A Moment of Silence

Cut the crap, Ozer.I was `there`, i have scars to remind me for the rest of my life.Part of the reason i`m `here` is my search to find what makes people like the terrorists who struck that day `tick`, so to speak.Those people were terrorists and whoever is associated even accidentally will bear the burden of suffering by retaliatory forces.What we give out we get.What comes around goes around.I have no sympathy for the Afghans, Iraqis and all those in the middle east/pakistan part of the muslim world who are allowed,either by apathy or hatred by the general population, to forment terrorism on others.If the middle east muslims believe in their causes there are other means to pursue them.Not by formenting terrorism.Screw them all.

Dear Ozer,

Let me wipe (or perhaps mop) those tears! But wait – let me go get my buckets first! This one is so highly “inspiring”! If you don’t believe me, just read below!

BeeJay
(Benign Janitor)
- - - -

Ozer, Ozer, we love you so!
O how we wish, you’d NEVER go!
(And if you go, we cry boo-hoo!)
((Psst!) Doctor Lok Raj especially so)
(Who likes not count, but loves mango!)
So sweet thy tongue – behold and lo
If only were it forked not so!
Ozer, Ozer, we love you so!

[Why not also have 10 years of silence for the decade long embargo on Babylon. A once Blessed Baghdad now pregnant with torture and killing….]
And where were you, O great, great knight
When Saddam’s thumb crushed rank and file
For sure, O sir, yes you Ozer
Now THAT was just internal stuff
You see we judge situations so!

[Why not mourn for the dead victims of Kashmir?
The wail of a valley. A valley where too many tears turn to blood….]
O how you break my heart, so sweet
Now ask Abdul to hold acid
Acid on face of sweet, sweet lass
Hark, Ozer only saves HIS ass!

[If you want a moment of silence
Then take it from the echo of my voice….]
And how that voice is never done
A thousand words, when much is one!

[A million and a half years of silence for the million and-a-half Iraqi people….]
Silence, silence golden indeed
Sweet Ozer, prove your word in DEED!

I am not against the sentiment of the poem feeling but after so many years go by after 9/11 this seem so outdated.

(Enter the Lion)

Lion (L): Sniff, sniff…

L: (Ears perked up) [….tigers from Oslo]

L: (Disappointed) Oh, only paper tigers!

L: (Ears perked up) [….hundreds bite…]

L: (Disappointed) Oh, only dust!

L: (Ears perked up) […. hunters with hungry intent.]

L: (Disappointed) Oh, only diplomats!

L: (Ears perked up) […Bones buried in it.]

L: (Disappointed) Oh, only devastation!

L: (Ears perked up) […Keep on slaying]

L: (Animated) Bravo! ROAR!!! ROAR!!! (Bounds off)

(Exit the lion)

Ozer

You are normally the ``voice of moderation`` but here you have gone down the slippery slope of conservatism. You are talking about the plight of people around the world and cozily pointing the finger at the ``West``. That is too easy a route to tread, and you, like many others before you have this irritating habit of blaming the West and Uncle Sam for everything.

Be more rational and pragmatic in your reasoning, stop resorting to melodrama, one-sidedness and crocodile tear-jerking. Eastern regimes are no more benevolent. Rulers, wherever they may be are guilty of similar attrocities. Your geographical anachronisms are stale and dated. Your political short-sightedness is vapid.

what a waste of time

ozer,

you failed to include moments of silence for the shias killed by sunnis in pakistan, female infanticide in india, and honor killings in pakistan, and i don`t know if you mention the thousands of people killed by saddam, maybe you did, the whole `poetry` thing was a bit too much.

although i can understand your anguish and sentiments, kulsumbeig does have a point about political myopia

and i also think it`s offensive to put a time to silence, `moment of silence` vs. `lifetime of silence`

what are you trying to say? four thousand innocent people killed for nothing on a tuesday morning just deserve a moment because they are non-muslim?

this whole `moment of silence,` `month of silence,` `lifetime of silence`
you go against your claim that every human life is precious by attributing specific lengths of `silences`

Ozer

An evocative, powerful and thought-provoking poem. A clearly well-researched piece....it seems you are quite interested by Latin America. I guess space was a constraint for you. You overlooked one important part of the globe: South East Asia. Your poem could have made a brief mention highlighting the plight of the people in South East Asia, like the dictatorial military junta in Burma, what Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge did in Campbodia, Indonesia`s treatment of East Timor, Thaksin`s regime in Thailand and Lee Kwan Yu`s heavy-handedness in Singapore.

Nonetheless this poem is one of the best I have read thus far.......here you are truly at your best. Dont be phased by all these cyber-junkies who don`t cut you any slack. A lot of whom love to rumour-monger about you. You are a talented poet....keep on writing. Keep up the spirit.

How about an `appropriate` amount of silence for Hindus killed over the ages across the world by Islamic and Christian fundamentalists?

Assuming that Ameican`s own concervative estimates of 120,000+ Iraqis deaths since Americans ``freed`` them on March 20, 2003, are correct; and the number of months US has been in Iraq is 30. Which means that with an average 4000 Iraqi deaths per month, Americans are potentially causing a 9/11 every month in Iraq.

poem please....

Re: # 10

AV KRISHNA

You hit the nail on the metaphorical head. Foolhardy would be the souls who dismiss the fact that violence is waged against Hindus and Sikhs who are gruellingly massacred in Jammu & Kashmir and elsewhere. 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits in refugee camps without evenhandedness, unfortunately any type of ehtnic, class, religion and caste-based grandstanding inflates the ego away from truism and justice. Underneath this shady veneer lies political ambition and ill-fated nationalism.

Society needs more Arundhati Roy`s, martyrs en route to greater things. Planned shows of consciousness by political heavyweights never cuts the mustard. And lip-service gesturing is the satire we breath-

Day in. Day out.

All ethnicities, classes, castes and religions have a part to play in these toxic acts of violence. Gujarat is a case in point. I remember that India Today reported that A group of outsiders from the far-right extremist leaning Deobandi Tableeghi Muslim sect sieged the mosques in Godhra and deliberately inflamed passions and inflated theological egos. 500 cows were slaughtered illegally in Bharuch in February. Many plots are conveniently foiled by the media. This is the essence of my poem.

The question AV krishna is why are these apparent facts, such as the Godhra massacre and other anti-Sikh anti-Hindu anti-Muslim anti-Buddhist communal conflagrations not debated in the media ?

Re: # 11

Urstruly note that at least 5,000 civilians have been slaughtered ``during`` the invasion of Iraq alone. As more evidence is collated, month by month this figure tilts toward 10,000.
Iraq Body Count (IBC), a volunteer group of US intelligentsia painstakingly gathered this evidence which testifies, as you rightly point out, that a 9/11 occurs every month. But where are the sound bites now? Abu Ghraib is yet another feather in Uncle Sam`s tyrannical foreign policy cap.

Re: # 7

Scout

Honor killings in Pakistan are shameful while patriarchs are fleeing, assassins are brandishing their venom through age-old Hudood Ordinances introduced during Zia`s epoch. Police constables and law enforcers with greased palms turn deaf dumb and blind to the nauseating reality. Masi Mai is merely one instructive case in point.

As for female infanticide in India, the Atharva Veda postulates: ``The birth of a girl, grant elsewhere; here, grant a boy`` The repugnancy and travesty of female infanticide is rooted in the Vedic period. Moments of gender discrimination are evidenced in the writings of Manu. The prevalent and prostituted philosophy in most societies, of Eastern or Western persuasion, is that the female is under the custody of males

From womb to tomb.

In patrilineal-ravaged societies like South Asia archaic traditions from time immemorial coupled with a staggering demand for dowry exacerbates the perpetuation of infanticide.

The malevolent attitude vis-a-vis women is especially rampant in Tamil Nadu and Bihar. In Rajasthan, mostly amongst the Rajputs who enjoy a majority there, daughters of life are seen as a

Burden of nature.

