It's raining right now in Riyadh. Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you I'm not going to be blogging for about a month. As soon as my final exams finish, I'll be back. Have a good time, and wish me luck. # »

This news story says that, according to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), 11% of Saudi Arabia populaion use the internet. I have tried to find the story on MCIT website, but the fornt page reads: Browse in Internet Explorer. (!!) WTF?! # »

How much do Saudis spend for tobacco? An amount enough to build 17 health care cities. Try to imagine this number: $4.8bn. # »

This week is the National Smile Week in Britain. Good idea. I think we could use this around here.

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Jeff Jarvis thinks that Thomas Friedman is asking the right question regarding the Newsweek story. Friedman says:

I have not read of a single fatwa issued by any Muslim cleric outside Iraq condemning these indiscriminate mass murders of Iraqi Shiites and Kurds by these jihadist suicide bombers, many of whom, according to a Washington Post report, are coming from Saudi Arabia.

Again, Friedman is making a good point. I could not agree more. # »

Where on earth the government of a country has the right to name your own children? Yep, you guissed that right. Here in Saudi Arabia. Maram Makkawi writes a good column on how government can iterrupt something that is none of its business. "Unfortunately, we have a strong popular culture, supported by many regulations, that gives others the chance to intervenes in one's most private matters," she says. # »

Raid Qusti is daydreaming, and wondering why all foreigners still remain outside Saudi mainstream. Usually, such stories tend to blame Saudis for not being friendly and welocming to foreigner. This time, Qusti blames foreigner for isolating themselves in compounds. "You're not really living somewhere if you do not speak the language of the host country, avoid mingling with locals, do not see other parts of the country, and do not make local friends," he says. Good point. # »

"The e-Government Program - Yesser - translates the Saudi Government's keen interest in implementing the e-government concept." # »

Mahmood: "If you, your daughter, son, wife, husband doesn't want the Bluetooth feature, why not just switch that feature off?" # »

Unfortunately, Mansur is to quit blogging. Bad news. # »

Choire Sicha leaves Gawker. # »

Nahid Ba-Shatah thinks that no one in this country respects female journalists. Well, I do. # »

Crossroads Arabia thinks what happened in Kuwait is putting pressure on Saudi Arabia. Well, after what happened in the last stage of the municipal elections, and what happened to the three reformists, I have to say that I'm skeptical. And even when Abdul-Wahed al-Humaid says: "Naturally, Saudi women will gain their political rights." I'm still skeptical. # »

How could they arrest Amr this way? This is unacceptable. # »

I love Rojo. It is much cooler than Bloglines, and much better than Kinja. Now, if they just could show the number of unread posts the way Bloglines do. It would be perfect. BTW, I read somewhere that Gawker is planning to relaunch Kinja later this year. More competition means better products. Let's wait and see. UPDATE: Rojo does show the number of unread feeds. Good. # »

CSM: "In a strong message to Saudis seeking democratic reforms in the kingdom, authorities Sunday issued sentences of up to nine years for two academics and a poet who were calling for increased political participation." This is surprising because I saw Osama Nakshabandi on Al-Jazeera saying the three activists would be sent free soon. I guess he was laying. # »

The New York Times announced that it would offer a new subscription-based service on its Web site, charging users an annual fee to read its Op-Ed and news columnists. "Let's hope this doesn't affect their policy re the links in their RSS feeds." # »

BBC: "The Kuwaiti parliament has voted to give women full political rights." # »

50 Fun Things To Do With Your iPod # »

I have said that some people are not going to like Jamal Khashggi's nomination of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani for King Faisal Prize for serving Islam, and I was right. Yousef Makki writes one of the most gibberish columns I read lately. Please, if you can read Arabic, don't waste your time reading such non-sense. In his column, Mr. Makki implies that Arabs do not care about Nobel Prize because it was given to some of Israeli's prime ministers. Is it true? No. I think this man is exercising wishful thinking. He thinks that he can think for all Arabs. Thank you, but we have our own brains, and we can use them very well. Better than you do, apparently. He says that King Faisal Prize should not be given to someone who cooperated with the invaders (he uses much worse expression, but I don't dare to use his language with such a respectful personality like Aytollah Sistani).

