Cinnamon Zone

World from a different angle

Blogs for Lebanon

A new campaign set out by Jeeran company, I can't but salut them and raise my hat for them for this idea and the efforts they are putting forth.
 

Blogs for Lebanon aims at collecting as much doantions as possible to help support the Lebanese people in this war, by outreaching them with their basic needs of food, blankets...etc., In collaboration with Jordan River Association.
 
Keep the good work up :)

Qana aftermath, Video


 
I thought I wouldn't have anything to say, all what I saw on TV left me speechless... corpses being pulled out from under mounds of rubble,and that little girl, she looked as if she was a sleep... she looked so peaceful, even with all that dust on her face, and that girl who said that she lost her whole family, except her cousin, father and brother... I wondered how she was able to sustain herself, stand there and talk about it. I kept wondering till she burst out crying, now that will scar! That will definitly scar!
 
Then they moved on to that family in a hospital, who lost their daughter, Zainab, and were hiding the news of her death from her brother, who could sense that in their chocked voices as they spoke to him...
 
And that Condoleezza Rice finally found the "adequate circumistances" she was talkign about for the cease fire... Now why didn't you say that u were waiting for such a massacre to encourage a cease fire!
 
You know it's really harsh to see the pictures of people murdered in Qana then see Condoleezza Rice sitting with Israeli officials, laughing around a table with all kinds of refereshments and accommodations... Then here them blaming Hizbullah and saying that they are "sorry" for what happened  in Qana! Olmert would even be rather insolent by blaming the victims of Qana for what happened to them! Believe it or npt, he said they should've evacuated the houses so that Israel would strike them! Yeah Olmert, blame it on the dead! They don't speak... No, we are the dead, not them! Because we are the ones who can talk, and as long as we don't speak or act, we are dead!
 
You try to think of of those kids, their dreams, their stolen laughters, the joy in their hearts that was replaced with terror in the last minutes of their lives...For a moment I think that all that would be a curse over the murderers, forever... and nothing of that, not a tear, not a drop of blood would go in vain...
 
I thing the best thing to say now is:
 
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
(ولا تحسبَنّ الذين قتلوا في سبيل الله أمواتاً بل أحياءٌ عند ربهم يرزقون )


(ولا تحسبنّ الله غافلاً عمّا يعمل الظالمون)

 


 
 

Qana all over again

I wonder how will those pro-Israel's rationalize this crime... Just shut up! Shut up because you exceeded all limits, you did that long ago, but this is like the last straw...
 
Israel raid 'kills dozens' in Qana

Beirut/Tel Aviv (dpa) - An Israeli raid Sunday on a building sheltering civilians east of the southern port city of Tyre, killed over 50 people and wounded several others, witnesses and police said.

It was the highest casualty toll in any single incident since the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas began on July 12.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and House Speaker Nabih Berri said after the number of casualties became known that "there will be no negotiations with Israel until there is an immediate and unconditional ceasefire."

But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his ministers at the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting that Israel was in no hurry to agree to a truce before it achieved its aims in the fighting.

"Israel is in no rush to reach a ceasefire before we get to that point where we could say that we reached the main objectives we had set forth," he said.

"I can see at least 18 dead and several are still under the rubble," a witness at the scene of the bombing told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"Most of the killed are children and women," said the witness.

"I can say this is a massacre. Most of the people here have fled other areas to hide from the Israeli bombardment from other areas in southern Lebanon," a Red cross volunteer at the scene told dpa.

"There are several wounded under the rubble and we are having still difficulty to evacuate them," he added.

"This is the same scene I saw in 1996 ... at least 20 children are among the dead," a witness told dpa.

The witness said the residential area was targeted by fifty shells since dawn.

The building was housing refugees in the village of Qana, east of Tyre. A massacre took place in the same village in 1996 when Israeli shells hit a UN shelter, killing 109 people.

"This is a collective punishment against the civilians in southern Lebanon," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said.

An Israeli army spokesman said the Hizbollah guerrilla group had launched "numerous attacks" from the area, but would not say why that specific building had been targeted.

Israeli ground troops, meanwhile, extended their operations in southern Lebanon, moving northwards to battle Hizbollah militiamen in the village of Taibe.

An army spokeswoman said two soldiers had so far been injured in the fighting, and three Hizbollah fighters had been hit.

The 19th day of the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah had begun with the Israel Air Force bombing Lebanon and the Iranian-backed guerrilla group launching missiles at northern Israeli towns.

An army spokeswoman said the air force flew over 40 raids overnight, bombing 10 structures used by Hizbollah and attacking roads used by the guerrillas to move their missiles.

Hizbollah fired around 40 rockets at northern Israel Sunday morning. No injuries were reported.

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was expected meanwhile to continue her talks Sunday with Israeli officials, among them Defence Minister Amir Peretz and Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni.

Rice met Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late Saturday night, shortly after arriving back in the region for her second mediation trip in less than a week.

During their two-hour meeting they discussed conditions for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Israel has said its aims in the fighting include having the Lebanese army deploy in the south, bolstered by an international force, significantly weakening Hizbollah's military ability, and securing the release of of two Israeli soldiers abducted by Hizbollah on June 12 during a cross-border raid.

