Egyptian Innuendos

Implants

2011-11-02T08:36:00.003+02:00

[They will ask me the dreadful question]

This blank has been entitled ‘My Revolution’ for nine months. And during this colorful period of poignant and exciting stripes words seemed to pale in comparison next to the complexity and the anarchy of it all. My revolution seemed like an epic story of tremendous hope at exorbitant cost that eventually produced a grasping and unexpected end celebrating the inevitability of death.

My people are very docile people. It’s not exactly a merit. It’s merely the product of hundreds of years of the very successful industry of dismantling of hope by the ruling elite. Several books and studies revolved around our lack of revolt and low expectations. But it wasn’t entirely true. All human beings are capable and prone to revolt. Granted, some more than others, some more colorfully than others, and some more cowardly than the rest of us. My people practiced secret revolt for centuries. Creating parallel state within the state, ridiculing law and order, and regressing into lower forms of existence simply to exist individually beyond indoctrination and modeling were their methods of safe revolt under the realm of nations’ castration.

And then came Jan25. I hate to uproot this moment from history as if it had no precedent or etiology, it did. For a decade prior to this historical moment there was a generation in training being subjugated to the utmost height of the tyranny of the authoritarian regime, exposed to a new surge of free media, and suffering the ruthless whips of a neocolonial usurpation of their already dwindling resources in the wake of an unprecedented economical crisis. A generation electrocuted by the Tunisian revolution and the prospects of their ability to face tyranny on their own. yet I can’t view this moment in history with any less romantic goggles than to say it was holy.

Jan25 and the 18 days that followed it were times of absolutes. We’ve all witnessed absolute truth, absolute evil, and absolute sacrifice. They were times of transcendence. And you could feel it in the air after the smoke has slightly cleared out. Transcendence over self-preservation, cults, and social status, transcendence of harmonious cadence and steady pulse. And they were essentially times of unprecedented hope and a torrid feeling of unfettered self-confidence and entitlement.

So when the next generation asks me what went so wrong that all your people were demanding nine months later was a ‘return to normalcy’ as if what preceded this revolution was remotely normal, I won’t have an answer.

I will only have scattered flashbacks and hallucinations of the people who toppled Mubarak only to put his crony of over 20 years Tantawi in office instead and waited for the core symbol of the military authoritarian regime to benevolently bestow freedom upon them. Scenes of extremely televised revolution with a single incessant message of how peaceful and unique this revolution must persist, such a message stroking our engorged exhibitionism lavishly enough that not only did we allow those who massacred us to escape or enjoy touristic retreats in wait of endless trials, but also we allowed the revolution itself to become one of several ‘points of view’ that can be deemed right or wrong, criticized, and rejected. Pictures of us blithely walking into the mellifluous promises of a comic referendum and breaking into million little pieces over every sectarian, religious, or political road-bump we hit.

Nine months later our activists are massacred under armored vehicles wheels and put to military trials one after another withuot so much as a squeal from the millions that roamed our squares last winter. The cabinet, the governors, and most of the parliament candidates are ex-NDP members, the State Police is back in full force and we’re still debating whether a theatrical play at a faculty is haram. We’re back to secret revolt in lower forms of existence, bullying each other for food and praying for a ‘return of normalcy and stability’ chanting the names of our oppressors in utter despair for it all to stop.

Now what?

We’re back where we started. The few faceless fonts screaming in the wilderness of despair implanted masterfully in the heart of this society. Should we repeat the message over and over like we did before? Is it worth it?
This wasn’t just a ruckus of ill-mannered urchins against an authoritarian figure in a high school. It was a full-fledged revolution of new caliber and magnitude. And the people who did it still lurk in the dark corners of history fearful of what the future holds. They have had a taste of what it is like to be your own man. And I can’t imagine but they will do it again soon. Because secret revolt is no Jan25.

Revolt or die.

A Higher Treason

2010-08-15T15:51:00.005+02:00

[This is not about Fayiz Karam]

To write with passion about a subject it doesn't help at all to be able to automatically formulate all of the different arguments about it. But it does help to realize that not all arguments are worth examining or acknowledging when you are standing for a basic human right.

At first; the soaring controversy about Park51 (i.e. Ground Zero Mosque/ Cordoba House) was laughable. It amounted to farce. Because the act of controversy itself about a subject that has evoluted to be a no-brainer is a realm of fantastic irony.

Then the tone became incessant. People like Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, the ADL (yeah that was a surprise! HA),ex or self-proclaimed liberal Muslims like Nonie Darwish and Farzana Hassan and many many others started to profusely express their lack of constitutional conduct and their acrobatic skills of dancing on the thin robes that are the 9/11 victim's "never-to-be-soothed feelings". That wasn't classy. It was expected though. After all those are politicians and media hyped figures that thrive under the spotlight. Figures that lack both seriousness and solemnity to attract any fans or voters and hence are obliged to resort to such silly banter.

When President Obama stuck to the side benches during it all evidently terrified to voice a sanity check in any of his ever-so eloquent speeches and appearances, I was all the more sickened. Because after all there is a man elected against all odds as some sort of a symbol to constitutional and human freedoms; with hopes of change and a new face of fundamentals-oriented America resorts to the filthiest of political gamesmanship to –and stop for a second to fathom this- avoid alienating voters comes November.

But come to think of it, his attitude was not the least bit hypocritical for it was boorishly consistent with his stance on all civil liberties and human rights both inside the states and on a global level. He was not heard from on abortion, or gay marriage. Since he'd assumed office the practice of rendition (a practice where the US effectively kidnaps people and sends them to countries specialized in torture) has run amok. 'Patriot Act' is still pretty much in effect; people now could be apprehended because they ethnically 'look' illegal—this in the United States of America! No Guantanamo's were shut down, but as prisoners proved to be a media liability, drone attacks on Afghani villages has doubled, and the number of civilian casualties has soared to peaks unheard of in modern history. The speech of the human rights breaches by the insanely few and rare non-USA-backed dictatorships went unparalleled to the mindless financial, military, and logistic support to the vast majority of murderous and heinous (but useful) other regimes. If Obama has spoken the messages; he is OK with it all—oppression, invasion, annexation, and murder.

The horrifying outrageous blasphemy though was the stance of the American people- The regular Johns and Janes. It has always been a common fallacy that through all the vicious and heinous acts of the consecutive US governments, the American 'people' remained innocent of it all, inherently good and pure, and individually funny and caring. A vantage point that always neglected it was in fact the American people who put those mass murderers in office and continued to support them one election after another to serve their life purposes of modern imperialism. And it was OK really, as long as the wrath of the docile people is poured outside the borders on the slums of Nicaragua, Philippines, or Afghanistan.

There are hordes of average Americans not only opposing Park51 but effectively stalking and harassing mosques nation-wide, vowing to burn Qur'ans on 9/11, who are louder and more readily assembled today than ever. You start to hear insane arguments about how people cannot practice their religion in their private properties because they happen to live in NYC –too provocative, how Muslim religion practice is unequal to other civil liberties because Muslim Americans are supposedly responsible for the practices of dictatorships against non-Muslim citizens all around the world, You hear of righteous hatred, inquisition-like demands, and apparently no one is enraged!

In fact, you feel the urge to call New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg brave for simply stating the first amendment on TV. Because it is at a moment like this adhering to fundamentals becomes the most unpopular thing to do, it takes a brave man to be unpopular.

Why isn't anyone ashamed? Why the great people of America aren't up in roar and down on the streets protesting and banishing the rampant Islamophobia and hate? The way I see it; if you don't feel the least bit sympathy for Muslim communities, if you are completely apathetic or even biased, at least be angry at what is becoming of your Bill of Rights, and your time-honored Constitution! And of course I'm biased. In a country where the freedom to practice religion is more sacred than religion itself, there has to be someone enraged with and biased against the cheap trading on xenophobia and the cowardice of politicians as the norm.

The highest of treason is not what Wikileaks does. The highest of treason is what an average American does when they abandon long celebrated history of struggle for civil liberties, and the victories achieved through it to succumb to the hype of fear and hate generating buffoons. Adlai Stevenson once said; the tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and fear breeds repression. Too often sinister threats to the bill of rights, to freedom of the mind, are concealed under the patriotic cloak, of anti-communism. That was in 1952. Today it's the cloak of anti-terrorism. Stevenson also said it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.

--Spoken like a fictional American should.

FUBAR

2010-05-22T08:49:00.005+02:00

It has been a very long time since I first* wrote about the Muhammad Cartoon phenomenon. I like to think that I've grown up tremendously since then, enough to know for sure it's futile to address it in any means possible. But since this video has thrown me off of an excellent study session (thank you very much), I say what the hell! I'll rant a little anyway.

When I was younger, I thought to myself that this is just unfortunate misconduct. That it was an ill-considered way of communication farted away by yet-to-hit-adolescence brains. And perhaps this was actually rather prepubescent analysis on my side. Something to do with romantic idealism, self-scrutiny, and being 'open'.

I now realize there is a repetitive pattern worthy of premeditated sporting. There's always this short-listed flashcard of Sharia Law and the History of Islam. And it usually amounts to a billion human beings being a cult started by a pedophile fourteen hundred years ago revolving around beheading, dismemberment, flogging, niquab practice, and ritual oppression. For absolute leisure, I tell you. Just a billion man, woman and child walking psychopaths.

I imagine the world population of psychopaths surmounts that tiny billion… but that's just me.

My point though is; the whole phenomenon isn't about criticism anymore. It isn't about freedom of speech, or about bad art, nor is it a cry out for communication dipped in tasty sarcasm. It has come down to mere puerile ridicule of pinned targets. The mental equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. A recycled and tasteless act of injustice and cowardice.

In usual banter between peers and equals, arguments as well as sarcasm is often thrown everywhere. In this particular practice however, I don't see any means for Muslims to reply in kind. One problem about it is; Muslims still hold some things as holy, or sacred; some things like prophets, holy books, and God…. Just a few things. so they sit there ducks, and take it. And then they end up in one of three common outcomes.

Some go on "crusades" to explain. It's especially painful to watch; all the websites and the time wasted on endless posts, not to mention the sweet little trips of our scholars into the White White West. It's painful even obscene because it's incredibly futile to face a behemoth of self-generating and recycling media machine over and over again, explain slavery banning, you face the Aisha bomb, find out that Aisha was actually a glib politically active and astute player back then, you fall again in the niquab dirt bag, and so on and so forth. An explanation-it turns out- was not the fruit sought by public belittling and 2D-ing, it was simple bullying and the fruit is always inflicting pain and inducing damage.

Others go on personally violent. And I don't know if I'm the only one who can see that those in particular have gone FUBAR in search of a hurt-relieving satisfying response. Being pinned down does that sometimes. Being fiscally, and politically pinned down, historically usurped and then publicly taunted and ridiculed can in fact more than often nudge you in that direction.

A third party goes out on public protests. But those are incredibly rounded up as monsters too. Their right to protest certain freedoms that encroached on their psychological well-being is dismissed immediately. And the cry out against a well-manifested Islamophobia is echoed in a wilderness of not even shameful silence, but taunting cheers. And it sounds to me very reminiscent of scary times and massive grievances.

This is a wild shot, but doesn't Europe do exactly that every time it faces economically dire periods? The extremist right rises and simply sheds off the people of color under different pretences? Only yesterday I read the claim that Muslims should be deported because they don't redistribute the money they 'earned working' in Europe, instead they send it 'home' causing fiscal catastrophe. Amazing, no?

Why not be decent enough to admit it and save everyone the pain of being bullied and humiliated for no crime committed on their side? Just deport the people based on their ethnicity and religious beliefs and get it over with.

Obviously I don't feel at home in any of the previous three parties. I find it more appealing to sit back, and shoot back well-crafted sardonic criticism at other people's social flaws, political errors, and if I'm lucky, their presidents. This is of course because I'm damaged enough not to feel humiliation anymore. But who's to say I shouldn't stand up for those who still do? Who's to say that this is remotely a response in kind?

It is unfair.

Peace indeed be upon those who strive to find the righteous path, for it's an ongoing process.

And Thank Allah for cantaloupe!

Forgive my thought salad.

*Holy stuff! I giggled a LOT, it's preposterously sickening.

Mine Field | Holy Gamble

2010-04-02T15:13:00.002+02:00

During the past couple of months, Egypt has witnessed a matchless stir of its stagnant political scene when Dr. Baradei the ex-director general of the IAEA announced he might run for presidency elections of Egypt in 2011. He, however, stated that for this to take place properly; change must be inflicted, and an actual democratic atmosphere must be established to insure a true and honest process of elections rather than the theatrical performance we had in 2005.

Baradei's statement generated an incredible momentum among the oppressed hordes of young Egyptian people. Opposition parties were basically forced to join forces with Baradei, and a new national association of change (Taghyeer) was established to bring about democratic life in effect via constitutional reform, this time by true public demand, through collecting signatures on a common document of simple seven demands including an end to the emergency state (30 years and counting of emergency), insuring supervision of the election process by the Egyptian judges and international organizations and observers, allowing Egyptians abroad to vote via embassies, equal rights for all Egyptians to run for elections, and the ability to vote simply by the national ID with no further complications.

Neither this tight space, nor my own attention span allows it to discuss the reaction of Mubarak's regime to this steep rush of events. Few public responses though are of remarkable importance, like say; The Egyptian Church.

Yesterday; there were two rather opposite pieces of news on two 'independent' newspapers. The first on Al-Masry Al-Youm says that the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church had invited Dr. Baradei to attend the sermon held next Saturday to celebrate Easter. Although, in the same piece of news the Church had made it very clear that this has nothing to do with Baradei's political agenda, and that he is attending as a prestigious esteemed Egyptian figure, a Nobel Laureate and an internationally respected executive. That being said; the Church is "committed to the National Democratic Party and won't support any other candidates who might be of suspicious religious or foreign affiliations". Because of course, everyone else is a traitor.

The second piece of news was about the exact same event—the sermon next Saturday celebrating Easter. In this piece however, Al-Shorouk Newspaper publishes this:"a senior bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church denies sending Dr. Al-Baradei any sort of formal invitation to this sermon." He however can attend as an Egyptian, although it will be very difficult for him because he will be stuck standing with the masses in the back, seeing as arranging 'important' figures in front row seats is a meticulous protocol that has to be followed. (!!?!)

This being published in one day doesn't necessarily indicate clash of opinions in the Church (such an absurd idea). The discrepancy of the statements however raises so many questions about how the Church is going to handle the latest national upheaval for change. The Church in Egypt has never stopped playing a very paramount political role in the Copts life. Political deals never end between the National Democratic Party officials and the Church since Mubarak brought back Pope Shenouda III from the exile Sadat put him in with allegations of inciting sectarian violence back in the 80's.

And since then, the Church has one broad message to all of its followers; that regardless of the grievances of the Copts in Egypt as a minority; the NDP is the ONLY secular savior there is. And in return, the Church gets relative autonomy. The major threat to the Copts in Egypt according to this gospel would be Change. Change here is always in one image—Copts being lynched on the street by masses of Islamists. And so, maintaining the utmost levels of stability by keeping the ones they made deals with in office for as long as possible is a life-saving requirement.

This being explained; I believe the reaction the Church is about to get from the elite of its followers who demand real change is going to be unfair. The political palpation the Church is doing is going to attract criticism and raise dead debates, creating enough dust to avert everybody's eyes from the truth of our amazing reality-- the simple truth that Copts are basically Egyptians, and behave as ones ALL THE TIME, and what is being exhibited by the Church is a national disease of freedom-of-speech-phobia, and so, whoever is trying to solve the Copts problems separately from the nation's main battle for a free democratic state is a ubiquitous jackass.

Dr. Abdul Mone'im Said published an amazing article in Al-Ahram dated March 6^th. In his piece; he discussed a study by Al-Ahram Center of Strategic and Political Research, assessing the public stance on the future of the country; their understanding of governmental corruption and opacity. The numbers on this study (if proven to be representative) indicate a serious dissociation between the elite of this country and the man of the street.

A question such as "which issue should be the top priority to our government" was answered in an impressive fashion; 47% picked unemployment, 27% went with poverty, 13% for corruption, 7% for education,5% went with heath care, and only 1% for political reform!

When asking people to grade our democratic performance from 1 to 10—1 being the least democratic and 10 being a democratic utopia, 63% think we are actually doing OK! 22% stuck on five, while the rest went even higher!

The following question however knocked me out. When asked which country Egypt should take as a role model, Saudi Arabia came first with 38 %(!!$@%$@!!!) and then China with whole 20%, and then Japan 14%, USA 11%, France for 3%, and Malaysia 2%, and only 1% for UK, Turkey, and Iran.

So, basically, the wonder-Egyptian citizen reckons that if they have enough money and a stable job, nothing else should matter and all their problems would be solved, and 58% of them would gladly opt for one of two of the most oppressive non-democratic regimes in the history of mankind.

How did the average Egyptian get to this? The same average Egyptian who went out in full-blown revolution back in 1919 because the British occupation forces tried to forge their political will by stealing the public consents to Sa'd Zaghloul (Egyptian famous politician and creator of Al-Wafd Party)to represent us in the aftermath of WWI and demand independence, and more over exiled Zaghloul, an incredibly public revolution of men, women, children and elderly; all political realms, all religions, and all social sects that never settled down until Zaghloul was home.

The same people who went out on the street by millions to demand Nasser to man up and stay in office to lead the military efforts to retain Sinai after 1967. The exact same millions who almost overthrown Sadat off office after his decisions of somewhat sharp transition into Free Market economics, they now answer in such a peculiar fashion.

So if my grandfather's generation was fighting to get the British out, and my father's generation was fighting to get the Zionists out, why is it that my whole generation is just fighting to get out of this country?

I believe the answer to this lies beneath how far Mubarak regime perfected the formula of the modern Police State. A perfect Police State –unlike a militarized one for instance—will only exhibit its powerful police 'authority' against its own population repeatedly and meticulously; so often that the said population will find life to be a huge mine field where they have to consider every choice they make even regarding the schools of their children and the type of their clothes and haircuts with a paranoid police eye. Life of course in such case would be much easier in two cases; either you shut down every consideration of choices not pertaining to your direct very basic needs, or you simply try to break free.

Meanwhile; the practice of such authority stays quite limited against certain foreigners, businessmen, and true national threats, leading to huge inferiority complexes and a sense of apathy regarding national dilemmas and the future of Egypt as a country.

This preferential treatment went over the top last Friday when the Egyptian 'authorities' allowed the Israeli journalist Utam Feldman who was caught trying to escape the Egyptian Israeli borders via the help of outlaws (claiming to be reporting about the hardships of the Africans' journey trying to get asylum in Israel) to go home unharmed only six days after his apprehension; without even pressing a single charge against him regarding 'trespassing' the Egyptian holy authority on its lands. The same borders only 18 months ago witnessed the capture of famous Egyptian journalist Magdi Ahmed Hussein when he was coming back through one of the tunnels to Gaza after he went there to support the Gazans and report about their life under siege and the cleansing war Israel was waging against them. A military tribunal was very quickly assembled to press charges against Hussein, and now he is serving two years in Egyptian lovely prisons.

This isn't the only story where Egyptians get that sort of double-standard treatment by their government. In fact; this is a daily practice; and if I sit here and try to list all the times I'd received that treatment or some of the stories I'd heard by others this won't be wrapped up for years to come. But the point is obvious; if you are an Egyptian citizen living on this land expect a second-class citizen treatment all the time, and a security booby-trap around every corner.

This explains the public stance regarding any form of political change in this country; average people are terrified to even think of it. And the sharp tongue of the revolutionary intelligentsia whipping these people for the handicap inflicted on them by this regime via 30 years of continuous oppression isn't going to help anyone. Crucifying this citizen isn't the answer, fighting for them isn't either, and I bet the brain power who could muster the scolding criticism of this apathy is quite capable of finding a treatment plan to this plague.

Why not?

2010-03-29T23:28:00.002+02:00

"The majority of the Arab countries don't welcome a conversation with Iran" – Ahmed Abu Al-Gheit, Egyptian State Secretary/ Minster of Exterior/ Vagabond something something… you name it.

This is what the amateur kindergarten-variety diplomat had to say in response to his much-sharper, and much more charismatic ancestor, the current General Secretary of The Arab League, Amr Musa, when the latter proposed an open invitation to a serious productive communication plan with the neighboring 'monster' that is Iran. Musa in his proposal was rather realistic, understanding the obstacles that might hinder such a process. Musa, however, was quite certain his proposal will be denied, and my best guess is that he only made it to clear his name on the dark page of history that is going to document the shameful reality of our rulers and kings.

Musa inferred a very powerful logical premise, the question being; Iran-- being in interesting strategic geographic proximity, and with potential common and adherent economic and political interests-- does share quite enough with the Arab world for a warmer rank of relationships to be in effect. Especially, that this particular country is quite capable of initiating and maintaining various forms of communication and 'conversation' with almost all of its lethal enemies let alone its allies.

This of course assumes that the Arab governments operate from a basis of public support, and solely for the public interest. That being not the case regarding every single Arab country; excuses made to justify governmental decisions are always funny, but make no mistake, just as translucent, and naive. When the only purpose is to maintain power; analyzing those decisions feels like connecting dots of a very ugly cartoon image.

---------------------

SO, OFFICIALLY…

--------------------

One of the most interesting notions by Mr. Muhammad Hassanein Haykal the veteran journalist and ex-advisor of Presidents Nasser and Sadat is the concept of the regional depth of Egypt. Haykal assumes that all Arab countries must be safe grounds, and that common interest amongst them is a granted issue, however he is more interested in what he calls the States of The Belt. He pictures a zone of national security bounded by Iran, and Turkey to the east and north and the African depth to the south. Haykal predicts that tight relationships with such countries guarantee a tighter state of national security and hence a heavier political weight, making pressing for common interests much easier, and growth much faster. He doesn't think the more the merrier, although this isn't entirely foolish. However, he argues that a closer look at these particular countries reveal much tighter bonds and easier alliances than any others proposed with 'The
West, or The Far East'.

Haykal is oddly dismissed by the elite retinue (i.e. the opportunistic slimy organisms) of the current Arab regimes. And the reasons he is being belittled originate at utter jealousy, but never stop there. The current Arab regimes find it quite the conundrum to establish relations with these countries especially Iran.

Iran—current Iran- poses an insurmountable threat to the stability and fraudulent legitimacy of these regimes. This is a state that had spurred from a revolution, regardless of many flaws, has reached a final formula to integrate religion in a modern state, one that practices some sort of free elections and exchange of authority, moderately advancing into prosperity on multiple levels. But most importantly, this country still supports the right of armed resistance against occupation, something most of the Arab regimes have dispensed with long ago as their dependence on the US support to stay in authority reached new historical levels. This last item is in the heart of most of the conflicts in the Middle East, and poses an urgent dilemma in to the peoples of the region.

The official story however is always something with the scent of 'Iran has colonial desires to control the region', which is such a lame excuse, so incredibly lame that the only natural addendum to this would be "And so, we won't talk to them, because THEN they would win" It sounds like some spoilt kid crying "Mommy! This girl 'talked' to me! Make it stop! Make it go away!" An approach only means that they can't conduct any decent relationship with a different country without selling out and completely melting in the new crucible. Tells you a lot about the sort of diplomacy we are making recently.

The staunching double standard they rationalize with here is rather obvious. Israel has colonial desires to control the region and has actually expressed them painstakingly for decades, unlike Iran. This is never subject to public judgment as the public is often helpless regarding the fatherly decision making of its absolute commanders.

The true factor behind this hysterical horror is the actual ability of the newly emerging state to create a new local super power politically, meaning this sort of governments that works for the interests of its own people regardless of any other. And that is very dangerous when viewed in the shadow of the dwarfing political shadow and actual pressure of all the Arab countries put together, and their lack of ability to push for any agenda whatsoever, and their metamorphosis into complete tools for foreign powers that hardly represent any of the Arab people aspirations. Because then, this would mean the 'exportation of revolution'.

This particular term has encompassed Arab-Arab relationships for the longest time; one could trace it back to the Ottoman Empire. The fact that historical animosities and actual inter-wars were waged to prevent and block such effect makes one understands how serious this is for the rulers of this region, because it would simply mean the demise of their absolute monarchies, in favor of public rule.

--------------------------------

UNOFFICIALLY THOUGH

--------------------------------

The public opinion about this particular issue however is shocking. This is almost the most heated conversation you could have with an Egyptian. And it proves beyond doubt the enormous effect of monopolized media and the incessant broadcasting of certain petro-Islamic views on most of our lives issues.

The average Egyptian citizen blindly refuses the idea of an alliance with Iran. And there is a certain Fatwa that many people recycle without even listening to themselves saying it, stating that an alliance with Israel is more likely than an alliance with Iran, because they are mostly Shi'a.

This insane dictating of people's life has surpassed its limits during the war on Lebanon, when certain Sheikh's of Saudi Arabia started telling people that it's Haram (forbidden) to pray for people under attack in Lebanon or for Hezbullah to emerge victorious, simply because they are Shi'a. I personally was considered an infidel more than once for trying to examine those claims of the impossible alliance with these particular people. The latest fit I've had to face was this afternoon when my roommate stared at me as if I was Ben Gurion himself, and asking me very seriously one question:

"Who f***ed up your mind? Who did this to you?"

You see the petro-Islamic figures have extremely efficient ways of demonizing whoever they please when it so fits their kings' interests. Among those demons must be those who try to question; because a conflict with a politician is mere politics, but a conflict with a man of God, that's plain apostasy. I'd never found this offending or even slightly irritating, even though my facial reaction caused my roommate to spend the rest of the day and most of the night profusely apologizing, I was honestly laughing on the inside.

But this reaction is the actual norm here now, yet it is, however, easily defused with simple logic for those who can process it. The main problem lies in the religious view of the political alliance; which always directs the conversation 1400 years back to when it all started, and who was the bad guy.

The way I see it; we've been allies with Christians, Jews, pagans, and every other religion on the face of the earth. We've been allies with socialists, capitalists, communists, and even the greens. We've made peace with the British, the French, the Americans, and the Israelis. We've tried every political system there is, every economic system, every social set of rules, everything everything everything, but we have NEVER been allies with the Shi'a.

Some will argue that we've had tight bonds with the Shah of Iran for quite a while, but I do dismiss that as inter-dictators affection. Plus Iran was rather detached from religion by the time.

But as I think of it; Shi'a and Sunni states throughout history could never form alliances, in fact; they would seek alliances and truce with lethal enemies just to destroy each others. And I can honestly see no reason for this but the monopoly of the truth and the stale monarchies trying to prevail through their very old weapon—religion.

When they ask me why; I always say why not? We've been at peace with the Israelis for more than thirty years now; we've been at peace with our previous occupants and oppressors for even longer. What did we reap? Did it beget anything new?

I honestly see no harm and almost guaranteed benefit to initiate good connections with the current Iran. And personally; I find it way more plausible than any treaty or alliance with Israel. And let them be of completely different religion; let them be of desires of hegemony and control, but let the only difference to be; they don't have our blood on their hands.

If one could break the cycle of history; a new thing might just show up. New is good!

And now I ask you; Who was it that f***ed up my mind?

The Few Things That Matter

2010-03-28T22:28:00.005+02:00

'And if you can't laugh, don't shed a tear

Don't cry

And if all you have left is your heart

Fear not, you shall live

You won't die'

The sad broken sound of his voice still lingers, haunting our memories, resonating every time we talk to a doorman, watch a boxer go down, attend a class, look for a lawyer, or read a history book. His bright dark face and always gazing wide eyes stare back at you from every Egyptian repressed farmer, and every soldier. He used to be the ethereal image if what we all are or once have been. And now, he's gone.

