CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=7YQSqjSh" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://saroujah.blogspot.com/","20080514153946","https://web.archive.org/","web","https://web-static.archive.org/_static/", "1210779586"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=p7PEIJWi" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <title>Syria News</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/web/20080514153946im_/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/www.lio119.plus.com/favicon.ico"/> <meta name="keywords" content="The Syria News Wire"/> <meta name="description" content="The Syria News Wire"/> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/> <meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="true"/> <meta name="generator" content="Blogger"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="The Syria News Wire - Atom" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="The Syria News Wire - RSS" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss"/> <link rel="service.post" type="application/atom+xml" title="The Syria News Wire - Atom" href="http://www.blogger.com/feeds/10840306/posts/default"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://www.blogger.com/rsd.g?blogID=10840306"/> <style type="text/css"> @import url("https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946cs_/http://www.blogger.com/css/blog_controls.css"); @import url("https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946cs_/http://www.blogger.com/dyn-css/authorization.css?targetBlogID=10840306"); </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946js_/http://www.blogger.com/js/backlink.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946js_/http://www.blogger.com/js/backlink_control.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript">var BL_backlinkURL = "https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/dyn-js/backlink_count.js";var BL_blogId = "10840306";</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946cs_/http://www.typepad.com/.shared/themes/common/base-weblog.css" type="text/css"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946cs_/http://www.typepad.com/.shared/themes/lilia/theme-beckett.css" type="text/css"/> <style type="text/css"> body {margin-top:32px !important} </style> <link rel="openid.server" href="http://www.blogger.com/openid-server.g"/> <style type="text/css">@import url(https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946cs_/http://www.blogger.com/css/navbar/classic.css); div.b-mobile {display:none;} </style> </head> <body class="layout-two-column-right"><iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946if_/http://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID=10840306&blogName=The+Syria+News+Wire&publishMode=PUBLISH_MODE_BLOGSPOT&navbarType=BLACK&layoutType=CLASSIC&homepageUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsaroujah.blogspot.com%2F&searchRoot=http%3A%2F%2Fsaroujah.blogspot.com%2Fsearch" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" height="30px" width="100%" id="navbar-iframe" title="Blogger Navigation and Search"></iframe> <div id="space-for-ie"></div> <div id="container"> <div id="container-inner" class="pkg">  <div id="banner"> <div id="banner-inner" class="pkg"> <h1 id="banner-header"> <a href="/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R7g7fBw6xAI/AAAAAAAAACc/th2mYzrewAQ/s1600/snwbanner.jpg" border="0"> </a> </h1> </div> </div> <div id="pagebody"> <div id="pagebody-inner" class="pkg"> <div id="alpha"> <div id="alpha-inner" class="pkg">  <h2 class="date-header">Monday, May 12, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-6739277775576383857"> <h3 class="entry-header">Why did Hariri surrender so quickly?</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Interesting claims <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9527.shtml">here</a> that Hariri was using human shields from outside Beirut:<br/><br/><blockquote>"All the offices of the government-backed Future Movement in West Beirut have surrendered and many of the pro-government "fighters," many who were invited to come from northern Lebanon, often without even knowing that they were going to fight, have surrendered to the opposition and the opposition has handed these people and offices over to the Lebanese army. ...<br/><br/>Also it is critical to note that many pro-government forces who fought against the opposition in recent days, were people traveled from extremely impoverished areas like Akkar in northern Lebanon, led by the Future Movement to Beirut which was offering money to impoverished people to fight against opposition forces in Beirut. In certain cases people coming from Akkar weren't even aware prior to arriving in Beirut that they were coming to the capital to fight, thinking that they were coming to Beirut to fill labor positions; these are people who were manipulated by the Future Movement.<br/><br/>Many people from Akkar, in this context, quickly surrendered to opposition forces in West Beirut, declaring on local TV and radio that they weren't aware that they were being led by pro-government forces, mainly the Future Movement, to Beirut to fight the opposition. Also some youths who fought for the opposition forces were led to fight with money, however this is a minority. It's important to recognize that the terrible economic situation in Lebanon is leading people to fight in multiple cases."</blockquote></p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">11:41 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-did-hariri-surrender-so-quickly.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-did-hariri-surrender-so-quickly.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 4; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-did-hariri-surrender-so-quickly.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=6739277775576383857" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=6739277775576383857" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, May 11, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-2981137483882684900"> <h3 class="entry-header">Lebanon</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>There's not much I can add. It's a mess, and as usual, it's a mess of Lebanon's creating.<br/><br/>Hizbollah is to blame for starting this civil violence. March 14 is to blame for letting this political crisis fester for 18 months.<br/><br/>The Hariri militia has lost on two counts. First - it was comprehensively defeated, with incredible efficiency (as <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://maysaloon.blogspot.com/2008/05/liberation-of-beirut.html?showComment=1210440840000#c8772080242866401114">Qunfuz</a> noted - a only handful of people died in what is being called a coup d'etat - where else in the world would a coup be nearly bloodless?). And second - Hariri's claims that his people had no militia were comprehensively disproven.<br/><br/>Some other things I've learned: Hariri thugs use the Future TV buildings in the heart of Beirut as weapons stores. <br/><br/>Hariri thugs aren't taking their defeat too well. In Tripoli, they have managed to breach their own truce, by starting a new war against SSNP and Baath supporters.<br/><br/>The Army has told the government to shut up - it will not dismantle Hizbollah's telecom network. This crisis began when the rump government threatened to dismantle the network.<br/><br/>And soon after, Hizbollah's biggest enemy, Walid Junblatt, conceded that the Hizbollah telecom network IS necessary for the resistance.<br/><br/>Siniora says the government will never attack Hizbollah - but also says Hizbollah needs to be disarmed (how can that happen if the government won't attack - maybe Siniora wants Israel to do the job).<br/><br/>In Beirut, it's clear Hizbollah don't want to be seen as occupiers - and don't want a Gaza situation (of being left in power when they don't want it). As soon as they defeat Hariri's gangs - in an area, or even a Hariri building - they hand it over to the army.<br/><br/>And what an interesting dynamic within the opposition. Aoun has largely kept his words and guns out of the argument - there has been no intra-Christian fighting, with east Beirut largely silent. This is all about the Shia and Sunni. Aoun has the most to gain from all of this. Keep your eye on him.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">3:42 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/lebanon.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/lebanon.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/lebanon.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2981137483882684900" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2981137483882684900" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Saturday, May 10, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-9146616149671154567"> <h3 class="entry-header">Explaining Lebanon</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Very good <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.rationalgrounds.com/mt-archives/2008/05/lebanon_explain.html">explainer</a> on the parties and militia of Lebanon.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:49 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/explaining-lebanon.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/explaining-lebanon.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 6; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/explaining-lebanon.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=9146616149671154567" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=9146616149671154567" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Friday, May 09, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-7024313217795209335"> <h3 class="entry-header">Hariri militia surrenders completely</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>The Hariri militia has surrendered in the last area under its control - Tareek al-Jadeedi. It's a Hariri stronghold.<br/><br/>It means the Opposition now controls the whole area of Beirut which has seen feirce fighting in the past three days.<br/><br/>It's a major blow to Hariri's Future Movement. Earlier this morning, his TV station was forced off air.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:00 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/hariri-militia-surrenders-completely.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/hariri-militia-surrenders-completely.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/hariri-militia-surrenders-completely.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7024313217795209335" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7024313217795209335" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-7198299960247864706"> <h3 class="entry-header">Hariri militia surrenders</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Hariri gunmen are in talks to surrender to the Opposition.<br/><br/>The Opposition now controls all of West Beirut - except for Tarek al-Jadeedi. where Hariri fighters are trying to negotiate their escape, according to the Army.<br/><br/>Earlier this morning, Hariri TV station, Future TV was forced off air.<br/><br/>It is leading to hopes the violence - which has been described as war - will soon be over.<br/><br/>Many of the roads and airport are still closed.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">11:54 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/hariri-militia-surrenders.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/hariri-militia-surrenders.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/hariri-militia-surrenders.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7198299960247864706" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7198299960247864706" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, May 04, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-7137890141558419773"> <h3 class="entry-header">The London post</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Dashed hopes, tears and the death of left-wing politics.