I would like to "educate" (inside joke) this song to Mr D (b. 26/04/1976 - d. 27/01/2004) who went down in a blaze of glory. Allah yarhamik, ya D.
The serious , the satirical & the somewhere inbetween !
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuareg Woman
(Source: www.worldgallery.co.uk/art-print/Young-Tuareg-Woman)I asked him how the Tuareg spent their time doing nothing.
He didn't reply for a long time. " We listen to the sounds," he said at length.
"To the silence?"
"There is never silence."
"But how do you stand having no books , no television, or internet?"
Fouad grinned. " When life is too quiet, we talk."
He didn't reply for a long time. " We listen to the sounds," he said at length.
"To the silence?"
"There is never silence."
"But how do you stand having no books , no television, or internet?"
Fouad grinned. " When life is too quiet, we talk."
- Tahir Shah, In Arabian Nights
Friday, January 22, 2010
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
American Voodoo
The Republic of Haiti is a Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago.
Earlier this week a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, with its epicentre 16 miles offshore west of the capital city Port-au-Prince, which was devastated. Thousands of people were killed, buildings, roads and sanitation systems destroyed. Thousands are injured and aid is waiting at airports due to bureaucracy and the total collapse of infrastructure.
One has to wonder what has made America jump to Haiti’s assistance with such gusto, after all even the millions of dying Somali’s didn’t make the US raise an eyelid. Not only has Batman (a.k.a Obama) made a move to action he has been joined by a double team of “robin’s” i.e. Bush and Clinton.
Haiti’s poverty is a result of its continuing colonisation by the US. Mostly in order to keep the slaves in their place, after all the down trodden have no right to liberate themselves, revolution is only allowed when white men are freeing themselves from other white men. The US has overthrown governments, financially backed Juntas and enforced a system whereby Haiti is just another forced ally in the American camp.
Interestingly enough the US lapdog (UK) has offered to meet whatever the UN pledges to Haiti.
The deal is that no amount of aid will solve a 95-year-old interference that has insured that poverty and dire economic situation and kept Haiti as a glorified sugar factory for the US.
So the moral of the story is that the aid has nothing to do with altruism and everything to do with hiding the suffering that the earthquake has compounded but the US has laid the foundation for, guilt helps … (after all Germans are still paying debts to Jews to this day).
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Stoning of Soraya M
I am a fan of Irani movies. I find that the ancient Persian art of storytelling is not lost, but rather, rediscovered in motion picture. The directors and filmotographers are unfraid to use their skills to address society's defects. I remember the sweet story, Children of Heaven, that was one of the first Irani movies to be screened in western cinemas since the Islamic revolution. The film-makers don't shy away from explicit scenes to tell their tales. Oftentimes, the story is told without the need for dialogue because the visual experience becomes so vivid to the viewer - where words fail, the eyes fulfil.
Since the debut screening in 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival of the cinematic adaptation of the best-selling book, The Stoning of Soraya M, I have been wanting to see the movie. It was banned in Iran due to its implied criticism of the Irani Judicial System and viewers elsewhere were warned of its graphic depiction of stoning. Film critics said that not since The Passion of the Christ had there been such an explicit scene of execution.
The story, based on actual events, is set in a tiny Irani village where unscrupulous men with devious intent manipulate the community into believing their contorted tales in a plot to malign an innocent woman, accusing her of immoral behaviour.
The accusers devise a nefarious plot to be rid of her. They slander her as a wanton woman and then stand as judge, jury and executioners. The weak community plays easily into the hands of the devious schemers - even her aged father and young sons turn on her and are the first to cast stones. The weak system leaves no hope for justice, no room for defence - as with most accusations of adultery, only the woman is considered guilty, regardless of her proof of innocence (and in this case she hasn't even committed any crime).
Sadly, the Islamic requirement for four witnesses to have seen the actual sexual act before any accusation of adultery can be made seems to be insignificant and the absolute absence of any Quranic prescript for stoning is ignored. The mercy and compassion of Allah is replaced by barbaric mob injustice and the teachings of tolerance of the Prophet (may peace be upon him) are replaced by slander and defamation.
The explicit depiction of the stoning is hauntingly disturbing and leaves one flabbergasted. I cannot fathom the state of mind one would have to be in to cast a stone and murderously knock the life out of a person. That would surely be the most decrepit state any human being could sink to! And to do so in the name of God is blasphemous! What is particularly striking in the movie (pardon the pun) is Soraya's composure as she is led to her death pit. She doesn't get hysterical at the news of the verdict and is almost unsurprised.
