Gold Dust by Ibrahim al-Koni

Gold Dust is Al Koni’s second novel It was first released in 1990 in Arabic as “Al-Tibr”. Its main theme, the hero Ukhayyal’s deep attachment for his Mahri, a thoroughbred camel. The hero of the novel Ukhayyal attachment to his camel Mahri was quite surprising to me specially how the hero often talks about his camel he makes the camel into a human figure with personality, and wisdom. Its like the camel is in some way a mystical being. The novel is mystically poetic. He also brings the desert alive in his description and mystical meaning. Like he did with the camel the author makes the desert into a beautiful and complex being he does it by incorporating God's presence into the desert. Other examples are how the desert cleans the soul in ways that only a desert can. The novel read like a poem not a novel. But while reading the novel I researched a little on its inner poetic meanings and i found this passage which i wish i could take credit for but i thought it describes this novel perfectly, "Gold Dust gives us the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful novel and discover an outstanding writer. Its lyrical prose exudes the unique breath of desert life and a mystical taste of the afterlife. " - Anonymous (i think)

Pride of Baghdad an original graphic novel

• As an avid graphic novel reader i own dozens of graphic novel. And "Pride of Baghdad" is one of the most fascinating i have read in a long time. A powerful graphic novel that follows the story of four lions who escaped from the Baghdad zoo into the chaos of the 2003 invasion of Baghdad. The story begins in the zoo and ends on the bloody streets of Baghdad. Throughout the story, the lions discuss ideas of freedom and what it means to be caged and tamed as they work to survive. This is not an easy story and the illustrations don't stint on showing the violence of animals and of war. The characters are as complex and deep as the story you have Zill the pride leader and alpha male a smart and wise lion philosophical in many ways, he does have an aggressive side that will stop at nothing to protect his pride(my favorite character). You also have Safa, an old lioness, blind in one eye, who has become accustomed to captivity and views the human advantage of their new freedom there are other characters but these two are my favorite because they are easy to relate too. Even the antagonist of the story, Fajer, a blood thirsty bear who comes to challenge the pride, and this bear aint no push around. The story may come off at first as a child graphic novel but if you know a thing or two about Vertigo (Pride of Baghdad publisher among others.) who published mulit layered stories for aimed at mature readers then you know this is not a book for the novice reader or squeamish reader. As you turn the pages, you can feel the heat and desolation, the sand and dust coats your skin. Niko Henrichon’s drawings are amazing. The colors are both muted and vibrant. You feel as though you’ve been transported thousands of miles to the Middle East the interior pride of Baghdad Henrichon’s art is matched in skill by Brian K. Vaughan’s storytelling. It was Vaughan that was inspired to write the story of these four lions. And Vaughan one of my favorite story tellers who has won many Eisner Awards and has written stories for Marvel and DC comics like The X - men, Y- The Last Man, Captain America, etc. I believe it is a must read for any graphic novel reader or a person whom is interested in the middle east. I recommend it to mature readers, Adult in nature, thought-provoking about the price of freedom and the nature of man.
  

Alimony and Maintenece in Egypt

After reading "The Lawsuit" by Naguib Mahfouz i went on and researched the laws and rights of women receiving alimony or maintenance and this is what i found:

This law has given to the first wife the right to divorce without
proof of damage, if she requested to do so within a year from
the date she knew the new marriage. The new wife has the
same right if the husband lied about the another marriage so
as the husband who wants to marry another would be honest
to face the situation and divorce his first wife if she wishes so
without the need to prove the damage.
According to this law, the wife is punished if she disobeys her
husband by losing her right to alimony unlike the previous law
that required the police to force the implementation of the rule
of obedience.
The law also stated the independence of the divorced wife in the
marital home until the end of the custody period, unless the
husband provides alternative accommodation for her.

This is the most interesting thing that i found I believe that in the book Naguib might have fictionalized the alimony right to the woman of his " The Lawsuit" book though im not 100 percent sure. But times have changed and so have the laws, specially in Egypt. But i will point out the the laws and rules in Egypt regarding alimony and woman rights after marriage changes depending on your religious background. The one above which explains some of the notions and laws given to women after matrimony i believe is the Islamic laws and rules not the chrisitan though i might be mistaken. I just found it so interesting that in the short story " The Lawsuit" the women was granted pretty much all that she asked for which i found preposterous and sad. So i did a little research.