<br/><br/>My love for London is paralleled only by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2007/02/city-i-love.html">my love for Damascus</a>. I've never campaigned for any politician - mainly because most don't deserve my energy. But I've spent the past week on the streets of London, knocking on people's doors, plastering stickers all over London's trains (photo, below) and handing out leaflets outside tube stations, shouting the same two words at anyone within ear-shot: Vote Ken.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4doHb6V6I/AAAAAAAAAHA/FmXi0GEsZPo/s1600-h/sticker.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4doHb6V6I/AAAAAAAAAHA/FmXi0GEsZPo/s320/sticker.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196623595060221858"/></a>Ken is London. This is his city. In the past eight years he has built a capital for the people. But his influence goes back much further than this decade.<br/><br/>BACKSTORY<br/><br/>A left-wing activist, he started out on the rebellious councils of north London in the 1970s. That's where he got his name of Red Ken. He moved on to the GLC - which ran London. His Labour Party was in turmoil, but he was a massively popular figure at the height of Thatcherism. <br/><br/>He led regeneration projects, redeveloped parts of London that hadn't seen government money since the end of the Second World War, and made transport cheap enough for everyone to afford.<br/><br/>And even during his years in power, he could still be seen on the picket lines at factories, supporting striking workers.<br/><br/>But in 1986, his time was up. Margaret Thatcher hated him and everything he stood for, and she abolished the GLC.<br/><br/>He sat quietly in Parliament and saw Tony Blair come into power. Blair had promised to restore self-rule for London, and in 2000, London voted for its first Mayor.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB3_unb6V0I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/X2FTjtNVmtc/s1600-h/logo_new.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB3_unb6V0I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/X2FTjtNVmtc/s400/logo_new.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196590721380538178"/></a><br/><br/>Ken was no friend of Blair's New Labour. Socialist 'Red Ken' was very very Old Labour. And he hadn't shaken off that maverick, independent, radical, free-wheeling reputation he gained in the 80s.<br/><br/>THE REBELLION<br/><br/>Blair wanted his Health Minister to become Mayor - Ken was furious, everyone saw the position of Mayor as made for him. So, he stood as an independent. Blair kicked him out of the Labour Party - boosting his popularity even further.<br/><br/>Ken won by a massive majority, despite the entire media and political establishment battling against him - and he forced Labour into a humiliating fourth place. Ken inflicted Tony Blair's first bloody nose, and he later boasted that was his biggest achievement. <span style="font-style:italic;">(Photo: City Hall - the Mayor's office, next to Tower Bridge.)</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4c-3b6V5I/AAAAAAAAAG4/1pPzFROdM1M/s1600-h/cityhall.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4c-3b6V5I/AAAAAAAAAG4/1pPzFROdM1M/s320/cityhall.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196622886390618002"/></a><br/><br/>But he also saw it as a belated victory against Thatcher. His first words as Mayor:<br/><br/>鈥淎s I was saying before I was rudely interrupted 14 years ago."<br/><br/>BECOMING A LONDONER<br/><br/>During his eight years in power, he won the 2012 Olympics for London, which is already forcing billions of pounds into London's poorest eastern areas.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4DcHb6V4I/AAAAAAAAAGw/11YieJBY5zo/s1600-h/london-olympics-2012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4DcHb6V4I/AAAAAAAAAGw/11YieJBY5zo/s320/london-olympics-2012.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196594801599469442"/></a><br/><br/>He imposed a controversial Congestion Charge on cars coming into the city - it's now universally accepted to have been a fantastic idea, cutting pollution and traffic. Leaders of other cities are trying to copy it. And he won admiration for the way he dealt with the aftermath of the terror attacks on London's transport network:<br/><br/>"Those who came here to kill last Thursday had many goals but one was that we should turn on each others like animals trapped in a cage and they failed. They failed totally and utterly. There may have been places where that would have happened but not here." <br/><br/>MAN OF THE PEOPLE<br/><br/>And why did the bombers fail? Because of the tolerance and diversity of this city. Nowhere in the world can compete with London's open-mindedness. And Ken - defender of minorities and the poor - has protected that. <br/><br/>He lives in a poor area of north London and travels by tube. Wherever he goes, he's mobbed by fans as if he is a pop-star or actor. It was the highlight of my month when he sat in front of me on the train, and talked to me.<br/><br/>Ken has made housing affordable again in one of the world's most expensive cities, and made travel free for anyone under-18 and over-60.<br/><br/>But he also stood up to America. He was vocally anti-war, when everyone else was silent. He called the US Ambassador to London a "chiseling little crook" when he refused to pay the Congestion Charge.<br/><br/>And he made friends with Hugo Chavez, signing a deal to get cheap oil, in return for advise on how to develop Venezuela.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4gY3b6V8I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/4ddp9KYrugo/s1600-h/eveningstandard.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4gY3b6V8I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/4ddp9KYrugo/s200/eveningstandard.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196626631602100162"/></a>THE COMEDIAN<br/><br/>Along comes 2008. There's never any doubt Ken would win his third election. Until Boris Johnson came on the scene - a comedian and journalist, and very-right wing Conservative politician. He has said black people have smaller brains, and called Nelson Mandela a tyrant. He is still a supporter of the Iraq war (when no-one else is), loves George Bush, and cried when Margaret Thatcher was kicked out.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4Ct3b6V3I/AAAAAAAAAGo/yzAsmuFJ1Iw/s1600-h/newken.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SB4Ct3b6V3I/AAAAAAAAAGo/yzAsmuFJ1Iw/s320/newken.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196594007030519666"/></a><br/><br/>He is everything Ken is not.<br/><br/>So how could he win? He came from nowhere. He targeted the richer white suburbs, which don't even feel part of London. It was always going to be close. Ken won the inner city, Boris took the edges. The result: Boris - 53%, Ken 47%.<br/><br/>GOODBYE<br/><br/>I love Ken because I love this city. Ken is such a passionate Londoner. He's a visionary, an independent man of the people. We've lost all of that, and gained a politician to run our city.<br/> <br/>Ken is still my Mayor for another five hours. Shed a tear with me at midnight.<br/><br/>I never used to be proud of London - during the last eight years, I've become a Londoner. I've become part of Ken's city.<br/><br/><span style="font-style:italic;">(Thanks to you-know-who for the Facebook status graphic.)</span></p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">9:24 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/london-post.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/london-post.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/05/london-post.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7137890141558419773" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7137890141558419773" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Saturday, April 26, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-8745598238135059583"> <h3 class="entry-header">Explosive claims</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>But what's behind it?<br/><br/>Claims that Syria was trying to build a nuclear reactor with North Korean help tell us more about the US than they do about Syria.<br/><br/>There's nothing new here. These accusations were leveled when Israel destroyed a building in Syria with an air raid last September. Now the US has produced photographic 'evidence' and given it to the UN nuclear agency. But they're not happy - the IAEA is furious at the delay in handing these photos over.<br/><br/>So why the delay? Look at the timing. It comes on the day America is about to finish negotiating with North Korea. And it comes two days after Israel revealed it was willing to return the whole Occupied Golan Heights in return for a peace treaty with Syria.<br/><br/>It is the biggest news story in the west about Syria for many many years. But even the right-wing media seem sceptical. The Colin Powell Iraqi WMD presentation has had an effect.<br/><br/>There is <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7366658.stm">speculation</a> even on the BBC (which normally steers away from comment in news pieces) that this nuclear 'revelation' is an attempt by Dick Cheney, and the neo-con regime remnants to undermine Bush.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:39 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/explosive-claims.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/explosive-claims.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 4; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/explosive-claims.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=8745598238135059583" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=8745598238135059583" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Thursday, April 24, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-7220064818395765407"> <h3 class="entry-header">Damascus in words</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>It's not often a description of Damascus captures me completely. But Qunfuz has done it. This deserves to be published.<br/><br/>If you have never been to Damascus - read this, it will take you there.<br/><br/>If you love Damascus but you're not there - read this, it will take you home.<br/><br/>If you're in Damascus - read this, it will make you cry, then go out into the street and give the city a big hug.<br/><br/><blockquote>"Damascus certainly deserves cultural capital status more than some cities that have held the title in previous years. After Beirut and Cairo, Damascus has the best bookshops in the Arab world. Syria has always boasted an impressive range of poets and musicians, and produces TV dramas which are of much higher quality than the Egyptian competition. Its taxi drivers can recite classical and contemporary poetry. Its pop singers sing Nizar Qabbani, the most influential and best loved modern Arab poet. Damascus is a city in which your host is likely to serenade you with his lute after dinner. And it is, as the tourism ministry likes to repeat, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world."<br/></blockquote><br/><br/>The full piece is here: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://qunfuz.blogspot.com/2008/04/cultural-capital.html">Cultural Capital</a>.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">2:48 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/damascus-in-words.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/damascus-in-words.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 18; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/damascus-in-words.