Ramadan Kareem & Gilad Shalit

Ramadan Kareem, ya'll!

Yup, it's that time of the year again. You can read all about the cultural and religious stuff on the Wiki tag I posted ... but another thing is happening this Ramadan in East Jerusalem:

The father of Gilad Shalit is to hold a press conference directly appealing to the parents of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel to pressure the Hamas government to agree to an exchange deal for Gilad Shalit's release, Haaretz learned on Saturday.

I think I echo the Casbah readership when I wish for a safe return for Gilad Shalit. It's long overdue.

As if peace was ever going to happen anyway...

I've been busy negotiation things on the Book Deal side of things... so my blogging has been light, as has my following of Syrian-Saudi summit in Beirut. (I highly recommend you listen to this NPR report.)

But in other news, maybe the looming clash between Sa'ad Harari's Future Movement and Hezbollah wont be the next source of conflict. Maybe they can work together and pass a Lebanese law that defines their Mediterranean Sea policy. Why? Well, NPR reports:

The discovery of large natural gas reserves under the waters of the eastern Mediterranean could potentially mean a huge economic windfall for Israel and Lebanon, both resource-poor nations — if it doesn't spark new war between them...

Israel is far ahead in the race to develop the resources. Two fields, Tamar and Dalit, discovered last year, are due to start producing in 2012, and experts say their estimated combined reserves of 5.5 trillion cubic feet (160 billion cubic meters) of natural gas can cover Israel's energy needs for the next two decades.

OK. Now who's ready for the best part? It's a US company who got the contract:

In June, the U.S. energy company Noble Energy, part of a consortium developing the fields, predicted that Israel will also have enough gas to export to Europe and Asia from a third field — Leviathan, thought to hold up to 16 trillion cubic feet (450 billion cubic meters) of gas.

Remember that the US supports the government of Lebanon, too. Even though Hezbollah is part of it (though a minority).

This is like some Soviet Cold-War stuff... sleeping with the enemy, playing both sides, milking the best deal. Never mind the human toll of war... That's on the Other Side of the World. But really, I wonder what the US roll is in this looming Lebanese-Israeli clash. And will it be enough to quell Lebanese factionalism for a while?

Why isn't Anthony Weiner The President?

The Huffington Post reports:

House Republicans late Thursday were able to corral enough votes to defeat a bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to those sickened by toxins resulting from the 9/11 attacks.

In the process, they set off a host of fiery speeches and denunciations from their Democratic colleagues and produced a veritable YouTube moment from Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y), whose district includes many of the affected.

Best Video Ever

This video is just classic! Where else can you watch a Zionist debate a leading member of Hezbollah? Oh, and Robert Fisk is in here, too.

Wisdom of the day

I came across this quote while reading this morning. It's by Hunter S. Thompson. He wrote it in his book, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail.

“All I ever wanted out of this grueling campaign was enough money to get out of the country and live for a year or two in peaceful squalor in a house with a big screen porch looking down on an empty white beach, with a good rich reef a few hundred yards out in the surf and no neighbors.”

Sometimes I feel like this with my project. And it's times like these that make me want to hang out with the Afghan National Army.

Update: UAE COUP? Perhaps.

Be careful what you say in Lebanon...

So free speech was never a Big Thing in the Middle East, but there were some places where you could at least be funny.

• Israel, mostly because of its conneciton the West.
  

• Lebanon, mostly because they were too busy getting bombed and killing each other for anyone to bother writing parking tickets or censoring some dope on Facebook.

Anyway, I don't mean this offensively. It's just the mean-old truth. And unfortunately bloggers are getting targeted in these Eastern Mediterranean countries for saying things the government doesn't like.

Which makes me wonder ... Am I on the list?

Amar'e Stoudemire Is Jewish! (UPDATED)

Well... not that anyone who follows this blog cares, but NBA power forward Amar'e Stoudemire is Jewish and is going to Israel to explore his roots.

I didn't quite see that one coming.


UPDATE: Apparently there is good surf in Oman!

PUBLISHED, The Surfer's Journal

My dear Casbahites, almost a year after surfing the Middle East, my piece in The Surfer's Journal has hit the racks. "Page 124 has never looked better," says Kevin, a San Diego friend who got his Mag before I did. Very Cool.

There is no link online, so I can't tag it. The Surfer's Journal is a rare breed of magazine: reader-supported (20,000) and with no advertisement. It makes for a wonderful, glossy page, King Hell Bastard kind of read. So I recommend getting it, even if you're not a surfer; it's the National Geographic of the surf press.