For everything you have, for every situation that involves you, always be thankful,
For there is always an opposite, usually something negative, and someone else is stuck with it,
To be thankful means you are alive and that you can take any path you choose in this world.

Only four things are certain in this life- birth, school, work and death…
All that is in between are just the side dishes and condiments and different sauces to put on your rice.

 What Baylion said in this movie makes a lot of sense.  Jerusalem is the holy city of all Jews, Christians and Muslim, and as then, nobody has brought any peace to that city and it continues to be a thorn in the feet of everyone both directly and indirectly. 

Here’s what I am thinking- what if Jerusalem became its own city-state free of any other country and a place were Jew, Christian and Muslim all share the responsibilities of running the city as one entity?  Each head of state would rotate in succession of a Jewish head, Christian head and Muslim head so that neither religion could take the upper hand and a governing/judicial  body that is made up of equal shares of the three.  Protection of Jerusalem would be the responsibility of a police force made up of its own citizens with a wider role being provided by the UN with a rotating multi-national contingent on hand forever.  A free city-state that can control its destiny and a place where Jew, Christian and Muslim can come and worship unmolested.  A sanctuary.  A place where nobody can emigrate to without special consideration and invitation.  I believe with Jerusalem out of the equation, it would take a lot of the wind out of any cause that it should be Jewish, Christian or Muslim, for it would be all three without outside influences.  Ask yourself how many groups are outside of Jerusalem who are currently active and working to see that it falls to one faith or the other.  Ask yourself how much money Jerusalem has cost the world directly and indirectly for all these centuries.  Ask yourself why it should belong to one faith or another and then ask yourself is Jerusalem worth all of the fighting and the bloodshed that has been spilled all this time up til now.

It is my belief, and I really don’t care if you like it or not, but all three groups have done a piss poor job of keeping the peace, and to me, Jerusalem does not belong to anyone.  Jerusalem belongs to the world, and it should be the center of peace and neutrality and a place where we can take our grievances if we cannot solve them without mediation.

Your thoughts?

For myself- as a business owner, I have made a choice of doing the work that is needed myself for a few reasons, such as keeping my overhead down, lack of certified professionals in the business I run (tuning performance cars; building racing engines and chassis and customizing mid- to high-end vehicles) and lastly, not wanting to further perpetrate the use of laborers from south/southeast Asia. Even in my villa, I don’t have domestic help (I’m a single guy; I do my own cooking and cleaning and chores) with the exception of a yard man (his yard services came with the villa; not full time).

I’d like to hear your feelings on the use of foreign manual labor, as well as skilled professionals.

I came across a music video by a man named Corneille entitled “Too Much of Everything”, and the video is simple and doesn’t detract from the song and the lyrics. My interest was peaked, and I searched MySpace for him. Wow! Born in Fribourg, Germany to a Rwandan couple finishing their studies, lived there for a while, moved to Rwanda, got caught up in one of the worst genocides in recorded history, escaped and was taken in by a German couple who were friends of his parents, finished his studies there, faced a little bit of racial prejudice and moved on to Montreal, Canada and got picked up by Motown Records (a rarity, since Motown is known to not look outside the USA to sign on artists). By listening to his songs, this man is so full of love and you will hear the tinge of loss occasionally before it is moving back over to love.

Corneille is definitely a survivor, a person who questioned his identity before just accepting it as “just is”. If you like R&B, and this is definitely R&B with a twist, I think you will enjoy Corneille.

This article is about Vaxjo, Sweden. In 1993, the city chose to reduce carbon emissions to manageable levels through a few innovative ideas and maximizing their local resources. As a result, they have reduced their emissions by 30%, and now cities and leaders from around the world are going there to get ideas and see how it all works firsthand.

Here’s the story.

What are some cities around you that are doing something to reduce reliance on fossil fuels? Is it working? Please share.

Here’s his official site.  

One important thing he does stress is self rule but not breaking national unity. The minority Sunna’a Arabs in the central region have long felt that if such a system were put into motion, they would lose out, since the central region is mostly desert with little to no natural resources (I know, I’ve been there), while the Kurdish region in the north and the Shia’a region in the south contain most of Iraq’s oil reserves. That is the one fly in the ointment. Incidently, al-Hakim is gaining popularity within certain circles of the Washington Beltway especially with growing sentiment on the withdrawal of US forces. My feelings on this is I am all for it if the movement can stop the fighting, guarantees some sharing where three regions do walk away with fair concessions, makes available a climate where Iraqi refugees stuck in Syria and Jordan can be repatriated without fear of harm/persecution and helps foster good working relationships between Iran and the USA.

Here’s an article released a few hours ago.

What are your feelings? Is this a good move or not?

Here’s one article.

