Archive | October, 2005

Bahrain, Gallery, Good News

Halloween 2005 in Bahrain

My kids having a great Halloween night along with our neighborhood gang!

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Good News, Multimedia

Global public Intellectuals Poll

So who won the Prospect/FP Global public intellectuals poll? It’s Noam Chomsky, with amazing 4827 votes out of the 20,000 people voted for their top five names from a longlist of 100. Shirin Ebadi – the Iranian human rights and democracy activist, and a lawyer – who was awarded 2003′s Nobel Peace Prize, came 12th. [...]

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Bahrain, Bleeding Edge, Education, Failures, Regional

Arabic Teachers Needs Arabic Teaching

I could not resist but blog this. Background: Nooreldin (my eldest son), is now in Grade II. He goes to a private English school, which obviously teaches everything in English, except Arabic and Islamic are in Arabic of course. Anyway, tonight he was studying for his tomorrow Arabic exam. He came across a word he [...]

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Good News, Internet 'n Computers

Flock!

And I’m now FLOCKing. And with Akismet, WordPress.com is up to something… Nice!

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Failures, Multimedia

Fox News!

If Fox News Had Been Around Throughout History… Hilarious!

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Islam, Morocco, Politics

Terrorism Threat in Morocco

Foulla writes that Al-Salafiyah al-Jihadiyah in Morocco Declares Jihad on the Moroccan Government. They issued a statement, declaring that the time has come to announce the �jihad on the government of disbelieving and oppression,� for the heads of government have allegedly �sold the country to the infidels after they cleared the area from the real [...]

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Arabs, Bleeding Edge, Egypt, Failures, Human Rights, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: 14-Year-Old Boy Faces Execution

A 14-year-old Egyptian boy faces execution in Saudi Arabia after a flawed trial in which he was convicted for the murder of another child, Human Rights Watch said today. Following a seriously flawed trial, Ahmad al-D. was sentenced to death in July for the murder of three-year old Wala� `Adil `Abd al-Badi` in Dammam in [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Gaza, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine, War Crimes

An Eye for an Eye and a Tit for Tat Attacks

But whose eye, and whose tat was it first? Oct. 24: A few hours after its troops killed three Palestinians, including a senior Islamic Jihad leader (Louai Saadi, overall commander of the Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank), an international envoy blasted Israel for foot-dragging on opening Gaza Strip border crossings following its [...]

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Algeria, Bleeding Edge, Human Rights, Multimedia

RSF activists protest outside Algerian embassy in Paris

Unfurling banners and handing out leaflets, a score of Reporters Without Borders activists demonstrated outside the Algerian embassy in Paris today to mark Algerian newspaper editor Mohamed Benchicou�s 500th day in prison.

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Human Rights, Internet 'n Computers, Multimedia

Sabbah in the Spanish Media

This time Spanish newspaper. Lali Sandiumenge writes at “Avui” means “Today” in Catalan, the language that they speak in North-East of Spain (Catalonia). Lali told me that this newspaper is the main newspaper written in Catalan in Barcelona. Here is the full interview transcript, part of which was published in last Sunday edition beside other [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights

Mr. Bush, This Is Pro-Life?

If only President Bush could see the results of withholding funds from the U.N. Population Fund. Somewhere in the world, a pregnant woman dies like that about once a minute, often leaving a handful of orphans behind. Call me na�ve, but I think that if Mr. Bush came here and saw women dying as a [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Gallery, Good News, Iraq, Politics, United States

Once Again, The American Public Wises Up Too Late

NOW they get it!… A new Harris Poll published in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, gives Bush’s negative rating stands at 66% for his handling of events in Iraq, the lowest of his presidency, and for the first time, a majority (53%) of adults feel that military action in Iraq was the wrong thing to do. [...]

