Friday, February 18, 2005
News just in
In a development that is sure to shock the entire community affiliated with this modest blog, Ali is no longer with fingernail.
After months of cultivating his right pinky finger, a freak accident with a filing cabinet brought the entire project to nothing.
A shocked Ali said "I just wanted to see the look on my parents faces when they saw my 3cm (roughly one inch) fingernail. Plus, it was really useful".
He was said to be tiring of people asking him "what it all meant" but authorities have ruled out sabotage. A source close to Ali, Ms Riley said "all evidence points to the nail having been disattached in a office accident. I don't believe this is a cry for attention".
Plans are being made for future regeneration.
Sources: AFP, AP, Reuters
In a development that is sure to shock the entire community affiliated with this modest blog, Ali is no longer with fingernail.
After months of cultivating his right pinky finger, a freak accident with a filing cabinet brought the entire project to nothing.
A shocked Ali said "I just wanted to see the look on my parents faces when they saw my 3cm (roughly one inch) fingernail. Plus, it was really useful".
He was said to be tiring of people asking him "what it all meant" but authorities have ruled out sabotage. A source close to Ali, Ms Riley said "all evidence points to the nail having been disattached in a office accident. I don't believe this is a cry for attention".
Plans are being made for future regeneration.
Sources: AFP, AP, Reuters
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Wanna see a collection of images from Egypt? Then boogie on down to CNN Photography. Hover over each image for a brief description.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Links
I've found some really interesting sites in the last couple o' months, some of which I will dispense now...
Rafah Pundits - a group blog based in Rafah, Gaza that discusses most all issues associated with Israel - Palestine. I am now an occasional contributor.
Orthodox Anarchist is an American Jew who is living in al-Quds for a year, studying the Torah and DJing in secret destinations. He also runs Jew School which has an interesting 'Apartheid or Not Apartheid ' debate going on at the mo'.
Avant-garde Hebrew / international hip hop what you looking for? AMN is the place to find it.
Do you enjoy watching Fox News just to see how mad you can get? Then head over to Little Green Footballs for a bit of Israeli-American co-production fun.
Or a more reasonable blog...Head Heeb
And finally, a good friend of mine who is currently working for a prisoner rights group in Ramallah has set up a photo-essay of his travels in Palestine.
Rafah Pundits - a group blog based in Rafah, Gaza that discusses most all issues associated with Israel - Palestine. I am now an occasional contributor.
Orthodox Anarchist is an American Jew who is living in al-Quds for a year, studying the Torah and DJing in secret destinations. He also runs Jew School which has an interesting 'Apartheid or Not Apartheid ' debate going on at the mo'.
Avant-garde Hebrew / international hip hop what you looking for? AMN is the place to find it.
Do you enjoy watching Fox News just to see how mad you can get? Then head over to Little Green Footballs for a bit of Israeli-American co-production fun.
Or a more reasonable blog...Head Heeb
And finally, a good friend of mine who is currently working for a prisoner rights group in Ramallah has set up a photo-essay of his travels in Palestine.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Oft times I find myself really struggling to post on my other blog. It is not that I have nothing to say, nor the words to say it. I have a dilemma of identification.
What I see here, what I hear and read in the newspapers, what I experience, it all affects me. Sometimes it makes me angry, sometimes it makes me determined to make sense of it, and sometimes I give up hope completely. I am trying to compile a series of stories that paint a clear picture of the issues that inform the ‘Palestinian debate’. I want to be professional, balanced, level-headed and objective. I do not want to fall into the trap of false equivalence, merely repeating the facts of this incursion and this act of resistance as though each were an equal part of the problem. But on the flip side, I have no intention of appearing as a partisan activist, ignoring one fact to highlight the injustice of another. So, for the most part, I have been relatively silent.
People that live far away from Israel-Palestine have opinions about this conflict, this is fact. And, for educated people, these opinions are formed on the basis of news reports, analyses and varied sources of opinion. But is there a clear sense of what is going on? I really doubt it.
