January 31 2005

BABA 2004

Well, as all participants probably know by now, the voting in BABA 2004 has been stopped due to some irresponsible actions of some irresponsible individuals.

I would like to thank our friend Haitham and Mahmood for creating the FIRST Arab Blogger Awards EVER! What happened does not make their efforts less, and does not mean they failed in any way.
It’s enough to point out that they have united an unbelievable number of Arab Bloggers, ones I never heard of, and ones that really deserve being known.

Actually, the taste of winning is great, I can’t deny that, but I never focused on that when I’m nominated in any awards, I’ve always looked for new people, wanted to know how other bloggers of other cultures think, what topics concern them, and things like that, because that’s what interests me in blogging, this is why I created this blog in the first place, I never created it to enter competitions. Knowledge, opening more doors to new blogospheres is what I consider the real profit… that’s why I believe BABA 2004, was a success.

Again, thank you Haitham and Mahmood for BABA 2004, looking forward to BABA for the years to come. And last but not least, my deepest appreciation to all those who voted for me in any category 🙂

Category: Arab Societies, General | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 24 2005

Bravo Arabic Music Channels



Via: mahjoob.com
P.s. Click on the cartoon for enlargement.
I’ve been in a state of shock, disgust and shame ever since these new so called video-clips have been showing on our Arab satellite music channels promoting cheap meanings and extremely inappropriate social “values”.
Naked bodies of both women and men; very rude facial expressions that include animalistic licking, lip biting; explicit erotic body movements such as crawling, touching, and last but not least: stripping! Not to forget the unbelievably low class and provocative lyrics that express sick mentalities and cheap environment!

People like Maria, Aziz Abdu, Bussi Samir, Gharam, Jad Shweiri, Marwa, Najla, and many others that I lost hope in memorizing their names, are nothing but a disgrace to any society that respects human dignity.
Actually one of them: Jad Shweiri, has really good taste in music, and has talent in directing, but unfortunately he’s going down with his video-clip themes, and if he goes on that way, he’ll never make it to success.
Other than him, I find others to lack even the basic elements of art. They’re SO BAD! But thinking of it seriously, one gets to an even worse fact: these people are selected and hosted by satellite music channelswhich pick the artist and await the reaction of the viewers. And when the viewers enjoy such cheap work and encourage the talent-lacking individuals, then why would channels stop showing them as long as they’re gaining the maximum profit?!!
Yes, unfortunately TV channels don’t care about the quality of work represented, they have only one main concern: quantity of money coming in.
And after all, those so called artists are nothing but people who come from our societies, which leads us to the worst conclusion: it’s us the friends, the families, the teachers, the employers and the consultants who make these shameful schemes!

I don’t think anyone raised well, anyone surrounded with mature caring friends would ever consider showing off their body in this humiliating way, or lay naked with nothing but a piece of cloth surrounding their butts!
I don’t think anyone who’s got a helping hand and someone to listen would ever consider rubbing their half-naked bodies against the wall, or bathe almost naked in the middle of the desert.I don’t think any responsible person would ever allow a girl -who’s good at nothing but licking lollipops and showing her breasts- to be shown on their channels to be an “idol” to all teenage students encouraging them to go to school looking for sexual relationships and scandals, rather than education!
I don’t believe any sane person would ever allow really wrong lyrics to be sung in front of millions of people, calling for the satisfaction of animal instincts and sexual desires!
This is nonsense! And I must admit the Arab music channels have gone where no other channels have been!
Congratulations for spoiling the young generations, thank you for misleading everyone, because of you, non-Arab cultures think we’re good at nothing but sex, shaking butts and getting naked!
Media is responsibility, and seems you get this fact pretty good! Well done!

Category: Arab Societies, Entertainment | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 20 2005

Eid Adha Mubarak

I haven’t been able to post since last night for some reason, anyway, now that I can, I thought I’d wish you all a HAPPY and BLESSED EID ADHA!
May this Eid bring you all the happiness, love, and good health. Wishing you all the best.

And special thanks to all my non-Muslim friends who left me so sweet comments wishing me, my husband and my family a happy Eid. Thank you all.

Still enjoying ma3moul, and still hoping that Eid will serve its main goal: helping the people in need.

God bless you all…

Category: Arab Societies, Religion | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 18 2005

Eid Al Adha And The Savage Muslims!

That was the title of a post I wrote last year as Eid Al Adha was approaching. And since Eid Al Adha is so close, I come across many articles and comments repeating the same old story about how savage and barbaric Muslims are towards sheep in Eid Al Adha. So I thought I’ll re-post my comments on this topic for those interested. Here you go!

