failure of the 2004 Western-backed Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the massive 2006 protests in Crimea against NATO’s invasion with slogans such as “Occupiers go home!â€, which prompted the parliament of autonomous Ukraine to declare Crimea a “NATO-free territoryâ€, sent Washington’s neocons into a spin mode, especially since NATO and U.S. have been trying to encircle Russia since 1991.
Azar Gat, Ezer Weizman professor of National Security at Tel Aviv University, writing for the powerful and influential Council on Foreign Relations publication Foreign Affairs(July-August 2007) emphasized “the significant challenge emanating from China and Russia operating under ‘authoritarian capitalist’ poised for a comeback.â€
Global domination demanded curbing Russia (and China). Depriving Russia of its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea and Russia’s access to Syria’s Tartus Port are no doubt a crucial part of this strategy. As importantly, Russia’s gas exports to Europe had to be curbed.
To this end, overt and covert actions were put in place. CIA/State Department propaganda voice, Radio Free Europe, announced in 2010 that “Ukraine has been the target of democracy-promoting Western foundations, such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), for a quarter of a century†(well prior to 1991 dateline admitted to by Victoria Nuland). NED’s counterpart in England, the UK funded Westminster Foundation for Democracy was an active partner in the endeavor.
It was the Westminster Foundation that coopted the “Ukrainian Foundation for Democracyâ€â€”The People’s First Foundation that later that same year would become a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC). Of particular relevance is the cast of characters who would shape things to come in Ukraine (to be discussed shortly).
“Democracy†promotion aside, the possible and likely role of United States Special Operations Command (USSOC) said to be present in 120 countries as of 2011, and growing (potentially in over 140 countries todate) mut also be considered. Working with SOC is CIA’s Special Activities Division (SAD) and its departments Special Operations Group (SOG) and Political Action Group (POG), which engage in covert activities related to political influence and psychological operations.
As images of Cocktail Molotovs and sniper shootings and deaths found their way into living rooms across the globe, Europe (Ashton) concealed doubts cast over Yanukovch’s complicity in the sniper shootings, facilitating his overthrow in trumped up charges. There is no good reason for the Western backers of the mob government not to investigate the sniper killings unless a) they themselves were complicit, b) they had full knowledge of the actions, or c) concealing the actions was in their interest. No investigation has taken place to date.
Many scholars have voiced concern that the U.S. is backing neo-Nazis in Ukraine; never mind the neo-Nazis—the EU and the United States have embraced terrorism and have sided with terrorists over a democratically elected president. Although there is no universal definition of terrorism, Title 22 of the U.S. Code, Section 2656f(d) defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.â€
This must be an incomprehensible part of the US/EU “war on terrorâ€! These actions marginalize those of the marines in Afghanistan who urinated on dead corpses . With their backing of terrorists, the US and EU partners, in effect, have urinated on the graves of all who died in the despicable “‘war on terrorâ€, including Allied soldiers.
This much said, one must surely ask why it is that the Jewish community is supporting the neo-Nazis rise. Why is it that the presence of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who led rebel groups has not been questioned and addressed? Furthermore, why have Jewish leaders voiced support for the coup and its leaders, and they have chosen to direct their anger and venom toward Russia and President Putin in a letter?
Perhaps, familiarizing oneself with the executive members of the aforementioned USUBC may cast some light on this bizarre behavior. Especially noteworthy are names and organizations among the senior advisors to the USUBC are from pro-Israel think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and Brookings, and Board of Directors executives selected from powerful players at weapons manufacturers such as Raytheon and Boeing.
