Talkin' 'bout my generation, this is my Microwave generation !

I’m writing this note to wish everyone of my generation a happy Microwaved Valentine’s Day.

If we link a generation to a product that heavily influenced its times, then this one should definitely be called the Microwave Generation. We like so much this home appliance that we shaped our social behavior in general and love relationships in particular after this wonderful device.

We use microwaves to heat things, they are heated fast, and they get cold even faster. We eat tasteless ready-made dishes, we defrost food that ends up cooked on the sides and some even use it to actually cook things, bon appétit with your tasteless cancer-prone gourmet meal.

And another striking similarity lays in the fact microwaves only accept plastic, a noble material that we cherish particularly, we are plastic and rubber generation!

Get past your hangover on this beautiful sunny Saturday morning, look around you, do your homework and find out what I mean...

Long life my generation, turn your sound system the loudest possible, put on Territorial Pissings of Nirvana and listen up to Krist Novoselic sampling the youngbloods, then leave your microwaves behind and go get together right NOW.

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now

Pax (and love)
A.

Frost/Bush

I just finished watching Frost/Nixon the excellent Ron Howard movie relating the story of the Nixon interviews conducted by David Frost which led to the breakdown of Richard Nixon on tape.

I can’t stop thinking of a similar interview of George W. Bush. Do you imagine how interesting it would be to have Bush explain what happened during his presidency in his own words without previous knowledge of the questions asked?

Richard Nixon has always been considered the black sheep of American presidents, as a result of his catastrophic management of the Vietnam war he inherited and his involvement in cover up operations: the watergate scandal, but most of all because he got caught.

Nixon is to this day the only American president to resign from office.

George W. Bush, got elected twice, finished his second mandate without any serious threat of impeachment nor official demands of resignation, and no one officially came after him despite his very honorable record (not exhaustive list):

• A disputed election (allegedly stolen) against Al Gore
• 9/11 and its controversial official account (to remain politically correct)
• War on Afghanistan in order to arrest Osama Ben Laden (never got caught).
• Unfounded WMDs allegations against Iraq and Saddam Hussein regime.
• Lies and false evidence presented to the entire world at the Security council in order to push for a war on Iraq.
• Unilateral preventive war on Iraq causing +150.000 civil deaths since 2003, a civil war and an unprecedented wave of terrorism.
• Guantanamo illegal prison/ secret CIA prisons / Torture practices
• Abu Gharib and the likes of the scandals
• Major global economic crisis that’s bringing the world to its knees
• And to finish off his mandate on the bright side, he strongly backed up the war on Gaza. The truce was broken by Israel on election day, before unilaterally stopping the aggression hours before the end of Bush's mandate. just coincidence for sure.

To me, and to many others, George W. Bush is one of the most dangerous individuals in the history of humankind.

During his mandates, we witnessed major global changes that are shaping our lives: He and his administration are responsible for the birth of an era, the terror and fear era.

I. The terror era

More than the record I am citing above, what highlights W’s era is the birth of terrorism as a global phenomenon. Just think about it:

As of the 90s, terrorism was local. It was linked to small groups here and there. A few attacks have been conducted against US interests in the world. Among them the Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, the USS Cole attacks and two attacks in Saudi Arabia.

After the arrival of George W. Bush to the US presidency, terrorism became global. It started with the 9/11 attacks and then spread everywhere in the world under the Al Qaida banner.

Al Qaida is presented to the common joe as a multinational of terror, an organization structured as a global company with different levels of command and responsibilities, centralized and represented everywhere in the world.

II. The fear era

Terrorism became the new favorite word of politicians and journalists alike. I like to see the summary of interviews made by Bush, Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Giuliani and the likes who seem to particularly appreciate words like 9/11, terror, terrorists, axis of evil etc.

Quickly, a growing sentiment of Islamophobia stroke. Racial profiling against tanned, brown and hairy people who carry non Christian names similar to the names of the 19 alleged hijackers of 9/11.

The direct result was reverse racism, the Muslim world soon started the cocooning process: people started to become more and more radicalized, the masses started to reject the “other civilization” and the real clash of civilizations initially stated by Samuel P. Huntington started.

This reaction is apparently a normal behavior as explained by Amin Maalouf in his brilliant essay “In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong”: When one component of your identity is threatened, it becomes the most important to you, your identifier.

The outcome was a rising fear from both sides and growing hate sentiments. As in every vicious circle escalation is the key word, and as in all kinds of escalations, there is no room for dialogue, no room for salvation.

Just take a look at the number of terrorist attacks between 2000 and 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Number_of_Terrorist_Incidents.png

That is the main legacy of the George W. Bush era. A legacy we should all hold him and his administration accountable for.

Now, he is out of office, journalists are asking whether he is the worse president in the history of the United Stated of America. Controversy, manipulation and lies are the words that come to mind when talking about George W. Bush.

Will we ever know the truth about what happened these past 8 years in the oval office? Will he ever be judged on his wrongdoings ?

Will there be another Frost ? or another Kenneth Starr, this time interested in serious issues rather than trying to impeach a president for a sex scandal?

Time will tell
A.

Bloody History

Bob Marley once said in a famous song of his:

If you know your history,
Then you would know where you coming from,
Then you wouldn't have to ask me,
Who the 'eck do I think I am.

2008 ended with the non-renewal of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Why it wasn’t renewed? I don’t know. Are there any political agenda behind this? I don’t know, any hidden plans behind the walls ? I don’t know either.

