Syria Planet [Beta] - Thoughts Of Syrian Bloggers Across The Globe

Observations of a German journalist in Beirut

Joshua Landis — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:36:48 -0400

Here is a fascinating personal account of recent events in Lebanon from a German journalist and political analyst who resided in Beirut for the better part of the past fourteen years. He would like to share it with readers of Syria Comment. Alex. Dear everybody,So the civil war has started, or maybe it is over already. [...]

ظاهرة الـ Deja Vu أو “تم رؤيته سابقاً” ….

Kasem — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:31:00 -0400

البارحة جرى نقاش في غرفة ” الفصول الأربعة ” الصوتية في موقع سيريا روم , حول ظاهرة لا يوجد لها حتى الآن تفسير علمي أو منطقي سليم ومتكامل ,وهي ظاهرة الـ Deja Vu أو ” تم رؤيته سابقاً ” , وهذا النقاش شدني كثيراً فشاركت به مستعيناً بما أعرفه عنه وما بحثت به سابقاً عن هذا الموضوع , حيث أن [...]

Islamic Feminism is Alive and Well!!!!!

Arima — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:04:25 -0400

Okay....I've decided to serialise this little rant because I found that I went on far too long with this to include it all in one post. Please note that much of the material is edited from Elizabeth Warnock Fernea article here

...

Massive Ummayad Square development announced

Sasa — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:35:25 -0400

A Kuwaiti company is going to build a quarter of a billion dollar tourism and leisure centre on the Ummayad Square.

At the centre will be Syria's first InterContinental Hotel. There will also be a shopping centre, cinemas, offices plus a health club and spa.

Kuwaiti company Kharafi Group has won the right to build the 50,000 square metre Kiwan project. It should be complete within two years.

The Ummayad Square is one of the most important centres in the new city. An underpass to ease traffic congestion took years to build. Around the square are the ...

درس علوم-حيوانات

Mouffaq Qabbani — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:18:11 -0400

موفأ , هلأ في مافي حمارة مو ؟موفق: اه؟ هههه مبلا في حمار و حمارةهي: بالله عنجدموفق:اي و الله وابنن كر او جحشهي:اي , طيب و الحصانموفق: الحصان و فرس , بيجيبو مهرهي: ايواا طيب و التيس شو؟موفق : التيس و الماعزهي: شو بجيبو ؟موفق: جدي أو سخلهي : اها طيب و البغل مين ابو؟موفق: [...]

Best Sign of the Week

Abu Kareem — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:18:23 -0400

I couldn't agree more with this message from members of Lebanon's Association for the Disabled to their leaders as they left Beirut airport for Qatar. This sign cuts through the mountains of manure that each side heaps on the other and gets down to the heart of the matter.

Happy families

Sasa — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:21:35 -0400

Three war criminals and a thief.

What a beautiful sight. Hold on to that image, they'll be killing eachother soon, when the one-trick pony March 14 alliance crumbles.

Left to right: Sa'ad Hariri, son of Rafiq Hariri. Amin Gemayal, son of Pierre Gemayal. Walid Junblatt, son of Kamal Junblatt. Samir Jaja, son of a bitch.

Lebanon: Stop

Aiman Tulaimat — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:37:36 -0400

It really hurts. It hurts to see our brothers and sisters in Lebanon go through such period of fear and worry. It hurts to see so many suffer, out of their home, out of their businesses, or worst; out of life. Lebanon that always was a leader in education, commerce, and intellect in the Arab World and a destination for the Arabs going forward, is now once again on the verge of collapse due to a battle of egos. The egos are of those battling inside and of those battling outside its borders. A sold Lebanon in my mind is not only a right for all the Lebanese, it is important for the Arabs for three reasons:

It is an important frontier in the conflict between the Arabs and Israel. If the Lebanese nationalize the 400,00 Palestinians and end the fight for Shibaa farm, Syria looses its chances of getting the Golan, and the rest of the Palestinians will have no negotiating power. Lebanon will be the domino that ends the Arab-Israeli conflict. Lebanon is the weakest ...

