football lovers frenzy

Once again football is the talk of the world with the Euro 2008 kick off in Swiss- Austria. Those of you who are not football frenzy you should know that Euro championship is regarded as the strongest and best football tournament after the world cup as it is contested by the elite football poles of Europe. This time it is co hosted by Switzerland and Austria and I guess we can’t ask for more, I mean beautiful very competitive games in one of the most amazing cities in Europe.
I guess those are enough reasons to be glued to our couches with all senses dedicated to the magical box (TV). Well that’s what is supposed to be but remember that thing called Globalization? Ya as good as it sounds it comes with negatives among which is the materialism wave which did not skip sports and as a result these days any major sport event is being covered and broadcasted by limited TV networks which are available at a fee. Euro2008 was no exception but thanks God its broadcasting rights were granted to Al Jazeera Sport for the Middle East. At least Al Jazeera is not as hungary for money not exploitative as others, you know which network am referring to remember the world cup which was covered by ‘a.r.t’. A.R.T went crazy and increased subscription fees forcing us to subscribe to packages consisting of channels regardless of your interest and we had to subscribe for a minimum time period. This is not the case with Al Jazeera which maintained its fee structure so we raise the hats to them and say Thank you for your professionalism.
The tournament started and so far it did not disappoint in terms of performance but perhaps some were disappointed by seeing Italy (world cup winners) being trashed by Holland and France (world cup finalist) too were sent packing by Holland. Holland got a destructive attack force with Robben, Van Persi, Snieder, Kuyt and at the tip of the spear Van Nistlroy. Who can stop them? Portugal on the other hand is in for nothing but winning with Ronaldo, Nani, Quarisma, to mention a few.
Well, I wish you all an exciting football season and may the best win (Holland, Spain :) ) .
Lastly, I wonder how much money was spent in preparing for Euro 2008 and how much is earned by the two hosts and FIFA???

Back to Business

You may have guessed by now that my leave is over. Ya am back to university for my second semester and so far so good no hickups yet; Dubai is still treating us with fair weather so no complaints as such. However, I expect this semester to be more hectic and demanding as I took one additional course so the load is big, I guess this will either make me or break me. Any way I expect the worse and hope for the best or may be work for the best as hope is not an answer as they say. Your motivational support will be welcomed and appreciated. To make matters worse or may be better am not sure! I joind a local gym thinking since am planning to work my mind to a stretch I might as well get my body to work but actually this was not an option, I had to start working out per Doctors recommendation and my body has been crying for long so I thought lets give it a shot.
After all these actions of loading myself with work I decided to treat myself so I got a new laptop which am enjoying at the moment, an IBM ThinkPad is not a bad treat I thought.

Take it easy and remeber think out of the box and be the change you want to see in the world!

On Leave

At the moment I am on vacation back home after my first postgraduate semester wound up so fast. Anyway a break is always good and it always goes so fast without feeling it. Just a week before I head back to Uni for the second semester. They say education is the best investment and I hope this is true because I kind of throwing all my savings into this program. I am treating this not only as pursuing a master’s degree but also a long break from work. I thought six years of work was enough to get me down so a break in a new city meeting new people doing different things was my choice and where else other than Dubai. I am not yet sure if I want to start working while studying; I feel am not ready yet to go back to working and studies are demanding anyway so I am kind of hesitant. Other than that nothing is really happening on my side at the moment.
However, there is a lot happening around the world that is catching my attention and concern. Things like the continuing killing of innocent people in Iraq, the escalating conflict in Palestine, U.S elections, the European football champions league final stages, etc. So there is a lot to think of and write about. But may be not now; some other time will pick a topic and dig on it.

Milad Al-Nabi

Today we celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)! Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) brought light to the world. He saved us from ignorance times and its horrible traditions. Just to mention one example: Arabs before Islam used to burry their daughters alife thinking they brought shame but this was stopped by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). This is just one of many traditions changed by Islam. He was a great person and this is recognised by both Muslim thinkers as well as non Muslim thinkers who acknowledge his positive contrubutions to the world. His influence is still very much felt today after decades of his death. We need to sit down and learn more about the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) because in Islam we find the answer to our problems in this troublesome world. We should not allow others to hijack this wonderful religion and way of life. I am far from qualified to write about Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) so forgive me for not writing a post that really reflects the weight of its subject but off course the web is rich of information about Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and Islam such as www.islamweb.net and many others.

The world of double standards!!!

The news that more than 40 people were killed including children and women in Gaza is not really news anymore or better put it is news but not really shocking even when video footage is shown and we see babies murdered. This true because it became the norm these days that Palestinians get murdered in cold blood and their houses are demolished day by day for no good reason. Let me correct the last sentence ‘good reason’, because apparently the world is seeing a good reason for killing children and women in Gaza and that’s why no one is speaking up their mind which may be interpreted as no objection or in fact support to the Israeli government who claim they are defending themselves against Hamas rockets. Let me ask you about the three words I highlighted in bold i.e. Israel, defending and Hamas; we all know (at least in history books) that Israel is not part of this region and it is an intruder and actually an occupying state. I do not seem to understand that an occupying force can use the word defend against the natives of the occupied land, it just does not click. Hamas is a political party with military wing in Palestine and guess what this party won the elections in Palestine so simple common sense dictates that Hamas government is the legitimate one in Palestine. But since we are in 2008 and things are a bit different I mean even climate is changing like more sun in the States in winter and more snow the Middle East so the smart folks who rule the world decided that they did not like the idea of Hamas government. So Palestinians sorry your votes do not count and you got to live with Fatah movement as government because we like them and they do not pause any threat to Israel.
We all know that Israel got some of the most advanced and accurate military systems in the world so why are they killing children and women. Are these really the targets that threaten Israel?
How come Israel who fought with many Arab states and has a big arsenal of nuclear war heads does not threatens and forms a danger to the region while Iran who support and have great relations with most of the Arab states and does not have a single nuclear war head (at least not till now); how come Iran is a danger to the region and not Israel? Furthermore, why is it ok and legitimate for Israel to develop nuclear weapons in secrecy without allowing international inspectors to visit their nuclear plants in Israel while it is not legitimate for a country like Iran to develop nuclear power for civil use or even for defense purposes?
Is it that I am just dumb and does not have what it takes to understand politics or international relations? Should I just shut up or do any of you there have a problem justifying what is going on in Gaza today? Why is the world so quite about it? Why is the UN Security Council busy issuing new sanctions against Iran while human beings are being murdered every second in Palestine?

After killig more than 120 (54% children according to an Israeli organisation) in Gaza Israel pulled out from Gaza but one Israeli official said this is just for two days while Condoliza Rice is in the region. This like saying on TV we will take a commercial break and return stay tuned.