Watch 'The Promise'

Len with members of Abu-Hassan's Family (Source: 4OD)

A must see four-part drama serial about Palestine and Israel between past and present.
Bear in mind that this is a DRAMA while watching. The collective story is an exaggerated scale of events based on true stories and historic records.

Staring Claire Foy (as Erin), Christian Cooke (as Len Matthews), Haaz Sleiman (as Omar Habash), Katharina Schuttler (as Clara Rosenbaum), Perdita Weeks (as Eliza Meyer), Ali Suliman (as Abu-Hassan Mohammed), and Itay Tiran (as Paul Meyer)

Written and Directed by Peter Kosminsky
Produced by Channel 4 in 2011
Duration: about 1hr 20mins each

Watch the serial on 4OD here

Juice Media's Rap News

This is a fantastic initiative by its founder Giordano Nanni and was established in 2008. Nanni was joined by lyricist Hugo Farrant and they both co-created the Rap News series, first broadcast in October 2009. The series is a well written critic of current political and social affairs. The episodes of Rap News are realised in a home studio, in Melbourne, Australia.

General analysis of the series;

• Each episode is about 6 minutes long
• The information in each episode is portrayed through the medium of hip hop/rap, rhyming verses, music, comedy, and satire.
• In almost every episode, the viewer is introduced to two or more points of view, usually on the opposite sides of the spectrum, then a conclusion that attempts to bring the main aspects of those two opposing views together. It also tends to expose the similarities between the two views explored on the pannel
• Episodes include animations and integrated/embedded screens

Main characters

• Robert Foster: show host / presenter and analyst. Foster's character is written by Nanni and Farrant and is said to be the embodiment of both their geniuses. Foster is played by Hugo Farrant. He wears thick glasses, an old-fashioned suit, and wears his hair long and loosely tied back. Main props: A mug.
• General Darth H. Baxter: generally represents the military and any institution linked to the government and/or has a right-wing appeal. Baxter wears a military uniform, a military helmet, and big shades (and a moustache in later episodes), and is played by Farrant. Main props: a Bible (and sometimes a weapon).
• Terence Moonseed: a hippy, occultist, planet(s) lover, and believer of extra-terrestrial existence. Moonseed is played by Farrant and usually wears a dusty-white suit and a golden head-band. He's got a big red moustache, beard, and masses of hair. Main props: varies from one episode to the other.
• Assange: played by both Farrant and Nanni (I also suspect that the actual Assange was a guest on a couple of episodes, though Nanni does a good impersonation of him)

The series is absolutely hilarious, but genius and some-what dark. It is a very good piece of journalism done in a viewer friendly and entertaining manner.

Here is the latest episode from the Rap News series;

Enjoy and may the Thoughts be with you!

"Not Only Do We Google You, We Read Your Emails, Too!"

These are the accounts of Najwa Doughman and her friend Sasha Al-Sarabi, two American citizens with Arab descent, who were denied entry into Israel through Tel Aviv airport.

Sasha and Najwa (source: Mondoweiss)

"We had not committed any crime. Our only sin was being born to Arab parents. It was then that we realized what a sheltered life we had lived. We had always read about racial profiling and heard accounts from family members and friends in college. We always sympathized and were infuriated by it, but never had we felt it first hand. (Mondoweiss)"

Read more on this story here. 

Raining in Pesda, House of Grace

Only if it were raining in Palestine. It's 30+°C daytime and 15+°C nighttime in Palestine this week according to local weather forecast. The land could certainly use some rain now. I wonder how long would the region survive on the current amount of rain-fall and water in aquifers. I hope Summer is wearing his "I'm a nice guy" spring shirt on this season!


It's funny that the town I currently live in is called Bethesda! Moving from Bethlehem, OPT to Bethesda, Wales... Hmmm...
When I looked closely at the name, I thought, "Hang-on, is this like 'Beit-Hadasa'?". Well, it could be. Then, this would indicate, to a certain extent, that this town I live in is "of Grace"! And you know what, it is! It rains all the bloody time, not that it's a bad thing. Bethesda wouldn't have been so green and amazingly stunning if it weren't for all this water falling from the sky. The lanscape is amazing; hills, mountains, valleys, waterfalls, water reservoirs, the lot. Also, the people here are so down to earth, it's unbelievable.
There are some other Biblical town names here, I mean in the UK. There is a Nazareth, a Jericho, and lots of Beth-s. I am sure that I will find more, if I keep looking.
Also, there are town names with references to saints and holy entities. Some even have 'Holy' in the name, such as Holyhead, Holywell and Holy Island.
I do remember someone telling me once that there were a group of people who genuinely believed that the Bible was referring to Wales rather than Historic (or Roman, if you are inclined to call it so) Palestine, hence all the Biblical/Holy references.


The other funny thing is, both Bethlehem and Bethesda where under the same administration some 2000 years ago. They were both part of the Roman Empire and probably would have had to use the same currency and follow the same rules, probably even intermarried. This might also explain the "dispute" concerning Jesus' story in terms of origin and location.
Jesus was a rebel. He could be classified as a revolutionary figure, in both political and spiritual terms. The Romans didn't like him, neither did the local authorities, religious and other. Jesus posed as a threat to all those who had the political and religious power at the time as they were at risk of losing the support of the people to this revolutionary, who advocated the disengagement of the status-quo and oppression, the abolishing of the class and hierarchy systems, and the living and sharing in a community based on equal rights for all.
Well, those revolutionary figures existed everywhere across the Roman Empire at the time. Jesus could have been anyone of them! Regardless, men are mortals, but "ideas are bullet proof*". You can never kill an idea...

---

* Alan Moore
Note: Pesda is the 'nickname' for Bethesda, used sometimes by the locals here :)

I'm back... Well, not quite!

It has been over 5 years since I last posted here. Many things have happened since; I moved country and started a family and a small joint business. I also changed... I changed significantly... It is mad what the world does to us and, more destructively, what we do to ourselves. I always wondered if Earth really thinks of us as a parasite and if we were ever - or ever to be - genuinely incorporated into the fabric of this universe.
I also no longer go by my alias! Sykadilya I am no longer... Well, not in this reality anyway :)