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Month: August 2014

  • “Baghdadi Denial Syndrome” -Now Media

     

    Very important essay. The only people hurt by conspiracy theories are those that hide behind them. There is much more to reveal about IS over time, but like Bin Laden and those sad conspiracy theories, the truth will be even harder for the Arab world to bear. Honest self examination is the only path forward. It is amazing to me how many people expect the Jews to self examine about Israel yet when it comes to this horrific stage of the Arab Muslim history these folks need to invent Hitler like insanity to avoid hard realities. But change is coming to this region and it will be horrific until the blaming of others becomes less important than the reconciliation of warring Muslims.

    NOW, Baghdadi Denial Syndrome by Hussein Ibish

    One of the most alarming features of Arab responses to the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and

    …

  • The Brain War

    Boy with flag
    An international outpouring of grief over unnecessary human losses from depression has led to a startling conclusion: the truth that occurs to the human brain is often absolutely not the truth.
    The same can be said of the human brain on war and the human brain on nationalism. The brain on nationalism is a brain on cocaine. is a brain bent on unreality. is a brain that is damaged.
    The human brain on nationalism finds it impossible to express anything. to experience any new fact other then in how it affects the balance of power between his nationalism and everyone else’s nationalism.
    There could be a statement on a flower and it will be reinterpreted in terms of national defense, national attack, national opportunity.
    I am persuaded by extensive evidence that most human brains are capable of being rewired. But it takes hard work and the failure to do so …

  • Midnight Reflections on Ancient Words

    Sarkoy Moon rs

    Midnight Reflections on the ancient words of the prophets of these Abrahamic lands:

    Not impressed by the blood of your sacrifices. But a good struggle for the human rights of the children, the orphans, the widows, the hungry, the oppressed, whatever their religion, language or ethnicity? Now that would impress the hell out of me.

     

    (Photo: Life in the Middle East)…

  • Bankruptcy / Exercise of Power in a Time of War

     

    BANKRUPTCY

    The moment the country says, they made me do it, you know you are in a morally bankrupt situation.
    The moment the country says the other side is worse, start sheltering the women and children.

    REFLECTIONS ON THE EXERCISE OF POWER IN A TIME OF WAR

    Hold on to both justice and love at the same time. Few people can.
    Inspired by Cyrus of Persia: Loving your enemy is not necessarily for ethical reasons. It is often the best strategy.

    love and justice

     

    (Photo: Rubicon.dk)…

  • Reflection on Yazidis

     

     

    I am starting to understand the human sacrifice of this people to the so-called Islamic State. They are loved by no one because they are not Muslim, falsely accused of being devil worshippers for having a different theology related to but different than the Islamic narrative, neither Sunni nor Shia. The Kurds have protected them, as they bravely do other minorities, and the Americans protected them, all from Sunni extremists funded by the Arab Gulf. Kurdistan is one of the last hopes of this region.

    …

  • War Repetition Compulsion

    clouds_light_dark1
    Beware of dark texts, images and thoughts,
    That repeat themselves involuntarily
    in your mind.
    They are the bars,
    On the windows,
    Of the prison,
    Of your mind.
    New thoughts, texts and images,
    Are your tunnels,
    To freedom,
    Your escape
    To peace.

     

    (Photo source: Engines of Our Ingenuity)…

  • Ideology and Tyranny / Mourning the Past

     

    candles

    IDEOLOGY AND TYRANNY 

    Ideology is always in the service of a power that becomes tyranny. Followers do not see it coming, as they are too busy defeating the first tyranny.

    Political Islam and Military Islam are dying a rapid death on the streets of Mosul that is reverberating everywhere, but they will revive in each and every place where tyranny and oppression reign. That includes the West Bank and Gaza.

    MOURNING THE PAST

    It is better to deny the past in fear and embrace the present with courage than it is to embrace the past with courage and deny the present in fear. Better than both is embracing the past and the present with courage and generosity.

     

    (Photo source: Wallcoo.net)…

  • FB Friending Analysis

     

    facebook-friends-icon

    Interesting, in the hotness of the Gaza war attention (while thousands suffer and die anonymously nearby in Syria and Iraq, for example), it is interesting to watch the evolution of thinking day to day under a microscope. I find myself to be a magnet for positive rational thinking these days in terms of FB friending patterns, not that I necessarily deserve that. I am impressed at the number of people seeking to friend me in recent days who trust neither Hamas nor Israel to protect the people of Palestine or build a better future, and putting lots of thought on which parties could do this. This is a good direction of thought. One theme emerging is that very few people are buying the idea that Israel has at this point a decent plan for the future, but also, one man, one vote one time of political Islam and military …

  • Mirror Neurons and the Missing Middle / Armor

     

    MIRROR NEURONS AND THE MISSING MIDDLE

    Mimicry, the compulsion of humans to mirror their postures, facial expressions, and enemy war cries. Hence, many recent posts on FB and Twitter.

    ARMOR

    Wisdom says welcome criticism, but thin skin cracks and bleeds. The
    violent one has a thin skin, which is why he needs steel, but the
    nonviolent one has no need of steel. His skin is strong but steel is
    always piercing it. This is a paradox. It evokes prayer in some.

     …

  • Sins of the Nonviolent

     

    Ghandi

    Warriors carry the sins of violence, of killing the innocent, intentionally and by negligence. But the nonviolent carry sins too, because war is a collective crime and must be understood in its totality as an anti-civilization human phenomenon. The nonviolent play their role. Their sin is the sin of negativity, divestment, emotional distance, bifurcation, polarization, demonization. Divestment and hate are easy but more cowardly. It is the same everywhere. Arabs and muslims walk away from Syria if they are nonviolent, even fellow Syrians. They don’t support. Violent people are guilty of their own crimes but nonviolent are guilty of the sin of negativity, emotional cowardice and selfishness. …

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