Mickey Boston's Corner - BIG BROSKY BLOGS...

Israeli Businessman Builds and Restores Mosque in France

2010-09-28T03:04:00.000-04:00

Israeli Millionaire Builds Mosque in France

So Big Brosky kinda crossed something rather intriguing and maybe even Ironic; an Israeli building and restoring a Mosque in France...France itself being a strongly Islamophobic state within itself whose population in itself will be over 50% Muslim by the turn of the decade.

Overall in my view, I've been finding Europe to be a rather difficult place. Im no fan of immigrants even though I am the son of immigrants myself. Weird but that's just the way I am and Montreal is known to be one of the world's most multi-cultural city, but some peeps fresh off the boat have some issues with integrating. Im not saying at all that immigrants should submit and re-configure themselves to even 50%, no not at all.

People should hold and even cling to their distinct cultures and traditions however, they need to water-down the extreme aspect they import over here. Some people come from lawless nations where tribal aspects of their social living are undeniably imported here. France itself had an issue with female genital mutilation. Other countries like this one do face the issue of polygamy practiced in secret. The importation of such ideals do need to stay within the countries of origin.

Next off, going back to the topic at hand, what I find Ironic is the aspect of the whole controversy of the "Ground Zero" Mosque in Manhattan. Next off the whole Florida thing about burning the Qur'an. Then we have the Swiss pulling off a referendum on a Minaret going up and of course the Syrians and French banning face veils (Im actually cool with that, Im not for women in Shinobi veils and you can leave a comment below if you like and I'll clarify why).

The we come to the Israelis: the advocates of Apartheid who somehow claim to be the most humane and democratic nation within the Middle-East. Israelis themselves do bar young Muslim males from praying at the Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa, in Jerusalem. I mean Israelis have practiced combat with use of conventional weaponry that has been banned by the United Nations, the very Institution that has supported their Right to Exist. Here, I am directly alluding to the use of chemical to biological agents used to attack an unarmed civilian population all the while supporting what is an illegal occupation and ongoing building of settlements within the West Bank.

Having mentioned all of the above, out of nowhere arrives Israeli and, of course, Jewish businessman Robert Harush who grew up in Ashkelon and is now investing a fortune on the renovation of large Mosque Montereau, in effort to promote co-existence.

This is better than nothing. I love the co-existence part without an eyelash of doubt. He undividedly gets one Brosky point for that. I guess Harush couldnt start in Israel and repair what damages Israel evoked on Palestine and so France happens to be a decent place to start...

So Who the Heck is Robert Harush???

So as I mentioned, the guy is an Ashkelon resident. He earned a large bulk of his financial success within European real estate.
Basically, Robert comes off as a nice guy: he decided to pay for the construction of a Mosque in France for the benefit of the local Muslim community.
Harush is the proud father of four and is currently 58. He completed his military service in Israel and then tried his luck in the real estate business in Europe. So yes, if you do work or worked in the Israeli military you are indeed an occupational force implementing apartheid. But lets got off this subject and stick to the subject ;). Harush's success won him many hotels and buildings making him worth hundreds of millions of shekels.
Despite living between Israel and France, Harush doesnt hold any ill-feelings towards his Arab and Muslim neighbours on the other side of the apartheid walls even when a rocket landed by his crib. This is commendable.

As Prodigy would say:

Catchu you comin' out your F-ckin' crib...

Putting Harush aside for a second, Prodigy himself does have his distinct point of views within his conscious rhymes despite not being known to strongly be a conscious MC. His stance on pro-Zionist company Tmberland come off as quite loud and vocal: "TIMBERLAND BOOTS…THESE RACIST FUCC'S OWE US MILLIONS. THEY NEVER DO AD'S USING BLACK PEOPLE OR RAPPERS AS MUCH AS WE PROMOTED THEY SHIT."

Prodigy's words do take me to the recently closed yet ongoing lawsuit launched from here in Montreal concerning construction company Caterpillar and its bulldozers and heavy machinery destroying Palestinian natural resources and homes while also being used to erect apartheid walls that are currently snaking within and across the holy lands.

And of course we cannot forget the loss of Rachel Corrie as she stood in front of an Israeli Caterpillar bulldozer which something that pains within many of us.

Apartheid

Apartheid is something that has gone far beyond what happened in South Africa and sadly it is still happening today by a Jewish nation that proclaims itself to be "democratic."

Harush is someone who has seized an opportunity to unify rather than to separate and divide:

"I told myself 'here is an opportunity to bring the people together' and decided to donate the money...People were dumbfounded. What does a Jewish-Israeli man have do to with refurbishing a Mosque? The answer is simple: I'm sick and tired of the hatred. A sane voice must emerge."

He further goes on to state that "It wasn't a cheap venture but I did with all my heart."In essence, leaders of the Montereau Muslim community have thanked Harush for the gesture and maintain a warm relationship with him.

The businessman, however, is not interested in supporting the Muslim community alone and has paid for the construction of one of the largest and most grandiose synagogues in Asheklon last year, which was named after his late father.

He is currently working on setting up a mikveh in the southern city to be dedicated to his late mother. "I myself am not a religious person but I feel that in the absence of upstanding politicians it falls on businessmen to bring together Jews and Arabs and seculars and the religious.

Unlike Sappho Shopping in Sephora

2010-09-08T00:29:00.010-04:00

Unlike Sappho Shopping in Sephora:

चार्गेस दिस्मिस्सेदअगेंस्ट ग़िउलिअनि’स

Oh right lemme translate this...

Charges Dismissed Against Giuliani's

Little Princess

Aight so before anything, the night before I was doin some mild Top Rock training alongside my man Johnny Skywalker of Red Mask Crew who I am greatly indebted to. By my side was a beautiful "Little Miss Princess" who arrived in the dance studio with me. She is beautiful and dear to me however after she changed into her gear, Big Brosky saw the need to let her know she needs to change outta that Princess gear...maybe this photo, by the way please keep supportin' Mickey Boston Photography, should give you a decent conception of how it is done:

By the way Samantha G now has an Expos fitted thanks to yours Truly ;)

"Daddy's Little Princess" was some track that played at a wedding I went to the month earlier...Yeah it was that song chosen as the dance between the bride and her daddy...I guess we can dismiss that its sweet for so many women getting married...Princess dancing with daddy and all I could imagine now is Giuliani's Princess gettin her way in this

nefarious realm of dirty money and even filthier nepotisms, feel me?

