Life, Dreams and Reality -- Sohel's Blog

When the apparently smooth marching toward a prosperous connected world turns into a giant mess, it is time to rethink our previously held notions of a pristine world molding in our favorable image. David Ignatius comments on the perplexed states of Westerners seeing the contradictory imageries in the Middle East, where the high skyscrapers and suited-booted Arabs with similarly matched colorful knotted ties with their counterparts shines the light on Western nations' generated "democracy". Violent protests on the streets by the "unconnected" on the very same Western policies propped up by the client rulers and monarchs on the indigenous citizens and their livelihoods in the name of "globalizing" the "uncivilized" Arabs illumine the necessary stark contrast between reality and elitist hyperboles. Rage over injustice is not as bad as the willful creation of diversion is. Prophesizing and dictating "others" while not holding on t...

Now that The New York Times editorial has taken up the issue that is quite an old one from last year, perhaps some heads will begin to roll. Powerful lobby groups are involved from lucrative food and other related industries in favor of Aspartame for many years whose one of the pioneer was in-"credible" Donald Rumsfeld, the current U.S. Defense Secretary. For the sake of public safety, and to save millions of people from unnecessary deaths from cancer which is most likely linked with this seemingly hazardous but camouflaged as innocuous sweetener is not a mundane issue. Perhaps, aspartame is as safe as any other supposedly safest products in the market. But, still, we the people have the right to demand an absolute fair scientific investigation on aspartame. Regards, Sohel Note: More information on aspartame can be found from the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame The Safety of Aspartame Aspartame, an artificial sweetener used by more than 200 m...

The argument in Fareed Zakaria's following article is powerful. Europe is in decline in almost every aspects of human civilization. Dwindling human resources, aging population, fierce trade competition from India and China, its constant hold of massive farm subsidies, political unwillingness in needed social and economic reform, these all are contributing to the slow progression toward fall from old "colonial grace". Add the growing anti-immigrant bubbles into this linear equation, and the proverbial "final solution" becomes clearer. During the time of Hitler, it was the Jewish folks who were categorically put into linchpin for Germany's misfortune. Move forward close to seven decades into a new century, and the ever wobbling political wheel of exploitation slowly but surely trudging along toward the new "enemy", the darkened colored, "freedom of speech denying", embassy burning, "terrorist" Muslims. Perhaps, cartoons are the...

Behind all these visible agitations in the Muslim nations and Western citizens' growing discomfort on violent reactions by extremist Muslims on the cartoon issue, lay dormant the calculated plans and strategies of neocon masterminds. Islamophobia, like other types of phobias in the past is part of that same historical ploys where the political and intellectual thugs are engaged in brutal chess like game, invoking "modernity", in the present scenario as "Freedom of Speech", in the past, "blood libel" and other crowd inciting provocations to further their grandiose plan. Extremists of all forms are in the forefront, from Iran's Ahmedinizad and ubiquitous lingering shadow of Bin Laden, to Europe's anti-immigrant right wing political blocks along with American despots in the highest government echelon, they are all playing with fire, quite masterfully one may say. Regards, Sohel The Cartoons and the Neocon Daniel Pipes and ...

There is no stop button in the race for human re-engineering Rapid evolution is on display. Is it? Transhumanism will change the face of humanity, human rights. That is the stance of many "bio-conservatives" like Francisco Fukuyama and others. On the other side, there are plenty of enthusiasts who foresee a better world with sci-fi like advancement in science and technology where the longevity of human population far exceed our contemporary imagination with quality of life many times more enhanced with much better controlled or eradicated disease, genetic manipulation subjugating those hard to fathom anomalies in the far reaches of our cellular structure, creating faster, cleverer, robust human beings for whom sky may not be the limit of their opportunistic dreams. Perhaps there is no way of turning back from the on going trend of fierce scientific progresses. However, a coherent global public debate, as Madeline Bunting poin...

Terrorism is real. From the humid corner of Bangladesh to Indonesia's various regions, from London's immigrant districts to Spain's busiest morning rush hour, hot to cold, rain to drought, terrorism has striked the world again and again. This meandering problem can not be solved with narrow political or religious agenda by any extremist groups. Terrorism thrives where there are growing discontent among the populace due to massive economic gap between the have and have-nots, where the governments either actively or indirectly foster corruption and bullyism. Terrorism can also go shoulder to shoulder with budding fascism. They compliment one another, for their thriving survival and hideous prosperity. Regards, Sohel Using Our Fear By Eugene Robinson Once upon a time we had a great wartime president who told Americans they had nothing to fear but fear itself. Now we have George W. Bush, who uses fear as a tool of executive power and as a political weapon against his opponents....