Mlookhiyyeh!

Kinan Jarjous — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:30:23 -0400

My sister came back from Damascus and - to my ZOMG surprise - granny sent me a big box of mlookhiyyeh.She must be worshiped!I put 3 portions of the plate you see as well as three big loaves of Arabic bread - this and I already was going to have dinner in two hours lol!When I finished everything, to my surprise, I also found a BAG OF FRESH THYME (za3tar)!!!!! ZOMG don't you LOVE fresh-made

غربان آخر الليل !!.

علوش — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:28:05 -0400

في الليل يفترض أن تنام كائنات الله، من البشر حتى الحمير، والحمدلله أننا نسكن في ضاحية بعيدة كلّ البعد عن صخب المدينة وأجواءها وهي ضاحية الحمدانية، ومن مميزات الحمدانية مساحاتها الخضراء الفاصلة بين أبنيتها التي صممت على النمط السوفييتي البسيط والمتواضع، جميل حتى الآن أليس كذلك.[ضاحية الحمدانية من الزاوية الشرقية للحيّ الأول، وهو المكان الذي [...]

أن يموت الخونة... وتنتصر المقاومة

Arab Democracy — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:27:56 -0400

نداء الغزالpicture: http://blufiles.storage.live.com

أتتنا أخبار الموت بسرعة فلم نستعد له بما يليق به ولم ننتحب ولم نبك فهذا موت مختلف إنه موت الخونة! إنه موت الآخر ...

"Poverty in Philosophy"

Wassim — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:12:14 -0400

Saturated in much Western political philosophy, popular culture and consciousness is this conception of the "Individual" standing against some collective and faceless horde which is attempting to stamp it out. It demonstrates the annoying symptoms of a centuries old classical education that has inculcated the arrogant belief that Western civilization sprung from Greece, whose individuality and pluckiness faced down the Persian hordes. I won't even go into this ridiculous notion, but that some people internalise this perspective unflinchingly annoys me to no end - not just with regards to Lebanon's political crisis but in relations to China as well. That people may feel this way about strangers or "others" is not surprising, that it is enshrined as so central to much Western political thought is. This is what makes reading anyone the likes of Mill or Rawls so annoying, their repackaging of the completely obvious and mundane into something exclusive and exceptional - what they advocate i

دفاعاً عن حق "الموتورين" في التعبير

Mustafa Hamido — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:01:20 -0400

أسامة يونس

أن يكون الصحفيون "مضطرين" للتنديد بما جرى لإعلام الحريري، شيء، وأن يصبح هذا الإعلام شهيد حرية الرأي، شيء آخر.

التضامن مع "الزملاء" الحريريين بدأ يأخذ طابعاً هو إلى التهريج والكذب الصريح أقرب، خاصة أن كثيراً من المتضامنين لم يرفع صوته حين مـُنعت محطة المنار هناك في أرض ...

I watch BBC news and see a dour looking

Wassim — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:49:08 -0400

I watch BBC news and see a dour looking American Admiral tell the reporter that her country has a lot to give and are just waiting for the go ahead. The setting is an aircraft carrier just off the coast of Burma and the tone is critical of the Burmese government for refusing authorisation for foreign countries to drop aid. As usual, the United States is at the forefront of demonstrating their commitment to humanitarian efforts world wide, especially in resource rich countries which might be useful later. Ironic that none of this arrogance or power was available in New Orleans, where people were killing each other for fresh drinking water, yet here was a battleship that, the BBC's reporter claimed, was capable of generating x tonnes of fresh drinking water a day. Incidentally, has anyone noticed how well organised and handled the effects of the earthquake in China have been? Again, contrast that with New Orleans which, I imagine, was a walk in the park to the devastation in China today.

