Checks & Balances - Apparently not applicable to the Bush Administration

The inhumane way in which the prisoners at Abu Ghraib were treated is one
example amongst many others of the Bush Administration’s open defiance of the American Constitution.
Beginning in 2004, American’s became aware of the torture and abuse that
the prisoners in the Abu Ghraib correctional facility were going through. Even
more outrageous is the fact that the commander of Abu Ghraib, Janice Karpinski, during
the Abu Ghraib trials bought out in open the fact that 90% of the detainees in the
prison were innocent. It is one thing to use harsh torture techniques on actual suspects
but quite another when using them on innocent civilians. Horrible atrocities were
inflicted upon these prisoners including urinating on detainees, sodomization of
detainees, forcing the prisoners to be naked and perform sexual acts and waterboarding
to name just a few. Former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld advised President
Bush to pass the infamous memo that allowed the U.S. to suspend the Geneva
Conventions at any point it so deemed necessary claiming that it needed to be done
since the U.S. was fighting a “war against terrorism”.

“The War Powers Act” passed in 1973 clearly states that
Congress must be involved and made aware about any war related proceedings
including interrogation of detainees. Clearly the Bush Administration did not think it was
necessary to involve the Congress since Rumsfeld and Bush were allowing grievous
acts to be enforced upon prisoners (most of them innocent) at Abu Ghraib. Following
the Abu Ghraib trials the Senate passed a detainee Bill which introduced new rules
relating to the treatment of prisoners kept in detainee camps. It was approved 65 to 34.
Although it made several interrogation techniques illegal it still gave the President
power to decide if harsher techniques needed to be implemented. Also, no detainee
whether innocent or guilty was going to be able to question their detention in court i.e.
they were not given the right to Habeas Corpus and due to this every prisoner held at
these camps would have to undergo a trial, innocent or guilty. So even though the
Senate had passed this Bill, its effectiveness was highly questionable. Only as of March
2008, in Boumediene v. Bush was this right given back to the prisoners.
I do believe that President Bush ignored the boundaries of the Presidency. The
framers certainly did not intend for innocent civilians to suffer in detainee camps
and have Habeas Corpus stripped from them. My stance is that terrorism must be punished at all costs but the innocent should not have to suffer. Hillary Clinton rightfully
mentioned in one of her interviews the fact that while the US is engaged in a war on terrorism, it must conduct itself in an honorable manner even when faced with extremely trying circumstances.

Obama now faces a serious challenge in trying to initiate an accurate
solution to the treatment of detainees kept in prison camps. He has pledged that he will
close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay but is still very vague as to what will become of the detainees. McCain had planned on moving them to the United States and have them tried using the Pentagons Commission but since Obama's Presidential victory all focus is on what he has in mind. Obama is of the opinon that the Bush
Administration’s methods have been an utter failure and that there was no reason to
hold the detainees back in those camps to begin with. He believes that the legal
system in America is strong enough to carry out the trials of terrorism suspects devoid of any external influences. Touche.

Itna drama kyun hai bhai?