All I know is that Hamas refused to renew the truce, right after they restarted launching rockets on the south of Israel giving the Israeli government a strong reason for “self defense” retaliation backed by the American government.

What is the outcome? a few rockets launched on one side causing 4 deaths. On the other side, bombs falling everywhere on Gaza causing 430 deaths so far and over 2000 wounded and counting. A balanced outcome, if we consider the 1 to 100 usual ratio, (don’t shoot me I’m being sarcastic here)

Again, the reactions are way unbalanced between the Arab world and elsewhere, in the news, popular demonstrations, people reactions on social websites… In the Arab world, all blame is on Israel. The streets are heated up to the number of deaths and injured as they watch the destruction of Gaza take place. Al Jazeera is keeping a dynamic banner on its website updating the number of deaths and injured live.

At the same time, Hamas and its leaders are intending to gain support of the Arab masses through a populist and zealous speech yet dreamy and unrealistic delivered by Ismael Haniya and Khaled Machaal and echoed by the Arab news networks who carefully choose their vocabulary to galvanize their radicalized audience. Who talks about Hamas’s responsibility in what’s happening ? no one !

What the Hamas and the “romantic” people in the Arab countries (who are still waiting for another Saladin to come and save Palestine) forgot is that Israel is not willing to give up this time, the way they did in Lebanon 2 years ago before reaching their objective.

The objective was to finish up with Hezbollah once and for all, but they didn’t and they pulled out after causing more than a thousand deaths. This pull out and Hezbollah’s resistance was considered by many Arabs as a success. What is the success in there? I don’t know… maybe someone can tell me.

This time Israel is decided to finish up with Hamas once and for all as declared by Tzipi Livni the Israeli Minister of foreign affairs. According to Israel, the blame for the death toll is all on Hamas.

Israel’s excessive military operation on Gaza is officially legitimized by the American government and by the media as self-defense measures. Israel has the right to self-defense, since Hamas rockets can now cover up to half the area of Israel.

The situation in Gaza is disastrous, disastrous not only because of the Israeli bombing on civilians motivated by the fight against Hamas. Disastrous not only because of Hamas mixing with the population and using it as human shields while keeping launching rockets on the south of Israel and refusing truce talks.

It is disastrous because it is the result of over 60 years of mistakes on each side.

It is disastrous because no one knows how to correct these mistakes and save what’s left.

It is disastrous because the people in Palestine are the only ones paying for all these mistakes.

It is disastrous because people in front of their TVs and computer screens are calling for war and resistance while comfortably seated in the first lines of their living rooms.

I’d like to listen up to what Bob Marley said and take a look back at some history and ask a question: What if peace voices were louder than the drums of war in 1948, 1963, 1967, 1973, today?

Pax
A.

Useful material to understand the fucked up situation in the middle east:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_War 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab-Israeli_Conflict 
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/210072/The-50-Years-War-Israel-and-the-Arabs/overview  

A day at the parc, the PinkPop parc

Last Sunday I kicked off my festival season, I headed to Landgraaf, NL for the last day of PinkPop festival. I couldn't secure the 3 days pass as they sold out in no time. 

So all hyped up with the awesome line up of the day, I hit the road with my buddy Seb in his green old Citroen ZX, secretly praying it won't break down somewhere half the way. 

Who is showing up today for my early birthday bash ? we got on the guest list Josh Homme and the Queens Of The Stone Age setting up the mood for the great Rage Against The Machine. I thought I would never see these guys live as they split up a few years ago but when I read they reformed for the Coachella festival my hopes

 revived and I kept an eye on their moves. So when they announced they were headlining the PinkPop festival I didn't think twice, I needed my ticket for the June 1st show. 

To heat up the crowd until the studs of Seattle hit the stage and before the masters of Anarchy finish the job and blow peoples minds we got: Serj Tankian, Fiction Plane, Gavin Degraw, Alanis Morissette, Cavalera Conspiracy, The Wombats, The Hives... 

Great kickoff, Fiction Plane start at the main stage on this beautiful day of June, the band is rocking and we are sitting on the grass for what felt like a nice day at the parc. We moved on next to the second stage where The Wombats english sound made us feel good.   

Gavin Degraw's swing on the main stage kept the good vibes in the air, the sun is shining and the weather is sweet, we are taking the sun and happiness is all around. Little detail, we forgot to buy protection cream and soon found out that the sun is here to stay... at the end of the day I was red like a tomato.

The Cavalera brothers took on the second stage, but it looked like nobody told them it was a nice day at the parc as they brought on their supersonic tempo and their double kick drums. I stayed a little while, enough to witness an epileptic guy (I guess) collapse right in front of me, then another body laying on the floor, everyone around was calling for help... nothing much serious, but still... is this all Cavalera's effect? not my thing, a little walk to the pyramid to watch Kate Nash and hide a bit from the sun was definitely a great idea. 

Followed Racoon, the Hives and Alanis Morissette who sent me back to my late teenage years. Cool stuff, but serious things are still in the works. We decided to skip Serj Tankian in order to save a good spot for QOTSA who rocked the house pretty well with some hard tunes like Sick Sick Sick played energetically. The concert was awesome and the crowd around us would only agree with this statement. QOTSA did their job then left the stage the way they got to it: soberly, no encore despite the call of the crowd. 

