A Peek into Others' mind » August 18, 2008

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(173 unread)

August 19, 2008
7:28
And Now for Some Tommy Emmanuel
» ‎ Little Green Footballs

Tommy Emmanuel plays “Since We Met.”
[Video]

7:22
Labor threatens to vote against budget
» ‎ JPost.com Front Page Top Stories

New political crisis looms as faction demands Treasury increase budget limit to prevent cuts.

7:04
ישראל תקבל את מערכת המכ''ם האמריקנית X-band FBX-T radar, רק אם בנגב יוקם בסיס שיהיה מחוץ לתחום של ישראלים, ויופעל על ידי אנשי צבא אמריקנים.
» ‎ DEBKAfile

המקורות הצבאיים של תיקדבקה, מדווחים כי בפיקוד הבכיר של צה''ל, שוררים תדהמה וזעם, על מה שהם מכנים 'הסכם הבושה הלאומית', עם ארצות הברית, אליו הסכימו, ראש הממשלה אהוד אולמרט, שר הביטחון אהוד ברק, השר הממונה על הדיאלוג האסטרטגי עם ארה''ב שאול מופז, שרת החוץ ציפי ליבני, והרמטכ''ל רב אלוף גבי אשכנזי. קצין בכיר אחד אומר: אפילו פולין שחתמה בשבוע שעבר חוזה הגנה עם ארצות הברית שיאפשר לאמריקנים להציב טיילי יירוט על אדמתם, דאגה להכניס בחוזה סעיף, כי צוותים פולנים יוצבו במשך הזמן בסוללות האמריקניות וילמדו איך להפעיל אותן. במקרה של ישראל, אומר אותו קצין בכיר, לא היה שר אחד וקצין בכיר אחד מצה''ל שהיו מעורבים במו''מ, כולל הרמטכ''ל, שדרשו הכנסת סעיף כזה. בישראל ישנם בסיסים אמריקנים רבים, אבל הבסיס החדש בנגב יהיה הראשון בו לא תהייה לצה''ל דריסת רגל. להלן הפרטים המלאים

5:45
Quilliam Foundation and Misdirection on Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa
» ‎ Counterterrorism Blog

In my July 16, 2008 article "False Reports of Jihadists 'Quitting' or Abandoning Islamic Supremacism," I challenged the Quilliam Foundation to address some key questions that were being asked about its organization. The primary issue I raised was its documented support for Egyptian Grand Mufti Sheik Ali Gomaa (also spelled "Ali Gum'a" or "Goma").

In reply, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Director Matthew Levitt criticized me on July 17 for asking this obvious question, and on August 15, that same organization's Michael Jacobson published a "response" to my July 16 article on behalf of Maajid Nawaz of the Quilliam Foundation.

Mr. Nawaz's comments in Mr. Jacobson's reposting "Quilliam Responds" are not a response at all, but are directed towards a July 30, 2008 letter from various senators to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regarding "a 2003 article in Egypt's 'Al-Haqiqa' newspaper quoting Ali Goma defending terrorist acts in Israel." Mr. Nawaz dismisses this quote as he states it is coming from a "Wahabite-Islamist source" and "a newspaper that explicitly promotes a Shari'ah-law based Caliphate." (On the other hand, Mr. Nawaz does not explain how he defends Ali Gomaa who is interviewed in the March 2008 U.S. News and World Report as seeing Sharia as a solution for "Islamic extremism.")

Mr. Nawaz further defends Gomaa by referencing a July 21, 2007 Newsweek / Washington Post blog article where Gomaa seeks to define jihad with "a large category of meanings," and where Gomaa states that "Islam forbids suicide" and "Islam forbids aggression against others." (This did not stop Gomaa from defending the terrorist group Hezbollah, as he viewed Hezbollah attacks on Israel as a "defense of its country and not terrorism" and called for support for Hezbollah as a "religious duty.") On July 24, 2007, the Gulf News reported an update on Gomaa's comments to Newsweek / Washington Post regarding "apostasy," quoting Gomaa: "What I actually said is that Islam prohibits a Muslim from changing his religion and that apostasy is a crime, which must be punished."

Mr. Nawaz further dismisses criticism of Gomaa by using a ploy of playing on assumed political divisions: "[o]n the matter of support for Ali Goma, it seems rather ironic that right-wing critics share their worries over our stance, probably to their horror, with Marxists on the far-left such as the UK Guardian's Seamus Milne." Unfortunately those who think that criticism of Islamic supremacism is merely a right-left issue, fail to understand the issue and certainly fail to understand America's history in fighting supremacist ideologies. Mr. Nawaz should recognize that his experiences with the Nazi Combat 18 group were part of a continuing challenge against supremacist ideologies, and that the battle against supremacism beliefs will not be addressed by inconsistencies or by pandering to inaccurate assumptions about right-left political divisions.

The larger issue that my July 16 article raised is how can an organization that attacks political Islamism, such as Quilliam Foundation, support an individual as Egyptian Grand Mufti Sheik Ali Gomaa, which it calls a "Muslim scholastic giant," when there are numerous articles about Gomaa that would make him a questionable "scholar" to emulate?

5:40
Born In Damas:
» ‎ Syria Planet

Test
View Original
5:40
The Blog and the Shower: covered walkways
» ‎ Syria Planet

One of the things I love in Damascus is the way the sun looks behind the pedestrian walkways over busy streets. The roofs sort of look like they’re glowing.

View Original
5:40
Syria Comment: Ehsani’s Observations Following a Two Week Visit to Aleppo
» ‎ Syria Planet

Impressions following a two week visit to Aleppo
By Ehsani2
For Syria Comment
Aug. 18, 2008

Since August of 2006, It has been my custom to write up my personal observations following each extended trip to Syria.

In August, I stayed in my native city of Aleppo for two weeks, I will restrict my observations to what I saw and experienced in the country’s second largest city.

I will spare the readers any mention of geopolitics, Lebanon, Iran, Israel or the U.S.A. I will instead focus on the daily lives of Aleppo residents from my daily interactions with friends, relatives, Iraqi refugees, taxi drivers, police officers, real estate tycoons and day laborers. Readers of this forum should also be happy to learn that I also met with IDAF (a regular and astute contributor to Syria Comment) for a 3-hour coffee session at one of the city’s “fancy” outlets (more on this later).

The main areas of interest that I will try to cover in this post are real estate values, education, job opportunities, income levels, price inflation, corruption, and public services.

Real Estate:

As every Syrian knows by now, real estate values have been on a tear recently. Since 2005, prices of residential units have at least doubled. Land prices have risen even more. Those who have inside knowledge of imminent zoning changes have enjoyed close to six-fold increase in the value of their land holdings. There are several reasons for this trend:

1-      Syrian money was frightened out of Lebanese banks following the Hariri assassination and withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Much of it returned to Syria.

2-      US economic sanctions on Syria and the resulting risk of keeping funds outside the country for fear of having them blocked or frozen.

3-      Lower Syrian interest rates on domestic bank deposits.

4-      The lack of investment opportunities outside of real estate.

5-      General price inflation and the need to hedge through real estate assets.

6-      Supportive demographics.

7-      Overseas investments in the sector.

While this list is not exhaustive, I think that it helps explain the general background behind the outsized rise in values across the country.

Where does the sector go from here?

I think down, and here is why:

There are two ways to determine whether real estate prices are over valued. One method relies on price/rental income calculation and the other uses median income/price ratio. At the height of the U.S. housing mania, house prices reached 26 times their rental income. During the same peak, median U.S. house prices were at four time’s median income. Using my own calculations, Syrian house prices are currently close to 43 times their rental income. In other words, rather than buying a house, one can rent it for 43 years at prevailing prices and rents for the same property. Buying real estate with such valuations is ….  well, let’s settle for the word “risky.” This is not to say that real estate values cannot rise further. I am suggesting that they are overvalued and may have seen their peak.