The incident sparked Israel's major offensive against Hizbollah and other targets in Lebanon.
 

A nice tag

Well, I was tagged by neverland! at first I was like: Not the same tag again! But it turned out to be a nice one, so here we go...
 
Alone, or with people?
People, but sometimes I just need to be alone...
 
 
Summer, or winter?
Summer nights and winter days
 
Black, or white?
White all the way

 

Observe, or get along from the very first moment?
Huh bas balash observe! Actually when I don't get along with people from the first time it's either because I'm shy or because I scare them away by acting as if I have known them for ages :D well I'm working on that

 

Clown, or Drama (Queen/King)?
Somewhere in between

 

A Hummer, or A BMW convertible car.
Hummer, so I can sell it and get a nice small car
 
Loyal or………
Skip, too general a question!

 

 

The new Middle East

 
Cartoon courtesy of Wael Sha3teely and itoot

Oldy, but goldy!

What happens if an insect falls in a cup of coffee ?!

The British: will throw the cup into the street and leave the coffee shop  for good.

The American: will get the insect out and drink the coffee.

The Chinese: will eat the insect and drink the coffee.

The Israeli will:

 (1) Sell the coffee to the American and the insect to the Chinese.

(2) Cry on all media channels that he feels insecure.

 (3) Accuse the Palestinians, Hizb Allah, Syria and Iran of using  germ-weapons.

(4) Keep on crying about anti-Semitism and violations of human rights.

(5) Ask the Palestinian President to stop planting insects in the cups of coffee.
 
(6) Re-occupy the West Bank, Gaza Strip.

(7) Demolish houses, confiscate lands, cut water and electricity from Palestinian houses and randomly shoot Palestinians.

(8) Ask the United States for urgent military support and a loan of one million dollars in order to buy a new cup of coffee.

(9) Ask the United Nations to punish the coffee-shop owner by making him offer free coffee to him till the end of the century.

(10) Last but not least, accuse the whole world to be standing still, not even sympathizing with the Israeli Nation.

                       

I hate this woman

Condo-freakin'-leeza Rice! She doesn't speak, she only vomits!
 
The funniest thing is when she said: "Our biggest concern is civillians being killed and infrastructure being destroyed"... Oh shut up! Then why are you against the cease-fire you... uh! Like those being killed in Lebanon are not people, and the infrastructure destroyed there is some kind of... Lego structure maybe!
 

What CNN never shows you

Check out this website...
 
[link outdated]
 
Another thing, please visit the following link and sign the petition for Lebanon!
 
[link outdated] 
 
Thanks in advance!
 

نصر الله: الحرب فرضت علينا و لا يمكن زرع فتنة طائفية في لبنان

قبل يومين شاهدت أجزاء من مقابلة الأمين العام لحزب الله، حسن نصر الله، و بصراحةا أستطيع أن أقول أقول إلا إنه إنسان رائع و يستحق كل احترام... كلامه منطقي و موزون و فيه رد على كل الاتهامات أو على الأقل الاتهامات التي سمعت فيها
 
      سأحاول كتابة مقتطات من الكلام باختصار، لكن ليس حرفيا طبعاً
 
أولا: رداً على من يدعي ان حزب الله لا يهتمون بما يحدث في غزة و فلسطين بشكل عام و أنهم يقاتلون
من أجل الأسرى فقط
 
نتيجة المعركة في لبنان سوف تنعكس على فلسطين، إن نصراً فنصر و إن هزيمة، لا قدر الله، فهزيمة، و لا تستطيع أمريكات زرع فتنة طائفية في لبنان، فعل سبيل المثال، إن حاولوا زرع فتنة سنية-شيعية كما فعلوا في العراق، فلن يستطيعوا ذلك لأننا نقاتل جنباً إلى جنب مع إخواننا السنة و نقاتل من أجل
إخواننا في فلسطين و هم من السنة
 
ما يحدث في فلسطين نموذج مطور لما يحدث في لبنان، و إنهاء المقاومة في لبنان سيؤدي إلى إنهاء حركات المقاومة في فلسطين و المنطقة، فلا مجال للرضوخ
 
ثانياً: يعجبني في نصر الله أنه رجل يقول و يفعل و لا يقول أكثر مما يستطيع أن يفعل، رجل أفعال لا شعارات و مواضيع تعبير
 
النصر الذي نتحدث عنه الآن هو ليس احتلال المدن الإسرائيلية، فتلك من طموحاتنا و ليست من شعاراتنا، النصر الذي نتكلم عنه الآن هو صمود المقاومة و ألا نهزم عسكريا و ألا نرضى بشروط مذلة
 
ثالثاً: رداً على من يقول أن قادة حزب الله يختبؤون خوفا من الموت و يعرضون شعبهم للقتل
 
نحن لا نخاف الشهادة، نحن نعشق الشهادة، و إن كنا نحتاط فذلك حتى لا نمنح إسرائيل إنجازا
 
إنهاء الحرب دون التوصل إلى حل لمشكلة الأسرى خيانة وطنية و خيانة لدم الشهداء و لكل من ضحى في هذه الحرب، ماذا نخشى بعد؟ الناس قتلوهم، و البنية التحتية دمروها و البيوت هدموها، لماذا نرضخ؟ لا خيار سوى مواصلة المقاومة
 