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7220064818395765407" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=7220064818395765407" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, April 20, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-2728224691548028417"> <h3 class="entry-header">The Destruction of the Old City - part three *Exclusive*</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>In Amara, the destruction was avoided, in Medhat Pasha renovation is underway - but in Saroujah, the argument goes on. Official documents show a decision is going to be made by the end of the year - a generation after the controversy began.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp5piu2bBI/AAAAAAAAAFY/o06pU8b28bo/s1600-h/IMGP0408.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp5piu2bBI/AAAAAAAAAFY/o06pU8b28bo/s320/IMGP0408.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191095275102825490"/></a><br/><br/>Saroujah holds a special place in my heart. I named my blog after the area - it is MY Damascus. And I get incredibly defensive when it is threatened. But Saroujah is defined by the threat of destruction. For thirty years, plans to destroy Saroujah - not renovate it - have hung over this area.<br/><br/>Saroujah is an odd case. It is just outside the city walls (you can see the Umayid Mosque in the background - below), but because it is hundreds of years old, it comes under the remit of the Old City renovation authorities.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp59Cu2bCI/AAAAAAAAAFg/iZZbtnj6oQY/s1600-h/IMGP1593.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp59Cu2bCI/AAAAAAAAAFg/iZZbtnj6oQY/s400/IMGP1593.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191095610110274594"/></a><br/><br/>Souq Saroujah - the Saddlemakers' Market - is concentrated around one thin road of the same name. The Mosque (below) and Hamam (the dome in the picture above) are at the centre of the community.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6OCu2bEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/KjxKwBcI6EM/s1600-h/IMGP0325.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6OCu2bEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/KjxKwBcI6EM/s400/IMGP0325.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191095902168050754"/></a><br/><br/>But not many people live in Saroujah any more. Thirty years ago, the Damascus authorities started evicting residents, to build ugly modern tower blocks for the booming population.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6UCu2bFI/AAAAAAAAAF4/GU7PoyRY2yQ/s1600-h/IMGP1626.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6UCu2bFI/AAAAAAAAAF4/GU7PoyRY2yQ/s400/IMGP1626.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191096005247265874"/></a><br/><br/>Work to get rid of the old houses, and put up tower blocks, started in the south-west corner of Saroujah. But this modern corner of Saroujah isn't all bad - the pure-white French Cultural Centre (the CCF) is a work of art. It was designed by French architect Jos茅 Oubrerie in the 1980s, and looks as fresh today as it did two decades ago.<br/><br/>The remaining residents knew their houses would be next. But as suddenly as the work started, it stopped again. Many old Saroujans are some of the city's richest people. And with wealth comes power. They weren't going to let their area fall victim to modernisation. A temporary halt was placed on the demolition.<br/><br/>But with the threat of eviction hanging over them, no-one was going to waste money repairing a house which could be seized. So they let their houses fall into disrepair.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6ayu2bGI/AAAAAAAAAGA/foxuZ82PVAo/s1600-h/IMGP1913.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6ayu2bGI/AAAAAAAAAGA/foxuZ82PVAo/s400/IMGP1913.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191096121211382882"/></a><br/><br/>And gradually they moved out - ironically, many went to the modern European-style flats in the neighbouring Ayn Kirsh, just to the north of Saroujah.<br/><br/>But recently, the organisation which looks after the Old City - and works well with the European Union to do it - has taken over responsibility for Saroujah. So is a change in Saroujah's fortunes in store?<br/><br/>In the past few months, they have re-paved part of the area (with far less inconvenience than in Medhat Pasha).<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6lCu2bHI/AAAAAAAAAGI/x04QoLyX8O4/s1600-h/IMGP0187.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAp6lCu2bHI/AAAAAAAAAGI/x04QoLyX8O4/s400/IMGP0187.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191096297305042034"/></a> <br/><br/>So does this mean destruction is no longer on the cards?<br/><br/>Documents released by the Old City modernisation authorities show that they are going to make a decision on the future of Saroujah by the end of this year.<br/><br/>They are already looking into the legality of the 'evictions', which are still officially 'on hold'. Hopefully they will say that there is no legal basis to the idea.<br/><br/>It is the Old City authorities - not the Muhafaza (Damascus City Council) - which is responsible for Saroujah now. They have a very different set of priorities - renovation and protection - not destruction and modernisation.<br/><br/>So hopefully, the news at the end of the year will be good. For Saroujah's sake.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:57 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-three.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-three.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 10; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-three.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2728224691548028417" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2728224691548028417" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, April 13, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-5230594786035728321"> <h3 class="entry-header">The destruction of the Old City - part two</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAFAG0pDJxI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/Ss4GcBXCbmo/s1600-h/IMGP0260.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAFAG0pDJxI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/Ss4GcBXCbmo/s320/IMGP0260.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188498731661731602"/></a><br/>So Amara was saved. But in the south of the Old City something nasty is happening.<br/><br/><br/><br/>The busiest road within the city walls has been closed for the past year, as it is ripped to pieces. Walk along Medhat Pasha - called Straight Street in the Bible - and bulldozers are tearing up the ground, and look to your left and right to see the shops being gutted.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAEBJW5RVyI/AAAAAAAAAEI/9P6d9Lp8Ces/s1600-h/IMGP0259.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAEBJW5RVyI/AAAAAAAAAEI/9P6d9Lp8Ces/s400/IMGP0259.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188429505983764258"/></a><br/><br/>Essentially, a new Medhat Pasha is being built.<br/><br/>Whenever I walk along there, I am staring at the ground - trying not to trip over the rubble. Looking up at the roof is not an option. But maybe you should.<br/><br/>The tin roofs over Medhat Pasha and Souq Al-Hamidiyeh date from the Ottoman refurbishment of the main Souqs. During the insurgency against the French occupation, they were punctured by gunfire. And they've remained that way for almost one hundred years. The shafts of sunlight which pierce into the dark souqs are blindingly beautiful, and a daily reminder of Syria's struggle for independence.<br/><br/>But the centuries-old black Medhat Pasha roof, which was decorated by history, has been replaced by a new white one.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAECJW5RV1I/AAAAAAAAAEg/8ajxPbYqnxM/s1600-h/IMGP0256.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAECJW5RV1I/AAAAAAAAAEg/8ajxPbYqnxM/s400/IMGP0256.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188430605495392082"/></a><br/><br/>Here it is six months ago, with the old roof.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAECoG5RV2I/AAAAAAAAAEo/2eLTztaoj54/s1600-h/IMGP2081.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAECoG5RV2I/AAAAAAAAAEo/2eLTztaoj54/s400/IMGP2081.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188431133776369506"/></a><br/><br/>Of course, the Old City can't survive on memories. It needs to be renovated to keep living. But the Old City is heaving under the weight of the bulldozers which have been brought in.<br/><br/>Early on in the work, the digging destroyed a much-loved bar at the eastern end, Abu George. Metal rods now hold up the neighbouring buildings to stop more walls collapsing.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAECwG5RV3I/AAAAAAAAAEw/VWXq8FAsyf8/s1600-h/IMGP2083.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAECwG5RV3I/AAAAAAAAAEw/VWXq8FAsyf8/s400/IMGP2083.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188431271215322994"/></a><br/><br/>The cobbled stones on the ground have been laid along parts of the road - only to be ripped up for a second time. Shoppers and shop-owners compete for space with the workmen. The shops are still open - life can't be put on hold.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAEDFm5RV4I/AAAAAAAAAE4/VPzFZM7UG1I/s1600-h/IMGP0467.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAEDFm5RV4I/AAAAAAAAAE4/VPzFZM7UG1I/s400/IMGP0467.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188431640582510466"/></a><br/><br/>It's not just the exteriors that are being brought into the 21st century - all of the shops are being refitted. The authorities are paying for them to be gutted and refurbished. A similar scheme improved the tourist souq alongside the Omayed Mosque a few years ago.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAEDm25RV5I/AAAAAAAAAFA/J5P7qUGgWNY/s1600-h/IMGP0466.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/SAEDm25RV5I/AAAAAAAAAFA/J5P7qUGgWNY/s400/IMGP0466.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188432211813160850"/></a><br/><br/>Damascus is a living city, not a museum piece. So as much as work like this is disruptive, it is vital. When the dust settles - and there is a lot of it - a new Medhat Pasha will emerge. One in keeping with its glorious history, but fit for life in the twenty-first century.<br/><br/>Next week, in part three - official documents hint that a thirty-year-old plan to force residents out of one of the oldest parts of Damascus - and build tower-blocks - could be put into action within months.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:45 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-two.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-two.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 9; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-two.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5230594786035728321" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5230594786035728321" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Saturday, April 12, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-3976765263105907601"> <h3 class="entry-header">Syria tries to make it into the World Cup</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Wonderful article on Syria's footballing dream - from reaching the Asian Champions League final two years ago (that was Al Karama) to making it into the World Cup.<br/><br/>How the money men ended Syria's military approach to football<br/>The Guardian, UK<br/>James Montague<br/>April 10, 2008 12:54 PM<br/><br/><blockquote>" But five years ago the army's power was challenged by an unlikely source. The Syrian FA decided that enough was enough. Syrian football was going pro and if Al Jaish wanted to take any clubs' players then they'd have to pay for them. It was a brave, and rare, move in a country where dissent isn't often tolerated. ...