(quote:M.Gandhi)
I attended volunteer orientation for the US Social Forum this evening. The Forum is an offshoot of the World Social Forum begun as a response to the G8 summits. I was looking forward to the Forum, sure. However, the energy amongst the people was electric and I am now dragging out my soapbox and shouting, pleading for you all to VOLUNTEER! This will be the first EVER Social Forum to be held in the U.S. Organizers are expecting 10-20,000 people to attend. This will be history in the making and those of you who are willing and able can be a part of it for free.
The Forum does not accept governmental or corporate sponsorship and is donation and volunteer-based. This means we REALLY need VOLUNTEERS! To sweeten the deal, if you commit to 4 four-hour volunteer sessions, which you can serve anytime between now and Sunday July 1, organizers will waive your registration fee for the Forum. They're also dangling the status of Super Volunteer in front of us, which means you commit to at least 6 four-hour volunteer shifts. Do that and organizers will be so over the moon about you there's no telling what you'll go home with! You can sign-up online at the Volunteer Information Page.
Most exciting to me is the fact that amongst the over 1,000 workshops to participate in are several regarding the Middle East, Islam and environmentalism, even a workshop on LGBTQ Muslims. Not to mention the Arab Movement Building, Arab-American Racism & Islamophobia, Multi-racial Organizing for Justice in the M.E., Hydropolitics of Palestine & Israel, and a lot of useful trainings from direct actions to grassroots media to nonviolent communication. I would love to help spur a good turn out amongst you progressive, social change/justice-minded folks out there. The motto of the Forum is "Another World is Possible. Another U.S. is Necessary." Let's be that change.
If you can attend, great. If you can join me in volunteering, even better. At the very least, please help spread the word. For those of you on a budget, several local groups are providing alternative sleeping arrangements. The co-housing community near me is partnering to organize camping in a lovely land trust.
I'll be blogging it, but I really hope to see you there.
Salaam.
13 June, 2007
قلبي في الشام
I've been drinking lots of tea from my Turkish double boiler teapot and missing Damascus these days. What do I miss? Here are a few things......
The adhan here, the adhan there, the adhan everywhere. I loved the different voices of the muezzins rolling across my neighborhood.
The crop of green neon lights that sprouted in the evening and spread across the city marking the minarets. I always felt like they were little reminders to look up and look beyond.
"Stoh o themaneen khayzan" or the Mighty 86th, as I called it, and my little apartment with the huge balcony that overlooked Jbel Qassiyoun and most of the city.
Having to work really hard to convince a taxi driver that I really did live down the tiny alley near the souq in Kafar Sousa behind all the new high-rises. He kept asking if I was sure I lived there.
Takkia Suleymania. Hanging out with Omar the weaver, who made me tea whenever I stopped in. Also, eating lunch and preparing my lessons while sitting by the fountain. Also, having the caretaker let me into the graveyard to see the grave of the last Ottoman Sultan, who rests beneath lovely orange trees. My little oasis in the middle of the city where I could quiet my mind and soul.
Getting the offer of a "free" taxi ride across town, from a driver old enough to be my grandfather, if I would just give him my phone number. I paid the fare.
Getting a genuine offer of a free fare from a driver closer to my age after a long conversation about his wife and children and life.
The officials at the passport office, who gave me chocolate with my first residency stamp.
The officers with whom I spent (cumulatively) days with at the Bab al-Hawa crossing into Turkey. They never cut me a break, visa or no, but once after making me wait 14 hours they did find me a cab to Halab and insisted I sit and eat fresh watermelon with them before I left (well after 1am).
The efficient maitre'd at Chammiat restaurant with the Donald Trump hair. And the Lebanese family, in the city for the day on business, that insisted I join their table for lunch when I couldn't find a seat for lunch one day.
Two of my young students, both boys, who would walk with me to Jisr Rais to catch our services after class and ask me also sorts of hysterically bizarre things about the U.S. and life.
The kids I taught English to who would only call me "Teacher" and possibly never learned my real name. They were both fascinated and amused to hear me speak Arabic outside of class. To them it was my "dog & pony show".
The awesome, remarkable Syrian women I worked with at FIRDOS who are/were trying to change their country for the better.
