Opposite Goals
by Jihad Al Khazen Al-Hayat 2004/07/2
I read this article online and could not help posting it as it is just too perfect !!!!
I have always known that every goal our Umma (nation) aims at, is contrarily accomplished, to the extent where I started asking myself why don't we ask for poverty, slavery, and ignorance, in the hope that we might achieve wealth, freedom, and knowledge.
Perhaps things got mixed up in my head because of my many plane trips and lack of oxygen, but I am writing today from the ground, and I still believe that we are failing each time, to the extent that I started asking for failure in order to achieve success.
When I was a young boy, the topics in Arab politics were restricted to the liberation of Palestine, and the achievement of unity. Then came Jamal Abdel Nasser, and we had a leader whom we wished would liberate and unite us.
Unity between Egypt and Syria was established in 1958, was supposed to last forever, and to include the countries and the people of the Umma; but it collapsed in 1961, and made every unity seeker reevaluate his stance. The 1958 Iraqi revolution was a logical ally to the Egyptian revolution, and a future ally of the sought unity; but the revolution ate-up its people, and withdrew from the concept of unity.
When Moammar Gadhafi came to power, as a spitting image of Nasser, he revived the demands for unity in a way that convinced every Arab country of the virtues of separation.
This with regards to unity; as for Palestine, we all know what is going on, and we all refuse the division of 1947, because Palestine is entirely Arab. We have lost the 1948 war, and were left with 22% of the land of Palestine, when we could have kept more than its populated half.
The 1967 war lost the rest, and we now ask for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which were originally ours, but not ours.
In the meantime, most of us followed the illusion of communism; the concerned Arab governments acted here with rare intelligence; they realized that they will not allow the poor to reach the level of the rich, so they made the rich reach the level of the poor, with the exception of the ruling military elites and their entourages.
Does the reader remember the slogan unity, freedom, and communism? It is a nice slogan that was preached by the Arab Communist Baath Party, as it was the "trend" back then. But the party of unity itself was divided in two: a Syrian and an Iraqi; it was the biggest political enmity between the members of one party, and the result was that we did not achieve the unity that the party presented in its political rhetoric.
What did I cover so far? The liberation of Palestine that made us lose the rest, the unity that strengthened division, and communism that made everyone poorer on the basis of making everyone live the same misery in order to achieve equality.
I move now to the Gulf, as in the days of poverty, and before the high demand on oil and the increase in its price, nobody asked about the Gulf or its people. However, when these became rich, we heard about 'Arab oil,' not Saudi or Kuwaiti for example. But fortune did not corrupt all Gulf people, as Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan sponsored the establishment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a constant unity, which may be the only exception to the rule.
But the Gulf was the ground for achieving the total opposite of what was required, in a tragedy the consequences of which we still suffer.
I remember that there was an American base in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which the Americans used to pay the price for, before the oil era; this money used to constitute an important portion of the Saudi budget back then. There was also a maritime American presence in Bahrain, and some British military ships, from Amman to Kuwait.
The American base in Dhahran was closed, and the others' presence in the Gulf remained unnoticeable. Then the Iranian Islamic Revolution took place, and demanded the expulsion of foreign forces from the Gulf. The region suddenly became a large port for the ships of major Western countries. Saddam Hussein refused to see the Iranian revolution making more mistakes than he was, so he attacked Iran, and the foreign ships doubled in the Gulf; then he invaded Kuwait, and the Gulf was filled with 800,000 soldiers, and a massive war machinery that no one ever imagined would be found in this region. Saddam Hussein, with his political and military genius, and what was known of his forecasting perceptions, found a way for the occupation forces to enter Iraq itself, after he gave up his head on a silver platter, to the enemies of the Umma.
All that I have mentioned so far does not come close to the terrorism that we are currently suffering from, and how the contrary, or the opposite, took place.
In the West, they call it Islamic terrorism, which leaves the impression that Muslims are terrorists.
The terrorists want to help Islam, and all they are achieving is harm to Muslims everywhere. They have launched a war in order to expel the infidels, which they are not, from the countries of Islam. Moreover, these foreigners, who manufactured the weapons that these terrorists use, made all that is in our countries, from the asphalt on the streets to the computers we use.
If the terrorists are the soldiers of Islam, then Islam does not need enemies. And if they succeed, they would take us back to caves and grottos; but they will not succeed, because they are the enemies of God and his people, the enemies of nature, the enemies of humanity. In their counter-defense of Islam, they achieved what Ariel Sharon and the enemies of Islam have failed to achieve, and the world currently talks about the beheading of an American or a Korean, and forgets the beheading of an entire population.
I think that if these terrorists fight Islam, then this latter would win, and the age of the first conquests will be revived.
Friday, July 02, 2004
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
My trip to Egypt
Egypt has always been a dream destination to many of us. It is not only due to the charm of the Land of the Pharaohs , but also the current country , it’s people, food, and its entire civilization that makes one crave to go there.
My first conscious thought about wanting to visit, was watching those beautiful black and white movies of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s for which the Egyptian movie industry was famous. They made me long to go to Alexandria, Cairo, the desert, Upper Egypt and of course all the historical places and gardens.
Little did I know that for about 9 years it would become a must destination on my travel route- courtesy of the US and Security Council sanctions. Yes, since we were not allowed to fly anywhere out of Libya, we had three choices before pursuing an onward journey:
(1) Drive to Tunis,
(2) Drive to Egypt,
(3) Take the ferry to Malta.
All three are of course harrowing experiences which I will deal with in another post about US sanctions.
Sometimes if you did not want solution (2), but still had to take your connection flight from Egypt you could go to Malta, and fly to Egypt from there then catch the next segment of your journey.
This is all to say that I saw a lot of Egypt (lucky me eh?).
Well this week my trip to Egypt was by choice (yippee), and I enjoyed meeting many of my family and school friends there. However, no matter how many times I’ve been to Cairo, I keep forgetting the small things which get on my nerves and make me say never again, but the advantages are always better and I find myself once again in good old Cairo.
As the plane touches down, you will find people clapping, this always embarrasses me, I mean come on it is the pilot’s job to get you safely not a heroic feat!
Everything runs smoothly until you actually step down from the shuttle bus and into the immigration department. You are assaulted by frantically waving bank exchange agents who have set up a booth conveniently before the passport checks, and each one wants to peddle his bank instead of letting you choose..
The immigration procedure is fine and straightforward ( if you choose the correct lane: Arabs, Egyptians, Foreigners), just take your turn, then move on to the next step: luggage collection, you pay one dollar for a porter and trolley and he goes with you to the taxi. “Great” you say, but wait a second, as soon as you have booked the porter he starts his litany of asking for a tip Egyptian style. This is very very annoying because he WILL not shut up. I don’t mind tipping, but I want to have the choice to do so as an appreciation for his service and not by force. We do not have this habit in Libya, in fact we do not tip, and I hope that my country will not be spoiled now that we have so many tourists. I appreciate that people want to make a living and that Egypt has a lot of economic problems but tipping is a personal thing. The issue is that everybody from the cab driver to the policeman will ask you for a tip even though they are doing their job and you already paid your fare, a watchman at the bank will request a tip, even though he is a salaried employee and has done nothing to be of actual service to you. Even the security officer at the end of the parking area of the airport wants a tip “kol sana wa anta tayeb” or happy new year !
You have to be very precise and to the point otherwise you are lost in Egypt.
Cairo is huge and the traffic is horrendous despite the underground tunnels and flyovers. I like it but for a couple of days only, the buildings have unfortunately gotten too polluted downtown. It is a lively city, in fact it never sleeps, shopping is available till very late and some restaurants never close.
I went to Al - Hussein mosque (very famous ‘saint’) and was surprised to find that there was now an entrance for men and a separate one for women. This was not so last time I was there. We used to be able to circle and pray around the tomb of the Muslim saint but now there is a partition which I hate. Because of it people are being encouraged to nap in the mosque and generally contributing to dirtying it (impossible before as both sexes would pray/meditate and leave not hang around).
Through my meandering in Adly Street (central Cairo) I stumbled into a tiny side street with which I fell in love at first sight; it was full of the ordinary masses, what I call the real people of a country. There were lots of sidewalk cafés and restaurant, but not the high- street kind. You would be surprised as I was, that the food or coffee actually was fresher and better here. My theory : no old stocks because thousands sat there throughout the day. I liked a small restaurant specializing in fish food. The owner cooked the best shrimps/prawns I ever tasted except in Thailand. There are only 2 tables and 9 chairs and a little counter. I enjoyed the experience so much that I went again. Prices are affordable,service warm and there is a fish stall conveniently across the street (you get to choose your own meal).I found it beats five star restaurants.
Egyptians are very resourceful people and will find many ways to make a buck, I saw street vendors, kiosk, and corner shops selling calls from their cells phones, apparently it’s lucrative and you can use their phone for 75 piastres. Comes in handy when you’re in a hurry, and no payphone nearby.
Tourism has picked up recently, witness to that are the long queues in front of the museum. However I did not visit the pyramids this year as I had a negative experience last year. If you thought that they were located in the desert, well not anymore, the city has crawled to surround them and in fact there is a fence wall now which was disappointing as the romance was gone for me, too commercialized. I recommend going with a tour group, too unsafe otherwise.
Another high attraction is the Khan Khalili old souk, that’s very nice though very tourist oriented baubles again. I love going to a jeweler there that makes original pieces. For the correct prize you get a unique piece including some antique furniture.
Of course sipping your drink on the Nile bank is a beautiful experience.
While in Egypt I took the opportunity to contact a fellow blogger ‘big pharaoh’, we did not manage to meet but we spoke on the phone. He is genuine and a very nice candid person. I liked his style even tough I may not agree with him over points, and I look forward to meeting with him next time I pass bye.
Egypt has always been a dream destination to many of us. It is not only due to the charm of the Land of the Pharaohs , but also the current country , it’s people, food, and its entire civilization that makes one crave to go there.
My first conscious thought about wanting to visit, was watching those beautiful black and white movies of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s for which the Egyptian movie industry was famous. They made me long to go to Alexandria, Cairo, the desert, Upper Egypt and of course all the historical places and gardens.
Little did I know that for about 9 years it would become a must destination on my travel route- courtesy of the US and Security Council sanctions. Yes, since we were not allowed to fly anywhere out of Libya, we had three choices before pursuing an onward journey:
(1) Drive to Tunis,
(2) Drive to Egypt,
(3) Take the ferry to Malta.
All three are of course harrowing experiences which I will deal with in another post about US sanctions.
Sometimes if you did not want solution (2), but still had to take your connection flight from Egypt you could go to Malta, and fly to Egypt from there then catch the next segment of your journey.
This is all to say that I saw a lot of Egypt (lucky me eh?).
Well this week my trip to Egypt was by choice (yippee), and I enjoyed meeting many of my family and school friends there. However, no matter how many times I’ve been to Cairo, I keep forgetting the small things which get on my nerves and make me say never again, but the advantages are always better and I find myself once again in good old Cairo.
As the plane touches down, you will find people clapping, this always embarrasses me, I mean come on it is the pilot’s job to get you safely not a heroic feat!
Everything runs smoothly until you actually step down from the shuttle bus and into the immigration department. You are assaulted by frantically waving bank exchange agents who have set up a booth conveniently before the passport checks, and each one wants to peddle his bank instead of letting you choose..
The immigration procedure is fine and straightforward ( if you choose the correct lane: Arabs, Egyptians, Foreigners), just take your turn, then move on to the next step: luggage collection, you pay one dollar for a porter and trolley and he goes with you to the taxi. “Great” you say, but wait a second, as soon as you have booked the porter he starts his litany of asking for a tip Egyptian style. This is very very annoying because he WILL not shut up. I don’t mind tipping, but I want to have the choice to do so as an appreciation for his service and not by force. We do not have this habit in Libya, in fact we do not tip, and I hope that my country will not be spoiled now that we have so many tourists. I appreciate that people want to make a living and that Egypt has a lot of economic problems but tipping is a personal thing. The issue is that everybody from the cab driver to the policeman will ask you for a tip even though they are doing their job and you already paid your fare, a watchman at the bank will request a tip, even though he is a salaried employee and has done nothing to be of actual service to you. Even the security officer at the end of the parking area of the airport wants a tip “kol sana wa anta tayeb” or happy new year !
You have to be very precise and to the point otherwise you are lost in Egypt.
Cairo is huge and the traffic is horrendous despite the underground tunnels and flyovers. I like it but for a couple of days only, the buildings have unfortunately gotten too polluted downtown. It is a lively city, in fact it never sleeps, shopping is available till very late and some restaurants never close.
I went to Al - Hussein mosque (very famous ‘saint’) and was surprised to find that there was now an entrance for men and a separate one for women. This was not so last time I was there. We used to be able to circle and pray around the tomb of the Muslim saint but now there is a partition which I hate. Because of it people are being encouraged to nap in the mosque and generally contributing to dirtying it (impossible before as both sexes would pray/meditate and leave not hang around).
Through my meandering in Adly Street (central Cairo) I stumbled into a tiny side street with which I fell in love at first sight; it was full of the ordinary masses, what I call the real people of a country. There were lots of sidewalk cafés and restaurant, but not the high- street kind. You would be surprised as I was, that the food or coffee actually was fresher and better here. My theory : no old stocks because thousands sat there throughout the day. I liked a small restaurant specializing in fish food. The owner cooked the best shrimps/prawns I ever tasted except in Thailand. There are only 2 tables and 9 chairs and a little counter. I enjoyed the experience so much that I went again. Prices are affordable,service warm and there is a fish stall conveniently across the street (you get to choose your own meal).I found it beats five star restaurants.
Egyptians are very resourceful people and will find many ways to make a buck, I saw street vendors, kiosk, and corner shops selling calls from their cells phones, apparently it’s lucrative and you can use their phone for 75 piastres. Comes in handy when you’re in a hurry, and no payphone nearby.
Tourism has picked up recently, witness to that are the long queues in front of the museum. However I did not visit the pyramids this year as I had a negative experience last year. If you thought that they were located in the desert, well not anymore, the city has crawled to surround them and in fact there is a fence wall now which was disappointing as the romance was gone for me, too commercialized. I recommend going with a tour group, too unsafe otherwise.
Another high attraction is the Khan Khalili old souk, that’s very nice though very tourist oriented baubles again. I love going to a jeweler there that makes original pieces. For the correct prize you get a unique piece including some antique furniture.
Of course sipping your drink on the Nile bank is a beautiful experience.
While in Egypt I took the opportunity to contact a fellow blogger ‘big pharaoh’, we did not manage to meet but we spoke on the phone. He is genuine and a very nice candid person. I liked his style even tough I may not agree with him over points, and I look forward to meeting with him next time I pass bye.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Monday, June 07, 2004
BANKS ..
Thursday, 3 June, 2004: Citibank wants to resume business with Libya, particularly focusing on trade and project finance, as the North African state opens up after sanctions, a senior official of the U.S. bank said on Wednesday. Michel Accad, Citibank division head of the Middle East and North Africa in Cairo, told Reuters a team that visited Libya after many U.S. sanctions were lifted in late April was drawing up a business plan. He said they were at an early stage. A Libyan banker in Tripoli said Citibank was among several U.S. banks which had sent teams to discuss opportunities. He named others as American Express Bank and J.P. Morgan. [Reuters]
Thursday, 3 June, 2004: Citibank wants to resume business with Libya, particularly focusing on trade and project finance, as the North African state opens up after sanctions, a senior official of the U.S. bank said on Wednesday. Michel Accad, Citibank division head of the Middle East and North Africa in Cairo, told Reuters a team that visited Libya after many U.S. sanctions were lifted in late April was drawing up a business plan. He said they were at an early stage. A Libyan banker in Tripoli said Citibank was among several U.S. banks which had sent teams to discuss opportunities. He named others as American Express Bank and J.P. Morgan. [Reuters]
Fashion show in ancient ruins..
Saturday, 5 June, 2004: The new issue of Modern Elegance, which will be distributed with The Times [of Malta] tomorrow, features fashion shots taken on location in the Roman ruins of Sabratha (photo), near Tripoli. The magazine's publishers say this was the first time Libya has been used as the location for a fashion shoot. Maltese models, a stylist, a make-up artist, a hairdresser and a photographer were flown to Tripoli and took with them several suitcases of clothes from fashion retailers in Malta. Sabratha is one of the three ancient cities that made up Tripolitania (Greek for "three cities") and from which Tripoli takes its name. [The Times]
Saturday, 5 June, 2004: The new issue of Modern Elegance, which will be distributed with The Times [of Malta] tomorrow, features fashion shots taken on location in the Roman ruins of Sabratha (photo), near Tripoli. The magazine's publishers say this was the first time Libya has been used as the location for a fashion shoot. Maltese models, a stylist, a make-up artist, a hairdresser and a photographer were flown to Tripoli and took with them several suitcases of clothes from fashion retailers in Malta. Sabratha is one of the three ancient cities that made up Tripolitania (Greek for "three cities") and from which Tripoli takes its name. [The Times]
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
of this and that...
Zeyad you would be pleased to hear that I finally found the time to get that tooth fixed...oh the glee on the dentist's face .. haven't been blogging lately , but with my bad habit of never refusing a chocolate I managed to do major damage to a couple of teeth :( .. thank God for anesthesia or I would have freaked out .. anyway with all this drilling-reconstructing-composite filling activity I almost missed this interesting article about our dear Al-Jazeera , for once the tone is positive overall ..
