I saw this fantastic mock template on reddit. It pretty much summarizes 99% of the arguments of all Israel apologist out there

Dear Sir or Madam,

You have made a post that dares to criticize Israel. As you know, this makes you an anti-semite.
I would like to point out the following facts that are relevant to the discussion:

[x] 6 million Jews died in the holocaust.
[x] You are an anti semite.
[ ] Israel made the desert bloom and we have beautiful beaches.
[ ] The Jews have been persecuted for thousands of years.
[x] All arabs want to push the Jews into the sea.
[ ] Israel is a shining example of democracy and ethnic discrimination does not exist.
[x] Suicide bombers are killing Israeli citizens and collective punishment will put a stop to this eventually.
[x] The IDF are showing remarkable restraint; They have the power to nuke the entire region but choose not to.
[ ] It is the fault of the Palestinians that they don’t rebuild infrastructure fast enough after we bomb it.
[x] Arafat walked out on camp David, proving that 100% of Palestinians want war, not peace.
[x] The Jews are God’s chosen people and this is the land that was promised to us by a book.
[x] It’s not white phosphorus, we were just dropping road flares!
[x] It is not a genocide until hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are killed and we aren’t even close to that yet.
[ ] 100% of Palestinians are terrorists.
[x] The Arabs drove the Jews from their homeland thousands of years ago so it is about time for some payback.
[x] Israel has killed fewer people than Iran or Iraq which means we are a peaceful state.
[x] Carpet bombing an entire country is a perfectly rational response to the kidnapping of a soldier.
[ ] It’s not a concentration camp, it’s a safety wall!

Therefore, your claim of [Israel dropping white phosphorus on a United Nations school] is false and we should continue to send money and military support to Israel.

Yours sincerely,

AIPAC

P.S. you are an anti-semite

This was provoked by the onslaught of nonsensical responses by Israeli apologists after somebody dared post this picture from Israel’s attack on an UNRWA school in Gaza during operation “Cast Lead”.

If you’re interested, I blogged about my reaction to the attack on this school when it happened here.

Let me start with this outrageous quote from US House Representative Michael Pence (Republican from Indiana) that he recently made on CNN:

Let’s be clear, there is not a humanitarian crisis in Gaza … the hospitals are fully stocked, the food markets are fully stocked!

WHAAA???? At first I was so shocked that I thought I must have misheard it. So I watched it again and again; nope that is what he said! Apparently Gaza is in top shape and we didn’t know it! Rep. Pence, I salute you (albeit, it is a one-finger salute).

Pence must have smashed all sorts of spin records. Gaza not in a humanitarian crisis?! Michael Pence, what have you been smoking? In what world do you live? Did you leave planet Earth for Pandora? Actually you know what, if you are so confident that what you say is true, I am willing to personally fund you to travel to Gaza with a camera crew and show us how we got it all wrong. Please Pence, enlighten us.

Here is a video of his CNN interview. Prepare to be dazzled!

Much has been said about Israel’s violent interception of the humanitarian aid flotilla headed to Gaza. Both sides have put forth their claims and counter claims. But the basic facts remain: Israel attacked non-military ships in international waters, Israel used lethal force against unarmed civilians (the activists attacked the Israeli commandos with sticks, rods, and chairs … but what do you expect when you drop commandos on a ship in the middle of night? a dance festival?!), and Israel killed 9 unarmed protesting civilians. After all was said and done, no weapons were found on-board any of the ships.

Cross him and weep .. THIS is a super hero! None of those whimsical super-hero-wannabes.

I don’t know what is the super power of these two (Nizar & KJ) .. are they really good in shopping ? 7aki Fadi’s hero isn’t even standing straight to project power. Her tiny ax and measly butterfly wings are no match for funky blade’s cool power! One swing of that sword and you are history baby! .. but not to worry, if you get your clothes dirty, I’m sure Nizar’s and KJ’s super heros know a fabulous store to buy replacements

hehehe … i am having too much fun with this .. i really should back to work. Thanks KJ, Nizar, and 7aki for the link

I woke up this morning only to find out that both my parents have created Facebook accounts . Talk about a morning surprise!

