The Pope

I promised here that my next post was going to be about his Excellency the Pope, and though I got sidetracked here there shall be no more stalling. Hope the wait was worth it .

Last month I was surprised at the news that there was some sort of controversy surrounding the Pope Benedict XVI and his alleged harsh criticism of the Muslim faith. I thought to myself , please God let's not have a re-run of the Danish cartoons , we were just beginning to forget all about that sorry episode.


I will not say that he was a card carrying Nazi, because that would be unfair . The past is the past and this is comparable to the Iraqis who have been forced to become members of the Baath party in Iraq to survive ( and so many emigrated abroad); so all must be given the benefit of the doubt. Nor will I comment that he has a history of apparent untolerance to other faiths . Or that he now seems to have made his peace with the Jews according to this "[..]Jewish-Catholic relations anyway are no longer based upon our view of the past but on the nature of relations in the present, and from that perspective Benedict XVI is as good as it gets." I don't even have to talk about Jihad or about proposed Islamic reformation. I don't need to get in the debate about the academic standard or lack of it of the Pope's speech since he apparently amazingly " bases a sweeping characterization of theological doctrine on just one footnote! "

I also read comments like the following on public forums (BBC) :

(1) "The Pope quoted one of the last Byzantine emperors, beleaguered in the remnant of his empire, about to be swallowed up by the Muslim Ottomans. He was hardly objective. In that period - the 14th century - Islam was more enlightened, scientifically and morally, than the Christian world. In Muslim Spain Christians and Jews flourished. In Christian Europe the Inquisition was torturing and burning people and resisting scientific development. The Pope's statement was both foolish and rash.[sic]"
Yael L. Hairston, Givatayim Israel

(2) "The pope made two major mistakes one after another. The first mistake was when he quoted on side of a conversation between two different sides that occurred some centuries ago. Academically that's wrong. Since that conversation was brought up then the world need to know the response of the other side as well. The second one is when he disrespected all Muslims and claimed that about a quarter of the world's population mis-understood him!! Muslims are not that ignorant.[sic]"
Awnar, St. Catharines

All the above while interesting are irrelevant and stray away from the real topic. So I chose to read on the controversy before jumping to conclusions.


The Pope's speech brought out the 'worms from the woodwork' in terms of showing the true personality of many individuals. Unknowingly people blurted out without even the pretense of political correctness what was lurking at the bottom of their hearts. The only winners from this event is Emperor Paleologus who is enjoying fame and notoriety probably more than he did when he was alive, and the terrorists who have more fuel for their oven by making a moutain out of a molehill.

But I was not satisfied , media, people and bloggers were simply quoting each other. To cut the Gordian knot of speculations I decided to download Pope Benedict's lecture "Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections", dated 12th of September and print out all 7 pages. I wanted to go to the source and see for myself what he said in context (that's what we were taught at school: check both sides and the facts). After all the guy maybe falsely accused.

I read the whole document and his only remarks about Islam (in the said lecture) are contained in page 2 and mainly concentrated in two paragraphs.The remaining 7 pages do not seem connected to these remarks and as far as I could figure out in my humble opinion and limited academic jargon did not even allude to Islam.

Thus I concluded that Pope Benedict XVI is a very clever fellow, he has not reached this eminent position with nothing in his brain. The Pope was hitting two birds with one stone. That is what I call pure genius, because while the whole world was busy analysing the now infamous words of the Byzantine Emperor revived for the occasion through the Pope's lips, and were getting sidetracked about how Islam was propagated, and whether it used reason or not . And while people were foaming at the mouth about Islam and Christianity and other religions, and was the Pope bashing Muslims or not? They let slip the main target of his diatribe which is buried under a lot of philosophy and academic speech.

I stand in awe before Pope Benedict XVI , I only have total admiration for the guy if he had not taken the vow of celibacy I would even marry him regardless of everything. We need people like him in the Arab world. I would vote for him as my benevolent dictator forever , time and over again. Chapeau !

So who or what is the main 'bird' that the Pope was attacking ? the arch-enemy of his Church! and NO that is not Islam, Islam was just a diversion he threw to the spectators :) . The bones we give to the beast in the gladiator arena
I'll let someone elses more capable words explain that to you in another post.

I also had an interesting discussion with a Libyan friend of mine ( thank you for your patience and wink at him). This is the gist of it below and is not intended to be offensive to any Christian.

"We are muslims right? if we are muslim we have a way of life and thinking
that dictates us to deal with issues in whatever that manner is in Islam. The
Pope is not Muslim ( in fact he is Catholic) and does not accept Islam as a
faith i.e rejects the divine revelation of the Qur'an and the coming of Prophet
Muhammad. If that is the case what matters what he says about Islam or our
Prophet? He sees it as natural to do that and that's what his teachings are
maybe telling him to do i.e. attacking in symbolism. On the other hand this has
another face, it could show his ignorance and bigotry, or racist motivations?
That is also his RIGHT to do since he is FREE to speak his own mind.

What matters would be our reaction as Muslims and it also helps for us
Muslims to know the method that we need to learn on how to deal with people of
this charachter when they speak like this in public. The West may have the same
ideas that the Pope has Professed to be accurate. We can say a majority of the
West have the idea that Islam is a faith that was spread by the sword. So if
they decided without previous knowledge or proof that what they say is accurate,
then they can be labelled, according to the dictionaries by a label of ignorance
and bigotry. I am only responsible for them to know only if they make the clear
decision to come and ask me for information . Since there
is no compulsion in Islam, none what so ever as per what he [the Pope] said
it is his business and it is more propaganda for the average Joe in the West to
pick up the Qur'an and read it for himself. I am not going to go out of my way
to teach someone who has ulterior motives because that would be stupid on my
behalf if I am aware I know that he/she has a different aim and insincere
right ?

That's why the Creator made the statement 'shall be no compulsion in Islam,
the right is known and the false is known'.

For example , if some one comes and climbs to the biggest tower of the city and decides to unzip and urinate in front of every one. I have nothing to do but leave him alone and move on my business. He will still be on top of that tower doing what he sees is right no ? But let him do it. To make a big fuss about it is to give it
importance that it did not deserve and a waste of time.
Time is the cure for such issues. "

What he said concurs more or less with what I have been thinking all along with regards to purported hostility to the ME or alleged statements aimed at Muslims.

Summa Summarum ( picked that from our own NBA ) :
It is the right of anyone to criticise Islam if they wish.
The smart thing to do in return is to not to swallow the bait hook, line and sinker,but rather keep calm, ignore, learn more social skills and use the same right they used to criticise back next time using the same strategy if I still feel like it :)

Comments

Dear all,

I'm disturbed and saddened that my comment section seems to have deteriorated as it was the best thing about this blog ( even better than my posts ).

I will leave it up for a while but if I find that there is any foul language, harrassment, threats or bullying, I will simply close it as much as I hate to. Because the other option is to moderate which is not fun and I don't like seeing anyone insulted on this blog, be they Arab or non-Arab, Muslim, Christian, Jew etc....

So please don't let me down and help me keep the comments section alive.

Thank you.

update 4-10-06

Moderation is on - sorry it had to come to that - we shall see how it works , at least I can sleep in peace with the knowledge that no-one will get killed.

Ignorance, freudian slip or calculated strategy ?

This last month witnessed interesting debates following the Pope's lecture. The following 3 bloggers made the best and most interesting posts I've read on the controversy, including this article in the Christian Science Monitor. Please go read them now.


(a) American Palestinian .

(b) Suliman .

(c) AngloLibyan .

Religious sensitivities are currently quite high in the world whether we admit it or not, the trick is simply not to get drawn in or if you must then weigh your words wisely ( PS this applies to readers of this blog too ).

It's high time I pitch in my 2 dirhams worth , next on Highlander's blog => The Pope !

