Walt Disney Pictures, which already produces movies in France, China and India (at least) in addition to their regular roster of American pics, is now eyeing the Arabian peninsula and is in talks to finance The Last Of The Storytellers from Lebanese director Chadi Zeneddine (Falling From Earth), which would mark their first film in Arabic and will likely start filming by the end of next year.

Disney has big plans for the Middle East. The Arab world has a population of some 300 million people, and with two-thirds under age 30, the market is a natural for family-friendly Disney fare. Disney expects to announce two more Arabic-language features in time for the fifth edition of the Dubai Film Festival, which unspools in December.

"There’s a lot of opportunity for us in the Middle East," said a Disney exec, who insisted on anonymity. "There’s a lot of room for growth for us. It’s the international territory that we’re most excited about expanding into."

Disney's arabian move is expected to be followed by other American studios, such as 20th Century-Fox. I can already repeat what I said following Disney's recent announcement of big Indian plans: I'm really glad American studios are finally seeing the importance of international markets, but I wish they'd use their power to distribute the films they produce in other countries worldwide.

Source

Regional Media

"eCommerce is a $6.8 trillion global industry that has grown 935% since 2004. Within
the UAE the eCommerce industry was estimated at $1.16 billion 2007." -Arab Advisors Group.

Worldwide News

"There are 500,000 people coming online every single day for the first time in their lives.
By 2011, another billion are expected to join." -Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Inc.

, il mensile di

Il

primo approcio con l'ambiente musicale fu un gruppo di raggazzi della

Bassa Pianura Modenese. Due li conoscevo bene gli altri due provenivano

di un comune a pochi km da dove abitavo.

Si

presentarono una sera a casa tutti e quattro. Avevano già il nome del

gruppo, alcuni progetti, che si dovevano rivedere, per non dire anche

rifare, ma avevano quella carica che mi entusiasmo per aiutarli e

partecipare con loro a questo primo progetto.

Loro erano i CLAD.

Dovete sapere che sono nativo di Mirandola -di cui parleremo un'altra volta-, provincia di Modena. Mirandola, era, ora non la ritengo tale, una ridente cittadina della Bassa Pianura Padana Modenese. Per chi non rammenta qui è nato Giovanni Pico della Mirandola -di

cui parleremo un'altra volta-. A Mirandola sono stati sfornati più di

un musicista di fama nazionale e internazionale, come Mauro Malavasi e

Rudy Trevisi -di questi personaggi illustri, insieme ad altri, ne

parleremo in un altro momento-.

Mi diedi da fare, avendo accettato l'incarico come produttore. Trovai una casa discografica, la Panarecord di Milano.

Come dicevo, i CLAD avevano

dei brani musicali, da discoteca, ma sentivo che mancava qualcosa.

Interpellai gli amici di allora, più che altro giornalisti, editori. Mi

consigliarono un nome per l'arrangiamento. In quel periodo era libero,

per la maggiore realizzava musiche di spot pubblicitari. Questi amici

mi dissero, dopo avere ascoltato alcuni brani, che lui avrebbe

sicuramente accettato il lavoro.

Personalmente,

pur lavorando con periodici musicali, non lo conoscevo. Avevo sentito

parlare del suo gruppo musicale, scioltosi da tempo, ma di lui non

sapevo nulla. Mi recai a casa sua, in una grande via di Milano. Suonai

al campanello Shel Shapiro.

Mi

trovai di fronte questa persona che aveva capelli brizzolati e lunghi.

Alto. Che parlava, e contiua ancora a parlare un italiano macheronizato

con stile inglese. Lo trovai subito simpatico. Pur non dovendolo

intervistare, parlammo per circa un paio d'ore. Ascoltò alcuni brani.

Accettò di fare l'arrangiatore e il produttore esecutivo del primo

brano musicale dei CLAD. La stretta di mano fu il nostro contratto.

Shel Shapiro propose come sala d'incisione la Lark Studio's di Carimate.

