Warren Buffet & Bill Gates: Keeping America Great

What is in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell just as sweet."
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet act II, sc. ii

Recently I've realized that my name is not as unique as I once thought it was. It's still strange to most westerners and even easterners, but no uncommon. The same mispronunciations, questions, awkward award ceremonies..... all these things I had come to know with my own unique name was no longer exclusive to me; I now shared those experiences with a number of other individuals, one of whom just happened to take my place as I left UCLA. Contemplating my own now shattered uniqueness, I was led to realize a name is only outward label. Who you are and what defines you as a unique individual, is not defined by a name, but it's who you are inside, how you carry yourself, your past experiences, dreams and aspirations and beliefs. These are the things that really define you as an individual and contribute to your unique place in history.

3 Points: McGrady's journey to Darfur

In 2007, Houston Rockets Shooting Guard, Tracy McGrady traveled to Darfur with an organization called Enough Project. His experience was documented in this documentary.

Westwood Homeless, Brilliant Painter

A familiar face to many of the students attending UCLA living in Westwood village. William Laga, characterized as a tall, slender, and shabbily dressed homeless man, could often be found at the corner somewhere by CPK, strolling about and often mumbling to himself. The schizophrenic man, who has lived on the streets for more then three decades, finds peace for his shattered mind on a blank canvas with an array of colors. He makes a weekly trek of 16mi to Pierce College to sit in on art classes and take a weekly shower at their gym. However, his story remained unknown to the countless bystanders about him.

On Christmas Eve of last year, art patron, Marcelle Danan, stumbled across him as he sought refugee from the rain. Seeing his innate talent she brought him to her house, and for the next few months supplied him with art supplies to fuel his passion. With the help of Danan, Laga has begun to sell his paintings and is becoming a internationally recognized painter. He is currently working in Paris, France. The story originally aired on KCAL 9.

A Touching Story: Amazing Painter, Homeless Man

Homeless Painters First Art Show

Texting while Driving

Many states have passed laws against talking on a cell phone while driving, but many are yet to enact a law against texting while driving. Only 10 states and the District of Columbia have bans on texting while driving, and ten more are set to join this coming January. California enacted the law earlier this year, prohibiting any texting by any age driver. Other states have criteria of age and place in regards to texting.

Nonetheless, texting while driving seems like a absurd thing to do, however it happens often enough (I've done quick texts in standstill traffic). But many opponents argue how is it any different from digging something out of the dashboard or even the all to famous girl doing her makeup behind the wheel, all having the same potential of being as disastrous as texting. However, statistically speaking according to the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration, in 2002, 955 deaths could be attributed to drivers on their cell phones and a study at Virginia Tech reveals there is a 23x greater chance of getting into an accident while driving compared to a driver focused on the road.

There is also the issue of enforcement. How can officers enforce a law that involves a discrete action. The use of cell phones are hardly limited to texting. And most often the case is the driver doesnt text in an officers face while driving. It is a subtle act, that often times is never intended. However, I think it boils down to a moral obligation. Texting while driving is not only putting yourself in danger, its potentailly putting the people around you at risk, and endangering countelss of innocent lives.

Whatever the outcome of future debates, texting while driving is no lesser of an evil than driving under the influence. The UK released a PSA to deter teens from texting. Note it is a reenactment, but nonetheless a horrifically staged depiction, especially when considering the human toll in real situations.

A White House Iftar- Obama Style

Today, September 1st, President Obama hosted an iftar dinner at the White House, in recognition of the holy month of Ramadan. Each year millions of Muslims mark this holy month with increased spirituality and fasting, in keeping with the traditions of Prophets. Obama's recognition and active participation is a far more welcoming approach than his predecessors. But it leads me to wonder, is there any genuity in his actions or is it all just part of the PR campaign. I hope its just a bit a both. It sure would be cool to be invited to break fast in the White House with the president (I wonder if he fasted too...)

Read the Article Here at the Associted Press.

Signs Amongst Us

Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the Night and the Day; in the sailing of the ships through the Ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;― (here) indeed are signs for a people that are wise. (2-164)

This verse from the Qur'an is an amazing reminder of the signs all around us. Everywhere you look, from the highest frozen peaks to the crushing ocean abysses, from the not so barren desserts, teeming with life to the lush tropical forests, even gazing into the far stretches of deep space, there are abundant signs of a higher order of intellectual proprietorship, far surpassing our own crude understanding. This is one my favorite verses, because it is a constant reminder of the greatness within life and all that surrounds it. We truly do live among signs..... It's just a matter of opening your eyes and ears around you.

MCAT

Why We Need Health Care Reform

By Barack Obama

Published: August 15, 2009 NY Times

OUR nation is now engaged in a great debate about the future of health care in America. And over the past few weeks, much of the media attention has been focused on the loudest voices. What we haven’t heard are the voices of the millions upon millions of Americans who quietly struggle every day with a system that often works better for the health-insurance companies than it does for them.

These are people like Lori Hitchcock, whom I met in New Hampshire last week. Lori is currently self-employed and trying to start a business, but because she has hepatitis C, she cannot find an insurance company that will cover her. Another woman testified that an insurance company would not cover illnesses related to her internal organs because of an accident she had when she was 5 years old. A man lost his health coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because the insurance company discovered that he had gallstones, which he hadn’t known about when he applied for his policy. Because his treatment was delayed, he died.

I hear more and more stories like these every single day, and it is why we are acting so urgently to pass health-insurance reform this year. I don’t have to explain to the nearly 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance how important this is. But it’s just as important for Americans who do have health insurance.

There are four main ways the reform we’re proposing will provide more stability and security to every American.

First, if you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of high-quality, affordable coverage for yourself and your family — coverage that will stay with you whether you move, change your job or lose your job.

Second, reform will finally bring skyrocketing health care costs under control, which will mean real savings for families, businesses and our government. We’ll cut hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency in federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid and in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies that do nothing to improve care and everything to improve their profits.

Third, by making Medicare more efficient, we’ll be able to ensure that more tax dollars go directly to caring for seniors instead of enriching insurance companies. This will not only help provide today’s seniors with the benefits they’ve been promised; it will also ensure the long-term health of Medicare for tomorrow’s seniors. And our reforms will also reduce the amount our seniors pay for their prescription drugs.

Lastly, reform will provide every American with some basic consumer protections that will finally hold insurance companies accountable. A 2007 national survey actually shows that insurance companies discriminated against more than 12 million Americans in the previous three years because they had a pre-existing illness or condition. The companies either refused to cover the person, refused to cover a specific illness or condition or charged a higher premium.

We will put an end to these practices. Our reform will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of your medical history. Nor will they be allowed to drop your coverage if you get sick. They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. And we will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. No one in America should go broke because they get sick.

Most important, we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups, preventive care and screening tests like mammograms and colonoscopies. There’s no reason that we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and prostate cancer on the front end. It makes sense, it saves lives and it can also save money.

This is what reform is about. If you don’t have health insurance, you will finally have quality, affordable options once we pass reform. If you have health insurance, we will make sure that no insurance company or government bureaucrat gets between you and the care you need. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. You will not be waiting in any lines. This is not about putting the government in charge of your health insurance. I don’t believe anyone should be in charge of your health care decisions but you and your doctor — not government bureaucrats, not insurance companies.

The long and vigorous debate about health care that’s been taking place over the past few months is a good thing. It’s what America’s all about.

But let’s make sure that we talk with one another, and not over one another. We are bound to disagree, but let’s disagree over issues that are real, and not wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that anyone has actually proposed. This is a complicated and critical issue, and it deserves a serious debate.

Despite what we’ve seen on television, I believe that serious debate is taking place at kitchen tables all across America. In the past few years, I’ve received countless letters and questions about health care. Some people are in favor of reform, and others have concerns. But almost everyone understands that something must be done. Almost everyone knows that we must start holding insurance companies accountable and give Americans a greater sense of stability and security when it comes to their health care.