Correct me if I was wrong, but as far as I can recall, Sistani never met any American, or did he? I cannot assume the writer is blind and deaf, but to neglect Sistani's role to prevent civil war, and his insistence on holding elections, is inexcusable to me.

The terrorists targeted Shiites many, many times. They have attacked Shiite holy places, and killed some prominent Shiite figures, such as Sayed Mohammed Baqer Al-Hakeem. Imagine what could have happened if Shiites were to payback to every terrorist attack. However, Sistani has always called Shiites to calm down, and advised them to show their resistance through living and rebuilding instead of killing and destroying. Ironically, Mr. Makki nominates Sheikh Hareth Al-Dhari for the Prize. With all due respect for you and Sheikh Al-Dhari, I have one question to ask: Are you serious? # »

The British ambassador to Saudi Arabia likes to be called Abu Henry, the Saudi way! Also, he is a good Arzah dancer, he likes sitting in tents and he likes the Saudi local meals and believes such meals are very healthy! Dir Sir, Whatever you like to do is fine with me, but I'm sorry to tell you that what you said about our local meals is not correct. Our local meals are not healthy at all. # »

To celebrate their fifth anniversary, the Arabic edition of Newsweek published a special issue with an exclusive cover story on the 43 most influential persons in the Arab World. The first name on the list was Nancy Ajram, the hot Lebanese singer. "It is not only about her music, which tempts everyone to dance, but it is also about the message behind her videos: sexuality and humanity, seduction and equality," the magazine wrote. Well, I can't think of Ajram as one of the most influential people in this part of the world. The previously mentioned video has assisted her to become a star because it was controversial. The magazine did not say that Ajram was singing since she was 12-year-old, and she had several plastic surgeries before releasing the "Akhasmak Ah" video. Nancy Ajram is a cute girl, but she is difintely not the most talented. I bet that without the controversy and plastic surgeries, Ajram would be just another so-so singer. # »

Mohammed al-Hassani calls the government to get rid of the men at "the the head of every department related to girls' education in the Kingdom." He makes a good point, and asks some really good questions. "[W]hen everyone is calling for women to do more jobs and for additional jobs to be open to them. How can this worthwhile goal be achieved if the very jobs that should be done by women are given to men, thus forcing women to seek other and less rewarding employment?" I'm convinced. # »

Yet another great column by the great Jamal Khashggi. Will the officials read it, take the good ideas and get down to business? I don't think so. Why? It's just the way things are around here. Sometimes, good simple ideas need a miracle to become true. # »

Gainan al-Ghamdi writes a sarcastic, yet true, story about scholarships for Saudi students given by the British ministry of foreign affairs. I agree with the writer when he says that the process of making decisions in most government bodies is so centralized that we lose many good opportunities. # »

On a recent event in the Literature Club of Jeddah, commenting on a paper named "The message of enlightenment in drama, arts, radio and television in Saudi Arabia" presented by the Saudi novelist Mahmoud Traori, a female participant in the discussion followed the keynote said: "Instead of women, Shakespeare used young boys dressed in women clothes to play womens' roles. Why can't we do the same thing?"

Can this question sounds any more stupid? # »

If you were a female student at King Faisal University, do not bring your laptop to the dorm unless you have an official permission. Otherwise, the dorm supervisors will take your laptop, and turn it on to search for illegal materials, such as movies where one actress complains about men who stalk her butt. This exactly what happened to one student. The officials took her laptop for 15 days. They gave it back to her later, but she had to sign a paper that she will never ever bring her laptop to the dorm again. There are many ugly places in this country, but students' dorms, for boys or girls, can be like hell. # »

Saudi Jeans Turns One

A year ago, Saudi Jeans was born. I know one year is not a very long time, but I'm glad that SJ could cross the 365 days line. When I started this, it was my first serious attempts to write in English. The blog has given me the opportunity to meet some great people. I even recieved an email from celebrity blogger Nick Denton. Now not all responses I received were nice, but I'm glad I could encourage some people to discuss some important (or maybe not-so-important) issues. Finally, I want to thank all my readers. Let us all hope the coming years are going to be better and more peaceful for Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and the whole world. # »

Riyadh Jargon Watch

Read this piece of a conversation between two typical guys in Riyadh:

Guy1: Where the hell have you been last night? I called you like a million times.
Guy2 (looking like he doesn't want to answer that question): OK,OK... I was playing Sony. Do you expect me to answer?
Guy1: aha...

