Displaying 2,191 To 2,220 Of 2,240 Comments Javaz: If you want, I have a GREAT recipe for a rice pilau, Afghan style. You need at Sela rice (extra-long basmati -buy at store that sells Middle Eastern food). You have to wash the rice until the water is clear, then soak it in warm water for 20 minutes before draining. The recipe uses orange rinds, toasted almonds, turmeric and golden raisins (which I normally hate). It is a huge hit at every dinner party I have attended. Let me know, and I will send particulars. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 14, 2009 @ 6:37 am Greetings to the Planet on HuffNo Friday! I’d love to hang today, but we have out of town company. Have a great time, and I’ll check in when I can. LOVE the recipe ideas!! I get bored if I cook the same things over and over…… » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 13, 2009 @ 7:12 am I am the daughter of a full-blooded German who lived in South Texas and can cook Mexican like no one’s business! I make mean “truck stop enchiladas”. I also can cook Afghan food like Pilau, Qabli Pilau and Bomya (with okra) or Bonjon Burrani (eggplant). Yum! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 13, 2009 @ 7:08 am At least he’s not trying to buy actual virgins. Or is he??? » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 12, 2009 @ 3:54 pm There’s a saying down where I live: “I wouldn’t piss on you to put you out if you were on fire.” (I guess meaning I would piss on you at other times?) I just find it better for me (in keeping my naturally snarky nature in check) to totally ignore the trollies. They will never agree with you, or even think about what you have said, so why bother? Like wrestling with a pig….. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 12, 2009 @ 3:14 pm Escribacat: for what it’s worth, none of the Afghan women I know give a crap about AC. What goes around, comes around, I always say! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 12, 2009 @ 3:08 pm Obama Rejects All Plans Proffered. Thank you. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 12, 2009 @ 3:04 pm Let me go on record in saying that I am glad he is taking it slow, and thinking about things down the road. I want to help the people there and not just drop and run like in Charlie Wilson’s War. I also don’t want to waste our time, money and lives on a project without end. I think his calling out the Karzai government for the corrupt, puppet regime it is is a good thing. I wonder however, how the Afghan people will see it – since Karzai was put into place by the U.S. in the first place. I know from discussions that many see our involvement with a corrupt government as authorizing such governance. for years, they have also told me that we work with the Taliban. I denied it (silly me!), but it seems to be so. I did ask one of my boys about this whole thing. He hates talking politics, but sighed and said “I think the U.S. will do whatever it wants to do, and paint it to seem like a victory.” When we spoke about the situation, he said “I know it does not seem like progress to people here. Everything happens very quickly over here, compared to Afghanistan. But I can promise you that the situation in Afghanistan is without doubt better now than it was seven or eight years ago. And I don’t know what will happen without international support. But change has happened, it just happens more slowly than Americans would like. We have 5000 years to ‘change’. It won’t be easy, but it oculd happen. It’s already happened some.” He also feels it is up to his own people to push for the change – to “be the change they want to see”, his favorite Ghandi quote. I respect everyone’s opinions and concerns, and I don’t even profess to have the answers. What I do have is a great love, concern and responsibility to and for all the people I have met, and who have all seemed so incredibly grateful for what we were doing to help them. I live two blocks from where the Wounded Warriors are; not a week goes by that I don’t see wounded soldiers in my store. I often go up and speak with soldiers I’ve never met. They often come up and speak to me, if I am with one of my kids and they hear me speak. It’s a very hard, complicated issue. As with all difficult decisions, I believe that your true intention weighs the most – what it is you are about, what do you believe? That being said, I trust our President and our Vice-President. I also spoke with the person heading the Afghan Women’s Writing Project; she makes the assumption that the girls are safe if no last name/location is used. I’m a little more skeptical (years of never even using anything but an alias, unless I had special permission to do so), but I do think it’s a good and important project. Their voices must be heard. I just wish my boys had an equally compelling forum in which to write. Thanks to all of you here. With our different perspectives, it is so wonderful to have a real honest to goodness dialogue, with respect and listening. As I wrote someone last night, I go to that other site to snark so I don’t snark at home…….. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 12, 2009 @ 6:56 am Uh uh!!! What a nice gift……. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 5:05 pm Then what we have to do is trust that the project is “secure”. I will write the administrator, and my girls, and let them know this is a shot heard round the world. Their voices DESERVE to be heard, and I am proud of each one of these girls brave enough to speak out. They are my “soldiers” as well, just as my boys are. Thanks for the link…. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 4:59 pm I don’t know why HuffP is linked to the site – honest! I did remove the link, to lessen chances of it being pasted into sites that could then go out onto a larger site. Thanks for pointing that out, and I hope this helps. I am happy to send copies of the link in emails, if anyone wants to ask. Just would prefer it not to be found on too many sites, explained above. Thanks again. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 4:45 pm Please feel free to share the information, so long as you do it in an email to a friend instead of on the greater web. I admit I’m a tad paranoid, but my driving force is to keep everyone safe. Without their voices, we’d be less informed. Thanks so much for your understanding, and for your interest. I hope you enjoy the stories/poems. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 4:13 pm Nellie: please don’t. We try and protect their anonymity in some ways. I’m sharing it with Planet, because I trust you guys and because you are a fairly small site (at least for now!. I get nervous when it floats too far out on the internet that it could return to haunt them, even if they are fairly anonymous. If you wish to share via email with any of your friends, and not on a general internet site, please do so. Sorry – I feel like a weasel! But my first and foremost concern is their safety, the safety of the program, etc. I still have four over there I’m trying to get back and into college. I can’t/won’t rest until they do. Enjoy reading, and please DO share with your friends/family/colleagues via email, but ask that some caution be taken. It’s truly their lives that can be at risk. I have many reports we wrote on their activities, which I cannot post here because they are identified and photographed. It makes me sad and mad, but it is the reality. Thanks so much for understanding. And help them however you can. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 3:22 pm Here is a link to the writings of some of my girls (Fatima and Fattema). These are many of our alumnae. It’s an Afghan Women’s Writing Project. Let them know you’ve read their articles and encourage them! One of mine is the one who wishes to be a journalist….. (NOTE: LINK REMOVED PLEASE ASK PLANET POV CONTACT TO PROVIDE LINK OR TO GIVE MY EMAIL. THANKS!) Enjoy, and maybe this will explain WHY I feel so compelled to help. I can’t leave them without hope. But to be fair: I have two boys who can write equally compelling and heart tugging stories. They are JUST as sweet, JUST as smart, and JUST as desiring of change. They just don’t have the venue to share their stories with the world, but their stories are in my mind and my heart. I love them all. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 3:05 pm Javaz: It is precisely because we are allowing these people to become ghetto-ized, to stay locked in their own culture and their own little neighborhoods, that we encounter these type of situations. Europe (especially France) has many more problems because they do not integrate within the society, but stay apart. Things like honor killings and screwy jihads make me so angry too – but it’s like saying that the FLDS people, who married children off to older men in Utah/Texas, are a blight on all Mormons. Honor killings are a HUGE problem, here and abroad. I find the treatment of women a real problem. But not all Muslims adhere to this, and to condemn them all when the more extreme of them act out is just wrong. Reverend Phelps (isn’t that his name) – who says all the war casualties are because God hates gays – does NOT speak for most Christians, yet he gets lots of attention. His hatred can provoke violence. He is a vile, evil man. But he does not speak for me. And which “Christian” said Katrina destroyed New Orlenas because God hated gays? There are idiots in every religion. I belonged for years to a Tri-Faith Dialogue, which brought together Jews, Christians and Muslims, to share what it was they had in common. It was there that I made many friends in the Muslim faith – good, honest, caring and giving people, who are every bit as saddened when such things happen as we are – maybe even more so, because it feeds such fear and hatred. It was my friend, the Imam, who called and said “We must do something to help these people; I do not want to see them locked away in these little enclaves – it can be dangerous!” HE is the one who called out for us to do something. As far as covering: Islam decrees people should dress modestly. Both sexes are to observe this. The Qu’ran states that women should cover their bosoms – I agree! It does not say anything about covering their hair; this was from some of the hadiths, and from a cultural perspective. I had one girl who argued this fact with me, until we looked at the actual verse. She now does not cover; it was HER choice, and that’s how it should be. If a girl wishes to cover to express her faith, I see no difference in doing this than in wearing a cross on a necklace. If, however, someone tells her she MUST cover – well, that’s a different story. But changes take time, and patience and compassion go much further than demands and insistence. Again, let me try and get some of my children to answer for themselves rather than me answering as an outsider. Some of my children love the US troops, others worry that their presence increases the violence. Not one of them wishes the Taliban to return, however. And each one of them loves the freedom they can experience when here. One of my girls, when asked what she would most miss about the US, replied “Opportunity”. I think that says it all. Fear extremism, in any form, whether Jew, Christian or Muslim. There are examples in each faith; don’t just focus on one. That’s how to combat it. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 2:39 pm I’d love to write about these brave, wonderful children, and promise to do so. Right now, my tiie and attention are going to trying to start a refugee program for the families being brought over to the US from Iraq and Afghanistan, whereby we pair up college students, and other interested people, who will “adopt” a family for a year or so, and help them navigate the strange terrain of a foreign and new culture. They have lodging, and some food assistance, for four to six months. They need help in learning to shop for pork-free food, how to learn to count money and make change in a currency different than their own, how to dress, how to interview for jobs, how to run a washing machine at a laundrymat, how to catch a bus. I have a top-tiered university we are working with, several teachers at a wonderful magnet school, Catholic Charities and an Imam whom I have known for years, and whom I greatly respect, as our cultural liaison. I want these new citizens -or citizens to be – to understand we NEED them, so we will help them become part of the fabric of our society. They are welcome, and loved. I see what happened at Fort Hood – there are ways to stop this. We started this project a few weeks ago, but the tragedy at Ft. Hood and the fact that the refugee situation in my city is growing from 400/year to 1000/year, with only 30 staff to help assimilate, speaks volumes as to what we can and must do. So I’d love to write, but for now, I have to spend time reading! I thank you both for your interest. Do know that when I write, I will have to use false names for the children. We do all we can to protect their identities, and that of their families back home. Maybe I can even get some of them to write their own perspectives! That would be more honest, and more informative. As to achieving the mission: they will have to make the change themselves. We must help with security, and with education. The anti-corruption will have to be monitored; I’m thankful we are FINALLY talking about it. Do most of you understand that John Kerry had to go talk to Karzai because Joe Biden stood up, threw down his napkin, and walked out of a meeting with Karzai a few years ago, when Karzai sat there and denied there was corruption? Good for Joe! But it makes the situation a tad touchier, no? Thanks to you all. You make me so happy! I’m inviting friends in emails to join us Friday. Perhaps I’ll see if some of the children will also join in. I don’t tell them what to say or think, and their opinions can vary widely; but it’s THEIR country and THEIR stories! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 1:51 pm I’d like to especially thank all those serving in Afghanistan, since you are especially close to my heart. I have worked with my “children” and many, many service members – two AF guys paid OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET to ship an entire lab to the high school one of my children attended in Herat. Today, girls and boys share the same lab (different days), and they are so excited to have the ability to learn with a lab instead of by lecture/textbook only! In large part due to this project, my “son” won a four year scholarship and is attending the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, which he claims IS paradise! I took one of my “daughters” last year, to meet with soldiers wounded in the fighting in Afghanistan. It was her desire to thank them for making her opportunity possible. One soldier had never seen the face of an Afghan female. He was very moved. She thanked them for their sacrifice, and said it amazed her that they were so unselfish, and would give of their time, their life to go halfway around the world to help people they had never met. They told her how proud they were of her bravery, for defying some villagers and coming here for school. Each one, far far from home but doing their part to make the world a little better. I had both a father and uncles who fought in WWII; one cousin served in Iraq. But it is my children who have brought me closer to the brave men and women who now serve, and to whom I feel such gratitude. Thanks to you all!!!! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 11, 2009 @ 1:11 pm Update #3: HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL PASSES HOUSE 220-215 IN HISTORIC VOTE!!! Representative Joseph Cao – FAX 202 225-1988 or call 202 225-6636. I’ll send him a small donation for his bravery. And a big old THANK YOU fax. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 7, 2009 @ 10:18 pm You can look him up online and if you have a fax, send him a fax! I like to send nice fat juicy ones – good or bad (ask that idiotic Marsha Blackburn – I sent her one with 3 words – Dick. Cheney. Halliburton. Can’t remember her lie, but sent a paper trail to correct her!) » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 7, 2009 @ 10:08 pm HuffNo Friday Music Night: The Realm of Possibilities OK, now that’s some pretty heady stuff. Both the music and the article…. Alpha Bitch’s top dog is now intrigued, and may join us at some point. Some year, I’ll share some of those M-Theory thingamabobbies with you guys. I have no doubt about further dimensions existing – whatever we choose to call them. So that’s why the whole issue of spirituality is so fascinating to me, and why I simply cannot judge what is real or true for one person vs. the next. It’s why I love learning. Thanks for all the work, KQuark. I love seeing a site with so many options from which to choose, and having so many grand masters! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 6, 2009 @ 7:51 pm How it is that the Teabagger Movement is bogus I could handle the bad ones turning blue in the face, if only they would turn into blue state voters as well beore they rapture…… » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 6, 2009 @ 4:38 am Twelve Shot Dead and Thirty One Wounded at Fort Hood. Good article. Thanks lot for the link. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 6, 2009 @ 4:44 am Thanks for the tip on Keddie’s book. I”ll put it on my list, after Horse Soldiers (about Afghanistan – AGAIN). Don’t get me wrong – I’ve read Spong (much better than Borg) and other Christian writers. But that’s not my love. Shane Claiborne writes as a radical, which was more appealing to me. I’m bored with the church route for now, and concentrating on working with people. My new project is to work assimilating Iraqi and Afghan refugees in my city to their new “home” instead of allowing them to remain confined in a European style ghetto environment. There are only 30 staff people to work with over 1000 refugees this year; they need help! We meet next week with my imam friend, the person who heads the refugee program here (also a friend), and a professor at our best university, who will start a service learning project for International Studies students to get involved. It’s much more a “roll up your sleeves and do the work” (a la Shane Claiborne) than “listen to the Word” type inspiration. As to Methodists: my husband and I went to the main office and asked they excommunicate both Bush and Cheney. Since they wouldn’t, we left. No regrets so far! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 7:34 pm No, thank you! Did you also read the book “Iran Awakening”? I don’t remember who wrote it – it was a woman – but it was also very informative. That’s where I first learned about the coup in ’53. Honestly, between what havoc we wreaked in both Iran (in the 50s) and Afghanistan (in the 70s), you’d think we’d have learned!!! The blowback seems to run about 30 years after we act. I believe with my whole heart that the Iranians are capable of defining for themselves what type of government they would choose. They are young, and educated. Compare that with Afghanistan -their neighbor and linguistic cousin, as it were – which has an illiteracy rate of something like 85% in 2001, now down to around 45% (I think that’s what I remember seeing recently). Hard to make informed choices when you cannot read/write. But if Iran can pull it off, it could likely inspire and motivate Afghans to do the same. The genie is out of the bottle for them as far as technology, so we’ll see. I would so love one day to tour both places, especially Bamiyan and Qom. My imam pal told me that the Essenes were from around that area, and that Mary’s lineage was also from around there. I also thought it interesting that Mary is mentioned more times in the Qu’ran than in the Bible! I’ve read both, and learned much in each. Did you ever read “The Irresistable Revolution” by Shane Claiborne? A TRUE follower of Jesus, and an inspiration to me. We had him come speak at our Methodist church – wow wow whee wow! His premise is “What if Jesus really meant what he said?” Gives you pause….. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 5:22 pm Thank you. And I think you are a great writer, too. I’m glad you get to share that with us here. Keep on keepin’ on. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 12:51 pm Thank you so much, Khirad. I follow what is going on in Iran with great interest. Many of my students and their families have lived in Iran, while the Taliban were in charge in Afghanistan. I have a very dear friend here who is from Iran (having moved here 27 years ago), and who is an imam. I go to his mosque and bring my “children” (both Sunni and Shi’a) every year. I wear a green wristband with the words Daneesh Beju (seek knowledge) in solidarity with the Iranians who wish for a more reformed society. And I love love love Reza Aslan. If I may make a suggestion to all of those who are curious about Islam but are afraid to ask – read Reza Aslan’s book “No God But God”. I found the pre-Islamic history portion incredibly enlightening, and came away with the realization that AT ITS TIME, Islam was incredibly progressive and offered far more rights for women than did either Judaism or Christianity. Shocking, but true. I’m not Muslim (although my imam friend calls me an “honorary Muslim”, and I am honored to be considered such). I was brought up as a Lutheran, belonged for a few years to a Methodist church. I consider myself a Christian, although those with the more fundamental mindset might not. It doesn’t matter. I am a person who cares about ALL other people, whether we share an ethnicity, a religion, a lifestyle, a geographic proximity, a sexual orientation or not. Thanks again to ALL of you for this wonderful site! It lifts my soul. » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 12:33 pm Is this the definition of cognitive dissonance? Hi there – don’t know you, but congratulations! Happy day, no? May it continue for a long, long, time!! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 12:38 pm I love bacon as well. There = I’ve said it! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 9:47 am HEY! Which one of you guys liked BLUEGRASS? I’ll post a video tomorrow from one of my bestest friends, a true musical wonder of the world, Mr. Tim O’Brien! And I’ll throw in the lyrics of verse three from More Love, which I believe says it all. But who was it? I don’t want to frighten others…..(JK) » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 5:28 pm Was hoping it was LA; I love to go to the Festival Acadiens each fall and the International Music Festival each spring (both in Lafayette). Good food, great music, nice folks. I’ve only been to the OTHER LA a few times, but had fun each visit. Thanks for replying! » Posted By AlphaBitch On November 5, 2009 @ 2:49 pmComments Posted By AlphaBitch
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