Nessuno di noi sapeva dove si trovava la Lark Studio's, ma quando ci trovammo di fronte un castello e una sala d'incisione così ben attrezzata, l'entusiasmo salì alla stelle. Alla Lark Studio's, tra il 1984 e il 1987, hanno

inciso importanti cantanti e gruppi come gli Yes, Paul Young, Nena,

PFM, Fabrizio De André, Enzo Avitabile, Gaznevada, Shel Shapiro, Pino

Daniele, Ivano Fossati, Josè Louis Rodriguea, Tracy Spencer, Alice,

Peter Gabrile, e tanti altri.

I CLAD facevano

parte della Banda Cittadina di Mirandola. Sono quattro personaggi dal

carattere, temperamento e costumi profondamente diversi ma legati

indissolubilmente dalla medesima passione per la musica ed inoltre,

tutti con una grossa culture musicale.

Nella foto, apparsa su Tutto Musica & Spettacolo sono insieme a Lena Biolcati.

Da sinistra a destra abbiamo:

Claudio Bergamini,

suona il sax, ma la sua storia musicale è legata al clarinetto. Ha un

lungo curriculum concertistico e denso di successi: trasmissioni

televisive, concorsi nazionali ed internazionali, giungendo una volta

primo e poi terzo al prestigioso Concorso Internazione Città di Stresa.

Collabora con diverse orchestre sinfoniche.

API,

pseudonimo di Alberto Provasi, studia musica dall'età di cinque anni.

Frequenta successivamente il conservatorio nella classe di ottoni ma,

in seguito, scopre una forte attitudine per gli strumenti elettronici.

Era e rimane il più estroso ed il più pazzo del gruppo.

Davide Pavarotti, ha studiato pianoforte e sassofono.

Antonella Bergamini,

è infine la nota femminile del gruppo, la più giovane, all'incisione

del disco aveva solo 16 anni. Giovane, come sono giovani i suoi hobby,

la sua voglia di vivere, il suo look. Canta praticamente da quando è

nata, piena di grinta, è in tutto e per tutto la "voce" dei CLAD.

Si, state pensando correttamente, Claudio e Antonella, sono miei fratelli.

L'immagine riporta la recensione apparsa su TV Sorrisi E Canzoni.

Il

loro primo 45° e 33° -per le discoteche- che ne uscì, che oggi è

suonato in molte discoteche internazionali ed appare in varie

compilation, è Song Of Arabia.

Song Of Arabia

(Clad - Shel Shapiro)

I walked in the moonlight

The deserts a strange emotion

The silence sorrounds me

Like a beach that's lost an ocean

I hear voices in the distance

There's a person on my mind

He's a mirage he's a vision

Of another time

And baby's come back

To your side

She's kown that there's nowhere she can hide

And that she's in love with you

Song of Arabia

And baby's come home

And she's sure

Tonight is the night

She was waiting for

Song of Arabia

The perfume excites me

And fear of the unknow latent

The music invites me

and even if none's waiting 

I hear voices in the distance

There's a person on my mind

He's a mirage he's a vision

Of another time

And baby's come back

To your side

She's kown that there's nowhere she can hide

And that she's in love with you

Song of Arabia

And baby's come home

And she's sure

Tonight is the night

She was waiting for

Song of Arabia

I CLAD hanno partecipato a varie trasmissioni televisive tra cui il Festivalbar e Tutto Musica & Spettacolo, trasmesse dal circuito mediaset, nel 1986. Di seguito riporto due video apparsi su Canale 5.