Over the years my family has been slowly coerced to becoming a high-tech wired group; after all, internet, email, palms/blackberries, and VoIP are all in use. Yes we are truly a nahfeh . I’ve gotten quite used to waking up on some days to find 7 forwarded emails from my mom in my inbox.

However, transition and adoption of new tech is rarely smooth. Things do take getting used to. I sometimes do wonder how do people who were not in contact with high tech gadgets in their teens or 20s deal with such things. After all, they grew up without seeing value for such things, and have adapted to going about their daily routine without such “interference”.

Perhaps what is even more interesting than the view of our parents and other people from their generation, is our view on things when we get in their position. We (pretty much all the readers of this blog) have all grown up in the age of computers and rapid technological jumps. So we are quite accustomed to frequently changing to new things, using new websites, new gadgets ..etc. So will we have an easier time adapting to our children’s technology in 10, 20, or 30 years ? I don’t know. I guess only time will tell. But for now, i will just go post something on my father’s wall

A couple of days ago, 7aki posted a question asking what is the minimum value a coin has to be for you to pick it up from the ground. Well today I found $23 on the ground, so I definitely picked them up .

Now this IS an exceptionally large amount of money to find on the ground, but I hope it won’t be my largest . I looked around, but it was an empty university quad on a lazy summer day. Nobody was in sight to claim it, so I introduced that money to its younger siblings in my pocket .

Now, to find a way to spend that money … After all, found money is spending money

The following short segment from “Nova Science Now”, which is an amazing program btw, highlights a company that is exploring the idea of extending a thin sheet-like line from earth to outer space to use it as a basis for an elevator to cheaply transport people into space!! I honestly don’t see this happening, but it is entertaining to see great bright minds playing around with the idea.

This definitely is a wacky idea in my opinion. I mean come on, can you imagine planet earth orbiting in space with a big pipe extending out of it ? Even if such a thing could be built, how on earth will you maintain it and protect it from meteors and other space hazards ? How will you even make it stable ?! … i personally don’t think it will even be economically feasible to build and maintain such a link.

In totally unrelated news, and in contrast to that wacky idea, i think the following events can actually take place .. (but i hope they don’t ):

• Qwaider making a blog post *during* his wedding party: … yeah, who amongst us doesn’t believe this is possible…. i’d actually be surprised if he didn’t … heck, i’ll be surprised if he didn’t blog during his honeymoon .
• Two days after their marriage, Qwaider seriously tries to convince Maioush that she should migrate her blog to be hosted on Memories Documented (his blog) instead of WordPress: … he explains how his own private hosting can provide her with secure backups and strict anti-spam mechanisms (not to mention his perceived superiority of his blogging engine to everything that is readily available out there) … i say resist the temptations Maioush.
• KJ‘s imaginary friend, Moogle, gets jealous of Qwaider’s marriage and decides to have his own imaginary friend: … (yes .. with KJ it is very well possible that an imaginary friend could get an imaginary friend). Unfortunately, Moogle’s imaginary friend runs off to get married as well … this will leave KJ perplexed for a few weeks… oh boy … god help us if that happens.

Qwaider .. sorry buddy, somebody had to pick on you because you’re getting married … and congratulations to you and Maioush again.

هذا الخبر ليس جديد على الإطلاق، بل على الأغلب أنه أقدم من معظمنا، ولكني لم أكن أعرف به من قبل ولذا قررت مشاركتكم إياه.

هل تعلمون أن هناك رائدان فضاء عرب خرجوا في رحلات إلى الفضاء في الثمانينيات من القرن المنصرم لإجراء أعمال علمية (وليس للسياحة كما هي موضة الوقت الحالي)!! ورواد الفضاء هؤلاء ليسوا أمريكان أو أوروبيين من أصل عربي، بل هم عربٌ عرب.

