Thursday, February 9, 2012
no news..
i spoke to someone the other day who doesnt follow the news.. at all.. nothing.. not tv not the papers and not even the odd internet peek.. nada..
immediately i asked myself if i could ever do the same and what good news have done for me.. seriously.. what in my life ever became better due to my obsessing over every little minor tidbit.. and why is it that being informed was turned into such a pure value in modern society..
democracy? is it democracy? is it so that we make informed decisions when we vote? does the enws really help for that? does that take us there?? do the journalists really teach us what we need to know to choose whats best? questionable.. i agree..
is it the entertainment value? the gory voyeuristic opportunity to experience the world without leaving your arm chair.. and run away from any misery directly to the safety of your lunch break - a place where no harm can follow?
is it the social aspect of being able to hold a conversation because people typically prefer to speak of other people and when they dont they resort to events - provided they never have to generate an original idea let alone discuss someone else's?
i dont quite know.. i dont really get it.. but something.. not quite sure what.. but something.. some thing.. tells me it aint that healthy to eat thoughts that someone else has vomited..
immediately i asked myself if i could ever do the same and what good news have done for me.. seriously.. what in my life ever became better due to my obsessing over every little minor tidbit.. and why is it that being informed was turned into such a pure value in modern society..
democracy? is it democracy? is it so that we make informed decisions when we vote? does the enws really help for that? does that take us there?? do the journalists really teach us what we need to know to choose whats best? questionable.. i agree..
is it the entertainment value? the gory voyeuristic opportunity to experience the world without leaving your arm chair.. and run away from any misery directly to the safety of your lunch break - a place where no harm can follow?
is it the social aspect of being able to hold a conversation because people typically prefer to speak of other people and when they dont they resort to events - provided they never have to generate an original idea let alone discuss someone else's?
i dont quite know.. i dont really get it.. but something.. not quite sure what.. but something.. some thing.. tells me it aint that healthy to eat thoughts that someone else has vomited..
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
just like you..
عزیز ایران.
من به شما به عنوان یک فرد مجرد به ملت است. یک فرد مجرد، از دولت اسرائیل را دوست دارد که زندگی خود و جهان و به طور مداوم امیدها و آرزوها برای صلح. من هیچ سازمان و یا هر بدن دولتی در اختیار ندارد. من تنها یک مرد جوان که (مثل هر کس دیگری در این زمان نامشخص) برای بهترین امیدوار است. بسیاری از مردم صحبت از جنگ است. بسیاری از مردم در حال صحبت کردن در مورد توانایی هسته ای است. گاهی اوقات نمی دانم چه چیزی را باید باور. شما (ایرانی به طور متوسط) ممکن است فکر می کنم که ما از شما بسیار متفاوت هستند. شاید کسی حتی به تلاش برای متقاعد کردن شما که هستند هیولا رفته. من می خواهم به شما یک چیز را به یاد.
درست مثل شما که همه ما به عنوان یک نتیجه از عشق خود به خود از پدر و مادر ما متولد شدند. پدر و مادر ما ما را دوست داشت و همچنان به انجام این کار، درست مثل پدر و مادر خود تو را دوست دارم. درست مثل شما، ما به سختی کار می کنند قادر به پرداخت صورتحساب خود و همه آرزو بهترین راه حل برای فرزندان ما. درست مثل ما نگران سلامتی عزیزان و فقط ما از شما می خواهم تنها مهمانان در این دنیا هستند و یک روز را به صورت خروج خود ما امیدواریم که که ما یک محل است که حداقل به عنوان فوق العاده به عنوان باقی مانده که به استقبال ما هنگامی که ما متولد شدند.
شما من می دانم که نیست و من شما را نمی دانم. ما غریبه به یکدیگر. لطفا اجازه ندهید که دنیا شما را متقاعد کنم که ما باید به دشمنان. هیچ کس اینکار را در مورد شما نمی کنند.
چرا که دقیقا مثل تو ما نیز غریزه بقای ما و دقیقا مثل تو ما هم خودمان را تا زمانی که ما احساس امنیت دفاع.
