Frack Off, NATO Scum

Photo from Flickr: noeldouglasflickr

It's a new year, and with that a new NATO offensive. Libya. The war for pristine african Oil. Sorry, I should have said Humanitarian (sic) mission. In recent days, theres been an escalation of aerial bombings, British attack helicopters, targetted assasinations - all in the name of rescuing the poor, persecuted Libyan rebels. And yes, in case you wondering, we've had this plot before. Remember the Kurds of Iraq. Rescued by the Yewwnited States of America. Look how well that has turned out. Iraq is now a wasteland, with no credible government, and still teeming with daily clashes for power.

Libya, before NATO went in for the kill, had a per capita income of US$ 14,429 - highest in Africa. A Literacy rate of 76%. Life expectancy in years of 75. These figures will rival many European countries, which is probably one of the reasons NATO decided to invade the country.

Yet, the greatest trick NATO has pulled on us, is not financing and arming the rebels from the background, signing behind-the-scenes Oil contracts with them, should they be victorious, but the fact that they have a perfect faceless front that nobody can point fingers at. Who do you hold accountable for all the destruction ? Who do you put on trial for war crimes? Who is the villain ? In this regard, they have outdone the Pharoah of Moses, the Golliath of David, and even in our era, our very own Adolf Hitler. They have the perfect alibi. They hide behind the guise of a multi-nation peacekeeping force. One has to give due to where its deserved, and this is simply brilliant. Couple this with propaganda beamed to billions over worldwide sattelite news stations, and what you have is an open cheque book, to go and loot, pillage, and steal wherever they next fancy.

NATO in Libya. From Flickr: cvrcak1

But, the one lesson that they fail to take from past tyrants, is that every Phraoah will eventually meet his Moses. Look into the annals of history, into any scripture, and the message is clear. Yes, the world has seen the likes of NATO, Yewwnited States, Israel, before. In the end, injustice and oppression never survives. It's the way Almighty has created this Universe. Call it whatever you want to. Travel through the world, and look for the remnants of nations that were more mighty and powerful than any of these. Ancient empires that ruled over half of the known world. You'd be lucky to find a rusty old relic to bear witness to their vast empire. So NATO, take your shiny missiles and frack off. Before a day comes, when the people of the world will finally wake up to you, and like the ol school playground bully, rid ourselves of your scum once and for all.

CellC Whoosh - Slowest Internet EVER in South Africa

I changed my internet from Iburst to CellC, earlier this year. I was with Iburst for about 3 years prior to that. CellC, came out with their media-hyped new 3G - whoosh. Now Im tied in to R140 pm for a service I can hardly ever use. The connection totally reeks. On weekends, I cant ever get a connection that lasts more than 5 minutes. When it does, it is soooo slow - my old 56K modem dial-up was faster than this.

Please anyone, dont fall for this tell Trevor, media hype of CellC. Total fabrications and lies. Their internet is the slowest in South Africa!

Before all you CellC lovers get on my back - I understand maybe in central JHB, Yes it works fine, but theres more to great customer service than serving a small minority of people. I live in springfield - Durban - not far off from Durban CBD. so coverage should not be an excuse. They should include this disclaimer in all their hyped up media ads. Total hogwash. I tried contacting Trevor Noah, via twitter, and the SMS no. HAHA - what a waste of my time.

Grrr.. wish I was back with Iburst - better the devil you know than the one you dont.

The Rise of Muslim Media

I remember being glued to the images of the first televised war, the Gulf War, during 1990-1991. CNN beamed these mesmerising images into our living room, and the worlds first 24 hour news channel was born. I can actually recall fond memories of sitting next to my Dad, peppering him with questions and listening to his commentary on the war. I was in standard six at the time, and still too young to accurately grasp the reality on the ground of what it meant to be at war. This new entertainment as morbid as it was, was enthralling.

Then came September 11. This time though, I was a young man, working in a company where I was the only Muslim. I remember having to defend myself, my beliefs, my beard to my co-workers. They were fed daily doses of CNN's dramatic coverage of the attacks, George Bush's war on terror and the Taliban's harbouring of suspect no1, Osama bin Laden. And I grew ever more desperate. Every which way I looked, the media seemed to have a story of an Islamic terrorist, or a fanatic suicide bomber. I began to loathe opening a newspaper or switching on the news channels.

Somewhere in between all of this, Al-Jazeera English had launched. I believe the Arabic channel had already begun sometime in the 90's. But for me, the English channel was a lifeline - that all was not lost. I desperately kept hoping that more and more people in the west would turn it on - and see that Islam was not as portrayed on mass media up to then. The professionalism of the productions and presenters really impressed me. Something inside me, felt proud - Proud that a perceived "Muslim" broadcasting company could pull this off.

As many people have commented, Al-Jazeera has really come into its own, during their coverage of the Tunisia and Egypt uprisings. With them, there has been a host of Muslim bloggers, writers, reporters keeping the world updated on social network sites like Twitter. Names like (Twitter handles) @SultanAlqassemi, @Waelabbas, @Ghonim, @Monaeltahawy. And back home we've had @Azadessa, @Khadijapatel. And many more. These names are etched into our memories, together with the wonderful memories of Tahrir Square. But what has struck me, is that the epicentre of News in the world has taken a distinct shift. Doha, is a real alternative now, if you want your voice heard, and your views expressed to the world. For me, this is quite remarkable. Back then, in the dark days of post-911, it seemed a hopeless cause.

So I watch this silent revolution taking place, and hope that one day, Muslims will again be at the forefront, in this fast moving world. We always hear of the golden age of Islam, when Muslim thinkers developed the principles of Mathematics, Science, Literature. Somewhere along the way, we got lost. We concluded that Islam was to be confined only to the Musjid. And we lost our thirst to be the best. The west certainly overtook the Muslim world in this regard. But in these uncertain times of economic upheaval and capitalistic meltdown, I see a real place for Muslims, to take a leading role in finding creative solutions to the World's problems. And I have my hope back, and a spring in my step - Loading my English Al-jazeera site, proud to see Muslim names, making their mark in the World.

Today, we are all Egyptians

February, 11, 2011. What seemed impossible or improbable barely 18 days ago, has just taken place. Hosni Mubarak, ex-president of the ancient land of Egypt, has stepped down. I am sure that I share the sentiments of most people out there, that were following this whole drama unfold these last 18 days, when I say, it was a moment of such spontaneous elation and euphoria, the moment the news broke out. As it is in such times of great events, I instinctively picked up the phone and dialed my wife. "Have you heard? People are tweeting about it, Mubarak has stepped down!" Someone once said, the reason humans like sharing news like this is, it magnifies the experience while sharing it. I think they were right. Twitter exploded into expressions of joy, thanks, relief, mixed with wonder and amazement at what just happened. I was glad to be sharing this moment, and felt privileged to  have witnessed this great event.

 The ramifications of this #JAN25 revolution, as it has famously been referred to on Twitter, will be very, very far reaching, I am sure. One can almost sense, the uneasiness in all the other corrupt dictators of the world - wondering if their turn is next. The people of Egypt have shown us, the power of solidarity, of believing in their cause, of the immense power of this human will. I think today, I speak for all of us when I say, we are all Egyptians. You have done us proud, our brothers and sisters!

The 1st decade of the new millennium, began with September 11 - And that laid down the theme for pretty much the rest of that decade. This decade started first, with the Sidi-Bouzid, Tunisia uprising and now the  Meydan Tahrir, Egyptian revolution. Let's hope, Insha-Allah ( Arabic phrase meaning - With the will of Allah)  this becomes the decade of spring cleaning, of new leaders, of solutions to the ever-increasing challenges of modern-day life. It hasn't disappointed so far.

For now, lets just celebrate with the people of Tahrir. There is a time for everything. And lets remember the young and old, that gave their lives in this momentous victory.