رابعاً: رداً على من يقول إن سوريا هي من تتجم بحزب الله و هي من دفعته إلى الحرب
 
نحن لا نقاتل من أجل سوريا أو إيران، و أنا أعتبر هذا الكلام إهانة... فمن يقاتل و يُقتل في ساحة المعركة هم إخواننا و أهلنا و أحبابنا، فلا يُعقل أن نضحي بأهلنا لنرجع سوريا إلى لبنان أو من أجل إيران
 
سوريا و إيران لم تعلما بأمر أسر الجنديين، نحن مقاومة موجودة في لبنان و لنا أسرى نريد استردادهم
 
خامساً: منوعات
 
يتحدث بوش عن النموذج الديمقراطي في لبنان مع العلم أن الديمقراطية في لبنان أقدم من بيت بوش
بأكمله
 
لم نرد الحرب لكنها فرضت علينا،  ما فعلناه هو احتجاز جنديين بهدف التفاوض غير المباشر و تبادل الأسرى و بالتالي إنهاء ملف الأسرى، لأن مسألة الأسرى مسألة إنسانية و لا يمكن السكوت عليها، فالجميع يعلم أن لدينا أسرى يتعرضون للتعذيب في السجون الإسرائيلية
 
تدخلنا في إعمار لبنان ضروري، لأننا إذا تجاهلنا الإعمار فستتدفق أموال سياسية مشروطة لى لبنان، أما إذا تدخلنا فستتدفق المساعدات على لبنان من دون أن تكون مشروطة
 

A letter from Lebanon

This was written by a member of LFPM, help him spread it to the world...
 
Dear ...all

I am a Lebanese civilian attacked by the state of Israel. I am only one between many awake at 4:30 AM wondering if we will make it through the night, wondering if our families and friends will still be there to greet us in the morning.

I can hear the Israeli warplanes destroying my country and murdering my people. Today more than 50 Lebanese civilians have been murdered!
 

I beg you to show the world the mutilated bodies of the Lebanese Children!!

I beg you to show the world the body of a child cut in 3!!

If Hizbullah is considered as a terrorist Organization for targeting civilians then what is Israel??

Stop Discrimination!!

Stop The U.S Veto's in support of Israeli Agression!!
 

Is that the Democracy the U.S. calls for?? Is murder of civilians what the U.S. calls for in Lebanon? Help us stop the Israeli Army from murdering more Lebanese civilians!! Stop crimes against Humanity before calling for Human Rights!! Or whose Human Rights are those??

Are we not civilians being murdered by Israel's lethal army!!? Stop the state of Israel from murdering further civilians!! Show the world what Israel is doing!!Show the mutilated families!!Show the atrocities and denounce the Hypocrisy!! Show the Israeli contribution to the "so called" peace process!!
 
 

Isn't that your role??

Signed by: A Lebanese Civilian subject to Israeli Agression
 

 
**(Maybe two or three years ago some American will show up here, claiming that there was nothing such as Marwaheen massacre)

New blog

Nope, I'm not leaving this blog! I'm just creating a new blog, but that is only for the videos I and my brither make (So you can see that it's not totally mine, good move against egoism and self-centeredness, if such word existed)
 
So if you happen to be in town, drop by to see what' s on!
 
The videos are going to belong to different categories and, God willing, the website will be updated as frequently as possible...
 
Welcome to In Motion :-)

Define Genocide

Genocide: Mass murder of a people typically because of their racial, ethnic or particular identity.
 
Also found this interesting:
 
Today the civilized world's only practitioners of genocide are the Israelis. Golda Meir was known for her comment that Palestine was seized "by a People without a land," because it was "a land without a people." Actually, "people" had inhabited the land mass of Palestine since the dawn of civilization. The concept of a "land without a people" was a racist and genocidal concoction that Meir used to justify Israeli expansionism.
 
But I have to add that there is another practitioner of Genocide, the United states! Israel's alter ego...
 
Examples, examples!
 
Gaza raids

Jenin massacres

American-Israeli genocide against Iraq

The recent attacks on Lebanon, I've just heard on T.V that Al-akhras family was entirly eliminated! Is that genocide or what?
 
Also, it would be appreciated that you vote on this poll
 
Another thing, if you happen to post anything about Israeli crimes, make sure you add the tag: Genocide to them
 
 
 
 
 
 

People and Land

Award-winning filmmaker Tom Hayes crosses borders and check-points to uncover the conflicting opinions and policies of the people who seem unwilling to share this land-and yet are unable to let go. Created at great personal risk by Tom Hayes and his crew. Zionists have lobbied to prevent PBS from showing the film.

People and Land, click the link below, no need to download... no need for a high-peed connection
 
 
If that link didn't work, try this one:
 
 

الإعلام العربي يرقص على طبول الحرب

يعني من المخجل، بل من المخزي إن صح التعبير، إنه تكون الدنيا قايمة قاعدة و الوضع زي ما إنتوا شايفين و الأخبار العاجلة  نازلة زخ خبر ورا خبر، وتيجي يا رعاك الله تقلب بين هالمحطات و تلاقي قنوات عربية، و أضع300 خط تحت كلمة عربية، عايشة في عالم لحالها، و الأغاني التافهة شغالة على ودنو... و كأنه ما عندها خبر باللي عم بصير برا! يا جماعة قصفوا الجنوب! لا يا شيخ! قول و غير
 
ولا ليش نستعجل بالحكي... يمكن يكونوا سمعوا بـ"عرس المقاومة" فحبوا يشاركوا في الآكشين... و زغرطي يا أم الشهيد، قصدي زغرطي يا عروسة
 
طيب بلاش! مش خايفين على هيفا و نانسي يكون صارلهم إشي في القصف؟ لا لا لا! هيفا و نانسي يمكن طلعوا من  زمان، و شو بعرفكم، يمكن يكونوا هلأ بسجلوا أغاني وطنية، برافو! هادا هو اللي بدنا إياه! أصلا إحنا اللي دمرنا في ال 48 و ال 67 إنه ما كان عنا هيك أشكال... ولا كان عنا قنوات هادفة بتبث برامج بناءة بتعزز "التوجه الوطني" لدى الشباب
يا ريت يعملولنا موسم إكسكلوسيف من ستار أكاديمي للحرب، عشان يعملولنا كم سهرة وطنية لأجل لبنان... 0
 
على هالسيرة، أيام كأس العالم ما كان عنا شغل بالشركة، قال الناس ما بتتفرج على مسلسلات و أفلام في كأس العالم! يا ترى هل سيخف الشغل في وقت الحرب؟  بما إنه الناس ممكن تصير تتابع الأخبار و ما عندها وقت تحضر مسلسلات و أفلام كتير... مثلا يعني
 
على كل حال لا يسعني إلا أن أهيب بكل جبهات النضال على المستوى الإعلامي، ابتداء من مزيكا مرورا بمزيكا زوم (و نفسي أعرف شو الفرق بينهم) وانتهاء بميلودي و دريم ون (و فرق شاسع بين دريم ون و دريم تو، شيزوفرينيا رسمي) و أقول لهم سيروا و نحن من ورائكم، و خليكم هيك بركي بطلع جيل ما بعرف وين بتيجي فلسطين عالخريطة و لا بعرف شو يعني خريطة أصلا... و ليكن شعارنا دائما
 
أمة عربية واحدة، ذات رسالة خالدة، و رقصني يا جدع

Cowards & Puppets

The Saudi government described Hizbullah's attacks on Israel as miscalculated and untimely acts... Okay! We've been waiting for the right time for ages, I htink we had to wait till they burn the last street in Gaza for example! And I don't think Hassan Nasrullah would get himself into this war unless he's sure of his first and second strike capability.
 
On the other hand, Jordan and Egypt issued a joint statement condemning the Israeli atrocities. Well that is better, but it's still a shy starement and not up to the intesity and the seriousness of the situation. They also warned from miscalculated risks, what is with Arabs and risks? I know it's not wise to take miscalculated risks, but, we don't take risks at all! Why did they consider this one  miscalculated beforehand? For all I know, there is a big difference between being wise and being a coward... Why should we be so cowardly while Israel is acting with all the insolence in the world! They even have the gutts to demand the Lebanese government intervention to stop Hizbullah! It's like: We want to kill, we want to mount raids on the Palestinians, and you just shut up! And cling to peace efforts! The time is never appropriate niether for peace nor for striking back, losers!
 
Well, what was that power equation? I forgot the name of the man who came up with it.... anyways, I think it was:
 
Power= Military capabilities+ Economics capabilities+ Population+ Land area /Goal+Will
 
If you have the will, it cancover for the lack of Military and economic capabilities! I'm not suggesting taking risks randomly and going to fight just like that, but I'm saying: You don't have to wait till everyone is killed and till you have the same weapons Israel have! At least take some political actions, stop acting like quivering kids and do something for real! And stop talking about miscalculated risks (though I think this might be the new mass-used word of the decade, it could even beat "terrorism")
 
The greatest risk in life is to risk nothing at all

Israel has the right to self-defense, Yeah right!

Gaza-Beirut-Haifa-who knows what's next.... and the world is watching helplessly! Except for the United States, who has run out of all shame as to claim "Israel's right to self-defense"... Yes America! Shut everyone up and let the VETO speak... Why the cease-fire? Those armless palestinian civilians do pose a deadly threat to Israel's securit, so it's extremely vital to keep raining them with bombs day and night!
 

A Lebanese woman walks through rubble from an Israeli air raid in Beirut

 
Self-defense you say, huh? I'll tell you what that means in Israel's dictionary:
 
Self-defense: noun. The use of lethal weapons of all kinds against civilians on the pretext of having been attacked or threatened by militants, who are claimed to be targeted by the attack, not the civilians themselves. See also Collateral damage.
 
