The entire world is ripped apart by the ‘Them and us’ syndrome. If you sit down with Palestinian families, you can’t help but weep at the horrific situation in which they find themselves. If you look into the eyes of a mother who saw her children burn alive, you would have no words with which to console her. Then, travel to Israel and sit with a broken mother whose sons were kidnapped and tortured for weeks on end, and whose severed limbs were sent back to her in a bloody box, you would feel ashamed at how humans can inflict such unfathomable cruelty upon each other.

Fold away the national flags, and bring the women together, and they will lament at the sheer agony of loss. They will both understand the emptiness that haunts their shattered spirit. Irrespective of language or creed, they will hold hands as they ache at the incomprehensible barbaric behaviour whose result is never anything more than pain and suffering. There can be no victory. These women will tell you that nothing was worth the loss. No act of revenge has ever soothed a stolen life. Nothing good has ever come from bullets and bombs. What is worse, is the perpetual lies that fuel endless misery for both sides. There can be no victors where there is no justice. Land, geography, money, and sovereignty do not provide prosperity. Real wealth grows in the hearts of children. Real peace comes from shared fruits. Real happiness comes from common toil that concludes with the setting-sun around a dinner table where neighbours and strangers are just as welcome as family members.

Talk is cheap. Tough talk is pathetic. With mighty weapons, people can’t think straight. With lop-sided power, people can’t be just. Putridity dominates our world, and it gallops fast when humans are hell-bent on blaming ‘them over the border’. It is never us. It is always them. They killed our children, so we will kill their children. Has anyone stopped to ask the children what they think?

It is pathetic that we speak about the troubles of the Middles East in terms of religion and politics. I’ll tell you what fuels it: greed and stupidity. And the one ingredient that keeps greed and stupidity in full flight is lies!

And the worst lie is not the one that we spin for others to believe. Rather, it is the lie that we fashion and swallow ourselves.

There have been errors, horrors, and atrocities on both sides. Left, right, and centre. We have all erred. We have all suffered. Sad indeed that the Arabs have so quickly forgotten that they were the leaders in the fields of science. The Arabs were the forefathers of mathematics. They were the trend-setters for hospitality and generosity. They have so much going for them, they could dominate the world, and teach it about how to live a joyous and zestful life. Sadly, the Arabs have allowed themselves to be distracted by wider, jealous enemies who know how to divide and conquer.

The history of the torment in the Middle East would require billions of pages to document. How can we ever tell all the stories? And there is always one more story… have I told you what his grandfather did to my grandfather… However, those billions of stories can be summed-up in one word: Debauchery!

So, where to from here?

Corrupted souls do not know how to reason. They only understand the language of hate. Their only currency is blood. Their only mantra is power. And we still invite them to peace talks? There can be no peace while we trade in lies. There can be no respite while justice is suffocated at every opportunity.

We are left with one solution: the sane amongst us must pray for ‘magnanimity’. All of us, young and old, the pained and the troubled, the guilty and the pure, must come to the village-square and say, ‘I have made terrible mistakes. The only way for me to repent is to be magnanimous. Please dear enemy, will you allow me to be magnanimous? May I do something to show you that I am sorry about my past mistakes?’ And as one party says this to another, you will find people embracing each other and saying, ‘My enemy, my friend, there is nothing I need from you. I just want us to stop this madness. The moon is nice tonight, shall we toast the moon as we bathe in its light? Look, the stars have begun to sparkle. Please break this bread with me. The angels are watching. Let us not disappointment them on this blessed night.’

This kind of solution is only possible if we can mature. But that is unlikely. It can only happen if we are ready to forgive. But that is unlikely. It can only come to fruition if we can love, but the anger sill burns in our heart, and the rage still consumes our mind. Therefore, sadly, love is still a long way off. And this begs the desperate question, ‘What can we do?’

We can expose the lies. Not so that we can swing back and forth and take sides. Not so that we can pretend that they are at fault and we are pure. But so that we can let it all out, in the light of day. So that we can stand naked in front of each other, both ‘Them’ and ‘Us’ called to account to open our black books and place them out in the open for us all to see that neither one is blameless, and neither one is without a blemish. We both have blood on our hands. We are both guilty of atrocities. We both have troubled pasts. We both could do better. We both deserve better. We happen to be temporary guests on Planet Earth. Is this the way guests are supposed to behave?

The videos below are by Dr David Duke. At the end of it, please do not take sides. Just see that no one is blameless. Only when we can blow the whistle and halt the game, can we have any hope of coming together as two guilty parties with our heads bowed down in shame, and say, my enemy my friend, we can both do better. So much has happened, that it can never be corrected. So many lives have been ripped apart, that we can never raise our head and utter another word. Shame on us all.

Let this be an era for silence. Speak no more. Consult no more. Shout no more. Promise no more. Demand no more. Hush. We have said too much. We have hurt too much. We have lied too much.

The children will turn to us and curse our existence. Let us not fail them. Can we create the turning point? Can we halt the madness? Can we stem the tide of absurdity? Our only mission now is to be magnanimous so that the children don’t despise us. On our watch, we must arrest the barbaric behaviour.

What can we do about it? First, let us not point the finger. Let us not raise our fist in anger. It is all too pathetic for anymore posturing. You and I can do something. Any little thing. Whatever you think you can. But please do it. However small. Please do it. Something. Anything. Please do what you can. It might take no more than seven minutes of your life. Can you afford that much?

Enough with the lies. Both parties are guilty. The children are suffering. This is not the smart way to live. We can do better! How do we win the war? By stopping the lies. In the absence of lies, we can win together.

When will the healing start?

When the children play together.

This made me think that as large as Google is, it has more code to write. Its software needs some modifications. I would have thought that advertisers should be able to stipulate where their ads go. I know that it is all one big pot, but in this case, it would make sense for the ad not to have been associated with this damning article about the company’s misconduct.

Anyway, IHRB and Sam Cohen always bag Shane Warne and Advance Hair Studio. After investigating Sam Cohen and his methods, I have found that his practices leave a lot to be desired. A full report is now filed at this site dedicated to Sam Cohen and IHRB. The site is designed to assist people who are experiencing hair loss and who are contemplating wasting their money with Sam Cohen and the Institute of Hair Regrowth and Beauty, also known as I.H.R.B at Pitt Street Sydney. If you are planning on spending money with IHRB, you would be well served to visit that site. I am sure you will change your mind and be grateful that you did not waste your money.

Update: Since writing this, I have created a new site that is dedicated to Sam Cohen and IHRB’s hair loss nonsense at www.IHRB-Story.com.

You can see the Ads by Google, promoting Advance Hair Studio, in this online article in the Sydney Morning Herald. The report speaks about the misleading conduct by the company that resulted in the ad being banned.

Did Professor Fels really say that? If he did, then let me say that this is an example of spin. The average Australian will remember Professor Allan Fels from the time that he was the head of the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) and they might presume that he is an authority on consumer-related matters, and they might hold him and his opinion in high regard. As a result, they might believe his statement, and therefore adopt his views.

It is reported by ‘The Age’ that he refers to the ‘uneducated clamour of a few authors who are driven by publisher interests’.

1) Authors have enough to worry about, trying to survive in a fickle market. They have no misplaced affection towards publishers.

2) If professional authors are uneducated, then there’s no hope for the world.

3) To which clamour is Professor Fels referring? The entire country was asked to submit its views to the Productivity Commission, which has informed us that 272 submissions were received prior to the Commission’s discussion draft, and a further 288 submissions were received in response to the draft. I read some of those submissions. It is neither democratic or sporting to seek submissions, and then refer to those submissions as ‘clamour’.

4) When Professor Allan Fels says, ‘a few authors’, what is the average reader going to imagine? Two or three authors? Seven or ten authors? There were dozens. From the humble beginners to the biggest names in Australia.

I had submitted my views to the Productivity Commission’s Chairman, and here is a copy of my letter. Perhaps you can read my note, and then count me amongst the few of the uneducated clamourous authors.

Dear Committee

It is not for me to say whether or not we should allow the importation of books. I trust that you will make the best decision. I would be willing to assist you in any way, and I would welcome your call at any time.

May I please urge you to ask the correct probing questions. So far, I have researched some of the arguments, and as an author and publisher, I fear that there have been one-sided arguments designed to mislead.

Some people say that importing books will not harm authors. This is incorrect. Let us look at typical publishers’ contracts. From my experience, as an author who has signed contracts with Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Pearson Education, ABC Enterprises, HarperCollins, Ink Group, and a host of other international organisations, I know that the percentages and the loopholes within the contracts will mean that the royalties received by authors will be magnificently reduced. Contracts state that international sales are a fraction of the domestic amounts.

Also, people say that importing books will make them cheaper. These people compare typical wholesale prices across regions. They do not seem to calculate freight, storage, customs, etc. So they are insulting your Committee by their calculations.

They denounce the idea that remaindered books will flood the market. Having been in business for over 30 years, and having worked for retailers plus multinationals such as IBM, I have seen how the world of commerce operates. I fear that your Committee might be misled about how remainders really work, and what triggers them. The loopholes in these areas are so huge, that authors might not only never receive royalties, but also have to actually PAY to have their books shipped to Australia. The argument is laughable and complex for those who are not well versed with how this industry works.

What will happen when, due to freight and long lead times, the retailers start to e-print titles? The contracts for e-prints are again amazingly unfair. Author will not only receive miniscule royalties, they might also be charged for marketing and advertising subsidies. I can show you signed contracts from large operators who actually thrust their unfair practices onto authors.

My submission to you could easily turn into fifty pages and cover a raft of areas. I shall pause here to invite you to contact me if you would like additional information so that you can arrest people whose illogical arguments are designed to baffle you and the public.

I shall support your decision. I am not trying to sway you either way. However, I cannot abide unethical self-serving conduct by business people. I do not mind any corporation making a submission that brazenly seeks higher profit and control. My abhorrence relates to organisations who twist half-truths to seek sympathy via a back door. They should deal in facts, not propaganda.

I wish you every success.

Yours faithfully

Jonar Nader

Here is a copy of the text from ‘The Age’: