Funny dialogues between Libyan girls

It's really untranslatable but if anyone feels like it you are welcome

Money or character ?

من طرائف الليبيات في زمن المظاهر و الماديات

سعاد: خطيبي مش مخليني محتاجة حاجة..كل مرة يفاجئني بهدية و أمه تموت فيا..
هناء: و شن عنده من شهادات؟
سعاد: عنده سيارة للشغل فولفو..و سيارة للزيارات مرسيدس و سيارة بي ام عادية للقضية..
هناء: و شن ثقافته؟
سعاد: عنده حوازتين و فيلتين وحدة للصيف و وحدة للشتي..
هناء: كيف علاقته مع ربه؟
سعاد: حاج 4 مرات و أمه كل مرة تحج تروح ادير سلامة في كورنثيا و تعزم كل الأحباب و الأصحاب و ما يخلوا مايقدموا من مأكولات و مشروبات فاخرة..
هناء: شكلك معجبة برصيده المالي أكثر من رصيده المعنوي الأخلاقي و الثقافي؟
سعاد: والله ما نبي نحكي خايفة من العين و الحسد لكن عنده أرصدة في اوربا و آسيا ماهو تاجر كبير هو.
هناء: و السعادة و الراحة و الضمانات؟
سعاد:بيكتبلي فيلا و حوازة و المتأخر شرطنا يكون ألف ليرة ..
هناء: شورني فاضية حتى أني..ربي يفتحلك عيونك و يحميك من دهاب الشيرة ..
سعاد: بنمشوا 6 شهور عسل في رحلة حول العالم..و بنغير لون عيوني باش لما نروح نكون حاجة ثانية و الناس تموت من الغيظ..
هناء: باهي إمالله عندي شغل توا بنمشي..
سعاد: و تعرفي بنديروا شغالة و صفرجي و سواق...

*****************************

Fearing the evil eye :P

وحدة تحكي مع صاحبتها: تعرفي سعاد في حفلتها على قد ما دارت مسكينة ما تغيرتش بكل..جابت وحدة من برا دارتلها المكياج و فيلوها كركراته من البرازيل باش ما حداش يدير زيه ..عادية طلعت يا ناري مع أنها ما خلت ما دارت .
الثانية: بالله؟ و شنو جو مدانهم؟
الأولى: عادي بكل. وين تسمعيهم يدوا تقولي ما زيهم حد.
الثانية: وأنتي شنو امتا عرسك؟
الثانية: في الصيف.
الأولى: و شن وتيتي روحك؟
الثانية: يعني نجروا ..الفيلو بيجيبوه من اليابان..ماهو عليوة ما يبينيش نلبس حاجة عادية.. و يلي بتمكيجني وحدة فرنساوية ما تمشيش لأي حد.. و الماكلة من مطعم إيطالي..(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


وحدة خايفة من العين و الحسد تهدرز معاها بنت عمها:
شن يا هناء أمتا العرس؟
هناء: آه؟ لا ما زال..قاعدين نخمموا.
و عنده حوش محمد؟ واتي هو؟
هناء: آه؟ شنو؟ يعني ..تقريبا..
أكيدة شفتي فيلوات عاد شن عجبك واحد.
هناء؟ آه؟ يعني..مازال .
شنو خدمته محمد؟
آه؟ يعني عنده محل
لكن سمعت عنده شركة؟
هناء: آه؟ يعني ..تقريبا

Rebuilding internet ?

Today's article on Yahoo news carries an interesting headline "Researchers explore scrapping Internet"

"The idea may seem unthinkable, even absurd, but many believe a "clean
slate" approach is the only way to truly address security, mobility and other
challenges that have cropped up since UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock helped
supervise the first exchange of meaningless test data between two machines on
Sept. 2, 1969."

I am of course in awe at the technological capacities of the researchers and all the people who made internet a possible reality. So bravo to them, the fact they invented it the first time means they can do it better again. However. I'm not sure how will this be done as it is going to have a global effect now that internet is so widespread in every sector of the economy.

Why doesn't everybody simply switch to internet 2 ? It's been there for a while, it's the best NOT ketp secret :P i.e. it is not a secret but the masses are not aware of it as much ...

Russo had a good piece about it back in 2005 - that's when I first heard about while I was doing a little research on cybersecurity.

"Yes, there is another Internet. The term "Internet" simply refers to a
network of computers. The one that most of us use is Internet1, or the
"commodity Internet." Internet2 was created nearly a decade ago by academics at
research universities as a noncommercial prototype-something like what the
Internet was back when just a few university researchers were logged on
to ARPANET [...] Internet2 was built for speed-the roads are all wide and smooth, like your own private autobahn. Internet2 moves data at 10 gigabits per second and more, compared with the 4 or so megabits you'll get using a cable modem [...] More than 200 universities, 70 private companies, 45 government agencies, and 45 international organizations log on to Internet2 every day[..]There are no secret Web addresses or special browsers required to log on, no buttons saying, "Click here for Internet2." Organizations that want to join up must demonstrate a research-related purpose, pay dues, and meet minimum technical requirements so they don't slow down the rest of the Internet2 empire."

If security is a concern it can be added to this internet 2 infrastructure since it has big highways why start from scratch ? hmmm but then I'm not a computer engineer ... whatever the future has in store for us - programmers won't be out a job so soon :P

The Day it All Changed : a novel ?

Last year this post generated some interesting comments and my friend Adam decided to make his own experiment with some volunteers. He called it a Tandem Story :)

After many months of work ( since September 2006) the story has ended. I know I promised the finale in December, but I was sidetracked.