These last 5 years weather has been kind of funny in Libya, I call it the 'British syndrome' , we have the 4 seasons in one 24hr cycle ! unbelievable but true. Years ago I used to be sure when summer would be here, and no it's not as my dad says " when the traffic police wear their white uniforms" although that was true too .. now they wear the white uniforms, but it would still be cold or raining or whatever. Plus we've had to contend with an attack of locusts ( that's bad news for the local agriculture!). I don't know if you've heard about it but a couple of weeks ago the beasts were even seen here in Tripoli, that's even worse news, as they were supposed to be taken care off over the desert.
I heard famous stories about the invasion of the locusts when my parents were young. They said that Libya was the only country which had defeated them about 50 years ago. How do you think this was managed without help from the FAO or the USA or the EU or the UN ? The Libyans simply cooked then ate the darned insects, yep!! I admire them , got 3 birds in one shot, 1)eradicated the locusts, 2)saved whatever farmland was available, 3)and prevented a coutrywide famine... I heard the locust's flesh was delicious; many older people get quite romantic when talking about those hungry times.
If anyone of you has eaten locusts please tell me of your experience.I heard it tastes a little like shrimps ?!?!
Zeyad you would be pleased to hear that I finally found the time to get that tooth fixed...oh the glee on the dentist's face .. haven't been blogging lately , but with my bad habit of never refusing a chocolate I managed to do major damage to a couple of teeth :( .. thank God for anesthesia or I would have freaked out .. anyway with all this drilling-reconstructing-composite filling activity I almost missed this interesting article about our dear Al-Jazeera , for once the tone is positive overall ..
These last 5 years weather has been kind of funny in Libya, I call it the 'British syndrome' , we have the 4 seasons in one 24hr cycle ! unbelievable but true. Years ago I used to be sure when summer would be here, and no it's not as my dad says " when the traffic police wear their white uniforms" although that was true too .. now they wear the white uniforms, but it would still be cold or raining or whatever. Plus we've had to contend with an attack of locusts ( that's bad news for the local agriculture!). I don't know if you've heard about it but a couple of weeks ago the beasts were even seen here in Tripoli, that's even worse news, as they were supposed to be taken care off over the desert.
I heard famous stories about the invasion of the locusts when my parents were young. They said that Libya was the only country which had defeated them about 50 years ago. How do you think this was managed without help from the FAO or the USA or the EU or the UN ? The Libyans simply cooked then ate the darned insects, yep!! I admire them , got 3 birds in one shot, 1)eradicated the locusts, 2)saved whatever farmland was available, 3)and prevented a coutrywide famine... I heard the locust's flesh was delicious; many older people get quite romantic when talking about those hungry times.
If anyone of you has eaten locusts please tell me of your experience.I heard it tastes a little like shrimps ?!?!
Monday, May 24, 2004
The Coming Explosion
This guy makes a lot of sense and knows what he is talking about.What do you think?
Culture and Arts? Who Cares!
Abeer Mishkhas, abeermishkhas@arabnews.com
Whenever I read about a movie or a book portraying Arabs negatively, I wait for some proper responses from our side. By proper responses, I mean intelligent and logical ones in the same medium...
Who Is Behind The Mazzeh Operation?
Selim Nassar Al-Hayat 2004/05/2
During the course of this week, a number of incidents happened that have ramifications on Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Gaza.
I think we have seen lately the ramifications in Gaza courtesy of the IDF..
What About Arab Plans?
Abdullah Iskandar Al-Hayat 2004/04/27
When the Arab leaders convene on 22 May to discuss the situation in Iraq, only a few weeks would be separating them from the expected date of the transfer of authority to the Iraqis. The procedure will be determined by the end of June. Will there be any role or weight or even any consideration of Arab concerns over the future of Iraq?
Well we have seen what happened at the Arab summit, sorry folks I'd rather go watch Superstar . This is talent contest program for young singers and this time there are 2 Libyan contenders, which are excellent by the way. If you have nothing else to do go the website and vote or send an sms. Ayman Alataar is my favourite and Rida Jaffar is the next .. Finals are next Sunday . There is also the Iraqi Shada and another Syrian girl ..I'm really mixed up the choice is wide ..
Chess Championship:
Originally the World Chess Federation (FIDE) world championship was scheduled to be staged in two parts, one in Libya and one in Malta. This was mainly to accommodate Israeli players. Now the main sponsor, Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, has guaranteed "entry visas to all the 128 qualified participants". FIDE is pleased to announce that the 2004 World Chess Championship will take place June 18 - July 13 in Tripoli. The Libyan Olympic Committee (LOC) guarantees entry visas to all the 128 qualified participants and the invitation to the players is signed by the President of LOC ,Mohammad al-Qadhafi. [FIDE]
I don't know if this event will still take place in Libya or not , but will check it out .
visa problems to students in US ... well quite interesting hmm?
This guy makes a lot of sense and knows what he is talking about.What do you think?
Culture and Arts? Who Cares!
Abeer Mishkhas, abeermishkhas@arabnews.com
Whenever I read about a movie or a book portraying Arabs negatively, I wait for some proper responses from our side. By proper responses, I mean intelligent and logical ones in the same medium...
Who Is Behind The Mazzeh Operation?
Selim Nassar Al-Hayat 2004/05/2
During the course of this week, a number of incidents happened that have ramifications on Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Gaza.
I think we have seen lately the ramifications in Gaza courtesy of the IDF..
What About Arab Plans?
Abdullah Iskandar Al-Hayat 2004/04/27
When the Arab leaders convene on 22 May to discuss the situation in Iraq, only a few weeks would be separating them from the expected date of the transfer of authority to the Iraqis. The procedure will be determined by the end of June. Will there be any role or weight or even any consideration of Arab concerns over the future of Iraq?
Well we have seen what happened at the Arab summit, sorry folks I'd rather go watch Superstar . This is talent contest program for young singers and this time there are 2 Libyan contenders, which are excellent by the way. If you have nothing else to do go the website and vote or send an sms. Ayman Alataar is my favourite and Rida Jaffar is the next .. Finals are next Sunday . There is also the Iraqi Shada and another Syrian girl ..I'm really mixed up the choice is wide ..
Chess Championship:
Originally the World Chess Federation (FIDE) world championship was scheduled to be staged in two parts, one in Libya and one in Malta. This was mainly to accommodate Israeli players. Now the main sponsor, Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, has guaranteed "entry visas to all the 128 qualified participants". FIDE is pleased to announce that the 2004 World Chess Championship will take place June 18 - July 13 in Tripoli. The Libyan Olympic Committee (LOC) guarantees entry visas to all the 128 qualified participants and the invitation to the players is signed by the President of LOC ,Mohammad al-Qadhafi. [FIDE]
I don't know if this event will still take place in Libya or not , but will check it out .
visa problems to students in US ... well quite interesting hmm?
Catching up on a lot of work
I've jotted down a lot of subjects which I've been wanting to write about or mention, in addition to having all those questions and issues raised by email etc..
Local news:
Friday, 21 May, 2004: Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Australia will reopen its embassy in Libya. According to the official Libyan news agency, JANA, he made the announcement during a brief visit to the capital, Tripoli. While there, Mr Downer had talks with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. JANA said they discussed ways to promote bilateral relations, notably in political, cultural and scientific areas. Australia closed its embassy in Tripoli 17 years ago.. [AFP]
Suddenly everyone wants to re-open their embassy in Libya,it's fashionable I guess. Honestly speaking this is good news, more opportunity for Libyans locally or overseas.. So I'll be pragmatic about the whole affair, I think we should all be getting on with building a better future and gathering our strenght. . People have suffered enough .
1) My thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in brief :
The current Jewish inhabitants of Israel have no place in this historical land ( except Arab Jews who were living there- I think they are called Sephardic ?). But unfortunately the damage has been done and it is irreversible as it would also not be fair nor possible to throw out all those Jewish immigrants now. Therefore the logical part is that since the Palestinian Arabs were so kind to let the immigrant Jews who had run away from an intolerant racist genocidal Europe and West after WWII share their land, they could all just live togheter in one big homeland, not Israel nor Palestine, we can even call it 'Isratine' as the Libyan Leader said.
Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi would like to introduce Israel to democracy , swell idea no ? please check him out , lots of common sense and totally looking ourselves in the mirror as Arabs.
2)Stipend Delay Puts Squeeze on Saudis in US
Moral of the story don't put your eggs into one basket , ie I have always been one to advocate never putting your money in US banks . I mean why do Arab governments do it? , if you really must put you money outside then choose a safe small European or Arab or African bank with more liberal views. Then you are inshallah never under a Damocles sword, where if the current president cannot agree with you he pre-emptively freeze your assets as some form of sanction .. if only the Saudis repatriate their property many banks would perhaps collapse , it could be a part of boycotting American foreign policy..
3) the Scarf again, maybe France should be taking a hint from this, A US judge has ruled a Sikh traffic policeman, who was forced to leave his job because he insisted on wearing a turban, should be reinstated. If the sikhs can keep their turban , why can't Muslim women keep their scarves .. talk about double standards again .. I'm really angry because instead of embracing Muslim populations, France has enraged them. It would have been easier to let them wear what they wanted, I'm sure they would have dropped the scarf in the next generation perhaps .. temptations in the west are too much ;) to be resisted.
4) Example of Libyan woman in prominent political role .
I'm writing an article about equality of women in Libya, but this is a brief foray to say that in January 2003, the UN Human Rights Commission elected a Libyan diplomat Mrs Najat Al-Hajjaji’s ( not bad looking either ) as that year’s president..Regardless of the objections to Human Rights records , my point is that she is a Libyan woman, which is a great achievement for Arab women and normal in Libya where women have been granted every chance and opportunity.
I've jotted down a lot of subjects which I've been wanting to write about or mention, in addition to having all those questions and issues raised by email etc..
Local news:
Friday, 21 May, 2004: Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says Australia will reopen its embassy in Libya. According to the official Libyan news agency, JANA, he made the announcement during a brief visit to the capital, Tripoli. While there, Mr Downer had talks with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. JANA said they discussed ways to promote bilateral relations, notably in political, cultural and scientific areas. Australia closed its embassy in Tripoli 17 years ago.. [AFP]
Suddenly everyone wants to re-open their embassy in Libya,it's fashionable I guess. Honestly speaking this is good news, more opportunity for Libyans locally or overseas.. So I'll be pragmatic about the whole affair, I think we should all be getting on with building a better future and gathering our strenght. . People have suffered enough .
1) My thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in brief :
The current Jewish inhabitants of Israel have no place in this historical land ( except Arab Jews who were living there- I think they are called Sephardic ?). But unfortunately the damage has been done and it is irreversible as it would also not be fair nor possible to throw out all those Jewish immigrants now. Therefore the logical part is that since the Palestinian Arabs were so kind to let the immigrant Jews who had run away from an intolerant racist genocidal Europe and West after WWII share their land, they could all just live togheter in one big homeland, not Israel nor Palestine, we can even call it 'Isratine' as the Libyan Leader said.
Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi would like to introduce Israel to democracy , swell idea no ? please check him out , lots of common sense and totally looking ourselves in the mirror as Arabs.
2)Stipend Delay Puts Squeeze on Saudis in US
Moral of the story don't put your eggs into one basket , ie I have always been one to advocate never putting your money in US banks . I mean why do Arab governments do it? , if you really must put you money outside then choose a safe small European or Arab or African bank with more liberal views. Then you are inshallah never under a Damocles sword, where if the current president cannot agree with you he pre-emptively freeze your assets as some form of sanction .. if only the Saudis repatriate their property many banks would perhaps collapse , it could be a part of boycotting American foreign policy..
3) the Scarf again, maybe France should be taking a hint from this, A US judge has ruled a Sikh traffic policeman, who was forced to leave his job because he insisted on wearing a turban, should be reinstated. If the sikhs can keep their turban , why can't Muslim women keep their scarves .. talk about double standards again .. I'm really angry because instead of embracing Muslim populations, France has enraged them. It would have been easier to let them wear what they wanted, I'm sure they would have dropped the scarf in the next generation perhaps .. temptations in the west are too much ;) to be resisted.
4) Example of Libyan woman in prominent political role .
I'm writing an article about equality of women in Libya, but this is a brief foray to say that in January 2003, the UN Human Rights Commission elected a Libyan diplomat Mrs Najat Al-Hajjaji’s ( not bad looking either ) as that year’s president..Regardless of the objections to Human Rights records , my point is that she is a Libyan woman, which is a great achievement for Arab women and normal in Libya where women have been granted every chance and opportunity.
Immunity for'coalition forces'
I would like to know the opinion of Iraqis and Americans alike on this subject . Do you really think the troops should be immune from prosecutions after all the abuse they have dished out to Iraqis?
I have noticed that this is a trend with the US, it never signs any treaties, and always wants to be above the law. Whilst I appreciate that each governement should do what is best for its own people, I would also like that this right be granted to all the other countries . For example Serbian troops should get immunity, German troops should have gotten immunity, Chechen fighters should get immunity, etc.. I mean they each want what they believe is best for them. I don't see why do the double standards apply. The Law should apply to everyone . Iraqi troops should have been granted immunity for occupying Kuwait. Palestinian and Israelis armies should also enjoy the same privilege....
In this article the most important bit of info for me is the following about death records in Iraq :
"Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted that no-one knew for sure how many Iraqis had been killed since the coalition's invasion last year.
It is odd that coalition forces have not kept consistent records about estimates of people in Iraq who have been killed
Jack Straw
He claimed it was "extremely difficult" to keep track of those killed, although he knew it was about 10,000 people three months ago.
"In a more perfect world there ought to have been estimates kept," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Mr Straw suggested that the US had not kept note of who had died since the occupation of Iraq began in March last year, but he insisted the British had tried to keep a record. "
Isn't it odd that while every single American and British soldier contractor,mercenary or civilian has a name and when we end being drowned by the western media with data about his/her past , family, kids , high school records and even favourite teddy bear.. Our own dead are not even counted let alone named unless they hold some kind of official or semi-official function such as IGC members or Hamas or Hizbollah or whatever terrorists killed by IDF.
close encounters with some dirt for Bush : How lucky can you get only cuts and grazes instead of breaking his neck ;) God must really be 'talking' to this guy ....
I would like to know the opinion of Iraqis and Americans alike on this subject . Do you really think the troops should be immune from prosecutions after all the abuse they have dished out to Iraqis?
I have noticed that this is a trend with the US, it never signs any treaties, and always wants to be above the law. Whilst I appreciate that each governement should do what is best for its own people, I would also like that this right be granted to all the other countries . For example Serbian troops should get immunity, German troops should have gotten immunity, Chechen fighters should get immunity, etc.. I mean they each want what they believe is best for them. I don't see why do the double standards apply. The Law should apply to everyone . Iraqi troops should have been granted immunity for occupying Kuwait. Palestinian and Israelis armies should also enjoy the same privilege....
In this article the most important bit of info for me is the following about death records in Iraq :
"Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted that no-one knew for sure how many Iraqis had been killed since the coalition's invasion last year.
It is odd that coalition forces have not kept consistent records about estimates of people in Iraq who have been killed
Jack Straw
He claimed it was "extremely difficult" to keep track of those killed, although he knew it was about 10,000 people three months ago.
"In a more perfect world there ought to have been estimates kept," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Mr Straw suggested that the US had not kept note of who had died since the occupation of Iraq began in March last year, but he insisted the British had tried to keep a record. "
Isn't it odd that while every single American and British soldier contractor,mercenary or civilian has a name and when we end being drowned by the western media with data about his/her past , family, kids , high school records and even favourite teddy bear.. Our own dead are not even counted let alone named unless they hold some kind of official or semi-official function such as IGC members or Hamas or Hizbollah or whatever terrorists killed by IDF.
close encounters with some dirt for Bush : How lucky can you get only cuts and grazes instead of breaking his neck ;) God must really be 'talking' to this guy ....
Sunday 23rd May 2004
Just read this , could Rummy be banning the camera phones so that no proof can be released about more abuses ? I love his type of democracy ;)
Thanks ZH again for this article :
May 23, 2004
CIVILIAN WORKERS
Mix of Idealism and Résumé-Building Motivates Americans Seeking Jobs in
Iraq
By GLEN JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, May 22 — Ty Cobb Jr. was fresh from law school and eager to add
to a résumé that already included answering mail in the Virginia
governor's office when he heard through contacts that the Bush
administration was looking to fill civilian jobs in Iraq.
So despite having little foreign experience beyond touring Europe and
studying there for a summer, Mr. Cobb headed to Baghdad. He has since
traveled the country — often packing a 9-millimeter pistol or an AK-47 —
to help educate Iraqis about democracy. He says he is committed to the
United States' mission there, but he is not shy about saying that there
are career calculations behind his adventure: he hopes it will lead to a
government job.
"If they look at a résumé and see that someone picked up and moved to Iraq
for seven months, they will put their faith in you to handle the rigors of
any position," Mr. Cobb said.
Hundreds of Americans have converged on Iraq for all kinds of reasons.
Some consider it rewarding to try to bring democracy to the Iraqis. Some
are in it for the adventure. For some, it is a combination of the
experience, the fervor for supporting the administration's goals and the
sense that it is more exciting than work back home.
Many of these recruits have top-notch skills. But the downside, foreign
policy experts say, is that some lack the proper experience for such
difficult and often unsafe assignments.
"A vast number of people are being recruited who have no qualifications,
no background, and who have never done anything serious in the U.S.," said
Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington.
Daniel Benjamin, who is also at the center working on the postconflict
reconstruction project, said some who go to Iraq were altruistic, some
were opportunistic and others were just doing a job.
