<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419</id><updated>2012-02-06T01:15:21.596-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Abu Hasan Chan</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default?start-index=101&amp;max-results=100'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>292</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-689214357040167020</id><published>2011-06-13T06:32:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-06-13T06:32:35.249-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Tun M wajar mohon maaf pada PAS, Anwar</title><content type='html'>&lt;a class="contentpagetitle" href="http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3713-tun-m-wajar-mohon-maaf-pada-pas-anwar"&gt;http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3713-tun-m-wajar-mohon-maaf-pada-pas-anwar&lt;/a&gt;                     &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a class="contentpagetitle" href="http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3713-tun-m-wajar-mohon-maaf-pada-pas-anwar"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;                     &lt;br /&gt;&lt;table class="contentpaneopen"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td valign="top"&gt;   &lt;span class="small"&gt;    Ismail Hashim  &lt;/span&gt;   &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;  &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td valign="top"&gt;  &lt;strong&gt;&lt;img align="right" border="0" hspace="10" src="http://bm.harakahdaily.net/images/stories/berita/5mac/ng-swee-lim-dap-sekinchan.jpg" /&gt;SHAH ALAM, 9 Jun:&lt;/strong&gt;  Nasihat segera bertaubat Pengerusi DAP yang juga Ahli Parlimen Bukit  Gelugor, Karpal Singh terhadap mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Mahathir  Mohamad dilihat sangat tepat pada masanya.&lt;br /&gt;Timbalan Setiausaha DAP Selangor, Ng Swee Lim &lt;strong&gt;(gambar)&lt;/strong&gt;  berkata, nasihat itu sewajarnya diikuti baik oleh Mahathir memandangkan  beliau seorang perdana menteri selama 22 tahun yang banyak melakukan  kesilapan.&lt;br /&gt;Menurut Swee Lim, Tun Mahathir mestilah menerima nasihat itu kerana  sebagai seorang beragama Islam, beliau wajib percaya kepada konsep halal  haram, dosa pahala dan syurga neraka.&lt;br /&gt;Katanya, jika Mahathir tidak menerima nasihat bertaubat itu, nescaya  di akhirat nanti, beliau akan disiksa dengan azab pedih ekoran kesalahan  besar yang dilakukan semasa hidup di dunia.&lt;br /&gt;“Antara kesalahan paling besar adalah memfitnah PAS dan menuduh Datuk  Seri Anwar Ibrahim melakukan liwat yang tidak dapat dibawa saksi yang  adil dan mencukupi.&lt;br /&gt;Swee Lim yang juga Adun Sekinchan, Selangor berkata, sekiranya Tun  Mahathir sudi bertaubat, maka selepas itu beliau hendaklah memohon maaf  kepada PAS, Anwar serta keluarganya secara terbuka.&lt;br /&gt;“Saya seorang bukan Islam tetapi saya menerima konsep halal haram,  dosa pahala dan syurga neraka apatah lagi agama Islam (Allah SWT) itu  Maha Pengampun.&lt;br /&gt;“Semua orang pernah melakukan kesalahan, jangan berdegil, wajib dan  sudah sampai masanya untuk beliau bertaubat serta memohon maaf sesama  umat kerana jika enggan, ada bara api neraka menunggu di akhirat kelak,”  tegasnya.&lt;br /&gt;Adun dua penggal itu berkata, Mahathir pernah menulis surat kepada  Menteri Besar Kelantan, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz menghalang  dilaksanakan&amp;nbsp;Kanun Jenayah Syariah II&amp;nbsp;dan hari ini, tiba-tiba beliau  pula yang sukakan hukum Islam itu.&lt;br /&gt;Sekiranya masih tidak mahu bertaubat, Swee Lim berkata, tunggulah  satu hari nanti Mahathir terpaksa menjawab di akhirat kelak kerana  sebagai manusia biasa, tiada apa yang rakyat boleh lakukan terhadapnya.&lt;br /&gt;Dalam pada itu, Swee Lim berkata, apa yang dilakukan Mahathir adalah  bertolak dari perasaannya yang kesunyian sekarang dan tidak dipedulikan  lagi, lalu keluarkan berbagai kenyataan merapu.&lt;br /&gt;Terbaru,&amp;nbsp;Mahathir mengulas keputusan pemilihan pimpinan PAS dalam  Muktamar Tahunan ke 57 dari 3 hingga 5 Jun lalu yang disifatkannya  sebagai kemenangan kepada Karpal.&lt;br /&gt;Ini ekoran tema ucapan dasar Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi  Awang, Membangun Negara Berkebajikan yang pada Mahathir, PAS membuang  perjuangan tegakkan Negara Islam yang ditentang Karpal.&lt;br /&gt;Bertindak balas dari jawapan itu, Karpal pula menasihatkan Mahathir agar segera bertaubat.&lt;br /&gt;Sementara itu, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz yang juga Mursyidul Am  PAS berkata, pihaknya masih menyimpan surat ancaman daripada Mahathir  sewaktu beliau menjadi perdana menteri yang menghalang Kelantan  melaksanakan Kanun Jenayah Syariah II termasuk Hukum Hudud.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-689214357040167020?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/689214357040167020/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/06/tun-m-wajar-mohon-maaf-pada-pas-anwar.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/689214357040167020'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/689214357040167020'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/06/tun-m-wajar-mohon-maaf-pada-pas-anwar.html' title='Tun M wajar mohon maaf pada PAS, Anwar'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1011200818620504330</id><published>2011-06-13T06:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-06-13T06:21:04.177-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Qazaf jadi mainan politik jijik Umno</title><content type='html'>http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3763-qazaf-jadi-mainan-politik-jijik-umno&lt;a class="contentpagetitle" href="http://bm.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3763-qazaf-jadi-mainan-politik-jijik-umno"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;                     &lt;br /&gt;&lt;table class="contentpaneopen"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&lt;span class="small"&gt;    Harakahdaily  &lt;/span&gt;   &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;  &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td valign="top"&gt;&lt;b&gt;KUALA LUMPUR, 13 Jun:&lt;/b&gt; Umno tetap tidak mahu berubah  dan menjadikan Islam sebagai mainan politik jijik mereka apabila  mempertikaikan khutbah Jumaat Negeri Selangor yang bertajuk ‘Jenayah  Qazaf adalah berdosa besar’.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img align="left" border="0" hspace="10" src="http://bm.harakahdaily.net/images/stories/harakahdaily/person/mp_PAS/mohd%20firdaus%20jaafar_2.jpg" /&gt;Ahli Parlimen Jerai, Mohd Firdaus Jaafar &lt;b&gt;(gambar)&lt;/b&gt;  berkata, qazaf dan hudud sama seperti sembahyang, puasa dan  perintah-perintah lain yang terdapat di dalam Al-Quran adalah perintah  Allah dan wajib dilaksanakan.&lt;br /&gt;Menurutnya, masjid merupakan tempat yang sesuai bagi menerangkan  perintah Allah SWT walaupun sebenarnya menyampaikan dakwah tidak terhad  hanya di masjid namun apabila menerangkan hukum Allah supaya umat Islam  faham akan betapa besarnya dosa memfitnah dan mengaibkan seseorang  kemudian dibawa sekali jalan penyelesaian sepertimana yang dituntut oleh  agama dianggap politik, ini benar-benar menunjukkan yang Umno  sememangnya jahil.&lt;br /&gt;Baru-baru ini, Ketua Pemuda Umno Selangor, Ungku Salleh Ungku Jamal  dan Ketua Pemuda Umno Selayang, Datuk Sohaimi Shahadan mempertikaikan  isi kandungan khutbah tersebut yang mana kononnya bermotifkan politik  dan mempunyai maksud di sebaliknya.&lt;br /&gt;Firdaus menganggap tindakan Kerajaan Negeri Selangor memberikan  kefahaman kepada rakyat akan dosa qazaf semasa khutbah Jumaat bertepatan  dengan masanya memandangkan ketika itulah rata-rata umat Islam memenuhi  ruang masjid berbanding dengan semasa kuliah-kuliah umum di waktu lain.&lt;br /&gt;Tambahan pula, katanya isu fitnah video seks sedang berleluasa ketika  ini yang mana umum mengetahui siapa dalang di sebalik penyebaran video  tersebut.&lt;br /&gt;Umno jelas tidak boleh membezakan antara politik dengan perintah  Allah di mana hukum qazaf wujud sebelum wujudnya Umno di muka bumi ini.&lt;br /&gt;“Apakah menerangkan perkara-perkara wajib yang terkandung di dalam Al Quran salah?&lt;br /&gt;“Bukankah itu satu kewajipan bagi pemerintah bagi menjadikan rakyat berilmu dan tidak mudah ditipu?” soalnya.&lt;br /&gt;Menurutnya, Umno sememangnya suka jika rakyat dibiarkan hidup dalam  keadaan jahil serta buta ilmu supaya rakyat mudah ditipu oleh Umno.&lt;br /&gt;Bagi Umno, ujarnya selagi rakyat buta maklumat dan ilmu, selagi itu mereka boleh terus berkuasa dan memperbodohkan rakyat.&lt;br /&gt;Kata beliau, sememangnya Umno tidak boleh dibiarkan lagi menjadi pemerintah di Malaysia ini.&lt;br /&gt;Mereka, katanya&amp;nbsp;jelas bertopengkan agama demi meraih habuan politik.&lt;br /&gt;“Bagi mereka agama sekadar solat, puasa dan zakat, tidak lebih  daripada itu sedangkan Islam syumul dan menjadi panduan kepada kehidupan  kita,” katanya&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1011200818620504330?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1011200818620504330/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/06/qazaf-jadi-mainan-politik-jijik-umno.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1011200818620504330'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1011200818620504330'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/06/qazaf-jadi-mainan-politik-jijik-umno.html' title='Qazaf jadi mainan politik jijik Umno'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1945217054626616830</id><published>2011-05-17T00:17:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-05-17T00:17:39.834-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Ujian, Sumpah, Qadzaf &amp; Mubahalah. Dr Wahbah</title><content type='html'>http://www.abuanasmadani.com/?p=929&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;h1 class="storytitle"&gt;Ujian, Sumpah, Qadzaf &amp;amp; Mubahalah. Dr Wahbah&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div class="meta"&gt;Posted by &lt;a href="http://www.abuanasmadani.com/?author=1" title="Kiriman-kiriman oleh Abu Anas Madani"&gt;Abu Anas Madani&lt;/a&gt; on 17 Mei 2011&lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ucapan Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily di Shah Alam.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hakikat Ujian Kepada Orang Yang Beriman&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Alhamdulillah, pada 14/5/2011 Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily  telah sudi untuk menyampaikan syarahan di Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul  Aziz Shah, Shah Alam, Selangor. Syarahan yang bertajuk “Sumpah &amp;amp;  Qazaf” itu telah bermula tepat jam 2.30 petang dan berakhir pada jam  4.00 petang. Tuan Guru Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri telah dijemput sama  pada majlis tersebut sebagai penterjemah syarahan&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.abuanasmadani.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/wahbah-Bakri1.jpg" rel="shadowbox[post-929];player=img;" title="Dr Wahbah &amp;amp; Dr Al-Bakri"&gt;&lt;img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-935" height="224" src="http://www.abuanasmadani.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/wahbah-Bakri1.jpg" title="Dr Wahbah &amp;amp; Dr Al-Bakri" width="300" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span id="more-929"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sebelum Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily memulakan syarahannya, beliau  memohon kepada ALLAH Ta`ala agar kita semua diberikan kefahaman dalam  agama, ditambahkan ilmu agama, diberi keberkatan dan dijauhi dari segala  kejahatan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beliau mengingatkan para hadirin bahawa kehidupan di dunia ini penuh  dengan bermacam-macam ujian.&amp;nbsp; Ujian-ujian itu mungkin datang samada  disebabkan oleh diri sendiri atau boleh juga disebabkan oleh perbuatan  orang lain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ALLAH `Azza wa Jalla telah menjadikan dunia sebagai tempat ujian dan  fitnah bagi sekalian manusia.&amp;nbsp; Sheikh Dr Wahbah telah memetik firman  ALLAH dari surah al-Baqarah dari ayat 155 hingga 157 seperti berikut:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;{وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ  الأمْوَالِ وَالأنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ }&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Dan sungguh akan Kami berikan cubaan kepadamu, dengan sedikit  ketakutan, kelaparan, kekurangan harta, jiwa dan buah-buahan. Dan  berikanlah berita gembira kepada orang-orang yang sabar,”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;{الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“(iaitu) orang-orang yang apabila ditimpa musibah, mereka mengucapkan, “Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilaihi raaji`uun”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;{أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Mereka itulah yang mendapat keberkatan yang sempurna dan rahmat dari  Tuhan mereka, dan mereka itulah orang-orang yang mendapat petunjuk.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dalam menuju mardhatiLLAH, manusia akan sentiasa diuji. Ia merupakan  sunnatuLLAH hidup di dunia ini. Sheikh Dr Wahbah menasihatkan agar  muslim janganlah terlalu berasa sedih dan gundah-gulana dengan ujian  ini.&amp;nbsp; Kerana melalui ujian-ujian inilah seseorang akan memperolehi  pahala yang banyak, imannya akan bertambah dan darjatnya akan  ditingkatkan di sisi ALLAH Ta`ala.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Melalui ujian-ujian ini juga, maka dapat dibezakan siapakah di  kalangan hamba-hamba-NYA yang beriman, yang bertaqwa, yang munafiq dan  yang fasiq.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beliau seterusnya mengingatkan bahawa ujian dan fitnah yang menimpa  setiap manusia adalah berlaku dengan keizinan dari ALLAH.&amp;nbsp; Di dalamnya  terdapat banyak hikmah yang manusia tidak tahu.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Datangnya ujian dan fitnah tidak akan merobohkan keimanan seseorang  yang kuat Imannya kerana kekuatan imannya seumpama teguhnya sebuah bukit  yang tidak dapat diganggu-gugat.&amp;nbsp; Justeru, mempunyai keimanan yang  teguh adalah aset utama seorang mukmin berhadapan dengan ujian dan  fitnah.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Samada ujian itu datang dalam bentuk kecil atau besar, samada  dipenjara, dicerca dan sebagainya, kebaikan tetap akan berlaku kepada  orang yang beriman sekiranya dia bersabar dan memahami hakikat sebuah  ujian.&amp;nbsp; Hal ini ada disabdakan oleh Nabi sallAllahu `alaihi wasallam:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“&lt;em&gt;Memang sangat menakjubkan keadaan orang yang beriman itu, kerana  segala urusannya sangat baik baginya dan untuk itu tidak terjadi  kecuali bagi seseorang yang beriman di mana apabila mendapat kesenangan  dia bersyukur, maka yang demikian itu sangat baik baginya.&amp;nbsp; Dan apabila  dia tertimpa kesusahan, dia sabar, maka yang demikian itu sangat baik&amp;nbsp;  baginya&lt;/em&gt;.”&amp;nbsp; (HR Muslim)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jika kita kembali merenung sejarah-sejarah yang lalu, kita akan  dapati bahawa ujian dan fitnah banyak menimpa ke atas orang-orang yang  mulia dan utama di sisi agama. Para rasul, nabi, syuhada’, aulia’ dan  ulama’ adalah golongan yang paling banyak menerima ujian dan besar pula  fitnah yang menimpa ke atas mereka. Tentunya ini memberi isyarat kepada  kita bahawa semakin tinggi darjatnya di sisi ALLAH, semakin hebat ujian  yang diterimanya. Dan ini akhirnya menatijahkan ganjaran yang tiada  tolok banding hebatnya dari ALLAH `Azza wa Jalla kelak.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Untuk memahami hakikat ini, orang-orang yang beriman mestilah jangan  berhenti dari menimba ilmu agama, mendalami ilmu-ilmu agama dan berusaha  untuk memahaminya. Kerana dengan ilmulah, seseorang akan disuburi  dengan sifat taqwa, seterusnya dapat memberikan reaksi yang betul  menurut kehendak agama terhadap apa yang berlaku di sekelilingnya.  Ketahuilah orang yang paling taqwa iaitu takut kepada ALLAH ialah para  `ulama’, iaitu orang-orang yang berilmu dan faham ilmu agama.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fitnah dan ujian akan sentiasa singgah dalam kehidupan insan. Samada  suka atau tidak suka ia tetap menjadi rencah dalam kehidupan dunia yang  sementara ini. Yang menjadi nilaian di sisi ALLAH ialah bagaimana reaksi  kita terhadap ujian itu. Sabarkah? Marahkah? Betulkah? Atau salahkah  tindakan kita? Semuanya nanti akan dihisab oleh ALLAH Jalla wa A`la pada  Hari Kebangkitan kelak.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheikh Dr Wahbah mengakhiri mukaddimah syarahannya dengan  mengingatkan para hadirin bahawa pada setiap kesusahan ini, pasti akan  mendapat kesenangan dari ALLAH Subhanahu wa Ta`ala.&amp;nbsp; Justeru, sangka  baiklah dengan ALLAH dan bersabarlah.&amp;nbsp; ALLAH Ta`ala akan bersama dengan  orang-orang yang sabar.&lt;br /&gt;Sengaja beliau memulakan syarahan tersebut dengan menyentuh perihal  hakikat ujian dan fitnah, dan bagaimana peranan iman dan ilmu sangat  penting dalam hal ini. Ini supaya para hadirin dipasakkan dengan asas  yang betul dan tepat menurut kehendak agama ketika berhadapan dengan isu  seumpama ini.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Sumpah, Qadzaf &amp;amp; Mubahalah.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Selepas Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily menyampaikan tentang hakikat  fitnah dan ujian serta peranan iman dan ilmu untuk berhadapan dengannya  di dalam muqaddimah syarahan, beliau seterusnya memberikan tiga contoh  peristiwa untuk menerangkan perihal tajuk yang diberi, iaitu:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1-Tuduhan zina yang dilemparkan kepada saidatina `A’isyah radhiAllahu `anha oleh kepala munafiqin, `Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul.&lt;br /&gt;2-Tuduhan zina oleh seorang suami kepada isterinya.&lt;br /&gt;3-Mubahalah antara orang Kristian Najran dengan Nabi Muhammad sallAllahu `alaihi wasallam.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tuduhan Zina&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Di dalam peristiwa pertama iaitu tuduhan zina terhadap saidatina  `A’isyah radhiAllahu `anha oleh `Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, Sheikh  menerangkan bahawa ALLAH telah menjelaskan terdapat sebelas ayat di  dalam al-Quran, menetapkan bahawa mana-mana tuduhan zina terhadap orang  lain yang terpelihara kehormatannya mestilah dikemukakan dengan empat  saksi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jika pihak yang menuduh tidak dapat mengemukakan empat saksi, maka  pihak yang menuduh ini dikira sebagai pendusta atau munafiq di sisi  ALLAH Subhanahu wa Ta`ala. Nas secara qat`i telah mensyaratkan perlunya  empat saksi dalam hal penuduhan zina seperti ini. Ia mesti dipatuhi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Adapun tentang penggunaan teknologi moden seperti telefon bimbit,  video dan sebagainya, ia tidak boleh diterima sebagai dalil dan saksi di  dalam penghakiman syara` dalam isu seperti ini.&amp;nbsp; Pihak yang menuduh,  wajib mengemukakan empat saksi.&amp;nbsp; Kegagalan mengemukakan empat saksi oleh  pihak penuduh mengakibatkan si penuduh boleh dikenakan hukuman 80 kali  sebatan dan dikira sebagai fasiq dan tidak beriman.&amp;nbsp; Penyaksiannya tidak  diterima selama-lamanya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mula`anah atau Li`an&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Di dalam contoh kedua, iaitu dalam peristiwa seorang suami telah  menuduh isterinya berzina; walaupun secara asasnya seseorang mesti  mengemukakan empat saksi apabila menuduh orang lain berzina, namun dalam  hal ini si suami tersebut dibenarkan untuk bermu`alanah tanpa  mengemukakan empat saksi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dalam kaedah Mula`anah sebagaimana difirmankan ALLAH dalam surah  an-Nur di dalam ayat 6 hingga 9, si suami bersumpah dengan nama ALLAH  sebanyak empat kali bahawa tuduhan beliau adalah benar.&amp;nbsp; Pada sumpah  kelima si suami menyatakan bahawa laknat ALLAH (laknatiLLAH) akan  menimpanya jika dia menipu.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jika si isteri yang dituduh itu menolak tuduhan suaminya, maka si  isteri pula turut bersumpah dengan nama ALLAH sebanyak empat kali bahawa  tuduhan suaminya itu tidak benar.&amp;nbsp; Dan sumpah yang kelima si isteri  menyatakan kemurkaan ALLAH (&lt;em&gt;ghadabALLAH&lt;/em&gt;) akan tertimpa ke atasnya sekiranya dia berbohong.&lt;br /&gt;Apabila masing-masing tidak mahu mengaku salah dan saling  laknat-melaknat, maka qadhi akan memisahkan mereka berdua. Mereka bukan  lagi sebagai suami isteri. Dan mereka tidak boleh meruju` selepas itu  atau kembali berkahwin selama-lamanya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mubahalah&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheikh Wahbah telah menerangkan bahawa pada zaman Rasulullah  sallAllahu `alaihi wasallam, terdapat satu golongan Kristian dari Najran  yang selalu berusaha mendatangkan rasa syak kepada ummat ISLAM. Dakwah  dan hujah Nabi sallAllahu `alaihi wasallam tidak mahu mereka terima.&amp;nbsp;  Mereka telah mendakwa bahawa Isa `alaihissalam mempunyai sifat ketuhanan  di dalam dirinya dan menyatakan bahawa merekalah golongan yang benar.  Mereka tetap berdegil dengan pendapat mereka.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ALLAH Subhanahu wa Ta`ala telah menyuruh Nabi Muhammad sallAllahu  `alaihi wasallam agar bermubahalah iaitu saling laknat-melaknat di  antara pihak Nabi dan golongan Kristian dari Najran itu.&amp;nbsp; Hal ini ada  diceritakan di dalam al-Quran di dalam surah ali-`Imran, ayat 61.  Selepas berfikir dengan panjang dan atas nasihat ketua paderi Kristian  Najran tersebut, maka ajakan bermubahalah itu terpaksa mereka elakkan.&amp;nbsp;  Mereka risau jika Nabi Muhammad sallAllahu `alaihi wasallam ini  benar-benar Rasul, maka akibat dari mubahalah itu nanti akan menyebabkan  mereka dan keluarga serta keturunan mereka akan ditimpa bala bencana.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Walaupun mubahalah di atas adalah berkaitan aqidah, namun menurut  Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily mubahalah juga boleh dilakukan di dalam hal  selain aqidah. Mubahalah dibenarkan sekiranya pihak yang berselisih  tetap berdegil dengan hujah masing-masing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jika ingin bermubahalah, kedua-dua pihak mestilah di kalangan orang  yang adil dan tidak fasiq.&amp;nbsp; Penyaksian orang yang fasiq tidak diterima  di dalam ISLAM kerana mereka adalah orang yang menyeleweng dari ajaran  ISLAM.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Penyaksian hanya boleh dilakukan oleh orang yang adil.&amp;nbsp; Tiga ciri-ciri orang yang adil yang dinyatakan oleh Sheikh Wahbah ialah:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;a-Tidak melakukan dosa besar.&lt;br /&gt;b-Tidak berkekalan melakukan dosa kecil.&lt;br /&gt;c-Tidak melakukan perkara-perkara yang mencarik maruahnya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sekiranya kedua-dua pihak yang ingin bermubahalah adalah adil,  thiqah, taat kepada suruhan ALLAH Ta`ala, meninggalkan dari dosa-dosa  dan selalu menjaga maruahnya, maka layaklah bermubahalah.&amp;nbsp; Sekiranya  tidak sekufu, maka tidak perlulah bermubahalah.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Isu Video Seks.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily ditanya tentang bolehkah video dijadikan  sebagai bahan bukti pendakwaan perlakuan seks?&amp;nbsp; Beliau menjawab bahawa  teknologi terkini seperti video tidak boleh digunakan, malah tertolak.&amp;nbsp;  Kerana banyak unsur penipuan boleh dimasukkan ke dalamnya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ditanya tentang DNA pula&lt;/strong&gt;, beliau mengatakan bahawa  bilangan pakar DNA yang terdapat di seluruh dunia sangat terbatas dan  bilangannya terlalu kecil, malah mereka ini tidak boleh dipercayai.&amp;nbsp;  Menurut beliau lagi, Majma` Feqh Sedunia telah membuat keputusan bahawa  kaedah DNA tidak diterima sebagai pembuktian penghakiman.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tambahan pula, pakar-pakar perundangan dan hakim seluruh dunia pun  memang tidak menerima kaedah DNA sebagai bukti utama, ia hanyalah  sekadar hal yang kecil dalam proses penghakiman.&amp;nbsp; Jadi, adakah kita  hendak terima kaedah ini, tanpa merujuk kepada nas-nas syara`???&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheikh Dr Wahbah az-Zuhaily kecewa dengan isu video seks yang tersebar di negara ummat ISLAM.&lt;br /&gt;Apabila Sheikh Dr Wahbah ditanya tentang isu video seks yang  diwar-warkan oleh media dan dikaitkan dengan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim  pula, beliau dengan tegas menyatakan “&lt;em&gt;Ini adalah Syariat Syaitan!!!&amp;nbsp; Adakah kamu mahukan Syariat ALLAH atau Syariat Syaitan??!!&lt;/em&gt;!&amp;nbsp; Jangan sekali-kali. Bahkan Syariat Syaitan ini kita patut letak di bawah kaki kita sahaja (pijak)!”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beliau berasa sedih dan kecewa dengan situasi ini, seterusnya  mengajak agar semua ummat ISLAM merujuk kepada al-Quran.&amp;nbsp; Janganlah  dipercayai dengan isu yang digembar-gemburkan tersebut.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sebagai penyelesaian, hendaklah dilakukan islah menggunakan kaedah  terbaik iaitu dengan merujuk kepada al-Quran. Usaha mengislahkan manusia  agar kembali kepada ALLAH mestilah dilakukan dengan berterusan.  Memahami nas-nas al-Quran sesuai dengan kehendak syara` adalah faktor  penting untuk menjayakan usaha islah ini.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beliau seterusnya mengajak agar ummat ISLAM mengambil iktibar dari  apa yang berlaku di sekeliling kita seperti gempa bumi, tsunami dan  banjir besar. Dengan melihat dan merenung hikmah kejadian ini, akan  mengakibatkan Iman kita bertambah kuat dan taqwa kepada ALLAH. Iman yang  benar dan kuat adalah ibarat bukit yang kuat, yang tidak dapat  dikalahkan. Masalah ummat ISLAM hari ini ialah iman mereka tidak penuh,  tidak kuat dan hanya separuh-separuh sahaja sifatnya. Iman yang benar  dan kuat adalah iman yang sentiasa bertambah dengan ketaatan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Semoga kata-kata dan nasihat Sheikh Wahbah az-Zuhaily ini dapat diambil iktibar yang banyak oleh kita semua.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[Catatan Shahmuzir: &amp;nbsp;Tulisan ini berdasarkan apa yang sempat saya  catit dari terjemahan oleh Tuan Guru Dr Zulkifli al-Bakri dalam majlis  tersebut. Mohon maaf jika ada kelemahan dan kesilapan dari catitan ini.&amp;nbsp;  Mudah-mudahan catitan ini bisa memberikan manfaat buat diri saya dan  tuan/puan yang sudi membacanya].&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WAllahu Ta`ala A`lam…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syukran Akhi &lt;strong&gt;Shahmuzir&lt;/strong&gt; yang menulis catatan ini; &amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.muzir.wordpress.com/"&gt;www.muzir.wordpress.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1945217054626616830?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1945217054626616830/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/ujian-sumpah-qadzaf-mubahalah-dr-wahbah.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1945217054626616830'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1945217054626616830'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/ujian-sumpah-qadzaf-mubahalah-dr-wahbah.html' title='Ujian, Sumpah, Qadzaf &amp; Mubahalah. Dr Wahbah'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-8915654307049610089</id><published>2011-05-17T00:11:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-05-17T00:11:08.655-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Menyabitkan Kesalahan Zina Dan Liwat</title><content type='html'>http://qalamcikgu.blogspot.com/2011/04/hukum-zina-menuduh-zina-dan-qazaf.html&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;Menyabitkan Kesalahan Zina Dan Liwat&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kesalahan zina dan liwat sabit dengan iqrar [pengakuan] atau melalui saksi-saksi yang memenuhi syarat syaratnya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Iqrar [Pengakuan]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hadis riwayat Abu Hurairah r.a. (al-Bukhari, kitab al-Hudud):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dia menjawab: “Tidak. Sebenarnya saya telah berzina.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mengikut riwayat yang lain: “Setelah selesai sembahyang, dia (lelaki  itu) datang lagi, lalu Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: “Tidakkah awak telah  berwuduk dan telah bersembahyang? Dengannya Allah mengampunkan dosa.”  Tetapi lelaki itu terus mengaku berzina dan mahu supaya disucikan  dirinya dengan hukuman.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hadis riwayat Sulaiman bin Buraidah, daripada bapanya (riwayat Muslim, Kitab al-Hudud):&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: “Bersalinlah dahulu.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wanita itu dijaga oleh seorang lelaki dari kalangan Ansar sehingga  bersalin. Kemudian lelaki itu datang menemui Rasulullah s.a.w.  memberitahu bahawa wanita itu telah bersalin. Baginda bersabda: “Kita  tidak akan merejamnya dan membiarkan anaknya tidak dapat menyusu.” Lalu  bangun seorang lelaki dari kalangan Ansar dan berkata: “Biar saya  uruskan urusan penyusuannya, wahai Nabi Allah.” Lalu Rasulullah s.a.w.  merejam wanita itu.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kedua-dua hadis di atas diriwayatkan oelh para ulama hadis dengan  riwayat yang sahih dan menjadi dalil dalam kes iqrar [mengaku] berzina.  Para ulama telah menyimpulkan daripadanya hukum-hukum yang berkaitan  dengan iqrar melakukan kesalahan zina dan liwat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syarat-syarat iqrar&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Orang yang membuat pengakuan itu hendaklah seorang yang baligh dan  berakal. Tidak sah pengakuan orang gila, mabuk dan sebagainya, kerana  sabda Rasulullah s.a.w. [Abu Daud: Kitab al-Hudud]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Pengakuan hendaklah dilakukan dengan pilihan sendiri, tanpa dipaksa,  sepeti dipukul, dibelasah, diberi bahan yang menghilangkan ingatan  seperti dadah dan sebagainya. Maka tidak sah pengakuan orang yang  dipaksa, kerana sabda Rasulullah s.a.w. [Ibn Majah: Kitab al-Talaq] :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Iqrar [pengakuan] dilakukan secara lisan. Tidak diterima pengakuan  dalam bentuk tulisan, pita rakaman dan sebagainya dalam perkara hudud.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Iqrar hendaklah dilakukan berulangkali dalam perkara zina dan liwat,  iaitu sebanyak empat kali, dalam majlis yang berasingan, seperti yang  dilakukan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w. terhadap Ma’iz bin Malik.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* Iqrar itu dilakukan di hadapan hakim dan hakim pula menunjukkan sikap  tidak senang dan berusahan supaya orang yang beriqrar itu tidak  mengulangi iqrarnya, kerana bertaubat lebih baik daripada menyerah diri  secara iqrar di hadapan pihak yang berkenaan, kerana inilah cara yang  diajarkan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Menarik Balik Pengakuan&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seseorang yang mengaku melakukan zina dan liwat hendaklah diterima  penarikan balik pengakuannya, walaupun sudah memenuhi syarat-syarat yang  tersebut di atas, kerana Rasulullah s.a.w. menegur para sahabat baginda  dengan keras kerana meneruskan hukuman terhadap Ma’iz bin Malik setelah  dia melarikan diri ketika hukuman dijalankan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Apabila seseorang lelaki mengaku zina dengan seseorang perempuan dan  perempuan itu tidak mengaku salah, maka si lelaki sahaja yang dihukum,  kerana inilah keputusan yang dilakukan oleh Rasulullah s.a.w. seperti  yang diriwayatkan oleh&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saksi&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Firman Allah [an-Nisa’: 15] yang bermaksud:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Firman Allah lagi [an-Nur:4] yang bermaksud:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Firman Allah lagi [an-Nur:13] yang bermaksud:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Orang yang menjadi saksi hendaklah memenuhi syarat-syarat berikut:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Baligh lagi berakal. Oleh itu tidak boleh diterima tuduhan yang  dilakukan oleh orang gila, kerana cakapnya tidak boleh diterima.&lt;br /&gt;2. Islam, sekiranya tuduhan dilakukan terhadap orang Islam, kerana  kesedarannya terhadap perhitungan dosa pahala dan sebagainya. Di samping  itu, perkara zina dan liwat ini termasuk dalam hukum hudud Islam yang  dinaskan.&lt;br /&gt;3. Mempunyai pancaindera yang sihat. Tidak diterima saksi yang tidak jelas penglihatan, tuli dan bisu.&lt;br /&gt;4. Adil, yakni seseorang yang diketahui tidak melakukan mana-mana dosa  besar, dosa kecil secara berterusan dan perkara-perkara yang menjatuhkan  maruah, walau pun tidak berdosa.&lt;br /&gt;5. Lelaki, yakni dalam perkara hudud dan qisas. Oleh kerana zina dan  liwat termasuk dalam perkara hudud, maka saksi wanita tidak diterima  dalam perkara ini.&lt;br /&gt;6. Tiada tohmahan (kekeliruan yang menarik manfaat atau menolak  mudarat), berkepentingan dan prejudis seperti menjadi saksi kepada bapa,  anak atau majikannya, atau orang yang diketahui bermusuh dengan orang  yang dituduh yang akan memburukkannya sahaja. Maka tidak boleh menerima  penyaksian saksi yang ada kaitan dengan konspirasi politik dan  sebagainya.&lt;br /&gt;7. Bilangan yang cukup. Pada tuduhan zina dan liwat, memerlukan empat orang saksi.&lt;br /&gt;8. Keempat-empat saksi melihat (perbuatan zina dan liwat itu) bersama-sama.&lt;br /&gt;9. Memberi keterangan dalam majlis (persidangan) yang sama.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Keterangan saksi yang berlapis yang hanya menerima berita dari orang  lain [hearsay] juga tidak boleh diterima.Saksi dalam tuduhan zina dan  liwat bukan sahaja wajib memenuhi syarat-syarat tersebut tetapi juga  hendaklah melihat kesalahan itu berlaku mengikut takrifnya secara jelas,  yakni melihat anggota kemaluan yang melakukannya secara jelas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kesemua perkara tersebut menunjukkan bahawa tuduhan zina dan liwat, tidak boleh dilakukan secara sewenang-wenangnya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Keterangan-Keterangan Yang Tidak Nyata&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Penggunaan kepakaran untuk menganalisa darah dan air mani [atau ujian  DNA] bagi mensabitkan kesalahan jenayah huduh seperti zina dan liwat  tidak dibenarkan oleh Islam, kerana ada syubhat [kekeliruan]. Sabda  Rasulullah s.a.w. yang bermaksud:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Hudud hendaklah ditolak (tidak dilaksanakan) dengan adanya syubhat [kekeliruan].”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ketepatan analisa DNA boleh dipertikaikan kerana banyak kemungkinan-kemungkinan yang boleh menimbulkan keraguan&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Begitu juga tuduhan tidak boleh disabitkan dengan gambar, pita video,  kaset dan sebagainya yang bukan merupakan keterangan secara langsung.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bersumpah&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tidak diharuskan bersumpah bagi mensabitkan jenayah hudud yang berkaitan  dengan hak Allah, seperti zina dan liwat. Bahkan jenayah hudud dan  qisas dalam perkara hak manusia juga tidak dibenarkan bersumpah menurut  jumhur (kebanyakan) ulama kerana perkara hudud dan qisas yang berhubung  dengan hak manusia juga dianggap menyerupai hak Allah.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yang dimaksudkan dengan bersumpah di sini adalah sumpah mengikut hukum  Islam dengan lafaznya yang ditetapkan, bukan seperti yang difahami oleh  orang jahil yang mencadangkan supaya sumpah dilakukan secara menjunjung  al-Quran, yang menyerupai sumpah yang dilakukan oleh penganut agama  Kristian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syarat orang yang melakukan zina dan liwat&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Orang yang melakukan kesalahan zina dan liwat itu pula hendaklah memenuhi syarat-syarat berikut:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Baligh, yakni cukup umur mukallaf&lt;br /&gt;2. Berakal&lt;br /&gt;3. Secara pilihan dengan tidak dipaksa&lt;br /&gt;4. Mengetahui pengharaman zina dan liwat&lt;br /&gt;5. Tiada syubhah (seperti terkeliru atau tersilap kerana disangka isterinya)&lt;br /&gt;6. Berzina atau berliwat dengan manusia&lt;br /&gt;7. Melakukan perbuatan yang ditakrifkan sebagai zina atau liwat&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Qazaf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perkataan qazaf dalam bahasa Arab bermakna melemparkan sesuatu benda  umpama batu dan sebagainya. Seterusnya perkataan itu dikhususkan kepada  melemparkan sesuatu yang buruk termasuk menggunakan perkataan yang keji  terhadap seseorang.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;pula hanya mengkhususkannya kepada tuduhan zina sahaja, manakala tuduhan  liwat di sisi mereka termasuk dalam perkara takzir.. dan Termasuk juga  menuduh liwat, mengikut pendapat jumhur para ulama, di antaranya Mazhab  Menurut istilah hukum syarak,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Qazaf termasuk dalam hukum hudud yang dinaskan di dalam al-Quran dan  Hadis Nabi s.a.w. Perkara yang telah dinaskan, berada di luar bidang  ijtihad para ulama, kerana haram meminda nas daripada Allah dan  Rasul-Nya. Oleh itu, tidak boleh dinamakan hudud PAS atau hudud sesiapa.  Sesiapa yang membuat kenyataan itu maka hukumnya berdosa kerana  kenyataan yang dibuatnya itu berdasarkan kepada kejahilannya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perkara tersebut menjadi perkara yang wajib diketahui oleh orang-orang  Islam, kerana fardhu ain itu, bukan sahaja terdapat pada perkara yang  wajib ditunaikan, tetapi termasuk juga pada perkara yang diharamkan kita  melakukannya agar kita menjauhinya, meninggalkannya dan mencegahnya,  Manakala mendalaminya secara detail hukumnya adalah fardhu kifayah.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Di kalangan ulama ada yang membahagikan tuduhan itu kepada dua cara:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Secara sorih [berterus terang] dengan menujukan tuduhan zina atau  liwat kepada orang yang tertentu. Sekiranya tuduhan itu diakui oleh  orang yang dituduh secara sukarela dan memenuhi syarat-syarat  pengakuannya, maka hukuman hudud boleh dijatuhkan oleh hakim ke atas  orang berkenaan.&lt;br /&gt;2. Secara sindiran. Seperti menafikan nasab daripada ayahnya mengatakan  ‘awak bukan anak kepada si anu’ yang diketahui sebagai bapanya yang  sebenar, atau ‘awak anak daripada hasil zina’ dan lain-lain tuduhan yang  boleh difahamkan sebagai tuduhan zina atau liwat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hikmah Pengharaman Qazaf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tujuan pengharaman qazaf adalah bagi memelihara maruah manusia, yang  menjadi satu daripada perkara yang sangat penting bagi manusia sama ada  bagi diri, keluarga atau masyarakatnya. Maruah sangat bernilai dalam  hidup dan mati seseorang, membezakan manusia dengan binatang dan menjadi  sebahagian daripada harga diri sehingga tidak boleh dinilai dengan  harta benda yang paling mahal. Islam telah menegaskan kewajipan  mempertahankan maruah dengan meletakkan maruah mengatasi harta yang juga  wajib dipertahankan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Demi menjaga maruah itulah, maka diwajibkan hukuman qazaf secara hudud  yang ditetap oleh Allah dan Rasul-Nya s.a.w. supaya seseorang itu atau  kumpulannya tidak boleh melemparkan tuduhan zina dan liwat ke atas  seseorang yang lain secara sewenang-wenangnya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syarat-syarat Qazaf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tidaklah mudah menentukan bahawa seseorang itu telah melakukan qazaf,  kerana Islam mewajibkan syarat-syarat tertentu bagi orang yang  melakukannya, orang menjadi mangsa dan tuduhan itu sendiri.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syarat-syarat bagi orang yang melakukan tuduhan itu adalah:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Berakal. Tidak boleh diterima tuduhan yang dilakukan oleh orang gila, kerana cakapnya tidak boleh dipakai.&lt;br /&gt;2. Baligh, yakni sampai umur mukallaf yang boleh dipertanggungjawabkan  perintah-perintah agama ke atasnya. Kanak-kanak yang belum baligh, tidak  boleh dikategorikan tuduhannya sebagai qazaf.&lt;br /&gt;3. Tidak dipaksa. Tidak boleh menerima tuduhan yang dilakukan oleh orang yang dipaksa supaya melakukan tuduhan itu.&lt;br /&gt;4. Tidak dapat mengadakan empat orang saksi yang memenuhi syarat-syarat saksi mengikut hukum Islam&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Orang yang dituduh juga hendaklah memenuhi syarat-syarat berikut:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Berakal. Maka tidak sah menuduh orang yang tidak berakal. Oleh itu orang yang menuduh tidak boleh diambil tindakan qazaf&lt;br /&gt;2. Baligh. Maka orang yang menuduh terhadap orang yang tidak baligh,  tidak boleh dikenakan hukuman had qazaf. Dia hanya dikenakan hukuman  ta’zir.&lt;br /&gt;3. Islam, mengikut jumhur para ulama.&lt;br /&gt;4. ‘Iffah atau ihsan, yakni orang yang dituduh itu seorang yang  diketahui kebaikan akhlaknya dan tidak pernah disabitkan melakukan zina.&lt;br /&gt;5. Orang yang ditentukan tidak berlaku qazaf dengan menuduh seseorang yang tidak ditentukan secara khusus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syarat tuduhan pula hendaklah tuduhan dalam perkara zina, menurut ijmak  para ulama dan tuduhan dalam perkara liwat, mengikut pendapat jumhur  para ulama. Sekiranya tuduhan itu dalam perkara yang lain seperti  berjudi, minum arak, rasuah dan sebagainya, maka tidak dinamakan qazaf  yang mewajibkan hukuman hudud, tetapi berpindah kepada hukum takzir yang  terserah kepada budibicara pihak yang berkenaan untuk menentukan  hukumannya.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LADWs-iCE_o/TaAHXKpD6tI/AAAAAAAABfY/WuYqETB5eDU/s1600/abd+hadi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LADWs-iCE_o/TaAHXKpD6tI/AAAAAAAABfY/WuYqETB5eDU/s320/abd+hadi.jpg" width="234" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mensabitkan Jenayah Qazaf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kesalahan qazaf yang dijatuhkan hukuman had ialah apabila terbukti melalui dua cara:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Iqrar daripada orang yang melakukan qazaf.&lt;br /&gt;2. Dua orang saksi yang memenuhi syarat-syarat saksi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukum Hudud yang berkait dengan Qazaf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Terdapat kekhilafan di kalangan para ulama, adakah hukum qazaf berkait dengan hak Allah atau hak manusia?&lt;br /&gt;Mazhab Hanafi&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Apabila ia menjadi aspek umum maka ia termasuk dalam hak Allah terhadap hamba-hamba-Nya.&lt;br /&gt;Mazhab Syafie dan Hanbali&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;, dan ada yang berpendapat bahawa di dalam perkara qazaf ada kedua-dua  hak tersebut. dan Hambali. Di antara mereka adalah, ada yang bersetuju  dengan pendapat berselisih pendapat. Ada di kalangan mereka yang  bersetuju dengan mendapat Manakala ulama dalam&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mereka yang berpegang kepada pendapat bahawa qazaf itu adalah hak Allah,  bermakna setelah perkara itu dibawa kepada pihak yang berkenaan  [berwajib] maka ia tidak boleh dimaafkan lagi, yakni mangsa tuduhan  tidak boleh memberikan pengampunan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pengampunan hanya boleh diberi sebelum kes tersebut dibawa kepada pihak  yang berkenaan. Manakala mereka yang menyatakan bahawa qazaf itu adalah  hak manusia, maka mangsa tuduhan diberi hak untuk memberikan pengampunan  kepada orang yang dijatuhkan hukuman kerana kesalahan melakukan qazaf.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hak Tuduhan Qazaf&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mereka yang berpendapat bahawa qazaf termasuk dalam kategori hak  manusia, mengatakan bahawa orang yang menjadi mangsa mempunyai hak  pengampunan ke atas orang yang melakukan jenayah qazaf.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sekiranya orang yang menjadi mangsa qazaf masih hidup, maka hak membuat  pendakwaan terserah kepadanya sendiri. Sekiranya ia telah meninggal  dunia, maka hak tersebut berpindah kepada keluarganya yang terdekat,  iaitu bermula daripada ayah hingga ke atas, kemudian berpindah kepada  anak hingga ke bawah. Ia tidak berpindah kepada saudaranya yang lain,  kerana perkara qazaf sangat berkait dengan maruah zuriat secara  langsung.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukuman ke Atas Orang Yang Melakukan Qazaf [Menuduh Zina atau Liwat]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nas dan ijtihad para ulama yang berlandaskan roh syariat Allah yang maha  adil, menunjukkan bahawa tuduhan yang menjatuhkan maruah seseorang  seperti tuduhan zina dan liwat tidak harus dipermudah-mudahkan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Untuk membuat tuduhan itu, wajiblah mempunyai alasan dan hujah yang  kukuh. Perkara-perkara yang diwajibkan ke atas pihak yang berkenaan  supaya dilaksanakan ketika melakukan sesuatu tuduhan, membuktikan bahawa  kewajipan memelihara maruah juga menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan setelah  ditegaskan bahawa ianya adalah kewajipan individu.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kesalahan tuduhan zina dan liwat amat besar, sehingga ia dimasukkan ke  dalam jenayah yang dikenakan hukuman keras dan ditetapkan sendiri  hukumannya oleh Allah SWT secara nas di dalam Al-Quran. Di akhirat pula  ia dikira sebagai dosa besar yang disediakan azab yang pedih kepada  pelakunya, sekiranya dia tidak bertaubat dan meminta maaf daripada  mangsa tuduhan atau tidak menerima tindakan undang-undang Islam oleh  pihak yang berkenaan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukuman di dunia&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukuman di dunia yang wajib dijatuhkan ke atas penjenayah qazaf oleh kerajaan Islam ditetapkan oleh Allah di dalam al-Quran.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Firman Allah [an-Nur: 4] yang bermaksud:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukuman terhadap penjenayah qazaf di dunia ialah:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Disebat sebanyak 80 kali sebatan mengikut cara Islam&lt;br /&gt;2. Dihukum menjadi fasik dengan tidak diterima penyaksiannya dalam  segala urusan, sama ada di mahkamah, ketika berjual beli, perkahwinan,  melihat anak bulan Ramadan, Syawal dan lain-lain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukuman di Akhirat:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Firman Allah [an-Nur: 23-24] yang bermaksud:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hukuman pada hari kiamat nanti lebih adil dan bijaksana. Allah Yang Maha  Mengetahui tidak menghukum dengan sifat mengetahui-Nya sahaja, tetapi  perbicaraan akan di ulang semula di mahkamah-Nya dengan bukti-bukti yang  lebih terperinci. Ketika itu, anggota badan manusia, tangan dan kaki  mereka akan menjadi saksi. Di samping itu terdapat catatan para  malaikat, iaitu makhluk Allah yang paling baik dan suci, yang nalurikan  dengan sifat sentiasa taatkan perintah Allah dan tidak sekali kali  menderhakai-Nya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mereka akan dikerah untuk menjadi saksi sehingga mulut para pembohong  dan pendakwa yang pandai mengubah kata dan meminda catatan tidak mampu  lagi untuk memutarbelitkan kenyataan yang sebenar.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dipetik dari artikel :&lt;br /&gt;Al Fadhil Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Hj Abdul Hadi Awang.