Income levels and corruption:

A junior traffic policeman makes SYP 9,000 ($USD 196) per month. There is no way for a head of a household with such a meager income to avoid the temptation of bribery. An intriguing observation is how skinny junior traffic officers are when compared to their heavier colleagues who ride motorcycles (presumably the senior officers grab the lion’s share of the bribery pie).

Low incomes have made corruption a way of life for the average Syrian. The country’s armed services are no exception. New cadets who ask to be with their families for few days are asked what they can pay to be granted such a privilege. Their direct army supervisor simply awards the family break to those who pay the most among the group of cadets he supervises. My own relative is the source of this account. His sergeant assembled the entire platoon and offered weekend furloughs to the highest bidders. The prevailing price for a weekend home leave is 5,000 PS. No effort was made to keep the process secret.

Job opportunities:

This is by far the biggest problem facing the nation. The official Government figures vastly understate the unemployment rate. Having talked extensively to civil organizations dealing with the city’s youth, I was told that close to 40 percent of university graduates cannot find jobs. The public sector has implemented a hiring freeze for years now. The private sector cannot possibly generate enough jobs for the ever increasing labor force. Capital is tied up in empty land and real estate. This does not do much for job creation.

Inflation:

A number of people with inside knowledge have privately admitted to me that the Government mishandled the way in which it lifted the subsidy on heating oil. Rather than moving gradually, it was hiked by 350% in one shot. This shock was compounded by the rapid inflation in world commodity prices, which broadsided Syrians at the same time. The ill timing of the move delivered a major blow to the average person’s budget. Without exception, every single business has suffered since the rise in the price of heating oil several months ago. Salaries were increased by government decree, but the loss of income has been pervasive and demoralizing to the broad mass of Syrians.

Public Services:

The proud historical city of Aleppo has never been dirtier. The daily garbage collection system is embarrassing and disgraceful. Late at night, people are seen placing small plastic bags at street curbs in front of their buildings. By the time they are collected, at least 3 different groups have opened these bags to search for things they might find useful. Wild cats compete with the poor for garbage scraps. The garbage containers that occupy many street corners are giant disease containers. The way they get emptied leaves them with spilled liquid and piles of fallen garbage nearby. In the scorching summer heat, the smell of the left over refuse adds insult to the injury of the smog.

Government budget:

The tax and spend system is totally broken. No one wants to pay taxes because the government does not provide adequate services. The fall in revenues means that the government is indeed unable to provide the needed services. A vicious circle is quickly set in motion. No highway taxes are collected and No meaningful real estate taxes are collected despite vastly higher valuations. Even when an attempt is made, the taxman’s salary is low enough that a bribe is sure to score a hit and be highly effective.

Conclusion:

Part of the rise in real estate values is due to non-economic factors. The feel-good attitude that has resulted from the sharply higher values of real estate has masked a deteriorating economic outlook for Syria. The country suffers from an acute shortage of job creation. Nothing is being done about this. Foreign investments in real estate will do little to address the country’s unemployment problem. The country’s youth will jump at any opportunity to leave the country for better economic prospects. This opportunity is clearly not available for most. In the meantime, more people seem to see value in quitting school and learning a trade at an ever younger age.

The taxation system is broken. The Government budget is under severe strain. This has negatively impacted all government services from education to health care to garbage collection. Most importantly, the government is also unable to pay its civil servants adequately. Bribery inevitably fills the void. Everything can be obtained at a price. Government employees are left to fend for themselves. They see their direct superiors guilty of the act and they soon learn that they must do the same or fall even further behind. A culture of “kull-mean-ido-elloh” — every man for himself — is evident everywhere and no one seems to want to stop it.

Some readers will take issue with my memo. Many will see it as “too dramatic” and “biased”. I had a lengthy telephone conversation with Dr. Landis before I wrote this note. He is privy to a lot more details than I have written here. My dear friends Ford Prefect and Observer have recently written their own observations of Syria after visiting the country. I realize that they offered a much rosier picture than the one I portray. I hope that I am wrong and that they are both right. My friend Idaf is also sure to take issue with many of my observations as we were both in Aleppo at the same time. Again, I hope that the future proves him correct.

View Original
5:40
abufares said...the world according to a tartoussi: 20 Years
» ‎ Syria Planet

Om Fares and I were to embark on our annual pilgrimage to Paradise. It was a little more extraordinary this year as we meant to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in Ehden, Lebanon. We reserved a special room at the Hotel Abshi where we had spent the first few days of our honeymoon back in 1988. Back then, we had proceeded from Ehden to Los Angeles and subsequently to Tuscon, Arizona before we made it back home to Tartous. We're both in love with Ehden, a small town in Northern Lebanon. Situated at 1,500m on a mountain shoulder, it lies in perfect serenity on top of a perpetual bank of clouds. Nature endowed this magical place with beautifully amazing scenery. But it was a man who built a restaurant and placed it near Mar Sarkis, a spring gushing out of the mountains and appropriately named it: Ferdos or Paradise.

Ultimately, fate had it that we couldn't make it there. A horrific explosion in Tripoli, Lebanon on the morning of our departure killed 20 innocent souls, maimed scores of guiltless passersby and of course brought our plans to an abrupt end. I was going to tell you about Paradise but I'll leave it till another day. Since marriage and real life are nowhere close to being heaven, my story will take another twist.

It's been twenty years. We had good times and bad. We shared many blessings and misfortunes. We brought to life three wonderful kids. We gave up a hundred unrealized dreams. We made plans then changed them then made other plans then changed them again. We climbed and stumbled but went on. We laughed and cried. We fought and made up. Through it all, however, we kept our promises as we had the common sense to keep them small. Come evening, we were always back, friends and lovers for life.

