The Issue of God!

Hi there... Truth is I'm not back. I just had an idea about belief in God and I just wanted to freeze it somewhere; then I thought why not here.
I was thinking that belief in God has a direct relation to 'social security': if people in any society could enjoy a reasonable degree of social security they would often not feel the need of believing in God, not at least in the sense that He is believed in non-secure societies. In other words, if the course of life and its prospects are fairly balanced against the proportion of the energy /mind you put into it as well as the odds you are happy to face then you do not feel socially insecure. Pension payments, NHS availability and treatment, secure streets, fair and vigorous law enforcement, affordable average life-style, programmability of life (whether or not you intend to incorporate more than average ambition into it), a sensible amount and feel of political and social justice are some of the constituents of a God-free social life.
When I say God-free I actually have two meanings in mind, one in which there is no presence of God and one in which there is no need for such presence. I mean we can let God get rid of us and feel free. A society which does not pester God with endless moaning and groaning. This is a society in which both God and people would enjoy most, unless it is suggested that God enjoys seeing people worse off and ever moaning and groaning! I would not like to believe in such a God.
Yet, as life works as predictable as Windows XP! And there are lots of viruses, crashes, hangs etc on the way, even people in secure societies are from time to time reminded of their Old Pal, God. Accidents, diseases, family problems, unfulfilled dreams, and you name it are also tricky bits of life which still call for God's slight of hand and His supervisory power.
There are also some who just love divine favoritism! Who said I am one of them?

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Salmon
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Saddam and the Key of Detroit

• Tonight you can watch Bill live on GMTV at 8. It is a very brave thing they do. Who knows things may not exactly go according to plan.
• "As it turns out, in 1980 Saddam Hussein (then America's Cold War ally) was given the key to the city of Detroit." (From Ask Yahoo)

I like these

• Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long." - Ogden Nash
• It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. - Voltaire
• A conservative is a man who believes that nothing should be done for the first time. - Alfred E. Wiggam

Star and my brief Soho tour

• I liked "Star" because I could resee my beloved lively Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music". In the musical Star she stars as Gertrude Lawrence. Those interested in how to attract women could find lots of practical tips. The top one was: do not be Mr Wussy Nice, be Mr Ignoring Tough.
• In London, I got on a double-decker and naturally went upstairs! to have a better view. I found a place by a lady 10 years older than me (it's safe to say it, you know what I mean). She asked for an address which I did not know: "Where is Debenham?" And then she said are you Iranian? !!!!!! I really did not talk much to say Iranian conspicuous accent betrayed me. She said I looked liked Iranians!! She was from Tanzania.
• (Aside) I had a tour round some streets of Soho area. Did not see much, though I saw some very naughty shops!!! To be honest, I did not know what I should expect to see. So I did not see 'it'!! Like a little school boy I asked a catering man who was smoking outside a snack-shop:

"What is Soho so famous for?"

"For its sex shops and prostitutes!"

"Oh!"

So that was it. But passing-by girls and women looked so natural!!!!

Dangerous Laws and Rules

First please refer to the comments given by Shirin to my previous post and my answer there and also to Shirin's latest post.
1. Shirin you have every right to follow your rules. No arguing with that; but the moment you want others to follow you or the moment you keep judging others, not in the privacy of your thoughts, but in the public you need very strong grounds to first base your arguments and then to develop it into a convincing argument. Self-conviction, however enthusiastically presented, does not necessarily breed conviction in others.
2. Did you know your two pet rules can be so vastly used that even a fascist would enjoy to adopt them? Now imagine a racist puts fire to a minority's house. If he is asked: 'would you like the same done to you if you were a minority?' and he says yes, then what would happen? Your second question is even vaguer and more dangerous: how can you be sure if what you do does not 'hurt' anybody? How do you know that your difinition of 'hurting' is the same as others? (For example when you take illigal drugs, however innocent it may seem to you, you are, in effect, hurting billions of people by helping a very big and international illegal trade of drug gangs and drug dealers who take lives, rape women, do whatever it takes to run their filthy business. Are you not hurting others then?) Who is the judge of this hurting? You? What if others feel hurt and you don't? Or what if a rapist thinks the woman is actually enjoying it?
3. Please correct me if I am wrong: you do not live by rules out there, you live by your own rules. You say you may even pull the trigger and mass murder some rapists. (It is really funny: you give yourself the right to kill rapists but feel 'appalled' when rapists are whipped or stoned! I cannot understand the standard.) Well, if law cannot stop you from murdering other people how can you expect X or Y not to pirate a Video or a software for whatever code of rules they may have. What is going on? Is this all the premise you are building your argument on? What kind of world would it be when every body is allowed to play the game with his own set of rules.

