A thousand stars

link to picture

...Stars like dreams that are so easy to touch and imagine at night
And when the day comes they are so hard to remember and realize
Suddenly scared of any kind of small change
Which would open more my mind and move me forward
Scared of uncertainty, failure and of being alone

Sudan... Yemen

Spent the last 3 weeks on a trip to Yemen, a journey which in the first week seemed like watching a film and not fully realizing being there, the last few days seemed already quite familiar (even though I could never get used to such huge differentiation between behavior towards a man and a woman), and when I got back home, civilization seemed irreal.
Similar feelings as when I got back from Tibet (and China in general) about 2 years ago. I remember I did not want to go back to the reality at least in my mind, I wanted to keep my memories of the different people, cultures and landscapes even in my bones for as long as possible. This time it was very similar. I closed my eyes and could see yellow and brown everywhere - sand, ground, dry fields and dusty roads. Sun and warmth on my skin. Rural places with such strong feelings of being in a forgotten land and in a far-away century. People crowding and smiling in bustling markets, full of pulsing life and vitality. So strong emotions from these pictures in my mind. One could think in poor countries people are just sad and there is not much going on, but on the contrary, with the relatively little they have (seen through my eyes), they have busy and rich lives. Could not forget going to bed at 7pm (5pm Czech time!) as there was no light and nothing much to do when camped in Socotra or Haraz mountains, and getting up at 5am with first beams of light or with the singing/shouting of muezzins in the cities. I remember wanting to stay awake the whole night and just stare at the millions of stars I could see in the sky. Having wishes when I saw a star falling down...
My two pieces of experience which I see now as most influential:
- for the first time in Arab world, encounter of the very different behavior towards women, the position of women in Arab world (black veil, black clothes, you can see just their beautiful eyes, minimum of women in the streets, just in markets but never in restaurants, tea houses, or never just hanging around like men... this was supposedly very different e.g. 20 years ago or when Yemen was divided)
- felt like a trip to middle ages or as my friends pointed out, in some cases to neolit.. very rural, people living from simple things, village life surrounded by goats, donkeys, hens, cows, camels, wild dogs demanding food, everyday pasture, crop yelding, sports, kat chewing by men, cow dry excrement collecting etc. Need to say, also a very different political system...
Also one inspiration - in Zabid town in Tihama region, we went to a female workshop where girls were restauring wooden doors or they were wood carving windows, painting etc., this workshop was run by a German development organization called GTZ.de and they have quite many projects in developing countries. I would like to get in touch with them and find out more how to set up something similar, e.g. to help women to develop their skills and get a profession.
I browsed for some Yemen info on the internet and found this blog by an Australian who travelled this region and around. From his page, there is also the picture below, from Sudan, quite stunning (firstly I thought it was from Ethiopia which was just a stone's throw away from Yemen and it was quite tempting... so at least we went for a real Ethiopian coffee serverd by Eritreans in Sana'a..).
Yemen pictures perhaps another time...

fespaco - film festival in burkina faso

21ème édition du Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) de 28 février au 07 mars 2009, plus d'info sur le site oficiele. Ausssi sur le bbc (2005 seulement).

Blogos

Three interesting blogs - The Life of KatusHqa (ex-colleague from Sun), and some other blogs - Mostly Martha and The Happy Haven - I found searching for some inspiration for my new blog which might have something in common with zebra crossings...

Georgia

Read in DemocracyNow! (Wed 11/26):
Ex-Georgian Diplomat: U.S. OK’d Georgian Attack
A former Georgian diplomat has publicly testified that the United States gave Georgia the green light earlier this year to start a war against Russia in the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The diplomat [Erosi Kitsmarishvili] told a parliamentary hearing in Georgia that Georgian authorities were responsible for starting the conflict. For months U.S. and Georgian officials have blamed Russia for starting the hostilities.

Bývalý gruzínský diplomat: USA souhlasila s útokem Gruzie
Bývalý gruzínský diplomat veřejně vypověděl, že USA daly Gruzii svolení k rozpoutání války proti Rusku v souvislosti s vyhlášením nezávislosti Abcházie. Erosi Kitsmarišvili uvedl během své výpovědi v gruzínském parlamentu, že zodpovědnost za započetí konfliktu nesou gruzínské orgány. USA a Gruzie již několik měsíců obviňují Rusko ze vzniku konfliktu.

