Below is an excerpt from a post entitled “We came, We saw, We destroyed, We forgot” by William Blum.
An updated summary of the charming record of US foreign policy. Since the en…
Below is an excerpt from a post entitled “We came, We saw, We destroyed, We forgot” by William Blum.
An updated summary of the charming record of US foreign policy. Since the end of the Second World War, the United States of America has …
Attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, most of which were democratically-elected.
Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries.
Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.
Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.
Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.
In total: Since 1945, the United States has carried out one or more of the above actions, on one or more occasions, in 69 countries (more than one-third of the countries of the world!
If you’re American and wonder why the rest of the world hates your guts, why Jihadists are out there after you, or why your government is despised, you better read more about this issue.
[Communicated via e-mail to the AUB community]
Dear AUB faculty, students, staff, and friends,
You will have heard that Sir James Wolfensohn has decided not to attend the Commence…
James Wolfensohn
[Communicated via e-mail to the AUB community]
Dear AUB faculty, students, staff, and friends,
You will have heard that Sir James Wolfensohn has decided not to attend the Commencement ceremonies on June 25, during which the university had intended to award him an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and had anticipated hearing him give the keynote speech at graduation.
His decision was taken in the aftermath of a petition that was organized by several faculty members at AUB, then circulated to the faculty and student community, as well as to our alumni, who were specifically encouraged not just to sign the petition but to write letters of protest. In the wake of predictable coverage by the media, the press in Lebanon have given wide notoriety to the issue as well, apparently based primarily on the wording of the petition, which is highly selective in the information it provides. The coverage has been mostly, and unfairly, critical of James Wolfensohn.
Neither the petition nor the media will inform you of Wolfensohn’s long and devoted record of work on behalf of the Arab world. I believe a more accurate picture, based on facts rather than insinuations is required. Please note the following:
The petition does not mention that:
On taking office as president of the World Bank, Wolfensohn initiated semi-annual meetings with the finance ministers of Arab countries, creating a dialogue that built greater understanding of the region’s problems. He traveled dozens of times to the region and was received at both official and community activist levels; many of these contacts remain his close personal friends, including Palestinian and Lebanese leaders.
As Special Envoy for the Middle East for the Quartet (the United Nations, the European Union, Russia, and the United States), Wolfensohn was given the delicate task of coordinating Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and leading reconstruction efforts in the area. After one year in office, Wolfensohn resigned from his position, protesting the Quartet’s decision to boycott and freeze aid to the Palestinian Authority following the Hamas victory in the January 2006 elections.
In an article published in 2007 reflecting his support for strengthening Palestinian sovereignty, Palestinian institutions, and a sustainable Palestinian economy, he explains his reasons for opposing the Bush Administration’s policies towards Palestinians after Hamas won the elections in 2006: “The reality is that you have 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza and you can’t wish them away, you can’t leave Gaza as a place where the rich and the intellectuals and the powerful can get out, and leave just people who can’t make a living – or can make a living if they could but have no leadership. And military use of subjugation doesn’t solve the problem, it seems to me.”
In recognition of his efforts to rebuild Gaza, Wolfensohn received, in 2007, the Palestine Prize for Excellence and Creativity by the Palestinian Authority.
Following his retirement as Special Envoy, Wolfensohn devoted significant attention towards issues related to the youth in the Arab world. He personally contributed a donation of more than $1 million towards those efforts, the main part of which was located at the Dubai School of Government as a joint venture with the Wolfensohn Foundation. Over 30 monographs and books have now been published on the topic of Arab youth, and the Foundation is looking for institutions that could house this research effort more centrally in the Arab world. Ironically, before this week, AUB might have been regarded as a natural collaborator.
Wolfensohn was part of the founding Board of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, headed by Maestro Daniel Barenboim and the late Edward Said, an orchestra that promotes intercultural dialogue, trains Arab musicians and creates opportunities for them to perform around the world.
Wolfensohn has, on record, criticized Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories and, in support of the Palestinian people, has often voiced strong criticism in Israel and the United States against their policies. In an article published in 2004, he was quoted as saying, “Israel’s military operations pertaining to the demolitions of thousands of homes in Rafah are reckless, and leave tens of thousands of people without a roof over their heads… As a Jew, I am ashamed of this kind of treatment of people.”
As a university we recognize and respect the diversity of opinions that must be expressed on campus, and it is the right of faculty and students to disagree with decisions made by the administration. The policies of the World Bank are controversial in many countries and are rightfully a topic of discussion and debate in academic circles.
As an institution devoted to critical thinking and the judicious weighing of evidence, however, AUB is not well served by petitions that are deliberately slanted to serve narrow interests regardless of facts. Co-opting the opinions of fellow faculty, students, and alumni by a pretext of authority, such campaigns are fundamentally dishonest and diverge from our university’s commitment to the pursuit of knowledge as grounded in intellectual integrity.
Let us acknowledge that ours is a complex region that is undergoing unprecedented change, and that it needs people, like James Wolfensohn, who have the ability to reach out across cultural and political boundaries to improve the human condition. We are saddened by the fact that AUB will not be able to honor him this June, when we had hoped we might bring his many positive contributions on behalf of the Arab world to the attention of a wider audience, especially here in Lebanon.
Sir James Wolfensohn needs no personal defense from me. Thoughtful people who know his record honor this dedicated public servant, who has taken a courageous stance in defense of Palestinian rights and in support of a just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Arab world needs more friends like him.
