Waiting for "Mr.Goodbar."

I vaguely remember the title of this film. It was “Looking for Mr.Goodbar”, starring Diane Keaton, if I recall correctly.

Another neurotic, desperate, dependent, insecure, American “woman”, looking for love in all the wrong places... An emotional survival story.

I've read a lot of your so-called emotional survival stories...

Your dog dies, and you seek emotional survival by either sleeping with the first pretender or you are stuck in therapy for another 5 years.

You lose your job and there you go, acting out, fucking around as if there is no tomorrow...

You grandparent or parent dies and ditto, you recourse to the same...

Your twin towers collapse and ditto again – you have been in therapy ever since.

Your therapist is very understanding, after all you pay him/her over 200 dollars an hour and she/he pats you on the back and tells you it’s ok, it’s nothing but a phase of grief...don’t punish yourself, you are just trying to heal...

How very touching indeed.

You the puritanical, hallelujah, people trying to heal through anonymous sex, your mechanical, instant gratification sex.

Reminds me of some Italian friend of mine who said to me years ago. He said “Layla, people fuck the way they eat." I thought about that for a while and came to the conclusion that your way is nothing but junk just like your junk food.

No wonder two cents worth, quacks and charlatan gurus, from India visit you and promise you “opened chakras and spiritual sex” and you pay hefty dollars, serving them and waiting for the inspiration to finally fall on your little putrid heads. You may also, eventually, join an ashram later on and write a book about it. So noble !

Actually, I can say to you without sounding presumptuous that you know absolutely nothing about sex.

I mean hell, look at your diet to start with, and the way you eat. And that even includes, you-- little preppy vegetarians.

It’s the mentality. You have the mentality of a teenager when it comes to love and sex...And you have the mentality of a blas矇 but still hopeful consumer when it comes to “doing it.”

Well, I have news for you – your shitty, sick, neurotic, mentality has pervaded us. But, with a slight difference. We have no therapists, no gurus and no fad diet to fall back onto.

Quite the opposite in fact. But hey, we have also become sexually liberated.

We have done what you cannot do for yourselves, despite years of bra-burning, chakra mantra-singing and group sex therapy under Guru supervision.

We are also looking for Mr. Goodbar. But we found him. A question of survival.

UNCHR the very “respected“ agency that deals with refugees (and I find myself spelling it out for you since you are so behind and ignorant in everything) calls it “Survival Sex.”

I am sure this term turns you on – after all you have been trying it for years since your sexual liberation and it has not borne any fruits. Well maybe, just maybe, you think to yourself, it will bear fruit in Iraq.

Well, it did. Pat yourselves on the back. “Democracy” and “survival sex.”
What better combo can one wish for ?

Survival sex is rampant not only inside Iraq but also outside.

It happens in alley ways, around shrines, in dirty beds and in bars...Bars in Syria and Jordan.

They are all waiting for Mr.Goodbar.

But contrary to your Hollywood star, they are not there to heal from some relationship gone emotionally sour. Oh no.

They are there to make a bit of money to feed their hungry sisters and brothers waiting for them in some damp, dirty, cockroach ridden, room - where they are all amassed, one on top of the other, hungry and waiting...

Hungry and exiled because of YOU and YOUR fucking democracy. And this is exactly what it boils down to -- a fucking democracy.

Some of them are as old your teenagers - with one major difference.

They are forced into it whilst your teenagers produce videos of it on you tube, counting hits for the highest number of viewers.

Your teenagers will seek therapy eventually. After several miscarriages, unwanted pregnancies, failed marriages and a string of boyfriends and probably end up in some rehab talking about it in a "meaningful sharing way.”

Our teenagers, on the other hand, forced into it by YOU, will remain stigmatized for the rest of their lives and they can already kiss their future goodbye. They have no future.


So tell me, is that not criminal ?

So tell me, does that not make you a complicit criminal people?

Our teenagers prior to their “liberation” did not need to seek survival sex.

They did not need to sit in bars in skimpy dresses waiting for the Mr. who will alleviate the hunger pangs of a whole family.

Did not need to put make up and score the highest number of hits.

Your teenagers do. You brought them up that way. They are your product, from your society.

And you have made sure to export it all to us. Your junk food, your deadly arms, your lousy English (and accent), your neurosis, your perversions, your idioms, your ways and your “survival sex.”

Survival sex in the era of exported democracy – Great title for a smashing Hollywood film or a best seller book.

Survival sex, the Iraqi-American version.

Survival Sex and Mr.Goodbar.

Survival Sex and Mr.Good Democracy.

Good, very good - 10 $ a shot.

No make it 20$- I have a hungry family.

Ok, says Mr.Goodbar, take 20$.

A 20$ shot democracy.

That is what your democracy is worth on the market – but even then, that is too inflated...

I say, you Americans, are not even worth that much.

I am not sure that will necessarily help you in your therapy, but hell, seeing what you are really worth, at least you can bargain your therapist’s fees – down...

While...Your hungry, sad, neurotic, despondent, dependent, women and daughters, are desperately looking and waiting for their Mr.Goodbars.


Painting: Iraqi artist, Abdel Ameer Alwan.

Hot news from Baghdad.

I doubt you have read or seen the following in your mainstream media, but here goes...

Yesterday, the American occupation forces sealed and fortified with more men and guns the "sooooneeeeee" neighborhood of Adhamiya. Do let me know when you people will learn to pronounce correctly.

The story goes -- Huge gatherings and demonstrations took place in the Adhamyia ghetto to commemorate. Yes, huge crowds of Iraqis gathered, braving your smelly brave boys and their deadly arsenal to remember the leader and president of Iraq - Saddam Hussein - who turned this country into a jewel in less than 30 years and that you destroyed in less than 5.

In the Sayydiyah neighborhood, your smelly brave boys arrested not less than 120 people, for commemorating too. A lot of children and women were part of those arrested.

On another hopeful note, rumors circulating in Baghdad say that Al-Maliki was shot hence his urgent transfer to London. Can't confirm it but it is a piece of very good omen for 2008, if true.

Concerning the Iraqi delegation visiting Teheran next week, and amending a "few clauses" in the Algiers treaty - this is what is on the agenda- according to circulating news.

- Handing over of the Majnoon island (very rich in oil) to Iran.
- Handing over the whole of Shatt Al-Arab (and that means Basrah too) to Iran and renaming it Shatt Al-Furs (Furs means Persian in Arabic)
- Discussing how much "reparations" and "compensations" Iraq will pay to Iran for the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988)


Fancy that eh ?

Americans have not only brought an Iranian theocracy to Iraq under the cover of "democracy" but Iraqi wealth (lands, oil and money) will be pouring even more into the Iranian economy.

What more proof do you need that the current Iraqi government is serving the interests of not only America (Israel) but also Iran ?

Why does the OBVIOUS elude you so ?

Absence...

A short post on "Absence" on the other Uncensored blog.

Addendum to my last post

Just heard it now -- seems American occupation troops are on "high alert" tonight and tomorrow and the day after -- just in case "something" takes place in memory of the 30th of December - the day that President Saddam Hussein was lynched in an American- Iranian/Shia-sectarian morbid setting.

On another note, an Iraqi delegation will be sent next week to Iran - to ratify "a few clauses" in the Algiers agreement of 1975.

What will they do? Add the whole of Basrah to Shatt al-Arab and hand it over to Iran?
and give Basrah the official title of an Iranian province ?

On yet another note but all related - Muqtada Al-Sadr sent a delegation to Kerbala today to ratify a few "local laws."

Kerbala has its own laws it seems...

Welcome to the disunited statelets of Iraq.

A one way ticket -- hopefully

Al Jazeera announced that Iraqi P.M (hahaha) Al-Maliki is on his way to London for a "routine medical examination."

Roads to Iraq (via Uruknet.info), heard on another TV channel, Al-Sharqiya, that a permission was sought from his family - "Why is he unconscious?" she rightfully asks.

I ask another question, why on the 29th of December, one day before the murder of the late President Saddam Hussein ?

Is Maliki really unconsciously ill ?
or
Does he want to spend New's Year's eve with Gordon Brown?
or
Something is being prepared in the coming days?

In any event, one sure conclusion to draw, Iraq is a public health hazard, and what Maliki the sectarian shia shit and his Dawa party sowed, they will definitely reap.

Let's just pray it shall be a one way ticket -- to Hell.

Other Blog- uncensored and non kosher...

As tacitly agreed, with a few of you--namely JR and a few unamed others--I have just published something "new" on the other blog. Your "comments" will be accepted here and I shall have a good laugh.

And the "Show" goes on...

Conquer, divide, split and fragment. Pit one against the other and one against the same...

Yesterday’s foes are today’s friends, and today’s friends are tomorrow’s enemies...
And the show goes on...

I have been reading extensively about the Sunni Awakening Council, the new Sunni- Kurdish rapprochement, the Sunni–Sunni tensions, the Shia–Shia conflicts...

I have also been reading the so-called analyses circulating.

A lot of them are bullshit, as usual...

