How are you?
Does anyone still read my blog?
I haven't been here
in ages,
but I still love
this place :-)
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Hello 2014!
How are you?
Does anyone still read my blog?
I haven't been here
in ages,
but I still love
this place :-)
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Jordan - Morocco - Yemen
What do these countries have in common:
Jordan: Wants to join the GCC and is welcomed... Yuk! I'll take harees over mansaf any day! I hope their welcome was just a political politeness.
Morocco: Wants to copy Jordan!
Yemen: Must be tricky to meet the PM when you're urging the main honcho to retire :)
More here...
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/gcc-studies-jordan-morocco-membership-bids-1.806159
picture
Piracy...
Thanks USA...
After all it was Obama that got Osama...
http://gulfnews.com/business/features/the-spoils-of-piracy-1.804626
The full article is worth reading should you want to learn something new.
Peace.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Canadians Favours
From Gulf News
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/canada-isn-t-doing-favours-to-the-uae-1.699402
When Dubai Police Chief, Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, revealed that Canadian authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, Ottawa pretended to have been caught off guard. It seems Canadian authorities wanted to keep the arrest secret, perhaps to avoid angering close ally Israel.
Some think the Canadians might have backtracked on this issue, by even trying to deny it ever happened, as a response to the beating the Canada-UAE ties have taken in the past few weeks, over a disagreement on airline landing rights. If that is the case, Canada will only be shooting itself in the foot. Security cooperation, especially in combating state-sponsored terrorism, like the assassination of Al Mabhouh in Dubai earlier this year, should not be affected by trade relations.
If Canada thinks it is doing the UAE a favour in arresting a wanted criminal, it surely is mistaken. Terrorism is a global threat and the UAE, according to United Nations reports, is at the forefront of international efforts aimed at eradicating this plague.
Security cooperation is not an option. With terror activities rising, transparent security cooperation is the only way to ensure global peace.
.....
How every interesting! Especially after I've read this news article below...
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/uae-considered-keeping-mabhouh-hit-under-wraps-wikileaks-cables-reveal-1.333793
Guys.. keep all your purchases private.. be they for weapons or DVD's before New Years... and stay safe!
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/canada-isn-t-doing-favours-to-the-uae-1.699402
When Dubai Police Chief, Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, revealed that Canadian authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, Ottawa pretended to have been caught off guard. It seems Canadian authorities wanted to keep the arrest secret, perhaps to avoid angering close ally Israel.
Some think the Canadians might have backtracked on this issue, by even trying to deny it ever happened, as a response to the beating the Canada-UAE ties have taken in the past few weeks, over a disagreement on airline landing rights. If that is the case, Canada will only be shooting itself in the foot. Security cooperation, especially in combating state-sponsored terrorism, like the assassination of Al Mabhouh in Dubai earlier this year, should not be affected by trade relations.
If Canada thinks it is doing the UAE a favour in arresting a wanted criminal, it surely is mistaken. Terrorism is a global threat and the UAE, according to United Nations reports, is at the forefront of international efforts aimed at eradicating this plague.
Security cooperation is not an option. With terror activities rising, transparent security cooperation is the only way to ensure global peace.
.....
How every interesting! Especially after I've read this news article below...
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/uae-considered-keeping-mabhouh-hit-under-wraps-wikileaks-cables-reveal-1.333793
Guys.. keep all your purchases private.. be they for weapons or DVD's before New Years... and stay safe!
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
Dumb Circular
Apparently...
How fucking dumb are we? Next year they might issue a circular declaring that the week is 7 days long.
Insult our intelligence sometimes, but this is baseless and pointless. Everyone gets a holiday on new years.. just because it's on a weekend doesn't make it OK.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/government/no-compensatory-off-for-new-year-holiday-2010-12-27-1.334625
"No compensatory off for New Year holiday
Ministerial circular declares Saturday holiday for public sector"
How fucking dumb are we? Next year they might issue a circular declaring that the week is 7 days long.
Insult our intelligence sometimes, but this is baseless and pointless. Everyone gets a holiday on new years.. just because it's on a weekend doesn't make it OK.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/government/no-compensatory-off-for-new-year-holiday-2010-12-27-1.334625
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Three towers
From left to right:
1- Decadence and Sin: Address hotel (3rd place in terms of relative height).
2- Humility and peace. Minaret (2nd place).
3- Agressive Expansion. Burj Khalifa (1st place).
Here is the same picture as one from the previous post, but minus the plane. This shot was taken a few days after the picture with the plane.
Enjoy...
PS: Am thinking of submitting this to a photo competition.. any ideas?
Photographic winner...
... yes, Mr Rosh is correct!!! It's the Burj Khalifa.
A small prize for those who can guess how many tries it took to get this shot!
