Good Deeds Are Hard-work

I went to the post office today to get a $900 money order, all in $20 dollar bills - the only headache I find in money. I prefer $100 bills because they’re easy to count unlike the $20 bills. Actually, the money wasn’t mine but my mom’s. So on my way to beat the 2pm bank deadline she hands me eight hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills which she never tells me the amount. I get to the bank at 1:59pm, making the same-day deposit deadline - I felt like I was in a movie, especially as I made my turn to the road the bank was located at a high speed, a damned cop was sitting at the traffic light which for a moment gave me heart-pounding few seconds.

After I finished with the bank I went to the post office to make the money order. I get in there and give the nice lady at the counter the money and tell her I don’t exactly know how much it is so count it carefully. She counted just like I did: 1, 2, 3,4,5 - $100, 1,2,…$100. The only thing this technique of counting results in is confusing, at least for me anyway. She finishes counting and says it’s $900. I tell her to count it again, but this time put each hundred dollar she counts on the counter so we know exactly how much there is. Before I finish, she mumbles something like ‘I counted 40 twenty dollar bills,” but I somehow only hear part of it and as she is not going to count it again, I leave it alone. I pay the fees and she gives me the money order but I’m still confused if the money was really $900 and not $800 as I suspect.

I take the money order and receipt and head for home, although in the back of my mind there is this feeling that I may have taken money that doesn’t belong to me. As soon as I drive home, I call my mom to ask her how much money she gave me but before she answer my question she manages to ask me why I didn’t count the money as she asked so I tell her that I was rushing when I left home so I didn’t get a chance to count it. I ask her again how much money she gave me and she says $800. Now clearly there is no doubt I’m taking money that doesn’t belong to me, I make a swift u-turn in the middle of the street to go back.  

I get back to the post office within minutes of leaving thinking the lady may have figured out the missing $100 but surprisingly she has not and I get in line for my turn. So when my turns comes I tell her in my nervous voice that I just realized her saying she counted 40 twenty dollar bills which is only $800. She goes ‘oh my god, you are right, I did say that.’ She takes out the now bundled money (which I think is USPS policy) and starts following standard operating procedure so I tell to just take the $100 from my debit card and leave at that. But she tells me that she has to follow the SOP and have to void my money order then make a new one for me. 

In the middle of redoing the money order she starts thanking me for saving her job and $100 from her pocket, which I didn’t even think about it at that time. After I left I realized that $100, had I kept it, could’ve ruin that lady’s life. Still, it doesn’t come natural to return a money that technically you didn’t steal, rob, or con. But good deeds are a hardwork indeed.

Useless Day

Does this ever happen to  other people: your off from work and school so you decide to do something you want to do, but end up doing nothing that’s neither useful or you want to do? How may times does this ever happen? 

When I woke up this morning I had plenty of things I wanted to do: read the Qur’an, go shopping for summer-ish cloth, and hang out with someone I care about. Instead, I spend my whole day arguing with a human wall who doesn’t understand that writing a letter to the United Nation’s Refugee Resettlement Agency on behalf of your crazy nephew in East Africa doesn’t bring them here. I have already written two e-mails on behalf of this boofis-consumed individual (I don’t know the equivalent word of boofis in English - but it’s a word Somalis use to describe someone who spends day and night talking, thinking, and dreaming about emigrating to the West), which has resulted in nothing.

So today, because of this guy’s boofis-induced state of mind that concocted wild story, I had to spend my whole day explaining at length and eventually writing the useless letter. I’m all for helping out someone who has a “case” that needs help with translation and bureaucracy stuff, but I absolutely resent being asked to do the same thing over and over again, which I know leads to nowhere. 

I’ve gone through the process myself like millions of people and I know it by heart but when this guy thinks that a letter written on behalf of him by his elderly aunt (in which she will say she’s willing to take the financial burden of the trip, blah blah) will magically bring him from Jomo Kenyatta to JFK, I feel angry and disrespected. Just listening to his logical thinking infuriates me. 