Abu Muhammad in the canteen at the University. The man cared enough to buy mammoul, even if I was one of the few people buying it, and apologized when he was out. Just don't drink his coffee.
The Umayyad Mosque. One of my favorite structures built my humans. Every time I went there I found something I had missed. One of the best places to simply sit, watch, and take it all in for hours. Magic.
My friend Fatima's father joking that I would marry his son, Abudeh. He's not yet 10. Dad's plan included his young son moving to America and being elected President and, he said, "Then you'll be like Hilary Clinton."
Making taxi drivers guess where I was from. They never guessed correctly. Usual response: "You cannot be American. You speak Arabic!"
The top-heavy bodybuilder who ran the tiny shop downstairs from my apartment and always wanted to talk about anything and everything.
The Shi'a pilgrims who deemed me, the girl in the screaming pink scarf sitting outside the Umayyad mosque at 6am, more interesting than their tour guide and his portable amp and just stared at me and refused to smile.
The children playing in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque. Pure joy.
Jogging at al-Jalaa with the soccer teams and house wives and old men.
Lunches in a courtyard that stretch into dinner amidst the narghile smoke and glasses of tea.
Walking the old city early in the morning, just me and the bakers, the smell of baking bread everywhere. Finding shrines in every nook and cranny.
Speaking Arabic.
The little old woman who lived next door to the hovel laughing when I said the dark carnelian sky of the sandstorm made me feel as though we'd landed on Mars as we stood in our shared doorway to the alley and marveled at the world turned to mud.
Seeing Zara in concert at the opera house and The Epic of Gilgamesh performed at the Workers Union Theater.
Showing up a day early and alone to an exhibit of paintings at the National Museum and being let in by the curator as she was setting up and who kept coming over to talk with me about the artists and their works.
(sigh)
Salaam.
The adhan here, the adhan there, the adhan everywhere. I loved the different voices of the muezzins rolling across my neighborhood.
The crop of green neon lights that sprouted in the evening and spread across the city marking the minarets. I always felt like they were little reminders to look up and look beyond.
"Stoh o themaneen khayzan" or the Mighty 86th, as I called it, and my little apartment with the huge balcony that overlooked Jbel Qassiyoun and most of the city.
Having to work really hard to convince a taxi driver that I really did live down the tiny alley near the souq in Kafar Sousa behind all the new high-rises. He kept asking if I was sure I lived there.
Takkia Suleymania. Hanging out with Omar the weaver, who made me tea whenever I stopped in. Also, eating lunch and preparing my lessons while sitting by the fountain. Also, having the caretaker let me into the graveyard to see the grave of the last Ottoman Sultan, who rests beneath lovely orange trees. My little oasis in the middle of the city where I could quiet my mind and soul.
Getting the offer of a "free" taxi ride across town, from a driver old enough to be my grandfather, if I would just give him my phone number. I paid the fare.
Getting a genuine offer of a free fare from a driver closer to my age after a long conversation about his wife and children and life.
The officials at the passport office, who gave me chocolate with my first residency stamp.
The officers with whom I spent (cumulatively) days with at the Bab al-Hawa crossing into Turkey. They never cut me a break, visa or no, but once after making me wait 14 hours they did find me a cab to Halab and insisted I sit and eat fresh watermelon with them before I left (well after 1am).
The efficient maitre'd at Chammiat restaurant with the Donald Trump hair. And the Lebanese family, in the city for the day on business, that insisted I join their table for lunch when I couldn't find a seat for lunch one day.
Two of my young students, both boys, who would walk with me to Jisr Rais to catch our services after class and ask me also sorts of hysterically bizarre things about the U.S. and life.
The kids I taught English to who would only call me "Teacher" and possibly never learned my real name. They were both fascinated and amused to hear me speak Arabic outside of class. To them it was my "dog & pony show".
The awesome, remarkable Syrian women I worked with at FIRDOS who are/were trying to change their country for the better.
Abu Muhammad in the canteen at the University. The man cared enough to buy mammoul, even if I was one of the few people buying it, and apologized when he was out. Just don't drink his coffee.
The Umayyad Mosque. One of my favorite structures built my humans. Every time I went there I found something I had missed. One of the best places to simply sit, watch, and take it all in for hours. Magic.
