Mr. President, Apologize to Egypts People

Dear all,
I am sure you are all following the recent events in the Middle East and North Africa. Maybe you have also realised that Obama has till now not yet pronounced the D-word: Democracy for Egyptian people. We represent academic communities and we support the promotion of human rights and people`s right to decide on their own future. This is the time to call for the ending realist foreign policies which produced repressive regimes in MENA region and Latin America at the expense of peoples` rights. Yesterday, the justification was the communist threat, today it is the war on terror. This is the right time to call state leaders for an ethical foreign policy and to stop disseminating fear and insecurity in their societies. This is the time to listen people. We cannot leave our friends in those regions on their own. If we dont support the truly democratic and secular groups, others will fill the vacuum.
Please send the link below to your departments, institutes, groups, friends, and colleagues.
http://www.rootsaction.org/featured-actions/51-mr-president-apologize-to-egypts-people

Special Thx to B.E. Muwatenah min hatha el 3alam

PS. Please post to your blogs, send via email, twitter, face it we need it!

Solidarity is all we need

I hereby call on all American and European Academics, professionals, activists, people who have interest in their states' foreign policies (and each responsible citizen or tax payer should have such an interest) to be active in opening discussions and raising awareness especially and reaching out to there decision makers during these tough days and months we are passing through in the MENA region.
To have a stable sustainable healthy relation that promotes mutual interests among states, and especially in the light of the 'surprising uprisings' you need two states which represent there people and not a well representative state sponsoring a security state. Aside for the fact that this act shows double standards and hypocrisy, the problem it raises is that of risking huge investment- off course it pays off, it about interests- in an unstable regime. And guess what, from now on, it will be even harder to keep such security states running smoothly.
We need better representations. We, your fellows in humanity, Youth in MENA, guys and girls, men and women are getting better at knowing our human rights, the universal indivisible human rights and we are to demand and defend them.
Yet, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, we feel- each in there own country (we are not working for a transnational Arab youth movement that will face the west or any other state and whoever thinks about this in this age is so naive)- that we are not only facing a restless, ready o burn his own country dictator or regime, but rather a whole "league of nations" which sponsor such a regime one way or another or at least provide suitable cover keeping it immune and ever stronger and eternal.
We- and i am not claiming i am a spokesman or a leader but someone who listens and reads a lot especially young writers, bloggers, facebookers, twitters, street talk...- have rights that are being violated every day. We have pride and we have ambitions and aspirations. We are neither terrorists, nor fundamentalists. We are moderate and open minded. We have been raised in anglo (more) and franco educational systems(the broad picture though our educational institions, schools and universities are not typical). We used what you gave us in terms of culture, trend, ideas/iologies, tools... and dumped much- unfortunately- of our heritage, we took practical, suitable and feel home (thats the framework we were raised in) strategies: only to know that we are not allowed to use them, that they are not practical, that they do not fit us, that we are not ready for them but how and why?
When I say we are facing a "League of Nations", I mean foreign policies of alliances of states which share power in the region and which are preventing us from achieving what we want, isolating us, labeling us and so forth.
We are the future, there is no doubt and the world is changing and our region is changing! It is not about the axis of the good and the axis of evil. It is not about US aid or Council of Europe Funds. Its about dialogue, bridging a gap when time has come and when there is a chance.
Since the end of the cold war, the fall of the Berlin wall- hopefully soon to be followed by other walls-the west as a block have not changed. Evaluation and impact assessment is needed! Smart goals and strategizing is needed not Islamophobia and the rise of right and reviving fascist ideas and treating migrants or even MENA origin residents as second class residents. Smart goals and strategies are not charities. They promote sustainable state interest. They bridge gaps, gaps between North and South, East and West, culture, tradition, religion.
This needs academics, professionals, and needs awareness among the people.
This needs some hands on fresh example to get a better understanding.
Yemen, Tunisa, Egypt. Lets stick to those for now!
Yemen- sponsored by US. Youth suffering. Al-qaeda prospering. come on, you can do better if you really want a stable state and moderate nation. Let the youth have there say. You know the US involvement in the struggle there, yeah wikileaks gave a push in that direction. People knew it long ago. Who keeps the regime in place?!
Tunisa- Sponsored by US and Europe. Who interfered since the first hours of the uprising to protect Bin Ali and then the ruling party? Justice, fairness, words can not describe this! The Tunisian youth which used new trends in communication technology and social networking in a country with the most sophisticated censorship on anything other football and succeeded in confronting terror and fear, broke all barriers with aspirations and ambitions for a real representative democracy- yes not socialist!- and what did you do. President Obama, President Sarkozi? any answer. Tax payer, I will answer you. Take the dummy out, yes, but keep he regime, give them something to chew on! Well, not exactly, how long will this stand, another 5 or 10 years! and what about those who were shocked, defeated! Healthy minds and hearts... moderate now and controlled, NO, doubt it big time, they are tomorrow’s problem!
Egypt- You still have a chance. Academics, professionals...people, you call the shot now. I do not have hope in your leaders. I can see them on the media all the time now and they say they do not want to interfere! Much more than during the financial crisis! But let me tell you that the Egyptian army gets $1.3 billion/year from the US, that is the formal figure more or less! Who is sponsoring the regime and keeping it from free falling now? You Academics, professionals...the people are the real decision makers in your countries. Lucky you! Tell you governments to keep there hands off, demonstrate peacefully like we do, we learned this as well! give MENA youth a chance and it will definitely bring a much better world for all.

