Laura extremely sloppy Graffitti.

sloppy, but fun to draw.

I have added links to our family. I have also created a separate site for nursing study. The link is www.lauranursing.blogspot.com Some of my crossword puzzles are linked there. It was just getting to be to much on one website. Have Fun!

This blog is definately turning into a mix, so to speak of my passions for art, nursing, and human rights. A meager attempt to answer the many questions in my mind. One of the current questions in my mind is what drives American foreign policy in the middle east; especially concerning the Palestinian issues. I found an excellent work written by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, titled The Israeli Lobby and U.S Foreign Policy. This was published in March of 2006. The full article can be viewed at the links listed below. There is also a great debate about this work that can be viewed at :
www.scribemedia.org After getting to this page, you will need to do a search on the topic above to see the debate. I did not know the exact link to the debate.
The debate is great.

http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011

The article was published by the London Review of Books.

John Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago.

The article shows great scholarship.

The Heart

This is a painting I made in the winter of 2005. I am fascinated at times by this muscle. That beats, and pumps nutrients and emotions to nearly every cell in my body. This heart painting seems to be overweight, which hopefully is not a relfelction of my own heart.

Matharat al-Qulub by Imam al-Mawlud (poem verses 1-8)
I begin by starting with the heart of beginnings,
For it is the highest and noblest of beginnings.
Have courtesy with God, the High and the Majestic,
by practicing modesty and humility--
dejected out of shame and humility
humbled in awe, imploring Him--
by giving up your designs for His,
emptied of covetousness for what His servants have,
by hastening to fulfill His commands, and by being wary of
the subtle encroachment of bad manners.
If you- the spiritual aspirant-realize your attributes of
servitude, you will then be assisted with something of the
attributes of the Eternally Besought.
Realize your abject character and impoverishment, and you
Will gain dignity and wealth from the All-Powerful.
There is no salvation like the heart’s salvation,
Given that all the limbs respond to its desires.

Reference
Nashif, Taysir.(2006) Society Intellectual and Cultural Change In the Developing Countries. pp39-40. iUniverse, Linclon, NE.

Commentary: This is a book I have just read. I am especially fond of the poetry/songs found in this book; to remind us that we are all apart of humanity and to remind us not to "de-humanize" others who are not like us. A plea so to speak. I referenced this poem, work twice at the beginning and the end to give the author his rightful credit.

My Brother, Don't Deny Me the
Warmth of Humanity
My vocabulary is free from the restriction of "I" and "they."
Humanity is my code of guidance.
Through humanity we are liberated from biases and intolerance.
My address is a home that stretches across the blue waters,
from the Caribbean to Hawaii, and from Tahiti to the Mediterranean.
My address is the earth with its beautiful colors and seasons.
There are no colors in my memory and humanity.
White for me is the color of snow,
of rice for the poor,
of glowing waves of sunshine for human warmth.
Black is the color of nature when it covers lovers with the warmth of privacy of love.
Compassion and love are the roads leading to my home.
God bless all peoples, all mankind.
With God's all embracing mercy and guidance,
we are all the chosen creatures of God.
With love and humanity a rope of brotherhood and sisterhood unites my heart
with all the miserable people on Earth.
The human creature born in Timbuktu I call him my brother from poverty-stricken Africa.
I swear to you, my brother, from far continents and different cultures, by the
prophets in whom you and I believe, that I am looking for humanity to salvage us
from the whims of ourselves.
It may be a source of joy for you, my misguided brother, to see all the evils in me.
Maybe this makes you feel you are superior.
You will not subdue humanity in me.
Let us learn the wisdom of the sages, who tell us the stories of man's miseries.
With my love, in support of humanity,
your heart will be cleansed from the evil ignorance of beautiful humanity;
it will free you from the bondage of bias;
and restore to you the immortal kingdom of humanity.
For my living and sustenance,
it is sufficient for me to fill the stomach with barley bread and olives.
I can survive on a half-empty stomach.
My stomach, lungs and soul I know to satiate with the fragrance of orange and lemon and apple from the Holy Land.
My brother, do not burn, with your fire, the orchards,
so that all of us be sheltered under our mother's green love and protection.
Don't, my brother, harshly treat the oceans, for they, with their human experiences,
tell the immortal story of humanity.
One person lost is one too many.
Let, then, humanity, with on concerted humble song, sing
in all corners of the small Earth.
With our vulnerablities and weaknesses we are equal.
The dictionary of my mind is devoid of the unfamiliar word of superiority over
my neighbors in the other continents beyond the connecting seas.
I left a share of dates and dry bread for your empty stomach, my brother. This is the only food I have to share with you.
I do not lie down to rest, over-stuffed with food much needed by the poor and
miserable of generous Earth.
I have conscience qualms over the over-consumed dwindling resources of our
over -milked mother Earth.
It is inhuman that you do not sense my humanity, brother.
You have no right to deny me the warm shelter of humanity.
The oil of Divinity has blessedly covered my Earth-colored skin.
My breath is permeated with the spirit of the immortal to which both you and I belong.
Where are the angels of good who come forth to salvage humanity from the over-whelming whim of unsatisfied desire?
Where are the knights of good tidings who remove the thorns from the one road
of humanity to a world free from myths of divided humanity?
A world where the clasped hands of the east and west form and elevated bridge
to humanity in its happy march to self-assurance and peace of Earth.

Reference
Nashif, Taysir.(2006) Society Intellectual and Cultural Change In the Developing Countries. pp39-40. iUniverse, Linclon, NE.