Leafless Eve

What's the point

2012-02-12T01:19:00.001+04:00

What's the point of countries fighting if they can't have makeup sex after?- Leafless Eve

sha3b ellah el mokhtaar

2012-02-08T21:17:00.009+04:00

So i always heard this statement: "it's so arrogant of the jews to think that they are the Chosen People- sha3b ellah el mkhtaar..." usually coming from a Muslim. I thought it made sense. I mean how can they think that they are better then everyone? What nonsense....

Then i find the following verses in the Qura'n:

سورة البقرة الآية 47 في القرأن الكريم:
يا بني إسرائيل اذكروا نعمتي التي أنعمت عليكم وأني فضلتكم على العالمين

وأراد الله تأكيدها لنا مرة ثانية فكررها لنا (وبالحرف الواحد) في نفس السورة في الآية رقم 122

يا بني إسرائيل اذكروا نعمتي التي أنعمت عليكم وأني فضلتكم على العالمين

Say WHAT?! LOL

Let's hope that no one Jewish reads my blog...lol (no one Muslim either for that matter)

Adel Imam

2012-02-03T15:10:00.000+04:00

I expect from the same people that protested & suffered for political freedom, to do the same for freedom of speech. I expect nothing less from the Arab Spring revolutions... The fight is not over people... the freedom revolution is just starting... (now he's a particularly difficult person to defend since he was against the revolution...lol but maybe now people will understand why and defend him anyway and prove him wrong)

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/33505.aspx

A Closed Group

2012-02-02T15:18:00.000+04:00

There's only 1 group on FB dedicated to Women in Islam, and it's called: Facts About Women In Islam

There are only 277 members, and their profile pics are either religious (them wearing hijab, or the word "allah" etc) OR pictures of famous actresses! lol This tells you alot about the psychology of the members.

Anyway, I'm sure the 2 admins meant well in creating this group, as they claim in sms English: "all r welcome to ths group..."

Yet, it's a "closed" group..lol You need to request permission to join.

They also mention: "here u can ask any personal questions on Islam"
This is very funny to me, cause 1- There are no Muslim "shaikhas", so what exactly are their credentials to answer questions on Islam?

2- We all know the reason this group is closed. Basically it's because the admins can't handle criticism. In another words, they can't handle FACTS that someone else brings up.

So what is the purpose of this group exactly?

Women in the Muslim world have become their own enemy. They create circles and groups and spread the misconceptions & fallacies that they have been taught for years in order to feel better about the lifestyles they have chosen. (or the lifestyle they THINK they chose) And even when you have similar views in the same group, they still fight among themselves on who's doing "better", and who's more "pious", and 90% of the time, it's the extremists that win the arguments cause most of these women have no knowledge of the Qura'n or the history of Islam. So these groups become something like support groups... group therapy that helps these women cope. They need them in order to function in a world that's unfair to their gender. They go to these meetings in order to validate their choices, and reassure themselves. Of course, the women make sure that if anyone "strays" from the path, they are put back on track. It's a dangerous trend that started long before FB groups were popular. Example: The famous Qubaisiate (pronounced koo-BAY-see-AHT) movement lead by Munira al-Qubaysi. This is not a moderate movement by any means. They are pretty hard core. They also are a "closed" group. You need an invitation to attend.

I guess the only FACT that is evident here is that: When it comes to Women in Islam, the subject will continue to be "CLOSED" until further notice.

Cinema

2011-07-09T02:20:00.001+04:00

Did you ever notice that the movie theater is the only place that you would TRUST to actually sit within such CLOSE proximity to a bunch of strangers for 2 hours... in the dark! lol

it's kind of crazy if you think about it!

Dilemma

2011-05-01T04:47:00.003+04:00

As a freedom loving Arab, what do you do when one of your friends posts a picture of your dictator as their profile picture?
Vote in my poll!

أسأل نفسي

2011-04-27T23:28:00.006+04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd9ekMx5hfY
Syrian forces kill 3 protesters

أسأل نفسي: أين هي رجالات سوريا؟ أين هي الشهامة؟ أم هي فقط في حلقات باب الحارة؟

How God & The Devil keep themselves busy...

2011-04-04T13:13:00.000+04:00

Yup...Size Matters

2011-03-21T03:38:00.001+04:00

Yup...Size Matters | Body, Meet Your Chemistry | WhyAreWeWhispering.com

Great site :)

The Q-Tip Effect

2011-02-03T00:27:00.002+04:00

Jordan's king sacks cabinet

Monarch asks ex-army general to form new government in the wake of streets protests over prices and reforms.

I shall call this the Q-tip Effect... Suddenly, the ears of Arab leaders are CLEAN!

It's Contagious!

2011-01-31T22:46:00.000+04:00

totallycoolpix: Egypt Protests

Amazing!

I moved yet ANOTHER box today!

2011-01-29T22:23:00.000+04:00

I'm referring to my 2007 post: I moved a box today... 5 years ago!

Yup, it's another box... another milestone... and in honor of that milestone... i got my first tattoo :)

GO TUNISIA!

2011-01-16T22:43:00.000+04:00

Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced to flee Tunisia as protesters claim victory

Awesome!

al tadayon el badeel

2010-10-22T19:04:00.001+04:00

ظاهرة التدين البديل

بقلم : علاء الأسواني
صاحب رواية : عمارة يعـقـوبيان

هل نزل الإسلام فقط من أجل تغطية شعر المرأة ؟
فى العام الماضى هاجم الوزير فاروق حسنى
الحجاب ، فوقف أعضاء الحزب
الوطنى فى مجلس الشعب يدافعون بضراوة عن
الحجاب والمحجبات ، وبلغ الحماس
بأحدهم أن صاح في وجه فاروق حسنى 'أنت فتنة
على الإسلام' ثم سقط مغشيا
عليه من فرط الإنفعال ...

ووجدتنى أتساءل : إذا كان ممثلو الحزب الحاكم
يحرصون على الإسلام إلى هذا
الحد ، ألم يفكروا قط فى أن تزوير الإنتخابات
واعتقال الأبرياء وتعذيبهم
وهتك أعراضهم ونهب أموال المصريين وإفقارهم
وغيرها من الجرائم التى
يرتكبها النظام الذى يمثلونه لايمكن ان تتفق
مع مبادىء الإسلام ؟

من المعروف أن كثيرا من ضباط أمن الدولة
ملتزمون دينيا ، يؤدون الصلاة فى
أوقاتها ويصومون ويحجون إلى بيت الله ، لكن
ذلك لا يمنعهم أبدا من ممارسة
عملهم اليومى فى التعذيب والضرب وإستعمال
الكهرباء فى صعق المعتقلين

فى نفس السياق تربطنى علاقة مصاهرة بمسؤول
بارز فى الحكومة إشتهر بتزوير
الإنتخابات والإعتداء على إستقلال القضاء
وهو معروف فى محيط الأسرة بتدينه
العميق ، حتى إنه يعطى أقاربه دروسا فى الدين الفقه
..

الأمثلة لا تحصى – كثير من المسلمين يؤدون
فرائض الدين بإخلاص لكنهم فى
حياتهم اليومية يتصرفون بطريقة أبعد ما تكون
عن الدين

ففى شهر رمضان الماضى نشرت جريدة المصرى
اليوم تحقيقا ممتازا عن
المستشفيات العامة ساعة الإفطار ، لنكتشف أن
معظم الأطباء يتركون المرضى
بدون رعاية ، حتى يتمكنوا من أداء صلاة
التراويح! والذين يفعلون ذلك
ليسوا جهلاء ، بل هم أطباء متعلمون ، لكنهم
ببساطة يعتبرون أن صلاة
التراويح أهم بكثير من رعاية المرضى ، حتى
ولو كانت حياتهم فى خطر
المسألة إذن ليست مجرد نفاق أو جهل ، وإنما هى
وعي فاسد بالدين ، يؤدى
إلى نوع من التدين الظاهرى الذى يشكل بديلا
عن الدين الحقيقى ، وهذا التدين البديل مريح وخفيف ولا يكلف جهدا
ولا ثمنا لأنه يحصر الدين
فى الشعائر والمظاهر . فالدفاع عن مبادىء
الإسلام الحقيقية ، التي هي العدل
والحرية والمساواة ، مسألة محفوفة بالمخاطر
فى مصر ستؤدى بك حتما إلى
السجن وقطع الرزق والتشريد . أما التدين
البديل فلن يكلفك شيئا ، وهو
يمنحك إحساسا كاذبا بالطمأنينة والرضا عن
النفس ..

الذين يتبنون التدين البديل يصومون ويصلون ،
ويحيون الناس بتحية الإسلام
ويلزمون زوجاتهم وبناتهم بالحجاب والنقاب ،
وربما يشتركون فى مظاهرة ضد
الرسوم الدنماركية أو منع الحجاب فى فرنسا أو
يكتبون إلى بريد الأهرام
منددين بالكليبات العارية . وهم يعتقدون بعد
ذلك أنهم قد أدوا واجبهم
الدينى كاملا غير منقوص . وهم لا يكترثون
إطلاقا للشأن السياسى ولا
يهتمون بموضوع التوريث ( توريث السلطه )، بل أن بعضهم لايرى
بأسا فى أن يورث البلد من
الأب إلى الإبن وكأنه مزرعة دواجن.