Undoubtedly, the cast of characters and their involvement in Ukraine would help ensure the safety of the Ukrainian Jews—especially in light of the fact that Israel is poised to play a huge role in eliminating Europe’s reliance on Russian gas and supplying Europe with gas it has stolen from the Palestinians—and Syrians. Or as the New York Post put it last month: “Israel’s fortune is Putin’s horrorâ€
The planning of this “horror†has been in the making for some time. Perhaps the most revealing and interesting article is one penned by David Wurmser writing for the Jewish policy Center titled The Strategic Impact of Israel’s Export of Natural Gas. Referring to the newly discovered gas in 2009, he writes “Israel and its neighbor now sit atop roughly two years’ worth of European consumptionâ€. He further suggests “even modest amounts of Israeli gas exports can carry significant strategic leverageâ€. Wurmser opines that “The short-term inflexibility of gas trade and the difficulty of replacing disrupted supply also imply that energy prices for consumers and revenues for suppliers can be easily manipulated by marginal increases or decreases.â€
Citing Europe’s gas vulnerability, Wurmser posits “Europe’s grim reality could represent a unique window of opportunity for Israel to nail down long-term agreements and align export policy with a broader effort to reset Israeli-European relations.â€
In December of last year, the Jerusalem Post reported that not only did Hungary seek Israeli gas as an alternative to Russian gas, but it also offered to Israel access to its state-owned gas storage and offered Hungary “as a central European distribution hub for Israeli gasâ€.
As recently as March 11, Reuters, in a must-read article, cited Gideon Tadmor, CEO of Avner Oil, speaking at a conference in Tel-Aviv: “With recent events in Europe… and the aspiration of different countries to diversify their gas supply, that puts another spotlight on our massive resources and transforms our story into a global oneâ€.
It then should come as no surprise that the Ukrainian Jewish leaders denounce any threat from the presence of ‘neo-Nazis’ claiming that they can take care of themselves. No doubt this is the case. But will Ukraine, a state that is not one nation, survive the assault on its diversity and its sovereignty? The unforeseen circumstances, the unpredicted reactions may well turn Ukraine into the last of America’s ‘Midas touch’.
Notes
[1] Former, self-confessed neocon Jacob Heilbrunn describes neoconservatism as “a decisive respect a Jewish phenomenon,†even if many adherents — albeit a minority — are not Jewish and even though most U.S. Jews are not neoconservatives. Neoconservatives, he adds, both Jew and gentile, are bound by a “shared commitment to the largest, most important Jewish cause: the survival of Israel.â€
[2] Bernard Lewis, ‘Learning the Lingo. Jihad vs. Crusade. A Historian’s Guide to the New War’, Wall Street Journal (27 Sept. 2001).
If Psyche, or our true, inner self, resides within each one of us, WHY do we still feel unsure, afraid, incomplete? All the secrets of the universe lie in our unconscious, so why don’t we know all the answers? Only by breaking through the false ego can we liberate Psyche and awaken dormant truths.
People think they want to know the Truth, but they are (with good reason) terrified of letting go of their preconceived notions and their ideas of self-worth. Because to show Psyche to our consciousness is to shed light on all our imperfections. It would force us to see how small we really are in comparison to the universe. It would destroy our sense of security based on the world as we perceive it to be. We would profoundly have to realize that all we trust to be fact, and all that we hold to be true is changeable as the weather. We would either have to seek life on a spiritual plane (and that means giving up a lot of things!), or be driven over the brink of insanity.
Most people would rather not be inconvenienced by these realizations. They prefer to live and not be bothered by divine truths and ideas incomprehensible to normal thought and understanding. Some people can live quite happily without discovering “the meaning of life.†That is fine for them. But others struggle in despair, longing and clutching at air, lost in dreams because they need so much to be fulfilled, but they are unable to find what they are in search of. These are the people for whom this essay is written. This essay is a meant as a guide for those who sincerely want to find themselves; to set Psyche free from the darkness which envelopes her.
You must be prepared to delve deep into the unconscious, and to go through a great deal of suffering, due not only to the realizations you make, but other people who do not understand what you are going through. People who you thought of as friends may reject you, but perhaps this is just as well. You will find out who your true friends are, because they will love you in spite of the changes you are going through, and they will give you strength and support.
Maybe you will find that you have no true friends at all. Now is your chance to find the strength to stand on your own; to quote Buddha: “Be ye a lamp unto thyself.†Once you have this light, you will be able to relate to others on a non-superficial basis. You’ll be able to give and receive honest love, and not feel as if you are losing something when you share yourself with others.
Where is Psyche Hiding?
The first thing you have to do is realize that no one is keeping the truth from you but yourself. Psyche is the perfection within all the imperfections. She is the motivating force which guides all our actions. Once in a while we feel her, when we let go of ourselves enough to be moved by a scriptural passage, a beautiful song, or gaze in pure bliss at the rising sun.
