Thank You !

Still there is HOPE !

مطلوب .. ابداع جماعي

سبق ان تحدثنا عن مشروع دعم الأيتام في العراق. ولمن لم يكن معنا حينها ستجد التفاصيل هنا

ومنذ ذلك اليوم وبفضل مجهود الكثير منكم بدأ المشروع بأخذ شكل رسمي ونحن بانتظار بعض اللمسات الأخيرة ليرى المشروع النور

ولدي طلب خاص منكم .. وهو المساهمة في اختيار شعار المشروع أو الحملة ، أسمها و رمزها .. أنا متأكدة أننا معا سنصل لأفكار مبدعة ومميزة

Name, Slogan & Logo

الشروط بسيطة .. البساطة ، التميز ، البعد عن أي نكهة دينية أو سياسية أو عرقية

الهدف .. أن تصل فكرة المسؤولية الانسانية تجاه الأطفال

من لديه موهبة الرسم أو التصوير فهو مدعو لارسال المساهمات والأفكار مباشرة الي بريدي اللكتروني وسأعرضها أدناه لتكون الهاما للآخرين

شكرا مقدما

تساؤلات رمضانية

اعتذر مقدما لعدم إدراجي لمراجع للمعلومات المذكورة أدناه. إذ لم يحالفني الحظ إيجاد أي منها على الانترنت . لذا يرجى اعتبار التالي مجرد تساؤلات وليس أطروحة أكاديمية. كما إنني لا أملك إجابات مقنعة للأسئلة .. فالباب مفتوح للنقاش و"الفتوى" في حدود احترام الآخر وكافة المعتقدات والآراء

عند تقلد السلطة أنشأ خاتمي " مركز حوار الحضارات" والذي تبنى عدة مبادرات بغرض تحفيز الحوار والتقارب بين الشعوب والثقافات والحضارات. وأحد تلك المبادرات تشجيع محاولات تطبيق الفلسفات الغربية في تفهم أو إعادة قراءة القرآن والنصوص القدسية الإسلامية. ونتج عن ذلك العديد من الدراسات والحوارات الفلسفية تحت عنوان " التفسير الرمزي للنصوص القرآنية" - الترجمة قد لا تكون دقيقة

تطورت الدراسات على أيد علماء مسلمين وبمباركة الحكومة الإيرانية آنذاك لمناقشة احتمالات التفسيرات الرمزية للقرآن وهو ليس بالجديد في الفلسفة الإسلامية. فالصوفية وغيرهم ناقشوا منذ قرون مثلا ما إذا كانت "يد الله" تشير إلى يد فعلية أم مجرد تعبير مجازي. ولكن المثير في الجدالات الإيرانية الفرنسية أن وصلت لبحث إمكانية التفسير الرمزي الكلي للقرآن بما في ذلك القصص القرآني مثل قصة آدم وحواء أو نوح وغيرها

المؤسف أن تلك الحوارات توقفت (واختفت من الانترنت) بعد استلام المحافظين مقاليد الحكم

السؤال: ماذا لو كانت قصص القرآن كلها قصص رمزية وليس توثيق مباشر لوقائع تاريخية؟ كيف سيؤثر ذلك على المفاهيم الاسلامية؟ هل سيكون لذلك أي أثر على الحياة اليومية؟ كيف؟

أول سورة نزلت على الرسول هي سورة العلق ثم القلم فالمزمل فالمدثر فالفاتحة .. الخ ، في حين أن آخر سور نزلت هي المائدة فالتوبة فالنصر التي كانت في حجة الوداع. هذا الترتيب الزمني للنزول مختلف تماما عن ترتيب السور في القرآن الذي يبدأ بالفاتحة فالبقرة فآل عمران .. الخ

السؤال: ما هو أساس ترتيب سور القرآن أن لم يكن زمن النزول؟ ومن وضع هذا الترتيب – علما بأن القرآن لم يدون إلا بعد وفاة الرسول. ؟ ولماذا؟

بعض السور خليط من آيات مدنية ومكية. مثال: سورة القلم مكية ولكن آياتها 17: 33 و 48: 50 مدنية. سورة الأنفال مدنية وآياتها 30 :36 مكية. وما تذكره كتب التاريخ أن الوحي كان يهبط على الرسول في فترات متفاوتة حسب الحاجة أو الموقف. ولا يوجد ما يشير إلى أن جبريل قد أعطى الرسول أسماء للسور.

