Let the punishment fit the crime

The Iraqi who threw his shoes at President Bush was sentenced today to 3 years in jail. While throwing your shoes at someone is rude, I do not think the punishment fits the crime in this case. Islamic nations seem to have some very harsh punishments. Thankfully the US Constitution has many protections such as the 8th Amendment that says "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

If someone threw their shoe at someone in the US, I wonder what the likely punishment would be?


For more info see:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090312/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html#amendmentviii

The Shoe That Roared

The war in Iraq cost the US 2 trillion+ dollars and helped cause the current economic crisis (a bad role model of borrowing and spending immense amounts of money).

More Americans lost their lives in Iraq then due to all Al Qaeda terrorist activities combined.

The goodwill the rest of the world had toward the US after 9/11 and prior to the Iraq war reversed itself in disgust as a direct result of the Iraq war.

This one small act of defiance, resonates not just in Iraq but across the world.

Read more in the NY Times at: Iraqi Journalist Hurls Shoes at Bush and Denounces Him on TV as a ‘Dog’

Iraq Rebuilding a Mess

We (the US) really stuck our foot in it. We should never have gone into Iraq.

See: New report slams U.S. reconstruction of Iraq: report

Obama's Foreign Policy Ability Looking Good

Not so long ago Obama was criticized by the Republicans and McCain for a lack of foreign policy experience. Yet his recent trip through Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, France, and England shows he is better at Foreign Policy and Diplomacy than McCain, Bush, or any recent US President I can recall.

In just this one pre-election trip he already has the endorsement of the current Iraqi government, Obama's troop withdrawal plan is aligned with what Iraq wants, he is hanging tough regarding Afghanistan, and he articulated a compelling position in Germany to a live audience of 200,000 (!!!!) that helps rebuild America's tattered world image.

If he can do so much before becoming President, just imagine what he could do after becoming President.

Plus Obama appears much more Presidential than McCain or even our current President Bush. Obama is measured, he is balanced, he is poised, he is inspirational, he is reasonable, he is mature, and he is being a true leader. In contrast McCain seems whiny, shrill, clumsy, ill-spoken, prone to error, out of touch, and over the hill.

I hope all of you will support and vote for Obama when it's time.

U.S. and Iraq Agree to Goals for Troop Cuts, Bush shifting

Wow, President Bush is actually changing his mind about troop withdrawals from Iraq! I'm glad he is finally listening to the overwhelming majority of the American public who want us out of Iraq.

And I'm glad he listened to the Iraqi government when it requested "a time frame for the complete transfer of the security responsibilities to the hands of the Iraqi security as preface to decrease the number of the American forces and withdraw them later from Iraq."

I've been participating in peace rallies since the Iraq war began over 5 years ago and I'm getting a bit tired of it. I'll be happy when I can stop hanging out on street corners to remind the US to pursue peace not war.

read more | digg story

Europeans love Obama

The NY Times Op-Ed "Obama at the Gate" by the German author Christoph Peters nailed Bush and promoted Obama -- mirroring the sentiment of all the Europeans I talked with on my recent 3 week visit to Italy, Austria, Croatia, and the Netherlands.

Says Christoph: "George W. Bush’s contempt for the rules and institutions of international politics, his revival of preventive war, with all its unforeseeable consequences, his abrogation of the rule of law in his own country, and his ignorance of every issue related to environmental conservation have become, for me and for the vast majority of Germans, synonymous with a high-handed, ugly America. This state of affairs has provoked not only rage and horror, but also great sadness, for the United States has always been the symbol of freedom, democracy and law."

I completely agree.

The wonderful and remarkable thing is, as I've experienced first hand in talking to Europeans, Obama is doing more to restore the world's faith in the United States then any recent US President -- and he is not yet the US President even! The United States with its vision of equality, freedom, and civil rights is a hero to many -- when we actually practice those virtues.

I sincerely hope Obama does become President and is able to finish restoring the trust others want have in the US as a government that supports life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- for all.

read more | digg story

Doing what is right, rather than what is easy...

It is not a sin to learn from mistakes and move forward.

It seems that many consider it a weakness to admit a mistake. Rather than use new information and do a course correction, some leaders double-down and refuse to even consider a change in direction. There is a perception that to be a strong leader you must never be wrong. I've seen this tendency in many recent leaders. Perhaps you know a few. Remember the story about the emperor who wore no clothes? <http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Emperors-New-Clothes.htm>.

Sticking to your guns regardless, rather than being a strength, is sometimes a sign of weakness.

It is important to have a balance between when to make a stand and when to change positions. Sticking to either extreme is flawed -- it takes good judgement to "know when to hold them and know when to fold them". This is true in cards, it is true in stock trading, and it is true in life in general.

Two recent news stories demonstrate the importance and honor of learning and changing your position, even though it may surprise former allies and pit you against strong opposing forces. Sometimes you just need to do what is right rather than what is easy.

