POLITICS!
RELIGION!
IVY LEAGUE SPEAKERS!
EDDIE VAN HALEN!
ALL IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA!
(well maybe not that last one)

Fort Huachuca Culture Summit Registration information HERE


Looks like a great few days here in sunny Arizona and there might be ONE COWBOY POET entertaining us and ONE INFAMOUS POET in the audience willing to autograph your T-Shir (uh, if you give me $5 to do so, $10 for unlaundered items). Heh.

Reading Events
With an Eye
Towards Destiny

What's going on in the Middle East anyway? Is it 'like' the break-up of the Soviet Union?

Of course not. The difference between the USSR and the Middle East is not only vast but the comparison is nearly ridiculous. What saves it as a comparison is the mere fact that the two entities "the broader ME" and the former Soviet Union have one very important similarity and that is they are/were both Ideological Enemies of the Empire (US/Israel).

It cannot be argued that the Middle East is 'falling apart' in the way the USSR fell apart because exactly the opposite is true. The problem in the ME has been that the US and Israel prevented unity there. It cannot fall apart. Rather, it is Falling Together and this is far more significant than the demise of the USSR. One could argue that the Islamic Empire was once unified and then fell apart at the end of WWI (Low-rence and all of that) but that too is and was a false description. That was actually the Sunni Ottoman Empire which is not synonomous with Islamic Empire or the ME as a whole. That was the domination and oppression that began immediately after the death of the prophet Mohamed, SA and is ending with what we all know as Al Qaeda.

I don't think anyone can really read what is going to happen after this. No one can predict whether it will be a good thing for the parties concerned or a bad thing. Certainly however, any nation-state that was "imagined" by Churchill & Co with the Balfour, Picot-Sykes and the like....was surely Imaginative. And will vaporize en toto and that would include the fabrication known as Israel.

Peace belongs to those who deserve it. In this little article a "sheikh" (whatever that is) advises the armies to support the people rather than the tyrants.

In yet another article, an 'ayatollah' (translates more or less to a proof of Allah or one who upholds proofs of Allah), it looks like sedition might be in the air in Tehran also.

In yet another article, something even larger than Saudi or Iran is offered, "The Muslim Scholars Gathering considered that the repercussions of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions are like an earthquake which will not only affect both countries, but rather would spread to the Islamic world, if not the whole globe."

I think when it comes to Iran/Iraq however, it is impossible to predict how people will perceive the changes that are in the air. Obviously there are two options and that is that people will 'catch' the disease called overthrow/anomie or two, they will perceive that this is the Manifest Destiny the Shia were promised and these events are to usher in not only a return of real Islamic Values and Practice but will also affect the entire world and people will enter the religion en masse i.e. in numbers too large for any of us to imagine.

I am in the second camp however do not want to hold my breath in terms of change. These types of things take hundreds of years and no one able to read this will be alive 100 years from now (which is a famous tradition of the Prophet, SA).

Finally, I believe the best way to describe events is not only in terms of Shia Manifest Destiny but also in terms of independence from the US and Israel, independence from foreign policies designed not with the locals in mind (except for the Israelis). When Israel is offered as the "only" democracy in the Middle East a person ought to really scratch their head at the likelihood of that either existing or surviving in the modern era. Certainly though, when it comes to the existence of 'natural' things i.e. things that were not imagined or created by foreign powers for their own benefit, we have to note that Lebanon has taken the bull by the horns so to speak and is in no way a creation of US/Israel foreign policy except as a type of collateral damage. It just so happens though that this collateral damage is beneficial and how!

The Truth about the Haves and the HaveNots

Why does this book cost $6,000?

What an incredibly elitist bunch of paper pulp covered in bull malarkey. Really now. I can understand a couple hundred....and maybe a larger run. But this is a book meant to be only in the hands of those who probably have the least to gain from poetry (the very rich who can afford such poofery) and the most to contribute in terms of the social ills and contagions that make poetry not only a nice to have but a have to have. Never mind a diamond encrusted skull...the epitome of and probably warrants the price ..of 'high end' modern art.

This is just a simple rip off...no expensive processes or materials shall the buyer receive. Nope.
And for that matter a person hardly even gets a poem. Go figure. And at least it won't matter much if you spill a bit of mustard on it because quite frankly, no one's gonna notice.

I'll wait for the paperback version and not buy that either even if it is found at a garage sale.

Naked Pictures of Hollywood Armenian Airhead with Long Hair for sale:

X-Rated Ebay










Only in America. $76 is a lot of onions in Egypt though and I have to wonder if the buyer was Hosni Mubarak. I mean, it is possible.

