By William Markiewicz
(As other short items may follow, I've decided to group them together.)
Enriching Dreams -- Expansion of Life. Imitating Dreams -- Decadence of Life. (6/19)
Woke up early as usual. Ate breakfast and went back to bed to relax a little longer. Thought about taking a shower. I was showering leisurely, it was easier than usual to keep the water temperature just right. I dried myself on a very fluffy towel, so much more relaxing than usual. I was prepared to dress – and realised it had been a dream. Somehow discouraged, I decided to give up on the shower and instead, just wash at the sink. I did it without the usual splashing all over and the towel was soft and warm, nice to dry off with – and I realised it was a dream and I had to start the whole operation again. This time it was true. But, what is the truth?
Chuang Tzu dreamed of being a butterfly. On awakening he wasn't sure if it was him dreaming of a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of him. I was quite confused on awakening -- was it reality or a dream? One enters a new dimension of incertitude. Chuang Tzu's dream was creative because he dreamed of a completely new situation while my dreams were a repetition of known to me reality.
East is East and West is West
and Never the Twain Shall Meet (5/24)
If Canadians believed Kipling they wouldn't parade to celebrate the glory of the Canadian Army in Afghanistan. What kind of business drives them into Central Asia anyway? Immigrants come from East to West mostly to westernize. Are Westerners going East to 'Easternize'? The USA follows an imperial policy that's as old as the world. Canada, even as an ally, doesn’t have to loyally follow in all its steps. Do gooders should seek and act where they are needed and asked, which is not the case now. All the turmoils in Central Asia, as in other parts of the world, have the stigma of civil wars. Who was first, the egg or the chicken? By the same token, what was first, Western intervention or terrorism? Opinions may diverge and the answer will never be clear. The only thing we know intuitively is that non intervention strangles the terrorists more than the activism that has been going on for years. The majority of populations want peace and will follow peace, leaving the ideologies to self centered fanatics.
How About Europe's Own Military Union? (5/19)
The outside world is tired of American patriotism that wants to put the whole world under its hegemony. America is governed by a stubborn bigot who supports himself on others like him -- alas, too numerous and powerful. Nato is considered an appendage of the USA, "defending freedom" is it's empty slogan. USA and its Nato chose their enemies in a purely empirical way and those who really need foreign muscular aid remain in despair; enough to see what happened and still happens in Burma. Let Europe form its own military power, and this power, even if engaged in other countries' matters, is less likely to be suspected of defending the 'European empire's' own interests. Contrary to the USA, Europe remains a union of independent states. It will be the internal job of the Europeans to impede any domination by a particular partner.
Is China Joining the “Global Village”? (5/13)
China, like most Asian countries, was surrounded by a wall of secrecy. The politicians, totally pragmatic, rigid, with no empathy, reigned where power was always right and always won, where change in tradition and custom was unthinkable. The collective always superceded the individual. Here we have a picture of a state structure unchanged for ages. Now, with the experience of Tibet, the runup to the Olympics, with the ecological catastrophes caused by hasty industrialization, witnessing the horrifying Burmese drama and with their own recent earthquakes, the Chinese seem to soften and change their general attitude toward the rest of the world. Perhaps they start to appreciate the value of democracy. It seems they even invite the Dalai Lama to the Olympic Games! Western and Chinese relations have improved during years of intense economic exchange. All they need now is to soften their attitude towards their own population, to no longer consider them only as obedient masses, giving them equal rights combined with duties. Only when we see this will we take for granted that China is edging toward us in a less formal and more human and personal sense.
Genocide in Burma (5/08)
In general, even the toughest dictators have some allies in the country; mostly among the dominant class that oppresses the majority. In Burma, the military regime is like a foreign invader treating the local population in the most brutal and repressive way. The Burmese people have no friends, no allies. What happens in Burma is a combination of cataclysm and genocide; help for the starving Burmese delayed beyond sense. The ‘good intentioned’ gendarmes of the universe who brought so much “help” to the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, ignored the plight of the Burmese, Sudanese, Rwandans, etc. In the Darwinian Universe those who know how to help themselves survive.
Israel Sixty Years Later (5/05)
Sixty years have passed and on both sides the hawks have the upper hand. Whether Israel is defeated or triumphant (which is becoming more and more problematic), the annexed Western territories, the Golam Heights must return sooner or later to the Arabs. The blockade of Gaza doesn’t serve Israel’s long term interests; the Gazans become used to misery and all Israel can win is one more day without terror. Hamas has time – it can wait until after tomorrow. Israel made a monumental mistake in giving the green light to the hawkish settlers. Now Israel has a terrible choice: civil war with the hawkish settlers, which it must win, or eternal war with the Arab hawks, which it cannot win. Israel cannot depend eternally on providential Bushes. In my view, once Israel does what has to be done the terror will stop. Not because the Palestinians will become pro Israel but because they are hungry for freedom and prosperity. The hawks will lose their predominant role in Palestine and ultimately in the rest of the Arab world.
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William Markiewicz