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Comment on Veil your lollipop by Hatshepsut » Veil Your Lollipop (Part 2)

Hatshepsut » Veil Your Lollipop (Part 2) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:58:49 +0000

[...] Ursula posted about the lollipop, I found this toffee ad via Wael [...]

Comment on No more posts till August by Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:57:30 +0000

Hi Xinren Li, the flagship new program on Al-Jazeera Arabic is named “Focus” and in Arabic “فكس” Sorry I do not know it’s show times but hopefully their website will help you out.

english.aljazeera.net (English)
http://www.aljazeera.net (Arabic)

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by xinren li

xinren li — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:17:53 +0000

Hi, i am a media researcher from China. I am doing a project on global media now and want to make comparison between different channels. Could anyone tell me name of the “flagship” news program on Al-Jazeera Arabic? It should be a program covering current world news affairs on a daily base, like NewsHour in Al-Jazeera English.

I want to know the name of the program (both in Arabic and English translation) and the show time.

Many thanks.

xinrenl@sfu.ca

Comment on No more posts till August by Xinren Li

Xinren Li — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:25:59 +0000

I want to know the name of the program (both in Arabic and English translation) and the show time.

Many thanks.

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by mink

mink — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:02:37 +0000

an abbreviated version of the aforementioned interview is now on the Guardian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/19/lebanon.israelandthepalestinians

much of the interesting stuff is missing - but his version to the 1979 events is there.

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by rl

rl — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:23:56 +0000

oh yeah, what was I thinking? Kuntar is a very good source to challenge the accounts of the Israeli police, internal security services, and the widow. AIPAC probably made up the story to cover up the fact that the girl smashed her own face in with a rifle butt. my bad…

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by Mink

Mink — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:15:15 +0000

In 2005 Kuntar gave an interview in Hebrew to the reporter Chen Kots-Bar ( http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART/955/909.html) - I have not found a translation to either Arabic or English, which is a shame, because (a) the interview is very interesting and (b) the target audience was, at least in part, Lebanese public opinion.

For me, what was most interesting was his ideological stand - not on the question of Israel/PAlestine but on Arab politics. He makes it clear there: he is a secular person, with Marxist education. He does not pray, despite his fellow prisoners repeated attempts to get him to. He believes that Lebanese should leave behind the politics based on ethnic/religious divisions and form a real democracy, on nationalist/secular lines, and indeed this is what he wants to see the Arab world doing. He says that he wants the Lebanese government - not a certain ethnic group - to lead a non-violent struggle to his release.

And then you have his speech from yesterday, with clear Islamic tones, and his Hizbullah uniform. I wonder if he wrote the speech himself; the whole event was staged by Hizbulla to deliver an effect. I am sure he is grateful to Hizbulla. But what he had to say is far from how he articulated himself in that interview.

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by arabist

arabist — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:25:07 +0000

Well it pretty much does not matter what he did — Arab public opinion is so pro-Hizbullah these days that the apparent victory of his release (and that of the others) will be celebrated no matter what. Very few believe anything that the Israelis say anyway, perhaps with some good reason since their account of what Kuntar was doing that operation, and the way the father and daughter died, has been questioned (notably by Kuntar himself). But in this Arab-Israeli war the propaganda has long taken over from the truth, on both sides.

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:41:44 +0000

Well, obviously - because he’s Druze. By getting him released, Hezbollah makes itself look like it stands up for all Lebanese, not just for the Shia. They know most Arabs watching will pretty much assume anything Israel says about atrocities to be propaganda, on the Boy Who Cried Wolf principle, and may not be hearing it anyway.

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by rl

rl — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:21:59 +0000

it is sickening- Kuntar enters Israel, kills policemen, enters an apartment and kills a woman’s husband and then kills a four year old girl by hitting her in the head with a rifle butt numerous times…Israel receives the bodies of kidnapped soldiers in return.

but Kuntar? How could anyone celebrate this guy? How is that ‘resistance’? Attacking occupation forces is one thing but a four year old girl in her home? what a man! What a show of strength! those who celebrate him should be very proud.