Hello guys.. great to see you: Dots, Mr Rosh, AA Rose, Ema...
and, I guess I'm here now.. that's what counts!
Friday, 24 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
The Abundance of Idiocy
...and various other tales!
1- Why do very small cars drive around with all their lights? low beams and fog lights included? You only need the fog lights when it's foggy. Dumb asses. I'm also seeing big cars driving with just their fog lamps. It must be perceived by cool by those with IQ's of under 10. Or those who are overdrawn in that department. Yesterday they just baked the cake, and some guy was desert driving with just his fog lamps.. needless to say, he could barely see!
2- Why are the authorities fixated with banning speeding? When you really need to ban people who change lanes suddenly and those who do not observe lane discipline. Actually I noticed that all drivers almost have their own lane. The FJ Cruiser number 6669 from Al Ain drives at the fast lane always. The Corolla number 84204 Shj2 drives with his fog lights at the 2nd lane. The Emirates Bus dude with 31 people drives on the 3rd lane, the heavy laden truck going to Gusais drives on the 2nd lane too, but does just 60kmh. You can see this poses problems when you're doing Emirates Road speeds! Still, the authorities will penalise speeding rather than incorrect lane discipline. Dumb.
3- If your empty plot of land is surrounded by pavements and is made of 100% pure UAE silicon, and you park on it, then the RTA will automatically slap you with a fine for "parking on the pavement". But you cannot slap them with trespassing.
4- If you're Indian then you do not look before you cross the street, but you cross quickly. If you're Arab then you also do not look, but you pass much more slowly, especially in the face of oncoming traffic. Must be all that obesity and mental retardation...
5- In the UAE indicators are used to confirm a lane change. In other countries they are used to indicate before a change. We'd like to see more Indicators used and less Confirmators.
6- to be continued...
1- Why do very small cars drive around with all their lights? low beams and fog lights included? You only need the fog lights when it's foggy. Dumb asses. I'm also seeing big cars driving with just their fog lamps. It must be perceived by cool by those with IQ's of under 10. Or those who are overdrawn in that department. Yesterday they just baked the cake, and some guy was desert driving with just his fog lamps.. needless to say, he could barely see!
2- Why are the authorities fixated with banning speeding? When you really need to ban people who change lanes suddenly and those who do not observe lane discipline. Actually I noticed that all drivers almost have their own lane. The FJ Cruiser number 6669 from Al Ain drives at the fast lane always. The Corolla number 84204 Shj2 drives with his fog lights at the 2nd lane. The Emirates Bus dude with 31 people drives on the 3rd lane, the heavy laden truck going to Gusais drives on the 2nd lane too, but does just 60kmh. You can see this poses problems when you're doing Emirates Road speeds! Still, the authorities will penalise speeding rather than incorrect lane discipline. Dumb.
3- If your empty plot of land is surrounded by pavements and is made of 100% pure UAE silicon, and you park on it, then the RTA will automatically slap you with a fine for "parking on the pavement". But you cannot slap them with trespassing.
4- If you're Indian then you do not look before you cross the street, but you cross quickly. If you're Arab then you also do not look, but you pass much more slowly, especially in the face of oncoming traffic. Must be all that obesity and mental retardation...
5- In the UAE indicators are used to confirm a lane change. In other countries they are used to indicate before a change. We'd like to see more Indicators used and less Confirmators.
6- to be continued...
Thursday, 2 December 2010
The Insolence of Prosperity
Happy National Day!!!
Almost 39 years ago, our forefathers (I don't mean only genetically) drew out the first sketches of the union of states that is now the United Arab Emirates. Things pretty much went up for us from then. I know because I am a child of such a union as I was born a few years after the union. The federation was a win-win for all the states involved and was the only logical thing for us to do after the British left the region (for now, they have since returned, but this is not the post for that). I might be biased, but out of all the Gulf states, both Arab and Persian, I believe the UAE enjoyed the most benefits from this. The fact that we're starting to be noticed regionally and to an extent internationally is a proud testament of that.
I grew up in an Emirates of needs and wants. We needed so much and let's be honest, we didn't have much. They named one of the main squares in Sharjah the Kuwait Square as a thank you to the people and government of Kuwait for their help to build the UAE Educational system. When they launched Emirates, the first flight was actually to Pakistan back in 1985. Now when we think of Pakistan we think of something stupid and racist or we think of cricket or political instability. Many people still refer to construction works as "Indians". How rude! And if you ask an Emarati grandfather, he will surely refer to the local currency in the UAE as the rupee, even though the UAE Dirham has been in circulation for many many decades. What better testament to how much we owe to our brothers from the Indian subcontinent.
In fact, prosperous families used to send their children to India or Kuwait to be able to finish high school because not so long ago, most schools in the UAE were only available until a primary level or only taught the Koran. In a few decades I was lucky to be born in the UAE, to be educated in its schools, and that was to such a level that I found it easy to continue my studies at Harvard and Oxford. Bravo to the UAE.