For more references on Israeli self-defence check out:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

مصطلحات هامة لزوار الأردن

LOL
 
الطنط :الشخص الذي الفرق بينه وبين البنت انه مكتوب في هويته ذكر يكثرون في عبدون و الجامعه الاردنيه

                  

الدواوين :شخص له السلطة المطلقه في الحارات و المخيمات متعدد المواهب في استخدام الموس و القنوه ويبرز في الطوش والمشاكل

                 

الخروف : شخص اهبل معاه مصاري يسهل الضحك والنصب عليه تعبير (شده خاروف )

                  

الفايع :الشخص الذي بوقف شعره بالجل وبلبس عالموضه عشان يزبط بنات

                 

الكونترول :مصطلح يطلق على الشخص الذي يلم الاجار في الباص و يمتاز بالمهارات الحسابيه و الذاكره القويه

                 

وراي ناس بوكلو الحجر :مصطلح يدل على ان قائله عنده شله كبيره مستعده للطوش

                 

الجويده :مكان هو مأوى الدواوين الاخير

                  

ديربالك عحالك: اسلوب تهديد غير مباشر

                 

التشبير :تكنولوجيا تستخدم في الطوش لبهدله الطرف الاخر دون قتال

                                    

يا كبير : اسلوب النداء المفضل عند الدواوين

                 

روح دور على بسه تلعب معها :اسلوب لبهدلة الطرف الأخر (يكون في العاده اهبل )

                 

على راسي قزدره :اسلوب الترحيب عند الدواوين

Talking soccer

These are some parts of the conversations taking place between me and my brother, the die-hard Holland fan, during and after the world cup...
 
After the semi-final:
 
He: What a farce! Italy to the final...
 
Me: Yeah, say whatever you want, they won and they are up to the final!
 
He: Don't make me start! Who did they beat? Ghana played better than them and were denied 2 penalty shots, they tied with the U.S, and they won over Czech who were palying wothout 2 of their top-drawers!
 
Me: Still, Italy won, and Holland is out of the tournament!
 
He (provoked): They were out after losing for Portugal! who did Italy play with before the won over Germany? Australia? Ukraine? Even their "victory" against Australia was scandlous, a penalty in the last minute! I don't know what was Totti so happy about! You know I want to watch the final match with that friend of mine, an Italian fan, so I'll get to give him a kick each time France scores, and each time Italy scores as well!
 
Me: Tell you what?
 
He: What?
 
Me: Da da da!
 
After the final:
 
He: I hate Italy! I hate it to the bone!
 
Me: take it easy! They deserved to win, they were better...
 
He: better? Did you watch the game? Germany in 2002 was more convincing to me than Italy!
 
Me: Nooooo you are exaggerating!
 
He: No I'm not! (Then he gives me a full report of the two teams road, in 2002 for Germany and 2006 for Italy)
 
Me: Well... they still won te world cup!
 
Da da da...

Weird

Now I've been in this company for about a month. At first all the fellow employees were nice and everything. Now, there's been some changes... The guys are still nice and cooperative, but most of the girls are treating me like crap! I don't know why but I'm suspecting that they think that I'm being trained to replace one of them! Well, if that was the company's plan then it's not mu fault! Is it such a tiresome chore to smile at someone and say hi or something? Am I asking for too much! I thought: Maybe I'm giving them the impression of being conceited or unfriendly... Well, that's a possibility but I don't think so! Meanwhile, I'll suppose it was me who is repelling them by some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy and try to be more friendly and chatty. Hope this will make a difference...
 
You knwo there is something else, I'm learning to be shrewd! It's true that I already sound shrewd online but inreality, I'm much more milder than that! But it seems like you need to rebel when it comes to certain situations. If given way, some people would just patronize you and underestimate your efforts... You know it's really annoying when they keep scolding you for your mistakes and you seldom hear them say soemthing good about your work! At first they managed to convince me that all I learned at uni is nothing and that they will provide me with a knowledge I won't get elsewhere. Booooooo! I shall hand it to them that they did teach me important thing, but they were exaggerating a bit! We're supposed to learn through trial and error. I.e: they revise out translation and provide us with the feedback. But guess what? soem of the correction they did didn't seem that correct to me, and I was convinced by the work I did.
 
Now, what's the design? Nothing, I just won't give them a chance to make me feel ignorant or inferior, even if I had to use the evil eye for that... The gloves have come off and I have nothing to lose! Hopefully...

The games children play in Gaza

Most areas of the Gaza Strip are currently experiencing an extremely difficult period -- Israeli warplanes and tanks never stop, day or night, firing heavy artillery against   every target possible.

Homes, institutions and infrastructure never escape the Israeli shelling; power and water plants have been severely hit so far, main roads have been damaged, buildings and homes have been shelled.

Moreover, civilians along with resistance fighters have been killed and wounded due to such non-stop Israeli aggression, while the lives of Gaza Strip residents have reverted to the way things were in 1967, when Israeli occupation forces occupied the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In one of the Strip's many refugee camps, a camp called Maghazi in the central part of the Gaza Strip, two Palestinian children laid down on top of sand bags, which had been placed on the entrance of their alley.  “Why are you lying there?”, I asked the boys – Ibrahim, 9, and Ahmad, 14.

"We are lying here with our 'rifles' to defend our camp from the Israeli forces, we will kill them if they enter the camp " 

In the main street in Maghazi, which is about 300 meters long, many sand bags have been placed by resistance fighters, apparently as a sort of defense against a likely Israeli attack on the camp.  Sand bags, dirt piles, rocks blocking roads are being placed in various areas in light of Israeli military announcement that they will reinvade the 'liberated' Gaza Strip, to release an Israeli soldier who is being held by Palestinian resistance fighters.

