Off topic, but hardcore feminists have always been one of my pet peeves!

Cinnamon
Freekeh - What’s the English word for it… cracked wheat?
Cardamom (hail)
Jameed

People who are:
Mean
Rude
Arrogant
Ignorant
Inconsiderate
Negative

Rap

The sound of:
gum cracking
slurping
chewing
nail clipping
typing (when others do it!)
Snoring
Swearing

to be continued…

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.
~ (Rita Mae Brown)

;)

I read about this in the past, and recently read about it in Jerusalem post. With all the positive media coverage Israel continues to receive, their PR campaigns never end…”An Israeli company developed a type of software that functions like a beeper from one central place. They send alerts and anyone who downloads the software gets a pop-up with links to an activity. It can be to vote for Israel in a CNN survey or react to an especially nasty article. We still have a long way to go, but this is our future.”

Is there anything of such related to Arab/Muslim issues that I’m not aware of? We seriously should consider developing counter software that will work as an alert to all Arab/Muslim related issues in the Media. I wish I had the capability to do that, but all I can do is write up the specs for it. (Read on …)

A new poll has revealed that Fatah is now the most popular Palestinian faction. The poll, published by the General Information Commission - a national body under the command of the Palestinian Authority, shows that Fatah received 37 percent of the vote, followed by Hamas with 23 percent. 1,742 randomly chosen Palestinian citizens participated in the poll, which was conducted in all provinces of the occupied Palestinian territories from 13th - 19th November.

These may very well include those who voted Hamas into the government last Januray…since then, 60% believe that the economic situation has deteriorated, 76.2 said the political situation has worsened. 58% said that Hamas’ fire-crackers from Gaza into israel does not serve the Palestinians’ interest and 56.9% said the establishment of a Palestinian state will come through negotiations. Speaking of negotiations, Olmert is extending his hand out to the Palestinians in hopes of it not returned empty, yet at the same time is asking Palestinians to relinquish their demand for the right of return! Reality says that israel is not going anywhere anytime soon, if ever…As a Palestinian I would love to see real peace… and as Abu Rudaineh - Abbas’s spokesman said: “The only way to achieve peace is by implementing the road map and the Arab peace initiative, and not by coming up with new initiatives. We need serious negotiations and actions, not only words.”

I try to place myself in the shoes of those people that I like to call bums scattered all over downtown with signs begging for money, but I really can’t. I believe every person out there, no matter how challenged his/her life may be is capable of earning a living by working, even if it means sweeping the streets. It really infurirates me seeing beggers all over the streets. what has brought them to such stage? are they neglected by society? I don’t know. I try to help them by offering food, but they almost always refuse; and instead insist on wanting money…which makes me believe that - contrary to what the sign they’re holding up says - they’re not hungry for food, they’re hungry to support their dirty habit of either drugs or alcohol or a combination of both.

Today my experience with one of ‘those bums’ was a bit different; it served as a reminder for me to remind others that they, too, are capable of making someone ‘happy’ today!

(Taken in Jerusalem Mall in 2002)

By the way, this is a typical scene back home, especially in Jerusalem… walking down the streets of Jerusalem, you will definitely walk past settlers carrying machine guns…even young boys and girls walk around with machine guns as if they’re purses or back-packs! I remember the first time I walked past one, I had to hold on tight to Maryam! At first, it’s pretty strange and very scary… but it doesn’t take long to get used to it and quickly becomes a very natural thing! pretty sad, isn’t it!

she asked “Do you ever get to a point where you can hear your thoughts so clearly that you start to annoy yourself??”

So, do I?

Do you?

Sahar & Sima are wonderful…I love their work…but they were extremely busy today and so didn’t give my hair the attention it’s worthy of… End result: I don’t like how my hair turned out…

Thanks… your prayers came true … well, half true!

Most Americans say rudeness and disrespect are a serious problem in society and that the situation is getting worse. Four in 10 are willing to accept some of the blame themselves. Nearly half say they have walked out of a store because of bad service, although two-thirds say they rarely complain. (I’m included in those two-thirds by the way ) Although this study was done back in 2002, I’d say that probably not much has changed…

So, what is the rudest thing you’ve done so far?

Effective Sunday 6 a.m. This will end the 5-month israeli military offensive and the firing of rockets by Hamas… in other words, Hamas will stop setting off fire crackers from Gaza onto israel and israel in return will stop the shelling, bombing, destruction and killings of Palestinian homes and people.

“There is a signed agreement between the president and Prime Minister (Ismail) Haniyeh and all the Palestinian factions to resort to the agreement of the factions in Cairo in 2005, including ceasing all the military activity from Gaza, starting from Sunday morning,” Abu Rdeneh said. “The Israeli prime minister has agreed, and it is going to start tomorrow morning.”[source]

Let’s see how different this is going to be from all other previous cease-fire agreements!