Hiroshima

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same old habits, different outfits

Mr. (soldier) President and the Supreme Leader (original picture)

A Soldier and the King (original picture)

Mr. Prime Minister and the King of Kings (original picture)

the incorruptible Assassin-in-Chief

Mr. Ahmadi Nejad has officially become the 6^th president of the Islamic Republic. The (likely) prospect of an eventful reign for a man who views himself, most humbly, as the "nation's street sweeper," has caused much angst everywhere.

As you can see, even the country's ever-so-vigilant and battle hardened mice battalions have gone on high alert.

And the overtures

I don't know about you, but I am so utterly puzzled by an eerie silence which surrounds some recent developments that should have-- at the very least-- warranted a few raised eyebrows. Zilch, zero, sefr.

In case you've missed it, the Iranian born President of Israel, Mr. Katzav made recently an impassioned personal peace appeal to Iran.

Mr. Katzav's broadcast comes shortly after the rumors of the purported Ahmadi Nejad's interest in meeting delegations of Iranian Jews residing in the States and, of course, this sharply worded IJPAC press release.

I'd be grateful if any of you who might have more on this could offer a few nudges in the right direction.

The fading faces

I half seriously toyed with the idea of closing shop for a couple of days. Birthday events are getting progressively more irksome. So, I'll be 42 and with each passing year, there are even more absent figures to think about.

My one wish?

To see the day—with as little bloodshed as possible—when the callous miscreants responsible for decimating our noblest and most gallant are made to answer for their deeds.

And I have a special treat for you tonight. But you must promise to read carefully.

Scratch the unfamiliar surface and abstract away the particularities and you'll have here in the following the all-too-familiar universal soldier's story of a happy homecoming that never was.

It seems as if there almost never is one, is there?

Such stories must be told and remembered--especially these days, when we expect from some of the most promising young men and women in our midst the ultimate sacrifice at a time when most of us are unwilling or unable even to alter some very elementary aspects of our life styles, like the cars we drive or the back bags we carry.

In this particular version, Penelope loses patience and packs up the kids and goes to her parents. And our unsung hero dies—in a state of heroin induced stupor, with a body ravaged by AIDS and hepatitis-- a lonely death.

Though neither un-mourned, nor in prolonged obscurity:

In death Ebby has found a status he never enjoyed in life. For many of the men who fought in this war, the only honourable outcome was death and martyrdom. For those who survived, it meant reintegrating into a society that every year cared less for their war. For the likes of Ebby, that was not an option. Despite support from family, a loving wife and children, Ebby’s love for the drug that helped him forget was stronger than anything and to it he sacrificed his family, his home and, in the end, his life. While still alive, reeling through the streets of Abadan, he was a disgrace to his family, an embarrassment to his country and a shameful testimony to the war that shaped him. In death, Ebby has become once again a beloved son, a missed brother and a father and husband. Another martyr to the war that continues to haunt its survivors.

Read Kamin Mohammadi's poignant tale, The hero and the heroin.

And the recent executions

Someone was good enough to mail in a few pictorial reports about the recent protests in Milan in disgust with the much publicized public hangings of the two gay youngsters in Iran. You can see them here and here and here.

As those of you reading my blog for a while have probably gathered by now, I don’t have much of a stomach for violence. Especially for these ceaseless vulgarities of the murderous Islamic regime.

I have seen enough to satiate the bloodlust of a few lifetimes. But the recent portrayals of the events in Iran, as usual, have been a badly produced cartoon. And we would not get beyond step one in our efforts to bring about meaningful changes if we remained unable to get even the basics right.

The two youngsters were charged—not (solely) with the "crime" of homosexuality, but-- with the gang rape of a (thirteen year old) minor. And that has been mostly lost amidst all the (justified) rage at this state sponsored murder.

This is not to say that Iran does not executed homosexuals. This is not to deny that we have some fundamental problems in that society with intolerance of alternative life styles. This certainly is not to deny the existence of numerous unjust laws which have to be altered. And ultimately, this is not to deny the necessity of toppling a murderous regime.

But presenting caricatures will only weaken our chances of offering viable solutions to some very intractable problems which continue to demand our urgent attention.

So here I am, again, pleading with you to understand that Iran is not quite the caricature it is presented as. This is a complex society which has consistently belied stereotypes. And the sooner we come to grips with this simple proposition, the better our chances of bringing about fundamental changes.