&lt;br /&gt;Presiden PAS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-8915654307049610089?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/8915654307049610089/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/menyabitkan-kesalahan-zina-dan-liwat.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/8915654307049610089'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/8915654307049610089'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/menyabitkan-kesalahan-zina-dan-liwat.html' title='Menyabitkan Kesalahan Zina Dan Liwat'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LADWs-iCE_o/TaAHXKpD6tI/AAAAAAAABfY/WuYqETB5eDU/s72-c/abd+hadi.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-3096765182189426583</id><published>2011-05-17T00:08:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-05-17T00:08:33.940-07:00</updated><title type='text'>UMNO Memakai Syariat Syaitan</title><content type='html'>http://wargamarhaen.blogspot.com/2011/05/sheikh-dr-wahbah-zuhaili-sumpah-laknat.html&lt;h2 class="date-header"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Ahad, 15 Mei 2011&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;a href="" name="4427084984280326129"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;h3 class="post-title entry-title"&gt; Sheikh Dr Wahbah Zuhaili : Sumpah Laknat Eskay Syariat Syatain,Syariat Syaitan Patut Letak Dibawah Kaki!!! &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div class="post-header"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;h3 class="post-title entry-title"&gt;  &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img alt="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BBp8Cd0w0aI/Tc5VfyE48yI/AAAAAAAAEYw/dx0hwmxqgGk/s1600/_DSC4955.JPG" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BBp8Cd0w0aI/Tc5VfyE48yI/AAAAAAAAEYw/dx0hwmxqgGk/s1600/_DSC4955.JPG" style="height: 295px; width: 393px;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Aku terima sms ini daripada temanku yang menghadiri muzakarah oleh Sheikh Dr. Wahbah Zuhaili, dan dalam smsnya tertulis:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Aku baru tamat bermuzakarah  oleh Sheikh Dr. Wahbah Zuhaili , Yang diterjemahkan oleh Dr. Zulkifli Al  Bakri.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Secara  rumusannya  Sheikh kata ,hidup manusia banyak ujian , Allah nak  tengok  siapa yang beriman  dan siapa munafik, Sheikh minta kita sabar.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sumpah mubahalah dalam bab jinayat adalah tidak sah ,biarlah sumpah seribu kali pun .&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheikh  kata dalam kes Video seks dan sumpah Eskay ni fitnah semuanya ,  dengan  tegas Sheikh kata ini semua syariat syaitan , syariat syaitan  patut  letak bawah kaki.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Akhirnya Sheikh kata , dia kenal Anwar, Anwar  ini seorang yang baik dan  bersih  Sheikh nasihat kepada Anwar supaya  mengadu kepada ALLAH S.W.T  dan jangan layan hal-hal yang remah ini."&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-3096765182189426583?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/3096765182189426583/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/umno-memakai-syariat-syaitan.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3096765182189426583'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3096765182189426583'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/umno-memakai-syariat-syaitan.html' title='UMNO Memakai Syariat Syaitan'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BBp8Cd0w0aI/Tc5VfyE48yI/AAAAAAAAEYw/dx0hwmxqgGk/s72-c/_DSC4955.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-4706435575067743551</id><published>2011-03-31T03:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-03-31T03:50:35.792-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Salafis seek power in Egypt</title><content type='html'>http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/03/2011330201517382483.html&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Banned from politics under Hosni Mubarak, the religious movement is trying to shape Egypt's future.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                            Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;30 Mar 2011 20:39&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" style="cursor: hand;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011330201517382483" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" style="cursor: hand;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; 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       &lt;/div&gt;For a group that has never taken part in political life, the religious&amp;nbsp;Salafi movement is now emerging as a new force in Egypt.&lt;br /&gt;As they establish a platform based on Islam as a system of  governance, however, many secular and liberal activists fear the  emergence of a religious state following their country's ousting of  long-term leader Hosni Mubarak.&lt;br /&gt;Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Alexandria on the ideological  battle to fill the vacuum left in the wake of Egypt's revolution.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblCountBody"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr class="SourceBarTitle" id="ctl00_cphBody_rwSource"&gt;  &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-4706435575067743551?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/4706435575067743551/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/salafis-seek-power-in-egypt.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/4706435575067743551'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/4706435575067743551'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/salafis-seek-power-in-egypt.html' title='Salafis seek power in Egypt'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-2979312993096480229</id><published>2011-03-29T07:09:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2011-03-29T07:09:53.534-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;A war of Western imperialism?                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Backing of Libyan rebels apparently aims to clean up West's image across the Arab world.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Ahmed Moor&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                            Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;28 Mar 2011 13:09&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" style="cursor: hand;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201132472924305721" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" style="cursor: hand;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" style="cursor: hand;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201132472924305721" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/24/201132491923760621_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bombing  Gaddafi is not a humanitarian gesture, but an attempt to spread  goodwill across the Arab world directed at the West,&amp;nbsp;Moor says  [GALLO/GETTY]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;There is&amp;nbsp;a lot about the Western intervention in Libya that could go  wrong – and it remains to be seen whether bombing Gaddafi and his  mercenaries is a good decision.&lt;br /&gt;However, large numbers of people around the world appear to support  the objectives of the anti-regime forces. Also, the indigenous  resistance movement – which requested help – would have been annihilated  in the absence of those air strikes.&lt;br /&gt;George Bush’s legacy of destruction extends beyond the piles of  brick, flesh and mortar that we have&amp;nbsp;been tallying for a decade now in  Iraq and Afghanistan.&lt;br /&gt;More than any other figure in the post-war 20th century, the last  American president did more to erode the gains in legitimacy made by  supranational institutions and their proponents.&lt;br /&gt;After the Iraq war, the United Nations began to be perceived as a US  rubberstamp body – or worse – as a meaningless exercise in bureaucracy.&lt;br /&gt;The UN can only function legitimately through consensus (or  consensus-lite) decision-making and it was clear that the US was  strong-arming weaker states in 2003.&lt;br /&gt;George Bush and the neoconservatives hijacked the legitimate language of consensus-based intervention for their own ill use.&lt;br /&gt;So activists are not wrong to react cynically when they hear that  language today; I don’t believe that bombing Gaddafi is a humanitarian  gesture.&lt;br /&gt;But George Bush should not be allowed to delegitimise the mechanisms –  which are distinct from the language – of global intervention in  situations that offend human rights and dignity.&lt;br /&gt;Today, many people agree that the situation in Libya is horrifying.  Furthermore, the Libyan rebels requested aid from the outside world.&lt;br /&gt;Those two conditions alone do not&amp;nbsp;justify intervention but they are  crucial components of a legitimate international decision to employ  force.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What is&amp;nbsp;a successful intervention?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The question of what a successful intervention means is a very  important one. At the very least, it means taking a back seat and  supporting the rebels in the capacity that they desire.&lt;br /&gt;It also means not attempting to install a new government that’s  pliant and subordinate to the West. Compromise on these two principles  will quickly diminish the legitimacy of the campaign against Gaddafi.&lt;br /&gt;Many people have argued that the intervention is a Western  imperialist project. Here, it is&amp;nbsp;worth remembering that Western powers  were already in control of Libya’s oil when the revolution began.&lt;br /&gt;Muammar Gaddafi was as much “our guy” as Hosni Mubarak. Condoleezza Rice personally visited Libya and met with Gaddafi in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;The following year Tony Blair pushed for the release of the Lockerbie  bomber to secure a sweetheart deal with the Libyan regime (although it  was Gordon Brown who did the releasing).&lt;br /&gt;Western powers would have been much better served by backing Gaddafi if oil was their object.&lt;br /&gt;There is&amp;nbsp;an alternative imperialism argument: that the intervention  is really a push to consolidate Western control over Libyan resources.  But, without intervention the rebels would have most certainly been  annihilated by Gaddafi’s superior forces.&lt;br /&gt;So why back the losing horse? How can Western powers be sure they can  succeed in creating a more agreeable government? Would not&amp;nbsp;they go with  the devil they know, especially when he is&amp;nbsp;already their devil?&lt;br /&gt;Finally, any government that takes shape in Libya in the future will  have to address the basic issues that fueled the popular uprising there  in the first place.&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi is an imperial stooge and a new imperial government will ensure that the underlying conditions will not&amp;nbsp;go away.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spreading goodwill, avoiding oil price spikes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So what’s motivating the Western powers into projecting their power  into Libya? And why is the West not intervening in Bahrain or Saudi  Arabia or Yemen?&lt;br /&gt;The potential benefit of successfully backing the rebels will be an  increase in goodwill across the Arab world directed at the West. It  is&amp;nbsp;not clear if that is a realistic expectation, but it is&amp;nbsp;one appears  to motivate Western leaders.&lt;br /&gt;Meanwhile, the cost of attacking Gaddafi and his mercenaries in a  limited way, and supplying the rebels with arms is relatively low. It  is&amp;nbsp;not clear if the cost is actually low, but it’s likely that it is  perceived that way since the intervention is already underway.&lt;br /&gt;In Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the opposite is true. The American  president Barack Obama will seek reelection, so it is&amp;nbsp;in his interest to  prevent the global economy from stagnating then shrinking.&lt;br /&gt;A successful revolution in Bahrain may destabilise Saudi Arabia which  would drive the price of oil up which could cause the US economy to  stall. It&amp;nbsp;is&amp;nbsp;just not a risk worth taking for him.&lt;br /&gt;Probably, fears of an insurgent Iran – legitimate or not – play into  his calculations as well. That’s because most Bahrainis are Shias.&lt;br /&gt;Likewise, Yemen permits the Americans to pursue Al Qaeda affiliates  in that country. That goes directly to Obama’s security credentials.&lt;br /&gt;If Yemen lapses, Obama will be accused, rightly or wrongly, of  permitting terrorist sympathizers to take control in yet another Middle  Eastern country. And the 2012 election campaign is already underway.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Intervention in Libya could turn out badly in a many different and  unforeseen ways. And imperialism and neoliberal “reforms” – which are a  problem in that country – did not arrive with the revolution; they  preceded it.&lt;br /&gt;We can aspire towards helping young Libyans reform their society to  make it more democratic, just and anti-imperialist. But before they can  do that they must survive Gaddafi’s pulverizing onslaught. And that’s  something that the Western offensive gives them a chance of doing.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-2979312993096480229?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/2979312993096480229/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/war-of-western-imperialism-backing-of.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/2979312993096480229'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/2979312993096480229'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/war-of-western-imperialism-backing-of.html' title=''/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-3601492310736926413</id><published>2011-03-23T05:33:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-03-23T05:33:06.150-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Setback for Anwar in Malaysia sodomy trial</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;High Court decides to admit key DNA evidence against opposition leader, reversing earlier ruling.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                            Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;23 Mar 2011 05:24&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; 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height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=20113234401213858" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/23/20113235373872621_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Anwar Ibrahim&amp;nbsp;maintains there is a political conspiracy against him&amp;nbsp;[AFP]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian opposition leader, has suffered a  setback in his sodomy trial, as a court decided to accept the key DNA  evidence that had been earlier rejected as inadmissible.&lt;br /&gt;The country's High Court, on Wednesday, said it would let prosecutors  use the evidence in their bid to link Anwar to traces of semen found on  his accuser, a 25-year-old former aide.&lt;br /&gt;The surprise reversal of the decision came after an appeal by the  prosecution, and after the court had heard new testimony from police.&lt;br /&gt;"It is clear that [Anwar's] arrest was lawful and the detention was  for a lawful purpose," judge Zabidin Mohamed Diah told a packed  courtroom.&lt;br /&gt;"This court has no choice but to allow these items to be tendered [as  evidence]. My earlier ruling in the matter is reversed," he said, but  added that the court would not compel Anwar to provide a sample of his  DNA.&lt;br /&gt;The court had previously ruled that DNA from a bottle, toothbrush and  hand towel in Anwar's detention cell -taken without his consent - was  obtained illegally, and&amp;nbsp;was therefore&amp;nbsp;inadmissible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vital evidence&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The evidence is a vital part of the prosecution's effort to prove  that Anwar had sex with Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, his former aide. A  chemist had testified that the DNA on those items matched that of semen  discovered on&amp;nbsp;Saiful.&lt;br /&gt;Anwar faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of sodomy, which is considered a crime in the Muslim-majority country.&lt;br /&gt;Yusof Zainal Abiden, the government prosecutor, had asked the High  Court to review its earlier decision about the illegality of the DNA  evidence.&lt;br /&gt;He urged the court to&amp;nbsp;compel Anwar to provide his DNA as tests would  show whether there was a match with the semen found in an internal  examination on Saiful, who claims he was coerced into having sex with  the politician at a Kuala Lumpur condominium in June 2008.&lt;br /&gt;Anwar has refused to voluntarily provide a DNA sample because he fears authorities will tamper with it.&lt;br /&gt;The opposition politician criticised the court's decision, insisting  to reporters that authorities got the three items through "trickery and  deception".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'Political conspiracy'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sankara Nair, Anwar's counsel, said the judge did not take all the facts into consideration.&lt;br /&gt;"We disagree with the decision because the judge says the arrest was  legal&amp;nbsp;but it wasn't just the issue of the arrest alone, it was also the  violation of lockup rules and many other issues," he told the AFP news  agency.&lt;br /&gt;"There has also been no evidence given by any of the police officers  at the lockup that these items were actually used by Anwar," he added.&lt;br /&gt;Anwar&amp;nbsp;maintains that the charges are part of a political conspiracy to remove him from politics.&lt;br /&gt;He is also struggling with new allegations of sexual misconduct after  a sex video depicting a man believed to resemble him was leaked under  mysterious circumstances on Monday.&lt;br /&gt;Anwar claims both the sodomy charge and the video were fabricated by the government to crush his political threat.&lt;br /&gt;Authorities deny any conspiracy. And police said they were investigating the video, which has not been publicly circulated.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblCountBody"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-3601492310736926413?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/3601492310736926413/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/setback-for-anwar-in-malaysia-sodomy.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3601492310736926413'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3601492310736926413'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/setback-for-anwar-in-malaysia-sodomy.html' title='Setback for Anwar in Malaysia sodomy trial'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1260816534859869385</id><published>2011-03-20T04:53:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2011-03-20T04:53:12.310-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Iran warns Libyans of West's "colonial" intentions</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="yom-mod yom-art-hd"&gt;&lt;div class="bd"&gt;&lt;h1 class="headline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.reuters.com/" rel="nofollow"&gt;&lt;img alt="Reuters" class="logo" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/FZN6924R0WZ__x92.x6.GA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9Zml0O2g9Mjc-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/logo/reuters/d0c3eb8ca18907492a4b337b5cec5193.jpeg" title="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;cite class="byline vcard"&gt;By &lt;span class="fn"&gt;Mitra Amiri&lt;/span&gt; | &lt;span class="provider org"&gt;Reuters&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;–&amp;nbsp;&lt;abbr title="2011-03-20T10:57:01Z"&gt;53 minutes ago&lt;/abbr&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="yom-mod social-buttons "&gt;&lt;div class="bd"&gt;&lt;div class="yui3-widget yui3-ymsb" id="yui_3_3_0_14_130062183049230"&gt;&lt;div class="ymsb ymsb-print ymsb-retweet ymsb-mail ymsb-facebook yui3-ymsb-content" id="yui_3_3_0_14_130062183049239"&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-facebook-module"&gt;&lt;div class="ymsb-static"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbeta.sg.news.yahoo.com%2Firan-warns-libyans-wests-colonial-intentions-20110320-035701-590.html&amp;amp;t=Iran%20warns%20Libyans%20of%20West%27s%20%22colonial%22%20intentions%20-%20Yahoo%21" title="Share"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Share&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-retweet-module"&gt;&lt;div class="ymsb-static"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=http%3A%2F%2Fbeta.sg.news.yahoo.com%2Firan-warns-libyans-wests-colonial-intentions-20110320-035701-590.html" title="retweet"&gt;&lt;span&gt;retweet&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-mail-module"&gt;&lt;a href="http://mtf.news.yahoo.com/mailto/?prop=news&amp;amp;locale=sg&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fbeta.sg.news.yahoo.com%2Firan-warns-libyans-wests-colonial-intentions-20110320-035701-590.html&amp;amp;title=Iran%20warns%20Libyans%20of%20West%27s%20%22colonial%22%20intentions%20-%20Yahoo%21" title="Email"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-print-module"&gt;&lt;a href="" title="Print"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Print&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="yog-col yog-5u"&gt; &lt;div class="yom-mod yom-art-related" id="mediaarticlerelated"&gt;&lt;div class="hd"&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Related Content&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="bd"&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li class="photo first last"&gt;&lt;a class="media" href="http://beta.sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/iran-warns-libyans-wests-colonial-intentions-photo-20110320-035701-936.html"&gt;&lt;img alt="Iran warns Libyans of West's &amp;quot;colonial&amp;quot; intentions" height="119" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/9KxrEKyzZT.MZiy5Dd9l_g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTExOTtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3c9MTkw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2011-03-20T162703Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNP_2_India-557286-1-pic0.jpg" title="Iran warns Libyans of West's &amp;quot;colonial&amp;quot; intentions" width="190" /&gt;&lt;span class="action enlarge "&gt;Enlarge Photo&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Iran warns Libyans of West's "colonial" intentions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1300620023_2"&gt;TEHRAN&lt;/span&gt; (Reuters) - &lt;span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1300620023_3"&gt;Iran&lt;/span&gt;  warned Libyans on Sunday not to trust Western powers launching air  strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's troops, saying their aim was to gain  neo-colonial control over the oil-rich nation.&lt;br /&gt;Tehran has voiced support for the uprising against the Libyan  leader, part of what it considers an "Islamic awakening" in the Arab  world.&lt;br /&gt;But as a long-time foe of the United States which in recent years  has invaded and stationed troops in two of its neighbours, &lt;span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1300620023_1"&gt;Iraq&lt;/span&gt; and &lt;span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1300620023_4"&gt;Afghanistan&lt;/span&gt;, Iran expressed deep suspicion over Western military intervention in &lt;span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1300620023_0"&gt;Libya&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;"The records and the actions of the dominant countries in  occupying oppressed countries means their intentions in such moves are  always in doubt," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was  quoted as saying by students' news agency ISNA.&lt;br /&gt;European and U.S. forces began bombing Libyan targets after a  U.N. Security Council vote endorsed intervention aimed at protecting  civilians at risk from Gaddafi's violent suppression.&lt;br /&gt;While Iran's position "is always to support the people and defend  their legitimate demands", Mehmanparast warned Libyans against an  eventual occupation by the Western countries which are claiming to  protect them.&lt;br /&gt;"These countries enter usually with seductive slogans of  supporting the people but they follow their own interests in ruling the  countries and continuing colonialism in a new form," he said.&lt;br /&gt;While voicing support for demonstrators in the Arab world, and  condemning government repression, Iran has crushed protests at home and  jailed scores of demonstrators since 2009.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1260816534859869385?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1260816534859869385/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/iran-warns-libyans-of-wests-colonial.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1260816534859869385'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1260816534859869385'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/iran-warns-libyans-of-wests-colonial.html' title='Iran warns Libyans of West&apos;s &quot;colonial&quot; intentions'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-4114464704460601318</id><published>2011-03-11T08:31:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-11T08:31:44.737-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Hundreds killed in tsunami after 8.9 Japan quake</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="hd"&gt;                                    &lt;h1 id="yn-title"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japan-quake-causes-tsunami-fires-landslide/ss/events/wl/031111japanquake"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/42/c42a840098beb6f84c191ac289884b43.jpeg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221);" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div align="right" style="margin-top: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;cite id="captionCite"&gt;Reuters/Kyodo&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;cite align="left" class="byline"&gt;A massive tsunami engulfs a residential area in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan. &lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japan-quake-causes-tsunami-fires-landslide/ss/events/wl/031111japanquake"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #0058a6;"&gt;More photos »&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a class="provider-logo ult-section" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=11f589428/**http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ap.org%2Ftermsandconditions" id="yn-prvdlink"&gt;             &lt;img alt="AP" height="27" src="http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/p/ap_logo_106.png" width="106" /&gt;        &lt;/a&gt;                                         &lt;ul class="tools mod ult-section" id="top"&gt;&lt;li&gt;               &lt;div class="yui3-widget yui3-ymsb" id="yui_3_1_1_6_129986099511635"&gt;&lt;div class="ymsb ymsb-facebook ymsb-retweet ymsb-mail ymsb-print yui3-ymsb-content" id="yui_3_1_1_6_129986099511644"&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-facebook-module"&gt;&lt;div class="ymsb-static"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fs%2Fap%2F20110311%2Fap_on_re_as%2Fas_japan_earthquake&amp;amp;t=Hundreds+killed+in+tsunami+after+8.9+Japan+quake+-+Yahoo%21+News" title="Share"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Share&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-retweet-module"&gt;&lt;div class="ymsb-static"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fs%2Fap%2F20110311%2Fap_on_re_as%2Fas_japan_earthquake" title="retweet"&gt;&lt;span&gt;retweet&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-mail-module"&gt;&lt;a href="http://mtf.news.yahoo.com/mailto/?prop=news&amp;amp;locale=us&amp;amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fs%2Fap%2F20110311%2Fap_on_re_as%2Fas_japan_earthquake&amp;amp;title=Hundreds+killed+in+tsunami+after+8.9+Japan+quake+-+Yahoo%21+News&amp;amp;h1=ap/20110311/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake&amp;amp;h2=T&amp;amp;h3=516" title="Email"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Email&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ymsb-module ymsb-print-module"&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake/print" title="Print"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Print&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="yn-story-related-media"&gt;                          &lt;div class="primary-media yn-style2"&gt;                      &lt;div class="ult-section yn-style1" id="yn-story-main-media"&gt;         &lt;div class="photo-big" style="display: none;"&gt;         &lt;a class="media media3s video" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/ap_av/av_ap3_wl/7011628670baa9b5d8ffca0f67e676d0/40618014;_ylt=Asx9IQY0AKmPtXQLUxMNl3z9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTE5c3Q5OGk1BHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9yX3RvcF92aWRlbwRzbGsDcmF3dmlkZW9lYXJ0/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24485372"&gt;             &lt;img alt="Raw Video: Earthquake triggers tsunami in Japan" height="160" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20110311/videolthumb.2f5063143ffa049bb6d752bbb50ce531.jpg?x=213&amp;amp;y=160&amp;amp;xc=1&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=399&amp;amp;hc=300&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=ucPNvMm6MZ496FE2od3Msg--" width="213" /&gt;                          &lt;span&gt;Play Video&lt;/span&gt;        &lt;/a&gt;                  &lt;cite class="caption"&gt;                     &lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/world/ap"&gt;AP&lt;/a&gt;         &amp;nbsp;–&amp;nbsp;Raw Video: Earthquake triggers tsunami in Japan        &lt;/cite&gt;     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="yn-story-minor-media"&gt;              &lt;ul class="list2 list6 size1 ult-section" id="yn-story-related-links"&gt;&lt;li class="ult-position first slideshow"&gt;                 &lt;a class="media media1" href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japan-quake-causes-tsunami-fires-landslide/ss/events/wl/031111japanquake"&gt;             &lt;img alt="Huge Japan quake causes tsunami, fires, landslide" height="50" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20110311/t/r2036600403.jpg?x=50&amp;amp;y=50&amp;amp;xc=23&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=87&amp;amp;hc=87&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=yxx8AiCUkor6ScGQnsvEwA--" width="50" /&gt;                                  &lt;/a&gt;                          &lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japan-quake-causes-tsunami-fires-landslide/ss/events/wl/031111japanquake"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Slideshow:&lt;/strong&gt;Huge Japan quake causes tsunami, fires, landslide&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ult-position  video"&gt;                 &lt;a class="media media1" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/reutersav/av_reuters_all/919074ab486d441de138a2c6639324c3/40623457;_ylt=AqeMI8wgKvm3b1.PFvoniEz9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTFiNzZjZjByBHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtdGh1bWI-/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24487849"&gt;             &lt;img alt="Japan quake triggers giant tsunami" height="50" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/reuters/20110311/videolthumb.8ea0c2b046e371b0fd947d215fa4b3ee.jpg?x=50&amp;amp;y=50&amp;amp;xc=51&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=300&amp;amp;hc=300&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=RrvbdaA6fOPZD2Q2WqqMAw--" width="50" /&gt;                          &lt;span&gt;Play Video&lt;/span&gt;        &lt;/a&gt;                          &lt;a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/reutersav/av_reuters_all/919074ab486d441de138a2c6639324c3/40623457;_ylt=AhGICOv4PcIkx20Gx8sprZ79xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTFhZnJqYzk1BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtbGluaw--/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24487849"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Video:&lt;/strong&gt;Japan quake triggers giant tsunami&lt;/a&gt;                 &lt;cite&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/i/2704;_ylt=AtomJ0EZnIO6X0hVQp.MR3n9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTFiYXZjM2E2BHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtcHJvdmk-"&gt;Reuters&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;             &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li class="ult-position  video"&gt;                 &lt;a class="media media1" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/afp_video/av_afp_disaster/8fb4c99f2ef7854f44cc9de21331b99c/40623391;_ylt=Arg6l6Ivneni1dsf5jlQGEn9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTFiZW1vczI0BHBvcwM4BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtdGh1bWI-/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24487437"&gt;             &lt;img alt="People gather on Tokyo streets after massive quake" height="50" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20110311/videolthumb.93f77e77d3a2240cb4f1963aebe1e4bf.jpg?x=50&amp;amp;y=50&amp;amp;xc=91&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=230&amp;amp;hc=230&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=6HSFQxb3a3g8B8ni6T2OpA--" width="50" /&gt;                          &lt;span&gt;Play Video&lt;/span&gt;        &lt;/a&gt;                          &lt;a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/afp_video/av_afp_disaster/8fb4c99f2ef7854f44cc9de21331b99c/40623391;_ylt=ApI_efGKYlKvKKUpJZWabX_9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTFhanRoYjYwBHBvcwM5BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtbGluaw--/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24487437"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Video:&lt;/strong&gt;People gather on Tokyo streets after massive quake&lt;/a&gt;                 &lt;cite&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/i/3077;_ylt=AiaGbyjjBSPsYaV4U5EuZlb9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTFjdjR1Nm8yBHBvcwMxMARzZWMDeW5fcl8zc2xvdF92aWRlbwRzbGsDdmlkLWVkLXByb3Zp"&gt;AFP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;             &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="secondary-media ult-section"&gt;                              &lt;div class="ult-section" id="yn-story-secondary"&gt;     &lt;a class="media" href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Tsunami-waves-swirl-near-port-Oarai-Ibaraki-Prefecture-state-after/photo//110311/481/urn_publicid_ap_org_f2136cf16155477185bb223ad4077e48//s:/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake"&gt;         &lt;img alt="Tsunami waves swirl near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture (state) after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, " height="292" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20110311/capt.f2136cf16155477185bb223ad4077e48-f2136cf16155477185bb223ad4077e48-0.jpg?x=213&amp;amp;y=292&amp;amp;xc=1&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=299&amp;amp;hc=410&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=SFQgEIOsQ1p6GIJ2y.V8ZQ--" width="213" /&gt;     &lt;/a&gt;              &lt;cite class="caption"&gt;AP&amp;nbsp;–&amp;nbsp;Tsunami waves swirl near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture (state) after Japan was struck by a strong&amp;nbsp;…&lt;/cite&gt;     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="byline"&gt;         &lt;cite class="vcard"&gt;         By MALCOLM FOSTER, Associated Press        &lt;span class="fn org"&gt;Malcolm Foster, Associated Press&lt;/span&gt;     &lt;/cite&gt;     –     &lt;abbr class="recenttimedate" title="2011-03-11T08:11:23-0800"&gt;15&amp;nbsp;mins&amp;nbsp;ago&lt;/abbr&gt;&lt;/div&gt;TOKYO – A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the  largest earthquakes on record slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday,  killing hundreds of people as it swept away ships, cars and homes while  widespread fires burned out of control.&lt;br /&gt;Hours later, the tsunami hit Hawaii but did not cause  major damage. Warnings blanketed the Pacific, putting areas on alert as  far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West  coast. In northeastern Japan, the area around a nuclear power plant was  evacuated after the reactor's cooling system failed.&lt;br /&gt;Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the  northeastern coastal city of Sendai, the city in Miyagi prefecture, or  state, closest to the epicenter. Another 137 were confirmed killed, with  531 people missing. Police also said 627 people were injured.&lt;br /&gt;The magnitude-8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot  (seven-meter) tsunami and was followed for hours by more than 50  aftershocks, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.&lt;br /&gt;Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile  (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors  that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from  the epicenter. A large section of Kesennuma, a town of 70,000 people in  Miyagi, burned furiously into the night with no apparent hope of being  extinguished, public broadcaster NHK said.&lt;br /&gt;"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japan-quake-causes-tsunami-fires-landslide/ss/events/wl/031111japanquake"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Click image to see photos of quake, tsunami damage&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: right; width: 242px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Huge-Japan-quake-causes-tsunami-fires-landslide/ss/events/wl/031111japanquake"&gt;&lt;img height="345" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20110311/i/r2837351018.jpg" width="242" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;cite id="captionCite"&gt;Reuters/Kyodo&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The quake was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one  that struck New Zealand late last month, devastating the city of  Christchurch.&lt;br /&gt;"The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to  one month's worth of energy consumption" in the United States, U.S.  Geological Survey Scientist Brian Atwater told The Associated Press.&lt;br /&gt;The government ordered thousands of residents near a  nuclear power plant in the city of Onahama to move back at least two  miles (three kilometers) from the plant. The reactor was not leaking  radiation but its core remained hot even after a shutdown. The plant is  170 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.&lt;br /&gt;Trouble was reported at two other nuclear plants as well, but there was no radiation leak at either of them.&lt;br /&gt;Japan's coast guard said it was searching for 80 dock workers on a ship that was swept away from a shipyard in Miyagi.&lt;br /&gt;Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was  of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore,  swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles  (kilometers) inland before retreating. The apocalyptic images on  Japanese TV of powerful, debris-filled waves, uncontrolled fires and a  ship caught in a massive whirlpool resembled scenes from a Hollywood  disaster movie.&lt;br /&gt;Large fishing boats and other vessels rode high waves  ashore, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them and snapping  power lines along the way. Upturned and partially submerged cars bobbed  in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other.&lt;br /&gt;The tsunami roared over embankments, washing anything  in its path inland before reversing directions and carrying the cars,  homes and other debris out to sea. Flames shot from some of the homes,  probably because of burst gas pipes.&lt;br /&gt;Waves of muddy waters flowed over farmland near  Sendai, carrying buildings, some of them ablaze. Drivers attempted to  flee. Sendai airport was inundated with thick, muddy debris that  included cars, trucks, buses and even light planes.&lt;br /&gt;Highways to the worst-hit coastal areas buckled.  Telephone lines snapped. Train service in northeastern Japan and in  Tokyo, which normally serve 10 million people a day, were suspended,  leaving untold numbers stranded in stations or roaming the streets.  Tokyo's Narita airport was closed indefinitely.&lt;br /&gt;President Barack Obama said the U.S. "stands ready to help" Japan.&lt;br /&gt;Jesse Johnson, a native of the U.S. state of Nevada  who lives in Chiba, north of Tokyo, was eating at a sushi restaurant  with his wife when the quake hit. &lt;br /&gt;"At first it didn't feel unusual, but then it went on and on. So I got  myself and my wife under the table," he told The Associated Press. "I've  lived in Japan for 10 years, and I've never felt anything like this  before. The aftershocks keep coming. It's gotten to the point where I  don't know whether it's me shaking or an earthquake." &lt;br /&gt;NHK said more than 4 million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs. &lt;br /&gt;As night fell, Tokyo's streets were jammed with cars, buses and trucks  trying to get around and out of the city. Pedestrians swarmed the  sidewalks to walk home, or at least find a warm place to spend the night  as the temperatures dropped. &lt;br /&gt;Tomoko Suzuki and her elderly mother stood on a crowded downtown corner,  unable to get to their 29th-floor condominium because the elevator  wasn't working. They unsuccessfully tried to hail a taxi to a relative's  house and couldn't find a hotel room. &lt;br /&gt;"We are so cold," said Suzuki. "We really don't know what to do." &lt;br /&gt;A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in the city of Ichihara  and burned out of control with 100-foot (30-meter) flames whipping into  the sky. &lt;br /&gt;"Our initial assessment indicates that there has already been enormous  damage," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "We will make maximum  relief effort based on that assessment." &lt;br /&gt;He said the Defense Ministry was sending troops to the hardest-hit  region. A utility aircraft and several helicopters were on the way. &lt;br /&gt;Also in Miyagi prefecture, a fire broke out in a turbine building of a  nuclear power plant, but it was later extinguished, said Tohoku Electric  Power Co. &lt;br /&gt;A reactor area of a nearby plant was leaking water, the company said.  But it was unclear if the leak was caused by the tsunami or something  else. There were no reports of radioactive leaks at any of Japan's  nuclear plants. &lt;br /&gt;Jefferies International Ltd., a global investment banking group, estimated overall losses of about $10 billion. &lt;br /&gt;Hiroshi Sato, a disaster management official in northern Iwate  prefecture, said officials were having trouble getting an overall  picture of the destruction. &lt;br /&gt;"We don't even know the extent of damage. Roads were badly damaged and  cut off as tsunami washed away debris, cars and many other things," he  said. &lt;br /&gt;The U.S. Geological Survey said the 2:46 p.m. quake was magnitude 8.9,  the biggest to hit Japan since record-keeping began in the late 1800s  and one of the biggest ever recorded in the world. &lt;br /&gt;The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), about 80 miles  (125 kilometers) off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is  240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. Several quakes hit the  same region in recent days, including one measured at magnitude 7.3 on  Wednesday that caused no damage. &lt;br /&gt;A tsunami warning was extended to a number of areas in the Pacific,  Southeast Asia and Latin America, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia,  New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities ordered an  evacuation of coastal communities, but no unusual waves were reported. &lt;br /&gt;Thousands fled homes in Indonesia after officials warned of a tsunami up  to 6 feet (2 meters) high, but waves of only 4 inches (10 centimeters)  were measured. No big waves came to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S.  territory, either. &lt;br /&gt;The first waves hit Hawaii about 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT). A tsunami about 7  feet (2.1 meters) high was recorded on Maui and a wave at least 3 feet  (a meter) high was recorded on Oahu and Kauai. Officials warned that the  waves would continue and could get larger. &lt;br /&gt;Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in 1923 in  Kanto that killed 143,000 people, according to USGS. A 7.2-magnitude  quake in Kobe in 1996 killed 6,400 people. &lt;br /&gt;Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic  zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the  world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26,  2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12  nations. A magnitude-8.8 temblor that shook central Chile in February  2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-4114464704460601318?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/4114464704460601318/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/hundreds-killed-in-tsunami-after-89.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/4114464704460601318'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/4114464704460601318'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/hundreds-killed-in-tsunami-after-89.html' title='Hundreds killed in tsunami after 8.9 Japan quake'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-9099894152640803644</id><published>2011-03-10T23:28:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-10T23:28:43.716-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Islamists ready for their close-up?</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;After governments fall in secular Egypt and Tunisia, Islamist parties are poised to enter the political mainstream.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  D. Parvaz&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;10 Mar 2011 16:15 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011223113653846953" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011223113653846953" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/26/2011226133916603833_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Feminist Nawel el-Saadawi arguing in Tahrir Square that both sexes ought to be able to pray together in mosques [EPA]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;For several weeks,&amp;nbsp;a global&amp;nbsp;audience has been glued to computer and  television screens, fascinated by the compelling sight&amp;nbsp;of uprisings in  Tunisia and&amp;nbsp;Egypt. In both countries, long-ruling dictators were  ultimately deposed amid cries&amp;nbsp;of&amp;nbsp;freedom, accountability and democracy.&lt;br /&gt;This narrative of a long-suffering people finally toppling the head  of the regime oppressing them is the stuff&amp;nbsp;of Hollywood movie trailers,  an epic billed as an irresistible story of human triumph. And Americans -  even&amp;nbsp;ones typically disinterested in&amp;nbsp;foreign politics -&amp;nbsp;certainly  bought the ticket to see the show, with Facebook pages and&amp;nbsp;rallies in  several US cities showing that they supported protesters in Cairo and  Tunis.&lt;br /&gt;And then, panic. With two secular&amp;nbsp;presidents&amp;nbsp;deposed - Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/anger-in-egypt/#" target="_blank"&gt;Tunisia&lt;/a&gt; and Hosni Mubarak in &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/anger-in-egypt/" target="_blank"&gt;Egypt&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;who&amp;nbsp;would fill the power vacuum?