In the first case, Scott McClellan, a former White House press secretary under President George W Bush, discovered that he was mislead by the Bush administration to perpetuate lies. He documents this in the recently published book "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception." When he learned more, he changed his position from supporting the current administration as a strong loyalist to speaking out against these wrongs.

Please read the book and various news articles to learn more, in particular the New York Times article at:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/washington/28mcclellan.html>

In the second case, Massachusetts state Rep. Paul Kujawski went from opposing same-sex marriage to voting to allow it, despite major pressure from others. As he learned more about gays who wished to marry, he moved from a position opposing same-sex marriage to one willing to allow different strokes for different folks. Did allowing same sex marriage materially damage his own marriage? -- No. Did allowing it materially help others? -- Yes. So Paul left behind his former beliefs and reached a new, better informed position that allows more people more freedom in an area where it benefits those people and does not harm others.

Please read more in the San Jose Mercury News at:
<http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9520664>

When knowledgeable, well respected stalwarts flip sides, everyone should take note because this is not done lightly. Both men considered their respective situations carefully and thoughtfully before making their final decisions.

I am in a similar position with regard to freecycling. There was a time when I was a strong proponent of The Freecycle Network (TFN) and helped in many ways as an inside member of its core team. But when I realized that TFN had made some major mistakes that harmed many innocents, I was compelled by my sense of honor to do what was right rather than what was easy.

For details and references please see:
<http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=freecycle>
and
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclesunnyvale/>
and
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fcnext/message/16987>

Luckily, I am not alone in my observations and trying to right wrongs. Many, if not most, of the original freecycling leaders likewise left TFN before, during, and after I left for similar or related reasons. These people include Nancy Castleman (original head of the modsquad forum), Judy Ruzich (original head of the GOAs), Pastor Ken Hedden, David Neeley, Karen Welliver, Charlotte Hess, Karen "caveguru" (original author of the TFN moderator manual), Elva Hesting, Rob Robertson, Robin Brown, Eric Snyder, Kelly, Deanna, Lorretta Woodbury, Eric Burke, Lynnie Jones, Cynthia Armistead, Linden R. Gibson, Nora Child, and many others.

Note that while I no longer support TFN, I (and these others) continue to strongly support freecycling.

Cheers,
Tim Oey

Just Imagine What Positive Work We Could Do With...

Just Imagine What Positive Work We Could Do With...

4000 living young American men and women,
1001 living American contractors,
29,000 unwounded young American men and women,
90,000 living Iraqi Civilians,
500 Billion US dollars,
and 5 Years...

With those resources we could have reduced global warming, saved millions of lives, fed billions, and ended illiteracy worldwide. ( http://icasualties.org/ , http://iraqbodycount.org/ , http://costofwar.com/ , http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.3584667/ )

Instead, this is what President Bush and his supporters chose to spend starting and waging war in Iraq. And the war is not over. The United States is likely to spend many more years, countless more lives, and around 2 trillion US dollars, perhaps more, on this war.

What a horrendous waste of resources.

What do you think works better to reduce terrorism?
1) Killing the friends and families of others? Or,
2) Educating others so they can live decently with their friends and family?

Tonight I spent 2 hours with 50 other peace loving patriots at a vigil in Mountain View, California to honor the 4000 American soldiers who have died so far in Iraq. We spent 30 minutes reading aloud each name of the over 400 Californian soldiers who have died in the past 5 years.

This evening I met Karen Meredith whose only son Ken Ballard died on May 20, 2004. Please read more about Ken at http://www.ltkenballard.com/

Five years ago my father, an ardent peace activist, died just as the war began. Please read what I said during his memorial service on March 23, 2003 at http://oeyweb.com/sunny/MemServTim.htm

Finally, Greg Mortenson worked in Afghanistan and Pakistan, could see a catastrophe about to happen, and saw the best way to prevent terrorism permanently. To learn more about his work please read the book "Three Cups of Tea" http://threecupsoftea.com/

Just imagine what Greg could have done with the resources that have been wasted on the war in Iraq. He could have really ended terrorism instead of creating conditions that generate more terrorism.

I hope each of you who read my message here will do your own small part to end this war, save lives, and save our world.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
http://timoey.blogspot.com/

For families of soldiers at war, endless worry

Hi all,

If you have not already, I encourage you to read "For families of soldiers at war, endless worry" in the Sunday 1/6/2008 SJ Mercury News.

You can also read it online at http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion

Here is the letter I sent to letters@mercurynews.com regarding the editorial and the other letters so far:

-----------------------
I am outraged when others tell me that I can only support our troops if I support the war. That is FALSE. It's falsity is proven many ways. The outpouring of letters from people supporting the troops but not the war proves it. Almost all taxpaying Americans support the troops but a large majority of them are against the war (as shown in numerous polls). I personally support our troops (through taxes and donations) but do not support the war. I salute Stephen Wright's son for doing his patriotic duty while at the same time I work to end this stupid war.

