INVERSION.

"When Hillary Clinton suggested recently that, were she president, an attack on Israel by Iran would result in the "total obliteration" of Iran, some recent visitors to that country cringed.As they did when President George W. Bush likened talking to Iran or Hamas with "appeasement."Lynda Howland, Tom Moore and Judy Bello have all visited Iran within the last year — Howland, in March — under the auspices of the Fellowship of Reconciliation [FOR], one of the country's oldest peace groups.(...)Howland cites Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who says, "Dialogue has to take place at three levels: at the level of people and civil society, among members of parliament of both countries, and by heads of government of both countries."People-to-people conversation is part of the process of building (or rebuilding) bridges."There's no way anyone in Iran wants to go to war with anyone," says Bello, a computer programmer from Webster, who visited the country in December.Meeting with ordinary Iranians in the streets and shops of Tehran does not provide instant insight into what the government may do. But I do believe there is value in these people-to people missions.They can help Americans understand that there is more to Iran than President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The country is modern, with a growing professional class, including women. There is a blend of religious and secular culture.There is a deep appreciation for art, which is everywhere in public."And they revere poets, not movie stars," Bello says.Indeed, says Howland, on any day, you can see Iranians visiting the tomb of Hafez, a legendary 14th-century Persian poet. "People gather every night," she says, "and they read poetry and place flowers on the grave."It is difficult to listen to people speak from the heart, to eat with them, to visit their homes, to hear them express their hopes for their children — and still see them as enemies. That's what people-to-people missions are all about."

via sufism and world report.
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The powerful and the powerless leave me shaking my head.

The powerless feel to get the things, whatever they are, these things are they must destroy themselves and as many others possible. We think they are crazy.

Funny though, when some poor deluded person, usually young blows themselves to bits in many cases, their family stands to be "taken care of, " usually by anonymous "donations. Often taken care of quite well by anybodies standards.........particularly if you've lived in grinding poverty, have at best a distorted and truncated education. Families will often resort to selling a child to be indoctrinated for this very reason.

The power full benefit by scoring points against another powerful entity, government, religious leaded. In effect, a game.

We here, locked and loaded, wonder bra ed, and dripping in apathy, smeared with cholesterol and red meat think we're in danger. I can tell you now, that the rest of world of have nots can't even conceive of who we are. We, of course return the favor.

They are people. Really. Just people. They want to put food on the table, cloths on their backs, keep warm and be able to work honestly and sleep contented. Worship as they wish. They have complex societies, art, and science. We are being fed a false bill of good. They are also.

They want what we have, and we're afraid they'll take ours away. So we're told. And, we're so very ready to believe it.

A whirlpool of lies and distortions leading us ALL towards a precipice.

Those with power, real power, not just lots of stuff, but the kind that holds life and death over multitudes and billions of people laugh all the way to the bank......which they own.

I think we should, as people, simply ask questions, pay attention, care.

But what do I know? I'm someone who draws pictures of things for a living.

I just don't get it.

I should just shut up and go draw something so I can get more stuff.

M.Z.