&lt;br /&gt;The obvious answer for many seems to&amp;nbsp;be, simply: The Islamists. And  in the post-September 11 world, this has triggered a flopsweat of  paranoia and discomfort.&lt;br /&gt;Glenn Beck, a high-profile Fox network  commentator, said that the success of Islamist governments would spell  the end of peace in Europe and capitalism in the US.&lt;br /&gt;"It is difficult to deny ... that radicals, Islamasits [sic],  communists, socialists will work together against Israel, against  capitalism, and they'll try to work together to overturn stability," &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWCrxygxO4c" target="_blank"&gt;said&amp;nbsp;Beck&lt;/a&gt; in a broadcast in February, charging that the&amp;nbsp;uprisings in North Africa&amp;nbsp;were also to blame for the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/02/20112201564409366.html" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;pro-labour protests&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;in the state of Wisconsin.&lt;br /&gt;Also, Thursday marked the start of the US House of Representatives&lt;a class="internallink" href="http://homeland.house.gov/hearing/hearing-%E2%80%9C-extent-radicalization-american-muslim-community-and-communitys-response%E2%80%9D" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt; hearing&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;on  "radicalised Islam", focusing on "theo-political" Islam. The hearing  was centred on the testimony of Zuhdi Jasser, the founder of the  American Islamic Forum of Democracy who&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.npr.org/2011/03/08/134363384/Muslim-Leader-Supports-Radicalization-Hearings" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;told&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;NPR on Tuesday that the real danger is "the intoxicant" that is "the supremacism of political Islam".&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;em&gt;Daily Mail,&lt;/em&gt; fretting about shuttering brothels in Tunisia, ran an&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1360799/Sex-brothels-REAL-tyranny-threatening-Arab-world.html" target="_blank"&gt;article&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;on  February 26 saying that, "faster than you could scream ‘Allahu Akbar’,  hundreds of Islamists raided Abdallah Guech Street armed with Molotov  cocktails and knives, torching the brothels, yelling insults at the  prostitutes and declaring that Tunisia was now an Islamist state."&lt;br /&gt;Al-Nahda,&amp;nbsp;Tunisia's leading Islamist party has &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41670793/ns/world_news-mideast/n_africa/"&gt;issued statements&lt;/a&gt; distancing itself from the fringe groups targeting bordellos and the recent slaying of a Polish priest.&lt;br /&gt;Tariq Ramadan, a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford  University, told Al Jazeera that there are two fundamental problems with  how the West views the question of potential Islamist governments in  Egypt and Tunisia.&lt;br /&gt;The first is that there is a perception that in Muslim countries,  there are only two options for leadership: Dictators or radical  Islamists. &lt;br /&gt;"So we portray the Muslim Brotherhood or al-Nahda as radical  Islamists," said Ramadan, whose grandfather, Hassan al Banna, founded  the Muslim Brotherhood.&lt;br /&gt;"The intrinsic dynamics and the trends within political Islam are not  known, so we put all the people in the same box, in the same stream,  and that's completely wrong. It's just to justify what has been the  rhetoric of the dictators for years and accepted by the West. that, 'If  it's not us, the dictators, then it's going to be them, the violent  extremists.'"&lt;br /&gt;The other issue is that most Westerners can't grasp that while the  movements in Egypt and Tunisia weren't Islamic revolutions, many of the  protesters in those countries were "mobilised as Muslims" - some of them  moderate, some of them conservative.&lt;br /&gt;"To be accepted in the West, we have to remove Islam from it ... this  is where the West should get a better understanding of Islam," said  Ramadan.&lt;br /&gt;"They (Muslim)&amp;nbsp;want freedom as the West wants freedom. They want  dignity as the West wants dignity. They want democratisation as the West  is promoting democratising."&lt;br /&gt;Ed Husain, an expert on Islamist movements and senior fellow at the  Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that the US fear of  Islamist states is hardly surprising, given that Washington has viewed  the region through a very narrow lens for the past 30 to 35 years.&lt;br /&gt;"The US, and not just media, but the policy makers and others, view  the Middle East through three prisms: One is of Israel, the second is of  oil and the third is of terrorism," &amp;nbsp;said Hussein.&lt;br /&gt;Then there's the question of how relatively secular societies would  function under Islamist governments. There&amp;nbsp;have been numerous media  reports in outlets such as the &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021806962.html" target="_blank"&gt;Washington Post&lt;/a&gt; and &amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/23/134704.html" target="_blank"&gt;AFP news agency&lt;/a&gt; on&amp;nbsp;fears that freedoms&amp;nbsp;associated with secular governments will be revoked under potential Islamist rule in&amp;nbsp;Tunisia and Egypt.&lt;br /&gt;But what would change if the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt&amp;nbsp;or  the&amp;nbsp;al-Nahda party in Tunisia swept the upcoming polls in those  countries? Is that really even a likely outcome? And, if so, what sort  of social changes would that spell out for those societies?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;These are the early days&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To start with, the revolutions are far from over. In Egypt, &amp;nbsp;there are still &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0225/Egyptians-protest-in-Tahrir-angry-over-new-cabinet" target="_blank"&gt;protests&lt;/a&gt; in Cairo's Tahrir Square and the country is still without a constitution - while in Tunisia &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/15/us-tunisia-strikes-idUSLDE71D13W20110215" target="_blank"&gt;strikes&lt;/a&gt;, protests and unrest continue to unfold as the pro-democracy movement calls for the election of a &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/20113405133628865.html" target="_blank"&gt;constituent assembly&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;"This is all still playing out in real time ... from day to day,  things seem to be rather fluid,"&amp;nbsp;Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of  research at the&amp;nbsp;Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Al Jazeera.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" class="Skyscrapper_Body" style="float: right; width: 200px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;span style="font-size: 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Polls: Americans and Egyptians&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;According to a&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/09/us-usa-mideast-idUSTRE7184IK20110209?feedType=RSS"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Reuters/Ipsos&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; poll:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*58 per cent of Americans&amp;nbsp;worry Islamist&amp;nbsp;governments would not back US interests.&lt;br /&gt;*32 per cent feel the US should unconditionally support democracies in the Middle East.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;A 2010 Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1874/egypt-protests-democracy-islam-influence-politics-islamic-extremism" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;survey&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp; showed:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*Among Muslims in Egypt, 48 per cent felt that Islam "played a large role in their nation's political life".&lt;br /&gt;* 49 per cent said "it played only a small role."&lt;br /&gt;*59 per cent said they wanted a democratic form of government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"There are risks associated with both countries falling under a  strong man - it would not be surprising to see that. What I think is  heartening is that we are seeing real democratic, let's call them grass  roots and green shoots. But&amp;nbsp;... it's important to stress that no one saw  this coming - not the Egyptian intelligence, not US intelligence. It  happened spontaneously.&amp;nbsp;"&lt;br /&gt;Paul Salem, director of the Middle East Centre at the Carnegie  Endowment for International Peace, said it's far too early to know which  direction the Muslim Brotherhood will go just yet. What's clear at this  point, however, is that this was not the Muslim Brotherhood's  revolution.&lt;br /&gt;This, he said, represents a "sea change" in the sense that "public  opinion in the biggest Arab country, has stood up, and on Al Jazeera TV  .. . that what they want, is a pluralist, liberal, democratic system  which respects human rights, communal rights, pluralism, economic  justice, accountable government - that's what they're about."&lt;br /&gt;In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is finding its footing in  post-Mubarak era and has yet to clarify where it stands on key issues.  For example, in recent weeks it has&amp;nbsp;alternately said&amp;nbsp;that it would &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://en.rian.ru/world/20110203/162433368.html" target="_blank"&gt;dissolve&lt;/a&gt; Egypt's peace treaty&amp;nbsp;with Israel and that it would &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12356922" target="_blank"&gt;honour&lt;/a&gt; it.&lt;br /&gt;So it's clear that even within a single Islamist group - let alone  among the many &amp;nbsp;- there is a tremendous diversity of thought, between  the various gradations of the moderate and the conservative as well as  between the younger and older generations.&lt;br /&gt;But George Joffe, a research fellow at Cambridge University, where he  specialises in the Middle East and North Africa, said that the process  of participating in a democracy “domesticates ideologies”.&lt;br /&gt;"Currently, the Muslim Brotherhood is a gerontology, meaning that its  leadership is very old.&amp;nbsp;They are primarily concerned with doctrinal  issues," said Joffe.&lt;br /&gt;"They don’t have a coherent project, which is why they’ve been outclassed by recent events."&lt;br /&gt;He said internal divisions will prompt the Muslim Brotherhood&amp;nbsp;to form  a political party - where doctrine will play less of a role - and move  away from being a social movement, as it is seen now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The (secular) sky is not (yet) falling&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If nothing, the recent events have shown us that while the Muslim  Brotherhood is one of the most organised groups, it typically "accounts  for 15 to 20 per cent of participants, no more,"&amp;nbsp;said Amina  Elbendary,&amp;nbsp;an assistant&amp;nbsp;professor of Arabic and Islamic civilisations at  the American University in Cairo.&lt;br /&gt;"Many of us believe that when fair elections are held, the Muslim  Brotherhood will win considerable seats, and will play and important  role ... once political parties can freely form, we will witness a  plethora of parties."&lt;br /&gt;Salem figured that the odds of Islamist parties taking power in Egypt  and Tunisia, particularly during the immediate transitional period are  "low, although not negligible".&lt;br /&gt;"I think it's low for a number of reasons. First, is that&amp;nbsp;the  uprisings were not Islamist uprisings, so public opinion has staked out a  fairly new and broad position for itself, which is quite different from  the Islamist position," said Salem, who added that this was key, as  over the past 30 years, it was "assumed that the Islamist position must  be the public's position."&lt;br /&gt;This view has been partly reinforced with events such as Iran's 1979  Islamic Revolution, the 2005 Egyptian parliamentary elections, when the  banned Muslim Brotherhood party made major gains, as well as the  elections in Gaza the following year,&amp;nbsp;when the Islamist Hamas party, won  majority rule.&lt;br /&gt;But the&amp;nbsp;Islamist parties weren't the primary driving forces in uprisings in the recent and ongoing uprisings.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/imagecache/218/330/mritems/Images/2011/2/26/2011226131822797738_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Tunisian protesters call for a secular state after the murder of a priest and verbal attacks on Jews [EPA]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"Secondly, in Egypt and in Tunisia, much of the regimes ... would  favour participation in parliament and perhaps in government  participation by Islamist parties, but they would not favour and would  try not to allow an Islamist sweep."&lt;br /&gt;In order to consolidate the gains brought about by the removal of  dictatorships, Islamist parties need to be "modest, or certainly,  restrained" said Salem.&lt;br /&gt;Joffe suggested that an Islamist government in&amp;nbsp;either North African country seems unlikey.&lt;br /&gt;“I would say in the short to medium term, there’s no chance of that  occurring,” said Joffe, mostly because the “level of support is not  sufficient. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has less than 30 per cent  support, and al-Nahda has been out of circulation for years.”&lt;br /&gt;He sees much of the talk of an Islamist takeover as paranoia, and  says that those who say that Islamists states are a certainty in Egypt  and Tunisia have “failed to observe that Islamist movements as such  played no part at all” in the uprisings in those countries, which, he  said, were the “consequence of the demonisation of political Islam as a  systematic and existential threat”.&lt;br /&gt;But Husain said that the Muslim Brotherhood is bound to be the  leading party&amp;nbsp;in the short term, as it has over 80 years of history  there, with the network and resources that come with it. &lt;br /&gt;The party, he said, is poised&amp;nbsp;to do better than others.&lt;br /&gt;"There's a reason for people to be suspicious of the Muslim  Brotherhood, but Mohamad Badia, a relative hardliner in the  organisation, has already said that he's not interested in an Islamist  government, but a civilian government," said Husain, adding that  other&amp;nbsp;members have also said they'd like to be part of a &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121161525971840.html" target="_blank"&gt;broader coalition&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;While the Muslim Brotherhood has &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/opinion/10erian.html?_r=1&amp;amp;scp=1&amp;amp;sq=ESSAM%20EL-ERRIAN&amp;amp;st=cse" target="_blank"&gt;said&lt;/a&gt;  that it does not see Egypt with a Western-style democracy, the  organisation&amp;nbsp;has said that it embraces the idea of democracy, with  Islamic tenets at its core.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why fear an Islamist state?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Within Tunisia, Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the al-Nahda party,  was met not only with supporters at the airport in Tunis upon returning  after spending 21 years in exile - he was also met with secularists, &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011130111220856971.html#" target="_blank"&gt;waving signs&lt;/a&gt; that read, "No Islamism, no theocracy, no Sharia and no stupidity!"&lt;br /&gt;But Ghannouchi has compared al-Nahda to the&amp;nbsp;Turkey's &lt;span lang="tr"&gt;Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi - or &lt;/span&gt;AKP party&amp;nbsp;- which includes an Islamic faction&amp;nbsp;but is not a hardline Islamist party. He also &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/2011233464273624.html#" target="_blank"&gt;told&lt;/a&gt;  Al Jazeera in no uncertain terms that his party "cannot be compared to  the Taliban or Iran" and that he's "no Khomeini", referring to Ayatollah  Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" class="Skyscrapper_Body" style="float: right; width: 200px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;span style="font-size: 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;"I think this very narrow  understanding of what's happening is to once again nurture a state of  fear and mistrust towards all the opposition forces"&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 8pt;"&gt;Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"I think that for the Muslim Brotherhood, (al-)Nahda and others, the  only way for us in the West or anywhere else to deal with them is to let  them be involved in the political process and then to challenge them  when it comes to policy and implementation," said Ramadan, who added  that just as far-right parties are tolerated in Western governments, so  should Islamist parties be in Egypt and Tunisia.&lt;br /&gt;"If you repress them, if you put them in jail, you are in fact nurturing the radicalisation that you don't want."&lt;br /&gt;Besides, said Ramadan, al-Nahda and the Muslim Brotherhood hardly  represent extremist Islamic thought - they are in fact considered  "beytrayers" by extremist groups, because both parties are "legalists  and non-violent".&lt;br /&gt;Turkey is also the example both Salem and Joffe use to make the point  that the idea of Islamist government does not run counter to the notion  of individual rights. In fact, Joffe points out Turkey is negotiating  to join the European Union, something that would be impossible without  having a democracy and respecting human rights.&lt;br /&gt;Even though rights groups, such as the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women are &lt;a class="internallink" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/world/africa/21tunisia.html?_r=1&amp;amp;src=twrhp" target="_blank"&gt;on guard&lt;/a&gt;  for any move to retrograde women's rights, Husain does not see a threat  to women and minority rights in the country. He described Ghannouchi as  a progressive, and said he'd sat in on meetings where the the al-Nahda  leader went "out of his way to reprimand the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood  for its rigidity".&lt;br /&gt;"Ghannouchi is a believer in a woman being a head of a state, so  that's where he&amp;nbsp;is, and he's years ahead of the Egyptian ... Muslim  Brotherhood, who sometimes have very conservative tendencies."&lt;br /&gt;Still Husain also points out that the Muslim Brotherhood has a good  relationship with Egypt's Coptic Christian community, although it has  said in the past that it does not support the idea of a Copt becoming  president.&lt;br /&gt;Joffe said that there's no chance of an Islamist party changing the  status of women in Tunisia, when women's rights have made steady gains  since gaining suffrage in 1956, but that Egypt is a different matter.&lt;br /&gt;"Egypt is&amp;nbsp;a much more conservative society - the changes there may  well be due to the patriarchal nature of men rather than to the Islamist  movement itself," said Joffe.&lt;br /&gt;"That isn’t going to change, simply because of the nature of the political parties."&lt;br /&gt;Indeed, those particpating in International Women's Day rally in  Cairo on Monday were met with groups of men opposing the march, some of  whom shoved women, saying their activities were un-Islamic. But Joffe  doesn't seem too concerned about a&amp;nbsp;dawn of new, hardline governments,  mostly because the Muslim Brotherhood is factionalising and that  moderate factions will not tolerate the idea of trying to suppress women  through law.&lt;br /&gt;Egyptian women have already started pushing back, working to find a  way into the new government. And&amp;nbsp;there are also reports published and  broadcast in outlets such as&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/02/world/la-fg-egypt-women-20110203" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;The Los Angeles&amp;nbsp;Times&lt;/a&gt;and&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=1789037372" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;CBC&lt;/a&gt;which point to the role of women in the Egyptian uprising as&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="internallink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/201138133425420552.html" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;a turning point&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for women's rights there, empowering them to find a place in society,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/02/2011217134411934738.html" style="color: #b18000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding-right: 4px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;shoulder-to-shoulder&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;with men.&lt;br /&gt;"There is a strong civil society in Egypt, which already, even before  January 25, has pushed the Muslim Brotherhood to reformulate its ideas  and concepts, especially with regards to women and minorities," said  Elbendary.&lt;br /&gt;"It is inevitable that further pressures in the future will encourage  the Muslim Brotherhood to develop their ideas and programme further."&lt;br /&gt;Ramadan said that what's become clear through the haze of the ongoing  revolts is that Islamist groups are "not really in touch with what is  happening in the society with the young generation. So the risk of a  very traditional and conservative approaches is there". However, he said  that it's up to the parties themselves to show, on the ground, that  they respect equal rights for men and women, Muslim and non-Muslim  alike.&lt;br /&gt;Schanzer too said there there are&amp;nbsp;"signs that warrant optimism in  both countries" and that if the people will it, they could push for  constitutions that protect the rights of women and minorities while  having an Islamist head of state.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Coalitions and fringe movements&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Muslim Brotherhood and&amp;nbsp;al-Nahda have said that they want to part  of a coalition governments. In the case of Tunisia's al-Nahda movement,  which Salem describes as a "softer"&amp;nbsp;Islamic movement, this seems less  contentious, as Ghannouchi's reputation is that of a progressive.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" class="Skyscrapper_Body" style="float: right; width: 200px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;span style="font-size: 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;"I  don't think that the twitter, Facebook, tattoo generation of young  Egyptians that essentially overthrew the Mubarak regime will sit around  and wait for some fundamentalist regime to appear."&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 8pt;"&gt;Ed Husain, Council on Foreign Relations&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"I think that political groups that are part of the various political  Islamic movements are inevitable partners in future democratic  governments in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere," said Steve Clemons, the  founder of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.&lt;br /&gt;"Their ability to lead a government will be based upon their  deal-making skills with other parts of that political system.&amp;nbsp;And most  importantly, I think that to be trusted to lead, they will need to show  an ability to negotiate and compromise and to respect those who are part  of the political minority. But they will definitely be in the  equation."&lt;br /&gt;With its more conservative views and decades-long baggage, it may be  hard to see how the Muslim Brotherhood could finesse being part of a  coalition.&lt;br /&gt;"I think we are long overdue in seeing the Muslim Brotherhood and  other parts of political Islam be given the chance to participate in  democratic structures," Clemons told Al Jazeera, adding that making the  group "feel that they are stakeholders, hopefully diminish  radicalisation of some of their followers".&lt;br /&gt;Besides, the Muslim Brotherhood is well aware of how it is perceived,  which, said Salem, is why they are not fielding a presidential  candidate in the upcoming elections.&lt;br /&gt;Taking the Turkish model into account, Salem points out that in&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112671030650864.html#" target="_blank"&gt;aligning&lt;/a&gt; itself with &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/02/2010219162148390306.html" target="_blank"&gt;Mohamed ElBaradei&lt;/a&gt;, himself without a strong following in Egypt, the party might succeed in increasing its base.&lt;br /&gt;Husain, meanwhile, said he's concerned that once the Muslim  Brotherhood has a parliamentary presence, other hardline groups  will&amp;nbsp;criticise them for being too moderate.&lt;br /&gt;"We saw this in Bangladesh, we saw this in Pakistan, we're seeing  this in Indonesia ...&amp;nbsp;we will see a greater contesting of Islamists  trying to out-Islam one another - you know, who's more pure, who's more  Islamic."&lt;br /&gt;In weighing the possibilities, Schanzer said that Egypt and Tunisia  could, potentially, go in three different directions - they could  revert&amp;nbsp; back to military-backed dictatorships, could form&amp;nbsp;democracies&amp;nbsp;or  Islamist government. They could also form combinations of the above.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hijacking a revolution&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So it's not outside the scope of possibility that both Tunisia and  Egypt might end up with Islamist governments. Given that the population  in both countries is predominantly Muslim, would that be such a  catastrophe?&lt;br /&gt;Though secular, Israel is considered a Jewish state, where only a Jew  could be head of state, and in the UK, only a Christian could occupy  that position. So&amp;nbsp;if faith can play a role in statehood, then&amp;nbsp;what would  make an Islamist leadership in Tunisia and Egypt so alarming?&lt;br /&gt;"A lot Muslims do not want a religious-based government, let alone  non-Muslims ... and in Egypt and Tunisia, one didn't get the sense&amp;nbsp;of  any sweeping sentiment at all, that these Muslims wanted an Islamist  government," said Salem.&lt;br /&gt;But within Egypt, the fear of having an Islamist take-over is seen as  "rather exaggerated, and has been for a number of years," said  Elbendary, adding that while both Tunisia and Egypt have a history of  Islamist political organisations "which have great grassroots support",  that in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood is "not the only power".&lt;br /&gt;Husain too said he doesn't think an Islamist government has a lasting chance in Egypt.&lt;br /&gt;"I don't think that the twitter, Facebook, tattoo generation of young  Egyptians that essentially overthrew the Mubarak regime will sit around  and wait for some fundamentalist regime to appear," said Husain.&lt;br /&gt;Schanzer is more circumspect on the issue, and said it's not clear  how people would respond to the formation of a hardline Islamist  government.&lt;br /&gt;"It depends what kind of system emerges," said Schanzer.&lt;br /&gt;"If it's a repressive system that brutalises people who come out in  protest of their government, then I think it would take some time to  amass the requisite forces to challenge the government again. I think  it's important that we remember that the people of Egypt are both  exhilarated and exhausted."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Follow &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://twitter.com/dparvaz" target="_blank"&gt;dparvaz&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt; on Twitter.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-9099894152640803644?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/9099894152640803644/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/islamists-ready-for-their-close-up.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/9099894152640803644'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/9099894152640803644'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/islamists-ready-for-their-close-up.html' title='Islamists ready for their close-up?'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1938194360056108689</id><published>2011-03-09T02:44:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-09T02:44:26.780-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Failing in Afghanistan successfully</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                 &lt;!----&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Despite hundreds of billions of dollars and  thousands of troops, the US is unable to conclude its longest war.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                         &lt;!-- --&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;   Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera Senior Political Analyst&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;07 Mar 2011 19:06 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt; 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                    &lt;!-- --&gt;                 &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" bordercolor="#ffffff" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/7/201137182529481150_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;The recent  killing of nine Afghan children has&amp;nbsp;put the spotlight on the US  military's new aggressive methods [AFP]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;While we have been fixated on successive Arab breakthroughs and  victories against tyranny and extremism, Washington is failing miserably  but discreetly in Afghanistan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The American media's  one-obsession-at-a-time coverage of global affairs might have put the  spotlight on President Obama's slow and poor reaction to the  breathtaking developments starting in Tunisia and Egypt. But they spared  him embarrassing questions about continued escalation and deaths in  Afghanistan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In spite of its international coalition, multiple  strategies, hundreds of billions of dollars, and a surge of tens of  thousands of troops, the US is unable to conclude its longest war yet or  at least reverse its trend.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Recent "reports" from the war front  have been of two kinds. Some official or analytical in nature and  heavily circulated in Washington portray a war going terribly well. On  the other hand, hard news from the ground tell a story of US fatigue,  backtracking and tactical withdrawals or redeployments which do not bode  well for defeating the Taliban or forcing them to the negotiations'  table.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For example, while the US military's decision to withdraw  from the Pech valley was justified on tactical need to redeploy troops  for the task of "protecting the population", keen observers saw it as a  humiliating retreat from what the Pentagon previously called a very  strategic position and sacrificed some hundred soldiers defending it.&lt;br /&gt;Likewise, strategic analysts close to the administration speak  triumphantly of US surge and hi-tech firepower inflicting terrible cost  on the Taliban, killing many insurgents and driving many more from their  sanctuaries.&lt;br /&gt;But news from the war front show the Taliban unrelenting, mounting  counterattacks and escalating the war especially in areas where the US  has "surged" its troops. And while the majority of the 400 Afghan  districts are "calmer", they remain mostly out of Kabul's control.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What success?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Those with relatively long memories recall the then defence secretary  Donald Rumsfeld's claims that most of Afghanistan was secure in early  2003 and that American forces had changed their strategy from major  combat operations to stabilisation and reconstruction project.&lt;br /&gt;But the Taliban continued to carry daily attacks on government  buildings, US positions and international organisations. Two years  later, the US was to suffer the worst and deadliest year since the war  began.&lt;br /&gt;Today's war pundits are in the same state of denial. For all  practical purpose, Washington has given up on its  counterinsurgency&amp;nbsp;(COIN)&amp;nbsp;strategy devised under McChrystal and Petreaus.&lt;br /&gt;Instead, it is pursuing a heavy handed and terribly destructive  crackdown that includes special operations, assassinations, mass  demolitions, air and night raids etc that have led to anything but  winning the country, let alone its hearts and minds.&lt;br /&gt;The killing of nine Afghan children last week - all under the age of  12 - by US attack helicopters has once again put the spotlight on the US  military's new aggressive methods.&lt;br /&gt;The results are so devastating for the conduct of the war and to  Washington's clients, that President Karzai not only distanced himself  from the US methods, but also publicly rejected Washington's apology for  the killings.&lt;br /&gt;Nor is the recruitment and training of the Afghan forces going well.  Indeed, many seem to give up on the idea that Afghan security forces  could take matters into their hands if the US withdraws in the  foreseeable future.&lt;br /&gt;Worse, US strategic co-operation with Pakistan - the central pillar  of Obama's PakAf strategy - has cooled after the arrest of a CIA  contractor for the killing of two Pakistanis even though he presumably  enjoys diplomatic immunity.&lt;br /&gt;Reportedly, it has also led to a "breakdown" in co-ordination between  the two countries intelligence agencies, the CIA and the ISI.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But  the incident is merely a symptom of a bigger problem between the two  countries. A reluctant partner, the Pakistani establishment and its  military are unhappy with US strategy which they reckon could  destabilise their country and strengthen Afghanistan and India at their  expense.&lt;br /&gt;That has not deterred Washington from offering ideas and money to  repair the damage. However, it has become clear that unlike in recent  years, future improvement in their bilateral relations will most  probably come as a result of&amp;nbsp;the US&amp;nbsp;edging closer to Pakistan's  position, not the opposite.&lt;br /&gt;All of which makes one wonder why certain Washington circles are  rushing to advance the "success story".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Running out of options&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Afghan government' incapability to take on the tasks of governing  or securing the country beyond the capital, and the incapacity of the  Obama administration to break the Taliban's momentum does not bode well  for an early conclusion of the war.&lt;br /&gt;To their credit some of Obama's war and surge supporters realise that  there is no military solution for Afghanistan. Clearly, their claims of  battlefield successes help justify the rush to talk to the Taliban.&lt;br /&gt;But it is not yet clear whether the presumably ongoing exploratory  secret negotiations with the Taliban are serious at all, or will lead to  comprehensive negotiations and eventually a lasting deal. The last  "Taliban commander" Washington dialogued with in the fall turned out to  be an impostor&amp;nbsp;- a shopkeeper from Quetta!&lt;br /&gt;If the Taliban does eventually accept to sit down with Obama or  Karzai envoys,&amp;nbsp;the US&amp;nbsp;needs to explain why it fought for 10 years only  to help the&amp;nbsp;group back to power.&lt;br /&gt;Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has begun the humiliating  backtracking last month: "Now, I know that reconciling with an adversary  that can be as brutal as the Taliban sounds distasteful, even  unimaginable. And diplomacy would be easy if we only had to talk to our  friends. But that is not how one makes peace."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Facing up to the reality&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The mere fact that the world's mightiest superpower cannot win over  the poorly armed Taliban after a long decade of fighting, means it has  already failed strategically, regardless of the final outcome.&lt;br /&gt;The escalation of violence and wasting billions more cannot change  that. It is history. The quicker the Obama administration recognises its  misfortunes, minimises its losses and convenes a regional conference  over the future of Afghanistan under UN auspices, the easier it will be  to evacuate without humiliation.&lt;br /&gt;Whether the US eventually loses the war and declares victory;  negotiates a settlement and withdraw its troops, remains to be seen.  What is incontestable is that when you fight the week for too long, you  also become weak.&lt;br /&gt;All of which explains the rather blunt comments made in a speech at  the end of February, by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates when he said  "... any future defense secretary who advises the president to again  send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or  Africa should 'have his head examined,' as General MacArthur so  delicately put it."&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1938194360056108689?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1938194360056108689/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/failing-in-afghanistan-successfully.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1938194360056108689'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1938194360056108689'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/failing-in-afghanistan-successfully.html' title='Failing in Afghanistan successfully'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-705722697605127209</id><published>2011-03-07T16:04:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-07T16:04:38.321-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Kalau tak pangkah BN, bantuan ditarik balik</title><content type='html'>&lt;h3 class="post-title entry-title"&gt; &lt;a href="http://idhamlim.blogspot.com/2011/03/kalau-tak-pangkah-bn-bantuan-ditarik.html"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div class="post-header-line-1"&gt; &lt;span class="post-comment-link" style="float: right;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt; &lt;div style="float: right;"&gt; &lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;tweetmeme_style = 'compact';tweetmeme_url = 'http://idhamlim.blogspot.com/2011/03/kalau-tak-pangkah-bn-bantuan-ditarik.html';tweetmeme_source = 'anupkayastha';&lt;/script&gt; &lt;script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder="0" height="20" scrolling="no" src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/button.js?url=http%3A//idhamlim.blogspot.com/2011/03/kalau-tak-pangkah-bn-bantuan-ditarik.html&amp;amp;style=compact&amp;amp;source=anupkayastha&amp;amp;o=http%3A//idhamlim.blogspot.com/&amp;amp;b=1" width="90"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;span class="post-author vcard"&gt; 2:56 PM &lt;span class="fn"&gt;DRS. KHALIL IDHAM LIM &lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class="data-post"&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yClbZ0EOodQ/TXSDP_ix97I/AAAAAAAAhuM/5FdnhwZH51k/s1600/limau.jpg"&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581230148997478322" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yClbZ0EOodQ/TXSDP_ix97I/AAAAAAAAhuM/5FdnhwZH51k/s200/limau.jpg" style="float: left; height: 134px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;02 Rabiulakhir 1432H. [MOD] -&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saya merupakan  seorang warga Merlimau, Melaka yang bertugas di Sarawak. Saya sanggup  pulang untuk Pilihanraya Kecil Dun Merlimau walaupun menelan belanja  yang besar. Majikan saya bertanya kenapa saya perlu pulang ke Merlimau,  bukankah ada undi pos? Saya jawab, “Maaf tuan, saya tidak yakin dengan  undi pos.” Semangat berkobar-kobar kerana PRK tidak sama dengan PRU.  Tentu banyak berubah wajah kampung saya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tepat telahan saya,  memang berubah sama sekali! Lori keluar masuk, polis bersimpang siur di  jalan raya. Kampung yang dulu aman damai kini tidak ubah seperti medan  pertempuran. Bendera berkibaran sehingga menyukarkan saya untuk melihat  kenderaan sebelum melintas jalan. Begitu ‘panas’ keadaan di Merlimau  sehingga berkobar-kobar saya memangkah kertas undi, dengan harapan calon  pilihan saya juga calon pilihan warga Merlimau.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Apabila  keputusan PRK diumumkan saya jadi kecewa. Kecewa bukan kerana PAS tewas.  Kecewa kerana orang kampung saya, orang Merlimau masih belum berubah,  masih belum mahu berubah dan tidak mahu berubah. Pegangan saya dan  keluarga tetap condong kepada PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat. Tetapi tidak  dengan orang kampung saya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mereka terlalu selesa dengan  kebendaan, terlalu mudah disogokkan dengan harta benda, dengan jalan tar  sekangkang kera, dengan biskut marie sepeket dua. Mereka tidak nampak  bagaimana Ketua Menteri tercinta dengan lahap rakus menelan setiap sen  ringgit yang terbang di depan mata.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saya cuma pulang untuk tiga  hari, tetapi pelbagai kisah menarik yang saya dapat di kampung saya.  Jiran saya seorang ibu tunggal anak 7, dengan pendapatan RM400 sebulan,  disogokkan dengan jalan tar sehingga ke depan pintu rumah. Tetapi hanya  ditabur dengan batu dan pasir, tar pula entah ke mana. Lain pula  ceritanya dengan seorang ahli Umno totok, yang rumahnya di sebelah  masjid.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sehari sebelum mengundi, rumahnya cantik ditar setiap  pelosok halaman. Yang seorang lagi bukan setakat rumah, hingga ke  rumah-rumah sewanya juga siap ditar. Ibu tunggal diberi sepeket biskut  marie, sekilo gula, dan sekilo tepung gandum dengan pesanan, “Kalau kau  tak pangkah BN, semua bantuan ditarik balik.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seorang rakan saya  merupakan petugas SPR yang juga pengundi, terpaksa menggunakan undi pos.  Yang hairan bin ajaibnya, borang yang ditulis nama dan kad  pengenalannya diarahkan supaya dimasukkan sekali dengan kertas undi.  Jadi sesiapa pun boleh tahu siapa yang undi siapa. Sudah teluskah SPR?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Teringat  saya dengan seorang pelakon kelahiran Merlimau yang juga penyokong BN  totok. Mungkin sedang berlakon atau mungkin nak menunjuk pada anak-anak  dara di sekeliling; dengan nada bongkak dia menjerit,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Lagi-lagi  sebut Allah, asyik nak minta tolong pada Allah je, bukannya nak usaha!”  Na’uzubillah… bukankah segala usaha kita juga atas kehendak Allah?  Semoga dia sempat bertaubat dan semoga kampung Merlimau yang saya  sayangi ini tidak dilanda musibah dan mala petaka.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Banyak lagi  kisah pilihanraya Dun Merlimau ini, tapi pada petugas-petugas jentera  pilihanraya tentu sangat maklum. Merlimau merupakan kubu kuat BN,  orang-orang Merlimau sangat setia kepada BN. Memang kami tidak  meletakkan harapan yang tinggi untuk kemenangan PAS di sini.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tapi  untuk PRU13, saya berharap sesuatu boleh dilakukan kerana kami, sebagai  pengundi Dun Merlimau ini amat mengharapkan perubahan. Mohon ahli-ahli  Pakatan Rakyat di sini menyusun strategi untuk menghadapi PRU13. Kita  perlu lakukan sesuatu untuk mengubah mentaliti pengundi bagi menjamin  perubahan di masa akan datang. Insya Allah, karat BN di Dun Merlimau ini  akan terhakis akhirnya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pengundi Dun Merlimau &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-705722697605127209?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/705722697605127209/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/kalau-tak-pangkah-bn-bantuan-ditarik.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/705722697605127209'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/705722697605127209'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/kalau-tak-pangkah-bn-bantuan-ditarik.html' title='Kalau tak pangkah BN, bantuan ditarik balik'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yClbZ0EOodQ/TXSDP_ix97I/AAAAAAAAhuM/5FdnhwZH51k/s72-c/limau.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-7444023865842339194</id><published>2011-03-05T08:13:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-05T08:13:37.900-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Saudi Arabia bans protest rallies</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Interior ministry vows to use all steps "to prevent attempts to disrupt public order" following recent Shia protests.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;05 Mar 2011 15:15 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201135143046557642" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201135143046557642" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/12/22/201012227313493371_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;King Abdullah unveiled $37bn&amp;nbsp;in benefits&amp;nbsp;for citizens after returning from abroad last week&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Saudi Arabia has banned all protests and marches following recent anti-government protests in the kingdom’s east, reports say.&lt;br /&gt;State television on Saturday quoted the interior ministry as saying  that security forces would use all measures to prevent any attempt to  disrupt public order.&lt;br /&gt;The ban on public demonstrations comes amid media reports of a huge  mobilisation of Saudi troops in Shia-dominated provinces in order to  quell any possible uprising.&lt;br /&gt;According to &lt;em&gt;The Independent&lt;/em&gt;, a British newspaper,&amp;nbsp;10,000  security personnel are being sent to the region by road, clogging  highways into Dammam and other cities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Shia protests&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A restive Shia population has staged a series of protests in the  kingdom’s east in the past weeks. Their grievances range from lack of  equal economic and employment opportunities to detentions without trial.&lt;br /&gt;On Saturday, small protests were held in the cities of Hofuf and Qatif.&lt;br /&gt;The government of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy without an  elected parliament that usually does not tolerate public dissent, denies  any discrimination against the Shia community.&lt;br /&gt;The authorities, however, are increasingly on edge&amp;nbsp;following the anti-governmnent protests sweeping across the Arab world.&lt;br /&gt;Last week, King Abdullah returned to Riyadh after a three-month  medical absence and unveiled $37bn in benefits for citizens in an  apparent bid to insulate the kingdom from protests.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblCountBody"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-7444023865842339194?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/7444023865842339194/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/saudi-arabia-bans-protest-rallies.