Kujt t'ia prishësh, kujt t'ia ndreqësh?!

Në një faqe të forumit Respublica lexova disa fjalë me mend nga Faik Konica dërguar një shqiptari që donte dhe ai të botonte gazetë.

Duke mos dashur të kopjoj gjithë tekstin e Konicës, për të mos përsëritur pa leje pak a shumë përmbajtjen e artikullit tek Respublica, ju ftoj të ndiqni lidhjen e mësipërme për ta lexuar.

«Të desha ty...»

Të desha ty dhe ndoshta prapë,

S'do të ndjej të tillë dashuri

Por nuk dua që shpirti im i ngratë,

Të të trishtojë e dashur përsëri.

Të desha fort, në heshtje, në vetmi,

Në drithma xhelozie vuajta shumë

Po Zotit çdo ditë i lutem tani,

Një tjetër të të dojë, si të desha unë.

A. S. PUSHKIN

Përktheu: Aleko BALLAURI

Racism is Alive and Well

And on that note: Haley Barbour can kiss goodbye his chances of becoming the Republican candidate for President in 2010, and of being elected to any office at the national level... thanks to Rachel Maddow.

On DADT

In light of the ongoing debate and in expectance of the vote on Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell tomorrow, here are a few pithy thoughts on this policy and why I think it has become such a shameful debate that needs to end with the repeal of DADT.

Last night I watched a woman fierily—though not convincingly, of course—argue that, upon entering the army, the individual signs away his or her rights to be an individual. While this may be true in the sense that the army and the furthering of its goals and duties ought to become that individual's priority, it is entirely untrue that the same individual loses or ought to lose his identity.

Individuality is not tantamount to identity. On the contrary, individuality is a much more dynamic and visible dimension that is a mere extension of a more unchanging identity. Being gay, lesbian, or any other [prefix]sexual is precisely a component of that identity, much to the chagrin of many religious leaders, and despite the erroneous thoughts of many across the country and the world who think that sexuality is a choice. Moreover, demanding that non-heterosexual members of the army keep their sexuality a secret or else they lose their job, is undue burden on them because there is no equivalent demand being made of heterosexual individuals. And, while the army may be primarily oriented around the goals it aims to accomplish, it is inevitably a social place, as well, and those social aspects are invaluable in humanizing soldiers to one another and thereby contributing to unit cohesion and bravery in times of distress.

Another argument I hear around, and especially by old coots in Congress, is that the aforementioned unit cohesion will suffer; that the fact that soldiers live in close quarters will be aggravated by someone's identifying him/herself as gay/lesbian. This, I find to be the most despicable and faulty argument. I find it faulty because it assumes that there is universal and overt bigotry in the armed forces, and, while I am not naïve enough to believe that the opposite is the case, I also do not fail to recognize that the feeling of comradeship and allegiance to their duty, as well as the shared experiences of the soldiers concerned, create a respect for human life and a regard for one another that overrides their apprehensions about a 'homosexual' in their midst.

At the same time, I find this argument despicable and disgusting because it is a masked reiteration of the 'gays want to do any guy around' argument. I use the male substantives here, because they are more often than their female counterparts accused of promiscuity, of inability to control their hormones and sexual urges, and of an indiscriminate desire to sleep with men. In other words, it equates gays to bum sex. This is absolutely offensive to gays; naturally to the gay men suffering the detrimental effects of DADT, but also to every gay man in this country who has to sit in front of the television and hear elected officials such as McCain and à la McCain reduce them to an urge to sodomize any male around. It is a spit in the face of every gay individual who sees him/herself as a productive and equal member of this society and country of ours, but finds him/herself being regarded and portrayed unidimensionally as an unnatural, aberrant mutant worthy of the bigotry and stigma s/he gets in our society at large, or even legitimately through the enforcement of anachronistic and bigoted legislation like DADT.

Too much money has been wasted schooling and training individuals, only to then undertake measures to remove them from the position for which they were trained, once their homosexuality has become known. It has been going on for seventeen years too many and it is high time that our elected officials vote in accordance with the times in which we live and with the gaping need for new recruitment in our armed forces. And although it may be too late for those perpetuating the aforementioned tired arguments like John McCain, others in his party and among the Democrats can still be on the progressive, sensible, good side of history and vote to repeal DADT on Saturday.

'Second Amendment Remedies'

Ever wonder why Sharron Angle got questioned repeatedly on her supposed 'Second Amendment remedies?' Wonder no longer: because this is one of those Second Amendment remedies, and a reason why we have a problem in this country with the Second Amendment and the way in which it is interpreted, enforced, and defended. If the individuals responsible for our schools—and I do include here those idiots in Texas and elsewhere in the country who fight science with the Bible—are not safe, where are we safe in this country? What's to stop one of my bitter or resentful students from doing the same thing?

WARNING: The video contains real guns being shot at people.

It's the Numbers, Stupid!

The chart below highlights the amount that will be saved by each income bracket indicated under the Democratic-proposed, the Republican-proposed, and the Obama-Republican plans separately.

And you wonder why liberals are angry? This country's elected officials have gone insane, starting with Obama at the top. I mean that.

No one in Washington, save for those twelve senators who voted against this plan, has the moral right to pretend to care about deficits and debts anymore. NO ONE! But they are all hypocrites so they will anyway, at the first chance they get.

Image Source

The World of Facebook

Image Source

Weise Worte

Ich spiele mechanisch weiter und denke an Isabelle und das, was sie gesagt hat, und dann an die Beschreibung der vorchristlichen Religionen, die ich gestern abend gelesen habe. Die Götter waren damals heiter in Griechenland, sie wandelten von Wolke zu Wolke, sie waren leicht schurkisch und immer treulos und wandelbar wie die Menschen, zu denen sie gehörten. Sie waren Verkörperungen und Übertreibungen des Lebens in seiner Fülle und Grausamkeit und Unbedenklichkeit und Schönheit. Isabelle hat recht: Der bleiche Mann über mir mit dem Bart und den blutigen Gliedern ist es nicht. Zweitausend Jahre, denke ich, zweitausend Jahre, und immer ist das Leben mit Lichtern, Brunstschreien, Tod und Verzückung um die Steinbauten gewirbelt, in denen die Abbilder des blassen Sterbenden aufgerichtet waren, düster, blutig, von Millionen von Bodendieks umgeben – und bleifarben ist der Schatten der Kirchen über den Ländern gewachsen und hat die Lebensfreude erdrosselt, er hat aus Eros, dem heiteren, eine heimliche, schmutzige, sündhafte Bettgeschichte gemacht und nichts vergeben, trotz aller Predigten über Liebe und Vergebung – denn wirklich vergeben heißt, den anderen zu bestätigen, wie er ist, nicht aber Buße zu verlangen und Gefolgschaft und Unterwerfung, bevor das Ego te absolvo ausgesprochen wird.

»«

Once again, I play mechanically and think about Isabelle and the descriptions of pre-Christian religions I read last night. Back then, the Gods in Greece used to be cheerful; they'd wander from people to people; they were slightly more villainous and treacherous and flighty, like the people to whom they belonged. They were embodiments and excesses of life in all its fullness and cruelty and harmlessness and beauty. Isabelle was right: the pale man above me with his beard and bloody limbs is none of this. 'Two thousand years! Two thousand years,' I think to myself, and life—swirled with lights, mad screams, death, and ecstasy—has always bumped against the stone buildings on which somber, bloody, and surrounded by thousand of Bodendieks, have stood the images of the dying man. And the leaden shadow of the church spread across countries and smothered their vitality; it transformed Eros, the cheerful god, into a secret, dirty, sinful bedroom story, and forgave nothing, despite all the sermons about love and forgiveness; for true forgiveness is to accept another as he is—not to demand his repentance and obedience and submission before pronouncing 'Ego te absolvo.'

Erich Maria REMARQUE

Der Schwarze Obelisk

Ugly Stuff

This is the ugliest, most repulsive thing I have seen in a while.

Here is an an American citizen—and what's more one who is risking his life so that your ass and mine and that of every member of Congress does not have to—having to hide his face and use a pseudonym out of fear of being persecuted—legitimately persecuted—by the system we have allowed to shamefully persist for seventeen years to the detriment of real human beings.

I'm borderline anti-militaristic and I am saying this.

