http://www.za3tar.net Comments, Observations, and Brain Dumps from Ramallah (at heart). Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:36:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The recent influx of American journalists to the middle east covering Barack Obama's tour has shown me their gross unfamiliarity of the basics of this world arena and its geography. Yesterday i posted about their confusion between Iraq & Jordan, two very distinct countries; one which they are occupying with ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/07/23/another-american-geography-gaffe-where-is-ramallah/ MSNBC, one of America's three major news networks, apparently can't tell the difference between Amman and Baghdad. Here is the news anchor with Amman's signature monument, the King Abdullah Mosque, right behind her in the background, yet they are convinced she is in Baghdad :-) .. come on :-) http://www.za3tar.net/2008/07/23/msnbc-thinks-amman-is-baghdad/ You get to read a lot of stupid comments on the Internet these days. On forums, YouTube, blogs ..etc, many idiots are getting to voice their "thoughts" and "ideas". Of course there are also many clever and insightful comments as well, but stupid comments do tend to stand out. For example, ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/07/17/stupid-comment/ 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 ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/07/08/elevator-to-space-other-stuff/ (In English & Arabic) أنا بدي أفِشْ خلقي، وآسف إنو حكيي راح يكون بلهجتي العاميية. أنا بَكرَه التعميم، بس واضح إنو هذه الظاهرة طالعة ومنتشرة. إشي عن جد مقرف .. الواحد بطل عارف مين وهو ووين الله حاطو .. جننتونا يعني. صدقوني مش كل إشي أمريكي أو أوروبي تلقائي أحسن. بس مع ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/07/06/our-inferiority-complex-%d8%b9%d9%80%d9%82%d9%80%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ae%d9%80%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%ac%d9%80%d8%a7/ 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)!! ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/17/%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%81%d8%b6%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8/ كنت قد نوهت قبل فترة أني أعمل على تطوير وجه جديد وطريقة جديدة للعرض والتعامل مع مجمعات المدونات (Blog Aggregators). في الواقع ما كان عملي إلا محاولة لتطبيق فكرة عندي لحل إحدى المشاكل التي تواجهني في إستعمال تلك المجمعات بشكل يومي. لكن كان ذلك المشروع أكبر قليلاً مما تخيلت مسبقاً ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/11/%d8%ae%d8%b5%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b5-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%8a%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%af-%d9%85%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%af%d9%88%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%aa/ The anticipated Apple iPhone 3G was released this Monday. This new version of the iPhone can operate on 3G networks and includes GPS capabilities. Other than that, nothing is new with the device itself. Steve Jobs keynote speech also revelead the Apple AppStore and a group of apps built on ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/10/iphone-3g-and-why-i-lost-my-trust-in-apple/ I can't take it anymore. As much as i would like to ignore it and move on with my life, it still surrounds me. It is worse than a nightmare because it never ends. You can not wake up. When you wake up you're dead. I haven't been able to ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/08/untitled/ On terrorism, symbolism, donuts, and scarfs ... Shaikr is at it again :-) Thanks Shaikr for this funny cartoon. http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/05/evil-shmevil/ I have recently received a comment from a fellow blogger regarding an event geared in response to the whole Dunkin Donuts "terrorist scarf" incident. This upcoming Friday, June the 6th, has been designated the "Wear your Kuffiyeh with Pride" day. The following nifty banners / profile pictures has also been ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/03/a-noteworthy-event/ StartUpArabia recently ran an article by guest blogger Qwaider on Trust and Arab Online Services. The article was not (and maybe not intended to be) an objective study on trust & Arabian online services, but rather a highly subjective post written by a well-known, opinionated blogger. In his article, Qwaider ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/02/re-trust-arabian-online-services/ These videos are not new, but they are quite amazing !!! Here they are arranged in order of awesomeness. This airplane was caught in "cross winds" so that is why it is drifting sideways: This one has a severe case of cross winds and a bunch of other stuff: This is just one ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/06/01/crazy-landings-takeoffs-must-see/ هههها فيديو عن جد نهفة http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/30/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%b7%d8%a9/ 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 ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/29/wolf-prize/ My friend from Jerusalem is coming to visit me this summer. So, i asked him to bring me a Hatta / Kuffiyeh (حطة / كوفية) with him. Kuffiyas are traditionally worn in almost all of the Middle East. They are warm, comfy, and they look good too. So naturally, when ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/29/they-want-to-control-what-you-wear/ I read somewhere that one of the key success factors for online startups is engaging the users. This was the case for Flickr. When Flickr started, every new joining member would receive a personal welcome from the Flickr staff. This (along with other factors) created a stronger sense of ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/28/ikbis-ground-zero/ .harvestList a { color: #2675E4; text-decoration: underline; } .harvestList a:hover { background-color: #2675E4; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; padding: 0.1em; } .arabic { font-size: 1.5em; } This is the last of my Blog About Palestine Day posts. This Harvest post contains a sample list of more than 70 articles (in 4 languages) contributed ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/28/blog-about-palestine-harvest/ كلنا تعودنا على تفاهات الموقع الإلكتروني لقناة العربية. فبالإضافة إلى توفير الأخبار الخيالية المفتعلة (شك الأسافين) يوفر لك هذا الموفع ضماناً بوجود خبر جنسي (أو متعلق بالجنس) على صفحته الأولى مجاناً ولعيون أحلى الشباب يعني صار الي بيقراء هذا الموقع زي اللي بتفرج على فلم هندي .. مش عارف شو راح ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/23/alarabiya/ First of all, Thank You, each and every one of you. Thank you for your wonderful contributions to the Blog About Palestine Day event. Thank you for leading by example, and raising awareness about Palestine, the Palestinians, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and many other things.  Grassroots initiatives like this exemplify how we ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/16/winding-down/ In preparation for commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, I was confronted with an endless stream of possible topics to blog about. I finally decided to talk about moments that  helped define me as a person, and as a Palestinian. Then I paused for a second wondering: What ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/15/on-being-palestinian/ .seedsList a { color: #2675E4; text-decoration: underline; } .seedsList a:hover { background-color: #2675E4; color: #fff; text-decoration: none; padding: 0.1em; font-size: 1.2em; } Tomorrow is Blog About Palestine Day. So far, the response has been truly amazing. This event was kicked off exactly two weeks ago (on May 1st), and yet so far ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/14/blog-about-palestine-day-the-seeds/ Many special programs are airing these days discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the roots of this whole issue. The following is a spectacular mini documentary highlighting some of the events that took place at the beginning of this conflict (around 1947-1948). It includes old footage, as well as interviews with ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/13/a-must-watch-short-documentary/ الخامس عشر من هذا الشهر آتٍ على عجل. إنَّ تعاونَ وحماس المدونين من كافة أرجاء المعمورة فعلاً لرائع. فحتى الآن أبدى الكثير من المدونين المميزين إهتمامهم وإنضموا لصفوف المشاركين، وأنا على ثقة بأن المزيد سيشاركنا عما قريب في مقالتي هذه، أود أن أقترح قائمة غير كاملة لمواضيع مشيقة ممكن تداولها في ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/12/blog-about-palestine-topics-ar/ The 15th of May is rapidly approaching, and the blogosphere's reaction has been truly overwhelming. Many wonderful people have signed up for the event, and i am sure many more will soon join us. For now, i would like to publish a "definitely-not-inclusive" list of possible topics to talk about on ... http://www.za3tar.net/2008/05/12/blog-about-palestine-topics/