April 30, 2004
CBS TV says it has "dozens" of pictures showing a wide range of maltreatment. Taken by US troops, many of the pictures show American troops watching in apparent approval. CBS says the pictures it obtained show a wide range of abuses, including: - Prisoners with wires attached to their genitals - A dog attacking a prisoner - Prisoners being forced to simulate having sex with each other - A detainee with an abusive word written on his body. - An Iraqi standing on a box with wires attached to his hands and told he would be electrocuted if he stepped...
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[More: CAIR, American Values] This simply echos my thoughts in my previous post. When is anyone going to deal with these Anti-Islamic and Anti-Arab sentiments and remarks? One thing's for sure; If they were Anti-semitic ones, this guy would have been wiped off the face of the earth. [Via: Je Blog]...
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April 29, 2004
Fifty-five nations at an international conference have pledged to suppress rising anti-Semitism. (CNN) I wonder when anyone is going to fight anti-Islamic and anti-Arab sentiments and movements? Will they ever?...
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In the darkness of a cinema, a woman's voice: "Hey! Take your hands off! Not you! YOU!" This old joke illustrates the American policy regarding nuclear armaments in the Middle East. "Hey, you there, Iraq and Iran and Libya, stop it! Not YOU, Israel!" The danger of nuclear arms was the main pretext for the invasion of Iraq. Iran is threatened in order to compel it to stop its nuclear efforts. Libya has surrendered and is dismantling its nuclear installations. So what about Israel? It has become clear that the Americans are full partners in the creation of Israel's "nuclear...
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Just the other day, I was thinking about how badly designed some newspapers were and how they were unfriendly and unattractive to readers. The main problems that just shouted out loud at me were the following: Too many different fonts, font sizes and font colours. Bad organization of content. Too many colours that don't blend well together. Bad choice of fonts for article content. Bad choice of pictures and picture sizes. Information looks too bulky. I think newspaper design should be given more importance than it already gets. It would make a really big difference for the people if the...
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Posted on April 29, 2004 12:32 PM under:
Tunisia
The national census of the Tunisian population starts today. The last census took place in 1994. The Tunisian population was then 8.7 million. It is estimated today at about 10 million. Thanks to the country's family planning program, Tunisia's demographic growth rate has shot down to less than 1 percent. More than 14,000 trained employees will take part in the collection and processing aspects of the 2004 census operation, scheduled from April 28 to May 25, 2004....
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People in black trench coats might soon be chasing blogs as US intelligence agencies start to monitor them. Some blogs are whimsical and deal with "soft" subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion. As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what's reported in some blogs is questionable....
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April 28, 2004
Powell has taken the time and effort to explain the definitions of Iraq's sovereignty. Simply, any new Iraqi government due to take power on 1 July will have to surrender many of its powers to occupation forces. "I hope they will understand ... some of its [Iraq's] sovereignty will have to be given back" Colin Powell, US secretary of state See? It's simple. The US hands over sovereignty to Iraqis on July 1st, hands are shaken, other hands are clapped, pictures are taken, champagne is poured, then the Iraqis give back the sovereignty and what's left of their dignity to...
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Well I've finally been approved to enter the Google AdSense program. I was hoping the domain name would do the trick ;) So, I'll be playing around with it a bit and seeing where best to place the ads so that they don't affect the overall user experience or make it annoying but still offer a plus for you and for me ;)...
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Thanks a bunch to Houssein for inviting me into Orkut. Orkut is a social networking service created by Google but which is only joinable through invitiations from already registered members. Maybe I should think of a way to start selling invitiations :P Just kidding......
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April 27, 2004
The Tunisian "Le Quotidien" and "Al Chourouk" newspapers have gone online today at exactly 10:30AM local time. Their online addresses are: http://www.lequotidien-tn.com/ & http://www.alchourouk.com/. I think it's great that more and more Tunisian newspapers are making the jump towards providing their content online. I think that providing information online really helps build a bigger internet culture in Tunisia where people get used to going online to do more and more. I hope more newspapers follow, and that other types of content providers and service providers take the internet leap too. Back to the Le Quotidien & Al Chourouk websites. First...
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No I don't live on another planet, but I just got around to checking out A9 today. A9 is Amazon's new search engine. It's based on Google, but they add other features that they think are interesting. They actually provide 7 reasons why we should use A9. None of them really convince me though, especially saving my search history, how could that be a good thing? I like the colours they used for this site though. They also offer a toolbar which does what most search engine toolbars do from highlighting search words to linking to site info to blocking...
