Tarek Hoteit Notebook

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Labels: middle east, politics, science

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 5:23 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: arab, middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Lina Sinjab explains why despite some relaxation of social attitudes in Syrian society - at least in the capital, Damascus - the equality of the sexes is still a long way off."

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

"The heavy eye make-up favoured by ancient Egyptians such as Cleopatra may have had medical as well as aesthetic benefits, French research suggests.

The study, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, suggests it helped to protect against eye disease.

The key appears to be lead salts contained in the make-up.

At very low levels, salts produce nitric oxide, which boosts the immune system to fight off bacteria which can cause eye infection. "

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

"CNN) -- Dubai on Monday officially inaugurated the centerpiece of its decade-long construction boom, with the surprise revelation that the world-beating 168-story skyscraper -- seen by some as a symbol of the city's economic excess -- was even bigger than previously thought.

In a glitzy firework-lit ceremony, the city-state's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum unveiled a plaque commemorating the event and also announced that the $1.5 billion structure has a new name: the Burj Khalifa.

Named after Khalifa Bin Zayed, the president of the United Arab Emirates -- and ruler of Abu Dhabi, which recently bailed out debt-ridden Dubai to the tune of $10 billion -- the tower was officially recorded as 828 meters tall, adding 10 meters on to previous height claims."

( picture from http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/01/the-burj-dubai-new-worlds-tallest-building-shows-that-nothing-succeeds-like-excess.html)

Labels: middle east, world

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Women's participation in national politics, at 18 percent of elected national legislatures globally, is pretty dismal. Some countries have made impressive progress, including Sweden and Rwanda, where women constitute more than 40 percent of the national parliaments. The Middle East and North Africa region has the lowest rates in the world though, with less than 10 percent of elected parliamentarians being women. ."

Labels: arab, middle east, politics, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

“ A year after Israel's war on Gaza, the territory is still struggling to rebuild.
In the weeks after the offensive, politicians from around the world visited the Strip and made promises to help.
But it appears many of those pledges have not been delivered.
Al Jazeera's Todd Baer caught up with two US Democratic congressmen whose efforts to lift the Israeli blockade on Gaza are being met with stiff resistance.” - Aljazeera

Labels: arab, middle east, politics, united states

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 4:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

December 17, 2009
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

"RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — I have lived my entire adult life under occupation, with Israelis holding ultimate control over my movement and daily life.
When young Israeli police officers force me to sit on the cold ground and soldiers beat me during a peaceful protest, I smolder. No human being should be compelled to sit on the ground while exercising rights taken for granted throughout the West.
It is with deepening concern that I recognize the Obama administration is not yet capable of standing up to Israel and the pro-Israel lobby. Our dream of freedom is being crushed under the weight of immovable and constantly expanding Israeli settlements.
Days ago, the State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, managed only to term such illegal building “dismaying.” The Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, stands up and walks out on the U.S. envoy, George Mitchell, every time the American envoy mentions East Jerusalem.
And Javier Solana, just prior to completing his stint as European Union foreign policy chief, claimed Palestinian moves toward statehood “have to be done with time, with calm, in an appropriate moment.” He adds: “I don’t think today is the moment to talk about that.”
When, precisely, is a good time for Palestinian freedom? I call on Mr. Solana’s replacement, Catherine Ashton, to take concrete actions to press for Palestinian freedom rather than postpone it.
If Israel insists on hewing to antiquated notions of determining the date of another people’s freedom then it is incumbent on Palestinians to organize ourselves and highlight the moral repugnance of such an outlook.
Through decades of occupation and dispossession, 90 percent of the Palestinian struggle has been nonviolent, with the vast majority of Palestinians supporting this method of struggle. Today, growing numbers of Palestinians are participating in organized nonviolent resistance.
In the face of European and American inaction, it is crucial that we continue to revive our culture of collective activism by vigorously and nonviolently resisting Israel’s domination over us.
These are actions that every man, woman and child can take. The nonviolent movement is being built in the villages of Jayyous, Bilin and Naalin where Israel’s segregation wall threatens to erase productive village life.
President Obama, perhaps unwittingly, encouraged this effort when he called for Palestinian nonviolence in his Cairo speech. “Palestinians,” he said, “must abandon violence. … For centuries, black people in America suffered…the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding.”
Yet without public American complaint, the Israeli military has killed and injured many nonviolent Palestinians during Obama’s 10 months in office, most notably Bassem Abu Rahme who was killed in April by an Israeli high-velocity teargas canister. American citizen Tristan Anderson was critically injured by the Israeli Army in March by a similar projectile and remains in a deep coma. Both men were protesting illegal Israeli land seizures and Israel’s wall. Hundreds more are unknown to the outside world.
A new generation of Palestinian leaders is attempting to speak to the world in the language of a nonviolent campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions, precisely as Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of African-Americans did with the Montgomery bus boycott in the mid-1950s.
We are equally right to use the tactic to advance our rights. The same world that rejects all use of Palestinian violence, even clear self-defense, surely ought not begrudge us the nonviolence employed by men such as King and Gandhi.
Western lethargy means the clock may run out on the two-state solution. If so, the fault will rest with the failure to halt Israeli settlement activity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that settlement construction will continue in East Jerusalem, with government buildings in the West Bank and on thousands of West Bank housing units already under development makes a mockery of the term “freeze.”
We Palestinians are completely accustomed to — and unwilling to accept — such caveats from Mr. Netanyahu.
The demise of the two-state solution will only lead to a new struggle for equal rights, within one state. Israel, which tragically favors supremacy rather than integration with its Palestinian neighbors, will have brought the new struggle on itself by relentlessly pushing the settlement enterprise. No one can say it was not warned.
Eventually, we will be free in our own country, either within the two-state solution or in a new integrated state.
There comes a time when people cannot take injustice any more, and this time has come to Palestine."
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi is secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Labels: arab, middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

"The minister of irrigation and water resources Mahmoud Allam stated from couple of days that Egypt has declined a generous offer from Israel : They want to import our wastewater !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes Israel wanted to import our waste water and we refused its generous offer. Of course many people will be puzzled and wonder “ Why does Israel want our shit ??”

Well actually it does not want our shit only but all our wastewater and they want it for irrigation as 70% of of Israel's irrigated agriculture is based on highly purified wastewater according to Wikipedia. It is not a secret that Israel wanted before the Nile Water and as a country it has its water problems that can lead in to a war in the region of its own. Of course I am guessing , already I do not know what they will do with our wastewater for real as it is huge quantity of wastewater for sure !! I do not know why Israel wants to import our wastewater and in Jordan is much nearer to it.

This shows us how we are having huge gift from God called the Nile we do not know how to use it well and we are wasting it. "

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

"CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has begun making its national archives digitally available on the Internet in Arabic, having last month registered the world's first domain name in Arabic script."

Labels: middle east, technology

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 3:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

part 1

part 2

Labels: lebanon, middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

by Olivier Blanchard Marianna Riggi: "In the 1970s, large increases in the price of oil were associated with sharp decreases in output and large increases in inflation. In the 2000s, even larger increases in the price of oil were associated with much milder movements. This column attributes the difference in the US to more flexible labour markets and more credible monetary policy during the Great Moderation."

Labels: finance, middle east, united states, world

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Regards,
Tarek Hoteit
http://tarek.hoteit.org

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Israeli army uses social media tools to improve image http://tinyurl.com/ygxramm

sent via web

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/PalestineNote/status/6368680524
Regards,
Tarek Hoteit
http://tarek.hoteit.org

Labels: media, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Saudi Arabia's annual revenue from organizing pilgrimage to Islamic holy places tops $30 billion, an Arab newspaper reported on Sunday.

"The figure covers travelling, accommodation and living expenses, as well as cost of animals for sacrifices," Gulf News, based in the United Arab Emirates, said.

According to the paper, the average cost of sacrificed animals averages $130 per pilgrim. Other expenses include purchases of gifts and spending on telecommunications.

Over two million Muslims have been visiting Mecca, Medina and other holy places in Saudi Arabia every Hajj season in recent years. Millions of Muslims also perform Umrah or "little pilgrimage" throughout the year, the paper said.

Saudi Arabia's revenues from pilgrimage to Islamic holy places account for about 7% of the country's gross domestic product, Gulf News said.

ABU-DHABI, November 29 (RIA Novosti) "

Labels: finance, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Photographer Eman Mohammed focuses her lens on a little-known aspect of life in Gaza - the Al Habbash coal mine in Beit Hanoun, where the salary for a hard day's labor is between $3 and $5, plus a package of cigarettes.

The coal, which is used for nargilehs (traditional water pipes) and barbecuing, has been mined using traditional methods since early 2009, after the IDF destroyed the machinery.

read complete article : Photo exhibition: Coal Mine/Gaza, by Eman Mohammed - Theater

Labels: arab, art, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

Drying up Palestine is a 28-minute documentary by Rima Essa and Peter Snowdon about water access issues in the occupied West Bank. The film was produced by Gourna Films for the Palestinian NGO House of Water and Environment. It describes the stresses and strains imposed on Palestinan society by Israel's almost total control over water resources in the occupied territories. The sequences form an arc covering the main episodes in the history of this water grab from 1967 to the present day.

Part I

Part II

Drying up Palestine: a documentary in two parts - Movies

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

"In short, the situation is not good - and it's getting worse. Out of the five elements the 2008 Sikkuy report checks, in four - housing, health services, welfare services and employment - the gap between Arab and Jews has widened. In education there has been a slight improvement, but it was more due to a decline in the Jews' achievements.

…

Just to give an impression of the dangerous slop we are on, here are a few proposals and declarations made by cabinet ministers in the few months the Netanyahu government has been in power:

- The minister of transportation, Israel Katz (Likud), is promoting an initiative according to which all Arab names on road signs will be replaced with Jewish ones.

- The minister for Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov (Israel Beytenu), demanded that the pope cancel meeting with the Arab mayor of Sakhnin on his visit to Israel.

- The Housing Minister Ariel Atias (Shas) called to stop Arab "spreading" in Wadi Ara, a region densely populated by Israeli-Arabs. he is currently pushing a plan for a city for orthodox Jews in the area.

- The Education Minister Gidon Saar (Likud) ordered that Arabs won't be allowed to teach the term Nakba, referring to their national disaster of 1948.

