Baking Artistry and the Culture of Fear (recycled)
Filed under: Articles, the Nidal Sakr tribune, Uncategorized, Witness to History
“When Dreams Turn Nightmares”
Submitted by Nidal Sakr on Tue, 05/31/2011 – 18:29
By Nidal Sakr
(MAF – 7/15/08) Long before the word “globalization” was invented, a global phenomenon persisted. It is simply the loaf of bread that is ever present on every table in every culture. Loaf of bread takes different shapes, is made from various ingredients, and tastes and feels differently, as if to exhibit the diversity in mankind who eats it, and even in other creatures who eat its leftovers.
As usual, Arabs could not help but notice the diversity that the loaf of bread represented so they coined the saying: “Give the bread to its baker.”
We have long gotten used to dictating hardship to others without having to share it. As we scramble for solutions to the life we have brought upon ourselves, we ought to look once again to those whom we have picked on for so long for a solution.
As we watch our American Dream change colors to blue, blue, and blue, we must remember that we have gotten accustomed to giving our own bread to those who know nothing about baking. In a strike of fortune and with no logical explanation, somebody who knows nothing about governing his own behavior finds himself strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue in an inauguration to govern an entire nation. Some intellectual-wanna-bees jam the airwaves and cable channels to analyze what is happening and should happen in the Mid-East, which they think is just on the other side of the Mid-West. And now, once again, many of us think that learning how to shoot rifles in the military is equivalent to knowing all about foreign policy and how to fix the economy.
I am afraid there is no simplistic solution or a quick fix to the American problem today, and that what is happening today is a natural outcome of an ill-conceived and misguided path the country has long adopted. For so many years, many have asserted that this misguidance cannot continue forever and that we must one day face the reality of our own making. The country is suffering, morale is at an all time low, and things do not look very promising. We can sum up our most pressing crises in four: food crisis, energy crisis, economic crisis, and foreign policy crisis. But before learning about what crises we are facing, we must, in total honesty, understand and then acknowledge our mistakes that got us in the predicament we are in.
Since WWII, the U.S. has committed to advancing colonialism under a new trendy fashion called imperialism. In colonialism, the colonizer controls the resources, culture and life styles of the colonized through direct military control. In imperialism, the imperialist exerts the same control by outsourcing to leaders and agents whose survival solely depends on their loyalty and service to the imperialist as opposed to their own country and people. Agents in imperialism vary from political and military officials to economic entities that serve as explorers, marketers, brokers, insurers and others to ensure that the largest margins of any gains from the country’s resources are captured by the imperialist.
Over the last few decades, American imperialism has taken a serious turn towards colonialism. Israel, which is merely a leftover of colonialism, has become more central to America than any other American state, and Israelis have gained entitlement to American aid and resources regardless to how much Americans suffer because of it. America moved to directly occupy lands in fulfillment to Israel’s wishes and strategic planning. American candidates and politicians put the fate of their own country at the mercy of such a colonial state that cannot even help itself to a life without destruction. And finally, the agents, with the help of an “oily administration,” turned against their own people, jacking up oil prices in speculation and jacking people out of the pennies they scramble for in their empty pockets.
For decades we have gotten accustomed to sneezing as the world catches a cold. Today, we’ve got pneumonia, while the world is barely getting an itchy nose, and it is of our own making.
By now we all know that September 11 was an incident exploited to instill the culture of fear among Americans so that we may advance our politics of hate with impunity. We hardly ever ask ourselves the question: “if September 11 was an outcome of our ill-conceived policies of the past, then what retribution may we be facing after taking our politics of hate to another unprecedented level?” Our politicians are dead set on continuing politics of hate, disguised as “war on terrorism,” which only makes us hate ourselves further while eating through our own security.
Dream Restoration and the Baking Paradox:
Someone once said: “If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got.” As we now hope for change, we also hope for a change of course based on accurate and truthful assessment of the course itself.
We must first understand that foreign policy, which traditionally does not account for more than one-fifth in our decision on who to vote for, is in fact detrimental to our own life here at home. Unwavering support for Israel as a cornerstone in our foreign policy is only a guarantee that our country will end up on life support just like Ariel Sharon is today, the Israeli bully who dragged us into Iraq. Let’s be honest. You just cannot be truthful to serving U.S. interest, or anyone’s interest for that matter, if you insist on supporting Israel.
We must fully account for what the current administration has committed in service of oil companies, military and government contractors, and all of the crimes we carried out under the banner of “war on terrorism.” We must assess the setbacks to our civil liberties and freedom and remain truthful to the cause rather than saying one thing on the campaign trail and doing the opposite on the senate floor. We must fear our hatred, lying and bigotry just as much as we hate paying for it. Only then would we be entitled to enjoy eating our bread – the bread we baked, that is.
و مـــــات…
Filed under: Articles, the Nidal Sakr tribune, Witness to History, مقـــالات عربيـــة
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قصيدةٌ بلاعنوان
قيثارةٌ دون وتر
و رحلةٌ إلى محطةٍ ….
تلك هي قصةُ إنسان
19/5/2009
في غابرٍ من الزمان و كان
و في بقعةٍ من الأرض و مكان
وُلد، ترعرع، شبَ…
ثم خرج عن الطوق إنسان
عاش من الزمان دهراً
سكن من المكان خيمةً أو قصراً
و ما كان المكان و لا الزمان له عنوان
هو أنت و أنا، هو و هي
نمضي و تمضي بنا السنون
و في لحظة لكأنَ كل كائنٍ ما كان
هذي قصيدتي أخطها
لعل فيها درسٌ و عبرةٌ أو ذكرى
ذات يومٍ إذ ذوى بنا النسيان
…………و مـــــــــات…………..