My friend Fatima's father joking that I would marry his son, Abudeh. He's not yet 10. Dad's plan included his young son moving to America and being elected President and, he said, "Then you'll be like Hilary Clinton."
Making taxi drivers guess where I was from. They never guessed correctly. Usual response: "You cannot be American. You speak Arabic!"
The top-heavy bodybuilder who ran the tiny shop downstairs from my apartment and always wanted to talk about anything and everything.
The Shi'a pilgrims who deemed me, the girl in the screaming pink scarf sitting outside the Umayyad mosque at 6am, more interesting than their tour guide and his portable amp and just stared at me and refused to smile.
The children playing in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque. Pure joy.
Jogging at al-Jalaa with the soccer teams and house wives and old men.
Lunches in a courtyard that stretch into dinner amidst the narghile smoke and glasses of tea.
Walking the old city early in the morning, just me and the bakers, the smell of baking bread everywhere. Finding shrines in every nook and cranny.
Speaking Arabic.
The little old woman who lived next door to the hovel laughing when I said the dark carnelian sky of the sandstorm made me feel as though we'd landed on Mars as we stood in our shared doorway to the alley and marveled at the world turned to mud.
Seeing Zara in concert at the opera house and The Epic of Gilgamesh performed at the Workers Union Theater.
Showing up a day early and alone to an exhibit of paintings at the National Museum and being let in by the curator as she was setting up and who kept coming over to talk with me about the artists and their works.
(sigh)
Salaam.
12 June, 2007
For Boulos Maamari & Haitham Suleiman
The news of these two men's deaths (thanks Golaniya)has hung over my head for the last few days. They were their to help. So much is going on "over there" right now. Whether Gaza, Tripoli, Baghdad, Iran or Damascus, it's all leaving me angry, depressed, worried...And then you wake up to read this. Enough to make you want to scream.
I miss Damascus, but things are changing and not always for the better with housing in short and expensive supply and food prices and overall inflation on the rise. Read this report on the refugee crisis there, please (you can download the entire report). I am left wondering what I will find when I return there . Not that things are all that great here, either, with housing & health care just two examples.
I don't want to sit here, feeling powerless, and harp on how terrible things are. I've sat through enough meetings like that, thank you. I'd rather circle the wagons with like minded individuals and start talking about constructive responses and get out there and get to work. Any takers?
Salaam.
I miss Damascus, but things are changing and not always for the better with housing in short and expensive supply and food prices and overall inflation on the rise. Read this report on the refugee crisis there, please (you can download the entire report). I am left wondering what I will find when I return there . Not that things are all that great here, either, with housing & health care just two examples.
I don't want to sit here, feeling powerless, and harp on how terrible things are. I've sat through enough meetings like that, thank you. I'd rather circle the wagons with like minded individuals and start talking about constructive responses and get out there and get to work. Any takers?
Salaam.
Newfangled technology...Aaarrrggh!
I do not own a mobile phone. People look at me as though I am downright mad when I tell them this. This is the only mobile I'll consider buying (at least stateside). Did I ever mention I wanted to be a pirate when I was a little girl? Or a mermaid. Or both....
Salaam.
Aaarrghh.
Salaam.
Aaarrghh.
How the U.S. Military Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gays
I saw this story last night I had a difficult time believing it. I still do. Yet there's plenty of press
on it today. It really does sound like something from The Onion. Or maybe Austin Powers. So, you have the U.S. military trying to "turn" their enemies gay (and/or flatulent). What are we in sixth grade? Maybe we can give the enemy cooties while we're at it! If that was to be the strategy, can all those Arabic linguists get their jobs back, guys? Or is it still not o.k. to be gay in this military, rather only o.k. to be gay if this military is trying to defeat/kill you? Is there a lesbian bomb? And, as J. Robert Oppenheimer told us about nukes, you can't put that genie back in the bottle and the world would be changed forever. Gay bomb secrets would be leaked leading to gay bomb stalemates in the world's hot spots...Next thing you know somebody like North Korea or Iran will have the gay bomb!
I am exceptionally intrigued as to the feedback I'll get on this from those of my friends who are gay and lesbian because this story is causing my brain to come up with all sorts of silly, silly vignettes.
Salaam.
