The Dutch Experience

This is why we (Muslims) hate them, they can eat their own shit, or even 3 years old babies

So, the Jazz Cafe that I'm addicted to these days turned out to be the oldest Jazz place in Rotterdam (the Jazz city), and all the people who plays there are actually paid by the Dutch government to keep their bodies and our souls alive. It's actually a very unique place, as it's not a kiddish place with all youth-love-music-wanna-be's, and at the same time, it's not a 60's long black hats, pocket watches and monocles people either, though it's got very few out of these and those.
It's one of the very few places that I've appreciated for the type of music and art they provide, and it's even obvious from the musicians who play there that they're not money or fame seekers. They're people who play music JUST because they enjoy it.

If anybody is passing by the town one day, it's definitely a one worthy to visit.

"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." - Samuel Johnson.

I remember now when I was a kid and complaining to mom that one of our housekeepers is so dumb that you can tell him to do a thing hundreds of times, but if you don't show him the HOW, it's useless..........and still don't understand the gravity rules when putting shoes on the shoe holder. Mom was always saying, that she would prefer a dumb and honest housekeeper, then to be a smart and liar = thief

Finally, I have been watching this documentary after a long stay on my computer. I think if anybody will watch it, it'll be hard to watch the news again in the same way we used to. I mean we'll be watching the news and having in mind the pictures from this documentary that makes us raise a lot of doubts on what we watch or what's broadcasted.

From the film, Prof. Robert Jensen (Journalism, University of Texas-Austin, USA) said, "Israel is fighting in a war on two fronts. First, is military camaign being waged of the occupied territories against Palestinian people. Second, is PR campaign being waged here in US through the American media to ensure continuous support for Israel's occupation. In addition to military occupation in West Bank and Gaza, Israel is also involved in an ideologically attempts to occupy the American media!!".

Alon Pinka (Consul General for Israel in New York) said, "We're currently in a conflict with Palestinians.............engaging in a successful PR campaign is part of winning the conflict".

This is definitely a hell of a news!! Hakim will be singing at the ceremony for Nobel prizes, Holy Crap!!
Well, probably only Egyptians know that, but the kind of music that he plays in Egypt is always controversial, because it's vulgar and - used to be for very long time - the kind of music that truck drivers with wrapped sleeves and wet piece of cloth - usually torn - bound on their heads that are filled with hash-smoke and some booze ONLY!!

The British troops in Afghanistan are short of ammunition and equipment!!

Today I've recieved this e-mail from a friend headed (Urgent: ne mangez pas Mentos avec du Coca Cola):

"La semaine dernière un enfant est mort au Brésil après avoir bu de la Coca Cola et mangé des bonbons MENTOS en même temps.

Cela fait une année, le même accident s'est passé avec un autre enfant au Brésil...

Regardez les photos ci-joints pour voir la combinaison catastrophique des deux produits.

Take care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Well, according to my basic-human-knowledge, or at least as far as I know that "normal" human can't eat and drink at the same time. so, may be this is the reason that the kids died!! or may be if it was Cadbury with Red Bull, the kids would have died too.......or may be the warning should be like: Urgent, ne mangez et boirez pas en même temps.

The bayfest

New Year's eve in Egypt looks....rockin'

"A great society, is a place for every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind," Lyndon Johnson (1964)

I believe that there are 3 kinds of education systems, if you can imagine human's brain as a pot;
First: what can be called unfavourable education, and it's when you're trying to pour the knowledge in the pot, but the brain can't accept it.........the result is; it spill it out!!
Second: favourable education, which is when you pour the knowledge in the pot and it accept it........which is good
Third: is the type of education that can increase the volume of that pot - without necessarily filling it - to make sure that the person would seek the useful knowledge for himself, or to learn how to educate himself in the most convenient way.

Although, I'm not sure if Mr. Johnson actually meant that during his speech, but I believe that if this kind of education exists within any society, it's going to be a real great society, but unfortunately, it don't exist.

For the third day in row, the Dutch railway systems are experiencing some malfunctioning, after the death of a guy on Sunday, the flipping over of a train yesterday, today 2 trains collided together leaving at least 5 injured!!

After the terrific experience with Dutch trains yesterday, I've just read in the news that today there was another accident nearby Rotterdam's station and halted the traffic from and to the city, which meant that everybody who wants to come or to leave the city has to find him or herself another mean of transportation or go to a nearby city to catch the train from there.