So as Im writing this shit, Drake is playing on my speakers and damn I'm just doin' me, I'm livin' life right now and it's far from over...

So as I'm being me, Brosky, Caroline Giuliani be like "who the fuck is you?" but it's more like me reversing this and sayn: "who the fuck is you? Oh right you that..."

Now allow me to get Grad school on and take this back to when Caroline's lawyers struck a deal in court to get her shoplifting charges dismissed.

But Caroline, a little Princess like you shoplifting, mais pourquoi?

Man-hat

There have been countless nights on my end of roaming Manhattan and wondering how Rudolph W. Giuliani lived. I slept on benches and aimlessly roamed streets, alleyways and stations--heck I even did routine Mosque-hop from one house of God to another. Little did I know about Caroline and Caroline couldnt give two shits about anybody in the city back in those days.

I wonder if she does today, or mayhaps she does and God knows best. So what's my issue in all of this anyways? Well, for starters Caroline made a quick appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court, the same court I know all too well, where prosecutors actually offered her a rather convenient adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.

Allow me to translate this legal shit for you: if Caroline serves a day of community service and stays out of trouble for six months and sticks to her cozy Disney cartoons and Cinderella swag, well, the case against her will be dismissed. Khulus, ya'3ni khulus...Tayeb.

A Princess on Community Service?

You see this is the part where Big Brosky sees some light at the end of this tunnel, yeah we comin out as we see Princess Giuliani now doing her community service for the Sanitation Department, though the details have not been worked out.

So what the heck was it that earned this sanitation gig? Come on Caroline, what did you did???

Nah, seriously girl, what did you did? what it do?

Oh yeah that's right (as my Drake track plays loud) Caroline was arrested after being caught at Sephora on the Upper East Side with Princess gear from the store in her coat pocket.

Anne M. Siegel, an assistant district attorney, said in court that her Royalty, Princess Caroline was caught with merchandise valued at $100.50. But...remember, she's Rudy's little Princess and so Mrs. Siegel had to cut in a deal pursuant to the office’s guidelines for first-time, low-level shoplifters, Princess Giuliani was being given the dismissal offer.

Isabelle Kirshner, the Princess's lawyer, did not say anything inside or outside of court and why should she, Brosky even says you got a damn good deal girl. Here's how Drake put's it in the track still playing loudly:

I really can't complain, everything is Kosher...

Two thumbs up, Eber and Roeper...

But seriously though, let's ask Kirshner if everything is really Kosher, I mean if youre a Harvard undergrad shouldnt you be smarter that? So Kanye's got a Yale undergrad telling him how to do a feathertie, so maybe Drake can have Caroline nab em some guyliner. The Princess herself is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 4 for a status conference on her community service.

Some wise Kosher insertions in all this: Judge Jennifer Schecter told Princess Giuliani, “Stay out of trouble and avoid rearrest.”

Joseph: The Bull and the Rose

2010-07-12T01:19:00.002-04:00

Joseph: The Bull and the Rose

A certain number of years ago the country of Mexico had its very own Revolution, or rather should I, the Big Brosky, allude to it as the “Revolucion.” In essence, in order to celebrate the historical event, the Mexican Consulate General didn’t call for another Revolucion or any of the stereotypical stuff people encounter in Hollywood films, nah…they didn’t do any of that, no. They held an exposition: “Joseph: The Bull and the Rose.”

Si si, that’s right…an exposition and it just wasn’t any exposition it was an expo of Mexican – Jewish – artist Anette Pier. For those who have absolutely no clue of who Annette Pier is, well she strongly takes pride in her Mexican Jewish identity for beginners. She presents what is a contemporary approach to the ancient twelve tribes as a universal concept of "the first diverse society."

Now, myself, Big Brosky, the Muslim, looking into Pier’s works had me looking through much introspectively within my mind. Questions of the likes: indeed there are Jews in every nation, of course, but how do Mexican Jews live? How did they end up there and what exactly does being Jewish mean to Annette Pier?

Pier’s work, “JOYS OF TOLERANCE: REFLECTING DIVERSITY THROUGH THE TWELVE TRIBES CATALOG” can answer many of these questions in full, no doubt. What intrigued me was that out of all the Mexican artists and the aspect of the Revolution, Annette Pier’s work was chosen.

The Exhibit

Walking through her exhibit, as a monotheist myself—however from the people of Ishmael (Peace and Blessings upon him)—I was without doubt feelin’ the pieces. Pier used metaphors to portray the life and times of the biblical prophet Joseph/Yusuf (peace be upon him) in a rather “Mexican” context.

Pier is a Mexican. Is Pier Mexican before she is Jewish…or…is she Jewish before Mexican? I don’t know, you’d have to ask her. My understanding was that, and still remains that, she is a Mexican before Jew, but if one would pass through a bazillion Jewish tribunes and Haretz, you’d prob get the opposite analogy; she is a Jew before Mexican.

Forget the Jew Mexican/Mexican Jew dyad for now. Pier has the bull fights of Mexico and Mexican culture clash and blend with the story of Joseph/Yusuf (Peace be with him).

To Pier, Joseph/Yusuf (peace be with him) is seen as the innocent bull, the powerful epical Bos Taurus. She sees the bull as mythical, graceful, robust, powerful, innocent and undeniably, sincere. Working from within her Mexican tradition, she builds upon the image of the bull as a metaphor for Joseph's/Yusuf’s (pbuh) magnetism, charisma, and acquired identity. She visually demonstrates how bullfighting is a dance and power-play with the matador paralleling Joseph's/Yusuf’s (pbuh) relationship with his brothers.

Aside from the fiesta Brava and the exhibit opening in Yeshiva University Museum, Pier sees the bull as gallant and attractive. To her, everyone loves Yusuf (pbuh) and Yusuf (pbuh) to her becomes the Rose, rather, the fleeting Rose whose aroma and scent sweetens the lives of everyone who surrounds him.

