The page is chock full of news and information concerning countries across the Middle East and a place to find breaking news, features, opinion pieces, corporate analysis and blog posts on the region. WSJ is working hard to make itself a true destination for up-to-the-minute Mideast content – a place where people from across the Middle East and beyond can go for the updates.

Here goes:

It seems to be a reality: Barack Obama will probably be the next president of the United States. Since George W. Bush is very unpopular in Germany, people here are happily awaiting Obama. One might say, he even inspires people to dream of a better world. All the biases people have collected in the last years seem to disappear. For Germans, America could be the Land of the Free again if Obama wins.

So we ask: In your country, what does the prospect of an Obama presidency mean? Does it make your fellow citizens dream, like we do in Germany? Is it a topic of discussion at all? Or do they actually mistrust any American leader? What does the shopkeeper around your corner think of Obama?

Read all about it:

What is CGI U?

CGI U is a new project of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) which challenges college students and universities to address global problems with practical, innovative solutions. At CGI U, young people and universities do more than simply discuss the world’s challenges – they take real, concrete steps towards solving them.

What are the CGI U Outstanding Commitments Awards?

At the inaugural meeting of CGI U, President Clinton announced the CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards. Award recipients – which will include students, student groups, and universities – will receive funding directly from the Wal-Mart Foundation to help them implement Commitments to Action in CGI U’s four main focus areas: energy & climate change, global health, human rights & peace, and poverty alleviation.

How can I apply for the Outstanding Commitments Awards?

The first step in the application process is to make a Commitment to Action. All commitment-makers who want to be considered for these awards will later have to describe how their commitment fulfills the five award criteria described below.

What is a Commitment to Action?

A Commitment to Action is a new, specific, and measurable action that addresses local or global issues with practical, innovative solutions.

In formulating commitments, students are encouraged to focus on the resources available to them specifically through their universities and to be mindful of accessible human capital (for example: student time, professors’ expertise, university research capacity, and physical resources) to effectively address a specific challenge either at home or abroad.

All commitments must meet three basic criteria:

How will Award winners be chosen?

Commitments to Action will be judged on the following criteria:

In selecting award recipients, CGI U will be looking at the progress that students and universities have made towards implementing their Commitments to Action since the time of submission.

How many Awards are available?

35 student and student group commitments will be eligible for awards of up to $10,000 for their projects.

When will I find out if I have received an Award?

Award winners will be notified at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year.

Apply Now for the CGI U Outstanding Commitments Awards; deadline is July 28, 2008.

Don’t forget to make a commitment!

TRUE CRIMES: THE UNTOLD STORY BEHIND THE DEVASTATION OF IRAQ

With Seymour Hersh, Jeremy Scahill, Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian

Join bestselling author JEREMY SCAHILL, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer CHRIS HEDGES, journalist LAILA AL-ARIAN, and The New Yorker’s SEYMOUR HERSH, as they go behind the headlines to tell the untold story of the occupation of Iraq, the daily plight of Iraqi civilians, and the ongoing role of private mercenaries in America’s “War on Terror.”

The event is a dual book launch for Collateral Damage: America’s War Against Iraqi Civilians by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian, and the updated paperback edition of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill.

The conversation will be followed by audience questions and a book signing.

Town Hall | 123 West 43rd Street
New York City
June 3, 7 p.m.
$10/$15/$20

Tickets are available at the Town Hall Box Office (www.the-townhall-nyc.org) or at  Ticketmaster (212-307-4100 / www.ticketmaster.com)
Co-sponsored by The Nation, Public Concern Foundation, Democracy Now!, The Indypendent, CERSC, Democrats.com, Peace Action New York, Alternet, Tricycle, The Armenian National Committee, Center for Constitutional Rights and Veterans for Common Sense.

I am copying the links to the stories here so that we can all take a look in both English and Arabic. Arabic versions are here. Feel free to discuss!

Young Saudis, Vexed and Entranced by Love’s Rules

Young people in Saudi Arabia may chafe against the rules, but they can be merciless in their condemnation of those who flout them too brazenly.

Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide

The separation between the sexes in Saudi Arabia is so extreme that it is difficult to overstate.

Violence Leaves Young Iraqis Doubting Clerics

Many young people in Iraq have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach.

Stifled, Egypt’s Young Turn to Islamic Fervor

Forced to put off marriage and thwarted by a lackluster economy, many young people turn to religion for solace.

What was the first album that you bought or that really impressed you?
Where did you buy it or listen to it?

Over here, Christmas is coming up. To many of us those three days in December are the only time of year where you get to meet your family for more than just a couple of hours. You sit together, eat together, spend endless afternoons together. And pretty soon you start to quarrel.

How about you? What is it like to spend high holidays in your family’s house, where everybody is kinda locked up and stuck together?

Sandler plays an Israeli commando who decides to fake his own death and move to New York City to fulfill his dream of becoming a hairstylist. Familiar story for Israelis of course, except for the commando-fake death part.

Since when do American filmmakers center jokes around Arab-Israeli conflict? An entire comedy? I can’t decide if I’m impressed or shocked at the balls of it, offended at  the horrible Israeli accent or just plain dumbfounded. Too dumbfounded to laugh, even. Just wasn’t expecting that.

Well it’s chock full of stereotypes, for the sake of humor. I would hope it focuses a lot on the humor surrounding Israeli ex-pats in New York; there is a lot to go on, there. It does come  complete with Hezbollah dial-up hotline jokes.

My friends say they are surprised Sandler didn’t do it earlier.

Here’s the trailer:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2SubyJNeZY[/youtube]

I think it really was a testament to contact theory; people representing print journalism, online media, Palestinians and Israelis sat together and discussed how to connect better using internet media and journalistic values.

I was really proud to represent Mideast Youth to the rest of the participants. In fact, a few were interested in learning more; perhaps we’ll get around to expanding in the Palestinian-Israeli realm.

Face-to-face conversation is the only thing we cannot easily replicate on the internet; reading facial expressions and looking into each others’ eyes are certainly lacking. More public events like this would really help take our powerful conversations here to higher levels. Of course, there are challenges to overcome, so meanwhile, let’s keep the cyber lines of communication open and operating.

Check out my breakdown of Mideast Youth here – it’s a basic agenda I used to explain the site to the audience.

Thanks to all our wonderful authors and contributors for making this site an example of tolerant conversation and eye-opening dialogue!

Mideast Youth’s own Ray Hanania has organized a day of panel discussion for tomorrow, Monday, sponsored by NAAJA, SPJ-Arab Journalists, in East Jerusalem at the Ambassador Hotel. The topics of the panels are:

1. Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and Blog sites.

2. Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges facing coverage of the Palestine-Israel Conflict.

Yours truly will be speaking on behalf of Mideast Youth in the first panel, and Ray will be moderating the second. If you’re in the area, come by.

I posted the full schedule and details here.

I’ll update my thoughts regarding the panel after tomorrow. I used to do a lot of this type of thing in my university days, so I’m a bit out of practice. Hopefully it’ll go well.