No resting time, people started piling for RATM and no one from those who were there left, we did the same ignoring the Counting Crows who headlined the second stage, I'll see them in Werchter anyway. 

The long awaited RATM took their time to get on stage, the setup on the stage was pretty simple apart of two walls of massive speakers on both sides of the stage surrounding the band, man these guys like it loud, really loud. 

The crowd was getting impatient until a siren broke the roar and 4 Guantanamo Bay prisoners dressed in orange suites with hoods on their head walked on Stage. They were impressive facing the crowd while the sirens called for emergency. It was the silence before the hurricane, aka the riff of Bombtrack, "it's just another bombtrack...yeah! It goes a-1, 2, 3... Hey yo, it's just another Bombtrack..."

The crowd blasted at the first riff of Tom Morello and the whole festival ground turned into a massive mosh pit. I never saw such a level of energy, guys, girls, young and older all were into it. And it didn't get any better when Morello started playing Bulls on Parade right after Bombtrack, with waves of people jumping and moshing to the powerful song riffs. 

All major RATM songs followed, with Morello driving people crazy with his riffs, tricks and untypical solos . Zach De la Rocha was pretty pumped up as well, he delivered a nice speech that galvanized people, a wake up call, right on time before the Wake up song. Talking about today's generation, disrespected by politicians who believed it didn't care, he called for awarness and immediate action : "what a better place than here, what a better place than now, WAKE UP". 

With every song the atmosphere got more electric and more energy was poured into the crowd. I thought it was the climax of the night as they left the stage after a sensational wake up. But that was what I thought until the final shot: them coming back for Killing In The Name to close a one of a kind show. I was feeling the heat coming from the bodies around me, heated by the sun all day long and energized by RATM's fury, the show ended on a loud MOTHERFUCKER shouted by more than 80.000 people who claim they won't do what you tell them... if only it was true ! 

one word: Impressive !!!!

Abre los ojos

I saw "The last king of Scotland" and I remained shocked and confused for a long while. thoughts took me from the movie to reality, To Uganda, to Africa, to the bloody dictators there and around the world, to the 20th century tragedies and to the history of Humankind.

So many names, so many events, so many countries, so many dates, my thoughts were running from one to another, uncountable... At every given time of our history, rivers of blood were flowing around fed by sadist demonstrations of cruelty and hatred causing nothing but suffering... everywhere. Evil has always found its way to people's souls and blinded their hearts, making every unbelievable atrocity possible.

We realize that when it is thrown in our face in a movie or in a documentary but we don't realize that it has always been around the corner, so close to us, ready to blow us up at any time.

Just think about the 20th century alone and see how many genocides, ethnic purifications, destructive wars, world wars, atomic bombs, civil wars, exterminations, slavery, racism... The world never lived in peace, NEVER.

A century that was supposed to mark the end of colonialism, the rise of democracy, the triumph of the free and humanist minds, the ultimate expression of the human conscience and the era of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteed to all people.

Where are we from all that ? Look at the last decade, look at the world now, look around the corner, look in the mirror, what do you see ?

A.

Carpe Diem...

I had a great 2006 year, it was a must to part ways in the best of manners:

Première étape: Do as you please land

I started bidding my farewell to 2006 on the 23rd of December when I headed to Amsterdam with 2 buddies of mine, Onur and Onur.

I didn't know what to expect from a city that is synonymous of debauchery for some, freedom for others and made a pop culture icon by pulp fiction's "royal with cheese" scene with Samuel Jackson and John Travolta, Vincent vega telling stories about Amsterdam, the do as you please city...

whether you enjoy it or hate it, It's not possible to remain insensitive to the free-spirited liberalism of A'dam. In this hedonistic city no big deals are made of pleasures, sex and drugs are on the shelf, just help yourself.

Weed and hash menus in the coffee shops have a detailed explanation of the expected feelings and the crew is always available for an advice on which trip to have. Same goes for the smart shops, which offer other types of drugs that can be highly trippy: magic mushrooms and herbal extasy.

The red light district is something to see, girls in little apartments offering their charms behind a glass door on top of which there is a red light bulb to make them recognizable. The red lights are spread all over the neighborhood, mixing with houses and even surrounding a church.

The city is beautiful and worth discovering, built on water and surrounded by canals. Water is definitely a huge factor in the city's architecture and personality. A city that was always known for its tolerance and hospitality for religiously and politically oppressed people as well as fishermen and merchants landing for business and some pleasures en passant...

Deuxième étape: Zakopane A Malakas town

I headed after A'dam to Poland looking forward to meet a special group of people: Los Malakas.

Common points between Malakas: All are party animals with a good dose of craziness and a strong sense of friendship. A group of good fellas from all over the world that summarizes what AIESEC can do best: bringing people from different parts of the world together.

All met initially in Tunisia where most of the malakas were doing AIESEC internships. There the malakas spirit was born. Present members in this reunion were from Mexico, Germany, Poland x2, Czech x2, Tunisia x3, Croatia x2, Romania x2, Taiwan, Russia, USA and France

And so we met in Zakopnae, this peaceful little town in the Polish side of the Tatras mountains, and all we wanted to do was simply to rock the planet.

The reunion of old friends meeting again was intense and very emotional. but as soon as we got together the party started, and that was the menu every night.