Despite such given, the flower’s aroma and sweetening scent is also perceived as toxic as it is able to arouse the most despicable of ill feelings within one’s very own siblings who became an embodiment of jealousy and malice. Pier brings in the fiesta Brava here: the struggle between the matador and the bull. The brothers being the matadors obviously.

Standing in my Keffeyeh – Solidarity in my Palestine Mind

So here I stand, a Muslim man, activist, photographer and hip-hop artist at an exhibit with a Keffeyeh wrapped around the jugular looking straight at this ingenious exhibit no doubt and simply bridging a contemporary gap on Palestine. So in this contemporary dance, I’d say Palestine is in the struggle with the matador who tries so very hard to subdue and control the bull.

The only thing I was seeing in Pier’s exhibit was Palestine and its walls set up by the matador as the global arena watches from satellites above diffusing a struggle. Is this what Pier wanted from me? Did Pier want me to interpret her art in the mannerism I did and still do? I am rather doubtful, but this is the way I saw the world that day at Espacio Mexico in downtown Montreal (2055 Peel St.)

The Hunchback and the Notre-Dame Gusher

2010-06-23T11:39:00.005-04:00

The Hunchback and the Notre-Dame Gusher

Aight, so I have no idea how many exact days that oil has been gushing out of the Gulf of Mexico since I lost count after day 65. In any event, I was vexed by day 7. The first seven days weren't so bad for me since we, the people/the controlled civilians, had no idea what was really "gushing on."

So here we, British Petroleum's environmental gusher. Big shout-out to Halleburton and indeed we can agree that Karma is a bitch for both of them. Now, the CEO of BP was out on a sail boat race somewhere in the Pacific on like Day 62, chillin' while Obama was playing Golf.

The American military has NO technology to fix this mess so how about we rewind back to April 20th when this all happened...by the way, I've got a hunch, a HUGE Hunch--bigger than the Notre-Dame Hunchback's and Milan Lucic's combined--that BP knew from the get go that it was 100,000 barrels/day that was spewing out the broken pipe in the first place.

Back to when it all Began...

When it comes to the young Presidency of Barack Obama, and for the nation, this hellish summer of discontent started in balmy spring, on April 20th, forty miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

By May 17th—the day that the chief executive officer of BP predicted that “the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest”—it was obvious that what was unfolding was the single biggest environmental catastrophe in the history of the United States. By last Tuesday, June 15th, when President Obama commandeered the networks for his first address to the nation from the Oval Office, the per-day estimate had been ratcheted up to sixty thousand barrels—a thousand every twenty-four minutes.

The surface muck was fouling Florida beaches and Louisiana wetlands, leaving doomed seabirds shrouded in black; just as ominous, huge subsurface blobs were leaching oxygen from the depths, threatening to suffocate an entire ocean ecosystem. The Times was describing the governmental response as chaotic, “bedeviled by a lack of preparation, organization, urgency and clear lines of authority among federal, state and local officials.” And Obama himself was under attack from all sides, with even admirers berating him for seeming coolly detached and not angry enough.

So let's face the TRUTH: The ultimate cause of the Gulf disaster is out-of-control consumption of a dwindling resource that must be extracted in increasingly dangerous ways. The most effective, most efficient way to rein in that consumption and make clean energy price-competitive would be to slap a heavy tax on carbon.

But really, is now the time to talk about other forms and modes of "environmentally friendly" means of getting around? I wonder why this problem isnt fixed, when you think about it, everybody is powerless to fix this broken pipe, could you imagine if this happened to the Russians, I wonder what means they wouldve tried, Im only happy that at least this happened to the Americans since if this were in Russian waters, Lord help us (and them with their archaic engineering equipment from the Commie days.)

I could only pray that this Global "Superpower" in the form of the United States of America gets this ridiculous pipe fixed or clogged.

el Seed: Gaze Into Urban Calligraphy

2010-06-07T12:55:00.005-04:00

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and Truth. Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced." -- Leo Tolstoy

Last month I interviewed Urban Calligraphy artist el Seed at his exhibit at Sino Shop Montreal. Filmed alongside Samantha G of Samantha G Photography, the full interview in its entirety will be featured in an upcoming two-part series with subtitles...

How to Network

I crossed el Seed about six weeks ago and immediately didnt hesitate on meeting him. We took the subway together as I shared my classical calligraphy from my sketches off bamboo done over the past three year period.

el Seed looked into the details of my work and we spoke as the train rumbled through the city's underground. As a former graff artist myself, it was quintessential that I met el Seed and that we spoke on a potential collaboration. We clicked immediately and spoke of everything relating to art all the way to culture and family and of course, identity.

Aside from connecting so naturally with a brother, we spoke about family life and the current state of the Arab/Muslim world--I guess it would impossible to avoid mentioning this since we all have some genre of connection to our roots and distinct homelands.

Down in Sino's Hood...

Heading down to Sino Shop with el Seed was something in itself...as we spoke, we mentioned much about France and his birth city of Paris. While Sino himself is also from France, I felt as if I was already there :)

Sino's Shop is a piece of beauty. A friendly ambiance, an atmosphere we all yearned for when we were young graffers and there was no store of the likes for us to shop and meet other artist...

http://www.lesino.com/site/

When it comes to a proper supply of Montana paints, Sino is the spot. As el Seed and I entered, we encountered none other than Italian artist and painter Nicolò Gola...

http://www.golanimal.com/works/walls

The Gola Factor...

Gola was chillin', plain and simple. Baggy pants and a colourful array of newly purchased paints he was up to his friendly usual even though I never met him ever before in my life...Undeniably, he's one of those guys with a very colourful demanour in context of his character and personality.

el Seed and Gola spoke it up and exchanged ideas at the Sino desk...Gola spoke of Gaza Graffiti alongside el Seed and both mentioned Banksy's works on the walls of the occupied territories...from there, Gola gave us a tour of his web-site and utterly colourful pieces in Spain and Italy.

Without doubt, what I just Love about Gola is his vivacity, vibrance, life, sponteneity and colour. I dont percieve him as a dark artist but a colourful, bright and energetic.

http://www.golanimal.com/exhibitions/

el Seed and the Spiritual Spray

el Seed's art in itself has become a medium of choice in terms of conveying and sharing some of his core convictions with the world. Every wall is a distinct canvas for expression. For el Seed Arabic script in itself is a manifestation of message.

