September 21, 2009
I am free. But my country is still a prisoner of war. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and the symbol and the symbolic act. But, simply, I answer: what compelled me to act is the injustice that befell my people, and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by putting it under its boot.
Over recent years, more than a million martyrs have fallen by the bullets of the occupation and Iraq is now filled with more than five million orphans, a million widows and hundreds of thousands of maimed. Many millions are homeless inside and outside the country.
We used to be a nation in which the Arab would share with the Turkman and the Kurd and the Assyrian and the Sabean and the Yazid his daily bread. And the Shia would pray with the Sunni in one line. And the Muslim would celebrate with the Christian the birthday of Christ. This despite the fact that we shared hunger under sanctions for more than a decade.
Muntazer al-Zaidi: Why I threw the shoe
I am free. But my country is still a prisoner of war. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and th…
Over recent years, more than a million martyrs have fallen by the bullets of the occupation and Iraq is now filled with more than five million orphans, a million widows and hundreds of thousands of maimed. Many millions are homeless inside and outside the country.
We used to be a nation in which the Arab would share with the Turkman and the Kurd and the Assyrian and the Sabean and the Yazid his daily bread. And the Shia would pray with the Sunni in one line. And the Muslim would celebrate with the Christian the birthday of Christ. This despite the fact that we shared hunger under sanctions for more than a decade.
Arabic
Bush
Christians
September 20, 2009
Bidding farewell to the most beautiful month of all...
Ramadan 2009 around the world - Photo Gallery On August 21st, hundreds of millions of Muslims started fasting for a month. They started to abstain from eating or drinking from dawn…
Ramadan 2009 around the world - Photo Gallery
On August 21st, hundreds of millions of Muslims started fasting for a month. They started to abstain from eating or drinking from dawn to dusk. They stand for hours in prayers each night to remember their Lord and express their gratitude to Him, seek His forgiveness and aspire to come closer to Him.On September 20th, the month of Ramadan ended welcoming Eid el Fitr.
Vendors selling food for breaking fast wait for their customers during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta August 31, 2009. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. (Reuters, Enny Nuraheni)
A Muslim man rests inside a mosque as he wait for iftar (breaking fast) in Dhaka August 29, 2009. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. (Reuters, Andrew Biraj)
Muslims attend prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta August 21, 2009. Muslims around the world congregate for special evening prayers called "Tarawih" during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (Reuters,Supri)
A translator from the İstanbul Municipality Health and Social Service Department, (l) uses sign language to translate a sermon delivered by the imam to hearing-impaired worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in İstanbul, Turkey, August 21, 2009. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. (Reuters, Murad Sezer)
Bangladesh
China
food
September 20, 2009
First-time director Ahmed Abdallah also withdrew his film “Heliopolis” from the schedule, protesting the presentation of 10 films on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, which is being featured as part of the “City to City” program.
The controversy gained steam after Maher’s decision to withdraw his film, which was produced by the Egyptian ministry of culture, screened and nominated at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. It is still unclear whether Maher’s decision to revoke the film will force it from the viewers.
Festival co-director Cameron Bailey lauded the Egpytian filmmakers for “having a really strong year, addressing tough issues of their society and telling good stories,” according to statements in local newspapers.
Egypt has a long history of anti-normalization with Israel, especially culturally. A number of Israeli productions have been banned from showing at the Cairo International Film Festival and even Egyptian actor Amr Waked was criticized and condemned for acting alongside an Israeli actor in a BBC production on Saddam Hussein. He was threatened with being kicked out of the actors guild in Egypt.
Bailey had singled out both “Heliopolis” and “The Traveller,” as well as Cairo-born filmmaker Yousry Nasrallah’s “Scheherazade, Tell me a Story,” for praise and was disappointed by the filmmakers decisions to withdraw from the festival.
Just prior to the festival’s start, however, some 50 intellectuals and filmmakers, including British director Ken Loach, accused North America’s premier film festival of “complicity with the Israeli propaganda machine” over its spotlight this year on Tel Aviv, given “the absence of Palestinian filmmakers in the program.”
Egyptian filmmakers pull-out of Toronto festival in protest
CAIRO: Controversy abounds at the Toronto Film Festival after Ahmed Maher, the Egyptian directof of “The Traveler” pulled his film from the lineup in protest of the festival’s spo…
CAIRO: Controversy abounds at the Toronto Film Festival after Ahmed Maher, the Egyptian directof of “The Traveler” pulled his film from the lineup in protest of the festival’s spotlight on Israel. The move has been received in Egypt with much praise, signaling the ongoing fight against any normalization with Israel, whether political or cultural.First-time director Ahmed Abdallah also withdrew his film “Heliopolis” from the schedule, protesting the presentation of 10 films on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, which is being featured as part of the “City to City” program.