Leaving our insouciant kids behind, we jumped in the car and headed in the direction of Wadi Al-Nassara (Valley of Christians). In order to remove any religious connotation and maintain its secular policy the government chose to rename it as Wadi Al-Nadara (Valley of Freshness). But you can't change history at the whim of an enlightened or benighted decision maker and accordingly the region is known to all, to its native inhabitants and to visitors alike by its original name only, the stunningly beautiful Wadi Al-Nassara, Valley of Christians.
Om Fares and I are very different indeed. Her idea of fun calls for practicality and organization. She is the type who enjoys the destination and considers the trip as an unavoidable requisite. She appreciates the panoramic landscape but under normal circumstances can't wait to really get where she's going. I, on the other hand, often tend to forget all together where I'm heading to in the first place. I don't mind to alter my road, extend my excursion or bring it to an immature end on impulse. As Om Fares knew that I must've been deeply disappointed about the cancellation of our trip to Ehden she gave me some leeway and unbounded my impetuosity. 50 kilometers southeast of Tartous we exited the main highway leading to Homs and headed north. The valley is dotted by small villages and towns, each boasting a church or a monastery ranging in size and prominence from the splendid to the self-effacing. Unguided and unconcerned we followed the bends of the winding road. As we approached each village I made a happy announcement (to Om Fares) that we would finally eat somewhere there. To her, I must've sounded like a lost captain trying to reassure his passengers that he knows where the hell he's going. Between you and me, I didn't care at all. I just wanted to prolong the voyage as much as feasible. Like usual, Om Fares had to eventually step in. "I'm very hungry", she said. "It's already 3:30 pm and your invitation was for lunch if I'm not mistaken". I looked right, left then straight down the road where I glimpsed an arrow underneath some Arabic writing. The sign read: Hotel Francis –Restaurant and Pool. The SUV climbed laboriously up the steep incline, twisting and turning through a series of hairpin curves before we finally made it into a flower-adorned parking lot. The restaurant was packed with a jubilant crowd. We were asked by the waiter if we were invited to the baptizing party. "We're not", I replied, "we can come back another time". "But of course not, please follow me to this lovely table right at the edge of the precipice. You will have a commanding view of the valley below and the party herein". The crowd was lively. Food and Arak flowed un-restrained. The dance floor was bustling with the young and old holding hands and swaying with the rhythm in a traditional Syrian Dabkeh. It was a double baptizing of a brother and sister. Both were dressed with beautiful white outfits and made their daddy and mommy swell with pride and joy. The father raised his glass and saluted everyone, guests and strangers. We all replied with happy wishes to Johnny and Patricia.
Have I ever told you that Om Fares never drinks? She always keeps a tab of how many glasses of Arak I've had though. I told her that she must surmount this nasty habit of hers but to no avail. Over the years she had come to accept that my actual limit is higher than the one she had envisioned for me. Our quarrels over the fact that I drink and that she does not have become less frequent. Yet she still refuses to equate my acceptance of her abstinence with her approval of my indulgence. Oh well, women!
Hand in hand, we walked back to the car gingerly and merrily. She was ginger, I was merry. Just an instant before we stepped out of the restaurant, the priest who had earlier performed the baptizing ceremony and who of course was an invited guest had left. I was just about to zoom out of the parking lot when Om Fares and I took notice of him. I slammed the break and smiled at him. "Can we give you a ride Father", Om Fares asked. Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the backdoor and jumped in. He looked both ginger and merry. "Such a nice party...", she started. Women! They can't even start a conversation. "Good Arak, eh Abouna (Father)?" I looked sideways and knowingly with the intention of conveying to her that this is how you break the ice with a man of the cloth. To her, and as she told me later, I just sounded and looked drunk and stupid.
By the look of him he was in his mid-seventies. Father Youhanna was a diminutive man with a long white beard. But what struck me most about him as I kept glancing at him through the rear view mirror were his eyes. They shined with a profound sense of acceptance. We were Muslims we informed him but the gleam in the eyes never even flickered. I followed his left and right instructions as we plunged further down the dale. We were not heading to the famous Deir Mar Gerges as I privately suspected. Instead we found ourselves at the modest gate of a little church. The inscriptions indicated that it was the church of the Saydeh (Notre Dame St. Marie) and that it was founded in 1921.

In fact a very old chapel dating back to the 12th century was discovered in the early 1900’s by the locals in a thicket of shrubs and trees where we were standing at that moment. It was built by some pious European Crusader as a place of worship rather than extravagance. For centuries it remained invisible to all eyes until a solitary man collecting firewood stumbled on a large stone by chance. After the site was cleaned and reclaimed, the original structure became visible. It was and still is protected by two huge trees which are believed to have been blessed by the Virgin. As news of the miraculous church and trees traveled near and far, the locals pitched in and worked on restoring the small Minster with their own hands. The faithful expatriates were still not rich in their second chosen countries at the time. Nevertheless they sent modest donations until the tower was rebuilt along with a fence and a small garden. The first modern mass was thus performed sometime in 1921.
We accepted Father Youhanna’s invitation to visit his church. From somewhere in the folds of his robe he produced a huge ancient key, turned it in the antique lock and pushed back the wooden door. The olden hinges creaked with acquiescence as we entered a single room measuring less than 60 square meters. The basin where the children were baptized still stood by the altar. There was broken glass on the floor and spilt olive oil. The priest made a note that he ought to clean it after we leave. He asked us if we wanted to light any candle. Two, we agreed, one for Om Fares and the other for me. He blessed our 20 years then unassumingly recounted the history of his domain as he has been serving this church for his last 20 years. Before, he had served the Lord for 30 years in Bhamdoun, Lebanon to which he arrived from his original Syrian village near Hama as a young man. He’s been wearing a robe since. 50 years had changed Youhanna into an older man but he was blessed with assent and contentment. This is where he performed baptisms beyond remembrance. He has done his best to ease the pain and suffering of hundreds of dying men and women. He has bonded couples in holy matrimony, witnessed the spring of new life, endured the scourges of summer, embraced his loneliness in autumn as the émigrés left back to their (forever) second homes and is anticipating the promise that winter is around the corner for him. He can rest in peace one day knowing that he has done his best in the service of his beloved church.
He promised to visit us on his first call to Tartous. We agreed that we will ride together to Deir Blemmana near Banias, a mystical shrine kept by his sisters the nuns. Om Fares voiced her wonder. "He’s a good man no doubt, but I can’t really understand you. I know your deep-rooted aversion to Muslim Sheikhs and Christian Priests, yet you and Father Youhanna got along so nicely". "He’s poor", I answered matter-of-factly. When a man of God develops an affinity for power and money he loses not only his credibility but his actual raison d’être.

Thus was our celebration of our 20th anniversary, unassuming and spontaneous. We didn’t make it to Paradise but instead found tremendous pleasure in the company of each other. So much like the last 20 years of our lives.
View Original
5:40
Arabdemocracy: The Fundamentalist Waltz
» ‎ Syria Planet

By Joseph El-Khoury
As a generally peace loving individual I should rejoice over the signing today of a mutual non-aggression understanding between two feuding factions in Lebanon. But I am not!

So Hezbollah and the 15 or so Salafist (read Sunni hard-liners) groups have finally agreed to settle their theological and ideological differences through ‘rational’ dialogue as opposed to Rocket Propelled Grenades. It took dozens of casualties to get to this point and the fact that the Salafists couldn’t find enough in common between them to join hands under one banner should be enough to predict the chances of success. Can a duly signed sheet of paper resist the instinctive fundamentalist urges to eliminate any discordance through fire and steel? Even putting my cynical attitude to one side the answer is still a resounding No!

But even if it did work, I will still be far from happy. It is hard to feel part of such a historic moment where One Muslim decides not to spill the blood of another Muslim…when one is not a Muslim. In fact I should probably be more concerned. For when spilling someone’s blood seems to be the only way forward in the struggle against Zionism and Imperialism a simple statistical calculation will make it obvious that this blood is more likely to be mine now than it was last week.

On a practical level the choice of interlocutor puts the strategy of the resistance to the test. Once committed to reassuring the Christian Street it revelled in the assertion by its Aounist Allies that the real threat came from Sunni extremists lurking behind the respectable façade of Hariri’s Future (Al-Mustaqbal) Movement. While the latest evidence from Tripoli confirms that on a local level these groups might have at least cooperated if not fused militarily, the signature of the accord with Hezbollah gives the impression that the Salafists are now on an equal footing with the Shiite group. A fact that will not escape its secular detractors but more importantly the Christian electorate in the run-up to the 2009 parliamentary elections.

Reflecting further, it seems this agreement is a reminder of a time when killing a goat belonging to one tribe might get you into serious trouble but slaughtering the entire herd of another tribe was considered OK for some strange reason only understandable to a few elders. Morality had nothing to do with it but prejudice, hierarchy, kinship did. Centuries of philosophical soul searching, Enlightened Monarchies, nationalist movements, Socialist revolutions, Liberal Reform have led to a Tribal gathering held by a small number of bearded men in an obscure Hotel.

