Following an episode briefly described here, in the TV news one could see a man shouting in despair (quoting literally): "I beg Abdul Rashid Ghazi to let our children go. We shall follow any jihad against the infidel, but here Muslims are fighting against Muslims."
This reminds me of a Maghrebinian woman last year complaining about being discriminated although having a French passport: "Why do they do so? We are human beings, too. We are no Hottentots."
The Peace of the Night!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Human beings! What's inanimal?
Recently sitting together with my closest friends - a writer who, as told twice before, would not write for reasons I shall probably never understand - murmered: "Can't understand why Rushdie should be honoured with knighthood."
He got up, grasped the "Satanic Verses" from one of his shelves where the book stood side by side with the Bible and the Koran.
Noticing my brows producing a questionmark, he smilingly said: "My personal little comment."
And seriously he went on: "Unlike the majority of those who are burning flags, I did read it. Not very impressive. Certainly it would not have reached such a circulation without this enormous helpful sales campaign started in Iran."
"Hm, and why do you think, Rushdie will be given the knighthood?" I asked.
"Either a most influental advisor is owner of a big factory producing flags to supply the demand in certain countries, or they want to provoke those a little who have nothing better to do than proving an old Chines saying."
"What Chinese saying?" I asked.
"Those feeling insulted by someone else, confess to their intellectual inferiority."
When reading this article in the Turkish newspaper Zaman, I started to understand my friend who that evening had also recited Heinrich Heine: Where they burn books, they will end in burning human beings.
"While we are at it, guess in what context Heine wrote this."
"No idea."
"1821, in Almansor. It plays at the time of Inquisition in Spain, and the sentence is referring to the burning of the Koran. - You see, peace loving Christians can be as idiotic as Muslims.
"And I do start to have an uneasy sense of why you refuse to write."
Back to this guest-article. There is not much left to comment after what my closest friend somehow seems to have anticipated.
So I shall restrict to just two remarks according a certain diction.
The writer uses the word inhuman. Would he ever call something or someone inanimal?
I thought the writer believes in his God. Thus, I was surprised to read: "I believe Muslim peer Lord Ahmed's declaration is the voice of all Muslims around the word."
I do hope the poor man will not be prosecuted for his belief.
For the rest, reading what the other day I wrote about Subverting Language will do.
And tomorrow I think (sic) I shall write a little about stupidity and megalomania .
The Peace of the Night!
He got up, grasped the "Satanic Verses" from one of his shelves where the book stood side by side with the Bible and the Koran.
Noticing my brows producing a questionmark, he smilingly said: "My personal little comment."
And seriously he went on: "Unlike the majority of those who are burning flags, I did read it. Not very impressive. Certainly it would not have reached such a circulation without this enormous helpful sales campaign started in Iran."
"Hm, and why do you think, Rushdie will be given the knighthood?" I asked.
"Either a most influental advisor is owner of a big factory producing flags to supply the demand in certain countries, or they want to provoke those a little who have nothing better to do than proving an old Chines saying."
"What Chinese saying?" I asked.
"Those feeling insulted by someone else, confess to their intellectual inferiority."
When reading this article in the Turkish newspaper Zaman, I started to understand my friend who that evening had also recited Heinrich Heine: Where they burn books, they will end in burning human beings.
"While we are at it, guess in what context Heine wrote this."
"No idea."
"1821, in Almansor. It plays at the time of Inquisition in Spain, and the sentence is referring to the burning of the Koran. - You see, peace loving Christians can be as idiotic as Muslims.
"And I do start to have an uneasy sense of why you refuse to write."
Back to this guest-article. There is not much left to comment after what my closest friend somehow seems to have anticipated.
So I shall restrict to just two remarks according a certain diction.
The writer uses the word inhuman. Would he ever call something or someone inanimal?
I thought the writer believes in his God. Thus, I was surprised to read: "I believe Muslim peer Lord Ahmed's declaration is the voice of all Muslims around the word."
I do hope the poor man will not be prosecuted for his belief.
For the rest, reading what the other day I wrote about Subverting Language will do.
And tomorrow I think (sic) I shall write a little about stupidity and megalomania .
The Peace of the Night!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Your turn, Lysistrata
Oh dear. Reading this makes really difficult to tame one's fingers not to produce indecent words. So I should like to give over these huMAN judges to the Devil's Kitchen. He would find the right rants. Although I am not sure the letters of alphabet will do. Perhaps it's time to create some more.
But one decent wish should be allowed.
Waking up tomorrow, I should like to hear this breaking news:
"On behalf of and authorised by 28 million Iranian women Lysistrata delivers the very ultimatum!
The Peace of the Night.
P.S. Ah, resorting oneself either to wishful thinking and/or swearing; talking Billingsgate, railing, cursing and execrating: All this is fine from time to time, and - yes - it demonstrates, it can demonstrate solidarity; a kind of solidarity.
Unfortunately, though, it does not change anything. It does, f.e. not help these women.
And that is why sometimes I do ask myself, if what I am writing here and others there is not just a sign of helplessness, of defeatism, of ... loquacious cowardice.