Top 9-11 post pick

September has drawn to an end , during that month I can safely say that countless were those who wrote about 9-11 one way or the other. I've read many of the posts on the blogosphere , people's reminescence, commemoration, minutes of silence , rants, dignified RIP and informed or unimformed political analysis. I even pitched in my humble opinion here , but from all that I read below were the posts that left an impact and I would like to share them with you.

(1) Flashback 9/11
(2) 9/11 or 9-1-1, more conspiracy thoughts.
(3) Map: war on terror .
(4) The "But" people .
(5) They are blaming the victim .
(6) Remembering 9/11 .

Please read carefully all 6 and tell me your pick and why ?

Creative writing: male vs female II

Blogger and friend Adam was affected by my post here and decided to run his own experiment. Two other bloggers and yours truly accepted his challenge/invitation :) , and so there are currently two stories developping on his blog " Blue " and "The Day it all changed".

Now that the stories have advanced I'm curious to know what you guys are thinking. Could you predict the outcome ? Any criticism , hints, tips, analysis of female /male thinking. Is Mars and Venus (TM) really relevant?

You may also join the conversation with the rest of Adam's readers on the two stories here.

Back

OK as you can see I'm back . A big thanks to those who wrote to inquire about me. I just was so busy trying to adapt to the new schedule, juggling work , Ramadan, family duties and social life is not easy and something has to suffer- maybe I am getting old ? ;)
Of course the world did not hold while I was away and I'm sure I'll have something to say in the next few days ... I already answered wherever you guys left your comments so do go back to check them .

H .

Ramadan

The blogosphere is awash with Ramadan posts so take your pick , while I shall wish you all

Ramadan Kareem

مبارك عليكم رمضان

The signs of love - A Muslim philosopher's view

"A man in love will give prodigally to the limit of his capacity, in a way that formerly he would have refused; as if he were the one receiving the donation, he the one whose happiness is the object in view; all this in order that he may show off his good points, and make himself desirable. How often has the miser opened his pursestrings, the scowler relaxed his frown, the coward leapt heroically into the fray, the clod suddenly became sharp-witted, the boor turned into the perfect gentleman, the stinker transformed himself into the elegant dandy, the sloucher smartened up, the decrepit recaptured his lost youth, the godly gone wild, the self-respecting kicked over the traces – and all because of love! [..]
You will see the lover, when unsure of the constancy of his loved one’s feelings for him, perpetually on his guard in a way that he never troubled to be before; he polishes his language, he refines his gestures and his glances, particularly if he has the misfortune and mischance to be in love with one given to making unjust accusations, or of a quarrelsome disposition. "

Read more and tell me do you agree with Ibn Al Hazm's analysis ?
How many of these signs have you experienced and do you have more to add ?

Omar Mukhtar and Italian Occupation

Readers still come to my blog while googling Omar Mukhtar, especially yesterday which was the anniversary of his death ( execution) by the colonial forces.

In an earlier post in 2004 I wrote about the Italian occupation in response to a request by some readers. I was surprised that the said post is still eliciting replies in 2006. As recently as in March an Italian-Libyan left a very long comment there about the post colonial era:

"Hello everybody, I am one of the "Italians" - or Libyans seen from a different prospective - expelled or actually exiled from Libya in 1970. As a person born in Libya and knowing its history, and of all its ethnic components as the back of my hand, I invite you ....." [Read more ]

I find myself lucky that someone who lived in Libya after WWII is actually reading this blog and sharing with us his experience. So I wished to highlight his input thank him/or her and ask him/her to write some more again . Salam.

Keyword analysis

This is a sample of how people ended up on my blog today

33.33% omar mukhtar
11.11% you know i love you-gary moore
11.11% side effects cream fade out
11.11% unfullfilled marital relations
11.11% tripoli beauty facial
11.11% americans wants bulgarians wife
11.11% concealer for olive wheatish skin

No comment :)

Slumber party yay ! -Updated

I shall not be online this evening and most of tomorrow ( for those who miss me too much you can phone ). I'm having an all girls slumber party ! Several of my cousins and second cousins are meeting for a barbecue and sleepover at E's place.

Haven't done that since my university days or the last time a close friend got married, when we used to end up at 4.00 am in the kitchen preparing 3assida. Basically a thickly cooked dough which is moved to the center of a plate after it is cooked and covered with either date syrup and olive oil or honey and butter ( according to your taste). I prefer the former and if anyone wants to volunteer a recipe please do so :).

This should be fun, sitting in the garden under the grape and jasmine trees, eating, drinking Libyan tea, watching DVDs, probably a spot of belly dancing lol, talking girlie stuff and not forgetting gurma Libyan style ( that's gossip for the non-initiated).

But I'm sure you guys will be busy in the comment section, and if you don't find anything that tickles your fancy, there are the wonderful links on the side bar.

Of course I am very much curious about your own slumber parties in your countrie ladies and gentlemen and if you wish to describe the best one ever do not hesitate to do so :) .

Update 16-9-06

Party was great - this was the menue :)

Coffee -tea- biscuits and lots of gossip
BBQ in the garden till midnight - loud girlie voices - conversation about hizbollah , sex and men . ( in that order)
Moving to main bedroom- music -DVDs - pillow fight ( yes I know pretty regressive)- belly dancing ( yes I can still do it) till 2 am
Then drinking cocoa and sweets - more intimate girl talk ( what else about men again )
I fell asleep at 4 am and they were still having fun.
Participants ? 7 ladies , one married, one divorced and 3 single + one grandmother he he he

And no you are not getting a photo of Highlander in her pajamas !

Libyan bloggers meet up : Yes or No ? ( updated)

Back in June our plans did not lift off, for several reasons, including world cup and vacations.

So I'm suggesting we try next week before Ramadan. Do you want to meet up ? if yes please say so in the comment section and vote on the most suitable date ASAP :
i.e. 19 - 20 or 21 September ( and send me an email so that we pool a data for the final arrangements in private ;) ).

The venue would be Ewan Alqadisiya in Ben Ashur
Time : 7.oo PM

I hope this time that everyone is back from their vacation, no more wedding parties etc... , I know that most of us ( including myself ) would probably chicken out ;)


Update 20-9-06

It's a NO .

Humanitarian Intervention

‘For an interventionist system to be viable, it needs in particular to have a general aura of legitimacy. In the case of intervention in the Third World, the system needs to be supported especially by the major Third World countries that can be expected to be very suspicious of it. This means more than just solving the tactical problems of getting Third World governments to vote for interventionist actions in the UN and various regional bodies, or even to send their own military contingents. It means figuring out how whole population, or at least their politically active components, react to intervention – what excite hostility, which aspects of an interventionary policy can generate support – and then framing one’s own policy with this understanding in mind. It means listening to people we are not used to listening to, and understanding the limits on our own power and , especially in our own wisdom’.

(Trachtenberg 1993 [quoted in ] Ramsbotham & Woodhouse 1996, 164) – Humanitarian Intervention in Contemporary conflict.

Autumn is here

Yesterday it rained quite hard and I realised that Autumn has sneaked in without my actually going to the beach. Today it is raining hard and there is even thunder... definetely an early Autumn .

The foiled US -Embassy Attack in Syria & the media bias

Browsing Yahoo news earlier ansd was horrified to see this title:
'Four dead after attack on the US Embassy in Syria'

I took a screenshot just in case it is changed later on, here it is




Oh my God I tell myself , four Embassy staff have been killed in Syria , just the excuse that America has been waiting for to attack ! After the recent war in Lebanon and the accusations flying back and forth against Syria and it's alleged hand in the helping Hizbollah all sorts of conspiracy theories abound in my head.

But then I clicked on the link and lo and behold what do I actually find out ? ..That apparently some wannabe jihadis were repelled and 3 of them killed in the fighting while one of the Syrian anti-terror squad lost his life in the process . See the details here. Hmm that's already a different story than that earlier title suggested, plus the real title of the story is actually different as you can see when you click.

It is a welcome note to hear that Ms. Condoleeza Rice has praised Syria's response to the attack as follows : "We appreciate the response of the Syrian security forces to help secure our territory".