Last Sunday, during the demonstrations in the South near the Lebanese-Israeli borders to commemorate Nakba , Munib Masri, a petroleum studies student at the American University of …
Photo of Masri in South Lebanon via NOW Lebanon (from facebook)
Last Sunday, during the demonstrations in the South near the Lebanese-Israeli borders to commemorate Nakba, Munib Masri, a petroleum studies student at the American University of Beirut got severely injured after being shot by an Israeli bullet. Masri is Palestinian in origin, but also holds both the Jordanian and American citizenships.
Masri has underwent a couple of operations this week; "he is undergoing surgery today. He has already lost his left kidney and spleen in an earlier operation. His spine is also fractured, and he’s sustained injuries to his diaphragm, along with pieces of shrapnel lodged in his back." (NOW Lebanon)
In an e-mail addressed to the AUB community, Dr. Peter Dorman, President of AUB, writes:
"We are all shocked and saddened by this development, and our thoughts and hearts are with Munib and his family.We are appalled by the unrestrained use of deadly force against unarmed protesters that has left one of our students in critical condition"
It has been widely circulated since Monday that Masri is in need for donors of O- blood. He is currently being treated at the American University Hospital. For more information about the donation process, kindly contact Ms. Suha Afyoun, an AUB graduate who accompanied Masri during the demonstration, on +96176725203.
On behalf of the AUB community, I would like to wish Munib a speedy and smooth recovery and would like to salute him for his bravery.
I woke up this morning with a flood of news about Osama Bin Laden's death on facebook, twitter, google reader, buzz and so forth. With all the celebrations and the worldwide d…
I woke up this morning with a flood of news about Osama Bin Laden's death on facebook, twitter, google reader, buzz and so forth. With all the celebrations and the worldwide debate (he's even trending on twitter), something smells very fishy, and its not coming from the sea.
So U.S. troops kill Bin Laden, and throw him into the sea within 24 hours of his death. You would think that after ten years of searching for the "most wanted terrorist on earth," the body would be kept for more than one day.
TIME newspaper ignorantly attributes this action to Islamic tradition, and that the troops directly threw the body into the sea because the did not want to offend the Islamic beliefs of burial. I quote:
The reason is bound up within Islamic practice and tradition. And that practice calls for the body of the deceased to be buried within 24 hours, according to a U.S. official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national security matters. [..] "We are ensuring that it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition," confirmed the official. "This is something that we take very seriously. And so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner." [source]
What I have to say about this is: BULL CRAP.
I highly doubt that Americans care about how a body of a Muslim terrorist is handled considering all the massacres they are inflicting on innocent Muslims around the world from Palestine to Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya. That's the first point.
The second point is that no where in the Islamic Beliefs does it say that a corpse has to be buried within the first day. It is preferable that it gets buried as soon as possible, but on countless occasions, and especially in controversial situations like this one, corpses can be left unburied for sometime until the disputed situation is cleared.
The third and most important point is that no where in Islamic ruling does it allow corpses to be buried at sea. The only way one can dispose of a corpse is to bury it in soil (because according to Islam, a human being was created from mud, and to it he shall return).
So spare me the bullshit about the sensitivity of the Americans. I'm pretty sure they are hiding something or possibly making it up to ensure Obama's stay in power for another term. For whatever reason, it seems very sketchy, don't you think?
Today, March 12, is the world day against cyber-censorship. This day was initially launched by Reporters without Borders in 2008 and "is intended to rally everyone in support…
Today, March 12, is the world day against cyber-censorship. This day was initially launched by Reporters without Borders in 2008 and "is intended to rally everyone in support of a single Internet without restrictions and accessible to all."
The fight for online freedom of expression is more essential than ever. By creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet is a force for freedom. In countries where the traditional media are controlled by the government, the only independent news and information are to be found on the Internet, which has become a forum for discussion and a refuge for those who want to express their views freely.
However, more and more governments have realised this and are reacting by trying to control the Internet. Never have so many countries been affected by some form of online censorship, whether arrests or harassment of netizens, online surveillance, website blocking or the adoption of repressive Internet laws. Netizens are being targeted by government reprisals. Around 117 of them are currently detained for expressing their views freely online, mainly in China, Iran and Vietnam.
World Day Against Cyber-Censorship pays tribute to them and their fight for Internet freedom. Reporters Without Borders will mark the occasion by issuing its latest list of “Enemies of the Internet.”
When I started this blog two years ago, I was unaware of such censorships that apply to internet pages. I always thought that anyone can say anything on the internet. But I was wrong. I witnessed this first-hand last year when I got fired from a position because of something on my personal blog. Yeah, can you believe it? I thought it was the end of the world at the time, but I discovered quickly that internet censorship is a very common practice. As days went by, I was even more shocked by some things that happened:
Well because after all these incidents (and many others), I want the world to realize how freedom of expression is important and how even the most advanced and democratic countries in the world (US and Europe included) contribute to cyber-censorship. I want to raise awareness about the limitations that we still have in this world at a time when mankind has achieved so many technological and evolutionary advances. We are in the 21st century! You would think that people would at least have the freedom to say what the want. I guess there's still a looooooong way to go!
(10:30 AM) Mohammad: The Arab Thought Foundation is having its 9th Fikr conference today in Beirut. The event started with the word of Dr. Soliman Abdel Moneim, Secretary General …
President Sleiman while delivering his speech
(10:30 AM) Mohammad: The Arab Thought Foundation is having its 9th Fikr conference today in Beirut. The event started with the word of Dr. Soliman Abdel Moneim, Secretary General of the Arab Thought Foundation, as well as HRH Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of Arab Thought Foundation and His Excellency Michel Sleiman, President of the Republic of Lebanon. Also attending the event was the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker of Parliment Nabih Berri.
