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A friend from north of the border (St. Albert, Alberta) transmitted an image of the Northern Lights over their town. An amazing display. It revived memories of a trip north a few years ago when I went there to attend a wedding. A bright, young, vivacious Bengali woman married a bright, somewhat quiet, young man whose parents hailed from Croatia. After the ceremonies (in the local Catholic church, followed by Hindu rites with all the formalities and pagentry) and the dinner, the guests were cutting loose on the dance floor when someone announced that the Northern Lights were out. We rushed out for a look. For me it was the first time. We stood out in the cold to wonder at the show in the sky put up by mother nature. An aside: the bride's hands were decorated with mehendi too! The Fall colors in the San Francisco Peninsula have been much more vivid than in the past. The right attributes---temperature, rains, sun---clicked together to produce an unusual display. In my neighborhood we don't have too many maple trees. They can be found along the Foothill Expressway in Los Altos. Selby Lane, further north in Atherton, has some pretty Maple Trees. One has to travel to higher altitudes to find aspens, but the gingko and pistache trees are in their glory. The leaves of the gingko trees on my street have turned from yellow to gold, almost like aspen! The hues of the pistache leaves run the gamut from bright yellow and red to umber. Not going to last much longer but now the colors and the leaves are sights to admire. We are lucky. "Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." ---Osho

I must admit that when I first read about this year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature,the name Elfriede Jelinek---a 58 year old Austrian woman---meant nothing. I had not read any of her books. So many books, so little time; I have not read a lot of books that deserve attention.Among her works is "Bambiland" (2003), a play described as a denouncement of America's war against Iraq.Caught up in the pre-election blizzard of news, following the items about the presidential candidates and their positions took a lot of time. Elfriede Jelinek retired to a corner in the back of my mind. Then I happened to come across a video of the film "The Piano Teacher" (French, with sub-titles) by Michael Haneke. Watching Isabelle Huppert in the role of Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed, neurotic woman in her 30's,sharing an apartment with her domineering mother,on the verge of a precipice was a hard to forget experience. A fascinating film. I was revolted by some of the scenes, watching Erika in sado-masochistic rituals as she descended to the point of no return, yet, Huppert, by her superb acting, made me feel compassionate for Erika.After November 3rd, when I thought about books to read, Ms. Jelinek surfaced. My world had suffered a blow. Majority of Americans showed their preference for a reactionary president and his policies. Thought it was time to take a break from politics and enter the pitiless world created by Elfriede Jelinek. First on my list: Die Klavierspielerin (1983)---The Piano Teacher, translated by Joachim Neugroschel, is said to be a partly autobiographical novel. Might not feel the same way about the book as I did about the film but think that Jelinek is worth exploring.The Second Term of George W. Bush Many of us seem to be in denial, offering arguments that Bush does not have a "mandate". Face it. He has, he has. Backed by a Congress with larger majorities in both houses, he will continue to move the nation to the right. His core support groups expect it of him, and he has proven beyond any doubt his tenacity to stick to his positions. Be prepared for social and environmental issues to suffer set backs on the domestic front. On foreign policy matters he might be forced to give some ground in an effort for rapprochement with Europe."You ain't seen nothin' yet B-B-B-Baby, you just ain't seen nothin' yet"----Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Slouching towards fundamentalism. The message from voters could not be more clear. The majority did not give a hoot about real issues. They elected a hollow man to lead the nation for another four years. They remained blissfully oblivious of his lies and embraced him for his religious position. How could John Kerry, a Catholic, compete against that, especially when Catholic priests were exhorting their parishioners not to vote for any candidate who supports women's right to choose? And then there was fear of terrorism in the home land. Again, it was George Bush and his talk about god and America that resonated. In my October 30th post I wrote that Bush would win on electoal college votes. He was ahead on popular votes too. Although I expected a Bush victory, in the back of my mind there was a glimmer of hope that it would not be so. Late afternoon reports based on exit polls indicated that Kerry was in the lead in most of the states. I, like many others, felt optimistic. That feeling was soon overshadowed as my copy of the electoral map began to be dominated by the color red. Thought of the Sikh leader Ranjit Singh's comments when he looked at a map of the world during the hey-day of Rule Britannia: "Saab laal ho jayega"---All would become red. What do we do now ? Read about people who are talking about moving to Canada. I always thought highly of Canadians and today Canada looks even more attractive. But for most of us that is not a viable option. I am glad that I live in California, not in one of those "red" states. We are not going to roll over. The extremists are going to overplay their hand and there would be a backlash. Perhaps not in 2008 but it will happen. As people in progressive, vibrant societies move forward, Americans will wake up and question the direction taken by their regressive leaders. In the meantime, the glass of red wine in the evening still tastes good. There are trails to run and hike on; books, films, music, and good food to enjoy. I am not going to let the hypocrite in the White House and his supporters influence my mood. It was in Calcutta in the 1960's that I heard Pete Seeger sing "We shall overcome". A good song. Yes,we shall overcome.

