UrShalim

this blog is retiring

2011-01-08T18:21:00.001+02:00

This blog will no longer be updated (after being online since October 2003, that's pretty old ;))

Any future blogging will, from now on, be taking place at this address.

I thank you all for the time shared and spent here and best of wishes always. :)

'Ten big media lies' about Israel

2010-07-04T08:52:00.000+03:00

Michel Collon, a Belgian journalist and author, in his book "Israel, let's talk about it," has slammed European media over decades of "lying" to people in order to support Israel.
Collon, in his book, has recounted "10 big lies" spread by Western media in order to "justify the existence and actions of Israel", which are concisely presented below:

1. The first lie is that Israel was established in reaction to the massacre of Jews during the World War II.
This notion is completely wrong. Israel is in fact a domineering project which was approved in the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897, when nationalist Jews decided to occupy Palestine.

2. The second justification for establishing and legitimizing Israel is that the Jews are returning to their forefathers' land, from where they had been driven away in 70 A.D. This is a tale. I have spoken to the famous Israeli historian Shlomo Sand and other historians and they all believe that there has been no "exodus," so "return" is meaningless. The people living in Palestine have not left their land in the ancient era.
In fact the descendents of Jews residing in Palestine are the people who are currently living in Palestine. Those who claim they want to return to their lands originate for Western and Eastern Europe and Northern Africa.
Sand says there is no Jewish nation. The Jews do not have common history, language or culture. The only common thing between them is their religion, and religion does not make a nation.

3. The third lie is that when Jewish immigrants occupied Palestine, it was an empty and uninhibited country.
However, there are documents and evidences that prove that in the 19th century the agricultural products of Palestine were exported to different countries, including France.

4. Fourth, some people say Palestinians left their country on their own free will.
This is another lie, which lots of people believed, including myself. Until Israeli historians like Benny Morris and Ilan Pappe said that Palestinians were driven away and banished from their lands by using force and terror.

Read the Rest Here...

on why lebanon is the true host of the world cup

2010-06-13T10:39:00.000+03:00

In early April, silly flags were already flapping all around Beirut. A non-resident would think that dignitaries from the entire United Nations were about to make an appearance, adding a touch of color to our city. According to numerous sources, the flags had sprouted much earlier. As early as January, my sister made sure to tell me. I don’t think any earlier than that, my mother said. People were too busy with Christmas and New Years, and in 2009, Ashura, the Shiite holiday fell at the same time—far too much going on for anyone to concentrate. It was still not 2010, in any case. read the rest here at the New Republic...

Palestine/Gaza: The Siege

2010-06-13T09:58:00.000+03:00

The three year old siege on the Gaza Strip and its 1.5 million inhabitants is a testament to the Israeli regime's disregard of law, decency and morality. This siege amounts to collective punishment, an action outlawed by various conventions and humanitarian laws. This is not to mention the suffering and humanitarian crisis caused by this law. This siege has been disgracefully condoned by the "international community" and justified by the "free world" as a measure that safegurads the security of the Israeli regime.

The same position was applied to the various humanitarian aid ships that were attacked and abuducted in international waters, and the aid carried by those ships confiscated. The killing of 9 Turkish activists on the the Freedom Flotilla on 1 June brought an abrupt end to international silence regarding the siege. It is unfortunate that the world needed to see the blood of those brave men to realize the brutality of the siege and of the besieger.

Nevertheless, it is our duty to finish what the brave men and women of the Freedom Flotilla and the campaigns that preceded it. It is time to brieak the siege.

neverbeforecampaign

Roger Waters - "We Shall Overcome"

2010-06-12T21:47:00.000+03:00

Over the new year 2009-2010, an international group of 1500 men and women from 42 nations went to Egypt to join a Freedom March to Gaza. They did this to protest the current blockade of Gaza. To protest the fact that the people of Gaza live in a virtual prison. To protest the fact that a year after the terror attack by Israeli armed forces destroyed most of their homes, hospitals, schools, and other public buildings, they have no possibility to rebuild because their borders are closed. The would be Freedom Marchers wanted to peacefully draw attention to the predicament of the Palestinian population of Gaza. The Egyptian government, (funded to the tune of $2.1 billion a year, by us, the US tax payers), would not allow the marchers to approach Gaza. How lame is that? And how predictable! I live in the USA and during this time Dec 25th 2009-Jan3rd 2010 I saw no reference to Gaza or the Freedom March or the multi national protesters gathered there. Anyway I was moved, in the circumstances, to record a new version of " We shall overcome". It seems appropriate.

Roger Waters

Many thanks to G.E Smith: lead guitar and Thor Jonsson, drum programming and whatever. Thanks guys!!!

PS. 3rd June 2010

And now piracy!!!!!!!

"This Time We Went Too Far"

2010-03-29T11:33:00.001+03:00

The simmering discontent with Israeli conduct reached a boiling point in December 2008 when Israel invaded Gaza. The merciless Israeli assault on a defenseless civilian population evoked widespread shock and disgust. Deep fissures opened up in the Jewish communities, especially among the younger generations. Many of Israel’s erstwhile supporters who did not vocally dissent chose to remain silent rather than defend the indefensible.

Part of the forward in Norman G. Finkelstein's new book: "This Time We Went Too Far, Truth and Consequences of the Gaza Invasion"

تجربة نساء لبنانيات حملن السلاح

2010-02-14T11:44:00.001+02:00

تحت المجهر - السلاح في ايد ناعمة

فيلم وثائقي يحكي تجربة نساء لبنانيات حملن السلاح في الحرب الأهلية وضد إسرائيل يحكين بعضا من تجاربهن وكم أثر السلاح على أنوثتهن

السلاح في أيد ناعمة من إنتاج قناة الجزيرة

بحث وتحقيق : رياض قبيسي وجوزفين ديب

إعداد وإخراج : بلال خريس

نور زعزع بدور الشهيدة سناء محيدلي

تاريخ بث البرنامج: 12-11-2009

"I am the Resistance"

2010-01-19T19:43:00.001+02:00

Whenever there is injustice, there are people fighting it with every possible means. We have seen it so many times before: the oppressed rise up, the oppressor dehumanizes them calling them such names as "terrorists", "saboteurs", "death loving" extremists... It is only normal that the oppressor will always lie to justify his actions and its crimes.

What is different in the case of Palestine, is that the Israeli regime has built an effective media and communications networks and campaigns to distort the image of the Palestinian resistance, and that a large portion of the world has believed the Israeli line and hence adopted it.

It is our duty to remember and remind the world that the Palestinian freedom fighter is a man, a woman, like any other. He loves his family. She loves her country. They seek a better future. They are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of justice and freedom. They waited for the world to lift the blatant injustice that has befallen them since 1948. They expected the world to understand when they took up arms to lift this injustice themselves.

Now, they don't care what anyone else calls them. They do not seek anyone's permission, just like any resistance movement. They believe that their cause will be triumphant because it is a cause for justice and humanity. They are merely fulfilling their duty to make the day of justice in Palestine come sooner. So should we.

Source.

Finkelstein: "I don't respect the crocodile tears... I don't like to play... the holocaust card"

2010-01-17T13:59:00.003+02:00

A must see clip of Norman Finkelstein responding to the use of the Holocaust as an excuse for Israel's atrocities against the Palestinians.

different path to the same content

2010-01-03T11:55:00.001+02:00

testing a different address: moussabashir.com to the same content: urshalim.blogspot.com

Gaza / Palestine tribute مي نصر - يما مويل الهوا

2009-12-29T20:52:00.004+02:00

يما مويل الهوا يما مويليا
ضرب الخناجر ولا حكم النذل فيا

ومشيت تحت الشتا والشتا رواني
والصيف لما أتى ولع من نيراني
بيضل عمري انفدى ندر للحرية
يما مويل

يا ليل صاح الندى يشهد على جراحي
وانسل جيش العدا من كل النواحي
والليل شاف الردى عم يتعلم بيا
يما مويل الهوا

بارودة الجبل أعلى من العالي
مفتح درب الأمل والأمل برجالي
يا شعبنا يا بطل أفديك بعينيا
يما مويل الهوا

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDQDXxb29Y0

Gaza - Palestine: montaging the massacre

2009-12-27T11:23:00.004+02:00

"A montage documenting the massacre committed by Israel during the atrocity dubbed "Operation Cast Lead"."