- The minister of the Police, Yitzhak Aharonowitz, has told an undercover agent he "looks dirty like a real Arabush" (a Hebrew slang word that carries a cultural meaning very similar, or even worse, than "nigger" in the US).

- The Finance Minister, Yuval Shtainitz, declared that one of Israel's problems is that Arab women "don't want to work".

- and finally, Israel's Foreign Minister, Avigdor Liberman - a man who disgraces not only the state, but the entire Jewish people - promotes plans for striping Palestinians of their Israeli citizenship or from the rights is gives them.

By its actions, the Israeli government is currently doing more than any of Israel's enemies to bring life to the claim that Zionism inevitably leads to racism."

Labels: middle east, politics, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

"DUBAI — Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum, who put his desert emirate onto the world map with a rapid development drive, now faces a debt crisis that could wreck his dream.

Just two weeks after he vowed that Dubai will go ahead with its ambitious development projects, its main state-owned firm announced on Wednesday that it wants to halt debt repayments for six months."

Labels: finance, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

" When the popular 46-year-old Lebanese psychic Ali Sibat went on-air and made his predictions about the future, the phone lines of the satellite television station Sheherazade used to be flooded with calls.

But what the star psychic probably did not predict was that his claims to supernatural prowess would land him a death sentence.

"He was the most popular psychic on the channel," the Lebanese news agency Naharnet quoted Sibat’s lawyer May Khansa as saying. "The number of callers, including from all over the gulf, spiked in number when he appeared."

But while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia last year, Sibat was spotted by religious police in the holy city of Medina. Their job it is to battle vice and uphold virtue in the ultraconservative kingdom. So they arrested Sibat in his room at the Medina Hotel on charges of sorcery.

On Nov. 9, Sibat was given a death sentence by a Mecca court for allegedly practicing witchcraft."

Labels: middle east, religion

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Search engine giant Google is set to document Iraq's national museum, posting photographs of its ancient artifacts on the internet by early next year. …

Google has taken some 14,000 photographs of the museum and its artifacts, and the images will be available online in early 2010, he said."

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

"GAZA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Israeli planes carried out air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, injuring seven Palestinians, Palestinian medical workers said.

An army spokesman said the strikes, which occurred after a rocket fired from the Hamas-run enclave landed in Israel, had targeted two factories in the central and northern Gaza used to make weapons and a smuggling tunnel under the border with Egypt.

Palestinian witnesses and medical workers said the targets included a metal foundry in the central Gaza Strip, a caravan in the north and smuggling tunnels in the south."

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: art, middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

"BEIRUT: The Fraser Institute’s annual Index of Economic Freedom in the Arab World ranked Lebanon in second place in 2009 among 15 Arab countries included in the survey, up from fifth place in 2008 and fourth place in 2007, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. The index measures the degree of economic freedom in each country on the basis of 18 variables divided into five broad factors of economic freedom."

Labels: finance, lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

"by RAMI G. KHOURI

BEIRUT — The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall passed very quietly in the Arab world, because the meaning of the wall’s fall — the transition from total state control to human freedom — also bypassed the Arab world. "

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

"President Obama should follow the lead of all four of the Bush administrations' U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations and speak directly to these millions of Arab households by sitting down for an on-the-record interview with al-Jazeera Television.
Although the most popular Arab network has had its share of bias problems, President Obama is missing an important and easy opportunity to change the hearts and minds of the majority of the Arab world. The Pentagon and the Senate Armed Services Committee have issued reports recently urging better global strategic communications. And the Department of State is constantly looking for ways to counter the propaganda put forth by militants in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Additionally, millions of tax payer dollars are being spent to counter such rumors. But the best way and the cheapest way to speak directly to the people most affected is being ignored."

Labels: middle east, politics, united states

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

"CNN's Stan Grant undergoes a dramatic change of character and turned into a cartoon."

Labels: middle east, technology

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

" Listing the Muslim countries of the region, it is readily apparent most, for decades, have experienced one-man/one-family rule  (Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, UAE, Syria, Bahrain, etc.) or, in the case of Iran, theocratic rule.  As such, Muslim leaders  retaining that sort of control have done so by doing nothing to endanger the status quo.  

As a result of such stagnant leadership, education suffered tremendously. Little was done to improve it beyond the ancient practice of learning by rote memorization. The educational system in most  Muslim states lacks any creative thinking stimulus. As one researcher points out, “If you look at the educational system in the Arab world, unfortunately, those who get the A’s, those who get the work, are those who do not ask questions, who do not think, who just memorize and follow."  "

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:28 AM | Permalink | Comments

"The disappointing records of 10 US presidents in Middle East affairs are put under the spotlight"

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Extract from a Daily Star article:

"In the summer of 2008, [Fadi Abboud, the president of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists] drew attention to the issue of food copyright, noting that millions of dollars were being lost each year in the lucrative hummus market.

"I first noticed this piracy during the many international food exhibitions that we attended: Lebanese producers would find out that most of our specialties, such as hummus, falafel and baba ghannouj, were marketed as Israeli,"Abboud said. '"Our cuisine is being dishonestly used and Israel is appropriating our dishes."'

Abboud noted that the popularity of the chickpea dip has spread. "Today, the fame of hummus has reached around the globe. Upscale restaurants in New York and London are serving gourmet versions of hummus and falafel as traditional Jewish dishes," he said.