"For better or worse, this is the biggest show in town and it's a place to
get your ticket punched," Mr. Benjamin said.
The jobs are filled by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the United
States civilian administration that is running Iraq. Created just over a
year ago, the authority has about 1,160 employees, including more than 325
members of the military and about 150 workers from other countries,
according to authority officials. Some are on loan from government
agencies in Washington, while others have been hired from the outside.
Most recruiting is done through a Defense Department Web page called Sofia
(Support Our Friends in Iraq and Afghanistan), which seeks people
interested in "assisting the fledgling governments in their quest to
become full-fledged democracies."
"People who submit a résumé need to understand that conditions may be
harsh, primitive and hazardous," the Web page says. "Conversely, there may
be few opportunities in life to make such a lasting contribution to world
peace."
The authority has received more than 11,000 résumés, and though officials
say political affiliation carries no standing, Republican connections seem
to help some of them stand out.
Mike Hardiman, 43, a former aide to a Republican congressman, was
self-employed as a Washington lobbyist and public relations specialist
when a Pentagon official he would not identify asked him to go to Iraq. As
a lobbyist Mr. Hardiman has handled clients like the American Land Rights
Association, which represents property owners opposed to government land
regulation.
In Iraq, he is a spokesman for the occupation authority, working with a
portion of the Iraqi government that, among other things, works on land
and infrastructure issues. "Things like traffic circles, sewers and zoning
codes are interesting to me," Mr. Hardiman said.
Mr. Hardiman tells of having to explain to Iraqi reporters that a $10
million beautification effort will not be used to erect statues of
President Bush. The truth in Iraq, he says, is sometimes stranger than
fiction. But he says he believes in what the United States is doing.
"Free speech, an open economy and democracy are the genies that have been
let out of the bottle, and they will not be put back in," he wrote in an
e-mail message. "There will be successes and setbacks, but freedom will
win, I see it firsthand every day."
Rich Galen, 57, is a former press aide to Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich
with extensive international experience who runs an online Republican
newsletter called Mullings. He worked in the authority's press office,
helping broadcast reporters from smaller markets.
Mr. Galen, who is now back in the United States, said he got his
invitation from the White House, but he too declined to say who called.
"When they ask you to go, the only answer is `When can I leave?' " he said.
Job descriptions originate on the ground in Iraq, and candidates are found
through the database of applicants that Sofia provides. Occupation
officials say that all candidates are selected to fill specific jobs
according to their credentials, and that many have specific skills that
are in demand, like fluency in Arabic or a deep knowledge of health care,
financial markets and other policy areas.
"Those who are here believe in the mission," said Dan Senor, a spokesman
for the occupation authority. "They want a hand in building democracy in
Iraq."
Most stay from six months to a year, sometimes less, working six-day weeks
and often living in the secure part of Baghdad known as the green zone.
Those who work outside the zone, where many of the ministries are based,
travel heavily guarded. Body armor is common, and many also carry guns.
Mr. Cobb, 28, was searching for a job in Washington last year when he
heard about the positions in Iraq while at a meeting at the Pentagon to
get job advice. His father had served on the National Security Council
staff in the Reagan White House, which helped open doors like this.
The idea immediately appealed to Mr. Cobb, who became interested in a
career in counterterrorism or national security after losing a friend in
the Sept. 11 attacks. Like many who now serve in Iraq, he said he believed
strongly in the war and the efforts that followed. Those who support the
war, he said, have a duty to do what they can.
"The whole reason I'm here is that I believe it is part of an effort to
make America a more secure place," Mr. Cobb said. "That seems to be the
general feeling people have."
Though conditions in the green zone may be safer than those outside it,
many of those interviewed said their routine in Iraq was a radical
departure from the lives they had left back home as students, political
consultants or employees of government agencies.
Many spend their days in or around Saddam Hussein's massive palace, which
now serves as headquarters for the occupation authority. Meals are eaten
in a cafeteria there. Quarters for those who arrive are often large,
communal rooms packed with dozens of workers .
On their first night in Baghdad many have bunked in what is known as the
chapel, which several workers described as a religious chamber known for
its mural of missiles being launched. Later, they move to four-person
trailers that are placed all over the green zone, each surrounded by a
wall of sandbags.
War stories are common. Many workers interviewed told of being awakened by
explosions, and of rocket and mortar attacks that missed them by only a
few hundred feet. Even when there is a break in the violence, workers
think about the friends who have been killed or wounded. Though only two
Americans on the occupation staff have been killed, according to the
Pentagon, many workers in Iraq know contractors, locals and workers from
other countries who have been victims of the violence. Then there are
stories like the decapitation of Nicholas Berg, a contractor, which
present the danger in the starkest terms.
"Sometimes I feel like this is an evil place, because people are doing
terrible things to each other," said Elizabeth Cote, 27, a medical student
on leave from Harvard University to work on health care policy and
volunteer in a combat hospital. "But it may be the most positive
experience in my life. There are examples of kindness and people putting
their life on the line to do things."
Still, tough conditions have not stopped people from taking these jobs.
Iraq offers opportunities to some that they cannot get elsewhere.
Jacques Myers, 48, was a civilian firefighter at a military base in
Wisconsin who came to train Iraqis. Two weeks after his arrival, his boss
left and Mr. Myers was placed in charge of advising the country's 8,400
firefighters, a force comparable to the fire department of a major
American city.
"It's something I'd never be able to do stateside," he said. "I control
$200 million worth of equipment."
Van Smith, 23, was at lunch one day when he ran into a college friend and
the friend's father, Steve Casteel, a senior American adviser to Iraq's
Interior Ministry. They started talking about Iraq.
Mr. Smith was working at his first job after college, as director of
public outreach at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, his alma
mater. He happened to be reading a biography of Winston Churchill at the
time.
"I was at the chapter where we were the same age and he was having life
adventure after life adventure," he said. "I was saying I wish I had a
chance to be involved in something international and in war, I wish I had
a chance to make a difference in a foreign place."
He had a résumé to Mr. Casteel before the day ended.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
Just read this , could Rummy be banning the camera phones so that no proof can be released about more abuses ? I love his type of democracy ;)
Thanks ZH again for this article :
May 23, 2004
CIVILIAN WORKERS
Mix of Idealism and Résumé-Building Motivates Americans Seeking Jobs in
Iraq
By GLEN JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, May 22 — Ty Cobb Jr. was fresh from law school and eager to add
to a résumé that already included answering mail in the Virginia
governor's office when he heard through contacts that the Bush
administration was looking to fill civilian jobs in Iraq.
So despite having little foreign experience beyond touring Europe and
studying there for a summer, Mr. Cobb headed to Baghdad. He has since
traveled the country — often packing a 9-millimeter pistol or an AK-47 —
to help educate Iraqis about democracy. He says he is committed to the
United States' mission there, but he is not shy about saying that there
are career calculations behind his adventure: he hopes it will lead to a
government job.
"If they look at a résumé and see that someone picked up and moved to Iraq
for seven months, they will put their faith in you to handle the rigors of
any position," Mr. Cobb said.
Hundreds of Americans have converged on Iraq for all kinds of reasons.
Some consider it rewarding to try to bring democracy to the Iraqis. Some
are in it for the adventure. For some, it is a combination of the
experience, the fervor for supporting the administration's goals and the
sense that it is more exciting than work back home.
Many of these recruits have top-notch skills. But the downside, foreign
policy experts say, is that some lack the proper experience for such
difficult and often unsafe assignments.
"A vast number of people are being recruited who have no qualifications,
no background, and who have never done anything serious in the U.S.," said
Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington.
Daniel Benjamin, who is also at the center working on the postconflict
reconstruction project, said some who go to Iraq were altruistic, some
were opportunistic and others were just doing a job.
"For better or worse, this is the biggest show in town and it's a place to
get your ticket punched," Mr. Benjamin said.
The jobs are filled by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the United
States civilian administration that is running Iraq. Created just over a
year ago, the authority has about 1,160 employees, including more than 325
members of the military and about 150 workers from other countries,
according to authority officials. Some are on loan from government
agencies in Washington, while others have been hired from the outside.
Most recruiting is done through a Defense Department Web page called Sofia
(Support Our Friends in Iraq and Afghanistan), which seeks people
interested in "assisting the fledgling governments in their quest to
become full-fledged democracies."
"People who submit a résumé need to understand that conditions may be
harsh, primitive and hazardous," the Web page says. "Conversely, there may
be few opportunities in life to make such a lasting contribution to world
peace."
The authority has received more than 11,000 résumés, and though officials
say political affiliation carries no standing, Republican connections seem
to help some of them stand out.
Mike Hardiman, 43, a former aide to a Republican congressman, was
self-employed as a Washington lobbyist and public relations specialist
when a Pentagon official he would not identify asked him to go to Iraq. As
a lobbyist Mr. Hardiman has handled clients like the American Land Rights
Association, which represents property owners opposed to government land
regulation.
In Iraq, he is a spokesman for the occupation authority, working with a
portion of the Iraqi government that, among other things, works on land
and infrastructure issues. "Things like traffic circles, sewers and zoning
codes are interesting to me," Mr. Hardiman said.
Mr. Hardiman tells of having to explain to Iraqi reporters that a $10
million beautification effort will not be used to erect statues of
President Bush. The truth in Iraq, he says, is sometimes stranger than
fiction. But he says he believes in what the United States is doing.
"Free speech, an open economy and democracy are the genies that have been
let out of the bottle, and they will not be put back in," he wrote in an
e-mail message. "There will be successes and setbacks, but freedom will
win, I see it firsthand every day."
Rich Galen, 57, is a former press aide to Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich
with extensive international experience who runs an online Republican
newsletter called Mullings. He worked in the authority's press office,
helping broadcast reporters from smaller markets.
Mr. Galen, who is now back in the United States, said he got his
invitation from the White House, but he too declined to say who called.
"When they ask you to go, the only answer is `When can I leave?' " he said.
Job descriptions originate on the ground in Iraq, and candidates are found
through the database of applicants that Sofia provides. Occupation
officials say that all candidates are selected to fill specific jobs
according to their credentials, and that many have specific skills that
are in demand, like fluency in Arabic or a deep knowledge of health care,
financial markets and other policy areas.
"Those who are here believe in the mission," said Dan Senor, a spokesman
for the occupation authority. "They want a hand in building democracy in
Iraq."
Most stay from six months to a year, sometimes less, working six-day weeks
and often living in the secure part of Baghdad known as the green zone.
Those who work outside the zone, where many of the ministries are based,
travel heavily guarded. Body armor is common, and many also carry guns.
Mr. Cobb, 28, was searching for a job in Washington last year when he
heard about the positions in Iraq while at a meeting at the Pentagon to
get job advice. His father had served on the National Security Council
staff in the Reagan White House, which helped open doors like this.
The idea immediately appealed to Mr. Cobb, who became interested in a
career in counterterrorism or national security after losing a friend in
the Sept. 11 attacks. Like many who now serve in Iraq, he said he believed
strongly in the war and the efforts that followed. Those who support the
war, he said, have a duty to do what they can.
"The whole reason I'm here is that I believe it is part of an effort to
make America a more secure place," Mr. Cobb said. "That seems to be the
general feeling people have."
Though conditions in the green zone may be safer than those outside it,
many of those interviewed said their routine in Iraq was a radical
departure from the lives they had left back home as students, political
consultants or employees of government agencies.
Many spend their days in or around Saddam Hussein's massive palace, which
now serves as headquarters for the occupation authority. Meals are eaten
in a cafeteria there. Quarters for those who arrive are often large,
communal rooms packed with dozens of workers .
On their first night in Baghdad many have bunked in what is known as the
chapel, which several workers described as a religious chamber known for
its mural of missiles being launched. Later, they move to four-person
trailers that are placed all over the green zone, each surrounded by a
wall of sandbags.
War stories are common. Many workers interviewed told of being awakened by
explosions, and of rocket and mortar attacks that missed them by only a
few hundred feet. Even when there is a break in the violence, workers
think about the friends who have been killed or wounded. Though only two
Americans on the occupation staff have been killed, according to the
Pentagon, many workers in Iraq know contractors, locals and workers from
other countries who have been victims of the violence. Then there are
stories like the decapitation of Nicholas Berg, a contractor, which
present the danger in the starkest terms.
"Sometimes I feel like this is an evil place, because people are doing
terrible things to each other," said Elizabeth Cote, 27, a medical student
on leave from Harvard University to work on health care policy and
volunteer in a combat hospital. "But it may be the most positive
experience in my life. There are examples of kindness and people putting
their life on the line to do things."
Still, tough conditions have not stopped people from taking these jobs.
Iraq offers opportunities to some that they cannot get elsewhere.
Jacques Myers, 48, was a civilian firefighter at a military base in
Wisconsin who came to train Iraqis. Two weeks after his arrival, his boss
left and Mr. Myers was placed in charge of advising the country's 8,400
firefighters, a force comparable to the fire department of a major
American city.
"It's something I'd never be able to do stateside," he said. "I control
$200 million worth of equipment."
Van Smith, 23, was at lunch one day when he ran into a college friend and
the friend's father, Steve Casteel, a senior American adviser to Iraq's
Interior Ministry. They started talking about Iraq.
Mr. Smith was working at his first job after college, as director of
public outreach at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, his alma
mater. He happened to be reading a biography of Winston Churchill at the
time.
"I was at the chapter where we were the same age and he was having life
adventure after life adventure," he said. "I was saying I wish I had a
chance to be involved in something international and in war, I wish I had
a chance to make a difference in a foreign place."
He had a résumé to Mr. Casteel before the day ended.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
Saturday, May 22, 2004
some Libyan sites and other links:
My friend the 'Tripoli Girl' is an avid collector of Libyan websites , I have her to thank for these. If you are a music fan you can listen to Libyan music here for my Arab speaking readers there is the Libyan Corner with lots of interesting forums ..
Regarding the article I posted earlier today Green Card I would like to thank ZH for forwarding it . THANK YOU :)
It has reminded me of a personal story which I would like to share with you .. if I can finish it today I'll post it , if not then you'll have to bear with me ..
I would like to recommend this reader who blogs from Bahrain , Michael is an Irish-American expatriate living in Manama; his Journal is a wonderful read .
It seems my post about Hijab of February 24th is keeping many people interested ( thank you Sisu ) and for Gulf Reporter who mentions me as and occasionally insomniac woman ;) . Several readers asked for comments and I promise to write the sequel in addition to the veil situation in Libya.
Had no idea my blog was Googlable here
The article on operation eldorado canyon has attracted a lot of talk including this one courtesy of Wog Blog .
My friend the 'Tripoli Girl' is an avid collector of Libyan websites , I have her to thank for these. If you are a music fan you can listen to Libyan music here for my Arab speaking readers there is the Libyan Corner with lots of interesting forums ..
Regarding the article I posted earlier today Green Card I would like to thank ZH for forwarding it . THANK YOU :)
It has reminded me of a personal story which I would like to share with you .. if I can finish it today I'll post it , if not then you'll have to bear with me ..
I would like to recommend this reader who blogs from Bahrain , Michael is an Irish-American expatriate living in Manama; his Journal is a wonderful read .
It seems my post about Hijab of February 24th is keeping many people interested ( thank you Sisu ) and for Gulf Reporter who mentions me as and occasionally insomniac woman ;) . Several readers asked for comments and I promise to write the sequel in addition to the veil situation in Libya.
Had no idea my blog was Googlable here
The article on operation eldorado canyon has attracted a lot of talk including this one courtesy of Wog Blog .
Green-Card
Someone sent me the following article by email, I'm too lazy to look up the link so it will have to be copy-paste .. enjoy !
Green-Card Blues for America's Image
By Tom Carver
Thursday, May 20, 2004; Page A29
Next week my father will be 90. Born in that final Edwardian summer of 1914, he
fought throughout World War II, escaped from prison camp and was wounded on the
beaches of Normandy.
Five of his six children will gather in Scotland with numerous grandchildren to
celebrate his birthday. I, his youngest son, will not be able to attend because
the Department of Homeland Security has removed my freedom to travel.
Or to be absolutely accurate, I am free to go. But, if I do, I will not be
allowed to return to my wife and children here in Washington. That's one of
those choices that is not a choice at all.
Like 700,000 others, I am stuck in green-card hell.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the average waiting time for a green card has ballooned
from 18 months to nearly three years. It's understandable that the Bush
administration needs to do additional background checks on applicants, but in
the process it is making the lives of green-card applicants a misery. More
important, it's destroying a valuable opportunity to restore America's battered
reputation abroad.
People who apply for green cards do so because they support the values of the
United States and want to participate more fully in U.S. society. With a green
card, they can travel back to their home countries. There they talk about the
freedom and opportunities they have in America. They spread the gospel of the
American dream among relatives and friends.
In the war of ideas that the administration is so fond of talking about, there
are few better foot soldiers than green-card holders. Yet since Sept. 11,
instead of encouraging those who aspire to green cards, the Department of
Homeland Security has treated applicants with greater and greater suspicion.
While you wait the three years for the bureaucratic mills to grind through your
application, you need a document called an "advanced parole" to travel. Like a
parole from jail, an advanced parole is a small sheaf of papers adorned with
stamps and circuitous language that wouldn't have looked out of place in the
pouch of an 18th-century Venetian nobleman. I was warned that if I lost mine, I
would not be issued a replacement. Why not? In this computer age, no document,
certainly not one as mundane as this, is irreplaceable.
A while ago, I tried to get my advanced parole renewed. When it failed to
materialize in the mail, I took my place at 5 a.m. in a long line outside the
local office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly known as
the Immigration and Naturalization Service).