I despair! Call me Old fashioned but I am hoping for a return to a basic universal civil contract that guarantees my human rights as a citizen of a modern state.
View Original
5:40
Maysaloon - ميسلون:
» ‎ Syria Planet

"For the love of Christ" by Julie Burchill or, as I understood it, "Why atheists should hate Muslims only." I think it says something when a person has the gall to call themselves a Christian Zionist without comprehending the completely contradictory nature of what they are saying, think "Jewish Nazi" and the picture becomes clear.
View Original
5:40
abufares said...the world according to a tartoussi:
» ‎ Syria Planet

Om Fares and I were set to embark on our annual pilgrimage to Paradise. It was a little more extraordinary this year as we meant to celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary in Ehden. We reserved a special room at the Hotel Abshé where we had spent the first few days of our honeymoon back in 1988. Back then, we had proceeded from Ehden, Lebanon to Los AngelesTuscon, Arizona and subsequently to before we made it back home to Tartous. We're both in love with Ehden, a small town in Northern Lebanon. Situated at 1,500m on a mountain shoulder, it lies in perfect serenity on top of a perpetual bank of clouds. Nature endowed this magical place with beautifully amazing scenery. But it was a man who built a restaurant and placed it near Mar Sarkis, a spring gushing out of the mountains and appropriately named it: Paradise.
Ultimately, fate had it that we couldn't make it there. A horrific explosion in Tripoli, Lebanon on the morning of our departure killed 20 innocent souls, maimed scores of guiltless passersby and of course brought our plans to an abrupt end. I was going to tell you about Paradise but I'll leave it till another day. Since marriage and real life are nowhere close to being heaven, my story will take another twist.
It's been 20 years. We had good times and bad. We shared many blessings and misfortunes. We brought to life 3 wonderful kids. We gave up a hundred unrealized dreams. We made plans then changed them then made other plans then changed them again. We climbed and stumbled but went on. We laughed and cried. We fought and made up. Through it all, however, we kept our promises as we had the common sense to make only small ones. Come evening, we were always back, friends and lovers for life.
Leaving our insouciant kids behind, we jumped in the car and headed in the direction of Wadi Al-Nassara (Valley of Christians). In order to remove any religious connotation and maintain its secular policy the government chose to rename it as Wadi Al-Nadara (Valley of Freshness). But you can't change history at the whim of an enlightened or benighted decision maker and accordingly the region is known to all, to its native inhabitants and to visitors by its original name only, the stunningly beautiful Wadi Al-Nassara, Valley of Christians.
Om Fares and I are very different indeed. Her idea of fun calls for practicality and organization. She is the type who enjoys the destination and considers the trip as an unavoidable requisite. She appreciates the panoramic landscape but under normal circumstances can't wait to really get where she's going. I, on the other hand, often tend to forget all together where I'm going to in the first place. I don't mind to alter my road, extend my excursion or bring it to an immature end at an impulse. As Om Fares knew that I must've been deeply disappointed about the cancellation of our trip to Ehden she gave me some leeway and unbounded my impetuosity. 50 kilometers southeast of Tartous we exited the main highway leading to Homs and headed north. The valley is dotted by small villages and towns, each boasting a church or a monastery ranging in size and prominence from the splendid to the self-effacing. Unguided and unconcerned we followed the bends of the winding road. As we approached each village I made a happy announcement (to Om Fares) that we would finally eat somewhere there. To her, I must've sounded like a lost captain trying to reassure his passengers that he knows where the hell he's going. Between you and me, I didn't care at all. I just wanted to prolong the voyage as much as feasible. Like usual, Om Fares had to eventually step in. "I'm very hungry", she said. "It's already 3:30 PM and your invitation was for lunch if I'm not mistaken". I looked right, left then straight down the road where I glimpsed an arrow underneath some Arabic writing. The sign read: Hotel Francis –Restaurant and Pool. The SUV climbed laboriously up the steep incline, twisting and turning through a series of hairpin curves before we finally made it to a flower-adorned parking lot. The restaurant was packed with a jubilant crowd. We were asked by the waiter if we were invited to the baptizing party. "We were not", I replied, "we can come back another time". "But of course not, please follow me to this lovely table right at the edge of the precipice. You will have a commanding view of the valley below and the party herein". The crowd was lively. Food and Arak flowed un-restrained. The dance floor was bustling with the young and old holding hands and swaying with the rhythm in a traditional Syrian Dabkeh. It was a double baptizing of a brother and sister. Both were dressed with beautiful white outfits and made their daddy and mommy swell with pride and joy. The father raised his glass and saluted everyone, guests and strangers. We all replied with happy wishes to Johnny and Patricia.
Have I ever told you that Om Fares never drinks? She always keeps track of how many glasses of Arak I've had though. I told her that she must surmount this nasty habit of hers but to no avail. Over the years she had come to accept that my actual limit is higher than the one she had envisioned for me. Our quarrels over the fact that I drink and that she does not have become less frequent. Yet she still refuses to equate my acceptance of her abstinence with her approval of my indulgence. Oh well, women!
Hand in hand, we walked back to the car gingerly and merrily. She was ginger, I was merry. Just an instant before we stepped out of the restaurant, the priest who had earlier performed the baptizing ceremony and who of course was an invited guest had left. I was just about to zoom out of the parking lot when Om Fares and I took notice of him. I slammed the break and smiled at him. "Can we give you a ride Father", Om Fares asked. Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the backdoor and jumped in, he looked both ginger and merry. "Such a nice party...", she started. Women! They can't even start a conversation. "Good Arak, eh Abouna (Father)?" I looked sideway and knowingly with the intention of conveying to her that this is how you break the ice with a man of the cloth. To her, and as she told me later, I just sounded and looked drunk and stupid.

By the look of him he was in his mid-seventies. Father Youhanna was a diminutive man with a long white beard. But what struck me most about him as I kept glancing at him through the back view mirror were his eyes. They shined with a profound sense of acceptance. We were Muslims we informed him but the gleam in the eyes never even flickered. I followed his left and right instructions as we plunged further down the dale. We were not heading to the famous Deir Mar Gerges as I privately suspected. Instead we found ourselves at the modest gate of a little church. The inscriptions indicated that it was the church of the Saydeh (Notre Dame St. Marie) and that it was built in 1921.
In fact a very old chapel dating back to the 12^th century was discovered in the early 1900’s by the locals in a thicket of shrubs and trees where we were standing at the moment. It was built by the European Crusaders as a place of worship rather than extravagance. For centuries it remained invisible to all eyes until a solitary man collecting firewood stumbled on a large stone by chance. After the site was cleaned and reclaimed, the original structure became visible. It was and still is protected by two huge miraculous trees which are believed to have been blessed by the Virgin. As news of the church and trees traveled near and far, the locals from the surrounding villages pitched in and worked on restoring the small Minster with their own hands. The faithful expatriates were still not rich in their second chosen countries at the time. Nevertheless they sent modest donations until the tower was rebuilt along with a fence and a small garden. The first modern mass was thus performed sometime in 1921.
We accepted Father Youhanna’s invitation to visit his church. From somewhere in the folds of his robe he produced a huge ancient key, turned it in the antique lock and pushed back the wooden door. The olden hinges creaked with acquiescence as we entered a single room measuring less than 60 square meters. The basin where the children were baptized still stood by the altar. There was broken glass on the floor and spilt olive oil. The priest made a note that he ought to clean it after we leave. He asked us if we wanted to light any candle. Two, we agreed, one for Om Fares and the other for me. He unassumingly recounted the history of his domain as he has been serving this church for the last 20 years of his life. Before, he had served the Lord for 30 years in Bhamdoun, Lebanon to which he arrived from his original Syrian village near Hama. He’s been wearing a robe since. Fifty years had changed the young Youhanna into a much older man but he was blessed with assent and contentment. This is where he performed baptisms beyond remembrance. He has done his best to ease the pain and suffering of hundreds of dying men and women. He has bonded couples in holy matrimony, witnessed the spring of new life, endured the scourges of summer, embraced his loneliness in autumn as the émigrés left back to their (forever) second homes and is awaiting the promise that winter is around the corner for him. He can rest in peace one day knowing that he has done his best in the service of his faith.
He promised to visit us on his first call to Tartous. We agreed that we will ride together to Deir Blemmana near Banias, a mystical shrine kept by his sisters the nuns. Om Fares voiced her wonder. "He’s a good man but I can’t really understand you. I know your deep rooted aversion to Muslim Sheikhs and Christian Priests, yet you and Father Youhanna got along so nicely". "He’s very poor", I answered matter-of-factly. When a man of God develops an affinity for power and money he loses not only his credibility but his actual raison d’être.
Thus was our celebration of our 20^th anniversary, unassuming and spontaneous. We didn’t make it to Paradise but instead found tremendous pleasure in the company of each other. So much like the last 20 years of our lives.
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5:40
أحمد نذير بكداش: الشباشب والنجاسة
» ‎ Syria Planet