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Good News, Palestine

Japan to finance renovation of PA’s Muqata headquarters in Ramallah

People Daily Online: Japan will finance the rebuilding of Muqata with an undisclosed amount under coordination between the The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on renovating Muqata, Palestinian presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abbas Office Director said, “We need a new headquarters for the president, where [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine, Politics, Science and Technology

Protest action against the Nobel Prize for Prof. Aumann and Thomas Schelling

Please sign the statement at: http://www.sd-il.com/politics/campaigns/signStatement.php?cid=2 A large number of signatures can be influential Enclosed is also a sample protest letter by the Israeli peace and anti nuclear activist Gideon Spiro. The 2005 Nobel Prize for Economics To The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: We, the undersigned, protest your decision to award the 2005 Nobel [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights, Internet 'n Computers

Blogger in Jail

Blogger Seyyed Ahmad Seyyed Seraji has lost his appeal and is now to serve 18 months of jail (and receive 30 lashes), on charges of attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting the Supreme Leader, Shahram Kholdi reports.

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights, United States

US Insisting on Torture!

Bush always claimed that he will refuse any bills amendment (such as this one) which would limit the treatment of detainees in his “war on terror” because he says they are “not needed” and because they don’t torture anyone, right? Then why are Bush and Cheney asking for an exemption for the CIA on the [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Yemen

Bird flu feared in Yemen

Bird flu at our door steps (Arabic): Large numbers of chicken perished in south Yemen triggering fears bird flu, reports said Monday. The Daily al-Ayam reported an unidentified disease is spreading quickly among birds in the province of Kabita, and cats and dogs that ate the dead birds also perished. The paper said sick chickens [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Good News, Iraq

Iraq constitution approved

Aljazeera: Constitution has been approved, the ‘independent electoral commission’ said, as it announced the final results of this month’s landmark referendum. I liked the word ‘independent‘… Independent under occupation, aren’t they? Anyway, as the Independent Commission for Iraqi Elections proclaimed a few hours ago, only 2 provinces (Anbar & Diyala) rejected the draft with more [...]

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Arabs, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Rocket fired at Saudi Arabia from Yemen?

Searched everywhere on the Arabic media to confirm this, but could not find it except on United Press International: Saudi Arabia said Monday a rocket fired from inside Yemeni territory exploded on the Saudi side of the border. Daily al-Watan quoted a security source as saying an explosion, which occurred in the border province of [...]

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Good News, Iraq

Iraqis back attacks on occupier

Poll shows Iraqis back attacks on UK, US forces. Forty-five percent of Iraqis believe attacks on U.S. and British troops are justified, according to a secret poll said to have been commissioned by British defense leaders and cited by The Sunday Telegraph. (Reuters report; Telegraph Data) Now call them ALL TERRORIST! [Hat Tip: Baghdad Dweller]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights, United States

Farah Bin Laden!

Is it ever right for Americans to inflict cruel and degrading treatment on suspected terrorist detainees? From Joseph Farah’s – Christian wimps: “We read credible reports – some from FBI agents – that prisoners have been stripped naked, sexually humiliated, chained to the floor and left to defecate on themselves,” he writes. “These and other [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Human Rights, Internet 'n Computers, Too Much Free Time

Nigeria to jail spammers

Will this stop Nigerian spammers? One has to admit that some of the spam was priceless! Here us some webcomic sets the imaginary scene for all those Nigerian spam e-mails that have plagued inboxes over the last few years.

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights, Internet 'n Computers

Appeal Hearing of Iranian Bloggers

Iranian bloggers Farid Modarresi and Hossein Abdollah Pour was tried today for charges of insulting high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic (two members of the Expediency Council and the former President, Mohammad Khatami) and taking action against the national security. [Hat Tip: Shahram Kholdi]

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Culture, Failures, News You Can Do Without, Prediction, United States

Who should US invade next?

Invade Iran.. South Korea.. Middle East.. Italy.. France… just name it. Ok, can you locate it on map please? [Hat Tip: Zainab Alkhawaja]

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Israel, Palestine, Politics

Mahmoud Abbas: Is the ‘Road Map’ at a Dead End?