Cars were a luxury. In fact they were an oddity. Healthcare was patchy to say the least. Airconditioning was no where to be found. The main airport was in Sharjah (see here http://wikimapia.org/#lat=25.3470415&lon=55.3898048&z=17&l=0&m=s&v=9 King Abdul Aziz Street used to be the runway on the old Sharjah Airport ). Dubai's runway was still new, and was very much a dusty place.
Et cetera, et cetera...
I know this blog has become an old and dusty place too, but I have meant to write this post for some time. Not so much to remember the past, but to voice my condolences perhaps to our present, and to pray to our future, and the future of this country after we leave it for our children.
What have we become now? A nation of fat, slow people. A Nation of smokers. Diabetes and heart disease are so common even though we have amazing and cheap healthcare. We would fight over a parking slot nearest to the mall door when our fathers wouldn't have known what a mall is. We pay millions for a small number plate, even more for a phone number.
So here is what happens in today's UAE. I bet you Sheikh Zayed would not be happy, I know for a fact that Sheikh Rashed would NOT BE HAPPY at all. This is not the UAE he left. I remember the day Sheikh Rashed died like it was yesterday. I felt a deep sense of loss and that was shared by everyone, from the oldest Emarati to the Indian dude that has heard of the UAE and is spending his first few days here, and even the odd palm tree felt sad. Sheikh Rashed, may Allah bless his soul, was the true architect of the union, and many of you young guys do not realise this.
Driving down the roads is not only dangerous, but it makes you liable to being abused and cut against. I had to drive my family to Sharjah yesterday and I was checking my mirror briefly towards the left only to find that the small gap I left between me and the car in front was now occupied by a dumb fuck who took the modest safe distance as an invitation to cut me. I braked suddenly to avoid a collision and the idiot son of an idiot soon changed lanes. This doesn't happen back 20 yrs ago or so... people used to be polite when driving. Here, we've become a nation of speed freaks. You don't buy your car depending on your budget or the utility, but you look at two things.. you look for cars that people will respect and fear you in, and you also look for cars that can be the most agressive (e.g. loud exhaust or blinding high beam). I bet if you stop the random idiot on today's roads they will tell you that the high beams are purely for flashing and overtaking rather than driving at night on unlit streets.
Oh my lord...
What about the workplace? Ok, so we have more women at work, but they are learning the bad habits of men. Answering phones or e-mails here is rare, so you have to actually visit all the places you have business with personally in order to get the service you need.
Speaking about service, why is it normal for someone to cut in front of you when you're trying to ask a salesman something? Why will the new person always get priority? Why do people give priority in situations when they are meeting face to face and then the fone rings and they can't wait to answer it quickly. Of course if they were alone they would just let it ring.
I can go on, but you get the idea.
Is this the UAE that our fathers dreamt of? I bet it isn't the UAE that most expats come to dream of. I know almost all visitors come here thinking they will learn or at least hear some Arabic, but the only Arabic you'll hear is swear words on the street. Let me stay away from our language problems, coz that needs a whole other post!
Past prime concerns were getting enough food and medicine, or even education. Current concerns are getting enough fatty foods and smoke and a good movie to watch when we want. Even exercise has been abused. Gyms now offer free access to a DVD library if you sign up. (pointless?!?!). Most guys go there to check out girls, rather than to work out. What's going on...
We have to properly reassess our future in order to survive and in order to become a quality city and country. We cannot allow ourselves to be led by the whims and fashions of the dumb, rich, and weak. Above all...we must not tolerate the insolence of prosperity.
Almost 39 years ago, our forefathers (I don't mean only genetically) drew out the first sketches of the union of states that is now the United Arab Emirates. Things pretty much went up for us from then. I know because I am a child of such a union as I was born a few years after the union. The federation was a win-win for all the states involved and was the only logical thing for us to do after the British left the region (for now, they have since returned, but this is not the post for that). I might be biased, but out of all the Gulf states, both Arab and Persian, I believe the UAE enjoyed the most benefits from this. The fact that we're starting to be noticed regionally and to an extent internationally is a proud testament of that.
I grew up in an Emirates of needs and wants. We needed so much and let's be honest, we didn't have much. They named one of the main squares in Sharjah the Kuwait Square as a thank you to the people and government of Kuwait for their help to build the UAE Educational system. When they launched Emirates, the first flight was actually to Pakistan back in 1985. Now when we think of Pakistan we think of something stupid and racist or we think of cricket or political instability. Many people still refer to construction works as "Indians". How rude! And if you ask an Emarati grandfather, he will surely refer to the local currency in the UAE as the rupee, even though the UAE Dirham has been in circulation for many many decades. What better testament to how much we owe to our brothers from the Indian subcontinent.