I say we live in interesting times and the sensationalist prior portrayal is designed to play with the mind of the average American, especially after such an emotive time as the anniversary of 9/11 in order to plant a seed of hatred for anothe Middle Eastern country . Shame ! According to some people only Al-Jazeera of Arab media uses these tricks ...

Furthermore, some events may contain a silver lining which I glimpsed in that the the timing of the embassy attack "serves as a reminder that in the wake of those attacks [9/11], the Syrian intelligence services were reportedly among the best providers of information to their US counterparts on al-Qaeda's activities."

So maybe America will re-consider its relationship ? time will tell ...

As I keep saying the only absolute is God, the rest comes in all shades .

Further reading :
BBC link
More photos

Five years later....

There is no running away from the requisite post about the 9/11 attacks today, and how it changed the world. I cannot believe it has already been five years , it seems like another lifetime.

Let me start by expressing my condolences once again to all the families who lost their loved ones on 9/11. May God help you move on with your life and bring you patience. Amen

This year there seems to be a concerted effort by all : media, governments, bloggers etc... .to ask 'how has your life changed after 9/11' ? or whether the world changed on that day ?

On that day, I was on vacation in the ME, it was afternoon and I had gone to visit a friend to use her internet connection. We had CNN- the international edition as background noise in the living room , and when I glanced up from the monitor, I saw the breaking news banner and footage of the first tower being hit. It's all so hazy now but for a split second I thought that CNN was advertising some new movie with a similar theme like Independence Day. So I did not pay attention and continued checking emails. The broadcast was continuing as H walked in with our late lunch, and we both looked and each other and grabbed the remote control to change to Al Jazeera TV. As I realised what had happened on the other side of the world and saw the second plane hitting the south tower 'live', while flipping between the various satellite channels only to settle on AJ and CNN while listening to the frantic analysis , speculations then accusations about it being an AQ signature attack; I felt deep sadness for the enormous loss of life and a deeper foreboding of the dark times awaiting .I imagined how a wounded giant would be hitting left and right in retaliation. I could not really blame that giant, because it had been delt a shocking blow yet I was praying that the giant had not been blinded and would see the truth.

Did I think the attacks were justified ? certainly not !
Do I think that this is terrorism ? Absolutely yes.
Do I sympathise with Americans? of course - we are all flesh and blood.

Certainly many countries rallyied around the US and expressed outrage, including Libya; messages of goodwill poured from all over the world.
But it would be hypocritical to say that this event is the most important one in history for the whole world, simply because for some people it may be their birthday or wedding anniversary, or they could be living in some village that never heard of America /Bin Ladin /Islamists/Bush or for others they could have experienced tragic attacks on their own countries and therefore have their own demons and ground zero.

Yet from my forrays into the blogosphere I'm aware that people have not forgotten and that 9/11 ( and its ramifications) are still a very hot topic and a raw wound. That means it has been a painful experience for America and the world ( Afghanistan, Iraq etc...) .

For example :

"Five years after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, killed 2,973 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and New York, the country's mood is awash in emotions, balancing resolve with vulnerability, a need to remember with a desire to move on.[...] "People still talk about 9/11 as they did the first few months," said the Rev. Dr. Stuart Hoke of New York's Trinity Church. "It is one of the conversation topics at every event we attend -- every dinner party, every church gathering, it's still talked about with a great deal of intensity."" courtesy of
CNN

If this is so fresh and so painful for a one day attack ( not being callous here ) can you imagine how someone feels for years and years with no end in sight ? America has the right to seek justice but so have other nations.

On the personal level, nothing much changed for me (*) here DNA's words come in useful "[w]here I was raised, things like “civil liberties” were nothing but fancy text-book stuff. When push comes to shove, the po-lees have top dabs, whether you like it or not. It isn’t nice, it isn’t fair, but you get used to it, and you move on. "

(*) Disclaimer that is not meant as an offense but rather a comment on the quality of my life .



A lot of decisions were taken in the aftermath of the tragic attacks and the US wowed war on terror. I'm not here to judge the extend of the success of this war, but for many people in the US, I guess life has changed : the following are some statistics compiled by the BBC.

For others in the US life changed dramatically with some sort of witchhunts taking place after 9/11 .

Here is an unusual testimony which frankly disconcerted me:

I was an initial responder at the the World Trade Center. My son was six then. I didn't get a pin, even, and my son is not eligible for free camp and/or college scholarships, unlike the "9-11 families."
I am a woman. I am neither NYPD or NYFD altho' I took care of them. I called their unions to ask only that they help me put up a Christmas tree. I was physically incapable. Neither they nor the "9-11 families" responded. They also didn't respond further down the line when we were literally hungry.
I don't know why we aren't a "9-11 family" and I reckon my now 11 yo will wind up in foster care when my lungs give utheir final suck.
Some of us wish we were in those buildings.
Cynthia, Manhattan

(NO Comment)


An interesting poll/study was brought to my attention ( hattip you know who you are so if you want to be mentioned email me or say it out loud in the comment section :) ) . The article is called The Terrorism Index , from Foreign Policy and the Centre for American Progress.

Moneyshot :


"Despite today’s highly politicized national security environment, the
index results show striking consensus across political party lines. A bipartisan
majority (84 percent) of the index’s experts say the United States is not
winning the war on terror. Eighty-six percent of the index’s experts see a world
today that is growing more dangerous for Americans. Overall, they agree that the
U.S. government is falling short in its homeland security efforts. More than 8
in 10 expect an attack on the scale of 9/11 within a decade. These dark
conclusions appear to stem from the experts’ belief that the U.S. national
security apparatus is in serious disrepair.[...]Respondents sharply criticized
U.S. efforts in a number of key areas of national security, including public
diplomacy, intelligence, and homeland security. Nearly all of the departments
and agencies responsible for fighting the war on terror received poor marks. The
experts also said that recent reforms of the national security apparatus have
done little to make Americans safer. [..]The index’s experts were similarly
critical of most of the policy initiatives put forward by the U.S. Congress and
President George W. Bush since September 11. Eighty-one percent, for instance,
believe the detention of suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,
negatively affects the war on terror. The index’s experts also disapprove of how
America is handling its relations with European allies, how it is confronting
threatening regimes in North Korea and Iran, how it is controlling the spread of
weapons of mass destruction, and its dealings with failing states, to name just
a few. [..]To win the battle of ideas, the experts say, America must place a
much higher emphasis on its nonmilitary tools. More than two thirds say that
U.S. policymakers must strengthen the United Nations and other multilateral
institutions. At the same time, the experts indicate that the U.S. government
must think more creatively about threats. Asked what presents the single
greatest danger to U.S. national security, nearly half said loose nukes and
other weapons of mass destruction, while just one third said al Qaeda and
terrorism, and a mere 4 percent said Iran. Five years after the attacks of
September 11, it’s a reminder that the greatest challenges may still lie
ahead."


The war on terrorism although netting a lot of suspects does not seem to be faring well because it created more terrorists. It is worth noting that now President Bush is pushing for military tribunals for 'suspected terrorists', after admitting he okayed secret CIA prisons ( which were denied before) and tough interrogation techniques ( aka torture I guess no matter what he says ). Here is an analysis on why he may have changed his tune .



From all the above it looks like the results in the years to come will remain unchanged, because as already said you have to treat the cause and not the symptom. By treating the symptom you are giving an analgesic and putting a bandaid. This would only make the disease flare up stronger and deadlier.

