Emiliano Zapata, Smoking Chimps and Gaza City

This might be the best Al Jazeera video I've ever seen on Mexico. It is what American TV journalism is not.




In other news, a "smoking chimp" in the Lebanese jnoob has been rescued, forced to quit, and is now on his way to Brazil to enter some kind of rehab. Too bad they can't take Hariri & Nasrallah and the rest of the gang with 'em.

And in other news, Jared Malsin is in Gaza City right now doing a hell of a job reporting this blitz in violence. Apparently, Israel is now assassinating "high-valued targets" again in Gaza. What's new? Jared writes:

Just before sundown today I went for a short run along the Gaza shoreline. Passing families relaxing on the beach, I was reflecting on what a remarkably calm holiday Gaza was enjoying this Eid Al-Adha.

I had thought too soon. When I returned to my apartment there was a missed call on my phone from minutes earlier. Emad, the director of Ma’an’s Gaza office, was calling to inform me that there was a deadly Israeli airstrike in Gaza City’s downtown.

Still sweating, I pulled on my jeans and grabbed a taxi to the scene of the strike, just off Al-Wehda street, not more than 500 meters from the Ma’an office. A missile fired from an Israeli drone had ripped a white Subaru in half. The front doors were butterflied out on either side of the car. The front seats, the upholstery burned off. In addition to bits of metal, rubber, and plastic lying everywhere in the street, there were flowers, as if someone’s bouquet had also been blown apart.

Apple's iPad vs the Blackberry PlayBook (choose iPad)

All I have to say about this demo is that Apple came out with the first tablet ever ... and that Blackberry came out with their PlayBook, their competition, to make sure to crush a product that has already been on the market for some time now.

Apple has said they will release a new iPad soon. Thus, as far as I'm concerned, the question really is, do you wait for the new iPad or just settle now with the slightly faster PlayBook?

Personally, I'd wait for the new iPad. The larger screen, better battery, and app store are just too good to pass up. And speaking as an author who is publishing an adventure book on both the iPad and the Android system, I wouldn't want views to experience my product on any smaller of a screen. I'd stay with the iPad.

Exclusive: Obama - Netanyahu Conversation

A Casbah exclusive....

A recording of President Obama's latest offer to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

War of the Worlds, by smashing ideas INC. "What is missing? The Text, stupid!"

It's 1:30 AM and I just got back from dancing to Brazilian music, so I'll make it short: smashing ideas INC. just released their version of War of the Worlds.



After watching the demo, it seems to be more of a video game than a literary book. That's fine. But what kind of entertainment is this? Is it all about the interactive pages on the inside, or can there be room for some kind of "reader mode" too?

Really, the reason I care, is because we are going through the same debate for Surfing the Middle East, my media-enriched iPad book. Actually, there isn't much debate: The future of iPad books will only stick if they are supported by text that holds its ground as a book. That is fundamental. Everything else is just an addition to the mystical allure of written language. Thank you.