أسئلة كثيرة هنا: من أعطى السور أسماءها؟ كيف عرف الرسول بداية السورة ونهايتها؟ كيف يمكن لنفس السورة أن تهبط في موقعين مختلفين خصوصا قبل الهجرة- مثال سورة القلم

وعشان خاطر ارتفل .. هذا ترتيب السور حسب النزول كما أهداني اياه أحد الباحثين منذ زمن بعيد. اعتذر عن الخطأ ان وجد

العلق - القلم - المزمل - المدثر - الفاتحة - المسد - التكوير - الأعلى - الليل - الفجر - الضحى - الشرح- العصر - العاديات - الكوثر - التكاثر - الماعون - الكافرون - الفيل - الفلق - الناس - الاخلاص - النجم - عبس - القدر - الشمس - البروج - التين - قريش - القارعة - القيامة- الهمزة - المرسلات - ق - البلد - الطارق - القمر - ص - الأعراف - الجن- يس - الفرقان- فاطر -مريم - طه- الواقعة- الشعراء- النمل- القصص- الاسراء- يونس- هود- يوسف- الحجر- الأنعام- الصافات- لقمان- سبأ- الرمز- غافر- فصلت - الشورى- الزخرف- الدخان - الجاثية - الاحقاق - الذاريات - الغاشية - الكهف - النحل - نوح - الابراهيم - الأنبياء- المؤمنون - السجده - الطور الملك - الحاقة - المعارج - النبأ - النازعات - الانفطار - الانشقاق- الروم - العنكبوت - المطففين - البقرة - الأنفال - آل عمران - الأحزاب - الممتحنه - النساء - الزلزلة - الحديد - محمد - الرعد - الرحمن - الانسان - الطلاق - البينة - الحشر - النور الحج - المنافقون - المجادلة - الحجرات - التحريم - التغابن - الصف - الجمعه - الفتح - المائده - التوبه - النصر

Let’s Do Something Positive !

UPDATE

Thank you to all of you who supported the idea and offered to help. With everybody's input we
are planning an interesting campaign to assure safe and effective help to the Iraqi orphans.
Participation in the planning is open to eveybody. If you're interested, please e-mail me.

Once the campaign is final and ready for launch, I will post that immediatly for your help and participation :)

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of complaining about our political and social messes. I am also fed up with our narrow local focus. So, it’s time to broaden our scope and do something positive.


I don’t know Fernas, but I totally support his invitation to do something for the orphans in Iraq.




The story is not new:


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/18/eveningnews/main2946007.shtml


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6769077.stm




But most reactions and actions I read about are from Western societies and institutions.




Ramadan is coming .. Let’s DO something !

Deadends !!

I apologize upfront for the length of this blog, but I wanted to give you the FULL picture ;)

Many parents, like myself, gave up on the Government services and turned to the privately provided services to assure our kids the best education and health services. But the government seems eager to maintain equity in suffering:


(1) Back in late June I received this e-mail as one of the parents of BBS students.

FROM: Katherine Phillips, Al-Bayan Bilingual School Middle School Deputy Principal, Kuwait
US PASSPORT NUMBER: XXXX9279 --- contact ISR if needed.
TO: Whom It May Concern
DATE: June 21, 2007
RE: Detained in Kuwait/In Fear for My Safety

I am a Middle School Vice-Principal at Al-Bayan Bilingual School in Kuwait. I have been employed in Kuwait for 6 years at the same school. One of my primary responsibilities is student discipline. On March 8, 2006, three boys in grade 5 were suspended for fighting. I interviewed the boys, met with my principal and followed normal procedure. There is no stigma here regarding suspension. Students spend the day in the office where they study, are visited by teachers, and are taken to the canteen, etc. It's a normal consequence for fighting; all students are aware of this and the procedure is clearly defined in our Parent Handbook.

In the afternoon of March 8th, I received a phone call from one of the boys' fathers, Mr. Fawaz Khalid Al Marzouq, who is a powerful man in Kuwait. He called to inform me that this situation was "personal," that he is "friends with the emir" and that he planned to "destroy" me. This conversation, which lasted about 9 minutes, was littered with profanities and threats. On March 11, 2006, the parents met with me, my principal and our director, Dr. Brian McCauley, to discuss the suspension. The father requested that if there was an issue involving his child that I would call him immediately. On April 27, 2006, I was requested to write a synopsis of events and to visit the Ministry of Education to answer questions regarding the suspension, describe the room in which the boys spent the school day and provide a copy of our handbook. In June 2006, the father transferred his children to a different private school in Kuwait. Also, we received notification from the Ministry of Education that in-school suspensions were no longer to be applied; instead, parents must be contacted to take their children home.

In February 2007, I learned that a case had been filed against me at the Jabriya Police Department in Kuwait; the charge was "illegal detainment" of his son on March 8, 2006. I answered questions in my director's presence and the Consul from the US Embassy, Mr. Sonny Busa. My lawyer was also present. The police did not suggest that there was any reason for me to be concerned as all of the questions were answered to the apparent satisfaction. On June 13, 2007, I was at the Kuwait International Airport intending to fly to Bahrain. I was stopped at immigration where I was informed that there was a case against me, pending further investigation and that a travel ban had been placed on me. I had not been informed. My lawyer had not been informed. This travel ban was placed upon me 15 months after the boy was suspended. The parent said that he would make this personal and this seems to be what he is intent upon doing.

