Immigrants: What to Expect When You're Expecting a Legal Status?

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I can see how the issues of citizenship and immigration are often confused. I think we can be open to immigration, and that does not mean all immigrants become U.S. citizen merely by crossing the border. Obviously these are two different things. The process of naturalization is another thing entirely. Clearly, the Constitution gives Congress the power to establish uniform methods for naturalization. America is a vast country that can be the shining city on a hill, but it's also a land of law and order. Immigrants have built this country and are now one of the keys to combat the dropping American infertility rate. More people means a greater division of labor, and thus, more jobs. To move from being a permanent resident to becoming an American citizen will at least take five years, and to be frank America is worth the wait.

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Thankful to Be Alive In Gaza: My Family's Story of Survival

To read the article on the Huffington Post click here

My two-year-old nephew Omar had been confined to a small apartment with six other screaming children and their families since Israel began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Shortly after a cease-fire was announced on Wednesday, he and his parents returned to our family home in Bait Lahia. My mother, who I spoke to over the phone, said that the first thing that Omar did was rush up the stairs in search of his most prized possession: his bike.

 To read the article on the Huffington Post click here

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My Conversations With My Mom In Gaza

My mom is the Matriarch of our family. She is the family’s central bank and the great mother and a grandmother you would want for your own kids. While Israel was waging its war on the civilians in Gaza, my mother Fatema was busy keeping her 30 grandchildren entertained. They have been losing power often -- more often than they are used to -- due to constant shelling and interference by the Israeli army.

“Tonight, I will wear an extra pair of pants, to be ready. In case anything happens to us at night, I will be decent as I am being transported to a local hospital or morgue. I want to look good even if I have left this earth.” As I felt a chill up my spine, she went on to tell me about our next door neighbour Essam; the 19-year old was bombed on his motorcycle near our Beit Lahia home.

She told me that my cousin Rabah also suffered some injuries from the same attack. Rabah is the kind of Palestinian entrepreneur that Wall Street would love. He came from humble origins and grew up to own one of the largest textile businesses in Gaza. At one point he was even a main business partner with Israel jeans producers. My mom has always liked Rabah because she says he has a good head on his shoulders. She told me that at the crowded hospital he was given a band-aid and told to go home and return once the military assault is over for surgery.

My mother mentioned the other day that the Israeli attacks have brought her closer to her favorite grandson, though she would never admit it. She is very protective of him and every time my family home shakes, she races for Omar and holds him tight. She is not obsessive, but she was the images of recent dead Gaza infants.Little Omar is her new life and she will do everything to keep him safe.     




She just called me a few hours ago to let me know that they no longer live at home and that the entire family has moved to my brother’s small apartment 15 minutes away. When I saw her number on my caller ID, my heart began racing, expecting the worst. Then I started to calm when I reminded myself I have not read any more names that I know. “I worried that you would call us at home, and get no answer, so I did not want you to worry for us. There are many Israeli shellings in our area, so we evacuated and took the kids.” She added that it seem the Israeli military wants to bomb the Abu El Mezza home, right next door to ours. Abu El Mezza is a large family that already lost their 19-year old son Essam on the first day of the attacks.

In most cases, Israelis do attempt to target specific homes, but nobody can predict the damage of those airplane bombs. Take for example, the home of the Abu Alfool family in Beit Lahia. It was first targeted with a warning shot and an hour later the real bombs were dropped. As a result, at least seven homes saw major damage from those bombs. Not only is this collective punishment, but it’s also inhuman. Fifteen bystanders walking the streets were taken the hospitals with mild to serious injuries. The home where my family has taken shelter is three blocks away and as a result of the bombs dropped, the indoor glass shattered all over the property. Luckily none of our family members have been hurt, which is something I am incredibly grateful for. 

Now my family is crammed in a small apartment trying to convince themselves that they will be safer when they know this to be untrue. During the Israel’s Cast Lead Operation in 2008-09 they also moved toward the city center when my cousin Hope was shot in the kitchen as she made mint tea. My mother says that even though it’s very cold outside, they have to keep all the windows open because the constant shelling and rocket noises shatter the glass. “This way the windows won’t be shattered and do us harm.”

While people are scared for their lives because certain death is incredibly close. My little sister-in-law Raghad who is on third grade has taken up poetry as a mechanisms of coping with the madness and fury the Israeli army has unleashed on Gaza. She read us her latest poem about her hopes for her favorite holiday coming back for the sake of the children she said.   

Meanwhile, pro-Israel activists in the U.S. have been mocking Palestinian deaths -- even the cold blooded murder of babies in their cribs. These desensitized feelings are troubling even to observers in Israel. Only people who have never seen a real war can be this naive about true human suffering as a result of these conflicts. Many of these bigoted commentators are confusing popular war games with full blown wars; these are real people, not avatars. For the sake of my family in Gaza and all families in the region, I hope this madness ends soon.        

