Ali Sabat on Deathrow for "Witchcraft" in Saudi Arabia

The cassation court in Mecca should overturn the death sentence imposed on Ali Sabat by a lower court in Medina on November 9 for practicing witchcraft, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the Saudi government to cease its increasing use of charges of "witchcraft" which remains vaguely defined and arbitrarily used.

You can continue reading the article here. I only heard about this unbelievable story a couple of days ago at work, and I immediately thought that the Lebanese government is surely working on releasing Ali Sabat. However after reading the article, we can notice that there is no mention of the Lebanese government wanting to negotiate releasing Sabat, as a matter of fact there is no mention of it at all.

I don't understand, aren't they supposed to do something? Especially that the crime is for one, silly, for two, not even legally defined.

The official confirmed that no legal definition exists and could not clarify what evidence has probative value in witchcraft trials.

I will try to check more sources on the subject and update this post.

إلى الأمام سر

People ask me over and over again why I stay in Lebanon, especially that I do have the opportunity of leaving this country and living abroad, my answer was revealed to me today and it's so simple and straight to the point.

What's better than being part of a country that is getting on its feet, being developed and making something of itself. I want to remain a part of this. I don't want to leave and wait for others to fix and then come back and reclaim victory. I want to assist with this path of my country growing up and growing.

Happy 66th Independence Day.

My response to that catholic school

Some catholic school sent the above flyer to parents, in a nutshell they warned parents that there will be a concert where gothic people (who have the culture of death) will lure kids in to some satanic rituals and give them drugs, and they wondered, why aren't there any cameras allowed? What are they trying to hide? So here is my answer below!

That's definitely an old subject being opened up, I don't remember the exact year, but I know it was mid 90s to the beginning years of 2000 where the music Rock and Metal were considered Satanic and everyone who likes this music worships Satan and many got arrested for having long hair and an earring in their nose.

Well I used to listen to metal and heavy/hard rock music a lot in my early 20s and I have never worshiped Satan, he doesn't exist you see, him and his stupid red horns.

Drugs and cults exist everywhere irregardless whether their members like rock or samba, if they do, it's mere coincidence, but it's not an equivalence formula, because most people who like rock and metal music just like music for what it is and are not a part or members of any satanic cults.

I used to attend so many rock concerts in Lebanon, and today I was at the mentioned concert where 4 bands in total played, 2 of them were local bands, moreover there was To Die For and Anathema (the latter is a great band which I really like), and the reason why they said no cams, wasn't because we were all going to do a big circle and chant to Satan, it was simply a marketing thing and the organizers probably wanted exclusivity on the photos. BUT TO YOUR SURPRISE there was at least 500 cameras down there, why don't you go ahead and check the videos, you will see there was nothing harmful there, just people happy and singing along and jumping!

If by any chance a group of people did any drugs, it's (I believe) their parents problems and responsibility, plus no one was forcing anything there.

I am sick and tired of catholic school's war on this music, if you're afraid a kid might be drawn into drugs, alcohol and into a cult, well I suggest you check his or her family's situation, how their parents are raising them, and see what the real problem is that caused this kid to be so susceptible and fragile. Let's not blame rock and let's see what really causes some kids to become suicidal or confused or looking like a Gothic (which is really trust me on this, just a fashion look for most of them). Also note that a screwed up kid will not resist temptation in the bathroom of his own school, so will you not send him to school either? Or will you see what his problem is and fix it and not throw blame on other things?

And guess what, the concert was amazing, Anathema rocked the stage and no one offered me drug or told me to dance wouha wouha to Satan!

Updated: Here's an excellent post about the matter from the fellow blogger Tony. "Cultural Segregation"
And here us L'Orient-Le jour's article on the matter: "Le Centre catholique d’information au service de la censure"

Could climate change be on the new cabinet's list?

IndyACT never cease to surprise us and never procrastinate!

Today, the global league of activists, IndyACT, organized a media stunt on the beach of Beirut to highlight the fact that after four month of the endless fight on political gains it is time for Lebanon to engage the global community in the fight against climate change. The activists called for having climate change as one of the new cabinet's top priority.

And I personally thing it should be one the top priority issues to be on the cabinet's list, Lebanon can be for once a pioneer in the Arab world concerning a very crucial and important subject such as Climate Change. Why not?

We have a government again?? No!

Apparently, the opposition finally approved the national government of unity which Saad Hariri proposed, later today everything should become official. I honestly did not notice not having a government, but then again, I didn't notice when we didn't have a president for 6 months either. But the good news is, Independence day this year will have both a President and a National Government of Unity, and most importantly Gibran Bassil as Minister of Telecommunications! 3GS anyone?

Read more here, the article is in Arabic.

Beirut Rock Festival 2009

Click on image to enlarge!

Beirut Rock Festival to take place on November 11, 13 and 14 at the Forum de Beyrouth. It's great to finally see Lebanon hosting such events again, I think if I'm not mistaken, this is the first Beirut Rock Festival, and for a start it's hosting some good bands, including one of my favorites "Anathema". I am sure year after year it will evolve to something that will attract more international visitors.

Tickets on sale at the Virgin Ticketing Box Office!