So, has the experiment failed or succeeded? is female and male writing the same or different those of you who followed it what did you expect ? and LOL can I make it as a writer :P any publishers out there for Tom and I ?

I would like to thank Adam for his brilliant idea which brought a blogger from North Africa and one residing in the Bermuda toghether. I would also like to thank TomQ for his patience when I disappeared for several months and for volunteering to participate with me.
Big hugs to the readers who expressed encouragement and took part in the parallel thread.


Ladies and gentlemen : The day it all changed - just in time for Friday the 13th :P

Excerpt from the last installment:

" I was blindfolded and tied to some type of bed. The narcotic was now fading
and I was trying to think clearly. The first thing was that he should not
discover I was awake as he is probably watching me, so I must maintain a steady
breathing rhytm. I really had to think about getting out of this alive. What are
my options? "

Islamic websites : weeding out the true from the false

Someone brought my attention to the point that some websites which aim to inform about Islam are actually fake (regardless of who is suspected of having developped them so please do not bring that into the discussion). The objective is to do something about it not point fingers, so please some constructive information ok .

Therefore you must use your judgment when reading.

If any of you knows could you please update us whether the ones listed below are reliable or not ?


www.answering-islam.org
www.aboutislam.com
www.thequran.com
www.allahassurance.com

In general how can we vouch for the reliability of a website ( Islamic or otherwise ? )

Introduction

I recently received the following comment on a older post also pasted below :

"dear highlander, I have stumbled on your blog through the following link: http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/04/02/touring-libyan-blogs-chaperones-redux-successful-women-mothers-day-and-more/
which throughly spoke about a few popular Libyan blogs, yours and ours included, and I felt very informed by your blog, (i can't believe anyone would think of such a stupid rule!), and thought to let you know.
and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our blog for Libyan Mental TV, and I was wondering if you could give me your feedback, thank you
http://lmtv.wordpress.com
LibyanMentalTV@GMail.com [sic]"

So I'm acceding to their request and posting it here :P, Hannu already did a while back.

Good luck to Libyan Mental and may you make great videos!

Libyan Tortoise : encouraging news

AngloLibyan wrote several times about the Libyan tortoise testudo kleinmanni. In fact without him I would have never known it was an endangered species as it was sold for a ridiculous cheap price on the market and is common in our houses. (Photo courtesy of AngloLibyan)

But this weekend I was chattting to my uncle about this topic and he told me that there had been a crackdown on this business . Well I'm pleased to inform you that these news are true at least up to this last Saturday. I went to the Rashid street and Suq al Hut to do some shopping and look at the animals . I found lots of cages of budgies, fish tanks, a few cats but no tortoises and no deer. ....yay no idea for the cause of this awareness but it's working. Thanks AngloLibyan for doing your bit !

Hope you are happy now ?

Saint or Idiot ?

"Perhaps it's a bit of arrogance- a bit of self adulation that makes me think that I have the capacity to bring happiness where there is misery; hope where there is despair and laughter where there are tears.[...]Why? Why do I do that? Why is it so important for me to do everything I possibly can, even if it means going out of my way and making myself 'unhappy', to make someone else happy? And why am I so hurt when it doesn't work?" [more]

The above extract from the latest post by The Usual Suspect is the story of my life!

In the end I don't think we make ourselves 'unhappy' really , that's why she put it in quotation marks. Witnessing the happiness that we bring into other people's lives is enough of an incentive to recharge our batteries and make us start all over again no matter how tired or drained we feel.

This life is ephemereal so making connections with the wonderful souls out there will help us all in our journey to the next level.

Do you agree or am I an idiot to think this way ?

The Limits of Humaneness

"What makes good people do bad things? How can moral people be seduced to act immorally? Where is the line separating good from evil, and who is in danger of crossing it? "

Phillip Zimbardo's book 'The Lucifer Effect " ( hattip if you want to be mentioned say so), is the latest book on my to read list.

According to the reviewers : "This is a book that dares to hold a mirror up to mankind, showing us that we might not be who we think we are. While forcing us to reexamine what we are capable of doing when caught up in the crucible of behavioral dynamics, though, Zimbardo also offers hope. We are capable of resisting evil, he argues, and can even teach ourselves to act heroically. "


Are we really bad or do we become bad due to some bad influences ? Remember when your mother would always warn you about bad influence or refgat al su'?

i.e are there 'bad apples' or 'bad basket' ?

On the release of the 15 British sailors ( updated)

Some striking comments from Have your Say ( BBC) link here .

"I am happy that this incident has ended in a civilized way but I am also frightened that in the previous "Have Your Say" column the most popular post was something about "the British should give Iran 3 days to return the 15 sailors and if not it would be considered as an act of WAR!" Again, it was the most recommended post by the readers!Now think about what would have happened if the UK government have taken this advice.War, aggression,arrogance should NEVER BE THE ANSWER as a solution!.
Ob server
Recommended by 3 people"

"To those who think that Britain was too soft,To those who think that the Sailors should have used their guns,To those who think that the tough talking policies of the US may be a good role model-Imagine that we invade Iran. Just like the Americans did Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and Korea. Just like Israel did Lebanon.I am glad that the situation was resolved diplomatically. When the US and Israel are actively looking for war, I am proud that Britain uses peaceful means.
N Tipton, Newcastle
Recommended by 32 people "

And this is the Iranian perspective

What do you think ?

Update 6-04-07

and now the sailors speak out ....