As for the promises, I already feel guilty and red-handed, but it’s exactly as you put it. There’s hardly enough time to dedicate more articles for the website, but I will deliver the stuff I promised soon. I’m actually happy that PBS thought my article was excellent! :-).

Does it mean that Arab people hold no responsiblity at all to the regimes they live under? Do you mean that these regimes arrived from nowhere (or america?) to Arab societies, and before they instated their power there were no rulers?

The French revolted in 1789.

WOW! you have spoken like a true neo-liberal.

fact: arabs don’t live in democracies and the injustices you refer to are committed by repressive authoritarian regimes who will happily kill arabs as easily as anyone else who comes in their way to amassing fortunes and maintaining control.

So the mere fact you equate the injustices of poeple who are living under the yoke of oppression, mostly protected or funded by the Americans, versus the injustice committed by Amercians who chose genocide by a majority vote, is rather telling of how far you are willing to go to play the “good arab”

you cannot disappointed me anymore Nas. that would suggest that i am surprised by what you say. i am not.

Going back to 7iber (beta) will keep in people’s mind the sense that it is an evolving project, with evolving objectives and ideas.. and that people can shape its direction.

Just my 2 cents

Fat7al: our (arabs) list is just as long when it comes to injustices. but america cannot be reduced to simply that list, and the same can be said about us (arabs) or any other peoples.

there are other lists to consider. freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the media; what i’m able to say in one breath.

granted I don’t know these individuals mentioned and yes they could be goood people. yet their selectivity in endorsing certain projects and persons with known neo-liberal views does show a pattern of endorsement that I find problematic but consistent with the US definition of a good arab and that starts with that Arab expressing views sympathetic to Israel, openly or privately as well as condemnation of arab reisstance.

i dont know what that has to do with anything. 7iber is based on contributions and they can represent whatever view people want to take.

what you said about usaid and ammannet, well that too has nothing to do with what i’m talking about.

this isn’t about aid or funding

its about contributions and creating or at least nudging along a culture of citizen journalism.

that’s it.

If 7iber is conceived in your mind it can be achieved by your body. Negative, positive, as well as neutral comments will always be there but they are part of the nature of the beast, you must train yourself to accept them and move on.

Here is a short list of what some people said about George Bush the President of the United States.

He is coward

He dodged the draft

He is a coke head

He is Nazi like

He is a murderer

He should be impeached

And the list goes on, do you think that he cares about what these people think of him?! He just keeps going doing what he thinks he ought to do without worrying what is being said.

The point that I’m making is that if you are going to worry about every comment that every one makes about 7iber you are going to get burned out in no time.

You stated that people writing the editorials on 7iber are expressing their opinion and so is the people who are making the comments, they too are expressing their opinion even if it comes out as distasteful. I say just move on you are doing okay but that is just my opinion.

because if a few minor issues such as:
war crimes?
genocide?
imperialism?
support for zionism?
support for repressive regimes?
undermining democracy?
all with the support of fellow Americans in a free society making free choices in free elections producing war criminals who kill millions of innocents.

that’s all i can say in one birth.

if you are Lithuanian, I guess the US is OK.

granted I don’t know these individuals mentioned and yes they could be goood people. yet their selectivity in endorsing certain projects and persons with known neo-liberal views does show a pattern of endorsement that I find problematic but consistent with the US definition of a good arab and that starts with that Arab expressing views sympathetic to Israel, openly or privately as well as condemnation of arab reisstance.

The other catch is that you never know how these Americans voted. did they vote for the Texas dynasty that killed over a million arabs for no reason other than to keep the cost of fuel for Americans down?

but what I know for sure is that Daoud Kuttab of AmmanNet has received USAID funding. if you think this is clean money, than i strongly disagree.

citizen journalism is based on telling the untold stories, and is based on freedom of speech. america does not have a monopoly in either.

so you can call it “american-inspired” if you want, but that’s not an insult.

not really.