In fact, prosperous families used to send their children to India or Kuwait to be able to finish high school because not so long ago, most schools in the UAE were only available until a primary level or only taught the Koran. In a few decades I was lucky to be born in the UAE, to be educated in its schools, and that was to such a level that I found it easy to continue my studies at Harvard and Oxford. Bravo to the UAE.
Cars were a luxury. In fact they were an oddity. Healthcare was patchy to say the least. Airconditioning was no where to be found. The main airport was in Sharjah (see here http://wikimapia.org/#lat=25.3470415&lon=55.3898048&z=17&l=0&m=s&v=9 King Abdul Aziz Street used to be the runway on the old Sharjah Airport ). Dubai's runway was still new, and was very much a dusty place.
Et cetera, et cetera...
I know this blog has become an old and dusty place too, but I have meant to write this post for some time. Not so much to remember the past, but to voice my condolences perhaps to our present, and to pray to our future, and the future of this country after we leave it for our children.
What have we become now? A nation of fat, slow people. A Nation of smokers. Diabetes and heart disease are so common even though we have amazing and cheap healthcare. We would fight over a parking slot nearest to the mall door when our fathers wouldn't have known what a mall is. We pay millions for a small number plate, even more for a phone number.
So here is what happens in today's UAE. I bet you Sheikh Zayed would not be happy, I know for a fact that Sheikh Rashed would NOT BE HAPPY at all. This is not the UAE he left. I remember the day Sheikh Rashed died like it was yesterday. I felt a deep sense of loss and that was shared by everyone, from the oldest Emarati to the Indian dude that has heard of the UAE and is spending his first few days here, and even the odd palm tree felt sad. Sheikh Rashed, may Allah bless his soul, was the true architect of the union, and many of you young guys do not realise this.
Driving down the roads is not only dangerous, but it makes you liable to being abused and cut against. I had to drive my family to Sharjah yesterday and I was checking my mirror briefly towards the left only to find that the small gap I left between me and the car in front was now occupied by a dumb fuck who took the modest safe distance as an invitation to cut me. I braked suddenly to avoid a collision and the idiot son of an idiot soon changed lanes. This doesn't happen back 20 yrs ago or so... people used to be polite when driving. Here, we've become a nation of speed freaks. You don't buy your car depending on your budget or the utility, but you look at two things.. you look for cars that people will respect and fear you in, and you also look for cars that can be the most agressive (e.g. loud exhaust or blinding high beam). I bet if you stop the random idiot on today's roads they will tell you that the high beams are purely for flashing and overtaking rather than driving at night on unlit streets.
Oh my lord...
What about the workplace? Ok, so we have more women at work, but they are learning the bad habits of men. Answering phones or e-mails here is rare, so you have to actually visit all the places you have business with personally in order to get the service you need.
Speaking about service, why is it normal for someone to cut in front of you when you're trying to ask a salesman something? Why will the new person always get priority? Why do people give priority in situations when they are meeting face to face and then the fone rings and they can't wait to answer it quickly. Of course if they were alone they would just let it ring.
I can go on, but you get the idea.
Is this the UAE that our fathers dreamt of? I bet it isn't the UAE that most expats come to dream of. I know almost all visitors come here thinking they will learn or at least hear some Arabic, but the only Arabic you'll hear is swear words on the street. Let me stay away from our language problems, coz that needs a whole other post!
Past prime concerns were getting enough food and medicine, or even education. Current concerns are getting enough fatty foods and smoke and a good movie to watch when we want. Even exercise has been abused. Gyms now offer free access to a DVD library if you sign up. (pointless?!?!). Most guys go there to check out girls, rather than to work out. What's going on...
We have to properly reassess our future in order to survive and in order to become a quality city and country. We cannot allow ourselves to be led by the whims and fashions of the dumb, rich, and weak. Above all...we must not tolerate the insolence of prosperity.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Emarat runs out of petrol - burn me!
So it's been a while since I wrote, and that's because of a noticeable lack of interest in the topics gracing our lives. So please excuse my absence. However, yesterday (15/9/2010) a few weird things happened that demand to be mentioned.
First of all, my car needed to be filled with petrol so badly, the fuel indicator dipped below the zero indicator. So when I finished from my teeth-grinding boring meetings I pulled into Enoc (one of the 4 petrol providers in UAE) to fill up with regular gasoline (Special grade 95 RON Octane). The attendant told me that they are running dry and they have only Super 98 and Diesel. So I requested a full tank of Super 98 (which I believe is superior on long distance journeys). Before I could say "twitter" the tank was filled up because motorists refused to pay more to fill up with better quality petrol. Typical.
The attendant told me that they have problems with supplying fuel. Thanks ENOC.
