Saturday, October 28, 2006
Ghazal Omid
I decided to write this blog after I saw a couple of interviews, on the Fox news channel, with Ghazal Omid, the Iranian author of Living in Hell. She was very outspoken about the Iranian regime and its pursuit of nuclear power. This is what her site says about her book: “Living in hell is a captivating insider’s account of life in the Islamic theocracy of Iran as seen through the eyes of woman. It relates how the government uses the name of God to manipulate and suppress people, especially women, in the most barbaric ways.”
The New Atheism
Cover of the WIRED magazine, November 2006 issue on “The New Atheism.” No Heaven. No Hell. Just Science. Inside the crusade against religion. The New Atheism: A band of intellectual brothers is mounting a crusade against belief in God. Are they winning converts, or merely preaching to the choir?
Friday, October 27, 2006
Today's LA Times Book Review on Mixing Religion and Politics
Incidentally, today's (Friday, October 27, 2006) LA Times Calendar section had two books reviewed by Maria L. La Ganga. It was under, "Style & Culture", and was called, "Mixing religion and politics." The two books, were "The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America," by Ray Suarez and the other was, "Welcome to Homeland: A Journey to the Rural Heart of America's Conservative Revolution", by Brain Mann.
While I am on the subject of religion and politics, in a future blog, I am thinking of talking about the November, 2006, WIRED magazine's, "The New Atheism", articles and sharing my views on the subject.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
On Politics, Democracy, and Religion
I’m not much into politics, but if I was, I would think of myself as a moderate or middle-of-the-road kind of guy. Here are some of my views. I have no position on Gay Marriage rights, but I don’t like seeing middle age men kissing in the public. I will not vote for or against it. I’ll abstain! It goes the same for the death penalty. I'll abstain on that too. I am pro choice and for women’s rights. I will vote to support it, but I don’t like what Heather Mills is doing to Paul McCartney. I have the same position on embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia. Yes, to Oregon! I will support both of those issues. Some may argue that those are not moderate views. Okay, call it what you want. On issues that I can't take sides, I will leave it to the popular decision.
The biggest news around here is Iraq, North Korea, Iran and immigration problem or securing the borders. We are less than 2 weeks away from the elections here in the US. They say it’s your democratic duty to get involved and have your voice heard. So, I have this guilt feeling if I don’t participate. I have received my pamphlet of California General Election. Since this is the midterm elections, we don’t get to elect the President, but some members of Congress, State Legislatures, and some state governors. We elected our president in 2004. In California we get to elect the governor and other candidates like justices of the supreme and appellate courts (judges), some local officials (mayor, city council members and others) and a vote for bunch of propositions to amend or enact a new law (also called measures.) I am embarrassed to say that I only recognize the governor (the Terminator) and couple of legislators. The pamphlet provides you with all the necessary information, points of view, text of the proposed laws, and the arguments on each side. You may think that’s great, but it’s not. For example, the texts for the proposed laws are so long and written in such a lawyerly lingo that I can barely figure what they are talking about, let alone form an opinion. It is followed by the pro and con proponents’ argument. That doesn’t make it any easier. Both sides are so convincing that you can’t figure who is telling the truth. They usually are proposing to sale more public bonds to fund the law. Well, where is all this money coming from and who’s going to pay them back? California is already so much in debt and in the red that I’m surprised it hasn’t declared bankruptcy yet! They keep delaying balancing the budget and keep raising more money (debt) to cover some of the old debt! So, it’s not that easy to just vote/approve something you like. If I don’t understand a proposed law, I just won’t vote for it. I will abstain! I think Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governator) is going to win the gubernatorial race again. I like some of his positions. For example, he voted against Bush on Stem Cell research in California and didn’t raise the car tax. In 2000, I was totally against Bush, mainly because of his religious views and his stand on abortion. In 2004, I didn’t think it makes any difference who takes the office. Even if a new guy gets elected, we are so deeply involved in Iraq; it won’t make any difference who I vote for. And forget about the TV adds! They are not a good source of information. They’re mostly propaganda, nasty and vindictive. They say that the Republicans are going to lose both houses. We’ll see.