"We are talking about colossal losses as the hummus market is a robust one worth over $1 billion with the 500,000 tubs eaten a day in the United Kingdom alone," he added. "If we win this fight, there is huge potential for Lebanon.

"We have been researching and documenting data to prove that 25 traditional dishes hail from Lebanon and deserve the EU’s Protected Designated Origin status, meaning they can be marketed under their name only if they were made in the country," he said. "It is time that Lebanon registered its main food trademarks to avoid substantial losses like these. We are preparing to file an international lawsuit against Israel for claiming ownership of traditional dishes that are believed to be originally Lebanese. "

Labels: lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

" Syria is home to a thriving lingerie industry producing some of the most exotic, innovative and creative styles in the world. Martin Asser, Middle East specialist for the BBC News website, reports from the workshop of one of Syria's most established lingerie makers, Ali Nasser, who demonstrates how he makes the garments and shows off some of his best selling designs. "

See video : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7786523.stm

also see "Sexy secrets of the Syrian Souk"   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7786564.stm

Labels: art, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: arab, art, media, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Google News launched four new Arabic editions of Google News for Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates last week.

Labels: arab, middle east, technology

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

"GAZA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A number of Palestinians and Lebanese Shi'ites have been forced to leave the United Arab Emirates in recent months, Palestinian and Lebanese officials said on Friday

...

Hussam Ahmed, head of the Refugee Affairs Department in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, said hundreds of Palestinians had been dismissed from their jobs in the UAE for security reasons.

...

In Beirut, a senior Lebanese political source said 45 Lebanese Shi'ites living in the UAE had either not been granted re-entry or had been asked to leave. No reason was given for the decisions.
"Some of them had been living in the country for 20 years. They were doctors and business owners," the source told Reuters."

...

"An Interior Ministry spokesman in Abu Dhabi said he was not aware of the matter."

read complete article : Palestinians, Lebanese Shi'ites forced to leave UAE | Reuters

Labels: arab, lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe is the most dangerous Arabic celebrity in cyberspace, according to research from McAfee. The security company found that Wehbe was the Arabic celebrity whose name was used most often to draw web surfers to websites with unsafe and malicious content.

Singer Wael Kfoury was the second most commonly used celebrity name for unsafe sites in the Middle East, with Paris Hilton ranking as number one worldwide." read complete article : Haifa Wehbe most dangerous Arabic celebrity online | LebSpy.com

(2007 news but worth to remind society on the dangers of clicking on celebrity-related links on some of the websites.

Labels: arab, media, middle east, society, technology

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

Many Lebanese people are eager to show off. Latest event is that one person bought a phone line with unique digits (70-555555) for a 110,000 dollars. Recently, thirty individuals (I can't call them as 'investors') rushed to bid on twenty five special mobile numbers. A 110,000 dollars is a lot of money in Lebanon, since Lebanon’s GDP per capital is $8,000 annually (basically average income generated around $800 a month) and the cost of a regular phone line is not more than a hundred dollars. You can actually get a phone line for as low as three dollars! The least two valuable numbers were 70-505000 and 70-470000 and were sold for 8,000 dollars each, still hundred times more than purchasing a regular cell phone line. The phone line with such digits would not have any preferential treatment than any other phone line. It might even frequently disconnect more frequently when others start SMSing and make "missed calls'" to this number. It's value is only for its straight fives. Note that the 70 is a standard area code for cell phone numbers, so the buyer had no choice but accept such fact. I wonder what this buyer would be willing to pay if the number being sold was 55-555555 instead. If every unique set of numbers will entice some individual to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for each number then I believe we will have much of Lebanon's economic crisis resolved when the country sells multiple numbers of those. Selling ten sets of each 111111's, 22222's, etc. then 1111222's and so on will get us millions of dollars. Start coming up with more numbers, add more digits, changing area codes as well if needed, and we'll be saving more to cover Lebanon's mounting debt until the hype ends when people notices their own stupidity for offering so much money for just a set of numbers. But I guess not. Possessing a cell phone with a non-tangible number that costs much more than the phone itself seems more valuable then anything else life except maybe a car license plate that has a similar hype with expensive digits The only problem is when to show off. Would this buyer walk on the streets with a banner on his shirt that says "call me. I own 70-555555 and it's much more expensive than you!" or "I offer 1 dollar to pay to the poor. Call me at my $110,000 number 70-555555' or maybe starting calling everyone to let the whole world know how much his phone number worth but maybe then he would have spent more doing that than paying for the phone.

Labels: lebanon, middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

"For thousands of years Egyptians have relied on irrigation from the Nile to cultivate vegetables and fruit. Now the system that has sustained their farms since ancient times could be in danger. Water shortages are forcing farmers to use contaminated water with deadly results.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall reports from the banks of the river Nile."

read complete article : YouTube - Egyptian farmers forced to irrigate with sewage water - 5 Sep 09

Labels: arab, middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

"A report by the Human Rights Watch pressure group has detailed what it says is systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia against Shia Muslims… Unfavorable treatment of minority Shia extends from education and employment to the justice system, leading to a big increase in sectarian tension, it says. They comprise 10 to 15% of the Saudi population, and have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens. "

Labels: arab, middle east, religion

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

"A recent report by an Israeli non-governmental organization says 5,000 Palestinian children in East Jerusalem will not be able to attend classes this year because there are not enough classrooms…The widening gap in education between the Arab East and the predominantly Jewish West Jerusalem is all too obvious." - Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Education gap divides Jerusalem

Labels: arab, education, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

"An Egyptian businesswoman, on the run for 22 years, has gone on trial on charges of a multi-million dollar fraud.