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Netanyahu’s political pandering leads to more Palestinian bloodshed

Time and again when the actions of a Palestinian group result in as much as scratching an Israeli citizen, the Israeli military retaliates. Using the logic of ‘might makes right,’ which plays itself out in cycles of bloodshed, Palestinians have to die. This is the logic of extremes, devoid of dignity, signaling little respect for human rights and the autonomy of democracies. The logic paves a path to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office and overlays that path with Palestinian blood. The motivation behind Netanyahu’s call to arms is the inexorable political pandering to his right-wing coalition, and the lives of Palestinians should not get in his way.

The horror sewn by Israeli might is tragic. Blood soaked boxes of Palestinian body parts are the evidence of the loss of innocent civilians. These boxes, collected by paramedics after the Israeli assault and visible in film footage, may set into motion a counter logic among the Gaza militia to target Israeli civilians. Like in ancient Greek tragedies, an unstoppable cycle of revenge might escalate.

Where are the voices of reason sickened by random rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and bombings of Palestinians? “Let’s send the people of Gaza to heaven”, said one Israeli politician as his country’s army was shelling people living less than 20 minutes away from their headquarters.   

While people of Gaza have seen a lot of suffering and God knows what the top Israeli war generals have in store for them, I have spotted grown men crying at the scene of the blood and the ambulance. I fear for my family who have been made refugees in Gaza for 64 years now. Sixty Years ago, they fled for safety in Gaza. Now they are being bombarded again by the descendants of those who have made them refugees in the first place.

Cruelty upon cruelty is the only way to describe the plight of the Palestinians who have been under siege since 2007. My family closed their businesses early and went into hiding in different places to increase the odds of their survival. Their  neighborhood in Beit Lahia has already been targeted by the Israeli Airforce. Children in these areas are unsure what to make of the strange times they have yet to understand.

The Israeli government will tell you that they are running surgical operations in Gaza and expect you to cheer them on. But by their actions, this Israeli government has only taken Hamas seriously and has never bothered to talk to the peace-minded Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. President Abbas is waiting for a phone call and all he gets is mockery and insults from various government officials in this Israeli coalition. Netanyahu’s government has marginalized both the Palestinian peace movement and his own. In essence, they have empowered the hawks at home and in Gaza.     

While many militants have been murdered by the Israeli military campaign on Gaza, some civilians have also been killed. Take four year old girl Anan Arafat, who has just been pulled out of the rubbles of her family home in Gaza. How the Israelis find themselves threatened by a four year old is a mystery to me.  If killing Palestinians gives some Israelis short-term peace of mind and comfort, I hate to think what any future peace agreements with such characters would look like.

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From Russia Today With Love

They did not tell me it will be on camera, I thought I was on the phone, and the camera looked not on. sorry for not looking to the camera.

Let's pray for Gaza

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On Selective Faith, Muslim Rage And Spitting

I find is interesting that most people of faith are so quick to have faith when it comes to their our religion yet they are so quick to dismiss it when it comes to other people’s religion. I am talking about the mainstream, and not the vocal extreme that always makes it to the news editing room.

The Koran is filled with stories and examples of miracles and issues pertaining to faith, we as Muslims are thought many stories form the Jewish, the Christian  faith as well as other religions too. We are asked to believe them. Noah, Moses, Abraham  Joseph, Mary and many more. In my observations, Muslims tend not to be as selective about other faiths.

Sure many Jewish and Christians may think that Prophet Mohammed is fraud, but in his teachings they are both revered in Islam and so are the books they came with. Muslims take all the stories of the prophets--the ones we know of and the ones we are unaware of to be true. Most choose to believe miracles and blessings God has passed on to certain individuals even if they had to suspend the rules of physics.All Muslims believe in the Virgin birth, even though a lot of Christians question it.    

So, next time you see an angry Muslims projecting intolerance  know he does not understand his religion very well. A gloried movie trailer, an ad on the subway or Metro, a guy burning a copy of the Koran are nothing to be alarmed about. They should know that any insults and disrespect for Islam, its teachings and its main prophet is nothing more than a spit in the sea. It does nothing and changes next to zero!

Sami Yusuf - It's a Game

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The Muslim Brotherhood Vs. Jihadist Salafis, The Showdown

The Muslim Brotherhood  Vs. Jihadist Salafis, The Showdown

The anti-Islam film responsible for provoking protests across the Muslim world over the past two weeks was, to say the least, a bad idea. This is a project with a lot of vile motivations behind it that must be uncovered. At the same time, violence as a response to a film is certainly the wrong way for Muslims to react. These are truths that most people seem to accept by now.

However, what demands more discussion is the fact that this film has provided one more in a long list of excuses for governments in the Middle East to confront extremists at home. The political landscape in the Middle East has changed dramatically due to new leadership in many countries and the general political pressure brought to bear by widespread political change. Let’s look at some examples.

1.           On September 17th, 2012, Hamas handed down 4 convictions to Salafi-linked extremists responsible for killing Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni last year. Two of them will serve life; the third will be in jail for 10 years. They would have sent these men to be hanged had it not been for the Arrigoni family asking that the death penalty not to be imposed. "They will find justice with God and not with this court," a relative of the one of the defendants muttered.

2.           On the same day, the Tunisian forces surrounded the house of Saif Al Hussini, a Jihadi Salafi, in his stronghold mosque in downtown Tunis. The government accuses this Al Hussini of instigating the riots surrounding the American embassy and American school that lead to the deaths of 4 people. Al Hussini, who has traveled and worked in Morocco, London, and Pakistan, is defiant and continues to criticize the government. “I do not fear the threats made by the Ministry of the Interior; this government is a dictatorship that is picking fights with the Salafis”

3.           A day earlier in Egypt, the Minister of the Interior personally went down to the streets of Cairo and led the operation to clear the streets of protesters (mostly Salafis) who are seizing on the opportunity to draw global attention to their agenda. As a result, the American embassy in downtown Cairo has been placed inside of a kind of de facto safe zone. Close to 200 rioters and violent protesters have been rounded up. Other troublemakers have been chased off.

Governments in those three places are made up of Muslim Brotherhood linked/affiliated individuals. This is somehow the new model in the Middle East: put the moderates in charge and let them reason with the ultra-conservatives. A microcosm of this model has been working in places like Saudi Arabia, where religious scholars often sit down with terrorists and potential terrorists and attempt to reason with them and get them to change their violent ways. Many young people who have been “mislead” or “brainwashed” return home.  After all, if they fail, a drone will meet them wherever they are going.     

"Our manner of protesting should reflect sense and reason," said renowned cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi in his Friday sermon. The Egyptian-born and Qatar-based Al-Qaradawi has a global following thanks to Aljazeera and YouTube.  This is a very sobering call from the same figure who called for unrest in Egypt, Libya, and now Syria. He is not the only one to make such statements.  Scholars and imams in most Muslim countries have echoed the same remarks. An Indonesian Muslim scholar, Komaruddin Hidayat, noted that Muslims have the duty to oppose anything they deem offensive to their faith, but must "avoid using violence in expressing their objections." At the other end of the Muslim world in Nigeria, a top Islamic leader, Sheik Sani Yahaya Jingir, said violence never brings "any benefit to Islam."

I am watching this with mixed feelings. Certainly, Jihadist Salafis subscribe to extremist (and sometimes violent) ideas. They come across as angry, and they hold themselves above the rest. Thus, they give themselves the right to harass other people and try to force them to submit to their strict interpretation of Islam. The right thing to do, according to these folks, is whatever they tell you. They claim to know best, when in reality they know little. Such people tend to idolize their leaders and imams to a startling level. This is why a lot of Muslims rightfully fear the Jihadi Salafi mentality. These people shun weddings, entertainment, the human body, science and oftentimes education. They expect people not to make mistakes, and often quote the Quran and the Sunnah. But when they themselves sin, it should of course be understandable and forgiven. They are often dismissed and ostracized by societies, but for the most part they are not doing anything illegal. They may stop you in the street and give you a cassette tape or a book about the virtues of modesty. They are often mocked for their uncontrollable appetite for food and polygamy. And historically, most Muslims have questioned their sources of funding, which invite a whole host of conspiracy theories.

But now things are different for these Jihadist Salafi; they are no longer facing off against a secular out of touch government. Instead, they are answering to whole new governments courtesy of the Arab Spring. Their brothers in faith--as they call them-- are firmly in the driver’s seat; The Muslim Brotherhood is well acquainted with these Salafi groups. Jihadist Salafi can no longer claim that the government imprisoning them is run by godless goons. They are both on the same moral ground, except one has a mandate to govern and a country to run and the other wants to sing the blues about the nostalgic “glory days” of his/her religion. One wants to work with everyone and the other wants to force his views on the rest of us.

The Brotherhood are now in control, but the Salafis seem to think that the new governments of the Arab world will let them get away with these shenanigans instead of arresting them like the secular dictators did for years. Little did they know, the Muslim world’s two dominant strains of political Islam are now pitted against one another, and the whole world is watching.

It isn’t clear if this change –the installation of moderate political Islamists in seats of power in the Arab world-- will pay off in the long run, but it’s certainly worth a try. Until then, this will continue to be a debate between the party that wants to play ball and the party that wants to spoil the game for everyone.

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anti-Islam movie ‘weirdest movie scam of all time’

This Anti-Islam movie gets weirder and weirder. Here's a great video reporting on this movie, a person that was actually in the theater and saw the movie along with just 10 people. The promotional material is really strange as it plays like it's pro Islam, only to show a movie that's blatantly anti-Islam.

This is not the one thing weird about this film, watch the video to see more. The people who made the movie are a weird bunch who wanted to stir trouble and provoke Muslims. Cenk Uygur from The Young Turks on Current TV reports

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Are The Muslims Really Forcing Their Way Of Life On The World?

Listening to NPR as my wife drove us to the grocery store, a caller calls in and says, Muslims are the only ones to blame for the murders; they are trying to force their way on us"

While, I do agree with the caller's first statement, it's his second that I take issue with. Here,s why:

If anything, Muslims have little impact on the life of an average American. On the other hand, America (or someone in America) makes money every time, a Muslim guzzles a soft drink; a bag of Doritos; washed his/her hair with Pert Plus. Every time, they go to the movies; every time they shave; every time they sport some cool sneakers; ever time, they use Google and Facebook. These are all American things, they are part of the American narrative and they have been forced (without violence) on many people around the world. The average American would be mistaken to think that Arabs/Muslims are forcing their way on America.