بَدكمش ترجعو؟

أمنية — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:48:54 -0400

(كبرنا. كم كبرنا، والطريق الي السماء طويلةٌ)

Al-Quds Club AUC 3alli Narak

Wassim — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:38:11 -0400

In spite of initial difficulties, the al Quds Dabkeh club was finally able to perform in commemoration of the Nakbah. The original venue had withdrawn its support but luckily and thanks to the Egyptian Union of Journalists, the group were able to perform at the Journalists syndicate in Cairo.

Go Qatar....

Ihsan Attar — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:55:24 -0400

Not as many of you may have thought, this post is not cheering Qatar because of their recent mediation to end the Lebanese-Lebanese slaughtering simply because I have stopped caring about that `fucked-up` country after I watched this gory footage of Lebanese killing Lebanese, again, based on their affiliations. So my dear Lebanese population....Go to hell!
Or in Arabic "تنباعو بالعزا...سواءا كنتو سنة..شيعة..مسيحية...دروز...او حتى بشر"

I`ve been meaning to post about Qatar for some time but never really got the chance, so I decided to spend my break doing so.

Despite my irrational racism against people of the Gulf region, I cannot help it not to admire, support and applaud the tremendous effort some of them are spending on a global marketing campaign to promote and sell `Arabs` in a better and polished way.

Syrian Media – The Challenge and the Need to Act | Part II

Joshua Landis — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:31:31 -0400

Part II - The Syrian Response – Shy and Feebleby Averroes (Read part I here)A media onslaught such as the one waged on Syria and its allies, and especially the non-stop pumping of sectarian hatred is and must be approached as a serious strategic threat to the country’s (and the region’s) security. But what has Syrian [...]

الفلسطنيين خونة باعوا أرضهم!

أحمد نذير بكداش — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:49:32 -0400

الكثير والكثير من الناس يقولون هذه الجملة, التي لا أستطيع أن أحكم علي مصدقيتها, ولكن حتى لو كانت الجملة صادقة من الذي باع ؟! أكيد عدد قليل جدا!اذا أفترضنا أنهم باعوا! باعوا لأن الأسرائيلين: عذبوهم, قتلوهم, أغتصبوا أرضهم.ولكن الأكيد هو أن الحكومات العربية هي التي باعت الشعب الفلسطيني والأرض المقدسة منذ 60 عام وأتوقع الوصول [...]

Blog for Palestine Day

GlobalVoices Online — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:02:49 -0400

Blogger za3tar has organized Blog About Palestine Day for today, May 15, the anniversary of the Nakba and Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. Bloggers around the world were invited to blog for Palestine, as noted by Global Voices here. Many bloggers chose to participate in the event; here is a selection.

حوار في ذكرى “النكبة”

سعد الله — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:49:39 -0400

مشهد داخلي - جد وحفيد اسرائيليان يتحدثونالجد: لقد مضت ستون عاماً يا جدي، عندما بدأنا احتلال هذه البلاد كنا نخاف عليها في كل لحظة كل ثانية. وهذا ما يجب أن تفعلوه أنتم أيضاً.الحفيد: لا أعتقد أننا نحتاج لأن نبقى متيقظين يا جدي، فأعداؤنا العرب لديهم الكثير من الهموم الأخرى لكي ينسوا كيفية محاربتنا. هم حالياً مشغولون [...]

أي شآم: ماأفعل كي أنال رضاكِ؟ فهل تدفنيني في ثراكِ؟

جساس — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:07:30 -0400

قصتي مع الشام طويلة بطول عمري القصير، وهي قصة تشبه من يقرأ ويسمع عن مدن الأحلام وجنان الله في أرضه فيشتهيها ويشتاق لها ويذرف عليها الدموع بدون أمل في الوصول إليها، وهذه هي شآمي العزيزة لي فيها انتساب وآمال وآلام ورجال ونساء بدون أن أراها أو أشتم هوائها أو أعفر جبيني بترابها الطاهر.

في رمضان لا أستطيع أن أفطر بدون أن أكحل عياني بالأموي وبجموع المفطرين وبالأذان الجماعي الملائكي الساحر فتتوه عياني بين حمام المسجد وحمام السماء الطائر ...