Update: Email response from a friend who is a lesbian:
"so far the lesbian response (all 3 of us) has been delight (and all of us
want to drop that bomb) -- none of that "how dare they say we're not
combat-ready 'cause we're queer" stuff the boys were harping on (who
cares?) I know it's a tired stereotype about both queer men and
women that all we do is have sex, but in this context it's simply
hysterical :) "
on it today. It really does sound like something from The Onion. Or maybe Austin Powers. So, you have the U.S. military trying to "turn" their enemies gay (and/or flatulent). What are we in sixth grade? Maybe we can give the enemy cooties while we're at it! If that was to be the strategy, can all those Arabic linguists get their jobs back, guys? Or is it still not o.k. to be gay in this military, rather only o.k. to be gay if this military is trying to defeat/kill you? Is there a lesbian bomb? And, as J. Robert Oppenheimer told us about nukes, you can't put that genie back in the bottle and the world would be changed forever. Gay bomb secrets would be leaked leading to gay bomb stalemates in the world's hot spots...Next thing you know somebody like North Korea or Iran will have the gay bomb!
I am exceptionally intrigued as to the feedback I'll get on this from those of my friends who are gay and lesbian because this story is causing my brain to come up with all sorts of silly, silly vignettes.
Salaam.
Update: Email response from a friend who is a lesbian:
"so far the lesbian response (all 3 of us) has been delight (and all of us
want to drop that bomb) -- none of that "how dare they say we're not
combat-ready 'cause we're queer" stuff the boys were harping on (who
cares?) I know it's a tired stereotype about both queer men and
women that all we do is have sex, but in this context it's simply
hysterical :) "
11 June, 2007
Fear
I enjoyed Fareed Zakaria's essay in the June 11 issue of Newsweek, which surprised me with an article on Arab bloggers (specifically Ammar Abdulhamid and Sandmonkey) and Muslim Punk rockers. The latter provided me with one of my favorite quotes of recent days, from Michael Muhammad Knight (who is always a good read), "The Prophet Muhammad was all about smashing idols. And what's more punk rock than that?"
The main thing I liked about Zakaria's essay was that he writes about something I've been trying to engage people in discussion about for the last six years - fear as a cancer that is eating this country alive. Jon Stewart jokes about the "fear music" that accompanies news broadcasts, but he's right. We invaded Iraq because of it. The media caved because of it. Rudy Giuliani has been campaigning for President since September 12, 2001 based on it. An absurd, racist and useless 700 mile wall is being built on our southern border because of it. Bush is still President because of it. The administration has crafted and sold their policies based on it. The real problems facing this country remain unsolved in part due to it. And I shudder to think what lies in store if we don't start dealing with it.
I have been dismayed by some of my experiences with so-called progressive, liberal, and leftist politics in this country. I was told by a local leader of a well-known national environmental group that her group didn't want to partner, as I suggested, with a local neighborhood-based African-American environmental group because "some of our members don't like to go down to that part of town". I walked out and didn't look back. I have heard and corrected anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and "polite" racist comments made by people who consider themselves quite the liberals. If that's what's coming from the "Left", and we know what's coming from the Right, where are the rest of us supposed to make a stand?
I totally understood Cindy Sheehan's anger, frustration and disappointment expressed in her "resignation letter" last week. People ask why I want to head back overseas, especially shocked that I'd like to return to the North Africa and the Middle East. I am not naive. I watched friends in Syria look around at empty hallways before suggesting we instead speak outdoors. There is no "last great place". I love the ideals of this country, I just wish we remembered to act on those ideals more often. I think that's what Ms. Sheehan meant when she wrote, "you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it."
Salaam.
The main thing I liked about Zakaria's essay was that he writes about something I've been trying to engage people in discussion about for the last six years - fear as a cancer that is eating this country alive. Jon Stewart jokes about the "fear music" that accompanies news broadcasts, but he's right. We invaded Iraq because of it. The media caved because of it. Rudy Giuliani has been campaigning for President since September 12, 2001 based on it. An absurd, racist and useless 700 mile wall is being built on our southern border because of it. Bush is still President because of it. The administration has crafted and sold their policies based on it. The real problems facing this country remain unsolved in part due to it. And I shudder to think what lies in store if we don't start dealing with it.