Gaza Lives On - children laugh despite everything

2009-12-27T08:11:00.006+02:00

"One year later, it is very important to remember what happened in Gaza. But it is more important to realize the aspirations of the Palestinian people in Gaza. They deserve our solidarity, respect and reverence. They deserve justice. It is the duty of every person to contribute to break the unprecedented siege and bringing the criminals behind this atrocity to justice.

On 27 December 2009, after a year and a half of total siege, the brutal war on Gaza was launched. It was carnage, a disgrace to humanity and civilization, and indictment of the free world. One year later, the siege continues, the disgrace has not been lifted, and the Palestinian people still endure, resist and live. The Zionists either don't understand that, or don't want to. Delusion is a characteristic of mass murders and racist criminals."
The Never Before Campaign for Palestine

Bethlehem Christmas cancelled: The Wall must fall

2009-12-25T08:58:00.001+02:00

"I produced this video to go with the soundtrack to Garth Hewitt's song "They've cancelled christmas in Bethlehem (The wall must fall)..."

Age of Similitude

2009-12-24T08:34:00.002+02:00

This is the age of Similitude conquering all.
هيدا وقت الشبه محتل الكلّ
Written, composed and directed by Nadim Mohsen.
Enjoy.

Israel Admits Stealing Palestinian Organs

2009-12-21T21:39:00.001+02:00

"If such is what they are willing to admit, imagine how much they are concealing," Knesset member Teibi told IOL. - the rest of the article ...

Court sentences Lebanese woman for beating Filipino helper

2009-12-13T19:33:00.003+02:00

Al-Akhbar reported that a Lebanese court sentenced a Lebanese women to jail and to pay a fine for beating her home helper. The abused Filipino, Johalin Malibago, was not present in the court when the sentence was pronounced. "Ethiopian Suicides" blog translated the article from which following is quoted:

On 9 December 2009, a criminal court judge (single judge) in Batroun sentenced a Lebanese woman who beat the Filipino maid who was working at her home to 15 days of prison, to a fine of fifty thousand Lebanese Pounds, and to payment to Jonalin Malibago, the Pilipino maid, of ten million and eight hundred Lebanese Pounds in compensation.

Al-Akhbar newspaper declared it “victory of the judiciary” and hailed it as an important step on the road to fighting racist behavior of some Lebanese. What gave the sentencing importance is the presence of the victim in her home country, the Philippine. The judge refused the request of the Lebanese woman to bring the victim in front of the court.

The rest of the article ...

Jewish / Not Jewish

2009-12-12T15:34:00.003+02:00

In the photo above:
She: I'm from Austin, Tx. Israel would pay me to move to HIS LAND because I'm JEWISH.
He: I'm from Palestine. I cannot return to MY LAND because I'm NOT JEWISH.

Stop Killing Children

2009-12-06T21:45:00.005+02:00

The Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel launched a billboard campaign calling on the public to take action against the US military aid supplied to Israel.

Visit Stop30Billion.com

Hidden Shame of Lebanese Domestic Violence

2009-12-05T09:23:00.004+02:00

... he would first attack the children -he would tie up and beat their son and daughter.
If she tried to stop him, he would put a knife to their throats and threaten to kill them.
On other days he would ask her and the children to chose their own instrument of torture - a thick electric cable, a hammer, a hose.
After each beating - and some of them lasted for hours - he would rape her and then force all three of them into a shower to wash off the blood.

... campaigners estimate that at least three quarters of Lebanese women experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives. "On the outside Lebanon seems like a very liberal place. Women here party, many dress as they like, they work. But if you dig deeper and if you look at the issue of marriage, women have no rights,"...

Two minarets. One in Zurich, one in Geneva.

2009-11-30T19:55:00.005+02:00

"And now Switzerland, the country that once hosted the first Zionist Congress in Basel, must live with its once-upon-a-time image as a tolerant and enlightened country shattered by reactionary bigotry in a country whose Muslim population is barely 6% out of a total population of 7.5 million. Fewer than 20% of Switzerland's Muslims practice their faith. Switzerland's entire census of minarets adds up to two. Two minarets. One in Zurich, one in Geneva. Not that it would have, or should have, made a difference if there were 10. Or 100. Or 1,000. There is no difference between a minaret and a church steeple. Neither has a claim greater or lesser than the other on faith. Both can be equally imposing visually and off-putting, or comforting, to the ears: churches have their bells, which can be infernal even to well-mannered Christian ears, and minarets have their muezzin's chants which, for all their beauty, can get on one's nerves in the middle of a nappy afternoon." more...

Time Will Tell

2009-11-29T09:57:00.002+02:00

Oh, ma children are cryin'.
Oh, children, weep no more!
Oh, ma sycamore tree, saw the freedom tree.
All you ... have spoke:
Oh, children, weep no more;
Weep no more: children, weep no more!

In and Out of Proportion

2009-11-15T21:23:00.007+02:00

Hilariously ugly is when the pedestal is too large for the monument.
The harder they fall is when the monument is too large for the pedestal.

Young women in Fallujah are terrified of having children

2009-11-13T16:02:00.004+02:00

"Young women in Fallujah in Iraq are terrified of having children because of the increasing number of babies born grotesquely deformed, with no heads, two heads, a single eye in their foreheads, scaly bodies or missing limbs. In addition, young children in Fallujah are now experiencing hideous cancers and leukaemias. These deformities are now well documented, for example in television documentaries on SKY UK on September 1 2009, and on SKY UK June 2008. Our direct contact with doctors in Fallujah report that: In September 2009, Fallujah General Hospital had 170 new born babies, 24% of whom were dead within the first seven days, a staggering 75% of the dead babies were classified as deformed."

Will the UN or the USA or the UK ever acknowledge this serious problem in Iraq specifically in Fallujah, Basra, Baghdad and Al - Najaf? Will they implement the cleaning up of toxic materials that was used by the occupying forces to "bring democracy" to the people of Iraq? Was the use of Depleted Uranium and White Phosphorus, among other deadly and toxic weapons, necessary for the Birth of the "New Middle East"? Was it worth it? Just wondering...

Migrant workers face abuse in Lebanon

2009-11-13T14:02:00.004+02:00

October was a deadly month for female domestic workers in Lebanon. At least six have died under mysterious circumstances, constituting a "clear pattern that cannot be ignored," Human Rights Watch researcher Nadim Houry told the Daily Star.

Ethiopian (and all other nationalities of domestic workers in Lebanon) Suicide Blog is worthy of a visit.

Video below, dated 22 August 2009, by Al-Jazeera:

“Kteer mdaprass,” (I’m very depressed)

2009-11-13T13:00:00.003+02:00

"Lebanon ranks as one of the most highly depressed nations in the world, with 6.6% of the Lebanese population suffering from some form of depression, according to recent statistics produced by a Harvard Medical School and World Health Organization (WHO) joint study. The study lists Lebanon next to the other most dejected nations of the world, including the US (9.6%) at the top, Ukraine (9.1%), France (8.5%) and the Netherlands (6.9%).

“Kteer mdaprass,” (I’m very depressed): “mdaprass,” a Lebanese-Arabic adaptation of the English word “depressed,” was coined by Lebanese youth and is widely used in colloquial speech, understood as a casual expression of a state of utter frustration and dejection."

For more on this issue go to NowLebanon...

UrShalim by Any Name is Always Quds Al Aqdaas - قدس الاقداس

2009-11-08T14:49:00.005+02:00

Contrary to the Arrogant Zionist claim that the Apartheid State of "Israel" invented the name "UrShalim", the fact is that this name is so ancient, it even predates Judaism. And it certainly is many thousand years older than any Racist Zionist. (You go do your research.)

Zionists have Orwellianly tarnished everything they have ever touched or pronounced. After forcefully and illegally occupying a Land that is not theirs and after massacring its people (Palestinians) and after lying and creating chaos and pain where ever they set foot, they created a naming committee that was given the task of erasing the names of thousands of Arab places, including those of hills, valleys and springs, and creating Hebrew names in their place.
Ben Gurion, told the committee: “We are obliged to remove the Arabic names for reasons of state.”
This was and still is the reason for every atrocity that the Zionist commit.

Today, the Zionist Occupiers are at it again. Promoting a new phase of their plot. Attempting to erase an entire people with their history and culture. An ethnic cleansing based on a sick "justification" of "Israel" being the state of a pure race/religion: "the Jewish State". Hence this new inhumane and illegal act of "Judaifying Jerusalem, Judaifying Al Quds or Judaifying UrShalim".