Everytime I watch a Bollywood movie I tell myself, NOMORE! I will have nothing more to do with all of that mindless ranting and raving about some crazy/warped love angle, a heroine desperately seeking love and an overly eager hero ready to comply! NOMORE! But then I like so many others find myself being lured again into this never ending saga of romance/drama that is Bollywood. The colors, the happy go lucky characters, the LOVE stories that in almost all cases are always a success are created to draw an audience like you and I. Try as you may with all your might to resist Bollywood, it will in some way, shape or form came back to haunt you. You say you dislike Bollywood now, ok..ever think about someone you knew from the past, an ex?, a sweety you parted ways with, an evening of fun and frolick with friends? Think about any of the aforementioned people especially when you hear a certain song? That my friends is the power of Bollywood. Love it. Hate it. Either ways it’ll never let you go. You can run but you can’t hide. Now, I'm not saying that everything Bollywood is drama filled and a waste of time. No. Not at all. There are some truly memorable movies that are made in India, the romance kind or otherwise and are a must watch. However, all logical reasoning and thoughts must be put aside before watching some of them. My only problem with these movies is the false notion of life/love that they inculcate within the minds of the very impressionable youth. They say art imitates life, not so in your average Bollywood "masala" film. Therefore, my issue in the past till date has been the effect they have on the average South Asian teenager (especially those who actually live there). Watching a typical commercial hindi flick certainly creates misleading ideas about what life and especially love is all about, for in these movies it's romancing in foreign and exotic locales and a relentless passion that never never fades away with the hero chasing the heroine and winning her heart against ALL odds (Veer Zaara, KKHH, HDDCS, QSQT, KANK, etc, etc ,etc and if you aren't able to make sense of the abbreviations you're clueless about B-Wood and don't really need to be reading this). Infact, being rather nonchalant about the opposite sex I was able to steer clear of all this Bollywood madness (watched but never let influence) even as a teen and often times found myself pondering over why even bother making movies that are so meaningless?...ofcourse at some point on a later day I will hear the melodious "tujhe dekha to yeh jaana sanam" play in the distance and figure if you can't beat em join em and so the show must go on or in this case as SRK aptly puts it "picture abhi baki hai!".

Bliss in Ignorance?

Now you'll have to forgive me if this post may hurt the emotional sensibilities of some but I cannot contain myself from writing this note and furthermore to protect the identity of the individual involved in the to be mentioned narrative I shall use a hypothetical name and refer to her as Simone, in an otherwise non-fiction incident. October of last year, Muslims all over the world observed the Holy month of Ramadan and as most people are aware, it involves fasting from sunrise to sunset. So it came as a complete surprise to me when I was at work one morning while observing my fast when more or less the following conversation ensued in Simone’s office,

Simone: "Hey Suphia, you should try these cookies, they’re good!"

Me: "No thanks (my stomach already rumbling at the very thought of the cookie), I’m fasting today so I can’t eat anything till sunset"

Simone: "Oh really? must be hard, how long do you have to do this for?"

Me: "Ramadan lasts for a month"

At this point I have to add that Simone is short of hearing and one often finds themselves talking louder than they otherwise would in order to be audible to her so perhaps in her defense she did not hear me? Anyway before I could respond, in walked another co-worker into her office.

Coworker (turning towards me): "Hey Suphia, how’s the fasting coming along?"

Me: "Good, except that I tend to get thirsty"

Simone to coworker (with a very incredulous look on her face): "Can you believe it? They can’t eat anything for a month" and turning to me added “how do you survive without food for so long? DON’T YOU DIE?"

At this point the two of us couldn’t help but break out into laughter and told Susan that the fast is to be broken at sunset following which you can resume eating. She then heaved a sigh of relief and I guess realized (hopefully) how silly she had been in making that assumption in the first place. Now, I realize that Ramadan is an Islamic practice however truth be told, it saddens me to think that even though we live in the 21st century and enormous amounts of knowledge and information is available to us at the click of a button, some of us choose to live in ignorance and thus choose to not know.

Private ownership of handguns?

On October 20, 2008 the Supreme Court, overturning the District of Colombia’s handgun ban, declared that according to the Second Amendment individuals have the right to ownership of a hand gun for private use. Although in the past this issue has always been surrounded by controversy and differences in opinion I would have to agree with the Supreme Court ruling. It is crucial to be able to protect oneself if the need ever arises, even more so considering the fact that increasingly, every day we hear horror stories about people getting robbed, murdered, vandalized etc. However, I also think that one cannot ignore how dangerous these weapons can be. Just a few months ago I learnt that a girl I knew of through a friend was killed in a handgun accident at her own Birthday party. The gun belonged to her parents. So therefore I am of the stance that handguns should be made available to people for their individual private use however the people who buy these guns should be well aware of the risk factors involved and keep them in places where they are not easily accessible

Anti-Terrorism or Anti-Privacy?