Must Read “Since my democratic election as president of the PA, my government has done all in its power to advance the Road Map..” Author: Mahmoud Abbas When I meet in Washington today with President Bush, I will reiterate his own inspiring words: “I believe that God has planted in every heart the desire to [...]

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Failures, Israel, Palestine, Politics

WHAT A PALESTINIAN WANTS?

Pollster Khalil Shikaki, director of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, says there has been a profound shift in the attitudes of Palestinians since the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Prior to the Gaza withdrawal, Palestinians overwhelmingly gave the �end to the occupation� as their top priority. Now, the priority is for [...]

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Failures, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine

Australia: Israel can bank on our support

As, once again, Israel is asked by the Palestinians to “not jeopardise the peace plan“, Sheridan focuses solely on the Israelis, the major US client state in the Middle East and recipient of large financial and military support. The Palestinians are mentioned in passing – “of course the human rights of Palestinians should be respected [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Israel, Palestine

Is the New York Times an Israeli Spy Nest?

Is the New York Times an Israeli Spy Nest? Judy Took Dictation from Some Government. Craig Pyes now works for the LA Times, but in a 2000 memo to the New York Times, he called his colleague Judith Miller “an advocate” (translation: spy) who takes “dictation from [Israeli?] government sources” to fabricate Al-Qaeda stories. Judy [...]

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Failures, Human Rights, Multimedia

Iran ‘crackdown on foreign films’

Iran’s authorities have banned imported films promoting secularism, feminism, unethical behaviour, drug abuse, violence or alcoholism. In other words, everything!

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Judaism, Palestine, Religion, War Crimes

Jewish extremists pray in Al Aqsa yard?

Jewish extremists entered Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, on October 19 escorted by Israeli police. 50 orthodox Jews from a group calling itself the Temple Mount Guardians performed religious rituals inside the mosque’s yard. The Jews entered the mosque compound following an Israeli high court decision, giving Jews the right to perform [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights, Islam, Religion

Turkish backing for honour crimes

A survey by a university in Turkey has shown almost 40% support for the practice of “honour killing”. The results come days after a court in Istanbul gave a life sentence for the murder of a girl by her brothers for giving birth to a child out of wedlock.

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Lebanon, Multimedia, Syria

BREAKING NEWS ~ UN report uncovers evidence of Syrian involvement in Hariri murder

A UN report cited “converging evidence” pointing at involvement by both Syrian and Lebanese senior security officials in the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri. Bloomberg – Unnamed Syrian: An unnamed Syrian living in Lebanon “who claims to have worked for the Syrian intelligence services in Lebanon, has stated that approximately two weeks after [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Iraq

BREAKING NEWS ~ Saddam lawyer kidnapped in Baghdad

Sky News is reporting that Saadoun Janabi, a member of the legal defense team for Saddam Hussein has been kidnapped in Baghdad. Update – Reuters is now reporting the kidnapping victim, also identified by police as Saadoun Dulaimi, is actually a defense lawyer for former Iraqi judge Awad al-Bander, who is one of Hussein’s co-defendants. [...]

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Bleeding Edge, Failures, Human Rights, Islam, Politics, United States, War Crimes

US soldiers ‘desecrated Taliban bodies’, Can you smell War Crimes?

This is one of the main stories being covered in the last few days on news sites such as Guardian, washingtonpost, among others. US soldiers in Afghanistan burnt the bodies of dead Taliban and taunted their opponents about the corpses, in an act deeply offensive to Muslims and in breach of the Geneva conventions. The [...]

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Art, Good News, Human Rights, Palestine

Promote Human Rights of Palestinian Arab Citizens of Israel

The first Arab film festival in Israel is opened yesterday in the city of Nazareth. Sponsored by the Mossawa Center, which advocates for Arab civil rights in Israel, its five-day program (PDF) of events includes conferences on political issues and art exhibitions as well as the films.

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