They are merely telling you, "Stop offending my, stop insulting my religion". It's all a misunderstanding. America fails to see how serious people are about their religion, they are no longer able to process that. Arabs/Muslims do not fully understand the freedom of speech and its almost sacred position. Some Muslims, fail to see that a crappy film made in California, has nothing to do the pop in the Vatican. Otherwise, they would never ask him to apologize for the film that I am certain he has no idea about.

Being anti-religion is a virtue (or a vice) that came in from the West. The Muslims can also claim, that the West is forcing their way of life on them. Mainstream Muslims almost never engage in any act that disrespect or violate any religion. Most scholars in Muslim countries with a stable economy have sobering messages that asked people to chill out. In poor countries, no such restrains exist.

Violence is wrong, the mob are tainting Islam and the message of Mohammad (peace be upon him). Yes, the filmmaker is an idiot, but we are the bigger fools here. Sorry, but you just do not murder people. Spreading fear is against the teaching is Islam; the sanctity of life is far more important than the holy Kaaba. 

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Anti Islam Film "Innocence of Muslims" Kills People

For starter, I wish we Muslims do not get worked up as much about things that are offensive to us. This rage can be used against us and it certainly can be used to harm others among us. If we get upset every time a moron makes a vile movie about Islam, draws a cartoon of the prophet, or says dumb things, we are in trouble. Because certain people will use that to get us to react in a certain way to show others that we are not civilized. But this is what we have to deal with. We should not kill people even if we do not like them, this should be our attitude.

The teaser movie "Innocence of Muslims", depicts Muhammad as a fraud and a womanizer. that has been making the rounds on the internet had 54 actors in and and close to 50 people behind the camera it cost 5 million dollars to make. We are also being told that it was financed by a 100 Jewish funders. The director of the film is an Israeli who lives in California and now is in hiding. He made this movie despite the facts he knows what will happen. He now has blood on his hands. Why did he release the movie now?

Now this is where my opinion kicks in, Obama is trying to get elected and he is having to answer a lot of questions. Now he has to explain to the American people about the death of American diplomats in Libya and trouble in Egypt. It will not make things easier for him. If anything many ultraconservative Israelis seem not like him and are more interested in seeing him gone. The preview was also released on the 11th anniversary of 9/11.

It seems the director wants to see this get worse, he is adding gasoline to the fire....with statements like "Islam is a cancer" and 100 Jewish people funded my project. I think most Jewish people are smart enough not to put a dime for such a project. And then this is this annoying Coptic activists lawyer who has been attached to the film. He is a disgrace to his people and he is making his life much worse for his peers. He is not helping them. For this reason, more than a 130 Coptic group have spoken out against this film and the activist.

The movie goes out of its way to insult Islam and the prophet. The film has nothing to say about Islam and rather an assortment of ill informed and vile interpretations of events that taken place 1500 years ago. The crew had the right to make a movie about this, I also have the right to scream fire in a packed movie theater or tell the bus people there's a bomb. This is all free speech, but we all self censor our speech for the betterment of everyone. Aside from the obvious white washing where the cast is largely made out of white actors, this movie has a bad taste and no artistic integrity.

I have said before, the West should not fear weak Muslims nor strong ones, they should only fear those who feel disrespected. It's then when people feel vulnerable and their acts do not always make sense. I hope the film crew are feeling extra American today as they watch their country men murdered by angry mob upset with a movie they made to advance their lunatic agenda.

On a personal note, a cousin of mine was murdered (and his body was disrespected) by a mob in June 2007 in Gaza. I am not the one to approve of mob justice.  

Update: The American patriots should think abut how one Israeli filmmaker is making the world is more dangerous place for Americans. It only takes on idiot to rally up the easily offended religious mobs. Why did he chose America, not Israel as a place to make his vile movie?

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman on US Embassy protests
 

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Fashion And Celebrities Cultural Precipitation Does Matter

Lebanese singer Myriam Faris goes to attend Paris Fashion week, and she leaves little to the imagination. She literary shows everything there's to see. And even people walking in the streets took notice of this notorious Lebanese pop star.  

At the same function where Myraim was putting on a show, another American celebrity was there, but this time the American celebrity dressed more Conservatively.

Kim Kardashian wore a long black dress that revealed little. No question, Kim can wear whatever she wants like she has always manged to shock people with her outfits. Now compare the two... Myriam feels the pressure, she comes from a culture where people think she might be conservative or she might not get style or she might want to cover up...so what does she do?

Well, this Lebanese Arab girl wears that to tell people "I'm free", "I am bold" Naturally both Arab and Western people were shocked by the choice of wardrobe. Meanwhile Kim, comes form a culture where anything goes, so she does not have to represent her people or try to claim something she is not by trying to shock the system. for Kim to dress in a conservative dress is the shocker--maybe. As of what would Myriam Faris get I am still not sure.

 Many of her fans now are questioning her taste and her style. And those in the West, are shocked, but she is not showing them something new or something that they have not seen before. I do not think she will be giving a role or a new song by one of those international event goers. Just be yourself, will you?

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Gaza Doctor Restores Ability to Speak Using A Decommissioned Endoscope

 Mohammad Awajah is a forty-three year old Palestinian father from the West Bank city of Jericho whose ability to speak was just restored. During his shift as an employee for the Palestinian Telecommunication Company on January 13, 2011 he opened a phone wire box where he says he inhaled a gas that caused him to lose his ability to speak. His family, including his wife and five little kids, thought this was just a temporary bug; but days later he was still unable to speak and their medical trials had officially begun.

Om Moussa, Muhammad's wife said, “We visited with a professor surgeon in the West Bank who was unable to help. We tried many medications that did nothing to bring his voice back.” She continues “The professor said he cannot help because a long time has passed since the incident.” They still visited a number of local clinics that would prove fruitless. They even visited with a doctor in the celebrated Israeli hospital Hadassah. Nobody was able to reunite Muhammad with his voice. At that point Muhammad started to lose hope and started seeing psychologists due to his depression. He would felt disconnected from his family and because he could not talk to anyone and didn’t care about anything around him. His youngest son Aboud wouldn’t talk to him and kept away from him due to this sudden change.

A West Bank doctor advised them to make up a dramatic scene that would be shocking enough to bring back Muhammad’s voice. Om Moussa played along and put on a good show where she pretended that she only had few days to live due to some serious illness. Muhammad offered to pay all his money to save her, but still had no voice.

Months later, Om Moussa watched a talk show where a Gaza-based Palestinian Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist was talking about a case where he was able to restore the speaking ability of an elderly woman who had lost that ability more than 15 years ago. Dr. Ahmad Jadaba’s success story was well publicised in the Palestinian media. Desperate for help, Om Moussa called the doctor and consulted with him on her husband’s case.

Due to an outdated phone directory she had to make 18 wrong calls before she could reach him. Later they met via video conference even though they were only a short drive apart. Dr. Jadaba promised Muhammad and his wife that he would do his best to restore his speaking ability. Now, the political reality and uniqueness of the situation hits: Dr. Jadaba lives in besieged Gaza, and the Awajahs live in the West Bank. Traditionally the better doctors and facilities are in the West Bank and Israel. So most ill Gazans travel there, not the other way around. No one has ever come Gaza for health care.

Confused by the unusual request, the Israeli authorities denied them a permit to go into Gaza for medical attention. They stressed that if physicians in Israel couldn’t fix it, no one else can. Thus Israel denied all of their seven attempts to get a permit to enter Gaza. Om Moussa wouldn’t quit, working with the local health authorities in both Gaza and Ramallah. In the end, they traveled to Jordan and from Jordan they flew to Egypt and from Egypt, and special coordination that required miracles, they arrived in Gaza. At the Rafah border, Dr. Jadaba brought his family and received Muhammad and his wife, offering to host them at his house.

Arriving in Gaza on July 5th, Dr. Jadaba started his treatment on Mr. Awajah. At first it started with the assessment and the following day, the help of Endoscope (laryngostroboscope/ thermolaryngoscope). Four days later, Awajah got most of his his voice back to where he can make out most of the letters. Dr. Jadaba put aside a conference he was supposed to attend in Turkey to attend to Mohammed and his family. Three days later, here’s Muhammad in a video of him saying his first words since the accident—from the Koran

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Perhaps the most touching moment came when Mohammed called his son Abboud to tell him that he now has his voice back and they can play together. The seven year old teared up and said, “I Love you Dad!”

Dr. Jadaba has called on Palestinian businesses to provide medical equipment to the main Gaza hospitals and he has gladly pledged to accept any case where his skills are needed. “The only Endoscopes available are the ones in private clinics and not in the public hospitals where they are needed the most.” He added, “the device I used on Mohammad has been decommissioned a long time ago.”

This is a celebration of a strong Palestinian women and a Palestinian professional who despite all odds never stopped exploring. Another hero is the business where Mohammed used to work. They covered all of his medical costs and showed a good business practice. I would add the role of the media in publicizing this story to the public and telling the world about the unbreakable will of the people of Palestine.

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Nature and Trees Must Love My Tablet

I do not feel that I need to print anything anymore....all my emails, PDF, documents and data can go with me wherever I go. I do not seem to need a printer as most places now accept a smartphone or tablet picture, image of whatever document one needs to share.

I like the feeling that this little device saves so many trees. For example, when I work on a project and want to view a document....more people can view it with me, and thus the trees are not being butchered.

Needless to say, internet connections makes this all possible. Imagine having a tablet that does not connect to the internet! We would have to use a flash drive or sync it with another computer to update it. And if the trees do not keep you up at night, then you will love the savings it come with. You no longer have to shell big bucks for printing such papers.