It's been a far-from-perfect round five years since Ahmed Zaki had decided this world wasn't big enough for his soul. Now all we have is but a bunch of frozen captions of his brilliance. Art, however, to live by and learn from for generations to come. A performance so subtle, so liquid, it consumes every ounce of your soul and toys with your emotions in unusual, yet very endearing patterns.

Of his countless and priceless films, there is one theme that impressed me wildly. The notion of how can a man of values and practically nothing else live in a society that doesn't deal in this currency anymore. This particular idea has been the main-core of so many cinematic pictures yet nothing had the depth or the growth pattern of what Zaki had accomplished in his successive portraits of this characters.

---------------

AL-TABBAL

---------------

Abdu is not a simple musician. He was a visionary; one who could speak to the rhythm and tell out his soul in its beats. Abdu played the Tablah, so basically he was an oriental drummer, but make no mistake; he was also a master choreographer. And his dream art work was about to meet reality when he met Mabaheg, the simple poor girl whom he believed was perfect for his music.

Zaki was rather young making Al Rakesa Wa Al Tabbal (the belly dancer and the drummer) back in 1984. It wasn't however his first experience doing so, in fact he had a voluminous record of films and plays indicating the rise of a new rather-different star who intended to shine in our dark risqué artistic sky for twenty years more to come.

Abdu starts to teach Mabaheg how to react to his whims with the Tablah. He then introduces the new girl to the manager of the club he worked for, but not before she signed a monopoly contract for him, where he and he only can design her dancing shows.

Mabaheg started to shine on her own up on the stage, and even though Abdu was positive it was his beats that inspired the applause and shook the stage; the shaking naked flesh of Mabaheg had a rather distinctive opinion, and was adamant proving it.

The filthy rich (well, basically filthy AND rich) customers started courting Mabaheg, offering her tours abroad and her own club in exchange for youknowwhat. Abdu became furious, as this was never what he intended for his dancer to become, he found this insulting to his fine art and his soul that he poured out on stage. Mabaheg and her rather opportunistic mother and step-father found this only natural progress of the stardom she's achieving. And so Abdu threatens with his contract; then the slap comes back as the new customer of Mabaheg's flesh pays a handsome sum of money relieving her from the huge fine stated in the contract. Abdu becomes even more infuriated, insisting on meeting with Mabaheg to talk about this. She travels abroad leaving him behind to dwell.

Abdu starts picking himself up and designs new pieces with a totally new concept. He told his manager that this time he is going to let the Tablah itself dance. The manager can't understand this demand but agrees to let Abdu try anyway. The results—catastrophic.

By the end of this film, Abdu gets to finally meet with Mabaheg who had become a very well-known figure of the society, and one of the most highly paid belly dancers ever. He reminds her of what they had agreed to accomplish, she however puts on a plastic mask and offers him the money she'd sent him earlier before she traveled abroad, again Abdu refuses and throws the money at her face. Eventually, Abdu ends up insane.

Now this –to me- has been quite alarming. This was the clash of ideals at its most horrific extremes, compound with a character rather obsessed with its rights and values and what should be and what has been agreed upon. And I'd always felt this was an interrupted grief, where anger and denial have dominated a hopeless situation against much stronger forces of an oblivious society, ravaging animal instincts and endless supply of cash.

It was beautiful, neurotic, very painful, and nothing remotely wise.

----------------

AL-DAGGAL

----------------

Mustata' the high school philosophy teacher is a man of wisdom. And being as such, he was the only sane person who was willing to live in that room on a roof-top right in the middle of Cairo. That particular room, previously inhabited by the most notorious sorcerer this slum had ever known—'Amm
Sebakh (literally translated into uncle manure!)

Mustata' however didn't have much of a choice. Teaching high school philosophy left him nothing but a small bunch of loyal students and a huge pile of ancient books. Mustata' however believed in nothing above the power of the human mind, he was a devout advocate of the wisdom he taught. His classes in school were something to watch over and over again, and his abstinence from tutoring for extra cash was the center of jealousy and mockery of his best friend the PE teacher, the always hilarious, Mamduh Muwafi.

The minions of Sebakh have been repelling every new resident of the room with silly tricks, but combined with horror stories about the powers of this Sebakh, when blood shoots at your face from your broken sink, it should be enough to hurl you down the stairs and into a train back to your home village. Not for Mr. Mustata', it didn't. In fact, he managed to call their bluff, making them look extremely lousy, but more interestingly; they doubted Mustata' had super natural powers himself.

Days went by; and the teacher, persisting with his anti-mythical lifestyle, started to face troubles at work. His teachings has stirred debate among the students, about democracy, and the power of argument, and the values of philosophy, which made the teaching process that had always depended on the stick and the irrational tests and homework quite impossible. As this escalated; situation at home has become very promising however. This Sebakh has been practicing his sorcery in this place obviously long enough that he'd initiated a huge tribe of simple people who come every month paying 'tribute' to the great 'blessed' man, to protect them from the jinn. Mustata' tried to refuse the 'tributes' and explain to them that these are mere delusions of their simple minds, but in vain. So, blithely, and with the best of intention, he accepted, as he was very hungry. One of the 'victims' asked him to come and 'heal' her son, claiming that he was 'tied' by jinn, and so can't have sex with his own wife. Mustata' curiously agreed.

At the 'victims'' house we meet the son who apparently is quite retarded. Mustata' figured out the problem immediately, the wife is butt-ugly, and the husband has the mentality of a six-year-old. The treatment however had to 'look like' sorcery, otherwise the power of placebo and delusion won't work. So he starts to put make-up and hair-dress the chimp that is the wife, chanting meaningless names of supposed masters of the underworld, and then took the husband aside and explained to him the pleasures of married life. Voila! Magic is in effect.

The story takes a whole different turn after Sebakh gets out of prison and tries to take back his throne. He first asks politely, and then threatens. Mustata' not caring, kicked him out of the room. Night comes, and the old sorcerer depending on his Dracula features and the visual effects of his minions tries to attack Mustata' scaring him away from the room. Mustata' suddenly changes tone, goes frigid, and starts mentioning incredible amounts of secret-names and prayers only Sebakh knows from his old book that he forgot he left in the room when he went to prison, the scene looked exactly as if Mustata' was possessed, Sebakh runs in panic, as Mustata sits back laughing in tears, as his psychological trick fools its own creator. But the minions witnessing this had totally destroyed Sebakh's image in their eyes, and quite prepared them to accept the new master.

The story goes on, as Mustata' tries to convince his pretty young neighbor that there is nothing wrong with her relationship with men except her attitude. And that she isn't possessed or 'tied', she refuses to believe, and accuses him of withholding his true powers from her. So, he does it again, mixes myth with simple psychology, and the next day, she is smiling back at men instead of kicking them.

Mustata' with the help of the new minions and his best friend who quit teaching as well has become one of the most well-known fortune-tellers in the region. And applying the rules of logic and simple spying and body language reading techniques along with the cinematic use of holy language and ancient lie detecting techniques, he has become almost a true sorcerer. The sum of money he could raise in only a few years could easily allow him to live unemployed for the rest of two lifetimes beside his. He'd also become a celebrity. But then this had drawn unwanted attention from very dangerous figures in the state.

And the very important man summons Mustata' to his office. Mustata' panics, as he can afford no background knowledge about the man, and hence who else would he play his games on him. So Mustata' decides to come clean in front of the 'important man' "Sir, I am but a crook" he said.

And just as his pretty young neighbor didn't believe him, so did the important man of the state. He'd decided that Mustata' was hired by his enemies to hurt his only daughter with his invincible sorcery. And so he decided to punish Mustata' and send him to prison with allegation of fraud.

A surprising very mysterious end to this movie was Mustata' managing to get out of prison unharmed after all. Leaving you to think; he was obviously more well-connected than he himself thought. And that toying with the egg and the stone as Egyptian say had proven quite useful.

Al Beda Wa Al Hagar (The Egg and The Stone) was produced six years after the previously mentioned film. Zaki had surpassed his growth charts in this period and provided an incredible grasp on the character and the nature of the psychological dilemma it faces against the shocking reality of its society. This has been evidently much more mature; it reached the bargaining stage. Who could tell it's my most favorite film by Zaki by far?

I'm not sure why this is the dearest work of his to my heart. May be it was the reunion of the magnificent script writer Mahmoud Abu Zaid and the very meticulous director Ali Abdul Khalik, after they have created the great epic Al-Keif starring Mahmoud Abdul Aziz. May be it was the hilarious dervish song created by Mustata' singing to Eddarabandokh (which basically means nothing), a song that joined me through my journey for longer than one song should last. Or maybe because it demonstrates the possibilities of flipping the switch of a perfectly ideal young man to join the dark side, using his previous morals and mental superiority to take advantage of those who wouldn't listen, it feels like sweet revenge. Maybe it's the high content of cynicism, or the wonder performance that Zaki perfected. Perhaps it's the lyrical value of Theory of Deadman when they said 'I like you better when you get what you deserve' incarnated. Maybe it's all of the above, or something I fail yet o fathom.

Although in the process, so many pieces remain missing. The end was rather suggestive of eternal repetition of the cycle of mischief. And that doesn't sit well with idealists, not on the long run. I can safely assume Mustata' will find he'll be obliged to quit, not by any other power but the teachings of his old high school class. Something about inner piece, something about … acceptance.

-------------------------------

AL-MUSAWWARATI

--------------------------

'Edhak El Sora Tetla' Helwa' (Laugh, The Picture Gets Prettier!) is exactly where you find the reason why you deeply love Zaki, and love to love him, and actually love the fact that he is there and will always be there.

Sayyed Gharib is from Suwais (Suez). And Suwais to you is the basic rhyme of life on this land. It is the place where the soul of the eternally free fisherman lingers, and the sound of his Simsemiya (a mini-harp like instrument) mixed with his rifle and the falling rocks of his house being destroyed by colonialists plays a deeply harmonious paean. Suwais is a place for eternal life.

But Sayyed had to move to monstrous Cairo with his mother and his daughter so she can attend medical school there. Cairo is indeed a city to run from, a place for apathy, white noise, and soot. Yet, Sayyed, being a professional photographer, sees it differently.

Sayyed sits up shop shooting pictures of perfect strangers passing by Al-Korneish (bank of the Nile River). Sayyed always believed that a laugh could be heard through images, he would take rather insightful pictures of incredibly miserable people looking wonderfully beautiful simply because they sneaked a laugh behind the back of the tyrant times they live in. Sayyed had solid integrity, never divulging his random model's privacy, even at the highest prices or utmost threats.

The young daughter played by the beautiful Mona Zaki was in school to study medicine, yet, Kareem Abdul Aziz, playing the rich spoilt boy was interested in a different experience of college, outside the class. The funny turns of the story goes on as the highly unlikely couple bond tighter and tighter. The wonder-grandma played by the theater whisperer Sana' Gamil had a lot to add to this relationship.

Sayyed meets Nosa the poor working woman played by the morbidly obese overrated squeaky Lila Olwi ( I can't honestly remember when I started disliking this one) who at first fights him, and eventually comes to fall in love with him. The knots of this tissue start to unfurl bit by bit, as Kareem tries to win Sayyed's approval of his love. Sayyed is quite obvious peacefully threatening the boy not to hurt his only daughter. He however knew this was a love not meant for this world.

The scene when Zaki was supposedly hired by a high-class businessman to take pictures at his lavish private party, turning from a hilarious comedy as this mischievous man announces a contest to win a brand new car if they could grab its keys from the bottom of his pool so Sayyed could take pictures of the rabid crème de la crème fighting over this to death, to a complete tragedy when Sayyed himself manages to acquire the keys, winning only a slap to his face, a whip to his dignity and a kick-out to his butt. This particular scene was riddled with connotations and expressions, I can never forget.

The love story takes its inevitable turn as Kareem's father forces him to accept a pre-planned marriage of capitals with his partner's daughter. Sayyed shows up at the wedding, ruining it, just to remind Kareem he'd promised not to break his daughter's heart, mocking every single one of them for shiny outer shell and empty heartless inner soiled contents. Sayyed then goes home to tend to his devastated daughter. Only then one could see the climax of this process of clash. Just before the expected happy ending when the rich boy drops everything for his love and Zaki stands to wrap whole life up in his 'hold on to the beautiful moments, never let them go; and laugh out loud'… before that happens I could see prime maturity; I could see true acceptance.

In this particular film, the clash of the man with nothing more but ideals against his real world ends in his favor simply by tactical withdrawal. By picking up his battles, sorting out who mattered the most, and accepting everything else life has to throw at him, he could actually come out victorious. And I say victorious simply because it was a ridiculous battle against an unbeatable enemy, and yet he remained his own man. He didn't break, and he didn't shape-shift. But he knew where life entirely lies, and went for it. Ideals- after all- are there because we are.

I have spent weeks thinking how I could summarize the journey I've had to go through for the past year. I've thought of how to tell about the shift from being a medical student so buzzed by the triumph of puzzle solving to a true care-giver always overwhelmed with the next road-bomb the body throws at you. How to describe what debt felt like, what was it to get separated from everyone you loved, how your morals come to test as life hardens its shell and press against you, and the lack of drafts when every decision you make is a one-shot that leads you down a totally different rabbit hole, and the dullness of the job that turns the most motivated into the bitter escapist everyone else is. I thought a lot, however, about one thing; acceptance, and whether this means to sell out.

I couldn't see it clearly however except through these three images of Abdu, Mustata' and Sayyed. How they grew to understand their societies and more importantly their priorities. How they reconciled with their people, and their beliefs. I simply loved to see it this way.

I miss Ahmed Zaki so much. I miss the man who gave me my first go-to-the-movies experience in Nasser 56. I really miss the subway singer of Hysteria singing out loud with hardly any music…

'And if you can't laugh, don't shed a tear

Don't cry

And if all you have left is your heart

Fear not, you shall live

You won't die'

[ AL-TABBAL : THE DRUMMER, AL-DAGGAL : THE SORCERER, AL-MUSAWWARATI : THE PHOTOGRAPHER]

Doctors without Rights

2010-03-27T22:06:00.003+02:00

"President Mubarak is to come back home in a matter of hours". Newspapers of all realms have been spreading the word for more than a week now, and the word never did change. And Mubarak never came home.

Not yet anyway.

Many weeks ago, Mubarak had traveled to Germany to –according to the official story- conduct a few tests regarding his gall bladder. It was the first time the 'official story' contains that much details about the health issues of the president. However, the story was nothing plausible. Especially to Egyptians doctors whose thoughts jumped to one conclusion; 'why not do it home?'

The official story –being a dynamic creature- changed days later to declare that the president is having his gall bladder removed, still in Germany, to the shock of everyone, especially Egyptian doctors who still naively wondered; 'why not do it home?!!'

When the recovery period surpassed its expected deadline, the official story had to shape-shift yet again. This sort of metamorphosis that turns everyone's attention off, as the sense of absolute opacity clouds the scene. There were complications. And then, there was a 'growth'. And some talked about duodenum, while others toyed with the idea of pancreas, and so on and so forth, and the question still hanged in the air.

This in itself was nothing surprising to our people who have grown very adapted to the scene of important state personnel taking their health problems abroad so often. The past few months alone had witnessed scandals of the minister of treasury Yusuf Ghali getting treated abroad on tax-payers' dime [a dime worth over one million Egyptian pounds] and the minister of health Hatem Al-Gabali himself treating his wife abroad as well, even though he owns one of the most advanced private hospitals in the country—Dar Al-Fou'ad, and to stick the knife even deeper and twist it even worse; yeah you guessed it; still on tax-payers' dime. Which really begs the question; whose dime treating President Mubarak today?

Silly question!

It is however needless to say that this behavior carries deeper connotations, not the least of them is the deeply rooted disbelief and disrespect in and of the health care system in Egypt, and to put it in simpler more brazen way; everyone deeply believes Egyptian doctors suck. And to prove it beyond doubt; Khadijah Al-Jammal –Gamal Mubarak's wife—had to go to London to give birth to her first child—Faridah, just yesterday.

Now this is the sort of news that makes you throw the paper out of your window screaming at the desert a huge 'COME ON!' I mean cats give birth in dark alleys and abandoned staircases. It can't be "that" complicated so you have to go to a whole different continent to have it done. And no; it isn't so that the new child gets to have a double nationality she can use in a 'dark day'. It only means that there isn't a single Obstetrician in this country valid enough to attend to the royal passage, one who can handle the 'crowning' of a new Mubarakite.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HYPERACTIVE NON-PRODUCTIVE WHITE-COATED ORGANISMS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Egyptian doctor's life starts at seventeen. When the blooming young high school graduate realizes they scored high enough to rank the same as Einstein and Mick Jagger put together in human history, instead, they choose to attend faculty of medicine. And this is not the place or the time to discuss why.

Then for the consequent seven years, they try to acquire the basics of medicine. I say 'try' because the policy of admission into medical schools of Egypt makes it quite impossible to teach a proper course on any subject. And to summarize this policy I have to tell it like my dean said it to me… exactly.

"It is the state higher policy not to break parents' hearts, and so we are obliged by higher instructions to admit at least triple the number of students we can afford to teach, deal with it."—Dean of Faculty of Medicine.

Fun fact: we have over 10000 new doctors every year. Sweet!!

So by graduation, the student –based on their personal effort to learn solely- should be ready to practice medicine from within our infamous health care system, getting paid a glorious incentive equivalent of THIRTY USDs per month.

The dedicated young doctor should be working all of the week, all day and most of the night, stay motivated, well-dressed, well-behaved, and recently-updated with every new guideline of the profession, and needless to say should be working on postgraduate studies to become a specialist, all of which on his dime [30 USDs/month]. Let's not discuss having a personal life; it's laughable to even think of it.

And to put a cherry on this big pile of excreta; the system has become bipolar in terms of CME (continuous medical education); meaning the only postgraduate real education programs only exist in university hospitals, the rest of the state's hospitals (roughly 95% of hospitals in Egypt) have zero education facilities, and in return, they have become a dinosaur-like creatures with their ancient equipments, and even more ancient consultants; ones who haven't touched a medical paper since they graduated a zillion years ago. Creating an air of dominance and killing any chance of real good competition.

The final wrapping of this wonder-package has to be the nursing and the paramedical staff, who has to be the only group of this society who get paid actually much less than doctors. Expect them to be at their highest manners and patience, utmost accuracy and perfect hygiene. I will refrain from discussing the quality of drugs dispensed, the hegemony of certain mafias, and the endless reasons why this country has become a very warm home for a wonderful selection of chronic debilitating diseases.

------------------------------------

MUBARAK MADE ME DO IT

------------------------------------

I'd never wanted to write about this before. But Mubarak latest illness has forced my hand. Mubarak and his midgets in the National Democratic Party and 'national newspapers' have long stood on the shoulders of giants such as Professor Muhammad Ghoneim, and Professor Magdi Ya'qoup, and many other devoted scientists to claim that it was their vision and nurture that helped those wonderful men achieve what they have achieved, and turn Egypt into 'the most advanced medical beacon in the middle east' according to their propaganda. The same beacon they so-hopelessly escape whenever they need medical attention. So this time I am putting my foot down, you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't add fake medical revolution to your already fraudulent political account and then seek medical attention elsewhere. There is no one else to blame for this.

Welcome back

And…

Mazel Tov on the baby!

Doctors without rights is an organization of doctors working in parallel with the long-defunct syndicate to achieve the basic needs and demands of one of the most important groups of professionals in this country. The latest success was to get the general assembly of the syndicate to adopt our fair demands to reform the new CME laws so that the hospital pays for the mandatory CME activities, and our rights in fair salaries and better working environment. A small group of the organization is to meet with the PM tomorrow to express the final statement of the general assembly. A one-hour strike/protest is anticipated in a month if the government doesn't cooperate like it always has. Doctors without rights has been providing illuminating new ways to advance the medical education and practice in Egypt for a couple of years, strikingly embarrassing the aging syndicate where the internal elections have been frozen by the government for over 18 years, along with the 'newly capitalist' ministry of health.

Words: 0

2010-03-26T18:48:00.006+02:00

The main reason why this page has remained a blank for more than a year is simple. It is direct, absolving, and quite sufficient. Against all odds; I am just going to say it right now and spare you the hassle of reading pages-long rants to come looking for it. It's the high of real life.

I have never really liked to read extensively long pieces of abstinent authors who always tend to apologize about the major repercussions of their cessation; like how lost their herd of readership must have been, and how deviated the international cultural realm has become without their invaluable input. It turns out life has a tendency to move forward, and people have a stronger tendency to fill in the blanks themselves.

But back to the high of real life, there is one thing left to say about this chemical. I pity those who live abstinent from it. The diversity of the things life has to throw at your face which I've witnessed endlessly in the past year, and the intricacy of its schemes, the complexity of the actual dramas and the incarnation of the basic line that binds every single one of us to the rest, everything about living that makes you speechless. It makes writing feels inane, and it makes words amount to nil—underneath it all.

--------------------------------------------

MISNOMERS | Parallel Universes

--------------------------------------------

One of the perks of living in the outside world [outside of books, seminars, lectures, close circle of like-minded friends, and the typical restrictions of one's own career] is realizing that your whole set of vocabulary does not apply there, and in return, having to learn a whole new dictionary that defines this state of being. This again is just one of the perks.

For instance; I got to learn that blocking the caravan carrying help to Gaza two months ago was not treason, it was not a conspiracy, and it was not a pre-paid decision. It was a 'security measure'. Yeah, Egyptian National Security is incredibly dependant on whether shivering poor Gazans get to eat or not. I also got to learn that blocking activists and preventing them from expressing solidarity with Gaza one year after it was turned to ashes by the Israeli war machines, that wasn't selling out, it was 'practice of authority'. But the most impressive mistake I've done was thinking Egypt was constructing an underground wall at its borders with Gaza that will evidently endanger the underground water reserves which Gazans depend on to drink after Israel had stolen their water, it turned out it was just some 'construction projects' to prepare for a 'free trade zone' with Gaza!

Oh, and it was completely Halal, according to the late head of Al-Azhar Mosque.

Now I won't try to use the same new words in bigger sentences, like what sort of security measure it is to humiliate Sinai's Bedouins day and night pushing them to riot and demand immigration to Israel. Or what sort of 'practice of authority' it was to force a young physician to undress prior to beating him up close to death in public simply for signing up the document of political and constitutional reform proposed by Dr. Baradei. Or if it was 'halal' to bury our border patrol soldiers killed by Israeli soldiers through the borders without a word of complain or dissent. You see in this new world, bigger sentences don't exist.

But recently; I've added two new words to my vocabulary; I'd like to share with you. In my closed up world, we used to condemn occupation, and deny any actions based on it any legal or moral right. And so when occupation forces try to annex new lands, we call that settlement. And by that broad brush of logic, every settlement is illegal, because it was built on a stolen land via ethnic cleansing of its aboriginal populace. In this new world it's less complicated than that. They have the bigger stick, so they get to call it a 'housing project'. And we get to sit and watch while they annex the rest of it.

The second word I got to learn was the new definition of war. In this world, attacking a major civilian-crowded population who have no air force, no air defense, no heavy artillery, no navy, no automatic weapons, no body shields, and no unified leadership with the top rated internationally banned selection of total destruction weapons is called war. We used to call it murder.

-------------------------------------

Let's call a spade a balloon!

-------------------------------------

So now I understand that when you acquire the bigger stick, you do get to start your own language, AND your own world to understand it. Especially after the events of the past few weeks that in my old world should have caused the US-Israeli relationship to end, or live in a very cold freezer. There was nothing more blatant or humiliating than answering Biden's visit with even more sett…pardon me! I meant more 'housing projects' while he hasn't even left Israel yet. The new world's 'reaction' to that was Nancy Pelosi's statement that 'there in the Congress, they stand by Israel, regardless of partisan differences'. In my old world, if any member of any council anywhere in that world had said something even remotely close to that about another country, they would have been lynched literally. So I find that the US is setting a remarkable example to demonstrate the new uses of the neo-language.

There is just one thing that still bothers me-- Turkey.

Turkey is setting a very distinctive example actually behaving like countries in my old world would have. When a Turkish official is maltreated, the whole country stands by him, serious actions are taken, and positive results are acquired including total submission. What's with that?

I'm not trying to over analyze the latest shifts of the Turkish political scene, nor am I trying to overload any Turkish actions with more meanings than they could endure. But this particular one is in fact a remarkable stir in a very stagnant international status quo. And I can't understand it in terms of the new language I'm adopting.

Another thing I can't understand in this language is the Arabic Peace Initiative. Its mere existence is incompatible with the basic grammar of the Bigger-Stick-ian we speak today. There is also one more thing, the two-state solution, and the whole point behind the presence of The Quartet.

I believe, in a world that has willingly chosen to dispense with its law, and common values, life would be much more challenging and productive if we also chose to dispense with our old language and institutions of peace, negotiation, and normalization.

You see, life is so much bigger than a negotiation table…

And it's only in actual chess that you have rules.

Poor Innings...

2010-01-21T17:13:00.003+02:00

"It is about jumping in on an emergency, rescuing as many as you can, relieving their pain, alleviating their concerns… and getting out the way you came in." He said; his big brown eyes scanned the pale room relentlessly.

"That is not medicine! That is chivalry. Medicine is all about throwing half of your life away willingly just to know more about human bodies than their owners, so you can live the rest benefiting from the suckers who did not." He replied in a sarcastic tune, which never managed to hide his profuse nervousness as he wiped his great baldhead with his famous stripped handkerchief.

"Isn't that witchcraft?" His thin eyebrows almost neared the back of his head.

"Medicine is just a polite word for witchcraft." He gulped suddenly for a reply, after which he started to cough vigorously.

"And here I was thinking medicine is all about finding a stall…" Violently breached the room in her very annoying feminine voice and incredibly tiny stature "so you can finish your precious conversation while your patient corrects his own acidosis and your patient pinpoints his bloody collagen disease."

A moment of silence descended upon the room, quickly penetrated with so many back and forth looks before it became shattered into nothings by the squeaky blow that followed…

"GET TO WORK, DOGS!"

Innings. Hurgadah, Jan. 2010.

Never Safe

2009-01-19T02:50:00.009+02:00

It is at times like these that one finds he needs to talk less and act much more. And yet wherever I look around, I can sense a great proclivity to argue and waste time in the grey zone where facts are overlooked, egos are soothed, and prejudices are glorified. Perhaps I need to write this more than any of you needs to read it. I need to write it once and for all. This was meant for May 14^th 2008. But due to recent events it had to be dug out.

--------------------------------------------

AN EVER-LASTING CRIME

--------------------------------------------

"I support compulsory transfer. I don't see anything immoral in it."—David Ben Gurion on June 1938 (Righteous Victims p.144)

The only way any man with a memory span longer than that of a mite can see the ongoing massacre in Gaza will be in the light of the original crime committed in the first half of the late century. In his painstakingly-documented book Ethnic
Cleansing of Palestine , Ilan Pappe explained beyond the realms of doubt the motive and the machinations behind the reason of our misery here today—The Compulsory Transfer; Or for more appropriate non-euphemism—Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

When the devisors of the Zionist ideology first initiated the romantic idea of living no more in minorities for the "Jewish People", they made a fundamental sinful demand which will encompass a century to follow filled with crimes against humanity. They picked a riveting biblical rally point to call the devastated minorities to. And the initiation of an exclusively Jewish state was afoot. Problem was; they were still a minority in the land they picked.

The land as you must know by now had "aboriginals". And to deal with that, surprisingly, the newly emerging minority had to follow in the footsteps of its original oppressors. They were after all entirely of European "view" of things. A view lavishly tainted with colonialism. The book continues to demonstrate village by village the typical along with the atypical methods followed to forcefully evacuate thousands of people from the new "democratic" White Castle in the Dark Middle East. The book leaves the reader there amazed at how Nazi the new state behaved.

In the aftermath of the ethnic cleansing of the new state, a couple of measures were taken to ensure the permanence of such a crime. And from settling into the evacuated villages to planting land mines in the ruins to prevent the Palestinians from coming back, the range of exterminating the history of the land was impressive. Forests and spas were created to cover the original villages. And UN resolutions were… buried.

"11. Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible"—UN General Assembly's resolution 194 (III) December 1948.

A funny last measure regarding the UN issue was the initiation of the UNRWA instead of the anticipated participation of the International Refugee Organization. That cunning measure was taken least anyone would notice, or hold comparison seeing as the latter was particularly involved in helping out the Jewish refugees in Europe after WWII. The comparison shouldn't take a place, our refugees here are… sub-humanoid.

Around the year 2000, Israel tried once and for all to end its eternal "Demographic Bomb". Arafat was offered a cantoned state filled with compromises, and a "compensation" for the refugees with no Right of Return. Arafat could not accept the completely exonerating sell-out of a deal. And then Israel realized that nothing worked better than its original strategy—Go in and cleanse them all.

And under the continuous occupation the second Intifada commences. But with a tiny change of the international theater; Israel managed to ride the free-train of War On Terrorism. Terrorism in this case is to resist occupation.

"4. The situations referred to in the preceding paragraph [application of the International Humanitarian Law] include armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination"—article 1(4) of the First Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions 1977.

------------------------------------------------------------

Hamas | WHEN THE PEOPLE MADE A CHOICE

------------------------------------------------------------

It is one thing to watch one state committing collective punishment on a people (the current events being a riveting example), but it's a totally different one to watch the whole world does it in silence. I believe I've talked about it – almost had it documented- about eighteen months ago.

So when the question of legitimacy rises again, and this time on Tzipi Levny's expressionless mouth, I find it unbelievable that we are going to have to address this yet again.

Briefly speaking; Hamas –according to the last quote of the Geneva Conventions- is a legitimate resistance movement that has an inherent right to target and potentially harm the occupation unites. Briefly speaking; Hamas was elected by the people of Palestine in internationally-monitored democratic elections to represent them and run their government. Briefly speaking; the whole "free world" has been collectively punishing the Palestinian people for such a choice for over two years now. Briefly speaking; Levny is NOT Palestinian, nor is she elected to speak in their name, so she should control that blabber of hers about how Hamas 'doesn't represent the aspirations of the Palestinian people'.

Oh, and briefly speaking; a "moderate" is an authority figure who is willing to adhere to a settlement that fulfills all the Israeli/American demands with no respect whatsoever to his people's national rights or desires. A "terrorist" on the other hand is an authority figure who does the opposite; stick to his national rights, and stands unyielding to the tyrant pressure. You have to bear that in mind when classifying the Middle Eastern political realm.

--------------------------------------------

UNBIASED| Civilians… seriously?

--------------------------------------------

"Civilian noun: A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the military, the police, or a belligerent group."

Besides being an expert on the Roman Civil Law, this is one of the most accepted definitions of the word. I know many will not share this opinion with me, but I still think that a population of reserve military personnel on 11-months vacation a year can not have so many "civilians" amongst them. I know that a population allowed bearing arms by the age of 16 and less can not have so many civilians. And I'm without a doubt that a society of colonialist settlers who believe religiously that "everyone else" is OK to kill, burn, enslave, and torture if they please can not be labeled –you guessed it- civilian.

Shocking, I know. I had a really hard time digesting it myself.

But this isn't the major point here –though it should be. The point here is the balance does not and can not hold between the two images. The level of grief on both sides can not be standardized and then sold out as an unbiased exposure of both sides of the conflict. Because there's no such thing, when the number of Israelis dead around Gaza in ten years is TWINTY, while 600 Palestinians were murdered only in one week. You can not give the same space on your newspaper to the image of an Israeli old lady crying in shock of the sound of the bombing and another image of a Palestinian mother staring in disbelief at the bodies of her five sons and call this "balance". You simply can not. The balance does not exist.

You can not hold the balance between practicing resistance against a persistent occupation with home-made rockets and deliberately targeting UN shelters [created by the Israeli original sin to start with] with cutting-edge military options.

Many won't try to do that. Not after the live version of the war we all watched. But they will try and frame Hamas for it. So they will say Hamas blew it when they broke the ceasefire and the blood is all on their hands.

"But it didn't. Israel broke the ceasefire first on 4 November when its bombardment killed six Palestinians in Gaza and again on 17 November when another bombardment killed four more Palestinians."—Robert Fisk.

Oops! Did I burst your bubble? I'm sorry, I meant that.

------------------------------------------------------------

ANOTHER MASSACRE TO SAVE THE DAY

------------------------------------------------------------

Now this is astute. Israel –as most of you already knows- has a terribly long and twisted history of slaughtering people in UN shelters. Massacres which always sent two distinctive direct messages instantly. One of them is letting the victims (be it Lebanese, or Palestinians) experience first-hand the fact that the Israeli military will stop at nothing, and that the roof to how savage and brutal it can get doesn't really exist. The other is proving once again to the UN and every member of it how untouchable and certainly blithe it is regarding any efforts to stop its quest. It's their own way of wiping their butts with the UN resolutions. A unique way I must admit.

But that isn't all.

You see, such massacres usually take place a while into the fighting, not as a starter, and not an ending, but right in the middle. Gaza's UNRWA school was bombed 12 days into the battle, Qana 2 for instance occurred 2 weeks into July 2006's war on Lebanon, while Qana 1 was only on the sixth day of 1996's war on Lebanon, but then again, the whole thing took about 12 days back then. And putting it together, there is certainly a pattern there.

There is a very common sequence that takes place right after those massacres. The "International Society" [I can barely hold a straight face saying that] gets all riled up, and goes to the UN and the Security Council. And then something odd happens. The UN does nothing, the Security Council gets tied down with the US in it, and suddenly 'Friends of Israel' come up with an initiative!

One week after it had killed 108 civilians in the UNIFL compound in 1996 in south Lebanon, a ceasefire was signed. The amazing scene repeats itself in the same village ten years later, only this time 56 war refugees get to face the shells in the UNIFL compound. And in almost 48 hours time the UN almost issued a resolution that [had it been passed] would have given Israel all what it couldn't achieve through the military option. Later amended and then accepted, we had the 1701 resolution, more of a truce actually. But something to sell inside to the local media in Israel—an achievement.

And now, an Egyptian-French initiative, an almost-replica of the US first trials of the 1701 back in 2006. An initiative that ends the lobbing of rockets immediately, without any guarantee to either withdraw the military forces or to lay off the tight siege on Gaza, terms which could not be achieved by severe military actions for two weeks. Such terms could have never been proposed until the maximum levels of brutality have been reached and breached by the Israeli military machine. So they skulked in the dark and waited for the UNRWA massacre to happen before they come up with a present that will –at least- give Israel a positive situation to justify the massacre if Hamas is to refuse the ceasefire. It also gives the collaborating Arab "leaders" a self-regenerating chance to blame it all on Hamas as well.

So, whenever dark and gloomy and all your goals have faced demise…

Find a UN shelter, bomb it, and you shall receive your prize!

------------------------------------------------------------

FUTURE ISRAEL | Dwindling Hope

------------------------------------------------------------

Through the history and the present one can devise an estimate road map to our future here. And through its origins of colonialism and supremacy, to its foundations of ethnic cleansing, occupation, imprisonment, starving, and murder, the Zionist State finds itself today facing its once-redeemer turned into its ultimate destroyer—The Zionist Ideology itself.

The battle between arrogant thug power and inherent human rights has had only one outcome since the beginning of time. Zionist Israel is looking forward to a very bleak future where it can never aspire to be a decent state. It will always strive to serve super-powers demands because it's the only way to keep an economy going. It will always live in ghettos and behind walls, always in arms and absolutely never safe. No treaty will assure them, no measure will be satisfactory to chase away the terror they live within. A state of terrified mercenaries is all what Zionism could give.

As for the people of Palestine; I see hope at the end of the tunnel. Because for them- even through the hunger and siege, even through the enormous loss of loved ones, through the rising souls of the coldly murdered children and the paeans of grief spilled by those left behind, through the abandonment of the supposedly-allies and the criminal silence of the world governments, through it all, their hearts feel at home. They are not strangers to this land; they will never feel the insecurity and the terror an invader has to endure. It is through that –and that only- they shall prevail, and their cause will indeed be served.

The tide has turned, and the people of the world are no longer prisoners to historical emotional blackmail. It is now the time to stand one more time to watch another tyrant state goes down the gutter of the history by our hands as we evolve.

PS. My apology to the author of Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine for the book demands a detailed review I can't deliver at the time being.

Three Months Later

2008-12-22T03:25:00.003+02:00

Remember Mariam and her story? The thing about that sort of terrible news is; one looks into it, gasps in pain, feels pity, and for a little while 'cares', myself included.

Perhaps that is a positive evolutionary trait. The basics of survival that bend us into shutting out the 'noise' and focus on what really matters. This allows us-unlike those featured in such news- to go on.

But what would happen if you decided to pursue what happened after the spotlight was turned away? What will you really see? How is that going to change anything?

In three months long, since it all started, I came to learn that Hamada Abdullatif is actually a father of five not two, a general administrator in an oil company and 47 years of age. And there's been a slight detour of events since I last narrated.

You see, after he was brutally attacked and handicapped by the police forces, Hamada faced two assassination attempts.

Scary, eh?

First one occurred right after he was admitted, when the officers around realized how grave his case was. They stole his admission ticket, and tried to take him out in their car, where they intended to leave him to die in a dark back road, and claim that he tried to escape and got hit by a car. Hamada however managed to whisper their plan into the nurse's ear. The nurse in turn brought in the resident who made a grand stand against the excessive intimidation of the police bullies. Eventually the neurosurgeon attending was in and the surgery preparations started.

Then few days later, another officer sneaked around trying to mess with the man's dosages. He was busted and kicked out by a nurse.

That being said, it cannot be compared to the DA prosecuting Hamada, and banning him from travelling or seeking medical advice outside Alexandria. So, Hamada was supposedly held prisoner waiting on investigations, only in his bed.

Hamada was only released yesterday (December 21^st) to spend 3 weeks of rehabilitation in Cairo before he continues his treatment plan in Germany… supposedly.

Funny though how Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood Organization) took on Hamada's case. How their lawyers made every publicity stunt there is to do what exactly, I'm not sure yet. All that I know is; the man who did this stays unpunished, and three months later, Hamada's life is still in danger.

Time for you to answer my question; how is "this" going to change ANYTHING?

A 'Sole' Bias

2008-12-17T07:56:00.006+02:00

A good journalist is well-versed, sharp, articulate, and lives and dies by a code of objectivity that allows the closest perspective of the truth. They call that 'credibility'. At least that's what I think.

Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualties have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualties at over 600,000.

Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000

Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million

Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect

Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%

And let's face it; underneath it all, that's what journalism is all about. What are you sans your credibility? A monkey hitting keys on a keyboard? Less? You want readers, followers who are deeply loyal. Which begs the question of loyalty and affiliation.

Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007

Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%

Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000

Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000

Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000

When Mr. Al Zaidi threw both his shoes at the lame duck of the United States a couple of days ago, it was hardly equivocal what was going through his mind at that moment. I truly found it hilarious it took "inter-cultural translation" to pass on the concept of resentment and distaste. Yet it was almost unthinkable for everyone to even consider the notion of a journalist violating the code like that.

Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%

Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70%

An excellent or even a great journalist though develops a very special perspective of events. He can find his way through fields of power. And he always reaches his destination with a compass of public sense. A true journalist, nay a true man is truly of his people above all.

Journalists killed - 135, 91 by murder and 44 by acts of war

Journalists killed by US Forces - 14

Al Zaidi chose back then to make the only bias allowed in his career. To side with his people, to stick to the victim, and to stand up against tyrants is what makes journalism worth it. Unless of course you consider Insider some sort of journalism.

RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)

Iraqis "strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops - 82%

Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%

Iraqis who feel less secure because of the occupation - 67%

Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%

The only thing I regret about the whole incident is that the second shoe didn't slap the war criminal right in the face. As for the suck-up apologetics who think Al Zaidi crossed a line, you know you can always lick his sole. Because –in case you forgot- there were no WMDs.

Bedtime Story

2008-10-20T02:46:00.007+02:00

This has actually happened in Egypt. [Youtube Link]

Mariam is a four-year-old girl who lives in Alexandria with her father, mother, and older sister. Mariam goes to a kindergarten in Al-Jazeera School. A couple of weeks ago, the governor of Alexandria decided to shut down Mariam’s school for mysterious reasons. And by doing so, he was defying a court order that allowed the school to run again after shutting it down previously (also for mysterious reasons).

Mariam’s father, Hamada Abdullatif, decided to join other parents in a peaceful protest trying to get their children into school. So, on September 16th, he took Mariam and her mother to the school.

Surprisingly, the school was surrounded by regular police forces and State Police troops. Mariam was holding her father’s hand when a policeman grabbed her violently while a hive of other policemen pulled her father away. She stood in awe watching them pinning him to the floor, completely immobilize him, and then fiercely melee attack him and eventually kicking him until his neck popped out. And then the man lost consciousness.

Other parents were chased and hunted down for hundreds of meters. Men and women both were attacked. Many went captives.

Back to Hamada, where he was found two days later in a hospital suffering sixth and seventh vertebrae fractures, first thoracic vertebra dislocation, severe spinal cord injuries, quadriplegia and permanent loss of control over urination and defecation. Injuries said to be”very similar to those caused by severe road traffic accidents or falling from extreme heights” by the attending neurosurgeon.

Mariam still screams at night waking up to the face of the second in command of Minia Al Basal police station.

I really can’t find it in me to analyze or reflect on this story. I find that I lost insight. There’s one more detail I didn’t mention. Mariam’s older sister is a medical student.

[Picture by the wonderful Saleh Abd El Azeem]

Our Bonfire Night

2008-08-24T16:07:00.011+02:00

Our Senate went on fire. Literally, it burnt down.

No no, let me rephrase! Our Senate, the symbol of parliamentary life in the Middle East, the first entity of democratic life in Africa and the Arab world went on fire last Tuesday.

No wait! Let me say this differently! Our Senate, a historical world of ornaments of the late Muhammad Ali's family reign, a holder or the most important historical documents in the modern history of Egypt, a witness of our first constitution and our treaties with the colonialist powers to live by or get emancipated caught on fire last Tuesday. It burnt down.

Now I'm getting boring, but I have to say this; Our Senate, a building that stands in the heart of Cairo, surrounded by none others, 200 meters away from the central fire department in Tahrir Square, with all access routs being big paved roads, supposedly protected against fires, and only three stories high caught on fire last Tuesday for more than 24 hours, live on TV, despite the support of the military.

OK bite me! But; OUR SENATE, a decoy democratic entity, a poor excuse for an institution, a gathering of the corrupt, the thieves, the bribers, the thugs, and the pimps of the NDP-- third of them directly appointed by President Mubarak himself, a place where EVERY SINGLE election of its members has been rigged for the past sixty years, a perfect tool of the police state to enhance its international disguise caught on fire last Tuesday for more than 24 hours, despite of all efforts, while people watched… grinning for the most of it.

Yeah, I think I got it right the last time.

I think so, because then the public feeling of satisfaction and the sparkling of joy in the eyes of the watchers would then make some sense. I can safely claim that NO ONE I know faced the catastrophic news with something more positive than indifference. Most of them though felt sorry that the fire took place during the summer break of the council! The reports of the mockery that took place at ground zero in Cairo were almost painful to read. You see, most of the time, we don't get red furious at negligence and incompetence that causes national catastrophes, instead, we make jokes. We laugh at it. So yeah, everyone was pointing at the military helicopter refilling its tank from the Nile to spew it on the raging fires with no results at all. But seriously, why do we do that?

Some attribute it to a lacking sense of nationalism, or patriotism, or whatever it is that makes people cling to their countries and public properties. The common conception is; seeing as we lived for centuries under one dictator after another, simply living by, owned and never owning, a very common belief was rooted, and Egyptians would say "De Balad-hum Ya Amm" or it's their country, dude! Whose country? Invisible tribe of 'owners'… just 'others'.

Some think it's not simple indifference towards the country, but aggressive hate against the 'others'. Seeing as those others own everything (hypothetically speaking) when anything goes wrong or gets broken it'll piss THEM off, which makes 'us' happy… somehow.

This always made me think of how we would react if we had the 9/11 events. I think we would point and laugh, make jokes on how fast they went down, and then sit back to discuss football.

It's remarkable though how everyone likened what happened to the major burn down of Cairo on 1952. I'll tell you how it is NOT. Fifty two events were created and delivered by the British occupation agents to embarrass the national government lead by Mustafa Al-Nahhas Pasha for his obvious defiance of the foreign presence and the humiliating treaties that enable it. The people were frustrated and boiling with patriotic feelings against the occupation. When Al-Nahhas couldn't preserve law and order eventually things lead to 1952 "revolution" of the Army – "Free Officers Movement", inevitably changing a whole regime and ending over a hundred years era.

While in 2008 events; we have no national government, the hands behind the crime never came under the spotlight, people are indifferent to whatever is going on, and when Mubarak's police state tools couldn't preserve law and order things didn't lead to any sort of upheaval.

Speaking of the hands behind the crime; speculations has it that … oh wait, this is going to be fun.

Egyptians actually turned this into a game. In a very peculiar post of his; the author of Beyond Normal started a contest on the best conspiracy theory to interpret the accident and its cause(s). He requires the theory to be "Funny, well-weaved, and universal". He's offering 50 EGP of phone credits to the winner, and the contest ends by September 10^th.

"The following vocabulary might come in handy, but –just like spices- they need to be used carefully:

Billionaires, Businessmen, Al-Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood Movement), Israeli Ambassador, American Ambassador, Al-Qaeda, Important Documents, Masons of course, Zionism essentially, A secret vault under the council, Drug Dealers, The New Traffic Law, Succession, Youssef Wali (ex-minister of agriculture and very notorious man), Ahmed Ezz (current crony of Gamal Mubarak and the number one monopolist of steel industry in Egypt), Mentally Retarded, Increment of Prices, General Committee, Committee of Politics (both are of the NDP), Copts Abroad, Barak Obama, Ahmadi Nijad, Syria, Al Hariri, Al 'Atrees (common thug in Egyptian history), Monsters of the desert, Haunted Council, Coup, Corruption, Privatization of The Fire Department, Selling Tahrir Square."

I suspect though that Egyptians are looking for a Guy Fawkes, or a modified replica. I sit here and imagine someone like that, burning down the decoys of the police state one by one, with the least number of Egyptian human casualties, causing maximum damage to the tyrants. It's more of a cinematic dream than an educated speculation. I think I like that dream. Meanwhile, I'm going to work on my own conspiracy theory now. Fifty EGP is a lot of money considering my lifestyle.

Egyptian Man

2008-08-08T06:18:00.017+02:00

[Silly post follows]

You wouldn’t believe the things I find in my ‘unwanted traffic’!

Every now and then, I get this email from my SiteMeter telling me statistics about the traffic flowing into my sweet blog. It is impressive to watch what kind of users reads this. I enjoy the sin of curiosity and revel in the sweet vanity it provides me.

Last night I found an American IP who found its way to my blog through these exact search words on Yahoo! Search engine:

“my egyption is husband is very very cheap”

That was a first. I get limitless unwanted traffic through pornographic search words, and humiliating racial comments, but this combination I’d never seen before. So, obviously, I wanted to check what other search results were there. And I clicked the link.

I went cutting through pages of search results to find where exactly my blog landed, but I really couldn’t. Amusingly though; I found other things. I found loads of pages and odes written of the vices of the Egyptian Man. I was appalled to learn how insanely disgusting and horrible I am, simply because of my gender and nationality. I found a whole League of Egyptian Misandronists.

It all started at a very impressive ‘article’ by a Marwa Rakha on Global Voices illustrating her celebration of being right yet again about Egyptian men, after the Canadian Embassy issued a warning to all its citizens not to get involved or committed to Egyptian men. Regardless of how ridiculous and extremely repressive of Woman’s Rights to go for whoever she pleases, Rakha goes on almost applauding the incident through her lovely style of writing (Rakha is only quoting other bloggers if she isn’t telling her heart out on one of her always miserably-ending sexual encounters—solid reporting). And so, through Rakha’s multiple blogs, I get to meet the other members of the elite league. I have to say it was inspiring…

Now the logic behind those wonderful pieces of molten concentrated ‘criticism’ is quite understandable. Even acceptable in many cases. The obvious social hypocrisies, the claims of supporting a recently-embarrassing-local-feminist-movement, the rising addiction of the arm-chair analysis and activism and cyber-fights, and, not to forget, the previous romantic, sexual, and/or childhood traumas… or even the lack of/yearning for them.

But that’s not what I’m discussing today. I’ve got a better idea!

I thought, being the incredibly horrible Egyptian Man I am, I should collect or document my legacy, my worldly accepted and celebrated heritage of manure. I should dig deep behind the pathogenesis of my persona, not to find out the cure! Of course not! But to celebrate it, embrace it, and present it blithely to every self-appointed supremacist ball-buster.

So here’s a collage of theories, hypotheses, comments, and very common conceptions/misconceptions behind The Awful Egyptian Man. I assure you ALL of them are true… to some extent!

--------------------------------
THE SEXUALLY-REPRESSED
--------------------------------
It’s all the sexual tension piling inside! This is the most common and naturally-thrown-at-you comment when it comes to that matter. I like it! It’s simple, absolving, shallow, and very definitive. Egyptian men live in a society that ‘officially’ disapproves of or at least frowns upon pre-marital and extra-marital sex condemning them as adultery. Even if it was between consenting adults who are totally in love with each others *gasps* imagine that! So yeah, in such a repressive society, a man is officially –again- repressed into keeping his penis inside his pants and keeping away from copulating with everything that moves. Very repressive fact!

Unofficially though, there is an addendum. The society unofficially admires a ‘man of experience’, regards him as smart, stud, who knows his way around things. It is very flattering secret compliment our men get from their peers, and here comes the hypocrisy…

They are officially frustrated because they are repressed. But they are also disrespectful of women they can get unofficially (you see the whore definition applies in their minds only one way). See? Frustrated/Disrespectful…

So, yeah! Egyptian men are awful because they live in a retro-conservative environment that doesn’t give them a carte blanch to doink!

--------------------------------
THE MACHO SOCIETY
--------------------------------
A usual flow of conversation would bring that up sometime. It is a man’s world out there at your desert! Man puts bacon on the table (or in our case goat meat), and he demands certain things in return. Things that he shouldn’t! Dominating things! That sort of requests that is just intolerable, like say, for his wife not to go about showing her ‘goodies’ and whatnot to other drooling guys. Such barbaric lifestyle is what makes us Egyptian Men unbearable, possessive, and jealous. It’s just us guys!

In a man’s world, a woman has no say in her life. That’s the motto! Otherwise men won’t come? Basic advertising people!

Also Basic Advertising, logic, and old wisdom always taught us that the devil lies in the details. That it’s NEVER what the ad says.

But that’s not the point! The point is; in my society men oppress women, simply so they can take advantage of them, because indiscriminately; all men are afraid of women being in control, it reminds them of their moms! That’s why they go out of their way slaving themselves to earn the bread of the house and be in control. They never stop, even when women get most of the jobs and the places in universities. Men are just that retarded in my country.

--------------------------------
THE FINANCIAL IMPOTENCE
--------------------------------
Egyptians are mostly poor people. According to Abdul-Halim Qandil’s latest book – The Last Days, where he predicts how the last days of the current regime would look like, he states numbers of international organizations and the World Bank that simply puts it naked in the sun. We Are Poor Oppressed Men.

A policeman or soldier for every 37 citizens (about double of Iran)

Unemployment of 30% and new 1.5 million unemployed citizens every year.

34% of populations under poverty line, the mean salaries are around 300 Egyptian Pounds (about $60 per month, imagine catering for a family on that).

Extremely poor health states, 2% of population are in control of 40% of the national income…

I can go on and on, but it’s really exhausting, and I’m not so fond of whining. Bottom line, Egyptian Men are poor and oppressed. And poor oppressed people are bad people. Why? It’s incredibly simple!

Poor oppressed people are always frustrated, they are mean, and selfish, they won’t share or give, even of their feelings, they are also always out for your money, and not to mention; their ONE AND ONLY solace is sex!

So there you go; in a nutshell, the Egyptian Man’s pathology. Too general? Oh I could make more! Watch!

Even the rich guys live in the terror of becoming poor. They go through the same dilemma, except may be for the solace part, they take solace in possessing other people.

--------------------------------
THE SUPER-ALPHA-MALE COMPLEX
--------------------------------
This is a very funny one, however 100% true. Egyptian men have it in the heart of their hearts that they are THE most desirable men on earth. Yeah! You heard me! It’s an incredibly firm, unshaken-by-ANY-MEANS ideology. They attribute it to their self-appointed super stud-ly-ness!

An Egyptian man doesn’t have a doubt that he would ‘win’ any sexual contest with any other man in the world for ANY woman on this earth. It’s unbelievable! We actually think that we can out-do you all guys! When we approach a woman, we always think she is very lucky to have us interested, we are the heaven sent pleasure, the ultimate package, the tanned dark-eyed curly sinewy men of the desert who make daft princesses and rocket scientists swoon on the mere notion of us. It’s simply that! We are THAT GOOD!
And since we are very aware of it, it makes us too much to handle. We don’t take no for an answer, because we think our simple questions are not just offers, they are royal gifts, you can’t refuse them. Therefore, we are awful!

--------------------------------
SEXUAL OBJECTS | FIXED FANTASIES
--------------------------------
I only like this one because I personally came up with it while I was on voice chat with a very dear friend on this particular issue. It still amazes me the pieces of wisdom that fall off my mouth, eh… I’m just too good to be true! (Too Egyptian now).

We were assessing the consistence of online and offline Egyptian male desire to be with a ‘western woman’. And it simply hit me; because that’s what they see on TV!

Yeah, monkey see, monkey do! We live in a generation so brimming with ‘western’ entertainment concepts and other aspects of globalization that it is very rare to stumble on one of us who didn’t live the fantasy of the filmed romance. To us it’s so simple, those women will give love, tenderness, really hot sex and no strings will be attached. No responsibility, no family, no hard feelings even. It’s gotten that defragmented in our little minds.

My friend’s husband agreed with me!

So yeah, we live with tens of years of sexual objectifying of woman, and we are reacting to it. But that is only us, no other man acts like that in the entire world. Because by nature, we are also more prone to brain washing.

--------------------------------
WE ARE MUSLIMS!!
--------------------------------
I thought everyone knew this little fact. Islam is documented as the strongest aphrodisiac of all the time. You just have to embrace the religion to have the largest, most insatiable sexual-appetite in history. And it persists for life time. Muslims like doing ‘it’!

So that’s the real reason behind why we are so perverted. I thought it was obvious, but I’m documenting, you know!

--------------------------------
SEX TOURISM
--------------------------------
Egypt has been a touristic sexual fantasy since they coined the term. Generations grew up realizing that fact. The number of foreign women (wrinkly or not) flowing in here looking for “real love” or “a summer fling” is beyond counting. And so the assumption was deeply rooted, generalized, and the trade of interests became a common sense.

Foreign men too of course!! But we are here today to discuss how horrible is the Egyptian Man, not how…um… never mind.

--------------------------------
DUDE! IT’S JUST MEN! GET A GRIP!
--------------------------------
This is a very odd hypothesis. The supporters of such claptrap actually NEGLECT the ASTOUNDING FACT of us being Egyptians! They dismiss the worldly accepted decorum refuting facts like how the European man is extremely civilized and sensitive who never gets drunk and beats up his whole family, or how the Saharan man is vulgar and barbaric who never supports his family whatsoever; they even claim that all those flaws are universal and simply human-like.