I have been dismayed by some of my experiences with so-called progressive, liberal, and leftist politics in this country. I was told by a local leader of a well-known national environmental group that her group didn't want to partner, as I suggested, with a local neighborhood-based African-American environmental group because "some of our members don't like to go down to that part of town". I walked out and didn't look back. I have heard and corrected anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and "polite" racist comments made by people who consider themselves quite the liberals. If that's what's coming from the "Left", and we know what's coming from the Right, where are the rest of us supposed to make a stand?
I totally understood Cindy Sheehan's anger, frustration and disappointment expressed in her "resignation letter" last week. People ask why I want to head back overseas, especially shocked that I'd like to return to the North Africa and the Middle East. I am not naive. I watched friends in Syria look around at empty hallways before suggesting we instead speak outdoors. There is no "last great place". I love the ideals of this country, I just wish we remembered to act on those ideals more often. I think that's what Ms. Sheehan meant when she wrote, "you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it."
Salaam.
Tom Tancredo, in his own words
A show of hands, please. Who was underwhelmed by last week's presidential debates?
Aside from the elementary school feel of the "raise your hand" questions the overall format left candidates either speechless or grasping at their microphone while trying desperately to condense speeches to soundbites. It was a bit stressful to watch and even my debate bingo wasn't as much fun this time around. Not much of substance got through to those of us on the other side of the glass. And the media failed to call the candidates out on their total misrepresentation of the facts, also known as "lying".
I try to keep the average American in mind as I watch these things; somebody who maybe gets 30 minutes of news a day, but that 30 minutes may include Entertainment Tonight; who can tell you all about Paris' legal travails or the latest inflated local news tragedy, but doesn't know Shi'a from Sunni from Suri or Iraq from Iran from iRack. The average American also probably didn't watch the debates and may or may not vote come November 2008.
After watching the Republicans continue their knock down drag out cage match as to just how much of the Earth they would use to build more Gitmos and the like, I was reminded of a letter I wrote Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo back in 2005. In 2005, during a radio interview, he advocated bombing Mecca in response to a nuclear terrorist attacks on US soil. So while Mitt wants to double the size of Guantanamo and Giuliani wants you to stay vigilant (and scared) that "they" really, really want you dead, Congressman Tancredo is your man if you want real action, I suppose.
I sent him a polite letter and "introduced" him to my lovely and amazing then-mother-in-law who had travelled to Mecca on Hajj a few years earlier and explained the significance of the place and the Hajj. I didn't rant, rave, or call him an idiot, but did ask him to reconsider his views and outlined the reasons such a policy would be rubbish.
Here are some excerpts from Rep. Tancredo's response letter to me, which I found while going through my files this week:
Luckily, it sounds like he's about to quit the presidential campaign. However, he still managed to be elected in the first place and that's disturbing enough for me.
Salaam.
To keep an eye on Tancredo and his unhinged rantings and ravings, go to TancredoWatch.
Aside from the elementary school feel of the "raise your hand" questions the overall format left candidates either speechless or grasping at their microphone while trying desperately to condense speeches to soundbites. It was a bit stressful to watch and even my debate bingo wasn't as much fun this time around. Not much of substance got through to those of us on the other side of the glass. And the media failed to call the candidates out on their total misrepresentation of the facts, also known as "lying".
I try to keep the average American in mind as I watch these things; somebody who maybe gets 30 minutes of news a day, but that 30 minutes may include Entertainment Tonight; who can tell you all about Paris' legal travails or the latest inflated local news tragedy, but doesn't know Shi'a from Sunni from Suri or Iraq from Iran from iRack. The average American also probably didn't watch the debates and may or may not vote come November 2008.
After watching the Republicans continue their knock down drag out cage match as to just how much of the Earth they would use to build more Gitmos and the like, I was reminded of a letter I wrote Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo back in 2005. In 2005, during a radio interview, he advocated bombing Mecca in response to a nuclear terrorist attacks on US soil. So while Mitt wants to double the size of Guantanamo and Giuliani wants you to stay vigilant (and scared) that "they" really, really want you dead, Congressman Tancredo is your man if you want real action, I suppose.
