I have been reading the pages about the Algeria-Egypt matches for the past few days and I thought to myself how pathetic !!! Yet I decided to not comment as there was absolutely no point because it will only aggravate me more… I’m an Arab, it does not matter where exactly I come from, I live in South Africa where there’s a whole lot of different cultures and traditions including Israelis… This brings me to what really made me write this article.

Today I went out to buy lunch from a restaurant whose owner is Palestinian, waiting for my order I happened to overhear a conversation between 4 men whom I could see are Jewish by the little hats on their heads (I know, how ironic Jewish and eating at a Palestinian restaurant) they were full of giggles about the last match saying:

Back in the 80s, Alrajol Alhadidi (The Iron Man) was one of my favorite cartoons to watch, if you are one of the 80s generation, watch this video of the first episode and share your feelings with us :)!

Personally, when watching this, I feel 20 years younger!!

Over hundreds of years, Mecca preserved its beauty and charm until recently, when tall buildings starts to surround the Haram mosque from every corner making Al Kaaba look so small and less viewable from the distance as it used to be in the past.
Lots of important historical buildings were lost during the extension plans of the Haram that took place during the past years without any consideration to the importance of such important buildings such as the house of Al-Arqam...

All this is nothing compared to the the new leaked extension plans which will result in removing part of the current Ottoman arcs of the Haram mosque!

Watch this video and let us know what do you think?

Today, Barack Obama turns 48! Happy Birthday!
Why are we, at Waleg, wishing him a Happy B-day? Simply because we like him!
He's cool, classy, stylish and he knows how to talk!

Happy Birthday Obama!

Death although sad, is a common thing in our everyday lives. People are born, they grow old and then they die, but it’s the sudden impact that leaves us empty, the sudden death of people we love and care about is what causes triple the pain.

Here is a list of 5 Arabic celebrities that have lead a brilliant career and have died so suddenly that their tragedies will never be forgotten. May all of their souls rest in peace.

1. Soad Hosni: Soad Hosni was one of Egypt’s most loved actresses, she had it all, beauty, fame, money, but as Soad got older, she became overweight, ill and depressed which were the key reasons for her to commit suicide in her London apartment. Although it's still being disputed whether she killed herself or was pushed from the balcony, it remains a mystery and we may never know.

Lately kids have been having a big share of the movie industry as more and more tremendous animated movies are being produced, movies that we also can’t resist watching! Special channels just for kids are available at all times , they keep kids busy and away from trouble.

Do animated movies and cartoons, have any effect on kids?

The answer is yes, although parents are glad because the only times they can get some freedom and alone time is when their children are watching TV, but the risks are worth consideration. The more time kids spend watching cartoons, the less time they spend in social interaction.

Why Lebanese people can't understand the concept of freedom? Why do they always feel obliged to force their traditions and values upon others? Why are they terrified by pleasure, sex, the human body...?
Here in the middle east we missed 3 centuries of revolutions and ideas that enabled the western civilized world to evolve and become what it is today. We are still clinging to our Middle Ages beliefs and feeling so proud to protect our "Arab culture" that the west has not yet corrupted. (Wake up, what you call corruption is the evolution of culture, art, exact and human science). Here it is: Middle Ages, Middle east.
Bravo! You lead a holly life where sex is excluded. You ignore that this is what's making you pervert, violent and "névrosé".

Yesterday was the 1st of April and it's always known as April's Fool Day.
People play pranks on each other and throw jokes at each other.
What was the best April's Fool prank you've ever fell into or what was the best joke you've played on your friends?

I always associated celebrity worship culture with the West, I thought our own culture in the Middle East was more level headed, more adverse to such fantasies. However lately as family and community values are becoming a version of the West - still to a much lesser extent- and we see them slowly being destroyed by the phenomenon of individualism and some unethical parts of the omnipresent Arab Media. Many teenagers are driven by boredom or a search for identity to idolize a figure on the screen.

I've always been a fan of GAP. I like their clothes and feel very comfortable wearing them.
Today, I got an e-mail (Yes, this time it's an e-mail and not a message on my cell phone) that asks the question: what does GAP stand for?
Well, I read the e-mail, felt suspicious and decided to do a bit of background research and surf the net.
The e-mail claims that GAP stands for Gay And Proud! gasping with surprise!

Did you see the recent TV ads that MBC is running across its network about getting ringtones of what can be called patriotic Arabic songs... to wake the Arab conscience?
I'm sure many of you saw these ads...

Dentist!! Seriously have you not realized that this past year has just been a series of scores for the very people who make me personally tremble with fear! First Nancy Ajram who married her dentist and some people have even claimed that she is currently carrying his child! And now another Lebanese artists Maysam Nahas has just gotten engaged to her dentist Dr. Majd Awad after a relationship of only one month.

Who do you think is more beautiful, Miss America 2009, Katie Stam or Miss France 2009, Chloe Mortaud?

- Photos of Miss America 2009
- Photos of Miss France 2009

While Obama has got the dream job and has landed one of the  most powerful positions ever, he has the weight of world on his shoulders and his own people's expectations of change; Well one piece of good news he can contend with is that he is considered a bit too handsome for satire by a cartoonist.

Pierre Kroll from Belgium was quoted as saying "It's never a gift for a caricaturist to draw a handsome man,"