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7444023865842339194'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7444023865842339194'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/saudi-arabia-bans-protest-rallies.html' title='Saudi Arabia bans protest rallies'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1297492600521361305</id><published>2011-03-04T15:16:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-04T15:16:48.492-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Pakistan buries Christian leader</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;Pakistan buries Christian leader                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;&lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;&lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Prime minister attends funeral in Islamabad of government minister killed after calling for changes to blasphemy laws. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;04 Mar 2011 15:45 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;&lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;&lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201134134914166140" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;&lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8625918837892722419&amp;amp;postID=1297492600521361305" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;&lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;&lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201134134914166140" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/4/201134142851358360_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Yusuf Raza Gilani, left,&amp;nbsp;said 'I consider this day as a black day. All the minorities have lost a great leader' [AFP]&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Pakistan has buried Shahbaz Bhatti, a prominent Christian&amp;nbsp;government &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/03/20113271659294319.html"&gt;minister&amp;nbsp;who was assassinated&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;after he called for changes&amp;nbsp;to the country's&amp;nbsp;blasphemy laws.&lt;br /&gt;Around 2,000 mourners attended&amp;nbsp;the funeral at an Islamabad church&amp;nbsp;on Friday, including Yusuf Raza Gilani,&amp;nbsp;the prime minister.&lt;br /&gt;Angry crowd had shouted "death for killers" ahead of the burial of  Bhatti who was the&amp;nbsp;country's only Christian&amp;nbsp;minister and&amp;nbsp;had challenged a  law that stipulates death for insulting Islam.&lt;br /&gt;The two gunmen who shot&amp;nbsp;Bhatti, 42,&amp;nbsp;left leaflets desribing him as a "Christian infidel" and&amp;nbsp;signed "Taliban al-Qaeda Punjab".&lt;br /&gt;"In Islamic sharia, the sentence for blasphemers to the prophet is just death," the pamphlet said.&lt;br /&gt;Gilani said: "I consider this day as a black day. All the minorities  have lost a great leader. I assure you, we will try our utmost to bring  the culprits to justice."&lt;br /&gt;Pakistan's blasphemy law sanctions the death penalty for insulting Islam or&amp;nbsp;the Prophet Mohammed.&lt;br /&gt;Human rights groups say the law&amp;nbsp;has been used to persecute Christians and other minorities.&lt;br /&gt;Bhatti’s killing is being seen as&amp;nbsp;the latest sign of how violent  religious conservatism is becoming more mainstream in Pakistan, a trend  which could further destabilise the nuclear-armed US ally.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Second assassination&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bhatti's&amp;nbsp;murder&amp;nbsp;was the second high profile&amp;nbsp;assassination&amp;nbsp;this year&amp;nbsp;of a politician&amp;nbsp;opposing the blasphemy law.&lt;br /&gt;In January, Salman Taseer,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/01/201115135528691282.html"&gt;a provincial governor, was shot dead&lt;/a&gt; by one of his bodyguards.&lt;br /&gt;In a sign of mourning, black flags fluttered above houses in  Khushpur, Bhatti's mainly Christian home village, 290 km south of  Islamabad. Men, women and children thronged the village cemetery for the  burial.&lt;br /&gt;"These terrorists must be hanged publicly to stop them from  committing such brutal crimes," Hina Gill, a member of the Christian  Minority Alliance, said. Many Muslims were also present at Bhatti’s  burial.&lt;br /&gt;"Shahbaz Bhatti has tried hard to promote inter-faith harmony but  those who want to destabilise Pakistan have killed him," said Badruddin  Chaudhry, a Muslim attending the funeral.&lt;br /&gt;Bhatti was travelling in his official car without a security escort  when the&amp;nbsp;gunmen opened fire on him near his house in Islamabad. He died  on the spot after sustaining at least eight bullet wounds.&lt;br /&gt;A Rehman Malik, the interior minister,&amp;nbsp;denounced the killing but said Bhatti himself was to blame for his death. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I think it was his mistake," Rehman Malik said, adding that Bhatti wanted to keep a low profile. "It was his own decision."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Mosque explosion&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a separate&amp;nbsp;incident, a bomb exploded in a mosque in the  northwestern Pakistani town of Nowshera, killing at least nine people  and wounding over 30, police and hospital officials said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/3/4/201134155215673436_21.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Today's&amp;nbsp;explosion occurs a day after&amp;nbsp;a suicide blast that&amp;nbsp;killed ten people&amp;nbsp;[Reuters]&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;The blast took place when food was being distributed to the poor after Friday prayers.&lt;br /&gt;"We have received nine dead bodies and 28 injured, there is one child  among the dead," Abdul Hameed Afridi, head of the Lady Reading hospital  in Peshawar, the main city in the region, told the AFP news agency.&lt;br /&gt;Adil Khan, a Nowshera police official, said: "Many people had left  the mosque after prayers. Otherwise losses would have been higher."&lt;br /&gt;Witnesses described scenes of panic, with&amp;nbsp;the mosque's windows and  doors blown out by the strength of the explosion and blood sprayed on  the building walls.&lt;br /&gt;"I was distributing rice among the devotees when suddenly a huge  blast occurred and I remember seeing people running and falling in  panic," Suleman Shah, a jeweller,&amp;nbsp;said.&lt;br /&gt;The blast follows a suicide car bombing near Peshawar on Thursday which claimed ten lives.&lt;br /&gt;Pakistan has seen a wave of suicide attacks in the past three years,  many in the country's northwest frontier region with Afghanistan, where  the Pakistan military is battling Taliban fighters.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblCountBody"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1297492600521361305?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1297492600521361305/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/pakistan-buries-christian-leader-prime.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1297492600521361305'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1297492600521361305'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/pakistan-buries-christian-leader-prime.html' title='Pakistan buries Christian leader'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-6451608193443852856</id><published>2011-03-01T04:03:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-03-01T04:03:05.378-08:00</updated><title type='text'>We are not the enemy</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;An Arab Jew argues for bridging East and West with peace and justice for all.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Jordan Elgrably&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;28 Feb 2011 12:11 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011225144939129529" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011225144939129529" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/28/2011228115637624140_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Palestinians  living under Israeli rule have the same desire to recover their human  and civil rights as others protesting against oppression&amp;nbsp;across the  region&amp;nbsp;[GALLO/GETTY]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;If I were in a position to deliver a message to the people of the  Middle East, including Israelis, I would proudly declare myself an Arab  Jew and remind everyone that Jews have been an integral part of the  Middle East mosaic for millennia. We are not the enemy, and often we  speak the same languages - Arabic, Farsi, Turkish etc. Our ancestors  have lived in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and even Afghanistan for  hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years.&lt;br /&gt;Today most Jews of Arab/Muslim lands live outside the region, or in  Israel where we have experienced a history of discrimination from  European-origin Jews who believe that their cultures are superior to  ours.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I would tell the people of the Middle East that not all  Jews support the occupation policies of Israel’s military and  government; and I would insist that the historic expulsions of  Palestinians from their homes, businesses and properties in 1948 and  1967 were illegal, inhumane and did not occur with our knowledge or  blessing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yitzhak Rabin and other Israelis have admitted in  Hebrew-language documents that there was a deliberate policy of  expulsion or ethnic cleansing of Arabs from their homes. And the  military policies of the state of Israel since 1967, combined with the  extensive building of settlements, have undermined so-called peace  processes where good faith efforts are required of all participating  parties.&lt;br /&gt;The peoples of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, not to mention Bahrain and  Yemen, are indeed in a historic period. They are rising up against  autocracy and repression, against oppression by the state, calling for  new freedoms.&lt;br /&gt;Palestinians under Israeli rule in the West Bank have the same desire  to live freely, to escape the oppression of occupation and recover  their human and civil rights. They have a right to enjoy their  independence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The original UN Partition Plan of 1947 proposed a  state for Palestinians and a state for Jews. This is the time when all  Arabs and all Arab Jews who support peace, justice and democracy should  speak out and say 'enough' to state oppression. Stop building  settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, end the siege of Gaza,  apologise to the Palestinian people for the historic wrongs Israel  inflicted&amp;nbsp;during the 1948 Nakbah and let us enter a new era of peace as  equals who take responsibility for our actions.&lt;br /&gt;Israelis and Palestinians and all reasonable people around the world  have understood that there is no military solution to the conflict.  Violence will never solve anything.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As a country, Israel should  be integrated into the mosaic of the Middle East. It is time to end the  conflict that began with the belief that Arabs and Jews are historic  enemies. This was never true, yet decades of brainwashing have many Jews  believing that Arabs and Muslims hate Israel because we are Jews.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Instead,  we should realise that Arabs/Muslims are like people everywhere, who  want the same human rights that Americans enjoy. Those rights must  extend to the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and to Israel's  Arab citizens.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If Israel wants to preach peace, it should walk  the walk - apologise for its wartime mistakes and missteps, compensate  its victims and reform its military and occupation policies, as well as  laws in Israel that discriminate against non-Jews.&lt;br /&gt;In other words, let us help Israel get on the same page as Americans  who could never live under the kind of oppression Palestinians  experience on a daily basis.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-6451608193443852856?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/6451608193443852856/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/we-are-not-enemy.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/6451608193443852856'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/6451608193443852856'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/03/we-are-not-enemy.html' title='We are not the enemy'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-7187198921382040428</id><published>2011-02-26T05:02:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-26T05:02:40.265-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Profile: Muammar Gaddafi</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Oil-rich Libya's eccentric leader has held the country in a tight grip since he led a bloodless coup in 1969.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;24 Feb 2011 22:01 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122117565923629" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122117565923629" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/21/2011221201658804811_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gaddafi is known as much for his eccentric clothing and female bodyguards as for his repressive rule [EPA]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;In power since 1969, Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world.&lt;br /&gt;He&amp;nbsp;led a bloodless coup toppling King Idris at the age of 27, and has  since maintained tight control&amp;nbsp;of&amp;nbsp;his oil-rich country&amp;nbsp;by clamping down  on dissidents. The ongoing bloody uprising poses the most  serious&amp;nbsp;domestic challenge to his rule.&lt;br /&gt;Among his many eccentricities, Gaddafi&amp;nbsp;is&amp;nbsp;known to sleep&amp;nbsp;in a Bedouin  tent guarded by dozens of female bodyguards on trips abroad.&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi was born in 1942 in the coastal area of Sirte to nomadic  parents. He went to Benghazi University to study geography, but dropped  out to join the army.&lt;br /&gt;After seizing power,&amp;nbsp;he&amp;nbsp;laid out a pan-Arab, anti-imperialist  philosophy, blended with&amp;nbsp;aspects of Islam. While he permitted private  control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones.&lt;br /&gt;He was an admirer of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and his Arab socialist and nationalist ideology.&lt;br /&gt;He tried without success to merge Libya, Egypt and Syria into a  federation. A similar attempt to join Libya and Tunisia ended in  acrimony.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Crushing dissident&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 1977 he changed the country's name to the Great Socialist Popular  Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (State of the Masses) and allowed people to air  their views at people's congresses.&lt;br /&gt;However, critics dismissed his leadership as&amp;nbsp;a military dictatorship,  accusing him of repressing&amp;nbsp;civil society and ruthlessly crushing  dissident.&lt;br /&gt;To this day, the media remains under strict government control.&lt;br /&gt;The regime has imprisoned hundreds of people for violating the law and sentenced some to death, according to Human Rights Watch.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/imagecache/218/330/mritems/Images/2011/2/21/2011221201438349436_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;At the UN General Assembly in 2009, Gaddafi accused the body of being a terrorism&amp;nbsp;group like al-Qaeda&amp;nbsp;[EPA]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"Gaddafi, gradually as he took power, he used force and he used  brutality,"&amp;nbsp;Mohammed al-Abdalla, the deputy secretary-general of the  National front for Salvation of Libya, tells Al Jazeera.&lt;br /&gt;"In the 1970s against students, when he publicly hung&amp;nbsp; students who  were marching, demonstrating, demanding rights in Benghazi and in  Tripoli and many other squares, and his opposition members abroad in the  1980s, including here in London and other places in Europe and in in  Arab Middle East.&lt;br /&gt;"He executed, in probably the most brutal massacre that we saw, 1,200  prisoners in the Abu Salim prison who were unarmed, They were already  in jail,&amp;nbsp;he executed them in less than&amp;nbsp;three hours."&lt;br /&gt;Mohammed al-Abdalla, the deputy secretary-general of the National front for Salvation of Libya&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi&amp;nbsp;played a prominent role in organising Arab opposition to the 1978 Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.&lt;br /&gt;Later shunned by a number of Arab states on the basis of his extreme  views on how to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among others,  Gaddafi's&amp;nbsp;foreign policy shifted from&amp;nbsp;an Arab focus to an African focus.&lt;br /&gt;His vision of a United States of Africa resulted in the foundation of&amp;nbsp;the African Union.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lockerbie bombing&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the West,&amp;nbsp;Gaddafi is strongly associated with "terrorism", accused  of supporting armed groups including FARC in Colombia and the IRA in  Northern Ireland.&lt;br /&gt;Libya’s alleged involvement in the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub  in which two&amp;nbsp;American&amp;nbsp;soldiers were killed prompted&amp;nbsp;US air&amp;nbsp;attacks on  Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 35 Libyans, including Gaddafi’s adopted  daughter. Ronald Reagan, the then US president,&amp;nbsp;called&amp;nbsp;him a "mad dog".&lt;br /&gt;The 1988 bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in Scotland is  possibly the most well known and controversial international incident in  which Gaddafi&amp;nbsp;has been involved.&lt;br /&gt;For many years, Gaddafi denied involvement, resulting in UN sanctions  and Libya’s status as a pariah state. Abdel Basset&amp;nbsp;al-Megrahi, a Libyan  intelligence agent, was&amp;nbsp;convicted for planting the bomb. Gaddafi's  regime formally accepted responsibility for the attack in 2003 and paid  compensation to the families of those who died.&lt;br /&gt;Also in 2003, Gaddafi broke Libya's isolation from the West by  relinquishing his entire inventory of weapons of mass destruction.&lt;br /&gt;In September 2004, George Bush, the US president at the  time,&amp;nbsp;formally ended a US trade embargo as a result of Gaddafi's  scrapping of the arms programme and taking responsibility for Lockerbie.&lt;br /&gt;The normalisation of relations with Western powers has allowed the  Libyan economy to grow and the oil industry in particular has benefited.&lt;br /&gt;However, Gaddafi and Lockerbie&amp;nbsp;came back into the spotlight in 2009,  when al-Megrahi was released and returned to Libya. The hero’s welcome  al-Megrahi received from Gaddafi on his return was condemned by the the  US and the UK, among others.&lt;br /&gt;In&amp;nbsp;September 2009, Gaddafi visited&amp;nbsp;the US for the first time&amp;nbsp;for his his first appearance at the UN General Assembly.&lt;br /&gt;His speech was supposed to be 15 minutes, but exceeded an hour and a  half. He tore up a copy of the UN charter, accused the Security Council  of being a terrorism body similar to&amp;nbsp;al-Qaeda, and demanded $ 7.7  trillion in &lt;span class="Apple" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font: small 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"&gt;compensation to be paid to&amp;nbsp;Africa from its past colonial rulers&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;During a visit to Italy in August 2010, Gaddafi's invitation to  hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed the two-day  trip, which was intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and  Rome.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-7187198921382040428?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/7187198921382040428/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/profile-muammar-gaddafi.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7187198921382040428'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7187198921382040428'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/profile-muammar-gaddafi.html' title='Profile: Muammar Gaddafi'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-3119430500123757398</id><published>2011-02-26T03:36:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-26T03:36:55.025-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Golan residents recall their Tahrir</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights celebrate their Arab identity as a form of resistance.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Mya Guarnieri&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;25 Feb 2011 17:47 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122093915567148" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122093915567148" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/20/20112209502296797_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt; &lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Syrian residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights march to commemorate their 1982 uprising [GALLO/GETTY]&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Siham Monder was 14 when Syrian residents of the Israeli-occupied  Golan Heights took to the streets for&amp;nbsp;a strike&amp;nbsp;and protests that spanned  six months of 1982.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Now I'm 43," Monder says. "And I remember  that every day in that period there was a conflict with the [Israeli  army]. There were more soldiers here than residents."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the  Israeli military occupation of the Golan began after the 1967 war, the  strike and protests started on February 14, 1982, two months after the  Israeli knesset passed the Golan Heights Law, legislation that  effectively annexed the territory.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Israeli move was condemned  by both the US and the United Nations - the latter has issued multiple  resolutions against the annexation - and it remains unrecognised by the  international community.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here, in the Golan, the annexation was  embodied by the army's effort to distribute blue Israeli identity cards.  In 1982, some 15,000 soldiers came to deliver the IDs to Syrian  residents, a group that numbered less than 10,000 at the time. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"The  people refused them. They were against it. They threw them in the  [soldiers’] faces," Monder says, adding that the army often responded  violently to the unarmed protesters.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An elderly man recalls  standing on his balcony and flinging the identity card into the street  below, which was full of Israeli soldiers. Another resident adds that  the roads were "blue" with all the refused IDs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Syrian residents  were somewhat victorious - while the Israeli attempt to impose  citizenship failed and residents were classified as permanent residents,  their land remains occupied.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Every year, on February 14, the  Syrian residents gather in the village of Majdal Shams to mark their  intifada. They meet by the statue of Sultan Al Atrash, the Druze leader  who led revolts against both the Ottoman and French occupations. Waving  Syrian flags as they make their way through the town, they sing of their  home country and chant of liberation and freedom.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Samir Ibrahim, a 48-year-old dentist, serves as an impromptu translator. "They’re saying, 'Zionists go away from here.'" &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This  year, the Syrian residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan offer up  messages of support to the Egyptians, Tunisians, and all of the Arab  people who are struggling against oppression.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Today is not a sad  day. It's the day that we refused [Israeli citizenship]. It's a Tahrir  Square day for us," Ibrahim explains, referring to the square that  served as the nerve centre of the Egyptian revolution.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From doorways and balconies, elderly women shower the passing crowd with rice. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'Born anew'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The  march ends at Shouting Hill. Syria is on the other side of the steep  valley. Standing under banners of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president,  local leaders address the twin crowd that has gathered in Syria. Their  words echo across the border. And messages of solidarity and support  bounce back from their counterparts. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Because the Israeli  occupation has torn many of the area's households into two - some  120,000 Arabs were driven from their homes in the Golan during and after  the 1967 war - families sometimes gather here on the weekends to talk  with relatives on the other side. In the earliest days of the  occupation, they shouted, hence the name Shouting Hill. Later on, they  took to using bullhorns.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today some of the protesters hold binoculars. They scan the crowd in Syria, looking for their loved ones. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ibrahim's  18-year-old daughter is studying in Damascus. Because of Israeli  movement restrictions, Ibrahim will not&amp;nbsp;be able to see her until this  summer. But she told her father that she would attend the rally today.  Ibrahim cranes his neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of his child.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I talked to her this morning," he says. "She said she'd be wearing green."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He cannot see her. And this day of celebration is tinged with sadness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Monder,  who is a lawyer, remarks: "Family reunification is our right according  to international law. The Geneva Convention says it's forbidden to  injure the humanity [of an occupied people]. And it's part of our  humanity to be in touch with our family."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"People have died there  [in Syria] and their parents can't go [to the funeral]," Monder says,  adding that few homes in the Golan are untouched by this phenomenon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Families have been split in another way - hundreds of Syrian residents of the Golan have been political prisoners. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ibrahim  points out a gentleman who did 25 years for resisting the occupation.  Monder greets Amal Mahmoud, a woman who spent four years behind bars.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"She's  a heroine," Monder remarks, adding: "[Today's celebration] reinforces  the hope that the day of liberation will come. Every February 14, we're  born anew."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Business as usual&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;But the  next morning, it is business as usual. Distribution trucks roll into the  village, bringing Israeli-brand milk, sour cream and produce that the  villagers made or grew before the occupation began.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since 1967,  Syrian residents of the Golan have seen their lands illegally  confiscated by Israel and used for Jewish settlements and wineries that,  in violation of international law, profit from the occupation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According  to Al Marsad Arab Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Golan, Jewish  settlers are allocated five times more water than the area's Arab  farmers. And Syrians in the Golan Heights pay more for water than  Israelis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Their production strangled, the Syrian residents of the  Golan have become a captive market. Some stores sell water from a local  spring that has been bottled and sold by an Israeli company.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Zaid Ouidat owns a small store within sight of the Al Atrash statue. Inside, the cooler is stocked with Israeli brands.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"It's  our land and [the Israelis] are holding it by force," he says. "They're  not giving us the land to put goats and so we can't drink milk, we have  no cows, nothing ... Someone comes to buy milk because they don't have  any and where can they buy it?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I think about this," Ouidat  continues. "But what is there to do? There's no choice. If there was  another way, I would import, but there isn't. What, I will bring it from  Syria, from my people?"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He gives a dry laugh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"This is Syrian land but no one can do anything about it," Ouidat says. "There are no options."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Embattled Arab identity&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Taiseer  Maray is the general director of Jawlan, Golan for Development. Founded  in 1991, it was created as another form of resistance to the Israeli  occupation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the 1990s, he explains, Syrian residents of the  Golan "realised that we should do more than go to demonstrations, that  [protesting] is not enough". And, despite the fact that Syrian residents  pay higher taxes than their Jewish neighbours, they were receiving far  fewer services from the state.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jawlan was created to address both  of these issues. The organisation built a medical clinic and a school.  It provides health services throughout the area and offers a wide  variety of educational and cultural activities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One of the organisation's goals is to reinforce the youth’s identification with Syria.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After  annexation, Maray says: "[The Israelis] opened the gates from the other  side and tried to use the opportunity to make us Israeli .... You feel  it in the schools."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maray points out that the Israeli educational  system only hires Arab teachers that keep their politics quiet. And, in  these schools, Syrian residents of the Golan are taught that they are  Druze, not Arab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While most of the Syrian residents are of the Druze religion, Maray emphasises that it is just that - a religion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"They are trying to make us feel like we are something different than the other Arabs," Maray says.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"We study all the Zionist ideology, all the literature, Hebrew, the tanach," he continues, referring to the Hebrew bible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"They  teach us Arab poetry and culture. But they don't teach us about the  culture of resistance .... The people in the Golan Heights were very  much involved in the revolt against the French."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maray, a  biologist and father of two, admits that his own children have come home  parroting things they have learned in Israeli schools. But the society,  organisations and parents all work on their&amp;nbsp;children&amp;nbsp;to shore up their  embattled Arab identity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tharaa, an 18-year-old girl who asked  that her family name be omitted, remarks: "Our parents know what it was  like in Syria because they were there, before the war. But we learn at  school that we're from Israel."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Her friend Walida comments: "All the time we feel like we are undefined."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Unknown," Tharaa says. "Like a dog."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Yes, like a dog," Walida agrees.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The girls fall into silence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tharaa says: "We hope to be known."&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-3119430500123757398?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/3119430500123757398/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/golan-residents-recall-their-tahrir.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3119430500123757398'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3119430500123757398'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/golan-residents-recall-their-tahrir.html' title='Golan residents recall their Tahrir'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-9122496480215519936</id><published>2011-02-26T00:52:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-26T00:52:42.872-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The music of revolution</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Singer Yusuf Islam talks about his latest song, which was inspired by the popular uprisings in the Arab world.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Riz Khan&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;24 Feb 2011 09:43 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122484440953389" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122484440953389" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                        &lt;br /&gt;We speak with rock icon Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, about his latest song &lt;em&gt;My People&lt;/em&gt; which is inspired by the popular&amp;nbsp;uprisngs calling for freedom and change in the Arab world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="width: 160px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td class="MostActiveDescHeader"&gt;&lt;span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt;JOIN THE DEBATE&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td class="MostActiveDescBody SkyScrapperBoxes" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt; &lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/AJERizKhan" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/10/11/20101011115623437580_9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:riz@aljazeera.net" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/10/11/20101011115623437580_10.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/ajrizkhan" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/10/11/2010101112200686580_8.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px;"&gt;Send us your views and get your voice on the air&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;The song was recorded in a studio close  to the Berlin Wall which fell in 1989 paving the way for the  unification of Germany and the collapse of communism in Europe.&lt;br /&gt;Islam, who gave the world timeless classics such as &lt;em&gt;Wild World&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Morning Has Broken&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Peace Train&lt;/em&gt;, says his song is also intended to urge people in the Arab world to keep fighting for their rights.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-9122496480215519936?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/9122496480215519936/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/music-of-revolution.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/9122496480215519936'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/9122496480215519936'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/music-of-revolution.html' title='The music of revolution'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-959960725037749524</id><published>2011-02-23T09:31:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-23T09:31:34.692-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Libya's lucrative ties</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;As world leaders condemn violence against protesters, what is at stake for Western nations with close ties to Gaddafi?&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Riz Khan&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 12:52 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122273958118658" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122273958118658" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                        &lt;br /&gt;Why did the UK government on Monday cancel eight arms export licences for Libya?&lt;br /&gt;This comes after a warning from a legal adviser to the UN Commission  on Human Rights who suggested that Britain may be found guilty of  "complicity" for the killings of protesters by Muammar Gaddafi's regime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="width: 160px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td class="MostActiveDescHeader"&gt;&lt;span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt;JOIN THE DEBATE&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td class="MostActiveDescBody SkyScrapperBoxes" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt; &lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/AJERizKhan" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/10/11/20101011115623437580_9.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:riz@aljazeera.net" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/10/11/20101011115623437580_10.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/ajrizkhan" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/10/11/2010101112200686580_8.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px;"&gt;Send us your views and get your voice on the air&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;In the third quarter of 2010 alone,  according to the Campaign Against Arms trade, the UK licensed over $6mn  worth of ammunition to Libya, including sniper rifles and crowd control  ammunition, which is suspected to have been used by the regime to  suppress demonstrators.&lt;br /&gt;Although&amp;nbsp;the UK&amp;nbsp;has condemned the violent attacks on Libya's  protesters, in the past it has turned a blind eye to the country's  dubious human rights record for fear of risking lucrative oil, trade and  arms deals.&lt;br /&gt;On Tuesday we examine the relationship between the two countries with  Sir Richard Dalton, the former British ambassador to Libya; Dr. Mohamed  al-Magariaf, the co-founder of the National Front for the Salvation of  Libya; and Hafed al-Ghwell, a Libyan-American analyst&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-959960725037749524?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/959960725037749524/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyas-lucrative-ties.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/959960725037749524'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/959960725037749524'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyas-lucrative-ties.html' title='Libya&apos;s lucrative ties'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1001549689027934611</id><published>2011-02-23T09:29:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-23T09:29:39.613-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The project for a new Arab century</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;The project for a new Arab century                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;The birth pangs of a new Middle East are being felt, but not in the way many outsiders envisioned.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Mohammed Khan&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 15:17 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011219122242386295" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011219122242386295" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/20/2011220123541376112_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;One constituency the US has long ignored in the Arab world is the people [GALLO/GETTY]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;No sooner did former US president George W. Bush come into power in  January 2001 than a much vaunted neo-conservative doctrine came into  full swing, wreaking havoc across the Middle East. Throughout the eight  years of the Bush presidency, the levers of power - the political, the  economic, the scholarly and, importantly, the military - were all  employed towards one ultimate goal: The project for the new American  century.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bush's neo-con backers had prepared the manual for his  presidency well before time. With their man in power, the greatest force  of Western power since the Roman Empire set about changing the world in  the name of neo-conservatism, to "promote American global leadership",  we were told.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the receiving end of the mighty American  military-industrial complex were the people of the Arab world. The basic  premise was to utilise maximum US force, power and influence to create a  new Middle East, one obedient to the interests and objectives of the  US. The central focus was the preservation of the superiority of Israel  and the utilisation of American hard-power to eliminate any threats  posed to it. The benign undercurrent, we were told, was the need to  spread democracy across the region. After all, democracies do not fight  wars against one other.&lt;br /&gt;The scorecard of the Bush doctrine is there for all to see: "Shock  and awe" was unleashed against Iraq in the pursuit of this project; the  Palestinians in Gaza were collectively imprisoned for having the  audacity to vote for Hamas; Lebanon was brutalised by Israel with the  tacit backing of the US in an effort to destroy Hezbollah; Iran became  the new public enemy number one (after Iraq had been dealt with of  course); the Gulf states went along quietly arming themselves in the  name of stability and North African dictators were given free rein to  fight "Islamism" - also in the name of stability.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With American  hyper-power on full display over this period, there was little doubting  the contention that in the realm of international relations, "the end of  history" was indeed being reached in the absence of any challenger to  the formidable US military might. "Liberty" to Arabs, it seemed, was  being brought on the back of American battle tanks. The destruction  wrought on the region over this period was apparently "the birth pangs"  of a new Middle East.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;It's the people, stupid&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How times change. The human and capital cost, however, of the Iraq  adventure almost bled the US economy dry. The invasion became so bogged  down that the political will to continue the war soon weakened. The  thought of expanding the military adventure to other lands similarly  evaporated. Post-Bush, the Americans were now left grappling with  "soft-power", to persuade, to diplomatically engage with Arab/Iranian  leaderships in order to resolve disputes. In the midst of this power  play in the region, one constituency which the US had long ignored (and  continues to ignore) is the people. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Toppling disobedient leaders  and oiling the wheels of pliant ones proved useful so long as the  populations of these countries remained voiceless. As the people begin  to find their voices, however, the Middle East as we have long known it  is beginning to alter. Unfortunately for the decision-makers in the US  (and their policy advisers and legions of "intellectual" think tanks)  the dramatic changes are not in the direction that they had conceived.&lt;br /&gt;The catalyst for the political earthquake that we are currently  witnessing was a massive popular uprising in Tunisia at the end of 2010.  Emboldened by the overthrow of the brutal regime of Zine El Abidine Ben  Ali, the people of Egypt then took to the streets demanding reform. In  just 18 days, Egyptian civil society, which we had been told by regional  "experts" either did not exist or was spineless, broke the shackles of  oppression and overcame a dictator whose regime had become synonymous  with abuse and corruption. Egypt had finally been released from 30 years  of political imprisonment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That Hosni Mubarak continued to breed  fear about the "chaos" that his removal would unleash and his foreign  backers continued to maintain the need for "stability" and "orderly"  change, showed the total lack of understanding on their part of the  momentous changes that were being played out. The revolutionary bug has  now spread across the wider region with people in Algeria, Yemen,  Bahrain and Libya currently battling despotism, while leaderships in  Jordan, Syria and Morocco (to name but a few) consider ways of  preventing the tide of "people power" from sweeping their shores.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'Islands of stability'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consider for a moment the extent to which various US administrations  have suffered from an ailment which, for wont of a better description,  we will call "foot in mouth syndrome". The shah of Iran was an "island  of stability" in the troubled Middle East, according to the then US  president, Jimmy Carter. A short time after these illustrious words were  spoken, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was dethroned; Iran had witnessed an  Islamic revolution and US policy in&amp;nbsp;the country was found lacking.  Around the time that Iran’s new Islamic leadership swept to power, Egypt  too was undergoing change, this time in the form of the presidency of  Hosni Mubarak who came to power in 1981 following his predecessor’s  assassination.&lt;br /&gt;However, after almost 30 years of stern one-man rule, Egyptian civil  society revolted against Mubarak’s despotism, seeking his ouster in  January 2011, precisely a decade after Bush’s first inauguration. What  were the very first utterances of the US administration under Barack  Obama, as protesters gathered on Egypt’s streets? "Our assessment is  that the Egyptian government is stable ..." said Hillary Clinton, the US  secretary of state. Her assessment, reminiscent of the meanderings  about Iran, could not have been more wrong.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The islands of  stability that the US has traditionally favoured are not the same sort  that the people of the Arab world have desired. While Iraq under Saddam  Hussein was ripe for invasion and "democratic change", the hunger for  reform on the part of populations in other parts of the region also  subjected to Saddam-like repression was not felt by the US. Where the  American military brought democracy to Iraq, the Arab people are now  battling to bring democracy to themselves. Should we then be surprised  that the neo-con intellectual machine that planned change in the Middle  East under Bush is now largely silent? While their project has failed, a  new Arab people’s project is beginning to blossom.