I sent him a polite letter and "introduced" him to my lovely and amazing then-mother-in-law who had travelled to Mecca on Hajj a few years earlier and explained the significance of the place and the Hajj. I didn't rant, rave, or call him an idiot, but did ask him to reconsider his views and outlined the reasons such a policy would be rubbish.
Here are some excerpts from Rep. Tancredo's response letter to me, which I found while going through my files this week:
"My comments have prompted strong reactions from many quarters, but they have also served to start a national dialogue about what options we have to deter al-Qaeda and other would be Islamic terrorists....
Many critics of my statements have characterized then as "offensive," and indeed they may have offended some. But in this battle against fundamentalist Islam, I am hardly preoccupied with political correctness, or who may or may not be offended....
Few can argue that our current approach to this war has deterred fundamentalists from killing Westerners - nor has it prompted moderate Muslims and leaders of Muslim countries to do what is necessary to crack down on extremists in their midst who perpetrate these grisly crimes...
While I realize that some people around the world may be offended by my comments, I do not believe that the U.S. should take any option off the table, regardless of the circumstances....
Fundamentalist Muslims have advocated the destruction of the West since long before the attacks of Sept. 11, long before the Madrid, London and Bali attacks, long before the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, long before the attack on the USS Cole and the 1993 WTC bombing. In many respects, the decision of the Islamic world to acquiesce to these actions and even provide tacit justification for them is just as damaging to global safety and security as the attacks themselves...
Until Islam can bring itself to stop rationalizing terrorist attacks and start repudiating and purging people like [Tariq] Ali and [Dr. George] Hajjar from its ranks who do, this war will continue. And as long as this war goes on, being "offended" should be the least of anyone's worries."
Many critics of my statements have characterized then as "offensive," and indeed they may have offended some. But in this battle against fundamentalist Islam, I am hardly preoccupied with political correctness, or who may or may not be offended....
Few can argue that our current approach to this war has deterred fundamentalists from killing Westerners - nor has it prompted moderate Muslims and leaders of Muslim countries to do what is necessary to crack down on extremists in their midst who perpetrate these grisly crimes...
While I realize that some people around the world may be offended by my comments, I do not believe that the U.S. should take any option off the table, regardless of the circumstances....
Fundamentalist Muslims have advocated the destruction of the West since long before the attacks of Sept. 11, long before the Madrid, London and Bali attacks, long before the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, long before the attack on the USS Cole and the 1993 WTC bombing. In many respects, the decision of the Islamic world to acquiesce to these actions and even provide tacit justification for them is just as damaging to global safety and security as the attacks themselves...
Until Islam can bring itself to stop rationalizing terrorist attacks and start repudiating and purging people like [Tariq] Ali and [Dr. George] Hajjar from its ranks who do, this war will continue. And as long as this war goes on, being "offended" should be the least of anyone's worries."
Luckily, it sounds like he's about to quit the presidential campaign. However, he still managed to be elected in the first place and that's disturbing enough for me.
Salaam.
To keep an eye on Tancredo and his unhinged rantings and ravings, go to TancredoWatch.
05 June, 2007
Bottom time, finally
I knew it had been awhile since I'd been diving, but 5 years is far too long!
While visiting Om-Taromeet last week in parched S. Florida I finally got to go diving after a long dry spell of my own. I've been diving since I was very young and this had been the longest I'd been out of the water. Very sad. I've always believed that my being born human is a bit of a cosmic joke because I am so much more at home in the water.
Last week I was even blessed with flat seas, good visibility, and mild current (we drift dive where I come from). I used to work on dive boats and had suffered my fair share of divers returning to the sport. I was actually a little nervous heading to the dock. Just because you flash an instructor's c-card doesn't mean you're not a total muppet. I am happy to report, at least in regards to diving, I am not a muppet. Seeing the sharks, eels, and turtles (1 Hawksbill, 1 Green, and several gigantic Loggerheads with heads like bowling balls) was like visiting old friends. I just had to write something because I am still blissed about it. No more long dry spells from here on out. It's bad for my gills.
Salaam.
While visiting Om-Taromeet last week in parched S. Florida I finally got to go diving after a long dry spell of my own. I've been diving since I was very young and this had been the longest I'd been out of the water. Very sad. I've always believed that my being born human is a bit of a cosmic joke because I am so much more at home in the water.
