The need for continuous negotiation in diplomacy.

In light of the current political debate over proper diplomatic technique I have provided for you the answer to this question in the form of excerpts taken from one of the most successful political advisers in all of political history, that of Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu , adviser to Louis the XIII.

Chapter 6, the need for continuous negotiations in diplomacy.
States receive so much benefit from uninterrupted negotiations, if they are conducted with prudence, that it is unbelievable unless it is known from experience. I am now so convinced of its validity that I dare say emphatically that it is absolutely necessary to the well-being of the state to negotiate ceaselessly, either in open or secretly, and in all places, even in those from which no present fruits are reaped and still more in those for which no future prospects as yet seem likely.

He who negotiates continuously will finally find the right instant to attain his ends, and even if this does not come about, at least it can be said he has lost nothing while keeping abreast of events in the world, which is not of little consequence in the lives of states.

Negotiations are innocuous remedies which never do harm.

Common sense teaches us that is is necessary to watch our neighbors closely, because their proximity gives them the chance to be bothersome. But it also puts them in the position of serving as the outposts preventing the close approach to our walls. Omit nothing which can fortify them thoroughly against any eventualities.

I should point out… different nations have different characters, some quickly carry out what they have in mind, while others walk with feet of lead. Republics are in this latter category. They proceed slowly and one ordinarily does not get from them at the first attempt what is sought. Rather it is necessary to be content with little in hope of getting more later. For this reason it is wise to negotiate painstakingly with them in order to give them time, and to press them only when they are ready for it.

It should be noted that while strong and convincing reasons are proper for presentation to men of power and genius, mediocre minds are more influenced by small points, since these are on the level of their comprehension.

There are some so presumptuous as to think they should bluster on all occasions, believing this to be a good way to obtain what they could never acquire by reasonable persuasion and that which they know they could never get by force. They think they have dealt a blow when all they have done is to threaten to do it. Such a stratagem never succeeds with honorable men.

Just as ignoramuses are not good negotiators, so there are certain minds so finely drawn and delicately organized as to be even less well suited, since they become overly subtle about everything.

The most successful use their keenness of mind to prevent themselves from being deceived, having care not to use the same means for deceiving those with whom they are negotiating. one is always suspicious of those who employ cunning.

Important negotiations should never be interrupted for a moment. It is necessary to pursue what one has undertaken with an endless program of action so ordered that one never ceases to act intelligently and resourcefully, becoming neither indifferent, vacillating, nor irresolute…. also necessary is not to be discouraged by a bad turn of events, since it sometimes happens that the wisest undertakings produce unhappy results. It is difficult to fight often and always win. It is ideal when negotiations are so harmless that one can acquire great advantages from them without ever suffering misfortune… even if it does no other good on some occasions than gain time, which often is the sole outcome, its employment would be commendable and useful to states, since it frequently takes only an instant to divert a storm.

It is true, that I would never advise a great prince to embark voluntarily on the founding of a league designed for some difficult objective unless he is strong enough to carry it out alone should his allies decide to desert him. Two reasons lead me to this conclusion. The first is based on the weakness of unions, which are never too secure when headed by several sovereigns. The other consists in the fact that lesser princes are often as careful and diligent in involving great kings in important commitments as they are feeble in aiding them, although they are fully obligated to do so. Although it is a common saying that he who is strong is ordinarily right, it is at the same time true that when two unequal powers are joined by a treaty, the greater courts the risk of being abandoned by the lesser.

The High Water Mark

Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Has it been five years? Six? It seems like a lifetime, the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. But no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant. There was madness in any direction, at any hour. You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. And that, I think, was the handle – -that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark – that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.

– Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Really?

Beginning the latest installment of ‘Really?” we have a quote illuminating the fact that Octopi instinctively intend to preserve Korean art history: “… it meant for us to discover the artefacts.”

Next, more justification for dropping the A-bomb… and by that I do mean mushroom cloud

Another story suggests that Oscar the cat predicts death in a nursing home. I propose that the cat is more likely to be the grim reaper.

Next, diesel fumes contribute to high cholesterol. And all this time I assumed truckers were unhealthy due to junk food and lack of exercise!

Last but not least are some facts I’ve compiled about the scourge that is corn syrup. A new study shows that one soda per day accounts for an 80% greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Americans, per capita, consume 3.5x as much corn products as do Brazilians. Corn is the main food that farmers use to fatten up livestock. Not surprisingly it is the main cause of the current American health crisis. Cattle, as well as humans, are not naturally supposed to consume these great amounts of Corn/corn products. The corn overdose in cattle leads to an explosion of E.coli bacteria in their digestive system, putting the public at risk and requiring the cows to be doped up on expensive antibiotics. The introduction of Ethanol gasoline additive has led to higher prices and therefore increased production of corn, already in surplus. Growing corn depletes nutrients from the soil faster than almost any other crop. Corn responds extremely well to fertilizers however, which has dramatic consequences for our watersheds and rivers.

Homosexuality in the Middle East & Islam

This is the fifth installment of our weekly column entitled Ask a Shiite. Our resident Shiite and United Arab Emirates citizen will be fielding questions of a philosophical, physical, and political nature in regards to Shiite Islamic belief and Middle East perception. Interested in asking a question? Send an email to alec.

Question: How is homosexuality regarded in the Koran and how is treated in current Muslim society? What countries have the toughest and most stringent views towards homosexuality and which countries are more passive and liberal towards the practice? Is there interference by the government into private sexual practices in the UAE and other Arab countries? And finally, what are the range of views of preachers
and imams on this subject?

Answer: Homosexuality like in all the Abrahamic religions is treated with utmost seriousness and strictness. Islam considers homosexuality to be worse than adultery. But at the same time it tries to be very lenient. The main reason it is not allowed is because it threatens the existence of mankind.

It is like a contagious disease that spreads across the society and that can result in the extinction of mankind. It is an unnatural practice. It goes against the laws of nature where a man and a woman attract towards each other and they satisfy their desires with each other.

When people from the same sex sleep together, there is no pregnancy. When people from the same sex sleep together, it results in more people being attracted towards homosexuality. Like this, homosexuality spreads and when most, if not all, people of the society satisfy their desires in this unhealthy manner, the birth rate drops sharply. This can lead to the extinction of the race.

Sexual desire according to Islam is not a bad thing like in Christianity (I have heard). It is taken as a mercy and blessing from God. The problem is with whom you satisfy it. Satisfying it with your wife is an act, which is highly encouraged and rewarded.

Many people suggest that Islam has hard and fast rules and are extremely harsh. We first have to see that the rules are harsh for hideous crimes against society. Secondly they are made to be hard to enforce.

The harsh punishments act as a detriment for the normal people and a severe punishment for the criminals. Although capital punishment is prescribed for sodomy, it can only be administered after four just witnesses have testified to the sin being committed in their presence. The extreme degree of leniency in Islamic laws is apparent here. If an individual shows just enough decency as not to commit a filthy act in public and that too for fear of being put to death, Islam does not allow his fellow-beings to punish him. Further, if the sinner repents before the four witnesses have testified, he cannot be put to death. But if the testimony is complete, penalty cannot be reduced and the guilty has to be killed.

As far as confession of the crime is concerned, the same regulations hold as in the case of adultery. The guilty must confess four times. He must confess in clear unambiguous words and must not speak in an elusive way. The Judge must make sure that the person is sane. Also, that he is not joking and confessing to something he has not really done.

As in the case of adultery, the guilt of sodomy is also proved in one of two ways. The first is that both the participants, or one of them confesses four times before a Judge. If he confesses less than four times the legal penalty cannot be issued. He is only warned and severely rebuked so that he may never repeat it. Some Mujtahids believe that the four confessions should be on four different occasions. It is also required that the accused be major, sane, free and independent. Even if he confesses four times, a minor person can only be reprimanded for the act so that he never does it again. The same applies for the slave and the insane person. Apart from this, if someone is forced into such a crime and is unable to avoid it, there is no penalty for him.

The second method of proving the crime of sodomy is that four just witnesses see it being committed with their own eyes and testify in consonance. If the witnesses are less than four, the testimony is not accepted and the penalty for sodomy is withheld. If less than four people have seen this act, they should not testify. If they do so, they shall themselves become liable for the penalty of “qazaf”. This clause shall be elaborated later. If the guilty repents before the four witnesses testify, the penalty is not imposed and he is not killed. The confession or the testimony should be with regard to the penetration of the anus with the penis, only then the capital punishment is carried out. But if the two men cause ejaculation without penetrating the anus (by pressing the sexual organ between the thighs of another man or by rubbing with the buttocks), then the punishment is a hundred lashes for them.

All these punishments do not appear out of the blue. There are preventative measures before a person can commit sodomy. For example, it is forbidden for brothers and sisters above the age of ten to sleep next to each other. This might be taken as idiotic or harsh. My Islamic teacher is school is a psychologist. He is an expert in society matters and used to work in an alcohol addiction centre. He says that in his study he found out that people who commit sodomy say that the reason why we do it is because when we reached puberty, we used to sleep next to people from the same sex or have unintentional ‘innocent’ glances at people who were almost naked. This resulted in their unnatural sexual inclination. There are many more problems that arise from sodomy, which can destroy the society.

There are more preventative measures that have been prescribed by Islam. Now it is not he society’s fault if people don’t follow them and end up behind attracted o people from the same sex. Once the crime has been proved (and proving is not an easy task too), it is punished with strictness so that it acts as a determinant for the negligent and that the person is punished.

The only case in which the person IS punished is when the person admits to it or if the crime is proven with the utmost confidence. When a person confesses, the judge tries to prevent him from doing so and tries to make him change his mind. Also the person has to confess four times at four different places so that he has a chance to change his decision and that he is absolutely sure about it.

When another person commits sodomy, it is hard to prove it. There need to be four just witnesses, not an unreliable person. All of them have to bear witness. If less than four people stand witness, then those three are also given a harsh punishment. This in turn avoids gossip and public humiliation and false accusations.

As far as countries are concerned, Muslim countries have the same views and have the same lenient but ultimately strict Islamic law for homosexuality. In the UAE as far as I know the government of course does no allow illegal sexual practices to go on. If they find out about it, they would break it up if possible.

Finally most of the law on homosexuality comes from the Quran. So most of the preachers, scholars and Imams have the same opinion. You won’t find any scholar saying that homosexuality is allowed or anything different form the Quranic interpretation.

Even though my opinion does not count and I am not qualified to give my opinion in religious matters, I think that homosexuality is a practice that can be prevented and if it is not, then it can bring about the destruction of whole societies.

Related:

Ask A Shiite: The US Presence in Iraq

Ask A Shiite: Temporary Marriage and Sex and Society in the Muslim World

Ask A Shiite: Shiites & Sunnis

Ask A Shiite: Perceptions of America in the Middle East

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[tags]homosexuality, gays, koran, quran, middle east, islam, muslims, united arab emirates, ask a shiite, religious laws, sodomy laws, treatment of homosexuals, arab nations[/tags]

Inster Fashion Waves in Washington DC

First birthed in middle America, then it hit New York City, and now Inster has arrived in Washington DC. We caught up with the hottest new inster trends in the heart of Dupont Circle, where the fashionistas were enjoying mixed company and Zima’s.

We begin with the victim (left) coupled with the lurking presence of English shark (right).

And with the flash of the camera, the drunken heterosexual pounces for attention, slowly nibbling the buttons off of the victims shirt:

Oh no! The aggressor has succeeded, with the victim left helpless, leaving him only the option of showing off his bountiful chest hair to the awaiting public:

Pathetically pasty torsos exposed, art is once declared the victor while illegally attained Broken Social Scene plays in the background:

The night and photoshoot ends with funny glasses and the exuberance of a job well done. Hand jobs in the bathroom stalls for all: