the Rozz phenomenon
Dear readers,
While reading an article in a leading Israeli news paper, i came across a response , a TalkBack from a person called ” Rozz” This comment reads :
” If he is of no further use to the arab world, it won`t take them long to bump him off and blame the Jews for taking advantage of a “sick” man.Isn`t it something to be able to read the minds of the lying, conniving and dirty murdering, cowardly (hiding behind women and children) arabs. What a filthy race of people. Obviously they are missing a gene!”
notice the words ” Race” and ” Gene”, doesn’t this remind you of something ? I’m not talking as a Palestinian, not talking as an Arab, but as a humanist , a 21st century humanist …. I believe that with people such as this ” Rozz” , Hitler is far away from being dead…. how can such people benefit from what is so called ” Democracy” and ” Freedom” while what they deserve is only a very small place in a very big prison ? …yes dear Readers, i think that the Rozz phenomenon is nothing but a symptom of very hard days to come! Till then, GOOD LUCK!
The reason behind my Silence
Hello everyone,
Well well, it’s summer as everyone knows, the weather is unbelievably hot over here in the Middle east, so i’m Extra Lazy, i decided to take a long vacation away from the internet, from newspapers, from Television, i decided to not Blog so as not to feel obliged to read the news or anything of that sort… anyways, this is nothing but the First reason , but there is a Second reason to explain my extended silence, a more strategic one that i will explain right away : As you all know, a lot of things have been happening lately ( yes i know, i decided not to read the news but … i completely failed to do so) , so back to ” a lot of things have been happening lately”
First of all, Hamas took over gaza and signed it’s death sentence with it’s own hands, i can’t help it but rejoice! Yes it’s not a secret , i’m Pro Socialism, Pragmatism and Secularism so i can’t be pro Hamas, it’s my Democratic right i guess … No ? I won’t say that i hate Hamas simply because; it’s a waste of energy to hate a whole movement that doesn’t give a damn about my very own existence. Anyways, moving on…
I’ve been watching very closely President Mahmoud Abbas’s latest moves, declrations and acts. All i can say is that since he decided to act, i feel much safer in my scattered West Bank, even though the Israeli restrictions are still there and restrict my movement between my own cities while building little ( Ugly) settlements here and little (Ugly) settlements there. I must say that seeing the Palestinian Police on the streets, well armed, well trained and well guided, makes me feel that social peace is finally safeguarded by someone out there. I must also say that his latest political moves made me realize that someone out there had a future plan and not just a Day by Day survival kit.
President Abbas decided to act as a President , a responsible one, and this is much appreciated! Reforming the Security apparatus, reforming the Police, the Law, relaunching the Vital Peace process , bypassing and isolating Hamas after it’s criminal “Coup” in Gaza, and reforming the PLO as well as cleaning up the Palestinian Authority, Restoring the standing of both the Palestinian Authority and the PLO on the international and the Arab scenes, all of these moves were much needed in order to clean the Palesitnian house!
I usually write out of despair and out of disgust, but now since i seem to agree with , say, 90% of what is happening over here, i just can’t help it but not write and watch and hope for better times in the very near future ….
Over the past Three days, i heard quite a few positive things here and there, First of all, I heard bush supporting the Palestinian Authority and it’s reforms, i heard Rice talking about the ” Need to end the Occupation of the West Bank” , I heard that the Egyptian and the Jordanian Foreign Ministers visited Israel in order to advance a comprehensive Arab Peace initiative, i heard that Ehud Olmert is offering a ” Declaration of Principles” regarding the future Palestinian State, and I heard Mahmoud Abbas totally agreeing to start formulating this declaration as soon as possible…
The negative side of all this is that all the actors up there need each other for Survival, Olmert can’t survive without Abbas and Vice Versa, Jordan and Egypt need peace as soon as possible in order to feel safe domestically behind their own frontiers, the Arabs feel pressured by the USA just as Bush needs the Arabs in order to survive ( politically) Iraq’s disaster… I secretly believe that in this region, without pressure, nothing works, when we are weak and Threatened , we seem to act more wisely and more quickly, a few examples: Olmert decided to act militarily against Hezbollah because he was weak when it all happened and that he needed a war to show that he too can act , he was threatened by Ailing Sharon, yes, Sharon was so powerful that even when he is unconscious, his Authority is still there and a lot of people feel threatened by it, so the Pressure of being the One after Sharon made him act unwisely but quite FAST! Anyways, i have reasons to believe that if Ehud Olmert is acting and talking about peace now, it’s also for his political survival, he needs Abbas in order to show that ” Another way is possible”…
Abbas’s Political standing was very weak too, he was the one after Yasser Arafat, he was also weak due to Hamas’s “Religious” power, since it’s believed amongst the highest ranks of Hamas that “God” wanted them to win the elections…Back to Abbas, he was too weak “personally” but once his rivals used their military Power to crush him, he used his constitutional and Presidential power and crushed them back by uniting and cleaning his party’s ranks and by restoring some kind of authority on the few territories he still controls and not to forget, by FORCING a new dialog between the Palestinian Authority and Israel…
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs brigades : they were problematic in the near past, But but but…. under pressure from the Situation, from the President, from their very own leaders, they decided to give up their arms and to become ” partners” in all this process, it’s not because they love Israel or Abbas that they did this, it’s mainly because they hate Hamas, they fear Hezbollah and they can’t stand Iran!
