Month: August 2007

What Do You Like/Dislike About Subzero Blue?

I think there are two main kinds of passionate bloggers in the world: the kind that write for themselves and the kind that write for their readers.

Personally, I think I’m a mix of the two, I write for myself and for my blog’s readers at the same time.

And even though I do get your feedback on individual blog items from time to time, I wanted to go ahead and ask you in general what things you like and what other things you dislike about this blog?

I’m really interested in knowing: what kinds of posts you enjoy the most or find the most informative or useful? whether you come back a number of times per day and like it when I post several times or whether you pass by only once and would like to find just one good post waiting for you? what you think about the design? what keeps you coming back and what frustrates you about Subzero Blue?

Please do share your thoughts and ideas, and if you have any suggestions do not hesitate to let me know too, I would greatly appreciate them.

Israeli Racism

According to a study by The Center Against Racism, via YnetNews :

Over half of the Jewish population in Israel believes the marriage of a Jewish woman to an Arab man is equal to national treason

75 percent of participants did not approve of apartment buildings being shared between Arabs and Jews

Sixty percent of participants said they would not allow an Arab to visit their home

40 percent of participants agreed that “Arabs should have their right to vote for Knesset revoked”

over half of the participants agreed that Israel should encourage its Arab citizens to immigrate from the country

Over half of the participants said they would not want to work under the direct management of an Arab

55 percent said “Arabs and Jews should be separated at entertainment sites”

56 percent of participants said they believed that Israel

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (Jimmy Carter)

This morning I finished reading former US President Jimmy Carter’s book by the name “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid“. I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since it was published, I found it in Tunisia in the Al Kitab bookstore but it was too expensive, so I posptponed and bought it from Prime Megastore on my last trip to Jordan.

In this book, Jimmy Carter tackles the Middle East crisis and the question of Israel’s peace with its neighbors–in particular, how Israeli sovereignty and security can coexist permanently and peacefully with Palestinian nationhood.

It is a comprehensive and well-informed chronicle documenting the history and events of the Israeli/Palestinian crisis since its beginning to our present times from an insider who was the architect of the 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and who has closely followed and been part of the events for decades.

I personally think that Jimmy Carter was as unbiased as an ex-American President could ever be in this book, trying not to take sides and to document the events as he witnessed them as objectively as possible.
It’s true that I did feel, at certain points, that he was being a bit soft on the Israeli side, but overall I think he was very honest and frank, and I respected that.

Weirdly (or naturally in these times), he was attacked because of this book and accused of assigning ultimate blame to Israel, being one-sided, …etc, etc, etc.
But then again we all know that’s what anyone gets for saying the slightest thing about Israel, even if it’s true and said in a nice and excusing way like Carter did in this book.
Again, personally, I think the book is unbiased, and if it is then slightly towards the Israeli side not against them.

I think everyone who is interested in the Middle East crisis should read this book for an objective and comprehensive view of the conflict, the events revolving around it, the different proposals for peace and more.

Personally, even though I’ve followed the conflict for years and know a lot about it, mainly because of studying its history at school and living in Jordan for years right next to the center of the storm; I came away from the book with a clearer view of it all, and a better understanding of the several peace proposals, agreements and UN resolutions related to this conflict.

[Amazon: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (Jimmy Carter)]

Tunisia: 747 Thousand Rich & 376 Thousand Poor?!

According to the numbers released by Tunisia’s National Statistics Institute, Tunisia has 747 thousand rich people and only 376 thousand poor; which puts poverty at only 3.8% in Tunisia, the middle class at 80% and the percentage of the rich at 6.2%; which sounds great, but a bit unrealistic too.

Taking a closer look at the numbers behind the numbers as they were released in a recent Tunisian economic review, we find the following:

Rich people in Tunisia are defined as people who spend 4000 TND (US$ 3,120) or more per year, that’s around 11 TND (US$ 8.58) per day.

On the other hand, poor people are defined as people who spend around 400 TND (US$ 312) or less per year, so around 1 dinar a day (US$ 0.86).

It’s obvious these numbers are a bit unrealistic, especially with the soaring prices of everything from food to the different essential commodities to fuel …etc.

In reality, people living on only 4000 dinars per year are mostly in the lower end of the middle class, barely making ends meet and most probably living in debt.
Personally, I spend a few times more than that per year, and I’m nowhere near rich, in fact I consider myself to be somewhere in the middle middle class.

