Egypt: Reading about Mounir Said Hanna Marzuq and his sentencing in which he was found guilty of 'satire' after a colleague reported him and his poem to the Egyptian authorities has made me wonder to when will we be living in such authoritarian regimes... He has been sentenced to three years and was fined L.E. 100,000 for insulting president Hosni Mubarak. It seems also that the Orthodox Church leaders of Egypt are working hard to raise 90,000 L.E. to avoid Marzuq's jailing.
What does satire really mean? To when will we accept misinterpretations of laws, constitutions, human rights, etc. and definitely the 'Godly' profile of leaders around this region? What kills me is who told them they were Godlike? Haven't they looked into the mirror? Don't they shit, swear, lie, fart, yearn, desire, etc. like anyone else?
Enough.
Spread the words of Marzuq:
زغلل
ونورد فيما يلي إحدى قصائد منير حنا:
زغلل
زغلل زغلل زغللنى ياللى حبك جننى
زغلل زغلل زغللهم ياللى شكلك جننهم
كورال
زغلل زغلل يا مزغلل زغلل ع الكل خليت الدنيا حلوى وفل الفل
١- المرايا بتزغلل على واحد بس ولكن انت يا مزغلل زغللت الكل
٢- فلاش الكاميرا بيزغلل قبل الصورة ولكن انت يا مزغلل صوت وصورة
٣- زغلل زغلل يا مزغلل منين ماتروح بتخلى الدنيا حلوة وفيها روح
٤- زغلل زغلل يا مزغلل زغلل وقول مش أى حد ينفع يبقى زغلول
٥- اوعى تبطل تزغلل يا واد يا زغلول خليت الدنيا حلوة والفرح يطول
٦- زغلل زغلل ع الليلة وع الحاضرين خليت الناس فى حيرة وكمان تايهين
٧- زغلل زغلل ع الحفلة وع الحاضرين خليت الناس فى غفلة وكمان تايهين
٨- زغلل زغلل ع الفرح وع الحاضرين خليت الناس فى مرح وكمان تايهين
(for further readings check this link)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Kuwait's Salafis call voting for women a sin
KUWAIT: After a long civil rights battle in 2005, Kuwaiti women finally could practice their right to vote. Since then, women had to struggle to put that right into concrete action. Much still needs to be done for women seeking a political role in this oil-rich emirate to prevail over religious conservatives.
Although women have been granted full rights to take part in Kuwait’s general elections, as long as they adhere to Islamic law, their participation in political life is still very modest. According to a report by Freedom House released last year, 27 women ran as candidates in the 2006 and 2008 parliamentary elections. But none of the female candidates have won a seat in the country’s National Assembly so far. The international pro-democracy group also noted that only 35% of Kuwaiti women voted in the 2008 elections.
On Monday, the Salafi movement, which believes in a strict fundamental interpretation of Islam, called for the boycott of female candidates in parliamentary elections scheduled for later this month. Fuhaid Hailam, a Salafi politician, told Al-Arabiya Channel that voting for women was a “sin” in Islam. He based his judgment on a saying by the prophet Muhammad, who reportedly asserted that a nation will not prosper if it is led by women.
The group’s statements were condemned by civil rights groups in Kuwait, which boasts one of the most democratic systems among neighboring kingdoms.
A Short Brief of 2009 Elections:
A total of 108 candidates including five women filed nominations papers for the May 16 general elections on the first day of registration as many hopefuls expected a more-than-normal change in the elections.Twenty-one candidates filed in each of the first and second constituencies, 28 in the third, 26 in the fourth and only 12 in the fifth district.
The May 16 polls will be the second in a year and the third in as many years in this oil-rich Gulf state which has been rocked by a series of political crises. The outgoing parliament was dissolved after Islamist MPs filed three requests to summon the prime minister for public questioning over allegations of misuse of public funds and mismanagement. Since 2006, five governments have resigned and three parliaments have been dissolved in OPEC's fourth largest producer which has amassed a huge surplus but where many development projects have been stalled by political bickering.
Elections in Kuwait is usually an individual process (with the absence of any formal political parties). Citizens base their electoral decisions based on family, clans/tribes and religious sects. With a patriarchal family structure, women have been voting according to what their husbands, brothers and sons have dictated on them. Also another element that was evident in previous elections, is the absence of women trusting other women's abilities.
Mubarak, who became the first women minister in Kuwait in 2005 after women received full political rights, said she was optimistic that she will enter the history books for a second time. "I was the first woman to become a minister. I am looking forward to become the first female to reach the national assembly" she told reporters after registering to contest the polls from the first district. Mubarak resigned after two years in the cabinet after Islamist MPs threatened to grill her over a fire that killed two people in Jahra Hospital in 2007.
Dashti filed to contest her third election and said that chances of women this time look promising since Kuwaiti people are now more aware of women rights and are ready to vote for them. Women, who won the right to vote in 2005, are taking part for the third time as both voters and candidates. They constitute 54.3 percent of the total eligible voters of 385,000. In the past two elections, a total of 54 women candidates have stood but without success.
(For further information check this out)
Although women have been granted full rights to take part in Kuwait’s general elections, as long as they adhere to Islamic law, their participation in political life is still very modest. According to a report by Freedom House released last year, 27 women ran as candidates in the 2006 and 2008 parliamentary elections. But none of the female candidates have won a seat in the country’s National Assembly so far. The international pro-democracy group also noted that only 35% of Kuwaiti women voted in the 2008 elections.
On Monday, the Salafi movement, which believes in a strict fundamental interpretation of Islam, called for the boycott of female candidates in parliamentary elections scheduled for later this month. Fuhaid Hailam, a Salafi politician, told Al-Arabiya Channel that voting for women was a “sin” in Islam. He based his judgment on a saying by the prophet Muhammad, who reportedly asserted that a nation will not prosper if it is led by women.
The group’s statements were condemned by civil rights groups in Kuwait, which boasts one of the most democratic systems among neighboring kingdoms.
A Short Brief of 2009 Elections:
A total of 108 candidates including five women filed nominations papers for the May 16 general elections on the first day of registration as many hopefuls expected a more-than-normal change in the elections.Twenty-one candidates filed in each of the first and second constituencies, 28 in the third, 26 in the fourth and only 12 in the fifth district.