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Jordanian authorities said yesterday that they have broken up an alleged al Qaeda plot that would have unleashed a deadly cloud of chemicals in the heart of Jordan's capital, Amman. The plot would have been more deadly than anything al Qaeda has done before, including the September 11 attacks, according to the Jordanian government. Among the alleged targets were the U.S. Embassy, the Jordanian prime minister's office and the headquarters of Jordanian intelligence. The plot was within days of being carried out when security forces broke it up April 20. Confessions by the planners of the attack were aired on...
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April 26, 2004
Iraq's U.S.-picked leaders approved a new flag for the country... The new flag includes two blue horizontal stripes signifying the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. A yellow stripe between the two blue ones symbolizes the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Above the three stripes is a white background with a blue crescent, an Islamic symbol. But the overhaul of a national symbol raised some complaints -- particularly since it came from U.S.-appointed leaders. U.S. administrators previously tried to alter the Saddam-era flag by dropping the words "Allahu akbar" -- "God is great" -- but Iraqis refused to abide by the...
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CNET, who bought MP3.com last year, have launched a new free music download service allowing users to search and download what it says are thousands of songs contributed by independent and unsigned artists. That is basically the same thing the original MP3.com did. The service is based on CNet's download site and is available at: http://music.download.com/. The music download service will be separate from the MP3.com Web site, which CNET said it will relaunch soon as a music-information site. Now, I actually like CNet's websites and services, they're a very good source of information (News.com, ZDNet) and downloads (Download.com). But...
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Researchers have set a data transmission record over the Internet2's high-speed backbone. Data sped between Los Angeles and Geneva 10,000 times faster than a home broadband connection. The record, announced on Tuesday at the Spring 2004 Internet2 member meeting in Virginia, was for transmitting data over nearly 11,000 kilometres at an average speed of 6.25 gigabits per second. This is nearly 10,000 times faster than a typical home broadband connection. The network link used to set the record reaches from Los Angeles to Geneva, Switzerland. Internet2 is a consortium of more than 200 universities working with industry and government to...
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Posted on April 26, 2004 02:01 PM under:
Tunisia
So the first private Tunisian TV station, that was code-named Nasr TV, officially has a name and a launch date now. The name is, hmmm, "The Hannibal Channel". It should start broadcasting next October on the Hotbird satellite thereby covering most of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. According to Mr. Nasra (The owner of the station), about 30 % of the station's programs will be dedicated to social topics and women's issues. The rest of the programming will initially include entertainment, sports and culture. The content of the programs will "evolve based on audience demands," he said. Now...
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The International Book Fair is being held in the Kram Fair these days. We went there yesterday, but as it was late, we only got to see part of it. So we went back today to check out the rest. Publishers from many countries were present at the fair, but the most were from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. I love the book fair, and I never miss it. It's just great to be between all of those books. It always amazes me when I think how much knowledge there is in the world. And it makes me happy to...
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April 25, 2004
World Peace Society: We'd love you to vote in the U.S. Election for the Rest of the World. We think it's pretty obvious to everyone but perhaps those inside America what the rest of the world thinks in the forthcoming U.S. Election. Please spend 1 or 2 seconds voting at World Peace Society and maybe another minute telling as many people as you can about it. We need thousands of votes to make it meaningful, so we desperately need your help. Imagine how cool it would be to help the U.S. with their presidential selection, Lord knows, they 'help' every...
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April 24, 2004
Well lately I've been asking myself this question a lot? What is the difference between Bush & Kerry? I mean when Howard Dean was the front runner, the differences were obvious, and it was obvious that Dean is closer to normal people’s interests and benefits. But now that the race is between Bush and Kerry, is there really a difference between the two? Although, I’m with the "Anyone but Bush" idea, and always think that Bush should be kicked out of the White House, I still can’t help but ask if it will really change anything? What do you think?...
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Posted on April 24, 2004 07:09 PM under:
Cinema
Last night I finally got to watch "School Of Rock" featuring Jack Black. I heard a lot about this movie and have wanted to watch it for some time but just haven’t found time to. Anyway, last night I finally made time for it, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a really fun movie and Jack Black is as mad as ever in this one. I’m sure it’s a lot funnier in English than it is in French, so I’ll be trying to check it out in English if possible. My favorite Jack Black role up to now is still...
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April 23, 2004
Yahoo! oops I mean Yippee or whatever other expression of joy :P Maybe even Gooooooooogle :P I finally got myself a GMail account. It turns out my wife who uses blogger for her blog has been getting this message inviting her to join GMail for a couple of days whenever she logs in to her blogger account. Anyway as she's not really interested she just ignored it. She just told me about it a few minutes ago, and well I jumped on the occasion and created an email account there. My email address is: meddah[AT]gmail.com. I still need some time...