(11:50 AM) Eman: The first speech entitled “Arab’s Role in Shaping the Future”, his majesty Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdelullah, the Minster of Foreigners Affairs in the Sultanate of Oman, was interviewed about his experience in various field concerning the future. The main questions lied within politics, economics and culture. (details follow later.)
(12: 35 PM) Mohammad: Parag Khanna, Expert in International relations and Director of the Global Governance Initiative in USA, is the second speaker. He spoke about "Geopolitical Changes and New Maps in the Arab World". About the Kurd issues, he said that resources should be facilitate not inhibited. Moreover, Khanna added that the Arab world should focus on the Arab Iraq. "Why is taking so long to rehabilitate Iraq, with or without Kurdistan?"
"Independence without infrastructure is redundant, we should not ask whether it would be allowed or not. We should just do it."
Eman Live Blogging
The Arab region is not connecting itself properly to the rest of the world. We should be connected to the Hijaz railway, to Cairo, to Iraq, to Tehran. Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan are doing it; Arabs should do the same.
The Arab World should also move into alternative energy. Others are doing so and their markets are growing enormously. Meanwhile, the Arab world is left behind.
(12:59 PM): In Sudan, referendum is best for the region, making different states that work in cooperation. All civil wars have a international face. What happened in European wars is different than what is happening in the Middle East.
A border-less Middle East is possible, having in mind Iran to be the main “nickname” of the problems in the middle east. Iran does not dominate this future, it is a geographical fact.
Unity is possible in the Arab World, but it failed because of the corruption and dictatorship. Now unity is based on Islam. It doesn't need the “old Arabs ” but a “new Arabilsm” .
What is the components for the “Neo-Arabism” about migration?
The need for Economic Integration
Cooperation
Terrorism is bounder-less in the Middle East. Terrriosm by definition is bounder-less. There is more fragmentation between states, but more Globalization. These should not prevent the integration. Terrorism is about resistance of political oppression and we will always have it. The West should not consider terrorism as being form a specific region.
Terrorism is 99% about politics. It is Afghanistan, in Pakistan... It is purely politics. That is why the West portrays it as Islam.
USA faces three major issues: 9/11 and military security, economic stability crisis, and electronic security (wikileaks).
The financial crisis originated in US. It was mainly a Western crisis and not a world crisis.
(1:20 PM) The speaker is Mr. Amin Al Nasser, Senior Vice-President for Exploration and Producing, Saudi Aramco in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is speaking about "Knowledge Economy". Al Nasser stated three factors that help develop the economy.
Creativity
Technology
Research.
(1:35 PM) Moderator speaking: The only thing that increases when you use it is knowledge. Knowledge is in every aspect in our life, everywhere. New technologies are give us the opportunity to gain more knowledge.
Moudz Live Blogging from Fikr9
(1:40 PM) Nadhmi Al- Nasr, Executive VP of KAUST in KSA is speaking.
What lead to the Arab's success 1000 years ago and its absaccence now? We removed all obsticles, we had leadership decisions at the time of the Ma'moun, we accepted different people regardless of race and language, we accepted creativity more efficiently. Now we are in the lowest rankings, we have seen migrating brains that have left the Arab world like Ahmad Zweil and Mostafa al Sayid that did a great job.
Even with all this gloomy image, we see hope and hints of a positive project. It is about time for the Arab world to go back to the glory that we have lost (ex: Abu Dhabi project.) Change will be very big, but will be very low.
Al-Nasr thinks that the future will be positive.
Universities are the only entities that will lead the Arab world to the knowledge economy. We should let our graduates be the makers of work opportunities. They should be researchers that get ideas that will generate job opportunities.
Many of the studies ended on a shelf in a university and were not implemented. When we send the results to investors, then we can definitely make a change. We have started by building a bridge between the research institutions and economic industries. That is our main goal.
A center for social power, the biggest research center in the field in the Arab world, will be launched soon in KAUST. This research center needs to exploit a power that exists in the Arab world (so much sunny days) and they should be exported to Europe.
The sciences related desalination of salty water in the Arab world is nil and it a must to be improved due to the Arab world's need for water, especially in KSA.
(1:45 PM) Ahmad Nassef, VP and Managing Director of yahoo! Middle East in UAE is speaking.
We don't have enough Arabic content on the web. Should we teach everyone English? No, we want the 60 million Arab users to access the internet in Arabic.
Maxime Chayaa
(3:30 PM) Maxime Chayaa, Corporate Ambassador for Bank Audi in Lebanon is speaking about Toufoula, an NGO that works for the well-being of children with cancer or blood diseases. Chayaa was the first Lebanese to successfully climb the seven summits including Mount Everest. "The dreams are different. Dreams to stay alive," Chayaa said while speaking about Toufoula.
"My presence here today is to shed the light on this disease. It is part of our duty to find a cure for this disease, to turn the tear to the smile," Chayaa said.
(3:45 PM) Speaker is Dr. Burhan Ghalioun, Director of the Center for Contemporary Oriental Studies in France. Ghalioun will be speaking about "Social Innovation in the Arab World". Ghalioun has a blog: http://critique-sociale.blogspot.com/
"The problem is in Islam, the problem is in religion. It doesn't give a distinction between religion and politics," Ghalioun added.
"They are creating a whole debate, is Islam terrorism or part of terrorism?" "The development and shift in societies is linked to strategic political cultural choices that the elite take. All the explanations are to put the blame away from these elite."
