Notes from a pad in Oslo
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| The Padacia Notes from a pad in Oslo |
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20040629 The Shiites' Long Road to Power A.D. 632-680 _ The Shiite-Sunni Split When Prophet Muhammad died in 632, some (who would later become known as Shiites) believed his son-in-law and cousin Ali should be the first caliph, but he was passed over. Ali eventually became the fourth caliph, but was assassinated in 661. Two decades later, in 680, Ali's son Husayn was killed in a battle in Karbala when he challenged the seventh caliph, cementing the split between the sects. 1920-1932 _ Revolt Against the British With the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the end of World War 1, Britain and France carved up the Middle East. Control of Iraq went to Britain in 1920, and Shiites and Sunnis joined together briefly in rebellion. Britain crushed the revolt and installed a non-Iraqi, Faisal, as king, setting up a succession of Sunni governments. Viewing Shiite clerics as a threat, Faisal sought to lessen their power. Iraq gained independence in 1932 but stayed a monarchy. 1933-1957 _ Demands for Equality Denied adequate representation in government and the civil service, Shiites demanded reforms. Demonstrations broke out in Shiite areas and led to a failed revolt in 1935. Although more Shiites became educated and the monarchy gradually increased the number of Shiites in government positions, the Sunnis remained firmly in control. Hoping to gain greater political clout, many Shiites joined the underground Iraqi Communist Party. 1958-1978 _ Baaths Rise to Power The monarchy was overthrown by a military coup in 1958, and unrest ensued. The Baath Party took over the government in a 1968 coup and Saddam Hussein rose to power. To thwart the appeal of communism among Shiites, a group of Shiite leaders formed a political party, al-Dawa, to oppose the secular state. As the Baaths repressed religious practices and executed several Shiite clerics, both secular and religious Shiites were drawn to Islamic ideology. 1979-1989 _ An Islamic State Next Door The same year Saddam took over as president of Iraq, Iranians overthrew the shah and installed a Shiite theocracy. Fearing the emboldened al-Dawa's growing power, Saddam launched a campaign to abolish the party and in 1980 had its leader, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, executed. Many Shiites were deported or fled to Iran. Yet when Saddam invaded Iran in 1980, Iraqi Shiites fought against Iranian Shiites in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. 1990-2002 _ The Persian Gulf war Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, prompting U.S.-led forces to push Iraq back inside its borders. George H.W. Bush encouraged the Shiites and Kurds to revolt against Saddam but withheld military support. The uprising was violently put down by Saddam's forces. Tens of thousands of Shiites were killed and many more went into exile. The United Nations passed resolutions demanding that Iraq eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. 2003 _ U.S. Invasion of Iraq U.S.-led forces entered Iraq in March 2003 and overthrew Saddam's regime. The U.S. created an interim Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), made up of 25 representatives, including 13 Shiites. Two leaders of major Shiite families returned from exile and were assassinated. U.S. occupation forces faced continued opposition. The former leader was captured on 13 December 2003. 2004 _ Shiites Poised for Power The IGC signed an interim constitution despite the objection of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who wanted a charter approved by an elected national assembly. The United States returned sovereignty to the nation two days ahead of its 30 June schedule. Source: National Geographic Magazine | June 2004 
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 20040627 
Abandoned Places by Henk van Rensbergen
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20040626 Some Awful, Awful Puns There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Amal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his mum. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Amal. Her husband responds, "But they are twins - if you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal." Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused his dentist's Novocain during root canal work? He wanted to transcend dental medication. Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils. When she told me I was average, she was just being mean. This guy goes into a restaurant for a Christmas breakfast while in his hometown for the holidays. After looking over the menu he says, "I'll just have the eggs Benedict." His order comes a while later and it's served on a big, shiny hubcap. He asks the waiter, "What's with the hubcap?" The waiter sings, "O, there's no plate like chrome for the hollandaise!" A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He sidles up to the bar and announces: "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw." A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?" they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said, "I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer." A doctor made it his regular habit to stop off at a bar for a hazelnut daiquiri on his way home. The bartender knew of his habit, and would always have the drink waiting at precisely 5:03 p.m. One afternoon, as the end of the workday approached, the bartender was dismayed to find that he was out of hazelnut extract. Thinking quickly, he threw together a daiquiri made with hickory nuts and set it on the bar. The doctor came in at his regular time, took one sip of the drink and exclaimed, "This isn't a hazelnut daiquiri!" "No, I'm sorry," replied the bartender, "it's a hickory daiquiri, doc." A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat. He came across two men. One was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other was typing away on his typewriter. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writers cramp.