After three hours of waiting, I was finally summoned to a counter. The man
behind the glass informed me that my application was being handled by the CIS
office in Vermont. They could do nothing to help me in this office, he said. I
asked for the phone number of the Vermont office. There is no publicly available
number. I asked for the address. I would happily fly to Vermont if it meant I
could see my father. "They don't allow visitors," said the man. My only resort
was to send an appeal to an anonymous fax number.
The next day, my fax machine spat out the reply:
"Your request for an expedited Advanced Parole has been rejected."
And that's where I sit today.
That sort of Kafkaesque behavior is more worthy of some former Soviet satellite
than a country that supposedly ranks customer service just below godliness. The
CIS gets away with it because its clients are not Americans. If you are
American, you never have to enter this world.
I realize that a father's 90th birthday is not the most urgent reason for
travel. But why should I have to give any reason for traveling? I have done
nothing wrong. Before I entered this bureaucratic labyrinth, I was free to come
and go as I wished.
There will always be people willing to freeze in the pre-dawn chill outside a
CIS office and be cold-shouldered by the bureaucrats inside, because however
badly the Department of Homeland Security treats them, it can never be as bad as
the persecution and the nightmares that they left behind.
But a lot of other applicants -- the educated and the most productive -- may
well decide they've had enough. You can hardly blame them. Why should they
endure such a degrading application process when there are many other countries
that would welcome their talents?
To regain the respect of the world, the United States needs to demonstrate that
it still possesses those qualities people have always admired: openness,
freedom, tolerance. Nearly everyone in this land is the descendant of
immigrants. Treating would-be immigrants of today as suspects is not going to
help America win the war of ideas.
The writer is a foreign correspondent based in Washington. His e-mail address is
tomcarver@mindspring.com. He will be online today at noon at
www.washingtonpost.com to discuss immigrant freedom in America.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
Someone sent me the following article by email, I'm too lazy to look up the link so it will have to be copy-paste .. enjoy !
Green-Card Blues for America's Image
By Tom Carver
Thursday, May 20, 2004; Page A29
Next week my father will be 90. Born in that final Edwardian summer of 1914, he
fought throughout World War II, escaped from prison camp and was wounded on the
beaches of Normandy.
Five of his six children will gather in Scotland with numerous grandchildren to
celebrate his birthday. I, his youngest son, will not be able to attend because
the Department of Homeland Security has removed my freedom to travel.
Or to be absolutely accurate, I am free to go. But, if I do, I will not be
allowed to return to my wife and children here in Washington. That's one of
those choices that is not a choice at all.
Like 700,000 others, I am stuck in green-card hell.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the average waiting time for a green card has ballooned
from 18 months to nearly three years. It's understandable that the Bush
administration needs to do additional background checks on applicants, but in
the process it is making the lives of green-card applicants a misery. More
important, it's destroying a valuable opportunity to restore America's battered
reputation abroad.
People who apply for green cards do so because they support the values of the
United States and want to participate more fully in U.S. society. With a green
card, they can travel back to their home countries. There they talk about the
freedom and opportunities they have in America. They spread the gospel of the
American dream among relatives and friends.
In the war of ideas that the administration is so fond of talking about, there
are few better foot soldiers than green-card holders. Yet since Sept. 11,
instead of encouraging those who aspire to green cards, the Department of
Homeland Security has treated applicants with greater and greater suspicion.
While you wait the three years for the bureaucratic mills to grind through your
application, you need a document called an "advanced parole" to travel. Like a
parole from jail, an advanced parole is a small sheaf of papers adorned with
stamps and circuitous language that wouldn't have looked out of place in the
pouch of an 18th-century Venetian nobleman. I was warned that if I lost mine, I
would not be issued a replacement. Why not? In this computer age, no document,
certainly not one as mundane as this, is irreplaceable.
A while ago, I tried to get my advanced parole renewed. When it failed to
materialize in the mail, I took my place at 5 a.m. in a long line outside the
local office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly known as
the Immigration and Naturalization Service).
After three hours of waiting, I was finally summoned to a counter. The man
behind the glass informed me that my application was being handled by the CIS
office in Vermont. They could do nothing to help me in this office, he said. I
asked for the phone number of the Vermont office. There is no publicly available
number. I asked for the address. I would happily fly to Vermont if it meant I
could see my father. "They don't allow visitors," said the man. My only resort
was to send an appeal to an anonymous fax number.
The next day, my fax machine spat out the reply:
"Your request for an expedited Advanced Parole has been rejected."
And that's where I sit today.
That sort of Kafkaesque behavior is more worthy of some former Soviet satellite
than a country that supposedly ranks customer service just below godliness. The
CIS gets away with it because its clients are not Americans. If you are
American, you never have to enter this world.
I realize that a father's 90th birthday is not the most urgent reason for
travel. But why should I have to give any reason for traveling? I have done
nothing wrong. Before I entered this bureaucratic labyrinth, I was free to come
and go as I wished.
There will always be people willing to freeze in the pre-dawn chill outside a
CIS office and be cold-shouldered by the bureaucrats inside, because however
badly the Department of Homeland Security treats them, it can never be as bad as
the persecution and the nightmares that they left behind.
But a lot of other applicants -- the educated and the most productive -- may
well decide they've had enough. You can hardly blame them. Why should they
endure such a degrading application process when there are many other countries
that would welcome their talents?
To regain the respect of the world, the United States needs to demonstrate that
it still possesses those qualities people have always admired: openness,
freedom, tolerance. Nearly everyone in this land is the descendant of
immigrants. Treating would-be immigrants of today as suspects is not going to
help America win the war of ideas.
The writer is a foreign correspondent based in Washington. His e-mail address is
tomcarver@mindspring.com. He will be online today at noon at
www.washingtonpost.com to discuss immigrant freedom in America.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
Monday, May 17, 2004
Another joke....
A man is taking a walk in Central park in New York. Suddenly he
sees a little girl being attacked by a pit bull dog. He runs over
and starts fighting with the dog. He succeeds in killing the dog
and saving the girl's life. A policeman who was watching the
scene walks over and says:
"You are a hero, tomorrow you can read it in all the newspapers:
"Brave New Yorker saves the life of little girl"
The man says: -! "But I am not a New Yorker!"
"Oh then it will say in newspapers in the morning:
"Brave American saves life of little girl'" - the policeman answers.
"But I am not an American!" - says the man.
"Oh, what are you then? "
The brave man says: - "I am a Pakistani!"
The next day the newspapers say:
"Islamic extremist kills innocent American dog".
A man is taking a walk in Central park in New York. Suddenly he
sees a little girl being attacked by a pit bull dog. He runs over
and starts fighting with the dog. He succeeds in killing the dog
and saving the girl's life. A policeman who was watching the
scene walks over and says:
"You are a hero, tomorrow you can read it in all the newspapers:
"Brave New Yorker saves the life of little girl"
The man says: -! "But I am not a New Yorker!"
"Oh then it will say in newspapers in the morning:
"Brave American saves life of little girl'" - the policeman answers.
"But I am not an American!" - says the man.
"Oh, what are you then? "
The brave man says: - "I am a Pakistani!"
The next day the newspapers say:
"Islamic extremist kills innocent American dog".
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Acts of barbarism
An uncessary horrible act , the beheading of Nick Berg an American, occured recently at the hands of alleged Zarqawi people. Unfortunately this does not promote peace and understanding between people and only serves to inflame minds. A terrible faux pas for whatever agenda. That was an equally horrible act to the Abu Ghraib shenanigans. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Nick's family. May his soul rest in peace. Amen
On the other hand in my last post of May the 1st, I said that I did not believe that the American soldiers would be punished for their disgusting treatment of Iraqi POWS. However, I'm glad to note that worldwide condemnation, pressure from American people themselves and from honest armed forces individuals in the US, has led to an inquiry and even Rumsfield was questioned. I am thankful that it seems some would be courtmartialled and others dealt with accordingly.This does not erase the ugly degrading images but it is a very positive step towards healing and more than what I thought would happen.
I did say earlier that I was never shocked that soldiers had tortured prisoners. This is expected in any prison; it happens/happened even in America let alone in Iraq -a warzone where everything is possible in the name of the 'war on terrorims'. I will say this once more, I absolutely do not blame or criticise them for acting this way, this is a logical result of the war. When you go to war you expect, blood , pain and death on both sides , the winner is the one who survives to tell about it! But my criticism was that America kept talking about how it is upholding all the greatest demcocratic moral values and how its military/navy etc.. were de best of the best. So one did not expect this behaviour from them, hence the shock ( not the act per se). I'm actually sorry for these soldiers who have been caught out and will pay the price in lieu of their commanding officers whom I wish were the ones to be court martialled, reprimanded, or whatever applicable.
Please wait for my 'road map' for the ME !
An uncessary horrible act , the beheading of Nick Berg an American, occured recently at the hands of alleged Zarqawi people. Unfortunately this does not promote peace and understanding between people and only serves to inflame minds. A terrible faux pas for whatever agenda. That was an equally horrible act to the Abu Ghraib shenanigans. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Nick's family. May his soul rest in peace. Amen
On the other hand in my last post of May the 1st, I said that I did not believe that the American soldiers would be punished for their disgusting treatment of Iraqi POWS. However, I'm glad to note that worldwide condemnation, pressure from American people themselves and from honest armed forces individuals in the US, has led to an inquiry and even Rumsfield was questioned. I am thankful that it seems some would be courtmartialled and others dealt with accordingly.This does not erase the ugly degrading images but it is a very positive step towards healing and more than what I thought would happen.
I did say earlier that I was never shocked that soldiers had tortured prisoners. This is expected in any prison; it happens/happened even in America let alone in Iraq -a warzone where everything is possible in the name of the 'war on terrorims'. I will say this once more, I absolutely do not blame or criticise them for acting this way, this is a logical result of the war. When you go to war you expect, blood , pain and death on both sides , the winner is the one who survives to tell about it! But my criticism was that America kept talking about how it is upholding all the greatest demcocratic moral values and how its military/navy etc.. were de best of the best. So one did not expect this behaviour from them, hence the shock ( not the act per se). I'm actually sorry for these soldiers who have been caught out and will pay the price in lieu of their commanding officers whom I wish were the ones to be court martialled, reprimanded, or whatever applicable.
Please wait for my 'road map' for the ME !
Saturday, May 01, 2004
"That's not the way we do things in America. I didn't like it one bit." says Bush
do you think the abused Iraqi prisoners will be vindicated ? not according to this , they already found an excuse for them 'they did not know the Geneva Rules' ha ha ha
do you think the abused Iraqi prisoners will be vindicated ? not according to this , they already found an excuse for them 'they did not know the Geneva Rules' ha ha ha
NOT REALLY SHOCKED !
After I finished my earlier post about MILUD, I thought I'd check the news, for once that I did not watch the news or go online all Friday..Oh my God, now I know why my friends were texting me to aks if I'd seen THOSE pictures, I thought they were talking about the pictures of humilation posted on Raed 's site a couple of days ago here and here , but compared to these they seemed like a joke !
Shall I say I'm angry ? I'm beyond that . I wonder how they will spin this now ? I mean the latest excuses I heard and read on many forums and in many papers ( after the WMD search was a fiasco and all the other stupid reasons for invading Iraq) were that the Americans wanted to liberate the Iraqis from a mass murderer and from the state sponsored rape rooms , but compared to what Americans are doing it looks like Saddam could still learn a few things. After today I hope no American dares to utter one more time that he/she is there to get rid of the rape rooms.
However, I'm wondering why is the world shocked , I'm not , I expected this, these are the rules of war ( I'm not talking about the Geneva convention here nor the correct rules of engagement) , and in war the army with the most guns gets to do pretty much what it likes who is to stop it , certainly not a defenseless prisoner, but maybe just maybe a suicide bomber ?!?
Still I said so before the USA empire is at it summit now, so they will write the rules since they are above the law...getting a written reprimand, hell no! the perpetrators should all get a purple heart or whatever equivalent for showing true bravery and extreme courage and gallantry in a hostile region in additon to a promotion! This is war folks what did you expect , fair and democratic treatment from Uncle Sam ? that only happens in fairytales.
In this very real world , we make do with what we have and we try to survive. But I wish I had not clicked on the news , now my Milud is definetely ruined !
After I finished my earlier post about MILUD, I thought I'd check the news, for once that I did not watch the news or go online all Friday..Oh my God, now I know why my friends were texting me to aks if I'd seen THOSE pictures, I thought they were talking about the pictures of humilation posted on Raed 's site a couple of days ago here and here , but compared to these they seemed like a joke !
Shall I say I'm angry ? I'm beyond that . I wonder how they will spin this now ? I mean the latest excuses I heard and read on many forums and in many papers ( after the WMD search was a fiasco and all the other stupid reasons for invading Iraq) were that the Americans wanted to liberate the Iraqis from a mass murderer and from the state sponsored rape rooms , but compared to what Americans are doing it looks like Saddam could still learn a few things. After today I hope no American dares to utter one more time that he/she is there to get rid of the rape rooms.
However, I'm wondering why is the world shocked , I'm not , I expected this, these are the rules of war ( I'm not talking about the Geneva convention here nor the correct rules of engagement) , and in war the army with the most guns gets to do pretty much what it likes who is to stop it , certainly not a defenseless prisoner, but maybe just maybe a suicide bomber ?!?
Still I said so before the USA empire is at it summit now, so they will write the rules since they are above the law...getting a written reprimand, hell no! the perpetrators should all get a purple heart or whatever equivalent for showing true bravery and extreme courage and gallantry in a hostile region in additon to a promotion! This is war folks what did you expect , fair and democratic treatment from Uncle Sam ? that only happens in fairytales.
In this very real world , we make do with what we have and we try to survive. But I wish I had not clicked on the news , now my Milud is definetely ruined !
Prophet's Birthday
Today in Libya the Islamic Calendar is 12th Rabi3 alawal , which is Prophet Mohamed's Birthday. Muslims celebrate this date in many parts of the world as it is important. We call it Almawled Alnabawi in Arabic, or Milud in the Libyan vernacular. Usually this occasion is commemorated by holding Koran reading vigils at home and at the mosque, and lighting candles at home. However many Arabic and Islamic states have their differing traditions in this regard, and I will just talk briefly about Libya.
In Libya the eve of the birthday is the 'fun' date, I don't know when exactly did this 'tradition' start but usually teenagers, kids and young people in general have added a twist to the celebrations by playing with all sorts of fireworks. Whilst fireworks are enjoyable for a short period, I could never stop jumping im fright each time I hear the sound. For this all important feast, you will find almost a month in advance kids stocking up on 'ammunition', from crackers , colour fireworks, chinese models, small rockets , and the ones which look like timy dynamite pieces and make really loud boooms! The latter are pretty dangerous as people can loose an eye, get burnt or injured easily. In fact come this season and along with the firecrackers you will hear ambulances rushing to the various hospitals and especially the Hospital for Burns and Plastic Surgery. Every season we have a lot of tragic accidents. Fireworks are illegal, yet people are selling/buying them. The really stupid ones think it is hilarious to through them at the girls on their way home from school, or through the window of a car passing by or which has stopped at a traffic light - try imagining the confusion of driving and trying to reach for that explosive device- makes for a lot of traffic accidents. Another 'bright' idea is to make a bonfire with these crakers and they add metal cans and glass bottles.. now this is way sadistic not to mention seriously dangerous. In the end for those who survive that night on the street, they would have enjoyed themselves thoroughly ( I personnaly don't like it) . It looks and sounds like the 4th of July celebrations in the US, but less regulated and with no safety taken into consideration.
The following day, the Milud is a day off - YES , we usually wake up to the lovely smell of the Asida, a special dough which you eat with olive oil and date syrup. Delicious mixture, you can find the recipe in one of my earlier posts (please scroll below). The whole family gathers around a large napkin ( there are meals which are simply best eaten on the floor like on a picnic - no matter what you think), and we eat it by hand making small pellets and dipping them in the oil and syrup 'sauce' . It is wonderful a real treat. In fact in a couple of hours time, the family will wake up and we shall go to granpa's house where my aunts would have prepared Asida for all the family - well we'll be at least about 25 people .. look forward to it lots of fun with the cousins, catch up on gossip etc.. but really it is simply a social gathering and a family thingy. In Arab cultures, and I think especially in Libya, families and social functions are still very very important.
So this is the Milud, some pray, some play but we always eat a hearty meal!
I better go and catch some sleep before the wee hours.
signing off ;)
PS please excuse typing or spelling errors it's 4:00 am here and I'm practically asleep on my laptop.
Today in Libya the Islamic Calendar is 12th Rabi3 alawal , which is Prophet Mohamed's Birthday. Muslims celebrate this date in many parts of the world as it is important. We call it Almawled Alnabawi in Arabic, or Milud in the Libyan vernacular. Usually this occasion is commemorated by holding Koran reading vigils at home and at the mosque, and lighting candles at home. However many Arabic and Islamic states have their differing traditions in this regard, and I will just talk briefly about Libya.