"We don't want to acknowledge our responsibility as business people and academics. No one is really interested in the coming generations who feel marginalized and don't feel that they have a successful future in the Arab world."
(4:00 PM) "We are paying today the price of the tensions between the Arab countries."
Ghalioun is very critical of Arab intellectual elites, arguing they've shirked their responsibilities to society for the last 50 years
"If the blood only goes to one limb, then the whole body cannot go forward. What we need is the blood to circulate to all parts of the body to make the body move and be useful."
"There is neglect. 30 million registered unemployed people in the Arab world. This does not include those who are part-time or disguised unemployed or not registered at all,"
"We are threatened in our national security and we are going backwards."
"We are living in a society of monopoly. We monopolize the decisions, money and the governance."
Live Blogging have stopped here, a summary of Day 1 will hopefully be posted soon. --- Keep checking this post for updates throughout the day from myself and Eman, and follow #Fikr9 tag on twitter (below) for live tweets from the several tweeps who are attending the event.
CNN : A Florida pastor Thursday called off his controversial plan to burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
The Rev. Terry Jones…
Pastor Jones during his press conference
CNN: A Florida pastor Thursday called off his controversial plan to burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
The Rev. Terry Jones of the Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center, standing with a Florida Muslim leader, also said the imam who planned a mosque and Islamic center near ground zero in New York has agreed to move it to another location. But the imam who appeared with him said that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in New York agreed to speak with Jones about possibly moving the center.
A spokesman from Soho Properties told CNN producer Vivienne Foley that "the Muslim community center called Park51 in lower Manhattan is not being moved."
Jones, meanwhile, said he will travel to New York on Saturday to meet with Rauf.
The pastor appeared at an afternoon press conference with Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, who said he will make the trip with Jones.
"I think the location of the mosque next to the ground zero location is unnecessary," Musri said.
Jones told reporters that he took a phone call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who "was very gracious and encouraged us not to continue." That conversation could not be confirmed.
Real estate mogul Donald Trump has offered to buy the lower Manhattan site where the Muslim group plans to build an Islamic community center for 25 percent more than the current owners paid for it.
MIND SOUP : For weeks now, a minute church by the name of "Dove World Outreach Center" in Gainesville, Florida, has been advertising for an event it calls "Internati…
MIND SOUP: For weeks now, a minute church by the name of "Dove World Outreach Center" in Gainesville, Florida, has been advertising for an event it calls "International Burn a Qur'an Day".
Pastor Terry Jones is insisting to hold this "event" on September the 11th "to honor those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington."
He says the burning of the Qur'an will "send a message to violent Islamic extremists like al-Qaida, which carried out the attacks against the United States."
The second day of Eid el-Fitr falls this year on the same day.
As many world leaders and institutions, including the Vatican, US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others, have denounced this act, this pastor is insisting on carrying out this event.
This is as much facts as I am willing to give about this issue. Below in ten points is my opinionated response.
First of all, as a Muslim, I don't give a rat's ass about a close-minded pastor burning the book that is the basis of my religion. For one, the Qur'an isn't about the papers it is printed on, but the meaning it holds. Also, we have been taught that the proper way to dispose of a Qur'an is to burn it (in case it got torn or fell apart) and not throw it away. So I don't see that much harm in what he's doing. (At least he's abiding by the proper disposal method!)
Second, this act is racist at best. Even if the few Muslims from al-Qae'da were behind the attacks of 9/11 (highly debatable), this does not mean that the whole religion is responsible for what happened. One of my close friends was telling me just yesterday that we (as Arabs) have a wrong impression of the Americans; that they are not as racist as we think. I don't see this pastor supporting her argument. (Ha! you didn't see this one coming!)
Third, if you have done any research at all, you would see how the CIA was part of the plan for these attacks. They were the people who trained Osama bin Laden and his crew. You would learn that George Bush and/or parts of his administration had prior knowledge of the attacks. Are they Muslims? No. Perhaps you should burn the Bible too, don't you think? (you know, to honor the victims more)
Forth, I (and most of the sane people) don't see how burning a book would honor the victims of 9/11. Would it bring them back? Would it bring peace to their families? Would it pay their children's tuition? No. It will probably cause them more humiliation and uncomfortableness than you think.
Fifth, the pastor should look at what he "beloved" country is doing in other countries. Making up wars to enter countries and steal their oil, forcing countries to stop their scientific advancements under the typical alibi of "weapons of mass destruction" and stealing the resources of poor countries whose population doesn't even have food to eat or clean water to drink, that's angel-work isn't it? That's not terrorism in any way.
Let him look at what his country's soldiers did in Iraq. They went in, messed up the place and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, children, elderly, women. Look how they started a civil war there and now casually left after they have claimed all the oil resources they need, and after destroying all the infrastructure that the country desperately need.
Let him look at Afghanistan. Let him look at Palestine. Let him look at all the countries the US is sucking dry. If he's going to burn the Qur'an for 9/11, then every day should be "burn the bible" day in these countries.
Sixth, I don't even consider this person a religious figure. I would call him a clown, but I would rather not, because it will stir some religious conflicts that I don't want to go into.I'm just calling him "pastor" for reference.
Consequently, I would like to ask him: Does your religion tell you to burn the Qur'an? Did Jesus tell you to do that? Show me where it says that in the bible. I wonder if you are really a pastor: even the Vatican has denounced you. I sure hope that none of God's followers take in to your footsteps.
Your bible specifically states: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"(Matt. 5:44). I don't see how your applying that Mr. Pastor! It's not that you're only letting your own church down, you're making Christianity as a whole look bad.