They all seem to miss the essential crucial point, the core essence, the crux of the matter and you don’t have to be a wiz in sociology and politics to figure that one out.
Namely, that:

- in the absence of a functional representative State,
- following the dismemberment of all political and civil institutions,
- in the wake of over 5 years of a condensed, concentrated, violence that has totally DESTROYED the country,
- with a massive exodus and a massive death rate
- with a continuous, debilitating, provoked poverty, and an unemployment rate of over 70% and over 50% of the population cannot afford to eat,
- with over 100’000 in jails, and a X number of disappeared
- with the total destruction of all the infrastructural system – the DELIBERATE destruction.
- when basics like water, electricity and fuel are still not available,
- when hospitals are non functional, when universities are ransacked and closed, when corruption is contagiously rampant...


With all of the above – it is simply not possible to talk of a FAILED STATE, what you need to address is the real issue – a NON-EXISTENT STATE in a country with no boundaries and no more structures.

You need to address the real issue, that of the breaking up of the country and its fragmentation. And the more a country fragments the more you will see walls being erected. And the more you will see some sort of local governance on a community/neighborhood basis...

Surely those 600’000 americans and their contractors and death squads did not come for a holiday. They had a mission...And that mission was exactly what I enumerated above. DESTROY.

So when all the conditions are created, provoked and grouped together they lead to one obvious socio-political reaction.

When the state disintegrates or is willfully destroyed, people fall back on religion and their sect, their neighborhood, their tribes. In other words, they hang on to the points of reference, the anchors they know best and they can trust.

It is called SURVIVAL. And Iraqis have been doing nothing and operating on nothing but SURVIVAL.

So those who pontificate and argue that the seeds of sectarianism/tribalism were already present in Iraq since the times of the British or those who hold the argument that in over 30 years, the Iraqi State had failed to form a national identity... And that after all, what is happening now is a natural consequence of those already existing divisions.

These same ones “forget” to mention that all those who fought on the basis of a “national identity “ as opposed to sect, tribe, or ethnicity were either killed or are in prisons, under the pretext of insurgency and terrorism... And starting with, the previous legitimate leaders of Iraq. Something a lot of you seem to gloss over very easily.


It is mind boggling that these called analysts have not only understood nothing but are also in total denial of the massive, previously unheard of, unseen volume of destruction that Americans have wrought (and continue doing) in Iraq.

Imagine for one moment that any other multi ethnic/sect country has known the same amount of violence and destruction, and let us take for example the U.S.

Imagine all of your government being decimated (not a bad thing in your case, I admit), imagine thousands of foreign troops, contractors, militias, death squads, mercenaries roaming around your streets. Imagine you have no water and no electricity for over 4 years now. Imagine nothing functions anymore. Imagine you are evicted from your home. Imagine you are exiled. Imagine your kids and parents killed. Imagine you lost your job and your unemployment rate is well over 80%. Imagine there is a quisling government that took over the White house and who speaks Zulu as opposed to English, imagine your universities, banks, schools, hospitals ransacked and closed. Imagine...

I can bet you anything that in no time the Protestants will pit against the Catholics, the Whites against the Blacks, the Blacks against the Asians, the Asians against the Hispanics and the Hispanics against the Arabs...

Then add to that, special squads and forces whose sole aim is to ignite those tensions until they flare up...and Imagine what you will get.


In any society there are always tensions and low level conflicts between different groups be it religious, ethnic or racial...And a relatively healthy state juggles with these tensions and channels them appropriately either through representations, or interest/pressure groups...etc.

In Iraq there is NO MORE STATE. Is that too difficult to understand?

And when there is no more central state, you can create several small ones.

And who do you bring to rule these small states ? Your devotees naturally.

So when some of you start their pontificating, do remember that basic FACT. And exercise a little intelligence before spurting out your theories...

So, I said it before and I will say it again — It’s the American(and British and Iranian) occupation, stupid !



Painting : Iraqi artist, Kathem Al-Dakheel.

Holiday Blues...

I think last Christmas and this one are the worst I have ever experienced...

I did not celebrate the Eid, and will not be celebrating Christmas either. There is nothing to celebrate.

Thousands of lambs have been slaugthered, and the blood of Jesus has not stopped dripping by the gallons.

I did not even dare call the Christian side of the family and wish them anything.
I just sent a message with "God protect us all."

I know that Christmas is a difficult time for a few people. Different reasons.
Family gatherings are not always pleasurable, they may bring back memories of a family one had always wished was different...Some people don't even have a family to celebrate with. And some have been in grief for what seems like an eternity, and they no longer have the heart for anything, anymore...

I belong to the last category. Not only me, but most of the people I know, at least most of the people that surround my little world.

My little world that has shrunk to the computer and minimal contact with the outside. The mental and physical ghetto like existence...where all the bridges have been burned and where we are all hanging by a thread...

Frankly, even writing this is too difficult for me...my fingers force themselves on that keyboard, only because the words have been knocking wanting to get out...

I play little games with myself. For instance I promise myself that today, I will not watch the news, read them or talk to anyone that might tell me yet another story of despair...Sometimes I pledge not to approach this computer either...Not to open my mail, not to read the comments, not to...

I have fantasies of a button that I can switch off, but it's only a fantasy.

Reality has become a second skin...And one would have hoped that by now, that skin would have thickened into something rough, but alas that is not the case.

All is still raw and will remain raw for a long time. Dictates of a Reality from which there is no escape, unless I start mastering the perfect art of Denial, which quite a lot of you are very proficient in.

I guess it is a little too late in my case.

I was talking to an Iraqi friend the other day and he said to me he was very unhappy, chronically unhappy...And he added "lucidity is not helping me either."
I guess you don't have that problem. I envy you.


My mother is also going through the same...She is silent most of the time and I caught her, on more than one occasion, crying on her praying mat. She misses home. She feels lost...Me too, I feel lost. We all feel lost.

The other day we were watching a T.V program on Iraq, and usually around her, I try to measure my words, but that day I was not vigilant enough and blurted out
"Iraq is finished, they finished Her off."

She turned towards me with supplicating eyes and said "I beg of you, don't ever say that again."

We are constantly fooling ourselves with words...with sentences that we carefully and elaborately construct, twisting and turning around ideas and phrases so as to avoid saying the unspoken, that truth that no one wants to hear and that no one dares to utter...

Yes, we are hanging by a thread.

Some family members are still in prison and we still don't know what the charges are and if they are alive or dead. Others have disappeared with no news. Others are scattered and their homes destroyed. Friends have vanished. And my little palm tree died, so I was told. And another 5 trees have died. No water. Still no water, no electricity and no fuel...

We are praying for rain now, rain from the skies to quench the thirst...that thirst, those so many levels of thirst...


The soldiers came around again, the Americans ones, and they broke Radhee's door again. This time they found something. They opened the fridge and saw a dozen bottles of Pepsi Cola.

"What for this Coke? Who are you entertaining? You live here alone with your wife, why do you need 12 bottles of soda?"
"I have grandchildren that might visit me for the Eid" Radhee said.
"Well, they won't."

And the soldiers took the bottles of Pepsi and drank them.
The little pleasures that Radhee kept for his grandchildren...just in case they dared to come to his walled neighborhood...

The little things and the big things have become interchangeable, mixed...and the lines have become blur.

Little things become big things and Radhee who hardly ever complained when he lost his job, lost his son, lost his sister, lost his nephew, broke in tears because of the soda bottles...

And the big things, like the kidnapping of someone very close and his disappearance is met with a stoic silence and frozen faces...

The lines have become very blur but they all draw the one and same thing --Occupation.

Occupied in summer, fall, winter and spring. Occupied in the Eid and in Christmas. Occupied.

We have all become prisoners, one way or the other...The inside and the outside meet and they point to that same Reality.

Even those of us who went as far as they can go like Hala who ended up at age 65 in the U.S not knowing anyone...

I finally got news from her. She is forced to work in a supermarket for over 9 hours a day. She has no car. So she relies on a neighbor to take her to work and back. She has a meagre salary of 1'500 dollars a month. After tax and paying her rent and her "refugee fees", she is left with 200 dollars to eat.

In that supermarket, she spends the whole day in the "freezer room" taking out food stuffs...she is freezing all the time. She has become frozen. And the only thing that gives her warmth is when she gets home and cries herself to sleep.
"My tears warm me up" she says.

Miles away and she is a prisoner too. A prisoner like the rest of us. A prisoner of " Liberation, Freedom and Democracy."

You see, each one of us lives in a walled existence. The walls are everywhere, on the inside, on the outside. Inside our heads and around our hearts and...outside our windows.

It has all become very blur, blurred lines for a blurred existence, a tunnel existence...


And as this Iraqi Christian woman said, talking about Christmas.

"I do not see any light at the end of this tunnel. It's a very, very dark one.
As long as there is no strong leader and government that knows how to take control, the chaos and terror will go on and on. You will see." (article here)


And there was a strong leader but now he's gone. Gone a few days after Christmas and gone right before the New Year and gone on the day of the Eid.

Who can replace him and bring back things the way they were ? Who will control the chaos and the terror?

It's very blur and very somber...It's beyond just a passing mood of Holidays blues.
You will see...



Painting: Iraqi artist, Kathem Al-Dakheel

Articles in Spanish.

Here are my posts translated in Spanish - for those who are interested.

A big thank you to Sinfo Fernandez and to Rebelion.org.


http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=60950

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=60914

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=60596

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=58996

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=58648

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=58490

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=58403

Cassandra's New Year's Wish...

Just heard it now, Condi Rice is full of good wishes for the Middle East.