Rights and Wrongs in Copy Right

In her weblog, Shirin had raised an issue which seems to have kindled a fire, however friendly: Copyright. Some straitforward points:

1. Iran has not signed up to the international Copy Right Act and can legally copy. Yet, one should also note that, for that matter, Iran is a loser too: all other countries have the right to copy Iranian products too, unless they are registered internationally. So please do not moralise things and do not blame Iran for breaching a law which it has not singed up to.
2. I have been to boot sales around the UK; I have seen loads and loads of people selling softwares and dvds almost at the same price that you may find in Vali Asr st. in Tehran. All were buying and nobody's conscience seemed tortured.
3. Copy Right issue on sotfwares is by itself a controversial one. Already Mircosoft is losing its grip on its monopolised exploitation; at least that's good news. Linux and other Open Source softwares are effectively challenging Microsoft on this.
4. It is so vital that sometimes Copy Right is discussed within the context of world justice too. I am not saying that it is right to ignore Copy Right, I am just saying let's see how much respect the world is showing to the orignial thinkers all around the world. To the Indians who intruduced numerical 1-9 system, to the Iranians for their unemployement payment system, etc. Sometimes, some people feel historically so underrated that they may not feel positively motivated to respect the rules of the new masters who have not paid their historial copy right fees. It may not seem legal, yet it may not exactly feel theft for some people either.
5. I do agree with Shirin that at least within the borders of Iran we should begin practicing to respect and value what Iranians create. I am specfically referring to what Shirin has put their as her own experiences or so many other unheard cases.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Humm... first thank you Farzad and me! But you both ruined my surprise! Yes, the first choice was "Gone with the Wind", and I cannot understand why. Or even if I can, I suppose I really can, I am just mad at it. The point is I think its fantastic cast (esp. the unforgettable Vivian Leigh), its book appeal (as many may have already read the novel), its historical significance, its intriguing plot, and its multi-layered story line have partially contributed, I presume, to the promotion of a deluded and fundamentalist feminism. It is a fact that not all Southern girls acted like Scarlet, not even her own sisters, yet she has been usually viewed as the top model for the modern woman in general. It is here that I think it may have not exactly served a very good general purpose. Unable , or reluctant, to recognise individual differences, many may have wasted their life and energy to become another Scarlet. This endeavour has been as funny as if Margaret Mitchell named all the sisters Scarlet and asked them all act the same. Anyway, it was said that two-third of the English pupulation have put their bums on cinama seats to watch it. It's democracy and everybody is allowed to rest his/her bum where ever s/he pleases. Who can argue with that?

The Sound of Music

Humm.... C4 last night ended its 100 ultimate film programme. I am a serious fan of C4's 100s. By ultimate they mean films which had been watched by British cinema-goers most. What do you guess? Well, "The Sound of Music" came second in the list. I so much love this film. You know, I just die for it. All the songs, the humour, the lively scenes when Julie Andrews just improvises things, her temptations as well as her very eminent femininity etc. make it just impossible not to fall in love with the film-let alone the actress. I was not surprised at all at this choice. Yet I was really surprised at what occupies the first place in the list. I will talk about it in my next post, hopefully. I like to hear of your guesses, if you haven't seen the programme.

Homeschooling

Humm... you know what? The moment an action gets a name it legitimises itself. It establishes its own validity. It opens a space for itself not only as a word but as a being. Homeschooling, in the sense that is used in the UK, is something almost unheard in Iran. Homeschooling in Iran if it happens it happens because of some religious reservatios that parents have. They look down upon education as it is. They want a purer atmosphere in the schools. But in the UK, Homeschooling is rarely, if ever, connected to religion. Well, there may be some muslims, of course, who homeschool their kids for religious reasons. Generally, however, if parents homeschool it is because they are looking for better eduction that they think they cannot find in grammer schools.
Ironically, we also have a very well-known case of homeschooling in Iran: Makhmalbaf's two daughters who left high school to be homeschooled by their father; earlier they had lost their mother in a fire incident. Defintely it cannot be the only reason why Samira Makhmalbaf recieved a Cannes Festival award as the youngest female directer, or can it?

The weakest Link

Humm... Ann Robinson is the presenter of "The weakest Link" contest. She is such a character! But at times she really overdoes her malignant mission of embarrassing people. I so much love when some of the contenders have the guts to challenge her and teach her some lesson in her own terms. With her concluding catch-phrase, 'join us again', Ann has managed to mark the programme with a unique body signature too: a half-inviting half-challenging blink.

Japanese Language and culture

Humm... you know what? I learned some Japanese words, two that is.

• Dozo: here you are; please; help yourself.
• Domo: thank you.
• Man in Japenese is a mix of 'field' and 'power'.
• Jobs belonging to public relations (outside) fall within the sphere of masculine responsiblity and those which are private (inside) go to the female members.
• Shinto is the main religion.
• They begin each meal with a thank you phrase and when they finish the meal they usually say a Japanese sentence which means: it was a feast. I like Japanese gratitude and hardworking.

Foam Party

Humm... I have not been to one myself but it seems fun, or at least wild fun. A foam party is what follows a hot dance. There is a foam machine, or foam cannon, which pours foam sometimes up to your neck. Well, you know what you can expect in such a party. It is not only women wearing Bikini which defines the party, it is also its following a heavy drink.

Under Western Sky

Humm... you know what, being a non-western living in UK is an ordeal all right. It is fun too, though. You just feel not one and the same. It is like going out to watch others and not to live. It is to experiment and not to feel. Let me give you an example. It was just less than a week when I was in UK. I was very hungry; I found a Griggs store. The window was as sexy and appealing as it could be. I half-ventured a 'something' which seemed more like what I had back home in Iran. When I began having it, it was more an educational experience than a nutritious or pleasant meal. I could not finish it. It was mid oct. 2002.