Face Of The Day: An Egyptian protester protects his face and head from tear gas during clashes with riot police along a road which leads to the Interior Ministry, near Tahrir Square, in Cairo on November 23, 2011. Several thousand Egyptians rallied in Tahrir Square demanding an end to military rule. By Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images.
News Source – Andrew Sullivan via The Daily Beast Blog.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 24.11.11~
Do Nascar Military Families really go together? Take a look.
1. Failing Budgets Ammendments Legislation shows a clear addiction to Champagne Privileges & not wanting to build an equitable America.
2. Occupy DC stands with Occupy Wall Street. Compelling Photos of the People, here.
3.Late Memo: The Dems Super Committee (the real one) is really occurring in the faces of the Occupy people, not in meetings with politicians sporting ties.
5. Read Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Remarks at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, transcript here.
6. Fox News turns on an Occupy sparring show.
7. – The Drudge Report Zooms in via Yahoo.
8. Occupy Oakland Calls For Shutdown Of ALL West Coast Ports
9. How to end global food waste
10. MSNBC Matthews Turns On Obama: 'I Hear Stories That You Would Not Believe'
Drudge report has more.
[Occupy Photo - Ryan J. Reilly]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 21.11.11~
Music: Glorified by The Parachute band.
Nga Kupu Aroha:
91
1الْمُحْتَمِي بِقُدْسِ أَقْدَاسِ الْعَلِيِّ، فِي ظِلِّ الْقَدِيرِ يَبِيتُ،
2أَقُولُ لِلرَّبِّ: أَنْتَ مَلْجَإِي وَحِصْنِي، إِلَهِي الَّذِي بِهِ وَثِقْتُ
3لأَنَّهُ يُنْقِذُكَ حَقّاً مِنْ فَخِّ الصَّيَّادِ وَمِنَ الْوَبَاءِ الْمُهْلِكِ.
4بِرِيشِهِ النَّاعِمِ يُظَلِّلُكَ، وَتَحْتَ أَجْنِحَتِهِ تَحْتَمِي، فَتَكُونُ لَكَ وُعُودُهُ الأَمِينَةُ تُرْساً وَمِتْرَاساً،
5فَلاَ تَخَافُ مِنْ هَوْلِ اللَّيْلِ وَلاَ مِنْ سَهْمٍ يَطِيرُ فِي النَّهَارِ.
6وَلاَ مِنْ وَبَاءٍ يَسْرِي فِي الظَّلاَمِ، وَلاَ مِنْ هَلاَكٍ يُفْسِدُ فِي الظَّهِيرَةِ.
7يَتَسَاقَطُ عَنْ جَانِبِكَ أَلْفُ إِنْسَانٍ، وَعَنْ يَمِينِكَ عَشَرَةُ آلاَفٍ، وَأَنْتَ لاَ يَمَسُّكَ سُوءٌ.
8إِنَّمَا تُشَاهِدُ بِعَيْنَيْكَ مُعَاقَبَةَ الأَشْرَارِ.
9لأَنَّكَ قُلْتَ: الرَّبُّ مَلْجَإِي، وَاتَّخَذْتَ الْعَلِيَّ مَلاَذاً،
10فَلَنْ يُصِيبَكَ شَرٌّ وَلَنْ تَقْتَرِبَ بَلِيَّةٌ مِنْ مَسْكِنِكَ
11فَإِنَّهُ يُوْصِي مَلاَئِكَتَهُ بِكَ لِكَيْ يَحْفَظُوكَ فِي جَمِيعِ طُرُقِكَ.
12عَلَى أَيْدِيهِمْ يَحْمِلُونَكَ لِئَلاَّ تَصْدِمَ بِحَجَرٍ قَدَمَكَ.
13تَطَأُ عَلَى الأَسَدِ وَالأَفْعَى، تَدُوسُ الشِّبْلَ وَالثُّعْبَانَ.
14قَالَ الرَّبُّ: أُنَجِّيهِ لأَنَّهُ تَعَلَّقَ بِي. أُرَفِّعُهُ لأَنَّهُ عَرَفَ اسْمِي.
15يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ، أُرَافِقُهُ فِي الضِّيقِ، أُنْقِذُهُ وَأُكْرِمُهُ
16 أُطِيلُ عُمْرَهُ، وَأُرِيهِ خَلاَصِي.
Ko te tangata kei te wahi ngaro o te Runga Rawa tona kainga, ka noho ia i raro i te taumarumarutanga o te Kaha Rawa. Ka kiia e ahau a Ihowa, Ko ia toku piringa, toku pa, toku Atua, ka whakawhirinaki ahau ki a ia.
Mana hoki koe e whakaora i te mahanga a te kaihopu manu, i te mate nanakia. Ka hipokina koe e ia ki ona hou, a ka piri koe ki raro i ona pakau: ko tona pono hei whakangungu rakau, hei puapua mou. E kore koe e wehi i te mea whakamataku i te po: i te pere e rere ana i te awatea.
I te mate uruta e rere ana i te pouri: i te whakangaromanga e whakangaro ana i te poutumarotanga. He mano te hinga ki tou taha, tekau hoki nga mano ki tou matau; otiia e kore e tata ki a koe. Ka titiro kau ou kanohi, ka matakitaki ki te utu mo te hunga kino.
Ko koe hoki, e Ihowa, toku piranga! kua waiho e koe te Runga Rawa hei nohoanga mou: Kahore he kino e pa ki a koe, kahore ano he whiu e tata ki tou teneti. Ka korerotia iho hoki koe e ia ki ana anahera kia tiakina koe i ou ara katoa.