As for the poor; The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than US$ 1 per day, and moderate poverty as less than $2 a day; so that would put Tunisians living on around 1 Dinar per day mostly in the extreme poverty category with the best cases “moderately” poor, whatever that’s supposed to mean. That doesn’t mean that people living on a bit more than a dollar or two shouldn’t be considered poor as well; slightly less poor but not that much better off.

I don’t want to sound negative here, and I’m really not, in fact I think that if a person visited Tunisia a number of times over the past years, it would be clearly obvious to them that the middle class is steadily growing, poverty is decreasing, people are spending more, and that the economy is doing better and is more vibrant than ever before.

I just think that the definitions of rich and poor in Tunisia in this study are a bit unrealistic, and that the percentages don’t perfectly represent the truth on the ground. The percentage of rich people is less than 6.2%, and the percentage of the poor is a bit more, with the majority really in the middle class; and after all I think that’s normal; the bigger the middle class is and the smaller poverty and wealth rates are, the healthier the society and more balanced it is as a whole.

[Source: African Manager (FR)]
[Via: Bilel (FR)]

Happy First Birthday Adam

Exactly one year ago, on a hot Tunisian summer day like this one, August 28th, I witnessed the amazing miracle of life when our beautiful baby boy “Adam” was born into this world.

It was an overwhelming breath-taking moment for me, one that I will never forget for as long as I live, the rush of mixed feelings that went through me at the moment of my child’s birth is something I simply can’t put into words, and the changes inside of me that resulted from those few seconds are ones that will be with me for eternity.

I became a father, my life changed forever, the center of the universe shifted in a split second, and it all started to rotate around this little baby boy; I promised myself I’d do everything to be the best father in the world to this child.

Now a year has passed, a great magnificent beautiful year, a year spent watching our baby grow into a smart, naughty, little handsome boy; who can with a simple smile or laugh turn my whole life upside down, wipe away any sort of stress or unease the world throws at me; and who can fill my heart with happiness and joy at the smallest little action or achievement he does.

I can’t even begin to describe the feelings and love I have for this child, I could easily claim that I worship him and I wouldn’t be overstating things.

Happy Birthday Adam… Congratulations on your first birthday, I can’t wait for the days, months and years ahead of us and all the fun and happiness that await us in them.

I can’t but thank Eman, my beautiful beloved wife, who is also a great and amazing mother, for every single little thing and for being all that she is. My life has been blessed since you walked into it my dearest.

Finally, here’s a photo of the birthday boy with some of his gifts:

Adam - First Birthday

We didn’t plan anything big for his birthday really, just the usual small stuff; but his grandparents obviously had different plans, and it turned out they invited all my aunts, uncles and cousins and turned it into a party at their place.

Muslim Music Concert To Raise Funds For Darfur

Muslim charities and aid organizations putting together a Live8-like music concert in London to help raise funds and awareness for the Darfur crisis.

A Muslim Live8 is to be staged at Wembley to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Darfur…

The charities Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid, which are organising the event, want the concert to raise funds and awareness about the genocide in the region, where combatants and victims are all Muslim.

Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Jehangir Malik of Islamic Relief said: “We are going for our own equivalent of Live8. We are going for a concert at the end of Ramadan to celebrate Eid. It will be people trying to raise funds and raise the profile.”

The gig will be headlined by British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf, who has sold more than 2m albums. Yusuf sings nasheeds, an Islamic style often performed a cappella.

[Source: The Guardian]

[Via: KABOBfest]

The Art Of The Start (Guy Kawasaki)

Today I finished reading “The Art Of The Start” by Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist at Apple Computer and current Venture Capitalist.

This is the second book I’ve read by Guy, the first being “Rules For Revolutionaries“.

This book, as its name suggests, is about the art of starting a business and how each and every task at hand should be handled from; from identifying your customer base and writing a business plan to raising capital and bootstrapping to recruiting, establishing partnerships and building brand identity.

I think the book is very useful for someone starting a business, giving them all the points they have to focus on and consider to get their startup off the ground and running; and so for people in that position, I recommend this book.

At different points, it does feel like the book is more targeted at technology startups seeking venture capital; but if a person focuses more on the lessons and less on the specific details, the book is a very good and useful startup resource and guide that should help in any business from any domain of activity.

If you’re interested, you can buy the book here: The Art Of The Start.

Another book I recommend in this category is “Common Sense Business” by Steve Gottry.