Rational thought is a great wall which you must find your way around. The intellect is very useful in this world, but in order to realize universal truths, you must open your heart and mind to feelings and profound knowledge which are beyond intellectual grasp, simply because they deal with that which cannot be seen with the eyes or heard with the ears.
“I Am a Seekerâ€
After you realize that it’s your own defenses keeping you from the perfect fulfillment you seek, it’s time to take the first step on to the path towards finding your true self. That means admitting to yourself and to God that you are a seeker. Everybody is searching for happiness, but most people aren’t admitting it, and that is why they aren’t finding it!
Instead of saying, “I am searching for my soul,†they say, “If I can live in New York, I will be happy,†or “If I am rich,†or “If I fall in love with the perfect mate, I will be fulfilled.†But it never works out that way! Maybe they will have a decent life. Maybe they’ll get to own a DVD player and have a nice husband and three kids, but there will always be something missing, until they find unity and peace within themselves.
When a person has peace within himself, he is not bothered by the fact that he isn’t rich, or he hasn’t accomplished anything that people have taken great notice of. Such a person has accomplished more than any of his peers who have big cars and fancy houses because he has the courage to look at himself and accept his faults or change them, instead of trying to hide them by putting down others, or having lots of friends to build up the ego (which usually just makes it more obvious that the person is insecure).
A person who knows and respects his true self has nothing to prove. A person who has found the true worth inside him knows that it has nothing to do with ego. A person who is at peace with himself loves and respects himself, and such a person loves and respects others also, because he knows that they are fundamentally no different than himself.
Such a person can love others without clinging to them. He doesn’t need others’ attention in order to feel good about himself. But at the same time, he doesn’t push away those who need him and cling to him because they sense his honesty and integrity, his love of all life. Such a person tries to help others find themselves, and encourages them to stand on their own two feet.
You want to be such a person, but you hold back. Why? In order to find yourself, to “set Psyche free,†you have to really want to. It is never easy, in fact it is a terrifyingly lonely task to undertake, because the journey must be made alone. There can be people who give you support and encouragement, they can point to the road and tell you where to go, but YOU must do the walking. YOU must make the commitment.
It is a hard journey no matter how long or short it takes, but you will find that, after you overcome your fears, the joy and bliss and the multitudes of treasures you find are infinite and precious. Once you find your true self, you never have to be miserable again, no matter what the circumstances! Enlightenment is not a one-time occurrence, but a constant process of growth and evolution, which goes on within you as long as you live, and beyond.
Inside you will blossom wisdom, compassion, joy – a pure radiance and immense love for the universe and the universal spirit, which guides and protects you along every step of the journey. You will discover and develop an inner strength, which cannot be destroyed; it will help you overcome every hardship and light up the darkness. You will find that nothing is impossible, that every dream can be realized.
The month of March has for many years featured college and university campus events that expose Israeli Apartheid in particular and the true nature of the state of Israel in general. While many student organizations commendably do this on a yearlong basis, this month has events that focus with a laser like precision on facts that the mass media try to keep hidden.
For example, the beleaguered nation of Gaza, often referred to as the world’s largest prison, stands out as a victim of Israeli siege, its air, sea and land points of entrance and exit controlled by Israel. Humanitarians are outraged at Gaza’s condition, seeing it as the most egregious example of Israel’s inhumanity, though not the only one. When Gaza’s condition is brought to public attention, the outrage grows and, of course, includes all of Palestine. Those who educate the public are doing the victims an invaluable service.
The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles presented an excellent educational forum this week on the plight of the Palestinian people, with one speaker focusing on Gaza. This event was an introduction to the SJP’s coming Palestine Awareness Week.
The first speaker was Palestinian-American Associate Professor of Middle Eastern History at Loyola Marymount University, Najwa al Qattan. Professor al Qattan gave an overview of Zionism and the colonization of Palestine beginning in the 19th century and continuing to the present.
Her power point presentation included the beginning of Zionism which, contrary to what many believe, was secular and viewed Jews as a nation, citing biblical Israel. Zionists organized and formed a lobby, emigrating and settling with British help. Professor al Qattan cited the Balfour Declaration.
