G H A S B O U B A

when a revolution gets blue

2011-12-26T20:05:00.000Z

Egyptian army's brutal crack down on protestors is yet another reason the old regine is still there and the revolution is at stake. Now it is the courage of Egyptian women.
This is how i imagined an inclusive blue demonstration in honor of the Egyptian lady who got beaten, and striped...

Chakib Notes

2011-04-30T08:27:00.002+01:00

Notes from the internet about Chakib Alkhiyari just released from the Makhzen prisons of Morocco.
>> See my Posterous.

AJE Stream. Apr 27, 2011

2011-04-30T08:25:00.000+01:00

Nba 40 live stream....

2011-02-19T16:41:00.000Z

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

New in talkMorocco.net

2010-06-10T08:02:00.002+01:00

"This month we are asking: What is the importance of Morocco’s citizen media landscape? What have been the high points? How did we get here? And where are we going?"
More...

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

2009-11-07T04:01:00.000Z

Jamma Lafna effect

2008-07-07T02:47:00.002+01:00

French ad about a drink and Jamaa Lafna effect. This is not an exercise in semiotics but i can't look at it without remembering Edward Said and Roland Barthes. How could all that happen in a 19 seconds is hugely beyond my heads and their abilities.

Rokia Traore: "M'Bifo"

2008-06-06T04:23:00.000+01:00

Sublime !

Happy Amazigh New Year

2008-01-13T06:12:00.001Z

one more...

Happy Amazigh New Year,
Asseggwas ighudan i imazighen marra wala kul medden yaden,

Amazigh New Year 2958 is today Jan 13

Imazighen known as Berbers have stated their calendar 950 BCE and have used it ever since.
Most farmers in North Africa, having forgotten the origins of this calender, still remember that January (yanayer) 13 is the start of the Year. celebrated as Haguza, yennayer and many other names.

Petition for the Touaregs,

2008-01-07T05:49:00.000Z

To: Government of the Republic of Niger, United Nations, European Commission

"Since its independence, the state of Niger has been in latent conflict with the Tuareg population living on the Nigerien territory. This situation escalated in 1990 with a massacre of this population group in Tchin-Tabaraden and resulted in an armed conflict. After the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which was intended to make allowances for certain claims brought forward by the Tuareg organizations in 1995, this conflict calmed down. Today, it seems that the implementation of the treaty has failed. This caused new dissatisfaction among the population in the north of Niger. A new Tuareg movement “Mouvement des Nigériens pour la Justice” (MNJ, Movement of Nigeriens for Justice) has formed whose central claim is that the peace accords signed in 1995 be met..."
Read and sign the Peace in Niger Petition >>

More Resources:
1- watch video about French Uranium and the Toureg rebellion. (FR)
2- Uranium Scandal in Niger. (FR)
3- COGEMA, la Hague site, major extractor of Uranium in Niger and The a zero impact policy lie.
4-Indian company joins the game.(read)

Touareg Genocide

2008-01-06T09:34:00.000Z

Understanding the Touareg struggle for liberation.
Another way of getting rid of the Touregs of Niger and Mali is to exploit their lands through massive extractions of Uranium by the French government and corporations. Now a whole population is exposed to radiation and government oppression.
The world is "just looking".
This is what Assouf Ag Maha is explaining in this interview. ( 18 Minutes/ French)

Interview Issouf Ag Maha
Video by envouaturesimone

happy new year every1

2008-01-01T10:08:00.000Z

Lakota Sioux Declare Independence From US,

2007-12-23T08:04:00.000Z

“This is an historic day for our Lakota people,” declared Russell Means, Itacan of Lakota. “United States colonial rule is at its end!”

“Political activist Russell Means, a founder of the American Indian Movement, says he and other members of Lakota tribes have renounced treaties and are withdrawing from the United States.
“We are now a free country and independent of the United States of America,” Means said in a telephone interview. “This is all completely legal.”
Means said a Lakota delegation on Monday delivered a statement of “unilateral withdrawal” from the United States to the U.S. State Department in Washington.
The State Department did not respond. “That’ll take some time,” Means said.Meanwhile, the delegation has delivered copies of the letter to the embassies of Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and South Africa. “We’re asking for recognition,” Means said, adding that Ireland and East Timor are “very interested” in the declaration.Other countries will get copies of the same declaration, which Means said also would be delivered to the United Nations and to state and county governments covered by treaties, including treaties signed in 1851 and 1868. “We’re willing to negotiate with any American political entity,” Means said.” (Read mo+ read comments)

Sources:
Common Dreams (dot org).
Press Release: 19 December 2007

Official website

The Story of Staff..

2007-12-14T21:08:00.000Z

Bali now…
UFNCCC negotiations about the climate change face challenges of all kinds... consumer industry and the counter attacks of global corporations. Clean environment just does not work for everybody. There are certain pockets, I mean people, who just do not care.
I think we all know how we all got here and how dangerous it is to live in this planet now and how worse it is getting every minute.
Annie Leonard tries to make the lesson more real. She is talking to a US audience but it is interesting to see what she has to say and how she does say it.
Click here to watch the video.
Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, with more than 20 years of experience investigating factories and dumps around the world. Coordinator of the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, a funder collaborative working for a sustainable and just world, Annie communicates worldwide about the impact of consumerism and materialism on global economies and international health. (read more)
Watch Teazer:

Jaque derida on writing...

2007-12-06T04:59:00.000Z

Other meanings for culture

2007-11-20T07:53:00.000Z

This is Mola Sylla, a Senegalese singer accompanied by a group of musicians from Armenia, Iran and Romania. A west African voice that challenges the limitations of local scales and fles above them to meet all the airs that the Mediterranean can provide.
this is another meaning for culture (to the best of sounds). sharing and collaboration in creating an art that transcends the boundaries of culture and nation states...
enjoy

[source: newsounds.nl]

Moha: Amazigh blogs presentation

2007-11-03T04:19:00.001Z

Moha* Arehal, from Ait Negh Blog , was the speaker today in a presentation given at the Institute for Amazigh Culture in Rabat (IRCAM). The Topic of the presentation wan Amazigh Cyber Activism. Moha touched upon different issues and questions of Tamazight and the internet , what is a blog, blogging ethics and blogging for social change, moroccan blogs (Blogma) and the place of Amazigh blogs in the world of pixels.
He talked to Academicians, professors and policy makers commonly used to reading their morning news papers in the offices with their café noir … and also people who are interested in alternative media.

This is a little synopsis of the presentation:
In Absence of reliable sources of information, Imazighen have weaved many ways through internet to make themselves heard and connected. The importance of ethics and committed Bloging where posts can be criticized, corrected, commented upon, in an open and civilized way which a lot of other media would not allow.
“ we learn a lot more from people who think we are wrong than those who agree with us” says Moha “ that is listening to the difference in opinion and integrating it in ones work . Not going out looking for lies to get to a false equilibrium. It is allowing people the right to say their opinion when they think you are wrong”

The most important principles for the success of Bloging is transparency and observing ethics, integrity, commitment, and honesty in a world where anonymity and independence, as internet allows, do not keep you away form your duties as a blogger. Human issues are more than personal.
Finally the academic some of the academic institutes are opening up and considering that online cyber activism can work. Bogging for Tamazight is one of many ways of acting but it is going to maybe become the fastest and the most efficient way.

--------------

*Moha: stands as one of the most prominent Amazigh activists in Morocco. writer,blogger, journalist, rural engineer, lecturer, political analyst, hydrologist, desert lover, ... to name a few . He writes for many Moroccan News papers. Le Monde Amazigh is one of them.

Web: [ Blog negh..]

Morocco: a country of marvels

2007-10-30T07:24:00.000Z

Press Code Reforms...

2007-10-26T21:49:00.000Z

The latest approach to Morocco Press Freedom is technocratically called : reform.
The new government is taking press freedom seriously !!. One of many things that were left in the hands of the “past” government, as they walked out of the Ambassadors' Gate, was Media, Press, Censorship, detentions of journalists...

Maghreb Arab Press, MAP, the walking stick of this all governments, said:

Rabat, Oct. 24 - Morocco is determined to amend the Press Code and to gather the legal texts governing this field into one Act, Prime Minister, Abbas El Fassi assured Wednesday before the House of Representatives.
The government, he said in the statement of the new government's program, will see to the practice of the freedom of the press - within the total respect of the law - and introduce new mechanisms, such as the National Council of the Press, due to play a key role in the implementation of the professional rules.
The PM also affirmed that the government will erect communication as a major instrument for the construction of a democratic and modern society, as declared by the monarch back in 2004 when he said that the reform of the media is a prerequisite for improving the political scene.

MAP published this information under the rubric of culture !]

I hope these words will stay fresh in the heads of the new hires, the brand new government.They sound great (the words). but even if i really try to put my skepticism in a jar an through it out in the ocean, i would always think that

Inerview with Gobal Voices

2007-10-22T21:04:00.001Z

Lucky Dube is no more !

2007-10-20T06:49:00.000Z

One the most famous and the most peaceful artists of South Africa, Lucky Dube, 43 was gunned down in front of his two kids by some gangster carjackers. He was driving in the outskirts of Johannesburg yesterday.
Reggae music admirers, fans and musicians as well as people in his town are still under shock. He left seven children. The youngest of them, Melokuhle, is only three months.
Lucky Dube was a freedom fighter, a social justice activist.. a complete and mature African artist. He sang and danced for the poor and the oppressed Africans. His songs educated a lot of people for generations. He was censured and imprisoned.. but struggled and gained an international renomé and inspired people…
It is outrageous that he gets killed by a bunch of gangsters hired to steal cars to make little money when the rest goes to the big ones...
BBC reported reactions of people protesting against the violence and crimes that take more than 50 lives everyday in south Africa.
it's the way it is.. one of my favorite Dube songs.

The Photo that threw me off

2007-10-19T03:30:00.000Z

Photography has always been a fascinating art and a great expression that can go beyond the boundaries of verbs. Some photos as just eternally beautiful (like this one) and they teach us constantly about ourselves and the world round us. transmitting the message of beauty would be one of many goals of photography. This is a photo of a photographer. It is the cover picture of a photo book or a coffee table book as known among designers, where the photographer is preparing herself for the shot.
This is a horrible photo....!!! (ps)
I almost fell off my chair.I want to go and get lost in the desert and never come back again. Looking at this picture and reading the "reviews" wrote on the web site of Amazon dot com, I almost fainted.. hen the comments…!!
Lalla Mira, please help... Jjawi , some fasukh ( insense) or anything.
I just… please have a look.

(my apologies to your eyes... i just wanted to share)

Peace and global warming

2007-10-14T02:48:00.000Z

Al Gore is a man from warm places!
He is interested in Politics, global warming and the area in between...
Al Gore’s movie Inconvenient Truth which won Academy Award(s) is a Documentary film about global warming and climate change.
Nobel Committee pronounced the Nobel Peace Prize this year goes to HIM and to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) equally ( fifti-fifti) for their jobs in showing humans how they messed up with their universe.
This is official Nobel Committee statement:

“for their [winners] efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change" (more).

Miranda Devine of the Sydney Morning Herald writes beyond the glamours of the event and tries to answer some "warm" questions like:

“Since Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize you might have been wondering what global warming had to do with peace...” (read more).

The conversation is still going on.. may be heating up soon. watch out.

Che, Abdelkrim and Imam

2007-10-09T06:36:00.000Z

Forty years ago Che Guevara was assassinated..today he is still alive..\
he shared the legend with Adelkrim and Sheik imam.