I wouldn't rate this movie as excellent but I think it is a must see for anyone who wants to understand the savagery of this style of execution.
Sensitive viewers be warned. Click play at your own discretion. I have also included the official trailer, which doesn't have the stoning scene. Please ignore the foolish commentary by fox news presenters (what an awful broadcaster) but that was the only clip of the stoning scene i found on youtube.
Since the debut screening in 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival of the cinematic adaptation of the best-selling book, The Stoning of Soraya M, I have been wanting to see the movie. It was banned in Iran due to its implied criticism of the Irani Judicial System and viewers elsewhere were warned of its graphic depiction of stoning. Film critics said that not since The Passion of the Christ had there been such an explicit scene of execution.
The story, based on actual events, is set in a tiny Irani village where unscrupulous men with devious intent manipulate the community into believing their contorted tales in a plot to malign an innocent woman, accusing her of immoral behaviour.
The accusers devise a nefarious plot to be rid of her. They slander her as a wanton woman and then stand as judge, jury and executioners. The weak community plays easily into the hands of the devious schemers - even her aged father and young sons turn on her and are the first to cast stones. The weak system leaves no hope for justice, no room for defence - as with most accusations of adultery, only the woman is considered guilty, regardless of her proof of innocence (and in this case she hasn't even committed any crime).
Sadly, the Islamic requirement for four witnesses to have seen the actual sexual act before any accusation of adultery can be made seems to be insignificant and the absolute absence of any Quranic prescript for stoning is ignored. The mercy and compassion of Allah is replaced by barbaric mob injustice and the teachings of tolerance of the Prophet (may peace be upon him) are replaced by slander and defamation.
The explicit depiction of the stoning is hauntingly disturbing and leaves one flabbergasted. I cannot fathom the state of mind one would have to be in to cast a stone and murderously knock the life out of a person. That would surely be the most decrepit state any human being could sink to! And to do so in the name of God is blasphemous! What is particularly striking in the movie (pardon the pun) is Soraya's composure as she is led to her death pit. She doesn't get hysterical at the news of the verdict and is almost unsurprised.
I wouldn't rate this movie as excellent but I think it is a must see for anyone who wants to understand the savagery of this style of execution.
Sensitive viewers be warned. Click play at your own discretion. I have also included the official trailer, which doesn't have the stoning scene. Please ignore the foolish commentary by fox news presenters (what an awful broadcaster) but that was the only clip of the stoning scene i found on youtube.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
If You Forget Me
I want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
Pablo Neruda
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
Pablo Neruda
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year?
Well on the second day, I must admit it’s far too early to tell don’t you think?
However when looking back at last year … I’m hoping that it can only get better. With unprecedented natural and manmade disasters in over supply during 2009 what hope is there that 2010 will be any different to humanities usual annual menu? There will be genocide and human trafficking, destruction of the atmosphere, disease, poverty and the after effects of decolonisation -terror and the like-.
The line up is starting to look pretty normal when compared to -lets say- the last 200 years… no? So once again the primordial question is raised… What remains to be positive about?
Well for one, globally there is more access to alternate information so people can have the pleasure of making up their own minds. 1st world bullshit becomes more and more apparent to the world. Community based programmes are taking back the power in every sphere from democracy to education. There remain tribes unconquered by modernisation in the Amazon. The ice caps haven’t turned into slush puppy yet. Some minds are still unconverted by mainstream capitalistic dogma and superficial pop-culture. Beauty can still be found in the most unassuming places… if you care to look and no matter how clichéd and pukey it may sound … everyday some one, somewhere finds love.
However when looking back at last year … I’m hoping that it can only get better. With unprecedented natural and manmade disasters in over supply during 2009 what hope is there that 2010 will be any different to humanities usual annual menu? There will be genocide and human trafficking, destruction of the atmosphere, disease, poverty and the after effects of decolonisation -terror and the like-.
The line up is starting to look pretty normal when compared to -lets say- the last 200 years… no? So once again the primordial question is raised… What remains to be positive about?
Well for one, globally there is more access to alternate information so people can have the pleasure of making up their own minds. 1st world bullshit becomes more and more apparent to the world. Community based programmes are taking back the power in every sphere from democracy to education. There remain tribes unconquered by modernisation in the Amazon. The ice caps haven’t turned into slush puppy yet. Some minds are still unconverted by mainstream capitalistic dogma and superficial pop-culture. Beauty can still be found in the most unassuming places… if you care to look and no matter how clichéd and pukey it may sound … everyday some one, somewhere finds love.
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