UrShalim is NOT and will NEVER BE the Capital City of the Apartheid State of "Israel".
UrShalim is the symbol of resistance to all forms of oppression, aggression, injustice, bigotry, racism and all forms of hatred propagated by the "Zionists".

UrShalim will always be Al Quds / The Holy.

And Until justice prevails for those whom UrShalim stands for, until justice for the dispossessed Palestinians is materialized, peace will be but a juvenile day dream for the delusional.

Beyond Brainwash

2009-06-27T18:50:00.001+03:00

"The Lebanese forces burned my handicapped father, but it's Hasan Nasrallah who threatens me"

One billion worldwide suffer from hunger

2009-06-20T09:35:00.006+03:00

"The silent hunger crisis - affecting one-sixth of all of humanity - poses a serious risk for world peace and security...
It's the first time in human history that we have so many hungry people in the world...
And that's a contradiction, because a lot of the world is very rich despite the economic crisis."

aliens with orange eyes

2009-06-06T14:53:00.007+03:00

you've got to agree with the fourteeners when they talk about impending doom if FPM and Co. win the elections, i mean, look at their supporters: aliens with sharp fangs, orange eyes, yellow drool...

photo credit

orange flags

2009-06-05T11:01:00.003+03:00

"I want one orange flag with the check mark,
look,they're everywhere,
how come everyone has one and I don't?
can I get one yellow one too, please"

That was my eight year old son, somewhere on the road, in Beirut, in one of those traffics...

bell curve

2009-06-05T10:54:00.003+03:00

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” - George Carlin

now think lebanese

now think fourteeners

now think...

whatever

just think

Twittering your life away?

2009-06-03T21:12:00.002+03:00

"A young man struggles against the pressure to Twitter his life away.
From: "SuperNews!" An animated sketch comedy series..."

Tania Saleh: "Ya Wled"

2009-06-03T20:36:00.002+03:00

Tania Saleh - "Ya Wled" [Oh Children], a tribute to all Lebanese politicians. "bikaffi..." [enough...]

Lebanon: Beirut World Book Capital 2009

2009-04-25T20:44:00.008+03:00

Beirut's status as World Book Capital was officially hailed today in a ceremony held at the UNESCO building. President Sleiman spoke today praising UNESCO for their choice adding that this title is a challenge to improve literacy and encourage reading. The ceremony was attended by Speaker Berri and Prime Minister Siniora.

Beirut is the ninth city designated as World Book Capital, following Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Anterp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007) and Amsterdam (2008).

According to the selection committee, Beirut was selected “in the light of its focus on cultural diversity, dialogue and tolerance, and of its diverse and stimulating program.”

Lebanon boasts of having hundreds of publishing houses.
But Lebanon is also a country where the most sold books, in any book fair that Beirut hosts, are cook and horoscope books.
And Beirut is a city where the coffee shops, that once accommodated intellectuals from around the world, are being transformed into fashion outlets.
And where the environment, politics, economy, intellectualism, arts, etc, has reached a very low level by all standards.
A city where even selecting it as World Book Capital created petty squabbles among the officials regarding the funding (reported by BBC).
Where even the facebook group for this event has only 133 fans (when last checked).

And yes, despite all that, I will take part, plan and share responsibility in some of the activities to commemorate Beirut as World Book Capital.
Never despairing that transformations and imprints can always be made.

Beirut World Book Capital 2009 - Official Site
Beirut World Book Capital 2009 - Blog
Pierre Tristam's article on UNESCO's declaration

Lebanon: Poverty and "Faith of our Fathers"

2009-04-24T13:57:00.011+03:00

"Chicken a la Carte" a short film by Ferdinand Dimadura (2005).
Showing a portion of society actually living on the refuse of others to survive. Simple yet moving.

On the other hand, (the right one), in this our Lebanon, 28.5 per cent of the population are below the upper poverty line (US$4 per capita per day).
That's more than a million out the almost 4 million Lebanese.
8 per cent of the Lebanese population live in conditions of extreme poverty.

But did anyone hear any of the upcoming election candidates address this issue?
Is anyone of them saying anything better than just trying to prove their birth-right to be in the parliament? Some only because they were transformed from that one lucky sperm coming out of their father.. (pun intended)?
What a miracle? Only possible in Lebanon.
Or am I missing something?

But then, the Hymnal goes:
"Faith of our fathers, holy Faith, we will be true to Thee till death"
and who am I to disagree.

More on poverty in Lebanon

"Geagea wanted us to fight the Shia" says Jumblat in this Video [updated]

2009-04-18T11:19:00.010+03:00

Despite the poor quality of this video (taken by cell phone), Walid Jumblat can be heard accusing the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and "some of the Sunnis" of wishing for a Druze-Shia conflict. He can also be heard saying "we saw the Sunni in Beirut, they brought 1000 fighters from Akkar and did not last 15 min [during the mini-civil-war of May 7, 2008]. "They wanted us [Druze and Shia] to fight each other and then they would just sit and watch", he said. He stressed that the Druze dignity is preserved [despite not being dragged into a full fledged war]. At the end of the video, while talking about the elections in the Mountain, he accuses his Maronite allies of going back to "Isolationism", describing them as "once of bad quality, always of bad quality." Saad Hariri is a novice, he adds. This video ends with, "as for the Shia, England is holding dialogue with Hezbollah, [United States of] America is opening up to Iran...

I think sectarianism, feudalism, sheepism, isolationism and all their isms cousins should be eradicated before rabies spread out of control in this Lebanon.

Update: excerpts of Jumblat's clarification :

"The video was part of a long discussion which talked about the isolationist trend in the country," Jumblat said about a mobile phone video in which the Druze leader criticized Maronites and some March 14 leaders.

"I wish that (Maronite) Patriarch (Nasrallah) Sfeir and all Maronites would take the bad and insulting word I used – and which was taken out of context from a long discussion about isolation – as a mere description of the situation that caused isolationism" in Lebanese sects,

"I was expressing (my point of view on) choosing candidates particularly by the March 14 alliance. The latest victim was Nassib Lahoud who decided to withdraw his candidacy. This attitude doesn't only exist among March 14 but also rests with the other party."

Lebanese Campaign for the Boycott of Zionism

2009-04-12T19:50:00.002+03:00

Statement of Academics in Lebanon

In this latest onslaught against Palestinians, Israel has attacked a university, the Ministry of Education, schools across the Gaza Strip, and several UNRWA schools. Such attacks against learning centers are not unique for Israel. Most particularly since 1975, Israel has infringed upon the right of education for Palestinians by closing universities, schools and kindergartens, and by shelling, shooting at, and raiding hundreds of schools and several universities throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nor have these attacks been limited against Palestinians. As academics in Lebanon, we are all too familiar with Israeli onslaughts against educational centers. In its latest assault, in 2006, for example, Israel destroyed over 50 schools throughout Lebanon, and particularly schools designed for the economically disadvantaged in the South.

We thus stand, as academics in Lebanon, in urging our colleagues, regionally and internationally, to oppose this ongoing scholasticide and to support the just demand for academic boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel >>> the rest is here ...

Lebanon is Mouseland

2009-03-29T08:01:00.006+03:00

Just watch the clip.
Funny but true about us and our elections, sooo true it's pathetic. It fits us like it was tailor-made for the Lebanese.

"Israel's" crimes against Lebanon continues

2009-03-17T20:37:00.005+02:00

Israel deliberately flooded Lebanese farmlands with excess rainwater from an Israeli orchard, located off the southern town of Mais al-Jabal [South Lebanon] early Tuesday ruining crops and properties.
Tuesday's flooding is part of a systematic practice by the Israeli authorities to turn the highly-fertile land into swamps by channeling rainwater into the fields via trenches, which were dug for that purpose.

Four candles will be lit to the glory of God and the three Prophets if the Fourteener, who was screaming on the pulpit in Biel last Saturday, mentions this crime, even if without fervor, even remotely...