The fundamentalist ones will call us whiny people! They would tell us to get a bloody grip and smell the real world for what it is; they would also start poking sticks in Egyptian women’s stinking flaws!! *hides face in disbelief*

They acknowledge how the men 'change' after a while. How they become less romantic and more distant. Because God forbids women can get materialistic and incredibly annoying at other times. They realize how mean, horny, cheap, arrogant, and bossy men can get, and surprisingly, they are OK with it! But you know what is too shameful to spell out?! THEY THINK IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ONE'S NATIONALITY!!

Can you believe those are a majority? Seriously! Because after all this enormous ‘cyber’ activity of defaming the Egyptian Man, they still roam around doing their thing and actually being accepted, desired, and loved! It is very impressive how nonchalant they walk through all the slander. They are mostly still in market.

Supply/Demand logic then leads us to a very remarkable deduction; women actually enable that sort of abominable behavior! They like men with flaws! And it’s not a self-esteem issue, it’s not a lack of other options issue, it’s simply a realistic woman’s demand. One who realizes flaws are of her nature as of his. One who knows it takes two to tango, takes two to fight, and it takes only a very miserable one to sit home alone quoting articles on how to be a supremacist.

ps If you guys can think of more theories on that, please help me collect them!

The Real Punch in The Crotch

2008-06-29T08:18:00.019+02:00

A keen observer of the Egyptian scene during the last couple of years will essentially notice the invariable spread of the signs and symptoms of senility and instability of Mubarak’s regime. The numerous reasons behind such an alarming fact can never be summed in one post, nay, in one book. Yet, of those signs, most dangerously emerged (due to the undeniable accumulation of grievances throughout the country) what many tried to coin as a “culture of protest”.

It’s true. In her elaborate and wonderful posts, Baheyya had covered the spread of an air of revolutionary refusal and public demand of basic civil rights in a country that almost forgot what those were. Her last post specifically discussed an over view and four important myths about the phenomenon that shook many foundations of this dictatorship to their cores.

White coats, blue-collars, farmers, students, professors, judges, lawyers, journalists, teachers, MPs, truck and train drivers, and even homeless men and women were involved in this unique experience of spatial and temporal spread of resentment and persistence. Events that spilled over zeal and commitment to a thriving cyberspace (blog-o-sphere, Forums, and Internet Communities) which fed them back profusely-- organized and well-covered protests and demonstrations.

In solidarity with Mahalla protests for fair wages, Facebook groups were initiated, and eventually the idea of a public strike was thrown on the table. And April 6^th was the named date for it. The idea harvested millions of supporters over a very brief period of time, and seeing as it’s not just Mahalla workers anymore; strike was simply against the incentive sharp increment of prices and the incompetence of the regime’s economical plans (or lack of thereof). Such a development was the fruit of the integration of cyber-work and the man of the street. Surprisingly, the political parties ridiculed the event, and even the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood banned organization) refused to participate trying to play a dirty political interests game with the NDP (National Democratic Party; the ruling one). However the public strike was soon to turn into a civil disobedience. Of course Mubarak had to hit back… hard.

The events of April the 6^th have been downplayed and muffled severely in the mainstream media. And yet, the live coverage of the independent papers and bloggers will imprint the images of the wounded and the dead forever. The story ends with the capture of Israa’ Abdul Fattah (the said first caller for the strike on Facebook) and a bunch of other ‘activists’. The ‘national’ government journals dismissed the strike as kindergarten games, whilst the independent ones lauded a ‘great success’. Only online sufferers had again to take the step to free their colleagues and take this ‘success’ up in a one-on-one game with the old man. And so, another strike was planned, this time on May the 4^th—Mubarak’s birthday… against tyranny.

Perhaps Baheyya’s analysis was two months too late?

---------------

THE SHOCK

---------------

In her most valuable piece The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism, Naomi Klein rewrites the history of the last thirty or so years, and exposing the real story behind the ostensible victory of the Friedmanite version of capitalism and its ‘free’ everything (market, trade, zones, etc…). In doing so; Klein actually dissect Friedman’s own tactics and strategies, explaining through detailed examples what he referred to as “Economical Shock Treatment”. She binds the main iconic events of our recent history to demonstrate how Friedmanites and their followers implemented this…

“Only a crisis—actual or perceived— produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.”—Milton Friedman.

But the more recent followers didn’t just wait around for a Katrina to happen so they can take down the whole public education system of New Orleans. They effectively incited and triggered disasters to happen, they nurtured them, they found the waiting for the “enormous inertia and the tyranny of the status quo” too unbearable to do nothing about. And in the shadow of the disaster, during the collective feeling of shock and social regression to infantile stages, all the painful conditions must be planted before people realize what is going on.

---------------

THE PUNCH

---------------

The poor hordes of Egyptians were piling up anger and fantasizing of the birthday present they are about to deliver to the man who caused most of their suffering for the past thirty years. The man, who was cunning enough to let it stew slowly for more than a month, knowing in the heart of his hearts he had ‘this’ under control.

I don’t claim Mubarak has a team who knew of the Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman’s sweet sweet plans for dictators of tiny countries (like the one he had for Augusto Pinochet). But I was sure there was a team designed specially to carve this punch. Because, well, he had enough time, and the punch was really too good to be of his senile brain.

Before April ended Mubarak went on TV, two days before Labor Day, announcing a universal 30% raise for every one working for the government (a good majority of the people).

People didn’t know how to react. Some of them danced in the streets, others just boasted about how the threats of strike granted them “what they wanted” as if this was what they wanted. The quicker ones watched in silence. I… was on the verge of a stroke.

Before people realized what was going on, and one day after the said ‘defused’ strike should have taken place, the government passed a parliamentary decision of the most steep, and huge increment of prices in the modern history of Egypt under the claim of ‘providing resources for the new raise”. The NDP riddled parliament was a theater of the most ridiculous scene with the minority opposition crying their hearts out and the crisis is being created. The very same night, the prices of gas, petrol, cigarettes, private car licenses, steel, and well, in response EVERY thing else rocketed. Neat, isn’t it?

---------------

THE CROTCH

---------------

It’s actually almost impossible for me to summarize the status in which people were dwelling after such news was on. Because I could never be so articulate. You could say they were floating in a sea of their own. No one could even make a comment. Even the told-you-so addicts couldn’t. Everywhere I looked, the same facies applied, the common feeling of disorientation, the dry wording of “what just happened?” they were brought down from the highest of their triumph to an extremely devastating reality showing them how helpless and literally ‘cheap’ they are. If that wasn’t shock, I don’t know what is.

No more crowds, no more protests, and no more demonstrations, demands were simply over.

Oddly, even cyberspace shut down. No more groups, blogs, organized efforts… nothing. Someone peed on the torch. And then writing seemed all that futile.

That is what you call; a real punch in the crotch.

---------------

AFTERMATH

---------------

Needless to say; since the very successful blow to the rising air of political awareness and civil rights claims, the ‘painful’ decisions are being made systematically, one by one, The Terrorism Law, The Real Estate Taxes, even the national high school graduation exams are intolerably impossible for the students to solve (some mean vicious people claim that this is orchestrated to kill the scores and make place to the private universities to take in. mean vicious people I said…). Things that could have set out a revolution only two months ago are now mere nothings in a world so disoriented, people can’t figure out what to do anymore.

The middle class is now stretched so thin, you could hardly make it out anymore. The small and medium-sized business projects are bankrupting by the dozen. But hey, the market isn’t going into a Great Depression or anything. It’s just a few millions will have to pay, and a few others will have to reap. It’s how things are supposed to happen. Someone will always afford paying.

If Argentina didn’t precede us down this road, I’d have claimed the title of the Poster Child of Free Market Effect to my lovely Egypt. Luckily we have other titles to look forward to. Klein claims that through her study of the Shock Treatment, she came to learn that shock wears off, that it is temporary by definition, and that the only way to fight it, is to arm yourself with knowledge of what is happening, and why. We still have a Gamal-Mubarak-battle to muddle through. That will require a more enormous shock; will we be ready for it?

Rogering The Moral Code

2008-04-08T04:01:00.013+02:00

Dear Mr. Bingley

Here I sit alone, thinking of your kind smile and coveting one of our long walks by The River Dorou. It had been a long while since I have been to it alone.

Mr. Bingley, oh how I long to you sir. Nothing here could make me feel at home. Nothing will make me happy. I could laugh, but I'm never satisfied. I will always be sad, embarrassed, frustrated, and bitter on the inside. Faith, sir, cannot bring me back from the place I am in now. It is very dark, and nothing seems to drive it away.

Never adequate I feel. Nothing I do is of meaning. Every conversation I have is a rumination of something that had been said before. Everything I do can be abridged in two bitter words with a smirk. World keeps doing the unfair, the unjust, and the unbelievable all around. I have no control over destiny; I have no say in what goes on around me. Whatever I do pointless, it changes nothing. People keep doing what they do, and they are all happy with themselves, satisfied with what they did, all enjoying what I find repulsive and inane, they are living a life, much less glorious than I had imagined, but they are living it. I am, sir, not.

And late at night, Mr. Bingley, I am left alone with my righteous anger to keep my company. I am jaded there, sir. I help people out. And so, I cannot have someone doing that to me. They fail. I know it all. I know the techniques, I know the words… I know. And that is why it never helps to tell anyone anything. They do things by the book. I hate the book, sir. I wish I was never taught anything. I could have been happier and healthier if I had not. I could have been oblivious. I could have had much less to trouble my heart at the moment. I was deceived. And now, even help cannot help me.

Mr. Bingley, why do they enjoy everything that goes against my moral code? They have no remorse or notion. Why everything that might satisfy me goes against that code?

Yours Truly

Olivia C. Parker.

Porto, March, 29th, 1809.

** **

Dear Ms. Olivia Parker

It brought me the greatest of joys to read your name on the envelope. I read your words carefully, and I thought about what you said thoroughly. I am sorry that it took me such a long time to come up with a suitable reply to your case, where help can be of no help indeed.

There I sent you two wooden sticks of the finest British Oaks, personally hand-picked and sculpted by me. I hope they reach you safe. When you acquire them, I want of you to use them wisely as I suggest.

I want of you, my fair lady, to stick the first up your Moral Code behind deep enough, until it makes a visible hole in it. That way you do not get to hide behind it anymore. It also will prevent you from enjoying that misery you love so much.

The second one I suggest that you use it on yourself. A woman of your calibre must know by now how to gratify herself using such finely edited equipment.

This is all my limited wisdom could summon on such a short notice, dear. I wish you joy, and orgasms.

Forever Yours

E. Bingley

London, August, 1^st, 1820.

Stendhal Syndrome

2008-01-30T22:48:00.001+02:00

A man could live on the outskirts of heavens and spend lifetimes there unaware or merely adapted to what he sees. But once revealed can a man really handle the mystical divine paean?

The little things, the enormously large things, the abundant and the scarce, adaptation never ceases to manifest and normalize the once-breath-takingly-charming into everyday mundane details. Is it good for our sanity? Will it be "more convenient" to go across life daftly adapted to a beauty constantly instilled around every corner and behind every turn? But what does it take to re-sensitize us, to unsew our anciently sealed eyes?

A stranger? A fascinated stranger may be? That pretty much did it for me. When you get to hear the story from someone 'that' bewitched with it…'that' sensitized, it sort of opens up your receptors, liberates your deeply and anciently suppressed senses, and you start to feel.

And it is not always pleasant. It's rather shocking, even devastating. And the more you imbue your feelings with such beauty, such wonder, the deeper it hits you, the more profoundly your biological system gets shaken, and at a certain point, you just collapse. Collapse and faint out of beauty.

Islamic architecture has been one of the most demonstrative aspects of the Islamic culture that radiated from Spain to the borders of China. And even though I grew immersed in such charms, I did not develop a common perspective to bind it all together in one theme. Not like the editor of this film has done. A film I am sure anyone with good taste would deeply appreciate and enjoy. From Mali to India, and from Damascus to Istanbul, the editor takes you on the most wonderful trip that can possibly come to mind, a trip to paradise. I give you Paradise Found.

p.s. wanna guess which part I was on the brink of a beauty coma?

07, Noted!

2008-01-02T09:43:00.001+02:00

Last year I came up with a whole list of 2006's reasons-why it should be The Year of Shame. That was both exhausting and unreadable. This year I find it more useful to archive a different sort of lists. A Tips-and-Tricks list…

1- Role playing is not a fun thing to do. It never ends up with people laughing.

2- It is wise enough to stand up rigidly for oneself. Underneath it all, one's got nothing else to stand for.

3- Cats are only fun in the first three months.

4- Some friendships are worth lame victory moments. Live up to their competition, but don't boast.

5- Some just aren’t.

6- Exposing childish fantasies of little girls will always cost dearly. Keep doing it! It's fun!

7- People are bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling.

8- Cell phones are the work of the devil.

9- Starling's Law; over-extended muscles hardly function—basic physiology. Going out of your way to help someone isn't as helpful as you might think it is.

10- People lie, they always do. And there's nothing you can do about it.

11- Life's too short for pretences.

12- If you want to be a rebel, stop trying to look cool!

13- John C. McGinley is the most under-appreciated actor ever. Will always love you Johnny!

14- Mockery is an art, just like medicine, it takes life-time commitment and sacrifice.

15- Teenagers are not young adults. No matter how 'mature' they try to sound, always listen to the voice in the back of your head.

16- This year, work on a new combination of self-mutilation—Misanthropy-in-Arabic.

17- Arm-chair analysis is much safer than street riots and fiery speeches. Soft on the criticism, better on the outlooks, and wiser on the decision making. But never as satisfying, nor as effective.

18- Surgeons in general are really, re-hee-ally dumb. It is sad that Surgery is that entertaining.

19- Writing is the work of the moment. Stop making plans for writing, do the writing.

20- Never give up the pen-name habit. Fans can get clingy and seriously annoying.

21- Elizabeth Wrigley Field is a gem. Heart-breaking we don't have an Egyptian version.

22- Follow through! Just… follow through!

This shortie will suffice for a 07's Noted! As for the naming habit, 2007 will always be The Year of Scrubs!

*wink wink*

The Final Fig Leaf

2007-07-16T02:40:00.001+02:00

The tumult having subsided-at least on the news agenda, it should be more appropriate to undertake a less dispassionate analysis of what’s been happening in Gaza the last couple of weeks. And before I start, I have a question that I will leave here unanswered for your imagination to stimulate

Why does Gaza sound like the pariah of the earth?

SECURITY BREACH

Now despite the image perpetuated by almost all Arab yes-men journalists, and of course the main agenda-setting agencies about how that was a coup against “legitimacy” by the globally outcast Hamas, and despite the sensationalist attitude of some so-called analysts about the exploding danger of what they called “Hamas-stan” and how the newly emerging ‘Islamic emirate’ would gravely ‘disturb’ the existing ‘peaceful atmosphere’ in the region. Despite all the untruths, all the absurdities, I’m still glad that none of them could stand whole five-minutes of scrutiny.

Unlike the myth up there, the whole situation in Gaza –and let me use Gaza loosely here, I actually mean Palestine- was actually initiated and pushed by a simple security agenda, with no political connotations whatsoever. Since Hamas got elected last year, and for over 15 months of dealing back and forth with the Fatah’s security ‘factions’ Hamas was fully convinced that they can never function properly as a government without eliminating the mayhem those factions created, by subjugating them to the legitimately, democratically-elected government. They started painstakingly to alleviate the tension that never subsided since their dramatic victory last year, and one minister of interior after another, they pushed and pushed towards a reform that would eventually justly serve the interests of a ‘Palestinian People’ rather than certain faction or another. And yet, minister after the other, they quit with failure, due to the unexplained stiffness and bone headedness of Fatah’s officials. That, along with the increasingly unbelievable hoax in the street, left Ismail Haniya with very few choices to pick from. Yet again, he went proposing an eight-pillared project to reform those ‘security devices’ or rather clean up the military chaos on the street, and just function already!

During the meetings for discussing this project, a small incident takes place in Rafah between the executive governmental forces and the preventive security forces (the former being Hamas, and the latter being Fatah) resulted in the death of one Hamas, and two Fatah fighters, and expected to pass very quietly as other incidents. But no…

Oddly enough (or shall we say logically enough) Fatah’s forces takes over the situation, spreading forces in the streets, putting up barracks, mounting high buildings with gunners and snipers, and in the most incentive move; actually LYNCHING two of Hamas’ officials in the street, and kidnapping others. Such attitude that literally pushed the government to take the decision of taking over the headquarters of these factions, to end up the horror and chaos on the street.

Now unexpectedly, those headquarters collapsed very rapidly, many of the leaders fled away, mostly to Egypt, some of them surrendered on first move, and some made a safe haven of the head of the Egyptian ‘security delegation’ house!

Amazingly enough, what was initiated purely as an act of sealing the security breaches, after it’s been well-known that there won’t be another remedy for the ‘insurgent’ security forces, an act that was never targeting Abbas, the Palestinian authorities, or even Fatah per se, was extremely disfigured and misinterpreted on a very wide range, both locally and internationally, which raises many suspicions.

THE LEGITIMACY OF THE 2%

Right after the break out of this dilemma, there has been a very common, standardized, grotesque, and egregiously immoral use of the word ‘legitimacy’ by sides and representatives that should speak of it the least. By that I mean Israel, the US (and its cronies) and more interestingly Egypt. The facts that Abbas has shut down three main commandments of the constitution, unrightfully ‘fired’ the people-elected government, or appointed Salam Fayyad –a very notorious crony, who had only acquired the voices of 2% of the voters last elections, which means only his relatives- a new prime minister, all those facts never actually raise the question of the legitimacy of Abbas’ actions. Obviously enough, because they seem to go along well with the ‘international’ plans for the Palestinian people, regardless what the Palestinian people really wants. The legitimacy of lynching people medieval-style, and the legitimacy of hijacking the Palestinian cause.

Which raises the question again; who’s in charge of the benevolently spending all that kind of legitimacy on those who deserve it the least? What makes taking over Ramallah more legitimate than taking over Gaza? Says who?

Not the Palestinians, I assure you.

To understand the reason why, one needs to realize that when the Palestinians elected Hamas last year, it wasn’t for Hamas’ political agenda, it wasn’t for their advanced solutions or their powerful figures, and it was DEFINITELY NOT because Palestinians wanted an Islamic emirate, the Islamic agenda of Hamas meant nothing to the vast majority of the voters. However, the blatant victory of Hamas was rather a strong slap on the face of the long-time-tainted collaborators of corrupted Fatah. The Palestinians got fed up, for that they were ruled for many years by Israeli occupations panders. The Fatah Administration always formed a more docile tool in the hand of the Israeli occupation, where the resistance was less fierce, and the people were more cooperative, they deserved to be ruled by the ‘preventive security forces’ of Fatah, other than that, they are under the Israeli tanks. Palestinians knew it, and could hardly do a thing about it. Fatah has been brimming with corruption and went on maligning the Palestinian cause in every possible way, however, serving the Israeli interests in its best. The ‘revolt’ of the Palestinian people on that election duly put the collaborators out of authority, and lead into some turbulence in the still political theater back then. And that was not acceptable.

A PLOT?

Surprising as it might have been to most commentators, the break out of the scene in Gaza was no surprise for (if it wasn’t planned by) the US officials concerned with the Palestinian issue. Back in March 2006, Lieutenant General Keith W. Dayton made a statement in the senate foreign relation committee as the US security coordinator in Tel Aviv, and in that statement, Dayton hinted more than once that the US should give special attention to the security sector reform, and the ‘post-election’ changes that might affect it, driving the spot of light to the main trigger that might actually set things off in the Middle East.

Dayton also confirmed the political resolution of not making contact with the democratically elected government of Hamas whatsoever, using the same lame excuses of the Quartet ‘conditions’ for what a ‘future Palestinian state’ SHOULD look like. Whining about the degrading situation in the occupied territories, he ended that asking the American administration not to make any haste taking a decision. Click here to read the statement.

Things stated themselves more obviously in the secret report of Alvaro De Soto, the Under-Secretary-General UN Special Coordinator in the Middle East in May 2007, published by the Guardian. Where he clearly said that the American administration worked with collaborators from the Palestinian Authority (Fatah) to bring down the new Palestinian government by any means necessary, even if the price was a destructive bloody civil war!

He also added that it would have been quite possible to gather a government of national unity after the election if it hadn’t been for the US pushing the Quartet to establish impossible conditions to ‘accept’ the new government, not to mention that it was opposing to such a government per se. Moreover, Soto mentioned that during the meetings of the Quartet that were being held one week before Mecca meeting when the confrontations between Fatah and Hamas were at its peak, the American representative said TWICE in the same meetings that he likes that violence because it means that there are Palestinians that are also confronting Hamas! Click here to read the whole 52-pages report.

Reading that earlier before the break out of this bloody scene in Gaza would only raise suspicions and question the seriousness of the sources of such news. It also would make us question how serious is the US involved in the factional clashes that kept on taking place regardless of all the warnings and the pleads.

However, reading that right now leaves no place for more questions, leaves no doubt, and makes no more excuses. Especially with the increasingly and hectically escalating sequence of events that took place right after Abbas’ single decision of shutting down the constitution, firing the legitimate government, and hiring a toadying disciple to pander for the Israeli occupation and apartheid acts. The generous applaud of these actions by the US and Israel, the immediate contact of C. Rice and Abbas where she assured him that she will be discussing the ‘possibility’ of the US demanding ‘peace keeping international forces’ to be inserted in Gaza, to ‘help’ the Palestinian legitimate authorities, the release of sanctions over the Palestinian monies frozen in international banks and held by Israeli government, the promises of release of many Palestinian prisoners some of them you could never even imagine demanding their release, like Marwan Al Barghouti, even the political map after the break out where the already geographically divided Palestinian occupied lands have become more isolated and sharply distinct into two huge enclaves or cantons or whatever you want to call them, which totally goes in harmony with the Israeli strategy according to Amira Hass. All the incentives, and all the support for the occupation appointed puppet government by Salam Fayyad that took place right after the break out of this last wave of the crisis made the plot clear and beyond any silly doubts.

MANNING AL QAIDA?

You get parasites wherever you lose law and order, which is the rule. Warnings have been made since mid 90’s that creative chaos is never a solution, that every time you try and stick a stinking foreign nose into a society, it gets sullied with foreigner ideologies, foreigner trends and eventually foreigner ‘freedom fighters’.

Striking recent examples were demonstrated everywhere. Most recently; the latest Nahr El Bared’s events in Lebanon, that among other examples of the spread of Al Qaida namely and other fanatic groups in the Arab world due to extensive suppression and cornering of the moderate Islamists by the US appointed regimes were never taken in consideration. Very few took example of the hotbed of extremism that was made clear in the refugee camp in north Lebanon where the government wasn’t allowed to operate and there was neither law nor order. Very few also saw the future of the course of events in Gaza, pushing the main political power in Gaza street’s aside and making place to a more abominable one to take place. And only one man said it out loud.

"Those who don’t want Hamas will have Al Qaida instead." – Danny Rubenstein, Ha’aretz.

The claims of ‘eradicating’ radical Islamists in order to ‘kill’ the terror are terrorizing enough to establish a very large womb into which Al Qaida ideologists can revel and hunt blithely. The claims themselves being terrorizing, their implementation is even more appealing and satisfying to Al Qaida recruiters, since Al Qaida has been trying to score a breach in Gaza for over a year now, settling its guerrillas up north and to the east in Lebanon and Jordan respectively, and checking the waters. And for over a year now they could not score that, due to the excessive presence of Hamas in Gaza, filling a huge political gap, and stopping Al Qaida tide that took over most of the Arab countries recently at the gates of Gaza.

Now, demands rise up high with the head of Hamas, and the truly irrational trial to eradicate it from the political scene, neglecting the fact that this is only manning of new Al Qaida group, this one I might suggest a name for, it would be “ I got you good this time—Osama Bin Laden”

Spare yourself the shenanigans of how Egypt is the main target of Al Qaida, or that Al Qaida has been already there. Al Qaida has been facing the most horrifying trouble in its propaganda because it could not attack anything other than regular peaceful Muslims and non-Muslims civilians. They could never work in Israel, and so they could never have a solid claim when they talk about emancipating the Muslim world, and defending the Palestinian cause. Add to that the unanimous renouncing of Palestinian resistance groups to Al Qaida's ideology as a heresy. That major shortcoming would have been fixed in the blink of an eye if it hadn’t been for Hamas in Gaza all that time. So not only this will be serving Al Qaida a new victory, it will be serving them THE victory. The one they always wanted, the one that will bring all the others in line, this is their turning point, their Stalingrad.

EGYPTIAN ROLE

Indistinctively from an atmosphere filled with yes-men and hypocrites, the Egyptian role towards the final crisis stood slimily beside other Arab contributions to the international plot. Utter bias and incompetence of the toadying Mubarak towards occupation appointed Fatah’s government, and the meaningless Sharm El Sheikh’s Summit where Olmert sat bragging about his ‘conditions’ to ‘accept’ a government that would work with him, regardless of what the Palestinian people really wants. The ‘Amen’ statement of Mubarak, and the humiliating position Abbas was in. the harboring of Fatah’s fugitives was the funniest thing Egyptian authorities did.

Any abstruse repercussions of Mubarak’s attitude, like sending a hidden message to local Muslim Brotherhood organization, or trying to avenge the Saudi hijacking of the butt-kisser leadership recently through messing up with the Saudi orchestrated Mecca Agreement, all those assumptions never take in consideration the whorish relationship that binds Mubarak’s political future, and the decent of his divine dynasty on Egypt’s throne to fulfilling the American agenda in the Middle East. Few years ago I would have been very suspicious about such claims, yet now, it’s been proved to me beyond doubt that this man only acts in response to ‘external’ stimuli.

GLOBAL COWBOY FREEDOM FIGHTERS, THANKS!

What happened in Gaza was the fall of the final fig leaf that any of the universal American freedom fighters could possibly hide behind. The long run results that will mostly take place, along with the documented evidence of collaboration and the multiple artifacts, the manipulation of the destiny of Palestinian people, the shameful silence and support of the apartheid treatment, and the consistent manufacturing and delicate carving of a very diaphanous enemy, and vilifying it beyond bestial features, leave no more place for rebuttal. Leave only shame for those who can still feel it, and disgrace for those who will never see it.

I doubt it though that this will be the end of the case. I know for sure that truth is too ominous and frightful to be faced, and I believe there will be those who will come out of the slime with their sullied propaganda leaflets trying to clean up and sooth the human conscience in everyone of us, trying to tell us that there could have never been another solution, trying to give us quick remedies for the throes of the truth, to keep us hyped, for their purpose is to benefit from this coma, their coma and ours, to loot as much as they can while we’re all there, or else they will see for real that there is no fig leaf.

Manufacturing Consent

2007-05-15T02:48:00.001+02:00

Thought control in a democratic society

This must be an abominable thought to begin with. After all, one would like to think that since ‘I’ live in a democratic society; ‘I’ am in control of my own destiny, my own thoughts. And it must be really disturbing to flirt to the thought that there is actual manipulation of thoughts within such a society.

But, no one really ever looks at the accumulating evidence of how the ‘agenda setting’ media operates through the kind of information that comes through, and the sort of sources that they go for. Actually, nobody would like to take a close look at how media in general operates, how the public relations industry operates, and at the extensive thinking that’s been going on for a pretty long time now, about the necessity to find new ways to ‘marginalize’ and ‘control’ the public in a democratic society.

You see, in a typical fascist society, a ruler would just say; ‘we’re going to war’ and we’d just go to war. A ruler had no urge to ‘explain’ his reasons, or ‘convince’ his people. Since he won’t be facing any consequences, he had ‘violence’ on his side. On the other hand in a democratic society; when I ruler declares war, there’s going to be questions, there’s going to be opposition, and hence emerges the importance of media as a tool in the hand of a democratic ruler to reform, or rather maim the public consent, just as violence in the hand of a dictator one.

