Rwanda

I watched Hotel Rwanda. Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim. I feel so hopeless. What the hell is going on in this world.

"People are gonna see this say 'Oh my God, that's horrible!" and then they're gonna go back to enjoying their dinner." Can it be any truer?

Here's something I read from one of my favorite authors about the current situation in Sudan:

"

On the Atrocities in Sudan

by Elie Wiesel

Remarks delivered at the Darfur Emergency Summit, convened at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York on July 14, 2004, by the American Jewish World Service and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Sudan has become today’s world capital of human pain, suffering and agony. There, one part of the population has been – and still is – subjected by another part, the dominating part, to humiliation, hunger and death. For a while, the so-called civilized world knew about it and preferred to look away. Now people know. And so they have no excuse for their passivity bordering on indifference. Those who, like you my friends, try to break the walls of their apathy deserve everyone’s support and everyone’s solidarity.

This gathering was organized by several important bodies. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience (Jerry Fowler), the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, the American Jewish World Service (Ruth Messinger) and several other humanitarian organizations.

As for myself, I have been involved in the efforts to help Sudanese victims for some years. It was a direct or indirect consequence of a millennium lecture I had given in the White House on the subject, “The Perils of Indifference”. After I concluded, a woman in the audience rose and said: “I am from Rwanda.” She asked me how I could explain the international community’s indifference to the Rwandan massacres. I turned to the President who sat at my right and said: “Mr. President, you better answer this question. You know as well as we do that the Rwanda tragedy, which cost from 600,000 to 800,000 victims, innocent men, women and children, could have been averted. Why wasn’t it?” His answer was honest and sincere: “It is true, that tragedy could have been averted. That’s why I went there to apologize in my personal name and in the name of the American people. But I promise you: it will not happen again.”

The next day I received a delegation from Sudan and friends of Sudan, headed by a Sudanese refugee bishop. They informed me that two million Sudanese had already died. They said, “You are now the custodian of the President’s pledge. Let him keep it by helping stop the genocide in Sudan.”

That brutal tragedy is still continuing, now in Sudan’s Darfur region. Now its horrors are shown on television screens and on front pages of influential publications. Congressional delegations, special envoys and humanitarian agencies send back or bring back horror-filled reports from the scene. A million human beings, young and old, have been uprooted, deported. Scores of women are being raped every day, children are dying of disease hunger and violence.

How can a citizen of a free country not pay attention? How can anyone, anywhere not feel outraged? How can a person, whether religious or secular, not be moved by compassion? And above all, how can anyone who remembers remain silent?

As a Jew who does not compare any event to the Holocaust, I feel concerned and challenged by the Sudanese tragedy. We must be involved. How can we reproach the indifference of non-Jews to Jewish suffering if we remain indifferent to another people’s plight?

It happened in Cambodia, then in former Yugoslavia, and in Rwanda, now in Sudan. Asia, Europe, Africa: Three continents have become prisons, killing fields and cemeteries for countless innocent, defenseless populations. Will the plague be allowed to spread?

“Lo taamod al dam réakha” is a Biblical commandment. “Thou shall not stand idly by the shedding of the blood of thy fellow man.” The word is not “akhikha,” thy Jewish brother, but “réakha,” thy fellow human being, be he or she Jewish or not. All are entitled to live with dignity and hope. All are entitled to live without fear and pain.

Not to assist Sudan’s victims today would for me be unworthy of what I have learned from my teachers, my ancestors and my friends, namely that God alone is alone: His creatures must not be.

What pains and hurts me most now is the simultaneity of events. While we sit here and discuss how to behave morally, both individually and collectively, over there, in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan, human beings kill and die.

Should the Sudanese victims feel abandoned and neglected, it would be our fault – and perhaps our guilt.

That’s why we must intervene.

If we do, they and their children will be grateful for us. As will be, through them, our own."

As a side note, fuck the ACLU: http://prisonplanet.com/articles/november2005/301105aclushysters.htm

"How do you boil a frog?

You don't throw the frog into a pot of boiling water, it would immediately jump out. You let the frog sit in warm water and slowly heat the pan until the frog boils to death."
Use this idea in modern-day America.