Notice for instance that Tehran is the sex change capital of the world. You can see all types of people struggling to lead normal lives without being executed. Well, as normal as anyone is possibly expected to manage under the watchful eyes of the self appointed satraps of the Almighty or anchored in a fundamentally intolerant milieu.

But to present the problems we face in stark black and white and to always offer silly one dimensional tales of the struggles of a defenseless, blameless population of victims vs. a bloodthirsty irrational abusive regime is ultimately counterproductive.

For you see, we can't have it both ways.

We can't go on to argue that authoritarian regimes cultivate dysfunctional souls without first acknowledging also that often people might be guilty of what they are charged with. And we can't continue to point to the existing fundamental corruptions in our society without also exhibiting some desire to hold people accountable for their deeds.

Look, I'll be the first to admit that, just like every other society I've encountered, we have our fair share of problems with drug and alcohol induced violence, rape, child prostitution, child abuse, pederasty and pedophilia. Now, are we going to accuse the regime each and every time of having falsely charged someone innocent just because we loath it?

I think with these latest executions, we can certainly draw attention to and debate just or unjust deserts or needlessly cruel punishments and/or all the issues relating to government murder of juveniles, rights of the accused, forced confessions or despicable torture practices.

And a host of other matters I have left out.

And we must do more to draw attention to the plight of the gay and lesbian communities and the ubiquitous violations of their civil rights in Iran, as well as the real prospects of all the legally sanctioned brutalities they must endure. Of course, I should emphasize here also the despicable violence and humiliation that (the mostly closeted) members of these communities are the victims of in their daily lives.

And we certainly can argue over rights and responsibilities.

But we can't start doing any of these unless we deal with the basics of what transpires soberly, judiciously and without resorting to duplicitous omissions.

The silliness

Fast internet connection is just a marvel. So much more productivity. Thus, for tonight, we'll have a potpourri of links.

Mr. Eli Lake's timely, sober intervention puts an end to some odd and silly speculations. And our principled, uncompromising poetess-in-exile also weighs in on this matter and more.

But lest you think Iranians monopolize all silliness. Here is one of my favorite writers with more of his classic Fred wits and intelligence!

Well, only in America, I guess.

And the numbers are finally out. And we know now that there are 132,564 inmates kept in Iranian jails which include 4,707 female inmates together with 5,330 foreign nationals. And some are tortured.

I wouldn't take the numbers too seriously, though. And I mean this without the slightest bit of politically motivated cynicism. The conditions in Iran are so chaotic with so many power centers or competing agendas and untenable working relationships that even with the best of intentions, all efforts always fall short of objectives. Chaos wreaks havoc even on the best of projects.

There must be something about the region also, I am guessing. Because, look, even the most advanced organizations equipped with all the latest scientific gadgets and know-how, tend to forget their simple arithmetic skills.

Any how, I sort of like comparative views. So we round up the numbers to about150 thousands and for a population of roughly 70 millions, we seem to have an incarceration rate of about 214 per 100,000 in Iran. (is that right?)

Now, some sobering statistics to help put things in context. (pdf)

Of course it always helps to remember an odd aspect of life about Iran. Iran is both a prison state and also one of the freest countries in the globe, if you can believe that. Well, only when freedom is defined as lawlessness and license, that is.

Some government sponsored news agencies or (possibly) our "reformist" lawyers occasionally argue that lack of respect for the laws is in our genes—I kid you not.( Farsi)

But I personally think the problem might have something to do with one too many laws and inordinately numerous unjust ones. If the authorities were able and willing to truly enforce even a miniscule fraction of them, millions would have had to end up behind bars.

But such, you see, are the marvels of authoritarian states without fast internet access.

And the question of taste

Two quick items for tonight.

I wanted to tell you, Rob, why I put up my post to begin with and why I then decided to bring it down.

Writing, as you well know, can be very tricky. Sometimes we say things that don't really come off the way we intend it. And other times, there are other considerations to think about.

I got very angry when I read your posts and couldn't let it go without reacting. Because, in a way, Shiva was right about me in her anguished rebuttal of what I had said about Islam and terrorism. I have the world view of a simpleton, really

I try to understand life as best I can in its multifaceted complexity and so I try to avoid caricatures. I study a great deal and marvel at the wondrous and the often annoying universe we live in. But then, there are a bunch of simple rules with me I try to live by. Sometimes I succeed and other times I fail--miserably. But I always try.

And wanting to see any part of our planet nuked is one of those absolute no-nos for me. And football hooligans unleashing on fellow spectators or the players of a visiting team is another. So, on principle I had to remove your site from my link list.