Fourteener IQ Test

2009-03-15T10:17:00.008+02:00

Mark with an arrow the: 1-wimps 2-liars 3-warmongers 4-corruption perpetrators 5-war criminals 6-war criminal cook 7-chameleons (oops, this is for another test) ...

photo credit: 14 March Conference at Biel 2009

Closed Zone Gaza

2009-03-13T21:38:00.001+02:00

Santino has autonoetic consciousness

2009-03-10T08:32:00.009+02:00

"I'm personally convinced that at least chimps do plan for future needs, that they do have this autonoetic consciousness*" Dr Osvath said. A conclusion that was made upon observing Santino, a chimpanzee at the zoo in the city north of Stockholm. Santino calmly collected stones and stored them to be used later as missiles. Santino was also observed as having the ability to learn and do things that furthered his cause.

A greater scientific feat would now be to find out whether the specie inhabiting Greater Lebanon possesses autonoetic consciousness and if not (highly probable) how to induce or infuse it into them.

*Autonoetic consciousness constitutes of the ability to remember and mentally relive past events in addition to imagining the future and making long term plans.

Abooouuuut, FACE

2009-03-08T08:59:00.005+02:00

Commander in Chief of the enlightened-sectarian-futuristic-racist-life-lovers-hookah-puffers-fourteeners has delivered his assertive and snappy command: "about FACE!"; the disciplined lieutenants of the fourteeners' troops immediately complied. Suddenly, as if through divine revelation, they discovered that Syria can play "an important and constructive role" in the Middle East. Parroting their CIC, the lieutenants started fitting the new view into the sacred slogans of democratic and independent Lebanon; land of the free miracles and sovereign war-criminals turned into saint-leaders.
Compared to this CIC and his lieutenants, the General stands out as a visionary who is a couple of steps ahead of many.

Naffikh alayha tanjali.

Raging against Israel's Apartheid

2009-03-07T14:18:00.008+02:00

Israeli Apartheid Week 2009: a week dedicated to raise awareness to the Israel's Apartheid practices against Palestinians.
Weeks and weeks of never ending rage is needed to bring the world out of its slumber and into recognizing the atrocities committed by zionists in occupied Palestine.

التطرف كل الحقـيقـة والاعتدال نصف الباطل

2009-02-09T07:01:00.001+02:00

Extremism is the whole truth; neutralism is half the shit.

Mothers across the world for Gaza

2009-02-08T10:36:00.005+02:00

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, February 8, 2009 mothers in at least THIRTEEN cities around the world will be gathering with their children, families and friends in solidarity with the Palestinian people, offering their support and condolences to the mothers and families in Gaza.

Marking the 40th day anniversary of the death of the first child in Gaza, we are gathering in Beirut, in Amman, in Nablus, in Dubai, in Derry, in Palo Alto, in Edmonton, in Helsinki, in Manchester, in Ballybofey, in Boise, in East Lansing, and in Cape Town, ... These gatherings of mourning are called to fight the de-humanization of the children, women and men killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, by reciting out loud the name of each child killed.

Today, despite the ceasefire, the siege on Gaza has not been lifted, the war on the occupied Palestinian territories has not ended, and Palestine remains hostage. We gather to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza, to show that we have not forgotten the deaths of hundreds of children and that we will not ignore the on-going blockade.

Three weeks ago, on January 18, 2009 more than 500 women, children and men gathered at the Beirut shore at sunset to collectively express our outrage at the devastating Israeli war on Gaza, and to show our solidarity with Palestinians under siege.

We will be doing it again, this time in global solidarity.
Come with your children
Hold a candle
Make a banner
Wear black
Take a stand

Place: Ralmet el-Bayda Corniche (Facing Al-Ajami on the sea front)

Date: Sunday February 8th, 2009; 5-6:30pm.

For more information visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=21133799949

Never Again / Over Again

2009-02-01T08:52:00.004+02:00

Rules for political correctness and democracy in the Middle East

2009-01-31T09:40:00.003+02:00

Rule #1: In the Middle East, it is always the Palestinians that attack first, and it's always Israel who defends itself. The name of this is "retaliation".

Rule #2: The Palestinians are not allowed to kill Israelis. The name of this is "terrorism".

Rule #3: Israel has the right to kill Palestinian civilians; the name of this is "self-defense" or "collateral damage".

Rule #4: When Israel kills too many Palestinian civilians, the Western world calls for restraint. This is called the "reaction of the international community".

Rule #5: Palestinians do not have the right to capture Israeli military, not even 1 or 2.

Rule #6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they want (around 10,000 to date being held without trial). There is no limit; there is no need for proof of guilt or a trial. All that is needed is the magic word: "terrorism".

Rule #7: When you say "Hamas", always be sure to add "supported by Hezbollah, Syria and Iran".

Rule #8: When you say "Israel", never say "supported by the USA, the UK, European countries and even some Arab regimes", for people (God forbid) might believe this is not an equal conflict.

Rule #9: When it comes to Israel, don't mention the words "occupied territories", "UN resolutions", "Geneva Conventions". This could distress the audience of Fox, CNN, etc.

Rule # 10: The Palestinians are always "cowards" who hide behind a civilian population that "they don't care about". If they (militants) sleep in houses with their families, the name of this is: "cowardice". Israel has the right to annihilate the towns where they sleep using bombs and missiles. The name of this is "high precision surgical action".

Rule #11: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1 through 9. The name of this is "neutral journalism".

Rule #12: If you don't agree with these rules or if you favor the Palestinian side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite. You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest opinion.

more+credit >>>

Find a difference between the Zionist and the Nazist in these images

2009-01-17T16:03:00.024+02:00

"THE GRANDCHILDREN OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS FROM WORLD WAR II ARE DOING TO THE PALESTINIANS EXACTLY WHAT WAS DONE TO THEM BY NAZI GERMANY…"

BUILDING WALLS & FENCES TO KEEP PEOPLE IN PRISONS

CHECK POINTS NOT TO ALLOW PEOPLE BASIC FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

ARRESTS & HARASSMENTS

DESTROYING HOMES & LIVELIHOODS

GIFTS (WITH LOVE) FROM THE CHILDREN OF PEACE-LOVING & CIVILIZED COUNTRIES

THE CLASSIC PROPAGANDA MACHINE: YOU WILL FIND THE PICTURE IN BLACK & WHITE IN ALL AMERICAN AND SOME OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES HISTORY BOOKS, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS...

... THAT DEPICTS A YOUNG JEWISH BOY WITH HIS HANDS UP WHILE NAZI TROOPS POINT THEIR GUNS AT HIM AND HIS FAMILY IN ORDER TO EXPEL THEM FROM THEIR HOMES… (IT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU SYMPATHIZE WITH THE VICTIMS & TO SUPPORT THEIR CAUSE FOR JUSTICE & A HOMELAND)

THE ISRAELIS PRACTICE THE SAME TACTICS

Thanks to the unknown person who put the effort to show the similarities and thanks to the friend who sent them to me.

Israel is deliberately murdering civilians in Gaza

2009-01-07T10:34:00.001+02:00

Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor in Gaza, tells Sky News that the number of civilians injured and killed in Gaza proves that Israel is deliberately attacking the population.

"Israel strikes civilians consciously...because they deserve it"

2009-01-07T09:44:00.006+02:00

“In South Lebanon we struck the civilian population consciously, because they deserved it…the importance of Gur’s remarks is the admission that the Israeli Army has always struck civilian populations, purposely and consciously…the Army, he said, has never distinguished civilian [from military] targets…[but] purposely attacked civilian targets even when Israeli settlements had not been struck.”
— Israeli military analyst, Ze’ev Schiff (Haaretz, May 15, 1978).

Live from Gaza

2009-01-06T22:03:00.007+02:00

Blogging Live From Gaza

Moments of Gaza: Uncovering the untold - From Gaza to the world

Gaza Strip, the Untold Story: by Sameh A. Habeeb

Also go to:

Gaza Siege: for news, events, resources and more on the atrocities committed against Gaza

Angry Arab News Service

Israel’s deterrence capacity crumbles bit by bit

2009-01-04T13:03:00.003+02:00

"Five more Israeli troops are killed in an ambush by Palestinian fighters after Israel launched a ground incursion into the Gaza strip.
The latest deaths took the number of Israeli soldiers killed and wounded after the ground invasion to 39.
Meanwhile, Hamas forces have surrounded two Israeli special forces units in the strip."