«Her Praise»

She is foremost of those that I would hear praised.
I have gone about the house, gone up and down
As a man does who has published a new book,
Or a young girl dressed out in her new gown,
And though I have turned the talk by hook or crook
Until her praise should be the uppermost theme,
A woman spoke of some new tale she had read,
A man confusedly in a half dream
As though some other name ran in his head.
She is foremost of those that I would hear praised.
I will talk no more of books or the long war
But walk by the dry thorn until I have found
Some beggar sheltering from the wind, and there
Manage the talk until her name come round.
If there be rags enough he will know her name
And be well pleased remembering it, for in the old days,
Though she had young men's praise and old men's blame,
Among the poor both old and young gave her praise.

William Butler YEATS

«Për mëmëdhenë»

Për mëmëdhenë, për mëmëdhenë
Vraponi burra, se s'ka me prit.
Të vdesim sot me besa-besë
pranë flamurit të kuq q'u ngrit.

Pranë flamurit, pranë flamurit,
me shpatë zhveshur shqipëtarisht,
Për dhen' e babës edhe të burrit
kemi me vdekur sot burrërisht.

E Drini plak me oshëtima
mbi Shqipërinë valët po dredh;
Tosk' edhe Gegë, si vetëtima
armikut bini se dita erdhi.

Ejani burra malit përpjetë
duke u betuar vdekj' a liri.
Se s'ka m'e ëmbël në këtë jetë,
kur vdes shqiptari për Shqipëri!

Mihal GRAMENO

«Vallja shqiptare»

Tri herë opinga rrahu dheun

sikur kërkoi lejë prej tij;
pastaj shamia palët ndehu
me qetësi dhe madhështi.

Kështu mes qiellit dhe tokës
vallja u lind, vallja u shpall;
këmba sinjale i çon tokës
dhe dora qiellit i jep lajm.

Dhe vallja rrokulliset tutje
mbi kohëra hedhur si hobe;
prilli përsipër i hedh lule,
dhjetori borën shkund atje.

Valle shqiptare, shenja në erë
ylbere tirqesh tej-e-tëhu;
kush ju kërceu ju njëherë
dhe këmbët rob s'i mbenë tek ju?

Kush ra midis vorbullës suaj
dhe s'u përzhit dhe s'u përflak,
ju bubullima me opinga
që nëpër shekuj brodhët varg?

Ismail KADARE

«Kur xhirohej një film»

Një nga këngët që më ka pëlqyer më shumë gjatë viteve '80, pavarësisht se u përdor si pjesë e kolonës zanore të filmit me titullin e mësipërm, i cili ishte shembull i propagandës së regjimit të kohës kundër divorcit që, së bashku me propagandën kundër abortit, ishte tipar i shumë filmave të atij dhjetëvjeçari.

«Drenova»

(Asdrenit)

Ktu, afër kti burimit
që rrjedh me qetësi,
Nën hije t'ktyne pemve
Dëfreve ti n'fmini.

Këtu, në majë t'malit
Tek duket fshati jot,
N'qetsi po fryn ktu era,
Ngadal dhe gjethti lot.

Ktu, pranë kishe tuj ndejun,
Shoh fshatin ku ke le:
Se sa nji fshat i bukur!
Sa i bukur ky atdhe!

Hil MOSI

'We Are All Socialists Now'

I WISH!

But for what it's worth, yes, we are all Socialists. And we all like it: from the Jim DeMints of Congress on the government's payroll to the Bernie Sanders of Vermont; from progressive so-called 'elite' to the most avid Tea Party members. Seriously! Try suggesting to the latter that we cut Medicare and Social Security. And, in ten years, when the Healthcare Reform measures will have fully been enacted for a few years, try suggesting you do away with that, too!

Maybe I shouldn't be so pessimistic, after all. Maybe we are moving toward Socialism... albeit at a snail's pace....

Letter to The Huffington Post

This is a letter I just wrote and am about to send to the editors of The Huffington Post in response to an article by Sali Berisha, prime minister of Albania. As you can see (if you have the patience/time to read it), I am not his biggest fan, for the reasons elucidated below.

»«

On October 28, you published an article by Sali Berisha, prime minister of Albania, entitled 'Economic Downturn? Not in Albania.'

While I largely applaud the opportunity that you extend to individuals from all walks of life, including leaders of nations, to voice their opinions on your website, I do take issue with the aforementioned article, not so much because of its contents, but rather because of its author. Before I go any further, please understand, that I am doing this for the main reason that I respect you as a news, analysis, and opinion medium, and wish to see truly respectable voices being given the privilege of reaching your readers. I would have kept my frustrations to myself if I were in doubt about Sali Berisha's contemptible nature and modus operandi, but considering the numerous examples that Berisha's actions provide in giving my opinion resolve, please indulge me in giving you a tableau of the last twenty years in Albania, during which Sali Berisha has been a central political and power figure, and thereby painting for you the true figure of the individual whose self-praise you have allowed on your web page.

Although it is true that the economic situation in Albania has not been as dire as it has in the rest of Europe during the last two years, you should not be led into thinking—and much less mislead others on that same line—that it is a result of the free-market reforms that Sali Berisha's government has implemented. On the contrary, if Albania's economic climate has been more stable than elsewhere in the continent, it is by virtue of its small size and the lack of significant investment from other European economies before the crisis; it is by virtue of the cheap, deregulated market that Berisha's reforms do, indeed, provide, but only after he and his government have chosen who invests and how much is pocketed by them; it is by virtue of Albania's recent and current state of dilapidation and never-ending construction in its economic, urban, and infrastructure sectors, which remain in that sad state, for the greatest part, as a result of Sali Berisha's nocuous presence on the Albanian political scene.

While the fall of Communism in 1991 left Albania in a deplorable state, it should be noted that unemployment never reached 80% before the régime collapsed. Moreover, the fact that the population fared and somehow survived through the 80s in a state of complete isolation from the rest of the world (admittedly, in a steady decline) should be a testament of its industrial and agricultural potential that kept some sort of output, despite the petering out it underwent and despite the amortized machines that had been furnished first, during Albania's alliance with the Soviet Union, and subsequently during the Sino-Albanian 'brotherhood.' At the same time, you should be wary of any leader touting improvement on a twenty-year-old statistic when he has been in almost absolute power for half of those years.

I do not exaggerate in using the word 'absolute' when I refer to the power that Sali Berisha has wielded over Albanian politics and its internal or international affairs. Allow me to remind you that Sali Berisha became president of Albania in 1992, when he emerged as a central figure of the Democratic movement that swept Albania as the dominoes of the so-called 'Communist' governments kept falling one by one. This movement was led and energized by students and other young, educated individuals, who, deluded with the decline of the decade they had just closed and with the dearth of opportunities that lay before them, and at the same time led by the example of other neighboring countries and inspired by the inevitable future of a democratic Albania, opposed the régime's restrictions through strikes and boycotts, and had earnest, open, and productive dialogues with the leaders of the time. It was only later that Sali Berisha emerged as undisputed leader of that movement and, upon being subsequently elected president, proceeded to mute and stamp out all dialogue and dissent that existed within the newly formed Democratic Party—so much so that, within the space of a few years, its most avid early leaders abjured any relation to him or the Party that they had helped to create.

Despite this tragic turn of events for the puerile political pluralism in Albania, it is the fate of the people at large that is the most to be deplored.

• Soon after coming to power, Sali Berisha set out to repartition and redistribute lands to the owners from whom it had been confiscated during the Agrarian Reform of 1946 or the later collectivization projects. It is a process that is still ongoing without any comprehensive set of laws to guide it, proving to be the bane of many citizens who have built homes and cultivated on lands thought to be legally their own, only to later be evicted without any indemnity by a former owner that is arbitrarily deemed 'rightful' by a corrupt judicial system that helps to perpetuate this state of limbo.

• He allowed whatever transportation infrastructure there existed to fall into a state of despair (and, in the case of the railway system, disuse), despite the incursion of thousands of automobiles that the network of existing roads was not meant to sustain.

• He disregarded the country's need for a more modern, more sensible electric grid in order to sustain the ever-expanding use of electric appliances, while allowing miles and miles of wires to be stolen and sold in the black market, leaving Albania still today, as a land of many black-outs.