Wisdom is all We Need, but where to seek?

Did the American public notice the consecutive Obama radio interventions on Egypt? Did the American public notice their administrations' panic over the volatile situation in the Middle East?
Did Obama address the nation as such during the financial crisis and the housing bubble? No. Isn't that something worth thinking about?!
Yes, people in the middle East and North Africa- from Morocco to Tehran- are not dreaming of change anymore!
They are not dreaming of a US adminstration that will bring change over the tanks. They saw Iraq. They suffered! Any child in the region knows by now that the US administration is the supreme spiritual and financial leader of those security states which are in place to protect the US interest and repress the people. Even those which are labeled as the 'axis of evil' derive their 'legitamacy'- which is not the case- from the same US foreign policy.
People in the region are not dreaming anymore of fundamentalist Islam which will save them!
Wisdom is all we need. Wisdom will save the region. Wisdom will save the US long term interest in the region, even though it may be trimmed a bit or should be!
Did the west notice that people are not afraid anymore of there security state? It is not lack of US AID. Again, this is not the answer. It is not extreme poverty either. It is not corruption. It is not Islam! It is a combination of all that: misery, repression, poverty, corruption, disrespect for the human dignity, violation of the basic human rights! And to add to their misery, they can not express any of that!
Well the Youth re-invented a western wheel, the internet, and used it in a magnificent way. That youth which was considered the main target as a consumer society in the region- and for that same reason did the social media/networking prosper here- youth which was considered as a subsidary to the legacy of the american dream, that same youth gave the world a hands on lesson on freedom of expression.
The youth which was considered by older generations in this region as a lost youth, an internet generation, with no cause re-invented the internet and our favourite(!) social networking and it became the cause. That it should not be censored became a cause to fight for. But why? What is social networking for youth in countries which do not recongnize freedom of speech and freedom of association? The question actually begs the answer... who cares if you ban it or not...? Social networking made freedom of speech and freedom of association more alive, interactive and interesting!
Regimes fought back (China is censoring Egypt! the keyword is Egypt and the key for the region it is!), and were helped by internet giants- most of which are US based companies- censorship prospered; information gathered; more prisoners of conscience; more repression... but the youth fought back and it looks like it will not rest some time soon!
Wisdom is all we need. Wisdom is what the US administration needs!
The Right to freedom of expression, yes we heard you talking about it president Obama, but will you listen to us? Yes, the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of association- guess you passed on this- is at the heart of the crisis. The right to self-determination is yet another right. What about giving people a chance to practice it for a change?!
Wisdom is all you need president Obama! Did you notice that youth who flooded the streets looked happier than ever? Kindly switch to as many channels as you can and do not focus on only one, and please if you have to stick to one, kindly switch away from one local channel or two (1 in the US(!) and 1 in Egypt) . Look at the youth there. Look in their eyes. Yes, it is. Surprised. Hope, you can see hope at last, hope of bringing change. No weapons involved. No need to panic. Did you see flags? Only Tunisan and Egyptian flags so far, and hope we see more! Did you see any US flag being burnt? None. Does this ring a bell?!
Wisdom is all we need. Wisdom to cease the opportunity, to bridge a gap and build a new future. Bridge a gap that has been widening so far. Mind the Gap- yes, Mr. Blair, Mr. Brown, Mr. Sarkouzi, hope your listening too. Mind the gap between North and South, mind the gap between West and East, and most of all, mind the gap between our regimes and us, between our ambitions and our reality, between our essence as your fellows in humanity and how we are being treated by those security states which you sponser.
The youth of our region are not extremists. They are not terrorists. They are not al-qaeda. Wisdom is needed now the most. Do you share my point of view now? The youth did not bet on al-qaeda nor did it carry weapons. The youth did not assume the US or the west as an enemy (not even Israel, I am shocked!). They are not counting on anything but themseleves which means that other means of change or expression of repression rather than freedom of expression(ex: al-qaeda and co. style, and so did the texas rangers-Iraq!) failed! Only that security state is their enemy. Can you imagine?
Stop sponsoring state terror. You are doing it in case you have not realized by now. And guess what, the youth is not afraid anymore, they took to the streets! Repression will not bring back the security state. The concept failed, and there is no way back.
I am not addressing the security state here, imagine with all the ears it has and the information it gathers, it is switched at a different frequency. Yours!
Yellow Leaves may take time to fall, but the wind of change is blowing.
Bend Mr. President, stop sponsoring them and make history, It is not wise to stand in its way.

