Out of hundred, five would fall for this, they would sincerely believe that this is holy water. .
You can't sue this guy. He would say water is precious, any water is holy water.
i bought a bottle of holy water for myself, took a swig from the bottle to see if i become a saint.
i immediately committed a murder. Killed a mosquito sitting on my arm.
i should have advised him to meditate and be good and enlightened mosquito, please go away.
i was deceived. i was taken for a ride. i did not become a saint.
It is not written anywhere that drinkers of this water would become saints.
In a country of one billion, 5 out of hundred buying holy water is good marketing and good money.
Just imagine its success in a country like United States where 90 out of 100 would fall for it.
They wouldn't ?
They would
i have reasons.
One of the silliest and the most stupid sport now being played is American football, which no other country plays, not even their immediate neighbours the Canadians and the Mexicans.
Why a stupid sport is so passionately followed in the US ?
Marketing.
People eat it.
If this sport is not as silly and not as stupid as i say, why it is not played anywhere else in the world ?
No other sport generates the kind of money that American football does, where players are owned, bought and sold like cattle for millions and millions of dollars.
i will not be surprised if they are auctioned too.
If this sport can generate millions of dollars why other countries are not playing it ?
you have to stop and think.
Is anything seriously wrong with the Americans ?
Marketing.
They fall for marketing gimmicks.
They'll eat anything if it is well maketed from unhealthy food to toys.
No..... their government is fine... very fine, their President is fine too, what if he is a liar ?
No politician in the world speaks the truth.
We have professional liars in my country, you can't catch them.
But the American Presidents get caught, poor chaps.
They are liars but not smart liars.
Gone like a memory from the day before the fires.
People hungry for the voice of God Hear lunatics and liars
.................................................................................... Paul Simon.
you can sell an American anything. They are the most gullible people in the world.
Most kind and compassionate, though their kindness and compassion is often grossly misplaced.
At the other extreme, they are most hard working industrious
and most enterprising people in the world, took their country to great heights.
Good or bad is debatable.
But the first people to take advantage of their gullibility is their own government.
They have been fed with lies all along in recent history.
A pack of lies was cooked up for unprovoked Vietnam war and Americans ate it and supported it.
When brutality and casualties went high and When things became too hot, they woke up and opposed it.
Did they learn anything ?
No.
They fell for fresh marketing of fresh lies.
Present marketers are smart, they wanted fast money. SPEED, instant destruction.
Things happened very fast.
They didn't have to assasinate an unwilling President this time.
They had no ground, rhyme or reason to attack Vietnam
They learnt from past mistakes.
A situation, reasons for war were created fast.
Sympathy was created and marketed.
People ate it.
The spineless media supported it again.
The opposition was negligible.
The other smart move was to twist the arms of other countries to join them.
But unfortunately they miscalculated , completely misjudged the outcome.
They thought the war would be over in a month.
Fast money, all bombs used, defence contractors happy, control oil, pull out.
Things went horribly wrong.
Very surprisingly, The greatest but not the smartest liar in American history was re-elected.
This is not the first time.
Remember the chap who said 'i am no crook' ?
He was re-elected too before he was impeached.
This can happen only in America. the present man was re-elected with good majority than the last, due to very effective marketing of a fresh pack lies.
Americans ate it again.
Only if the media had half an inch of spine, they could have stopped the war.
But they had to sell.
War is money for them too.
Our Netas would have planted WMD in Iraq before the invasion.
But the American President is not that smart.
Repetition of blunders. Same situation as Vietnam. Things are hot. Casualties high.
Now they have to get out.
The governmet and those who marketed the war badly needed the media and people to speak against the war so that they can pull out like they did in Vietnam
and make the 'KIND AND COMPASSIONATE' people happy untill they create situation for another war when the sky is clear.
The first Anti Vietnam war demonstrations were organised by the government itself.
And the Americans are very gladly obliging them now, speaking against the war, openly.
WE BOW TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE, WE ARE PULLING OUT OF IRAQ.
LONG LIVE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Big thunderous applause from all over the world,
And the Americans are happy and proud of their country again
Dixie chick Natalie Maine would be happy
Geroge Clooney would be happy
Neil Young would be happy.
All sins washed away.
Americans are sold again.
The truth is, Democracy in the US is a farce, it never woked.
The opposition to war also is marketed. The media, people, celebrities are unsuspecting victims of the fresh reverse marketing.
i will not be surprised if some celebrities are paid to speak against the war.
The promotors of war are smiling over the blood of the innocent.
Blood ? What blood ?
Blood of the Asians has no value
Blood of their own countrymen has no value.
They have made their money.
81 comments:
k k i am acting dumb...
all hail democracy !!
we all are VISHESH
I totally agree with you.. its all in the presentation, the marketing. creating the need for something no one needs.. even war..
this is the genius of marketing.
the only ones who made money out of this war is the contractors and the middle men.
Americans have paid for it, borrowing from future taxes.
and by the way re-elected... :)
i just know you love it when i correct your spellings.. ha ha
well.. not all stars are for sale, some of them are guided or mis guided as you see fit, by other things as well.. , and not all payment is money.
MYSTIC ROSE You know i copy the spellings from you and Ruth. i have corrected it.
Thank you for pointing it out.
This is not a happy post Mystic Rose. i wrote it with a heavy heart. wanted to write this long time ago but kept postponing.
i know its not good to generalise.
But the fact is, IT HAPPENED. Even if more than half the Americans opposed the war. It happened.
Why
Because there is no democracy in the US. Why americans were deceived by their government ?
Simply because they allowed themselves to be decieved by believing in the lies they marketed.
i have never been abroad. i can speak only about india. i am not proud of the social evils that has made my country very sick.
But india never invaded any country. imagine the same situation in India. waging an unjust war against some neighbouring country. The media will tear the government to pieces.
Country wide indefinite strikes. Bringing the country to a grinding halt. Road blocks, people sitting on the railway tracks. Hunger strikes every where.
Do you remember how the Silent valley project was abandoned ?
This is democracy. however sick and crippled it may be. It is the fear of this kind of public backlash which prevented the Indian government from joining US in the war.
This did not happen in the US.
the people and the media could have stopped the war.
How the people allowed the disaster of vietnam to be repeated within 40 years is something i don't understand.
i have hopes that this will not be repeated in future
OF COURSE ALL THAT WE LEARN FROM HISTORY...IS THAT WE NEVER LEARN FROM HISTORY!
THE REVELATIONS CONCERNING THE 3 M'S...MARKETING, MEDIA AND MANIPULATION ARE THE TOOLS USED BY THE POWERFUL TO KEEP THE MAJORITY IN IGNORANCE.....THEIR MOTIVATION IS GREED AND THE IDEA THAT THEIR EGO IS SUPREME.
THE SILENT MAJORITY IN EVERY NATION IS TOO BUSY JUST SURVIVING DAY BY DAY TO HEED THE DEEPER MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE DEEDS OF THEIR LEADERS.
THE SUFFERING STRETCHES ACROSS EVERY CONTINENT....AN ENDLESS LITANY OF SORROW...AND ATOP IT ALL IS THE SUPER POWER AND ITS ALLIES WITH THEIR VESTED INTERESTS.
UNTIL THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH .......WE WATCH, WE WEEP AND WE WONDER HOW LONG THIS MADNESS WILL CONTINUE?
FOR SOME QUESTIONS....THERE ARE NO ANSWERS!
DEAR CHRIS,
MARCH 16TH 1968 WAS A BACK DAY FOR CIVILISED HUMANS AS THESE THINGS HAPPENED IN A VIETNAMESE VILLAGE CALLED MY LAI. I THINK ROLAND JOFFE'S FILM 'KILLING FIELDS' WAS ABOUT THIS INCIDENT.
I JUST HOPE TO GOD OR WHAT EVER HIGHER FORCE THAT THESE THINGS DID NOT HAPPEN IN IRAQ. NOR THEY WILL BE REPEATED IN FUTURE
I AM SORRY IT IS CUT AND PASTE, CAN'T TYPE IN CAPS BUT I WILL MAKE IT BOLD FOR YOU TO READ
“She came out of the hut with her baby and Widmer shot her with an M16 and she fell. When she fell, she dropped the baby and then Widmer opened up on the baby with his M16 and killed the baby too,” said Carter in additional testimony to the Army C.I.D.
“The baby’s face was half gone, my mind just went…and I just started killing. Old men, women, children, water buffaloes, everything…I just killed…That day in My Lai, I was personally responsible for killing about 25 people,” said Simpson.
