Posts Tagged ‘George Clooney’
Hot posts this week (May 18/2014)
Posted on: June 8, 2014
Hot posts this week (May 18/2014)
- What do I think of Syria and the Syrians
- Dangerdust Anonymous: Designing on chalkboards
- “Do you think you are making progress by eradicating the Moslem Brotherhood”? Interview of Reuters with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
- Was he the planner of the Assassination of President elect Bashir Gemayel? Did Nabil Alam passed away?
- Hilarious Letter to George Clooney: Welcome to the extended larger family
- “Don’t do what I said, do what I meant.” Never promise if you can’t deliver
- Every thing illegal is for sale. Rampant corruption: Driver licence, tampering with electrical counter…#dekkentelbalad,
- Bad coverage is still a free self propaganda: And Lara Logan, Benghazi, the Bombshell …
- “Koran has nothing to do” with recent waves of Islamic extremist terrorists
Hilarious Letter to George Clooney: Welcome to the extended larger family
APR 30, 2014
Following George Clooney’s engagement announcement to Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin, a great portion of the world’s population (all the women, to be exact) were heartbroken by the news.
But at least one Arab man rejoiced, and in this hilarious open letter to the actor, he welcomes Clooney to the family.
Amer Zahr wrote this letter to George Clooney
Dear George,
Congratulations. Mabrook.
You’re marrying Amal Alamuddin, an international award-winning barrister (for us Americans, “barrister” means lawyer, but I wrote “barrister” because it just sounds so much cooler). And on top of that, she is one of us. You hit the jackpot.
CNN has called her “discreet.” It looks like you found the only Arab woman who wouldn’t blab to the whole world that she is dating George Clooney. Lucky you.
I do have some words of advice for you, from one Arab guy to another soon-to-be Arab guy. Yes, you are not currently an Arab, but you will become one soon enough.
See, when one of our women marries a white guy, she doesn’t become whiter. He becomes more like us. Wikipedia says your “ancestry includes Irish, German, English, and more distant Scottish and Dutch roots.” And you were born in Kentucky. As far as I can tell, that means you’re “really white.” Strap yourself in for the ride.
I have been known to get a little upset when Arab girls marry non-Arabs. But most of the time, they turn those non-Arab guys into Arabs. And when that happens, I’m all for it.
Our culture is strong. It is contagious. And though you are George Clooney, you will not be immune to this phenomenon.
And by the way, there are tens of thousands of Arabs named “George.” My dad is one of them. And it’s not Arabized or anything. It’s just “George.” We just say the “g” a little differently, like it sounds in “beige.” So we will be able to say your name just fine. And you won’t be the first couple to be named “George & Amal” either. So you’ll fit right in.
Let’s talk about a few things.
Get ready to go to Lebanon and explore. We Arabs are extra proud of where we come from. And Lebanese Arabs are extra special super-duper over-the-top proud of where they come from.
Lebanon is a beautiful country and you will have a great time. But movies come to the Middle East a little late, so don’t be surprised if some Arabs tell you, “Hey, I loved you in Ocean’s Eleven.”
They might not even know about Ocean’s Twelve or Ocean’s Thirteen yet. Try not to ruin it for them. Also, while parts of Beirut are more beautiful than any other place in the world, don’t be alarmed if most of it looks like it was bombed yesterday. This is normal in our part of the world.
Also, you are marrying an international lawyer who has represented kings and advised secretary-generals. We Arabs are political animals, and I imagine Amal is no exception.
You will be learning much about the ins and outs of Arab history and politics over the last century. If you haven’t yet, you will probably be receiving some lectures on Palestine. Sit back and listen. You will learn a lot. And it will all be true.
You’ve been in Hollywood for a long time, so much of it may come as a shock at first. This is normal. But you’re not just marrying any Arab girl. You’re marrying the Arab girl who is an expert in international law.
And there’s nothing we Arabs love more than talking about international law and how it has been betraying us since… well, since forever.
And there might be some anger directed at America. But remember, we don’t hate Americans. We just hate America.
And we have to talk about the wedding.
You may have hoped for a small, tactful affair. I wouldn’t be too optimistic. Arab parents like to brag when their daughter marries someone really accomplished like a doctor, a lawyer, or an owner of three or more gas stations.
But this Arab daughter is marrying freakin’ George Clooney! She’s marrying Up in the Air! She’s marrying Gravity! She’s marrying Batman! (Yes, I know Batman wasn’t your proudest moment, but you know what I mean.)
At the wedding, the size of your family will immediately grow a hundred times over. You will become a cousin to more individuals than you ever dreamt was possible. You will hold hands with men and dance in circles. You will need to learn the “change the light bulb” and “windshield wiper” moves. I have a video that might help.
Our weddings can create a sort of sensory overload.
I would go to a few to observe the spectacle firsthand before your big day. It could be quite traumatic if the first Arab wedding you attend is your own. Yours might make “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” look like a private ceremony.
Incidentally, now that you will have an Arab wife who advocates for Arab rights, if you were ever going to run for political office in America, you definitely cannot now. Unless, of course, you move to Dearborn, Michigan, where you will be swiftly elected mayor with 99.9% of the vote, Saddam-style.
Finally, George, you have inspired me. If you can snag an accomplished, intelligent, beautiful, worldly, multilingual Arab genius professional, then maybe I can too.
So, welcome to the family. You’re going to have more fun than you ever imagined.
Sincerely, Amer
via CivilArab.com, Photo Credit: WENN
Engagement of Clooney and Amal Alamuddin: Who has gone crazy again?
Lebanon Goes Crazy For Clooney-Alamuddin Engagement
This past week it was announced that Beirut-born Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin is set to be married to Hollywood heartthrob and serial romancer George Clooney.
Alamuddin now holds British citizenship and is an attorney specializing in international law and human rights.
KAT STOEFFEL posted this April 29, 2014
What Is This Goddess Doing With George Clooney?
George Clooney is engaged to girlfriend Amal Alamuddin, and news outlets are scrambling to explain how the Lebanese-British human rights lawyer managed to “snag” and “tame” America’s most prominent commitment-phobe — a man who, we are now reminded, elected not to wed a professional wrestler, a Dancing with the Stars competitor, and a Las Vegas cocktail waitress.
Perhaps what we should really be asking is: How did Clooney manage to snag her?
Alamuddin is 36 and speaks French and Arabic, and her English is probably very posh, because she studied at Oxford and NYU Law. Clooney, 52, did a silly voice in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Alamuddin was named the hottest barrister in London in 2013; Clooney hasn’t been the “Sexiest Man Alive” since 2006.
Alamuddin looks a glamorous hybrid of Anne Hathaway and Huma Abedin, even when her hair is wet.
Even when she’s super embarrassed.
She has the regal grace of Carolyn Bessette but possibly with even better style?
Not to mention impeccable brow game.
The daughter of the Diane Sawyer of Lebanon, Alamuddin served as an advisor to Kofi Annan on Syria.
At leading human rights firm Doughty Street Chambers, her clients include former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Al Senussi, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Julian Assange, and the state of Cambodia.
Clooney won a prize for playing a CIA operative in the Middle East in a movie.
The funny part is that the Lebanese Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt is offering to throw the couple a party and expressing hope they would set an example of openness for the Druze community.
Probably, Walid has set his eyes on Amal. Be warned Clooney and stay away from this morass: You might end up with a cut penis
The Daily Star published this May 12, 2014
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt welcomed George Clooney’s engagement to Lebanese-British lawyer Amal Alamuddin, offering to throw the couple a party and expressing hope they would set an example of openness for the Druze community.
Jumblatt, the political leader of the Druze community in Lebanon, described the impending nuptials as “rare good news” in an e-mail to Journalist Lee Smith, according to an article in The Weekly Standard.
“Tell me when George Clooney will be coming to Lebanon so I can greet him in Moukhtara,” he wrote, referring to his ancestral home in the Chouf mountains. “I will bring a delegation of Druze sheikhs.”
“As for Amal Alamuddin, well, she is lucky,” he added. (In what way Amal is that lucky? Was that Maktoub?)
Alamuddin has become a source of pride and fascination in her home country after news broke of her engagement to avowed bachelor Clooney.
In his article, Smith inquired whether Clooney is “good for the Druze,” the official sect of Alamuddin’s father and a tight-knit community that follows a secretive off-shoot of Islam.
Due to religious restrictions, Druze are discouraged from marrying outside the faith. Last year, the family of a Druze woman who eloped with a Sunni man beat the man and cut off his penis, sparking widespread condemnation, including from the PSP.
Jumblatt criticized the insularity of his community and said he hoped that the new couple would spark a dialogue about the future of the sect.
“It would be useful after the occurrence of the barbaric act,” he wrote, in reference to the attack, “for the Druze community to hold an internal dialogue over the future of the sect. … Where will the culture of rejecting the other that breeds intolerance and hate lead? Does that not create a threat to the future?”.
Read more: http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/May-12/256153-jumblatt-welcomes-clooney-to-druze-community.ashx#ixzz31WQtsIWP
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Sustainable Development? How to decode its jargon? How George Clooney fare in the decoding?
Posted on: August 22, 2013
Development jargon decoded: sustainable development
Les Roopanarine asks why sustainable development has proved so elusive?
This is the first installment of his series decoding development speakers.
Les Roopanarine published in theguardian.com, this August 12, 2013 13:
Age (of the jargon): Debatable. Many of its underlying ideas first came together in 1962, when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring. This book highlighted the dangers of industrial malpractice and emphasized the inherent fragility of the natural world.
Like George Clooney, it may be a good 10 years younger than it looks: the 1972 Stockholm Declaration focused, among other things, on the need to safeguard human rights and natural resources, protect the environment and support developing countries.
Appearance: Shrouded in mystery. Just about everyone in the development community would love to know what it looks like, but no one’s ever seen it.
So why are we talking about it? Because sustainable development is the holy grail of the development world.
So it probably looks like that gold cup in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!
Is that why we don’t know what it looks like? Do people tumble into a giant abyss whenever they’re about to get their hands on it?
No. Although it would be fair to say it’s something of a poisoned chalice.
Oh? Do tell. What exactly is it then?
That’s just it, nobody knows.
In June last year, world leaders – hopeful of discovering the answer to that very question – converged on Brazil for the Rio+20 conference. The plan was to agree a new set of global development targets based on the principles of sustainable development.
The intent was to strike a balance between the three pillars of economy, society and environment, and they would put the world on the path to a more sustainable future. The outcome was somewhat different.
Why, what happened?
Unable to reach consensus on some of the big issues, said world leaders conceded defeat and instead set up a working group of 30 countries to formulate a plan for developing a new set of global development targets; by striking a balance between the three pillars of economy, society and environment, they would … well, you know the rest.
Too many caipirinhas? Someone should have told them about the Brundtland commission’s 1987 declaration that sustainable development “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
You mean it was codified a quarter of a century ago and still hasn’t been put into practice? What on Earth are we waiting for, doomsday?
Funny you should say that. Then again, you can’t just jump into these things: they have to be properly discussed and planned. That’s why there have been three high-level international conferences on sustainable development in two decades.
Three?!? Yep. They didn’t call it Rio+20 for nothing: the original Rio Earth summit was held in 1992, and that was followed in 2002 by the world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg.
So sustainable development is all about having major international conferences in far-flung locations every 10 years to discuss how to achieve sustainable development? Now you’re getting the hang of it.
Do say: “What we need is a set of global development targets that cover not only extreme poverty but also climate change, resource efficiency and the preservation of ecosystems.”
Don’t say: “This idea just hasn’t got legs
Adonis Diaries 