Hands sessions on 'Freedom of Expression'!

Congratulations fellow Tunisans and Egyptians...whatever the consequences of transition in the coming months, there is no way turning back.

Tunisian and Egyptian people and especially youth have taught the world how to use social media and have taught the world how to practice the right to freedom of expression!

Our Fellow Arab citizens in other countries should rise up simultaneously - not one at a time- so as not give the US adminstration time to save the falling regimes and cover there maneuvers!!!

The US foreign policy should learn a lesson here. Protecting secrity agreements- fighting 'terrorism'- and protecting the US interest in the region had only sponsered the security state amd repression of the people.

Unless the US realizes that this is not the best way to protect its interest on the long run, or let us say the short run!

We have seen so far the US adminstration - and the European union- and under the claim of fear of the vacuum of power covering up or directly recognizing the slightest change in performance- changing a name here or there and keeping the security arm and the regime- in a an effort to keep the unrest/revolt from achieving real change. People has become aware in this region and are aware of the double standards and hypocracy that is concealed in the US foreign policy comments.

It is only when the US and the European Union begin to understand the real needs of the people in the region, the need for a sustainable development and not US aid, the need for realsitic fair agrements and relations that they will begin to uphold their interests in this region, otherwise, there speech will only fireback at least through the fall of more regimes they are happy to have and sponsor!

"Wag the Dog"

"Wag the Dog" in a new episode through a joint US-French (European and a regional partner yet to be revealed)production on way for the new MENA! Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, yemen... a coup from within to replace the old falling appart one, with a popular boost!
Cospiracy taking new shapes and using the poor repressed masses who want there freedom despite the high price they are paying and the corageous heroic stances in the streets and tranforming that for yet another repressive regime with a democratic branding... a cedar revolution, a jasmine one, and wait to see the new name that will show soon for the Egyptian one...and it will go on!

The Lebanese Constitution and the Politics of War

On November 29, 2007 I wrote a post titled 'Presidency or Taef, Stability or Civil War' and I just wanted back then to put some ideas in words, ideas I threw in the face of friends back then and looked fictional. They are not for sure! The idea suggested was that there is an internal facet to the 'lebanon crisis' and that is related to a major constitutional ammendment. The idea entails as well the fact that any such ammendment needs a round of violence, a so called civil war or wars. But looking back at the latest events in Lebanon many questions may come to mind.
As one reader asked, 'Is this round of violence enough... or u think it's just the beginning?'
Are we living a truce, a fragile cease fire that will break once the real negotiations begin or alternatively if regional events take place?
Many scenario's for a humble observers like me have equal opportunities as I do not hold the data our dear Lebanese leaders have. I am not suggesting here either that they do have all the necessary data. I will leave the floor then to my speculations and in no way these can give satisfying answers, rather they may only add to the complexity the reader may be facing.

