For Syria to improve in health care , education and the olympics it should make donations to these causes tax deductible , That will stimulate activities .

In sport Syria should concentrate on single sports like running and swimming and should stay away from team sports , we are better with personal achievements.

The Aga khan visited Bashar yesterday

Alex,

Who is Aga Khan?.

Norman?! … don’t ask such questions. Dr. Charles will not be impressed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aga_Khan_IV

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,442180,00.html

His Highness is a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

and .. these too:

Decorations

* Commander of the Order of Merit, Mauritania (1960)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Infante D. Henrique, Portugal (1960)
* Grand Cross of the National Order, Ivory Coast (1965)
* Grand Cross of the National Order, Upper Volta (1965)
* Grand Cross of the National Order, Madagascar (1966)
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Green Crescent, Comoros, (1966)
* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Crown of Iran, Nishan-i-Taj-i-Iran (1967)
* Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan, (1970)
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1977)
* Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion, Senegal (1982)
* Nishan-e-Pakistan (1983)
* Grand Cordon of Ouissam-al Arch, Morocco (1986)
* Knight of Labour, Cavaliere del Lavoro, Italy (1988)
* Commander of the Legion of Honour, France (1990)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, Spain (1991)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Portugal (1998)
* Order of Friendship, Tajikistan (1998)
* Order of Bahrain (First Class) (2003)
* Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE), United Kingdom (2004)[13]
* Honorary Companion of the Order of Canada (2005)[14]
* Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ, Portugal (2005)
* Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart, Kenya (2007)[15]
* Grand Cross of the National Order of Mali (2008)

[edit] Honorary degrees

* LL.D. (honoris causa) University of Peshawar, Pakistan (1967)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) University of Sind, Pakistan (1970)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) McGill University, Canada (1983)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) McMaster University, Canada (1987)
* D. Litt. (honoris causa) University of London, United Kingdom (1989)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) University of Wales, United Kingdom (1993)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) Brown University, USA (1996)
* Honorary Professorship of the University of Osh, Kyrgyzstan (2002)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) University of Toronto, Canada (2004)
* Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, American University of Beirut, Lebanon (2005)
* Honorary Doctorate, University of Évora, Portugal (2006)
* Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, American University in Cairo, Egypt (2006)
* Honorary Doctorate, University of Sankoré, Mali (2008)
* LL.D. (honoris causa) Harvard University, USA (2008)
* LL.D.(honoris causa), National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland (2008)

[edit] Awards

* Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Medal in Architecture, University of Virginia, USA (1984)
* Honorary Membership, Pakistan Medical Association, Sind, Pakistan (1981)
* Institute Honor of the American Institute of Architects, USA (1984)
* Honorary Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP), Pakistan (1985)
* Gold Medal of the Consejo Superior de Colegios de Arquitectos, Spain (1987)
* Honorary Citizen of Granada, Spain (1991)
* Honorary Fellowship, Royal Institute of British Architects, United Kingdom (1991)
* Silver Medal of the Académie d’Architecture, France (1991)
* Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects, USA (1992)
* Honorary Citizen of the City of Samarkand, Uzbekistan (1992)
* Hadrian Award, World Monuments Fund, USA (1996)
* Key to the City of Lisbon, Portugal (1996)
* Gold Medal of the City of Granada, Spain (1998)
* Archon Award, International Nursing Honour Society, Sigma Theta Tau International, Sweden (2001)
* Insignia of Honour, International Union of Architects, France (2001)
* State Award for Peace and Progress, Kazakhstan (2002)
* Honorary Citizen of the Islamic Ummah of Timbuktu, Mali (2003)
* Vincent Scully Prize, National Building Museum, USA (2005)
* Honorary Citizen of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (2005)
* Key to the City of Ottawa, Canada (2005)
* Die Quadriga Award, Germany (2005)
* Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, UK (2005)
* Tolerance Prize of the Evangelical Academy of Tutzing, Germany (2006)
* Key to the City of Austin, USA (2008)
* Citizen of Honour of the Municipality of Timbuktu, Mali (2008)
* Associate Foreign Member, Académie des Beaux-Arts, France (2008)

Why did she pull out of the swimming just because of the Israeli athelete? I don’t get it. The Russian and Georgian volleyball players competed against each other while their countries were at war.

Alex,
Thank you , I am comfortable in my skin , I do not care what Charles or any body else say , Except you my friend.OK You too QN.

QN ,

The Georgians are mercenaries from south America , they are not real current day Georgians.

lak khallili yek ya Ammo Norman

But I still think that the Syrian athelete should not have dropped out. Do you think it was her choice or that she was “encouraged” to do so? It seems a shame to train so hard for many years to make it to the Olympics and then withdraw from your event in the first round because one of the other seven swimmers happens to be an Israeli.

If she was pressured to withdraw, then I feel bad for her. But maybe she did it of her own accord, in which case I think it was foolish.