The waste of lives and resources due to the Iraq war is atrocious. 9/11 resulted in 2,752 people dead. The Iraq war has killed nearly 4,000 American troops, wounded 40,000 American troops, killed over 400,000 Iraqi civilians, and cost over 483 billion US dollars so far.

Furthermore, President Bush lied to fool the rest of us -- there were no weapons of mass destruction and Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

Democracy is based on people choosing for themselves. Forcing democracy on others is so undemocratic and hypocritical it almost leaves me speechless. I want my country to be a noble role model for others, not a big bully.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA

Want Democracy? Then Practice It!

It is so easy to be lazy. And it is so easy to blame others.

It seems to me that too many people these days are lazy (at least in the US). And too many people are ready to blame others rather than take responsibility themselves.

All of us can control and are responsible for our own destinies.

Who are we to force democracy on others? Forcing others to practice democracy is by its very nature undemocratic. Would the US have become a successful democracy if some other country had come in and told us we had to conform or else? Hell no!

We don't want others to tell us what to do. Others don't want us to tell them what to do. Democracy by its very nature is rooted in the people. As such it has to grow from the people. Power to the people!

It is far more powerful for us to teach by example. It is far more effective to nurture and grow democracy through education. This takes patience. It takes time. But in the long run it can be successful. And the results are much more likely to sustain themselves.

For democracy (as well as our environment, efficient use of resources, and our world), the US was wrong to invade Iraq.

Who are we to force democracy on others when we oppress others and make them too afraid to speak out?

Be brave, speak out, and be heard. Free speech is necessary for democracy to thrive and spread. If you don't stand up for free speech, who will? It is a requirement for democracy. So do it!

Who are we to force democracy on others when so many of us choose not to participate in our own democracy?

If you really believe in democracy, prove it -- go vote!

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA

Copyright 2006 Tim Oey

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

The American Way, Osama, and Truth.

Today I wrapped up a business trip in India and had the pleasure of visiting the Taj Mahal with a colleague. I also had the pleasure of talking about the world at large with Sanjay, our tour guide in Agra. Sanjay shed new light on my knowledge of the American Revolution. He said that many in the world greatly admired the United States after it successfully gained independence from England in 1776. And the US inspired many other countries, like India, to also seek independence.

I wish the US could continue to inspire people rather than hurt them.

In Greg Mortenson's book "Three Cups of Tea", one Pakistani says regarding the US-Iraq war "I'm a moderate Muslim, an educated man. But watching this, even I could become a jihadi. How can Americans say they are making themselves safer? Your President Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one billion Muslims against America for the next two hundred years."

In response to Greg's retort saying "Osama had something to do with it, too." The Pakistani goes on to say "Osama, baah! Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is in every home. As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who can shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of your enemy's strength. In America's case, that's not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.

These words ring true whereas much of what President Bush has had to say has not.

I highly recommend that everyone buy a copy of Greg's book and read it. It is chock full of insights and real truths. Please read it and let ignorance fade away in the light of reason and accurate information. The truth shall set us free.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Greg Mortenson and "Three Cups of Tea"

This evening (3/20/2006) I had the pleasure of meeting Greg Mortenson in person at Kepler's in Menlo Park during a discussion of his book "Three Cups of Tea". He gave a great talk with about 250 people attending.

Some highlights that stood out for me:

1) Schooling girls has greater benefit then schooling boys for a number of reasons. Boys tend to leave the community and take their education with them whereas girls tend to stay with communities and help build them. Educated girls are more likely to raise educated families. When boys go off on a "jihad" (which is not necessarily a war, but can be any crusade or struggle to make a difference), it is supposed to be approved of by their mother to be socially acceptable. If the mother is educated she is less likely to approve of a warlike jihad and more likely to approve of some other endeavor.

2) Greg and some statisticians at the UN believe that the best way to to get over population under control is to educate women.

3) The amount of money that the US spent on the war in Iraq would have been enough to eliminate illiteracy worldwide (spending that much money on schools rather than the military). Imagine the kind of message that would give the world instead of making war.

4) Greg's group has set up 53 schools and these schools have educated 20,000 children so far.

5) Greg is a very humble guy who freely admits that he has made lots of mistakes -- and making those mistakes was necessary for him to learn. When his first school was being built he made the mistake of trying to manage things very closely to make every penny count. The town elder said the people loved him but asked him to back off and let the people build their own school. Greg was driving them crazy. They proceeded to finish their school just fine in 6 weeks. Greg said he learned it is important to give power to the people.

I now have a copy of Greg's book and hope to read it in the next few weeks.

For more details on the book please see:
http://www.threecupsoftea.com

For more on Central Asia Institute please see:
http://www.ikat.org

Cheers,
Tim