As Heinrich Heine said:
Der Knecht singt gerne Freiheitslieder
des Abends in der Schenke.
The peasant loves singing rebel songs [songs of freedom]
in the pub at night.
But one decent wish should be allowed.
Waking up tomorrow, I should like to hear this breaking news:
"On behalf of and authorised by 28 million Iranian women Lysistrata delivers the very ultimatum!
The Peace of the Night.
P.S. Ah, resorting oneself either to wishful thinking and/or swearing; talking Billingsgate, railing, cursing and execrating: All this is fine from time to time, and - yes - it demonstrates, it can demonstrate solidarity; a kind of solidarity.
Unfortunately, though, it does not change anything. It does, f.e. not help these women.
And that is why sometimes I do ask myself, if what I am writing here and others there is not just a sign of helplessness, of defeatism, of ... loquacious cowardice.
As Heinrich Heine said:
Der Knecht singt gerne Freiheitslieder
des Abends in der Schenke.
The peasant loves singing rebel songs [songs of freedom]
in the pub at night.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Subverting language
"Subverting democracy". Attracting headline. What democracy? Democracy à la Egypt? Hm. Probably not. Not in Al Ahram.
And indeed.
Still, very interesting. It is mostly interesting to read "foreign" newspapers. Widening the horizon. Especially when you are a frog living in a font.
Well ... but this is not about frog-minded people.
Neither it is about the issue, Joseph Massad is writing about.
It is about language and intelligent people. Mr. Massad seems to be intelligent. Otherwise he would not teach at Columbia University; otherwise the idea could suggest itself Mr Massad is being sponsored by the country which he is attacking such vehemently.
Why do so many people who should be able to know better when talking about whatever conflict so often tend to subvert (sic) and deceive their readers, their listeners by telling only one part of the story (not to say truth).
A contribution to solve whatever conflict is not made with such rhetoric.
Ah, to cut it short:
Seems one is getting pretty close to the essential inherent interior essence which is hidden in the root of the kernel, when hazarding to guess that - at least quite a few; and unfortunately too many - intellectuals are intelligent bipeds without brains.
The peace of the night! :)
And indeed.
Still, very interesting. It is mostly interesting to read "foreign" newspapers. Widening the horizon. Especially when you are a frog living in a font.
Well ... but this is not about frog-minded people.
Neither it is about the issue, Joseph Massad is writing about.
It is about language and intelligent people. Mr. Massad seems to be intelligent. Otherwise he would not teach at Columbia University; otherwise the idea could suggest itself Mr Massad is being sponsored by the country which he is attacking such vehemently.
Why do so many people who should be able to know better when talking about whatever conflict so often tend to subvert (sic) and deceive their readers, their listeners by telling only one part of the story (not to say truth).
A contribution to solve whatever conflict is not made with such rhetoric.
Ah, to cut it short:
Seems one is getting pretty close to the essential inherent interior essence which is hidden in the root of the kernel, when hazarding to guess that - at least quite a few; and unfortunately too many - intellectuals are intelligent bipeds without brains.
The peace of the night! :)
Monday, July 02, 2007
A mess too late to fix?
There is another article in today's Turkish Daily News (TDN), which is interesting to read.
All facts mentioned seem correct; even the final sentence.
Now there do exist quite a few contradictory, often amusing aphorisms either about optimism/optimists and pessimism/pessimists.
As almost always, one could take the one fitting best to one's own convictions, one's own spirit, one's own mood.
After all, such behaviour seems part of the essentiell inherent interior essence hidden in the root of the kernel of everything.
So let a humble agnostic who deeply respects any form of belief as long as the believers do tolerate his conviction admit that he fears Gwynne Dyer's final sentence could prove true, but that he would rather prefer building a temple for an ISM.
And let's call it/her/him OPTIM. :-)
All facts mentioned seem correct; even the final sentence.
Now there do exist quite a few contradictory, often amusing aphorisms either about optimism/optimists and pessimism/pessimists.
As almost always, one could take the one fitting best to one's own convictions, one's own spirit, one's own mood.
After all, such behaviour seems part of the essentiell inherent interior essence hidden in the root of the kernel of everything.
So let a humble agnostic who deeply respects any form of belief as long as the believers do tolerate his conviction admit that he fears Gwynne Dyer's final sentence could prove true, but that he would rather prefer building a temple for an ISM.
And let's call it/her/him OPTIM. :-)
How amazing: Global Unease with Major World Powers
There are some interesting thoughts to be read in Sylvia Tiryaki's TDN-article about survey datas recently published by Washington based Pew Research Center.
But what is the news?
Rather seems to prove - like so often - as correct what can be found in Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" .
[...] If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications? [...] A news which I seriously think a ready wit might write a twelve months or twelve years beforehand with sufficient accuracy."
But what is the news?
Rather seems to prove - like so often - as correct what can be found in Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" .
[...] If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications? [...] A news which I seriously think a ready wit might write a twelve months or twelve years beforehand with sufficient accuracy."
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