exploring corners: Day 16 â In living color.
Array-ne Big Love’s fourth episode of its second season, “Rock and a Hard Place,” While the episode’s flaws stood out in the moment of watching the show, the after-effect of having all of that story rush by was that of making the viewer sit back and simply feel surprised by how densely plotted the thing was. HBO shows are not known for their thrill-a-minute pacing (not even Big Love is, really), so it almost felt for a moment as if the show had made the leap to FX or something._____________________________________________Read the rest here.
link
-ne A message to India and Pakistan on their 55th BirthdayMirza A. BegBirmingham Post-HeraldAugust 16, 2002India and Pakistan came to life as countries 55 years ago at a tumultuous time, in the wake of the British withdrawal and sectarian frenzy. Indians and Pakistanis enjoying the freedoms of the U.S. constitution can help their friends and families in the old country understand this critical concept.In India, Pakistan and other eastern countries, often even among intellectuals the concept of a nation is parochial. This is a challenge to thoughtful people who value truth, decency and love of fellow beings.People who have immigrated to the United States from India and Pakistan often realize that they have much in common and can be friends even though they come from countries that often consider each other arch enemies.There are as many Muslims in India as there are in Pakistan. Unfortunately the treatment of minorities in both the countries, religious, ethnic and linguistic scares the people of Kashmir enough to steer clear of both the countries, given a chance.
link
-ne
Science, Nature and Perception of GodMirza A. BegNovember 16, 2005“The more the things change the more they remain the same”, a truism ascribed to the French. It seams Darwin is again in the dock and a time warp has taken us back to the Scope’s monkey trial again. Some think that science is and has always been on a collision course with religion. I am a geologist as well as a deeply religious person. The challenge of unraveling the mystery of nature and the quest for understanding through research the most fulfilling form of worship.When volcanoes erupt or earthquakes shake continents by the continual adjustments of tectonic plates, or when the benign winds turn into hurricanes and tornadoes, inadvertently rearranging the terrain, we are awe-inspired by the power of nature. Unfortunately we usually take notice only when they wreck lives.The enormous loss of lives and destruction caused by the Tsunami off the coast of Sumatra last December inevitably raised the question, why? Why do such disasters take place? The scientific answer is reasonably simple. The theological answer is complex and depends upon our own spirituality and understanding of religion.Scientifically, the Tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9 (Richter scale) in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumatra. It was caused by the subduction (Sliding under) of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma Plate. This is the largest quake in the last 40 years and the fourth largest in the last 100 years. All of these quakes took place at subduction zones, Kamchatka peninsula (1952), Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Alaska again (1964).In mid 1960s Earth Science was revolutionized by the discovery of the plate tectonics, a mechanism that helps explain the formation of mountains and oceans. The Earth’s crust is divided into tectonic Plates that slowly move on a conveyor-belt-like circulation of the material below the Earth’s crust. When the plates collide they help mountains to rise and the forces cause major earthquakes. The plates are estimated to have been in motion for at least 3.5 billion years, of 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history. The major earthquake zones are known. The research is at the threshold of being able to predict quakes and warn people about impending disasters.In richer countries with better facilities for prediction and evacuation, people suffer less. In poorer countries with undeveloped infrastructure and inadequate building designs, they suffer more. It does not follow that God loves the rich more than the poor.If people were not involved, as in cases of many Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, it would not even be called a disaster. Such mind-boggling force of nature would have been termed grand, awe-inspiring and even beautiful.It is the theological answer that eludes us. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore God knows past, present and future - the laws of nature are God’s design and the universe is God’s creation. All scientific laws are God’s laws.Death is a part of the life cycle. We have trouble comprehending the untimely death and suffering of innocent people, particularly children. I do not know the answer.The only way I can even attempt to fathom it is in terms of the ultimate divine justice that takes into account all the facets of an individual life: the span of life, the gifts and handicaps the person was born with.The monotheistic religions rationalize the sufferings of this world with the rewards in the afterlife - heaven. The Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religious traditions, explain the joys and sufferings of this life with the doctrine of Karma - the rewards or punishments from the actions of previous lives determine the next birth.Religions help seekers on the path towards spirituality. When troubled, we turn to God for solace and inner peace. As we learn more through science, we realize how little we know. The paradox is that each Human life is a mini universe of interactions and memories, yet it is so insignificant in the expanse of the Universe.The Universe appears even more awe-inspiring with our advancing knowledge. Even the definition of the Universe tests the confines of human language. According to the String theory, there may be many universes. New words are being coined for the super Universe.According to Doug Ray, a friend of mine, The problem is our inability to grasp simultaneously the value of human life and its insignificance. I cant create human life; I should not destroy or diminish it. It is a thing of great value, a gift of God. At the same time, there are many things worth dying for, and to place too much value on my life is a mistake in perspective and probably sinful.”Some see the natural disasters as Gods anger. Anger at whom? Innocent babies as well. Limitations of language and thought preclude humans from perceiving the all-encompassing grandeur of God, beyond description. Misunderstanding the allegorical language of scriptures, people often perceive God in their own inadequate images and assign to God their frailties: love, hate, jealousy and anger as we are wont to do to other humans.Humans are capable of intense love and hatred. We can give our lives for our children, friends and causes. We can kill for the same reasons. It is the perfect justice that eludes us. God is perfect justice.When I see the beauty in nature and am able to perceive it
link
-ne
Government should address triple taxationBirmingham News03/16/03MIRZA A. BEG President Bush and his Cabinet have been on the road promoting his new economic stimulus package and the looming war on Iraq, for which no money has been allocated. The deficits are soaring again, and Bush wants to cut taxes for the wealthy a tax cut that even Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan finds ill-advised.It is unfair to tax money twice, Bush said as he presented his economic stimulus proposal in his State of the Union message. There is a principle involved. The government ought to be content with taxing revenue streams or profits one time, not twice.His rationale is that corporations pay taxes on their net profits. Part of that is distributed among the shareholders as dividends; therefore, the shareholders should not be taxed again on that income. It is logical, and if it is a matter of principle, Bush should also be against another form of double taxation the Social Security tax.It is a more regressive form of double taxation and, in some cases, triple taxation. It affects every working American, from all tax brackets. Meanwhile, taxes on dividends are paid by only about one-fourth of all tax filers, and most of them have small investments; the lion’s share of benefits goes to the people in the highest tax brackets.The Social Security tax is deducted from our paychecks by a government mandate to eventually help us through our retirement years. It is a good program. But we never volunteered for it.The tax rate has increased from 1.5 percent on the first ,000 of earnings in 1950 to 6.2 percent on the first 7,000 of earnings in 2003. Employers also pay an equal amount on our behalf and the government’s behest, effectively bringing the total pay-out to 12.4 percent.Triple taxation:The federal government imposes this tax on us, out of the goodness of its heart.However, we pay income tax on the amount already deducted for Social Security. This is taxation on a tax already paid.But that is not all: Millions of retirees pay income tax again from 50 percent to a maximum of 85 percent on their Social Security benefit if their income plus half of Social Security exceeds 5,000 a year for a single person and 2,000 for a married couple. This is triple taxation.Plus, the base taxable income is not inflation adjusted. Therefore, with inflation pushing up incomes, the number of retirees paying the triple tax will rise each year.The difference between the