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 #32 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:51 am What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Happytofita wrote: |
| Prezbucky wrote: |
| La la la la la la la |
This is Tourette syndrome.
Add fuel to the fire. |
Tourette's -- no
You read vindictiveness in my post that wasn't there.
"No, no, no, no, no..." would be "La, la, la, la, la..." in Arabic, correct?
okay, then, how does one economize and shorten the adamant reply to "Hell no!" or "F**k no!" in Arabic? At what point does the Middle Eastern host take "no" for an answer?
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Prezbucky
I'm a Communicator ;-)
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| #33 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:52 am What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Happytofita wrote: |
| Prezbucky wrote: |
| La la la la la la la |
This is Tourette syndrome.
Add fuel to the fire. |
Tourette's -- no
You read vindictiveness into my post that wasn't there.
"No, no, no, no, no..." would be "La, la, la, la, la..." in Arabic, correct?
okay, then, how does one economize and shorten the adamant reply to "Hell no!" or "F**k no!" in Arabic? At what point does the Middle Eastern host take "no" for an answer?
Or do they tie you down and cram the food down your throat?
Before you get huffy again, know this:
1) My mother is like that: she'll put food on your plate and watch you politely eat it even after you've told her that you're not hungry.
and
2) I love food and (therefore) am certain I'd love for someone to push food at me all day.
I think I'd (really) like the Middle East.
And, heaven forbid, if some jihadist nutjobs ever kidnapped and threatened to kill me (which no group of three men or fewer could do, as I am a master of jiujitsu and aikido -- most people's throats are vulnerable, and arm bars and other joint-breaking techniques hurt like hell... this coming from someone who put his master on his back before said master choked him into unconsciousness) I could gain their friendship by eating their lamb-ball dinner and singing "Ya Habiby La" or "Aktar Wahed" by Amr Diab.
I wonder why UFC fighters don't use kicks more often: the leg is longer than the arm and twice as powerful. Hell, I'd get in there and kick my opponent in the face, solar plexus, throat or diaphragm. The jiyjitsu and judo training were comprehensive, but they're bigger and stronger (by weight) than I am. So I'd use a nice side kick or back thrust kick to fell my cyborg opponent. There is not a throat on earth that can withstand a Shotokan Karate-taught side kick or back thrust kick. Legs are stronger than hands.
In a personal doomsday scenario, if I were pitted against an SAS operator, or a US Delta Force Operator, or a Navy DEVGRU operator in hand-to-hand combat... after pissing my pants and thereafter composing myself, I would go for a good kick to a highly sensitive zone. I would likely lose a drawn-out fight with such elite soldiers as these, so I'd go for the one-shot knockout -- with a kick, hopefully landing the blade of my right foot on the intended target. This is all assuming they were willing to put down their cutting-edge guns and fight me like a man, hand-to-hand.
I love my country, but there's a tiny bit of angst concerning their acceptance practices:
Shortly after 9/11, angry and flag-waving as I was (yet in the middle of grad school, which should tell you how pissed-off I was, willing to put off a grad degree to beat some ass) I went down to the local Army recruiting place and took the ASVAB test. I wanted to be an Army officer, leading men into battle.
So I took the ASVAB test and scored a 99 (out of 100, though it's by percentile so one can't score higher than 99). So I was fired-up: I would go to Officer Candidate School, start at the butter bar (2nd Lieutenant), get to kill terrorists and move up quickly in the Army as quantitatively verified genius.
But they turned me down because I had had asthma as a child.
Never mind that he's smart and educated
Never mind that he managed -- despite his asthma -- to play point guard in basketball, quarterback in football and play singles and doubles tennis.
Never mind that he loves his country
Never mind that he's already had advanced martial arts training
Never mind that he has a BA and is working on his MBA
I would have been a HELL of an officer/soldier, but asthma as a child/teenager held me back.
Instead they saw fit to admit a bunch of back-country morons who shoot (shot, apparently) at anythi g that moves.
So yeah, I'm a bit pissed- off.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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Prezbucky
I'm a Communicator ;-)
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| #34 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 5:07 am What do you know about Middle East? |
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I'm just playin' about the Middle Eastern stuff, dude.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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Prezbucky
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2621
Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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| #35 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:41 am What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Prezbucky wrote: |
| Happytofita wrote: |
| Prezbucky wrote: |
| La la la la la la la |
This is Tourette syndrome.
Add fuel to the fire. |
Tourette's -- no
You read vindictiveness into my post that wasn't there.
"No, no, no, no, no..." would be "La, la, la, la, la..." in Arabic, correct?
okay, then, how does one economize and shorten the adamant reply to "Hell no!" or "F**k no!" in Arabic? At what point does the Middle Eastern host take "no" for an answer?
Or do they tie you down and cram the food down your throat?
Before you get huffy again, know this:
1) My mother is like that: she'll put food on your plate and watch you politely eat it even after you've told her that you're not hungry.
and
2) I love food and (therefore) am certain I'd love for someone to push food at me all day.
I think I'd (really) like the Middle East.
And, heaven forbid, if some jihadist nutjobs ever kidnapped and threatened to kill me (which no group of three men or fewer could do, as I am a master of jiujitsu and aikido -- most people's throats are vulnerable, and arm bars and other joint-breaking techniques hurt like hell... this coming from someone who put his master on his back before said master choked him into unconsciousness) I could gain their friendship by eating their lamb-ball dinner and singing "Ya Habiby La" or "Aktar Wahed" by Amr Diab.
I wonder why UFC fighters don't use kicks more often: the leg is longer than the arm and twice as powerful. Hell, I'd get in there and kick my opponent in the face, solar plexus, throat or diaphragm. The jiyjitsu and judo training were comprehensive, but they're bigger and stronger (by weight) than I am. So I'd use a nice side kick or back thrust kick to fell my cyborg opponent. There is not a throat on earth that can withstand a Shotokan Karate-taught side kick or back thrust kick. Legs are stronger than hands.
In a personal doomsday scenario, if I were pitted against an SAS operator, or a US Delta Force Operator, or a Navy DEVGRU operator in hand-to-hand combat... after pissing my pants and thereafter composing myself, I would go for a good kick to a highly sensitive zone. I would likely lose a drawn-out fight with such elite soldiers as these, so I'd go for the one-shot knockout -- with a kick, hopefully landing the blade of my right foot on the intended target. This is all assuming they were willing to put down their cutting-edge guns and fight me like a man, hand-to-hand.
I love my country, but there's a tiny bit of angst concerning their acceptance practices:
Shortly after 9/11, angry and flag-waving as I was (yet in the middle of grad school, which should tell you how pissed-off I was, willing to put off a grad degree to beat some ass) I went down to the local Army recruiting place and took the ASVAB test. I wanted to be an Army officer, leading men into battle.
So I took the ASVAB test and scored a 99 (out of 100, though it's by percentile so one can't score higher than 99). So I was fired-up: I would go to Officer Candidate School, start at the butter bar (2nd Lieutenant), get to kill terrorists and move up quickly in the Army as quantitatively verified genius.
But they turned me down because I had had asthma as a child.
Never mind that he's smart and educated
Never mind that he managed -- despite his asthma -- to play point guard in basketball, quarterback in football and play singles and doubles tennis.
Never mind that he loves his country
Never mind that he's already had advanced martial arts training
Never mind that he has a BA and is working on his MBA
I would have been a HELL of an officer/soldier, but asthma as a child/teenager held me back.
Instead they saw fit to admit a bunch of back-country morons who shoot (shot, apparently) at anythi g that moves.
So yeah, I'm a bit pissed- off. |
You' better try to be more peacefil !!!
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A cup of good coffe can make life bearable. |
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 Alfwm
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 28 Dec 2008
Posts: 117
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| #36 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:55 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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I want to know how the native Iraqi people judge their lives after the US invasion, comparing with in the Sadam times. Neeedless to say, they've suffered too much from the war, but as the outside world supposes, a more democratic and open Iraq means much more opportunities and much bigger hope to its people, do Iraqis themselves think so?
thanks |
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Iwanna
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 15 Sep 2007
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| #37 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 13:54 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Iwanna wrote: |
| I want to know how the native Iraqi people judge their lives after the US invasion, comparing with in the Sadam times. Neeedless to say, they've suffered too much from the war, but as the outside world supposes, a more democratic and open Iraq means much more opportunities and much bigger hope to its people, do Iraqis themselves think so? |
Until a real Iraqi shows up on the forum, you have to make do with me, because I talk to Iraqis every day.
The opinion varies with the person, but the general opinion I get from Iraqis is this:
-- They think the US invasion was a necessary tragedy in order to get rid of Saddam Hussein, so on that level they are grateful for it.
-- They think that the US acted naively after they overthrew Saddam's government, assuming less resistance from the old regime and from fanatical Islamic groups than they really got. Some of them tell me that the US expected the Arabs to be "more civilized" than they really are.
-- They believe that the US should have declared martial law immediately and done more to seal off the borders with Iran and Syria, so that foreign jihadists would have more trouble entering the country. Most of the civilian deaths since the invasion started have been caused by foreign jihadists.
-- They are furious at Iran and Syria for sending a constant flow of foreign Islamic radical fighters into the country in order to destabilize the democracy and try to turn it into an Islamic republic on the Iranian or Taliban model.
-- Some of them say they fear Iraqi self-determination and would feel safer living under an Iraqi government that was a puppet of the United States.
The Iraqi Christians are particularly ambivalent about the situation. This Christian community predates Islam, but they have suffered persecution at the hands of Muslims from time to time since Islam arrived in the area. For reasons nobody seems to know, Saddam Hussein protected their religious rights and property rights, so although they lived in terror of the regime like everybody else, they didn't have to be particularly afraid of their Muslim neighbors. That has changed now that people have more freedom there. Freedom in general has brought more freedom to persecute Christians, and many of them are being killed or forced into exile. Churches have been bombed and otherwise attacked, and people have been killed for refusing to convert to Islam -- at least one person (a teenage boy) was crucified for it. What they say happens most often is that some Muslims want to own a house, but they don't want to pay for it. Armed Muslims go to the house of a Christian and demand that he either convert to Islam or give his house and all his property to them. If the Christian and his family refuse, they will be murdered, so when a Christian family receives such a visit, they generally run to Kurdistan or to Jordan, leaving everything they own behind. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6559
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #38 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 18:33 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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Everything here is very interesting. I read all that you have written guys :)
When I went to US, I met some Arabs. I think they have some customs that I do not understand, but at the end I loved how they are.
First day of my classes in school in US I was very happy and I was saying hello to all people that also were new. Then I saw a boy and a girl I went whit them, and I said: "hello, where are you from?", but the girl look at me very angry and said: "You see this ring in his hand, we are married we are married". She repeated to me many times that they were married, and I was very surprised with her reaction because in my country it is common to say hello to everybody. The boy was embarrased about the reaction of his wife, but the only thing I wanted in that moment was to go quickly to other place far from them. I felt bad because I just wanted to be kind with both of them, but she reacted so strange. :(
Other time, I was taking many pictures of everything (place, people talking, food, et cetera) in a party from school. Then, all Arabs were looking at me like if I were doing something bad. I asked what was wrong with me. One of them told me that one of the men there was married, so I could not take pictures of him. I felt embarrased because I was not taking pictures especifically of him, I was taking pictures of everybody chatting. :roll:
Although I passed some strange experiences with Arabs, I like how they are. All of them were very respectful about marriage and many of them avoided wine, cigars or bad behaviors. The girl that had a bad behavior with me the first day of class became my friend. And of course, I tried to not speak anything with her husband.
I have two doubts...
What does it mean when an Arab invite a girl to go to the cinema in the night? Is that a bad for Arabs? I know that can be normal for many people in US, but I think that could be different for Arabs. I am not sure...
Why sometimes Arabs use black dress or white dress? Which is the meaning of that? :?: |
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Jordania
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 03 Nov 2008
Posts: 56
Location: Mexico
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| #39 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 20:10 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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Be careful not to catch the flu. ;)[/quote]
I'm sorry I put my nose here. I really don't like that.
Alfwm
_________________
A cup of good coffe can make life bearable. |
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Alfwm
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 28 Dec 2008
Posts: 117
Location: Bogotá, Colombia
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| #40 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 21:16 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Jordania wrote: |
I have two doubts...
What does it mean when an Arab invite a girl to go to the cinema in the night? Is that a bad for Arabs? I know that can be normal for many people in US, but I think that could be different for Arabs. I am not sure... |
To the best of my knowledge, in Islam, a man and a woman cannot be together alone (out of wedlock). In other words, a man cannot be with a woman in a bedroom alone. It is a sin (as far as Muslims are concerned). But of course, men meet women in public places, they work together, they study together and so forth. Some people still commit the above sin (as far as Muslims are concerned). As you know, the forbidden apple is always delicious.
| Jordania wrote: |
| Why sometimes Arabs use black dress or white dress? Which is the meaning of that? :?: |
Most Arabs are Muslims. The Prophet of Islam loved white. So, they usually use white dresses. But that does not mean you have to wear white. I do not think that Arabs wear black often. Except Egyptians when someone dies, they usually wear black then. |
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Happytofita
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 26 Aug 2008
Posts: 725
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| #41 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 22:05 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Jordania wrote: |
| What does it mean when an Arab invite a girl to go to the cinema in the night? Is that a bad for Arabs? I know that can be normal for many people in US, but I think that could be different for Arabs. I am not sure... |
Everything depends on who the Arab is who is asking. Generally, traditional Arabs don't have dating, boyfriends and girlfriends, and the kind of socializing we in the West are used to.
If the Arab was Christian, then most likely he was simply asking to see you socially, just as a Mexican guy would.
If the Arab is Muslim, there are various possibilities, and the girl has to be careful:
a. He could be a non-observant, secularized Muslim who lives more or less a Western lifestyle (this is very common, for example, among people from Lebanon or Algeria). In that case, he might simply have been asking for a social date the same way Western guys would.
b. Some observant Muslim Arabs in the US think Western girls are "easy" and they don't take them very seriously as human beings, so if they can, they use one or more of them for sex until they finally marry a Muslim girl that their family approves of. (I'll leave it up to the Muslims to decide if those guys are good Muslims or not.) Even worse, some of them actually marry the Western girl with the intention of leaving her when it's time to get serious and find a Muslim wife. I know of cases where the Arab guy had a Christian wife and two or three kids when his family finally ordered him to divorce her and go back home and marry a cousin or someone they had chosen. So, it's possible that the Arab was trying to get some kind of sexual relationship going.
The big danger to you is that many traditional Arabs in the United States think that dating is the same thing as having sex, so if they ask a Western girl out, they will expect sex. If they don't get it, most Arabs of that type will take it as a personal insult, some of them will get very, very angry, and occasionally one will get violent. After all, they think Americans really behave like in Hollywood movies where they see an American girl meet a guy and end up in bed with him half an hour later. Many Arabs imagine that those films are realistic. My sister and her friends had a lot of trouble with this type of Arab when they were in college.
Jordania, it sounds to me like your classes were probably in Dearborn, Michigan. Am I right? That's the only place I know in the United States where Arabs live so isolated from the general society that they would behave that way. Especially the part about taking the photos was weird, and it wouldn't have happened among Arabs in most parts of the US. If it wasn't in Dearborn, then I assume you were at a college that has a lot of Saudis studying there. |
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Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6559
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #42 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 22:46 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
b. Some observant Muslim Arabs in the US think Western girls are "easy" and they don't take them very seriously as human beings, so if they can, they use one or more of them for sex until they finally marry a Muslim girl that their family approves of. (I'll leave it up to the Muslims to decide if those guys are good Muslims or not.)
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You are right. I know some of them.(I also know some from the other category) The reason behind that is Hollywood movies. I will not call them good Muslims because the meaning the word good is clear.
| Jamie (K) wrote: |
Even worse, some of them actually marry the Western girl with the intention of leaving her when it's time to get serious and find a Muslim wife. I know of cases where the Arab guy had a Christian wife and two or three kids when his family finally ordered him to divorce her and go back home and marry a cousin or someone they had chosen.
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An Arab may marry a Western woman in order to obtain a benefit, such as the right to live in her country(marriage of convenience). After that, he forsakes and marry another woman he loves since the first marriage was not because of love. I have heard of such stories but never actually meet such people. I will not call them good Muslims either. |
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Happytofita
I'm here quite often ;-)
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| #43 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 22:54 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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| Happytofita wrote: |
| An Arab may marry a Western woman in order to obtain a benefit, such as the right to live in her country (marriage of convenience). |
One of the most famous and unusual (I think) cases of this I have ever heard of is that of Walid Shoebat. He came to the United States as a "student" for the purpose of propagandizing and raising money for the PLO. He married an American girl to get a permanent visa, and he tried to convert her to Islam by reading the Bible and pointing out its inconsistencies and "falsehoods". He wound up being more convinced by the Bible than by the Koran, converted to some kind of Christianity, and now he works actively against the same Palestinians he used to fight along side. |
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Jamie (K)
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| #44 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 23:11 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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alfwm
Yeah, I was a bit hopped-up last night and early this morning. hehe
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Prezbucky
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| #45 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 23:34 pm What do you know about Middle East? |
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I was in a school to learn English in Virginia.
There were a lot of Saudi Arabians in this school.
Thank you for all the responses about my doubts.
The guy was Muslim and from Saudi Arabia.
I will take your advices very carefully about the Arabs that want a girl just to obtain a benefit. That sounds really sad :(
Thank you so much! |
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Jordania
You can meet me at english-test.net
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Location: Mexico
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| Can You help me? I have to prepare project about something... | About the ex-priminister "Taksin Shinnawat" |