المتدين البديل لا يعتقد أساسا أن له حقوقا
سياسية كمواطن ، وفكرة
الديمقراطية لاتشغله ، وأقصى ما يفعله بهذا
الصدد أن يدعو الله 'أن يولى
علينا من يصلح' ، ثم يحدثك بحماس عن
الخلفاء العظام مثل عمر بن
الخطاب أو عمر بن عبد العزيز

....

التدين البديل
مرض محزن أصاب العرب والمسلمين فأدى
بهم إلى السلبية والغفلة . وجعلهم قابلين
للإستبداد والقمع . . ولم تكن
هذه طبيعة العرب في مصر ، فمنذ 1919 وحتى عام 1952
خاضت الحركة الوطنية
المصرية بقيادة حزب الوفد نضالا عنيفا وقدمت
آلاف الشهداء من أجل طرد
الإحتلال البريطانى وتحقيق الديمقراطية .

والحق أن إنتشار التدين البديل له أسباب
عديدة : فحتى نهاية السبعينات
كان المصريون .. مسلمين وأقباطا أقل إهتماما
بمظاهر الدين وأكثر تمسكا
بمبادئه الحقيقية ، حتى جاء أنور السادات
الذى إستعمل الدين لترجيح كفته
السياسية ضد اليسار المعارض .

ثم إندلعت الثورة الإيرانية لتشكل تهديدا

حقيقيا للنظام السعودي المتحالف مع الفكر السلفي الوهابي ،
وعلى مدى ثلاثة عقود أنفق النظام السعودى
مليارات الدولارات من أجل نشر الفهم السعودى للإسلام الذى يؤدى
بالضرورة إلى التدين البديل

وكل من يجادل فى هذه الحقيقة عليه أن يراجع
التناقض الفاحش بين المظهر
والجوهر فى المجتمع السعودى
وفى القنوات الفضائية السعودية يظهر يوميا
عشرات المشايخ الذين يتكلمون
على مدى 24 ساعة عن تعاليم الإسلام . ولا
أحد منهم يتكلم أبدا عن حق
المواطن فى إنتخاب من يحكمه ، أو قوانين
الطوارىء والتعذيب والإعتقالات .

على أن النظام الإستبدادى فى مصر قد حرص
دائما على إنتشار التدين البديل ،
فالمتدين البديل هو المواطن النموذجى فى عرف
الحاكم المستبد ، لأنه
يعيش ويموت بجوار الحائط ، دائما فى حاله ،
لايعترض أبدا على الحاكم ،
ويقصر إعتراضاته إما على مايحدث خارج مصر ،
أو على اشياء لاتزعج النظام
فى شىء ، كرقصة أدتها دينا أو فستان إرتدته
يسرا فى فيلم لها

...

الأنظمة الدكتاتورية ترحب تماما بالتدين البديل لأنه
يعفيها من المسؤلية . ففى عرف الإسلام
الحقيقى يكون الحاكم المسؤل الأول عن مشاكل
المواطنين فى بلاده ، أما المتدين
البديل فعندما يعانى من الفقر والبطالة لن
يفكر أبدا فى مسؤلية الحاكم عن ذلك
بل سوف يرجع ذلك إلى أحد إحتمالين : إما أنه قد
قصر فى العبادة ولذلك فإن الله
يعاقبه ، وإما أن الله يختبره بهذا الشقاء
فعليه أن يصبر ولا يعترض .

إن شهداء نظام مبارك – على سبيل المثال - فاقوا فى عددهم
شهداء كل الحروب التى خاضتها مصر........
ضحايا القطارات المحترقة ، والعبارات
الغارقة ، والعمارات المنهارة ،
ومرضى الفشل الكلوى والسرطان بفضل مبيدات
يوسف والى وغيرهم – كل هؤلاء فى
نظر الإسلام الحقيقى ضحايا الفساد
والإستبداد ، والحاكم مسؤول مباشرة عن
موتهم وتشريد أسرهم .. أما المتدين البديل
فيعتبر هذه المآسى جميعا من
القضاء والقدر لا أكثر ، ويعتقد أن هؤلاء
الضحايا قد إنتهت أعمارهم ،
وبالتالى كانوا سيموتون فى كل الأحوال ، فلا
معنى إذن لأن نلوم أحدا
بإعتباره متسببا فى موتهم .
...
إن الإسلام العظيم قد دفع بالمسلمين يوما لكى
يحكموا العالم ويعلموا
البشرية الحضارة والفن والعلم ، أما التدين
البديل فقد أدى بنا إلى كل
هذا الهوان والشقاء الذى نعيش فيه .
..

أكتبوا التاريخ كما هو

2010-10-22T18:53:00.002+04:00

أكتبوا التاريخ كما هو

مشعل السديري

هل من المصلحة أن يدرس أبناؤنا التاريخ الإسلامي بطريقة منتقاة، منمقة، مزيفة؟! أم انه من الأفضل أن يقرأوا ويستوعبوا التاريخ كما هو، وكما حصل، حتى لو أدى ذلك إلى أن يصدموا، فلا شيء كالصدمات يقوي المناعة، ويحفز على النقد، ويبحث عن الأفضل.
فالتاريخ الإسلامي، والحكم الإسلامي، والمجتمعات الإسلامية، هي كغيرها من حقب التاريخ فيها الايجابي وفيها السلبي، فيها العدل والشرف وفيها الظلم والخزي كذلك.
فبعد وفاة الرسول الكريم بأقل من عشر سنوات، يُقتل الخليفة الثاني، ثم الثالث، ثم الرابع، ثم يبدأ عصر بني أمية، وما كان فيه من توالي الخلفاء إما بالتوارث أو القتل أو الاغتصاب.
وما هو إلا قرن أو يزيد، وإذا ببني العباس يستولون على الحكم قسراً.. وإذا الشاعر (سديف بن ميمون) يدخل على أبي العباس الملقب بالسفاح، وكانت عنده بالمجلس مجموعة من بني أمية، وأراد أن ينافقه ويحرضه على هؤلاء الجالسين عنده فأنشد يقول:
لا يغرنك ما ترى من رجال/ إن تحت الضلوع داء دويا
فضع السيف وارفع السوط حتى/ لا ترى فوق ظهرها أمويا
ويبدو أن تلك القصيدة أثارت السفاح، واهاجت شجونه وأحقاده، فما كان منه إلا أن يأمر أتباعه أن يقتلوا كل من كان جالساً بالمجلس من بني أمية، ليس بالسيوف، ولكن بأعمدة الخشب الغليظة ليتعذبوا أكثر، وفعلا ضربوهم وكسروا عظامهم وهشموا رؤوسهم حتى أتوا على آخر واحد منهم.
ولم يكتف بهذا، إذ أن منظر هؤلاء الذين يتخبطون أمامه بدمائهم فتح شهيته للأكل، فطلب من خدمه أن يحضروا الطعام.
وعندما احضروه، وأراد الخدم أن يسحبوا الجثث التي تنازع، رفض أبو العباس ذلك، وقال: ائتوا بالانطاع والبسط وافرشوها عليهم، وفعلا فرشوها، وجلس هو ومن معه عليهم يأكلون ويتضاحكون. وتقول بعض كتب التاريخ، إن بعض من ضربوا من بني أمية لم يكونوا قد لفظوا أنفاسهم بعد، وكانوا يتحركون ويئنون تحت ثقل مقاعد أبي العباس وجماعته.
ولما فرغ من تناول الطعام وشكر وحمد ربه، قال له وزيره: هلا أمرت يا مولاي بدفنهم فدفنوا أو حولوا إلى مكان آخر، لأن رائحتهم قد تؤذيك. فما تتوقعون رد (السفاح) على ذلك الاقتراح الطبيعي؟! لقد أخذ يضحك ويقول للجميع: والله إن هذه الرائحة لأطيب عندي من رائحة المسك والعنبر، فالآن سكن غليلي.
حتى ذلك الشاعر المنافق (ابن ميمون)، لم يسلم من القتل، لأنه ناصر احد الهاشميين واظهر عداوة لبني العباس، فجيء به لأبي جعفر المنصور، ويقال إن يديه ورجليه قطعتا ثم دفن حّياً. طبعاً هذه صفحة سوداء في تاريخ بعض الخلفاء، وغيرها صفحات وصفحات، ولا شك في أن بعضها بيضاء وتبعث على الفخر، غير أن ما اجبرني على هذا الكلام هو رغبتي وأمنيتي أن يُدرس التاريخ كما هو بدون أي (رتوش) لكي نتعلم ولا تتكرر المصائب.. والشعوب الذكية هي التي كتبت تاريخها كما هو، وقرأته قراءة نقدية، ثم تجاوزته إلى الأفضل.
بقيت كلمة أخيرة لا بد ان أقولها حتى لو غضب البعض مني، وهي أن هؤلاء الشباب المتطرفين الذين يريدون أن يعيدوا مجد الخلافة، متصورينها (تقطر عسلا)، إنما هي في اغلب مراحلها كانت للأسف (تقطر دماً).

Why I am a 'possibilian'

2010-10-02T20:45:00.002+04:00

Beyond God and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727795.300

Respect...

2010-09-27T04:49:00.001+04:00

We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart. —H. L. Mencken

Words...