I am not in the West Bank or Gaza, nor is my work directly related to the Occupied / Disputed Territories. But this is where the flashpoints are, this is where ‘news’ occurs.
I read reports from al-Jazeera, the New York Times, The Age, Washington Post, Guardian, ABC, the Christian Science Monitor, etc, etc. In each one I feel the coverage is dressed up to suit the intended audience. For al-Jazeera’s predominantly Arab audience every Palestinian action is resistance, every Israeli action is incitement. Rarely is their mention of Arab governments’ failure to broker any sort of just agreement. The Guardian writes for left-leaning intellectuals, those that will scoff at Tony Blair’s initiatives and tut-tut Israel's disregrd of international law. Every piece of media has its own master.
I also read my fair share of blogs, some pro-Palestinian, some pro-Israeli, and the primary characteristic of all is their absolute belief in the justice of the cause they support. For the pro-Israelites suicide bombings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are abhorrent, without reason or context. It follows that a society that condones this type of violence (and of course the Palestinian society and its supporters condone such attacks) are deserving of anything a national army metes out. For the pro-Palestinian accounts IDF incursions and Israeli policy of ignoring, undermining and emasculating the Palestinian leadership while continuing a process of colonizing their lands is reason enough to support the underdog.
It is hard work trying to decipher every agenda before reading anything. I guess all this is approximating a ‘crisis of faith’. I am losing faith in the idea of an agenda-free media. Which makes me wonder, if every one must take a side, where do I stand?
Anyway, thanks for listening. I’m glad I could tell someone without further damaging my blossoming career in journalism.
What I see here, what I hear and read in the newspapers, what I experience, it all affects me. Sometimes it makes me angry, sometimes it makes me determined to make sense of it, and sometimes I give up hope completely. I am trying to compile a series of stories that paint a clear picture of the issues that inform the ‘Palestinian debate’. I want to be professional, balanced, level-headed and objective. I do not want to fall into the trap of false equivalence, merely repeating the facts of this incursion and this act of resistance as though each were an equal part of the problem. But on the flip side, I have no intention of appearing as a partisan activist, ignoring one fact to highlight the injustice of another. So, for the most part, I have been relatively silent.
People that live far away from Israel-Palestine have opinions about this conflict, this is fact. And, for educated people, these opinions are formed on the basis of news reports, analyses and varied sources of opinion. But is there a clear sense of what is going on? I really doubt it.
I am not in the West Bank or Gaza, nor is my work directly related to the Occupied / Disputed Territories. But this is where the flashpoints are, this is where ‘news’ occurs.
I read reports from al-Jazeera, the New York Times, The Age, Washington Post, Guardian, ABC, the Christian Science Monitor, etc, etc. In each one I feel the coverage is dressed up to suit the intended audience. For al-Jazeera’s predominantly Arab audience every Palestinian action is resistance, every Israeli action is incitement. Rarely is their mention of Arab governments’ failure to broker any sort of just agreement. The Guardian writes for left-leaning intellectuals, those that will scoff at Tony Blair’s initiatives and tut-tut Israel's disregrd of international law. Every piece of media has its own master.
I also read my fair share of blogs, some pro-Palestinian, some pro-Israeli, and the primary characteristic of all is their absolute belief in the justice of the cause they support. For the pro-Israelites suicide bombings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are abhorrent, without reason or context. It follows that a society that condones this type of violence (and of course the Palestinian society and its supporters condone such attacks) are deserving of anything a national army metes out. For the pro-Palestinian accounts IDF incursions and Israeli policy of ignoring, undermining and emasculating the Palestinian leadership while continuing a process of colonizing their lands is reason enough to support the underdog.
It is hard work trying to decipher every agenda before reading anything. I guess all this is approximating a ‘crisis of faith’. I am losing faith in the idea of an agenda-free media. Which makes me wonder, if every one must take a side, where do I stand?
Anyway, thanks for listening. I’m glad I could tell someone without further damaging my blossoming career in journalism.