Today I read in the papers that Emarat (another one of the basteurd petrol sellers) have run out of petrol due to technical problems with the supply chain, and they also mention financial problems with loans etc that won't be fixed until they can charge market prices and drop the state-sponsored price-system.
Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/business/oil-gas/emarat-running-out-of-petrol-1.682789
"Emarat is finding it difficult to get bank loans to enable it continue to sell petrol below cost, so it's trying to ration the limited quantity of gasoline it has. The company is incurring a daily loss of about Dh2 million due to the subsidy on the fuel and compensation from other businesses such as convenience stores isn't enough to cover the losses," an Emarat source told Gulf News. "This problem will continue until the government frees petrol prices," he added.
DAMN YOU "Emarat source"!!!!!!
http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/fuel-supply-shortage-in-emarat-petrol-stations-2010-09-16-1.291413
The Emarat petrol distribution company announced that some of its 200 stations in Dubai and Northern Emirates are facing supply shortage of fuel (special Benzene). The company spokesperson told Al Bayan that “the shortage is due to technical issues related to the process of unloading cargo from ships to tanks in Jebel Ali". Khalid Hadi, Director of Information and Marketing of Enoc said, "All fuel stations of Enoc and Epco is functioning normally and is able to provide various types of fuel without any problems."
Not only dues Emirates 24-7 above show an ENOC picture when they are talking about Emarat problems, but they mention a very interesting point made by Mr Khalid Hadi, Director of Information (you can direct fictional movies, but can you direct information?!) that Enoc is not having "any problems".
OK. Sir.
What about the Enoc station site 1088, terminal ID 00108803, on Oud Metha Road that was empty of cars yesterday because you couldn't supply petrol to it cheap enough that people will buy it?
Also are we dumb enough to believe that in a country that can build the tallest building in the world, and the widest motorways, and the best airline that you cannot deliver fuel? Don't take us for stupid people please. It's like when Bush and Bliar (sic) convinced us that our security was threatened by Iraq and we HAD to invade and kill the innocent to protect the innocent.
Yeah right.
Also, ironic that the shortage came exactly 2 years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (my screen shot of the bbc webpage from 2008 is attached).
However, seems not only the UAE is suffering from greed and stupidity. Pakistan, the only Muslim nuclear power is unable to supply its citizens with machine-readable passports in the UAE because they are only printed in Pakistan.
Please, please, when will the stupidity end?!
Salam
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Losing battle for hearts - opinion
The following is an article in the Opinion pages of Gulf News/Guardian:
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/losing-battle-for-hearts-1.680575
It sums up this mess we live in very nicely. Happy Eid everyone.
....
In the US, a crackpot pastor threatened to burn copies of the Quran and finally cancelled his plan yesterday after appeals from the president, the secretary-general of the UN, and Angelina Jolie. In Afghanistan, five US soldiers are charged with murdering civilians at random and collecting their fingers as souvenirs, while Nato troops open fire on protests against the pastor's plans.
In Britain, the normally hawkish International Institute for Strategic Studies says the threat from Al Qaida and the Taliban has been exaggerated, and warns that the war in Afghanistan risks becoming a "long, drawn-out disaster".
Meanwhile, Tony Blair cancels two appearances in London to publicise his memoirs after anti-war protesters pelt him with eggs and shoes in Dublin.
Welcome to the world of the ‘war on terror', on the ninth anniversary of 9/11. It is a world more divided, fearful and conflict-ridden than a decade ago.
"We need to win not just the military action, but to win people's minds," Tony Blair told CNN in November 2001, at the height of the Anglo-American bombing of Afghanistan. But the struggle for Muslim hearts and minds was allowed to morph into a seeming war on Muslims. The ‘war on terror' has resulted only in more war and more terror.
It all seemed so different in 2001. The mayor of Tehran called his counterpart in New York to offer his condolences, as Iranians held candle-lit vigils in solidarity with grieving Americans. Palestinians lined up to donate blood to the survivors of the attacks. Islamic scholars and clerics across the Middle East denounced the murderous barbarism of Al Qaida. Polls showed that vast numbers of hearts, minds and souls in the Muslim world were with the West.
But along came Guantanamo Bay, the catastrophic and illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, photos of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib in 2004, and allegations of torture and murder at the US air base in Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2005.
By 2006, Muslims across the globe were horrified and radicalised by the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, conducted with the blessing of Blair and his partner in crime, George W. Bush.
The ‘hearts and minds' brigade had to beat a humiliating retreat.
Hopes were raised again in 2008, with the election of Barack Obama, with a Muslim middle name and an African heritage. In his first six months in office, Obama declared that "the US is not and will never be at war with Islam"; in a speech in Cairo he symbolically "reset" relations with Muslim communities.