Timeline of events leading to the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip.

what Israel doesn't want us to see

2009-01-04T12:44:00.004+02:00

"It was the end for hundreds of unarmed civilians, including children. The Israeli military, one of the most powerful military forces on earth, has held the 1.5 million civilians captive within Gaza for years. Like the "dog in the manger," Israel has also deprived these civilians of the simple necessities of life, such as food and water. Still not satisfied with their under-reported atrocities against Palestinian civilians, not satisfied with the hunger, fear, malnutrition, misery, and slow death Israel has delivered to the Palestinians, not satisfied with the Palestinian homes, lands, and orchards Israel has already stolen from the rightful Palestinian owners, the Israeli interlopers have now ordered their massive military to bomb Gaza neighborhoods in a fierce attack that has today reportedly killed hundreds of civilians."

Israeli zionist land thieves built Sderot...

2009-01-04T12:17:00.000+02:00

...on the ashes of ethnically cleansed and defaced Palestinian village called Najd. Sderot is an illegally occupied territory stolen from Palestinians.

Gaza will not be subdued, not now, not ever

2009-01-04T11:13:00.001+02:00

"Both Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres said back in the 1990s that they wished Gaza would just go away, drop into the sea, and you can see why. The existence of Gaza is a permanent reminder of those hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who lost their homes to Israel, who fled or were driven out through fear or Israeli ethnic cleansing 60 years ago, when tidal waves of refugees had washed over Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War and when a bunch of Arabs kicked out of their property didn't worry the world.
Well, the world should worry now. Crammed into the most overpopulated few square miles in the whole world are a dispossessed people who have been living in refuse and sewage and, for the past six months, in hunger and darkness, and who have been sanctioned by us, the West. Gaza was always an insurrectionary place. It took two years for Ariel Sharon's bloody "pacification", starting in 1971, to be completed, and Gaza is not going to be tamed now."

"That is why Gaza exists..."

2009-01-04T11:06:00.002+02:00

"...because the Palestinians who lived in Ashkelon and the fields around it – Askalaan in Arabic – were dispossessed from their lands in 1948 when Israel was created and ended up on the beaches of Gaza.
They – or their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren – are among the one and a half million Palestinian refugees crammed into the cesspool of Gaza, 80 per cent of whose families once lived in what is now Israel. This, historically, is the real story: most of the people of Gaza don't come from Gaza.
But watching the news shows, you'd think that history began yesterday, that a bunch of bearded anti-Semitic Islamist lunatics suddenly popped up in the slums of Gaza – a rubbish dump of destitute people of no origin – and began firing missiles into peace-loving, democratic Israel, only to meet with the righteous vengeance of the Israeli air force. The fact that the five sisters killed in Jabalya camp had grandparents who came from the very land whose more recent owners have now bombed them to death simply does not appear in the story."

Israel blogging its "precision airstrikes"

2008-12-31T16:02:00.004+02:00

"Days after sending aircraft to strike Hamas militants in Gaza, the Israeli government is launching a campaign to dominate the blogosphere.
Among other things, the Israeli military has started its own YouTube channel to distribute footage of precision airstrikes."

"Precision airstrikes"?! Of course! And here are images of what those genocidal "precision airstrikes" did:

BubbleShare: Share photos - Easy Photo Sharing

"a good Arab is a dead one"

2008-12-31T14:06:00.002+02:00

"We were trained to believe that ‘a good Arab is a dead one’. A few weeks before I joined the IDF in the early 1980’s, General Rafael Eitan, the Chief of Staff at the time announced that the “Arabs were stoned cockroaches in a bottle”. He got away with it, he also got away with the murder of many thousands of Lebanese civilians in the 1st Lebanon war. In a word, Israelis manage to get away with murder."

they kill children, all the time

2008-12-31T13:55:00.002+02:00

"A mother whose three school-age children were killed, and are piled one on top of the other in the morgue, screams and then cries, screams again and then is silent."

Screams Under the Rubbles

2008-12-31T13:47:00.002+02:00

"I saw all my sisters around me and I couldn't move. No one could see me from above. The neighbours and ambulance men couldn't see us. They were walking on the bricks above us. I started to scream and told my sisters we would die. We all screamed: 'Baba, Mama. Come to help us.'"

Israel's live demo arms marketing

2008-12-31T13:21:00.005+02:00

"... they [Israel] are the fourth largest exporter of arms and have a military industrial complex rivaling that of the United States. In other words, Israel has always had a comprehensive monopoly over the use of force, and much like its super power ally, Israel uses war as an advertising showcase of its many instruments of death."

Lebanon: Solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

2008-12-30T19:47:00.003+02:00

“In Gaza There is a Boy Standing and Waiting to go to Sleep” these are the words that Mazen Kerbaj chose to summarize the situation in Gaza in one of his cartoons. Taking a second look, the cartoon seems to say: “In Gaza There is a Boy Standing and Waiting to die”.

This can also be considered as the view of most Lebanese bloggers who posted about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Most Lebanese are relating to what is going on in Gaza because of the fresh memories of the July 2006 Israeli war against Lebanon, nevertheless many have expressed that the already bad conditions of Gaza is making their predicament far worse than those of the Lebanese in 2006. Green Resistance expresses this feeling in one of many posts about Gaza by saying:

The onslaught against Gaza seems worse than the onslaught against Lebanon in July 2006.
At least, there was a narrow corridor for escape for the southerners in Lebanon in July 2006. Although many were killed en route, many were killed on the highways as they were going north; still, many were able to leave the bombardment. The people of Gaza have nowhere to go. The prison on the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza keeps getting smaller.

Tarek at Beirut NTSC writes about his friend and her family of three children, the youngest of whom is a 15 months old girl. They are in Gaza as the shelling continues. To him, the tragedy of Gaza today has a human face:

I write this blog entry because only this morning I was explaining to a German friend in Beirut that during the war there was always a haven of safety in the middle of all the madness and for some reason I added “I know someone in Gazza right now, I hope she and her family are safe, but I also know that there must be a haven there too….” I am by no means diminishing the intensity or magnitude of what is going on in Gaza, but I have to admit that whereas previously I was sympathetic with the people in Gazza “theoretically” and just out of sheer human altruism, today, tragedy has a human face for me - Ola, her husband and her three children. I particularly think of Rasha, her 15 months-old daughter, who is either blissfully unaware of what is going on, or - on the contrary - has her mind registering the sights and sounds in front of her....

>>> Read the rest at Global Voices

Zionism: History of Child Killing

2008-12-30T10:00:00.007+02:00

A Palestinian police officer carries a wounded girl from the site of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem, 29 December 1947. Militants from the Irgun Zionist group threw a bomb into a bus in the Palestinian residential quarter outside Herod's Gate, killing 17 Palestinian civilians. (Photo: Walid Khalidi/Before Their Diaspora).

A Palestinian police officer carries a wounded girl into the emergency room at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, 27 December 2008. Israeli warplanes pounded dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip in unprecedented waves of air strikes Saturday, killing at least 155 and wounding more than 310. (Photo: Majed Hamdan/AP)

thanking Lawrence of Cyberia

Sameh Habeeb blogging from Gaza

2008-12-28T11:15:00.004+02:00

"A family of 9 members, 15 young children, and some women were killed but not recognized. The Ministry of Health is not able to recognize the ID's of casualties...
Gaza hospitals announced inability of receiving the wounded due to lack of medical equipment and tools. Corpses of Palestinians were thrown on the corridors, rooms and units of hospitals. Meanwhile 2-3 wounded victims shared one bed due to lack of medical equipment, a result of the Israeli siege imposed 2 years ago...
Israel warcraft still hovers on low distance on Gaza vowing of a hot night!" Writes Sameh A. Habeeb, who lives in Gaza where he maintains his blog: Gaza Strip, the Untold Story.

Atrocity Sanitized

2008-12-28T09:04:00.004+02:00

"My parents live in the the city center, and the Israeli war planes attacked people and locations all around them. Over 50 "targets"by 60 warplanes, read the headlines in Haaretz. And over 220 killed- in broad daylight; in the after-school rush.
Like a movie tagline. Or a game. If you say it enough times, it does not sound real anymore: 50 targets, 60 warplanes, 200 people, 1 day.
All very sanitary. Very sleek. Neatly packaged: war in a gift-box." -Laila El-Haddad

Palestinians: Right to remain silent while killed

2008-12-27T19:53:00.013+02:00

"... today's horrific attacks mark only a change in Israel's method of killing Palestinians recently. In recent months they died mostly silent deaths, the elderly and sick especially, deprived of food and necessary medicine by the two year-old Israeli blockade calculated and intended to cause suffering and deprivation to 1.5 million Palestinians, the vast majority refugees and children, caged into the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, Palestinians died silently, for want of basic medications: insulin, cancer treatment, products for dialysis prohibited from reaching them by Israel.