In essence, to el Seed, the rather intriguing fusion of Graffiti and Arabic calligraphy is a primary form of art in context of visual expression and creativity. In essence, the artist becomes more concerned in pinpointing a message in his art rather than repeatedly reproducing his very own name; within this is the conceit of self-effacement. El Seed makes use of the elements of lines, colour, and structures in order to produce a particular narrative. Each mural and canvas speaks a story.

Throughout his work is the re-emerging notion of specified themes representing unity, beauty, equality, freedom and Justice. Moreover, the aesthetic ideals of his urban art are a reflection of the aspect of roots and identity while also crossing into the realm of cultural values and hospitalities unique to the Middle-East.

Arabic Script and Spraycan Handling...

Written from right to left, Arabic script at its best is undeniably a flowing continuum of ascending verticals, descending curves, and temperate horizontals, achieving a measured balance between static perfection of individual form and paced and rhythmic movement. For el Seed there is great variability in form: words and letters can be compacted to a dense knot or drawn out to great length; they can be angular or curving; they can be small or large. The range of possibilities is almost infinite.

The Background Track: Mickey Boston

When it came to the track of the feature shot at the Sino Shop, I wanted to do a piece of melody that would highlight el Seed's work...it was a vibe and rhythm and verse that complimented my style as a former graffer and current calligrapher and what el Seed is currently doing.

The track itself will be featured on my upcoming album which is far faaaar away from being released...

The track is called: Spraycan Soul by Mickey Boston.

Underground Hip-hop - Mickey Boston - CHESS

2010-05-21T01:06:00.005-04:00

Chess Video Shoot - That so-called "Behind the Scenes" Look

To begin, Behind the Scenes itself was a 1908 film directed by D.W. Griffith...but...nah, we don't really care about that right now...this is about that Mickey Boston, Big Brosky clip shot at the beginning of May 2010, right?

You are Correct.

I am actually pleased to commercial that this was my FULL self-directed video and was a lot of work? In all sincerity, yes and no...I jacked the chairs off McGill University's Leacock building, but the truth of the matter was, I asked some porter dude, but he wasnt really the Leacock porter...I borrowed the chairs and gave em back--nothing more to it than that...

One thing that had me stoked, as my man Rough Draft would say, was getting in touch with Toly from 21production, here have a look yourself and see how nice that feels:

http://www.21production.com/index2.html

I really like this part on his site:

I worked in film for five years on the west coast was in a smash and grab and was drugged at a club, ended up in the hospital. I make art house films - Toly A.K. I keep the burnin, along with the few friends on this thin raft- one cries a river-the other burns of fire

In essence...I was just pleased to meet the man and we spoke in the heat over some strawberries while my man Tuthree (and director of photography) was parking the ride with all the supplies in there...

The chess board itself came from Mr. Weyes who was actually in Mexico while archival footage was a pleasure to work, especially working the reels...Sam Jamous came down alongside fellow hip-hop brother in rhyme Mad Gab, the el-Gabacho...

we got rolling, the rest was history…

Natural you say?

Gabacho wasnt nervous, he just looked in the camera a couple times he told me...I find no sweat in that, we can do the Merlin stuff in post-production...

He bopped his head to the beat, we played Chess in the heat...

Downtown Montreal is gorgeous in May and I had to take it to Jacques Austerlitz...

Yes, Indeed people...this was undeniably another extension of my musical activism in the form of Chess which highlighted nothing more than an attempt to not just look fly in a clip, yeah I always do that, but to bring out what was to be a witty underpinning of how specific leaders, after the adoption of heavy industrial killing machinery in the modern world, had lead their nations to notorious destruction.

The opening scene of the novel Austerlitz, with its curious intertwining of human and animal experiences, in a Nocturama-like railway station, struck me as really powerful yet odd, and informed my entire reading thereafter.

I read the novel when I did my Master's and felt its sheer brilliance...

In Austerlitz, author W. G. Sebald performed what was to be a small but significant miracle: a wresting of the Holocaust out of the clutches of stale cliche. You see, this author highlights this by means of never ever showing readers a death camp or a gas chamber.

In the video for Chess on the other hand, the footage just doesnt stop in context of destruction--not only is it visible on the chess board but also in the entire clip itself.

Instead, Sebald's novel concentrates on the wreckage of one man's life. Orphaned as a young boy during the Nazi occupation of Prague, Jacques Austerlitz devotes the rest of his life to finding out who he really is and what happened to his parents, and all the while he is haunted by the feeling that he is living a borrowed life.

The significant issue for Sebald is not memory in an overall generic sense, however, but the point at which the cost of not remembering supersedes protective strategies for survival, the moment later in life when early, often horrific repressed knowledge or experience move center stage in a person's life.

Displaced from both his home and his identity in the early part of the Second World War, Jacques Austerlitz is one of Sebald's loners or outsiders, who late in life is driven to interpret fragmented dreams, suppressed memories, recreate his past--to essentially recover himself.

Sebald's introduction of the character of Jacques Austerlitz as one of the creatures in the waiting room, dwarf species looking miniaturized (6-7), definitely inscribes Austerlitz in an animal reign.

Almost at the other end of the book, Austerlitz recalls his wanderings in the Jardin des Plantes with Marie de Verneuil: Marie particularly asked me to take a photograph of this beautiful group [of fallow deer], and as she did so, said Austerlitz, she said something which I have never forgotten, she said that captive animals and we ourselves, their human counterparts, view one another à travers une brèche dincompréhension. (264) The sentence captures this incomprehension, as its movement takes us from one instance, human or animal, to the other, but always keeping them isolated between commas.

Tyrannies, governments and regimes alongside their distinct leaders have, in some form or fashion in large part, used and exploited the lives of peasants or the bourgeois populace.

