No heroes
There were no heroes here
Amongst the men who tramped through
Rutted, quaking moor,
Or crawled, cat-silent, Over skittering scree
To prove the way.
No heroes fought the blazing fires
Which sucked the very blood from Ship and man alike.
Or braved knife cold
Without a thought To save a life.
No heroes they, but ones who loved
Sweet life and children's laugh,
And dreamt of home When war allowed.
They were but men.
~David Morgan
They were but men. Living in this time period it is far fetched to believe in simply your own culture, your own identity, your own nation as being enough to fight for. With the large amount of people living outside of their "home" it isn't enough to want that anymore, peace needs to be sustainable wherever you live. This way of thinking does not diminish your identity but it does allow you to understand your place in the world. The term fighting for freedom is not something to be taken lightly, it is not something to paraphrase nor protest about unless you truly understand the statistics of the very freedom you are talking about.
The participants in the war in Sri Lanka are both fully responsible for the atrocities that have marked the period of bloodshed and violence in the country since 1976, however while one is the country's government the other is an organization that despite their starting ideals has become an international terrorist organization.
I do not say this lightly, it is considered as such by 30 countries, and Canada and the United States are included in that. The label is not affixed lightly and nor is the list of those killed by either side anything to proclaim to the world. The country has been killing itself from the inside for decades, either in retaliation for violence or a precursor for it. Neither side has put civilians first but both sides have had the challenge of dealing with the bodies.
So as the bodies of Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay, Moor, all line the memories of the world, what are people proclaiming? That this will never end...
Specifically that the search for separation will continue by any means necessary, that the fight for freedom will continue in a different form.
If this was a fight for freedom, a fight for rights or for a place to house your people how could it not end in the sight of the thousands murdered for your cause? How can a government asking for peace and inclusion not suit your requests for equality?
Could it be that you are merely incapable of delivering your people out of the emotional spin of war? That terrorism is a likely answer to deal with the aftermath of all that have already been killed for your cause. How can that be? How can tht make any sense to those who stand for hours outside around the world?
Because really after all of these years, all of the dead people, the vanished prisoners, the amass of money, the call for all people to answer for this fight, what are you left with? A large diaspora of your people who are still waiting for your proclamation of an end to the struggle. But without thought as to the future of your culture you continue to seek vengeance for something that everyone says you can have, the equality you seek is not elusive.
The true nature of a culture is in its people, it is its ability to further itself despite diaspora, despite war, despite terrorism. There are thousands if not millions of Sri Lankans living outside of Sri Lanka today and we are capable of exercising our freedom to not proclaim war, to not donate to a cause that is dead, to not allow others to tarnish our reputation as a people. While many non Sri Lankan people may not understand what is going on, I know that many of those same people standing outside protesting do not know the whole history either.
Organizations prey on people and their emotions, their sense of identity and their need to feel included in their own culture, but it is up to you as an individual to differentiate the true nature of an organization, whether there roots are nationalistic or terrorist.
For those who may not know, Sri Lanka is a beautiful island with as many different landscapes as there are people and most people live amongst each other harmoniously, they seek to have a life that does not consist of bombings and war. They simply like every nation wish to have a place where they can see their children grow up, whether they be Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay etc...
That need is not something uncharacteristic of any country in the world...so when next you hear of the continuation of this war for freedom, please take a second look because the war was ended by one side, it only continues at the hands of those who refuse to let peace be the outcome.
Those of us who seek moderation regardless of our nationality are always left holding the most casualties...
8.5.09
A common word...
http://acommonword.com
A common word is a declaration of the common ground between Muslims and Christians that was written by 138 Muslim clerics, scholars and intellectuals based on the two commandments (love of one god, and being good to ones' neighbour) which is espoused by both religions. It came in the aftermath of the Pope's Regensburg Address in 2006 which inflamed many by its different inferences of violence and Islam.
It is an interesting document however it does shortchange the necessity to have open communication towards all religions most importantly maybe with Judaism, which as an Abrahamic religion is comprised of the same notions. Not to mention the ties in the middle east between these three religions. There are commentaries from Jewish scholars and leaders in response to this which is quite positive in the side notes. Jewish scholars had in the past also had a document similar to this as well which can be downloaded on the site. Overall it shows at least that all scholars/clerics/intellectuals are not as one sided as they seem, having seen this many get together to write this document and then to have so many others comment on it is a very positive notion.
