Quote Of The Day

"Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

World Map Of Happiness

A British psychologist has produced what he says is the first world map of happiness.

It ranks 178 countries, with Denmark at the top and the African nation of Burundi at the bottom. The United States comes in 23rd

Tunisia ranks 78! Not bad ;)

Check the map here.

Picture Of The Day

You can voluntarily cover your face with creams, makeup, cucumber or anything at hand but this lebanese lady's face and clothes are unintentionally covered with DUST after and israeli strike! Just another atrocity in Lebanon... and Tyre, Queen Dido's home before founding Carthage, is still on fire...

Who Started?

I came across this interesting article via Dappled Things.The article in question is written by an israeli journalist in Haaretz newspaper. In his article, the author disagrees with the idea that Israel is the victim of Arab violence. A must read!

Zuleyka: Miss Universe 2006

Yesterday Miss Puerto Rico, Zuleyka Rivera Mendosa, was crowned Miss Universe 2006. I didn't know that the name Zuleyka, which is by the way similar to the tunisian name Zouleikha, existed in some other parts of the world.

Bush Rubs Shoulders With German Chancellor Angela Merkel

During the recent G-8 Summit President Bush made a surprise gesture by rubbing shoulder German Chancellor Angela Merkel!

Check the video here.

NY: Mysterious Blackouts

NEW YORK (AP) - A mysterious blackout during the hottest week of the year left tens of thousands of New Yorkers without power for a fifth day Friday as residents sweltered, businesses idled and city officials seethed after the power company revealed the outages were 10 times larger than previously reported.

Remember the NY blackouts sometime in the Summer of 2001?....

Christopher Columbus's Dark Side

According to a document uncovered by a spanish archivist,

Christopher Columbus was a cruel, despotic tyrant who ruled over his subjects with an iron fist, according to new documents which have emerged 500 years after his death.

The discoverer of America routinely subjected slaves to torture and starved his own subjects in colonies in what is now the Dominican Republican.

( Via Sploid)

Israel: Relations With Spain Damaged

Israel's envoy to Spain said on Thursday the two countries' relations had been damaged after the Spanish prime minister accused Israel of using "abusive force" during an event at which he also wore a Palestinian scarf. (Via Drudge)

Well, is it the remarks or the kaffiyah?? !!

Mmmm I was sure... Zapatero is now an anti-semitic and you can guess the the rest of the story...

Rapping In Irak

I know my previous post has triggered some unfriendly comments by the other side of the blogosphere but I would like to appease tensions and present you with this video clip on US soldieres rapping in Irak! Isn't that neat? Why don't Israeli soldiers do the same in Lebanon and Palestine? I bet the world will be better off!

PS: If you are not interested then stop by Infinity's blog (Warning: Graphic!)

In Defence Of Carthage And The Carthaginians (2)

Sometime in June 2005 I wrote a post as a recation to an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal . The aim of the WSJ's article was but to smear the name of Carthage and Carthaginians by unfairly accusing them of child sacrifice.

At that time it was an westerner who wrote the article and we cannot blame his biased approach to this issue. But when a fellow Tunisian, who is by no means an pundit in ancient history,blindly adopts the same approach, this makes me really feel sick in the guts.

I have been following a heated debate around this subject in this blog which I used to visit frequently but I think I have changed my mind, since I cannot stand people who claim knowledge and try to pitchfork on various subjects and uproot them from their real historical, social and cultural contexts to serve some "political ideology of hate" à la Daniel Pipes and à la Pat Robertson.

Anyway coming back to our subject, this smearing campaign of Carthage and Carthaginians as child killers is not the invention of yesterday, it goes back to the Romans and the Greeks and now unfortunately to the heirs of Carthage if they ever deserve to be labled as such.

As professor Mhamed Fantar said "History always gets written by the victors" ... the Romans twisted history to "show us as barbarians" and to "justify their own barbarity." ... "We must stop looking at our past through the eyes of foreigners" ... "When Arabs read and understand our own history, we will be at the dawn of a real revolution. This is what we are trying to do in Tunisia.".

It seems that, unfortunately, Mr. Fantar's plea went unnoticed.I would like to remind those who are trying to vilify and defame the history of our ancestors realize that they are adopting the same pitiful tactics and twisted ways that were used by islamist fundamentalists and extremists in Tunisia during the 80s and 90s and I hope that they do not get trapped in this muddy road for who knows it is always easy to label someone a "terrorist"!

Bolton: There's No Moral Equality When It Comes To Human Loss!

! ان لم تستح فافعل ما شئت

Tunisian Passage

This is the title given to an art exhibit, by painter Susan Gottlieb and which is currently showing at the Gallery DePaul, Lancaster, PA.

You can catch a glimpse of Gottlieb's exotic lifestyle in "Tunisian Passage," a vividly hued 31-piece oil, graphite and mixed-media show celebrating her impressions of North Africa's smallest country, the Tunisian Republic, at Klein's gallery in downtown Lancaster through July 29.

Mideast Mayhem

Our prayers go to our brothers and sisters in Lebanon and Palestine.May Allah the Almighty help them overcome this tragic situation. Our thoughts are as well with our fellow tunisians who are on their way back home.We wish them all a safe and secure coming back.Rabbi ma3ehom!

Animated Fractals

View stunning beauty that's generated by complex equations... View more here

Islam: What The West Needs To know

This is the title of a documentary now playing in Washington DC until July 13. The first time I came across this movie was while reading one of the daily newspapers. The movie ad was so tiny, as on purpose, that it makes it hard for readers to notice it. I haven't seen the movie but I read an abstract of it and honestly I was shocked :

Virtually every major Western leader has over the past several years expressed the view that Islam is a peaceful religion and that those who commit violence in its name are fanatics who misinterpret its tenets. This claim, while widely circulated, rarely attracts serious public examination. Relying primarily on Islam’s own sources, this documentary demonstrates that Islam is a violent, expansionary ideology that seeks the destruction or subjugation of other faiths, cultures, and systems of government.

I wonder who is behind such a vilifying project and does it really help the West understand Islam? I doubt it!

Flying With Rodents

An American Airlines plane ( N320) has been infested with mice according to a video shot by an employee at the Kansas City International Airport.

The whistle blower said, "We had to take the chairs off and that's when everybody saw mice running around on the floor and one ran down one of the mechanic's arm." The whistle blower said workers found nests in air vents and dead mice in emergency oxygen masks. When mice would get hungry, they ate insulation and chewed through wires.

But according to the Federal Aviation Administration,

American Airlines did nothing wrong because airlines do not have to report rodent infestations unless the rodents affect the mechanics. The FAA said that all insulation and oxygen masks on N320 have been replaced. The cargo bins have been removed and replaced and the wiring has been inspected.

American Airlines said N320 was an anomaly and while an occasional mouse has boarded, infestations simply don't happen.

(Via Drudge)

Thirty-Three

Yeah, you might have guessed it already: Today I turned 33!

"L'Affaire Zidane"

Il semble que Zizou aurait été traité de "terroriste" par le joueur italien Marco Materazzi... En tout cas, le geste de Zizou reste à mon avis injustifié et j'ai pas aimé que Zidane quitte le monde du football sur une telle mauvaise note.

Quote Of The Day

"Friendship is one mind in two bodies."

~Mencius