I am confident that when all is said and done, we can forge the consensus we need to achieve this goal. We are already closer to achieving health-insurance reform than we have ever been. We have the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association on board, because our nation’s nurses and doctors know firsthand how badly we need reform. We have broad agreement in Congress on about 80 percent of what we’re trying to do. And we have an agreement from the drug companies to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. The AARP supports this policy, and agrees with us that reform must happen this year.

In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain. But for all the scare tactics out there, what’s truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing. If we maintain the status quo, we will continue to see 14,000 Americans lose their health insurance every day. Premiums will continue to skyrocket. Our deficit will continue to grow. And insurance companies will continue to profit by discriminating against sick people.

That is not a future I want for my children, or for yours. And that is not a future I want for the United States of America.

In the end, this isn’t about politics. This is about people’s lives and livelihoods. This is about people’s businesses. This is about America’s future, and whether we will be able to look back years from now and say that this was the moment when we made the changes we needed, and gave our children a better life. I believe we can, and I believe we will.

Ikea Jerker Desk

I really want to sell my desk. I love it. It is spacious but not obscenely large. It is extremely versatile in function; the top shelf doubles as a bookshelf. All around it's a great desk. But I have to part with it. I'm selling it for $100. I'm also going to throw in a wire rack and pull out keyboard shelf as an added bonus. If your in or around Westwood Village or UCLA I can help with transportation.

Dress Code

— In France a law was passed in 2004 banning pupils from wearing "conspicuous" religious symbols at state schools, a move widely interpreted as aimed at the Muslim headscarf

— In Turkey where 99 per cent of the population is Muslim, all forms of Muslim headscarf have been banned in universities for decades under the secular government. In June 2008 the country's Consitutional Court overruled government attempts to lift the ban, prompting protests

— In Britain guidelines say that the full Islamic veil should not be worn in courts, but the final decision is up to judges. Schools may forge their own dress codes and in 2006, courts upheld the suspension of Aishah Azmi, a Muslim teaching assistant who refused to remove her veil in class

— German states have the option of choosing to ban teachers and other government employees from wearing Muslim headscarves; four have done so

—The Italian parliament in July 2005 approved anti-terrorist laws that make hiding one's features from the public — including through wearing the burla — an offence

— Tunisia, a Muslim country, has banned Islamic headscarves in public places since 1981. In 2006 authorities began a campaign against the headscarves and began strictly enforcing the ban

— The Dutch Government said in 2007 that it was drawing up legislation to ban burkas, but it was defeated in elections in November and the new centrist coalition said it had no plans to implement a ban

Source: Times database

The Plight of the Rohingya: Ethnic Muslim Minority Group Faces Persecution

On Jan. 28^th a ravaged group of Rohingya refugees adrift at sea were rescued by Indonesian fishermen, after a tumultuous and harrowing voyage from their persecuted homeland of Myanmar led them to Thailand, where military officials further persecuted the boat people and left the forsaken boat far into the Indian Ocean. The Rohingya people, a small ethnic Muslim minority group from the former Arakan State in north western Burma, have been subjected to continuous human right violations under the Myanmar military government since 1978, according to Amnesty International. And consequentially has caused hundreds of thousands to flee to neighboring countries of Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia as well as countless other countries in the region.

Al-Jazeera reported that the group of 585 Rohingya in five boats took off to sea in search of work to support their families, only to be intercepted a few days later by the Myanmar Navy. The Myanmar soldiers boarded their boat and beat them, and ordered them never to come back, furnishing them with provisions and fuel.

Twelve days later they were found off the Surin Islands near the Thailand Andaman coast. There they are reported to have been taken inland by the Thai army where they received severe beatings, and as one refugee, Noor Muhammad accounts "they were lined up and stripped down to the waist. And one by one pummeled and taunted, with some officers scoffing at them for being Muslim and threatening to burn their traditional beards."

The few that were released were towed out to sea for a day and a night and left engineless, a common proceeding with migrants. A naval officer with the Thai Navy told Al-Jazeera reporters "We have to take the engines off the boats or they will come back. The wind will carry them to India or somewhere." Of the 192 left at sea, a group of them including Noor Muhammad, were found by an Indonesian Fisherman and were brought to Indonesia for treatment. They now face possible deportation back to Myanmar but they plead to rather be killed then sent back.

In Thailand, another 66 Rohingya face criminal charges for illegally entering Thailand. The Thai government contends that the migrants don't qualify as refugee status because they fled for economic reasons. However according to the Associated Press, Human right agencies and the US government have long asserted that the Rohingya People face "gross discrimination and are denied citizenship in their homeland of Myanmar because they are Muslims."

Kitty McKinsey, a U.N. High Commissions for Refugees, or UNHCR spokeswoman said "UNHCR is opposed to anyone being forcibly returned to Myanmar" given its human rights record. The UNHCR is currently investigating the situation and is calling for access to the detained Rohingya people.

Flobots- There's A War Going On For Your Mind

There's a war going on for your mind
Media mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine racks
Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads
Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel
Worldwide passenger pigeons deploy paratroopers
Now it's raining pornography
Lovers take shelter
Post-production debutantes pursue you in Nascar chariots
They construct ransom letters from biblical passages and bleed mascara into holy water supplies

There's a war going on for your mind
Industry insiders slang test tube babies to corporate crackheads
They flash logos and blast ghettos
Their embroidered neckties say "stop snitchin'"
Conscious rappers and whistleblowers get stitches made of acupuncture needles and marionette strings

There is a war going on for your mind
Professional wrestlers and vice presidents want you to believe them
The desert sky is their bluescreen
They superimpose explosions
They shout at you
"pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain
Nor the craters beneath the draped flags
Those hoods are there for your protection
And meteors these days are the size of corpses

There's a war going on for your mind
We are the insurgents

The Prayer- Kid Cudi

My heart thump not from being nervous
Sometimes I'm thinking God made me special here on purpose
So all the while 'til I'm gone make my words important so
If I slip away, if I die today the last thing you remember won't
Be about some apple bottom jeans with the boots with the fur
Baby how I dream of being free since my birth
Cursed but the demons I confronted would disperse
Have you ever heard of some shit so real
Beyond from the heart, from the soul you can feel

And if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take
But please don't cry, just know that I have made these songs for you
And if I die before I wake I pray the lord my soul to take
'Cuz I'm ready for a funeral

My mind runs I can never catch it even if I got a head start
God please tell me I am feeling so alone way
I don't need to worry 'cuz I know the world'll feel this nigga
Blessing in disguise but I am not hiding who I am open your eyes bro
If I ever met you, I appreciate the love yo
Girls that I dated, it's ok I am not mad yo
Unless you stabbed me in the heart, no love ho, this shit is so I'll
Play it back from the top if you recognize real

And if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take
But please don't cry, just know that I have made these songs for you
And if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take
'Cuz I'm ready for a funeral
And if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take
So please don't cry, just know that I have made these songs for you
And if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul take
'Cuz I'm ready for a funeral (I'm ready for the funeral, I'm ready for the funeral)

A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City

Across the world today there are 42 million refugees and IDPs uprooted by war, famine and natural disasters; a nearly incomprehensible number, 42 million individuals with individual yet eerily analogous life stories, hopes and shattered dreams, displaced and forced to live without a home, without family, a stranger in foreign lands away from all that they once knew. Fleeing with nothing but hope in the humanity of others and their faith in a higher power. Doctors without Borders or also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) are at the fore front of providing aid to these millions, through medical care, food and shelter and information to the needy and helpless. Doctors Without Borders is an “international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflicts, epidemics, malnutrition, natural disasters and exclusion from health care in more than 60 countries” across the world. On any one day 27,000 individuals ranging from doctors, nurses, logistics experts, administrators, epidemiologists, laboratory techs, mental health professionals and others can be found upholding the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality, by providing quality healthcare to people regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation.

