Egypt مصر

Explosions rock the resort egyptian town of Dahab on the Red Sea gulf of Aqaba, 10's reported dead Yahoo news

Update: by the latest count 23 dead and 62 injured, no claims of responsibility as of yet.

The ugly face of terrorism has shown itself again, such loss of life, the sad fact is that I think people are numbed by it all, it's becoming a matter of when and where the next attack is going to be. Match that with the massive loss of life going on in Iraq on a daily basis, you get a good picture of the bleak reality of today's world.
Deepest condolences to the families of victims.

Bin Laden's latest message and Hamas

In his latest installment that was aired on Al Jazeera Sunday, Bin Laden carries on an emerging theme in Al Qaueda's rhetoric, Palestine. Al Qaueda is a Johnny-come-lately on the list of countries, organizations, and people that attach themselves to the Palestinian cause for their own self-benefit, and that is by far the last thing the cause needs. We saw Al Zawahiri come out with a similar theme in March after Hamas' win in the elections urging them to fight on.

Hamas' response to both messages has been to shrug the first off and turn a deaf ear to the other. It was very encouraging seeing such a reaction from Hamas, one would hope this may open The West's eyes to realities in the Middle East and the fact that they cannot color the whole region with the very broad brush they use. The Bush administration did that in the lead up to war in Iraq, when they claimed links between Saddam and Al Qaueda and hence 9/11, sadly some people still believe these links exist.

Technorati tags: Bin Laden, Zawahiri, Al Qaueda, Hamas

Back in the saddle again

We just had a gorgeous weekend, sunny and highs in the 70s both days so it was the perfect time for me to make my triumphant return to biking, these are some pictures I took along the bike trails. First off though my new toy, she's green!


and still shiny :)


some follow Fargoan's enjoying the lovely day.


playing hide the shadow, I like how this tree takes a dip in the pond and emerges dry from the other side.


parts of the trails are still in a rough shape, 2 weeks ago this whole area was under water from the river flooding.


the debris on the trees show how high the water was.


blue skies.

It feels great to be out on a bike again! although my rear end isn't fully agreeing with the last statement, I haven't been on a bike for over 2 years.

On sleeping

I'm sick of being nocturnal! There's only so much you can do at 4AM, and the fact that I need to be at work by 9 makes sleep seem even less desirable.

Hamas' cancelled visit to Jordan

This issue seems to be the flavor of the week, everyone is talking about it, taking a position, defending it passionately, and arguing against the other's. For me personally, I find it hard to take a position because so many of the facts about the incident are (still) unknown.

What we do know though, is that Jordan is always in a tough spot when it comes to such issues. Bush and members of the US Congress have called Jordan a US ally in the middle east on more than one occasion, also Jordan is a recipient of US Aid, a country does not fall under either of those categories by going against US policies in the region, simple as that. Now these are facts, they're not secrets, so why the shock when Jordan takes a stance that might be interpreted as anti-Hamas?

I never envy Jordanian officials, they seem to be always under the spotlight performing what has to be one of the hardest balancing acts, but Jordan's location in the region and its population mix force such an act.

Technorati tags: Hamas, Jordan

Infidel!

I was out of town a couple of weeks ago when I saw this car with a very cool license plate. Now there's a gal that isn't afraid of expressing her opinions, way to go, more power to you!



I really like the idea of cars as arenas of self-expression, you have many options from personalized license plates like the one above and this cuter one. Or you can go with any of the million and one bumper stickers available, I personally like this one



Or you can go with a fish! I know of at least 3 such expressive fishies to choose from:
The original Jesus fish, I see a LOT of those in North Dakota.



Or if you're feeling a little naughty, a Judas fish. Looks exactly like a Jesus fish but has JUDAS written instead.

And my personal favorite, the Darwin fish, which through the process of Intelligent Design has grown cute little feet :)

Jordan on the History Channel

For anyone interested and is in the US, there's a show on the History Channel on now called Digging for the Truth, the topic of today's episode is The Real Sin City: Sodom & Gomorrah. Very cool imagery from Jordan.

Edit: with the outfit the host thinks he's Indiana Jones lol! and he knows nothing...

Easter bunnies

A friend of mine sent me this picture and as silly as it is, it's funny!!



I mean.. his butt! and his ears...!! hehehe.....

Happy Easter everyone, and thank you North Dakota for being extra-religious and giving us a 4-day weekend. WOO HOO :)

Thawing

snow melting

The Red, March 26

preperation for high waters



April 4th, swelling its banks

irony, she's a bitch

these light posts used to run along a bridge

But that's the price of spring.