Soul Searching

What i want for my loved ones!

2008-01-03T06:30:00.001-08:00

So iv done a New Years Resolution blog. I thought id blog about what id like 2008 to bring for my friends! So here goes!

R- My diamond in the rough, i hope 2008 brings u no more strife and a new beginning in a place far far away. May all ur hopes and wishes come true, and above all, may u experience a happiness second to none.

Gary - My most loyal of best friends, may this coming year bring you academic success. I hope u get to go to medical school for you would be an ace doctor. I hope that L and K continue to grow and shine, and that once and for all, you sort out the issues u have with K. You and me are two peas in a pod! I dont think i will ever find someone who puts the same value on things like i do. I really want you to find someone to love and cherish. You have a huge heart, and its about time u shared that with someone other than your little treasures L and K.

Shaistah - My other best friend. This past yr has been a bit taxing i know. I hope u make the right decisions and settle down with someone who will value you for the wonderful person i have come to adore. You have never failed to be there for me, and i hope that u find what you are looking for.

Matt - My new best friend! What a year 2007 has been for you huh? But through all the confusion i think u have found urself. It doesnt matter what other people think about u. You are my confidante, and u never judge me for my decisions. Throughout the last few months, when iv needed u the most, u have always been there for me. As u go through 2008 with ur new found self, i hope u know that im always here for u. I hope the issue becomes clearer to you and that u know which is the right way to go. Regardless of anything, i love you to death, and have learnt a lot through you. For you, i wish u happiness and love in the shape of a loving parner (or two :P) lol.....love, good health and happiness... and lots of it!

Ankur - My no1 on my myspace list. I havent met him, but dude is off the hook! He is the most musically talented person i know, and i always have a smile on my face when i listen to his songs! A great big pond separates us, but i know i will get to meet him in person this year. For Ankur-ji .. i hope that 2008 brings stability... in the work place and in his love life! I simply adore you, and love our chats, and i know i have found a friend for life in you! 2007 seemed somewhat troubled for u, but i think u have made it through the niggling doubts .. and 2008 is ur year, to finally put urself out there. Now that ur all buff, and will have a chick mobile soon enough... u will be unstoppable! Just dont forget me when ur all rich and famous!!!

Prince... on my myspace list as well.... u truly are a prince in my eyes. Another person i am yet to meet in person, but that will change in Feb. I know things havent worked out for u ... in the way u wanted them to. But i have so much respect and admiration for u! You are doing whats right for everyone else, and i just really really hope u make the right decision for you. I wish u and ur partner all the happiness in the world. I know u are a gem, and there are not many men like u out there. Ur wife to be is one lucky lady and u know u have a baby-sitter for life in me!!!! Uv always given me sound advice and even though right now ur thousands of miles away, u take time out to send me messages be it on xmas day or when u think i need a pick me up! True friendship is what i have found in u, and as ur true friend, i wish u and ur wife to be, a really long, happy and successful life together... and lots of babies!!!

Kam - mr softy! The gym king! Its been ages since i got to see you, and maybe we will get to go for dinner in a few days time. But either way, you are coming up to party Cardiff style very soon and i cant wait! I am where I am right now, partly because of you. Your constant faith in me has been humbling at times. I have ur back, for life dumbass! 2007 was a year of realisations for u, in a way. But u have fought back, and ur still strong! I hope 2008 brings u the marital bliss u deserve, and u dont get sacked for slacking behind the partners backs! lol. I wish u success in ur career, and ur website, and dont turn into the incredible hulk now that ur back on that body building vibe!!

J & P : my brothers from another mother! I dont know where i would be at times if i didnt have u guys in my life! Uv never ever let me down, and suprise me time and time again with how much u both really care. For J, i wish u success in 2008 with relationships. U r the most ambitious person i know, and u will succeed without a shadow of a doubt. But i know what u feel u lack, and so i hope u find that this year!

P : i hope that 2008 is the year u finally come out of the closet! haha! I wish that u and B make a good go of things. You both deserve to be happy and if i had to chose a partner for u, i couldnt find someone better myself! I also hope u get into one of the top 4, but again, if u dont, its not the end of the world, and u work so hard.. its only a matter of time b4 u succeed. I wish u tolerance to deal with matters at home, and i wish u all the happiness in the world.

My brothers : having me as a sister must be just the best thing u could ever ask for! Haha!

For my big B(r)OTHER : this year, i wish u health! You have such a big heart, and i know that once u tackle ur health, its only a matter of time b4 u will settle down. You are awesome with kids, and its about time u had a few sprogs of ur own. We havent talked that much lately, ur soooo far away, but this year i hope we do talk more because even though i dont say it much, i love u and adore u and look up to u. If i am half the person u are right now, id be very happy indeed!

For my pain in the ass likkle brother : U live minutes away from me and yet at times we can go for days without seeing each other. We are both crazy busy at times, but this year i hope u slow down a bit. I know ur training is everything to you, and i have no doubt that u will excel with ur badminton this year. Ur coach says he hasnt coached nyone who has the spirit and sheer determination you have. You are so dedicated it puts me and most people i know to shame. But i hope u remember to live a little too. Being an athlete, u pay a price. I know this. But still, life isnt all about 5am starts and brown rice and all the horrible stuff u tend to eat because of ur training. We are planning a holiday in easter, i hope u manage to take time off from work, and training so you can just enjoy life. I appreciate that badminton is ur life, and i have enormous respect for u, watching how u are constantly pushing urself, but every now and then, u need to eat some chocolate! Like u have been doing over xmas this year!

Harriett, my partner in crime! We have so many things we want to do this year, and i couldnt think of a nicer person to do them with! It doesnt matter how long we spend with each other, we never run out of things to say! 2007 has been similar for both of us, realising that we werent working at our full potential, and that we werent happy with many situations in our lives. But like i said to u earlier on today, 2008 is our year. For u, i hope that u find what u really want to do. If it is to stick with badminton, u will make it to the commonwealth games for sure. We have a pact to be in the gym at 6am everyday, and with the extra training u will be doing, u will go far! But if not, then we can run away to LA and live the life we want to! This coming year is all about putting plans into action. You will excel in whatever u put ur mind to! I hope that 2008 is less confusing and more fulfilling that 2007. And u can now eat chocolate! What a result!!!

Im sure that there are people i have left out, but in essence, to all my family and friends, everyone thats dear to me, i hope you all have a really prosperous 2008. It will be a bumpy ride for some, but the lows make us appreciate the highs, the failures will make us work harder to succeed, and what doesnt kill us, will only make us stronger.

Diplomacy and the taleban

2007-12-29T07:11:00.001-08:00

So Gordan Brown insists that Britain refuses to negotiate with the taleban. And then comes the news of the two diplomats accused of having dealings with the taleban having left Afghanistan.

The diplomats, one a high-ranking British UN employee, Mervyn Patterson, the other acting head of the EU mission in Afghanistan, Irishman Michael Semple, were both accused of posing a threat to national security.

What chance do a couple of diplomats have when dealing with the taleban? Were they right to even try and make a difference?

From good old Wikipedia

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics and culture. International treaties are usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national politicians.

So the diplomats were only doing their job. President Bush has repeatedly said that America was not willing to negotiate with terrorists and i think that is why people are up in arms about what happened.

The taleban are ruthless in endorsing their policies and are very harsh when it comes to dealing with people that dont abide by their regulations. They enforced the strictest interpretation of sharia law ever seen in the muslim world. The most important injustice of course was to women, by preventing them the right to education, and employment. I have read plenty of literature on the treatment of women by the regime imposed by the taleban, and was appalled that such inhumane situations actually took place. I hate the whole male dominated society belief that stems through countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Not everyone is as close minded, but they are no minority! But how can you enter discussion with such barbaric people? These people think that its ok to publicy execute people for sins such as adultery. I once watched a documentary that showed a group of women being led to the middle of a stadium, and made to kneel down in the middle of the ground, and then shot in the back of the head. All the while, men cheered. The stadium was full. These women would never have had a fair trial, and considering most things were sins for women anyways, it is not suprising that lots of innocent women were killed.

Back to the diplomats. They were both told to leave but still maintain that they were entering into peace talks with the taleban. The governor of the Helmand Province, which is where this meeting took place has said that the diplomats were warned not to engage in discussion with the taleban who are "fighting us and training suicide bombers". Then there is the issue of the $20,000 found on an afghan travelling with the diplomats. No explanation could be offered as to why this amount of money was with them.

At the end of the day, diplomats talk to diplomats. The taleban have no diplomats. If diplomacy was the answer, would we have gone to war in the first place? How can one reason with religious fanatics who believe in martyrdom? They have nothing to lose, because even with the worst, which is death, they believe, will take them to paradise. But no matter what, it was dialogue that eventually brought some sort of peace with the IRA in N Ireland. And going to war with Afghanistan is an option already exhausted. So its either dialogue or extermination, so to speak! Were the diplomats wrong in doing what they did? What if an Afghan diplomat went behind the British Governments backs to negotiate with the taliban or alqaeeda in Britain? If the meeting was indeed intended for peaceful negotiations, then that in itself is not a crime. However, you have to respect the wishes of the Afghan Government, whilst on their soil.

One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter. This isnt going to go away anytime soon. Negotiating with the taliban now seems frivolous as so many lives have been lost in the war that took place. Perhaps negotiating back then would have been a better way to go about it. That said, i personally, dont think that anyone from the west can negotiate with the taliban. They are terrorists, they are evil. Theres no 2 ways about it. You cannot reason with insanity guised as fundamentalism. These 2 diplomats, providing that the truth of the matter is that they were introducing peaceful dialogue (as its still not clear as to the details involved) were only doing their job. They shouldnt have gone against the expressed wishes of the Afghan Govt, and that is their only crime. As for the taliban, the war took care of a large majority of the problem, and now we are faced with smaller pockets of resistance. People lead their lives more freely, and women are no longer ostracised in society. Eventually though, one way or the other, the taliban must be wiped out, down to the very last soul, for there is no more room for them and their warped ideologies anymore.

"We all have to be concerned about terrorism, but you will never end terrorism by terrorizing others."
-- Martin Luther King III

Time for a fresh start!

2007-12-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

I deleted my last blog as so many things have changed in my life. So in a way im forgetting the past and moving on. So this is a very short, first post of hopefully, many to come! Its very late and i must get to bed, so i will write something soon!