Paki sala Paki rahega, he can feel pain for Agentinians and Chileans but nothing about the monumental scale murder, rape and pillage they commited in Bangladesh. Or closer home the entire destruction of a nation and a people in the name of ``strategic depth``.

this bugger knows about Zapatistas in Chiapas or Iraqi`s in Falluja but mention Kaluchak, Hazara`s or kunduz, he will have to reach for google.

khwaja sera...
i can see kulsumbeig and husnaangelique here...waiting for thunder, spiritualgypsey,sarahhashwani,moazzammudasar and last but not the least hamidm...;)

Woody Allen, a Westerner: ``As a filmmaker, I`m not interested in 9/11, it`s too small, history overwhelms it. The history of the world is like: He kills me, I kill him, only with different cosmetics and different castings. So in 2001, some fanatics killed some Americans, and now some Americans are killing some Iraqis. And in my childhood, some Nazis killed Jews. And now, some Jewish people and some Palestinians are killing each other....Political quesitons, if you go back thousands of years, are ephemeral -- not important. History is the same thing over and over again.`` (Pagesix.com)

Ozer:

An individual voice has every right to be rendered, that is the reason why I thought your prologue could either be seen as defensive or a pre-emptive self-chastisement before a `crime`. And speaking out IS a crime. Don`t you know you are supposed to live in a balanced world, where every word must be weighed against another? You cannot speak about only one side -- what about the other, they will ask you. What about the atrocities in your own backyard? Talk about those. Leave the West alone...

This is when your silence should come in handy. Instead, you say, ``Inevitably this poem will be misinterpreted by the unseeing naked masses and Machiavelli’s children.``

This is too vast a spectrum...or if irony befits, then the unseeing naked masses are helpless products of Machiavellis.Their ears too are ``clogged with wax``, but for different reasons.

If ``This NEVER intended to be a 9/11 poem``, you have to go that extra mile...and you have tried. There are lines that reach out to be ``piled`` but not ``slipped off our tongues``.

I hope you are not one of those who will stay snug only in the ``anguish and affliction``. I am aware that poetry is an intensely personal expression, but the long sentences could have been pared down, if only to give it a rhythm.

Cliches are often truisms, but not terribly poetic...Why did you have to use the newspaper-like ``US intransigence and Osama`s arrogance not two sides of the same coin`` when it was to be followed with, ``Both are hunters with hungry intent``? Why kill your own lines?

Also, the use of some words in Caps appeared self-conscious- the flow should be its own emphasis.

``But tonight, we will keep on screaming``...and will you hear those screams when your ears are clogged with wax?

``But leave the poets.
Whose innocuously magnetic poetry will remain
On the frozen refrigerator of our consciousness ...``

Are you sure?! Pray, why? If innocuous poetry can be magnetic and refrigerators can be frozen, then I`ll be damed to leave the poets.

You will understand that I am only ``slaying``, only ``singing``, but not for ``the dead``...but for those who strive to be alive.

here we go again !

.......... first, if this is a poem then i am a peter pan ........... second, who cares ?....... we have bigger problems - like what to have for dinner tonight or whether to wear briefs or boxers ...................

......but seriously, did anyone read this .... this ..... whatyoumayallit ?......... it seems that every time nature calls and someone has an urge they think it is okay to defecate all over chowk ....... who is going to clean up this mess ?

........... but i did get the message - the ummah has been wronged and it is justified in blowing up things that they do not understand and cannot hope to build themselves ......... is that it?....... now can we get back to working on the dinner menu ?

#18

You know I rarely agree with you but on this count, I got go with you :)

Poems are about expressions, about hints and allegations, about subtle emotions and about deep thinking. And what do we see here…Sara jahan ka dard humary jigr main hai aur who bhi badtehzeebi say!

#17 by FarzanaVersey

Author Versey:

Since you have on purpose chosen to make an appearance here to throw in your “critique” of this piece of garbage in an apparently transparent, feeble, and totally futile attempt to legitimize this “poet”, I consider it my sacred duty, as a conscientious chowk community member (yes, there ARE creatures like that in this jungle), to bring to your attention that your attempts to rehabilitate this discredited entity appear utterly pathetic and totally moronic to me!

It’s clear to all SANE individuals on this web-site (a definition which may or may not include “out of ordinary” individuals such as yourself) that this piece of “poetry” is little more than a half-hearted slapping together of newspaper headlines (a technique which I’m sure you are intimately familiar with), tear-jerker Harlequin romance novel titles (which can probably still melt low-level intellects (and I’m not naming any names here (I like to stay alive, you see)) by deluging them with “soft” words, and other stuff specifically targeted to take advantage of the limited attention span of our vast multitude of innocent chowkies!

This “poet” is a repeat criminal – he has a track record of trying to commit the same crime earlier, when he conned (confused?) even the likes of seasoned veterans such as Dr. LokRaj into confusing man-goo with mango! He also has a history of carrying out delusional conversations with his numerous alter-egos. He needs psychiatric counseling administered by a professional shrink, not the services of a second- or third-rate poetry critic!

Everything about this “poet” is crooked! If you don’t believe me, go check his picture on his interactor’s page. Let’s leave aside for a moment the possibility that it may not REALLY be his picture, the fact that he wears a goatee (indicating that he may or may not be a member of the clan of closet “beards”), the fact that he doesn’t even know how to SPELL “chowkies” accurately, and a few other details – just look at his unnatural posture! The way he sits should make it plain – anyone, even you, can see it – that he is CROOKED! Just look at his left arm – how UNNATURALLY it goes around his back (and what SANE individual would smoke a cigarette in this age of enlightenment, I ask you!) I am not sure, but he even seems to have a third leg which he blatantly exposes high up to the thigh – how shameless an individual one must be to accomplish THAT feat!

I’m at a certain disadvantage in elaborating further on the merits of this strange creature of thousand words that this “poet” has vomited – since I’m not a poet, merely a janitor! But I’m extremely sensitive to situations which need an immediate and thorough clean-up. The clincher evidence, of course, is that in my professional capacity as a janitor, I can assure you that a refrigerator can NEVER be frozen (unless you move it inside another, larger freezer)! If, in spite of all this evidence, you still see some legitimacy in his work, then there could even be a slight possibility that you may be blind!

Sincerely,
BeeJay.

#20

Stop stalking Farzana... Find something else to do!

#21 HP

HP – my dear friend,

I’m not sure whether you are confused or not!

I believe that author Versey is fully capable of understanding and (if necessary, responding to) my simple, janitorial opinion of the “work” being discussed. The accusation of “stalking” is wrong and grossly unfair (especially if one is to go by the number of interacts on individuals’ boards, I’m far, far outnumbered by other individuals, such as YOURSELF!)

Author Versey, (in view of #21), are you sure you have the knights right?

Sincerely,
BeeJay.

Lets have a moment of silence for the ONE MILLION Bengalis slaughtered by Pakistani Muslim psychopaths in the Kihad of 1971.

Lets have a moment of silence for the ONE MILLION Armenian Christians slaughtered by Turkish Muslim psychopaths in the Turkish Jihads at the start of the twentieth century.

Lets have a moment of silence for all the infidel victims of Islamic Jihadi psychopathic violence over the last hundred years, and the poor defenceless Christians and Animists being raped and slaughtered in the Sudan today.

Save the World from the Islamic Psychopaths. Can we have a few moments of silence please?

Amen.

With all due respect,

Who gives a flying fuck about the dead of the 9/11? Who are they? Who cares? So we`ll have ripe tomatoes growing on the soil of the twin towers. People die all the time: Hindus, Muslims, black white, children, adults, men, women...

The truth is, if we spent even a single second of silence for every individual who had died unjustly, we`d never talk. Better to carry on and live your life and make sure it`s not YOU who`s hurting the other.

Ever since I slaughtered my first animal and saw how obedient the beast was and how easy it was to run that blade across its neck, I`m wondering if death is overrated, like one of those fancy roller coaster rides.

Umer M.

#24 Umer

Dear Umer, I’m shocked.

Although I kind of understand why you are frustrated with this poem, you know ALL life is precious (especially those of children)! Can we keep this discussion limited to the quality and genuineness of this “poem”, please!

Thanks.
BeeJay.


