Aleppous

Syrian TV Series

2009-09-05T19:29:00.001+02:00

All the Syrian TV year were disapointed . Nothing new and you can't see any real improvement in the TV tools . We still watch the same techniques used before 6 years without a real normal development.

Antagonizing Iran : A way to The Arabs end

2009-06-24T08:43:00.005+03:00

Mustafa Hamido 24/06/2009 mustafahamido@gmail.com
The happiness of some of "moderate Arab states " about what is happening in Tehran and the arise of the opposition against the regime there and which is reflected on their media is not understood. They consider the protestors there as "warriors for democracy " . What they are trying to hide and is clear for every one is the ideological background for those or at least for a part of them which want to overthrow "the Islamic Republic " regime.
It is clear that the biggest part of them is either nationalists or Liberals. In both cases the Arabs are the losers.
(1)
Arab states and a wide spectrum of its people consider the current regime as the problem of this region. They used to call it " The Mallaly’s Regime ". They had pushed Saddam to fight Iran to " Save The Arab Eastern Gate". This was popular in the Arab media literature in 1980’s. That war put the end of Saddam’s regime. It was a disaster for Saddam and the region.
Iraq has been debited and the region has collapsed after Saddam’s adventure in Kuwait. We should know here that the Iraqi’s invasion of Kuwait was a consequence of the 10 years war between Iran and Iraq. Kuwait has debited Saddam to help him in his war and ask for its debit directly after the end of the War although it was eulogizing him and describing him as " the Arab hero " and "The Arab Defendant ". It was an ugly years. Some of Arabs want to regain that period. What they lack is a character like Saddam who is ready to kill his people for his own fake glory.
Those who are describing themselves the "Moderate Arabs" are not ready to fight by themselves. They used to deploy intermediates to fight for their account and to use their fight and blood in compromise.
(2)
The Shah of Iran was ruling the Persian Gulf region during the 1960’s and 1970’s . He was the king of the region taking the advantage of the western support for him and his nation. He was the sincere guard for the western interests in the region. The west was in no need to use his direct force to save these interests. The Shah huge military force was enough. It seems that Arabs are really favoring that period. We should remember here that Saudi Arabia wasn’t a key player in the region as it is now. Although it has played a certain rules, however, it was totally controlled by a tight system taking in its consideration some Arab sensitivities toward Iran and its clear coalition with Israel, the x-enemy of the moderate Arabs and the enemy of the most of Arabs.
(3)
The Arab Moderate states don’t know its real interests. It had been used to overthrow Saddam Hussein and it is in a real need for some one to play his rule nowadays. Iraq which they were considering him the defender of their interests opposite the Iranian spread has been lost and become split between either an Iranian loyalty or an American one without a real key rule for those "the Moderate Arabs" .
Loosing Iraq has not awakened them. They are blind followers for the Americans, favoring the American Interests over their own interests. Wes should know her some fake facts, which they used to propagate as real ones. The problem of the moderate Arabs with Iran is not in fact with the current Iran . It is a historical clash between the uncivilized Bedouin who were living on the southern coast of Iran and on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf . As tribes, those Bedouins have given their loyalties for those who are paying . Some time they were loyal to Portuguese and sometimes to British and some times to the Iranians themselves. The rule was : The more you pay , the more loyalty you get . According to those historical events, we can find easily immigrations between the northern and southern coast of the Persian gulf. The Moderate Arab Media is focusing on the Emirates three Islands, which are occupied by Iranians from early 1970’s. These Islands has been occupied during The Shah period . It is not an occupation by the current Iranian regime. It is a historical matter can be solved easily .I can’t see a real Arab interest in antagonizing Iran . What they say about spreading the Shiites in the region is a way of trying to persuade Arab people that there is a real danger from Iran on their faith. Those who are worries on Sunnis are in fact neither Sunnis nor Shiites. They have their own believe and almost they are anti-religions and extremist seculars .
(4)
The last note here is a trial to clarify. The Iranian nationalists are in fact anti-Arabs and even in some times anti- Islam. They have their own view for the region excludes the Arab states, which they in fact don’t consider them as real states. They consider it as followers for the strongest in the region. One of the candidates to the last election blamed Ahmadinajad , the Iranian elected president , for his visit to UAE and participating in the Arab Gulf states council summit.

A Syrian talent behind the bars

2009-05-17T14:54:00.003+03:00

These exclusive pictures in the above album is drawn by one of the talented Syrian whose their destinies were very bad . After a lot of trials , he failed to get an opportunity to be a real painter. Although his talent is awful , he failed to have a support from any one even those who claims that they are ready to help. he is now behind the bars in a forgery case

The lies of the newspapers: review their archives

2009-05-13T14:22:00.001+03:00

Mustafa Hamido
Nothing is more entertaining than reading newspapers after a a long period of its publishing. Reading the archives of newspapers telling you how we are dealing with our world on the basis of rumors and lies. Who claim themselves as political analysts, you will discover their truth after a period of their articles. These articles might be the features at the time of its publishing, however, it becomes useless and valueless after two or three years of its publishing. We are talking here about the daily newspapers articles and magazines articles which are touching the daily political issues and which a lot of strategies are built on it.
We still remember the feature articles, which were preparing for the American invasion of Iraq. Those articles had been published in what it is called the world leading daily newspaper in Washington, New York and London.
We were believing that all what they claimed facts, it was in fact lies. The US administration used those articles to persuade the world that Iraq is danger on world peace. Full of lies were crowded in those articles. No body account those newspapers and try to boycott it.