I'll leave you with the words of Hani Hamdi an Arab -American from Boston also taken from the BBC 'have your say' forum ( where you can find hundreds of testimonies)

I'm a person of Arab origin living in the States.
9/11 was a despicable, horrifying incident. Unfortunately, I believe the US is less secure now.
Terrorism is not here because 1.2 billion Muslims hate US democracy.
Mid-East terrorism is spreading because US foreign policy is seen as supporting: 1) Israeli territorial expansion beyond its 1967 borders; 2) 40 years of occupation for millions of palestinians; 3) dictatorial and oppressive regimes in the middle east; and 4) the Iraq war which killed over 100,000 innocent civilians.
Terrorism will be cured by restoring strong moral credibility, and by surgically eliminating terrorists. This is not the US strategy today.
Hani Hamdi, Boston, United States

The above combined with action from our side in the ME against those warped minds would be the road map for the war on terror in a nutshell. May the world never witness again such an atrocity. Amen .

Cool blogger discoveries


As the 'mother of Libyan bloggers' or whatever NBA has labelled me, I have been a little lax of late in introducing new Libyan bloggers. Fortunately Khadijateri ( thank you so much ) has been keeping tabs and you will find a whole bunch of interesting Libyan/Libya related bloggers on her sidebar now.

Among those she has discovered over the last few months the following should match the various interests of the readers who come here. Plus they give you another perspective on Libya right ?

Big Damn Heroes : expats blogging from Libya- our scandals exposed ;)

My enchanting sereeb: single Libyan -British hottie- accomplished writer too

White African : ramblings of a Libyan girl brought up in Manchester

Maiuna : Young chick in Libya - for all those curious about Libyan girls in Libya; oh and being the sign of Virgo , her birthday may be coming up soon I guess - Happy Birthday in advance :)

Me Myseld and I : A Libyan young man living in Wales now and his adventures . This post made a strong impression on me Excerpts : "I have met (or rather seen) more Israelis in the last 29 days than i have in my entire life combined. There are alot of them travelling around central America.Im going to be honest with myself and with my blog and post exactly how i feel."

Mexiquia : American -Hispanic married to a Libyan guy and her thoughts about Libyans, and all her boys who play soccer :)

Libyan Violet: for the kinky side of Libyan society - all you wanted to know about relationships .

Meawhile I've discovered that our dear reader/poster Twosret who has not been around here for a while was busy building her own blog - sorry blogs !
Finally ya bint ya Twosret , it took Magdee, Sandmonkey , Hellme and I two years to convince her that she needs to have a blog ! you may disagree with her, you may love or hate her but you will never be bored - I can guarantee that . So a big welcome to my old ( he he he ) friend Twosret .

Chez Twosret : "Egyptian-Canadian-American, mother and wife, advocate for peace, for a better America, for the rights of Palestinians, and for an Egypt by and for Egyptians."

American Palestinian : "A small voice for peace with justice amidst the clatter of the war machine - Justice and only justice will bring enduring peace to the Holy Land and the Middle East - Palestine, Israel, and the rest of the world needs peace!"

OK Twos habibti that means you cannot hide anymore and you are eligible to be tagged - so I hereby officially invite you to do the following memes :
( 1) Your bag
(2) Your car
(3) Books
(4) Feet/Footwear or even shebsheb
(5) cell phone
(6) you can vote whether I should marry a Finnish farmer or an American one

That should keep you busy for a while .

* just wandering when is NBA going to start blogging- I can't wait for another two years ;)

The bag issue

Leilouta tagged me along with a whole bunch of girls and guys regarding the contents of their bags/wallets . Go to her blog and see who else have shown their belongings .

I've never done this but who can refuse a request from Leilouta ;) . Anyway here is what's in my bag; not as exotic as some of the stuff I've seen by the other bloggers...... ex ligth bulbs and flip flops etc...

(1) PDA
(2) Ipod
(3) purse
(4) key chain ( the mask thingy)
(5) the mobile you've seen already
(6) my glasses are in the car .

my boring bag !
















Ladies and gentlemen I guess you know what you have to do by now ;).....so whether you are a blogger or non blogger ( sorry could not resist the pun ), we are curious about your bag....

Highlander car

My secret dream is to have a SUV fuel guzzling monster or other type of 4 wheel drive like you saw here , and not a Ferrari :)

A few months ago I found the perfect car , none other than the Toyota Highlander, lol my namesake yes .
Look at that beauty , it's seminal. Unfortunately it is beyond my means , and buying on credit/installments has not been available until very recently and only at selected agents. So I gathered my lifelong savings and finally bought this little trusthworthy Hyundai .
*( note instead of revealing my 'haram' tootsies I'm showing you my car - another form of transport ;) ).

Meanwhile I'll keep dreaming of the Highlander car.

What is your car & your dream car ? and would you like to show it to us too ?

A meme from Syria

Sweetie Soraya (thank you ) has tagged me too here , ok let's see if I can do this exercise successfully:

1.Which is the single best post you’ve read on any blog? Please provide link.

This one

2. Which is the best post you’ve written? Which is your worst? Please provide links.

Best
Worst

3. How about a place you’ve never been to but would very much like to see.

Jerusalem

4. If you were a member of the opposite sex, what would you have done differently?

Oh no being female is more fun ;)

5. Do you remember a childhood recurrent dream or nightmare? Good or bad, tell us about it.

Nope

6. Make me laugh or make me cry, put your words to use.

Cry : a photo is better 'than a thousand words'













7. Do you regret the unfulfilled dreams, the inaccessible roads, the uncharted lands?

Nope I try to live to the fullest.

8. What is a friend to you? And what are you to a friend?

This is the ideal I try to live up to ( hattip MB ) ; I guess it answers both questions.

9. T.S. Eliot measured his life with coffee spoons, how about you?

Peoples' love.

10. Write your own epitaph, or if that is too hard, how would you like your epitaph to read?

Herein lies a chivalrous, generous soul.

Show us your book list !

Some of you expressed interest in what I was reading ( wink @ NBA) ; below is a current partial list on my night stand => check the links for details. I know that you know that I'm not just a boots babe ;)

(a) Alsadek Alnayhum 's Al Islam fil alasr ( Arabic) " Hostage Islam : who stole the mosque and where did Friday disappear" my loose translation so pls no bashing.
(b) A history of modern Libya
(c) Le livre des seductions ( French)
(d) Muhajababes
(e) Al kitab wal Qur'an ( Arabic)
(f) Islamic and Arabic names and their meaning (Arabic)
(g) The next attack : the globalization of Jihad
(h) No virtue like necessity : Realist thought in international relations since Machiavelli
(i) The Taliban phenomenon
(j) NTC's Hebrew and English Dictionary
(k) Synopsis of Psychiatry
(l) Trigeminal Neuralgia
(m) As a matter of interest by Tunkul Abdul Rahman

You can tell me what you think and show us what you are reading - how about that as a game ? So I can find out about your eccentrities and secrets lol...

Parrots

A joke *

A lady goes to her priest one day and tells him. "Father, I have a problem. I have two female parrots, but they only know how to say onething."
"What do they say?" the priest inquired.
They say, "Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have some fun?"
"That's obscene!" the priest exclaimed, Then he thought for a moment.
"You know," he said, "I may have a solution to your problem. I have two male talking parrots, which I have taught to pray and read the Bible. Bring your two parrots over to my house, and we'll put them in the cage with Francis and Peter. My parrots can teach your parrots to praise and worship, and your parrots are sure to stop saying that phrase in no time."
"Thank you," the woman responded, "this may very well be the solution."

The next day, she brought her female parrots to the priest's house.As he ushered her in, she saw that his two male parrots were inside their cage holding rosary beads and praying. Impressed, she walked over and placed her parrots in with them.
After a few minutes, the female parrots cried out in unison:"Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have some fun?"
There was stunned silence.
Shocked, one male parrot looked over at the other male parrot and exclaimed,"Put the beads away, Frank. Our prayers have been answered!"

We have the same type of jokes about the Mullahs and the Sheiks since as long as I can remember if you wanna share some you are welcome...

* Disclaimer no offense meant to any religion or its representative- please do not issue fatwas or excomunication threats against Highlander.