Se non compaiono i due filmati potete cliccare qui per il primo video e qui per il secondo video.

but, what a pain that i live in this 2nd world(the term itself is used to describe the development situation of one country-not the alliance-here even though this country is stated as a 1st world in some sources; come ask anybody would say it is a 2nd one) country, which sweats it's ass to make itself like-able to 1st world countries; especially USA (well, to be exact Washington), while trying to look like suitable to EU.

yes, i accept it among many other middle&high class' well-educated(what i mean here is schools which take a 1st country world's system as an example and teach heavily 2nd and often 3rd languages) teenagers; 'we' are not suitable for EU.

we say "if we were EU, we wouldn't also want this country" and agree that EU just plays with 'us' to take what it wants.

now to corner this country even more, EU says that there is no religious freedom for MUSLIMS.

how stupid and self-seeker could a statement anymore be? why nobody thinks of our, the youths', future?

how true is it to help a less-than-half secular country to turn into a total fucked up country in this world of ours with raising religious;especially islamic pressure and horror caused by it.

i'll tell you, yes there is no religious freedom in this country, for non-hardcoreMuslims.

if one doesn't wear turban there is a limitless harassment on the streets, one can't even wear shorts because of the same reason.

there are people who gets beaten because they don't want to wrap up their heads.

there are young boys who get beaten pretty bad because they wore shorts.(this is official news, the boys were members of a basketball team and one of them nearly died).

there are teenagers who gets thrown cigarette, spilled on face or beaten just because of their long hair, piercings, short skirt...

there are tradesmen which get beaten by police since they sell alcohol. and even though it gets on news the policemen don't get even punished.

there are stupid obligatory religion lessons in schools, in which students have to memorize some prayers in Arabic, even though it has nothing to do with their language.

there are cities with really big surface areas without a single pub.

there is me, at the very least, get stared on subway in the biggest city of the country, because i am fucking hungry after school and eat a chocolate in "ramadan." (it is a religious month to fast)

there is horror on the streets, on the hearts of people.

***

one should know, when religion gets strong it is a very hard thing to break.

look at iraq, iran, arabia etc.

do you know the last juridical decision on iraq?

: women are not allowed to buy cucumber anymore, since it is "manly".

and there is no one who opposes this.

does, by any chance, want EU or USA turn this country in to something like that?

because it is pretty well-known fact that today's iran is also their fault.

**

we are all bullets.

ah, sweet political games.

Should other faith groups be given similar privileges?

The Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan recently published an article [1] by its columnist Sheikh Nabil Al-'Awadhi, who is a government-appointed preacher at a Kuwaiti mosque and in the past had a television show called "An Hour of Sincerity" on Kuwaiti Al-Rai TV. In the article, titled "The Qualities of the European," Al-'Awadhi states that Europeans are disciplined and law-abiding only because they fear punishment; that they are unclean, since they "only wash when absolutely necessary"; and that they are selfish, cowardly and miserly. It should be noted that in August 2006, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowments suspended Al-'Awadhi from his post as preacher for three months, after he gave a Friday sermon inciting to jihad and calling for harming Jews. [2]

Reformist Kuwaiti writer Ahmad Al-Sarraf responded to Al-'Awadhi's article with one of his own, in which he condemned and refuted Al-'Awadhi's statements about Europeans. [3]

Following are excerpts from the two articles:

The Europeans' "Bad Qualities Are Innumberable!"

Al-'Awadhi's article, titled "The Qualities of the European," appeared in his regular "A Word of Sincerity" column in Al-Watan. In it, he wrote:

"In a previous piece, called 'The Arab Qualities,' I mentioned some of the bad qualities which distinguish many Arabs, and which Islam calls on us to reject. Some [people], who are dazzled by Western civilization, thought that the examples [I presented in the article] were intended as a comprehensive comparison between the Arabs and the West. But the truth is that I mentioned only a few [Arab] qualities, comparing them with Western characteristics.

"However, as for the West and its characteristics, especially the Europeans - their bad qualities are innumerable! This article does not mean to [discuss] all the European qualities, [but] only some of them - in particular those having to do with their relations with one another.

"Europeans Today Are Disciplined, Law-Abiding, and Punctual... Because They Are Afraid of Penalties"

"As for the Europeans' relations with the Creator, animals are better than they are... for they do not permit what is permissible, and do not forbid what is forbidden. Moreover, whenever they find a way to please the Devil, they pursue it. I do not believe that Satan [ever] imagined that his temptation of humanity would [yield] such an extent of heresy as well as moral depravity and decay.