The Lawsuit: An Analysis

"This women robbed us and deprived us of our legal rights". The narrator says this to his lawyer after finding out that his father's widow was demanding maintenance in other words money. If one reads this short novel one does not know anything about his fathers widow by reading this first statement declared by the narrator. The interesting thing about this first quote is that it entices you to learn more about this women whom apparently is desperate for money or maintenance. Once you read the novel you are dealt with two cards. A) Is this women just money hungry or "gold - digger" who just cares about herself or B) She has the right to ask or petition what is rightfully hers. The truth is the depiction of this woman in the short story is quite one sided. The description given in the story is that she married his father in her 20's (the father much older 55 i believe) she is described as beautiful, young, etc. It seems that the father was quite mesmerized by this woman and didnt see past the truth of the matter. This woman was not the narrators real mom in the story the father and the real mother separated which gave the father opportunity to find another love. In this case a younger woman. But the father was no dummy in the novel he is described as a brilliant accountant who knew how to handle his money. The thing is he was quite over powered by this younger woman. The illusion of love can bring any man to his feet and thats what happened to the father. So she sues the family because she deserves what belongs to her after the father died but this didnt happen right away it took years for her to finally sue which is the odd part if you though. If you deserved alimony or maintenance should have claimed it as soon as possible not when apparently you are broke and need it because of your current economic status. That sounds cheap and absurd. She needed it badly and we can assume this by the lawyers quote " Necessity has its own rules" a powerful and clear quote which sums up the "mothers" (quotes cause its not the real mom, the real mom passed away in the novel) intention and desperateness. She seems weak and apologetic for what she is doing to the narrator like she didnt want this to happen but it was the only way.

This story comes down to karma which is what Naguib Mahfouz writes a lot about. Is that karma will come bite you back in the ass. And apparently karma hit this woman hard, very hard.
At the end she seems to get what she wanted (though it left me in a little cliff hanger) but the narrator after being furious throughout this story seems to be at peace with himself and with the decisions made. Yes he is the victim not her, but he felt an inner peace and at the end he tell her "dont worry - let the lord do as He wills" In other words not caring anymore and living it all on karma. The last quote "Why not? Even a farce must continue right to the final act". I took it as a revelation from his part he realized the truth of the matter he pitied her and yes she was a farce. We all know that the law is blind and in this case it was not only blind but, deaf, unreasonable, and ignorant..

Day of Ahmed's Secret Review

The first part of the book "The Day of Ahmed's Secret" is a children book set in Cairo, Egypt. Ofcourse as the titles suggest Ahmeds does have a secret. He plans to tell this secret to his parents but first he must go through a long day in the everyday life of people whom lives in Cairo, Egypt. It is told in the first point of view i believe because for kids and younger readers could relate easier how Ahmed lives in Cairo. It is also vastly illustrated for younger readers to kind of take an understanding of how Cairo looks inside and out. The illustrations are photo-realistic illustrations, which captures the bustle of the crowded marketplace. My favorite illustration are the simplest - pyramids in the distance across a wide desert. The pale colors of the sky seems peaceful after the busy marketplace, and there's a comforting feeling in the cool darkness when the day finally ends. The pictures in the book are quite significant for the reader it gives it an added dimension to what the reader pictures is Cairo. The book does describe how Cairo does look with camels, pyramids etc.. But for the younger reader whom has little or no knowledge at all of what Cairo looks like the images are a great reference for these young readers which in a way is what i think the author tried to do, probably because of its complex descriptions.

I truly believe that the best way to read this book is quite frankly to ask yourself before reading the book "What is Ahmend's secret? It kind off gives you a more interesting perspective because of the awaited answer of his secret. The book is a perfect start off for children that do not really know the history or the significance of the every day life in Cairo, Egypt. For a more mature, older reader the books has plenty to offer because of its many lessons through it, at first not quite visible but if you read it carefully the book has plenty of lessons for the everyday life. Like responsibility, the importance of taking advice from parents, and even the most underrated is patience. Specially how Ahmed is so patient through out the entire day. Its a great read for children and mature readers.

Unethical treatment of Pigs in Egypt

Egypt ordered the killing of 250 thousand pigs to prevent the swine flu epidemic in Egypt. The swine flu has affected every country around the world. But there is a difference in the killing of pigs compared to the slaughter of pigs. Pigs are "being killed in extremely inhumane ways ... We request that all slaughter be ceased until guidelines can be put in place to regulate the killing," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in a letter to the Egyptian government. All of this was discovered after an Egyptian civilian posted disgusting and unethical killing of pigs. Although no case of A(H1N1) swine flu has yet been detected on its territory, Egypt is the only country in the world to have decided to kill all its pigs, estimated to have numbered around 250,000 before the cull began. You can watch the unethical treamtent here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMIlw7rCSc&feature=related

One clip posted by independent newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yom showed gory images of pigs being beaten with iron bars, piglets being stabbed with kitchen knives and animals being kicked alive into bulldozer buckets. The clip sparked horrified reactions from Muslims and from the Christian Copt community, who are the main rearers of pigs in Egypt as Muslims do not eat pork. The slaughter caused controversy from its start on May 3, when riot police clashed with stone-throwing pig farmers trying to prevent their animals from being taken away.The authorities have said it will take six months to complete the slaughter and announced plans to import three machines to boost culling capacity to 3,000 animals a day. It is sad how Egypt can slaughter so many pigs with knives, kicked alive and even pouring them into bulldozer buckets.