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A new technology called Clear Play for DVD Players will enable people to play any movie they desire without any worries about censoring any undesired scenes involving sex or violence, drugs, drinking or even bad language. It costs 70 US Dollars and skips all undesired scenes and mutes undesired savage language. How nice... This is an indirect way of turning new hollywood movies into old style silent short films. Come on, I mean with all the sex, violence and bad language in today's movies, basically nothing would be left if all that were cut out?! But what's interesting is how...
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A German woman and a male friend face prosecution for human trafficking after they put the woman's daughter up for auction on the Internet at a starting price of one euro ($1.18). A photograph of the 8-year-old child was posted by the man, from the Bavarian town of Traunstein, who later told police he had placed the offer to test the online auction system. Three people made offers for the child and the bidding price reached 25.50 euros before the item was removed after between three to four hours by the company's security. This is just sick. The thought of...
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Posted on April 23, 2004 05:02 PM under:
Music
A friend of mine at work just let me hear Outlandish's new song "Walou", and I have to say: I just love it! It's a really cool song, with real nice beats and an infectuous tune. The style reminds me a bit of Craig David and uptempo R'N'B. I'll be trying to get the song myself soon, and am sure I'll be hearing a lot of it. I talked about Outlandish before when they released a cover of "Aicha". They are a group from Denmark, with roots from Morocco, Pakistan & Honduras. I wish them the best of luck in...
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"There is no surprise in Sharon's plans. He at least has remained consistent. The wonder is that George W. Bush should rip up his own "road map," undo 37 years of American policy, and go along with a plan that leaves the Palestinians no hope for a viable state of their own. It is not only morally wrong; it dooms Palestinians and Israelis to generations more of conflict and endangers America's entire position in the Middle East. Friends are betrayed and moderates marginalized. Democracy and a better life will not come to the region if the Palestinians are excluded...
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President Bush on Wednesday rejected international condemnation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and said world leaders owed him a "thank you" for his plans for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In "my judgment, the whole world should have said, 'Thank you, Ariel. Now we have a chance to begin the construction of a peaceful Palestinian state,"' Bush added. "Responsibility is hard. It's hard to be responsible for promoting freedom and peace when you're used to something else. If you don't have the aspirations of the people firmly embedded in your soul, it's hard to take a gamble...
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April 22, 2004
Released Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has called for the country's Dimona nuclear reactor to be opened for world inspection. Vanunu, who walked out of the Shikma prison in the Israeli town of Ashkelon on Wednesday, where he was imprisoned for 18 years, said Western leaders such as US President George Bush, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schroeder and Vladimir Putin should "speak up" on Israel's nuclear secrets. "Israel doesn't need nuclear weapons, especially now that all of the Middle East is free from nuclear arms. My message today to all the world is open the Dimona reactor for inspections," he said....
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April 21, 2004
Concerned for the health of people being killed by nuclear bombs and the well-being of the environment, the EPA has ordered new, less-toxic, rockets to be installed on ICBMs. So at least, you can be sure that you'll die healthy and in a clean environment when nukes start flying around. "In order to comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations, and at a cost of about $5.2 million per ICBM, the rocket motors on 500 Minuteman III missiles will be replaced with new ones. These rockets will emit less toxic chemicals when used." "EPA regulations do not apply in foreign...
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April 20, 2004
Master & Slave... So this is the liberation, democracy, freedom and civilization they promised the Iraqi people?! Fallujah (Iraq) - An old Iraqi man kisses the hand of U.S. Marine Cpl. Joseph Sharp for some food and water. [ AP Photo/John Moore, 19 apr.2004 ] [via Je Blog]...
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Well, finally this blog has it's own domain name. http://www.subzeroblue.com So, don't forget to update your links. And you guys who don't already link to this blog, what the hell are you waiting for? :P Link it, link it, link it... A big thank you to Houssein who still generously hosts this blog and to Ziad for using his CashU card to buy the domain name....
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In another blow to President Bush and his coalition partners in Iraq, Honduras followed Spain on Monday in announcing it will pull its troops out of the country. President Ricardo Maduro said in a television and radio address the withdrawal would be carried out "in the shortest possible time and under safe conditions for our troops." Nice... [More: Yahoo!] [via Je Blog]...
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April 19, 2004
I helped kill a Palestinian today. If you pay taxes to the U.S. government, so did you. And unless the policies of the U.S. government change, tomorrow will be no different. Robert Jensen, Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin The same goes for people who buy American and Israeli products. They should remind themselves that by buying those products, they're helping kill innocent Palestinians. [Full Article: I Helped Kill a Palestinian Today] [via Lawrence of Cyberia]...