Syria: Call to Release Jailed Relatives in Saudi Arabia

GlobalVoices Online — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:23:50 -0400

Or Does it Explode reports on a protest in Damascus, Syria, calling for the release of their relatives, who are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. According to the blog, Saudi Arabia has sentenced to death at least 28 Syrians for drug possession and jailed hundreds more.

Mona El-Shazly & Bush

أحمد نذير بكداش — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:36:11 -0400

هذا هو اللقاء الذي كان بين المذيعة المصرية منى الشاذلي والرئيس الأمريكي جورج بوش.…………………………….

Syrian Media – The Challenge and the Need to Act

Joshua Landis — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:27:32 -0400

Joshua will be away this week. I will be posting a series of contributions from our readers. Alex Syrian Media – The Challenge and the Need to Act by Averroes With the latest events in Lebanon, Saudi channel Alarabiya is again doing what it does best, inflaming Arab public opinion against Shiites, Syria, and the [...]

استشهاد أم

فرح ميداني — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:38:33 -0400

أعيد نشر هذه القصية في يوم التدوين عن فلسطين …هي قصيدة كتبتها بالدمع … ألقيتها أمام جمع من الناس , فأحبوها وأثرّت بهم ,…………………………………..أمي…. كلّ العيون نامت مع صوت الرصاصأما أنتِ سلبك الرصاص منيوأنا هنا أسمع صوت الرصاصوليس لي إلا زاوية جدار ٍ كئيبة تحضننيفخذيني ضميني يا زوايــــــالعلي أكون غداً قرب أمي* * *

Hariri media undermines Lebanese Army

Sasa — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:18:24 -0400

The Lebanese Army. The one neutral institution in Lebanon. Yes, they deserve a lot of criticism, but taking sides is not one of them.

So no wonder the Hariri gang is upset that they didn't come running when they lost their mini-civil war.

There's no doubt that Michel Sleiman is not partisan. He has the backing of the Opposition, March 14, the US and even - possibly - Israel. But the fact that the army didn't act as Hariri's private armed forces upset him. Quite a lot.

Future TV has launched scathing attacks - accusing the army of working for Hizbollah, by walking in to Future News with Amal gunmen to cut the cables.

But most dangerously, they claimed yesterday that around 40 Sunni Commanders resigned over the way the conflict was handled. (It was quoted elsewhere, but the quotes originate from Lebanese Forces newspaper An-Nahar).

The Secret to the Perfect Figure

Arima — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:15:19 -0400

Like all women, I have encountered phases where I have completely loathed and detested my body for a variety of different reasons- too fat, too thin, too tall, too short....too, too, too!!! Between me and my friends, family and aquaintances, I reckon that I have encountered every diet out there and guess what?!?!? Most of them don't really work!
BUT...I have finally discovered the secret to slim, svelte contours and long, lithe limbs! Having spent the last week in absolute agony due to blood poisoning at the hands of a stupid and sadistic dentist, with my left cheek looking something like a cross between a Picasso and an over-zealous hamster and the mere effort of sipping water being far too painful to even contemplate, I have finally attained the perfect UK size 6 figure!

My Yahoo شكل صفحتك الرئيسة كما تحب

Seaddeek — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:29:38 -0400

هي خدمة تمكنك من عرض اكثر من خدمة من خدمات ياهو في صفحة واحدة فتعطيك امكانية تشيكل صفحتك كماتريد متضمنة الاشياء التي تريدها كحالة الطقس و الخرائط والايميل و الملتميديا وغير ذلك من خدمات ياهو اضافة الى خلاصات مواقعك المفضلة كل ذلك في نفس الصفحة التي يمكنك ايضا التحكم بشكلها والوانها بكل سلسة وهي شبيه [...]

فايرفوكس جربه و لن تندم

Seaddeek — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:23:35 -0400

فايرفوكس جربه و لن تندم