It is not important exactly what Malala Yusafzai says. It is important that she talks and it is important that we listen. It is important that we respect her. The cultural revolution in Islam has already started by women starting to talk. Even when extremist Islamist women talk they are chipping away from Islamic rigidity.
Khurasan (the men of) are real, at least now that it is mentioned and taken as real by the USA. Perhaps this is the group that will eventually be the US partner in bringing stability to the region. The men of Khurasan exist in Islamic, pre-Islamic and Baha'i prophecies. This myth is powerful and in the blood of locals there.
Iraqi Baathists were secularists and now they are a part of IS. This is not tempest in a teapot, this is deep. Human evolution took us to our cultural evolution which is the fast track to evolution. Culture is in our genes and a virulent component of it is ownership. Ownership is what partitions wealth and forces some to starve and hence makes the extra speed in the fast track cultural evolution. Religion is a source of entitlement and hence viewed as a possession. Iran, a Shiite and a non-Arab, claiming the ownership of Islam and dominating Syria is the real long term reason for Sunni extremism. Nothing will be solved until Iran gives up on Islamism and let's its own people free.
No problem. There are vast mountain ranges. Bringing them down will yield a lot of of positive energy, more than oil, wind, and solar combined. You can create a lot of new man made islands and crash the prices of beach front lands also. In any case I am for internationalizing natural sources of energy and specially oil and putting high use tax on them, proportional to the damage that they cause. The tax money must be used for future generations, like international education and specially education of women.
The answer is: From money from petroleum. Primary role of owning something is to limit others from using it until they are not a competition. Petroleum ownership is the fast track of the same thing.
The US is not a single crime boss. Iraq is not a single poor guy. The pain reflected in this article is about why in the end the Kurds are getting help and Iran is left out with the short end of the deal.
Rumi when said that he is "not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. He exactly meant that. He understood the secret of the "and." The absolute Oneness. The tree was created by the fruit.
Correct. The US must stop being a source of pain in this world. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was for stopping the non-market uses of oil resources and not for removing the pain that Saddam was. The US replaced one kind of pain by another kind of pain. The US agreed with debaathification just for not paying salaries, forcing people (like teachers) to deal with free market, and saving oil money only to lubricate the banking system.
Instead of US pivoting to Iran (read Islamic State of Iran) US might as well pivot to ISIS and get things done more efficiently, quickly and with lower cost. Neither Iran nor ISIS are interested to harm USA. It is not so fashionable to take on the USA any more. Both Iran and ISIS want to subjugate the locals and obtain resources so they can subjugate more locals and obtain more resources.
The Straight Path, the core of Islam, is indeed the equivalent class of all paths to God. As you exclude some paths, then what is left is a (class of) crooked path(s).
If the USA must put up with tyrannies, for example like the Saudi Arabia, because of self-national interest, either for profit or for fear of loss, then USA lacks the gentlemanhood.
Or increase the consumption tax on gas oil and coal and let the prices for producers to fall.
Oil is a bloody commodity. Iran without oil would have been a happier country.
My Russian friend and customer from Saint Petersburg is the main importer of military electronics components from California to Russia. He said that there in no alternative source for these components. China can not make them and Russia is totally dependent on the US. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Russia is just another corporation pushing for monopoly in energy section in their so called sphere of influence. This is even at the expense of poverty, human loss (loss of freedom and happiness) in their sphere of influence.
There is no need for sanctions. Federal reserve can stop its QE, the purchasing of 65bn bonds and assets per month. the money, dollar for dollar and more, will be drained from emerging markets, e.g. Russia. Price of oil will fall and Russia will have to spend $500bn reserve to support its banks and it will not be enough. And yet the interest rates in the US and EU will be lower. But do not worry yet. There are forces against the idea of letting oil prices fall.
I agree with Timothy Snyder. I was in Maidan. One of my employees got shot. My Russian Ukrainian friend who was earlier a Communist candidate for political office is on the side of revolution and freedom for people.
Putin puts the neck of Russian economy out on the block. There are multiplicity of ways that it can be cut. There is only one way to save it if it pleases the oil industry as a whole. The odds are totally stacked against Russia, Iran and Syria.
Putin's Russia is a part of the oil cartel, trying to keep the prices stable (both from rising too much or falling too much) and keep the oil bubble intact for years. This is why Russia is allowed to keep it's spheres of influence at all. In the case of Ukraine it was not USA who took Ukraine away from Russia. The USA wanted stability. It was the work of Ukrainians who freed themselves as they are anti-authoritarian and wanted to be a part of the free Europe and support their families.
A Western (American) mind that sees everything under nationalist/racialist light can not understand the agony of Ukrainian soul under authoritarian governments. Ukrainians are at heart matriarchal and not nationalistic at all. They are dedicated to their families first. They love their men even as possessions. They (men and women) feel that their men are trusted with them and they are responsible for their happiness. Authoritarianism is contradictory to this. Now Putins and Ayatollahs can go somewhere else and find other subjects.
Iran is preparing for a future bluff. If Iran suddenly pretends that it has a few nuclear devices and at the same time a big Iranian boat is loitering near the US then Obama will not call this bluff.
Creating sadness, pain, and suffering is the right of the Islamic republic, either in Syria or in Iran as a sovereign state and the leader of Islam and with the power of veto from Russia . This right must be taken away.
Any struggle except of the non-violence sort will bring more misery as it opens more opportunities for corruption and repression. The non-violence struggle is only useful and effective when your opponent is subject to transparency. It is even more effective if your opponent is the world government. Palestinians must accept the US government as the world government and practice non-violence.