Escaping from Loans and their debts: Hundreds are fleeing from UAE via UAE-Oman borders to avoid their arrest

2009-04-08T09:40:00.004+02:00

By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter , The Gulf News . 04/04/2009
Dubai: Hundreds of illegal residents are fleeing the country via the UAE-Oman borders to avoid the iris scan, in order for them to return to the UAE, Gulf News learnt.
A police source told Gulf News that some people, who are wanted by police for bounced cheques, unpaid loans and other crimes, are also fleeing the country through the borders.
The source said they are crossing the desert using routes that will lead them to Salalah in Oman.
"After reaching Salalah they head to Yemen," the source said.
The source said some housemaids, workers and other expatriates, who are staying illegally in the country, are doing this to avoid the iris scan and the ban which will prevent them from coming back to the UAE.
He said some wanted people also fled the country in the same way.
"Police in the country are hunting those who are aiding these illegal residents and the criminals, to flee the country," he said.
He said they use four-wheel drive vehicles on their trips to help them through the desert.
"Their outings are dangerous. These agents who help the illegals to flee the country are armed while police and military forces on the border are chasing them which put their lives and the people who are travelling with them at risk," he said.
He said most of the time, the agents dump the infiltrators in the desert after taking their money.
He said they go through deserts from any emirate to reach Salalah which is the nearest area to Yemen on the border with the UAE.
He said they travel at night and it takes them one and a half days to reach Yemen.
Police said the country's borders are tightly monitored to prevent infiltration.
An Ethiopian housemaid who works for a Sudanese family in Sharjah, told Gulf News that she stayed in the UAE illegally for more than ten years before she infiltrated to Oman then to Yemen to avoid the life ban.
"I came to work in the UAE 11 years ago for an Emirati family in Abu Dhabi, but I absconded after two months and I worked for different families for ten years," she said.
She said when she decided to go back to her country, it was hard because her iris scan would be taken and she would be banned from coming back.
"If I had my iris scan that would not help me if I changed my passport in my country in order to come back here because I would be caught upon arrival," she said.
She added that last year she fled the UAE to Yemen then to her home country.
"When we went on our trip, I had an agreement with the people who helped us flee, to pay Dh3,500. We were seven people in one car. All of us were illegals. We were different nationalities. Indians, Filipinos, Ethiopians, Sir Lankans and Afghans."
She said that each one had paid different prices. The Indian woman had paid Dh2,500, some had paid Dh6,000 depending on the period of time they had been here and the cost was higher for wanted people.
She said that at the borders they were chased by police and her friend who was with her was afraid and jumped from the car.
"We had no clue what happened to her but later on we came to know that she died on the spot after jumping from the car," she said.
She said when they reached Yemen, they surrendered to the authorities there.
"The people who took us to Yemen, left us alone but they told us to go to the police and say that we had entered Yemen illegally, that we had no passports and wanted to go to our home countries," she said.
She said the authorities in Yemen questioned them and then deported them back to their countries.
"I changed my passport and I obtained a new employment visa in the UAE," she said.
The housemaid said she is now working legally. She added it was a horrible experience which she could not do again.
Gulf News spoke with senior Interior Ministry officials who did not comment on those who had illegally left the UAE via the land borders.

The Financial Crisis on our door steps :Robbery in Aleppo

2009-03-24T13:41:00.000+02:00

Mustafa Hamido
Jobless Syrians are in increase ,a Syrian report says early this week. Tens of small and moderate factories either closed or decreased their productivity by decreasing its working hours ,the same report adds . In a country like Syria which is in a converting phase from a centralized economy to a free market economy and with a lack of social insurance network covered by the government , thousand of Syrians will find themselves without a monthly stable income which is considered as a national crisis. Removing subsidiaries and stopping governmental employment push thousands to be a “ lack of hope “ persons. Their future is not clear and their daily life is not guaranteed. What is sure in Syria is the increase of crimes rate. This increase is not shown by numbers and figure, which is monopolized by government and controlled by it and for its interest. It is something clear for all people in Syria. Last week, a rare armed robbery has taken place in Aleppo, the most effected Syrian city by the international financial crisis where tens of its factories have either closed or bankrupted. Aleppo is considered as the Syrian Industrial Center . What was surprising in that operation is that it happened in the rush hours . The rumors have fuelled the city .and a video leaked showing the robbery has shaken the community . three innocents killed in this robbery .

Obama wants to say : Save Us Iran

2009-03-21T03:46:00.001+02:00

Nothing is new in Obama's message to the Iranian Leadership and people . We can only conclude that The Americans are in the corner and need a help from the Iranians who only have the ability to save Americans from sinking in Afghanistan after they win in Iraq. The New York Times has published on 13^th of this month saying that America is seeking for a route of Afghan supply even in Iran and before that , the same content has been published by The Washington Post. American now is in a crisis . The supply rout which should be safe through Afghanistan turn to be an unsafe rout for the supplies of its troops . In recent months , we used to hear about a continuous attacks on a supplying caravans trying to enter Afghanistan from the city of Peshawar. Taliban has claimed the responsibility about that attacks. There is no alternative of that route can be used except the safe route of Iran.

No body knows yet the Iranian reaction of the possible American ask to use Iran as the alternative route to Afghanistan . In fact , America is under siege in Afghanistan. It is surrounded by a real hidden and clear enemies. Even Pakistan which is considered as its ally is in a big troubles and in a case we can describe is as a cold civil war. Nothing is safe their. Even the president can be attacked and killed.

According to the American Army , 75 % of Us supplies is passing through the region of Taliban activity. The alternative which US is targeted is a route linking Afghanistan to the Arabian sea by Iran .There is already a road constructed by an Indian company linking between the two cities of Dealaram and Zarnag in Afghanistan and which are linked by a well constructed road to the Iranian border. Using this rule needs a compromise between US and Iran . Such this compromise should be based on a hard deal between the two sides. The security of Iran and its rule in the region will be a part of this deal. Not thing is final yet. It still needs months to sea the signs of such deal.

Orient and Syrian TV Services

2009-03-20T14:27:00.001+02:00

Orient can be classified as the first professional Syrian independent satellite channel . Addounia which tried to be that has failed to be an attracting destination for Syrians. It still broadcast as an amateur channel without a smell of professionalism. A lot of problems are inside it. The last problem is the termination of its Director , the dentist , Fouad Charbajy , who had worked before as the Director of Syrian Official TV and who failed to achieve anything during his period. The point of weakness in Orient is a lack of a political debate . It may due to the owners interests who is based in UAE and has interests in Syria and Egypt.

The Syria Temptation—and Why Obama Must Resist It

2009-03-02T07:03:00.000+02:00

Bret Stephens
“Start with Syria.” Thus did Aaron David Miller advise the incoming Obama administration on where its Mideast peacemaking priorities should lie. Miller, a former State Department official who first made a name for himself as a leading American negotiator in the Arab-Israeli peace processes of the 1990’s, had lost his faith that a deal between Israel and the Palestinians was possible, at least in the near term. But he was more sanguine about the prospects of an Israeli-Syrian deal, and confident about the good that could come of it. As he put it in a Washington Post op-ed in November 2008: Here there are two states at the table, rather than one state and a dysfunctional national movement. A quiet border, courtesy of Henry Kissinger’s 1974 disengagement diplomacy, prevails. And there are fewer settlers on the Golan Heights and no megaton issues such as the status of Jerusalem to blow up the talks. Indeed the issues are straightforward—withdrawal [by Israel from the Golan Heights], peace, security and water—and the gaps are clear and ready to be bridged.

Obama is a Marketing Face which will try to sell a vey bad Product for the world.

2009-02-24T13:35:00.002+02:00

It is very difficult for US wgich has been implicated in a lot of conflicts all over the world to persuad itself that it is now weak and relatively Banckrupted. for that and for the lobbies intersest inUS political Life , Obama will not make a difference. He has been come to try to late the banckruptcy of the American Regime. I don't think that he will do any thing good. Obama is a Marketing Face which will try to sell a vey bad Product for the world.

The Visit of the Saudi intelligence chief to Syria :A deal to save ..

2009-02-15T21:10:00.001+02:00

What they can offer ?really I don't know . The intelligence work is very sophisticated and sometimes illogic. After two years of cold war between Syria and Saudi Arabia , We can't expect a lot . you may ask why? The answer itself is very simple : there is a clash between the both interests , especially in Lebanon.

I think that Saudi is trying to save the next election and try hard to make it in its side. Making a deal with Syria is a way of many . We should wait to clarify what especially going on .

AP Analysis: Qatar at heart of Mideast 'cold war'

2009-02-03T21:50:00.001+02:00

During back-to-back summits in recent days, tiny Qatar displayed some big mood swings.

First the Persian Gulf emirate hosted a Gaza crisis conference that included Iran's president and Hamas' leader and became a soapbox to bash America and its Mideast allies. Then three days later in Kuwait, Qatari leaders had lunch with Saudi King Abdullah and gushed about unity with Washington's top Arab partners.

President Barack Obama has inherited the familiar map of Arab-Israeli minefields. But off to the side -- sticking like an exclamation point into the Gulf -- Qatar could quickly become a quandary for the new White House.

"It looks a bit like a cold war in the Middle East now. There's the side firmly with the United States and (Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas, and the others backing Hamas and, by extension, seen as moving toward Iran," said Nadim Shehadi, a Mideast affairs specialist at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

"And, like with a cold war, no side is willing to push it too hard because the risks are so great," he added.

Nearly every high-stakes question in the Middle East these days somehow draws in Qatar, which is the just half the size of Belgium but strives for a place alongside Arab heavyweights such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

It is rich in oil and gas reserves, has wide influence in the Muslim world as the patron of the Al-Jazeera TV network, and has proved adroit at maneuvering between rivals.

"You sometimes get the feeling that Qatar has multiple personalities," said Mustafa Alani, director of national security and terrorism studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. "It's hard to say which one will show up."

Qatar once was content to leave the region's high-profile affairs to others. Then in 1995, a family coup brought the current emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to power and he quickly began to carve out a new international identity for Qatar. Those ambitions have grown steadily bolder.

Qatar bid credibly though unsuccessfully for the 2016 Olympics. Last year, it brokered a complicated political accord for Lebanon, and it has offered to mediate talks to end the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region.

In the 1990s, it defied Arab hard-liners and allowed an Israeli trade office to open in the seaside capital, Doha. Last year, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni attended a Doha conference on Mideast peace.

It has long had cozy relations with Washington, hosts one of the largest U.S. air bases in the region, and allowed the Pentagon set up coordination hubs for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But now, Qatar appears to be steadying itself for even larger-- and potentially riskier -- gambits with Iran, Hamas and other Western foes.

The Gaza aid conference called by Qatar brought the potential pitfalls with the West into sharp relief.

Key U.S. allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia boycotted the gathering in solidarity with Palestinian leader Abbas. He has accused Qatar of funneling huge amounts of money to rival Hamas, which Washington and the European Union consider a terrorist group.

Hamas' Syria-based political chief, Khaled Mashaal, attended the meeting along with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The summit closed with a parting shot from Qatar: expelling the Israeli trade mission that represented one of the rare examples of tangible Arab-Israeli progress.

But the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahaminejad at the gathering signaled perhaps an even deeper policy reassessment by Qatar. The United States and its main Arab allies are worried about Iranian efforts to shift the regional balance of power. Tehran makes no secret of its desire to expand its influence in the Gulf and elsewhere through proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Qatar could be looking ahead for safer ground if the West's showdowns with Iran grow dicier. Qatar's apparent direction for the moment: trying to carve a path away from Saudi Arabia as its big brother while paying homage to Iran's growing clout and confidence.

But Qatar is still apparently interested in hedging its political bets. It may prove that Qatar is most comfortable being on the fence, some experts say.

"It does not have to be one or the other," said Mehran Kamrawa, a professor of political science at Georgetown University's Qatar campus. "What they are doing is playing all sides ... to maximize self interest, ensure a global and regional role and follow the logic of survival."

This approach appeared on display at the Kuwait meeting several days after Ahmadinejad left Doha. Qatar's prime minister, a member of the ruling family, called for "Arab reconciliation" and remained silent as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak lashed out at Arab leaders who have built ties with Iran.

Obama also has indicated that Washington could be willing to hold direct talks with Iran, and if a thaw sets in after a 30-year diplomatic freeze, Qatar could find itself very comfortable holding the middle ground.

"Qatar feels it has a role to play," said David Butter, Middle East regional director at the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. "I am not sure what the end game is and I am not sure Qatar knows it either."

Analysis: In Gaza, Israel Tries To Excise Lebanon

2009-01-04T22:51:00.001+02:00

(AP) Israel says the main goal of its ground offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers is to end years of rocket fire on its southern towns. But perhaps an equally important, if unspoken, objective is to wipe away the errors of Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon.

That 34-day campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas was marred by hasty decisions and unrealistic expectations. With meticulous preparations and limited aims this time around, the Gaza offensive is meant to restore the army's credibility at home _ and its power of deterrence against Arab enemies.

"Things are being done in a much more orderly way," Cabinet minister Isaac Herzog said.

Israel declared war on Hezbollah immediately after the guerrilla group burst across Israel's northern border, killing three soldiers and capturing two. With little debate, the government set out an ambitious agenda: to bring home the captured soldiers safely and destroy Hezbollah.

While Israel dealt Hezbollah a heavy blow, it failed to rescue the soldiers or stop the guerrilla group from raining 4,000 rockets onto northern Israel.

Soldiers returning from the war zone complained of poor training, inadequate supplies and battlefield setbacks, often in real-time interviews from their cell phones. Bomb shelters and warning systems failed, and in a crippling blow, more than 30 soldiers were killed just as a U.N.-brokered cease-fire was about to take effect.

The inconclusive outcome was widely viewed as a failure in Israel, costing the defense minister, military chief and other top generals their jobs and raising questions about the army's toughness. Surrounded by a sea of enemies, Israel relies on military superiority as a cornerstone of its foreign policy.

