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.

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.

Let’s Talk About Israeli Racism

An amazing post from a fellow blogger:

Just yesterday, I wondered to a friend if maybe Benjamin Netanyahu is disrespecting Barack Obama in part because he is black? And lo and behold, David Bromwich wrote today in the Huffington Post:

“Racism as much as fear drives the Israeli policy toward Palestinians. This has always been known. But who now will deny that there is also, in the Israeli distrust and visceral ridicule of Barack Obama, an undercurrent of racism?”
He goes on to point out the parallel between racism against Palestinians by the Israeli settler movement, and racism against blacks by their staunchest supporters in the U.S., the white evangelicals he calls Christian Zionists. It is almost as if, their segregationist fantasies defeated here at home, the religious right is projecting them onto the Holy Land by helping the settler movement to build an apartheid state.

“The operation of Israeli racism against a black American president is powerfully enforced by the settler movement and by its American allies, the Christian Zionists. … Settler racism and Christian Zionist racism (associated with the ‘birther movement’ in the U.S.) converge in a belief in the political and the social superiority of Israeli Jews over Palestinians — a superiority that for the Christian Zionists corresponds (in ways that need no comment) to the natural superiority of American whites to blacks.”
He calls on Americans to become aware of the racist nature of the Israeli settlement project, and its implications for American security interests.

“Will Americans now stop calling the annexation wall — which cuts off West-Bank Israeli colonists from their Palestinian inferiors — ‘the security fence’? It is a wall. Its function is only partly to secure. It is there also to separate, to mark off, and to overawe. … The separation produces…a condition of constant inequality. It seems too weak to call the result ’segregation.’ Ehud Barak, a solid authority one would have thought, has recently called it apartheid, and language that is accurate in the eyes of the defense minister of Israel should be good enough for Americans. …
“The existential threat in the vicinity of Israel is not extermination but expulsion. And Israel is the agent rather than victim of that threat. The project is being carried forward by legalized acts of dispossession, by harassment, by deprivation of useful work, and by the deliberate infliction of misery.”
Fortunately, he feels that Americans are starting to become aware of these ugly truths. Beginning with the war in Gaza, and continuing through the diplomatic crisis surrounding Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, forty years of self-imposed silence in the American media, which have prevented a frank discussion of Israel’s policies, are starting to fray.

“So the door to an honest discussion of Israel and Palestine has been opened wide. Too wide for AIPAC, and all its journalistic outlets, to close with their usual dispatch. We are in possession now of the realistic knowledge that Israel’s policies endanger American troops and American interests; that by creating new terrorists, those policies also threaten the security of the United States. …
“It is one thing to sacrifice yourself for a friend in the cause of justice; another to sacrifice yourself for a friend in the cause of injustice.”

http://www.eatbees.com/blog/2010/03/17/israeli-racism/

Stand with the Eleven

Look what happens in the land of free speech.
Students get arrested for expressing their opinions, then threatened with expulsion.



On February 8th, Micheal Oren spoke at UCI. During his speech Oren was interrupted by 11 protesters who had every right to speak out. Now they are charged with disrupting the peace and being target...

Odds of Terrorism!

Following the crazy news of an African man wanting to blow up his balls for Christmas, I found this interesting and informative poster below. Obviously bear in mind it's "targeted" at an American audience :)

Source:

www.boingboing.net



(please click on picture to view in the correct size)

Copenhagen 2009

Anyone feeling excited about the UN Copenhagen summit about sustainability and climate change?

I am.

http://en.cop15.dk/

Unfortunately, I think the UAE can make a lot more positive noises in the world press about this huge event.

We have the capability to do much more.

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091210/NATIONAL/712099862

The above statement was excellent. We need to build on it.

Still, it's great that a US President is in attendance.

Jeff Gates – Will Israel Fall in Five Years? (Article Review)

I'd like to point your attention to this excellent article by Jeff Gates, published on Sabbah.biz

http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/09/22/jeff-gates-will-israel-fall-in-five-years/

I recommend you read the whole thing, but here are a few glimpses:

Online reports of a study by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency cast doubt over the survival of Israel beyond the next two decades. Regardless of the validity of the report, with what is now known about the costs in blood and treasure that the U.S.-Israeli relationship has imposed on the U.S., its key ally, Israel could fall within five years.

For more than six decades, American support for Israel has relied on the ability of pro-Israelis to dominate U.S. media, enabling Tel Aviv to put a positive spin on even its most extreme behavior, including its recent massacre in Gaza. With access to online news coverage, that Zionist bias is becoming apparent and the real facts transparent.