A class action-lawsuit was filed by the Non-profit group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation against President Bush and the National Security Agency on Sep. 18th 2008 in hopes of putting a stop to the illegal surveillance of Telephone and Internet traffic by Telecom companies in America. The EFF had previously filed a law-suit against AT&T Corporation claiming that it had provided to the NSA without warrants access to its communication lines and customer records. The latter lawsuit was overturned by the Government this year and Telecom companies that were instrumental in helping the Agency were granted immunity. With President Bush and a few other officials ardently defending this surveillance technique the “Right To Privacy” seems to have been conveniently forgotten and ignored.

Back in 2001 when President Bush first passed the program, the National Surveillance Agency began listening in the US without court warrants which was followed by a statement in January 2007 that the surveillance had been put to a stop without court authorization. However, some programs continued on without judicial monitoring. The lawsuit in 2008 was filed by five AT&T customers with the help of information received by a former AT&T technician who claimed to have seen the NSA install equipment at a communication centre in San Francisco which would enable the company to monitor large amounts of Internet traffic.

The Government claims that this program will enable them to monitor any kind of conversation they think is suspicious which can possibly help them in averting terrorist attacks on America. This lead me to think about the group of people that would be likely subjects for this surveillance program which then invariably lead me to think that yes it would probably be the Muslim folk. Now I may be wrong but being Muslim myself I can’t help but think that this is “racial profiling” and it saddens me to think that even though I have spent quite a few years of my life in the States and have come to admire a lot that the country is representative of, I am under surveillance because of my religion and even more frustrating is the fact not once in the news have I heard of any terrorist ploy being sabotaged with the help of this surveillance program. All in all I think it’s just a gross violation of privacy and not very instrumental against the "war on terrorism".

One Dark Night

Fog crept slowly into the night
making it's way into everything that was in sight
Teary-eyed and broken willed I stumbled along
Not a soul was to be seen for miles around
Where am I?...Will I ever be found?
Never have I felt so forlorn
The sound of thunder in the twilight sky
A cry in the distance – hope!
Was there someone else in this God forsaken place but I?
My very being shaken and my knees weak
I continued on…
Curious I was to get to the source of that sound…
Suddenly right before my eyes, an apparition began to form
of a young woman, her attire – a long white gown
I reached out my hand to touch her shoulder – why do you cry so?
Slowly she turned around and terror seeped through me
The woman staring at my face was none other but me!

She awakened with feelings of foreboding strong,
Was that a shadow she saw outside the balcony wall?
What a strange reverie – visions of it still clear in her mind,
Think about things pleasant and sweet
This dream shall no longer give you any grief
His touch, his smile, his kind ways
Immediately bought a smile to her face
Her eyes lit up and no longer was she afraid
When all of a sudden, she knew she did not mistake
She did indeed see a shadow lurking down below
Who could it be at this hour so late?
A thief, a burglar, a castaway?
Worried again with hesitant steps,
she made her way back to her bed
Silence was all she heard and then the sudden hooting of a train....
The entire world was asleep but she could not explain,
the pain she felt in her heart - empty and dark
Overwhelmed with feelings so deep,
She wished that she could lie still and watch her beloved sleep....
With his thoughts on her mind she fell into a slumber of some kind.

Birds were chirping in the early morning sky,
the sun not up completely - being a tad bit shy
A new day was beginning and with it new hope,
"I must forget about last night's dream" she spoke
Spirits restored and will revived!
She started to arise when suddenly her gaze, fell right next to her pillow case
Alarmed and confused she thought to herself
"What is this that I see!...a single red rose for me"?

A loud thud! A banging on her door,
"Who is it" she implored,
"A messenger...I bring news"
In he walked with steady steps...
"Why must it always be me to give regret"?
The look of inquiry on her face,
he knew he had to tell her and not make her wait,
"Yesterday at midnight I'm afraid your lover met a terrible fate...
Death took him away, and I cannot say how sorry I am he had to pass that way"
She looked at the rose and held it tight
It was him last night.