I find the following article quite fair, without the stereotypical portrayal of Muslims as they are done by many in the West in recent years. Bin Laden's purported tape with the offering of "truce" with the West has stirred American and European nations, albeit in negative way due to Bin Laden's alleged involvement with the notorious atrocity a few years ago in America. The author Mark Levine states rightfully, "A truce does not equal capitulation to terrorists or letting Muslims off the hook for crimes committed in the name of religion. Criminals such as bin Laden and his terrorist colleagues can no more offer a truce than could Al Capone or Pablo Escobar; they are murderers whom the world community must bring to justice." The world community must bring to justice other criminals as well. These criminals remain behind the mockeries of modern nations, their governments, stylish political parties and wealthy corporations or "pious" monarchs. In thi...

Why Tragedy Struck the Hajj The Saudi government and their press are putting the blames on "unruly" pilgrims' dead cold shoulders for the latest tragedy in Makkah. They say that these "unobedient", "indisciplined" pilgrims carried their bags with them, built tents on the roads, pushed the others, threw larger stones, etc., etc. The classic example of shifting authorities' solemn responsibilities to the victims themselves. Cast the dead, stone the poor and the "devil", they won't be talking back to you. How convenient! Each year millions of devoted Muslims travel to the heart of Saudi Arabia to perform one of the ancient rituals of human kind. Even in pre-Islamic Arabia, pilgrims used to flock the same area performing religious rituals. Now that oil has made the nomadic Arabs rich beyond normal imagination for many of us mortals, and when it remains to be a near certainty that millions...

Turkish Government seems to be quite ridiculous in its handling of its past atrocity. They are prosecuting a world famous writer for telling the truth. Orhan Pamuk is on trial. This fearless writer talked about past Turkish government's direct involvement in "the Armenian genocide in the first world war and the killing of the Kurds in the past decade." How dare he "denigrate Turkishness"? The Turkish "democratic" government wanted Mr. Pamuk to remaim quiet regarding its painful past. However, the "ridiculous" Turkish government's inept handling of this increasingly murky situation of their atrocious past is being more fomented by their sheer stupidity, for their arranging this trial against free speech. They should have taken heed from the British or the American Government. Perhaps the Chinese, Russian, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Israel, myriads of European and Middle-East nations along with other boastful governments around the ...

A colleague of my will be flying back to Prince Edward Island tomorrow. His father-in-law just passed away early this morning. A forty six year old man, six feet three inches tall, apparently healthy, and just got remarried and had a new born baby. Only three months ago cancerous tumors were found in his kidney. And in the last ninety days, tumors had spread to his entire stomach, lungs and other parts of his body. Strong morphine drips struggled to keep unbearable pain at bay. Gathering family surrounded him. They laughed amidst pain. Even the dying man himself wanted to taste his favorite drink, beer, so the wife bought a six pack for him. The man drank half a can and said, "Uh....I love this taste"! When her husband died later that day, she gave away the remaining five cans of beer to his friends and family, and asked them to celebrate the deceased's life rather than pouring tears in grief. My father died of cancer too. His was in his gall-bladder that had spread to h...

Our muffed ego, inflated arrogance spiced by willful ignorance. Can they be shattered? Can the subdued conscience be invigorated once more from the last throe of dignity that left for the humanity? Our oblivious bias, shutting the eyes and ears from seeing and hearing "blood in the streets", shrieks from an orphan or bombed apart child, widow, men, women; can eyes be plied open, and dirts in ears be cleared away? Read Pablo Neruda's following lines from a poem: And you will ask: why doesn't his poetry speak of dreams and leaves and the great volcanoes of his native land. Come and see the blood in the streets. Come and see the blood in the streets. Come and see the blood in the streets! Harold Pinter's health will not allow him to attend Nobel prize ceremony in Stockholm this year, but his pen did not stay silent. At this advanced age of his life while achieving the most coveted literary award from our contemporary world, he has nothing to lose. His followi...