In Libya the eve of the birthday is the 'fun' date, I don't know when exactly did this 'tradition' start but usually teenagers, kids and young people in general have added a twist to the celebrations by playing with all sorts of fireworks. Whilst fireworks are enjoyable for a short period, I could never stop jumping im fright each time I hear the sound. For this all important feast, you will find almost a month in advance kids stocking up on 'ammunition', from crackers , colour fireworks, chinese models, small rockets , and the ones which look like timy dynamite pieces and make really loud boooms! The latter are pretty dangerous as people can loose an eye, get burnt or injured easily. In fact come this season and along with the firecrackers you will hear ambulances rushing to the various hospitals and especially the Hospital for Burns and Plastic Surgery. Every season we have a lot of tragic accidents. Fireworks are illegal, yet people are selling/buying them. The really stupid ones think it is hilarious to through them at the girls on their way home from school, or through the window of a car passing by or which has stopped at a traffic light - try imagining the confusion of driving and trying to reach for that explosive device- makes for a lot of traffic accidents. Another 'bright' idea is to make a bonfire with these crakers and they add metal cans and glass bottles.. now this is way sadistic not to mention seriously dangerous. In the end for those who survive that night on the street, they would have enjoyed themselves thoroughly ( I personnaly don't like it) . It looks and sounds like the 4th of July celebrations in the US, but less regulated and with no safety taken into consideration.
The following day, the Milud is a day off - YES , we usually wake up to the lovely smell of the Asida, a special dough which you eat with olive oil and date syrup. Delicious mixture, you can find the recipe in one of my earlier posts (please scroll below). The whole family gathers around a large napkin ( there are meals which are simply best eaten on the floor like on a picnic - no matter what you think), and we eat it by hand making small pellets and dipping them in the oil and syrup 'sauce' . It is wonderful a real treat. In fact in a couple of hours time, the family will wake up and we shall go to granpa's house where my aunts would have prepared Asida for all the family - well we'll be at least about 25 people .. look forward to it lots of fun with the cousins, catch up on gossip etc.. but really it is simply a social gathering and a family thingy. In Arab cultures, and I think especially in Libya, families and social functions are still very very important.
So this is the Milud, some pray, some play but we always eat a hearty meal!
I better go and catch some sleep before the wee hours.
signing off ;)
PS please excuse typing or spelling errors it's 4:00 am here and I'm practically asleep on my laptop.
Friday, April 30, 2004
EMAILS
Thank you all very much for your interest by writing to me. While I try to answer each and everyone, sometimes it is humanely impossible. Therefore I WILL combine all the questions in one post soon, I hope, and answer more personal ones on an individual basis. I haven't posted for a while so to those who have asked about me, I was simply ill, spring does not agree with me in Libya as we had unpredictable weather: heat, sandstorms, rain ...so hello to allergies , coughs, colds etc... ;)
A lot of interesting things have happened and I look forward to share them with you.
Thank you all very much for your interest by writing to me. While I try to answer each and everyone, sometimes it is humanely impossible. Therefore I WILL combine all the questions in one post soon, I hope, and answer more personal ones on an individual basis. I haven't posted for a while so to those who have asked about me, I was simply ill, spring does not agree with me in Libya as we had unpredictable weather: heat, sandstorms, rain ...so hello to allergies , coughs, colds etc... ;)
A lot of interesting things have happened and I look forward to share them with you.
Monday, April 19, 2004
REFORMS ....
What a coincidence Alan K. and some other people where inquiring yesterday about any visible reforms in Libya after the scraping of weapons of mass destruction.
Well this is the latest breaking news from Tripoli: Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi on Sunday called for the abolition of Libya's three decade-old exceptional courts and other strict laws .During talks with judges and prosecutors, he urged delegates meeting across the country since Saturday in weeklong annual People's Congress forums to annul the laws, which were passed three years after the 1969 Revolution. He also called for an end to arrests without warrant and urged the congresses to endorse international anti-torture conventions. Please ignore obvious typos etc. and remmember that those guys are just learning English , also this link of Sunday 17th will remain alive only until Friday .
****
On another note regarding how the media may not be telling you all the truth - I kept coming across this piece of news : "Monday, 19 April, 2004:Libya's internet access seems to be getting back to normal after one of the strangest weeks in the history of the web: the whole country "disappeared" from view this month. Following a dispute about the ownership of the country-code top level domain .ly, the nameserver running the domains stopped answering requests for .ly on April 7, followed by the secondary nameserver on April 9, meaning that none of the estimated 12,500 Libyan domains could be accessed. In effect, the entire country had gone offline. The problem seems to be a dispute between two different organisations as to who governs the .ly domain: while Lydomains.com has been running the .ly domain for several years from a base in the UK, another organisation, nic.ly, is claiming ownership. [ITP]"
Look this is simply not true as you can see I have been able to blog , surf, write emails to many of you especially this past week ..so please draw your own conclusions.
*******
We also had a huge pro-Iraq and Palestine march today across Tripoli, the protesters went up to the UN headquarters .
What a coincidence Alan K. and some other people where inquiring yesterday about any visible reforms in Libya after the scraping of weapons of mass destruction.
Well this is the latest breaking news from Tripoli: Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi on Sunday called for the abolition of Libya's three decade-old exceptional courts and other strict laws .During talks with judges and prosecutors, he urged delegates meeting across the country since Saturday in weeklong annual People's Congress forums to annul the laws, which were passed three years after the 1969 Revolution. He also called for an end to arrests without warrant and urged the congresses to endorse international anti-torture conventions. Please ignore obvious typos etc. and remmember that those guys are just learning English , also this link of Sunday 17th will remain alive only until Friday .
****
On another note regarding how the media may not be telling you all the truth - I kept coming across this piece of news : "Monday, 19 April, 2004:Libya's internet access seems to be getting back to normal after one of the strangest weeks in the history of the web: the whole country "disappeared" from view this month. Following a dispute about the ownership of the country-code top level domain .ly, the nameserver running the domains stopped answering requests for .ly on April 7, followed by the secondary nameserver on April 9, meaning that none of the estimated 12,500 Libyan domains could be accessed. In effect, the entire country had gone offline. The problem seems to be a dispute between two different organisations as to who governs the .ly domain: while Lydomains.com has been running the .ly domain for several years from a base in the UK, another organisation, nic.ly, is claiming ownership. [ITP]"
Look this is simply not true as you can see I have been able to blog , surf, write emails to many of you especially this past week ..so please draw your own conclusions.
*******
We also had a huge pro-Iraq and Palestine march today across Tripoli, the protesters went up to the UN headquarters .
Friday, April 16, 2004
Spring cleaning
Funny how when you are spring cleaning you come across a lot of stuff which was usually put on hold in your 'to review' box:
(1)This excerpt is from an email from a computer programmer friend of mine on 06/03/2002 : 6:57 AM
"Yesterday I was showing one of my trainees how to enter his password which was the number 100. When it was his turn to do it, he asked me should it be SMALL OR CAPITAL ;)
( the guy was a recent English learner ) tells you how hard my job as an instructor can be . "
(2) Another thingy is this interview with Nelson Mandela - a personal hero of mine.
(3) Libya is slightly larger than Alaska.
(4) For a very brief Libyan History check this site.
(5) This is the most comprehensive site about Libyan Cuisine & Recipes I could find .
Funny how when you are spring cleaning you come across a lot of stuff which was usually put on hold in your 'to review' box:
(1)This excerpt is from an email from a computer programmer friend of mine on 06/03/2002 : 6:57 AM
"Yesterday I was showing one of my trainees how to enter his password which was the number 100. When it was his turn to do it, he asked me should it be SMALL OR CAPITAL ;)
( the guy was a recent English learner ) tells you how hard my job as an instructor can be . "
(2) Another thingy is this interview with Nelson Mandela - a personal hero of mine.
(3) Libya is slightly larger than Alaska.
(4) For a very brief Libyan History check this site.
(5) This is the most comprehensive site about Libyan Cuisine & Recipes I could find .
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
My night of terror
Warning very long post !
April is forever linked in my memory to terror, and especially the 14th of April. As this date looms near I can’t help myself thinking back to that one special night where millions of Libyans and yours truly have experienced US state sponsored terrorism, being collectively punished for something many were not even aware of.
I remember vividly that night, we were invited at some friends’ house, and over tea and Libyan sweets the discussion regarding the possibility of an American invasion or air strike came up. Let me depict the situation that led to this conversation. Rumours and speculations were plenty in the week prior to that fateful night. We ‘heard’ that the Americans were seeking vengeance…. for the alleged bombing of a disco in Germany (what?? Anyway this post is not for the purpose to discuss the cause, but only my experience). The media were making a good business of that, and all those analyst were getting really hoarse on VOA and other broadcasting station, You see in those times, satellite reception was not the widespread affair it is now ( not even in the US). We therefore relied on radios and the broadcasts of the neighbouring countries (Egypt and Tunis) or those across the Mediterranean (mainly Italy) for our entertainment and news to supplement the domestic programs.
So to return to the subject, there was ample speculation among the populace and that night at T’s house , Mrs T was saying to my mum, “ no no Americans are civilised , modern people they wouldn’t do such a thing like bombing us … you’re mistaken ..” , and I was arguing, but auntie T, “ I heard on the news on Rai2 ( Italian channel) that someone had leaked the information there was going to be retaliation… so there is no smoke without fire, maybe the Americans are really coming ?” . The discussion went on like this for a while and her husband and children joined in…. I guess when you talk enough of the devil he effectively does show up, but I did not know how soon it would be. In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t!
The visit was over, it was a success by all standards, the food was great, the people wonderful and the conversation interesting and lively, we had fun.
That night, like every night I went to bed after watching my favourite Jordanian serial on TV (during the 80’s Jordanian series were all the rage, more about that another time).
Have you ever been in a disaster area, just before something terrible is about to take place? If you have then you would know what I’m talking about, this sense of total silence, impending doom, emptiness inside and all your body hair standing up. This eerie silence is what woke me up, and I was hearing in my head a distant thudding. The underlying fear gripping at my throat was: the last time I felt this way was in 1982, the day after I watched in horror on TV as the Israeli army rolled into Beirut. This is what I felt on the night of 14th of April 1986 (technically after midnight so we can say 15th ). Something was happening or going to happen. My first thought on opening my eyes “ the Americans are here!” and I jumped down from the bed , ran to the door of the balcony, I reasoned that since my room had a view of the distant port than I could figure out if there was any action on that front as more likely they would be coming from there and I would see ‘something’ , but I did not see anything, Tripoli was all illuminated like for a big party , or as we say here like a bride ready for her wedding night … we have many many garlands of light illuminating the city so from the sky you can see everything very clearly. Still I was not satisfied, there was something wrong I felt it, so I thought I’d go to the other side of the flat and watch from the window, if the Americans were coming they would most probably aim for the Aziziya Barracks which are less than 2 km away so I was bound to see some anti aircraft lights from there. … Negative again, yet the sense of foreboding would not leave me. When you are reading this account it feels like hours doesn’t it ? yet it only took minutes, I wanted to wake up my parents, as I thought I was hearing distant thuds, but was afraid to wake them up , do you know why , because somehow in my thinking it would make all this real. I got dressed in a hurry and went back to the window, scouring the sky for something, this time my fears had a real name the glass on the window was trembling and what do you think I saw hovering at such a low altitude: a beautiful aircraft. I could have counted it’s lights! At first glance I was mesmerised , thinking it was a UFO ( it looks pretty much like one see here), the aliens were landing ! it was aliens all right but of another sort, the nose was pointed towards the general area of the Barracks and I knew this time that I was right; the action was going to begin and I had tickets to the front seat. I did not know then that America was watching this live ) Sure enough , the speaker on the radio was hysterical “ oh Arabs, your brothers and sisters in Libya are under attack… American airplanes are roaming the skies of Tripoli and Benghazi etc….” So we found out that this is a coordinated attack , we hear that there are casualties… and the 4 of us are entrenched in the car like in a bubble wondering when will the daylight come and why are the hours passing so slowly. Meanwhile Tripolitanians are panicking, they have lived in safety from wars for decades. What do you think they did in their panic, thousands of families took to their cars and just drove in the streets trying to get to the countryside. That was a stupid desperate move, as it has added to the collateral damage, car accidents where innumerable… that is where inexperience leads you , no one told them in the event of an air strike residents are not supposed to roam the streets , but then no one really thought that the bastion of modern civilisation would be aiming at simple weapon less people ! The worst kabooum was in nearby Ben Ashour area , one street away, that’s when we believed that the city was a shooting gallery , I mean what was in Ben Ashur to shoot at ? Residential villas and some embassies ? With dawn came the muezzin’s call for prayer. Things had calmed down and an uneasy silence was blanketing the city , smoke was coming from many places . We went back up to our flat and prepared some more stuff to take to my grandparents house. My grandparents lived in a small villa so at least that would not be as dangerous , and we were going to be with the family , it would feel safer. That morning I burnt all my diaries, I don’t know what took me, I just felt it would be sacrilege for an unknown marines or even another Libyan citizen to be reading my hopes or fears if by any ill luck I was to die , maybe that was a bit dramatic , but hey this is how it was back then in the morning of 15th April 1986, I was definitely not a teenager anymore. I was not thinking in terms that the Americans whom I grew up with who professed liberty , freedom and human rights and love of people and all those slogans would never attack another country and unarmed civilians .. But then I did not know as much as I do now, Vietnam for me was just a heroic action movie , where we are all rooting for Rambo and crying when he is hurting, Afghanistan, was where brave men where fighting the ‘evil Russian communists’ .. That night my aunt lost her baby, a miscarriage ..another collateral damage of operation eldorado canyon , never mind the mission was accomplished !
Years later the sound of an airplane over the house still makes me freak out, and you can feel my pulse beating faster.. where do you think my heart and mind was ? Did the people in the white house stop and think about the consequence. But most of all I felt humiliated that a foreigner was trespassing in my country , killing my people and I only had a pocket knife .. That night I heard a school kid shouting “ give me a klashinkov I have to go and fight the Americans.”. How futile ! I realised that warfare was not going to win anything, because they always had the latest weaponry, and even if they sell you weapons you will never get the most recent models which they would use against us. Anyway the superior hardware cannot be defeated , but only in face to face or white arms combat can the courage of a man/woman show . The days of the knights and honourable code of war were over welcome to the 20th century were push button devices are the norm .
Shall I tell you about the futility of painting the windows in blue and the car headlights and taillights in blue ? it was supposedly to prevent being seen as targets ha ha ha , my people were so innocent and greenhorns in this as if the F111 or F18 pilot were going to bother ,they have much more sophisticated positioning systems ( yet they do make mistakes and aim at civilian areas ) .
Anyway a couple of days later and after nagging my dad took me to visit the Ben Ashur area where we had heard that horrible blast , I was utterly shocked that such a sight would be possible in my own country , it was my ground zero . One always think it happens to others .. but no sometimes it does happen to you as well, and you live to tell about it . One of the young girls who died that night used to go to school with me. The saddest part was her brother was calling from America when he was watching the news, and the phone was reverberating in a destroyed house full of dead people.
In order to survive, we put behind those sad memories and try to become pragmatic about this , maybe we even follow the proverb which says wisely “when you can’t beat them ..join them”.
This was just one or two nights, so imagine what it is like in Iraq with endless nights like these in sight. No one who has not experienced this first hand can even come near to comprehending. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families in Iraq.
The majority of the Libyan people do not hold a grudge against America, they are very philosophical that this is now America’s turn to build an empire, so let them enjoy the heady feeling of power, but we have to remember that empires are not eternal and everything has a cycle - a beginning and an end.
Warning very long post !
April is forever linked in my memory to terror, and especially the 14th of April. As this date looms near I can’t help myself thinking back to that one special night where millions of Libyans and yours truly have experienced US state sponsored terrorism, being collectively punished for something many were not even aware of.
I remember vividly that night, we were invited at some friends’ house, and over tea and Libyan sweets the discussion regarding the possibility of an American invasion or air strike came up. Let me depict the situation that led to this conversation. Rumours and speculations were plenty in the week prior to that fateful night. We ‘heard’ that the Americans were seeking vengeance…. for the alleged bombing of a disco in Germany (what?? Anyway this post is not for the purpose to discuss the cause, but only my experience). The media were making a good business of that, and all those analyst were getting really hoarse on VOA and other broadcasting station, You see in those times, satellite reception was not the widespread affair it is now ( not even in the US). We therefore relied on radios and the broadcasts of the neighbouring countries (Egypt and Tunis) or those across the Mediterranean (mainly Italy) for our entertainment and news to supplement the domestic programs.
So to return to the subject, there was ample speculation among the populace and that night at T’s house , Mrs T was saying to my mum, “ no no Americans are civilised , modern people they wouldn’t do such a thing like bombing us … you’re mistaken ..” , and I was arguing, but auntie T, “ I heard on the news on Rai2 ( Italian channel) that someone had leaked the information there was going to be retaliation… so there is no smoke without fire, maybe the Americans are really coming ?” . The discussion went on like this for a while and her husband and children joined in…. I guess when you talk enough of the devil he effectively does show up, but I did not know how soon it would be. In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t!
The visit was over, it was a success by all standards, the food was great, the people wonderful and the conversation interesting and lively, we had fun.
That night, like every night I went to bed after watching my favourite Jordanian serial on TV (during the 80’s Jordanian series were all the rage, more about that another time).
