The Kontra Zine

The Kontra Zine is an idea that I’ve been messing around with since around mid of 2007. It started out to be a webzine for local art, music, film and the like. In fact, I have developed some idea for certain sections of the zine and have lined up some possible features and topics that the zine could take on, however due to manpower constraints as well as limitations on my experience in creating a magazine, even though quite simply it’s just an online magazine in a blog format. I’ve kept postponing the whole idea, for the fear that I wouldn’t have enough ideas to keep the webzine afloat consistently.

And now, I’ve decided to take another shot at it, in a printed format. This allows me to control the timeline for the releases of material better, that even if I can only churn out 1 issue per year, it wouldn’t feel like such a waste. It’s a personal preference and probably because it’s tangible, it can be the same issue but it can be passed around and would have different effects, hopefully profound, for each and every reader. Nothing is set in stone for now, but I will try to work this thing out. Definitely, this will not be your ordinary magazine or digest. We will be very focused on the content of the features and really get behind the ideals of the topics that we will be featuring. It will be very tough, and I don’t know shit about editing or magazines, but it should be quite fun.

“‘Cause we like to shake things up!”

Death Of A President

Today I saw George W. Bush die.

Death Of A President is a fictional political documentary regarding the assassination of current US President George W. Bush.

I have never been a fan of violence, and I am definitely not a fan of the wars that the US has engaged in various Middle Eastern countries. In my opinion, killing is never a solution, if anything, it only aggravates the whole situation. No matter what actions a person has done, he is still a human being, with a life, a family and nobody has the right to take that way.

While the title clearly suggests that this film is about the passing of a President. This film is much more deeper than that it depicts the effects of such an assassination and how people would react to the situation. I thought that it shows the viewer how that hate, racism and inequality is still predominant in present society albeit in different forms. People can talk about equality for all they want but stereotypes still exist no matter where you are and racism is present in our daily life. And many times, I too, have been guilty of this.

In my opinion, a lot of times religion is to blame. How is it that the same thing that unites us, is the very same thing that divides us? How can they say that only Muslim extremists are to be blamed? Or other religions for that fact? I am not familiar with the teachings of other religions but I am quite sure that there is nothing in the Bible that suggests we kill those who oppress our fellow man. Irregardless of religion, I do think the basic ideals behind the teachings is that we must do right by others.

While quotes and religious text are highly susceptible to gross misinterpretation, I would like to share some quotes I read that I find interesting and relevant to modern society:

“America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you’ve lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn’t belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don’t care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.” - Tom Morello, Rage Against The Machine

“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” - 1 John 4:1

“Do not accept anything that you have no knowledge of. Surely the hearing, the sight and the mind you are responsible for.” - The Holy Qur’an, 17:36