Ma ratou koe e hiki ake ki o ratou ringa, kei tutuki tou waewae ki te kohatu. Ka haere koe i runga i te raiona, i te neke: ka takahia e koe ki raro te kuao raiona me te nakahi.Ka whakaora ahau i a ia, mona i aroha ki ahau; maku ia e whakateitei ake, mona i matau ki toku ingoa.
Ka karanga ia ki ahau, a ka whakahoki kupu ahau ki a ia: ka tata ahau ki a ia i te wa o te he; maku ia e whakaora, maku ano ia e whakahonore.Ka whakaroaina e ahau ona ra, a na noa ia: ka whakakitea hoki taku whakaoranga ki a ia.
True fact, The New York Times is super thin today. Also the remarkable people of Japan, display calmness as the displaced and homeless of devastated communities, appear to be sharing resources in shelters, like civilized, respectful human beings, one towards another. They’re so inspiring.
Also, The Times focuses on Egypt. Apparently Hosni Mubarak‘s image and likeness is plastered everywhere in statues around Egypt. His fan club in the pyramid favoring nation of sphinx’s etc, quite fancied making likenesses of him. Now that his likeness in being defaced in the Facebook loving nation of Egypt, The Times asks what will happen to these statues in a storing that questions looking at leadership beneath marketing machines, shrine like pasts of adoration clubs –towards depictions of the new and what new leadership could look like and how this could impact Egypt’s cultural life.
Personally, I think Facebook perpetuates shrine like culture (same thing as Egypt’s love of statues tribute art), as does blogs. The difference with Facebook though is that a whole array of characters shine. It’s reflective more of community, not just a few faces hogging the limelight. Whoever knew Mubarak fancied himself as a supermodel of The Middle East of sorts, not to have knocked this likeness creation craze on the head, as a leader?
… You learn knew things every day, reading the paper. This written from Hollywood, a city of the vanities who do celebrity art forms to make bank and fuel Facebook culture in the world. :)
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 3.26.11~
“God brought them out of Egypt; he has as it were the strength of the re’em”–Moses
[Pic via HedWeb]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood
Wowsa! In Pucci Halle Berry wears the fused colors of Eygpt and Africa, at the NAACP Awards last night.
An eye brow raising red carpet appearance.
Adorable.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 3.5.11~
Looking at this picture of Libya’s people at the Libyan borders of Tunisia is a reminder to never take democracy for granted. Systems of dictatorship can cause all of this turmoil. We have them too, here in America in economic fields, (the turmoil caused is the exact same thing), but this image is a reminder that democracy and liberties of human rights are not everyone’s at all times.
Wow! I see some Americans realities in these peoples faces. Yet… what can we do?
Meanwhile US planes are evacuating Egyptians who are fleeing the Libyan conflict.
I guess ‘fugee awareness is US on this blog this month. It’s a pleasure to be involved. :)
Story and Photo via New York Times. With thanks.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 3.5.11~
Hollywood Oscars history – one pic. Here’s ten posts we’re sharing at this Hollywood minute. Photograph courtesy of Vanity Fair‘s archives.
1. Amber Portwood & Natalie Portman are cleaning up on Google
2. Extreme Sports humor by Rob Lowe
3. Jolene live by Keith Urban & buds of country music
5. Julia Roberts dark turn in upcoming Hollywood movies
6. Miami Dolphins fans shout out
7. Friends with Kids movie news – Megan Fox & John Hamm at work
8. Humanitarian Music – Albertine by Brooke Fraser
9. Fashion critique – Made in China – Elvis Jesus label – Part II
10. US Cougar News -Brahim Zaibat leaves Club Aura, London
As many people will be leaving Egypt, Bahrain, Libya for the USA in the weeks and months ahead, click on this Amnesty International Link this Oscars weekend, to aid their journey forward into the USA. Peace!
Some Media Outlets in the USA covering Oscars/ Oil/ Mid East news too like Horiwood.Com is are: Funny or Die; George’s Bottom Line (George Stephanopoulos); Read the rest of this entry »
For many new people arriving in the USA from Egypt, Libya, Bahrain in the upcoming months, as someone who moved from another country five years ago – know that often everything you are, do, create, share or have culturally within, will be viewed as a scientific experiment when you move to the US. You will perpetually be judged. Be prepared for that feeling, never to go away, the whole time you are here. Remember that most people judging you, have never travelled or been as brave as you have by living in a culture they weren’t born into like you have. So take their criticisms with a grain of salt on your brave journey forward, as well as seeing all comments as constructive criticism too. For what purpose? only you will know that if you find these new comments useful.
I don’t think anything prepares people outside the US for the degree that America is a consumer nation. Also a nation that can be voyeuristic too, watching on average per US citizen, 34 hours of TV a week (2010 survey results). The US thrives on consuming exotic culture and hand picking the parts of your culture most useful.
You’ll get used to it. But yeah, it does make you feel like a lab hamster at times.
Here’s that word again, EXPERIMENT. If you’re one of these people who are a new arrival from the Mid East into America to aid you on your settling in process into US community life. Via Dictionary Reference.Com Experiment means:
Oh Numi Tutelar
(At the British Museum, London, 25 June 1998)
3 in the morning
The streets deserted I had forgotten
only derelicts & prostitutes are abroad in the night
forsaken lovers locked out
(and Maori attending dawn ceremonies)
Make way, Britannia, Albion, Victoria Imperatrix,
make way our putatara are braying to bring down
your walls The dawn is coming and with it
Magi, gift bearers from the South
Piki mai, kake mai, homai te wai ora
ki ahau
We have come
from the utmost ends of the earth a tribe of travellers
with our own Queen, ministers & warrior escort
to the land of our Treaty partner where
our treasures have been plundered
(and Roma & I halfway round the world
to read in a stairwell)
Make way, O Egypt, ancient Assyria, Greece, Rome
make way our own Cleopatra comes amid you
Semiramis, Te Arikinui, Imperatrix of Aotearoa
Maori women, gift bearers from the South
Haramai te toki, hui e, haumi e, taiki e
So here we are
climbing upward the Museum opening unwilling
to the dawn, the kai karanga calling, the warriors
pulling us in & Maramena asks, ìHow can our
culture so small survive in this treasure house
of many cultures?î
(The answer is simple: Godzilla was wrong
size does not matter)
Oh antiquities of Asia, make way, lions of Judah
bow down, Babylon, stela of Islam make way
give space, Oh Nimrod, Horus, Mahomet
we are iwi Maori, gift bearers from the South
E taonga tū mai, tū mai, tū mai
And in the great hall
for the first time we see the past before us
the treasures of our ancestors a Pharaonic ransom
of immense psychic power, indeed we live
with our past the ghosts among us
(How can I explain? We have always walked
backwards into our future)
Oh, ancestors, stand forever! Stand for yesterday!
Stand for today! Stand for tomorrow! Stand
for always! Stand! Stand! Stand!
Take heed, O Gods of all other worlds, numi tutelar
We come chanting, we come singing, we come
proudly from Rangiātea, there our seed was sown
We come, still voyaging by star canoes
by aurora australis
We are from savage islands, far to the south
we move through your constellations
make way and where there is one
oh Gods, there are a thousand
We are Magi, bearing gifts
and our dawn is coming
Ka Ao, ka Ao, ka awatea
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.22.11. First published in Whetu Moana (An Ocean of Stars) – Contemporary Polynesian Poetry in English. Auckland University Press, April 2003, editors Albert Wendt (editor), Reina Whaitiri (editor) and Robert Sullivan (editor). Keisha Castle Hughes appears courtesy of the Whalerider film, via Celebrity Wonder~
I do not wish to change anything about my culture, it is beautiful–Myriam Toumier, California USA via Morocco.
The Arab world is undergoing an uprising towards being more ‘similar’ to the West.
‘Cultural match’ is sought to be the outcome perhaps, as Arab people indicate they want to be more open to access knowledge outside of the Arab world in some nations that are censored and also to have the ability to connect with people in the world who are not necessarily Muslim, or, Arab too. A need to communicate is fueling this revolution.
Cover Junkie via the CA, gives us this powerful image from The Economist of Egypt’s 2 week transformation of governance, while also presenting a story on “The Bright Side of Black Carbon.” That’s a very original angle for a story line.
Usually the presence of carbon to a Kiwi lad indicates that you majorly screwed up your duties on the BBQ.
Basically, you burned the steak.
But I like this story angle, as we in the West await what the Arab world decides for themselves and how we can support these nations, who give us gas to drive around in, here in the USA.
As friends — once these nations have decided what new forms of a governance structure now best suits their development forward as people, what can we do to dialogue more as fellow brothers and sisters of the world? I know with interacting with all people of the Middle East, who are residents of Los Angeles as I have been too the last five years, they are very poetic and fascinating people when you get to speak and interact with their unique worldviews. One of the best bosses I had working here in LA was a Muslim woman named Myriam. She was 30 and she was so smart, with impeccable taste in all things. Myriam was a very sophisticated lady.
She was very proud of her Middle Eastern cultural values. She had come to Hollywood from Morocco via France.
When I think of Myriam and what people in the Middle East know of the world, with rare insights like Myriam possessed to share with America from her culture, I know that exciting times are ahead.
I also wish I knew how to speak Arabic, about now. Natalie Portman, Oscars big star next week, speaks Arabic as well as Hebrew.
But darn. I missed that class, in my New Zealand high school years. Wish I’d been more onto that in between my ‘the next BBQ’ at the mates’ place focus of growing up post rugby matches.
Being able to understand and speak arabic fluently, would have come in handy, about now.
[Music Get Up, Stand by Bob Marley just for Myriam who loves Bob Marley and Celine Dion's music, equally.]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.20.11~
I wee chat about empowering others, into pathways of democracy:
Is being on a website all people need to have to feel like they have ‘a viable sense of democracy?’ In some nations, that answer is a resounding “yes.” In particular Facebook’s dominance in Egypt, is revolutionizing the culture so much as a social website that people are really making Facebook a part of their family’s future. Literally.
The Associated Press reports today, “A new Egyptian father has named his daughter Facebook in honour of the role social media played in his country’s recent revolution.
Jamal Ibrahim told Al-Ahram newspaper his newborn’s unusual name showed how happy he was with Facebook’s part in organising protests across Egypt.
Thousands of protesters in January packed Tahrir Square and other cities in Egypt for 18 days calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.
Family, friends and neighbours have reportedly gathered around the newborn to show their continued support for the revolution they say started on the social networking site.
The newborn’s family is not alone in expressing their gratitude to Facebook.
The number of Facebook users in Egypt has grown to five million over the past month — more than any other country in the Middle East.
Some 32,000 groups and 14,000 pages were created after the January 25 revolution.
Graffiti sprayed across Cairo said “thank you Facebook” in the days after President Mubarak eventually bowed to public pressure and resigned.
The military government is also using Facebook to try and reach out to young Egyptian people.
But one internet blogger thinks the family may have gone too far in naming their daughter after the website.
“The internet as a whole should win the Nobel Peace Prize this year for all it’s done for democracy in the Middle East/North African region, but let’s not let this naming kids get out of hand,” the blogger said.