It is that quaint matter of "moral taste" I tried to get at a few posts down. It is what really shapes my conduct and my view of politics. And, incidentally, it also accounts for my opposition to the murderous reigning imbecility in Iran.

And I think many months ago, I posted a poem that sums it all up pretty nicely. I'll do it again tonight. Zbigniew Herbert--my favorite Polish poet, puts it best:

The Power of Taste

It didn't require great character at all
our refusal disagreement and resistance
we had a shred of necessary courage
but fundamentally it was a matter of taste
Yes taste
in which there are fibers of soul the cartilage of
conscience
Who knows if we had been better and more
attractively tempted
sent rose-skinned women thin as a wafer
or fantastic creatures from the paintings of
Hieronymus Bosch
but what kind of hell was there at this time
a wet pit the murderers' alley the barrack
called a palace of justice
a home-brewed Mephisto in a Lenin jacket
sent Aurora's grandchildren on into the field
boys with potato faces
very ugly girls with red hands.
.............
So æsthetics can be helpful in life
one should not neglect the study of beauty
Before we declare our consent we must carefully
examine
the shape of the architecture the rhythm of the drums

official colors the despicable ritual of funerals
Our eyes and refused obedience
the princes of our senses proudly chose exile

--translated by John Carpenter and Bogdana Carpenter

So it was the simple matter for me. And I was also concerned that you might be going through some rough times with all the transitions which were what might have been giving us those very angry (unreasonable) posts.

But I was also serious in all of my characterizations of you. You are a talented, passionate and caring individual and I do like your feistiness and your spirit. So then when I saw and heard all the negative reactions about you both on and off the comment section among my readers, I thought they were being unfair to who you appear to be and I didn't want you locked in the role that my representation of your posts assigned you to.

I don't like it when people take the easy out by vilifying others. And besides, your blog is still there for everyone to see and you continue to speak for yourself. So, once I had calmed down, I brought the post down. I thought I had done what I had to do and my reaction was in keeping with my sense of a "measure."

I'll continue to draw attention in different ways to the dangers of a nuclear exchange without giving anyone an excuse or the distraction of a someone to quickly demonize in order to avoid dealing with the real substance of issues.

But like I said, nothing in life is quite that easy to figure out, and this especially for the simpletons! That's what makes life…life, I suppose! We should try to take it all in strides. Looks like we might be in for a long, nasty ride.

And N, you should have a quick look here (http://www.allconferences.com/conferences/20011119054424/ )
if the spirit moves you and consider some of the issues broached and we'll revisit the matter again soon.

Removing evil

A classic to have some fun with while I put together answers to some of
the questions:


Yang-li Hua-tzü, of the Sung State, was afflicted in middle age by loss of memory. Anything he received in the morning he had forgotten by the evening, anything he gave away in the evening he had forgotten the next morning. Out-of-doors, he forgot to walk; indoors, he forgot to sit down. At any given moment, he had no recollection of what had just taken place; and a little later on, he could not even recollect what had happened then. All his family were perfectly disgusted with him. Fortune-tellers were summoned, but their divinations proved unsuccessful; Wizards were sought out, but their exorcisms were ineffectual; physicians were called in, but their remedies were of no avail. At last, a learned professor from the Lu State volunteered his services, declaring that he could effect a cure.

Hua-tzu's wife and family immediately offered him half their estate if only he would tell them how to set to work. The professor replied: 'This is a case which cannot be dealt with by means of auspices and diagrams; the evil cannot be removed by prayers and incantations, nor successfully combated by drugs and potions. What I shall try to do is to influence his mind and turn the current of his thoughts; in that way a cure is likely to be brought about.'

Accordingly, the experiment was begun. The professor exposed his patient to cold, so that he was forced to beg for clothes; subjected him to hunger, so that he was fain to ask for food; left him in darkness, so that he was obliged to search for light.

Soon, he was able to report progress to the sons of the house, saying gleefully: 'The disease can be checked. But the methods I shall employ have been handed down as a secret in my family, and cannot be made known to the public. All attendants must, therefore, be kept out of the way, and I must be shut up alone with my patient.' The professor was allowed to have his way, and for the space of seven days no one knew what was going on in the sick man's chamber. Then, one fine morning, the treatment came to an end, and, wonderful to relate, the disease of so many years' standing had entirely disappeared!

No sooner had Hua-tzu regained his senses, however, than he flew into a great rage, drove his wife out of doors, beat his sons, and, snatching up a spear, hotly pursued the professor through the town.