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by Brian Ulrich

Brian Ulrich — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:20:47 +0000

And please understand, I’m someone who thinks kidnapping Israeli soldiers to try to get prisoners released in a semi-war situation has a certain logic to it. I don’t call kidnapping Shalit an act of terrorism because he was a military target. I just want to know: Why Kuntar?

Comment on Links July 16th to July 17th by Brian Ulrich

Brian Ulrich — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:12:24 +0000

It’s a great and disturbing mystery to me why, of all the prisoners in Israel, Hizbullah and the rest of the Arab world has picked Samir Kuntar to celebrate. I’m really like to hear an explanation.

Comment on Links July 7th to July 8th by Kamila

Kamila — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:09:03 +0000

Egypt summons Iranian diplomat over Sadat film - Note that this happens as the Egyptian press is full of anti-Shia conspiracy theories. This doesn’t surprise me since most of the press of the so-called moderate states is full of anti-Shia or to be precise anti-Iranian ranting. But I found Egyptians quite sympathetic towards Iranian and Shiite political positions, especially concerning the USA policy and Israel/Palestinian question. As well I found most of the Egyptians I’ve met absolutely oblivious to any religious differences between Shia and Sunna. Then I don’t think Egyptians trust or believe their press just like anybody in the Arab world….Or what do you think? Thank you

Comment on FGM Ban by Tandy

Tandy — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:26:59 +0000

The whole debate abtly steers away from the subject of male sexuality. The thing I don’t get about Islam (no offense) is that — in the way it is portrayed by the MB, among others — it seems to assume that men are sexual maniacs, unable to control themselves if they see an unveiled woman (or in the presence of a woman with all her sexual organs intact). Surely man (men and women) is not an animal? What happened to self-control? Why all the aggro against women? — Just wondering…

Comment on Beinin in Wugahat al-Nadhr by arabist

arabist — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:54:59 +0000

Yes - am correcting it, you’re right.

Comment on Beinin in Wugahat al-Nadhr by Hamuksha

Hamuksha — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:42:22 +0000

Your transliteration of the magazine is a bit bizarre. It’s Weghat Nazar. At least that’s the official transliteration.

Comment on Veil your lollipop by ursula

ursula — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:50:26 +0000

I don’t know who’s behind it, I received it as a completely random (but genuine-looking) email forward. By the way, it’s now made its way all the way to the US site Gawker: http://gawker.com/tag/advertising/?i=5024420&t=baby-let-me-rub-my-thorax-on-your-sweet-candy-face

Comment on Beinin in Wugahat al-Nadhr by Amr

Amr — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:07:11 +0000

I wonder if Benin is confusing a Western public by calling all real estate tax collectors ‘white collars’. White collars do not wear Galabeias nor wrap things around their heads.

Comment on Market Islam by MC

MC — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:51:41 +0000

Nice piece. You didn’t note, however, that Masoud mangled the lyrics to the Bryan Adams song in question and I feel that, as a Canadian, I should step up and point out that the words actually go

“Don’t tell me it’s not worth tryin’ for
You can’t tell me it’s not worth dyin’ for
You know it’s true
Everything I do - I do it for you
…
Take me as I am - take my life
I would give it all - I would sacrifice
…
I would fight for you - I’d lie for you
Walk the wire for you - ya I’d die for you”

Yes, we have to memorize this stuff in High School. He’s the Bobby Burns of Canada. That aside, I think that, well, I don’t know how to approach this diplomatically… but don’t you agree, all things considered, that Masoud might be better off digging out another song to quote? One that doesn’t lean quite so heavily on the whole death and sacrifice thing?

Comment on Links July 7th to July 8th by arabist

arabist — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:55:39 +0000

Because I’m tired to of your abusive rants and attacks on other people on this site. Consider yourself permanently, irrevocably banned. Further comments will be deleted.

- Mr. Democratic cool Arabist.