Seventh, this stupid purpose of this act is merely seeking attention, seeking 15 minutes of fame. Oh look at him, he's defending out country by burning the Qur'an. He's standing up to those Muslims.
Geez! Does the media even focus on things that matter? I don't know why this person is getting a lot of media coverage. Stupid media! Show what the Americans are doing in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. You think the incidents of Abu Ghraib prison was bad, go see for yourselves!
Eighth, these 15 minutes of fame may cause the US a lot of trouble. If he thinks that these extremists that he is targeting will not retaliate, boy is he wrong. I sure hope they bomb his little church to show him, just as Americans and Israelis (who are not called extremists -- no!) bomb and attack mosques every week.
Ninth, none of the true Muslims support the acts of 9/11. The actually condemn them. Islam is more about peace than any religion. By this measly little event, the US will be losing the support of hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the US, and millions (maybe a billion) around the world. Does he really want to start a new war because of his ignorance? Perhaps the bigger question is: Will the US administration even allow this to happen?
Tenth, both the first and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Doesn't this act break these laws? Shouldn't he go to jail for this? Or will he be left unpunished because he is a religious figure?
I don't know if he realizes this, but the whole world is against him, even the vast majority of the people from his own religion. Even the Jews, who are known to be the most hateful to Muslims, are against him!
I would just like to see him emerge as a fool on that day, and may God ("Allah") smack him with a lightning bolt that burns his hair off his head (in irony).
MIND SOUP : An Egyption lawyer has filed a lawsuit again the Egyptian Minister of Justice Mamdouh Merhi and others accusing them of misleading the Egyptian people by hiding the tru…
Egyption President Hosni Mubarak
MIND SOUP: An Egyption lawyer has filed a lawsuit again the Egyptian Minister of Justice Mamdouh Merhi and others accusing them of misleading the Egyptian people by hiding the truth.
The lawyer, Hamed Sayed Makki, claimed in the case memo that the minister has been hiding the death of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
What's more interesting, or maybe unbelievable, is that he believe that Mubarak has been dead since 2004 while winning the past elections in 2005 (a year after his alleged death).
According to Horiyatna radio station, the lawsuit said that this is a "local and international scam to fool us about Mubarak's life."
The source revealed more detail about his alleged death. It said that Mubarak has passed away in Germany on the 16th of June, 2004 while undergoing an operation to remove a cancerous tumor from his ear.
The lawsuit adds that Mubarak underwent this operation secretly, and after the surgery, the doctor declared him dead.
Several radio stations announced this piece of news back in 2004, the lawsuit states. These include Monte Carlo radio station, the Israeli radio station, and London. After that, there was no word about the issue.
Accordingly, after his "unexpected death," Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak and her sons Alaa and Jamal allegedly agreed with the Germany, Israel and the United States to substitute him with a look-alike. This look-alike would be just an image, where effectively his sons would rule Egypt "behind the curtains".
Additionally, the lawyers says that the recent trip of "fake" Mubarak to Germany to undergo a surgery is also a scam. He asked "Why didn't Chancellor Angela Merkel go to Germany to visit the president if she didn't know that he is a fake?"
This scam is attributed by Makki to Israel's and US's advantage from a "stable Egyptian regime". In addition to that, he says that it would lead to the imprisonment of Mubarak's wife and sons.
Well, if this lawsuit was ever approved and went to court, there is a pretty easy way to identify the truth: DNA test. I personally think it is ridiculous and just a way for someone to get his 15 minutes of fame. But then again, similar things have happened before, and other people (like Michael Jackson) have been accused of similar things. We'll just have to see how this thing plays.
AP : Dread of the unknown hung in the air as Lynn France typed two words into the search box on Facebook: the name of the woman with whom she believed her husband was having an aff…
AP: Dread of the unknown hung in the air as Lynn France typed two words into the search box on Facebook: the name of the woman with whom she believed her husband was having an affair.
Click. And there it was, the stuff of nightmares for any spouse, cuckolded or not. Wedding photos. At Walt Disney World, no less, featuring her husband literally dressed as Prince Charming. His new wife, a pretty blonde, was a glowing Sleeping Beauty, surrounded by footmen.
"I was numb with shock, to tell you the truth," says France, an occupational therapist from Westlake, a Cleveland suburb. "There was like an album of 200 pictures on there. Their whole wedding."
Affairs were once shadowy matters, illicit encounters whispered about and often difficult to prove. But in the age of Facebook and Twitter and lightning-fast communication, the notion of privacy is fast becoming obsolete. From flirtatious text messages to incriminating e-mails, marital indiscretions are much easier to track — especially if potentially damaging photographic evidence is posted online.
"All of these things are just a trail of cyber breadcrumbs that are easily tracked by good divorce lawyers," says Parry Aftab, an expert on Internet safety and privacy laws.
France, 41, was not completely blindsided by her Facebook discovery, which happened in January 2009. That fall, she had grown suspicious when her husband began taking frequent business trips, even leaving the day the couple's newborn son came home from the hospital. Once, she found his passport at home when he was supposed to be in China for business.
POPSCI : You may have heard the rumor that swirled briefly last month about an Internet “kill switch” that could power down the Web in the case of a critical cyber attack. Those ru…
POPSCI: You may have heard the rumor that swirled briefly last month about an Internet “kill switch” that could power down the Web in the case of a critical cyber attack. Those rumors turned out to be largely overblown, but it turns out there are now seven individuals out there holding keys to the Internet. In the aftermath of a cataclysmic cyber attack, these members of a “chain of trust” will be responsible for rebooting the Web.