In referencing the birth of the state of Israel in 1948, she mentioned the often forgotten or dismissed Nakba, the tragedy and plight that this founding imposed on the Palestinian people. Professor al Qattan spoke of the wars of 1967 and 1973; the emergence of Hizbollah as a force to be reckoned with; the Peace Treaty of 1978-1979; the Intifada, and the emergence of Hamas.
Bringing her audience closer to the present, Professor al Qattan told of the Oslo Accords, “The Peace of the Brave†and the intensification of Israeli settlements. Standing out in this century is Israel’s vicious attack on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, which began in late December 2008. Today witnesses Gaza circled, more than 600,000 Israeli “settlersâ€, an Apartheid Wall, and “A nuclear state versus a stateless Peopleâ€.
The second speaker was LMU Professor Gil Klein, an Israeli whose specialty is ancient Judaism. He began by saying that Israel claims Palestinian society is fractured, thus making a peace agreement difficult.
He asserted that Israeli society is equally fractured. Israel tries to hide this, but there are armed groups among settlements. There are outposts of “unofficial settlements†that Israel recognizes.
While right wing groups may be referred to as “resistance groups†they are not truly that. They not only attack Palestinians but also leftist Jewish activists. The Israeli Army either ignores of supports settler violence. Settlers put a “price tag†on any Palestinian activity they feel needs retribution. It is hard to tell “who is a settler and who is a soldier.â€
Professor Klein showed pictures of burned mosques with Hebrew graffiti with reference to the price tag that the violence represented. Nor are Palestinian Christians exempted. The audience saw pictures of a desecrated Christian cemetery with a similar message in the accompanying Hebrew graffiti.
The residents of Hebron must put netting over their city to protect themselves from filth thrown at them by a settlement situated above them.
The third speaker, Eva Bartlett, is a veteran International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist. She arrived in Gaza in the Fall of 2008 on one of the ships that broke the Gaza blockade. She decided to stay, and during the time she was in Gaza, she faced down Israeli soldiers; accompanied fishermen as they left the shores of Gaza and headed into the Mediterranean; accompanied farmers as they tried to work the land, and held the hands of the wounded in ambulances after Israel’s Operation Cast Lead.
As she addressed the audience she said she was in Gaza “to accompany and documentâ€. Ms Bartlett reminded her audience that Gaza is a physically small land and holds 1.7 million people, two thirds of whom are refugees.
She referenced on Power Point a border region between Gaza and Israel. It contains fertile land that Israel denies to the Palestinians though it is within their legitimate purview. Further, the Israelis attack Palestinians within that area and place control towers and patrol with Jeeps on that Palestinian territory.
Ms Bartlett showed pictures of homes destroyed by Israelis. During a demonstration in Gaza Israel fired on two medics tending the wounded, even though by international protocol they should have never been the targets of assault while carrying out their medical duties. Israel has also downsized the Oslo Accords by preventing Gaza fishermen from fishing up to 20 miles off their Mediterranean coast as set by Oslo. Now they may only venture three miles, and they cannot make decent catches in that limited area. This of course has not only impacts their livelihood but has deprived the population of Gaza of a nourishing source of food.
Gazans in need of medical attention who must cross the border in order to obtain it are told by the Israelis that as a quid pro quo they must cooperate with Israeli intelligence or “go back to Gaza and dieâ€.
A lively question and answer followed.
“I never realized how much the people of Gaza suffered†said one young woman of college age following the presentation.
Students for Justice in Palestine at Loyola Marymount University began after a trip by a group of students to Israel and the West Bank. The students were able to witness first hand Israeli atrocities, and while there met with Palestinian activists. Their trip was part of a school program at LMU and required a post-trip action plan. That plan was the formation of an SJP chapter. A future program is to apply pressure on the University to divest from companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine.
To connect with the SJP chapter at LMU, please use the following e mail: ltenerow@lion.lmu.edu.
Neighbours were speechless when they learned she left behind a fortune estimated at SR4 million. (File photo: Shutterstock)
Over 50 years of panhandling on the streets of Jeddah had taken its toll on her and residents of the downtown al-Balad district never suspected that their blind, haggard centenarian neighbor had secretly amassed a fortune and real estate portfolio that rivaled those of the city’s millionaires.
Eisha’s life came to an end in the bathroom of her home when the 100-year-old woman, who had spent the majority of her adult life begging, suddenly died.
Neighbors were saddened to see an ambulance pull up to her home and carry away her body on a stretcher, but they were left speechless when they learned that she left behind a fortune estimated at SR3 million, including four buildings in the same district, and an additional SR1 million in jewels and gold coins (a total of just over $1 million).
Ahmed al-Saeedi grew up with Eisha in the same district since they were children and spent a considerable amount of time caring for her. He said Eisha did not have any relatives except her mother and sister, both of who were beggars, and alleged that the four women were able to build up a small fortune while scrounging on the streets of Jeddah.
“They used to get a lot of sympathy and assistance from philanthropists throughout the year, especially during Eid. Eisha continued to beg after the deaths of her mother and sister. She was just an old, blind woman who did not have any relatives in this world,†said an emotional Saeedi who buried her in Ummana Hawwa (Our Mother Eve) Cemetery in the al-Ammariya neighborhood. Saeedi was one of the few people who knew of the wealth Eisha possessed. When asked if he ever broached the subject with her, Saeedi said he had tried to convince Eisha to stop begging on several occasions.
“I asked her to give up this profession as she possessed a huge amount of wealth but she always refused and said she was preparing for hard times,†he said.
Eisha had given all of the gold coins she had to Saeedi and told him to keep them until she decides when the time is right to sell them. That was 15 years ago when the coins were each worth SR250, but at current market prices, they are valued at SR1,000 each.
Feeling the magnitude of the responsibility, Saeedi said he reported the matter to the police and a local court and was informed the matter will be dealt with according to regulations.
“Until now, neither the police nor the courts have done anything so I was compelled to hand over the fortune to one of the most respected and trusted residents of the district, who has promised to give it to the authorities. All of my neighbors witnessed me handing over the gold and money Eisha had kept with me for safekeeping,†he said.
Saeedi said a number of families live in the four buildings Eisha owned. She had allowed them to live in the buildings but after her death, they were required to vacate them so they can be formally handed over to the concerned authorities.
Residents of the buildings said no one could ask them to vacate them because they were never rented to them in the first place. One resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said Al-Saeedi had filed a complaint against him for his refusal to vacate the building. He insisted, however, that it was Eisha’s desire that he and the others reside in the building for free.
Neighbors were sympathetic toward the occupants of Eisha’s buildings because, like her, they too were beggars. “They are all poor people. Saeedi is insisting that the properties be handed over to the authorities but where will these poor people go?†asked one neighbor.
The district chief (umdah) of Al-Balad, Tal’at Ghaith, acknowledged that after Eisha’s death all of her property deeds were handed over to the authorities concerned. He said he had documents as well as official police reports that proved that Saeedi had notified the relevant authorities about Eisha’s fortune and properties.
“The old woman hosted several families in her buildings before her death. They lived and grew up with her. After her death, none of the families have left the buildings. Even though I’m the umdah of the district, I have no right to evict them from the buildings. The whole case is before the pertinent authorities that will issue a final decision on it,†he said.
(This is the Second Part of the Third Serialized segment of the MLFA [Muslim Legal Fund of America’s ] funding-raising dinner in Northern California last spring. The theme of this event was Islamophophia in America. Charles Swift, Esq., a retired high-ranking officer in the United States Navy was cashiered out of that service for his zealous defense of a Yemeni detainee, Salim Hamadan, who had been held at the notorious prison in the American military’s enclave at Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba.)
In 2008 Hamden (a prisoner in Guantanamo for six years from 2002), finally, was convicted of only one of the charges on his numerously- enumerated charge-sheet in that eighth year of this century, but was credited for the time he was imprisoned by the Judge assigned to the trial. The defendant shortly, thereafter, was deported to his natal Yemen, but that was not the end of the litigation. The former Naval legal officer, Swift appealed his client’s conviction even though his client had been deported. In October 2012, Hamdan was acquitted of all the charges by the (U.S.) Appeals Court of the District of Columbia in absentia!
For three years, Swift had been the public face of the opposition to the tribunal system, and even testified before Congress to better bring his case to the media as well as arguing this and other cases in in Court. For which his reward was the denial of his rightful advancement through the ranks of his Service which was due to him for the time that he had served . As soon as his enlistment was up, he left the Navy in protest of being punished for following the principles he had pledged to uphold when he had entered the Bar (the legal profession), and he, personally felt was right. Dr. Charles Swift, J.D., who received his undergraduate degree from the Naval Academy in Annapolis (Maryland), now practices law in Seattle, but after the Navy he, also, was a Visiting Professor at Emory University in Atlanta (Georgia).
He began his talk to the Muslim Legal Fund of America MFLA) dinner whose purpose was to underwrite the legal front to establish the rights of American Islam in America; proclaiming that in the 1950s our (the U.S.’) armed forces created the National Security State.
The FBI (the Federal Bureau of Investigation), who, among other duties, are responsible for counter-intelligence within the States, (curiously, they, presently, are being retained for foreign intelligence, too, against their mandate) have been targeting Muslims in their investigations here and abroad, and often they misrepresent their findings, and along with the prejudice that Islamphobia produces, there are many unjust prosecutions under the hysteria in the Homelands(s) encouraged by the G.W.O.T. (the Global War on Terrorism). He claimed that there has been no improvement with the Obama Administration (which your author disagrees, and in a future article your writer plans to demonstrate the changes regarding official policy towards Muslims in the immediate future on these pages).
“If you go to the Internet to find sites that observe terrorism, you will find that very few Yemenis (his client, Hamadan, was from Yemen), despite the media’s hysteria on the drone warfare against Al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula there, are involved in terrorist activities, for most in that nation are apolitical.â€
A transparent example of the assumption of guilt to Muslims is the Holy Land Foundation whose mission was to alleviate the suffering due to the Israeli occupation in those Occupied Territories, but, for their efforts the Board of Directors have been imprisoned for their efforts in humanitarianism.
The no-fly ban list has been tightened to bar more innocent Muslim citizens of their right to travel. (Because of this businessmen have been taken off flights. Air travel is often of the essence of business. This could make many businesses fail when the U.S. economy is in desperate need for a financially strong private sector.)
“Defeat will [only] last until it is finished [by the assertion of the Community] !.. Discriminating laws unites the Community [upon which they are directed]…but criminal prosecution divides [that Community]…[and], if you don’t fight [those] prosecutions [you] will have no civil rights!†The Community requires lawyers (which is to say young Muslim-Americans should consider entering the Bar)! The current Islamophobic media bombardments are detrimental to our (American) courts. Further, complicating matters with the secular system here (U.S.A.) is that the legal encounter for the Muslim-American “…is a different experience†than the mainstream’s.
A Google Earth view of the airport at Pulau Langkawi.
There has been a lot of speculation about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Terrorism, hijacking, meteors. I cannot believe the analysis on CNN; it’s almost disturbing. I tend to look for a simpler explanation, and I find it with the 13,000-foot runway at Pulau Langkawi.
We know the story of MH370: A loaded Boeing 777 departs at midnight from Kuala Lampur, headed to Beijing. A hot night. A heavy aircraft. About an hour out, across the gulf toward Vietnam, the plane goes dark, meaning the transponder and secondary radar tracking go off. Two days later we hear reports that Malaysian military radar (which is a primary radar, meaning the plane is tracked by reflection rather than by transponder interrogation response) has tracked the plane on a southwesterly course back across the Malay Peninsula into the Strait of Malacca.
The left turn is the key here. Zaharie Ahmad Shah1 was a very experienced senior captain with 18,000 hours of flight time. We old pilots were drilled to know what is the closest airport of safe harbor while in cruise. Airports behind us, airports abeam us, and airports ahead of us. They’re always in our head. Always. If something happens, you don’t want to be thinking about what are you going to do–you already know what you are going to do. When I saw that left turn with a direct heading, I instinctively knew he was heading for an airport. He was taking a direct route to Palau Langkawi, a 13,000-foot airstrip with an approach over water and no obstacles. The captain did not turn back to Kuala Lampur because he knew he had 8,000-foot ridges to cross. He knew the terrain was friendlier toward Langkawi, which also was closer.