Have you ever been in a disaster area, just before something terrible is about to take place? If you have then you would know what I’m talking about, this sense of total silence, impending doom, emptiness inside and all your body hair standing up. This eerie silence is what woke me up, and I was hearing in my head a distant thudding. The underlying fear gripping at my throat was: the last time I felt this way was in 1982, the day after I watched in horror on TV as the Israeli army rolled into Beirut. This is what I felt on the night of 14th of April 1986 (technically after midnight so we can say 15th ). Something was happening or going to happen. My first thought on opening my eyes “ the Americans are here!” and I jumped down from the bed , ran to the door of the balcony, I reasoned that since my room had a view of the distant port than I could figure out if there was any action on that front as more likely they would be coming from there and I would see ‘something’ , but I did not see anything, Tripoli was all illuminated like for a big party , or as we say here like a bride ready for her wedding night … we have many many garlands of light illuminating the city so from the sky you can see everything very clearly. Still I was not satisfied, there was something wrong I felt it, so I thought I’d go to the other side of the flat and watch from the window, if the Americans were coming they would most probably aim for the Aziziya Barracks which are less than 2 km away so I was bound to see some anti aircraft lights from there. … Negative again, yet the sense of foreboding would not leave me. When you are reading this account it feels like hours doesn’t it ? yet it only took minutes, I wanted to wake up my parents, as I thought I was hearing distant thuds, but was afraid to wake them up , do you know why , because somehow in my thinking it would make all this real. I got dressed in a hurry and went back to the window, scouring the sky for something, this time my fears had a real name the glass on the window was trembling and what do you think I saw hovering at such a low altitude: a beautiful aircraft. I could have counted it’s lights! At first glance I was mesmerised , thinking it was a UFO ( it looks pretty much like one see here), the aliens were landing ! it was aliens all right but of another sort, the nose was pointed towards the general area of the Barracks and I knew this time that I was right; the action was going to begin and I had tickets to the front seat. I did not know then that America was watching this live ) Sure enough , the speaker on the radio was hysterical “ oh Arabs, your brothers and sisters in Libya are under attack… American airplanes are roaming the skies of Tripoli and Benghazi etc….” So we found out that this is a coordinated attack , we hear that there are casualties… and the 4 of us are entrenched in the car like in a bubble wondering when will the daylight come and why are the hours passing so slowly. Meanwhile Tripolitanians are panicking, they have lived in safety from wars for decades. What do you think they did in their panic, thousands of families took to their cars and just drove in the streets trying to get to the countryside. That was a stupid desperate move, as it has added to the collateral damage, car accidents where innumerable… that is where inexperience leads you , no one told them in the event of an air strike residents are not supposed to roam the streets , but then no one really thought that the bastion of modern civilisation would be aiming at simple weapon less people ! The worst kabooum was in nearby Ben Ashour area , one street away, that’s when we believed that the city was a shooting gallery , I mean what was in Ben Ashur to shoot at ? Residential villas and some embassies ? With dawn came the muezzin’s call for prayer. Things had calmed down and an uneasy silence was blanketing the city , smoke was coming from many places . We went back up to our flat and prepared some more stuff to take to my grandparents house. My grandparents lived in a small villa so at least that would not be as dangerous , and we were going to be with the family , it would feel safer. That morning I burnt all my diaries, I don’t know what took me, I just felt it would be sacrilege for an unknown marines or even another Libyan citizen to be reading my hopes or fears if by any ill luck I was to die , maybe that was a bit dramatic , but hey this is how it was back then in the morning of 15th April 1986, I was definitely not a teenager anymore. I was not thinking in terms that the Americans whom I grew up with who professed liberty , freedom and human rights and love of people and all those slogans would never attack another country and unarmed civilians .. But then I did not know as much as I do now, Vietnam for me was just a heroic action movie , where we are all rooting for Rambo and crying when he is hurting, Afghanistan, was where brave men where fighting the ‘evil Russian communists’ .. That night my aunt lost her baby, a miscarriage ..another collateral damage of operation eldorado canyon , never mind the mission was accomplished !
Years later the sound of an airplane over the house still makes me freak out, and you can feel my pulse beating faster.. where do you think my heart and mind was ? Did the people in the white house stop and think about the consequence. But most of all I felt humiliated that a foreigner was trespassing in my country , killing my people and I only had a pocket knife .. That night I heard a school kid shouting “ give me a klashinkov I have to go and fight the Americans.”. How futile ! I realised that warfare was not going to win anything, because they always had the latest weaponry, and even if they sell you weapons you will never get the most recent models which they would use against us. Anyway the superior hardware cannot be defeated , but only in face to face or white arms combat can the courage of a man/woman show . The days of the knights and honourable code of war were over welcome to the 20th century were push button devices are the norm .
Shall I tell you about the futility of painting the windows in blue and the car headlights and taillights in blue ? it was supposedly to prevent being seen as targets ha ha ha , my people were so innocent and greenhorns in this as if the F111 or F18 pilot were going to bother ,they have much more sophisticated positioning systems ( yet they do make mistakes and aim at civilian areas ) .
Anyway a couple of days later and after nagging my dad took me to visit the Ben Ashur area where we had heard that horrible blast , I was utterly shocked that such a sight would be possible in my own country , it was my ground zero . One always think it happens to others .. but no sometimes it does happen to you as well, and you live to tell about it . One of the young girls who died that night used to go to school with me. The saddest part was her brother was calling from America when he was watching the news, and the phone was reverberating in a destroyed house full of dead people.
In order to survive, we put behind those sad memories and try to become pragmatic about this , maybe we even follow the proverb which says wisely “when you can’t beat them ..join them”.
This was just one or two nights, so imagine what it is like in Iraq with endless nights like these in sight. No one who has not experienced this first hand can even come near to comprehending. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families in Iraq.
The majority of the Libyan people do not hold a grudge against America, they are very philosophical that this is now America’s turn to build an empire, so let them enjoy the heady feeling of power, but we have to remember that empires are not eternal and everything has a cycle - a beginning and an end.
Sunday, April 11, 2004
PHOTO GALLERY
I've set up a fotopage for those of you who would like to see some pictures of Libya...simply click on it .
Have fun , I'm trying to add some more pictures but the website will not accept them
I've set up a fotopage for those of you who would like to see some pictures of Libya...simply click on it .
Have fun , I'm trying to add some more pictures but the website will not accept them
Friday, April 09, 2004
Signing off for today
When you know people are reading you , you feel responsible if you don't blog for some time ... but that's it for today hope you enjoy and read all my rants I lost count how many they are today , but let's see it starts with a Libyan artist at 1:34 PM and ends now at almost 8:00 PM .. Have I really been 7 hrs online .. I must be a blog addict ha ha ha .... Good night , and HAPPY EASTER TO ALL ...
When you know people are reading you , you feel responsible if you don't blog for some time ... but that's it for today hope you enjoy and read all my rants I lost count how many they are today , but let's see it starts with a Libyan artist at 1:34 PM and ends now at almost 8:00 PM .. Have I really been 7 hrs online .. I must be a blog addict ha ha ha .... Good night , and HAPPY EASTER TO ALL ...
My RANT to some people on the comment section of Healing Iraq :
Thank you Zeyad for the beautiful post of April 2 , Fallujah, a God forsaken town
At the risk of being bulldozed with hate -words by some of the crowd commenting there I would like to strongly object to them (more than 100 comments) calling Syria, or other Iraqi neighbouring countries hotbeds of Alqaeda ..why do you people say this? Why do you think anyone who takes up arms against America an insurgent , baathist or whatever other names . Why do you keep insult Arabs ( Muslim, Christian , Jew and atheists alike ?) on a blog about Iraq . Have you at least travelled to these places? Do you speak Arabic ? Do you know anything about Arab culture? Are you willing to learn about it not just do some googgling for appropriate material to know what you are talking ahout ? Sometimes I get the clear impression that the recruiting grounds for so called terrorism are in Europe from the disenchanted youths. Why are we all so quick to lay the blame at other people's doorsteps?
Next you'll be advocating carpet bombing neighbouring countries just so the US army feels safe in Iraq. I would like to remind you that whoever has gone to Iraq , has done so with full knowledge that this is a war-zone not a trip to Disneyland. Therefore mercenaries, servicemen ‘contractors’ or even humanitarian agencies are not there working for free , even those helping to rebuild Iraq! It pays well, but the price sometimes may be their life. I deplore the awful way these American contractors have died and feel sorry for their families who have witnessed this back home.But they DID know what they were in for. Most of you live comfortably in your homes and have no idea of what is it like in a conflict area, so I wish you could also refrain from calling every place where something happens to an American a festering hole. People want to move on I'm sure, but they must also chase their own demons.
For those happy with fencing off a city similarly to the occupied Palestinian land, did you just stop to think that it would be imprisoning people in their own country by a foreign troop? I wonder how far that would go towards winning the hearts and minds. Even the silent majority may cross overboard .
You see Arabs may put up with a dictator of their own kind but a foreigner ?!? eventually they will rebel. If the Fallujah incident resulted in one good deed it is that it showed the world that sunni and shia are united Iraqis , by the way Kurds are sunnis as well if you were not aware of this. Today 9th of April , many of us are watching on TV the blood curdling butchering perpretrated by American troops against residents of Falluja ( maybe you have been spared this sight as your channels do not broadcast it ) . For me in Libya it is the same pain that I feel , and I find myself breaking into tears at my people dying in there. Some westerners wonder where are the Arabs and why are they not helping the Iraqis? My answer is that they are helping in many ways but perhaps the most obvious way is fighting the occupying forces/coalition troops.Moreover, any Arabs offerring help have been immediately branded as foreign devils or minions of Alqaeda . I know I’m not on the ground there you would say , but to the majority of Arabs it does look like an occupation .. sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings .
END of RANT
Thank you Zeyad for the beautiful post of April 2 , Fallujah, a God forsaken town
At the risk of being bulldozed with hate -words by some of the crowd commenting there I would like to strongly object to them (more than 100 comments) calling Syria, or other Iraqi neighbouring countries hotbeds of Alqaeda ..why do you people say this? Why do you think anyone who takes up arms against America an insurgent , baathist or whatever other names . Why do you keep insult Arabs ( Muslim, Christian , Jew and atheists alike ?) on a blog about Iraq . Have you at least travelled to these places? Do you speak Arabic ? Do you know anything about Arab culture? Are you willing to learn about it not just do some googgling for appropriate material to know what you are talking ahout ? Sometimes I get the clear impression that the recruiting grounds for so called terrorism are in Europe from the disenchanted youths. Why are we all so quick to lay the blame at other people's doorsteps?
Next you'll be advocating carpet bombing neighbouring countries just so the US army feels safe in Iraq. I would like to remind you that whoever has gone to Iraq , has done so with full knowledge that this is a war-zone not a trip to Disneyland. Therefore mercenaries, servicemen ‘contractors’ or even humanitarian agencies are not there working for free , even those helping to rebuild Iraq! It pays well, but the price sometimes may be their life. I deplore the awful way these American contractors have died and feel sorry for their families who have witnessed this back home.But they DID know what they were in for. Most of you live comfortably in your homes and have no idea of what is it like in a conflict area, so I wish you could also refrain from calling every place where something happens to an American a festering hole. People want to move on I'm sure, but they must also chase their own demons.
For those happy with fencing off a city similarly to the occupied Palestinian land, did you just stop to think that it would be imprisoning people in their own country by a foreign troop? I wonder how far that would go towards winning the hearts and minds. Even the silent majority may cross overboard .
You see Arabs may put up with a dictator of their own kind but a foreigner ?!? eventually they will rebel. If the Fallujah incident resulted in one good deed it is that it showed the world that sunni and shia are united Iraqis , by the way Kurds are sunnis as well if you were not aware of this. Today 9th of April , many of us are watching on TV the blood curdling butchering perpretrated by American troops against residents of Falluja ( maybe you have been spared this sight as your channels do not broadcast it ) . For me in Libya it is the same pain that I feel , and I find myself breaking into tears at my people dying in there. Some westerners wonder where are the Arabs and why are they not helping the Iraqis? My answer is that they are helping in many ways but perhaps the most obvious way is fighting the occupying forces/coalition troops.Moreover, any Arabs offerring help have been immediately branded as foreign devils or minions of Alqaeda . I know I’m not on the ground there you would say , but to the majority of Arabs it does look like an occupation .. sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings .
END of RANT
Tips For Earthquake Victims
This is probably a bit of old news by now but it’s a nice article about the Arab [defunct] summit :
Tips For Earthquake Victims
Ghassan Charbel Al-Hayat 2004/03/29
Dear Arab citizen,
I hope you did not feel any unusual frustration yesterday. I hope you would not fall in the trap of worry and grief. I think you have enough experiences in order to be immune against the illness of despair. I know that the news you woke up hearing yesterday were not nice and soft. Nevertheless, let me ask you; since when did the Arabs' mornings pump positivism in the veins of citizens? You are certainly wise enough not to fall under the weight of bad news. You are wise enough not to let your mood depend on newspaper commentators and satellite channels experts. There is no need for anger, and no excuse for worry.
Anyway, you do not need anyone to draw your attention to the amount of exaggeration found in trendy expressions. Nevertheless, I wish for you to be extra cautious and careful whenever you face expressions such as "dangerous turn," "new page," "unprecedented start," "thunder-like news," "a new Nakba," "dangerous events," "the end of a phase," "the collapse of an entire world," "the bankruptcy of the Arab common work," and "an earthquake."
You certainly know that Arab Summits are gloomy. As soon as a date is set for a summit, politicians and journalists start pouring out expressions, and raising the hopes of readers and citizens; expressions like "increase in the level of present dangers," "facing challenges," "coming out with a united strategy," "putting implementation strategies," "confirming pillars," and "reminding of red lines." Recently, new rootless terms emerged, such as "restructuring," "civil society," "keeping up with international challenges," not to mention transparency and institutions. You certainly know that Summits are frequently considered innocent of all these accusations; practically held to stop the blamers, irritate the resentful, and control the aliens. Their biggest worry is to show the capability of the Arab family to meet under a same roof, and fight back the aims of the enemies and the envious who talk about divorce, lack of affection, spreading tricks, and preparing daggers.
My dear Arab citizen,
I know that Iraqi scenes incite your worry. I know that Sharon's crimes trigger your emotions. You worry about the flourishing of chronic issues in our Arab worlds, and the potential of the rise of an issue within every country.
I know you wish for less bitter bread, a job for your unemployed son, newspapers that do not talk about the same thing; you are tired of your present and worried about your future. However, experiences taught you that if the Summit were held, it would not change the course of things, even if its holding would surely be better than its postponement. I know you are asking whether the Belgian Prime Minister could have postponed the European Summit at the last second. I am advising you. Put aside Belgium and put aside comparisons. Neither the holding is a new page, nor is the postponement a big loss. It will be held tomorrow or the day after it my dear. Hold on to your daily work program and cool down your nerves. Go to your work smiling. Go to the neighboring coffee shop, have a mint tea, and follow the world activities. Sit down in front of the television at night. Leave the Greater Middle East (GME) to his people, and zap channels between Star Academy and Super Star, then go to sleep, and go far in the unconsciousness of the GME.
This is probably a bit of old news by now but it’s a nice article about the Arab [defunct] summit :
Tips For Earthquake Victims
Ghassan Charbel Al-Hayat 2004/03/29
Dear Arab citizen,
I hope you did not feel any unusual frustration yesterday. I hope you would not fall in the trap of worry and grief. I think you have enough experiences in order to be immune against the illness of despair. I know that the news you woke up hearing yesterday were not nice and soft. Nevertheless, let me ask you; since when did the Arabs' mornings pump positivism in the veins of citizens? You are certainly wise enough not to fall under the weight of bad news. You are wise enough not to let your mood depend on newspaper commentators and satellite channels experts. There is no need for anger, and no excuse for worry.
Anyway, you do not need anyone to draw your attention to the amount of exaggeration found in trendy expressions. Nevertheless, I wish for you to be extra cautious and careful whenever you face expressions such as "dangerous turn," "new page," "unprecedented start," "thunder-like news," "a new Nakba," "dangerous events," "the end of a phase," "the collapse of an entire world," "the bankruptcy of the Arab common work," and "an earthquake."
You certainly know that Arab Summits are gloomy. As soon as a date is set for a summit, politicians and journalists start pouring out expressions, and raising the hopes of readers and citizens; expressions like "increase in the level of present dangers," "facing challenges," "coming out with a united strategy," "putting implementation strategies," "confirming pillars," and "reminding of red lines." Recently, new rootless terms emerged, such as "restructuring," "civil society," "keeping up with international challenges," not to mention transparency and institutions. You certainly know that Summits are frequently considered innocent of all these accusations; practically held to stop the blamers, irritate the resentful, and control the aliens. Their biggest worry is to show the capability of the Arab family to meet under a same roof, and fight back the aims of the enemies and the envious who talk about divorce, lack of affection, spreading tricks, and preparing daggers.
My dear Arab citizen,
I know that Iraqi scenes incite your worry. I know that Sharon's crimes trigger your emotions. You worry about the flourishing of chronic issues in our Arab worlds, and the potential of the rise of an issue within every country.
I know you wish for less bitter bread, a job for your unemployed son, newspapers that do not talk about the same thing; you are tired of your present and worried about your future. However, experiences taught you that if the Summit were held, it would not change the course of things, even if its holding would surely be better than its postponement. I know you are asking whether the Belgian Prime Minister could have postponed the European Summit at the last second. I am advising you. Put aside Belgium and put aside comparisons. Neither the holding is a new page, nor is the postponement a big loss. It will be held tomorrow or the day after it my dear. Hold on to your daily work program and cool down your nerves. Go to your work smiling. Go to the neighboring coffee shop, have a mint tea, and follow the world activities. Sit down in front of the television at night. Leave the Greater Middle East (GME) to his people, and zap channels between Star Academy and Super Star, then go to sleep, and go far in the unconsciousness of the GME.