QN,
Have you asked yourself, why is it that the Syrian athlete withdraw just when she was supposed to swim in the the same race as the Israeli? She knew that there would be Israelis in the event before hand, but only withdrew when she actaully had to swim in the same heat with one. Perhaps she believes Israelis contaminate the water.
In any case, I will leave it to Shai to explain how he would do the same if he were in the Syrian shoes and it is something we should understand. If he can easily understand supporting terrorism and would do it if he were Syrian, I am sure he will find some reasons to understand this action also which after all only hurt Syria and the Syrian athlete.

Israel is occupying Syrian land and until Israel leaves that land and gives the Palestinians their human rights , please do not expect normalization of relation and being body body at least in public.

Rabin and Perez made a big deal of shaking hand with Yasser Arafat while they are still occupying Palestine and denying the Palestinians their rights , I am sure you wold not shake hand with Mangala if you had the chance , so expect from others what you expect of yourself.

AIG,

You’re back to suggesting I support terrorism? After all this time? Because I understand Syria’s investment in Hezbollah and other resistance groups, it means I support people blowing up innocent women and children on a bus? Where do you get this stuff from? What are they feeding you there? 🙂 (stay away from the grits, they’re effecting your disposition…)

QN,

Here’s my explanation, at AIG’s request. The Syrian swimmer realized that the Israeli swimmer was occupying part of her lane as well, and was going to hold on to it, because it was her legitimate right (she had won it in war). Since experts like Uzi Dayan had suggested the Israeli swimmer should never relinquish that part of the Syrian’s lane, swimming together would become somewhat difficult. Sitting on the Judges row, AIG was about to vote for the return of the Syrian’s part of the lane, but then placed a precondition that 50.1% of all Syrians phone the Beijing hotline, and claim they are interested in this. Seeing this may take a while, the Syrian swimmer reluctantly left the arena. And went out and bought a gun. A Russian-made gun…

Sorry Shai: ” You have it all wrong”

The Syrian Athlete recognized the inalienable rights of The Israeli Athlete to the Water.

It was about water rights- get it right!

Enlightened,

Ever since ANZUS, you Auzzies just think you’re all geniuses, don’t you?!? Well, unless you own a penthouse in Manhattan, and can call yourself Dr. Enlightened, your words don’t mean nuttin’… 🙂 (Israeli rights to chlorinated water??? Next you’ll say the Israeli team suffocated the lives of 1.5 million Beijing residents… the equivalent of a small neighborhood.)

Well, Well Mr T

I see, remember us Aussies have certain superior DNA when it comes to athletic performances in chlorinated water!!! As our performance in Beijing can tell you.

But since we are blaming “someone” “anyone” , as an Israeli do you want to take responsibility for the increase in house prices in Sydney and global warming which has forced our government to adopt a carbon trading scheme here in Aus?

On a side note, I feel a certain shame that the swimmer had to adopt this ( on top of Bashars running away and refusing to shake hands or acknowledge Olmert), if you recall a couple of posts ago I pasted a article on the AFL hosting a combined Israeli/Palestinian team to compete in the inaugural peace games here in Aus.

Sport and sporting interactions are certainly one way we can break down barriers.

Its all senseless.

Enlightened,

You are absolutely right. It’s a real shame. What would it have cost the two swimmers to actually shake hands, or even exchange smiles just long enough to be caught on TV? Our two people must get to know one another. To see that we are human beings, on both sides of the border, not only war monger politicians and generals.

AIG

As unhappy I am about the fact that the Syrian Swimmer withdrew from competition because it entailed competing with an Israeli counterpart, i would not go as dramatic to place a racist tone on her action. After all, the US boycotted the Moscow (oops, Moskva) games. Could it be that the young woman thought that She is not entitled or authorized to make a diplomatic gesture on her country’s behalf. Nevertheless, my dear friend SHAI gave an explanation that is definitely more elegant than mine 🙂

Yet i believe that in an ideal world, where no one should politicize the Olympics, and in the spirit of the Olympics, countries or athletes who refuse to compete because of political reasons should forfeit their rights for subsequent completions during the same Olympic games. And countries should be informed that such acts will not be tolerated. The Olympic games are supposed to be a respite from politics and wars. But Syria is not the only country who does that, nor it will be the last. I must mention that many Europeans and American individuals have tried to politicize the Begin Olympics, be it for Darfour, China’s record on human rights, or for Tibet.

Guys,

It was the first round of the 50 meter freestyle. In all likelihood, both the Syrian and the Israeli would have been blown away by the Americans, French, Aussies, Swedes, Japanese, etc. and there would have been no shocking diplomatic gestures to worry about.

I really doubt that she was thinking to herself, “I shall withdraw, for surely will I win the gold and smash the world record in the process, and how will it look if I am forced to acknowledge the Israeli bronze medalist from my perch atop the podium?”

Sounds more like a case of cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Syria shift on Lebanon suggests hard-liner softens

By SAM F. GHATTAS – 22 hours ago

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Syria’s diplomatic recognition of Lebanon marks a symbolic turning point in the two neighbors’ often turbulent history, and may have bigger significance for the Middle East and the chances of an overall peace deal with Israel.