Numerous rapes were committed against the young girls of the village, sometimes while their families were forced to watch. Everywhere, dead bodies of women and children littered the roads and fields of the burning hamlet. Captain Brian Livingston, a helicopter pilot and commander, wrote in a letter back home on that very day: “I’ve never seen so many people dead in one spot. Ninety-five percent were women and kids
FORCE ALWAYS ATTRACTS MEN OF LOW MORALITY - EINSTEIN.
IT IS NOT JUST GREED CHRIS, IT IS MISUSE OF POWER. I AM REFUSING TO READ THE NEWS PAPER, BUT THAT DOES NOT STOP THE ATROCITIES HAPPENING
I KNOW MY AMERICANS FRIENDS ARE UNHAPPY WITH ME. BUT I CANNOT PRETEND THAT EXCESSES OF WAR ARE NOT HAPPENING, I CANNOT PRETEND THAT THERE IS NO INJUSTICE.
I DID NOT WRITE THIS POST FOR ANY PLEASURE. I WROTE WITH A BLEEDING HEART.
THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY CHRIS AND TAKING TIME TO READ WHAT I HAVE TO SAY.
I think we've kind of allowed ourselves to become numb.. and not feel our own apathy.
I feel that myself sometimes. .. there are many reasons for not acting.
.. but at one time I thought it was in a way good - this war, because it will remove the dictatorship and bring things out inte the open in the muslim nation. Not because of the supposed nuclear arms and military pwoer and stuff, but because of the suppression that people there undergo, women and girls and their education is only one part of it, the religious sects suppressing each other or the oppression Saddam Hussein perpetrated.
and there is this that although do trade with the other nations they have so strongly alienated themselves from the rest of the world. They are not open to the rest of humanity, and dont seem to beleive that one can live together and actually be close friends inspite of these differences.. Im not talking about muslims in India, I have some fond memories of my muslim friends, I have never felt the difference in religious backgrounds in India as I feel here in the west or in the middle east.
All people want is to be left in peace so they can live their life as best they can, and to live and let live. It is very sad that the few who like to aggress, who thrive on violence and terror are allowed to inflict all this hardship on the majority.
And now Iraq is itself so unstable that to withdraw now and leave it to fend for itself seems dangerous for the country. It is in America's interest to stay and help, for its own image. Otherwise the resulting civil war in that country would be unbearable. And it would be admitting to not just defeat, but also its nature of a bully in some ways.
But perhaps that needs to be done, and let the iraqis fend for themselves and reach their own agreements and find their own balance as a nation. Even if one half of the population is screaming for America to stay.
Strong language here, but I hope you will not mind what I have written , and also that none of your readers will mind.
CHRIS I AM SORRY I CHECKED UP. ROLLAND JOFFE'S KILLING FIELDS IS ABOUT CAMBODIA NOT MY LAI MASSACRE.
He fired at it [the baby] with a .45 He missed. We all laughed. He got up three or four feet closer and missed again. We laughed. Then he got up right on top and plugged him.
The official memorial in the village of My Lai lists 504 killed, “182 women, of whom 17 were pregnant, and 173 children, of whom 56 were of infant age. Sixty of the men were over 60 years old…”
THE MAN WHO GAVE THE ORDERS FOR MASSACRE CPT. MEDINA WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY
THE MAN WHO CARRIED OUT THE MASSACRE LT. WILLIAM CALLEY WAS CONVICTED AND WAS GIVEN THREE AND A HALF YEARS OF HOUSE ARREST WITH ALL COMFORTS.
HE IS FREE
You mentioned your American friends- are any of them the stereotypical "American" you speak of? Or are they just as frustrated as you? I know I am.
Speaking of letting the Iraqis fend for themselves- those of us who know better in America are still working on figuring out how to fend for ourselves against our gluttonous government!!! Our constitution says no taxation without representation- and I know I am certainly not getting any representation, and yet, if I do not pay taxes to fund this war I go to jail. Does this mean that if we, as Americans, want to stand up against the American Government, then we must be treated like criminals? What American in their right mind is going to sentence themselves to this existence? But, should we? We should do something. What? If we quit our jobs, then we do not have to pay taxes. We could all let our houses go into foreclosure and take to the streets. If we didn't have any money, we couldn't buy any of their corporate crap. Seriously, though, these are the types of things that Americans need to be willing to do if they want to make an impact.
The way I see it is that we can no longer see ourselves as citizens of any country- we are citizens of the world, and I think we need to band together as a whole and figure out a way to help each other. We need to offer solutions, try them out. Everyone loves to cop a bitch, but you don't see anyone actually trying to figure out solutions. And I also like the idea that the changes must happen within- external changes are just illusions.
MYSTIC ROSE, There was an easier way. Simply shoot this guy.
No invasion. There have been many American sponsored political assasinations in the past. One more wouldn't make any difference.
http://grym.gnn.tv/blogs/8323/A_Brief_History_of_CIA_Sponsored_Terrorism_1951_2002
The list is too long, please don't waste your time reading this. Very funny to read.
i would have been happy if this chap was shot, one tyrant less, good riddence. EOS -end of story. No trial nothing.
But the Americans wanted drama money and control over oil. And So we have the war. It happened because American people supported it.
The most ridiculous thing here is they thought they were saints. Wanted to do things the right way.
Still more than half the Americans defend the war.
Some one has to rattle the stupid head of the president and tell him that western style democracy is not possible in Iraq.
The country has to be divided.
Go back to square one.
Plant two dictators and leave. Simple solution.
After all this bloodshed go back to square one ? Whats the use ?
Less bloodshed and less expenditure.
Not very difficult. America has a factory manufacturing dictators and mercenaries.
Saddam and Bin Laden have a stamp on their foreheads 'MADE IN USA'
Mystic rose, your suggestion is very good. Americans need to stay and win the hearts of the Iraquis. But this will take a very very long time. Very complex situation. There will be more terrorism more bloodshed, and the cost too high.
They have made their money.
They want a quick get away like a bank robbery.
Thanks for your contribution Mystic rose. Need some more ideas. You have a brilliant mind. Please contribute.
MYSTIC ROSE, the idea of democracy in Iraq is a drama. They are not serious about it. They are serious only about money and oil.
Nor are they serious about loss of innocent lives and the loss of American soldiers.
RA CHEL, Writing this post was most painful to me. i thought of aborting it many times. But this is the truth and i had to speak out.
yes there are frustrated Americans, but they are in minoroty.
No government in the world is perfect. American government is no different.
The issue here is the people Ra Chel, not the government.
How Americans allowed themselves to be decieved by the government.
i did not write this as rauf or as an Indian. i wrote this as an outsider. What an outsider feels about Americans.
Who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima ?
The Americans did.
Not the American government or American air force.
Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
This is what an outsider like me would say. This is what you read in books and news papers.
Natalie Maine, Dixy Chick felt anti American sentiments everywhere, not anti American government sentiments. The reaction to her statements was apalling.
That showed how disillisioned the Americans really were.
Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
And you'll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass
It's the American way
- Toby Keith
i wonder how Toby keith feels now after the lies have been exposed. After the bloodshed and the loss of thousands of innocent lives.
This is clear lack of ability to think. not by the government but by the the people of America.
When a majority of people are irrational and gullible, it is difficult to reason with them or their gvernment as powerful as the USA. They have a free hand to destroy the planet any part of the world at will with people's support.
This exactly what happened in VietNam and Iraq in recent history.
besides being major contributors in damaging the environment.
Americans are drunk with power
I have attempted solutions in my various posts. 'mother earth alive' for instance
where is suggest complete change of heart. in your words it is the change within.
i have sugested solutions on other people's blogs too.
Social problems are deep rooted. Takes hundreds of years. Like Poverty, damage to environment.
Political problems can be solved instantly.
Americans don't have any problems Ra Chel
rest of the world has problems because of American irrationality.
Americans brought misery to rest of the world.
We are not America's problem
America is our problem.
This is the purpose of my very offensive post.
My solution is
AMERICA ! KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF
If Americans mind their own business, no country no terrorist will touch you.
in the 1990's according to Bob Woodward, there were 56,000 CIA agents all over the world. Many world politicians were under their payrole.
Let me give you only one case
India and Pakistan.
They can sit and Sort out their problems.
Let us keep our differences aside, let us take care of our own hungry and starving people. Let us not spend on weapons directed at each other. Let us use the same funds to develop our own countries.
This does not happen, because CIA does not let it happen. Their job is to create insecurity and fear by giving ten F16s to Pakistan. And India cannot sleep after that
and it has to spend billions to get equal number of weapons or planes, the money which can be well used for the country's development. There is no war, but fear is created and both stupid countries are made to spend on weapons
Americans are killing 2 birds with one stone.