&lt;br /&gt;If any clear evidence of US opposition to the people's wishes in the  region were needed, the Obama administration willingly obliged on  February 18. The UN Security Council (UNSC) held a vote to condemn  Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank as illegal and to  demand an immediate end to all such activity. Settlement building is a  particular sore among Palestinians and the wider Arab population. While  14 out of the 15 UNSC members backed the resolution, the US issued its  first veto under Obama, damning the Palestinian Territories to further  Israeli expansionism - well in keeping with the American spirit of  defying global opinion. The PR spin on the veto will no doubt attempt to  portray the US measure as some sort of noble endeavour. The nobleness  was certainly in Israel's favour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Moment in history&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;When  I was an undergraduate, the most fascinating, most closely scrutinised  event that all students of the Middle East were exposed to was the 1979  Islamic revolution in Iran. That was a truly momentous event. The  repercussions for the Middle East were staggering. Political Islam came  to the fore as an academic discipline. The political power play in the  region shifted with alliances quickly emerging against Iran for fear  that its brand of revolutionary zeal would spread. That revolution  continues to captivate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More than 30 years later, however, the  new crop of undergraduates will be evaluating perhaps an even more  momentous event: That of February 11, 2011, when Egypt, the Arab world’s  most populous nation, one at the core of the region’s political,  economic and security affairs, defeated its very own despotism, rid  itself of fear and raised expectations of a new era of political  relations in the Middle East. Incidentally, Mubarak was forced out  precisely 32 years from the day when the shah of Iran was deposed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While  the people of Tunisia wrote the introduction to what we can call the  unfolding "project for the new Arab century", the people of Egypt have  just completed its defining first chapter. What conclusions can be drawn  from these historic events is far too early to gauge. What is certain,  however, is that many more chapters will be written before the political  dust settles. Safe to say, nevertheless, that the birth pangs of a new  Middle East are now definitely being felt, but not in ways that many  outsiders imagined.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1001549689027934611?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1001549689027934611/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/project-for-new-arab-century.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1001549689027934611'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1001549689027934611'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/project-for-new-arab-century.html' title='The project for a new Arab century'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-8151987913422195099</id><published>2011-02-23T09:27:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-23T09:27:41.356-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Gaddafi loses more Libyan cities</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Protesters wrest control of more cities as unrest sweeps African nation despite Muammar Gaddafi's threat of crackdown.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;23 Feb 2011 15:13 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011223125256699145" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011223125256699145" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                         &lt;br /&gt;Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's long-standing ruler, has reportedly lost  control of more cities as&amp;nbsp;anti-government protests continue to sweep the  African nation despite his threat of a brutal crackdown.&lt;br /&gt;Protesters in Misurata said on Wednesday they had wrested the western  city from government control.&amp;nbsp;In a statement on the internet, army  officers stationed in the city pledged "total support for the  protesters".&lt;br /&gt;The protesters also seemed to be in control of much of the country's  east,&amp;nbsp;and an Al Jazeera correspondent, reporting from the city of  Tobruk, 140km from the Egyptian border, said there was&amp;nbsp;no presence of  security forces.&lt;br /&gt;"From what I've seen, I'd say the people of eastern Libya are the ones in control," Hoda Abdel-Hamid, our correspondent, said.&lt;br /&gt;She said there were no&amp;nbsp;officials manning the border when the Al Jazeera team crossed into Libya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'People in charge'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"All along the border, we didn't see one policeman, we didn't see one  soldier and people here told us they [security forces] have all fled or  are in hiding and that the people&amp;nbsp;are now in charge, meaning all the  way from the border, Tobruk, and then all the way&amp;nbsp;up to Benghazi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/23/2011223145939501472_3.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"People tell me it's also quite calm in Bayda and Beghazi. They do  say, however, that 'militias'&amp;nbsp; are roaming around, especially at night.  They describe them as African men, they say they speak French so they  think they're from Chad."&lt;br /&gt;Major-General Suleiman Mahmoud, the commander of the armed forces in  Tobruk, told Al Jazeera that the troops led by him had switched  loyalties. "We are on the side of the people," he said.&lt;br /&gt;Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, was where people first rose up  in revolt against Gaddafi's 41-year long rule more than a week ago. The  rebellion has since spread to other cities despite heavy-handed  attempts by security forces to quell the unrest.&lt;br /&gt;With authorities placing tight restrictions on the media, flow of  news from Libya is at best patchy. But reports filtering out suggest at  least 300 people have been killed in the violence.&lt;br /&gt;But Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, said there were  "credible' reports that&amp;nbsp;at least 1,000 had died in the clampdown.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Defiant Gaddafi&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Amid the turmoil, a defiant Gaddafi has vowed to quash the uprising.&lt;br /&gt;He delivered a rambling speech on television on Tuesday night,  declaring he would die a martyr in Libya, and threatening to purge  opponents "house by house" and "inch by inch".&lt;br /&gt;He blamed the uprising in the country on "Islamists", and warned that  an "Islamic emirate" has already been set up in Bayda and Derna, where  he threatened the use of extreme force.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" class="Skyscrapper_Body" style="background-color: #f5a316; float: right; width: 200px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt; &lt;span style="font-size: 10pt;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-widget" id="twtr-widget-1"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-doc" style="width: 250px;"&gt;            &lt;div class="twtr-hd"&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Twitter Reaction&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;h4&gt;Libya Protests&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-bd"&gt;              &lt;div class="twtr-timeline" style="height: 300px;"&gt;                &lt;div class="twtr-tweets"&gt;                  &lt;div class="twtr-tweet" id="tweet-id-15" style="height: 111px; opacity: 1;"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-wrap"&gt;         &lt;div class="twtr-avatar"&gt;           &lt;div class="twtr-img"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/quailcrown" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="quailcrown profile" src="http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/1242622183/codepink_peace_sign_normal.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-text"&gt;                        &lt;a class="twtr-user" href="http://twitter.com/quailcrown" target="_blank"&gt;quailcrown&lt;/a&gt; RT @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/parvezsharma" target="_blank"&gt;parvezsharma&lt;/a&gt;: Hmm &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Iran" target="_blank"&gt;#Iran&lt;/a&gt; President &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Ahmadinejad" target="_blank"&gt;#Ahmadinejad&lt;/a&gt; condemns &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gaddafi" target="_blank"&gt;#Gaddafi&lt;/a&gt; for using force against &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Libya" target="_blank"&gt;#Libya&lt;/a&gt; civilians! &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gadafi" target="_blank"&gt;#Gadafi&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Benghazi" target="_blank"&gt;#Benghazi&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Feb17" target="_blank"&gt;#Feb17&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23mousavi" target="_blank"&gt;#mousavi&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Iranelection" target="_blank"&gt;#Iranelection&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;em&gt;            &lt;a class="twtr-timestamp" href="http://twitter.com/quailcrown/status/40462563124715520" target="_blank"&gt;5 minutes ago&lt;/a&gt; ·            &lt;a class="twtr-reply" href="http://twitter.com/?status=@quailcrown%20&amp;amp;in_reply_to_status_id=40462563124715520&amp;amp;in_reply_to=quailcrown" target="_blank"&gt;reply&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;/em&gt;            &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=" twtr-new-results"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-results-inner"&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-results-hr"&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;span&gt; &lt;strong&gt;12&lt;/strong&gt; new tweets&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet" id="tweet-id-14" style="height: 97px; opacity: 1;"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-wrap"&gt;         &lt;div class="twtr-avatar"&gt;           &lt;div class="twtr-img"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/BashedByDrunks" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="BashedByDrunks profile" src="http://a2.twimg.com/sticky/default_profile_images/default_profile_1_normal.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-text"&gt;                        &lt;a class="twtr-user" href="http://twitter.com/BashedByDrunks" target="_blank"&gt;BashedByDrunks&lt;/a&gt; No question there - The &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Libya" target="_blank"&gt;#Libya&lt;/a&gt; authorities (aka the @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/UN" target="_blank"&gt;UN&lt;/a&gt;) are a bunch of murdering bastards.. &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23whitehouse" target="_blank"&gt;#whitehouse&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23obama" target="_blank"&gt;#obama&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23gaddafi" target="_blank"&gt;#gaddafi&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23epicfail" target="_blank"&gt;#epicfail&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23ICC" target="_blank"&gt;#ICC&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;em&gt;            &lt;a class="twtr-timestamp" href="http://twitter.com/BashedByDrunks/status/40462382107070460" target="_blank"&gt;5 minutes ago&lt;/a&gt; ·            &lt;a class="twtr-reply" href="http://twitter.com/?status=@BashedByDrunks%20&amp;amp;in_reply_to_status_id=40462382107070460&amp;amp;in_reply_to=BashedByDrunks" target="_blank"&gt;reply&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;/em&gt;            &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet" id="tweet-id-13" style="height: 82px; opacity: 1;"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-wrap"&gt;         &lt;div class="twtr-avatar"&gt;           &lt;div class="twtr-img"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/ibnkafka" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="ibnkafka profile" src="http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1249250762/2693957-3810161_normal.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-text"&gt;                        &lt;a class="twtr-user" href="http://twitter.com/ibnkafka" target="_blank"&gt;ibnkafka&lt;/a&gt; RT @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/TruthWitness" target="_blank"&gt;TruthWitness&lt;/a&gt;: Reports indicate that 70% of &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Libya" target="_blank"&gt;#Libya&lt;/a&gt; has been liberated &amp;amp; is no longer under &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gaddafi" target="_blank"&gt;#Gaddafi&lt;/a&gt; rule &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23feb17" target="_blank"&gt;#feb17&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;em&gt;            &lt;a class="twtr-timestamp" href="http://twitter.com/ibnkafka/status/40462385378639870" target="_blank"&gt;5 minutes ago&lt;/a&gt; ·            &lt;a class="twtr-reply" href="http://twitter.com/?status=@ibnkafka%20&amp;amp;in_reply_to_status_id=40462385378639870&amp;amp;in_reply_to=ibnkafka" target="_blank"&gt;reply&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;/em&gt;            &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet" id="tweet-id-12" style="height: 111px; opacity: 1;"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-wrap"&gt;         &lt;div class="twtr-avatar"&gt;           &lt;div class="twtr-img"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/Khalid_AlWazzan" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="Khalid_AlWazzan profile" src="http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1248568472/Khalid_20Al-Wazzan_normal.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-text"&gt;                        &lt;a class="twtr-user" href="http://twitter.com/Khalid_AlWazzan" target="_blank"&gt;Khalid_AlWazzan&lt;/a&gt; RT @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/alarabiya_ar" target="_blank"&gt;alarabiya_ar&lt;/a&gt;: الهوني للعربية: خطاب القذافي يؤكد أنه غير متزن ويجب عرضه على طبيب نفسي  &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23alarabiya" target="_blank"&gt;#alarabiya&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Libya" target="_blank"&gt;#Libya&lt;/a&gt; @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/libia" target="_blank"&gt;libia&lt;/a&gt; @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/libyan" target="_blank"&gt;libyan&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23feb17" target="_blank"&gt;#feb17&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Feb17" target="_blank"&gt;#Feb17&lt;/a&gt; @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/gaddafi" target="_blank"&gt;gaddafi&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23gaddafi" target="_blank"&gt;#gaddafi&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;em&gt;            &lt;a class="twtr-timestamp" href="http://twitter.com/Khalid_AlWazzan/status/40462399727341570" target="_blank"&gt;5 minutes ago&lt;/a&gt; ·            &lt;a class="twtr-reply" href="http://twitter.com/?status=@Khalid_AlWazzan%20&amp;amp;in_reply_to_status_id=40462399727341570&amp;amp;in_reply_to=Khalid_AlWazzan" target="_blank"&gt;reply&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;/em&gt;            &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet" id="tweet-id-11" style="height: 111px; opacity: 1;"&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-wrap"&gt;         &lt;div class="twtr-avatar"&gt;           &lt;div class="twtr-img"&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/SalwalSaeed" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="SalwalSaeed profile" src="http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1251891877/jan_23_050__2__normal.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-tweet-text"&gt;                        &lt;a class="twtr-user" href="http://twitter.com/SalwalSaeed" target="_blank"&gt;SalwalSaeed&lt;/a&gt; RT @&lt;a class="twtr-atreply" href="http://twitter.com/bintlibya" target="_blank"&gt;bintlibya&lt;/a&gt;: Seems like the &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Libya" target="_blank"&gt;#Libya&lt;/a&gt; ambassador to the UAE is still siding with &lt;a class="twtr-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gaddafi" target="_blank"&gt;#Gaddafi&lt;/a&gt; here's a number for whoever wants to call him +971504587811 :)             &lt;em&gt;            &lt;a class="twtr-timestamp" href="http://twitter.com/SalwalSaeed/status/40462444237307900" target="_blank"&gt;5 minutes ago&lt;/a&gt; ·            &lt;a class="twtr-reply" href="http://twitter.com/?status=@SalwalSaeed%20&amp;amp;in_reply_to_status_id=40462444237307900&amp;amp;in_reply_to=SalwalSaeed" target="_blank"&gt;reply&lt;/a&gt;             &lt;/em&gt;            &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="twtr-ft"&gt;              &lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://twitter.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="" src="http://widgets.twimg.com/i/widget-logo.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;                &lt;span&gt;&lt;a class="twtr-join-conv" href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23Libya%20%23Gaddafi" style="color: white;" target="_blank"&gt;Join the conversation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;He urged Libyans to take to the streets and show their support for their leader.&lt;br /&gt;Several&amp;nbsp;hundred government loyalists heeded his call&amp;nbsp;in&amp;nbsp;Tripoli,  the&amp;nbsp;capital. on Wednesday, staging a pro-Gaddafi rally in the&amp;nbsp;city's  Green Square.&lt;br /&gt;Fresh gunfire was reported in the capital on Wednesday, after Gaddafi  called on his supporters to take back the streets from anti-government  protesters.&lt;br /&gt;But Gaddafi's speech has done little to stem the steady stream of defections from his side.&lt;br /&gt;Libyan diplomats across the world have either resigned in protest at  the use of violence against citizens, or renounced Gaddafi's leadership,  saying that they stand with the protesters.&lt;br /&gt;Late on Tuesday night, General Abdul-Fatah Younis, the country's  interior minister, became the latest government official to stand down,  saying that he was resigning to support what he termed as the "February  17 revolution".&lt;br /&gt;He urged the Libyan army to join the people and their "legitimate demands".&lt;br /&gt;On Wednesday, Youssef Sawani, a senior aide to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi,  one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, resigned from his post "to express  dismay against violence", Reuters reported.&lt;br /&gt;Earlier, Mustapha Abdeljalil, the country's justice minister, had  resigned in protest at the "excessive use of violence" against  protesters, and diplomat's at Libya's mission to the United Nations  called on the Libyan army to help remove "the tyrant Muammar Gaddafi".&lt;br /&gt;A group of army officers has also issued a statement urging soldiers to "join the people" and remove Gaddafi from power.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-8151987913422195099?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/8151987913422195099/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/gaddafi-loses-more-libyan-cities.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/8151987913422195099'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/8151987913422195099'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/gaddafi-loses-more-libyan-cities.html' title='Gaddafi loses more Libyan cities'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1899917650666665851</id><published>2011-02-23T06:26:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-23T06:26:47.411-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Saudi king announces new benefits</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;King Abdullah announces $10.7 billion in pay raises, job creation and loan forgiveness schemes as he returns to country.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;23 Feb 2011 11:29 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011223105328424268" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011223105328424268" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/11/24/2010112422517463427_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;King Abdullah was recovering in Morocco after receiving treatment in the United States for a herniated disk [AFP]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has announced a series of benefits for  citizens amounting to $10.7 billion, as he returned to the country after  he spent&amp;nbsp;three months abroad for health treatment, state television  reported.&lt;br /&gt;The steps, announced on Wednesday, include funding to offset high  inflation and to aid young unemployed people and Saudi citizens studying  abroad, as well the writing off some loans.&lt;br /&gt;The move comes as governments in the region scramble to deal with  pro-democracy uprisings sparked by youth unemployment and political  repression.&lt;br /&gt;As part of the Saudi scheme, state employees will see their incomes  increase by 15 per cent, and additional cash has also been made  available for housing loans.&lt;br /&gt;No political reforms were announced as part of the package, though  the 86-year-old monarch did pardon some prisoners indicted in financial  crimes.&lt;br /&gt;Abdullah was recovering in Morocco for four weeks, after &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/20101122132537957448.html" target="_blank"&gt;undergoing surgery in the United States &lt;/a&gt;for a herniated disk which had caused blood accumulation around his spine.&lt;br /&gt;During the king's absence, his brother, Crown Prince Sultan, was in  charge of the Kingdom. Sultan himself has also suffered from illness  intermittently over the last two years, and has spent&amp;nbsp;long time abroad.&lt;br /&gt;While analysts say that Saudi Arabia is unlikely to face the kind of &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/2011/02/2011222121213770475.html" target="_blank"&gt;popular protest movements &lt;/a&gt;seen  in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia or Libya due to its estimated $400  billion in oil reserves, the government is still being pressured to  address high youth unemployment and extensive housing issues.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1899917650666665851?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1899917650666665851/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/saudi-king-announces-new-benefits.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1899917650666665851'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1899917650666665851'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/saudi-king-announces-new-benefits.html' title='Saudi king announces new benefits'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-6627825425141708455</id><published>2011-02-23T06:22:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-23T06:22:24.101-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Is the West Bank next?</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;If Israel refuses to accept a viable peace deal, the revolt sweeping the Arab world will arrive in Palestine. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  MJ Rosenberg&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 21:41 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011222211617377989" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011222211617377989" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2010/12/3/2010123151348813140_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expects the US to protect Israel from a Palestinian rebellion, writer says &amp;nbsp;[EPA] &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;If&amp;nbsp;Binyamin Netanyahu's govenment, and its lobby in Washington, were  rational they would be rushing to plan Israel's evacuation from the  occupied territories, and encouraging the establishment of a Palestinian  state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.&lt;br /&gt;That is because they would understand that the Arab revolution will  not stop at the gates of the West Bank, especially when it is the  occupation that unites virtually all Arabs and Muslims in common fury.&lt;br /&gt;As for the Palestinians themselves, they are watching the revolutions  with a combination of joy and humiliation.&amp;nbsp; Other Arabs are freeing  themselves from local tyrants while they remain under a foreign  occupation that grows more onerous every day -particularly in East  Jerusalem. While other Arabs revel in what they have accomplished, the  Palestinians remain, and are regarded as, victims.&lt;br /&gt;It is not going to last.&amp;nbsp;The Palestinians will revolt, just as the other Arabs have, and the occupation will end.&lt;br /&gt;But it is up to the Israelis to help decide how it will end (just as  it was up to the Mubarak government and Egyptian army to decide whether  the regime would go down in blood and flames or accept the inevitable).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gaza mistakes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Israel, that means accepting the terms of the Arab League  Initiative (incorporating United Nations Resolutions 242 and 338) and  trade the occupied lands for full peace and normalisation of relations  with the entire Arab world.&amp;nbsp;Or it can hang on to an unsustainable status  quo.&lt;br /&gt;They can wait for the eruption, thinking they can contain it and  ignoring the fact that the weaponry they can use against any foreign  invaders cannot be used against an occupied civilian population.&amp;nbsp;That is  especially true in the age of Al Jazeera and of Twitter, Facebook, and  the rest.&lt;br /&gt;Right-wing Israelis and their lobby in Washington invariably respond  to this argument by saying that it is impossible to leave the West Bank,  pointing to the experience in Gaza. They withdrew only to have their  own land beyond the border shelled by militants who seized control as  Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)&amp;nbsp;troops left for home.&lt;br /&gt;That is true and it might indeed happen again if the Israeli occupation is ended as a result of a popular uprising.&lt;br /&gt;But Gaza is only an applicable precedent if Israel leaves without  negotiating the terms of its departure. Israel left Gaza when  Palestinians made the price of staying too high. But, rather than  negotiating its way out, Israel just left.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Colonial mentality&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an act of colossal and typical arrogance Ariel Sharon, the former  prime minister,&amp;nbsp;withdrew unilaterally. Not only did he refuse to  negotiate the terms of the withdrawal with&amp;nbsp;Mahmoud Abbas, the  Palestinian president,&amp;nbsp;Sharon refused even to give the Palestinian  Authority (PA) advance notice of the day and time of their departure.&lt;br /&gt;Had they done so, the PA would have been in place to prevent the  havoc that ensued. But they weren't. Sharon, utterly contemptuous of  Palestinians, behaved as if Israel was 19th century Belgium and  Palestine was the Congo. No consultations with the natives were even  contemplated.&lt;br /&gt;The Israeli government would have to be absolutely out of its mind to  allow a repeat of that experience.&amp;nbsp;But that would likely happen if  Israel is forced out rather than negotiating its way out.&lt;br /&gt;Fortunately, both the Israelis and the Palestinians already have  worked out detailed plans to ensure mutual security following an Israeli  withdrawal.&amp;nbsp;In fact, the Palestinian Authority already utilizes those  plans to maintain West Bank security and, with Israeli help, prevents  attacks on Israel from territories its control.&lt;br /&gt;The same modalities would have to be worked out with the Hamas  authorities in Gaza. Hamas has repeatedly said that it would accept the  terms of any agreement with Israel worked out by the Palestinian  Authority and approved by the Palestinian people in a referendum.&lt;br /&gt;What is Israel waiting for?&lt;br /&gt;Can it honestly look at the way the Middle East has evolved in 2011  and believe that the occupation can last forever?&amp;nbsp;Can it have so little  respect for Palestinians that it believes them incapable of doing what  Egyptians, Libyans, and Tunisians have done?&lt;br /&gt;Or is it that Netanyahu simply counts on the United States to come to  its assistance when the inevitable happens.&amp;nbsp;That would be a big  mistake.&amp;nbsp;It is one thing for the United States to get pressured by the  Israeli lobby into vetoing a resolution on settlements. It is quite  another to think that anything the United States does can preserve the  occupation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;US protection&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, after last week’s votes, it is doubtful that the Palestinian  people (other than a few big shots) even care what the United States  thinks anymore.&lt;br /&gt;No, it is up to Israel to defend Israel.&amp;nbsp;And that means ending the  occupation, on terms worked out with the Palestinians, rather than  allowing it to end in violence that could cross the border and threaten  the survival of Israel itself.&lt;br /&gt;Why can’t Israel see that? Have the fanatics in the Israeli  government (the settlers and the religious parties) decided that it  better to have no Israel at all than an Israel without the West Bank and  its settlements?&lt;br /&gt;Because that is how Israel is behaving: as if Ariel, Hebron, and  Maale Adumim are worth more than Tel Aviv, Haifa, and the Jewish parts  of Jerusalem.&lt;br /&gt;It’s a kind of insanity.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-6627825425141708455?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/6627825425141708455/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/is-west-bank-next.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/6627825425141708455'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/6627825425141708455'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/is-west-bank-next.html' title='Is the West Bank next?'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-517238864068331191</id><published>2011-02-22T14:40:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T14:40:38.351-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Libya's falling tyrant</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Gaddafi reaps what he has sown during his four-decade rule: terror, nepotism, tribal politics and abuse of power.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Larbi Sadiki &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;21 Feb 2011 23:03 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122120055942895" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122120055942895" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/21/2011221181026190436_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gaddafi, now facing&amp;nbsp;a bloody&amp;nbsp;uprising,&amp;nbsp;has ruled oil-rich Libya with an iron fist since a coup in 1969 [Reuters]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Libya cannot escape the infection of democratic revolutionary wind  blowing through the Middle East and North Africa. If&amp;nbsp;longtime  leader&amp;nbsp;Muammar Gaddafi falls, it will be a sweet victory for the heirs  of Omar al-Mokhtar, the legendary anti-fascist and anti-colonial hero.  But a lot of blood will spill before the Libyan colonel abandons ship.&lt;br /&gt;After Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Tunisia's Ben Ali, Gaddafi is the  worst of the Arabs’ surviving illegitimate rulers. He is now reaping  what he has sown: terror, nepotism, tribal politics, and abuse of power.&lt;br /&gt;In Gaddafi’s Libya, the so-called People’s Congress, universities and  other regime-affiliated organisations have had to toe the official  line: worship of the "brother leader", read his&amp;nbsp;Green Book, and the  brand of Pan-Africanism that no Libyan except Gaddafi&amp;nbsp;and his henchmen  believed in.&lt;br /&gt;While visiting the country with a group of students from Exeter  University, the hollow slogans of Gaddafi’s "Great Revolution" covered  all public space. "Partners not salaried" one says. Another declares  "People’s rule" (sultat al-sha’ab). Nothing could be further from the  truth.&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi has ruled the country with the delusion of grandeur of a man  who rose to power in a 1969 coup with fairly acceptable political ideals  that got corrupted and abandoned. Gaddafi’s much vaunted socialism  turned into distribution in favour of the Colonel’s clansmen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Inner circle&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An inner circle of Gaddafi’s confidants and close relatives decided  and executed the hangings of the 1970s, relying on the fearsome and  murderous "revolutionary committees".&lt;br /&gt;No recourse to the people was taken when decisions were made and  carried out about war such as in Chad and elsewhere in Africa. The  people could not openly complain about the money lavishly disbursed in  the pursuit of Gaddafi’s foreign adventurism, including the sponsoring  of terrorist organisations.&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi’s regime has been linked to the 1972 Black September killings  of Israeli athletes in Germany , &amp;nbsp;the 1978 disappearance in Libya of  Shia Imam Musa Al-Sadr, the 1984 murder of British police officer Yvonne  Fletcher, the 1986 bombing of Berlin’s La Belle Discotheque, the 1987  arms vessel destined to the Irish Republican Army, and to the hijacking  of Pan Am flight 73 in 1986 and the 1988 Pan Am flight 103 bombing. This  does not exhaust the list.&lt;br /&gt;The US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986 or the large amounts  of monies paid by Gaddafi to compensate all kinds of claims against  Libya have been some of the prices paid by Libyans for their leader’s  miscalculation.&lt;br /&gt;The sanctions and pariah status have only been eased only in the  past&amp;nbsp;10 years. Carrying the green Libyan passport has made Libyan  citizens persona non grata in many parts of the world.&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi’s narcissism was such that very few of his comrades in arms  from the original Free Officers cohort that executed the 1969 coup  against King Idris have survived his brutality.&lt;br /&gt;A few died in mysterious circumstances (Omar Limheshi; Imhammad  al-Muqrif). Others withdrew from public life voluntarily (Abd al-Salam  Jelloud).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Act of public disavowal&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like Egypt, the uprising in Libya qualifies as an act of public  disavowal of an existing regime. These are countries which had military  revolutions and today are experiencing civil revolutions.&lt;br /&gt;Like Tunisia, but in a worse fashion, Libya has invested very little  in social capital or civic capacity building. All organisations are  committed to, and affiliated with, Gaddafi’s Great Revolution.  Literally, these are cells that spy on the people or militias bribed to  defend the regime. When protesters wave flags, chant pro-Gaddafi or  anti-Western slogans, they do so on regime orders.&lt;br /&gt;Regardless, Libyans have not been passive. For instance, the Libyan  League for Human Rights, the National Conference for the Libyan  Opposition (NCLO), and the banned Islamists all have used the internet  to express their anger. In some cases, Libyan dissidents used the  Internet as a political tool before activists in other part of the  Middle East. The NCLO met in London in 2006 and it may plan a role in  reforming post-Gaddafi Libya.&lt;br /&gt;Attempts at removing Gaddafi began in the mid-1980s. The most famous  was the May 1984&amp;nbsp; Bab Al-Aziziya Barracks coup when the National Front  for the Salvation of Libya, made up of military and civilian dissidents,  played a leading role.&lt;br /&gt;The most serious challenge against Gaddafi’s authority came from the  most populous and powerful Libyan tribe, the Warfallah, in October 1993.  The rebellion led to kangaroo trials in 1995. Many tribesmen were  executed in 1997.&lt;br /&gt;The eastern region, Benghazi, has always been a source of dissidence  against the regime. Dozens died in protests in 2006.The map of the  current mutiny is both tribal and regional. Two tribes have withdrawn  allegiance to Gaddafi's regime, thus settling old scores. Gaddafi is now  paying the price for humiliating the Wirfallah tribe, which he has  excluded from his favours since the mid-1990s. Similarly, the Tabu tribe  in the country's southeast has suffered appalling discrimination.&lt;br /&gt;The misery belts of Libya are now leading the rebellion. Cities like  Al-Baida, Derna, Ijdadia are all marginalised and are not beholden to  Gaddafi, as they have not gained from his rule.&amp;nbsp;Tripoli’s poorest  suburbs, Zintan and Zawiya, which have come under heavy fire, are  leading the rebellion in the capital.&lt;br /&gt;Why is the revolution that ousted Tunisia's Ben Ali proving to be  infectious? The reasons can be summed up by the following factors: the  presence of a Ben Ali-type hegemon; dynastic and nepotistic rot;  monarchical republicanism; rampant corruption; the marginalisation of  young people; human rights violations; information control and a police  state.&lt;br /&gt;All of these conditions apply to Libya. The only good in Gaddafi’s  Libya is the absence of elections, which spared the Gaddafi’s  revolutionary committees the additional misdemeanour of rigging them.&lt;br /&gt;In addition to these factors, the eastern region, namely Benghazi,  has been deprived of the dividends of petroleum. In a country with one  of the longest stretches of coastline and high oil production, income  and opportunity should be available to citizens. But this is has not  been the case. Now, Gaddafi is reaping what&amp;nbsp;he has sown.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-517238864068331191?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/517238864068331191/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyas-falling-tyrant.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/517238864068331191'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/517238864068331191'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyas-falling-tyrant.html' title='Libya&apos;s falling tyrant'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-5064782046090438232</id><published>2011-02-22T14:36:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T14:36:15.100-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Crushing Libya's revolt</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;The unrest in Libya started as a series of protests, but was met by a fierce security crackdown.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Inside Story&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;21 Feb 2011 12:59 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011221111837532726" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011221111837532726" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                         &lt;br /&gt;Across Libya, protesters are still calling for Muammar Gaddafi&amp;nbsp;to leave.&lt;br /&gt;More than 200 anti-government protesters were&amp;nbsp;killed during the last few days of violence in the Libyan city of Benghazi.&lt;br /&gt;Witnesses from Benghazi say that dozens of people were killed on  Saturday when troops opened fire on anti-government protesters in the  city.&lt;br /&gt;They also spoke of snipers firing at protesters from rooftops and a  number of foreign mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa being brought in  to attack protesters.&lt;br /&gt;Some of those mercenaries were caught by protesters and confessed  that they had received instructions to fire live bullets at  demonstrators.&lt;br /&gt;Will Muammar Gaddafi's regime prevail where others fell to the will of the people?&lt;br /&gt;Joining us to discuss these issues are: Aly Khan Satchu, a financial  analyst and the CEO of Rich Investment; Ian Black,&amp;nbsp;a Middle East editor  of &lt;em&gt;The Guardian&lt;/em&gt;; and Ashur Shamis, a Libyan opposition activist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This episode of &lt;em&gt;Inside Story&lt;/em&gt; aired from Sunday, February 20, 2011.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-5064782046090438232?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/5064782046090438232/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/crushing-libyas-revolt.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5064782046090438232'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5064782046090438232'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/crushing-libyas-revolt.html' title='Crushing Libya&apos;s revolt'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-5113381700332884375</id><published>2011-02-22T14:33:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T14:33:48.601-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The Clinton doctrine</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;US reaction to events unfolding in the Arab world reveals the emergence of more insidious approach.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Maximilian Forte&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 15:04 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011222101415541965" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011222101415541965" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/22/2011222101353946797_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;US reaction to events unfolding in the Middle East reveals&amp;nbsp;a shift to a&amp;nbsp;new doctrine&amp;nbsp;[GALLO/GETTY]&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;A wall of US supported dictatorships across North Africa and the  Middle East is beginning to crumble and collapse, and the US as an  empire in recession is looking for ways to manage the chaos.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Few  Arabs wish to continue being sacrificed for the sake of American  "counter-terrorism," in the name of US and Israeli national security,  forced to protect American interests over, above and against their  personal freedoms and feeding their families.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On January 20,  2009, Barack Obama said in his coronation speech: "To those who cling to  power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know  that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a  hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But who clenched  the fist of the Arab regimes against their own people? Which American  defence contractors helped to build the fist, with what amount of US  military aid, and with how much Israeli armour plating?&lt;br /&gt;Tunisia under the 31-year rule of dictator Habib Borguiba, the  predecessor of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, received approximately $750mn  annually, and advanced military support as well. Between 1987 and 2009,  under Ben Ali, the US signed $349mn in sales of military hardware to  Tunisia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After 2009, with Obama in office, Tunisia was to be sold  military helicopters in a $282mn sale. The Pentagon announced: "This  proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national  security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a  friendly country that has been and continues to be an important force  for economic and military progress in North Africa."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ben Ali's  Tunisia was a "model US client". When it was already too late to salvage  its allied regime in Tunisia, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of  state,&amp;nbsp;made the familiar reformist sounds, with an emphasis on order and  crisis management. Once the Tunisian revolution happened, then Obama  expressed his support for it.&lt;br /&gt;In the case of Egypt, the extreme level of support the US showed the  Hosni Mubarak regime over the decades is well known. It provided Egypt  with $1.3bn a year in military aid since 1979, and an average of $815mn a  year in economic assistance; in total, Egypt has received about $50bn  from the US since Mubarak took power. A report from the US Congressional  Research Service put the US economic assistance figure at over $2bn  annually, a sure sign to Mubarak that he could put off any "reform"  indefinitely as long as Washington bankrolled his power. Egyptians all  knew about the clenched fist, and who paid to clench it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bet-hedging&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When it came to Egypt’s recent uprising, Joe Biden, the US  vice-president,&amp;nbsp;now infamously declared that Mubarak was not a dictator,  and then cast doubt on whether the protesters had any legitimate  demands at all. Clinton stated that "our assessment is that the Egyptian  government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the  legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;US  narratives began to shift, slowly at first but then much more quickly.  What we see at work in Egypt is evidence of a Clinton doctrine: It is a  relatively novel approach, one that is much more insidious and yet  appropriate to a weakened and recessionary empire.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Simply put,  the Clinton doctrine involves hedging US bets by keeping a foot in  almost all camps, maintaining contact with different sectors in the  society, emphasising "stability" when regime survival seems possible,  and then emphasising "orderly transition" when change seems probable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It  is a mixture of realism and opportunism and a desire to intervene  without being seen to intervene. It is a low cost foreign policy. By  maintaining open and positive channels of communication (with Mubarak,  the military, the April 6 Movement, Mohamed ElBaradei, and even the  Muslim Brotherhood) the US made sure that no matter what resulted, it  would remain in the picture as a continued player of importance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Indeed,  when Clinton insisted that the outcomes in Egypt were "a matter for  Egyptians to decide" one has to wonder if in her mind she quietly added:  "And by Egyptians I mean me."&lt;br /&gt;On the momentous February 11, 2011, with Mubarak finally gone, Obama  declared: "The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to  Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary and  asked for to pursue a credible transition to a democracy."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What  kind of friend to Egyptians has the US been? How credible is its record  of supporting democracy in Egypt? Does Obama believe the US will not be  called to account? History is being written by those who were always on  the wrong side of it.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-5113381700332884375?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/5113381700332884375/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/clinton-doctrine.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5113381700332884375'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5113381700332884375'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/clinton-doctrine.html' title='The Clinton doctrine'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-3552176255061206067</id><published>2011-02-22T09:25:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T09:25:19.551-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Sins of the father, sins of the son</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;While Gaddafi has relied on empty revolutionary slogans to maintain power, his son looks to oil money for his.