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20040623 
Spencer Tunick's General Assembly United Nations, NYC
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20040621 A Plethora Of Terms Playing The Venereal Game by Seth L. Haber Nitpickers tend to dwell upon small points that can easily be enlarged. We can make mountains out of minutiae (of which there are both equine and bovine varieties). To fellow colleagues and nitpickers, language can assume major importance. Impressed with the entropoid phenomenon of reducing language to the least possible number of words, (if you know what I mean) many of us mourn the passing of accurate nouns of multitude. Words like a "couple," a "few," and a "lot" have been applied to "all sorts of things," perhaps indiscriminately. In days of yore, huntsmen coined specific terms for groups of animals. Knowledge and use of these terms was a mark of cultured gentlemen, and they would test each other in what was known as "the venereal game." Now, having picked my nit, I offer to appreciative cognoscenti this compendium of proper nouns of multitude. First, to the birds. A group of small birds is a dissimulation. In general, birds are a flock, a congregation, a flight, a volery, or an aviary. The nightingales that sing you to sleep are a watch. Several rooks are a building or a clamor, hawks a cast, snipes a walk or a wisp, quail or larks a bevy, grouse a brood or a cover, pheasants a nide, and partridges a covey. Peacocks, as we all know, are an ostentation, a muster, or a pride. Plover are a stand. In flight, ducks are a team or a skein, a paddling on the water, or a brace if only a pair. Mallards, in particular, are a flush, a paddling, a sord, or a sute. Geese are a gaggle on the water, but a flight anywhere else. Herons are a siege, where'er they may be. Swans are a herd, a team, a bank, or a wedge. Eagles (bald or hirsute) are a convocation. Parrots are a flock. Cormorants are a flight. Ravens are an unkindness, and crows are a murder (most fowl?). Turkeys are a rafter. Starlings aggregate as a murmuration, larks an exaltation, turtledoves a pitying, and goldfinches a charm. Woodcock are a fall or flight and woodpeckers a descent. Any of the beasts can be referred to as a menagerie. However, it's the individual group names that help to make venery the best game in town, although in this sense at least "venery" refers to hunting and the pursuit of game animals. For hunters, elk are a gang, foxes an earth or a skulk, sheep and goats a trip, tribe, herd, or flock, lions a pride, sowse, sault, troop, or a flock, bears a sloth or a sleuth, and hares a drove, husk, or a down. Deer are a herd. For the gatherers, too many nouns of multitude are a plethora. Buffalo are a troop or a herd, wolves a pack or a rout, domestic pigs a doylt, litter, trip, or herd, wild swine a sounder, oxen a drove, and leopards a leap. Dogs come as a kennel or a brace; if wild, a pack. If you can't keep up the pace which, incidentally, is a group of asses, you may wish for a barren of mules, a herd or haras of horses (I know it may seem a contradiction, but there sometimes seems to be more horses' harases in this world than horses). Colts are a rag, and chamois are a herd, although I would have imagined it would be a rag of chamois and a herd of colts. Badgers are a cete or set, moles a labor, kangaroos a troop, and ferrets a feamying. Those cute little kittens are a kindle, cats a clouder, tomcats a clowder, cluster, or glaring, curs a cowardice, and apes a shrewdness. Boars are a singular and some humans are singularly boaring. Ferrets are a business, although I've heard it said that many are in business. As to the fishes in the water, they are generally a school, draught, haul, run, or a shoal. Commercial fisherman refer to them as a catch. Herrings are an army, perch a pack, sardines a family, jellyfish a smuck, and lox a mekhaya. Since not many of us are really all that fascinated by the insects (which aggregate as a swarming) or the snakes, I'll progress to man, himself, leaving the feminist issues of gender until later. Witches are a coven, boys a blush, girls a bevy or a giggle, beauties a galaxy, children a troop, butlers a drought, hermits an observance, consultants a maven, and some editors a pain. Worshippers are a congregation and angels a host. Thieves are a gang or a skulk, ruffians a horde, blackguards a mob, robbers a band, and some people a crowd. Physicians, no matter how small or large the group, are always in a class by themselves. Collectively, they are a college, and often a bore. In conventions, they may be a caution. In days of yore, they were an independence; now, they are a review of peers and an inadequacy of reimbursement. Medical students often are a disappointment, and interns a trial or a tribulation. Residents come by the rotunda, although I have heard some refer to a term of residents. Orthopoedists are a brace, osteopaths a joint, and podiatrists a parade. Dermatologists are a rash. Surgeons are an incision, a pack, or a stitch. Many an anesthesiologist is a gasser. Neurologists are a twitch or a bundle. Analysts are a dream, psychiatrists a complex or a detachment, virologists a strain, geneticists are a gene or a succession. Don't forget, there are some cytogeneticists who look great in designer genes. Immunologists are a complement, mycologists a tuft, parasitologists a cycle, and epidemiologists a plague or a vector. Gastroenterologists are a rumble or an eructation. Cardiologists may be a cor, a thrill, a flutter or a murmuration, diagnosticians a guess, hematologists a clump or a blast, and radiologists a ray, a screen, or a scan. Both electrocardiographers and electroencephalographers are a squiggle, and ultrasonographers are a sounding. Of course, gynecologists are a sexion or a smear, cytologists a cell, obstetricians a push or a labor, and pediatricians a nursery or a squall. Urologists must be a stream or a puddle. Otolaryngologists are a gaggle, otologists a herd, and ophthalmologists an ogle or a see. Plastic surgeons are a pride, a tuck, or an augmentation, and dentists a drill. Anatomists are a corps or a gross. Pathologists, those gentlemen and scholars, are a section or a tissue, some say "a lesion." Forensic pathologists are a slew or, like crows, a murder. Occasionally, hospital administrators and governmental bureaucrats may be a plague. Certainly, physicians are not unique in this respect. There must be a wealth of not-yet-coined terms describing other groups of scientists and professionals. How about a theory of physicists, a big bang or a cosmos of astronomers, a reaction of chemists, a slither of herpatologists, a wilt of horticulturists, or a testing of psychometricians (those souls who time men's tries)? What about a lynching of attorneys, a number of accountants, an assemblage of factory workers, a scurrying of gofers, a typing of secretaries, a fraud of auditing/accounting firms and a scam of corporate officers? (There is no end to this new version of the venereal game. Why not join in making up some of your own?) There are also proper specific terms for the males, females, and young of members of specific groups of the animal kingdom. A couple (mating pair) of ducks, known as a drake and a duck, may have a duckling. The group would still be known as a team or a skein, a paddling on the water, or a brace if only a pair, and a flush, a paddling, a sord, or a sute if they're mallards. But, let's move on. The offspring of Mr. and Mrs. Goose, a gander and a dame, is a gosling. A cob and a pen swan, may produce a little cygnet. The mating of a cock and a hen eagle produces an eaglet. Grouse produce a cheeper or a poult, hawks an eyas, partridges a squeaker; and cock and hen pigeons a squab. Of course, everybody knows that a peacock's mate is a peahen, and that a cock pheasant mates with a hen. Cock and a hen fishes may have fries: (no, that is not the origin of "a fish fry"). The successful mating of a jackass and a she-ass will produce a colt or a foal. A boar and a sow badger will produce a set, while a bear and a she-bear will beget a cub. A bull and a cow, whether buffalo, camel, or whale, produce a calf. Tomcats and queans produce a kindle of kittens. A stag or a hart red deer, mating with a hind, will produce a fawn or calf. A buck and a doe fallow deer produce a fawn and, if they are roe deer, a roe-buck and a doe produce a kid or a fawn. A billy-goat and a nanny-goat produce a kid. Ferrets are a dog and a bitch. A dog-fox and a vixen produce a cub. A buck and a doe hare produce a leveret, not a bunny rabbit. A dog and bitch produce a puppy. There is no such thing as "a hare of the dog," although the condition necessitating the search for one may be a bitch. A horse and a mare produce a foal which, in its teenage years, may harass its otherwise stable parents. Big cats, including the leopard and leopardess, the lion and the lioness, and the tiger and the tigress, all produce cubs. A dog and bitch otter also produce a cub. The boar and souse pig, if domestic (sounder, if wild) produce piglets. A hob and a jill polecat can produce kittens. Ram and ewe sheep produce lambs. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and I'll end this plethora of terms with the admonition that it may be important to know the appropriate names, "like, if you know what I mean," it's not sufficient just to recognize their existence. Thou shalt know the appropriate nouns of multitude, males, females, mating pairs, and the young, and that knowledge shall make ye free.
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20040611 
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20040603 Currently Reading...  The Life of Mahatma Gandhi by Louis Fischer First published in 1951, this is Louis Fischer's memorable biography of Mahatma Gandhi - the man who led the fight for Indian independence from British rule. Fischer was an American journalist who knew Gandhi well and understood his unique strategy of Satyagraha, or passive resistance, which earned him the admiration of millions throughout the world. On his death, Albert Einstein wrote: "Gandhi had demonstrated that a powerful human following can be assembled not only through the cunning game of the usual political manoeuvres and trickeries but through the cogent example of a morally superior conduct of life. In our time of utter moral decadence he was the only statesman to stand for a higher human relationship in the political sphere." The book begins with Gandhi's assassination. It takes a firm grip on you from the first page and never lets go. It is divided into three major sections - the first one deals with Gandhi's formative years and his struggle in South Africa, the second with Gandhi's involvement in the freedom struggle and the third with the pre-independence negotiations, partition and the end. Hidden between the chapters that relate the incidents and the timeline in Gandhi's life are the real gems - like the chapter on the Gita and the one on Gandhi's family relations. These, along with Fisher's comments on the major occurrences create a unique atmosphere in the book - almost as if you are walking with Gandhi through his life. First line:  At 4.30PM, Abha brought in the last meal he was ever to eat; it consisted of goat's milk, cooked and raw vegetables, oranges and a concoction of ginger, sour lemons and strained butter with juice of aloe.
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20040602 A Wall Through the Heart 28 Photographs by Larry Towell  In February 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague began hearings on the legality of Israeli Security Wall. Since the beginning of its construction in 2002, the wall has continued to isolate large tracts of Palestinian land and create disconnected and walled-in Palestinian cantons. In mid-April, 2004, U.S. President George Bush gave Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the green light to confiscate sections of the West Bank shaved off by the wall and by Jewish settlements. The wall, a massive concrete and wire construction, twists away from the green line and meanders through the private property of Palestinian farmers who had hoped this land would become part of their future state. It claims some of the most fertile land of the West Bank. The wall is complete with watchtowers, checkpoints, security gates, electronic fences, settler roads, military highways, and weapons, guaranteeing an infrastructure of ultimate military control. It is being built with all the shortsighted vision of military logic. The government of Ariel Sharon has been able to convince its citizens that the root cause of terror has nothing to do with the occupation, an occupation which the wall ratifies. To those unfortunate enough to be living inside these ghettos, it is an Apartheid barrier that will confine them to prison-like enclaves cutting them off from schools, hospitals, employment, their land, and each other. Brother will be cut off from brother, a mother from her children, a husband from his job. Rather than security, it will guarantee endless war. There is little doubt that the level of desperation and humiliation developing behind these encirclements will backfire in the faces of those who believe in the psychology of walls. If "good fences make good neighbours"... what do bad fences make?
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20040601 
Mozambican refugee, Malawi, 1988 Photo by Peter Turnley
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