Hoda Abdel Moneim, 62, nicknamed The Iron Lady, appeared in court on Sunday, two days after being captured re-entering Egypt through Cairo airport."

Labels: finance, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

"CAIRO — Writing in his weekly newspaper column, Gamal al-Banna said recently that God had created humans as fallible and therefore destined to sin. So even a scantily clad belly dancer, or for that matter a nude dancer, should not automatically be condemned as immoral, but should be judged by weighing that person’s sins against her good deeds."

Labels: arab, middle east, religion

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

	more photos on http://www.waleg.com/photos/index.php?cat=80

 Bab-Al-Hara is a Syrian drama phenomenon that is watched by millions of Arabs.

  "The Syrian actress Laila Al Atrash, who plays “Lutfiyah h” in the famous Syrian drama series “Bab Al Harah” (The Neighborhood Gate) said that she is the fruit of the drama series." (Al-Bawaba http://albawaba.com/en/entertainment,%20music/251803)

Baba-Al-Hara movie game..

Labels: arab, media, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

As an iconic figure from Lebanon, Haifa Wehbe captured the imaginations of many if not all Arab generations.

Haifa Fashion blog

Haifa Official Fan Club

Haifa today

Haifa before

Labels: arab, lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Saudi Arabia is witnessing a boom in demand for cosmetic surgeries and procedures by the country’s women, according to the Associated Press.

In a country where lifestyle is largely dictated by religion, Saudi Arabia has seen a growing interest in the past few years in cosmetic procedures – once thought of as indulgences of the Western world. "

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: arab, media, middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

"first photos from the famous Syrian TV series Bab Al Hara in its 4th season.

Photos of Bab Al Hara 4

First Photos of Bab Al Hara 4 - WALEG

Labels: art, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

"new UN report on development in the Arab world has shown that one in five residents of Arab nations live on less than $2 per day.

The Arab Human Development Report, issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), noted a high economic vulnerability among Arab states which has taken a toll on the overall human security of the area. 
The report claimed that 20% of the Arab population in the Middle East lives on less than two dollars a day and outlined a number of negative economic trends throughout the Middle East. 
The UNDP study found that Arab countries had volatile economies across the board, held hostage by a severe dependence on oil and, consequently, its wavering financial trends. "

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

"A UN report has reignited the controversy over who is to blame for the sorry state of the Arab world: Arabs or the west?"

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

“The AHDR 2009 argues that the trend in the region has focused more on the security of the state than on the security of the people. It shows that human security is a prerequisite for development, and that the widespread absence of human security in Arab countries undermines people’s options. Based on these arguments, this report analyzes many issues related to occupation and military interventions, authority of the State and its security measures, volatile economy, damage of the environment, impact of climate changes, insecurity of vulnerable groups, poverty, hunger and providing health care.” (read press release)

 

“Human Security” offers new way to understand development challenges in the Arab region

In Arab countries, a widespread lack of human security undermines human development, according to the Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries. This report is prepared by independent scholars drawn from the region.

Download

Full Report ‖ Summary

The Report In Numbers

Statement of the Regional Director

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

“A quiet revolution has begun in the Arab world; it will be complete only when the last failed dictatorship is voted out”

“WHAT ails the Arabs? The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) this week published the fifth in a series of hard-hitting reports on the state of the Arab world. It makes depressing reading. The Arabs are a dynamic and inventive people whose long and proud history includes fabulous contributions to art, culture, science and, of course, religion. The score of modern Arab states, on the other hand, have been impressive mainly for their consistent record of failure.”

read full text here

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

“RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian government shut down the West Bank operations of the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera on Wednesday, a day after a guest on the station accused the Palestinian president of involvement in Yasser Arafat's death.

For the feisty news station — the Arab world's most popular — the closure represents the latest clash with a Middle Eastern government. Israel often criticizes it, Iraq has expelled it and Saudi Arabia only let it resume work recently after a long ban.

…”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilbhZDN6qp-yUcyVBZEP_3TjjSFAD99F33O80

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments

"An American public opinion poll held in six Arab states indicated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is the most popular Arab leader. The poll, conducted by Maryland University in cooperation with Al-Zughbi International Foundation for Polls, showed that al-Assad has got most votes among Arab leaders. The poll included a sample taken in six Arab countries, namely Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zaid Al Nhayan came second, and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Lebanon's Hizbullah came third. As for international figures, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez came first, and President Bashar al-Assad came second, SANA reported."

Labels: arab, middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

"An Unsettling Settlement: The 1922 Middle East Peace Agreement Seen Today (Video) Speaker: David Fromkin, Professor of International Relations, History, and Law, Boston University; Author, Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Presider: Harold M. Evans, Editor-at-Large, THE WEEK Magazine April 29, 2009 General Meeting: An Unsettling Settlement: The 1922 Middle East Peace Agreement Seen Today"

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

"RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is considering allowing women to vote in municipal elections this year but they would still be barred from running for office, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Sunday."