Ibrahim and Ahmad, the two school children , have found no enjoyment in the fact that they are off school, and on summer holiday.  Instead, they find themselves without food, without potable water, lying on top of sand bags and holding wood rifles, instead of enjoying the holiday as other children around the world are able to.

Senior Palestinian residents say that this situation resembles, to a great extent, the first days of the Israeli-Arab war of 1967, when the Gaza Strip fell into the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

Munir Abdullah 60, of Maghazi refugee camp, says, "In June 1967, the Israeli  forces waged a sweeping war in which they occupied the Gaza Strip including Maghazi.  On that day, the people fled their homes, seeking refuge, while many others including resistance men placed the sand bags in every corner of the camp as you see here today."

"My brother Fathi, who was then 17 years old was defending the camp, like many others, behind sand bags, and he was shot and killed by the Israeli forces", Munir says.

"What the Israelis are doing is reversing the wheel of history four decades back; they are destroying everything, they are killing people in streets, I feel I have never grown up, I feel I am re-living 1967, when Israel first occupied the Gaza Strip as they are now about to reoccupy it."

The Israeli government has recently decided to gradually launch a military attack on the Gaza Strip, intending to reoccupy it, under the pretext of releasing a soldier, who was captured by some resistance fighters in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah a few days ago.

Because of the latest Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, about 1.3 million Palestinians have been forced to live primitively; with candlelights at night, small radios in their hands and with sand bags on streets; all are worried about imminent Israeli invasions of their areas.

The Israeli occupation have closed all border crossings and commercial outlets,  preventing the entry of any single person, food or even a single tank of gas.   An entire population, already suffering from international aid cuts due to their democratic choice of a Hamas government in January 2006 elections, are now huddled in the darkness, behind sandbags, watching the thousands of Israeli tanks lined up on the border, and fearing for the worst

Bravo France, Bravo Italy

و عقبال العايزين
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

بالمصري

امشي عِدل، يحتار عدوك فيك
 

Part of the ocean

I read this somewhere and I loved it...
 
"...The story is about a small wave, bobbling along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He's enjoying the wind and the fresh air- until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.
 
"My God, this is terrible," the wave says. "Look what's going to happen to me!"
 
Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave looking grim, and it says to him: "why do you look so sad?"
 
The first wave says, "You don't understand! We're all going to crash! All of us waves are going to vanish! Isn't it terrible?"
 
The second wave says, "No you don't understand. You're not a wave, you're part of the ocean." "
 
Yeah, part of the ocean...
 

Translating the Holy Qur'an

Fo r all I know, it's not permissible nor it is possible to translate Qur'anic verses literally. While it is possible to interpret the Holy Qur'an and give translation for it's meanings. Inother words, you can't translate Qur'an, you can only translate Its meanings. Obviously, this is because translating the Qor'an itself could alter its meaning, and could never render Its language properly.
 
Now, if you wnat to interpret he Holy Qur'an and give a translation for its meanings, I know that this can't be done with one transaltor alone. As far as I know, you need, at least, 3 persons: A transaltor whose mother tongue is Arabic and has an excellent command of the target language, another translator whose mother language is the target language and is has an excellent command of Arabic and a Muslim scholar especialized in the interpretation of Qur'anic meanigns and in the Islamic tradition....
 
To make sure of this before posting, I searched the subject on the web and found this: 
 
On this Web site, there are three translations of the Qur'an. Note that any translation of the Qur'an immediately ceases to be the literal word of Allah, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur'an in its original Arabic form. In fact, each of the translations on this site is actually an interpretation which has been translated

My point is, we should be very careful with the translations we find on the net, or those we try to contrive by ourselves... I would appreciate it if anyone canprovide a website that is reliable and trustworthy for this purpose. Thanks in advance.

محاولات


 
 
نَنجَحُ في بعض الأحيان
أن نَبني وَطَناً
في داخِلِنا.. لِلأوطانْ.
وَنُسِرُّ لَها:
(نامِي فِينا
يَنفيكِ بِنا مَن يَنفينا.
لَن يَنتزعِوا حُبَّك مِنّا
مَهْما كانْ).
قَد نُخفِقُ أحياناً..
لكنْ
نَنجحُ في بَعضِ الأحيانْ

(أحمد مطر)

Europe's response to the siege of Gaza is shameful

A very good article by Jonathan Steel
 
The Palestinians have no partner for peace. They will only have one if Israel agrees to recognise Palestine's right to function.

 
Thank God for the Swiss. Alone in Europe, their government has dared to condemn what the Israelis are doing to Gaza. It is collective punishment, they say. It violates the principle of proportionality. Israel has not taken the precautions required by international law to protect civilians.
 

Inevitably, the bloggers are pouring out the usual irrelevancies about the role of Swiss banks during the Nazi period. But as the depository of the Geneva conventions, one of the key legal advances to emerge from the ravages of the 20th century, Switzerland has a duty to speak out.

Its statement stands in contrast to the European Union's shamefully muted voice. The Palestinians kill two soldiers and take one prisoner and, in response, power stations are blown up, sewage and water systems grind to a halt, bridges are destroyed, sonic booms terrify children day and night, and all this is inflicted on a hungry people who are under siege in what is effectively a huge open prison. The EU's response? Vague expressions of "concern" and calls for "restraint".

