All my posts in Arabic are gone!!

What the ???

Netanyahu's Concordia's Failed Conquest

For the record, and in case a sound reason was needed as to why the valiant from Montreal blocked Netanyahu from a private speech at Concordia back in September 2002, here it is:

1- The issue of freedom of speech

If it were an issue of freedom of speech, how come attendance to his "lecture" was by invitation only. This meant that the sponsors of this visit meant to use the University's facilities for hosting a private event rather than an activity of "the halls of academia" as Netanyahu so poetically put it. Furthermore to this apprent abuse of the academic facilities for private and pure propagandist motivations, the organisers have exhausted the security services of the city and the University. To add insult to injury, this very privately purposed visitor had the audacity, to say the least, to blame security forces for what happened. He had no right to use tax-payers services the way he did to begin with and he apprently still wanted more!

If it were a question of stopping Netanyahu from "excercising his right to free speech", how come nobody tried to disrupt his press conference at the Ritz where he was staying, just a few hundred meters from the venue of his Concordia speech. In addition, being invited by The Asper Foundation, Netanyahu has nothing if not a guranteed channel to one of Canada's largest Media beasts; Global Communications. Much has been said about Isreal Asper's diretives to his media empire to polish the image of Israel and tarnish that of Arabs and Muslims alike.

If anybody needs to have a venue to express opinions, it is the people you have been demonizing as disruptive. The people that Netanyahu called terrorist. This person, who is neither a guest of the Government of Quebec nor of Canada, the same person that cost the University of Concordia so much and the City of Montreal even more is pompus enough to tell us what is Canadian and what is not!

2- Call for investigation

Concordia was not shut down on the day of Netanyahu's inauspicious visit. Nevertheless, Concordia called the police once demonstrators were demonstrating from within the building were the ex-PM was supposed to speak. Who made the call that riot police was to be sent? Riot police is trained to handle riots and not peaceful demonstrators excercising their freedom of speech. Once riot police tried to remove the people from within the building, things turned violent and understandbly so since that is the environment of training these forces receive. There were no riot police officers outside because there was no rioting, it is very simple. The window was broken after the officers started roughing it with the demonstrators piling on top of arrestees who were not resisting to begin with. Where was your coverage of this??? Where was your coverage of indiscriminate tear gasing and pepper spraying??? Many people were hurt trying to leave while the police was spraying and arresting. Seeing what was happening through the glass window, somebody threw something enraged at the scenes of needless violence.

Even when the police was clearing up the street, they arrested people very violently although they wer simply sitting on the ground, some with their hands behind their back ready to be arrested! What kind of subjugation policy does the police exercise and if it is not policy then what is it that drives policemen and women to behave so?

3- Reputation of Concordia and Expelling Students

It is a farce when media sources suggest that academic instituions damage their reputation by demonstrating students. If this was the case, Yale University would have ruined during the 1960's, just for example sake.

To suggest that Concordia has the right to expel students given all the aspects discussed above in the first point about ABUSE of the campus and the resources of the university and the city is another farce when those who should be questioned are the Concordia's management that allowed and authorized such abuse.

Fuck you Bibi!

360east Store - 360east | design, media, technology

360east - 360east | design, media, technology
I was wandering the web when I ran into a cousin online. Not the metaphoric cousin but the blood one. We were talking and the name of a good friend of school days came up, Ahmad Humeid.
I looked him up and came across 360east. A great job Abu Hmaid! I was reading and reading when suddenly it dawned on me that I don't know Jordan. I thought I did, but I moved on a long time ago ... and so did Jordan.

Between 360east and talasim I am not sure I still fit in Jordan. And I did, I swear I did. Once, way back now. No wonder my quick visit leave me confused.

I was naive to think it was just the little things of how people dress, lack of respect (little thing? what am I saying, yalla ma 3alaina), taxi drivers ogling girls showing ass cracks and belly buttons.

It is not.

Ra'i 7urr

Gems and Precious Stones

Gems and Precious Stones
A course at Berkely, accessible to all at no cost but the connection fee. A fresh breath from the past still lives in the .edu domain.

متى نرى نطاق الجامعات العربية يا هل ترى؟؟؟

NO Comment

No comment.

"Syrian Made" Rocket damages: 60 years for forests to regenerate

Rocket damages: 60 years for forests to regenerate - News from Israel, Ynetnews: "Shortly after a barrage was fired towards the Beit Shean Valley , the Israeli Air Force struck rocket launchers northeast of Tyre. The rockets were Syrian made and can reach a range of 75 km (about 47 miles), although those the hit the north had been upgraded and could reach a range of 100 km (about 60 miles) and carried 80-90 kg (about 40 lbs.) of explosives."

So how do they know it is a Syrian "made" rocket? May be it is a signأ©, you know, ظپط·ظˆظ… ط­ظٹطµ ط¨ظٹطµ or may be it is of the world famous brand ط­ظ…ط§ظ… ط§ظ„ظ‡ظ†ط§ and it is probably of the collector edition, you know the one signed by Bashar Al-Asad. Get real.

Google News in Arabic

Well done Google!

Check it out! No Arabic language special handling but it looks good and I guess that's what counts with Google these days?!

Just sour grapes on this one =)

Well done Google, I look forward to seeing it work well.

World Cup 2006

It is on. Everybody is trying hard either to avoid it or to make time for it. It is a world-class event indeed. In case you're wondering why I am writing in English, well a new job. Larry Page does not have time to listen to my Arabic search engine dither and I have just about given up on ol' Google all togehter. Insular is an understatement of what I can see from the outside.

