Finding Mirco

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond

2008-10-27T03:03:00.000+06:00

by E. E. Cummings

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

Back to Nazi Germany...

2008-10-06T21:28:00.016+06:00

Germany to allow domestic military deployment
By DAVID RISING

"BERLIN (AP) — Germany's governing coalition partners want to change the constitution to allow for military deployment within the country if needed to combat terrorism, officials said Monday."
(for full report: click here)

I can not believe that we're following the US every step in direction of a police state! Yet another step was taken by the German government to cut down our civil rights and to secure their power in a failing system called Capitalism.

It seems to me that now our leaders realize that our system is about to fail completely all steps necessary are taken to secure their power, starting by cutting long established civil rights to now allowing the army to be deployed in Germany itself to 'help the police' (read: fight against its own people)! Living in the 21st century we are moving back towards a 19th century police state and this internationally. In the US troops are actually training for the deployment in the states itself (watch: Martial Law)...and we addopt the same laws a very scary step to me, but of course it is all done to protect the people. But if you look at it objectivly it rather seems like we are becomming the enemy of the state - or do we really expect an army of terrorists invading Germany? Lets take a look into the numbers 25,408 people died of terrorism worldwide between 1964 to 2004 on the other side there are 29.34million people that died of a heart disease in 2004 alone, redicolous numbers especially if you compare the spending for health care and the fight against terrorism... What does this show? Well that pretty much shows that we, the people are worth fuck to our politicians, not only here in Germany but in all the western, 'democratic' societies! Creed, cooperate growth and profit is what is motivating and controlling politics - not the people, not development of society or the creation of a better future for our children but the power of money and corruption!
Coming back to the issue of deploying German troops on German soil to 'support' the police...
We have to ask ourselves what our government is afraid of that it actually thinks of this horrific action and the implications it will bring with it if ever executed!? To me the only logical reason for our government to consider deploying the military inside Germany is to control civil unrest, which in conclusion does make US a potential enemy of the state - and this is an implication that should outrage all of us! The army is trained to either defend [our country] or (god forbid) attack [others] - it IS NOT an institution trained as the police to protect civilians and their rights [or that is at least what they are supposed to do]. For gods sake and army is trained to kill!
Furthermore, we have to ask ourselves why our government(s) are afraid of us!? What could derail our believes so much that it would turn out tens of thousands of citizens to the streets [in a violent way, because we had tens of thousands protesting against the war in Kosovo] in a manner that the police could not possible control? Well, thinking about it the only reason for that could only be protest against the very government itself, that turns violent after being ignored by our leaders! In conclusion our government takes precaution to secures its (and the multinationals) power over society, if necessary by force... I know that sounds pretty weired especially as the argument is that the army is supposed to fight against terrorists if necessary!
Well lets define the term terrorist then:
First of all, there is no internationally agreed definition for terrorist or terrorism! Which now leaves each country to define terrorism for itself, for Europe it partly states:
"given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international organization where committed with the aim of: seriously intimidating a population; or unduly compelling a Government or international organization to perform or abstain from performing any act; or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization."
This BY DEFINITION makes each one of us a terrorist if we would actually decide to protest against our government or an 'international organization'!! Think about this..... ..... .... .....
A very, very dark and scary prospect for our future...especially now with a economic meltdown and the possibility of a global depression. Such events were in the past triggers for revolutions and social changes in society and now our governments are obviously preparing for the worst case scenario - their own people - us...

Everybody who looks for change and is not satisfied with their own future and the future of of out children and is looking for new approaches then check my new blog 'Making a Change'! Also visit: www.zeitgeistmovie.com and watch the movie Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist:Addendum
Or, even better, download the movies and give them to friends and family to see!
The downloads are here: Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist:Addendum - please note that you will need a BITtorrent client (the Opera browser is a nice solution for that) for the downloads!
You can also watch both movies here: http://makinachange.blogspot.com/

Catch 22 'deluxe' in Tehran!

2008-01-15T02:10:00.000+05:00

Well, let me tell you what happened to me the last week..
Saturday night, 9pm in Shiraz I board an overnight bus to Tehran to apply for my Indian visa, the ride is supposed to take about 11hours!