The Scam letters

We all know the notorious Nigerian scam letters, each of us has received one at least in their lifetime . But this is the first time I heard about the Iraqi version, and to be honest I don't find it funny. I know there are crooks in every country but that an Iraqi is doing this I find painful and it hurts me as it shakes their image in my eyes.
Weird is it not ? that I can take bombing and killing but I cannot take the fraud thing. It's like the looting after Baghdad fell.

Anyway here is the letter and it seems to originate in Italy.

Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 21:23:23 +0100 (GMT+01:00)
From: "Bank of Baghdad Managing Director" <mowafaq_mahmood1@virgilio.it>
To: mahmood@hotmail.com
Subject: A Representation

From: Mowafaq H. Mahmood
Bank of BaghdadBaghdad, Iraq.

Following the first Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein authorized for the
first time the formation of private banks in Iraq. From 1992 until the end of
the decade, 17 such banks were established. Up until the second Gulf War,
however, Saddam prohibited these banks from conducting international
transactions - including payments, remittances, and letters of credit. Now, as
Iraq develops a market- driven banking system, these restrictions are being
reduced and the importance of Iraq's private banks is expected to grow
significantly. An important step was taken on October 28, 2003, when the
CentralBank of Iraq authorized Iraq's private banks to process international
payments, remittances and foreign currency letters of credit. This action
follows other important steps taken recently to modernize Iraq's banking system
- the establishment of a new national currency, for instance, and the launching
of daily foreign exchange auctions by the Central Bank. Subsequently, I
personally was able to hide away One Hundred Million United States Dollars in
the wake of the United States of American led war on Iraq. This money was meant
for investments but it is believed that we have lost this money to looters
during the War in Iraq. Since after the war, I have safely tucked away this
money with the hope that I will be able to do something with it as soon as
things cool down. Now intend to do so. I just need that I get you as my
reliable foreign partner who will as it is be my representative out there in
your Country; I want you as a partner who will assist me in investing in
profitable ventures in your Country. I need a person I could rely
on.

Faithfully, Mowafaq H. Mahmood
Bank of Baghdad
Iraq.

From the Rock anniversary


Highlander's blog is 3 years old today. While each and everyone of you who visited or who continue to read me deserves a warm hug for being there through thick and thin ( oh boy I sound mushy mushy ), I need a favour:

In your opinion how have this blog and it's author evolved over the years ? do you see any progress ? regress? change ? Do you understand me more ?
Now is your chance to say whatever you wish about Highlander, of course within the boundaries of decency .

( Shall I go hide for a few days?).

A matchmaking festival ?


OK OK not another post on matchmaking ....well I can't help it , this topic keeps jumping in my lap on every site I visit. I was only reading the news when this BBC link beckoned me : 'Romantics flock to Irish Festival'.

"In the age of computer matchmaking and speed dating, the event in rural County Clare offers a slightly more old-fashioned romantic alternative.
Down the years the festival became known for attracting bachelor farmers who were in search of a bride. [...] Today, it pulls in large crowds from Ireland, the UK, the US and elsewhere, with single visitors hoping to meet their perfect match. [read more].



The festival has its own website now, so for anyone interested you could combine a visit to Europe with finding your better half as "The MatchMaking Festival starts on Friday September 1st and finishes on Sunday October 1st, 2006. It is mainly concentrated at the weekends but there is also music and dancing during the week."

You get to register with a professional matchmaker whose family have been in the business for 3 generations at least. This is so cool. Maybe I'll go find a gorgeous super romantic Irish lad with turquoise eyes and jet black hair ( should I add this to the Mr. Highlander list ? ).

The 37th Anniversary ( updated 3-9-06)

*detailed version

Yesterday was the 37th anniversay of the El-Fateh revolution. We usually have it as a public holiday, but this time it came on a Friday, so no day off unfortunately.

In my mind these types of celebrations will always be associated with the military parades which I'm a great fan of, i.e. I used to enjoy military parades from all over the world.

I recently stumbled unto this book which I would like to recommend to novices and academics alike as it is quite relevant. Enjoy your reading.

Original version

Libya Day

Yesterday Libya celebrated the 37th anniversary of the El-Fateh revolution. I always liked these types of celebrations mostly because of association with the military parades which I'm a great fan of.

For novices and academics I fervently recommend this book it is enlightening in a nutshell. I'm enjoying every page.

Egyptian novelist: RIP

So many bloggers wrote about the passing away of Naguib Mahfouz this week that I feel I would just be repeating myself as everything has already been said about a man who was not only a popular novelist/writer but who also "At the time of his death, [was] the only Arabic-language writer to have won the Nobel Prize for Literature", more here.

Over the years I've watched his novels which were turned into movies, unfortunately I never got the opportunity to read one even though my father has many of them in his library.

My favourite of all times is and will always be the Cairo Trilogy , which "follows the life of the Cairene patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his family across three generations, from World War I to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952." I can't believe I actually had a crush for Si Sayed :)

Allah Yirhamak ya Naguib , you will be missed.

Two in one : memes again

A.Adam tagged some bloggers including me here ( thank you)! I cheated and went to see what Khadijateri wrote , and was pleased to find she had an English translation of the meme, which I'm going to use because I know that not all my readers are super proficient in Arabic ;) .

*Are you satisfied with the form and content of your blog?
The content yes the template no , but I tried changing it once and almost lost everything, so I figured what for as long as it is clear than it should be fine.
*Does your family know about your blog?
No
*Do you find it embarrassing to tell a friend about your blog?
No a couple of friends know about it.
*Do you consider it a private matter?
Yes that's why it's anonymous.
*Did the blogs lead to a positive change in your ideas?
My ideas are always positive , I'm so tolerant, a real softie at heart ( and so modest wink wink)...
*Is it enough for you to open the profiles of the commentors on your blog or do you try to discover more?
I go to their blogs and usually I always find them to be potential great friends !
*What does the hit counter mean to you? Do you care to put it in your blog?
I used to not care about the hit counter as I tried it and removed it twice. But the hit counter helped me notice how many diverse people were reading this blog and that it would be selfish to stop blogging if my voice was heard in far away place.Some people were translating it in Japanese I was shocked. So I started counting again.
*Have you tried to imagine the shape of your blogger friends?
Never, I like them as they are , then I either arange to meet with them ( I met a few already) or we become friends IRL and we exchange photos etc...
*Admit! Do you find a real value for blogging?
Yes
*Do you feel that the society of the bloggers is disconnected from the world around you or that it is affected by what happens?
No it is not disconnected.
*Are you annoyed by criticism towards your blog? Or do you find it a healthy phenomenon?
I like it , it means I'm on your mind ( how modest eh ? )
*Are you afraid of some political blogs and avoid it? Did the arrest of some bloggers shock you?
No to both.



Well since I'm doing this meme I remembered that Redenclave tagged me also a while back for a photo of my cellphone picture (thank you ). Below is the display picture and the brand just as you wished Red :)

So are you all feeling lucky or what ? , you get two memes for the price of one . Hmm maybe Libyan Warrior is right - could I be bored ? I don't think so ...I just like to keep my word and I'm enjoying the vacation with an overdose of blogging he he he I'm sure it will pass in a few days and I'll revert to my old regime or once or twice per week ...

In the meantime dear all have fun , if you feel like doing the test yourself go ahead, also we can play the 'show us your mobile' game ;) too ...anyone up for it ?

Mars & Venus (TM)

While checking my backlog of emails , the piece below caught my eye, and my readers deserve to share it with me . Plus I want to know your opinion on how you think women/ men reason ? I sometimes get the impression that this is really what happens when males and females talk lol Enjoy ....

Here's a prime example of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" offered by an English professor from the University of Phoenix.

The professor told his class one day, "Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me.
The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph to the story and send it back, also sending another copy to me. The firstperson will then add a third paragraph, and so on..... back-and-forth. Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent.
There is to be absolutely no talking outside of the e-mails and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."

The following was actually turned in by two of his students, Rebecca and Gary.

THE STORY :

(1st paragraph by Rebecca)..... At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind off Carl.His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the question.