They get business selling weapons. And both the countries remain beggers.
Do you think CIA is your problem Ra Chel ?
Americans are our problem.
Americans are the world's problem.
who is going to solve this ?
You or us ?
Ra Chel, thank you so much for your contribution. please feel free to criticise or correct me if you think i am wrong. your views are very important to me.
I love it! I'm not offended at all, I think that you speak for me and so many people I know, despite our American birth-right. yes, it is Americans- the individuals themselves that allow this to happen. Yes, it's all the propaganda they have stupidly fallen for because it comes in the form of cutting edge technology. First it was the radio, then the TV, and now you cannot escape it without driving to the country. But, the National Forest Rangers are there to tell you how to live your life in the woods, too.
There are two ways of escape- either you can join the capitalistic system and beat it by investing in future consumption- or you can renounce your earthly possessions and become homeless. There is no middle way. In the middle we are just cattle, buying what they want to sell us, voting for who they want us to vote for, seeing what they want us to see, hearing what they want us to hear.
We are either a part of the problem, or a part of the solution. I know that I am still a part of the problem- I'm still plugged in, but I take every opportunity possible to be a part of the solution, and little by little as the years go by, I feel that I am getting closer to something. I feel the momentum building around me in the people.
Truly, there are a lot of us who are fed up. But, our voices are only heard in tiny niches where the mass has not the creativity to access.
I think your post is very powerful! You should run for president in America!
If you were president, what would you do?
Also, I am reading a book called "State of the World 2006": "As China and India become world-class economies, they are set to join existing industrialized nations as major consumers of resources and polluters of local and global ecosystems. Vigorous discussions are under way in both countries at every level about the right development paths to follow, including 'leapfrogging' the technologies, policies, and even the cultures that now prevail in many western countries.
"Besides the focus on China and India, State of the World 2006 looks at actions corporations can take to be more socially responsible; examines the potential socioeconomic, health, and environmental implications of nanoscale technologies; assesses the impacts of large-scale development of biofuels on agriculture and the environment; describes mercury sources, industrial uses, and health hazards worldwide; and provides an overview of the need to safeguard freshwater ecosystems, with examples of proven approaches in cities, villages, and farming regions around the world."
The 2007 edition is also available- which I am waiting for on interlibrary loan. Do you have access to these books at a library?
We must not see ourselves as separate entities. To do so is to fall for the oldest trick in the book, "DIVIDE AND CONQUER!" Right now someone out there is doing a fabulous job of dividing us, and because of it- we are ALL fixed upon illusions outside of what is really happening here on a global scale. We must see the big picture and unite in a universal cause to live sustainably- we all have a part to play in the process.
Johnny Rotten wonders why we're not rioting every other day in Britain.
I wonder why too.
Like the Americans we'd rather eat a hamburger....
Loved the comment about "Made in the USA" and yes there are a lot of beer drinking patriots who love that Toby Kieth B.S. When loved ones are dying, it's easy to buy into it.
FOUR DINNERS what do i do when a bunch of club weilding thugs storm into my house, start twisting my arms, telling me when to wake up when to sleep what to eat what to read, stuffing hamburgers down my throat. What do i do ? i can't fight them, they are too powerful, carrying base ball bats hockey sticks.
You may not experience it, but it is happening all over the developing and third world countries.
You work for us and you buy our food.
This is exactly what Hitler wanted.
Masters and slaves.
Globalisation is pushing Indian farmers and farm hands to commit suicide every day
An American walking on the road is not aware of this. Because he doesn't want to know. He is convinced that he is a saint and he and his govenrment are helping the world.
They are converting this beautiful planet in to a giant market house.
RA CHEL, Thank you so much for viewing this post from the right perspective.
Ra Chel, what would you call a society which punishes a man breaking in and stealing a loaf of bread to ten years hard labour and a man who who kills 504 people, women (17 pregnant) children babies in arms and old people, goes scott free. And those who ordered this carnage are not even brought to trial ?
Ra Chel, i'll respond to your comment in a while, just gathering my thoughts, too many visitors today interruptig.
RA CHEL, You sincerely and whole heartedly wish to remove poverty, injustice, racism and wish to make this world a better place to live.
The only thing that is going to help your ideas materialise is a total change of heart, (change within) Evolution of human mind, communication and faster transportation.
The immediate and overwhelming response from all over the world when tsunami struck was amazing. Help came like a bigger tsunami, so big that people were not able to handle it.
From past 30 years, aid to the developing countries and the poor and hungry increased many folds, due to faster communication and transportation. But poverty
kept increasing.
The fresh wave of poverty is the result of globalisation. This wave of povery is more severe than the existing one resulting in mass suicides of families.
you can guess where it came from and who is responsible for this newly imposed misery.
i have discussed this issue in my environment series.
You have asked me what would i do as your President.
All your voices are falling on the deaf ears of democracy now.
First thing i would do is to make the democracy work.
Referandum on major issues. Difficult and costly affair in a country like India but it is very easy in the US with advanced technology available to you. You can vote from home on major issues.
Please take a look at your own computer. your hard disk comes from Taiwan, CD drive comes from Malaysia, SMPS from Thailand, monitor from korea. But the stamp
on your computer is American. Please take your domestic appliances for instance, its the same story.
Except for dictators and weapons of mass destruction nothing else is purely 'Made in USA'
This has resulted in job losses within the US
i would stop cheap imports
All essential commodities would come from a radius of hundred miles.
i will make the country self reliant with nearly everything 'Made in USA'
And i would stop interfering in the affairs of other countries.
Welfare of the citizens would take high priority.
There is a lot more, i think it will fill a book.
But i don't want to be your President Ra Chel. Not a good job.
And i would be shot dead within a week of becoming your president.
Interesting. So you think that if we stop purchasing products from outside it will help the rest of the world? That's a thought. I am definitely not a fan of supporting sweatshop labor- but most everything around here comes from that. Better to just stop buying things, eh? The catch 22 is that because we are buying so much from other countries, now they are affording the technology themselves. But I don't like to see them buying it- I'd rather they use their profits to invest in sustainable technology. Our technology is extremely outdated, but they will only feed the technology to us in little bits because they want to make as much money off of technological progress as possible, and thus, we are light years behind what we have the potential to be doing and using.
I like the idea of voting from home, but how would that be done without corruption?
It was a sweet post, Rauf.
Dearest Raufie
Here you are again with one of your sharp observation posts.
Holy Water...
A favorite author of mine brought the audience's attention at one of her seminars that "Evian" - French bottled water sold here (!) for 1.75!!! a small bottle (as IF we would not have enough pure glacier water to fill tubs, or Donald Trump & Coca-COla &... filling our bottles with tap water) read backwords spelled "naive"
We, particularly here in NOrth America, are continually manipulated by a blinding and wickedly fascinating marketing machinery.
Canada has an "american football" league languishing a slow but certain death.
Its populatrity is decreasing as that of soccer - real football - is increasing at a dizzing pace in all age groups...
MArketting.
While I absolutely love hearing "America the beautiful" and tear up every single time I hear it, seriously!
While I, personally do not think (exclusively) about the US.
I think about "America":
North America, South America, Central America.
I find it curious ( for lack of a better word) that there are 37 (?) countries in the Americas and only one markets itself as "America".
Its President, claming in a speach - refering to internal situations - as there being "two Americas" ! (Of course not even being on his radar that what he is sating makes absolutely no sense!!!)
Hah...???
I leave this in your court to play with.....
I am completely baffled (to say the last) by this outrageous claim/hogging.
The War in Iraq
I have been against this war - as have been a large number of US citizens. Some of them came to march with us as our Vancouver MAyor symbolically declared Vancouver a War Free ZOne - not marketed or paid for ...
I would prefer to believe it was of grassroots origin ---- other than I lived to political "circumstances" in South America that I believed were spontaneous gatherings of refugee ex-patriots and turned out to be of a different nature.
I was close to it - but never suspected anything that came to light years later.
Raufie dear, I am not sure the extreme right and/or christian fundamentalists - as a hugely influential block are not equally as guilty/responsible as the commercial marketers of this "Intellectual chaos" we are living in.
You should see'hear the stuff that slips out of those qusrters.
Butm fortunately there is a State TV ... and there is a wonderful man/journalist Bill MOyers whoom kindly takes upon himself to unravel or expose the truth as he finds it...
A breath of fresh air on Fridays pm of late.
The media is/has been "suspended in mid air" and has forgetten its role in society - some of us are clear and noticed this.
CNN in Spanish had the only - the only, I repeat anti war program of any kind on air - before the invasion.
NOthing in the English language until months and moths later.
