After months of seclusion behind a computer screen, Akras takes a break:

The blogger continues:

The blogger does not tell us what the blog is he working on about in this post.

After listening to the speech, Stiletos in the Sand, an American based in Saudi Arabia, writes:

54 minutes and 22 seconds .. of my life I can never get back. Speech in Cairo by the jeja is here in four separate parts. Really no reason for any other leaders of the world to continue ruling their own little domains. The jeja seems to have it all under control and will be the first, self-appointed, world leader from hereon out. Oh, sure. He says everything he has aspirations for, that he thinks can be achieved in the world, will need to be done “together.” Don't believe him for one single skinny second. If his lips are moving, he is lying. Hoo Boy.

Syrian Khaldoun Jarbou too wasn't impressed but writes:

I don’t see any thing new in Obama’s speech, more than that, anyone who kept up with his campaign he/she will notes that this speech is a collection of what he had said before in his way to the White House, but how ever I have liked his choosing of some words. I mean in that Violence and Extremist instead of Terrorism and Terrorist.

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif wonders out aloud on the speech venue:

I keep asking myself why did Obama choose the most repressive regimes in the Middle East to honour not only with his presence, but also to use as a launchpad for his Utopian vision of a peaceful and democratic Middle East? A vision that will continue to remain as illusive as a desert mirage for us Middle Eastners.

Then I try to select an alternate of the 22 Arab countries where he could have used instead, but I fail to find a single one which could be worthy of such an occasion.

On the speech itself, Al Yousif adds:

Regardless, he touched the perennial issues; Palestine through to women’s rights, freedom of expression to democratic governments and of course the rejection of terrorism and freedom of belief. Points which generally have been raised by every single American president - and world leader for that matter - albeit without such eloquence and empathy - but so far without any concrete steps to see through their resolutions. Somehow a “shared interest” creeps in and all those promises get shelved or forgotten to be revived upon a new ascension to a throne.

Writing at Mideast Youth, fellow Bahraini Esra'a explains why she did not tune into the speech:

As an Arab and a Muslim, there was nothing much I can benefit from what Obama has to say. I’m so tired of these tedious speeches and words and praises and promises that no one, including the target audience, ever lives up to. Despite not watching this speech due to lack of interest, I sat down on Twitter and was franly disgusted at the hype, the way people were mindlessly cheering his words on, as if they don’t understand the sources of our issues to begin with. Suddenly Obama was here to “fix things,” while reducing our problems to the size of a footnote.

I support Obama, at least in comparison to his war-mongering colleagues. But we don’t need his leadership, or anyone else’s for that matter.

In Israel, writing at South Jerusalem Gresghom Gorenberg notes how the speech has changed history:

Barack Obama likes to change what history means, and that’s a very good thing.

Today, for instance, marks 42 years since the Six-Day War began. Ever since then, the term “June 4 lines” has referred to the on-the-ground border between Israel and its Arab neighbors on the eve of the war - not the lines marked on maps, but the lines marked by forward military positions. On the Syrian front, for instance, the actual positions lined up with neither the pre-1948 international border between Palestine and Syria, nor with the 1949 armistice agreements. The small distances on the ground make for big problems in peace negotiations.

As of yesterday, however, June 4 means something entirely different. It now refers to the day on which Barack Obama chose to speak in Cairo. “June 4 lines” henceforth mean the line of thinking that the president laid out for reconciliation between the U.S. and the Muslim world, and along the way, between Israel and the Palestinians.

On the speech, Gorenberg writes:

His message to us was very, very basic Obama: First, I acknowledge your history. Second, it’s time each of you recognize the other’s side history, that you stop thinking that somehow by admitting the other’s side suffering you’ll erase your own. And now that you’ve acknowledged history, stop holding on to it as if electricity were running through it, as if your hand can’t let go. Move forward. Turn history into history - the text explaining how we got here - and stop treating it as an ever-repeating present.