The statement just issued on her behalf says to the effect that the U.S does not wish to see any more turmoil in this region. That it extends its "friendly" hands to Syria and Iran and primes diplomacy over war.

Condi Rice also assured the Palestinians that her administration is very eager to find a long lasting solution to the 60 years old Palestinian problem (to which her country contributed greatly...)

How nice for all of you of "good faith."

In other words, Condi is saying Iran and Syria thank you for having helped us dismantle the only Arab country that posed a real (in pre-sanctions years) and potential threat to Israel (should Saddam Hussein still be alive)...

What Condi Rice is telling the Arabs is that America and the West in general do not fear rogue states and theocracies loyal to it.

After all, Israel is a Jewish theocracy, Iran is a Shia theocracy and Saudi Arabia a Sunni theocratic monarchy... And the rest are nothing but little rogue statelets hanging in a limbo...

And Egypt, who was called "Umm al Duniya" (mother of the world) by the Egyptians has turned into another satellite American TV station...

What Condi Rice is really telling the Arabs is that Arab nationalism and any true Arab identity is the real enemy of the U.S. Hence the destruction of Iraq and its fragmentation into sects and its turning it into a Shia theocracy is exactly what America and the Western world had hoped for...

On a side note but still related, I find the following very interesting and more than coincidental - namely that both puppet governments in Iraq and Afghanistan have called for a continued American presence in the region.

Maliki from the Shia Dawa party, so called P.M of Iraq and an Iranian at heart and by residence, good friends with Ahmadinajad, has called for the Americans to remain in his new theocracy for another 10 years.

and

Karzai the Afghani puppet helped into power thanks to Iranian intervention in Afghanistan along with the American "war on terror" and very good friends with Ahmadinajad has also asked the Americans to stay in the region for another 10 years.


Those of you, any of you who still refuse to see this bigger picture with all of its ramifications, consequences and conclusions -- are nothing but part of Cassandra's messengers and chorus...


Painting : Egyptian artist, George Bahjori.

Xmas Greetings...

I have it fresh for you guys...

While you are doing your Xmas decoration and writing good wishes cards...
While you are on your usual bulimia of shopping and stuffing your frigdes and cupboards with more...
While you are arranging your, oh so sweet green Xmas tree and arranging for your Santa to stuff socks for your kids with all kind of goodies... How nice, how generous!
Stuff the socks and stuff the turkey, eat, drink and be merry...

Why not indeed. You deserve it. You are such a good people, with such a great conscience. Who could really say otherwise?

Well got news for you fellow "humans", I can say otherwise...

The latest figures from UNICEF on the children of Iraq reads as follows:

- 2 Million Iraqi kids this month are DIRECTLY threatened by disease, illiteracy, violence and famine.

- 25'000 kids are displaced each month and are susceptible to getting killed .

and do not forget the Bingo, Jackpot, Luck charm number for your holiday seasons,

-5 Million Iraqi kids are orphaned . OK Let me spell it for you again. ORPHANED. That means, they lost BOTH parents.


So when you are busy stuffing yourselves with more and more, remember those figures, for they are of YOUR doing. Yes, you read me right- Your own doing.

And since you are such forward planners and visionaries with agendas full with your 5 and 10 year plans and you can supposedly think and see beyond your navel and nose, do take 5 minutes of your precious time and envisage what the future of Iraq will look like with these numbers...

And do say hello to your lovely little ones will you ?!

And oops, I nearly forgot to wish it - Happy, happy, Xmas to the "civilized" world.


Painting: Iraqi artist, Fakhir Mohammadawee.

My Eid Celebration.

Thanks to all of you who sent me their Eid Greetings. They are much appreciated but please, don’t anymore.

I am not celebrating. I did not celebrate last year nor will I celebrate this year.

Some relatives called me to give me their good wishes. I said "thank you, same to you." End of conversation.

My mother nagged me to come and greet the visitors who poured in all day. I said "Am busy." End of conversation.

My brother called. “Sis, happy Eid.“ I said, “Oh, really?”

Am not celebrating. Will not celebrate. Refuse to celebrate. Make a point not to celebrate. Am on strike. Yes, am on strike.

And my strike is even more meaningful for this is the first time since “our liberation” that the sectarian Shiites from Iran, in charge of “running” the "Iraqi" government as per the directives of Teheran, Washington and Tel Aviv, decided to celebrate it the same days as the Sunnis.

How come you may ask? Last year they made it a point to celebrate it one day later. On a Saturday instead of the Friday.

Friday was reserved for their offerings of the lamb to their savage god. How can I forget that Friday ?
Now that the lamb was slaughtered according to their precise sacrificial ritual, why should their be a point of contention with the Sunnis?

After all, the Sunnis have been pacified through a massive campaign of spring cleaning. There are no more Sunnis to contend with.

So yes, by all means let us celebrate with them the same day, to show how much the surge is working. A typical, cheap ploy from the slaves of Teheran.

Let no one be fooled. There are no more Sunnis left. We are either in exile or dead.


Last year’s Eid offering is still too fresh in my mind.
It has been raw fresh in my mind throughout the whole year. And will remain raw fresh in my mind for the remaining of my living days.

The images will never leave me. They have become my emblem, my tattoo, my reference, my signposts, my direction, the before and after line...

They have become my wall, my gun and my pen...

How can I forget? How can anyone with an ounce of dignity forget?

And whilst some of you, leftists, anti-war supporters, sent me emails wishing me a “happy new dawn” and others promised “no tears“ for the Hero... My country is burning.

And while the Man, the Leader, who contributed to bringing this country out of the darkness of colonialism, tribal and sectarian backwardness was being hanged, being lynched by the Americans and those same sectarian Shiites and Kurdish thugs you keep on defending and defending the lies that you concocted for your “case”...
My country is still burning.

And you want me to celebrate?

And you ask me why I have no respect for you ?
You are not worthy of my respect.
You are as criminal as the killers you supposedly oppose.


No. The unedited images will never leave me.

I will never forget those present that Eid.

I will not forget the heads of the killing militias and their cohorts...
Abdel Aziz Al-Hakeem of the Badr Brigades, Muwafak Al-Rubaie of the Dawa party, the American embedded journalists specially invited for the occasion, the Zionist Kurdish reps while "the president" Talabani was in Paris at the Georges V eating caviar, drinking champagne and watching it from his "presidential" suite, the Ambassador of Iran and last but not least Muqtada Al-Sadr and his torturer men of Jaysh Al-Mahdi.

No, I will not forget and I will not forgive.

I will not forget the Man in the black suit and the white shirt, still handsome and still dignified despite months in a damp American prison cell.
I will not forget that smile.
I will not forget the baby steps because chained at the ankles and chained at the wrists.

Him, who freed this Iraq from corruption, criminality, social injustice, underdevelopment, backwardness...
Him who called for the freedom of nations from American and Zionist tyranny.
Him who for ever called for a free Palestine till his last breath.
Him who called for the people of the world to stand up in dignity and honor and assume their rightful role and place whatever their race, creed or nationality...

And above all, I will not forget those eyes. Eyes he refused to cover...Unlike the rest of you who have not removed those veils.

I will not forget the shouts, “Muqtada ,Muqtada“ as that big fat rapist was drooling whilst tying the noose around the neck of the Man who tried to turn those sectarian Shiites and their sheep followers into human beings.

Turn them into human beings by providing them, with every single opportunity to evolve, educationally, politically, professionally, economically, socially...but they prefer to remain sheep. The sheep of their Ayatollahs and mullahs...
Sheeps of their dark clerics. Forfeiting their God given freedom and selling their souls...

No. I will not forget.

I will not forget one of the sectarian Shiite thugs, supposedly a prosecutor or some lawyer. I will not forget his traditional 3 days short beard and his shining silver ring from Qum.
The same ring that Maliki, Jaafari, Solagh, Muqtada Al –Sadr, Al- Rubaie, Al- Sistani, Al- Khameini, Ahmadinajad, Khatemi, Rafsandjani, Fadlallah, Nasrallah...that same silver ring of the freemasons from Iran.
I will not forget him being carried on the shoulders on his sheep, his supporters. Being carried with applause, while the President of the FREE Republic of Iraq was laying on a white sheet and his neck exposed for all to see.

Exposed with a gaping wound still bleeding. A gaping wound, right where the butcher pierces the knife when slaughtering the lambs for the Eid.

No. I will not forget the bruises on the face and the neck for having been kicked and danced around before and after this cowardly slaughter. This cowardly slaughter you anti-war shits watched with amusement, the same way your criminals Bush and Blair watched the slaugthers and tortures of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib.

And you tell me to be grateful for my “new democracy”?

No. I will not forget.

I will not forget how I screamed, hysterically screamed, when I saw what I saw. And I am not a Baathist, nor was Saddam Hussein my relative. But he was and is the Father of this nation. This nation that you have not ceased to rob, rape, destroy and kill...

No. I will not forget.

How can I forget the fruits of your labor?

How can I forget the ruins, the agonizing earth, the polluted waters with sewage and dead bodies, the scorched fields, the destroyed churches and minarets, the dying palm trees...the cancer patients from your depleted Uranium. The burned civilians from your white phosphorus...

No. I will not forget.

How can I forget my home? How can I forget the land of my ancestors, my grandparents, my father, my mother...How can I forget my roots? How can I forget what forged me and forged my destiny ?
How can I forget being forged in the molding, brazen fire of your hatred ?

