December 2009

This. Is. Orgasmic. Some of my favorite religious and atheist thinkers - including Sam Harris and Dinesh D’Souza - are in it, and the format is really cool.

You also have people somewhere in the middle, like Robert Wright, who are neither religious nor really atheist.

If you’re into this kind of stuff, I recommend you watch it. And this too.

If you’re looking for a scientific world-view that’s rigidly empirical, and yet strongly indicates purpose within the universe, then do check out Robert Wright’s work.

Thing is, just like religion, science is not a monolith. Yes, most scientists are physicalists, but there is a growing number of people like Robert Wright who question claims such as “consciousness is the brain itself.”

In this video, Wright challenges Dennet until he gets him to admit that there is indeed to a certain degree directionality and purpose within evolution.

Score.

My friends, the atheist God of “Sheer Chance” is dead. He’s bye bye. Yours truly is against the notion that the universe and life on earth emerged by accident.

Increasingly, a ton of empirical evidence is showing us that there is directionality within the cosmos. There is purpose, and that’s a big deal, because such a belief need no longer be merely faith-based.

But hey, don’t take my word for it. Just watch this quick debate.

Here’s the video:

Imet Wissam, author of Ethiopian Suicides at the Arab Bloggers Summit in Beirut recently, where I learned about his blog. (Here’s a video interview of him).

Wissam’s blog was featured in CNN, CNN Arabic, the L.A. Times, the Guardian, El Mundo (Spanish), Angry Arab News Service, The Daily Star (Lebanon) and Now Lebanon. It’s a great example of how citizen journalism can she light on important issues that hardly receive attention from the mainstream media.

Here’s what Wissam wrote on 24th December:

Ethiopian maid commits suicide in Ashrafieh. Merry Christmas everyone!

I just got a phone call from Nadim (HRW).
A few hours ago, an Ethiopian maid committed suicide in Ashrafieh. Her body is still laying on the road.
Ethiopian Suicides blog wishes you a Merry Christmas!

Here’s what he wrote a day later:

The Ethiopian maid “fell” from the balcony yesterday

The investigation into the death of migrant workers is taking a more “professional” approach. The death yesterday of Melomasen A., Ethiopian domestic worker, in Ashrafieh, was not declared a suicide. Investigations into the circumstances of the death are ongoing. She “fell” from the balcony of her employers and died immediately.

Al-Akhbar newspaper reported today on the incident. It mentioned that the security forces waited for the forensic team to come and remove the evidences, in case it was more than a case of suicide. This is considered a progress.

Wonderful. “Merry” Christmas indeed.

Merry Christmas boys and girls. 2009 is bye bye, and 2010 is about to dawn upon us. So here’s a question for you: what are you going to do to make 2010 better than 2009? Note down the answer, execute it, and have fun doing it.

Yippie yay.

Happy holidays and have a fabulous 2010.

Back to being drowned in the sounds of Nina Simone.

NOTE: Super long post ahead. Possible blindness might immediately ensue if you read it all. Continue at your own risk. You’ve been warned.

Phew. It’s been many years since I left the back-then very conservative Arab nation of Qatar, and my family started a new life in Southeast Asia. A lot has changed over the decade - world politics, media and myself.

And with that kind of transformation comes the desire to grasp on a deep level what really happened, what really changed, and if there was anything you lost along the way.

Or maybe whether what you “lost” has always been there within you but you’ve been too distracted to notice it, leading you to assume it’s become nothing more but a mere relic of your past.

Such an introspective exercise inevitably forces you to look within yourself and at times also induces intoxicating nostalgia.

In the case of Beirut, the experience reminded me of what it means to be an optimistic Arab, amongst warm hospitable Arabs, in an Arab city drowned in the sounds of Arabic music.

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Iarrived in Beirut yesterday with a crapload of misconceptions about Lebanon and its people, but I’m glad to say that I’ve been largely very, very wrong.

It’s been a lot of fun so far.

There seems to be a certain quality about this city that I haven’t witnessed anywhere else. It’s chaotic yet elegant. Anxious with a dash of fierce frustration, yet deeply soulful. Full of cracks, yet somehow still glued together.

And in the midst of it all, the magical element, that certain quality that keeps this living and breathing oxymoron ticking - resilience.

That’s what I’ve learned so far.

The Lebanese, if anything, are a very resilient people, and it’s an awesome admirable quality I’m starting to like about them, besides their warm hospitality of course.

More to come soon, about Beirut, and the 2nd Arab Bloggers Summit.

Drima enjoys being stimulated, and he’s certainly grateful for the occasion.

So yay to stimulation - bitches.