Labels: arab, middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: art, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

"The world's first successful cloning of a camel in Dubai this month will provide a springboard for producing faster animals for money-spinning races across the rich Arab Gulf. A female calf, named Injaz or "Achievement" by scientists, was born on April 8 and is the clone of a camel slaughtered for meat in 2005, using DNA extracted from the animal's ovaries. Injaz is the result of six years' work by scientists at the Camel Reproduction Centre and the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai."

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

The New York Times has an interacting map on its website where it allows you to pick the regions of people who immigrated to the United States between 1880 and 2000. Click on the image below to see the screen shot of the Middle Eastern ones who immigrated until 2000.

Labels: middle east, united states

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

“Ari Folman, who wrote and directed the film, focuses on the 1982 killing of hundreds of Palestinians in West Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The three-day killing spree by Israel's Lebanese allies was a reprisal for the assassination of popular Lebanese President Bashir Gemayel. The attacks against civilians, conducted under the nose of the Israeli military, shocked the conscience of the nation and led to a government shakeup in Tel Aviv.”

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Airlines across the Middle East lost $100m in 2008 due to high oil prices and the onset of the credit crunch, but the 'worst is yet to come', according to an industry expert."

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

"World Affairs Council of America Discussion on U.S.-United Arab Emirates Trade Friday
The World Affairs Council of America 2009 National Conference continued with a keynote speech on commercial and bilateral trade between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates. Lubna al-Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade was the keynote speaker.
Washington, DC : 44 min."

Labels: middle east, united states

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

"The current economic recession is a moment that cries out for an Arab leader who can speak truthfully to his people on the issues of the day that really matter - including how many abandoned cars may be parked at the airport, says Rami G. Khouri."

…In a land of superlatives and seemingly endless hyper-growth, the scale of the stories circulating about the number of abandoned cars at the airport is equally gigantic. In the past few weeks in Beirut, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I have heard friends and acquaintances report authoritatively that, variously, 15,000 or 10,000 or 6,000 cars have been parked and abandoned at the airport by their foreign owners. These people lost their jobs, did not have enough money to complete their car payments, and found the easiest way out was to park their car at the airport and leave town for good…

Labels: arab, finance, lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Journal Article, Oil and Gas Financial Journal, volume 6, issue 2

February 1, 2009

Author: Justin Dargin, Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative

Belfer Center Programs or Projects: The Dubai Initiative

From the introduction:

"While Islamic financial instruments currently make up a small proportion of global finance, they actually experienced an annual 15% growth from 2005 to 2008 (Fig. 1), with the energy-producing Gulf
nations in the Middle East responsible for much of the increase."

Click here for the full text."

Labels: finance, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

"The population of the Gaza Strip increased by almost 40% between 1997 and 2007, according to the results of a Palestinian census.

The survey, taken before Israel's recent offensive, showed the territory has a population of 1.4 million people.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated the annual growth rate at 3.3% and said the population would double in 21 years at that rate.

The UN estimates the world's current average population growth at 1.17%. "

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

"And what gives urgency to the Mena region is the fact that in 2008 the region recorded the highest unemployment rate worldwide, according to the recently released ILO report.

"Last year, North Africa and the Middle East still had the highest unemployment rates at 10.3 and 9.4 per cent respectively followed by Central and South Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America," the ILO stated.

Unemployment "is the main economic, social and political" challenge for the Arab region in 2009, Ahmad Al Najar, an economic expert at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Strategic Studies Centre said. It disrupts other production elements, he added."

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Israel tested out a "focused lethality" weapon that minimizes explosive damage to structures while inflicting catastrophic wounds on its victims.

Erik Fosse, a Norwegian cardiologist, worked in Gaza hospitals during the recent war."It was as if they had stepped on a mine," he says of certain Palestinian patients he treated. "But there was no shrapnel in the wound. Some had lost their legs. It looked as though they had been sliced off. I have been to war zones for 30 years, but I have never seen such injuries before."

Dr. Fosse was describing the effects of a U.S. "focused lethality" weapon that minimizes explosive damage to structures while inflicting catastrophic wounds on its victims. But where did the Israelis get this weapon? And was their widespread use in the attack on Gaza a field test for a new generation of explosives?"

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Freedom in the World survey:

“Israel was the only country in the region to enjoy a status of Free, although as the occupying power in the Palestinian territories, Israel is largely responsible for the Not Free status of the areas under its control.”

» Middle East seen from Freedom House Middle East Strategy at Harvard writes:

Freedom House has just released its Freedom in the World survey for 2009, rating the level of political rights and civil liberties worldwide. Freedom House divides countries into three categories: free, partly free, and not free. In its “Map of Freedom” (download here), free countries are shown in green; partly free in yellow; and not free in blue. Here is the Middle East portion from the 2009 map.

"

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 5:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Panorama has been on the ground covering events in the Middle East for the last six turbulent decades. Below is a brief history of events in the region as told through the Panorama archive.

Click on the links below to learn more and watch a Panorama archive clip.