رائد الفضاء العربي الأول كان السعودي سلطان بن عبد العزيز آل سعود والذي خرج إلى الفضاء في السابع عشر من حزيران عام 1985 كجزء من الفريق الدولي لتثبيت الستالايت عربسات 1B على متن الرحلة الأمريكية STS-51-G.

أما رائد الفضاء العربي الثاني فهو السوري محمد أحمد فارس والذي خرج إلى محطة الأبحاث الفضائية الروسية ميير (Mir) في شهر تموز من عام 1987 على متن الرحلة السوفيتية Soyuz TM-3.

الشيء الغريب في الموضوع أني لا أذكر أني وجدت ذكراً لأيهما في كتب العلوم المدرسية (وأنا درست على منهاج الضفة الغربية القديم والذي هو أساساً المنهاج الأردني). يعني على الأقل ذكر رواد الفضاء هؤلاء قد يعزز الطموح عند الأطفال الصغار للجد والعمل. هل صادف أحدكم هؤلاء الرواد في مناهجكم الدراسية (أو حتى الذكر عن طريق التلفاز) ؟

الصورة على اليمين هي لرائد الفضاء السعودي والصورة على الشمال هي لرائد الفضاء السوري.

أما الصورة التالية فهي تبيين دول العالم بتاريخ إخراج أول روادها الفضائيين … ههههه شكله هذه هي الشغلة الوحيدة اللي سبق فيها العرب إسرائيل .

Professor David Mumford (homepage, wikipedia) is an American mathematician at Brown University. He is also the most recent recipient of the prestigeous Israeli mathematics prize (Wolf Prize). Mumford said on Monday that he is donating his share of that prestigious Israeli mathematics prize to advance the education of Palestinian students.

He decided to donate his money to Bir Zeit University and to an Israeli group that tries to ease Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian students. The contrast between what goes on in Israel and what goes on in the Palestinian areas is “striking”, with Israelis able “to travel freely to meetings and graduate students going wherever they please,” he said. Adding: “It seems to me in the Palestinian areas, this isn’t the case”.

Thank you Dr. Mumford.

Read more about this story here and here.

***UPDATE #1:*** A Facebook event for this initiative has been created. Please join the event and pass the message on to your friends (more info here).

***UPDATE #2:*** A list of possible topics to write about can be found (here and here).

***UPDATE #3:*** A small list of bloggers who are participating in the event is published here.

***UPDATE #4:*** A sample harvest list of blog posts contributed to this event has been published here.

Dear all,

May 15th of this year is the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba –which marked the beginning of the modern age Palestinian plight and suffering. This date is remembered annually on local, regional, and global levels.

I am certain that many in the blogosphere will dedicate some posts to commemorate this tragic event. However, inspired by the success of the “Blog About Jordan Day” initiative, i would like to start a formal initiative to encourage everybody to dedicate one post on Thursday, May 15th, to talk about Palestine or the Palestinian Experience.

There are no restrictions on what you can write, or the language that you can use. Really, anything that talks about Palestine, or the Palestinians; in the past, present, or future; political, social, economical, or any other aspect is welcomed. The goal of this event will be to share thoughts, and raise awareness about the Palestinian situation. Hopefully, with everyone’s support, this will be such a spectacular event that it will catch the eye of the mainstream media (specially that the Palestinian situation is inadequately and incorrectly represented in most of the western media outlets).

FAQ:

• Do I have to be Palestinian / Arab to participate ?
  No, everybody is welcomed to join in on this effort.
• Does it have to represent the Palestinian point of view (or be a positive article) ?
  No, you are free, and encouraged, to write whatever you want.
• Does it have to be about the Nakba precisely ?
  No, you can talk about the history of the Palestinian plight, current internal and external affairs, or outlooks for possible future resolutions to this conflict and how do you think can we achieve and maintain peace.
• Does it have to be a political article ?
  No, you are free to talk about any aspect of the Palestinian life inside and outside Palestine. You are free to talk about whatever you want.

