اللهم وفّق رونالدو والبرتغال في هذه المباراة، اللهم أعنهم وثبّت أقدامهم، وارزقهم التوفيق والفوز، واحفظهم من الإصابات، وارزق رونالدو الصحة والقوة ليقدّم أفضل ما عنده، اللهم اجعل هذه البطولة خاتمة مشرفة لمسيرته، يا رب العالمين، آمين.
We have no interest in sharing our authentic levantine with a bunch of religious supremacist settlers who colonized the region and constantly behave like a thorn in what should be a harmonious, pure, and peaceful West Asian Mediterranean coast.
The first time I was flying to Beirut, the desk officer at London Heathrow asked before checking us in, “have you been to Israel?”
We had rehearsed the answer to this question before. But Winston can't lie, so he said yes. I gave him the dirty look. There goes our vacation!
"Well, you don't have the stamp on your passports so just make sure you tell the officer in Beirut that you haven't," she intoned.
I was stressed out for the next 5 hours, and even more so when we had to face the border officer who, by the grace of God, did not ask us THE question (even though he took our passports to a secondary office for extra checks).
Spending time in Beirut, you realize that it's the same Mediterranean light that bathes Tel Aviv; the sea is the same shade of shimmering blue because... well, it's the same sea.
In both places, young people spill out of clubs at sunrise, the bass still thumping from rooftops that overlook the same ancient coastline. Both cities pulse with the same Levantine hunger for life: the clink of arak glasses, endless plates of hummus swirled with olive oil, the sudden eruption of dabke or house music that pulls strangers into a circle. Parties start on the rooftops of Gemmayze in Beirut and tumble down into Mar Mikhael’s narrow alleys; in Tel Aviv they begin on the sand at Gordon Beach and migrate to the warehouses of the Florentin district. These are both stylish people who love life, and who love to party. The energy is truly infectious. The accents may differ but something about this weird combination along with a deep sense of rootedness in community and the extended family really underscore how similar they were.
And yet, there's been a wall between these two peoples. There are no flights stitching the 45 min hop across the water. No commercial trucks rumbling between the ports. Lebanese law forbids its citizens - inside the country or in the diaspora - from so much as speaking to an Israeli, a rule so absolute that some Lebanese friends of mine who live in Europe still glance over their shoulders before typing a reply to any Israeli even outside the country, whether for business or pleasure.
I spent evenings in Beirut listening to Lebanese friends speak of Israelis not as the enemy but as people caught in the same endless loop of fear and longing.
Decades of Hezbollah’s shadow have hollowed out parts of Lebanon, turning the south into a garrison and the economy into a ruin. Yet in the cafés of Achrafieh and the mountain villages above the city you hear it more and more: a quiet, exhausted recognition that the real hostage-takers are not across the border but inside it.
I keep imagining the day the question at Beirut airport changes. I keep picturing the first flight from Rafic Harari to Ben Gurion. One day the music will be louder than the fear. One day the Lebanese and the Israelis will throw the party the rest of the world has been waiting for.
I hope this is the first step:
A massive Saharan dust cloud from North Africa has turned the skies over Crete into a thick orange haze.
The huge cloud drifted across the Mediterranean, cutting visibility so badly that flights across the island are delayed or canceled.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump:
"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace.
ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!"
Truth Social
Last thing we need at the moment:
- moral lecturers
- virtue signalers
- war apologists
- engagement farmers
- unuanced ideologists
- surface-level analysts
- out-of-touch celebs talking politics
- folks telling us not to ‘talk politics’
- social media etiquette preachers
🚨🎙️ | JUST IN - Sir Jim Ratcliffe releases a statement regarding his controversial political comments:
“I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern.
“It is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth.
“My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.
“My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone.
“It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK.”
🚨🇫🇷 BREAKING:
Macron wants to ban kids from playing “violent video games.”
Violence is spiking, cities are tense… but sure, blame Call of Duty, not mass migration. 🤦🏻♂️
Source: @bricsinfo
@SebC__ Pochettino was on record praising the fascist Argentinian president but Ofcourse you wouldn’t bat an eye because it doesn’t suit your agenda. Pep is a hero, in an industry of pussies, including you.
🏆 Change in Premier League winner probability after this weekend:
• Arsenal: 80% → 68%
• Man City: 17% → 24%
• Aston Villa: 2% → 5%
[🔮 via @PolymarketSport]
Netflix has officially canceled The Vince Staples show due to low ratings
Netflix believes The Vince Staples Show never found a wide audience because it never charted on Netflix’s Weekly Top 10 yet it was well received by critics and audiences, scoring 94% with critics and 88% with viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
(Via DEADLINE)
He was a beaten man by the end knowing fully his methods were never going to work
He planned his exit by mouthing off at his bosses. He knew his position would then become untenable
Good riddance. He is a nobody to Man United and will remain as such. May his reign be a lesson.