"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce." James Garfield

“I sincerely believe ... that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” Thomas Jefferson

Auzubillah "major signs will follow each other like pearls falling off of a necklace..."

love - death - american beauty

Thanksgiving...
Weird day today I guess. After this one moment tonight I had to think a lot about what someone said. However insignificant the gesture may be, it really made me think. If it sounds goofy, well, so be it. Fearless isn't the word, yet, you see. Anyway, my family and I went to my uncle's home in Wilton today and all of that good stuff. The part I want to talk about is when I was just sitting in the car talking to Semso about stuff when Nevzeta, my other cousin, comes in. I'm not sure what she said exactly but she was asking him about his love life and how wild he must be with the women. Semso was a little embarrassed or whatever and said, "Oh man you don't know Irf, he's wild as hell with the ladies." I laughed, but saw Nevzeta look at me with some sort of... disgust. It was really subtle, you can't tell these kinds of things unless you know her. But oh not Irfan, he couldn't possibly be human... After that it was a little awkard for like five seconds then she left. It's like Semso is supposed to be some special amazing guy, everyone always has comments like that about him it's amazing. I could never be jealous, that's just fuckin stupid, it's just life and my family.

Because of that encounter I was thinking about my future and whatever else came to my mind. Marriage or my love life was the first thing on my mind. I've always thought I would be the best boyfriend any woman could dream about, except I'm not dumb nor am I the fake image most women want: tough. When I mean tough I'm talking about the stereotypical type of guy that women love. I'm really intimate, I guess. For some reason as much as women beg for some guy that knows how to treat them right, they never end up liking the guy. Whatever, good for you, go get beat up and enjoy your partner's toughness; it's really "attractive."

When I think about marriage and what-not I can think of myself in a few scenarios when I'm older. My first idea is to be the ideal Irfan and be some good looking single guy who "dates" a lot of women. The second idea that sticks is being married and happy, the storybook ending with fireworks at the end. The third idea is the most depressing: to never get married or do anything.
I dream about the first idea sometimes, but I would have a hard time being that person.

The second ending is beautiful I'm sure for the first few years, so I think about the investment bankers on Wall Street.

Personally, I'm fine with being lonely in the third one. I've been that way my whole life and it's quite easy to stay the way I've always been. Sometimes, my family asks when I'll get married and sometimes I say, "Never." to see what they say. I know Nevzeta can disagree quite easily with that one, from what I know I'm guessing she loves it. But I know they'll probably grow bored. If there's anything I'd want it would be to find out some method to stay in love with someone forever. However that may be, that should somehow prove that there is no such thing as true love. There is no "one" that you search for your whole life. Just two things: your heart and mind. It's weird, I'm in love with so many women at the moment. My heart is so easy. I don't consider myself a Casanova, but I can't tell if I would be happy going through with it with all of them or not. Sure, my hormones think so, but what about my superego? So therein lies the problem, should I go all-out or all-in? Most of the advice I hear is something like, "Have a lot of fun and then settle down with some virgin chick." But dude, that's such a bullshit idea. I could believe in something like Eddie Murphy said on "Raw" back in the eighties. You know, about doing whatever you want "and settling down with someone that's just as fucked up as you are." It sounds fair enough, but that's still not enough reason for me to have fun. I know my dad would say some shit like, "What happens there stays there." Because his mind works differently and he's unhappy. I don't understand how you can be such a bastard. Am I the only person that thinks this way? What the hell do I do? I only hope the answer finds me before I find a wrong answer. But maybe there is no answer, you know. Maybe you just do whatever you like. There's no set path to happiness so there probably isn't a set path for love. For some reason I feel like the third path is the only open one and it might regretably lead me to the first option. True love is something that takes place in your mind, not your heart. Your heart just does its job by keeping you alive and giving you the funny feelings when you do love someone. What's the point of explaining these feelings that others have been trying to for thousands of years.

Love
...Is
......Just
.........Complicated.
(Ignore the periods, Blogger has bad formatting. It's from a poem.)

And beautiful. Deep down, I really feel like the second option will come through. I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Today after the feast I watched American Beauty today which played a part in inspiring me to write this. The movie is so weird it's great. I love the double entendre of "American Beauty" and now I know why my English teacher, Sujay Desai, loved it. Two years later from when I actually had his classes. Wow. You should just watch it for yourself. Don't limit yourself, "Man, oh man. Man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man."

As a side accessory here's some lyrics to this song I've been listening to literally for the past few days over and over. Zero 7 - In the waiting line

" Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe
In what you see

Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Different things to me
Different things to me
Different things to me
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can"

Am I?