People who have boofis are obsessive compulsive on top of having all the psychological disorders found on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. I wasn’t doing for him but for his elderly aunt that happens to be my distant aunt. What is criminal about this guy is how he manipulates his elderly aunt day after day. I wish I still had my Mungiki connection so I can have him bumped off.

Did you know….

Until today, Nelson Mandela and Osama Bin Laden were equal in the eyes of the U.S. governmnet? That’s right, for nearly thirty years Nelson Mandela and his ANC party members have been on the U.S. terrorist list. What for, you may ask? Just fighting apartheid and its evil practioners.

Imagine that.

The West’s Crush on Mugabe

I’ve been reading the many articles that have been published since Friday’s Zimbabwe non-election election. Granted, Morgan Tsvangirai’s absence from the ballot is a clear indication that no election has taken place, yet what I’ve been reading about this in the West’s beyond absurd propagandist tabloid-coverage about Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe is even a bigger indication of a sustained and persistent attack on an independent country. I can’t fathom how the so called journalist covering Zimbabwe have convinced themselves that what they’re doing is actually a worth-while and in the interest of the public. Cut the bullshit.

As I have wrote before, Robert Mugabe is not serving in the interest of his people and his country - that has been going on for a while now so let’s take that off the table. But I refuse to be brain-washed and told what to believe about Robert Mugabe and his legacy in the fight against colonial punks who, not surprisingly, are behind the systemic efforts to demonize and eventually convince those of us who still have their independent thinking and choose to stand up to punks who use the pen as weapon of bullying. I refuse to accept Zimbabwe’s sovereignty be meddled in by neither agents of the British government or its mouthpieces: BBC, AP, NY Times, etc.

I don’t see eye-to-eye with Mugabe on most things, but I agree with him 100% everything he believes about the West, particularly those imperialist bloodsuckers at 10 Downing Street and its bully friends (including the press) everywhere. Reading these hate-filled propaganda leaflets makes me believe even more that Robert Mugabe’s suspicion about the West is as just true as it was in the 19th and 20th century. Sometimes it takes a semi-sane man to shout continuously what has always been right in front of us: Europe is at where it is today because it has plundered Africa’s resource during colonial Europe and after independence - it was just more careful in hiding its activities in Africa after independence, thanks to the countless wars and coup d’état Europe and America created and funded for years and still continue to do so. What a brilliant disguise to turn the ‘natives’ against each other while stealing the continent’s riches. I digress…

One of the propaganda talking-points that kept coming up almost in every story was the fake-outrage over the silence of African leaders, in particular the clear rejection of the propaganda whores’ demonization of Robert Mugabe by the African leaders. When Nelson Mandela spoke out late last week, the whores of imperialists were shocked to learn that Mr. Mandela’s criticism was only limited to the election and the violence that surrounds it, not what they had fantasized about. And earlier in the week Mr. Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki, essentially gave the West the middle finger and told them to back off. This might be surprising to these assholes but all African leaders (whether elected or not ) know this propaganda is intended to essentially return Zimbabwe in the hands of the neocolonialists.

Just as I always write at the end of these types of posts, my defense of Robert Mugabe is limited to his fight against foreign and neocolonialism domination in his country, just as I would defend every people’ right to self-determination without interference from anyone, anywhere, at anytime. With that said, Robert Mugabe probably does have blood on his hands. Then again, so are those who are trying to destroy him.

UPDATE: Here’s an example of the British government mouthpiece’s spin on Desmond Tutu’s recent comments about Zimbabwe, “I think that a very good argument can be made for having an international force to restore peace,” which magically turns up in this headline as: Tutu Urges Zimbabwe Intervention. They don’t even try to ‘hide’ their propaganda bullshit. But if you read just a paragraph below, you will see Morgan Tsvangiria distancing himself from the war drumbeats of the British Bastard Corporation and prefering to take out Mugabe through his party’s majority seat in parliament and ‘political’ pressure, even if that means allowing Mugabe to be ceremonial head of state. It takes a smart man to recognize bringing in foreign occupiers to your land is not in the best interest of your people and sovereignty. Just as Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga settled their differences through dialoge and compromise, there is no reason why Mugabe and Tsvangiria can’t do the same.

