May

1

Al-Jazeera Reporter Freed From Guantanamo!

May 1, 2008 | 1 Comment

I was ecstatic to hear that Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Hajj has been released today by American authorities after spending SIX and a half years in the prison at Guantanamo Bay. I previously blogged about his ordeal.

Interview with ex-Guantanamo Detainee Who Knew Al-Hajj:

Apr

28

Good Morning To You Too, Israel

April 28, 2008 | 6 Comments

Update: The video has been removed by YouTube for a reason I am not able to determine. Click here to read the story that too many media outlets ignored.
Update: The video is back on, but YouTube limited its access because of its “disturbing” images.

Apr

12

Why Egypt is the Greatest Arab Nation

April 12, 2008 | 4 Comments

Ok, I’m exaggerating, there is no greatest Arab nation right now… but I got to hand it to these guys!

What many Arab citizens only wish they can do… God bless you ya ged3an!

Apr

10

Sixty Years Later, A Massacre is Remembered

April 10, 2008 | 2 Comments

It will not be forgotten. It will be remembered every year, as it has been remembered for the past 60 years. While Israel celebrates its 60th birthday in a few weeks, many Palestinians will be commemorating the Catastrophe that afflicted them sixty years ago. The massacre of Deir Yassin was a horrifying sign of what was yet to come.

More:

Fellow blogger al-falasteenyia on Deir Yassin
Deir Yassin Remembered

FAQ on Deir Yassin

Apr

1

My First Arabic Post: Fitna, Fatwas, and Facebook

April 1, 2008 | 7 Comments

Naturally, my first Arabic post has to be an angry one. I felt the need to express myself in Arabic because this message is directed specifically to an Arab and Muslim audience. I realize that not all Muslims speak Arabic, but the issues involved in these cases are focused on the Arab Middle East. Please excuse my less than perfect Arabic skills.

طالب داعية إسلامي سعودي بحجب موقع “فيس بوك” في بلاده، معتبرا أنه باب من أبواب الشهوات، محذرا من إقبال النساء عليه، وتأتي مطالبة الداعية بعد ازدياد مشاركة الفتيات السعوديات في الموقع الشهير، وعرض بعضهن “صورا فاضحة” و”سلوكيات سيئة”. وشهدت العاصمة الرياض فى شهر أغسطس/آب الماضي حادثة قتل أب لابنته بعد أن دخل عليها ووجدها تحاور عبر الماسنجر بعد أن تعرفت عليه من خلال موقع “فيس بوك”. وأكدت مصادر أمنية لـ”العربية.نت” أن الأب قام بضرب ابنته ضربا مبرحا، وفى نهاية العراك أطلق النار عليها

لماذا لا تطالب يا حضرة الشيخ بعدم قتل الأبرياء ؟ لماذا لا تطالب بوقف ما يسميه الجهلة بجرائم الشرف و هي في الحقيقة قتل نفس من غير حق؟؟؟ لماذا لا تطالب بمحاكمة هيئتكم البوليسية المتوحشة التي من المحتمل أن تسببت في قتل أولاد ابرياء! أي جريمة تبرر هذا العقاب؟ ولكنها للأسف ليست أول مرة

إن الفتنة في مجتمعنا ليس سببها هذه المواقع ولكن الجهل الديني المتفشي في بلادنا، ولكن للأسف الشديد فإن الكثير من “شيوخنا” منهمكون في ملاحقة الشباب ومهاجمتهم . بدلاً من توعيتهم بقيم وقواعد الإسلام الذي علمنا إياه نبينا الشريف فإن بعضكم يدعي أنه يعلم الاسلام ولكني أرى أنه إسلاماً مخلوط في السياسة والعادات والتقاليد المتخلفة التي نسبتموها لإسلام ولكن الإسلام بريء منها. عندما تمنع الشباب من التعبير عن أنفسهم بكل الطرق وتحرمهم من الحرية التي أنعمهم الله بها فماذا تتوقعون غير ردة فعل كهذه؟

لماذا لا تصدرو فتاوى تذكر شعبكم بالطريقة التي كان يعامل نبينا الشريف زوجاته وبناته ونساء الامة؟ لماذا لا تحرموا المسلسلات اليومية التي تنشر صور المرأة العربية المسلمة وهي متذللة لزوجها وهو يهينها ويضربها والمشاهدون يضحكون وكأنه منظر مفرح؟ لماذا لا تعلموا شبابنا قيمة المرأة كي لا يلجؤو لهذه المواقع بحثاً عن أوهام خيالية؟ لماذا لا تعلموهم أن الإهانة والضرب والقتل هي ضد كل ما أتى به الإسلام ؟ لماذا لا تعلموا رجالكم أن الزواج والطلاق هو حق للمرأه المسلمة وليس طريقة لكي تستغلوا بها ضعفهم من أجل طمعكم ومصالحكم الأنانية؟

كفى إهانة لديننا ورسولنا وقيمنا! موقع إجتماعي لن يفسد مجتمعنا ولكن الجهل سوف يقتلنا!