They all shared the love for freedom. They said it out loud. They fought for it.
Who could have guessed that the most iconic figure of “people’s liberation”, Che Guevara, would be a humble student of Abdelkrim Khattabi the engineer of the Rifan revolution in the 1920s. Che would have wished he me this mentor in the Rif but… They met in Cairo (1959) where Abdelkrim was exiled. During one of the meetings Guevara was reported to have spent many hours talking to Abdelkrin, his Guerillaro Mualim.

le 14 juin 1959, à l'ambassade du Maroc au Caire. “Abdallah Ibrahim a présenté Che Guevara à Abdelkrim Khattabi, alors en exil au Caire. Puis Guevara et Khattabi se sont isolés au fond du jardin de l'ambassade pour une conversation de plusieurs heures sur l'expérience de la guerre du Rif”. (Telqulel)

Che visited Morocco many times in private and by invitation from the first socialist government of morocco. A story told Telquel (Fr) sheds the light on the different layers of Che’s experience in morocco and how he got arrested by the Moroccan police before the Prime Minister Abdellah Ibrahim goes himself to liberate him from Balima Hotel/jail and takes him to a private residence.

The Egyptian exile of Abdelkrim did never prevent him from sharing his knowledge with all the movements of liberation in through t the world as well as his experiences: the battle of Anwal to the declaration of the first Republic of the Rif to the lost hopes in the communist parties of France and Spain. In His book La question berbere.. , Ammar Ouerdane generously gives an a account of these relationships. In fact, Tangier was the international city that hosted different diplomatic and business communities right there on the Riffan coasts. Non of these were ready to recognize the new Riffan Republic then, although promises of had flooded after Anwal (1921) was won by Abdelkrim and his companions.

Egypt was the classroom where Abdelkrim would teach the knowledge and the experience of a movement of liberation and a republic that did not last too long.

It is the same classroom where Sheikh Imam sang for freedom and for the poor for decades before he had to live his own country. he sang for the poor and for all those who fought for them.

“Guevara Mat” ( Guevara died , Video) is one of his most famous songs written by Ahmed Fouad Najm, his companion and comrade. (lyrics Ar.) .

These are the three icons that are still inspiring the world and reminding everyone that a better world can be possible regardless of the corporate iconism.

Omaar re-discovers Spain

2007-10-02T06:23:00.000Z

Rageh Omaar, former BBC journalist goes in a journey he called a look at what "impact Muslims had on European art, science and philosophy."
What interests me personally in all of this is the question. The presence or absence of the old Moors ( berbers) in the historical discourse devised both by Europeans and Arab muslims is a different area of investigations that has to wait a little more. However, Rageh Omaar tries to educate his fellow Europeans about facts like the bridge was not really that wide.

Now they want our votes...2

2007-09-30T06:37:00.000Z

Translation from Tamazight:
Speaker 1: From Tilmi Protests.

"Greeting to you Tmazighen and Timazighin,
We agreed on this action before the elections. Nobody should be telling you that young people are bringing us here. We agreed to do this before 2007. we know our tamara (misery).. we see it and we understand what is going on. We are doing this and we prepared it, from little ones to the elders… we were preparing this since 2006.

We are glad that 2007 came.. so you can come and talk to us!!. before that you just did not care about us. There was a flooding, there were no trucks, no roads no relief nothing. There is no Amazigh TV channel for us to understand what you say to us. do you think we know what that thing you call the constitution really means? We are just here.. we do not understand anything you say.
We agreed today from Abudjam to Ait Attou … we do not know what is the constitution we do not know what is democracy… all we want is roads and health care… we want places where our women can get help.. you have never known us.. now that for the sake elections you are bringing all your army up her to us.
We are all dead in here. But if we have die for our Tamazight that is alright. This is us from time long ago. If you want to arrest us, take us. do it. actually death is better than this kind of life we are leading here. We come to the health ceter and it is empty. If our kids get sick we them to the pharmacy who sells anything to us. We want roads, we want health center…."

Now they want our votes...

2007-09-29T23:19:00.000Z

Voices of People of Tilmi.(see map) People had to boycott the elections till Makhzen recognizes their presence… their existence.
"I am glad you are waking up.. we do not belong nowhere.. now they want our votes… nobody came during the floods...", said one of the women speakers. Video by Asekka

Larger Map

BWM: Blond While Moroccan

2007-09-28T21:41:00.000Z

“This is the little blonde girl the world desperately hoped was Madeleine McCann.” (!!) Says The Daily Mirror.
Bouchra, 3 year old Berber Rifian, ‘was seen’ by a tourist who was driving across Rif Mountains She might have been Maddy who disappeared a few months ago.
I feel for her family and hope they find her soon... But the photo taken by the Spanish tourist deserves more than a little stop...
It is really a shame and a pity that little Bouchra and her family are harassed by media and authorities just because she “might” have looked like another European person. Her family was called by the authorities. Her parents had to prove she was their daughter. I find this really strange, for lack a better word.
I wonder if the same acts of harassment would happen if “another Maddy-like blond little girl” is 'seen' in any places in Rural Alzas, Basque, Arizona, or Wales.

El Fassi From Larbi.org to the present.

2007-09-21T18:26:00.000Z

Abbas El Fassi prime minister as part of the puzzle unfolds. what is next?
His resignation for example. What does Si Larbi* think now?

*Larbi is one of the greatest influential bloggers from Morocco. One of the 100 people that move morocco (100 qui font bouger le Maroc), Telquel Magazine. Summer 2007.

Electioned-out

2007-09-17T09:06:00.000Z

Almost two weeks after the Moroccan elections, Caféman*, my friend, says there are still great amounts of colored paper on the streets of Rabat. Indelible ink on thumbs and forefingers of voters has gone or not depending on the amount of water and chemicals used. and Soap, sabone beldi, javel, lghessal...
The king has already 'met' the big 6 and the next government is cooking in a big pot; The Makhzanian pot. And only Allah and people close enough to his ceiling know what is going to happen. I mean the names that are going to be mentioned the most on the Moroccan TV for the next five years. Other than that it looks like they want us to hold our breath
most Moroccans are already electioned out. There is so much said abut the elections that we think something miraculous is going to happen in a hitchkock-ian fashion. Now we are still trapped in the suspense. The thing is walu (nothing) is going to happen.
There are lots of files left open for the next government.it looks like. Thousands of unresolved issues. Water, land, forests, corruption, roads, health, Tamazight .. u zid u zid (etc). I would not want to be the next Prime minister unless I really have things I want to do for myself first and I do not care about Morocco. I would not want to deal with all the problems (for lack of a better word) left behind some cheap reformists like USFP. I would not want to cover the pit holes and collect garbage and bones after dogs feast. The outgoing government has not done much. (please remind me if there is something to give them credit for..walu ! I can’t find anything) This is how “elecioned out” you can be.
Caféman thinks about his numbers trying to revive his numerology memories. He said:

"It has been a great year i think,

2007, add it up 2+7 that’s 9.. like adding up these dates 72, 81, 90, 99 (9+9=>1+8=9) it is history, you know !
63 percent of people who ‘ditched’ the ballots.. that also adds up as 9. it is 3 and 6.
We Moroccans do not like number like 6 and 66. We say “66 kshifa”. ( 66 hurdles, difficulties), it nogood staff...
The king Mohamed 6 met 6 of them already last week.. there is a link between all of that and 9.
“zid 6 3la 60” ( ad 6 to 60) when things refuse to get better and problems add up.
...

Conclusion: 9 and 6 are just numbers.. that’s 15. one person five more years but it is a 6.
See you guys. do not waste your time thinking about solutions. It is all about the 6.
caféman is good man"

* imaginary friend.. works for the municipality... cleans streets.. in Rabat

Post Script: Setta u dama. ( i do not how to translate this one) [right number is 3 tlata not 6 Setta, Mohamed El Kortbi of Partageons nos passions. see comments...

Kabyle tunes

2007-09-16T07:59:00.000Z

UN General Assembly Backs Indigenous Peoples' Rights

2007-09-15T18:55:00.000Z

The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a non-binding declaration upholding the human, land and resources rights of the world's 370 million indigenous people, brushing off opposition from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

The vote in the assembly was 143 in favor and four against. Eleven countries, including Russia and Colombia, abstained.

The declaration, capping more than 20 years of debate at the United Nations, also recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and sets global human rights standards for them.

It states that native peoples have the right "to the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties" concluded with states or their successors.

Indigenous peoples say their lands and territories are endangered by such threats as mineral extraction, logging, environmental contamination, privatization and development projects, classification of lands as protected areas or game reserves and use of genetically modified seeds and technology.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the Philippine chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, joined UN chief Ban Ki-moon in hailing the vote.

"It marks a major victory for Indigenous peoples," said Tauli-Corpuz, adding that the document "sets the minimum international standards for the protection and promotion of the rights" of native peoples.

But Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, countries with sizable indigenous populations, expressed disappointment with the text.

They said they could not support it because of their concerns over provisions on self-determination, land and resources rights and giving indigenous peoples a right of veto over national legislation and state management of resources.

"Unfortunately, the provisions in the Declaration on lands, territories and resources are overly broad, unclear, and capable of a wide variety of interpretations, discounting the need to recognize a range of rights over land and possibly putting into question matters that have been settled by treaty," Canada's UN Ambassador John McNee told the assembly.

Among contentious issues was one article saying "states shall give legal recognition and protection" to lands, territories and resources traditionally "owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired" by indigenous peoples.

Another bone of contention was an article upholding native peoples' right to "redress by means that can include restitution or when not possible just, fair and equitable compensation, for their lands and resources "which have been confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior ad informed consent".

Opponents also objected to one provision requiring states "to consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples ...to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources."

Indigenous advocates note that most of the world's remaining natural resources - minerals, freshwater, potential energy sources - are found within indigenous peoples' territories.

A leader of Canada's native community, Phil Fontaine, slammed his government's stance.

"We're very disappointed with Canada's opposition to the declaration on indigenous peoples," said Fontaine, leader of Assembly of First Nations, who came to New York to lobby for adoption of the text.

Canada's indigenous population is about 1.3 million people, out of a total population of 32.7 million.

Adoption of the declaration by the assembly had been deferred late last year at the behest of African countries led by Namibia, which raised objections about language on self-determination and the definition of "indigenous" people.

The Africans were won over after co-sponsors amended an article to read that "nothing in the declaration may be ...construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent states."

The declaration was endorsed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council last year.

Source: truthout.org.

By Gerard Aziakou, AFP--13/09/2007

Painting: Khadija Hassi Labiad. Watercolor, Bouba.

Tamazight Studies project

2007-09-13T07:38:00.000Z

Finally a department of Tamazight is going to shoof (see) the light.
A small department at the University of Ibn Zohr in Agadir.
This is a dream for a lot of Amazigh students and Intellectuals. The Moroccan department of Ed and IRCAM are the two institutions that might provide the oversight.
According to the official speak, this is part of a bigger project aiming at “integration of Tamazight in the Moroccan national education system". The Amazigh dept is going to be neighbors with Arabic, French, English, history and geography and the famous department of Islamic Studies.
The theory behind creating this department practically is to solve the immediate needs for Amazigh professionals in the field of education. It also seems that a four year experience of teaching Tamazight in elementary schools did not meet the great expectations of many people although there is no real evaluations of this project.
My friends who are school teachers always complained about the need for more trainings. They are not really given anytime to teach. 45 minutes a week in not enough. However, more kids now read and write in Tamazight than some older people who never had a chance to study it. ( illiteracy !?)
A wide majority of people speak 'about' Tamazight in other languages like French and English (which I am doing here right now !!) but there are also great Amazigh brains out there that can do a lot for their culture and language. some of them have joined IRCAM for that purpose and I am sure more are going to join the University if they are not there already. scattered in other departments.
The kind of research that has been done before was a little awkward. Amazigh linguistics, for instance, happens in every department. People write in every language except in Tamazight. Now it is time. three years, six semester and a lot of papers to get a ‘License’ (BA) then a year for a Metrise then gradate studies, which we are not yet talking about.
The stone that Tamazight officials are standing on right now is the support of the Moroccan king himself. IRCAM runs on a budget drawn from the king’s personal money. And this is what most Amazigh activists find shwiya iffy. Now Ibn Zohe has a department and it looks like this is what people were fighting for a really long time….
We will wait and see how this is going to unfold.
On the way there we are not talking about "autonomist inclinations". ! Azul.