Zoroastrianism Funeral Rites

I have always been fascinated and somewhat amused by Parsi funeral rites which basically centre on the notion that the body must be exposed after death. The ritual is referred to as “Dakhma Nashini” and begins three hours after death since it is believed that evil decay of the body begins at this time. It is prohibited for anyone to touch the dead body except for the “Nassesalars” or corpse bearers. A corpse is considered to be filthy and unclean and is bathed with “Taro” which is the urine of a special white bull to purify it. This is an ancient Aryan tradition of purification.

After the corpse is washed and the body clothed in a “Sudreh” or religious garment, it is tied to an iron bar and placed on a stone slab where a dog is made to gaze at the face of the deceased to make sure there are no evil spirits lurking around it. Dogs, according to Parsi tradition possess divine sight and are able to see and chase away evil spirits. Finally the corpse is placed in a well shaped circular stone structure also called the “Tower of Silence”. Placed in the open vultures take no time at all in devouring the flesh of the deceased.

Mumbai is home to the largest Parsi community and there are only 250,000 Zoroastrians in the world today. Over 55 acres in size, Mumbai also has the largest Parsi cemetary which was in the news a while ago because cemetary caretakers allowed billboards to be constructed on its grounds. This was done in order for them to raise money for cemetary care taking and was met with a lot of hostility by the Parsi community.

Religion: Have it your way?

Religion. God. Faith. These words mean very different today from what they used to when compared to 50-60 years ago. The Human race has evolved in so many ways. Technology is at its peak, tremendous advances have been made in science and we have attained a sort of intellectual pinnacle. However, these very luxuries that we hoped and “prayed” for have seemingly now largely due to ignorance and intolerance become the reason why we have come to question the very existence of God. Postmodernism coupled with increasing misunderstanding about Religion has given rise to Aetheists, Fundamentalists, Agnosticism and immense cynicism towards Religion.

Each individual definitely has the right to follow and believe in the faith of their choice. True. But why is it that even though we have made enormous progress as human beings we are now living in times where injustice, corruption and war has never been more? Religion has become a matter of convenience where we adhere to beliefs that work for us and neglect to follow those that don’t. Arrogance over our accomplishments has made us question the very existence of God over and over again. But there is a God. The very fact that we have a conscience goes to prove that there is indeed a higher power. Our conscience is God. Imagine living in a world where there was no God and everyone was free to do whatever they wished to do. There wouldn’t be anything that would hold us back from committing atrocities upon one another, stealing, lying or even killing each other because we would not have a conscience that would help us distinguish good from bad or right from wrong. All Religions are peaceful, therefore it does not matter which one you belong to you, it’s how you pursue it that matters.

Orphan

Isolated, dismal, sad and alone
‘Tis the existence that I have always known
Like the night that was cursed and never saw day
An angel who wanted to fly but had it's wings taken away
Who wanted to love but love never came it's way
The cold seeps through me,
these tattered clothes provide no warmth
Bruised inside and out with nowhere to go
A kind gesture, a kind word hurts me so
A labyrinth of emotions buried within me
Drowning in sorrow, emergence very bleak
Am I succumbing to my heart’s beliefs?
God, why am I so deplorable?
What have I not done right?
But who is to say and who will end this plight!
Ever since the day I was born this is the way it has been
Solitude is my sin

Feeling good!

Today I signed up for the Rhodes Race 5K which is basically a fundraising Run/Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The event will kick off on April 6th, 9:00 am at Lake Merritt in Oakland. It feels fantabulous to be part of such an awesome cause and help create awareness! I firmly believe that the happiness and contentment that one gets from helping others is uncomparable to anything else. If you're reading this blog then do try and join in!

Here's a link that will take you to their web-site : http://motivatedpixels.com/rhodesrace5k/

see you there!..:-)

This truly is the cat's meowwww...