The May 16 polls will be the second in a year and the third in as many years in this oil-rich Gulf state which has been rocked by a series of political crises. The outgoing parliament was dissolved after Islamist MPs filed three requests to summon the prime minister for public questioning over allegations of misuse of public funds and mismanagement. Since 2006, five governments have resigned and three parliaments have been dissolved in OPEC's fourth largest producer which has amassed a huge surplus but where many development projects have been stalled by political bickering.
Elections in Kuwait is usually an individual process (with the absence of any formal political parties). Citizens base their electoral decisions based on family, clans/tribes and religious sects. With a patriarchal family structure, women have been voting according to what their husbands, brothers and sons have dictated on them. Also another element that was evident in previous elections, is the absence of women trusting other women's abilities.
Mubarak, who became the first women minister in Kuwait in 2005 after women received full political rights, said she was optimistic that she will enter the history books for a second time. "I was the first woman to become a minister. I am looking forward to become the first female to reach the national assembly" she told reporters after registering to contest the polls from the first district. Mubarak resigned after two years in the cabinet after Islamist MPs threatened to grill her over a fire that killed two people in Jahra Hospital in 2007.
Dashti filed to contest her third election and said that chances of women this time look promising since Kuwaiti people are now more aware of women rights and are ready to vote for them. Women, who won the right to vote in 2005, are taking part for the third time as both voters and candidates. They constitute 54.3 percent of the total eligible voters of 385,000. In the past two elections, a total of 54 women candidates have stood but without success.
(For further information check this out)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Kuwait emir calls fresh election once again!
KUWAIT: Kuwait's ruler has dissolved parliament amid a political crisis that has prompted the entire cabinet to tender its resignation. Fresh elections in the oil-rich state are to be held on 17 May. With this in mind, candidates have started their campaigns amidst economical unrest. The submissions have dropped by 20% this year.
Kuwait's parliament has been involved in a series of disputes with ministers, which came to a head with the cabinet's resignation on Monday. MPs had been demanding a further pay rise for state employees - something the cabinet was against. Correspondents say constant political clashes between the cabinet and parliament have delayed planned economic reforms. Sheikh Sabah made the announcement in an address to the nation on state television. Under Kuwaiti law, elections must be held within 60 days of dissolution of parliament.
But in the past, parliament has been suspended for much longer - five years between 1976-81, and six years between 1986-92. The elections in 2006 resulted in a loose alliance of reformists and Islamists securing nearly two-thirds of the seats in parliament. MPs have accused the ruling Sabah family of trying to lay all blame for the impasse on parliament and some have called for changes in the executive branch dominated by Sabah family members.
Above is one candidate 'Wasmi Khaled Al Wasmi', a lawyer running in the 1st area of voting. His campaign doesn't shy off from using Barrack Obama's slogan 'Yes We Can'. Along with the usual passport picture and the slogan, a brief resume of the candidate and an open letter to Kuwaiti citizens make up the second page of his electronic electoral campaign.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
72hrs: The Project
BEIRUT: With two professional cameras, a webcam recording every movement and live feeds all over Gemmayzeh’s main street and also a handy cam capturing the audience’s feedback, Kiki Bokassa locked herself in a glass room gallery on Saint Nicholas Stairs and painted continuously for 72 hours non-stop (Friday, April 24, 2009, 10 am until Monday, April 27, 2009, 10 am).
Bokassa wanted to offer a chance to watch a painter in action where the artistic progress and journey on canvas was played live on screen. People were also given the chance to stand outside the gallery’s window and witness hours in the artist’s life in a living space designed for the event.
After the event, Kiki Bokassa will pay tribute to a 1964 Yoko Ono performance. In one of the city theaters, she will wear a painted dress, and ask spectators, each in turn, to cut a piece of this dress (made during the 72-hour performance). The cutting of the painted dress is intended as a pacific protest against all forms of violence anywhere in the world. Half the dress will represent human life, the other half, our environment.
Just a brief profile of Kiki Bokassa:
Born in Paris in 1975, Marie-Ange J.B. Bokassa (alias Kiki) is an autodidact artist of Lebanese and Central-African backgrounds. Kiki has over the past years participated in several exhibitions in Lebanon and overseas. Her paintings are displayed in private collections from the Arabian Gulf to the American Midwest, through metropoles such as New York.
She is also a writer and an active member in society, directly involved in a wide-range of humanitarian causes to which she devotes much of her time. In 2005 she started engaging in several humanitarian efforts, including the creation of non lucrative children’s books and activities such as “Let Me Tell You A Story” publication and “Paint for Peace” workshop. She also holds reading sessions under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture, and works as an art educator periodically, by training children and volunteers in public schools and public spaces all over the country.
(For further info check this out)
Bokassa wanted to offer a chance to watch a painter in action where the artistic progress and journey on canvas was played live on screen. People were also given the chance to stand outside the gallery’s window and witness hours in the artist’s life in a living space designed for the event.
After the event, Kiki Bokassa will pay tribute to a 1964 Yoko Ono performance. In one of the city theaters, she will wear a painted dress, and ask spectators, each in turn, to cut a piece of this dress (made during the 72-hour performance). The cutting of the painted dress is intended as a pacific protest against all forms of violence anywhere in the world. Half the dress will represent human life, the other half, our environment.
Just a brief profile of Kiki Bokassa:
Born in Paris in 1975, Marie-Ange J.B. Bokassa (alias Kiki) is an autodidact artist of Lebanese and Central-African backgrounds. Kiki has over the past years participated in several exhibitions in Lebanon and overseas. Her paintings are displayed in private collections from the Arabian Gulf to the American Midwest, through metropoles such as New York.
She is also a writer and an active member in society, directly involved in a wide-range of humanitarian causes to which she devotes much of her time. In 2005 she started engaging in several humanitarian efforts, including the creation of non lucrative children’s books and activities such as “Let Me Tell You A Story” publication and “Paint for Peace” workshop. She also holds reading sessions under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture, and works as an art educator periodically, by training children and volunteers in public schools and public spaces all over the country.