For you who live outside Saudi Arabia, 'Sony' is a short for the popular video gaming console Sony PlayStation. So, nothing seems wrong with this conversation, right? Guy2 is an addicted gamer, what's wrong with that? Actually, you are wrong. Because according to Riyadh Jargon Watch, if a person says he was "playing Sony" this does mean that "he was making out with a girl"

This is only an example of the coded language of the young lads in Riyadh. I know few more examples, but because I'm not a Riyadh native, it is not really easy for me to learn more of this secret language. Of course, in all soceities, any group of people can have their secret language. However, in such conservative soceities like the one we have here, things can get really interesting. # »

The historical Gaisria Market of Hassa will be rebuilt. # »

Hamza al-Mezeini have a great column on the "culture of death" that some Islamists are trying to spread at our schools. # »

I was expecting this. The usually-boring newspaper of the university was out this morning carrying several letters written by students about the reality show Star Academy. It is the same old story, but the funny thing this time is that none of the letters mentions the name of the Saudi winner, while one of them calls the show "Shame Academy." Another student was objecting about the "naked" girls in the audience who covered themselves with the Saudi flag. Yeah, for someone who used to see women covered from head to toe, these girls, wearing blue jeans and T-shirts, were practically naked.

Farah, have you read the newspaper? What do you think? # »

I think the decision of Amazon to publish books was much influenced by the large number of users on 43Things who said they want to write a book. Amazon's investment in 43Things was a smart move, because this way, they can keep an eye on trends taking on the web, and use these information to introduce more services, and therefore, gain more revenue. # »

Badria al-Bisher tells a nice story. It turns out that boys are not the only ones to use cameraphones to take photos of girls. Girls will look at boys, make fun of them, and when it's too funny, they are likely to take some photos. # »

Indonesian maid Nour Miyati who accused her Saudi employers of torture has been charged with making false allegations. The maid alleged the wife beat her "when she saw her walking in the house without underwear." # »

More terrifying stories from the Holy Mosque in Makkah. I don't know about you guys, but I think those Wahabbis are really hijacking Islam. # »

Magdee has an interesting post about the emergency laws in Egypt. He says that even with the application of emergency laws, "[t]he influence of Islamists/Wahabbis is getting stronger." # »

Al-Hayat: Jews in Hassa? # »

Jason Kottke says "it seems that there are several efforts underway to cut the fundamental unit [of the web] down to the phrase or word." Probably. # »

When I started to pay attention to the Arabic Wikipedia few months ago, I noticed that the page on my city was composed only of two lines, and had some incorrect information. I have done some research, and written a detailed article about Hassa. However, some biased users, who apparently have some problems with Shiites, did not like it. They removed some parts and replaced them with big fat lies. I've been correcting this stupid behavior for some time, but when I tried to edit the page this morning, the system told me I was banned from editing this page by one of the administrators because I used some "dirty words" (!!) It is a shame when a racist person becomes to be an administrator in such a noble project like Wikipedia. # »

Bahrain This Month interviews Mahmood. It is good to see bloggers get more attention around here. Fame! # »

Al-Riyadh is the first Arabic newspaper to have RSS. Nice. # »

Saddam is reading Don't Be Sad by Sheikh Ayedh al-Garni, one of the most popular books in Saudi Arabia. # »

The Ministry of Education is investigating a teacher who criticized Shiite practices. # »

Many Saudi writers, including Abdul-Rahman al-Rashed and Reem al-Saleh, have written that one of the main concerns to Saudis in the issue of Saudi-US relationship is the ability of Saudi students to study in the States. "If it was up to me, I would exchange oil with education," al-Saleh says. # »

Rojo, the web-based RSS aggregator, is out of beta, and it looks far better than before. # »

The Wisdom of Crowds

James Suroweicki's The Wisdom of Crowds was rated as one of the best books of last year. The author argues that large groups of people will outperform a few experts at the process of making correct decisions. This argument seems weird and controversial at the beginning, but little by little, one realizes how convincing the idea of the wisdom of crowds is, and how it can be found, deeply integrated, in our everyday lives.

Some parts of the book, especially those dealing with complicated economic issues, may not be interesting to some readers. Other parts related with NFL may not be understood by most international readers. But in general, this book could be a good read for everyone.

Here is a piece from the last chapter on democracy:

[T]he democratic experience is an experience of not getting everything you want. It's an experience of seeing your opponents win and get what you hoped to have, and of accepting it, because you believe that they will not destroy the things you value and because you know you will have another chance to get what you want.

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Badria al-Bisher writes about a woman who had to hit a rude man. It sounds like a funny story, but I think it's a sad one. It is a shame to find men treat women this way in country where people claim to be the Ultimate-Super-Muslims. # »

This piece says people read better when they are in love, and are reading a love letter. I totally agree with this. Love does not only makes us better readers, it makes us better people. # »

Things that Bug Me

Five times a day, any place that comes to mind must be closed. Why? Because the Wahabis think they can force people to pray. What if you had an emergency and needed a drug from the pharmacy during prayer time? You are not going to get it. Who the hell told you to be sick during prayer time?! I have said this a million times before, one more time won't hurt. A person who wants to pray will not give a rat's ass to anything. And when it comes to works with the government, this can be a real pain in the ass. Because most of these over-paid pencil-pushers will use prayer as an excuse for their laziness and uselessness.

This is the first part of a series about things that cause me to curse, frown, or simply feel some discomfort. There are things that bug you? You can contribute to this series by posting to your blog, or leaving a comment here. # »

Backpack is the most popular link on del.icio.us. I'm giving it a try. # »

Blo-Boz experiments drinking hot Coca-Cola. Don't try this at home. # »

Two quotes from Haifaa al-Mansur's interview:

"I think a woman must be proud of her identity."

"If a women chose to cover her face, I respect her choice. But I also want people to respect my choice."

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Matt Haughey is not the only one to moblog the birth of his daughter. Here is an Egyptian blogger who starts a blog for his new daughter. He says he will be blogging on her own blog until she starts writing! # »

Wahabis will not like this: After Thomas Friedman nominating him for the Nobel Prize, Jamal Khashggi is nominating Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani for King Faisal Prize for serving Islam, the most prestigious prize of its kind. # »

MSNBC says Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan, chief justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council, has encouraged Saudis to fight in Iraq in an audio tape secretly recorded at a government mosque last October. Sheikh al-Luhaidan denies it. I'm not really sure about this. I will try to find out more, and I'll let you know. # »

Full transcript of the Turki al-Dakheel's interview with Haifaa al-Mansur. # »

Matt Haughey has been moblogging the birth of his daughter. (via Kottke) # »

Through the Blog, at Starbucks

I always read about bloggers who got to meet other interesting people through their blogs, and I was thinking how could that happen, and how does it feel.

Last night, I met Mohammed. He is a Tanzanian, and he has come from Dubai for business. He has been reading my blog for a while, and when he asked me if I could meet him over a cup of coffee in Riyadh, I was more than happy to say yes. We spent two good hours at Starbucks, Olaya St., and talked about almost everything from blogs (duh!), to politics, to religion, to business, and finally football.

Truth be told, I was a bit nervous before going to meet Mohammed, but now, I am glad that my blog had given me the opportunity to meet such a nice guy like him. Mohammed, who said he hates working with Saudis (I don't blame him, I hate working with Saudis sometimes, too), told me he is thinking of starting his own blog. I told him that would be great. However, I wished we had more time to talk. One thing is for sure, next time Mohammed comes to Riyadh, or I go to Dubai, we are going to meet again. # »

Earlier this week, Matt Haueghy posted a set of pictures for some design work for the website of Pyra, the mother company of Blogger, that they almost launched. The pictures, for better or worse, remind me with that period of in the life of web. Bright colors, large graphics and small fonts. This seems really different from the trends taking on the web now. # »

Few weeks ago, Ethan Zuckerman offered me to contribute to a project called Global Voices Online. Here is my first post to the GVO blog. Check it out, and tell me what do you think about it. # »

Even though I have no problem with girls wearing hijab appear in music videos, I find it inappropriate and disturbing when music channels show a video about the prophet (pbuh) followed by a video of Maria or Ruby. # »

Rosseta Stone: Two terrorist attacks in Cairo. # »