Now if you want to know how a certain society operates, you have to find out who is making the decisions in that society. Who is directing them, in terms of investment, industry, and politics. And in a democratic society, you shall realize that such a task lies in the hands of a very concentrated group of major corporations, companies. And also in the hands of the ones who staff the executive office, the same ones that are on the media, those are the ones that ‘have to’ be making the decision.

And those typically have quite deep interests in controlling the public consent. Their whole lives and careers depend on it. And therefore; they will be always setting the agenda for what people should know and should not, through selection of topics, distribution of concerns, emphasis, framing of issues, filtering of information, and bounding debates within certain limits. They are always going to determine, select, shape, control, and restrict how the publics should think, and therefore, behave/act; to serve the interests of the dominant elite groups.

Then remains a very important question; whose consent are they manufacturing?

Well, you can start with two groups, in the first level of approximation, and then you can move into further details. But you mainly have two groups:

· The first group is what they’d like to call the ‘political’ class; they form about 20% of the society. Those are mostly a more educated group. Mostly college graduates, they are expected to be socially active. They’ll participate in social life, spread opinions, have conversations, and eventually they are the ones that are going to vote. Now that group’s consent is crucial. And ‘that’ is what the major mechanism of the media of ‘setting the agenda’ is focused upon.
· Now you have the remaining 80% of the society, which are mere followers. They don’t have to think, they are actually encouraged not to. And those are the ones that pay the cost. Upon such a group, the other minor mechanism of media of ‘mere diversion’ is applied.

Now before any of you rushes into accusing me of allegations of underestimating the majority of the society, and belittling their mental capacities, I am NOT. The governments alongside its institutions and funding corporations however, ARE.

I could now just sit here and start demonstrating accumulating examples of how the international media ‘setting-of-the-agenda’ and ‘diversion’ mechanisms work. But I’d rather just let you discover it on your own… down here.

Inside the Google engine

A couple of days right before my birthday I’ve received this link from a very dear friend, about this piece of news, as a prelude to her annual marvelous gift to me. She of course couldn’t direct me to more impartial writings, since she just loves me that much.

Did you read the links? Shame on you! Go back and read them!

Now, in the links you must have read the funny story about Farfur; the funny Mickey-Mouse character that appears on children’s shows promoting ‘suicide’ bombings, Muslim supremacy, and …um… yeah, hatred. And how 'that' was a 'reason' for the 'world' to ostracize Hamas. Since the 'world' is SO much in favor of children rights.

And as controversial as this piece of news is, and even though it was not even frightfully confirmed by the CNN or anything, this daft article really gets ‘on the news’. And nobody asks; why?!

The way I see it, that only proves the hypothesis mentioned up there. The ‘masses’ really needed some effective ‘diversion’ from what is ‘really’ going on around the world. They didn’t need to think about the unnamed American casualty of the day, nor the other four injured GIs. Needless to say, they didn’t have to bother about the 86 Iraqis that have passed in the very same day, or the 153 ones that got injured. They wouldn’t pay much of attention to Bush deciding to veto the new war bill. And nobody really got in panic when the war bill has reached about 750 BILLION American dollars, considered the second most expensive war after WWII. Also the Israeli segregation-wall building that continues under an umbrella of shameful international silence, and the decadent situation in Darfur, that was all on the news at the very same day, May 9. Yet we all had to go and ‘really extremely worry’ about the extreme Farfur.

You might think that’s an acute condition. Like, the media is acting this way just to cover up for these very ‘temporary’ problems. And they will soon just get back on tracks, very impartial and eternally decent. Yet, you have to perform a very simple test to realize that the disease is very, very chronic.

I have tried a very simple task on the famous Google search engine. I tried to put the words “Israel, Palestine, Hate, Preach, Kill’ together in English and started looking, really looking at the results. Have you ever tried such a thing? It’s delightful. I think I can safely bet that you will NEVER find a page that says that Israelis ‘hate’ or ‘constantly and systematically kill’ the Palestinians. Quite the opposite actually. Which seems quite… heretical and simply oozing sophism to any sane mind, after all, it doesn’t go with the simplest truisms of sound human nature.

The funny part of the test is when you flip the words into Arabic and try to perform the test once more. There you would hardly find ANY page that would state that Palestinians ‘hate’ or ‘constantly and systematically kill’ the Israelis. Now isn’t that just odd?

Doesn’t that stir the question about how many realities do we live? How many parallel worlds do exist on this planet? How many aspects of the truth? Why are we always exposed to a single constant prejudice? Whose interest does it serve?

No it doesn’t. We only have to run and condemn the barbaric Farfur. We need to prove it to ourselves before anyone else that we are modern, that we are humane, and compassionate, and ALL for children rights. We need such an assurance, we are simply so wont to it. We are so accustomed to diversion that we have come to the point where we eagerly ask for it.

Do you still believe the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is well-covered and demonstrated in your 'agenda-setting' media? DO NOT click here!

Israeli Education: a heritage of oppression

“They have taught you since you were a little kid the art of war. They have inculcated inside you the feelings of chauvinism and hatred against Arabs. They wanted you to despise as much as you could, despise those Arabs that you were being prepared to fight later on, so that you wouldn’t hesitate whilst pulling the trigger.

When you were admitted to elementary school, someone has decided for you that in twelve years, you’re going to be a soldier. And therefore, your education is going to be based from now on about ‘learning war’. They will inflame the feelings of national supremacy within your soul, along with your ancient history of belittling the others “Others are nil” that would do a pretty good job there.

….

And when you became an adult, they taught you about the notorious ‘nature’ of the Arab, who only understand the language of brutality and power, and who is constantly ready to annihilate you mercilessly. And so you repeated after our elders “He who intends to kill you, kill him first” since you actually have no choice. And so peace would never happen, unless we conquer and beat Arabs in war, since they only understand the language of power.”
– Felicia Langer an Israeli Human rights attorney.

Now if I choose to start quoting and numbering the aspects of Zionist superimposed concentrated hatred preaching in Israeli schools, I think I wouldn’t stop before I’ve already filled a bunch of thick books. Since the rise of the Zionist state, they have made sure to take all the oppression they have suffered in Europe for centuries, reverse it, and drop it on their new toy. Just like a little girl slapping her toy fiercely after her mom has just flushed her cheeks with her tender hands.

Yet I find myself obliged to point out a very remarkable study done by Professor Elie Podeh from the Hebrew University of Jersualem about the background and the deep aspects of racism and national supremacy involved in the Israeli school books for all the different education levels, starting with the elementary, up to high school. The sort of news that Zionist organizations just wouldn’t allow you the privilege of getting to know.

The study has covered about 60 school books that have been published through the last 40 years, books that have been totally indulging in exhorting against Arabs gratuitously; accusing them with the same allegations the Jews themselves have been accused of during the Middle Ages.

Podeh includes a very profound and documented analysis for the Israeli school books within his study, where he describes them as the main reason for the very common prejudice against the Arabs that are described in such books as “cheaters” “retarded” “thieves” and “Impossible to live with”. The study also states that the Israeli curricula have always orbited the core of the history of “The Land of Israel”, and the conflict with the Arabs from within a certain concept that doesn’t trespass the Israeli political dictionary. Also, many of these books were originally written by authors who knew almost nothing about the Arabs, and therefore, they include these mutilated facts not only due to political prejudice, but also due to utter ignorance of the Arab-Islamic life and the historical components of the area.

The study also includes about 12 stories that are considered by Elie as prominent stations in the educational development that has been approved by Israel in its history books. Supported by texts, pictures, and caricatures, he showed clearly how the history in Israel is subjugated to a total political new writing and control, exposing the true nature of the extremely racially discriminated against, frowned upon Arabs, their extreme villainization, and the utter victimization of the Jewish character, focusing on the story of the victory of the ‘minority’ Jews, over the ‘majority tyrant’ Arabs in the ‘neighborhood of Palestine, while the massive exiling campaigns that Palestinians have been subjugated to went totally unregistered.

Such an education, totally based on differentiating between the ‘allowed history’ and the ‘forbidden one’, filled with hypocrisy, bare from facts, and completely indulging in mythology, had produced us Tatiana Soskin, a natural fruit of continuous infusion of racism and supremacy on 1997.

“The highest goal of learning history is developing the feelings of ‘national solidarity’ “—Israeli Ministry of Education, on 1984.

Palestinian children today

It would be less than true if I described the Palestinian child’s life today with something as ignominious, painful, senseless, empty, and a burden in itself, both on his parents as well as on his government. A Palestinian child comes to life and realizes that s/he is not welcome in here. It’s not a place for him/her. And s/he grows more to realize how ominous and exiled s/he is. S/He meets Israeli kids who always taunt them about their poverty, their religion, their culture, and probably their names, if they didn’t get crushed first under some bulldozer, or shot by a sniper right in the head very ‘rightfully’ before they gets to that period.

A Palestinian kid lives amongst the third generation of ‘freedom fighters’. Those whose fathers never knew freedom, the ones that were born under occupation, and the ones that were breast fed humiliation along with mother’s milk. In Gaza for instance, kids don’t live. They simply exist in a limbo undead, under a very tight financial and transportation seal, facing death a hundred times every single day, for being Palestinians. In West Bank the situation is not better; living in a concentration camp behind the racial discrimination wall is no heavens. And the daily exiling for establishment of new settlements is absolutely dreadful.

Living like he does, you can’t afford any sort of hope. And you have probably lost the ‘luxury’ of tolerance long time ago. It’s always attached dearly to self-esteem and dignity. You lose those, and then you lose tolerance. You face death so many times before you become an adult and life means ashes to you. Death becomes a friend, a way out of this limbo, a gate for a possibly-better life.

Yet, even that s/he shouldn’t dream of. Everybody is practically asking them to die shamefully that they were born, silently, with the least news coverage ever; least they’d irritate the gentle eyes and ears of the always-just Uncle Sam.

The perfect soil for ‘fundamentalism’-though I still oppose using the term for Arab/Muslim societies for linguistic/historical reasons- to prevail.

Farfur, once and again, a ‘rat’s story’

Six years after he’s waged his ‘holy’ war on ‘terror’ allover the world, G. Bush is finding himself once again a lone ranger facing defeats everyday in Iraq and in the congress. And after all his bogeymen fell one after another and the American people started to regain sanity after the extreme shock of 9/11, the senile cowboy finds himself in such a sluggish quagmire, he regards saving oneself from quagmires a shameful dreadful act of ‘fear’, or so he claims. No matter what his reasons are, he still needs to stay in there, wasting more money, killing more people, upbringing more extremism, supporting more tyrant regimes, and well, eventually finding his lengthily-awaited bogeyman. And after Bin Laden, Saddam, Nijad, And Nasrallah, remains the ‘first’ democratically elected government in the Arab world, oddly enough, and even under occupation, with the first DECENT election campaigns too; Hamas.

For about two years now, the Palestinian people have been paying the price of their democratic choice with the blood of their sons, the flesh and the bones of their starving bodies, and the cracking attics of their crumbling houses. And ‘that’ is not about to end. Because in the democratic societies we are preaching of, the people can choose their leadership freely, unless their choice goes against what 'we' think is 'right'. And Palestinians made the wrong choice, it seems.

We all had to remember in the west that Hamas shouldn’t be considered anything else other than a terrorist group. Even after the national united government they have formed with Fatah, even whilst it’s the only democratic choice of the Palestinian people at the moment. They should be frowned upon, belittled, and moreover surrounded, boycotted, and eventually destroyed, through enticing inter-factional warfare, and playing dirty with Fatah. Quite appeasing to the air-head Zionist organizations that came up with the Farfur video.

Now I’ve always found the Islamist’s media and TV programs silly, and out of context. Usually of very low impact on reality, and also of low watching rates. But to take 'that', foist this mutilated point of view upon it, make it an ISSUE, and give it AIR TIME, making it a reason, trying to justify the apparent bias and prejudice inflicted collectively upon the Palestinian people through it, THAT is just LAME.

And the very typical reflex of the masses, whether Muslims or none, is to just rush into condemnation, to assure our burning consciousness. We don’t need to think why? And when? We are not encouraged to.

80%... hehe

Once I was watching an interview where N. Chomsky was asked if he believed in common sense of ordinary people. The man had absolute faith in it, he said that the mere fact that ordinary people are talking to each others is miraculous, and that he thought that they were perfectly able to see through deceit and notice a lie forming. They just need to make the effort to achieve such a result.

Unfortunately that was one of very, very few things that I disagree with Noam on. My faith in human goodness and their common sense has experienced the most fierce and consistent blows and crises, one after another, that I find it very unrealistic to still count on them to perform such humanistic features. Though, on the other hand there is no way else to get around the manufacturers. I guess everybody chose to submit. Alas!

p.s. Israel is ‘celebrating’ the unifying of Jerusalem (occupying the eastern Jerusalem in 1967) these days. Promising to support the city with 1.5 BILLION dollars to increase the Jewish presence in the occupied city, exile more Arabs, and maim the historical aspects of the city, yet again, who cares to look? Let’s all condemn Farfur the evil one.

Happy birthday, I guess

2007-05-12T17:20:00.000+02:00

Against all odds, I've always felt 'young' on my birthdays. I'm not sure if it is the extra pampering, or just the memories and going through the old photos. It's however a very assuring feeling. *sigh*

I had a whole bunch of birthday wishes last year, none of them came true LOL. but I'm not just about to quit that old habit. so I'm re-editing my wish list again. and making it a deep secret and hopefully they'll come true this year.

Now it's party time. love y'all!! take care.

Christianity and 'Whatnot'

2007-04-04T01:08:00.001+02:00

A riveting title, don’t you think? I’ve always tried my best to avoid such debates online. I however, haven’t come out successful sometimes, yet the point is; I’ve done my best. You see, it’s usually meaningless, purposeless, and always lacks honesty and impartiality.

Now, of course the main reason I don’t do that relies upon my religious convictions of the way such inter-cultural and inter-religion conversations should be carried out. Add to that; I don’t really like to talk about something unless I know most about it, and may be that’s a reason why I haven’t discussed Islamism in any written form yet, at least in English.

I have come to learn a very funny trick which is frequently used by religious lunatics allover the world. It’s even equally distributed between them all. A trick in which they usually mask racism, chauvinism, and even tribalism with religion. I remember one ruler, I think of Yemen; faced a big trouble when some intellectuals decided to demand a constitution for the country. So he replied in the funniest way ever; he spread a rumor that those people want to replace the book of God (Qur’an) with that constitution they want to deploy. Of course you can imagine the reflex of the masses.

A very effective trick, I have to admit. This has formed a conspicuous current in many societies. Funny enough, it’s a whole current of puppets. Usually unable to assimilate or digest certain facts, and usually lacking the ability of self-skepticism, and self-criticism. And the presence of such currents in the society is quite acceptable, and even healthy from where I see it. Yet for that current to expand too much, to take over authority in that society, now that is disastrous on all costs. It resulted in the vilest administrations in history; Taliban and G.W. Bush are remarkable examples.

Long time ago, I had a very interesting conversation with one dear friend of mine, the main theme of the discussion was; “within a certain conversation, should we consider the background of a person before we hear their proposal, or should we do the opposite?” she firmly adhered to the concept of “look who’s talking” while I rebutted that the person is not as important as the idea, and that may be the ideas are quite interesting unlike the person who proposed them. Thinking back –retrograde wisdom – I think she wasn’t totally wrong after all. The idea can’t be totally devoid of the bias of the proposer. Now I’m beginning to realize the importance of her point of view, now after I read

this.

I have also rejected generalizations most of the time; for the mere doubt of mixing such term with prejudice and exaggeration. But I’ve come to a realization that generalizations have nothing to do with such terms. It’s through generalizations that we could reach scientific formulas, and could have applied science today. This too is of retrograde wisdom, something I’m
achieving more frequently lately.

I have known Crimson Writer for over three years now. We had many stimulating conversations, that I wouldn’t call debates at all. And I knew how caught-on-religion he is since we ever met; of course I didn’t have the slightest problem with that.

It wasn’t until last September when he exploded all of a sudden, after he acquired the carte blanche from The Pope to attack Muslims on masses scale extensively. That day I was disappointed to the extremes by his attitude, and I realized how brainwashed and imbecile he’s turned into, and sadly enough, he was only one button-push away from it, all that time.

Now, had I had the mindset he revels in, I would in turn have come up with an ode of prejudice about Christians and Christianity on the mass level. And may be it would have come out on the rhyme of ‘polytheists, puss whipped, racist, chauvinist, hypocrite assholes’ wouldn’t it?

I mean, after all; it’s the same man that faces me with a lavish welcome, asking how I have been, and all.

Fortunately enough, I don’t have that mindset.

This is a very interesting mindset to assimilate. There is a number of common characteristics that bind those ‘things’ collectively, none of which is remotely related to Christianity as a religion or even as a philosophy I presume.

A very interesting character is this segregation-camps mentality. Usually they avoid living with others; others who think differently; regardless of the color, religion, or any other factor, they only need to think differently to be “lower heathen creatures”. Those others need to just vanish from existence, since they form an oddity of nature; a scar on the face of 'creation'.

And this demonstrates itself very overtly whenever they come in contact with

new perceptions of issues they think of as taboos. The usual replies come in the context of “mislead liberal” and “deluded self-whipping pseudo-intellectual”. For the two major criteria they dearly hold-lack of self-skepticism, and the segregation camps mentality-
prevents them from seeing beyond the tips of their noses, and prohibits their unused grey matter from assimilating the not-dictated-by-the-church perceptions and analyses.

Such criteria always fall back to a subtle historical inferiority complex, manifests itself in the very radical and extreme offensive conditioned reflexes they posses. In numerable cases; a mid-life crisis also manifests. And awfully enough, they can’t get any decent psychological help, since they are not going to get diagnosed anytime soon.

.
The awfully sanctimonious claim that the USA has done nothing “awfully wrong” through oppressing millions and millions of people around the world just because of the way they think or percept the world has totally lost its glamour long time ago. What makes it worse and worse; when we remember that it was all because “God said so.” according to President Bush. God has whispered to his ears to do this.

And this.

This is all Jesus’ words? This has been the message conveyed through a 2000 years of Christianity; it all ends here, now, and like this. A Holy American Empire based on the skulls of the ground poor ‘third world’ peoples.

This is ‘God Abuse’. And I’m not sure if this should go as a human rights’ crime, so that the USA can get away with it as usual.

You push it, you deal with the consequences. Just like that. Be a big boy, and step up to your responsibility. Enough whining about how bad some certain others are, and start confronting the reality.

Even the brightest and most loyal and patriot people flip dramatically when you push them hard enough. Bobby Fischer; amazing American chess Champion and once World Champion on 1972, winning over the USSR and bringing both an intellectual as well as a political win back home, when the cold war was at its peak,

stated this on September the 12th 2001.

To make the effort of getting online, staying connected, typing a whole article, and devoting a whole life ‘just’ to offend a very few bunch of readers who happen to be Muslims, this I truly pity. This is how empty some people’s life can get, when they mistakenly think they are serving the word of God.

Christianity? I think not. I think it’s the ‘whatnot’.

Democtatorship:Shambles of a Referendum

2007-03-29T01:01:00.001+02:00

Flashbacks...

2:00 am, bedroom:

A lying figure in the dark, bending in severe pain. Yes that’s me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5:00 am: the hall:

Me: He isn’t into managing dad. He hates business. He just loves to work with his hands. Let him do what he wants.

Dad: but this is just… he has no ambition?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:00 am, at the door.

Me: Dad I’m waiting for you downstairs, you’d better get yourself together because we are going out NOW.

Dad: okay okay… don’t push.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10:00 am, downstairs:

Me: Dad, where are you?? *yelling*

Dad: I’m sorry dear, but I can’t go right now, I’m too sleepy *yawning*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12:00 pm, downstairs:

Muhammad: so you can treat any disease using this device. You know, acupuncture techniques are the most successful.

Me: yeah yeah, I understand *grinning*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:00 pm, downstairs:

Muhammad: and that’s all about direct marketing system.

Me: *snoring*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The NDP security system confiscates transportations to pile up clerks from the governmental offices, ordering them to vote yes.

Even the air-head Sam Adam aka Sandmonkey votes three times.

Judges never showed up.

Referendum papers were found on the street.

Human rights organizations and civil society ones record extremely weak attendance at the referendum centers not more than 5%.

Videos and pictures captured for forging process. Still looking for links.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 pm, bus station:

Me to myself: I swear I’m going to kill you dad.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5:09 pm, the referendum center:

Me: what do you mean it’s closed? There’s still 2 hours

Dad: they say nobody showed up, and the NDP representative is sitting over there with his cronies fixing the papers.

Me: and where’s the judge?

Dad: *grins*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the night, I spent feverish, in pain, and cursing the hell out of Mubarak.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next morning

4:00 am, bedroom:

Again, I wake up with severe stomachache.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About noon, the hall:

Minister of Justice: the people of Egypt said their word…

Me: Oh they did?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, the hall:

President Mubarak: The people of Egypt said their word…

Me: just drop dead already! How smaller can you become?

Mom: Oh dear *she starts to think I lost it, she was right*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Government says 25% of the voters showed up, 75.9 percent of them approved the amendments.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, still the hall:

Interviewer to a citizen carrying flags and signs approving the amendments: you approved the amendments?

The citizen: yeah I did *happily*

The interviewer: what is amendment number 88?

The citizen: I don’t know

The interviewer: what about number 179?

The citizen looking very embarrassed: I don’t know…

The interviewer: …

The citizen: but I’m with the people *said with a colossal grin*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You just can't come up with that bullshit.

NO!

2007-03-24T00:57:00.001+02:00

I’ve been quite reluctant writing this time. You see, the constitutional life in Egypt through modern history has been so temporary, one would think it’s mere mirage. And whereupon, studying it thoroughly to write about it seemed eventually senseless. Since the earliest constitutions of this modern country, constitution has been only a tool in the hands of the governor to achieve certain political interests. A meticulous handler of the issue could easily recall the 1882’s constitution, that only intended to affirm the separation of the rule of Muhammad Ali’s dynasty in Egypt from the Ottoman reign. One can safely assume the same about the ‘multiple’ other so-called constitutions that followed. Many observers like to describe the constitutional situation in Egypt as an ‘unstable’ one. In the past hundred years, Egypt has had over five new constitutions. Amazing number in comparison with many other ‘democracies’ allover the world.

Since 1952, Egypt has been living in the illusion of a national revolution that should have –according to its very famous six pillars- brought a democratic life and social justice to the people of Egypt some long time ago. And hence, the blind support Nasser has acquired by not only Egyptians, but also many Arab peoples, and governments. Quite predictably, the ‘revolution’ turned out into the monster it came out to fight at first place. Political repression flourished intensively under the totalitarian system the revolution bred. One would also fully understand the role of the ‘parliament’ under such system. The riveting comedies along its history still make the most hilarious and saddening scenes in the history of this country. Personally, I found them hilarious, since I like watching marionettes and getting to meet puppeteers.

However, since the revolution has broken out, and since we had a republic back in the summer of 1953, we never had such a president as H. Mubarak. Unlike his ancestors, Mubarak has subliminally acquired absolute foreign support. There are no controversies about the man. Unlike Sadat and Nasser, Mubarak has lived much longer, way too longer actually, one would wonder if he’d sold his soul to a diabolical entity. A very rational doubt actually, if you know the man closely. But let’s not jump into the supernatural now. Back to reality, where Mubarak ruled Egypt since 1981, makes him the most ultimate ruler of this land in the past century. Pondering the reasons of why he lasted too long, and cutting down to the real thing, only two reasons might sound acceptable to a rational mind. One.) is the ultimate foreign support that he gets through being absolutely the most toadying disciple ever in the territory. And two.) his flawless extreme control over the military and the police in Egypt. No other reasons might sound valid, especially that the country has been seriously moving one-way down the hill since he’s put his hands on it. But this isn’t a place where I’ll go bleating about the atrocities of his reign. They can’t be abridged in one article, even if it was totally dedicated to such a sole purpose.

It is no secret; that Mubarak is preparing the youngest of his sons, Gamal, to succeed him in the upcoming few years. Ruining over fifty years of ‘revolution’ and so-called semi-presidential republic. He is only thinking rationally, trying to be less hypocrite than his ancestors, and showing us the heir. Gamal, notorious for his dubious relationships with many local and foreign corporations, has been forming a mass gang of businessmen cronies for the past ten years. Preparing himself to stand in the shoes of his daddy, Gamal is now the secretary general of the politics council in the National ‘Democratic’ Party (NDP), daddy’s party, the one that has been solely unopposed taking over the country for years now.
The Egyptian people are not only being prepared to jump back into a kingdom of the divine Mubarak dynasty, but also, are about to witness justifiable constitutional dictatorship. It has been going on now for about a month in the blacksmith’s, or in more understandable language; the parliament. Since 2005 actually, constitutional mutilation and witchcraft has been taking place in such an unholy place, giving usurping authority in Egypt a legal form, making it amazingly justifiable.

A closer look on the most recent proposal of H. Mubarak to the parliament, asking for about 34 new amendments, reveals a lot and shows obviously his unshaken intentions.
The amendments start with the first commandment of the constitution, eliminating everything else other than the words “Arab Republic of Egypt”. Substituting socialism and coalition of the powers of the working people and all that fancy old rubrics, with intensifying the ‘citizenship’ rights, and affirming the ‘Egyptianity’ of this society. Claiming that the old form has become extremely outdated, and that of course, Egypt has become no more a socialist entity. And so, we have to get abreast with the new ‘renovations’ of our society. Throwing away of course any possible chance of another Arab United Republic, constitutionally speaking.

Then the amendments move to the most spiky part of the political life here in Egypt; the uprising opposition. And to assure easy mobility in the political street, things have to go one-way, NDP’s way. Eliminating the most powerful opponent first always seemed to be the wisest step, and the easiest in our case, since that opponent happened to be Muslim Brotherhood banned organization. Since the 50’s, this organization has been banned from the political life by law. However, they continued to exist brazenly, they also continued to grow very systematically, and promisingly, or shall we say; dubiously?

Right now, the MB form the most organized and the bulkiest opponent to the NDP. And it wasn’t until the last parliamentary election that they have gotten into the parliament more effectively, sharing 88 seats of the total 444. A major leap that forced the government to stop overlooking the presence of the organization and starting more efficient sort of repression. Starting mass arresting and confiscation, and ending these amendments, where it has prohibited very intensively the rise of any political parties in Egypt on certain religious, or racial basis. A very innocent amendment it seems, however, it implies the fact that even parties with religious background are not going to be able to practice under such constitution, even if they were secular enough to fit in a secular country as Turkey, or France. The main reason for such amendment is to kick out the MB’s.

Jumping from that amendment to another very related one, the president is suggesting that we should eliminate the “Emergencies Law” from the constitution. A temporary judicial state applied on countries under states of war, epidemics, and natural disasters. Such a state, Egyptian people have been living under for over 25 years now. Under claims of instability, and prevalence of terrorist organizations. Now, the president is suggesting that the parliament should exchange such a temporary sort of law with another permanent one, calling it the “Anti-terror” law. Justifying more and more human rights mutilation, on a very ‘permanent’ and ‘constitutional’ basis. And of course, eliminating more opposition. A Utopia for any dictator.

Going up again in the amendments list, one finds claims of expanding the parliamentary authorities, allowing the parliament to vote on untrusting the government, forcing it to resign without a public poll. Which on the first glance sounds quite weird, knowing that the Prime Minister in Egypt is appointed by the president himself, also knowing that there is no single word in constitution about the persona of the PM. So, the president can very much choose a PM that is blind, deaf-mute, illiterate, foreigner, and even ape without the slightest constitutional responsibility. Yet, the mind-boggling fades away so quickly when one finds that the same amendment allows the president to discharge the whole parliament at anytime he pleases, without a public poll either. So it is like a slap back on the face of the ‘people’s representatives’. All under the preposterous claims of aggrandizing the authorities of the parliament. Another very weird amendment is discussing giving a more legalizing rule to the counsel parliament (an only-advisory organization). Which I still see no use of.