(2nd paragraph by Gary) Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. " A.S. Harris to Geostation 17," he said into his transgalactic communicator. "Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish particle BEAM FLASHED out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.

( Rebecca) He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities towards the peaceful farmers of Skylon 4. "Congress Passes Law Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspaper to read, no television to distract her from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she wondered wistfully.

( Gary) Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live. Thousands of miles above the city, the Anudrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles. The dim-witted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien> > empires who were determined to destroy the human race. Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the Anudrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret mobile submarineheadquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt the inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid Laurie.

( Rebecca) This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.

(Gary) Yeah? Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic! who's attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh, shall I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of F**KING TEA???! Oh no, WHAT AM I to do? I'm such an air headed bimbo who reads too many Danielle Steele novels!"

( Rebecca) A**hole

(Gary) Bitch

( Rebecca) F**K YOU - YOU NEANDERTHAL!

(Gary) Go drink some tea - whore.

(TEACHER) A+ . . . I really liked this one.

Show us your footwear ( updated ) - shebsheb zanouba part II

Flip flops, ( shebshebs) are a great method for disciplining men says I . This post generated interesting spin offs with readers sharing their footwear and if courageous enough their feet .

We saw, Safia, NBA, Redenclave, Roba and Leilouta , Programmer_Craig 'promised' us some combat socks view ;) * we are patiently waiting .....and even Zeyad from Healing Iraq took a photo of the foot of one of his friends on a trip to the beach in Jordan. What's up with the blogosphere , do we all have a foot/shoe fetish ?

Well I think the prize should go to sweet Pumkin , she has just sent me an email with her tootsies and shoes , I mean judge by yourself :)



Come on the rest of you don't be shy , this post will keep going until you stop sending your input, erm shoes, erm feet...;)










Update 31-08-06

This is fresh in , Programmer _Craig has taken the plunge to reveal all ...his haram skin :P and his boots so we got a double treat ladies and gentlemen. I'm wondering what else can we start using for the 'show us your... ' game ? and nooooo it's not what you are thinking ....

Imagine this...


The topic of the Greater Middle or New Middle East has generated a lot of bytes not just from you guys along with yours truely here , I was reading some articles and one link led to another and I found myself in this forum . I started reading the participants discussion..... this snippet caught my eye and I thought it was ridiculous . It is one of the commenter's idea of a response to the plan to redraw the map of the ME in what would be suitable for the interests of the West under the guise of the pursuit of democracy and the redressing of colonial wrongs.

Here is the part I thought was funny, kudos to the guy he's got fantastic imagination:

"It would be wise to start with giving the south of California and Texas to
Mexico ,for example. The tip of Florida could go to Cuba. Parts of Montana,
Wyoming and Dakotas could go to a Free Land of Original Settlers. Wisconsin
could handle a Free German State of North America. New York should be an
independent city state governed by UN."

The unreachable just cause

I had one of those personal mysterious posts of mine which I spring up on you unsuspecting lot from time to time ready at 5 am yesterday morning, when at the last minute I decided not to push the 'send' button. I figured out that once I wrote it, it was out my system and there was no need to share it with anyone anymore, it's there saved in my 'draft' section.

Another thing I noticed was that even my supposedly light hearted topics turn serious lol , hence I might as well enjoy myself and post all the controversial ones to my heart's content . ...

And so it was that I was trying to have a well deserved siesta yesterday afternoon when my attention was suddenly focused on Alarabiya TV and the good news that the Fox news journalists had been released. Welcome back guys.


I have to stress that I strongly condemn kidnappings of this sort I was especially appalled that they were forced to convert to Islam on TV while in captivity.

Those two moves are so stupid and if the perpetrators are hoping to be garnering sympathy to the Palestinian cause - or any cause for that matter- then they are failing miserably and further disfiguring the image of Islam.

I know that Islam does not need to be defended and that God will take care of his religion, but many Westerners do not understand this and only see the 'hard facts' and 'documented examples' from sources that THEY only trust. If it is a source I will trust or some Arab's personal experience then that does not count. This is the bitter truth . We have allowed it to happen .Hmm but I digress , these sensational news will further drown and bury the real dynamo of all that has been happening in the Middle-East and the fact that while we have a just cause, namely an occupied land, we keep pushing it away with the actions of some of these downright stupid people.

On the other hand these guys were not that lucky as Israel always goes for the guttural. It puts the world before the fait accompli especially if the victims are Arab journalists :

"An Israeli air strike on a car in Gaza City during a security operation has injured a Reuters news agency cameraman and a local journalist[..]The Israeli army said the car had not been identified as press and expressed regret that journalists had been hurt. "During the operation, there was an aerial attack on a suspicious vehicle that drove in a suspicious manner right by the forces and in between the Palestinian militant posts," Israeli army spokeswoman Capt Noa Meir said.[Ironically enough ] The Reuters armoured car was clearly labelled as a media vehicle, with signs on all sides, including the roof. "

See for yourself here courtesy of the BBC.

So whenever one wants to stop the bloodshed and the senseless murders, one side does something crazy to begin the vicious cycle again - and please do not tell me shelling the Reuters crew with a rocket was self defense...

The just cause will remain unattainable unless everyone disarms, and not if one side crushes the other.

Note: When commenting kindly abstain from generalisation and threats or wishes for the annihilation of Arabs /Muslims/Israelis/ Americans - Fair game though are combattants of any side but NOT their dependents .
PS if you've written a comment on another post , go back and check there is a great chance someone has replied to you ;)

The resignation

Back in March, I was contemplating a 'radical shift in career goals' , and checking tips about bad and good bosses. My strategy has been slow but assured without the need for an anthrax spiked letter lol. I'm quitting and have already signed the new contract with my new employer. Yay!

I've also taken a few weeks off between jobs to enjoy the summer. Which means more time for blogging, socialising , sports , reading and family.

Shebsheb Zanouba ( UPDATED)

Some of the readers expressed curiousity & interest in the action of hitting a man with a shebsheb zanouba ( if it is not them I guess ) especially after they found out that those are rubber flip flops ;) - the common species of rubberis flip floppus excuse my Latin.

Well here is a prime example , Highlander's own shebsheb ( ain't that better than my poster?), you already saw my boots !

Apart from being useful in disciplining unruly men, they are good for the shower, the beach and loafing around the house in summer or when we are washing the floor at home with water and soap ...the elaborate typical Libyan tasyig style of cleaning ( maybe we could talk about that another time )


















Update 26-8-06
NBA wants a contest of shebshebs ;) or footwear , Leilouta already has a nice collection of footwear online ......, Programmer _Craig may show us either his feet or his boots ( if he does not chicken out at the last minute he he he), Redenclave has already put her favourite sandals .
Dear readers and bloggers : If you want to add more to the collection of 'show us your footwear !' you are welcome ...lol.

Update 27-8-06

Safia has shown her footwear and her foot problems a few days ago :). While Roba went shoe shopping ..and we learn she 's got gorgeous toes . The funniest of them all though is NBA, he has kept his promise and sent a photo to publish on the blog and share with you all + what he calls an essay to go with it , which I had promised to post so you will all have to enjoy his prose - quite educational :) Thanks NBA lets hope this will encourage you to blog !

"Non-Blogging tries to be barefoot as much as possible. As this is a blog frequented by many decent Muslim ladies, out of respect for them the kafir Non-Blogging, however, prefers to show here as little of his desirable but haram fair skin as possible. His feet are covered here by mustat sukat [black socks] and his legs by housut of the suorat housut [trousers] sub-species commonly worn by people in the Western cultural sphere in professions where the risk of getting sweaty or greasy is minimal.Mustat sukat have little use in disciplining unruly women except for when they are left lying on the floor waiting for the next hottie passing by to hold her nose and pick them up. Furthermore, they can be used in symbolic mental torture due to the fact that mustasukkainen in Non-Blogging?s native language means both jealous and literally black-socked. Wearing jealous black socks is the worst aggression a Euro-softie like Non-Blogging could ever think about.Last but not least, Non-Blogging insists that such trivial things as flip-flops sound boring in English but bear the scent of Oriental mysticism when referred to as shebsheb zanouba. He thus hopes using his native terms here brings the readers a scent of the cold, formerly invincible North now gone soft."