No. I will not forget.

How can I forget the dreams you ripped away from me ? How can I forget the hopes you trampled on? How can I forget the little illusions I had left that you shattered ?
Leaving me as raw as that gaping wound...laying on that white sheet...

And you applauded and celebrated.

Leaving me as bleeding as that sacrificial lamb, tied by its hands and feet with chains.

And you applauded and celebrated.

The chains of your oppression. The chains of your tyranny. The chains of your dictatorship. The chains of your injustice.

No. I will not forget.

I will not forget the 5 million innocent little ones you turned into orphans.
I will not forget the millions of widows clad in black.
I will not forget the bodies dumped in the garbage piles and bloated until their intestines protruded from their mouths...I will not forget the dogs munching away at them.
I will not forget the screams of Abu Ghraib. I will not forget its red, brown and white tainted floors. Colored with blood, feces and semen.
I will not forget the raped, mutilated, decapitated, burned, women lying on the street corners...
I will not forget the bruises, the drill holes, the eyes gouged out, the smell of death everywhere...

No. I will not forget.

I will not forget your mass graves where over 1 million of us are sleeping quietly still wondering why...
I will not forget the prisons where 100’000 of us are still perishing...
I will not forget your detention camps where our small ones are being sodomized...
I will not forget the 4 million of us in exile, in the cold...

No. I will not forget.

I will not forget your insults, your slurs, your humiliations, your faces, your voices, your names...No. I will never forget.

There is so much more...

You have saturated me with human cries that have reached the heavens and you have remained unmoved.
You have flooded me with tears and you have remained like dry corpses.
You have filled me up with your hatred, like a bottom less recipient and you keep pouring more in...

How can I forget ?

How can I forget that you have turned my Iraq into one huge gravestone that no one visits and no one prays over?

No. I am not celebrating this Eid. Nor the one after. Nor the one after that...

My Eid celebration is when Iraq will become free again.

By the blood of the innocent that inundated this city,
By the tears that washed its pavements,
By the cries that were elevated like prayers,
By the Sacrificial Lamb on that first day of the Eid,
Iraq will be free again.


Painting : Iraqi artist, Qais Al-Sindi. "The Iraqi Flag in 2007"

Iraq - Grandeur & Destruction. Part II

Planting the seeds of Division.


This is a continuation on my previous post . For those of you who are new to this blog, please read part I first.

As I tried to demonstrate with facts – that none can dispute – Iraq from 1958 onwards, right up to the 80’s, and despite the Iran-Iraq war, managed to build itself into a Nation State.

As I said, the bulk of this nation building was done under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Again, like it or not.

In order to understand what was later to unfold, I ask you to keep that concept of “nation state” at the back of your minds. Only then will you understand the dismemberment of Iraq as it insidiously, gradually took place and culminated in a full blown occupation in 2003.

Before tackling the sanctions years which I believe I have already covered in past writings – I would like to cover briefly the Iran-Iraq war.

This can be considered a separate chapter by itself, independently from the rest, but as I will try to demonstrate, this is not the case. The Iran war saw its continuation- by other means in today’s Iraq.

Some brief historical information:

Saddam Hussein came to power in 1968 and consolidated his role that culminated in his being the President of the Iraqi Republic in 1979.

Khomeini was exiled by the Shah and took up refuge in Nejaf/Iraq from 1964 to 1978.

A treaty was signed between the Shah of Iran and Iraq in 1975 and referred to as the Treaty of Algiers. This treaty of truce and I say truce not peace, contained as one of its main clauses, the non-interference of Iran in Iraqi affairs.

Iran had prior to this treaty, along with Israel (see my posts "Our brothers the Kurds" and "Bad Pawns") supported and armed the Kurds in Northern Iraq.

Do remember that Iran also has a sizeable Kurdish population to whom it has never given autonomy- as was the case in Iraq. Iraqi Kurds have been autonomous since the 1970’s.

I do not wish to dig into the “historical conflict” between Babylon and Cyrus the Persian king, nor do I wish to cover the Safavid period of the 15th century in which Shi’ism became the official religion of Iran. But these two are interrelated and the only reason am mentioning them is for the purpose of showing you the depth of Persian -Iranian meddling from the Babylonian times until this very day.

Khomeini was extradited from Iraq in 1978 upon the request of the Shah of Iran and was flown to France.

Exactly a year later, in 1979, Khomeini was back in Teheran leading his “Islamic” revolution.

The Shah was allowed to leave with his family and he later on wrote in his memoirs, to the effect - that the Americans and Europeans simply "dropped" him.

Furthermore, an interview with a top CIA guy in charge of the Iranian dossier during that period, when asked the question “What did you think then of the thousands of Iranians gathered under the Shah’s window?” his textual reply was :

“We thought nothing of it.”

The CIA thought nothing of it. Here were thousands of Iranians demanding the demise of the Shah and the CIA who installed and supported the Shah "thought nothing of it."

Of course, one can even go further in reflection and say - if the Shiites were so oppressed in Iraq, as it was later claimed, how come Khomeini lived there for over 10 years and how come he was able to mobilize such support?

Surely he could not have done it from 1978 to 1979 from France, could he now?

And if Saddam Hussein was such a controlling, totalitarian, repressive “dictator”, was he not aware that Khomeini was planting the seeds of his overthrow ?

I do understand that Khomeini was considered charismatic but we did not have the internet then, for him to spread his charisma...And Nejaf and Teheran did not have an underground tunnel tying them together for the Khomeinist charisma to disseminate across the border that easily.

What I alluded to in my previous post, namely that the West, (Americans and Europeans) helped Khomeini accede to power is correct. I think I just may have a point there, worth seriously considering.

Khomeini from day 1 in Teheran and in parallel to the American hostage crisis, was calling for regime change in Baghdad. I repeat, from day 1.

As a matter of fact, the first time I ever heard the word “Taghia” i.e tyrant, was from Khomeini’s mouth, when he referred to Saddam Hussein.

And that word was the first word in the gigantic demonization campaign that was to follow right through the sanctions years, right through the American occupation and till this very day...

I do not want you to forget the beginning of this media propaganda campaign that started with Khomeini who was really put into power by the Americans who “thought nothing of it” and of course not forgetting the European role, namely the French and the Brits. And lo and behold, Sarkozy, Blair and now Brown are dancing to Bush’s tunes...

I would also like you to remember that Khomeini further asserted that the road to a”free”Jerusalem was through Nejaf, Kerbala and...Baghdad.

He was hoping to first start with a Shiite rebellion in the South of Iraq that would spread through and overthrow the “tyrant” that housed him for over 10 years on Iraqi territory.


The Iran-Iraq war broke out in 1980. Prior to that date, there were 260 incidents recorded on the Iraqi frontiers. 260 incidents of Iranian aggression on Khanakeen and beyond and cost the lives of hundreds of Iraqis. 260 incidents in one year, one every other day. Each one recorded and reported to the UN security council who stayed silent...

We will see, in the next chapter, the continuous silence of the U.N – from the time of those incidents right through the sanctions years till this very day...

In parallel, in the heat of the Iran-Iraq war, when Iranian missiles were raining on Basrah and Baghdad, Israel bombed the Osirak Iraqi nuclear power plant in 1981 in what it called “Operation Opera.”

In 1982 Saddam Hussein called for a ceasefire which was refused by Khomeini’s Iran.

That war that cost us over half a million of our men, and lasted from 1980 t0 1988, the longest war of attrition in contemporary history, ended in what was politically considered a “stalemate.”

During that period, and prior from the days of the Shah, Iran had been receiving logistic, technical and arms support from Israel. Remind yourselves briefly of the Iran- Contra affair, too.

And contrary to popular belief and the propaganda that has not stopped since that cursed day, Iraq’s major bulk of weaponry came from Russia, China and France.

Of course, I am aware that there are other aspects to this war I have not covered...But I ask you again, to retain the following basic facts as the foundational pillar for further chapters. The chapters of the Destruction of Iraq.


I will ask you to remember that the DAWA Party whose “prominent members“ are :

- Iraq’s "Prime Minister” Al–Maliki, who spent all of his youth in Iran.
- Muqtada Al –Sadr, father of the Jaysh Al-Mahdi, who speaks Arabic with a Persian accent and who tied the noose around our great Saddam Hussein’s neck.
- Al Jaafari, a triple national- Iranian/British/ Iraqi.
- Al Rubaie a.k.a. Karim Shahpour, originally an Iranian National with an Iraqi passport.
- A. Al-Medi – a French/ Iranian/Iraqi national.

And there are more names but suffice for the moment...

All of these represent the current puppet government. A government installed by the Americans. These people are all members of the Dawa Party. Dawa means "call or invitation-" by the way.

And guess when and where was the Dawa party born and formed? It was born during the Iran-Iraq war in Tehran.

Do remember what I said above - Khomeini’s wish was for a Shiite rebellion starting in Southern Iraq and spreading to the capital Baghdad...

I also will ask you to remember that the SCII, the Supreme Council of Islamic Iraq , which Abdel Azeez Al-Hakeem and his son Ammar rule, and who head the Badr Militias, was also born and modeled after the Supreme Islamic Iranian Council in Tehran during Khomeini’s reign.

Do you now understand how the seeds of ethnic and sectarian divisions were planted and by whom ?