The Keys to the Internet Each smart card contains a portions of the DNSSEC root key, which would be necessary to reboot the Internet as we know it if connections were severed to stem a cyber attack.
The seven members of this holy order of cyber security hail from around the world and recently received their keys while locked deep in a U.S. bunker. But the team isn’t military in nature. The Internet safety program is overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit watchdog group that has access to a security system designed to protect users from cyber fraud and cyber attacks.
Part of ICANN’s security scheme is the Domain Name System Security, a security protocol that ensures Web sites are registered and “signed” (this is the security measure built into the Web that ensures when you go to a URL you arrive at a real site and not an identical pirate site). Most major servers are a part of DNSSEC, as it's known, and during a major international attack, the system might sever connections between important servers to contain the damage.
A minimum of five of the seven keyholders – one each from Britain, the U.S., Burkina Faso, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, China, and the Czech Republic – would have to converge at a U.S. base with their keys to restart the system and connect eveything once again. We’re imagining a large medieval chamber filled with techno-religious imagery where these knights cyber must simultaneously turn hybrid thumb drive/skeleton keys in a massive router, filling the room with the blinking light of connectivity.
In reality, it’s not so dramatic. The keys are actually smartcards that each contain parts of the DNSSEC root key, which could be thought of as the master key to the whole scheme. But it is interesting to know that there is a group of individuals out there that hold actual, physical keys that would reboot the Internet as we know it. Find out more about these cryptographic keys and how/why they’re made here.
REUTERS : Squirting insulin up the noses of patients with early forms of Alzheimer's disease showed signs of improving their memory, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
Pa…
REUTERS: Squirting insulin up the noses of patients with early forms of Alzheimer's disease showed signs of improving their memory, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
Patients who got the treatment for four months showed improvements in tests of memory recall that lasted for two months.
"We believe our results are very promising and they warrant future trials," said Dr. Suzanne Craft of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington in Seattle, who presented her findings at a meeting of the Alzheimer's Association in Honolulu.
Alzheimer's disease is a fatal and incurable deterioration of the brain that affects 26 million people globally. It is the most common form of dementia.
Several studies have suggested that people with Alzheimer's have reduced levels of insulin in the brain, even in the earliest stages. Insulin is important for communication between brain cells and is needed for brain function.
Craft's team wanted to see what would happen if they delivered insulin directly to the brain.
They studied 109 non-diabetic patients with Alzheimer's disease or a precursor condition called mild cognitive impairment.
A third of the patients got a placebo and the other two-thirds received different doses of insulin that had been loaded into a nebulizer and squirted up their nose twice daily for four months.
Patients who got the lower dose of insulin showed significant improvements on all primary measures of thinking and memory and in a test of their ability to do daily activities.
In 15 insulin-treated patients who agreed to a spinal tap, the team found a link between improved memory and improvements in measurements of key proteins linked with Alzheimer's disease.
Craft said the treatment is a long way from being useful to patients, but the findings are strong enough to be studied in a large clinical trial.
Current Alzheimer's drugs only treat symptoms, but so far no drugs have been shown to improve memory in patients with Alzheimer's.
As if we need further confirmation. Last month was the hottest June ever recorded worldwide and the fourth consecutive month that the combined global land and sea temperature recor…
As if we need further confirmation.
Last month was the hottest June ever recorded worldwide and the fourth consecutive month that the combined global land and sea temperature records have been broken, according to the US government’s climate data centre.
The trend to a warmer world is now incontrovertible. According to NOAA, June was the 304th consecutive month with a combined global land and surface temperature above the 20th-century average. The last month with below-average temperatures was February 1985. Each of the 10 warmest average global temperatures recorded since 1880 have occurred in the last 15 years with the previous warmest first half of a year in 1998. {via}
MIND SOUP : A couple of days ago, the news of Octavia Nasr being fired from CNN envaded the Lebanese and Middle Eastern media. It may has come as a shock to the society, yet this d…
MIND SOUP: A couple of days ago, the news of Octavia Nasr being fired from CNN envaded the Lebanese and Middle Eastern media. It may has come as a shock to the society, yet this denial of free speech has been demonstrated very widely across various prestigious institutions in the region and world-wide.
To re-cap, Nasr who held the position of senior Middle East editor at CNN was laid off earlier this week after 20 years of work because she praised the late Hezbollah Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah on twitter. "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot," she posted Sunday morning.
This tweet was immediately picked up by Israeli supporters and Nasr was criticized and attacked for sympathizing with Fadlallah. The Simon Wiesenthal Center in the US demanded that Nasr "apologize to all victims of Hezbollah terrorism whose loved ones don't share her sadness over the passing of one of Hezbollah's giants".
By then, the tweet was immediately removed, and Nasr responded on Tuesday with a blog on the CNN website that her initial message was "simplistic" and "an error of judgment". She said that the respect she has for Fadlallah is mainly because of his stance on women's rights and his demands to stop "honour killings".
The next day, Nasr was reportedly called to Atlanta, CNN's headquarters to meet with her bosses who, according to The New York Times said in a memo: "We have decided that [Nasr] will be leaving the company."
The memo added: "At this point, we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised going forward."
Regardless of my opinion on Hezbollah, I think it is very unfortunate that Nasr was fired for simply giving her condolences on Fadlallah's death. It is only common courtesy to praise a dead person, especially that Nasr has met and interviewed him back in 1990.
This clearly shows how unprofessional prestigious institutions can be regarding minor incidents, especially ones relating to personal means such as social networks.
