A Slice Of The World Brought To You By Hanif.

April 3rd 2008. With the recent chaos in Basra, Iraq. This video from Al Jazeera tries to shed light on Iraq's Shia power struggle with the help of Patrick Cockburn. He is a well respected  Middle Eastern news reporter since 1979 for The Financial Times and The Independent. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19659.htm 

April 2nd 2008.  Here is a partial transcript of a meeting between the Assembly of the Turkish American Associations and the LA Times. Highlights of the meeting and its controversial subject matter. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-turkey2apr02,0,1996113.story 

March 19th 2008.  Can the story about the call girl/ gov. of NY/ myspace get any better? It just did with the bombshell that she appeared in a 2003 "Girls Gone Wild" video voluntarily. The creator of "GGW" just got out of jail earlier this week and has capitalized on a gold mine! Not only did she have her personal testimony on her "about me" section on her myspace page, but she sold her soul to the devil in 03' and it comes back to haunt her in 08' when she probobly thought her life could not get any worse. Below is the story. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-et-ggwweb19mar19,0,6100972.story 

March 12th 2008.  Do people realize that oil closed t 109.00 dollars a barrel the other day? It jumped from 103.00 to 109.00 in almost a day. What the F@#K!!!! This is madness. Not the price, but the outcry. And by outcry I mean a few obese oil company heads that are laughing,  and high-fiving with a "mutton" chop in one hand and gold grail filled with the blood of still born fetus's in the other. Life is good. OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL It makes the world go 'round my friends. ALSO, the Iraq war (oil) is going to cost 12 billion dollars a month in 2008, check it- http://www.startribune.com/world/16432321.html 

March 1st 2008.  Will somebody just please tune in to HBO's The Wire si you one's eyes can be learned to the beauty of a story. Two episodes left and the five-year run comes to an end. Its hard to stay gold. It is March which means Sportscenter will be so solid this whole month with many basketball highlights each night. College hoops is at its peak with confrence tournaments just ahead. What a month.

Feb 12th 2008.    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/kareem/ Check out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's blog. You can even learn how to sky hook.

Feb 11th 2008    US ELECTIONS-  I came across a few  intresting articles today that I wanted to share. I have been saying repeatedly that if Obama even gets close to the presidency something will happen to bring him down. Here is a link or two that you should check out. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/world-champion-boxer-warns-that-barack-will-be-assassinated-within-months-if-he-wins-presidency-780503.html   ALSO     http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-would-be-killed-780703.html   ENTERTAINMENT- Check out this funny video of actor Jesse Metcalf from ABC's Desperate Housewives getting punched outside of a club in Hollywood. He supposedly made a comment that a friend of actor Taryn manning didn't appreciate. Note to celebrities: not all people like you. In fact they are usually envy and jealous which doesn't make a good combination when booze is involved as well.  http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1409053450 The Grammy awards show tonight was long (3 and 1/2 hours!) and un-eventfull. Except for maybe two scenes, and one of them was Alicia Keys's performance....wow she is amazing (HOT). The other was country singer Vince Gill poking fun at rapper Kanye West.  EVENTS- This week at my school from the 11th through the 14th there will be a forum on international human rights to focus on modern genocide and global responsibility. Issues that will be brought up are the Armenian genocide (lots of controversy already about this topic being talked about), also the multiple ongoing struggles in Africa. Here is the link to check it out and see the schedule of speakers.  http://www.csulb.edu/president/humanrights/     SPORTS- Check out this 11-year-old basketball phenom that is getting lots of attention, and yeas he lives in my hometown of Seattle. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/othersports/350757_hoopstar11.html

Feb 9th 2008.      ENTERTAINMENT - To start off the entry today I just wanted to let yall know that the infamous sexual predator Pat O' Brien (host of tv show Extra) and Kirsten Dunst both entered rehab this week. Way to go!!!!!  In a bit of sad news the HBO network has cancelled Inside The NFL. HBO continues to dissapoint me every few months for the past 4 years. It all started when they cancelled the best show of all time in Carnivale', after that it was Rome, then Deadwood, then John From Cincinatti, and now this. Its only a matter of time until Curb Your Enthusiasm. So fuck you HBO, and I hope Showtime leaps you in popularity.     SPORTS-  SHAQ HAS BEEN TRADED TO THE SUNS!!!! And he is pissed, which means he will crush everything in his path to beat Kobe and get to the finals. Who would have thought Shaq would come back to the West coast.    US ELECTIONS- Obama won three key states today as well as Huckabee who won two. Romney finally got the clue and dropped his bid for the presidency, after spending a huge amount of his own money to get to this point in the race. As Obama gets closer to his party's nomination, I am curiously waiting for a random man from Chicago who knew Obama as a youngster that will claim that Obama sold him some dope. Or maybe even a half-white bastard child who will declare that Obama is her real father. These allegations will be false but the damage will have already done its purpose. As much as I would like to see a colored man in the white house, I know the secret powers that invisibly run this country will do everything in their power to keep the white house "white".  I guess we will see.    RANDOM BITZ-   Yahoo told Microsoft to keep their 44 billion dollars, and killed what would have been a very scary merger. Those two companies joining forces is like Haliburton and the US military joining forces to destroy other countries and rebuild them for massive profit.......oh wait...... that actually happened. Ok.. how about this example, the Yahoo/ Micro merger is like all the major oil companies tag-teaming with the our government's Energy Task-Force to control our heroin-like habit of oil/gas consumption.........hold on, that happened as well!!! Is anyone paying attention to this shit? IF YOU ARE NOT ANGRY, THEN YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT PAYING ATTENTION. SO WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!