On Saturday, June 16, 2007, I visited the American Embassy where I met with the Vice Consul, Mr. Jared Caplan, who informed me that he sympathized but could do nothing to lift the travel ban. He suggested that I get an older Kuwaiti man to appeal to Mr. Marzouq. I was told on Wednesday that my file would be transferred to another agency for review so the ban could be lifted. Five working days later, the whereabouts of my file are uncertain. I have been told that my file is in 2 different places; this seems to be a delay tactic. Why? Because I angered an influential Kuwaiti national who is at the top of the social register both locally and at the US Embassy? On I visited the office of a police inspector named Falah Al Otaibi, whose office is in Salmiya. He is a police official who was to evaluate my file and determine if I could leave or not. He stated that he didn't have my file. I visited him on June 17th and 18th. On June 18th, not five minutes after I left his office with my director, the Business Officer of my school and another school representative, I called Mr. Jared Caplan, Vice-Consul at the US Embassy to gain his insight into the situation and to see if any progress had been made to help me leave. He was completely aware of my visit to Mr. Al Otaibi's office and instructed that I not return as it "interfered."

Several Kuwaiti families are aware of my situation but they are not in a position to help or they don't want to get involved. They have ALL said that I should go to my embassy because my embassy can help me. The fact that the embassy can't seems shocking to everyone. Many people also question why this accusation from Mr. Marzouk is placed solely on me - not the school, not the principal, not the director of school. I feel that I am being used as an example because I am a single, American woman and he wants to show others that he can do what he said which is to "destroy" me. Yesterday, June 20, 2007, I received a paper from Mr. Al Otaibi's office in Salmiya which lifted the travel ban. This waiver had been granted by the Kuwait Minister of the Interior. Not long after the Minister released me, he reverted his decision at the request of the Marzouq family or his representatives. I went to the airport last night, only to learn that I couldn't leave. I am in fear for my safety. If the Embassy can't help me, then who can? I contacted the FBI in Riyad, Saudi Arabia yesterday and talked to "Mike" who couldn't give me his last name. He was non-committal but did suggest that he thought the embassy should be able to get me out. Mr. Sonny Busa has informed me that they are "working on it." That seems a little vague and I am not sure if the US Embassy completely realizes the level of danger that I feel that I am in. Why does Mr. Marzouq want me in Kuwait during the summer when no one from my school will be in country to offer their support? To make me feel vulnerable? He is well-connected and his friends are supporting his mission to damage me in any way that he can. What's next? I do not feel safe. I am not safe. I need someone from the US to acknowledge the urgency of my situation and coordinate my release. I committed no crime. I am simply the victim of "wasta" which roughly translates into "influence/pressure" at a high level.


I called some of the school officials and they confirmed the story. Many Kuwaiti politicians and businessmen tried their best to help and they all failed. Finally the matter reached the Prime Minster. He, after a long struggle, managed to get her out of the country. And rumor has it that the Father is suing the government for interfering with the Court procedures!!

Needless to say, she is not coming back and this is the reaction among the expatriates teachers’ society:

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTA4Mzg3MTM5OQ



(2) Ministry of Education insisted on spreading its success onto the private education by forcing its curriculum on those schools. So, in addition to the typical Arabic, Islamic Studies and Social Studies they have added a special curriculum for Quran. This of course had to be slotted in at the expense of Science and Math hours that gave the good schools international accreditation.


(3) Finally, the MOE became eager to share its management successes too and has announced that within the next 3 years they expect all private school to have 100% Kuwaiti Management!!!



My questions are:

1. Why?!!
2. How can we stop this mess?
3. What do I do with my kids?

The Secret

The basic idea behind The Secret is the Law of ِِAttraction which, based on simple quantum physics, states that our reality is a manifestation of our thoughts which are basically electromagnetic fields or signals and, as with any field, our thoughts attract other fields with compatible polarity. In short, our thoughts (both conscience and unconscious) create our reality.

When your thoughts are negative (e.g. fear, anxiety, depression) you tend to draw more misery to yourself. For example if you worry about illness or debt or unemployment it will come to you! Something like what the Egyptian say (اللي يخاف من الجن يطلع له). Or as someone on the DVD said “what you think about comes about”. Or, on the flip side, “what you resist persists “.

Thus the first advice is to keep feeling good and surrounding yourself with things that give you positive thoughts (كن جميلا ترى الوجود جميلا).