• Is there a relation between the current events and Bush's trip to the region? And if so, does a retaliation to what happened await the end of that trip. An uprisal among the axis of the good! or is it that the July 2006 war acted as a successful preventive war against Israeli intervention only when Hizbullah- and allies from the axis of the bad- at a later stage decide to change the power shares in Lebanon. There is no need as well to mention the Gaza strip, the preventive war there just before the July war and the aftermath. Bitter the fact that almost a clearly declared objective of the July war from the Israeli side was growing the hatred among the lebanese constituencies agaist Hizbullah. Bitter the fact that such objectives were attained. But Does it really matter? It matters for a Hizbullah leading a long resistance, but what if the decission to give up weapons for a political power share is on the table or will be in the near future?
• To Doha then... a long breath-taking negotiation no doubt but will it take place swiflty. Will it be as breath-taking literally for the lebanese people as well. A series of small wars here and there. Hope not, but this is one high probability. Another worrying fact is the increasingly unstable region we live in. Will a Doha agreement last as the Taef one or will it break before or even more, are things ripe enough for it to be attained? The worrying factor here is that the span of relative peace or relatively less violent wars, constitutional ammendments bring to this poor country may be shrinking and shriking.
• There is as well a much worrying fact. If the lovely leaders of our lovely country came to conclusion that that they need no more blood shed to attain an agreement, something which looks a bit wierd, but for the sake of the argument, that can only lead to horrible conclusion. That the main change to the Taef may be redefining the confessional political system, yet in a more blunt way and getting rid of the statement regarding abolishing political sectarianism/confessionalism. More to that will be the implication for dividing Lebanon along sectarian lines with the human cost ahead of such a decision especailly in highly mixed areas across the country and especially the capital.
• What about the people who were taken by surprise?! I mean the people of our lovely Lebanon who were assuming that the battle for Lebanon is a battle for freedom and independence or resisitance to western or regional ambitions/agendas on both sides. Do they really know what is happening now or are they as blinded as before? Perhaps more, unfortunately.
• What about the regional battle. What about the Qaeda and co.? Have they recieved an invitation to join or they already on the ground?
• Last but not least, what about the 'truth'? What about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and does the current events ring a bell?
  
  

On the 'Freedom of Expression'

At some stages of my life, I was someone trying to convince others (friends and new encounters at university forexample) that religion is nothing but a story, a fiction and is only to be read through critical eyes and within its historical and eco-social background.
It would have been easier if it was only that! I was preaching yet for another religion/ideology. I do not know the real difference between those till now and am not trying to offend anyone here but from where I stand, the lines are so blare. Refreshing my memory tells me that I was preaching back then for a trinity based on Marx, Nietzsche and Freud.I even sketched it with a base of Marx and Freud and a higher path which leads to the fullfilment of the trinity, a nietzschean path, or way of life, an existentialist one.
I refrain from that now, not because I became a believer or that I assume myself as belonging to a certain religion but because I respect the other whatever his belief. I have not really changed. I can actually say I am still an existantialist or that I wish to be and still am not.
But respecting others irrespective of their belief should at no point undermine an individuals freedom of speech (ARTICLE 19, UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS) or creative ways of reflecting on his beliefs in any way including writing. Reading through such lines, I assume, shall in no way shake the belief (Al Yaqeen) or offend readers (reading these posts that I really liked lead me to write mine) unless they are not so sure of where they stand. Any response to arguments should never miss the real track. Dialogue and communication I mean. Thats how arguments are thrown and countered. The freedom of speech is the only guarantee we all have to hear and get heard. It is the red line that should not be crossed, not the other way arround and you- dear reader/blogger especially if living accross middle east, be it in Lebanon or Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Syria and the list goes on- know this best.
I am aware though of crisis resulting from what is called hate speech though and the 'offending' writings, 'offending' caricature ...etc. There is no reason for such a fuss. There is nothing like an 'offending' way of expression, it is just expressing something in another way, in a different way that others may not like.Is it about sensitive themes? Well again that is relative and you may find 100's of highly sensitive themes. It can be no aleby for banning expressing thoughts arround them. The real thing is that there is an abuse of writing, caricature under the umbrella of freedom of expression. Again, to make my self clear, no writng or aqny other piece of art should banned or abolished. The mis-use and abuse of these materials is what really creates misunderstandings and cultural/religious clashes and gaps. Had not been for some media outlet which a certain agenda nothing would have happened arround some offending writings/other forexample. Such ways of expression along highly sensitive themes have been there since 100's of years, yet there was no fuss arround it as we see now. The problem lies in selecting a certain moment, an occassion, a wrong audience, a wrong message and squeezing in there a piece of art or a piece of writing. Only there and then, you cross the red line, you offend people, and offend the writer, the artist and ultimately you will have one aim, namely another attack on the 'Freedom of Speech'.