Matchmaking in Libyan Newspapers

Still in the wedding mood , well it is summer and everyone is getting married before Ramadan which will be in one month's time. So I was reading my favourite Libyan papers, I came upon this ad section -and all of them are women :) and they are not as fussy as yours truely. ...Actually I was surprised at this advertisement..the person running this section has her email on top if anyone is interested ;).. ah soon those ladies who gauge girls at weddings won't have a job ...

Update 25-8-06

NBA asked if we could have a translation of the Arabic text and Hanu obliged :) . Thank you Hanu.

Would you marry a blogger ?

To follow up on the topic of matchmaking/ love and ideal/suitable other half which was raised in the posts Mr.Highlander, and true love , I thought hey let's be more specific ;) shall we ?

Especially after I've seen that several people in the Arab blogosphere were discussing this question lol ( hattip Roba in itoot ) - it does seem to be important ;)

Please follow all the links as they are really hilarious , through Roba and itoot , I discovered some funny and articulate Arab bloggers like : Jad , Khalidah, Qwaider and Shaden .


Here are excerpts from all the various posts mentioned above - but it's better if you read all the posts and tell me your favourite and of course what you think, I mean : WOULD YOU MARRY A BLOGGER ?

"She doesn't nag AT ALL, she just puts a single post about the matter

You will love him for how he thinks not how he looks, who he really is and
not what he pretends to be infront of you, what he does and not what he brags
about to impress you.


she would put a poll to see how many people agree that you get some
action or not
You’re not supposed to get jealous if guys complement her on her blog

He will get angry if you reply to the guys who comment on your blog; you
should ignore guys and reply only to gals to salvage his manly ego."

Top 3 Highlander Fans

While 80% of the traffic comes from the USA, my top 3 readers are not, surprisingly......


(1) NBA
(2) Adam
(3)and surprise surprise : Mitchell!

Thank you guys , that's what the stats are saying ......

Update on the Libyans stuck in Lebanon

We already knew that Safia's kids made it to Amman- Jordan .

Hanu's children are now refugees in Qatar- but at least they are safe.

Anglo-Libyan's family is apparently still safe too. Also check his post and photos about the peace rally in London.

A.Adam had an email from his mum if we recall , but I'm worried about him as he has not blogged since the 4th of August.

The answered SOS

In my Déjà vu post I launched an 911 call to Dhafer..... and guess what? God answered my prayers and Dhafer actually phoned me all the way from Teheran. Thank you for making my world right with your wisdom, the pain is still there, raw, fresh and throbbing, but there is no darkness anymore alhamdulilah it is now bearable because it is shared.

I would like to thank God also for sending another messenger to me, his soft words and tender peaceful cultured voice and words were there to remind me that there is no use fretting over events I cannot control , but only the things that I can do myself, and I am the only one able to create my own happiness or sadness. I'm proud to know that you are Libyan, I've read those beautiful links you shared with me....I will post about that soon. Thank you I now believe I do have a guardian angel assigned specifically to me. And yes just in case I may have for one dark moment forgotten how lucky I am ... I am kneeling down on my knees and thanking God the Merciful for his prompt sign.

لا احد يسوى دمعتك يا هيلاندر الا لاهل

Gauging the mood

While waiting for my appointment at the doctor, I'm absentmindedly watching TV; footage of the destruction by the IDF inflicted on Lebanon is prevalent. I'm bored and strike up a conversation with the receptionist.

H: This is getting so depressing, I can differentiate between Palestine, Iraq or Lebanon anymore.
Guy: Don't tell me about it , I stopped caring...
H: huh why ?
Guy: Since my best friend was martyred in Iraq in 2003 - inshallah
H: was he Libyan or Iraqi ?
Guy : Libyan, he said goodbuy to his parents and went to liberate Iraq only to end up dead for nothing. We Arabs have stopped caring - until we find a way to elicit respect nothing will change- that is why I no longer care whatever happens let them kill each other....


------------------
People have gotten a bit blase about Iraq, I mean what's new ? they are blowing up each other daily, while people in the Green Zone watch and enjoy . Lebanon is the fresh new wound and so it has galvanized hearts and minds

A coffee break at work turns into a discussion on Lebanon

Finance guy: Hey H I've wanted to ask you if you don't mind your opinion on what's happening in Lebanon, do you think Hezbollah have a chance? what they are doing is courageous standing up to Israel behind whom America is hiding.
H: Do you want the truth ?
Finance guy: Yes ... that's why I'm asking.. you're always pouring into those books ...
H: Hezbollah have no chance, they are outnumbered and outgunned and this is the wrong time to have picked a fight. It will be a massacre , Israel has been waiting for just this opportunity. Israel has a bonus, It gets to destroy Lebanon too in the process.. that is a big plus here , now if it can taunt and dangle enough bait it is hoping to get the bigger prize Syria.
Finance guy: I just wish we can do something..
H: you can pray, pray very hard and send aid

-----------
How easy it is to go from ordinary employee to suicide bomber, believe me it is not difficult when you are frustrated. Watch this ordinary, gucci- versace- burberry wearing , guerlain makeuped, European raised , dual nationality holder , not veiled colleague of mine :

Secretary: uffffffffff I am so depressed
H : why ? what's up
Secretary: I can't stay here with my hands tied - I need to do something
H: what can you do ?
Secretary : go and blow myself up
H: Whaaat ? where ?
Secretary: In Lebanon
H: what do you mean ? first of all you won't be able to get near any Israeli to blow yourself up, remember those courageous soldiers are mostly fighting in the air. Also if you do get near the ones who are conducting the ground offensive, that means you are already dead. Also before thinking about fighting did you not think how you will get to Lebanon ? you need a visa and how will you enter ? no airport - no flights. You have the option of going via Syria, but then you will be killed like a fly in your car when travelling from the border to Beirut.
Secretary: But I want to do something- I hate the way we have become- blowing myself up is the only weapon I have left... I think I need to attached part of the bomb to my head too not to feel the pain, I will die immediately.
H: well if you are so adamant about it and can find a way to get there , go do it .
----------------------

I'll offer my solution in another post.

The Global Nomads

While surfing Redenclave blog I came accross her interesting post Third Culture Kid !
She says :

"Third Culture Kids (abbreviated TCKs) is a term for children who have
lived a significant portion of their lives in a country that is not their
passport country [...]TCKs share some common characteristics amongst the sub
categories such as multilingualism, tolerance for other cultures, a never-ending
feeling of homesickness for their adopted country (it is very true) and a desire
to remain in close contact with friends from their adopted country as well as
other TCKs that they have grown up with. (I do still keep in touch with some of
them)"

read more here .

I've always suspected that these kids are special and had my own theory about it but I'm pleased to see someone had actually studied this phenomenon. I've met quite a few people like the ones described in Redenclave's post and I always wonder what set them apart from the herd .
A friend of mine who belonged to that 'club' used to complain a lot, and I would tell her you don't know how lucky you are... now I can shove this article in her face .

I think these global nomads or TCK's should be the future leaders, they have the potential for great understanding .

Redenclave concludes :

"Life wasn't easy for me when I got home, I had difficulties speaking and
understand my national language. Mom did take the initiative teaching me Malay
while I was abroad, but we spoke English most of the time at home! Hence, the
problem communicating. My new school friends couldn't understand my simple
Malay. Who cares? I hated my life, I hated that I had to return home. I couldn't
master the language even till now. My friends used to tease me for my accent
(when I speak in my mother tongue). I can't help it and I don't want to change
anything! I am what I am and I am happy to be me! "

YAY - you go Redenclave , TCKs rule!