I don’t consider myself an intellectual or very sophisticated. I wish I was, but I’m not. I’m not very well read and I don’t write well either. I usually avoid getting into discussions I don’t know much about. To me, there are always three points to an argument. Not two, but three! You agree, disagree, or you have no opinion. I think you should have the right not take sides. I’ll abstain!
I don’t read much and when I do it’s only short articles. I get most of my news from FOX or CNN. I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) when I can, but most of my information comes from the TV, Google, or Wikipedi, the on-line dictionary. I also think I’m behind times on most things. When I was growing up around the Vietnam era, I was either very naïve or just oblivious to what was going around the world. For example I didn’t understand the Watergate till much later. I didn’t understand what was going on in Yugoslavia at the time and the only thing I new about it was the Marshal Tito had just died. I didn’t know who the Serbs, the Bosnians, and Croatians where. Who has doing the “ethnic cleansing” and which side where the Muslims. I learned some of my history from watching movies like the Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago. I was so confused who the Bolsheviks were and or on whose side was Pasha. I thought Julie Kristy was gorgeous. I didn’t know when the demise of Ottoman Empire was. Now, I know how many countries were formed after their demise. Twenty one!
I don’t’ have a strong position on the Arab and Israelis conflict. I don’t know who is at fault. I get upset when I see all the destruction in Lebanon, but I’m not sure who started it. Same goes with the Iraq situation now. I was glad we got rid of Saddam, but I had not expected anything like this. This is a disaster! Darfour, Sudan is another disaster. And what’s with suicide bombings and blowing up the twin towers? Are these people really that naïve to believe there are 70 virgins waiting for them or is this just another western propaganda? What is it with Danish cartoons and the prophet Mohammed? Today I heard 7 Muslim groups had sued the paper in Copenhagen and the judge had dismissed the suite. The reactions over the cartoons show the intolerance of these people. Well, in a way I’m glad they reacted! I think if no one had said anything, the jokes would have kept coming. I don’t see anybody making fun of Jesus or Moses!
I am scared of radical and extremist religions and people that subscribe to it. Muslim extremist, Christian fanaticism or perhaps orthodox Jews can all be very dangerous. To issue a fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie for writing Satanic Verses is absurd! Didn’t anybody learn anything from the Spanish Inquisition or the Crusades?
When I first came to US, I was young and impressionable. I was the product of the pre-revolutionary Iran. Like most people, I was very westernized. Living here, I became more curious and aware of politics and religion around me. I realized I had lived under a dictatorship and I didn’t know it. I was told it was a Constitutional Monarchy! I formed new ideas and took a different stand on religion. Even though I grew up with Muslim parents, I didn’t practice or prayed at all. I don’t think the one time prayer asking God to help me pass my senior year exams in high school cuts the mustard. I was curious about Darwinism (natural selection) and Marxism (and Communism) but I was very scared to check out any books on that subject. I was afraid that the state department may find out and that would be the end of my stay here. So, I never pursued it.
I decided to write this blog after I saw a couple of interviews, on the Fox news channel, with Ghazal Omid, the Iranian author of Living in Hell. She was very outspoken about the Iranian regime and its pursuit of nuclear power. This is what her site says about her book: “Living in hell is a captivating insider’s account of life in the Islamic theocracy of Iran as seen through the eyes of woman. It relates how the government uses the name of God to manipulate and suppress people, especially women, in the most barbaric ways.”
On a happier note, I haven’t changed much on certain things. It always takes me a few seasons to catch on or learn about the hip or popular TV shows. I miss Mork and Mindy, Cheers, Sinefeld, and Friends. I don’t have a favorite this season yet. Well, maybe Grey’s Anatomy.
The biggest news around here is Iraq, North Korea, Iran and immigration problem or securing the borders. We are less than 2 weeks away from the elections here in the US. They say it’s your democratic duty to get involved and have your voice heard. So, I have this guilt feeling if I don’t participate. I have received my pamphlet of California General Election. Since this is the midterm elections, we don’t get to elect the President, but some members of Congress, State Legislatures, and some state governors. We elected our president in 2004. In California we get to elect the governor and other candidates like justices of the supreme and appellate courts (judges), some local officials (mayor, city council members and others) and a vote for bunch of propositions to amend or enact a new law (also called measures.) I am embarrassed to say that I only recognize the governor (the Terminator) and couple of legislators. The pamphlet provides you with all the necessary information, points of view, text of the proposed laws, and the arguments on each side. You may think that’s great, but it’s not. For example, the texts for the proposed laws are so long and written in such a lawyerly lingo that I can barely figure what they are talking about, let alone form an opinion. It is followed by the pro and con proponents’ argument. That doesn’t make it any easier. Both sides are so convincing that you can’t figure who is telling the truth. They usually are proposing to sale more public bonds to fund the law. Well, where is all this money coming from and who’s going to pay them back? California is already so much in debt and in the red that I’m surprised it hasn’t declared bankruptcy yet! They keep delaying balancing the budget and keep raising more money (debt) to cover some of the old debt! So, it’s not that easy to just vote/approve something you like. If I don’t understand a proposed law, I just won’t vote for it. I will abstain! I think Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governator) is going to win the gubernatorial race again. I like some of his positions. For example, he voted against Bush on Stem Cell research in California and didn’t raise the car tax. In 2000, I was totally against Bush, mainly because of his religious views and his stand on abortion. In 2004, I didn’t think it makes any difference who takes the office. Even if a new guy gets elected, we are so deeply involved in Iraq; it won’t make any difference who I vote for. And forget about the TV adds! They are not a good source of information. They’re mostly propaganda, nasty and vindictive. They say that the Republicans are going to lose both houses. We’ll see.
I don’t consider myself an intellectual or very sophisticated. I wish I was, but I’m not. I’m not very well read and I don’t write well either. I usually avoid getting into discussions I don’t know much about. To me, there are always three points to an argument. Not two, but three! You agree, disagree, or you have no opinion. I think you should have the right not take sides. I’ll abstain!
I don’t read much and when I do it’s only short articles. I get most of my news from FOX or CNN. I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) when I can, but most of my information comes from the TV, Google, or Wikipedi, the on-line dictionary. I also think I’m behind times on most things. When I was growing up around the Vietnam era, I was either very naïve or just oblivious to what was going around the world. For example I didn’t understand the Watergate till much later. I didn’t understand what was going on in Yugoslavia at the time and the only thing I new about it was the Marshal Tito had just died. I didn’t know who the Serbs, the Bosnians, and Croatians where. Who has doing the “ethnic cleansing” and which side where the Muslims. I learned some of my history from watching movies like the Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago. I was so confused who the Bolsheviks were and or on whose side was Pasha. I thought Julie Kristy was gorgeous. I didn’t know when the demise of Ottoman Empire was. Now, I know how many countries were formed after their demise. Twenty one!
I don’t’ have a strong position on the Arab and Israelis conflict. I don’t know who is at fault. I get upset when I see all the destruction in Lebanon, but I’m not sure who started it. Same goes with the Iraq situation now. I was glad we got rid of Saddam, but I had not expected anything like this. This is a disaster! Darfour, Sudan is another disaster. And what’s with suicide bombings and blowing up the twin towers? Are these people really that naïve to believe there are 70 virgins waiting for them or is this just another western propaganda? What is it with Danish cartoons and the prophet Mohammed? Today I heard 7 Muslim groups had sued the paper in Copenhagen and the judge had dismissed the suite. The reactions over the cartoons show the intolerance of these people. Well, in a way I’m glad they reacted! I think if no one had said anything, the jokes would have kept coming. I don’t see anybody making fun of Jesus or Moses!