Lebanon: the Sustainability of Anarchy, Poverty and Chaos

Going arround Beirut these days gives you a glimpse on prosperity. With real-estate prices, construction on the run everywhere, fancy people, fancy cars and breath-taking night life, you definitely recognize that the country booming. Well, is it?
The country has been in an ongoing crisis since years now. To be specific, its been in that sustained anarchy since 24 May 2000!. The country has went through as many alarming crisis as its diversity of sects since then, but never assumed the right track towards a nation.
In this brief article, I will not tackle the constituents of the state of anarchy under study- referred to as Lebanon in this article- nor its prospects. My aim is to focus on poverty and choas, which look like the least priority for the 2 main constituent powers in Lebanon, namely, the ruling majority or the March 14 coalition and the opposing minority or the March 8 coalition. Both coalitions hereby mentioned serve as a hub for foreign interference in Lebanon, a multi-national co., a franchise like governed by a Lebanese CEOs as prescribed by Lebanese custom laws.
Both coalitions therafter refered to March 8 and March 14 limited have contributed restlessly to the sustained anarchic Lebanon we are trying to live in nowadays. Many ofcourse can not take it anymore and are escaping the unbearable void. To make the point clearer, I am not talking about the presidential elections or the void in the Lebanese presidency. The void is everywhere and the chaos is everywhere as well. The void lies in the stateless state of anarchy, our Lebanon. The no nation achieved adds a bit of complexity to the use of the word 'our' as it may seem illusive to readers. 'our' state or country refers to a certain bond among a group, an identity. There is no national identity in Lebanon at the first place and the country is composed of a mosaic of sects, religious group, a sectarian combo that has always been refered to as a unique recipe for dialogue among cultures and an oasis for democracy in the middle east. Ofcourse this bullshit.
To get a long story short, the march 8 limited co and the march 14 limited co have different priorities and agendas for Lebanon, thus leaving the country in it s stateless state. One group claims the ultimate priority is for electing a president whereas as the other prioritizes the full basket throughing the ball back. Again there is no referree in this game or bullshitting. The only added value the current political bullshitting have is that it has succeeded in sustaining 2 unique states of being among the masses of the various groups of this country. These being chaos and poverty. Chaos and poverty can be traced all accross the country however. These are qualities of life that are concealed and need a bit of contemplation and investigation to uncover. Being unspecialized in such situations, both contradicting co.s have no personell qualified the visit Beirut slums, the South slums, the Bekaa slums and the rythm goes on. they have no ability of registering the chaos they see or cause. Otherwise, they will have to address it as a priority.
Alternatively, long live the void, hurray!
This article has not yet began...a continuation follows in a series of article thereafter.

What is it like in Lebanon Now?

Population is decreasing though weather is nice! Any epidemic disease striking the country...well not exactly that sort of disease.Population is decreasing, who really cares?Almost all of my friends are gone by now...stuck here, well am not, but I like it here...Am I happy, not exactly say me...its a bit complex. I've been hybernating for so long. I used to live in the dark among the shadows of daylight and norish durning night among Beirut lights. How happy were I? Me says very. Missed smthg here...I used to live a normal life, other than the one I talked about, and by normal I mean... the usual bla bla of life, the whole package.Got it...It is called leading a double life...its all about doubles when it comes to standards, personality (ummm, multiples here maybe), peer groupssss and things of the sort...One day, I went into hybernation and here I am.Population decreasing, I don't really care, I'm in deep hybernation but I'm writing again...weather is really niceI'lll have my coffee now...think what bits and pieces should I put in words to amuse you and elevate me and guess what? If I have some time remaining, I will follow-up on my work.

Presidency or Taef, Stability or Civil War

As you may know, there are two facets of the problem we have have, an internal one and a regional - international one. As for the global view, lebanon is the barometer of conflicts and crisis in the region and key players there have a say in this country and the situation here reflects in one sense or another the regional turmoil. Thus, complexities that may rise regionally will show in increasing tensions in Lebanon. Internally though controversial, I believe that the deadlock on presidency does not reflect the real problem. It is actually more related to the issue of a new cabinet, the real executive power. There comes the deadlock as the problem is not that of a cabinet but that of the confessional system and power shares accross lebanese sects. The issue that has been ongoing since months arround the unity cabinet aims at ammending the power shares in the executive power-cabinet- and thus the power shares in our confessional system, thus ammending the constitution, the Taef Accord which brought relative peace to the country in 1989-1991. The issue came to surface in recent years with the change in internation and regional balance or powers and the emerging crisis in the middle east.The Taef accord back then was refused by two major parties/movements in the country namely Hizbullah and Tayyar (Aoun). Interesting enough is there allience right now! Irrespective of personal views on this issue or favoring the opposition or government at the time, the deadlock seems to be ongoing until the real issue is tackled, that is the constitutional ammendment. Intresting enough as well will be taking a look at the history of this smal country and its continuous turmoil which takes it from one crisis to another, one constitutional ammendment to another. The common pattern in all these phases however is that each major constitutional ammendment which touches the confessional status and power shares among lebanese sects necessitates a round of violence, a civil war at some point which is resolved by international intervention only after sectarian groups show there real power on the ground with each reflecting as well the power of its inspiration as it works its way as a proxy in the country!Where are we heading, I guess I made my point clear now.