Whether you believe what is being said regarding global climate change or not, the fact is that the Earth’s climate is changing. Just in this decade, we have born witness to hurricane/typhoon that have increased in intensity and impact, observed climate cooling in places that have been revered as hot zones for centuries and the reverse in places that have been cool (Arctic Ice Pack is disappearing; Northwest Passage opening up). As the polar ice caps melt, sea levels will rise, coastal marshlands and littoral areas that are densely populated will disappear under the sea, islands that exist today in a fragile balance with the rise and fall of the ocean tides will merely disappear (fodder for a new Atlantis theory thousands of years from now). You’ve heard it all and I’m not gonna try to regurgitate all of it for the sake of doing so. According to the IPCC, we can do things today that can spare us from the worst of the predictions that are being made regarding the world 10 years from now. Just ask yourself what you can do and read more up on it and arm yourself. Human rights causes are one thing, but when mother nature does her thing, all of this means nothing.

I saw this on Yahoo! News today. It is the story of an 11,000 year old painting from the Neolithic period of humans. The Neolithic period consisted of hunters and gatherers, moving along with the herds of mammoths, bison and other animals as their source of protein and sustenance as well as supplementing it with what was found growing wild. They did establish some form of communal dwelling, but not much is known about it.

The person/persons who left this artwork had to have been inspired by something they saw or experienced or maybe they were just extremely bored one night. That’s usually how it goes, but what it was, we will never know. Findings such as this painting, ancient ruins (like the ancient temple across the street from my house called Barbar Temple and the thousands of ancient burial mounds that litter the northern end of the country) and others found throughout the world deserve to be left unmolested and preserved as a gift to the current and future generations. Such a shame that an extremist group did what they did to the statues in Bamiyan.

Those pieces of human art carved out of limestone thousands of years ago can never be replaced. Take an interest in the art around you, appreciate it for what it is, and more importantly, help preserve it. Art does not have to be inanimate, for it can also be an artform, such as basket weaving, pottery making, carpet-weaving and a thousand other things. If not for you, then for the next generations to come.

If you want to read more about her, here is a link that I found that isn’t clouded with political leanings.

This is a video of her singing “Im Nin’Alu”

American hip hop/rap/r&b artists have been sampling Middle Eastern beats for years now without even knowing it. It was always referred to as Latin influence, but where did the Latin influence get its roots? From the strain of Arab/Moor culture that was brought to Andalusia (Spain). It has only been in the past two years that the scene in America has vocally spoken and acknowledged this cultural influence, and I think it is way overdue. Middle Eastern-based/-influenced talent definitely has a place in everybody’s music collection, and music of today owes a huge acknowledgement to the Middle East and Arab culture.

Be Omide IRAN
(In hopes of IRAN) For three minutes let me into your hearts
Till I show you IRAN (our relationships)
These words today and yesterday stand tall
IRAN has fallen to a deadly virus
No more need for political talks
No more need of enemies from beyond
A psychological war has entered IRAN
We’re all after one another – sane and insane
Exhausted and tired — burnt out you go on
Till you wrestle with the troubles of life
When we see each other, greetings and smiles
When your back is turned they curse all that you are
Looking at each other like criminals,
And stopped paying attention to our gut instincts
All around, you see those chasing the wind to follow the buck (opportunity)
He is with you as long as there is a use for you
The girls hear of you and your money
And say, he’s the one that I should marry.
What’s love got to do with it?
Forget these meaningless thoughts
When you see love, give it our best regards!
Fathers are bearing the weight of life’s costs ($)
While his kids think he’s the head of oil (industry)
Each person embracing only their own name (thinking of themselves)
This isn’t progress – it’s just regressCHORUS:So sad, all this mess and chaos
I want to be released from this pain
I cry out at all this torment
Because all that I am and had — is now gone

All this sorrow is poured into my heart
It all dates back to seven years ago
Those days filled with tears and mourn
And all I could think was — can we feed the company (guests)?
I asked one to be a real man among all the rest
Never mind that my father had loaned you seven checks
Just pay us back half and forget the rest
“Your dad gave the loan” – “too bad now he’s laid to rest!”
These memories — I keep in my book
My pen writes the words at full speed
My throat choked with tears – blocking oxygen
Maybe to IRAN and my memories
You find no connection – And see no links to you
But it was these memories that gave me this view
Still … This is my country — My land.
IRAN is my only reason — my only existence, this land

- CHORUS -

Now the relationships I see out there and my own
Is becoming more polluted than the air in Tehran
Some say IRAN is a cage you must leave,
To breathe a sigh of relief
They say all this is in our genes – passed down hereditary
But I say all this goes back to our oil and gas
That is the cause of our lack of sense of security
These hard times is the root of ‘corrupt and deceit’
But stand up and mend yourself – we can.
Why lose ourselves over riches and wealth
“Hamvatan” (fellow country men) I wanna see you succeed
So let’s band together and break this separation

SPOKEN:
“I know that we Iranians are proud of our history and our heritage.
But that’s in the past. Who are we now?
What do we have to show now for our future?
“Hamvatan” let’s unite together so IRAN in her future
Will be proud of me and you — and our names.”

Shukran for reading this, and if you can, please come out and tell others about it!

Who am I? I am just another face in the crowd, albeit, I do not blend in well with the demographics of Bahrain, and that’s plenty fine with me. I just recently retired from the US Navy after 25 years of being in it and around it. I worked at the base in Juffair, Bahrain for almost three years. I was a pilot for over 12 years of that, having come up through the ranks earlier in my career and being sent off to college and then commissioning and then off to flight school and eventually to my first operational tour as an FA-18C pilot. I served most of my time in the Far East, and was stationed in Japan. My time here in Bahrain on behalf of the US Navy was served as a staff member for the FIFTH Fleet and Central Command. I feel like I am writing a resume here! Hahaha! Actually, I think it’s best to know the personal experiences and where a person has been and what he or she thinks. How else can one ever get to know a person? Anyway, I spent most of my off time immersed in the local affairs and goings on. I wanted to know, as I do now, what the issues that everyday Bahraini are concerned with. I wanted to experience life, as I still do now, with a circle of friends who have nothing in common with me.

Unlike the 99.99% of American military people here in Bahrain, and a lot of the ex-pats from other countries, I chose not to be dependent on the familiarity of my own countrypersons for friendship, solace, identity and lifeline. This has been my way for as far back as I can remember. Everyplace I have ever been to, I have always struck out on my own to walk on the paths unfamiliar. Dangerous? Maybe… but I have the street intuition and the sense to never ramble to places where one is just asking for trouble. That being said, I am perfectly fine with talking to people and approaching them and I have not succumbed to the stupid brain-washing that occurs within most ex-pat groups. Classic case here is that most ex-pats will only shop at places that cater to ex-pats and higher income locals. Me? I’m perfectly ok with putting on my flip-flops, hopping in my car and going to the cold store near my villa and spending my money there. What I convey to my neighbors is that I am approachable, I am proud to be in the neighborhood I live in, I am not afraid of them and they have no reason to be afraid of me and that most importantly, I do not think I am better than them. I am them. I used to have discussions with the guys I used to work with about the stuff I do and where I go and stuff like that. I got labeled as having “gone native”. That sounds so height of the British Empire talk to me! Hahaha! My response was that at least, I was not a slave to the system and that if I needed help, my neighbors and my local friends were always there. That pushed me even further away and into the world that is my own. I live across the street near an ancient temple ruin that dates back to the times of Gilgamesh. That’s a long time ago, and so much history and so many people have walked on the earth where I live. There’s a certain peace that I have by being here.

Some will say it is because I am in the land of Islam, and yes, that is true, but it’s the history and the people and the calmness here. It is synergistic. As my time to walk away from my former life became a reality, I was always asked was I excited to be going back to America. My answer was “Why do I have to go back to America?” That would always throw them off. I suppose it was the expected thing to do. I could have done that or I could have returned to Japan, my mother country, but where was my heart in all of this? It’s here in Bahrain. I have had enough time spent in both places, and the fact is I am not driven to be at either. Not at this point of my life, at least. Yes, I will visit, but that’s all I can say about it, for now. My children and grandchildren are located in North Carolina, Florida and my newest baby, Elham, is in Thailand. I keep in regular contact with them all and I support them and make sure that they have what they need. Yeah, some people would look at me as irresponsible (jimmy hats were invented for a reason), but that’s another stereotype, for my kids know me, can contact me at any time of the day and I love them all equally and am proud to be a parent and I thank Allah for giving me the responsibility and accountability that comes with being a parent. I am truly civil and friends with the mothers of my children, and they know I can be counted on. What else do I need? Hmmmm…

Ok… firstly, I am not an activist. I am a patriot, but I do not love the current government of the United States. It has become a government “by the people, but not for the people…” If I were to identify with any US state motto, it would be New Hampshire “Live Free or Die”. I still have hopes for America, and I do hope that the chain will be broken and that some sense of ownership returns to the government. As a warrior freed from the leige of any government, I can now immerse myself in causes I believe in. Don’t get me wrong, as a former military officer, I did have a mind of my own and I did question the policies and orders passed down. That was expected of us. I was not blind to what was happening around me, and even my superiors voiced their own opinions. Anyway, this is a discussion best served at another setting.

What I believe in- free healthcare for children, increased teachers’ salaries, learning the art of debate, religious tolerance, college credits for languages learned, foreign travel, residency and fluency of cultures associated with those places, women’s equality and education in places where it has been suppressed, cultural and ancient arts preservation (did you know that the tiles found on ancient Japanese buildings, especially temples, were all constructed by hand using tools and techniques that have now been lost; last man who knew how to do it passed away in the 1990’s; lack of interest by current generation), alternative energy, reduced dependency on foreign labor and promoting local job talent pool and some others.

I think I better close this one for now. I hope that I will be able to meet with you all, and if you are in Bahrain, please feel free to contact me and we can share a meal or have a coffee.

Ma’asalama!