Yawn

So, is anybody surprised that an Israeli minister from the far right coalition of Yisrael Beiteinu was caught on tape slandering Arabs?

Or, is anybody surprised that Netanyahu's speech was considered by the Obama administration as a positive step forward, while actually it is only a repositioning to a previously held position that the Israeli's had retraced from, thus negating Netanyahu's speech and position as a step forward and affirming it as a return to status quo ante? (And not even that, given the many restrictions he wants to impose on any future Palestinian state.)


BG

Arabic Sound Bite n° 2

I haven't been able to watch LBC and thus follow the Arabic Music hits, so maybe everyone already knows this and I'm just out of the loop, but a guaranteed hit for the summer is Fadi Andraos' song "Falasteen wa Lubnaan" (Palestine and Lebanon).

Watch it here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8z7j5_fady-andraos-flestine-we-lebnan_music

I think he looks kind of sexy with his excessive beard in this video. In a hobo-esque kind of way



For those of you that remember, Fadi won the hearts of Arabic women everywhere when he was on Star Academy 3 in 2005. Me? Personally, I thought he was arrogant and narcissistic, with his little shaved line in his eyebrow. (Anyone remember that?)

Witness old, line-through-the-eyebrow, full-of-himself, Fadi. I like to think he's since become more humble.

But then I slowly began to like him, first with Bi 2albi Dalli (Stay in my heart), Hayda Mish Ana (This is not me) and finally, Falasteen wa Lubaan. (Wow, the titles sound a lot better in Arabic don't they?) The songs really do keep getting better and better.

Also, you have to give him credit for successfully bringing rock into Arabic Music, definitely a first.

Anyway, back to the song. It's really moving I think (provided it is a pop-rock song) because it speaks of his own life, and that he is originially Palestinian but born and raised in Lebanon.
I particularly like the lines: "Falasteen, ya gir7hee ana" and "Lebnaan, shu b7ibuk ana....wa kirmaaluk bmout ana." I'm not even going to bother translating those because it will completely ruin them.

Sorry, I'm a sap.


~LZ

Palestinian Mockery

So if I get this straight, the Palestinian people are stateless and hundreds of thousands of them are refugees in other countries and even thousands are refugees in their own land and most if not all don't have citizenships and/or passports, but a screaming MP from the UK get a Palestinian passport?

Yes, UK MP George Galloway, who is pretty much famous for being a trouble maker (I suggest you read his wiki page), received a Palestinian passport from non other than Ismail Haniyeh. The passport was given in recognition of Galloway's tireless support for the Palestinian cause.

Now I understand that the guy is really vocal on Arab issues, and he's some sort of an internet sensation with the Arabs, they just absolutely love his rant videos on YouTube. But does he really deserve a passport for that? What about all the other passport-less Palestinians who have more of a right to these passports than a vocal UK MP? Hundreds of thousands of refugees have access only to what is called a travel document and this screaming buffoon from the UK gets a passport. One other thing, what authority does a Hamas leader and FORMER PM have in issuing these passports anyway, or will this passport only be valid in Hamasistan?

I wonder if this guy will ever try to use his new passport. Maybe then, after being humiliated because of the passport he carries, he will really understand the injustice dealt to our peoples. (PS: I am in no way summing up the entire injustice dealt to the Arabs by narrowing it down to airport security, but I mean it in a general racist sense)

Because, up until now, his vocal propaganda is all theatrics to me.

BG

Good Old Qaddafi

Good old Qaddafi, always good for a laugh.

In a video conference with Georgetown University students yesterday, he gave the world some great quotes to remember him by:

Apparently, Israeli's and Palestinians should live in a united state called "Isratine." Creative, huh?

Oh, and the US & Obama should give Osama bin Laden a chance to apologize

"I think Osama bin Laden is a person who can be given a chance...Maybe he wants peace."

Hey, everybody deserves a second chance. Maybe his chants of "Death to Amreeka!" really spoke of a sad, lonely childhood and his own lack of self-confidence?























My favorite?

"If you want to preserve this group, the Jews as an ethnic group, Palestine is not really the right place. The Middle East is a sea of Arabs...Take them to Alaska or Honolulu or the Hawaiian islands or the Pacific islands and they can live peacefully in an isolated setting."

Genius! Why didn't we think of that earlier?? All the jews can just move to Honolulu! What's not to like? Sunshine, beautiful beaches, coconut bras?? Who wants the Holy Land anyway?

If only he'd thought of this in 1948....

~LZ