August 2007

I find it the spell check feature really annoying sometimes when I’m writing something in Microsoft Word, an American product. Let me elaborate.

When I started studying in English I first went to an international school following the British system which meant I got used to British spelling. Later on, I changed to one following the American system. The number of American teachers there was quite significant and every time they’d correct my supposedly “wrong” British spelling. Eventually I began listening to them. After that I changed back to a school following the British system and I had to readopt British spelling again. It was horrible. Needless to say, I stayed and graduated high school with a British GCE O’Level certificate.

Now a few years later, I’m still traumatized by my terrifying spelling experiences. I still get nightmares thanks to Microsoft Word and Firefox. I am torn between two spelling types even though I study in a university with an American curriculum. You can witness my spelling crisis manifesting itself in my previous posts:

American spelling - Color:

A chameleon changes its color very efficiently and effectively everytime it is in a different environment

British spelling - Colour:

Check the Star of David in the famous reggae colours of red, yellow and green

Which spelling should I stick to? Which one should I dump aside?

I think I prefer American English. British English is evil! The words are usually longer and include more letters, hence extra ink is wasted. Worse still, more trees have to be cut down which is obviously bad for the environment. Bleh, I pick American spelling.

UK sucks. USA rules! Yaaaay!

Kizzie wrote a nice post about Sudanese inferiority complex. I disagree with one small thing though. Inferiority complex is not implanted in every Sudanese but I would say most.

She also wrote a rather angry but really good post on the pathetic Arab coverage of Darfur. I feel you girl!

The problem is Sudan will rather be the trash of the Arab world than be considered African.

You’re are so right!

Head over to her blog:

Sudanese Inferiority Complex.

Pathetic Arab Coverage of Darfur.

And while you’re at it, check out Nabil Kassem’s Jihad on Horseback if you still haven’t.

Oh, one more thing, Kizzie’s sister recently joined the blogosphere.

Did they really?

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Most gunmen with ties to President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement have given up their weapons as part of an amnesty deal that seeks to improve ties between Israel and Abbas’s moderate Palestinian leadership, a senior Palestinian security official said Sunday.

Relations between Israel and the moderate leaders in the West Bank have been improving rapidly since the violent takeover of Gaza by Fatah’s rival, the Islamic militant Hamas, in June.

A major confidence booster for both sides has been Israel’s amnesty offer for gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot that has carried out scores of attacks against Israelis since 2000.

Under the program launched last month, more than 300 Al Aqsa gunmen have surrendered their weapons to Palestinian authorities and pledged to refrain from violence

Interesting development. I really do hope things are as good as this article makes them sound. Or is it a little exaggerated?

Hairy Male Thighs Free for All to See, Evil Tempting Strands of Female Hair Coerced Into Hiding

NOTE: Before getting accused of being all kinds of vile things, let me clearly state that I do not think less of any woman who wears the hijab. What’s inside a woman’s head matters way more than what’s on top of it. In addition to that, the majority of my female relatives wear the hijab.

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I’m not an advocate of the hijab. I’m not an advocate of harsh secular laws that ban religious garments and symbols either. A Muslim woman should be free to choose whether she wants to cover her hair or not. Sadly, in various Muslim countries that’s not the case, thanks to genius Islamic scholars and brainwashed hijabi Muslim women who parrot the former’s lines.

Common Islamic logic in such societies says that Muslim women must follow the strict Islamic female dress code.

When leaving the home, a Muslim woman must at least cover her hair and body in loose and unrevealing clothing, obscuring the details of her body from the public; some also choose to cover their face and hands. The wisdom behind this dress code is to minimize sexual enticement and degradation in society as much as possible for both men and women.

If they don’t do so in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and previously even Sudan, they get harassed and intimidated. Wonderful, I know. However when it comes to men, the Islamic male dress code flies out of the window.

A man must always be covered in loose and unrevealing clothing from his navel to his knee. This is the absolute minimum covering required. He must never, for example, go out in public wearing a short bathing suit.

Behold! I present to you last World Cup’s Iranian football team.

Let’s dance and celebrate the double standards! But before we do that, please allow his Excellency Mufti Drima, the Sudanese Thinker to issue a Fatwa which all Muslims must blindly follow if they want to avoid eternal pain in the fires of hell.