Anyways, back to the World Cup the talk is about Yahoo! not Google this time. As Google is trying to fit in some Arabic services to bring its language support to an adequate level, Yahoo! seems not give a shit about Arabic all together. No greater its snobbery or is flagrant than in its World Cup portal. You see Yahoo! is a major partner of FIFA and I guess part of the deal is evidently a portal that gives good online coverage of the event.

Take a look at the languages that Yahoo! has to offer:
1- English ( but of course)
2- German (the hosts need their respect)
3- Portuguese (can't upset the Samba "gods")
4- French (well OK, a good chunk of the world speaks French, France is a qualifier too, that helps)
5- Spanish (hmmm, the Mexicans, the Spaniards, latin America other than Brazil, ok)
6- Chinese (China has not made it to the World Cup but you can't say no to one sixth of the world\s population)
7- Korean (now we're getting weird! Korea is a qualifier but not really a popular language as in no UN official language and all)
8- Japan (wowza! OK, Japan has qualified but same that applies to Korean applies here)
9- Arabic! Well no.

You'd guess that with two, not one, Arab countries qualifying to the World Cup we'd get a portal in Arabic, right? Not according to Yahoo!

You'd guess that a language which is one of the acknowledged as official UN languages with two countries whose native tongue it is would qualify Arabic for a portal. Na na. Wrong.

Yahoo! is a business and I wouldn't blame them as much as I would the bastards of FIFA. Good for nothing fat cats! 2 billion in World Cup revenues ey? Who audits those punks anyway? I would like to know how much do they pay themselves now that they have managed to reduce football to an elitest spectator sport!

Shame on us Arabs as well who bend over and take it from behind watching our language being ignored the way it has been ignored and keep our traps shut. But wait, I do want to complain. There must be a feeback hyperlink on the portal site, n'est-ce pas? Mon dieu, not at all.

Good luck! Saudi Arabia, good luck Tunisia. God help the Arabic language.

ط¥ط¨ط­ط« ظپظٹ ط§ظ„ط£ط®ط¨ط§ط± ط§ظ„ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹط© ط¨ط­ط«ط§ ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹط§ ظ‚ط­ط§

ظ‡ظ†ظ€ظ€ظ€ظ€ظ€ط§ ط³طھط¬ط¯ ظ‚ظˆط© ط¨ط­ط« ظ„ط§ ظ…ط«ظٹظ„ ظ„ظ‡ط§ ظپظٹ ط§ظ„ط¨ط­ط« ظپظٹ ط§ظ„ظ…طµط§ط¯ط± ط§ظ„طھط§ظ„ظٹط©

1. ظ…ظˆظ‚ط¹ ظ‚ظ†ط§ط© ط§ظ„ط¬ط²ظٹط±ط© ط§ظ„ط¥ط®ط¨ط§ط±ظٹ
2. ظ…ظˆظ‚ط¹ ظ‚ظ†ط§ط© ط§ظ„ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹط© "ط§ظ„ط®ظ†ظپط´ط§ط±ظٹ"...ط£ظ„ظٹط³ ظƒط°ظ„ظƒ
3. ظ…ظˆظ‚ط¹ طµط­ظٹظپط© ط§ظ„ط´ط±ظ‚ ط§ظ„ط£ظˆط³ط·
4. ظ…ظˆظ‚ط¹ ط¬ط±ظٹط¯ط© ط§ظ„ط؛ط¯
5. ط¬ط±ظٹط¯ط© ط§ظ„طµط¨ط§ط­ ط§ظ„ط¬ط¯ظٹط¯

ط£ط¹ظ„ظ…ظˆظ†ظٹ ط¥ظ† ظ†ط³ظٹطھ ط£ظٹط§ ظ…ظ†ظ‡ط§ (ظˆظƒط£ظ† ظ‡ظ†ط§ظ„ظƒ ظ…ظ† ظٹظ‚ط±ط£ ط¨ط§ظ„ظپط¹ظ„ ظ‡ط°ظ‡ ط§ظ„طµظپط­ط©)...ظٹط§ظ„ظ„ظ‡

ط§ظ„ط¯ظ‘ط§ظ„ ظ…ط­ط±ظƒ ط§ظ„ط¨ط­ط« ط§ظ„ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹ

Now THIS is a search engine for Arabic content, currently searching top news sites and Wikepedia's Arabic pages.

See Larry, I told you the technology exists ;-)

ط§ظ„ط¯ظ‘ط§ظ„ ظ…ط­ط±ظƒ ط§ظ„ط¨ط­ط« ط§ظ„ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹ

ظ…ط­ط±ظƒ ط¨ط­ط« ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹ ط¨ط¹ظ‚ظˆظ„ ط¹ط±ط¨ظٹط© ظˆطھط·ط¨ظٹظ‚ ظ…ط«ط§ظ„ظٹ. ط¥ط¨ط­ط« ظپظٹ ط£ظ‡ظ… ظ…ظˆط§ظ‚ط¹ ط§ظ„ط£ط®ط¨ط§ط± ظˆظ…ظˆط³ظˆط¹ط© ظˆظٹظƒظٹط¨ظٹط¯ظٹط§ ط§ظ„طھط¹ط§ظˆظ†ظٹط©...ظˆط­ط´ ظٹط§ ط¯ط§ظ„ ط¨ط·ط§ط·ط§ ظٹط§ ظ…ظ†ط§ظپط³ط©