Dear Vijay

Can you enlighten us as to what this attack was about? Some of your readers are unfamiliar with it (me for one).

love, Heath

Heather: It's about the airindia plane bombing. It was pretty bad. It's quite a common thing in today's world to see NO JUSTICE. We still live in a world where Might is Right. You will see ex everywhere. We've to learn to live in such a world, that's it.

Dear Hasela

Thanks very much. With your info, I googled and found this: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/airindia/key_characters.html and will read up on it when I get home.

love, Heath

Heather,

I update the blog with the background link. Hope it helps.

Punishment cannot solve terrorism!!!

Normally its innocent who get punished. The real culprit know the way to camouflage.

Take for example, Afghanistan or Iraq. Who is getting killed their?

Even the US marines who die their are innocent men or women.

Rajesh Sharma

I'm not really what you would call a political man, i try not to become upset, or argue about religion, politics, money, war etc. I will however support warriors on an individual level no matter what my personal feelings/beliefs may be about the bigger picture of war, the people behind war, and all the things that go along with such an act.
My heart will always go out to ANYONE who truly believes in what they are fighting for, who wants nothing more than to get back home alive, to have their family, friends, and country to be safe, and so on...that goes for ALL warriors, not just my countrys.

Having said that, this email was forwarded to me by a Lakota friend of mine, it made alot of sense to me but i wanted to see what some of our forum members thought...especially anyone who has spent a great deal of time in Iraq, and/or working for our government in general.

I hope everyone is doing well. Michael

> In a message dated 2/19/2007 2:30:05 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> klee@blackfire.net writes:
>> Hurst: The New Iraq sounds an awful lot like the Old Pine Ridge
>>
>> http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/02/18/news/opinion/
>> opin03.txt
>>
>> By Sam Hurst
>>
>> Editor’s note: Today marks the return of Rapid City resident Sam
>> Hurst as a columnist for the Rapid City Journal. His column will be
>> published on alternating Sundays.
>>
>>
>> Another bomb in Baghdad. Another dead American soldier. Another 60
>> dead Iraqis.
>>
>> Having found no weapons of mass destruction, having turned the back
>> alleys of Baghdad into an epicenter of terrorism, having popped the
>> cork on a religious civil war, President Bush has reached deep into
>> America’s psyche to conjure up one last justification for invasion
>> that flatters our self-image. We invaded Iraq to overthrow tyranny
>> and build a democracy.
>>
>> Certainly the creation of a democracy half way around the world is
>> worth half a trillion dollars, and the lives of 3,100 American
>> soldiers. But the crusade seems more and more futile each day.
George
>> Washington and Thomas Jefferson never had to fight their way through
>> roadside bombs, or ancient religious rivalries. Can it be done?
>>
>> Meanwhile, back on the Rez ...
>>
>> When President Bush says he’s prepared to stay in Iraq “until
the job
>> is done,” those poor Iraqis have no idea just how long he means.
But
>> the Lakotas do. The United States government has been
“stabilizing”
>> the Great Sioux Nation and promoting democracy for 139 years.
>>
>> Analogy is a dangerous form of argument, never precise. But
sometimes
>> analogy can give us insights into our history, and in this case,
it’s
>> worth considering: Maybe Iraq isn’t just the next Vietnam. Maybe
Iraq
>> is the next Pine Ridge.
>>
>> A good starting point is the recognition that the voice of our
>> “better angels” is forever stumbling over the more powerful
impulse
>> of greed. Oil in Iraq. Gold in the Black Hills. As a good friend
>> likes to remind me: “We didn’t invade Iraq because they grow
>> broccoli.”
>>
>> The face of American democracy first comes to nations like the
>> Lakotas and Iraq in the form of invasion. Kill the radicals and
train
>> homegrown police to secure the countryside. Build forts along the
>> wagon routes. (Fourteen American military bases have been built in
>> Iraq.) Draw sharp rhetorical edges. Warriors who refuse to move to
>> the reservations are “hostiles.” Iraqis who resist the invasion
are
>> “terrorists.”
>>
>> Then we sign treaties and send in a superintendent. Welcome to Iraq,
>> Mr. Bremer. We dump wagonloads of money into economic development
—
>> scrawny cattle, plows, cheap blankets. Private contractors siphon
off
>> most of the money. Welcome to Iraq, Halliburton.
>>
>> Then we form constitutional governments, pick our favorite chiefs,
>> and sponsor elections. Dip your finger in purple ink, and make your
>> mark here. Divide up your land, modernize, grow wheat. It’s all
for
>> your own good.
>>
>> We’ve been building constitutional government in Iraq for three
>> years. At Pine Ridge we’ve been at work since 1934. And here’s
what
>> we’ve got. The impeachment of Cecelia Fire Thunder was a sham.
Last
>> fall’s election was a disaster. Almost no one voted, and those who
>> did can’t agree who the legitimate president is,
>>
>> Unemployment is over 50 percent. The tribe is smothered by epidemics
>> of obesity, diabetes, alcoholism and domestic abuse. The budget for
>> Indian Health Services is cut year after year.
>>
>> The Iraqis are gonna love American democracy.
>>
>> Finally, we abandon the nation to poverty. There hasn’t been a
>> full-time BIA Superintendent on Pine Ridge for over a year. We cover
>> our escape with a self-righteous chorus of blame. You can hear it
>> from the mouths of conservative ranchers and liberal politicians,
>> “Those Indians ... those Iraqis ... they just aren’t ready for
>> self-government. This mess is their fault.”
>>
>> Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was fond of saying;
“At
>> some point, you’ve got to take your hand off the bicycle seat.”
Those
>> Iraqis are such children. If they only had training wheels. Hillary
>> Clinton promises the voters of New Hampshire, our soldiers
“won’t
>> baby-sit a sectarian civil war.” This is the bi-partisan language
of
>> the Great White Father.
>>
>> Don’t get me wrong. A century of American intervention on Pine
Ridge
>> has created a disaster, but it does not mean the Lakotas are without
>> leadership, community, cultural and spiritual vitality. The most
>> creative expressions of popular sovereignty come from people who
have
>> returned to traditional political values — consensus, council, and
>> the authority of elders. In New England we used to call it “town
>> hall” democracy. But you have to go off the paved roads to find
>> democracy on Pine Ridge. And, how can I say this politely: We
ain’t
>> exactly welcome.
>>
>> The Iraqis have deep reservoirs of civilization and common history
>> that may hold them back from a genocidal civil war. They may yet
find
>> a way to come together to fight outside terrorists. But Americans
>> have been so busy busting down doors that we won’t understand
Iraqi
>> civilization even if we stay another century. After all, we would
>> have to learn the language. We would have to study another religion
>> without prejudice. We’d have to let Iraqis control their own oil.
>> We’d have to grasp the possibility that the American Way isn’t
the
>> only way to popular government.
>>
>> Republicans are posturing to blame the Democrats for losing Iraq.
But
>> we lost Iraq four years ago. We lost Iraq when President Bush
>> concluded that Iraqi democracy could be built with American tanks
and
>> machine guns. It can’t be done today any more than it could be
done
>> in a century after Wounded Knee. Just ask the Lakotas.
>>
>> Sam Hurst lives in Rapid City. Write to samhurst@aol.com.

Dear Dave

Thanks for posting the link. Now I understand.

love, Heath

Dear Dave?? Who is dave here, don't understand Heather.

Dear Vijay!

Sorry, Vijay, I'm very tired! Brain scramble!!

Dear Hasela

Hugs and thanks for the wake-up.

love, Heath

Dear Heather: I would like to tell you some key points about why of the frustration and resentment.

From my observations, I've clearly seen when some people filled with logic and good brains have naturally a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the world and when they see how masses are being exploited, how the top ones keep sucking from others, then how they have these expectations of "why don't people use their common sense and brains" to see beyond religion and politics and all that stuff. Why so many get stuck in the ego battles? Not reaching those expectations lead to frustration and bitterness. Needless to tell you the ex.

The worst thing we can do is to tell them..why don't you open up your hearts? Love is so beautiful and all that stuff, which we have first hand experienced. For them, that is precisely the reason, the heart love and all that no mind nonsense which is a put off for them. To talk to them and win them, you've to understand their perspective and get to that frequency and talk, which is 100% logic and rationale with little emotions and bias. That's what they Love!! Like the way we love love and emotions and tender feelings.

You must understand one thing Heather, what others have not seen or not experienced, it is difficult to coax them to try to get them to that path. It doesn't generally work. Unless one is flexible and experimentative.

Finally the key thing, never to be forgotten: Life is all about perspectives and outlooks. Each one has their own. Invariably they are, not just going to be different but Contrary too sometimes. So, the friction is invariable in this Interplay of forces. The best thing to do is step back and just witness, without taking a part in it with 0% attachment. What you experience then is Wonderful!! Difficult to do in the heat, but it's worth the trouble for that experience.

Hope this straightens your brain! Just kidding! LOL!!