A REPLY WITH ANSWERS!

A REPLY WITH ANSWERS! a reply to Who's Behind the Fighting in North Lebanon? by lamb from counterpunch.com

Fateh el-Islam and the Hariri link, the Welch club, Jund el-Sitt, conspiracy theories that may turn true but all of that runs 24/24 on al-Manar, 4/24 on al-Jazeera as they have to work on several fronts, don't know about Syrian TV as I have some work to do! (the whole scenario, not to forget is a Seymoou Hersh-New Yorker- copyright, a potential spiritual leader of anti Bush affiliates)
To make a long reply short, I am not affiliated with any 'political' group in Lebanon, doubt that such groups exist. To add more to my problem, I do not respect any of those factions, confessional groups and their leadership and this feeling is a cross cutting one that runs across the country and goes further into other non-Lebanese groups and they are many. Do not get me wrong, I am not talking about the people, if there are any left as independent creatures. And this does not apply to 'poor' women and children and poor may be rich here.
Again, my argument is so simple. I do not care who is behind the current scenario as it makes no difference! What you read about the club may be true, it follows logically. What runs 24/24 on pro government media may be true too, the axis of evil and so forth. It makes no difference!
Welcome to the Middle East and North Africa, to the globalization of fear, terror and the open wars between the US and al-Qaeda. You are the herd, meaning the people, yet you don't know it. Those wars that run on the surface, the axis of evil, the club, the March 8, the 14th, the Palestinian factions, the Syrian Intelligence, The other Arab and International watchdogs ...all knowing or not, they all serve one goal. Terrorism, a mutual process, mastered by the CIA, al-Qaeda and coordinated by Ministries of Interior across the region. This is the war of the century; the 'WOT' and its short term objective and goals have been attained. Namely, drawing the geographical context where war can proceed and escalate, terror can hit, human rights abused, thought abolished...and so forth, BUT, what guides the game is the geography. The battles runs anywhere from Morocco to Iran across MENA and only in MENA. Is this a game?
I don't think so. What is this war about? Who are the only world powers and the sole players? The US and al-Qaeda unfortunately! Some say Europe or China but I doubt they can provide a case for that. Now that they have the battle ground ready, the battle running, they are on their way for their goals. Are they allies, is the US the mastermind of al-Qaeda, yes and there is much more to that, but this case does not hold anymore. Al-Qaeda, an idea, pushed out of every other country especially in MENA, went global and became the most sophisticated armed ‘groupS’ ever with no real refuge, a Bedwin identity coupled with muscles and information technology. I will not go through this as you may have a very good idea about it. As for the US, the same applies at least at the level of decision. An amateur cowboy looking forward for any useless absurd battle, Mr. Bush and the Globe. But could Fateh el-Islam be a Qaeda group?
All the signals, irrespective of the lull among factions of the country about its identity, show that this group of Nahr el-Bared- with compassion and affiliates in the North poor districts- is! Nothing except Arab Nationalism brought separate Arab nationals in one group or one fight. Arab Nationalism, however is an expired commodity and you all know that. And perhaps, the Muslim groups/ideologies be it militant Islam or liberal one failed to reclaim a regional cross national identity and this is main reason behind the growth of al-Qaeda coupled with the corrupt Arab regimes. What brings me to all this is the diversity of Fateh el-Islam. Almost all Arab nationalities in addition to other Muslim non-Arab nationals are part of the group. Whoever funds the group or funded it or made arrangements for it grow- be it the ‘club’ or Syria for both groups reasons- does nopt have the say on the groups future. Anti Soviet al-Qaeda, brain child of a Saudi-US project is nothing but a perfect example. Again saying Fateh el-Islam is an al-Qaeda group means an affiliate, which looks at al-Qaeda for inspiration. But wait, does Syria work with such groups or use them?
Anwar al-Bunni, a Syrian human rights activist among others was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in Syria recently. He undermined the national sentiment! That was the sentence, but how? Al-Bunni claimed that most of the announced clashes between Syrian intelligence/army special units with Islamic groups in Syria aim at undermining any mobilization for internal change in Syria and sending a message for civil society as well as external actors that Syria can become a refuge for such groups if the regime falls.
Does it make a difference? The who’s who? Actually, no. Where does all this leave the country? Guess you know it, right! War is one suitable answer. Civil War and sectarian strife that begins with late 70’s –camp wars, 80’s war- booby traps or the new Iraqi scenarios. We have seen the Arab university clashes, the kidnap and kill memory digging and the ‘makers of opinion’, warlords and ‘heroes’. Who is to blame? Fateh el-Islam, Harriri, Syria, Junblat, Nusrallah… or the people? How does it end? Either within months and 1000s of killed, mainly civilians, and an international-Arab intervention with a new constitutional amendment, a new Taef, worse than the one before or the same solution but after years to come and linking Lebanon once again to regional turmoil and oil!
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A nice morning with my Canaries- Video