عندما كنت صغيرا, كان أبي يصرخ دائما بأنه لا يجوز إخراج شحاطة (شبشب) الحمام خارجه, أو النزول بالشحاطة الي الشارع ثم الرجوع إلا البيت وأستعمالها داخله. ……………………… لم أسمع كلامه.. إلا بعد أن فهمت الموضوع وهو أن الحمام نجس وإذا أستعملنا الشحاطة الخاصة به خارجه فهذا يؤدي الي تجنيس البيت كله, وكذلك بالنسبة للشارع فكلنا يعلم ما [...]
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5:40
qunfuz: Edinburgh
» ‎ Syria Planet

I read at the Edinburgh Book Festival on August 12th. It was a double event, shared between me and Mohammed Hanif, author of the Booker-longlisted novel “A Case of Exploding Mangoes.” Mohammed’s book is a tragi-comic detective story which references Marquez’s “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”; and the murderee is General Zia ul-Haqq. (General Musharraf quivers between impeachment and exile as I type). It was great to meet Mohammed, not least because he knows several of the journalists I used to work with in Pakistan. One evening he cooked me a chilli-rich meal. I hope we meet again.

The death that has hung heaviest over the last week is not Zia’s but Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s. It was even a death foretold: the Palestine National Theatre was at Edinburgh performing a play based on the Darwish poem “Jiddariyya”, which concerns mortality and the extinction of identity, and which he wrote after heart surgery. It was a new bout of heart surgery which killed him. Such are the Edinburgh crowds that I failed to see the play. I did see Sabry Hafez give a talk on Darwish, and how the extinction of identity is for Palestinians an immediately concrete threat beyond the universal problem of physical death: Darwish was from a family of ‘mutaselaleen’, Palestinians who crept back across the border into ethnically-cleansed Israel in the months following their expulsion in 1948, and as a result his name could not appear on school registers. I wish I’d seen the play. Also sold out was a film on three screens by Iranian director Abbas Kiastorami. It showed, apparently, a Shia passion play, a taaziyeh for the martyrdom of Hussain, performed in an Iranian village.

On these rainy islands, meanwhile, one of the many vibrant religions is minor-celebritism, in whose honour I will now namecheck those I saw scurrying between the damp tents of the Book Festival. Steven Berkoff (seen, from a distance, struggling into the authors’ toilet) was there. Stimulated by my numinous brush with his presence, I later bought a ticket to see his most famous play, “Greek”, performed by EMER Productions. The play retells the Oedipus myth in London’s East End, and examines, in addition to the obvious sexual-psychological issues, the self-hatred of the working class and its twisted British patriotism. It’s very funny, very stirring, and was very well produced by EMER.

Celebrities. TV presenter Gavin Esler brooded imperially in the author’s yurt. I shook the writer-on-Islam Ziauddin Sardar’s hand. At one point my friend Idrees (of [fanonite.org]) and I were discussing the corruption of the left when it was symbolically enacted before us: Tony Benn was approached by and then warmly shook hands with shaggy-haired patrician-nosed simplistic philosopher AC Grayling.

One minor celebrity that I saw isn’t a celebrity at all (doubtless to her infinite loss). I went to hear Agnes Owens read only because she was introduced by James Kelman, of whom more in a moment. I’d never heard of Agnes Owens in my life. But the three short stories she read were excellent: simply and elgantly told, well observed, funny, each creating from a single bare incident a breathing family or whole society in the hearer’s mind. Kelman’s introduction suggested that the reason I’d never heard of Owens may be related again to the silencing or denial of identity; her characters are Scottish and working class, and her subject matter is prosaic (meaning real). Kelman spoke of the invisible censorship and self-censorship imposed by institutional assumptions of what literature is, in which language it can be expressed, and what it is permitted to talk about. He felt that the problem for Scottish working class writers is most acute in Scotland itself.

And afterwards I shook James Kelman’s hand. I suppose he qualifies for the cult of celebritism because he won the Booker prize in 1994 but, not paying much attention to British arts pages, I hadn’t heard of him until three months ago. I read a review of “Kieron Smith, Boy”, and then read the novel, and was impressed by the consistency of the narrator’s voice. The narrator is a Glaswegian Protestant working class boy between eight and thirteen years old, sympathetic even as he internalises contradictory Scottish-British nationalism, racism, and sectarianism. He also questions what he learns, but not in an abstract way. He worries, because of his Fienian-sounding first name, that he might in fact be a Catholic, and then that God may be angry because he doesn’t cross himself. He worries about being Catholic in the way middle class English boys may worry about being homosexual. The politics in the novel is obvious but not once stated; it’s just life.

Then I read “How Late it Was, How Late”, the novel that won the Booker. It deserved to. The narrator here (although this isn’t simple, because there’s a strange and wonderful shifting between first and third person going on) wakes up blind and amnesiac after a beating by the police. He’s done plenty of time, is paranoid of all authority – very logically, hurts greatly in the most extreme of situations but is never sentimental. Not because Kelman isn’t sentimental but because the character has not an ounce of sentiment. It’s a bit like Kafka and quite a lot like some of Beckett, but for my money still more moving and much funnier. In the next few months I expect to read everything else he’s written. That happens every couple of years: you find a writer who you then must read all of. Tolstoy or Bellow or Kelman.

On my last night I went to a big theatre full of dressed-up people for music by Steve Reich and dancing choreographed by Anne De Keersmaeker. By the end I felt like running and jumping. It’s not often you get such a direct hit from art. Reich is one of the big minimalist composers. In the terms of traditional western classical music his is very repetitive indeed, but if you can learn how to listen you find all kinds of constantly changing rhythms and ideas. It’s like Moroccan drumming, and other African and Asian forms, and like the most intelligent drum and bass. I got lost in it. It had a very powerful but dual effect on the audience. Most were engrossed like me, and gave rapturous applause at the end. But many walked out angrily early on. Walk-outs are unusual in British high culture, are they not? And these walkers seemed the kind of people who, if you laugh in the right place during a Shakespeare play, shush you angrily, with tormented hyperculture expressions on their pale and drawn faces. The tickets were expensive. Did they not find out what they were going to see before they paid? Perhaps not. They clearly had very strong assumptions as to what kind of experience they could expect in the theatre. Which takes us back to Kelman’s point, and even to the attempted erasure of Darwish. Some experiences fit into ideological place; others don’t.
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5:40
التقانة العربية: هل موقعك كلمات فقط ؟! تأثير صياغة الكلمات على الموقع
» ‎ Syria Planet

يتم نشر هذه المقالات المترجمة بالاتفاق والتعاون مع موقع Gerry McGovern

By Gerry McGovern
الكلمات هي اللبنات الأساسية لبناء كل موقع. وبالتالي فإن الكلمات هي لبنات بناء الحضارة الحديثة.
في الآونة الأخيرة اُتهم باراك اوباما ،مرشح الرئاسة الأمريكية، بأنه يتحدث كثيرا بدون اي إجراءات واضحة، اي انه يجري الكثير من الكلام والقليل من المضمون. فأجاب :
“لا تقولوا لي انه لا أهمية للكلمات! هل عبارة ‘ لدي حلم ‘ مجرد كلمات؟ هل عبارة ‘ونحن نرى ان هذه الحقائق بديهية ، ان كل الناس خلقوا متساوين.’ مجرد كلمات؟ ‘ليس لدينا شيء لنخافه سوى الخوف في حد ذاته’ مجرد كلمات؟ مجرد خطب؟ ‘ (بالمناسبة – مع ان هذا ليس موضوع المقال هنا- الا ان اوباما قد “غش” هذه الأسطر من صديقه ديفال باترك!!)