Study Abroad

I’m zeroing on my study abroad destination, although I’m still hesitant and feel as if I’m about to tie the knot. I always knew Rio De Jenero wasn’t going to happen, but the thought of it was just too damn dreamy. I can’t believe there is only one program in the entire MIddle East. Imagine that. Africa does a little better with three programs in Ghana, Namibia, and of course South Africa, which I have designated as ‘places not to go to’. I don’t have anything against my South African brothers but the way things have been going on lately, I’m afraid my nomad ass will be mistaken for a shop owner.

That leaves only Ghana and Namibia to choose from the motherland. Namibia’s program is A) in the summer and B) is either for science-y majors or parks/recreation and tourism majors. I wonder why would someone want to go to Namibia of all places to study tourism. I mean, I didn’t even know ‘tourism’ was a major not that long ago. As for Ghana, there is one excellent program that I can choose but I’m not sure if the little comforts I clearly enjoy now will be available, like a reliable electricity, an internet connection, and a food that is not fufu.

But then again, my major isn’t exactly going to take me to a posh office in NY or a business meeting in London. 

What’s Wrong in the World

A painting of Monet sells for $80 million dollars and an incompetent writer is honored (whatever knighthood is) for defaming a holy book, yet we wonder what is wrong with our world. No painting or piece of artifact should sell that much money when so many people are dying from the lack of food. Instead of being ‘honored’, Salman Rushdie should have his books burned. 

It is just amazing the extremes we humans are capable of. 

World Refugee Day

Sometimes we’re so busy that we forget who we are and where we come from -the essentials that make us who we are. By all indication today seemed just another day for me - until I learned just few minutes ago that today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. How can I forget who I am? How can I forget the millions of people who have been forced to become refugees. Sometimes we humans forget who we are if we stay a place for too long.

I will always feel refugee until the day I can go back to where I’ve come from without fearing anyone. Yet I know I’m one of the very few lucky ones who have gotten a second chance on life. But it’d be irresponsible for those of us who have gotten a chance to forget those unfortunate ones. At least we can remember them in thoughts, if we cannot help.

Believe in the Turks

I’ve been following Euro 2008 like the rest of the world except where I happen to live. I just finished watching the quarter final game between Turkey and Croatia. I’m still gasping for air after fifteen minutes. Croatia scores in the 118th minute out of possible 120 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute extra time. Croatia is beyond exuberant: coaches, staff, and players are hugging, jumping up and down, kissing - going absolutely crazy. The Turkish players are disheartened but not out. The Croatian players come back to the field just to knock around one more minute while imagining the taste of the champagne in the locker-room because they know they are moving to the semi-finals against Germany.

But the Turkish players had other ideas of their own - like tying the score in the next 1 minute and 30 seconds. Of course this seems impossible to the rest of those watching the game. The broadcaster starts to praise the Turkish players for their valiant efforts, overcoming the loss of their main goalkeeper in the last game, and the crushing loss of their superb Captain less than 10 minutes earlier to injury. It all seemed certain that the brave Turkish team was headed back to Istanbul, coming so close to reaching the semi-finals.

I don’t know what you would call what happened in the last 30 seconds of the game but one would have to consider the word ‘miracle’ and its definition in the dictionary. Perhaps feeling assured and too happy to pay attention, the Croatian defense utterly collapses, allowing The Turks to take one last desperate, almost hopeless chance and shot - Boom! Completing three for three come-from-behind victories. In the penalty kicks, the dynamics of the game was once-again in favor for the Turks - the Croatian team was devastatingly broken down, after we-can-reach-the-sky moments of 2 minutes earlier. From an extreme high to an extreme low in the space of 2 minutes, it took its toll on the Croatian team.

