Luv 'n' stuff

What Red Means!

2011-12-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

"It was night, and the rain fell; and, falling, it was rain, but, having fallen, it was blood. And I stood in the morass among the tall lillies, and the rain fell upon my head - and the lillies sighed one unto the other in the solemnity of their desolation.

Edgar Allen Poe, "Silence - A Fable""

I remembered those lines from Poe's - not so famous - fable. I don't know why I always endeared the imagery these few lines set. The grace by which lillies embraced their own destruction, the respect they had for their end. I remembered those lines as I set foot in Tahrir square on the 19th of November, 2011.

I will not recite a story I'm sure you witnessed or read about, watched videos about or at the very least, wisely, expected. The amounts of CS and CR tear gas fired at Tahrir square a day before and three whole days afterwards were covered by every single news agency from New York to Timbuktu, around forty five Egyptian patriots were killed and around two thousand injured. Many lost an eye or two including some renowned bloggers and activists. Malek Mustafa, Ahmad Harara and Ahmad Abdelfattah - amongst many others - lost their eye sight in one eye via rubber bullets. Only Harara has already lost an eye on the 28th of January during the first wave of the Egyptian revolution.

I spent four days in Tahrir basically alone. Most of my fellow "rebels" were not around due to various personal or professional reasons that vary widely from being out of the country to severe depression. Some preferred to run to the closest Mosque or Church, kneel in-front of a qibla or an alter and pray to God that SCAF would perish into oblivion others just ran to the nearest pub and got totally hammered.

As I wandered around the midan, distributing masks, eye drops and running hopelessly whenever an attack by the CSF took place, I had enough time to ask myself if I really understand what's going on. I'm old enough to know and notice that things are not what they seem, that the first step in solving any problem is to "identify" the problem, that the MOI (Ministry of Interior) and the MP (Military Police) were committing murder on TV and in broad day light and that they didn't seem to care, that my gas mask leaked, that the MB (Muslim Brotherhood) are not in the midan and that Murphy's famous law was being applied every second for four days - yes things went really wrong and for reasons I did not fully understand.

The political scene in Egypt is really simple. It's the conspiracy theories and excess speculation that make things bizarrely complicated if at all - comprehensible. In Egypt, you have main players and minor players. The main players are: The people (Yes-all of them), SCAF, the old regime supporters, the Muslim Brotherhood and the US . The minor players are the Salafis, the MOI, the Egyptian national media, the MI (Military Intelligence), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, thugs, Israel and the EU (I know some of you want Iran among the minors or even the main players, but alas no Iran so far). When I say the people, I mean Tahririans, the silent majority and every other sympathizer with Tahrir who might or might not have joined during the early days of the revolution, yet their loathing to the old regime is authentic and intact.

It's important to notice that non of the main powers existing in the Egyptian political scene work in conjunction with another main player. They only work together when their interests coincide, otherwise they work separately and act at times as if they were classical enemies. I do not believe SCAF is on the MB's side, they might have wooed them in the beginning of the revolution but its more like a tiger wooing a prey. For tigers as we all know kill for sport not for survival. The US is on the MB side when it comes to elections, on SCAF's side when it comes to excessive use of violence and criminal use of CR tear gas and on the people's side only when Obama wants to brag about democracy.

Now, every main player gets support from one or more minor players depending on the situation in which this support is needed. SCAF uses the MOI and the MI to carry out their despicable efforts to control if not annihilate the revolution. The MOI in turn may hire the efforts of thugs (civilians with the IQ of trolls and the viciousness of orcs). The MI may manipulate the national media -especially the national TV. The old regime depends heavily on thugs, finances from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman and again they depend on their supporters in the national media channels to fight the revolution as hard as they can. The Muslim Brotherhood gets their support from a considerable amount of the Egyptian people and the US and depend on the accumulation of wealth and successful businesses they run all around Egypt and abroad (each member of the brotherhood pays a percentage of their monthly income to the brotherhood up to 8%). The US of course uses any and all resources at its disposal from classical espionage to twitter.

But why do I say that the Muslim Brotherhood depends on the support of the US? well, for simple reasons: firstly, the US is prepared for a "moderate" Islamic entity to take over the power in Egypt provided this entity respects the peace treaty with Israel, fights terrorism and apply democracy. Any entity would do, the Muslim Brotherhood happens to be the most organised of all "other entities". Secondly: The Muslim Brotherhood knows that there is no possibility for any prosperity in Egypt unless the US is satisfied and is approving of "whoever" seizes power. The brotherhoods thirst for power may force them to implement a hippie-Islamic model to satisfy the US and ensure people's personal freedoms, which by any means will be more profound than Mubarak's own understanding to personal freedom. At the very least, the brotherhood will follow legitimate routes and legal channels to grant or restrict personal freedoms - Mubarak didn't.

But who's on the People's side? If any of the players have their helpers, resources, finances, aspirations to power, or wealth - or both. Who supports the demands of Tahrir? Who will bring justice to a mother who lost her only son? who will put behind bars the torturers? the murderers? the corrupt? the rapists? those who did all sins known to man in the name of National Security? No one.

The Egyptian people are left alone to their noble dreams, legitimate demands and white revolution, probably too white that someone had to make it a little red, very red. The blood of thousands of Egyptians injured and dead, arms torn, eyes ripped off and faces mutilated has covered every inch of the spacious, courageous and demi-holly midan. But the dream is still young and intact. The dream to a better living under a state that respects and enforces the law. Was it a blessing or a curse that we chose our revolution to be white all the way? did we choose the wrong color in our flag?

No. We made the right choice, they made the wrong choice.

Now I know what red means!

Cognitive Dissonance: An Egyptian Saga!

2011-06-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

They say Aesop was a Greek writer who lived some 600 years before Christ, they say he was credited for a number of succinct stories that feature animals or mythical creatures and that his stories or "fables" almost entirely held moral lessons. Yet, Aesop's existence remain uncertain, so does the existence of Shakespeare, Swedish trolls and the monsters of Loch Ness. But, it doesn't matter, his fables survived and are a vivid proof that someone must have written them, be it Aesop or a bunch of Aesops!

Historians tend to doubt the existence of many historical figures and events, but what do they know, they even doubt the existence of Orcs claiming they are just a fragment of J. R. R. Tolkien's imagination: Bollocks, I have seen many Orcs in Egypt during the early days of the revolution, mostly in uniform, some even wore shades and spoke in Arabic, but it's not within the scope of this article to prove that Orcs exist! I saw them and 3arabawy has a full set of pictures of them in his famous Piggipedia!.

Bottom line, some of humanity's most doubted figures (like Aesop) must have existed. It's what they left behind that matters the most. Maybe they had different names or different personas, but the smell is always the same wherever they landed, the smell they enforced on time and place: The smell of hope. On the other hand some of humanity's worst nightmares (like Tolkien's Orcs) exist, maybe with different names, different ears or a different lingo but the smell is always the same wherever they land, the smell they enforce on time and place: The smell of fear, and mind you, both hope and fear have very distinctive smells!

One of Aesop's fables: "The fable of the Fox and the Grapes" reads as follows:

"Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.' People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves."

The fable discusses what's known in social psychology as cognitive dissonance, which is simply the state of agitation caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The fox is hungry and would have loved to reach the grapes and satisfy his hunger, yet Alas he couldn't and his only way out was to discredit the grapes thus relieving his mind from the agony caused by holding those two equally strong yet contradicting thoughts: Hunger and the inability to reach the grapes. Falsely claiming the grapes were sour resolves the conflict and the fox can move on with his life.

Prior to January, 25th 2011, Aesop's fox dominated the Egyptian political scene. To the majority of Egyptians, ousting the regime seemed impossible, the NDP were taking all the leading positions in the country, the police were brutal, resilient and apparently invincible and the choices the nation had for a valid successor of "he who must forever not be named" were limited only to his son or a bunch of unknowns who lacked both the popularity and the vision to run for office. (Ayman Nour might be an exception but again Ayman Nour was/is not Saad Zaghloul). The cost of a revolution -if ever- is dire and therefore the nation resorted to Aesop's fox's logic: A revolution is sour grapes!

The revolutionary individuals (hardly "forces" back then) lost hope and therefore had nothing else of value to lose. Years of brutalization, suppression, wire-tapping, web-tapping, arbitrary detention, torture, fake trials and false imprisonment has left the majority of them with no other option but to revolt. The question was when. They were the least of all the parties in the Egyptian political scene to suffer from cognitive dissonance simply because they already suffered too much for nothing, suffering for the sake of a revolution sounded logical and maybe poetic. They knew that freedom had a price and were willing to pay it, if you won't count what they have already paid in advance. The grapes are not sour at all!