Fake Religions Rock

Fascinating article about DIANETICS.

One of those actors, Josh Brolin, told me that, in a “moment of real desperation,” he visited the Celebrity Centre and received “auditing”—spiritual counselling. He quickly decided that Scientology wasn’t for him. But he still wonders what the religion does for celebrities like Cruise and Travolta: “Each has a good head on his shoulders, they make great business decisions, they seem to have wonderful families. Is that because they were helped by Scientology?” This is the question that makes celebrities so crucial to the religion. And, clearly, there must be something rewarding if such notable people lend their names to a belief system that is widely scorned.

Brolin says that he once witnessed John Travolta practicing Scientology. Brolin was at a dinner party in Los Angeles with Travolta and Marlon Brando. Brando arrived with a cut on his leg, and explained that he had injured himself while helping a stranded motorist on the Pacific Coast Highway. He was in pain. Travolta offered to help, saying that he had just reached a new level in Scientology. Travolta touched Brando’s leg and Brando closed his eyes. “I watched this process going on—it was very physical,” Brolin recalls. “I was thinking, This is really fucking bizarre! Then, after ten minutes, Brando opens his eyes and says, ‘That really helped. I actually feel different!’ ” (Travolta, through a lawyer, called this account “pure fabrication.”)

For Sale: Signed Harmonium, Borzoi/Knopf 1951

WHY NOT MINOT?

Um, it's like 3 degrees outside with a windchill factor below zero somewhere...they say -11 degrees or such rot (it's like -20 if you ask me). Schools closed and no water anywhere.....sheesh it's cold. I spoke to my son in Minot North Dakota and it is warmer there believe it or not, freezin's the reason....as they say..."up there".

And late January found the Arabian peninsula 'afloat'. No wonder you find shark's teeth in Dira'ya:

FOTO

Chaos and Crimea

Few of us know how the camel comes,
the way swords turn against and between
petty mechanizations, these drought
worries near such failed contempts.
Who are they to carry it away
in their cameras cinched with voices
then, caramelized in satin sugar,
worn out with stains, full fledged
saturated licenses whose paid in full
protections promise to refresh
the nation's graveyard, to empty
all the eyes of salt water
and keep Firon's gardens moist
though the weeds and flowers
have long been useless, without root
in sandy wounds and vases.
I hardly have time to weep
here anymore, the new problems
take advantage of old misery,
the television's stealth advisories
keep winning, this fugitive heart
is weaker than envy.


*I have to say...when you watch police running people over in the street on purpose, you think of old women running away with refridgerators on their backs. Surreal.

My significant other lived in W. Africa in a place called Liberia...not known for its stability either or ever. He saw that exact thing happen and it has become our code word for chaos......I'll talk to him about whatever is going on over on his side of the planet and ask, "Did you see anyone running away with a refrigerator on their back?" We wonder together how people manage to develop such power over others and then when these people are liberated they get the power to literally plunder grand pianos and large kitchen appliances. In a sense it is a type of spoils of war and oppression is a type of war zone in which sooner or later the despot will be overcome. Looting then is not unexpected or even bad...but this thing I saw yesterday i.e. a police vehicle running over people in a crowd is something else.

Well, it ain't over until the fat lady sings and in this case, hauls out a new LG side-by-side on her back.

"There is no way the United States or Israel will tolerate resistance in the Arab World." -Norm Finkelstein

In the past two weeks not only has Tunisia thrown off its Saudi Arabian/US backed dictator but Lebanon has thrown out the meddlesom foreign interventionist Saad Hariri who was literally willing to sell the soul of his country to US/Israeli interests. And now Egypt and what happens in Egypt can be said to happen throughout the Arab world. This has long been forecasted by several political scholars i.e. that the oppressive leaders of all these countries would fall one after the other. The most important of those forecasters who is known to never lie is Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.



The coming break-up of Israel per Norman Finkelstein who discusses the flagrant disregard for international law with this slob known as Daniel Pollak who, arguably would fit in quite well with Hitler, INC when he argues that Israel has to starve people in order to er...uh, protect the Occupiers (known as "Israelis") from er...uh...the distress of their illegal occupation of the er...uh..."Promised Land". A land deed that they just insist er, uh is based on.....the Bible or....something like that. (The Balfour):

Norman Finkelstein - Hezbollah, the Honour of Lebanon.flv

Kodachrome Era Ends, Another Begins

Rome (Egypt) is burning you know....the Western media finally taking a slight interest in probably the biggest thing since sliced cheese and the Shia takeover of Iran in the 1970s. It is comforting to know that they still believe that if they don't see them that they can't see us...or something like that anyway.