When you emit positive energy you will attract more positive energy from the universe and hence your reality becomes better. Pets, music and children have been shown as effective tools of changing mindset to a more positive frequency.

Two main processes play a role in playing the Law of Attraction to your advantage: Gratitude and Visualization. Gratitude (being grateful for the things you have) works in several ways, but mainly it makes you feel better by focusing on what you have rather than what you miss and hence sets your mind into a more positive mood that will attract more positive reality for you (وأن شكرتم لأزيدنكم).

MRI shows that the body cannot really distinguish between reality and imagination. If you imagine something, your brain and body will react as if it was a reality. Visualizing is the process of living your dream (or wants) because “If you are there in your mind, you will go in your body” and once you are tuned in body and mind on what you want it will materialize.

The creative process of creating your day is the basic principle of any religion: (1) Ask, (2) Believe and (3) Receive, with emphasis on Gratitude and focus on the end result and not the how’s. You can Ask in formal or informal prayers to any God you believe in or simply to the energy of the Universe or yourself. In all cases, it has to be to something you really Believe in. The belief will allow you to Receive because you know you are worth it!

This is a summary of what I got from the DVD, I will leave it to you to question and learn more.

Time for Change !

I’m done with school work and totally burnt out. So I take a 3-day vacation with my kids and leave our home to the sea. I spent 3 days without the laptop, the mobile phone, newspapers, TV or any connection with the “outer world”. I had a DVD and a book that I randomly selected from the pile of books and documentaries I kept for when the time is right!


The kids and I were determined to have a great time and we did. The weather was unbelievably beautiful. I spent the day on the beach reading my book and watching the kids swimming and building their perfect little city in sand. Needless to say, I loved the book! I couldn’t put it down.

As I read, I thought “what a perfect timing!!” Then I watched the DVD, with my kids, and I was certain this was no coincident. It is time for CHANGE!








I will write in details later about both The Secret and The Zahir. But what I wanted to share with you for now is my new revelation. I was wise staying out of politics. I was smart focusing on my home and children and what really matter to ME. It was correct to assume that there is hope in everything and everybody. And I was right seeking what really makes me happy. I was on the right track and lost my way. And now the universe is conspiring to lead me back on track.

Both the book and the DVD address, through different approaches, address how we trap ourselves into patterns of thinking that bring us depression, misfortune, and anxiety. The irony is that we create these patterns in search of HAPPINESS. Once you get the courage to break these patterns, the WORLD changes.

The great thing is that this is not philosophy or psychology; it’s Quantum Physics!

I will be explaining more about that, but for now I just wanted to promise you: No more wining, no more bad news and no more “cursing the dark”. I will either light a candle, or give you a smile or simply shut up!

Bada3o Shabab El Kuwait :*

Update!

This is the whole thing :)

Click Here for the complete session of the Kuwait National Democratic Alliance (Tahalof)

Sign the petition

No Comment !

Al-Rai Al-Aam, March 28, 2007

The Inconvenient Truth

Did you like these nature snapshots? Do you know that within your age span this is all what will be left of nature .. snapshots!

This was my first weekend without school work and tight deadlines. So I began working on many projects that have been shelved for a while. One of them was watching Al Gore Documentary on Global Warming.

I watched the whole documentary with my kids thinking “I know it all” but good educational DVD for my kids. But I was wrong!! I was shocked of how little I knew on the threat and impact of Global Warming.

The documentary is a wake up call reinforced with hard facts and undisputable evidence. It is easy to follow and great for kids and adults the same. Yet, don’t watch it if you are not willing to take action!

The documentary basically connects the dots. Why are we having strange diseases lately like SARS and Avian Flu? Why are old and basically extinct ones like Cholera and Smallpox are coming back aggressively?

Most importantly, what is the reason behind the changes in the climate patterns, the increase of intensity and frequency of floods and tornadoes and the melting North and South Poles? Why certain insects and parasites like mosquitoes, lice and fleas are are increasing? Why are my favorite animals the Polar Bears are drowning in the North Pole?

The answer to that all is Global Warming and our conscious and unconscious contribution to it. Most scary is that the threat is no longer to the “future generations” .. the treat is to us now and here. Earth as we know it, will vanish in less than 50 years!

The good news is that this is reversible and we can do something about it. Watch the documentary and TAKE ACTION !!

Divide and Conquer

I was planning to have a fun post this time to celebrate the end of my school work and gaining my Masters. But my terrorist kids would not allow me ;)

My favorite son A. Temi, brought this article to my attention:

The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefiting our enemies in the war on terrorism? by Seymour M. Hersh.

I don’t want to spoil your fun reading it, but in short the author provides a detailed and supported account of the otherwise notion that we are being led to a bloody sectarian war to serve the interests of the US, KSA and Iran.