On the other end, the Turkish team was on top of the football universe, despite knowing that if they go to the quarter finals they will not have 4 of its starters including its captain plus their main goalkeeper. But they had momentum, six thousand kilowatts of energy, and the endless possibilities…

Turkey goes three-for-three on the penalty kicks while their goalkeeper saves Croatia’s last desperate penalty shot. How did they do it? Perhaps pure luck, determination, and persistence. Perhaps not. Regardless of how the Turks did it, no screen writer could even have come close to imagining the ending of this game. Yet it happened in real life. Believe in the Turks, I’d say. 

M. Night Shyamalan Must Die

Although I consider myself as a movie aficionado, I never take the time out to write a movie review on this blog. That changes today. Over the weekend I saw The Happening, the new M. Night Shyamalan movie, who is known for making “horror” thrillers. I have to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on seeing this Happening. The only movie of Shyamalan I remember enjoying is The Sixth Sense, only because it had a nice twist at the end and all the symbolism he infused throughout the movie.

But watching The Happening was like a very tired person unable to sleep - waiting for something exciting to Happen for one hour and half, only to see the end credits roll. To his credit, he had a good premise - toxic air causing unexplained “happenings,” albeit a laughable Happenings. But having a science teacher as the main character (Mark Walhberg) and not having him do anything remotely science-y is just absurd and insulting to the audience. Without exaggeration, this is the worst horror/thriller movie I have ever seen and that just makes me want to kill M. Night Shyamalan since I can’t ask for a refund. 

My friend took me to see this film and paid for it but I couldn’t be more infuriated than if I had paid this Shamalam asshole my hard-earned money. He is a thief and the worst writer I have ever seen write multimillion dollar movies. What is more outrageous is how this con-man is allowed to make films while hundreds of fantastic scripts languish in some talented screenwriter’s hard-drive and a bigger number of gifted directors are out of work. I digress…

See The Happening only if you are a student of cinematography, which isn’t Shyamalan’s work; otherwise avoid This Not ‘Happening’ film at all cost. I guess this may arouse some people’s cat-like curiosity to see just how bad this movie is, but if this is the case, wait for the dvd release or google is at your finger tips. Use your imagination, my friend. 

And yes, M. Night Shyamalan Must Die. 

Here We Go Again

Just read a press release that announced the TFG and the opposition reached a “deal” in Djibouti. Ethiopia will withdraw its troops under two conditions: The fighting stops and a U.N. peacekeepers are deployed to Somalia, then, only then will Ethiopia draw its troops from Somalia AFTER the U.N. peacekeepers have already been on the ground for 4 months. 

All I have to say is “In Your Dream!”. 

The cool part is that none of the people who are ACTUALLY fighting Ethiopia and its puppet warlords have any clue what is going on in Djibouti, much less than sign a peace deal. So the international donors are duped into believing that the group who signed the “peace deal” are the representative of the Somali people’s struggle against Ethiopia/TFG and those who continue to fight after the “peace deal” are just a bunch of terrorists that will have to be eliminated at any cost - which of course you guys in the U.N. and U.S./European Union have to fund us to do so. Brilliant! But the thing is, I’ve seen this movie before - I wonder if the U.S./European Union and U.N. donors have? I’m sure a lot of us Somalis can read out loud the dialogues of this movie line by line by heart.

And the sad thing is those group from the opposition who signed this sham photo-op deal are going to get paid handsomely but it leads to a very weakened opposition and the only legitimate opposition against Ethiopia and its warlord thugs. I hate Abdullahi Yusuf, but as a student of political science, I have to admit he’s a brilliant son of a bitch. If only he used his gift for the good of his people.

Realizing Somalia will not get close to peace as long as Abdullahi Yusuf is alive, I’ve put my hopes on peace and stability only after Abdullahi Yusuf is dead and most of his fellow thugs are dead or in jail. I reckon that will take a long time, but I’m hopeful I’d live to see it.