Last week I was even blessed with flat seas, good visibility, and mild current (we drift dive where I come from). I used to work on dive boats and had suffered my fair share of divers returning to the sport. I was actually a little nervous heading to the dock. Just because you flash an instructor's c-card doesn't mean you're not a total muppet. I am happy to report, at least in regards to diving, I am not a muppet. Seeing the sharks, eels, and turtles (1 Hawksbill, 1 Green, and several gigantic Loggerheads with heads like bowling balls) was like visiting old friends. I just had to write something because I am still blissed about it. No more long dry spells from here on out. It's bad for my gills.
Salaam.
03 June, 2007
Go Shoot Wafaa Bilal
Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal is almost finished with his instillation/residency, Domestic Tension, at FLATFILEgalleries in Chicago. He's been living in the gallery and at the mercy of web surfers who take aim at him online since May 4th. The virtual paintball game is intended to draw attention to the constant lack of stability and security that are the hallmarks of life in Iraq these days. He'll leave the studio Monday, June 4 at 5pm CST. Go take a look.
Salaam.
Salaam.
01 June, 2007
B-I-N-G-O
Debates will be held in New Hampshire over the next few days between the numerous presidential candidates from the two major political parties in this country. Try to contain your excitement. These practiced, polished, and packaged events are rarely surprising or truly enlightening. However, I'll be watching simply because the field of candidates is so huge and I am willing to listen to what each is selling at this point.
Maybe you'll be paying attention, but how do you engage others in the process?
One trick that's worked well for me is to make the process fun. Because let's face it, the candidates and their handlers certainly won't.
The idea for debate bingo came to me in college. It's a simple and fun way to get your friends to watch and listen to what the candidates are saying. Make a bingo sheet with as many rows and columns as you want. Instead of letters and numbers, fill in the spaces with catchphrases, topics you are interested in, anything you expect to hear during the debate. During the 1996 campaign each card had a space with "Bob Dole refers to self in 3rd person". In the 2000 race some cards had "Lockbox" in honor Al Gore or "gets squinty and patronizing when challenged" for George W. Bush. Filling your cards means you have to do your homework, too. Print them off, invite your friends over, and off you go. Please people, pay attention this time!
Salaam.
Maybe you'll be paying attention, but how do you engage others in the process?
One trick that's worked well for me is to make the process fun. Because let's face it, the candidates and their handlers certainly won't.
The idea for debate bingo came to me in college. It's a simple and fun way to get your friends to watch and listen to what the candidates are saying. Make a bingo sheet with as many rows and columns as you want. Instead of letters and numbers, fill in the spaces with catchphrases, topics you are interested in, anything you expect to hear during the debate. During the 1996 campaign each card had a space with "Bob Dole refers to self in 3rd person". In the 2000 race some cards had "Lockbox" in honor Al Gore or "gets squinty and patronizing when challenged" for George W. Bush. Filling your cards means you have to do your homework, too. Print them off, invite your friends over, and off you go. Please people, pay attention this time!
Salaam.
The 'Rare American Imam'
It's late and I have to get up early to help out at Om-Taromeet's elementary school on the last day of the school year, so I don't have anything rich to add for now. However, I did want to share this article from the New York Times about the need for and evolution of the "Rare American Imam", which makes them sound like they're found in game preserves and zoos.
HijabMan, are you listening? We need you! And your balloons!
Salaam.
HijabMan, are you listening? We need you! And your balloons!
Salaam.
29 May, 2007
ممنوع التدخين
No smoking means NO smoking.
Not even narghile/ناركيله , sheesha/شيشه, whatever you want to call it.
It's ALL bad for you. (cough, hack...) And me.
Salaam.
(Cough...)
Not even narghile/ناركيله , sheesha/شيشه, whatever you want to call it.
It's ALL bad for you. (cough, hack...) And me.
Salaam.
(Cough...)
Readings and updates and Dino
Desperate Iraqi Refugees Turn to Sex Trade in Syria
And, in case you missed it a few weeks ago....The Flight From Iraq.
(be sure to look through the multimedia elements, too)
Also, a WHO update on the situation inside Nahr al-Bared and humanitarian responses.