I am scared of radical and extremist religions and people that subscribe to it. Muslim extremist, Christian fanaticism or perhaps orthodox Jews can all be very dangerous. To issue a fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie for writing Satanic Verses is absurd! Didn’t anybody learn anything from the Spanish Inquisition or the Crusades?
When I first came to US, I was young and impressionable. I was the product of the pre-revolutionary Iran. Like most people, I was very westernized. Living here, I became more curious and aware of politics and religion around me. I realized I had lived under a dictatorship and I didn’t know it. I was told it was a Constitutional Monarchy! I formed new ideas and took a different stand on religion. Even though I grew up with Muslim parents, I didn’t practice or prayed at all. I don’t think the one time prayer asking God to help me pass my senior year exams in high school cuts the mustard. I was curious about Darwinism (natural selection) and Marxism (and Communism) but I was very scared to check out any books on that subject. I was afraid that the state department may find out and that would be the end of my stay here. So, I never pursued it.
I decided to write this blog after I saw a couple of interviews, on the Fox news channel, with Ghazal Omid, the Iranian author of Living in Hell. She was very outspoken about the Iranian regime and its pursuit of nuclear power. This is what her site says about her book: “Living in hell is a captivating insider’s account of life in the Islamic theocracy of Iran as seen through the eyes of woman. It relates how the government uses the name of God to manipulate and suppress people, especially women, in the most barbaric ways.”
On a happier note, I haven’t changed much on certain things. It always takes me a few seasons to catch on or learn about the hip or popular TV shows. I miss Mork and Mindy, Cheers, Sinefeld, and Friends. I don’t have a favorite this season yet. Well, maybe Grey’s Anatomy.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
First blog
I have updated my first blog (this writing.) I will leave the original intact, but in italics. From the comments I got it was a little personal and that’s perhaps not a proper blog, especially a first. That was the first thing that came to mind. The creative juices had not started to flow yet! The truth is, that I don’t think I’ll be good blogger. Lately I've been the “second personality”, the boring one. Read “About me,” if you don’t know what I mean. For now I think I’ll just enjoy reading others'. If I come up with something good, I will share it here. I am just sorry this one is so lame. I did update the info though (“About Me” and “Interests…”)
Here is the original content:
I missed Niki very much. We don't talk that much. Actually I don't have much to say to her even though she has made the attempt to call me the last few times. I just keep it short and just ask how she is doing. I sent her an email last Saturday and she just sent me a short answer. I guess she doesn't have much to say to me either. She just said she has strep throat, but she is excited that Halloween is coming up. Her first party is this weekend!
"P" (and family) left for Norway last Sunday. God only knows when I'll get to see them again (well I shouldn't use that term, God knows what my beliefs are!) I talked to his mom yesterday and she told me she had joined them in the airport. She also liked the little Elmo doll I got for little "T". Well this is it for now.
Here is Niki and I many years ago. Neither of us look anything like our pictures now! Sorry they came out so small. I'll work on that later. She is really gorgeous in these pictures.
Here is the original content:
I missed Niki very much. We don't talk that much. Actually I don't have much to say to her even though she has made the attempt to call me the last few times. I just keep it short and just ask how she is doing. I sent her an email last Saturday and she just sent me a short answer. I guess she doesn't have much to say to me either. She just said she has strep throat, but she is excited that Halloween is coming up. Her first party is this weekend!
"P" (and family) left for Norway last Sunday. God only knows when I'll get to see them again (well I shouldn't use that term, God knows what my beliefs are!) I talked to his mom yesterday and she told me she had joined them in the airport. She also liked the little Elmo doll I got for little "T". Well this is it for now.
Here is Niki and I many years ago. Neither of us look anything like our pictures now! Sorry they came out so small. I'll work on that later. She is really gorgeous in these pictures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