Well, this was today, pretty nice. Had my coffee and cigarette/s watching my canaries mate, feed and the best shot, sorry not in the vid, the hen laying an egg.

Noodles of Joy!

It is lunch time here in Beirut. Did you have lunch or not? Do you have some time?
You may be gazing at your desktop, showing symptoms of stress and anger. If this is the case, your probably hungry and would love to have this dish for lunch or maybe dinner.
I decided to teach you how to cook it and don't tell me they come in instant versions coz that sucks. It takes you a matter of minutes -as if time matters, sorry for those of you who are busy- to make this plate and with time you may learn how to enjoy cooking it. You need 2 or 3 carrots, a small broccolli flower, one onion,two-three garlic gloves, 1 green pepper and your on the run. Put those after chopping in a wide pan or a chineese one, anything will do. 2 spoons of olive oil would be perfect. A small spoonm of sugar-for carmelizing- and another of salt. 5-10 minutes cooking are enough. Boil water, put noodles, that should be easy. Pull the noodles out- you may prefer to boil the noodles for 1 minute, take the water out, put water again and lose the bad taste sometimes noodles have. Soy sauce the vegies, some black pepper if you want, some sweet and sour or hot chilli on demand.
An inevitable UK touch by Sarah: may i suggest you add some fresh root ginger to that? peel and chop the ginger and fry it with the garlic.
also add a few dashes of toasted sesame seed oil.
it makes ALL the difference :)
You have your plate now! Sa7tein, u desrve it..

From Rawshe with Love! Part II

Rawshe Office View!
It always feel strange that with such a view of Rawshe rocks-precious post photo- one can rarely be depressed,but Rawshe as any other area of our lovely Beirut conceals its real beauty between the crowded buildings. A mosaic of greens, plastic, tanak, laundry, wastes, concrete. Every time you walk to your balcony, light a cigarette and have the first morning puff with all the ecstasy it brings, then look down, gaze into thee mosaic and find something new- post photo gives an idea!. With every new thing you identify, a new look grows on your face, fascination, disgust at times, smells go buy, kitchens all around, chubby white ladies cooking with all their oriental spirits. Your cigarette goes in waste, you recognize you only had one puff! You through the cigarette in the heart of your view.It is yours now after all!
You turn back into the office, feeling a bit strange, a bit depressed, no. What does depression has to do with all of this? Guess it is not depression even.Whatever.
This not the way our embassy in Washington see Rawshe. They have yet a different view and description . Illustration and description below.

Rawshe Washington View!
"The best way to see Beirut is on foot. A good place to rest is the area of Raouche, where Beirut's famous Pigeon Rocks stand tall and proud in the sparkling sea. Area restaurants serve local and foreign cuisine and cliff-side cafes offer a good range of snacks."