2010-09-22T19:38:00.000+04:00

"For women the best aphrodisiacs are words. The G-spot is in the ears. He who looks for it below there is wasting his time." --Isabel Allende

No Comments

2010-09-20T12:31:00.001+04:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/8036686/French-women-cause-a-stir-in-niqab-and-hot-pants-in-anti-burka-ban-protest.html

God's Team

2010-09-15T20:34:00.001+04:00

We went into Gaza and God went into Gaza with us

To claim that God is taking sides in a war is as ridiculous as claiming that God is a fan of YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM!

طلّ الملوحي

2010-09-14T00:49:00.002+04:00

This is for those who still believe that Syria gives a crap about the "Arab Cause"

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tal-al-Mallouhi/160780360602701?ref=ts

The issue with Hair

2009-12-06T01:00:00.001+04:00

It seems us Arabs have an "issue" with hair... Controversy over covering it up or not, shaving the beard or not, waxing or not... what's the deal?

I understand that "grooming" habits change from culture to culture... but this is really silly...

The obsession with Hair is also apparent with our neighbors, the Jews. Hasidic Jewish men grow out of control beards too, and the women actually wear wigs, so that they don't show their hair! Smart... why didn't we think of that? Tricking God! Those Jews... always innovative...lol

Surprisingly, I never addressed the hijab controversy on this blog... but i guess it was bound to happen, so here it is:

Covering a woman's hair is not about obligation or morals or obedience, it's just another example of how MAN managed to take away a huge part of the female "power".

I once had extensions put in my hair, and i gotta tell you, the feeling was AMAZING... when i went out, and the wind was blowing my hair (and my fake hair) i felt like Samson! so STRONG... like i'm gonna fly! i can never imagine cutting my hair short... let alone covering it. Why do you think women have phrases like "bad-hair day"? cause hair is THAT important... You don't feel "pretty" unless your hair is clean & neat... When you feel "pretty" you feel confident, and men don't really want that. They want you helpless, weak and timid.

Yes, your Hair is your POWER... men understand this, and they resent us for it... they can't stand the fact that we have "sexual" power... so they somehow managed to trick us into believing that covering up is about conservativeness or being discreet... which is B.S. A covered woman can be as sexual and as deviant as any other.

Besides, if the point is to drive attention away from yourself so that you don't commit any "sins", you can just go out looking like crap... don't shower, and dress like a bum, that'll do it...

Now, if you happened to be one of those extremely beautiful women, then you just have to ask all the men in your town to do what "God" suggested: Cover up! Yes, let THEM cover their eyes so they can't see YOU. Let's see how they feel with covering their faces, and walking with a blind dog. Sure they will find it hard at first, but the reward will come in the afterlife :P
Now where have you heard that phrase before? lol

This idea sounds absurd, but for me so is covering up a womans HEAD!

Why do WE have to make our lives more difficult so that we can prevent a man from having "impure" thoughts? Why should we not enjoy a day at the beach, like men do? where is the "divine wisdom" in that? Do you really think it's a coincidence that all these so called divine rules are made to cater to men and their egos?

So as for hijab, i say: My hair is a RED LINE, (and it's also red, but that's besides the point...lol) No one will be able to convince me that it's a divine obligation, cause i'm sure the almighty is not sitting there trying to figure out how to make the lives of the male population easier...

And to anyone that still thinks this is my OBLIGATION, i say:

BACK THE F*** OFF MY MAINE!

Arabian Nights and the Biblical Story of Esther

2009-11-23T21:25:00.004+04:00

The Parallels Between Arabian Nights and the Biblical Story of Esther
This article shares the myth of Arabian Nights and explores the parallels between that story and the Biblical one of Esther.

Dance Me To The End Of Love

2009-03-19T12:57:00.002+04:00

What do you think the writer is talking about?

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone
Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

http://www.esnips.com/doc/8613afd1-31a9-4e98-85c7-7a908288a73a/Dance-Me-To-The-End-Of-Love

(Hint: It's not a wedding song)

Aqim Salatak.... OR ELSE!

2009-02-08T02:01:00.002+04:00

I saw this on TV the other day... and i just thought: Who can i sue?

This is the most offensive religious campaign ever! This obsession with death is so typical! It reminds me of the kind of crap we were subjected to in school! You must be a really sad human being to fund and promote this

Great Song

2009-02-03T03:33:00.000+04:00

Ernesto "Che" Guevara

2009-02-03T03:24:00.003+04:00

The photo was taken by photographer Freddy Alborta on October 10, 1967 in Vallegrande, Bolivia. Entitled "The passion of the Che”, this photo displays the corpse of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara one day after his execution. His body was put on display to the world's press to prove that in fact he had been captured and killed by Bolivian rangers with assistance from the CIA.

I wonder if that's what inspired Mel Gibson to name his movie "The Passion of the Christ"?

Why men ignore their wives!

2009-01-15T10:22:00.000+04:00

Take out the trash? Why husbands don't listen - LiveScience - MSNBC.com

Great! Now they have a SCIENTIFIC excuse!!!

T-shirt anyone?

2009-01-12T12:06:00.000+04:00

(Ok, maybe Stupid is a strong word, Crazy is better for a T-shirt) he he he

2009

2009-01-10T13:15:00.001+04:00

I realized that my new year resolutions for 2009 are as effective as the U.N.s

War in Gaza: Israel rejects UN ceasefire call - Times Online

Bush: The Legacy

2008-12-15T22:00:00.000+04:00

Bush dodges flying shoes!

LOOOL It would have been even funnier if he actually got'em!

Can you imagine how long this guy has been waiting to do this?
He had his one chance (well, actually 2 chances) to get the president and he missed! on top of all that, he got arrested... poor dude.

Lebanese DNA

2008-12-06T04:34:00.002+04:00

Kalam al Nas - LBC - 30/10/2008, Pierre Zalloua

What has been discovered indicates that the genetic make up of the Lebanese, especially those of the coastal areas, is Phoenician.

Meanwhile:
Shameful Lebanese Official Indifference:
What remains to be ruminated with impunity is why do the authorities of Lebanese National Museum* continue to shamefully ignore Phoenician heritage, at the same time, the Lebanese Ministry of Culture continues to ignore the mission of the National Geographic Magazine and the work of Dr. Zalloua? In addition to declining to give Dr. Zalloua access to Phoenician DNA samples at the National Museum while the terms Phoenicia and the Phoenicians continue to remain anathematized by all official Lebanese government circles.

* Shamefully, the word "Phoenicians" is banned anathema from the Lebanese National Museum where artifacts are dated and referenced according to millennia or ages but never using the "forbidden name."

For the entire story: National Geographic and IBM Genographic Project

Interesting discovery

2008-11-11T16:28:00.000+04:00

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/World%20News/A-Path-through-Hell

It's funny how dramatic & theatrical people become when they want to describe hell

My latest nocturnal thought...

2008-11-08T03:02:00.006+04:00

I'm boycotting monotheism, since it's a Jewish invention....!

(That's gotta make me a better Arab then boycotting jeans?! looool)

A Historical Moment

2008-11-05T10:06:00.000+04:00

Democracy is a beautiful thing: Barack Obama elected 44th president

(Should we still call it the "White" house? lol)

Revisiting the dual

2008-10-17T04:48:00.004+04:00

I was thinking the other day about "the devil".

Basically, he's a fallen angel cause he said something stupid a billion years ago, and we're still paying for it?!

So he was a bit pissed at God's new toys (or "creations"), and got a little jealous and talked some shit...... but that was a LONG time ago...

What if he got bored already??? Maybe 500 years ago he went to God and was like: "This is booooooringgggg... these people suck... they're SOOO predictable... plus you're offering them virgins and stuff... Not fair... i don't wanna play anymore... and i need to catch up on my sleep... later G"

God: "But but wait... so I WON?! ahaaaaaa... admit it! i won! Oh Comeee ooonnnn don't go... now who am i gonna play with?"

Great! So now we have a bored God! (Actually, that explains ALOT!)

All i'm saying is, we all know that the devil is not patient, so i'm sure he's over it already... So maybe it's time someone came up with a better story about why there's evil in the world... cause this one is kind of lame... even for the devil himself

Weird News

2008-10-16T17:45:00.003+04:00

Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Against God

A drive thru misery...

2008-10-15T20:10:00.002+04:00

After dropping off the kids at school this morning, I was listening to BBC radio, and they were talking about child trafficking in Afghanistan. Women are selling their children for $200 or sometimes $100!

I've heard of this phenomena before, but i never really thought about it deeply, until i had my own kids.

At first my reaction was: How could they? How do you have the heart to watch your child leave with a stranger to the unknown? The only thing that you do know is that you will probably never see them again!

One of the women that had sold her 4 year old started talking... She said: "It's not just for the money, i gave up my child because I'm hoping he will go to a family with better living conditions, so he can be safe & he can live a good life."

I felt the pain in her voice... But still i thought: Ok.... But why do they keep having kids if they can't even afford to feed themselves, let alone a child? Is it selfishness?

Is it selfish of me to assume that they should know better?

I wanted to imagine myself as her for a moment...

Uneducated, poor, and living in a war torn country... Did she really CHOOSE anything?