Well, it was not that bad anyway. It was just that the passenger train hit a cargo train and few wagons went off-track and some others flipped over............you can even check the video over there

Another Dutch railway experience got reported in my life files:
my intentions on that day could be simplified in travelling from Amsterdam to Rotterdam by train, which is supposed to be an easy mission represented in riding a train that is DIRECT - don't need to change trains - and should be FAST - a "normal" direct train is an hour while the Stoptrein which is similar to (2ashash) in Egypt should be an hour and 20 mins - but it started when I asked the conductor if that train pointed at is actually going to Rotterdam, when he replied: may be sir, I'm not sure yet!!!! Me: sorry, trains normally have a destination, how about this one........him: yes, this one is "supposed" to go there, but there might some "inconvenience" and change the destination, but anyway, you can hop in that train and let's see what'll happen.........Me: cool, that's what you should do to reach a destination, ride in a train and start praying that it gets you to where you want!!

Well, during the troublesome journey, I've found the driver anouncing that there was a train that hit somebody on the tracks nearby Rotterdam and there're no trains heading there!!! SIGH.....my prayers didn't find a clear path to god......but then, how can I get back home?! Well, the driver started explaining the procedure of getting to Rotterdam that it includes getting off at the first station and changing 4 other trains and arriving after 3 hours - with one hour more than what the original train should have taken - but at the end, should be thankful that I've arrived on the same day to the required station.

Well, being Egyptian, born and almost raised in Egypt, led the biggest part of my life in Egypt and specially Cairo, and lived/living in an international environment has pushed me to develep a concept of an anti-Egydology-conspiracy-theory's theory, which can be briefed in:
- Not believing that all the wrong-doings of the whole world are initiated by Jews
- The Egy government is not that bad as everybody's thinking, but they're "challenged" either from outside or inside the country, by either "people who want to destroy the country for the benefit of their politics or country/ies" (and this is actually part of the Egydology-conspiracy theory), or "the elite Egyptians and intellectual people who love the country and want to improve it but can't see deeper beneath the shallow surface"
- The Egy government's campaign against the what's so called "Muslim Fundamentalists" that started very long time ago because their ideologies are a threat against the progress of the country, is actually not that bad........it's true that it's violating the fundamental human rights and may be animal rights too, but if you know what kind of damage such people may cause, you "may" realise that the government's counter-action against them isn't that bad

I'm totally against what - for example - some Mid-eastern governments are practicing from an anti-Islamic attitude, like tracing the people who goes often to pray in mosques and interogates them, or running brothels - though against the culture - just to push the people to be anything that's not related to Islam and losing their identity!! but at the same time, I've seen couple of examples in Egypt of people who "looks like" fundamentalists - wearing shorter pants, having big beards, and a bigger kippots on their heads and having an angry face or so called in Egypt (111 meya we7dashar), and they actually went for interrogations for couple of hours being suspected for terroristic activities, but nothing harmful happened to them............and this actually supported the third point of my theory, but it was very healthy for me having a brilliant discussion about that with Luliand Arthur and quite challenging for my views, but reading this article today about Hasan or abu-Omar who nobody knows where he's now, the Italian Military Chief got sacked, the Italian Civilian Intelligence Chief got sacked, and a scandal is going in a triangle of Italy, Egypt and US because of this guy without anybody - at least I've not seen any news in Egypt about him - knowing anything about this guy in Egypt!!

Well, again I know that our lovely Egy culture of blowing everything up and exaggerating that takes place in all such events that made me, not to rely on - in getting facts and knowledge - media (including movies, news and journalism), or word of mouth..........and we've seen a lot of examples about that, and I wouldn't get surprised if the late incident of women assaults that derived 200 people to make a demonstration in Cairo, would turn out to be one of those nosey-bored-kids gatherings, that we've experienced when we happened to be in schools, specially after watching the "horrible" movies and "sickening and disgusting" photos of the incident........and with the fact that Egyptians really love practicing their favourite hobby of making up big stories out of almost nothing!! but the problem that many believe it

Sad but true

Well, some friend has forward me this amazing web/blogthing that are cool things to discover about yourself......my problem that I can easily get addicted to that shit, specially that it worked right for 2 tests so far!!! yeah, couldn't hold myself for the past hour more than that :D

You Are a Kinetic Learner

You learn best by doing, and you have a talent for complicated, physical tasks. You excel at athletics, drama, and fixing things. You would be an excellent Olympic athlete - or a Broadway star!

Soooo, this means that what I'm doing/studying to be doing in the future is totally useless.......well, I've felt that too, but with the possibility of me being an Olympic athlete decayed for sometimes after trying several sports teams and screwed my body bones all the way from the thigh till my toes, but Broadway star still may work.......does anybody know any Broadway-stars-discoverers

Helsinki Complaints Choir

I don't wanna try to imagine how long Cairo's shud be!!

When everybody's saying what you're doing is wrong means that you're absolutely wrong.........or absolutely RIGHT

P1 was calling P2 over his cell;
P1: where are you?
P2: I'm driving on route 280
P1: watch out.......I was just hearing on the radion that there's a mad guy driving on the wrong direction on route 280
P2: Crap...there many of them!!

Well, asking me about leading a "normal life" is the very wrong thing, as I don't believe that there's something called so..........talking about that issue with Yanni one day when we're waiting for someone in a park on an early-shiny Saturday morning watching few couples walking around with their kids hanged over their bikes, or stapled to their backs;
Yanni: gosh, I can't imagine myself being like that - pointing at a dad with a kid over his neck and other 2 trailing him - one day, starting a "normal life"
Me: hold on, what's a "normal life"? there's not something called so, it's just the routinic-boring system that people created
Yanni: man, a normal life is finishing your studies, getting a job, having a wife, raising kids, preparing for retirement.........
Me: ......and going everyday for work, doing the same things, then caring about kids going to school, debts, payments, maintaining the car, watering the back green.......Holy crap, are you studying for your Masters to end-up like that??!
Yanni: I don't know!! I just can't believe that I'll end up one day like that....don't you?
Me: I don't care about what people call "normal" or "abnormal".....or at least if I did, I wouldn't end up here at this place!! I just care about what suits me and what I like without affecting the surrounding and the other people
Yanni: that's good, I do the same........but how would you imagine yourself in 10 years time?
Me: well, I don't imagine myself......that's the difference
Yanni: I like that......I shouldn't think in the old radical way too

Couple of weeks later, was passing by Yanni's room when I've glimpsed loads of books and CDs on the floor.......checking them closely, all were about learning Chinese, working in China, travelling trips to China, Chinese stories

Me: Yanni.....are you going thru a China-fication process?
Yanni: almost......I'm planning to go to China after my studies
Me: but why China?
Yanni: you remember the "normal life" conversation that we had?! I discovered that I'm interested in living in China and learning about the Chinese culture........I'm going to live there for sometime
Me: have you found a job there?
Yanni: no, I'll start soon looking for one
Me: bless your soul

They call it Technical error, Humanity call it Genocide!!

I heard this expression before when I was installing a program on my computer in the university and the computer malfunctioned, and the technical support guy was trying to explain me the problem as a "Technical problem" and since then, the term was accompanied in my head when a computer die, but have never imagined that it can be used when 18 people die!!

So, are we heading to a new era of cultural conflicts or what??!
was reading some parts of the book by Huntington called The Clash of Civilisations, when suddenly everybody started talking about the comic movie Borat by Cohen which is poking fun at Kazakhstan, the country that people don't know much about, if they know in which continent it's in!!
Well, if you don't know that, this country hosts one of the oldest-still-surviving nation in the whole world, and they were the first people to domesticate horses, but anyway, though there's obviously no relation between the country dominated by muslims, and the origins of Cohen, as coming from an Orthodox Jewish family with being half British, half Israeli native, except from the conspiracy-theory-mentalitised people.

Was having a discussion with a friend couple of days ago, about the cultural understanding issue, when she said that the world is getting smaller and the cultures are getting closer, because of the knowledge sharing and easier travelling facilities, but I've a different point. I think that the physical distances are getting closer but the mental distances are getting vaster, as people can know more and easier about other cultures, but the appreciation for other cultures is demolishing!!

It's really weird observing how the cultural clashes are taking a dangerous grip in our daily lives that reached an extent that a Cheap comedian is poking fun in a mockumentary movie with outrageous, sexist, racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic comments!!
Well, I've not seen the movie, and frankly speaking, I would never pay a penny in watching such movie, specially after watching his performance in MTV's music awards ceremony, with cheap comedy acts.........but anyway, may be I'll join the Russians and watch it online FREELY!!

P.S.: if you're not familiar with that, the expression of anti-Semitism is widely understood/mis-understood as anti-Jewish, but it's obviously not related to Cohen's Jewish origins.

This sounds like a good argument;

P1: Are we defined by our past experiences, or by our moment-to-moment existence?
P2: We're defined by our past. That's what we use to filter and interpret our current existence.

P1: But it's a two way street. We constantly re-evaluate our view of the past based on our current experiences as well.
P2: So, would you prefer being in a country with a super-rich-metaphoric cultures and traditions with dumb people, or progressive people with no culture or traditions

P1: Neither!! it should be the compilation of both
P2: WELCOME TO PLANET EARTH........CHECKING,,,CHECKING,,,,,CHECKING........SORRY THERE'S NO PLACE FOR YOU

Have never thought about that......but what does it mean, when you start bouncing - out of happiness - when you get a phone call from your house's landlord telling you that he's going to fix the heating system - hot water and heating - today, though you're so sure that it's not gonna happen this week??!!!!
or when you walk around with a big stupid smile on your face, just because you heard some rumours that one of your problems may get solved within couple of weeks??!!

or when you feel relieved telling a person you don't know about all your problems??!!!
or when you feel like kicking Yanni's butt - my housemate and intimate friend - 'cause over 2 days he has used a lot of my personal stuff without telling me and finishing them, and making a mess in the kitchen just after cleaning it, or mis-using internet - I don't know if watching online cartoon movies would be considered as a normal usage of shared internet - and screwing my connection while in urgent need of it........and after that you feel as if nothing happened by chatting for 10 mins???!!!

I think the only description for this phenomenon is called - by normal people - misplaced stupidly happiness, but I call it standing in a corner pointing at life and murmeling hehehe you can never put the smile off my face :)

Well, being on a supposedly-MyFutureCareer-milestone crossroads, and to be honest it's not the FutureCareer's problem as much as the "Place" problem, cos being humble toward the place and picky about the description don't make it any easy, but makes me feel like "el-far7'a el-day7'a" or litterally translated the dizzy chicken - and it's dizzy because it's running in circles.
However, this may sound not related, but spending a day with some Egyptian friends in Sincity - sometimes known as Amsterdam - and another day with them in lovely Rottendam - it don't stinks, but just the fact that it's raining all the time makes the streets look algae-greenish - really helped and though might seemed paradoxically confusing for me, but helped a lot in thinking of my future plans......though was refreshing my Egyptianity and Egyptianism.

Well, after the amazing mid-eastern dinner that the LC members invited me last Tuesday......and it was amazing not because of the food, well the food was good too concerning that more than half of the menu were Egyptian food mis-spelled or pronounced in a funny Dutch way.....but the most amazing thing was meeting the new SNs (potential Dutch trainees) and holding couple of interesting talks either from their sides asking about different cultures and specially Egyptian and Emirati, or about the Dutch culture.
Well, it's not a secret anymore that Dutch are cheap........but it's surprising that some Dutch when they hear that they start saying....yeah, it's the Brits' fault, when we're fighting against them, they said such rumours about US!!
Today, after having lunch in my company, everybody was leading a conversation in Dutch about Sinterklaas and Xmas, when my boss started singing some Kids songs, and after then was the explanation that these songs are sang in one Dutch TV show by one guy, it's kind of funny/sarcastic/criticising the Dutch culture, and she gave the full translation for one of them, which says "Saint Martin, we know you're generous, we know what you did, when you've seen the poor cold guy, you've took off your coat and give it to him, we don't understand how you did that, but we'll never do that, may be we're from a different race but Hollanders (dutch from Holland part, west NL) would look how much the coat costs before doing this!!".
She then explained that the Hollanders are known by the rest of the Dutch that they're the cheapest, though the far eastern and southern Dutch are totally the opposite.
My boss is just amazing, she got a diverse and very wide knowledge of history and cultures, even about EGYPT!!

P.S.: Ubuntu is an African humanist ideology, and is a version of Linux

I've read about that long time ago, but actually nobody can prove if it's true or not!! but everytime I see a picture for "Statue of Liberty" of US, or it's mentioned that Americans should be proud of having Liberty as their symbol, it reminds me of the old story.
However it's hard to believe, but I was trying to look over random websites for the designing and construction dates, the guy who builded it, and it all raise more doubts!!
The old story says that the idea of building Statue of Liberty came to Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi during his visit to Egypt, before the opening of Suez Canal as he was de Lesseps's close friend, and he presented his plan to Ismai'l Pasha to build a giant lighthouse to be standing at the entrance of Suez Canal, patterned as the Roman goddess Libertas and to be offered from the people of France to Egypt as a gift on the incident of the official ceremony for the opening of the canal. The project was approved by Ismai'l Pasha except that he asked Bartholdi to modify the design to look like an Egyptian female peasant - fallaha - with the traditional long dress. To his fury, when the statue arrived at PortSaid's harbour, and Ismai'l Pasha discovered that the statue don't look like a fallaha, he decided not to accept the gift and to send it back to France, when Bartholdi decided to send it to US instead.