Jordan and Egypt felt threatened by the Gaza feud, Jordan feared that this situation was going to reach it’s territories, they also have a few fears because of Iraq….and egypt feared the Awakening of it’s Islamic brotherhood movement as well as Al Qaeda’s Ghost that seems to fly all over the southern borders of Gaza… So both are acting very seriously in order to get it over with the very heavy Palestinian issue!
The Bush administration : it kind of locked itself up in Iraq, bush is feeling very threatened by Iraq and by the Democrats , he also has a few fears from Al Qaeda ( 9/11 is far away from being forgotten) , so he needs to find a solution to something in the Middle East, and the easiest to resolve at this point seems to be the Palestinian Question! So here too, out of Fear and out of despair, the Palestinian issue is being viewed as the only possible solution to everyones problems! The other Arabs, they fear a lot of things, mainly Islamism and “American-Cut-of-Aidism”, so they are walking on the footsteps of Bush…
In other words, there is a very clear interdependence between the USA, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt , Abbas and the PLO, The Arab states, it’s an interdependence based on fear and weakness, and if this is the thing that will bring peace to the region, let it be! Powerful governments did not bring any kind of peace , maybe the weak ones will….
P.S. After five minutes of deep meditation, i decided to call this post ” The power of Weakness” ….
URGENT CALL FOR HELP : Palestine Times
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Saving Palestine
Palestine is having huge existential problems, the time has come now to decide to take a look at the problems and to try and find solutions instead of creating more problems by trying to put the blame on this side and that side, on this party and that party, on this ideology and that ideology , it’s time to contribute in the huge project of building our country! Yes, people build houses, people build societies, people build futures and people build cultures! Now is our turn to build our country, we have the culture, we have the society, but we don’t have the structure that we need in order to preserve our culture, and to secure our future! Today my friends, I decided to contribute to the building of Palestine! Maybe my contribution is a little stone in a huge building, but after all, a huge building is built out of hundreds of thousands of little stones, and if each one of us doesn’t put his share of stones in this building, I guarantee you that it will fall and we will never be able to get out of the rubble.
My project is simple : It’s based on economics, free market and a stable institutional social system. My Palestine is secular, socialist, republican, free and opened to all those who wish to get to know it and to contribute to it’s prosperity!
My idea has several levels : We have been receiving international aid for at least the last 12 Years and we will still receive international aid at least for another 10 to 15 years. The First level of my project has a short term dimension.
I suggest that we start from level Zero. Israel must allow free and easy circulation between all the Palestinian cities, Gaza included IF POSSIBLE, The Palestinian authority’s money must be, once and for all, controlled and redistributed in a way that will make every Palestinian have a descent life for at least a month. Yes, I am suggesting that the money gets distributed to all those who need it in order to be able to get into the standards of a normal life. Yet, this might seem impossible to do, but in order to succeed with our national project, we all should make concessions, and one month won’t hurt anyone. Those who don’t need money should not ask for it. I repeat, this is just for one month. This month of well-being will make those who stopped being consumers due to economical problems be consumers again, and therefore the market will start working again, not mentioning the hopes that will arise from such an action. Palestinian products will start circulating again on the market and industry owners will be able to pay taxes again which will go directly to the Palestinian Authority’s accounts.
During that month, the Palestinian Institution ( PA) should use all the money it gets from international aid, Tax revenues , etc… in order to pay salaries to it’s workers and most of all, in order to create a social network backed by strong social laws. Social laws should create a minimum wage, an insertion wage ( an income that will help those who don’t have work, to get money, under strict certain conditions, during the period in which they will look for work (which shall not exceed two months), The Palestinian authority must make sure that it’s citizens are socially covered in case they need medical care, a healthy citizen is a citizen who works, who pays taxes and who consumes , therefore a very important element in the construction of the national home.
The Palestinian authority shall start reconstruction and construction projects, this will create jobs for locals, again, these citizens will work, earn wages they deserve, and pay taxes and consume, therefore, nothing is lost. The Palestinian Authority should think of building public buildings and public enterprises ( Electricity and water Company, Social Security company , Transportation company, Gas company, and other companies of public interest).
