dumb and dumber

When I heard Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad would be visiting New York for the UN General Assembly meeting and wanted to cruise around the city to check out Ground Zero, I was appalled, as were most Americans. To my surprise, even the liberals were with me on this one, including Hillary Clinton and other Democratic officials. When it was announced last week that he would NOT be permitted to visit Ground Zero I was relieved, as it would not make sense for the leader of a terrorist-supporting nation to visit a site devastated by the very terrorism he promotes. Faith in my country restored as WE the Nation stand up to the radical Islamic Facists from the notorious Axis of Evil.

Being immersed in academe for the past several years, I am fully aware of the liberalist environment that it is. Thus after being banned from Ground Zero, Ahmedinejad cooed his way into Columbia University, but with open arms - a shock to many. What have these liberal institutions come to accept as the norm for politically educating one's student body, in the definition of academic freedom? To my surprise, Columbia University's President Lee Bollinger invited AJ to the forum - not to speak, but to be spoken TO, rather bastardized in a public meeting, during which he was their helpless, hopeless, prisoner. What I would have given to be in attendance at that meeting - a paramount event within my discipline - even as a fly on the wall.

Bollinger began the introduction of AJ as a blatant slam to his work as a World Leader (a petty and cruel dictator) and the Islamic Republic of Iran as the most backwards nation (producing uranium for peaceful purposes). Furthermore those present at the forum were reassured that AJ does in fact repeatedly deny the occurrence of historical events such as the Holocaust, or their validity in the academic and political sphere (with no justification or backing of his claims). As if anyone needed to do further research on perhaps the most devastating event in history or justify the already-been-voted-on (see UN vote of 1947) right to exist for the Jewish nation. Just when We the People of the universally deranged mentality thought it could not get any worse, this episode of Dumb and Dumber was injected with a dose of "freedom of speech". One liberal student asked about his support or opposition to homosexuality, in terms of national persecution. AJ responded "We don't have homosexuals" in Iran. "I don't know who told you we had it."

The best part of this Showcase Showdown was that AJ was positioned against a black backdrop - PhotoShop users let us now praise the Magic Wand tool - time for the photoOpp at Ground Zero, or where ever I may decide you belong, you ridiculous fool. Monkeys who keep their head inside their a** and cannot even READ a history book belong in the ZOO, not ruling a COUNTRY. May Peace prevail in the Cold War II, as the US will soon strike a pathetic country whose own leader lives inside a chemically-altered bubble, or a series of lies, a life philosophy common among the entire Arab race.

global unification

Up until a few years ago, I had only traveled throughout America, Canada, and Mexico, though extensively (as well as a month Brazil in 2002). We will henceforth refer to the three aforementioned countries as Camerico = Canada + America + Mexico, as they are soon to merge into one unified country. If you were not aware of this upcoming international governmental decision, it should make sense now why the US has not cracked down on its illegal immigration. The number of Mexicans sneaking across the border to obtain US jobs is growing on a daily basis, thus creating an interesting socio-economic situation in the region. Likewise, American students sneak across the border to bypass the legal drinking age (its 21 in the US but only 19 in Canada, and 18 in MX). Border checkpoints appear to have enforced stricter crossing allowances, requiring a passport in most cases now instead of a simple ID or birth certificate. Canadians frequently deny any association with America, and any propositions regarding this upcoming 3-country merger, although if it weren't for America, they would not be similar in so many ways. Overall it seems that illegal immigration is at an all-time high, and many people wonder why the US Government is not doing anything about it. Some of these people (as if they can somehow influence US policymakers) believe the US border war is more important than the War in Iraq, likely because they are looking through a narrow lens, too miniscule to focus.

Beginning in 2005, I started traveling more away from the continent, to parts of the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East. The first time I left I nearly hated America, and tried to leave as much of my American identity behind as to not be roaming around freely with a big target on my back. I thought everyone hated America, so I tried to open myself to this mentality, but I found it to not necessarily be true in all cases. What I discovered is that most people are striving for a common understanding, and it all boils down to cultural perception. Education and morality contribute to these created paradigms, as do religion, mainstream media coverage and basic people smarts. For example, the people who do not understand the War in Iraq (or America's presence there) are likely the same people who do not fully understand Islam and the Arab culture, having not experienced it first-hand. It is also possible that they are unaware of the troops from many other countries besides the US who are also there participating in this war - but they only hear what they want to hear, and as a result George Bush becomes the global punching bag.

Not long ago, the EU (unification of several adjacent countries, like Camerico) adopted one unified currency as their standard with the Euro, rather than different currencies for each France, Germany, and so forth. Can you imagine one currency for the entire world? What about one religion, such as Islam? This is not far off. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a unification of Mediterranean countries which would undoubtedly be next to adopt the Euro. They would also adopt the EU's foreign policy best practices, and this would give a sense of unification in the region without allowing Turkey to join the EU. So, in general, it really doesn't matter what opinions we as citizens of the world have towards the other countries in the world, because the future is inevitable. We will soon become 10 unified nations, and must love (or destroy?) our neighbors. One thing is for certain, having an open mind and clear understanding about countries other than our own (and including our own), and accepting the fact that we cannot change our governments (or those of other countries) is the first step to a sound perception of global unification.

remember 911

do you remember where you were and what you were doing on Sept 11, 2001? I remember. I was living in a studio in Banker's Hill at the time, and my mom called me at like 7am to tell me this crazy news. She said someone had hijacked 2 airplanes and flown them into the world trade center twin towers, killing hundreds of people. I had never been to New York (I went the following year), so I had no idea where that was, but it sounded pretty crazy. I did not understand WHO would do such a thing, nor could I conceive of such a horrible form of murder (abortion is bad enough). How could anyone HATE AMERICA, what did WE ever do? I had no knowledge of Islam or where these people got off committing such a crime against humanity.

I also had NO knowledge of world affairs at that point in my life - I didn't even watch the LOCAL news for that matter. However, I was really into World Music and Capoeira, preparing for a trip to Brazil a few months later. I was teaching computer classes at the local community college, riding my bike everywhere because I had recently sold my Infiniti QX4 to get out of debt, and that was my life at the time. I remember walking over to Union Bank on 4th and Laurel to watch their TVs so I could see a visual of the catastrophe. Upon seeing this, I attempted to fiddle with my TV which barely worked, just so I could follow the story, and the circumstances surrounding it to which I was oblivious.

somehow my mom convinced me to start going back to church... she said this radical event of 911 marked that the end times are coming, and I should prepare my heart before God. I kind of thought she was preaching, but a friend from Capoeira actually invited me to church around that same time. After all I was raised in the church, and had become complacent about my own beliefs and careless about my lifestyle. Also within that next year my mom convinced me to move back to Phoenix so i would not be in San Diego all alone without any family.

I have come a long way since Sept 11, 2001, and 6 years later now I fully understand what happened and why. the sad part is that most Americans still DO NOT, and buy into all sorts of anti-Government conspiracy theories which are simply not true (thus dividing our country even more in its ethics and values). It took me going over to the Middle East, learning their culture and language, and encountering these people first-hand to gain a clearer understanding of the reality we are faced with. They are not becoming any less of a threat, in fact, their brilliance combined with our ignorance is a hazard to humanity.

feel free to post your thoughts on the comments if you agree, or just take some time today to reflect on your life, and where you were on 911. We have a lot to be thankful for, and its easy to take our freedoms for granted.

islamist enclave

most of the Americans I've encountered within the last few months have little to no idea where Gaza is, or who Hamas is for that matter. I try to explain where I was living in Israel for 9 months, in the Negev Desert about 6 miles from Palestinian territory, the West Bank on one side and the Gaza strip on the other. This begin to register when one looks at a map of the region, but without understanding the history, politics and religion in the area, its still foggier than a San Francisco morning. This is one reason I chose to pursue an MA in Middle East Studies, based on the ignorance of the majority of Americans and in satisfying my own curiosity. Not only is the pursuit of this knowledge culturally awakening, this is the most important region of the world today.

In June 2007 (a few weeks before I left Israel), the Islamist terrorist group HAMAS took over the Gaza Strip by militant force. This is a group which to the public has positioned themselves as an asset to Palestinian society, building schools, community programs, and winning a spot in the Palestinian Government with the election of Ismail Haniya as Palestinian Prime Minister in 2006. His involvement in the higher ranks of the PA official government was short-lived however, as his terrorist ways were displayed even while he was in office. He was arrested and jailed several times for his involvement in radical islamist movements, and was even banned from Palestinian territory - Israeli officials would not let him pass through the Rafah border crossing last year, so he was stuck in Egypt for a while.

Thus it should come as no surprise that Haniya and his masked men were able to pull off the takeover of Gaza, ousting the Fatah (the more contemporary political faction of the PA government) from the territory and banishing them to the West Bank. There Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was forced to create an emergency cabinet to replace Hamas members such as Haniya, thereby denying the terrorist group any future involvement with the Palestinian Authority Government. Suddenly, the international community has come to the aid of the PA, since their renouncement of the terrorist group from their government. They claim that they will now recognize Israel as a State (which it coincidentally has been since 1948) and strive to work alongside her to create a peaceful and harmonious territorial division. Wait a minute, wasn't the land of Israel established as a national home FOR THE JEWS??? Who are these (masked and unmasked) Arab men, and where do they get off playing "this land is your land, this land is my land?"

Even if you've never heard of the terrorist group Hamas and their agenda to destroy Israel, perhaps a few other household names will ring a bell: Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran? It should come as no surprise that these Islamic terrorist groups are all working in conjunction with each other in their anti-Western campaigns and ultimate quest to destroy Israel. Each with a hand in the honey pot, precious water-front property of the Islamist Enclave of Gaza - technically a territory of none other than ISRAEL, the JEWISH state. While America is on the opposite side of the world and seemingly not phased by any of this (too many parties going on, which take priority over understanding such affairs of global magnitude), it may take another 911-type of catastrophe to rock our desensitized world.