Going Home To See Hoi and Hei

Tomorrow, I will be heading back to Johor Bahru (JB) for the first time in two months, with my sister. I am looking forward to meeting my family and my two nephews, Roy and Rey. We miss them soooooo much.

Rey has grown especially large over the last two months! He will probably soon outstrip his older brother. Not sure if I will be able to post new stuff over the next few days. Have a great weekend ahead everyone!

More quotes from The Quotable Book Lover

"University printing presses exist, and are subsidised by the Government for the purpose of producing books which no one can read; and they are true to their high calling." - F.M. Cornford (Microcosmographa Academica)  - Is this why our university-published books tak laku?

"Wherever they burn books, they will also, in the end, burn human beings." - Heinrich Heine (Almansor)

"Books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory...In this war, we know, books are weapons." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas." - Alfred Whitney Griswold

"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us." - Franz Kafka

"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." - Italo Calvino (The Literature Machine)

"Classic - a book people praise and don't read." - Mark Twain (Following The Equator)

"The world must be all f***ed up when men travel first-class and literature goes as freight." Gabriel Garcia Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude)

"The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Conversations with Goethe, by Johann Eckermann)

Quotes from The Quotable Book Lover

Recently, a friend of mine answered a question from SocialInterview.com (on Facebook) that says, "What is Dinesh Chandren obsessed with?" I don't know who created that quiz, and my friend answered ''Umm... books i think, as he'd rather spend his time & money on books instead of anything else, & that's something goddamn admirable...''

I replied that his reply made me sound like a f***ing geek. But I love books, and I guess I am a little obsessed with them. Here I have a selection of quotes from this rather nice little book, The Quotable Book Lover, edited by Ben Jacobs and Helene Hjalmarsson (The Lyons Press, 1999). It was one of those serendipitous finds.

"Books are the carriers of civilisation...They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print." - Barbara W. Tuchman

"A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return." - Salman Rushdie (Imaginary Homelands)

"Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourse of my book friends. They talk to me without embarassment or awkwardness." - Helen Keller (The Story of My Life)

"The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency - the belief that here and now is all there is." - Allan Bloom (The Closing of the American Mind)

"Books are my disease." - James Logan, in Edwin Wolf II, The Library of James Logan

"A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason, no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn (The First Circle)

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." -Cicero

Then there are some really humorous ones...

"I am still buying books. It is like getting pregnant after the menopause; it's not supposed to happen." - Chef Louis Szathmary, in an interview with Nicholas A. Basbanes

"I find television very educational. Every time someone turns it on, I go in the other room and read a book." - Groucho Marx

"I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It's about Russia." - Woody Allen

Cheating Crisis in American Schools

Picked up this article today on the ABC News website, about the cheating pandemic happening in America's high schools and colleges:

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=1

It is sad indeed to read that cheating has become pandemic among students (it's possible that it's widespread in other places), and most students feel no remorse about cheating (they are only afraid of getting caught). Joe, a student at a top college in the Northeast said, "The real world is terrible. People will take other people's materials and pass it on as theirs. I'm numb to it already. I'll cheat to get by."

Will, a student a top public high school said, "Whether or not you did it or not, if you can get the jury to say that you're not guilty, you're free." Many students pointed to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Enron and other financial scandals and the inconsistencies of the justice system, and say cheating in schools is a dress rehearsal for life. Sigh, to them, life is about cheating your way to the top. Sadly, this has been true on too many occasions.

Technology has made cheating even more pervasive. Some students are able to access the Internet while taking exams with their hand-held devices. 

In any given poll, more than one-third of students admitted to cheating. Teachers and professors admit to ignoring signs of cheating. A reader, Ron Butts, left a comment saying, "Kids are cheating because they see a society of cheaters from their sports 'heroes' to major corp. chiefs. The reason? It's worth it! The diference between 'the best' and second are extreme. We know that Michael Phelps is about to make between 50 and 200 million dollars for his gold metal performances...what do you think the silver medals will get in endorsements...next to nothing. CEO's are making an average of 400 times what the average employee is making for any given corp. The schools are cheating in their recrutment process of high school athletes and all of this is being witnessed by their student bodies. All the while, there are cuts in programs for the people that are to monitor indiscretions. It's a fast sinking ship."

I wonder how is the "cheating situation" is in Malaysia. Will we have the courage to do a comprehensive study on cheating in our schools? It is sad indeed to see our young people, the leaders of the future, resorting to under-handed methods to get ahead in life. Our future will be bleak indeed.

Allegro String Ensemble

Last Friday (Nov 20), I attended a free concert organised by the Italian embassy in Malaysia, at Istana Budaya. It featured the Allegro String Ensemble, which played a selection of music from Italian composers like Verdi, Rossini, Scarlatti and others. The ensemble is conducted by Maestro John Allan and its leader is Maestro Antonella Aloigi Hayes.

What pleasantly surprised me is the orchestra is made up mainly of young Malaysians, most of whom seem to be in their teens. There was even a young girl of ten, I believe!Seeing such youthful performers is very delightful. Their passion and commitment to their art is something truly admirable. You can see the fire shining in their eyes. I did hear some of the remark after the concert that the hall was too cold though, ha ha.

They were supposed to start with the Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, but decided to give the show a rousing start with the Overture from Rossini's William Tell instead. It was a good decision! Nothing like giving a show a bang right from the start. The Overture was pretty good! It would have sounded better with brass and percussion, but for a strings ensemble, they did very well. Since then I have seen excellent performances of this piece by the Berlin Philharmoniker (under Herbert Von Karajan) and the Halle Symphony Orchestra (under Mark Elder, at the Royal Albert Hall) on Youtube.

There were several pieces and composers that I was hearing for the first time, like Sonata-La Follia by Arcangelo Corelli, and Sonata for pianoforte K. 491 in D major by Domenico Scarlatti, and Tarantella, which is actually based on a Neapolitan folk tune, composer unknown.

The young ensemble was really amazing, and they really enjoyed themselves. The crowd loved them too. We asked for an encore, and they obliged us with Getaran Jiwa. I was silently mouthing the lyrics when they played it.A lot of wonderful thoughts formed in my mind during the concert.

That was my first live performance in a long time, and my first time at Istana Budaya, and what a way to make it back to the concert halls! There is nothing like watching a live performance, letting your heart sway to the movements and melody of the intruments. I was very moved. The performance was at the Lambang Sari hall, a smaller venue, which gave the event so much intimacy. The music, directly from the instruments, without going though any devices, unprocessed, makes it way straight to your ears and heart. Music at its purest, at its most sublime.

I look forward to more of such performances!

Asian Poems For Young Readers

I just came across this, well, not-so-new book today. It's the Asian Poems For Young Readers, volume 7 (published under the Longman imprint by Pearson Malaysia). Volume 7? Looks like this series has been around for some time. The seven volumes published in this series so far included three volumes of poetry and four volumes of short stories.

What's unique about this series is that it was written by teachers and lecturers from around Asia, with their own students in mind. For this particular volume, the poems were written by participants from eight countries during a creative writing workshop held in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2006. For this workshop, participants had to write poems before arriving in Hanoi, and the poems were peer-edited during the workshop. The rest of the poems were written during a single day in a trip to Chua Huong (The Perfumed Pagoda) in Hanoi.

I am still reading through it, and would like to share some of the interesting stuff I had read:

Broom held in one hand,
This absent-minded cleaner,
Re-arranges dust.
(Alan Paley, UK)

How Funeral and Wedding Became Enemies

Funeral and Wedding,
Were once good neighbours
And lived happily side-by-side.
But since Wedding turned down
A visit from Funeral,
Their relationship has turned sour!
(Janpha Thadphoothon, Thailand)

Faint Hope

So much water in the river,
How can I hope to comb it all with my fingers?

So many trees on the mountain,
How can I hope to trim them with my eyes?

So many ideas in my mind,
How can I hope to string them together with words?
(Meng Tian, China)

There are still many more poems in this rather slim volume (76 pages). One of the editors of this volume is Jayakaran Mukundan from Malaysia.

It's good to know there are teachers who love to write poetry, especially in Malaysia. I believe there always has been; they receive little exposure.

Herman Van Rompuy, the new President of the European Union

Yesterday, I wrote of my concern about suspected war criminal Tony Blair being chosen to become the first permanent president of the European Union (EU). Thankfully, it was announced today that Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy got the job instead. Phew...

You can find a short bio of Van Rompuy here: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1941121,00.html

He is also known as "Haiku Herman" for his love of composing poetry, especially haiku. A rarity among politicians, especially a Prime Minister. One of his haiku goes like this:

Hair blows in the wind
After years there is still wind
Sadly no more hair

And I would like to say:

Thank goodness you won

instead of one Tony Blair

a war crimes suspect. 

But what does a President of the EU does? Do EU citizens care? A few years ago, in an election of the EU Parliament, less than half of eligible voters cast their votes.

Let's see...

Tony Blair, Envoy of Peace to the Middle East

Soon after he was forced out of 10 Downing Street, Tony Blair was appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the UN, EU, USA and Russia. So what has this envoy of peace to the Middle East, who sent troops to invade Afghanistan and Iraq achieved so far?

George Galloway, British MP, and former MP of the Labour Part said in his speech at the Perdana Global Leadership Foundation Anti-War Conference, "Not since Caligula appointed his horse as a proconsul of Rome has there been a more inappropriate appointment than Tony Blair as the peace envoy for anywhere, never mind the Middle East."

He is currently one of the candidates for the post of President of the European Union. "They are determined to make people hate the European Union, I tell you," commented Galloway in the same speech.

Can a suspected war criminal (innocent until proven guilty in an international war crimes hearing) be chosen to become a peace envoy, or to head a largely peaceful European Union?

How Do Fruit Flies Help Kill People?

In the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US military has been deploying unmanned Predator drones to bomb various targets. The targeting technology of these drones were developed from studying the bio-mechanics of the vision of fruit flies. It was pionereed at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which boasts more than 30 Nobel laureates, among them the late physicist, Richard Feynman.

The use of technology in killing innocent people have made generals and politicians less reluctant to go to war, as they perceive that the human cost, and only that on their side, would be lower. They are now more willing to satisfy their bloodlust, and they smirk to themselves thinking that they have killed their enemies without sending a single soldier.

Roger Cohen wrote in the New York Times Op-Ed pages (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/opinion/13iht-edcohen.html?_r=1): "The Obama administration should not be targeting people for killing without some public debate about how such targets are selected, what the grounds are in the laws of war, and what agencies are involved. Right now there’s an accountability void.There are also broader questions. When robots are tomorrow’s veterans, does war become more likely and more endless? Do drones cow enemies with America’s technological prowess or embolden them to think America is not man enough to fight? What is the psychological toll on video-screen warriors?"

The thing is, killing is killing. If there is to be a "public debate" it should be about how to end the war, and all future wars. Merely pontificating on the morality of using machines to kill people will not change the cruel, inhumane, murderous face of war.

Karen Armstrong's Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time

Early last year, I posted a review of Karen Armstrong's book, Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time on another blog. I felt that it is time again to reproduce it here, so that we could have a greater understanding of who Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) really was.

When I bought the book, I had heard that it was a banned book. However, some months later, I saw the book in Kinokuniya in KLCC (wonder if they still have a copy). So, I guess it's not banned anymore?

Anyway, I believe that this is a very important book, and we would do well to learn from it.

MUHAMMAD: PROPHET FOR OUR TIME

“Since the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, members of the Christian Right in the United States and some sectors of the Western Media have continued this tradition of hostility, claiming that Muhammad was irredeemably addicted to war. Some have gone so aft as to claim that he was a terrorist and a pedophile.

We cannot afford to indulge in this type of bigotry, because it is a gift to extremists who can use such statements to “prove” that the Western world is indeed engaged on a new crusade against the Islamic world. Muhammad was not a man of violence. We must appreciate his life in a balanced way, in order to appreciate his considerable achievements. To cultivate an inaccurate prejudice damages the tolerance, liberality and compassion that are supposed to characterize Western culture.”

Karen Armstrong, from the Introduction to Muhammad : Prophet For Our Time


“If we are to avoid catastrophe, the Muslim and Western worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another. A good place to start is with the figure of Muhammad: a complex man, who resists facile, ideologically-driven categorization, who sometimes did things that were difficult or impossible for us to accept, but who had profound genius and founded a religion and cultural tradition that was not based on the sword but whose name – “Islam” – signified peace and reconciliation. “

Karen Armstrong, from Muhammad : A Prophet For Our Time, pg. 214


Muhammad : Prophet For Our Time, is an excellent biography of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. written by Karen Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong is one of the world’s most prominent comparative religion scholars and has written widely on issues pertaining to the world’s major religions.

She had earlier written a biography of Muhammad s.a.w. titled Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, which was first published in 1991. However, following the events of September 11, the author says, “…we need to focus on other aspects of Muhammad’s life. So this is a completely new and entirely different book, which, I hope, will speak more directly to the terrifying realities of our post September-11 world.”

In a world where there is serious prejudice against Islam and Muslims, what better way than to take a look at the life of the man who was the prophet of this religion? What kind of person was Muhammad s.a.w., and what were the teachings that he had left behind? What were the times that he lived in and what were the challenges that he had faced?

Like the many religious leaders and visionaries such as Jesus, Shakyamuni (the Buddha) and Nichiren, he was a man who lived in deeply troubled times and emerged as a leader who had a vision that was way ahead of his time. The Arabia that he lived in was then deeply cloaked in jahilliyah, which the author wrote is closely connected with “irascibility” and has connotations of ignorance. The Arabic society of the prophet’s time was acutely sensitive to honour and prestige, arrogance, excess and above all, a chronic tendency to violence and retaliation.

Muhammad (pbuh), armed with revelations from Allah, tried to steer the society of his times from one with a violent, destructive outlook to one that values compassion, benevolent justice and respect for women, among others. What were the challenges he faced? How did he achieve what he has left behind, establishing a religion that has 1.5 billion adherents today?

This biography is deeply insightful and easy to read. It is not some stiff-necked academic dissertation that is only interested with quoting sources. It is a revealing look at how human the Prophet is, and we see how the prophet squarely facing all the difficulties in life, from the death of his wives and children, to the various conflicts between his followers and those who opposed them. Like all great men, his life was marked by suffering and sorrow, but he did not let them deter him from his mission to create a compassionate and humane society.

In this chaotic world, we perhaps must look back in history, and take a look at the lives of the great religious leaders. It is without doubt that their lessons are still valid today, only that we have forgotten. We must re-learn them.

The Name Is Love

The name is love,

The class is mindless,

The school is suffering,

The governorate is sadness,

The city is sighing,

The street is misery,

The home number is one thousand sighs.

This poem was written by a thirteen-year old Iraqi boy named Jassim back in 1998. Jassim  was lying sick from leaukemia in an Iraqi hospital that had been deprived of its capabilities due to the debilitating sanctions enforced on Iraq after the first Gulf War in 1991. Furthermore, it is believed that Jassim's cancer was caused by the radiation from depleted uranium that was deployed during the first Gulf War (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium).

He was waiting for medication to arrive from an European aid agency. As a result of the sanctions imposed by the United Nations (UN) and the United States and their allies, the capacity of Iraqi hospitals to treat ilnesses have been severely compromised. 

During the thirteen years of sanction from 1990 to 2003 (just before the Iraq invasion), more than 1.5 million Iraqis have died as a result of the sanctions imposed on them. About half a million of those dead were children under the age of five. 

During those years of sanctions, the average Iraqi could only afford to have roughly USD 185 spent on them for various necessities. Meanwhile, the United Nations spent about USD 400 per year on every dog it used for bomb-sniffing operations in Iraq. This was just for food. Yes, the life of a UN dog is roughly worth the life of two Iraqis.  And I am quite sure that these dogs got better healthcare than the almost 50 million Americans (and hundreds of millions more around the world) without health insurance.

Anyway, to cut the story short, Jassim died before his medication could arrive. 

The End.

The Soldier's Creed

Look at the United States Army's Soldier's Creed.

After the US soldiers committed atrocities in Vietnam, particularly in My Lai, the US Army drew up the Soldier's Creed as a guiding document of conduct for members of the military. It was designed to ensure that a soldier in a US Army uniform conducted himself with honour while in service. (Wasn't the entire Vietnam war itself an atrocity?)

Today, the Soldier's Creed has been replaced by the "Warrior Ethos". Observe the marked differences. It does not require him to restrain himself or his comrades from committing atrocities while in uniform. He is not specifically prevented from doing anything that will "disgrace my uniform, my unit or my country."