What the media never question is Israel's idea of a truce. It is very simple. Under an Israeli-style truce, Palestinians have the right to remain silent while Israel starves them, kills them and continues to violently colonize their land. Israel has not only banned food and medicine to sustain Palestinian bodies in Gaza but it is also intent on starving minds: due to the blockade, there is not even ink, paper and glue to print textbooks for schoolchildren."
thanks: Ali Abunimah - Electronic Intifada

Today, Israeli warplanes carried out a massive air-strike inside Gaza, a prison like strip of land about 370 sq km with a besieged population of 1.5 million, killing at least 210 and wounding hundreds others.

Palestinian blood for Israeli elections

2008-12-27T19:05:00.000+02:00

"As in years past, the yardstick by which all candidates in Israeli elections are measured is their security (re: war) credentials...

… they must prove they too can flaunt international law, expropriate land, dismiss as self-inflicted the suffering and hardships of an occupied people, and more importantly, shed Palestinian blood. What better testing ground than Gaza?...

Leadership credentials will be built on spilling Palestinian blood. The image of the mighty Israel Defense Forces will be rehabilitated, albeit against a besieged and starving population. Egypt, along with the Arab monarchies, will watch approvingly from the sidelines. And the remarkable ability of the human spirit to resist foreign invasion and occupation will again, in the end, triumph."

thanks: Rannie Amiri - CounterPunch

Honor vs Shame

2008-12-21T10:12:00.003+02:00

"There is one question left unanswered in the saga of the Shoes Seen Round The World: What does it take to actually offend George W. Bush?"

Answer: Nothing can!

A person who does not know what honor is can not be expected to feel shame.

Sock and Awe

2008-12-16T21:09:00.005+02:00

Sock and Awe is an online game where anyone can emulate Muntathar Al Zaidi and hurl shoes to hit Pres Bush in the face.
The seemingly simple act by Muntathar has become a major event that has unlocked emotions of pride and anger around the world but especially in the Arab world. Protests and demonstrations of support for Muntathar and denunciation for Bush's policies and atrocities are taking place in countries of the Middle East including Lebanon.
This game comes with a counter that is continuously counting the millions (so far) of successful slams, from around the world, on Bush's face. Check it out, just for the fun of it.

Bush gets a "goodbye kiss from the people of Iraq"

2008-12-15T21:20:00.004+02:00

"Never in the history of humanity have so few shoes expressed the sincerest feelings of so many to one who was so deserving of that expression."

Journalist Muntathar Al Zaidi shouted: "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog" with the first shoe he threw at Bush, followed by "this is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq" as he threw the second shoe.

And maybe no one has put so much time and effort to explain the implications of throwing or showing the soles of shoes in "The Arab Culture", as has the Angry Arab, since the American invasion of Iraq. A national day commemorating the "sole-of-shoes" should be declared and then everyone can celebrate, especially the dude who offered 10m dollars to buy the "hurled shoes".

Keeping the light on Palestine

2008-12-14T20:57:00.004+02:00

"As you read this, one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are without access to food, medicine or fuel from outside the tiny territory. Half of the bakeries in Gaza have shut down, and others have resorted to baking bread with animal feed. This is not the result of a natural disaster, but the intended consequence of a political decision by Israel's government.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip an "abomination" and said that the international community's "silence and complicity" about the crisis in Palestine "shames us all."

>>> Read more from The Electronic Intifada (EI) especially the appeal to keep it working on breaking the silence, exposing the complicity, and giving voice to those working for a different world.

Palestine: The Culture ...

2008-12-08T21:49:00.008+02:00

... that rejects fading into oblivion.
So, Mr. and Ms. Zionism and Co, you just go ahead and blockade all you want; shoot, kill and then go around crying and begging for sympathy; lie all your lies; commit massacres and genocide with all your might and then lobby, trying to keep everyone blind to your acts; do all that you can, you'll never be able to end or break this culture, or to even stop this song

Gaza's Reality: A Glimpse ...

2008-12-08T21:11:00.004+02:00

... a glimpse ... and my impotent attempt to take a stand and contribute to ending the misery or breaking the blockade...

Maha Taki's Blogging Questionnaire

2008-11-02T10:34:00.005+02:00

The following message is from Ms Maha Taki. Kindly read and fill the questionnaire, if you are a blogger, to help with Maha's research on blogging in Lebanon and Syria. Thank you for your time.

Hello bloggers

I'm currently doing exploratory research on blogging for my PhD degree at the University of Westminster, UK. I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes of your time to fill out this questionnaire in order to help me find out more about blogging in Lebanon and Syria. Your replies are crucial to helping in my evaluation. Most people are able to complete the questionnaire in less than 8 minutes.

Please note that your responses and any comments will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and your annonymity will be granted throughout my analysis. If you have questions at any time about the survey or the procedures, please do not hesitate to contact me at mahataki@gmail.com.

Thank you very much for your time and valuable input and please pass on the link to other bloggers and put it on your blog if possible.

I have two versions: One in english and one in Arabic. Please only fill out the one of your language choice, they are identical.

English version:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ga_2f1i2evTudF5QgJDGWXow_3d_3d

Arabic version:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=XxEzT1inehCPe3BKOqjYDw_3d_3d

Lebanon: Dichotomies R Us

2008-10-26T10:29:00.012+02:00

Dichotomy: a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities, "the dichotomy between theory and practice"...

For example, Tajaddod Youth quotes Nassib Lahoud as saying: “I am a Maronite when I’m not doing politics”, and the writer believes that this is "certainly one of my [his] favourites from a politician. [He believes] it sums up an ideal in one sentence, a day when Lebanese would deal with each other not as Muslims or Christians, Druze or Maronite, but as citizens of a secular state."

"As citizens of a secular state" he says, yeh right. Wonder how it escapes us that the above quote only shows why "a secular state" is not possible. This quote simply voices the core of the Lebanese problem, that of the "Lebanese Identity". A moderate and respectable "Lebanese leader" will identify himself by his sect first and foremost, even when he is making an anti-sectarian statement for a secular Lebanon. And if you live in Lebanon, you don't have to look far to see what the rest of the "Lebanese" believe and say when asked about their national identity. You get dichotomies, trichotomies and quadrochotomies that are fit for case studies in psychological anomalies.

But then again, is there really something as a "Lebanese Identity"?

Lebanon: the stench of decay

2008-10-12T11:50:00.007+03:00

Okay, since we are now in agreement that Lebanon is blessed with great attributes and glorious aspects, let's put that aside and take a closer look at what is rotting.

Let us fast forward past our clearly diagnosed diseases such as racism, discrimination against foreign workers and abuse against women. Let's look past the mass migration of young graduates and a report, a couple of years ago, that 50% of Lebanese youth do drugs.

Let us just look, for now, at these statistics, compiled during the past months of this year (2008). The numbers show, when compared to the previous years, that:

murder is on the rise by 58%. This percentage excludes those killed during May clashes. Motives include theft, family quarrels and rape.
suicide indicates an increase of 116% with motives such as despair over illness, emotional or financial problems.
divorce has increased by 44% with seventy percent of these being marriages that have taken place during the past 5 years. This increase is parallel to a decrease in the number of marriage contracts..
theft, especially theft of cars, has increased by 27%.

Now add to these numbers like:

54% of the Lebanese do not benefit from health insurance and rely of the Ministry of Health to cover health care expenses.
26% of Lebanese families do not own a house.
43% of Lebanese families do not own means of transportation at a time when public transportation is practically non existent.
90% of our waste water goes into the Mediterranean sea and leak into underground water.
the joke of the hours of electricity supply per day

Also add to these: the numbers of registered mentally ill or physically challenged as a result of the conflicts, the millions of square meters of land that are inaccessible because of the land mines planted by the waring factions etc etc etc.

What's worse is that the same stinking shit-heads who are supposed to be held accountable and guilty for this mess, keep marketing themselves and their children as the saviors of the wretched Lebanese and they keep winning back their positions as leaders. What's worse is that they proudly announce that they are preparing their grandchildren to inherit their legacy. Now that's a favor that deserves gratitude.