Is it World Cup madness? The rush for last-minute cheap summer holiday deals? Couldn't European leaders show a tenth of the courage of Israel's brilliant columnist, Gideon Levy? "It is not legitimate to cut off 750,000 people from electricity. It is not legitimate to call on 20,000 people to run from their homes and turn their towns into ghost towns. It is not legitimate to kidnap half a government and a quarter of a parliament. A state that takes such steps is no longer distinguishable from a terror organisation," he wrote this week in Haaretz.

In a two hour appearance before MPs on Tuesday, all that Tony Blair could produce was a classic fence-sitter: "I have learned enough about this situation over the years to realise that going in and condemning either side is not deeply helpful."

European impotence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is of course an ancient problem. The disease's latest aggravation began in January after Hamas's election victory. Here was an event which was bound to have huge repercussions in Israel, on every state's relations with the Palestinian authority, on the future of political Islam throughout the Arab world, as well as on the west's image among Muslims. In short, it was a moment where the time-honoured diplomatic technique - a pause for reflection - was vital. The device is often used to cover unnecessary delay. This time there was a genuine need to analyse and consult before rushing to conclusions. There was no urgency since Israel was already refusing to negotiate with President Mahmoud Abbas.

Yet the EU promptly lined up with the US and Israel in demanding Hamas change its policies or be punished. The Quartet, a relatively recent body set up to coordinate policies between the US, the EU, Russia and the UN, became a trap, acting as an arm of the US state department for keeping other states in line. The Quartet's demands on Hamas were identical to Israel's.

Some European diplomats now regret their haste. The decision to cut aid as well as contacts with the Palestinians is seen as a mistake. Last month's French initiative to find a mechanism for resuming aid to Gaza was the Quartet's first admission of error.

Refusing contact with Hamas was equally mistaken, especially as Hamas had maintained a unilateral ceasefire for over a year (a point which Israel tries to suppress). The fact that Hamas is defined as a terrorist organisation need not have been a bar, since governments have spoken to similar movements with nationalist agendas, be it the IRA, the Tamil Tigers, or Eta. But again, thank God for the Swiss. As non-EU members, they keep contact with Hamas and act as intermediaries for other European governments which have trapped themselves into not doing the same.

The outcome of the current crisis is unclear. However it ends, the moment has surely come for Europe to break from its useless policy of backing the US and Israel. The Olmert government is trying to destroy not only Hamas but Mahmoud Abbas.Like Sharon's, it wants to undermine every moderate Palestinian by showing them up as powerless. It seeks only domination, not negotiation. Whether the ultimate agenda is to starve all Palestinians into fleeing to Egypt, Jordan and even further afield, or merely to keep Gaza as a prison of the unemployed and the West Bank as a bunch of Bantustans, Israeli policy mocks every UN resolution on the conflict.

The EU should admit that the Palestinians have no partner for peace. They will only have one if Israel recognises Palestine's right to function. Statements that Israel recognises a Palestinian state's right to exist are empty as long as Olmert expands Jewish settlements and the separation wall, and refuses to spell out how that state can operate as a viable entity. Without the right to function, the right to exist is hollow.

Olmert and his Labour party allies must also come clean on the last serious Israeli peace formula, the Barak proposals which were put at Taba five years ago. The Palestinians did not accept them, but political circumstances were inauspicious - a fading Baruk government and an ill Yasser Arafat. The same proposals might be acceptable now and should be revived. If Kadima thinks of imposing or offering anything less than Taba, then Israel cannot claim to want an end to the conflict.

Finally, Israel must renounce violence, in particular the assassinations of Palestinian leaders. The number of civilians killed in these attacks this year alone far exceeds the number of Israeli victims since Hamas declared its ceasefire last year. The facts do not support the notion that Israel is "retaliating" to provocations. Last week's Palestinian attack on a military outpost followed much greater carnage by Israeli shells.

Some will argue that if the EU were to condemn Israeli actions, it would lose influence with the Israeli government. But what has this alleged influence managed to achieve since Sharon and Olmert have been in power? The record is paltry.

Governments have greater effect by being morally clear and politically firm. Condemnation and psychological isolation create "facts on the ground" which can alert electorates, if not immediately their governments. But the audience is not only in Israel. There is a global audience which expects Europe to take the right stand. Whether Israel chooses to listen should not be the decisive factor.

j.steele@guardian.co.uk

More or less...

 
 
"Sometimes the last person on earth you want to be with
is the person you can't be without"

Got Milk?

LOL! Maybe this will get you to start drinking some milk.... No need to download! I wonder why can't we host Youtube videos in Jeeran blogs...
 

Farewell, Ismail Shammout

Passed away on the 3rd of July during a heart operation. Saying farewell, I will use his own words....
 
للأحلام دائماً تلك المساحة الرحبة اللامحدودة
 
ما من أحد يستطيع أن يمنع الحلم
 
قالوا: أنا أفكر... إذن أنا موجود
 
أقول: أنا موجود... إذن أنا أحلم
 
و هل تكون للحياة معنىً إن خلت من الأحلام؟
 
و الحلم حر كالحرية
 
و نحن نعرف حلمنا
 
نعم نعرفه، لكنّنا لا نزال نحلم به
 
نعرفه وطناً مقدساً كالحق المقدس
 
نعرفه عميقاً في الشعر و الموسيقى و اللون
 
لكنه رائع أكثر بشعبه و أرضه
 
كل شعبه و كل أرضه
 
 

Good job, Hajjaj

Click on the Cartoon to send it to a friend!
 
