SaudiSphere

History of Conquest

Also check History of Religion [Via Sandmonkey]

What Saudi Arabia and Iran Have in Common

We do share important values after all: Both Saudi and Iran are notorious for locking up reform and human rights activists within the vicinities of their respective countries. It is a simple strategy that works well for both: If you are a reformist then you better be willing to give up your right to leave the country. Come on now, this is a big sign from God almighty that both Saudi and Iranian governments should be friends instead. Don't you agree?

 

The Iraqi Disaster Keeps on Unfolding

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),  2 million Iraqis have fled Iraq and now are refugees in  Jordan, Syria and Lebanon amounting to " the Middle East's largest refugee crisis since the Palestinian exodus  in 1948." Now, Jordan along with the rest of the receiving countries are putting tighter controls and refusing to take more refugees because of the fear from sectarian violence spilling into their own backyards, the economic burdens and, of course, because “the Iraq story has to be a success story.” I have a question about the role  and level of commitment of Gulf Countries (i.e. Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, etc.). Is any one of these big-mouthed big-hearted countries interested in providing shelter to fleeing Iraqi families?

Are We that *&%! Up?

I apologize for not posting for the last couple of weeks. I have been overwhelmed by some matters that I need to take care of. In addition to stressing out about my own personal and school related issues, the news that has been flying around lately about Saudi Arabia’s possible involvement in Iraq are quite disturbing (got to make use of acquired weapons right?). The so-called increasing tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia are self-inflicted and made possible through an unimaginable amount of greed and sick desire for territorial, economic and religious expansion from both sides. In addition, the dosage of Sunni is superior to Shiite and Shiite is superior to Sunni poison, abundantly injected into the minds of our populations, is at an all time high. How did we reach this level? What is it that we can do to stop this insanity? Or is it even possible?

+ Happy New Year. It is 1428!

Iraq, a Civil War?

AP Revenge-seeking militiamen seized six Sunnis as they left Friday prayers and burned them alive with kerosene in a savage new twist to the brutality shaking the Iraqi capital a day after suspected Sunni insurgents killed 215 people in Baghdad's main Shiite district.

And

In Hurriyah, the rampaging militiamen also burned and blew up four mosques and torched several homes in the district, Hussein said. Residents of the troubled district claim the Mahdi Army has begun kidnapping and holding Sunni hostages to use in ritual slaughter at the funerals of Shiite victims of Baghdad;s raging sectarian war.

If this is not civil war, then I don’t know what is?

Update November 29:

Colin Powell:  Iraq's violence meets the standards of civil war and President Bush needs to acknowledge that

Reuters: NY Times, others to call Iraq conflict "civil war"

Another Assassination in Lebanon

Pierre Gemayel, the Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and Minister of Industry was assassinated in a Beirut suburb today.  Hizbullah has been threatening to topple the government and seems to have blood on its hands.

Just a couple days ago Nasrallah gave a speech and indicated that he will resort to action against the government:

Addressing Saniora's government, Nasrallah said: "We will not allow you to continue ruling this country, because you are an American government." (Naharnet)

+ For updates check From Beirut to the Beltway’s coverage of the situation in Lebanon

Aljazeera English Launched

And is not coming soon to a channel near you.

Holocaust Cartoons

The winners of the Iranian sponsored Holocaust cartoon competition which was launched as a response to the Danish cartoons controversy were announced yesterday. I looked through the competition’s website and to my surprise the participants were cartoonists from various backgrounds. Reuters reported that the organizers said some 1,193 drawings had been received from 62 countries. The cartoons ranged from outright denial of the Holocaust to associations between the Palestinian current status to that of the Jews in Nazi camps. Although there are some interesting cartoons in the bunch, I still think the idea was stupid to begin with. Anyhow, since I am a cartoonoholic, here are the results:   

Holocaust cartoons

First Prize: Derkaoui Abdellah from Morrocco

   

Second Prize: Carlos Latuff from Brazil

+ More

Occupation cartoons

First prize:  Pawel Kuczynski from Poland

Second prize: Florian Doru Crihana from Romania

+ More 

Now, can we start a cartoon contest  about the Muttawa? 

 

Since When

Since when the Al-Zawahiri loves or cares about Lebanon and what happens to it? Seriously, isn’t the Shiite Hezbollah worse than the infidels and the Jews (according to his/their convictions)? But we should cheer for him anyways, the guy and his army of believers will liberate Spain for God’s sake. After all, it’s a noble cause.

And while we are on it, Israel army, thank you for giving Al-Zawahiri the stage and for continually providing the Arab public a daily show of indiscriminate wreckage and disrespect of international conflict and humanitarian laws (Btw, HRW and ICRC are not anti-Israeli pro-Arab organizations). It is quite a popular show and everybody is thrilled about the peace process.

Apocalypse Right Now

As Media Matters for America has noted, on the July 12 edition of his CNN Headline News show, host Glenn Beck identified the current conflicts in the Middle East and India as evidence that "it is the end of days" and later described the conflicts as "World War III and the impending apocalypse." Beck also stated that "whether you like it or not, this is a religious war.

But why now, why this war? Well, here is your answer:

On the July 18 edition of the program, Beck referred to the recent heat wave as "the apocalypse" and after showing a photo of a cat born with two faces, Beck said it was "further evidence, oh, yes, that the end of days is approaching quickly."

This sums it up, attempts to stop the war in the Middle East are useless now (don’t even waste your time), cause the cat with two faces is already born.

More comic relief: Here