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Lamis Andoni&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 10:53 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122271939751816" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122271939751816" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/22/201122210168527112_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Libyan leader has presented himself as the champion of the Palestinian cause [GALLO/GETTY]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;The sheer brutality of the Libyan suppression of anti-government  protests has exposed the fallacy of the post-colonial Arab  dictatorships, which have relied on revolutionary slogans as their  source of legitimacy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ever since his ascension to power, through a  military coup,&amp;nbsp;in 1969, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has used every piece of  revolutionary rhetoric in the book to justify his actions, which  include consolidating power in the hands of his relatives and close  associates and creating a network of security forces and militias to  coerce Libyans into conforming to the whims of his cruel regime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Through  his support for revolutionary movements in different parts of the world  - ones, of course, which did not endanger his own rule - he has sought  to portray himself as the 'defender of the oppressed', earning the wrath  of the West in the process. But the people now courageously defying his  regime's savage suppression are sending the message that anti-Western  slogans, even if occasionally backed up by support for just causes, can  no longer sustain oppressive regimes in the region. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A new era is  underway in which leaders will be judged on their ability to represent  the aspirations of the people and in which they will be held accountable  for their actions. Issuing rallying cries against a foreign enemy, even  when that enemy is very real, while inflicting injustice on one's own  people will no longer be permitted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Post-colonial Arab regimes,  including those that rode the waves of or even at one point genuinely  represented anti-colonial resistance, have had to resort to a reliance  on secret police and draconian laws to subordinate their subjects. The  lesson is clear: Without a representative democracy, Arab republics have  metamorphosed into ugly hereditary dynasties that treat their countries  like their own private companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While trampling over the  interests of his own people, Gaddafi has modeled himself as the champion  of the Palestinian cause, reverting to the most fiery verbal attacks on  Israel. But this is a recurring theme in a region where leaders must  pay lip service to the plight of the Palestinians in order to give their  regime the stamp of 'legitimacy'. Gaddafi's 'support', however, did not  prevent him from deporting Palestinians living in Libya, leaving them  stranded in the dessert, when he sought to "punish the Palestinian  leadership" for negotiating with Israel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But even more cynical  than his "pro-Palestinian" stand is his exploitation of the plight of  the African people by anointing himself the leader of the continent. It  is tragic, if reports prove to be true, that he used migrant sub-Saharan  African labourers against the Libyan protesters. But it is, sadly, very  believable that a ruthless dictator, driven hysterical by the prospect  of losing his wealth and power, might pit the poor and marginalised  against the poor and oppressed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The darling of the West&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seif  al-Islam, Gaddafi's son who appeared on Libyan state television to warn  that the demonstrators threatened to sink Libya into civil war, unlike  his father, does not need to pretend to endorse the world's  underprivileged. For his power derives from something altogether  different.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When Seif warned that "rivers of blood" would flow if  the protests did not stop, he was giving himself the right, merely by  virtue of being his father's son, to dismiss the grievances of millions  of people and to issue outrageous threats.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seif may look and  sound more sophisticated than his erratic father, but his performance  was one of a feudal lord unable to fathom why his serfs would defy his  authority.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He has no need to&amp;nbsp;employ his father's tactic of  invoking vacuous revolutionary rhetoric, for Gaddafi has successfully  used the country's Revolutionary Command Council and Revolutionary  Committees - which are supposed to represent the interests of the people  - to cement the power of his family and as tools with which to  subjugate the masses.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But Seif's role has been secured not only by his power within the country. According to Vivienne Walt, a writer for &lt;em&gt;Time Magazine&lt;/em&gt;,  since the lifting of Western sanctions against Libya in 2005, Seif has  acted "as an assurance" to the oil companies that have poured millions  of dollars into the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"In interviews with oil executives,  all say that Seif is the person whom they would most like to see running  Libya. He has made occasional appearances at the World Economic Forum.  And during two visits to Libya, I've seen countless corporate executives  from the US and Europe line up for appointments with Seif," she  recently wrote.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is little wonder Seif feels confident enough  to make threats against the Libyan people without possessing so much as  an official title. His position as the darling of the West, he clearly  believes, entitles him to trample on the lives of others. And it may  also explain the West's hesitation over unequivocally condemning the  sheer brutality of the Libyan regime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thus, while the father  ensured his grip on power by building a dictatorship with a claim to  "revolutionary legitimacy," Seif has been expected to secure the Western  stamp of legitimacy by keeping the door to the country's main source of  wealth open for the oil companies to exploit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The father's  repression in the name of the revolution and the son's status as an  agent for the oil companies has created an oil-rich country where  one-third of the population live below the poverty line and 30 per cent  are unemployed. This is Gaddafi's Libya.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But the Libyan people  are now shouting a loud goodbye to the Libya of Gaddafi and his family  and, with great sacrifices, are building a new, freer country.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-3552176255061206067?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/3552176255061206067/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/sins-of-father-sins-of-son.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3552176255061206067'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/3552176255061206067'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/sins-of-father-sins-of-son.html' title='Sins of the father, sins of the son'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-5889112449123388048</id><published>2011-02-22T09:23:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T09:23:14.895-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Medvedev warns Arabs of 'extremism'</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Russian president says rebellions could empower fanatics, break up states and "spread extremism in the future".&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 16:04 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=2011222142449923896" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=2011222142449923896" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/22/2011222142419704738_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, said 'those who want blood can drown in their own blood' [REUTERS/RIA Novosti]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Revolutions across the Arab world could see fanatics coming to power,  breaking up states and leading to "fires for years", Russia's president  has said.&lt;br /&gt;Dmitry Medvedev's comments on Tuesday contrasted with those of  Western leaders, who have largely expressed sympathy with pro-democracy  protesters in North Africa and the Middle East.&lt;br /&gt;"The situation is tough. We could be talking about the disintegration  of large, densely-populated states, talking about them breaking up into  little pieces," he said in comments broadcast on state television.&lt;br /&gt;"These are not simple states and it is highly probable that there will be difficult events, including fanatics coming to power.&lt;br /&gt;"This will mean fires for years and the spread of extremism in the future. We need to look this straight in the eyes."&lt;br /&gt;Medvedev spoke at a security meeting in Vladikavkaz, a city in the  heart of the North Caucasus, where Russian forces are fighting a  predominantly Muslim separatist movement.&lt;br /&gt;He added that rebellions occuring in the Arab world could have a  direct effect on Russia, but that attempts to repeat unrest in his  country would be quashed.&lt;br /&gt;"They have prepared such a scenario for us before, and now more than  ever they will try and realise it. In any case, this scenario won't  succeed," he said.&lt;br /&gt;"Those who want blood can drown in their own blood."&lt;br /&gt;Russia has crushed separatists in two wars in Chechnya in the&amp;nbsp;past 15  years, and continues to battle rebels in the predominantly Muslim  Caucasus region, who have claimed responsibility for a series of deadly  attacks in Moscow.&lt;br /&gt;The president had taken a guarded line on the historic convulsions  shaking the Arab world, urging against violence but failing to show much  enthusiasm over the fall of strongmen leaders such as Hosni Mubarak,  the Egyptian president and Tunisia's&amp;nbsp;Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Protests  that started in Tunisia&amp;nbsp;in December&amp;nbsp;2010&amp;nbsp;have since spread to  Algeria,&amp;nbsp;Bahrain, Egypt,&amp;nbsp;Morocco, Libya,&amp;nbsp;Iran, Sudan and Yemen.&lt;br /&gt;Medvedev's&amp;nbsp;comments contrast with those of the European Union a day  earlier, which said it "deplores the violence" and "repression" against  pro-democracy protesters in Libya.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-5889112449123388048?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/5889112449123388048/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/medvedev-warns-arabs-of-extremism.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5889112449123388048'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5889112449123388048'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/medvedev-warns-arabs-of-extremism.html' title='Medvedev warns Arabs of &apos;extremism&apos;'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-2164409875822965724</id><published>2011-02-22T09:21:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T09:21:55.433-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Defiant Gaddafi vows to fight on</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;In televised speech, Libyan leader blames youths inspired by region's revolutions for unrest and vows to die a "martyr".&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 16:53 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122216458913596" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122216458913596" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has vowed to  fight on and die a "martyr", calling on his supporters to take back the  streets from protesters demanding his ouster, shouting and pounding his  fist in a furious speech on state TV.&lt;br /&gt;Gaddafi, clad in brown robes and turban, spoke on Tuesday from a  podium set up in the entrance of a bombed-out building that appeared to  be his Tripoli residence hit by US air raids in the 1980s and left  unrepaired as a monument of defiance.&lt;br /&gt;"I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ...&amp;nbsp;I will die as a martyr at the end," he said.&lt;br /&gt;"I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired ... when I do, everything will burn."&lt;br /&gt;He called on supporters to take to the streets to attack protesters.  "You men and women who love Gaddafi ...get out of your homes and fill  the streets," he said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs  ... Starting tomorrow the cordons will be lifted, go out and fight  them."&lt;br /&gt;"From tonight to tomorrow, all the young men should form local  committees for popular security," he said, telling them to wear a green  armband to identify themselves. "The Libyan people and the popular  revolution will control Libya."&lt;br /&gt;The speech, which appeared to have been taped earlier, was aired on a  screen to hundreds of supporters massed in Tripoli's central Green  Square.&lt;br /&gt;Shouting in the rambling speech, Gaddafi declared himself "a warrior"  and proclaimed: "Libya wants glory, Libya wants to be at the pinnacle,  at the pinnacle of the world".&lt;br /&gt;At times the camera panned out to show a towering gold-coloured  monument in front of the building, showing a fist crushing a fighter jet  with an American flag on it - a view that also gave the strange image  of Gaddafi speaking alone from behind a podium in the building's  dilapidated lobby, with no audience in front of him.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-2164409875822965724?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/2164409875822965724/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/defiant-gaddafi-vows-to-fight-on.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/2164409875822965724'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/2164409875822965724'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/defiant-gaddafi-vows-to-fight-on.html' title='Defiant Gaddafi vows to fight on'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1366146960452046624</id><published>2011-02-22T02:42:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T02:42:58.215-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Israeli media 'fears' the new Egypt</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Israel's media presents Egyptian democracy as a threat, with one commentator lamenting the end of colonialism. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Neve Gordon&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;21 Feb 2011 16:04 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201121814292835839" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201121814292835839" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/21/201122115463940965_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Israeli  media changed its tone, first arguing that Hosni Mubarak's government  would not fall, and later worrying about the implications for  Israel&amp;nbsp;[GALLO/GETTY]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Over the past three weeks the Israeli media has been extremely interested in Egypt.&lt;br /&gt;During the climatic days of the unprecedented demonstrations,  television news programmes spent most of their airtime covering the  protests, while the daily papers dedicated half the news and opinion  pages to the unfolding events.&lt;br /&gt;Rather than excitement at watching history in the making, however,  the dominant attitude here, particularly on television, was of anxiety--  a sense that the developments in Egypt were inimical to Israel's  interests. Egypt's revolution, in other words, was bad news.&lt;br /&gt;It took a while for Israel's experts on "Arab Affairs" to get a grip  on what was happening. During the early days of unrest, the recurrent  refrain was that "Egypt is not Tunis".&lt;br /&gt;Commentators assured the public that the security apparatuses in  Egypt are loyal to the regime and that consequently there was little if  any chance that President Hosni Mubarak's government would fall.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Media switch&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once it became clear that this line of analysis was erroneous, most  commentators followed Prime Minister&amp;nbsp;Binyamin&amp;nbsp; Netanyahu's lead and  criticised President Barack Obama's Administration for not supporting  Mubarak. The Foreign News editor of one channel noted that: "The fact  that the White House is permitting the protests is reason for worry;"  while the prominent political analyst Ben Kaspit expressed his longing  for President George W. Bush.&lt;br /&gt;"We remember 2003 when George Bush invaded and took over Iraq with a  sense of yearning", Ben Kaspit wrote. "Libya immediately changed course  and allied itself with the West. Iran suspended its military nuclear  program. Arafat was harnessed. Syria shook with fear. Not that the  invasion of Iraq was a wise move (not at all, Iran is the real problem,  not Iraq), but in the Middle East whoever does not walk around with a  big bat in his hand receives the bat on his head."&lt;br /&gt;Israeli commentators are equivocal on the issue of Egyptian  democracy.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;One columnist explained that it takes years for democratic  institutions to be established and for people to internalise the  practices appropriate for democracy, while Amir Hazroni from NRG went so  far as to write an ode to colonialism:&lt;br /&gt;"When we try to think how and why the United States and the West lost  Egypt, Tunis, Yemen and perhaps other countries in the Middle East,  people forget that. The original sin began right after WWII, when a  wonderful form of government that protected security and peace in the  Middle East (and in other parts of the Third Word) departed from this  world following pressure from the United States and Soviet Union... More  than sixty years have passed since the Arab states and the countries of  Africa were liberated from the 'colonial yoke,' but there still isn't  an Arab university, an African scientist or a Middle Eastern consumer  product that has made a mark on our world."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fear and the brotherhood&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While only a few commentators are as reactionary as Hazroni, an  Orientalist perspective permeated most of the discussion about Egypt,  thus helping to bolster the already existing Jewish citizenry's fear of  Islam.&amp;nbsp;Political Islam is constantly presented and conceived as an  ominous force that is antithetical to democracy.&lt;br /&gt;Thus, in the eyes of Israeli analysts, the protestors- that Facebook  and Twitter generation- are deserving of empathy but also extremely  naïve. There is a shared sense that their fate will end up being  identical to that of the Iranian intellectuals who led the protests  against the Shah.&lt;br /&gt;Channel Two's expert on "Arab Affairs" explained that: "The fact that  you do not see the Muslim Brotherhood does not mean they are not  there," and another expert warned his viewers not to "be misled by  ElBaradei's Viennese spirit, behind him is the Muslim Brotherhood."&lt;br /&gt;According to these pundits, the Muslim Brotherhood made a tactical  decision not to distribute Islamists banners or to take an active part  in leading the protests. One commentator declared that if the Muslim  Brotherhood wins, then "elections are the end of the [democratic]  process, not its beginning," while an anchorman for Channel Ten asked  former Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer whether "the person who says to  himself: 'How wonderful, at last the state of Egypt is a democracy,' is  naïve?"&lt;br /&gt;The Minister responded: "Allow me even to laugh. We wanted a  democracy in Iran and in Gaza. The person who talks like this is  ignoring the fact that for over a decade there has been a struggle of  giants between the Sunni and Shia with tons of blood spilled. The person  who talks about democracy does not live in the reality we live in."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Democratic threat&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ben-Eliezer's response is telling, not least because it is well known  that Israel supported the Shah regime in Iran and has not proven itself  to be a particularly staunch supporter of Palestinian democracy.  Democracy in the Middle East is, after all, conceived by this and prior  Israeli governments as a threat to Israel's interests.&lt;br /&gt;Dan Margalit, a well-known commentator, made this point clear when he  explained that Israel does not disapprove of a democracy in the largest  Arab country but simply privileges Israel's peace agreement with Egypt  over internal Arab affairs.&lt;br /&gt;Israel, one should note, is not alone in this self-serving approach;  most western countries constantly lament the absence of democracy in the  Arab world, while supporting the dictators and helping them remain in  office. In English this kind of approach has a very clear name - it is  called hypocrisy.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1366146960452046624?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1366146960452046624/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/israeli-media-fears-new-egypt.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1366146960452046624'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1366146960452046624'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/israeli-media-fears-new-egypt.html' title='Israeli media &apos;fears&apos; the new Egypt'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-9128862483536822607</id><published>2011-02-22T02:40:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T02:40:44.770-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Iranian navy ships enter Suez Canal</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;The naval vessels are the first from Iran to transit through the waterway since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 05:22 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122244215758692" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122244215758692" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/22/20112225022560580_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The canal&amp;nbsp;is a vital global trading route and major source of revenues for the Egyptian authorities&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Two Iranian naval ships have entered Egypt's Suez Canal and are heading towards the Mediterranean, a canal official said.&lt;br /&gt;"They entered the canal at 5:45am," the official told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.&lt;br /&gt;The two vessels,&amp;nbsp;Alvand, a patrol frigate and Kharg, a supply ship,  are the first naval vessels to go through the canal since Iran's 1979  Islamic revolution, after which diplomatic ties between Egypt and Iran  were strained.&lt;br /&gt;Egypt's ruling military council, facing its first  diplomatic&amp;nbsp;challenge since taking power on February 11, approved the  vessels' passage through the canal.&lt;br /&gt;The canal&amp;nbsp;is a vital global trading route and a major source of revenue for the Egyptian authorities.&lt;br /&gt;Israel takes a "grave view" of the passage of the ships.&lt;br /&gt;On Sunday, after a weekly meeting of his cabinet, Binyamin Netanyahu ,  Israeli prime minister denounced the ships' arrival in the region as an  Iranian&amp;nbsp; power play.&lt;br /&gt;And last week, the prospect of the Suez crossing was described by  Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's far-right foreign minister, as a  "provocation" by Iran.&lt;br /&gt;But an Iranian diplomat said that, "This will be a routine visit,  within international law, in line with the co-operation between Iran and  Syria, who have strategic ties.&lt;br /&gt;"The ships will spend a few days in Syrian ports for training  purposes, having already visited several countries including Oman and  Saudi Arabia," the diplomat added.&lt;br /&gt;The decision was a difficult one for Egypt's interim government as  Cairo is an ally of the United States and has a peace treaty with  Israel.&lt;br /&gt;However, Egypt's official MENA news agency has reported that the  request for the ships to transit the canal was granted&amp;nbsp;because&amp;nbsp;they were  not carrying weapons or nuclear and chemical materials.&lt;br /&gt;The 1,500-tonne Alvand is normally armed with torpedoes and anti-ship  missiles, while the larger 33,000-tonne Kharg has a crew of 250 and  facilities for up to three helicopters, Iran's official Fars news agency  said.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-9128862483536822607?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/9128862483536822607/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/iranian-navy-ships-enter-suez-canal.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/9128862483536822607'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/9128862483536822607'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/iranian-navy-ships-enter-suez-canal.html' title='Iranian navy ships enter Suez Canal'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-316059692562035244</id><published>2011-02-22T02:39:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T02:39:24.696-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Fresh violence rages in Libya</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Protesters say security forces using warplanes and live fire 'massacred' them, as UN warns of possible 'war crimes'.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 10:34 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122261251456133" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122261251456133" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/22/201122264745402360_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Anti-government protesters say they have taken control of several towns [Reuters]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Libyan forces loyal to &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/02/201122117565923629.html" target="_blank"&gt;Muammar Gaddafi&lt;/a&gt;  are waging a bloody&amp;nbsp;operation to keep him in power, with residents  reporting gunfire in parts of the capital Tripoli and other cities,  while other citizens, including the country's former ambassador to  India, are saying that warplanes were used to "bomb" protesters.&lt;br /&gt;Nearly 300 people are reported to have been killed in continuing  violence in the capital and across the north African country as  demonstrations enter their second week.&lt;br /&gt;Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, has warned  that the widespread attacks against civilians "amount to crimes against  humanity", and called for an international investigation in possible  human rights violations.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="width: 160px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td bgcolor="#b68809" class="MostActiveDescHeader" style="background-color: #fb9d04;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: white; font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;LIVE BLOG&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td bgcolor="#dfd2ad" class="MostActiveDescBody" style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-size: 13px;" valign="top"&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/02/22/live-blog-libya-feb-22" style="color: #fb9d04; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/17/2011217154341931148_8.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Witnesses in Tripoli told Al Jazeera that fighter jets had bombed  portions of the city in fresh attacks on Monday night. The bombing  focused on ammunition depots and control centres around the capital.&lt;br /&gt;Helicopter gunships were also used, they said, to fire on the streets in order to scare demonstrators away.&lt;br /&gt;Several witnesses said that "mercenaries" were firing on civilians in the city.&lt;br /&gt;Residents of the Tajura neighbourhood, east of Tripoli, said that  dead bodies are still lying on the streets from earlier violence. At  least 61 people were killed in the capital on Monday, witnesses told Al  Jazeeera.&lt;br /&gt;Protests in the oil-rich African country, which Gaddafi has ruled for  41 years, began on February 14, but picked up momentum after a brutal  government crackdown following a "Day of Rage" on February 17.  Demonstrators say they have now taken control of several important  towns, including the city of Benghazi, which&amp;nbsp;saw days of bloody clashes  between protesters and government forces.&lt;br /&gt;There has been a heavy government crackdown on protests, however, and  demonstrators at a huge anti-government march in the capital on Monday  afternoon said they came under attack from fighter jets and security  forces using live ammunition.&lt;br /&gt;"What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and  helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There  are many, many dead," Adel Mohamed Saleh said in a live broadcast.&lt;br /&gt;"Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car, they will hit you."&lt;br /&gt;Ali al-Essawi,&amp;nbsp;who resigned as Libyan ambassador to India, also  told&amp;nbsp;Al Jazeera&amp;nbsp;on Tuesday that fighter jets had been used by the  government to bomb civilians.&lt;br /&gt;He said live fire was being used against protesters, and that  foreigners had been hired to fight on behalf of the government. The  former ambassador called the violence "a massacre", and called on the UN  to block Libyan airspace in order to "protect the people".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'Genocide'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The country's state broadcaster quoted &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/20112212175256990.html" target="_blank"&gt;Saif al-Islam Gaddafi&lt;/a&gt;,  the son of the Libyan leader, and widely seen as his political heir, as  saying that armed forces had "bombarded arms depots situated far from  populated areas". He denied that air strikes had taken place in Tripoli  and Benghazi.&lt;br /&gt;The government says that it is battling "dens of terrorists".&lt;br /&gt;Earlier, Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said Gaddafi had started a &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/2011221222542234651.html" target="_blank"&gt;"genocide against the Libyan people"&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span class="InternalLink"&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During Monday's protests, gunfire was heard across the capital, with  protesters seen attacking police stations and government buildings,  including the offices of the state broadcaster.&lt;br /&gt;Witnesses told the AFP news agency that there had been a "massacre"  in Tajura district, with gunmen seen firing "indiscriminately".&lt;br /&gt;In Fashlum district, helicopters were seen landing with what  witnesses described as "mercenaries" disembarking and attacking those on  the street.&lt;br /&gt;Mohammed Abdul-Malek, a London-based opposition activist who has been  in touch with residents, said that snipers have taken positions on  roofs in an apparent bid to stop people joining the protests.&lt;br /&gt;Several witnesses who spoke to the Associated Press news agency said  that pro-Gaddafi gunmen were firing from moving cars at both people and  buildings.&lt;br /&gt;State television on Tuesday dismissed allegations that security forces were killing protesters as "lies and rumours".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Possible 'crimes against humanity'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Benghazi, Libya's second city, which had been the focal point of  violence in recent days, has now been taken over by anti-government  protesters, after military units deserted their posts and joined the  demonstrators.&lt;br /&gt;The runway at the city's airport, however, has been destroyed,  according to the Egyptian foreign minister, and so planes cannot land  there, Reuters reported on Tuesday.&lt;br /&gt;According to the Paris-based International Federation for Human  Rights (IFHR), protesters are also in control of Sirte, Tobruk in the  east, as well as Misrata, Khoms, Tarhounah, Zenten, Al-Zawiya and  Zouara.&lt;br /&gt;On Sunday, the US-based rights group &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/20/libya-governments-should-demand-end-unlawful-killings" target="_blank"&gt;Human Rights Watch said&lt;/a&gt;  that at least 233 people were killed in the violence. Added to that are  at least 61 people who died on Monday,&amp;nbsp;which brings the toll since  violence began on February 17 to at least 294.&lt;br /&gt;Pillay, the UN's human rights chief, called on Tuesday for an  international investigation into the violence in the country, saying  that it was possible that "crimes against humanity" had been perpetrated  by the Libyan government.&lt;br /&gt;In a statement, Pillay called for an immediate halt to human rights  violations, and denounced the use of machine guns, snipers and military  warplanes against civilians.&lt;br /&gt;Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell, a major oil company, said on Tuesday  that all of its expatriate employees and their depenedents living in  Libya have now been relocated.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-316059692562035244?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/316059692562035244/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/fresh-violence-rages-in-libya.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/316059692562035244'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/316059692562035244'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/fresh-violence-rages-in-libya.html' title='Fresh violence rages in Libya'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-6261934165300547061</id><published>2011-02-22T02:38:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-22T02:38:32.698-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Libyan diplomats defect en masse</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Envoys at key embassies across the world disown Gaddafi's regime in protest over violent crackdown against protesters.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;22 Feb 2011 09:01 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201122275739377867" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201122275739377867" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/21/2011221235940948427_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Two pilots also claim to have defected after refusing to follow orders to attack civilians protesting in&amp;nbsp;Libya [AFP]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Diplomats at Libyan embassies in the US, the United Nations, the Arab  League, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh, among  others, have either resigned from their posts, or disavowed links to  Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's government.&lt;br /&gt;Many say that they now stand with the protesters, and have called for  international intervention into what at least one deputy ambassador  termed a "genocide".&lt;br /&gt;We present here a&amp;nbsp;snapshot &amp;nbsp;of their statements.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" style="background-color: #fba301; width: 650px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td style="color: white; font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ali Aujali, Ambassador to the United States&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"I think&amp;nbsp;[Gaddafi] should step down, of course, after what's  happening in our country now. There's no other solution. He should step  down and give the chance for the people to make their future.&lt;br /&gt;"How can I support a government killing our people? What I have seen in front of my eyes is not acceptable at all."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" style="background-color: #fba301; width: 650px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td style="color: white; font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ibrahim Dabbashi,&amp;nbsp;Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"The tyrant Muammar Gaddafi has asserted clearly, through his sons,  the level of ignorance he and his children have, and how much he  despises Libya and the Libyan people," he said in a statement that was  endorsed by the staff at the mission, excluding the ambassador.&lt;br /&gt;"This is in fact a declaration of war against the Libyan people,''  Dabbashi told reporters, surrounded by a dozen Libyan diplomats. "The  regime of Gaddafi has already started the genocide against the Libyan  people.''&lt;br /&gt;The statement called on "the officers and soldiers of the Libyan army  wherever they are and whatever their rank is ... to organise themselves  and move towards Tripoli and cut the snake's head."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It appealed  to the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone over Libyan cities to  prevent mercenaries and weapons from being shipped in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It also  urged guards at Libya's oil installations to protect them from any  sabotage "by the coward tyrant," and urged countries to prevent Gaddafi  from fleeing there and to be on the lookout for any money smuggling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dabbashi  and his colleagues called on The Hague-based International Criminal  Court to start an immediate inquiry into war crimes and crimes against  humanity they said Gaddafi and his sons and followers had committed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They  called on employees of Libyan embassies all over the world to "stand  with their people", especially the mission at the UN European  headquarters in Geneva, which they said should seek action by the UN  Human Rights Council there.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" style="background-color: #fba301; width: 650px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td style="color: white; font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ali el-Essawi,&amp;nbsp;Ambassador to India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"I have resigned because of the matter of violence used against Libyan civilians," el-Essawi told Al Jazeera.&lt;br /&gt;He said that government forces were "killing people in the streets" and using aircraft to bomb protesters.&lt;br /&gt;Asked if he had tried to explain to his government why he had resigned, he responded:&lt;br /&gt;"No, no, no need to explain. It is explained on the TV channels. You  cannot bring the people back to life after you kill them. No need to  explain."&lt;br /&gt;He called on the UN Security Council to declare Libyan airspace a  no-fly zone "to protect the people". He termed the violence in Libya "a  massacre".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table border="0" style="background-color: #fba301; width: 650px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td style="color: white; font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bubaker al-Mansori,&amp;nbsp;Ambassador to Malaysia&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;"We are not loyal to him, we are loyal to the Libyan people," he told the AFP news agency.&lt;br /&gt;"The protesters here are demonstrating against the killing and murder  that are happening in Libya. We cannot stand by and allow this to  happen to the whole Libyan community, so including us at the embassy, we  are protesting this."&lt;br /&gt;The embassy staff released a statement condemning the "barbaric,  criminal, bloodshed, massacre and the total elimination of our innocent  civilians whom are armless as they conducted a peaceful demonstration".&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-6261934165300547061?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/6261934165300547061/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyan-diplomats-defect-en-masse.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/6261934165300547061'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/6261934165300547061'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyan-diplomats-defect-en-masse.html' title='Libyan diplomats defect en masse'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-7491317169379794106</id><published>2011-02-20T18:58:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-20T18:58:41.399-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Bullying the Palestinians</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Barack Obama urged Mahmoud Abbas to block a UN Security Council resolution condemning settlements.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  MJ Rosenberg&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;18 Feb 2011 16:01 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201121815137386765" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201121815137386765" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/18/2011218154753269833_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;For Palestinians, Israeli settlements are the very crux of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict [GALLO/GETTY]&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;It appears that US dealings with the Palestinians have entered a new phase: Bullying.&lt;br /&gt;On Thursday, President Barack Obama &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=208724" target="_blank"&gt;telephoned&lt;/a&gt;  Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president,&amp;nbsp;to urge him to block a UN  Security Council resolution condemning settlements. Obama pressed very  hard during the 50 minute call, so hard that Abbas felt constrained to  agree to take Obama’s request to the PLO executive committee (which, not  surprisingly, agreed that Abbas should not accede to Obama’s request).&lt;br /&gt;But what a request it is!&lt;br /&gt;For Palestinians, Israeli settlements are the very crux of the  Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After all, it is the gobbling up of the  land by settlements that is likely to prevent a Palestinian state from  ever coming into being.&lt;br /&gt;Asking the Palestinian leader to agree to oppose a resolution  condemning them is like asking the Israeli prime minister to agree to  drop Israel’s claim to the Israeli parts of Jerusalem.&lt;br /&gt;In fact, the mere US request for a 90-day settlement freeze (a  request sweetened with an offer of $3.5bn in extra aid) outraged the  Netanyahu government. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could not even  bring himself to respond (probably figuring that he will get the extra  money whenever he wants it anyway). The administration then acted as if  it never made the request at all, so eager is it to not offend Netanyahu  in any way.&lt;br /&gt;But it is a different story with Palestinians for obvious reasons  (they have no political clout in Washington). Even when they ask the UN  to support them on settlements, the administration applies heavy  pressure on them.&lt;br /&gt;But why so much pressure? After all, it is a big deal when the  president calls a foreign leader and, to be honest, the head of the  Palestinian Authority is not exactly the president of France or prime  minister of Canada.&lt;br /&gt;The reason Obama made that call is that he was almost desperate to  avoid vetoing the United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning  illegal Israel settlements. And it is not hard to see why.&lt;br /&gt;Given the turbulence in the Middle East, and the universal and strong  opposition in the Arab and Muslim world to US shilly-shallying on  settlements, the last thing the administration wants to do is veto a  resolution condemning them.&lt;br /&gt;That is especially true with this resolution, sponsored by 122  nations, and which embodies long-stated US policies. All US interests  dictate either support for the resolution or at least abstention.&lt;br /&gt;But the administration rejected that approach, knowing that if it  supported the resolution, AIPAC would go ballistic, along with its House  and Senate (mostly House) cutouts. (&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/145007-cantor-hoyer-continue-to-press-obama-to-veto-israeli-settlement-resolution" target="_blank"&gt;Here&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;are some of them issuing warnings already).&lt;br /&gt;Then the calls would start coming in from AIPAC-connected donors who  would warn that they will not support the president’s re-election if he  does not veto.&amp;nbsp;And Netanyahu would do to Obama what he did to former  President Clinton - work with the Republicans (his favourite is former  speaker Newt Gingrich) to bring Obama down.&lt;br /&gt;What was an administration to do? It did not want to veto but was afraid not to.&lt;br /&gt;Earlier in the week, it floated a plan which would have the Security  Council mildly criticise settlements in a statement (not a resolution).  According to &lt;em&gt;&lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/16/in_major_reversal_us_to_rebuke_israel_in_security_council" target="_blank"&gt;Foreign Policy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;,  the statement: "Expresses its strong opposition to any unilateral  actions by any party, which cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations  and will not be recognised by the international community, and  reaffirms, that it does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli  settlement activity, which is a serious obstacle to the peace process."  The statement also condemns "all forms of violence, including rocket  fire from Gaza, and stresses the need for calm and security for both  peoples".&lt;br /&gt;Did you notice where settlements are mentioned?&amp;nbsp;Read slowly. It is there.&lt;br /&gt;Reading the language, it is not hard to guess where the statement was  drafted.&amp;nbsp;Rather than simply address settlements, it throws in such  AIPAC pleasing irrelevancies (in this context) as "rocket fire from  Gaza" which has absolutely nothing to do with West Bank settlements.&amp;nbsp;In  other words, it reads like an AIPAC-drafted House resolution, although  it does leave out the "hooray for Israel" boilerplate which is standard  in Congress but which the Security Council is unlikely to go for.&lt;br /&gt;All this to avoid vetoing a resolution which expresses US policy.  Needless to say, the US plan went nowhere. Hypocrisy only carries the  day when it is not transparent.&lt;br /&gt;As I wrote earlier this week, this is what happens when donors and  not diplomats are driving US policy. It is too bad that they do not care  that they are making the US look like Netanyahu's puppet in front of  the entire world.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-7491317169379794106?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/7491317169379794106/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/bullying-palestinians.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7491317169379794106'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7491317169379794106'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/bullying-palestinians.html' title='Bullying the Palestinians'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-8611586429493845513</id><published>2011-02-20T02:58:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-20T02:58:51.067-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Apa kata Nik Aziz ......</title><content type='html'>&lt;h3 class="post-title entry-title"&gt; &lt;a href="http://idhamlim.blogspot.com/2011/02/teks-ucapan-yab-al-mursyidul-am-pas-di.html"&gt;Teks Ucapan YAB Al-Mursyidul Am PAS di Majlis Perasmian Konvensyen Nasional Pengupayaan Bangsa - Jaminan PAS&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div class="post-header-line-1"&gt; &lt;span class="post-comment-link" style="float: right;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt; &lt;div style="float: right;"&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;span class="post-author vcard"&gt; &lt;span class="fn"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class="data-post"&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RiTHmVOhRew/TWC92GPc9RI/AAAAAAAAhDs/L85FPJAYH1o/s1600/untitled.bmp"&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575665075770684690" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RiTHmVOhRew/TWC92GPc9RI/AAAAAAAAhDs/L85FPJAYH1o/s400/untitled.bmp" style="display: block; height: 191px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; 17 Rabiulawal 1432H. [MOD] -&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 130%;"&gt;السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته&lt;br /&gt;بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ&lt;br /&gt;ومن آياته خلق السموات و الارض و اختلاف السنتكم و الوانكم انّ في ذلك لايات للعالمين&lt;br /&gt;-سورة الروم : 22&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yang  bermaksud : Dan di antara tanda-tanda kekuasaan-Nya ialah menciptakan  langit dan bumi dan berlain-lainan bahasamu dan warna kulitmu.  