CNN likes to think of itself as one of the leading news institutions that likes to convey the truth to the public (regardless of what it actually does), so it might as well respect the freedom of speech of its employees.
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any cir…
In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, inc! luding the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D.
Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education
University of Virginia
(It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian :)
"I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend. But with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me," - Arnold Schwarzenegger. Great quot…
"I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend. But with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me," - Arnold Schwarzenegger.
PROVO, Utah — Gary Coleman, the adorable, pint-sized child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywo…
PROVO, Utah — Gary Coleman, the adorable, pint-sized child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywood's D-list, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.
Life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT with family and friends at his side, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said.
Coleman, with his sparkling eyes and perfect comic timing, became a star after "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978. He played Arnold Jackson, the younger one of a pair of African-American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man.
"It's unfortunate. It's a sad day," said Todd Bridges, who played the older brother Willis. "It's sad that I'm the last kid alive from the show."
The series lives on thanks to DVDs and YouTube. But its equally enduring legacy became the troubles in adulthood of its former child stars.
Dana Plato, who played the boys' white, teenage sister, committed suicide in 1999. Bridges was tried and acquitted of attempted murder.
Coleman's popularity faded when the show ended after six seasons on NBC and two on ABC.
He remained estranged from his parents Sue and Willie Coleman, who said they learned about his hospitalization and death from media reports.
Sue Coleman said she wanted to reconcile and had been patiently waiting for her son to be ready.
"One of the things that I had prayed for was that nothing like this would happen before we could sit with Gary and (wife) Shannon and say, 'we're here and we love you,'" Sue Coleman said. "We just didn't want to push him."
She would not discuss the cause of the estrangement.
In 1989, when Gary Coleman was 21, she filed a court request trying to gain control of her son's $6 million fortune, saying he was incapable of handling his affairs. He said the move "obviously stems from her frustration at not being able to control my life."
Coleman chafed at his permanent association with "Diff'rent Strokes" but also tried to capitalize on it through minor reality shows and other TV appearances. His adult life also was marked with legal, financial and health troubles, suicide attempts and even a 2003 run for California governor.
Coleman suffered continuing ill health from the kidney disease that stunted his growth. He suffered the brain hemorrhage Wednesday at his Santaquin home, 55 miles south of Salt Lake City.
A statement from his family said he was conscious and lucid until midday Thursday, when his condition worsened and he slipped into unconsciousness. Coleman was then placed on life support.
"Diff'rent Strokes" debuted on NBC in 1978 and drew most of its laughs from the tiny, 10-year-old Coleman.
Race and class relations became topics on the show as much as the typical trials of growing up.
Coleman was an immediate star, and his skeptical "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" — usually aimed at Willis — became a catchphrase.
In a 1979 Los Angeles Times profile, Sue Coleman said her son had always been a ham as a small child. He acted in some commercials before he was signed by T.A.T., the production company that created "Diff'rent Strokes."
The attention his starring role brought him could be a burden as well as a pleasure.
Coleman said in 2001 that he would do a TV series again, but "only under the absolute condition that it be an ensemble cast and that everybody gets a chance to shine."
"I certainly am not going to be the only person on the show working," he said. "I've done that. I didn't like it."
Coleman's kidney disease required dialysis and at least two transplants. As an adult, his height reached only 4 feet 8 inches.
He continued to get credits for TV guest shots and other small roles over the years. But in 2001 he said he preferred earning money from celebrity endorsements.
"Now that I'm 33, I can call the shots," he said. "And if anybody has a problem with that, I guess they don't have to work with me."
Coleman was among 135 candidates who ran in California's bizarre 2003 recall election to replace then-Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters ousted in favor of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Coleman finished in eighth place with 12,488 votes, or 0.2 percent, just behind Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.
Running for office gave him a chance to show another side of himself, he said at the time.
"This is really interesting and cool, and I've been enjoying the heck out of it because I get to be intelligent, which is something I don't get to do very often," he said.
Legal disputes dogged him repeatedly. And in a 1993 television interview, he said he had twice tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills.
He moved to Utah in fall 2005, and according to a tally in early 2010, officers were called to assist or intervene with Coleman more than 20 times in the following years. The responses included a call where Coleman said he had taken dozens of Oxycontin pills and wanted to die.
Some of the disputes involved his wife, Shannon Price, whom he met on the set of the 2006 comedy "Church Ball" and married in 2007.
In September 2008, a dustup with a fan at a Utah bowling alley led Coleman to plead no contest to disorderly conduct. The fan also sued him, claiming the actor punched him and ran into him with his truck.
Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., near Chicago. His mother told Ebony his kidney disease was diagnosed when he was 2. He underwent his first transplant at age 5.
He attracted attention when he took part in some local fashion shows and people suggested he should get work performing in commercials, which he then did, she said.
She stayed with her son in California while he was making "Diff'rent Strokes," while her husband Willis, a pharmaceutical company worker, stayed behind in Illinois. [via]
I was surprised this past week with such HUGE publicity from media internationally and regionally, shedding the light on several American figures that have appeared to belong to A…
I was surprised this past week with such HUGE publicity from media internationally and regionally, shedding the light on several American figures that have appeared to belong to Arab familiar origins.
Recently the newly elected and Lebanese-born Miss USA Rima Fakih
inspired researchers to "dig up" through prominent names and introduce internationally recognized people from Arab roots
Kippreport had issued the following list fully quoted below; this is merely a sample of unknown Arab Americans. Intrestingly, we prove to care about the 15 minute famous Arabs and neglect to encourage and celebrate the accomplishment of so many established men and women who have given the world successful experiences, such legacies that could enlighten and honour our lives for generations to come...