With that in mind, the military has said a central goal of the ground operation is to strengthen Israel's deterrence _ both with Hamas and its other enemies in the region.

"If they want to go for another round, they have to take into consideration the consequences," said one senior commander, who was not permitted to be identified under military guidelines.

In launching the mission, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was accused in a government probe of hasty decision making and "very severe failures" during the Lebanon war, has tried hard to send the message that he learned his lessons.

Olmert's inner Cabinet held no less than six lengthy debates over the operation, most recently on Friday, and he has repeatedly told the public how much he agonized over the decision to send soldiers into harm's way.

"This morning, I can look each one of you in the eyes and say that the government did its utmost before deciding on the operation," Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday. "This operation was unavoidable."

Olmert also has taken great pains to show that his objectives are limited to stopping the rocket fire _ not the far more difficult task of toppling Hamas. Officials have even acknowledged that rocket fire is unlikely to be halted altogether.

While the Lebanon crisis caught the army off guard, Israeli military officials say the Gaza operation was planned for months.

Troops have been preparing for the possibility of a Gaza invasion for the past year and a half, and the operation is making much heavier use of well-trained conscripts, in contrast to the rusty reservists who were thrown into battle in Lebanon.

Troops are also better equipped, though they've been ordered to leave cell phones at home as part of a tighter policy on controlling information.

Most critically, Israel moved quickly to the ground phase of its Gaza offensive. In 2006, it relied heavily on air power until the closing days of the war. The aerial attacks quickly ran out of useful targets, and allowed Hezbollah to prepare for Israel's last-minute ground push.

"We have implemented many lessons form the war in Lebanon. We feel our forces ready and very well trained," said military spokesoman Maj. Avital Leibovich.

Robert Fisk: The rotten state of Egypt is too powerless and corrupt to act

2009-01-02T23:42:00.001+02:00

There was a day when we worried about the "Arab masses" – the millions of "ordinary" Arabs on the streets of Cairo, Kuwait, Amman, Beirut – and their reaction to the constant bloodbaths in the Middle East. Could Anwar Sadat restrain the anger of his people? And now – after three decades of Hosni Mubarak – can Mubarak (or "La Vache Qui Rit", as he is still called in Cairo) restrain the anger of his people? The answer, of course, is that Egyptians and Kuwaitis and Jordanians will be allowed to shout in the streets of their capitals – but then they will be shut down, with the help of the tens of thousands of secret policemen and government militiamen who serve the princes and kings and elderly rulers of the Arab world.

Egyptians demand that Mubarak open the Rafah crossing-point into Gaza, break off diplomatic relations with Israel, even send weapons to Hamas. And there is a kind of perverse beauty in listening to the response of the Egyptian government: why not complain about the three gates which the Israelis refuse to open? And anyway, the Rafah crossing-point is politically controlled by the four powers that produced the "road map" for peace, including Britain and the US. Why blame Mubarak?

To admit that Egypt can't even open its sovereign border without permission from Washington tells you all you need to know about the powerlessness of the satraps that run the Middle East for us.

Open the Rafah gate – or break off relations with Israel – and Egypt's economic foundations crumble. Any Arab leader who took that kind of step will find that the West's economic and military support is withdrawn. Without subventions, Egypt is bankrupt. Of course, it works both ways. Individual Arab leaders are no longer going to make emotional gestures for anyone. When Sadat flew to Jerusalem – "I am tired of the dwarves," he said of his fellow Arab leaders – he paid the price with his own blood at the Cairo reviewing-stand where one of his own soldiers called him a "Pharaoh" before shooting him dead.

The true disgrace of Egypt, however, is not in its response to the slaughter in Gaza. It is the corruption that has become embedded in an Egyptian society where the idea of service – health, education, genuine security for ordinary people – has simply ceased to exist. It's a land where the first duty of the police is to protect the regime, where protesters are beaten up by the security police, where young women objecting to Mubarak's endless regime – likely to be passed on caliph-like to his son Gamal, whatever we may be told – are sexually molested by plain-clothes agents, where prisoners in the Tora-Tora complex are forced to rape each other by their guards.

There has developed in Egypt a kind of religious facade in which the meaning of Islam has become effaced by its physical representation. Egyptian civil "servants" and government officials are often scrupulous in their religious observances – yet they tolerate and connive in rigged elections, violations of the law and prison torture. A young American doctor described to me recently how in a Cairo hospital busy doctors merely blocked doors with plastic chairs to prevent access to patients. In November, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm reported how doctors abandoned their patients to attend prayers during Ramadan.

And amid all this, Egyptians have to live amid daily slaughter by their own shabby infrastructure. Alaa al-Aswani wrote eloquently in the Cairo paper Al-Dastour that the regime's "martyrs" outnumber all the dead of Egypt's wars against Israel – victims of railway accidents, ferry sinkings, the collapse of city buildings, sickness, cancers and pesticide poisonings – all victims, as Aswani says, "of the corruption and abuse of power".

Opening the Rafah border-crossing for wounded Palestinians – the Palestinian medical staff being pushed back into their Gaza prison once the bloodied survivors of air raids have been dumped on Egyptian territory – is not going to change the midden in which Egyptians themselves live.

Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah secretary general in Lebanon, felt able to call on Egyptians to "rise in their millions" to open the border with Gaza, but they will not do so. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the feeble Egyptian Foreign Minister, could only taunt the Hizbollah leaders by accusing them of trying to provoke "an anarchy similar to the one they created in their own country."

But he is well-protected. So is President Mubarak.

Egypt's malaise is in many ways as dark as that of the Palestinians. Its impotence in the face of Gaza's suffering is a symbol of its own political sickness.

The Arab Media Coverage of Gaza Massacre

2008-12-28T16:10:00.001+02:00

All Arab channels are covering the Israeli's attack on Gaza . The best coverage yet is the the coverage of Aljazeera . Its advantage over other channels is its correspondents in Gaza and the pan-Arab and world correspondents.

If we compare its coverage to local stations such Al-Manar , Alquds …. We will know what we mean .

Al-Manar has a wonderful coverage as well as Alquds , However : these channels are covering from a local point of view.

Al-Manar is covering from a Lebanese Perspective and Alquds from a local Palestinian perspective . The Advantage of Aljazeera belongs to its Active-Correspondent-Network world widely and its ability to have a direct link to the world most influenced capitals .

The surprise in this war is in the coverage of Ramatan news agency which is a local Palestinian news agency headquartered in Gaza and has offices across the region in Cairo , Khartoum , Ramallah and Amman .

Most channels has broadcasted its pictures in the first day and it has been threatened by the Israel's Army by targeting its headquarter in Gaza if it continued its broadcasting the full-bloody pictures to the world.

We have first heard about this agency during the coverage of the Arab Summit in Khartoum , 2006 .It had an exclusive coverage for that summit given by the Sudanese authority .

Bush and The Shoes

2008-12-23T08:00:00.001+02:00

Dubai: When distance makes the heart grow fonder

2008-12-20T09:03:00.002+02:00

'Living apart together' seems to be the new marriage mantra for many couples in Dubai. The arrangement of living separately during the week and catching up on weekends, many say, is working well for their marriage.

While it is a painful compulsion dictated by financial reasons for some, for many others, compressing their married life into weekends is part of striking the right balance between professional ambition and personal commitment.

European couple, Eugene and Tony, who preferred not to give their second names, said it was a joint decision to remain a 'weekend couple'. Eugene works for a legal firm in Dubai while Tony is in the airline industry based in Abu Dhabi. When Eugene got a job offer from Dubai, the couple decided they could live separately for five days a week. And at the weekends, Tony drives down to Dubai.

"I was keen to take up the offer from the firm in Dubai. Both of us decided that for the time being we would compromise on the 'coming back to the same house' comfort," said Eugene, 31. She said although it was stressful at first they are now fine with the arrangement and happy that they make the most of their time together"

Reflecting similar sentiments, Tony, 28, said separation had actually brought him closer to his partner and every Thursday he looked forward to being with Eugene.

Filipino couple Faith and Johnson live apart because Johnson could not find a job in Dubai.

"He was in Korea and my three-year-old son was in the Philippines with our parents. After he quit his job and came down to Dubai, he could not find a job. So we had no option but to take up the offer he got which was based in the UAE-Oman border," said Faith, who works as an estimation engineer.

Faith lives in shared accommodation in Dubai, and Johnson comes down on weekends. "I won't complain because now I can at least see him during the weekends," said Faith, who is pregnant with her second child. She is of the opinion that separation enhances their time together.

"We still feel like newly-weds. We are always on the phone or texting each other. I think, as they say, distance is only bringing us closer."

For M.S. Kurian and his wife Elizabeth, the decision to live separately was mutual as both did not want to give up their professional comforts.

Adjusted

The couple have been married for the last 30 years and lived in Dubai but Kurian moved to Abu Dhabi in 2003 when he was promoted.

"It was a tough decision because we were so used to living under the same roof for over 25 years. Frankly, it took me almost a year to come to terms with the fact he would be away all week. Now I have adjusted," said Elizabeth, a mother-of-three, now aged 25, 23 and 17.

Kurian, 58, says, they have decided to continue the arrangement for as long as they are in the UAE.

"Both of us have reached a stage where we understand each other very well, and even if not physically together, we know we are always there for each other.

However, the seasoned couple would not advise the weekend arrangement for young couples.

"I do not think young couples should be doing this. They need to spend a lot of time together during the early years of marriage to build a strong foundation for their relationship. And that comes only by living under one roof," said Elizabeth, 49.

Source: The Gulf News

Good Bye Bush

2008-12-15T05:45:00.002+02:00

Slowdown Yet to Affect Retailers in the UAE

2008-12-13T03:39:00.001+02:00

13 December 2008

ABU DHABI — Early signals from the market in the current festival season indicate that the global recessionary fears have 'not yet affected' the retail sector in UAE as a whole and Abu Dhabi in particular, according to the major retailers.

Talking to the Khaleej Times here the officials of the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society (ADCS), the Lulu Hypermarkets and KM Trading said they have so far seen no sign of decline in sales or reduction in enthusiasm in any of their retail outlets here, in spite of the widespread reports of the credit crunch from most of the countries.

The retail outlets in the region launch aggressive sales offers for couple of weeks towards the end of November every year to coincide with the festivals like Eid, Christmas, Arabic New Year and English New Year. But this year when they launched the sales offers last week they too were apprehensive whether the global slowdown will dampen their turnover.

"But we are quite happy to say that the feed backs from the outlets in the last couple of days have dispelled those apprehensions. As of now there is no real slowdown in our sales. Today for example we have registered 46 per cent growth in sales. On an average we have been registering 24 per cent growth after we launched this year's sales offers. We have put about 600 items on our promotional sales category this time. And there are good movements for all of them," says the Marketing Manager of Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, Bejoy Thomas.

The ADCS which is into 30 years' of operation accounts for 40 per cent of the market share in the retail sector in Abu Dhabi.

"The response has been encouraging not only grocery and other items,  but even in the luxury items like branded perfumes, electronics and textiles. We had opened an electronics shop in the ADCS outlet at Muroor Road last week. The response was tremendous there from the day one onwards," he said.

"We hope to achieve 15 to 20 per cent growth increase in our sales during this festival season, compared to our turnover in the normal days. This is what we used to achieve during this season every year. We're not feeling adversely affected by the global recessionary sentiments. The people here do not appear to have put a brake on their spending habits because of the reports of the current financial crisis. This is true not only in Abu Dhabi but across UAE," says a spokesman for the Lulu Hypermarket chains.

Echoing similar views a spokesman for the KM Trading said, people's psychology appear to be that they wait for the sales season to arrive to make their major purchases so that they will be able to get goods at cheaper rates than usual prices. "People cannot stop buying. They would have deferred their purchases from last month to this month, to take advantage of the sales season. People are flowing to our shops with the same enthusiasm as was visible last year."

Buoyed by the favourable customer response the retailers also dismissed the suggestion to introduce additional offers to woo customers this year in view of the global recession.

However, most of them conceded a better assessment of the market situation will be possible only around December 14 after gauging the customer behaviour during the ensuing holidays.

Slowdown Yet to Affect Retailers in the UAE

2008-12-13T03:36:00.000+02:00

13 December 2008

The ADCS which is into 30 years' of operation accounts for 40 per cent of the market share in the retail sector in Abu Dhabi.

Buoyed by the favourable customer response the retailers also dismissed the suggestion to introduce additional offers to woo customers this year in view of the global recession.

However, most of them conceded a better assessment of the market situation will be possible only around December 14 after gauging the customer behaviour during the ensuing holidays.

Islam as a religion of Secularism and freedom

2008-11-26T06:55:00.001+02:00

I have already written about the Islam and how some of Islamic scholars who have kidnapped the Islamic views and adopt it to be suitable for its religious views. What I saw from the comments was something shocked me. Some of the comments thought that my article was against Islam and they have commented according to that thought. One of the comments from my friend from New Zealand has tried to clarify that the Muslim community in New Zealand is one of the kindest communities in the country. I have extracted from her comment a kind blame against me. I think that she has understood that I am attacking The Islam. I wish that I was wrong. I am in Fact a real Muslim. I practice some of Islamic religious prays and fasting. The Idea which I have talked it was about the extremist which people outside the Islamic world thought that that was the Islam. Unfortunately, most of those scholars are erupting from one place, Saudi Arabia. I don't want to repeat what I have said last time. What I want to say here is just one Idea: Islam in its nature is a secular and modern Ideology. Secularism here is not that the extreme one which fights the religions and tries to expel "the God "outside our life. The secularism Which I am talking about can be called according to Egyptian thinker "Abdul Wahab Al-Mesiri " the partial Secularism which ensure the religious freedom and give the believe in God a s space on our life . The believe in God and the religious freedom is a way for the social security. This is the view of Islam. Those who don't believe in God have also the freedom to practice what they really believe in. It is something according to what we think and want to be. You can't consider Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states as the model of Islam. Islam is far more complex and also simple than you expect. The real Islamic model through the history were in the Great Syria, Iraq , Egypt and Andalusia. Islam in its origin is a kind of a secular religion. As I explain above, Secularism means the freedom. Just take a look to the minorities in these states from all religions. You can't see such these minorities even in US and Europe which claim that they have the freedom of practice. How you can explain these numbers of minorities (ethnic and religious)? Another One of the most important things in Islam you can't find it in any other religion. In contrast to all you may know about Islam, there is no rule for the Scholars in the relation between the believer and God. In Islam, there is nothing known as a religion scholars (Sheikhs). There is no intermediate between the believer and his God. Mediation is something has been created by the modern Scholars who want to control every thing. In Islam, the infant is born as a civil national person. No baptism and no interfering from the scholar in his born. It is something completely civil and secular.

