Showing posts with label lebanon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lebanon. Show all posts

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Sowar Magazine: Project Minute 22

This is interesting, a project is arranged and organized by Sowar Magazine, about taking a single photo at the exact same time in the Arab world i.e. On Friday 22 August 2008 at exactly 2:22 pm Lebanon local time. The reason for choosing number 22 because there are 22 country members in the League of Arab States. If you live in any of those countries, you can be a part of this project at the following local times:

Egypt - 2:22pm
Iraq - 2:22pm
Jordan - 2:22pm
Lebanon - 2:22pm
Saudi Arabia - 2:22pm
Syria - 2:22pm
Yemen - 2:22pm
Libya - 1:22pm
Sudan - 2:22pm
Morocco - 12:22pm
Tunisia - 1:22pm
Kuwait - 2:22pm
Algeria - 12:22pm
UAE - 3:22pm
Bahrain - 2:22pm
Qatar - 2:22pm
Oman - 3:22pm
Mauritania - 11:22am
Somalia - 2:22pm
Palestine - 2:22pm
Djibouti - 2:22pm
Comoros - 2:22pm

The pictures will be published in a special edition of Sowar Magazine. The pictures will also be posted online. Anyone can join, and any camera can be used.

Joining this project is through the Minute 22 Facebook Group. A reminder would be received before the event, in addition to other updates.

Requirements:
- You must be in one of countries mentioned above to take the photo
- The photo should include at least one person (i.e. no plain landscape or architecture photos)
- Maximum size of the photo should be 3MB
- Please submit ONLY one picture
- The deadline for submitting photos is August 30, 2008

- Email the photo to minute22@sowarmag.com and copy/ paste the following text in your email message (please write the country and city in the subject header as well):

FULL NAME:
COUNTRY:
CITY:
DESCRIPTION:

I HEREBY EXPRESSLY AGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE MINUTE 22 SOWAR MAGAZINE PROJECT, AS PUBLISHED AT: http://www.sowarmag.com/minute22/termsandconditions.htm

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Congratulations, Lebanon...


Army chief Michel Sleiman became the country's 11'th
president after six months vaccum created by constitutional and other political fued between the government and the oppsition. This is the first time in the history of Lebanon that a president being elected with wide Arab and International delegations present.

One thing worth mentioning about the new president during his days as Army chief is his achievement in perserving the army from being inflicted with the secterian tension between the different groups in the country. Many people have great expectations that Lebanon's new president will bring unity and prosperity to the country despite the big challenges ahead.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Bushra Al Khalil Disclose New Information

Some identified her as the only feminine member of the defense team for the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussain. She is mostly known for being kicked-out twice (the second time having guards escorting her by force out) from the court room during the trial of Saddam and his aides on the Dujail case. At that time she accused the judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman of “having complex issues towards women”, but then she concluded and kept on saying to the media then that the real reason for removing her from court is the fact that she is a Shiite who was defending a man who is most hated by Iraqi Shiite!

Bushra Al Khalil was born in the south of Lebanon. Her uncle, Mohammed Taqi al-Faqih, was a student of Iraqi Shiite figure Sheikh Mohsen al-Hakeem in Najaf. She was graduated from Beirut University in 1979 with a Degree in Law.

After the execution of Saddam Hussain, many Iraqis thought that old and new faces they became familiar with seeing on TV during the trial from Arab and non-Arab lawyers defending the former dictator would be vanishing forever. However, there are people like Bushra Al Khalil who found profitable attempt to gain fame by poping up her head from time to time and play the same tune of bringing up Saddam and his regime. In an interview recently by Al Arabiya Satellite Channel, Bushra Al Khalil told her host that the former Iraqi regime is innocent from the killing of Ayatoallah Mohammed Mohammed Sadiq Al Sadr, the prominent religious Shiite leader and the father of Muqtada Al Sadr in 1999 by Saddam’s Secret Intelligence Services, and the truth is that a Shiite Iraqi group (referring to Al Hakeem) has close ties with Iran is the real responsible for committing that crime.

Before he died, Mohammed Mohammed Sadiq Al Sadr was put by Saddam’s regime under house-arrest for many years in his home town of Najaf, because he refused to praise for the life and achievements of Saddam during his weekly Friday prayers. In addition, Al Sadr’s Friday prayers attracted hundreds of people, which by any means can be considered grave danger to Saddam and his iron grip on the Iraqi population as the sole leader. The official story of the Ayatollah’s death says that he and two of his sons had a car accident and he died on the way before arriving to hospital. However, other sources say that he was assassinated while he was on his way back home from his office in Najaf.

