Sunday, July 30, 2006

Dear Lebanon...

In this dead-end
They smell your mouth
To find out if you have told someone:
I love you!
They smell your heart!
Such a strange time it is, my dear;

And they punish Love
At thoroughfares
By flogging.
We must hide our Love in dark closets.
In this crooked dead end of a bitter cold
They keep their fire alive
By burning our songs and poems;
Do not place your life in peril by your thoughts!
Such a strange time it is, my dear!

He who knocks on your door in the middle of the night,
His mission is to break your Lamp!
We must hide our Lights in dark closets!
Behold! butchers are on guard at thoroughfares
With their bloodstained cleavers and chopping-boards;
Such a strange time it is, my dear!

They cut off the smiles from lips,
and the songs from throats!
We must hide our
Emotions in dark closets!
They barbecue canaries
On a fire of jasmines and lilacs!
Such a strange time it is, my dear!

Intoxicated by victory,
Satan is enjoying a feast at our mourning table!
We must hide our God in dark closets!

(Tanslated from Ahmad Shamloo - July 1979 by Mana Mirjani)
(pic: July 29 March on Brooklyn Bridge, New York City© Copyright 2006 Wojtek Szymkowiak)
QANA...

Resized in boxes
Rearranged in sheets
Stuffed little smiles
Rolled little bodies
Reduced to gray clay
37 little hearts
stopped beating at once
and the Arabic hearts
ripped apart

with the silence
with the bitter taste of guilt

with the ugly face of truth
shatter the silence
scream
give them names
scream
Qana, Qana..
And everyday another Qana
Stop the traffic
Wipe off your stupid smile
Can’t you see?
Don’t you hear?
They smile at you from heaven
With their innocent souls
Not knowing that you killed them
Stop your alarm clock
Choke your laugh
Don’t you know?
That the world is dead
That your conscience will suffer
A sea of blood
The rage of mothers
The fury of a nation
Stop the world from turning
Bring out the coffins
Mourn
Mourn
Mourn the death of innocence
Cry
cry
Maybe they’ll forgive us
Scream
scream…
Maybe you’ll forgive yourself…
They are dead
And so are we.


'No accident'
"Israel still insists the 1996 shelling was an accident and that its forces had a legitimate militant target - a Hezbollah military unit that had fired mortars and rockets from near the Qana base.
Then, as now, Israel accused Hezbollah of using the civilian population as human shields when they launched their attacks.
However, a UN investigation reported in May 1996 that the deaths at the Qana base were unlikely to have been the result of an accident as claimed by the Israelis.
The UN report cited the repeated use of airburst shells over the small UN compound, which sent down a deadly torrent of shrapnel that caused terrible injuries among the unprotected civilians.
The UN also noted the presence of Israeli helicopters and a drone in the skies over Qana which must have witnessed the bloodbath."

Read The ugly truth and Read this

And why should they stop the world's diversion from Gaza as they carry on with their ethnic cleansing.


"The Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) is a cornerstone of international humanitarian law that ensures minimum protections for civilians in armed conflict and occupation. It forbids, among other things: the construction of settlements on occupied land1, unilateral annexation2, willful killing of civilians3, collective punishment4, torture5, and the destruction of property without a compelling military reason6. It also requires judicial accountability for those who commit war crimes (defined as “grave breaches” listed in Article 147 of the Convention). The Convention fully takes into account military necessity and cannot be violated for “security” reasons."
In Gaza, Israel is in violation of all of the above laws, in Lebanon 2-6.

But then again Zionism is based on terror:
"We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population."
Israel Koenig, "The Koenig Memorandum


From the Independent:

"The Cabinet revolt against Tony Blair intensified last night as Jack Straw broke ranks to condemn Israel for causing "death and misery to innocent civilians".
As the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, arrived in Israel for talks, her former British counterpart, Mr Straw, bitterly condemned Israeli military tactics, saying they risked destroying the Lebanese government.
Mr Straw, now Leader of the House, said that he grieved for innocent Israelis but also the "10 times as many innocent Lebanese men, women and children who have been killed by Israeli fire", adding: "It's very difficult to understand the kind of military tactics used by Israel. These are not surgical strikes but have caused death and misery to many innocent civilians."