Sesungguhnya pada yang demikan itu benar-benar terdapat tanda-tanda bagi  orang-orang yang Mengetahui.­&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Peserta-peserta konvensyen yang dikasihi sekalian&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Alhamdulillah,  setinggi-tinggi syukur kita panjatkan kepada Allah SWT yang telah  memberikan kita kesempatan untuk bersama-sama berada di dalam majlis  perasmian Konvensyen Nasional Pengupyaan Bangsa – Jaminan PAS pada pagi  ini. Saya mengucapkan terima kasih kerana dijemput untuk menyampaikan  ucapan seterusnya merasmikan konvensyen yang saya sifatkan sangat-sangat  bermakna ini khususnya di dalam menangani fitnah dan cabaran yang  sedang melanda perjuangan PAS pada hari ini.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hadirin dan hadirat yang dikasihi sekalian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saya  ingin memulakan ucapan ini dengan mengingatkan kita semua Islam hadir  dengan tidak menjadikan agenda perjuangan bangsa sebagai keutamaan.  Islam hadir dengan menjadikan semua manusia menjadi mulia jika menerima  Islam sekalipun tidak sebangsa, dan mengajar kita bahawa manusia boleh  menjadi hina apabila mengenepikan Islam walaupun sebangsa dan sedarah.  Justeru, seringkali saya ulangi apa yang disebut oleh Allah SWT di dalam  firmanNya :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 130%;"&gt;ياايها الناس انا خلقناكم من ذكر وانثى وجعلناكم شعوبا وقبائل لتعارفوا ان اكرمكم عند الله اتقاكم ان الله عليم خبير&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yang  bermksud : Hai manusia, Sesungguhnya kami menciptakan kamu dari seorang  laki-laki dan seorang perempuan dan menjadikan kamu berbangsa - bangsa  dan bersuku-suku supaya kamu saling kenal-mengenal. Sesungguhnya orang  yang paling mulia diantara kamu disisi Allah ialah orang yang paling  taqwa diantara kamu. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha mengetahui lagi Maha  Mengenal. – Surah al-Hujurat, ayat 13.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Berdiri di atas hakikat  inilah, Rasulullah SAW datang tidak dengan misi menegakkan ketuanan  Arab, jika itulah yang dibawa oleh baginda, nescaya Islam tidak akan  diterima oleh Bilal bin Rabah yang berbangsa Habsyi, oleh Suhaib ar-Rumi  yang berbangsa Rom dan juga Salman al-Farisi dari negeri Parsi. Jika  misi yang dibawa oleh Rasulullah SAW ialah ketuanan Arab, nescaya Islam  tidak akan tersebar ke seluruh dunia merentasi sempadan benua dan  tentunya tidak akan sampai ke Tanah Melayu ini. Hakikatnya, Islam datang  merentasi darah dan keturunan serta mengenepikan hubungan darah dan  bangsa jika memusuhi risalah Islam. Lantas, Abu Lahab dijanjikan dengan  balasan api neraka sekalipun merupakan bapa sudara Rasulullah SAW.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Persoalannya,  kenapakah Allah SWT menciptakan pelbagai bangsa di dunia? Tidak lain  dan tidak bukan ialah untuk berkenal-kenalan dan memanfaatkan perbezaan  tersebut untuk kebaikan sejagat. Dalam rumahtangga, seorang lelaki hanya  lengkap kehidupannya jika berkahwin dengan seorang wanita yang tentu  sekali berbeza jantinanya dengan suami, namun daripada perbezaan itulah  rumahtangga saling melengkapi antara satu sama lain. Dalam konteks  perbezaan bangsa, ia boleh dimanfaatkan dengan skala yang lebih besar  demi kebaikan sejagat. Lihat sajalah bagaimana tentera Islam di zaman  Rasulullah SAW menggali parit sekitar Kota Madinah di dalam perang Ahzab  semata-mata kerana mengambil pengalaman daripada seorang sahabat yang  berbangsa Parsi iaitu Salman al-Farisi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hadirin dan hadirat yang dikasihi sekalian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jika  Rasulullah SAW datang tidak dengan misi ketuanan Arab, begitu jugalah  PAS yang mencontohi perjuangan baginda, tidak akan datang dengan membawa  agenda Ketuanan Melayu. Soalnya, adakah PAS mengenepikan bangsa Melayu?  Inilah tohmahan yang sering dilemparkan kepada PAS seolah-olah Melayu  akan mati tanpa UMNO, akan cacat tanpa bantuan UMNO dan akan mundur  tanpa pimpinan UMNO. Inilah sebesar-besar khurafat yang cuba ditanam  dalam benak minda rakyat pada hari ini. Bagi PAS, Melayu perlu  diutamakan dalam agenda dakwah pada hari ini kerana mereka merupakan  bangsa yang terdahulu menerima Islam di Tanah Melayu ini. Firman Allah  SWT :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 130%;"&gt;وأنذر عشيرتك الأقربين&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yang bermaksud : Dan berilah peringatan kepada kerabat-kerabatmu yang terdekat – Surah al-Syuara’, ayat 214&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ayat  ini memerintahkan agar Rasulullah SAW mengutamakan kaum keluarganya  terlebih dahulu di dalam menyampaikan dakwah. Perkataan asyirah di dalam  ayat ini bukanlah bermakna kaum tetapi bermakna keluarga. Dalam konteks  Malaysia, kaum yang paling dominan dengan Islam ialah kaum Melayu  sekalipun Islam tidak terbatas untuk bangsa Melayu sahaja.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perlulah  diingatkan bahawa Islam merupakan anugerah daripada Allah SWT. Ia  merupakan satu pemberian dan kemuliaan daripada Allah SWT. Menolak Islam  dan menerima sekular sebagai ideologi seperti yang dilakukan oleh UMNO  pada hari ini bererti menolak kemuliaan yang diberikan oleh Allah SWT.  Hakikatnya, UMNO menjaga Islam pun tidak, menjaga Melayu pun jauh  sekali. Ini dapat dibuktikan dengan fakta yang didedahkan bagaimana  tanah rezab Melayu di seluruh negara susut dari 3 juta hektar pada tahun  1957 kepada 1.7 juta hektar pada tahun 1995. Apakah ini salah satu  pembelaaan UMNO terhadap orang-orang Melayu? Bahkan Dasar Ekonomi Baru  yang diwujudkan untuk membantu orang-orang Melayu telah digagalkan oleh  pemipim-pemimpin UMNO sendiri. Ia digunakan oleh golongan atasan pihak  pemerintah untuk memuaskan hawa nafsu mereka membolot kuasa dan  kekayaan. Tidak ada keraguan lagi bahawa pengkhianatan ini dilakukan  secara sangat sistematik oleh parti-parti komponen kerajaan dengan  kerjasama erat diberikan oleh UMNO bagi menindas hak-hak Melayu, Cina,  India, Iban dan Kadazan yang sepatutnya mendapat manfaat dari Dasar  Ekonomi Baru.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Atas nama manfaat Bumiputera kononnya, prosedur  tender yang terbuka, telus, penilaian bebas isu-isu penswastaan, agihan  perolehan, semuanya telah diketepikan. Akhirnya yang mengaut kekayaan  ialah kroni-kroni tertentu dengan mengenepikan kepentingan rakyat  terbanyak. Sebenarnya, inilah Ketuanan Melayu di mata UMNO.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Alhamdulillah,  di Kelantan, sekalipun kita mentadbir dengan tidak menyebut Melayu  bahkan kita menggunakan dasar Membangun Bersama Islam, ia diterima oleh  pelbagai lapisan masyarakat. Golongan non muslim semakin merapati  perjuangan kita dan memahami kesucian perjuagan PAS. Slogan Ketuanan  Melayu yang dilaungkan oleh UMNO bersenjatakan keris mereka hanya  menjauhkan golongan non Muslim dan menyebarkan kebencian sesama rakyat.  Dari sudut pembelaan terhadap orang-orang Melayu dan Islam, kita  melaksanakan pentadbiran yang berteraskan Ubudiah, Mas’uliah dan Itqan  dengan mengingatkan seluruh warga tadbir bahawa setiap gerak kerja yang  dilakukan di dunia akan dipersoalkan oleh Allah SWT di akhirat kelak.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hadirin dan hadirat yang dikasihi sekalian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Serangan-serangan  terhadap PAS pada hari ini sebenarnya membuktikan kegerunan musuh-musuh  politik PAS dan kebimbangan mereka sekiranya terlepas teraju kuasa satu  hari nanti. Saya yakin insya-allah, fajar yang cerah pastinya akan  menerangi kegelapan malam, jika rakyat di Mesir dan Tunisia boleh  menjatuhkan diktator di negara masing-masing, saya tidak sedikitpun syak  dengan kebijaksanaan rakyat negara ini untuk menukar teraju negara satu  hari nanti Insya-Allah. Syarantnya, sediakan padang demokrasi yang adil  dan saksama, jangan khianat dan jangan melakukan pencabulan terhadap  keadilan, insya-allah kita akan saksikan perubahan ini.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Riak-riak  kemenangan itu telah hampir tiba, justeru mereka perhebatkan serangan  melalui pelbagai cara dan kaedah. Saya sendiri pun dilabel oleh  seseorang sebagai nasionalis hanya kerana memperjuangkan Islam di  Malaysia sahaja. Barangkali orang ini lupa bagaimana PAS telah  menjalinkan hubungan dengan gerakan Islam di seluruh dunia dan hampir  setiap tahun kita bermuktamar dengan disertai oleh wakil-wakil gerakan  Islam seluruh dunia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;Bahkan PAS dengan kudratnya  sebagai parti politik sampai ke seluruh dunia dalam misi dakwah dan  bantuan apabila berlakunya bencana alam dan sebagainya. Saya juga  dituduh hanya bertujuan mahu menang pilihanraya, jika demikian apakah  salahnya menang pilihanraya, PAS sendiri ditubuhkan untuk menyertai  pilihanraya dan menang. Bahkan UMNO sendiri di dalam usaha memenangi  pilihanraya melakukan pelbagai cara yang tidak demokratik merentasi  sempadan halal haram demi mencapai tujuan mereka. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;PAS  juga dituduh sanggup berpakat dengan DAP demi untuk memenangi  pilihanraya, soalnya PAS telah dimusuhi sekian lama semenjak sebelum PAS  bersama DAP dan PKR di dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Bahkan UMNO melakukan  kerja-kerja menjatuhkan kerajaan negeri Kelantan semenjak hari pertama  saya mengangkat sumpah sebagai Menteri Besar Kelantan. Jika benar UMNO  memperjuangkan Melayu, untuk apa kami di Kelantan diperangi sedangkan di  Kelantan majoriti pemimpin dan rakyatnya berbangsa Melayu dan beragama  Islam?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hadirin dan hadirat yang dikasihi sekalian.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Justeru,  saya sangat-sangat mengharapkan agar Konvensyen Nasional Pengupayaan  Bangsa – Jaminan PAS Pusat yang dilaksanakan pada hari ini benar-benar  dapat menangkis tohmahan-tohmahan jahat yang dilemparkan kepada PAS dan  juga Pakatan Rakyat. Insya-allah, kefahaman yang murni yang disemaikan  di dalam minda rakyat akan memberikan mereka pilihan yang terbaik  khususnya di dalam usaha menggantikan teraju kepimpinan di Putrajaya,  insya-Allah. Saya sudahi dengan :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 130%;"&gt;أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله العظيم لي ولكم والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-8611586429493845513?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/8611586429493845513/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/apa-kata-nik-aziz.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/8611586429493845513'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/8611586429493845513'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/apa-kata-nik-aziz.html' title='Apa kata Nik Aziz ......'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RiTHmVOhRew/TWC92GPc9RI/AAAAAAAAhDs/L85FPJAYH1o/s72-c/untitled.bmp' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-7883288154227469257</id><published>2011-02-19T18:33:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-19T18:33:03.210-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Pakistan blasphemy law 'to stand'</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Prime minister rules out changes to controversial law tied to killing of governor of Punjab province, who was a critic.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;10 Jan 2011 09:44 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Email Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgSend2Friend" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsEmail.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/Send2Friend.aspx?GUID=201111063338364900" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpSend2Friend" target="_blank"&gt;Email Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsPrint" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Print Article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgPrintArticle" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsPrint.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpPrintArticle"&gt;Print Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsShare" style="float: left; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Share article" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgAddThis" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsShare.gif" style="cursor: pointer;" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" target="_blank"&gt;Share Article&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="toolsFeedback" style="float: right; width: 25%;"&gt;         &lt;div style="float: left;"&gt;&lt;img alt="Send Feedback" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_imgFeedback" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/Media/ver2/Images/toolsFeedback.gif" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; height: 20px; padding: 6px 0px 0px 5px;"&gt;&lt;a class="indexSummaryText" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/ArticleTools/SendFeedback.aspx?GUID=201111063338364900" id="ctl00_cphBody_ToolsList2_hpFeedback" target="_blank"&gt;Send Feedback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5" style="clear: both;"&gt;                                      &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/1/9/201119184948874472_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Protesters&amp;nbsp;rallied in Karachi to warn the government against&amp;nbsp;amending the controversial blasphemy law [&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;AFP]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Pakistan's prime minister has ruled out&amp;nbsp;changing the country's controversial blasphemy law that has been&amp;nbsp;linked to &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/01/201114115730846269.html" target="_blank"&gt;the killing of Salman Taseer&lt;/a&gt;, the governor of Punjab, who was a fierce critic of the law.&lt;br /&gt;Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters in the capital, Islamabad, that&amp;nbsp;he  has no intention of amending the law, which calls for the death penalty  for anyone who insults the Prophet Muhammad.&lt;br /&gt;Gilani made the announcement on Sunday after speaking to the leader of one of the country's largest religious parties.&lt;br /&gt;"I spoke to Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman on the phone. He asked whether we are making any amendments to the law," Gilani said.&lt;br /&gt;"I have said it categorically before, and then the minister of  religious affairs also gave a clarification that the government has no  such intention."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'No compromise'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His comments came just hours after &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/01/201119131549923392.html"&gt;tens of thousands of people turned out for a rally&lt;/a&gt; organised by Pakistan's religious parties in Karachi on Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;Speakers at the rally warned the government against making any  changes to the law, while others condoned the murder of Punjab governor  Taseer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;      &lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said the protests in Karachi were a 'sign of an increasingly polarised country'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;Qari Ahsaan, from the banned group Jamaat ud Dawa, addressed&amp;nbsp;the  rally from a&amp;nbsp;stage, saying: "We can't compromise on the blasphemy law.  It's a divine law and nobody can change it.&lt;br /&gt;"Our belief in the sanctity of our prophet is firm and uncompromising  and we cannot tolerate anyone who blasphemes. Whoever blasphemes will  face the same fate as Salman Taseer."&lt;br /&gt;Taseer was killed in the capital, Islamabad, last Tuesday over his  views in favour of the blasphemy law's amendment. That liberal stance  offended the country's increasingly powerful conservative religious  base.&lt;br /&gt;Meanwhile, the hunt for Taseer's replacement as Punjab governor  continued, with Pakistani media reporting that a new appointment could  be announced later on Monday.&lt;br /&gt;Sardar Latif Khosa, Pakistan's former attorney-general and a member of parliament, is the front-runner for the job.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Deep fault-lines&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The country's blasphemy&amp;nbsp;law was recently used to sentence &lt;a class="InternalLink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/12/2010123120227772847.html"&gt;Asia Bibi,&amp;nbsp;a Christian mother-of-five,&lt;/a&gt;  to death. Politicians and conservative&amp;nbsp;religious leaders&amp;nbsp;have been at  loggerheads over whether&amp;nbsp;Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president,&amp;nbsp;should  pardon her.&lt;br /&gt;Controversy over the law flared when Sherry Rehman, a&amp;nbsp;former  information minister and a senior PPP member, tabled a bill in November  seeking&amp;nbsp;to end the death penalty for blasphemy.&lt;br /&gt;Most of those convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan have their sentences overturned or commuted on appeal through the courts.&lt;br /&gt;Pakistan has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy, but Bibi's case has exposed the deep fault-lines in the conservative country.&lt;br /&gt;Sunday's&amp;nbsp;protesters held banners in support of the police commando  who shot dead Taseer. "Mumtaz Qadri is not a murderer, he is a hero,"  said one banner in the national Urdu language.&lt;br /&gt;"We salute the courage of Qadri," said another.&lt;br /&gt;Omar Waraich, Pakistan correspondent for the UK's Independence newspaper, told Al Jazeera the rally was a "display of muscle".&lt;br /&gt;"This is a muscle-flexing exercise by the religious right in Pakistan  who, after the tragic events of this week when Salman Taseer was  assassinated, they feel emboldened by the fact that there have been many  cheering that tragedy and are now out to make political capital out of  it."&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-7883288154227469257?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/7883288154227469257/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/pakistan-blasphemy-law-to-stand.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7883288154227469257'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/7883288154227469257'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/pakistan-blasphemy-law-to-stand.html' title='Pakistan blasphemy law &apos;to stand&apos;'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-943052623976109933</id><published>2011-02-17T12:15:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-17T12:15:02.494-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Beyond the beards and burqas</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;As the Iraq inquiry and the 7/7 inquest draw to a close, attitudes to Islam in Britain are under scrutiny.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Stefan Simanowitz &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;17 Feb 2011 09:33 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; 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                                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/13/201121320125185633_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Muslim  men in London prepare Iftar, the meal which breaks the Ramadan fast.  Such images stand in contrast to the way Islam is often portrayed as the  religion of "extremists" in mainstream British media [GALLO/GETTY] &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;The most striking scene in Nick Broomfield's powerful 2007 film &lt;em&gt;Battle for Haditha&lt;/em&gt; is not one of violence but love.&lt;br /&gt;A wife calls to her husband from an upstairs window. He comes up to  the bedroom. She removes her hijab. Her hair tumbles over her bare  shoulders. They shower and then make love. The scene is not especially  erotic or intense.&lt;br /&gt;What makes it memorable is the rarity of seeing Muslims depicted in a  normal way, doing normal things, like normal people. Muslims of the  Western popular imagination are too often angry men waving guns or  distraught women wailing beside gravesides. They are terrorists and  suicide bombers. They are patriarchal husbands, violent fathers or  repressed women forced to cover their faces and murdered in the name of  honour.&lt;br /&gt;Over the next few months, two inquiries that go to the heart of  Britain's relationship with Islam, both at home and abroad, will publish  reports. Although neither the Iraq inquiry, which drew to an end this  month, nor the ongoing inquest into the 7/7 bombings, will explore this  complex relationship in any concrete way, it is nevertheless this  relationship that provides the essential context through which we may  come closer to an understanding of these events and of wider societal  trends.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Blair's plea&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Towards the end of his testimony at the Iraq inquiry in January, Tony  Blair, Britain's former prime minister,&amp;nbsp;veered away from a question put  to him by a member of the panel to make an impassioned plea.&lt;br /&gt;"The West has got to get out of this wretched posture of apology for  believing we are responsible for what ... these extremists are doing. We  are not," he said.&lt;br /&gt;"The fact is that they are doing it because they disagree  fundamentally with our way of life and they will carry on doing it  unless they are met by the requisite determination and, if necessary,  force."&lt;br /&gt;This insight into Blair's worldview shows not only that he harbours  no regrets about the Iraq war and believes there is much killing still  to be done, but also provides a clear thumbnail exposition of his  rationale.&lt;br /&gt;Rather than acknowledging the unsettling existence of a multitude of  radicalised groups living in our midst and scattered across the globe,  Blair prefers to view the West as facing a single enemy. Indeed, using  the words "extremists", "Islamists" and "al-Qaeda" interchangeably, the  Middle East peace envoy stopped just short of calling for war on Iran.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;They're all out to get 'us'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The former prime minister does not differentiate between extremists -  and believes any attempt to try to comprehend the reasons for their  murderous rage is futile.&lt;br /&gt;Instead, he takes the much more comforting view that they are "at war  with civilisation". We are being targeted, so the reasoning goes,  because we are too civilised.&lt;br /&gt;This simplistic view, so often repeated, has gained currency in the  British popular imagination. Indeed, for most Britons, July 7, 2005,  will be remembered as the day that al-Qaeda terrorists attacked London.&lt;br /&gt;But five-and-a-half years on, no link has been established between  the 7/7 bombers and al-Qaeda. While it is possible that two of the  bombers, Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan, may have visited  training camps in Pakistan and met with al-Qaeda operatives, there is no  firm evidence of this.&lt;br /&gt;Last year a report from the Centre for Social Cohesion analysing  Islamist terrorist offences in Britain over the past decade found that  only 14.5 per cent of terrorism offenders had links with al-Qaeda. And  yet, despite this, a belief persists that most Islamic jihadist attacks,  including the 7/7 bombings, are somehow masterminded by al Qaeda.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Al-Qaeda 'doesn't exist'&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to Alain Bauer, professor of criminology and terrorism  specialist, al-Qaeda as it is commonly depicted, does not exist. "It is  not like a James Bond movie where they are villains based in a volcano,"  he tells me. "Rather, al-Qaeda is more like a mutual organisation or a  franchise."&lt;br /&gt;Bauer believes the "invention" of al-Qaeda results from a very human  desire to put a name and a face to an otherwise unknowable enemy. But  "knowing thine enemy" should extend beyond knowing his name and what he  looks like. It should also involve a genuine attempt to understand why  it is he wants to destroy you.&lt;br /&gt;Despite having given a name to our enemy, Western populations do not  feel more secure. Al-Qaeda remains an unknown and unquantifiable force.&lt;br /&gt;The resultant pervasive sense of fear has allowed us to accept the  incursion of the surveillance state, the loss of many hard won freedoms  and a foreign policy which now regards as justified pre-emptive attacks  on states - in breach of international law. Indeed, a key failing of the  Iraq inquiry has been its failure to ask not just about the existence  of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but about the evidence of intent to  use them and evidence of imminent attack.&lt;br /&gt;While the taking of innocent life can never be justified or excused,  understanding the causes of Islamic extremism is clearly essential if we  are to stop its rise. It may be comforting to believe that we in the  West are being targeted because we are 'too civilised", but the reality  is much more complex. In times of austerity, it is common for people to  find convenient scapegoats on whom to vent their frustration and angry.  Minority or immigrant populations have traditionally fulfilled this role  and if we are not careful, the coincidence of rising unemployment,  declining social welfare provision and growing anti-Islamic sentiment  create a "perfect storm".&lt;br /&gt;The lessons we must take from the 2003 invasion of Iraq and from the  7/7 bombings must go beyond those of operational effectiveness and good  governance. While we should not be apologetic, we should also not be  blinkered. We need to challenge lazy simplifications and stereotypes. We  must look behind the beards and the burqas and recognise our common  humanity.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-943052623976109933?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/943052623976109933/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/beyond-beards-and-burqas.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/943052623976109933'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/943052623976109933'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/beyond-beards-and-burqas.html' title='Beyond the beards and burqas'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-2551432031208160958</id><published>2011-02-13T12:08:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-13T12:08:26.329-08:00</updated><title type='text'>14 Things Your Eyes Say About Your Health</title><content type='html'>&lt;h1&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div class="hl-byline"&gt;By Paula Spencer, Caring.com&lt;br /&gt;Thu, Feb 03, 2011&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); clear: both; float: right; margin-top: 3px; padding-left: 5px;"&gt;                     &lt;style&gt;.at300bs, .at300bs.at15t_compact { background-image: none; }&lt;/style&gt;       &lt;div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style"&gt;          &lt;div style="border-right: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; padding: 2px 5px;"&gt;   &lt;a class="addthis_button_email" href="" style="background: url(&amp;quot;/partner/yahoohealth/images/sprite_main-HL.png&amp;quot;) no-repeat scroll -106px -2px transparent; cursor: pointer; font-size: 10px; line-height: 12px; padding-left: 20px;" title="Email"&gt;Send&lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://health.yahoo.net/partner/yahoohealth/images/clear.gif" style="background: url(&amp;quot;/partner/yahoohealth/images/sprite_main-HL.png&amp;quot;) no-repeat scroll -39px -1px transparent; height: 6px; margin-left: 3px; width: 10px;" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: left; padding: 0px 5px;"&gt;   &lt;a class="addthis_button_compact" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;amp;username=xa-4bc749c249b0232c" style="background: url(&amp;quot;/partner/yahoohealth/images/sprite_main-HL.png&amp;quot;) no-repeat scroll -106px -39px transparent; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 20px;"&gt;Share&lt;span&gt;&lt;img src="http://health.yahoo.net/partner/yahoohealth/images/clear.gif" style="background: url(&amp;quot;/partner/yahoohealth/images/sprite_main-HL.png&amp;quot;) no-repeat scroll -39px -1px transparent; height: 6px; margin-left: 3px; width: 10px;" /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; height: 21px; padding: 0px 5px;"&gt;           &lt;a href="" style="background: url(&amp;quot;/partner/yahoohealth/images/sprite_main-HL.png&amp;quot;) no-repeat scroll -106px -20px transparent; font-size: 10px; line-height: 16px; padding-left: 20px;"&gt;Print&lt;/a&gt;         &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="float: right;"&gt;           &lt;style type="text/css"&gt;.yahooBuzzBadge a span:first-child { background-image: url("/partner/yahoohealth/images/buzz.gif") ! important; background-position: left top; background-repeat: no-repeat ! important; height: 16px ! important; margin-top: 2px; }.yahooBuzzBadge a { width: 140px ! important; }&lt;/style&gt;           &lt;span class="yahooBuzzBadge yahooBuzzBadge-small-votes" id="yahooBuzzBadge-74319602521297627583007"&gt;&lt;a href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=y_health&amp;amp;guid=%252Fcaring%252F14-things-your-eyes-say-about-your-health&amp;amp;targetUrl=" style="display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 159px;" title="Vote for your favorite stories on Yahoo! Buzz"&gt;&lt;span style="background: url(&amp;quot;http://l.yimg.com/ds/orion/1.0.15.59/img/badge-small-en.png&amp;quot;) no-repeat scroll left top transparent; cursor: pointer; display: block; float: left; height: 0pt; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 22px; text-indent: -999em; width: 74px;"&gt;Buzz up!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="yahooBuzzBadge-74319602521297627583007-form-votes" style="color: #666666; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 22px; padding-left: 4px; text-align: left; width: 82px;"&gt;&lt;em style="font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;"&gt;8&lt;/em&gt; votes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;         &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div data-rapid_m="hl-div-threecol-lc-lc" id="hl-div-threecol-lc-lc"&gt;     &lt;div class="hl-box"&gt;     &lt;div class="hl-box-header"&gt;Related Articles&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="hl-box-white-border"&gt;       &lt;div class="hl-box-content"&gt;         &lt;ul class="hl-bullets-blue hl-widgets-list"&gt;&lt;li&gt;               &lt;a data-rapid_p="1" href="http://health.yahoo.net/galecontent/photocoagulation-therapy/4#diagnosis"&gt;Photocoagulation Therapy : Diagnosis&lt;/a&gt;               &lt;div class="hl-byline div-padding-t-xsmall"&gt;Gale Encyclopedia of Surgery&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;               &lt;a data-rapid_p="2" href="http://health.yahoo.net/galecontent/photocoagulation-therapy"&gt;Photocoagulation Therapy&lt;/a&gt;               &lt;div class="hl-byline div-padding-t-xsmall"&gt;Gale Encyclopedia of Surgery&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;               &lt;a data-rapid_p="3" href="http://health.yahoo.net/galecontent/strabismus-1"&gt;Strabismus&lt;/a&gt;               &lt;div class="hl-byline div-padding-t-xsmall"&gt;Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;a class="hl-link-more" data-rapid_p="4" href="http://health.yahoo.net/search?st=articles&amp;amp;q1=Ophthalmologist"&gt;More Articles »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="hl-box"&gt;    &lt;div class="hl-box-header"&gt;Related Topics&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="hl-box-white-border"&gt;      &lt;div class="hl-box-content"&gt;        &lt;ul class="hl-bullets-blue hl-widgets-list"&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a data-rapid_p="5" href="http://health.yahoo.net/channel/albinism.html"&gt;Albinism&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a data-rapid_p="6" href="http://health.yahoo.net/channel/lazy-eye.html"&gt;Lazy Eye&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div class="clear-both"&gt;&lt;a class="hl-link-more" data-rapid_p="7" href="http://health.yahoo.net/directory/health-channels"&gt;Health Topics »&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="hl-box" id="hl-search-small"&gt;       &lt;div class="hl-box-header"&gt;Health Search&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="hl-box-white-border"&gt;         &lt;div class="hl-box-content" style="padding-right: 12px;"&gt;           &lt;h3&gt;Drug Search&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://health.yahoo.net/drug_directory"&gt;Explore and compare&lt;/a&gt; medications         &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div data-rapid_m="hl-div-threecol-lc-rc" id="hl-div-threecol-lc-rc"&gt;     &lt;div class="hl-content" id="yh_nav_body"&gt; Looking people straight in the eye may or may not reveal their  honesty -- but the eyes *can* tell you about cholesterol, liver disease,  or diabetes, if you know what to look for.&lt;br /&gt;"The eye is a unique window into health," says ophthalmologist Andrew  Iwach, spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and  executive director of the Glaucoma Center of San Francisco. "It's the  only place in the body where, without surgery, we can look in and see  veins, arteries, and a nerve (the optic nerve)."&lt;br /&gt;The eyes' transparency explains why common eye diseases such as  glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration can be detected early with  regular eye exams.&lt;br /&gt;"Unfortunately, people get busy and delay not only eye exams but  regular physicals. That's why eye doctors sometimes discover other  issues, like diabetes or high blood pressure," Iwach says. Especially  vulnerable, he says: People like caregivers, who worry about others  around them while neglecting care for themselves.&lt;br /&gt;Keep your eye out for these 14 problems.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a data-rapid_p="1" href="http://www.caring.com/articles/7-things-teeth-say-about-health?utm_medium=partner&amp;amp;utm_source=yahoo"&gt;7 Things Your Teeth Say About Your Health&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;  &lt;strong&gt;1. Red flag: Disappearing eyebrows&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Shaved eyebrows are a fad  (or fashion, if you will) in some circles. But when the outer third of  the brow (the part closest to the ears) starts to disappear on its own,  this is a common sign of thyroid disease -- either hyperthyroidism  (overactive thyroid gland) or hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid  gland). The thyroid is a small but critical gland that helps regulate  metabolism, and thyroid hormones are among those critical to hair  production.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Brows tend to thin with age  naturally. But with thyroid disease, the brow-hair loss isn't evenly  distributed; it's a selective dropout on the ends. There's usually a  loss of hair elsewhere on the body, too, but the brows are so prominent,  it's often noticed here first. Early graying is a related sign of a  thyroid problem. Women are more often affected than men, and  hyperthyroidism especially strikes women in their 20s and 30s.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Mention this symptom to a  dermatologist or your regular doctor. Most other symptoms of both hyper-  and hypothyroidism are notoriously broad and general. Before you see a  doctor, make note of any other changes you've noticed, possibly  concerning weight, energy levels, bowel or menstrual regularity, mood,  or skin changes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Red flag: A stye that won't go away&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The vast majority of the  time, a small, raised, often reddish bump along the inner or outer  eyelid margin is just an unsightly but innocuous stye (also called a  "chalazion"). But if the spot doesn't clear up in three months, or seems  to keep recurring in the same location, it can also be a rare cancer  (sebaceous gland carcinoma).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Actual styes are plugged-up oil  glands at the eyelash follicle. Fairly common, they tend to clear up  within a month. A cancerous cyst that mimics a stye, on the other hand,  doesn't go away. (Or it may seem to go away but return in the same  spot.) Another eyelid cancer warning sign: Loss of some of the eyelashes  around the stye.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Point out a persistent stye to  an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor who specializes in the eye). A  biopsy can confirm the diagnosis. The stye is usually removed  surgically.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Red flag: Bumpy yellowish patches on the eyelid&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;Xanthelasma palpebra&lt;/em&gt;, the medical name for these tiny yellow  bumps, are usually a warning that you may have high cholesterol. They're  also called "cholesterol bumps" -- they're basically fatty deposits.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Sometimes people mistake these  bumps for a stye, but with xanthelasma, there tends to be more than one  bump and they're quite small.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; See your doctor or a skin or eye specialist. A diagnosis can usually be made by &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_85"&gt;sight&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;. An ophthalmologist can also &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_87"&gt;examine the eye&lt;/a&gt;  and see deposits; for this reason, in fact, sometimes high cholesterol  is first diagnosed during a routine eye exam. The problem usually isn't  serious and doesn't cause pain or vision problems. A physician will also  evaluate you for other signs of coronary artery disease.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Red flag: Burning eyes, blurry vision while using a computer&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; You might be a  workaholic, and you definitely have "computer vision syndrome" (CVS).  The eyestrain is partly caused by the lack of contrast on a computer  screen (compared with ink on paper) and the extra work involved in &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_99"&gt;focusing&lt;/a&gt;  on pixels of light. What's more, by midlife the eyes lose some of their  ability to produce lubricating tears. Irritation sets in, adding to  blurriness and discomfort.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Does the problem worsen in the  afternoon (when the eyes tend to become drier)? Is it worse when you're  reading fine print (more eyestrain)? People who wear glasses or contacts  tend to be bothered more by CVS. "Sometimes the problem is made worse  by a fan positioned so it blows right in the face," the AAO's Iwach  adds, noting that the air further dries tired eyes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Reduce glare by closing window  shades, investing in a computer hood, or checking out antireflective  coating for your glasses (if you wear them). Simply tinkering with the  contrast of your screen can help, too. White areas should neither glow  brightly like a light source nor appear gray. Flat-panel LCD display  screens (like those on laptops) cause less eyestrain than older models.  Keep reference material close to the same height as your monitor, giving  your eyes a break from having to refocus so much.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. Red flag: Increasing gunk in the eye&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Blepharitis -- inflammation  of the eyelids, especially at the edges -- can have several causes. Two  of them, surprisingly, are conditions better associated with other body  parts: scalp dandruff and acne rosacea (which causes flushed red skin,  usually in the faces of fair-skinned women at midlife).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The eyes may also feel  irritated, as if specks have gotten in them. They may burn, tear, or  feel dry. The crusty debris tends to gather in the lashes or the inner  corners of the eyes, or even on the lids.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; With clean hands, apply a  warm, damp washcloth to the eyes for about five minutes at a time to  loosen debris and soothe the skin. See a doctor, who may prescribe an  antibiotic ointment or oral &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_129"&gt;antibiotics&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span&gt;, as well as &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_130"&gt;artificial tears&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6. Red flag: A small blind spot in your vision, with shimmering lights or a wavy line&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; An &lt;em&gt;ocular migraine&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt;  (also called an "ophthalmic migraine," "optical migraine," or "migraine  aura") produces this disturbed vision, with or without an accompanying &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_140"&gt;headache&lt;/a&gt;. Changes in blood flow to the brain are thought to be the cause.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The visual distortion starts in  the center of the field of vision. It might appear as a bright dot,  dots, or a line that can seem to move and disrupt your ability to see  properly, as if you were looking through a pocked or cracked window.  It's painless and causes no lasting damage. Individuals seem to have  different triggers (ranging from chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol to  stress). A headache, possibly severe enough to cause nausea, sometimes  follows.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; If you're driving, pull  over until the phenomenon passes (usually within an hour). Do have an  eye specialist check it out if vision impairment lasts more than an hour  or so, to rule out serious problems such as a retinal tear; or if you  also experience other symptoms elsewhere that could indicate stroke or  seizure (such as fever, loss of muscle strength, or &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_160"&gt;speech impairment&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7. Red flag: Red, itchy eyes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; Many things can  irritate eyes, but itchiness accompanied by sneezing, coughing, sinus  congestion, and/or a runny nose, usually screams "I'm allergic!" When  the eyes are involved, the trigger is usually airborne, like &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_172"&gt;pollen&lt;/a&gt;, dust, or animal dander.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; An eye allergy can also  be caused by certain cosmetics or ointments. Some people, for example,  are allergic to the preservative in &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_177"&gt;eye drops&lt;/a&gt; used to treat dry eyes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span&gt; Staying away from the allergic trigger is the usual treatment. &lt;a class="hl-navLink" href="" id="hlnavlink_179"&gt;Antihistamines&lt;/a&gt;  can treat the itchiness; those in eye-drop or gel form deliver relief  to the eyes faster. If the problem turns out to be an allergy to eye  drops, look for a preservative-free brand.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8. Red flag: Whites of the eye turned yellowish&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Two groups of people most  often show this symptom, known as jaundice: Newborns with immature liver  function and adults with problems of the liver, gallbladder, or bile  ducts, including hepatitis and cirrhosis. The yellow in the white part  of the eye (the &lt;em&gt;sclera&lt;/em&gt;) is caused by a buildup of bilirubin, the by-product of old red blood cells the liver can't process.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; "Other tissues of the body  would have the same look, but we can't see it as clearly as in the  whites of the eye," says ophthalmologist Iwach. (Skin can also turn  yellowish when a person consumes too much beta carotene -- found in  carrots -- but in those cases the whites of the eyes remain white.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Mention the symptom to a doctor  if the person isn't already under care for a liver-related disease, so  the jaundice can be evaluated and the underlying cause treated.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9. Red flag: A bump or brown spot on the eyelid&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Even people who are vigilant  about checking their skin may overlook the eyelid as a spot where skin  cancer can strike. Most malignant eyelid tumors are basal cell  carcinoma. When such a tumor appears as a brown spot, then -- as with  any other form of skin cancer -- it's more likely to be malignant  melanoma.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Elderly, fair-skinned people  are at highest risk. Look especially at the lower eyelid. The bump may  look pearly, with tiny blood vessels. If the bump is in the eyelash  area, some eyelashes may be missing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Always have any suspicious skin  spots or sores checked out by a dermatologist, family physician, or eye  doctor. Early detection is critical, before the problem spreads to  nearby lymph nodes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10. Red flag: Eyes that seem to bulge&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The most common cause of  protruding eyes is hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid gland),  especially the form known as Graves' disease. (First Lady Barbara Bush  had it.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; One way to tell if an eye is  bulging is to see whether there's any visible white part between the top  of the iris and the upper eyelid, because normally there shouldn't be.  (Some people inherit a tendency toward eyes that bulge, so if the  appearance seems to run in a family, it probably isn't hyperthyroidism.)  The person may not blink often and may seem to be staring at you.  Because the condition develops slowly, it's sometimes first noticed in  photos or by the occasional visitor rather than by someone who lives  with the person every day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Mention the symptom to a  doctor, especially if it's present in tandem with other signs of Graves'  disease, including blurry vision, restlessness, fatigue, increase in  appetite, weight loss, tremors, and palpitations. A blood test can  measure thyroid levels. Treatment includes medication and surgery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11. Red flag: Sudden double vision, dim vision, or loss of vision&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; These are the visual warning signs of stroke.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The other signs of stroke  include sudden numbness or weakness of the arm or leg or face, typically  on just one side of the body; trouble walking because of dizziness or  loss of balance or coordination; slurred speech; or bad headache. In a  large stroke (caused by a blood clot or bleeding in the brain), these  symptoms happen all at once. In a smaller stroke caused by narrowed  arteries, they can occur across a longer period of minutes or hours.