(photo ref souss.com)

Breaking News: Tamazight

2007-09-12T16:41:00.000Z

>>>>Tamazight at the university of Agadir.
A new department opened finally at the School of Letters andHumanities at Ibn Zohr University.
Read more. more in souss.com (Fr)

One Question Interview with Eatbees:

2007-09-11T21:47:00.000Z

I tried to gather some courage for this question for ‘almost’ a year now to ask Eatbees if there is a story behind the name he has chosen for his blog. Now I did it. but first, I found out about Eatbees last October. I g****ed Morocco blogs. Followed some blue links. A first post came up… like this:

“I’m writing to you from Asheville, North Carolina. This blog will deal with politics, religion and culture, and the intersections among the three. The hidden fourth subject is technology, because that is what enables us to communicate in this way.” (Sept 10, 06)

After a while I thought.. this is a different blog.. . I realized that Eatbees pulls out all the meanings attached to words like democracy, Human rights, morocco, Iran, technology, photography… and engages his readers in a deep reflective and intellectual effort round them. He is still crafting his words carefully sharing the passion and love for countries like Morocco.. in attempt to rebuild the puzzles of culture and socio-economics without getting trapped in the usual paradigms of western academic superiority.

“In fact, the reason I write a blog is because I want to communicate with other people in order to learn from them!
At first I was timid to share my feelings about Morocco if I thought they were controversial, because I was afraid the "real" Moroccans might say, "Who are you anyway to be giving your opinion? You don't understand anything about this." But no one reacted that way, so I've become more sure of myself over time because the rest of you are helping me out!

How did “Eatbees” become name or a title for your blog?

This isn't the first time I've been asked this. The fact is, the name "eatbees" has been around a lot longer than the blog. Originally, eatbees.com was a collective website with a few friends, and when we started it, I asked them all for ideas for the name. Our favorite was dontblink.com, but that was already taken, so we settled on eatbees.com as our second choice. I'm the one who thought of it, and I'm not sure where it came from. I was looking for a name people wouldn't forget easily.
It's true that I love bees and see them as a model for many good qualities, such as industriousness and working together. I've read that bees were a symbol of wisdom in the ancient Middle East. They are vital for agriculture, and Einstein once said that if bees ever disappeared from the Earth, humans would have only four years left to live! I have a fantasy of raising bees as an old man, maybe in Chefchaouen. They produce honey which is good for the health, but when you want to eat it, sometimes the bees get in the way. Maybe that's where the name "eatbees" comes from. If you want to taste the honey, you've got to feel the sting!

Shoukran Eatbees.

Best Eatbees Clickables:
Eatbees earned the award of Thinking Bloggers.
Browse www.eatbees.com for more writings and photos.
The photo project Morocco, a Cruel Country
eatbees blog header photo. All the picture. (Bees on glass, the whole glass)

Favorite Eatbees quote (one of)

“To understand Morocco, it is necessary to spend time in bus stations at strange hours of the night.”
( from half-crazy desperations)

Meknes for example...

2007-09-10T05:16:00.000Z

I heard the sigh ( and e-sigh) of relief after the election results from almost every one I know ...
May be people are losing trust in the big heads. Meknassi people, for instance, have not voted for Ssi Mohamed Al Achaari, the present minister of Cultural Affairs. known as one of the Moroccan intellectuals, poets...etc. Born in moulay Idriss Zarhoune (shay llah). He was president of the Moroccan Writers Union for a very long time. Amazigh writers and journalists know him very well (insert). He lost his seat in the parliament where he “sat” for two terms representing the communities of Zarhoune for a two terms.
The other person is Nouzha Chakrouni (bio, Fr). Who does not know here. Very nice women. Moved on the Moroccan cabinet from minister in charge of cooperation, social affairs and disabilities to Moroccan Community Living Abroad, MRE. People did not vote for her.. wili hshouma, lalla Nesha looses her seat.
“I feel for her, meskina.” said Café-man in a phone conversation today. “She is the most drifa person in the whole cabinet. At least she was very approachable during the election campaign. She talked to every one. Well all of them do that and you never see them again, ever after.”
She was a devout USFP “activist” head of the Meknes list. One of the strongest women in the Moroccan government. She had not been very successful in putting the MRE council to work although she had been traveling all over the place… (at the expenses of Moroccan tax payers). She really wanted to continue doing her politics… but no luck.
Lmuhim, the surprises were great and again we think it is a great time for change. But in my opinions nothing really is going to move as long as more than 60% of Moroccans are saying: “ la 3afek, I do not want to vote and I do not want to talk about it”.
This is the word.

What is New in 2007 elections.

2007-09-06T22:15:00.000Z

Abdelhay Moudden ,political science professor at MoV university,
answers questions of differences and proximity for aljazeera.
what's new in the 2007 elections?

Amarg Fusion: the music

2007-09-03T08:22:00.000Z

amarg fusion

a break from lpolitka !!
this is a real great Amazigh music . the song 'Sawel a Rrays' is a real gift.
I will post more links if people are interested.
good luck every one.
(Mouss, Tanemirt atas. Tudert i tmazight)

One day after the Blog day:

2007-09-01T18:52:00.000Z

These are.. the blogs I found very lately. One word they all share: We can talk about it.
1- Red jenny: On indigenous peoples. very nice and pleasant to read.
2-Desert Rock blog: “Remember, we still live in the shadow of Enron”, issues of water and displacement.
3-Tusna Inw: Again what happens when you write about it..
4-Blog des hommes libres: Blogging the Imazighen.
5-The Mostly Water Collective is an autonomous body based in "Canada". Our purpose is to aid in the creation of a free society, a world with freedom of expression and freedom from want, a world without oppression, where power is shared equally. We do this by providing communication resources to allies engaged in struggles against capitalism and other forms of oppression.

These guys do not afford the time to be “snarky” about it.. the intellectual luxury of verbiage and lhedra lkhawya.

Imazighen Bycott L'vot

2007-09-01T01:26:00.000Z

Students and Amazigh activists call for boycotting September 7^th elections in Morocco; protesting against the gov’s detaining Amazigh students in Universities of Errachidia, Meknes, taza, Agadir... And also protesting against the “economic embargo” the Moroccan regime forced on the South East region.(this is on the Goulmima side)
For Imazighen this is more then just a protest..
It does not make any sense to vote in a structure that does not recognize you as a voter. What I mean by that is there is difference between voting and offering your vote to further ignore you. Fhemti?
There is a feeling among some of Moroccans that if you do not vote, you are ‘throwing your voice away’ instead of using it ‘to make a change’ which is totally true for those who know their voice is going to be heard.

This might sound cynical and too nihilistic for those who can not think outside the box, i mean a Bernsteinian box, but voting or not voting makes no difference as long as the Moroccan constitution is still the same. This is a constitution that does not recognize the Amazigh people’s rights. This is not a simple question of social identity or “diversity”, as some people like to call it, This is a question of universal right to exist in your language, cultural Identity, land…etc.

The Moroccan government is still denying people the right to have Amazigh names for their kids. Well it is the same government that is privatizing water and forests, selling public companies and lands to international corporations, and doing all sorts of things to oppress people.
That is why a lot of Imazighen want constitutional reforms first. They want a constitution that would cover their political action when “politics hot the fan” and therefore they are speaking against cheep rhetorics of the government as in “your vote is your voice”.
That what the boycott means. It also means that ma lot of people are saying: “no thank you, I pass…”

From amazigh.org

Driss Basri dies again,

2007-08-28T04:34:00.000Z

Driss Basri dies..,
Condolences to his family.
Moroccans believe they should not say bad things about their deads and we should follow some the great teachings that say “Mention only good things about your dead”. High levels of Moroccan forgiveness… things that do not always work. But Driss Basri had done tremendous amounts of atrocious things to his follow Moroccans.. There is nothing really good to mention… stp.

Morocco elections ...

2007-08-26T23:33:00.000Z

The View from the boxes.

2007-08-26T23:28:00.000Z

The ‘electoral’ campaign, al 7amla, started… it is the fever (!) all over the place.

If you are a national bourgeois, a ‘nouvaux riche’, or an arrivist who wants to secure a spot in the crowd among the big ones, this is your chance. You can also be a ‘good soul’ who wants to do something great for your country.. a dreamer of democracy.. good luck with that. you will have to struggle a lot… it is a mess and you do not want to touch it… ttisa3 rbi3.

Many events took place in a short period of time. Mayor of Rabat arrested for corruption and pre-election campaign. A huge caliber minister in the Department of interior, Fouad Ali Alhema, one of the closest friends of the king Mohamed 6 ‘quits’ his job to become a barlamani (MP) of Skhour Rhamna; maybe something bigger later. This gentleman does not seem to want any affiliation with political parties. Maybe, he likes to stand above and beyond. Many political parties are tossing accusations to each other about transgressions and corruption. The election race has began.

However, young Moroccans did not stop thinking and reflecting about it all.

In Amazigh Blog, Amanar illustrates the last scenes by posing the question:

“what is new in 2007? Personally, if is have to sum it all in one word, I would say Nothing… democracy? Since long time ago, I have stopped trusting the Moroccan politics especially when it comes to ballot boxes.. to vote or not to vote; what difference is that going to make since it is always the same people who get elected”

Amanar states that morocco is a workshop for democracy . “We are on the right track” he says. “ it is better to criticize than stay quit”

I think a lot of young Moroccans are convinced that voting is not the right way to engage in politics. Many have a different ways of looking at this game. The general approach is “be33ed men lebla la yeblik” ( get away ).

There is also a long list of politicians who have always been there and many young Moroccans are a little fed up to say the least. Ange Bleu posts pictures of some old famous politicians.

“these men have occupied the political scene since the independence. The youngest of them is…76 years old. They are real dinosaurs… these guys have done nothing for morocco during all the period of its independence. Now they are coming back. Gentelmen: Yazghi, Osman, Aherdane, Yassine, Fassi, rradi, Amsil El Alaoui: ouffffff we are tired of you… go away. We need educated young people with new ideas and new project”

Ditti with Ange Bleu…

Most of these senior politicians lived during the independence movement times (40s-50s) and think they have the historical legitimacy to act as politicians and run the country.

they would not trust the country to “kids”. Now things have changed, I hope, and Moroccan “pprocess of democracy” has been hanging out to dry for a long time. Nothing has changed, I guess. Who does not know Mahoubi Aherdan. The big one at the MNP and the transhumant politician. He occupied all kinds of jobs and used Tamazight for his own politics. Now his son is in the same part doing the same things. In the parliament and beyond. He even moved a little ahead to become some sort of president for a shadow World Amazigh Congress, that did not survive the real AWC.