Take a look at this airport on Google Earth. The pilot did all the right things. He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make an immediate turn to the closest, safest airport. The loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire.
When I heard this I immediately brought up Google Earth and searched for airports in proximity to the track toward the southwest.
For me, the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire. And there most likely was an electrical fire. In the case of a fire, the first response is to pull the main busses and restore circuits one by one until you have isolated the bad one. If they pulled the busses, the plane would go silent. It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire. Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations.
There are two types of fires. An electrical fire might not be as fast and furious, and there may or may not be incapacitating smoke. However there is the possibility, given the timeline, that there was an overheat on one of the front landing gear tires, it blew on takeoff and started slowly burning. Yes, this happens with underinflated tires. Remember: Heavy plane, hot night, sea level, long-run takeoff. There was a well known accident in Nigeria of a DC8 that had a landing gear fire on takeoff. Once going, a tire fire would produce horrific, incapacitating smoke. Yes, pilots have access to oxygen masks, but this is a no-no with fire. Most have access to a smoke hood with a filter, but this will last only a few minutes depending on the smoke level. (I used to carry one in my flight bag, and I still carry one in my briefcase when I fly.)
What I think happened is the flight crew was overcome by smoke and the plane continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot), until it ran out of fuel or the fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed. You will find it along that route–looking elsewhere is pointless.
Ongoing speculation of a hijacking and/or murder-suicide and that there was a flight engineer on board does not sway me in favor of foul play until I am presented with evidence of foul play.
We know there was a last voice transmission that, from a pilot’s point of view, was entirely normal. “Good night†is customary on a hand-off to a new air traffic control. The “good night†also strongly indicates to me that all was OK on the flight deck. Remember, there are many ways a pilot can communicate distress. A hijack code or even transponder code off by one digit would alert ATC that something was wrong. Every good pilot knows keying an SOS over the mike always is an option. Even three short clicks would raise an alert. So I conclude that at the point of voice transmission all was perceived as well on the flight deck by the pilots.
But things could have been in the process of going wrong, unknown to the pilots.
Evidently the ACARS went inoperative some time before. Disabling the ACARS is not easy, as pointed out. This leads me to believe more in an electrical problem or an electrical fire than a manual shutdown. I suggest the pilots probably were not aware ACARS was not transmitting.
As for the reports of altitude fluctuations, given that this was not transponder-generated data but primary radar at maybe 200 miles, the azimuth readings can be affected by a lot of atmospherics and I would not have high confidence in this being totally reliable. But let’s accept for a minute that the pilot may have ascended to 45,000 feet in a last-ditch effort to quell a fire by seeking the lowest level of oxygen. That is an acceptable scenario. At 45,000 feet, it would be tough to keep this aircraft stable, as the flight envelope is very narrow and loss of control in a stall is entirely possible. The aircraft is at the top of its operational ceiling. The reported rapid rates of descent could have been generated by a stall, followed by a recovery at 25,000 feet. The pilot may even have been diving to extinguish flames.
But going to 45,000 feet in a hijack scenario doesn’t make any good sense to me.
Regarding the additional flying time: On departing Kuala Lampur, Flight 370 would have had fuel for Beijing and an alternate destination, probably Shanghai, plus 45 minutes–say, 8 hours. Maybe more. He burned 20-25 percent in the first hour with takeoff and the climb to cruise. So when the turn was made toward Langkawi, he would have had six hours or more hours worth of fuel. This correlates nicely with the Inmarsat data pings being received until fuel exhaustion.
Fire in an aircraft demands one thing: Get the machine on the ground as soon as possible.
The now known continued flight until time to fuel exhaustion only confirms to me that the crew was incapacitated and the flight continued on deep into the south Indian ocean.
There is no point speculating further until more evidence surfaces, but in the meantime it serves no purpose to malign pilots who well may have been in a struggle to save this aircraft from a fire or other serious mechanical issue. Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a hero struggling with an impossible situation trying to get that plane to Langkawi. There is no doubt in my mind. That’s the reason for the turn and direct route. A hijacking would not have made that deliberate left turn with a direct heading for Langkawi. It probably would have weaved around a bit until the hijackers decided where they were taking it.