I must thank Steve Job for making tablets popular and making them come alive--I do not like Apple. But he deserves the credit. I am using a Blackberry Playbook! I have read somewhere that by 2016, tablets will be taking over the notebook business by 2016. I think this is fair as certain things would be music easier on a laptop--typing and certain software won't work with certain tablets. Hello? I still cannot use Skype on my Playbook.

Tablets are a promising industry because such devices are getting cheaper and better. They can do wonders, keep you entertained, and informed. So people now can pay a 100 dollar and get a tablet that does the job of making printing irrelevant.

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UAE Maryam Darwish, She Can Fix Your Car

In pretty much all countries mechanics are almost exclusive trade saved for men. Even in developed countries female car mechanics are considered a novelty. Not too many females grow up thinking they want to be grease monkeys, but guys do not seem to mind it.

But in the United Arab Emirates, there has been a recorded case of a female who is very capable of fixing one's car. As you know, most mechanics tend to take advantage of female drivers where they bring their ar in for service.

She is a mother and wanted a job to bring home the bread. She applied to some trade school and they trained her well. She confesses it was not easy at he start. Her kids protested at first, but then the came around to it. I like how she closes the interview by saying that I want to show them that women can do pretty much anything.
  
In the UAE
 مريم درويش: أوَّل إماراتيَّة تعمل في تصليح السيَّارات

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Why Facebook Really And Truly Sucks?

I think Facebook is a great tool to connect with people you do not see often or people who have moved away or live away from where you live. I do not deny that is brings people together and helps people keep tabs on their friends-and their foes.

But in general, I do not like Facebook, for one reason. It's a place where people share happy news, and exciting things in their lives. A trip they took, a party they had, a picture of something nice they have spotted. Such collection makes viewers thing, that life is all happy and everyone's life is so much more fun that our own. When in reality, we might have a one good day in the week where we smile and look happy, but the six other days, no one would be able to tell how hard life really is.

For example, few people would post a picture of themselves at work--if they do they might get fired. They cannot badmouth their office because someone is watching and bad news travels fast. Plus Facebook is not a place to broadcast all the things going wrong with your life. No body wants to find out about your tumor, or about your liver and kidney failure. You would not share that. And you certainly, would not tell your virtual friends, that your mom just passed away.  I am sorry it just does not seem sincere nor proper to use Facebook as a for to commiserate when others are posting pictures of them at some concert or their seaside BBQ.

So in that sense, Facebook gives you a false indicator about other people's life. It makes you think your life really stinks and everyone is cooler than you. Some of course go invite a cool life for themselves and start making up stuff to keep up with their virtual friends. This makes Facebook a place where people try to outdo one another in having the most time to waste.

To sum, Facebook is like that party you go to, everyone seems to be happy with the usual awkward few. I might be different or see it from a different vantage point, but I know life is never as exciting as Facebook makes it seem to be. Even though I consider myself to have a perfect life, I know things are not as shiny as they may look form the outside. 

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Arabs Might Not Swim Well, But Arabian Horses Do

Not too many Arab people can tell you they are good at swimming, many are no doubt, but most have a fear of water. But horses tell a different story.

Horse Swims 3 Miles 3 Hours!

An Arabian horse named William was rescued from the sea on Tuesday after he got spooked and ran into the water, swimming two miles out to sea. The 6-year-old horse bolted from a beach photo shoot near Santa Barbara, Calif. and plunged into the ocean, launching a rescue effort that included helicopter searchers. He was finally spotted two miles from the shore, swimming toward oil rigs. Rescuers attached a hook to the horse’s reins and pulled him into a boat. He was examined by a veterinarian and released back to his owner.

Horse takes three-hour swim in ocean after getting spooked during photo shoot on California beach. Owner Mindy Peters said the 6-year-old Arabian, whose official name is Heir of Temptation, was part of a photo clinic on the beach when it was spooked by waves and ran off.


So a man with a camera scared the Arabian, just like we human we freak out when we see an identified man with a camera....could it be he is working for one of those national security agencies? 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Food Riots, My Bland Tasting Chicken and GMOs

Often Times, people talk about how food does not taste real and how food items like chicken, seafood and produce now taste bland. It's not that I disagree with them because I do agree with those observations. But this is why America has so many sauces and salad dressings, they help give flavor to otherwise dull food. No one needed sauces in the country side in the turn of century....food tastes good naturally.  No need to modify the taste or add some flavor to it.

Now a 10 years later, the world keeps on growing, and no sign this growth is slowing down. The more the merrier is how I live my life too, but when it comes to food something had to give. I come from a family of 10, so I won't preach the virtues of birth control and all that spiel. America and the world has found it easier to solve the food crisis than to tell people how many kids to have.

So they went to work working on genes, and harvesting better crops, that requires less water, less heat, less this and more that. That's why now food is so cheap in many parts of the world. America really feeds the world, all that corn and wheat, beef, potatoes in middle America helps maintain America's soft power. By controlling so much of many basic goods America has the upper hand without even firing a bullet. To their credit, they do some charity work with that food too. But we are all self interested, so charity is nit the first thing policy makers wake up with every morning.

GMOs, Hormones....and farm seafood are all necessary evil, we simply cannot afford to get on our collective high horses and preach that such things are bad for us. It's either these things or starvation. Have you checked out the price of an organic chicken lately? I bet you did not. My point is, to make food like my grandparents had would be costly and in fact sometimes selfish. A gallon of milk is cheaper than some high end gallon of water, do the math and give me call.

Food riots are nothing strange, in order for this world to be peaceful, food prices have to be as low as possible, and that's a relative term. No one wants to live in a world where people cannot afford the food, because this world will be anything but peaceful. So, go ahead and add all the sauce you want on those chicken breasts, you picked for $6.99 at frozen food section. If you enjoy a Mac Jr. hamburger for a dollar, you do not need to ask what's in it, it fills you up. I bet you could not make it if I have given you 3 bucks. By the same token, the watermelon might not be that sweet, but its price sure is.        

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They Made Fun Of His Engrish, He Killed Them

Plus he was crazy....

When the story of the shootings in California, and reports of the murder of 7 people has surfaced, I was saddened like many. A former nursing student was charged with murder and attempted murder on Wednesday in a shooting rampage that killed seven people and wounded three others this week at a small, Christian college he once attended in California. Nothing bets a nurse who wants to do some damage to otherwise healthy individuals.

The suspect in the shootings at Oakland's Oikos University, 43-year-old One Goh, described by some at the school as an outsider.

But aside from his mental issues, the shooter was sick of people mocking his English as this tiny college. His classmates where from India, Nepal and other places. He lost his mind and went on a shooting spree.

This is madness, how was he able to get a gun? Can anyone in America get one? Even those who are not citizens? What the rules? Maybe he stole it. Not sure yet.

But now, I am reminded by how many times people made fun of accent, and my English, sure it was fun for them, but it was no joy ride for me. I thought after a while it was rude...but at first I thought it was cute. Most people who mock others people accents have not really spent time with people with accents. More often than not, you are the first non native, they come across. When you tell them to stop...they will stop and apologize for their lingual bullying.

I do not ask them to stop, I do not shoot them either. I do ask them to try to say the same thing in my language--only then they will feel stupid.

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How Saudi Writer Hamza Kashgari Is Right

Saudi authorities are now chasing one of their own citizens who has been threatened after the issuance of a fatwa against him by some religious authorities in that country on charges that he insulted the Prophet Mohammad. As of this moment he is detained in Malaysia, who have said they will hand him over to the Saudis, who will in turn get creative on this bold writer.

Instead of giving this guy a trophy for speaking his mind, they detain him. No wonder this happens in Saudi Arabia—a country largely in denial and where casting the first stone seems to be their leadership's favorite pastime.

Here's what this writer said on Twitter, speaking on the Prophet Mohammad:

1. “On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you,” he wrote in one tweet. My comment: Prophet Mohammad warned Muslims of worshiping him and forgetting his teachings. The Koran has the same language as well. The same people who are now piling on hamza are the same ones who make shrines for the prophet and other Early figures of Islam. Which funny because Islam ruled these things out.
2. “On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more,” he wrote in a second. My comment: There are two sides of the prophet, the religious side which has been perfected and the personal side that was up for opinion and interpretation. At times, the prophet would consult his companions and seek their counsel.
3. “On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more,” he concluded in a third. My comment: Again, we do not worship Mohammad, he is our beloved prophet. Instead of kissing his hand and such, we should perfect ourselves and cleanse our souls. That would bring us closer to God, his God and ours. If this is blasphemy then those celebrated Sufi scholars should also be executed it as well. Hamza has only echoed what famed thinkers of Islam have struggled with earlier.
   

It was OK to disagree with the prophet back then and there are times when he was told he was wrong and he changed course (the location of Bader is an example), and when people called him "unjust", he instructed his companions not to do harm to those people. At one time, his next-door neighbor put trash at his door and he would not fight them, but instead go visit with them. There are many stories like that, where blood was never shed.

What's worse than a guy peeing in the mosque and getting away with it in the presence of the prophet? These people were let go and there was no sharia trial for them. Hamza did none of that, yet he is being promised a death sentence. This goes to show you that Islam was a lot more tolerant back then than the version Wahabis and Salafis promote.

I think the fact that a lot of Muslims celebrate the prophet’s birthday is a made-up occasion. It should not be celebrated; the teachings of the man should be. Later Muslims wanted to maintain a connection with the prophet (peace be upon him), so they started loving the messenger and ignoring the message. The real motive behind the lynch mob's attacks on Hamza is his low opinion of the religious police in his beloved country. The religious police operates like a certified mafia that only applies punishment on those who have no connection with the rulers. Hamza's first offense in the eyes of this mafia is his speaking ill of them. Their sham outrage is laughable. They are just settling the score with this bold writer whose only guilt is believing the talk of free society the Saudi government speaks of.

Question: How many dictators do we know that claim to be from the house of the prophet, when in reality they are making a profit from the prophet?

It's a shame that such an issue is being raised. If they have their way, these few extremist loons of Islam in Saudi Arabia would execute the man and not even give him a chance to defend or explain his words. This is why they call for him to be tried in a sharia court for apostasy. These people should stick to their business and leave others to enjoy the Free Will that comes with Islam. And they need to remember that they do not have a monopoly on Islam. I maintain these people have every right to be offended, what they do not have a right to is to terrorize people for declaring their personal truths.

I hope those modern day Imams who tour around speaking about tolerant Islam will come to Hamza's defense and argue his case, because he did nothing wrong. And if they do not stand up for this young man, the misguided ones will certainly win. I know I am praying for Hamza and his family at this critical time. Hamza should not have to explain what he said, and he is not alone. There's nothing he said that I disagree with. Islam is about perfecting yourself, not just paying blind lip service to historic figures.

In reality all these people who might end up charging him are full of sins themselves, but they are much better actors who mange to sell an image of being pious. And there's nothing more zealots in any religion loath as much as someone who begs to think outside the box. Because, after all, it's their box. I am really sick of these loons speaking on behalf of my religion, when in reality their own offspring despise them and disapprove of their way of life.

[Hat Tip: Kellee Koenig]

P.S. This kind of backward thinking is not exclusive to Saudi Arabia; it has many franchises throughout the Arab world.

P.S. 2 If the Saudis so in love with the prophet why did they then turned his home into a public restroom? Watch here


Update: Malaysia deported a Saudi Arabian blogger on Sunday, police said, despite fears voiced by human rights groups that he could face execution in his home country over Twitter comments he made that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.

For those who only understand Arabic:

القرآن واضح "لا إكراه في الدين" لماذا تريدون اجباره على اتباع منهجكم؟ لماذا تكرهون الاختلاف؟ وحتى بعد ان تراجع الشاب تقتادونه كمجرم لا يدري ماهو مصيره؟ لماذا نكره انفسنا لهذه الدرجة!؟

مهما كان ان كفر او صح الكلام ..يبقى حكمه عند من (( خلقه ))... وليس لأحد على احد من مسيطر .....فأذا اردنا التدقيق والتمحيص بكل (( الناس )) فأعتقد لن يسلم احدا من (( الخطا )) باحكام الدين حتى اللذين وكلوا انفسهم (( اولياء )) على الناس ..وقد نجد جرمهم وكفرهم (( اكثر )) كفرا وتعديا على الدين من المدعو (( السعودي كاشغري )).. نصيحه كلما زاد (( المزايدين ))بالدين قسوة واستغلاله على هذا الوجه ...سيكون رده الفعل عند الكثيرين اقسى ..وتفتح ابوا جهنم (( الدنيـا عليهم )) .. .

طيب تعالوا لنناقش أقوال الشاب لنتبين أين هي الإهانة، ألم يردد علماء الدين وفقهاءه أن لاكهنوت في الاسلام ، أي تستطيع أن توجه الكلام لنبي أو لإله بدون واسطة، صحيح؟ لقد توجه الكاتب لنبيه ليقول له مايجيش في صدره: قال له اتبسم إليك(محبة) قال له اصافحك الند للند ، ألم يخاطب أصحاب الدعوة(نبيهم ) وباسمه ؟، طبعاً فعلوا، والكاتب يقول في يوم مولدك أشاهدك أينما توجهت (محبة) يراه ويشعر به فهي محبة في الشعور، يقول له لن أقبل يدك، فهل كانوا يفعلون في زمانه؟ في صلح الحديبة وافق على نزع صفته كرسول لله ودونوا ذلك، حتى أن عمر قال له أليس هناك نبوة؟ ولكن كاشغري يقول أن هناك أشياء لايحبها فيه ، فهل الغزوات والسبي وتقسيم الغنائم ولبس الدروع وإرسال السرايا للقتل هي صفات يمكن مدحها ؟ أطلقوا سراح هذا الشاب وإلا ستثبتون أن هذا الدين هو دين عنف وإخضاع،وستكونون أول الخاسرين، أنقذوا دينكم واسمحوا بنقده طالما ارتضى أن يكون حكماً سياسياً.

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A Day With Lawyers And Dentists

So, I spent few hours in the courthouse yesterday, just for kicks. I did not think people should overlook the high entertainment value court offer. There are way too many stories and people from all walks of life.

I have never been in an actual courthouse, I thought it would be fun to accompany a friend of mine who has a non-jailable misdemeanor. It was cool. The judge was really nicer, it was the holiday season and it was a lot of cases asking for bail. Funniest case, was a guy caught urinating in public. His fee I think was 25 dollars. Public intoxication is 75 dollars. Few Hispanics, two Asians and one Muslim guy who did not bother to show up

The only white people to be brought in front of the judge, were half a dozen of white females on charges of fare evasion on the metro....they only said they were guilty, charged 50 dollars a pop and court's time.

After that fun day, I had to go to my dentist for my biannual cleaning....

A Dentist gets paid a lot of money to make you look good,
A lawyer gets paid a lot of money too, but he is the only one wearing a 1000 dollar suit.

Usually, the nicer the suit of the defender, usually the bigger his crime.

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