<br/><br/>"More than 80% of Damascus used to support the army club," Toufik Sarhan, the FA's general secretary, told me. "But now many of the clubs are as good as Al Jaish, if not better, because we made the league professional. Rich men started to support their clubs. Football is much better now." ...<br/><br/>The next day's game involving Damascus' new No1 team Al Wehda and basement club Al Horriya showed just how unpopular Al Jaish have become, as 20,000 fans screamed throughout an end-to-end encounter, Al Wehda eventually winning 3-2 after being 2-1 down. The fans sung and taunted the opposition with cries of "kis akh tek Horriya" (Horriya, go fuck your sister) as they took the lead at the last. "Al Jaish are hated," 20-year-old Ali, a Wehda fan, told me. "When you're 20 they come and, bzzzz, shave your head. But if you sign for Al Jaish, they don't shave your head, you don't have to serve. And there's wasta. They have all this money and the referee always gives them the decisions, for sure." "</blockquote><br/><br/>Full article <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/04/10/how_the_money_men_ended_syrias.html">here</a>.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">12:35 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/syria-tries-to-make-it-into-world-cup.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/syria-tries-to-make-it-into-world-cup.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/syria-tries-to-make-it-into-world-cup.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=3976765263105907601" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=3976765263105907601" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Thursday, April 10, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-8830601995460809846"> <h3 class="entry-header">Signs of change in Damascus</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>It caused controversy when it first went up. A massive billboard was installed a few years ago at the entrance to Souq Al-Hamidiyeh, one of the city's key tourist sites.<br/><br/>It was a shot of the Syrian flag. But it seems like it had been copied and pasted directly from a Syrian blogger's work.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R-_xrcvq7xI/AAAAAAAAADc/qQe41hNJb_c/s1600-h/300px-Syria.BasharAlAssad.02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R-_xrcvq7xI/AAAAAAAAADc/qQe41hNJb_c/s400/300px-Syria.BasharAlAssad.02.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183627424879537938"/></a><br/><br/>Last October, I watched as the flag was finally taken down, to be replaced by a picture of the President, and the words 'Syria believes in you'.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R-_x1Mvq7yI/AAAAAAAAADk/RevYkm9G7L8/s1600-h/IMGP2028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R-_x1Mvq7yI/AAAAAAAAADk/RevYkm9G7L8/s400/IMGP2028.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183627592383262498"/></a><br/><br/>And now, as Arab Summit got into full swing in Damascus, I get another shock. A huge poster celebrating the event went up.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R_5Lvm5RVxI/AAAAAAAAAEA/QIyqw3Y4bvM/s1600-h/IMGP0509.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R_5Lvm5RVxI/AAAAAAAAAEA/QIyqw3Y4bvM/s400/IMGP0509.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187667102044083986"/></a></p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">8:08 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/signs-of-change-in-damascus.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/signs-of-change-in-damascus.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/signs-of-change-in-damascus.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=8830601995460809846" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=8830601995460809846" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Saturday, April 05, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-5598589474676308649"> <h3 class="entry-header">The destruction of the Old City - part one</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Who said civil society can't have an impact in Damascus.<br/><br/>Plans to destroy decades old shops in Amara <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2007/03/damascus-in-danger.html">caused outrage</a> last year. It was all in the name of progress - knock-down the shops, and widen the road. That would mean less traffic in the Old City. But critics said it would damage the city walls.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R_egLsvq70I/AAAAAAAAAD0/lhUY-6MB-Sw/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R_egLsvq70I/AAAAAAAAAD0/lhUY-6MB-Sw/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185789618790526786"/></a><br/><span style="font-style:italic;">(Bab Al-Faradis, Amara, Damascus)</span><br/><br/>It was part of a grand scheme to eventually ban traffic from the whole of the Old City. But that can't be done until there is an alternative - at the moment, the roads outside the northern city walls are chaotic.<br/><br/>Shopkeepers were furious at the plans, a Facebook and Blogger campaign was launched. That led to a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/damascus/">petition</a>. And eventually journalists got wind of the proposals and it made the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6979495.stm">international news</a>. Then the bombshell - just months before Damascus began its year as Arab Capital of Culture, UNESCO threatened to withdraw Damascus's World Heritage Site status unless more is done to protect the Old City.<br/><br/>Quietly, the plans were dropped - thirty years after they first surfaced. Victory for the Old City. Although the net has stayed very quiet about the change of plan.<br/><br/>It seems the price to pay is that traffic isn't going to be banned from the Old City - and that could end up being far more damaging than the Amara proposals.<br/><br/>On the other side of the Old City, something equally destructive has been happening for the past year - more on that soon.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">6:35 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-one.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-one.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 5; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/destruction-of-old-city-part-one.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5598589474676308649" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5598589474676308649" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, April 01, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-5803674342682643370"> <h3 class="entry-header">Residents rebel in Gemmayze</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Residents in the newly hip eastern Beirut district of Gemmayze have taken the law into their own hands.<br/><br/>A group of up to one hundred people blocked the street on Saturday in protest at the constant partying. The army was called into the area to disperse the crowd.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R_Jddsvq7zI/AAAAAAAAADs/7BRG_GnOPqo/s1600-h/IMGP0661.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R_Jddsvq7zI/AAAAAAAAADs/7BRG_GnOPqo/s400/IMGP0661.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184308885865557810"/></a><br/><br/>Many of the elderly residents are angry that their quiet residential area has become the hottest nightspot in town over the past couple of years.<br/><br/>I thought it was just a little kerfuffle over a broken window. Many of the people gathered in the street looked like nosey passers-by to me (yes, yes, I am included in that group!).<br/><br/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://beirutspring.com/blog/2008/04/01/getting-tough-on-gemmayze/">Mustapha</a> reports that Lebanon's Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis wants to close down at least twenty pubs. But is it just an idle threat? Would a Lebanese Forces minister really dare to rile so many young people in the LF heartland? Or will he leave the situation alone, and anger many older LF supporters?</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">5:49 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/residents-rebel-in-gemmayze.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/residents-rebel-in-gemmayze.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/04/residents-rebel-in-gemmayze.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5803674342682643370" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5803674342682643370" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Wednesday, March 26, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-5078974032169634931"> <h3 class="entry-header"></h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>P.S. the air raid sirens have been tested too! No I didn't think it was the start of the war. Honestly. Ok, maybe a bit. </p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">9:24 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/p.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/p.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/p.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5078974032169634931" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-801356063"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5078974032169634931" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-1403554870612007569"> <h3 class="entry-header">The Summit of excitement</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p><div>The Arab League Summit is the talk of the town.</div> <div> </div> <div>This year's event is being held in Damascus. It should be the crowning glory for Syria. The city is three months into being Arab Capital of Culture. The Arab world is supposed to be looking in this direction with rose-tinted glasses for once.</div> <div> </div> <div>Posters started appearing around town a couple of weeks ago. I have to think, if an EU summit happened in London, it would all be very missable. But here, this is definately soemthing to brag about.</div> <div> </div> <div>'For a better future for the Arab World' read the massive signs - including some which are longer than a building, along the Fairground.</div> <div> </div> <div>Men in black suits - who look far more scary than the police - have popped up around key buildings - Cham Palace, the Omayed Hotel, some of the buildings at Omayed Square. Inside the Cham Palace there are dozens more, all pacing around speaking into their cufflinks. Very James Bond.</div> <div> </div> <div>And this morning, the airport closed (yes, that's right, it closed - shut down until next week - no civilian flights in or out of Damascus International Airport, and no-one is allowed to fly over Syria's capital). That was only announced a couple of days ago - unless you're a Syrianair passenger, in which case, it still hasn't been announced!. That didn't even happen during the Iraq War.</div> <div> </div> <div>Whole chunks of the city are going to be closed off during the weekend and businesses are going to be shut.</div> <div> </div> <div>But the craziest rumour is that there could be a curfew. No-one will be alowed into Damascus when the important people are in town.</div> <div> </div> <div>As for the party itself, well, there are going to be a couple of empty chairs. Lebanon isn't attending at all (they haven't got a president anyway). Saudi is sending its Arab League Ambassador, and Egypt is sending a minor crony.</div> <div> </div> <div>A better future? Or the same old nonsense.</div> </p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">9:15 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/summit-of-excitement.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/summit-of-excitement.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/summit-of-excitement.