Most interesting to me is the link to a statement by Madeline Albright to the Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C. which talks of America's questioning of how it should engage with the Muslim communities of the world. The new flavour of government in the United States is certainly taking a step back from the politics of its past, at least in terms of what its putting out there for the general public to see.
Check out her speech here:http://acommonword.com/en/images/albrighttestimony090226p.pdf
She uses words like: diplomacy, dialogue, to enhance mutual understanding etc...which is dramatically different from the past words of terrorism, hostility and Jihadist threat. It focuses on the necessity of seeing the religion of Islam separately from the fundamentalism that is the precursor to the terrorism that we are seeing being linked with Muslims. It pinpoints one thing that I always wondered if the United States recognized, and that is that most fundamentalism has roots in a local mindset as opposed to an international one. It is only through our (by this I mean Western or American) threat via bombs/sanctions that we make it an international cause, because as much as we'd like to see ourselves as being the greater society, it is not until we harm someone on the other side of the world that they seek to harm us.
What if suddenly those of us in Canada due to economic depression or local unrest decided that our unemployment was directly related to having all our manufactured goods coming from China and then suddenly we were bombed by China? What would we do? Would there be enough unrest in rural areas to make something happen? Are our values and thoughts different enough to separate the action from the community/religion/state? Take yourself outside of our metropolitan mindset and think for a second if we are any different from the terrorists we abhor.
Keep in mind that as per Maclean's fewer than one in three Canadians can find it in their hearts to see Islam or Sikhism in a favourable light. The statistics are a bit horrifying but I can see how it is true, how many people outside of metropolitan areas (or even in them) can say that they have a good understanding of major religions but they really don't have enough understanding to separate the propaganda they see in the media from what the religion actually entails. Very few do, and its not just me, Maclean's and Angus Reid agree with me. The study points again to the fact that as much as we consider ourselves a "multicultural" country we are still not far past other countries. We have just as much disregard for other peoples' religions, values, and cultures as the average American, French or German citizen. We simply hide it better than others, at least until there is a poll involved.
Read it here...http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/28/what-canadians-think-of-sikhs-jews-christians-muslims/
So as certain things change, such as political engagement towards the Muslim community, its important to note that the propaganda of past governments are not so easily erased. You cannot change the temperature of the public opinion so easily. The power of persuasion doesn't always work both ways because the slate is only clean once.
A common word is a declaration of the common ground between Muslims and Christians that was written by 138 Muslim clerics, scholars and intellectuals based on the two commandments (love of one god, and being good to ones' neighbour) which is espoused by both religions. It came in the aftermath of the Pope's Regensburg Address in 2006 which inflamed many by its different inferences of violence and Islam.
It is an interesting document however it does shortchange the necessity to have open communication towards all religions most importantly maybe with Judaism, which as an Abrahamic religion is comprised of the same notions. Not to mention the ties in the middle east between these three religions. There are commentaries from Jewish scholars and leaders in response to this which is quite positive in the side notes. Jewish scholars had in the past also had a document similar to this as well which can be downloaded on the site. Overall it shows at least that all scholars/clerics/intellectuals are not as one sided as they seem, having seen this many get together to write this document and then to have so many others comment on it is a very positive notion.
Most interesting to me is the link to a statement by Madeline Albright to the Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C. which talks of America's questioning of how it should engage with the Muslim communities of the world. The new flavour of government in the United States is certainly taking a step back from the politics of its past, at least in terms of what its putting out there for the general public to see.
Check out her speech here:http://acommonword.com/en/images/albrighttestimony090226p.pdf
She uses words like: diplomacy, dialogue, to enhance mutual understanding etc...which is dramatically different from the past words of terrorism, hostility and Jihadist threat. It focuses on the necessity of seeing the religion of Islam separately from the fundamentalism that is the precursor to the terrorism that we are seeing being linked with Muslims. It pinpoints one thing that I always wondered if the United States recognized, and that is that most fundamentalism has roots in a local mindset as opposed to an international one. It is only through our (by this I mean Western or American) threat via bombs/sanctions that we make it an international cause, because as much as we'd like to see ourselves as being the greater society, it is not until we harm someone on the other side of the world that they seek to harm us.
