The Iraqi Agora

History was yesterday. Let's learn together together today, so we don't needlessly die tomorrow. Killing won't create the proper example for democracy to flourish. But we are here now, so what will we do with this moment? Allow for the status quo of the last several years to continue? Or learn that hearts and minds are more important than money, prestige, power...and geostrategic control of resources and land-masses. If you are Iraqi or Afghani, what is in your heart or mind at this moment? Are you inside Iraq or Afghanistan? If you're reading this, probably not. So this is directed at another audience. From some extremely hard-working and diligent members of that audience... So, this anniversary will not mark a moment of silence. But it will mark a moment of candor.

A friend of mine, a history professor at Stanford, researched with his Afghan-born associate at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C Atiq Sarwari and some of their findings were published in the Los Angeles Times. Here are two articles ripe for the reading.

First, "Afghanistan Hangs on a Thread" Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2003. This is a PDF, here's it in html.

Second, "Echoes of the Bad Old Days: A return to central rule in proposed constitution slights minorities" appeared on 14 December 2003". I was looking for it online...even on the Los Angeles Times website. Yet it's no where to be found (at least from my computer). So, here's a copy I made from the link I originally read on that day.

There, in those articles, is some sweat and tears from a very dear friend and his associate that I thought are important and extremely poignant and relevant to the moment, to Afghanistan, to Iraq, to both regions, and to the lives of each of us that are so luckily able to read these articles. They spell out some things that politicians and power-brokers don't want people to understand. Why? So in probably 50 years or so our kid's kids will understand it...??? WTF! Why can't we understand it NOW?

What is Afghanistan and what continues to happen there all about? It is truly shrouded in extreme mystery. Special Ops abound. Our proudest fighting machines. Or are they the Marines? Well, I'm slowly learning of an interesting rivalry of the two. It is kind of irrelevant to the point, though. What is Iraq and what continues to happen there all about? First, Iraq is no Afghanistan. And if people think it is, they will be sorely mistaken. Second, could we all agree on acheiving a better degree of transparency in matters of nation states and the workings of a few extremely powerful puppetmasters, especially concerning these two states? (Probably not...yea yea. BUT WHY NOT? Why are these things slipping into oblivion and nobody's counting? What is all this, "We don't do body counts" talk? That is like saying "we don't be human"..."we don't care" "we don't have mothers" "we don't have loved ones" "we don't exist" WE is really the key word here my friends.) So, is transparency a NEGATIVE or POSITIVE thing??? Is DUE PROCESS a NEGATIVE or POSTIVE THING? Is having prostitutes taunt Muslim men for information on an ISLAND in the Carribean the most bright thing at the moment...and in the interest of NATIONAL SECURITY? Is REVEALING JOSEPH WILSON'S WIFE'S NAME IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY?

Can we please have more TRANSPARENCY and PROTECT OUR HUMAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS? (Or is it...SHOULD WE HAVE MORE TRANSPARENCY and PROTECT OUR HUMAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS?)

Is that too much to ask for? Will history ever be told with integrity? Or will people still believe that Iraq had something to do with what happened on 9/11? Will the record EVER be SET STRAIGHT?

Politics has very little to do with truth. But when you're on the ground and you see that things are not quite right, what do you do? Scream because you're a minority? Why not? Scream because you're a majority? Again, why not? Scream just to scream for somebody to hear you? Definitely yes. Will killing more solve anything? Definitely not if you respect the value of human life. Not if you value an Iraqi from any minority or the majority's life as much as you respect an American's life. Will propping up puppets of Iraqi and Afghani blood be in the best interest of each of these supposedly soveriegn states? Of course, there are people with very harmful agendas out there. And perhaps the puppets are good...but if you get rid of ONE DICTATOR, shouldn't you GET RID OF THEM ALL?...And then, what about nation states with harmful agendas that over extend and break the RULE OF LAW? Is rogue en vogue (for both nation-states and "non-state actors")? What is it about preserving one's life that makes us so fatalistic as to create negatives and then proceed to prove them in a stunningly crypto-fascist manner by bombing people that created writing and civilization into a so-called democracy? Somebody had to ask it. And why not an Iraqi-American? Who are Americans to say that we are democratic? Well, I can say these things and point out certain information. So, that is of truly great worth. But will I be seen as an enemy of the state for being frank with people in the democratic forum that is the internet by searching for facts that lead to more sanity in this world? What is it that makes the Patriot Act so Orwellian? Is this the Brave New World Huxley warned us of? Why do we invite it so willingly? (Indeed, I have many questions. And I want to preserve the right to keep on asking them. That is precisely why I am asking them...because I can.)

WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE? Read my lips...no new wars. Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what you can do for your community and the world.

I asked somebody that was in charge of Nike Hercules' (Nuclear Artillary Systems that lined the East Coast...it is no secret anymore) during the cold war about what he thought about the next 50-100 years. I ask him, "What will be the role of the nation-state and the idea of borders in the next 50 to 100 years? He said that there will either be very few or we'll be back in the dark ages. Now what does that tell you? It tells you just one person's idea...one person that had his finger on a button that could have led to a very warm war indeed. A person who's only job was to protect the borders of the United States against Soviet agression.

Well...I suggest if anybody would like to have a life, to be indifferent to injustices.

BUT to be accepting and to be passive are two totally different things.

Which are you?

And what do you think about that same question? Yes, I'm asking you.
...


I love Tiger Woods.

Borders? Bring em' down like Tiger did. I love to hear him destroy other golfers on the golf course...and he doesn't hurt anybody.

We need to defend ourselves, but will our "defense" lead to our destruction?

Again, somebody has to ask these things. So, I'm asking.

Priceless.


This anniversary means nothing when you cannot walk down the street at night in your neighborhood.



lim

The war profiteers Chalabi and his associates that pushed the war in the Pentagon must be kicked out. They are not making the situation better. In other words, if they stick around, Iraq, Iraqis, and the region are in serious trouble. But America doesn't really care about the region as long as the oil flows at a higher rate each day. The day the interim constitution was signed the oil levels in iraq were reported to have reached pre-war levels. Which headline is more important to the western world? Of course, the latter. But OIL is a finite source of energy to be exploited for major profit by hallibOrton and other non-bid winning contractors...tho many oil fields are "unexploited"...I believe it's such a peculiar word to use when referring to Iraq in any manner. UNEXPLOITED???

I hate to be all gloom and doom. But what is true is true. Like "Sam" (Salem) Chalabi told my sister in London that she should "go back to America...that [she] will never make it in London." Well, "Sam" needs to go back to London, because he'll never make it in Iraq. My sister DID make it in London, though... dirt on my shoe, you.... ....but "Sam", his Uncle, and cheney, wolfy, rummy, and anaconda's war made London less safe. (What a deliberate and willing tool you are.) Who could deny that but the slickster puppet mouth Tony Blair? Livingstone might tell a different story...Mr. Mayor? Joining Labour or what?

Then you say you gave Iraqis liberation? You are not from Iraq "Sam". and you were one of the "principle writers of the interim constitution" that does nothing but say Book'rah (tomorrow) to everything. We know there'll be tomorrow at this rate. Where's liberation? I cannot even call my family in Baghdad yet. I know I know, the BBC poll...but what about the Pew Research Center poll? Isn't that the guage for the current admin?

The real scare is when all the SYMBOLS of saddam are destroyed and Iraqis look for and find a different source of their current troubles. What will become the most hated symbols, then? And what will be inflicted on these symbols, be them animated(human) or unanimated(objects)?