To be continued...

Painting : Iraqi artist, Noureddine Ameen.

Iraq - Grandeur & Destruction. Part I

Breakthrough & Nostalgia

When I say and repeat that you, Americans have destroyed everything in Iraq, I am met with scorn and anger.

Some of you are too simplistic and equate destruction with buildings in ruins.

Having a limited a vision, you can’t go beyond the material, the physical...

I reiterate, you Americans have destroyed everything in Iraq. And I mean EVERYTHING.

Since 1958 until 2003, Iraq, its government and its people strove relentlessly to build a modern nation state.

The biggest developmental boom took place under the Baath regime and in particular under Saddam Hussein. Like it or not.

In 1972, the oil was nationalized. By 1982, illiteracy and preventable diseases were eradicated.

Education including higher education was free of charge. The government would disburse 5000 grants yearly for postgraduate studies abroad to England, Germany, Russia, France...

By 2003, Iraq accounted for 30’000 scientists. Yes, you read me right, 30’000 scientists. And when in 2003, Bush said that Iraqis were very educated people, he knew what he was talking about.

Now you understand why the targeting of academics, scientists and intellectuals was part of the American plan. It was actually no.1 on the agenda way before "sectarian warfare" broke out.

Since, over 600 scientists and academics have been murdered in cold blood, the rest have fled and many are reported missing...

University libraries and schools were booming with books and publications, the National library in Baghdad held the most ancient manuscripts ever to be found.

Iraqis were known to devour books, and Baghdad was a publishing center. Books would even be distributed free of charge to other Middle Eastern countries including some parts of Africa.


The Universities were equipped with the latest technology and labs. The student dorms were specially designed to accommodate the highest number of students – a lot of them came and studied and lived free of charge in Iraq. They came from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Algeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Sudan...


In the medical field, Iraq was considered the most developed nation -along with its educational system, in the whole of the Middle East . Both WHO and UNICEF stated that Iraq on these two fronts could be considered as having overcome "underdevelopment" and was ready to join the "developed world."

All specialists were sent abroad for post-doctorate research and for further specialization.

We had the most advanced hospitals, with the latest equipment, there were health dispensaries in every neighborhood. Medication was subsidized, and all you needed to do is pay a symbolic fee of 1 dinar. 1 Dinar for a medical visit and that was it.

Infrastructures were diligently built. Roads, highways, bridges, sewage system, electricity, telecommunications, industry, commercial buildings, hotels, agribusiness...All of these were built by Iraqis. Not some foreign labor, but Iraqis themselves.

In fact, Iraqis were the main asset. And the government under Saddam Hussein, invested heaps into the main riches of Iraq- its people.


Women were particularly favored during that time. We had equal rights, equal pay, 2 years maternity leave, we could divorce when we saw fit, no one would tell us how to dress, 70% of us were working women, we had access to schools, universities, education, government institutions...We could travel, drive, and run our own businesses...

Some of us were professors, others doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists, archeologists, financial managers, diplomats, judges, lawyers, artists, singers, writers, actresses...

We could walk the streets alone, during the day and night, we could go out, dress as we pleased (within reasonable limits), marry whom we wanted in a civil court if we had so wished...Polygamy was forbidden and domestic violence was punishable by law.


Our children had access to free schooling, free meals, free health care and were vaccinated free of charge. Iraq had the lowest child mortality rate in the whole of the Middle East. Our children went to good schools with heating, with desks and chairs, they had enough to eat, they had places to go to and play, they had parks and gardens, swings and playgrounds, they had a mother and a father and grew up into healthy adulthood...

Those who had lost their parents were either taken care of by the rest of the extended family and were given a governmental pay allocation for that or placed in orphanages that were subsidized and supervised by the government. And trust me that government was quite strict with any form of abuse if it ever happened.

The few gays we had, were tolerated and were not harassed or targeted and were not tortured or murdered in broad daylight.

Minorities like the Kurds had their own regional autonomy. Saddam Hussein built them universities and schools where they could teach and learn in their own language. They were allowed their own press in Kurdish, their culture- music, customs and their own style of dress. They were free to circulate in the whole of Iraq, attend universities and live anywhere they wished.

In fact a lot of them remained in Baghdad . They were allowed to be part of the government and were represented in it. We had Kurdish ministers and ambassadors.
And intermarriage between Kurds and Arabs was very common. Kurdish even became a compulsory secondary language in Baghdad’s high schools.

Other minorities like the Sabeans, the Yazidis and the Turkmen were allowed to form associations, practice their own religion, language or ethnic customs...And again, intermarriage was common.

Christians were protected, particularly protected. They were given posts in government. Had access to all the Iraqi institutions, owned their own businesses, were free to worship as they pleased, the government even had a special budget for the construction of churches. They were allowed Sunday off instead of the traditional Muslim Friday. They celebrated their religious holidays in all freedom, they were Iraqis before anything else...They were even free to have their own hospitals, schools, and pension homes.

The Shiites formed the bulk of the government employees and the army. They were considered as Iraqi citizens first and foremost, were allowed to worship in their own mosques and study in their own religious centers, they had access to education, housing, employment, higher studies, high governmental posts, ministerial posts, diplomatic posts...

They were allowed to marry anyone they pleased. And the fact is that the rate of intermarriage between Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis is the highest in the Middle East compared to let’s say Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon or Saudi Arabia where Shiite minorities exist. There is not one Iraqi family which is not of mixed sects- Sunni/ Shia.

Iraq produced Shiite doctors, professors, scientists, artists, sportsmen...


Palestinians, and they used to call themselves Iraqi-Palestinians, numbered around 35'000 in total.

They were specially protected by Saddam Hussein and his government. They were given equal rights just like the Iraqis, were allowed to own their businesses, marry -marriage between Iraqis and Palestinians was common, had access to free schools, universities, grants, medical services just like any Iraqi.
Palestinians were considered the rightful owners of a just cause and they were fully and unconditionally supported -no matter the cost or the consequences. And that is the way to do it.


Culturally and artistically, Iraq was a truly booming place. Baghdad was known for its poets, writers, artists, musicians, painters, dancers...

And Saddam Hussein invested heavily in Iraqi art.

There was a special Institute for plastic arts, sculpture and ceramics... The Iraqi school of Art was known to be the most prominent in the Middle East and produced many famous names that were later emulated by other Arab artists.

Furthermore, to encourage both Iraqi and non Iraqi art, the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein, established cultural offices supervised by its cutural attach矇s abroad.

For instance you had an Iraqi cultural center in London, one in Paris and another one in Geneva.

These centers would promote Iraqi and non Iraqi artists, organize Iraqi dance festivals, Iraqi exhibitions of crafts and traditionally designed clothes, would invite traditional Iraqi musicians...

The aim was to bridge any cultural gaps between the Arab world/Iraq and the West. And all these activities were free of charge. The government paid for everything- every single activity and covered all the costs it entailed.


As some of you may know, Iraq is the land of the first civilizations known to humankind. The skeleton of the Alphabet started in Sumer with the first cuneiforms. Even cooking recipes were engraved on tablets. Techniques for civil construction, agricultural irrigation and also the preliminaries for urban planning - all took root in this ancient civilization. Epics, poetry, music, jurisprudence with Hammurabi’s over 700 codified rules, philosophy and metaphysics also took root in this land...

I don’t want to go into Mesopotamian history right now, but suffice to say, that Iraq counts for the highest number of archeological sites in the world covering thousands of years, and bearing witness to different epochs of history. From the Sumerians right through to the monotheistic prophets and beyond...

Before the sanction years and I will touch on the sanctions years in my next chapter, the government under Saddam Hussein spent millions of dollars in the restoration, preservation and protection of these sites that are considered part of the universal patrimonial heritage according to UNESCO’s definitions.

The hanging gardens of Babylon were even considered part of the 7 wonders of the world. Not anymore. They have been replaced by Petra in Jordan.

The Iraqi museum was home to thousands of priceless artifacts, numbered, classified and recorded...Experts in ancient history and archeology would spent unlimited hours excavating, restoring, preserving, protecting and teaching our Mesopotamian heritage that stretched all the way to the Abbasid Caliphate right into Modern Iraq.



Right up to the sanctions years and despite the Iran-Iraq war, one can safely say that the Iraqi state was a fully modern functioning independent entity. When I talk about state I am not only talking of governmental institutions.

There were these and there was the army, a modern strong capable army. But state also entails other aspects...

State entails other societal institutions, like universities, schools, hospitals, cultural bodies, associations...infrastructural systems, civic society and national and cultural identity.

The Iraqi State and its ideology overcame tribalism, sectarianism, ethnic chauvinism...And it was a fully functional State without outside help. It was run by Iraqis for Iraqis.

I am absolutely convinced that, had Khomeinism not appeared on the scene, and Khomeinism was greatly helped to accede to power thanks to the West...

I am absolutely convinced had there not been this tumor called political Shiism, and Persianism. I am absolutely convinced that had Iraq not had such disgusting treacherous neighbors- Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait...

I am absolutely convinced had Iraq been truly allowed to continue on its developmental path without having to constantly ward off outside influences, it would have become a fully fledged Arab Democracy with its own specificity...

In fact Iraq had ALL the necessary prerequisites and ingredients to become so.

It had a strong government with a vision, it had institutions, it had eradicated illiteracy and had a highly educated population, it was developed in more ways than one...