It is mid-afternoon on the Pacific Coast. Too early to arrive at any conclusion but after being up most of the morning there were significant drops in both the Dow and Nasdaq before the stock markets closed. The reason? Reports on the Internet that Kerry was ahead in key swing states! Reuters News Agency reported just past 3:40 EST that exit polls pointed to strong support for Kerry in Ohio and Florida. Good news indeed if the reports are true. In recent days we have been reading about the newly registered, first-time voters and the uncertainty about their positions. Apparently, the deluge of polls leading to November 2nd never really got a handle on this large block of voters. The pundits were flummoxed, or so it appears. I'm refraining from thinking about a Kerry Victory, but this is what I wrote in my October 7th post: "Maybe, just maybe, the president is taking the gullibility of the voting public a bit too much for granted." We shall see. 4:40 PM Pacific Coast Polls in some states have closed and many others are approaching the deadline. The numbers are encouraging. Unexpectedly so. How I would love to see the swaggering, smirking hypocrite from Texas and his mean, rapacious gang depart from Washington. 9:05 PM Eastern Reports indicate Florida going to Bush. Bad for Kerry. He must win Pennsylvania,Wisconsin and Ohio. The polls closed in Ohio hours ago but results have not yet been announced. Pennsylvania voters split between supporters of gun rights and "moral values" (Bush) and those concerned with the war in Iraq and health care (Kerry). Although New Hampshire means only 4 electoral college votes, they are important if Bush and Kerry end up closely splitting the rest of the total. CNN's numbers based on exit polls show that more women voted for Kerry than for the president. This is contrary to recent polls which indicated strong support for Bush among women voters! 9:44 PM Eastern NBC reported problems with counting of absentee ballots in Florida. Repeat of 2000? It must not be allowed to happen. The talking heads are discussing Bush's support in the heartland. Former senator Bob Kerrey (Nebraska) commented about what the Democrats had to do to win in those states: Come out against abortion (women's right to choose). He said that the issue was too important for majority of Democrats to compromise on. 1:30 AM Eastern November 3, 2004 There is a saying "It is not over till the Fat Lady sings". Well, the Fat Lady has not sang yet but the announcement that Ohio has gone to Bush means that it is over. Postscript November 3, 2004 Shortly after 11:00 AM Eastern, John Kerry called President Bush to concede. Final count of Electoral College votes: Bush 254 Kerry 252. "The will of the mass of the people must prevail." ----Alcuin (735-804),in a letter to Charlemagne

Although some polls continue to show the race as a "tie", indications are that George W. Bush, pseudo cowboy from Crawford,TX, would win a second term on electoral college votes. The "Compassion" went out of the window soon after inaugration. His "core support groups" would be delighted at the prospect of receiving the bounties of his administration for four more years. They consist mainly of: The fearful. He has assiduously courted them since 9/11; they see terrorists lurking around corners and Bush as the protector. The jingoists. We are No.1 and we are always right. The patriots. Not all but some of them can be called "jingoists". Others might have some doubts but, in general, feel unable to believe that the president took the nation to war on lies. The Religious Right (includes pro-lifers and homophoebes): Have found a champion in the incumbent and, of course, wish to see him continue in his merry way to destroy the barrier between church and state. The high tax bracket crowd: They have been laughing their way to the bank and know that they will benefit in the second term regardless of the state of the economy. And, then, there is Mr. Nader. What the rest of us can look forward to from Bush's second term? More of what took place in the past four years but with added ferocity that will drive the agenda to deprive the Democrats of a voice and to lay the foundation of one-party rule. "Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." ----Bertrand Russell Fall and its rewards On a lighter vein, it was a gorgeous autumn day. The sky not quite crystal clear but it was blue; the sun shone brightly. Noticed that on one side of the street the leaves of the gingko trees have turned yellow, but on the other side they are still mostly green! Hiked at Saratoga Gap for four hours. A good, scenic trail. Would have been better without the mountain bikers but they have the right to be out on the trails just as we do. Most of them are considerate and careful about hikers. I was late with planting of bulbs (daffodil and iris). Hope they will emerge and bloom. "I don't have to be anyone but me. I am blooming as I am in my life, just as a peony blooms on a peony tree. Further, a beautiful peony flower does not worry about when it will wilt and fall to the ground. It does not compete with the flower next to it; rather it blooms with its whole self. ----Sensie Ogui from "Zen Shin Talks"

It is a military operation, but freedom and Iraqis have very little to do with it. The respected British medical journal, "Lancet" has published results of a study according to which the toll from coalition forces' actions in Iraq have led to more than 100,000 deaths. The number dwarfs previous estimates which ranged between 10,000 and 37,000. The Lancet claims that the findings are convincing. Furthermore, a high number of individuals killed were women and children. "Air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most of the violent deaths." BBC's report about the Lancet study can be read at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3962969.stm How do we justify this, and what is the difference between what happened during Saddam Hussein's regime and what has taken place in George Bush's war? Majority of Americans remain strangely unaffected by this. They go about as if the deaths of Iraqi civilians do not matter. Many of them continue to believe George Bush's lie that Iraq was involved in the attacks on 9/11 and, perhaps, in their minds that justifies the killing of civilians in Iraq. One person and his cabal of neo-conservatives have dragged us down a slippery slope to infamy; brought dishonor to our great country and are making it bankrupt in the process. "Democratic imperalism has led to more deaths not fewer." ----Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet Election 2004 (November 2nd) Four days before the presidential election. A momentous event in our nation's history because so much depends on the outcome----whether we continue to be under George Bush's divisive,narrowly focused, agenda-driven policies on all fronts, domestic and foreign, or change direction and pursue a more balanced path. Emotions on both sides are at a high pitch and legitimate issues facing us often getting lost in the avalanche of accusations by the candidates and misleading advertisements dominating the air waves. If one pauses to consider the records of the past four years the choice becomes clear cut. John Kerry might not make a great president but he cannot be worse than the incumbent even if he tries. "I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime." ----Elizabeth Kubler Ross

One wonders about the terrorists who are holding Margaret Hassan as a pawn against their demands which are not likely to be or cannot be met. Are they dumb or just plain fanatics, blinded by hatred? Margaret Hassan served Iraq and the Iraqis long before President Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom. What a name for an unjustified war based on lies and deceptions! Talk about fanatics. Mrs. Hassan, the chief of Care International's operations in Iraq, was born in Dublin, Ireland, and has lived in Iraq for 30 years. Considering what the terrorists did to other hostages, we must face the possibility that she would meet the same gruesome fate. Would that bring the terrorists more support or earn them respect? Perhaps only in a very limited circle...among their own. The Schiavo case continues. On October 21st the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear Governor Jeb Bush's request to reconsider its decision against a state law created solely to prevent withdrawal of life support from a brain-damaged women described by medical authorities as being in a "permanent vegetative state for 14 years". The right to lifers have not given up. The next act could very well be played out in the nation's Supreme Court. Two women in completely different situations. Yet there are similarities. The mind sets of the terrorists in Iraq and the opponents of Right-to-Die in America who want to keep a brain-dead Terri Schiavo hooked up to tubes are not that far apart. "A fanatic is a man that does what he thinks the Lord would do if He knew the facts of the case." ----Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) Election 2000 (November 2nd) Just 10 more days to go but the announcement of the winner could conceivably take many more days.Legal battles, as in 2000, are possible. While the candidates are doing their thing, the media continue to report instances of wide-scale fraud in the electoral process. It is not a new phenomenon but the degree of it is alarming in its scope. In the past,Democrats have done their share of manipulating lists of voters. However, the feral intensity with which the Republicans are engaged in disenfranchising large blocks of voters is unprecedented. It is a brutal display of "win at any cost" policy that cannot be matched by the Democrats. When it comes to dirty tricks, the Republicans wrote the book on it. "Fraud is the ready minister of injustice." ----Edmund Burke (1729-1797) A new book by John Updike The Washington Post's magazine section(October 24) contains a review of Updike's "Villages",his 21st book. Should be worth reading. Few can describe the nuances of interactions between men and women against a backdrop of small town America as Updike can. "We are most alive when we are in love." ----John Updike (1932)

Re: Odds and Ends, the original title of my blog Liked the title but I found more than 200,000 "Odds and Ends" in Yahoo's list of blogs! So,to avoid being lost in the vast ocean of "Odds and Ends", I decided to change the title. I hope that those of you who had been reading my posts in "Odds and Ends" would continue to follow my musings. Musafir means pilgirm or traveler. A pilgrim I am not, but I have seen quite a bit of the world. Used "musafir" as one of my e-mail IDs for many years. As a traveler I found more pleasure in people, customs, and foods of the countries I visited than in monuments and such. In other words, a glorious past and its relics had their place but I did not consider them to be more interesting, or important, than the present age. The following explains my feelings. "To see the world. To meet people other than my own." ----Gavin Young,Slow Boats to China The rains The first major storm of the season arrived last night.The weather forecasters were right about this one. Woke up to the sound of howling wind and heavy rain.The gingko trees on my street lost some leaves. It would not be long before the foothills begin to look green. The fire season is over. "The winds that blow-- ask them,which leaf of the tree will be next to go!" ----Soseki (translated by Harold Henderson) Election 2004 (November 2nd) Fourteen more days to go. So many different polls and comments by pundits. Bush ahead by 4% Bush and Kerry in dead heat Too close to all The polling procedures and systems are not uniform, and are vulnerable to manipulations. The reports about the possibility of frauds are especially disturbing. One scenario mentioned a tie in Electoral College count and the winner being nominated by the Speaker and Majority Leader of the House----Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Tom DeLay of Texas!!! Just the thought of it makes me want to puke. When the framers of our magnificent Constitution included this provision they couldn't foresee the situation that exists today. A perfect example of 'ad absurdum' (to the point of absurdity). Are we going to re-live the experience of the 2000 Presidential Election, or worse? "When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken." ----Benjamin Disraeli

Again, the consensus was that Kerry was the winner of the third (and final) debate on October 13th. No surprise. After scowling, sighing, and displaying petulance in the first debate, Bush appeared with what seemed like a grin (smirk) frozen on his face. According to reports, he was coached to appear affable no matter what.Yet, most of the polls continue to show Bush in the lead in the presidential race.One reason for Bush's lead is support from women voters! I don't personally know any woman who is going to vote for Bush but they must be out there somewhere. The reason for their pro-Bush position----he is perceived as the more strong leader in protecting them (and the country) from terrorism! Following the tragic events of 9/11, Team Bush recognized this fear in a large segment of Americans and did all they could to keep fanning the fire.It has paid off for George Bush. Despite the exposure of lies; lies for which almost 1,100 American soldiers have paid with their lives; and high cost ($120 billion and mounting), President Bush is considered to be dependable!"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security."----Benjamin FranklinBill Clinton's "My Life"I am about halfway through the book.Cannot help thinking about the difference between Bill Clinton and the elected politicians now in power in Washington. The book gives a fascinating look at how the political process works.President Clinton's Achilles' Heel was his failure to control his libido. He displayed bad taste and judgment in diddling with Ms. Lewinsky. And, his administration was far from squeaky clean. Quid pro quo is built into our system of government. Ideally, government should be attentive to their needs but not influenced by corporations. Unfortunately, in the real world, that kind of government is unattainable. Campaign contribution and its insidious effect is a fact of life. An intellectual giant, Bill Clinton possessed the knowledge and ability to negotiate the labyrinths of legislative process; absolutely essential for a president to succeed. His cabinet was staffed by bright men and women who believed in his vision of an America in which it was not only the rich got richer. Unlike George Bush, he did not pay lip service to the "have nots"; he spent time and efforts to help them move up. This, of course, is anathema to the rabid promoters of free market economy who see nothing wrong with creating tax loopholes for the very wealthy but cry "foul" every time there is a move afoot to raise the minimum wage.Historians will not forgive (or should I say not be allowed to forgive) the Lewinski episode when reviewing the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. But those eight years were full of hope, promise, and quite a few accomplishments. "Hypocrisy is the homage which vice renders to virtue"----Francois Duc de la RochefoucaldIraq TodayHorrendous incidents are still taking place on a daily basis. We are losing soldiers caught in an unjust war. Many more Iraqi civilians, including women and children, are dying and possibly providing the incentive for others to become "insurgents". Our media give prominence to discovery of mass graves of Kurds killed during Saddam Hussein's regime, but news about Iraqi civilian casualties in our war against the insurgents is hard to find. It is a vicious circle. The leaders, as usual, are doing what they do best---issuing platitudes."VIOLENCE can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by VIOLENCE. Any man who has once proclaimed VIOLENCE as his method is inevitably forced to take the lie as his principle."----Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Before the rains begin in earnest is a good time in the year for those who like to run and hike on trails. We, in the San Francisco Bay area, are fortunate to have access to many such trails within a short drive or, for some lucky ones, easy walking distance. Trails abound in North, South and East bay. My experience is primarily limited to South Bay and Mid-Peninsula. These are some that I like: Wűnderlich Huddert Park Phleger Estate Coal Mine Creek Windy Hill Purisima Creek Redwoods Black Mountain Montebello Russian Ridge Montara Mountain Stevens Creek Canyon Saratoga Gap Rancho San Antonio Foothills Park (restricted access, open only to Palo Alto residents) Quite a few of the preserves are managed by the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). This organization has done an outstanding job in protecting vast areas from developers and making them accessible, without charging entrance fee, to lovers of nature and outdoor activities. Parks that fall under the jurisdiction of county authorities (Santa Clara and San Mateo) require payment of entrance fee for those who drive in. The preserves have trails that are fairly easy to follow and do not require too much effort, as well as those that are demanding. The views are great; good picnic spots are plentiful. Take advantage of them. Good for one's body---and spirits. The MROSD web site http://www.openspace.org/ contains details about the preserves managed by the organization, including maps and docent-led walks. "The falling leaves fall and pile up; the rain beats on the rain." ----Gyodai (translated by Harold Henderson) Election 2004 (November 2nd) 23 days before the election. A few months back it looked as though John Kerry had a chance of beating President Bush. Then in September, following the Republican Convention, the polls reflected a spurt in the rating for Bush. Kerry's prospects appeared dismal. Now,after the two debates, there is again a glimmer....a faint glimmer of hope. Although the Republicans are trying to put a spin on it, the Duelfer report was bad news for the president. On October 6th his handpicked head of the Iraq Survey Group, Charles Duelfer, released the report of his findings. In a nutshell, there was no evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD, and there were no active facilities in Iraq to manufacture WMD. The Bush administration's lies came home to roost. The exposure of the lies and Bush's weakness in the debates reversed the tide against John Kerry. Without a teleprompter the president gets tense and it shows. That brings up the matter of the "mysterious bulge". In the first debate, TV cameras (Fox News) caught Bush from the back when he was standing hunched over the podium. The presence of a square object under his suit jacket was quite noticeable. What was it---some kind of electronic device that was prompting him? The White House is staying mum. Indications are that John Kerry could win more popular votes than Bush as Al Gore did in 2000. The Electoral college is something else. There, too, the projections are tightening. The president must be sweating for news of Osama bin Laden's capture. Would Musharraf be able to deliver before November 2nd? "Three Witches: Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air. Macbeth: False face must hide what false heart doth know." ----Wm. Shakespeare