All the same, it makes me think of Kodachrome and Paul Simon for some reason and while out on a stroll the other day (hour long daily three mile stroll), I ran into the photographer Ted White who explained to me the demise of the world's best film and the fact that it is no longer in commission as of December 31, 2010.

Dwayne's apparently was the last place on EARTH that would develop our Kodachrome 25 (slow but deliciously red) and 64 (more compatible with existing light) film. And durn it if I don't have one roll of exposed 25 still waiting to be developed....shoot.

Go to their site and you can order a nice yellow t-shirt commemorating the Kodachrome age although I doubt they are selling a Mubarak t-shirt also....

Alas. What next, the plague?

Dwayne's

In Tucson yesterday.....parking lots empty, people whispering and just plain shocked. It's the Beirut syndrome you know....when assassinations become as ordinary as sunshine. Sadly enough.

Chicken Little shot in the back by unknown assailant, authorities looking for Mr. Peanut

Fish in Maryland, Crabs in the UK, Doves in Italy and then there's the incidents in Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. What next, the plague?

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978883491

Oh, nope.....it's Bat Fungus as well which is far more serious than the routine deaths of small pockets of birds and crabs due to a variety of natural and unnatural (fireworks) causes:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/02/bats-dropping-l.html

The bat fungus is truly sad and a real epidemic. It also has a startling potential impact on food production throughout the world as bats are as important as bees as pollinators of fruit trees and other human crops.

Freeganism and its exploits:

http://www.uiowa.edu/~ijcs/waste/coyne.htm

http://freegan.info/facts-and-statistics/

NIGHT SHARKS or VAMPIRE PIGS





Today while getting my two great nephews ready to go to school, one of them (Jesse) told me I need to take out my trash at night. I told him that no way was I going to take out my trash at night because at night, in my yard I have nightly visitors that have very big teeth. Usually I have ten to fifteen of them and especially now that it is pecan season and there's pecans all over the yard. These buggers don't mess around when they blindly charge and can literally take a hand or foot off in the process. It's like living with night sharks. Trash is a day job around here.

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

US/Israel the only ones with the Motive:

REGIONAL WAR/CONFLAGRATIONS

The True Story of Israel's Assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri on Valentine's Day 2005 (an inauspicious date if I say so myself) which was merely a 'part' of a long range plan to destabilize and destroy the entire Middle East and reconstruct it along US/Israeli/Big Oil parameters. There was always one and ONLY one clear motive in the assassination of perhaps the most beloved Lebanese businessman of our time and that was to start a civil war inside of Lebanon and permit the entry of covert forces who would perhaps destroy Hezbollah from within, with or without the help of the Lebanese people themselves (the stupid ones anyway). The first phase of this US/Israeli inspired international conspiracy was to create an atmosphere of contention between Lebanon and the international community.:

http://english.moqawama.org/essaydetailsf.php?eid=12621&fid=11

"Now we move to the second phase. The assassination of martyr PM Rafiq Hariri caused a quake in the country. There took place a US-French agreement, pressure and the utilization of all elements of strength in the world to pull Syria out of Lebanon. Syria withdrew from Lebanon. So it is indispensable that the country be recomposed. I consider the second phase which commenced with an internal political operation in 2005 among the phases that targeted the Resistance but in a soft way. I labeled the second phase as "Temptation with Power". Let's add to the book "The President's Secret" what was published by newspapers then about the meetings of the French Ambassador with me which is true. The administration of President Jacque Chirac had a vision that says 'let's engage Hizbullah and the Resistance in the authority'. This is not my analysis. "

And as I have always witnessed, Syria was already on their way out when Hariri was murdered by Israel (from a fighter jet, from above). It was in no way the event that forced them out of Lebanon. The time line just does not agree with that oft-repeated analysis.

And certainly, any government(s) willing to knock down the WTC would have little problem assassinating a two-bit Lebanese suit. What the US and Israel failed to understand as they 'tempted' Lebanese Shia with power (by rearranging matters to do with the Taif Accord that organizes Lebanon into three parties: Muslim/Druze/Christian) and a 'new' three party system (Sunni/Shia/Christian) was that Hezbollah was never about power. It was about freedom from oppression and about the illegality of Israel.

"You were mistaken and deluded. We are not authority-seekers. We do not sell our resistance, freedom, dignity and our martyrs' blood for one-third of the power, not even for the entire power. To us the Resistance is a divine and a religious duty." -Nasrallah

Read more at the official Hezbollah site "Moqawama" here:


http://english.moqawama.org/essaydetailsf.php?eid=12621&fid=11

72 PURE MARTYRS AND THE ROYALTY OF ISLAM

"Every day is Ashura and every land is Kerbala."

.....which can loosely translate to everyday is sad for Shia muslims because people do not realize the truth and every land is the place of oppression and even sometimes, war crimes because of humanity's failure to not only submit to Islam but to listen to the wisdom of the true holders of Islamic wisdom, the members of the Ahl Bayt and their followers (like Saed Hassan Nasrallah who is literally a family member of this divine tribal lineage).

Today marks the end of Ashoura 2010 in the Islamic calendar. Ashoura is the tenth of Muharram, the anniversary of the mighty battle of Kerbala and the ten day festival of mourning for Shia around the world. It commemorates the slaughter of the last member of the Prophet Mohamed's immediate family - his grandson Hussein at the hands of a most evil and oppositional (to Islam) force headed by the notoriously wicked Mu'awwiya.

A brief description of Ashoura here: http://www.ashura.com/

Back in the day (when I lived in Lebanon), Ashoura was celebrated with tremendous amounts of blood letting in the town squares throughout South Lebanon. Nowdays however the trend is to donate blood to blood banks instead.

The story comes to us through generation upon generation of retelling. Each year throughout the Islamic World (Shia), the tale is retold over the course of ten (ashara) days. Believers attend Husseiniyas (like mosques) and the tale is retold as mourners cry and mourn the long ago deaths of the martyrs (the 72 pure ones) in the field of Kerbala. A list of the 72 martyrs (**who I believe have been mistaken/misundertood for 'virgins' as the ones who will meet other martyrs in paradise) can be found here:

http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/84850-list-of-72-shuhada-martyrs-of-karbala/

Tribute is paid to Zainab, the sister of Hussein for the historical retention of the story. She was taken hostage by the army of Mu'awwiya and as they traveled to Syria, she told the story of the war crime to everyone along the way and hence, the story is known throughout the world.

May Allah be pleased with his Ahl Bayt and bless their friends and followers throughout the coming years.

**The concept of "virgins" as being rewards is not found in the Quran but in several hadith which are considered mostly weak reports at best.

Assange is a Hero. No more and no less.

Following is proof that America is a butcher, Saudi Arabia a hypocrit and Sarkozy a dim witted moron averse to tasting anything not resembling in both texture and taste, a snail. Go figure.

Mirror protection sites here (folks can add to the back up via their own server if they choose): http://213.251.145.96/mirrors.html

"American" soldiers laugh as they murder Iraqi citizens in cold blood. Reuter's reporters also murdered in this attack revealed by Wikileaks. Assange wanted for sexual assault? Right. Yeah, right. And some of the most disgusting 'casual' banter is engaged in by the murderers in the cockpit. Cock Pit. It only gets worse as the American soldiers who are in no danger whatsoever and never were, issue a request to kill the men who arrive to try and render aid to the one remaining victim of this barbaric attack. And then they basically murder the rescuers which ended up including two children as well. One of them laughs as he 'drives over a body' in his Bradley. And there's more....this little jackass states that it is the fault of the Iraqi for 'bringing his kid into battle'.....uh....what battle? This is their home. I do wonder where these soldiers are now, if they are remorseful or unchanged by their own horrendous lack of humanity.



The rules of engagement 'are a joke' according to this soldier who was there and tried to rescue the two children:




Of interest on Wikileaks site, Saudi Arabia's request for UN/US help in neutralizing Hezbollah in S. Lebanon (gosh with friends like that who needs enemies!):

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000768

SIPDIS

EO 12958 DECL: 05/12/2018
TAGS IR, IS, IZ, LE, MASS, MCAP, MNUC, MOPS, PGOV, PINR,
PREL, SA
SUBJECT: LEBANON: SAG FM SAYS UN PEACE KEEPING FORCE NEEDED
NOW

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Gfoeller for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)

¶1. (S) SUMMARY. S/I Ambassador David Satterfield and an MNF-I/Embassy Baghdad team met with SAG Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal on May 10. While Iraq was the main topic discussed, Saud brought up events taking place in Beirut and emphasized the need for a “security response” to Hizballah,s “military challenge to the Government of Lebanon.” Specifically, Saud argued for an “Arab force” to create and maintain order in and around Beirut, which would be assisted in its efforts and come under the “cover” of a deployment of UNIFIL troops from south Lebanon. The US and NATO would need to provide movement and logistic support, as well as “naval and air cover.” Saud said that a Hizballah victory in Beirut would mean the end of the Siniora government and the “Iranian takeover” of Lebanon. END SUMMARY.

