Tuesday 26 August 2008
Monday 25 August 2008
The Veiled Woman
My muse today, while dodging the rain drops with my mind only on finding some short respite in the tunnels, is a covered woman. She is sheltering her daughter from the downpour with an umbrella. We pass and meet eyes. Seconds turn to hours. There are countless secrets behind those dark eyes and vague conceptions register quickly behind my own during a bus ride.
She walks behind her husband and sons. She is beautifully dressed - certainly better tailored than her husband. Her head is not downcast. On the contrary, she looks me square in the eyes. My first thoughts are: She is wondering wear my veil is....she is wondering why I would walk next to a man. And I am suddenly self conscious of both these things...almost ashamed. Such is the power beind the beauty of her stare.
Inside the tunnels, shaking my umbrella wildly, I am dry for the moment but still entangled in thoughts of the face I have just encountered. The eyes from under the veil follow me as I board the bus, though she has moved on in a different direction, following her family. They are large, wide, black eyes swallowing everything in front of them with grace and silence. She seems as though a queen - indeed, a precious gem set apart from those of us who mill around her.
Is there resentment in her gaze for following instead of leading? No, I am certain. For what woman really does want to concern herself with the thoughts and acts of men entirely and tediously? As the rain leaves its streaks across my window, I envy her time to herself, her time alone with other women...her closeness to them and being understood by them. I feel I have traded in this alliance to become a player in an illusionary game of equality to the men I walk next to and not behind.
What are a few steps? What is a veil? Do her feet walk in a reality most women refuse to understand but unknowingly reach out for? Is she planted firmly in her place, as I wander, searching, never really satisfied within my own position and place?
The veiled face knows my searching; sees the questions about my own place inside the depths of my own eyes. Her gaze tells me that it is all futile. And that the difference only lies in a piece of fabric that she wears proudly and the transparent one which veils my own heart.
She walks behind her husband and sons. She is beautifully dressed - certainly better tailored than her husband. Her head is not downcast. On the contrary, she looks me square in the eyes. My first thoughts are: She is wondering wear my veil is....she is wondering why I would walk next to a man. And I am suddenly self conscious of both these things...almost ashamed. Such is the power beind the beauty of her stare.
Inside the tunnels, shaking my umbrella wildly, I am dry for the moment but still entangled in thoughts of the face I have just encountered. The eyes from under the veil follow me as I board the bus, though she has moved on in a different direction, following her family. They are large, wide, black eyes swallowing everything in front of them with grace and silence. She seems as though a queen - indeed, a precious gem set apart from those of us who mill around her.
Is there resentment in her gaze for following instead of leading? No, I am certain. For what woman really does want to concern herself with the thoughts and acts of men entirely and tediously? As the rain leaves its streaks across my window, I envy her time to herself, her time alone with other women...her closeness to them and being understood by them. I feel I have traded in this alliance to become a player in an illusionary game of equality to the men I walk next to and not behind.
What are a few steps? What is a veil? Do her feet walk in a reality most women refuse to understand but unknowingly reach out for? Is she planted firmly in her place, as I wander, searching, never really satisfied within my own position and place?
The veiled face knows my searching; sees the questions about my own place inside the depths of my own eyes. Her gaze tells me that it is all futile. And that the difference only lies in a piece of fabric that she wears proudly and the transparent one which veils my own heart.
Monday 18 August 2008
Why Georgia?
Two words: gas lines.
Russia has been waiting for the right moment to annex Georgia to eventually gain control of the country's gas lines.
There have also been reports of ethnic cleansing as reported by the Washington Times below.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/15/georgia-claims-ethnic-cleansing/
Russia is now in a perfect position to give the U.S. a big "up yours".
Who would have thought that an overlooked nation such as Georgia would be so key in souring relations between the U.S. and Russia? Sounds a lot like another tiny country with very rich natural resources....Kuwait.
Russia has been waiting for the right moment to annex Georgia to eventually gain control of the country's gas lines.
There have also been reports of ethnic cleansing as reported by the Washington Times below.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/15/georgia-claims-ethnic-cleansing/
Russia is now in a perfect position to give the U.S. a big "up yours".
