I was listening to an interesting discussion on the radio today, The After 8 Debate on SAFM, on the recent events in Egypt. A lot of very good points came up, but one caller made me laugh. He shouted AMERICA KEEP OUT! He confessed to being an ex-CIA-trained-and-paid mercenary sent to Angola many years ago. How the world spins.
I wrote a poem years ago about foreign aid and the kindness of the heart (har har), “Threats and Deeds.” But I can’t post it here. It is included in my new book, Alien to Any Skin.
Leave a comment | tags: Angola, dictators, Egyptian revolution, Israel, US foreign policy | posted in Imperialism, Influences, Middle East, politics, Silly Babble
They come in a rain of flames and screams.
They seek the softness of flesh,
cracking points of bones.
But many of them unleash the horror
of their intent when all is quiet.
In silence they lurk
among the bushes. Still. Sinister.
Patient. Someone will walk
past them one day. Perhaps
someone who collects metal
scraps for a living.
Or maybe a child
will notice just one of them
with a bright yellow tail
playfully beckoning in the wind:
Take me. Take me.
Take me that I may be
One with your tender flesh.
Take me…
Sometimes there will not even be a scream.
-o-
Abdullah Yaqoob - DCA Archive
What are cluster bombs?
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What Human Rights Watch says about cluster bombs
Who has them?
Leave a comment | tags: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, cluster bombs, Cluster Munition Coalition, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Honduras, human rights, Hungary, India, Indonesia, innocent civilians, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, US, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zimbabwe | posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Mga Tula / Poetry, Middle East, politics
Matangmanok 