#17 FarzanaVersey (Addendum)
Farzana, if you share HP’s opinion that I’m “stalking” you, just say so and I’ll stop directing interacts to you. It’s not a big deal (really!) Thanks!

the man from nigeria, explained

.......... i went back and read this ``poem`` to see if i had missed something, but there is nothing to miss - this ``piece`` is gibberish and anyone who is trying to make any sense out of it should also consider buying a bridge in brooklyn ............ i am really surprised farzana fell for this hoax - i always thought she had more brains than all the men on chowk put together .............

............ but this ``piece`` does explain why i keep on getting this letter from the man in nigeria who wants my bank account number so that he can deposit a million dollars - like ozer, he deserves full credit for trying and trying again ..........

Dear Farzana

Gracias ``por`` your thought-provoking interact.

Farzana types “That is the reason why I thought your prologue could either be seen as defensive or a pre-emptive self-chastisement before a `crime`”.

Farzana the prologue is actually a caveat for all those who seek to tar this poem with the brush of bearing a fundamentalist slant. But since pigeon-holing is society’s favourite recreation the labelling comes as second-nature to sheepish interactors. Commonly found on these forums.

“This is too vast a spectrum...or if irony befits, then the unseeing naked masses are helpless products of Machiavellis.Their ears too are ``clogged with wax``, but for different reasons”.

FV a very poignant remark. The “Machiavelli`s” constitute a hegemonic superstructure (media, policies, government, laws) and an economic sub-structure (macro and micro) which wilfully eclipse the retina of the eyes so that the masses are blinded and stripped of any “garb” of intellectuality leaving them “unseeing” “naked” and “helpless”.

FV interacts “I hope you are not one of those who will stay snug only in the ``anguish and affliction``.

Rather than staying “snug” these gruesome global verities make me feel “stung”. Indeed lines drawn in the sand of perfection suffer a windy fate. And sculptures are never carved to perfection. Though that should never cease the sculptor from carry on chiselling. My chisels are words. For in the cyber universe they are all I can fall back on.

``Both are hunters with hungry intent``? Why kill your own lines?

FV sometimes a stab to one`s own style is uplifting. It puntures any traces of ego.

”Also, the use of some words in Caps appeared self-conscious- the flow should be its own emphasis.”

If anything they were “sub-conscious”.

``But tonight, we will keep on screaming``...and will you hear those screams when your ears are clogged with wax?

``Rhetorically`` they are meant to be clogged. But Farzana are they in practice ?

Farzana comments: ”Are you sure?! Pray, why? If innocuous poetry can be magnetic and refrigerators can be frozen, then I`ll be damed to leave the poets”.

Ebbing towards a “Dead Poet`s Society” ?

Farzana concludes “You will understand that I am only ``slaying``, only ``singing``, but not for ``the dead``...but for those who strive to be alive.

As opposed to those who merely “exist”?

RSVP. Many thanks.

It seems that ``cyber-ghosts`` and ``cyber-witches`` make a stellar ensemble do you not opine FV ?

Re: # 18

Dear readers, I will digress, and since I do have a captive audience, besides Hamid is gagging for it...well if you all insist I must:

At long last my numero uno fan Hamid M has graced us with his appearance....you have been sorely missed by your cheer-leader bimbettes....you are now a Corollary (look it up in the dictionary Hamid good boy now...) to anything I write. So this one is dedicated specially for you.

There will be many more coming up. So belly and chin up for the roller-coaster ride Hamid boyyy...

With his infinite pearls of wisdom Hamid wisecracks ``if this is a poem then i am a peter pan``

Hamid you are treading on very thin ice. By claiming to be ``Peter Pan`` you are sounding more and more like your arch-hero Michael Jackson. Im sure that the similitude and intimate affinity between yourself and Wacko Jacko runs deeper than ``moon-walking`` ! Perhaps certain less benign habits you would like to share with the general public ?

Hamid M then quizically ponders, in a Hamlet sort of manniere ``whether to wear briefs or boxers?``

The fact that Hamid knows how to wear either is utter misguidance. Hamid things are done incrementally. Once mummy ceases your nappy training session only then you can go on to wear briefs or boxers. Oh sorry I forgot they have to perform a very rare nip and tuck upon thee Hamid jeeeee....ahhh good luck in surgery.....

Hamid feeling desolate peers toward the limitless-blue sky and asks ``who is going to clean up this mess`` ?

This is where Benevolent Beejay with his bacteria-addled mop intervenes and self-crusadingly mops up ...but he soon becomes cognizant that what he has mopped is actually his own excrement....gollly gosh more mopping up is needed by a more adept janitor. Time to hang your keys now Mr Janitor! Good boy.....

Hamid then fuels his batteries and like a regal Easter bunny jumps up and enlighteningly quotes ``the ummah has been wronged and it is justified in blowing up things that they do not understand and cannot hope to build themselves is that it?.......As usual our eager infant is running before he can crawl and has not even read the prologue. Surprise. Surprise !!!

Hamid summarises ``now can we get back to working on the dinner menu`` ?

Hamid (M)anure the menu for tonight is what our resident janitor has mopped up. Would you like to sample a tad bit ?

A la carte menu to be continued....................................

Signed

``Machiavelli`s child``

Farzana

You are one of the few individuals who has made a concerted effort towards ``constructive`` remarks on the poem itself. It is hoped (rather optimistically) that other interactors emulate this trail and make ``constructive criticism`` on the poem and its substantive subject matter.

Interactors, engage in relevance rather than resorting to enfeabled attempts at character slander. Chowk cannot remain an electronic boxing-ring for sheepish spineless characters who have way too much time swinging on the pendulum of their lives. The whistle is blown. The bouts have finished. The boxing match (should) be over.

Are we grown up enough on this forum ? Or will we carry on Eminemishly tit-for-tatting ? If readers do not have anything relevant to say let them plead the 5th Ammendment and retain their right to remain wisely silent.

Re: # 3

Patwari

The subect-matter might seem ``stale`` to you but everyday Muslim civilians bear the brunt of 9/11. At the workplace. In social gatherings. At school. In airport terminals. And the shopping list is ceaseless....

So I would challenge your assumption Patwari by stating that 9/11 is very topical and will remain so as the wheels of time turn.

Re: # 2

Beejay wisecracks `` And where were you, O great, great knight
When Saddam’s thumb crushed rank and file``

Beejay by making the above comment are you legitimising the attrocities that are ravaging Iraqi civilians under US soldiers post-Saddam ? Seems so to me....and are you saying that what happened in Abu Ghraib is any better than Saddam`s regime ?

Why paint blood a sickly shade of pink ?

salute...

simply awesome..

#31 Ozer

Dear Ozer,

Because of some little-understood reasons, my interactions appear to make many people mad, so there is a chance that this could make other interactors madder still. However, in fairness, and since others have chosen to do it, I must also make a good-faith attempt to provide my comments on your work itself, instead of what you call ``wisecracks``.

1. In spite of your evident and considerable shortcomings in the two areas of looks and talents (both of which are supposedly highly valued commodities in the movie industry), I must give you credit for your quality of persistence. It will be unfair to demonize somebody who can keep trying again and again and not yield an inch, no matter how utterly idiotic that person looks (believe me, I know what I am talking about). You appear to make an attempt to at least answer some of the questions that are thrown your way. The fact that you have dared to address mine from earlier indicates that you are VERY courageous!

2. Not being a literary person, my main complaint with your work is as follows – there appears to be a lack of conviction in your words. My janitorial skills tell me that these words are not quite genuine. The lines of the poem are long (too long), the subject matter too diffused, and every one of your words appears to have been contrived to meet some particular objective. Real poetry (at least the way this janitor sees it) must flow from the heart – yours does not – in fact it appears to owe its origin to the source which our friend Cayenne often (alas, too often) using his own brand of humor, refers to as “where the sun don’t shine”.

3. In my view, use of multiple nicks to conduct conversations with yourself is a patently fraudulent act (mind it, I have no problem with individuals having several nicks for different occasions), a practice you clearly engage in. It shows utter disrespect for the average intelligence level of your intended audience. The fact is that not only you have done so in the past (and never denied it), you continue to engage in this fraudulent act here too. This indicates that you have a very low opinion of your intended target audiences. This also indicates that you are incapable of changing your “spots”.