The first step of my reconstruction project will take up to one year. By that period, we will have a public system , a more or less stable social system, hope on the streets, and many other elements that we will need for the second step.
The second step will take more time in order to be accomplished, It’s actually the step that many emerging countries are going through.
During this second period, the Palestinian authority should start pushing its rich population to invest in information technology and to create start ups ( that’s what you invest in when you have no or few natural resources). Then , the Palestinian authority should attract international investments, it might sound impossible, but you would be surprised by the number of investors who want to invest in the region. We can also promote tourism again, with the help of neighboring countries, we can create packages that include Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and why not Syria and Lebanon at another stage.
The Palestinian authority has to make it easier for it’s citizens to create companies, industries, and so on. On one hand it will help it to finance itself and on another hand it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Then comes the time to create a free market in the region, Israel has it’s products, Jordan has it’s products, Egypt has it’s products, Palestine will have it’s products, why not creating a unique middle eastern market that will attract international money ?
After all, in our modern world, money Is a very important ingredient for social peace, why not using it smartly in this region ? We can then try to implement the palestinian experiment on the middle East as a whole and create a new Middle Eastern Union for the good of everyone!
This is a DRAFT of my idea,oddly enough, In my head, it’s much clearer, and much bigger, but giving you an idea of what we need to do is always a good starting point!
Waiting for your comments and contributions, whether you are Palestinian, Israeli , Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian, iranian ,Marsian, your views will be taken into consideration!
If i were the President!
I am a very disappointed Palestinian citizen, for the last decade, I have seen my society killing itself, I have seen my moral values being questioned by almost everyone, I have seen my dream of a country falling apart and I have seen my very own future becoming more and more blurry by the second. Today, like almost every Palestinian on this land, I find myself in a big dilemma, do I have to leave
Palestine behind me and go look for another life somewhere else or do I have to stay here and fight for my ideas? The answer to this question is not an easy one and since at this point I’m a totally lost citizen, I decided to dream, this is the only thing that I can do in a positive manner since everything else around me is pushing me towards the negative extreme. Hold your breath and keep reading, my dream might shock you but let me be honest and tell you that my dream is shocking me too, we are on the same level and probably as lost as each other. Dear reader, If I am sharing this with you, it’s because I believe that we both share the same dreams, the same worries and the same dilemmas.
Scenario number one :
The nightmare
“ Ladies and gentlemen, today, the 12th of January 2030, I got elected and became the president of the “Palestinian Authority”, thank you for your confidence. Since 2005, our situation didn’t stop deteriorating, killing after killing, suicide after suicide, death after death, millions immigrated due to the internal security situation… we are today 10 Palestinians on earth…during these elections, I got the confidence of 70% of my dear people , 30% abstained due to depression , which means that 7 out of 10 Palestinians voted for me…with such a huge turnout and such a clear victory, I have a clear mandate to change your lives for the better…” Comment : I agree, this scenario is quite fictional and fatalist, we will never disappear because we are very strong and nothing can get in our way, the way of our national dream! Unless nothing changes in the coming few months ….
Scenario Number two:
The Dream
PART I
The Victory speech
“Ladies and Gentlemen, today, the 12th of January 2015, you chose me in order to be your president, I am your friend, you elected me democratically and I want you to feel safe and secure in our homeland,
Palestine! You elected me on the basis of my electoral program, and unlike all those who came behind me, I promise you to hold my promises. Unlike all the other presidents we had in the past, I am different…Why am I different ? Because this is a dream…Now, I would like to extend a warm welcoming hand towards all those who want to join me and help me in order to achieve our national goals, in order to achieve a secure
Palestine, a country that loves it’s citizens, a land that pays back all those who worked for it’s prosperity! Today my friends, I am here to tell you that the future is going to be a better place, we will put the past behind us once and for all and together, we will rebuild our country “ Clap clap clap clap!!!!! We all partied that night it was really wonderful, as if people really believed in me…now it will be harder to disappoint them…. Please stay tuned for my next press conference.
PART II
The Press conference
“ My dear beloved people, the people of Palestine! Today , I am the President and today , I renew my vows towards my nation, that nation that I love, that I have loved in the past and that I want to serve with all my energy, with your help! Dear people, nothing is possible without you, Alone, I am nobody, I am not interested by the title of President ( hey…again, this is a Dream..), my main goal is your wellbeing, our wellbeing! Today, I pledge to rebuild a healthy Palestine; I pledge to give you what you deserve! What will be my first actions as a president ? Good question ! As your president, my duty is to guarantee the security of each and every one of you, your security and your well being will be my first priority during all my term in office! I pledge to stop all those who work against our national dream, I pledge to stop all those who ruin your daily lives and who stand in your way.
Starting tomorrow morning, I will order our country’s security forces to start acting seriously against crime and lawlessness, Starting tomorrow morning, all those responsible for killings, robberies and lawlessness will have only one possible destination: PRISON! To them, I say that no amnesty will be tolerated, they ruined our society and it’s big time that they serve as a lesson to all those who are planning to follow their example. I will fight these elements with an Iron fist! It’s important to note that I will also issue a decree against holding weapons, the only legitimate and tolerated weapon is the Palestinian national weapon held by the security forces, all other weapons will be confiscated and destroyed, there is no place for arms in our soon to be peaceful society.
On the Second day of my mandate, I will start the deliberations in order to update our basic rights paper. Palestine will become a secular state a state for all its citizens, a state for its entire people! Yes, that day will mark a separation between religion and politics, I respect all religions, I respect politics too and for that matter, I pledge to make a radical separation between them. I want to unite our people under one Palestinian flag, that Palestinian flag that we all must respect and live for! I want to guarantee to each and every one of us the freedom of cult, the freedom of thought and the freedom of expression.
On the third day of my mandate, I will start my job creation campaign. During the last decade, we destroyed Palestine with our own hands, now it’s time that we rebuild it with the same hands. There will be a job for every Palestinian who wants to work, we will repair the streets, rebuild our buildings, rebuild our culture, we will reform our judicial system, and we will clean our country. I pledge to help the private sector to grow and to prosper and on my behalf, I pledge to help the public sector to get out of this turmoil and to become functional and useful again. On the fourth day of my mandate, I will reform our stranded economy. My motto will be “ the more you earn, the more you pay” , I know this won’t please a lot of people, but this part is very important for those who want a Palestine. I want the people to understand that being Palestinian is a right, but in order to be Palestinian, we have some duties too. In addition to that economical reform, I plan to publicize the basic services whereas each and every Palestinian will have access to his basic vital needs, these services will include: access to Water, electricity, medical care, education and medical assistance as well as some other social services.
On the fifth day of my mandate, I plan to reform our social machine; I will create a strong social security system funded by the state and by the fiscal contributions of our working force. I want every Palestinian to feel secure and strong in front of illness, a healthy society is a prosperous society! Through the social affairs ministry, I will create a social assistance service that will help integrating all those who, due to various reasons, left the social system at some point. In that domain , I also plan to make of civil marriage a social norm. With civil marriage, we can guarantee equality between the genders.
On the sixth day, I will abolish the ministry of information, I want a free Palestinian society, a free Palestinian media , the freedom of the press must be guaranteed, on the other hand, I will create a public state television and radio station that will broadcast the opinions of those who will lead our country. For this matter, the only public element of this station will be the Funding, all the rest will come from the private sector.
On the seventh day, I will start talks with our neighbours in order to sign regional agreements in matters of security, trade, cultural cooperation, tourism. Now that our country is moving towards prosperity, it’s time that we open up to the world and become a leading regional force. We are a little country and globalization will be forced upon us, it’s time that we try to control it before it gets the chance to control us, for this matter, I plan to help our local trends to start moving towards international markets, this help will include special presidential trade visits to the strongest regional blocks of this planet in order to negotiate the rules.
On the eighth day, I will name a committee that will create a new educational system that will replace our old obsolete structure; the new edition will give our children the ability to think, to reason, to be critical and to be autonomous. It will also give them the main keys to living in an open world, I will give a very special attention to foreign languages and to world history and geography, I will put in place a civic education class in order to teach our children about how to live in society, to socialize them about our main laws, to show them how social peace is to be maintained, in other words, to help them through the civilisation process that they will be facing.
On the ninth day of my mandate, I will address the environmental situation of our country, I want a green country. With the help of the green party of Palestine, we will determine a minimum number of trees to be planted yearly, we will also set a committee that will fight industrial pollution, the government will financially help all the entrepreneurs who wish to renovate their machines in order to pollute less, it will also help all those who want to get rid of their old vehicles in order to renew them with less polluting ones, and finally, we will make of Fair Trading a national duty.
On the Tenth day……” Well I think that on the tenth day, I will wake up and realize that all this was just a dream and that some dreams never come true. Maybe this dream will always stay a dream, but I want all those responsible for the failure of my nation to understand that while they are making every Palestinian dream impossible, they will never be able control my ability to dream… Today, I realize that we are still in 2007 and that if we don’t act urgently, we will most certainly end up with the First scenario of my dream, which is the nightmare!
People of Palestine, for the sake of our dream, let’s work together! It’s big time that we take our responsibilities and that we start controlling our destiny instead of giving it the chance to control us!
Stop the Clash of Civilizations
Stop the Clash of Civilizations
I like this clip 
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