Ahmadinejad was correct when he said to Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum that using Nuclear weapon does not make sense. He did not say to Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum that having the nuclear shield does not make sense also. It is now impossible to place sever sanctions on Israel and compel it to give equality to Palestinians, because Israel has nuclear shield. Israel and Iran are the proofs that we are at the dead end of the governing the world with the system of nation states.
The majority of Congressmen and Senators know very well that they are corrupted in many ways. But they have the common sense that it is not needed to add to their existing corruption by supporting yet another corrupt and cult government. If the superpower, the USA stops recognizing the Islamic government then it sets a precedence that we are going not to put up with any corruption including the corruption in our own midst.
Whatever you show forth, you are that thing. And this can only be searched and understood only after this voice from the realm beyond, from the realm of The Every Thing.
Kristallnacht is a dire warning against nationalism. The nation state system is about how many ways to exclude people, humiliating them as the justification to excluding them.
This will be great for the USA. The alliance of China with the Saudis will put tremendous pressure on Russia and move her closer to the USA. The stigma of being the Saudi supporter will be gone. The big loser will be Iran.
This is quite positive. If Iranian government continues to free the political prisoners and stop intimidating them after they are free then removing the sanctions will be in order.
"The head of MI6 came back from a meeting in Washington and alleged that the intelligence was being fixed around the policy (of seeking a war)"
All knew that Iraq was exhausted and not a treat except to her own people. Saddam knew that all knew this. That was why he hesitated to give in and leave. They wanted to take out Saddam and build a new nation for Iraq. The excuses were transparently dishonest.
The nation building in Iraq failed and that is because nation building was already obsolete and the Iraq experience proved it.
Now Obama is going alone. This will prove that things will be done like this in the future.
The "What End" is the real surprise here. Like Saddam, people who get themselves is such kind of a situation in the first place do not see everything as it is.
Most commenters here are for the Unted State not intervening. This is the same as no intervention by any government. This means governments are Gods and people are chattel.
Human evolution departed from those of animal kingdom with the possibility to feed everyone through cooperation. Upright walking and free hands for bringing food to others started it and later brain evolved to match the challenges to the new possibilities. Nature was unable now to check the growth of humanity. Homo Sapiens took this task to themselves by evolving further. They evolved to limit resources to others. Consuming what they could and sequestering or destroying remaining resources. If you limit your brother to resources then his children will not exist to compete with your children. The fittest was the one who could deny resources to others.
Both Communism and Capitalism are about limiting resources. Communist countries provided minimum social welfare with little personal discretionary spending so resources are left for "governments." No need to explain how capitalism is about the entitlements and allowing many totally capable people falling in the cracks of artificial scarcities and doomed to a lifelong of sufferings. Religious systems are about entitlements also.
In my vision the future of humanity is freedom of humans from artificial limitations created by humans. National governments are about entitlements to governments and must be governed by an international government, transparent and working as an administration without any possession or entitlement for itself.
11. Iranian government policy is based on the assumption that Israel knows that Iran is useful and not a danger to Israel. In fact Iran as it is now is the evidence that Israel is indispensable to the West. So, Iran as it is now is indispensable to Israel. This empowers Iran to repress the Iranian people.
Professional predators usually stay with easy victims and usually do not get caught. They would not be pro if they get caught every time. This is sad that professional predators are finding African-Americans are easier victims.
Isolation or something being isolated means that its actions do not propagated outside of its surrounding. Obama has the initiative and all others are reacting. Obama has Russia positioned where Russia has no good option left. Obama has even neutralized UN by mastering the waiting game and not reacting too early.
Because money talks. Iran bought Assad and Nasrallah and their cronies on the cheap. When you sell love for money, then Money will sell you. Also, Wahhabies have been buying poor Sunnis on the cheap. When hate dominates the love in your heart then it is very easy to sell the little love and have money for it also.
Israel prefers a powerless Assad staying in power and is creating justification for keeping the Golan's by facilitating the further presence of Iran and Hezbollah in Syria. Iranians do not understand the extend of pain they are creating while empowering Israel to play out as a full fledged nation state. with UN dysfunctional and USA out of the way only sky is the limit.
The oil bubble and its deflation in the next 1-2 years, I don't know what Russia will do. Russia don't know what Russia will do. Russia will be ambiguous or else there will be some sort of stability at last and Russia will be bankrupt again.
Any reaction or no reaction is exactly what Israel wants. However, the best thing Syria and Iran can do for the benefit of Israel is to populate Syria with Iranian Basijies.
Thank you for this clear and useful explanation. There is no reason that an international government can not appear advocating the rights of the Palestinians. For now it can be in the form of a labor union without assuming the right to any act of violence.
Palestinians must set up an international government and assume any human being on the face of the earth as its citizen. In fact we can have several competing international governments that provide equal rights to all people of the world. A locality can decide to be under the umbrella of the international government it chooses. Then there will be justice and peace on earth.
Juan, you know the solution. The solution is the internationalization of the region. Then any person is from the village that he is going to and not from the village that he is comming from.
Patriarchy is at its dead end. The reason is that it has become absolutely incapable of any further cultural evolution. Any change is only an attempt in going exactly backward in time. The reason for this is as Juan mentioned that elderly men are ruling. Those layers of genetic materials that make us like humans are not as well preserved as our animal genes. Old age like alcohol reverses million years of evolution and leaves us with strong animal instincts and devoid of human impulses. The only hope for a man to stay human in old age is if he practices his sense of humanity in his youth (this is also what the book of Solomon in the Bible teaches.) Our priests and mullahs in their youth do nothing but try to promote themselves by dominating each other using their base instincts. At old age nothing must expected from them but brutality and lust.
In mainstream Islam women are considered valuable and a source of pride and with education their perceived valuation is enhanced. In the weird Taliban ideology women are valued for servitude and only servitude and with education their perceived valuation is lessened. In both cases women must be hidden and not allowed to speak their minds.
True, indeed we are "moving forward" It looks like freedom is breaking out everywhere. Even the dog gets a chance to catch the bus and experiment with it. There will be disappointments, but the painful experiences are essential for us to learn. The brotherhood fighting for a government of controlling individuals instead of a government of freeing individuals and failing at this will eventually undermines also the western governments that are oppressing people in many subtle ways.
You are correct! There must be one Israel/Palestine and no national religion, except assuming the mandate of defending all minorities of the world, everywhere in the world. The villages can set their own local cultures that can be Jewish or Muslim or anything else.
Juan, I wonder how did you miss the last line. Khayyam is saying that God himself is giving (Juice of the grape and the passion for goddesses) and if he does not participate by taking from God then he will be far away from God.
Owning outright land, water, air and fire is total blasphemy. There must be a market mechanism for fair monthly/yearly rates for utilizing these four sacred elements.
Revelry is the decoy. The bewilderment that: "is it me or is it not me?" was not the question, but the answer. Bewilderment is a term in mystic language, as in the sixth valley in the Attar's conference of the birds. As existence came from nothingness, then nothing is in the way. Mentioning Hamilton and Clifford was to say that this is not an Eastern thing. They knew and they were bewildered by this bewilderment.
Khayyam (or whoever wrote this)knew. So did the Irish astronomer William Rowan Hamilton, the British mathematician William Kingdon Clifford and the Persian reformer Mansur Al-Hallaj.
Juan, you may want to re-translate. It simply is saying that the designs (shapes) of the flower and china dolls are images of Your face (Your face gave them those designs.) Then, all those pawns, created (given to Babylon) from your flirtatious look and they are only designs and not real.
If war is there to avoid unnecessary conflicts then war is the answer. Parents are punished, brutalized and owned by the injustice of having their children dismembered. Then the question is not how to optimize the life expectancies of people yet alive. The question is how to accept and come to term with this injustice. For parents there is no option. They may wish to die or die fighting. For USA president the option is to send the drones. Drones will bring this conflict to minimal necessary end.
If Iran can afford the luxury of imprisoning and executing people for political and religious reasons, then Iran must afford also the luxury of not selling petroleum.
The most true depiction is that of the puppet Petrushka in the ballet by Stravinsky. Every enactment that puppet performs is under the command of the puppet master. This model was the foundation of non-violence philosophy, originally understood by Rimsky-Korsakov the teacher of Stravinsky, later communicated to Leo Tolstoy and Gandhi.
Qol-Kol-me-end-Allah == Everything is from God.
Perhaps you are curious about what Khayyam thought about determinism and free will. He accepts both the free will of God and free will of the creature. Free will of the creature is limited to temporal life and even it is only a projection of the will of God in the limited temporal domain. The will of creature may look contrary to the will of God as a shadow may move in the opposite direction of what is creating the shadow. There is no use to worry about what is happening that is not your choice, before you were born or after your death. You must drink the wine that is to create yourself by doings and not by those talking and feelings that only end to more talking and feelings. You must avoid optional conflicts that in essence they are conflict against God and they take you away from nearness to God.
The body, the crystal goblet that contains pleasure of the wine, in it, hidden is the heart's pain. This makes wine even more precious--the wine undoes the pains of the past.
Dear Juan, Happy Nowruz to you! Today Sun is exactly at Earth's equator, like Sun and Earth looking at each other face to face. Science and technology is leaping forward such that no one can predict what is in store for us in as much as 5 years ahead. I can say that already we have the technology to make magic. The real question is how we must allocate and distribute resources, especially polluting energy sources, so some people are not left behind, and our human resources are not destroyed. The best of regulators of economy are first taxation on wealth and then limiting the use of natural resources. This way human resources are developed and they can solve any future problem. Earth, Sun and Moon will also be on our side. I wonder if the evolution of consciousness in the core of these bodies were any slower than the evolution of consciousness on the surface of the Earth.
Fate is here the translation of Dahr or Time of God = Time when God is open and present to man. The origin is from Zoroastrian teachings that Time is a name of God. The Bride of Fate attracts and absorbs whoever She wishes. The process of being drawn near is interpretative as joy. This is the path from God to the creature.
This certainly is not from Omar Khayyam, and severely fake. The style is that of an ignorant Dervish that has learned to say "Ya Haqq" when he is short of words.
If Kayyam was forced to compose something like this he would have said that all demonstrations of piety and religious symbols are signs of selfishness and slavery to self.
1) Firm oil prices indeed will help to stabilize the world economy by slowing down deflation in addition to promoting investment in green energy.
2) Oil sanctions are design to put a nose ring through the nasal septum of China. When all the Iranian oil is going to China then China is under control.
3) There is a serious oil bubble out there. Military industrial complex depends on proceeds from oil revenue. Iran may be even an excuse here. Higher oil prices for an extended time may be a goal by itself. Even after the regime change in Iran it will be very difficult to remove the oil sanctions.
4) Oil is a bloody commodity. Oil empowers the rich, the middle class, and the slaved upper poor to consume resources and not leave anything for poor people who earn below $1 a day. There must be a cap on consumption of oil worldwide until no one is below the poverty level.
Juan, This poem specially so dear that I decided to post this redundant version also as it exactly conveys the same meaning in your translation.
Before I and you even existed there were days and nights
The rotating heaven was doing its work (doing what heaven does.)
Watch, do not step, but lightly, on earth
As it (the earth you are stepping on) was the Apple of Eye of an Apple of an Eye.
"Mardomak of chashm" in Persian is the exact physical "apple of eye", and "negar" in Persian is the same expression as "apple of an eye".
Perfect!!! Please write more on inhumanity of these kind of politicians who interpret religion to suit their own selfish views and their own entitlements and have no problem with human suffering and repression.
This kind of fixation, blaming, and bickering is exactly what destroyed the usefulness of the 1979 revolution. What must be done is the question and not how we hate the past.
Islam's purpose was to re-unite people, people who had divided themselves by using idols as excuses. For some reason Muslims returned back to idol worshiping by turning Islam of various colors into Idols. The human biological need for idol worshiping is so profound.
He who lives with retaliation will die with retaliation. However, both Israel and Iran, are in the business of retaliation as is the US government. US attacked Iraq in retaliation to Al-Qaeda attack. Iran is expecting Golf states to prevent Israel from attacking her or else Iran will retaliate against them all.
US government must get out of the business of retaliation and outright decapitate all dictatorships for at least her own national interest if not for humanity in general.
Doesn't matter. One can choose which one of his enemies to retaliate against when he is attacked. Iran has the right to retaliate against Saudi Arabia when attacked by Israel. Israel has the right to retaliate against Iran when attacked by Pakistanis. When you pose as an enemy to someone you making him more vulnerable to any attack from anyone and you must be ready for retaliation even if you did nothing.
Juan, perhaps you have no street fighting experience. The reason for retaliation is to force your enemies to protect you from your other enemies.
Whether Apple's iPhone is it or Samsung's Galaxy is it, these are vain imaginations and only words in English(perhaps Persian.) The story of passionate love is in language of actions and doings.
Doings (the breaths that is taken) are real. Feelings( unbelief, religion, doubt, certainty) are appearances, only interpretations of what we do, and not real.
The fish is asking if there is life after death (will water return.) Khayyam is very clever, although he believes that the superficial answer is yes, but he answers correctly that it doesn't matter. Water(river) is life and mirage(wine perhaps) is nothingness.
No. The belief is that everything decided by God in pre-eternity and can not be changed. Man's free will is a projection of, entangled with, the Will of God. Man is only responsible for his own free will and it does not matter what happens before and after and besides him.
Please don't. Lover feels intoxicated (drunk) because his consciousness is accelerating and leaving behind his annoying dictates of his subconsciousness as love is the will to love even more.
Drinking alcohol will disconnect your annoying subconsciousness too but also leaves you with weaker consciousness.
The Iranian Islamists were well aware from the beginning that their existence was supported by the Brits & Europeans & Yankees. Their audacity and rudeness was not because of their faith in Allah, but their their faith in Brits that indeed wanted them to continue.
Government must be 100% transparent. All government documents must be public information or invalid otherwise. Then true democracy will happen. Then the non-violence will be the ultimate effective way of managing the government.
Cheryl, thank your for your comment.
I like to add that for anyone familiar with Russian/Soviet culture, he must know that standard default answer to any question is DENIAL (abnegation.)
Nuclear latency is also a deterrent against stopping Iranian from abusing human rights of defenseless citizens.
If nuclear latency is so potent a tool, then it is in the US interest to remove it out of the hands of "medieval" mullahs who interpret or change their fatwas at will.
China's economy is over extended beyond the point of no return. Russia, exactly, is hostage to the oil prices and under the mercy of world's ailing banking system.
China and Russia may continue supporting the Iranian Islamic republic as a policy of containment against the United States. However, recent financial situations have put Russia and China in vulnerable positions. Any more instability will empower the US government even more as credit will dry up for all others. The question is if China and Russia have realized that already the live body of the Islamic republic is less valuable for them that its dead one.
Wayfarer is exposing that Iran looks forward to the Israeli attack to "exploit it to utmost". Usually when both side want war it happens. USA and Arab countries want this war also. When all parties want war it happens. Arabs are more in pain with the existence of Islamic republic of Iran than with existence of Israel. Iran has been pretending to own Islam. This is not acceptable by Arabs, specially if Allah is rounded and made in a form of pagan fertility image on the Iranian flag.
It is not important exactly what Malala Yusafzai says. It is important that she talks and it is important that we listen. It is important that we respect her. The cultural revolution in Islam has already started by women starting to talk. Even when extremist Islamist women talk they are chipping away from Islamic rigidity.
Khurasan (the men of) are real, at least now that it is mentioned and taken as real by the USA. Perhaps this is the group that will eventually be the US partner in bringing stability to the region. The men of Khurasan exist in Islamic, pre-Islamic and Baha'i prophecies. This myth is powerful and in the blood of locals there.
Iraqi Baathists were secularists and now they are a part of IS. This is not tempest in a teapot, this is deep. Human evolution took us to our cultural evolution which is the fast track to evolution. Culture is in our genes and a virulent component of it is ownership. Ownership is what partitions wealth and forces some to starve and hence makes the extra speed in the fast track cultural evolution. Religion is a source of entitlement and hence viewed as a possession. Iran, a Shiite and a non-Arab, claiming the ownership of Islam and dominating Syria is the real long term reason for Sunni extremism. Nothing will be solved until Iran gives up on Islamism and let's its own people free.