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

""Although Palestinian refugees cannot legally contribute much to the Lebanese economy through employment, the sheer amount of them living in the country (more than 400,000) means they count for 10 per cent ($352 million) of all private consumption in Lebanon. Food, healthcare and rent constitute their top spending priorities.

The report also found that despite a 60-year presence in Lebanon and extreme vulnerability as a group, Palestinian refugees "do not appear to have constituted a burden on the safety net system provided by the Lebanese welfare system." The report stated UNRWA, NGOs and faith-based organizations represented the primary safety net for the Palestinian refugee community. "

Labels: lebanon, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

"JERUSALEM-WESTBANK-GAZA - Emergency psychosocial interventions are beginning this week in Gaza, supported by World Vision, to help some 2,200 children begin recovering from the emotional trauma resulting from their exposure to violence, death and loss during the recent military incursion there."

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

{Sorry for the mistake in the date of the conference. It should be 4-6 May 2009.Please find attached the corrected announcement. }

Dear Colleagues

The attached is an announcement about a competition among students and awarding the 10 best short films on university.  I need your help in disseminating this announcement to your students as well as to all relevant addresses (e.g. students’ organizations).

Thanks a lot.

Adnan ElAmine

Adnan El Amine,

Coordinator,

Arab Regional Conference on Higher Education (ARCHE + 10)"

 

click here for the document

Labels: arab, education, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 5:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

"While the iPhone is currently available in a slew of countries ranging from Senegal to Japan, we'll soon be able to add two new Gulf countries to the list: the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. This deal marks the first new markets for the iPhone in 2009."

Labels: middle east, technology

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

“Turkey's PM has received a hero's welcome on his return to Istanbul after he stormed out of a debate about Gaza at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan had reacted angrily when he was refused the chance to respond to Israeli President Shimon Peres' defence of the operation

Thousands of people turned out in the capital to greet Mr Erdogan's plane.

He told them Mr Peres' language and tone had been unacceptable, so he acted to stand up for Turkish honour.”

 

thank you Mr Erdogan.

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

"In his first interview with an Arab television station, President Barack Obama offered a bold change to America's relations with the Muslim world.

"My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives," President Obama told Al Arabiya. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.""

part I

part II

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

Time Running Out For A Two-State Solution?, 60 Minutes: Growing Number Of Israelis, Palestinians Say Two-State Solution Is No Longer Possible - CBS News 

from CBS News:

“(CBS) Getting a peace deal in the Middle East is such a priority to President Obama that his first foreign calls on his first day in office were to Arab and Israeli leaders. And on day two, the president made former Senator George Mitchell his special envoy for Middle East peace. Mr. Obama wants to shore up the ceasefire in Gaza, but a lasting peace really depends on the West Bank where Palestinians had hoped to create their state. The problem is, even before Israel invaded Gaza, a growing number of Israelis and Palestinians had concluded that peace between them was no longer possible, that history had passed it by. For peace to have a chance, Israel would have to withdraw from the West Bank, which would then become the Palestinian state.
It’s known as the "two-state" solution. But, while negotiations have been going on for 15 years, hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers have moved in to occupy the West Bank. Palestinians say they can't have a state with Israeli settlers all over it, which the settlers say is precisely the idea.”

Labels: media, middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

read the story of an Egyptian who killed his family as his way to avenge for his loss of fortunes as well as his clients in the Egyptian stock market.

“I think Sharif was suffering from greed and lack of faith,in the end he was led to depression.Needless to say most people in Egypt refuse to admit that it is not shame thing to go to a psychiatric.” writes Zeinobia

Thank you for this blog post. Depression or note from misfortune leading to suicide and serial killings of strangers or even loved ones remains an unsolved mystery of the human mind ever since the origins of science and or philosophy: what is the ultimate outcome of pleasure and pain? Society usually blames the killer, while some occasionally blame the victim; but in the end, the story ends and everyone goes back to their own lives. Then on, from that same society, another person comes out and does the same again. Then it is all news for that same society once again. Innocence is always murdered by evil. When past philosophers could not find the answer of such evil, I believe the fate of the human race is for science, notably neuroscience (studies of the brain and the works of its neurons), would need to come up with some formula to predict the future killer and stop the evil from recurring. Research researches are proving that this very well possible. However, we only need to hope that science will lead to better good and not simply more evil!

Labels: middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Satellite television has reached even conservative parts of the Arab world, where hundreds of programs are now available. The Middle East’s MBC-4 began airing “The Oprah Winfrey Show” more than four years ago, and the program now reaches about 6 million viewers in the Arab world each day.

Though aimed at an American audience, the program has brought formerly taboo topics — like reproduction or homosexuality — into discussion.

Worldfocus correspondent Kristen Gillespie reports from Jordan on the ”Oprah effect” in the Middle East.

Read her blog post about her reporting experience here: Watching Oprah in a Syrian refugee camp."

Labels: media, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

"The UN's humanitarian chief has told the BBC the situation in Gaza after a three-week Israeli offensive against Hamas was worse than he anticipated.

Sir John Holmes, who visited Gaza on Thursday, said he was shocked by "the systematic nature of the destruction".

He said that the territory's economic activity had been set back by years. "

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

“In the conservative Muslim region of southern Jordan, more and more women are leaving the home for the first time and going to work — largely out of economic necessity. The number of women in the workforce has more than doubled over the past five years.