که مایل به تماس با ما تمام صلح شایسته آن هستیم. دوباره، اجازه نمی دهد خودتان را متقاعد به نفرت.
سلام شالوم
من به شما به عنوان یک فرد مجرد به ملت است. یک فرد مجرد، از دولت اسرائیل را دوست دارد که زندگی خود و جهان و به طور مداوم امیدها و آرزوها برای صلح. من هیچ سازمان و یا هر بدن دولتی در اختیار ندارد. من تنها یک مرد جوان که (مثل هر کس دیگری در این زمان نامشخص) برای بهترین امیدوار است. بسیاری از مردم صحبت از جنگ است. بسیاری از مردم در حال صحبت کردن در مورد توانایی هسته ای است. گاهی اوقات نمی دانم چه چیزی را باید باور. شما (ایرانی به طور متوسط) ممکن است فکر می کنم که ما از شما بسیار متفاوت هستند. شاید کسی حتی به تلاش برای متقاعد کردن شما که هستند هیولا رفته. من می خواهم به شما یک چیز را به یاد.
درست مثل شما که همه ما به عنوان یک نتیجه از عشق خود به خود از پدر و مادر ما متولد شدند. پدر و مادر ما ما را دوست داشت و همچنان به انجام این کار، درست مثل پدر و مادر خود تو را دوست دارم. درست مثل شما، ما به سختی کار می کنند قادر به پرداخت صورتحساب خود و همه آرزو بهترین راه حل برای فرزندان ما. درست مثل ما نگران سلامتی عزیزان و فقط ما از شما می خواهم تنها مهمانان در این دنیا هستند و یک روز را به صورت خروج خود ما امیدواریم که که ما یک محل است که حداقل به عنوان فوق العاده به عنوان باقی مانده که به استقبال ما هنگامی که ما متولد شدند.
شما من می دانم که نیست و من شما را نمی دانم. ما غریبه به یکدیگر. لطفا اجازه ندهید که دنیا شما را متقاعد کنم که ما باید به دشمنان. هیچ کس اینکار را در مورد شما نمی کنند.
چرا که دقیقا مثل تو ما نیز غریزه بقای ما و دقیقا مثل تو ما هم خودمان را تا زمانی که ما احساس امنیت دفاع.
که مایل به تماس با ما تمام صلح شایسته آن هستیم. دوباره، اجازه نمی دهد خودتان را متقاعد به نفرت.
سلام شالوم
dear iran.
i am writing to you as a single person to a whole nation. a single person from the state of israel who loves his life and the world and constantly hopes and wishes for peace. i do not represent any organisation or any governmental body. i am just a young man who (like everyone else in these uncertain times) is hoping for the best. many people are speaking of a war. many people are talking about nuclear abilities. sometimes i do not know what to believe. you (the average irani) might think that we are very different from you. maybe someone has even gone to the efforts to convince you that we are monsters. i would like to remind you of one thing.
just like you we were all born as a result of the spontaneous love of our parents. our parents loved us and continue to do so, just like your parents love you. just like you, we work hard to be able to pay our bills and all wish the best for our children. just like you we worry for the health of our loved-ones and just like you we are merely guests in this world and will one day have to face our own departure and hope that we have left a place that is at least as wonderful as the one that welcomed us when we were born.
you do not know me and i do not know you. we are strangers to each other. please do not let the world convince you that we need to be enemies. no one does.
because just like you we also have our survival instincts and just like you we too will defend ourselves until we feel safe.
wishing us all the peace we deserve. again, do not allow yourself to be convinced to hate.
salam shalom
ignoring the blood..
arabs in syria are being slaughtered by the thousands.. is the world aware? does anyone care? i dont hear of protests in the palestinian territories.. what about lebanon.. syria's siamese non identical twin.. seems pretty quiet.. h e l l o... was that a pin drop?
