Friday, August 31, 2007

Opression and Resistance.




Sometimes, as well as writing, one has to listen to the words of others.

The following was written by Dr. Dahlia Wasfi .

This Iraqui american woman is a speaker and activist.
Born in the United States to an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, she lived in Iraq as a child, returning to the U.S. at age 5. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Biology in 1993 and earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Dr. Wasfi has made two trips to Iraq since the 2003 “Shock and Awe” invasion to visit her extended family. She returned from a three month stay in Basrah in March 2006. On April 27, 2006, she testified at a Congressional Forum to provide her eyewitness account of life in Iraq. Based on her experiences, Dr. Wasfi is speaking out in support of immediate, unconditional withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the need to end the occupation “from the Nile to the Euphrates.”
Her website is www.liberatethis.com.

Here is an excerpt from a recent article.







And do you know what Iraqis are saying? I don’t speak Arabic, but I can translate for you. They’re saying, “Get out!” They’re saying, “NO way - you’re staying for 60 years.” They’re saying, “Get your oil the old-fashioned way - pay for it!” And why are they saying this? Because they have a dignity and self-respect rooted in 7000 years of civilization.
Iraq is the center of Arab nationalism. Actually, this is what my father says, and I would argue that my father is the center of Arab nationalism. Modern-day Iraqis are the descendents of ancients who devised the first system of writing, the 24-hour day, the bases of mathematics, law, science and medicine. Once corrupt American corporations, the U.S. military, and its death squads, prisons, and bombings are out of the picture, true reconstruction by Iraqis can and will begin.

Perhaps we don’t embrace the Iraqi resistance because its fighters are killing American soldiers. What other choice have we given them? From Vietnam to Lebanon to Somalia to Iraq, we have taught our victims around the world that the only way to effect a change in American foreign policy is to spill American blood.

The full article can be read by clicking on to the title of this page.

Incidentally, a firm thankyou to "Today in Iraq", a website found within the "links" part of this blog.
Given that soon, the world will soon be getting the american "Report from Iraq", this article represents another side, a balance if you like, to the grim picture that has been crafted by the neocon warmongers of Washington.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Sad, sick, subordinate.



Many years from now, people will ask.. Who were the neocons, who were the architects of war , never ending war.
Who were they, who wished to seize control of the middle east, and ultimately the whole world. With a single currency, a single set of laws and all ruled by one group.
With names like Abrams,Feith, Kristol, Perle, Wolfowitz, Zakheim...

One thing I do know, they sure as fuck don`t sound like no fucking mexican names to me.
(Respect to Carlos Latuff, for his cartoons and forthright stance on Iraq are an inspiration.)

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Every distance is not near.




Bob Dylan wrote that ...

They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

I guess the song means different things to each of us, as does a lot of art.
Geography is like art, isn`t it? The world itself could be considered the ultimate artistic creation..
Ask the average person, ask yourself even:

"How far away is Africa?" In terms of miles? From Spain?


11 miles. Just eleven miles. People and goods travel back and forth daily in small boats, large boats, airplanes, and already, there are plans and contracts in place to drive a rail tunnel under the straights of Gibraltar.
Progress indeed, direct train links from Casablanca to Copenhagen, from Marrakech to Moscow.
By hydrofoil, even now the journey takes only a few minutes, from the "Enlightened West", to the "Dark Continent".

Perhaps one could be forgiven for thinking that after leaving "Caucasian" Europe, that suddenly all those whose homes are made in Africa are dark-skinned, and given to nomadic herding and tribal living.
No, not at all, though as one travels towards the South of Morocco, skin tone darkens, and almost magical encounters begin with Bedouin and other tribes people.



"Mealtime in Morocco"



The University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco is the oldest university in the world with its founding in 859.

One should note also that the people of Morocco are not physically dissimilar to those of Portugal and Southern Spain.
As is well chronicled, Portugal and Spain were both a part of the Moorish Empire (from the eighth `till the fifteenth century.)

Often hidden from history is the interaction at that time between the Celts of Western Europe and the Moors of the Barbary coast. Many are the "red haired Algerian", or the "dark-skinned Spaniard".

Slaves were captured and traded between the Seafarers of North Africa and medieval Europe, amongst sailors and the peasantry, there was at times little formality in the question of procreation.
As often as not, a case of lust and opportunity , rather than love and marriage.

Absolutely nothing to do with governments or religion, just good old-fashioned animalistic procreation.

So it seems (imo) a good thing that the Moroccans have begun the process of application to the European Union. Perhaps Algeria will follow suit, I understand Libya is also interested, and that the Turks are well on the way to joining up.
Is there a downside? Is all this a plot to produce a single global government/currency? Who are these people who wish to see the Political and Social union of Africa and Europe?
Should my taxes help to fund the infrastructure/people of the "third world"?

Well it`s fine by me. Beter than war isn`t it?
After all, the human race originated in Africa, it is the ancestral home of every human being on this planet.
Africa is my long-ago ancestral home, your home, we should care for it, nourish it and protect it.




The picture shows part of the Al Karaouine university and Mosque, which still serves the population of Fes.
Bless `em all, Amdullah.