• He neglected the faltering mining and manufacturing industries to the point of allowing whole factories, oil wells, and hydroelectric plants to be stripped of their equipment only never to regain their operative functions.

• He showed complete disrespect for the healthcare and educational systems that had been so avidly built and maintained by the Communist government to serve the nation (and their political interests, no doubt), while politicizing teaching positions and curricula (like his predecessors), and failing to discourage the use of bribes for doctors in return for healthcare.

• Most heinously, however, he supported the creation of numerous pyramid schemes from which many—and most certainly he and many of his ilk—profited, but in which a majority of Albanians also lost their life savings and were sent back to a state of destitution they had not seen even during the hard days of the former régime. It is precisely this situation which led to the uprisings of 1997 in Albania, which, in their turmoil, caused even more destruction, as well as the near-complete degradation of the military system. The storming of military bases and arms depots, in turn, put weapons at the disposal of rebels (or just frustrated citizens) and made Albania a hotbed of criminality for many years to come.

In the midst of this chaos that his corrupted, nepotistic, and authoritarian régime had engendered, Sali Berisha was forced to resign and make space for a coalition government that finally gave the opposition parties a voice in the direction of the country that had been denied to them through rigged elections. While the governments that followed were not without fault or blame (far from it), they did enact, at last, a Constitution, and implemented reforms to restore order and initiate the path to eventual (albeit distant) admission into the European Union. Being in power in Albania tends to corrupt faster and better than anywhere else, and so it did with the Socialist governments that followed the turmoil. Thanks in part to dissatisfaction from the Socialist leader's overt corruption (Sali Berisha's Socialist antipode, Fatos Nano), the Socialist party and its coalition were ousted in the general elections of 2005, only to make space for the Democratic Party to return to power, regenerated in its old anti-Socialist (still phrased as anti-Communist) rhetoric, but holding fast to the same ways and with the same figures, including a steadfast Sali Berisha at the helm.

This blind desire to lead, the megalomania, and the thirst for power that Sali Berisha has shown in the twenty years during which he has been a political figure in Albania are personified in the two different leadership positions he has held: that of President and, currently, of Prime Minister, each exercised at the time when the Constitution gave it the greatest powers in the land, and which Berisha is not afraid to use. In the last year alone, Sali Berisha has been the central and most obdurate figure in the political deadlock surrounding the general elections of 2009, the results of which are disputed by the Socialists and could be easily proven with a recount that Berisha refuses to grant and which he tries to prevent at all cost. He is not even the designated authority on the matter, but wields such extensive power on the state-run media and in the administration of the other branches of government that courts and the Electoral Commission refuse to allow a recount, thereby guaranteeing his stay in power for the remaining three years of the mandate being disputed.

Sali Berisha is by far and indisputably the most vocal political figure in Albania in the last twenty years. When he speaks, it is often to affix derogatory nicknames and fulminate accusations of corruption or even depravations of an intimate nature against his political opponents, not forgetting to insult, at times, their origins, families, and even their female sex. His divisive rhetoric has been unchanged and relentless for the past twenty years and, somehow, still finds an audience among a sizable number of Albanians. If I had to liken it to somebody, it would be to that of Sarah Palin in this country, except that it is more frightening because of the political power he exercises over his party first, his cabinet second, the political arena third, and, lastly, over the many Albanians who still lend him an ear and give him a vote.

Even when Berisha speaks calmly, it is to weave undeserved panegyrics to his touch-and-go politics that do not even respond to the true pulse of the nation. As an Albanian who has lived through or closely followed the events recounted above, I have learned to see through the demagoguery that Sali Berisha so well propagates.

• When he praises the country's admission into NATO, he does so while conveniently omitting the reforms implemented by the Socialist governments that came before his current one, or while failing to uphold his commitment to NATO by allocating for the Ministry of Defense a lesser percentage of the GDP than that required by NATO (1.6%, when 2% is required).

• When he lauds what little progress Albania makes in implementing reforms necessary to our candidacy for membership in the European Union (such as the recent decision to ease travel restrictions on Albanians visiting EU countries), he does so while ignoring Brussels' critiques of him and the political freeze that his obstinacy has brought about.

• When he commends the 'well-educated populous [sic]', as he does in your article, he fails to mention his governments' neglect for elementary, secondary, and high education in Albania, all of which are functioning at the actual level of efficiency in great part because of the strong system established by his Communist predecessors.

• When he portrays Albania as a welcoming turf for investment, he should instead speak of the hundreds of thousands of Albanians—a lot of them intellectuals and among these, my parents—who found no hope and prospects in the Albania he forged and were forced to emigrate.

Above all, however, I have learned to see through and beyond the tired key words and expressions like 'business-friendly', 'reduced bureaucratic burden on business,' 'fighting corruption,' 'streamlin[ing] approval procedures for foreign investors,' 'simplif[ying] the tax system,' 'creating a good climate for investors,' etc.. If you ask Sali Berisha to outline what the 'market principles' he supports are, he will fail to advance beyond this well-chosen yet transparent terminology and will go so far as to boastfully admit to single-handedly creating a market economy in Albania at a time when there was none. If 'market economy' or 'business-friendly' (at least in the domestic case) means shoddily improvised, family-owned kiosks sprouting like warts and trading without legal permission in urban and public areas where children used to play and flowers used to grow, I will be the first to admit his success. But if it means facilitating and regulating business and entrepreneurship, while also protecting the consumer, I shall have to look away from him or anybody else who espouses his idea of a successful free market.

And, while Albania as your article portrays it might appear as a laissez-faire haven, the reality is much different. Surely, there is a laissez-faire attitude to it all, but I fear—nay, know—that it is not in the sense of the government allowing its citizens to trade freely, but rather in that of the government letting the populace to fend for itself, while hurrying to buttress the corruption that fills the coffers of its representatives and keeps them in power for more gains or, in the case of Berisha, also to satisfy delusions of grandeur. The soapbox with which you provide him serves only to enable and encourage his demagoguery and authoritative style of governing, which has proven so detrimental to a whole generation of Albanians.

«Zoti të dhashtë»

Duke lexuar Rusonë, hasa shprehjen «Dieu vous assiste!». Do të kisha kaluar shpejt e shpejt pa u ndalur atje, veçse, në përkthimin që bëj pavetëdijshëm në shqip, përkoi me shprehjen «Zoti të dhashtë!» dhe u ndala duke kujtuar pjesën me të njëjtin titull të Migjenit. Po e shkruaj këtu poshtë:

»«

Dikush trokit në derë...
— Kush â?
— A po na fal ndoj send, zoje?
— Zoti të dhashtë!
— Më fal ndoj send, të dhashtë Zoti shëndet...
— Hajt! Zoti të dhashtë!

Por lypësi e di se ç'domethanë «Zoti të dhashtë»: Mos me pas kurr, mos me ngran kurr. Prandej me ma tepër fuqi i bie derës. E tash përmrenda asht zani ma i rreptë:

— Hajt more! Zoti të dhashtë! A merr vesht?

Lypsit doemos i duhet me marrë vesht. E lën atë derë, msyn të dytën, të tretën, të katërtën, e kështu me radhë, të gjitha dyert e asaj rruge. Kjo rrugë sot për sot asht fusha e veprimit të tij. Nesër asht ndoj rrugë tjetër. Fushat e veprimit të qytetarit tonë janë të ndryshme. Dhe ndryshojnë njëna nga tjetra, siç ndryshon parajsa nga ferri, me të gjithë variacionet piktoreske dhe mallëngjyese. E lypsit, që trokit nga dera në derë, diku ia falin ndoj send, diku i thotë zoja e shtëpisë: «s'kam besa» - dhe lypsi atherë asht i butë, shkon tue mbajt mend këtë derë, me ardhë ndoj ditë tjetër. Por at «Zoti të dhashtë» lypsi s'e duron; s'don ta dëgjojë. Ai e din mirfilli se ç'do me thanë «Zoti të dhashtë». Edhe atë, i cili percjell me këto dy fjalë, ai fillon ta mnijë. Kurr ai s'i ka ndamë këto dy fjalë njënën nga tjetra. Kudo që dëgjon fjalën «Zot», ai pa dashje ia shtonte atë «të dhashtë» dhe në tru të tij u krijonte diçka që s'kuptohet e që mnihet. Se ai ishte i sigurt se «Zoti të dhashtë» domethanë tallje.

