Thunderbird 1.0

Mozilla have released version 1.0 of their email client Thunderbird.

Featuring a global inbox, message grouping, saved search folders, comprehensive data migration, RSS integration, improved privacy controls and improved quick search, it seems it’s ripe enough to remplace Outlook on many a computer.

I have just started testing this release.
And even though I installed and tested previous versions too, I never switched to Thunderbird because even though I could easily import my outlook emails into it, they were imported without their attachments which held me back from moving to it.
Obviously this has been solved with this version.

Other than that, every release was getting better and better, and when they first introduced the global inbox, I felt it had everything needed for an email client.

What I love most about Thunderbird though is it’s logo / icon. It’s beautiful. Very catchy.

At War With Islam…

“It is time we admitted that we are not at war with “terrorism.” We are at war with Islam. This is not to say that we are at war with all Muslims, but we are absolutely at war with the vision of life that is prescribed to all Muslims in the Koran. The only reason Muslim fundamentalism is a threat to us is because the fundamentals of Islam are a threat to us. Every American should read the Koran and discover the relentlessness with which non-Muslims are vilified in its pages. The idea that Islam is a “peaceful religion hijacked by extremists” is a dangerous fantasy

Hollowness of War on Terror

Juan Cole reflects on the US reaction to the bombing in Madrid by ETA, a Basque separatist group:

I was struck at how little coverage US news organizations were giving this terrorist strike. If the Bush administration were serious about fighting terrorism, surely the FBI and CIA would be flying off to Madrid and trying to catch the perpetrators? There would be extensive consultations between Bush and Prime Minister Zapatero about cooperation in fighting these groups.

If these bombings had been carried out by al-Qaeda, it would be front-page news and something of concern to Washington.

That it isn’t raises the question of anti-Muslimism. Is the difference in the way that the American press responds to ETA from the way it responds to al-Qaeda a form of racism?

It seems like not all terrorism is terrorism, and not all terrorism is considered a threat!

Tito

On Saturday afternoon, we picked ourselves out of our weekend laziness and headed to downtown Tunis for a change of setting and maybe to catch a movie or something.

We found the Egyptian movie “Tito“, featuring Ahmed El Saqqa and Hanan Turk and directed by Tarek El-Aryan, playing in one of the cinemas. So we thought we’d check it out.

It was great!. Certainly one of the best movies Egyptian cinema has produced lately.
The script, the story line, the characters, the acting, the directing, the cinematography and even the stunts were really good.

It’s great how this new wave of actors and directors in Egypt are ushering in a new age in Egyptian cinema, some sort of renaissance after the ugly movies of the 80’s and 90’s.

Tito tells the story of an ex-con who tries to escape his sinful life and start a new clean one, but his past comes back to haunt him.

I loved how they built the characters and gave them real depth and developed them througout the movie.
I also find it great they’re talking about really important issues in the society.

I truly recommend this movie to everyone.
You should really check it out.

Miss World 2004 is Miss Peru

Today, we watched the Miss World 2004 pageant live from China.
I don’t usually watch these kinds of shows and the last Miss World I ever saw was in 1994 maybe or even earlier, but well there was nothing more interesting to see on TV.

I kind of have an expert eye when it comes to stuff like this though :P, and after they showed the 107 ladies from all over the world, I immediately told my wife that Miss Peru would win, and well she did.

Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia is her name, she’s 20 years old and honestly she deserves it.

The show was even more boring than usual because of the change in how it works, as now people from all over the world vote for who they want to be Miss World instead of the judges choosing during the night.

Anyway, the video footage of the Chinese island of Sanya was great and the Chinese dances and music during the show were beautiful. I also enjoyed the performances by Lionel Richie and Il Divo.

Top 46 Things To Do In An Elevator

LOL…

My favourites are:

2.Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex to other passengers.
3.Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering: “Shut up, dammit, all of you just shut UP!”
21.Frown and mutter “gotta go, gotta go” then sigh and say “oops!”
23.Sing “Mary had a little lamb” while continually pushing buttons.
26.Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce “You’re one of THEM!” and move to the far corner of the elevator.
38.Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your “personal space.”
41.Blow spit bubbles.
43.Announce in a demonic voice: “I must find a more suitable host body.”

For the full list, go here.

Tahir Rashid

Yesterday, I got to know another Muslim talent from the UK. A very talented poet, songwriter and singer by the name of Tahir Rashid.

“My style of writing might be very different to a lot of the poets and lyricists as I do not compromise on what subject I want to write and I try to convey my feelings as openly as possible.” He says.

The main influence for his poetry is this world in itself. World events, situation of the people and the different phases he has gone through in his life.

Other than his spiritually/religiously subjected poems he’s also working on a hip hop album on which he will be performing with some other fellow artists.

I’ve gone through a number of his poems, and I love the way they flow, the simplicity and the meanings in them.

I truly recommend stopping by his website to check out his works.

Marwan Barghouthi to run for Palestinian President

Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan al-Barghouthi has decided to run for Palestinian president, reversing his earlier decision to stay out of the race.

Barghouthi’s candidacy was submitted shortly before a deadline on Wednesday night. Barghouthi, the most popular choice among Palestinians to succeed Arafat, told his wife during a prison visit that he wanted to run in the election as an independent candidate.

“I am running in this democratic battle … to achieve peace on the basis of justice, freedom, the return of Palestinian refugees, and freedom for our prisoners,” al-Barghuthi said in a statement read by his wife.
He called for a fair election campaign.

Palestinian officials originally said last Thursday that al-Barghuthi had decided not to run. After he came under pressure from Fatah officials worried about a split in their movement, he opted on Friday to drop his candidacy.

I remember in the last days of the leader Yasser Arafat, I was thinking about what would happen after his death and how there is no one to be that unifying figure, no one who is that popular, no one to step into Arafat’s shoes.
No one but Marwan Barghouthi, I thought.

He’s the only person who could unite Palestinians, the only one who could make them listen, the only one they all love and respect.

Ten candidates will be running in this presidential race. I think the right choice for Palestinian president would certainly be Marwan Barghouthi.

[Sources: ABC News, Al Jazeera]