Chechens are working on three sides--on the side of IS also. This is why it is so risky to send serious weapon system to the area.
No problem. There are vast mountain ranges. Bringing them down will yield a lot of of positive energy, more than oil, wind, and solar combined. You can create a lot of new man made islands and crash the prices of beach front lands also. In any case I am for internationalizing natural sources of energy and specially oil and putting high use tax on them, proportional to the damage that they cause. The tax money must be used for future generations, like international education and specially education of women.
The answer is: From money from petroleum. Primary role of owning something is to limit others from using it until they are not a competition. Petroleum ownership is the fast track of the same thing.
The US is not a single crime boss. Iraq is not a single poor guy. The pain reflected in this article is about why in the end the Kurds are getting help and Iran is left out with the short end of the deal.
Rumi when said that he is "not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. He exactly meant that. He understood the secret of the "and." The absolute Oneness. The tree was created by the fruit.
Correct. The US must stop being a source of pain in this world. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was for stopping the non-market uses of oil resources and not for removing the pain that Saddam was. The US replaced one kind of pain by another kind of pain. The US agreed with debaathification just for not paying salaries, forcing people (like teachers) to deal with free market, and saving oil money only to lubricate the banking system.
Instead of US pivoting to Iran (read Islamic State of Iran) US might as well pivot to ISIS and get things done more efficiently, quickly and with lower cost. Neither Iran nor ISIS are interested to harm USA. It is not so fashionable to take on the USA any more. Both Iran and ISIS want to subjugate the locals and obtain resources so they can subjugate more locals and obtain more resources.
Truth that is story-less; Love that must burn the space.
Thank you both Juan Cole and Anthony Lee!
The Straight Path, the core of Islam, is indeed the equivalent class of all paths to God. As you exclude some paths, then what is left is a (class of) crooked path(s).
As colorlessness was limited to colors in their eyes, only then, Jews, Christians and Muslims start fighting.
If the USA must put up with tyrannies, for example like the Saudi Arabia, because of self-national interest, either for profit or for fear of loss, then USA lacks the gentlemanhood.
Or increase the consumption tax on gas oil and coal and let the prices for producers to fall.
Oil is a bloody commodity. Iran without oil would have been a happier country.
My Russian friend and customer from Saint Petersburg is the main importer of military electronics components from California to Russia. He said that there in no alternative source for these components. China can not make them and Russia is totally dependent on the US. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Russia is just another corporation pushing for monopoly in energy section in their so called sphere of influence. This is even at the expense of poverty, human loss (loss of freedom and happiness) in their sphere of influence.
There is no need for sanctions. Federal reserve can stop its QE, the purchasing of 65bn bonds and assets per month. the money, dollar for dollar and more, will be drained from emerging markets, e.g. Russia. Price of oil will fall and Russia will have to spend $500bn reserve to support its banks and it will not be enough. And yet the interest rates in the US and EU will be lower. But do not worry yet. There are forces against the idea of letting oil prices fall.
I agree with Timothy Snyder. I was in Maidan. One of my employees got shot. My Russian Ukrainian friend who was earlier a Communist candidate for political office is on the side of revolution and freedom for people.
Putin puts the neck of Russian economy out on the block. There are multiplicity of ways that it can be cut. There is only one way to save it if it pleases the oil industry as a whole. The odds are totally stacked against Russia, Iran and Syria.
Putin's Russia is a part of the oil cartel, trying to keep the prices stable (both from rising too much or falling too much) and keep the oil bubble intact for years. This is why Russia is allowed to keep it's spheres of influence at all. In the case of Ukraine it was not USA who took Ukraine away from Russia. The USA wanted stability. It was the work of Ukrainians who freed themselves as they are anti-authoritarian and wanted to be a part of the free Europe and support their families.
A Western (American) mind that sees everything under nationalist/racialist light can not understand the agony of Ukrainian soul under authoritarian governments. Ukrainians are at heart matriarchal and not nationalistic at all. They are dedicated to their families first. They love their men even as possessions. They (men and women) feel that their men are trusted with them and they are responsible for their happiness. Authoritarianism is contradictory to this. Now Putins and Ayatollahs can go somewhere else and find other subjects.
Iran is preparing for a future bluff. If Iran suddenly pretends that it has a few nuclear devices and at the same time a big Iranian boat is loitering near the US then Obama will not call this bluff.
Creating sadness, pain, and suffering is the right of the Islamic republic, either in Syria or in Iran as a sovereign state and the leader of Islam and with the power of veto from Russia . This right must be taken away.
Any struggle except of the non-violence sort will bring more misery as it opens more opportunities for corruption and repression. The non-violence struggle is only useful and effective when your opponent is subject to transparency. It is even more effective if your opponent is the world government. Palestinians must accept the US government as the world government and practice non-violence.
Ahmadinejad was correct when he said to Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum that using Nuclear weapon does not make sense. He did not say to Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum that having the nuclear shield does not make sense also. It is now impossible to place sever sanctions on Israel and compel it to give equality to Palestinians, because Israel has nuclear shield. Israel and Iran are the proofs that we are at the dead end of the governing the world with the system of nation states.
The majority of Congressmen and Senators know very well that they are corrupted in many ways. But they have the common sense that it is not needed to add to their existing corruption by supporting yet another corrupt and cult government. If the superpower, the USA stops recognizing the Islamic government then it sets a precedence that we are going not to put up with any corruption including the corruption in our own midst.
Whatever you show forth, you are that thing. And this can only be searched and understood only after this voice from the realm beyond, from the realm of The Every Thing.
American Studies Association must also boycott the US institutions.
Are we happy if Iran does not increase the average rate of executions per day?
War can only happen when the US appears warming to Iran and logically must not be subject to the Iranian retaliation.
Kristallnacht is a dire warning against nationalism. The nation state system is about how many ways to exclude people, humiliating them as the justification to excluding them.
This will be great for the USA. The alliance of China with the Saudis will put tremendous pressure on Russia and move her closer to the USA. The stigma of being the Saudi supporter will be gone. The big loser will be Iran.
This is quite positive. If Iranian government continues to free the political prisoners and stop intimidating them after they are free then removing the sanctions will be in order.
Russia, Iran and Hizbollah can intervene and the USA can not stop this is a story (Hubris.)
"The head of MI6 came back from a meeting in Washington and alleged that the intelligence was being fixed around the policy (of seeking a war)"
All knew that Iraq was exhausted and not a treat except to her own people. Saddam knew that all knew this. That was why he hesitated to give in and leave. They wanted to take out Saddam and build a new nation for Iraq. The excuses were transparently dishonest.
The nation building in Iraq failed and that is because nation building was already obsolete and the Iraq experience proved it.
Now Obama is going alone. This will prove that things will be done like this in the future.
The "What End" is the real surprise here. Like Saddam, people who get themselves is such kind of a situation in the first place do not see everything as it is.
Most commenters here are for the Unted State not intervening. This is the same as no intervention by any government. This means governments are Gods and people are chattel.
Human evolution departed from those of animal kingdom with the possibility to feed everyone through cooperation. Upright walking and free hands for bringing food to others started it and later brain evolved to match the challenges to the new possibilities. Nature was unable now to check the growth of humanity. Homo Sapiens took this task to themselves by evolving further. They evolved to limit resources to others. Consuming what they could and sequestering or destroying remaining resources. If you limit your brother to resources then his children will not exist to compete with your children. The fittest was the one who could deny resources to others.
Both Communism and Capitalism are about limiting resources. Communist countries provided minimum social welfare with little personal discretionary spending so resources are left for "governments." No need to explain how capitalism is about the entitlements and allowing many totally capable people falling in the cracks of artificial scarcities and doomed to a lifelong of sufferings. Religious systems are about entitlements also.
In my vision the future of humanity is freedom of humans from artificial limitations created by humans. National governments are about entitlements to governments and must be governed by an international government, transparent and working as an administration without any possession or entitlement for itself.
11. Iranian government policy is based on the assumption that Israel knows that Iran is useful and not a danger to Israel. In fact Iran as it is now is the evidence that Israel is indispensable to the West. So, Iran as it is now is indispensable to Israel. This empowers Iran to repress the Iranian people.
Professional predators usually stay with easy victims and usually do not get caught. They would not be pro if they get caught every time. This is sad that professional predators are finding African-Americans are easier victims.
Isolation or something being isolated means that its actions do not propagated outside of its surrounding. Obama has the initiative and all others are reacting. Obama has Russia positioned where Russia has no good option left. Obama has even neutralized UN by mastering the waiting game and not reacting too early.
Because money talks. Iran bought Assad and Nasrallah and their cronies on the cheap. When you sell love for money, then Money will sell you. Also, Wahhabies have been buying poor Sunnis on the cheap. When hate dominates the love in your heart then it is very easy to sell the little love and have money for it also.
Israel prefers a powerless Assad staying in power and is creating justification for keeping the Golan's by facilitating the further presence of Iran and Hezbollah in Syria. Iranians do not understand the extend of pain they are creating while empowering Israel to play out as a full fledged nation state. with UN dysfunctional and USA out of the way only sky is the limit.
The oil bubble and its deflation in the next 1-2 years, I don't know what Russia will do. Russia don't know what Russia will do. Russia will be ambiguous or else there will be some sort of stability at last and Russia will be bankrupt again.
The sad thing is that the neutralization of the United States is the same as empowerment of the Israeli extremism.
Any reaction or no reaction is exactly what Israel wants. However, the best thing Syria and Iran can do for the benefit of Israel is to populate Syria with Iranian Basijies.
Thank you for this clear and useful explanation. There is no reason that an international government can not appear advocating the rights of the Palestinians. For now it can be in the form of a labor union without assuming the right to any act of violence.
Palestinians must set up an international government and assume any human being on the face of the earth as its citizen. In fact we can have several competing international governments that provide equal rights to all people of the world. A locality can decide to be under the umbrella of the international government it chooses. Then there will be justice and peace on earth.
Juan, you know the solution. The solution is the internationalization of the region. Then any person is from the village that he is going to and not from the village that he is comming from.
Patriarchy is at its dead end. The reason is that it has become absolutely incapable of any further cultural evolution. Any change is only an attempt in going exactly backward in time. The reason for this is as Juan mentioned that elderly men are ruling. Those layers of genetic materials that make us like humans are not as well preserved as our animal genes. Old age like alcohol reverses million years of evolution and leaves us with strong animal instincts and devoid of human impulses. The only hope for a man to stay human in old age is if he practices his sense of humanity in his youth (this is also what the book of Solomon in the Bible teaches.) Our priests and mullahs in their youth do nothing but try to promote themselves by dominating each other using their base instincts. At old age nothing must expected from them but brutality and lust.
In mainstream Islam women are considered valuable and a source of pride and with education their perceived valuation is enhanced. In the weird Taliban ideology women are valued for servitude and only servitude and with education their perceived valuation is lessened. In both cases women must be hidden and not allowed to speak their minds.
True, indeed we are "moving forward" It looks like freedom is breaking out everywhere. Even the dog gets a chance to catch the bus and experiment with it. There will be disappointments, but the painful experiences are essential for us to learn. The brotherhood fighting for a government of controlling individuals instead of a government of freeing individuals and failing at this will eventually undermines also the western governments that are oppressing people in many subtle ways.
Sharia is hitting the fan!
Rezan, let's hold you and your way of thinking responsible.
You are correct! There must be one Israel/Palestine and no national religion, except assuming the mandate of defending all minorities of the world, everywhere in the world. The villages can set their own local cultures that can be Jewish or Muslim or anything else.
The two thousand pots were talking in the language of silence -- their silence was crying out that they were dead.
Juan, I wonder how did you miss the last line. Khayyam is saying that God himself is giving (Juice of the grape and the passion for goddesses) and if he does not participate by taking from God then he will be far away from God.
Owning outright land, water, air and fire is total blasphemy. There must be a market mechanism for fair monthly/yearly rates for utilizing these four sacred elements.
Revelry is the decoy. The bewilderment that: "is it me or is it not me?" was not the question, but the answer. Bewilderment is a term in mystic language, as in the sixth valley in the Attar's conference of the birds. As existence came from nothingness, then nothing is in the way. Mentioning Hamilton and Clifford was to say that this is not an Eastern thing. They knew and they were bewildered by this bewilderment.
Khayyam (or whoever wrote this)knew. So did the Irish astronomer William Rowan Hamilton, the British mathematician William Kingdon Clifford and the Persian reformer Mansur Al-Hallaj.
Juan, you may want to re-translate. It simply is saying that the designs (shapes) of the flower and china dolls are images of Your face (Your face gave them those designs.) Then, all those pawns, created (given to Babylon) from your flirtatious look and they are only designs and not real.
If war is there to avoid unnecessary conflicts then war is the answer. Parents are punished, brutalized and owned by the injustice of having their children dismembered. Then the question is not how to optimize the life expectancies of people yet alive. The question is how to accept and come to term with this injustice. For parents there is no option. They may wish to die or die fighting. For USA president the option is to send the drones. Drones will bring this conflict to minimal necessary end.
Yes. Saudi Arabia is so bad that it even justifies internationalizing the Saudi petroleum.
If Iran can afford the luxury of imprisoning and executing people for political and religious reasons, then Iran must afford also the luxury of not selling petroleum.
The most true depiction is that of the puppet Petrushka in the ballet by Stravinsky. Every enactment that puppet performs is under the command of the puppet master. This model was the foundation of non-violence philosophy, originally understood by Rimsky-Korsakov the teacher of Stravinsky, later communicated to Leo Tolstoy and Gandhi.
Qol-Kol-me-end-Allah == Everything is from God.
The ship that fate sank will never reach the shore.
Emilio,
Perhaps you are curious about what Khayyam thought about determinism and free will. He accepts both the free will of God and free will of the creature. Free will of the creature is limited to temporal life and even it is only a projection of the will of God in the limited temporal domain. The will of creature may look contrary to the will of God as a shadow may move in the opposite direction of what is creating the shadow. There is no use to worry about what is happening that is not your choice, before you were born or after your death. You must drink the wine that is to create yourself by doings and not by those talking and feelings that only end to more talking and feelings. You must avoid optional conflicts that in essence they are conflict against God and they take you away from nearness to God.
Drinking is doing. The secret is that doings are (one) from pre-eternity to eternity.
The body, the crystal goblet that contains pleasure of the wine, in it, hidden is the heart's pain. This makes wine even more precious--the wine undoes the pains of the past.
Dear Juan, Happy Nowruz to you! Today Sun is exactly at Earth's equator, like Sun and Earth looking at each other face to face. Science and technology is leaping forward such that no one can predict what is in store for us in as much as 5 years ahead. I can say that already we have the technology to make magic. The real question is how we must allocate and distribute resources, especially polluting energy sources, so some people are not left behind, and our human resources are not destroyed. The best of regulators of economy are first taxation on wealth and then limiting the use of natural resources. This way human resources are developed and they can solve any future problem. Earth, Sun and Moon will also be on our side. I wonder if the evolution of consciousness in the core of these bodies were any slower than the evolution of consciousness on the surface of the Earth.
Fate is here the translation of Dahr or Time of God = Time when God is open and present to man. The origin is from Zoroastrian teachings that Time is a name of God. The Bride of Fate attracts and absorbs whoever She wishes. The process of being drawn near is interpretative as joy. This is the path from God to the creature.
"something else" here has the meaning of not authentic, fake, or other than real.
Drinking wine in Khayyam language is "doing" and creating the self and not talking.
The Bartender is like An Instrument of God or manifestation of God, so bundling "You" and "me" is blasphemy and making partner for God.
This is about the path from Self to God. Here Self is used like a microscope to search for God.
Khayyam has a mathematical definition for nothing.
This certainly is not from Omar Khayyam, and severely fake. The style is that of an ignorant Dervish that has learned to say "Ya Haqq" when he is short of words.
If Kayyam was forced to compose something like this he would have said that all demonstrations of piety and religious symbols are signs of selfishness and slavery to self.
1) Firm oil prices indeed will help to stabilize the world economy by slowing down deflation in addition to promoting investment in green energy.
2) Oil sanctions are design to put a nose ring through the nasal septum of China. When all the Iranian oil is going to China then China is under control.
3) There is a serious oil bubble out there. Military industrial complex depends on proceeds from oil revenue. Iran may be even an excuse here. Higher oil prices for an extended time may be a goal by itself. Even after the regime change in Iran it will be very difficult to remove the oil sanctions.
4) Oil is a bloody commodity. Oil empowers the rich, the middle class, and the slaved upper poor to consume resources and not leave anything for poor people who earn below $1 a day. There must be a cap on consumption of oil worldwide until no one is below the poverty level.
Juan, This poem specially so dear that I decided to post this redundant version also as it exactly conveys the same meaning in your translation.
Before I and you even existed there were days and nights
The rotating heaven was doing its work (doing what heaven does.)
Watch, do not step, but lightly, on earth
As it (the earth you are stepping on) was the Apple of Eye of an Apple of an Eye.
"Mardomak of chashm" in Persian is the exact physical "apple of eye", and "negar" in Persian is the same expression as "apple of an eye".
Perfect!!! Please write more on inhumanity of these kind of politicians who interpret religion to suit their own selfish views and their own entitlements and have no problem with human suffering and repression.
This kind of fixation, blaming, and bickering is exactly what destroyed the usefulness of the 1979 revolution. What must be done is the question and not how we hate the past.
Islam's purpose was to re-unite people, people who had divided themselves by using idols as excuses. For some reason Muslims returned back to idol worshiping by turning Islam of various colors into Idols. The human biological need for idol worshiping is so profound.
He who lives with retaliation will die with retaliation. However, both Israel and Iran, are in the business of retaliation as is the US government. US attacked Iraq in retaliation to Al-Qaeda attack. Iran is expecting Golf states to prevent Israel from attacking her or else Iran will retaliate against them all.
US government must get out of the business of retaliation and outright decapitate all dictatorships for at least her own national interest if not for humanity in general.
Doesn't matter. One can choose which one of his enemies to retaliate against when he is attacked. Iran has the right to retaliate against Saudi Arabia when attacked by Israel. Israel has the right to retaliate against Iran when attacked by Pakistanis. When you pose as an enemy to someone you making him more vulnerable to any attack from anyone and you must be ready for retaliation even if you did nothing.
Juan, perhaps you have no street fighting experience. The reason for retaliation is to force your enemies to protect you from your other enemies.
Whether Apple's iPhone is it or Samsung's Galaxy is it, these are vain imaginations and only words in English(perhaps Persian.) The story of passionate love is in language of actions and doings.
Excellent!
Doings (the breaths that is taken) are real. Feelings( unbelief, religion, doubt, certainty) are appearances, only interpretations of what we do, and not real.
The fish is asking if there is life after death (will water return.) Khayyam is very clever, although he believes that the superficial answer is yes, but he answers correctly that it doesn't matter. Water(river) is life and mirage(wine perhaps) is nothingness.
Mirage is the correct word as translated by Juan.
No. The belief is that everything decided by God in pre-eternity and can not be changed. Man's free will is a projection of, entangled with, the Will of God. Man is only responsible for his own free will and it does not matter what happens before and after and besides him.
Meditation also quiets down inhibiting impulses and let you let go. So we have at least three tools: love, drinking, and meditation.
Please don't. Lover feels intoxicated (drunk) because his consciousness is accelerating and leaving behind his annoying dictates of his subconsciousness as love is the will to love even more.
Drinking alcohol will disconnect your annoying subconsciousness too but also leaves you with weaker consciousness.
IT is OK to start with the second and then go to the first. This line of defense that others are worse is not acceptable.
The Iranian Islamists were well aware from the beginning that their existence was supported by the Brits & Europeans & Yankees. Their audacity and rudeness was not because of their faith in Allah, but their their faith in Brits that indeed wanted them to continue.
Government must be 100% transparent. All government documents must be public information or invalid otherwise. Then true democracy will happen. Then the non-violence will be the ultimate effective way of managing the government.
Cheryl, thank your for your comment.
I like to add that for anyone familiar with Russian/Soviet culture, he must know that standard default answer to any question is DENIAL (abnegation.)
Nuclear latency is also a deterrent against stopping Iranian from abusing human rights of defenseless citizens.
If nuclear latency is so potent a tool, then it is in the US interest to remove it out of the hands of "medieval" mullahs who interpret or change their fatwas at will.
China's economy is over extended beyond the point of no return. Russia, exactly, is hostage to the oil prices and under the mercy of world's ailing banking system.
China and Russia may continue supporting the Iranian Islamic republic as a policy of containment against the United States. However, recent financial situations have put Russia and China in vulnerable positions. Any more instability will empower the US government even more as credit will dry up for all others. The question is if China and Russia have realized that already the live body of the Islamic republic is less valuable for them that its dead one.
Wayfarer is exposing that Iran looks forward to the Israeli attack to "exploit it to utmost". Usually when both side want war it happens. USA and Arab countries want this war also. When all parties want war it happens. Arabs are more in pain with the existence of Islamic republic of Iran than with existence of Israel. Iran has been pretending to own Islam. This is not acceptable by Arabs, specially if Allah is rounded and made in a form of pagan fertility image on the Iranian flag.