It looks like another dreadful and bloody war is ahead of us:
Israel widens Lebanon reprisals
I have been looking at photos of the attacks and all I can see is destruction, death, fear and pain. There is no sanity left in this world.
Check Leilouta comical post West Meets East where she puts Western leaders in an Arabic context. This one is my favorite, she kind of looks natural!
Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa will be released from prison today. I wonder if other activists who were seized at the same protest are going to be released too? And if the international attention this case received had to do with this? More at Sandmonkey.
Update: Alaa was beaten in prison before his release. The Egyptian government's thugs and agents think that they can break the spirits of activists by insulting them, however, I believe such tactis will produce the opposite results.
Good news from Iraq: Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi, the mastermind behind many beheadings, bombings and indiscriminate killings, is dead.
I don't know much this will affect the insurgency and, hopefully, help in stabilizing Iraq, but at least as we say in Arabic “the head of the snake is chopped off.”
Update: cartoonist Dana Summers thinks that cutting the snake’s head won’t do!
More snake inspired cartoons:
Today, according to some legends and Christian prophesies, is the Devil’s Day. So, what exactly would the devil do on his special day? He will reveal himself off course! The sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year is the day when some believe the Antichrist will be revealed. What is the significance of the number 666 and why would the devil be associated with it? Here are some theories and happenings related to this number:
- It is the first time in 100 years that the date coincided with 666
- The number 666 is named the “Number of the Beast” and is mentioned in the closing chapter of the Book of Revelation. In the Bible, Revelation 13:18 says: "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred, three-score [and] six."
- There is even a name for the fear of the number: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. Now, try pronouncing that!
- The full name of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan contains six letters each in his 
first (RONALD), middle (WILSON) and last (REAGAN) names, thus earning him the nickname "666". Additionally, when Reagan moved to California following the end of his presidency, he asked that his house number be changed from 666 to 668.
- Not to outdo Reagan, some are associating George Bush with the Antichrist: the number of letters in his name…George (six) Walker (six) Bush Jr (six) add up to 666, the number of The Beast.
- In commemorating this doomsday, The Omen is released in theaters today. In the previous 1976 version of the film, the scriptwriter was struck by lightning, an actor’s brother died after drawing three sixes in a card game and one of the stars who survived a plane crash was later shot in the head. Creepy but there is always a logical explanation, right?
-Several Christian websites suggested Tuesday would bring people closer to "the rapture" -- when God calls his Christian faithful up to the heavens, with www.raptureme.com showing a rise in its "rapture index" to 157.
- 2,000 Dutch Christians took part in a 24-hour prayer marathon to counter the forces of darkness on Tuesday.
- 666 is the numerical value of: "ועתה יגדל-נא כח אדני" ("Ata yigdal na koach Ado-nai"; Now, let the power of my Lord grow) (Numbers 14:17). This was Moshe's (Moses) prayer invoking Divine Mercy on behalf of the Jewish People.
- In Chinese, '666' sounds a lot like the words 'Things going smoothly'. It is considered one of the luckiest numbers in Chinese culture. It can be seen prominently in many shop windows across the country, and people there often pay extra to get a mobile phone number including this string of digits.
- In a warning to Internet users, Father Felix Just said that following the ancient practice of gematria -- assigning numerical values to letters -- "www" was also equivalent to 666.
- A Jesuit priest and professor of theology and religious studies called for calm on his web page devoted to 666, underlining that "combinations of three sixes can be found almost anywhere we want, if we look hard enough".
I wonder what my favorite preacher, Pat Robertson, is doing on this special day?
The apprehension and the release of two Saudi students (Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20) in Florida, who mistakenly rode into a public school bus instead of a regular one and caused quite a stir, tells us a lot about the fear, suspicion and negativity that surrounds anything Saudi.
I do understand the need to be on guard and protect oneself from a presumed danger. The law had its say and the authorities did their role: they were apprehended, their background was checked and when nothing was found they were released. But the zealots and hate-mongers from the ultra-right-wing blogosphere made this look like another 9/11 is about to happen. I am quite disgusted by some bloggers who immediately jumped into conclusions and showed us the true face of racism and xenophobia. Questions and observations like these were raised.
- Why are they learning English here? They could learn it in Saudi Arabia
- They were laughing and speaking in Arabic (sure a language like this should be banned altogether)
- The students conducted an apparent dry run for hijacking a school bus
- Saudis are coming to your kid’s school bus (what better way to control your population than make them live in constant fear, it is a proven and effective tactic)
- The police should’ve taken those two dirtballs to some location and inflicted their lesson on them
- One of the guys wore a trench coat, in May, in Florida?! (This is a crime by itself)
- Saudi student admittance polices are lax as ever (really? This is the most stupid thing that I read so far, worse than the trench coat comment. Apparently you don’t know your own country’s screening process)
- They should be shipped to Gitmo. Spill your guts there figuratively before someone here does it literally (why figuratively, you shouldn’t be that lax!)
What has happened to “due process” and “innocent until proven guilty”? I am glad that people like these don’t have the authority to judge. If so, they would put anyone who doesn’t follow their brand of thought in concentration camps. I am also glad that these people don’t represent what this country is all about.
TAMPA- Not long after shedding his orange jail jumpsuit for jeans and a T-shirt Tuesday afternoon, Shaker Mohsen Alsidran stared blankly at a throng of TV cameras and microphones.
"Can you try to answer me in English if possible?" a TV reporter asked with exaggerated enunciation. "Was this all a big mistake?"
Alsidran, 20, looked ahead silently. A few uncomfortable seconds passed.
"Mistake," he said, nodding.
Sandmonkey reported today that Egyptian Blogger Alaa is still detained. However, the Egyptian government released 5 of the 48 original detainees. The struggle for the justice goes on.
Are you a Saudi who is not performing his marital duties as he should?
Do you feel that you need more vigor and strength?
Do you want the power to leg press 2000 pounds (literally)?
Well, no more worries. All what you need to do is:
1- Pop the magic pill.
(Video is hilarious- Arabic)
2- Drink Pat Robertson’s energy shake.
(might not work on non-Christians)
Who else other than a virtuous society and a god fearing figure who can bring us such miraculous inventions?
Here is an important observation by Sandmonkey. He rightfully points to one of the greatest phenomena that bloggers achieved but mainstream media and politicians have failed to accomplish in decades.
It is possible after all!
Bloggers from Egypt and the rest of the world are using a new innovative way to bring attention to Alaa’s and the other detainees’ case. Here is how it works.
You can also do the same and create an Egypt bomb for Alla.
Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt EgyptEgypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt
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