We are a group of students, journalists, and activists from various Arab states who are concerned for and supportive of Kurdish human rights as well as the conservation of Kurdish history and culture. Due to injustices faced throughout the Middle East, many Kurds have found a home in neighboring Arab countries, where most Kurdish communities are entirely isolated. We are using this campaign in order to draw attention to not just their plight, but also to raise understanding of the Kurdish culture and allow them to be outspoken members of our communities.

The Alliance for Kurdish Rights is a project of the activists at Mideast Youth, and today I chatted with its Director, Esra’a Al Shafei, about this new venture.

The official launch of this Arab Association for Kurdish rights is today?

We launched it on Twitter last night, but the mailing list went out today. The response so far from the Kurdish community has been amazing.

A few years ago, the Alliance for Kurdish Rights had a petition supporting Kurdish rights, how is this new initiative different?

That petition was a specific one to unblock three websites, and it came from Middle Easterners in general as opposed to Kurds, but also Turks and Iranians. The three websites were prominent Kurdish news sites that people needed to stay in touch with their communities and with current Kurdish events that are never covered in local papers. To block them was a tragedy for many. Through that, we met a lot of Kurdish students and activists who really felt the need to join in and create something better. The Alliance for Kurdish Rights was launched a few years ago, but was hacked and we lost all data. If you remember, a Turkish flag replaced the index page and we couldn't recover the content. We started from scratch and relaunched late last summer. The participants were mainly Kurds. I got together a group of Arabs and said ‘we gotta help them out' but in a way that officially recognizes the effort…..so Kurds can realize that there are Arabs who believe in their rights.

You've said that the Kurdish response has been positive. Have they been posting their responses on the web? How has their support manifested itself?

Mostly via email. We have a lot of Kurds on our newsletter and they were replying to the email sent saying how this was the first time they have seen Arabs openly supporting Kurds in this manner. There was also this comment: “This initiative step should be appreciated. I, as a Kurd from Iraq, welcome warmly this huge step toward the recognizing the Kurdish rights and remove the decades long of suppression and assimilation. This will also improve bilaterial relations between Kurds and Arabs, and also with other communities. Good job. In Kurdish, destan xosh.”

Turkish hackers have been notorious for destroying Kurdish sites, I would expect that this new site would again make you a target. Are you prepared for another attack?

Yes we are prepared, we have daily backups and are servers are much stronger than before. We are now on a dedicated server and monitor our logs for each error or suspicious attempts for an attack. I mean, it won't be easy, of course there is no doubt that hackers tend to outsmart you pretty fast. In 2007, each time we relaunched again, the hacking would continue- literally within hours or one day. We had no one to help us handle it. We don't remember what was said in Turkish, but Turkish friends said the statements weren't kind, obviously. It wasn't the average nationalist statement, like “long live Turkey”, but things likening Kurds to animals who must be “sprayed to death.” This was two years ago but these brutal statements made us more determined to continue the efforts.

We are working now on a video page of Kurdish content, our own Kurdish video service to archive Kurdish videos, historical, cultural and otherwise. I always felt a responsibility to speak up for Kurds as an Arab. I was appalled at the lack of attention and sympathy they generated within the Arab world. I mean you are talking about a minority that suffered through genocide, severe discrimination, execution, humiliation, refusal to legal or ethnic recognition….

I met a lot of Kurds in the past who kept asking “where are the Arab voices on our behalf”? I had no answer, until now. So really, what I hope to offer is a really strong voice: an Arab one in favor of Kurdish human rights, one that can change the current relationship (or lack thereof!) between Kurds and Arabs. I know this is already happening. The responses from Kurds from Syria or Iraq saying things like, “I have new-found respect and appreciation for Arabs, even if not all of them were responsible for our suffering.” There were racist tensions between Kurds and Arabs in the past. We are answering some crucial questions.

Have you had much Arab feedback? And are the Arabs that have responded living in the Middle East or in the diaspora?

