Shoe throwing, Bush and Al Zaidi the iraqi journalist

I am quite annoyed by the sentence passed on Al-Zaidi the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at President Bush. A three years sentence represents the fear and paranoia of Iraqi figures in authority from been treated the same way. Therefore such unreasonable sentence comes from fears of losing face rather than from a rational decision that is proportionate to the act itself.

In legal sense there may be two kinds of assaults, one that causes physical harm which in a court of law a punishement will depend on how much the physical damage is? The other kind of damage caused by the assault is related to how much is the emotional is the emotional damage? Obviously neither of those damages ware evident in incident. Apparently the sentence aimed at setting precedent for the rest of the Iraqis rather than showing justice. I think this isn’t fair for a country that is just learning about the right of protest and democracy.

A week or two in detention or a fine would be proportionate rather than coming down heavy handedly on people similar to what Saddam used to treat Iraqis.

Thomas Friedman, Conflict Prevention and Peace in Middle East and Iraq

Thomas Friedman, Dell’s theory of Conflict Prevention and development of peace in the Middle East starting with Iraq

Thomas Friedman in his book “The World is Flat” discusses Dell’s theory of Conflict Prevention. In its essence the theory suggests that countries with mutual economical dependency and benefits through free market economy would not resort to wars if the heat of political or religious confrontation arises. He takes China and Taiwan as two countries that developed mutual economical benefits through Hi Tech western investments in both countries. Everyone knows that the conflict is about the China’s claim of Taiwan and Taiwan’s claim for independence. Dell’s has invested billions of dollars in hi tech manufacturing components in both countries and that has generated mutual economical dependency and subsequently prevented catastrophic wars.

I think the model can be implemented in the Middle East to create the peace we all wants starting with Iraq as the first fledging democracy where western investments can be injected followed by further investment in neighbouring countries to generate mutual economical dependency and benefits.

To some this proposal may seem simplistic but it can happen as it did happen in China and Taiwan.

Muntazer al-Zaidi, shoe throwing and Mr Bush

Muntazer al-Zaidi has chosen to deny the fact that Iraq is much better place than Saddam's times. He vented his anger by throwing his shoes at Mr Bush. His anger is a clear manisfestation of the sense of shame attached to been liberated by foreign forces from a horrible dictatorial and savage grip.

This act is a good representation of tribal people's inability to express their emotions in a form of language or articulate them more effectively or the inability for better emotional expressions, subsequently they resort to throwing shoes, violent acts, hysteric episodes...etc.

As someone from that part of the world, I know how such defecit (the inability of effective emotional expression) hampers and delays our emotional development and subsequently our rational thoughts. It also makes children feeling inferior for all times to come.

The other side of coin is that this event is a great representation of the sense of security Iraqis now feeling when it comes act of defiance that isn't violent.

Finally, I don't think a 15 years sentence should be imposed, this man should be freed as soon as possible or perhaps fined or sentenced to a community services penalty rather than trying to intimidate the rest of Iraqis for protesting in this manner.

Gun fights among Hamas, PLO and a powerful family

Today’s clash or I should say gun fights among Palestinians (i.e. Hamas, PLO and Halas family) is good evidence Palestinians' inability to tolerate each other and incapable of working with each other for the common good of all Palestinians. My question to Arabs and Muslims in general and Palestinians in particular is quite simple, why differences among Arabs and Muslims are usually dealt with by violent means? Contrary to that their neighbours the “horrible” Israelis though differ in their views don’t pull guns and fight to resolve a conflict.

Relating to the above my ultimate fear is that Iraqis may fail to develop democracy in Iraq due to similar inability to tolerate each other and fail to resolve difficult situations by peaceful means unless they become acutely aware of the fact that negotiation is a better option for every Iraqi.

Sawah Abu Saif tortured by Hamas, why?

An Arab journalist, by the name Sawah Abu Saif, working for a German newspaper was detained and tortured by Hamas gangs claiming he is a spy for Fatah. This spying business is a disease plagued the Arab world for decades and has to be exposed.

Any Arab who may disagree or not committing himself to blind loyalty to an Arab tribe or a religious sect and dares to speak the truth about the inhumane treatment of others is normally accused of spying and espionage by whoever in power. Hamas or other radical Arab and Muslim group may detain westerners but surely will not torture them, but if the detained person is an Arab or an Arab by origin then he had it.

There is a similar parallel of mistreatment of Arabs or naturalised Arabs when visiting another arab country. When you get to passport control of an Arab country and the passport control officer learns from your name or by other means that you are an Arab then delays, demanding bribes, and threatening gestures is what you get. I lived such experience when visiting Egypt. In my first visit I pretended that I do not speak Arabic therefore was no delay but in my next visit I spoke Arabic then demand for bribes and delays was evident. A westerner will never be treated the same way.

Al Bashir president of Sudan and crimes against humanity

Asking for the head of Omar Al Bashir the president of Sudan by the international court of crimes against humanity is a model that requires extension to become the norm in global policies against genocides or ethnic cleansing, political and religious dictatorial regimes, and other systems of the similar calibre of brutality. The court should be given real judiciary and military power to arrest presidents, prime ministers…etc of oppressive regimes and giving them sentences that even range from few months to life sentences. This idea may sound a bit cynical for its suggestion to arrest head of states or members of states involved in oppressing or the killing of their own people, but the new 21st century realities demands the total elimination of dictatorial and brutal regimes hiding behind the concept of sovereignty. Mugabe is another example who should be sent to this court to be tried.

Iraqi oil industry infrastructure

Iraq has decided to open up its oil industry’s infrastructure for renovation by outside companies; companies who develop United Arab Emirates from a desert into a country that can be one of the biggest financial centres in the Middle East and Asia and that was within 25 years.

This very courageous move is going to detach Iraq from the stupidity of Arabs nationalistic politics and the simplistic idea of foreign companies steals Iraqi oil wealth; let these companies steal the Iraq oil if that takes Iraq to where the United Arab Emirates has reached now.

Currently oil price is quite high and Iraq can benefit from that by exporting 6 millions barrel a day in the next 10 years. This is what Iraq needs.

Globalisation has a great impact on nations like Iraq where Gordon Brown’s recent proposal of countries like Iraq can invest into British renewable energy industries and Britain and other western nations can invest in developing better oil industry’s infrastructure. This is called innovation and not stealing, this is called 21st century business deals, this is called old colonial practices cannot be practised in 21st century, this called the best way forward for Iraq to disentangle itself from the rest of the Arab defective politics and develop independent of them.

Although I disagree with ideology of party leading the current Iraqi government, I endorse its proactive move to develop Iraq’s oil industry infrastructure and snubbing all Arab nationalism’s nonsensical voices and focus on how their ancestors the Babylonians build the Tower of Babylon and the infinite library of Babylon.

Iran accuses Ashtari of spying for Israel

Iran has taken another victim accused of spying for Israel. Ashtari is a businessman who is sentenced to death by one of those brutal revolutionary courts normally headed by a bloodthirsty Mullahs such as the early eighties judge called larijani whose victims’ blood still on his hands.

There is a pattern in all of this business of spying for foreign agencies or Israel where all dictatorships share. When dictatorships get cornered as in tightening economic sanctions on them or threat of bombing their nuclear facilities as in the Iranian case, they tend to display their strength and defiance by exhibiting extreme intimidating actions and victimisation of their own people; that sort of action is a good representation of cowardice and lack of courage to confront whoever involved in the sanctions or threat. The closest example I remember is the 1969-70 Saddam’s regime public hanging of ten innocent Iraqis accused of been Israeli agents despite the fact Saddam’s regime was just a couple of years in power and Israel had no idea what sort of regime it was? This sort of sick dynamics represents a good example of dictatorships’ projection of extreme fear, neuroticism and paranoia on their own people.

The way dictatorships do such thing [e.g. hanging of the innocents] can be fast and furious; in other words it happens like lynching where crowd of supporters display their anger in the streets of the capital or making the news of catching the spy public in a flash or by other immediate means. I can tell everyone that actions like that can be very intimidating and paralysing; one would freeze and submit to the will of the powerful of the brutal Revolutionary Guards for example.

Ashatari could be innocent victim of the Mullahs’ brutal regime or perhaps he was lured to some business dealings with Mullahs’ regime but watched to make some mistakes then caught and accused of being an Israeli spy.

By the way this business of Israeli spy is used by all dictatorial regimes in the Middle East.

Africa and the despot Mugabe

The world is watching carelessly the despot Mugabe taking the fate of Zimbabweans in his cruel hand and leading them into another hell again; he is taking an oath that he doesn’t’ deserve and claims to serve the country. Aren’t these despots like Saddam Hussein ashamed of themselves for claiming patriotism, anti-imperialism and their serving the people of those countries? Aren’t the world and the UN are ashamed of watching the brutal events happening without any action? Aren’t the world in general and the UN particular are ashamed of letting those dictators hide behind International Laws and the brutal concept of sovereignty?

We call on the international community to intervene directly to establish democracy in Zimbabwi and other oppressed nations and take solid action to protect those nations by allowing stationed troops for further protection. We call on UN to stop its own corruption in turning blind eye of such mockery and allocate some funding through cutting some of its staff fat salaries to station troops.

People of this world deserve protection from the claws of dictatorial regimes hiding behind the cruel concept of sovereignty. The west must start taking real steps toward the ending of those regimes and toward the freeing of oppressed people wherever they are?