الكلمات مهمة. وهي دائما كذلك وستبقى أيضا. بالنسبة لشبكة الإنترنت فإن الكلمات تهم أكثر.. أعني الكلمات الصحيحة.

والمشكلة هي ان هناك الكثير والكثير من الكلمات. بالنسبة لموقع الويب الخاص بك ، فهناك مجموعة صغيرة من الكلمات المهمة والتي تؤثر، وهناك مجموعة كبيرة من الكلمات الفظيعة التي لا تؤثر وليس لها أهمية.

كيف تستطيع ان تحكم إذا كانت كلمة معينة تؤثر أو لا؟ أنت لا تستطيع! في الحقيقة انه ليس لك ان تحكم وإنما هي وظيفة زوار موقعك –عملاء الموقع. عادة ما يكون زوار المواقع على درجة كبير من عدم الصبر، إنهم يبحثون ويستعرضون صفحات المواقع بسرعة، يبحثون عن الكلمات الصحيحة التي تناسب مطلبهم.

انك قد ترغب في التحدث والحوار عن “تغير المناخ” ، ولكن إذا كان زوار الموقع يبحثون عن “الاحترار العالمي” ، فلن يحالفك الحظ .
قد تكون في احد محلات الجينز من النوع “الضيق” ولكن إذا كان الزبائن يفضلون الجينز “النحيل” ، فلن يحالفك الحظ.

إذا كنت ترغب في تصميم موقع جديد على شبكة الانترنت ، فأول شيء يجب عليك ان تقرره هي الكلمات، قبل ان تفكر في التصميم، والبرامج.
اختيار الكلمات الصحيحة يأتي أولا. وبمجرد انتهائك من هذه المهمة، فأنت فعليا أنهيت منتصف الطريق.

ولكن الكلمات فعليا لا تأتي أولا ، أليس كذلك؟ معظم المواقع تكون مصممة من وجهة النظر التقنية أو الإبداع في التصميم. حتى انه قد لا يُعتبر اختيار الكلمات ولمحتوى من الاولويات . ان عملية كتابة المحتوى واختيار الكلمات المناسبة عادة يأتي في مرحلة متأخرة جدا من عملية إنشاء المواقع، بل أحيانا يتم الطلب من محرر الموقع ان يعبأ الكلمات في الأماكن الفارغة المعدة مسبقا ضمن الشكل الهيكل العام للموقع.

ببساطة الكلمات والمحتوى في الحقيقة من الأمور غير المحترمة. هل هناك فرق حقا بين :
“اشتري” أو “اشتر الآن”

“مزيد من المعلومات” أو “اطلب عرض تجريبي”

“العثور على موزع” أو “شراء : تحديد موقع المتجر”

“تسجيل الدخول” أو “الدخول”

هناك فرق… هناك فرق حقيقي. هناك فرق كبير. هناك فرق هائل. لقد رأيت بعض الحالات التي تضاعفت فيها المبيعات عن طريق تغيير من كلمتين. (لم يتم تغيير اي شيء آخر على الموقع الالكتروني.)

في معظم مواقع الانترنت فإن فرق العمل التي تعمل على محتوى الموقع أو تهتم بالكلمات المستخدمة تحصل على اهتمام واحترام قليل من محيطهم. مع انه إذا كنت تعمل مع الكلمات فأنت حرفيا تجلس على الذهب. المشكلة هي أنك تقوم ببيعها كشيء رخيص.

معظم الكتاب على شبكة الانترنت يعتقدون ان عملهم هو كتابة المقالات. ولكن ينبغي ان تكون أوسع وأعمق بكثير من ذلك. مم يتألف تصفح الموقع ؟ كلمات. ما هي الروابط على الموقع؟ كلمات. ما هي الطلبات على الموقع؟ كلمات.

لا شيء يمكن عمله على الشبكة العالمية دون الكلمات المكتوبة. لا التصفح. لا الروابط. لا التصنيف ، لا قوائم. لا طلبات أو برامج. لا شيء.

رابط المقال الأصلي

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5:40
البوستجّي: وسيم
» ‎ Syria Planet

في بلد يسود فيها الظلام و الظلم, أشرقت الشمس لمدة عشرة أيام

عشرة أيام, نسينا الدنيا و ما فيها, عشرة أيام, نسينا طعم الوحدة و الفراق

عشرة أيام, كل لحظة لها قصة جميلة, كتبناها من غير قلم أو حبر على ورق غير ملموس

قصص حفظت في النفوس و لا تقرأ الا بالقلوب

يا ترى هل سيعرف أحد عن هذه القصص؟ هذه اللحظات اللتي مضت كعمر؟

أنظر من نافذة القطار على محطة و كأنها هي تتحرك و أنا ثابت

أنظر لناس لا أعرفهم, يقفون و ينتظرون حياتهم ان تبدأ

ألا يعرفون أن الشمس سافرت منذ قليل؟ هيهات أن يفهمو و هيهات أن يكترثو حتى لو علمو بها

كيف لهم أن يعلمو بالشمس و قلوبهم مغلقة

و كأني سأشرح ما هو اللون الأحمر لمن ولد أعمى

و أنا أعيش في هذه البلد, بلد العميان

أذهبي من هنا يا أيتها الشمس الجميلة, فهذه الأرض خلقت لتكون معتمة

أذهبي و لا تعودي… و لكن خذيني معك…

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5:40
هلوسة و شخبرة: و عايفة الله و سماك
» ‎ Syria Planet

زياد و حضوره عالمسرح غير طبيعي . له هالة.. لا أعرف ما ذا أعطيهامن أسم..يكفي أن يدخل صوته على الأغنية ليرتعش رأسك و تغزو ابتسامة بلهاء على شفتيك.
المسرح كان على أهبة شرارة من الاشتعال. تترنح على أصابع زياد على مفاتيح البيانو.
المفاجأ لي أيضا أن النساء من بلغن اعتقد عمر الخمسين كانوا يقفون بين حين واخر ويلوحون لزياد...!! أو لنظرة من عينيه.:) و الزلمة تئيييييييييييييل.لا أعلم أن كان هو هكذا لكنه بدا واجما كئيبا نزقا بعض الشيء . وقد غادر المسرح لثلاث مرات . زياد ابدا استغرابه من حفظ الشباب لكلمات أغانيه حتى أخر سطر. اعتقد مخطئا أن الامانة تبالغ أن أي أغنية سينط عليها الجمهور. وأنهم تفوقوا على فرقته و عليه لأنهم يستعينون بالأوراق التي أمامهم و التي لو أضاعوها سيصعدوا عالمسرح صامتين.على كلن :ومتل ما قال:عايفة الله وسماك
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Permalink for 'Syria_Planet/2008/08/18/Syria_Comment__News_Round_Up__18_Aug._2008__'

5:40

Syria Comment: News Round Up (18 Aug. 2008)

» ‎ Syria Planet

Egypt and Saudi promise better relations with Syria: Alex writes:

Amr Moussa says he is expecting some promising developments that might lead to improved relations between Egypt/Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Mubarak and King Abdullah met and they claim that now that Syria is willing to have an ambassador in Lebanon, they might feel a bit more generous with Syria.

How sweet, and honest, of them.

وكان لإعلان بيروت ودمشق الاتفاق على تبادل التمثيل الديبلوماسي الكامل بينهما صدى في لقاءات الإسكندرية. ووصف السنيورة هذا الاعلان بالخطوة «المهمة (وتأتي) على المسار الصحيح»، ونقل عن مبارك «تأييده وتأييد مصر لكل عمل يؤدي إلى دعم العلاقات العربية - العربية وهذه خطوة على الطريق الصحيح». وتوقع موسى «تطورات إيجابية ستؤدي إلى نتائج إيجابية»، حين سئل عن ما إذا كان هناك تحسن في الأجواء بين القاهرة والرياض من جهة ودمشق من جهة أخرى.

Iran and Syria, in the role of Russia
Itamar Rabinovitch / Haaretz

Now that the fighting in Georgia has died down, policy shapers and pundits in the West are free to analyze the maneuvers and results, and draw lessons. The picture that emerges is a dismal one. Vladimir Putin's Russia exercised brutal force with the object of bringing a rebellious neighbor to its knees. The United States, which encouraged Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to defy Moscow, did not give him any real support. Former Soviet republics and satellites will now think twice before confronting Russia, or will be tempted to seek shelter beneath the cover of the U.S., NATO or the European Union. Oil is now much less likely to reach the Caspian Sea without Russia's involvement.

The Georgian crisis will have specific repercussions on the Middle East. There is less of a chance that the United States and Russia will be cooperating to stop Iran's nuclear program. There is a greater chance that Russia will wage a more ambitious and aggressive policy, including selling advanced weapons systems to Iran and Syria. There will also be a host of indirect repercussions. In this context, there is a striking similarity between the Russian move in the Caucasus, and Iran and Syria's move in Lebanon.

On May 7, an armed struggle broke out between Hezbollah and the so-called March 14 coalition, led by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The crisis was prompted by Siniora's refusal to put up with Hezbollah having its own nationwide communication network, another blatant blow to the Lebanese government's sovereignty. Hezbollah beat its rivals in the violent conflict, but refrained from extracting a military achievement, opting instead for political gains.

On May 23 a political compromise was reached in Doha, Qatar, enabling a new government led by Siniora, and letting the elected president, General Michel Suleiman, enter his post. In addition, Syria agreed, with French mediation, to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon, thereby obliquely recognizing it neighbor's independence and sovereignty. That understanding paved the way for Bashar Assad's invitation to the July 13 conference of the new Union for the Mediterranean, as an honored guest of France. …..

In early 2009, Israel will have to choose between a political response (from an Israeli standpoint, an agreement with Syria; from an American standpoint, dialogue with Syria and possibly Iran), and preparing to meet more serious challenges than the ones we faced in the summer of 2006.

The writer served as Israeli ambassador to the United States.

A third Syrian airline, The Damascus Pearl, is being established under the ownership of the Makhlouf family, the family of Assad's mother

تأسيس ثالث شركة طيران خاصة حملت اسم (لؤلؤة الشام) مملوكة من آل مخلوف

Syria: Maybe This Time for DSE
Oxford Business Group

The long delayed opening of the Damascus Stock Exchange (DSE) is again back on the table, though Syrian market watchers may be taking the news that trading will start within a few months with a pinch of salt. On August 11, Abdallah Dardari, Syria's deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said the Damascus bourse would be launched before the end of the year, whether or not all of the technical requirements had been put in place.

"Before the end of this year, even if it means trading on a chalk board, I told them they have to start dealing," Dardari said in an interview with Business International Middle East.

While this might sound like a firm commitment from one of the most senior ministers in the Syrian government, similar declarations of intent have been made annually since 2005, when the parliament ratified a series of regulations clearing the way for a stock market to be set up.

First scheduled for early 2006, the opening of the exchange was again announced for early and then late 2007, and again for the first half of this year. While few reasons have been given for the repeated postponements, Syria has struggled to gain access to the necessary technology to operate a modern stock market. This has mainly been due to the US embargo on Syria, first imposed in 2004. This has limited Syria's access to high tech computer equipment, including that needed to serve as the backbone for the stock exchange.

An example of this was the refusal by the Scandinavian exchange Nordic OMX, which was taken over by the investment arm of the government of Dubai in 2007, to provide the required technical assistance.

Today, with the apparent dawn of a new era of rapprochement following Damascus' opening of peace talks with Israel, improving ties with a number of Arab neighbors, its support for the forming of a national unity government in Lebanon and the warm welcome President Bashar Al Assad received from European leaders when he attended the Mediterranean Union summit in Paris in mid-July, this could change.

According to Faud Lahham, a management consultant who has advised on the stock exchange project, the Syria's market regulatory body - the Syrian Commission on Financial Markets and Securities - was in talks with both Jordan and Dubai about using their technology for the DSE.

Perhaps less optimistic than Dardari, Lahham told the Financial Times on July 7 that the stock market was on course to open at the beginning of 2009, with around 30 companies set to be listed…… One company that may be listed on the Damascus exchange is national flag carrier Syrian Air. Announcing plans for the airline to buy 50 aircraft from Airbus on August 13, Dardari said the restructuring and re-equipping of the company could be a preliminary to an initial public offering on the Damascus stock market.

Syria lures investment as Gulf countries ignore US sanctions
Massoud Derhally for Bloomberg
Monday, 18 August, 2008,

Foreign investment into Syria from the Gulf was about $750mn last year and may have exceeded $2bn annually over the past five years, said Abdallah Dardari, the country's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs

DAMASCUS: Abdallah Dardari, Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, has said his country is luring record foreign investment, mostly from oil-rich Arabian Gulf states, and that US sanctions have had a limited impact.

“I don’t think the US has managed to damp foreign direct investment,” Dardari said in an interview in Damascus last week. “Sanctions have failed, especially when they are unilateral.”….

Dardari said that funds from wealthy Arab states are compensating for a drop in oil production, helping push economic growth to about 6% this year, he said…..

Dardari’s growth forecast may prove optimistic, with the Economist Intelligence Unit estimating that growth will slow to 2.4% this year, from 4.3%, because of falling oil production and a poor harvest.

Oil output has declined to 385,000 bpd from a peak of 590,000 bpd in 1996.

Revenue from oil dropped to less than 4% of gross domestic product last year from 17% in 2004, Dardari said. Non-oil exports exceeded $12.5bn, compared with less than $1bn in 2000, spurred by regional demand for items such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, cotton and agricultural produce.

Rising inflation is also a challenge, forecast to accelerate to 16.8% in 2008 from 12.2% last year because of reductions in fuel subsidies and a 25% increase in government salaries and pensions, according to the EIU.

Reducing some of the fuel subsidies “has cooled an overheating economy in the first half of 2008 which helped reduce inflation rates contrary to what everyone thought,” Dardari said. “Raising the price of diesel reduced inflationary expectations and everyone realized the market will stabilise.”

To boost investment, in January of last year, Syria introduced a law allowing foreign investors to own or rent land and take profits out of the country in any currency…..

The government is also in the process of formulating a thorough value added tax regime that will be ready by the end of the year, Dardari said. The VAT will increase the government’s revenue with a limited impact on production and investment, according to the International Monetary Fund…..

Syria Receiving $3 Billion in Remittances, Central Banker Says
By Massoud A. Derhally

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Syria is receiving at least $3 billion a year from citizens living abroad and is considering its first sale of treasury bills to drain funds from the banking system, the central bank governor said.