Mar

19

War and Deception: Five Years Later

March 19, 2008 | 2 Comments

The invasion of Iraq was the first war I lived through while being fully aware of its causes and consequences. All the other wars that occurred during my short lifetime I was either too young, too immature, or too detached to fully understand what was happening.Besides the massive death and destruction that this war caused*, the political ramifications have been monumental. The U.S. will continue to live with this burden for years to come. The American people will have been responsible for accepting a war that was unnecessary and based on fabricated “evidence.” Congress will be remembered as abdicating its power to check the executive and granting him powers that continue to be hardly scrutinized. But by far the most shameful and disappointing actors (besides the executive) were the mainstream media.

From day 2, the media accepted the case for Iraq, accepted the lies without any attempt at validation, and in effect helped the president and his cohorts launch a war that will be remembered by generations to come as one of the lowest moments in U.S. history. Bill Moyers documents the media’s most embarrassing moments in a PBS special entitled “Buying the War” where he interviews prominent members of the media who admit their undeniable failure in the lead up to the war. If you ever wondered how you and I could have been fooled into believing the lies about WMDs, Iraq’s involvement in 9/11, and everything in between, this show is a MUST SEE. Click here to watch it or read the transcript. I promise you will not be disappointed.

imperial.jpgOnce you see how we got duped into going to war, then you have to read about how badly this war was planned and executed. Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s “Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone” is a masterpiece that paints a gruesome picture of the aftermath of the successful military invasion. Rajiv takes you inside the administration’s efforts to fumble together a plan for post-war recontruction, the politics involved, and the grim reality of incompetence in the Green Zone. It’s a must read.


over.jpgFinally, just when you start to think that this is a new phenomenon and that we’re headed into a new era, you have to pick up “Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq” by Stephen Kinzer. This brief book outlines the historical roots of this deep seated policy of regime change that was implemented by American presidents over the past 100 years. It is absolutely mind boggling to realize that Iraq is but a small piece of our history of regime change, how closely business interests played a role in all of these instances, and how the government attempted to “sell” the war to the public through various exaggerations and fabrications. The similarities are uncanny!

It is my sincere hope that by educating ourselves about the history of this war, its causes and consequences, we will be able to avoid another attempt by our leaders to force policies on us that we would not otherwise support. We are, first and foremost, responsible for the actions of our elected leaders, and we cannot let them abuse and misuse the system as they tarnish the name of our country, the legacy of our forefathers, and our children’s future.

* It is not my intention to disregard the human cost of this war as that it something we must all live with. I cannot document the misery of every Iraqi who has lost a loved one, been forced out of their home, and witnessed their country burning, but the few real-life-close-to-home-stories that I have witnessed have made this war all the more real for me because of the agony that my Iraqi friends have been through.

Related posts:

On the 3rd Anniversary…

Four Years Later

Four Years Later, Regret

Mar

14

Defending the Indefensible: Dershowitz Defends Sptizer

March 14, 2008 | 2 Comments

If you are one of the sad few who were not convinced that Alan Dershowitz is one of the least credible, most propagandist “academic” frauds in history, then look no further. If you already knew this about Dershowitz, then this should be entertaining.

Apparently, the public and the media are just sex-obsessed. We’re being too critical these days of public figures’ personal lives. We should lay off. We should forget about public morality. We’re too damn obsessed with ethics and morality! If he can run New York, if he can go after the bad guys, then it doesn’t matter what he does after hours. (Oh and by the way, the federal investigation that resulted in the revelation of Spitzer’s shenanigans is a conspiracy. It’s a conspiracy I tell you!)

The laws criminalizing adult consensual prostitution — especially with $5,000-an-hour call girls — are as anachronistic as the old laws that used to criminalize adultery, fornication, homosexuality and even masturbation. These may be sins, but there are no real victims, except for family members.

Our nation, unique among Western democracies, is obsessed with the private lives of public figures. Whether it be Larry Craig soliciting favors in an airport bathroom or Rush Limbaugh getting illegal pharmaceuticals in a parking lot, this obsessive focus on the private imperfections of public figures threatens to drive many good men — and soon, good women — out of public life for fear that they will brought down by their private peccadilloes.

The trade can be tawdry and sometimes exploitive, as when young girls are enslaved and prostituted against their will. But adult women who make the choice to sell their bodies for sex for $5,000 an hour are not victims, and if the trade is tawdry, it certainly doesn’t warrant 5,000 overheard phone calls, 6,000 intercepted emails and the use of surveillance and undercover agents — all of which could have been put to better use in seeking to prevent acts of terrorism or predation against innocent victims. […]

We are a nation of hypocrites who publicly proclaim against acts that so many of the proclaimers perform in private. […]

Sex sells soap, at least in the United States — but a married man going to a prostitute is simply not a big deal. We must restore our sense of proportion and priorities.

Read the full article piece of crap here.

p.s. Spitzer is a big supporter of Israel. But no, I don’t think that has anything to do with Dershowitz defending him.


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