double taxation of dividends and the triple taxation of Social Security is enormous for an average citizen. Most people do not own stocks. Of the one-fourth of the tax filers who do own stocks, most have them in their 401K plans, which won’t benefit from the dividend tax relief because it is deferred income.In addition, even most of the people who own stocks that pay dividends won’t see much savings because they own only a few hundred shares. For example, Microsoft declared a dividend of 16 cents a share. If you own 100 shares of Microsoft stock, you’d get 6 enough to buy a cheap meal for a family of four.Bill Gates, however, who owns 612 million shares, gets 7.92 million. Of course, he gets more because he owns more stocks. The bottom line is that about 6 percent of the taxpayers will get more than two-thirds of the benefit of the 47 billion windfall.Here’s something else to consider: The full 6.2 percent Social Security tax is paid only on incomes up to 7,000 a year. Income above that is not subject to this tax. Thus, as a percentage of income, the tax decreases as the income rises. On a million-dollar income, it is effectively one-half of 1 percent.Thus, if the tax on the tax paid for Social Security is exempted, an average family earning 5,000 a year would save about 00. And the rich and the poor would benefit equally.Cost of business:In the case of dividends, two different entities pay taxes on the same income. It is a cost of doing business in a peaceful, civil society that the government provides for the business to flourish. Tax on dividends is a tax on a commodity, in this case money, as bankers, brokers and the government view it, use it and get rich in the process.Conversely, the Social Security tax and the tax on that tax are paid by the same individual. The majority of Social Security taxpayers are middle- and lower-income earners. Sweat of their brows makes the economy work and enables the wealthy to have the privilege of paying taxes on dividends. Most people work hard and would love to be wealthy enough to own stocks and to pay taxes on dividends.The greatest difference is that the corporations and people who control corporations have money to grease the political machines. Members of Congress routinely sneak special provisions into unrelated bills to give special tax breaks to corporations.Bush and the Republican leadership were impassioned in their arguments against restrictions on large political contributions. They equated large financial contributions to free speech. The rich buy a lot of free speech
-ne Hardin, Montana to Sheridan, WyomingThis morning we were the very last ones out on the road because Ben was on breakfast/water duty, but it totally didnât matter, and it was nice to encounter various groups of riders as we approached the middle of the group. I feel like weâre coming to a really cool point in the trip where people are comfortable knowing their riding capabilities, their own styles, fellow riders who are compatible with all of that, and then also the comfort to mix it all up. It was really fun to see riders who are normally behind to be up front, riders who are normally speedy gonzalasâs to be further back, and etc.
link
Array-ne Big Love’s fourth episode of its second season, “Rock and a Hard Place,” While the episode’s flaws stood out in the moment of watching the show, the after-effect of having all of that story rush by was that of making the viewer sit back and simply feel surprised by how densely plotted the thing was. HBO shows are not known for their thrill-a-minute pacing (not even Big Love is, really), so it almost felt for a moment as if the show had made the leap to FX or something._____________________________________________Read the rest here.
link
-ne A message to India and Pakistan on their 55th BirthdayMirza A. BegBirmingham Post-HeraldAugust 16, 2002India and Pakistan came to life as countries 55 years ago at a tumultuous time, in the wake of the British withdrawal and sectarian frenzy. Indians and Pakistanis enjoying the freedoms of the U.S. constitution can help their friends and families in the old country understand this critical concept.In India, Pakistan and other eastern countries, often even among intellectuals the concept of a nation is parochial. This is a challenge to thoughtful people who value truth, decency and love of fellow beings.People who have immigrated to the United States from India and Pakistan often realize that they have much in common and can be friends even though they come from countries that often consider each other arch enemies.There are as many Muslims in India as there are in Pakistan. Unfortunately the treatment of minorities in both the countries, religious, ethnic and linguistic scares the people of Kashmir enough to steer clear of both the countries, given a chance.
link
-ne
Science, Nature and Perception of GodMirza A. BegNovember 16, 2005“The more the things change the more they remain the same”, a truism ascribed to the French. It seams Darwin is again in the dock and a time warp has taken us back to the Scope’s monkey trial again. Some think that science is and has always been on a collision course with religion. I am a geologist as well as a deeply religious person. The challenge of unraveling the mystery of nature and the quest for understanding through research the most fulfilling form of worship.When volcanoes erupt or earthquakes shake continents by the continual adjustments of tectonic plates, or when the benign winds turn into hurricanes and tornadoes, inadvertently rearranging the terrain, we are awe-inspired by the power of nature. Unfortunately we usually take notice only when they wreck lives.The enormous loss of lives and destruction caused by the Tsunami off the coast of Sumatra last December inevitably raised the question, why? Why do such disasters take place? The scientific answer is reasonably simple. The theological answer is complex and depends upon our own spirituality and understanding of religion.Scientifically, the Tsunami was generated by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9 (Richter scale) in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sumatra. It was caused by the subduction (Sliding under) of the Indian-Australian plate under the Burma Plate. This is the largest quake in the last 40 years and the fourth largest in the last 100 years. All of these quakes took place at subduction zones, Kamchatka peninsula (1952), Alaska (1957), Chile (1960), and Alaska again (1964).In mid 1960s Earth Science was revolutionized by the discovery of the plate tectonics, a mechanism that helps explain the formation of mountains and oceans. The Earth’s crust is divided into tectonic Plates that slowly move on a conveyor-belt-like circulation of the material below the Earth’s crust. When the plates collide they help mountains to rise and the forces cause major earthquakes. The plates are estimated to have been in motion for at least 3.5 billion years, of 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history. The major earthquake zones are known. The research is at the threshold of being able to predict quakes and warn people about impending disasters.In richer countries with better facilities for prediction and evacuation, people suffer less. In poorer countries with undeveloped infrastructure and inadequate building designs, they suffer more. It does not follow that God loves the rich more than the poor.If people were not involved, as in cases of many Tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean, it would not even be called a disaster. Such mind-boggling force of nature would have been termed grand, awe-inspiring and even beautiful.It is the theological answer that eludes us. God by definition is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Therefore God knows past, present and future - the laws of nature are God’s design and the universe is God’s creation. All scientific laws are God’s laws.Death is a part of the life cycle. We have trouble comprehending the untimely death and suffering of innocent people, particularly children. I do not know the answer.The only way I can even attempt to fathom it is in terms of the ultimate divine justice that takes into account all the facets of an individual life: the span of life, the gifts and handicaps the person was born with.The monotheistic religions rationalize the sufferings of this world with the rewards in the afterlife - heaven. The Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religious traditions, explain the joys and sufferings of this life with the doctrine of Karma - the rewards or punishments from the actions of previous lives determine the next birth.Religions help seekers on the path towards spirituality. When troubled, we turn to God for solace and inner peace. As we learn more through science, we realize how little we know. The paradox is that each Human life is a mini universe of interactions and memories, yet it is so insignificant in the expanse of the Universe.The Universe appears even more awe-inspiring with our advancing knowledge. Even the definition of the Universe tests the confines of human language. According to the String theory, there may be many universes. New words are being coined for the super Universe.According to Doug Ray, a friend of mine, The problem is our inability to grasp simultaneously the value of human life and its insignificance. I cant create human life; I should not destroy or diminish it. It is a thing of great value, a gift of God. At the same time, there are many things worth dying for, and to place too much value on my life is a mistake in perspective and probably sinful.”Some see the natural disasters as Gods anger. Anger at whom? Innocent babies as well. Limitations of language and thought preclude humans from perceiving the all-encompassing grandeur of God, beyond description. Misunderstanding the allegorical language of scriptures, people often perceive God in their own inadequate images and assign to God their frailties: love, hate, jealousy and anger as we are wont to do to other humans.Humans are capable of intense love and hatred. We can give our lives for our children, friends and causes. We can kill for the same reasons. It is the perfect justice that eludes us. God is perfect justice.When I see the beauty in nature and am able to perceive it
link
-ne
Government should address triple taxationBirmingham News03/16/03MIRZA A. BEG President Bush and his Cabinet have been on the road promoting his new economic stimulus package and the looming war on Iraq, for which no money has been allocated. The deficits are soaring again, and Bush wants to cut taxes for the wealthy a tax cut that even Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan finds ill-advised.It is unfair to tax money twice, Bush said as he presented his economic stimulus proposal in his State of the Union message. There is a principle involved. The government ought to be content with taxing revenue streams or profits one time, not twice.His rationale is that corporations pay taxes on their net profits. Part of that is distributed among the shareholders as dividends; therefore, the shareholders should not be taxed again on that income. It is logical, and if it is a matter of principle, Bush should also be against another form of double taxation the Social Security tax.It is a more regressive form of double taxation and, in some cases, triple taxation. It affects every working American, from all tax brackets. Meanwhile, taxes on dividends are paid by only about one-fourth of all tax filers, and most of them have small investments; the lion’s share of benefits goes to the people in the highest tax brackets.The Social Security tax is deducted from our paychecks by a government mandate to eventually help us through our retirement years. It is a good program. But we never volunteered for it.The tax rate has increased from 1.5 percent on the first ,000 of earnings in 1950 to 6.2 percent on the first 7,000 of earnings in 2003. Employers also pay an equal amount on our behalf and the government’s behest, effectively bringing the total pay-out to 12.4 percent.Triple taxation:The federal government imposes this tax on us, out of the goodness of its heart.However, we pay income tax on the amount already deducted for Social Security. This is taxation on a tax already paid.But that is not all: Millions of retirees pay income tax again from 50 percent to a maximum of 85 percent on their Social Security benefit if their income plus half of Social Security exceeds 5,000 a year for a single person and 2,000 for a married couple. This is triple taxation.Plus, the base taxable income is not inflation adjusted. Therefore, with inflation pushing up incomes, the number of retirees paying the triple tax will rise each year.The difference between the double taxation of dividends and the triple taxation of Social Security is enormous for an average citizen. Most people do not own stocks. Of the one-fourth of the tax filers who do own stocks, most have them in their 401K plans, which won’t benefit from the dividend tax relief because it is deferred income.In addition, even most of the people who own stocks that pay dividends won’t see much savings because they own only a few hundred shares. For example, Microsoft declared a dividend of 16 cents a share. If you own 100 shares of Microsoft stock, you’d get 6 enough to buy a cheap meal for a family of four.Bill Gates, however, who owns 612 million shares, gets 7.92 million. Of course, he gets more because he owns more stocks. The bottom line is that about 6 percent of the taxpayers will get more than two-thirds of the benefit of the 47 billion windfall.Here’s something else to consider: The full 6.2 percent Social Security tax is paid only on incomes up to 7,000 a year. Income above that is not subject to this tax. Thus, as a percentage of income, the tax decreases as the income rises. On a million-dollar income, it is effectively one-half of 1 percent.Thus, if the tax on the tax paid for Social Security is exempted, an average family earning 5,000 a year would save about 00. And the rich and the poor would benefit equally.Cost of business:In the case of dividends, two different entities pay taxes on the same income. It is a cost of doing business in a peaceful, civil society that the government provides for the business to flourish. Tax on dividends is a tax on a commodity, in this case money, as bankers, brokers and the government view it, use it and get rich in the process.Conversely, the Social Security tax and the tax on that tax are paid by the same individual. The majority of Social Security taxpayers are middle- and lower-income earners. Sweat of their brows makes the economy work and enables the wealthy to have the privilege of paying taxes on dividends. Most people work hard and would love to be wealthy enough to own stocks and to pay taxes on dividends.The greatest difference is that the corporations and people who control corporations have money to grease the political machines. Members of Congress routinely sneak special provisions into unrelated bills to give special tax breaks to corporations.Bush and the Republican leadership were impassioned in their arguments against restrictions on large political contributions. They equated large financial contributions to free speech. The rich buy a lot of free speech
-ne Hardin, Montana to Sheridan, WyomingThis morning we were the very last ones out on the road because Ben was on breakfast/water duty, but it totally didnât matter, and it was nice to encounter various groups of riders as we approached the middle of the group. I feel like weâre coming to a really cool point in the trip where people are comfortable knowing their riding capabilities, their own styles, fellow riders who are compatible with all of that, and then also the comfort to mix it all up. It was really fun to see riders who are normally behind to be up front, riders who are normally speedy gonzalasâs to be further back, and etc.
link