These women can't get an education, even learning to read has to be done in secret, they have to marry at a very young age, get pregnant immediately after, and then reality hits: Everything that you've been taught about your duty as a woman has led to this.

You can't work if you can't even read, (that's if there are any jobs available in your area)

You can't keep having kids... but you can't exactly deny your husband sex either...

You are stuck! You obeyed all the rules and now you are faced with having to sell a child to feed his brother!

If that's not agony, i don't know what isIf that's not agony.

On top of all that, there is a big chance you will be arrested cause it's illegal!

It's not illegal that you can't get an education... it's not illegal that you get married at 12... it's not illegal that you have to wear a bag covering your entire body in the scorching heat... But it's illegal to give your child away in hope that he/she will have a better life then you ever did.

Shouldn't the govt. solve the root of the problem first, before punishing this woman?

The cost of keeping her in a jail cell would have prevented her from giving her child away in the first place!

Do they really think that this woman had any other option?

I'm not saying selling children should be legal... But for one thing: the laws of an uncivilized society are usually only exercised on the weak... Ya, she's put in jail, yet the person that bought the child is home free & probably on the first plane out of Afghanistan...

Second: These women have to abide by one ridiculous law after the other, without having ONE law that actually protects them... so what good is it that they follow any of them?

If it was me, I would probably go crazy! Not that i would last one day in Afghanistan, but if i did, I would be angry, and vengeful and I won't even know why or at whom.

Well, angry at the world! A world that makes these situations possible...

We are allowing this to happen... we are all responsible... Greedy & selfish decision makers, with greedy & selfish people backing them up...

I don't know how to save the world, but as a mother, all I know is: No woman should ever be put in this position... No woman should be subjected to this kind of suffering.

Then I got home... and i went about my day as usual............ forgetting all about the subject.

I guess the least thing i can do is blog about it.

Economic crisis goes hand in hand with climate crisis

2008-10-12T14:32:00.003+04:00

With so much focus on the economy, one might assume that it's not the time for looking at the climate problems... but that's actually a wrong assessment. We need to change the way we do business now more then ever... As a result of living beyond our means we have contributed to both the economic crisis & global warming. Wars, deforestation, and depending on oil (Opec) are leading to less natural resources, poverty, and more diseases... We cannot ignore the situation any longer.

http://www.climatecrisis.net/

http://www.wecansolveit.org/

Spread the word... Save the planet.

Hajj in style?!!

2008-10-01T19:18:00.003+04:00

Praying Carpet in a bag for Haj & Umrah

Interesting...

Groove Coverage - Moonlight Shadow

2008-09-15T19:33:00.001+04:00

This remix is not bad... still prefer the original though

Since it's that time of the year again...

2008-09-13T21:45:00.006+04:00

LOL i love it!

Ramadan Kareem! Not!

Quote of the day

2008-09-10T03:16:00.000+04:00

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain."

Mafi 7ada a7san Min 7ada

2008-08-09T04:16:00.003+04:00

A friend forwarded this article to me, in hopes that i would understand how "Bad" jews are, as apposed to "us Muslims"

http://www.rense.com/general80/whj.htm

Bless her heart... i know she meant well, and I know that many Arabs/Muslims out there, do this on a regular basis... cause i get stuff like this all the time... That's why i'm blogging about it...

I recommend to everyone that before getting carried away and mass emailing all your friends, take the time to read things carefully and self-criticize first. Whoever you are, most likely, the religion u belong to, does the same thing you criticize in other religions, just differently.

I recognize that some of the things in the article are true, the only thing is, she's not talking about the "Jews" she's talking about Isreal... and all the facts she mentioned are facts about the state of Israel... which we all know is a political/money/power thing, not a religious thing... so the beginning of her email doesn't match with the rest of it. If she wanted to prove that they were despised in history she should have gone a bit further then 1948... this is just a racist article, and it's not even a good one... brought to you by the same people who wrote: Why Muslims Are Evil?

You can see this VERY clearly in this sentence: I found out that the Jews are responsible for our wide open immigration policies that have created the nightmare we call "multiculturalism," "diversity," inclusiveness" and "pluralism."

LOL is she for real? so this means she is also against me, and any Arab, or Hispanic, Chinese... etc entering the U.S.A. I smell a "Christo/republican" bigot all over this article.

And she's blaming the "jews" for gays and porn....lol ahhhhhh, religious people are so predictable.

Also, it's interesting how she was shocked by the description of Christians (or non Jews) as barn animals... hmmm...

Can u think of another religion that claims the same thing? i believe the exact words in the Qura'an are: "Qirada wa khanazeer"

Which by the way, is so funny to me... as if for God calling you a name of an animal is some sort of curse!?! LOL inno if i was God and i created pigs & monkeys, i would be like: "Pigs & Monkeys suck... therefore when i'm mad at humans, i shall refer to them as Pigs & Monkeys..." LOL WHAT'S WRONG WITH PIGS & MONKEYS??? This just goes to show you the HUMAN "element" in the Qura'an... i mean don't you think that "GOD" could come up with a better curse word than to compare one of his creations to another?!?!?

Anyway, not to go off the subject, also look at this sentence:

They have taken Christmas out of the public school calendar despite the fact that it is a statutory holiday and it is named Christmas.

What other religious group does this?

Not only did they abolish Christmas, but also Valentine's day and any other holiday for that matter..

Now, u might say: "but that's not Islam, that's just Saudi Arabia" and i can answer: "That's not Judaism, that's just Israel/Zionism."

So you see my friend, mafi 7ada a7san min 7ada... or let me rephrase: mafi 7ada meddayyen a7san min 7ada meddayyen... They are all equally hateful & vengeful and blinded by their "FAITH", and they all LOVE to separate themselves from the "OTHERS" to say they are better... and the funny part about the whole thing is, non of them chose to be who they are... they were just the fastest sperm swimming in their fathers testicles... Testicles who just happened to belong to a Jewish man, a Christian man, or a Muslim man... shi bida7ek

Quote of the day (now this one is MINE)

2008-08-08T03:10:00.002+04:00

I'm actually very proud of this one :)

"I'd rather come from Monkeys than from incest"- Leafless Eve

RIP George Carlin

2008-06-23T15:58:00.001+04:00

I loved this guy... I've seen almost all his stand ups... i saw him live once in FL too... He was amazing.

Stut-Stut-Stut-Stuttering

2008-05-28T14:34:00.001+04:00

Love it!

Stay Lebanese!

2008-04-04T00:08:00.003+04:00

I DRINK RUSSIAN, DRESS ITALIAN, KISS FRENCH, BUT STAY LEBANESE!

Arab bloggers

2008-03-18T17:49:00.001+04:00

Arab bloggers defy arrest

This part just cracked me up:

But the Syrian government says it is protecting its national security against a spam campaign started by "Israelis who infiltrated the Syrian internet community."

LOOOOL

The Miniature Earth

2008-03-13T02:50:00.001+04:00

Nice...

I'm lovin' it

2008-03-03T03:58:00.003+04:00

I heard this song on the radio 2 or 3 times, and i had no idea who sings it... then i FOUND it by just searching one word from the lyrics... i love the internet... i love this song

".........I’m leaving for Venus
In a getaway car
No one can save us
It’s no need to try.........."

No Comments

2008-02-13T14:28:00.000+04:00

well said...

2008-02-11T04:48:00.000+04:00

I love this quote... it summarizes how I feel about religion & religious people:

"...tolerance of intolerance is cowardice."

It's all in the name :)

2008-02-02T23:31:00.000+04:00

لاسمها طريق الى قلبك

"دانيا" الطفلة الدائمة مغناطيس الرجال

"دانيا" وما أدركم من هي "دانيا"... منها سيدنو الرجال وهم يغمضون العيون، فجاذبية صاحبة هذا الإسم كفيلة تنويم مقاومة الرجال مغناطيسياً وجعلهم يتقربون منها برضاهم أو رغماً عنهم. من يعرف "دانيا" لا بد أن يصفها بكلمة "طيّوبة كتير"، فهي لذيذة وغنوجة ومرحة وتضج حيوية وشرارات إيجابية. في عينيها يلمع الذكاء وتبرق "الحربقة" رغم البراءة التي تشع منهما. طفلة دائمة حتى لو أصبحت في الثمانين من العمر، وغالباً ما تملك صاحبة هذا الاسم قلباً أبيض كثلج صنين وحناناً دافئاَ كشمس بيروت. "دانيا" إمرأة منطلقة وغير متحفظة ، تثق بالآخرين بسرعة كبيرة وتؤمن أن الخير يتفوق على الشر. شكلها الخارجي جذاب جداً وهي غالباً ما تشبه الجنيات والساحرات بشعرها الطويل والمسافر خلفها بجنون وحركة لا تهدأ. تبحث عن رجل مرح وحنون، يهتم بها ويشعرها أنها أغلى الناس وأحلى الناس في حياته، وخصوصاً أنها أهم ما في حياته، فلا ينسى موعدهما لأنه غارق في العمل مثلاً، لأنها قادرة على جعله يغرق في السعادة إذا أحسن معاملتها.

(This was posted on http://www.annahar.com/, but the link is no longer available since they do a different name each week)

On my 32nd birthday...