4. There is also an utter disregard for the feelings and sensitivity of others. For example, your interactor’s page, while revealing a very limited part of you (mostly superficial details) uncovers parts of other people whose concerns regarding such exposures were never taken into consideration by you. This reveals you as a selfish individual who is so consumed by his own needs of the hour that he is incapable of thinking of others.

5. There also appears to be an element of cowardice in this work. You put up a long disclaimer-type introduction up front, as if you anticipate the adverse reaction and are trying your hardest to pre-empt it. If this piece of work were genuine in nature, you would say what came to your heart and not be wishy-washy about it! Your selective responses indicate a similar pattern – you chose to answer some questions but not others. For example, in #31, you chose to respond to the part of my comment regarding Saddam (although you completely ignored the part about “where were you?”) you skipped the part about Kashmir – which would have been a more contentious topic for this crowd.

Since I need to return to my janitorial duties at this point, let me cut this short as follows.

In summary, the beauty of any poem – even this “poem”, must and can only be judged by the proverbial eye of the beholder. As I pointed out in an earlier interact – to find a measure of beauty in this poem, one must have to be really blind, and I’ve a feeling that others may agree with that assessment.

Having said all that, it’s important to add that (even if some of the words the janitor uses are tough) I always wish everyone well, including (and perhaps especially) yourself.

Sincerely,
BeeJay.

Re: # 1

Cayenne wrote ``If the middle east muslims believe in their causes there are other means to pursue them.Not by formenting terrorism.Screw them all.``

Do you mean all the Muslims Cayenne ?

Re: # 33

Dear Beejay,

Finally you have dispensed your opinion, in your own unique style, on the ``subject matter`` of the poem. Fair enough it is not your cup of ``chai`` and I respect that. Anyways I would still seek to ask you the question to a previous comment:

`` And where were you, O great, great knight
When Saddam’s thumb crushed rank and file``

Beejay by making the above comment are you legitimising the attrocities that are ravaging Iraqi civilians under US soldiers post-Saddam ? Seems so to me....and are you saying that what happened in Abu Ghraib is any better than Saddam`s regime ?

RSVP. Thanks.

Dear Ozer,

I read this poem again and again... and some interacts,specially of BeeJay(as he mentioned my name in few of them)in an effort to understand why it offended some of the readers.Even on UP,some people mentioned that they find it hard to understand what you wanted to convey.

First about the content.You have touched a very pertinent topic...one of the major problem which the humanity is facing today.Its very courageous of you to speak about it in the present times when we all in general try to just be in our own shells and pretend not to see anything.To my mind,the problem people are having is to ignore the symbolism and see it in more concrete way.I dont blame them entirely for that because this happens when in a poem we mention specific events,facts and particular people.It becomes difficult to differentiate between the news paper type reports and subtlities of poetry.

Secondly,about the technical aspects of poem.Some verses are too long to be accommodated in poem and preserve the symbolic aspect.It blurrs the underlying message which is in the later part of the poem.Till reaching there,the reader becomes opinionated and ignore the wider message.

Some appear to be more interested in the poet rather than the poem.This may be because of fist and second aspects which I mentioned above or may be because of their personal curiosity to know more about you.

To be fair to BeeJay,nothing escapes his microscopic scrutiny.I agree with his observation that this ppoem does not appear to be coming stright out of heart.It seems,you have worked consciously on it,but I am sure the critism will be taken constructively and will help to improve your poetic skills.

Kulsum Beig you accuse this author of political myopia yet how can you disregard the glaring chariots of fire stoked by Uncle Sam and its cohorts who are refueling the flames of racism?

The US Patriot Act is merely one case in point. Political quiescence may portend to the norm for you Kulsum and human rights a romantic idealism to your ilk, yet it is your demagoguery of the status quo that impels an uphill battle bringing all moral consciousness into dishonorable disrepute.

Public information on illegal detention post 9/11 remains scant. It is brazenly clear that many POW`s were forcibly held incommunicado. Muslim detainees suffered physical and verbal abuse from despotic guards under the cruelest conditions of solitary confinement and the wearing of shackles during non-contact visits.

In Afghanistan hundreds of innocent Muslims were massacred in Qala-i-Jhangi. Despite international humanitarian law yelling for a moratorium on the use of cluster-weapons. Both Uncle Sam and Her Majesty`s government denied Amnesty International’s request for an investigation into the incidents at Qala-i-Jhangi fort.

A number of banana republics sold all their oranges short and jumped onto the ‘anti-terrorist’ bandwagon to stifle political dissent. Since it is de rigueur. Legally definitions of ‘terrorism’ are hazardously vague. The terrorist attacks fuelled a climate of hysteria garnering a useful cloak behind which to make inroads to curb the ambillical chord of democratic rights and civil liberties.

Here where I live in the UK, the “Blairite” government passed scantily clad ‘emergency’ legislation which provided for detention of foreign nationals without charge or trial, thereby tailoring a nebulous shadow criminal justice system.

The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 cataclysmically contravenes Article 5(t) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the ICCPR [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] in order to allow for indefinite detention. Under the Act, the Secretary of State may order such detention, without charge or trial and without recourse to judicial review.

Kulsum what this poem attempts to portray is the hypocrisy and selectivity of governments and their handmaiden: the media. For example why do those who condemn human rights violations in Iraq negligently not protest against human rights violations by Russian troops in Chechnya, or by the authorities in Uzbekistan against Muslims who peacefully practice their faith outside the state apparatus?

Dear Ozer Khalid

If you had hidden anything deep in this poem, you hid it too deep for this reader. Please also write something for us prosaic unpoets and not-so-profound thinkers.

Re: # 36

Dear Dr Lokraj

Your noteworthy points are well-received. Especially when you pin-point that ``Some appear to be more interested in the poet rather than the poem.``

The interest, if any, should only be geared towards the ``poem``. Its ``content``. And nothing else.

Kulsum Beig you accuse this author of political myopia yet how can you disregard the glaring chariots of fire stoked by Uncle Sam and its cohorts who are refueling the flames of racism?

The US Patriot Act is merely one case in point. Political quiescence may portend to the norm for you Kulsum and human rights a romantic idealism to your ilk, yet it is your demagoguery of the status quo that impels an uphill battle bringing all moral consciousness into dishonorable disrepute.

Public information on illegal detention post 9/11 remains scant. It is brazenly clear that many POW`s were forcibly held incommunicado. Muslim detainees suffered physical and verbal abuse from despotic guards under the cruelest conditions of solitary confinement and the wearing of shackles during non-contact visits.

In Afghanistan hundreds of innocent Muslims were massacred in Qala-i-Jhangi. Despite international humanitarian law yelling for a moratorium on the use of cluster-weapons. Both Uncle Sam and Her Majesty`s government denied Amnesty International’s request for an investigation into the incidents at Qala-i-Jhangi fort.

A number of banana republics sold all their oranges short and jumped onto the ‘anti-terrorist’ bandwagon to stifle political dissent. Since it is de rigueur. Legally definitions of ‘terrorism’ are hazardously vague. The terrorist attacks fuelled a climate of hysteria garnering a useful cloak behind which to make inroads to curb the ambillical chord of democratic rights and civil liberties.

Here where I live in the UK, the “Blairite” government passed scantily clad ‘emergency’ legislation which provided for detention of foreign nationals without charge or trial, thereby tailoring a nebulous shadow criminal justice system.

The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 cataclysmically contravenes Article 5(t) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the ICCPR [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] in order to allow for indefinite detention. Under the Act, the Secretary of State may order such detention, without charge or trial and without recourse to judicial review.

Kulsum what this poem attempts to portray is the hypocrisy and selectivity of governments and their handmaiden: the media. For example why do those who condemn human rights violations in Iraq negligently not protest against human rights violations by Russian troops in Chechnya, or by the authorities in Uzbekistan against Muslims who peacefully practice their faith outside the state apparatus?

Re: # 34

OzerK....

Y`know man, ye are like a munchkin, stirring up trouble everywhere ye goeth.Don`t draw me into this sordid stuff on a saturday.This day is reserved for my sacred pursuits of boozing and getting laid, which i single handedly pursue through to the end.Other days i would debate endlessly with you.I MEANT middle-eastern muslims ONLY.