The controversy gained steam after Maher’s decision to withdraw his film, which was produced by the Egyptian ministry of culture, screened and nominated at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. It is still unclear whether Maher’s decision to revoke the film will force it from the viewers.
Festival co-director Cameron Bailey lauded the Egpytian filmmakers for “having a really strong year, addressing tough issues of their society and telling good stories,” according to statements in local newspapers.
Egypt has a long history of anti-normalization with Israel, especially culturally. A number of Israeli productions have been banned from showing at the Cairo International Film Festival and even Egyptian actor Amr Waked was criticized and condemned for acting alongside an Israeli actor in a BBC production on Saddam Hussein. He was threatened with being kicked out of the actors guild in Egypt.
Bailey had singled out both “Heliopolis” and “The Traveller,” as well as Cairo-born filmmaker Yousry Nasrallah’s “Scheherazade, Tell me a Story,” for praise and was disappointed by the filmmakers decisions to withdraw from the festival.
Just prior to the festival’s start, however, some 50 intellectuals and filmmakers, including British director Ken Loach, accused North America’s premier film festival of “complicity with the Israeli propaganda machine” over its spotlight this year on Tel Aviv, given “the absence of Palestinian filmmakers in the program.”
Egypt
Israel
Japan
September 20, 2009
Mind Soup 2.0 Reaches 1000 Page Views
I am proud to announce that at 12:39 AM (GMT+3) today Mind Soup 2.0 has reached 1,000 page views in ten days (since 09/09/09) including a day of maintenance. This is the first mi…
I am proud to announce that at 12:39 AM (GMT+3) today Mind Soup 2.0 has reached 1,000 page views in ten days (since 09/09/09) including a day of maintenance. This is the first milestone to overcome and I am glad that people are checking out the blog and liking it.
On average, each visitor to Mind Soup is reading 5 pages of articles and posts. I am also excited that Mind Soup has reached 48 different countries so far (sadly, none of which are in Africa). The top three countries so far are:
I want to thank the rest of the authors and my readers for the success of Mind Soup.
- Lebanon (26.7%)
- USA (24.4%)
- UK (8.1%)
*мøυđz
09/09/09
1000
blog features
September 19, 2009
The president on Saturday issued a statement saying he and his wife, Michelle, congratulate Muslims in the U.S. and around on the world on a "blessed day."
Obama said even at this festive occasion, Muslims remember the less fortunate, those suffering in poverty, hunger, conflict and disease.
In her own statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the occasion is a reminder that the values of Islam — "charity, community, cooperation, compassion are values which we hold dear as Americans."
Obama extends greetings on Muslim holiday
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is extending greetings to Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr (ayd ahl-FIH'-tur), which marks the end of the holy monthlong fasting time known …
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is extending greetings to Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr (ayd ahl-FIH'-tur), which marks the end of the holy monthlong fasting time known as Ramadan.The president on Saturday issued a statement saying he and his wife, Michelle, congratulate Muslims in the U.S. and around on the world on a "blessed day."
Obama said even at this festive occasion, Muslims remember the less fortunate, those suffering in poverty, hunger, conflict and disease.
In her own statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the occasion is a reminder that the values of Islam — "charity, community, cooperation, compassion are values which we hold dear as Americans."
Eid
greetings
Hillary Clinton
September 18, 2009
Ever wonder what happens to all the fat sucked out during liposuction? If you feared it was going to waste, worry no more. According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the gelatinous material can be converted into embryonic stem cells.
“We’ve identified a great natural resource,” said Stanford surgery professor and co-author of the research, Michael Longaker. The physician also called lipo leftovers “liquid gold.”
Changing regular adult stem cells to embryonic stem cells poses a number of problems. Four genes, known as Yamanaka factors, need to be expressed to change adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which mostly resemble embryonic stem cells. Doctors often experiment with skin cells for this procedure. But like some adults, mature cells are resistant to change. It takes skin cells about three weeks in the lab to convert to iPS cells.
The Stanford researchers looked at adipose, or immature fat cells, which lie within a labyrinth of fat and collagen in our bodies. These fat cells are already expressed at higher levels and only two of the four Yamanaka genes need to be converted, which turns the fat cells into iPS almost immediately. Researchers are also excited because these cells easily convert to iPS without the aid of feeder cells, which are cells from mice that enable stem cell growth outside the body. Researchers then can reprogram iPS cells into bone, muscle, organ, or brain cells. As far as scientists know, iPS cells are the same as embryonic stem cells and will be as useful in treatments.