It’s the moral duty of Ahmadinejad to punish the Iranian football team for revealing their hairy thighs and knees. The same goes for the House of Al Saud and other genius, wise, hijab advocating Islamic scholars. The Saudi football team must be punished accordingly. Moreover, since rape crimes are on the rise, female “moving black tents” (also known as ninjas) must not be allowed to walk in public. The way they move even when fully covered is still too tempting. From now on they’ll be transported inside boxes. Little eleven year old girls might have the same fate too. While we’re at it, let’s also reform Sharia laws so that boys as young as 7 will be forced to wear their own ninja costumes since many pedophiles are finding it difficult to control their extreme urges.

End of Fatwa.

Please spread the word or else Satan will bite you in your sleep tonight.

You may dance now.

Shua’a Dihailan, a Saudi make up artist, with her models during a European show!! I swear to you I am not making this shit up. I’m telling you people, this has got to be the weirdest post I’ve ever written because I simply have no words to express my conflicting emotions. Hilarious? Out of this world? WTF? Dodgy? Amazing? Innovative? Damn it, I give up. You decide. I’m speechless! Click here for more (sorry, Arabic article). I’m still speechless!

(hat tip: Amal A)

Entertainment, the more the merrier. And this statement has got to be the best part:

Several days ago, Sudan’s Interior Minister, Zubair Bashir Taha, lashed out at Sudanese refugees who had sought asylum in Israel, and accused “Israeli authorities of encouraging the Sudanese refugees to come to their country.”

Ah, the irony. Maybe he should read this discussion and this guy’s post. But wait, there’s more:

He added that his ministry was “very confused” by Sudanese citizens who came to Israel.”

Erm, if an earthquake occurs and I get stuck under the rubbles of a building for days, I’ll eventually be willing to drink my own piss just to survive if I had to. Who’s responsible for Darfur’s earthquake? Maybe the minister should look in the mirror together with his buddies.

And last but not least, please allow me to make the usual wonderful sweeping statement, “All Jews are inherently evil“! Death to piggy ape Zionist CrUSAders!

Oh please tell me I did ’cause that would be coooool! I’m getting some hits from a Darfur-related article on their website but I can’t freaking view the full version. I have to be a subscriber to be able to do that. I can only read a tiny preview. Grrrr!! Anybody here a WSJ subscriber?

Yes, this time, it’s for real. There are no riddled statements being made. Sudan has officially accepted the UN resolution. Why is it different this time? Well, here’s why. Previously I said the following:

As for Sudan’s acceptance of UN-AU troops in Darfur, do not forget that it is conditional. There are demands that the force be fully comprised of soldiers from African countries and that it be under AU control. Those 2 things still need to be worked out.

The conditions have been met:

1-

The U.N. Security Council has more than tripled an existing African Union-led force for the Sudanese province of Darfur by authorizing a 26,000-member peacekeeping mission.

The council’s unanimous vote on Tuesday establishes a “hybrid” force of U.N. and AU troops and police, under AU command. Some countries have offered to contribute troops to the mission, said the U.N.’s peacekeeping agency, but it offered no specifics.

2-

The new peacekeeping force will take over from the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force now in Darfur no later than Dec. 31. The U.N. said the force, called UNAMID, will have “a predominantly African character,” as Sudan demanded. African troops already in Darfur will stay there.

Moreover, two other important thorny issues have also been resolved:

1-

The text was watered down several times to remove the threat of sanctions, which Sudan and China opposed, and authorization for the new force to seize or collect arms.

2-

… the final document notably does not authorise foreign troops to pursue alleged war criminals sought by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

After observing all those points, it’s no surprise to me that Sudan accepted the deal. Another good aspect of this resolution is the following:

It also urged Khartoum and rebel groups to commit themselves to a permanent ceasefire and to join peace talks under AU-UN mediation, following a peace deal in May 2006 that was signed by only one rebel group.

Later this week, a meeting organised jointly by the AU and the United Nations in Arusha, Tanzania, is to lay the groundwork with the non-signatory rebels for renewed negotiations with Khartoum.

This is definitely excellent news and we Sudanese have a reason to rejoice. It’s a huge step in the right direction. The “talk” has been talked but will it materialize into “walk”? I sure do hope so.