Posted on October 19, 2009 by 50% Syrian
Syrian students denied academic access to IBM supercomputer at KAUST due to US sanctions
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) honors US political restrictions over internationally-set academic freedoms and integrity
Damascus (October, 2009) – The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the new world-class research university in Saudi Arabia, has denied [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Media in Syria, Open Letters, Opinion, Reform in Syria, Social life in Syria, Thoughts | Tagged: Abdulsalam Haykal, Damascus, Forward Magazine, IBM supercomputer, KAUST, KSA, lobbying, President Bashar al-Assad, Saudi Arabia university, Syria, Syrian Students | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 14, 2009 by Forward Magazine
By Abdulsalam Haykal, for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). The original article can be viewed at http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=26077&lan=en&sid=1&sp=0&isNew=1#.
I spent summers as a young boy in Damascus, while my fellow Syrians were flocking to my coastal hometown of Tartous to savor the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the heat of Damascus, my summers there were [...]
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Posted on June 3, 2009 by 50% Syrian
In the cab an hour ago, we couldn’t help but recall the famous Syrian saying: “The doors of hell are wide open” (Bwab jhannam mfatta7a el youm shi?).
We had an interview with a young man for an article in July, and so we hopped into a yellow cab, which had all its windows wide open. [...]
Filed under: Culture in Syria, Current Affairs, Media in Syria, Social life in Syria, Thoughts | Tagged: Damascus weather, Forward Magazine, Syria, yellow cab | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 19, 2009 by Forward Magazine
Last year, on March 14, The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco) called on all 50 of its member states to boycott the Paris book fair. Why? Because the French had dared to choose Israel as its guest of honor. In the ultimate act of shooting itself in the foot, the organization not only [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Opinion, Thoughts | Tagged: African American, America, Americans, Andy Ram, Arab and Muslim American, boycott, Damascus, Forward Magazine, Isesco, Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, Israel, prejudice, racism, Shahar Peer, Syria, US | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 18, 2009 by Abdulsalam Haykal
Damascus, 13 December 2008
Mr. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
c/o President Jimmy Carter
Dear Barack,
You certainly want to know more about Syria, and I will volunteer —even uninvited— to share some information that can be useful until you manage to see for yourself.
This is a time of festivity in Syria. The end of Eid [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Open Letters, Opinion, Reform in Syria, Thoughts | Tagged: Abdulsalam Haykal, Abraham Lincoln, America, Barack Obama, Damascus, Forward, Forward Magazine, FW: Magazine, Gaza, Iraq, Israel, Jimmy Carter, Middle East, Obama and Syria, Palestine, Syria, Syria reform, tolerance, US and Syria | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 12, 2009 by Forward Magazine
I had intended this for a later post, but I got to thinking about it since so many coffee shops were being overrun by viewers of soccer matches. First, though, some background of the situation as I understand it. In the good old days we only hear about in magazines (like our March 2009 issue [...]
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Posted on March 3, 2009 by Forward Magazine
In what might become a regular feature of the blog, I start today with a suggestion that truly can only be described as doomed. Not because it’s a bad idea, mind you, I don’t think it is, and I’ve had some support. Simply put, it is doomed because no one will ever, ever take the [...]
Filed under: Opinion, Reform in Syria, Social life in Syria, Thoughts | Tagged: Adelah Bayhem, bussing, Damascus, Dar es-Salam, deserted, desperate, Forward Magazine, government, government building, high school, parking, parking violations, police, police men, private sector, Sati' al-Hasseri, schools, stopping, students, Syria, Syria Park projects, tickets | 9 Comments »
Posted on January 11, 2009 by Forward Magazine
For Gaza’s Sake
By Dima Abdulhaq*
8.1.2009
If my words could make a difference,
then I would write only for Gaza’s sake.
And if my voice could tear the distance,
then I would shout to make the dead awake.
If I could write and the poem becomes an armor
to shield the space above the children’s heads,
I would have written a [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Thoughts | Tagged: Damascus, Dima Abdulhaq, Forward Magazine, Forward Magazine interns, Gaza, poem, Syria | 3 Comments »
Posted on January 7, 2009 by Forward Magazine
By Mehdi Rifai
First off, an easy confession for me to make is that what is happening in Gaza appalls me, and makes me rethink a lot of my former “moderate” opinions concerning Israel. It has been my opinion for some time that Arab grief over Palestine has been stuck too long in the “anger” and [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Opinion, Thoughts | Tagged: Damascus, Forward, FW: Magazine, Gaza, Israel, Landmines, Massacre, Murder, Palestine, Reaction, Syria, war, WMD | 5 Comments »
Posted on January 6, 2009 by 50% Syrian
A circulation email arrived this morning with the title, “Vote for Palestine against Israel,” with the heated comment:
Dear All. READ . VOTE . SEND
Be Active Now.
صوت لـ فلسطين ضد اسرائيل
على أقل تقدير دعونا ننتصر على الإنترنت
إضغط على الرابط أدناه
Vote for Palestine against Israel
at least let us make a win over web
http://www.israel-vs-palestine.com/gz/
Opening the link you see [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Media in Syria, Opinion, Thoughts | Tagged: Gaza, gaza terrorism | 1 Comment »
Posted on December 8, 2008 by Abdulsalam Haykal
… and the perpetrators were caught in the act. Then they were left in peace to continue what they had started.
In the world of those that can feel no shame, the night Eid was stolen was just another night. They stood as witness at a perfectly sealed Egypt-Gaza border, and made sure that the Custodian [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Open Letters, Opinion, Thoughts | Tagged: American Occupation, Egypt-Gaza borders, Eid Adha, Gaza, Iraqi children, Israeli siege, LinkedIn, Palestinian children, Saudi Arabia | 3 Comments »
Bush & the “Good Ol’ Iraqi Shoe!”
The Iraqi reporter who hurled a show at president Bush a couple of days ago reminded me of a political satire released by Hollywood back in 1997 – one of my most favorite movies.
Dubbed “Wag the Dog,” the movie starred Dustin Hoffman (a creative Hollywood director and special effects specialist) and Robert De Niro (playing [...]
Filed under: Current Affairs, Reform in Syria, Thoughts | Tagged: Bush, comment from Syria, Good Ol' Shoe. Brown Old Shoe, muntadar, muntadar zaidi, منتظر, منتظر الزيدي, منتظرالزيدي | 4 Comments »