Blood and Oil: Analysis

Oil is the most important mineral in World History. The more oil you have the more powerful of a nation you become. The United States consumes more oil than any other country in the world. The U.S is 5% of the world population but consumes nearly 25% of the use of oil around the world. The U.S uses 20 million barrels a day while the whole world uses 80 million, exactly 25%. So in other words the U.S is more dependent in oil than any other country or nation. But it gets crazier and more drastic than that... About 98% of of transportation (trains,planes,cars) energy comes from oil, for what it seems without oil we become useless. Petroleum oil affects everything, even agriculture... Agriculture? How? Without Oil, bigger agriculturist whom use heavier machinery could not produce the amount of goods that the people need, even factories that make and produce dairy, vegetable,meat, fruits are worthless without the amount of oil energy it is needed to create these mass productions of food. But how did we become so reliable on oil? In the early 1900's we did not rely on foreign oil, we produced our own oil for the vast majority of this century, but for the last 10 years we have relied more and more on foreign oil. The more oil one consumes the more oil one will need, and by 2025 the US will depend on foreign countries for about 70% of its oil, an outstanding and alarming number. In other words we Americans are Oil junkies that cant get enough, we need it at all times more than anyone else in the world. Even when it comes to war oil has played an important part. Without oil we could not have won WW II, we won because if yes strategy, leadership but also because we could produce and manufacture more planes, tanks, submarines than any other country in the world, we could build them faster and better. Even so the American produced 6 out of 7 barrels used by the allied forces during WWII. Unfortunately the US used up 1/3 of its oil reserve during WWII which now has come back to bite us in the ass.

But the questions is when did we start getting this oil hook up from the Middle East? It all started during the 1940's where one of the greatest presidents ever FDR! Became aware of the oil problem that the US was going to hit because of its mass consumption so FDR made a deal with the King of Saudi Arabia (at the time) the deal was simple.. Saudi Arabia will let us Americans find and evolve this oil while the Saudi Arabia had full protection from the US, not a bad deal. But what did this protection consist of??? Easy, the US would pretty much give the Saudis military power by giving them hefty weaponry big tanks, big planes, big guns, in exchange for some of the dark liquid goodness. In other words the US created the Saudi military (jaw opens drastically).

Now one can understand why it is that the US goes to war in the Persian golf war, the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq etc etc.. Not because we are buddies of the Saudis but because the resource of oil is too important we will sacrifice anything and everything to protect and control and obtain all the oil we can muster. We sacrifice troops after troops after troops just to continue our dominance over the "Oil World". How easy we have forgotten about the 1980's all the way through the early 1900's where president Bush (the older one) clearly would say and i quote " We must protect the Oil, we can not allow these evil nations from taking our oil that we have worked hard for", well not exactly the quote used but you get the idea. It is so funny how the oil talk was so casual presidents would talk about it all the time and how they would defend it to the end, but now oil talks are forbidden its all a denial now. No president since first Bush had admitted that we love Saudi Arabia because of its oil. Now every questions the press asks the president about the oil they get easily shut down by the prezzident, now the excuse is nuclear weapons. We must stop all these terrorist because of their nuclear weaponry that is the words from the white house in recent years, but the truth is we dont care about no nuclear weapons we care about the oil. Why dont we care about all these dangerous weapons? Because the US is the biggest exported of weapons around the world so most of those dangerous weapons will read very very very tiny on the lower corner " Made in America". One of the reasons the US won the cold war was because we would give and sell all these weapons to the Saudi rebels to protect Saudi Arabia from the Soviets they used the weapons to fight back and one of it main rebels whom was working for the CIA at the time was Saudi Arabia biggest star Osama Bin Laden. So nuclear weapons or any other weapons are not really our concern the oil is. The US will always have bigger guns than any one else in the world, but we dont have the biggest Oil reserve in the world the Middle East does, which is why we are so interested.

Osama Bin Laden was fueled because of the oil hunger the US has which in turn he became one of our greatest enemy. From ally to enemy, from being on the pay roll to being on the run. The terrorist will stop at nothing to stop US from achieving and getting oil we need it for energy we need it form about everything. The US has one big problem.. It needs oil more than anyone else and the rebels and terrorist will stop at nothing to negate that. That is where the big beef comes from not any nuclear weapons but control of oil. So the truth is what is the US without oil???? Just a big chunk of land.