October 31st to November 1st 2009, Doctors Without Borders touring exhibit, “A refugee camp in the heart of the city” came to Santa Monica, next to the Pier. The exhibit featured a surreal tour of a makeshift refugee camp. It highlighted various aspects of a refugee camp including different forms of shelters, food stores, medical tents, and other stations commonly found and needed in these camps. The tour was given by former and current MFS volunteers, who intertwined their own real experiences working abroad with the gripping visuals portrayed to the audience on the walkthrough. The tour featured several stations where participants learned of various aspects of life as a refugee. Each station was introduced in the form of a question for in the point of view of the refugee, “Where will I live? Where will I find Water? Where will I go to the bathroom? What if I get sick?” and “How long will I be here?” And at each station the tour guide addressed the various problems, and how refugees cope with them, and MSF’s involvement. The exhibit a huge success also included lectures at local campuses. The exhibit from here moves to Northern California.

MSF’s work abroad and in a more generalized sense the safeguarding of the world’s poor and suffering, as cliché as it sounds, holds a special place in my heart. In the future I hope to see myself working for an organization like Doctors without Borders and going abroad and volunteering my time and skills as a medical professional. I find myself especially drawn to this cause because the majority of refugees share the same beliefs and ideals as me, and were persecuted on that basis. The majority of refugees come from Muslim backgrounds, from the deserts of Somalia to the peaks of Albania. Refugees from Palestine number 4.6 million, Afghanistan 3.1 million, and Iraq’s 2.3 million.

“Humanitarian action is based on the conviction that ordinary people caught in conflict and crisis, whoever and whoever they be, deserve to be spared from the excesses of violence and to receive lifesaving assistance that is impartial, neutral and free from political or religious agendas.” This statement encompasses my beliefs and my desire to be the keeper of my brothers and sisters abroad, to be among the guardians of humanity, the abettor to those who have lost everything. It will be a long difficult journey, but I am determined to use medicine as an instrument abroad to bring peace to lands torn apart by discrimination and animosity.

Dr. Hassan Hathout dies at 84; Islamic leader fostered interfaith relations

Dr. Hassan Hathout, a physician, medical ethicist and leader of the Southern California Islamic community who was at the forefront of efforts to demystify American Muslims and build interfaith bonds, has died. He was 84.

Hathout died of natural causes Saturday at his Pasadena home, said a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, of which he was a prominent member.

He was also a leader of the Islamic Center of Southern California, where he coordinated outreach efforts for two decades. A well-regarded scholar, he wrote several books, including "Reading the Muslim Mind."

"He was one of our giants in the history of Islam in America," who urged Muslims to be "organically integrated in American society and not act as visitors" in it, Salam al Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said Sunday.

In 1998 Hathout delivered a sermon at the first White House celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the day marking the end of the Muslim holy month Ramadan. Along with Rabbi Leonard Beerman of Bel-Air's Leo Baeck Temple and the Rev. George Regas of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Hathout also helped organize the Interfaith Center to Reverse the Arms Race, one of the first major inter-religious efforts in Los Angeles.

"As a physician he was so committed to life, he wanted to stand against anything that was going to obliterate life. He did that as a deeply religious person," Regas said Sunday.

Hathout was born in Cairo on Dec. 23, 1924. The son of a schoolteacher, he was educated at the University of Edinburgh where he earned degrees from the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He also had a doctorate of philosophy in reproductive genetics.

He taught obstetrics and gynecology in Kuwait, where he lived for 26 years before immigrating to the United States in the late 1980s.

He quickly became involved in interfaith work in Los Angeles. With Beerman and Regas, he organized weekly prayer services for Muslims, Christians and Jews during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. The first service at All Saints in Pasadena drew more than 1,500 worshipers.

"We've lived together for centuries with mutual reserve and hatred," he told the Daily News in 1991. "One of the positive things of the whole gulf crisis is that the three communities came together and discovered each other's faith and scriptures are so similar."

After 9/11, Hathout stepped up his efforts at bridge-building and called on Muslims to tone down anti-American rhetoric. He also spoke at Open Mosque Day, a program launched in 2002 in which more than two dozen mosques in Southern California invited non-Muslims to join in Islamic prayers, food and literature.

At one such event a few years ago, he told visitors that instead of classifying humanity by religion, he sought to view people in more basic terms: "those with a loving heart and those with a hating heart."

"He had a wonderful heart," said Dr. Omar Alfi, a physician and former chairman of the Islamic Center of Southern California, who knew Hathout for 60 years. "His main point was that religion is love . . . that humans are either loving or hating people irrespective of their religion.

"That was always a very important point for him."

Hathout is survived by his wife of 56 years, Salonas; a daughter, Eba; a brother, Maher; and two grandchildren.

Burial will take place at 3 p.m. today) at Rose Hills Memorial Park, 3888 Workman Mill Road, Whittier 90601. Visitation with the family is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Islamic Center of Southern California, 434 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles 90020.

Elaine Woo
LA Times
elaine.woo@latimes.com

Inna lilah wa inna ilahi raji'un.
(From Allah we all come and to Him we return.)

A Trip Down Skid Row

Today some friends and I took the leftovers dinner bags from last night's CAIR Manzanar trip to Skid Row on San Julian St. in Downtown LA. I was nervous and anxious on our way there. I wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard much about this area of downtown. Never have I seen so much loss and agony in one place. Going up and down the street, there were countless men and women walking about aimlessly, sleeping on the sidwalk or lounging. Looking into the faces of the people I saw the pain and loss as well as the dilapitated compliant conditions around them.

Homelessness is a complicated issue. Many of these homeless people could just be down on their luck, mentally ill, veterans to a country that has forsaken them, some could be criminals and fugitives, others may not even be homeless! But nonetheless the state of these people and the condition in which they continue to persist and endure through should not and cannnot be ignored. It is a matter of humanity. To help the poor and defend the weak. Yet despite these grounded idealouges I found myself skwirmming at the sight. I am ashamed to find in myself the feelings of fear, a fear of this strange new world so distant from my conception of home, a fear of saftey, a fear of losing some insignificant material possession. It was a surreal experience. I had always heard of people going to places like this and saying they couldn't believe they were still in America, however you can never truely know what that means unless you go for youself and see it with your own eyes! It hits home taking over your greatest securities of saftey and the idea of the perfect American Dream.

We drove through the street once, surveying a good place to drop the food off. The street itself was only the beginning, all around the block, there were people minding their own business, just a block away from the polic station. After the first drive through we came around again and stopped at a Volunteer Center. There we dropped the 22 sandwich bags containing a turkey sandwich, chips, apple and cookies in a courtyard of more than 50 people. As soon as we dropped it, people swarmmed around the food, taking a bag and devearouing it.

Although we surely did not contribute to ending poverty in America, this experience has brought to surface feelings of my own ungratefullness and weakness. I pray to Allah(swt) to strengthen me as a person, to help me fear him alone and I seek his forgiveness and mercy, I ask Allah(swt) to alleviate the pains of poverty and to give guidance to those who have gone astray. I thank Allah(swt) for his bountiless blessings. As it says in the Qu'ran,

"He has completed His blessings upon you, in open and hidden ways" [31:20]

We can truley never be able to express ourselves in way that would do justice for the innumerable blessings we are each given. But we can say Alhumdullialah and be grateful when we have the opportunity to do so, especially for the greatest blessing of all, faith, something that many of the people of Skid Row have lost. I will definately be going again, if you'd like to join let me know.

Manzanar, Living in a Remebered Present

February 19th 1942, Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, began the forced relocation of thousands of West Coast Japanese Americans to ten concentration camps spread out across the the western continental states. Fueled by war time hysteria and fear following the cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan, Americans of Japanese ancestry were subjected to humiliating treatment and racist attitudes that brought into question their loyalty to America. As early as following the decimation of the American Pacific naval fleet, the FBI moved swiftly to solve the "Japanese Problem" by seizing and arresting "enemy" aliens. The newly created War Relocation Authority (WRA) was charged to create the camps that would eventually become the home of around 120,000 Japanese Americans, 2/3 of which were American born citizens. Of these camps, Manzanar once the prison to hundreds of families, has now been transformed into a site of remembrance, and a endearing reminder of American complancy in the face of injustice.

Located in the desolate and arid Ownes Valley, Manzanar was an enclosed one square-mile area of military style barracks, mess halls, and open fields, that housed over 10,000 people, under the survielence of eight permiemter guard towers. The Japanese were brought to the camps under the pretext that they were going for their own protection, however came to find the guard towers and armed soilders enclosing them behind barbed wires. They had become prisioners, guilty for the crime of being Japanese. What followed for many was three years of an isolated exisitence, void of freedom, lost in confusion and dispair, what followed was three years of unjust imprisonment.

On April 25th, Japanese Americans, Muslims and many other people made an annual pilgirimage to commorate this blotch in American History and to ensure "never again". The experience of the Japanese Americans offers invaluable wisdom to Muslim Americans living in a post 9/11 America, that are faced, as the Japanese did, with a constant unjust scrutinty and harrasment by the Government and general public. Talking with former camp attendees, a constant phrase surfaced, "fighting injustice". These powerful two words, resonate on so many levels and they remind me of a commonly quoted saying of the prophet:

Whosoever sees an evil deed, let him change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tounge; if he is unable to do so then with his heart, and that is the weakest of faith. (Muslim)

Having the opportunity to sit down and talk to former internees and learning their stories firsthand was remarkable in and byself. They discussed their own complancent nature at the time, and the post-camp experiences that finally led them to open up to younger generations. They talked about the humiliating expeirneces of encampent in retrospect and the degrading treatment. We also discussed the contemporary issues, Muslims find themselves in today, and idnetified parallel stories.

If we, as Muslims, as activists are to be the catalyst for social bettermant as mandated by the Qu'ran, it is critical that we learn and gain from the past expeirnces of others, and interanlize these struggles in our own, and to work in solidarity with other communities to find justice for the wrongs commited and being commited. In doing so we are taking a proactive approach and emboding the above mentioned hadith. Let us not be complacent with the injustices of today, let us ignore no more the parallel stories of the Japanese Americans and Muslim Americans and gain from what they can offer. Let us speak out against Abu Gharib, Guantanomo Bay, and the secret torture prisons around the world. Let us no longer see it acceptable to allow the FBI to infringe on our civil liberites in overt tactics.

Manzanar was an eye-opening experience that proves to be a reminder to continue to work against the injustices of our day, and find meaning in the past. There is so much to gain from going
.

Fort Minor- Kenji

Going to Manzanar this weekend. Reminded me of this song.

Flobots- Stand Up

Stand Up
Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Stand up We shall not be moved
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

We still don't understand thunder and lightning
Flash back to when we didn't fund the dam
Didn't fund the dam levee? No wonder man
Now our whole damn city's torn asunder man
Under water but we still don't understand
We see hurricane spills overrun the land
Through gaps you couldn't fill with a 100 tons of sand
No we still don't understand
We've seen planes in the windows of buildings crumbled in
We've seen flames send the chills through London
And we've sent planes to kill them and some of them were children
But still we crumbling the building
Underfunded but we still don't understand
Under God but we kill like the son of Sam
But if you feel like I feel like about the son of man
We will overcome

So Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Stand up We shall not be moved
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

I said Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
Except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you
We shall not be moved
Except by a system thats rotten through
Neglecting the victims and ordering the cops to shoot
High treason now we need to prosecute

[ Flobots Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
So Stand up
We shall not be moved
And we won't fight a war for fossil fuel
Its times like this that you want to plot a coup
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
So Stand up
We shall not be moved
Unless were taking a route we have not pursued
So if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

I said Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up

Now shake, shake
A Polaroid dream
nightmare negatives develop on the screen
We sit back and wait for the government team
Criticize they but who the fuck are we
The people want peace but the leaders want war
Our neighbors don't speak, peek through the front door
House representatives preach "stay the course"
Time for a leap of faith
Once More

Put your hands up high if you haven't abandoned
Hope that the pen strokes stronger than the cannon
Balls to the wall, Nose to the grindstone
My interrogation techniques leave your mind blown
So Place your bets lets speak to the enemy
Don't let em pretend that we seek blood
And who's we anyways Kemo Sabe?
Mighty warlord wanna-be street thug
a threat for a threat leaves the whole world terrified
blow for blow never settles the score
word for word is time need clarify
We the people did not want war

So Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Unless were taking a route we have not pursued
So if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

I said Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up