The program host was so gutsy interviewing a Mexican writer (favorite of mine - Carlos Fuentes) aslo a Harvard POlitical Science Prof. that I emailed him in Atlanta and got the entire transcript from him... still have it.
I actually wrote to him - forgive my "bluntness" (we are both from Argentina, still...)
"Am I proud of you for having the balls..."
Yes! it took balls to do that inteview during that pre-invasion period.
Now it is "in" to be agins the war but for the soldiers... wanna give THAT one a good explanation?
Anyway, my dearest
there are alot of manipulated factors that influece the actions we take.
We can only do the best we can we the information we have.
You fill an important role in pointing out the insane - most of the time... outspoken poeple like you are needed to balance the scales...
Somewhere in the middle there in lies the truth... no?
Ohhh... I like to tip them myself.
I like to provoke thought - push for analysis...
Lots of love and hugs
PS
We went to war, yes
Our "conservative party"government could not resist slidding further to the "right".
We have a tradition of Peace Keeping that was tossed aside.
Most of us like the role, the image and, the results that that role has brought to the world in the past.
Now they are trying to wiggled themselves back into that role - by asking us what we want!
WE want peace.
We want the end of wars.
RA CHEL, not an accurate interpretation.
Back in the 50's and early 60's 'Made in USA' was a mark of quality. Things went wrong after that. More so of late.
Like the US, i wish all countries become self reliant.
You have to think and tell me Ra Chel, if this would render technology useless. Please help.
After all people were happy and satisfied 2500 years ago. Are we happy because of the technology ?
i suggested slow down and reverse progress in my environment series
to allow the earth to heal itself.
India has nearly become self reliant in food and technology in spite of severe blows it receives from US on its knees, forcing India to spend thoughtlessly on weapons, leading to arms race in the sub continent. Still India is emerging as an economic power. Now India badly depends on exports, which is a bubble. Our economy depended solely on Agriculture.
Technology and progress has only damaged us. From 40% forest coverage to a shocking 3%, we are very clearly heading for a massive disaster in near future. Poverty is ever increasing.
Touching the subject on the surface will only help temporarily.
We have to seek permanent solutions.
One one hand there is massive food aid, efforts to remove poverty. On the other hand there is globalisation enforced by the US,
raising the level of poverty. They cancell each other.
Once the US stops twisting the arms of smaller nations and interference in their afffairs and US becomes self reliant, things will straighten out by themselves.
It is a gross misconception that US is helping smaller nation by buying their products. Consider US as a ruthless loan shark. It is a giant business house and not a nation. There is a clear master slave policy here. Smaller nations can be easily blackmailed by imposing sanctions if the master is not happy. This is happening all over the world now.
Smaller nations are completely dependant on either aid or exports to US. They are becoming slaves of Dollars.
Ra Chel kindly discuss these issues in your meetings and your input, an input from a young thinking mind is very important to me.
Dearest ANGEL,
i have very simple questions.
Are the Americans pretending that the war is not happening ?
Are they so naive and ignorant that the atrocities and the bloodshed, killing of innocent lives is not happening. ?
If there is a majority of Americans are against the war, why their voice is falling on the deaf ears ?
Why their opposition is not working ?
Why the disaster of Vietnam was repeated in such a short period ?
If this is not ignorance, what else is ?
Majority of Americans claim that they have been deceived by the government. Why they allowed themselves to be deceived ?
The truth is, majority of disillisioned Americans are still behind the war.
Why the recently elected democrats are silent ? Have they lost their spine too ?
Why terrorism ? Who were the first terrorists in recent history ?
Why the Americans are the stumbling block on the effective functioning of the UN ?
Why Anti American sentiments all over the world ? why are they hated ?
You can't blame everything on a few people Angel.
Dearest Angel, if the Indian government goes against the will of the people, there would be riots all over the country.
Marketing, promotion happens here also, but people have enough brains not to fall for what is not true.
War is only a part of the issue.
Why do they interfere in the affairs of the other countries ?
Who are they to impose sanctions.
They even imposed sanction on India.
They twist the arms of the other countries including Canada.
I call the terrorists cowards
i call the bully a coward too.
An Amrican who walks on the road is drunk with the idea that they are the most powerful people of the world and the world is dependant on their kindness.
They are convinced that they are saints.
They think they have the right to walk into any country with out any rhyme or reason.
They will not break in unless there is profit in there. They are smart.
Rest of the world cannot destroy the evil dearest Angel.
Good cannot destroy evil.
Evil destroys itself.
Thank you so much for your input Angel, i want some one to point out where i am wrong. What i have said is not true.
lots of love and Hugs Angel
I cannot defend the higher political setting. your article is well written; however, you must not believe that each individual living here is so easily fooled. we are pawns in the game of life, attempting to do our best. we do not always receive the promises made. And for the record "No War" is defensible for war is always tragic for the human race.
I have just taken a reiki one class and it sounds to me from your energy levels that you my friend are overdue for a long walk. peace to you and if it were in my power peace to the universe...
RA CHEL, The emrging super economic powers, India and China don't seem to learn anything from the blundrs west has committed. they both are repeating the blunders. We still do not know what happens inside the Chinese factories. Overflowing prisons serve as factories manufacturing cheap products. Exploitation is at the highest in China. They are obsessed with earning dollars.
Same obsession in India but labour situation is not that bad.
I'll try to get those books Ra Chel.
Obsessed with the earning dollars, most developing countries have total disregard for the ecosystem, that includes India.
Sweet PAULINE, Let us see the outsider's view of India.
'Indians are very unhygenic people.
The whole country is dirty and chaotic, looks like there is no government there'
Believe me Pauline, this man is speaking the truth. Many of my visitors from abroad have expressed the same views.
This outsider is not talking about one percent of rich and elite or 5 percent of urban middle class. He is talking about one billion Indians.
Now my Indian friends would jump on me saying how can i agree to something which is not true. We are clean we are hygenic, we keep our house tidy, what can we do when the poor class can't keep themselves clean.
i will not be surprised of some one says India is a land of beggers. Which is also true. India has always extened its begging bowl from past 60 years of Independence. Our politicians go down on their knees and beg when ever some disaster like tsunami strikes us. for their own benefit of course.
My question Pauine, why do the Americans allow themselves to be used as pawns in the game. If their voices are not heard, you really can't call it a democracy.
i have written from the outsider's point of view. Actions of Americans affect the whole world, good or bad. America is a problem of UN. America is a problem of the rest of the world. i have mentioned various problems and solutions in my comments above.
i understand it is not good to generalise. but this unfortunately how an outsider views Americans.
Their image has taken a severe beating since Vietnam and it is getting worse. There seems to be no sign of American image improving.
Hhaha, Pauline, i am taking rest now nearly on house arrest after long long treks in the forests recently.
and PAULINE, some of my visitors from abroad have expressed their desire to settle down in India for ever and make India their home. hahaha India is a land of extremes.
I see the billboard invasion in your part of the world too!
KATHY, They know how to ruin the landscape in Kerala We in Chennai have those eye sores too.
Good that you did not read the post Kathy, not a pleasant read.
love and Hugs
I am glad you approve- I do plan on sifting through our discussions and sharing some of them with my group tomorrow evening. I agree with the reversal of technology- but, I don't think the millions of people that would have to die agree. I'm all for it, though. There's just no way to support this many people and all the cows, pigs, and chickens they eat without some form of technology. Too much poop for nature to process.
RA CHEL, dealing with the issue on the surface is of no help.
Tree planting spree from past 50 years hasn't dropped the temprature even to a fraction of a degree, it is ever rising.
You have not understood the working of nature Ra Chel, you have to understand that first.
When you get time please read my SPEED series on environment, it will take a while to read.
Vegetarianism is completely against the laws of nature. Vegetarians are actually bigger contributors to the damage of environment.
The saints are the biggest damagers.
please adopt a right approach Ra Chel.
There is absolutely no waste in a forest, natural forest i mean, not artificial forest the environmentalists have created which is very dmaging to the environment.
Poop is very easily processed by nature. it is the other garbage non bio degradable one is the problem. i have discussed these in the environment series, i think it is in 14 or 15 parts.
marketing is just a new label. this kind of manipulation is as old as history, certainly older than money!
end of the day, everyone is gullible, it is just a question of which button to press. as long the fooled person feels good you're home.
LOL Rauf i did read your post...i just didn't know what to say! and i still don't know what to say...i keep hoping things get better.