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1403554870612007569" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-801356063"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1403554870612007569" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, March 18, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-3752650441199766643"> <h3 class="entry-header">Foreigners in Damascus</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p><div>We used to play a game. It's called spot the foreigner. You get extra points if they're speaking Arabic, if they don't have a backpack, if they're walking fast.</div> <div> </div> <div>It worked because foreigners were a rare species in Damascus.</div> <div> </div> <div>Now, there is a flood. No doubt, it's because Syria is in the news. Five years ago, most people I talked to would need an explanation of where Syria is (between Iraq and Palestine is my favourite!).</div> <div> </div> <div>So bravo to the foreigners who sought out Damascus a decade ago. Those who were here had clearly done their research. They knew what they were here for, they had a passion for this little known place. And they loved it.</div> <div> </div> <div>Fast forward to 2008, and the types of tourists are very different. I'll hesitate to call them war-tourists (because they're not all that bad, and because there is no war!). But instead of coming here out of love, they're coming here as voyeurs. It seems they have a checklist of negative assumptions, and they're hnting for scraps of evidence to support their CNN-view of Syria.</div> <div> </div> <div>But at least I guess infamy can be good for business.</div> </p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:55 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/foreigners-in-damascus.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/foreigners-in-damascus.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 7; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/foreigners-in-damascus.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=3752650441199766643" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-801356063"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=3752650441199766643" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, March 16, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-4127051383225862884"> <h3 class="entry-header">Change in Saroujah</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p><div>I've only been away for twelve weeks. Three months. But things seem more different than when I'd been away for years.</div> <div> </div> <div>My nomadic existence has brought me back to Damascus after a short exile in London. But this isn't the Damascus I knew a few weeks ago. Things are changing at the blink of an eyelid.</div> <div> </div> <div>My memories are dominated by images. I picture streets, and people, and buses. But something has changed here, and it isn't a sight - it's a sound.</div> <div> </div> <div>Saroujah has a new sound. The muathin who read the call to prayer from the Masjid Al-Ward was probably my favourite in the world. His old trembling voice and colourful tones lit up the area. But in my short time away, he has left. In his place is a characterless monotone sound.</div> <div> </div> <div>Saroujah sounds different.</div> <div> </div> <div>And then there's the pavement. Parts of Saroujah are being repaved - though thankfully, much quickly and less damaging than the work in Straight Street. The cobbles are finally being replaced.</div> <div> </div> <div>The smell has changed too. Most of the tourist cafes on the corner of Souq Saroujah and Bahsa have closed.</div> <div> </div> <div>It's all a bit disjointing.</div> </p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:24 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/change-in-saroujah.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/change-in-saroujah.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/change-in-saroujah.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4127051383225862884" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-801356063"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4127051383225862884" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, March 11, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-6906039381592330067"> <h3 class="entry-header">Do it now!</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Ok, so Samir Jaja is in Washington, and he's going to be spreading his wisdom at an event on Thursday. As Mickey Mouse, I am disappointed not to have been invited. So as my revenge, I will reply to the RSVP email address telling them that in fact, Mickey Mouse will be attending.<br/><br/>If any of my friends - Donald Duck, Tweety Pie, or even Roger Rabbit - are out there, first of all I miss you. And secondly, I advise you to email them quickly, and tell them you will be attending. Even if you won't really!<br/><br/>It will be the most intellectual audience Samir Jaja has had for a long time.<br/><br/>That email address is LIC@LICUS.ORG. Do it now!<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R9bC1LtXPMI/AAAAAAAAADU/2o2g32w0ZZQ/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R9bC1LtXPMI/AAAAAAAAADU/2o2g32w0ZZQ/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176539040640875714"/></a><br/><br/>On a serious note, such email harassment will possibly give the organisers a hint that wherever Jaja goes, trouble (like us) follows. If I was in Washington, I would like nothing more than to organise a loud demonstration outside the building. Jaja is a war-criminal, and he shouldn't be welcome anywhere but prison.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">7:21 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/do-it-now.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/do-it-now.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/do-it-now.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=6906039381592330067" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=6906039381592330067" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, March 09, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-2095044746078863820"> <h3 class="entry-header">Human Rights Watch gives a voice to the un-oppressed</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>I'll start this by saying that I have had a long-running campaign against Human Rights Watch, academically and on this blog.<br/><br/>HRW is an overwhelmingly American organisation - the vast majority of its membership, employees and offices are in the US. It contributes to the imbalance in NGOs working in the developing world - overall 89% of NGOs and their workers are Western. Only 11% are from the developing world.<br/><br/>So would it surprise you to learn that at the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://hrw.org/iff/2008/london/films.html">HRW Film Festival</a>, which starts in London this week, only TWO of their 25 films come from the developing world (and one of those is from Eastern Europe).<br/><br/>More than half of the films come from the West - most of those from America. And a handful are mixed western-developing world productions.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R9O2J7tXPLI/AAAAAAAAADM/6fy3ljNdTCY/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R9O2J7tXPLI/AAAAAAAAADM/6fy3ljNdTCY/s320/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175680678541868210"/></a>I am prepared to accept that many developing world filmmakers need assistance from the west. But still, only nine of their films have ANY involvement at all from developing world.<br/><br/>This is a film festival of movies by Westerners for Westerners. They've picked cinemas in Notting Hill and Greenwich, just so the privileged don't have to drive their Mercedes far. <br/><br/><span style="font-style:italic;">In case you care, my thesis was on the normative role of NGOs in the developing world. Put crudely, Western NGOs - with HRW leading the way - are unwitting vehicles for the export of Western morals and values. (And, no, it wasn't that tired argument about cultural sensitivity and the universality of human rights. Some human rights really are universal. Female genital mutilation and torture can't be explained away by 'tradition'.)</span></p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">11:47 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/human-rights-watch-gives-voice-to-un.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/human-rights-watch-gives-voice-to-un.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 4; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/human-rights-watch-gives-voice-to-un.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2095044746078863820" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2095044746078863820" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Wednesday, March 05, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-613809797497193970"> <h3 class="entry-header">US election angst</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R83mryM16oI/AAAAAAAAADE/fc8SMFN7dKY/s1600-h/svclinton_wideweb__470x3150_3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R83mryM16oI/AAAAAAAAADE/fc8SMFN7dKY/s200/svclinton_wideweb__470x3150_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174045186802969218"/></a><br/>Isn't it tragic how we are staring at our TVs, watching the US election race with such enthusiasm.<br/><br/>This is an election in a country thousands of miles away, in which we have no control. But which will have a direct impact on all our lives.<br/><br/>Do Americans watch the outcome of the Swedish vote with such interest? Do the French care so much about the Italian elections? No, because by-and-large, whatever voters choose in those countries, only affects those countries.<br/><br/>The US election is the only international election, because the US is the only superpower. And we have no say over what happens in it - although it is Arabs who will live and die by the result of the vote.<br/><br/>Maybe the democracy parrots should think about that, the next time they trot out their worn out slogans.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">2:10 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-election-angst.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-election-angst.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-election-angst.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=613809797497193970" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=613809797497193970" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Friday, February 29, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-582941296868325735"> <h3 class="entry-header">Supporting stability</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Thank you America for sending your warship to create peace: the USS Cole is being sent to the coast of Beirut as a "show of support for regional stability".<br/><br/>I think Syria should also send its troops to the outskirts of Beirut, as a "show of support for regional stability".<br/><br/>A US official said:" We are very concerned about the [election of a President] in Lebanon. It has dragged on very long."<br/><br/>The election of a US President is barely half way through a two-year battle. I think Syria also has a duty to send troops to the east coast of America.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">2:32 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/supporting-stability.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/supporting-stability.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 3; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/supporting-stability.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=582941296868325735" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=582941296868325735" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Saturday, February 23, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-1858272022924919339"> <h3 class="entry-header">Caramel</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>I've been clawing at the walls to see this film. And finally, last night, I sneaked into a preview screening.<br/><br/>I missed it in Damascus - during the film festival - because all the tickets were sold out. I missed it during the London Film Festival, because I was in Damascus. I missed the Al Jazeera screening because, well, someone forgot to tell me. And I almost missed this one. I heard about it on Wednesday, but again it was sold out. I was devastated. I went to the box office anyway, to try my luck, and got one of four return tickets.<br/><br/>The award-winning Caramel / 爻賰乇亘賳丕鬲 is the biggest selling Lebanese film of all time - it has been seen by one million people so far. It is the second biggest selling Arab film ever (after the Yacoubian Building). It premiered in Cannes, and it narrowly missed out on an Oscar nomination.<br/><br/>Caramel is Nadine Labaki's debut film. She used to direct music videos and adverts. Labaki was responsible for Katia Harb's Ma Fina - the first Arab music video I ever liked (hey, I was young!):<br/><br/><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rq7LrjK5zQo&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/Rq7LrjK5zQo&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br/><br/>So I knew I was in for a treat. I'd already watched the trailer a million times, and bought the soundtrack (I highly recommend the title track Sukkar Banat - also Mreyte Mreyte, which the film ends on, and Tango el Caramel which opens the film).<br/><br/>It was screened as part of an Arab women's film festival in London - and hosted at the French Cultural Institute.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R8BBdWNZqYI/AAAAAAAAACs/hwhRJ7khy6U/s1600-h/450px-Caramel_poster.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R8BBdWNZqYI/AAAAAAAAACs/hwhRJ7khy6U/s320/450px-Caramel_poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170204344655128962"/></a><br/>Labaki appeared on stage - speaking English with a heavy French accent - with her husband, who produced the music for the film. They married after the film was finished. Blushing, Labaki said he penned the music to win her heart.<br/><br/>She introduced the film by saying Caramel isn't about war. It is a story about love, friendship, and the bonds of the six main characters. The film ends with Labaki's simple dedication: To My Beirut. And she was very clear - this was a personal story. The story of the Beirut she knows - the friendships, the lives. "It is a sweet taste of Lebanon," she said, "and I hope the taste stays with you for a long time".<br/><br/>The audience was mainly Lebanese exiles, but many French-Londoners too. Labaki was pestered during the Q&A; by questions about politics. But she deftly refused to get involved - this wasn't a political film, it's about people. People like her and her friends and the issues they have to deal with, nothing more.<br/><br/>Doesn't she have a duty - she was asked - as a Lebanese director, to tell the story of differences between the sects. As a director, her work can have an impact. She said that Caramel showed Muslims and Christians living side by side without ever talking about their religion. And that, she says, is her Beirut - a Beirut where religion doesn't mediate person to person relationships. Religion and difference isn't a part of everyday life, and she wanted to reflect that in her work.<br/><br/>So on to the film. It is sugary-sweet, just like the title. And it is incredibly simple. It doesn't set any huge goals for itself. Every single person in the film is a non-actor (except the policeman). And that brings real honesty, and colour to the film. The woman who plays Lili - the elderly woman with mental problems - apparently had difficulty understanding when they were filming and when they weren't. Throughout, she was just being herself.<br/><br/>And it is packed with humour - maybe too much. In one of the key dramatic moments of the film, when Layale is pouring her heart out to the girls, Rima makes a dry comment.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R8BB3WNZqZI/AAAAAAAAAC0/dbrl1MXJetc/s1600-h/Caramel.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R8BB3WNZqZI/AAAAAAAAAC0/dbrl1MXJetc/s320/Caramel.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170204791331727762"/></a><br/>Labaki has made a lot about the taboos Caramel tries to break. As well as directing Caramel, Labaki also plays the lead role, Layale. Layale is in a relationship with a married man, Nisrine is preparing to get married, although she's not a virgin, Jamale can't accept that she's growing old and Rima is lesbian. It doesn't break these taboos, but scratches at the surface, and holds up cards to show these taboos exist. The issue of lesbianism is handled so very delicately, possibly too delicately.<br/><br/>That other big selling Arab film, the Yacoubian Building, also tackles homosexuality - but does it head on. Although that film has come in for criticism in the way that it just reinforces gay stereotypes.<br/><br/>But maybe that's the beauty of Labaki's work. The relationship between Rima and Siham is never made explicit - Siham barely utters a word in the film. And we never even see the married man who Layale is with.<br/><br/>But perhaps the most beautiful friendship is that of Rose and Lili. The elderly sisters who stick together even when opportunity conspires to draw them apart. For me, the most emotional scene involves these two, as the credits are rolling at the end of the film.<br/><br/>I will go this far: Caramel is the Lebanese Amelie.<br/><br/>Caramel opened the film festival: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.tangierstehranfilm.org/">Women's Cinema from Tangiers to Tehran</a>. And tonight, it's the turn of the award-winning Iranian animation Persopolis.<br/><br/>Caramel trailer: <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdVShbXTSIA&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/MdVShbXTSIA&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">5:28 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/caramel.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/caramel.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 4; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/caramel.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1858272022924919339" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1858272022924919339" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-262951269261028802"> <h3 class="entry-header">3 years in jail for typing three words</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Prince Moulay Rachid.<br/><br/>They are the three words which Fouad Mourtada will regret typing. He has been jailed in Morocco - not for insulting his leader (as some bloggers have been in Egypt and Saudi and Syria and Tunisia and.....) - but for just TYPING HIS NAME.<br/><br/>What kind of Arab World do we live in? What kind of paranoid hateful totalitarian dictatorships do we live under? Morocco, that progressive country. That country which is 'one of the most democratic in the region'. Morocco for god's sake.<br/><br/>So what did the evil Fouad do? He set up a Facebook profile in the Prince's name. He's been convicted of "villainous practices linked to the alleged theft of the [prince's] identity". His family alleges he has been blindfolded and beaten unconscious.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">10:24 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/3-years-in-jail-for-typing-three-words.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/3-years-in-jail-for-typing-three-words.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/3-years-in-jail-for-typing-three-words.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=262951269261028802" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=262951269261028802" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Friday, February 22, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-1281378902407067229"> <h3 class="entry-header">Coincidence?</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>16 February 2008: "The new sanction law will be hot air if it is not used to paralyse the financial freedom of Rami Makhlouf, the President's cousin and the Mr. Economy for the Syrian <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=594">regime</a>." (Syria Comment)<br/><br/>21 February 2008: "The sanctions affect Rami Makhlouf, a first cousin of President Bashar Assad and one of Syria's most powerful <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7257532.stm">men</a>."</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">12:26 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/coincidence.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/coincidence.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/coincidence.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1281378902407067229" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1281378902407067229" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Monday, February 18, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-4698467668271330968"> <h3 class="entry-header">The Eighth Gate</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Damascus has seven gates - the busiest: Bab Sharqi and Bab Tuma. The non existent: Bab Kisan. The others: Bab Al Faradis, Bab Al Jabieh, Bab As Saghir, and Bab As Salam.<br/><br/>Now, there is an eighth.<br/><br/><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5282/568/320/5694/33998-syria.jpg"><br/><br/>But it's not in the Old City. The Eighth Gate is being built in Yafour, north of Damascus. Yafour is one of the new-money suburbs - outside of central Damascus, where building is limited by protection laws. The Eighth Gate - and Yafour in general - represents Damascus's Gulf architectural boom. The most potent symbol of the style is the Four Seasons hotel.<br/><br/>No, the Gulf architecture doesn't fit in to Damascus. Go up to Jebl Qasioun and look down at the city. It used to be the Umayed Mosque which stood out. Now, your eyes are drawn to the Four Seasons first.<br/><br/>But it is an improvement on the Soviet architecture which has dominated since the 1960s. That's a natural change.<br/><br/>Anyway, back to the point of this post. Emaar, the Dubai-based developers of the Eighth Gate, are having a massive sales push, even though the homes haven't been finished yet.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R7nRjmNZqXI/AAAAAAAAACk/1MQQuxiC5YA/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp2.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R7nRjmNZqXI/AAAAAAAAACk/1MQQuxiC5YA/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168392456866736498"/></a><br/><br/>Have no doubt, this will change the face of Damascus. Damascus in the wider sense - not the Old City, not even the New City. But Damascus and its environs. I'm not sure I am completely behind this. There seem to be too many penthouses and not enough affordable housing (building a certain proportion of affordable housing was a condition for granting Emaar a licence to build this development).<br/><br/>It is also an attempt to decenter the city. By building the largest shopping center in the region here, Yafour residents will no longer need to come into the centre of town. It is sucking the life out of Damascus - literally and figuratively.<br/><br/>In many ways, this is how Beirut operates - as a multi-centered city (how much does the photo remind you of Beirut's Downtown?).<br/><br/>Some of the houses will be on the waterfront, and the shopping mall will be built in the style of the Damascus Old City. Access to the whole complex is through an Old City style gate.<br/><br/>It is costing half a billion dollars to build, and is already one year behind schedule. (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2006/12/old-citys-eighth-gate-500m-development.html">This is an earlier post</a> about the development).</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">8:34 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/eighth-gate.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/eighth-gate.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 8; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/eighth-gate.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4698467668271330968" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4698467668271330968" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Saturday, February 16, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-653675727416906019"> <h3 class="entry-header">Maintaining Social Harmony</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Thank you Arab League.<br/><br/>Arab leaders have signed up to an ethical code for journalists. It sounds positive. It sounds like it is a way of protecting journalism, integrity, free speech. But no, this is the Arab World. And this is a deal signed by our Arab dictators. The only decisions they make are ones which protect them personally.<br/><br/>So, if journalists breach the code, the organisation's permit to broadcast can be withdrawn. Until now, state broadcasters refrain from criticising their own country's government, but are more free to lash out at other states.<br/><br/>This agreement will create a region-wide crackdown on journalistic analysis.<br/><br/>It is co-sponsored by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Qatar - where Al Jazeera is based - is the only Arab state not to sign it.<br/><br/>Just in case you thought the leaders were being selfish, they've promised that the deal will protect "social harmony, national unity, public order or traditional values". Sounds exactly like the trumped up charges against domestic dissidents appearing before military courts.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">12:50 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/maintaining-social-harmony.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/maintaining-social-harmony.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/maintaining-social-harmony.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=653675727416906019" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=653675727416906019" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Wednesday, February 13, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-4037589889977522490"> <h3 class="entry-header">BOMB IN DAMASCUS</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>A senior Hizbollah commander has been killed in a bomb blast in Damascus.<br/><br/>His name was Imad Moughniyah.<br/><br/>It happened in Kafar Sousseh in the west of the city.<br/><br/>Police quickly removed the car and the body.<br/><br/>Witnesses say it bore the hallmarks of the car bombs which have hit Lebanon in the past three years.<br/><br/>The attack comes just hours before anti-Syrians prepare to demonstrate in Beirut, to mark the third anniversary of the death of Rafiq Al-Hariri. Anti-Syrian leader Walid Junblatt recently threatened to increase the violence, and openly criticised Hizbollah for the first time.<br/><br/>Hizbollah, though, has accused Israel.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">10:42 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/bomb-in-damascus.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/bomb-in-damascus.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/bomb-in-damascus.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4037589889977522490" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4037589889977522490" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, February 10, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-9211365240370534448"> <h3 class="entry-header">Junblatt calls for Civil War (updated)</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>The nutcase shows his true colours:<br/><br/>"If you want chaos, we welcome chaos. If you want war, we welcome <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5E5AE4F9-4E20-4024-93C0-A2A900CD31D2.htm">one</a>."<br/><br/>He was addressing Hizbollah, days before emotions are bound to run high on the third anniversary of the assassination of the martyr Sheikh Rafiq Al Hariri.<br/><br/>Later, two people were injured when a convoy of Junblatt supporters drove past a rival Druze party's offices, called the Lebanese Democratic Party. The LDP has accused Junblatt "militia members" of opening fire on them.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">2:23 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/junblatt-calls-for-civil-war.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/junblatt-calls-for-civil-war.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 4; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/02/junblatt-calls-for-civil-war.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=9211365240370534448" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=9211365240370534448" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Thursday, January 31, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-1973351120328529384"> <h3 class="entry-header">Al Jazeera's plagarism</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>The brilliant new series A Question of Arab Unity, on Al Jazeera English has stolen large chunks from Wikipedia:<br/><br/><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DVFJrLQ60-E&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946oe_/http://www.youtube.com/v/DVFJrLQ60-E&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br/><br/>Here are a couple of examples:<br/><br/>ALJAZ<br/>"That night officers seized control of all government buildings, radio stations, police stations, and the army headquarters in Cairo."<br/><br/>WIKIPEDIA<br/>"That day the Free Officers seized control of all government buildings, radio stations, police stations, and the army headquarters in Cairo."<br/><br/>ALJAZ<br/>"Nasser and his fellow officers assured Britain that it would respect British citizens and property in Egypt, limiting the possibility of intervention against the coup. The revolutionaries also bowed to American pressure by allowing the deposed King Farouk and his family to leave Egypt."<br/><br/>WIKIPEDIA<br/>"The newly installed government immediately assured Britain that it would respect British citizens and property in Egypt, greatly diminishing the possibility of intervention against the coup. Nasser and his fellow revolutionaries also bowed to American pressure by allowing the deposed King Farouk and his family to leave Egypt."<br/><br/>Spot the difference? Some nice copy-and-pasting going on in Doha.<br/><br/>You can find some more yourselves. The next episode is going to be broadcast next week. My suggestion - skip it, and type 'Nasser' into Google.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">10:05 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/al-jazeeras-plagarism.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/al-jazeeras-plagarism.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 10; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/al-jazeeras-plagarism.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1973351120328529384" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1973351120328529384" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Monday, January 28, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-2238704325388076121"> <h3 class="entry-header">They weren't shot dead - they committed suicide</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Eight people - supporters of opposition parties Amal and Hizbollah - have been killed by the Lebanese Army. They were protesting against the power cuts.<br/><br/>March 14 says: "The opposition ... is solely responsible for the blood spilled today."<br/><br/>By that logic, March 14 is responsible for the deaths of their martyrs.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">12:53 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/they-werent-shot-dead-they-committed.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/they-werent-shot-dead-they-committed.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/they-werent-shot-dead-they-committed.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2238704325388076121" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=2238704325388076121" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, January 27, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-4541187575291402740"> <h3 class="entry-header">Toot toot</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>It's taken three years of shameless begging, but I've finally done it.<br/><br/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://itoot.net/" title="I'm on toot" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://itoot.net/images/badges/am-on-toot-sticker.gif" border="0" alt="I'm on toot"/></a><br/><br/>Toot is a handpicked selection of the best writing in the Arab World (I'm delighted to be pulling that standard down!). It's not an aggregator - and it certainly doesn't include all blogs. So it's well worth a read.<br/><br/>It's not easy to get on to toot. First, they hardly ever add new blogs. And second, their demands are really tough. They only want blogs which are frequently updated, and high quality.<br/><br/>Another new addition to toot - the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://thearabobserver.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-am-on-toot-finally.html">Arab Observer</a> - says it well. He took two years to get on toot. And he even stopped visiting their site when they didn't add him. It was like they didn't approve of his blog.<br/><br/>I felt the same - like mine wasn't up to their standards. And yes, seeing the curly wurly Amman fruits at itoot.net did bring me down, because I wasn't allowed to join their club.<br/><br/>Not that there's anything wrong with aggregators. I am proud to be part of Syria Planet, which aims to repost all Syrian blogs.<br/><br/><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.syplanet.com/"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.syplanet.com/misc/syriaplanet-en.png" alt="Syria Planet" title="Syria Planet"/></a><br/><br/>In a fortnight this blog will be three years old. And today is one of my happiest blogging days. Until now, the highlight was one month after I started, when <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://damascene1.blogspot.com/">Ayman</a> linked to me.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">11:51 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/toot-toot.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/toot-toot.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 5; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/toot-toot.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4541187575291402740" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4541187575291402740" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Sunday, January 20, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-5799860936261510027"> <h3 class="entry-header">Comment</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Some comments are bound to go unread - because they're on posts which were written a while ago. So I'm reposting this one.<br/><br/>It was a comment on my post called <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/paper-tigers.html">Paper Tigers</a>.<br/><br/><blockquote>Hey there! That famous Arab hospitality is on display again! You give the poor people on the Tube train in London too much credit. They are reading newspapers, yes - but the 'news' in them is fecking awful. I despair of my country. The best-selling 'news'papers are tabloids which are filled only with racism, xenophobia, celebrity gossip, sport and how much Iraqis are grateful for us overthrowing their awful dictator. In short, nothing worth reading.<br/><br/>Your Damascan bus is much better. At least they are sitting enjoying the view out of the window rather than filling their minds with irrelevance and/or spite.<br/><br/>Posted by Anonymous to The Syria News Wire at 8:34 PM</blockquote><br/><br/>Thanks Anon.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">10:03 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/comment.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/comment.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 1; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/comment.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5799860936261510027" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5799860936261510027" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, January 15, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-5280605131251500950"> <h3 class="entry-header"></h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>DEATH TOLL IN BEIRUT BLAST RISES TO THREE</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">4:52 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/death-toll-in-beirut-blast-rises-to.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/death-toll-in-beirut-blast-rises-to.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/death-toll-in-beirut-blast-rises-to.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5280605131251500950" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=5280605131251500950" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-4817019394048917428"> <h3 class="entry-header"></h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>BEIRUT BLAST HITS U.S. EMBASSY CAR</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">4:50 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/beirut-blast-hits-u.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/beirut-blast-hits-u.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/beirut-blast-hits-u.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4817019394048917428" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4817019394048917428" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-1089887423121761634"> <h3 class="entry-header"></h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>AT LEAST ONE DEAD, EIGHT WOUNDED IN BEIRUT BLAST</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">4:43 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/at-least-one-dead-eight-wounded-in.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/at-least-one-dead-eight-wounded-in.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/at-least-one-dead-eight-wounded-in.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1089887423121761634" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=1089887423121761634" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-4946797100015219576"> <h3 class="entry-header"></h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>EXPLOSION HEARD IN BEIRUT SUBURB</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">4:28 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/explosion-heard-in-beirut-suburb.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/explosion-heard-in-beirut-suburb.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 0; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/explosion-heard-in-beirut-suburb.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4946797100015219576" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=4946797100015219576" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, January 08, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-3021726393005886078"> <h3 class="entry-header">Bomb hits UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>A bomb has hit a UN peacekeeping patrol near Sidon.<br/><br/>It comes hours after rockets were fired into Israel.<br/><br/>Fateh Al Islam has recently threatened to renew its campaign of violence in the country.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">3:46 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/bomb-hits-un-peacekeepers-in-southern.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/bomb-hits-un-peacekeepers-in-southern.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/bomb-hits-un-peacekeepers-in-southern.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=3021726393005886078" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=3021726393005886078" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header"> </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-8933509886112623195"> <h3 class="entry-header">Paper tigers</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>Why doesn't the Arab world read enough?<br/><br/>Take two scenes:<br/><br/>Transport in London.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R4NZZb519pI/AAAAAAAAABg/zWrBK7-PP0k/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp3.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R4NZZb519pI/AAAAAAAAABg/zWrBK7-PP0k/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153060692163950226"/></a><br/><br/>And transport in Damascus.<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R4NZl7519qI/AAAAAAAAABo/KSkLjoX8oC0/s1600-h/Picture+2.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp1.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R4NZl7519qI/AAAAAAAAABo/KSkLjoX8oC0/s400/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153060906912315042"/></a><br/><br/>Spot the difference.<br/><br/>Ok, it's unscientific, I know, but most of people in the first picture have newspapers or books. None of the people in the second picture do (I know there are only three!).<br/><br/>Is it that we don't crave knowledge? That can't be right, because Al Jazeera is the Arab world's most popular TV channel. But to quote my hero <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.fw-magazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79">Sami Moubayed</a>:<br/><br/><blockquote>"To [the imposter elite of Damascus], intellectuality is obtained not by reading, thinking, and interacting with different people and schools of thought, but rather, by watching 9 pm news on al-Jazeera, throwing out critical statements against the government, or splashing a few words of French and English."<br/></blockquote><br/>So maybe knowledge isn't important to us - except to the extent that it makes us <i>appear</i> intellectual.<br/><br/>But why? Much of the blame can be laid at the door of Arab media. Take a look at Tishreen on any given day, and more likely than not the top story will be 'the President received a letter from the President of randomistan' - regardless of what's going on in the world.<br/><br/>Yemen TV News devotes its first ten minutes to un-narrated shots of President Ali Abduallah Salah greeting someone in a suit.<br/><br/>The same is true of state media in every Arab country.<br/><br/>But that doesn't explain why we don't act differently when we are presented with a free press. Take London. A city of three hundred thousand Arabs, with publications like Al Quds (independent), Al Arab (Libyan funded) and Al Hayat (Saudi funded) - papers to rival anything written in English. But they sell pitifully few copies.<br/><br/>Part of it could be down to the nature of society. Arab society is much more social. British society is more individual. A book, or a newspaper, is a mask - something to bury yourself in on the train or bus - not just physically, but emotionally too. Anything to avoid making eye contact with a stranger, or even remembering that there are strangers nearby.<br/><br/>Reading a newspaper at home, or in the office is almost unheard of. It's just a companion for the journey.<br/><br/>Newspaper penetration in Britain has always been one of the highest in the world. But it really took off when Rupert Murdoch started throwing free newspapers at commuters. One million copies of the 'Metro' are published every day. Commuters leave them on trains and buses when they've finished, and within seconds, they'll get snatched by another reader.<br/><br/>They're free and funded by advertisements.<br/><br/>So imagine my delight when I was handed a free newspaper in Damascus. Called Ya Hala, it's given out in front of newstands. They've got the bit about the adverts right. But they forgot to put any news in it.<br/><br/>I left Ya Hala where it belongs:<br/><br/><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R4NZ1r519rI/AAAAAAAAABw/vmwkO0JIueQ/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://bp0.blogger.com/_INlLr8WZWVE/R4NZ1r519rI/AAAAAAAAABw/vmwkO0JIueQ/s400/Picture+3.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153061177495254706"/></a></p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:02 PM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/paper-tigers.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/paper-tigers.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 3; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/paper-tigers.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=8933509886112623195" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=8933509886112623195" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif"></a></span> </p> </div> <h2 class="date-header">Friday, January 04, 2008 </h2> <div class="entry" id="post-473629369112298555"> <h3 class="entry-header">Beirut Spring gets inside the Aoun mindset</h3> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <p>I rarely agree with <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://beirutspring.com/">Beirut Spring</a>. But I find his commentary to be some of the most clear headed of the M14 fans (although he may deny being an M14 fan, so apologies in advance).<br/><br/>Anyway, read this, and understand Michel Aoun's ability to morph from anti-Syrian to pro-Syrian:<br/><br/><blockquote>To understand, one has to look way back at the years where Aoun took the popular position of resisting the Syrians. We all thought back then that he was doing it because it was the right thing to do, but many of us are learning today that he did it because Syria was the only thing standing between him <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://beirutspring.com/blog/2008/01/03/aouns-ennemy-switching/">and power.</a></blockquote><br/><br/>I've never been a fan of Aoun - need proof: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2005/05/napolaoun-returns.html">this should do</a>.<br/><br/>So there. That's an interesting take on how Aoun made a massive u-turn. But what about Junblatt. What's his explanation? Hmm, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=37040搂ionid=351020203">this sounds reasonable</a>.</p> </div> </div> <p class="entry-footer"> <span class="post-footers">1:48 AM </span> <span class="separator">|</span> <a class="permalink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/beirut-spring-gets-inside-aoun-mindset.html">Permalink</a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/beirut-spring-gets-inside-aoun-mindset.html#comments"><script type="text/javascript">var a = 2; if(a == 0) {document.write('Add a comment');} else if(a == 1) {document.write('1 comment');}else{document.write(a+' comments');}</script></a> <span class="separator">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://saroujah.blogspot.com/2008/01/beirut-spring-gets-inside-aoun-mindset.html#links">links to this post</a> <span class="item-action"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10840306&postID=473629369112298555" title="Email Post"><img class="icon-action" alt="" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946im_/http://www.blogger.com:80/img/icon18_email.gif"/></a></span><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-1187888931"><a style="border:none;" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080514153946/http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10840306&postID=473629369112298555" title="Edit Post"><img class="icon-acti