The Gulf

“Perhaps according to what the backward intelligentsia and scholars say, “Farsi is is like sugar”, and if the name of this gulf is in Farsi, its waters will be sweetened and if it is Arabic the waters will be soured! The use of nationalism in society is exactly akin to that of religion. The aim of governments in encouraging nationalism and clanism is distracting the minds of the poeple from their real problems. All this commotion is over the use of the name Gulf Of Arabia in parantheses! In the north of Arabia there’s hardly any Farsi spoken, yet there is a large number of Iranian in the south of the country who speak Arabic. In summary, in the ports of islands of this gulf there’s more Arabic spoken. One side of the gulf opens to international waters, two of the other three sides meaning the western and southern sides of it are territories of Arabic countries. For Iranian Intelligetsia, stoning deaths [as a form of punishment], mandatory head covers for women, the problems faced by the youth, etc. are not real issues, but the name of the “Persian Gulf” has brought all of them to a reaction and rallied them all.
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The Contract

We live in a modern society. We have human rights, workers’ rights, and a lot of those social security measures that will hold the fibres of our society together if any of its members fall on hardship. Some of these measures are considered basic human rights. But in reality, we don’t extend these rights to people below a certain class (and nationality). We are after profits, profits, and nothing more. All this can be witnessed within an hour. All you have to do is sit in front of your TV (or computer, in some cases) and watch El Contrato. And it’s not an issue of racism. We don’t have much of that here. It’s a matter of classism. A matter of who you are exploiting. If the oppressed have no outlet for their frustration, and are locked in a cycle to provide for their families all you have to do is push them and they will obey. As the exploitation of migrant workers continues, we remain convinced of our righteousness. Of how correct we are. We are peacekeepers, multi-cultural and human rights advocates.

Oh Canada!

Life

“A few days ago someone asked me where I see myself in 12 years. Like most people I know I answered that I see myself married with a good career and a few kids. The person asked if that’s all I aspired for myself in 12 years and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why they would ask that and thus I stuck to my original answer not being able to see beyond what the person was mentioning. What else could I possibly want in life? A house, maybe. A dog? I really didn’t know. And then it dawned on me.I recently came back from a month and a half in Egypt and since then I could not tell anyone what I learnt about the people there. Now, I think I might just have found my answer. I went with my best friend and her family, all of whom were extremely well off, and thus I managed to live the high and mighty life in Egypt. But I did meet one girl and now that I think about it, she taught me more about life and she never said a word to me in a language I actually understood.

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Findings

A giant virus was discovered that is as big as a small bacterium and may be an entirely new form of life. Scientists succeeded in cultivating square, salt-loving bacteria called Walsby’s square archaeon. Two new AIDS vaccines failed to work. The genome of a Hereford cow was sequenced. Cone snails, it was found, catch fish by firing a hollow posion tooth through a long proboscis. Chinese scientists unveiled a microscopic swimming robot that they said could be used someday to deliver drugs or to clear clogged arteries, and Korean and Italian researchers developed a tiny robot with multiple legs designed to crawl through a patient’s guts. Scientists with NIZO Food Research developed an artificial throat that breathes, salivates, and swallows. A new study found that injecting mice with embryonic stem cells can partially correct congenital heart defects in their babies. Another study suggested that vitamin supplements could increast the risk of dyning from cancer. Japanese surgeons gave a burn victim a new face made from a single sheet of skin taken from his back. A quadriplegic man succeeded in checking email and playing computer games via a microchip embedded in his brain. American researchers developed a device that uses spinach to generate electricity. Canadian researchers cliamed to have developed a cure for the common cold. California banned necrophilia. Volcanic ash rained down on Tokyo.

— Harper’s Magazine, December 2004

The Take

As I sat in the movie theater, it started to occur to me. here we are, sitting in a VIP room, watching a movie about the struggles of people over seas. I sip gourmet coffee that was served by the attendant, and ponder this. the struggles depicted in the movie, are real. the conversations are heartfelt and…. well, it did a lot to constrast the current situation in Argentina to the current situation in “our part of the world”.
how do you find a job in a country where the rich are using their power to squeeze the money and resources out? when a grown man, is brought to tears by a factory owner — who with complete disregard for the humanity of his workers — decides to close up and sell off all the equipment?!
in the developed world we have come to accept these things as realities of the competitive market and just shrug our shoulders when we hear about such things. I was grappling with these thoughts when I looked up at the bus station and all I could see was bright neon signs telling me to buy, use, consume various products and services!!

I wasn’t even looking at the street… Yonge street was behind me. in front of me was the bus terminal with people going home and busses pulling in, or moving out.. how can you take time to think when you’re attention is constantly being demanded by flashier and brighter “neon” signs.

I also added a new background.