(For further info check this out)
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sois Belle et Vote = Be Beautiful and Vote
Photo copyright Menassat
BEIRUT: With the election season getting hotter as the long awaited day approaches, election campaigns are certainly becoming more and more controversial. The new campaign 'Be Beautiful and Vote' (I first saw it on Beirut/NTSC blog) has become the latest billboard campaign to hit a nerve esp. with the Beirut-based Feminist Collective who have created a spoof version of the campaign (Be Intelligent and Vote Blank in addition to a hand written heading saying 'because no one cares about your rights) and listed 12 reasons on their blog for why they consider this campaign offensive to women.
The campaign initiated by General Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) plays on a famous French saying: "Sois Belle et tais-toi" (Be Beautiful and Shut up) by changing the second part into 'Vote' as part of their campaign to target women voters. But it has certainly raised some eyebrows particularly with the Feminist Activist Camp that denounced the whole attempt as a direct offense to women.
Personally, I don't know what FPM's initial intention was from such a campaign, but what I know is that they certainly haven't studied their target group, in this case women voters. Instead of creating a horizontal communication with those women they have resorted to a rather vertical one in which women have ended up on the lower end of that discourse. So please, stop thinking that you know how women think and instead start concretely involving them in every level of the democratic processes!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Bicilavadora a pedal powered washing machine
Machine could produce clean clothes and local jobs
In places where electricity is scarce and you don’t want to spend your day by the river doing laundry, how about settling for the Bicilavadora pedal powered washing machine instead? Taking four years worth of development so far by an MIT team, the Bicilavadora is composed of an oil drum and bicycle running gear for its main components. As for the machine’s outer housing, the standard oil drum is cut apart and welded back together for a shorter barrel in order to allow even puny humans to pedal it, so that mom and dad can have a little quality time together while the kids learn to help with the housework. We guess it will use rainwater to rinse the clothes inside and at the same time could be built locally and thereby create jobs.
The Bicilavadora, combining the Spanish words for bicycle and washing machine -- got its most rigorous workout last month when a team of MIT students took the latest prototype to an orphanage in the slums called Ventanilla outside Lima, Peru. With 670 resident children, the home generates enough laundry to keep the washer perpetually busy.
This is another example of how simple creative ideas can certainly help make lives better esp. in developing countries. This is designing like you give a damn! Get inspired people and start with your own communities instead of roaming the shopping malls for the next collection of D&G, Channel, etc. and moving from one Starbucks cafe to the other...
Check this YouTube video out
In places where electricity is scarce and you don’t want to spend your day by the river doing laundry, how about settling for the Bicilavadora pedal powered washing machine instead? Taking four years worth of development so far by an MIT team, the Bicilavadora is composed of an oil drum and bicycle running gear for its main components. As for the machine’s outer housing, the standard oil drum is cut apart and welded back together for a shorter barrel in order to allow even puny humans to pedal it, so that mom and dad can have a little quality time together while the kids learn to help with the housework. We guess it will use rainwater to rinse the clothes inside and at the same time could be built locally and thereby create jobs.
The Bicilavadora, combining the Spanish words for bicycle and washing machine -- got its most rigorous workout last month when a team of MIT students took the latest prototype to an orphanage in the slums called Ventanilla outside Lima, Peru. With 670 resident children, the home generates enough laundry to keep the washer perpetually busy.
This is another example of how simple creative ideas can certainly help make lives better esp. in developing countries. This is designing like you give a damn! Get inspired people and start with your own communities instead of roaming the shopping malls for the next collection of D&G, Channel, etc. and moving from one Starbucks cafe to the other...
Check this YouTube video out
El Sistema Changing the World through Music
VENEZUELA: El Sistema takes poor kids from the slums of Venezuela and trains them as classical musicians. Venezuela's pioneering classical music programme for children has produced world-class artists such as the young conductor Gustavo Dudamel. It has also quietly transformed the social fabric of the country.
Felix Briseno was brought up with his six siblings in a small apartment in Guarenas, a run-down town on the outskirts of Caracas. His father is a security guard and his mother is a housewife. As a child, he says, he found it impossible to imagine the world outside the scrubby grass forecourt where he was allowed out to play. "There are lots of people here who won't even travel the 45-minute drive to Caracas. The horizons are very limited."
While his schoolfriends and siblings scratch a living in local factories, Felix, who is now 22, has made a remarkable transition. He is a classically trained conductor, working with two youth orchestras in Guarenas. Last summer he became the first member of his family to apply for a passport when he travelled to England to attend a music summer school. His dream is to follow in the footsteps of his hero Gustavo Dudamel, the 26-year-old Venezuelan conductor who is one of the world's fastest-rising talents in classical music. "Music has not just opened doors for me professionally," says Felix, "it has opened my mind to a whole world of possibilities."
In the 30 years since its foundation, El Sistema has evolved into one of the most successful community arts programmes in the world. There are 250,000 children studying music under its auspices across Venezuela, from the most remote rural villages to the poorest barrios of Caracas. Its founder, the composer/statesman José Antonio Abreu (according to legend, he started with 11 children rehearsing in a garage), has said that it heralds a "new era in which great art is created by the majority, for the majority". In a politically turbulent country, it has provided a rare point of consensus, attracting support from a succession of governments including, most recently, that of the socialist president Hugo Chavez, who has financed a state-of-the-art concert hall and rehearsal space in Caracas.
I have always believed in creativity and art as the way to help save the world. Here is a country saving their easily lost youth (Could we save ours?) through music that "takes them to a different world" in more ways than one. This is a movement we could learn much from instead of attacking Chavez and the Venezuelan regime why not learn from what they are doing right! They have so much participation that they are making their own instruments. And honestly, I am sick of watching the crappy music clips broadcasting on Rotana... Haifa Wehbe, Nancy Ajram, Ruby, etc. do not represent us and certainly are not what I would like future generations to be hearing 24hrs a day...
Here are some inspiring facts: 800,000 children have been through the program, $80 million dollars from 8 Venezuelan governments has been spent towards helping these kids. Their National Youth Orchestra (they have hundreds of others) travels world wide.
Check out this You Tube on Gustavo Dudamel (one of the program's super stars) and the Simon Bolivar youth orchestra.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
THE QANA MASSACRE
BEIRUT: Yesterday marked the 13th anniversary of the Qana massacre, which took place on April 18, 1996 in Qana, a village in Southern Lebanon, when Israeli artillery hit the area of a UN compound near Qana. Of the 800 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge in the compound to escape the fighting,106 were killed and around 116 injured. Four Fijian United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers were also seriously injured. The incident took place amid heavy fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah during "Operation Grapes of Wrath".