And from the Daily Mail:

Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square today to demonstrate at the ongoing violence in Lebanon.
Waving Lebanese and Hezbollah flags, they cheered as a series of speakers decried the escalating conflict.
Actors including Four Weddings And A Funeral star Simon Callow, comedian Alexei Sayle and stage performer Corin Redgrave read out poems, elegies and first-hand experiences from Lebanon.
Veteran speaker and former Labour MP Tony Benn said Parliament must be recalled to debate the issue.
He said: "As we talk, women and children are being killed in the Lebanon by bombs sold and given by the US and passed through British airports with the support of the British government.
"What we are witnessing is a war crime committed by Israel with the support of the American and the British governments - that is the truth." Mr Benn said the US and Israel had been planning the attack on Lebanon for "months if not years".
He said it was part of a long-term strategy to rebuild the Middle East on their terms.
Mr Benn said he was reminded of the Suez Crisis 50 years ago which eventually saw the downfall of Prime Minister Anthony Eden.
He said it was time now for Tony Blair to step down: "Blair must go because he does not represent anybody."
His words were greeted with cheers and applause. The protest was peaceful aside from one minor scuffle between two protesters.
Betty Hunter, the general secretary of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organised today's event, urged them to calm down.
"I know feeling is running extremely high," she said. "But we are all on the same side so please calm down."
A small group of Hassidic Jews added their support at today's rally.
Air strikes 'outrageous'
Rabbi Jacob Weisz, holding a placard which read: "Zionism and Judaism are extreme opposites", described the Israeli air strikes as "outrageous".
He said that Jews and Muslims were happy to live together but Zionist terrorists had divided a peaceful community.

He said: "The war is being ignored by the international community, it is totally unacceptable. The international community must call for a ceasefire.
"It is outrageous that the Israeli government were too proud to negotiate the release of two of their soldiers and instead started a bombing campaign."
As he spoke, Lebanese and Palestinians came up and thanked him for taking part.
Earlier, comedian Alexei Sayle described Israel as a "psychotic, bullying child" and said its "tattooed parents" were President Bush and Mr Blair.
"While Israel has all the privileges of a state, it behaves worse than a terrorist organisation," he added.
A number of other speakers from the Muslim Council of Britain, the London Assembly, and the British Muslim Initiative stood up to join the calls for a ceasefire.
Mohammed Khozbar, 40, a Lebanese man who has lived in Edgware, north London, since 1990, said the 30,000 Lebanese people in Britain were angry at Mr Blair and the Government.
He said he felt the Government had failed them. "We feel our Government is doing nothing to stop this war and this carnage.
"We want Tony Blair to call for an immediate ceasefire - it is a real war with real tragedy."

http://www.al-jabr.net/

Peace, Propaganda & The Promised Land

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported.
Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

SAVE OUR CHILD...Click here

You see the child waiting anxiously,
For a little gift, for something to play with..

By the door,
His little eye hurts, the blood had dried,
He doesn’t forget how he was hit,
But he doesn’t hate,
He forgives
For he’s a child and his heart is pure,
He sits and waits,
For a better day,
For daddy to give him
His toy back..
The door opens
He smiles and run
Like the child he is
Chuckling with joy
His daddy is home
Daddy seems mad
He is mad like yesterday,
Daddy is angry at the world
For he once was a child
With a bloody face
The child wants attention
Still wants his apology
And still wants to play
He is still punished
But he wants his toy back
He runs to daddy
He acts out
Daddy hits him
He gathers his little fist
And throws it at daddy’s back
While crying
Once, twice…
He doesn’t want to cry anymore
And he wants his toy,
Daddy finally loses patience
He turns towards him
He hits him on the head
And on the face
And he keeps going
He hits him bad
He hits him hard
The child is screaming now
The child is bleeding now
Daddy doesn’t stop
And while mommy watches
While the neighbors watch
We can’t stop him they say
He has been hurt as a child
He’s a victim himself
The child bleeds now
Curls in a corner to bleed
Mommy hands daddy a whip
He goes and carries on
He whips him on the face
And on the back
And on his tiny legs
The child was hiding his face
But now he doesn’t
He stops screaming
He looks back in defiance
And daddy hits even more
Cry…cry
But he wouldn’t cry
He’s frozen by will
And it makes daddy angry
And he hits hard
Little does daddy know
The child died…


Worth your time today:

Johnn Hari draws a profile of daddy
Still the best i heard, Tina Naccache
Still the best i read
Still the best writer
Still the best perspective
Still the best source
The best analyst of internal politics.
Fish khel'ak
Z hits it home, keep an open mind..
Check out Gaea's selections
And read what the princess had to say today...

More peace activities in New York:

Friday July 28
What: Demonstration at the Israeli Consulate, Stop the War, Stop the Killing
When: 3:30 to 6:30 P.M.
Where: 2nd Ave. - Bet. 42nd St. & 43rd St (In front of The Israeli Consulate)
Contact: info@al-awdany.org

Saturday July 29
What: March Across The Brooklyn Bridge, Stop US Sponsored Israeli Terror
When: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Where: Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn (near the Brooklyn Bridge)
March across the Bridge and Rally at Thomas Paine Park, Manhattan
To download flier and distribute please visit:www.naaponline.org/ny/Rally06/rally_7_29_11.JPG www.naaponline.org/ny/Rally06/rally_7_29_5.5.JPG www.naaponline.org/ny/Rally06/rally_7_29_8.5.JPG

Contact: Ad-Hoc Coalition for Justice in the Middle East - protectpalestine@gmail.com.
What: A Music Benefit for Lebanon and Palestine
When: 9PMWhere: Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver Street, NY, NY10004 http://www.alwanforthearts.org/directions.html
How Much: Donation $20 / $30 / $40
All proceeds will go to humanitarian relief organizations.
Contact: info@alwanforthearts.org

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Pray with us...

Candlelight vigil in support of Lebanon
Union square, NY

Thursday, July 13, 2006

TOSBA7O 3ALA WATAN

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

LC’s visit to New York

I always like to see New York in the eyes of people who visit for the first time. I almost want to ask them how they made it so far without checking this place out and how will they go on and leave it after they have lived its charm. LC came recently to have a night on the town. This guy is, in case you don’t know him (except for you Laila), the most adorable little guy. He’s the quintessential second generation (even if not technically) Lebanese person who still identify with back home and wants to move back for sure not even knowing why or what he is missing out on. I took the opportunity to live the experience of discovering the city one more time through his eyes. And here’s how Manhattan goes… As you leave the borroughs, you’re almost surprised by its grandeur and beauty. Every city has its feel and its identity. It’s a recipe made of the little details and the ones not to be missed; the different architectural patterns, the street signs, people’s attitudes and the landmarks. New York’s charm is hidden behind the giant concrete monstrosities and the cold distant glass and the undependability of the bridges. As you get to know it, you start to understand. Away from the comfort of the familiarity, it wraps you up in a still cold blanket only to warm up to you. It’s a city that needs to get to know you before it can embrace you. From the distant cold faces of upper east wasps to the almost bohemian relaxed attitude of the village inhabitants. From the museum stretch, the public library and the opera house to the street vendors in Soho to the hooka joints everywhere. From the magical peaceful atmosphere of the park to the havoc of Broadway and Times square.From little Italy to China town to little Brazil to the German quarter to the Latin quarter to the Egyptian streets. A real cosmopolitan pumping life. Restless imageries and never ending changing scenery. You have to live it to realize. This is not a place that grows on you and it’s not a city that you choose. This is a city that chooses you. Just like a lover, she teases you with unpredictability and constant bickering. She wears you down till one day, a random day, she warms up to you.
It is not as warm as Beirut, not as majestic as Rome, not as delicate as Paris and not as pretty as Barcelona. It is New York. Just like that.

(pic: Meghan Jost)
Gaza was first!
but does it always have to end with our end?

The Times

“JERUSALEM, July 12 - The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a brazen raid this morning along Israel’s border with Lebanon. Israel immediately responded by sending an armored force into southern Lebanon for the first time since withdrawing six years ago. A number of Israeli soldiers were killed and wounded in the fighting along the frontier, according to Israeli officials and media reports in Lebanon. Arab satellite news channels, including the Hezbollah-backed al Manar, reported that up to seven Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack”.
Line 24…..
“The Israeli strikes knocked out bridges in southern Lebanon in an apparent attempt to keep Hezbollah from moving the captured Israeli soldiers further to the north. Also, at least two Lebanese civilians were killed, according to Reuters”.
No mention of the Gaza strike…

Le Monde
« Sept soldats israéliens auraient également été tués lors de violentes attaques lancées par le Hezbollah, croit savoir la chaîne d'information qatarie Al-Jazira. Deux civils libanais ont également été tués et cinq autres blessés mercredi au Liban Sud dans des bombardements israéliens, selon la police libanaise ».

The Independent
“Israel dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a Gaza home today in an attempt to assassinate top Hamas fugitives, killing nine civilians as Islamic militant leaders got away.
"The nine dead were all members of the same family, including the parents and seven of their children, Palestinian officials said. The body of a four-year-old boy was among those pulled out of the rubble”.
"Further heightening tensions, the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah announced it had kidnapped two Israeli soldiers during the cross-border fighting".

Al-Jazeera
“Arab Media Watch voiced concern over the way Western media handled Israel’s offensive in Gaza, failing to give the needed attention to Israel's killing of dozens of Palestinians, including civilians, compared with the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted earlier this week that he intended to commit war crimes in Gaza. By telling his cabinet that he wanted “no one to be able to sleep tonight in Gaza”, Olmert officially acknowledged Israel’s policy of collective punishment against the 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza, a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention”.
“More than 50 Palestinians, including many civilians, and only one Israeli soldier have been killed since Israel started its widescale offensive in Gaza last Wednesday”.
“An Israeli missile hit a Palestinian home in Gaza City last weekend, killing a 46-year-old mother and two of her children, The Belfast Telegraph reported”.
From Kyoto botanical gardens,

Pratibha wrote, “It was raining cats and dogs that day. Walking around in the rain while worrying about my camera was a miserable experience till I came across these beauties and an elderly Japanese gentleman focusing his prehistoric cam on one of them. Not only was he gracious enough to praise my monstrosity of a digital camera, he also let me see what he had focused on. All this seemed to have taken place in excellent English. It makes me believe that one can cross language barriers if one feels passionate enough”.
You picked up and moved to Japan for science, not knowing a word of Japanese. It only goes to show how passionate you are.

(pic. Pratibha Singh)

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

The best microscopists in the world

I got my monthly Cape Cod MBL journal and i saw a picture that reminded me of those days. 10 unforgettable days. We all became instant friends. We worked very hard and partied even harder. We bonded over lobster feasts and beer at the kidd every night after the seminars. The most wonderful bunch of physicists, optical engineers and microscopists. Most of us, the cell biology chicks, fell in love with the technical faculty dudes. The brilliant guys with all the answers and all the tools. We had a brief reunion on New Year at a fabulous party at Rockefeller. As decided, we will always meet at ascb every year. So don’t forget the message board, Olympus, Nickon, Leica and Zeiss’s commercial stands. I always find a dear friend there.
Alla yir7amo...I just found out

While Lebanon was busy with the world cup, Hraoui died.
His death was as quiet, uneventful and unimposing as his presidency.
A generation of women wiped out!!
(Aishwarya Rai)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/organizations/healthnet/gender/docs/sudha.html
This has been taking place over the past two decades..

Sunday, July 09, 2006

And i promise not to hide...anymore...

He will forever be,
my downfall.
He never was,
He is gone
and he's over.
I have never been
perfect
nor will I ever be
I am rarely sure of anything
But I know I love you
And i vow to never change
I vow to never let you change
I promise you a lifetime of happiness
Full of imperfections
A handful of stories
Unpredictable ends
Never unwinding twists
Never ending paths
A life of ups and downs
But a life…
And whenever you take away my pain
I promise you a kiss
And a wink at sunrise
Your arms will be my bliss
I promise you warmth
In the evening breeze
And every spring
A new beginning
And in early summer days
A world of blossoms
And in the fall
I will not let you fall
I promise you to be your fling
And to keep a young heart
And to always wear your ring
Even when we’re apart
I promise not to hide
and tuck our stories
behind the walls
and when you are by my side
I’ll live in glory and stand tall
And forever
We will keep chasing the sun
I promise you this
I promise to give you a home
My darling
My best friend
For you have been
For better or worse
And for all what’s worth
My home...
And here's that Arabic temper

What?
It's in his blood..
Mabrouk Italy

What a match!!! Hot hot hot even as early as the first minutes into the match. Italy seemed to completely lose the leadership and possession over the ball early on though. They were beat and dragging most of the time which was painful to watch. I really think France lost because of Zizou today. Very badly done on the part of the soccer knight. I still can’t understand why he would decide to end his carrier on such a bad note. I guess he's not leaving in style after all. It’s also always disappointing to end it with penalty kicks. Nonetheless, at one point or another during the game, both teams played wonderfully. Buffon’s goal was as tight as ever. If it weren’t for him and the strong defense that the Italians mostly relied on, Italy would’ve been history. Gattuso, my favorite player today, was quite ferocious. Camoranesi put on quite a show (did he actually cut his hair when they won?) and Cannavaro was just exquisite, as usual. I still don’t understand what happened with Totti there. In the end, they're world champions and it’s over. Yalla kill mondial we into bkheir.
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Between the moon and New York city...


As she came she left
Empty hearted but full of life
Eyes are tearing with excitement
Words shaping with new meanings
Same words now possess a weight
A situation is something of a concrete now
Problems are not to be ignored
Paths taken not to be erased
And mistakes that have to be owned
Emerging anew
With lessons a few
After listening and observing
It is now time to set the tone
For life
Life that built up
With a lot of care and perfect harmony
Friends and stuff
And more stuff
Roads learned, pictures hung
And a plate in the hallway
A plate… Next to the jar of potpourri
A plate that has numbers with no names
Keys for lost bags and spare buttons for lost coats
And an extra screw for the bookshelf from Ikea
Today she threw that plate
Erased the last number of the last name
These people are now strangers
The bricks of her house have been changed
Secretly at night
She suddenly lost her address
And all her stuff that she built up
With all the care

She formatted her database
She gave away her pet
Nothing moves her now
She lives no where
She lost ownership of the city
And the country
Just as she came
And she starts anew
She lives the future
She lives life
In perfect symmetry

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Shou hal zidane hayda ya 3amme

Les bleus won which makes it even more exciting. It’s going to be more fun seeing Italy beat France this sunday.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

And Italy wins..

and mar said it..
What started out as a boring match ended with an unbelievable win for Italy with Grosso and Del Piero scoring in the second over time right when we started to lose hope (Del piero’s goal was at the last minute no less). Those honey-glazed babes made it after all. I swear the whole building heard our screams. I have some phone calls to make (to gloat of course). Italy is most probably going to win this Sunday. My sister must be very upset right now for her beloved Deutschland. Well, tough.
Still Nature..
A moment...
Frozen in time...
A borrowed face...
A stolen story...
A lost face...
A Vision...
A Dear Face...
A memory...

That lasts a lifetime...
ángel de la muerte

Sometimes,
in the middle of the busy hour,
i look away.
I look to the sky
I look around
in the crowd
for your face
I am starting to forget your face
The grief aged me my love
And I live for the memories
The lifetime of happiness we had
Is starting to fade away
And I think of different times
I miss the butterflies in my stomach
when the train arrives and the doors open.
I miss my little efforts to make everything perfect
for your eyes and all your senses.
I miss the dreams, the worries and the plans.
I miss the unusual visits and the unexpected smiles.
I miss the mistaken identities and the mystery.
I miss your whispers of your forbidden love
I miss the hours of discovery and the thrill of unraveling…You.
I miss…
You...
My life ended when you left me…
And I pray for the angel of death
To have mercy on my wilting soul
till one day…
In the middle of your busy hour
you will look away
and you will see my face...
She seemed to say...
Où vais-je te cacher...Quand je m’en vais ?

I have waited
Long enough
I have lived
Every moment
Every waking moment
Towards you

Wearing my hooded shirt
Melting in the crowds
I left a window open
For you to crawl inside
I crossed a brick arcade
And drank under the moon
The bet has been paid
To the creatures of the night
I spread the scents on your bed
And died the tip of your shawl
You fled the lights instead
Left no shadow in sight
I hung my hair on a tree
And swam in the blue satin mist
The retched gates wait for me
From your fate I shall not hide


Et je vais t’aimer
Chaque jour
Un peu plus chaque jour
Un peu moins chaque jour
Je vais penser a toi
Chaque jour
Jusqu’au jour quand
J’apprends comment
T’oublier…

Monday, July 03, 2006

Notre Notre Dame...

"Belle
Est-ce le diable qui s'est incarné en elle
Pour détourner mes yeux du Dieu éternel
Qui a mis dans mon être ce désir charnel
Pour m'empêcher de regarder vers le Ciel
Elle porte en elle le péché originel
La désirer fait-il de moi un criminel
Celle
Qu'on prenait pour une fille de joie une fille de rien
Semble soudain porter la croix du genre humain
O Notre-Dame ! Oh ! laisse-moi rien qu'une fois
Pousser la porte du jardin d'Esméralda"

Un petit cadeau a cheri
te souviens-tu de ces jours?
les reves et les aspirations
qu'on va trouver
dans une chanson...
et un rendez-vous a paris
vers la nuit...
vas me voir la bas
dans trois ans...

(lyrics, Notre Dame de Paris-belle)

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Can't get any cooler...
Our Hot diving masters...