Worldfocus correspondent Kristen Gillespie reports from Jordan.

Read her blog post about her experience: Divorce outcasts women from Jordan’s social structure.”

Labels: middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

According to the London daily Elaph, the songs “Bahibak Ya Libnan” (I Love You Lebanon), “Baghdad”, “Ya Beirut” (Oh Beirut), “Bahlif Besamaha” (I Swear On Its Skies), “Raje’ Yetamar Lebnan” (Lebanon Will Be Rebuilt) are among and the many songs that show the love of one’s country and being attached to the land and the people of one’s country.

These are some of the many songs that are stuck in people’s hearts throughout the Arab world for some time and then are forgotten.
Since the war on Gaza started many songs were released and it is hard to see the point of these songs, because for sure the people in Gaza won’t be hearing them and if they did they will not change the reality of their everyday life. Some artists believe that instead of spending time on useless songs, the money should be donated to the people of Gaza in order to get food and medical supplies which they are in desperate need of.

Labels: media, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments

Jerusalem 2050 is a unique visionary and problem-solving project jointly sponsored by MIT's Department of Urban Studies & Planning and the Center for International Studies. By bringing together Palestinian and Israeli scholars, activists, business leaders, youth, and others, it seeks to understand what it would take to make Jerusalem, a city also known as Al Quds, claimed by two nations and central to three religions, a place of diversity and peace in which contending ideas and citizenries can co-exist in benign, yet creative, ways.

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

At a talk last night about the current situation in Gaza, Professor of Linguistics Noam A. Chomsky came down hard on Israel for its frequent violence against Palestinian civilians and chastised the United States for enabling the Jewish state to carry out these actions with impunity. He also used the opportunity to touch upon broader issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The talk, which took place at Sloan's Wong Auditorium, was part of the Center of International Studies' Starr Forum lecture series

…….

“It’s not that Israel doesn’t want peace”, said Chomsky. “Of course, it wants peace. Everyone wants peace. Even Hitler wanted peace.”

……

“Supporters of Israel are in reality supporters of its moral degeneration,” he said.

Video of the lecture should be posted online at http://web.mit.edu/cis/starr.html

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: media, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

..After the attack started, there was an uncontrollable panic, everybody was trying to escape the chaos. People were running downstairs with whatever they managed to grab from their houses. More than 90 children of all ages were running toward the north, to nowhere, and their parents were running after them.

Labels: arab, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

from the YouTube link :

"Israel was born out of Jewish Terrorism" Tzipi Livnis Father was a Terrorist" Astonishing claims in the Hous of Parliamnet. SIR Gerald Kaufman, the veteran Labour MP, yesterday compared the actions of Israeli troops in Gaza to the Nazis who forced his family to flee Poland.

During a Commons debate on the fighting in Gaza, he urged the government to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

Sir Gerald, who was brought up as an orthodox Jew and Zionist, said: "My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town a German soldier shot her dead in her bed.

"My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza. The present Israeli government ruthlessly and cynically exploits the continuing guilt from gentiles over the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust as justification for their murder of Palestinians."

He said the claim that many of the Palestinian victims were militants "was the reply of the Nazi" and added: "I suppose the Jews fighting for their lives in the Warsaw ghetto could have been dismissed as militants."

He accused the Israeli government of seeking "conquest" and added: "

They are not simply war criminals, they are fools."

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Crunch 'cost Arabs $2.5 trillion' : "The global economic crisis has cost Arab countries $2,500bn (£1,690bn) in the last four months alone, according to Kuwait's foreign minister."

Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters in Kuwait City that oil-rich Gulf Arab states had postponed or cancelled 60% of development projects.

Labels: finance, middle east

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Young Freud in Gaza is about a young Palestinian psychotherapist named Ayed who runs a clinic in Gaza for people traumatised by violence."

Labels: arab, middle east, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

"Queen Rania speaks about the tragedy unfolding in the Gaza strip since the Israeli offensive began last week. Hundreds of people have been killed, including unarmed civilians, women and children."

Labels: middle east, politics, society

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Daily Star - Politics - Arab silence on Gaza is shameful : "The terrible carnage inflicted upon a starving people caged in the dark is too much to bear for anyone with eyes to see and a heart that beats. This unfolding crime against humanity must be stopped else we should merely throw up our hands in despair and submit to the principle of "might is right." As a human being, I am disgusted by the inaction of the so-called international community. For, indeed, our laws, conventions, treaties and international bodies are seemingly powerless in the face of Israel's inhumane aggression."

will those Arab leaders preferring to play the blame game rather than stand shoulder to shoulder with helpless victims cheer when President Mahmoud Abbas rides into Gaza atop an Israeli tank? Do we even deserve to equate ourselves with such heroes as Omar ibn Khattab, Khalid Ibn al-Waleed, Tariq Ibn-Zeyiad, Al-Moutassem Bellah, Salah al-Din or those brave souls who lost their lives in 1948, 1967 and 1973 defending Arab lands and honor? They must be turning in their graves. We cannot hope to demand respect if we don't respect ourselves and our history

Labels: middle east, politics

Posted by Tarek Hoteit at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments