Iran

I am constantly amazed by how much control foreign governments wield over the freedom of speech and freedom to protest of their citizens.  So many political prisoners are detained unfairly for years, lifetimes even, with families having nowhere to turn and no information. For instance, I just read of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma who has been under house arrest beginning in 1989; however, she is a high profile case and there are so many who are taken from their families without warning and never heard of again. 

In Iran, the crackdown on political protest and the media is shocking.  Since foreign media and even Iranian media have been banned and thrown out the country, we are relying on citizens emailing foreign media and recording events on their cellular phones.  One woman who had been a correspondent with BBC news recently sent an email stating she had been fired from her job because they had searched her computer and found the emails she had been sending so she could no longer provide information.  Apparently the government is now showing commercials advertising a hotline for people to call when they suspect someone of bad political activity.  One commercial features a young women who fears her brother is keeping "bad company" she calls the hotline and her brother is followed and arrested.  The 1984 parallel is a little freaky.  I am inspired by the citizens' resilience, both in Iran and in China where people are fighting to get around the internet blockades.  It reminds me that people, even young people, can do something when they work together and work with passion.  It also reminds me that revolutions are still very alive and real today. 

Charming Shops

Where Small is Beautiful and Bountiful

I cannot help it, I am charmed by small shops.  I love the idea of a shopkeeper who knows your name, your family, greets you when you come in, and knows what you want.  I enjoy the thought of just going in the store to chat.  Granted, you lose the anonymity of our stores today where you can enter virtually invisible, demand expert service [or complain to higher authorities], and treat the cashiers as if they don't really exist.  In all seriousness though, relationships are messier than "business."  You have to give things up.  Merely consider the small town with no privacy, or even a family.  Yet isn't life about relationship, as messy and uncomfortable as they sometimes are?

This being said, I was very happy to read that in India small shopkeepers are holding out against large retail stores.  In fact, retail stores that were recently introduced into Indian markets have had to close down because customers are loyal to the shops they have frequented all their life.  "Here the shopkeeper is the friendly confidante, counsellor and even family, for some. He understands the local tastes and customizes the products on offer."  If I were ever to enter into business, this is how I would want to do it--to meet a need and to offer my friendship in the process.  

I love vitality mixed with imperfection.  Here "the sounds, the colours and the smells, along with the chaos, are an integral part of the shopping trip." Doesn't it sound like a beautiful and lively day out?  I know, and am frequently reminded, that there is something to be said for organization, but I think there is also something to be said for organic spirit.