One very intriguing amendment is switching the ‘viceroy’ rule from the head of the parliament to the PM. For many years, Mubarak has aroused many doubts about his intentions about his successor by not naming a vice president. The constitution in such a case puts the head of the parliament in charge for 60 days, till the new premature elections take place. By switching that rule from the head of the parliament, to a totally appointed-by-him PM, Mubarak can easily appoint his crown prince charming Gamal, with the least of problems.

Other amendments make it impossible for any independent candidate to run the presidency elections in the future, which concerns me personally. They make it even impossible for party representatives to do so, only very few characters can fulfill the new conditions. Limiting the candidates to his son, and probably some other cronies that might stand down any moment they are asked to. Probably for a smaller bone.

The coup de grace in my opinion is this final amendment; eliminating the complete judicial supervision over the public elections, by making a single-day election system. Over the history of the parliamentary elections in Egypt, people have always been skeptical about the results and the possibilities of manipulation, fraud, and fallacies. The only thing that assured people in here was their trust in their recalcitrant judges, who’d mostly unveil any trial of falsifying or forging the votes (mostly said, not totally). Such trust has grown a lot after the latest parliamentary elections, after a couple of judges had come out with a complete list of their collaborator colleagues, a major crises that took place in Egypt last year. Cairo was turned into a military isolated territory due to riots back then. Now, after the totalitarian system of H. Mubarak has become well aware of the perils of such supervision, Mubarak himself is after constitutional support in his battle against such honest Egyptians. He is in the business of kicking them out, once and for all. Also under preposterous claims by his sycophant journalists about how holy a judge is, and how a judge can’t be included in such a humiliating process as democratic elections!! Judges are better to stay home, or look in divorce lawsuits.

Amnesty International has stated that these amendments are the worst breach of human rights in Egypt since declaring Emergency State after Sadat assassination in 1981. A statement that has bothered the Egyptian government terribly, and pushed Ahmed Abu El-Gheet, Minister of Exterior to rebut fiercely. Considering it interference with internal matters of Egypt. And that was about it.

The US administration showed no resentment, and even great support to the current regime to fulfill its pursuit for absolute power. The US’s political harassments for Arab rulers to provide more democracy within their countries have turned from raging torrents into trickling brooks, after its conspicuous failure in the Iraqi quagmire. Now the US found it more easy to let every governor sort out his own country the way he thinks suitable, favoring stability over democracy, as usual. Which is not a big surprise after all.

Update: some eight hours after posting this article, Ms. Rice has expressed her 'disappointment' of the situation in Egypt. Starting her visit to Egypt with such whiping, to make sure she has Mubarak at her feet during the 'peace' negotiations that take place today, and during the Arab Summit in KSA days later. As if he hasn't been there for ages.

On the other hand, the intelligentsia-though some of my dearest readers still avert from using such a term, claiming it is outdated, I continue to rebut- of Egypt in general were never concerned with the amendments under reconstruction, confusing the layman’s mind by very unrelated debates of whether to amend the second commandment –the one that states that Egypt is an Islamic country and that Islamic Sharia and principles are the main source of legalization, a commandment that is NOT under reconstruction right now- or not. Such debates that lead to different types of on-air dog-fights about whether Egypt is a secular or a non-secular state. The totalitarian system of Mubarak has made the best of such mess, pushing the parliamentary so-called discussions hastily to an end. Whilst the society is completely comatose, unaware of what is ‘really’ going on.

And in such a state of political coma, the government has pushed the deadline for the public poll a whole week or so forward. Pushing people to vote on something they don’t fully comprehend, and of course banning the opposition from taking any preventative measures, like major demonstrations, or public boycott. One should only have access to local Egyptian TV channels to shed tears laughing their heads off over the very concentrated publicity campaign done by the totally dominated NDP Ministry of Media to urge citizens to go and vote, trying to make the poll more legal. The NDP isn’t quite concerned about the results of the poll, because they WILL forge the votes and get to what they want. They are more concerned about having a legal percentage of Egyptians going to the poll. Just to look better.
The students in our universities have already started boycott campaigns against that poll. And the opposition, lead by Kefaya movement and the MB’s are going to have a demonstration a day before the poll’s date, while the Minister of Interior, Butcher of Cairo Habib El Aadly promised a swift and strict reply to whoever tries to ‘stand in the face of democratic developments’.

Now emerges a very existential question; what are YOU going to do? Naturally, they will manipulate my vote whether I go or not. They will have their way, it’s like fate. There is absolutely no point of going. It makes no sense at all to share in such a comedy.

However, I believe I’m going to do it. I’m very well aware of what is going to happen. And I’m also very well aware that hope in such cases is mere delusion, the slightest prescience implies so. Yet, I don’t think I’m ready to live with myself if I sat home watching them usurping my country, and raping my people. I’m not sure I’ll be able to tell it to my children if I ever have any –very doubtfully after all I’m facing- that when they were raping their right to exist and live pretentiously in their country, I was sitting home watching. I’m still not ready to face the voices in my head telling it to me day and night. And therefore; I am going to vote NO.

Fucking Pissed Off

2007-03-20T00:39:00.001+02:00

Enough with the ornamental fancy fucking bullshit. I just took a leap back to reality. Remember the couple from Fine Art of Sodomy? There you go…

After the 100-MPs protest and boycott for the bloody constitutional witchcraft discussions in our divine parliament, the government DECIDES to hasten the deadline for the public poll, and of course, shorten the time for parliamental discussions. Whilst the “parliament” –for lack of a more sarcastic word- smashingly approves the ‘renovations’ in absence of any opposition. A quite predictable attitude in an unpredictable situation.

And Olmert is being a fucking genius stating that any ‘premature’ withdrawal of the American Forces from Iraq would ‘jeopardize’ the Hashimi dynasty’s rule in Jordan, something that he seemingly doesn’t appreciate that much. Because Jordan and the Hashimi dynasty can really REALLY handle more allegations of treason and collaboration with Israel. Perfect Zionist play.

I’m soO pissed off, I can fuck my way up the presidential palace right now. May be I’ll write more tomorrow when there are more links to put. May be I’ll be dead by then.

Defaming Motherland--Part II: Egypt For Dummies

2007-03-19T00:11:00.002+02:00

Prelude...

Ostensibly, she’s the most attractive thing one might ever come across. And though she’s subtle most of the time, she tends to lay centralized in all the pictures she shows in. Even the few vestiges she leaves, sovereign enough to change the course of history as I know it.

In her pictures, she looks petit, brimming with cunning, soft, mysterious soul right through her dark eyes. She’s curvy, enrolled in the most flawlessly tanned skin, so velvety, rather abetting of gently touching, caressing, holding, and pleasurably scratching.

The thrall of the scented hypnotic sweat that emanates from her curls, one would never break free. It carries you so high, to hail down along the ardent torrents of her hair, plunging in her mildly-freckled shoulders. Only then and there, one would find a pilgrimage to her untouchable sinful lips too unabridged to be written in words.

The way she moves, in decadence she slips, is so inspiring. So exotic, exquisite, and extraordinary, worthy of an ex-queen, an ex-whore. She snickers from within her tears, sveltely swaying in the wind. She laughs more than she cries.

Slumberous, she lies in the dim light. Feeling my ogle coiling up in the back of her neck, she smirked blithely. I whispered her name, and she turned around receiving my ponderous look on her velvet face. Up and down my face, her look wondered thoroughly, then she closed up on me, touching my sinewy arms. And I think she’s going to tell it to me, instead she slipped into many sluicy veils of darkness.

An old soul she is. She knows me. And in my deepest pain, frustration, and sorrow she used to emerge from behind her eternal veils, just to bestow her blissful smile upon me and wonder
“haven’t you known me yet?” clever and elusive as she is, I wonder if any of her previous lovers really knew her.

She tells me that I know her well. She whispers it to my ears warmly, and gently, and I don’t believe. I quiver, and swoon.

And from within my cataclysmic rapture, emerged a book. So holy, it went unwritten for ages. So ancient it remained, resistant to unveiling. Waiting for the signs.

Until her messenger showed himself, delivering her clumsily perfumed signs to reveal the old letters.

Some will think I’m another detractor. Others will think quite the opposite. Personally, I can care less about what they think.

Because; this is meant to be for her. The one I lost my innocence, virginity, and soul for…

To a whore…

“Under the spreading chestnut tree
I sold you…
And you sold me”

Defaming Motherland--Part I: Why Are You So Scornful?

2007-03-09T00:13:00.002+02:00

I believe they are right though...
Through the last couple of months, one’s been through lots of deranging pressure. And whilst debates and reads with leftists, rightists, liberals, cons, and the undecided have been taking place, through the day-to-day boring little atrocities, and dramatic back-pressure, I’ve been advised more than once to shut down my engines. Yes actually, literally. And may be it’s just about time to succumb to such an enticing life-style.

Turkish coffee? Anyone? *sips*

You know what’s so interesting to bleat about? It’s anti-blogging cults. As the two-year-old blogging phenomenon in Egypt gets older and more mature, along with some newly emerging papers, a crest of a rising wave of resentment and doubt filled up the horizon of our political reality.
And the backbone of such opposition relied upon very well fabricated allegations of fellow bloggers of “lack of patriotism”. What ubiquitous psychopaths, uneducated collaborators we are!

Patriotism, such an interesting term. According to him, patriotism is quite dangerous. As the line that separates it from terms like jingoism, and chauvinism is rather tenuous. Bloggers are required to provide TLC blindly. And to the government and its toadying so-called journalists, we should be disciples. Otherwise we are traitors to the motherland. And yet again, another tool in the hand of the inefficient government, patriotism lands in line with religion. Sexual orientation is next, one would assume.

On the other hand, emerges this question; Are those bloggers a fair sample of the Egyptian population? And do they express fairly what the majority of people feel like?
Bloggers don’t form that kind of samples according to most sycophants. They are literate, and mostly above the line of poverty—they have stable internet connection. They are supposed to be leading a better life than most of other Egyptians. Why then they are that scornful? Why are they full of resentment?

Bloggers where I live do represent the population of Egypt. They are not NDP miscreants , they are mostly misemployed, undereducated , pissed off, and in search for a nostrum. Bloggers go unpaid, and unlike the mindless government lackeys, they dig down deeply and painstakingly to back up their derogatory, nefarious diatribes. Wild untrimmed writers.

Back to the main question. Why are you that scornful?

On Friday the 26th of January, 2006. Muhammad Ali Ibrahim published this so-called “rebuttal”. Where he’s desperately trying to snatch the government, along with the whole totalitarian system of H. Mubarak out of the somber pit of reality (i.e. a critique by a not-enough-paid-by-the-government journalist). If you’re unlucky enough, you wouldn’t be able to resist clicking on that link. In that case, you’re probably going to need a bag. I don’t want stomach contents allover my fancy carpets.

I only feel the utmost pity for those who are in the plight of repeatedly reading articles by that man. Such conspicuous lack of character, talent, and even balls is unheard of. Not to mention the riveting ability to “double-think”.

Briefly, the whole article is discussing the reluctant growth of the infrastructure in Egypt. Counting that as a major achievement of the current totalitarian system. I was completely flabbergasted reading that huge amount of bullshit. People of Egypt should feel glad because they can eat, pee, and talk on the phone. Because “that” ladies and gentlemen is DEVELOPMENT. And that is what we represent down here in Egypt, a major player in the ME, and somehow the “leader” of the Arab World. Quite a duplicitous claim.

That weasel, that.. major pompous ass-for lack of a better word- is quoting all the numbers in his so-called article from The General Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Such esoteric data, unavailable for the thronging bestial herds especially us bloggers, are impossible to verify. And so, one would only rebut with simple logic and using different sources. Another reason would be; I’m not into splitting hairs.

A few questions to exercise the lazy minds. If the dividend of the citizen has jumped up that high, why am I still getting paid in dimes? Does he know words like INFLATION exists? Electricity share is an indicative of development? Agricultural production has jumped also more than ten times its value in 25 years, and we still have children facing Marasmus and Kwashiorkor’s disease (malnutrition diseases). All the following numbers are to be discussed in the same manner. So just to save you the headache, you go figure about the industrial production and how we don’t produce our own hair pins, the thriving water poverty that is taking over The Gift Of The Nile, and the insensible mentioning of the touristic nights, which would look quite childish in comparison with countries such as Turkey or Malaysia, even though Egypt holds more than half of the ancient world’s monuments. He saves the funniest part to end with, when he talks about the Egyptian students. The completely incapable, non-functional shambles of an educational system, that brings us annually thousands of half-educated men and women who only take our beloved country down and down. He dares to stand there and brags about the numbers. THE NUMBERS! As if we still live in Arabia some two thousands years ago.

He’s asking for numbers. Fine then, and numbers he shall get.
I’m going to refer to the CIA world fact book once again. Since it’s the only available and trust-worthy source about our country online. Those who don’t share the same opinion with me on that matter, please … sod off!

Now, let’s talk some fancy numbers. How about Infant Mortality Rates? Sounds like a big term, eh? In countries such as KSA and Bahrain, it’s as low as 12.8 and 16.8 deaths per 1000 live births respectively. In Egypt that jumps up as high as 31.6 deaths/1000 live births. Tells a lot about the very efficient medical system we’re having here. Tells a lot, when Avian Flu cases breach the limit of 23 in Egypt, scoring the highest number in a non-Asian country. Tells a lot, when we can’t find trust-worthy statistics to work on in the medical field in Egypt, and that is well-admitted by every single professor in any medical faculty allover the country. And of course, still tells a lot when over half the population is suffering liver, and kidney diseases. But of course, that means nothing. The government and the whole totalitarian system aren’t responsible for such atrocities! It’s us; the Egyptian people. We are plainly cursed by the gods of the Alps.

How about a different number? Let’s switch to..umm.. yeah this one. Literacy! How about that? Here, they say that in Sudan, 61.1% of the population can read and write, in Bahrain it jumps up to 89.1%, and surprisingly enough, in Botswana, it’s 79.8% for the general population, and even higher (82.4%) for females!

Oh in Egypt? Don’t ask! Pffft

Fine, it’s 57.7% of the whole population. We are talking over thirty million illiterate man and woman living side by side on the same land. If this isn’t disastrous, I don’t know what is.
Again, the educational system shows its mutilated face. A system especially designed to kill and cut short whatever inspiration or talent a kid has within. A pro-feudal,pro-sectarian system, that layers the students into first class and second class citizens according to their ability to get extra tutorials, and their other ability to regurgitate. A system that helped the cultural gap between countries like Egypt and the rest of the world to expand from and insular trench to an unbridgeable canyon, through its senile masters, that make sure to pass their seats only to their sons and daughters. Minds that are brimming with stench. Those who yearn to live in a feudal age, and witness the fancy lives of the 16th century royal families, they need to be students in Egypt, privileged students of course, blue-blooded ones.

I hope I didn’t lose you, because I still have more to babble about.

Let’s consider a rival. How about, umm.. let me check the map.

Ah, how about Turkey? Just look at her, elegant and historical. Almost the same surface area, and the same population, privileged with almost the same maritime routs and shores. A perfect rival.

You need to go down the Economy part to get mind-boggled. Double the Purchasing Power Parity? Four-times the official exchange rate? Double the PPP? And look look! The same labor force! And even the same unemployment percentage! I wished I could say the same percentage of people under poverty line, but I’m afraid that Turkey’s percentage goes back to 2002. I’m not sure if it is still the same now. The list goes on and on, knock yourself out! Be my guest!

Not only poor, robbed, illiterate, and dead sick, but ALSO completely morally corrupt. A population that claims piety and purity, that always bragged about how they first invented monotheism, is the same one that scored highest access to porn sites, and highest searches for the word “Sex” on famous search engines as Google. The same ones who claim being the last knights of this planet, are the ones who score the highest incident rates of open-air, in-the-street, in-your-face sexual harassment in the territory and especially against foreigners! The same veiled, and long-bearded utterly conservative and orthodox persons, are the ones that take bribes, skip work, and mal-function with the claims of inefficient salaries. The same sanctimonious claims over and over again, indicates how they are wont to deception. How they just love to avert from reality. And explains why such sycophants as M.A. Ibrahim still sells.

This is how blemished you can get if you ever try to fathom down the fancy front of mendacities that can stand not one trial of scrutiny. You get to be a traitor.
The minute you think you can criticize, guide, or -god forbid- inquire, they brandish with the rusty sword of treason. They have not only usurped the whole country, but also they get to determine who’s loyal and who’s not. Appointed the spokesmen of God, the country, the science, and the culture, by God knows who, one has no chance to argue. Quite unintelligible!

Well, if that is going to bring us back the Egypt we knew, the one we were told of, a minaret for luxury, a haven for science, and a fortress for its people. One where we can no longer live strangers within. If it is pissing them off, and if sullying the fake reputation is going to make a change, then we are going to be the same old misanthropes they think we are. We are going to indulge into what they love to call nitpicking and sophistry, if that is what it takes to unfold the eyes of this country. And once again, we shall see, clearly.

Scornful For Egypt!

Enough said.
p.s. hehe, you really thought I’d be turning my engines off?!

Amazing, isn't it?

2007-03-03T16:47:00.001+02:00

It was raining outside. Uncomfortably, he sat watching her in utter silence. She walked around him, you could never hear her footsteps. She used to walk as if she was floating. She sat around the table blithely. Her white tenuous dress moved smoothly in waves as she crossed her legs. She lit a cigarette and gazed at him with her dark wide eyes while drawing a full breath.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” she exhaled.

Something about the look she gave him, he couldn’t figure. Her eyes were so large, so colossal you could say, deep as a pit of Hell. He could simply drown if he’d let go. That look, it’s baring him of clothes, skin, and even feelings. He couldn’t be more naked.

“No, it isn’t” he tried to relax in his chair. His voice came out indecisive.

She snickered briefly, laying her head backwards, and letting the smoke spread in bows. He was still staring at her. She was such a scene, with her annoyingly gorgeous short dark hair, her eternally bare smudged ice-white feet, and her dark lipstick. Too gorgeous to be hated, yet too frightful to be loved.

“ You have no idea what I’m talking about, eh?” she giggled.
“Matter of fact, I do” he bleated and sighed.
“And you don’t think it’s amazing?” she said in denial.
“Why? It’s only a state of mind” he said.

He got out of his chair, and walked slowly to the window, stood so close to it, that his breath started to leave its traces allover the cold glass. The rain drops kept slapping the cheeks of the glass window furiously, they would have turned red if they could. Weak street light managed to break through the murky melancholic night to leave a trace of light upon his gnarled face.

“It’s THE state of mind. You have overcome yourself this time. Living the way you...” she was talking in zeal, waving with her left hand and letting the smoke of her fading cigarette draw complicated medieval figures. When she noticed he’s not really listening.

“Come here, look!” he said quietly.

Her beautiful eyebrows rose and then knotted. She moved gently around the table, evoking many ripples allover her dress. She looked like a walking lake. If he could only see that!
She looked over his shoulder. “what is it?” she wondered.

“There, look! The sand” he pointed.
“ It’s… wet” she said in reluctance.
“Yes, exactly my point” he took his eyes off the sand and looked back at her.
“Your point?” she gazed in confusion.

He started moving around the place.

“Same situation. The state of the sand. It’s only temporary, and yet it fits quite well the current situation.” He explained “Sands are never wet. Yet look at them now. Wet as a soaked sponge. It’s called adaptation dear. They will dry up in the morning”

“You think that’s clever? Have you considered the alternatives?” her eyes narrowed as she asked.

“ Not clever, not amazing, just right. What alternatives? It has no choice. It will get wet” he replied tensely.

“ Sand has no mind of its own. It’s quite passive. This is corrupt. The comparison I mean. And, you still haven’t considered the alternatives.” She said while messing with her fingers allover the glass, drawing sceneries.

“ To remain dry?”
“Yes”
“But what about the water?”
“What about it?” she giggled
“ It has to wet the sand”
“Not unless the sand lets it”
“That doesn’t make any sense!”
“Trust me, it does”
“How so?”

“ Think about it; there’s the water, standing still upon the sand, that wouldn’t get wet. What are the alternatives for the water? I only see two possibilities. 1.) the water is going to stay upon the sand as long as it could, hoping the sand would give in. and 2.) the water would go wet something else.” She has finished a whole painting while explaining that.

She moved away from the window, checking her childish drawings. Then stared at him.

“Still involves giving in” he smiled.
“To whom?”
“To its plain nature. Not being resilient, and giving in to its own old nature.”
“Now that’s ‘plain’ sophistry” she collapsed on a chair.

He took off his glasses and started cleaning them with a handkerchief. The lights of candles behind him drew scary shadows allover him.

“How come we can’t come to a compromise about this?” he wondered.
She stood up and head to the door. She opened up and let the wind blow in swiftly.
“I’m going out to play in the rain.” She yelled. Her voice was barely heard through the wind.
“Do we have to?” he mumbled.

“You know you don’t have choice” she laughed” it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t”.

Bend it like USA

2007-01-11T00:52:00.000+02:00

I’ve just watched “Bend It Like Beckham”. I know, I know, it’s as old as pyramids. But I’m a little bit back behind on movies. And God! Am I hooked up on Keira Knightley? Well, it’s not a news. I like her since Pride and Prejudice anyway. The movie was awesome, especially that Parminder Nagra. She was spectacular.

The whole movie is about how oriental traditions are submissive, wussy, inappropriately-conservative, out-of-time, and less meaningful. While western traditions are quite attractive, liberating, exciting, joyful, and nobel. And how we all should look forward to get a free scholarship in the USA. Because it would be our ONLY chance to be “happy”.

So I think it’s such a perfect movie. Actually I noticed I started to speak pretty fast after the end, as my upper lip stiffened up to acquire that half british accent. It was really lovely. I laughed my head off at the british interviewer is trying to sing “ feeling hot,hot, hot!!” he’s just too hot saying that triple-hot ryhme.

Now I was contemplating watching another movie. But I can’t let go on tomorrow’s class. So off to bed I go!

Understanding vs. Ragdoll

2007-01-10T16:46:00.000+02:00

Now that’s another battle one gets to watch in our day-to-day life. Usually battles take place between kindred blades, and the nuances are pretty hard to establish especially for someone who doesn’t really give a damn.

Like, I had this friend. Everytime we had a conflict, I used to be the “understanding” one. The one that always takes the blame, the one that always “understands” how she’s feeling, and of course the one that shouldn’t get angry no matter what happens, because I’m the “understanding” one. Now, that was really funny. Because she never noticed that. Not until one time I tried to stand out for myself. You should have seen her face. It was like I’m commiting a sin.

Like when the Egyptian authorities puts up with the Israeli daily breaches of our borders, and even murdering our soldiers. Being all “understanding”. Being the bigger one as they say. And of course, the very VERY typical response would be more and more understanding to more and more murders.

Same as we’re all required to accept the neo-imprialism, and the neo-colonism, in the context of a “liberating revolt”, otherwise we are all barbarians, and not “understanding” peoples. Either ways, peoples to be excuted. Both culturally and physically.

Just like we’re required to accept the lame excuses of the government, refusing projects like this one. And covering up for disasters like this one. We gotta be “understanding”. We have to be all happy with the non-functional Tushka project, and the meaningless Constitutional witchcraft, that will bring us the lovely Crown Prince eventually.

Like this person, putting up with her husband through all his abuse. If you’re going to read this link, please take some panadol and lithium along with you, just in case.

Like the same friend I was telling you about, catching her boyfriend cheating on her, and then putting up with it, being the “understanding” one. Claiming that we all make mistakes. Such “understanding” logic.

However, recently I came to realize that being “understanding” is just the polite name of being a rag, a door mate, or let me be a little bit obscene and say a “ragdoll”. The word “understanding” has lost its meaning long time ago I assume. The thin line has vanished. And everytime you try to be understanding, you’re compromising your dignity, your values, and your rights.

D’you “understand” what I mean?

Innuendos vs. InnuendoEs

2007-01-10T15:44:00.000+02:00

I knew I shouldn’t have listened to Mahmoud when he told me to add that stupid “E”. First time I saw the word “innuendos” it was typed by a man that makes his living parsing Shakespear. I was sure that’s the way it is written. Now see what happened? I had to change all my accounts, my URL, and go back changing every single time I wrote this word.

UGH I hate you Mahmoud, one day you’ll die impaled by me *thunder and flash*

That was just me being grumpy. Sorry you had to read this.

A reply

2007-01-07T16:34:00.001+02:00

Dear Secret Admirer

I have recieved your notes. While reading them, I had a couple of ideas going on my mind. I’m sure you’d like me to share them with you. I have a few things to say to you as well. So let me just get to the bone of it.

It’s in my genes...

Before I discuss things with you deliberately, I just wanna say something for the record. It’s rather a question, a thought that crosses my mind every once in a while. That’s been crossing it quite frequently lately. What is it with me? Huh? What’s so different about me, that every time I have a criticism on a very very specific issue, people would go and just generalize it extremely to the point that I become some sort of a freak? I recall one time I was criticizing some attitude made by the Israeli government, and all of a sudden I became an “anti-Semite”. Just out of the blue I turned to be an anti-jewish. And it’s happening again now. I have become a hater of the American people.

That’s the most ridiculous claim I’ve received in a while. Through the time I’ve come in contact with American people online, I’ve made pretty good friendships in here. And I’m not going to ask you to go and ask them if I’m this or that. Just think a little bit about it. And try to recall the times you came in contact with me. Probably you’ll realize the misunderstanding we’re having in here.

I’m not going to stand here and “defend myself”. this would sound utterly inappropriate. Let me better reply to your “brief” notes.

The Perfect Society...

Um, says who? Did I say that? Has anyone assumed that? Did “I” claim it? Point it out for me please! When did I say that the US is a perfect soctiety. In fact, when did I claim that such a thing as a “perfect society” exists? Where does that stuff come from?

Serving in the Navy means that you can say what you think and think what you like? Um, I’d like seeing you telling that to your commander in the Navy. Serving in the military forces doesn’t mean anything other than serving in the military forces. Just to mark out the words correctly. And then again, how come you’re assuming that “saying what you think and thinking what you like” is a privilege that only YOU have? While others (probably in other parts of the world) don’t “get to do it” ? Um, let me give you some practical homework to do, and let’s see if things work the way you think they do.

Try to initiate a socialist/communist party in the US. Try to publish that, use the media, and put out posters for it. Let’s see how it’ll work

Bad idea...um. okay, put on a hijab, and call yourself Fatima, and tell everyone you know that you met someone from the middle east, and then you found your salvation. Let’s see if your phone will stay unwired.

The truth is sweet heart, there are many things we do have in common allover the world. Lack of absolute freedom, is one of them. It’s something like having a brain. Anencephalic babies don’t exist. They just die.

The terror...

Hun, you’re making fun of how I watched the whole thing on TV, and how I didn’t lose anyone there. And how you had to face it all alone, in terror, and in sorrow. As if just because I’m across the ocean, I can’t feel a thing. As if just because I didn’t lose a relative or a friend there, I don’t care. Let me tell you, you’re wrong.

You’ve witnessed the horror of losing someone close to you only once. Faced the ugly face of terror for a day. Had it ever occured to you, what if that lasted for decades? Generations after generations of continuous killing, robbing, raping, exiling and imprisoning? I bet it never did. You’re asking me to mourn those who have passed away that day, only for the human bondage I have with them. When’d you mourn my dead? When’d you know they exist? I’ve been mourning for decades, till my tears dried up. I only mourn in blood now. And now, you’re asking for my blood too. I don’t think that’s pretty fair.