Afghanistan

Read in DemocracyNow! (Wed 11/26):
Karzai Calls on Timeline To End War in Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the international community to set a timeline to end the war in Afghanistan. Karzai said: “This war has gone on for seven years, the Afghans don’t understand anymore, how come a little force like the Taliban can continue to exist, can continue to flourish, can continue to launch attacks.” Karzai also accused the U.S. and other foreign countries of creating a "parallel government” in parts of Afghanistan.

Kazraj požaduje časový plán na ukončení války v Afgánistánu
Afgánský prezident Hamíd Karzaj vyzval mezinárodní společenství k vytyčení časového harmonogramu na ukončení války v Afgánistánu. Karzaj uvedl: "Tato válka trvá již 7 let, Afgánci jí již vůbec nerozumí, jak je možné, že tak malá síla jako Talibán může stále existovat, nadále bujet a provádět útoky." Karzaj obvinil dále USA a další cizí státy z vytváření "paralelních vlád" v částech Afgánistánu.

Wallerstein o Obamově vítězství

Na webu Res publica článek od Wallersteina - Obamovo vítězství - strach a naděje, přeložený Rudolfem Převrátilem.

Outrageous!

Read in DemocracyNow! (on Fri 11/21):

Judge Orders Release of Five Guantanamo Prisoners

A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo. US District Judge Richard Leon said the government’s evidence linking the men to al-Qaeda was not credible, because it came from a single, unidentified source. The men have been held for seven years.

Soudce nařizuje propuštění pěti vězňů na Guantanámu

Federální soudce nařídil okamžité propuštění pěti Alžířanů držených na Guantanámu. Okresní soudce Richard Leon uvedl, že vládní důkazy spojující tyto muže s Al-Kajdou nejsou věrohodné, protože pochází z jediného a neověřeného zdroje. Muži jsou zadržováni 7 let.

Third Party Candidates

In main stream media not much discussed are the Third Party Candidates (another link here). Many interviews with them can be found e.g. on DemocracyNow!, they also have quite many youtube videos.
The most interviewed in alternative media are:

Ralph Nader - Independent
Bob Barr - Libertarian
Cynthia McKinney - Green Party
Charles Baldwin - Constitution Party

A full list of them e.g. here.
Pic taken from rfi.fr (a rather ironic title juxtaposed the pic :( ).

Ralph Nader, Ron Paul (Republican) and Bob Barr.

Oceán v kapce rosy

yunnán

Jediné slovo může změnit něčí osud.

Žádné slovo není zcela nevinné. Správná řeč je úsporná. Nač zvětšovat utrpení tohoto světa? Je třeba, je-li to možné, vztahy mezi lidmi zlepšovat - nelhat, neosočovat, nepomlouvat. Mluvit o někom není moudré. Mluvíme-li o třetí osobě ve zlém, můžeme jí uškodit, ale když ji příliš vychvalujeme, nevážíme si sdostatek osoby, s níž hovoříme. Měli bychom naopak povzbuzovat, utěšovat, správně uvažovat, zklidňovat a hlavně se usmívat. Snažit se probouzet touhu po duchovních věcech. Podle buddhistického učení vnáší správná řeč do tohoto světa o něco víc míru, moudrosti a štěstí.

Henry Brunel - Oceán v kapce rosy - zenové příběhy
Z kapitoly "Jak se urozený muž stal poustevníkem"

Literárky: O nevoličích v USA

"Volby v současné podobě nezpůsobují změnu poměrů, pouze střídání mocenských elit. Poměry se mění v závislosti na náladě a názorové konstelaci, která ve společnosti vzniká. I když se tedy prezidentu Obamovi podaří prosadit nějaké zásadní změny, bude to zásluhou společenského tlaku, případně kampaní občanských nebo lobbistických skupin."

Mark Cooper (am. novinář) v rozhovoru pro Literárky

...V r. 2000 byla v USA volební účast málo nad 50%, tj. nevolilo více než 120 mil. oprávněných voličů. ...Cooper a další nevoliči poukazují na neovlivnitelnost změn ve 'velkých' volbách, jako např. prezidentských. Z nevoliče se stává volič, pokud jde o volby na místní n. federální úrovni.

Palestinian Film Festival in Toronto

Just watched on The Real News an invitation to Toronto Palestine Film Festival. It is not so frequent that there would be Palestinian Film Festivals, so let's see what's there..! (Links to other festivals here or here.)

DemocracyNow: Iraq Vets Lead Antiwar March to Dem. Convention

Iraq Vets Lead Antiwar March to Dem. Convention

Outside the convention, thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Denver to call on Democrats to back an immediate US withdrawal from Iraq. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War led the march to the perimeter surrounding the Pepsi Center. A tense standoff ensued as police threatened to pepper spray and forcibly disperse the crowd. But the rally ended peacefully after Obama staffers agreed to meet protest leaders. In addition to an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, the demands also included paying reparations to the Iraqi people. The march began at a concert by the band Rage Against the Machine.

B’Tselem - 'Shooting Back' Project

"I am shooting back"

B’Tselem is an Israeli human rights organization that monitors human rights in the Palestinian Territories and namely violations against Palestinians. I heard about them when watching news on DemocracyNow on Aug 1st 08 and there was a talk about civic activity of making videos at demonstrations which later help demonstrators when accused of some misconducts and later sued (e.g. at the Republican Convention 4 years ago and now preparing for Democratic Convention in Denver etc.). These people created organizations called I-Witness Video and the founder Eileen Clancy talked about a recent case when a cyclist was pushed off his bike by a by-standing policeman during 'Critical Mass Ride'.

This was compared also to another similar project - "Shooting Back", which is in general about giving cameras/video cameras to people whose rights are infringed to empower them and talk about their life conditions via camera.

So I looked up "Shooting Back" and found another DemocracyNow link leading to an interview with a film maker from the B'Tselem organization.

Going to B'Tselem pages, it is interesting to see videos, but also reports on Palestinian abuses and also the death toll of the conflict (from 9/2000-6/2008).

So for example, there were:
4748 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces
45 Palestinians killed by Israeli civilians
236 Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians
244 Israeli security force personnel killed by Palestinians
577 Palestinians killed by Palestinians

I was surprised to see the number of Palestinians killed by Palestinians - very high! Why? Mainly killed in exchange of gunfire..., also in clashes between Fatah and Hamas... Among the victims of Israeli security forces, they were very often young guys who were exchanging fire with them; and also very often just innocent people being in the wrong place where an attack took place... Read more on their site, interesting with all the names given. (Finally there are names.)

What was also shocking is the statistics on death "following an infringement of the right to medical treatment in the Occupied Territories". 6 this year; 15 last year....


P.S.
"Shooting Back" as I read on another web site was originally started as a project in the early 1980s when UPI (United Press International) photographer Jim Hubbard was documenting lives of homeless people and children always wanted to look through his camera, he realized that they could document their world themselves. In 1989 Hubbard created the Shooting Back organization teaching photography to children at risk. "The name was coined from a spontaneous comment by one of the young participants in the program: when asked why he was photographing his own world, the homeless child responded, 'I am shooting back'."

Cours complets

J'etais vraiment en retard pour me decider et renseigner pour les cours en Lausanne. Ils commencent dans deux semaines et bien sur, sans preinscription, on n'est plus possible de s'inscrire. Ca veut dire que je dois apprendre moi meme de nouveau et je dois penser quoi est-ce que je vais faire pendents mes 3 semaines de vacances..! ...Pourquoi? J'ai 34 ans et je suis tan 'undecided'!

Les cours 2008 du Cours de vacances sont tous COMPLETS. Il n'est plus possible de s'inscrire. Nous vous remercions de votre compréhension et vous prions de consulter notre site internet : www.unil.ch/cvac pour les dates de notre prochain cours en hiver 2009.