2008-01-30T00:59:00.001+04:00

I was on the roads of Beirut at 5:00am... a lot of rain, a lot of wind... I was dropping mom off at the airport... Rawsheh was wet & empty... The sea looked agitated...
I had a very long quiet drive back home... turned on the radio for a while, and i'm glad i did... There's something about the radio in the morning... News tid bits... oldies... it's refreshing... it's been a while since i've woken up this early! I should do this more often...

I let the kids stay home from school... it was way to cold & rainy... plus it's my birthday, I wanted to watch them sleep... i can't think of a better gift to myself :)
I fell asleep next to them, and I wasn't sure if I was keeping them warm, or they were keeping me warm...... either way... i was loving it...

I woke up a few times answering phone calls from family, friends & loved ones :)

After having my coffee, I made Thai noodles with chicken for lunch... a very late lunch...

Couldn't really go anywhere... and I didn't really want to... the weather was getting meaner and meaner...

The weather is such a great distraction... even though there was so much tension after Sundays riots, now... from my balcony, i can see the mountains with all the small lights... I can read the minds of everyone in these homes... they are in awe of nature... nothing else seems to matter...

There was hail late at night... which is unusual... My garden was covered with little white spots that look like candy :) I guess that was another gift for me :)

Before going to bed... I made a few resolutions... i'm hoping to keep most of them :)

My birthday rap-poem :)

2008-01-29T18:16:00.001+04:00

Ali Al-Sharikh

4:29pm Jan 29th

Happy Birthday Dania!

Here's your birthday rap-poem:

yo yo yo its um Nassim
she simply shines like a light beam
cookie's older sister, she's sweet like ice cream
I'm buttering her up cuz i have a scheme ;o)

you and i, we have the same goals
to protect our cookie from the assholes
won't you trust me, i have a good soul
in fact, i just got off on parole

life is hard in the ghettos of Kuwait
all there is to eat is one freakin date
but i got lucky, it must have been fate
when, in Hania, i found my soul mate

happy birthday Dania
the daughter of Rania
nothing rhymes wit yo name except lasagna

[chorus]: bum dibum, BUMBUM DI BUM

NOTHING RHYMES WIT YO NAME EXCEPT LASAGNA

bum dibum, BUMBUM DI BUM

NOTHING RHYMES WIT YO NAME EXCEPT LASAGNA

bum dibum, BUMBUM DI BUM

NOTHING RHYMES WIT YO NAME EXCEPT LASAGNA

bum dibum, BUMBUM DI BUM

NOTHING RHYMES WIT YO NAME EXCEPT LASAGNAAAAAAAAAAA

A-L-I Records © 2008 [disclaimer: any unauthorized usage of these lyrics will be severely prosecuted under the contents of the law]

Pray yourself skinny!

2007-12-12T18:51:00.001+04:00

http://www.mattcoyote.com/prayerdiet.html

Ladies & gentelmen, I think someone finally figured out a way to convince me to pray!

Do super models know about this?
That would give a new meaning to "getting down on your knees" to get to the top! (ohhhhh, no she di'ent)

Women In Art

2007-12-07T01:04:00.001+04:00

Quote of the day

2007-10-24T00:12:00.000+04:00

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Tell me about it...

2007-10-18T23:33:00.001+04:00

ya 3ainiii

2007-10-10T01:12:00.001+04:00

يرتدين الحجاب الكحلي ويملكن شبكة تدريس ونفوذ واسعة ... «الآنسات القبيسيات» يباشرن في سورية انخراط النساء في «الدعوة الإسلامية» ... بموافقة السلطات
<>دمشق- ابراهيم حميدي الحياة - 03/05/06//
--> لم يعد انتشار اتباع «الآنسة» منيرة القبيسي مقتصراً على سورية والدول العربية فحسب، بل ان حلقات «الأخوات» باتت تدق ابواب بيوت في باريس وفيينا لتصل إلى الولايات المتحدة الأميركية. والقبيسيات داعيات إسلاميات أثرن نقاشاً وانقساماً في الأوساط الاسلامية في سورية.
وكلما اتسعت الرقعة التي ينمو فيها فطر «القبيسيات» في الشوارع والمدارس والبيوت السورية والعربية والأجنبية، زادت إثارة وتشويقاً الحكايا والأساطير حول هذه الحركة، اذ بلغ الجدل في شأن «الاخوات» أخيراً شبكة الإنترنت بين من يتهمهن بتشكيل «تنظيم سري خطير» وبين من ينوه بدور الداعيات في «فعل ما عجز عنه الرجال».
click here to read the rest: http://www.amanjordan.org/a-news/wmview.php?ArtID=3133

Ok... here's my idea:

ندوات لا دينية

Every woman invited to these meetings would have to attend my meetings too!
Equal opportunity brain washing!

You can't fight extreme thoughts with "moderate" thoughts

Maybe, after they are subjected to both ends of the spectrum, they might become "moderates" (whatever that means these days)

(Ofcourse, i'de also make them wear navy blue... g-stings...)

Worried about visiting Lebanon?

2007-10-01T13:38:00.001+04:00

This is what you'll be missing!

Rise Up - Live Performance by Jaba at Sky Bar Beirut

(I was there)

http://www.youtube.com/v/Y5HZU0PI3UQ

over the rainbow sooooooooo highhhhh

here are some more

Beach Party @ Edde Sands Resort

http://www.youtube.com/v/EwWJPY6hgOc

Fireworks with Yves Larock @ Sky Bar Beirut

http://www.youtube.com/v/SSP3_Kpl6eY

BO18- Beirut's Ultimate Underground Club

http://www.youtube.com/v/o7ccYkXFLQw"

The World is Mine @ Sky Bar Beirut

http://www.youtube.com/v/h-Cc3yMiiVI

Love this song!

1757 after 836 Days

2007-05-30T03:00:00.000+04:00

Congratulations to Lebanese people everywhere!

صبرتم ونلتم

مبروك لكل الشعب اللبناني

Go Lebanese Army Go!

2007-05-21T21:34:00.000+04:00

Light your balconies from 9:00 PM till 10:00 PM tonight in support of the Lebanese Soldiers.

Sign the petition : http://www.lebanesearmy.net

I knew it!

2007-05-09T21:33:00.001+04:00

I knew it!

No Lebanese would have created such an unimaginative, and offensive* flag.

Then again, they did COPY the Iranian one, so that IS pretty uncreative.

Come to think of it, they also copied the I LOVE LIFE campaign and just kind of added to it.

I guess they spend so much money on weapons that they don't have enough for a creative department.

*I use to have a huge issue with the Hizballa flag, cause it actually connects the word "Alla" to a gun, but that's when I use to believe in "Alla". However, on some days I do believe in A GOD (not THE GOD Muslims & Christians & Jews refer to) but still, the flag is offensive.

Atatürk Rocks!

2007-04-29T21:00:00.000+04:00

This post is in support of the pro-secular demonstrations in Istanbul

*Not only was he brilliant but he's not bad to look at either ;)

From "The Secret Scrolls"

2007-04-23T21:35:00.001+04:00

A nice way to start the day :)

Sho Bini

2007-04-15T01:40:00.000+04:00

Listining to this all week.............

Sho Bini

Custody Battle

2007-03-28T02:00:00.000+04:00

For the past few months we have witnessed the conflict between the opposition and the Lebanese government escalating to a point that lead to riots, demonstrations, and unfortunately some innocent civilian causalities.

We watched the accusations, insults and the occasional name calling between members of both groups on our televisions. We read the verbal attacks in our papers. Big catchy headlines aimed to disqualify & damage the other party.
Yes, this is a political battle... and things do tend to get ugly... but how far should this go?
If both parties claim the other is "illegitimate", where does that leave Lebanon?
Civil war is no longer the danger here... There is a larger danger that is looming.
When the parents of a child go to court to take custody of this child, they put all their effort into proving that they are the fit parent. Sometimes they do try to show that the other is less qualified by pointing out faults, or by criticizing certain behaviors.

But what if they take it a step further? What if both start accusing each other of neglect and abuse? What if they resort to demonizing each other by trying to prove that the child is in danger if left with any one of them? What if they both equally convince the judge that this child would be exploited or mistreated with either one?

Well, the judge then will have no choice but take the child from BOTH of them, and turn him/her over to the custody of child services.
This is what is happening in Lebanon. We are in danger of loosing this country because we have divided ourselves into 2 groups that never pass on an opportunity to display each others shortcomings.
We are telling the world that we can't handle Lebanon. We are telling them that we can't properly take care of this country. Especially if we fail to reach an agreement concerning something as important as the international court to try those accused of assassinating former Prime minister Rafik Hariri.

If the "dialogue" fails, the government would be forced to pass the international court under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. This would take Lebanon into the unknown. It will erase all the efforts made to create a "sovereign nation" out of this small country that had more then its share of problems. It will be up to the "rest of the world" to decide Lebanon's fate. (This, ironically, is something the opposition says they worry about.)

Everyone in the government claims they want justice to be served, but some members of the opposition question the adequacy of the U.N.-backed international tribunal, and fear that it would be politicized. Even though they have stated this publicly, they also stated that their main problem with the Saniora government is representation, and not the court.*

*However, the resignation of Hizballa parliament members coincided twice with the international court talks held in the parliament.

The Saniora government vowed this court will take place, and accused the opposition of putting their own interest ahead since they are allies to the Syrian regime.