Who would have thought that an overlooked nation such as Georgia would be so key in souring relations between the U.S. and Russia? Sounds a lot like another tiny country with very rich natural resources....Kuwait.
Friday 15 August 2008
Freedom Doesn't Cost a Penny
If there's one thing I feel most comfortable talking about in regards to 'Freedom,' it's Financial Freedom. Don't worry as I won't bore you with numbers and figures and calculations; however, I can tell you this: that if you're working a 9 to 5 job and think you're going to strike it rich by climbing the corporate ladder, think again! Now for all the devil's advocates, of course there is a selected few who will rise to be the CEO of a 100+ billion dollar corporation but let's face it, how many of these corporations exists to how many people are out there working? And of course we can't forget those very special elders who always win the mega-millions jackpot. So if you're not one of these people, or the grandchildren of the lucky seniors, you're probably looking at working at least 50 years or more --- and how does 4 weeks vacation per year and a boatload of credit card debt sound?
Sure, running your own business is not for everyone, but if you were given the opportunity to be your own boss, erase your credit card, student loans, and possibly your mortgage debt, wouldn't you at least give it a try? So what is Financial Freedom? As there is no definitive definition for such a phrase, does it truly exist? Some might think that financial freedom is having over a million dollars while others might think that having the ability to live freely without a full-time commitment to generating the greenback, or yen, or euro, or the currency of your choice. For me, financial freedom is simply not owing anyone anything… ever.
How do we get to Financial Freedom? What's great about this is that you have the freedom to choose which avenue to take. Like the majority of people, you can stash away as much pre-tax dollars per paycheck into your 401-k/IRA and hope that the stock markets give you a decent yield over the 35 to 45 years you invested in and like most of us, we actually let someone else determine how to invest our funds and hope they make good decisions. As the ever-famous terms goes, "don't put all your eggs in one basket," I too have an IRA but ever since I left the corporate world, I don't concern myself with how much of my paycheck I'm stashing away for when I'm in my 'golden years' --- if we're even that lucky to get there!
Statistics say that public speaking is peoples most rated fear, I wonder if taking risks is a close second? Hate living paycheck to paycheck, having your boss tap on his watch as you arrive five minutes late because you had to drop the kids off to school, or see your hard-earned money slip away as you watch the gas meter top $40 to fill up your car --- twice a week! Then take a risk, what's the worst that can happen: your business doesn't generate a profit and you're forced back into the corporate world though you still have tax write-offs for years to come…
The United States government is all for the creation of small businesses; however, there's this inherent fear in people that if they leave the corporate sector, they're forever doomed. Like you, I hate credit card companies, I despise Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac, and I loose a couple heartbeats every time I open my quarterly invoiced IRA showing thousands of dollars of losses. As many money and entrepreneurial books I've read over the years, there's one common theme and that is: most of the self-made millionaires of the world started their own business.
Why wait to retire at 65, or by the time we reach retirement it might be in our 80s by then. Why not take that risk earlier in life and who knows, maybe you'll be able to retire/live comfortably at 50, or maybe even 40? I remember an old friend of mine once said, "I'd rather work hard now and save for later and enjoy the world after I'm done working." I don't know about you, but I'd rather walk the hills of Europe and swim in the seven seas without the help of a walker or life vest. I'm not waiting for something that may never happen, I'm living it today.
-Long Fellow
Sure, running your own business is not for everyone, but if you were given the opportunity to be your own boss, erase your credit card, student loans, and possibly your mortgage debt, wouldn't you at least give it a try? So what is Financial Freedom? As there is no definitive definition for such a phrase, does it truly exist? Some might think that financial freedom is having over a million dollars while others might think that having the ability to live freely without a full-time commitment to generating the greenback, or yen, or euro, or the currency of your choice. For me, financial freedom is simply not owing anyone anything… ever.
How do we get to Financial Freedom? What's great about this is that you have the freedom to choose which avenue to take. Like the majority of people, you can stash away as much pre-tax dollars per paycheck into your 401-k/IRA and hope that the stock markets give you a decent yield over the 35 to 45 years you invested in and like most of us, we actually let someone else determine how to invest our funds and hope they make good decisions. As the ever-famous terms goes, "don't put all your eggs in one basket," I too have an IRA but ever since I left the corporate world, I don't concern myself with how much of my paycheck I'm stashing away for when I'm in my 'golden years' --- if we're even that lucky to get there!
Statistics say that public speaking is peoples most rated fear, I wonder if taking risks is a close second? Hate living paycheck to paycheck, having your boss tap on his watch as you arrive five minutes late because you had to drop the kids off to school, or see your hard-earned money slip away as you watch the gas meter top $40 to fill up your car --- twice a week! Then take a risk, what's the worst that can happen: your business doesn't generate a profit and you're forced back into the corporate world though you still have tax write-offs for years to come…
The United States government is all for the creation of small businesses; however, there's this inherent fear in people that if they leave the corporate sector, they're forever doomed. Like you, I hate credit card companies, I despise Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac, and I loose a couple heartbeats every time I open my quarterly invoiced IRA showing thousands of dollars of losses. As many money and entrepreneurial books I've read over the years, there's one common theme and that is: most of the self-made millionaires of the world started their own business.
Why wait to retire at 65, or by the time we reach retirement it might be in our 80s by then. Why not take that risk earlier in life and who knows, maybe you'll be able to retire/live comfortably at 50, or maybe even 40? I remember an old friend of mine once said, "I'd rather work hard now and save for later and enjoy the world after I'm done working." I don't know about you, but I'd rather walk the hills of Europe and swim in the seven seas without the help of a walker or life vest. I'm not waiting for something that may never happen, I'm living it today.
-Long Fellow
Thursday 14 August 2008
Trespassing
Fools,
our bloodiest crime is lost on you,
who stared out at the world
with half-starved, bulging eyes,
skin and bones, yourself.
The Chosen
seeking a vengance that belongs to none.
The Tested,
and you have failed.
-rdw
our bloodiest crime is lost on you,
who stared out at the world
with half-starved, bulging eyes,
skin and bones, yourself.
The Chosen
seeking a vengance that belongs to none.
The Tested,
and you have failed.
-rdw
Tuesday 12 August 2008
Are we seeing the end of Georgia unfold before our eyes or are we watching the Olympics?
Russia 'cuts Georgia in half'
Russian troops have moved intoGeorgian territory [Reuters]
Georgia has been cut in half with Russian forces controlling the key town of Gori, just 60km away from the capital Tbilisi, the country's president has said.
Mikheil Saakashvili told a national security meeting that Russia's military had "cut off connections between western and eastern Georgia".
However, Russia denied taking Gori, which sits on Georgia's only east-west main road and from which Moscow could cut off eastern Georgia from the country's western Black Sea coast.In the west, Russian-backed separatist forces in Abkhazia launched a series of artillery strikes early on Tuesday, aimed at pushing Georgian troops out of the Kodori Gorge, the only part of the breakaway region Tbilisi still controls.
"Everything is developing according to plan," Sergei Shamba, the foreign minister of the de facto government in Abkhazia said on Vesti-24 television. He gave no information about casualties on either side.The reported assault came after Russian forces moved into the towns of Senaki, Zugdidi and Kurga in western Georgia from Abkhazia on Monday.Georgia also said that Russian forces had entered the Black Sea port city of Poti. Moscow described the move as a reconnaissance mission.'Total onslaught'Alexander Lomaia, the secretary of Georgia's security council, said on Monday: "This is a total onslaught. Russian forces are occupying Gori.
Map
Key locations in the conflict"Georgian armed forces received an order to leave Gori and to fortify positions near Mtskheta to defend the capital."
Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent, confirmed that the city of Gori had been largely evacuated.
"The evacuation began suddenly ... when word came that the Russians were 5km to 10km from the city's limits," Hull said.
"I have seen civilians and the army fleeing. Georgian troops clinging to the back of quad bikes. I have seen tanks leaving in no particular formation.
"Basically, it's panic."