Liminal

His novel, "The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist"

Let us be bent on happiness and survival. Let us rise up together and be true to ourselves. He died in 1998, but with him...not the hope for a better future in the Arab World. That was when I was very troubled by what Clinton was doing in Iraq (Sudan style bombings). Let us all be pessoptimists...and discover ourselves. Discover how to speak out. How to help one another. How to unite. How to turn from collaborator to a true countrymen and women. Let us make collaboration a clean word again. Let there be some peace, please...for God's sake. It's so easy for me to sit from here and say this...but we must work together. But we must travel this road and learn together, too. Laysh? Ya Laysh? min Iraa' le Philustine? Why do we continue to be manipulated by outside forces? I think we must learn this road together and refuse to be accepted as second class citizens of this world. When ihath says, "Don't Shoot...I have another story to tell you." I echo that sentiment. Iraqi bloggers are all bridges...priveleged people. Some bridges are more stable than others ( possibly interpreted, if you like to think of the architecture of a bridge, that some have family on the other side (in Iraq mostly) that we worry about constantly and some don't.) Of course, if we have family in Iraq we are more worried. Funny how LOGIC works. So... Where does self-interest lie? Does self interest lie? (harhar) Of course. Let us put that aside and become naive and innocent, once more, like Saeed. Let us be PESSOPTIMISTS that survive and be happy in the end.

lim.

US military says Car. Iraqis say a missile.

US vs IRAQ Is this what will bring security? NO. Reconciliation will...and there needs to be a supplement of truth in order to acheive that goal.

________

does the U.S. take Iraqis for idiots, or is just me? ...Oh, it's that American VS Rest of the World Audience thing. PSYOPSPECIAL part two coming up.

WTF.

>>lim.

So, we have this now. The streets my father walked on when he was my current age. This is the latest site of another terrible tragedy. Will it stop? And when it stops, will it have been worth it? I hope so.


Democracy in Iraq is an Idea...and only exists as one at the moment.
Just Like Palestine as a state is an Idea...and will probably remain so for our lifetimes.



Sorry, my cynicism is palpable at the moment. I feel naive one second, and completely aware the next. But those two things I am certain of at this moment.

Why is DEMOCRACY in IRAQ an IDEA?

Anybody care to answer the question?

I urge those who don't like the propoganda their being fed anywhere you are to CREATE YOUR OWN PROPAGANDA.

HOW?

JUST GO RIGHT NOW, if you have the time, GET OFF THE COMPUTER (or INTERNET) and MAKE A SIGN that says what you WANT TO SEE HAPPENING IN THIS WORLD.

AND PUT IT OUT ON YOUR LAWN.

That's just one example. We must use our voices. STOP BEING SO PASSIVE PEOPLE!!! WHAT IS DEMOCRACY ABOUT? PASSIVITY? NO!

ENGAGE! COMMUNICATE! DO NOT DISCRIMINATE!

ps
I WILL GET TO THE POINT OF HOW I"M SO SICK OF PEOPLE NOT GIVING A SHIT ABOUT AFRICA, or BLACK PEOPLE ANYWHERE FOR THAT MATTER...I"LL GET TO THAT LATER. EMBRACE DIFFERENCE, and there my friends, my habbibis, lies hope.

L to the L

A PsyOps Special Production.

I believe if Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today he would ask, "Who is accountable?" So, that's what I'm asking...I initially wanted to do a better production, but time is short. These are some images. I apologize to all those who have a slow connection...many many images.

I am happy and honored to have met Fayrouz and her Texan/Chilean husband. What an interesting and adorable couple. I've never seen such a large beer in my life. We had a very fun time...I learned a lot of new things about a lot of different topics I couldn't have imagined existed before. Then I went to our family friend's house who are Iranian, IN TEXAS, and met an amazing man of 98 years old who still exercises and translates books from English to Persian and from Persian to Spanish. Another beautiful family! One of my father's best friend is an Iranian surgeon (that escaped the current regime in Iran) who actually served in the Navy Reserves. I ended up talking to his 98 year old uncle (that says he's "27") for hours...and he showed me the 4 books he translated in the last 3 years...and recommended others that he was translating. I was enamoured by his vitality. Fayrouz' husband and he had interesting commonalities...wow, when I think of it. Fascinating and overwhelming day to say the least.

So, indeed, my sister is married to a Texan Republican from a fine family. I love his family so much. His grandfather is such a gracious man. I only wish to approach his stature and kindness. My sis' husband seems suspect of me (or maybe he was just tired because of not sleeping for the first 10 days from baby girl being born)...he seems suspect because our politics are practically opposite. But it makes for interesting conversation that leads to nowhere...always. That's okay though.

They got married a month after 9/11 happened. They were in love. You can't stop love. And I love him for loving my sister. My sister was of course against the war...and they had many arguments because of it. Why was she against it? Because we had so much family smack in the middle of Baghdad. LOGIC, U know? But it is an insane trip into another reality being around them now that I have such a beautiful neice. Talking politics is almost out of the question. I'm so lucky when I come to think of it. But I want to make it easy for her to understand who she is...unlike myself who went through quite difficult times in my life because of all the wars and sanctions I've seen in person or witnessed on TV. Talk about psychological warfare and identity crises. I don't want my neice to see such times. I want her to be proud of who she is at all times. And I'll make sure she will be. I bought her a really cute white dress with purple flowers on it with a matching sweater, pants, and socks...oh and a hat. I love her so so much. I could go on and on about her! She is a bridge, really. And such a cute & delicate bridge at that...but with love and Mommy's food she's going to be a strong girl! And for the record, I would like to announce the following: My approximately 40 family members in Iraq, from my father's side, are Assyrian Orthodox. We are Christians. Old-School Christians. YES, INDEED, THERE ARE CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ!!! AND WE ROCK! But most of our friends ( U SEE, we are a minority) are Muslims. There is a whole stigma thing between Iraqi Christians and Muslims still...and I want to bust that up into peices so that Iraqi Christians will not all FLEE Iraq. That would be an absolute travesty. I firmly believe it is avoidable. But it will be extremely difficult. We must join hands with our Muslim (SHIA AND SUNNI), Turkoman, and Kurdish brothers and sisters.

And I don't think Fayrouz and I disagree on everything. That is my point of view, at least. I think she believes Chalabi is the "worst" (if I'm using your words correctly, Fay)... Let me know if I'm mistaken. I'll correct it on here if you like. (I probably wouldn't have had the gaul to meet with Fayrouz if we didn't have some views in common. And it was a mutual decision to meet. We were both full well in control of meeting with one another!!! It wasn't just your decision...see we're arguing still. LOL ) This is interesting now, tho...Two Iraqi bloggers meeting. It was a fascinating experience.

And Fayrouz is right...Iraqis are a special breed. We are a great people with a special sense or something. I don't think "craziness" is a good word to use in any combination tho, LOL. We have been through a lot. And that affects us and makes us very sceptical and cautious of others, even outside Iraq. We do maintain our sense of culture even when we leave Iraq. And it is there even if we haven't lived in Iraq our whole lives--if you're lucky enough to have the means and the love from family or spouse relations to maintain this sense of honor and dignity. Honor is essential for Iraqis. And if you turn on one, it can be tricky or easy like Fay said. Usually, it works out. That is encouraging. Fayrouz has been through a lot and fortunately doesn't have family in Iraq (again, correct me if I'm wrong). And, me, like I said... I have a lot of family still in Iraq. So I must remain anonymous...I don't care how easy it is to track me down. If you can be 1 percent more cautious, than I prefer that...And plus it is my duty to my father because he is concerned. And this is a part of Iraqi honor. I almost told my father today, after he got very concerned about my blog again, that I would stop doing it completely (this was during Fay and I's disagreement). I have no choice but to uphold the honor toward my father and mother as much as I can. Sidenote: It's always heart-warming to see NIPR.MIL coming to this blog and bakazay everyday. Welcome! How are you guys/gals??? :)

Again, for emphasis and so people get to know my family a bit better...I want everybody to know that I am Christian (well, from a Christian family...I am, at the moment, a philosopher and cultural theorist, tho) and there are a lot of Christians (especially in south Iraq) being tormented since the Invasion. My family is Christian...they are in danger and in more danger each day. The INC is not N-I-C-E to anybody though...and it seems they don't discriminate between any ethnicity or religion. Free Iraqi Forces??? Isn't that what they call chalabi's army? Please people...they are a para-militaries. And whomever calls what is going on a liberation is wrong at this point. Until there is security there is no liberation. And democracy in Iraq? Don't make me puke. Dream on for the time being. But dialogue is the first ongoing step in a long and painful process. We absolutely cannot stop communicating with one another. We are extremely priveleged to speak out on the Internet. But I hope this empowers other Iraqis, Iraqi-Americans, Iraqi-Canadians, Iraqi-Australians, Iraqi-New Zealanders, and Iraqis that have been displaced or harmed to SPEAK OUT. Tell your story. I'm slowly learning how to blog. And I will tell you mine.

So this is an ode to all those PsyOps Warriors, including the archetype Rummy. We love you baby.

Liminal

I do not endorse this silly joke of a temporary constitution. It will serve only to divide. I've read most of it now...and, please please please.

What fool's gold for the expat slime balls. They will grab for it. But because they are such slime, it will slip from their grasp.
And I'm not saying they will not get what the power they tickle each other for illegitamately.

Because they most probably will. Let's be realistic. When u got rummy in the rear payin you up to the tune of 340,000 clams a month and still saying they will find wmd (or plant them...that what the "officeof special plans" means to most iraqis, to be blunt)...you're willingly on the side of using iraq as an experiment for future warfare. the Lebanese expt. failed miserably...so now they have a flat city with a bunch of doors to knock on.

But they have no clue what kind of deep shit they r in if they don't reconcile the military mindset with the cultural sensitivities.



click left for video


what's so funny??? hm?

and this is just politics...ha. duugin cheb ya chalabi

lim

Click here to read it. Integrate and streamline for knowledge to spread faster and with more ease.
The anniversary approaches.

God bless those in Spain...my thoughts and my mentor from my higher education are with you at this terrifying moment. I hope they are all right...I'm so frightened for them because they're schedule coincided with these tragic events. I have yet to hear from any body in Spain. Bless you from the bottom of my heart...and from all my family.

_______________________________

A Story I was afraid to tell (i repost it here for those that dont want to click again to bakazay):

My Cousin >THANK GOD< Missed Being A Casualty of the UN bombing by minutes BECAUSE Women have lost their RIGHTS in IRAQ
She needed an escort each day to work for Mr. de Mello. Ergo, with emphasis, she had to leave work a bit early each day with an escort because it was too dangerous for her without a male relative or friend to drive her home. So she was saved because she lost her rights. Does that blow your mind? It still blows my mind. The year anniversary is approaching...and so are many problems that many wish to ignore in these dynamic times. U tell me something good that is happening in Iraq and I can tell you 5-10 things bad that are happening as a direct result of this war without an end. Now, what we do is crucial to how the situation in Iraq and the world at-large either improves or deteriorates. God bless those in Spain that have suffered...God bless their families and friends too. Why? Did it have to be this way? And why do ridiculous and avoidable mistakes continue to be made? Do I have the right as an American and a deeply concerned Iraqi to ask these questions? We must speak out. We must tell our stories. Or else we are nothing...we fade away into history similar, in a way, like the Japanese at the Internment Camps. But they never had the chance to so quickly state their case and tell their stories. We are marginal and meaningless when divided. When united, our voice may be a beacon of light to empower Iraqis to actively seek a brighter future one day at a time...for security, for peace. So, to accomplish this we must be efficient and willing to sacrifice some time, some peice of mind, and take care of our loved ones at all costs necessary.

I was speaking with my dear brother today and he asked me what was the percentage of the population of Spain that were on the street protesting. We came up with a rough number of 15-25 percent, between 6-12 million people out of just over 40 million people. We both said we want and wish the same percentage of people to go out on to the streets in a non-violent manner and protest this war without an end, here, in the US. That would be roughly 40-75 million people. We laugh at each other in frustration. But then part each other with words of encouragement. And encouragement is all I shall ever offer anybody that will tell THEIR story. Make no mistake, my dear friends. Tell YOUR story. Furor scribendi!!! LOVE PEOPLE not places. DO NOT just love what you can GET OUT of people or places.

Story time: (here's an outline, will finish in prose later...I just cannot believe it and I got to get this up on the blog.)

My sister N. is an extremely intelligent and ambitious Iraqi woman that has degrees, both law and business graduate degrees, coming from some of the best schools in the world. She met with Salem "Sam" Chalabi because of a Clifford Ch. connection through a friend of the family (who is not Iraqi,) so that she may possibly work for this Firm...one of the biggest and most reknown in the world. Now, it gets personal. Turns out he ("Sam" Chalabi) treats my sister like shit from the very first moment he meets her. This is, of course, still a subjective account of his treatment of her. But there is specific empirical evidence that I may point to that shows beyond a doubt that the guy is a complete asshole. And nobody treats my sister like this...I don't care who it is. Yes yes, I am an over-protective Iraqi brother. Mind you, I wish no harm upon anybody. That is not the manner to solve such situations. But he better apologize to my sister for being such an asshole. But, of course, I doubt that will ever happen...unless his home freezes over. Boy oh Boy do I have a mouthful more to say about this first-hand account of such a self-righteous asswipe. In time, my friends...in time...I just found this out today.

I'll flesh out the story later. But for now...that lifts a bit of the burden of this entirely new news off of me.

Check this article out. (also a hlink below)

It's about time the mainstream press grabs onto the hypocrisy and actually writes soemthing about it.

Chalabi wants to be "everybody's man" because that's the only way he'll have an iota of power after sovereignty is "transferred"....uhm'ah bih'ain'OH!!! What a power-hungry butt-muncher. heeheeeeee....Reminds me of Gollum, not Smeagol mind you. Only the Gollum side of that creature.

And the Pentagon seems to still like him that way. Even after all the uproar about his role in providing "evidence" of WMD. Their own little willing-scapegoat, insatiably power-hungry, Iraqi ex-pat that has a nephew that's opened up business with Douglas Feith in Iraq already. (Beside (Salem, that is) being one of the principle writers of the interim constitution who walked out of the signing of it after women got their rights back and sistani objected (?) --but Sistani did for other reasons, I know I know. [anyway...pardon me, but really, what the hell is going on?]--remember that name Salem Chalabi--Google him if you have the time.) This guardian article by Brian Whitaker includes some good background of what I speak of above. Imagine the Likud party in Israel and what I like to call the Chalabites in Iraq. A match made in... well, depending upon what perspective you have....

Here's the slate article again. And here's a Newsday article that has some more information for you, my Habibis.

ma'ahsalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaama

L to the L

Zbigniew Brzezinski was the national security advisor for President Carter. That aside, the man wrote a compelling book called "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives" that I recommend for anybody to check out. There are excerpts of it all over the place online. Google it. It verges upon prophecy at times. But it's intelligently written and ominous. Not to mention it was a book that was put on some sort of "watch-list" to see who would check it out of libraries in the US. A friend and I read this book in 1998...you could imagine, if you've read it, what I'm talking about when I say it is ominous. At the time, though, we photocopied the entire book because we didn't want our precccccious (heehee) US gov. to know we knew what was in it. You see, we were visionary revolutionaries or idealistic youths...either or. harhar matey! Or better yet, casting bad conotations aside, visionary youths. Now Brzezinski has contributed to the NY Times, tomorrow's edition, 8 March 2004 with a peice called, "The Wrong Way to Sell Democracy to the Arab World" It's worth a read...(click!)

Torshe, as for who did it?...who knows. confusion seems deliberately rampant. my gut tells me something smells funny, but my heart tells me that worse things may approach yet...and this is but a normal step in an already sick situation. I'm blunt mitil imm'i...what can i say. my brain...well, my brain is just filled with too much information regarding the incident. dissemination underway...brain working like the hourglass on the screen. i hate that.

and just to make this clear. i am a very spiritual person...but particular religion (systems) slow down my ability to render my thoughts discernable to others in a manageable, coherent, and dignified way...and, it's a matter of my age I think. I'm not mature enough to just say, "oh yea, the One God...He is Him...and All..." I say, for instance, why cant He be a She? Why does He have to have long hair and look like that? I must question everything....And so, right now, I'm a philosopher and I will remain one until I get "born-again", God speaks to me, or something like that...seriously. I'm being serious...religion makes things simple and more cumbersome at the same time. I greatly admire those with faith in any monotheistic religion...or any religion for that matter (that believes in good, honor, dignity, and things of this nature). My family are many of these wonderful people. But I'm too curious to resign to any particular religion. I do enjoy the Assyrian Orthodox mass that i grew up with...the remarkable chanting in Aramaic, Latin and Arabic, the traditions are so vivid and beautiful...what fabulous spectacles that send chills down my spine just thinking about! And finally, I do believe in something greater...and this always keeps hope alive in me. And that something greater cannot be articulated as a person living on earth. So, Bush, Cheney, Feith, Perle, Ken Lay, Martha Stewart, Michael Jackson, and even the Pope (pardon me to all the Catholics reading this)...NO, sorry. they are not greater than you or I. In the event God exists...(lets assume this)...He or She or It is everywhere. God touches everything...and He/She/It neither leaves a single soul behind....nor nothing out. I repeat, God is everywhere.

ominscience and omnipotence...is that what God is about or only part of what God is about? Answer me this. Isn't this too simple-minded? or is it just me? I know...big question that must meet many interpretations, but try to answer it as in exercise in your faith. And of course, I'll be most interested to hear your replies. Email me.

loveoverfear

small advice: celebrate difference! do not make it a point to divide peoples...brothers should NOT kill brothers as they did in Lebanon. We must avoid this type of situation at all costs.

L to the L

Salam is fine.

And me...ha! I was writing, "God be with you"....me of all people. But, I was honestly scared...and when you see the terrible events unfold in the ever-over-dramatized manner as they were on Arab and Western media...well, you can't help but fear the worst.

Those of you who wrote...thank you. I'm sure Salam appreciates it. (I can't guarantee that tho! lol :) )

Sounds like Kerbala was an amazing experience...and my father tells me so many stories about that place....don't start me.

So all is well...I'll try to cross post this to Bakazay, but for now....Salam is fine. And we are thankful.

MANY WELL WISHES TO EV'BODY, AND BACK TO THE NITTY GRITTY IN A COUPLE WEEKS...

mA'AH iL sAAALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

L TO THE L

SMELL THAT SMELL....oooo IT'S MOM'S COOKING. Yella, I'm hungry...ciao,
loveoverfear,
liminal

Many in the Iraqi Blogosphere are extremely concerned about Salam, his family, their whereabouts and well-being. Email me to pass along well-wishes to his friends in the Iraqi Blogosphere and to others that know him. Frankly, I'm freaked out about what has happened. The consequences of this horrific day have yet to resonate across Iraq and the region. And so, I hope both Salam and his kin are safe and in good health. Because many of us knew, River and I...and many many others, according to a post he wrote that he would be making the trip to Karbala with his family this year. So...email me. I will later post these emails on the Agora and my blog, bakazay. We want to know where Salam and his family is and how they are doing as soon as possible.

Ma'ah salaam,
Liminal