“I’d hate for little Facebook to have to share a classroom with a little AOL, or worse a little Yahoo!”
Although the story is very cute, you can’t help but sense that the billionaire’s of the world (Hosni Mubarak being a big one) are putting the new millionaire’s club to work (Mark Zuckerberg and friends) to act as ’magicians of online American corporate IT magic.’ These lads (mainly) are all having a little bit too much fun in Egypt, right now. Obviously. They’re very strong. Too funny!
Egypt is the model nation, all other nation’s in the Mid-East who may or may not, have a revolution too, are being shaped by invisible guiding forces to follow – like Facebook being an agent of influence, for example.
From a Humanitarian point of view, I can’t help thinking that it’s a shame Egypt can’t do their own version of Facebook like “Phoenix Book” or “Cleopatra’s Peoples Pages” or something. A new version of a social website that is more friendly to the Arabic language.
Surely, in a nation that’s natural gas and gold rich, Egypt could develop that social news website, that we in the US, are happy to access and share, equally by cross-pollinating websites as it’s possible for them to dove tail each other. Instead of Post Hosni Mubarak years, giving one’s entire cultural IP in the form of pictures, shared video links and most importantly a nation’s written words to Facebook – for free. Just a thought.
We are not mercernary in America. Why should a Hosni Mubarak hold the future of Egypt’s daily culture created and shared online, as a sacrifice to American IT companies. That does not sit well with me. So an Egyptian-owned Cleopatra’s People Pages social media website (that could be 50% US owned if an idea of democracy is preferred) would seem smart. When we joke about Egypt in the US because of Facebook, that’s not all that cool, when Egypt is 1/4 the size of the US. It’s like laughing at 1/4 of America for example, and that doesn’t sit very well with me. Watch this video to see what I mean via Funny or Die. Click on top Pic to view.
I just think there’s enough Arabic speaking, Mid-East and Egyptian-friendly people in the world, to get together, combine talents and preserves Egypt’s culture and heritage arts on an Egyptian owned social media site. That would be kinda smart.
Word for the day – What mercenary could mean – “A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and is “motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party” (Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention of August 1949). A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he gets monetary reward from his service.”
If you’re Egyptian and you’ve temporarily forgotten how strong and beautiful your culture is, under duress, here’s a song just for you in Arabic as a reminder. You should have your own Facebook, so that cultural ignoramuses like me, can access it and see your stars. They’re pretty cool. :)
[Music - via Samo Zaen - Twilit Dove at Side of Branch blog post, Hollywood]
[Pictures and Horiwood.Com - Hollywood archives]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.20.11~
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, jolene
He talks about you in his sleep
There’s nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name, jolene
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dolly+parton/#share
Norah Jones, Keith Urban and John Mayer sing the classic poetic Dolly Parton country hit, Jolene at Grammys 2011 last night here from LA. A good .
[Photograph via Horiwood.Com's archives]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.14.11~
Humor – It looks like have been heard and answered already.
Egypt remains committed to a renewed peace treaty with Israel. Good news today.
Now – how can Israel and Israel friendly people of the world support peace keeping Egypt to help with the 20% (16 million) of all Egyptians who live below the ‘pita-bread’ line in poverty.
Should we apply some pressure, to these peoples very wealthy Saudi cousins then to open up the coffers and share the spoils of oil and steel’s sky rocketing sales as noted on the stock market in the last two weeks (as a result of the Egypt ‘crises’ pushing oil prices up, more?) Jk! :)
But seriously, if we are to really consider the plight of Egyptian people forward – these are the kinds of discussions that need to be had in the world – not OMG! Twitter and Facebook is their ‘answer’ to give Egyptians youthful population “True Democracy.” I mean puh-leaze! No one’s that naive!
Gosh I write this post about Saudi Arabia’s wealthy helping poor of the world more, while drinking a BUSHel of coffee via Morocco right here in Hollywood, California America’s fine Starbucks today. How ironic is that? If you care for Egypt’s youth – tweet this post Egypt’s way. ;)
[Photos via The Huffington Post]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.12.11~
Thank goodness for , otherwise we wouldn’t know how Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian really felt about Egypt’s change of management.
Thanks to twitter, now we all do. It’s weird, but yesterday in our Celebrity Wrap Up news section from Hollywood, I wrote the words post Lindsay’s dramas in court- “Lindsay Lohan gets a reprieve. An absurd sure-way to make US kids happy for the weekend. She’s like Egypt!“
It was like her court drama over allegedly stolen gold (a piece of borrowed and mistakenly unreturned jewelry), was reflecting back to Egypt’s own situation with a dictator ruler that semi-suited Egypt for three decades with this nation’s mid-East aligned other leaders of the Word, but yet doesn’t any more.
When you look at this kid’s life (Lohan) at the hands of Hollywood, Lindsay is like many of the kids in Egypt. Their futures always unknown – before the revolution. At this time, possibilities to create new futures are where it’s at for Egyptian youth now. Possibilities have allegedly been increased for these kids now. The news tells us, this is exciting. Anyone with a heart can’t help but feel their excitement and not wish them the best paths forward.
I think maybe it’s a vibe Lohan’s feeling for Egyptian kids too, obviously. Either that, or Washington/ or Twitter Corporate is sending her good memo’s to post on twitter. Lol! Read the rest of this entry »
A timely documentary to watch in light of the latest ‘democratic’ developments occurring in Egypt, a nation that has a strong Muslim population, is this film Inside Islam, What 1 Billion Muslims Really Think (2010, 58 mins). If you’re not yet sold on the title, like I am, here’s a bit about the documentary:
“A short film that explores the opinions of Muslims around the globe as revealed in the world’s first major opinion poll.
Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, a new documentary film from Unity Productions Foundation, explores the expertly gathered opinions of Muslims around the globe as revealed in the world’s first major opinion poll, conducted by Gallup, the preeminent polling organization.
Gallup researchers began by asking the questions on every American’s mind. Why is there so much anti-Americanism in the Muslim world? Who are the extremists and how do Muslims feel about them? What do Muslims like and dislike about the West? What do Muslim women really want?
Crucial policy decisions hang on these questions. They continue to generate passionate disagreements in the public square. Yet for all the heat and controversy, the actual views of the world’s Muslims have been conspicuously missing from this debate.
Now, we have the missing answers and statistics, gathered, parsed, and analyzed not by pundits but by professional researchers.
As part of this groundbreaking six-year project, Gallup conducted tens of thousands of interviews with residents in 35 predominantly Muslim nations, as well as smaller populations in Europe and the USA. The broad extent of the polling has delivered findings for the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims with a plus or minus accuracy of 3%
Focused on the issues of Gender Justice, Terrorism, and Democracy –the film presents this remarkable data deftly, showing how it challenges the popular notion that Muslims and the West are on a collision course. Like the research, the film highlights a shared relationship that is based on facts – not fear.
Experts featured (A Partial List): Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, John Esposito, University Professor, Georgetown University, RamiKhoury, Editor of the Daily Star (Beirut), and Kenneth Pollack, Director of Research, Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute.”
Click on above pic for a rare and inside view into 1 in 6 people in the world and what they think, feel, know as a shared worldview.
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.11.11~
“Fear has been defeated in , there is no turning back.”–Anderson Cooper, as spotted by Mark Pasetsky, editorial director Cover Awards website, doubling as a columnist at Forbes Magazine.
Nice tweet!
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.11.11~
MSN BREAKING NEWS REPORT - CAIRO — Hosni Mubarak has resigned as president of Egypt, the country’s vice president said in a brief statement Friday.
Omar Suleiman, speaking on state television, said Mubarak had decided to give up “the office of the president of the republic” and said the Supreme Council of the armed forces would “run the affairs of the country.”
The news swept the country and Tahrir Square, home of the protest movement, erupted in celebration.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters had gathered for a huge rally on what they called “Farewell Friday,” and after 18 days they finally achieved their main goal.
Suleiman’s statement came after Mubarak left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, shortly after protesters marched on his main presidential palace and held vast rallies across Egypt.
Mubarak passed most of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman Thursday night, but rebuffed the demands of demonstrators that he step down immediately.
Mubarak’s departure came after an offer by the army to ensure 30-year-old emergency laws were lifted and that free and fair elections were held failed to placate the crowd.
The military’s comments were seen as a major push to end the worst crisis in Egypt’s modern history and contained a clear signal that it wanted demonstrators off the streets. Read the rest of this entry »
One question for The New York Times, do these kids in this photograph have names?
Sometimes when I look at American news coverage I think “New York Times just don’t get it.” Democracy in Egypt is more than Egypt’s young being on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google while smoking camel cigarettes. It is more than Egypt’s youth being nameless, positioned as just being an ‘advertisement’ for an American-owned computer company.
If you’re a reporter and the angle of your news coverage is ‘Egypt and human rights and defined by a democratic process’ then basic human rights begins with bothering to get peoples names when photographing people around this issue. When subjects have a name, they suddenly become human. In the New York Times coverage though, American owned social network company names, are more important to be named then the faces of Egypt’s struggle.
For Egyptian youth, it’s not about being on social network sites that is ‘democracy’ that will serve them into a future. It is about the right to earn minimum wage or above – especially too for the 20% of teenagers who live below the world’s poverty line in the entire nation of Egypt (16 million). It is about billionaires (politicians and their friends) not milking national assets (oil, gold, natural gas) into their own wallets. It’s not just about getting kids addicted to the internet so American multinational corporates can acquire these kids on their drip!
That infuriates me about people who rarely travel (70% of Americans don’t yet even own a passport) and who just assume that to be like an American teen is a sign of progress or democracy. Maybe it is? Yet, these kids would also have to watched 34 hours of television (on average) per week, to also have a sense of ‘democracy’ too the American multi-media corporates way, if they were to go that route.
Photocaption – In-Cairo, [unnamed] Egyptian youths used laptops to post video they had shot earlier Tuesday in Tahrir Square. The [nameless] group had been collecting accounts of the demonstrations and voices of the protestors, putting them on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
We must move beyond using Egypt’s people as a nameless backdrop to make ourselves look democratic. Being democratic is naming subjects in photographs you run stories about. Basic journalism in a democratic nation skills 101. When it comes to Mid-East stories, The New York Times appears not to have these skills. Alright… I’m going to have another coffee. With EXTRA honey in it. Maybe that will sweeten my tone up a bit today.
In News, David D. Kirikpatrick writes: “Although broadly committed to a transition, the Obama administration was trying to influence many of the details. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called Mr Suleiman to ask him to lift the 30-year emergency law that the government has used to suppress and imprison opposition leaders, to stop imprisoning protestors and journalists, and to invite demonstrators to help develop a specific timetable for opening up the political process. He also asked Mr. Suleiman to open talks on Egypt’s political future to a wider range of opposition members.”
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.9.11~
Story boarding Democracy – “If democracy in an internet age is preferred in a Mid-East nation. How do you show it ‘unfolding’ … in pictures?”–Horiwood on Egypt.
In the left corner we have Hosni Mubarak, a man with billions in his personal bank account he’s amassed while he has had a career in politics as Egypt’s leader for 30 years. Hosni has approximately a billion dollars for every year he’s been President. That’s not a bad job.
In the right corner we have Wael Ghonim, 30, a spokesperson in the Mid-East for American billionaires, Bill and Melinda Gates. We like the last two names. We do not like Hosni’s name as we’ve been reading it in the press. Wael has had a career being paid to talk about Google’s virtues in the Mid-East. He sells google into the Mid-East. Bill and Melinda pay Wael to do that for them.
Talk of freedom through information sharing (accessible under any topic via Google and the internet) is Wael’s no.1 sales rhetoric as Google’s mid-east salesman in charge of marketing. It gets better. More billionaires are involved in Wael’s story. Wael also ‘s progress reports to his friends. Meaning, he’s also an advertisement for Mark Zuckerberg and Co. Zuckerberg a member of Gates and Warren Buffet‘s newly formed Giving Pledge Trust.
In a way, Wael works for people who all sit at the same table. He works for some of the world’s Top 200 richest people in the world. He’s their new face as a Mid-East hero, leading an online tech revolution carrying the wings of ‘democracy.’ Democracy defined as information Google deems and ranks as being list-worthy under any topic on its search engines first two pages (stats show that 80% of people using a search engine, rarely scroll pass page 1 or 2 when searching Google). Therefore what Google lists ‘organically’ in the first 20 search results has a lot of power as ‘truth’ in the information sharing game – a symbol of ‘democracy’ in a modern digital, computer and mobile telephony driven age. Gates and Zuckerberg are two key players in this billionaire’s game of the Top 200 richest people in the world.
Ironically Hosni is in this numbered club too. They kind of all know each other. Billionaires leading and influencing the world in different ways. This month, Hosni is ‘the bad boy’ of the billionaire’s classroom. Not everyone can be ‘good’ as that would be a very boring club. Is Hosni playing the villain Joker to Gates’ Robin (Wael). I live in Hollywood. We still like Heath Ledger who plaid the Joker in the very successful film, The Dark Knight. And Heath is dead. Hosni will survive this revolution. Egypt will be aligned more with the US. They are being trained to go to the US for information sources to be fed knowledge, with Hosni acting as the villain guide of Arab nations introducing a Mid-East friendly youthful face as a hero, like Wael Ghonim.
These are the background factors to this story as reported by The Associated Press. It reads as follows: “CAIRO — A young leader of Egypt’s anti-government protesters, newly released from detention, joined a massive crowd in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for the first time Tuesday and was greeted with cheers, whistling and thunderous applause when he declared: “We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the regime.”
Many in the crowd said they were inspired by Wael Ghonim, the 30-year-old Google Inc. marketing manager who was a key organizer of the online campaign that sparked the first protest on Jan. 25 to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Straight from his release from 12 days of detention, Ghonim gave an emotionally charged television interview Monday night where he sobbed over those who have been killed in two weeks of clashes.
He arrived in the square when it was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, a crowd comparable in size to the biggest demonstration so far that drew a quarter-million people. He spoke softly and briefly to the huge crowd from a stage and began by offering his condolences to the families of those killed.
“I’m not a hero but those who were martyred are the heroes,” he said, breaking into a chant of “Mubarak leave, leave.” When he finished, the crowd erupted in cheering, whistling and deafening applause.
Ghonim has emerged as a rallying point for protesters, who reject a group of traditional Egyptian opposition groups that have met with the government amid the most sweeping concessions the regime has made in its three decades in power.
Read more from AP here & Zedo Max.
One things for sure Wael Ghonim has an interesting job. Taking a lead from his beaming smile, Wael looks like he’s enjoying his job with an increased profile to date. Appearing in front of 250,000 Egyptian people assembled in one place publicly (demonstrations are popular these days. Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert‘s American led rallies reflect this tradition too. Heck in New Zealand we’ll roll out for beaches and hobbits in public demonstration form, we’re not adverse to a rally) and being beamed out to the world during this time of political unrest in Egypt, is certainly much better for Wael in doing his job – than visiting this office in Cairo. It’s nice to see Wael get a bit of a hand up, from the powers that be, to do his job.
Know what I’m sayin? That office looks awful to go to work at. :)
[Music by James Taylor and Shower The People]
~Photographs courtesy of the Associated Press and friends. Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.8.11~
What lies beneath a veil of Mid-East political activism? as an agent of world domination, that’s what!
Have you heard of Wael Ghonim yet?
He’s America’s main man in ‘shaping Egypt’s culture of revoloution’ – using the internet’s lure to the Mid-East as the bait. The Wall Street Journal celebrated the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl football win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a Google-Egypt scandal as their front page news today.
Perhaps because AOL has merged with the Huffington Post, the WSJ deemed this Google story to be front page news worthy. The story goes a little like this – Google Executive Emerges as Key Figure in Revolt: “More than a week after his mysterious disappearance in Egypt, Google executive and political activist Wael Ghonim will be released from government detention on Monday, according to his family and a prominent businessman.
“During his disappearance, Mr. Ghonim, a father of two who is in his 30s, emerged as a central symbol of the antigovernment protests, cast as the face of a movement and hero in the cause of democracy. Protest organizers in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square adopted him as a symbolic leader. Suspecting his arrest—but having no proof—they declared in speeches that they wouldn’t leave the square until he was freed. Marchers carried homemade signs emblazoned with his name. At the same time, some local media suggested the political activities of Mr. Ghonim, who is Google’s head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, make him a traitor to his nation. 
297 people are dead in Egypt, as this nation remains on human rights watch.
In other news, Arianna Huffington shares her thoughts on US News Media‘s most creative merger on the hard news (online) front – in a while! Here’s Ari’s thoughts as guest commentary on “How to Merge”:
“I’ve used this space to make all sorts of important HuffPost announcements: new sections, new additions to the HuffPost team, new HuffPost features and new apps. But none of them can hold a candle to what we are announcing today.
When Kenny Lerer and I launched The Huffington Post on May 9, 2005, we would have been hard-pressed to imagine this moment. The Huffington Post has already been growing at a prodigious rate. But my New Year’s resolution for 2011 was to take HuffPost to the next level — not just incrementally, but exponentially. With the help of our CEO, Eric Hippeau, and our president and head of sales, Greg Coleman, we’d been able to make the site profitable. Now was the time to take leaps.
[Todays true fact - Hillary Clinton has worked so hard for America, she's been on the road 165 days in her first two years of office. Wow!]
On the cover of The New York Times today (like most major newspapers in the US) the front page rhetoric is Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers Team’s Super Bowl football win, juxtaposed against “Egypt vows new protest news” with wait…. this caught me by suprise a major IT or Online information-sharing company’s news story too.
The latter big IT story (of two major ones covering papers) today, is that Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post is selling her blog (not website, but blog) to AOL for $315 Million. $300 million to be paid in cash and $15 million in stock. AOL hopes to ‘gain readers and increase profit from online ads.’ AOL seeks to reach 100 million new visitors with Arianna’s golden taste of news and snobby tone – that America’s intelligentsia seems to think is US.
So much so, that Ms Huffington is kinda getting married to AOL. In a corporate merger kind of way of twinsy-like ‘finished sentences.’ That romance goes a little like this – “Arianna Huffington, the cable talk show pundit, author and doyenne of the political left, will take control of all of AOL’s editorial content as president and editor in chief of a newly created Huffington Post Media Group. The arrangement will give her oversight not only of AOL’s national, local and financial news operations, but also of the company’s other media enterprises like MapQuest and Moviefone.
In Egypt, President Mubarak ‘still holds on to power,’ regardless of the protests occurring calling for greater transparency of the political and judicial system of Egypt. Change management is looking slow for this billionaire President to hand over sanely. If at all. Rolling Stone brings us the latest magazine cover of Katy Perry, and the juxtaposed opposite worlds that an American pop star must occupy to be relevant. Though, contrary to this magazine’s tag line, good sex brings us closer to the divine.
Romance is UP today, on this blog. Nice one people. :)
Hollywood entertainment news, voted world wide from 50 nations today here in Hollywood, rounds out our top ten celebrity news posts as follows:
1. Romance pic – Ryan Seacrest & Julianne Hough
2. Kim Kardashian‘s silver body paint art portraiture
3. Hollywood pop culture this Waitangi Day, 2011
4. Romance pic – Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green, Hawaii
5. Romance pic – Derek Jeter & Minka Kelly
6. Teen romance – Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez
7. Hollywood’s Top 40 Box Office earning stars – Cinema 2011
8. What is the Super Bowl‘s mane attraction?
9. Model citizen – Richard Chandler puts most billionaire Presidents to shame
10. Tie A: Political leaders making billions while in government office. Ouch!
10. Tie B: Pot or text books? Teen mom Jenelle Evans big decisions in downtime
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.4.11~
It must be Valentine’s Day real soon when you see year of the Rabbit double bunny pics appearing in Hollywood as movie marketing posters. And that other movie with Topher Grace and her Young Hollywood posse that includes the funny Anna Farris. What’s it called? Poster below.
Hollywood entertainment and celebrity news happening from the hood today – looks like this.
Nicholas D. Kristof: We Are All Egyptians
Gossip: Ugly accusations fly in Halle & Gabriel‘s custody battle
Report: 22K Flee Fighting In Pakistan
Designer’s Egypt tweet causes stir - Wear Red Day
Canada rules that internet costs will be charged by usage amounts.
Locke & Key casts Jesse McCartney in the Fox TV pilot. Score.
American Idol’s TV rating are up. J to the L.O Aerosmith.
Memo to NY Times. The divine is not an iPhone’s Almost Heaven phone ICandy
Green & Yellow – Lil Wayne enters the Super Bowl prime time music market.
Verizon Halts iPhone Sales After Record First Day
ABC‘s Egypt reporters say ‘thank our lucky heads for Lebanese camera crews.’
Waitangi Day gossip, no 1 - Marae critic told to stay away
Clearisil sticks with teen porn show Skins on MTV. Y?
Reality TV star Camille Grammer will cameo in the $#*! My Dad says movie.
Obama to the $30 billion man – Urges Mubarak To Make The ‘Right Decision’
Buffy star James Masters weds Patricia Rahman Masters
Domestic Lives: Chicken Vanishes, Heartbreak Ensues
Pop star Bruno Mars to plead guilty in cocaine case. Yawn!
Teen mom Amber Portwood files police complaint against Gary Shirley
Waitangi Day Gossip no. 2 - Hapu leader calls for investigation of Waitangi media charge
Men’s dating tips - choreplay as foreplay. Emotional investing with actions not stuff.
Director defends Rihanna‘s ‘S&M’ music video
Spencer Pratt thinks USC can turn him into an FBI agent. Okay! “Security.”
Justin Bieber & Stewart swap bodies on ‘The Daily Show’
Jaime Pressly pleads nada guilty to DUI charges.
Movie review: Will 3-D ‘Sanctum’ make a splash?
MTV passes on a Lauren Conrad fashion line, reality TV pilot. Too eyebrows high brow?
Shortlist: Brad Pitt renovating $56M French chateau
Gwyneth Paltrow consoles Chris Martin after his folks split after 30 years marriage.
A Charlie Sheen sex tape? Say it isn’t so.