"When an artist doesn't explain his art, that is pretentious."
I've watched like 4 movies in the past 4 or 5 days. It started with The Shawshank Redemption then it went to Garden State on TV, after that it was the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, followed by Requiem for a Dream, and finally today Donnie Darko. I guess that's five, not four. I have another movie, 21 grams, downloaded. I'll probably watch it tomorrow when I'm out for Thanksgiving break.
God, movies are awsome. I wish my life would end with some sort of storybook ending like in Donnie Darko or Garden State, but I have trouble accepting the fact that this shit is fake. Real life is so boring compared to movie life, but clearly movies are shown for its action otherwise they wouldn't sell. I love the quote at the end of Donnie Darko where he says, "Deus ex machina" I'll leave it to you to figure out the history behind those words.

Something Ironic

Something I found interesting ironically posted on Congress.org:

If I believed in conspiracies, I might believe in one with a scenario that goes something like this:

[*the simplistic version] An Election takes places in this country where a group of very powerful, very rich would-be Autocrats rig and steal the Presidency. Shortly afterwards, a massive terrorist attack takes place, one which is very convenient to the cause of these would-be Autocrats and their ideology. In fact, in their writings they were hoping for a New Pearl Harbor and it was delivered to them in the most dramatic manner. The attack not only was useful in their global imperialistic desire to conquer other nations, but also in their goals to eventually change the very fabric of this nation's government, Constitution and society.
The Autocratic Puppet President and the man pulling the strings behind him, his secretive Vice-President Puppet Master and the Puppet Makers behind them have done all the right things to ensure that the agenda of their Neo-Conservative-National-Socialist Party has infiltrated the government. The Puppet President really believes that "dictatorships are great as long as he is the dictator".
Under the guise of Patriotism, they force Congress to pass an Act which has it's primary focus on eliminating the Rights of the Citizens, not terrorism. In fact, they make it possible to virtually destroy the Right of Habeas Corpus and give themselves the power to declare any Citizen an "enemy combatant", toss them in prison without charges, trial, or any of the legal Rights guaranteed them in the Constitution.
Another Presidential campaign comes and goes, except this time political dissent, free speech and visual opposition are all contained far from the Puppet President's campaign trail. The Autocratic Puppet President is naturally re-elected during war-time and begins his second term.
They then seek to hold more control over the Citizens and have Congress pass a national ID Act, one in which they are able to basically track and gather information on each and every Citizen.
Another disaster hits the nation, this time a natural disaster that is vastly destructive and the response of the agency that manages such disaster is, very conveniently, a dismal failure. The failure of the agency responsible for managing disasters gives the Autocrats a perfect opportunity to eliminate the only law that keeps the Military from being used by the government for domestic law enforcement, and opens the door for the plan to eventually impose martial law upon the nation.
Scandal rocks the Neo-Con-National-Socialist-Party, the war is going poorly, yet the Puppet Makers and their Puppets continue to drive their policies to fulfillment. Patriotism is still the "newspeak" trigger word that they use to inflame the nation for their cause.
With another Presidential Election a couple of years away, the plans of the Neo-Con-Socialist Party must carried out with perfection. Although their man is not allowed by the Constitution to serve as President again, in their minds, that is no reason to remove him from Office.
It is a few months before the election, another convenient attack takes place within a large city, the attack kills tens of thousands of people and the plan is executed. A national emergency is declared, martial law is imposed. Executive Order becomes law, the Constitution, Congress and Supreme Court are suspended. All guns are confiscated from the Citizens, private ownership of gold and silver is declared illegal, all information in the media and on the internet is regulated and now only promotes the Party Propaganda Line. All political dissidents and opposition groups are declared to be "enemy combatants" and are imprisoned.
The Neo-Conservative National Socialist Party is now in absolute power.

*Disclaimer-this story is, of course, just a simplistic work of fiction.

I believe that the Republican Party has been, for all intents and purposes, hijacked by the Neo-Con National Socialist. I also believe that the Democrats and the Republicans are now just two sides of the same coin and they all dance to the tune of Corporate Fascism. While I have been a Republican for decades, I can no longer support the Republican Party nor can I turn my allegiance to the Democratic Party. I can now only support the one Party that has the true interest of the Citizens of this Nation at heart, and that is the Libertarian Party. Although I am not in total agreement with the Libertarian Party, I do believe that they are the Party of the People.'

RfaD

Just saw Requiem for a Dream. Wow... Wow. Fuck drugs, and addictions for that matter.
I think this might have just killed my own. Movies are so powerful.. I'm in awe from the movie, anyways I'll be talking about love in my next post because these thoughts have been in my head for too long to forget about it.