The rest of the nation suffered cognitive dissonance with varying degrees of acuteness. Though freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the ousting of "he who must forever not be named" were legitimate demands, the price was too high and they preferred to await an "impossible" reform from "within" rather than help or take part in enforcing a reform to take place. The grapes were very sour!

Today, cognitive dissonance still characterizes the Egyptian silent majority, probably for different reasons and on different issues. But, day-by-day the confusion is lessening, the fox has already reached the grapes and no matter how hard it was to reach it, the fox can eat and satisfy his hunger and the day will come when he will look back at this particular period of his life and smile. The grapes were worth every drop of sweat and every drop of blood and "three pairs of sneakers in my case!". The Muslim brotherhood are probably the only political group not suffering from cognitive dissonance, their pragmatism and ability to enjoy the taste of someone else's grapes or even claim the grapes to be their's makes them delusional rather than anything else!

As for SCAF, Cognitive dissonance is bound to harass them for a while for they still believe they own the vine, the grapes and probably the fox!

On Decency!

2011-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

"woman is the nigger of the world" is a song written and recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1972. The shocking title and bitter lyrics didn't qualify the song to rank higher than a humble #57 on the billboard hot 100 ranking. The song was withdrawn from the British charts and the song's title was a cause for apology by those who wanted to play the song on radio stations. John -as always- was proud of the song and it's shocking "politically incorrect" title and was proud of Ono's participation in the song's lyrics and the coining of the title. Yet, no matter how much I agree or disagree with the song's lyrics or title, it's "his Lennonness" who co-wrote this song, the same man who wrote "Imagine" and "working class hero", I remain bedazzled and perplexed at his boldness and earnestness and I can't help but admire the man and his daring piece of work. I can't disagree with John: I'm only human you know!

In Egypt, women are not happier than women in other areas of the world, in fact, Egyptian women suffer discrimination, prejudices, judgments, harassment and violence, probably like many other parts of the world yet, what makes the Egyptian situation bizarrely flamboyant is the fact that women throughout Egyptian history were treated as equal to men, some were even goddesses and queens, history books are loaded with female figures who ruled, governed and (literally) got worshiped by Egyptians. We hear of Isis, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, Virgin Mary, Aisha, Khadija, Fatima Al-Zahra'a, Shagaret Al-dur, Safeyya Zaghloul ...

Yet, something went wrong on the way to the twenty first century and suddenly we stand helpless in a rare moment of hopeless self realization, blogging about sexual harassment and trying to figure out the causes and the cures for such a shameful social disease.

In my humble opinion, sexual harassment in Egypt is a byproduct of the social perception regarding "decency"! As a rule, if a specific human act is not fiercely condemned by the society at large and is therefore not harshly punishable by law, it (the act) is considered acceptable and at some point logical. In Egypt, the first set of questions that are being asked once a sexual harassment account is told are: what was she wearing? where did this take place? why would a "decent" woman walk by herself there? when did this happen? why would a "decent" woman walk alone that late? the general consensus of the society is willing to acknowledge and admit a sexual harassment case only if: the woman was "decently" dressed, was walking in a fairly inhabited area and before 9:00 pm! otherwise, it's her fault.

I'm willing to accept that every event is identified by two universal measures: time and space. But, adding "decency" to an event's universal characteristics, defies all the rules of nature from quantum physics to the theory of relativity not to mention the Newtonian laws of motion! Decency is a very subjective, hard to measure, hard to define human quality and it's due to this "decency" factor that many policemen engage in sexual harassment and its also due to this decency factor that the law enforcers fail to justly and fairly deal with various cases of harassment.

Yet "decent" women get sexually harassed all the time. Some would argue that the vast majority of sexual harassment victims are "decent" women. Kids, teenagers and even elderly women are victims of sexual harassment. It's sick to imagine or even discuss: but, how indecent can a 9 year old girl be? how sexy, hot or arousing can a 7 year old girl with golden ringlets on a bus or in a park be? What's so indecent about a girl laughing loudly, or a girl wearing tight clothes or even a girl walking by herself on a deserted road drunk at 3:00 am? Where is the Universal declaration of human rights? What happened to: We are here to protect and serve? Where did all the teachings of Jesus and Muhammad go? What about Batman, Spiderman or Zorro? Why do the teachings of our idols fail to exist when we need them the most!?

It's our consensus of "decency" that needs to change simply because this consensus is: indecent!

Applying the law, harshening the punishment and dedicating a special police force to track down and incarcerate harassers may help control the saddening phenomena but my opinion is that sexual harassment will not cease to exist unless we change our definition and accordingly our perception regarding what's decent and what's not.

You want a proof to my debate, think of SCAF, think of the military police then think of the excuses they gave for performing the most bizarre act in the history of harassment: Date: March 10, 2011. Time: Sometime before noon. Place: A makeshift detention facility at the Egyptian museum in Tahrir square. Act: Virginity tests being performed on 18 women. "The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine," an anonymous general told a CNN reporter.

The general's possibly meant: "The girls who were detained were not as decent as your daughter or mine"

Image by Rong Jiaojiao

... and Justice for all!

2011-06-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Many people I know stutter pathetically when asked to tell the difference between what's "good" and what's "right", what's "bad" and what's "wrong". Music fans would argue that blues is good but rock is right. Heavy metal is bad and thrash metal is wrong.

In Arabic music terms 'Fairouz' is good and 'Om Kolthoum' is right, 'Shaabolla' is bad and 'Tamoura' is wrong. Some people would argue differently, It's 'Fairouz' that deserves to be "right" while 'Thouma' is barely good. It doesn't matter, after all there is nothing really good, right, bad or wrong in music. Yet, in politics what's good vs. what's right is a fundamental argument and being able to tell distinctive differences is mandatory to every society on the verge of writing a new social contract. nevertheless, Tamoura is wrong!

In modern philosophy, Good refers to the moral quality of a human act, while right is a function of the conformity of a given human act to a moral principle. In simpler English: Good refers to moral quality say justice, while right is the measure of conforming to justice, i.e. Applying the law.

John Rawls, an American philosopher wrote a legendary book in the early 70s called "A Theory of Justice" in which he derived two principles of justice: the liberty principle and the difference principle. The liberty principal states that "each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.". Basic liberties include the right for expression, political liberty (voting and running for office), freedom of speech and assembly, liberty of conscience, freedom of personal property; and freedom from arbitrary arrest. The liberty principal in Rawls's opinion should never be violated or compromised even for the sake of his second principal, the difference principal which states that Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that:

they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of society (the difference principle).
offices and positions must be open to everyone under conditions of fair equality of opportunity

If humans were aware of their status, position, wealth or health in their societies then justice will never be served. It's our ignorance of where we typically fit within our societies that urges us to develop a scheme of justice that treats all people within a specific society fairly.

Mubarak, against Rawls's sociopolitical theory, thought wrongly he knew where he fits in his society, so did his sons, his advisers, his ministers and his party. Mubarak, thought he will continue being a president until death or until he willingly steps down giving way to his son to rule. If you are so sure of where you are, of your destiny and of your future, you will never seek a fair and just scheme in which all people fit. Justice became "Mubarak's" idea of justice, fairness became "Mubarak's" idea of fairness and his conceptions of the good and his psychological propensities were the governing factors in the Egyptian sociopolitical scene.

Also, Mubarak constructed a huge device that had two main pillars: A very corrupt, very misleading media and a very brutal, very devoted security organization. Those, deprived Egyptians from their basic rights. All of them except the right for personal property which by definition was experienced on a much wider scale by the rich and possibly the corrupt rather than the rest of the nation.

But, Egyptians revolted and Mubarak discovered that his false knowledge of his status within his society has come to an end. yet, the men who are still controlling the Egyptian political scene are not yet aware of this fact, the counter revolutionary forces are simply those who refuse to believe that the principals of justice are devised from behind a veil: a veil of ignorance. Ignorance to what the future may hold for them, the rest of the nation, though not well informed on modern political theories demand to be governed by those principals thus seeking equality, liberty and full grants to their basic rights.

If John Rawls was still alive , he would have seen his theories uttered, proven and demanded by a large mass of illiterate Egyptians. He would have been very proud. In any case, Egypt requires, demands and insists on a social contract which may lead to a balanced constitution and a free nation. No one is aware of the ultimate good, but everyone should do their best to pursue being right.