Feb 6th 2008.  It has been a while my friends. Traveling across the world and digesting my experiences have made me a no show here at hanifsworld. And for that I apologize, but now I am back and ready to cover a few issues that have made headlines. First lets talk about HEATH. You should already know who I am speaking of unless you have been hiding in a closet. Heath Ledger and his good looks are forever gone from our world. Whats with all the hoopla? Isn't he just another actor who was livin' the life? Why didn't Brad Renfro who died a week earlier get this much attention? Obviously Heath was more "glamo-riffic" and had a new Batman movie coming out. "But he died so young, and he had it all!" Shut up.....how often must we hear that? We all have our own skeletons in our closet and/or guilty pleasures no matter how minute or serious, and SOMETIMES they become the death of us. I have lived in SoCal for almost seven years now, and have been in contact with many celebrities in my line of work. (Bartending at private parties) One thing struck me about Heath and was not even working. I was hanging out at Venice Beach with a friend an noticed a tall man in front of me. It was Heath. But the thing that struck me the most was what was on the man. He was wearing a pair of tattered Chuck All-Stars, his clothing was very simple and hippie like, and he had a old-school 35mm camera around his neck. His mannerisms were nothing like all the big-headed celebs that I have been around. Just a uncomplicated guy, taking photos. He was so incredibly simple that no one around him even noticed who he was. Heath....simple in his splendor. ALSO Microsoft trying to buy Yahoo for 42 billion dollars!!! The money aspect isn't what freaks me out. It's the conglomeration of these two companies that are in some aspect in every household across the world. The corperate news media is bad enough as it is, as well as the way they disseminate their product. The evil empire is upon us my friends. Want to know what the future holds? The struggle for our souls between Yahoo and Google, then again years from now Microsoft/Yahoo will probobly buy Google. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT , The oil giant Exxon Mobil posted its profits for 2007...40 BILLION DOLLARS!!!!!! WHAT!!!! Thats not even right! People complain about heroin and the addiction that accompanies it. Why don't people talk about the other type of heroin; OIL. How does this story not even get that much media attention? Here is the Washington Post's coverage. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020100714.html

December 17th, 2007. International flights and BOOZE. It's a deadly combonation. You must have a few bloody's to start it off because airlines supply the best mix (Mr. T's). Next thing you know you order a sky and sierra mist, then it's dinner time and it's red or white wine, by this point you are 6 deep with no end in sight. Even though the drinks are free and you spent 1200 bucks to cross the Atlantic, the least you could do is tip the attendant who is serving you...you douchebag.

December 11th,2007. What happened to all those "Support our Troops" stickers on the back of cars? I think its a fair assesment to claim that the majority of normal citizens support the armed forces. We here at hanifsworld even have a Vietnam veteren on our staff! Are you telling me that specific "slogan" was a fad that faded over  time?  How cheap and sad. Those who truely support the troops as humans and not pawns don't need a sticker to prove it.  Staying on yesterday's topic, Vick gets 23 months and paraded around in jumpsuit prison fatigues. Your boy "Scooter" Libby whose federal offense I don't even have to repeat gets his sentenced commuted with a pardon on the way. Is it a black thing or do you just have to be close with the prez? Who am I kidding.....BOTH!

December 10th, 2007. Mike Vick, the best QB in the NFL before he got sacked by the Feds for dogfighting was sentenced today...23 months! The man made a mistake but is obviously is a product of the rough streets he was raised in. He has taken responsibility for his actions. THIS IS TO ALL YOU DOG LOVERS, we love dogs here at the world and have our own mascot as well. But isn't it a disservice to the trrops when people of the U.S. become more passionate about dogs than our soldiers dying? Keep buying doggie treats at PetCo guys,  our armed forces will still be there when you get back from your errands.

December 7th, 2007. Rupert Murdoch unofficially named his son heir to Newscorp. Keep it in the family my friend. That is a powerfull 34 year old man. "James Murdoch, the world is yours!" Literally.