"American soldiers rape an Iraqi girl and burn her to death along with her family"

Esperanza

 
Hope is that thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tune without the words
 and never stops... at all. 
 
 ~Emily Dickinson

Gli Azzuri

Strike again!
 

The Green Card Effect

This conversation took place between me and a girl who immigrated to the United States around two years ago...
 
Me: So, when are you leaving to the states?
 
R: On wednesday, God willing
 
Me: I guess you don't feel like leaving...
 
R: No! I can't wait to go back
 
Me:Really?
 
R: Yeah, I just took to living there, I'm having hard time coping with the life here...
 
Me: aha...
 
Now that ticked me off! She's lived in Jordan for about 20 years, and after 2 years, let's say maximum three years in U.S.A, and she cannot bear to stay in Jordan for a couple of months!
 
Well, I tried to be objective and put myself in her shoes... and guess what? I was also ticked off because I was afraid that I would react in the same way! who knows? life abroad is more comfortable, so would I feel comfortable living there and never going back to Jordan except for vacations? I hate to think about that because I never imagined myself leaving Jordan for good to live in foreign country...
 
Leaving that part aside, I mean let's suppose that she finds life in the stares more comfortable, does that mean shelving your mother language (Arabic that is)... Hear what she had to say when I asked her about that...
 
R: well you know I'm like struggling when talking to people in Arabic here...
 
Give me a break!! She hasn't even completed 3 years there! You should see how her face brightened up when someone talked to her in English!
 
Well, I couldn't flatter her on that matter so I just raised the serious tone up and said: Well, you have to do something about it! It's your mother tongue you know...
 
I don't think she saw that coming, maybe that's why I thought I caught a hint of a grimace on her face...
 
Seriously, what would you do living and dying and establishing a family in a foreign country? It always seemed odd to me... leaving your country must be something temporary, to study or to work, and not to be thought of as a permanent state...
 
Anyways, I don't want to rag on the whole matter so much, but this gave me a good mind to do what I thought of doing before, which is to seek a job in some other country (not the states, something within the same continent like Dubai or Abu Dhabi) and work there for one year or so in sha'a Allah... I want to know if I will pass the test, or fail it.
 
God knows best...
 
 
 

In safe hands

 
one of five children wounded in the Israeli air strike on Gaza
23 June 2006

Stop the Israeli military’s crimes in Gaza and the West Bank!


The following statement was released by the Communist Party of Israel on June 29.

The way to achieve security is by ending the Israeli occupation!

The Communist Party of Israel denounces the government Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, which has aggravated the bloody war against the Palestinian people, especially against the Palestinian inhabitants in the Gaza Strip, and kidnapped ministers, members of the parliament and senior Palestinian officers.

During the month of June, the Israeli Army (Tzahal) killed dozens Palestinians, including several children, and now is continuing these crimes by the occupation of large territories of the Gaza Strip with the excuse of releasing the kidnapped soldier. The CPI objects killing of Israeli and Palestinian civilians alike.

The CPI calls upon all peace seekers, Jews and Arabs, to denounce the crimes of occupation and to demand the immediate pullout of Tzahal from all parts of the Gaza Strip.

Our Party emphasizes once more that security and peace can only achieved by putting an end to the Israeli occupation, evacuation of all Israeli settlements, establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, establishing two capitals in Jerusalem and solving the refugees' question according to United Nations resolutions.


Members of Hadash (Peace and Democratic Front) and the CPI will take part in a large number of demonstrations during the next days all over the country, especially in a demonstration called by the veteran refusers of Yesh Gvul for the evening of July 1 in front of the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, with the focus on military and political leaders responsible for war crimes. Yesh Gvul plays an active part in trying to bring these military and political leaders to international justice.
Why am I blogging this in particular?
و شهد شاهد من أهله

Muslim World Cup Players Promote Image

By Ahmad Atta, IOL Correspondent
 
CAIRO — Superstar Muslim footballers leading several high-profile European teams in Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup are contributing to a paradigm shift, showing a face of Islam some have not seen and many others have claimed never existed.

"Muslim players in European soccer teams are a proof that their faith and cultures are not stumbling blocks hindering contribution to the development of their societies in all domains," Anas al-Tikriti, former chairman of the Muslim Association of Britain, told IslamOnline.net.

"They can help clear misconceptions about Islam and prove that the Muslim faith is a way of life," he added.

Many Muslim players have captured the limelight during their participation in the world football gala.

Among them is French playmaker legend and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane.

His expected successor, midfielder Franck Ribery, has also made headlines during his country's opener against Switzerland.

Ribery, a native French revert, raised his hands and supplicated to God like a typical Muslim before the kickoff.

Among the other prominent Muslim names in the mondial are Dutch Boulahrouz Khalid and Van Persie Robin as well as Swede Ibrahimovic Zlatan.
 
 
Read the full article here:
 
And the Arabic version:

Special World Cup drink

 
It's healthy, it's sporty-looking and it tasted really good!
 


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