ok so while thousands of members of the umma get murdered lets wonder for a second.. whats next.. after the blood finishes soaking into the land and the grief and sadness follow suit.. some speak of a weakening of the axis of evil (i hate using george bush terminology but it does stick).. and others now are speaking of fertile ground to sprout a second iraq.. a sectarian civil war that may take years to end..
people used to always speak of the arab street.. the simple men and women who just want to live their lives in peace.. and u have to wonder whether these millions of "revolutionaries" whose credentials in transforming their countries have yet to be established are really as peaceful as you always wanted to believe.. are they really as inherently compassionate and do they intrinsically carry the same human instinctive love for life that you always argued that they did..
most importantly (casting eyes southwestwards to egypt) can they hold a peace treaty..
ok so while thousands of members of the umma get murdered lets wonder for a second.. whats next.. after the blood finishes soaking into the land and the grief and sadness follow suit.. some speak of a weakening of the axis of evil (i hate using george bush terminology but it does stick).. and others now are speaking of fertile ground to sprout a second iraq.. a sectarian civil war that may take years to end..
people used to always speak of the arab street.. the simple men and women who just want to live their lives in peace.. and u have to wonder whether these millions of "revolutionaries" whose credentials in transforming their countries have yet to be established are really as peaceful as you always wanted to believe.. are they really as inherently compassionate and do they intrinsically carry the same human instinctive love for life that you always argued that they did..
most importantly (casting eyes southwestwards to egypt) can they hold a peace treaty..
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
the iranian meltdown..
Dr Baskin always rivets me with his thoughts.. but this time more than ever.. people are very concerned about this summer.. and so is my budding family unit.. i cant count all the mad thoughts that have been running through my head about what might be.. and here goes my friend Gershon - painting it in bright pink!! god bless him :)
Unintended consequences of an Israeli strike on Iran
By GERSHON BASKIN
06/02/2012
Encountering Peace: I imagine that int'l pressure would push Israel to reach an agreement on the Palestinian issue.
I have begun to change my assessment regarding a possible Israeli attack against Iran. In the past months, as the Iran chatter intensified – particularly after former Mossad chief Meir Dagan’s remarks against such a strike – I was somewhat relieved because I believed that the more chatter, the less likely an Israeli attack.
Recently, though, there has been both a quantitative and a qualitative change in the nature of the chatter, and I am beginning to believe that a military strike against Iran may actually be in the advanced planning stages.
The arguments regarding the potential damage to Tehran’s nuclear weapons program seem to be less relevant in light of the assessment that the sanctions regime against Iran will not convince its government to drop its nuclear weapons plans. It seems, for decision- makers in Jerusalem, even if an Israeli strike only sets back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by a couple of years, the risks are worth the payoff. If Tehran is in fact only 12-24 months away from having enough high-quality enriched nuclear fuel to construct several bombs, then, as Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said, later might be too late. A nuclear Iran is a real strategic threat to the entire Middle East and to the world.
No one in the region, especially the Saudis, will be particularly upset with an Israeli strike on Iran. No one in the region, especially the Saudis, can admit this in public. There is no chance that the US will attack Iran, and without a US-led action, EU countries will also stay away. They might object verbally to an Israeli strike, but I am quite sure that none of the European powers will be disappointed if Israel decides to do it alone.
I imagine that such an attack would be the all-out ultimate show of force for Israel. Israel will use everything it has, except a nuclear weapon, to hit as many targets in Iran as possible. It will probably be an attack from the ground, the air and the sea. It could include targets of the nuclear program that are known, as well as those of which the public is unaware. The attack could also include targets such as Iran’s very vulnerable oil refineries, which would completely cripple the Islamic Republic’s economy, sending it back to the 19th century.
I imagine that the Israeli assessment of the fallout includes a limited rocket response from Gaza, which Israel can absorb and deal with by hitting several strategic targets there, sending the message to Hamas leaders that no real escalation will be tolerated. Israel’s leaders probably believe that Syria is out of the game now with the escalation of the internal civil war there, and while Assad may believe that targeting Israel will unite Syrians around him, this could also be the point when the Syrian people make the final push to get rid of the Assad regime. A new regime led by Sunnis is not going to cry over the Israeli attack on Iran and will not risk launching a major rocket attack against Israel, fearing its response.