It is time for all the political parties to try their skills in selling and buying votes. This is a situation that did not please the king (read speech). He said what sounded like people should not sell their votes and should not sell themselves.

This democracy is a little joke. I noticed there are many illusions about some western democracies as being a dream for our country. people say we are not yet there. we have to work hard to get democracy that we want. And this is a very one sided approach to democracy which otherwise looks like a drop by drop system where Moroccans have to deserve it to get it. We have to graduate to that level where we can be handed democracy by some power. And this is what some people in morocco are angry about. These views are perpetuated by politicians, schools, some journalists, instititions, some bloggers,
Democracy is not just voting for people who promise you things. Democracy is not an end in itself and it should not be. it is a way, a means, makina dyal lbolitika , a plural approach to socioeconomics where people decide what is good for them. all people regardless their differences (the verbiage for a definition should be longer and more precise but is do not care about deffinitins now)
altought our friend Youssef “cuts 100 words” by sharing a quote by M. Soubhi, (Egyptian comedian)

“la démocratie c’ est te permettre de choisir le moyen qui te plait pour réaliser ce dont j’ai envi” (Democracy is to allow you the choice of the means you like to do what I want).

Wa Kul intikhab wa antum bekhir.

My sacred ego

2007-08-23T05:16:00.000Z

Kids do not cry:

The governor of our region visited my village when I was in fifth grade to appoint a new Qaid.

Every one lines up. All the men. Villagers and nomads from everywhere. All of them were happy to receive the governor. A great man in a black suit. The new Qaid was there behind him receiving welcomes from every single person. gnawa were playing and dancing. Great times. I was in the front row with the older ones when the cars stopped. I had never seen that much traffic in my life. More than ten cars, most of them were black cars. The man stepped out of the car and walked towards the crowd that shouted. “3ash almalik” ( long life to the king). I did not like the confusion but I was focused on the man walking towards me, us. I did not care much about the others behind him. they were his followers I think. I shook the governors hand...
His hand was soft, which was a little disappointing to me, but he was gentle and spoke Moroccan Arabic to me. In my village everybody’s hands were harsh and firm and they spoke Amazigh.
He said: “how are you?... and what is your name?”. Our neighbor responded and said I was well and he said my mane. That was very rude too intrusive. I knew how to say my name and I spoke Moroccan Arabic. Everybody knows how to say ‘ labas and lhamdullah’. But I was not happy with the guy taking my words. And denying me right to peak and say my things only because he thinks he was alder and maybe bigger.
I moved my small body out of the line in disappointment then I tried again. I run a head and sneaked between two giant men again and waited for the governor so i can say and say “ labas , lhamdullah” if I needed to.
He finally arrived still shaking people’s hands and saying things older guys always say.Still hearing shouts about the king every now and then. Women yuyu-ing in the background. He came. He shook my hand. He looked me in the eye and he said. “labas a weldi” I said “ abas lhamdullah”, then he said “ llah yerdi alik” ( bless you) . I did not care about the blessing. What mattered for was that I did it. Nobody interrupted me. I was myself. I felt as big as the giant men on both my sides. I understood later that I was the only person in e crowed that the governor bowed for. I was big.
Like all the kids. It is vital for me to say things myself.
I run to the village and told them that I shook the governor’s hand. I did not say two times because the first time did not matter to me. I learned how to deal with authority and power abuse. Well age abuse. My size mattered… the size I decided is the size that was.

Book happens

2007-08-20T06:34:00.001Z

Remembering a book I ‘ started to read’ a few years ago.. I do not know.. but I lost it on the train to Marrakech. Very fascinating book. “The Tattooed Map” listed as the first novel of Barbara Hodgson, a Vancouver artist and a writer. it is a travel journal about two characters, Lydia and Chris, who chose Morocco as a destination for one of many of their adventures:

I am embarking on what I hope will be another successful journey. I am alone, but I doubt that my companion shares my anticipations. We’ve traveled together many times before, Christopher and I, and on every trip I’ve had the sensation that the two of us have wandered—always together—to very different places.

The story that sounded like a regular chronology of “Tour du Maroc” was starting to get strange as Lydia noticed a tattoo of a map appeared on her arm. The map got bigger and covered all her body.

She disappears afterwards and Chris tries to find her. he finds her journal in a café place in Marrakech and finishes writing the second part of what came to be a great novel.

Chris finds the journal... I feel asleep and we were already close to Benguerir ( 70 Kilometers away form Marrakech).

Ladies and gentleman.. the train enters la gare de Marrakech. Terminus, les voyageur a destination de ….” Everyone stood up. Got out of the train. I did. Never saw the book again. never finished it.

But the sketches on the book, the photos, the doodles and all the margins stayed in my head for a long time...

I was not sure I agreed with everything but as B. Hodgson herself says:

“I think everyone has their own Morocco, whether it be their backyard or another country,"

Every one has their morocco that they cherish, or not. Lydia had a Morocco tattooed on her skin.. she had the whole world to appreciate with some life in it. She did not have a Marrakech that she owned or any other place.. she preferred to disappear instead of having to face a world that was leading her to accept deceit and terror. She wanted to perpetuate the images she has about a deteriorating world.

Details can be disappointing at times when their threads fall into holes of despair. Like the despair of محمود المسعدي Mahmoud Messaadi, a Tunisian writer and Activist who wrote حدث ابو هريرة قال Abu Hurayra in 1939. Abu Hurayra wakes up in the morning not wanting to do his daily rituals. He refused any further commitment to Allah. embarks in a journey into the “unknown” (if you want to call it, I don’t). His travels to desert, monasteries, and into himself.

A journey of a man who holds the name of one of the most renown figures in the history of Islam.. a friend of the prophet Mohamed. One of the ten people who were promised heaven. Mahmoud said once, “we don’t die till the end of the story”. But Abu Hurayra did not die. he disappeared.

The end of Abu Hurayra is the end of discovering “his own map”. . the grid of truthfulness that leads to an evaluation of meaning. A step ahead from the semantics of a reality where maps mean something more than the first person singular where most western knowledge is trapped.

Lkamikaz d meknes

2007-08-15T07:39:00.001Z

Hicham Doukkali is a 28 years old Moroccan engineer working for the finance department in Meknes. Found a job through the struggle of the Moroccan association of unemployed university graduates .. blows himself up near the door of a tourist bus in a public plaza in Meknes..
Place Lahdim, known for its legendary murals and big arched gates built by workers and Maalems during the reign of the Alaouite king Moulay Ismail. Now a photo stops. Tourist buses stop before going other destinations for a few minutes to take pictures on their way to Volubilis or Fes.
Doukkali’s attempt brings all the questions back.. "what the @#&# is going on in people’s heads?. What is their motivation? It is not definitely hanger and thirst. These guys are not protesting individual miseries. They are not desperate for food, which was the idea behind redesigning Sidi Moumen after the attacks of 5/16th where more than 42 people were killed. This is a person with high education, employed with a good salary and a good social status. He wanted to blow himself inside a bus but he could not get in as the driver closed the doors.
i am sure we are all bedazzled by this stupid act. It is just beyond my head. I cant understand this rising culture of destruction and self destruction. I can’t help thinking that it is so hard to think that some realistic analysis can be done to understand the hidden reasons behind the suicidal tendencies of this people who want to take as many lives as they can with them.
this is a foreign mentality officially created in the seventies and earlier than that to counter balance the communists and all the red staff… and the western iron curtain.
It developed as an imperialist tool against freedom of speech and all that.
It is high time we sat down and examined our selves, our school systems, our Moroccaness and all the crap we have learned about why things do not work.
I do not care if these people think there is a heaven they aspire for by doing this. I do not want to go to a heaven where everyone has killed someone. If killing takes anyone to Heaven, guess who are the people who are going to meet there… who killers Iraqis, Palestinians, Touaregs, New Yorkers, Afghanis, tootsies, Native Americans, …
However we are all encouraged as Moroccans to think seriously about the meaning of our religious ideologies to understand that all this Is not about wanting to be good to Allah, it is beyond that… terrorism shapes development more than any academic theories. The politics of this New Order speak the language of fire and blood.
Yet I am not understanding how any person can be indoctrinated enough to kill.
And I do not think I will understand it... ever.
(photo AFP)

Red lines

2007-08-06T23:47:00.000Z

Red lines and more red lines that grow bigger.

In one year the Moroccan Arabic magazine Nichane gets in the hands of the beast twice, la police. TelQuell magazine gets there too. censured by the Moroccan authorities. Ben-Chamsi, the director of the two publications, was heard by the Moroccan police yesterday.
According to accounts collected by Reuters, the magazines contained “articles which it said showed a lack of respect for King Mohammed and harmed public morals.” (read)
Laila Al Alami, a Moroccan writer and Blogger said:

“It's really disheartening to have to write yet another post, about yet another problem in the Moroccan press, but it seems the wheels of censorship never stop.”

Reactions to this seizure arose from disappointment with the Moroccan government that a lot of people think should make more progress in letting freedom of speech take its flow.
According to Moha Arehal, a Moroccan bloger and journalist,

“Ces décisions qui nous font revenir en arrière plusieurs dézaines d'années ne font que nuir à l'image du royaume qui se veut un exemple à suivre au niveau des pays d'Afrique du Nord et tiers monde.” (these decisions make us regress many years back)

This is happening while the case of ‘Al-Watan Al An’ is still in the hands of ‘justice’.
For Many moroccan this is a shame. What was in the magazines that deserves seizure. What did Nichane say. why Nichane? Well it is probably the only magazine of its kind that can be read and understood by many Moroccans. At least those who can read Arabic.. many city dwellers. From different social classes. Other Magazines in French, Classical Arabic , German, Spanish etc are foreign to the majority of Moroccans and “ we do not know how to read those”. They also are expensive. And you do not want to give half of your daily salary for a magazine.
Moroccans still remember the hot days of USFP, and the long glowing hot speeches of Fath Alla Oualalou criticizing the government and crossing the red lines. Now he is sitting in an air-conditioning big office with the other guys giving orders about and shutting down people. very disappointing to many of us who would like to see a morocco where issues of freedom of speech in the folds of the past.

Caro Diallo in the Abene African Dance Fest

2007-08-05T17:12:00.000Z

IDIR: La France des couleurs

2007-08-02T04:34:00.000Z

Nouveau clip d'Idir avec Féfé et Leeroy
Merci Colombiaweb
from La France des couleurs. listen to more songs. fabulous compilation. ayuz i t3urrma.

Ganawa Difusion: Fucking Cowboy: Visa Vie

2007-07-09T06:39:00.000Z

The most powerful azawan/music legend after Nass Elghiwan.
Born to serve the ears of North African youth, while standing in solidarity with all the oppressed people of the world, namely immigrants to the North, in times of despair and loss (RFI Music). New DVD: Fucking Cowboy. A new discourse to african shaabi music .
(more: read bio)
[thanks youpearl for posting this video] : Visa Vie

Igelliden n tiniri (Tinariwen)

2007-06-17T05:56:00.000Z

This Video was published thanks to IndependientRecords. Tanemirt.

For Spring and April 20th.

2007-04-20T18:37:00.000Z

I D I R
"Born in the village of Aït Lahcêne in Kabylia, Idir has never turned from the path he started down with a talent contest on Algerian broadcasting in 1973 and continued to follow in Paris with his still unforgettable hit – surely one of the great songs of the century – ‘A Vava Inouva’ ..., presented in Algeria in 1973 and recorded on a Pathé-Marconi album in 1976). Sweetness, swaying melody, the use of a guitar borrowed from folk music and meaningful lyrics: that is how the Kabyles, belonging to a supposed minority group and speaking tamarzight, and not Arabic, changed the face of Algerian music, as would raï from Oran a few years later.
In Paris, Idir would watch history being made in his country: the Berber Spring, the revolt against the central authorities in 1980, the massacre of civilians in the nineties.