And this, the West can never accept. Nor the West, nor the rest of the feudal backward Arab states, nor the criminal Israel and Iran.

And it is with the objective of destroying what the Iraqi government and in particular Saddam Hussein took great pains in building in only 3 decades, and 3 decades are not much in the history of a country, the Americans came to invade and occupy...

America’s objectives and the primary goal on its agenda was the erasing of the Iraqi identity because America understood that it was precisely that identity that proved to be America’s main stumbling block despite years of grotesque, criminal sanctions. Sanctions, previously unknown to contemporary mankind.

Not since the League of Nations, has anyone witnessed such a collective effort to destroy and steal the soul of a nation that tried to stand on its own two feet alone with its own resources.

And its resources were:
1) a hardworking, intelligent, educated people
2) its natural geography - a) the finest quality of crude oil gushing from the biggest, largely unexplored oil reserves in the world. b)sweet water flowing from two rivers. c) a fertile land and,

3) its deep, ancient, historical roots from which it drew pride and moral strength.


A deadly combination for the covetous, barbaric West and for their bastard criminal whore mistresses the Jewish State of Israel and Persian-Iran.

Here was an independent, progressive, modern, secular, strong, proud, Arab identity...that freed itself from the shackles of the Ottoman then British colonialism and on its way towards true economic, political, intellectual and moral independence...Here was a country who refused to be a lapdog, a slave that would bow down...And that was simply not acceptable.

And the breakthrough that started as a dream and took root in reality, was forbidden to further unfold...Not only was it forbidden to unfold, it had to be smashed, destroyed to pieces. It was in fact a must.



Painting : Iraqi female artist, Zainab Abdel Qader.

Some "Fun" conclusions...

continued from last post.../


So where was I ?

Right, I went out to have some fun...

I frankly don't understand how all these people landed here.

There was a Brit woman, whose accent I could not grasp except for the "wot, wot, wot"
And then I understood one other sentence, it said "you should all be grateful like, do you see wot I mean like?."

Hmmm....Not a good start you must admit. Poor peroxide blonde woman from the Midlands. Poor, poor woman from England for she really got it from me tonight.

Talk about cold/hot English showers. Did I say showers? Wrong. The Brits don't shower, they have a bath...soak in muck about once a fortnight and they call that cleanliness and tell you "wot you on about mate?"

Well this "wot you on about" Tesco/Sainsbury/Safeway look-alike cashier (these are names of supermarkets in not so Great -Britain.), in the Middle East, playing sophisticated, got it from me tonight... You know "wot I mean like mate?"

It transpired that this Tesco/Safeway/Sainsbury's cashier was the wife of some army guy in Basrah. She was most upset, I was not "grateful like..."

I think my telling her "Fuck you and fuck your Queen, you disgusting lot", did not go down all too well...

She did eventually wash it down with about 4 pints of lager,though. Especially imported for her sort.

But I could still hear the "wot's she on about, wot the fuck is that..."

Some ugly voice in the background,

Why did she not understand that I was being very grateful ?

Why are people so lacking in subtleties ?

I was sooooo grateful for the English presence in Basrah that I had to thank her my own special, Iraqi way...

Why can't people understand "where am coming from" and have some kind of Western politically correct empathy ?

But you have not heard the rest...

There was also a guy from Germany, an Angela Gerkin (gerkins are pickled cucumbers by the way - this is for the ignoramus, below average American reader).

What was he doing here? Guess what? A horseshoe maker for their Majesties...

He told me that Bavaria was really cool so was Angela...And when push came to shove, he took the back door...After all he had a horse shoe to produce. And the Brits and Germans avoid each other like the plague...

But I bet, you are wondering about the American guitar player - right?

He was replaced by some Canuck/Canadian who sang it well...

He did wonders with "Hit the Road Jack, don't you come home no more..." Ray Charles tune.

And that is the conclusion I am leaving you with.

"Hit the Road Jack." You are not welcome here. No more, no more...

After my fun night, I was left with only one conclusion.

There is only one way, Resistance.

See, even "Fun" holds great promises.

A short inner debate on..."Fun".

I am still debating within myself, as to whether I should sit and continue...or go out and have some FUN.

A bunch of friends have asked me to join them to listen to that crappy American guitar player again.

The word FUN irritates a lot of you, I know.

The Americans are into sick fun and the Fundies into the same sick fun.

Both lead very sad lives..their sense of fun is so Abu Ghraib - Abeer like, and the sectarian shits, so Basrah, Baghdad...style.

So caught between these two extremes, am still debating...within.

Mind you, it should be a lot of fun watching this clumsy american guitar player...and make fun of him. I love that...it's very exciting.

The Fundies in my head, have already pointed their fingers and wagged it like a dog's tail...

OK am decided...life -Abu Ghraib, Mahmoudiah, Baghdad, Basrah...- style is no fun.

The 40 plus women murdered monthly in Basrah, without counting those rotting away in American and Iranian Shia led prisons are not having fun.

I shall make up for it.

I shall join my friends to make fun out of both... The Americans - nervous, mediocre, repressed, high on death and the Iranian Shia fundies. They have so much in common.

Laughter, Pleasure, and Joy are powerful weapons - they hate as much as they hate women.

So it shall be...

I am out to have some fun and will be back later to "report back" to you.

Long live Freedom !


Painting : Iraqi artist, Jaber Alwan "Dancing Women" series.

A quick thought...

Someone is dying to see a civil war in Lebanon again.

Why do I have this eerie feeling that Iran and Israel are itching big time?

Why can't I shake off this deep gut instinct that they would love to repeat their collaborative Iraq scenario in Lebanon ?

I have more to say about that. I have more to say about Iran and Israel and a new road map Arabs need to think through pronto before they get totally engulfed by those two equally vile barbarians, whose ultimate goals and objectives coincide perfectly well.

Later...

Politically Incorrect...

For those of you who care to read a short but sure introduction about Arab men, please consult my "Uncensored" blog. I did say Arab not Muslims. So don't give me your usual shit. Thank you.

A Prayer to Maryam.

There is a sacred spot outside of Damascus called Sednaya.

It is a very old monastery run by nuns, on top of a steep hill, overlooking the whole of Damascus and its surrounding areas...

Inside this monastery, there is a tiny worship place, a sanctuary.

You need to bow down as you enter...

In the middle of this sanctuary, there are hundreds of candles burning and the smell of incense.

The main wall is adorned with golden icons, and in the middle, there is a small niche, glowing with light, and this is where Mother is. Our Lady Maryam, had appeared in Sednaya and has healed many...

Pilgrims flock from all over the Middle East, Christians and Muslims alike, invoking Mother, supplicating her, asking for favors, for healing, for blessings...

I was there too. The tiny sanctuary was very crowded and we waited in line to visit this niche and talk to Mother... I stepped aside, and found a corner. I kneeled..I had a lot to tell Her.

As I usually do, I pray first for my family, my friends and those who are close to me in mind and heart, those I care about.

Then my prayer extends to all the departed ones all the way to my ancestors.

Then, I pray for Iraq. All of its people, its women, its men, its children. I have a special prayer for the orphans and the widows, the sick and the homeless...

Then I pray for the people of the Middle East, in particular the Palestinians.

From there my prayer extends to everyone in need regardless of their nationality or religion. Then I pray for the earth and all that is on it. Then I pray for my enemies...

This last one is the most difficult one.

That day I asked Mother to help me with this last prayer. And this is what I said to her.

Gracious, Blessed Mother. You who knows the secrets of the Heart for you have been touched by the Divine Light- Light my path.

You have healed many, heal my heart.

I am asked to rise through Love, yet I feel no Love in me. I feel no Love for my enemies. They have inflicted so much harm, pain, viciousness, cruelty...I find nothing loveable about them.

They have killed, and destroyed thousands of lives. Have turned thousands little ones into orphans and have ripped through a thousand widows hearts.

They have raped, stolen, cursed, bombed, tortured, maimed, thousands of innocent ones - young and old.

They have forced thousands into exile, facing harsh conditions, unwanted and abandoned.

The indifference is thicker than silence, thicker than the darkest veil, and has fallen on so many eyes...Tell me Mother, how can I love them?

Some of them are not that way. But what about the majority who are careless? Are they not accomplices too, through their carelessness?

There are a very few of them who are aware, but what about the silent majority, who see nothing but themselves, when the worst of atrocities are committed in their names? How can I love them Mother?

Help me please. I have to go through every day keeping a sense of normalcy, when everything around feels abnormal...

I see members of my family rotting away in prisons on no charges, some of them were killed, some were tortured, some lost their homes, some lost their sons, some are fearful of returning for they carry the wrong name, some are ill and can’t afford treatment, some are cooped up at home and harassed daily, some are no longer able to feed theirs...

Am talking about my own family Mother. This is just one person. Can you imagine that one person's grief multiplied by millions? Where can I find the Love, Mother?

We are all scattered to the winds, our lives have been radically changed in a short time. I no longer recognize anything or anyone. There has been an inner upheaval, a 360 degrees turn, upside down. All my points of reference have been destroyed. Everything I believed in has been plucked from its roots, all the notions, concepts and beliefs I held about humanity have been smashed to pieces...

Even my faith is shaky, doubtful, tethering on the brink of an abyss...