The following is an excerpt from an article about a cat that inherited $ 700,000 from it's deceased owner who was an aging wealthy widow. Now honestly I think this lady must be completely out of her mind or simply oblivious to events happenning around her. Millions of starving children, tonnes of people living in conditions of extreme poverty and nations filled with people with no roof on top of their heads..aaahhh who gives a hoot about about them...it's all about Tinker!!...needless to say this I'm sure this makes for one very content cat!

Cat Inherits $700,000 Estate LONDON - Tinker really is the cat that got the cream. Thanks to his late owner, a wealthy widow, the former stray now lives in some splendor in his own house, valued at $560,000 and dines on fish bought from his $160,000 trust fund. The will of Margaret Layne, 89, published in The Times newspaper on Tuesday, named Tinker as the beneficiary of a large chunk of her estate, including her house in Harrow, northwest London. When he dies, the estate will pass to the trustees, Layne's former neighbors, Ann and Eugene Wheatley, who deliver Tinker's food and milk each day. The good life is proving attractive to other cats. In an interview with The Times, Wheatley, 75, said Tinker now shares the house with Lucy, “who was our pussy but decided to move there after she had a litter. “And there's Stardust, a white cat who came to us from a friend who couldn't look after him any more but chose to go and live there,” he said. Wheatley said recent stock market falls had hit Tinker's trust fund but “there's a limit to what you can spend it on.” He said he had used some of the money to maintain the house “and Tinker is fond of coley (fish), so we bought him some.” Layne, who had no children, died last year, leaving an estate worth nearly $937,000.

Now again I reiterate...what is this world coming to!!

To Race or not to Race?

Below is the synopsis of the newly released Indian action packed blockbuster "Race" that has been posted on the AMC Mercado web-site...give it a read..it's WORTH it!...:-)....especially the last few lines..

"Race" is the story of two brothers, Ranvir Singh and Rajeev Singh, who live on the edge of their life. Their business is horse racing, and their beat -- the fast track. Winning is their birthright, and danger their sport. Set against the high flying social fabric of modern South Africa. "Race" is about betrayal and greed, intrigue and revenge. Even love comes laced with a motive. The stakes are too high. Double them and you have the perfect grounds for a perfect murder. The sudden appearance of Inspector Robert D'Costa, and his dumb and sexy assistant Mini, deepens the plot into a gripping tale of drama. With the brothers pitched against each other -- who will win?

Genius I tell you...pure genius!..and by no means is the rest of the synopsis any less amusing than the words in bold...:-)

Fallen

Soaring in great blue skies,

Dizzied by all that never was mine.

Look! There he goes: insignificant and meek.

Thou shalt compare thyself to me?

Absurdity at its peak!

Time goes by; the whisper of a forgotten promise,

Alone I am left, a tortured soul.

Played by the strings of life; miserable beyond belief,

But humbled now, I must accept defeat.

Yet another story...about Iraq

Iraq. Time and time again we hear horror stories of death, sorrow and grief that emerge from Iraq. Sorrow so great and deep that it will probably take all of enternity and many lifetimes to erase. I came across yet another while I was browsing the CNN homepage the other day. Nahla is an Iraqi woman whose husband was killed in an explosion on April 14th 2007. He was a doctor and moved his family to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in hopes that he would be able to help his country while it was in the midst of turmoil. Unfortunately his dream was very short lived, him and 10 others died in an explosion that occured in Baghdad. Despite loosing her husband it amazes me to no end how strong-willed Nahla and many other Iraqi women are. They are hopeful and optimistic about the future of their kids and their country despite the odds that are stacked high against them. They are hero's. Yet again I am reminded about how fortunate I am to be able to live each day exactly how I want to live it without any kind of fear or pressure. Amidst all this grief and misery my life seems so futile and all my worries about it so pointless. I sometimes feel like being happy in a world where there is so much sorrow and grief is almost impossible.

Far from the maddening crowd..

today is one of those ughhh days....just want to get away from it all..called in sick at work so got some extra sleep...but it's back to the daily grind tomorrow...