On being arrested and asked to explain his conduct, this is what he said: 'Lately when I was steeped in forgetfulness, my senses were so benumbed that I was quite unconscious of the existence of the outer world. But now I have been brought suddenly to a perception of the events of half a lifetime. Preservation and destruction, gain and loss, sorrow and joy, love and hate have begun to throw out their myriad tentacles to invade my peace; and these emotions will, I fear, continue to keep my mind in the state of turmoil that I now experience. Oh! if I could but recapture a short moment of that blesséd oblivion!'

'If such is the man's reaction to an infirmity which resembles the Highest Principle, how much greater will be the effect of incorporation in the Absolute!'

From the Book of Lieh-Tzü, III: Dreams

Simpleton's Manifesto

A dog brushed up against a sheikh, who made
No move to draw his skirts in or evade
The filthy stray-a puzzled passer-by
Who'd noticed his behavior asked him why.
He said: "The dog is filthy, as you see,
But what is outside him is inside me-
What's clear on him is hidden in my heart;
Why should such close companions stay apart?"
If inward filth is slight or if it's great,
The outcome is the same disgusting state-
If straws impede you, or a mountain-top
Where is the difference if you have to stop?

Attar

Terror inspired religiosity

Expect a change of focus in this blog gradually away from my personal broodings about the relations between culture and politics of Iran and onto issues related to terrorism and terror inspired religiosity.

Like it or not, this global plague isn't going to go away anytime soon.

The recent events-- from the despicable massacre of those defenseless children seeking sweets while playing with what little they have to the upsurge in the number of Iraqi civilians and police and other military personnel being butchered on a weekly basis and the mounting numbers of American casualties, to the bloody strikes on the ordinary working men and women in London and those tourists in Egypt, Arab and others -- have reminded us (yet again) of the callousness with which some of the upper and middle class spoiled brats of Asia conduct their affairs.

And their utter disregard for human life. These Salafist miscreants are ruthless in their quest to wreak havoc on all that most of us cherish about civilized life.

And as a non-Muslim "multicultural" Brooder--and to the countless victims affected by these atrocities-- I'd like to repeat my message of a couple of weeks ago. For what they're worth: I offer my sympathies, condolences and also my apologies.

I mean, somebody has to apologize here. It might as well be me. I am so profoundly sorry.

In an ideal universe—that is a universe presided over by an omnipotent Deity with the slightest inkling about the meaning of elementary Justice, we would have all gotten a chance to click our heels three times and return to the safe, comforting realm of our peaceful homes and cities.

As it stands, the entropy of our universe is going to accelerate geometrically. And I am just so sick and tired of all the unimaginative predictable chatter.

The murderous Usama operatives and their sympathizer goons will have nothing to apologize about. Those who are already dead are deservedly rotting and in no position to babble. And those alive are probably gloating and waiting for their next opportunity to torment the living.

The Muslims will again offer us the usual platitudes about how their great religion has been hijacked by those supposed pretenders. They too will not offer apologies. Islam is the "religion of peace," remember. And in a sense, they are half right. There are roughly a billion five million Muslims worldwide and life would have gotten a lot bloodier if Islam hadn't also tempered conduct in some miniscule ways.

And the ravenous, incontinent elites in America, and their global partners or sycophants and fellow travelers continue to go on to search for word about every re-mended torn underwear in the Middle East to flaunt as yet another example of the good news the "liberal media" loves to ignore while refusing to live up to the consequences of their misguided hopes, their deluded expectations and their piss-poor planning and executions of their mighty expedition to reshape that rotten region.

They refuse to admit errors of judgment. They refuse to be honest with the rest of us. And so they also refuse to offer any form of apologies. They can do no wrong; have never been wrong. And will never ever do wrong--anytime, anywhere.

And all their prattle and the ceaseless peddling of that noxious notion of "moral equivalence," is the prophylactic they habitually reach for in order to perpetuate their experience of onanistic Americanism.

Look, no love lost here between this blogger and Islam and its vengeful Allah. As someone whose life has been affected by religious zealotry, I have had my fair share of exposure to various religious texts. It is easy for me to reach for all those silly, bloody savage passages and also some very obscure ones most of you have never heard of and to revel in mocking Islam.

I don't indulge--not out of any fear of offending believers, mind you, for life devoid of the opportunity to be offended is not much of a life at all. None of us would have learned much if our core beliefs hadn't been routinely offended. And Muslims should not feel excepted.