Idir has constantly supported national reconciliation and anti-fanaticism, organising ‘Algérie, la vie’ (Algeria, life), a concert where he performed with the Arabic-speaker Khaled in 1995, and joining the tribute to Matoub Lounès, murdered in June 1998". (ref.)
(Read more...)
My gift to all friends for "tafsut Tamazight" for life to continue....

what is the word?

2007-04-09T06:28:00.000Z

Not all Words count.

There are words on every possible surface. Newspapers. Websites. Joumua speeches. Words that come right out of speakers of radios and televisions. Words from podcasts and words from café places. Clouds of disturbing words and streams of verbiage and all the possible pitches tones.

Hearing all the words of all kinds all the time is a really hard thing to do. Words that you agree with and those you don’t. the creation of words. The industry of words. Oh my … words at school. in every single corner. No one can escape all these floods of verbiage coming right into your ears from every where. And people say “ they should not say it like that” “why would any one say that” “ willi hshuma.. ma khassoush igul hakak” ( shame, he should not say that).

Sick: a wordly self-description of an acoustic illness.. or just tired of reading about political nonsense.

All the above and bellow is added to the big pile of verbiage recreation.

We are spending centuries on the study of these things. We created grammar and linguistics to make sure our words are well studied. We are creating every minute thousands of descriptions and illustrations. We are the rational ones. We discard other peoples words when they are different. We call that "foreign languages" thought we created declarations of cultural and linguistic rights of indigenous peoples. We like to hear them singing their own words and they all say staff. things we never understand.

We created English that millions of people now have to study to find a seat on the train of development and civility. French. German. that's it. We created the ability to speak for speakers and adapted sign language to fir images of “normal” verbiage.. the one with sounds. We abused of the 90 of non verbal indicators to our own semantics. We know how it all works: no verb no life. If you do not speak the right way, you do not deserve to be.

Speak. Say. Sound. Hint. Splash. Vomit. Write. Spell. Admit. Surrender. Say yes. Forget. Buy. Pay. Go. Come back. Buy. Pay. Go. Next. Please. Buy. Pay. Go. Forget. Buy again. do not watch how many people we kill. Just buy. Staff. things. Speak. Don’t speak. We don’t care. Shut up.

Shut up: a violent way of stopping unwelcome sounds from fellow humans we know we would disagree with before really listen to them. that is shut shut up.

what if i don't.

Cafe Normale politics

2007-04-04T05:12:00.000Z

Whatever happens in the future elections in Morocco, it is going to bring all the pains back from ages past. It is a sticky situation in here and it is all about general changes and big disorientations.

After the fall of the global model and western democracy and the rise of political Christianity and political Islam people in "the Moroccan café" are thinking about all different ways of pulling out the cart out of the mud of IMF and world Bank with all the promises that we were given since since 1787, 1956 and 1999. we were going to be the good friends submissive and quite... manifest destiny a la morcaine.

All his is falling apart. The image of Marikan (US) is being re-sculptured in most of the heads of Moroccans. It was thought to us at school and fed to us with morning croissants that Marikan is top and the world has to follow. We are going to develop following the foot prints of the western countries inevitably. the "noble savages that we are", we are going to follow ever "the voice of America" broadcasts to us..

Rest a dire, the Moroccan elitist scholarly political craftsmen understand the impact of all their politics on our own choices. i mean, there is definitely a huge gap between how people in morocco make sense of their politics and how those who talk for them understand it. Rulers have to follow what wall street thinks is good for us. ideas have always been crafted somewhere else.

Moroccans for this end are trying to make their own way to understand and catch up. They have been herded for years by an Muslim arabized pro-western leaders to the end of the trail. Now we are all stuck, well.. with the rest of the third world in this machine that holds us accountable for things we have not at all decided. When a political party decided they want to go the Amazigh way, for instance, they were banned. It is scary to be different.. but when PJD decided to operate, they became rulers and a predicted majority.

Now that most of the political parties in this country have been "tried enough", people are looking for other alternatives. People in low classes, the poor and the very poor are not even in the picture. And those are Amazigh people of the mountains and sahara deserts. The middle classes have a tight passage to economical stability. They are loosing everyday, as more and more space is provided for free zones and international big businesses. The Makhzenian, sherifan and Fassi aristocracies are almost loosing grounds for more radical groups that are thought to have finally found the dream and every one will be saved. PJD in its initial form had a unique approach to politics and iconics. In 1992 Abdelilah Benkiran, one of the founding fathers of the PJD ideology said that democracy is a necessary evil”, “ democracy is a bida’a ( a bad invention) made by the west to rule the world” however it is according to his a “democracy is a necessary evil”. They are going to embrace the game of democracy and when they get to the government they are going to change the whole thing and rule by shari’a. this is a huge game that requires a lot of preps and props. They PJG followers are going to wear Nikies , jeans and leather Jackets , shave their beards and look cool and hip. Instead if the old afghani look of the other Ikhwnjiya of Aladl wa Lihsan , shabiba and other groups. they will be all over the place.

They made it in morocco for what ever reason.

They are gaining more ground regardless of the constant warnings of people at both the university and the café. This is the reality, weather we like it or not, political Islam and political Christianity are growing as part of a globalized word order, they are the same side of the coin. May be the wrong side of the coin but they are the currency that lots of people want to use. Maybe they feel they have to use it.

Chaou abdelkader,

2007-03-18T05:06:00.000Z

A pillar of the Chaabi music in North Africa . Born in al-Kasbah in Algiers early forties. Shares first debuts with seniors of his cohort, Hadj Ak Anqa. Chaou hits the sky and its stars in the seventies to become on of the most famous artists of Algiers.
Song: Lbehja Mahlaha.

iRack, a side/main note

2007-03-15T20:00:00.000Z

This is a really interesting video that Michael McDonald has made about "iRack"
i wo't say more. watch it. (no pan).

again in casablanca

2007-03-15T07:05:00.000Z

One of two suicide bombers kills himself in a cyber café where he came to look at terrorist sites.
The owner of the cyber café asked the two suspicious clients to leave the premises and they refused. One of them blows himself. The other one flew away dropping his belt but e was arrested about an hour later. The Moroccan police have not yet determined what their target was or whether they were waiting for orders that never came.
Four bystanders were injured in the internet cafe. The terrorist dies on the spot. Both terrorists were involved with terrorist attacks of Casablanca 2003 and he got a royal pardon in 2005.
A wound was opened again in the country. the wound of Mai 16^th. Now Morocco will probably think about revising the relationship between royal pardons and religious /national holidays. I am assuming that the Moroccan police and the ministry of justice will have a lot of things to talk about now...
what were the intentions of these people remains the question every single Moroccan is asking...
Police and the department of National security are raising the level of vigilance according to Moroccan Press Agency.
It is really sad to think about the reasons for all the terrorism and its political implications and how Moroccans suffer every single day from all the different kinds of terrorism. Moroccan people are the ones who are guarding the gates and towers of the country now and always . Not the police. Not the American embassy. Not the Interpol.
I am sure that the Moroccan department of tourism is worried more about all the effects of this attack on the tourism dream of ten million tourists by the year 2010.

photo BBC archive

Where's Mao?

2007-03-12T01:16:00.000Z

The Chinese leader is disappearing from the country's new history textbooks, which downplay socialism altogether.
By Joseph Kahn in Beijing

This year, high school students in Chicago will likely learn more about Communism than students in Shanghai: The new world- history textbooks just introduced in China's biggest city have dropped Communist revolutions and socialist theory in favor of colorful tutorials on economics, technology, and globalization.

Socialism has been reduced to a single chapter in the senior high school history course. Chinese Communism before the economic reform that began in 1979 is covered in a single sentence. The text mentions Mao Zedong, the Communist leader and revolutionary considered the father of modern China, only once—in a chapter on etiquette.

Almost overnight, the country's most prosperous schools have shelved the Marxist template that had dominated standard history texts since the 1950s. The changes, the authors say, are part of a broader effort by the Chinese government to promote a more stable, less violent view of Chinese history that serves today's economic and political goals.

"Our traditional version of history was focused on ideology and national identity," says Zhu Xueqin, a historian at Shanghai University. "The new history is less ideological, and that suits the political goals of today."

The old textbooks, not unlike the ruling Communist Party, had changed relatively little in the last quarter-century of market-oriented economic reforms. They were glaringly out of sync with realities students faced outside the classroom.

Trading Agendas

But critics say the new textbooks trade one political agenda (Communism) for another (economic progress). However friendly the new emphasis seems to Western ideals, the Chinese government is still controlling the books' content.

In a sense, the new textbooks do not so much rewrite history as diminish it: Having largely abandoned its own Communist ideology, China's one-party state prefers people to think more about the future than the past.

The new text focuses on the same ideas and buzzwords that dominate the state-run media: economic growth, innovation, foreign trade, political stability, and social harmony.

J.P. Morgan, Bill Gates, the New York Stock Exchange, the space shuttle, and Japan's bullet train are all highlighted. There is a lesson on how neckties became fashionable. The French and Russian revolutions, once seen as turning points in world history, now get far less attention. Chairman Mao, the Long March, and colonial oppression of China are taught only briefly.

The books still present a government view of history, just a different version now. So far, the changes are limited to schools in Shanghai, China's most economically advanced and sophisticated city. In the past, textbooks introduced in Shanghai have followed elsewhere.

Deng, Not Mao

Zhou Chunsheng, a professor at Shanghai Normal University and an author of the new textbook series, says his purpose was to make people and societies the central theme. "History does not belong to emperors or generals," he says.

Students now study Mao—still officially revered but no longer regularly promoted as an influence on policy—only in junior high school. In the senior high school text, he is mentioned fleetingly as part of a lesson on the custom of lowering flags to half-staff at state funerals, like Mao's in 1976.

Former President Deng Xiaoping, who began China's market-oriented reforms, appears in the junior and senior high school versions, with emphasis on his economic vision.

The Shanghai textbook revisions do not address many domestic and foreign concerns about the biased way Chinese schools teach recent history. Like the old textbooks, the new ones play down historic mistakes or atrocities like the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the army crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989.

The new textbooks also de-emphasize peasant struggle, ethnic rivalry, and war, some critics say, because the Chinese leadership does not want people thinking that such things matter a great deal. Officials prefer to create the impression that the Chinese through the ages cared more about innovation, technology, and trade relationships with the outside world.

But some teachers have criticized what they see as an effort to minimize history.

"The junior high textbook [weakens] history," a Shanghai history teacher wrote in an online discussion, "while the senior high school textbook eliminates it entirely."

Source: upfrontmagazine.com

New Book: Ajjig N Tidi, by Mohamed Akunad.

2007-03-08T06:22:00.000Z

After the success of his Novel Tawargit d Imik ( a dream and more) Mohamed Akunad publishes his second book Ajjig n Tidi ( A Flower of Sweat).

Ajjig n Tidi tells the story of an Amazigh immigrant who ends up working in the tunnels of coal mines in France in the 1970’s. He decides to go back to his village and start a new life after all the change that had happened during his absence.

The Novel structure revolves round te evolution of the main character and his attempts to understand the changes that happen everyday in his village. changes in values and mentalities of his people during the time of his forced exile in France.

In hisfirst novel Tawargit d imik Akunad explored certain dreams of possibility. Ssi Brahim, the newly hired imam, accepts the position of Msid teacher and Fkih of the village. He tries to bring lots of reforms to the mosque traditions by encouraging more women to come over to the prayer room. He gave his sermon in Tamazight. For the first time people really made sence of what Friday Khotbas are about. A womwn in the back, pleased with what he fqih said, ‘yuyus’ ( tseghret) in the middle of the khotba. Apologizes later. Ssi Brahim had to “pay it expensive”. His personality became controversial and tragic as the Qayd brings his finger into the discussion. With the help of the local Sheikh, Ssi Brahim lost al grounds and lost the villagers , hi students, women coming to the mosque and the right to speak his language, Tamazight in Allah’s House.

Akinad: Ayuz nek.

Mothers and Songs

2007-03-05T17:50:00.000Z

THIS is a compilation of songs in Tamazight and Arabic Dedicated to all mothers these extraordinary humans with big big heart and livers (tasa) and are there to absorb the pains of the world and wait for a better times to come…
Remembering Ali Azayku and al the great poets, singers and artists who spent time tinking all them...
enjoy.

(Photo: chrisrouge)

Yemma: from the Palestinian Heritage. (Palestinian)

Thifridjas: Yemma. (Tamazight)

Omar Boutmezzught: (Tamazight)

Big H and Jay: Moroccan Rap (Darija)

Sullen irumiyen gan imc elligh.

2007-03-04T02:29:00.000Z

S Tamazight digh neghedd abda:
G tesga n umsawal g internet ghif tguriwin ur ntilnin xsf hetta yan. Ar enn ettaggagh xef mayd etturun ait marikan wala wiyyad xef tmurt n merruk wala tutlayt nnes d medden. Afeghenn arenn ettafagh ku ass id is wahli degsen ag tsul tizzert ar enn sugguren seg wahlee n ifellaten gher mays ghalen id is iga izdar emmuzdernin. Tamurt d medden ensen. G usays n iblogen seg tmurt ellan enn wahlee n meddan yetturun ayenna ran gin ixfawen nsen winsen. Ku yan ar enn yetturu ayennz as yenna uqerru nes. Ellan wida yusyen angaz n tmurt gin d nternet imassen s ettasin imsisiyen gher idgharen yaden.

Imuzzayen ddehgh ayd da ettirigh ad isanegh mandi gher ettirin ad awin a wal. Tsul twelat na mi 3deln seg eligh tella. Tawlaft dda esskern taf ad essghern i ixfawen nnsen mayd ur gin. Tawlaft n imdanen imezgura, Imazighen d wiyyàd, aklu n “waggagen” ddegh n àemwa. Qqnen ghif ighfawen nsen agensu nnes.

Taguri yat ayd yga ar ettini mami slahen ekw “les indigenes” ddehgh. Slahen add nettawi seg darsen ineghmisen d tguriwin yessbeddan s umata takadimit nnegh d wadif n idlisen xef beddant temsdelsin g timizar g tmizar tirumiyin.

Ur da eyi ineqqa ghas turzimin iqqnen.

Princess Khadija in the Blog sphere

2007-03-02T23:28:00.000Z

Princess was born first.... then what?

The news “sparkles” around the country. Mohmed VI looked happy (left) and compassionate holding his little baby in front of the press crowd.

21 gun shots were unloaded to celebrate this big event.

In the blog sphere of/about Morocco this event has taken a lot of different shapes and forms.

3az3oza declares her blog a golden book. Sign your congratulations. Many other bloggers like rachidissari and opened it up for comment and people to express their congratulations. Rachid said 2 words (alf mabrouk). Humble and beautiful i admire that in Mr. Issari.

Amazzal (fr) posted the translation of the detailed press release about the birth of the princess.

Basta news post was a photo of a smiling king holding his gaughter khadija. Opened up congratulation as comments.

In a very elegant “trés rafiné” post Nadia Bitar announces to the world the birth of a princess.

Moroccan blogers that i read in the last couple of days (ar/fr/en) were excited about the event and were sharing the happiness of the Moroccan family. Well nationalism has its sides and corners. But i like how Moroccan received their new princess.

Plate Forme Intercontinentale des MRE posted a photo of the king and his daughter and information about the golden books for people to sign their congratulations.

Blogging nnfakha:

One of the bloggers about morocco. Famous for writing about Rabat posts this time about her adventure with the Canadian Embassy. I was trying to read about what some north american ex-pats in the country are writing about this and the importance of the event for them. starts out with a very interesting title. ( i do not really care about the blog itself but i think it has an interesting note...)

My word count found out that she had a post of 894 words. She "donated"22 words (2.2%) to the topic.. the title she promised to talk about. Sprayed : 'On Cannons and Princesses.'

In this post used the word “I” 30 times and "capstoned"more than 97.8% of the post 'khabar'. A story about a mysterious phone call and the bureaucracy of an embassy.

This is the paragraph that the title of the post promised.

As it happened, it was cannon fire that I heard last night, a veritable 21-gun salute. Princess Leia Lalla Khadija was born to "The wife of Moroccan King Mohamed VI " (god almighty!) who, in fact, does have a name: Princess Lalla Salma. I needn't tell you that I was mightily relieved that Rabat hadn't been bombarded by terrorists last night, or that what I heard wasn't the sound of Kenitra's oil refineries exploding ... although, should that happen, I have full confidence that my Government will come quickly to my rescue. Hopefully I'll have my laptop handy so I can submit an emergency S.O.S. online form.

Let’s not talk about the implications of personal safety and the cost of Moroccans as opposed to ex-pats in Morocco.

The advice the post gave to the new born princess:

My gift to her are these pearls of wisdom: don't take any crap from your brother Crown Prince Moulay Hassan. Sure he's going to be king some day but you'll get to wear much nicer clothes. And please don't wear your hair like 2 bagels on either side of your head. It's been done. And it isn't a very pretty look.

[who can comment on this? I can’t]

Well…

Moroccan bloggers interested in this event remained humble and real in the way they defined what is important to them, while the [blogger] stayed above everyone in an ivory tower with a lot of egoistic clouds between her and the morocco she writes about with special interest in royal crap and star wars.

Vieux farka Toure

2007-02-28T04:04:00.000Z

'Tel pere tel fils... 'ou pas. (Like father like son ... Or not)
A few Hours ago Vieux Farka Toure offered a great concert where he shared his last musical purls with an audience of music lovers.

Vieux is the, son of the Ali Farka Toure had stayed in the shade (hidden- ) for many years as his father forbid him from singing or playing music. He learned music in total secracy. then played a unique style.
"il ya personne qui jou comme lui" said a M , a music film maker from Mali.
"il joux mieux que son pere" said Sirey from Mali. Vieux sang for peace, love, children and the Desert. He created "mesmerizing tones" of a long ancestral heritage. He mastered the guitar in a really short time.
"Your father will be proud of you" said one of the audience as Vieux autographed a CD. All the way through the concert, Vieux stayed calm and humble. his room management skills were beyond dicrption.... He speaks the music he plays.
this is a short video i took for "YOU" enjoy.

(sorry about the quality of video. not right device for a good Video)

Anger and politics:

2007-02-26T06:33:00.000Z

Politics and anger were neighbors for a long time. there are a lots of scenes where politicians become physical about their debates.:Throughing chairs at each other and breaking microphones or just insulting each other in public, on television etc. i am wondering how the two things have survived together and lived harmoniously through out the centuries.

This is not the topic of this post though…yet..

“Why are you angry?” said Ali to his friends Idir as they were sipping their Nus-Nus at Balima Café.

Ali understands politics as "petites things". Never takes politics seriously. Why bother .. People in charge would never really manage to do anything anyway for the country. they do not care...

Whereas Idir understands politics as things they all have to do. He analyses all the elements of success and failure in the modern political debate.

“ If they can not, they have to really step down and let others do it” he thinks.

Power and abuse seen synonymous to Idir who spent all his life waiting for this things called Constitutionalization of Tamazight. This usually means a constitutional recognition of Tamazight as one of morocco official languages.

Idir is sick and tired of having to explain that to his friends and people who he happens to meet in his travels in and out of morocco.

“People say nous some des arabes still and i am tired of that. I can not stand it anymore. On Tamazight radio. With a thickened southern Amazigh accent a guy was talking about how “we, the Arabs, have to pull ourselves together and fight for the rights to unify the Arab world!. Well it is schizophrenia of identity awareness. I am not going to waste my time teaching. Investing energy in sensitization (sensibilisation) is OVER. Now it is time for action and if we do not do it. Iccak lbaz (falcon ate you). “

Idir is angry. At least this is what his friends think. He says his views out loud. He speaks his thought. Everybody is angry. Young people.. older folks.. women.. kids.. kids parents.. teachers.. foreign teachers.. bloggers.. water sellers.. MPs.. Sun flower sellers.. writers.. artist… and Imazighen.. They all have the right to get angry if anger is a right.

What it the distance between directness, political correctness and anger? Is pointing out social injustice in what ever tone or language and anger? What if it is? And so what?

What would Idir feel after 3000 years of colonization, depravation, and loss?

Inconsistency of thought processing or rater call it mind stream: loss... politics.. people jumping on land.. privatization.. free zones.. free staff.. selling high context cultures.. government.. anger.. money.. shanty towns.. impoverishment.. justifying anger.. democracy.. steeling out space.. waters.. DST.. arabization.. “the dream of freedom”.. process of democracy. People study us and look at all levels of merit we have. Do we deserve to be a democratic country. are we “high” enough a breed to deserve it do we remain savages may be noble ones.

who decides on goute-a-goute democracy (drop by drop). As long as this double-colonization is not over, Idir is going to “always sound angry.”

Just another angry Berber.

BLACKFIRE :It ain't over !

2007-02-23T21:49:00.000Z

AFAUNGAL: Mazal.

Black fire is a Native American (Diné) traditionally influenced, high-energy, politically driven group comprised of two brothers and their sister. Born into the heart of a political land dispute area on Black Mesa( more info ) in the Navajo Nation, this Family's powerful music reflects the Hopes, Freedoms, and Barriers of today's world.

(ref: Blackfire.net)
Recomended: Blackfire: Amazigh Connect.

Rissani... notes on prostitution

2007-02-20T19:55:00.000Z

…it also means that the impression that we want to give to our “visitors” is that this is the cradle of the ruling dynasty. They are stepping in the house of the prophet. Or rather the house of his descendents the Alawite Shorafa of Tafilalet.

Recent social history of Rissani saw the rise of immigrants from neighboring areas. Ait Atta berbers , Arib, Nnwaji, Dwi Mnia and others. Most desert tribes people were forced to settle as part of a big strategy of “fixation" of berbers tribes, a continuation of the French colonial “pacification”.

Rissani was a Souk, and many Ksour (fortified, four tower villages, one main entrance).

Now there are only two small hotels in Rissani. There is no bar no “epicerie” for liquors or wine. There was a Bar in the 60s: Bar Lahbib in the Kasba. It closed for some reason. We do not know why !

The souk area has always been a meeting point and a place for all kinds of interactions. The only souk in morocco that meets three times a week is Souk Moulay Ali Cherif.

Behind the souk was one of the most active social institutions, rather never talked about. The “wra-ssouq” (behind the market place) also called “secteur”, “derb”, etc…. Houses for women in prostitution or sex workers: "leqhab","timegganin".

In the early 80s there were more than 400 sex workers in the area behind the souk and in the Kasbah. They serviced the military garrison that had a few hundred soldiers, since its creation by the French colonizers in 1916, and also served a wider male society of the surrounding areas.

In the 1950s all sex workers walked to the French garrison on Thursdays (!) for medical checking. Their headquarters were in the Kasbah, behind the Bureaux.

Stories, never published in books, talk loads about all the different women leaders of this trade and how they managed their business and forced unlimited access to patriarchal space: governors, military officers, Qayds, cheikhs, khalifas, merchants, shorafa,…

They were called “entertainers”, “munashita” in Darija and this went on their ID cards.

Visibility was important in a patriarchal society like Rissani.

Many women would hide behind doors. There were “good women” and “other” in the minds of many Sherifian families. Women in Prostitution were always “other”. They were not cast away all times. I mean, They were present in most social gatherings. They danced for local musicians in weddings and in national holidays. They were the women who practiced male space with a great deal of courage and bravery.

Hiden behind an “Izar” (cover) they walked the souks and contributed to the local economy and outdoors social life.

Sex workers, commonly called “lqehbat” had to disappear from pubic space early 1990s. a few houses remained and prostitution in Rissani had to move to more residential areas and neighborhoods. The famous “Seteur” closed and was totally evacuated. One house remained: Lehbariyya. And his was “patrona” from the area. all other “patronas” had to go. Who made the decision? and why? (open questions)

Rissani was a forced urban center.

It is not a real “urban” area. It escapes these kinds of nominations. Enigmatic to most people visitors. Strange and saphocating for its youth, rich for wrcheolgists and excavators. Cheap for national tourists, NOT safe anymore for woman in prostitution… it is an adventure to write about it…

Book: Amazigh Arts in Morocco

2007-02-18T08:15:00.000Z

Amazigh Arts in Morocco
Women Shaping Berber Identity
By Cynthia Becker

:><: from intro...
When I first arrived in Morocco in 1993 with the intention of learning about Berber art, I soon discovered that women rather than men were the artists in Berber societies. Berber women wove brightly colored carpets. They decorated their faces with tattoos, dyed their hands and feet with henna, and painted their faces with saffron. They also embroidered brightly colored motifs on their indigo head coverings and wore elaborate silver and amber jewelry. Women both created the artistic symbols of Berber identity and wore them on their bodies, making the decorated female body a public symbol of Berber identity.

These connections and intersections of art, gender, and identity are the subject of this book. This study considers women and their participation in the process of identity construction by examining the centrality of the textiles, jewelry, and other art forms created by women to the social relations and ethnic identity of the Berbers of Morocco, the indigenous peoples of North Africa. Unlike Arab groups in North Africa, in Berber societies women rather than men are the primary producers of art, and women's arts identify the group as Berber. This examination, in addition to revealing a rich body of art, is meant to illuminate the complexity of women's roles in the Islamic societies of Africa and to demonstrate the role of women's agency in negotiating complex social and religious issues. Its central argument is that women's control over the visual symbols of Berber ethnic identity grants them power and prestige yet also restricts them to specific roles in that society...>>>.read more...

:><: Cynthia Becker is an assistant professor in the Department of Art History at St. Thomas, where she teaches courses in the arts of Africa and the African Diaspora and women's art from a cross-cultural perspective. She holds a B.A. from the University of New Orleans and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research explores the relationship between art, gender and ethnicity in North Africa. She is currently focusing on the influence of the trans-Saharan slave trade on artistic culture in Morocco. She is the recipient of a Fulbright grant and grants from the American Institute of Maghreb Studies.

Casablanca Connect - Biladi

2007-02-16T06:10:00.000Z

10 bad things about Morocco

2007-02-14T02:52:00.000Z

I found this information here on a blog( diario de marrocos) tought it might interest some of us.

10 bad things about Morocco

Some people trying to sell you Haxixe ( Marijuana )
I’m still thinking on position 2 on this matter
Very poor people in isolated regions of the Atlas Mountains
“Guardians”, or, a bunch of guys that call themselves that way just to keep an eye on people’s vehicles
Some intolerance between Arabs and Amazigh, Amazigh and Arabs
Some junkies and some drunk guys with bad humour in major cities
All Moroccans think that if tourists travel to Morocco, then, Morocco is a better country than all the rest
Some shops ask 10 times more money that they should, so you have to negotiate and bargain things you want to buy
Some crazy truck drivers on the roads
There is no toilet paper in a normal bathroom and some stinky ones also ( expect hotels of course ) / Expect to bump into: “The Hole”, which is good since you don’t really have to touch anything

Kenza by Matoub Lounes.

2007-02-12T05:38:00.000Z

Song for the morning.

Besides the alphabet mentality...

2007-02-11T08:27:00.001Z

Imazighen of north Africa and the story of writing.

they all used a graphic face to ta mazight , a language that resisted all kinds of oppression and colonization for more than 3000 years. they used tifinagh to scribe there language and record their transactions. defined by the “history” of the mediterranean as one of the alphabets that was widely used by every one on the northern part of Africa. a few centuries later, Tifinagh was lost almost everywhere except in ahegar, azawad and air. deep in the deserts.

in mur-yakush and tangis, tifinagh was taken to the bodies to become tattoos and design for tower tops of every tighremt made of adobe and other.

tifinagh became the mystery of academicians who tried hard to locate the areas of its “loss”. before Roland Barthes (1915-1980) the question of languages of mediterranean mythos of languages was not yet investigated (semiotically) and the distance between sign and symbol was not yet scholastically measured. the signs of tifinagh moved to a sacred area and became symbols with sacred loads of many layers. how did all this happen is what “the university” will never understand... how Tifinagh was hidden to preserve a whole heritage !!. (sample of absence) how can you preserve a language by not writing it?

most of the informers, explorers, missionaries and ethnographers,who came to tamazgha in the 18’c to draw the maps of occupations, were confused about Imazighen. they did not know how to approach them. they called them berbers from la berberie, ref. babary Pirates, barbary makaks, the Barbary Treaties .

now that imazighen think it is worth while, they atarted developing their own ways of reviving tifainagh.salem chaker and others started working on this foe more than half a century.

Matisse et Abdelkrim Khettabi

2007-02-09T06:57:00.000Z

Late 19C, beggining of 20thC, Tangier gone international.
every one brought their baggage to the city of the strait.
Matisse paints marabouts and windows of a town already filled with people from all different walks of life. Tangier was a town of great investors, a refuge for anyone who needed peace and tranquility. Matisse lived for a long time in Hotel Villa de France and painted his famous “the view out o the window”- passage to the world of fame. Tangier was called "the Sin City" for some reason i do not really know. but the list of famous people tat lived there is amazing. i am thinking of big names like : Malcolm Forbes, Paul Bowls, Tennessee Williams, Barbara Hutton and others like Matisse. during the second quarter of the century the number of ex-pats in tangier was almost half the population.

the city provided a safe space for all kinds of people, gay and lesbian people, spies, women in prostitution, drug dealers, smugglers and all other kinds of people that had to work/ live in secrecy in Europe and N-America came to tangier to breath and enjoy the terraces of the cafés in the French section of town andsome freedom.
the American legation Museum in zenkat marikan still holds witness this gear ages of great international communities . an age so much cherished by Art historians. Tangier was the pride of ex-pat Moroccan history. it was a dream.
Abdelkrim Khattabi was there too... not too far.. in the Rif mountains.

What is the Right Way to Be White?

2007-02-08T16:39:00.000Z

exotic blogs for exotic al morocco

2007-02-06T17:23:00.000Z

:><: upon request from my friends: i am showing agian this post that has created a littel comtrevercy among some bloggers.

this is not a question of nationalism . it is an observation about literacy and view point. Some people who lived in morocco for awhile have great experiences that they could write about. when they stop being racist... and "we are the blessed"-

i posted once a little billet long time ago on how some peace corps volunteers in morocco look at their experiences and how cross culture trainings they get are just reinforcement of all supremacy most of them already have. it is difficult to teach some pcv about race. because most of them a really nice people. they are there to help.

well you get it from really nice people. the road the hell in full with good intentions. these are people who serve for two years, some of them are spending more than two years in morocco. you would think they have enough experience to help them move from their racist comforts or work towards a better use of their white supremacy. no. morocco of the sheltering sky and the man who knew too much is the same morocco that inspires these people to write about what they see.

well this is how blogging morocco sounds like (US expats and peace corps volunteers)

samples:

Understanding illiteracy for: Cat in Rabat

But is this a world without books? Are there bookstores in Rabat? Some; for the most part, they carry French and Arabic titles. Who’s reading them? Obviously some people – I’m not suggesting that no one reads in Morocco, only that I haven’t seen any of them yet. Possibly the ex-pat community keeps the librairies alive.

describing Ashoura by driver:

Oh man. people begging on the streets. like, cars cannot get through because there are too many people begging. i guess today's the day for it. one lady asked me for money (well, lots did) and i started up with the whole, "i don't really have any and i'm really sorry and i think you're nice and..." but then i recognized her as the lady that lives down the street in the really nice house. i just walked away. people who are way better off than me are out begging. no wonder some folks around town think i'm homeless. again, i guess that's just what people do today.
:>'<:

Post scriptum:

Some reactions to this post .

1- Response on global voices
2- Reaction from Meknes: The morocco Report.
3- Driver himself

Reading discussion continued in Eatbees Blog.

Snow Exoticism.....

2007-02-03T06:00:00.000Z

It is finally snowing. la neige…

It s interesting to watch how people reacted to the lack of snow in new England. “let there be snow”, “let it snow”- signs on the streets.. and all the silent prayers that people whisper. we never saw this kind of weather foe last 100 years. walking in small towns at this time of the year when it is all cold. there is something missing. it is cold, yes but there is no snow and all the exotic pictures (see top right) of new england get disrupted. it is not as exotic as the text books of primary schools tell us.

in small school in the sahara desert of morocco. Ssi Mohamed , lmu3allim, was doing his best to teach French in a real French way. he was good about coming to terms with our abilities, as small berber kids from the other village, to speak while afraid . the Berber speaking part of the village. we were less smart and more backward than our little colleagues, the Arabic speaking little crowd. we picked Arabic quickly and with it all the exotic staff about france, england and the US of A as very powerful countries.

we learned the difference between “peu” and “pu” and all the nuance of the “u” pronunciation. and all the things round “é”. so we could pronounce la “neige” correctly. we never saw la neige. and we were not going to see it in our village. it just does not snow in the sahara deserts. fact. science.

as i walk in these little towns i am remembering how disappointing it is to my little mind to watch all this winter pass by without seeing the snow. i am sure people from here get disappointed as they hit the sahara, we all want the world to meet our little images. it is easier to disturb the world than our images about this world. it is better to cry over lack of snow when it is big and dangerous to think about global warming and how we messed up with the world wide weather.

Le dog de la queen

2007-02-01T23:08:00.000Z

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was said to be in "Robust health" today after it was revealed she suffered a hand injury following a bite from one of her own beloved Corgis.

The queen of England was trying to practice some conflict resolution skills when a fight erupted between her too dogs. (K9 website)

Well did she give up on doing that with humans. The whole situation led to her taking a tetanus shot just for further precautions. I wonder how many shots does the world need to take after being bitten by this beast of imperialism. I wonder how many barrels of tetanus do we al need and how many stitches does the world wide scar need.

I wonder how a royal dog lives. He definitely does not “lead a dogs life”(a life of misery, or of miserable subserviency) (read more)

It is all curieux to me that the quality of life is still talked about when there in not really a value in the first place. What are the people of remote places deep in the sahara or way up the Amazigh mountains.

I do not have anything against the dog nor do i have much to do with the queen. I do know what conflicts matter, and what dogs count.

God save the queen. Ad inser rebbi tagellidt.

Lounis Ait Menguellet

2007-01-29T03:04:00.000Z

A song for the morning...

Et la genocide continue

2007-01-28T06:39:00.000Z

Small children are dying everyday in morocco. ( as of today 30)

This outrageous killing quietness of the Moroccan government over the issues of peoples lives and deaths as well. in the last couple of months, a deadly wave of cold hovers over the atlas mountains and killed lots of people. according to most sources, 30 people have died and more are suffering. The dead were mostly young children.

Last Monday Jan 22, in response to a call from Amazigh militants of Rabat, more than 50 people gathered in front of the Moroccan Parliament to pay homage to the victims of a disease that is still mysterious today. More than 30 people, the majority of which are children less than one year old , have died… the Moroccan government, which has done absolutely nothing to help these victims the number of which keeps increasing.

Writes moha arehal.

This is an area, where Berbers live a life style that is sinking more and more under the standards of poverty. People are 'poor'. they once owned this land and helped the present rulers remain on the top. In a world where all climates are messed up, Berbers are left with an eternal confusion. Winters are colder then they had always been and all sorts of diseases and maladies brought by this world they like to call “modern”. It is a ruthless beast moving to devour everyone. Talk about global warming and all the other issues round it. what the Moroccan gov would never understand is that things do not happen by themselves. Our politicians are directly implicated in the deaths of the children of Anefgou. They have a hand in the genocide. Of course this is not a new thing. It has happened and still in happening to the indigenous peoples everywhere in the world. When ethnocide do not work for them they are going to start all sorts of genocides hoping one day these Berbers would just perish and disappear so the arabo-islamic demagogues can talk about them as people of past times. And this is not right. Amazigh people have survived all the genocides of the past, but now things are different, there is a huge beast involved now and the threat is much bigger. It is not just a bunch of pan-arabs fighting for seats in the parliament so they could still hold hands with the Saudi emirs and get some petrodollars out of it. now the threat is universal and it is affecting every single person in the poor sides of the world, say the majority of the world.

How many “natural” disasters does it take for our representatives to understand it is not “natural”? how many children do we need to loose for them to see that this is a genocide and it is not natural and not normal.

( watch video)

DON'T TALK ABOUT JOKES....

2007-01-28T05:40:00.000Z

- Should Moroccans laugh or talk about jokes ? >>

Nichane ( As is, Directly, Straight forward) Magazine banned over religious jokes a few weeks ago raises questions of political reform Morocco likes to sell. Nichane Magazine tells stories "as they are told by moroccan". Ksikes says the police should arrest all the Moroccan society for producing these jokes. it is high time Moroccan gov , pulled themselves together and understood these ways belong to olden times. Our society has suffered injustice for centuries.
Jettou reproduces the same old fears of transcription. Why is it an issue when things are written or transcribes? Moroccan have been producing jokes about Allah, the king, Mohamed, Ali Baba, Jommani, the train, shoes, toilet paper, potato chips….etc and their wit is not going to stop as long as they are Moroccans.
If it is offending to some people now that they are written in Nichane , i am wondering if they are discovering them for the first time. emm are you Moroccan. Where were you when they are being said on the streets. May be you were in Saidi of on Bariz enjoying your Martinis. Come on. This is really shameful.
I am just upset with the mentality of offence and banning.
Some more details read.

Moroccan ID

2007-01-24T16:39:00.000Z

bloging for freedom and ID cards,
this is an old story but it is always surpriaing to me how the moroccan Dakhilia ( interior) can never get rid of its Basri habits. who is enolved in the project of cards and all that. Thales group. what is the story. some time ago.

there was hope....

2007-01-22T05:27:00.000Z

after Nichane , it is le journal hebdo harrassed all the time by the moroccan authorities.
the story of Aboubakr Jamai stepping down to protect le Journal you read here.
well it is really a pity that the gov is doing all this at a time when people started thinking there might be some hope in the air. now freedom of spech gets safocated again and ther is no hope.

Jean Michel Jarre in the Desert of Morocco II

2006-12-17T23:41:00.000Z

Water for Life is a mega concert eld in merzouga last night. these are the first few minutes.Thank you DrEsfea. enjoy.

a few fotos about an opening of an art show...

2006-12-13T07:30:00.000Z

Art Show opening

2006-12-13T07:19:00.000Z

shee tsawer

2006-12-11T05:01:00.000Z

Invitation

2006-12-10T18:59:00.000Z

Jean Michel Jarre in the Desert of Morocco

2006-12-04T21:36:00.000Z

Jean Michel Jarre, French singer, sings on the dunes of Merzouga, Sahara morocco on the Dec 16. two weeks from now with a selection of Moroccan singers and musicians on in program called Water for life
Check the official web site for more info (www.concert-merzouga.com, Available in French)

Student's art shocks KSC officials, students

2006-12-04T17:27:00.000Z

Keene – A surprise display of an art student's protest project portraying a bound woman hanging by a noose, intended to bring awareness to gender violence, shocked college officials and students at Keene State College yesterday morning.
read more

Art Show

2006-11-27T04:11:00.000Z

Why isn’t the world a great place.

2006-10-15T06:09:00.000Z

Perfect denial:

Yes it is a great place. From Vermont to all the other places. There are millions of places that we can enjoy. Seas, deserts and rain forests. Waterfalls and snow mountains. great architecture. Oops that is may be the start of less enjoyable places. But what is wrong with great big humanguetarious buildings and great human oeuvres. They did it and they could. But how? And who built the great pyramids. And the great walls of china and Palestine and the other airports.

Building is great and it reflects greatness of humans. Their ability to oppress each other and use them to allude to how big we want to be. there are walls in the southern US of A. walls to prevent any intrusion from the south. The same walls are reproduced in southers Spain, on Moroccan soil. In Seuta and Mellilia. The two Moroccan cities still colonized by Spain. What an shame that is more than just architectural. More money for the walls. Spain is adding more cement and concrete.. may be it is the great desire to be walled in and wall out the rest.

The world in not a great place any more as long as there are walls every where and as long as politics walls our and our brains.

Not much

2006-10-10T04:06:00.000Z

Not much
I a have not been writing much in this blog but i think i will make it a weekly blog so i am not messing round with anything. i will be doing the blog thing every souk day.
Thi week started with a little fund raising thing in Putney school. i was not aware if the existence of a school like this is rural Vermont. A very expensive high school. check it out.
School and all te other details. I will leave out most of the high school stories to tell my grand kids so they can blog them out to you.
Keep it up….

Ramadan that ‘does’.

2006-10-03T22:14:00.000Z

It is Ramadan and it looks a little different on this side though. Moroccan Ramadan and that of other countries can get a little confusing to some head. Religion or culture. Well it is al about religion here. “All that ye humans do is for thy selves except Ramadan ye do it for me” said Allah.( my translation)

Her in Vermont. There is a small muslim community. Almost a few people from 'areas diverse'. Africa to south asia. Most of these people are students or faculty from SIT or Marlboro. Prayers of Friday take place mostly at SIT meditation room. Ramadan in just another month. I do not personally have problems with that.

In Morocco it is a real month. A culture. A do it and be proud. For sure productivity goes a little lower but we do not talk about that. There is a nuance tp that and the gray round it is we are going to start thinking islam. We will stop drinking beer 40 days before Ramadan and we would have a day for that. Shaabana. D-day. Yes. And we would get drunk during that day. We take this day more seriously in Marrakech. We try n Casablanca. Gender segregates drinking in many other areas. We segregate the two major genders anyway.

Hotels still serve our beloved tourists. Who observe us observing sidna ramadan.

Our nights are the best. Yeh. Grown ups filling there sebtis after a bowl of harira. Deep puffs of pure kif and ktamiya tobacco. A ritual that a lot of Moroccans do not bother to observe any more but it is a classic ritual. I wonder if this is all dying because of the anti-drug movement and the rage of destroying kif crops that is taking place everywhere in morocco now.

Ramadan mubarak to all those who and those who-not.

Microsoft Arrests Moroccans

2006-09-13T20:03:00.000Z

August 25,
Those are called criminals and may be terrorists. Moroccans who like to go to cybercafés and catch up with tech they never study at school.
Farid Sebar arrested by Moroccan authorities, requested by FBI and Microsoft. more (FR)
…Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft, said the company’s ongoing partnerships with global law-enforcement authorities help ensure that when malicious code such as Zotob and Mytob is released, that information is shared rapidly to help law enforcement identify and hold cybercriminals accountable for their actions and help protect customers.
“We congratulate the Turkish and Moroccan authorities and the FBI for finding and apprehending the alleged authors and distributors of the Zotob and Mytob worms so quickly,” Smith said. “This arrest demonstrates the value of public-private collaboration — the first-class investigative work by the authorities and round-the-clock technical and investigative support provided by our Internet Crime Investigations Team here at Microsoft. The results show clearly that cybercriminals will be identified, apprehended and held accountable for their actions.” more (ENG)

Nude VT

2006-09-04T13:48:00.000Z

This summer, a group of teenagers has disrobed near restaurants, bookstores and galleries, igniting a debate about whether this bohemian southern Vermont town should ban a practice that has been tolerated until now. more

Holding back

2006-08-05T05:21:00.000Z

You can hold back from suffering of the world , you have free permission to do so, and it is in accordance with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could have voided.

Franz Kafka

peace is not a game

2006-07-25T00:57:00.000Z

Lebanon and Israel Facts that the Media Isn't Telling You

2006-07-22T06:07:00.000Z


Here are some background the facts about Lebanon, Israel, Gaza Hezbollah and the Palestinians Noam Chomsky reveals facts like the abduction of the two Gaza civilians June 24, BEFORE the Israeli soldiers were captured. Learn the background that the mainstream media doesn't report. Help get the word out http://www.representativepress.org/ Tags: Lebanon Israel Gaza Hamas Hezbollah Chomsky

Hot and yellow in Merzouga

2006-07-20T16:31:00.000Z

the situation in Merzouga Morocco is still yellow and hot.
Yellow: tents where more than 300 families live. in the upper part of the town
Hot: who does not know how it feels under a yellow plastic tent in summer in the desert. in numbers it means: 50 C or more than 130 F.
People are listening to what is going on in Lebanon with the arrogant Israeli invasion

Diversity at SIT, a school in VT.

2006-07-18T00:37:00.000Z

War is stupid

2006-07-17T05:42:00.000Z

The war is happening again in Lebanon. And the world is watching all the families and all the kids being killed with “illegal weapons” and burnt alive with fire. And their homes bombed. The big G8 is watching. Well the news in the US of A is considering talking about it. maybe one day they will may be not. But this is a conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. As is. And al the massacres will be there again just like in Rwanda and Kosovo and earlier in time in old Germany.
The UN has no hands no power to say anything. Mr. Anan is trying to advise that war is bad for you. Poor UN person. On the mean wile children and civilians are being slaughtered by the war machine of Israel.
I do not understand how ruthless can this be. it is not politics anymore it is the blood and the slaughter that needs to stop. Fuck the politics i do not give a shit to politics, i cre about the children and the old folks being burnt to death wile every one else is doing their week end shopping in Wal-Marts and Targets and seeping their hot cafes in Paris and Rome.
After all this ends they will of course try to work on issues of trauma and conflict resolution and conflict transformation. Who gives a shot to all the rotten psychologies when people loose their families and their land if not their lives.
Israel and Hezbollah and all the others should really shut it up and let people alone. People are tired of all these massacres. We are tired of all this politics of death and stupidity.