What if suddenly those of us in Canada due to economic depression or local unrest decided that our unemployment was directly related to having all our manufactured goods coming from China and then suddenly we were bombed by China? What would we do? Would there be enough unrest in rural areas to make something happen? Are our values and thoughts different enough to separate the action from the community/religion/state? Take yourself outside of our metropolitan mindset and think for a second if we are any different from the terrorists we abhor.
Keep in mind that as per Maclean's fewer than one in three Canadians can find it in their hearts to see Islam or Sikhism in a favourable light. The statistics are a bit horrifying but I can see how it is true, how many people outside of metropolitan areas (or even in them) can say that they have a good understanding of major religions but they really don't have enough understanding to separate the propaganda they see in the media from what the religion actually entails. Very few do, and its not just me, Maclean's and Angus Reid agree with me. The study points again to the fact that as much as we consider ourselves a "multicultural" country we are still not far past other countries. We have just as much disregard for other peoples' religions, values, and cultures as the average American, French or German citizen. We simply hide it better than others, at least until there is a poll involved.
Read it here...http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/28/what-canadians-think-of-sikhs-jews-christians-muslims/
So as certain things change, such as political engagement towards the Muslim community, its important to note that the propaganda of past governments are not so easily erased. You cannot change the temperature of the public opinion so easily. The power of persuasion doesn't always work both ways because the slate is only clean once.
5.5.09
The definition of work...
work
play_w2("W0220700")
(wûrk)
n.
1. Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.
2.
a. A job; employment: looking for work.
b. A trade, profession, or other means of livelihood.
3.
a. Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task: begin the day's work.
b. An amount of such activity either done or required: a week's work.
4.
a. The part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking: met her after work.
b. One's place of employment: Should I call you at home or at work?
5.
a. Something that has been produced or accomplished through the effort, activity, or agency of a person or thing: This story is the work of an active imagination. Erosion is the work of wind, water, and time.
b. Full action or effect of an agency: The sleeping pills did their work.
c. An act; a deed: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity" Ecclesiastes 1:14.
6.
a. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, or literary or musical composition; a work of art.
b. works The output of a writer, artist, or musician considered or collected as a whole: the works of Shakespeare.
7.
a. works Engineering structures, such as bridges or dams.
b. A fortified structure, such as a trench or fortress.
8.
a. Needlework, weaving, lacemaking, or a similar textile art.
b. A piece of such textile art.
9. A material or piece of material being processed in a machine during manufacture: work to be turned in the lathe.
10. works (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A factory, plant, or similar building or complex of buildings where a specific type of business or industry is carried on. Often used in combination: a steelworks.
11. works Internal mechanism: the works of a watch.
12. The manner, style, or quality of working or treatment; workmanship.
13. Abbr. w Physics The transfer of energy from one physical system to another, especially the transfer of energy to a body by the application of a force that moves the body in the direction of the force. It is calculated as the product of the force and the distance through which the body moves and is expressed in joules, ergs, and foot-pounds.
14. works Moral or righteous acts or deeds: salvation by faith rather than works.
15. works
a. Informal The full range of possibilities; everything. Used with the: ordered a pizza with the works.
b. Slang A thorough beating or other severe treatment. Used with the: took him outside and gave him the works.
Work is defined so infinitely that the mere idea of not going to work is never true. It amazes me that people would choose not to work. Or maybe to be more precise to be unemployed. I have been unemployed for the total of 20 hours, and I cannot foresee not doing anything for much longer. I hate the idea of being unoccupied by something that gives me a wage, and on top of it, I hate the idea of benefits, such as employment insurance...because they aren't even paying that well. There are so many hoops involved that I am dizzy after simply applying for regular benefits, not to mention that I have to now wait on the mechanics of some department to figure out if I'm eligible. Funny enough maybe by paying those premiums all these years, I might not be, because you know being needy these days is quite a profession.
So for searching sake I found a few sites that are worth mentioning while your looking for work:
-The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, www.philosophersguild.com
-Rabble.ca, http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2009/05/liberals-undermine-unemployed
-The Star, http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/621507
It's amazing that with so many people out of work, the government would rather see people not only loose their jobs, but their homes, their savings etc. before providing them with a means to earn a living. The average weekly "pay cheque" when your unemployed through EI is, 447.00 but that's the maximum and you may or may not qualify due to hours. So regardless of whether you worked making $25.00 an hour or $11.00 you get the same benefit. Although in reality you are paying more towards the benefit if you are working full time, or at a higher pay scale because within the year you reach your EI deductions limit more quickly.