Tara Reid will star in American Pie 4 and The Big Lebowski 2.
Gossip Girl‘s creator wants to get a little bit psycho.
White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit
Jennifer Aniston & Jessica Simpson fans still hate on John Mayer.
Super Bass news – Taylor Swift is a big fan of Nicky Minaj‘s rap style.
Anderson Cooper‘s Egypt reporting trials see his ratings sky rocket. Pay day.
Smaller New Orleans After Katrina, Census Shows
Zac Efron is a fan of West Hollywood’s Club Voyeur too.
Stephen Colbert To Auction Portrait Of Himself
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.4.11~
[Photograph - A statue of Queen Hatshepsut, ancient Egypt's most famous female pharaoh courtesy of Getty Images.]
Last night I could not sleep. The plight of Egypt’s people weighed heavy on my soul and consciousness. Weird for a shallow celebrity blogger blogging Hollywood news I know. Yet this was the case last night for me, here in Hollywood.
To find peace and remembering that Daniel Hawkins of Aotearoa New Zealand had said hi on Facebook, I remembered Daniel an ancient Hebrew mystik. I turned to read his words. After reading these words, I had Peace of spirit, that the people of Egypt, irrespective of leaders of the world’s treatment of 79 million people at this moment in history, were all going to be okay.
Daniel’s words in Hebrew, Te Reo Rangatira (The Language of Chiefs) and English follow, in the form of his poetic prayer for a King who sought wisdom for his empire’s direction from a man who could see in the Spirit. Read the rest of this entry »
Is fleecing one’s own countryfolk for a buck, now an accepted norm, now that Hosni Mubarak is very publicly being a catalyst to reveal this trend in the world?
I guess it is.
Billionaire Bill Gates Microsoft/ Bing network is taking great pleasure today, dishing the dirt on his fellow billionaires, who don’t serve their peoples interest as good as they could, while racking up billions in their own personal bank account.
Gates websites put Egypt’s current leader Hosni Mubarak on grill, first up noting: “A growing group of Egyptian protestors (like the majority of 79 million peeps) claim that President Hosni Mubarak is out of touch with his people. One of their chief complaints? He’s too darn wealthy. The long-time U.S. ally is reportedly worth billions, so we thought we’d take a look at which other world leaders are in the billionaires club. 20 percent of Egypts population lives below the poverty line. That percentage is about the same % as what oil prices have leapt in the last week due to Egypt’s grip on the stock market, ironically. His net worth is unknown, but pundits say it sits between $20-$40 billion. Related: The Egypt mess explained in cartoons. The Mubaraks are said to have properties in Los Angeles, New York and Washington and money in various bank accounts around the world.
Alright, they have global friends in the US and European nations. Surprise, surprise.
Other world leaders getting a wee smack on the knuckles too, for milking their people of soul, while getting too fat are Thailand’s US born King Bhumibol with a fortune of $30 billion. Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah takes a spot with a net worth of $20 billion. Haji is the proud owner of 7,000 cars. Silvio Berlusconi from one of the poorest nations of P.I.I.G.S European nations (Italia) looks quite modest compared to these former lads. Silvio’s personal wealth is listed at $11 billion. MSN note ‘Berlusconi has said he has had cosmetic surgery and a hair transplant to keep that youthful look. (Even Bill Gates took a jab at him for that one.)’ Billionaire’s humor – it’s so catchy! King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has $11 billion in personal wealth. No one can get too mad at this guy though, most of his nation’s workforce are foreign imports. MSN ask did the Saudi King get over his stutter?
Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein also gets a spot with $3.5 billion in his personal wealth folder. A love of hybrid-rice via Rice-Tec denotes control of feeding world populations and making bank. His family owns, (surprise, surprise) the LGT bank. Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of United Arab Emirates is doing too badly either, although his nations economy has been hit hard by global economic recession. He retains a personal wealth portfolio of $15 billion. King Mohamed IV of Morocco has clocked up $2.5 billion while leading his nation. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar where Horiwood.Com is read by some readers has $2.5 billion. Qatar is a nation benefitting from Egypt’s current crises pushing up gas and oil prices. They’re growing. The Sheikh has a 436-foot yacht for downtime purps. Prince Albert II of Monaco has $1 billion.
Whether these lads are worth that much or not to their people remains to be seen outside of Mubarak’s nation largely voting via protest, um, heck no! But perhaps they lend a case to women leaders being giving a fair shot at looking after their people too.
[For the record, I am all for people getting wealthy, as long as they serve people into better futures than what they had before they took office, more than worship their wealth. Gosh, I think all of these men listed, need to be sat down in a movie theater to watch Schlinder's List by Steven Spielberg at least three times!].
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.3.11~
OSCARS IN EGYPT? AND A MICHELLE WILLIAMS MAGAZINE COVER
Since Heath Ledger passed away, Michelle Williams, his better half is kind of like, a Hollywood saint. Here’s Williams promoting her Marilyn Monroe upcoming movie role on IO Donna magazine via DesignScene.net
Also, on a matter of pop cultural Hollywood commentary, the New Yorker, that high brow magazine, questions whether California and The Oscars is going via Egypt this year as a theme of the awards show. There’s so much happening in Mid-East nations right now (as well as New Zealand) with revolution… or recovery… as the theme, that this cover is very interesting via NY. Whatever does it mean other than news interweaving between Egypt/Facebook/oil news and the Oscars?
[As sighted by Cover Awards website. Thanks NYC]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 2.22.11~
Posted by horiwood on February 23, 2011 in America, California, Egypt, Marilyn Monroe, Michelle Williams, New York, News, Oscars, Pop Art, Pop Cultural Commentary