By doing something Damascus has resisted for decades, Syrian President Bashar Assad is seen as being ready to make concessions and boost stability in the region, provided he remains a force in Lebanese politics.

At the same time, Syria and Israel are in indirect peace negotiations — another apparent sign that Syria is rethinking its approach to the big Middle East issues.

Lebanese have lived for much of the past 30 years under Syrian military and political domination. Just three years ago, the country was in turmoil over the assassination of a prominent former prime minister and the suspicion Syria was behind it. So Lebanese tend to be skeptical about the motivations behind Assad’s newfound willingness to exchange ambassadors and demarcate the ill-defined border between the two countries.

But Edmond Saab, executive editor of An-Nahar, a leading daily which is seen as anti-Syrian, reads a positive message in Assad’s move — “that he desires peace and that Syria is a factor of stability and not a threat … It is a country that knows what it wants and goes for it.”

What Syria wanted was assurance that it will still have influence in Lebanon through its allies and that its back will remain relatively secure — the Lebanon border is only a 20-minute drive from Damascus.

It got all that with the creation last month of a new government in Beirut that gives Syrian-and Iranian-backed Hezbollah significant power. The new president, Michel Suleiman, is also considered relatively friendly to Syria, having been army chief for 10 years when Damascus controlled Lebanon.

Once those changes were in place, Damascus was open to a historic turnaround.

Ever since Lebanon was created by the region’s French rulers in 1920, Syria had refused to acknowledge its sovereignty, leaving the Lebanese with a permanent feeling of living on borrowed time. Now Syria has agreed to recognize that sovereignty.

“It’s a win-win situation,” said Patrick Seale, a British expert on Syria. “The Lebanese get diplomatic recognition and the Syrians get recognition of vital interests in Lebanon.”

The move also suggests Assad is stepping out of the shadow of his late father, from whom he inherited the presidency in 2000. Besides the new approach to Lebanon, Syria, long regarded as the most implacable of Israel’s foes, is talking peace.

Shlomo Brom, senior researcher at the Jaffee Center at Tel Aviv University in Israel, says Assad’s Lebanon gambit “indicates that Assad can be trusted more in negotiations because he is willing to make positive and far reaching changes.”

Not all in Israel are convinced. Hawkish lawmaker Yuval Steinitz says Israel should stop negotiating with Damascus because “Lebanon is still not independent. It is under the Syrian-Iranian occupation via the Hezbollah power over the Lebanese government.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently warned that “if Lebanon becomes a Hezbollah state” and guerrillas attacked Israel again, Israel would hit back harder than it did in the 2006 war.

For Lebanese, Syria remains a formidable challenge. Seventeen times bigger than Lebanon and four times more populous, Syria has long had powerful allies here, and the question is how that they will act from now on — especially Hezbollah, whose 34-day war with Israel in 2006 triggered widespread Israeli bombing of the country.

Brom, former chief of strategic planning in the Israeli army, said he expects Syria to go on meddling in Lebanon.

Sateh Noureddine, managing editor of the Lebanese As-Safir daily, which tilts toward Syria’s Lebanese allies, said Syria’s clout may even “grow stronger and more organized.”

Syria deployed troops in Lebanon as peacekeepers during the country’s 15-year civil war, and they stayed long after it ended in 1990. The Syrian intelligence chief, based in Lebanon, amounted to a de facto governor, approving presidents, prime ministers and governments, which all vowed allegiance to Syria. Opponents were driven out, or even assassinated.

That grip began to slip in 2005, when Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated. Widely accused of responsibility — something it has always denied — Syria was forced to withdraw its troops. But the assassinations of anti-Syrian figures continued.

Lebanon’s agony poisoned Syria’s already troubled ties with the West, particularly the U.S., which demands it leave Lebanon alone and stop backing Hezbollah and others Washington considers terrorists.

But cooperating on Lebanon has already helped break Assad’s international isolation; French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to reward Damascus by visiting the Syrian capital in September.

After eight years in power, Assad may feel strong enough to resist any pushback from internal opponents of the concession on Lebanon. But he faces problems at home. Last month, his top military adviser, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Suleiman, was assassinated. His killers are unknown, but the slaying has raised talk of rivalries within the leadership.

These may not be related directly to Lebanon, but they are being read here as a signal to Assad to step carefully.

Sam F. Ghattas the AP’s Lebanon correspondent, has covered Lebanese affairs for two decades. Associated Press Writer Josef Federman contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

Ahlan wa Sahlan to the Agha Khan in Syria.
And we thank him for his interest to our medieval architectural heritage revival which suffered a lot under the baathists and more from ignorant Syrians as result of nawarization dynamic in the syrian society.
If we believe Agha Khan’s claims that his ancestors were from Al Salimiyeh ,so he deserves the Syrian nationality.