Thysdrus: August 2008

Facebook Le Y3eyrouk

I was somehow away from the blogosphere these last couple of weeks but I came back and as usual I went through what has been posted so far during my absence and know what I was flabber-gasted!. The hero of show was of course "Facebook".

Everybody talked about Facebook; how Facebook was censured in Tunisia, how facebook was no longer working in Tunisia because Mr. so and so that Facebook has issued a press statement, that Facebook was working in certain regions in Tunisia and blocked in others, that Facebook will never work in Tunisia... Indeed the world was upside down because of Facebook!

I know some will hate me for what I am saying right now and I cannot blame them for it, I am myself a member of Facebook and I know how amusing and nonethless distracting website it is but to the extent that it becomes like an obsession, a fixation, a mania, a pathology for me, No thank you I don't need Facebook then.

I can however understand the somehow exagerated and over the edge reaction of certain tunisian "facebookophiles", it is like waking up in the morning and you discover that your email box was hacked or just disappeared from the net or also hat you lost your cell phone and with it all your contact information.

Facebook surely provides an easy to acceed to website where people can interact, and act, where people from every spot in the world are interconnected and thus can exchange ideas and visions but I can simply explain the tunisian blogosphere's reaction to Facebook's disappearance from the Tunisian internet scene, as an emotional purge that had its roots in prior similar incidents but I couldn't really apprehend how the idea of Facebook was the only and most outstanding issue that dominated the blogosphere for the last couple of weeks. I personally found it unprecedented in the history of tunisian blogging except for some of the constructive debates over some other issues which I consider much more important than Facebook.

I am now confused, troubled, saddened, puzzled by what is lingering in the Tunisian collective conscience what are the real reasons behind such hyper-emotional and impulsive over-reactions of certain fellow tunisians? what is secret in Facebook that it had created such a virtual upheaval ? Is it a compensation of something they miss? is it a reaction to an overall picture of some problems in the tunisian society? Are my fellow Tunisians aware that there are much more important issues than the Saga of Facebook?

I might be like singing out of the chorus but as a member of the tunisian blogosphere that was a personal reaction to a particular event that dominated the blogosphere for the last couple of weeks or so. I might be wrong or a bit harsh but nonetheless I hope the storm is over now...

Long Live Facebook and God Bless Facebook! and as we say in tunisian "facebook le y3eyrouk"

خيمة الحصن الواقي

No it is not Kadhafi's wordly famous tent, but what I can call a "horror and terror" tent used in a summer camp (exclusively for girls) in Saudi Arabia. I can't comment anymore but just read the following article from Al Arabiya...

دبي - العربية. نت
أثارت خيمة "الحصن الواقي" للدعوة بالطائف جدلا باستخدام أساليب زرعت الخوف في نفوس بعض الفتيات، منها الإضاءة الخافتة

واستخدام مجسم لجثة وضعت على منصة، حسب تقرير نشرته صحيفة "الوطن" السعودية السبت 16-8-2008. فيما ذكرت مسؤولة سعودية أن الهدف من التجربة ليس الترهيب بل "إحياء القلوب الميتة".
وأكدت نساء وفتيات "أن الخيمة، التي تقيمها إدارة المخيم الصيفي للدعوة حاليا، تنتهج وسائل للتوعية والدعوة تنفر من الالتزام، وتستهدف اللاتي يرتدين العباءات المخصرة أو تلك العباءات المزينة بنقوش وزينات أو من يلبسن البنطال من زائرات المخيم".

Chermiti: "Ich bin (sic) eine Berliner"

Amine Chermiti has finally joined Hertha Berlin football club. The following is an excerpt from an interview the german newspaper "Bild" conducted with Chermiti:

BILD: Herr Chermiti, lange hat Etoile-Präsident Driss den Wechsel zu Hertha verhindert. Wie fühlen Sie sich jetzt?