Surprisingly, none of the reporters, officials, or other pilots interviewed have looked at this from the pilot’s viewpoint: If something went wrong, where would he go? Thanks to Google Earth I spotted Langkawi in about 30 seconds, zoomed in and saw how long the runway was and I just instinctively knew this pilot knew this airport. He had probably flown there many times.
Fire in an aircraft demands one thing: Get the machine on the ground as soon as possible. There are two well-remembered experiences in my memory. The AirCanada DC9 which landed, I believe, in Columbus, Ohio in the 1980s. That pilot delayed descent and bypassed several airports. He didn’t instinctively know the closest airports. He got it on the ground eventually, but lost 30-odd souls. The 1998 crash of Swissair DC-10 off Nova Scotia was another example of heroic pilots. They were 15 minutes out of Halifax but the fire overcame them and they had to ditch in the ocean. They simply ran out of time. That fire incidentally started when the aircraft was about an hour out of Kennedy. Guess what? The transponders and communications were shut off as they pulled the busses.
Get on Google Earth and type in Pulau Langkawi and then look at it in relation to the radar track heading. Two plus two equals four. For me, that is the simple explanation why it turned and headed in that direction. Smart pilot. He just didn’t have the time.
Chris Goodfellow has 20 years experience as a Canadian Class-1 instrumented-rated pilot for multi-engine planes. His theory on what happened to MH370 first appeared on Google+.
The shutters of shops are seen painted with the colours of the Syrian national flag at al-Bzoria market in Damascus February 9, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/KHALED AL-HARIRI
(Reuters) – During a recent meeting of Damascene merchants, talk turned to the case of a colleague detained by Syria’s powerful and dreaded state security apparatus.
The man in question, it seemed, had overheard someone cursing President Bashar al-Assad, but failed to turn them in.
“Imagine that! They took him and beat him to a pulp and called him a mute devil for not reporting his colleague,†one merchant said. “Imagine the life we’re living now!â€
While it is hard to verify the specific case, the discussion demonstrates the climate of fear and intimidation prevalent in the capital three years after the revolt against four decades of Assad family rule broke out.
For some time after the uprising erupted in the southern city of Deraa on March 18, 2011, it looked like the revolt would shatter the barriers of fear that long defined the relationship between Syria’s police state and its citizens.
Nowadays in government-controlled areas of Damascus that is far from the case. Armed men outnumber civilians on some corners, barricades prevent people from entering some streets and military hardware sits conspicuously between trees.
The situation is particularly uneasy for those who oppose the government, a sizable but silent portion of the city, who say their constant fear of the police state is a flashback to some of the worst years Syrians endured before the war.
People continue to disappear into state detention centers. If they are released, they speak of torture and humiliation, sending ripples of fear through their community.
Among the merchants, almost everyone believes openly opposing the government carries great risks, including torture, death, or “inviting attention to the businessâ€.
One affluent merchant said he held out as long as he could against painting the shutters of his shop the colors of the Syrian flag – a show of support for the government increasingly common in recent months – but he eventually had to give in.
“Was I going to be the odd one out? They (state security) probably would have ignored me, but they would have sent the tax department or some other authority to find some violation to shut me down. No thanks,†he said.
“ASSAD IS STAYINGâ€
Violent crime in the capital is rare, but the city teems with armed men both in and out of uniform who often work long shifts for low pay.
With few provisions from the government, the men instead supply themselves from nearby grocers who would not dare demand full payment. The men stop taxis and name their own prices; the drivers do not protest.
In some cases, gunmen have posed as state security agents, demanded entry into private homes and burgled them. Police are too afraid to pry into a crime that might involve the intelligence apparatus, and the incidents go uninvestigated.
At petrol stations, a “security ID†issued for military, state security or other official business will get you to the front of the line, as well as into a specially reserved “military lane†at the checkpoints that have proliferated throughout the city.
The IDs – and their counterfeits – have become so popular that the cars in the military lanes now sometimes outnumber those in the regular queue. “Everyone in this country is somebody,†one driver remarked.
But for many Damascenes the most difficult aspect is the sense that very little of this will change anytime soon. One middle-aged woman who supported the uprising echoed many when she voiced her resignation.
“Assad is staying and he’s stronger than us and there’s nothing we can do about it,†she said.