WATCH THE VIDEO
(For further information check this out)
WATCH THE VIDEO
(For further information check this out)
Israeli Arab Hacker Arrested for 'Internet Terror'
ISRAEL: After an 18-month-long investigation, the Israel Police revealed late Monday night that they had arrested an Israeli Arab teen suspected of participating in what they called "Internet terror" - hacking in to Israeli Web sites and causing millions of shekels worth of damage.
The 17-year-old from the Wadi Ara village of Kafr Kara was arrested Monday afternoon after police searched his house and discovered that the youth's personal computer contained what police termed "implicating information." The youth's mother allegedly tried to hinder police during the search of the family's house, but to no avail.
The suspect, along with Muslim cohorts from countries including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, allegedly wrecked a number of Web sites including those of the Likud Party and Maccabi Tel Aviv, as well as shopping sites and sites used as servers by various other companies.
As yet, it is unclear if government sites were affected.
(via Jerusalem Post)
The 17-year-old from the Wadi Ara village of Kafr Kara was arrested Monday afternoon after police searched his house and discovered that the youth's personal computer contained what police termed "implicating information." The youth's mother allegedly tried to hinder police during the search of the family's house, but to no avail.
The suspect, along with Muslim cohorts from countries including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, allegedly wrecked a number of Web sites including those of the Likud Party and Maccabi Tel Aviv, as well as shopping sites and sites used as servers by various other companies.
As yet, it is unclear if government sites were affected.
(via Jerusalem Post)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Lebanese Arena
LEBANON: Dropping by Lebanon for a few days has always been an adventure but this time around it was certainly unexpected! With the Lebanese Elections approaching (June 09), the streets throughout Lebanon (from the North to the South) have turned into an arena of staggering election campaigns reflecting different parties. The good thing about this particular election is that the political parties have caught up on the effectivity of smart advertising messages and left behind the 'passport picture' approach that we used to see in years before. They have become so consumed with each other that they forgot about the Lebanese citizens. One thing that was also interesting to note is that with the economical downfall, you would expect that political advertising budgets would be cut but it seems that the parties have money to spend!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Iran detains three women's activists
Tehran: Iranian police have detained three women's rights activists, the latest in dozens of such arrests over the last few years in the Islamic Republic, a fellow campaigner said on Sunday.
They were seized in the mountains north of Tehran on Friday when collecting signatures in support of a campaign seeking changes to legislation which activists say discriminates against women. Iran rejects accusations of bias.
Sussan Tahmasebi, a leading member of the campaign, said one of those held was accused of spreading propaganda against the state, a common charge against women's rights campaigners.
A second detainee was released on Saturday, and the third was likely to be released on Sunday, she said.
Activists say 47 of them have been detained since they launched a campaign in 2006 to collect one million signatures in support of demands for changes in laws they say deny women in Iran equal rights in matters such as divorce and child custody.
Most were freed after a few days or weeks.
"Obviously there are people who don't want laws that are discriminatory against women to change," Tahmasebi said.
She suggested the latest arrests may be a message from the authorities ahead of the International Women's Day on March 8, when activists in the past have held rallies or meetings.
"We faced a lot of pressure all along," she said of the so-called one million signature campaign. The latest detentions could be an "attempt to reel us in right before" March 8.
Western diplomats and right groups say the arrests of women's rights campaigners form part of a broader crack-down on dissenting voices, possibly in response to external pressure on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.
Activists say women in Iran face institutionalized discrimination that makes them second class citizens in divorce, inheritance, child custody and other aspects of life.
Iran dismisses accusations it discriminates against women, who are legally entitled to hold most jobs and can vote.
Despite arrests, Tahmasebi said the campaign had been successful in raising public awareness about women's rights.
A recent parliament decision to allow women to inherit land from their husbands or fathers was a "huge accomplishment".
She also praised judiciary directive last year under which women who suffer injury or death in a car accident will be entitled to the same insurance company compensation as men.
Under Iran's Sharia law imposed since the 1979 Islamic revolution, compensation for the loss of a woman's life, "bloody money" is half that paid for a man. This rule, which applies to physical injury as well, had also governed payments from insurance companies even though both sexes paid equal premiums.
(original source: Reuters)
They were seized in the mountains north of Tehran on Friday when collecting signatures in support of a campaign seeking changes to legislation which activists say discriminates against women. Iran rejects accusations of bias.
Sussan Tahmasebi, a leading member of the campaign, said one of those held was accused of spreading propaganda against the state, a common charge against women's rights campaigners.
A second detainee was released on Saturday, and the third was likely to be released on Sunday, she said.
Activists say 47 of them have been detained since they launched a campaign in 2006 to collect one million signatures in support of demands for changes in laws they say deny women in Iran equal rights in matters such as divorce and child custody.
Most were freed after a few days or weeks.
"Obviously there are people who don't want laws that are discriminatory against women to change," Tahmasebi said.
She suggested the latest arrests may be a message from the authorities ahead of the International Women's Day on March 8, when activists in the past have held rallies or meetings.
"We faced a lot of pressure all along," she said of the so-called one million signature campaign. The latest detentions could be an "attempt to reel us in right before" March 8.
Western diplomats and right groups say the arrests of women's rights campaigners form part of a broader crack-down on dissenting voices, possibly in response to external pressure on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program.
Activists say women in Iran face institutionalized discrimination that makes them second class citizens in divorce, inheritance, child custody and other aspects of life.
Iran dismisses accusations it discriminates against women, who are legally entitled to hold most jobs and can vote.
Despite arrests, Tahmasebi said the campaign had been successful in raising public awareness about women's rights.
A recent parliament decision to allow women to inherit land from their husbands or fathers was a "huge accomplishment".
She also praised judiciary directive last year under which women who suffer injury or death in a car accident will be entitled to the same insurance company compensation as men.
Under Iran's Sharia law imposed since the 1979 Islamic revolution, compensation for the loss of a woman's life, "bloody money" is half that paid for a man. This rule, which applies to physical injury as well, had also governed payments from insurance companies even though both sexes paid equal premiums.
(original source: Reuters)
Monday, January 26, 2009
Couldn't Say It Better
Comfortably Numb
... I’ve been to the demonstrations, I’ve been to the vigils, I’ve written poetry, I’ve preached to those who’ve never cared before and till I’ve never cared again. I went to a demonstration on Saturday, for Gaza, for the people of Gaza, for those who had nothing to do with anything, for those who had everything to do with everything. I yelled at the top of my lungs, I chanted and held banners. I took photos and recorded videos. I wanted to feel like I was actually contributing. I wanted to feel like I was trying and that my trying was relevant, was necessary, that it actually might make a difference.. .But not even five hours later, I was strutting in heels, and make-up, down that same street, the demonstration street, Delmar Ave., headed toward a bar to have a drink or three with some friends. What’s the point of it all? What have I really done? I lit up a cigarette, I took a sip of hard liquor, I said I thought the world is becoming a horrible place to live in, maybe I said that out loud, maybe in my head, maybe the world always was a horrible place to live in, maybe I’m seeing it more now because we live in the “information age.” We also live in the misinformation ago. Words, words, words… They commit a genocide. No, they have a right to defend themselves. They kill women and children and bomb schools. No, these are places where the enemy may be hiding. They rain cluster bombs over the city. No, these, these are not cluster bombs. These are…um… these are… what are cluster bombs?
(Rewa Zeinati)
... I’ve been to the demonstrations, I’ve been to the vigils, I’ve written poetry, I’ve preached to those who’ve never cared before and till I’ve never cared again. I went to a demonstration on Saturday, for Gaza, for the people of Gaza, for those who had nothing to do with anything, for those who had everything to do with everything. I yelled at the top of my lungs, I chanted and held banners. I took photos and recorded videos. I wanted to feel like I was actually contributing. I wanted to feel like I was trying and that my trying was relevant, was necessary, that it actually might make a difference.. .But not even five hours later, I was strutting in heels, and make-up, down that same street, the demonstration street, Delmar Ave., headed toward a bar to have a drink or three with some friends. What’s the point of it all? What have I really done? I lit up a cigarette, I took a sip of hard liquor, I said I thought the world is becoming a horrible place to live in, maybe I said that out loud, maybe in my head, maybe the world always was a horrible place to live in, maybe I’m seeing it more now because we live in the “information age.” We also live in the misinformation ago. Words, words, words… They commit a genocide. No, they have a right to defend themselves. They kill women and children and bomb schools. No, these are places where the enemy may be hiding. They rain cluster bombs over the city. No, these, these are not cluster bombs. These are…um… these are… what are cluster bombs?
(Rewa Zeinati)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
I've learnt something today : )
iPod creator from Lebanese origins
While Steve Jobs has been taking most of the spotlight when it comes to creative ideas within Apple, the iPod creator, Anthony M. Fadell, is actually the real engineering genius behind the iPod. And where is Fadell originally from? Lebanon.
So, you probably didn’t know that the iPod creator was of Lebanese origin. But who is Tony Fadell?
Tony Fadell was born to Lebanese parents in 1969. After graduating from Michigan University in 1991 with a BS in Computer Engineering, Tony Fadell had a fast growing engineering career moving from a Hardware & Software architect in General Magic, to being the co-founder and CTO position of the mobile Computing group at Philips Electronics. Mr. Fadell later became Vice President of Business Development for Philips U.S. Strategy & Ventures, focusing on building the company’s digital media strategy and investment portfolio.
In the nineties, Fadell started his own company called “Fuse” to develop one of the devices he had in mind: a small hard disk-based music player. However, “Fuse” failed because Fadell did not find a second round of funding. Therefore, he presented his ideas to other companies. He first went to RealNetworks in 2000, but left after only six weeks. Then he got in touch with Apple.
Tony Fadell then joined Apple Company in 2001 as a contractor designing the iPod and planning Apple’s audio product strategy. He assembled and ran its iPod & Special Projects group in which he was overseeing the design and production of the iPod and iSight devices. He quickly moved to be the Senior Director of the Company’s iPod Engineering Team and in 2004, he was promoted to vice president of iPod engineering. In March 2006, Fadell became Senior Vice President of the iPod Division at Apple.
Fadell was also part of the executive team involved in the development of the iPhone, which has become the fastest-growing part of Apple’s business.
So while Fadell has not been getting as much spotlight as Steve Jobs, he is however increasing the list of Lebanese people who raised our flag in terms of business or cultural innovation.
More can be found on Tony Fadell within “The 50 Who Matter Now” CNN listing, ranked as No 27.
According to a recent company release, Fadell and his wife Danielle Lambert, a VP of human resources, “are reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family. Fadell will remain at Apple as an advisor to the CEO. Lambert will depart the company at the end of this year after a successor is in place.”
(original post by Mohamad Ali Mahfouz in Cedar Times)
No nudity at airports
Berlin: German airports will not implement the use of full-body scanners that reveal outlines of passengers' bodies under their clothes, even if the European Union authorizes their use, said the interior ministry early November.
The comments by the German spokeswoman came after European lawmakers chose to delay the authorization of the scanners. The European parliament voted overwhelmingly for additional study on the privacy and safety implications of the scanner.
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, had proposed to add the machines to a list of security measures used in EU airports. It has said the scanners would not be used routinely on passengers, and would provide a less intrusive alternate to strip-searching.
"It is unacceptable, if scanners are used; these are machines that see you completely naked," said Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialist faction in the EU assembly. "This is an offence against human dignity."
A number of U.S. airports currently use full body scanners, as do a number of EU countries, including the Netherlands.
(Source: www.esciencenews.com )
Swinging: A Swedish pastime?
Stockholm: Judging by the number of column inches devoted to the subject in recent months, it seems that swinging is Sweden's new favorite hobby. "It's fun and I like to have several men at once," says Annika, a 41-year-old shop assistant from Stockholm. "I started swinging just for another experience," she says. "I don't have a boyfriend, but several lovers instead. So when I go swinging, I just take one of them along with me."
"Things can get pretty 'interesting' at times," says Leif, organizer and owner of Svenska Swingers. "At our 'relax' club night, anyone can come - there is no restriction in terms of sexual orientation: bisexuals, homosexuals, transvestites, transsexuals - everyone is welcome."
The Svenska Swingers website was launched in 1999 and currently has over 7,500 members, who reputedly include celebrities, judges, policemen and politicians. The Gothenburg-based organization holds an event once a month for about 50 to 60 people. Leif explains that one of the most common questions he receives from new members is, 'what will I do if I meet my neighbor?'
"People feel a shame connected with swinging, many may talk about it, but few actually do it. Swinging is not socially accepted at all. People condemn it as if it's some sort of disorder. There is a real double moral in Sweden. Freedom of speech and expression is held in such high regard for issues such as religion, but when it comes to sex, you cannot be public in any way."
The club doesn't admit any men under 25. Apparently, "they get too overexcited and just run around the place chasing orgasms. "The club does have some young women members though: "They call themselves 'nymphs'. These girls say that they need massive amounts of sex, but don't want the hassle of relationships. Some of these girls have 'parties' with multiple men at once on a weekly basis."
Leif adds: "A friend of mine said that he thinks every couple should try swinging at least twice. The first time can be a bit of a shock, so the second visit is a must."
(Source: http://www.thelocal.se)
"Things can get pretty 'interesting' at times," says Leif, organizer and owner of Svenska Swingers. "At our 'relax' club night, anyone can come - there is no restriction in terms of sexual orientation: bisexuals, homosexuals, transvestites, transsexuals - everyone is welcome."
The Svenska Swingers website was launched in 1999 and currently has over 7,500 members, who reputedly include celebrities, judges, policemen and politicians. The Gothenburg-based organization holds an event once a month for about 50 to 60 people. Leif explains that one of the most common questions he receives from new members is, 'what will I do if I meet my neighbor?'
"People feel a shame connected with swinging, many may talk about it, but few actually do it. Swinging is not socially accepted at all. People condemn it as if it's some sort of disorder. There is a real double moral in Sweden. Freedom of speech and expression is held in such high regard for issues such as religion, but when it comes to sex, you cannot be public in any way."
The club doesn't admit any men under 25. Apparently, "they get too overexcited and just run around the place chasing orgasms. "The club does have some young women members though: "They call themselves 'nymphs'. These girls say that they need massive amounts of sex, but don't want the hassle of relationships. Some of these girls have 'parties' with multiple men at once on a weekly basis."
Leif adds: "A friend of mine said that he thinks every couple should try swinging at least twice. The first time can be a bit of a shock, so the second visit is a must."
(Source: http://www.thelocal.se)
Gaza children go back to school with scars of war
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip: Gaza's children returned to school yesterday for the first time since Israel's massive offensive, many having lost family members, homes and their sense of security. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reopened all of its 221 schools, which educate some 200,000 Palestinians in the territory and provided shelter to tens of thousands of people during the fighting.
Public schools operated by the Hamas-run government also reopened. At the UN-run Beit Lahiya primary school the children swarmed into the wide courtyard with their oversized backpacks, noisily running and playing beneath an upper-storey classroom scorched by an Israeli shell. The compound was struck a week ago and set alight, sparking panic among the 1,600 people who had gone there seeking shelter. Two boys, five and seven years old, were killed and around a dozen people wounded, including their mother, whose legs were cut off, according to the UN.
It was one of three schools sheltering displaced people hit by Israeli fire during the war. At another UN-run school nearby more than 40 people were killed by Israeli shelling on January 6. The Israeli military said it had taken fire from in or near each of the buildings, but UN chief Ban Ki-moon called the attacks "outrageous" and demanded those responsible be held to account.
As the hundreds of children were slowly brought to order it soon became clear that many of them bore the unseen wounds of the war, in which more than 1,330 Palestinians were killed, nearly a third of them children. "Come forward if your mother or father was martyred," headmaster Riad Maliha announced through a megaphone to the classes lined up outside for morning assembly. "Come forward if your house was destroyed.
More than 20 students walked to the front to register with UN officials so their families could receive aid, including Anas Abbas, a shy 12-year-old boy. "They destroyed our house and killed five of my neighbors. The Jews came very close to us," he said, his brown eyes looking away. Like the other children, he renders his experiences in one-word answers and simple sentences, keeping most of what he has seen to himself.
Maliha says the first few days of school will be given over to counselling, with teachers trying to help the children express themselves. "In the classes the teachers will encourage them to talk about what happened, or to draw pictures or to write about it," he said. UNRWA, which provides basic aid and services to most of the 1.5 million people living in Gaza, employs some 200 counsellors and is looking to recruit more in the wake of the war. "Imagine what the conversations are going to be like," UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said. "There are going to be thousands of traumatised children coming to school today.
On the upper floor of the school the children drift in and out of the burned-out classroom, chalk graffiti scribbled on its blackened walls and charred blankets and broken desks littering the floor. In the classroom next door the teacher invites the children to come up to the front and tell their stories. The first boy to volunteer recalls when the house next to his was blown up. "The door was dancing. The windows were dancing," he says as the other children break into laughter.
Khitam Aziz, the school counsellor, says the children ask about the scorched classroom upstairs and the holes in the walls left by artillery rounds. "They ask me why they shelled the school, and tell me they worry it will be attacked again," she says. "But we tell them the Jews will not attack the school. They should feel safe. They should play.
Half of Gaza's population is under 18 years of age and more than 80 percent of its people rely on UN food aid. Both Israel and Hamas declared unilateral ceasefires last Sunday and Israeli troops had completely withdrawn by Wednesday. But vast swathes of the territory have been left in ruins, including thousands of homes.
( original source: AFP)
Rockers invite fans to remix new video
Alternative rock band Hoobastank is using its single "My Turn" to give fans their turn at being music video directors. In addition to the regular broadcast clip for the song - the lead track from Hoobastank's fourth Island album, For (N)ever, due 27 January created an interactive version of the video that allows viewers to mix and match a variety of personalities to perform the song.
Many are the four members of the band themselves, performing in a series of costumes. Others include bikini-clad models, senior citizens, frontman Doug Robb's mother and father-in-law, and members of the production crew.
The video, housed at myturn.hoobastank.com and linked from the band's official website and MySpace page, also lets users personalize the clip by uploading their own backgrounds.