So tell me please where can I find the Love? Where can I find the forgiveness? Where?

It's ongoing, it has not stopped and does not look as if it is about to end...

Where can I find all these noble states of being that everyone preaches to me about ?

All has disintegrated, all has been destroyed, where can we start anew ?

On which grounds, when the grounds themselves have been cracked wide open turning into holes, deep holes that pave our paths?

And which path Mother ? Which path when we can see no future?

So tell me, where can I find the Love?


I must have prayed or talked for a long while. I did not feel time pass by, it was suspended. And when I raised my head, the sanctuary was empty. Everyone had left and here I was alone in the darkness, a darkness illuminated by the burning candles and the smell of incense.

I raised my head and looked at the niche where Mother was watching like through a little window...like through an opening. There was a peaceful silence, a heavy peaceful silence.

I heard no reply to my question.

One of the nuns in charge of the sanctuary came towards me and gave me a small piece of cotton soaked in sacred oil. She said :

“Wipe yourself, It will ease it...”

I took it and thanked her.

I left the sanctuary and headed to a court-like open space that overlooks the whole of Damascus. The horizon stretched for miles ahead, as it to encompass all of this land, well beyond Damascus...

I held the piece of oily cotton in one hand, and contemplated the scenery. That sense of peaceful silence did not leave me. I felt it again as I was looking on, far removed, detached from the tumult, on top of this steep hill...

Then it occurred to me - my prayer was answered.

I was not supposed to love or forgive my enemy, that was neither my obligation, nor my duty.
I am to do other things - I am to “ease it” for my family, my people and myself.

As for the unwanted, imposed enemies, whoever they are, what I needed to do, was very simple - really.

I only had to remember that sacred niche in the East, where Mother appeared.
That land in the East, where she was born and where she took root and that by itself, that firm knowledge, unshakeable knowledge, will “Ease It”...Out.

As I looked on, to this land that seemed to stretch to infinity, I realized it was nothing but a question of Time.


Painting: Iraqi artist, Rakan Dabdoob.

From the Shadows...

When they poured across the border
I was cautioned to surrender
this I could not do...
I took my gun and vanished.
I have changed my name so often
I've lost my wife and children
but I have many friends
and some of them are with me.
An old woman gave us shelter,
kept us hidden...
And the soldiers came
She died without a whisper.
There were three of us of this morning
am the only one this evening,
but I must go on
the frontiers are my prison...
Oh, the wind is blowing. Through the graves the wind is blowing.
Freedom will soon come,
and will come from the shadows...


Lyrics from the Partisan by Albert Cohen. Depicting the anti-Nazi Resistance.

World War II with its ghettos, its camps, its bombs, its rapes...The Reich all over again...

The names have changed though.

They are called Mohamed, Hassan, Khalid and Muntasir-the Victorious.

It is no Aushwitz, its called Adhamiya, Ameriya, Adil...and Gaza.

There are no 6 pointed stars, just a scan of irises and a badge...
And maybe a tattoo so you can be recognized, if you ever get lost, or if you are found lying with the dead decomposing stray dogs in a garbage dump...

There is no Gestapo, only GI’s roaming around, obsessed with the dark faces whose names they can’t even pronounce.

The American obsession with Eye Raq. With Iraq. What a strange obsession. What a fixation. Who would have thought that some American, who can’t even spell his own name will be here, polluting this land with his arsenal, with his semen, with his name, with his presence...

Who would have thought that the land of Ur, the sacred land of the prophets will be soiled by some smelly rubber boot made in China?

Who would have believed that those with no history, no persona and no identity, will come and invade those who hold so many historical masks, from the Sumerians, to the Akkadians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians...through the Abbassids, until today, until this very minute as am typing...

Names they’ve never heard of before in their whole lives...Names that don’t rhyme with John, Paul and Dick...

Who are those barbarians? Who are those pale faced skinned idiots with nasal twangs, who speak from their butt holes? Who drink beer by the gallons, burp and fart and are only good when holding a gun?
Why they are so ugly, why are they so smelly, why are they so stupid?
Only the ancient Gods know.

Who are these mediocre, shallow, hollow, idiots, running around with greasy fingers... Whose only exclamation is oh yeah or Jesus...

Jesus is spitting on them...

I don’t want to blaspheme but Jesus is also pissing on them...
Let them meet him at the fountain where he will be showering them with his glad tidings...

Who the fuck is Jose, Santos and Antonio? Who the hell is Steve, Jason and Ron?

Who are these “people”? What is their background? What are their credentials? What are they here for?

I suddenly feel am immersed in a wave of disgust...I need to wash it all off.

Ever since, I have developed this compulsion to wash things...As if to erase traces, names and memories...

It’s epidermal, it’s visceral, it’s from the depth of my guts, from the depth of my insides...You really disgust me.

Your men, your women, your administration, your soldiers, your technocrats, your academics, your politicians...All of you disgust me.


Just being reminded of you, makes me queasy. What a horrible nation, what a horrible country, what a horrible people.

I would like to join Jesus in his urinating on you...In other words I piss on you.

I also have another fantasy- but maybe it’s not a fantasy after all- that of the Universe, the Cosmos, having a big dump on all of you... One great,huge dump, and here you are wallowing in one hell of a pool.

And here you are shouting, screaming, hollering and all you get is more of the same...

A tsunami of one hell of a big shit from the heavens...
You gasp, grab each other, plead and suffocate and the Universe hearing your call, just dishes out more...of the same.
One huge, humongous dump that falls on your heads...your collective heads.
Until you all become browned faced yourselves...Until the Divine excrement fills up your nostrils and you start speaking in tongues...and finally become audible and understandable...
Until your names change from John, Paul and Dick to something slightly more bearable to the ears.

Oh yeah!

You are a failure of a people. A collective failure. Right and Left, you have failed. Not once, not twice, not thrice...but so many times, too many times to count.

You are a people incapable, constitutionally incapable of moving beyond your little worthless selves to something other.

You are a lost cause, you are a hopeless cause.

Let the Universe shit on you, that is the only thing you deserve but even then, that is too generous of It. You will be graced with shit. What a pity!
What a pity, when in fact you deserve nothing...


I see your faces in every alley way, in every corner...
In every child’s eyes.
I see your faces in every elderly, in every abandoned one, in every rubble, in every ruin...
I see your collective faces. I hear your names like some bad melody that harasses my ears...
I see your names overwritten on the bloody pavements. I see your names etched by human nails on every wall, in every cell, I see it...see them...see you.

I smell you in the streets, in the empty homes, in the empty beds...
I smell you everywhere, behind every wall. I smell you in the morgue, in the hospital, in the mud hut and in the tent...

And I hear you.
Hear your denigrations, your giggles, your humiliations, your ugly voices, your ugly accents, your ugly language...

And I recoil,
I hide in the shadows...
Shadows that you will never find.
Places you have never dreamed of.
I hide there, waiting.
Waiting for the right wind to blow my way.
Waiting for the right moment.
Waiting to be visited by the innocent souls you have banished from existence.
Waiting in the shadows...

I wear many skins...change colors, change names...
Now you see me. Now you don’t.
I love it when you are so lost and am so Here. ¨
I love it when I hear you panic, when I hear you scream “shoot the motherfucker…”

And I am here standing in the shadows.
On my territory, on my land...
I am the owner and you are nothing but an unwanted visitor.

I am rooted in the language, in the soil, in the alphabet,
You are an invading, cruel, illiterate, stranger.

When will you get the message?
A message from the shadows...



Painting: Iraqi artist, Fahmi Al-Qayssi

The Door...

It was time for me to leave.

With my back against the wall, there was only one way- through that Door.

A door I had known for years. A door I had memorized by heart. A door who was so faithful to my comings and goings...She never failed to open or close, totally at my bequest.

This time, it called on me and said "pull me open" and I did...

I can still feel the brass handle in my hands, copper colored, rusty and engraved with all of your fingerprints...

My hand hesitated a while before it gripped it. It rested there until I summoned the force to turn that knob and pulled that Door towards me...

It was very silent that morning. I found myself tiptoeing in the empty house. As if not to wake anyone up. They were all absently asleep.

I checked each room and even arranged the covers of one of the beds. I made sure it was well stretched with no creases. A perfect empty bed...

The shutters were down, but not completely. I thought to myself, let the Light in. Maybe the Light will visit and knock on that door while am gone...

I walked towards my library, looked at my shelves and ran my fingers across the arranged piles as if running my fingers through a lover's hair...

I delicately stroked my paintings, infusing my palm with their colors. I then, clenched my fist, as if to capture and hold them there, right in the center of my palm.

I promised them that when we meet again, I will be intransigent with the dust and will never let it gather again...

I noticed a CD in the player. I left it there and left the cover empty, wide open, exposing the name of the songs and that of the singer.

On the small table there was a candle half burned down. The dripping, melted wax had frozen on the edges and looked like sour grapes hanging from a vine tree, dangling, reaching the dark mahogany wood and forming a cluster of white clouds...

Next to it was an empty cup of coffee...whose rim was stained with brown patches, like narrow paths, where the hot liquid had travelled...leaving at the bottom of the cup a thick dark opaque mud...

I left the cup sitting there. I left it with its dark rims and its dark remnants sitting next to the frozen white clouds...Clouds gathered from a small warm light, a small candle light that is now dead...

I pulled that handle, and caressed the Door, one final caress.

I stepped out in the blinding, glaring sun. I straddled towards the gate. I did not look back. I could not.

But I could not help but see the little palm tree that I had planted some time ago, wave my way and call my name out, as I walked out. As I walked out and away, towards the Unknown...



Painting: Iraqi artist, Ali Al-Tajer.

I'm OK- You're OK.

I was told in order to make a point, any point, you need to overcome whatever emotions, past experiences, dislikes, tastes and preferences...You need to have an eagle's view, be an effective negotiator in " non violent" communication, think out of the box, attack the argument but not the one who holds it, debate in a civilized way, be ready to listen, reframe, be concise...in short comprehend the other's point of view.

The American jargon calls it a win-win situation, negotiating for "excellence" (hahahaha- sorry can't help this outburst of "hysterical" laughter. It's just these two antinomic precepts "American" and "Excellence" that never fail to crack me up.)

In the light of the above recommendations and seeing that the "surge" is really working, the figures for the month of November is 718 Iraqis dead, only.

Hey what's 718 Iraqis killed ? It's nothing...

America thank you, you are just excellent. It’s working. The plan is perfect. You are a most brilliant people. (Hahahahaha sorry I have to laugh again, it must be nervous. You know, wrong time of the month, PMS and all. Am sure Oprah has something to say about that too. Oprah is the ultimate reference next to Wikipedia of course.)

Today, am in a really win-win situation. We are "in it together" for the "long haul."
After all, over 10 of your military bases will be staying on for a long, long time.

I have even polished up my accent, I have a nasal twang too. See how adaptable I am?

Oh yeah! And guess what? I even got myself a cowboy hat and a pair of cowboy boots and am listening to country music.

I have even begun to appreciate Dolly. No, not Dolly, the cloned sheep, Dolly Parton.

I am even planning a trip to Ze Lebanon for a boob job. Will a "double D" be OK with you? I will even pump it up, my lips that is- free of charge...

Am now ideologically flexible. Am cool. Am a flexible, malleable, easy going...

Oh Yeah, the surge is working.

I realized how wrong I was. I realized that Saddam was a horrible tyrant of a dictator.

OK he did not have any WMD's and no ties to Al-Qaeda but hey so what? The fight against terrorism and dictatorship must go on. Iraq MUST BE FREE.

I realized how wrong it was of me to hold grudges against Americans and their Iranian Shiites collaborators.

OK, a few Soooneees got drilled, and it's been an ethnic cleansing that makes Hitler blush with timidity...But I need to think out of the box and look long term. Have a forward kind of vision.

OK, so we are segregated in Ghettos. OK, Iraq is the most corrupt "country" in the world, but that's unimportant, I really need to go for the win-win situation.

OK, Iraq has nothing functioning. Sectarianism is still rampant. The new fascist Shiites are holding full exclusive power and are blessed by the Americans, they are its only functioning arm. But hey, that is fine with me.

I need to revise my concepts and understand that democracy and freedom have many facets I don't comprehend.

After all, am nothing but a woman and if they slaughter a few of my own, then that's OK too. It's unfortunate but it's meant to be...

I just absolutely love my new frame of mind. I am finally putting in practice what I have learnt. Am a slow learner- granted, but give me the benefit of the doubt, please.¨

After all, Abu Ghraib and Falluja are just two unfortunate episodes. Let's wipe the slate clean.

After all Abeer and Mahdmoudiah are just isolated incidents.

After all Haditha is just another terrorist nest, and it had to be done.

OK, there were a little excesses here and there, but nothing major, really.

Kamel, Omar, Waleed, Hassan and Nabil, are just errors. You apologized. That is more than enough. You even gave us 200$ for one of them. That is very generous of you.
How could I have been so stupid and not seen your good intentions?


Blackwater is being legally punished. The fact that the "Iraqi government" only decided to do something about it because those killed were called Al-Rubaie and happened to be Shiites has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Our new government is fair and just. It's only the Saddamists and those old Baathists that are still terrorizing.

The Shiites militias from Iran are just a figment of my imagination. And how could I have ever thought wrong of them!? They are filled with the best of intentions. They are slaughtering the Sunnis for their own good. Damn, how could I have not realized that profound truth before ?

The corrupt ones are from the old regime and they need to be lynched.

The fact that current ministries are still torture centers and audits tell us that billions of dollars are missing is just another propaganda ploy. An insurgency ploy. An anti-democratic, anti-freedom ploy. It's nothing but a psy-op.

What an ungrateful shameless people they, am -are to level such accusations.

The fact that the DAWA party (of which "our president" is a member) is an Iranian party that was formed during the Iraq-Iran war. The fact that Al-Hakeem, Maliki and Muqtada Sadr are all puppets for Iran is totally inconsequential. The fact that they can't speak Arabic without a Farsee accent is nothing but coincidental.

How could I have been so blind? How could I have been so "sectarian". Shame on me!

After all Iran is the only regional power standing up to the Great Satan (as in Iraq of course) and to the Zionist entity. Iran has no sectarian agenda, it's all pure altruism. It's the charity foundation from which all the anti- war movement can go and quench their thirst. Their thirst for "true anti-imperialism."

The fact that its militias in Iraq have brought down the Palestinian population there from 35'000 to 7'000 is again nothing but a coincidence and a psy-op.

After all Palestinians themselves did not say a word about it, nor did the great anti-Zionist movement Hezbollah. That’s just another proof of what a horrible propaganda campaign I have fallen into.

Even Palestinian bloggers predicted an attack on poor Iran by end of November.
OK, it was supposed to happen a few years ago, then it was a month ago, but do trust Santa Claus for he does deliver...And who am I to criticize?

And it does not stop there...

I have a special apology and a particular appreciation to address to Kurdish "brothers and sisters."

I have misjudged you. Am so sorry.

Your cause is so righteous. You have been terribly oppressed and downtrodden by Saddam's regime and forced into Arabization.

The fact that a lot of you can't even speak Arabic is really besides the point- Patrick Cockburn and his brother said so. They know better.


Not only 100'000 of you were massacred by chemical weapons that did not exist. Oh no, it was 7 million of you, even greater than your total population number, that were annihilated into mass graves in "Iklim Kurdistan." Mass graves we never found...But hey, that’s besides the point.

The point is that you were very oppressed and totally annihilated.


The fact that a few of you are still going strong, just points to the Cockburn/Amnesty International/Darwinian theory that only the brave survive.
The fact that you have engaged in a total ethnic cleansing of other "minorities", just proves what a valiant left-over people you are. Do tell your Cockburns OK? It will just confirm their theory.


Also the fact that you have been having a secret liaison since 1974,(at least) with the Zionist entity- is really nothing to write home about. Chomsky said so.

Chomsky also said that the poor Shiites have been terribly oppressed, not only in Iraq, oh no.

They have also been terribly oppressed in Ze Lebanon where am planning to have my boob job, in Bahrain and in East Saudi Arabia. Chomsky, you are such a wonderful Zionist visionary. Am sorry I have ever doubted you.


After all, you, the Left(hahahahhaha) and the Anti-War movement(hahahahahahaha - sorry it definitely is PMS) are not the voices of the Jewish lobby. Nor you, nor your “ Arab” frauds. You are nothing but pure intentions for the Palestinian, Iraqi, Anti-Imperialist cause...

Damn am so blind. Why did I not see it before ?

Am just delusional, a paranoid that sees conspiracy where there is none.

Again, am terribly sorry and I officially apologize for having slandered you.

As for the Anti-War movement, really how could I have been so short sighted, so myopic ?!

You are indeed la cr癡me de la cr癡me.

How many times you braved the cold weather in 5 years, twice or thrice ?!

How many petitions and letters did you send ?!

How many bouquets of flowers you gave away without counting ?!

How many Sami Ramadanis and Ghali Hassans you upheld ?!

How many P.Bennis and Max Fullers worked tirelessly "free of charge" ?!

How many Brussels Tribunals did bend over backwards for the "good cause."?!

I am truly speechless, with no words left. You are one of a kind. Unsurpassable. Simply excellent.

How could have I been so myopic? So short-sighted?

Today, am so grateful, so thankful. I finally saw the light. I finally realized what an OK bunch you all are and how you are all working for the common good.

Only today I realized, that not only I, but a ONE million++ Iraqis are as grateful as I am.

Not only 1 million ++ DEAD Iraqis are as thankful and as OK as I am, but also 4.5 million Iraqis refugees are OK too. We're OK with it. We think it's cool too.

I personally, just love being that nomadic vagabond. It’s giving me a meaningful perspective on life and it’s been a “growing“ experience.

I am definitely OK and so are they.

Today am born again. Am a changed person. Am an OK person. And so are You.
We are both very OK people.

So let us pray together now. Let us praise Him. Let us chant his name for having delivered and transformed us.

Oh Yeah! Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

God Bless America. God bless Iran. God bless Israel.

God Bless you for turning me into such an OK Person. Into such an OK Woman.

I'm OK- You're OK. We're OK. It's all fine. It's all wonderfully free. Am just simply ecstatic.

I even got myself an Iranian Shiite whip for flogging and I even managed to get myself an American gun...But then I remembered am so OK, I don't need to flog or shoot you anymore. Am a changed woman. Am a product of the "surge." Am so OK.


Painting: Iraqi artist, Maurice Haddad.