Though Americans seldom show a strong interest in foreign affairs, that too is changing. While few of them grasp the subtleties of one-state versus two-state proposals, many have seen online the impact of a murderous Israeli assault on Palestinian civilians that was timed between Christmas and the inauguration of Barack Obama.

SEE! The one-state solution should be given a chance!

I pray for peace.

UNuclear Israel?

I recently read an article that made my day:

Gulf News 18 Sept 2009

Vienna: Arab states in the UN nuclear assembly on Friday won narrow approval of a resolution urging Israel to put all its atomic sites under UN inspection and join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Jewish state deplored the measure for singling it out while many of its neighbours remained hostile to its existence, and said it would not cooperate with it. The non-binding resolution, which passed for the first time in 18 years of attempts thanks to more developing nation votes, voiced concern about "Israeli nuclear capabilities" and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to tackle the issue.

So, fanatic racist Israel can have nuclear weapons (and not much nuclear power) and (equally?) fanatic Iran is not allowed to have any of the above? Perhaps it's worth noting that Israel is Jewish and Iran is Muslim. Moreover, Iran is generally anti-American.

Before the vote, US Ambassador Glyn Davies said the resolution was "redundant ... Such an approach is highly politicized and does not address the complexities at play regarding crucial nuclear-related issues in the Middle East."

Redundant or crucial to peace Mr Ambassador? Let's not forget that the US uses its veto powers (only 5 countries in the world have that power) very frequently to protect Israel:

"Washington used its veto 32 times to shield Israel from critical draft resolutions between 1972 and 1997. This constituted nearly half of the total of 69 U.S. vetoes cast since the founding of the U.N."

(Source: By Donald Neff, Former Time Magazine Bureau Chief, Israel, link)

Typical hypocrisy from America in favour of Israel. However, this is a good day for justice and a good day for Palestine.

Sears Tower Glass Boxes

The Sears Tower in Chicago, USA has recently added a lovely assortment of glass boxes for visitors to marvel at this engineering feat from the 103rd floor!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

9/11 Eight Years On

On this fateful day eight years ago more than 3000 people lost their lives in New York city. Unfortunately the murder of those innocents lead to more lost lives all over the world. This day changed our modern world forever, and some might say the change was not for the best.

Murder and war rarely make civilisations stronger nor do they ensure stability. Look at the Pharos, Romans, Greeks, Mongols, Napoleon, British Empire, etc.. they have been well-documented by history. Rather than paint a negative picture let us try to paint a more positive one.

8 years feels like a long time and indeed I cannot remember much about how air travel was prior to 9/11. How uncomplicated. I cannot also remember how easy it was to enter the USA, since I never attempted to do so in the last 8 years. Let us hope that we can change things to the better, to push for more freedoms and civil liberties, to give voice to the weak, and to only use war as a last resort or a no-resort.

Above all, my thoughts go to the families of the initial victims in this domino game of doom that suffered and continue to suffer from 11/9/2009 and onwards. May you reach internal peace and may your loved ones rest in peace.

Tsunami too late?

Please have look at this amazing poster. Originally from WWF but I got it from Jazarah.net (thanks!).
The question is if the Tsunami hit the USA in 2001, would they have invaded the sea instead of Afghanistan and Iraq?

New York in 1609

This post is dedicated to Mr Rosh, may Allah listen to my prayers and bring him back to the world of bloggers :)

Have you wondered what Manhattan Island looked like before the humans occupied it? If you thought the Americans ruined Iraq (joke!) then have a look at those pictures by the lovely American publication National Geographic.



Have a look at these links:

1- Interactive Map (Recommended!)

2- Main article (a lot of words)

3- Pictures

This makes me think I was born too late!

Bill Maher - American Apologies

A brilliant new article from Bill Maher on:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/inew-rulei-no-shame-in-be_b_264695.html

New Rule: If Mitt Romney, Karl Rove and Sarah Palin all think America has never done anything wrong, we must be doing something wrong. Look at them: an empty suit, an empty heart and an empty head. It looks like the news team on Good Morning Hell. And what they've been competing about lately is who would not apologize the most. America is infallible, and apologies are horrible things that must never, ever be given. Except by me when I make a joke about the Pope. "We're perfect -- deal with it," is their new handshake. But I say, what's wrong with America occasionally saying, "I'm sorry"? Because these are the three sorriest white people I've ever seen.