In the Middle East, mostly Iraq. We have a few members already from Iraq; two of the articles were written by Iraqis.

How has this dialogue been carried out between these groups?

We have gathered members from 16 countries so far to serve as sorts of “spokespeople.” Their responsibilities include getting this message across to the Kurdish communities in their own countries. It was hard for many to reject because they are aware of the history. How can you justify genocide and hundreds of thousands people dying tragic deaths for decades on end? All the Arabs I know felt a deep sense of responsibility to speak up. This was their wake up call.

So you are encouraging the ones joining this to go out into their local communities to speak up?

Definitely. I want them to find the Kurdish communities. And as Arabs I want them to lift a hand, express interest in who they are, in their work, recognize their ethnicity, and express their willingness to coexist.

This is definitely a first but a major first step. In a perfect world how would you like to see this project expand?

Well I am a big fan of interactive and dynamic media. I want to see programs by Arabs that discuss Kurdish issues, and then joined up by their Kurdish friends, hence us giving away Flip cameras to make this possible. But we also want to note that Kurds don't only exist in the areas where most originate, many have moved to neighboring countries where they are equally ignored and sometimes discriminated against.

What would you say about this project to those that aren't Arab or Kurdish?

I'd tell them that there are things that frankly only we can solve as members from the region. If a Kurd was abused in an Arab country, or in the name of Arabs (forced to convert his/her ethnicity), whose responsibility is it to stand up for this injustice? Ours, no one else's.

Image by donknuth

In a extremely connected world, Syria is still lagging behind; The Internet was introduced to the public close to the year 2000 and currently the penetration rate stands at about 17%. The vast majority of users, however, still endure the screeches of a dial-up modem due to the country's weak broadband infrastructure. Cellular networks were licensed to operate in Syria in 2001 and ever since day one, the media echoed the customers' discontent with service rates. The state of the struggling Syrian telecoms sector is largely attributed to the US embargo on the country and corruption within the Syrian telecom bodies.

Syrian bloggers decided they have had enough with the current prices Syrian mobile carriers - Syriatel and MTN Syria) - and the services they offer. The reaction came in the form of a campaign to boycott of mobile carriers on June 1st which was picked up [ar] by the local media.

The campaigners sent out the following message:

قاطعوا الموبايل في واحد حزيران 2009
ساهموا معنا في الحملة الوطنية للضغط على شركات الاتصالات لتخفيض الفواتير أسوةً بالبلدان المجاورة […] ساهم معنا وانشر الخبر ليصل إلى أكبر عدد ممكن

Anarchist Queer weighed in saying [ar]:

بالنسبة لي فأنا أقاطع الشركات ليس فقط لأجورها العالية وإنّما أيضاً
لأساليب النصب والاحتيال التي يتبعونها مع زبائنهم, وكنت شاهدة على ذلك
خلال فترة تدريبي في شركة إم تي إن قبل أن أقدم استقالتي.

And on Twitter Salamm said[ar]:

"I Like this Mobile Boycott campaign, and I'm spreading it around (offline) it would've been better if it were for more than one day."

Finally, Somar from Syria Talk said in a reply to a comment:

الموضوع الأهم أنو يحس الشباب أنو نحنا كلنا ايد وحدة..بغض النظر عن الدين والطوائف…لازم نجتمع لنغيير الوضع نحو الأفضل…طالما الأفضل هوي لنا جميعاً

Roba Al Assi from Jordan is shocked with people's reactions towards the disease:

OpusP remarks on Egypt's decision to cull swine saying:

aaalana, from Aleppo, Syria, is excited the disease has not been detected in that country:

Meanwhile, Lebanese habibh sees the disease as a blessing in disguise, hoping it would curb some traditions, like the exchange of kisses when greeting people:

Still in Lebanon, QifaNabki brushes off swine flu as a smaller concern, noting:

And this post will not be complete, if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not dragged into the matter. NewsatEleven jokes: