Ok, so I guess I have been quiet for too long. Sorry about that. But before I let you all know what's been happening in my life I thought that I would speak out about what has been on everyone's mind since September 11th.

I don't think I will ever forget the feeling I got when Gloria called me and told me to turn on the news. I was shocked silent as I watched the WTC towers smoulder and smoke. Then all I could do was sit there with my mouth open and watch as the two towers fell from the NYC skyline. I couldn't believe it. It was like something from a movie. At first I thought it was a hoax, but that disappeared after about 0.5 seconds. Then I started to wonder who did this? How could they do something like this? And what is the U.S. going to do to get revenge?

Sadly I still feel only one of my questions has been satisfactorily been answered. After a respectable amount of time (although there is no time that could be long enough the life of over 5000 innocent citizens of America) the U.S. began its attack against terror. So we now know how they are responding. But who did this? And how did they possibly bring themselves to do this?

Everyone screamed for war. But we need to realize what war entails. Many people are going to die. Not just Bin Laden and his followers. Just today the paper talks of 13 civilians dying in a stray? American bomb. Even more innocent people will die and if Afghanistan retaliates, then even more Americans will die as well. This might not be as smooth of an operation as Desert Storm. This isn't a war against a specific country. It's a war against a religious nation with people all over the world. I admit that something needs to happen to ensure that the 5000+ dead aren't left unavenged but how much blood is enough to satisfy everyone's anger? And will the people responsible be killed? Is that justice? I don't think so. I think that they should be punished. Tortured. They should suffer for what they did. But the longer they are left alive the better chance it will turn into a human rights issue and people will demand their release. So what is the answer, if there even is one?

We have been told by Bush and his representatives that Osama Bin Laden is the force behind this tragedy. I'll admit I was quick to say that it probably Bin Laden who did this. And the voice of America was very quick to yell for the blood of Bin Laden. They wanted revenge. They wanted vengeance. They wanted to see justice being served. And now the U.S. has declared war against terror. And anyone who doesn't help them, or hinders them in any way will become an enemy of what is the greatest military force in the world.?So everyone better belly up to the American bar or else they will pay the price.

America is attacking Afghanistan because they refused to hand over Bin Laden, but the Taliban made a good point by first asking for evidence that Bin Laden was responsible. So now Afghanistan is paying the price for having an unofficial militant political party leading their nation. And we assume that Osama Bin Laden is the perpetrator. I say assume, because I have yet to see the supposed proof that the FBI and CIA have collected. If anyone knows where I can go to see this info. please tell me. The respectable Mr. Tony Blair claims that he has seen the evidence, but he cannot share exactly what it is that proves that Bin Laden was behind this catastrophe. Is it the passport belonging to an Arab that was found near the WTC? Cause I am sure that something made of paper would survive an incineration of a plane exploding in a collision. Maybe I am cynical. Maybe it is from one of the hi-jackers. Maybe it's a miracle and it didn't burn up. But how do we know that it's the passport of a hi-jacker? If I am on a flight where Canadians are suspected terrorists, does that make me a terrorist? I think that the United States may need to provide better evidence if they expect what could be a long war to be strongly supported until if finishes.

Oh, but wait, no one cares. Everyone is happy to see something happen. If Bin Laden happens to be innocent of this incident he does deserve to be punished for previous incidents. And what happens after Bin Laden is killed?

He will become a martyr.

The nation of Islam places a strong emphasis on their Jihad. Or holy war. But there are two types. There is the holy war against personal sin. Everyone who is religious has this struggle. And then there is the war to defend the Islamic faith. Defend it to the death. If a Muslim dies while fighting for his faith then he is sent to Heaven wearing his blood stained clothes so that Allah can see that he died serving his faith. There is no purgatory. There is no accounting for one's actions. There is no defending of one's faith to Allah's angels. The dead soul goes immediately to heaven. No questions asked. Do you think Osama Bin Laden and his followers will be torn apart with strife when they see Bin Laden's body torn apart by American bullets? Or blown apart in a bomb blast? Nope. They will rejoice and claim that a great man has gone to Heaven to be with Allah. And what about the rest of the Muslims? Do you think they won't jump at the chance to go straight to heaven and find eternal peace?

There is a world full of people out there who would love to know that they will go to heaven when they die. They would finally be able to relax and not worry about the after-life so much. So a Muslim who is taught that dying for their faith guarantees a seat in heaven will no doubt take part in a Jihad if it is declared. They will all die for their faith.

Too many Christs and not enough crosses.?(Nick Cave)

I am not saying that all Muslims will do this. Far from it. I pray that the majority of Islamic people know better than to rise up and strike against anyone who isn't Muslim. But I think people have to realize what a war with the Islamic faith could mean. Even Mike Tyson understands what is going on right now. After his fight in Europe he knew better than to return back to America because of what happened. He wanted to stay away from all of the religious intolerance that has sprung up.

It was actually funny how after the WTC attacks, America claimed it was a time for everyone to join together and be patriotic. Everyone had to come together and help their fellow man. Everyone was equal in this time of need. Everyone, except the Muslims. The amount of religious intolerance that surfaced after the attacks sickened me. Labels were immediately given to anyone who was Islamic. And again, it wasn't everyone in America, but I am sure that the people who claimed unity were the same ones who yelled and harassed the Muslim people in America as they too tried to deal with the tragedy.

So please, do not assume that every Muslim is a martyr waiting for their cross.

I am so happy that I am in Taiwan while this is happening. The situation in America is just way too intense. I worry about Anthrax as much as anyone else, but over here the threat seems muted. Maybe I am closing my eyes to the situation, but the threat seems more real in America.

The sickest part of this is the amount of innocent lives that ended.

People keep saying how surprised that America was attacked. I am not surprised that they were attacked. Only in HOW they were attacked. Like Michael Moore pointed out, it's not like the U.S.A. is innocent in a global scale. They have their issues to answer for. But their punishment should not have been at the expense of 5000+ people. This event has opened a lot eyes all over the world. Clearly someone had it in for the U.S.A.. This was not a spur of the moment act. It had to be calculated and figured out months in advance. But what is the reason for the attack? What did the U.S. government do that would instigate an act like this? And worst of all, will these questions be answered?

If America goes into Afghanistan and kills everything in sight, then we may never know the reason for this attack.

I have never supported war. I have never seen it as a solution. I don't see the U.S.A.'s actions as the correct action in this situation. Justice must come, but at what price?

Yeah, well, I will keep those thanks for a rainy day!

Have fun in Taiwan, and make sure my brother doesnt get lost there!

Cheers
Elsifer
http://elsifer.dyn.ca
ICQ#: 30192434

"On the side of the software box, in the 'System Requirements' section,
it said 'Requires Windows 95 or better'. So I installed Linux."

This is just a quick thank you to Chris L. who helped me get the archives working and redesigned my blog. Thanks for all the help Chris (past and present) I owe you.

"I am happy, I'm feeling glad. I've got sunshine in a bag."

Sorry it has taken me so long to write an update. I kept meaning to everyday, but I always get sidetracked or else I just don't feel like it at the time. So I kept putting it off, but here it is in all its splendid glory.

So, I've been here for over a month now, and I think that I am finally getting used to life here. I still don't have my own scooter, but in the next few weeks that problem should be solved. And then I will be able to get myself around without having to rely on Adrian. And I will be able to go where I want, when I want. Ahhhhh freedom!!!!

Since I last talked to most of you I have had a few firsts. So I guess I'll start at the beginning of the list.

On Monday nights I teach a private student. He is 43 and a professional soldier. He can read English perfectly and comprehend it wonderfully, but when it comes to listening to and speaking English he needs a lot of work. He wants me to teach him how to be fluent in English conversation in 20 hours or less. Now any of you who have taken any type of Linguistics course, or tried to study English at all, know how difficult the English language is. And since I am not a miracle worker I doubt I will be able to meet his expectations, but I will try. So since he has trouble listening and I have a hearing problem and can't quite get through his accent (plus he yells whenever he talks so it is always super loud) we basically say the same things back and forth to each other over and over again for an hour and a half and call it a night. But one Monday a few weeks ago he offered to give me a ride home on his scooter. Since I was really tired that day and didn't feel like walking I took him up on his offer. And I now know never to do that again. Turns out he was actually offering to take me back to his house to meet his wife and daughter and feed me. Since I didn't want to be rude and insult my guest I went along with it for a while. Now most of you might think that this is just him being generous and kind. I am sure he had the best intentions and it was nice to get some free food and wine (very strong wine too). But time flew by and the next thing I knew it was 10:00 and I had to get home. Plus as far as conversation went it was basically small talk for over an hour. And I am not that keen on talking to someone about the weather for 40 minutes. He did try to get me to tell him why I didn't join the army. But since I basically didn't want to undermine everything that he lives for I just told him I decided to go to school instead. And then he just looked at me for about a minute waiting for more. He had a clock on the wall opposite and even though I had been keeping a loose eye on it all night I pretended that I noticed the time for the first time and told him I had to get going.

He held true on his offer to give me a ride home. It was nice but now he knows where I live and is expecting me to invite him over all of the time. Earlier in the night he gave me his phone number and told me if I ever needed a favour or had any questions I shouldn't hesitate to call. He then asked me for my number. In retrospect I should have told him that I didn't know it, but instead I gave him my number and now he can also call me anytime. I am sure he is just being very friendly, and I appreciate that. But he comes on a little strong. This past weekend he called on Sunday and basically said he was coming over. But Adrian and I had plans to go to Taipei that day (more on that later) so I told him it wasn't a good time. He said he would see me in class on Monday, but it was a holiday so there is no class. He just piped right up and said he would call at 9 in the morning (I don't get up until 10) and he would come over. I said I might have plans and goodbye. I then immediately told Adrian to ignore the phone Monday morning so that I wouldn't have to deal with him. I know that was a mean thing to do, but I didn't want him feeling like he could just invite himself over to my place anytime he felt like having a free English class. Hopefully he got the hint and will realize that we have a professional relationship.

At the same time I feel bad, because I was going to use him to get free haircuts at the army base (3.00 Canadian, how can you go wrong?) and now I can't.

Speaking of haircuts. Did you ever hear the one about the foreigner who walked into a barbershop? Well let me tell it to you. A few weeks ago I realized that unless I wanted to audition for a part in a British rock group I HAD to get a haircut. So one day I had a few hours to kill between classes at my adult school. So I set out to find a place where I could get a hair cut. I walked up to a building with a sign that said, of all things: The Barber Shop. Well how's that for luck, it's two blocks away from work. Now I go up to the man standing outside the front door. And tell him in my terrible Chinese as I mimed haircut: I want I want. He just looked at me and then after repeating myself a few more times he gestured for a woman form the inside to come out and help translate my sad attempt at the universal sign for Haircut. I did the same actions and said the same things to her. I want (make gesture of haircut) I want (Make gesture of haircut). No dice. She was lost, but she did try to talk to me. She said NO. And when I did it one more time. She made the gesture of a massage. I was lost. Just a sweaty white guy looking like an idiot talking to two Chinese. Then it hit me. It's a Massage Parlour. Ah ha! I got it. I said sorry and walked away. Turns out (as I was informed later) that I almost went into a brothel. That might have been awkward to go in expecting a haircut and getting just not getting what was actually going on.

I then walked for half an hour. I didn't see one barbershop. It may sound strange to you. But normally I can't go two blocks without finding one. It's like when you are out and have to use the bathroom badly. They're everywhere until you need one. I eventually found one. Like an oasis in a desert it called to me and I walked in. Now, just a word to the wise: Don't do what I am about to tell you.

I went into the shop and there was one woman cutting hair. And one woman getting her hair cut. Either they have never seen a white person before or men don't go into that shop. They both went deathly silent and stared at me. (first bad sign) I looked at the woman cutting the hair and asked (once again in my bad Chinese) how much? She didn't answer me. I kept asking how much and she just kept staring. (second bad sign. When she clued in that I wanted a haircut and was probably carrying a lot of money she quickly made me sit down. Put a cup of tea in front of me and a book of men's hairstyles form the 80's (third bad sign). She told me to go through the book and choose the style that I wanted. Now I looked through about 20 pages of haircuts. 15 styles per page. And not one was short on the top and shorter on the sides. Not one. Some came close, but then the bangs would be all weird or the back would be kinda strange. So I combed the pages and from 4 pictures pointed out the style that I wanted. I hoped that she understood what I wanted and I got into the seat. She did a pretty good job. The hair on top was a little longer than I wanted, but I had no idea how to tell her differently. So I just smiled and told her it was great. She washed my hair and offered to style it. She took out three different styling goops and applied them liberally to my scalp. (good thing she washed my hair?!) (fourth bad sign) I got out of my seat and asked how much she looked at me thought for a second and said 460 dollars. Now I have admitted that my Chinese is poor, so I figured I misheard her. I asked 460 dollars?! She just said yes and waited. I looked into my wallet and at my change and saw the 470 dollars that was supposed to get me a haircut, lunch and home on the bus. Boy that's a nice feeling. I handed her my money and walked out of there into the pouring rain (oh yeah I didn't have an umbrella either.) with my 10 dollars (basically 50 cents Canadian) and felt all of the various hair goops get washed out of my hair and down my back.

So I warn you brothers and sisters. No matter how desperate you are don't walk into just any barbershop. Get someone to help you. It could save you a whole heck of a lot of money and you could also end up with a style you actually want.

Another first that's happened in the past while is that I have learned how to drive the scooter finally. It was basically out of necessity. It didn't have enough energy to get Adrian from one job to the next and home again. And since I didn't have any more work that night I was given the task of getting the scooter home and plugging it in. In rush hour traffic none-the-less. So it was basically sink or swim. I made it to within half and hours walk from home and that�s when the scooters power died completely. So I had the joy of pushing the scooter the rest of the way home. Do any of you know that old saying of losing weight by putting on a garbage bag and sweating? Well try that with a full body rain suit in the pouring rain. It's oh so much fun, let me tell you. I highly recommend it to my worst enemies. I made it home without any other incidents so I guess that means I can drive the scooter. That was the first time. I have since driven it a few more times and it�s going well. I have enough confidence and I understand the basic non-rules of the road to keep myself out of trouble. So now it�s time to get my own. WOOHOO!!!!!!!

OK, so now it's time to talk about something that cannot be described. I went to Taipei and saw the Chang Kei Scheck (sp?) memorial this past Sunday. Honestly I don't think words can do that place justice. (Nick, if you ever have the chance to see it you HAVE to. HAVE TO!!!!!!) In a country where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting ten people they have this huge plaza that has enough room for 3 million people all standing. And the immense size of the gates and the building that houses CKS's statue is breathtaking. I was rendered speechless by it beauty. And before you ask, I forgot my camera, but don;t worry I'm going back to take some. Plus the fact that the city takes the time and energy to keep and maintain this space makes me realize how special the area really is. There is nothing anywhere that I have been that compares to this. It's glorious. I wish you could all come here and see it. I think that things like this need to be seen by people so that they can appreciate the beauty of a country. It is a completely different Taiwan in CKS than anywhere else. When I think about Taiwan in terms of Jung Li (the city I live in) I think of dirt and traffic and dirt and crowds and dirt and noise and dirt. But when I think of Taiwan in terms of CKS I think of Beauty, splendour, magnificence, silence, peace and room. It�s breathtaking really I recommend you see it.

Ok I think that I have babbled enough for one update. I will try to get better at this as the time goes I really will. And please keep writing me letters, no matter how mundane, they are nice to get. And I will try to get back to you; I just might take a few days.