The system also makes it seem as if we should be doing everything in our power to find work in our "field" however they start the whole process by listing things that I have never heard of as job postings...it makes me wonder if a real person even looks at the applications.
Of course everyone would rather be working than filling out paperwork, and maybe that's why its so annoying, half of us would rather go out and work any job than work for the government via receiving EI. Because it becomes a job, there are the applications, the employment help groups, an advisor, weekly payroll submissions, tracking job prospects, its like being an employed unemployed person.
There is a lot of work involved.
play_w2("W0220700")
(wûrk)
n.
1. Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.
2.
a. A job; employment: looking for work.
b. A trade, profession, or other means of livelihood.
3.
a. Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task: begin the day's work.
b. An amount of such activity either done or required: a week's work.
4.
a. The part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking: met her after work.
b. One's place of employment: Should I call you at home or at work?
5.
a. Something that has been produced or accomplished through the effort, activity, or agency of a person or thing: This story is the work of an active imagination. Erosion is the work of wind, water, and time.
b. Full action or effect of an agency: The sleeping pills did their work.
c. An act; a deed: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity" Ecclesiastes 1:14.
6.
a. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, or literary or musical composition; a work of art.
b. works The output of a writer, artist, or musician considered or collected as a whole: the works of Shakespeare.
7.
a. works Engineering structures, such as bridges or dams.
b. A fortified structure, such as a trench or fortress.
8.
a. Needlework, weaving, lacemaking, or a similar textile art.
b. A piece of such textile art.
9. A material or piece of material being processed in a machine during manufacture: work to be turned in the lathe.
10. works (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A factory, plant, or similar building or complex of buildings where a specific type of business or industry is carried on. Often used in combination: a steelworks.
11. works Internal mechanism: the works of a watch.
12. The manner, style, or quality of working or treatment; workmanship.
13. Abbr. w Physics The transfer of energy from one physical system to another, especially the transfer of energy to a body by the application of a force that moves the body in the direction of the force. It is calculated as the product of the force and the distance through which the body moves and is expressed in joules, ergs, and foot-pounds.
14. works Moral or righteous acts or deeds: salvation by faith rather than works.
15. works
a. Informal The full range of possibilities; everything. Used with the: ordered a pizza with the works.
b. Slang A thorough beating or other severe treatment. Used with the: took him outside and gave him the works.
Work is defined so infinitely that the mere idea of not going to work is never true. It amazes me that people would choose not to work. Or maybe to be more precise to be unemployed. I have been unemployed for the total of 20 hours, and I cannot foresee not doing anything for much longer. I hate the idea of being unoccupied by something that gives me a wage, and on top of it, I hate the idea of benefits, such as employment insurance...because they aren't even paying that well. There are so many hoops involved that I am dizzy after simply applying for regular benefits, not to mention that I have to now wait on the mechanics of some department to figure out if I'm eligible. Funny enough maybe by paying those premiums all these years, I might not be, because you know being needy these days is quite a profession.
So for searching sake I found a few sites that are worth mentioning while your looking for work:
-The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, www.philosophersguild.com
-Rabble.ca, http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2009/05/liberals-undermine-unemployed
-The Star, http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/621507
It's amazing that with so many people out of work, the government would rather see people not only loose their jobs, but their homes, their savings etc. before providing them with a means to earn a living. The average weekly "pay cheque" when your unemployed through EI is, 447.00 but that's the maximum and you may or may not qualify due to hours. So regardless of whether you worked making $25.00 an hour or $11.00 you get the same benefit. Although in reality you are paying more towards the benefit if you are working full time, or at a higher pay scale because within the year you reach your EI deductions limit more quickly.
The system also makes it seem as if we should be doing everything in our power to find work in our "field" however they start the whole process by listing things that I have never heard of as job postings...it makes me wonder if a real person even looks at the applications.
Of course everyone would rather be working than filling out paperwork, and maybe that's why its so annoying, half of us would rather go out and work any job than work for the government via receiving EI. Because it becomes a job, there are the applications, the employment help groups, an advisor, weekly payroll submissions, tracking job prospects, its like being an employed unemployed person.
There is a lot of work involved.
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