CHINNA, i can understand such manipulation in Wattoosi yaya country. But we are talking about the most advanced society who claim to be the most civilised and claim to be the champions of democracy.
i am not talking about the government as we hardly have any honest politicians in the world. i am talking about the people. How they allowed themselves to be manipulated.
ah sweet KATHY, i can understand if you are angry with me. Writing this post was the most painful experience for me. Thank you so much for being so kind and understanding Kathy. Actions of the Americans have an impact on the entire world. Good or bad.
i am just asking the people to wake up and not to let themselves be deceived by money hungry politicians.
My love to Marcy and Richard, hope you are doing fine
{{HUGS}}
I know I am late here but you know how much I love your photos. So, am I excused for being late ?
Very tough job indeed to weave a story like this & selecting correct photos for it.
Nice job done Rauf ji. :D
oh no you, are not late CUCKOOJI i really wish this was a story - A Fiction. i really wish it was.
The pictures are gaps actually.
just to add a twist. maybe the placebo effect operates here for people who really believe in holy aqua . . . unlike you!
mind plays lot of tricks CHINNA, a plain glass of water can cure a person having cancer, if taken with faith and a bit of drama.
My very dear Rauf. What can I say. I so heartedly agree with you. Your posting makes me want to weep.
We had lots of demonstrations against the war here in England but our prime minister was so hand in glove with the president he just did what he was told. British soldiers are killing Iraqees and Iraqees are kill themselves and Americans kill everyone. Friendly fire my foot.
I hope my English is ok ok and not not too hard to require intelligence to to read. ok ok?
Love and hugs, Lorenzo.
Dear Rauf
I could never be angry with you...i very much appreciate your honesty and frankness in your comments and posts. I enjoy your views. I can't argue with you...your right on.
Markeing uhhh?
Hmm what shall I say(...)
I like you! thats what I know, I love your writing, your photography your words,Your way of looking at life, so I keep it personal Rauf. Have a great weekend my friend:)
HI!:) ,I am just back/returned from my short trip to South of Italy, thanks for 'not forgetting me' I posted an overview of pictures from my holiday , soon more... Have a great sunday!!!
Greetings JoAnn
Loved that ship pic the last one..When r u going for ur sikkim trip. or are u already back?
Hi LORENZO, i wish i was wrong, i wish i am wrong. i hope i am wrong about future too. Americans would continue to have an impact on the rest of the world. Americans would continue to damage, both the earth and the atmosphere. Though they are the ones who are talking of the damage the loudest, wanting the rest of the world to change for them.
They have no capacity to learn, no capacity to wake up. they are all drunk, including those opposing the war. Blunders will be repeated. They are too involved with themselves that outside world simply doesn't exist for them.
And their branded kindness will cause more damage to the earth and the atmosphere. They seem to own the space. It is the Americans who are going to destroy this planet. They are sitting on a pile of WMDs that can wipe out every living organism from the earth and above. They are not even aware of it and they want to be kind to the unfortunate people of the world who are unfortunately not lucky to be Americans. After burning up the entire world and making it unlivable, there would be no American left to say that the majority was against it. Till then let us keep our humour. Life is a joke after all. Americans have proved it.
i hope i am wrong.
i know i am not
lots of love and Hugs, hope you are doing fine Lorenzo
Oh sweet KATHY, You know how i hate Saints, and people who want to change others and make them civilised. I am glad you are not angry with me Kathy, if you are, your anger is justified.
love and Hugs Kathy.
Welcome Back JOANN, Thank you so much.
Believe me like you i would have loved to keep my opinion to myself.
But turning a blind eye or pretending that the world is a paradise seems to be more damaging.
To accept cruelty is more cruel than cruelty itself.
Hope you are taking rest after your enjoyable trip to Sicily JoAnn.
lots of love from India.
SANGITA This post is not about pictures. Pictures are not important, what i have written in between is important.
Raufie dearest
I think I finally reached the "turning point" and actually it is evident that I am slowing down for the next while....
Despite being busy my mind kept on coming back to this post and your comments and as I glanced over to others I see that some of your regular visitors have "not been around".
Must be brief or otherwise be slowed by all that's in my head.
1. Yes, supporting local commerce would be a great solution - Greenland, for instance is totally self-sufficient....
2. There is a movement afoot that encourages buying products produced and harvested within a 100-mile zone -if bananas and pineapples would grow around here!
3. The reality is that there is a lot of poverty here in North America also - not exclusive to Mexico - no, not at all.
What happens in the US and Canada (*Note that I am NOT using America to identify our neighbor to the south) is that we are actually fortunate to have a social system that helps (as it covers also) those that have the opportunity to avail themselves of these programs. I must say that without them a lot of people would perish of hunger and the effect of the elements when at their extreme.
Yes, my dear friend - there is also a lot of marketing involved in making everyone believe this is the land of milk and honey!
Well, while that may be true for a minority - the great majority right now are the "working poor”. The ones that have no time to riot because they are hanging on to dear life to their two and three jobs in order to afford a roof over their heads.
I dee them when I go to Vancouver, tired, with their heads down, sullen; having both in to the non-existent fantasy the utopia that all is well in paradise...
No, it isn’t.
To that you may add an astoundingly high rate of illiteracy, physical illness, of mental illness - you name it, we have. All glossed over the colorful pages of Vogue, People and other mags., nightly denied by the banalities of Entertainment Tonight - more than 25 years feeding BS to the gullible population that takes it in after the so-called (shamelessly distilled) news – too exhausted to tell what is what!
So, after a lot of thought, the idea of marketing still fresh and strong and very much part of the picture – it does all get diluted and in a different light when I look at he general p[opulation in the terms I just shared above.
You know Raufie, I came from a dictatorship in 1967 and everybody was pointing this out as a freak phenomenon and novelty, while in my opinion I came from a much freer environment because I was thought to act and think independently!
Like yourself I have a lot to say about this topic, the more thought I gave it the more evident it became that in one way or another we all (unfortunately) victims of a serious world-wide apathy epidemic…
OR, there are more sheep than real leaders with credibility… ?
There as many answers as question that pop up in the analysis.
However, another difference right now is that most of the population of North America has a PC, half of those have an I-pod, probably just as many have a cell phone, how many cars per capita? and all are to bloody “busy” to even acknowledge their own existence, let alone that of others…
Marketing or just a sorry sign of the times….?
(This will conclude my “chapters” on this multi-faceted and un-ending topic)
Lots of love and hugs to you
P.S.:
Are we expecting too much of just “regular people”?
The same favorite (US) author, said at the same time as mentioned in previous post, that the US was in an “self destruct” mode – I supposed it is the inevitable end of all great powers (?)
All I know for sure is that we are going through some really huge changes in every way…
As a "regular" American (Angeldust's word), this is all quite unpleasant, not that you promised otherwise. I don't know what the hell to do, what to think, how to help, anything. I feel useless, everything you've described. I'm tryin to turn the corner and accept the picture you've painted. It's not easy, rauf, you know it's not easy for me. At least I'll try not to resist the profile, but it's pretty tough. Help my unbelief, ok?
Oh, I meant to say, I like American football, at the college level. I don't like any professional sports, well maybe tennis. I agree they're paid too much, it makes me sick. Did American football come from rugby somewhere back in time?
Too bad you can't enjoy the pleasure of a good rivalry football game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State. It's a whole lot of fun.
Must be fun watchin you play cricket though. When's the last time you played?
Hi Rauf,
I'm definitely NOT an apologist for the U.S. But the first thing you wrote was about 1 of their 2 national games. I just thought I'd play the Devil's Advocate and lift this from wikipedia.
When I've read the rest of this post I'll make another comment, cos sure as sure can be, I've nearly always got something to say about U.S. culture and it usually isn't complimentary.
American Football Outside the United States.
The NFL operated a developmental league, NFL Europa, with teams in five German cities and one in the Netherlands, but this league folded following the 2007 season. The professional Canadian Football League and collegiate Canadian Interuniversity Sport play under Canadian rules. The sport is popular as an amateur activity in Australia (Gridiron Australia), the United Kingdom (BAFL), Mexico (ONEFA), among other nations. The International Federation of American Football is the governing body for American football with 45 member associations from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The IFAF also oversees the American Football World Cup, which is held every four years. Japan won the first two World Cups, held in 1999 and 2003. Team USA, which had not participated in the previous World Cups, won the title in 2007. Despite this, the game has been slow to catch on in most countries.
Hi rauf,
Always when I return to your blog I see something new, now "the holy water" hahaha! That YOU can only post, that they sell it too!!! I am uprised , Ohhh no I am noT surprised about anything no more ...