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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday he had given orders for Spain's 1,400 troops in Iraq to come home as soon as possible. Zapatero had said previously he would pull out the troops if the United Nations did not take charge in Iraq by June 30. He said he was acting now because there was no prospect of a U.N. resolution being adopted that met Spain's conditions. Zapatero's decision creates more problems for the United States whose forces are locked in the fiercest fighting in Iraq since last year's war toppled Saddam Hussein. U.S. combat casualties in...
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The United States refrained from condemning the killing of a top Hamas leader by Israel on Saturday and limited its criticism of the assassination ... Bush stood with Ariel Sharon three days ago and welcomed the Israeli leader's plan... In avoiding a condemnation of the Israeli strike, the statement reflected a formula the Washington routinely uses when Israel targets a Palestinian militant : In Saturday's statement, the White House said, "Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorist attacks"... Meanwhile, - The European Union condemned the killing as unlawful and "not conducive to lowering tension." - A spokesman for...
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April 17, 2004
Top Hamas leader Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi has been killed by an Israeli helicopter missile strike on his car in Gaza City. An Israeli Foreign Ministry official confirmed that the missile strike was a targeted killing. "We tried to do it a few months ago. At that time, he managed to run away. This time we got him," Meir said. Two of his bodyguards were also killed in the attack that took place this evening. Al-Rantisi, a co-founder of Hamas, has become one of its two main leaders since Israel's killing of Hamas spiritual head Ahmad Yasin in Gaza on 22...
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A new book by Bob Woodward on President Bush's Iraq policy says that Bush secretly ordered a war plan drawn up against Iraq less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan and was so worried the decision would cause a furor he did not tell everyone on his national security team. Bush feared that if news got out about the Iraq plan as U.S. forces were fighting another conflict, people would think he was too eager for war. Good going Mr. War President! Bush and his aides have denied accusations they were preoccupied with Iraq at the cost of...
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April 16, 2004
Last night, as I was zapping through the different satellite channels, I found a movie about M.C. Hammer on Multivision. Having one of those flashback moments, I decided to watch the movie. It was a nice movie, not anything extraordinary, but nice in a way that it introduced me to his life, how he made it, and how his musical career all ended. It definitely brought back a lot of memories of the times when Hammer was at the top of his game, when it was "Hammer Time". In fact, the first music tape I ever bought was an M.C....
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April 15, 2004
"Few would question Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks like the one yesterday, even to build a security wall if that were an appropriate means. It is also clear where such a wall would be built if security were the guiding concern: inside Israel, within the internationally recognized border, the Green Line established after the 1948-49 war. The wall could then be as forbidding as the authorities chose: patrolled by the army on both sides, heavily mined, impenetrable. Such a wall would maximize security, and there would be no international protest or violation of international law." "...What...
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April 14, 2004
"Secondly, although an English carrier or short-faced tumbler differs immensely in certain characters from the rock-pigeon, yet by comparing the several sub-breeds of these breeds, more especially those brought from distant countries, we can make an almost perfect series between the extremes of structure." Taken from Charles Darwin's The Origin Of Species. Cool meme. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. [via i never knew]...
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Yesterday, I just remembered theGlobe.com, the place where I actually ventured into creating my first website and web presence. I don't know what reminded me of it, but I just was curious to know what they've done with themselves now. theGlobe.com was one of the first big free email, free hosting, free chat, free everything portals that the internet became full of back in the days. All I ever used was their free hosting, but they had a bunch of other interesting services too, or so they thought. I remember my username was mmmmusic there. Ok it sucks, I know,...
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April 13, 2004
"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it." - Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001. Simple, straight-forward and very true....
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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today stopped distributing emergency food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip, or approximately half of the refugees receiving UNRWA food aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, following restrictions introduced by Israeli authorities at the sole commercial crossing through which the Agency is able to bring in humanitarian assistance. Stocks of rice, flour, cooking oil and other essential foodstuffs that UNRWA provides to refugees reduced to poverty, or otherwise affected by a humanitarian crisis now in its 42nd month, have been fully depleted. The severe economic hardship...
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"They think power in Iraq should come out of the barrel of a gun...that is intolerable." -- Paul Bremer (US Administrator of Iraq), on the insurrection Look who's talking! Related Links: - Iraqi Battalion Refuses to 'Fight Iraqis' - US to 'capture or kill' Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr [via Je Blog, Jalan-Jalan]...
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