Sunday morning, 7.30am, 90km away from Tehran I assume that it will take till about 8.30 to 9am till I arrive and I start making my plan how to get to the German embassy to get a 'letter of introduction' and from there to the Indian embassy to apply for the visa.. So far so good, then disaster struck a snow blizzard suddenly hit us (Iran), it was snowing like hell the highway turned into an icy, frozen deathtrap and the traffic of course came to an complete halt...to make it short, I did arrive at Tehran at 12.40 and all the embassies were of course closed for the public! You know me I never give up so I jump into a taxi and he gets me through the snow chaos to the Indian embassy, where I could convince the girl at the reception to let me apply for the visa in the afternoon! Great! Full of new energy I go to the Germans and beg them for the 'letter of introduction', but being real (fucking!) German they just tell me to come back tomorrow at 8am! I try to get through to them that I NEED TO APPLY today or there is not enough time to issue my visa before my flight..answer: 'Well, you should not plan it so badly then!' (as I can predict the weather specially cos its not supposed to snow)! However, back to the Indians I go and try to put my application in without the 'letter of introduction' but they of course don't accept an incomplete visa application. So I go home to my friends place to figure out what my options are.. I checked all flights out of the country to India on the 10th or 11th but to no avail! I gotta leave though as my visa expires on the 11th and overstaying in Iran carries a 30$fine per day and lashes with a cane and up to 6month jail!!! So my only option is to convince the Indians to issue the visa earlier then the required 72 hours or Pakistan as they issue in one working day!!!

Monday morning at 7.30am, after a short night sleep, I'm again at the German embassy and try to get hold of the letter of recommendation for Pakistan! I figure out that I cant get a letter for Pakistan as my government by now decides that Pakistan is to dangerous for me...but not as dangerous as the 'Revolutionary Guards' who will take care of me if I overstay, I argue, but of course that does not count! THANKS A LOT! So I have to get this introduction thing for the Indians and after I waited around for only 1 1/2 hours they finally give me this shitty, 20Euro expensive, piece of paper that actually says that I am a citizen of Germany (I wonder why the fuck I carry a German passport around the whole time if this does not say that I'm a German!?!)!
Anyhow, off I go to the Indian embassy, fill and send a fax form to the Indian embassy in Germany who has to send a clearance to them that I'm not a criminal! If there is no answer on this fax visas are issued automatically after 72 hours! After that I can finally put my visa application in..as the girl sees the date of my flight she just looks at me ans says: 'You are too late, we can't issue the visa that fast!' I tell her to please take a look at the date of my Iranian visa and that I couldn't apply earlier as there was this snow chaos...after a short discussion she takes a piece of paper, writes a name on it, tells me to go to the main gate, see the ambassador and ask him about it! I go to him, explain my situation and ask him what I can do but he means that I can't make any exceptions, we need the answer for this fax form and without it he can't issue a visa and a confirmation will be there in 72hours - Thursday! My heart is falling into my pocket I hear through the blur in my head: 'However I could call Berlin and ask them if they can process this particular form ASAP!' WOW! I think there is a real chance to get this done! Still its not sure and I decide that I rather go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend my visa for a couple of days as its too dangerous in Iran to overstay, easier said as done though, as the Ministry is closed till for the whole week due to the weather situation as are schools and universities and all other governmental organizations ! So now there is only leaving the country as an option! Off to home and get some sleep, which I did after a short call to make sure that the fax got send the same day!

Tuesday morning, 10am, 29hours to my flight, and 60hours till my visa expires, I'm with the Indians - showing my face sitting patiently around, chatting friendly and telling all the stuff how worried I am about not being able to leave Iran..
11.30 I can see the ambassador once more where he reassures me that he will call Berlin now and that he will do his best to get this confirmation today! Please come back at 2.30pm! As I turn up at 2.30 I'm greeted by the secretary (who by now is my friend and knows all the places I've been in India) he calls the office and asks if the confirmation is there - NO!
3.30 still no confirmation...4.30 still no confirmation - another call - 17.00 closing time and no confirmation yet! :( Close to tears I ask what to do, if I should come in tomorrow and if when..come at around 9.30-10am that's when the first visa officer normally shows up and before that we won't know anyhow - 'BUT I HAVE A FLIGHT at 1pm and have to be at the airport at 12pm for check in at latest!' Well, that wont work out for sure not... how could it when it takes 1 1/2 hours to the airport by taxi? How can I ever do that!!??
By now, I'm completely worried, no visa, I did not cancel the flight so no refund, no visa extension course its closed, no flights before the expiry of my visa... WOW! I AM FUCKED!!! In deep shit!
So I go home and make my friends call all the offices and police stations to ask where I can go to extend my visa or at least make sure that there are no repercussions - of course to no avail...

Wednesday 8.00am, I get up and pack my bag just in case... depressed, sleepless because of all the stress and worries I board a taxi to the Indian embassy..as I arrive there as 9.30 there is naturally no visa officer in the building so I gotta sit there and watch the clock..seeing time ticking by I lose more and more hope.. At 10am I ask the receptionist again if the confirmation from Berlin has finally arrived - he actually says: 'Yes it did!!! Go and pay for the visa they will issue it right now!' I run to the visa counter and pay the fee, tell the good girl that I need the visa ASAP as my flight is leaving in 3hours.. Out on the street smoking a ciggy, calling my friends and stopping a taxi to make sure everything is arranged to 'fly' to the airport as soon I get this visa! 10.30am walking up and downin front of the counter - still no visa...11.00am still waiting and starting to grow nervous again! 11.15am the visa girl walks up to me waving my passport and shows me the visa that I fought so hard for... Finally!!! TOOK A WHILE!!! I'm holding my Indian visa in my hands!
And they even issued me exactly what I asked for..6month, multiple (they never give multiple - even with double entry they're so picky!) Plus, to top it, they made a mistake with the date and my visa is now valid for 8month! ;) Of course I did not point this out to the girl! ;)
Shouting a 'THANK YOU GUYS YOU'RE GREAT' while running out of the embassy I jump into the taxi... Being lucky the 2nd time this day my driver is nobody else than Michael Schumacher himself and he actually manages to get me to the airport in 45minutes (its supposed to take 1 1/2 hrs) just in time to check in for my flight to India! The plane is on time and as soon I hit my seat I finally fall into a deep, relaxed sleep... ...and woke up approaching Mumbai, India!

Thanks to the Indian emabassy in Tehran I'm now sitting in Mumbai, eating great Indian food and having a cold beer, instead of in an Iranian jail! These guys are really great and it was by far the best embassy stuff I've ever dealt with in my 5years on the road! And I bet no other emabssy in the world would have put so much effort into helping a stranded traveller... My own empassy did not even really care (except for the 20Euros for an A4 piece of paper!) .... ... ...
India the only country where heart and reason comes before rules and regulation! I wonder where and when we in the West lost this..!?

Something to think about...

2007-12-22T16:09:00.000+05:00

"The world is being run by one million evil men, ten million stupid men, and a hundred million cowards.

The evil men are the power - the rich men, and the politicians, and the fanatics of religion - whose decisions rule the world, and set it on its course of greed and destruction. There are only one million of them, the truly evil men, in the whole world. The very rich and the very powerful, whose decisions really count.

The stupid men, who number ten million, are the soldiers and the policemen who enforce the rule of the evil men. They are the standing armies of twelve key countries, and the police forces of those and twenty more. In total, there are only ten million of them with any real power or consequence. They are often brave, but they are stupid, too, because they give their lives for governments and causes that use their flesh and blood as mere chess pieces. Those governments always betray them or let them down or abandon them, in the long run. Nations neglect no men more shamefully than the heroes of their wars.

And the hundred million cowards, they are the bureaucrats and paper shufflers and pen-pushers who permit the rule of the evil men, and look the other way. They are the head of this department, and the secretary of that committee, and the president of that association. They are managers, and officials, and mayors, and officers of the court. They always defend themselves by saying that they are just following orders, or just doing their job, and it's nothing personal, and if they don't do it, someone else surely will. They are the hundred million cowards who know what is going on, but say nothing, while they sign the paper that puts one man before the firing squad, or condemns one million men to the slower death of a famine.

The world is run by one million evil men, ten million stupid men, and a hundred million cowards. The rest of us, all six billion of us, do pretty much what we are told!

This formula - the one million, the ten million, the hundred million - this is the real truth of all politics. Marx was wrong. It is not a question of classes, because all the classes are in the hands of this tiny few. This set of numbers is the cause of empire and rebellion. This is the formula that has generated our civilisations for the last ten thousand years. This built the pyramids. This launched the crusades. This put the world at war, and this formula has the power to impose the peace."

Gregory David Roberts: Shantaram

A sad day in Tehran...

2007-12-06T15:47:00.000+05:00

Today is a sad day, last night my good friend Tala lost her mother..
Unexpectedly, without any warning, she was taken from her. I just met her mother once but I instantly loved her! It seems to me as if I lost a loved one too.. I wish I could somehow share Talas pain and grief..she did not deserve this!
I'm helpless, trapped in this Micro cosmos full of pain, walking through the cold, colourless streets of Tehran and I wonder how many little and big tragedies are happening all around me every step I take!? I've never thought like this before and it makes me utterly sad..