We managed to do some stuff during the day though, we went hiking and after countless falls and shouting for help, we could reach the top and admire the Tatras mountain heights from above, a beautiful moment. We also did some sightseeing in Zakopane, but the main objective was to spend time together and have fun. Dinners were lots of fun and the room parties were great.

On the NYE, after spending the day skiing or at least trying to, we headed home where floods of alcohol were waiting for us: 72 beers 50cl, 3 bottles of champagne, a bottle of tequila, and a few other bottles of home made Romanian Palinka, Croatian rakija and that half a bottle of absint that was still fighting back after a couple of days trying to finish it.

We had a kind of a big bar room in the chalet for us, there we said our final good byes to the year. Katie had a surprise for everybody, she brought each one of us a glass with his/her name and "malakas New Years 06/07" written on it. It was a great surprise and we made a good use of it: we had personalized tequila shots and champagne, thanks katie. Happy new yeaaaaar !!!!

We spent the next day chilling in Zakopane, playing the tourists, buying souvenirs, had a good dinner just to warm up to... party :)

On the way back to Krakow we spent 4 hours to make the 100km between Zakopane and Krakow in a train that changed direction three times. It was so packed you couldn't make your way through the alleys, no controller came to see us and therefore the trip was free. We spent the journey standing in the alley passing the bottles of Palinka and rakija back and forth, it makes your trip pleasant ah Fabrice ? :)

In Krakow, after a (very) quick sightseeing tour, we ended up in a chicha bar, where we spent the last hours together in a relaxed mood. Then we had to say good bye...

Unfortunately not all Malakas could join and those who couldn't make it were very missed, I can't imagine what would happen to the world if all malakas could one day
meet in the same place.

For those who were there, thanks a lot for this wonderful reunion, thanks Fabian, Kasia, Elena, Sin-hi, Peter, Nesrine, Tomi, Charko the Absinth man, Ozzy, Katie, Orshi, Jochen, Fabrice and Jirka...

Thanks Beata and Big malakas for the organization, it was to the standards of the best events organization companies :) You rock !!!!

Next reunion we'll make it in Amsterdam, it's like pouring oil on the fire... and carpe diem baby.
A.

Quelques grammes de finesse...

Something I enjoy in life is meeting new people and discovering new things. And it makes the encounter more special when it's impromptu, unexpected...

That's something great about Toronto, there I met great people in an unorthodox way (wink Lee-Anne). And in the same unusual way discovered two of my 2006 biggest coups de coeur: Amanda Martinez and the East Village Opera Company.

Amanda Martinez
It was during the Little Italy Street Festival on College Street right after a Brazil game followed by a Brazilian fiesta in the streets of little Portugal. I walked back to college street to enjoy the food sold at the stands, watch the bands playing completely different types of music and share the crowd's world cup frenzy.

I stopped at the first stage attracted by a nice adaptation of "Besame mucho", a sweet voice accompanied by nice afro-cuban beats. The song that followed I didn't know but I found myself swinging and singing the words of the verse that I quickly learnt, It was "Guajira Sola". Eventually, I remained there till the end of the show as it was absolutely fascinating. In the mean time I was approached by a smiling young lady who gave me an invitation to the release party of Amanda's first album, it was on my last night in Toronto, a week later. At the end of the show, I asked her for a picture, and told her that I'm convinced she will be a famous artist.

I was there at "the Drake hotel", and I didn't regret it. I was late, my friends were already in, It was packed and I couldn't get in, so Veronica (the smiling girl) whispered a tip to me on how to avoid the crowd and get in from the back door... so I did :)

The show was great, after it was over, we stayed at the bar having drinks and chatting with Veronica, waiting for Amanda to sign my album.

Amanda is Canadian born to a Mexican father and South African mother, she was already established in a banking career when she decided to drop everything and live her passion for the music. It was the right decision, "Sola" her first album is captivating, hard to get out of the CD player. It includes a mix between Amanda's songs: like the sexy "Cantame", "Guajira Sola", "Volar" the shivers giving ode to her adventurer father in the pursuit of his dreams and fabulous covers: the intense "La llorona", the joyful "Gracias a la vida" and the poetic "Alfonsina y el mar"

Everyone I made listen to Amanda was charmed by her singing, her pure strong voice and the great arrangements on the album. Unfortunately Amanda is not widely distributed which is a pity as I believe her work can and should be a worldwide known treasure.

Looking forward for the second album, Amanda ;)

The East Village Opera Company
We were a bench of friends sitting at the beer garden of the Yonge street festival at the corner of Younge and Eglinton, taking it easy on that saturday summer night. I didn't know who was on stage, all I know is that I left my friends to go closer to the stage, I was captivated by the heavy guitars, the strings and the captivating voices.

It was the East Village Opera Company (EVOC), a NY band that revisits opera classics, adding strings, heavy guitars, drums and new arrangements to the great voices of Tyley Ross and AnnMarie Milazzo making them more intense and powerful.

I lined up to buy their first CD "La donna", As you put it to play you get the feel of the CD with the guitar riffs announcing "Vesti la giubba" from the Opera "Pagliacci", my favourite piece of the album. I particularly like "Questa o quella", "Una furtiva lagrima", "Maria, Mari" and "La serenata".

Even though I liked "La donna" I thought it was shy compared to what I heard from the band on stage. A few months later, as it was released, I ordered EVOC's second album, and it turned out to be a masterpiece...

