Haitham Sabbah

Latest posts by Haitham Sabbah

United Arab Emirates: Fashion Police

  5 December 2006

If you have spiky hair and intend to visit Dubai, read this first: “One of my friend's cousins was recently pulled aside by Dubai Police at Mall of the Emirates. He had a spiky hair style. They asked him to wash his hairstyle out, he told them that he wasn’t...

Somalia: Veild gunwomen!

  5 December 2006

Shobrawy posts a picture of veiled Somalian women in the capital, Mogadishu, taking part in a protest against a US-proposed draft UN resolution to ease an arms embargo and deploy peacekeepers. From the picture and look how these ladies hold the guns; I would be willing to bet its the...

Lebanon: The Babes of Hizbullah

  4 December 2006

Are Hizbullah babes as photogenic as Hariri's? A debate has broken out about whether the most recent crop of demonstrators are as telegenic as those of the March 14 crowd. Joshua Landis has some photos and links highlighting the Babes of Hizbullah.

United Arab Emirates: Skiing in the rain

  4 December 2006

“Dubai cannot cope with rain. It is a city built only for desert, with flat roofs, limited drainage and few umbrellas for sale. A small amount of water turns highways into slimy, skidding death traps. A downpour floods roads, pavements and car parks, creating gleaming lakes in the desert that...

Egypt: Miss Earth

  4 December 2006

Freedom for Egyptians reports that Miss Egypt Meriam George was selected among the top 8 in Miss Earth pageant, held recently in Manila. Meriam was competing with another 84 contestants from all over the world. The Miss Earth contest promotes environmental preservation and contestants are called “beauties for a cause.”

Lebanon: Tripoli Is Boiling

  4 December 2006

Mustapha says that various eyewitnesses informed him that tens of thousands of protesters have filled the parking lot of the Tripoli International Fair (an area of around 20,000 square meters) in a show of support for the government. The witnesses described a huge forest of Lebanese flags and loud displays...

Kuwait: Wii #1 selling point

  4 December 2006

What is #1 selling point that Nintendo Wii's marketing strategy didn't fully cover? Jackie says that with the Play Stations and other Gaming consoles one sits on his tush and just plays whereas, the Nintendo Wii offers you a way to stay fit and exercise while playing!

Egypt: English-language news

  30 November 2006

Commenting on the new attempt at local English-language news reporting in Palestine (Palestine Times), Matthew Carrington says: “If, as the editor claims, the Palestine Times isn't going to be beholden to any particular political or commercial interest, then this could a good thing. Palestine, as much as Egypt, needs a...

Lebanon: Open-ended sit-in by Opposition

  30 November 2006

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, terming Premier Fouad Saniora's government “failure,” called for an open-ended sit-in Friday in downtown Beirut to achieve what he described as “political partnership” in running Lebanon. Abu Kais describe this by saying: “On Friday, Syria and Iran will launch an attack on Lebanon. They have...

Egypt: The Right to Love

  29 November 2006

“What causes sons to hate their mothers, fathers to target their daughters and husbands to persecute their wives? Have Adam and Eve not co-existed long enough for love and mutual respect to take hold? In this respect, we cannot say that such an attitude is particular to the Middle East,...

Israel: Municipal employees strike

  29 November 2006

A strike is in place in many Israeli municipalities by municipal employees who did not receive their salaries for many months now. Yudit says: “Perhaps join us in the demonstration this coming Saturday, of the “Veidat Ha'Ashukim” (the Council of the Robbed), at 19.00 o'clock, opposite the David Intercontinental Hotel...

Oman: Freedom of press in Oman

  29 November 2006

“You can't stop people from writing online. It's easy to regulate the press because 1) the press needs big expensive machines to print newspapers. 2) they need trucks to distribute. 3) they need shops to sell their papers. 4) they need advertisers to pay for all the above. 5) they...

Palestine: Humanity lost

  29 November 2006

Waiting, as ever, for the border to open, Laila says: “One hour turned into two, then three, then five, as we stood shielding our eyes from the piercing midday sun on Wednesday, when we were told the Crossing would be opening for a few hours. We stood and we waited...

Jordan: toot, tan and ikbis!

  28 November 2006

Blogging is growing rapidly in the Arab world, and some smart projects are capitalizing on this growth by providing tools that were until a while ago a de facto Western made only! After the hand picked posts in the famous ‘toot’ aggregator, the same company has recently launched the first...