Millions have learned to live with it and some of the more devout Muslims too will have to learn.

But my experiences of life in Iran have forced me to engage a confounding riddle more seriously, while also re-confirming what any good teacher worth his pay normally learns in the second year of teaching.

Often, the very same weaknesses in a student are also what give the individual his or her unique strength of character and that twinkle in the eyes. If you push too hard on the weaknesses, you risk a profound, irreparable loss as well.

In societies where the ruling classes show no genuine respect for their fellow citizens for/to whom they are supposed to be responsible and responsive; and where consequently, the disgruntled citizens come to reciprocate by showing no respect for the laws, what are we going to get if the fabric of the traditional religious prohibitions are even further eroded? What is going to happen when that gentle murmur in the mind about not abusing that little kid who can't fend for herself disappears altogether?

Look at it another way. Doesn’t the Leviticus contain some hair curling frightening passages? But that text also has some of the most moving edicts about empathy and the need for civil treatment of strangers and about social justice.

How to weaken one without the other?

That being said, the fact remains that certain unpalatable, murderous passions have been unleashed globally and unless there is a sober and concerted effort to deal with the consequences in a forthright manner, all of us face some appallingly grotesque consequences.

Real or imagined, as the purported emissaries of the Almighty go, none could compare in gentility to Christ. Well only perhaps Mani and Buddha, in my view. And what sort of followers has he managed lately?

Let's look at the latest Fatwa just released by one his more renowned followers to get a sense for what petrifies me. Here is Mr. Hal Lindsey with his latest threats:

There is a fast closing window of opportunity for the large majority of "peaceful Muslims" living in the United States and the United Kingdom.
[…]
We are a peace-loving people that are longsuffering and slow to anger. But there is an inevitable breaking point that will surely come. Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany discovered this. In the words of Adm. Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Harbor, "I fear that we have only awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve." That point is about to come again in response to the terrorist outrages that have been inflicted upon us by Islamic fundamentalists.
[…]
Our intelligence forces all warn that it is only a matter of time before Islamic terrorist will attack our cities with weapons of mass destruction. This includes everything from nuclear to biological bombs.
[…]
When one of these attacks happens, a flood of rage will burst forth, and nothing or anyone will be able to stop it. The law of the jungle will take over. Muslim communities who did nothing to stop the radicals among them will be the first targets.
[…] Cooperate with legal authorities before it is too late to plead your civil rights.
[…] The time is late. The "jihadist timetable" is counting down toward a major attack. Help your fellow Americans stop them before a catastrophe strikes us all and ignites an unstoppable holocaust.

It is my experience that pious believers are the most honest and transparent amongst us. They do mean what they say most of the time. It is only that in our arrogance, we the ("non-believer") intellectuals with no genuine appreciation for their inner experiences fail to take account of what they have in mind since we are mostly always deluded in thinking we can channel and control these passions to enhance our own competing political agendas.

There was nothing surprising about what Ayatollah Khomeini managed to accomplish in Iran. And Usama and Mullah Omar certainly never masked any of their intentions.
So then let's get a more clear sense for where we stand.

Usama and his thugs are able and willing to strike at will and as best I can surmise, they have authorized a body count of up to 4 million "infidel" casualties. And they loath anything not like them and are most comfortable in any stern, non-ostentatious, primitive milieu.

And they detest Shi'ias.

Our own murderous Ayatollahs are in the midst of their mad dash for the bomb--if only to save their own skins in their gambit to postpone the inevitable and they show no compunction whatsoever about sacrificing as many of their citizens as they see fit in order to maintain their hold on power.

And here we have also in the West millions who will not hesitate to act on this thinly veiled threat of pogroms against "peaceful Muslims" (sic) and, of course, they are not really that discriminating when it comes to knowing the difference between Arab fundamentalist or the Moroccan Berbers or a Mexican immigrant, and a Muslim or a Sikh.

And they are whipping up their rapture excited contingent of followers into frenzy by loudly promising our nuclear annihilation.

And now (via antiwar.com) the heartwarming, though unconfirmed, report of plans in works in the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) for a massive conventional and nuclear strike on Iran in response to another 911 type assault anywhere on the shores of these United States regardless of the established guilt or culpability.

And that, my friends, is the frightening nightmare brought about curtsey of an arrogant fiddling with the gates of hell.

More later.

P.S. I have problems linking. For Mr. Lindsay article see his "Friendly Advice to Peaceful Muslems." For report about plan of attack see www.justinlogan.com