I hope I am.

Of Love and War!

2011-06-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

No one I know of should claim coining the saying: "The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war" with all it's popular variations, more than the Muslim Brotherhood.

John Lyly, a renaissance English poet and playwright first wrote this famous -often quoted- line in his book 'Euphues' back in 1578. Yet, it wasn't until the end of the second decade of the twentieth century - the date Hassan Al-Banna established the brotherhood - when this famous (or rather infamous) saying got applied both in the name of love and war simultaneously. I am quite sure Lyly was preceded by Niccolo Machiavelli and I'm also sure that many unhappy incidents in the history of man took place due to the application of this saying which basically summarizes the Machiavellian philosophy in "a far less hard to swallow" way. The crusaders killed in the name of God, so did George "the shrub" Bush. But, with the Muslim Brotherhood there is a slight difference that makes them unique in applying Lyly's pithy quotation.

The Brotherhood seek power in the name of God and seek God in the name of bashing (assassination at times) their political opponents thus betraying both the core concepts of love and the core concepts of their religion. Making them opportunists par excellence rather than a classical religious organization by their own definition.

Maybe this was not the case when 22 years old Hassan Al-banna established the brotherhood back in 1928. Egypt then a monarchy under British occupation, the country's secular constitution of 1923 granted the establishment of the brotherhood which started as a political, religious and social movement with the credo, "God is our objective, the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, Jihad is our way, and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations." If you read this credo today and didn't know it was the original doctrine of the brotherhood, you would easily get confused and you may associate it to the salafi movement of today. Al-Banna called for the full implementation of sharia law based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. His argument was that sharia laws were passed down by God and should therefore be applied to all aspects of life, including the organization of the government and the handling of everyday problems.

History says the brotherhood was a major participant in a series of political assassinations in the 1940s and 1950s, in November 1948 police seized documents and plans of what was thought to be the Brotherhood's `secret apparatus` with names of its members. Subsequently the Egyptian prime minister of Egypt at the time, M.F.Al-Nokrashi, ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood. Yet, on December 28, 1948 Egypt's Al-Nokrashi was assassinated by a Brotherhood member. A month and half later Al-Banna was killed by men believed to be government agents and supporters of the murdered prime minister. In 1952 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were accused of taking part in arson that destroyed some "750 buildings" in downtown Cairo, mainly the Cairo opera house, night clubs, theaters, hotels, and restaurants.

An attempt on the life of Egypt's second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser was allegedly orchestrated by the brotherhood in 1954 marking the official ban to the brotherhood. Thousands of the brotherhood members were prisoned and tortured. It was not until Sadat came to power in 1970, when he gradually released the imprisoned members of the brotherhood. Sadat then became the enemy of the Brotherhood after signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and was assassinated by a violent Islamist group called Tanzim al-Jihad on October 6, 1981.

This colorful history is known to many Egyptians, disputed by the brotherhood affectionados and denied by orthodox brotherhood members. The brotherhood are extremely evasive when it comes to discussing their past, they claim to have denounced violence long ago and that history was written by their opponents, they majorly confuse literary historical writings with facts and what I have mentioned above are historical facts.

Yet, Islam preaches for peace all through the holy Qura'an. Violence is scorned, rejected and forbidden, the examples from Qura'an are in abundance:

2:256 “Let there be no compulsion in religion"
16:82 But if they turn away from you, (O Prophet remember that) your only duty is a clear delivery of the Message (entrusted to you).
6:107 Yet if God had so willed, they would not have ascribed Divinity to aught besides him; hence, We have not made you their keeper, nor are you (of your own choice) a guardian over them.
17:53, 54 And tell my servants that they should speak in a most kindly manner (unto those who do not share their beliefs). Verily, Satan is always ready to stir up discord between men; for verily; Satan is mans foe .... Hence, We have not sent you (Unto men O Prophet) with power to determine their Faith.
21:107 to 109 (O Prophet?) 'We have not sent you except to be a mercy to all mankind:" Declare, "Verily, what is revealed to me is this, your God is the only One God, so is it not up to you to bow down to Him?' But if they turn away then say, "I have delivered the Truth in a manner clear to one and all, and I know not whether the promised hour (of Judgment) is near or far."
22:67 To every people have We appointed ceremonial rites (of prayer) which they observe; therefore, let them not wrangle over this matter with you, but bid them to turn to your Lord (since that is the main objective of religion). You indeed are rightly guided. But if they still dispute you in this matter, (then say,) `God best knows (the value of) what you do."
88:21, 22; also see 24:54 And so, (O Prophet!) exhort them your task is only to exhort; you cannot compel them to believe.
42:6, 48 And whoso takes for patrons others besides God, over them does God keep a watch. Mark, you are not a keeper over them. But if they turn aside from you (do not get disheartened), for We have not sent you to be a keeper over them; your task is but to preach ....
60:8 Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.
60:9 Allah only forbids you, with regard to those who fight you for (your) Faith, and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection). It is such as turn to them (in these circumstances), that do wrong.

The above mentioned verses are a vivid proof that 22 year old Al-Banna clearly misinterpreted Islam and suggested wrongly political assassinations as a solution to resolve political conflicts. but the reason why I wrote this article was mainly to refer to the most interesting piece of information amongst all the above mentioned scary bedtime stories. It's their credo that makes all the difference especially nowadays.

The brotherhood depends on three tactics that have always worked brilliantly for them:

The first tactic is to exaggerate their capabilities via a set of well structured announcements that would give the receiver the feeling that the brotherhood constitute 30%-40% of the Egyptian voting power. The truth is that the brotherhood members do not exceed 850,000. A huge number yet not so huge in a country of 44 million eligible voters.
The second tactic is based on evasiveness. The brotherhood will do anything but to clearly apologize for their past not to mention discussing it. They would not clarify where they stand from SCAF, military trials, minorities rights, virginity tests. This is due to their extreme pragmatism while handling any issue where SCAF is involved. Thus winning any minor gain that SCAF may give them on the account of the rest of the political forces in Egypt.
The third tactic is associating themselves with Islam, such that if you disagree with their political position, you are basically disagreeing with the will of God! This works perfectly with "the religious and the illiterate".

In this article I tried mostly to tackle the brotherhood second tactic. I will write two more articles to tackle their first and third tactics once I have the time. The brotherhood have ruined the political life of Egyptians over nearly a full century but it's not the politics that I am bound to explain or defend. It's Islam that I care for the most. The peaceful religion that was interpreted viciously by the few to rule the many. A good peaceful religion. My religion.

The Idiots guide to killing a revolution!

2011-06-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

1. First of all never admit there is a revolution, always refer to the revolution as "the incidents", "the events" or "the demonstrations".

2. Always make fun of the rebels: the way they talk, the way they express their ideas or the way they comb their hair!

3. Always refer to the rebels as: the innocent youth, innocence suggests lack of experience which might mean: ignorance! It also alienates elderly rebels: old men should never revolt, ever!

4. Always refer to the ousted dictator as the ex-president and to justify this say: "I'm glad we finally have an ex-president".

5. Know that equality, freedom, social justice. fraternity or bread are Masonic concepts.

6. Anyone demanding any of the above mentioned ideas is either a Freemason or a deluded prick.

7. Always join groups on facebook that support the so called revolution. Whenever you have a chance post a confusing remark, a conspiracy theory, a gloomy prediction or a song by Amr Diab. Tamer Hosny is a "No" for now. We must still think of a way to regain his popularity after he got bitch slapped in Tahrir!

8. Always believe in the effect of the word "economy" on people, say everywhere how bad the economic situation of the country has become. Don't mention any profits you made in the stock market or any increase in your companies export rates.

9. Ask people to help turn the wheel of production thus helping the economy. Claim you personally got hernia while blowing the bloody wheel then curse Tahrir and hold your crotch and look in pain!

10. Whenever you hear that people demonstrate on Fridays ask those around you: "do those people have any work"?

11. Baradei is a spy, a war lord, a non believer and a thief. Hate him. And make sure you tell people around you the truth about this American Agent!

12. When praying in Mostafa Mahmoud on Fridays try not to mingle with those around you. They are all hired thugs from Boulaq. Yet, try to look sincere and sorry.

13. Here on: Talaat Zakareya and Adel Imam are your idols. Make sure you talk in favor of their new movies. If people criticize you mention Afaf Shoeib's new series!

14. When few people are around you, and they look sympathetic enough, call Mubarak: baba, then cry making sure your shoulders swing violently as you hide your face with your hands.