Tala! I can feel your pain and cry with you.. This is for you, be strong:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;; I am not there. I do not sleep.; I am a thousand winds that blow.; I am the diamond glints on snow.; I am the sunlight on ripened grain.; I am the gentle autumn rain.; When you awaken in the morning's hush; I am the swift uplifting rush; Of quiet birds in circled flight.; I am the soft stars that shine at night.; Do not stand at my grave and cry;; I am not there. I did not die.

Iran - yet another misunderstood country!

2007-11-24T03:37:00.000+05:00

Well, I'm (still) in Iran.. And nothing here is as it appears to be.. I really start to dislike the western media for painting such incorrect, twisted pictures of certain countries! I got to say that our governments (read:'regimes') are not a single bit better than the Iranian if they allow, support and encourage our news coverage to be so inaccurate!

The Iranian people are very, very friendly, warm and welcoming, hospitable and generous. Iran is the first 'Islamic' country I have seen where people are extremely nonreligious and I did not meet one person who did not tell me how much they hate their government and the Mullahs. Pakistan for example is far more religious and fundamental than Iran..

The picture you see here on the streets, I talk about women dressed with headscarf and Montos (a blazer like jacket that reaches to the knees) is as different as it can be to the reality of what is happening as soon as they close the door to their house behind them. Underneath the Monto and the scarf are Jeans, Miniskirts, 'fuck-me' boots, tank tops, sexy dresses..LOADS of make-up, blond highlighted hair.. you name it. Parties and drinking Alcohol seems to be a daily routine and I haven't met any young person who has not had a girlfriend and not many who haven't had sex. Iran must be as well the worldwide leader in plastic surgery, as there are heaps of people who just got a nose job in every city.
It seems to be a somehow free society, with people who do have to wear a mask outside their homes, it is very modern and developed, with good logistic, transportation, communication and lots of western values and ideas, what the Mullahs despise most is not only welcome but also happily absorbed by the masses. Shopping malls with (mostly faked -there is no Copyright in Iran) Lewis, Diesel, Dior, Gucci and all other designer cloth one can imagine are around every second corner.. a good dress, plenty of hair gel and fancy cars are a must to be a part of this society..
The young girls wear more make-up then 10 western girls together and the Monto becomes tighter and shorter the bigger the cities get (I compare it with the evolution of the miniskirt in the west).. and when it comes to wear a headscarf - to satisfy any Muslim you should not take examples from the Iranian female population either as I have not seen so much hair for months - just as I said it's the West in its fullest! ;) I did not make it to Tehran yet but everybody tells me that it is even more modern, developed and free. I was told that all I see is people copying the style of the Tehranis.. I will see soon.

It seems like a pretty nice place to life doesn't it? Sadly it is not like this.. Many people live in fear, are suppressed, paranoid and have to be extremely careful of how they act, what they say.. I heard the phrase: 'I just want to be myself as soon as I leave my house' uncountable times. And the wish of a regime change is clearly visible behind the facade. But this government is smart in how they manage to keep control of the people.
They allow people enough freedom not to risk their lives and families to go to the streets and protest. The Secret police (the Sepahs) is seen everywhere and there must be many more disguised. The media plays the usual propaganda that we all know from WWII and the East Block (and since 9/11 in our homes)! Punishment for misbehaving goes as far as public executions but mostly is limited to beatings, reeducation camps and even worse losing jobs or the seat in the university. Public gatherings are forbidden and it happened more than once that my friends here had to answer questions to strange people (without the need of identifying themselves) about me or what they do walking with me and in all cases my friends got recommended to leave me alone to avoid trouble, which of course not one of them did!

Last but not least, I would like to clear another misconception, Iranians DO NOT HATE all Jews neither does the government here! Jewish people are part of the 21st century Iran as they were for thousands of years. There are huge Jewish communities in several cities with Synagogues, Jewish run businesses and the whole Jewish culture that comes along such as Rabbis with 'Ziziots'! I have met a couple of Iranian Jews and they admit that life is pretty good for them in Iran, it has to be said that most of them see themselves first as Iranian then as Jews. according to the people I met the only restrictions they have are on certain jobs in governmental organizations and in traveling as the government can take their passport at anytime at the border, otherwise there were no complains!
The best example is probably Lea, a young woman in her early 20s, who I met and who is an active member of the Jewish women association of Iran, she stated: 'I participate in our organization to be an example, a role model, to Israel and the rest of the world, of how peaceful Muslims and Jews can live together.'! So the government here does not hate and despise Jews they actually accept the Jews living here and practicing their religion - it is only Zionism that is hated by the leading figures; so maybe we should start to rethink some of our attitudes!