There is much that I wanted to capture in one clip and the particular presence of the little girl between the chess players was salient to the message I was trying to capture and get across to my audience. The child herself is a little Iranian girl and my statement here was verging towards the conceit of the nation of Iran itself--will specific nations of this world play Iran like they did during the Iran-Iraq War

The Iranian child between the two chess players is the garden of innocence, she symbolizes all the children who have died in contemporary wars around the world. The corrupt fail to care about how individuals are dying and how they are exploited like pawns on a chess board.

Despite the fact that the clip is laden with death and sadistic images, my direction of the clip was to also bring images of the Argentinian-born revolutionary, Dr. Che Guevera to the fore.

Geuvera has been popularized within the confines of our contemporary popular culture, however, despite the givens his ambition and drive for equality for peasants was utterly undeniable. His stand for all South Americans and indegenous populaces lead him to his great passing, as he left behind a legacy larger than any Bolivian mountain.

To close, I just want to thank Sam Jamous, Toly, el Gabacho, Queen Misriyaa, Michael Sabah and TuThree (Director of Photography) for without you this project would not have been possible :)

Banksy Exploited by a Self-Consumed Kangaroo Thierry Guetta?

2010-05-12T01:15:00.005-04:00

"This is the first time the essentially bourgeois world of art has belonged to the people. We need to make it count."

-Banksy

While a dark silhouetted hoodie-sported Zorro in Banksy speaks candidly towards a rather stable camera lens, the world of art may perhaps be rendered unstable once again by wack phonies of the likes of a wannabe spray-can–wielding Thierry Guetta.

From Exit Through the Giftshop's opening narration one can immediately spot the imposter like that kid in your schoolyard who always wanted to role with the Big Broskies. Big Broskies, you know, those real-deal authentic cats in the school yard who knew how to keep it real and set the recess trends while followers of the likes of kangaroo Thierry would snoop around in the foreground wishing they'd get all the girls the real bad boys got.

Thierry is by far no film-maker. He is by far no artist, eh...mayhaps lemme second that one...he is a failed master at the art of exploitation and manipulation. I lay emphasis in Italics on the 'failed' part since he is quite transparent and by far no master of illusion.

Personally I myself cant believe anyone would even allude to Thierry as an artist let alone blow 24G's on his mass printed junk...and i quote Banksy on this one:

"As far as I’m aware, Mr. Brainwash doesn’t know very much about art, especially his own. He seems to mainly judge the success of an art show by how many square feet it covers and whether it makes any money. This probably makes him the ultimate artist of our times."

Connnnnnn-Artist You Proclaim?

Thierry is by far disturbed. He verily does undeniably suffer a severe narcissism-something...and no please dont tell me that bringing a Cambell's Soup can and making it a spraycan is any for or fashion of an art revival from the Warhol days...why? Because it simply is NOT. Indeed, undeniably this is “the first great art-disaster movie.” Personally, I noted that audiences were more poised on hearing more about Banksy than Thierry, instead it ended up being "The Thierry Show"--an aspect which had me hoping as I stormed out the theatre hoping the money did NOT go in Thierry's pocket.

My admiration for Banksy only increased upon reading:

"The film is the end of my public life rather than the beginning. This is the most you’ll ever see of me, if I can help it."

The only question remains: was Banksy used by Thierry? Were the other artists of the likes of good 'ole cousin Space Invader and Shepard Fairey exploited?

Does Kangaroo Thierry hop on the money and only care about himself and his image and possess the desire to be loved? Is he a big baby wanting the attention and the glamour? Indeed, friends, Theirry is a Glamour whore.

I do leave you with one question posed to Banksy by wired.com:

"Your work explores power, tests power and is therefore revolutionary, encouraging people to subvert the powers that be. Mr. Brainwash kind of did this to you. He looked at the power structure around him (Banksy and Fairey) and exploited it for his own ends. Does that make him a student — or a con man?"

The new Pimped-out Goldman Sachs - Putin' some Bling in your Urban Skyline.

2010-05-10T14:03:00.003-04:00

The building consists of a slab-shaped tower, which contains the firm’s offices, atop a much bulkier base, which contains six trading floors, each big enough to house nearly a thousand employees. From most angles, the tower looks rectilinear, except on the west, facing the Hudson River, where it bows out in a long, graceful curve. The firm insisted that the trading floors be as open as possible, so the architects used trusses to reduce the number of columns and pushed the elevators all the way to the north end of the building instead of running them up through the middle. The result is a lobby as large as an airport terminal, and, if you enter at the south end, an airport-like walk to the elevator. The lobby is austere, with plain limestone walls and no flourishes, but, to relieve the tedium of the long walk, Goldman commissioned two impressive abstract murals—an urgent and frenetic composition by Julie Mehretu, on the east side, and a blotchy and colorful one, by Franz Ackermann, on the west. Large windows allow a glimpse of the murals from the street, but this is as much of the building as the public will ever see. Goldman’s culture of secrecy has certainly saved it from offensive, Trump-style ostentation. By the same token, however, the building, unlike New York’s most admired business temples, will never mean much to people who don’t work in it.

and i guess buildings dont entirely mean anything to some however in my case i do marvell at them from time to time...The new headquarters is architecture as a well-tailored suit. From a distance, the building looks utterly unexceptional, but as you get closer your eye picks up signs of quality—the drape, as it were, and the stitching. Cobb’s façade of clear, colorless glass and bands of shiny steel is completely flat, and this two-dimensionality might have been dull were it not for the subtle shift of proportions in the quiet plaid pattern of the steel grid as it ascends. By the time you are close enough to touch this architectural garment, you can tell that a lot of money has been spent.

And so I could only see this as a global trend in contemporary engineering, you got buildings like this in Dubai n' shit, na mean?

Democracy and le New Middle-East

2010-05-10T13:36:00.002-04:00

When asked to comment about Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said, What were seeing here is the birth pangs of a new Middle East.[1] How wonderful! When more than a thousand Lebanese people are slaughtered in cold-blood and another million forced to flee from their homes, while their homes and businesses and everything that they care about and is important for them to survive is savagely and brutally destroyed with US-supplied arms and ammunitions and handouts, the person who is the face of America in diplomatic circles audaciously says it is the birth-pang of a new Middle East. What does one know about birth pangs when one never became a mother and has been using condoms as a fornicator all her adult life? So, when Madam

Condi Rice talks about birth pangs of a new Middle East, I dont know what would be more appropriate: blame her for superficial knowledge or monumental hypocrisy. Unfortunately, shallow knowledge no matter how dangerous - is no handicap these days to become an expert or mouthpiece as long as the all-powerful Israel lobby is agreeable.