Chermiti: „Ja, das war hart. Der Wechsel ist wie eine riesige Befreiung für mich. Ich liebe meinen tunesischen Klub, wollte aber unbedingt nach Berlin. Driss ist etwas verrückt, ich habe ihm sogar gedroht, sofort mit Fußball aufzuhören. Jetzt fühle ich mich aber frei wie ein Vogel im Wind. Ich könnte fliegen vor Glück - als ob ein neues Leben beginnt.“

Bild: Mr Chermiti, Driss, the President of Etoile has long prevented you from moving to Hertha. What's your feeling now?

Chermiti: "Yes, it was hard. The change is like a big relief for me. I love my Tunisian club, however, I wanted to move to Berlin. Driss is a little crazy, I have even threatened him to immediately stop playing football. Now, however, I feel free as a bird in the wind. I could fly from happiness - as if a new life begins. ". (Mmmm who listens to this will think Chermiti was in a prison!)

Chermiti concluded his interview by repeating, well with some difficulty," Ich bin ein Berliner". Well you gotta wait dear! that's not as easy as you might think...

The french transalation of the whole text of the above-mentioned interview could be found here

الجزيرة تنفي الإعتذار لإسرائيل

المجراب تهمزو مرافقوا

Tadschikische Teestube

Samovar

الجزيرة تعتذرلإسرائيل

إيلاف: أقرّت إخباريَّة الجزيرة القطريَّة بانتهاك المبادئ الأخلاقية للقناة أثناء احتفالها بعيد ميلاد الأسير اللبناني المحرر سمير القنطار الذي أفرجت عنه إسرائيل في إطار صفقة تبادل مع حزب الله. وجاء هذا الإقرار عقب تهديد المكتب الصحافي الإسرائيلي بمقاطعة قناة الجزيرة الإخباريَّة إن لم تعتذر عما اعتبره تحريضًا على الإرهاب أثناء احتفالها بعودة القنطار.

Few Impressions About Berlin And The Berliners

It's been already more than a week that I am in Berlin and all in all, I am enjoying my stay here.

To show one's appreciation of a place, a person, an event remains always of the domain of the subjective so what I am going to relate here is but some personal observations and notes I jotted down while here in Berlin.

The first impression I got from the city: how boring it was! but as soon as you get into the city and you visit its most prestigious places you will definitely fall in love with it!Berlin is such a big european city but nevertheless underpopulated compared to other metropolitan cities in Europe. The most striking feature in Berlin is the still visible contrast between the East and the West. Indded eastern Berlin is witnessing a huge transformation. Infrastructure projects and construction sites are everywhere. The city is really growing and catching up with modernity however,there are certain places you can still smell and feel the remnants of Communism like the underground or what the germans call the U-bahn.

Berlin is such an organized city that finding a parking lot is not really a big deal. The roads are big and you can feel this everywhere. The transport system is both organized and efficient.However, one striking specificity that I couldn't explain is the fact that in Berlin you can hardly find a place with air conditioning! People say that they don't really feel the need for air-conditioning and they can live without it. Honestly Berlin's weather during this month of august is quite acceptable for it doesn't get very hot besides there's no humidity which I conisder a real blessing (compared with cities like Washington, DC!;)).

I came to the conclusion that Germany being such a leading european country when it comes to energy consumption and energy preservation, is but a reality. Environmentally speaking Berlin is a quite clean city. I found the awareness of Berliners about the need to protect their environment really amazing! It must be in their collective subconsconscious, I guess. For instance, empty plastic bottles can be exchanged for cash (25 cents a bottle!) in all supermarkets and malls so I don't think it a wise idea to throw your bottles in the dustbin!

Generally speaking, the Berliners are friendly people but you need to be careful when you first meet a Berliner and you ask about something for they might smash you on the face (figuratively speaking of course!) and you will think at first impression how rude and rough they are but as soon as you engage in some chat with them they become really very friendly and easy-going. A Berliner told me that the reason of this behavior is deeply rooted in the history of the city which was known as a city of soldiers and arms and that's why people tend to be a bit rude and rough.

Berlin seems to be a less expensive city than other big european cities (take Paris for instance). Eating out is a joy and the night life is even more enjoyable. For those who like shopping most international fashion trademarks are available but nonetheless quite expensive. In a nutshell, something I will keep in mind from my stay here is how really organized Berlin is!(to be continued).