I hearded on the news that our Dutch Queen "Beatrix" is coming to visit India (new Delhi) tomorrow oktober 24th, and she is having tea with Mrs,Ghandi, I just wanted you to know that:)
Bye my dear :) Greetings from JoAnn
as an aside - the American Football Lewague in Germany could have very well been the result of the US ARmy having taken up residence there - more than interest from the German polulation - only a pressumed "educated" guess
:)
oh just so I can day somethin'
Dearest ANGEL, yes the winter is knocking your door, and you have to stay fit right through and You are young in mind bursting with energy hard for a girl like you to keep quiet and rest. But you have to.
Its sad that i have hurt the feelings of some of most valuable readers. Their contribution would have been more valuable to me.
But the truth has to be told. How ever unpleasant it is and my blog is not a happy place to visit.
i appreciate more if my readers don't agree with me. i never try to defend myself dearest Angel, never insisted that i am right. i have changed my views many times
before. You have helped me so many times with your valuable comments and you work and thoughts have always inspired me. My other readers too have helped me change my views
As you have mentioned there is a great deal of poverty in north America itself. Actually poverty in the US is more cruel than poverty in India. Poverty is a way of life here. I'll wtite about globalisation and its effects on the world in my next post.
This has affected American poor class and the middle class most and hit them below the belt, with thousands of people losing their jobs. Only the very rich get away without paying taxes. The friendly
government has been helping the rich to get richer and neglected the not so rich from past 50 years and the worst since globalisation where the Americans lost their
jobs due to cheap imports, i think i have discussed this with Ra Chel above.
Before helping others Dearest Angel, you have to help your own people. Medical insurance claims are rejected on genuine cases mostly to poor and the middle
class. Bank loans are available to people who don't need loans and not to the needy. Insurance and Banks are most cruel in the US for local citizens than anywhere else in the world. Banks know no compassion. A poor man in India
exists, a poor man in the US does not exist after he casts his vote dreaming of a better tomorrow. There is a great deal of corruption in India, but a poor farmer can shake the foundations of a huge bank. Indian banks year after year write off the loans given to the poor farmers. But they too take advantage. there is so much illeteracy and ignorance that the poor are not aware of the facilities banks and insurance companies offer. Not many awareness programmes. So private loan sharks take adantage of the ignorance and the poor lose their lands and resort to suicide.
As you say the great majority is the working class poor. i wonder how they allow themself such injustice by their own government. a government which has no
compassion for its own people, how will it have compassion for the rest of the world ?
Believe me Angel, people are delirious when their favourite team wins, but this joy does not help the citizens to pay the next month's rent. They are delirious aboout their country being the most powerful in the world, the marketing and the media at wirk here. But their state of mind does not bring food to the table. Americans are drunk with the idea that they are helping the world. They need all the kindness themselves actually.
American Government should take care of its own people as first priority.
Thank you so much for your contribution dearest Angel.
lots of love and hugs
Sweet RUTH, you are not aware of the fact how you have helped me to think, come up with new ideas, solutions, and you have even helped me to deal with this post after the cat was out of the bag. You did not ask me to put the cat into the bag but helped me to think and respond to comments and face my arrogance and consequences.
You were very much involved with this post as i am. i know i have hurt your feelings Ruth and i have disappointed you.
i thank you for showing me the less damaging and more positive way of expressing myself. You took time to comment and i know the reason. You wanted me to realise that there is a better way of expressing myself. You are my teacher and my guide. But i have proved to be a bad student.
i will never suggest riots they way things happen in India when the country goes against the will of the people. This has happened and keeps happening on local issue bringing the country to a grinding halt. This is one reason India did not join the war but allowed itself to be punished and getting its arms twisted by the American government.
You have to choose between the bigger and the smaller devil. smaller devil becomes a big devil after coming to power. What i would suggest is just refuse to choose, refuse to vote. The Americans expressed their displeasure and annoyance and chose the democrats to have a majority at the congress ?
Anything happened Ruth ?
Nothing
They are all the same.
I am requesting you and my other american readers to use their blogs
to create an awareness of the atrocities comitted by the american government and the CIA from past 50 years. the media is not helping. history is soon forgotten. Americans themselves become the victims of of such agencies who start keeping an eye on your activities, keeping an eye on the citizens private affairs.
Americans themselves are not safe.
they are not aware that they are being watched. The citizens still refuse to believe that their own elected government can stoop to such levels. you know i am speaking the truth.
At a personal level the popular, pleasant and interesting bloggers like you (oh i hate this word Ruth, how unfair to call a gentle person like you a blogger. I am the BLOGGERRR) can help to improve the sagging image of Americans by creating awareness to make this world a safe place to live, by demanding to disband brutal and cruel angencies, urging your government to stop interfering in the affairs of other countries.
you can create awareness to dismantle the WMDs piled up and strewn all over the northern hemisphere which threaten to destroy all forms of life making this planet unlivable. you my face opposition but with your gentle way of expressing your ideas you will be able to make people agree with you and the numbers would increase by the next elections.
you cannot bring about an overnight change or a revolution, it will take time. Your efforts will make the life of coming generations safe. Your efforts to make this earth greener would bear fruits perhaps hundred years from now. you started it Ruth.
And don't forget RUTH, you are a teacher, you have the power to influence young minds to make this world a pleasant place to live. Its easy for a teacher of your calibre, talent and imagination, would you allow me to use the word charismatic ?
Daerest Raufie
I strongly believe everyone is entitled and should feel and be free to express their opinion.
I notice with distance that our ways - or those outside north america - are far more direct and specific while expressing themslefves.
The "openness/raw honesty" could possibly lead to misunderstanding with some individuals...
No spins...
Anyway - "all is well"... :), my dear friend.
Only got one thing o ask.
Please ????????
Do not call the US: America.
Remeber WE are ALL American, they are the United States OF America - not America, another unfortunate "pretention" we all fuel...
((Big Hug))
THESAURUS REX, Welcome to daylight again, i am sorry i am not wecoming you to a pleasant post. i promise something pleasant in future.
Immediately i check the profiles of the new readers to my blog.
I was in for a shock, when i saw your profile picture
i gasped ah, Mick Jagger ???
its a compliment actually, Mick Jagger was and still is quite a handsome chapee, a bit older to me, 1943 he is, i am 1948 (i am a relic), John Lennon Ringo 1940
McCartney 1942 and g'Harrisson 1943. And if some one says i look like keith Richards, i'll kill him. He looks better than me actually and dresses better than me too. i am shabby always.
Ah those swingin 60's were the best years of my life, have you
heard of Twiggy TR ? what a darling she was, and George Best was the best.
Thank you so much for correcting me. i can safely say that Cricket is not played in France and in the US, but this may not be accurate. You invented cricket and west
indians once claimed that they play it better. Cricket is religion in India. Can you
believe the spectators burnt the calcutta staduim when we lost to West Indies ?
the cricket players are treated like gods and when they lose, their effigies and posters are burnt on the roads, there are riots. Crazy people
i was actually refering to the feverish passion with which American football is followed in the US something you don't see in other parts of the world. People would give their arms (hands, not guns TR ) for a ticket to the super bowl. its like a ticket
to heaven.
Hurling is played only in Ireland
perhaps played in other countries too. Gaelic origins it has i think, please correct me.
your comment has given me ideas to write about violence in sports. Cricket was once a gentleman's game, five days of individual artistry, elegance and flair. It was a treat to watch. Then came restlessness and impatience, the one dayers, and the gentleman's game turned violent, now its 20/20, only violence, no flair, no elegance, no sportsmanship, just mad hitting. its sad.
and i want to write about a few simple games of india played in indian villages, very pleasant played without any equipent.
thank you once again TR for stopping by.
and thank you for correcting me.
Dear Rauf,
I am so glad you wrote this post about the war on Irak. Good start to make a comparison between the Holy water and the Holy war that G.W. Bush marketed to his people : Good against evil, remember? And it worked!?!!!
The "Holier than you" approach has always been a shocker to me - how can anyone fall for it? Anyone honest enough surely would know that none of us is an angel... and the holiest people precisely never brag about it.
The views you expressed are indeed shared by many people around the world... and also a good number inside the USA, who unfortunately see their resistance efforts go nowhere. They are in minority still.
I am amazed that you say you have never been outside India. Is that true? Your views of the world and
broad perspective suggest otherwise...
Not sure you have a point about American football. Yes it's a violent game that I have no sympathy for, but the fact that it isn't shared by other people around the world is no sign that it's a good or bad game. It just means that the Americans haven't applied themselves to marketing the sport to the rest of the world the way they marketed other American products such as Coke, powder milk or movies. We're back to marketing again!
The other good way to spread a sport around the way is colonialism. This is how cricket and soccer were originally spread, remember? For their many sins you can't blame the US for that at least, they never had colonies. So American football remains a local game, thank God!