15. If you're constipated blame Tahrir.

16. Know this and say it out loud: I love Amr Moussa.

17. Here on: you're diet is based on beef ribs and pizza.

18. As you have said "yes" to the referendum, always remind people that those who said "No" are against Islam and against stability. People hate blasphemy and turmoil.

19. When heading to the Airport: praise the man who supervised building it. Then sigh, and look thoughtful. Teary eyes at this moment is a killer, so practice!

20. Here on: any bearded man is your enemy. well, even Santa!

21. Whenever something bad happens say: didn't I tell you? to the person next to you. don't worry no one remembers what you say!

22. Tell your friends that you're considering leaving the country. Make sure they believe you. It's trendy to escape nowadays to Europe.

23. Your picture on facebook is either a "Yes" or Baba's picture or a slaughtered dove. A flag is faggoty and unpatriotic!

24. Say your factory is closing down. Your company is bankrupt and your marriage is in danger. Social turmoil is a result of a wicked revolution.

25. Never say the martyrs. Say the dead. If they ask you for an explanation tell them only god knows who's a martyr and who's not. And though your dad died while running after his favorite poodle you call him a martyr so does your mom!

26. Here on: Mortada Mansour is a hero to you. Name your unborn child Mortada!

27. For women: Tell your very close friends that you were kidnapped and raped repeatedly and the rapist(s) kept shouting: foloul, foloul as he spanked you mercilessly! hide your thrill!

28. Read youm7 and spread it's news. It's the only periodical worth reading after Momtaz El-Ott tragic resignation.

29. Whenever you have the chance say this country needs a tough man with a strong grip and long whip! and that demo-cracy is demo-nic for those who can read correctly!

30. Drive fast and look busy. Frown as you avoid running over a street crosser but if you made sure he's one of the rebels run him over, twice!

31. On Thursday nights dump your usual bugsbunny kinky outfit, wear a policeman's uniform and threaten your wife you'll fire tear gas if she doesn't obey! Just look stupid and heartless. It works!

32. Say after me: The snipers in Tahrir were Americans, The drivers of the vans that ran people over were British and the guys who looted all the beef ribs shops and pizzerias were Israelis.

33. Post every video of Al-Howainy, Yaqoub or Shouman on your facebook wall. Share it and write the following comment: Only Baba knew how to control them. Only Baba Can. Only Baba, Baba...

34. Threaten to vote for Tawfiq Okasha and tell your friends: "he's the only viable option". Make sure you convince them, if you couldn't, suggest Mortada. Everyone loves Mortada!

35. Finally, Pray for Baba, for if he got hanged and he might, you will always be able to visit his grave, it's air conditioned, has an international phone and guess what: he built it with your money!

The Dogs of War!

2011-06-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

I was never a fan of William Shakespeare. I respect him, admire him and find him inspiring. But, I also think similarly of figures like Muhammad Qandil (the famous Egyptian singer) and Farouq Goweida (a famous Egyptian contemporary poet) Who deserve respect and admiration yet, they bore me out of my wits at times. Well, most of the time!

Last night, I came across a quote extracted from William Shakespeare's famous play: Julius Caesar, in which Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) stated in Act 3, scene 1, 270–275:

"and Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial."

Basically Mark Antony was in rage over Julius Caesar's assassination and was preparing to strike back at his assassins (Brutus and Cassius), Antony invokes Caesar's spirit and Ate, the Greek goddess of ruin and strife. Ate will charge in with dogs of war, causing havoc on the conspirators. Cry 'Havoc is obviously a call for destruction. Boring, eh? okay, it's over I promise, no more Shakespeare.

What really shocked me is this: I am absolutely positive that Mubarak has never read Shakespeare, has never heard of a play called Julius Caesar and does not even know that "ate" is the past tense of the verb "eat" not to mention a name for a Greek goddess!

Yet Mubarak's plan to counterattack and thus negate the effect of a long awaited revolution adhered perfectly to Mark Antony's plan to strike back at Brutus and Cassius - the "revolutionary" assassins of Julius Caesar. Antony, with the help of Ate will raise hell on earth and unleash the dogs of war such that even the dead corpses of men will groan for burial (mercy), you can imagine what the living men will beg for (safety and security?)! Okay let me make things clearer: think of Antony as Omar Suleiman, think of Ate as the remaining members of the NDP who are still in power and think of the dogs of war as the Egyptian police, everything will start making sense!

The Egyptian police was and still is the thorn in this country's flesh, heart, soul and dignity. Years and years have passed and the Egyptians suffered the humiliation, abuse, torture, corruption and greed of a brutal monster, lurking in their backyard in the name of state security, personal security and sometimes in the name of patriotism. Before January 25th, 2011, the Egyptian police - following the orders of Mubarak's regime or their own mutilated code of conduct - have enjoyed the status of being invincible, untouchable and in numerous cases above the law. The same law they were sworn to respect and abide to. This is "partly" because of the emergency law (Law No. 162 of 1958) that was applied in Egypt since 1967 (except for an 18-month break in 1980). It has been continuously extended every three years since 1981 and up until this very moment.

But the main reason - in my opinion- to their audacious, brutal conduct over so many years is due to two main reasons:

The absence of a true Independent civil ombudsman office that would handle all and any complaint and escalate it in the proper channels seeking only justice. (Civil Monitoring)
The negative attitude that characterized the Egyptian society over the years due to their inherited firm belief that whatever they do, justice will never be served (especially when your opponent is a police officer).

The Ombudsman idea is not new to Egypt. The first implementation of the Ombudsman was in the form of Wali al-Mazalim introduced in Islamic Judiciary by Omar the second caliphate around 634 AD. It continued through the days of Muhammad Ali who ruled Egypt in 1805 and was cancelled once the 1923 constitution was announced, as the law maker confused the role of the public prosecutor with the role of the ombudsman! It was only logical of a renowned political activist like Hossam El-Hamalawy a.k.a 3arabawy to demand civil monitoring on all civil and non civil organizations including the Egyptian army. Hossam stated these "blasphemous" ideas during a phone interview with an Egyptian TV host on Tahrir satellite channel, Only the idea scared the the TV host out of his wits and the host ended the interview abruptly while mumbling incoherent sentences in the lines of: what do we know about missile weapons to monitor the army? the army is a red line! Hossam came out of this: a hero who stood for what he thought was right and just. The host lost his credibility on air!

Back to the dogs ...

Once Mubarak has fallen, the dogs of war had two fights to go through and they knew they had to win both. The first was their fight against the rebels and their too much-too soon victory. This fight if won would reinstate Mubarak or at the very least another Mubarak in power thus regaining their old status and power. The second was purely a "V for Vendetta" type of fight, a fight for their dignity which suffered major bruises during the revolution, for what is more humiliating than being defeated by a bunch of unarmed civilians shouting "Selmeya" in the faces of men dressed like Samurais, armed better than a Samurai and have neither the ethics nor the morals of a Samurai?!

The dogs of war roamed the streets of Egypt major cities, accompanied by an army of thugs, firing bullets, scaring unarmed civilians, looting shops, destroying ATM machines, releasing prisoners from jails and detainees from police stations, launching rumors of women being raped, kids being kidnapped and other scary unsubstantiated allegations. But they tried very hard to adhere to their main goal: scare but don't get caught, if you did: don't worry, you will soon get released and never get close to a foreigner or an embassy, thats a red line. The only red line. That's what I have noticed!

The next step was to make sure they stay away from the streets as long as possible. They wished people would beg for their return to their original status especially that many citizens confuse them (the police) with security and are willing to give up some of their basic liberties in exchange for "feeling" safe. They also orchestrated a few incidents in Atfeeh and Imbaba to fuel up the sectarian conflict in Egypt, this was probably their ace of spades!

Finally, the dogs of war have deserted their hiding holes, got dressed in their "faggoty white uniforms" and decided to come back to the streets, doing the same things they used to do for thirty long years. The result: four civilians dead after being allegedly tortured in police stations. All for the sake of the show, the show of vulgar expression of gruesome power and deep corruption and the show must go on!

The sound of silence

2011-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, May the 27th of the Christan year of 2011 witnessed the gathering of tens of thousands of Egyptians in a place they now refer to as "home": Tahrir Square. Their gathering, which started in the last hours of the previous day and continued until the early hours of today was called upon by many political forces, groups and coalitions in an attempt to revive the Egyptian revolution and straighten it's zigzagged path. Egyptians flooded the famous square raising banners and chanting slogans that seemed to remind no one other than themselves with the main goals of their revolution, which have ripen into a specific set of irrelated yet highly logical demands- At the very least - in their own reasoning.

Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping, and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains, within the sound of silence.

The masses knew where to go, what to do and what to say the moment they reached Tahrir. Liberals gathered by the Kasr-El-Nil entrance, leftists by the Talaat Harb street entrance, so did many tweeps, bloggers, reporters, a few men selling flags, a crazy woman, a music band and a dreamer. The unpoliticized, the moderate and radicalists shared the square in harmony despite their contradicting political affiliations for they had one thing in common and this thing comes on top of their priorities list; above their ideologies, theories, opinions and even above their beliefs. They call this thing Egypt and they believe that "patriotism" is a "belief" too. None of them met George Bernard Shaw and few of them heard of him!

in restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone, neath the halo of a street lamp, I turn my collar to the cold and damp, when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, that split the night, and touched the sound of silence.

I wandered about the square enjoying the dynamic crowds and thinking of the silent majority of Egyptians who were never cursed with the "Tahrir spell!". I was and still am heavily affected by what Tahrir has cast upon me, or the likes of me. Those who believe in social justice, the rule of law, the rights of the unwealthy and unprivileged to a better, hopeful and prosperous life. Yet the silent majority kept humming to my ears, saying things that may defy many of my beliefs and align with many others, things that contradict justice with mercy, prosperity with subordination, law with tradition, wealth with success and consent with religion.The silent majority is not really silent after all and I wished they would stop talking and start doing something--anything!

and in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people maybe more, people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never shared, no one dared, disturb the sound of silence.

I remembered the song written by Paul Simon back when music meant a little more than Britney Spears and Amr Diab, in which Paul Simon describes a place where people talk without speaking and hear without listening and asked myself if such place truly exists. I'm trying to rationalize what I am witnessing in Egypt: in Tahrir as opposed to many other places, where the silent majority reign is prosperous and flourishing.

"fools," said I, "you do not know, silence like a cancer grows, hear. my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach, you", but my words like silent raindrops fell, and echoed in the wells of silence.

It's true: The Egyptian silent majority hears but never listens. It's not true though that they talk but never speak, I can hear them all the time, in cabs, in public places, in official media, in coffee shops, in grocery stores and worst of all within my own family!. Well, whoever coined the term "the Egyptian silent majority" was either deaf or simply misunderstood the effect of putting two apparently simple words together: Egyptian and silent. The arrangement is illogical for Egyptians in general and as a rule are never silent. If "inactive" is used instead of "silent" everything should fall into place.

and the people bowed and prayed, to the neon god they made, and the sign flashed out its warning, in the words that it was forming
And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls, and whispered in the sound of silence.

The so called silent majority does not follow the rules of critical reasoning, statistics, logical derivations nor thick serious economical reports. Rather, they follow their instincts, their beliefs, their superstitions, their interests and their inherited values and to think that some specific group speaking in the name of religion, righteousness or God will succeed in turning the silent majority into a submissive mass following a specific ideology is mistaken. Once this majority decides to take part of the scene it will astound and stun even the most skillful of the political analysts for the silent Egyptians have the words of their own prophets written on the subway walls and those prophets are hardly known to any political analyst.

I found myself smiling after experiencing this trail of thoughts, as I walked slowly towards the Sadat subway station, maybe I'll read what the prophets have written on the subway walls. Maybe!

For those of you who never heard "The sound of silence": http://youtu.be/h-S90Uch2as

What White Means!

2011-05-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

After someone called for blogging on May-23-2011 to criticize the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), I found myself obligated to join the initiative. Not that I will add anything new or uncover a hidden treasure of unique ideas that's never been revealed, discussed, refused or agreed upon before. rather, I find it a good opportunity to state my opinion about the current situation and SCAF, in prose as I usually express myself in rhyme.

The main topic of this article reminds me of a story I once heard, it's relevance to the current events in Egypt and to SCAF maybe deduced through out the lines of this article, read on.

They say that Albert Einstein was once asked by a blind man to explain what does the relativity theory mean, Einstein told the blind guy: "relativity is close to a glass of milk."

"Glass," replied the blind guy, "I know what that is. But what do you mean by milk?"

"Well, milk is a white fluid," said Einstein.

"Now fluid, I know what that is," said the blind guy. "but what is white ? "

" Oh, white is the color of a swan's feathers."

" Feathers, I know feathers, but what is a swan ? "

"A swan's a bird with a crooked neck."

" Neck, I know what a neck is, but what is "crooked" ? "

Einstein seized the blind guy's arm and stretched it. "There, now your arm is straight," said Albert. Then he bent the blind guy's arm at the elbow. "Now it is crooked."

"Oh," said the blind guy. "Now I know what white means."

To many, myself included SCAF is an unknown entity! A group of twenty army generals appointed by Mubarak, representing the different branches of the Egyptian armed forces, whose highest commander used to be Mubarak himself until he was allegedly given an ultimatum to "leave or get prosecuted" during the seventy-two hours prior to his stand down, handing his authorities to SCAF.

This - though celebrated by the masses - has put Egypt in a delicate, perplexing and devastating constitutional situation. Mubarak, according to the constitution can only hand his resignation and therefore his authorities to an elected parliament which represented by it's own head would lead the country through a transition period until a new president is elected. Handing power to SCAF is unconstitutional and therefore illegal. The parliament itself was a big fraud, many of its members were instated via a forged election using fake votes, thugs, switching boxes and bribery.

SCAF, more than anyone involved in the grim Egyptian political scene knew the situation and sought acknowledgement in a legal, constitutional and public manner. But, which constitution? the 1971 constitution in action has already fallen the moment Mubarak stepped down. The only legitimacy SCAF can rely on is the legitimacy imposed by the revolution and none of the rebels of Tahrir would ever acknowledge the appointees of Mubarak to rule. Not to mention that those appointees are men in uniform!

SCAF also knew that a vast majority of Egyptians didn't join the revolution, their silence may reflect sympathy with the revolution's goals, sympathy with Mubarak, Indifference or simply ignorance. Yet, no matter which category this silent majority belonged to, their approval on SCAF being handed power would give SCAF the legitimacy they were seeking. The rebels of Tahrir though righteous are a minority of intelligentsia supported by crowds of a sympathetic mob and some Islamic movements who jumped on board once the revolution was on a roll. SCAF would raise the question: "do those in Tahrir represent the whole nation?", "do we need to derive our legitimacy for being in power from Tahrir alone?", "who of those many groups, coalitions, parties, entities can authorize our existence in power?": none and therefore the answer to all the previously mentioned questions was a loud No.

The answer to those confusing questions came in the form of some legal consultation provided "probably" by Tareq Al-Beshry (a muslim brothers aficionado) and Yehia Al-Gamal (a man craving for a role) among other constitutional experts who advised SCAF to conduct a referendum for 9 constitutional amendments concerning articles (75, 76, 77, 88, 93, 139, 148, 179, 189). The Amendments, if approved would legalize SCAF's existence in power, re-instate the fallen 1971 constitution, enforce a form of superficial stability especially amongst the politically illiterate and the previous NDP members who would do anything to restore the country's political scene to what it was prior to January 25. It would also legalize the position of the restricted Islamic groups if they supported the referendum, for apart from legalizing SCAFs position, the referendum drew a clear path for any organized group to take over a considerable portion of the coming parliament thus becoming the new "in-inaugurated" yet actual ruler of Egypt. The Muslim Brothers wouldn't miss this historic chance even if they had to literally betray the demands of Tahrir: after all, this is what politics is all about in their opinion - history says.

On the other hand the amendments didn't reflect the revolution’s demands. One of the main demands is the formation of a new temporary constitution that would dictate the authorities of a temporary government and a civil presidential council, but who cares? If all the organized powers in Egypt supported by the illiterate masses in the delta and upper Egypt along with SCAF approved of the referendum then to hell with a bunch of of educated bloggers, liberals, leftists and social justice seekers. Electronic media might be imperative in countries like Japan or Sweden where the illiteracy rates are below zero, but Egypt? Guess not.

Furthermore, SCAF does not approve of a presidential council, how do we expect it to? handing power willingly to the likes of Baradei, Nour or Bothaina Kamel? are you insane? SCAF has always stated their firm adherence to applying the law, they did apply it in some occasions and failed in numerous occasions to even get close to concepts of justice or fairness. Any "political" opinion that criticizes SCAF is considered a "crime" punishable by Military Laws.