The arrangements were obviously more mature and audacious than in the first album. The addition of AnnMarie brought more intensity and energy to the mix and some duets on the album with Tyley are absolutely amazing. My favourites are Gianni Schicchi's "O mio Babbino caro", Dido and Arenas "When I am laid on earth", La Wally's "Ebben? ne andro lontana", Turandot's "Nessun Dorma" and Carmen's "Habanera".

What a bold way of editing these classics of opera, I closed my eyes more than ones and intensely felt the pain of Dido, the insecurity of the wally or the daring Calaf challenging death. I am sure their original creators wouldn't find them outrageous, but definitely exquisite.

I feel lucky for discovering the East Village Opera Company and Amanda Martinez, unknown independent artists that should have a larger fan base, just for the good sake of spreading beauty in this world...

Pour savourer quelques grammes de finesse... dans ce monde de brutes.

A.

Free

I've been going through a trip lately, long and painful... my own journey to freedom.

I am struggling to free myself, free myself from fear, from inhibitions, from stereotypes, from hatred, from every negative feeling or thought that stands between me and myself.

I want to explore the inner me, the one that was there before to get infected by all the sickness of this world. I want to meet the genuine me, how would I think, who I would I be if I was free of all strings attaching me to the filthy ground...

Emancipate myself from fear, fear is always around the corner. Fear of the unknown, fear of those who control my life, my thoughts... We've been well taught how to auto-censor ourselves, how to avoid thinking, how to accept a distorted reality that it's impossible to stand...

Learn to free my mind from the society around me, and all its hidden catches, all the strange looks when you express something different or act differently. All the judgments, all the ironic comments, the surrounding conformism, the narrow minded people...

Remove all inhibitions, sins, explore the world as if there were no consequences: no punishments, no hell...

Pinch myself every time I'm having a nasty thought about a different person, just because this person is different...

I want to get rid of these feelings, I want to love mankind just as it is, diversified and different... destroy all thoughts presuming that THEY are different, that THEY are weird, that THEY are evil...

We are all weird, we all have our unique differences that make us uncivilized and strange, aliens to the eyes of some other people.No matter who you are, no matter where you coming from there will be always someone thinking that you are fucked up... so why don't we accept these differences as particularities interesting to explore, instead of turning your head and mumbling: pfff those !@$#$%

I am trying to make the little free spot in my mind bigger, I figured out it was very small. I finally understood that I am a prisoner of my own mind... I want to dig into it and see where it's gonna take me... and from there come back to the world...

hopefully as a free man...
A.

Guantanamera

This picture got me into trouble and almost to Guantanamo bay...

On my last day at work in Toronto, I decided to make a photo report of my journey to work. Considering that I take a tram, 2 subways and a bus to go to work, I wanted to make it unforgettable, this journey I was doing twice a day.

So I started by the tram stop, the tram coming, me in the tram, the subway entrance, first subway stop etc... at the second subway's station I continued my artistic work, took this picture and got into the wagon waiting for the subway to leave.

But it didn't leave, the subway stayed there for long minutes. While I was worried about the bus I'll miss, a constable came in with his talkie walkie: tchh tchhh walking back and forth until he stopped in front of me:

Toronto Transit Commission Constable: Would you please follow me sir ?
A.: pardon me !
TTC: I would like you to follow me, please.
A.: ME ?
TTC: Yes sir, please
A.: well, OK
TTC: thank you sir
A.: You know that it is my right not to go with you without you giving me a good reason... but not to make troubles I am going with you
TTC: I know that sir and I really appreciate your assistance.
A.: It better be serious coz I am missing a party at work now, u know ?
TTC: sorry for that sir...

So he leads the way to the control room, where all the subway lines of Toronto can be monitored... He offers me a seat:

TTC: It shouldn't be long sir
A.: I'm just curious to know what's the reason for all that.
TTC: you'll know soon sir...
A.: mmmm don't tell me it's because of the pictures
TTC constable in his talkie walkie: Tchhh tchhh the suspect is asking if it's because of the pictures, what should I say ?
A.: SUSPECT ???

so we sit there for 20 minutes and chit chat, I tell him I'm a foreigner and that it's my last day at work, that I loved Toronto and that's why I'm taking bits and pieces of my life here in pictures as memories...

A.: So I decided to make a photo report of my everyday life, the places I like etc..
TTC: great idea
A.: wanna see the pics ?
TTC: sure

When my TTC constable friend saw the innocent and funny pics...

TTC: I'm totally sorry sir
A.: don't worry, I understand. I am taking it from the good side, it's funny for me to be arrested on my last day at work while my colleagues have prepared a surprise for me and are waiting for me to come...
TTC: Maybe it's funny, but it's so sad too
A.: True true
TTC: I'm really sorry for what's happening

In the mean time, three policemen arrived, with their tough faces...

Policeman 1: So you are the one ?
A.: if you say so
Policeman 2: so you're taking pictures in the station
A.: Yes, (explaining the story from scratch)
P2: Can we see them
A.: of course
P3: do you have an ID ?
A.: yeah sure

Policeman 1 calls the Toronto Police for an Identity check, while I am showing the pics to the other 2... I go through the day pictures and then accidently show them a few pictures of world cup games celebrations and a brazilian party...