“People are banking more, remittances are coming back and so financial institutions are looking for ways to use this liquidity,'' Adib Mayaleh said in an interview in Damascus today. Treasury bill sales would be “a way for us to control liquidity.''….

Clouds over Lebanon and Syria
The establishment of normal diplomatic relations between Syria and Lebanon is seen as a positive, but Syria's real intentions are still at issue.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
By Fady Noun in Spero News.

The Lebanese have received peacefully the news of an upcoming exchange of ambassadors between Lebanon and Syria, following a decision placed at the opening of the joint statement published at the end of the meeting between presidents Bashar el-Assad and Michel Sleiman (August 13-14). But no one is celebrating it. … Everyone wants to believe the good news, everyone wants to believe in the magic wand of the Doha agreement, but everyone is also asking how long these good relations will last. … Mr. Moallem has spoken of "privileged relations" between Lebanon and Syria, an expression that refers directly to an agreement of cooperation, coordination, and friendship imposed on Lebanon in 1991…

Syria continues to be a concern, notably because of its lack of transparency. This includes the country's refusal to mark the boundaries of the region of Shebaa, which is preventing Lebanon from reclaiming by diplomatic means the part of its territory occupied by Israel. Hezbollah's weapons and the organic relationship between Hezbollah and Iran, through Syria, are still a problem, in the eyes of many Lebanese….

Lebanon's Blended Border Zone: Demarcation of Syrian Line Will Disrupt Lives, Villagers Say
By Alia Ibrahim
Sunday, August 17, 2008; Page A17

KNAISSEH, Lebanon — For years, residents of this Lebanese village have slipped in and out of Syria over a border that was never officially marked. Even after Syria set up sand barricades in 2006 to stop smuggling, they found ways to make the journey. Last week, after agreeing to establish diplomatic ties for the first time in their complex history, the leaders of Lebanon and Syria announced that they will resume work on officially demarcating the border.
But the residents of Knaisseh say such talk means little to them.

"They could build walls. We would still find a way to cross to the other side," said Fadlallah Khodr, a shepherd and father of 10 who lives in Knaisseh. "It is a matter of survival. Half of my family lives on the other side. I cross there on a daily basis, to see them and to shop."

The villagers say any move toward formalizing the border would disrupt their lives. Like Khodr, many here have family and friends in Syria, and marriages between Syrians and Lebanese are common. The nearest major city, Homs, is a 30-minute motorbike trip away in Syria, closer than any large village on the Lebanese side.

Response to 9/11 Offers Outline of McCain Doctrine
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, August 16, 2008 , NYTimes

…. In a marathon of television and radio appearances after 9-11, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria.

“There is a system out there or network, and that network is going to have to be attacked,” Mr. McCain said the next morning on ABC News. “It isn’t just Afghanistan,” he added, on MSNBC. “I don’t think if you got bin Laden tomorrow that the threat has disappeared,” he said on CBS, pointing toward other countries in the Middle East….

As American troops massed in the Persian Gulf in early 2003, Mr. McCain grew impatient, his aides say, concerned that the White House was failing to act as the hot desert summer neared. Waiting, he warned in a speech in Washington, risked squandering the public and international support aroused by Sept. 11. “Does anyone really believe that the world’s will to contain Saddam won’t eventually collapse as utterly as it did in the 1990s?” Mr. McCain asked.

In retrospect, some of Mr. McCain’s critics now accuse him of looking for a pretext to justify the war. “McCain was hell-bent for leather: ‘Saddam Hussein is a bad guy, we have got to teach him, let’s send a message to the other people in the Middle East,’ ” said Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts…..

Lamia Shakour Lamia Youssef Shakour has been named the new Syrian Ambassador to France. Amb. Shakour is the daughter of Gen. Youssef Shakour who also served as Ambassador to France. Shakour has worked for the UN in New York and presently directs the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Kuwait. Mrs. Lamia Chakkour, Chief UN-HABITAT Kuwait.

For an interesting interview with Israel's Foreign Minister on the Georgia situation and whether Israel's soft stand toward Russia will win Russian good will in not arming Syria. [www.cjp.org]

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5:40
Ahmad Edilbi's Blog: Ahmad N Edilbi
» ‎ Syria Planet

وهي كما وردت في الطبعة الثالثة من كتاب “موسوعة الأسر الدمشقية” الصادرة عام 2008م ————————————————————– حرف الألف آغريبوظ / آقبيق / الآلوسي / أباظة / أبو جيب / أبو حرب / أبو الشامات / أبو شعر ( الصالحية ) / أبو شعر ( الميدان ) / أبو طوق / أبو قورة / أبو لبادة / أجليقين / الإدلبي / الأسطواني [...]
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5:40
مدونة سمسوم: samsoom
» ‎ Syria Planet

عتمتك أيها الليل الحزين تتسرب إلى أعماقي المرتعدة..

تذكرني بمئات الحواجز الحمقاء المزروعة في طريقي..

فتصيح الدموع الصديقة بأعلى صوتها..

سحقاً لقشور تتحكم بمصيرنا.. و لأناس يعيشون لأجل القشور..

آهٍ من لحظات الألم..

آهٍ من لحظات الانهيار..

2003-08-24

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Razanisms - رزانيّــــات: وأضاف زياد
» ‎ Syria Planet

«كنا جايين نسمّعكم… طلعنا عم نسمعلكم». وقبل ان يقول في امتنان انه بحث عن طريقة لشكر الجمهور ولم يجد، أراد قول شيء «بصراحة»، ليؤكد ان استثنائية الحفلة لا شك فيها، قال: «بصراحة ماني متوقع هيك شي… ولا شايف هيك شي من قبل».
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Dreaming of the Levant: Update on the FreeGaza boat - Israel's response
» ‎ Syria Planet

update here

“Defense officials favor forcefully blocking two boats, which a group of U.S.-based activists plan to sail to Gaza ... A position paper by the Foreign Ministry's legal department says Israel has the right to use force against the demonstrators as part of the Oslo Accords ... the Foreign Ministry's paper means that security forces could detain the vessels upon entry to Gaza's territorial waters, arrest the passengers and haul the ship to Israel, where the detainees could be interrogated.”

Even a boat with humanitarian supplies is too much for the Israeli state - also, the above goes to show that the Oslo accords were not worth the paper they were written on. I recall Robert Fisk voicing his objections to Oslo - namely that it does not settle the issues of the right of return, halting the building of settlements, final borders or even control of coast or airspace
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Mohammad Online: خدمة ” القرّاء يدوّنون ” جديد مدوّنتي ..
» ‎ Syria Planet

راودتني كثيراً فكرة أن يقوم القرّاء بالمشاركة في التدوين في مدونتي و خصوصاً بعد أن جاءتني رسائل تطلب مني المشاركة في الكتابة أو إرشادهم إلى مواقع تقدم خدمة المدونات، و قد يعود ذلك إما لعدم إمتلاكهم مدونات أو لأنهم يرغبون بمشاركة كتاباتهم مع الآخرين و تحقيق قراءة واسعة لما يكتبونه ، علماً أن معظم المواقع [...]
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انا بموت على حلب:
» ‎ Syria Planet

Probably the coolest thing I’ve seen in Syria so far has been the book fair that just closed on Friday-thousands of books in hundreds of tents, all packed into a few blocks. I went at least seven times, I bought over twenty books and I spent the whole month’s worth of budget in a week. At first, I found the effort of reading titles of books in Arabic exhausting. Figuring out what books looked good and what looked like a waste of time actually took time. With help from my classmates and teachers, I managed to amass a list of authors and titles that should keep me engaged and entertained. The books are exciting, but the fair itself was breat

A Peek into Others' mind » August 18, 2008

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