Category: Arab Societies, Religion | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 12 2005

Tsunami Rumors In Dubai

Panic was created yesterday when rumors of a tsunami hitting Dubai were spread by some residents.
Waves in Dubai and Sharqa beaches reached 2.46 meters high, while water levels in the sea reached the height of 1.3 meters.
According to eyewitnesses, Dubai police asked people to stay away from the “corniche” in the morning and warned people from standing near the site in an effort to contain the excitement.
“I have been in Dubai since the past 11 years and have never seen waves this high before. The police came in at around nine in the morning and warned us all to get away from the corniche as the water was spilling onto the pavement and roads,” an eyewitness said. “We all started moving away quickly once we saw the water coming.”

4 workers on “The Palm” island project were thrown away by waves, three made it to the beach, and the fourth is still missing.

Responsible people explained what happened as a natural result caused by high speed of wind, and assure citizens that it has nothing to do with the Tsunami disaster.

Via: 4eco.com
Source: CNN and Khaleej Times

Category: Arab Societies, Nature & Environment | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 15 2004

Linux 4 Arab



I think this Linux 4 Arab logo is simply adorable 😉

Category: Arab Societies, Cool Stuff | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 14 2004

A Day In My Life… “Youm Fi Hayati”

Is a wonderful program I watched on Dubai TV last week. The program can be considered a type of reality programs, a very successful one, and better than many of the silly ones offered to watch people do nothing useful.

“Youm Fi Hayati” as it’s called in Arabic, is presented by the Egyptian Mariam Ameen, and teaches people to respect each others careers, lives, abilities or even disabilities.

There are 4 participants in each episode. They’re divided into 2 groups of two. In each group, one of the participants lives the life of the other with all its details for 2 days, yes, whole 48 hours. This offers the participant the chance to know how the life of his partner in the team goes, what difficulties he/she faces, and how he/she manages.
Of course not all participants succeed in adapting to the life of the other, and this is decided by the audience, who watch the filming of those 48 hours.
The program is so touching, it makes people know what it’s like to be someone else, makes people thank God for what they’ve got, and work harder to become better. It’s truly moving and a lot of emotions are involved.
Last episode, a famous journalist had to live the life of an amazingly talented disabled man from UAE. The journalist had to use the wheelchair, was prohibited to use his feet and had to go through the other’s whole life, from his job, to his leisure time hobbies, to his social relationships, everything. It was amazing and sooooo touching!
And the other participant, a Saudi student had to live the life of a Lebanese man who has a bee farm and is responsible for honey production. It was hilarious, specially with those many bee bites, ouch! 😉

I just love programs that serve a humanitarian goal!

You can watch it on Dubai TV every Tuesday at 22: 30 UAE Time (18:30 GMT). Don’t miss it!

Category: Arab Societies, Entertainment, Media, International | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 6 2004

“Tito”

We went to the movies on Saturday and watched “Tito”. It was awesome.
The movie is staring Ahmad Saqqa and Hanan Turk and directed by Tariq Al-Aryan. Again, Egypt is proving its ability to compete with high international movie making standards.
Other than the great effects, professional production, and amazing actors, the theme was just great.
The movie discusses the life of “Tito”, who symbolizes all poor children, that found themselves growing in the streets, surrounded with poverty and difficult life circumstances, having no one to guide them, help them or love them.
Again, Bravo Egypt for another really impressive movie.

If you haven’t seen it yet, then don’t waste more time. The movie is great.

Category: Arab Societies, Entertainment | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 2 2004

UAE’s National Day

UAE celebrates its 33rd uniting anniversary (national day) today. On this day we can’t but remember the great man who came with the whole idea of uniting, who worked hard to achieve the peace, tranquility and progress the country has now, we can’t but remember Sheihk Zayed Al Nahyan, may his sould rest in peace.

Yesterday I was watching a documentary about Sheikh Zayed’s great achievements and a comparison between UAE earlier and UAE today. I must say I was so impressed. The results of late Sheikh Zayed’s hard work are simply breathtaking. And I’m sure his son, Sheikh Khalifa, will continue on the same pace, and will keep the march for an always beautiful, always blossoming, and always progressing UAE.
On this occasion Sheikh Khalifa said :“We will remain committed to working together shoulder to shoulder with my brother His Highness Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and my brethren Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the emirates.”

Happy National Day to all our brothers and sisters in UAE!

Category: Arab Societies | LEAVE A COMMENT