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Seek immediate medical help by calling 911.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;12. Red flag: Dry eyes that are sensitive to light&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Sjogren's (pronounced  "show-grins") syndrome is an immune system disorder. It impairs the  glands in the eyes and mouth that keep them moist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Sjogren's usually affects women  over age 40 with autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or  lupus. Usually the eyes and mouth are affected together. The person may  also have vaginal dryness, dry sinuses, and dry skin. Because of a lack  of saliva, it can be difficult to chew and swallow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; A doctor can diagnose Sjogren's  through testing. Artificial lubricants (such as artificial tears) are  usually necessary to protect the eyes, as well as to improve eating.  Drinking plenty of water also helps.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;13. Red flag: Sudden difficulty closing one eye, inability to control tears in it&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Bell's palsy is an  impairment of the nerve that controls facial muscles (the seventh  cranial nerve), causing temporary paralysis in half the face. It  sometimes follows a viral infection (such as shingles, mono, or HIV) or a  bacterial infection (such as Lyme disease). Diabetics and pregnant  women are also at higher risk.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Half of the entire face, not  just the eye, is affected. Effects vary from person to person, but the  overall effect is for the face to appear droopy and be weak. The eyelid  may droop and be difficult or impossible to close, and there will be  either excessive tearing or an inability to produce tears. The effects  tend to come on suddenly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; See a doctor. Most cases are  temporary and the person recovers completely within weeks. Rarely, the  condition can recur. Physical therapy helps restore speaking, smiling,  and other tasks that require the facial muscles working in unison, and  it also helps avoid an asymmetrical appearance. Professional eye care  can keep the affected eye lubricated and undamaged.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;14. Red flag: Blurred vision in a diabetic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What it means:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Diabetics are at increased  risk for several eye problems, including glaucoma and cataracts. But the  most common threat to vision is diabetic retinopathy, in which the  diabetes affects the circulatory system of the eye. It's the leading  cause of blindness in American adults.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More clues:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; The changes linked to diabetic  retinopathy tend to show up in people who have had the disease for a  long time, not those recently diagnosed. The person may also see  "floaters," tiny dark specks in the field of vision. Sometimes diabetes  causes small hemorrhages (bleeding) that are visible in the eye. There's  no pain. People with poorly controlled blood sugar may have worse  symptoms.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to do:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; Someone with diabetes should  have a dilated eye exam annually to catch and control the earliest  stages of retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, or other changes -- &lt;em&gt;before&lt;/em&gt; they manifest as changes you're aware of.&amp;nbsp;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-2551432031208160958?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/2551432031208160958/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/14-things-your-eyes-say-about-your.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/2551432031208160958'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/2551432031208160958'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/14-things-your-eyes-say-about-your.html' title='14 Things Your Eyes Say About Your Health'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-5268227971144037984</id><published>2011-02-13T12:04:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-13T12:04:29.066-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Israel's options after Mubarak</title><content type='html'>&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr id="trHeadline"&gt;&lt;td class="articleTitle" valign="top"&gt;&lt;span id="DetailedTitle"&gt;                 &lt;/span&gt;             &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="Tmp_hSpace10"&gt;                              &lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td&gt;                 &lt;div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock"&gt;                     &lt;div class="articleSumm" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"&gt;Egypt's new rulers will have to be more responsive to the public will and Israel could use this as an opportunity.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="Tmp_hSpace5"&gt;                                              &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvByLine_Date"&gt;                         &lt;span class="byLine" id="ctl00_cphBody_dvByLine"&gt;  Daniel Levy&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id="dvArticleDate"&gt;                             Last Modified: &lt;span id="ctl00_cphBody_lblDate"&gt;13 Feb 2011 11:25 GMT&lt;/span&gt;                         &lt;/span&gt;                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="dvToolsList"&gt;     &lt;div id="toolsEmail" style="float: left; 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                                     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;         &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;             &lt;td class="DetailedSummary"&gt;                 &lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 33px;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/2/13/201121391853577371_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt; &lt;td align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Israel considered Mubarak's regime a lynchpin for its regional power [AFP]&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt; &lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt; &lt;/table&gt;After almost thirty years, President Hosni Mubarak is gone.&lt;br /&gt;For the people of Egypt and especially those with the courage to have  taken to the streets it is no doubt a day that is impossible to put  into words. For the rest of us, a day of awe, celebration and  inspiration.&lt;br /&gt;Some, however, have probably not summoned up too broad a smile today –  the other non-democratic regimes of the Middle East for instance.  Interestingly, Israel too belongs on that list of the  "not-exactly-thrilled".&lt;br /&gt;Israel has long made much of its claim to being the only democracy in  the Middle East, it now seems that the claim was more an aspiration  rather than a lamentation. Israel has been clinging dearly to the  Mubarak regime, and encouraging others - notably the US -&amp;nbsp;to do  likewise.&lt;br /&gt;Despite claims to the contrary, Mubarak's Egypt was far from being a  regional linchpin for security and stability, for moderate governance,  or even for economic success. The country's harsh security regime  produced terrorists and a rallying cry for extremists. Its  authoritarianism made a mockery of the tag "moderate," and its economy  is today a quarter the size of Turkey's, though both countries &lt;br /&gt;have populations of similar size.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Israeli interests&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact America's previous role as a guarantor of the Mubarak regime  should be considered counterproductive to American interests, especially  since the end of the&amp;nbsp;Cold War.&lt;br /&gt;But Mubarak's Egypt was a lynchpin for something else – namely  Israel's ability to pursue a hard-line regional policy with near  impunity.&lt;br /&gt;When&amp;nbsp;Binyamin Netanyahu (or his predecessors) needed to revive his  "man of peace" credentials he could always pop over to Sharm el-Sheikh  for a hug-in with his friend Hosni.&amp;nbsp;When Israel needed the Arab world to  turn a blind eye to entrenched occupation and settlements or harsh  military adventurism, then it would be Hosni taking the lead in diluting  any Arab response.&lt;br /&gt;For years that strategy paid off for the now-deposed Egyptian leader –  it made Mubarak relevant, even indispensable for successive US  governments desperately trying to balance their indulgence for  outlandish Israeli behavior with a desire to retain some semblance of  credibility in the Arab world. The latter of course never happened, but  America was too busy listening to unelected leaders rather than to their  publics.&lt;br /&gt;Trying to keep this equation in play is what brings many Israeli  officials (and others in the region, the US and beyond) to now push for  continued military, as opposed to civilian control.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mutual benefits&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As of today, the new equation is simple and it is this - those  governing Egypt will henceforth have to be more responsive to the public  will.&lt;br /&gt;Some have suggested that Israeli concern is focused on avoiding a  revocation of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. It is not. Insisting on  Egyptian adherence to the peace treaty with Israel is a legitimate  position, has international support, and also accords with both Israeli  and Egyptian interests.&lt;br /&gt;The treaty has saved lives on both sides, neither of which relishes  the prospect of renewed military conflagration. The treaty can be  sustained.&lt;br /&gt;Israel’s real concerns lie elsewhere.&lt;br /&gt;There were a set of regional policies pursued by the Mubarak regime  which lacked popular legitimacy. These included the closure imposed on  Gaza, support for the Iraq war and for heightened bellicosity toward  Iran, and playing ceremonial chaperone to an Israeli-Palestinian peace  process that became farcical and discredited.&lt;br /&gt;Arguably these policies were also misguided for Israel. For an Egypt  reflecting the popular will, such policies&amp;nbsp;make absolutely no sense and  are therefore likely to be discontinued.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dignity in rebellion&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, the January 25 democracy protests were about economic  conditions, domestic governance issues and freedom, but a part of the  democracy deficit in Egypt was also a dignity deficit, and these Israeli  designed policies for the region appeared undignified and anti-Arab to  the Egyptian public.&lt;br /&gt;When Egypt first made peace with Israel it was criticised at home and  in the region for going it alone, for abandoning the Palestinian and  broader Arab cause. Had the Israeli-Egyptian peace been followed by a  regional peace then this narrative would likely have disappeared, but in  the absence of comprehensive peace it was a critique that seemed to be  vindicated.&lt;br /&gt;To the 1978 Camp David Accords was attached an annex entitled "A  Framework for Peace in the Middle East," which included a commitment&amp;nbsp;for  Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories and&amp;nbsp;for negotiating  final status within five years. That of course never happened.&lt;br /&gt;What did happen is that the 10,000 Israeli settlers living in the  West Bank when that accord was signed have become over 300,000 today.&lt;br /&gt;Indeed, whether by design or not, the peace treaty with Egypt ushered  in the era of the Israeli "free hand" in the region. Even though it has  not delivered real security for Israel and has encouraged an Israeli  hubris that can be both dangerous and self-destructive, that era of  hegemony is something that Israelis are instinctively uncomfortable  about losing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Raw power&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A popular Israeli refrain is that the peace with Egypt has  neutralised any serious Arab military option vis-a-vis Israel. That the  same cannot be said in reverse understandably irks the Arab street.  Since signing the accord with Egypt, Israel has conducted several  large-scale military campaigns against Lebanon and against the  Palestinians, launched bombing raids against Syria and Iraq, and  conducting high-profile assassinations in Jordan and the UAE - and that  is only a partial list.&lt;br /&gt;This deep regional disequilibrium, one that became more rooted under  Mubarak's Egypt, is, understandably, both unpopular and unacceptable to a  majority of Arab public opinion.&lt;br /&gt;Maintaining the peace treaty with Egypt has morphed over time. The  peace process under&amp;nbsp;Mubarak's tenure&amp;nbsp;has ultimately entrenched  occupation and settlements and made a mockery of its Arab participants.&lt;br /&gt;Post-transition Egypt is unlikely to continue playing this game. And  without Mubarak's enthusiastic endorsement, the process itself is likely  to further unravel. It is hard to imagine other Arab states leaping  into this breach, or the Palestinians accepting 20 more years of  peace-process humiliation, or indeed of Syria adopting the Egyptian  model and signing a stand-alone peace agreement with Israel.&lt;br /&gt;Israel's strategic environment is about to change. Israel’s options  would appear to be narrowing. Thus far Israeli establishment voices have  discussed two options. One has been to dig in, to fear-monger, to  convince the West that Israel is its outpost of stability in a sea of  hostility, and to hope the military stays in power and democracy is  tamed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New options&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, "might" is the answer. The  second approach advocates an urgent return to the peace process. Neither  will work. The first will exacerbate Israel's predicament, and the  second is too little too late.&lt;br /&gt;Israel has a third option, albeit one that is dramatic and out of  synch with today's zeitgeist. It would be perhaps Israel's best and last  chance for a two-state solution. While it would involve cutting  Israel’s losses, it would also have the potential of unleashing huge  benefits - economic, security and more, for an Israel accepted as part  of the tapestry of a democratic Middle East.&lt;br /&gt;Broadly speaking, this option has three components. First, an Israeli  withdrawal to the pre-1967 armistice lines almost without preconditions  or exceptions - minor, equitable and agreed-upon land swaps and  international security guarantees could fall into the latter category.&lt;br /&gt;Second, Israel should undertake an act of genuine acknowledgement of  the dispossession and displacement visited on the Palestinian people,  including compensating refugees where appropriate, and thus set in  motion the possibility of reconciliation. Third, there needs to be a  clear Israeli commitment to full equality for all of its citizens,  notably including removal of the structural barriers to full civil  rights for the Palestinian Arab minority.&lt;br /&gt;Admittedly, this is a path less traveled and one likely to remain so,  and while the alternatives to this path may well include democracy in  the region, they could preclude a future for the State of Israel.&lt;br /&gt;Much will also depend on the next steps that Palestinian leaders  take. It would be a strategic error of momentous proportions to revive  the old and failed modalities of the peace process. Albeit both  belatedly and driven by external developments, it is time for a  reunified Palestinian national movement and a renewed and relevant  Palestinian strategy for freedom to emerge.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-5268227971144037984?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/5268227971144037984/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/israels-options-after-mubarak.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5268227971144037984'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/5268227971144037984'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/israels-options-after-mubarak.html' title='Israel&apos;s options after Mubarak'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-1047923216518331722</id><published>2011-02-13T12:00:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-13T12:00:27.444-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Egypt's military rulers dissolve parliament</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="hd"&gt;                                    &lt;h1 id="yn-title"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 20px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Egyptians-celebrate-end-Mubarak-rule/ss/events/wl/021111cairofirework"&gt;&lt;img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/a/58/a5836f5ae4493f17908872d9e84de897.jpeg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221);" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div align="right" style="margin-top: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"&gt;&lt;cite id="captionCite"&gt;AP Photo/Ben Curtis&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;cite align="left" class="byline"&gt;Young  Egyptians take photographs of themselves standing in front of  newly-painted murals on a street leading off from Tahrir Square in  downtown Cairo, Egypt. &lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Egyptians-celebrate-end-Mubarak-rule/ss/events/wl/021111cairofirework"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #0058a6;"&gt;More photos »&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a class="provider-logo ult-section" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=11f589428/**http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ap.org%2Ftermsandconditions" id="yn-prvdlink"&gt; 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        &amp;nbsp;–&amp;nbsp;Interview with Ehud Barak        &lt;/cite&gt;     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="yn-story-minor-media"&gt;              &lt;ul class="list2 list6 size1 ult-section" id="yn-story-related-links"&gt;&lt;li class="ult-position first slideshow"&gt;                 &lt;a class="media media1" href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Egyptians-celebrate-end-Mubarak-rule/ss/events/wl/021111cairofirework"&gt;             &lt;img alt="Egyptians celebrate end of Mubarak rule" height="50" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20110212/thumb.2596f0dc298b470799edcc6029140055-2596f0dc298b470799edcc6029140055-0.jpg?x=50&amp;amp;y=50&amp;amp;xc=23&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=86&amp;amp;hc=86&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=s0juZFRCtw5IoLucHeMsKQ--" width="50" /&gt;                                  &lt;/a&gt;                          &lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Egyptians-celebrate-end-Mubarak-rule/ss/events/wl/021111cairofirework"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Slideshow:&lt;/strong&gt;Egyptians celebrate end of Mubarak rule&lt;/a&gt; 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                &lt;cite&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/abc-news/good-morning-america;_ylt=AoKyNX45hKHNZ4a61Tj.1i4UewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTFjbWRpYW11BHBvcwMxMARzZWMDeW5fcl8zc2xvdF92aWRlbwRzbGsDdmlkLWV2LXByb3Zp"&gt;ABC News&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/cite&gt;             &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="secondary-media ult-section"&gt;                              &lt;div class="ult-section" id="yn-story-secondary"&gt;     &lt;a class="media" href="http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Remaining-Egyptian-protesters-shout-slogans-surrounded-army-soldiers-trying-lead/photo//110213/481/urn_publicid_ap_org1f417ef84e5e44b4a5f237845a912208//s:/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt"&gt;         &lt;img alt="Remaining Egyptian protesters shout slogans as they are surrounded by army soldiers trying to lead them away from Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Sunda" height="142" src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20110213/capt.cb2c699833cc4faaaf6ad1347435d2ea-1f417ef84e5e44b4a5f237845a912208-0.jpg?x=213&amp;amp;y=142&amp;amp;xc=1&amp;amp;yc=1&amp;amp;wc=409&amp;amp;hc=273&amp;amp;q=85&amp;amp;sig=XWNvjsixkAQ0UQNoQy7x_A--" width="213" /&gt;     &lt;/a&gt;              &lt;cite class="caption"&gt;AP&amp;nbsp;–&amp;nbsp;Remaining Egyptian protesters shout slogans as they are surrounded by army soldiers trying to lead them&amp;nbsp;…&lt;/cite&gt;     &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="byline"&gt;         &lt;cite class="vcard"&gt;         By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press        &lt;span class="fn org"&gt;Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press&lt;/span&gt;     &lt;/cite&gt;     –     &lt;abbr class="recenttimedate" title="2011-02-13T09:13:33-0800"&gt;2&amp;nbsp;hrs&amp;nbsp;41&amp;nbsp;mins&amp;nbsp;ago&lt;/abbr&gt;&lt;/div&gt;CAIRO – Egypt's military leaders dissolved parliament  and suspended the constitution Sunday, meeting two key demands of  protesters who have been keeping up pressure for immediate steps to  transition to democratic, civilian rule after forcing &lt;a class="kLink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt#" id="KonaLink0" target="undefined"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;Hosni &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;Mubarak&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; out of power.&lt;br /&gt;The military rulers who took over when Mubarak  stepped down Friday and the caretaker government set as a top priority  the restoration of security, which collapsed during the 18 days of  protests that toppled the regime. The &lt;a class="kLink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt#" id="KonaLink1" target="undefined"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;caretaker &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;government&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  held its first meeting since the president was ousted and before it  began, workers removed a giant picture of Mubarak from the meeting room.&lt;br /&gt;The protesters had been pressing the ruling military  council, led by Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi, to immediately move  forward with the transition by appointing a presidential council,  dissolving the parliament and releasing political prisoners.&lt;br /&gt;"They have definitely started to offer us what we  wanted," said activist Sally Touma, reflecting a mix of caution and  optimism among the protesters. Thousands have remained in Cairo's  central Tahrir Square to demand immediate steps by the council such as  the repeal of repressive emergency laws that give police broad power.&lt;br /&gt;The suspension of the constitution effectively puts  Egypt under martial law — where the military makes the laws and enforces  them in military tribunals. The ruling council is expected to clarify  the issue in upcoming statements and the role of civilian courts remains  unclear.&lt;br /&gt;Judge Hisham Bastawisi, a reformist judge, said the  latest measures "should open the door for free formation of political  parties and open the way for any Egyptian to run for presidential  elections" which the constitutional amendments are expected to do.&lt;br /&gt;Hossam Bahgat, director of the non-governmental  Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the military's steps were  positive but warned that Egypt was on uncharted legal ground.&lt;br /&gt;"In the absence of a constitution, we have entered a  sort of 'twilight zone' in terms of rules, so we are concerned," he  said. "We are clearly monitoring the situation and will attempt to  influence the transitional phase so as to respect human rights."&lt;br /&gt;The ruling council said it will run the country for six months, or until &lt;a class="kLink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt#" id="KonaLink2" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(54, 99, 136); border-bottom-style: dotted;" target="undefined"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;presidential &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;parliament &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;elections&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  can be held. It said it was forming a committee to amend the  constitution and set the rules for a popular referendum to endorse the  amendments.&lt;br /&gt;Both the lower and upper houses of parliament are  being dissolved. The last parliamentary elections in November and  December were heavily rigged by the ruling party, virtually shutting out  opposition representation.&lt;br /&gt;The caretaker Cabinet, which was appointed by Mubarak  shortly after the pro-democracy protests began on Jan. 25, will remain  in place until a new Cabinet is formed — a step that is not expected to  happen until after elections. The ruling council reiterated that it  would abide by all of Egypt's international treaties agreed in the  Mubarak era, most importantly the &lt;a class="kLink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt#" id="KonaLink3" target="undefined"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;1979 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;peace &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;treaty &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;with &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;Israel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;"Our concern now in the Cabinet is security, to bring  security back to the Egyptian citizen," Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq  told a news conference after the Cabinet meeting.&lt;br /&gt;Shafiq said the military would decide whether Omar  Suleiman, who was appointed vice president by Mubarak in a failed  attempt to appease protesters, would play some role in &lt;a class="kLink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt#" id="KonaLink4" target="undefined"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;Egypt's &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;transition&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;"He might fill an important position in the coming era," the prime minister said.&lt;br /&gt;He also denied rumors that Mubarak had fled to the  United Arab Emirates, saying the former president remained in the Red  Sea resort of &lt;a class="kLink" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110213/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt#" id="KonaLink5" target="undefined"&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;&lt;span class="kLink" style="color: rgb(54, 99, 136) ! important; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; position: static;"&gt;Sharm&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; el-Sheikh. He went there just hours after stepping down.&lt;br /&gt;"In a country like Egypt, with a pharaonic legacy,  having no president and no head of state is not easy," said Amr  el-Shobaky, a member of the Committee of Wise Men — a self-appointed  group of prominent figures who are allied with the protesters.&lt;br /&gt;The police, hated for their brutality and corruption  under decades-old emergency laws, marched Sunday through Tahrir Square  to the Interior Ministry, which oversees them. They demanded better pay  and conditions, but also sought to absolve themselves of responsibility  for the police's attempted crackdown at the start of the protests that  killed many demonstrators.&lt;br /&gt;"You have done this inhuman act," one of the Tahrir protesters said to the police. "We no longer trust you." &lt;br /&gt;Hearing the accusations, Said Abdul-Rahim, a low-ranking officer, broke down in tears. &lt;br /&gt;"I didn't do it. I didn't do it," he implored. "All these orders were coming from senior leaders. This is not our fault. " &lt;br /&gt;About 2,000 police demonstrated, at times scuffling with soldiers who  tried to disperse them. Some troops fired gunshots in the air, but later  withdrew to avoid antagonizing the protesters. A few tanks remained  outside the ministry. &lt;br /&gt;"This is our ministry," the police shouted. "The people and the police  are one hand," they chanted, borrowing an expression for unity. &lt;br /&gt;The interior minister, Mahmoud Wagdy, emerged from the building to talk  to the police through a megaphone. He said they had a right to be angry. &lt;br /&gt;"Give me a chance," he said. &lt;br /&gt;Separately, Egyptian troops scuffled with holdout protesters in Tahrir  Square as the caretaker government sought to impose order, but outbreaks  of labor unrest, including the police protest, underscored the  challenges of steering Egypt toward stability and democratic rule. &lt;br /&gt;There were also protests by workers at a ceramic factory, a textile  factory and at least two banks as Egyptians emboldened by the autocrat's  fall sought to improve their lot in a country where poverty and other  challenges will take years or decades to address. &lt;br /&gt;Troops took down makeshift tents and made some headway in dispersing  protesters who didn't want to abandon their encampment in Tahrir Square,  fearful that the generals entrusted with a transition to democratic  rule will not fulfill all their pledges. &lt;br /&gt;Still, the crowds of protesters were thinning out and traffic moved  through the area for the first time. Many local residents shouted at the  protesters that it was time to go. &lt;br /&gt;The crowd on the square, the center of protests during the 18-day  uprising, was down from a peak of a quarter-million at the height of the  demonstrations to about 10,000 on Sunday. &lt;br /&gt;The Armed Forces Supreme Council is now the official ruler of Egypt  after Mubarak handed it power. It consists of the commanders of each  military branch, the chief of staff and Defense Minister Tantawi, who is  now the top leader of Egypt. &lt;br /&gt;The military took power after pleas from protesters, and it has promised  to ensure democratic change. The institution, however, was tightly  bound to Mubarak's ruling system, and it has substantial economic  interests that it will likely seek to preserve. &lt;br /&gt;Egypt's state news agency said banks will be closed Monday due to strikes and Tuesday for a public holiday&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8625918837892722419-1047923216518331722?l=abuhasanchan.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/feeds/1047923216518331722/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/egypts-military-rulers-dissolve.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1047923216518331722'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8625918837892722419/posts/default/1047923216518331722'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://abuhasanchan.blogspot.com/2011/02/egypts-military-rulers-dissolve.html' title='Egypt&apos;s military rulers dissolve parliament'/><author><name>Abu Hasan Chan</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10010025076722989524</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TYFturlkVBI/S6OJvZl-wpI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Y-IndyZh9p8/S220/pic+1.JPG'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8625918837892722419.post-2796583641323573310</id><published>2011-02-12T09:55:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2011-02-12T09:55:13.589-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Live blog Feb 12 - Egypt protests</title><content type='html'>&lt;div id="blogTitle"&gt;&lt;h2 class="title"&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/11/live-blog-feb-12-egypt-protests"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div id="blogauthordatebox-node"&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;By &lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/profile/al-jazeera-staff" title="View user profile."&gt;Al Jazeera Staff&lt;/a&gt; in &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;ul class="terms-by-vocab"&gt;&lt;li class="0 first last"&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east" rel="tag"&gt;Middle East&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt; on February 11th, 2011.&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="blogpostFeaturedImage"&gt;&lt;img class="imagecache imagecache-blogpostFeaturedImage imagecache-default imagecache-blogpostFeaturedImage_default" src="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/BlogsMainImage/mubarakresigns_1.jpg" /&gt;&lt;div class="photoCaptionDiv"&gt;&lt;span class="photoCaptionSpan"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="blogteaser"&gt;From  our headquarters in Doha, we keep you updated on all things in Egypt,  with reporting from Al Jazeera staff in Cairo and Alexandria. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Live Blog:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/01/28/live-blog-281-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Jan28&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/01/29/live-blog-291-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Jan29&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/01/29/live-blog-301-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Jan30&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/01/30/live-blog-311-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Jan31&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/01/31/live-blog-12-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb1&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/02/01/live-blog-feb-2-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb2&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/02/02/live-blog-feb-3-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb3&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/02/03/live-blog-feb-4-egypt-protests"&gt;Feb4&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/02/04/live-blog-feb-5-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb5&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3491/middle-east/2011/02/05/live-blog-feb-6-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb6&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/06/live-blog-feb-7-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb7&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/07/live-blog-feb-8-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb8&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/08/live-blog-feb-9-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb9&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;- &lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-10-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb10&lt;/a&gt; - &lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-11-egypt-protests" target="_blank"&gt;Feb11&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/anger-in-egypt/" target="_blank"&gt;The Battle for Egypt&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/" target="_blank"&gt;AJE Live Stream&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112515334871490.html" target="_blank"&gt;Timeline&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/photo_galleries/africa/2011125192646189116.html" target="_blank"&gt;Photo Gallery&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112523026521335.html" target="_blank"&gt;AJE Tweets&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://aje.me/edkVMC" target="_blank"&gt;AJE Audio Blogs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(All times are local in Egypt, GMT+2)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:15pm&lt;/strong&gt;  Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has welcomed assurances  from Egypt's military that Cairo will respect its peace treaty with  Israel, a statement from his office said.&lt;br /&gt;"The longstanding  peace treaty between Israel and Egypt has greatly&amp;nbsp;contributed to both  countries and is the cornerstone for peace and stability in&amp;nbsp;the entire  Middle East," the statement said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:10pm &lt;/strong&gt;Egypt  has slapped a travel ban on several of the country's former ministers,  including the former prime minister Ahmed Nazif, who was sacked by Hosni  Mubarak before he stepped down from the presidency, state television  reports.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:18pm: &lt;/strong&gt;Al Jazeera's producer in Cairo tweets:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;Clean-up initiative not confined to #tahrir, young egyptians also wiping off graffiti in dokki &lt;a href="http://yfrog.com/h3hnjyfj" title="http://yfrog.com/h3hnjyfj"&gt;http://yfrog.com/h3hnjyfj&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;img alt="Cleaning graffiti in Dokki, Egypt" height="480" src="http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg615/scaled.php?tn=0&amp;amp;server=615&amp;amp;filename=hnjyf.jpg&amp;amp;xsize=640&amp;amp;ysize=640" width="640" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5:00pm &lt;/strong&gt;Social  Media Week, a global event involving discussions on emerging trends in  social and mobile media, wrapped up yesterday. But in case you missed it  - &lt;a href="http://www.livestream.com/smw_newyork_google/video?clipId=pla_9dd7f623-94d8-4a56-9d33-5df6b69920eb&amp;amp;utm_source=lslibrary&amp;amp;utm_medium=ui-thumb" target="_blank"&gt;watch this lively panel debate Egypt,&lt;/a&gt; social media and Al Jazeera's coverage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4:00pm&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Al  Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Cairo, says the curfew hours in  the country have been reduced, and are now in effect from midnight until  6 am. Meanwhile, state tv announced that the stock market is due to  open on Wednesday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3:29pm &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/world/middleeast/12watch.html?_r=4&amp;amp;hp" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;em&gt;The New York Times &lt;/em&gt;reports&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/world/middleeast/12watch.html?_r=3&amp;amp;hp" target="_blank"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;on how Friday's events in Egypt seemed to take many news organisations by suprise - many except for Al Jazeera:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;There was no hesitation on the English-language service of &lt;a class="meta-org" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_jazeera/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about Al Jazeera"&gt;Al  Jazeera&lt;/a&gt;,  which covered the uprising 24 hours a day and provided an up-close,   almost personal experience of populist revolt. At times, the coverage  looked  less like a front-row seat to history than a video game — World  of Warcraft:  Anti-Mubarak Edition.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3:11pm&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has just issued its fourth communiqué broadcast live on state television.&lt;br /&gt;In  the announcement, the country's new military rulers promised to hand  power to an elected, civilian government. They also pledged that Egypt  would remain committed to all international treaties - in an apparent  nod to its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2:05pm &lt;/strong&gt;Mark LeVine, a regular Al Jazeera commentator, describes the sense of exhilaration among Egyptians at Cairo's Tahrir Square.&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/2011211182045814921.html#" target="_blank"&gt; Read the full article here. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1:01pm &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/2011211182045814921.html#" target="_blank"&gt;Mark LeVine&lt;/a&gt;,  an Al Jazeera English commentator, was with the mother of Khaled Said, a  28-year-old Egyptian who died in police custody on a street in  Alexandria last year, when the news came in that Hosni Mubarak had  resigned. &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAbv-N1wPw0" target="_blank"&gt;Watch the clip here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;12:21pm &lt;/strong&gt;Egyptians  woke to a new dawn on Saturday after 30 years of Hosni Mubarak's rule.  Full of hope and joy the pro-democracy protesters that occupied Tahrir  [Liberation] Square for 18 days started an operation to clean the  square.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/Dir.Ramadan" target="_blank"&gt;Mohammed Ramadan&lt;/a&gt;, a film maker, wrote on his Facebook page: &lt;em&gt;"I am going to clean the square in a bit... everyone bring&amp;nbsp; plastic bags... mops... or anything that we could use.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="File 7086" class="ibimage null" height="450" src="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/garbg.JPG" title="" width="675" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11:50&lt;/strong&gt;  The Associated Press news agency has reported that Syria's state-run  press is praising the fall of the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The&lt;em&gt; Al-Baath daily &lt;/em&gt;of Syria's ruling Baath Party said Mubarak's departure will change the "face of Egypt, the region and the entire world."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Al-Baath&lt;/em&gt; said Egypt under Mubarak was "at the service of the Zionist and American project."&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11:27am &lt;/strong&gt;Lamis  Andoni, an analyst and commentator on Middle Eastern and Palestinian  affairs, writes about how the Egyptian revolution has resurrected a new  type of pan-Arabism, based on social justice not empty slogans. &lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201121115231647934.html#" target="_blank"&gt;Read the full article here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/11/redir.aspx?C=3910511ae8db45a1beeaff1f49e9125a&amp;amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2faje.me%2fajelive" target="_blank"&gt;http://aje.me/ajelive&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="File 7066" class="ibimage null" height="447" src="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/xox.jpg" title="" width="675" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[AFP]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10:30am&lt;/strong&gt;  James Bays, Al Jazeera correspondent, has said Egypt's constitutional  council will hold a crisis meeting to discuss the nation's  constitutional changes later on Saturday.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10:22am &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/02/201129214957928702.html#" target="_blank"&gt;Al Jazeera's Web producer &lt;/a&gt;met the newly formed "youth coalition" who are speaking on behalf of a broad array of voices in the square.&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;"It  is the first protest in the history of Egypt that gathers every colour  of the political spectrum for one goal: the departure of Mubarak and his  regime."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/02/201129214957928702.html#" target="_blank"&gt; Read the full article here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9:33am &lt;/strong&gt;Egyptians have woken to a new dawn after 30 years of rule under Hosni Mubarak&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121253441731292.html#" target="_blank"&gt;read it here..&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="File 7046" class="ibimage null" height="449" src="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/egypto.jpg" title="" width="675" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[AFP]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9:15am &lt;/strong&gt;Al Jazeera looks back at the 18-day-old revolution that remade Egypt and the wider Middle East. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9:01am &lt;/strong&gt;The military&amp;nbsp;has began to remove the barricades around&amp;nbsp;Tahrir Square.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8:36am &lt;/strong&gt;Crowds&amp;nbsp;in &lt;span id="misspelled"&gt;Tahrir&lt;/span&gt;  Square are swelling again.&amp;nbsp;Some people have gathered&amp;nbsp;around a shrine  built&amp;nbsp;in honour of the estimated 300 people&amp;nbsp;who&amp;nbsp;were killed&amp;nbsp;during  the&amp;nbsp;protests. Elsewhere in the square,&amp;nbsp;people are dancing while&amp;nbsp;some men  are trying to clean up the area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:49am &lt;/strong&gt;Al  Jazeera's James Bays, in Cairo, says that while people are celebrating  Mubarak's departure. there are growing calls for him to be brought to  justice. "People say it's just not&amp;nbsp; good enough that he's gone to his  villa in Sharm el-Sheikh ... And I can't think of any case in the past  where an ousted leader has been able to live peacefully in&amp;nbsp;his country."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:15am &lt;/strong&gt;In this video, we're wrapping up the key events which forced Mubarak&amp;nbsp;out of office.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:55am &lt;/strong&gt;This &lt;a href="http://pizzaisland.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/egypt-from-5000-miles-away/"&gt;comic by Sarah Gidden&lt;/a&gt;  illustrates how people around the world followed the Egyptian  revolution online. "We were listening to the news in real time and  directly from the people. No anchors, no filter. Instead, the voices and  emotions of individuals."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:28am &lt;/strong&gt;Tahrir Square  still buzzing and so is online social media.&amp;nbsp;One of the&amp;nbsp;jokes being  circulated: "Mubarak died and met the late presidents Anwar Sadat and  Gamal Abdel Nasser in the afterlife. They asked him: Poisoned or  assassinated? He replied: Neither, Facebook!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5:57am &lt;/strong&gt;An  official Chinese newspaper has called for stability in Egypt after the  fall of President Mubarak and said foreigners should not intervene,&amp;nbsp;in  Beijing's first reaction to the leader's resignation.&lt;br /&gt;"Given  Egypt's status as a major Arab power of pivotal strategic importance, if  the current situation continues to deteriorate, it will not only be  nightmarish for the 80 million Egyptians, but also perilous to regional  peace and stability," the China Daily said in an editorial.&lt;br /&gt;State  television referred briefly to Mubarak's fall. Chinese internet sites  have restricted public comment on the uprising.&amp;nbsp; The Sina.com  micro-blogging site, which operates like Twitter, told users searching  for comment on Egypt that it could not be displayed for legal reasons.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4:52am &lt;/strong&gt;Footage of Tahrir Square the moment the news broke that Mubarak resigned:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4:48am &lt;/strong&gt;Thousands of Egyptians are still out on Cairo's Tahrir Square celebrating the resignation of Mubarak. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4:43am &lt;/strong&gt;View of Tahrir Square from space, captured on 11 February at 11:18am local time, courtesy DigitalGlobe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt="File 7001" class="ibimage null" height="447" src="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/FeaturedImagePost/images/space.jpg" title="" width="675" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4:25am &lt;/strong&gt;The most &lt;a href="http://bit.ly/gjT7rO"&gt;influential Twitter users&lt;/a&g