Një ditë, me një buzëqeshje ironike, duel lypsi nga një ndërtesë me kryq në majë, se aty kishte vështrue këto fjalë: «Zoti që kujdeset për zoqtë e qiellës, s'ka me i lanë njerëzit të vdesin nga uja». Hee - thoshte lypsi tue dalë - sot nuk asht njashtu. Zoti ndoshta kujdeset për trumcakë edhe priftënt, por për mue s'e besoj. Mue dhe shokët e mi, po na harron bota e si mos të na harrojë Zoti, që s'na ka parasysh. Por thonë, se Zoti... këtu lypsi preu mendimet dhe shpejtoi mbrapa një plaku me bastun.

— Zotni, të lutem, më fal ndoj send...
— Zoti të dhashtë!

Lypsi shtrëngoi dhambët për ta ndalë gjuhën, e cila ishte gati të kalojë kufirin e njerzis. Shtrëngoi dhe grushtat, e thonjt që tash sa kohë nuk i kishte të preme, iu ngulën në dhanat e duerve. Përpara vetes nuk shef asgja tjetër, veç objekte mnie. I bjen ndër mend, koha kur s'ka pasë nevojë me lypë. Përkundra. Kujtohet si i ka ndihmue lypsat që vijshin ditë shtune në prakun e dyqanit të tij, kur ishte farktar... E sot? Atij pak kush i ndihmon, pse janë shumë lypsa. Kujt i epet ma parë? Arsyetonte lypsi së fundi. Por mnia vetvetiu, pa arsye, rritej e pushtonte zemrën e trunin e tij dhe m'at çast donte të shfrejë në një mënyre mëkatare tue rrahë hekurin e kuqun. E kur nuk ka hekur dhe çekiç. Puna del e dyshimtë dhe e rrezikshme.

Prandaj me taktik, zotni, mos thoni «Zoti të dhashtë!».

MIGJENI

«Lemzë»

Pour Vashti, et Mercer Cook

E më kot gëlltis shtatë gllënjka ujë
tre a katër herë në njëzet e katër orë
më vjen sërish fëmijëria ime
në një lemzë që troshit
instinktin tim
si hafija rrugaçin

Gjëmë
Më flisni për gjëmën
më flisni për të

Ime më që i kërkonte të birit një qëndrim shumë të mirë në tryezë
Duart mbi tryezë
buka nuk pritet
buka thyhet
buka nuk çohet dëm
buka e Zotit
buka e djersës së ballit të Atit tuaj
buka e bukës
Kocka hahet me të matur dhe me kujdes
stomaku duhet të jetë i shoqërueshëm
dhe çdo stomak i shoqërueshëm
bën pa gromësitur
piruni nuk është kruajtëse dhëmbësh
ndalohet të fshihen buzët
në dijeni
në sy të gjithë botës
pastaj mbahuni dhe drejt
një hundë e rritur mirë
nuk fshin pjatën

E pastaj e pastaj
e pastaj në emër të Atit
të Birit
të Shpirtit të Shenjtë
në fund të çdo vakti

E pastaj e pastaj
e pastaj gjëmë
më flisni për gjëmën
më flisni për të

Ime më që i kërkonte të birit memorandum

Nëse s'e keni mësuar mësimin e historisë
nuk do të shkoni në meshë
të diel
me rrobat tuaja të së dielës

Ky fëmijë do të bëhet turpi i emrit tonë
ky fëmijë do të jetë qoftë-largu ynë
Heshtni
Ju kam thënë apo s'ju kam thënë se duhet të flisni frëngjisht
frëngjishten e Francës
frëngjishten e frëngut
frëngjishten franceze

Gjëmë
Më flisni për gjëmën
më flisni për të

Ime më që i kërkonte të birit
një djalë mamaje

Nuk e përshëndetët komshijen
këpucët i keni ende të ndotura
dhe se mos ju gjej në rrugë
mbi bar a në Savanë
nën hijen e Monumentit të të Rënëve
duke luajtur
duke lodruar me një Filan
me një Filan që s'është pagëzuar

Gjëmë
Më flisni për gjëmën
më flisni për të

Ime më që i kërkonte të birit shumë do
shumë re
shumë mi
shumë fa
shumë sol
shumë la
shumë si
shumë do
re-mi-fa
sol-la-si
do

Mora vesh se prapë nuk kishit shkuar
në mësimin tuaj të vi-o-li-nës
Një banxho
një banxho thoni
si thënkeni
një banxho
thënkeni vërtet
një banxho
Jo zotrote
ta dini se nuk vuajmë në shtëpinë tonë
as ban
as xho
as ki
as tarë
s’janë për mulatët ato
prandaj lëruani zezakëve

Léon-Gontran DAMAS

Pigments, 1937

«Dormeur du val» / «Gjumashi i luginës»

C'est un trou de verdure où chante une rivière,
Accrochant follement aux herbes des haillons
D'argent ; où le soleil, de la montagne fière,
Luit : c'est un petit val qui mousse de rayons.

Un soldat jeune, bouche ouverte, tête nue,
Et la nuque baignant dans le frais cresson bleu,
Dort ; il est étendu dans l'herbe, sous la nue,
Pâle dans son lit vert où la lumière pleut.

Les pieds dans les glaïeuls, il dort. Souriant comme
Sourirait un enfant malade, il fait un somme :
Nature, berce-le chaudement : il a froid.

Les parfums ne font pas frissonner sa narine ;
Il dort dans le soleil, la main sur sa poitrine,
Tranquille. Il a deux trous rouges au côté droit.

»«

Është një shteg gjelbërimesh ku lumi si i marrë,
Nëpër lyshtra të argjenda varet e ligjëron,
Ku shkrep e llaptin dielli nga mali krenar:
Është një lug i vogël që rreze shkumon.

Një ushtar i ri, gojëhapur, nën një re,
Me zverkun të zhytur në lakër blu të brishtë,
Rri shtrirë në shtrat të blertë kokë qethur; fle
I zbehtë përmbi bar, ne tymnajën plot dritë,

Me këmbë mbi luleshpatë, fle. Dhe buzëqesh
Si fëmije i sëmurë, përgjumet pak e hesht,
Natyra e lemës, e ngroh: ai mërdhi.

Era e luleve flegrat tani nuk ia shpon;
Fle në diell i qetë me dorë mbi kraharor,
Ka dy zgavra te kuqe djathtas në gji.

[Përkthyes i panjohur]

Arthur RIMBAUD

«deluge delusions»

early rains cut short

the summer that never was

grey and deluge

make everything

ashen and dark

but grey does not suit this town

built with rigorous design in mind

inhabited by colors of people

hues of flowers

and asphalt lanes

where metallic boxes—

often too big

driven by people

often too meek—

roll in their smoggy daze

and deluge is out of season at this time

an october made december

by sullen layers people don

by silly boots that they put on

by precipitous steps

fighting precipitation

the only way they know:

by escaping it

in havens of eaves and roofs

filled beyond capacity

«Anës lumenjve»

Arratisur, syrgjynosur,
Raskapitur dhe katosur
Po vajtonj pa funt, pa shpresë,
Anës Elbës, anës Spree-së.

Ku e lam' e ku na mbeti
Vaj-vatani e mjer-mileti
Anës detit i palarë,
Anës dritës i paparë,
Pranë sofrës i pangrënë,
Pranë dijes i panxënë,
Lakuriq dhe i dregosur,
Trup e shpirt i sakatosur?

Se ç'e shëmpnë derbederët,
Mercenarët dhe Bejlerët,
Se ç'e shtypnë jabanxhinjtë
Se ç'e shtrythnë fajdexhinjtë,
Se ç'e pren' e se ç'e vranë,
Ç'e shkretuan anembanë,
Nënë thundrën e përdhunës
Anës Vjosës, anës Bunës!

Çirem, digjem i vrerosur,
Sakatosur, çarmatosur,
As i gjall' as i varrosur,
Pres një shenj' e pres një dritë,
Pres me vjet' e pres me ditë,
Se ç'u-tera, se ç'u-mpaka,
Se ç'u-çora, se ç'u-mplaka,
Lark prej vatrës dhe prej punës,
Anës Rinit, anës Tunës.