"It's starting to tap into new territory of what interactive music video is going to be," says director Brown, who worked with programmer Daniel Kim from Deep Fried Productions, whose clients have included M.I.A., Gwen Stefani and Nine Inch Nails. "We're at an early stage in technology where we can start to offer these kinds of choices for people online."
Robb, who credits Hoobastank manager Jordan Berliant with the interactive concept, says the group wanted to "take advantage of the medium... to do stuff you can't do on a TV video. Basically you'll never see the same video twice."
Many are the four members of the band themselves, performing in a series of costumes. Others include bikini-clad models, senior citizens, frontman Doug Robb's mother and father-in-law, and members of the production crew.
The video, housed at myturn.hoobastank.com and linked from the band's official website and MySpace page, also lets users personalize the clip by uploading their own backgrounds.
"It's starting to tap into new territory of what interactive music video is going to be," says director Brown, who worked with programmer Daniel Kim from Deep Fried Productions, whose clients have included M.I.A., Gwen Stefani and Nine Inch Nails. "We're at an early stage in technology where we can start to offer these kinds of choices for people online."
Robb, who credits Hoobastank manager Jordan Berliant with the interactive concept, says the group wanted to "take advantage of the medium... to do stuff you can't do on a TV video. Basically you'll never see the same video twice."
Saturday, January 24, 2009
One of the world's oldest YouTube stars
Vatican City: Pope Benedict on Friday became one of the oldest people to have his own YouTube channel, and he cautioned the young to use new media wisely and to avoid on-line obsession that can isolate them from real-life.
The Vatican channel, www.youtube.com/vaticanit, will broadcast short video news clips on the 81-year-old pope's activities and Vatican and church events, with audio and text initially in English, Spanish, German and Italian.
The video news clips will be about two minutes long each day. They will be produced by the Vatican's television centre and journalists and web managers of Vatican Radio.
The launch of the channel was combined with the release of the pope's message for the Church's World Day of Communications, whose theme is "New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
Henrique de Castro, managing director of European sales and media solutions for Google, which owns YouTube, told a news conference Google would not make any money from the venture. "Our strategy is to get people to come to our sites," he said.
The YouTube channel will have no advertising and provide links to a number of Vatican and Catholic websites and video channels, including some run by churches around the world. The channel marked the Vatican's deepest plunge into new media. The Vatican's website, www.vatican.va, began in 1995.
Archbishop Claudio Celli, head of Vatican communications said the Vatican could not exclude that someday it would have its own space on Facebook, the social networking site.
In his welcome message to users of YouTube, the pope said he hoped the initiative would be put to "the service of the Truth." In his separate, written message for the Church's communications, he cautioned young people to seek quality and not quantity in their online relationships and not to forget human contact.
"It would be sad if your desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbors and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation," the pope wrote.
"If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development," he said. The pope also said it would be "a tragedy for the future of humanity" if a so-called digital divide were allowed to widen to the point where it excluded disadvantaged areas of the world that are already economically and socially marginalized.
(original source: Reuters)
The Vatican channel, www.youtube.com/vaticanit, will broadcast short video news clips on the 81-year-old pope's activities and Vatican and church events, with audio and text initially in English, Spanish, German and Italian.
The video news clips will be about two minutes long each day. They will be produced by the Vatican's television centre and journalists and web managers of Vatican Radio.
The launch of the channel was combined with the release of the pope's message for the Church's World Day of Communications, whose theme is "New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
Henrique de Castro, managing director of European sales and media solutions for Google, which owns YouTube, told a news conference Google would not make any money from the venture. "Our strategy is to get people to come to our sites," he said.
The YouTube channel will have no advertising and provide links to a number of Vatican and Catholic websites and video channels, including some run by churches around the world. The channel marked the Vatican's deepest plunge into new media. The Vatican's website, www.vatican.va, began in 1995.
Archbishop Claudio Celli, head of Vatican communications said the Vatican could not exclude that someday it would have its own space on Facebook, the social networking site.
In his welcome message to users of YouTube, the pope said he hoped the initiative would be put to "the service of the Truth." In his separate, written message for the Church's communications, he cautioned young people to seek quality and not quantity in their online relationships and not to forget human contact.
"It would be sad if your desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbors and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation," the pope wrote.
"If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development," he said. The pope also said it would be "a tragedy for the future of humanity" if a so-called digital divide were allowed to widen to the point where it excluded disadvantaged areas of the world that are already economically and socially marginalized.
(original source: Reuters)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.
An atheist UK bus campaign which uses the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" was launched earlier this month following fund-raising by the British Humanist Association.
Featuring on 200 bendy buses in London and 600 other vehicles in England, Scotland and Wales, they were backed by high profile atheists, including Professor Richard Dawkins.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it would not be further investigating any complaints about the campaign, which was launched on British buses and the London Underground on the 6 January.
While some of the complaints claimed the adverts were offensive and denigrated people of faith, others challenged whether they were misleading because the advertiser would not be able to substantiate its claim that God "probably" did not exist.
Although the watchdog acknowledged the content of the campaign would be at odds with the beliefs of many, it concluded that it was unlikely to mislead or to cause "serious or widespread offence".
Last week, Christian bus driver Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, refused to drive one of the buses carrying the atheist slogan and walked out of his shift in protest.
The campaign made me think of how easier things would be if people would just chill. I think people in the Middle East in particular and the world in general are so boiled up about their own perception of God and his teachings (punishment, after life, God's promise land, etc.) that it has blinded them from truly experiencing their humanity.
If we look at the atrocities of Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Darfour, etc. only one thing is evident and that is 'intolerance'.
It is true.. Maybe it is easier to pretend there is no God and start living life as human beings regardless of religion. Can this solve all the problems we are facing in the Middle East and the rest of the world, well I'm not sure but at least we can try!
A CALL FOR SHOES
As part of my new installation in May, I am asking people to give me their shoes (old, new, etc.) that they would like to throw on someone or something.
For those who live in other countries, their contribution is essential and therefore I have set up this space on my blog (comments section) for your input. I would like you to send me the names of the person(s), thing, etc. you would like to throw the shoes on and I will use this information on shoes gathered.
Please help me to round up the names and thank you for your support.
Cheers
/Hibz
For those who live in other countries, their contribution is essential and therefore I have set up this space on my blog (comments section) for your input. I would like you to send me the names of the person(s), thing, etc. you would like to throw the shoes on and I will use this information on shoes gathered.
