SOCIAL IMPRESSIONS

To prepare for a hostile backlash to Saddam Hussein’s guilty verdict for the 1982 brutal attack against the Shi’ite town of Dujail, Iraqi authorities imposed curfews in Baghdad, Diyala and Saladheddin on Sunday. Defying the curfew, Iraqi Shi’ites took the streets in celebration of this news, while 2,000 Sunnis protested Hussein’s death sentence verdict.

This divided reaction to the verdict unveils Iraq’s deep-rooted sectarian and ethnic split. The national-unity government, led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, is as split as the country. Even the military is ineffective and unable to subdue the escalating civil war. Although President Bush has been pushing for a democratic and unified Iraq, Iraqis have vehemently rejected that policy. In fact, 80 percent of the Iraqi population approved a new constitution for their country to be partitioned into Sunni, Kurdish and Shi’ite states, each having its own government, territory and army.

Even December 2005 national elections reflected a stark divide between these three groups. Shi’ites voted for Shi’ite religious parties, just as Sunnis and Kurds voted for their respective nationalist and religious parties. According to Time Magazine, “fewer than 10% of Iraq’s Arabs crossed sectarian lines.”

With Saddam Hussein’s death verdict and a new American senate in place, will Iraqis eventually unite and put their religious and nationalistic affiliations aside?

How many times have you been told that you have great potential but you need more experience? Apparently, this sentiment may be more than a brush-off after all. As frustrating as it is to hear that you have yet to reach your zenith, statistics show that you can only really reach your peak after 20 or 30 years of experience. So until then, you are still growing, learning and evolving as a professional.

Fortune Magazine article, “What it Takes to be Great, “states that individual success isn’t directly attributed to talent, but to consistent hard work. According to an intensive research conducted by Jane W. Davidson, Michael J. Howe and John A. Sluboda, notes, “The evidence we have surveyed” does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts.” In short, having an innate ability for a specific activity doesn’t mean that you will be a huge success at it.

Thomas Edison once said that genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Supporting this school of thought, the article notes that success can be achieved through “deliberate practice.” This is where a person “reaches for objectives just beyond [their] level of competence, provides feedback on results, and involves high levels of repetition.” Ericsson and colleagues conducted a study of 20-year old violinists to see how deliberate practice impacts their performance. The results: the best spent 10,000 hours over their lives practicing; the next-best invested 7,500 hours into practicing; and the next, 5,000 hours.

The immediate question that comes to mind is: isn’t talent the foundation needed to become great at what you do but it is up to you to actually accomplish it? Could I become a doctor or mathematician even though I didn’t have a natural aptitude for either one? As far as I am concerned, 2+2=5 and the heart is located somewhere near the ankle. Are they saying that all I’d have to do is study longer and harder to become the next successful scientist?

Palestinians have now shifted their focus to fighting against their own people. In an internal Palestinian power struggle between Hamas and Fatah, at least 11 innocent Palestinians were killed and more than 122 wounded since Sunday. This is a disgrace to the general Arab community. The United States, European Union and United Nations already classify Hamas as a terrorist group and the international population regards Arabs as barbaric warmongers. These actions only perpetuate those stereotypes that many Arabs are trying so hard to dispel.

The two movements have been at odds since Hamas won the parliamentary elections on January 28. Tensions escalated further due Hamas’ inability to pay wages to approximately 160,000 state employees. With Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist and to renounce violence, the Palestinian Authority has been in economic and political isolation. Hamas rejected Fatah’s pleas to form a national unity government and adopt a moderate platform with Israel. According to Jerusalem Media and Communication Center opinion polls, support for Hamas has fallen from nearly 39 percent in February to 31 percent. Only 22 percent of the Palestinians believe that Hamas’ performance has been “good.”

This unrest continues with Fatah’s armed group faction, Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, threatening to kill three Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashal, political chief, Said Siam, interior minister, and Yousef al-Zahar, Interior Minister senior official. An end to these violent clashes are nowhere in sight and many innocent civilians are dying.

As you have repeatedly noted throughout .INTROSPECT., I am strongly opposed to violence as a means of communication. Hamas and Fatah should have continued to negotiate their terms and discussed various ways to satisfy their people. Currently, it seems as though both parties are battling for power and not a way to ensure safety, peace and happiness for their people. Palestinians have already endured enough due to their civil strife against Israel; they don’t need another reason to suffer. It seems as though Palestinians no longer need to just dodge Israeli bullets, but Palestinian ones too.

Technorati Tag: Hamas , Fatah, and Palestine

Mary Carey, an adult film actress, announced her intention to run for California governor at San Diego State University yesterday. She will run as an independent write-in. With George W. Bush directly linking Christianity and morality to his political initiatives, what are her chances of winning this race? Does sex sell in politics as well or is that only reserved for advertising?

Apparently Carey feels like it does. Not only was she dressed in a dark blue suit that flaunted her obviously fake breasts, she was raffling off a personal dance. Unlike many of her opponents’ conservative and tight-laced websites, her campaign’s website contains R-rated pictures of herself. Other than pushing for a better education system and a clean environment, her platform also includes supporting the adult industry, extending the hours of the service industry, and to allow nudity and alcohol in strip clubs. She has admitted to using this campaign as an opportunity to inform the public that porn stars are more than just big-breasted blondes, they are smart too. However, she disproves that point with the many spelling and grammatical errors in her website.

In 2003, Carey proved that sex can contribute to the success of a political campaign. She garnered significant media attention and gained 11,061 votes. In fact, she finished tenth out of hundreds of candidates. With the majority of the American community turning to God during these trying times of war, will her affiliation with “Pimps and Hos of Beverly Hills” and job as porn star hold her back from being the next governor of California?

Technorati Tag: Mary Carey