If in your eyes America can do no wrong, you should really look into Lasik surgery. There's the rational, mature assessment of our country: that it's a great nation -- especially if you like fried foods -- but it also has its faults. And then there's the Republican view: that it's perfect and pure in every way and it's always right all the time, just like Leviticus and Ronald Reagan.

If the founders were alive today, Republicans would be giving them shit because the Preamble to the Constitution says, "In order to form a more perfect union? Hello, it's already perfect! Why are you suggesting American apologetics, Ben Franklin?"

One of the things that makes Republicans furious about our current president is their idea that Obama is always apologizing for America's biggest mistakes. Unlike President Bush. Who was one of America's biggest mistakes.

In his first week as president, Obama did an interview with Arab TV in which he said, "We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect." Thought crime! And then he went to Cairo and violated one of those absolute eternal rules the Right Wing is always making up out of thin air: "The president must never apologize on foreign soil. Lest our allies begin to doubt that we're assholes. "

But what did Obama actually say to make Karl Rove's head explode and the popcorn fly out? Cover your children's ears: When he was asked if he believed in American exceptionalism, he said he did, the same way "the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks in Greek exceptionalism." Yes, our so-called president actually said people in other countries might like their countries better. I was so shocked I nearly dropped the Bible I was using to help me masturbate into my gun.

In her farewell speech -- if only -- Sarah Palin kept telling us "how she's wired." Now I'm not a doctor, or an electrician -- but this is faulty wiring, this worldview that, in her words, "we should never apologize for our country." Really? Never? Not for slavery? Or Japanese internment camps, or if we tortured the wrong guy at Guantanamo? The Indians? Nothing, Sarah? "The Real Housewives of Atlanta"? Shouldn't John McCain apologize for... you?

When did intractability become a virtue? Mitt Romney's new book is called No Apology: The Case For American Greatness. You can find it at Borders, in the "Suck-Up" section. It's such a perfect title, combining paranoia with arrogance: "No one has yet asked me to apologize but, if someone ever does, fuck them."

Conservatives think apologizing is a sign of weakness. It's what liberal pussies do, when they're not busy driving electric cars and feeling empathy. When in fact it's the weak and the scared who are too insecure to apologize. Apologies are actually a sign of strength. That's why six-year-olds hate them.

In Rwanda, after a genocide that killed a million people, they set up special courts where people stood up and said, "Hey, sorry I macheted your entire family. My bad." And believe it or not, in most cases, that was enough. That's the power of an apology. A recent study reveals that doctors who are willing to apologize to patients for their mistakes are sued for malpractice about half as much as doctors who aren't willing to apologize.

Apologies can do great things, and they can enable great things. And if you still don't believe me, I have three words for you: make-up sex.


Bill Maher is the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Fridays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on HBO. Guests on this week's program include Jay Leno, Chuck Todd, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Sam Harris and Jeremy Scahill.

Follow Bill Maher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/billmaher

EDIT DATED 26 AUG 2009



This should balance views a bit. I'm a bit disappointed with Bill Maher to be honest. However like I said, he's a politician, and they are like snakes. Plus I liked his article above, and not the video. Maybe he's confused. Did he complete his rehab course?

Obama Interview

I love that kid!

President Barackuda

I just learned about this not-so-affectionate term for President Obama yesterday, and I found it quite funny that some people attack him by calling him (or his supporters) as Barackuda!

This of course is a play on words for a popular type of fish, the Barracuda which is a fish known for its voracious predatory skills. Personally, I think it's a nice complement to the 44th President of the United States of America, but some might not think like Al Arab.

Sorry for the lack of a better image, but it's only right to credit the owner here.

This probably started last year in 2008, which puts thing in perspective given that the GOP guys lost.

More info here.

New Hampshire Greets Obama With a Gun

For more info:

http://www.alternet.org/rights/141923/gun-nut_outside_obama_townhall_linked_to_gop_%27stop_obamacare%27_effort/

Ok, so let's get the facts straight. President B. Hussein Obama visits New Hampshire state for some kind of public gathering and is greeted by a guy clearly holding a gun and holding a sign with the most ugly of meanings:"It's time to water the Tree of Liberty." which is a very famous quote by a former American president. I'll let you read the article to get the full juice.

However the full quote (which was not quoted) is:

"Sometimes it is necessary to water the Tree of Liberty with the blood of tyrants"

Really horrible stuff. And there are shits out there that defend this stuff calling it freedom! Yeah right! Try carrying more than 100ml of liquids anywhere near an aircraft cabin before being stopped... where's my freedom?

Cartoon of the day

Really liked the cartoon, from Palestine Think Tank.