Similarly a crippled Syria and a possible Sunni regime in Damascus may have a significant impact on the Hezbollah response. Hezbollah’s line for rearming through Syria from Iran will be cut, and the group may feel compelled to reserve its force to defend its own position within the Lebanese domain rather than risk the wrath of Israel, which could very well bring about a public uprising against Hezbollah within Lebanon – if the Israeli retaliatory strikes are limited to Hezbollah targets and don’t extend to the Lebanese people and infrastructure, as happened in the Second Lebanon War.
The United States will probably be relieved by a successful Israeli attack against Iran, and even if there are voices of displeasure from the White House and the State Department, behind the scenes Washington will be sending congratulatory messages to Jerusalem. The US withdrawal from Iraq has actually made it easier for Israel to use Iraqi airspace to conduct its attack without fear of encountering the US air force on the way.
I don’t know to what extent the attack would set back the Iranian nuclear program. I do imagine that it would increase public pressure inside Iran to end the regime of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseini Khamenei and his President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian people do not want to be part of a country that is against the whole world.
I think there may be some unintended consequences for Israel that may not be perceived as positive for its current regime but, in my opinion, would have long term strategic advantages for Israel if the government were wise enough to advance them. I imagine that international pressure, including from Washington, would push Israel to reach an agreement on the Palestinian issue, including compromises that the current government is not willing to accept – particularly regarding Jerusalem. This step would also increase international pressure for Israel to positively answer the Arab peace initiative, which would create a platform for the rest of the Arab and Islamic world to engage Israel and would lead to peace agreements between Jerusalem and all of the Arab capitals.
If these unintended consequences do advance, I imagine that the US and others will insist that Israel enter the non-proliferation treaty and place its nuclear facilities under international inspection. With this, the international community and the regional states will work toward a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
One of the main fears of a nuclear Iran is the beginning of a rapid arms race in the region. The crippling of its nuclear program could have the reverse effect and that would be good for Israel, for the region and for the entire world.
The writer is the co-chairman of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), a radio host on All for Peace Radio and the initiator and negotiator of the secret back channel for Gilad Schalit’s release.
Unintended consequences of an Israeli strike on Iran
By GERSHON BASKIN
06/02/2012
Encountering Peace: I imagine that int'l pressure would push Israel to reach an agreement on the Palestinian issue.
I have begun to change my assessment regarding a possible Israeli attack against Iran. In the past months, as the Iran chatter intensified – particularly after former Mossad chief Meir Dagan’s remarks against such a strike – I was somewhat relieved because I believed that the more chatter, the less likely an Israeli attack.
Recently, though, there has been both a quantitative and a qualitative change in the nature of the chatter, and I am beginning to believe that a military strike against Iran may actually be in the advanced planning stages.
The arguments regarding the potential damage to Tehran’s nuclear weapons program seem to be less relevant in light of the assessment that the sanctions regime against Iran will not convince its government to drop its nuclear weapons plans. It seems, for decision- makers in Jerusalem, even if an Israeli strike only sets back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by a couple of years, the risks are worth the payoff. If Tehran is in fact only 12-24 months away from having enough high-quality enriched nuclear fuel to construct several bombs, then, as Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said, later might be too late. A nuclear Iran is a real strategic threat to the entire Middle East and to the world.
No one in the region, especially the Saudis, will be particularly upset with an Israeli strike on Iran. No one in the region, especially the Saudis, can admit this in public. There is no chance that the US will attack Iran, and without a US-led action, EU countries will also stay away. They might object verbally to an Israeli strike, but I am quite sure that none of the European powers will be disappointed if Israel decides to do it alone.