Is this why they and their allies seem to commit atrocities wherever they go? Even with a strict code of conduct, war simply brings out the demonic side in people. And this demonic side can be revealed in anyone, not just in soldiers of a particular country. War makes the unacceptable become acceptable. War does not just kill people; it kills hope, it kills peace.

We must abolish war.

http://cosmicdinesh.blogspot.com/

Guantanamo Prisoner no. 345

This is Sami al-Hajj.

Sami was once held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly seven years. During his time in detention, he endured horrors that we cannot imagine.

Even for me, the hell that is called Guantanamo sounded like a distant place, until I came face-to-face with a man who survived it.

He had been subjected to more than 200 interrogations, saw the Holy Quran torn and desecrated in front of him. He has been subjected to beatings and torture. He went on a 480-day hunger strike, and came close to suicide. He was force-fed food with a hose that's too big, with no lubricant or anaesthetic, and dirty to boot. Psychiatrists at Guantanamo even suggested methods of suicides to inmates.

How can anyone belonging to the medical profession do that?

Instead of feeling hatred for his captors, he feels pity for them. "How will they face their families and friends when they return?" For a man who has gone through so much, you would think that he would speak in torrential anger. He has every reason to hate his captors, who have not charged him with a single crime all the time he was there.

But no. He speaks in an almost monotone voice. That is because his heart is truly cleansed of hatred and anger. "We are seeking justice, not revenge," he stresses. "I am grateful because I have gathered so many stories." He has made it his mission in life to expose the injustice in Guantanamo, and of war.

My colleagues at Cosmic magazine and I had the honour of interviewing him at the Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) Anti-War Conference and Exhibition. He also gave his testimony at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission.

I have a profound respect for this man. He is not only a beacon of journalism, he is also a champion of humanity. Because of people like him, our dreams of eternal peace is not just a dream, but a reality within our reach.

Rivers of Babylon by Boney M.

Rivers of Babylon is Boney M's most successful single in the UK, Europe and the US. It is actually based on verses from the Book of Psalm. You might know some of the words:

By the rivers of Babylon where we sat down
Yeah, we wept when we remembered Zion
By the rivers of Babylon where we sat down
Yeah, we wept when we remembered Zion

However, guards at prisons such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo found 
different uses for the song:

First, the prisoner is strapped in a chair, as shown below 
(ok, maybe minus the nails and screws). 

Then the music is turned on real loud. REAL LOUD. For hours on end.
And there is no end in sight. 

I learnt about this during the Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) 
anti-war exhibition.

You learn something new everyday...

Torture 101

The following is a scenario imagined by the author:

Dearest students,


Welcome to the latest course in our class, Torture 101. This class is designed to instruct students on the most "effective" methods on extracting confessions, real or imagined, from your captives. We will be discussing the techniques involved and include demonstrations videos wherever possible. We will then discuss methods that will make the torture method even more effective. 


1    Water-boarding.

      This is a most popular, and effective form of torture. The target's head, in particular the nose and mouth is covered with a piece of cloth. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States prefers to use cellophane tape over the target.


Once the target has been so wrapped and securely strapped onto a workbench or flat table, water is then poured over his face. If necessary, the quantity and intensity with which water is being poured is increased in order to increase the speed at which the confession is obtained.


You can see a photo of the water-boarding set-up here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2898516&l=16515caf1b&id=606887744

 The purpose of this torture method is to simulate the act of drowning. The target will feel as if they are drowning, and this creates an immediate sensation of terror and helplessness. If they breathe, they will take in water. If they hold their breath however, they will feel the grip of the head-wrap getting tighter. It's a win-win situation for the torturer.


Videos of demonstration can be seen here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LPubUCJv58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0SnqfFXc1k


And so, we have come to the end of today's lesson. Your assignment" Get into groups of four and discuss ways to further enhance the effectiveness of water-boarding.

Class dismissed.

"War is the terrorism of the rich and powerful." - Peter Ustinov

"War brings only suffering and misery to ordinary people, to families and mothers. It is always nameless and unknown people who suffer and moan amidst the mud and flames. In war, human life is used as a means to an end, an expendable commodity" - Daisaku Ikeda