Lebanon: A “Military” Problem with a Military Solution

--------------------------------------------- ---------

¶2. (S) Opening a discussion with S/I Satterfield focused largely on Iraq, Saud first turned to Lebanon and stated that the effort by “Hizballah and Iran” to take over Beirut was the first step in a process that would lead to the overthrow of the Siniora government and an “Iranian takeover of all Lebanon.” Such a victory, combined with Iranian actions in Iraq and on the Palestinian front, would be a disaster for the US and the entire region. Saud argued that the present situation in Beirut was “entirely military” and that the solution must be military as well. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were too fragile to bear more pressure; they needed urgent backing to secure Beirut from Hizballah’s assault. What was needed was an “Arab force” drawn from Arab “periphery” states to deploy to Beirut under the “cover of the UN” and with a significant presence drawn from UNIFIL in south Lebanon “which is sitting doing nothing.” The US and NATO would be asked to provide equipment for such a force as well as logistics, movement support, and “naval and air cover.”

¶3. (S) Satterfield asked what support this concept had from Siniora and from other Arab states. Saud responded that “Siniora strongly supports,” but that only Jordan and Egypt “as well as Arab League SYG Moussa” were aware of the proposal, lest premature surfacing result in its demise. No contacts had been made with Syria on any Beirut developments, Saud said, adding, “what would be the use?”
An “Easier Battle to Win”

-------------------------

¶4. (S) Saud said that of all the regional fronts on which Iran was now advancing, the battle in Lebanon to secure peace would be an “easier battle to win” (than Iraq or on the Palestinian front). Satterfield said that the “political and military” feasibility of the undertaking Saud had outlined would appear very much open to question. In particular, attempting to establish a new mandate for UNIFIL would be very problematic. Satterfield said the US would carefully

RIYADH 00000768 002 OF 002
study any Arab decision on a way forward. Saud concluded by underscoring that a UN/Arab peace-keeping force coupled with US air and naval support would “keep out Hezbollah forever” in Lebanon.

¶5. (U) Ambassador Satterfield has cleared this cable.

FRAKER


And the French Faux Pas:
comments. Minor in substance, but significant to Saudi sensibilities. Initially, Sarkozy’s fiance Carla Bruni was expected to accompany him (but finally did not travel), which the Saudis found offensive given their strict, conservative culture against the company of an unmarried woman. Various protocol faux pas were committed by the French delegation during the visit. The French advance made, in Saudi opinion, unreasonable logistical demands. Finally, Pres Sarkozy was viewed as less than gracious, in Saudi eyes, during certain events, such as avoiding tasting traditional Arab foods and a bored look during the televised arrival sword ceremony. While these are minor points, the fact our Saudi contacts mentioned them shows their discontent. These incidents
RIYADH 00000102 003 OF 003
characterized one overarching private comment from the Saudis, that Pres Sarkozy has not replaced Pres Chirac in Saudi eyes. Other usually well-informed Saudi contacts have lamented the overtly commercial nature of the visit. Sarkozy reportedly presented a list of fourteen (14) sales that French firms would like to make to the Saudi government, complete with the original price and discounts that Sarkozy was prepared to negotiate. END COMMENT. FRAKER

http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/islamic-hadith-rare-muhammad/most-expensive-nov10.shtml

Last month’s most expensive sale, a rare Islamic book about the work and words of the prophet Muhammad, was our sixth most expensive sale in the history of AbeBooks and our biggest sale for five years. The $45,000 book is around 800 years old and details Hadith methodology. Hadith are collections of narrations dedicated to explaining the prophet’s actions and words. They are important tools in understanding the Qu'ran and Islamic law, and have existed for more than 1,200 years. They are a cornerstone of Islamic life.

Muhammad died in 632 A.D and his traditions were passed on orally for several centuries before the Hadith were formally recorded. By the 9th century, there were many different versions of the Hadith and today the Shia and Sunni denominations have different ones.

Most Darling of the Poetry section at Abe's Rare? Keats tied with Elliot. Oddly enough, Jim Morrison of the Doors comes in at #4. Go figure.

Athenian Demos Resource

and more importantly, "a safe house for literary misfits" is here at

Odd Books