P2: nice pictures you have here
A.: yeah
P3: so did you like your stay here ?
A.: I had a great time, I love this city... and the country
P3: good to hear, you know that's the real thing, unfortunately times are hard now, remember the people arrested last week... u only hear about terrorism plots here and there
A.: that's so bad, it's like a phobia everywhere, a situation like this is ridiculous
P1: yeah but better safe than sorry, we prefer to arrest innocents for a couple of hours rather than take a chance... here you go, your ID
A.: Thanks, I guess I won't ask you for a picture...
P2: (laughing) no you better not :)

better not, better not
A.

Queremos Paz… pero como ?

As astonishing and dramatic the situation in the Middle East may look, it doesn’t seem that a sustainable solution is on the way to be found…

How is it possible to find a solution when the balance of powers is so unequal? When one side is allowed to ignore the international laws, treaties as well as UN decisions and the other side is left alone to face its destiny…

An autonomy given to the Palestinian authorities without territorial sovereignty nor respect of a free election results… How is a permanent solution possible when violence is the only response made by the Israeli state to every issue? like the unnecessary destruction of Lebanon, the killing of more than a thousand civilian, the ongoing military operations in Ghaza and the kidnapping of ministers and deputies of the Palestinian authority parliament.

It is “known” that violence creates a vicious circle, which only outcome is escalation and more violence. I say “known” cause’ it never seems known by any of both sides and the same process is happening over and over again: the previous Israel-Arabs wars, the Lebanon civil war, Intifada I, Intifada II, the actual Lebanon war and it's unfortunately not an exhaustive list of the conflicts that happened in the Middle East and which ending is only deaths and destruction.

In my previous post “Queremos Paz” I sound a bit harsh with the Palestinians and Lebanese, assuming that Tsahal is an evil monster that should never wake up from its sleep as it will destroy everything around it; wondering if it was worth it, all this destruction for kidnapping the soldiers in Ghaza and in North Israel?

But is it right to put the responsibility of keeping the peace in the area only on the Arabs when Israel’s operations are still on (prior to the war)? And at the same time withholding all the Arabs demands in a stand by situation… No Palestinian state, no real autonomy, no settlement of the prisoners and the refugees issues…

But let’s not get into the “who started?” game coz it will never end…

Unfortunately the balance of powers is so uneven, no one is backing the Arabs, no one is pushing for a real solution… and the idea that keeps coming back to my head is that Israel and the Israelis are more humane, that Arabs blood is cheaper and that it doesn’t really matter if they die…

Suffice to see the reports on CNN and BBC world to see this fact, long reports on destroyed cars or big holes in houses touched by Hezbollah rockets… what about the other side? what about the destruction of a whole sovereign country and a 1000 deaths toll and a humanitarian and ecological tragedy… you know what ? it’s OK they are only Arabs after all…

Reactions like the US one, sending missiles and blocking cease fire talks or Stephen Harper’s (Mister Canadian prime minister) who said that Israel’s military operations were justified and proportional are just shameful and inhumane… it makes me feel sick and wish I was a bird, a bull or a dog but not a human if this is what it means to be a human…

A dead person is a dead person, no matter what’s the religion, the origin, the language or the ethnic background. I’m bleeding at the sight of Lebanon being destroyed but not rejoicing when seeing the Israeli civil victims or counting their numbers while praising Hezbollah… Violence is a bitch no matter where it comes from, Tsahal, Hamas, Hezbollah, ETA or the Oklahoma City freak.

I’m hoping for a lasting peace in the region, but unfortunately it won’t be for tomorrow; when there is no real political will to find a permanent solution for this everlasting stinky situation.

In the meanwhile the horror reality TV show is still on, enjoy…

A.

Amused to death

Angie my dear, you asked what happened to the Human race... This is some kind of an answer...

Doctor, Doctor, what is wrong with me
This supermarket life is getting long
what is the heart life of a color tv
what is the shelf life of a teenage queen

Ooooh western woman, Ooooh western girl

News hound sniffs the air, when Jessica Hahn goes down
He latches on to that symbol of detatchment
Attracted by the peeling away of feeling
The celebrity of the abused shell, the belle

Ooooh western woman, Oooooh western girl
Ooooh western woman, Oooooh western girl

And the children of Melrose strut their stuff
is absolute zero cold enough
and out in the valley, warm and clean
the little ones sit by their tv screen
no thoughts to think, no tears to cry
all sucked dry, down to the very last breathe
bartender what is wrong with me,
why am i so out of breathe
the captain said excuse me ma'am
the species has amused itself to death

amused itself to death
it has amused itself to death
amused itself to death

we watched a tragedy unfold
we did as we were told
we bought and sold
it was the greatest show on earth
but then it was over
we ohhed and awed
we drove our racing cars
we ate our last few jars of caviar
and somewhere out there in the stars
a keen eyed look out
spied a flickering light
our last hurrah
our last hurrah
and when they found our shadows
grouped round the tv sets
they ran down every lead
they repeated every test
they checked out all the data on their list
and then the alien anthropologist
admitted they were still perplexed
but on eliminating every other reason
for our sad demise
they logged the only explanation left
this species has amused itself to death

no tears to cry, no feelings left
the species has amused itself to death
amused itself to death

Roger Waters
Amused to death

A beautiful song full of sens... it is probably what is going to happen to the human race, which amused itself to death; the whole album is full of songs like that, they speak to you and they are so painful of truth...