And though it’s not that fair, yet it happened. And I don’t know why. But you had my mourning blood too. What difference did it make? Has it put us any closer to eachothers? D’we meet in the middle of the road?

“What is it that you stand for?”

It’s like you were talking to some kid, or probably some uneducated blob, accusing me of not knowing that there are good people and bad people everywhere. I find it amazing! Your ability to generalize, and assume endlessly. When did I ever say that? What is wrong with you?

What I am standing for? That’s simple. I stand for justice. I stand for peace. I stand for equality. Respect is what I stand for. Acknowledgment is what I stand for. Right to live as well. Right to exist. Now tell me what do YOU stand for? Occupation? Enslavment? Disrespect? Exiling? Collateral damage? Which of those do you pick? Because the list is pretty long, honey bee.

“No, America is not perfect. Who is?”

Well, you tell me then! Why is it that "America" is claiming that their way is THE way. That everyone should be like them. That everyone should look up to them. That everyone else is a retarded barbarian. That whoever doesn’t side with them will be necessarily against them. I mean, if America is not that perfect as you’ve just stated, why is America is claiming the opposite? Don’t you find a very weird paradox in your statement?

And you were saying G.Bush is an exception? Well that’s pretty weird too. Because I keep getting that alot lately. G.W.Bush is an exception, G. Bush was one too. Trueman was another one. Kissinger, Reagan, oh and let’s not forget Roosevelt! What the ...? it’s like an endless sequence of exceptions. Tell me when is this league of exceptional phenomena is going to stop breeding?

I’m not short sighted. I still can see all the colours of a rainbow. But you’re just not giving me a chance to enjoy any of them! I know there is a wide range of varieties, so I just hope that you see the specifity of my point.

The “Think-about” sequence...

You’re asking me to think about many many things there. I’m afraid my engines will get blown. You want me to think about you, and your kid. Me and my kids, and my family. Hmm, let me think a little.

There’s a pretty intersting thing that you kept putting there over and over again. Something about how much you’d do for “me and my family”. About how you’d lay your life for me, or my right to express myself, and that kind of stuff. Now let me tell you what I think. I of course got totally blown off my head reading that at the begining. But now, looking at it, I just think it’s pretty funny. How long did you know me? How deep is our relationship to “lay your life” for me? In fact, I can count the times we talked on less than 10 fingers! I’m afraid I have to tell you that this was the cutest bullshit I’ve ever read. No one lays their lives for someone they never met! In your trial to sound SO GOOD and making me sound TOO BAD, you went to the extremes, butterfly. Let me explain it to you...

Will you lend me all of your savings, and the college fund of your child too, and also give me your house to live in, and I’m also gonna need your car? Will you? You know you can get them back when I die!!!

Wasn’t that much cheaper than your life? Could you give that away? Next time when you’re giving away your life for someone make sure 1) you really don’t want it. 2) they really need it. And honestly, I don’t think any of those conditions apply in this situation.

About you and your kid, I don’t know what to say or think. I’m TELLING you that I’m against everything that’s widening the gap between us, and you’re telling me that I’m some indifferent prick! So I basically don’t know. I don’t know what you’re up to.

About me and my kids... well I don’t have any. And I honestly don’t see the great point of being responsible of bringing any of them into this world. My kids will grow up carrying my tanned skin, and my M.E. features, and every time they’ll try to make out a point, prove they are something, ask a simple question, they will have to stand defending themselves first. Just because of who they will be.

Listen my snow white queen, I’m not that heartless bastard you think I am. I’m personally so glad I met ME. I know that I’m good enough. Oh I had a question, d’you see that video? ‘cause I think it had many answeres for your questions. I just won’t go and quote things from it anymore. I had promised Shiny Bee the whole thing was over for me. Anyways, probably you see my point now. Or you don’t. It doesn’t make any difference.

Love! *secret squishy hugs and slopy kisses*

Tons of gratitude

2007-01-07T00:17:00.000+02:00

Today, I'd like to thank Mala'et The Great of Ghasseel, for her priceless tips. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't be able to move most of my old blog here.

Thank YOU! *mmmuah!*

Fine Art of Sodomy!

2007-01-06T11:57:00.000+02:00

Is it really an art? What do you think?

After what I saw on TV a couple of days ago, I believe it’s a real art. We should be including that in our “Faculty of Arts” curricula. The important point, the real concept of it, is while you’re only watching, you should “feel” the pain, the nausea, and the resentment. You should feel it physically, not just emotionally.

Am I the only one that can hear The God Father's main theme sound track and may be Hello--Lionel Richie just looking at this picture? Can you feel it?

Because I did feel it, and Olmert was such a capable artist, he “made” me “feel” his masterpiece in Sharm.

I can only applaud the incomplete submission by the world-greatest model Pharoh H. Mubarak. You see the model shouldn’t be all submissive during the whole thing, so you don’t lose attention and never get bored.

Enjoy the art of Mass Public Sodomy!

“restore momentum to negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians” no comment!

Update: the Magnanimous Pharoh stated that Egypt would allow monies to cross the borders but the Palestinians has to inform the Egyptian authorities first. Because "it's the Egyptian law that is being applied in Egypt, not any other law" he said.

See what I mean?

2007-01-05T05:15:00.001+02:00

first let me show you this!

“ The lady who wrote this letter is Pam Foster of Pamela Foster and Associates
in Atlanta. She's been in business since 1980 doing interior design and home
planning. She recently wrote a letter to a family member serving in Iraq.......
Read it!
"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not
started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?
Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered
that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol
and in a field in Pennsylvania ? Did nearly three thousand men, women and
children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't
they?
And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was
"desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? Well,
I don't. I don't care at all.
I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden
turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.
I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring
about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .
I'll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for hacking off
Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat. I'll
care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and fight like
men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques. I'll care
when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about
the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs. I'll care when the
American media stops pretending that the ir First Amendment liberties are
somehow derived from international law instead of the United States
Constitution's Bill of Rights. In the meantime, when I hear a story about a
brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I
don't care. When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have
been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured that
I don't care. When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is
told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank
that I don't care. When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a
prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is
complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe
in your heart of hearts that I don't care. And oh, by the way, I've noticed that
sometimes it's spell ed "Koran" and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn
and ---- you guessed it - - - I don't care ! ! ! ! !
If you agree with
this viewpoint, pass this on to all your e-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll
get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior! If you don't agree,
then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then
please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen
here in our great country.
--"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering
if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that
problem." -- Ronald Reagan
"If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under
God, then we will be a nation gone under." also by... Ronald Reagan “

Excuse me, I need to go puke.

That was just as valid as this: “ All hodoes are fodoes, all fodoes are dodoes, then all hodoes are dodoes”. It’s valid, but not necessarily correct. And I believe this is the same mutilated kind of logic used by the holy american government. Well, it’s not like that’s new. It’s been there for quite a while. Since it- the government- started to contradict its own moral model. What still amazes me is; even after the “absolute” failure it had proved, such idiocy still manages to survive inside the minds of decision makers in The House.
I see however why’s that gaining popularity amongst the simple minded crowds. It’s because feeling guilty or responsible isn’t really a lovely thing to do. It’d be pretty neat if one thinks about it like this:
“ 9/11 happened just out of the blue. Those muslim fanatics were sitting one night joking and watching TV, and then all of a sudden one of them just said let’s blow up a couple of bulidings in the US, and then the others cheered, and gave him beer or something, while he started plotting diagrams and drawing naked figures on the side of them. And we are all innocent, we didn’t support tyrant regimes that not only repress their nations, but also go against our own moral model, just because that served our intersts in the ME well. We didn’t blindly support the Israeli invasion and occupation of whatever arab territories (Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, or even Egyptian). We didn’t help instability of that region at all by selling opposing countries/organizations all the kinds of toy-guns to play with. We didn’t live in a bubble, thinking we are the best thing ever, and we always tried to communicate and understand those people. We didn’t stand still for the past fifty years when we were introduced to them as the arrogant, ignorant, redneck, whorish, imperialist, pro-colonist nation, and even the great devil. We didn’t train, support, and provide shelter to all fanatic groups through the past thirty years. We didn’t do any of that! We were just sitting peacefully, not occupying any land, not starving any other nation, and not helping unjustice to be served allover the world, and ALL OF A SUDDEN, we were attacked right on our holy soil.”
Pretty cool actually, if I were in your shoes, I’d love to think that way too I guess. It might JUST help me sleep at night. Because well, you wouldn’t care by then. And then, may be in such a dream world, you’ll have that vision that 9/11 didn’t happen because you didn’t care. And that you are serving the humanity a great deal by eleminating all the differences that makes us as a human race what we are. Oh, and may be you’ll dream of a good meal and a night-long intense sex after that.
I recommend you to cover up well. ‘cause I just think there’s a tiny part ..yeah..yeah that one, down there..yes..
Thanks alot, that was a real eyesore.
Now let me ask some questions myself, I think I have the right too, no? Aren’t you fighting a war for hegemony, crushing everything else on your way? Wasn’t it started when you realized it has fallen all in your hands to “rule the world”? How many millions died in Veitnam, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Palastine under your supervision and by your guns? Why are you so shocked and in deep denial because such atrocities took place on your soil while it’s been going on allover the world by the hands of your very enthusiastic-to-shoot marines? And what prisoners are you talking about eating “special food” with your money? The ones in Abu Ghareeb, or the ones in Guantanmo? And who told you to hold them prisoners anyway? What do you call settling permanent army bases on foreign “soil”? how would it feel like if some other country came over the states and sat some bases in California, Florida, and Washington DC just to protect you guys, because y’all are too barbarian to live without supervision?
However...
You just get to walk away with it. You don’t have to learn one day, that one way or another you’ll be held responsible for your actions, and it’d be much better if it was by you, not others. You don’t also have to learn to be less hypocrite, because the leaf that you used to put on hasn’t fallen quite a while back. You don’t need to take your cute head outa the sand, and see where you stand today, and where the rest of the nations in the whole world stand.
You also don’t need to learn that even if you were done unjustice, that doesn’t justify you breaking up every code you agreed on to be your ideology, you know, giving away all your principles. That doesn’t justify mass occupation, mass burglary, and mass enslavement. It doesn’t justify about a million civilian deathes in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it doesn’t justify the countless numbers of illegally imprisoned people within your military bases, people that include even journalists and reporters. Not to mention the very constitutional..oops I mean legally-international ways of interrogation.
You can choose that, yes.
Or, you can wake up, and touch some solid ground with your feet.
Either ways, it’s your choice to make. However, only when you’re in the real world, you can make a change.
And finally, my deepest condolences for the thousands that passed away on 9/11, and for the conscience and insight that were crushed under the piles of arrogance and greed on the very same day.
p.s. “ If you’ve come here to teach us, you’d have brought along pens and books. But you brought along guns and tanks.”-- Umar Al Mukhtar. Now that’s a man to be quoted. Ironically enough, he was captured by Italian fascists on 9/11 too.

The Year of Shame

2007-01-04T12:58:00.002+02:00

An awfully long post to begin with [images were removed due to technical difficulties. for full version click here]

Remember remember the 31^st of December

2006 the lame

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Shouldn’t be remembered with shame^[1]

Indeed, the year of shame that was. I’ve been going through my papers for the last couple of days, trying to make some balance sheet for this 2006. Unfortunately, we all lose according to simple calculations. Wanna see some of those? Let me open the cemetery then, hold on!

*Creak*

Aaah here we are...

January, 2006..

A cold start as usual, with hopes kept high also as usual. By then I didn’t realize what I was stepping into, what’s been waiting for me in there. Emotionally confused, and clumsily trying to follow the trails of love, I’ve been still trying to fix my old PC by that time, when Prince Ahmed Aljaber Alsobah of Kuwait left us. I was terribly shocked for the guy was to be admired. Brought to memories the spectacular projects he’s been involved in with Egypt for the last decade.

Egypt preparing for the African Nations’ Cup of soccer. It was surprising the scenes I saw for such preparations, especially in the next month. And then a surprise happened..

The Middle East won something! Yes, for the first time in a long time, we are all gathered to recieve the trophy of being Number ONE of the whole world in UNEMPLOYMENT. Yeah we did it, we should be proud of it , no? It’s such an achievment, what a triumph.

And for it was full of surprises, another one chose to take place by then.

Hamas wins elections. For the surprise of Hamas itself, they didn’t even expect to win. But for the first time, a democractic-election campaign took place without police ordering people whom to choose. And well, it seems the people of Palastine has just gotten sick of the corruption that’s been eating up Fatah’s body for years, so Fatah is off now. Of course Fatah didn’t “like” that, which will be demonstrated very immensly in the next ...not few months. Had I mentioned that A. Sharon’s health state deteriorated badly this month? Of course I only felt the same compassion for him as the one he felt for his victims in Egypt, Palastine, and Lebanon.

February, 2006..

Now this one was more juicy. With Paradise Now nominated for the Oscars, now that was a good movie, finally a good arabic movie in a couple of years. And Egypt won the African Nations’ Cup, but that wasn’t just about it.

Alsalam 98 sinks, an Egyptian ship. With hundreds of people on it, only very few survived. And it was due to negligence. It’s not going to be the last incidence that takes lots of lives for the same reason this year.

Jyllands Posten makes a booboo. And on the head of a “crusade” that continued to dye the rest of the year with Hematoxiline and Eosin (that’s red and blue guys, basic histology), the notorious paper contiunes farting. And as other similar incidents that took place in the same year, nobody’s been handling it well. Manipulation of the “public opinion” and messing with the feelings of the masses has been so immense. It was the first time I blog about political events, I knew by then I was breaking a Taboo.

Not a week later that I had my first and only break-up. Lol, what an emotional toll I had to bear!

Then I found about Professors’ Chat:2, by that time Biology:1 was practically dead, but no biochatter wanted to admit it. We were all in denial. Just as the Egyptians were when we got the news of capturing of Egyptian diplomate Hussam Almawsely by Palastinian factions. Same as how the Syrian government must have been feeling during Alhariri’s memorial day, when thousands of Lebanese gave it the finger.

By that time Haniya was chosen as the head of Hamas government, and started forming his own government, while the world was still agape.

March, 2006..

I was looking forward to my little borther’s birthday when all of a sudden Samerraa’s Mosque (the spectacular shia’s mosque) was turned into dust by enormous explosive power, one would only wonder who would be able to posses such a gunpower in a falling country like Iraq. The typical consequences were the attack of 100 other mosques, and devision of Iraq into sunni dominated areas and other shia dominated area, which never happened in the history of Iraq. Lol, neat!

Amr Khalid- in the most appropriate way to handle it according to me- sat out to Denmark on the head of a very fine group of muslim scholars, and supported by many others in here allover the arab world to set a conference for conversation with the Danish people representatives. And though he was opposed by some spectacular and moderate muslim scholars such as Sheikh Yousuf Alqaradawy, Amr managed to hold the conference successfully, with lots of airtime in Denmark, and many fruitful interviews with remarkable persons of the Danish “Intelligentsia”.

And while Washington has been congratulating Olmert the head of Kadema on winning the elections in Israel, and boycotting Haniya, the democractically elected palastinian PM, Israel was commiting breaking and entery in Areha, capturing Ahmed Sa’dat, head of (PFL)^[2] and other prisoners, claiming they are convicted in Israeli courts, and they should be trialed there. Of course Sa’dat was taken to an unknown distination after that. That was only one thing amongst many others Israel was commiting by that time, early in the year. But really, who cares?

The situation in Egypt was quite funny. Since we could for the first time in history declare Egypt Poliomyelitis-free, Avian Flu decided to emigrate and settle in. Well, no big deal, we’re okay with diseases, we’ve been living with Schistosomiasis since pharohs. We just need to control the water-poverty Egypt-of-the-Nile is gonna go through.

And I got a new PC to myself, what a victory.

April,2006..

Now this one could be the month of stupidity, but I doubt that July or August would let April win it that easily.

Prisedent Mubarak starts to exhibit senility on Al-Arabiya TV Channel, when he claimed that the Iraqi Shia are more loyal to Iran than they are to Iraq. Of course the rebuttals were fierce, and the 79-year-old president brought out his clumsy spokesman to try to lick back the shit he’s been spreading. The spokesman was like “Oh we didn’t mean to accuse you of treason, no we didn’t mean you have a civil war” lol though they have a civil war anyway. And that was the start of a sequence of stupidities by The Great Pharoh of Egypt, that continued allover the year. I even remember him later visiting Russia and telling a paper there that he’s going to suggest for the Russian president to change the constitution so that Putin would be able to stay for another couple of years as the president of Russia. I don’t know what he was thinking, proposing such a thing, may be he was thinking that Putin would be a good support for the Crown Prince Gamal Mubarak. Anyway again he sent out the same clumsy spokesman claiming that Mubarak never said such a thing and that the paper is making false propaganda. He looked really bad when the paper confirmed the interview.

Alexandria—Egypt. Religious stupidity in its best. Conflicts between muslims and christians over some play. Torching up a couple of churches, and many losses. And the government does the usual, humiliate the minds of the people. Bringing up a man, calling him “mentally disturbed” and accusing him of ALL the accidents that took place would really solve the conflict between muslims and christians there. What brilliant minds we have here in charge. Having a conflict is normal, but what’s really abnormal is trying to cover up for the conflict, saying everything is fine, and not even trying to solve it. Now that indicates something “really” wrong going on up there in the government, REALLY WRONG.

Now another stupidity in Dahab of Sinai, east of Egypt. Bombings of a couple of bazars, taking the lives of hundreds of Egyptians and tens of tourists. The thing is, the ideology of those bombers was thought to have died LONG time ago. Especially with the iron fest the government is handling such issues with. But no, the sequelae of persecution and offense are yet to revive extremism seeds.

Kuwait, for the first time in its history, Women goes to vote. And as victorious as it sounds, it didn’t make the slightest difference in the results. Tribal issues are still to dominate, bwhuhahaha what a surprise!

Me? Nothing I broke my PC, and went on a passive period of indifference.

May,2006..

Israel launches a new satellite just to spy on Iran. And it seems A. Nijad liked that, the guy sent some fifteen-pages letter to G.W.Bush, adressing him about various attitudes of the US. It was really funny reading such a letter, blowing away all the paradoxes Bush’s been going through since he took over the white house. Yes, the letter was public lol.

And in Egypt, another episode of stupidity is on air. Cairo goes through total military seige by the State Security forces, hundreds of prisoners and many others injured. What’s the story? Oh they say a couple of judges spoke out about the corruption and cheating that dominated the last parliamental elections, exposing many well-known figures. So, the government (NDP)^[3] kinda decided to punish them, and then they went out to the people, exposing everything. The people chose to support their judges, you know, hopes about free judicial systems and that kind of stuff. So far for justice in Egypt.

And the funniest event of the month. Well not according to me, but the Palastinian government trying to support its people and affording salaries through the complete economical seige it’s going through, they started “smuggling” monies through Israelie blockades by their finest political figures. Now that was really sad!

I was turning twinty-two, when I got one of the dearest bio-chatters to my heart missing. She went offline for good, and only blogged some hidden place every couple of weeks since then. I find myself still missing her till now. Hope she’s fine! And then I realized what deep shit I was into, studywise. Lol

June,2006..

The start of one magnificant World Cup in Germany didn’t really affect the path this year is taking.

Since even when Palastinian banks has started to pay salaries as loans, assassinations never stopped by Israel. Jamal Abu Smehdana the head of PRC^[4] was assassinated too. But then Israel wouldn’t just stop there, they took over the whole Gaza strip again, capturing 62 of Hamas’s cadres amongst others. Not to mention the “usual” daily atrocities that hurt no conscience anymore.

And while the CIA has shut down the Aric Station^[5], the US occupying forces managed – with the help of Iraqi forces- to take out Al-Zarkawi. Posting pictures of his corpse along with a couple of his companions, gives the US no further credibility when they still accuse Aljazeera TV channel of being inhumane posting pictures of POWs and the deads of its troops in there back in 2003.

Ali Saleh and the lust for eternity. The president of Yemen who took the country through many “democractic” corrections, had once decided not to run the presidency elections this year, so there would be real competition ( you know, less usage of police forces for the sake of the president, a very common act amongst arab world). But, somehow Saleh was in the elections. Not only that, but he won with 77% of votes. Saleh has been infected with the bug. The Arab-Governer Disease.

I was really sadened by the loss of Huda Sultan, remarkable actress and singer. She will be missed.

July,2006..

Summer strikes hard, and we lose A. Madbuli. The founder of Madbulism, and one of the most spectacular actors, and directors of Egypt. Someone who gave comedy a new scope. And Suad Nasr suffers complications of anasthesia, I never knew whether she died thereafter. She was a great actress though. That was taking place while the very moderate movie Yacoubian Building was ruling Paris, and singers like Sa’d Al soghaiyar taking the lead down here in Egypt. Kinda ironic.

Now another negligence, a train crash with hundreds of deaths. No one to blame, and people die in vain. Yeah that’s Egypt.

A little bit to the north, world was witnessing the most humiliating events of the year. Yes, it was very humiliating for all of us as humans to watch Israel crashing into the south of Lebanon. With the claims of creation of a New Middle East, and the Smart Bombs support by the US, they have created another Qana by the end of the month. Ironically enough, after a major special forces operation at the end of the month, Israel miscaptured a poor bait-seller for Nasrallah. And we all watched in guilty, humiliating silence. Some even argued that both sides were wrong, and blah blah blah. That was really stupid. But then the year was full of that, stupidity.

During that month I’ve been facing multi-layered stupidity offline too. Facing narrow-minded islamists claiming that the whole war thingie was but a big scam, to make the shia’s dominate the sunna in the arab world. And dealing with mindless professors messing with the class big style, cutting us short from clinical experience, and ****ing with the evaluation system all the time. Also watching TV, now that was a mistake.

“Killing Iraqis is like crushing an ant”—St. Green, an american marine accused of raping and killing an Iraqi young girl in Mahmudiya earlier this year, on March. I don’t really feel the need to comment on that. I just never forgot such a headline.

August, 2006..

The heat stroke really bad. This month has been too funny to make me laugh, instead, I was on the doorstep of depression. You see, Safiya Al Omari and Hussin Fahmy –so-so Egyptian actors, and UN ambassadors- quit the UN in a condmning act for the guilty silence and ineffeciency of its offices. Someone’s tried to assassinate Haniya with a poisoned mail. Sudan went offline for “four days” because the internet cable across the sea was somehow damaged, of course with millions of already unaffordable dollars losses. The Irani doctors managed to do the first cloning experience in the middle east on a little lamb (of course the lamb died a couple of hours later).

Let’s stay in Iran, where the blogsphere witnessed the joining of a very very well-connected fellow blogger, President Ahmadi Nijad. I’d vote for that to be the most odd event of the month. The blog is really well done, though the content isn’t that attractive, but I applaud the effort, and the way of thinking anyway.

And in the UK, authorities managed to stop a major terrorist attack on air planes using liquid bombs, saving hundreds of lives (of the passengers) and thousands of others (muslims living abroad) who would have been killed later anyway. But of course, muslims became fascists after that, according to President Bush. Oh and the american airports proposed a new monitoring system for passengers, that depends on their facials expressions. So if you’re angry, irritated, or anxious, someone very nicely will step up to you, asking your very dignified self to strip off or he’ll be cuffing you into the new Guantanamos being open in the US.

Angry streets in muslims countries... some apologies from Bush, that sounds familiar.

Dr. Ahmed Mustageer, the spectacular egyptian biologist, and considered to be the father of genetic engineering in here dies very quietly in august. With the least media coverage ever. Yes that’s right, it’s Egypt.

The war? Do we really care? Lol, well it was really simple. After Saniora weeped on TV screens, and images of hundreds of corpses started to fill magazins instead of models pictures, all what Israel had to do is beg some more to momma US to get its dignity-keeping cease fire. And the UN finally could start talking about forces. Funny thing is, Israel refused Indonesian participation in such forces, also the forces had to stay in Lebanese lands. I thought there should have been a military-free space on both sides, not just in Lebanon. But hey! It’s Israel we’re talking about in here, it’s the divine empire.

September, 2006..

The circus in Iraq still prevails. A court of clowns gathers to judge ex-president Saddam Hussin. One of the judges adresses Saddam with some respect and then gets “fired”. Lol the guy only said “you were’t a dictator, but you were surrounded by many dictators” and he found himself off the court.

Almuhandes and Mahfouz! That was the heaviest toll of the year. N. Mahfouze, the only Egyptian writer to get a Nobel, the one who literally taught me what literature is, one of my best ever writers. And F. Almuhandes, the dearest comedian to my heart, we all called him Uncle Fuad, the one we always sang along with, and laughed our heads off just watching him sitting doing nothing, another pillar of art in Egypt. They both passed away this month, and rocked my heart away with’em. Farewell Mahfouz, and Muhandes. I will always love you.

The Pope makes a booboo too. To have a tiny weeny is something, and to flash people with it is a totally different thing. He’s a big hot air balloon,nevertheless. All what he did is moving a little bit more to the left, to stand beside the other zeroes in primal animalic even protozoal happiness.

The first female space tourist goes to space just to wish Pluto a goodbye. A. Alansari, an American of Irani origins says she’s totally enjoyed her trip in the space, taken lots of pictures, and looking forward to writing about it and going back. Dear Pluto, you’re certainly going to be missed. But I’m sure the Egyptian curricula will always name you as the ninth planet. Since we still have the USSR in our geography curricula of high school, 17 years after its dramatic collapse.

I went offline in a sick leave that continued for two months, details are not for publish.

October, 2006..

The Pope apologizes, and muslim scholars accept. Of course some of them still won’t talk to him, and never accepted such a subtle apology.

Mecca’s Agreement. The funniest event of the month. They say they agreed in there that no sunny shall kill a shia and vice versa. As if that was going to happen in such a disturbed country as Iraq.

In Egypt, youngmen in Cairo go rabid after girls in the first day of Eid ul-Fitr. Right after the end of Ramadan, guys were going to watch a movie in Tala’t Harb’s Mall when they all of a sudden had that indiscribable urge to gather in countless groups, trying to rape every single female on the streets, even those inside public transportation and cars. A shocking scene Egypt has NEVER witnessed before. This could be diagnosed as sexual rabies. But one would better think of a deeper reasons. Like the horrible repression by the sheikhs as well as the government, the complete helplessness, and the collapse of role models due to external mutilation of this culture. That doesn’t really make the slightest difference. Because the Ministery of Interior came out with a statement saying that none of that has happened, and that it’s just rumors, since there were no reports in police station. Do I need to say that during such a mess, police stations were reported repeatedly but NOT a single policeman took the effort to come down the city and check what was going on for FOUR hours. But THIS is what our police ready to do. Oh and those are eyewitnesses.(links are in arabic this time)

Almaliki, new PM of Iraq survives an assassination, while his guards get taken out. Hmmm, whatever!

UK, and the absurdity of J. Straw. He wouldn’t talk to women in veil because it kinda bothers him. What a statesman! I’ll let Galloway say it better.

November, 2006..

While the Palastinian situation was getting really constipated the last couple of months, Democrates won in the US. Most probably because of the incoherent attitude of the Republicans in Iraq. And as the first sacrifice to go up the cross just to please the new masters of the congress, Ramsfeld goes out. Some arabs get their hopes immensly high, thinking the salvation is in the hands of the new masters. Poor deluded minds. But we witness the imergence of a new superwoman (only new to us in here), N. Pelosi.

I haven’t told you about the video games world throughout the year, I was overwhelmed with other events, but I still managed to finally end the triology of Prince of Persia. This november, PlayStation 3 got out. It was a dramatic scene, with millions of people sleeping on the streets just to check their place in really long lines infront of stores, not to mention troubles breaking when some stores ran out of the magical piece of ****. I hate that *****, I hope she burns in hell. PCs will always be my favourite. But tell that to the bastards publishing new generation VGs.