So, in history, and now again we find ourselves, like that child, being pulled in both directions, without consideration to the dire repercussions of this tug of war.
In an effort to get "custody", politicians from both sides have taken risks with this country's fate during this critical period. They have discredited each other, they have belittled each others abilities, and some even declared the others mere existence unconstitutional.

And of course, in the end, (like all parents) they claim they fight over Lebanon because they love it…

Maybe no one deserves Lebanon, and we need that judge to save us.

No wonder so many Lebanese "children" runaway from home.

We are potatoes

2007-03-26T01:10:00.000+04:00

"The man who has not anything to boast of but his illustrious ancestors is like a potato -- the only good belonging to him is underground." -- Sir Thomas Overbury

(Now i know where the expression: "sha3b batata" comes from...lol)

Did you smell that movie???

2007-03-20T20:26:00.001+04:00

افلام معطرة قريبا في دور السينما اليابانية

طوكيو : سيتمكن عشاق السينما الذين ملوا التاثيرات السمعية والبصرية المتطورة، من مشاهدة الافلام وتنشق روائح مناظرها الطبيعية في قاعات السينما بعد ان اعلنت شركة لتوزيع الافلام انها ستعرض اول "افلامها المعطرة" في العالم. وذكرت شركة شوشيكو انها ستطلق فيلم الدراما التاريخية "العالم الجديد" من بطولة كولين فيرل والذي تتناول قصته الاستعمار في نيو انغلاند، في اثنتين من دور السينما السبت باستخدام نظام كمبيوتر تم تطويره مؤخرا لاطلاق الرائحة المصاحبة للفيلم.

وتم تطوير النظام من قبل شركة "ان تي تي كوميونيكيشنز" التي هي جزء من شركة "ان تي تي" العملاقة للاتصالات. وستقدم ستة انواع من الروائح اعتمادا على المشاهد التي يتم عرضها. وكانت عدة دور سينما في اليابان اطلقت العام الماضي رائحة الشوكولاته اثناء عرض فيلم "تشارلي ومصنع الشوكولاتة".

وقالت ناوكو يوشيدا المتحدثة باسم شركة شوشيكو "هذه اول تجربة في العالم لتقديم انواع مختلفة من العطور التي تناسب المشاهد السينمائية التي ستجعل المشاهدين يشعرون بانهم في غابة، على سبيل المثال، عند اطلاق رائحة الغابات". ويتم نشر الروائح الست التي تضم رائحة الغابات والحمضيات، من تحت مقاعد المشاهدين.

To read the article in English: http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/12/japanese-movie-theaters-to-get-internet-controlled-smell-o-visi/

Oh my god! this was MY IDEA!
I always thought that visual and sound stimulation at the movies is not enough anymore. I thought that to have the FULL experience, they should come up with something that creates smells too.

Imagine movies that have crime scenes! I know this sounds kind of sick, but I was always curious when I watched a movie and someone would walk into a creepy place and then say: "Ugh, it smells horrible here."

I would be thinking: "What? How does it smell? I WANNA KNOW".

Then again, I'm not your average movie goer, I'm very much INTO the movie i watch.

Anyway, bad smells is one thing, but a chocolaty smell while watching Willi Wanka! YUM! that sounds great!

I wonder how long it will take them to do this here in Lebanon?

Then again... If you've been to a movie theater in Lebanon you would have noticed that they ALREADY HAVE "certain" smells :)

See, we are ahead!

(p.s. You know where else they need that? On cooking shows! The smell would come right out of our T.V.! Imagine that! Whenever i'm watching a cooking show i reallyyyyy want to smell and taste the food... So they can start with smell, and maybe they can invent something for us to TASTE the food. Ok people, you heard it here first! If they invent something like that make sure you tell me so i can sue!)

Quote of the day

2007-03-18T23:00:00.000+04:00

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."

- Galileo Galilei

Thelma & Louise Vs. 3abeer & Khadija

2007-03-14T01:30:00.000+04:00

Well, not yet, but I can see it coming!

It turns out that Majlis Al Shoura in Saudi Arabia has advised the Court of Ministers regarding women driving in Saudi Arabia. They agreed on a list of rules & regulations.
Of course this will not take effect immediately, it'll take a few years to finalize it...

I know this is a positive step, but I can't help staring in awe at these ridicules rules!

Rules and Regulations regarding women driving vehicles:

1- Must be at least 40 years of age.
2- Must have permission from her guardian (husband or father or brother...)
3- Must have a valid driving license from a womens driving school.
4- Should be modest in clothing and not have makeup on while driving.
5- Women can only drive inside the city if alone. She must have a guardian with her if driving outside the city.
6- Driving is permitted between the hours 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Saturday to Wednesday; 2 p.m. till 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
7- Must have a cell phone with her in case of emergency.
8- In case of a car break down or an accident, she should call Women Police Service for help.
9- She will have to pay a certain amount of money (credit on her driving license) which will be used by Women Police for her tire puncture repair or other maintenance.

Government responsibilities:

1- Creation of female Police force who will be specialized in multiple fields like driving, taking calls with companies to repair cars, rent cars, and also issuing traffic citations.
2- Creation of free women police center for emergency calls.
3- Opening Islamic propagation center in the Women Police department inside the cities.
4- Renewal of driving licenses every year.

Violations in General:

1- If any driver chases a female driver, if caught or proved, will be jailed for minimum 8 months with fine.
2- For those drivers who try to stop women drivers in any way like making their way narrow will be jailed for 1 day with fine.
3- If any driver hurts the women drivers will be jailed for 1 month with fine.

(Notice that if someone "chases" a woman he's jailed 8 months, but if he actually hurts her, only one!)

For Women:

1- Those women drivers who do not follow Islamic behavior their license will be suspended for minimum 6 months with 500-1000 Riyals fine.
2- Their guardian will be notified in writing by the "Hay'et el Amr Bil-Maaroof" (religious police)

Ahhh... What can I say?
Where do I even start?

I won't... I'll say nothing (and knowing me that's very hard to do!)
I'll try to be optimistic & positive and just say that it's good they are working towards reform.

This song makes me feel like i'm 16 again

2007-03-13T00:30:00.000+04:00

"Girl, You'll be A Woman Soon"

Ommet el 7ommos

2007-03-10T19:30:00.000+04:00

It's very strange to me when people in the Arab world refer to themselves (or others) as part of "Al Omma el 3arabeyya", or "Al Omma el Islameyya."
Since when where we ONE? When did we unite?
Just watch the news... Look at my previous post. We're struggling to be united, so why do we talk like we are?
And this is not new, it's been this way ever since i can remember... This is all I heard while growing up: "Us Arabs have to become one... Us Arabs need to help each other... Us Arabs can't defeat Israel if we don't unite..."
Well, us Arabs SUCK.
We don't get it, THERE IS NO US. (That goes for "us Muslims" too)
There's no such thing as Al Omma el 3arabeyya, or Al Omma el Islameyya for that matter. We should just stop referring to it like it exists... and work on CREATING IT for a change. The only way to achieve unity is if we accept our diversity. And we are very far from that.

It also can't exist until we have true LEADERS for this unity. It's true we have deep cultural & traditional divides, but so do people in every country. Why is it that we are always FIGHTING either each other, or someone else? We fight cause our leaders want us to. We fight for them. We fight for their greed.
Basically: We are incapable of properly evaluating those who are in power, or even choosing those who should replace them. We either:
1) Rally behind corrupt questionable politicians with blood on their hands, clapping & cheering for them, posting there pictures on our walls like they are heroes. We treat them like they are "above" us, instead of treating them like oridinary people who are suppose to provide a service, people who are SUPPPOSED to SERVE & PROTECT us. They tought us to fear them, and we do.
2) Or we go with a more "mystical" kind of fear. The one from the all mighty. We choose to follow religious-political figures. We deify them, and we hang on their every word, and in return all they do is give us a fatwa every now and then to keep things moving in the direction THEY want...

All this is if we're lucky enough to live in a country that give you a choice between the 2.

So you see, there is no room for "3orobeh" or "kawmeyyeh" here... This is all we have. That's our political situation.

So what do we have left? Religion? grrreat!
Depending on religion to unite us is like depending on Michael Jackson to baby sit your kids... Sure "Never Land" looks like a lot of fun, and you might get alot of feel good freebies, but somehow someone always gets screwed in the end.
No, seriously... How many sects of Islam (or Christianity) are there? Do we even know? Islam is an idea... a belief... a philosophy... It's PERSONAL. Spirituality is not meant to be used in that way... No 2 Muslims, Christians, Jews are exactly the same...
So why burden ourselves with such labels? Why hinder your spirituality so you can feel like you "belong" to something? I never get this NEED that people have to associate themselves with people they don't even know on such a deep level???
Here's a suggestion: If you really want to feel like you are part of something start looking at the simple things that unite us. Like our love of Hommos & 3abd El7aleem :)

I'm not saying we don't have alot more in common, we do, BUT our sense of you "unity" and nationalism as Arabs is just an illusion... It will always be comprised due to our racism, fanaticism, sexism and intolerance.

So, the next time you want to refer to yourself as "anything", think about this:
If you want to feel like you belong to a certain group, guess what, YOU DO. You're human. We ARE all one. That should be enough. There is no need for a subgroup.