The monkey sat on a pile of stones
And he stared at the broken bone in his hand
The strains of a Viennese quartet
Rang out across the land
And the monkey looked up at the stars
And he thought to himself

Memory is a stranger
History is for fools
And he cleaned his hands
In a pool of holy writing
Turned his back on the garden
And set out for the nearest town

Hold on, hold on soldier
When you add it all up
The tears and the marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each ledger

And the Germans killed the Jews
And the Jews killed the Arabs
And the Arabs killed the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder
That the monkey's confused

He said Mama Mama
The President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading
These technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh
You're a smart kid
Time is linear
Memory is a stranger
History is for fools

Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command
Of a nuclear submarine
Sent him back in search of
The Garden of Eden

Roger Waters
Perfect Sens, Part I and II

I can't comment on this, just listen to the woman's voice singing this aweful truth and tell me how u feel next...

A.
Sick and tired

Queremos Paz

There is powder smell in the air, I can’t watch the news anymore. Talks are only about Lebanon and Israel and right when you think that no worse can happen, you have just witnessed the opposite on your TV set.

Israel is destroying Gaza and all Lebanon, 150 Lebanese civilians dead in 5 days. Why ? Because 1 soldier was kidnapped near Gaza and another two in north Israel. So Mr Haniya, Mr Nasrallah is it worh it !?

Poor Lebanon, poor Gaza: Hijacked by Hamas and Hizbollah, destroyed by Tsahal.

When is it going to be understood that PEACE is the only option for the Middle East. That Israel can’t be displaced neither can be all the Arab countries around. That based on this simple fact, the only option that remains is that Arabs and Israelis live together in peace.

Violence will take nobody anywhere, how many escalations the region will know before both parties understand that violence is useless. It brings only destruction, death and mourning.

Israel and Tsahal are like huge monsters that you don’t want to wake up cause’ they will destroy everything around, and when they hit there is always “collateral” damage. And in today’s case they reached an exceptional level of cruelty. They decided to deal with the Hizbollah problem for the last time.

So please, somebody help me understand what’s the logic behind the hijacking of the soldiers !?

Am I mistaken to think that peace is what every human being is naturally looking for!?

It In these times of war I am shocked every time I read the head titles on some newspapers: “Hassan Nasrallah promised Israel to do so and so…” it reminds me of my first year of high school, when we stayed awake to see the start of the first gulf war live, as if we were in a theatre or watching a video game… except it was for real. The people dying were real, and what happened and is still happening in Irak is real.

All through the war I was reading “Echourouk” which was praising Saddam Hussein’s army and their achievements as if they were winning the war. Then you realize that what’s happening around is so wrong, that war is so wrong. I was a kid and I understood it… but it seems that some people never grow old, they still want to watch war on TV as if it was a reality show, and are still following a fake reverie of lost primacy.

There must be some other ways to fix issues in the area other than throwing missiles, hijacking soldiers, blasting human bombs, bombing civilians, destroying a country infrastructure…

But for now, all we got is madness… and reality horror TV.

A.

The hero and the antihero

Zidane with his golden shoes missed yesterday the highest altar on the Olympus when Gigi Buffon stopped his shot with a firm hand. 2 goals for the second time in a world cup final would have made of Zidane the supreme football god and a French president for life. But history didn’t want it this way. Zidane fell from his half god class to finish his career as a mere mortal.

Marco Materazzi, the antihero who struggled to make it all the way to Inter Milano and then to the Italian national team, won it all instead, the world cup final night was his night: Tying the game, giving a good performance on the field and scoring a penalty kick to win the right to put his tricolor clown hat on the world cup trophy.

But how a kind and humble player like Zidane may loose his cool this way in the final minutes of a world cup final and after almost scoring the victorious goal!? Like the whole planet that watched yesterday’s game I wondered what did Materazzi tell him ?

The replay images show how M.M tied his arms around Z.Z in the penalty area followed by a brief dispute between the two players. Zidane run away before suddenly stopping to fire a head at Materazzi’s chest. It seems that M.M kept insulting Z.Z all game and the last one he just couldn’t bear.

According to the Nouvel Observateur and the Guardian, Materazzi may have insulted Zidane’s Algerian origins and called him a terrorist. Only one thing is certain, what Materazzi told Zidane was pretty serious, to make the best player in this world cup loose his mind in his last game and to make Gigi Buffon ask for forgiveness. You could read it on his lips: Scusa scusa…

This sad episode recalls the allegations of fascism on some Italian players like Di canio who was fined 10,000 dollars for giving a fascist greeting after scoring a goal against AC Rome. As well as rumors around Materazzi, Di Rossi… Is it acceptable to be keen on a fascist ideology and practices when you play for a national football team and carry the national flag on your chest ?

Even if I don’t excuse Zidane for what he did, I believe sportsmanship should be on both sides and I regret what Materazzi did. You may say this is part of the game, maybe it’s true, but there is some kind of a line not to cross, and by doing so, Materazzi gave yesterday’s cup a bitter taste. He refused to comment on it after the game and walked past the journalists, anything to be ashamed of Marco !? Hai vergogna di qualcosa !?

Italy deserves the cup, they had a great world cup and the game against Germany was fantastic. The French team has nothing to be ashamed of and especially Zidane, who was at the starting point of the French revival when everybody called the French dead and gone.

There is only one World champion, Zidane had gold shoes on, but Buffon was all in gold, He claimed his dues when he won his direct confrontation with Zidane. This is the confrontation I want to remember, a two heroes one, between the best player and the best goalie of this world cup.