Inflammation of the Iraqi lands while Saddam’s getting a verdict in the court of clowns. Another man goes to court but this time for trying to sell a hair of Ramses II of Egypt. It was a frenchman I don’t remember his name.

Before the end of this month I got to meet Cleo, start a military education course, and my sixth year in faculty of medicine has started without me going. I was back online before the end of that month as well.

December,2006..

Political masturbation in Egypt. The MB^[6] members in universities get banned from running elections in most universities of Egypt, so they make up a parallel Student Union. But in Al-Azhar University (supposed to be the most spectacular islamic university in the muslim world, and the oldest in history) they wouldn’t just bear with that. So all the students who participated in such parallel elections whether candidates or organizers were expelled. Then the students of MB go on an open parade, but of course Egyptians go stupid as usual when in crowds. They have decided to pull off a military-like show, wearing maskes and playing kung-fu and stuff. Dressing up just like the resistence militias in Palastine. Of course the government didn’t like that. Next thing to happen was Security State forces imprisoning hundreds of students, and everybody with anti-islamist traits eating up the MB’s heart. MB’s playing dumb, and saying it was a “sports show”. Yeah right, sports show with athletes screaming “ Fire, fire ,fire, Oh God turn the houses of the tyrants into fire”. That sounded perfectly like a sports show to me.

Stupidity continues when our divine President Mubarak proposes constitutional corrections that has been already demanded for a year or so. Some of them were just fixed last year by him and his NDP. Tells you alot about what’s he trying to do. Corrections are hoped to leave the parliaments with more authorities, and spread some democratic atmosphere in Egypt. I highly doubt it, and I’ll tell you why later.

And the Pope still trying to suck up to muslim communities through his historical visit to Turkey, prays towards Mecca, muslim style. I don’t really see the point of such fake dramas. He’s doing nothing real about it. Nothing ideology-wise. Sometimes it’s really annoying to watch the circus.

Lebanon has been warming up the whole last month for the grande finale of the year. A matchless parade, in the history of the middle east claiming the change of the government. And whether I agree with such parties lead by Hizbullah and Amal or not, I can’t help getting astonished by such a civilized parades, and such lovely people as the Lebanese one. I get speechless just thinking about what they have been doing there in Beirut.

I enjoyed Christmas at home with family, watching the Pentagon claiming that “Almahdi Army is the greatest danger in Iraq” and wondering, why were they working hand in hand with it to hold a grip on Zarkawi. while the death toll exceeds 655,000 Iraqis and 2998 american soldiers.

I had a matchless Eid Adha with my whole family in Tanta, gathered around the TV screen and watching Saddam being killed in the one most awful scenes one might ever remember this year by. Right in the first day of our Eid, when we’re supposed to be having fun and feeling relaxed, everbody looked disoriented and unbelieving. Later on during the day another video with some voice in it gets out, showing us how were the excutioners screaming the name of Muqtada Al Sadr, the head of Almahdi Army before they kill the man, and also showing him in a very powerful attitude mocking their stupidity. A wonderful Eid present by the allied forces. Extra points for the Republicans, who gives a damn about justice, humanity, or common sense even.

Saddam leaves us unforgotten, just like J.Barbra and J.Brown just did this month. I’m sure Saddam is about to be turned into a martyr. Just because of the stupidity of people sitting in the White House, and on top of government in Baghdad.

*Slam*

And we all lose. The only winners were gun dealers, and grave diggers. Oh and may be lawyers, they never lose.

Hmmm, what do you think of such a year?

Ancient arabs used to mark years by main events that took place in them, like The Year of The Elephant, Year of Famine. Stuff like that. I’m going to use the same style and name this one according to its main theme...

The Year Of Shame

^[1] Great apologies to Guy Fawkes, and the great movie V for Vendetta.

^[2] Public Factions of Liberation.

^[3]National Democractic Party.

^[4] Public Resistence Commitees.

^[5] Aric’s Station: A special CIA station designated to hunt down Osama Bin Laden.

^[6] Muslim Brotherhood.

No Christmas This Year!

2006-12-25T22:28:00.001+02:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas;

We wish you a Merry Christmas;

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;

Good tidings for Chri..

I’m sorry, I was lying...

Have we all had a MERRY Christmas? Good meals, lovely music, charming company, fireworks, and superb entertainment? Are “we” sure?

Christmas in the Holy Lands isn’t quite the same I bet. With more than five million people under complete siege, I’m absolutely sure it’s not the same.

It’s not the same with about a thousand Palastinian children deathes. It’s not the same with another four thousands adults killed. And it’s definitely not the same with over thirty-one thousands injuries (military injuries, not fell-off-the-chair-and-cut-my-toe injuries). Oh and not to forget the other ten thousands prisoners decomposing in the darkness of the Israeli dungeons, facing “moderate physical pressure”.

It’s not the same with 40% of unemployment. It’s not the same with the other 60% not getting paid for the last 6 months. And of course it’s not the same with more than four thousands palastinian houses demolished.

It’s not the same when the WHO and HRW state that the health state of the Palastinian children in Gaza strip is to a far extent the same as that of african populations under famines. It’s not the same with children dying of Kwoshiorkor and Marasmus as if it was AIDS.

It’s not the same with populations of whole cities being cut off electricity and water for days. It’s not the same with the population of the West Bank being held prisoners by the Racial Discrimination Wall. And with the whole population of Gaza Strip under complete isolation.

It’s not the same with punishing Palastinian population by starving them literally to death, just because of their democratic choice. It’s not the same...

And it’ll never be the same again. Not with the daily bombing, imprisonment, apartheid, and guilty silence, and even support of occupying forces. It will NEVER be the same.

I’m sorry again, there are no good tidings this Christmas. Everyone has been too naughty this year. Not Santa, not Mary, and not even Jesus himself could put up with that, but hey... we did it.

So, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

p.s. “SO sorry Jesus, Mary and Joe. There’s not Christmas this year, we are closed. I hope you understand our situation *grin*”—the Israeli Government.

Remains of the burnt parchment

2006-12-23T22:22:00.001+02:00

Be forewarned, for this might get a bit graphic. Also the usage of pronouns might get confusing, and less international. It’s on purpose. It's also long. those are remains of a burnt parchment.

Afternoon, living room...

I was sitting alone, staring at the endlessly twirling fan, meaninglessly hanging down from the roof. I had nothing on my mind. NOTHING, absolute nothingness. I was feeling nothing, thinking of nothing, almost surrounded by nothing and kinda doing nothing. I was almost feeling like an empty blob of nothingness. It’s an amazing feeling of indifference that anyone can go through only after years and years of practice. And it can’t be good, it also can’t be bad, it’s a big nothing. I had a Pepsi can relaxing in my right hand though. It kept sending that effervescing vibes to my hand, while the sound of the bubbles tickled my ears mercilessly.

I don’t recall if it was the tension that started to kill my neck, or was it the boredom that started to kill some other things in me. However, dramatically I moved my eyes from the fan down to the can in my hand. I stared at the very famous tricoloured circle. Then, I started to roll the can in my hand. I have that habbit of trying to see beyond the fancy coloured front.

“CONTAINS...” I read. “ CARBONATED WATER, SUGAR, COLOR(CARAMEL),PHOSPHORIC ACID, CAFFEINE, EMULSIFIER(GUM ARABIC), NATURAL FLAVOR.” .

Then, my eyebrows started to knot tightly, as they always do whenever a new big “but” starts to gather itself in the back of my mind. I re-read (I know that’s not a verb) the whole thing once more, after which my eyebrows looked really funny. And then many other scenes started to rush through my mind.

I couldn’t find “JUSTICE” in there! I read a couple of times. No there wasn’t “EQUALITY” too. Neither there were any “DEMOCRACY”. There wasn’t even an ounce of “FREEDOM”. And then I started to wonder, is that what they export? Just that? Is that what you’re selling me? Then I went pondering more of that stuff. Jeans, make-up stuff, perfumes, movies, commercials, lots and lots of guns, blood, skin, lots of skin, everything, absolutely EVERYTHING that’s supposed to be the product of a culture where justice, equality, and freedom are its foundations. I couldn’t find any of them.

When’d you give me justice? When was it when you sat with me and told me about freedom? When’d you try to think of me as an equal person to yourself? No, no! Let’s go way back in the history! Have you EVER done that? When’d you EVER try to convey your ideas to me. When’d you make the effort? Have you ever tried to interact, instead of only act? When’d you come to me, instead of just trying to overcome me? When did diversity become such a shame?

Whatever happened to the word “fundamentalism”...

The word as I try to look it up now at any dictionary, is typically translated into “extremism”. And I’m still trying to figure out the connection between both words. Oh another word that’s been abused is “radical”. Let’s just look closer at those two words, shall we? Fundamentalism and Radicalism basically mean the action of sticking to certain fundamentals . believing in them, supporting them, protecting them, explaining them, and trying to have a better and better understanding of them. That’s where they orginally emerged. Now, how come those words carry those very repulsive meanings we percept nowadays? What really happened?

The way I understand it, the opposite of being a fundamentalist is being a hypocrite. There’s no such a thing as being moderate actually, you either believe in your own fundamentals and understand them correctly or you just don’t. I don’t see the inbetween area, the gray zone, the balance point. I just don’t see that. So basically, those who worked hard to overload the word fundamentalism and radicalism with meanings that they-the words- don’t hold in the first place are hypocrites! Isn’t that just cute and simple? Let me rephrase it to you so you might have a better understanding. What crime am I making, and what sin have I commited by sticking to things that I believe in, By sticking to who I am? Why does that make me an extremist? Probably because what I believe in is not the exact same as you do eh? So if I don’t stick to what YOU believe in, I become an extremist, or as you put it “a fundamentalist”. Since I stick to fundamentals that are not yours. Shocking eh? Wait, there’s more.

Collision-Clash/Conversation...co...co...

You’ve been talking alot about collision, while I’ve been talking endlessly about conversation. Now I’m starting to see it differently. Creatures like you and me i.e.cultures, don’t simply drive into collisions, not “eventually” at least. Tactically perhaps. They also don’t conversate alot. Give me an example of one productive conversation!!

Cultures don’t do that. They very simply have sex together. Yeah, you heard me! They sleep together, make “love”, they have an intercourse. Why are you having that disgusted look allover your face? Stop being a snob! And think more.

It happens all the time. It happened in Egypt (well, let’s put Egypt aside, she’s been such a bad bad girl). It happened in Morroco, in England, it did happen in Persia, probably in south-east asia and to some extent in the US! Cultures don’t do that much of talking, they don’t do that much of fighting too. They directly get to business, real business. They mingle, interlace, exchange, flip over and over, try everything, climax..repeatedly, foreplay, afterplay, interplay, and then replay. They produce, reproduce, create, and then procreat. Utterly and intensly beyond the limited imagination of many immortals.

Some cultures are more into casual sex. Or mere flirting. Check French/Egyptian relationship! (with only one felony). Some are more into making families, moving in, and taking responsibilities. Check Arabic/Spanish relationship a couple of hundred years back ( ended with a very sad divorce/break-up or whatever).

Now, tell me what are you trying to do? Just try to explain to me, what exactly are you up to? In the light of that very last explanation. You probably have no notion at all, do you?

Let me give you some hints! You’re all coming up on me with that thing of yours. That ineffeciently huge, wrinkled, ugly, ill-mannered, mal-trained, and totally clumsy thing of yours. Thinking it’s the best thing ever!! Thinking the bigger the better, and thinking that you’ll give me what I’ve never had. Thinking you’ll statisfy me like no one else did. Trying stupidly to shove it up and in every single hole in me, even the nostrils of my nose and the pores in my skin. You’re even trying to creat other holes.

Thousands of years after it was firstly published, and hundreds of them after I have translated , added to and kept it, so that your likes might learn something. I find myself obliged to quote the Kama Sutra to you. Since you DON’T know how it’s done. Since you forgot a whole chapter of “Creating The Mood”. And also the one before it “ Preparing the Body”. You don’t know how to handle me, You don’t know how to deal with the whole situation. You can’t even realize what you’re doing. And you think it’s all about you! You think ( I don’t know if “think” is accurate enough) that it’s okay to violate my rights the way you do. You think it’s okay, because you think you’re the best thing that might happen to me. You’re not trying to understand me. You’re not trying to let me express myself. You don’t have a pace, you don’t have a rythem, you don’t have a stamina. You don’t have patience, you don’t watch to learn, and you don’t even watch out not to look bad. You don’t even have a reason to do it, but fulfilling that stupid urge in you. You can’t answer a question of why you are trying to get to be with me. You don’t love me, and you don’t want to. You don’t respect me, and you’re not even trying to.

Let me break it to you here! NO IT DOESN’T. No it doesn’t statisfy me. No it doesn’t make me happy. No it doesn’t make you look good. No you’re doing no one any favour. No you’re not the best thing that might happen to me. No, you don’t get to be with me, I’m way outa your league. No, I can live on masturbation, until you prove it that you’re worthy of a second chance, or I’ll just find someone else who’s way better. Bottom line, as we say it down here “ Essaraha Raha Ya Roohy, Wenta Mabte’rafsh”.

What’d you expect the outcome of such a relationship would be? What’d you expect the childs of rape to sound like? What were you thinking? Were you even thinking? Why do you keep that stupid set of brains you have? Tell me one good thing it’s done to you?

Are you willing to change? Are you willing to try to look at yourself before pointing a finger at me? Are you statisfied with what you’re having now? Tell me, how does that work for you? I’m dying for the mechanism.

I’m sick with you. I’m awefully repulsed by you. I won’t take this anymore. Try that thing on me again and I’ll just bite it off. Don’t expect any reaction. Don’t expect any pleasure. You have given me none. And you shall recieve none. Keep on beating me! Yeah keep trying to humiliate me! That doesn’t make you any better. You’re still impotent. You’re still dysfunctional. And you’re still not having any. And I know it’ll drive you crazy. But I can give you no help. You don’t deserve help. You’re not even trying to help yourself.

I thought that the less “sexually repressed” people get--as you prefer to put it, the more effecient they are. I thought they knew better, I thought they had more etiquette. I believe I was wrong thinking so. I believe the less sacred and more usual “making love” has become in your eyes, the more meaningless it turns out to be. And the more careless you are about it. You’ve become an animal. And you have a trouble comprehending that too, since you lost the higher brain centers as well.

I spit on you. On everything that you represent. On everything that you’ve done to me. On everything that you claim you are while you’re not. On your face. On your body. I’m gonna spit and spit till I get dehydrated, but it’d still be nothing in comparison of how gross and disgusting you are.

I don’t expect an answer from your guilty sorry ass. And I don’t want one. I’m done with you.

By..go to hell!

Disgustedly!

Me.

p.s.found under the ruins of a village, covered with lots of blood, military boot-prints,semen, and uranium.

A hundred things about me

2006-12-06T22:13:00.001+02:00

1. I don’t wear glasses.
2. I don’t wanna wear glasses, yeah even sun ones. I think glasses are sexy though.
3. I’m a bit left handed as well as right handed.
4. I’m not a handy man. I save my hands for more intersting jobs.
5. I’m hairy, and it sucks.
6. I’ve been the chubby kid.
7. I’ve been a wrestler.
8. I won a wrestling championship.
9. I used to be the school’s butterfly.
10. I prefer vanilla to chocolate, but I always say the opposite.
11. I have really REALLY huge feet, and no I’m not implying anything else other than feet.
12. I think of women holier than I should/ they want me to/other guys do.
13. I’m almost always smiling.
14. I laugh at silly jokes...hard.
15. I’m very good at making friends.
16. I’m so much of an introvert.
17. I get self-conscious very easily.
18. I break into tears on attending flawless performances.
19. I find it quite tough to hold grudge for long ( I think of that as a problem).
20. I like one of my borthers a little bit more than the other. And no I’m not telling which.
21. I think the sexiest thing about a woman would be an exaggerated simplicity by which she’d express her beauty.
22. Voice would come 2nd sexiest thing about a woman.
23. I find texts/voices more erotic than graphical stimuli.
24. I love Evanescence blindly.
25. I listen to all kinds of music.
26. I always try to put myself in others’ shoes. Which stinks by the way.
27. I had my head totally shaved once. And the longest hair I had was down to my shoulders.
28. No, I’m not the smartest person I’ve ever met. But I’m one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met though.
29. I’m not anti-islamist, and I’m not pro-islamist either.
30. I find socialism quite intersting.
31. I believe Hitler was pretty cute.
32. I love being a tease.
33. I love my family. The small one that is.
34. I’m a pretty homy guy.
35. I can cook!
36. I’ve never sat the house on fire while cooking.
37. I adore reading.
38. I’m very multi-tasking.
39. I can be in two places at the same time.
40. I talk to voices in my head. Mhmm, or were those my headphones?
41. I had my heart broken once, at least.
42. No, I don’t think it’s that bad.
43. I’m not good at phyiscal fights, since I hate punching people in the face and sensitive areas. A dork eh?
44. I’m hopelessly romantic, or used to be.
45. I’ve never had a drop of alcohol, neither have I had a breath of smoke.
46. No of course never been on drugs, DUH!
47. I don’t wanna live “too” much. Would be a bummer.
48. I’m sure about my sexual orientation, thank you very much. But that doesn’t mean I have limited experience.
49. Freezing time is the superpower I crave to have. Healing is a good secondary.
50. I react to the international events up to illness.
51. Yes I day-dream. What do you mean “alot” ??
52. I’m a slow english reader, last time I checked 122 words/ minute.
53. Last IQ test I had, I scored 131. So no, I’m not a genius.
54. I once had a moustache. I kept it for five years or something.
55. I don’t know how to swim.
56. I find porn movies hilarious.
57. I’ve been to the ICU and surgery room before. As a patient.
58. I blew an ear drum before.
59. I find sleep a waste of time. But tell that to my addictive receptors.
60. I am in risk of DM, Hypertension, Ischemic heart diseases, and Atherosclerosis... I guess.
61. I should be more religious.
62. I don’t have any piercings/tattoes. My skin is pretty enough!
63. I usually get away with bad things I’ve done. But I get punished for what I haven’t. So I think it’s fair enough.
64. I have been on a boat once.
65. I love trains. Just LOVE’em.
66. I prefer sneakers to shoes.
67. I let myself be walked allover by others, unintentionally.
68. Um, yes I have an okay self-esteem.
69. I didn’t always want to be a doctor.
70. I used to get car-sick, but not anymore nope. Hey I know a trick for that, wanna know?
71. Nope, I don’t have a best physical feature, unless you count my very succulant lips, and my extremely erotic voice, nope.
72. I didn’t have a bike until I was 11.
73. I hate snobs, wanna-be’s, ignorants, hypocrites, cowards, leeches, inappropriately horney’s, exhibtionists, pimps, drama-queens/kings, loose-lips, and biased persons.
74. I despise zionism.
75. I don’t have a certain fetish, not that I know.
76. Yes I wanna be rich!
77. No I never believed in shortcuts, not until last year no.
78. I drink tap-water.
79. I’m a very lazy person.
80. I love hot showers, I love the feeling I get right after them as well.
81. No I don’t like to stare at my body!! You freak!
82. I went fishing once. Never caught anything...alive.
83. I’ve never had a grandpa. I came too late.
84. I have the weirdest english accent you’ll ever hear.
85. I prefer cats over dogs.
86. I don’t believe in horoscopes, but I think they are pretty funny.
87. I don’t like it when people tell me that I’m so0 like someone, or remind them of someone.
88. I sleep in prone position, and get buffy eyes. I cover my ears. My sleep is very light. I don’t cross my legs. And I don’t complain about food.
89. Brunettes.
90. My wildest dream? Well at the moment, is to seal your lips up together.
91. Yeah I know there’s only 10 to go.
92. Stupid girls turn me right off. Stupid guys? ummm ....
93. I’ve never been outa Egypt.
94. No silly, sex isn’t everything. Fore and afterplay are!
95. I’ve never fired a real gun. But I had my own radio show!
96. I think flowers should be left uncut.
97. I scratch the tip of my nose when I’m nervous/irritated/ can’t find anything to say.
98. Nope, I never lie. I might however percept the truth differently, that doesn’t count as a lie. Just different version.
99. I walk like a cat. I never fall like one though. And I never really sing infront of people.
100. I believe in God. I believe in all his messages. I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe in fate, angels, demons, and spirits. I believe in the after world, heavens and hell. And it always added much to my points of view, never the conterary.

p.s. p.s. that wasn't what I was gonna post when I got insomnic a couple of hours ago. and I have Shiny Bee to thank for the inspiration.

Oh the dead have seen!

2006-09-09T22:01:00.001+02:00

September the 11th, 2001. that was tuesday, just 4 days before my first day to medical faculty. it was almost 2:40 pm, I recall I was watching BBC world. I actually had developed some addiction on english back then. I used to watch BBC world full time, to the extent that really bothered my family. I wasn't sitting, I was standing, drinking some water and going through BBC and EuroNews as usual, when I saw some tower with smoke coming out of it. my dad was crossing the living room and he saw it, so he wondered what was that. I wasn't really listening since I was busy writing down some new words. so I approached and listened. then I looked at him and said "Oh it's some plane crashed into the tower" I really had no notion, it was like a plate has fallen off the table or something. I see dead people daily in news, I see catastrophies, it wasn't a very alarming scene to me. but dad, now that was weird. I've never seen him with more widely-open eyes. he was dazing at me, so I asked "what? " then he went " are you kidding me? the sun is allover, and you can never miss a tower like that!!!". I laughed and went closer to the TV pointing with my finger to the breaking news " Here dad, look... it says a plane crashed into the WTC..and" I hadn't finished my line by that time, I was actually intending to wonder what WTC would mean anyways, I hadn't done that when another plane went right through the other tower! first I thought it was a rewind, replay, or something. but then there was another explosion.

The next headline I face is that "America is under attack". things went hectic starting that point. I recall that I didn't sit down again that day. I had lower limb edema outa prolonged standing. I was on my feet watching news for the rest of the day/night. I was on my nerves waiting for 2 things to take place. 1) Pakistan to comment. and 2) Bin Laden to comment.

When you're thinking with their brains. such groups/organizations have some pretty common theme of "claiming victory" through declaring responsibility. since the main reason for the operations they carry out is not the operation itself. it's usually something beyond it. the very old theme of using violence to acquire attention. even babies do it. soO I was positive that if it was Bin Laden, he'd absolutely claim responsibility. I mean, I would!!! I've just spanked the world's nastiest bully right on the back of its neck. buuut he didn't. he actually went like " I have no hand in what has happened in America today, however I bless those whom have done it". lol as if it was like an answered prayer of his or something. Uh btw, people in that business don't do eachothers favors. and well, fan clubs don't really release albumes do they?

And because I've seen it all coming, watching news was my daily torture. have you ever seen a movie where you know every single detail in advance? Uh I forgot to mention that it was a VERY unpleasant movie. hehe, self-destructive as I am, I started to gain weight steadily in the next couple of months. Oh that's an irrelevant detail.

Five years later, I still can't come up with the equation. there must be a winner there. I just can't point him/them out. the political earnings gained by both sides still sound utterly incomparable to the life loss. Oh let me show you something funny...

This is a video of David G. Weimortz. a marine soldier of the most honorable U.S. army. here, I sat back drinking my coffee and watching this low-life wanna-be talking about how shooting at people and getting shot at makes him "inspired". I'm watching the kind of worriors I've never expected to see, after all what I read about the history of wars. this is the kind of worriors video games brought out to life. I'm watching him crossing his legs and telling me how an Iraqi person is a sheep herder that could never be taught how to be strict and of any value in a blink of eye. simply because that Iraqi person is... what? aaah, a sheep herder. and then he goes again saying how "good" are those sheep herders. and then again saying that they are however "not passionate" about their freedom. what kind of freedom was he talking about? hell of freedom when I get raped and then shot in the head alongside all my family members!! oh yeah thumbs up for such freedom. finally, he felt very sorry for the atrocities of wars and his justification was "that they are part of the game". this video is rated mature content.

David died a couple of weeks ago. a side-road bomb caught him. but anyways, what the heck. it's only part of the game as he said. sorry David! had you asked me, I would have recommended you some cute video games as Medal Of Honor or something. when you die there buddy, you just reload. you wanted to be shot at David, and you have already accomplished all what you wanted through being in the marines. now that you have left us, while I find it soO pretty hard not to feel any remorse for you, I just can't help being sarcastic about what you've done to yourself. and what your cute government has thrown you into. farewell David! see you in the other life I hope.

We are so genius that we came up with the invention of war. Only the dead got to see the end of war Plato?? have they? really?
God Bless America!!

p.s. just read that the Iraqi government has shut down the office of Al Arabiya TV Channel. a couple of months after shutting down Aljazeera Channel office too. with the support of the "allies forces". simply because they broadcasted news as they are. no make up, no hypocrisy, just plain facts. oh the justification?? the government said that the channel provokes "Iraqi-Iraqi troubles". so much for the "democracy" that's supposed to spread and affect the upcoming generations David, buddy you died in vain, sorry to break it to you. But you died defending nothing but another tyrant dictator government, you died spreading nothing but your dirty unwashed clothes all over tv screens in Abu Ghareeb and its likes, you did not go as a hero, you sat no example, and you made not a single difference. buddy, they have fooled you into a death-trap. I'm however still glad that you've got your kick outa it, by shooting at people and getting shot at.
"FREEDOOOOOOOOM!"-- Um.. some movie

Su..Homicide

2006-08-16T21:59:00.001+02:00

"Let's talk boredom!" he whispered to himself " The feeling that whatever effort we're expressing to inspirate is worthless. that air doesn't really make lots of sense. is that boredom? or is it the lack of motivation? is there really a difference?"

He crossed his eyebrows, he usually looks funny when he does. staring at a bunch of people talking in zealth, he could even see them turning right before his eyesight into a bunch of sweaty bulldogs, with the saliva everywhere. He mumbled again " eloquence? a bullshit-decorated sense of grandeur. integrity? why should be there any? and what is it with that unkind girly walk both of us are taking down the aisle to that abyss you created for me? throw me already!"

Drowning in his own thoughts, he stood there watching the mingled arms and feet not fighting for anymore of his company. a ghost of a smirk gently crossed his mouth corner, but his eyes could never sparkle any brighter. it's the last time they will. He turned his back on that scene, and shuffled his feet for a few steps.

A bird orbitted a couple of times around him, then dispersed between the branches of a nearby tree. stood there staring at the lifeless body he's been orbitting. it must have been scary for the little creature to be there. it must have felt the life coming out of its little feathery wings.

"Posters shouldn't exist eithe....." he couldn't finish it. no one was there anymore.

Heat (when I was called anti-semitic)

2006-08-12T21:54:00.000+02:00

Hey y'all, wanna have a great summer? check it out!!
Aren't you just dying to be in a place like that? lol, I mean it's soO hot in here, I can barely tolerate my own skin on me.

that isn't a summer resort actually. no it isn't a 5 stars secluded place. you're looking at an Israeli refugees camp. isn't it just heart breaking?

a funny thing is, the government is only moving the Jews from the north of Israel. leaving the arabs behind, way to go for the "only democracy in the middle east" . *scratches head* if we are to call Israel- that religion-based state - a democracy, why are we not calling Iran the same?!?! the differences between Israel and Saudi Arabia for example are SO trivial that makes me laugh so hard. lmfao, you even get an Israeli nationality just if your momma was a Jew! how patriot is that!

On the other hand *stares at his other hand in indifference*, has anyone had a look on the

Palastinian refugees camps?? *giggles* no comment.

p.s. there are no democracies in the middle east. and guess what? it's working for everybody here. it seems democracy doesn't function well in here. I wonder if forcing democracy into another country is democractic enough?? *scratches head again* damn, this heat!

No Comment

2006-07-27T21:52:00.000+02:00