Indian muslims form the second largest grouping of muslims in the islamic world , yet they have not stooped low to conquer.They have class.IM`s may have other peeves, but not one has been involved with terrorism either outside or in Jammu and Kashmir.Our mullah`s traipse through the world without let or hindrance.I know many innocent muslims died too on 9/11.These terrorist bastards will sacrifice anybody for their nefarious ends.

I gotta go, and i hope your weekend is all good.Cheers.

``Muslim detainees suffered physical and verbal abuse from despotic guards under the cruelest conditions of solitary confinement and the wearing of shackles during non-contact visits. ``

Terrorist suspects in GITMO enjoy comfort and dignity compared to political prisoners in Muslim countries like Saudi, Iran, Syria etc. Heck, there would be no need for a rendition policy (sending them to Egypt) if we could torture these bastards here in the states.

``In Afghanistan hundreds of innocent Muslims were massacred in Qala-i-Jhangi. Despite international humanitarian law yelling for a moratorium on the use of cluster-weapons. Both Uncle Sam and Her Majesty`s government denied Amnesty International’s request for an investigation into the incidents at Qala-i-Jhangi fort. ``

Are you going to write a poem on ``innocent Nazis`` killed in the firebombing of Dresden? The ``innocent Muslims`` of Qala e Jhangi were all Taliban and they had killed a CIA officer. They were killed after they refused to surrender.

``Here where I live in the UK, the “Blairite” government passed scantily clad ‘emergency’ legislation which provided for detention of foreign nationals without charge or trial, thereby tailoring a nebulous shadow criminal justice system. ``

Keeping in mind the number of British Muslims arrested/killed in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq etc as well as the arrest of Islamic terrorists in the UK itself makes the need for such legislation mandatory.

The Patriot Act has not affected a single American citizen and the US is under no obligation to give the same degree of protection to non Citizens.

of rhyme and reason..........

............ sometimes there are things that are bereft of rhyme but have some reason, and sometimes there are lines that rhyme and are pleasing to the ear, but have no reason, and then there is this ....... this, a thing with no rhyme or reason ..........

............ by now, i think, everyone agrees that ozer is no line manager - that is, a poet - so let`s see if there is any reason behind this garbage without meter, form or rythm ..........

............he starts off with a mealymouthed expression of sympathy for the victims of 9/11 and then launches into a diatribe against the west and its ``crimes`` against the poor muslims wo were simply sitting around in their suicide belts enjoying the bamiyan buddahs being tumbled down before moving on to a fun filled evening of beheadings and hangings at the kabul stadium .......... he talks about the plight of the poor palestinians - everyone talks about these idiots - conveniently forgetting that they had everthing that they are now asking for in 1967 but chose to gamble it away because they were greedy and just plain stupid ............. then, his lament moves on to kashmir and ramadi and falluja as if there was some kind of a link beween them - what is the connection, except that they are all inhabited by followers of an insidious ideology that is at war with itself and everything else ? ............. and just to show his even handedness, he throws in a few lines about argentina and mexico and somalia - uh ? ......... or ``duh?`` as they say in more intellectual circles ...................

.......... once again, i ask the chowk staff to ban ozer from this forum and pull this horrible piece of gibberish before the children see it ................


p.s. i also suggest that all ``poetry`` should be reviewed by temporal and saminasha before being posted

ozer,

a good idea to illustrate the sheer hypocrisy of the so-called `defenders of freedom`--it has always been thus: one white man`s life is considered 100 x more precious than that of the rest of the world--especially that of muslims.

3000 odd people died in 9/11 and the whole world and their chacha went into paroxysms of mourning yet no one cares about the millions of muslims killed before and since. 60, 000 civilians in Iraq already by conservative estimates. that alone is 20 times the number of 9/11. the ba-ba blacksheeps and uncle toms and mental slaves and house negroes are crying even today because a few thousand of their master`s people got killed but they don`t care about the millions of third world people being killed.

(not that 9/11 wasn`t wrong--it WAS wrong but that doesn`t justify the rest of the killing. those whose kalimah is la ilaha il America (ppl like hamidm and others on this forum) are crying tears even now ; the lives of those whose kalimah is la ilaha il Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam) do not count for these baysharam people...

#8, scout {``this whole `moment of silence,` `month of silence,` `lifetime of silence` ``}

IS IT TOO MUCH TOO ASK THAT YOU REMAIN SILENT FOR A MOMENT, ANY MOMENT?

#35 Ozer

Sorry, I’m in a hurry, so quickly….

I should have known that you’d ignore virtually all of my legitimate questions – not answer a single one and instead simply harp on what you had already parroted earlier. If you wish to salvage the slightest bit of dignity out of this worthless exercise, you may consider responding to items (1)-(5) in #33.

The question you ask (in #35) in your own unique style (or perhaps not so unique around here, since it’s really accurately described by the term moronic) is highly rhetorical. The speciously obvious answer to your rhetorical question is of course – one atrocity does not justify another. The asinine assumption that super-turkeys (and I mean no disrespect to the country) like you (and third-rate bogus dimwit writers like Farzana) imply is that U.S. intervention in Iraq rises to that definition of an atrocity – a statement so absurd that in most cases, there is no need to answer it. However, I have no problem in giving you a fitting answer in such simple and lucid terms that even you, at your microscopic level of intelligence, can understand. I would like to hold off on my comments on that, since putting them here would partially preempt my next i-log (which I am currently drafting). If this piece of your garbage is still around anywhere in the vicinity of FP then, I’ll make sure to paste in extracts from that. So, hold on with baited breath, and continue with this pseudo-intellectual master-bay-shun, in which, like all such activities, the pleasure is strictly one-sided.

#36 Dr. LokRaj
I believe there was an urgent page for your services from the board entitled “Faraz”, which may be of better service to mankind than anything we see here on this crappy piece here.

Re: # 44

naqsh,

...... i guess you didn`t hear bush say, ``we must fight them there so that we don`t have to fight them here``........... i, for one, subscribe to that logic especially since i just planted some petunias this morning - here ........ besides, the barbaric people of those god forsaken places need to be civilized - the world cannot afford to let them languish in the seventh century ..........

#26 by hamidm2:

[ i am really surprised farzana fell for this hoax - i always thought she had more brains than all the men on chowk put together .............]

Well, while I sincerely hope you (and just you for now) do not alter your opinion about my intelligence, I will still go ahead and ask: In what way have I fallen for ``this hoax``? Is he (heck, it could be a she for all I care) a hoax only because he is saying something different from your world-view? Can both not co-exist even if they be at odds with each other?

In my earlier post I had quoted Woody Allen who said that 9/11 was too small an event. Would you ask the oh-so-Manhattan Allen the queries you pose here? If you feel that this poet`s religious leanings are reflected in this work, then the responses reveal the opposite leanings too. How much objectivity is there then?

I am aware that you have a different take, am aware of it since the day you responded to my poem, or `poem` posted a day after the disaster on the same theme. Your point is valid from one perspective, but there is another one. Since I hold more or less the same views as expressed here (and expressed by me earlier), I cannot possibly be taken in by any `hoax`.

About the literary gaps, I already voiced my opinion...I am surprised at your comment, ``.......... once again, i ask the chowk staff to ban ozer from this forum and pull this horrible piece of gibberish before the children see it ................``

Children are wise. It is the juvenile adults that need to be watched.

PS: There are four new poems put up by Chowk for your reading pleasure!
- - -
#27,29:

Ozer:

Constructive criticism is all you will get from me...and I do feel your response #28 was not quite in order.

[``Both are hunters with hungry intent``? Why kill your own lines?
FV sometimes a stab to one`s own style is uplifting. It puntures any traces of ego.]

If the ego is identity, I see no reason for you to puncture it. You have to decide whether reaching out or renunciation is your goal. It is clear you wish to get your message across, so forget about stabbing your style, and perhaps start some pruning?

[”Also, the use of some words in Caps appeared self-conscious- the flow should be its own emphasis.”
If anything they were “sub-conscious”]

If you wish to raise the conscience, then you have to be conscious.