Its not too long ago that in his second inauguration, January 20, 2005,

President Bush hypocritically preached that his administration would stand with all the freedom loving nations of the world, especially in the Middle East. In that speech, he also said, America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way. Talk is cheap, and can be misleading, when it comes from the mouth of a lying hypocrite. So, as I had feared (see my analysis of the speech), Bush delivered just the opposite of his promise.[2] His administration did not want Dr. Ibrahim al-Jafri to become the Prime Minister, in spite of the fact that Jafri was the clear choice of the plurality of the Iraqi people. It did not matter what the Iraqi people, and its Shiite majority in particular, had decided or wanted; once again it had to be someone that Washington wanted. Yet the same Nouri al-Maliki when he condemned Israels criminal, brutal and murderous campaign in Lebanon, Washington and its Israeli Amen Corner were irate that their good candidate did not quite sing the

Masters voice. After all, out of 435 votes, only 8 Congressmen had the guts not to be partners in Israels crimes against humanity. So, when al-Maliki was to appear in the Capitol Hill, many senators and congressmen threatened not to show up during his speech unless he retracted his condemnation of Israel. What a travesty of democracy and naked demonstration of support for the pariah state!

There was also the parliament election in Hosni Mobaraks Egypt in which Ikhwan Muslimeen, the largest opposition party, was allowed to compete. We witnessed how the supporters of Ikhwan were stopped from voting in scores of polling stations. Remember Bushs inauguration speech? He said, We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require decent treatment of their own people. Once again, the Bush administration failed to rein upon Mobarak from his maneuvers since it knew that in a fair election, Ikhwan would be the sure winner. In spite of all the neo-Pharaonic tricks in Mobaraks long sleeves, Ikhwan proved its grass-root support by winning 88 seats.

Then came the election in the Occupied Palestine. All efforts were made by the Bush administration and its rampart Israel to make sure that Hamas could not win the election. These backstabbing and demonical activities were in clear contrast to Bushs rhetoric when he had promised, All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you. Who can deny that Palestinians living in the Israeli Occupied Territories are the victims of one of the most brutal, oppressive, tyrannical, racist and dehumanizing regimes on earth? Yet, far from removing oppression, Bush administration is the very force that adds, cultivates and sustains the worst forms of pains and sufferings of the oppressed Palestinian people. While all aid to Palestine is cut off, it rolls out billions of dollars to the Zionist state so that the latter could unilaterally annex more parts of Palestine and imprison the Palestinians in small Bantustans. Through its naked support of Israeli violations of human rights, the Bush administration has essentially become the aggressor and oppressor. Nor has it come to relieve oppression anywhere, not

even in the SPDC-run Burma (Myanmar), with its own record of horrific abuses and tortures against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.

The Palestinian people had seen enough of Bushs empty promises (since 2000) and corruption within the old guards of Abu Mazens PLO administration. So, in a vote revolt, they preferred the Hamas overwhelmingly. The election result must have felt like an earthquake of Richter scale 7 or higher to Bush. In obvious contrast to the despicable standard that Bush had set for himself (still believed by many to have stolen the election of 2000), Hamas did something unusual. It opted to share power with the losing Fattah, in spite of the overwhelming mandate to form the government on its own. It was a well-meaning gesture rarely seen in most parts of our world. However, the losers, in a mood of defiance and short-sightedness that was welcomed by Washington, chose not to form the coalition government.

Remember again that deceitful speech of Bush when he said, It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture? When Arafats PLO was in office, Bush administration was highly critical, alleging lack of democracy, and preaching an overhaul of the Palestinian administration. However, when the Hamas came to power, with its train of honest legislators, every criminal effort from mass starvation to indiscriminate bombing (that has already killed some 124 Palestinian civilians) has since been practiced by the rogue Israeli government with lucid approval from her western patrons, most notably the USA, to forcibly bring it down. In clear violation of international laws, Israel has invaded Gaza, stopped the flow of cash and goods, and made the entire Occupied Territories a modern-day Concentration Camp. These children of ghetto-dwellers

of Europe really learned the art of inflicting major pains on their victims

rather well! As if these were not enough of her crimes against humanity, lately, Olmerts terrorist government has opened another new chapter of pariah statehood by kidnapping government ministers and members of the Palestinian Parliament. No harsh rebuke for such acts of infamy has yet come from Condi and her boss. As a matter of fact, they are the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for war crimes of Israel. What a dastardly demonstration of Bushs vision for democracy and liberty!

It was also not too long that Lebanon had her Cedar Revolution that forced the Syrian forces out of Lebanon and elected the independent government of Fuad Siniora. As a legitimate political party with its broad appeal and grass-root support in the southern Lebanon, Hizbullah participated in that election and consequently joined the government. One may recall that before Israels latest invasion, Lebanon was touted as one of the success stories of Bush Doctrine. Soon after becoming Prime Minster, Siniora visited Washington D.C. and pleaded with Bush to press Israel to release kidnapped Lebanese citizens and to disclose information on mine fields in the southern strip from her earlier occupation. But the plea from the elected Prime Minister of the democratic nation of Lebanon met deaf ears. What a betrayal of trust by Bush Administration!

The rogue state of Israel has been violating air, water and ground sovereignty of Lebanon for decades. In any other part of the world, such routine violations would be construed as declarations of war, ushering in condemnation from the UN Security Council. But when it comes to the terrorist state - Israel, the veto-wielding mother states of the UN are absurdly cool. It is, after all, their illicit, bastard-like monstrous creation! To chastise it would be unthinkable!