To tease your appetite to read the article, here are few quotes:

“The Saudis and some in the Administration have been arguing that the biggest threat is Iran and the Sunni radicals are the lesser enemies. This is a victory for the Saudi line.”

“The Administration is trying to make a case that Iran is more dangerous and more provocative than the Sunni insurgents to American interests in Iraq, when—if you look at the actual casualty numbers—the punishment inflicted on America by the Sunnis is greater by an order of magnitude,” Leverett said.

“The Saudis still see the world through the days of the Ottoman Empire, when Sunni Muslims ruled the roost and the Shiites were the lowest class,” Frederic Hof, a retired military officer who is an expert on the Middle East, told me

Nasr went on, “The Saudis have considerable financial means, and have deep relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis”—Sunni extremists who view Shiites as apostates. “The last time Iran was a threat, the Saudis were able to mobilize the worst kinds of Islamic radicals. Once you get them out of the box, you can’t put them back.”

This time, the U.S. government consultant told me, Bandar and other Saudis have assured the White House that “they will keep a very close eye on the religious fundamentalists. Their message to us was ‘We’ve created this movement, and we can control it.’ It’s not that we don’t want the Salafis to throw bombs; it’s who they throw them at—Hezbollah, Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran, and at the Syrians, if they continue to work with Hezbollah and Iran.”
In quoting Hassan Nasrallah - Partition would leave Israel surrounded by “small tranquil states,” he said. “I can assure you that the Saudi kingdom will also be divided, and the issue will reach to North African states. There will be small ethnic and confessional states,” he said. “In other words, Israel will be the most important and the strongest state in a region that has been partitioned into ethnic and confessional states that are in agreement with each other. This is the new Middle East.”


Robert Baer, a former longtime C.I.A. agent in Lebanon, has been a severe critic of Hezbollah and has warned of its links to Iranian-sponsored terrorism. But now, he told me, “we’ve got Sunni Arabs preparing for cataclysmic conflict, and we will need somebody to protect the Christians in Lebanon. It used to be the French and the United States who would do it, and now it’s going to be Nasrallah and the Shiites.

Most members of the intelligence and diplomatic communities acknowledge Hezbollah’s ongoing ties to Iran. But there is disagreement about the extent to which Nasrallah would put aside Hezbollah’s interests in favor of Iran’s. A former C.I.A. officer who also served in Lebanon called Nasrallah “a Lebanese phenomenon,” adding, “Yes, he’s aided by Iran and Syria, but Hezbollah’s gone beyond that.”



The idea is that it is in the interest of all the big players in the region for us to break down into fighting and independent racial and religious groups. BUT, neither of those players gives a damn about us. The only thing we have to survive is our UNITY. Our unity and consolidation saved us before and will save us in the future.

Who dares ?!

Who Is Next ?

حيوانات تجارب أم أغبياء؟

انقطعت منذ فترة ليست بقصيرة عن متابعة الأخبار والمشاركة في المدونات لانشغالي بالدراسة والعمل والبيت وغيرها من متع الحياة الدنيا .. ولكن هذا الموضوع اثارني على عدة اصعدة مما دفعني للكتابة لأستطلع آراءكم

الهندسة الوراثية من أكثر المواضيع اثارة للجدل حول العالم لما لها من أثار وتوابع انسانية وصحية واقتصادية وسياسية! ورغم التاريخ المديد نسبيا لهذا العلم الا انه لم يصل بعد لمرحلة الوضوح والاستقرار خصوصا في الجوانب المتعلقة بالبحث العلمي ، اخلاقيات البحث والاستخدام ، الآثار بعيدة الأمد وغيرها من القضايا التي مازالت تحت البحث والجدل على كل المستويات

ومن أهم تطبيقات الهندسة الوراثية هو استخدامها في مجالات الزراعة وتحسين المنتجات الزراعية. اذا يقوم العلماء بتغيير جينات البذور لتتمتع بقدرة أكبر على مقاومة الحشرات والآفات الزراعية والمناخ القاسي. وحيث ان المحاصيل المعدلة جينيا لا تحتاج الصيانة المعتادة من المزارعين فانها على الأغلب أرخص ونسبيا أكبر حجما وأجمل شكلا. من اهم المحاصيل المعدلة جينيا الارز ، القمح ، الذرة والصويا وأعلاف الماشية

المشكلة ان تغيير الجينات عملية عشوائية، اذ ينجح العلماء بالتجربة والخطأ ودون دراية كاملة بنتائج التغييرعلى المدى القصير أو البعيد. كما ان العملية تخرج عن نطاق سيطرتهم حين تتلقح النباتات المعدلة بالأخرى الطبيعية بالتلقيح الطبيعي (الهواء ، الحشرات ..الخ). النتيجة كيمياء غريبة للمنتجات الزراعية لا يتعرف عليها جهازنا الهضمي أو غيره من أجهزتنا الحيوية. التجارب على فئران المختبرات تثبت ان تلك المنتجات تسبب أشكال مختلفة من الحساسية والأمراض الجليدية وأمراض المناعة والسرطان. الأخر ان تلك التغييرات الجينية قد تنتقل للبكتيريا مسببة أنواع جديدة من الميكروبات التي لا تؤثر فيها المضادات الحيوية الحالية. مما يهدد البشرية بأمراض وأوبئة لا يحمد عقباها

المنتجات المعدلة جينيا محظورة ضمن دول الاتحاد الأوربي والولايات المتحدة. لذا انتقل تسويقها الى الأسواق الصينية والهندية وغيرها. ولكن وعي تلك الشعوب وضع حدا لانتشار تلك المنتجات في دولهم. النتيجة المؤسفة … انتقل التسويق لأسواق الشرق الأوسط!! ومسوقي تلك المنتجات من كبار شركات الأغذية مثل نستلة وكويكرز وأمريكان جاردن غيرهم

جماعة السلام الأخضر أجرت مسحا لأسواق الخليج مؤخرا واكتشفت العديد من المنتجات الملوثه بالذرة والقمح والأرز الملوث جينيا في أسواق الكويت والأمارات وقطر. فماذا كان رد فعل الساسة وأولي الأمر؟ الأهم ما هو رد فعل الشعوب؟ الصحافة؟ مجلس الأمة؟ حتى الآن .. لا شيء يذكر

هل وصلنا مرحلة من التخلف وعدم الاكتراث لتسبقنا الصين والهند ودول العالم التي تعيش مجاعة حقيقية في وعيها البيئي؟ هل نحن حيوانات التجارب الجدد للهندسة الوراثية؟ أم هو ببساطة جشع التجار وتواطئ الساسة؟

Way to go Jimmy!

He might not be the most popular American president in the Middle East, especially after his role in the Camp David Peace Treaty, but right now he deserves our support!

I won’t guess much about his motives, but it is fair to say that Jimmy Carter’s latest book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid was a definite act of courage. It is an unprecedented act of a former American President to publicly denounce the Israelis and the Israeli government. His book is a detailed account of how the Israeli government is hindering the peace process and encouraging terrorist retaliation. The book also highlights the double standards by which Israel runs its “State” and the Occupied Territory.

Not surprisingly, the Zionist Lobby in the US is going crazy over the book. He is publicly and personally attacked. He’s been labeled as anti-Semitic, terrorist and fundamentalist. Some have clearly accused him of promoting and justifying suicide bombing. For the past few weeks, there has not been a single talk show that did not attack him for the book. He actually revised the second edition of the book to delete a sentence that “might be understood as support for terrorism”.

Though the book has a clear “religious” flavor, it is a complete historical review since the Intifada. It is the first time ever that an ex-president has the guts to tell things from the “other” perspective.

I truly believe that we should show Jimmy Carter some support as opposed to the attack he’s receiving from the other side. Irrespective of his motives or history, it takes real courage to stand against the Israeli lobby at the most unpopular times.

So, I suggest that we promote the book, buy multiple copies and write to Jimmy for support at:

The Carter Center
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307

E-mail: carterweb@emory.edu

Hope you enjoy the book!

To you ...

I received this in my e-mail box and I thought you might like it ..

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you think that seeing you in pain, would not bring a tear to me!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you think I don’t remember the first time we met!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you don’t see the thousand ways I try to make you happy!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you don’t realize how your smile brightens up my day!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you have to ask me for favors!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you think I would not be curious to know your new philosophy of life!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you go by what I say and do not understand what I don’t say!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you think that listening to your dreams would put me to sleep!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you would rather keep quiet when you really wanna talk!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you hesitate to ask me to stay back when you think we should be together!

I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND IF …
you take too much time to tell me what I mean to you!

أبغض الحلال

تعد معدلات الطلاق في الكويت من الأعلى عالميا اذ تصل حسب آخر احصاء الى 33% من نسبة الزيجات في السنة مقارنة بمعدل 41% في الولايات المتحدة. وحوالي 70% من حالات الطلاق تقع ضمن السنوات الخمس الأولى من الزواج وأكثر من 80% في أقل من 10 سنوات من الزواج

وتشير الدراسات الرسمية ان من أهم أسباب الطلاق في الكويت: الزواج المبكر ، التوقعات غير العملية من الزوج/الزوجة، ، الاختلاف على القضايا المالية والاجتماعية، تدخل الأهل، ضعف الوازع الديني، تعدد الزوجات .. الخ. وتؤكد الاحصائيات علاقة عكسية بين المؤهلات الدراسية ومعدلات الطلاق. فكلما انخفض المؤهل الدراسي زادت نسبة الطلاق. كما تتمحور الدراسات (ان جاز تسميتها بدراسات) حول الآثار السلبية التفليدية لهذه الظاهرة على المدى القصير والبعيد دون أي تعمق في المتغيرات أو اضافة متغيرات على الاحصائيات للبحث عن علاقات جديدة بين المتغيرات والمسببات. مثال: ما دور التكنولوجيا ؟ الانترنت والأقمار الصناعية؟ تشير الدراسات الصحية لزيادة معدلات العقم وانتشار الأمراض الجنسية. كيف يؤثر ذلك على الحياة الزوجية؟ هل هنالك علاقة؟ ماذا عن الزواج المسيار؟ الشذوذ الجنسي؟ المخدرات؟ للأسف لا يوجد بيانات كافية لدراسة العلاقات بين تلك المتغيرات وان كان لها أثر في ظاهرة الطلاق

من منظور آخر يمكن أن يكون الطلاق مؤشرا صحيا على استقلال المرأة وتحررها من القيود الاجتماعية التقليدية المتمثلة بالزوج أو الأب. فمن المرجح أن تعود نسبة من زيادة الطلاق لتطور أوضاع المرأة وتحررها النسبي مما يجعلها أكثر قدرة على مواجهة الظلم و/أو الاستغلال والمطالبة بالطلاق في حال الانتقاص من حقوقها أو حقوق أبناءها. ولكن هذه مجرد فرضيات لا يمكن اثباتها أو انكارها لعدم وجود بيانات وافية في هذا المجال

ومهما كانت أسباب الطلاق الا انه من النادر أن يحدث بشكل حضاري أو عقلاني. ففي معظم الأحيان يستخدم الزوجان أو أحدهما اجراءات الطلاق للانتقام من الآخر أو لرد الاعتبار وذلك بالتلاعب في قضايا المؤخر أو الحضانة أو النفقة وغيرها من اجراءات الطلاق

الأهم والأخطر في قضية الطلاق هم الأبناء. فسواء كان الطلاق مبررا أم لا فالابناء ضحايا أبرياء في هذه العملية لابد من حمايتهم خلال وبعد مباحثات ومفاوضات الطلاق. فمن الضروري ألا يتحول الأبناء لوسيلة ضغط أو ورقة مفاوضات. كما يفضل ابعادهم عن تفاصيل المفاوضات والضغوطات الاجتماعية والقانونية خلال فترة الانفصال

الأبناء هم الأبطأ في التأقلم مع فترة ما بعد الطلاق. فقد يجد كلا الوالدين حياة جديدة وقد يسامحا بعضهما ولكن يبقى الأبناء – بغض النظر عن أعمارهم – متعلقين بأمل عودة الوالدين لبعضهما وعودة المياه لمجاريها. لذا يتوجب على الواليدن التعامل مع ذلك بحساسية ووعي شديدين. وهو أمر يتطلب تدريب وقراءة واستشارات نفسية نادرا ما يتوفر أي منها في الكويت أو العالم العربي

لذا فمن الضروري عند دراسة ظاهرة الطلاق في الكويت ان يخرج البحث عن الاطار التقليدي وان تدخل متغيرات كثيرة في الاعتبار. الأهم هو توفير الأدوات اللازمة لكافة الأطراف المعنية للتعامل مع واقع الطلاق وبالأخص الأطفال – الأدوات الأهم هي ورش العمل والكتب والاخصائيين القادرين على بناء المهارات اللازمة لتخطي الطلاق وبناء حياة جديدة على أسس صحيحة وصحية

Hallucinations

I truly wish that you are having a better Eid and New Year Eve than I am! I have a nasty flu that kept me in bed the past 2 days. My kids went out celebrating Eid with my family, came back, went to bed and I was in a complete coma through it all. I remember waking up, taking a peak at the TV, taking my medicines and falling to sleep all over again.

Now that I am relatively better, I am trying to recall some of the things I heard and saw while in and out of coma! I remember waking up around 6 am on the news of hanging Saddam on the Eid morning. I remember that thinking that the timing is off. And that his death was not as “satisfying” as I thought it would be.

Later that night I saw interviews on Al-Jazirah, CNN and Arabia across the Arab world mourning the death of a distinguished “Arabic Leader”!! Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen .. even Iraqis !! I went to coma again hoping not to wake up again to a world where someone like Saddam Hussein is mourned and considered a great leader!

My next conscious moments were when a new CNN Presents show began. It was around the Da Vinci Code theory of the changes made on the Christianity beliefs across the centuries and the role of the Roman Empire is shaping the religion into its current shape and away from its originally intended message. I went to sleep again thinking, how can people still believe despite all this clear undisputed evidence that their faith had been tampered?!

Today I am a bit better. So I could stay up for longer periods and follow the complete stories in the news. One of the interesting documents I saw today was a repetition of a 20/20 episode titled “Where is Heaven?” Barbara Walters meets people of different backgrounds and belief systems and discusses the origin and meaning of heaven across cultures, philosophies and religions. She interviews a scientist who discovered a “God Gene” that basically proves that some people are genetically more inclined to “believe” than others.

Finally there was a Panorama show on the nuclear black market! The program illustrates in minute details the way Pakistan, Iran and Iraq obtained their nuclear powers with the blessings of the American and British intelligence. A large network of well trained Eastern and Europeans selling technology, hardware and Uranium to the area regimes in delicate coordination with the US and the UK. The trading was stopped only when the same network began doing business with Libya!

I am sick, tiered and drugged, so my little brain can not really comprehend how can some people SEE Saddam’s atrocities and still be blind to it. I don’t understand how can people TALK about the alterations in History and still believe in absolute truths? How come there are those who HEAR all about the nuclear black market in Germany, Dubai and Pakistan and still think that this can play to our benefit?

The truth is that we see, hear and comprehend what we want to see, hear and comprehend. Our perception is selective and highly biased by our beliefs and values. Hmmmm the “God Gene” ?! Can this be genetic ?!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I am really sorry I had to hide for so long. I missed you all so much. But I had million things to attend and blogging is kind of addictive.

The good news is that I am almost done with my school work. The bad news is that I got a B in one of the silliest subjects. That spoiled my otherwise perfect GPA :(

The kids are fine. They claim that they did well in their exams. But we’ll know after their winter break ;)

Now that 2007 is so close, I am revisiting my 2006 resolutions and assess my success. One thing I’m proud of is getting my Masters (almost). I lost 4 kgs of the 15 I planned to lose. And I am doing better in community service – I think. I failed to maintain regular exercise. And I have definitely did not improve my financial status.

The one achievement I’m proud of the most is that I managed to control my work/life balance. By the end of 2005 I used to do an average of 16 hours work/day including weekends. That significantly affected my social life and my bond with my kids. I made a conscious decision to cut on work hours and dedicate more time to ME and MY KIDS. I think I did well in 2006 on my kids front.

What about you? What were your 2006 resolutions and what happened to them?

Why do you think we typically fail to follow on most of our resolutions?

Love you all and wish you the best of 2007 and the next millennium.

Sorry, we're closed!

Dear All,

I am stuggling with many critical assignments and life challanges ;) So I won't be writing for a while.

I miss you all and will try to visit whenever I have time.

See you all in Christmas !

Till then, stay safe, healthy and happy.

Bob Plutchik !

When I’m happy I buy myself flowers. When I’m anxious I begin a new jigsaw puzzle. And when I’m depressed I get the chocolate box :)But when I’m confused about my feelings I get Bob’s Flower !


The “academic” name for my flower is Plutchik’s Emotions Model. I am sure most of you have come across it in school if you had any psychology classes. I have only began to appreciate its value recently.

The single petal of the flower represents a single dimension of increasing/decreasing intensity. For example: serenity, joy and ecstasy represent one dimension of escalating intensity. The opposite petal (grief, sadness and pensiveness) represent the opposite dimension. So in total there are 4 basic opposing emotional dimensions.

The core circle shows how close and yet superficially different are the basic emotions. For example, check how close terror to admiration and amazement!

Most interestingly to me is the complex emotions representation in this model. Complex emotions are shown in the space between the flower petals. Each complex emotion is a result of the basic emotions on both sides. For example, love is a combination of feeling acceptance and serenity.

When you close down the flower you see the relations between the different intensity levels of the basic emotions. You can see how sadness, disgust and surprise are very close in their cores.

What I love most about this model is that it gives you the vocabulary to name you feelings most of the times, especially when your feelings are complex.

The other thing I like about it is that it helps a lot explaining what we perceive as “weird” relationships. For example: it makes sense why some people “admire” someone like Saddam Hussein when you see how easily people can confuse terror with admiration. Or why some express their rage as loathing or hate.

On of the things I still get confused with is whether I feel fear or lack of trust. Why am I uncomfortable with X person? Does she scare me? Or is it a trust issue? Or is the fear caused by the mistrust? It was a relief to me to know that the two are not very much different in their mechanism.

What I find challenging is finding the right Arabic word for each feeling that can easily distinguish the difference in dimension and in density. It is established that some cultures do not really have words for some of the feelings in this model.

My Question: Do you agree with the model? How can it benefit you? Have you ever suffered the confusion between to adjacent dimensions?