The Land That Time Forgot

If you have been staying abreast of events from the Middle East, then you are probably in agreement that as a whole, we've seen better days. Ironic isn't? But that's the state of affairs and we are all too accustomed to let downs and perennial dispappointment, after all, who are we kidding? I can't think of a single MidEast democracy where the rule of law is institutionalized protecting, among other things, rights of the individual, where there's a clear separation of church and state, as well as an effective structure of separation of powers, church, state and branches of government. In no state do all the above exist coterminously at one time - not in a single solitary Middle Eastern nation-state. And that includes Israel. Don't misread what is being said. To be sure, Israel DOES have an independant judiciary, there's ample evidence of that. And certainly there is a VIBRANT FREE PRESS that provides a voice for those, whether from the right or left, to be heard. And certainly the right to vote in free and fair elections is undisputed. But where Israel falls short is in its exclusive character by way of being a nation state reserved for a single religious paradigm. If u really think about American principles in terms of the No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, Israel and countries like The Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia are the very antithesis of one of the more AWESOME principles of AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE, that is, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" - could governance in the name of a particular faith not be more un-American? Interestingly, one of the diseases that is the modern Middle East is that we are surrounded by fundamentalists of some faith or another. The Christian branch of the Abrahamic tradition is, at this time, and let me emphasize, AT THIS TIME, the lone voice of reason heard emanating from the regions spiritual heritage. Yes, the Christian church has its share of issues, but they are mostly 'domestic' in nature. Judaism and Islam on the other hand are in the throes of a tumultuous struggle, where reformers are pitted against radicals, with international implications for all. Martin Luther and company appeared to have settled the score along time ago for today's Christians. Of course, some will object and mention the Evangelicalism of the recent past. Do not fear the Evangelicals - before they are anything else, they are American, first and foremost. And while I wasn't born in this INCREDIBLE country, I have been here enough time to recognize Americans are not determined by a particular ethnicity, religion or national origin. Rather, Americans are a people with a fidelity to certain principles, including but not limited to the one enunciated in the Establishment Clause above. Returning to the remaining legs in the stool - they are more than just a little 'wobbly' if u know what I mean. Let's be honest - the often heard refrain that Israel is the lone democracy in the Middle East is not entirely honest, unless one is prepared to accept democracy as being compatible with religious supremacy. And while the Iran of Khatemi is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, who can deny that Iran's clerical establishment, although successful in ending the monarchy, today wield absolute power, replacing one form of despotism for another. But religious supremacy isn't by any means the most corrosive anti-democratic force suffocating reform and generating instability in the region. One cannot be but both embarrassed and frustrated considering that most people turning in for the evening in the modern Middle East tonight will awake tomorrow living in countries where political power rests in the hands of religious nuts, monarchies, despots or generals. And in these countries the tired and craven excuse of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is as stupid as it is untrue in being any justification for the absence of political liberaliztion. No my friends, whether it's the medieval exclusivism of Iran, Israel and their ilk, or the various so-called royal houses of the Arab world, the Middle East remains mired in the past, a backward universe that time has forgotten. Which is even more the reason why a stable, consitutionally progressive Iraq would represent a great victory for those of us who refuse to be resigned to this reality. Despite of the chaos and misery from which it was born, or perhaps more precisely, in spite of it, Iraq may yet be an example of the kind of political reform needed in the region. Democratic institutions married by religious pluralism. Dreaming is allowed.

If India And Pakistan Make Good....Maximizing The Possibilities

It 's an inspiring headline, a courageous thought......."If India and Pakistan make good," then hold your breath for the planets are re-aligning. The advent of genuine reconcilliation between the two nations will correct the out of charachter animosity between members of the not too long ago British Raj. The roughly 55 years are actually a blip in their respective histories, but a blip whose time may have run its course. Should today's friendly meetings between Mr. Singh, Prime Minister of India and Mr. Musharraf, de facto ruler of Pakistan give rise to a tangible reduction of friction, then certainly the first tenative steps towards maximizing the various untapped potentials of the region will truly be within reach. Both nations have a cadre of technologically savvy footsoldiers who have the demonstrated skills and innovation to be the engine of unknown economic expansion. Their problems aside, of which, to be sure, there are a number, on the social front, defeating religious fanatacism, coupled with sustainable economic growth, has the potential for paving the way for the foundation of the subcontinent's modern rebirth. Fueled by secure energy supplies from an increasingly moderated Iran, this triumvariate of Indo-Aryan power could present a formidable opportunity for engagement to the outside powers, to either woo in friendship, or oppose as a foe.

More Demonstrations Demand Honest Japanese Self Appraisal

MORE ANTI-JAPANESE DEMONSTRATIONS IN CHINA

Today wire services report new demonstrations in China, twenty thousand of whom, marched on the Japanese Embassy in Shanghei, overturning cars and hurling projectiles towards the embassy compound while outnumbered Chinese security personal did not intervene. Today's crowds come on the heals of the on-going diplomatic spat between the two Asian power houses, rooted in the unaddressed bad blood that remains from 1930's Imperial Japanese bloody invasion and occupation of mainland China. What does this example of Chinese people power augur for the future of Sino-Japanese relations? What is the role, if any of the current leading Asian military power, Washington. At this time, it is impossible to predict, but certainly such public airing of past animosities cannot go unnoticed in D.C. Given the unavoidable historical record, that is, the unequivacally, objectively verifiable fact of Japanese aggression and state sanctioned brutality towards not only China, but most of the Pacific Rim during the first half of the twentieth century, D.C would be well advised to take the expedient as well moral highground and carefully nurse it's Asian proxy to develop a healthy respect for history, coupled with an exercise of honest self appraisal of it's client's relations with it's Asian cousins. The first step towards genuine reconcilliation must be the product of the truthfull examination of past Japanese actions and Washington has an interest in facilitating such an opening.

Japanese Leadership Fails Opportunity To Make Amends For WWII War Crimes

Today two Asian power houses exchanged a few words, diplomatic parlance for a slight 'tiff.' Historically, China and Japan have been rivals, both nations vying for the pole position in the Pacific. The events that gave rise to this new bad blood originate, to nobody's surprise, from the WWII era. Who is at fault this time around? While I do not subscribe to the often held practice of finding a nation guilty in the present for the misdeeds of some prior generation (insert your example of your own preference here), I cannot help but agree with the Chinese Premier who yesterday said, and I am paraphrasing here, that Japan must come to grips with its past. In contrast with Germany, Japan's leadership, not just the present government, but successive post-WWII administrations, has failed to offer it's neighbors, including, but not limited to China, sufficient evidence that the many war crimes conducted under shadow of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces flag are wholly and unequivacally indefensible acts of barbarism. The interests of the United States vis-a-vis it's relations with the Pacific Rim nations would be well served if Washington gently prodded it's Japanese ally in seeing the merits of an honest self appraisal of Japanese actions during WWII. It is long overdue.

GENTLEMEN, COMMON COURTESY DEMANDS A SIMPLE HANDSHAKE

atotallysecularmohammad


so today i read that Khatemi denies that there ever was such a "handshake/encounter"......what are we to make of this news???

is he telling the truth? is it possible that the whole thing is fiction? never happenned - it's Zionist propaganda, as he described it to be? now i am not naiive enough to have any trouble believing that all parties play the game of propaganda, but this is not one of those times. come President Khatemi.....you'd have us believe that the camera does lie, that seeing is not believing - why can't you simply acknowledge a small truth? there was a run-in between the Presidents of Iran and Israel at the funeral of Pope John Paul II - how is that a bad thing? Whatever the circumstances of the day, they're both two Iranian men, one a Jew from ancient Persia, the other a Muslim cleric from modern Iran. I think it speaks of Iran's incredible mixing of histories and should be pursued as an avenue for conflict resolution in today's Middle East.

so here it is .....first contact with the bloggasphere......at last we meet!

i look forward to a lasting relationship -

today at the funeral for Pope John Paul II the Presidents of Israel and Iran shook hands and spoke with one another for approximately one hour. Their discussion appeared friendly. The two men, both born in the same city of Yazd in central Iran, spoke in their native toungues of Farsi. Moshe Katsav, President of Israel is an Iranian Jew who can proudly claim that his ancestors were a part of the saga recalled in the Old Testament - The Babylonian Captivity. As a child, together with his family, Moshe Katsav emigrated to Israel from Iran.. For this reason, the conversation today between the two Presidents was probably quite a comfortable exchange of two countymen meeting in a foreign land. The interesting nature of the handshake is a consequence of the hodge podge of nationalaties and cultures that form the modern Middle East.