Maybe the guys in Washington are more sharp. It has something to do with travel. Travel opens minds to new possibilities.But how to exercise an open mind? As wikihow.com (very wiki indeed) puts it "Simply put, doing unique, random, different, and ridiculous things is a good way to exercise the mind and promote new ways of thinking about the world around us. One hour of increased brain activity via thinking a lot or experiencing new stimuli can make you smarter, more energetic, more creative, more sociable, and more open to new experiences and ways of thinking." I am trying to follow this advice, and with the view I have, I am experiencing the hell of a stimuli and I am hoping to get smarter and more sociable for the time! I will try to limit my expectations to that, energetic is far away to reach if not impossible, creativity, even more. As for being open to new experiences and ways of thinking, I will leave that to the guys in DC and try to follow their website more frequently.
I will leave you now for your irresistible imagination and try to check if there is something for me to do. Meanwhile, why don't you reflect on your own feelings and comment on what I said. Why? so that I feel more sociable, so that you feel smarter. And i got one idea just now. This is better than writing an email. Like it goes to many at the same time, but only those who really want to read it. Mails get deleted. I am trying to find out statistics on a global scale. Statistics about how many mails are deleted every minute all over the globe, too many I guess!

From Rawshe with Love! Part I

Dear Friends,
Trying to keep things going, I have decided to write some lines everyday, something which relates to me, directly or indirectly at times also you.
This morning was really depressing. Not that it differs much from any other!
Anyway, came to work as ussual at about 10. drank tea, had a cigarette and tried to something usefull at office- Rawshe- Beirut- Lebanon. So I decided to develop my blog a bit. This is somthing new I may enjoy. I enjoy almost anything new. But I get bored the second or third day ussually. 5 months ago I decided to write a novel. It turned out that it takes too much time! I wrote about 80 pages of it, I tried discipline. I committed myself to writing 5-10 pages a day.
I succeeded for about 10 days. Had I had more luck, had I continued with my commitments for a month or so, I would have published my first novel.
Anyway, this is the least you may care about so let me get back to what I was telling you first.
This morning was really depressing. Before I continue I should mention somthing really vital. I feel sick today too. I feel I am someone else. When I use the I it may not be me then.
I work in Amesterdam. I am a broker. I wake up every day at 6, have my coffee, watch my neighbour- an old Dutch woman in her 70's- watering her garden. This takes about an hour. When I finish my coffee, my neighbour gets done with watering her garden, smiles at me while her husband shouts her name. I have my shower and move to work at 7:30. I feel like an army officer. I feel like this is not me!
I reached my office at 10 this morning. It was really a depressing morning, nothing special about it as ussual. I recieved a call from abroad. It made my day.
Fatima was walking by the sea. She took the day off. She was depressed maybe. A human rights activist in her own way, She works in marketing research at a multicorp in the Arab-Gulf. She loves her job, well, who knows. Anyway while walking by the sea she had some flashbacks. She started running on the shore! She was so tired. She fell on the ground. Her mobile went in the sand. She took a deep breath, took her mobile and set the keylock off.
Meanwhile Muzna turned on her PC. From a remote destination on earth she wrote to him saying: "About your novel, I haven't been able to open it , it can be easily read on this stupid mac I now have.. will try to save it from university later today.. or print it out to read it and promise to talk to you about it soon..."

I have a meeting now, I will continue this later. I have a whole lifetime to do so. Come back!.

A friend's Petition! Tales about leaders, Leaders with tails!

To: Lebanese Newspapers and TV's
Dear Lebanese Citizens, Our Lebanese Politicians or “leaders” have been demonstrating a series of intolerable fuckups for the past 30 years to say the least. Those fuckups are evident in corruption, irresponsibility, selfishness, shortsightedness, and in allowing foreign countries and regimes to tamper with national security and national interest. The Citizens of Lebanon have paid the price, and are still paying the price. This petition might not change the world, but it will let some voices, The Voices of the Silent Majority be heard. The Lebanese People are proud people. We want to see our country flourish regardless of sects, religion, or political affiliation. Our wishes are all the same. The so-called “Lebanese leaders” care only for their interests. It is time for the People to say their word: We petition that all Lebanese Leaders resign from their posts and duties and choose voluntary exile and shut up forever. We leave it as an option for them to choose whether they would like to also commit suicide. If you are part of the Lebanese Silent Majority Please Sign this petition A Citizen from Lebanon
Sincerely,
The undersigned

Sign petition at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/resgnleb/petition.html

A starter!

Boredom...
The most common disease to man, and women!
Doctors all over the globe found no cure yet, but amateurs like me are obsessed with finding a cure. Tales may be the answer. Personalized tales. Tales about real people, who live among us, their good stuff and bad stuff, there highs and lows, and ultimately their boredom!
Friends who like me for what I am, who pitty me, or who glorify me, here is the right place for you to address me and be addressed.