But the worst stench comes from the people who accept, with complete submission, that they are blessed and honored to be accepted as faithful followers and believers.

The State of Affairs - An Update

2008-10-11T08:46:00.003+03:00

dust in the wind

2008-09-14T08:03:00.002+03:00

strange!.. feels like this blog has accumulated some dust... i can almost smell it... dammit! is that a spider web i see in that corner?!..

now my free will is taking the blow

2008-08-28T15:38:00.005+03:00

Many scientists and philosophers are convinced that free will doesn’t exist at all. According to these skeptics, everything that happens is determined by what happened before—our actions are inevitable consequences of the events leading up to the action—and this fact makes it impossible for anyone to do anything that is truly free. This kind of anti-free will stance stretches back to 18th century philosophy, but the idea has recently been getting much more exposure through popular science books and magazine articles. Should we worry? If people come to believe that they don’t have free will, what will the consequences be for moral responsibility?

My free will, my poor poor free will, my pride and joy, now they tell me to abandon even this sweet illusion!

honorable white minister enchanted by our women

2008-08-27T17:18:00.003+03:00

charming honorable white minister is pleased with our women?! joyful honorable minister does us the honor of flirting with our women?!
... be happy honorable white man ...
we know that every time one of you honorable white men is unhappy, many of us suffer the consequences ...

Gaza Siege Cracked [Cartoon]

2008-08-27T08:21:00.006+03:00

Image credit where credit and gratitude are due and they are due to Latuff.

Lebanon: migrant domestic workers die at a rate of more than one per week

2008-08-26T20:08:00.005+03:00

"Kamala Nagari, a Nepalese national who injured herself on February 20, 2008 while trying to escape, told Human Rights Watch from her hospital bed:

“I was locked in for two days, and they [the employers] did not give me food and water. Then after two days, I wanted to run away. The apartment was on the fifth floor. I tried to go down using cable wires running along the wall of building. The cable broke, and I do not remember what happened afterwards.”"

"Since January 2007, at least 95 migrant domestic workers have died in Lebanon. Of these 95 deaths, 40 are classified by the embassies of the migrants as suicide, while 24 others were caused by workers falling from high buildings, often while trying to escape their employers. By contrast, only 14 domestic workers died because of diseases or health issues. (For basic details of cases compiled by Human Rights Watch, please visit: http://www.hrw.org/pub/2008/women/Lebanon.MDW.Annex.082608.pdf.)"

"“Domestic workers are dying in Lebanon at a rate of more than one per week,” said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “All those involved – from the Lebanese authorities, to the workers’ embassies, to the employment agencies, to the employers – need to ask themselves what is driving these women to kill themselves or risk their lives trying to escape from high buildings.”" >>> for the rest of the report go to HRW

Robot with biological brain

2008-08-16T08:41:00.006+03:00

Although the invisibility cloak may still be in the realm of the nano scale (billionths of a meter) and has not yet been developed to normal human perception size, the mechanical robot with the biological brain is here. This robot is a step towards the sci-fi images that you may be envisioning. Scientists have created a robot controlled by a biological brain made of rat neurons.

The robot, named Gordon, represents a remarkable bridging of the gap between biology and technology (bionics). Gordon’s brain is made up of some 300,000 neurons taken from the neural cortex of a rat fetus, which are contained in multi electrode array that packs 60 electrodes to pick up the signals generated by the cells and control the robot.

Research and work are now directed towards getting the robot to learn from its experience. Researchers aim at witnessing how memories manifest themselves in the brain when the robot revisits familiar places.

"This new research is tremendously exciting as firstly the biological brain controls its own moving robot body, and secondly it will enable us to investigate how the brain learns and memorizes its experiences," said the university's Kevin Warwick of the School of Systems Engineering. "This research will move our understanding forward of how brains work, and could have a profound effect on many areas of science and medicine."

Watch the video below (almost a min) of the rat-brain robot in action:

mourning good question

2008-08-14T17:28:00.007+03:00

Here it is, posed by EDB:

Yesterday morning, 14 people were killed and a further 35 wounded in a bus bombing in downtown Tripoli. In response, Prime Minister Saniora called for "one hour" of mourning today. What happened to the three-day mourning period for every two-bit politician?

And here's the terrorist attack.

Darwish was put under house arrest for years

2008-08-10T23:31:00.003+03:00

"this man--this poet--was put under house arrest by the Israeli military occupation for close to a decade and only because he wrote poetry that offended Israeli occupiers of Palestine. Just think about that. This is why the question should always be: not why would anybody support Israel, but why would any humane person not to be opposed to the very existence of such a state. This is a state that puts a poet who never carried a gun under house arrest."

how we used theater to conquer 33 days of barbarism

2008-08-10T13:02:00.001+03:00

"This clip is an excerpt from the film "33 Days" by Mai Masri.
This edited clip follows a theater director who devotes his strength and time to the Lebanese children affected by the massive Israeli bombing that took place on Lebanon's city's and suburbs."

Mahmoud Darwish: ايها المارّون

2008-08-10T13:00:00.001+03:00

"Mossad kills 350 Iraqi nuclear scientist"

2008-08-08T22:30:00.004+03:00

Dar Babl published, two days ago, a synopsis of a report, which it claimed was sent to President Bush by the State Department (foreign affairs), stating that the Mossad (Israel's Intelligence Institute) has killed 350 Iraqi nuclear scientist in addition to more than 200 university professors from different scientific specialties. It stated that this was done with the help of the American occupation forces. According to the report, these killings were done after the American forces failed in their attempts to recruit these scientists to work in and for the USA. According to Dar Babl, this measure, which targets about 1000 scientists, was taken because Israel believes that the scientists pose a threat to its security if they remain alive.

Update: A commentator brought my attention to this article (En), published May 2006, with the same information. (Thanks).

Dedicated to Lebanese Ultra Nationalists

2008-08-08T14:49:00.006+03:00

This is a very beautiful song. Its lyrics are written by Said Akel, music composed by the Rahbani Brothers and performed by Fayrouz. All three are depicted by Lebanese nationalists as symbols and proof of the "uniqueness of the Lebanese race".
I dedicate this song to all my ultra-nationalist Lebanese friends.
Fayrouz sings to the glory of Syria, whose existence marked the end of history's dark ages as well as to the vital bonds between Lebanon and Syria. Enjoy.

شام يا ذا السيف
شعر: سعيد عقل
غناء: فيروز
ألحان: الأخوين رحباني

شامُ يا ذا السَّـيفُ لم يَغِبِ
يا كَـلامَ المجدِ في الكُتُبِ

قبلَكِ التّاريـخُ في ظُلمـةٍ
بعدَكِ استولى على الشُّهُبِ

لي ربيـعٌ فيـكِ خبَّأتُـهُ
مِـلءَ دُنيا قلبـيَ التّعِـبِ

يومَ عَينَاها بِسـاطُ السَّما
والرِّمَاحُ السودُ في الهُدُبِ

تلتوي خَصـراً فأومي إلى
نغمـةِ النّـايِ ألا انتَحِبي

أنا في ظِـلِّكَ يا هُدبَـها
أحسُـبُ الأنجُـمَ في لُعَبي

طابتِ الذكرى فَمَنْ رَاجِعٌ
بي كما العودُ إلى الطربِ؟

شـامُ أهلوكِ إذا همْ على
نُـوَبٍ ، ٍقلبي على نُـوبِ

أنا أحـبابيَ شِـعري لهمْ
مثلما سَـيفي وسَـيفُ أبي

أنا صَـوتي مِنكَ يا بَرَدَى
مثلما نَبعُـك مِـن سُـحُبي

ثلـجُ حَرْمُـونَ غَذَانا مَعاً
شامِخاً كالعِـزِّ في القُـبَبِ

وَحَّـدَ الدُنيا غَـداً جَبَـلٌ
لاعِـبٌ بالرّيـحِ والحِقَـبِ

Sami El Haj recounts time spent at Guantánamo

2008-08-08T13:09:00.004+03:00

"His account is crucial. Like the other detainees, also wrongly labelled as “terrorists”, Sami El Haj was never tried and was never informed of the charges against him. Which demonstrates that President Bush, and the journalists who supported his theories, must have invented the “Islamic terrorists”. Human beings like Sami El Haj could never have been arrested or remained hostages of this barbarism, for the simple reason that they are Muslims, without the complicity of European governments and those Islamophobic propagandists under the orders of Tel Aviv and Washington who, for decades, have been disinforming public opinion and influencing the powers that be with their lies."