It was not a question why but when the pirates of Israel would be caught by Hizbullah border security forces. But when that time came on July 12 with the capture of two Israeli soldiers when they moved inside Lebanon, the same Bush Administration that had hitherto kept mum during scores of violations of international laws by the pariah state became preposterously vocal in denouncing the capture. A massive media blitzkrieg was launched by the Olmert-Bush governments, their supporters in the Amen Corner and neocon foot-soldiers to pinpoint the origin of the current crisis to this particular event and blame it all upon Hizbullah, Syria and Iran. With one stone, they want to kill all three birds, making the region subservient to Israel. After all, the latter two countries had dared not to join the Bush-wagon of emasculated Middle Eastern nations! Forgotten also were the facts concerning kidnapping of thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians that have been languishing in Israeli prisons for years.

There are now ample proofs to suggest that Israeli invasion had nothing to do with those captured soldiers.[3] It was hatched up by the Bush-Olmert

administrations months before the capture. So, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commit gruesome massacre of civilians in Lebanon; destroy its infrastructure from airports to seaports, bridges and roads, hospitals, schools and orphanages; bomb Lebanese residential areas and Palestinian refugee camps (let alone Lebanese Army barracks); and the civilized world cries out foul against Israeli aggression, brutality and savagery, Condi and Bush are shamelessly all smiles and openly justify Israeli war crimes. No guilt, no sorrow! How sadistic and immoral!

In a clear display of demonic cruelty, the USA even voted against a UN

resolution that called for condemnation of Israeli invasion. Hoping that Israel would match her 1967 (6-day) victory against the poorly armed Hizbullah resistance fighters, the USA initially vetoed all efforts to bring about a ceasefire. These unpardonable and criminal actions are sad reminders of how the NATO let the genocide of unarmed Bosnians to continue for months in the 1990s before saying enough is enough when the tides of the war started shifting in favor of Bosnian Muslims.

And now that the war is dragging on for four weeks, with no signs of quick IDF victory over the Hizbullah in sight, a UN Draft Resolution, scripted by Tel Aviv-Jerusalem/Washington, has been put forth by the USA and France. This sham proposal, while appearing to call for cessation of all hostilities, is blatantly one-sided in favor of Israel and against Lebanon. It does not call for withdrawal of Israeli invading forces from the Arab-cleansed occupied territories. This would once again allow the Zionist state to fulfill its expansionist dream of retaining territories all the way to the Litani River.[4] No consideration has been given to the genuine grievances and concerns of the victims of aggression the Lebanese people and its government, nor of the Arab League. Their rightful call for simultaneous cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of invading troops with rapid deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces to the blue line separating the Zionist state from Lebanon is simply overlooked by the modern-day warlords, masquerading as neutral arbiters, while they are not. What a charade! The UN is once again exploited to further punish the victims and

reward the culprits.

Through the invasion of Lebanon, Israeli warlords have shown that their hatred of Arabs is more than their love for their own children. The sheer brazenness of this operation and the American complicity to let this mayhem continue shows that the axis of evil seems to run through the administrative centers of the USA to Israel via UK.

Truly, nothing really surprises me with Bush and his gang any more. When

millions of people suffer from atrocities and brutalities of Israel inside

Lebanon and the Occupied Palestine, only an insane, or a homicidal

serial-killer, or a demon-possessed evil criminal can take delight from such war crimes. No time in my life have I witnessed a world leader to be this

disgusting, criminal, insane, evil and hypocritical!

My grief comes from the fact that I was one of those who wanted to believe in lies of compassionate conservatism and hoped that our world would become a better place to share. It did not take me long to see through this deception, but it was too late. I self-incriminate myself for casting my vote to elect a demon in 2000. What could be more saddening than this thought?

[1] Bush out of touch with Mideast vision by Trudy Rubin, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 30, 2006, C.1.

[2] Bushs Pledge for Liberty: Global Crusade or High Sounding Rhetoric? by Habib Siddiqui for an analysis of Bushs 2nd inauguration speech.

[3] Interview of Professor Ilan Pappe, Haifa University, by Ali Cimen, Zaman Online, August 7, 2006.

[4] See this authors Lebanon and its bloody history up to 1983, and Israels latest invasion of Lebanon and western culpability for details on Zionist expansionist plan.

Gaza Doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish Speaks at McGill

2010-05-09T13:01:00.004-04:00

Gaza Doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish Speaks at McGill

I was pleased that McGill University had invited Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish to speak and the room in itself was full. For those who don't know, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a doctor from Gaza who lost three daughters in the Israel/Hamas war Jan. 2009. Dr. Abuelaish is a remarkable public figure in my view due to his ability to transcend personal tragedy, a tragedy that without denying, inspires the search for harmony and peace, rather than hatred and revenge.

In essence, the Palestinian doctor has devoted his life to reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and is now struggling to hold on to the humane philosophy that has guided his life.

His speech was moving and heart-warming at times. His nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is a monumental stature and reflects the nature of what human beings can achieve in the face of tribulation, loss and adversity.

I first heard about Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish when everyone else did. As he was being interviewed live, in Hebrew, on Israeli television describing the conditions inside Gaza in the midst of the last war, the news came in that an Israeli tank shell had landed on his home and killed his three daughters. It happened at 3:05 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2009.

The link below is a web-site dedicated to the message of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish and the legacy left behind by his late daughters.

http://www.daughtersforlife.com/

Pilaf, paella and pulao - how a rice dish conquered the world

2010-05-08T12:38:00.000-04:00

Pilaf, paella and pulao - how a rice dish conquered the world

A dope article sent to me by the Chef himself, my friend and brother, Omar Edris...yes, yes :)

The old Persian Empire was at one time the largest empire of the ancient world. Geographically, modern Iran is only a shadow of those former glories, yet the Persians left a clear influence on the cultures of many nations in Europe, North Africa and Asia. One notable aspect is culinary, and a prime example of this is the pilaf, a dish that probably originated in ancient Persia but now exists in various forms all over the world. In its most basic form, pilaf is rice, often cooked in stock, and often combined with spices, meats and vegetables. Some of its descendants - India's biryani, Spain's paella, the plov of Central Asia - are some of the most popular of those respective cuisines.

While rice had been grown in East Asia and India for thousands of years, the Persians only began cultivating it on a large scale sometime between 1000 BC-500 BC. Around this time, some enterprising Persian invented the first pilaf. It is quite possible that the technique is actually from India, which had a longer history of eating rice; but in any case the name that stuck was Persian.