I imagine that such an attack would be the all-out ultimate show of force for Israel. Israel will use everything it has, except a nuclear weapon, to hit as many targets in Iran as possible. It will probably be an attack from the ground, the air and the sea. It could include targets of the nuclear program that are known, as well as those of which the public is unaware. The attack could also include targets such as Iran’s very vulnerable oil refineries, which would completely cripple the Islamic Republic’s economy, sending it back to the 19th century.
I imagine that the Israeli assessment of the fallout includes a limited rocket response from Gaza, which Israel can absorb and deal with by hitting several strategic targets there, sending the message to Hamas leaders that no real escalation will be tolerated. Israel’s leaders probably believe that Syria is out of the game now with the escalation of the internal civil war there, and while Assad may believe that targeting Israel will unite Syrians around him, this could also be the point when the Syrian people make the final push to get rid of the Assad regime. A new regime led by Sunnis is not going to cry over the Israeli attack on Iran and will not risk launching a major rocket attack against Israel, fearing its response.
Similarly a crippled Syria and a possible Sunni regime in Damascus may have a significant impact on the Hezbollah response. Hezbollah’s line for rearming through Syria from Iran will be cut, and the group may feel compelled to reserve its force to defend its own position within the Lebanese domain rather than risk the wrath of Israel, which could very well bring about a public uprising against Hezbollah within Lebanon – if the Israeli retaliatory strikes are limited to Hezbollah targets and don’t extend to the Lebanese people and infrastructure, as happened in the Second Lebanon War.
The United States will probably be relieved by a successful Israeli attack against Iran, and even if there are voices of displeasure from the White House and the State Department, behind the scenes Washington will be sending congratulatory messages to Jerusalem. The US withdrawal from Iraq has actually made it easier for Israel to use Iraqi airspace to conduct its attack without fear of encountering the US air force on the way.
I don’t know to what extent the attack would set back the Iranian nuclear program. I do imagine that it would increase public pressure inside Iran to end the regime of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseini Khamenei and his President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian people do not want to be part of a country that is against the whole world.
I think there may be some unintended consequences for Israel that may not be perceived as positive for its current regime but, in my opinion, would have long term strategic advantages for Israel if the government were wise enough to advance them. I imagine that international pressure, including from Washington, would push Israel to reach an agreement on the Palestinian issue, including compromises that the current government is not willing to accept – particularly regarding Jerusalem. This step would also increase international pressure for Israel to positively answer the Arab peace initiative, which would create a platform for the rest of the Arab and Islamic world to engage Israel and would lead to peace agreements between Jerusalem and all of the Arab capitals.
If these unintended consequences do advance, I imagine that the US and others will insist that Israel enter the non-proliferation treaty and place its nuclear facilities under international inspection. With this, the international community and the regional states will work toward a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
One of the main fears of a nuclear Iran is the beginning of a rapid arms race in the region. The crippling of its nuclear program could have the reverse effect and that would be good for Israel, for the region and for the entire world.
The writer is the co-chairman of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), a radio host on All for Peace Radio and the initiator and negotiator of the secret back channel for Gilad Schalit’s release.
Friday, February 3, 2012
no more songs..
the war between lebanon and israel in 2006 left us with many dead and injured and this song.. i will never forget hearing about the tank that overturned entrapping a soldier.. his lower body crushed.. and then that evening hearing it was the baby brother of a very close friend.. i dont want any more heros or war tunes.. im happy to give up all of this.. just not to have a war..
the media is beating the war drums.. so loud i can barely hear myself think.. and the american politicians are recklessly speculating about when we're going to attack the persian islamic state.. its almost ironic how easy the media makes it sound.. just drop a few here and refuel there.. piece of cake..
if this ruckus brings about enough pressure for the iranians to renounce violence and come to the table then great - but otherwise - at the high summer of my life - how will i forgive you for making me believe that the world is nothing but a hell hole..
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
drawing a line in the sand..
Dopamine II - Surf Film from Insight Clothing on Vimeo.
after burying my cousin's baby last night.. and witnessing such a painful funeral.. i am in search of deeper wisdom..
glad to have found this.. loved the longboard tucking in..
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