The UNHCR, the United Nation's refugee agency, said that 80 per cent of the 50,000 population of Gori had fled because of Russian attacks.
At least seven Georgian soldiers were injured in an attack on a military convoy leaving Gori, according to an AFP news agency photographer.In South Ossetia, the separatist government said Georgia had resumed an artillery bombardment of its capital, Tskhinvali, where residents reported many deaths.It has said 2,000 people have been killed in South Ossetia, a figure disputed by Georgia.Diplomatic movesMeanwhile, Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was due in Moscow on Tuesday to hold talks with Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, on a plan to end the conflict. But Russia's ambassador to the UN on Monday rejected the proposed Western draft resolution in the Security Council based on a three-point French peace plan.
Up to 2,000 people have reportedly died in fighting in South Ossetia [AFP]Bernard Kouchner, France's foreign minister, and Alexander Stubb, the foreign minister of Finland, which currently heads up the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, were also to push the peace plan to Russian officials. Sarkozy was also expected to travel to Tbilisi later in the day to meet Saakashvili.The diplomatic move came the day after George Bush, the US president, called for an immediate ceasefire saying he was "deeply concerned" that the Russians had moved "beyond the zone of conflict" and appeared to be moving to depose the Georgian president.
"Russia's government must respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty,'' the president said.
"[Its] actions this week have raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region."But Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, said on Monday that the West had mistaken the real aggressors for the victims.
"The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing," he said in a speech to senior officials.
"The attempt to turn white into black, black into white and to adeptly portray victims of aggression as aggressors and place the responsibility for the consequences of the aggression on the victims."An extraordinary Russia-Nato council meeting was also set to be held in Brussels on Tuesday at Moscow's request to discuss the conflict, according to an alliance spokeswoman.'Premeditated murder'
The Georgian foreign ministry said on Monday that more than 50 Russian warplanes had flown over Georgian territory.
"Tbilisi was bombed. Bombs hit the village of Kojori and Makhata mountain," the ministry said in a statement.Russia's military has acknowledged it had lost 18 soldiers and four aircraft in the conflict but gave no details of its latest operations.
Saakashvili said that "cold-blooded, premeditated murder" had been committed against his country and said that there would be "no surrender" to Russian aggression.
"The world has a moral duty to stop the madness," he said.
Saakashvili said that the manner in which Russian troops mobilised in South Ossetia over recent days clearly indicated that it was a pre-meditated operation.
"It is obvious... the Russian invasion had been planned for months and months and months. The timing of this intervention has been chosen deliberately [with regards] to the Olympics," he said.
"It is so clear what has happened. We are in the process of invasion, occupation and annihilation of a democratic, independent country.
"Please wake up everybody and make your position and speak with a united voice ... We are seeing the cold-blooded, pre-meditated, murder of a small country."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Russian troops have moved intoGeorgian territory [Reuters]
Georgia has been cut in half with Russian forces controlling the key town of Gori, just 60km away from the capital Tbilisi, the country's president has said.
Mikheil Saakashvili told a national security meeting that Russia's military had "cut off connections between western and eastern Georgia".
However, Russia denied taking Gori, which sits on Georgia's only east-west main road and from which Moscow could cut off eastern Georgia from the country's western Black Sea coast.In the west, Russian-backed separatist forces in Abkhazia launched a series of artillery strikes early on Tuesday, aimed at pushing Georgian troops out of the Kodori Gorge, the only part of the breakaway region Tbilisi still controls.
"Everything is developing according to plan," Sergei Shamba, the foreign minister of the de facto government in Abkhazia said on Vesti-24 television. He gave no information about casualties on either side.The reported assault came after Russian forces moved into the towns of Senaki, Zugdidi and Kurga in western Georgia from Abkhazia on Monday.Georgia also said that Russian forces had entered the Black Sea port city of Poti. Moscow described the move as a reconnaissance mission.'Total onslaught'Alexander Lomaia, the secretary of Georgia's security council, said on Monday: "This is a total onslaught. Russian forces are occupying Gori.
Map
Key locations in the conflict"Georgian armed forces received an order to leave Gori and to fortify positions near Mtskheta to defend the capital."
Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent, confirmed that the city of Gori had been largely evacuated.
"The evacuation began suddenly ... when word came that the Russians were 5km to 10km from the city's limits," Hull said.
"I have seen civilians and the army fleeing. Georgian troops clinging to the back of quad bikes. I have seen tanks leaving in no particular formation.
"Basically, it's panic."
The UNHCR, the United Nation's refugee agency, said that 80 per cent of the 50,000 population of Gori had fled because of Russian attacks.
At least seven Georgian soldiers were injured in an attack on a military convoy leaving Gori, according to an AFP news agency photographer.In South Ossetia, the separatist government said Georgia had resumed an artillery bombardment of its capital, Tskhinvali, where residents reported many deaths.It has said 2,000 people have been killed in South Ossetia, a figure disputed by Georgia.Diplomatic movesMeanwhile, Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was due in Moscow on Tuesday to hold talks with Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, on a plan to end the conflict. But Russia's ambassador to the UN on Monday rejected the proposed Western draft resolution in the Security Council based on a three-point French peace plan.
Up to 2,000 people have reportedly died in fighting in South Ossetia [AFP]Bernard Kouchner, France's foreign minister, and Alexander Stubb, the foreign minister of Finland, which currently heads up the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, were also to push the peace plan to Russian officials. Sarkozy was also expected to travel to Tbilisi later in the day to meet Saakashvili.The diplomatic move came the day after George Bush, the US president, called for an immediate ceasefire saying he was "deeply concerned" that the Russians had moved "beyond the zone of conflict" and appeared to be moving to depose the Georgian president.
"Russia's government must respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty,'' the president said.
"[Its] actions this week have raised serious questions about its intentions in Georgia and the region."But Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, said on Monday that the West had mistaken the real aggressors for the victims.
"The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing," he said in a speech to senior officials.
"The attempt to turn white into black, black into white and to adeptly portray victims of aggression as aggressors and place the responsibility for the consequences of the aggression on the victims."An extraordinary Russia-Nato council meeting was also set to be held in Brussels on Tuesday at Moscow's request to discuss the conflict, according to an alliance spokeswoman.'Premeditated murder'
The Georgian foreign ministry said on Monday that more than 50 Russian warplanes had flown over Georgian territory.
"Tbilisi was bombed. Bombs hit the village of Kojori and Makhata mountain," the ministry said in a statement.Russia's military has acknowledged it had lost 18 soldiers and four aircraft in the conflict but gave no details of its latest operations.
Saakashvili said that "cold-blooded, premeditated murder" had been committed against his country and said that there would be "no surrender" to Russian aggression.
"The world has a moral duty to stop the madness," he said.
Saakashvili said that the manner in which Russian troops mobilised in South Ossetia over recent days clearly indicated that it was a pre-meditated operation.
"It is obvious... the Russian invasion had been planned for months and months and months. The timing of this intervention has been chosen deliberately [with regards] to the Olympics," he said.
"It is so clear what has happened. We are in the process of invasion, occupation and annihilation of a democratic, independent country.
"Please wake up everybody and make your position and speak with a united voice ... We are seeing the cold-blooded, pre-meditated, murder of a small country."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Sunday 10 August 2008
Share your words
So this blog was created with the intention of just putting my own essays and poetry out there regarding local/world issues that have been on my mind for a long time. ...hoping people would read and then...I don't know...take some action that I can't take right now. Or just see some world issues from a different perspective.
But what I would really like is to hear some words on freedom from anyone who comes across this blog in prose or poetry.
This can be a forum for things we are normally hesitant to speak about these days....no names necessary if that's the way you like it.
Just send your art to my email: rainydaywoman9@gmail.com
Let's see where this goes.-rdw
But what I would really like is to hear some words on freedom from anyone who comes across this blog in prose or poetry.
This can be a forum for things we are normally hesitant to speak about these days....no names necessary if that's the way you like it.
Just send your art to my email: rainydaywoman9@gmail.com
Let's see where this goes.-rdw
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