But Guantanamo is still open for business, and the president's demand that the Israelis ‘freeze' illegal colonies has fallen on deaf ears. The war on terror has been ramped up in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa. The deaths of US soldiers in Afghanistan and Pakistani civilians in US air strikes have increased on Obama's watch.
On Thursday, the US President said Pastor Jones' plans to burn the Quran would be a "recruiting bonanza" for Al Qaida. Yet he fails to recognise how the West's war in Afghanistan provides a similar boost to extremists — on both sides.
The "enemy" in Afghanistan, concluded the IISS report released last week, is "incentivised by the presence of foreign forces". And inside the US the likes of Jones and right-wing Republican bigots, frothing at the mouth over the ‘Ground Zero mosque' take their cue from aggressive leaders like Blair, Bush and Obama — who send more and more troops to fight and die abroad, in faraway Muslim countries, while denying any link between militancy and western foreign policies.
Whether the swivel-eyed priest goes ahead with his plan to immolate Islam's holiest book is, ultimately, irrelevant.
The battle for hearts and minds was lost long ago.
Mehdi Hasan is senior editor (politics) at the New Statesman.
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/losing-battle-for-hearts-1.680575
It sums up this mess we live in very nicely. Happy Eid everyone.
....
In the US, a crackpot pastor threatened to burn copies of the Quran and finally cancelled his plan yesterday after appeals from the president, the secretary-general of the UN, and Angelina Jolie. In Afghanistan, five US soldiers are charged with murdering civilians at random and collecting their fingers as souvenirs, while Nato troops open fire on protests against the pastor's plans.
In Britain, the normally hawkish International Institute for Strategic Studies says the threat from Al Qaida and the Taliban has been exaggerated, and warns that the war in Afghanistan risks becoming a "long, drawn-out disaster".
Meanwhile, Tony Blair cancels two appearances in London to publicise his memoirs after anti-war protesters pelt him with eggs and shoes in Dublin.
Welcome to the world of the ‘war on terror', on the ninth anniversary of 9/11. It is a world more divided, fearful and conflict-ridden than a decade ago.
"We need to win not just the military action, but to win people's minds," Tony Blair told CNN in November 2001, at the height of the Anglo-American bombing of Afghanistan. But the struggle for Muslim hearts and minds was allowed to morph into a seeming war on Muslims. The ‘war on terror' has resulted only in more war and more terror.
It all seemed so different in 2001. The mayor of Tehran called his counterpart in New York to offer his condolences, as Iranians held candle-lit vigils in solidarity with grieving Americans. Palestinians lined up to donate blood to the survivors of the attacks. Islamic scholars and clerics across the Middle East denounced the murderous barbarism of Al Qaida. Polls showed that vast numbers of hearts, minds and souls in the Muslim world were with the West.
But along came Guantanamo Bay, the catastrophic and illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, photos of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib in 2004, and allegations of torture and murder at the US air base in Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2005.
By 2006, Muslims across the globe were horrified and radicalised by the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, conducted with the blessing of Blair and his partner in crime, George W. Bush.
The ‘hearts and minds' brigade had to beat a humiliating retreat.
Hopes were raised again in 2008, with the election of Barack Obama, with a Muslim middle name and an African heritage. In his first six months in office, Obama declared that "the US is not and will never be at war with Islam"; in a speech in Cairo he symbolically "reset" relations with Muslim communities.
But Guantanamo is still open for business, and the president's demand that the Israelis ‘freeze' illegal colonies has fallen on deaf ears. The war on terror has been ramped up in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa. The deaths of US soldiers in Afghanistan and Pakistani civilians in US air strikes have increased on Obama's watch.
On Thursday, the US President said Pastor Jones' plans to burn the Quran would be a "recruiting bonanza" for Al Qaida. Yet he fails to recognise how the West's war in Afghanistan provides a similar boost to extremists — on both sides.
The "enemy" in Afghanistan, concluded the IISS report released last week, is "incentivised by the presence of foreign forces". And inside the US the likes of Jones and right-wing Republican bigots, frothing at the mouth over the ‘Ground Zero mosque' take their cue from aggressive leaders like Blair, Bush and Obama — who send more and more troops to fight and die abroad, in faraway Muslim countries, while denying any link between militancy and western foreign policies.
Whether the swivel-eyed priest goes ahead with his plan to immolate Islam's holiest book is, ultimately, irrelevant.
The battle for hearts and minds was lost long ago.
Mehdi Hasan is senior editor (politics) at the New Statesman.
Friday, 6 August 2010
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Israel does it again - to the Rachel Corrie
Not satisfied with their performance last weekend, the Israelis have blocked yet another ship laden with aid to Gaza. The ship is named Rachel Corrie after the activist that was crushed to death by Israeli bulldozers a few years back.