Is Saudi Arabia implicated in Damascus Attack ?

2008-09-28T23:03:00.002+02:00

HTML clipboardIs Saudi implicated in Damascus explosion? This question is totally justified. The political relation between Syria and Saudi is the Worst. Saudi is backing the Anti -Syria in Lebanon and It has sent many signs that it is working to over-throw the Syrian regime. Earlier this year, The Russian intelligence has sent warning to the Syrian government warns it that there is a plan to disturb the Syrian security.
According to those warnings, Saudi and the American intelligence are working to disturb its security and spread explosions all over Syria. What we see in Damascus explosion is not far from that warning. Saudi has historical relations with extremists.
It has backed the radical Taliban in Afghanistan and it is backing the extremists in Tripoli of Lebanon. Tripoli which is besides the Syrian border has been converted to the capital of terrorism in the Middle East. Al-Qaida has a base their. Those terrorist are completely funded by Saudi intelligence which is trying to make them as a tool for its plans in the region. The following is some of major terrorist attacks in Syria :
1 – 29 Nov 1981: A car bomb in Syria kills 175 and injures hundreds in Damascus. Syrian Muslims Brotherhood has adopted attack .A lot doubt that It is also behind the last attack in Syria . Muslims brotherhood has activated its militant arm recently and it is operating its activities from Tripoli of Lebanon. Its leaders lives in UK and funded by Saudi Arabia .
2 -16 April 1986 : A series of attacks by bombs hit major Syrian cities kills 144 and injures hundreds .
3- 27 April 1996: an attack kills and injures 40 .

Our Right in having the Atomic Bomb

2008-09-26T19:42:00.000+02:00

US government is asking the International Nuclear agency for a full report about “ Syrian Nuclear program” Which it used to claim that Syria has it –Syria is denying having any such this program - after a statement of Chairman of this agency saying that there is no evidence that Syria have a nuclear reactor .
What I want to Say here that Bush administration is trying to fabricate such these evidence to accuse nations -which are not its allies - in having a nuclear program. Having a nuclear program is a right for any nation. Even having atomic bomb is also a right. You may be surprised about my last sentence. If we just take a look to the world super power you will know what I mean. All nations which are considered as a super power are having a nuclear bomb and even more. I know that they are not using it ,however, it helps them in defending themselves.
Imaging that Iraq was having such this bombs, Was America going to attack it and occupy it ?
I doubt, especially if we compare the Iraq’s mode to the North Korean model. America is using the Diplomacy with North Korea which has the atomic bomb which it has occupied Iraq which it hasn’t.

The appearance and the disappearance of the middle class in Syria

2008-09-20T08:59:00.000+02:00

After the epidemic inflation which hit the world, a lot of questions have appeared and its answers are must. Are we still having a middle class in Syria? I know that this question is critical for a lot, however, we must discus it. According the Syrian statistics authority, Syria poverty rate is around 10 %. This is an official number; however, a lot of experts deny this number and say that it is far more than this number. We aren’t discussing here the meanings of these number and we are not going to go in a debate between those who are with and against the official number.

It is something needs pages and pages to be discussed in. What we are trying here is a trial to clarify how the fall in basic services has affected the middle class in Syrian and convert it to the barriers of poverty. Since Syrian government has taken the decision to convert the Syrian economy from that which depends on central planning and social basics, to that which depends on the market economy and free market (the government has named it as a social market economy to absorb the reactions which condemn the new economic policy of the Syrian government.

Al lot of factors play a role in the continuous increase of poverty rate in Syrian and hence the disappearance of the middle class which was historically the main advantage of the social . The new economic policy pushes the government to increase the prices of a lot of services. During one year, Syrian government has increased the prices of Diesel, electricity , benzene ……. The main danger on the middle class was the diesel prices which “hit the counter ‘ of the Syrian budgets . Simply, increasing diesel prices affect on all fields. It has increased the transportation prices, the manufactured goods prices and the cost of the agricultural products. The government has justified these increases that it happens due to the international increases in fuel prices and to stop the trafficking of these “cheap products” across the borders to neighbor countries which these products prices are mush higher than Syria.

An ambassador to the hill- an opinion over new Syrian envoy to Baghdad

2008-09-17T02:35:00.000+02:00

Syria has opened a new page in its relation with Iraq. The problem of this page that it is based on the economical interests of Syria. It is not by any means based on the real opinion of Syrian government over Iraq’s government. What we see is a pragmatic cal step. Sending an ambassador to Iraq in this political situation is an n adventurous step. We don’t know a lot about the new ambassador more than he served as a governor of one of most important Syrian provinces from the security point of view “ Al-qonitira “.it besides the Syrian front with Israel. He should have been chosen according to a security point of view. He is going in fact to the hill of Baghdad. They know very well that he might be a target for kidnapping. All the previous trials with other Arab ambassadors prove this.