Polo or polow, as it is called in modern Farsi, is one of the flagship dishes in Iranian cuisine. Usually containing lamb or chicken and often featuring dried fruits and nuts, it comes in many varieties. Butter and saffron are commonly used to flavour the rice, which must be basmati or another top-quality variety. Zereshk polow (pictured) is a well-known variation which features chicken and dried barberries.

With the Persian Empire extending deeply into Central Asia, pilaf was introduced there as well. It had become a common enough dish to be recorded as being served to Alexander the Great of Macedonia when his armies conquered Persia around 330 BC, and they introduced the dish, now called pilafi, to Greece upon their return. Today, plov is a dish of enormous cultural significance in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijian and surrounding countries, essential at weddings and other celebrations. It is now consumed as far east as Xinjiang province in Western China. Carrots are a very common addition in Central Asia, with mutton being the usual meat used. One of Afghanistan's national dishes,qabuli pulao, uses grated carrots, raisins, lamb, aromatic spices, almonds and of course basmati rice.

The dish was reintroduced to Europe by the Turks. Originally a Central Asian people, they began their move into what is modern-day Turkey around 1000 AD, and by the 17th Century the Ottoman Empire extended as far as Algeria, Somalia and Central Europe. The Ottomans are also credited with introducing coffee into Europe, while that quintessential Austrian dessert strudel is based on the Turkish filo pastry. While the Turks still make their pilavfrom rice, bulgur wheat is a very common substitute (pictured). Today, pilaf is a common method of preparing rice throughout Greece, the Balkans, Bulgaria and Romania, a legacy of Turkish rule in the region. While it was probably already familiar to the Greeks from the days of Alexander, this would have been reinforced by the Turks for whom pilaf has always been a quintessential dish.

The Indian subcontinent was constantly under the rule of invaders from the northwest, and in particular the Mughal Empire (1526-1827), originating in Persia, had a profound effect on Indian cuisine. Famous North Indian dishes like korma, paneer and kebabs are legacies of this era. And of course pilaf, or pulaoas it is known in India. An elaborate variation of pulao is the well-known dish biryani, which is pulao rice layered with meat, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts. Indians make the spiciest variation of pilaf, as might be expected, yet the spices used tend to recall the dish's Persian origins - cardamom and saffron in particular. One of the most renowned variations is the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani (pictured), in which the flavours of South India meet strong Mughlai influences.

The dish made it as far south as Sri Lanka, where it is called pilau, while biryani is a much-loved dish there as well as in Mauritius, brought by Indian migrants.

The Arabs were quick to pick up the art of cooking flavoured rice from the Persians, and the rise of Islam meant that they spread their culture and cuisine far and wide. In Indonesia, a dish callednasi kebuli (pictured) is a legacy of Arab trade in the region and is commonly prepared by restauranteurs with Arab descent. Despite using obviously SE Asian ingredients such as lemon grass and sometimes coconut milk along with meat (goat or chicken) and rice, it also uses clarified butter and spices such as cinnamon, cumin, cloves and cardamom which are typical of Middle-Eastern cooking but not of Indonesian; indeed, its name translates as "Kabul rice".

The spread of Islam across North, East and West Africa also brought culinary ideas with it. Senegal's national dishthieboudienne (rice cooked with fish, onions and tomatoes) and the similar joloff rice (pictured) of Nigeria and Ghana, bear witness to Arabic influence in West Africa. Pilau is also a very common dish in the East African countries of Kenya and Tanzania. While the name and similarity to Indian pulao may lead one to suspect this is a dish introduced by the many Indian immigrants to those countries, it appears to be a Swahili dish that predates the Indian presence in Africa. The Swahili culture is a fusion of East African cultures with that of the Persians and Arabs who traded up and down the coast from the 6th Century AD. The Somali people, themselves heavily influenced by the Arabs, also frequently consume a rice-and-meat dish called isku dhex-karis, spiced with cardamom and frequently with raisins.

Meanwhile, along Africa's northern coast, the Moors (Arab and Berber peoples) conquered Spain and introduced rice into the Spanish diet. From this resulting fusion of cultures, the dish known as paella was born in Valencia. Despite the etymological similarity of the words paella andpolow/pulao/pilaf this is perhaps only a coincidence. Most sources point to the word paella stemming from the name of the pan in which it is cooked, which is also called a paella (from the Latin patella). In any case, the dish itself (rice cooked in stock with meat or seafood with vegetables) clearly recalls its distant Persian origins, particularly with the presence of saffron as an essential ingredient.

The Spanish spread their rice dishes to the corners of the globe. Thus the Philippines has its own variations of paella, while in Latin America, arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) is ubiquitous. These dishes tend to eschew saffron for the cheaper spice annatto, but the result is still to dye the dish yellow, just like in Spain, India or Somalia. The name of another common Latin American rice dish is a reminder yet again of the Arab influence on Spanish cooking - Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians), with white rice representing the Christian Spaniards and black or red beans representing the darker-skinned Moors. The frequent use of cumin and cilantro throughout Latin America is another reminder of the Moorish legacy in Spain - around the time of Columbus those influences would have been more pronounced.

Pilaf was to become an important part of Russian cuisine as well, due to its history of interaction with Central Asia - constantly invaded by Turkic and Mongol peoples from the 11th Century onward, then gradually expanding Russian territory southward and westward from the 16th Century onward. Thus when pilaf first became known to the chefs of Western Europe, it was as a Russian dish.

The other famous rice dish of Europe, Italy's risotto, may or may not be a descendant of the pilaf. Certainly the Arabs did occupy parts of what is now Italy, and risotto is similar to many pilafs elsewhere in its early stages of preparation - stir-frying the rice in oil with onion before adding stock is a classic pilaf method. Saffron is a key ingredient in the classic form of the dish as well. But risotto was born not in Arab-occupied Sicily, but in Northern Italy around Milan - is it possible that the region's proximity to the Ottoman-controlled Balkans gave rise to this dish? It must be said though that the somewhat sludgy consistency of risotto would be unthinkable to a Persian polow-lover, for whom the grains must be dry and separate - so it is a significantly different enough dish to call any links into question.

In any case, the results are delicious. The original polow of ancient Persia has certainly travelled a long way.