I read with much interest the other comments, there's so much in them, and in your replies, that we could go on for a long while. Oh how I wish we could all meet around a cup of tea and have a long long chat together...
oh JoANN, big front page splash on today's news papers, lovely picture of Queen Beatrix who looks very serious, no smile, but big smile on Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima, she is wearing a huge white hat and she is gorgeous. lovely she is. Prince Willem too is very handsome.
hope they carry some exotic Indian sweets for you JoAnn.
yes Holy water, Indians always have bright ideas of cheating the people and making money. big money. But very few fall for this here, but 'Few' is too many in a country of more than one billion.
hope you are enjoying JoAnn
Dearest ANGEL that is the only way i know. i don't like using sugar coated words. People must realise and accept the truth.
And start acting, not to repeat the blunders and atrocities on the weaker people. Bullying the weak is cowardice.
But dearest Angel, the people of the United states ARE called Americans. specially for people like me who live thousands of miles away.
Oh yes Your observation about american football in Germany is right i have seen soldeirs playing in the movies.
lots of love and hugs Angel
Oh NATHALIE ! yes thankfully this game is not popular in other parts of the world. I will not be surprised if the gladiators come back to the arena in the near future. Violence is creeping into other sports as well. Watching a game of tennis is like watching a war. Cricket and football are becoming more and more violent. In absence of charismatic world leaders who stand up for truth, Children often have sports personalities as their ideals. there is violence in schools and college campus. Movie stars fail us with numerous scandals. Children and people in general are constantly looking for gods and find none. the days of Kings ans queens are gone. But we have people who are pretending to be kings, who are in lve with themselves but unfortunately they are not loved by the people.
Sweet Nathalie, we have holier than thou attitude in India as well. But in the United states a majority of people are convinced that they are doing a big favour to rest of the world. i just want to know why the Americans as a whole are disliked by the rest of the world. You must be having some very good American friends Nathalie whom you love very much. But this is a general idea from an outsider. Is it because they think they are superior to other humans ? There was hardly any opposition to the war in the beginning but now, the way it happend with Vietnam war, the opposition to the war is growing, though very late after much loss of innocent blood. No one wants to think of those innocent lives that are already lost, devastated and shattered families. Its like nothing happened. Life has no value. People say end the war, end the war. People are not coming out of their houses and blocking the roads. If they are very sincere in their efforts they would do it. Unless the government is confident of the popular support, they are not foolish enough to go on with the war. the atrocities on the innocent is continuing because majority of disillusioned people are behind the government. And the voices of concerned people are falling on the deaf ears of democracy.
Have you seen people playing Cricket in Avignon Nathalie ? Don't think it is popular there.
We have some very earthly local sports, very intersting, played without any equipment like a bat or a ball. i played in my childhood, Gilli Danda, just two small sticks, one short and one long. But these simple games are disappearing because children have no time to play. They like to play only what they watch on TV. And the media is not 'Marketing' these simple earthly games. There are some indoor and out door games specially for girls. It used to be such a pleasant sight watching girls with their pigtails swinging playing a simple game with 8 sqares
drawn on the ground with a piece of charcoal, and jumping from square to sqare on one foot. This game was called billa, different name in different states.
hope you are doing fine Nathalie.
Yes Rauf I have some wonderful American friends.
You know, I have a theory about America. It may be a new country but in fact it is the product of history, just like "old" Europe.
THink of it :
The early settlers of America were religious extremists who thought that Shakespeare's England was too slack in morality and who moved to another continent in order to build a new rigidly moral society. Here you have the "holier than thou" and "good against evil" origin of the American psyche. You also have the isolationism that was meant to protect America from the bad influences from the outside.
The second lot of immigrants were gold diggers who were drawn to America by the prospect of fast money. Greed is the second pilar of the American psyche.
Religious extremism and greed, isn't that, unfortunately, the perfect representation of what America is all about - or at least a big part of it?
But there were also lots of other immigrants who had a significant influence on the American society:
- jews and other persecuted minorities who found refuge there
- crowds of Italian or Irish people who fled poverty and hunger, hoping to make a better life for themselves and their children (hence the "self-made man" myth)
- brilliant scientists attracted by good funding for their work
- idealists who dreamed of freedom and democracy
- weirdoes who escaped the rigid societies of Europe
and each of them brought a different component to the American society
America is a complex mix: On a population of 260 million you are bound to have an incredible diversity of people so we must resist the temptation to reduce them to one caricatural image. It just wouldn't be fair.
And on a very different subject I agree with you that the best games are those played outdoors with very little equipment. We are yet to fully realise the damage that video games on a large scale do to the "civilised" world.
Nathalie said: "America is a complex mix: On a population of 260 million you are bound to have an incredible diversity of people so we must resist the temptation to reduce them to one caricatural image. It just wouldn't be fair."
Thank you, Nathalie.
Please, rauf and Nathalie and anyone who lives outside the US, don't believe everything you hear, everything you read, about "Americans." rauf, I don't believe that the majority of Americans is behind the government. I think I told you that. Perhaps you didn't believe me, still don't.
I wonder if my perspective on Americans is skewed because I work at a University. I am surrounded by people disgusted with our government. But I see the polls. I think only 20% support our current government. Along with a large group of university staff and professors, I marched against the war on the coldest day of February 2003. We closed the road from campus to the State Capitol in Lansing. It's true, it did nothing. I don't know enough, do enough.
We need your bitter voice, rauf. We need to be shaken. I would love nothing more than to figure out a way, with my university friends who are also disgusted, to change things overnight. But overnight change is not going to happen. We have to take the strong, bitter words of the affected people around the world, who have suffered because of our policies, our actions, our atrocities, like yours rauf, and try things that haven't been tried. But if you think that every one of us is deluded and our actions do nothing because they don't change things overnight, that we are not coming out of our apathy, then I lose hope. I look to you for inspiration, guidance, teaching. I've learned so much from you. But you do not live here. You do not know, except from the media and from what your American friends tell you, what might and might not work. If you shoot down every American because we allow these things to happen, and then are not willing to support us because our attempts are too weak and meager from your perspective, I'm afraid the divide will continue to widen between us as humans who share common struggles.
Please don't stop yelling, shouting, and screaming at us. But I ask you please to be open to supporting the efforts some of us are putting forward. I see minds changing, have seen it especially since 9/11. You don't live here, you only hear what you hear there, and you see the killing continue. I need you to believe that I am also frustrated. But if the entire responsibility of American atrocities is on my shoulders, and you, my dear friend, believe that unless it all stops tomorrow, I have done nothing, I will lose hope. I need your anger, and I also need your encouragement.
Coming back to say I'm listening about football. I wish I didn't like it so much. But it is violent. I would never have wanted Peter to play it. Men who played, by the time they're 50, are crippled with arthritis or a number of other post-injury ailments. I think I could wean myself of liking it. It's pretty ingrained.
And what is up with boxing??
Hi Rauf - just to let you know that I am slowly getting my energy back and I have changed my blog-address, same name Buddha for Life, just new adress and different approach - be good :-) Bodil
oh NATHALIE Thank you so much for your contribution. These are very important details for me.
Yes i agree with you, it would be grossly unfair to put all Americans in a box. They still have traces of all the psyche you have pointed out, some positive some negative. No society is perfect though many claim to be perfect, specially in India, where there are more than 6000 castes ans sub castes. Impact of invasions happened thousands of years ago are still felt.
This is a fact that rest of the world dislike people of the United states as a whole. There is a growing resentment since Vietnam. And the image got severe battering after the Iraq war and it is not improving.
There are other facts we tend to overlook.
Inspite of the bad image of the US,
out of 100 people desiring to migrate for what ever reasson, 95 of them dream of migrating to the US. You can see the crowd outside US embassys all over the world, Even in the countries who hate the Americans most, people seeking US visas all over. Any youngster dreams of pursuing higher studies in the US universities. US is still a land of milk and honey for people desiring a better standard of life. Any scientist or research scholar dreams of going to the US.
My house is very close to the US embassy Nathalie, My firends and relatives think that i can talk to the white house. i see the crowd every day, they wait in line in scorching sun and pouring rain. So, my friends and relatives who seek US visa stay in my house, expecting me talk to the President directly and stamp their visas myself. I tell them, look i can take you only till the gates, after that its your affair, i do not know any one beyond the gates, not even the embassy cat.
Last year, my cousin who is a muslim priest, (i am a non practicing muslim Nathalie) along with his beared collegues all looking like Osama bin laden, landed in my house asking me to take them to the US embassy. i panicked. i took them out and pointed that the embassy is at the end of the road. i refused to walk with them. then i told them that they will never get the visa, no use trying. To my utter surprise they all came back smiling, said they got the visa without any questions and that too very fast. i kept blinking at them in utter disbelief.
RUTH, yes i agree with you, people of US are against the war
now, thank you for correcting me.
I don't trust the polls either, they can be rigged in favour of the government. This is the repeat of the VietNam. There was an overwhelming support in the beginning and opposition later on.
But i am discussing something else Ruth, why Americans are allowing themselves to be deceived by the government trusting their lies. The media helps marketing those lies without any questions. Questions are asked much later. private lives of genuine protestors like Cindy Sheehan are wrecked and ridiculed by the media. And people believe the media. People like you can only shake the government and make them change their policies, but unfortunately Agencies like the CIA
work independantly and the Citizens don't come to know of their activities and atrocities until its too late after much loss of life and damage has been done.
If the President is unwilling, they remove the President himself.
Existence of such independant agencies are not good for any democracy. They have killed many birds with one stone this time and they are unstoppable. You can change the governments you can impeach the Presidents but you cannot out law such damaging agencies, they continue to function with all the evil intentions. No effort seems to coming forth to outlaw such agencies. they have created monsters in the past, in different countries, dictators who have mass murdered their own people. Who will stop them Ruth ?
I understand Ruth that people who are disgusted with the system and people with conscience like you cannot bring about a change over night. But this is not a deep rooted evil like the caste system and racism in India. Injustice has become a way of life here. United States of America is a new country
And the evils in your country are hardly 50 years old and they can be easily removed.
oh sorry i forgot about boxing RUTH, i am smiling, never like to watch it on TV, i think it is pretty uncivilised. i have done lot of stupid things in my life, going in between two goons hitting each other on the streets. thankfully i never got bashed up. But once i nearly got bashed up but two fighting ladies in a market. The lady threw fish water on me. the other lady threw one broken fish basket at me for interfering. I'll never forget the lesson Ruth. I think humans have a tendency to destroy each other.
And Boxing generates big money.
Thank you BODIL, i have updated my link on my page.
the new blogspot has introduced some useful features. It is lot easier to upload pictures and posts
hope you are doing fine Bodil
Sweet rauf, "easily removed"? Please don't be deluded that because this is not ancient, it will be easy.
...as always very interesting post and pics...umm yeah...i truly agree with you rauf...when people are weak then that usually happens! ;;)
Hi Rauf and thanks for your comment on my blog, it is a lot easier with Blogger :-) I do agree with you about marketing and the incredible results hereoff. I read a book many years ago about Subliminal Seduction, this did explain so detailed how we are being manipulated into buying things and truths through advertizing, things that we wouldn't noemally buy or give a second look merely because the marketing is so cunningly hidden appealing to the basic human nature. We are currently having an election and the spindoctors are working overtime to convince people of this that and the other and everybody knows it is just a way to twist and turn statistics (the same ones) in their particular party's favour. Hilarious at best and tragic if you sit down and really let it sink in. Still, someone once said that we have the leaders we deserve, so I guess it is up to us to change ie. not let ourselves be taken in by the acts of illusion. Be good and lots of light from Bodil.
hehehe RUTH, yes it is not as easy as i said. And it is not difficult to go to the roots of terrorism, to find out where it started. To make things easy, unlike Vietnam war, today the details of the war come out pretty quick. It took nearly 2 years for MyLai massacre to be reported and investigated. The government and CIA find it nearly impossible to push things under the carpet. So i have hopes that the recently emerged evils can be removed though not as easily as i said.
SHIMMER, i am sorry i had to generalise, which was not a right thing to do. i did that because the people did not stop the war. It happened and it is happening. Bloodshed, loss of innocent lives not even remotely connected to terrorism and the loss of nearly 4000 ? American lives. And it is continuing.
This is sad in a democracy. Right minded people like you are helpless in a democracy as things go against the will of the people, though this awareness came pretty late after much damage. This is why i ask is the democracy working ?
DINEH
Dear Bodil, i recently read the following in Kathy's blog
Even Socrates, who lived a very frugal and simple life, loved to go to the market. When his students asked about this, he replied,
"I love to go and see all the things I am happy without."
But today we don't have to go to the market. Marketing and advertisements come to our house, in News papers on TV, and splashed on the roads. It is impossible to avoid them. They make us buy things that we don't need.
oh Bodil ! you must see the election gimmicks in India. Politicians ride on decorated charriots, some take up the broom and clean up the streets, just for the cameras. Some walk with poor and get photographed in slum areas.
After that they don't show their faces and forget the promises they made.
dear rauf, you've talked a lot about speed in your blog, and one of the very fast things we're seeing is change itself. Yes, we're getting more information more quickly. And while that's overwhelming, it could also be good for causing positive changes. I'm guessing the next 10 years we'll see phenomenal change in the world, more than ever before. I just hope it will be mostly positive.
rauf, I wonder if I will ever stop arguing with you about this. :)
You said "people of US are against the war now," and I think you mean that we weren't against it from the start. Many of us were against it before it began. I told you about our big protest in February 2003. Bush attacked Iraq in April. I don't know if you hear about everything in India, all the things that take place here. Even if you read the news every day, religiously, you won't know all the things that happen. People try to change things, at the grass roots. If they don't get media coverage, then you don't hear about them, how can you? Unless someone like me tells you?
The fact that the CIA still exists does not mean people are not working on getting rid of it. I will look into it more, because I don't know what efforts are going on. I should know. I want to know. I think what hurts is when you make sweeping statements that we are all gullible and eat only what the media feeds us. But what strikes me is that maybe you are doing the same. You may only know what the media feeds you about the U.S., about our trends, or whatever. Yet when I, your friend, try to tell you the ways many of us are working, you say Americans are ALL allowing themselves to be deceived by the media. I'm just saying, dear rauf, that not all of us are being deceived by the media. Many, maybe even most of us are very skeptical of the media. I know that the White House dishes out press releases, and that's what the NYTimes reports. There is no more investigative journalism.
I'm not going to let you get away with these sweeping statements, rauf.
Hehe, your turn.
Hi Rauff - that must be a sight with the politicians sweeping streets. Interesting what they will do for votes isn't it??
And to you too Ruth, Richard Dawkins introduced the term 'Memes' to describe ideas that affect the, for a lack of a better word, mind-dna, that will over time have an effect on the way people percieve things. These Memes (ideas), will grow every time the tales are spun. So even though there is no truth to them the mind will recognize the patterns of these ideas/stories and it is sown like a seed in the fertile ground. Now, we can all resist these memes, but the matter of the fact is that the more the stereotypes are repeated or the generalizations are made (for instance about cultures or religion or politics) little by little the synaptic connection is made. So it is not a mere fact of people being gullible or not it is the way the barin the mind works. To state a hideous example, just look at world war two and the way ordinary people were brainwashed into thinking that anyone but the arian race were lesser beings. To take a more recent example just consider the unbelieveable 'truths' that are made when people discuss racisme. And I am not just talking about the black and whites, but we just need to look in our own backyard and see the racism concerning caste, or outsiders of any kind. I think we are all susceptible to this whether we wish to or not. It is maybe part of a survivalmechanisme still lingering from tribaldays. Lets hope we become more enlightened as time progresses.
Dineh, thank you so much, this is good. This makes a lot of sense, Dawkins' idea. Is this in "The God Delusion"? I am sure we are all susceptible to this process.
By the same meme rule, is it possible that people believe things about Americans also, that become generalizations and sterotypes? Over time, the media feeds the hunger for more hatred for America, and so the good that might happen gets called "too much kindness and gullibility." I'm uncomfortable lumping all groups anywhere into general categories. How is this "truth" about America any different than the other synaptic, gradual things people come to believe, such as racism?
You are in Denmark, Dineh. I assume you are not an American?
I really do want to get my head around this. I'm trying so hard. So far, the arguments just aren't making sense to me, that all Americans are gullible and all are being deceived by the government. That the efforts being made, just because they are not overturning agencies, are nill. Living here, I just don't see it. And yet I don't know how to bridge this gap in understanding.
Dawkins' idea is shedding some light. I want to let this sink in. Thank you.
Poor rauf, he's not even at home. Won't he be surprised! :|
Hi dear RAUF,
Thats strange because I am pretty (very) sure that I posted also on your blog my HAPPY DIWALI wish, (nov 8th) but its gone that post, and I also added a DIWALI post on my blog on November 8th esspecially for all people from INDIA, so I might be mistaken, but nevertheless, I wish you a happy 'festival of lights'
BTW;) I leave for a week to paris for my Birthday ,and our 20th anniversary, I left a slideshow from my last nature-works, Leaving-leaves, please take a look,
Miss you JoAnn :)
Have agreat weekend RAUF!:)
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