Applying the law is a "theme" favorable to many, It saves SCAF from being criticized by the US and EU who praised this "theme" since day one. It is also a theme that would guarantee minimal punishment to major crimes. The judicial system requires documents, proofs and witnesses that may not be available thus making it very hard to establish justice the way the revolution wants.

When we joined the demonstration in Tahrir on Jan 25, we wanted the president to step down, we wanted the regime to fall, we wanted social justice, we wanted freedom and we wanted to restore our long lost dignity. Our demonstrations evolved into a breathtaking, "white" revolution and the world watched us as we elegantly and persistently marched to grab our long denied rights. We made every other revolution in the recorded human history seem barbaric and uncivilized, we reduced what took Gandhi decades of preaching into a mere eighteen days, we discovered who we are and what we can do when united. All in a "white", peaceful and intense rebellious act that would surely make John Lennon, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Saad Zaghloul and every other peace activist proud.

Four months later here is what we've got: we got SCAF instead of Mubarak, we got national security instead of state security, we got military courts instead of civil courts, we got a slow legal process and above all we got this heavy feeling that justice will not be served.

Now I know what "white" means!

Time

2010-02-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder, What happened to time?
Is it moving a little fast? Has prose defeated rhyme?
Are the clocks now adjusted to a speedier planet?
Or is it just me who's slow and doomed to pantomime?

Can thieves still be punctual when they scheme to rob a bank?
Can a soldier still be meticulous when he's summoned to queue and rank?
Can a student still attend his exam at exactly half past seven?
Can the dead arrive on time when angels unshut the gates of heaven?

Does it make any difference if your wrist watch was Swiss?
You pay a fortune for it and you think its instant bliss.
Yet you still arrive late, so does the guy you're meeting with,
You spot his Japanese watch and you curse your fancy myth.

You run and drool breathlessly; you think you're mastering time.
You miss the essence of your being and you can't see the deadly crime.
You're always where you think is right, while you should be somewhere else,
You express your timely achievements in the tongue of 'nickel and dime'.

Whenever you break a heart, you've nothing but time to blame.
Whenever you miss a chance, 'wrong timing' becomes your claim.
Yet when time appears on your side: you waste, abuse or kill.
Time exhumes your worst, no remorse, penitence or shame.

The years go by and time continues playing its wicked game.
You are clearly getting older, slower and pathetically lame.
The sad years have passed like clouds in a windless night,
And the happy moments went by like lightning in a blind man's sight

Then all the clocks stop ticking, and the heart just fails to beat.
You can hear them calling your name, but you have your maker to meet.
an' while time weighs most on those who have it least ,
you'll discover that time is mere illusion, tricking both man and beast.

End

A. L. G© 2006

The Puppet

2010-02-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

While life truthfully appears to be,
an enemy attired as a friend,
it never fails to delude me,
I misconstrue every message it sends.

Every choice I was deliberately given,
seemed vague and far from clear,
and the actions I consequently made,
were rash and hasty and queer.

Every road I was led to tread,
seemed dark at broad day light,
does it matter if I willingly take,
the road to the left or that to the right?

Amongst all the deluded beings,
who happen to fall into my limited sight,
the ones who humored me the most,
were those who assured they got it right.

A puppet I am helpless yet proud,
strings attached to the eye and the ear ,
an' I love and hate and talk out loud,
at the will of a mighty puppeteer.

But the strings get strained an’ I honestly hurt,
as I struggle to loosen up the stress.
if I give in; I’ll lose my ego and pride,
if I fight back; I end up in a rickety mess.

Don’t feel sorry for me or even try,
to speak with wisdoms monotonous voice,
for the puppeteer has always granted me,
what’s called “the freedom of choice.”

A. L. Gomaa 21st of September 2006

The End

2010-02-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

Have you ever really thought, what the word “end” means, Relax and close your eyes, let me guide you through the scenes,
The End is not a word, O No, it’s rather a far, far place,
And to reach it you have to go, through a long and feverish race.

Your eyes and ears won’t work here, you’ll have to use your heart,
For the heart holds all the senses, insight here is an essential art,
For one thing love and hate, are sitting side by side,
Nearly hugging in fabulous unity, like a young couple taking a ride.

Life and death are also here, playing chess on a table upright,
The pieces are all in one color, that’s neither black nor white,
They play with each others pieces as they stare at a nearby lake.
For chess was once their addiction, and it’s a hard habit to break.

Madness and sanity can be spotted, sitting closely hand in hand,
Madness is just relaxing while sanity is playing with sand,
The sand has no color, as if it’s made of air,
But again the hand of sanity, pantomimes digging a lair.

Good and evil appear like a typical identical twin,
Only good has a clear old scar, like a deep double chin,
The scar is healing fast, and soon it will be gone,
Yet “soon” here means “never“, and “never” means “now” for fun.

The strangest thing I’ve noticed, an‘ I got it in a heart beat,
I have the same skin color, like everyone and everything I meet.
It’s neither black nor white, pretty close to everything else,
For the end has just one color, and the color is nothingness.

The Beginning

A. L. Gomaa© 2006

A walk of Life

2010-02-06T19:55:00.002-08:00

Can you affix your feet deep into the ground,
until the earth beneath you screams?
then cast a shadow much much longer
than your longest darkest dreams.

Can you breathe until the blowing wind cries:
"Please! Inhale nomore"?
then exhale with astounding grace an’ might,
as though you've acquired divine Lore.

Can you feel authentically proud of who you are,
yet still be modest at heart?
and remind yourself every mortal minute
that conceit tears the soul apart.

Can you look your enemy right in the eye,
until his will wearily breaks down,
perseverance being your dearest virtue,
like a king endears his crown?

Can you forgive those who hurt you most,
then forget what they’ve done too?
and learn to resort to sweet forgiveness,
no matter what they did or still do.

Can you embrace and help the tired and weak,
through the magical powers of your soul?
can you always be there for those who need you,
no one for you, yet you for all?

Can you love and give gracefully and utterly,
expecting nothing at all in return?
can you enjoy the company of sorrow an’ sadness,
and treasure the lessons you learn?

Can you maneuver around the twisted turns of life;
no matter how sharp becomes a turn?
thankful you are for every caught breath,
and grateful for every hurting burn.

Can you try to become a better person,
by fixing what life struggles bend?
you’ll live a life worthy of living,
you’ll be a decent human my friend.

A. L. Gomaa© 12 September 2006

Along Came a Sensation

2010-02-06T19:55:00.001-08:00

With every humane emotion, I’ve duly endured,
Along came a sensation, I hardly ever cured,

I struggled to capture happiness,
in a moment of conscious madness,
I failed and all I found,
Was hurt and pain and sadness,

my heart happily Seized and Lured.

With love I dreamt and rhymed and prayed it’s meant to stay,
Along came deprivation, scattering my hopes astray,

O Love, master of emotions,
Why do you always part,
Leaving only sorrow behind you,
Mercilessly Breaking my heart,

forcing my soul to lose its way .

With hope I fueled my senses, kept a serene and confident smile,
Along strolled despair with a face so bleak and vile,

I tried to fight it’s demons,
I swore I’d never give in,
But despair is a mighty conqueror,
That’s meant to fight and win,

that’s meant to stay for a while.

With life I Hoped and loved, laughed and hopelessly cried,
Along lurked death, that smiled each time I sighed,

“you can find love, and conquer deprivation,
You can find hope, and stamp out desperation,
You can be as lucky as some,
Who found faith and consolation ,

but how can you escape me, even if you tried”?

A. L. Gomaa© 27th of august 2006

The Serenade

2010-02-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

My Love,

I know it’s kind of late,
to write you a serenade,
After all what happened between us,
After all the mess I made,
After all the pain I gave you,
and the pain you're suffering still
I know I'm asking for too much,
of your kindness, patience and will

I know I wasn’t there for you,
at the times you needed me most
Crippled by my imperfections,
blinded by my selfish dreams,
dreams I have fulfilled at the highest cost,
the price-my love-was you, or so it seems.

Among all the people I know,
You’ll remain my true best friend.
My caring guardian angel,
The love that has no end,
The song my heart does sing,
To cheer the living and the dead,
The light my soul does need,
To reform what time has bent.

You’re the reason for my stability,
you’re my pride and self esteem.
You’re the sun that gives me warmth,
and the moon that makes me dream.
You’re everything I really wanted,
an’ I’d give up everything for you.
I’m not sure of anything,
But I know,

I'm totally in Love with you

So, until our eyes finally meet,
and you believe what I say is true,
and You feel my every heart beat
You’ll know I’d never lie to you,
I wish you all the happiness,
I wish all the love,
I remain yours forever,
I remain hopelessly in love.

A. L. Gomaa © August 2006

ConspIrAcy Theory

2010-02-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

You asked me who I was, I guess I'll tell you dude,
I'll then have to shoot you, for I can't help being rude,
I've been around for a while, my name? Oh! Call me Ben,
I know everything and anything, the why where and when.

I'm the reason you're so proud, I'm your ego and self-esteem,
I'm the guy who watches your back; I'm the guy who guards your dream,
I'm the secret that's never told and the tree whose roots run deep,
I'm the coffee that keeps you awake and the pill that makes you sleep.

I know who killed dear Marilyn, for I was personally there,
I shot three bullets from a riffle, in….well, you know where!
I dined twice with the godfather; His name was not Corleone,
I spied on some John Lennon, same thing with Oliver stone.

I shook hands with ET, and tampered with the Roswell file,
I added a term to the dictionary, it's called: “official denial".
I killed a Chi Guevara, through some dear and loyal thugs,
I printed his face on posters, on T-shirts and coffee mugs.

I bathed in the Bay of Pigs then opened the Watergate,
I formed a gang called contra then toyed with Persians mate!
I conspired with loyal knaves, made them rule man, beast and bird,
For oil must be in good hands, in this world we call “the Third".

I brought Laden's son, to kick the russkies out of Afghanistan,
And when his job was done, I had to ditch him man!
The guy as vicious as they come, killed thousands and no shame,
Now every other idiot thought I was the one to blame.

I've never seen it coming; I was tired of the status quo,
I too can make mistakes, I am only human you know!
I needed more information, tortured rascals in Abu Ghraib
Until some moron took a picture of this "smiling American babe"

I'm not afraid of judgment; history is a book I solely write,
You can add your own chapters, if you think you're up to the fight,
The present is what concerns me; so far I am doing just fine,
The future though vague to many, I believe is totally mine.

My ‘freedom’ needs protection; I'd defend it with your life
My enemies I will crush them, by fear and pain and strife,
Morality means nothing, except to the poetic dreaming few,
It doesn't matter if in action, I killed a man or two.

So, before I shoot you as promised, I just wanted you to know
And to repeat here and now, in a voice loud or low:
"I'm your conscious and subconscious, I'm the eye that never sleeps,
I'm the rhythm your heart does follow an' I own your mind for keeps."

Bang...

A. L. Gomaa© 24/8/2006

The Threesome

2010-02-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

He insinuated to his female companions,
“Lets indulge in an act discreet ,
I’ll lead as you harmoniously follow,
While she just keeps the beat”.

“It’s been ages since I had this fantasy,
An’ I am sure you‘ve had it too,
We’ve been mesmerized in this prison for sometime,
I hope my wild idea appeals to you”.

“We’ve always had our differences,
Yet, It’s wise we had a break,
I am tired and beat and worn out,
She’s tormented, while you sorely ache”.

“If only we reach the crest of pleasure,
Before our jailor gets to notice our plan,
We will taste the glamour of eternity,
As He discovers the real purpose of a man”.

“You may deem I’m just another pervert,
Who’s using the situation for his own sake,
I promise I’ll redeem you from every chain,
No more pain, no more hurt, no more ache”.

An’ as the three of them started pursuing,
What seemed to be every living beings goal,
The jailor exhaled in perplexing serenity,
Thankful to harmony of his MIND, HEART and SOUL.

Ahmad Moein© 31st August 2006

The Quest

2010-02-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

I wake up every morning in pools of grief and sorrow,
my body feels so heavy, my soul craves for tomorrow,
for tomorrow may bring some joy and cast the sadness away,
yet tomorrow’s just a notion, it’s never a definitive day!

I went to consult my therapist, and he's a skilful man,
If it’s depression then he'll heal it, if any human can,
He asked the usual questions, I gave the usual brief.
He shrugged, shook his head, then smiled in disbelief.

'I tell you now and again, you've got nothing to worry about,
some changes in your lifestyle will help beyond no doubt,
You have to play some sports, rid your muscles of sloth and rust
sleep early, eat healthy, a vacation is a must'.

I left to meet a friend and told him my therapists tips.
he listened to me intently, then murmured with near closed lips
'Have you tried contacting 'him', he who sees far and beyond?
Metaphysics holds 'the' answers, where medicine can't respond'.

It's been years since my friend adopted strange and twisted ways
Always spoke of mighty gurus, strange places and holy days,
I enquired about 'him', people he treated, books he wrote,
then left in lonesome confusion after I promised I’d give it a thought

After thinking for sometime. I decided to visit 'him'
I thought of it as an adventure, that would satisfy a childish whim
I drove to the old part of town where 'him' is supposed to dwell
then parked in long dark alley, that had an awkward smell

A smell of age and decay, mixed with humidness and some incense,
A smell of fear and hope and smoke that looks so dense ,
The smoke was forming shapes, coming out of a burning log,
My ears could also hear, a crying baby and a barking dog

three times I knocked the door, then I heard a casual cough,
the door slowly opened: “come on in”, said a voice harsh and rough
A short and dark man he is, with serious yet welcoming air,
he stared at me for a while, then spoke with pulsing care:

I expected you to come, the spirits kept telling me you will
You’re a clever and pragmatic man, yet you seek my help still
Whatever I tell you now is what I see so clear
It’s answers to your quest, that’s why you sought a seer.

I see you 've slipped and fallen under an old deadly spell,
that keeps you sad and lonely and burns your guts like hell,
for magic is a common practice in societies of the east,
your enemy is viciously envious, your famine is their feast.

You'll have to do some prayers, beseech for guidance and love,
you'll have to burn some incense, contact the powers above,
The spell will soon be broken, the powers will break its bond,
The powers have 'the' answers, when wise men can't respond'.

You might think I’m a false old magus, who lives a life so low,
This universe is so evil its hardly the world you know,
My job is to fight its demons, an’ I like to guard and serve,
Trust me an’ I will help you, only if you have the nerve!

I left and drove my car to the furthest park in town,
an elderly man was sitting and beside him I sat down,
And before I even noticed, I was telling him my account,
My voice was shaking slightly as I held back the yells and shouts.

The man listened carefully, and occasionally nodded his head,
He made gestures with his eyes, he got every word I said,
And as I went on with my tale, I could notice a strange smile,
That varied in its meaning from sympathetic to awkwardly vile.

Listen to me young man, if you trust me you’ll do fine
I've been a therapist for thirty years, and ‘him’ was a patient of mine,
For years I tried to treat him, he was a case hard to cure,
He’s a classical case of delusion, you noticed this I am sure’.

'I tell you here and now, you've got nothing to worry about,
some changes in your lifestyle will help beyond any doubt,
You have to play some sports, rid your muscles of sloth and rust,
sleep early, eat healthy, a vacation is a must'.

I woke up the next morning in a puddle of grief and sorrow,
my body still so heavy, my soul yearns for tomorrow,
for tomorrow may bring some joy and cast the sadness astray,
O tomorrow, I trust you‘ll come, for you’re just one day away!

A. L. Gomaa© 2007

There was a Time

2010-02-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

There was a time when I was stout and proud,
I’d talk and breathe and laugh out loud,
I’d shake the room and inspire the crowd,

There was a time when I was free.

There was a time when I crossed the borderlines,
And stalked the sun wherever it shines,
Made love to the moon under large leafy pines,

There was a time when I was free.

There was a time when love still stood a chance,
And the heart and soul survived on romance,
And the thoughts in my mind would sway and dance,

There was a time when I was free.

Now the time has come when I am judged by my name,
My belief is tarnished my defenses are lame,
Pride has departed leaving humility and shame,

There was a time when I was free.

And you my love who always believed in me,
Have faith and trust that you will forever be,
The endless love that will set me free,

The time will come an’ I’ll be free

A. L. Gomaa © 2006

Creation of a Monster

2010-02-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

O mother! Why have you left me,
It’s dark an’ I hate being alone,
Ibbenbüren is cold and misty,
Winter is freezing my deepest bone.

O mother, you always told me,
Beware of them in cloaks,
They’d stain my spotless innocence,
Doves should never flock with hawks.

Didn’t he fool you in the name of love,
Then dumped you ruined and mad,
As booze replaced your guiltless blood,
An’ I was deprived of calling him dad.

Even he whom I thought unique,
Could never betray his blood,
He parted in a way so neat and sleek,
Soaking my honor in stink and mud.

Don’t ever cry over me mama,
I’ll never let you down,
I’ll make you proud for I’ll become,
A queen with glorious shiny crown.

For what is more worthy and honorable,
Than fighting for ones country’s cause,
I have joined the Schutzstaffel as of today,
I’m Oberaufseherin Erna Rose*.

*Erna Rose was an SS supervisor at Ravensbrück concentration camp during the Second World War. She is said to have been depraved and cruel.

A. L. Gomaa © 8th September 2006

She Said ... I Said

2010-02-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

She said love is blind and cruel,
A sadistic king, who lost his crown,
She said her mind is but a fool,
It has always let her poor heart down.

I said love is sacred and divine,
Yet tears and sighs are its token,
I said I won‘t perfect this heart of mine,
Unless it’s torn and hurt and broken.

She said “you’re weak!”
I said “you’re wrong”
She said “ it hurts”
I said “ get strong”
She said” you’ll be sorry”
I said” I won’t”

She said” I love you”
I said” I don’t”.

A. L. Gomaa © 27th July 2006

Epitaph on a Politician

2010-02-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

He was a well spoken gentleman, who supported decisions of war,
A senator at twenty three, with a smile you’d just adore,
He was always keen on the truth, always knew the how and why,
Yet his opponents seriously think his death is just another good lie.

A. L. Gomaa © 30th of July 2006

If Only a Bear Could Fly

2010-02-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

Speaking of Indians and their ancient wise culture,
I read one hundred books of narrative nature.
Yet one was truly amazing, the Indians wrote long ago.
It told an interesting story about a deer, a bear an' a vulture.

The vulture's name was Bucky, and he was young and powerful,
And like all male birds in a forest, good looking and colorful.
The bear was smart and wise, his name was never told.
With grey hair on his temples, a sign of getting old.

The deer was young and pretty, her name was Mary Sue.
She claimed she's sharp and witty, and knew just what to do.
But she was known for the opposite, as ditzy as they may come.
A living proof that: age is wisdom, not just a mathematical sum.

Mary Sue spotted the bear reading below a shady oak tree.
She ran around in circles, making sure that he can see:
The piercing in her naval, the implants in her breasts,
And the butterfly tattoo nine inches down her knee.

The bear moved his head, as slow as old bears do.
He couldn't just ignore the presence of Mary Sue.
She said “hello there sweetheart, why are you here alone?
You look so sad and lonely; you look bored to the deepest bone!”

He said “I am tired of working, an' I hardly ever sleep.
I have a business going an' a cub to raise and keep”.
She said “I know what you're saying, but life is not just work.
I heard your heart was broken an' I know that love cuts deep”.

“Love is just a luxury”, he said, “not every bear can afford.
It's an overrated virtue, a guitar with a missing chord.
My heart is safe and sound, an 'am feeling really great.
You're single and you're looking or so I've been told?”

Mary Sue gave a brief giggle as seductive as can be.
“I am here, I am single, I am happy your eyes can see.
I'm seeking instant karma; I am looking for eternal love.
How about going to the local pub to sing and dance with me?

I am a deer with free fresh spirit. I am Lonely, and life is short.
I wish we'd get closer. We have our differences to sort.
There's one thing I wish you'd do though, without asking how or why;
I wish you'd grow two wings, then teach me how to fly”.

The bear looked with apathy in the eyes of Mary Sue.
“You can always dream of flying, yet know it won't come true.
It takes more than wings to fly across the sky.
It takes more than a cold heartless dawn to form the drops of dew”.

Yet, while the bear was struggling with his weary mind,
Bucky the vulture, rushed flying like lightning from behind.
“Lovely chap this Bucky, he flies far and by.
I wonder why didn't nature teach bears how to fly!”

The moment Bucky saw Mary Sue, his heart throbbed with a rambling sound.
“I love her”, said young Bucky as he fixed his claws to the ground.
“Do you mind if I woo her bear, O bear so great and wise?
And show her my love plainly, and win this lovely prize?”

The bear looked at Mary Sue; he saw it in her eyes.
She was flattered by Bucky's interest beyond any disguise.
The bear said “O vulture, I know not what to say.
You can ask the pretty lady, I am sure you'll find a way”.

“She's unaware of vultures and what they mean by love.
She thinks that life is as harmless as the shinning stars above.
She doesn't know that in your eyes she's just a happy meal.
And that the stars are burning masses and the look is never the feel”.

“O bear”, the vulture hissed. “You’re wise beyond your years.
She's pretty and she's ignorant, her heart is free from fears.
I'll woo my tasty prey; it all starts with a kiss.
I'll use my charming looks, her ignorance is my bliss”.

The vulture moved to pursue his well-laid nifty plan.
The bear cried beware as loud as his lungs can.
But Mary Sue said “Relax bear, and stop this awful noise.
I know I can fly, Bucky will teach me, and this is my free choice”.

And as the bear watched in wonder, Bucky snatched Mary Sue.
The bear saw them rising and rising before he even knew.
She laughed, giggled and chuckled then her face went deadly straight.
She moaned, groaned and wailed from the piercing gripping claw.

Bucky looked relentless, he flied far and away.
The deer looked sorry and helpless, regretting this doomful day.
Yet Bucky's wings got weary; he dropped the deer like a stone.
She hit the ground and screamed and broke her every bone.

“It's all a matter of choice, that's what it's all about.
She thought her arms were wings, 'never had the tiniest doubt.
She thought that a perilous vulture would teach her how to fly.
She couldn't sense the danger; she didn't know she'd die”.

The bear looked at the body of the deer he once knew.
He thought it's sad and doleful to any friend or Foe.
He sobbed and cried his eyes out, for the friend he could have had.
“Did she really think she'll make it? Mary Sue was probably mad!”

He asked ten thousand questions about life, death and choice,
But answers came so slowly, wisdom spoke in a silent voice.
He carried her shattered corpse to a dark and lonely grave,
Went back to the shades thinking of the deer he couldn't save.

And in the shadows of his memory, rests her pretty corpse still.
The scene of her shattered body, would give his soul a chill.
The bear grew older and wiser, for he has got to know;
That life is a battle between opposites, for every spirit with a will.

“Those vultures!” Thought the bear, as he stretched in his lonesome bed;
“They know how to treat their hunger, and keep their cold hearts fed.
If only a bear could fly, across the big blue sky,
I would reach out for the stars, Mary Sue wouldn't have died”.

He slept and dreamt he's flying, until the dawn was red!
He dreamt of milk and honey and books he never read.
He dreamt of instant karma and freshly backed bread.
I bet this bear was vegetarian, 'guess this was never said!

end

A. L. Gomaa© 2005

The Fat Lady

2010-02-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hello to you my sweetheart,
let’s share what life brings,
the fun won't be over,
until the fat lady sings.

You brag about your choices,
I suffer my chains and strings,
our differences won't resolve,
until the fat lady sings.

Chorus:
Oh, no it won't be over,
until the fat lady sings,
until the fat lady sings,
until the fat lady sings.

I seek some understanding,
you seek diamond rings,
this gap won't be filled,
until the fat lady sings.

To me: you're a serious catch,
to you: I’m a casual fling,
I wish this is over,
before the fat lady sings.

Chorus:
Oh, no it won't be over,
until the fat lady sings,
until the fat lady sings,
until the fat lady sings.

The music starts to play,
as she hums, sways and swings,
It’s so unwise to be in love,
With a fat lady who sings!

Chorus:
It’s so unwise to be in love,
With a fat lady who sings!
With a fat lady who sings!

End

A. L. Gomaa 2007

At first sight

2010-02-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

We waste so much of our hasty lives ,
wondering, What’s wrong? or rather: what’s right?
A question stands, an’ I ask it yet in vain:
Is something called: true love at first sight?

Is it the face that I immediately fell for,
where acceptance lives and serenity shines?
Is it the eyes who shook my shell and core,
mercilessly deluding me with contradictory signs?

Is it a case of faith, so limited and frail,
Against my blurred and truly false dreams?
Or is it hope? I easily welcome and hail,
hastily giving in, Whenever it beams.

Is it you? an‘ I wonder who you may be?
Who led me on then swept me off my feet.
With feelings greater than: I, you or we,
guiding my soul and my every heartbeat.

Sweetly confused and ignorantly proud,
I close my eyes for a better look at this light;
your soul does shine, as I state here out loud:
“Who ever loved that loved not at first sight”.

End

A.L.Gomaa © November 2007