Mohamed Nanabhay's Blog

They blog industry rumours and chat cholesterol...

Last week Richard Sambrook, the Global Director of News at the BBC blogged about speculation of changes at AlJazeera and rumours about a demotion of the Director-General, Wadah Khanfar. Khanfar responded (by comment) :

Richard,

You shouldn't believe everything you read in the press.

Apart from my cholesterol, everything is under control.

So there you have it folks! Let it never be said that the BBC and AlJazeera don't get "Web 2.0" :)

The Onion is "reporting" on apathy amongst terrorists cells in the U.S. According to the report,

"We remain wholly committed to the destruction of America, the Great Satan," al-Sharif said. "But now is not a good time for us. The season finale of Lost was such a cliff- hanger that we have to at least catch the first episode of the new season. After that, though, death to the infidels."

"Probably," added al-Sharif, who noted that his nearly $6,000 in credit-card debt from recent purchases of a 52-inch HDTV and a backyard gas grill prevents him from buying needed materials for the attack.

Though the members of the cell said that they "live only to spill the blood of crusaders who oppress Muslims," they cited additional reasons for the delay, including an unexpired free Netflix trial and nagging lower-back pain.

"I think I'm entitled to a little time to fully enjoy the in-dash MP3 adapter and heads-up display that Allah, in His infinite wisdom, has seen fit to provide me with," munitions expert Mohammed Akram said of the 2006 Mercury Mariner that is intended to be used as a car bomb during the attack. "Also, I have nine months left on the lease. But after that, I am more than willing to load it with explosives and go to my glory in its all-leather interior and heated seats."

Cell member Sayyid al-Tantawi, a Cairo-born former physics professor who was able to obtain employment at San Onofre as a reactor technician, once routinely worked 18-hour days so he could secretly obtain security codes and detailed schematics of the facility. But since his promotion to senior project manager last November, al-Tantawi has grown accustomed to perks such as higher pay, mandatory vacation time, delegation of responsibilities, and long lunches with other managers.

"Don't get me wrong, I totally wish swift and painful death to all American pigs, especially that jerk [general manager] Dave [Landis]," al-Tantawi said. "But I'm no longer the new guy—why bust my ass all day long anymore? When I get home after a day at work, I don't savor staying up all night designing dirty-bomb triggering mechanisms like I did when I first got here. Sometimes I just want to pop in a CD by that soulful infidel Chris Daughtry and relax."

Who needs AlJazeera when you can get news like this?

(hat tip: Bruce Schneier)

Brilliant! A Hajjaj cartoon spotted via 360east :

Arab Heaven is:

• A Syrian wife
• Lebanese food
• Emirati citizenship
• Jordanian security
• Egyptian tourism
• A Palestinian neighbor
• Saudi taxes
• Qatari salary

Arab Hell is:

• An Egyptian wife
• Emirati food
• Lebanese citizenship
• Palestinian security
• Qatari tourism
• A Saudi neighbour
• Jordanian taxes
• Syrian salary

"I don't want the truth, I want something I can tell parliment!"
-- Minister to Humphrey  (in BBC's Yes, Minister)