I would appreciate it if you could help me spread the word about this event. For your convenience, i have created some simple counters and banners for this event. You can find their code below:

Thank you in advance for your help and support.

**UPDATE:** Thanks to Qwaider for mentioning that blogs *hosted* on WordPress.com (and possibly other engines) might face some trouble embedding JavaScript code as is done above. If this is the case for you, you can use the following image banners below:

<a href="http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/01/blog-about-palestine-day/"><img id="countdownimage" src="http://files.za3tar.net/pal-day-08/buttons/pal-day-en.jpg" border="0" alt="Blog About Palestine Day" style="background-color:#000"></a>

<a href="http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/01/blog-about-palestine-day/"><img id="countdownimage" src="http://files.za3tar.net/pal-day-08/buttons/pal-day-ar.jpg" border="0" alt="Blog About Palestine Day" style="background-color:#000"></a>

<a href="http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/01/blog-about-palestine-day/"><img id="countdownimage" src="http://files.za3tar.net/pal-day-08/buttons/pal-day-en-big.jpg" border="0" alt="Blog About Palestine Day" style="background-color:#000"></a>

<a href="http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/01/blog-about-palestine-day/"><img id="countdownimage" src="http://files.za3tar.net/pal-day-08/buttons/pal-day-ar-big.jpg" border="0" alt="Blog About Palestine Day" style="background-color:#000"></a>

وجدت هذه المقالة صدفة على النت … أعتقد أنها فكرة سياحية خلابة تذكرني بإحدى مرافق دبي السياحية

المقالة الأصلية هنا

The daily events of this common “hard-worker”. Ya3teek el-3afyeeh Sob7ee

This clip was created by the creative folks at Zan Studio in Ramallah.

The team at Zan Studio

From Sabbah’s Blog:

OK, it’s Eid holiday, so this is not politics-related, but it is a cool way to find out if you are a right-brain or left-brain dominant. Look at the dancer and decide which way she’s spinning.

Focus!

If you think she’s going clockwise, you’re apparently right-brain dominant (imaginative, philosophical, touchy-feely, impetuous); if you see her going counter-clockwise, you’re left-brain dominant (logical, practical, detail-oriented, safe).

The publisher claimed that “most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it,” but I see it only clockwise!

Purple petals have fallen of a tree down the road of where i live. The street turned into a majestic purple shade. I have not digitally altered any of these photos, i am not sure if they need to.

I have more of these if anybody is interested. I also don’t mind you using them, but please let me know if you do.

Funny clip from the IT Crowd show.

Do you dare to try it out ??

If you are using Firefox you can enjoy this nice, and meaningful, “easter egg”. In the address bar type about:mozilla, and you will be greeted by the following “holy” text.

And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced.
But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird.
The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire
and thunder upon them. For the beast had been
reborn with its strength renewed, and the
followers of Mammon cowered in horror.

from The Book of Mozilla, 7:15

Beyond sounding as if this text came from some holy scripture, this text does indeed reference events from the end of the browser wars. Here are some of the references it makes:

1. The Beast: is actually the Netscape browser. The core engine of Netscape was called Mozilla, and its mascot was a dinosaur, and thus it was a beast.
2. The Fall of the Beast: that is when Netscape loss the browser wars for MS Internet Explorer.
3. The Unbelievers: are the Internet Explorer crowd.
4. The Great Bird: the original name for Firefox was Phoenix.
5. Fire & Thunder: references to Firefox and Thunderbird

Interesting …

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2783174,00.html?maca=ara-rss-ar-all-1125-rdf

For some reason, the first tech companies in Ramallah had an unspoken tradition of settling in old traditional “Ramallah-style” buildings rather than trendy high-rises.

This is probably one of the nicest tech company headquarters i have ever seen. It combines old architecture with a glass deck that overlooks a couple of hills and valleys.

P.S: I took this picture while driving …. yes i have many skills :-p