06 January 2004
10:27 PM | 
Posted by
Liminal
Economics is human, but is economics humane?
"It seems politically impossible for a capitalist democracy to organize expenditure on the scale necessary to make the grand experiment which would prove my case--except in war conditions." John Maynard Keynes, 29 July 1940
"The old imperialism--exploitation for foreign profit--has no place in our plans." President Harry S. Truman, 20 January 1949
Now read yesterday's article in The Independent by Andrew Gumbel.
If you cannot get to it, just email me...and I'll email you a copy.
I thought this article in The Atlantic Monthly by philanthropist George Soros was interesting and somehow relevant.
Tomorrow I'll post comments about economics and how it relates to the human condition...and specifically, the state of the world.
Right now I'm tired of staring at the screen.
Peace OUT to the righteous, to Mars,
...and to unchartered waters.
04 January 2004
7:10 PM |
Posted by
Liminal
Stalled and Starving For Attention
The blog is moving much slower than I had hoped for, but it will pick up very soon. I am still trying to garner support, encourage people to join (and not be reticent to post), and teach others how to use the blogger interface. I hope by the end of the coming week things will be moving at a stronger pace. Also, I hope to have my own personal blog up and running in the next couple days.
River, your blog about Xmas in Baghdad had a profound impact on me...Especially the typical III (Iraqi Inside Iraq) to IOI (Iraqi Outside Iraq) conversation you so masterfully captured. As far as the rest of your blog, River, it kind of set me reeling and put me in one of the most depressed and more inquisitive moods I've been for some time. So I directed a series of questions to my cousin that has been out of Baghdad about 7-8 years now and who should join in the blog soon, I hope. One of them, was..."Are you happy to be out of the Middle East?" My Uncle and Aunt, his parents, are in Baghdad now and have been throughout all the events. And I just couldn't imagine being in a similar situation, having my parents there while I'm not beside them...and for so long.
Usually, I would be more direct and descriptive...and I know this is an abstraction. And details are needed to understand quite how I was feeling, knowing what was going on in Baghdad at the time and what I anticipate happening in the future. But that's just how I feel now. And, of course, you will get to know me and my perspective better as time passes. Now, all I can say is that Iraq is an abstraction and has been one for me for quite some time. But all the images are so vivid of my last visit, that I cannot help but see things as I imagine them to be now.
Here and there, the abstraction becomes more graspable...with a picture in an email...a short phone call...a smell or taste or particular light that reminds me of it in more tangible terms. But for the most part, in the past several weeks...I can only describe my feelings as an abstraction washing over me and leaving a dirty film of guilt and remorse. Of course, it is not entirely my fault...but I cannot help but feel a level of responsibility. Or sometimes, it is this constant feeling that more could have been done. But I knew this administration had no clue what they were getting into by introducing preventive war in Iraq of all places. I knew that they've been wanting to do it since 1998...as PNAC (Project for a New American Century) so bluntly writes to, then, President Clinton. Now the same "hawks" have a new manifesto , besides "A Clean Break," goading and directing Bush on how to win the war on terror, called "An End to Evil." Read the article from the telegraph that I linked to above to get an idea of what it contains.
I have a lot I've felt and experienced over the past few weeks that were somewhat anticipated and unanticipated. I don't know what the sum of these feelings are quite yet.
All I know is that more shall be done by all that care for Iraq. But first, there is the matter of exposing the truth. And I take this very seriously. There is also the matter of seeing different Iraqi perspectives...Especially, the *real* Iraqis. Not the ones that are there or working outside Iraq for political and monetary war-profiteering. The difference is stark and I look forward to revealing/sharing some of my confrontations and interactions with some of these sort of people in the coming days and weeks. Then there is the matter of being creative and coming up with ideas that lead to tangible and positive things that may alleviate the pangs of three wars. There are many important questions to be asked and answered with regard to this needed creativity. Most of all, though, I look forward for the Agora to be a place for freedom of expression by all its members and a place for fruitful dialectic to be embarked upon. This is a chance we must each seize to build bridges both physical and metaphysical. Whether an III or an IOI, we must make sacrifices, feel empowered, and create a support system that will make 2004 better than 2003.
That's my introduction. I'm liminal. Always have been, always will be!
:) ma'ah salaaama, L.
04 December 2003
10:19 PM |
Posted by
Liminal
Order?
Just getting things in order now...so, this is the space--in its cartographic majesty--that all the fuss is about.
You're going to learn about what is inside and outside it from its most precious of natural resources--the People of Iraq.
Excuse the dramatic interlude, but it's true...click the map below to get a more detailed version.