Çakërdisur, batërdisur,
Përpëlitur dhe zalisur,
Endërronj pa funt, pa shpresë
Anës Elbës, anës Spree-së.

Dhe një zë vëngon nga lumi,
Më buçet, më zgjon nga gjumi,
Se mileti po gatitet,
Se tirani lebetitet,
Se pëlcet, kërcet furtuna,
Fryhet Vjosa, derdhet Buna,
Skuqet Semani dhe Drini,
Dridhet Beu dhe zengjini,
Se pas vdekjes ndriti jeta,
Dhe kudo gjëmon trumbeta:
Ngrehuni dhe bjeruni,
Korrini dhe shtypini,
Katundar' e punëtorë,
Që nga Shkodra gjer në Vlorë!

Ky ilaç e ky kushtrim
Më bën djal' e më bën trim,
Më jep forc' e më jep shpresë,
Anës Elbë-s, anës Spree-së.
Se pas dimrit vjen një verë
Që do kthehemi një herë
Pranë vatrës, pranë punës,
Anës Vjosës, anës Bunës.

Arratisur, syrgjynosur,
Raskapitur e katosur
Brohorit me bes' e shpresë
Anës Elbës, anës Spree-së.

Fan S. NOLI

'Sexual Disorientation'

This cartoon is really worth more than any comment I can muster up right now.

(Image Source)

On Mosques and Principles

I was going to let the issue of the so-called 'Ground Zero Mosque' go by without commenting, but Bill O'Reilly's latest tirade on The View (no, I don't actually watch the show) got me angry and here's my take on the issue, as pithily as I can put it:

Under normal circumstances, I would have ben the first to dismiss the building of a place of worship—be it a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, etc.—as an unnecessary extravagance. I would probably have gone so far as to say that we don't need to expand whatever extent religion already has; and I would definitely have ventured to advocate, instead, the building of a more universally beneficial type of building, such as a school, hospital, or no building at all and a park or garden instead.

But given the airtime that was given to this issue, and the ink and bile that was spilled over it, I have to come out now, as a strong supporter of the 'Ground Zero Mosque.'

First of all, there was a lot of deliberately misleading information on the so-called 'mosque.' Calling it a 'mosque' was supposed to make people conjure up images of a lead-domed building with sky-piercing, imposing minarets. And they did. The building in question is, in fact, a multi-faith cultural center that will provide the Manhattan community with more 'secular' amenities such as a gym, pool, daycare center, etc..

Secondly, the debate in question should never have taken a national dimension. But it did (thanks, Palin!). The only people making a decision on it should have been local authorities responsible for issuing building permits and the like; the only laws to be observed should have been safety and zoning laws; the only additional considerations should have been on the aesthetics of the building—and that, only if NYC has any.

By overtaking the national airwaves, the debate over this cultural center reached a level of perversion that many self-righteous (read: mistaken) citizens across the nation embraced as justified. Suddenly, an organization whose whole reason-for-being is combatting bigotry discredited itself by coming out against this building; then a bigot in X or Y county felt proud to say that allowing such a building was 'insensitive' or 'un-American' (question: who died and made you a moral dictator of America?); then a zealot in Florida threatened to organize a Koran-burning event that escalated attacks and violence against our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, while also aggravating any existing ire of Muslims across the globe. Yes, in just a matter of weeks, a debate that never should have gone beyond the requirements of local formalities became national and eventually medieval.

Thirdly, it should be understood that everybody has the right to voice his or her own opinion on whatever issue; but nobody has the right to pervert long-standing constitutional principles on issues of 'sensitivity,' especially when doing so means depriving others of the first freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.

I'm sorry, angered Americans-at-large: it's not up to you to decide whether a church or mosque or whatever else gets built in your country. It is not up to me, either....

I'm sorry, Manhattan residents: it's not up to you to prevent the construction of a building you don't 'like.' Comply with the decisions of the people you have chosen to represent you in enacting and enforcing local building and zoning laws.

Lastly, I'm sorry families of 9/11 victims: your pain and anger, however real and 'raw' (to use a word that was thrown around by Palin & Co.), do not entitle you to abridging the rights of any group, much less those of Muslims as a whole, who—as a whole—were never against us.

We were attacked by religious zealots with radically perverted views of Islam and the world, and with a total lack of consideration and respect for human life. Perhaps an example closer to home would serve to better illustrate it: the latter are the equivalent of the many (pseudo-)Christian groups in this country whose hateful and bigoted ideas spring up every day in dark and dreary basements across America, and whose abusive rhetoric or violent actions often reach the public scene.

Above all, remember that we are a state of laws; laws that condemn harmful behavior on others, and laws that defend liberties of individuals who set foot in this country (including minorities that can easily be overwhelmed by a majority). We have those laws for a reason and, despite whatever defects our legal-judicial system may have, intolerance of this kind is not one that should be imposed on or expected of it, no matter what the angry or otherwise emotional multitudes say about it.

It's a matter of principle.

«She Walks in Beauty Like the Night»

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meets in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress
Or softly lightens o'er her face,
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,—
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.

Lord BYRON

«Një çast i pagjumë»

Çdo gjë ngarkohet-shkarkohet në jetë,

Ngarkohet-shkarkohet toka e madhe
Mbushet qielli nga retë e shkarkohet nga retë
Mbushen pemët me fletë e shkarkohen në vjeshtë.

Ngarkohen me borë malet e lartë
E bora shkrihet në verë,
Ngarkohet ajri me tym e me vapë
E vapa shkarkohet në dimër prapë.

Ngarkohen lumenjtë me ujë nga shirat,
Lumenjtë zbrazen në motin e thatë,
Ngarkohen arat me grurë e vijnë shirat
Dhe zbrazen e mbeten të lira.

E prapë ngarkohen të gjitha, të gjitha,
Të gjitha ç'janë mbi tokë
Shkarkohen me gaz, me dhimbje e britma,
Nga rrapi i madh e deri te hithra.

Ngarkohet njeriu me dhimbjen e rrallë,
Nga dhimbja e rrallë shkarkohet,
Por ndryshe çdo gjëje, mundohet, mundohet
Por ndryshe çdo gjëje, shkarkohet ngadalë
Dhe mbeten rrudhat e thella në ballë.

Dritëro AGOLLI

*Me rastin e 79-vjetorit të lindjes.

Rousseau Had a Sense of Humor

Yes, it's true. And the English were the butt of his jokes at least one time:

In his Essai sur l'origine des langues (Essay on the Origin of Languages), he says:

Pour concevoir les repas des anciens on n'a qu'à voir encore aujourdui ceux des Sauvages ; j'ai failli dire ceux des Anglois.

In order to conceive of the meals of the ancients, one has but to see still today those of Savages; I almost said those of Englishmen.

I won't lie, I laughed out loud.

Rousseau was funny.... Whodathunkit?!

Times Are A-Changin'

It really does get better, according to The Economist!

Still... nothing beats atheists and agnostics...

«Howl»

James Franco who portrays Allen Ginsberg in Howl, reading an excerpt from the poem by the same title.

Full text available here or elsewhere on the Internet.

«Vallja e luleve»

Vijnë vashat valle-valle
Gushë-e-gji-stolisura
Një pëllumb, një sysorkadhe
Seç vjen m'e mbollisura.

Ç'm'i ka hije shtat' i hedhur,
Hije kraharuari,
Pa fillon me të dredhur
Motra së kënduari:

Ju që niseni për lule,
Shoqe, moj, të mijëza,
Merr-më-ni as edhe mua
Nër pyje-e korijeza;

Pritni, moj të vi dhe unë
Maleve, lëndinave,
Ndaj shkëlqen pa të përdhunë
Filli-i trëndelinave;

Në mos diça të bëj tufë,
Shoqe, ju dëgjo-më-ni:
Bëni, moj, një tog me lule
Dhe nër to mbulo-më-ni;

Në ju pyeçin për mua:
Ç'u bë flokbanusheja?
Thoni, se më një përrua
E zu gjarpërusheja:

Thoni, se ndaj një burimi
Me-të patë fluturën:
Thoni, seç e zuri trimi
Atë bel-këputurën.

Lasgush PORADECI

Strong Words

I hate—HATE—what McCain has become in the last two and a half years. Yes, I thought this before reading the article linked above. And no, I don't think 'hate' is too strong a word to describe the more-than-resentment I feel toward him. I hate him for having become the personification and, at times, the epitome and the sole agent of the obstructionism that has plagued our Congress since the last general elections. He went from being a true maverick and a bridge between the two parties, to campaigning on it, to soiling his campaign and reputation, to becoming an intractable old coot, and to abjuring his moderate past and even the title he campaigned on.

But most of all, I hate him for unleashing—again, I don't think I'm wording this too strongly—Sarah Palin on the national political scene, along with the bigotry, hate, ignorance, and opportunism she exemplifies. Her dreaded ubiquity, hate-mongering, fear-mongering, vitriolic language, and shallow example served to bring to the scene other ignorant, opportunistic pseudo-politicians who unscrupulously exploit hard times and people's legitimate frustrations for their own personal gain, while setting whatever civilized debate we had in this country back by decades.

Thanks a lot, McCain!

A Judge's Regret

In a recent interview with NPR, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is candid about his work on the court. When asked if he regrets any decisions in his thirty-four years as associate justice, Stevens says only one, when he and others upheld the death penalty in 1976.

While it is remarkable (and telling of his constancy) that among hundreds of decisions, he regrets but one—a likely inconsequential one at that, given the majority of 6:3 on that morbid decision—it is also a sad reminder of one of the ugliest sides of the American judicial system: it's perpetuation of state-sponsored murder—a most cruel and unusual punishment—that has cost hundreds of (sometimes innocent) Americans their life.

Here's a part of his interview.

In Comedia Veritas

The not-so-new Republicans.

[unknown title]

In my pockets sleep

unsent letters
I feel under my skin verses that whisper
envelopes that tremble
philately that loved ones will not be able to
pluck from my flesh
they are letters that I perhaps wrote
but sent to myself
in far-away addresses
as though I want to explain myself
with others' reasons
for my shortcomings
under my skin sleep
letters
a whole bunch of them
letters that will perhaps be sent
in fact, that have been sent, but to me
who, like a stolen mailbox,
accumulate for myself a certain warmth, good words
that I myself wrote about others better
than anybody could write to me.

Ervin HATIBI

(Origjinali shqip)

«Ëndrra të turpshme»

Njeriu sheh ëndrra të tmerrshme në gjumë,
Po sheh dhe ëndrra të turpshme vetmuar në dhomë,
Të tmerrshmet durohen më shumë
Të turpshmet vërtet të tmerrojnë.

Dhe zgjohesh sikur po mbytesh në lumë,
Në lumë të ndytë me gjëra gjirizi e blozë,
Ky turp ka qenë veç turpi i një ëndrre në gjumë,
Megjithatë ta fshish nga ndërgjegja s'ke forcë.
Të mbetet një shenjëz turpi, një gjumë.

Dritëro AGOLLI

The People Behind DADT

In the wake of the failed vote (or subverted debate) on Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell, I feel it is appropriate to share a couple of recent articles from before and after that compromised vote. These accounts portray the human toll of a taxing imposition that is shared only by gay and lesbian individuals in the military and not by their straight comrades.

An anonymous soldier speaks about his own experience and difficulties with DADT.

Some anonymous and signed contributions by gay and lesbian soldiers to a blog on The New York Times.

«Refrain»

The air is dark, the night is sad,
I lie sleepless and I groan.
Nobody cares when a man goes mad:
He is sorry, God is glad.
Shadow changes into bone.

Every shadow has a name;
When I think of mine I moan,
I hear rumors of such fame.
Not for pride, but only shame,
Shadow changes into bone.

When I blush I weep for joy,
And laughter drops from me like a stone:
The aging laughter of the boy
To see the ageless dead so coy.
Shadow changes into bone.

Allen GINSBERG

Politics and Bigotry Before Justice

An exposé of the hypocrisy plaguing our Congress and obstructing its legislative process, this time on Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell:

Healthcare Reform in a Nutshell

This is a must-see for anyone who wants to learn more about the implications (benefits and costs, etc.) of the Healthcare Reform Bill passed earlier this year. I like myself how it explains and it is recommended by Ezra Klein, who has shown time after time that he knows what he's talking about on this issue....

Who is Elizabeth Warren?

Here's a collage of what she is all about:

Elizabeth Warren's Greatest Hits from Daniel Mintz on Vimeo.

Common Sense ca. 2010

While I am not quite happy with the petty nomination that the Obama administration extended to Elizabeth Warren (for the sole reason that it is not enough), I do think that any bit of her input or influence in the yet-to-come Consumer Protection Agency is undoubtedly welcomed and more than necessary. She is the foremost defender of the U.S. consumer and deserves tangible power in the creation and management of the CPA.

While her voice will be heard, I did also want to hear the arguments coming from any member of Congress against her nomination for the leading position in the Agency. Her advocacy of the middle class is unparalleled and I would welcome any congressman or congresswoman to rise up and state his or her opposition to her nomination. Obama and the Democrats would have benefited from an open debate of this sort. The fact that Obama would face openly and head-on a challenge for a true cause of the left would reassure his base of the support with which he ought to reward them for their votes. Unfortunately, though, he has yet again done something only half-way....

Without any more ranting, here is the common-sense interview Elizabeth Warren gave on The Rachel Maddow Show:

New York City

Fine, fine, I won't leave New York City hanging after sharing those gorgeous views of San Francisco. Here is a slideshow of aerial views of New York City, courtesy of The Guardian.

Preview:

San Francisco

Contemplate. Ponder. Ruminate.

Just feast your eyes!

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

«Poezi pa fund»

Kur njerëzish rri rrethuar
përsëri kthehem drejt vetvetes
dhe pak nga pak
një nga një
filloj kundroj gishtat,
duart,
këmbët si lavjerrës
që tokën përplasin
që kohën masin
tek kalon
tik-tak
herë-herë tek-tuk
ku me duk, ku pa duk,
madje,
madje...
.
.
.
[pa fund]

«Kanga e rinisë»

Rini, thueja kangës ma të bukur që di!
Thueja kangës sate që të vlon në gji.
Nxirre gëzimin tand të shpërthejë me vrull...
Mos e freno kangën! Le të marri udhë.

Thueja kangës, rini, pash syt e tu...
Të rroki, të puthi kanga, të nxisi me dashnu
me zjarrm tand, rini.... Dhe të na mbysi dallga
prej ndjenjash të shkumbzueme q'i turbullon kanga.

Rini, thueja kangës dhe qeshu si fëmi
Kumbi i zanit të përplaset për qiellë
dhe të kthejë prap te na, se hyjt ta kanë zili

E na të duem fort si të duem një diell.
Thueja kangës, Rini! Thueja kangës gëzimplote!
Qeshu, rini! Qeshu! Bota asht e jote.

MIGJENI

Meritat kujt i ka merituar

Para disa javësh revista amerikane Newsweek botoi një renditje shtetesh të përpiluar nga ajo vetë. Shqipëria u rendit e 57-a midis shteteve në përgjithësi, por mori vend të parë në një renditje më vete, atë të shteteve me të ardhura të pakta. Kriteret e mara parasysh, përveç madhësisë së shteteve dhe të ardhurave, qenë arsimi, shëndeti, niveli i jetesës, gjallëria ekonomike, dhe klima politike.

Lajmi i «çmimit të parë» pushtoi rrjetin shqiptar dhe çdokush u krekos e krenua për përmendjen me emër të Shqipërisë në këtë renditje, e sidomos nga një revistë e respektuar dhe e njohur siç është Newsweek. Gëzimi është i drejtë, por i drejtë duhet të jetë dhe një rishtjellim i faktorëve që na e bënë të mundur atë «çmim». Gjella me kripë dhe kripa me karar....

Duhet vënë në dukje se «mesataren» e Shqipërisë e ulën njëkohësisht klima politike (për të cilën u përftua nota 58.67) dhe gjallëria ekonomike (për të cilën u përftua nota 34.09) dhe, nga ana tjetër, e ngritën arsimi dhe shëndeti me notat 81.02 dhe 71.02, përkatësisht. (Shiko figurën më poshtë.)

Gjithsesi, me sa pashë unë, nuk u duk askush në internet që të lavdëronte ato institucione që bënë të mundur kriteret që na falën «mesataren» tonë të lartë.

Duam apo s'duam, na pëlqen apo s'na pëlqen, duhet njohur këtu merita që i takon regjimit para vitit 1991 në Shqipëri për arritjet e bëra në të dy fushat ku vendi ynë «shkëlqen».

Ja se ç'tha vetë revista për Shqipërinë:

Shqipëria shfaqet rrallë në titujt e parë dhe duket një model i pazakontë për vende të tjera, por, në të vërtetë, kjo demokraci e re i tejkalon gjithë vendet e tjera me të ardhura të pakta. Midis kombeve në kategorinë e vet, ajo merr vazhdimisht renditjen e parë në arsim, shëndet dhe nivelin e jetesës. Pothuajse 99 përqind e shqiptarëve dinë shkrim e lexim. Edhe pse është një nga shtetet më të varfra në Evropë, burrat shqiptarë mund të parashikojnë të jetojnë mesatarisht deri në 78 vjeç, ndërsa gratë deri në 81 vjeç—statistikë kjo mjaft e mirë kur marrim parasysh se një qytetar i Gjermanisë së pasur jeton mesatarisht deri në 79 vjeç.

(përkthimi im)

Kam disa ditë që po kërkoj të dhënat e regjistrimit të popullsisë të vitit 1989—regjistrimi i fundit para eksodit që plakosi Shqipërinë—dhe nuk po i gjej kurrkund, madje as tek faqja e Institutit të Statistikave. Megjithatë mbaj mend se deri në vitin 1989 popullsia e Shqipërisë u trefishua nga periudha e para-luftës. Për më tepër, prania e shërbimeve shëndetësore dhe e arsimit të përgjithshëm u shtri në të gjithë vendin, që nga kryeqyteti e deri në fshatrat më malore të veriut të Shqipërisë. Masat e marra nga regjimi i asaj kohe synonin të shtonin popullsinë tonë dhe ta rrisnin atë të shëndoshë dhe, duke mbajtur parasysh pikëmbërritjen e tyre, ata ndihmuan në mirëqenien e popullit edhe pas rënies së regjimit të tyre. Për këtë duhen përgëzuar sepse ia arritën qëllimit dhe çuan mjekë dhe dituri aty ku asnjëra s'kishte shkelur më parë.

Ndonëse ky shkrim mund të duket si fletë lavdërimi për një diktaturë të së shkuarës, nuk e synoj si të tillë. E pranoj se ajo ishte bardhë-e-zi si shumë regjime të tjera dhe, sot për sot po e lavdëroj, por nesër ka gjasa ta shaj. Synoj më tepër të vë në dukje mungesën e nismës dhe vullnetit për të ndërtuar sot mbi atë që ngritën prindërit dhe gjyshërit tanë për pesëdhjetë vjet; synoj të theksoj mangësitë e çdo qeverie që ka pasur mundësinë të vërë dorë mbi shëndetin e qytetarëve që e sollën në fuqi por ka parapëlqyer të mbushë xhepat e saj; synoj të dënoj rrënimin e institucioneve që e mbajtën gjallë shëndetin dhe popullin e që sot lëngojnë vetë....

Me pak fjalë, përplas grushtat pa dobi....

When Journalists Redeem Themselves

Just three days ago, I was asking myself why in the world Maureen Dowd and David Brooks are on the NYT payroll. They hadn't produced an article of worth (in my opinion, of course) for weeks and I was tired of even reading them.

Yet, these last two days, both of them redeemed themselves in my eyes with their two articles:

First, Brooks wrote about the realities facing conservative legislators today as well as their precarious position between ideological alternatives and feasible, beneficial ones for the middle class that run against traditional conservative ideology. Brooks seemed to favor the realistic approaches to mending the nation's woes.

Then, there was Dowd, who wrote about the blatant hypocrisy and racism shown by the pseudo-intellectual Newt Gingrich who recently agreed with Dinesh D'Souza's assessment of Obama's politics as a result of his father's neo-colonialist world view. According to Dowd—and here I agree with her—by equating Obama's policy and view of the world to that of his father, and by tainting the character of the latter, they also insult the former.

Gingrich's and D'Souza's logic is so perverted and twisted that only an uneducated audience or bigots will embrace. But then again, look at the crowd who's gotten the mainstream Republicans' panties in a bunch....

Greeks Are the New Albanians

I clearly remember the early-late 90s when young and old Albanians in search of a better life crossed the borders—admittedly legally or illegally—into Greece, where they were met with menial jobs, police abuse, inhumane treatment at customs or in custody, as well as with cultural and religious pressure to alter their identities.

These are all true and easily researchable, but the latter is the most heinous of them all and relevant to this rant of sorts: upon arriving in Greece, most Albanians were, indeed, under great pressure to change their religion to Greek Orthodox, or at the very least, their names to typical Greek- or Orthodox-sounding names. It did not matter whether they were Orthodox in Albania but happened to have a religiously-neutral name like 'Ilir' or 'Arben'; when they went to Greece, adult Ilirs and Arbens were quickly baptized (humiliatingly by taking a dip in large cauldrons while wearing nothing but their skivvies, might I add!) to become 'Ilia' or 'Andrea.' The pressure of conversion or name changes was, of course, greater for those of Muslim extraction who had clearly Muslim-sounding names.

Today, as Greece faces the mess in which it got itself—while making no attempt to persecute those former leaders who fattened their bank accounts... hello!—it is the young people of Greece who find themselves seeking fortune and employment elsewhere.

The New York Times tells the story of a handful of young Greeks whose primary aim is to emigrate. One of them is Alexandra Mallosi and she is going to Abu Dhabi. I wonder if, once there, she will have to change her name to 'Asalah' or 'Yasmina'....

Technically, Greece holds itself capable of greater civility than certain other nations (among which Abu Dhabi must certainly figure), yet I have a feeling Alexandra will remain Alexandra even in Abu Dhabi.

I should be gleaming with schadenfreude about this whole situation, but I ought to make it clear that I do have mixed feelings about the Greek crisis.... I did, however, feel compelled to share this bit of what some might call 'karma.' I won't call it that, not believing in it and all....

Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell's Personal Price

A blog entry on The New York Times highlights the personal consequences of a discharge from the military resulting from DADT.

Besides the money we spend in training these individuals, there is a personal price that they pay themselves and if you have never been able to read or listen to a personal account of this sort, I suggest you take a few minutes and do just that.

'We have invented nothing'

I haven't heard of anybody saying anything better than what Picasso said (title above) upon seeing the Lascaux cave paintings.

I find myself saying the same thing every time I see them. Life Magazine brings to light a few never-published images of these paintings.

Apparently, there were once rhinos in France:

(Found via BoingBoing)

True Nature of a 'Porcine Loudmouth'

The Onion has outdone itself!

I see nothing satyrical in this piece on Glenn Beck, or, as he is referred to here, 'Pink-faced half-wit.' It is unfortunately true through and through....

"Almost invariably, the pink-faced half-wit becomes so arrogant and self-important that he actually starts to believe the bullshit streaming from his fleshy hole and comes to think of himself as invincible," Snider said. "If history is any indication, this latest ruddy, pabulum-spewing cretin will likely have a homosexual affair come to light or otherwise perjure himself in a way that will alienate all but his most fanatical followers."

Reality Check

The picture tells it all: Look at who gets the biggest slice of the pie:

Let's all thank Reagan and successors, everybody! Image source and more info here.

Makes you think of that Leonard Cohen song, doesn't it?

Everybody knows the fight was fixed

The poor stay poor and the rich get rich

That's how it goes...

And everybody knows....

(Found via)

The North Star Empress

I finally got a chance to read Vanity Fair's report on Sarah Palin and there was nothing in it that shocked me. I am not claiming to be clairvoyant but she has shown her ugly and uglier sides time after time. I just wish those who follow her also knew how she really is. Unfortunately, they won't even bother to read this article because, why would they go on to question their belief in the 'North Star.'

Warm and effusive in public, indifferent or angry in private: this is the pattern of Palin’s behavior toward the people who make her life possible. A onetime gubernatorial aide to Palin says, “The people who have worked for her—they’re broken, used, stepped on, down in the dust.” On the 2008 campaign trail, one close aide recalls, it was practically impossible to persuade Palin to take a moment to thank the kitchen workers at fund-raising dinners. During the campaign, Palin lashed out at the slightest provocation, sometimes screaming at staff members and throwing objects. Witnessing such behavior, one aide asked Todd Palin if it was typical of his wife. He answered, “You just got to let her go through it… Half the stuff that comes out of her mouth she doesn’t even mean.” When a campaign aide gingerly asked Todd whether Sarah should consider taking psychiatric medication to control her moods, Todd responded that she “just needed to run and work out more.” Her anger kept boiling over, however, and eventually the fits of rage came every day. Then, just as suddenly, her temper would be gone. Palin would apologize and promise to be nicer. Within hours, she would be screaming again. At the end of one long day, when Palin was mid-tirade, a campaign aide remembers thinking, “You were an angel all night. Now you’re a devil. Where did this come from?”

The whole report is seven and a half pages, but take your time and go through it. I did. And I know quite well I wouldn't want someone like the person described above controlling our nuclear arsenal.

Addendum: More on the empress's new clothes.

Ruminations of a Sick Anti-Theist

Christopher Hitchens, an outspoken public intellectual and a relentless critic of religion, has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and is undergoing treatment. He continues to write for Vanity Fair and his latest article in the magazine—about a week old, but I just got to read it—expresses his view on getting sick as well as on the fact that people of different faiths are praying for him.

He has very interesting things to say. Definitely worth a read if you have the time.

There are numerous passages in holy scripture and religious tradition that for centuries made this kind of gloating into a mainstream belief. Long before it concerned me particularly I had understood the obvious objections. First, which mere primate is so damn sure that he can know the mind of god? Second, would this anonymous author want his views to be read by my unoffending children, who are also being given a hard time in their way, and by the same god? Third, why not a thunderbolt for yours truly, or something similarly awe-inspiring? The vengeful deity has a sadly depleted arsenal if all he can think of is exactly the cancer that my age and former “lifestyle” would suggest that I got. Fourth, why cancer at all? Almost all men get cancer of the prostate if they live long enough: it’s an undignified thing but quite evenly distributed among saints and sinners, believers and unbelievers. If you maintain that god awards the appropriate cancers, you must also account for the numbers of infants who contract leukemia. Devout persons have died young and in pain. Bertrand Russell and Voltaire, by contrast, remained spry until the end, as many psychopathic criminals and tyrants have also done. These visitations, then, seem awfully random. While my so far uncancerous throat, let me rush to assure my Christian correspondent above, is not at all the only organ with which I have blasphemed …And even if my voice goes before I do, I shall continue to write polemics against religious delusions, at least until it’s hello darkness my old friend. In which case, why not cancer of the brain? As a terrified, half-aware imbecile, I might even scream for a priest at the close of business, though I hereby state while I am still lucid that the entity thus humiliating itself would not in fact be “me.” (Bear this in mind, in case of any later rumors or fabrications.)

'Monk Business'

Vanity Fair takes an exhaustive look at Greece's financial woes and how a handful of monks on Mount Athos helped to create it and/or benefited from it.

On a related note, I have a short-term solution for Greece: have your church bail you out. Technically, the church and state are one and the same. One hand washes the other, I say.

Loon Watch

Sooooooo... does this make her a lez? Judging by her male counterparts' rhetoric against gays and their subsequently-discovered love for the cock, I'd say she's as lesbian as poetry readings!

She does say 'I want some young women; you come stand with me' and then goes on to ask for a few women by name. I'd say she's a bitter lesbian at best....

(via BuzzFeed)

E vërteta na vjen nga jashtë

Që shqiptarët ta kuptojnë se ku ndodhen në lidhje me historinë e tyre, duhet që pasqyrën të na e mbajnë nga jashtë. Një profesor amerikan i quajtur Bernd Fisher (jam ende në kërkim të CV-së së tij) na vë në dukje tiparet e udhëheqësve që kemi pasur deri më sot, që nga Enver Hoxha e deri tek Saliu I dhe Saliu II. Ai nuk harron të tregojë këtë të fundit dhe Fatos Nanon si pasardhës të Enver Hoxhës, në saje të mentalitetit të tyre politik, por edhe të mënyrës se si ata kanë vepruar dhe veprojnë politikisht.

Who's to Blame

I'm not Obama's biggest fan right now and, honestly, never was. But I do think the guy has faced blame that was unjustly thrust upon him. It appears that even blaming him for the high unemployment in this country is also not just at all, because it is not his fault. In great part, he is responsible only for the unemployment that occurred during the time when his policies combatting it were put into effect. (Any logical person would not claim that he is responsible for all job losses post-20 January 2009.) Taking that into consideration, the result is astounding, as this blogger finds.

If you're more inclined to like pictures, behold this:

In other words, it is the Bush policies that are responsible for the loss of 7,796,000 jobs, and the Obama policies that are responsible for the loss of 41,000 jobs. That's Bush for 99.48% and Obama for 0.52% of unemployment.

This picture also illustrates it well. Or maybe it's just a cool picture that I want on my blog.

(Graph Source & via)

(Image Source)

Truth Be Told...

I am glad that at a time when most are discussing America's exit from Iraq (sort of), somebody stops and looks at the reason(s) that got us there in the first place. Those reasons were as fickle as they were false. What we didn't find there, the thousands of Iraqi victims, and the current state of political and social instability also go to show us that the war was in vain. Those dead did die in vain; they died in the hands of leaders who, led by their own reasons, sent thousands of them to fight a useless, unnecessary, unpopular, destructive war.

Revisionism is a Republican philosophy of life. Sadly, many Americans buy into it time after time. Good thing Rachel Maddow is around to shed some light where light is due, and give credit where credit is due.

Bonus clip:

Dituri

PYETJE:

Mitologjia shqiptare: Çfarë besonin paraardhësit tanë?

PËRGJIGJE:

Mes të tjerash: «Të bardhat janë një lloj shtojzovallesh, vajza të bukura, pra, diçka si zanat. E Bukura e Dheut, edhe kjo është njëfarë zane. Kjo figurë mitologjike është e njohur jo vetëm në Ballkan, por edhe në botën arabe, nga duhet të ketë ardhur ndër ne. Dragoi, kuçedra, syri i keq, lugati, shtriga etj..»

Për artikullin e plotë, ndiqni këtë lidhje te gazeta Standard.

Phallic Polls

The picture really is worth a thousand words in this case.

Outing Bigotry

It's all out, folks!

The Judge in the Perry et al. v. Schwarzenegger case has released all video evidence presented in the court. That means that now you can find the mendacious and misleading ads for Proposition 8 in one good ol' web page.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Everyone is entitled to his or her view of morality; no one is entitled to imposing it on another human being.

Get over it!

'Little Terrorists'

Aaaaaaaah! This Texas representative seems to suggest that children born to illegal immigrants in the United States leave the country, become terrorists, and then come back and are a threat to our security. Yes.... Because only U.S. citizens can (re)enter the country, right?

This woman is an idiot. She cites dubious sources devoid of proof and, what's more, pushes down our throats the image of illegal immigration as a direct threat to our security. Security! It's one thing to say it's a fiscal problem, but to make any suggestion that they are 'little terrorists' serves only the purpose of eliciting images of brown babies with dynamite strapped to their bodies. And that is certainly the image that the fear-mongering Republicans want people to have in mind when voting this year.

Election years are depressing but also a good test for the sanity of our representatives. This woman has failed it.

Always Have an Ace in the Hole

Never thought that's what Ella meant when she sang that song....

(Source: Buzzfeed)

Pedophilophiles

Hah! The Dutch apparently have an Onion-like news network.... What do they call it? Probably 'Leek'; they like double vowels.

(Source: Buzzfeed)

You're Playing With the Adults Now, Billyboy...

Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann have had a back-and-forth exchange of insults for a few years now. While I really do not like Bill O'Reilly, I must say that Keith Olbermann's retorts to 'Bill-o the Clown' are often childish and rely on name-calling more than anything else.

Perhaps weary of his feud with Olbermann, O'Reilly is now taking on Rachel Maddow, oblivious to the fact that she is an adult and will not engage him in name-calling, but rather fact-throwing. And, as long as she is playing that card, Billyboy will be in trouble....

I say get out now. Get out fast and don't look back.....

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