???ﻻﻮ ﻮﻮﺸ ﺔﻤﻮﻜﺤ

2007-03-04T02:56:00.000+04:00

Since the opposition decided to take action here in Lebanon, our news started sounding more and more like Palestinian & Iraqi news.
Power struggle, "takhween", blood shed, well, us alot less then them, economic issues...
And if I hear ONE MORE guy saying the words: "7okomet wi7da wataneyya" I'm gonna scream. It's like the catch phrase of the year! And the irony is that politicians keep repeating it like it's something that you can just buy from the supermarket... Something they have no control over. It's this amazing great THING that the OTHER group, the "bad guys", are not letting them have!
It's like: We DEMAND a govt. that represents our UNITY DAMN IT!
You better let us have our united govt. OR ELSE!
LOL hysterical!

3aini ya 3aini

2007-02-28T20:23:00.002+04:00

This 3abd el 7aleem song has been stuck in my head the whole day...

i don't know what the beginning of it is... i don't even know the rest, but for some reason i just keep repeating this part:

3aini ya 3aini ya 3aini 3aini 3alaiki

kol el oloob bidoob bidoob 7awalaiki ya 3aini

aallllllllllllllahhhhh

looool

If only I played the guitar...

2007-02-26T18:53:00.000+04:00

Little Orange man
Little Orange man
What the hell is your plan?
You're ruining our winter,
and last summer you ruined our tan
"The majority of Christians" my hiney
It's impossible you still have ONE fan
You will never be president
And for being a traitor,
you should be in the can
Burning tires & rioting
Where do you think you are? Sudan?
On all things orange
They should have a ban
7il 3anna ba'a, w fil min Libnaan!

Everybody.....
Little Orange man, Little Orange man...

(I don't know why but i'm picturing Phoebe from "Friends" singing this song...lol)

Pain & suffering... Pain & suffering... Pain & suffering...

2007-02-22T19:18:00.001+04:00

I've been reading the scrolling news subtitles for a while now... I think it's good exercise for my brain, and for my eye muscles... I can read faster in English & in Arabic then I ever could before!
But am I really comprehending everything?
I hope not.
How can I comprehend so much bad news in less then a minute?
Wars, Natural disasters, Riots, X dead Y injured...
I read these scrolling numbers, and mentally I just accept them...
Bad news first... Always the death toll comes, and then the injured.
The number of the injured is usually at least 3 times more then the number of deaths...
Do they really count ALL the injured?
Do they count the relatives of those who died?
Or the "injured" because of the injured? Like the parents who for everyday for the rest of their lives have to watch their amputee sons & daughters suffer?
We scroll by all the misery... We go quickly thru the pain... we feel "something" and move on. These numbers are so "distant". We can't possibly relate... How can we relate to all this agony?
Maybe if they make them fast enough I won't be able to read them at all.
It's not benefiting me anyway... and it's certainly not doing diddly squat for them.
SO WHAT if I know the truth? I'm not doing anything about it. No one can. Well, a hand full of people can. But they don't watch the news. They MAKE the news.

We are all atheists

2007-02-21T05:03:00.000+04:00

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."
- Sir Stephen Henry Roberts (1901-1971)

God damn humans...

2007-02-13T21:30:00.000+04:00

9:00 a.m.
My daughter left to school 15 minutes ago... My son left way before that... I'm about to fall asleep again............ Wow... that was loud... The thunder is strong today...
9:30 a.m.
The calls start coming in... the cell... the house phone... Panic..... Did you hear it? You mean that wasn't the thunder storm???
Should we get the kids back from school?
They said it's in 3ain 3ala!
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT IS! is that near here?
It's SO FRUSTRATING not to know Lebanese geography... I should've paid more attention to weather reports and memorized these names... how can I? They have a different name for every 2 Kilometers of Lebanese soil.....
Bikfayya road?! that's near... 3ain 3aar?! That's the address of the school!
Am I still sleeping?
Where's the damn remote..... LBC, NewTv, Future...
A bus! no two!
Ambulances... blood............. My kids don't take the bus... They can't be anywhere near a bus... It's way after nine, they are both already in school...
How selfish of me......
How cruel of them...
How vicious!
How many people are there that are willing to do this???
Where do they find these guys?
I'm not talking about the political decision to blow up 2 buses the day before Hariri's rally... I'm talking about the guys that actually did it... The guys that stuck a bomb under a bus full of people they don't even know cause they got paid, or worst, cause they "believe" that in killing others they will accomplish something... in this life, or the next.
Guys? They're not just guys... Men? Maybe even women!?
Who are these people? Where did they grow up? How do they live? How do they sleep?
Who do they think they are?
Puppets? Robots? No those are innocent... they don't even have a brain... Lucky for them.
Sheep? Naa... Animals only kill to eat.
I don't know how to classify such human beings........
Human beings?
I guess that's it... it's the God damn human being. We are just disgusting.
No wonder we had to invent a God that punishes and burns and kills...
Maybe, we just invented one that mirrors us.

Gen 1:27
"So God created man in His own image..."
The Book of Eve 1:20
"So Humans created God in Their own image..."

Faking it

2007-02-10T18:06:00.000+04:00

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake a whole relationship."

- Sharon Stone

You don't have PINK!

2007-02-09T04:30:00.000+04:00

A Reiki master once told me that since the year 2000 a new era of "female dominance" has begun... He mentioned the rise in the number of females in high profile positions as a sign of that. (Examples in business: Female CEOs: Xerox, New York Times, Lucent Technologies... In politics: 2001-2004 President of Indonesia, 2004 Prime Minister of Mozambique, 2006 President of Chile... and many many more... Not to mention Hillary Clinton, who might not become the first female president in the U.S., but it would be the 1st time a woman is even running for office.)

So I started thinking about the Middle East. Then I naturally thought: Lebanon.
To me, the likely hood of the 1st female president or prime minister in the Middle East to come from Lebanon just makes sense. I can go on and on about why, but let's just stick with the MAIN fact that most of the countries around us are either ruled by kings or dictators...
As we all know, after Hariri's death, and our independence, the female factor in our politics started to emerge. We already have a few female members in our parliament...
Which means we're at least on the right track...
I don't need to emphasize how important this is... Do I?
Do I need to go into how female representation in any political system shows a certain level of advancement..etc....?
I'm hoping the average reader already acknowledges this...

Which brings me to my next point, which I prefer to say rather loudly:
HEY, anti govt. guys: WHERE ARE THE WOMEN on your team?
"I LOVE LIFE in colors" my hiney.
You don't have PINK!

Think for one moment that the opposition will succeed (God or whoever forbids), and that we will be ruled by: Hizballa, Amal, (aw bala Amal...lol, i'm cracking myself up today) and the little Orange man.
Now, ask yourself: How long do you think it'll take before we have a female president while we are under THAT umbrella?
LOL the idea makes me laugh.

This is just another example of what: "Biddon yraj3ona la wara" really means. (Incase some of you are still not clear what Future TV means by that.)
Yup, the opposition my friends is lacking the female gene. And frankly has way too much testosterone per "member" (no pun intended) for my taste.

So for all you ladies out there who would love to see the first female president in the Arab world come from your beloved country, Lebanon, and you still think this govt. is doing such a crappy job... Think again.

Happy Birthday Antoooon

2007-01-30T18:24:00.000+04:00

This is for you...

I LOVE YOU

I moved a box today...

2007-01-29T14:00:00.000+04:00

You know on surveys, when they ask you to check a box for your age...

Well, now i have to check THIS BOX! ----->

I moved an ENTIRE BOX in one day :(

(Happy i-feel-old day to me)

Poor Eve

2007-01-28T00:11:00.000+04:00

Black Tuesday

2007-01-23T23:00:00.000+04:00

Heavy smoke polluting the sky over Beirut

View from Movenpick Chalet

Wow... The oppostition has proved: They can burn stuff

(Photos by: Samia)

Beirut 3am tibki... maksoor khatirha

2007-01-23T22:00:00.000+04:00

(Photos by: Samia)

New Hizballa Campaign Logo

2007-01-17T06:10:00.000+04:00

(*Refer to post: Sho ya3ni "I LOVE LIFE"?)

Duck a l'Orange

2007-01-13T22:38:00.000+04:00

(3oon & his followers...lol)

Garden of Eden

2007-01-12T18:10:00.000+04:00

I've had this picture in my drafts for a while, so i figured it's time to post it now as per all the complaints of the lack of "leaflessness" :)

Ok, It's not me, but it's as close as your gonna get to seeing me "Leafless" ;)

(The photo is done digitally, it's one of the many amazing works of Gale Franey)

Sho ya3ni "I LOVE LIFE"?

2007-01-06T03:48:00.000+04:00

I heard someone asking that...

And i thought... "keef sho ya3ni?"

For me it was very clear... and very simple.

There's a very good reason why it was chosen for this campaign.

Those who HAVE a life just want to live it...

Those who "love life" don't believe that there religion comes BEFORE there patriotism. They see another way of "life"... They see a Lebanese strategy on how to defend the country.

The slogan is short and sweet to say, I CHOOSE to live this way... I reject your distorted political views, and your so called "cause" for dying.

On the other hand, those who lived all there lives under the brain wash & control of a militia, don't know another way to live. They are not very concerned with living THIS life anyway. They are waiting to "live" in the afterlife. It's another double edge sword that organized religion awarded humanity. Putting so much importance on the after life (hoping that would make better human beings) minimizes the importance of the role we play now, before we die.

So they talk about what "GOD" wants for hours and hours on TV. They pray all day... They create a "Hizb" for God. They even claim DIVINE victories... They think that's there DUTY. That's the reason they are here on earth. They know NOTHING else. "Moqawameh", or THE FIGHT is there LIFE.

So that's the culture clash... That's the fundamental problem.

(hmmm... i just thought of something, maybe there should be a "counter slogan" for Hizballa that reads: I LOVE THE AFTER LIFE... i just might photoshop that, and see if it sells...lol)

Anyway, the point is, the slogan is very appropriate.

I love life, means I REJECT fighting for "ideological" causes. I love life, means i want an end to political assassinations. I love life, means the only way you'll get me to fight to DEFEND my country is under the command of my OFFICIAL army, and not under any militia that hands me a weapon and tells me to fight, so i can be a hero or a martyr. I love life, means i just want to raise my 2 children (Yes, ONLY 2) and educate them here in Lebanon, and not somewhere else... I want to be able to offer them a hate free environment... a war free environment. I love life means: I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE. I'M ALIVE NOW. AND I LOVE IT. SO LET ME BE.

Happy New Years, and did u see the video?!

2007-01-01T20:30:00.001+04:00

The video of Saddams execution was the only thing people talked about at the end of this holiday season.....

I was busy partying, but.... i saved the ranting for my blog :)

First of all: Who cares what day they hang him? I wish people would stop giving importance to silly calendar dates... What's a day in the span of history?

3eed Adha, Christmas...bla bla They are just excuses to get drunk, or pray or do whatever you need to do to feel good about yourself, feel like you "belong", and that you are part of something.

So, just because you take the holidays seriously, doesn't mean everyone else does... Especially if they are in the middle of a bloody civil war! They want to get rid of this guy ASAP, they don't care if it's Gods birthday or if it's the day when someone sacrificed a goat 100000 years ago.

Second, we Arabs/Muslims should stop feeling bad about something that is generally acceptable in our culture & religion. All of a sudden, we are FULL of emotions! "Ya 7araam Saddam"!

If you are against the death penalty, like myself and most of Europe, i could see how you can view his hanging as inhumane. But if you aren't, then what's the BIG DEAL? Was it the way he was killed? According to the real Shari3a law he was supposed to be beheaded with a sword! Imagine that? So, what the heck are you complaining about?

Yesss i know he's not the ONLY murderer... and i don't get it when people say: "Sho howeh el wa7eed illy attal 3alam?" LOL what does that mean? Do they suggest that he should be free, cause we can't catch them all???

I feel bad if ANYONE is killed, but that doesn't mean I'm about to defend a murderer and make him into something he's not. It's sad that we are so desperate for a hero, that we make a murdering a dictator into a martyr.

I also don't agree with the way it was done, it was very 3rd world, but after all, that's Iraq. That's how they used to hang people during Saddams time.

I have respect for human life as well as human death, and shouting stupid slogans at someone as he's being hanged is so low & disgusting... But you are dealing with "nawar"... Uncivilized grade C govt. officials in a 3rd world country that is in total ruins! What did you expect? something decent? Something organized?
Ya, if the Americans took care of it, maybe. But ofcourse the U.S. won't have any part of it, cause then you will have every angry Arab screaming, LOOK AT THE AMERICANS KILLING SADDAM! Even if the Americans did it by lethal injection, in a clean place, with his loved ones praying around him. So why bother... Let the Iraqis take care of it THERE WAY.
The point is, i don't believe in the death penalty, but the Iraqis do, and the Shari3a does... The Iraqi court gave the sentence, and the Shari3a law blessed it: "Al qatel, yoqtal". (Tranlsation: The killer should be killed)
I wish the Muslim/Arab world would stop being so hypocritical.

Shamoo wisdom

2006-12-27T00:34:00.000+04:00

"Stop trying to be normal... Normalcy isn't something you achieve over time... you're either normal or you're not..."- Samia

Catholic Fights to Have Church Lift Celibacy Rule

2006-11-30T16:45:00.000+04:00

Catholic Fights to Have Church Lift Celibacy Rule

This is why Christianity has advanced and Islam is in the dark ages...

There is tolerance towards this woman... The Vatican didn't accept what she's doing, but they didn't accuse her of being a witch, and they didn't burn her alive (like they use to do.)

This lifelong Catholic realized that celibacy is a ridiculous and inhuman rule, and she's trying to change it. It is evident that more then half of the men that join priesthood have social and/or psychological issues... They find refuge in the accepting arms of Church, and become priests. (This is the half that end up molesting children.) The other half have a deep belief that they should follow the ways of Jesus to go to heaven... (What's funny is that no one really knows WHAT ARE the ways of Jesus... According to the Da Vinci code Jesus was married, for example)

Of course even if there was historical proof of this, the Catholic church wouldn't want to admit it, not only cause of the "Celibacy Scam" but also because it would mean that he was actually married by a Jewish Rabbi!) I think that would create quite a confusion for the poor souls trying to follow the path of Jesus...lol

Ahhh, I can't believe people still follow all this nonsense... We are such slaves to any ancient text... We are The Slaves of the Scrolls (I like that... I'm on a roll today)

Maybe that should be the name of my first book!

Anyway... There will come a time, unfortunately long after I'm gone, when Christians/Muslims/Jews will no longer follow anything that the Vatican/Qura'an/Torah says, other then what falls under the universal laws of GOOD & BAD, which never needed to be clarified by a Book or Priests to begin with.

In other words, if the world still exists in 200 or 300 years, organized religion will no longer exist... It will only be remembered as a stage humanity had to pass thru in order to find true spirituality & wisdom... I find this article to be a step towards that.

(Note: Of course, what I wrote about priests, also applies to those who become "Shaikhs"... They both have social issues, but different kinds... Islam made a counter reaction to Christianity, by not only encouraging marriage/sex, but by increasing the number of wives...lol)

I'm pretty sure that most Christian priests back then yelled HALLELUIA when they heard THAT! A new rule fresh from Gabriel! Advocating marriage, sex, and a harem! Imagine how many quickly converted... It's a smart political move on prophet Mohammad's part... Especially since he also told them to reproduce like there's no tomorrow... Power in numbers... (Too bad he forgot to tell them that quantity shouldn't be on the expense quality.)

Only the Truth shall set us Free

2006-11-24T22:00:00.000+04:00

Only the Truth shall set us Free

2006-11-23T21:10:00.000+04:00

Only the Truth shall set us Free

2006-11-22T12:28:00.000+04:00

The Truth

One more death...

2006-11-22T00:22:00.000+04:00

One more politician assassinated...

A murdered son...
A mourned husband...
A lost father...

Another funeral...

Another demonstration...

This can only go on for so long,

No, they can't kill them all...

No, he will not rest in peace if we don't find the killers

No, he doesn't have to be like Kennedy

Neither him

nor Hariri

nor Twaini

nor Kaseer

We CAN find the truth... Unless some of us don't want to

1st lesson on the price of beauty...

2006-11-04T23:07:00.000+04:00

I took my 3 year old daughter to get her ears pierced today...
She's been asking for earrings for the last few months... And if you know kids, clip ons just don't work for a girl her age.
I tried to prepare her psychologically for the pain so that she doesn't get shocked when she feels it, but I also didn't want to scare her...
People were telling me to pierce her ears when she was first born, to avoid this situation, but I refused. One, because i think newborn girls with earrings look like boys with earrings... I just don't like the look, to me it's kind of tacky... Two, and most importantly, because I thought it's too early for her to be in any real pain... I mean what's the hurry?
She chose pink studs, and we put her on a chair in front of a huge mirror (which I later found out was key.)
When the lady did her right ear, she jumped from the shock and started crying :(
Part of me felt guilty, I thought: is this really necessary? Why would I want to put a hole in my daughters perfect ears? But then again I remembered how much she wanted this... and how she constantly tries to wear my earrings at home, and gets very frustrated when she can't...
So I concealed my feelings, and just tried to calm her down, telling her to look in the mirror to see her new earring...
Now that she felt the pain I was worried that she's not gonna let the lady come near her again to do the left ear...
To my surprise, the female in her took over!
She was staring at herself in the mirror, and almost smiling cause she's loving her new pink earring, but also crying her eyes out...
Crying but not moving, and not trying to leave...
The lady went to the left ear, and at first Sara put her hand out, signaling to the lady to stay away... I stepped in: "Sara, we have to do the other ear now, look how pretty this one is, you will have another one on this ear too..." So she started crying more, but accepted! She let the lady put that gun to her ear again!
The lady was telling me that Sara was brave, and that most girls her age end up leaving with one earring cause they can't handle the pain...

On one hand I was proud of my brave girl :)
On the other hand I was wondering how much of it is bravery, and how much is vanity... Cause after all, it is the vanity gene that is pretty strong in my family, not the bravery gene :)

As we were leaving, I was carrying her, wiping her tears, kissing her, and telling her how pretty she looked... And I thought to myself: This is just the beginning...