Please help me to round up the names and thank you for your support.
Cheers
/Hibz
China blocks 244 new websites in porn crackdown
Beijing: China has blocked 244 new pornographic websites over the last week, the official Xinhua news agency said, bringing teh total number of sites shut down in a campaign against 'vulgar' content to over 700. Many of the targeted websites were unregistered and broke laws about distribution of sexual content, the report said. China promised last week that the campaign, which Xinhua said is scheduled to last a month, will be no 'flash in the pan'. It has been extended to cover content in mobile phone games, online novels and radio programmes.
Google, Baidu and other major websites have also been given a public dressing down for not being quick enough to wipe out targeted content, and outspoken blogging portals shut down for posting 'politically harmful information'. The internet crackdown has been described by analysts as another step in the Communist Party's battle to stifle dissent in a year of sensitive anniversaries, including the 20th anniversary of the government's bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Google, Baidu and other major websites have also been given a public dressing down for not being quick enough to wipe out targeted content, and outspoken blogging portals shut down for posting 'politically harmful information'. The internet crackdown has been described by analysts as another step in the Communist Party's battle to stifle dissent in a year of sensitive anniversaries, including the 20th anniversary of the government's bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Iranian woman to be whipped not stoned for adultery
Tehran: Iran's judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi has commuted a sentence of stoning to death handed down to a woman convicted of adultery to 100lashes, a report said yesterday. The woman identified only as 48-year-old Kobra N, was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of her husband and engaging in an adulterous relationship, the daily Etemad Melli newspaper reported. She was sentenced to eight years in prison for the first crime and stoning to death for the second.
The report said the woman served the eight-year jail sentence and was kept in prison for another five years awaiting the sentence of stoning to be carried out. It added that her husband, a drug addict, had forced her into prostitution. The murderer, identified as Habib A, has been freed after serving a 10-year jail term.
According to the newspaper, Ayatollah Shahrudi's decision to spare the woman leaves nine other people, seven women and two men, in Iranian prisons awaiting execution by stoning.
Iran's judiciary last week confirmed two men had been stoned to death for adultery in the northeastern city of Mashhad in December while a third struggled from teh stoning hole and escaped with his life. Under Iran's Islamic law, adultery is still theoretically punishable by stoning which involves the public hurling stones at the convict buried up to her shoulders. Convicts are spared if they can free themselves. Aside from December's stonings in Mashad, five Iranians have reportedly been stoned to death in the past four years despite a 2002 directive by Ayatollah Shahrudi imposing a moratorium on such executions.
In August, the judiciary said it had scrapped the punishment in Iran's new Islamic penal code, whose outlines have been adopted by parliament but whose details are yet to be debated by MP's before final approval.
How can someone react to such piece of information? Do we say oh thanks God, good for them its whipping and not stoning? Or maybe thank you Mr. Shahrudi for sparing the women the stoning? Or maybe thank you to that editor from Etemad Daily that reported the adultery in the first place?
I don't get this. We live in the 21st century and there are still people, regimes, laws that think they are the one true reality and somehow try to substitute God on Earth. What is the goal behind such laws, regimes, etc.? Is it trying to clean up humanity from its flaws or maybe vacuuming all the dirt from our societies? Who gave them the right and what happened to the non-blind folded people of this earth?
(original source AFP)
The report said the woman served the eight-year jail sentence and was kept in prison for another five years awaiting the sentence of stoning to be carried out. It added that her husband, a drug addict, had forced her into prostitution. The murderer, identified as Habib A, has been freed after serving a 10-year jail term.
According to the newspaper, Ayatollah Shahrudi's decision to spare the woman leaves nine other people, seven women and two men, in Iranian prisons awaiting execution by stoning.
Iran's judiciary last week confirmed two men had been stoned to death for adultery in the northeastern city of Mashhad in December while a third struggled from teh stoning hole and escaped with his life. Under Iran's Islamic law, adultery is still theoretically punishable by stoning which involves the public hurling stones at the convict buried up to her shoulders. Convicts are spared if they can free themselves. Aside from December's stonings in Mashad, five Iranians have reportedly been stoned to death in the past four years despite a 2002 directive by Ayatollah Shahrudi imposing a moratorium on such executions.
In August, the judiciary said it had scrapped the punishment in Iran's new Islamic penal code, whose outlines have been adopted by parliament but whose details are yet to be debated by MP's before final approval.
How can someone react to such piece of information? Do we say oh thanks God, good for them its whipping and not stoning? Or maybe thank you Mr. Shahrudi for sparing the women the stoning? Or maybe thank you to that editor from Etemad Daily that reported the adultery in the first place?
I don't get this. We live in the 21st century and there are still people, regimes, laws that think they are the one true reality and somehow try to substitute God on Earth. What is the goal behind such laws, regimes, etc.? Is it trying to clean up humanity from its flaws or maybe vacuuming all the dirt from our societies? Who gave them the right and what happened to the non-blind folded people of this earth?
(original source AFP)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Gaza: 'No Comment'
As President-Elect Barack Obama vacationed in Hawaii on December 26, stopping off to watch a dolphin show with his family at Sea Life Park, an Israeli air raid besieged the impoverished Gaza Strip, killing at least 285 people and injuring over 800 more.
It was the single deadliest attack on Gaza in over 20 years and Obama’s initial reaction on what could be his first real test as president was “no comment.” Meanwhile, Israel has readied itself for a land invasion, amassing tanks along the border and calling up 6,500 reserve troops.
It was the single deadliest attack on Gaza in over 20 years and Obama’s initial reaction on what could be his first real test as president was “no comment.” Meanwhile, Israel has readied itself for a land invasion, amassing tanks along the border and calling up 6,500 reserve troops.
Another Manic Monday (Dec. 29, 2008)
Monday morning, I leave my flat in the city, jump into my 4x4, put on my Dior shades and drive to work. On my way, my thoughts wander. I think of the up and coming New Year’s party and wonder what I might wear for that. My thoughts of lunch mixed with a bit of Suzy from BBC radio winging about ways to make this credit crisis tolerable were suddenly interrupted by news from Gaza- News that somehow broke the vain mundane and created a parallel reality.
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