I am a Forester – grow forests, I harvest them, I have lived among them. While I grew up in a major American city, I have lived in small rural towns at the end of the road for most of my career. I know {or knew} what goes on in the small towns I lived in, I know what goes on in my profession, When I watch the news, and find what they report, about the things and people I know something of, I find it so far removed from the reality that I see that I cannot trust what I hear reported.
Living in the small communities, I also learned to recognize what I see. I also worked as an EMT on an ambulance, because my industry is rife with accidents and injuries. I once saw a man, homeless, on the streets, on a night when the temperature was -40°. I am sad to say that I did nothing for the man that evening. The next day I transported him to the hospital in the ambulance for injuries received from exposure, injuries he did not recover from. When I see something I must assume it is for the purpose of my taking action. Another man’s injury is not for my enlightenment, but is a thing which requires action.
I know that violent things are being visited upon the peoples of Iraq. But I do not even listen to the news anymore, so I do not know, I do not see what is happening.
I believe I will be held accountable for what I do about what I see. I cannot talk to Maliki or Sadr or Bush or Petraus. I can talk to you. I can listen. I can act upon what I see and hear.
I am no particular fan of politics. The most boring days of my life were spent listening to my father in laws family take every turn of events anywhere in the world and relate it back to Lithuania regaining its freedom from the Soviets. An earthquake in the middle of the pacific ocean could be described in how it would affect Lithuania’s escape from the Soviets. The only finger lifted to do anything was the one that read the Lithuanian newspaper dedicated to inspiring more talk about politics followed by massive doses of inaction and more blather.
But having lived on the border and worked with peoples of two languages and multiple heritages, I am excited about dealing with people. I am an American and know who I am. I am not necessarily here to help, but first to listen and question. When the moment arrives, I will act. The moment is not yet ripe for me and I intend to hasten it.
Abujassim, I do not know if I can satisfy your question completely. I have a sense of what drives me here to listen. My first attempts to communicate were by telephone. I determined to call Iraqis directly and do what I have just said, listen and question. Well, there is no telephone directory to give me a number, ad at the time there was not very much I the way of a working telephone system.
I have tried various forms of internet contact – penpals, chat rooms etc. All I got from that was 72 proposals of marriage. So far no one has proposed to me at Iraq4u, so I feel somewhat safe here, and inspired by the dialogue.
Forstier
< Message edited by forstier -- 4/9/2008 4:28:27 PM >
thank u 4 yr reply. yes the reality is we r only normal ppl and we can not change the world but we can try 2 understand from each other wat is hapening in our countrys & this is important. i never been 2 usa. in fact i never been out of iraq till 2006 & i am 36 yrs old! the internet make me want 2 learn about every thing & i try 2 do this by speaking 2 ppl from diferent parts of the world on this types of forums. i am happy 2 meet u & exchange these ideas & i think it is good 4 2 normal men from iraq & usa to have this chance 2 comunicate & get out all that we feel. i hope we can continue 2 do this & i hope other iraqis will be incorage 2 do the same.
b4 i go i want 2 tell u that in my country u can have 4 wifes. i have many cosins so if u need anoither wife pls tell me.
I very much thank you for your kind offer but I must refuse for the moment for several reasons. Number one is that my current wife, whom I love dearly, will have nothing to do with any more wives in the home.
The second reason is far more compelling. I am not capable of dealing with one mother in law much less more than that number, and my wife’s sister {the only way I can see to avoid more mother in laws} is more like her mother than I could bear. Polygamy seems such a dream to be chased by a covey of mother in laws
In the area I live it is estimated that there are about 10,000 or so people in polygamous families, and while it is illegal, it is not prosecuted.
And yes I agree it is vital that we talk, and learn something of each other. I am still amazed that it is as difficult as it is to find a forum such as Iraq4u in this time where internet communication flourishes.
Regards to you.
Forstier
< Message edited by forstier -- 4/9/2008 6:37:02 PM >
A Pleasant day to you both my friends, firstly, AbuJassim I am Single , and I am looking for a nice Iraqi girl, could you please help me with this!!
My Dear Friend forestier, it give a great pride and hope to see an American person like you who is educated & wise to see other people's problems, pleasure to have you as a friend.
The second reason is far more compelling. I am not capable of dealing with one mother in law much less more than that number, and my wife’s sister {the only way I can see to avoid more mother in laws} is more like her mother than I could bear. Polygamy seems such a dream to be chased by a covey of mother in laws
i think u r right abt this part. it is like a bad dream 2 have so many mothers in law. better 2 have 1 wife & less headache.
A Pleasant day to you both my friends, firstly, AbuJassim I am Single , and I am looking for a nice Iraqi girl, could you please help me with this!!
My Dear Friend forestier, it give a great pride and hope to see an American person like you who is educated & wise to see other people's problems, pleasure to have you as a friend.
Regards
come 2 iraq & u will not b single 4 long. there r 2 moany women who will love 2 marry u & yr pasport.
I appreciate the kind welcome and hope to live up to your expectations – I am also interested in learning more. It seems that in every endeavor I’ve undertaken, I work at it until I think I must be an expert. Then I realize that I have only just gained the ability to ask questions.
Abujassim:
It seems that one thing all cultures have in common is that otherwise mature, self-confident men are vexed beyond belief by their mother-in-laws. My wife’s mother is the last of our parents alive. When she was a teen ager, she escaped her country through German front lines, eventually emigrating to the US. Having escaped control of the Nazis, she made a vow to live longer than any of the Nazis then alive. I know that somewhere there is a World War II era Nazi still living for my Mother in law is still alive and kicking.
forstier: Hahaha that is so true, mothers in law and our dislike of them is something that unites all men throughout the world. I guess my dada is lucky to have a mother-in-law like my grandma who is very kind, but even he can't resist the odd joke or two about her now and then lol. I'm really not looking forward to me marrying lol.
Abujassim: Hahaha very true my friend , but it is hurtfull to see probably the most dignified girls in the middle-East, who play most 'hard to get' be lowered to such levels due to the despiration and unbearability of the situation in Iraq.
< Message edited by NeoBabylonian -- 4/11/2008 1:00:33 PM >
Iraq dinar is about to be revalued.Log on to iraq investors forum and you can read the transcript from the governor of the central bank.A couple days ago he announced it.The people of iraq need to start gathering dinar and dump their dollars.They can become rich over night.
Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Have I missed something here? Mark please LOB is one of the most respectable men I ever met, and you my friend got all wrong.
We had in the past many idiots came on here to destroy this website, they pretended to be muslims, pretended to care about Iraq, they could hardly speak a word with spiting out hate. And the good people in this forum won at the end of the day. So when you became a memeber, it was all nice and sweet for you. God bless you.
Talking about Arak, is it true it's one of the most potent alcohols, with over 80% (some I heard 90% and up) alcohol? How does it taste like, and where can I taste a bit in the UK? Thanks you all.
Neo. I think in the UK the only arak available is Lebanese. Try Arak Toma. In the meantime heres a strange story that might interest you and Calm: Alcohol fatwa sparks controversyA prominent Egyptian cleric has created controversy by issuing a fatwa that says tiny amounts of alcohol are permissible in Islam. Yusuf al-Qaradawi's fatwa says a level of 0.5% is allowed, whereas most Muslims would say alcohol of any quantity is banned. Sheikh Qaradawi was recently refused entry to Britain as the UK government said his views could spark violence. He issued his fatwa in response to a question about high energy drinks. 'Distorted' Sheikh Qaradawi is talking about tiny quantities of alcohol - equivalent to about one-eighth of a unit of alcohol. He ruled there was no religious ban on consuming drinks with a minute amount of alcohol in them if it was formed naturally through the process of fermentation. He quoted the rule derived from the sayings of the Prophet that if drinking a lot of alcohol makes you intoxicated then drinking a little is also forbidden. Sheikh Qaradawi argued that any person who consumed a large amount of high energy drink would not become intoxicated, therefore they were permissible, even though they contained tiny amounts of alcohol. But this logic has not gone down well. The editor of a newspaper in Qatar, where Sheikh Qaradawi lives, complained that the sheikh had just stirred up a controversy that everyone could have done without. The editor said the fatwa from a cleric of the status of Sheikh Qaradawi would inevitably be misunderstood and distorted to suggest he was giving permission to Muslims to drink alcohol. Sheikh Qaradawi, who is a well-known TV figure, views himself as a moderate voice of Islam.
Interesting article LOB, enjoyed reading it. I myself have to disagree with him, Islam is Islam and it clearly says no alcohol, so 0.5% will later become a 1% then that become a 5% and Beer is suddenly permissable. What I was taught at Islam school that I used to go to every saturday was that alcohol as a substance is not allowed, not as amount in drinks. However, like pork, at any amounts it is permissable if medicinal etc...
Like many of the Arab stars and celebrities Egypt seems to be spewing and flooding the Arab world with, I fear this guy's primary goal is sensationalism, this time to either to please the extremists in the west who want as liberal a form of Islam as possible, or to falsely paint Islam as a 'cool', 'hip' and 'with it' religion to fool the less religious muslims to start praying five times a day while drinking alcopops. Egyptian media sensationalism and hypocrisy at it's finest. Next thing is never praying or eating pork is OK - hell, even round up the atheists to increase the numbers lol.
Oh, and by the way, has anyone seen that Egyptian version of the 1983 Classic Scarface? I really haven't laughed so hard for many comedies...
But then again, doen't the yeast in bread produce alcohol, most of which does not escape and condenses as the bread cools? I'm sure many other things that we never thought of have minute amounts of alcohol in them, I'm not really sure how much it compares, but most likely a lot less than 0.5%.
Posts: 462
Score: 11 Joined: 10/26/2004 From: California Status: offline
Guys, I apologize for my absence, I was buried in mid-term exams, Now I am in what we call “Spring Break”, and it seems to me that this thread, among others, have run a muck. As I mentioned before, any discussions, attacks, bad-mouthing, and other forms of finger pointing against any “I repeat” any religion, will not be tolerated. All posts that include any mention of religious differences or conducts, will be deleted.
Consider this as a final warning. Any deviation from our “rules of conduct” will be confronted with the harshest reactions ever, that includes the banning of the rule breaker from logging on to the site. I might have missed some of the posts while cleaning this thread, but rest assured, more will be deleted.
Please, do not reply to those outsiders, they are here to create chaos. Bush, and his goons have done enough damage to us Iraqis. We neither want to create more divisions and hatred between us, nor we should have the same "war criminal" legacy as the Bush family. All you have to do to protest is to send me a “PM” and I will take care of it myself. I will be away for a few more weeks, once I get back from my spring break, I will be subjected to more brutal exams, hence heavy studying. PS. Wish me luck, and god bless you all.
_____________________________
God bless the whole world, No exceptions. الدين لله و الوطن للجميع
Good luck Harry. We all know how much energy your gonna need on your spring break. It must be terribly hard work salivating over all those bikini clad beauties on South Beach.
Seriously best of luck bro.
_____________________________
"As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others" - Nelson Mandela
Posts: 462
Score: 11 Joined: 10/26/2004 From: California Status: offline
Thanks LOB
Here in southern California, we have many beaches, each with its own distinct caliber of beauties in thongs and topless varieties. However, as a married man with children, I might have to take a break from home too.
Now lets get back to talking about (حليب سباع ) and smugling, because that is what students have to do, smugling alcohol to the beaches, where no alcohol signs are all over the place.
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. However, as a married man with children, I might have to take a break from home too.
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