Jon Stewart is

A genius: http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2652831?gtv=12
The legendary performance on Crossfire which probably lead to the show's cancellation. Good riddance. Check out how he owns Tucker near the end, haha.

Tucker Carlson: Moron in disguise.

As some of you may know, Professor Dr. Steven Jones has written a 25-page paper hypothesis as to how the Twin Towers may have fallen. I've been saying what he has for a while, but check out what happens when you mix two absolute negatives: The truth and a propaganda machine, http://infowars.com/articles/sept11/professor_jones_exposes_controlled_demo.htm
You don't have to read the text below the video. I just want to illustrate a point so watch the video. Tucker is scared literally shitless when he hears what the professor is saying. That's not the only part I found funny. There's even more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8063563/#051116a

"When one of my producers first told me about him, my first thought was: Stephen Jones is insane. And he may be. On the other hand, he does have a legitimate job and a responsible-sounding title. He's not living in the park, or writing me letters in crayon. How crazy could he really be? In the interest of open-mindedness, we booked him.
That was probably a mistake...
Professor Jones wasn't up to the job. If you saw last night's show, you know what an uncomfortable six minutes it was. If not, I'll summarize: Jones was almost totally incapable of explaining his own ideas. By the end of the interview I understood no more about his hypothesis than when it began. He was an epically bad guest."

Wow, you're a moron Tucker. "Totally incapable of explaining his own ideas." What the hell? Perhaps he could if you weren't interrupting him every five seconds you ignorant prick. Why didn't you run the clip he asked you with WTC 7 going down? Oh, he showed us beautiful pictures of rubble instead. Tucker didn't even answer him when he asked to show the clip. If you assholes are so damn sure the Twin Towers fell because of the Planes and jet fuel wouldn't you show his video and refute his claim? Obviously you have something to hide. You're a fucking tool Tucker. I'm so pissed at his shit I can't help but swear simply for emphasis. Oh, and take off your gay bowtie too Tucker. It doesn't make you more original or appealing to the viewers ,rather, a brainwashed douchebag...

Next we see this asshole trying to spit out some more propaganda rhetoric here: "
In other words, a lot of people seem to think it's possible that the U.S. government had a hand in bringing down the World Trade Center buildings.

Ponder that for a second: The U.S. government killed more than 3,000 of its own citizens. For no obvious reason. Then lied about it. Then invaded two other countries, killing thousands of their citizens as punishment for a crime they didn't commit.

If you really thought this - or even considered it a possibility - how could you continue to live here? You couldn't. You'd leave the United States on the next available flight and not come back. You'd have no choice. Continuing to pay taxes to a government capable of something so evil would make you complicit in the crime."

Hmm, that makes so much sense!! Oh wait, asshole, you forgot two essential elements: Money and power. "For no obvious reason" should be "In an attempt to scare the American people into submission to give up our rights for security, as well as, an insane budget to go to war with so called terrorists. So called terrorists because they were actually trained by the CIA, I just thought you should know. Anyway, with big events like this big amounts of money can be made like Larry Silverstein and the Oil in Iraq. The attack on America was a jump pad to invade these other countries for reasons other than "punishment." Megalomaniacs are in control of this country. Just ask Dr. Paul Craig Roberts.
"Continuing to pay taxes to a government capable of something so evil would make you complicit in the crime." It wouldn't make us complicit in the crime. We have no idea where our money is going, but it is known that some money actually has gone to training terrorists. Why would we do that anyway? I guess that gives us more reason to not pay taxes.
"Incidentally, we still have an open mind here on the Situation, even after Professor Stephen Jones. So if evidence ever does arise that the government lied substantially about what happened on September 11th, we'll be on it immediately. I promise." I can't explain how much awe I was in reading that. You don't know, at all. The words, "I promise." I don't know what I'm feeling now because it's so new and weird. You didn't even read his paper, did you? Twenty-five pages, and not one struck a cord? Ultimately, thanks for putting the link on your website. You've possibly just converted most of your viewers to the truth so I can't blame you for that, but you're still an asshole. I hope for the non-believers sake most people read this and see right through Tucker's fake voice and see the evidence this great professor presents. GGkthnx.

Interesting write-up: http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/janak/050725
"We are not free so do not kid yourself"
The UN's new slogan should be something like, "Socialistically uniting the world one country at a time."
America has been blinded by keeping her head too close to the TV.