"They beat us up. They taunted us with racist insults. They locked us in cold rooms, below zero, with one cold meal a day. They hung us up by our hands. They deprived us of sleep, and when we started to fall asleep, they beat us on the head. They showed us films of the most horrendous torture sessions. They showed us photographs of torture victims – dead, swollen, covered in blood. They kept us under constant threat of being moved elsewhere to be tortured even more. They doused us with cold water. They forced us to do the military salute to the American national anthem. They forced us to wear women’s clothes. They forced us to look at pornographic images. They threatened us with rape. They would strip us naked and make us walk like donkeys, ordering us around. They made us sit down and stand up five hundred times in a row. They humiliated the detainees by wrapping them up in the Israeli and American flags, which was their way of telling us that we were imprisoned because of a religious war."

bulldozing the "moral superiority of Israel"

2008-08-06T17:05:00.004+03:00

The bulldozer as a destructive and even lethal weapon was not invented by the Palestinians. They are merely imitating an Israeli "fashion" that is as old as the state, or at least as old as the occupation. Let us forget for a moment the 416 villages Israel wiped off the face of the earth in 1948...

In 2004, for example, 10,704 Palestinians were made homeless after the IDF destroyed 1,404 homes, mostly in Gaza, due to "operational needs." In the Jenin refugee camp, Israel destroyed 560 homes; the legendary bulldozer driver "Kurdi" told how he would swig whiskey as he "turned Jenin into a soccer field." ...

Do not say that our bulldozers only destroy but do not kill. Who killed peace activist Rachel Corrie ... And what about the Shubi family in the Nablus casbah - a grandfather, two aunts, a mother and two children - crushed under bulldozers? And who killed Jamal Faid, a handicapped man from the Jenin camp, whose wheelchair only was found under the ruins of his house, with his body never recovered? Was that not bulldozer terror?

another one on the "moral superiority of Israel"

2008-08-06T16:25:00.004+03:00

Spy or die:

Seriously ill Palestinian patients are being pressured to collaborate with Israeli intelligence by informing on militant and other activities in return for being allowed out of Gaza for medical treatment a report says today. full report at the Independent

on the "moral superiority of Israel"

2008-08-06T13:21:00.000+03:00

"An Israeli child from a far-right settler group in the West Bank city of Hebron hurls a stone up the stairs of a Palestinian family close to their settlement and shouts: "I will exterminate you." Another spits towards the same family.

Another settler woman pushes her face up to a window and snarls: "Whore!"

They are shocking images. There is footage of beatings, their aftermath, and the indifference of Israel's security forces to serious human rights abuses. There is footage too of those same security forces humiliating Palestinians – and most seriously – committing abuses themselves." - the rest at the Guardian

here goes nothing

2008-08-06T09:21:00.002+03:00

GV Summit- Day Two Completed!

2008-06-30T16:27:00.001+03:00

While Day One of the Global Voices Summit focused on Advocacy, today focused more upon Global Voices proper, with information presented on the other GV projects of Rising Voices and Lingua.

The day began with an introduction by Georgia Poppelwell (GV Managing Director) and Solana Larsen (GV Managing Editor), in which our wonderful wonderful sponsors were thanked. David Sasaki (Rising Voices Outreach) spoke briefly about the latest ongoings of the Rising Voices project, and showed a short film that featured the current independent projects being funded by Outreach .

Session 1: Web 2.0 Goes Worldwide was moderated by Lova Rakotomalala, with Catalina Restrepo (HiperBarrio, Colombia), Collins Dennis Oduor (REPACTED, Kenya), Cristina Quisbert (Voces Bolivianas, Bolivia), Mialy Andriamananjara (FOKO, Madagascar) speaking. It was live blogged by Rebecca Wanjiku. This panel gathered leaders of cutting-edge Web 2.0 initiatives from Colombia, Kenya, Bolivia, and Madagascar who seek to make the global conversation more representative of the global population. Issues pertaining to their specific projects and the challenges that they have overcome.

Session 2: The Wired Electorate in Emerging Democracies focused on how the rise of blogging, social networking and micro-blogging services like Facebook and Twitter, video- and photo-sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr, and the spread of mobile technology have given ordinary citizens the means to participate more fully in the democratic process. Looking at the impact these tools have had on recent elections were Daudi Were (Kenya), Onnik Krikorian (Armenia), Hamid Tehrani (Iran), Luis Carlos Díaz (Venezuela). Solana Larsen moderated the session, while Jillian York livedblogged the proceedings. >>>

>>> read the rest here, at GVO

"GV Summit: Day One a Success!"

2008-06-28T19:59:00.002+03:00

"The first day of the Global Voices 2008 Summit in Budapest, Hungary was a wild success, as far as we can see (obviously we can't know all of the implications this early in the game). The morning started with an introduction from Ethan Zuckerman and Rebecca MacKinnon, founders of Global Voices, during which they acknowledged the many sponsors and friends of the Global Voices Summit. Of particular note, they thanked Georgia Popplewell, Managing Director of GV and major guiding force of the Summit. Rebecca explained the impetus behind GV:

I came from journalism, Ethan from non-profits; we both shared concern about the media and global attention flows. I saw the international English-language media focusing a lot of attention on certain people and places, and less attention on other voices and places. Ethan was doing a lot of research on media attention patterns. We were studying the blogosphere and wanted to talk about all the people around the world who were starting to blog.

Following the introductions, Session 1: “Toward a Global Anti-censorship Network,” started up, with Helmi Noman moderating. Jillian York and Renata Avila liveblogged the session using CoveritLive. Internet filtering, self-censorship, and related issues in Egypt, Morocco, Belarus, Japan, and Pakistan were discussed during this session, which featured Sami Ben Gharbia, Chris Salzberg, Andrei Abozau, Ethan Zuckerman, Awab Alvi, and Alaa Abdel Fatah.

Session 2 was liveblogged by Juliana Rotich. Mary Joyce moderated; Ory Okolloh of Kenya, Wael Abbas of Egypt, Amine of Morocco, Oiwan Lam of hong Kong, Au Wai “Alex” Pang of Singapore, and Hamid Tehrani of Iran spoke on the subject “Citizen Media and Online Free Speech.” Issues broached during the discussion were the use of twitter, proxies and SMS to get around internet filtering and censorship. Each panelist shared stories of recent events from their countries.

Jillian York liveblogged Session 3, entitled “Living with Censorship.” Awab Alvi of Don't Block the Blog moderated, whilst Helmi Noman, CJ Hinke, Andrew Heavens, Rezwan, Yazan Badran, and John Kennedy were panelists. Each panelist discussed what it's like to live with censorship, and each had a different perspective on the issue ..."

>>>Read the rest of this at Global Voices Online ...

"Shhh… The Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008 Has Begun"

2008-06-28T19:55:00.003+03:00

"If it's quiet on Global Voices the next couple of days, it's because we've transported around 80 of our editors, authors, and translators to Budapest, Hungary for a Summit about online freedom of expression, citizen media, and the role of Global Voices in the next year. You can follow all of us live throughout the day via webcast, liveblog, Twitter, and photos. See how, on our Summit website.

Many Global Voices bloggers who have worked together virtually for more than a year are meeting here face to face for the first time. It's a public meeting that has attracted around 200 participants from all continents, including over two dozen journalists from mainstream media. Thank you to everyone who is here in Budapest, or following from abroad."

A snap shot of the conference room towards the end of the first day. By Neha Viswanathan

(cross posted from Global Voices Online)

This is where I am now ...

2008-06-27T20:28:00.004+03:00

... and this is what we are doing at the "Citizen Media Summit", please visit us, it will mean a lot:

... "Advocacy" also posts updates of what is going on at the summit, click and visit, you will find many topics of interest to you:

briefly:

The Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008 will explore topics around the theme “Citizen Media and Citizenhood”, and address fundamental issues surrounding the actual and potential role of citizen media producers in the public life of the countries they live in. As the Internet and the increasing accessibility of citizen media tools offer growing numbers of people throughout the world the means to distribute information globally, how does this affect or change the ways in which people participate in public life? Can citizen media make people better citizens? How can citizen media help affect lasting social change?