IRAQ: FIVE YEARS PASSED

Last month marked five years of American presence in Iraq. After watching three of the most important buildings in America topple, citizens of the most powerful country in the world wanted revenge for these horrific acts. Many in the United States were swept up in the fervor of Bush’s “axis of evil” and became convinced by the administration that an invasion of Iraq would help prevent such attacks in the future.

Five years later the world is as dangerous a place as ever and the Middle East hasn’t been this turbulent since Lawrence of Arabia. In a speech that was prepared for the anniversary’s date, President Bush said, “Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision – and this is a fight America can and must win”...

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RELIVING SPAIN’S MOORISH HERITAGE AT PETRER

We were in high spirits as, with my wife Freda and two daughters, Muna and Leila, I drove from Alicante that May day, through rice fields and orchards, first introduced and planted by the Arabs after their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, to attend the Moros y Cristianos Festival at Petrer or Petrel near Spain’s eastern coast. Rewardingly, our first sight was the Arab built fortress-castle overlooking the village. Was the festival to be held in and around this fortress? We did not know. However, we planned to find out...

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39 MONTHS IN SIBERIA - CHAPTER 8 - Morskoy Prospyect

Just before leaving for America in early June of 2002, I rented a flat on one of the main streets of Akademgorodok called “Morskoy Prospyect” (Boulevard of the Sea). An American couple, while working for the Peace Corp, had lived there. I knew them through NSU, so when it came time for them to leave, they told me their flat would be vacant, as they knew I had been looking for a place of my own. They gave me the name and number of a woman, Olga Volkova, who was handling the rental, since the owner of this flat was living in Moscow with her daughter and son-in-law...

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THE GREAT TRIP TO THE GLORIOUS AMERICA - Part 6 - Freeport: The City of Lincoln-Douglas Debate

It was approximately nine when we left the airport. It was dark outside. The van ride from the airport to Freeport was full of fun. Everybody was energized, screaming, dancing and making fun of each other. Everyone was full for excitement to discover this new part of the country. I personally had no idea about Freeport. I knew Chicago, its skyscrapers, Michigan lake and its emblematic personality Al Capone. I wanted to visit his home, listen to people talk about him and visit places where he used to go. I also knew that Chicago is compared to the biggest Moroccan city, Casablanca...


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SHANT FORGET THIS - The Life of a Shantytown at UCLA

Truthfully, I was pretty darn scared that it was going to rain. Regardless, rain or not, I was still scared; it was so cold. I remember calling a director of Hunger Project as well as of Habitat for Humanity, and asking if the event would still go on and the answer I got was “of course.”

“Of course,” I thought to myself, “what at a stupid question; shantytowns don’t just disappear because of the weather – they’re always there”...

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