[Ebbing towards a “Dead Poet`s Society” ?]

Indeed. For the ghosts, the past, are then not dug away or distilled to fall in designated heaps and tagged with labels that flutter like pennants. Without rhyme or reason, as the saying goes...

Re: # 48


Farzana

As always thanks for the insight-driven feedback. I do acquiesce with thee that my interact #28 was below the belt. I’m not proud of it. I normally do rise above the fray and the mass hysteria in the infant-like playgrounds of Chowk, yet if you see all of Hamid M`s and his lackey appendage Beejay`s numerous slanderous comments, both merited a long overdue type-lashing. Though I must concede my type-lashing could have been done more gracefully. Point taken.

Now that one of them, Beejay, has comeback with an “iota” of pseudo-intellect I will counter him diplomatically of course. A certain cyber-ghost says to a certain cyber-witch that life is all about “grace”. I have realised how very infantile interactions can be on these fora and I will ONLY answer the relevant ones, as I have hitherto done so.

As for any purported allegations by cyber-war mongrels of a “hoax” a simple adage would suffice:

“For those who believe no explanation is necessary. For those who do not none will suffice”.

Re: # 46

Beejay you vacuously and predictably require me to respond to items (1)-(5) in #33. But you have not asked a single question ! Your innate contradictions are becoming quite a transparent paradox on this fora. You merely rendered lofty assertions in #33. So there is nothing to answer. The one question you ask about Kashmir has already been given coverage to in the poem itself.

Now courteously take your broom and mop elsewhere. Good janitor that you are.

Dear Naqshbandi

Heartening it is to finally witness some mature and savvy comments being made.
Naqshbandi these `defenders of freedom` feed ``misinformation`` with opaque and usurous hands. The truism that a white man`s life is kindled and considered 100 x more precious than that of the rest of the world is a menacingly aching neo-colonialist reality, an intoxication which afflicts us all- the developing world. No matter what our stripes.

The neo-con hang-over can only be undone by ``revolutions from below`` as opposed to ``revolutions from above``. In ``revolutions from below`` state apparatchiks are deemed null and void and the people render the uprising thereby legitimising ``authority`` through constant referenda.

``Westoxification`` spasms brown sahebs and chachas into ``paroxysms of mourning`` while the bleaker fields of casualties around the developing world harvest not a modicum of despair amongst Machiavelli`s children.

Naqshbandi as you acidly observe the ``ba-ba blacksheeps, uncle toms, mental slaves`` , the blah blah Blairs, the blahdy-daah Bushes shed selective crocodile tears when decorum dictates and protocol summons.

All consciousness has been eclipsed.
All Kalimah`s rebuked.
Except for ``la ilaha il America``

Though the pendulum of justice will swing over one day.

But justice is never served on a silver platter. Or fed with grapes.

Justice is never benignly granted. It must always be taken.

The question is not if.

But how and when.

This ought to be ``our`` struggle.

From cradle to grave.

From womb to tomb.

(Enter the inspector)

Inspector Clue-so (IC): (looks around suspiciously)
Chowk Censor (CC): Hey, who are you?
IC: I’m Inspector Clue-so.
CC: You mean Clouseau.
IC: No, I mean Clue-so.
CC: What happened to Clouseau?
IC: We fired him.
CC: For what?
IC: Incompetence and disruptive behavior.
CC: (flutters eye lashes in wonder) At chowk! No way! Here we only reward people for bad behavior!
IC: Well, there was one more reason.
CC: What, because he’s dead and had a lousy name?
IC: No, he spoke terrible English.
CC: Hmmmm…What can I do for you?
IC: I have an arrest warrant here.
CC: For whom?
IC: (Trying to read) It says something like “M…. Mullah”
CC: You mean “Mad Mullah”! He doesn’t live here.
IC: Not him. (Trying harder) I think it says “Machiavellian Mullah”
CC: I disclaim knowing anybody by that name.
IC: Who DOES live here, anyway?
CC: Tempo, but he’s out!
IC: But that’s impossible. He’s NEVER out!
CC: Inspector, believe me! It CAN happen! He CAN resist posting on a board!
IC: That’s a tough fly to swallow! (Becoming suddenly suspicious) He hasn’t left his earthly abode and become a ghost, or something?
CC: (Changing topic quickly and fluttering eye-lashes, moves closer) You look handsome. That’s a nice gun you got! Can we elope together to Las vegas?
IC: (Shocked) Ma’m. I DO have my professional ethics. (To self) And standards.
CC: Why do they call you Clue-so, anyway?
IC: I look at clues.
CC: So?
IC: Exactly.

(Exit the inspector)

Re: # 52

Dearest Janitor:

``Some appear to be more interested in the poet rather than the poem.``

The interest, if any, should only be geared towards the ``poem``. Its ``content``. And nothing else.

Thanks anyways Pink Panther.

Dear Ozer:

In response to the earlier question that you asked regarding the death toll for Iraqi civilians after Saddam was toppled, I quote parts of my i-log from July 3, 2005. Hope this clarifies to you how I view this issue. Thanks.

“Yes, we know all the pitfalls of our continued stay in Baghdad and other parts of the Middle East and the rest of the world! And we know all sides of this issue and that issue, and all the issues in between and without. And we know that more civilians have been abrupt casualties in this war than would have been systematic casualties over a long haul under that dictator Saddam, and we know that people there may not have the experience of ruling by majority and by reason and by consensus and that there are many, too many in the region for whom force has always been the way – the only way! You don’t need to tell us any of that – we have heard it all before so many times that we know it by heart!

We refuse responsibility for killings of civilians that the ruthless enemy conducts day in and day out – that responsibility belongs to the ones that commit it – the killers! And we refuse guilt by association for acts individual at this prison or that in capacities individual (and we fully hold those accountable in every way as our laws allow). And we call the bluff and refuse to swallow the lines that the local media – brought up on the same ancient diet of exclusivity and of all the hate that such exclusivity entails keeps feeding its more-than-willing audiences of individuals brought up in the same manner. And we refuse to buy the lies – the lies that try to tell us that the local population tolerating the local and not-so-local bullies means that we have to tolerate abdication of our own roles and indeed duties to the causes of freedom, in this region or the world at large!”

Sincerely,
BeeJay.

Re: # 52

...with a nick lik BJ... salim the strip manager comes to mind...who is currently busy unravelling the mysteries of mevlana rum...vaise temporal`s cc is cute chowki who imho has nothing to do with censoring...but you may carry on with your operation a la pink panther while i listen to henry mancini in the background...;)

Re: # 54

beejay,

.... excellent post ....... you are absolutely right - we cannot abdicate our duties to the cause of freedom just because some natives in turbans and their fawning sympathizers in the west have chosen to parrot lies and half-truths over and over again............ the biggest culprit in this silliness is the liberal media that is always looking for a cause ......... watch it, as soon as the dead-enders have been exterminated inspite of their hue and cry, they will turn their attention to saving the spotted owl and prairie dog - a much better cause, i might add .............

#55 Khamkhwa.

Dear sir:

Aap khamkhwa pareshan ho rahe hain! I would like to re-emphasize that (in #52) the inspector only paid a visit – he did not actually make an arrest! For all we know, he may have just taken a side detour from a “fishing” trip! ;-)

Please rest assured, the Beej is a “one of a kind” entity and there aren’t many (or any) like him/her! Thanks for your encouraging words!

(The inspector thanks you, too!)

Beeay thanks for sharing your views in interact # 54

Regards.

Beejay thanks for sharing your views in interact 54.

Regards.

Re: # 56 hamidm {``... we cannot abdicate our duties to the cause of freedom ...``}

On June 6, in a closed-door session, a Senate Intelligence Committee approved a bill. If Congress and the President agree (and the President certainly will), this bill will dramatically expand the FBI`s powers under the Patriot Act to issue secret administrative subpoenas for an unprecedented range of personal records without having to go to a judge. The FBI will then write its own subpoenas, just as British customs officials in the colonies did before the American Revolution when they used general search warrants (writs of assistance) to go into homes and offices at will. Here are the most controversial provisions of the Patriot Act. Under Sections 215 and 505 of the act, law enforcement officials are given broad access to ANY type of record - sales, library, financial, medical etc. - without having to show probable cause of ANY crime. The Patriot Act also forbids the holders of this information, such as university librarians and college registrars, from disclosing that they have ever provided such records to federal officials. The ``sneak-and-peak`` provision of the Patriot Act (Section 213) allows law enforcement agencies to conduct secret searches of anyone`s home or apartment - without a warrant and without even notifying the owner.

Much more could be added, but this is the ``surveillance state`` in full flight. The genuine Police State follows as a matter of course once the surveillance state is fully established. It is a constant of history that whenever a nation has engaged in external wars, internal repression has ALWAYS followed. In fact, the progression has worked both ways, internal repression followed by external war or external war followed by internal repression. The INTERNAL repression ALWAYS occurs.

Here is the real political reason as to why all this is happening. A June 13 USA Today poll showed that almost six in 10 Americans (59 percent) want a full or partial pullout of US troops from Iraq. In a New York Times/CBS News poll, President Bush`s approval rating dropped to 42 percent while 59 percent disapproved of his handling of Iraq. President Bush is losing on his own internal front.

On June 23, the US Supreme Court said that the US Constitution does NOT prohibit local governments from seizing private property for other private uses - so long as it is developed for the ``public benefit``. Under this ruling, an American`s private property can be taken by political means to be given to some other American! The 5-4 ruling clears the way for the condemnation of some private homes for a new office and retail complex. It gives other cities and towns more leeway to buy and raze homes, churches and other properties that yield little tax revenue. That`s the reason behind the ruling, increased tax revenues for American cities and towns collected by bureaucrats who can condemn somebody`s private property and then give it to somebody else who can afford to pay these bureaucrats more taxes. There will soon be a form of political ``escalator`` inside the US where if you can pay the higher taxes, you keep your ``property``. If you can`t, your ``property`` will be taken from you and given to someone who can.

Between them, this latest expansion of the Patriot Act and the Supreme Court ruling target dead centre what is going wrong inside the US. Political power, at all levels, Federal, State and local, is running amok. This is STATISM in its full flower. The sum of agencies of all levels of government have gained complete power over the Lives, Liberties and Estates of the general public who live their lives in civil society. Politically, this is in fact a blatant claim by government that all citizens ARE its property!

If there is no safe and secure private property and there is no privacy then sooner or later is there going to be any freedom or liberty?

...SR

Dear Ozer:

The janitor has stepped out for a while. (You see, he needed to get replenishment for his supplies. He ran out, because he has been using them indiscriminately for purposes they were not intended for (primarily for throwing them at perceived opponents of the moment, left, right, up, down, and all over – the tale consists of broken bones and damaged egos of the small and the big alike – leaving a trail of terrible devastation)). I am taking advantage of this break to sneak in a few words from the “Benevolent” part!

It is obvious that we (the Janitor and I) have been harsher than necessary with your work, primarily at the behest of the janitor. At this point, I would like to focus more on your work –your poem and its style than your perceived (intrinsic or projected) external characteristics – strictly from a reader’s point of view

(1) The lines of your poem are extremely unbalanced. You seem to have put them down exactly as they came to your head, and done very little or no work at massaging/streamlining them and at trying to make them more balanced and LOOKING better. (If you were a woman (or perhaps among a SMALL minority of men), you will realize the importance of the latter.) As a reader, I like to see lines that do not end at points too far from each other – the reason is strictly related to better ergonomics – the economy of neck movement.

(2) The italicized fluff up front is too long and drawn out. Most readers would, like I did, simply skip over it.

(3) The poem needs to have less circuitous references, and a better choice of words to make it flow better. For example, right in the beginning, you stumble with “clogged with wax”. Since the reader at this point (in view of (2)) has NO idea of what you are going to be talking about, it immediately conjures up an image of your ears clogged with wax and even YOU would agree that it’s not a pleasant introduction to the poet or poem.

(4) Like some others have pointed out, long winding descriptions of a large number of “atrocity” cases from around the world tend to distract from the message that you may be attempting to communicate. If I were in your shoes (not that I’d want to be – being in the line of fire is not a very pleasant prospect, even for the thick-skinned individuals like me), I’d have chosen no more than three illustrations – perhaps Africa being one. If the objective is to reach out to the reader, you should stay away from controversial topics, especially contemporary ones. Your purpose should be to maximize the impact of what you are trying to communicate, pick only certain aspects of each scene, and make the scene “hit” the reader by using the fewest of words. (Repeat after me – too much detail is a bad thing! It assumes that the reader has NO imagination.)

(5) In general, you seem to not have put in enough time just reading and revising your own poem. Like all things in life, success involves 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. Your “inspiration” part may be sort of okay, but the other part seems to be sorely lacking!

(6) I earlier commented (in a different tone) about not putting enough “heart” into it and about physical paradoxes (e.g., frozen refrigerators).

I hope the above helps. I wish you good luck. Assuming you are indeed the individual who wrote the earlier article under the same author name, I think this one is an improvement in the sense that it’s less inward-looking! Most readers like that.

I am closing now, since I hear the janitor coming back.

Sincerely,
BeeJay.

``Independence Day``

By Ozer

Common Lets Celebrate it is
``Independence Day- Halleyloooyaaaah``

Michael Moore inevitably seeps through the pores of a vacuous moral skin, whilst oil-rich ``rentier banana republics`` and the petro-dollars such as those of the House of Saud rain through the corridoors of Capitol Hill.

The drums beat. The bells toll. The eagles fly
In a vapid sky.

Are the Gulf kingdoms rich in oil poor in morality
ever finger-pointed for HR violations ?
US foreign policy satire is a Holocaust to justice.

Capitol Hill has played the life-buoy to regular repressive regimes
including the
bearded brigade Mujahideens,
civil liberties are a farce on the breath of our conscience

Let us wag the dog. Prepare American apple crumble pie.
While the tears in Rwanda dry...

The White House`s marriage of convenience with Fidel Castro to oppose a United Nations agreement on torture is an illustriuos fire-starter for Independence Day. Is it not ?
Are the chop sticks ready? Let the barbeque begin...
Have enough people been grilled in Iraq ? In Colombia ?
Who won the World Series ? And the NBA ?
Ayyyymen

The current Convention Against Torture, signed by Papa George Bush Senior, requires governments to punish torturers but does little in terms of preventative measures. Hence Abu Ghraib.

Abu what ? Ghraib eh yo what yo say ? common for now Lets Celebrate for it is our sacred
``Independence Day- Halleyloooyaaaah``

Let us mow the lawn. Wear the cap. Strike with a baseball bat
All these minority hood-rats....

Bush ends up in bed with the Sheikhs, makes irreedemable handshakes and nods,
Shakes, rattles and rolls
Walking into an obliterating sunset....

The White House has no aching desire to let international inspectors visit and interview ``enemy combatants`` detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in military brigs.
Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore come party with us

For it is Independence Day Halleylooooooyahhhh ?
Bring on Katie Holmes as well Tom would you ?
Good Scientologist that you are....
For this is a War of the Worlds...

Start filming.

Justice Department officials do not allow international inspections of state prisons since they would breath oxygen for prisoners` privacy rights.

Other ``selective stirrings`` and sound bites of conscience are bohemian rhapsody.
Today let us hymn and sing the National Anthem
The stars and the stripes

Let the Texan cowboy dance in his boots
While Robert John and Charlie shoot
The Iraqi toots.....

Let us peer at one specific shamble: US opposition to the International Criminal Court on the grounds that the court would conduct politically motivated prosecutions of Americans--even though the ICC statute requires that all cases involving Americans be referred to the U.S. for investigation and any resulting prosecution. The ICC can take the case back only if it later finds that the U.S. proceeding was a sham, designed to obstruct rather than to achieve justice.

Such a finding--by judges chosen mainly hand-plucked by Uncle Sam`s ``democratic brethren`` is exceedingly unlikely. Yet its mere possibility is enough to send shivers down Texan spines for the administration to oppose an ICC that may offer the only hope for justice in many cases of crimes against humanity !!