And roughly 4 years and 200,000-500,000 deaths later, President Bush announces new sanctions against the Sudanese government. Because the sanctions already in place had been working so well. And we all know how well sanctions worked in the past in other places. What about sanctions against the enablers?
By the way, the not-so-shocking results of the Syrian referendum were announced...No need to change those welcome signs. It's still Assad's Syria.
Oh, and can I just toss a comment out on this? Here's one response. In addition to everything else the museum is claiming there were dinosaurs on Noah's ark. I used to work on dive boats and we refused to let people bring bananas on board because of the inevitable mess and hazards. Can you imagine what kind of a mess a dinosaurs would cause, two by two? Maybe that's why there are no more unicorns. They say they are interpreting the Bible literally, yet there are no dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible. Om-Taromeet told me last night that when she toured the Mormon museum at Temple Square in Salt Lake City a few years ago she was told dinosaurs never existed. She politely raised her hand and asked the young woman leading the tour if she had visited the Utah Museum of Natural History, with extensive paleontology exhibits and just down the street, or DINOSAUR National Monument in Vernal, Utah. The young woman simply responded, "Well, they're wrong." The new museum also supposedly sports a "light-skinned" creationist and a "dark-skinned" evolutionist. I guess black hat/white hat was too simplistic. To me, this isn't about religion so much as politics in the US these days.
Salaam.
And, in case you missed it a few weeks ago....The Flight From Iraq.
(be sure to look through the multimedia elements, too)
Also, a WHO update on the situation inside Nahr al-Bared and humanitarian responses.
And roughly 4 years and 200,000-500,000 deaths later, President Bush announces new sanctions against the Sudanese government. Because the sanctions already in place had been working so well. And we all know how well sanctions worked in the past in other places. What about sanctions against the enablers?
By the way, the not-so-shocking results of the Syrian referendum were announced...No need to change those welcome signs. It's still Assad's Syria.
Oh, and can I just toss a comment out on this? Here's one response. In addition to everything else the museum is claiming there were dinosaurs on Noah's ark. I used to work on dive boats and we refused to let people bring bananas on board because of the inevitable mess and hazards. Can you imagine what kind of a mess a dinosaurs would cause, two by two? Maybe that's why there are no more unicorns. They say they are interpreting the Bible literally, yet there are no dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible. Om-Taromeet told me last night that when she toured the Mormon museum at Temple Square in Salt Lake City a few years ago she was told dinosaurs never existed. She politely raised her hand and asked the young woman leading the tour if she had visited the Utah Museum of Natural History, with extensive paleontology exhibits and just down the street, or DINOSAUR National Monument in Vernal, Utah. The young woman simply responded, "Well, they're wrong." The new museum also supposedly sports a "light-skinned" creationist and a "dark-skinned" evolutionist. I guess black hat/white hat was too simplistic. To me, this isn't about religion so much as politics in the US these days.
Salaam.
27 May, 2007
Referendum Day
Asma al-Assad, wife ofSyrian President Bashar al-Assad casts her vote.
(photo from Middle East Online)
Technically, it's probably over by now, but today was the day for the national referendum on President Bashar Al-Assad. Opposition has called for a boycott. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I suspect they'll not need to change the signs at the border and airport welcoming you to "Assad's Syria". Just a guess. The parliament is to announce the results on Monday. There are plenty who can speak to it better than I and I look forward to reading their responses over the next few days.
Meanwhile in Lebanon, all but forgotten in the US news cycle except for the mention of hastily proffered US military aid, the situation remains critical in Nahr al-Bared. The Lebanese Army is supposedly refusing to allow aid into the camp and there is an action being organized for tomorrow outside the camp by relief workers trying to get aid to residents remaining inside. Also, be sure to read the latest from Electronic Intifada and Palestine for Us. Remember, just because it doesn't make the news doesn't mean it's over.
Salaam.
Sadness
According to the BBC, one of Iraq's leading calligraphers, Khalil al-Zahawi, was shot dead outside his home in Baghdad on Saturday. I am not an expert on calligraphy and was not familiar with his work. What does the loss of an artist mean to a country which has lost so much already? Why was he targeted? I don't know....It just leaves me sad.
Salaam.
Salaam.
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