“ماذا عساني أقول،…..إذ قامت قيامتي،… بعد الأفول”
أما و قد توسدتُ الحجر
و سكنتُ القبور لحودها و ودعتُ البشر
و سنين آمالٍ طوالٍ مرت كلمحٍ بالبصر
و لا أنيس اليوم سوى فعالٍ أُحصيت، لي أو عليَ كحبات المطر
ترى ما أنا قائلٌ، و أين مما جنيتُ المفر
و أمَتي أمَتي من لها بعدي، من لحمزة من لك يا عُمر
و أي معذرةٍ ليومٍ كمثله، يوم حقٍ لكلنا قدر
أيا عبداً ملأت الدنيا ضجيجها و سبرت أغوار القمر
تُرى مما كسبت، أفي جنةٍ أنت، أم في سقر
نهيمُ دهورنا غفلاً، و نصحو بعد عينٍ أثر
فيا صاحبي قدم ليومٍ وُسدت مثلي ذاك الحجر
فو الله ما منك مبتغى سوى مرضاة من له الماضي إذا حضر
إن أنت للأمة ثغرةٌ من ثغراتها
فلا تؤتين من قبلك إذا حاق الخطر
نحن للأمة الثغور إذا ما الخطب حضر
شهد الله أن لا إله إلا هو إذ وقفت ببابه، شهد الشجر
و يشهد عليك ذاك الأنيس توسدته، ذاك الحجر
فلا تركنن لدنيا تصيبها، فهي و إن طالت ممر
دنياك إذ ودعتها، من النحو مبتدأٌ منها أنت أو خبر
دع عنك زخرفها، فلا تكونن فيها إلا غريب سبيلها عبر
……………….
إلهي أتيتك مثقلاً و ليس لي إلاك، إرحم ذليلاً إذِ إنكسر
إغفر عظيم الذنب والزلات، ما قل منها و ما كثر
فليس لي إلا رحماك يا ذا الجلال،
سبحانك……………. يا من إذا أُستُغفِرت غفر
Economy and the Role of Money
Filed under: Articles, the Nidal Sakr tribune, Witness to History
By Nidal Sakr
(MAF- 4/14/2009) – The answer to the question of the role of money is not merely a philosophical one. Rather the very answer to this question is the key to understanding the realm of the world’s economic problem today and is indeed the starting point to finding a solution.
As human societies evolved so did both human needs and the goods and services human produces. As needs grew and became more diverse, humans became less self sufficient and more co-dependent on one another. Instead of surviving on few items of food shelter and clothing, humans used a basket of numerous goods and services. Combination that makes such baskets varied from one person to another and items that make up such a combination started to come from different sources producing same or similar items. Exchange that allows producer of a commodity to trade it in for one that is produced by another needed a medium to make such an exchange easy or even possible. It is that need to facilitate exchange of goods and services between various producers and consumers is what gave rise to the need for money. Thus money was invented as a means to facilitate exchange. Read more
How Many More 9/11s Are You Inviting Before You Quit?
Dear George,
As you well know, I am one of many of those who are not buying into your story of 9/11. As I was blessed with parents who always put me to sleep with bedtime stories of their telling, your story quite frankly is just a “no story.” Read more
A Headless Chicken
Dear George,
Yesterday I took an hour out of my precious time away from serving our country to listen to what the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State had to say. I was so moved by his “Political Giberation” that I did not even care to notice or remember his name. Read more
Leave the Backpack Alone!
Dear George,
As it is reported that you have been enjoying a sense of humor while continuing to perpetrate death, destruction and terror in the Land Holy to all, I thought to share with you a story:
“An airplane was about to crash; there were 5 passengers on board, but only 4 parachutes. The first passenger, said, I’m Kobe Bryant, the best NBA player, the Lakers need me, I can’t afford to Read more
“دجاجة بلا رأس”
(مجموعة مختارة من رسائل للرئيس جورج بوش رداً على إعلانه “الحرب على الإرهاب”)
“تضحيتك أفاقت الدنيا كلها على مأساتك ليصحوا أن هناك شعب يستحق الحياة…. فكانت قرة عينك في عين إنفجارك.”
18 مايو 2002
عزيزي جورج،
في الأمس إقتطعت ساعة من و قتي الثمين الذي أصرفه في خدمة بلدي لأستمع لما لدى نائب مساعد وزير الخارجية ليقول. لقد تأثرت كثيراً بردحه السياسي لدرجة أنه فاتني حتى ملاحظة إسمه.
حُرمت بلدي من خدماتي في الساعة التي ضيعتها إلا أنني عثرت بإكتشاف بالغ الأهمية. بعد إصغائي لردحه الجدير بعنوان “كلنا اليوم شارون” لا يساورني اليوم أدنى شك بالأسباب التي تجعلنا “نُعنفص” في كل مكان كدجاجة فقدت رأسها.
إن الحضارة التي تناصبها العداء، والتي ندين لها جميعاً بكل ما نملك و به ننعم، بدأت بكلمة واحدة.
هذه الكلمة هي “إقرأ.”
أول قطعة سنقرأها هي التالي:
“رحلة في حذاء إستشهادي”
You Just DO NOT Get It
Dear George Bush,
Days ago you came upon us preaching what has become of a culture when a 17-years-old & “bright-futured”-soon to be wed Palestinian woman named “Ayaat” detonated herself in the Holy Land, which resulted in the death of another 17-years-old Jewish woman who is Read more
I Thought You Were a Christian
Dear Mr. President,
For seven months or so we have been hearing about nothing but our war on terrorism and about our growing list of Muslim targets that you have been trying to convince us that they are the major Read more
Image? What Image?
Dear Mr. President,
I read the following story this morning:
“We’ve got work to do” on image with Muslims, Bush says.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20020228/ts_usatoday/3901277 Read more