Fortunately there was no violence this time. However, why does Israel insist on harrasing aid shipments to Gaza over waters which it no longer even occupies? Surely if the UAE starts blocking ships in Iranian waters then all hell will break loose.
Why does Israel continue to exist above the law?
Why is the Egyptian border with Gaza still closed?
More info:
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/aid-ship-rachel-corrie-intercepted-by-israeli-troops-gaza-committee-1.636962
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10245176.stm
The excellent cartoon is kindly provided by Carlos Latuff: http://latuff2.deviantart.com/gallery/
Image: Swedish Demonstrators
Check out this most excellent gallery of pictures from demonstrations from around the world against the recent Israeli actions. It's scary how many countries are listed there.
http://andfaraway.net/blog/2010/06/05/palestine-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%E2%80%8E-palestina-palaistine/
Friday, 4 June 2010
Forgotten Floatilla
So it's only been a few days since the Israeli massacre aboard the peace floatilla.. so, the big question is have we already forgotten about it?
I hope not, and I leave you with this most excellent clip.
Found here:http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/06/israel-flotilla-raid-breakdown-of-whos-right-and-wrong.html
Peace.
I hope not, and I leave you with this most excellent clip.
Found here:http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/06/israel-flotilla-raid-breakdown-of-whos-right-and-wrong.html
Peace.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Blue Waters - Jewish Piracy
As you know, the Israelis have have boarded an international aid ship heading for Gaza while it was in international waters and murdered 19 of its members. The ship was carrying the Turkish flag and Turkey as well as all Muslim and Arab nations are furious, the world is furious too at this act of state-sponsored barbaric piracy by the Middle East's "only democracy".
Democracy my ass...
Coming soon.. more stuff on this.. but until then I leave you with this excellent cartoon by my friend Carlos Latuff.
More info:
Carlos Latuff on Twitter
Carlos Latuff on Deviant Art
Ferroviasdobrazil.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10203726.stm
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/palestinians-arabs-demand-probe-of-israeli-raid-on-gaza-aid-flotilla-1.635135
Is it OK to chant "down with Israel?"
I wouldn't mind also driving the Israeli state to the sea since they seem quite at home there.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Two beautiful pictures
Here are two beautiful pictures that adorn my computer desktop. With my new Macbook Pro 15" as a new member of the family (i7 all the way!), there is even more screen to show off these beauties :)
I leave them for you to enjoy at your pleasure. Please note if you own the copyright please let me know and I will remove them immediately. These are not my pictures, but some I found online. It's worth clicking on the pictures to enlarge them because the current resolution will not do them justice.
The pic below is from the National Geographic and is probably one of the most nicely taken pics I've seen in a while. Take some time to allow it to sink in.
This pic below is unknown in its source but I love its peacefulness. Also reminds me I wanna live at some point in the woods in tune with nature :)
Peace.
I leave them for you to enjoy at your pleasure. Please note if you own the copyright please let me know and I will remove them immediately. These are not my pictures, but some I found online. It's worth clicking on the pictures to enlarge them because the current resolution will not do them justice.
The pic below is from the National Geographic and is probably one of the most nicely taken pics I've seen in a while. Take some time to allow it to sink in.
This pic below is unknown in its source but I love its peacefulness. Also reminds me I wanna live at some point in the woods in tune with nature :)
Peace.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Abutt's Finest Hour
[This post is written as a reference post]
We all relish on a bit of debate and dialogue, none of us have taken this to heart and to such extremes as much as aBit who is known by many names including Ultra Blue.
The authour of this blog had a debate with him about female body building which turned sour very quickly. I thought it's best to publish this properly for everyone to see him for who he is, and also because the coward is known to delete his comments after they have been read.
Interestingly.. He rudely refused offers of a hug then it took him a good few days to muster a reply.. oh well, maybe he was simmering slowly to a boil. Pathetic.
Pathetic 1:
You can bring your whore body building wife as well, the one I'll have a pakistani laborer rape after I beat you and have you jailed for whatever reason the cops can come up with.
Again, the innerwebs, its an amazing source of entertainment.
WHY WONT YOU ANSWER MY SIMPLE QUESTION MOTHERFUCKER????? WHY YOU WHORE LOVER? IS YYOUR WIFE THE TYPE WHO DOES YOU AND YOUR BROTHER AT THE SAME TIME???????
Yalla, answer that and stay fashionable tool.
Posted by ultra[blue] to BuJ Al Arab at 17 May 2010 09:55
(Interestingly, you can be arrested for saying less than what Mr ultra[blue] just wrote.. oh well)
Pathetic 2:
Oh, and my driver fucked your sister last night! Expect a 1/2 bangladeshi nephew in 9 months! Muahaha!
Best thing is, if I choose to delete these comments, you cant prove shit! YOU ARE POWERLESS UNLESS YOU MODERATE!