Anyhow, for me it is time to move on soon and it will be to meet one of my big loves - INDIA! I don't know what this place did to me or even why I am going back but I miss IT - terribly..

What moves and bothers me..

2007-10-07T23:09:00.001+05:00

Pablo Neruda -Sonnet XVII (100 Love Sonnets, 1960)
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Visas, Ipods and Indians

2007-04-10T22:42:00.001+05:00

I'm in Delhi trying to sort my visa stuff for the upcoming countries Pakistan and Iran, but still being in India means that everything works in Indian time as well... so my ambitious goal to finish with all the embassies in one day was overthrown by combined German/ Indian and Pakistani bureaucracy. First I had to pick up my new passport (with 131,- Euros or 7500,- Rupee the most expensive passport in the world...) then full of energy to the Pakistani embassy a 10min walk from the Germans... queueing for 30minutes to discover that I need a 'Letter of recommendation' issued by the German embassy where I just came from. OK back the 10min to my embassy to ask for a letter of recommendation which was issued to me after about an hour where the friendly staff of the embassy did some good 'background research' (read: drinking coffee) on me! Back to the Pakistanis and another 20min in a line of people until the invisible guy behind the window announced: Closed today come back tomorrow 9am... *arrrrghhh*

To top all of this, after a two hour long search I finally found an Apple Service centre in Delhi which turned out to be located in a garage (hello India!)... from running up and down, left and right, in an apartment like building block (A to L) I finally found a nice a guy who called the 'Mac Clinic' in my behalf and could direct me to the location. There they told me what I already knew - my beloved Ipod is completely gone, including my collection of 20GB of music... :'-(
The good news, however was that my Ipod (a.k.a. the cripple) still had warranty and that I would get a replacement model (which turns out to be a new Ipod-Video) on Thursday!

Now there I am - stuck in Delhi between visa applications and Ipod troubles... not knowing if to laugh about India, my stupidity and a new Ipod, or to cry over the lost of my extensive music library...!?!

...to be continued...

In Afghanistan a.k.a. defending democracy...

2007-04-06T00:11:00.000+05:00

I never imagined that my first blog will be about a political issue but, thanks to our German government under Bush admirer Merkel, it turns out to be...

Yesterday Germany send six Tornado fighting jets to Afghanistan were they are supposed to support NATO in their fight against the Taliban. This is not only against the German public opinion (63% of the people are against a deployment) but also against the German constitution. To my knowledge there is written that Germany is not allowed to be engaged in any kind of military action on foreign soil, other than to defend the country. There are a few exceptions to this law, firstly that the troops are deployed under an UN mandate e.g. in peacekeeping missions, or secondly if there is a situation which invokes mutual defence clause. Germany definitely wasn't attacked by Afghanistan means we are not going there to defend our country. Neither did the UN send our fighters to Afghanistan to support the US/ war there. So we can easily rule this two option out which would allow us to go to the Hindukush. Let us assume that 9/11 really was an event that really required NATO to call for the mutual defence clause being therefore involved in Afghanistan. Does this allow German forces to participate in the war against terrorism?

The German government argues that the move to send planes to Afghanistan is perfectly legal because it is a non-fighting mission as the planes were send on a reconnaissance mission. But what exactly does that mean? The purpose of a recon mission is to fly over enemy territory to take pictures of enemy positions, which are analyzed and related to the NATO troops on the ground (or in the air) who then will attack these positions. But that actually IS participating in a fighting mission and certainly not a peacekeeping employment!?! It is like to hire a killer to do the dirty work... Obviously in any law system in the western world nobody who hires a hitman to commit a murder just walks away freely because he didn't pull the trigger himself; he would be arrested, trailed and punished if convicted. How come that the German government tries to convince its people that this mission is different to a fighting mission -IT IS NOT- to tell other troops e.g. which hill to shell or which house to bomb IS participating in actual fighting!
However, there is nothing to be done...

A democratically elected government did decided to send its soldiers, against the will of its people and against its own constitution (probably against international law too), to a foreign country to fight a senseless war on the back of the population of a poor country to defend the policy of another.
Lets hope that on April the 18th the German constitutional court rules against the decision of our government, defends our constitution and tells our politician to withdraw our troops.
If not... yea if not; then we really should start worrying about the direction our democracy is going, worry about our constitutional principles and rights.

I am truly am embarrassed by the acting of my government, not only does it deny the will of the people who it was elected by, but it also violates the principles of our democratic state...

Welcome to 'New Democracy' -you elect, the government acts - but neither according to your will nor to its own laws!