From her point of view, Al Khalil said that “one of my friends from the former Iraqi regime used to be responsible for the “Shiite population” told me that Saddam and Al Sadr used to have a good relationship! Saddam allowed Al Sadr to have Friday prayers in front of masses of people!!” She also added that Saddam liked Al Sadr and wanted to make him more influential within Iraq due to his Arab origins. Bushra Al Khalil also mentioned that Saddam sent a condolence letter to Al Sadr’s son, Muqtada, in 1999, and all the media announced or published that letter to the public, in order to show how much the Iraqi president had sympathy. She also supports the claim that Al Sadr has been assassinated, however, she points the finger to Baqir Al Hakeem, another distinguished religious Shiite figure (and the brother of Abdel Aziz Al Hakeem)!

Bushra Al Khalil align herself with the Arab nationalists who believe that a conspiracy exist to divide the Middle East into small nations based on sectarian and ethnic bases. This can be clearly seen with her analysis on the assassination of Rafiq Al Hariri by saying: "If we look at the way the assassination has been conducted, it is very sophisticated, I knew al-Hariri's security measures - no local system could have breached them”… "The question is, who stands to benefit from his death? Syria's enemies. I think al-Hariri's death is part of the plan to divide the region into tiny helpless sectarian states. This plan has started in Iraq and it will continue to hit all other Arab countries."

The Lebanese lawyer is like millions of ordinary Arabs; They are looking and praying for day when another leader will come and unify them, defend them against any aggressor, free their occupied cities, stop corruption, spread justice, and provide them with good and comfortable life, for them and for their children. This became stronger after the US invasion of Iraq, and the US biased-stand towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The result? chaos in people opinions; mixed feelings towards current political, religious and social events, and even more chaotaic nature regarding the relationships among Arab regimes. The Arabs reached a level where concept of right and wrong has been disregarded and redefined.

Bushra Al Khalil said on a number of occasions that defending Saddam is a national duty of an Arab opposed to American hegemony duty of an Arab opposed to American hegemony on the whole political system in the Middle East. I wonder, how come 26 years of experience Al Khalil gained from practicing law did not teach her how to recognize a murderer from an innocent! There are two options here: It is either that Bushra Al Khalil has another definition for Arab nationalism, by defending any tyrant used to rule the Arab countries, and, defending Saddam is just a matter of big bucks and fame, or her Arab nationalism is just a fake, and the whole thing again is a matter of big bucks and fame. In fact, she shares the same crime of causing damage and division by defending the man who caused great disasters of death and destruction to the Arab nation.

Will be better if Bushra Al Khalil worked for the rights and just of the Iraqi people instead! It would honorable to her if she raised her hand against the occupier without indulging herself into the adventure of defending the butcher of Iraq! Really! If her heart is really torn apart for Iraq and the Iraqis, why do I keep on hearing her praising the man who was the only reason Baghdad burnt to the ground? Anyway, Baghdad will be alive and will shine again; there is no doubt about that! People and history books will tell stories on how this glorious and beautiful city kept on rising up against forces from east and west, from strangers who tried to wipe it and its people out but kept on failing. Among the stories, the story of Bushra Al Khalil will remain a shameful one for being one of those who wanted to reverse justice by defending one of history’s most tyrants and mass-murderers mankind had ever witnessed?

Monday, October 02, 2006

Yara – voice of an angel from Lebanon

Due to the deteriorating music scene in the Arab world, where everyone wants to sing so they can become rich and famous I did not pay attention to the album when I received it some months ago. The album in question is called “Twasa Fiei” (be tender with me), and it is by a female singer from Lebanon called Yara. It is her first album, and as many newspapers, magazines and media channels said: it is Yara’s ladder to stardom. I regret very much I did not listen to the album earlier, and preferred to remain listening to music from my big collection, until that moment when I was looking for pieces of music background for a home DVD I was working on. Since then I was hooked up with the music of Yara.

“Finally, I found the perfect female voice that can REALLY SING Arabic music” That was my first reaction after hearing Yara’s album “Twasa Fiei”. I listened to the album once, twice and three times… and I still love the album.

The big bang came when Yara sang with the big Lebanese singer, Fadl Shaker, the song “Akhedny Ma3ak” (Take me with you). With this song, Yara’s voice was extraordinary beautiful, very emotional: her voice from the first word in the lyrics, her singing is like some cold breeze in a summer time refreshing the listener soul. To be fully fair, both singers were great, they were like telling us about their trip of eternal love and romance. The video clip of the song supported the lyrics and the melody by filming in a sort of paradise sort of place. It is like Adem and Eve in paradise, singing for each other, excellent choice. No wonder rumors about a relationship between the two singers were spreading in the media.

Maybe no one is used to the fact having a complete package of a great love or romantic song in one!

The main factor in distinguishing Yara from many of today’s female singers is her pure voice and the way words are coming out from her voice. Yara managed to lend a different taste, a different flavor, fitted perfectly with the atmosphere on every single song. On “Bala Eshk” (one of my favorites on the album), Yara was someone who didn’t care about love, did not want love – as the title means. To the contrary, in “Hub Kbier” (big love), her voice on that ballad was showing how someone can be desperate for love and can be full of emotions and ready to give that big love. Yara did not stop there; she proved that she can also do an amazing and wonderful performance in traditional Arabic music. “Lama tetalaa” (When you look at me) is a great example of this excellent signer. That song just remind me of classic Arabic tunes where a person listen to music and not only dance on it. But the illustration of excellence did not halt there, having Yara’s voice doubled in harmony on “Ayam” (days) was sort of haunting and very clever thing to do considering the atmosphere the song was providing. I am not going to talk about “Twasa Feie” (be tender with me) simply because it is the passport that took Yara to the heart of her fans all around the Arab world. However, Yara’s voice in “Alf Zaiak” (thousand people like you) showed powerful element to her voice with the way she deals with the Arabic scales. From the beginning of the song when she starts with “ya leel….” she gives us an illustration on how the Arabic maqam should be sung with the perfect intro to that that perfect song. By the way, the song is also featured in “twasa Feie” video clip, but by the girls preceding Yara into the singing contest, very smart and funny idea!

One thing worth mentioning is the mixing of that album. All involved did an outstanding job in mixing and producing this album. To name a few: the keyboard playing in the background of “Alf Zaiak” just gave another dimension to the song, especially towards the end of the chorus singing. Another example is “Bala Eshk”, the rhythm section of that song is just amazing, especially with the part “mali, w ana mali…”, you cannot have better than this.

Songs of the album are:
Bala Eshk بلا عشق
Law Bsalli لو بصلّي
Wana Janbak وانا جنبك
Hub Kbier حب كبير
Lama tetalaa لما تطلّع
Twasa Fiei توصّى فيّ
Nassitni Zamani نسيتني زمان
Alf Zaiak الف زيّك
Ayam ايام

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Nasrallah dates: best quality, highest price

With all preparations for the holy month of Ramadan, Egyptian public markets (souq) came out with a list of new names for their products, especially dates. The most expensive dates in Egyptian public markets now and with the highest quality carries the name “Hasan Nasrallah”, when the secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah is considered as a hero, especially after the victory they made in the war with Israel. The price of the one Kilogram of “Nasrallah Dates” is 24 Egyptian Pounds (more than four Dollars for the Kilo). The “Ahmednajadi Dates” (the Iranian President) comes second with a price of 18 Egyptian Pounds (more than 3 Dollars for the Kilo). On third came the “Chavez Dates”, after the Venezuelan president Chavez, who is highly regarded and respected by the Arab people. The price of “Chavez Dates” goes to 14 Egyptian Pounds (more than two dollars for the kilo).

This is not the first time that dates carry names of famous political or religious leaders or celebrities, such as in previous years when dates were called after Palestinian leader , Arafat, or the Egyptian female actor, Layla Alawy.

However, the worst quality type of dates did also took its share after: First come “Olmert Dates” (Israeli prime minister, Ihod Olmert), after years of carrying the name “Ariel Sharon dates”. The price for the kilop is 1.5 Egyptian Pounds (less than $0.20).
Egypt is considered now the first producer of dry dates in the Arab world, with its 11 million dates-palm, preceding Iran and Saudi Arabia in this field. In the past and for years Iraq used to be on top as the first producer and the country with the highest number of dates-palms.

The link is here for those who is interested in reading the original article (in Arabic)