Awakening a Conscience ?

Someone in the comment section (probably Craig) asked why did I keep bringing up articles from idiotic westerners and not from Arabs ? He wanted articles from Arabs to pick on and articles from intelligent westerners to pick on hmmm

Well I have been bringing a few articles from time time and even going through the trouble of translating them for you guys to rip each other about them. I can't help that the articles that do not seem to fit your particular line of thought are dismissed as idiotic now can I ? ;)
Anyway here is a short fresh one from last week. I'm back to my usual antics, count that interlude as just that - a freak storm.

Extremely Innocent questions : by the editor in chief of the 'Jamahiriya' daily newspaper issue 4991 dated 2-8-06 ( my translation)

"A few years ago, the Darfur regime was not present on the western mind despite
its geographical presence.Also a few years ago Darfur was NOT in the western
spotlight despite the sun hitting directly on it. Nothing was mentioned about 7
million Sudanese living in an area as large as France, whether Darfur's
inhabitant fought eacht other or not, whether they waged wars against each other
or not or whether the disputes about grazing grounds and water sources took
place or not.

Yet neither Paris, or Washington, or London or anyone new what was
happening within the history tunnel, and maybe no one wanted to know.
That is we must question the Darfur file and this 'sudden' great Western
concern about it .
Is it a case of a sudden love by the West towards this region?Why has this conscience been swallowing sleeping pills for mor than half a century while Palestine was screaming in its ears ?
Why has the western conscience unexpectedly woken up?and most importantly where was this conscience which is now making a racket regarding Darfur... why does it not open it's eyes regarding Lebanon?

What is Israel doing now will enable Hitler, Genkhis Khan and Nero to obtain a certificate of good behaviour. "

Déjà vu

Oh the irony, I thought this time it would be different .... I give up let the darkness in ....

It's the black hole version 2.1 , Dhafer meri jaan where are you ? It's difficult to get in touch with you now that you have a family. If you read this then call, we need to fix it. Je t'assure que c'est tellement pathetique que cela en devient marrant.

This is an SOS .

Love

I realised that all you 'warriors' are still tired of the war stories all over the media, and several of you have expressed a wish to continue with the light hearted posts. Well I'm still heavy hearted about the Middle East too and I'm afraid I might say things that I won't be able to take back ever. That is why I agree, I 'll give you an encore , a post about LOVE , but you have to keep your end of the bargain and not chicken out ;)

So apparently tomorrow 12th of August is Romance Day , and the 16th of August is True Love Forever Day ???? Who invented these things ?

Do you believe in true love, or is it an outdated concept ? Since most of us are single here apart from Maya and Chris in Manitoba, if I remmember well .. then there should be some interesting remarks.

I was a fervent believer in true love, soulmates etc... but now ... I'm kind of ambivalent can anyone prove me wrong ?
what is the most romantic thing you ever did / was done to you ? and what will you do this week now that you know these two important dates are coming LOL.

Update 12-8-06

True love holds no grudges ...

Mr. Highlander -updated

I don’t want to sound callous, but I’m sure you’ve all had an overdose of war on the blogs. So I thought that it was time to tackle some other topic, we can revert to the Middle East – yes I have more controversy – in a few days time how about that ?

I’ve been sent many emails and forwarded quizzes asking me about my ideal man ;) , and how come there is no Mr. Highlander – along with some offers to fill that space he he he… Hmm it seems you guys are all curious about my taste eh ? By the way the tests and memes sent by the ladies where fun to do also. I swear I did them all! Oh and I promise I won’t divulge who asked me what …..

I had posted in February 2005 my favourite ‘purely physical’ attractive men, and then mentioned that my choice would be influenced by ‘intelligence, wit, education, culture , love etc...’.

So if anyone is matchmaking here is my partial non-comprehensive list :)

(1) Spirituality –faith

This is the most important characteristic , because the man who is confident about his spirituality and has faith in God will be at peace with himself and the world. He will harbour no hate and no suspicion towards other humans and he will therefore do his best to uphold human values for everybody. Which eventually translates into respect and love for his spouse – I would feel safe in the notion that it is okay for me to be human and imperfect, and that I would still be cared for. I guess what I’m looking for is the beauty of the soul .

(2)Extensive culture

My man has to be well rounded in his general culture or at least willing to learn more, degrees are not a proof of refinement and culture they are merely a tool and a guide. The principal part is the ambition to accumulate knowledge about all sorts of interesting topics and the will to share it.


(3)Conversation

The extensive culture mentioned above would result into wonderful conversation and debating skill and life would never be boring especially when we get older and the physical passion gets less urgent;) Plus a great conversation will make him sooooooooo charming.
We should be able to talk about anything with no taboos and no fear.


(4)Keeping promises /word

Keeping my word is a characteristic that was drilled into me since childhood. I was literally told “your word should never fall to the ground”. That is -you should always respect your word and keep your promises. I have attempted to live by this decree for as long as I can remember even if it was at the expense of my own interest. That is why I will have no mercy if potential Mr.Highlander proves he cannot keep his word, whether by malice or negligence. There are no excuses, except for death or a fatal accident – for everything else there is the phone or email or any other means of communication. Not keeping his word means I don’t count as a human being, lover, friend, partner whatever i.e. I’m dispensable and not to be respected . If you keep your word against all odds you will be my hero.

(5)Tenderness & gallantry etc..

A tender guy will disarm me – I would be putty in his hands. In this age of ‘equality’ of the sexes, I am not ashamed to say a gallant real gentleman would score better in my eyes.
He would be available no matter how busy ( or find a way to make it OK that he is not).Of course I 'm not selfish and I do understand when someone is busy yet certain people have that certain je ne sais quoi , amazingly they know what to say and what to do at the right moment. Maybe they are just more finely attuned than the other mere mortals ;) .

(6)Hard working and smart

Intelligence is a prerequisite, dumb guys please abstain. Note that this does not include all intelligent men , I'm sure you've heard of emotional intelligence - so a high quotient in that is definetely a plus, because he would be attentive to my wants and needs and safety as I would damn ( oops excuse the profanity) sure be doing that all along ( comes with the territory lol ).
He should be willing to work hard to achieve his dreams and I would be supportive but he should be supportive in helping me achieve mine. He would be able to teach me something I don't know and humble enough to want to learn from me as well.

(7)Sharing

If we’re gonna share intimacy and conversation then it is only fair to share household responsibility and raising kids i.e.and equitable division of labour. The better we share the more we have time to be together.

(8)Physical

Good hygiene and grooming is a given , if you’re willing to take care of your physical shape I will take care of mine too. If you have a great butt and legs ( or lips ) don’t be shy about it . Plus it’s much more attractive to go to bed with Brad Pitt ( he looks good even in a skirt ) than with the Michelin guy ( Bibendum for my American readers ) !
Although I have no ethnic or racial preferences, I find myself programmed to be attracted to a certain type more than the other, but as I said if you fit all the criteria , then beauty becomes in the eye of the beholder.

(9)Fun and adventurous

Beach , library, playground, parks, mountains foreign countries, dancing, chess, monopoly or just playing hide and seek in the sitting room with the kids. It takes a special guy to want to do these things.


Well that was my wish list and not necessarily in order of preference . So far only a couple of men have partially fulfilled the criteria- either I’m chasing windmills or real men have gone into hiding . ..lol

Hope you enjoyed that and please share with me YOUR wish lists ladies and gentlemen ..... I don't discriminate so if you are gay or bi you can be anonymous and tell about your ideal second half ;)

UPDATE 10-8-06

Well some of your comments have uncovered some other characteristics :)

- I like the modern but macho man ( hand's on guy as someone said below)
- An ability to make decisions is a plus
- if he compromises I will too.

'tis not perfection I seek as that is a Godly attribute , 'tis who with his imperfections would still be perfect for me. Not looking for that prince on the white horse I guess but forr the one who will bring the glass slipper that fits ;)