Bush and Blair have lit a fire which could consume them
The Iraqi uprising will drive home the forgotten lessons of empire
Seumas Milne
Thursday April 8, 2004
The Guardian
Where are they now, the cheerleaders for war on Iraq? Where are the US Republican hawks who predicted the Anglo-American invasion would be a "cakewalk", greeted by cheering Iraqis? Or the liberal apologists, who hailed a "new dawn" for freedom and democracy in the Arab world as US marines swathed Baghdad in the stars and stripes a year ago? Some, like the Sun newspaper - which yesterday claimed Iraqis recognise that occupation is in their "own long-term good" and are not in "bloody revolt" at all - appear to be in an advanced state of denial.
Others, to judge by the performance of the neocon writer William Shawcross and Blairite MP Ann Clwyd, have been reduced to a state of stuttering incoherence by the scale of bloodshed and suffering they have helped unleash. Clwyd, who regularly visits Iraq as the prime minister's "human rights envoy", struggled to acknowledge in an interview on Monday that bombing raids by US F16s and Apache helicopter gunships on Iraqi cities risked causing civilian deaths, not merely injuries. The following day, 16 children were reportedly killed in Falluja when US warplanes rocketed their homes. And yesterday, in what may well be the most inflammatory act of slaughter yet, a US helicopter killed dozens of Iraqis in a missile assault on a Falluja mosque.
The attack on a mosque during afternoon prayers will, without doubt, swell the ranks of what has become a nationwide uprising against the US-led occupation. By launching a crackdown against the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr - and, in an eloquent display of what it means by freedom in occupied Iraq, closing his newspaper - the US has finally triggered the long-predicted revolt across the Shia south and ended the isolation of the resistance in the so-called Sunni triangle. Bush, Blair and Bremer have lit a fire in Iraq which may yet consume them all. The evidence of the past few days is that the uprising has spread far beyond the ranks of Sadr's militia. And far from unleashing the civil war US and British pundits and politicians have warned about, Sunni and Shia guerrillas have been fighting side by side in Baghdad against the occupation forces.
This revolt shows every sign of turning into Iraq's own intifada, and towns like Falluja and Ramadi - centres of resistance from the first days of occupation - are now getting the treatment Israel has meted out to Palestinians in Jenin, Nablus and Rafah over the past couple of years. As resistance groups have moved from simply attacking US and other occupation troops to attempts to hold territory, US efforts to destroy them - as an American general vowed to do yesterday - have become increasingly brutal. Across Iraq, US soldiers and their European allies are now killing Iraqis in their hundreds on the streets of their own cities in an explosive revival of the Middle East's imperial legacy.
For Britain, Iraq has turned into its first full-scale colonial war since it was forced out of Aden in the late 1960s. And the pledge by US commanders to "pacify" the mushrooming centres of Iraqi insurrection echoes not only the doomed US efforts to break the Vietnamese in the 60s and 70s, but also the delusionary euphemisms of Britain's own blood-soaked campaigns in Kenya and Malaya a decade earlier. The same kind of terminology is used to damn those fighting foreign rule in Iraq. Thus President Bush's spokesman described Shia guerrillas as "thugs and terrorists", while his Iraqi proconsul Paul Bremer - head of a 130,000-strong occupation force which has already killed more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians - issued a priceless denunciation of groups who "think power in Iraq should come out of the barrel of a gun ... that is intolerable".
The bulk of the media and political class in Britain has followed this lead in an apparent attempt to normalise the occupation of Iraq in the eyes of the public. The fact that British squaddies shot dead 15 Iraqis in Amara on Tuesday has had little more coverage than the shameful beating to death of Iraqi prisoners in British custody. Both the BBC and ITN routinely refer to British troops as "peacekeepers"; private mercenaries are called "civilian contractors"; the rebranding of the occupation planned for June is described as the "handover of power to the Iraqis"; the Sadr group always represents a "small minority" of Shia opinion; and a patently unscientific and contradictory poll carried out in Iraq last month - in which most people said they were opposed to the presence of coalition forces in Iraq - is absurdly used to claim majority support for the occupation.
The growing panic in Washington over what Senator Edward Kennedy calls "Bush's Vietnam" is now focused on the date for the formal - and entirely cosmetic - transfer of sovereignty to a hand-picked Iraqi puppet administration, currently timetabled for June 30. The original idea of an early date was to give the appearance of progress in Iraq before the US presidential elections. But there was also an anxiety that pressure for an elected transitional government would become unstoppable if the transfer took place any later - and like all occupying powers, the US fears genuinely free elections in Iraq. In any case, according to existing plans, the US will maintain full effective control - of security, oil, economic policy, major contracts - under a rigged interim constitution whenever the formal "transfer" takes place.
The current uprising increasingly resembles the last great revolt against British rule in Iraq in 1920, which also cost more than 10,000 lives and helped bring forward the country's formal independence. But Britain maintained behind-the-scenes control, though military bases and ministerial "advisers", until the client monarchy was finally overthrown in 1958. If Iraq is now to regain its independence, the lessons of history are that the Iraqi resistance will have to sharply raise the costs of occupation, and that those in the occupying countries who grasp the dangers, unworkability and injustice of imperial rule must increase the political pressure for withdrawal.
Unlike in, say, Spain or Australia, we are hamstrung in Britain by the fact that all three main political parties are committed to maintaining the occupation, including the Liberal Democrats - whose former leader and Bosnian governor Lord Ashdown yesterday argued for at least another decade in Iraq. But opposition to such latter-day imperial bravura is strong among the British public and across all parties, and must now find its voice. There is a multiplicity of different possible mechanisms to bring about a negotiated, orderly withdrawal and free elections. Tony Blair calls that "running away" and admitting "we have got it all wrong". But he and Bush did get it wrong: there were no weapons of mass destruction, Iraq wasn't a threat, there was no UN authorisation, and the invasion was manifestly illegal. Foreign troops in Iraq are not peacekeepers, but aggressors. The lessons of empire are having to be learned all over again.
The Iraqi uprising will drive home the forgotten lessons of empire
Seumas Milne
Thursday April 8, 2004
The Guardian
Where are they now, the cheerleaders for war on Iraq? Where are the US Republican hawks who predicted the Anglo-American invasion would be a "cakewalk", greeted by cheering Iraqis? Or the liberal apologists, who hailed a "new dawn" for freedom and democracy in the Arab world as US marines swathed Baghdad in the stars and stripes a year ago? Some, like the Sun newspaper - which yesterday claimed Iraqis recognise that occupation is in their "own long-term good" and are not in "bloody revolt" at all - appear to be in an advanced state of denial.
Others, to judge by the performance of the neocon writer William Shawcross and Blairite MP Ann Clwyd, have been reduced to a state of stuttering incoherence by the scale of bloodshed and suffering they have helped unleash. Clwyd, who regularly visits Iraq as the prime minister's "human rights envoy", struggled to acknowledge in an interview on Monday that bombing raids by US F16s and Apache helicopter gunships on Iraqi cities risked causing civilian deaths, not merely injuries. The following day, 16 children were reportedly killed in Falluja when US warplanes rocketed their homes. And yesterday, in what may well be the most inflammatory act of slaughter yet, a US helicopter killed dozens of Iraqis in a missile assault on a Falluja mosque.
The attack on a mosque during afternoon prayers will, without doubt, swell the ranks of what has become a nationwide uprising against the US-led occupation. By launching a crackdown against the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr - and, in an eloquent display of what it means by freedom in occupied Iraq, closing his newspaper - the US has finally triggered the long-predicted revolt across the Shia south and ended the isolation of the resistance in the so-called Sunni triangle. Bush, Blair and Bremer have lit a fire in Iraq which may yet consume them all. The evidence of the past few days is that the uprising has spread far beyond the ranks of Sadr's militia. And far from unleashing the civil war US and British pundits and politicians have warned about, Sunni and Shia guerrillas have been fighting side by side in Baghdad against the occupation forces.
This revolt shows every sign of turning into Iraq's own intifada, and towns like Falluja and Ramadi - centres of resistance from the first days of occupation - are now getting the treatment Israel has meted out to Palestinians in Jenin, Nablus and Rafah over the past couple of years. As resistance groups have moved from simply attacking US and other occupation troops to attempts to hold territory, US efforts to destroy them - as an American general vowed to do yesterday - have become increasingly brutal. Across Iraq, US soldiers and their European allies are now killing Iraqis in their hundreds on the streets of their own cities in an explosive revival of the Middle East's imperial legacy.
For Britain, Iraq has turned into its first full-scale colonial war since it was forced out of Aden in the late 1960s. And the pledge by US commanders to "pacify" the mushrooming centres of Iraqi insurrection echoes not only the doomed US efforts to break the Vietnamese in the 60s and 70s, but also the delusionary euphemisms of Britain's own blood-soaked campaigns in Kenya and Malaya a decade earlier. The same kind of terminology is used to damn those fighting foreign rule in Iraq. Thus President Bush's spokesman described Shia guerrillas as "thugs and terrorists", while his Iraqi proconsul Paul Bremer - head of a 130,000-strong occupation force which has already killed more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians - issued a priceless denunciation of groups who "think power in Iraq should come out of the barrel of a gun ... that is intolerable".
The bulk of the media and political class in Britain has followed this lead in an apparent attempt to normalise the occupation of Iraq in the eyes of the public. The fact that British squaddies shot dead 15 Iraqis in Amara on Tuesday has had little more coverage than the shameful beating to death of Iraqi prisoners in British custody. Both the BBC and ITN routinely refer to British troops as "peacekeepers"; private mercenaries are called "civilian contractors"; the rebranding of the occupation planned for June is described as the "handover of power to the Iraqis"; the Sadr group always represents a "small minority" of Shia opinion; and a patently unscientific and contradictory poll carried out in Iraq last month - in which most people said they were opposed to the presence of coalition forces in Iraq - is absurdly used to claim majority support for the occupation.
The growing panic in Washington over what Senator Edward Kennedy calls "Bush's Vietnam" is now focused on the date for the formal - and entirely cosmetic - transfer of sovereignty to a hand-picked Iraqi puppet administration, currently timetabled for June 30. The original idea of an early date was to give the appearance of progress in Iraq before the US presidential elections. But there was also an anxiety that pressure for an elected transitional government would become unstoppable if the transfer took place any later - and like all occupying powers, the US fears genuinely free elections in Iraq. In any case, according to existing plans, the US will maintain full effective control - of security, oil, economic policy, major contracts - under a rigged interim constitution whenever the formal "transfer" takes place.
The current uprising increasingly resembles the last great revolt against British rule in Iraq in 1920, which also cost more than 10,000 lives and helped bring forward the country's formal independence. But Britain maintained behind-the-scenes control, though military bases and ministerial "advisers", until the client monarchy was finally overthrown in 1958. If Iraq is now to regain its independence, the lessons of history are that the Iraqi resistance will have to sharply raise the costs of occupation, and that those in the occupying countries who grasp the dangers, unworkability and injustice of imperial rule must increase the political pressure for withdrawal.
Unlike in, say, Spain or Australia, we are hamstrung in Britain by the fact that all three main political parties are committed to maintaining the occupation, including the Liberal Democrats - whose former leader and Bosnian governor Lord Ashdown yesterday argued for at least another decade in Iraq. But opposition to such latter-day imperial bravura is strong among the British public and across all parties, and must now find its voice. There is a multiplicity of different possible mechanisms to bring about a negotiated, orderly withdrawal and free elections. Tony Blair calls that "running away" and admitting "we have got it all wrong". But he and Bush did get it wrong: there were no weapons of mass destruction, Iraq wasn't a threat, there was no UN authorisation, and the invasion was manifestly illegal. Foreign troops in Iraq are not peacekeepers, but aggressors. The lessons of empire are having to be learned all over again.
The value of life !
Last week the whole world was deploring the death and mutilation of 4 ex- army American ‘contractors’ in Fallujah . Their death made the news, everyone was sympathetic and angry about it offering solace to their family and some blogs even said these were heroes. But how come when Arabs of all creeds are killed by an occupying army no one cares about it ? and they just count as collateral damage.. “hard luck but let’s move on attitude” .. what about this whole family for example ? who will be outraged for it and it is not even Muslim ...
Last week the whole world was deploring the death and mutilation of 4 ex- army American ‘contractors’ in Fallujah . Their death made the news, everyone was sympathetic and angry about it offering solace to their family and some blogs even said these were heroes. But how come when Arabs of all creeds are killed by an occupying army no one cares about it ? and they just count as collateral damage.. “hard luck but let’s move on attitude” .. what about this whole family for example ? who will be outraged for it and it is not even Muslim ...
Not freedom: a free-for-all
On the same note I would like to bring this to your attention . It’s a bit longish but worth reading
In Iraq, the US did not read the small print on the Arabic social contract and now it is reaping the whirlwind, argues William Beeman
Thursday April 8, 2004
Suddenly Iraq has exploded in our face, and the White House has no plan to contain the violence. The Bush administration can speak all it wants to about al-Qaida, the world terrorist threat and the holy mission of democratising Iraq, but the plain truth is that America has failed in Iraq because our officials have failed at grass roots politics.
The US has established no social contract with the Iraqi people and thus it has no authority to lead. It is no surprise, therefore, that our troops are fair game on all fronts.
The Bush administration continues to maintain a myth: that those people attacking American troops are a monolithic enemy spurred on by "external forces". "We're not going to be intimidated by thugs and assassins," President Bush announced in a speech on April 6.
These are brave words, but merely labelling all the attackers with a single set of adjectives does not establish them as a unified group. In fact, it hinders creating an effective defence, by blurring the lines that separate the attackers. These attackers belong to disparate, unconnected groups whose concerns are local. Moreover, they are unmotivated and unaffected by the likes of Osama bin Laden.
So now Iraq is a free-for-all. Different groups are attacking the US for completely different reasons. They are even attacking it as a vehicle for weakening each other in a prelude to what appears to be a potential civil war. Though their motives differ, the groups are unified in one sense: each individual group views its attacks on the US as justified, if not admirable.
The attacks in the Sunni Arab towns of Ramadi and Falluja bear all the cultural marks of revenge killings that have escalated out of control. The horrific mutilation of the bodies of the American workers on March 31 shows a desire not just to inhibit the US, but to humiliate it, and to exact payment for past deaths as well. One message even claimed that the killings were payback for the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement. As US forces crack down on the citizenry of the two towns, they kill more people, perpetuating the revenge cycle.
The case of Muqtada al-Sadr is more complex. Mr Sadr is a young cleric full of rage for the murder of his father and other male relatives in the past. Because he is not in a position of international authority, he is much more free to operate in a radical manner than older colleagues, such as Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, who is the moral leader of hundreds of thousands of adherents. Moreover, Mr Sadr is impatient with the older clerics and hungry for leadership. The US has attacked him repeatedly, closing his newspaper, attacking his deputies, and finally engineering an accusation of responsibility for the death of another moderate cleric, Abd al-Majid al-Kho'i, who was murdered last year by a mob after returning from London.
The US has clearly done Mr Sadr no favours, and has threatened to arrest him. In his view he has the high moral ground, and thousands of devoted supporters. In attacking the US he has nothing to lose, and he may unseat the more moderate clerics by implicating them with complicity with the US.
Other Shia forces in the south are rebelling as the time for transfer of power to Iraqis approaches, and they see that the US is doing everything possible to prevent them from assuming power in the nation where they are a majority.
Still other violent groups, such as those fomenting attacks in Kirkuk, are fighting proto-ethnic wars that have yet to reach their full explosive power. That conflagration will come later, and here again, the US will have no moral authority or political suasion to contain it.
In order to lead in the Arab world, a social contract is necessary. The US never tried to establish one. The naive assumption of Bush officials such as Donald Rumsfeld was that the people would magically bow to American leadership out of gratitude for freeing the country of Saddam Hussein. This fell far short of what was necessary to secure the respect and loyalty of the Iraqi citizenry.
In the Arab world, the conqueror, in order to secure loyalty must actively care for the conquered - something the US was unwilling or unable to do. American forces could not even talk to the Iraqis - they had barely any translators, and no Arabic language training. Those months of reconstruction misery took their toll in breaking whatever fragile social bond might have given the US the social capital it needed in order to govern.
Having never established ties of loyalty in Iraq, the US has now lost all hope of maintaining authority. It has tried to rule indirectly through a council of émigré Iraqis, such as Ahmad Chelabi, who have no standing among Iraqi citizens. The council itself knows that it is a sham, and rarely even meets. Mr Bremer himself has become a person of absolutely no consequence, commanding no respect among Iraqis.
The Bush administration has been flooding the US airwaves with tens of millions of dollars worth of voter-pleasing bromides about American leadership in promulgating Iraqi democracy. It is the ultimate irony that, at the same time, it has been pursuing policies that guarantee that the Iraqis will never respect or follow them.
Copyright (c) 2004, Agence Global
On the same note I would like to bring this to your attention . It’s a bit longish but worth reading
In Iraq, the US did not read the small print on the Arabic social contract and now it is reaping the whirlwind, argues William Beeman
Thursday April 8, 2004
Suddenly Iraq has exploded in our face, and the White House has no plan to contain the violence. The Bush administration can speak all it wants to about al-Qaida, the world terrorist threat and the holy mission of democratising Iraq, but the plain truth is that America has failed in Iraq because our officials have failed at grass roots politics.
The US has established no social contract with the Iraqi people and thus it has no authority to lead. It is no surprise, therefore, that our troops are fair game on all fronts.
The Bush administration continues to maintain a myth: that those people attacking American troops are a monolithic enemy spurred on by "external forces". "We're not going to be intimidated by thugs and assassins," President Bush announced in a speech on April 6.
These are brave words, but merely labelling all the attackers with a single set of adjectives does not establish them as a unified group. In fact, it hinders creating an effective defence, by blurring the lines that separate the attackers. These attackers belong to disparate, unconnected groups whose concerns are local. Moreover, they are unmotivated and unaffected by the likes of Osama bin Laden.
So now Iraq is a free-for-all. Different groups are attacking the US for completely different reasons. They are even attacking it as a vehicle for weakening each other in a prelude to what appears to be a potential civil war. Though their motives differ, the groups are unified in one sense: each individual group views its attacks on the US as justified, if not admirable.
The attacks in the Sunni Arab towns of Ramadi and Falluja bear all the cultural marks of revenge killings that have escalated out of control. The horrific mutilation of the bodies of the American workers on March 31 shows a desire not just to inhibit the US, but to humiliate it, and to exact payment for past deaths as well. One message even claimed that the killings were payback for the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement. As US forces crack down on the citizenry of the two towns, they kill more people, perpetuating the revenge cycle.
The case of Muqtada al-Sadr is more complex. Mr Sadr is a young cleric full of rage for the murder of his father and other male relatives in the past. Because he is not in a position of international authority, he is much more free to operate in a radical manner than older colleagues, such as Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, who is the moral leader of hundreds of thousands of adherents. Moreover, Mr Sadr is impatient with the older clerics and hungry for leadership. The US has attacked him repeatedly, closing his newspaper, attacking his deputies, and finally engineering an accusation of responsibility for the death of another moderate cleric, Abd al-Majid al-Kho'i, who was murdered last year by a mob after returning from London.
The US has clearly done Mr Sadr no favours, and has threatened to arrest him. In his view he has the high moral ground, and thousands of devoted supporters. In attacking the US he has nothing to lose, and he may unseat the more moderate clerics by implicating them with complicity with the US.
Other Shia forces in the south are rebelling as the time for transfer of power to Iraqis approaches, and they see that the US is doing everything possible to prevent them from assuming power in the nation where they are a majority.
Still other violent groups, such as those fomenting attacks in Kirkuk, are fighting proto-ethnic wars that have yet to reach their full explosive power. That conflagration will come later, and here again, the US will have no moral authority or political suasion to contain it.
In order to lead in the Arab world, a social contract is necessary. The US never tried to establish one. The naive assumption of Bush officials such as Donald Rumsfeld was that the people would magically bow to American leadership out of gratitude for freeing the country of Saddam Hussein. This fell far short of what was necessary to secure the respect and loyalty of the Iraqi citizenry.
In the Arab world, the conqueror, in order to secure loyalty must actively care for the conquered - something the US was unwilling or unable to do. American forces could not even talk to the Iraqis - they had barely any translators, and no Arabic language training. Those months of reconstruction misery took their toll in breaking whatever fragile social bond might have given the US the social capital it needed in order to govern.
Having never established ties of loyalty in Iraq, the US has now lost all hope of maintaining authority. It has tried to rule indirectly through a council of émigré Iraqis, such as Ahmad Chelabi, who have no standing among Iraqi citizens. The council itself knows that it is a sham, and rarely even meets. Mr Bremer himself has become a person of absolutely no consequence, commanding no respect among Iraqis.
The Bush administration has been flooding the US airwaves with tens of millions of dollars worth of voter-pleasing bromides about American leadership in promulgating Iraqi democracy. It is the ultimate irony that, at the same time, it has been pursuing policies that guarantee that the Iraqis will never respect or follow them.
Copyright (c) 2004, Agence Global
REFORMING ARABS
Has it occurred to the Americans and other westerners that perhaps their way is not our way and perhaps we WANT to have a say in how we become democratic?
One aspect of human nature that I find strange is the mistaking of strength for morality. It's the same with the Americans now and the way they operate in Iraq. They speak in the name of freedom, justice and liberty, but in fact they serve their own interests at the expense of the Iraqi people.
In the Israeli example, there are different cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and geographical backgrounds involved. Religion is the common denominator for Israelis, but what does this suggest in terms of political interests?
Arabs And American Democracy
Faisal Abu Khadra Al-Hayat 2004/02/23
* Mr. Abu Khadra is a Palestinian writer.
It might be our right and duty to discuss American President George W. Bush's concepts of democracy, freedom, human rights, terrorism, independence, …Islam, especially that these concepts have unprecedented repercussions on the whole world.
We do not disagree with American democracy but we refuse the way it is tailored to suit president Bush alone. It is noteworthy that John Kerry accuses Bush of violating the essential rules of democracy and obliged the American citizen to pay the price of a war at the expense of his daily life.
Hence, Bush's democracy is a doubtful one, for he considers the U.S. as the master of the world and classifies the countries and religions according his concepts that are the same of Ariel Sharon's.
The Islamic danger is only formed of Arabs and Muslims who refuse Israeli hegemony on the Arab world, American hegemony on the Arab choices and fortunes and the occupation of the other's territories.
Democracy is a peaceful way to live together and progress and not a war way to impose one's opinion by force.
First: according to the dictionary, democracy means the rule of the people, i.e., the majority ruling the country through free voting. Hence, one can say, President Bush held the reins of power through the court and not voting.
Second: we should always remind that the U.S. was constituted of black slaves and free people until the slaves were declared free under Abraham Lincoln.
Third: President Abraham Lincoln said once that the cause the American nation defends is that all people are equal and free.
Fourth: American President James Monroe declared once a principle known as the Monroe Doctrine, in which he called for implementing the total independence principle and not intervening in the other's affairs.
Fifth: according to the principles set by good American people, one can doubt about the new trends the American policy is taking toward freedom, democracy and human rights.
Sixth: the Arab world and Muslims' problem is that the international community have wrong ideas about Islam and Arabs.
The truth is that president Bush always mixes between freedom, religion and democracy and he thinks that Islam denies Muslims freedom and democracy and pushes them to the only remaining choice of terror.
Sure, we cannot cancel Bush's wrong conviction because we do not have the military potential to do so.
President Bush considers that Arabs are terrorists because they live in a non-democratic nation according to the Western concept; instead of stating the real causes that hide behind terrorism, which did not exist before the establishment of Israel.
We still have Arab democracy called Shoura (counsel), which is a democratic way that suits our society and is far better than the American democracy. In fact, in the U.S. 51% of the votes can beat the remaining 49%. As for the Shoura, it is a consensus or a refusal, which explains why the Arab world does not witness real popular revolutions. We can assure President Bush and all those who have the same ideas that Islam is strong enough to resist. Arab history is full of telling examples. Sure, those who are now violating our territory will go out one day. Only fools think that Islam might be defeated because it is not only a religion but also a way of living, thinking, eating, drinking, educating and wearing.
This would not become a reality unless we, Arabs, work on clearing the way we want to follow. The days taught us that the U.S. has no friend and that it deals with the other countries in terms of buying and selling. This is what happened with Iran and Iraq.
Hence, we should work on carrying out some of our national, religious and social duties through the following measures:
1- Protect our tribal and familial system for the Shoura principle is far better than the model of Western democracy.
2- Open specialized institutes and provide them with the best teachers and experts in order to stop the migration of Arab minds.
3- Establish handicraft institutes in order to provide the Arab people with job opportunities.
4- Draft strict laws that forbid the Sheikhs from pretending they can do miracles and explain the Holy Koran.
5- Protect our borders with the neighbors.
6- Work hard and believe that we are a good nation that seeks only justice, love and peace. Hence, we would force the world to respect us.
Has it occurred to the Americans and other westerners that perhaps their way is not our way and perhaps we WANT to have a say in how we become democratic?
One aspect of human nature that I find strange is the mistaking of strength for morality. It's the same with the Americans now and the way they operate in Iraq. They speak in the name of freedom, justice and liberty, but in fact they serve their own interests at the expense of the Iraqi people.
In the Israeli example, there are different cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and geographical backgrounds involved. Religion is the common denominator for Israelis, but what does this suggest in terms of political interests?
Arabs And American Democracy
Faisal Abu Khadra Al-Hayat 2004/02/23
* Mr. Abu Khadra is a Palestinian writer.
It might be our right and duty to discuss American President George W. Bush's concepts of democracy, freedom, human rights, terrorism, independence, …Islam, especially that these concepts have unprecedented repercussions on the whole world.
We do not disagree with American democracy but we refuse the way it is tailored to suit president Bush alone. It is noteworthy that John Kerry accuses Bush of violating the essential rules of democracy and obliged the American citizen to pay the price of a war at the expense of his daily life.
Hence, Bush's democracy is a doubtful one, for he considers the U.S. as the master of the world and classifies the countries and religions according his concepts that are the same of Ariel Sharon's.
The Islamic danger is only formed of Arabs and Muslims who refuse Israeli hegemony on the Arab world, American hegemony on the Arab choices and fortunes and the occupation of the other's territories.
Democracy is a peaceful way to live together and progress and not a war way to impose one's opinion by force.
First: according to the dictionary, democracy means the rule of the people, i.e., the majority ruling the country through free voting. Hence, one can say, President Bush held the reins of power through the court and not voting.
Second: we should always remind that the U.S. was constituted of black slaves and free people until the slaves were declared free under Abraham Lincoln.
Third: President Abraham Lincoln said once that the cause the American nation defends is that all people are equal and free.
Fourth: American President James Monroe declared once a principle known as the Monroe Doctrine, in which he called for implementing the total independence principle and not intervening in the other's affairs.
Fifth: according to the principles set by good American people, one can doubt about the new trends the American policy is taking toward freedom, democracy and human rights.
Sixth: the Arab world and Muslims' problem is that the international community have wrong ideas about Islam and Arabs.
The truth is that president Bush always mixes between freedom, religion and democracy and he thinks that Islam denies Muslims freedom and democracy and pushes them to the only remaining choice of terror.
Sure, we cannot cancel Bush's wrong conviction because we do not have the military potential to do so.
President Bush considers that Arabs are terrorists because they live in a non-democratic nation according to the Western concept; instead of stating the real causes that hide behind terrorism, which did not exist before the establishment of Israel.
We still have Arab democracy called Shoura (counsel), which is a democratic way that suits our society and is far better than the American democracy. In fact, in the U.S. 51% of the votes can beat the remaining 49%. As for the Shoura, it is a consensus or a refusal, which explains why the Arab world does not witness real popular revolutions. We can assure President Bush and all those who have the same ideas that Islam is strong enough to resist. Arab history is full of telling examples. Sure, those who are now violating our territory will go out one day. Only fools think that Islam might be defeated because it is not only a religion but also a way of living, thinking, eating, drinking, educating and wearing.
This would not become a reality unless we, Arabs, work on clearing the way we want to follow. The days taught us that the U.S. has no friend and that it deals with the other countries in terms of buying and selling. This is what happened with Iran and Iraq.
Hence, we should work on carrying out some of our national, religious and social duties through the following measures:
1- Protect our tribal and familial system for the Shoura principle is far better than the model of Western democracy.
2- Open specialized institutes and provide them with the best teachers and experts in order to stop the migration of Arab minds.
3- Establish handicraft institutes in order to provide the Arab people with job opportunities.
4- Draft strict laws that forbid the Sheikhs from pretending they can do miracles and explain the Holy Koran.
5- Protect our borders with the neighbors.
6- Work hard and believe that we are a good nation that seeks only justice, love and peace. Hence, we would force the world to respect us.
PENPALS
For the last week the BBC has been publishing emails between an Israeli and an Egyptian "Omneya and Orly" ... Some of the comments on that correspondence hailed this step as rapprochement between the 2 sides . I wanted to tell these people that whilst this is a positive step, I am not really surprised because that particular Israeli woman is Iranian so she will be nearer to us Middle-Easterners in her way of thinking/feeling. I would have liked to see how the letters would have been between Omneya and a western Israeli ?
For the last week the BBC has been publishing emails between an Israeli and an Egyptian "Omneya and Orly" ... Some of the comments on that correspondence hailed this step as rapprochement between the 2 sides . I wanted to tell these people that whilst this is a positive step, I am not really surprised because that particular Israeli woman is Iranian so she will be nearer to us Middle-Easterners in her way of thinking/feeling. I would have liked to see how the letters would have been between Omneya and a western Israeli ?
The motives for western warming relations towards Libya:
[..] The motives, however, are rather more cynical. An energy crisis is looming for Britain and the US. Libya produces high-quality, low-sulfur crude oil at very low cost (as low as $US1 a barrel in some fields), and holds 3 per cent of world oil reserves. It has vast proven natural gas reserves of 46 trillion cubic feet, but actual gas reserves are largely unexplored and estimated to total up to 70 trillion cubic feet. [The Guardian]
So ok let’s be diplomatic and seize the moment , make the most of it , go forward , try to modernize our infrastructure ( that is if we are not bled for every penny ) and why not be friends and amicable ( nothing to loose and everything to gain), but never forget that all these rapprochement and entente cordiale are not that altruistic in nature.
[..] The motives, however, are rather more cynical. An energy crisis is looming for Britain and the US. Libya produces high-quality, low-sulfur crude oil at very low cost (as low as $US1 a barrel in some fields), and holds 3 per cent of world oil reserves. It has vast proven natural gas reserves of 46 trillion cubic feet, but actual gas reserves are largely unexplored and estimated to total up to 70 trillion cubic feet. [The Guardian]
So ok let’s be diplomatic and seize the moment , make the most of it , go forward , try to modernize our infrastructure ( that is if we are not bled for every penny ) and why not be friends and amicable ( nothing to loose and everything to gain), but never forget that all these rapprochement and entente cordiale are not that altruistic in nature.
The Tripoli International Fair
The Tripoli International Fair which is held for the 33rd year and in which numerous countries took part was opened on the 2nd of April . It has attracted about 3,000 foreign firms, twice last year's number, signalling greater investor interest following an improvement in relations between Libya and the US and Britain.
The Tripoli International Fair which is held for the 33rd year and in which numerous countries took part was opened on the 2nd of April . It has attracted about 3,000 foreign firms, twice last year's number, signalling greater investor interest following an improvement in relations between Libya and the US and Britain.
Libyan is so "in" now , soon it will become the plat du jour
Since Libya has opened up the news have been carrying other articles than those related to alleged terrorism threats from my country, please enjoy this little story about a Libyan artist
Oh and I must go an do some domestic sightseeing before those hordes of tourist start trampling all over the place.
Saturday, 3 April, 2004: Warming relations between Washington and Tripoli are giving U.S. travelers a chance to see some of the world's most stunning Roman ruins, which had been off-limits to Americans for more than two decades. From the sands of the Sahara to the rose-tinged remains of Sabratha's amphitheater, U.S. travel agencies have added Libya to their menu, serving up a glimpse of a country that was long a pariah state. "There's wonderful world history that's been off-limits to Americans for the past 23 years," noted Tom Stanley, president of Newport Beach, California-based Travcoa, which is offering its first trip to Libya May 7-16. [AFP]
Since Libya has opened up the news have been carrying other articles than those related to alleged terrorism threats from my country, please enjoy this little story about a Libyan artist
Oh and I must go an do some domestic sightseeing before those hordes of tourist start trampling all over the place.
Saturday, 3 April, 2004: Warming relations between Washington and Tripoli are giving U.S. travelers a chance to see some of the world's most stunning Roman ruins, which had been off-limits to Americans for more than two decades. From the sands of the Sahara to the rose-tinged remains of Sabratha's amphitheater, U.S. travel agencies have added Libya to their menu, serving up a glimpse of a country that was long a pariah state. "There's wonderful world history that's been off-limits to Americans for the past 23 years," noted Tom Stanley, president of Newport Beach, California-based Travcoa, which is offering its first trip to Libya May 7-16. [AFP]
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Tony Blair's visit
As many of you know , British Prime Minister Tony Blair was recently in Libya ( a week ago). I wanted to share with you some of the local photos from the "al shames" daily ( The Sun ) Sorry it is all in Arabic and there is a French version at the bottom right corner of the page , the Blair folder has expired already but there are 3 photos that can still be accessed one , two , and three .
Did you notice the Libyan female officers guard of honour ? Over here we truely have equal opportunity for both sexes , in pay, jobs and everything. More later . Hurry to see the photos as I'm not sure for how long more they will be available.
As many of you know , British Prime Minister Tony Blair was recently in Libya ( a week ago). I wanted to share with you some of the local photos from the "al shames" daily ( The Sun ) Sorry it is all in Arabic and there is a French version at the bottom right corner of the page , the Blair folder has expired already but there are 3 photos that can still be accessed one , two , and three .
Did you notice the Libyan female officers guard of honour ? Over here we truely have equal opportunity for both sexes , in pay, jobs and everything. More later . Hurry to see the photos as I'm not sure for how long more they will be available.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Thanks to Zeyad I have even more mail to deal with now ;). Zeyad check your email if you've read this !
A little comment on the emails I received. Thank you all for writing to me , I promise to reply to the letters on a FIFO basis and as soon as possible ( as I also have a life to lead and job to do). I will ignore the hate-mail by the way . It is heartening though to see the extent of levelheaded people in this world and that many of you are interested in Libya. I will try to blog whenever my schedule allows me, I'm sure you are aware that many exciting and wonderful things are happening here.
A little comment on the emails I received. Thank you all for writing to me , I promise to reply to the letters on a FIFO basis and as soon as possible ( as I also have a life to lead and job to do). I will ignore the hate-mail by the way . It is heartening though to see the extent of levelheaded people in this world and that many of you are interested in Libya. I will try to blog whenever my schedule allows me, I'm sure you are aware that many exciting and wonderful things are happening here.
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