Good bye Zizou and thank you for everything, what “les bleus” did has not been done by any French government. You could make a whole generation of disillusioned and rejected youth, dream and be proud. You are and will always remain their hero.

A.

lov'em and leav'em.

My time in Toronto is up... and again I have to say good bye and leave... Once again, I met wonderful people in a great city where I enjoyed myself to the max. But now it is time, my train is calling...

I have confused feelings these days... I am excited to go home, meet my family and friends and enjoy summer in Tunisia. But at the same time I am sad to leave my friends and my life here. I will definitely miss Toronto in every aspect, I fell in love with this city.

When I remember how I wasn't thrilled about my life here in the beginning and how I was thinking about leaving after 6 months... I am happy I took the decision to loose my return ticket and stay longer.

As I work in a far suburb of Toronto (Richmond Hill), I lived close to work at first... big mistake as you absolutely need a car to have a decent social life. It wasn't an option for me, so I had to live without it, which meant living a very limited social life.

It wasn't easy for a social butterfly like me, used to have my friends around and a million things to do every day. My first months meant staying at home the whole week to go downtown in the week ends where I was hosted by good friends of mine. Fortunately they were there otherwise I would have gone insane...

Then I started to make the best of it and enjoyed it in every way...

I enjoyed every season, even winter and its beautiful snow falling, snowboarding and ice skating; fall was beautiful with all its colours and the falling leafs, spring and the rebirth of nature after loosing its bed of snow, there is something magic in how everything turns green after it was all white. And summer where Toronto goes crazy with a different festival and cultural celebrations every week, camping, outdoor activities and bonding with mother nature...

And the food in all this… for a gluttonous guy like me it is a must factor in my definition of happiness. I will tremendously miss Toronto and its mosaic of cultures and foods. Here you can eat whatever food of the world you want; I got introduced to all types of food and just loved the mix and variety… I even prepared a schedule of restaurants to go to before I leave...

I had a blast going to concerts (PJ, DM...), sports events, crazy parties, road trips, street festivals... But all of it wouldn't mean anything without the special people I enjoyed being with... some left me, and some I would leave... some I would meet soon, and some I don't know if I will ever see them again, where and when...

I was lucky to find great people in Toronto; I have amazing friends with whom I shared great moment and who were always there when I needed them. It is wonderful to feel appreciated and to know that there are friends over there that you can rely on…

But now it is time to go...

It is hard to strip yourself from a life… but I knew I had to from the start. I know how it feels, I experienced it before and it was tough… I did it when I left to Spain, then when I left Spain… when I came back home to have an awesome time with my friends, then leaving them to start a new adventure…

I knew it but went for it regardless; maybe I am a masochist for tormenting myself and leaving pieces of my life behind… Maybe… But, all I know is that I don’t regret anything, that I cherish the friendships I made and value everything I lived…To all my friends a big thank you and a big hug, I will miss you tons…

Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that Train I'm leaving…*

A.

*Peter Tosh

Superheroes

Today's super heroes do not wear masks, have super powers or are called Superman, Spiderman, V for Vendetta or the incredibles... Today's super heroes are regular people who are not committed to help respect the law in their cities but instead have received divine killing permits and have been assigned a mission directly by God: Force the respect of their religion by... making bombs.

During the week end, 17 young men have been arrested in the suburbs of Toronto and have been charged in an alleged terror plot. 5 underage people are among the arrested.

Apparently, the suspects were frustrated by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and by the mistreatment of Muslims around the world... they thought they have to do something to change things and defend the humiliated brothers and sisters... so they came up with the brilliant idea of terrorist attacks.

These kids, warmed up by images of war and heated radical preaches by a fundamental imam (arrested with the gang) lost their marbles and believed they were the missionaries of God to spread its "love" among the people...

Once again, the name of Islam has been stained by fools who play war games and think they are being sent to heaven in the first express train to leave planet earth.

It's so painful to read the news and realize how radical and stupid people can be. Realize that these people belong to the same religious community as you... Once again...

I was in Valladolid, Spain (200 km north of Madrid) when the train attacks happened in the Spanish capital in March 11, 2004... I remember how everybody was astonished by what happened and the mixed feelings of disbelief, confusion and anger. As Aznar's government started pointing fingers at the Basque terrorist group (ETA), spontaneous demonstrations took place in all Spanish cities with the biggest in Madrid where 2 million people took the streets, chanting the main slogan against ETA terrorism: "BASTA YA"... I was part of the Valladolid one.

The following days, the two main national newspapers were giving completely different info (due to the upcoming election): El Mundo (close to Aznar's El partido Popular) was accusing ETA, El Pais (close to the Socialist Party) started mentioning Radical Islamic terrorism... I was secretly hoping it wasn't the latter.

Unfortunately, it was...

When the information became official, I wished I could disappear from the face of the earth. I couldn't look in my friend's eyes anymore. But, I was blessed to have great friends who helped me to get over it; they were tolerant and intelligent enough to make the difference between the self declared warriors of God and the rest of the Muslim world. But this isn't the case of everybody...

It needs a massive reaction from the Muslim world to fight this extremist and erroneous ideology that made its way among the God freaks. EVERY terrorist act has to be strongly condemned and those who spread radical ideology in the name of God or nationalism should be sued... Starting by Haniya and his Hamas.

Thanks to you, Superheroes, Islam became the public enemy #1 in the world... Mission accomplished... thank you very much.

A.