Not only has the president withdrawn the U.S. signature from the ICC treaty, but he has signed a bill that authorizes him to use military force against the ICC. Hats off to the red-neck buffalos at the Pentagon.

US diplomats hold UN peacekeeping missions hostage (enter Nicole Kidman) to their demand that U.S. soldiers be immune from the ICC, and they pressure individual nations to sign agreements promising not to turn over U.S. soldiers to the ICC.
Now a legal birdie whispereth to my ear that this in itself is stretching the Vienna and Geneva Conventions towards

A leviathon of lunacy.

But for now
Bring on the Turkey, sweetcorn, coleslaw and hamburgers
For it is Independence Day Halleylooooooyahhhh
Oh what is that noise ?

It is a Jaguar screeching its way on the motorway of immorality: (please take note of this ``Husna Angelique`` for it relates to your interact #9) When Indonesian courts recently rendered ``not guilty`` verdicts against the first six military personnel tried for the 1999 atrocities in East Timor, despite strong evidence of guilt, the State Department said it was ``slightly disappointed`` but ``hoped`` that future trials will bring a sunnier forecast.

Furthermore, when victims recently sued ExxonMobil for murders and disappearances allegedly committed by Indonesian troops guarding the company`s oil wells and pipelines (exit Kidman enter JR Ewing) the State Department asked the federal judge to dismiss the suit, arguing that it could prejudice U.S. relations with Indonesia. Bleeding paradox or what ?

Let the reader of Chowk decide.

The scant regard for human rights is evident to the blind. No amount of wool can cover our retinas. Since 9/11 1,000+ foreigners have been detained in secret, some for months on end not privy to legal counsel and sheepishly deported after closed hearings for minor immigration offenses.

When a federal judge ruled that their immigration hearings must generally be public, the Justice Department got the Supreme Court to stay the order. When another federal judge ruled that their names, at least, must be made public, the government got that order, too, stayed pending appeal.

Since today is the 4th of July, all hail to Will Smith and ``Independence Day`` 2 U.S. citizens themselves --Jose Padilla and Yasser Esam Hamdi--were held incommunicado in military brigs in the U.S., without access to judicial recourse. Under the convenient label of ``unlawful combatants.`` So, too, are hundreds of foreign citizens at Guantanamo.

But lets celebrate Independence Day !! Halleluyahhhhhhhh

Global moral credibility is undercut.
Due process is short-curcuited.
Legal hearings, if any, are considered VIP events.
The ``collateral damage`` body count is countless.
Enter Arnie Schwarzeneggar.

Lights.

Camera.

INACTION.

But today, on ``independence day`` the stars and the stripes do not fly their flag half-mast

Instead they herald a full-fledged

``flag of treacherous convenience``

No ``moment of silece`` today thank you

For it is Independence Day

#62 Ozer

Dear Ozer:

(The janitor isn’t back yet.)

I am amused to read your latest outburst – in the form of a half-hearted attempt at another poem – given up half way as you switched to prose, in #62. I think you are doing a disservice to your cause (if any) of your 9/11 poem by distracting attention from it – incidentally, which is exactly what you admonished others for doing.

1) Everybody knows that when one celebrates the independence day of a country, one celebrates a people, their history, and heritage – independent of any specific current administration policies of any one particular president, or another. The Independence Day of ANY country is sacred to its citizens who owe their allegiance to it. Therefore, making fun of a country on such an auspicious day can be considered a highly foolish act.

2) From the tone of your post, your hidden (repressed?) bias (jealousy?) toward U.S. is amply evident. If you let your passions rule you, your ability to create – whether as an artist, a photographer, a poet, a singer, a musician, a dancer, a whatever (perhaps even an event organizer), will suffer tremendously! The audience/readership will lose its respect for your objectivity on issues.

3) The current attempt suffers from all the deficiencies of the original, which should have been expected in view of its rushed nature. Therefore, another piece of advice for you is – always TAKE YOUR TIME!

I am sorry that you feel in bad mood because of the U.S. Independence Day. I forgot that the independence was wrested from the British, which might make this occasion less than pleasant for the British – although I have never heard of any such thing happening – from all accounts, the British are supposedly highly reserved with their emotions.

I hope that you feel better soon.

Sincerely,
BeeJay.

Re: # 60

SR,

... stop being a dramatic alarmist !....... when they requisition my house and convert my garage into a stable for cavalry horses and take away my library card, then i will start worrying about it ............

......... in the meanwhile, i don`t mind giving up a few individual liberties to protect the homeland - after all, in case you haven`t heard, we are at war with a horrible enemy who does not play by any rule book except the one that was handed down by a rather vengeful god ......... every time i pass through the immigration counter at the airport, and lately it has been quite frequently, the poor inspector takes one look at the pakistani visa and starts asking the mandatory questions :``when did you last take training in an al-daeda camp``, `` ``do you know osama``, ``do you know mullah omar``, ``do you know urstruly and echoboom``, ``are you wearing a suicide belt``, `` when did you last take a shower``, ``can you fly a plane``, ``do you hate tall buildings``, `` have you blown up anyting lately``....... and so on ................ but i really don`t mind it, because at the end of it all they do smile and say ``welcome back home`` ............................ i would begin to worry if they didn`t ask those questions and let in somone who hates our way of life and wants to destroy what he does not understand and cannot build ............

#64 hamidm

Well said!

For those of you who are Americans, please let me break in and wish you a happy Fourth of July!

Now, get off this web site and go party somewhere! And go somewhere tonight and watch those fireworks (real ones, I mean, not the kind they have around here day in and day out)!! :)

BeeJay.
(An Extremely Benign Janitor on This Day)

hamidm Re: # 64 {``... i would begin to worry if they didn`t ask those questions and let in somone who hates our way of life and wants to destroy what he does not understand and cannot build ...``}

Okay, I understand. It`s a genuine difference in perspectives. You buy into the paranoia conjured up by the so-called ``liberal media`` that you otherwise pretend to decry. In return you are perfectly happy to surrender ``some`` of your liberty. But beware of the ``slippery slope``... Remember the slippery slope.. the one you often times refer to in other contexts? Let the camel stick his nose in your tent and before you know it the camel is in your tent and you are shivering outside in the cold sand.

This ``someone who hates our way of life`` is a miserable bungling bafoon... The only people he is a real threat to are his own... He`s no threat to the might and majesty of Rome...urr.. sorry wrong millennium... I mean, no threat to the might and majesty of Washington. These clowns are a mere inconvenience, they are dangerous, alright... but not to civilization... they are only dangerous to themselves. No more than an irritating fly that you can swat with a fast blow. But you don`t mind the overzealous housekeeper (or Janitor if you use BeeJay`s term) far exceeding his limit... you`ll let him cut off the fresh air by shuttering down all the french windows and roshandaans just because a miserable fly came in and fell in your tea cup. So now you are ready to cut out the light and the fresh air and draw the curtains, seal the windows and suffocate and sweat in the muggy heat... Well, that`s really smart....

I would feel too stuffy and wouldn`t worry about the few flies that might or might not come in if I left the place open and airy.

Now don`t go lecture me on the 3,000 dead in the twin towers... etc... etc... Look that was really bad, yes, but put it in perspective. Look at the scale. 50,000 die each year in auto accidents, 12,000 from drunk driving alone... will you be talking about banning Toyota and Merlot also? How about banning McDonalds for the 250,000 heart attacks attributed to fast food? Get real. Who is the alarmist here? Who is the one really paranoid? ``Protecting our way of life...`` Yeh right !!! ... my horse`s exhaust outlet...

...SR

Re: # 65

Dear Beejay,

With every interact of yours, my respect for you augments. We may have started on the wrong footing. Yet it is becoming apprent that you are now making a paradigm-shift, and giving me your objective views about the ``poem`` rather than the ``poet``. This is a gladdening change in focus. And temperament.

Welcoming as fresh roses are the comments you make about the ``style and content`` of my poem. Admittedly my ``genre`` of poetry is imbued with thorns. I see no point in exposing the ``petals``. For my poetry is gut-wrenched from the heart. Suffice that I know it.

Every rose has its thorn. Beejay Do not thorns give