Miss America 2007

This year's Miss America is from Oaklahoma, Miss Lauren Nelson. Of course she is a blonde! (I thought the candidate from Texas will get the title this year, but she is not blonde!...)

The Seven New Wonders Of The World

Swiss-Canadian filmaker Bernard Weber, is working on a competition to choose "the new seven wonders of the world". Mr. Weber is on a tour to promote the 21 sites short-listed for the new competition which are: Petra in Jordan, the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis in Athens, the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House and the Great Wall of China.

To this point nothing seems surprising or out of the ordinary, but it seems that Mr. Weber's competition is not appealing to the egyptian authorities who derided it "as a marketing stunt that demeans the Pyramids of Giz". Moreover, Zahi Hawas, Egypt's antiquities chief called the competition "ridiculous", whereas the Egyptian Minister of Culture "echoed the complaint, describing the project as "absurd" and its creator, Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion.". More, an egyptian editorialist in a leading state-owned newspaper, labeled the project as "probably a conspiracy against Egypt, its civilization and monuments,". Woww!.

In Jordan, Weber was granted honors and was even welcomed by Queen Rania, whereas in Egypt his initiative was met with "hostility".

"The hotel banquet hall near the Pyramids where Weber was due to hold a news conference Wednesday was closed down at the last minute "for maintenance" and an AFP television crew was prevented from filming "for security reasons."

Do you think Egyptian authorities are overreacting with regard to this competition, which is after all an online one?

Via The Daily Star

بوش يقرأ دراسة عن حرب الجزائر لأخذ العبر

كشف الرئيس الاميركي في حديث مع شبكة التلفزيون الاميركية (سي بي اس) انه يقرأ كتاباً للمؤرخ البريطاني اليستير هورن يحمل عنوان (تاريخ الحرب في الجزائر (1954 - 1962)). واكد وزير الخارجية الاميركي الأسبق هنري كيسنجر في حديث الى شبكة التلفزيون (بي بي اس) انه هو الذي نصح بوش بقراءة هذا الكتاب المرجع عن حرب التحرير في الجزائر والذي نشر عام 1977

American Idol

iPhone: It's Everything!

Première Ambassade Virtuelle Dans Le Monde

La Suède va être le premier pays à établir une ambassade dans le monde virtuel de Second Life, dans lequel les internautes s'inventent une nouvelle vie...L'ambassade ne délivrera pas de passeport ou de visa mais donnera des instructions aux visiteurs sur les démarches administratives pour obtenir de tels documents dans le monde réel. Elle fonctionnera comme un lien sur le pays scandinave. (lire la suite)

Via Webmanagercenter

Jeune Afrique Parle De "Kahloucha", De La Blogosphère Tunisienne

Ceci est un article publié par le magazine Jeune Afrique et où l'auteur focalise sur le succès spectaculaire du documentaire Kahloucha VHS par Néjib Belkadhi. L'auteur tient également à souligner le rôle important de la blogosphère tunisienne et sa contribution dans la promotion de ce documentaire. L'auteur cite, en fait, notre cher bloggeur tunisien Zizou.

Le succès du documentaire ne tient pas seulement à l’histoire de Moncef Kahloucha. La stratégie de communication de la maison de production y est pour beaucoup. C’est sur Internet que Propaganda a choisi de concentrer ses efforts. Une campagne webmarketing, orchestrée par Mehdi Touibi et Hela Heloui, a mis en ébullition toute la blogosphère tunisienne qui ne parle plus désormais que du phénomène Kahloucha. Mis à part le site officiel www.kahloucha.com, le premier dédié à un film en Tunisie, une multitude de blogs, à l’instar de celui de Zizou from Djerba, prennent le relais pour manifester leur engouement. VHS Kahloucha film culte ? C’est déjà l’avis des blogueurs tunisiens.

79th Annual Academy Nominations

Here is the complete list of the 79th Annual Academy Nominations. (Via The Washington Post)

Washington DC, Wearing Its White Garb Again

The New Iraq

Caricature by Armand Homsi

Undercover Mosques

After watching this troubling documentary aired by the British Channel 4 on January 15, 2007, I personally came to the sad conclusion that the argument advanced by moderate moslems that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance will hardly be accepted or at least understood by those who think that Islam and Moslems are the real enemy of the West.I even doubt if moderate Moslems living in the UK, in particular, and in the West, in general, will be able to explain or defend the argument that what the documentary has shown is but " an extremist, dark, misleading and dangerous way of Islam" that has nothing to do with the real nature of Islam and Moslems. After watching this program, I would say that, unfortunately, this documentary and similar ones will just add fuel to fire and further stigmatize the already tarnished image of Moslems and Islam around the world and reinforce the idelogies of hate and the rejection of the other.

The documentary is in six parts, and you can view it here.

Via BKP

Tunisia: Index Of Economic Freedom For 2007

According to The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal's recent annual report "Index Of Economic Freedom" in the world for 2007,

Tunisia's economy is 61 percent free,(...), which makes it the world's 69th freest economy. Its overall score is 1.8 percentage points higher than last year, partially reflecting new methodological detail. Tunisia is ranked 6th out of 17 countries in the Middle East/North Africa region, and its overall score is slightly higher than the regional average.

According to the same report, Tunisia's economy climbed into higher categories and moved from "mostly unfree" to "moderately free.". Despite the fact that Tunisia's economy lags a bit behind in two categories (Financial Freedom 30.0% and Investment Freedom 30.0% ), in the Index of Economic Freedom, Tunisia's economy is way ahead of certain arab countries like Qatar (72th), UAE (74th), Lebanon (77th), Saudi Arabia (85th), Morrocco (96th), Yemen (122nd), Mauritania (126th), Egypt (127th), Algeria (134th), Syria (142nd) and Libya (155th).

I Have A Dream, A Tribute To MLK

Volver

"Volver" is a wonderful song performed by Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) in Almodovar's latest movie "VOLVER". ( I am sure Cruz didn't really perform this song herself, ie, with herv own voice but she was just lip-synching another famous spanish singer, I guess, Estrella Morente). For the Almodovarphiles, "Volver" is a must!

PS: I didn't delete this same post, lest I will lose the comment attached to it.

Volver: Trailer & Abstract

"VOLVER is a meeting of “Mildred Pierce” and “Arsenic and Old Lace”, combined with the surrealistic naturalism of my fourth film, “¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!!” (“What have I done to Deserve This?”), that is, Madrid and its lively working-class neighbourhoods, where the immigrants from the various Spanish provinces share dreams, lives and fortune with a multitude of ethnic groups and other races. At the heart of this social framework, three generations of women survive wind, fire and even death, thanks to goodness, audacity and a limitless vitality. They are Raimunda (Pénelope Cruz), who is married to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage daughter (Yohana Cobo); Sole (Lola Dueñas), her sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the mother of both (Carmen Maura), who died in a fire along with her husband. This character appears first to her sister (Chus Lampreave) and then to Sole, although the people with whom she has some unresolved matters are Raimunda and her neighbour in the village, Agustina (Blanca Portillo). VOLVER is not a surrealistic comedy although it may seem so at times. The living and the dead coexist without any discord, causing situations that are either hilarious or filled with a deep, genuine emotion. It’s a film about the culture of death in my native La Mancha. The people there practice it with an admirable naturalness. The way in which the dead continue to be present in their lives, the richness and humanity of their rites mean that the dead never die."

VOLVER

VOLVER, is a wonderful song performed by Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) in Almodovar's latest feature "Volver". For all the Almodovarphiles, "Volver" is a must! Enjoy!

Golden Globe Awards: List Of Winners

Here is the list of winners of the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards.

Israel Intends To Sue Ahmadinajed In International Court

The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced today that Israel is considering to sue Iran's President Ahmadinajed in LaHaye's International Court of Justice for his attempt to exterminate the Israelis. (more)

Maghreb Star Academy 1 In Tunisia

Here it comes, the Maghreb Star Academy 1 (Recently, I watched LBC's Star Academy and I don't know if we really need such programs, after all) will start soon in Tunisia. This entertainment show will be broadcasted by "Nessman TV", a new tunisian private satellite TV channel that will launch its prgrams soon. (more)

أهل الشّقاق والنّفاق

هناك مقولة لا أعلم من قالها وهي أنّ "العراق أهل الشقاق والنّفاق" وقد تأكد لديّ مضمونها عندما رأيت المقطع التاّلي من برنامج الإتّجاه المعاكس

US Strike Al-Qaida Suspects In Somalia

Via CNN-According to a Pentagon senior official, a U.S. gunship attacked suspected al Qaeda targets in southern Somalia (More).

Have the somali authorities got a prior notification about such a preemtive attack? what if this attack targeted innocent civilians too? I doubt if Somalia has a say in all this especially after being invaded by Ethiopia recently. In the same vein of thought, I bet Seymour Hersh would be more than happy to know that what he wrote back in January 2005 proved to be 100% true and all the controversy and attacks his article stirred at that time is mere hypocrisy to further deceive the public.

Court Drops Kurd Charges Against Saddam

Via Miami Herald- The court's first order of business was to dismiss all charges against Saddam. His co-defendants - including his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" - remain in the dock for allegedly killing 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s as Iraq fought a protracted war with Iran. (More).

Seven Travel Secrets You Can Use

The following is a list of seven travel secrets one can use. ( Our friend Napo might be interested in these travel tips ;))

Rumors On The Internets

Saisons Tunisiennes: Un Nouveau Magazine Tunisien En Ligne

Saisons Tunisiennes est un nouveau magazine tunisien en ligne sur la nature, la culture et le patrimoine tunisien.

On y trouve des reportages vivants, des propositions d’escapades, l’archéologie, des rubriques sur l’histoire et les parcs nationaux. En somme, un portail utile et qui donne une image positive sur la Tunisie.

Via Webmanagercenter

The Saddam Syndrome

After the Pakistani boy who hanged himself after watching Saddam's execution, news reports say that in Eastern India a young girl hanged herself as well after watching the same execution. In Houston, TX, reports say that a 10-year-old boy died by hanging himself from a bunk bed while apparently mimicking the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Today in Algeria, a 35 years old lady, committed suicide by jumping from the third floor out of extreme grief over Saddam's death!

Hannibal, The Movie

Our dear friend at Dappled Things links to a neat article via Rogueclassicism, on the upcoming movie of producer and actor Vin Diesel about the life of Hannibal Barca. Rumors indicate that "Hannibal the Conqueror", will be in the original punic language.

Variety Magazine Talks About "Khochkhach"

In the film review section for its January 1, 2007 edition, Variety magazine talks about Salma Baccar's recent feature "Khochkhach" (Flower of Oblivion).

الكويت: دعوة لقطع العلاقات مع الآسفين لإعدام صدام

واصلت كتل برلمانية كويتية اليوم هجوما علي بعض الدول العربية التي عارضت اعدام الرئيس العراقي صدام حسين ودعت الحكومة الكويتية لقطع علاقاتها مع تلك الدول.

Kuwaitis are being extra-zealous or what? Who should complain most? Iraqis or Kuwaitis?? Crazy world!

World's Smallest Man