"Most Europeans today are disciplined, law-abiding, and punctual. But they behave in this manner not because they believe in [these virtues], but because they are afraid of penalties and fines. Just imagine, dear reader, a civilized city like London, New York, Paris or Frankfurt with the electricity cut off for even one day. What do you think the European man, in his elegant suit, and the European woman, with her elegant figure, would do?

"[Imagine] just one day without electricity, during which the surveillance cameras and the alarm systems fail. In this situation, these civilized people would turn into wild animals that would devour everything!!

"Yes, that is the truth about the West. It is not restrained by religion, values or virtue, but only by fear of punishment and fines. Furthermore, without surveillance, even the police would take part in the thievery."

"Had Allah Not Given [the Europeans] a Cold Climate, Their Stench Would Have... Driven Away the Birds and Withered the Vegetation"

"Europeans [also] usually smell bad, because they do not wash until it is absolutely necessary. They do not clean themselves properly after urinating, nor do they wipe the filth off [themselves]. Whoever mingles with them notices this characteristic. If Allah had not given them a cold climate, the stench would have been overwhelming, driving away the birds and withering the vegetation. For real cleanliness means nothing to them.

"Other bad qualities which characterize the Europeans like no others are cowardice and stinginess. You encounter a European of impressive appearance, and you believe him to be brave and strong. But as soon as you put him to the test, you find him to be a craven coward. On many occasions, I have seen them make a big racket, like barking dogs, but once confronted, they run away like rats...

"Usually, they do not aid those who are wronged or help those in distress, except seldom. Many a time have I seen people being beaten and old people lying injured on the ground, with no one lifting a finger to help them. They pay no attention to others and think only of themselves."

"The European is Miserly Even Towards His Own Wife and Children"

"As for stinginess, the Europeans are the very model of it. The European is miserly even towards his own wife and children. He may dine with his wife in a restaurant, and then each of them pays their own bill!! And when his son or daughter turns 18, he asks them to pay rent for living under his roof!

"Just as generosity and courage are man's finest qualities, so are stinginess and cowardice his worst, and the latter are especially characteristic of the European. He lives for his material interests only, and does not recognize social ties. Father and mother usually mean nothing to him, and even his children - his only interest in them is materialistic.

"Most of the Europeans today are racist, especially the Germans and the French. They despise one another, and [also] despise others. They believe that they deserve a good life, while others have only the right to serve them. Those compelled to live among them experience this racism. Given an opportunity to crush the others, [the Europeans] would grab it without hesitation. In fact, their history [provides] proof of this evil quality.

"I do not write this article out of hate or resentment, though, by Allah, I do hate the infidels among them. I have written this article in fairness, so that those who are impressed with the West will not be deluded and will not think that I am dazzled by the Europeans. For, as I have said, their bad qualities are innumerable. By Allah, even one Muslim who worships Allah is better than all the infidels in the world, even if their appearance impresses some people."

Reformist Al-Sarraf: Looking At the Europeans' Achievements, "We Are Shocked - Not Only by the Extent of Their Progress, But Also By the Extent of Our Own Backwardness"

In his rebuttal to Al-'Awadhi, reformist Kuwaiti writer Ahmad Al-Sarraf wrote: "A simple and quick comparison between the societies in the Gulf and those of Europe reveals enormous differences in education, agriculture and economics, not to mention space exploration, trade, tourism, archeology, hotels, roads, and basic utilities like electricity, water and alternative energy sources. If we examine their scientific institutes, [their] progress in medicine, and the standard of [care in] their hospitals, we will be shocked - not only by the extent of their progress, but also by the extent of our own backwardness, lack of productivity, and scanty participation in human enterprises.

"A quick glance at the moral differences between the two societies will [also] shock us... In Europe, [punctuality] is sacred and the work [ethic] is honored, while dishonesty is rare. In our societies, [on the other hand], the opposite is true.

"[When we consider] their cultural and humanitarian role, and their contribution in all areas to humanity as a whole over the last three centuries or more, we are astonished - not only at how little we have contributed, but [also] at the amazing number of calamities and woes that shameless fools from amongst us have inflicted upon the world, especially upon the West.

"Space does not permit [me] to enumerate the reasons for [the difference between the two societies]. However, there is no better proof of the greatness of Western culture, and of its values and ethics, than [the testimony] of the Saudi preacher 'Aaidh Al-Qarni, whose affiliation with a strict Islamic school did not prevent him from writing [the following words] during his first visit to Europe last March. [He wrote:] 'I am [currently] in Paris for medical treatment. I have been consulting doctors, visiting libraries, observing people, and looking at the way they behave towards each other. I have found polite and friendly people of refined culture, good qualities, and fine sensibilities. I have also found punctuality and a well-ordered way of life. [As for] us Arabs, Ibn Khaldun has preceded me in describing us as wild and uncouth. Some of my fellow clerics are coarse of character and have a desert mentality. We need an institution to train us in good manners, and another to produce high officials who are gentle, compassionate and humble... [and who] treat people decently.' This is what Saudi preacher Al-Qarni thinks of the Europeans."

"Kuwaiti preacher Nabil Al-'Awadhi, who writes for Al-Watan and belongs to the very same religious school as Al-Qarni, has a completely different view of [the Europeans]... [He thinks that] 'their bad qualities are innumerable.' His lengthy article contains much censure, invective and abuse, and I have quoted from [it] only in order to expose... the attitude towards others held by some of us - especially towards those who are most advanced, cultured and respectful [of others] and who have contributed the most to other nations.

"I should note that I do not read Nabil Al-'Awadhi's column, but that someone who read it told me that he had translated it and intends to distribute it to the European embassies in Kuwait... so that, if [Al-'Awadhi] ever applies for a visa to receive medical treatment in one of their countries, they can confront him with what he wrote."

La mayoría de los especialistas coincide en señalar que la literatura árabe está formada por el conjunto de textos literarios escritos en lengua árabe, sin incluir aquellas obras desarrolladas con el alfabeto árabe pero en otros idiomas.

La literatura árabe más antigua habría surgido en el norte de Arabia hacia el año 500 A.C.: se trata de poesías que eran recitadas en voz alta y que se memorizaban para ser transmitidas de generación en generación. De todas formas, los testimonios escritos más remotos se remontan al siglo VI.

Para hablar de la literatura existente antes de la llegada del profeta Mahoma y del desarrollo del Islam (siglo VII), los árabes se refieren a la Jahiliyyah, un concepto que puede ser traducido como la “Edad de la Ignorancia”. Los poemas de aquella época son conocidos como mu”allaqat, que significa “colgados”, ya que se supone que eran colgados en los muros de la Kaaba, entonces panteón de La Meca.

Una de las obras cumbres de la literatura árabe es la colección de relatos “Las mil y una noches”, una recopilación de cuentos árabes del Oriente Medio medieval. Se cree que el compilador y traductor de estas historias fue Abu abd-Allah Muhammed el-Gahshigar, quien utilizó la técnica del relato enmarcado (mise en abyme).

La historia central de “Las mil y una noches” es la protagonizada por la reina Scheherezade, quien narra diversos relatos a su malvado esposo, el rey Shahryar, para demorar su ejecución. Scheherezade cuenta, de esta forma, distintas historias que siempre terminan con una situación de suspenso, lo que obliga a Shahryar a mantenerla con vida hasta el siguiente día, para que la mujer pueda proseguir con su narración.

Más allá de su rica historia, la literatura árabe también cuenta con grandes exponentes que escribieron en los siglos XIX y XX, como Gibran Khalil Gibran (1883-1931, quien también escribió en inglés) y Naguib Mahfuz (1911-2006, Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1988).

http://www.poemas-del-alma.com/blog/especiales/literatura-arabe

Nota de YRANIA: la fotografía es una alusión a "Las mil y una noches".

He issued a fatwa (Islamic edict) where he "legalizes" the union between a child and an adult male. "We found that girls of that age give better benefits than adult women," he says. "Consequently they are so trained to marry as young of 20 years."

In the Islamic world, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, marriage between girls and adult males is relatively common, but Muslim theologians have not gone so far in justifying the practice.

Al Maghraoui, a well-known Salafist sheikh, and the author of half a dozen books of theology, posted the fatwa on the website of his association Preaching in the Koran and Sunna. His critics argue that he probably has done it to defend, from a religious point of view, the marriage contracted in secret by one of his friends.

His pronouncement has caused a major scandal in Morocco, but so far there has been no reaction from the authorities. The radical theologian bases his edict in the example of the prophet Muhammad. “Aicha, recalls, had only six years when she became her fiancée but was not married until she turned nine”.

There are "vicious theologians who are capable of putting religion in the service of paedophilia" writes the socialist daily Al Ittihad al Ichtiraki. "The era of our Prophet is completely different from ours. These days a marriage of the kind would be a true injustice towards the girl. A true aberration” says Naji Adib, who heads the association No ones touch my Children, who campaigns in Morocco against this scourge.

"This type of people look at Islam from the point of view which is convenient for them. It is a restrictive vision of Islam. And it is bad. Fatwas like these show the lack of reasoning from those who issue them. I cannot understand via what intellectual road or for what mental construction they come to such aberrations" she added.

Faced with the passivity of the authorities, a lawyer from Rabat, Mourad Bakouri, has taken the initiative to denounce Al Maghraoui for "violation of the Family Code and violation of children's rights." The new Moroccan law, which came into force in 2005, stipulates that the minimum age for marriage is 18 years.

The military Aviation Calendar 2009 has 13 pages of US and allied military aircraft, from fighter jets to aerobatics teams to UAVs. Find the military Aviation Calendar 2009 for only $ 19.99 exclusively at The PatriArt Gallery.

A new U.S. President faces huge challenges in the Middle East. Unfortunately, he will not begin with a clean slate. Instead, some uncomfortable fabric has already been cut to fit various policy situations, and a deft tailor is needed to reconsider, redesign, and refit this ghastly, bulky, and multilayered garment we call a Middle East policy with an ear to objections from within the region. Granted, U.S. policy goals differ from those of Middle Eastern nation-states and national entities, like the Palestinians, who have not yet achieved their own states. What I noticed in a recent journey to the region was the heated tone in which different priorities were expressed, and often within a framework of rights (as opposed to the needs outlined by Dennis Ross). Saudis and Iraqis spoke from a discourse of rights to national sovereignty, and Palestinians spoke of basic and universal human rights, whereas Israelis spoke of rights to security. There were strong objections to ideas being touted in the U.S. media as great achievements on the peace or security fronts. The security force training program being pursued by Lieutenant General Keith Dayton and highly recommended by Anthony Cordesman was described by Palestinians as encouraging violations of human rights and torture, or at least as being highly divisive. These objections are quite important in light of proposals elsewhere in the region to dismantle militias and yet find a way to reincorporate their labor.

Various Arab pundits have criticized the U.S. aim to arm and strengthen the periphery of the Middle East in something like a reprise of the Eisenhower era Baghdad Pact. In this vein, many have critiqued the soon-to-be-finalized memorandum on security to be signed with the Iraqi government. Canvassing opinions in Saudi Arabia, one might expect a Saudi disapproval of Maliki‟s government, yet there was agreement on the need for a firm date for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. One must understand that the primary policy concern in Saudi Arabia is any prospect of war with Iran, and some tend to overemphasize the Maliki government‟s ties with Iran in a version of the „Shi‟i crescent‟ threat.

Read Dr. Sherifa Zuhur's complete op-ed published by the US Army's Strategic Studies Institute (note: clicking will open a quick-loading PDF file)

y aqui les dejo un audio de otro temita de Killa Hakan pero esta vez con Islamic Force, del LP "Çakallar" de Islamic Force. El tema se llama "Dokunma Yanar" y es algo mas crudo que el anterior pero no por eso menos guapo.

Killa Hakan, Dokunma Yanar

Espero que os guste igual que a mi.