Filed under: Filmmaking, Politics, Uncategorized | Tags: Amnesty, blogging, expression, freedom
This video is another project I made for my filmmaking studies at the SAE Institue in Amman.
The TV ad is for a hypothetical campaign by Amnesty International Organization promoting freedom of expression through blogging.
Needless to say, In principle I am absolutely against all kinds of death penalties as I believe it is a criminal way of dealing with crimes and that “the end doesn’t justify the means” Ever.
I also think that it is inhumane to show executions on TVs and that such an act is just too inconsiderate for human right; if not the human who is being executed then the other millions who watch television.
However, if I was to declare a “Holy War” against the death penalty and make it my cause I would never -not for a single moment- consider Saddam Hussein to be my case for the defense.
According to official figures more than 40 people were executed in Jordan since 2000. At least 10 people were put to death last year. If we assume that the most dangerous one of them killed 20 and presumably most of the people who are whining about Saddam generally support the death penalty either for religious reasons or for “logical” ones. Then it would seem “logic” enough to execute who was responsible of killing thousands in cold blood.
Putting all of this aside, it just amazes me how suddenly Saddam has become a “martyr” and “the hero of the nation”. Maybe “amaze” is not accurately the right word as a lot of people declared seeing Saddam’s face on the moon in 1990. But it is actually interesting how Arab Nationalists and their “brotherhood” friends (and I still don’t get this weird friendship) keep on amazing us by their double standards.
What’s ironic as well is how a lot of people become really creative when it comes to giving reasons for their objections against this execution in particular;
“…did they have to execute him on the day of the Eid!?”
“This is humiliating! They shouldn’t have hung him. He’s a military man he should have been shot to death instead”
..etc.
I’m not judging the man, no one has that right to take away other people’s life, I’m just asking ourselves to get real.
“Pity the nation that acclaims the bull as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful”.
“ويل لأمة تحسب المستبد بطلاً, وترى الفاتح المذل رحيماً”.
My heart is bleeding for Lebanon..
watching news from lebanon is becoming a source of desperation for me..
where is the Lebanon that I know?
Lebanon the “piece of heaven”…
Lebanon the “green and beautiful”…
Lebanon the “unwrapped gifts”…
Lebanon of Gibran, Said Aqel and Fairouz..
Lebanon my source of inspiration..the essence of culture, freedom and arts in the east…
where is that Lebanon now? what the hell have they done with it?
I see nothing but wreckage and piles of death.
I won’t waste my time blaming Israel…since I didn’t expect less brutality…
But I will definitely blame Hizballah for giving Israel the “invitation” they’ve always wanted to destroy lebanon…
I blame them for being so irresponsible and short-visioned…
I totally blame them for making the lebanese blood that cheap…
I blame them for suiciding Lebanon’s economy, tourism and urbanism…
But I hate to say that the Z-ideology is still walking around..Zarqawi was not just an individual..he was a by-product of many Zarqawis and a producer of even Zarqawier Zarqawis..
The problem is that he was one..they are many..
He was identified..but they are anonymous..
many of them might not have beards and they might not be living in Iraq or Afaghanistan but they are definitely somewhere, intoxocating other people with the same rotten dogmas. those are the ones of whom we should be aware.
Imam Ali once said: “If poverty was a man I would have killed him”
It’s a shame that poverty is not a man…neither is ignorance..neither is terrorism.
Now what!?
Has Hassan Nasrallah become some sort of an immaculate god or something?
Is it ok now to ctriticize everyone but him?
Putting aside what my personal opinion of Hassan Nasrallah and Hizbullah party/militia is, I cant but recall a local proverb that pops into my mind : elli biddo da7 ma bi2ool 2a7 (something like: who wants to wear cool clothes shouldn’t complain about the chill).
when a man, any man (or a woman by the way) chooses to deal with politics, he should expect to be subjected to critisism, opposition or parody. enno hek.. c’est la vie! maybe it’s not written in any constitution or holy book but it’s like a natural law.
you can’t polticize the way you want and then just expect everyone to say: “hail!” just because you wear a cloth around your head.
you can’t name your party after God and claim that he’s always on your side.
I think it’s time we realized how much offence confusing politics with religion has done to both of them through history.
It’s time we expected polititians to stick to their politics and clerics to stick to their religions (full stop)
Filed under: Politics
You know..like who can predict what would a turkish official say about Cyprus and Kurds?!
maybe they should’ve invited other people to talk about isuues that are equally interesting; maybe Baathists to talk about Shias in South Iraq, or Nazis to talk about the Holocaust. Why not the Irguns to talk about Deir Yassin or PLOs to talk about the Damour massacre..
unfortunately the organizers were definitely unaware of all the possibilities they had to make the lecture a “once in a lifetime”!
they should’ve asked him to talk about the Armenian Genocide as well…
in that case I would never missed that lecture!*
“What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand”.
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* April 24th : Armenian Genocide anniversay
Filed under: Politics
It’s interesting how people may have different reactions toward different situation that varies in importance which might usually be contradicted to what they might have always expected.
oh..you didn’t get me..
well..neither did I..
then allow me to elaborate..
like when the majority of the Jordanian parliament (which is believed to be a symbol of freedom and democracy), rejects canceling article 340 of penal code that has to do with honor killings.
Or when some members of the same parliament (who happened to be from the opposition) requests to ban two Arabic singers from entering Jordan (not that I’m a fan of any of the so-called singers) but it just seems absurd when such an act of banning and censorship comes out from the same people who always whine about their “censored right of freedom of expression“.
Now why don’t we have a glimpse across the river..
When people of the west bank votes with their “free” will to candidates of a particular party. Few weeks later the “freely democratically elected council” bans a summertime music festival.
examples are all around us..and we’ve got to live with them..
or just laugh about them..
personally..I choose to laugh
liberty (silkscreen) 2006