So do it! I DARE YOU AND YOUR WHORE WIFE!
And and I was kidding about meeting you to talk. IF YOU ARE MAN ENOUGH come meet me in AD and I will BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU and have you jailed. YOU will be jailed.
COME. I DARE YOU!
(hmmm, it seems he will teach me a lesson by using his 200kg body to sit on me! If he's such a fat-man himself why not displace his fat-self to DXB?)
Pathetic 3:
A combination of the 2 Pathetics above, as well as the words "f-you" repeated about 654 times over about 40 different comments. He probably just learned about the "copy" and "paste" functions. Oh dear me. All this was trigged coz I proposed to hug him? oh dear me.
Very Worrying 1:
Having read this in Gulf News this week...
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/quran-tutor-jailed-for-molesting-six-year-old-1.628692
We hope the police catch him soon and may this be a sign for all haters and pedophiles that you are not above the law.
For more details on how to get in touch, the racist lurks here. FYI, all comments and e-mails are saved should they be needed in the future. All this can be easily verified by a 3rd party.
......
Unfortunately, this week we saw the ill-fated airline crash to Mangalore from Dubai. Sadly, it was observed that aBit's blog had a very racist post that stirred a lot of feelings, especially from the Indian community for its racist ideas.
Read for yourself:
http://www.al-emarati.com/2010/05/rip-plane-victims.html
Incidentally, one of the fiercest critics of racism was our Prophet Mohammad who fought it fiercely and the same applies to slavery.
We pray for his mental stability to return, and for Allah to protect us from all evil.
Updated : 25 May 2010
Seems the whole blog has been deleted or blocked somehow. Very peculiar indeed.
We all relish on a bit of debate and dialogue, none of us have taken this to heart and to such extremes as much as aBit who is known by many names including Ultra Blue.
The authour of this blog had a debate with him about female body building which turned sour very quickly. I thought it's best to publish this properly for everyone to see him for who he is, and also because the coward is known to delete his comments after they have been read.
Interestingly.. He rudely refused offers of a hug then it took him a good few days to muster a reply.. oh well, maybe he was simmering slowly to a boil. Pathetic.
Pathetic 1:
You can bring your whore body building wife as well, the one I'll have a pakistani laborer rape after I beat you and have you jailed for whatever reason the cops can come up with.
Again, the innerwebs, its an amazing source of entertainment.
WHY WONT YOU ANSWER MY SIMPLE QUESTION MOTHERFUCKER????? WHY YOU WHORE LOVER? IS YYOUR WIFE THE TYPE WHO DOES YOU AND YOUR BROTHER AT THE SAME TIME???????
Yalla, answer that and stay fashionable tool.
Posted by ultra[blue] to BuJ Al Arab at 17 May 2010 09:55
(Interestingly, you can be arrested for saying less than what Mr ultra[blue] just wrote.. oh well)
Pathetic 2:
Oh, and my driver fucked your sister last night! Expect a 1/2 bangladeshi nephew in 9 months! Muahaha!
Best thing is, if I choose to delete these comments, you cant prove shit! YOU ARE POWERLESS UNLESS YOU MODERATE!
So do it! I DARE YOU AND YOUR WHORE WIFE!
And and I was kidding about meeting you to talk. IF YOU ARE MAN ENOUGH come meet me in AD and I will BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU and have you jailed. YOU will be jailed.
COME. I DARE YOU!
(hmmm, it seems he will teach me a lesson by using his 200kg body to sit on me! If he's such a fat-man himself why not displace his fat-self to DXB?)
Pathetic 3:
A combination of the 2 Pathetics above, as well as the words "f-you" repeated about 654 times over about 40 different comments. He probably just learned about the "copy" and "paste" functions. Oh dear me. All this was trigged coz I proposed to hug him? oh dear me.
Very Worrying 1:
Having read this in Gulf News this week...
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/quran-tutor-jailed-for-molesting-six-year-old-1.628692
We hope the police catch him soon and may this be a sign for all haters and pedophiles that you are not above the law.
For more details on how to get in touch, the racist lurks here. FYI, all comments and e-mails are saved should they be needed in the future. All this can be easily verified by a 3rd party.
......
Unfortunately, this week we saw the ill-fated airline crash to Mangalore from Dubai. Sadly, it was observed that aBit's blog had a very racist post that stirred a lot of feelings, especially from the Indian community for its racist ideas.
Read for yourself:
http://www.al-emarati.com/2010/05/rip-plane-victims.html
Incidentally, one of the fiercest critics of racism was our Prophet Mohammad who fought it fiercely and the same applies to slavery.
We pray for his mental stability to return, and for Allah to protect us from all evil.
Updated : 25 May 2010
Seems the whole blog has been deleted or blocked somehow. Very peculiar indeed.
Monday, 24 May 2010
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