Le français et moi

"Aimer, ce n'est pas se regarder l'un l'autre,

c'est regarder ensemble dans la même direction."
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Avant que je decide où est-ce que je vais voyager, je peux practiquer un peu de français moi même par écrivant les blogs comme cette ci. J'ai essayé un test aujourd'hui ici et le résultat est niveau B2. Ce qui est vraiment ennuyant est le fait que ca fait déjà 10 ans que j'ai visité Grenoble pour apprendre le français, et j'etais déjà habitué a parler et ecrir, mais aprés plusiers ans que je n'apprennais rien, j'ai oublié tout. C'est un fait et ce n'est pas grave, c'est seulement fatiguant et ennuyant de devoir suivre le même chemin de nouveau. (Sans dire que la meme situation peut etre pour les autres langues que j'apprens.)

En tout cas, quelques expressiones interessantes de mon excercice d'aujourd'hui:

Ne pas avoir l’air dans son assiette = Etre préoccupée, soucieuse
Avoir la pêche = Etre en forme
Ça fait des lustres = Cela fait très longtemps
Mettre les voiles = S'en aller / partir
Coûter les yeux de la tête = Coûter très cher / Etre trop onéreux
Redonner un coup de fouet = Etre de nouveau stimulée
Avoir du pain sur la planche = Avoir beaucoup de choses à faire
Couper la poire en deux = Faire un compromis

Et quelques d'autres:

poser un lapin = nepřijít na schůzku
mettre les pieds dans le plat = říct něco, co jsme neměli říct, co se nehodí
il pleut des cordes = lije jako z konve
avoir un coup de foudre = zamilovat se
tomber dans les pommes = omdlít
avoir la gueule de bois = mít kocovinu
avoir la peche = být ve formě
il fait un froid de canard = opravdu velká zima
ne pas avoir les yeux dans sa poche = být všímavý
avoir les jambes en coton = sotva se držet na nohou /
To have legs like jelly, to feel weak at the knees

Photos d'ici et d'ici. Les expresiones ici et ici

Lausanne ou non

C'est de mes vacances - le premier plan c'etait d'aller en Suisse a Lausanne pour voir mes amis superbs (Lea et Olivier) et pour apprendre le francais pour 3 semaines. J'etais sur de ca. Je dois aller car je veux avancer mon francais. Et maintenent - mon petit ami va en Turquie avec ses amis pour deux semaines et puis on pourrait voyager ensemble - en Turquie ou en Armenie ou bien en Iraq (c'est pas claire deja). Et comme toujours, je voudrais les deux choses! Prendre decisions etait assez dure pour moi les derniers semaines, mois.

Women Dreams

Les reves de femmes. J'ai trouve les sites par hazard (comme d'habitude) - j'ai cherche quelques nouvelles pour traductions en tcheque de DemocracyNow nouvelles. Et oui, j'ai trouve quelques traductiones - ici sur a-punk.cz et aussi l'archive. Et l'archive donne un lien comment on peut creer son pages de web. Alors j'ai suivi le lien et il y avait entre autres chauses autres liens recommendes (comme d'habitude). Et ce que tirait mes yeux, c'etait la page qui s'appele "Hrníčkové nadělení" (comme "Les étrennes de petit pots"...). Et j'etais courieuse voir que c'etait! La page etait assez drole - il y avait les photos de dizaines de petit pots, en coulours et formes varies, d'origines differentes etc. Il y avait trois generations de femmes qui sont represente la bas. Premierment, la petit fille Maruška, qui a la photo sur la premiere page et qui introduit Les etrennes de petit pots. Puis il y a la mere de Maruška (qui je crois est l'auter de cette page) - elle est represente par les dizaines de pots avec points (61 exemplaires) et apres aussi la grande mere avec les pots avec coeurs (170 exemplaires!).

Mais, bien sur, ce n'est pas tout! On peut voir que la mere est vraiment active (et comment dire ... typiquement feminine ... elle fait les travails creatives assez typiques pour les femmes [tcheques ou en general]) - elle s'interese aux autres choses aussi - elle fait les "ruční práce" (elle cree son oeuvres en main) comme "drátkování" (nettoyage à la paille de fer), "háčkování" (broderie au crochet ou travail au crochet), "madeirové kraslice" (oeufs de madeira?), "perníčky" (pain d'épice) etc.

Mais, bien sur, ce n'est pas tout! Il y a autres liens recomendes (comme toujours), alors j'ai suivi les autres liens et j'ai suivi autres liens de ce autres liens. Et comme ca, j'ai trouve pages d'autres femmes qui revent et qui creent les chauses extraordinaires - soi son jardins qui sont toutes en fleures (et on peut voir dizaines de photos de jardins et de fleurs), soi les oeuvres de main creatives comme "home accessories" - les choses qui font interieurs et exterieurs de ses maisons plus belles et chalereuses.

Ce qui me plaisait le plus s'etait la page de Petra (oui, c'est simpa parce que ella porte la meme nom comme moi) ici. Les photos ici sont a elle aussi. Et si on a beaucoup de temps, on peut continuer et lien par lien regarder les millions de photos sur Picassa. Mais moi non, ca suffit pour moi! Je vais travailler sur mon jardin pour pouvoir montre mes photos de reves et de femme ideal! ;) (Comme ici. ;) )

PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.
nimh

On the 8th of July 2008, US vet from Iraq war, Joseph Dwyer (31), died of overdose on a computer cleaner aerosol. As all the newspapers note, Dwyer became famous when a picture of him was taken when he was carrying a child into safety in the first weeks of Iraq war.

His death "has highlighted the neglect many American veterans believe they face once they return home. (...) It emerged that Mr Dwyer's post-war civilian life was also no different to that of many fellow veterans. For years, he struggled against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug abuse, unemployment and marital breakdown. (...) Police in several states had been dealing with Mr Dwyer for several years as he suffered from violent delusions that he was being hunted by Iraqi soldiers." More here and here.

US Department of Veteran Affairs:
What is PTSD?

Returning from the War Zone: A Guide for Families of Military Personnel
An Overview of the Mental Health Effects of Serving in Afghanistan and Iraq

Iran

What do we know about Iran’s nuclear program? We do not know that they have a nuclear weapons program. You know, we had the NIE back last November that told us they had actually suspended important aspects of the nuclear weapons program back in 2003. And nobody has said that they have reconstituted those aspects of the weapons program since then. So the basis for any kind of attack, either by the US or by Israel or by anybody, just doesn’t exist under international law, just as it didn’t exist back in 2003 against Iraq.

Helena Cobban
JustWorldNews.org
blogger, Quaker activist and veteran journalist; on June 23, 2008

And a famous speech by Gravel:

...This is Fantasy land--we're talking about ending the war [in Iraq]; my God, we're just starting another war! There was a vote in the Senate today--Joe Lieberman, who authored the Iraq resolution, has offered another resolution, and it's essentially a fig leaf to let George Bush go to war with Iran.
I want to congratulate Biden & Dodd for voting against it, and I'm ashamed of you, Hillary, for voting for it. You're not going to get another shot at this--we invade and they're looking for an excuse to do it. And Obama was not even there to vote.

Mike Gravel

On Sept 26, 2007; New Hampshire Democratic Debate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3gQfz8GC0o

And yet...

CLINTON [answering to Gravel]: My understanding of the revolutionary guard in Iran is that it is promoting terrorism. It is manufacturing weapons that are used against our troops in Iraq. It is certainly the main agent of support for Hezbollah, Hamas and others, and in what we voted for today, we will have an opportunity to designate it as a terrorist organization, which gives us the options to be able to impose sanctions on the leaders.

And yet...
Lieberman: Bomb Iran If It Doesn't Stop
Lieberman: Iran strike should be considered
Írán se připravuje na válku, už nechal vykopat 320 000 hrobů
New Yorker: USA chtějí do konce roku připravit útok na Írán
Senátor McCain před voliči zpíval: Bombardujte Írán
Bush: zpráva, že Írán bombu nevyvíjí, je varovným znamením
Hersh: Congress Agreed to Bush Request to Fund Major Escalation in Secret Operations Against Iran