Let's begin with:
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs, the charismatic CEO of Apple, is of Syrian biological descent – although he has never publically acknowledged this.
According to Fortune magazine, Jobs’ biological parents were Abdulfattah ‘John’ Jandali, a Syrian, and Joanne Simpson, both unwed and aged just 23 when Steve was born. Simpson and Jandali put the child up for adoption, and he was brought up by Paul and Clara Jobs.
Jobs dropped out of college in the 1970s to found Apple. He later bought Pixar studios from George Lucas in 1986 and the studio went on to create cinema hits like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. Pixar was sold to Disney in 2006 for a reported $7.4 billion in stock. His net worth is estimated at more than $5 billion, with Forbes ranking him #136 on the 2010 list of the world’s richest people.
Paula Abdul
Grammy Award winner and noted choreographer, Paula Abdul had two-number one albums, six number one singles, and a slew of MTV, Emmy, and People’s Choice Awards.
The child of a Syrian immigrant, Paula garnered international fame with worldwide album sales estimated at over 30 million records. Paula has her own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Fayez Sarofim
Egyptian American Fayez Sarofim was listed as one of the world’s richest men in 2007 by Forbes magazine, who at that time estimated his net worth at $1.5 billion.
Son of a wealthy Egyptian cotton farmer, he was born in Egypt and immigrated to the US in 1946. He became a naturalized citizen in 1961. He founded Fayez Sarofim and Co., an investment bank in Houston, after earning degrees at prestigious University of California-Berkeley and Harvard. He has a long legacy of philanthropic efforts aimed at supporting cancer research, the performing arts, ballet, theater, and opera.
He reportedly made his fortune in long-term investments on companies like Procter & Gamble and Phillip Morris.
Ralph Nader
Widely regarded as one of America’s most influential civic activists and social critics, Ralph Nader garnered national fame as a hardnosed consumer advocate and attorney. He stood as a candidate for President of the United States four times.
Born in Connecticut of Lebanese immigrants, his parents Nathra and Rose Nader ran a bakery and restaurant. Nader graduated with distinction from Princeton and Harvard Universities. He is the founder of many influential consumer advocacy groups, and is credited with numerous federal consumer protection laws concerning environmental standards, motor vehicle safety and the Freedom of Information Act.
The Zogby Brothers
Sons of Lebanese Catholic immigrants, the Zogby brothers are perhaps the most prominent Arab Americans in the US – not least because James (pictured, right) is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute. James, who was born in New York in 1945, is an academic and political consultant, and also a senior analyst at his brother’s polling firm, Zogby International.
John (pictured, left)is the founder, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling firm known for both phone polling and interactive, Internet-based polling.
John J. Mack
John J. Mack was born in 1944, the sixth son to Lebanese immigrants of Greek Orthodox origin. He has been chairman of the Board of Morgan Stanley since June 2005, and was chief executive of the same firm from June 2005 to December 2009. He previously had spent nearly 30 years at the firm in various positions, most recently as president, chief operating officer and a director.
Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub, an American actor of Lebanese descent, is perhaps best known for his role as Adrian Monk – the San Francisco detective diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Shalhoub’s diverse acting credits include small screen, theater, and film work. He is also credited with helping to establish The Arab-American Filmmaker Award Competition in 2005. A native of Green Bay Wisconsin, Shalhoub graduated from University of Southern Maine, where he first studied acting as a theater major. He went on to earn a Master’s in Fine Arts at Yale School of Drama.
Shalhoub has won multiple prestigious acting awards, including Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.
Anthony Shadid
Anthony Shadid is a two-time Pulitzer prize winning journalist of Lebanese ancestry. Shadid studied journalism and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned his degree.
Shadid was recognized by Pulitzer judges for his “rich, beautifully written series on Iraq as the United States departs and its people and leaders struggle to deal with the legacy of war and to shape the nation’s future.”
Currently foreign correspondent for the New York Times, Shadid is a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is former Islamic affairs correspondent for the Washington Post. In 2002, Shadid was shot in the shoulder while covering fighting in Ramallah, West Bank.
Elias Zerhouni
A radiologist by training, Dr. Zerhouni received his medical degree from the University of Algeirs and came to the US in 1975.
He completed a residency in radiology at John Hopkins University, where he studied imaging methods based on CAT and MRI scanning to diagnose and treat cancer and pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. Zerhouni eventually became a professor and director of the Department of Radiology at the prestigious institution. He was later nominated by the US president and confirmed by the US senate to become the 15th director of the National Institutes of Health, where he served until 2008.
Dr. Zerhouni rejoined the faculty of John Hopkins Medicine following his tenure with the NIH, and he currently serves on the boards of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the Mayo Clinic, and Sanofi-Aventis
He is a senior fellow in the Global Health Program for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he advises on discovery, policy and advocacy strategies. He is also the author of 212 publications and holds eight patents.
Ahmed Zewail
Born in Damanhur in Egypt, in 1946, Dr. Zewail remarked that his “childhood origins were flanked by two great places – Rosetta, the city where the famous Stone was discovered, and Alexandria, the home of ancient learning.”
He studied at the University of Alexandria in Egypt, before coming to the US, where he studied for a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.
Zewail won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, for his investigation of chemical reactions using ultra-short, rapid laser flashes. The technique, is likened to an ultra-fast camera that allows researchers to study atoms in molecules in a sort of slow motion.