Putting Liposuction Leftovers to Good Use
Ever wonder what happens to all the fat sucked out during liposuction? If you feared it was going to waste, worry no more. According to a study in the Proceedings of the National …
Ever wonder what happens to all the fat sucked out during liposuction? If you feared it was going to waste, worry no more. According to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the gelatinous material can be converted into embryonic stem cells.“We’ve identified a great natural resource,” said Stanford surgery professor and co-author of the research, Michael Longaker. The physician also called lipo leftovers “liquid gold.”
Changing regular adult stem cells to embryonic stem cells poses a number of problems. Four genes, known as Yamanaka factors, need to be expressed to change adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which mostly resemble embryonic stem cells. Doctors often experiment with skin cells for this procedure. But like some adults, mature cells are resistant to change. It takes skin cells about three weeks in the lab to convert to iPS cells.
The Stanford researchers looked at adipose, or immature fat cells, which lie within a labyrinth of fat and collagen in our bodies. These fat cells are already expressed at higher levels and only two of the four Yamanaka genes need to be converted, which turns the fat cells into iPS almost immediately. Researchers are also excited because these cells easily convert to iPS without the aid of feeder cells, which are cells from mice that enable stem cell growth outside the body. Researchers then can reprogram iPS cells into bone, muscle, organ, or brain cells. As far as scientists know, iPS cells are the same as embryonic stem cells and will be as useful in treatments.
fat
hospital
liposuction
September 18, 2009
(images via: Doornob and HighTech Design)
From Germany’s HighTech Design comes the Ammonite Washbasin. Composed of formed concrete, this sink is no 97 pound weakling… though it DOES weigh 97 pounds. Taking the Ammonite Washbasin for a “spin” must be a unique experience and, if one isn’t careful, a dizzying one at that!
(images via: HighTech Design)
The Ammonite Washbasin comes integrated with a concrete slab countertop ranging from 900mm (36 inches) to 1190 mm (47.5 inches) and makes an excellent place to wash up after a meal of brontosaurus ribs. Amirite? Ammonite!
15 Spectacular Sinks & Strange Wash Basin Designs
Wash this space… for some of the slickest sinks around! Designers have thrown out everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink in order to reinvent one of society’s most utilitarian fixt…
Wash this space… for some of the slickest sinks around! Designers have thrown out everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink in order to reinvent one of society’s most utilitarian fixtures. Turning on the creative faucet gives “brain drain” a whole new meaning – as illustrated by these 15 sink-ly spectacular washbasins!
Faucet Meets Fossil
(images via: Doornob and HighTech Design)From Germany’s HighTech Design comes the Ammonite Washbasin. Composed of formed concrete, this sink is no 97 pound weakling… though it DOES weigh 97 pounds. Taking the Ammonite Washbasin for a “spin” must be a unique experience and, if one isn’t careful, a dizzying one at that!
(images via: HighTech Design)
The Ammonite Washbasin comes integrated with a concrete slab countertop ranging from 900mm (36 inches) to 1190 mm (47.5 inches) and makes an excellent place to wash up after a meal of brontosaurus ribs. Amirite? Ammonite!
cool
list
sinks
September 18, 2009
Wok Kundor has been happily married for four years to her husband, a man 70 years her junior.
But since he left their village in northern Terengganu state for a drug rehabilitation program in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, Wok has had a gnawing feeling.
"She said that she has been feeling insecure lately and she needs to find out whether he still loves her or not," said R.S.N. Murali, a reporter for The Star. The English-language Malaysian daily was among several local media outlets reporting on the lifelong romantic.
"She is worried he might not come back after his program and find himself a younger wife," Murali said.
If so, Wok has her eyes set on a 50-year-old man, but hopes it does not come to that.
Attention Bachelors: 107-Year-Old Woman is Looking for 23rd Husband
Wok Kundor is the Elizabeth Taylor of Malaysia. The 107-year-old woman is looking to marry again … for the 23rd time! Wok Kundor has been happily married for four years to her hus…
Wok Kundor is the Elizabeth Taylor of Malaysia. The 107-year-old woman is looking to marry again … for the 23rd time!
Wok Kundor has been happily married for four years to her husband, a man 70 years her junior.
But since he left their village in northern Terengganu state for a drug rehabilitation program in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, Wok has had a gnawing feeling.
"She said that she has been feeling insecure lately and she needs to find out whether he still loves her or not," said R.S.N. Murali, a reporter for The Star. The English-language Malaysian daily was among several local media outlets reporting on the lifelong romantic.
"She is worried he might not come back after his program and find himself a younger wife," Murali said.
If so, Wok has her eyes set on a 50-year-old man, but hopes it does not come to that.
drugs
love
Malaysia