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You may have noticed that this blog wasn't updated with a "Happy New Year". The thing is the new year didn't start happy. Israel keeps bombing the innocent civilians of Palestine. The death toll at the moment stands at 765.
When we hear of the death of one person, we feel sad. Millions felt sad when Bernie Mac died. When Anna Nicole Smith died. When Foe died on the pitch. the examples are numerous.
But 765? It's only a number. You don't know them. Stalin said it best: "One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic."
People are angry, this blogger included. Today, a Rally to express this rage started out after Friday prayer.


Here is my $0.02 analysis:
Israel claims that Hamas is shooting at Israel and that they hide between civilians. Thus the civilian deaths. Lets analyze this:
1- Hamas could be hiding between civilians. But after 765 civilian deaths, this is proven to be a failed tactic as Israel will bomb you anyway. Hence, if I was a civilian, I wouldn't harbor Hamas in my house. No sense the two of us dying. My civilian death will add nothing.
But this is not the case, is it? As I see more civilian deaths every day; this leads me to...

2- Hamas is NOT hiding between civilians. Which would make sense as Israel claims rockets are still being fired at them. Which means they're not dead yet nor their machinery is destroyed. If this is so, then the only reason I can think of to continue the raids...

3- Israel is killing civilians on purpose to: a) inflict internal pressure on Hamas to cease. And b) Decrease the number of Palestinians anyway.

So I do think that Israel is committing mass war crimes here.

Another catalyst for killing Arabs is Money. Someone somewhere is making money off of it. Rationale:
Israel is the #1 recipient of American foreign Aid.
$2.4 Billion is given away to Israel per year. This will change starting 2009 to be $30 Billion per annum for the next 10 years (That is a total of $300 Billion, my friends).
Purpose?

Virtually all of this money is used to buy weapons (up to 75% made in the U.S.).

So the US gives money to Israel, but forces it to spend three quarters of it on American weapons.
In plain simple English, to me American friends:
Someone is taking your tax dollars, giving it to Israel, and is TELLING Israel to give it to certain arms merchants.
You may as well just give the money to the Arms merchants yourself!

If I was an Arms merchant who can get access to these billions upon billions, I would certainly "secure" my friends in the government who would "facilitate" such laws. I would also be tempted to "increase demand" in Israel by, well, I dunno. Faking attacks? Spreading rumors? Inciting Hamas (or any other) to strike? Having Israel in need of Arms gives me the Ferrari liquidity I need.

People, the ones dying in the middle are innocent. If you have to be a skeptic then most of them are innocent and I don't buy this collateral damage crap.
Do something about it. I'm not talking about mere donations. That is simply giving the man a fish. Please, do something to break this vicious cycle. I implore you.

Bush visits Dubai, all life ends.

Bush continues his "farewell tour" in the middle east. This time? he stops in Dubai, UAE. While us poor Bahrainis were forced to go to work and suffered all the way through; Dubai gave EVERYONE the day off. Bahraini roads were filled with endless traffic, but Dubai roads? well...



Where were all the Emaratis? looks like they were all driven away from the main roads:So, you tell me if I am crazy but If you need all that protection, you must be doing something wrong.

I can't wait until this bozo's term is over.

George screws up traffic, go figure!

This morning was the most catastrophic morning commutes in a long time. My work day starts at 8, and I usually leave home by 7:30 and get there on time or 5 minutes late, tops.
So today, I get in at 9:13.
Do you have any idea how long have I been behind the wheel for what is normally a 30 minute drive?
Reason one being that it rained lightly, and Bahrainis usually skate over wet roads rather than drive on them. So everyone was driving cautious like.
Second reason, the real reason? George W. Bush.
He is in Bahrain visiting, and of course, he needs to get around. When he does, members of his own security team, probably helped with members of his 5th fleet AND our Bahraini special guards and traffic men and policemen are all out on full alert. Helicopters flying and most importantly: Roads.
Roads were blocked all over, in an attempt (in my understanding) to funnel cars into limited routes for security reasons or to clear up certain roads for same the reasons.
Now that might work everywhere on earth, but Bahrain is... Bahrain is like TINY man!
It's "official" size is 662 squared KMs. And we are not using that all, almost everyone works in itsy bitsy Manama. Its what? like 30 squared Kilometers?
So imagine this, a whole country works in a radius of 30 square kilometers, we have no proper public transport and almost everyone uses cars.
George W simply Screwed up our day.
Its amazing, just by being here he can screw things up! It's like he has an aura around him or something!

Anyway, I suggest for such cases: A Nintendo DS. Get a good game that does not require timely responses (Phoenix Wright or Pokemon would do, since they are mostly turn based)and away you go. This method is also good for killing time quickly until Dubya's term is over.

Americans afraid of college prayer room

So, Normandale Community College, USA, have turned its meditation room into a Muslims prayer room. It has a male and female section, prayer times, direction of the Qibla, and people can thankfully actually pray there now. Katherine Kersten writes about it, it gets posted into Digg, then Islamophobia breaks loose, just look at the comments of Digg users:

It'd be a good time to start carrying pork-rinds around campus, and offer them to anyone you meet. Since it's not politically correct to "profile", offer them to eveybody, especially those in the meditation room. It'd be rude not to offer.

It works on airlines, too........

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Wow.

I think a group of female students needs to go in there quite often and be sure to be uncovered, speak loud enough to be heard, and not stay in the small cordoned off area for women. Show these folks what gender equality means.

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Come on diggers, you talk of free speech and bash religion all the time. whats stopping you now??? You rip the Christians a new one everyday, let me see your best shots about this oppression against women and against other religions.

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Is anyone beginning to understand how the excesses of the Crusades and the Reconquista happened?

All this my friends is pure Islamophobia. I can safely say so because they are contradicting their own AMERICAN LAWS which state: Every person has the right to practice his / her own religion.

Now, the segregation of sexes is done as part of the religion itself, and that is a private matter. No one is being injured by it is there? Is it increasing fatalities amongst infants perhaps? Guess not.

And the whining about a dedicated prayer room? Well, again, the AMERICAN LAWS state that they are free to practice their religion. Which incidentally means praying 5 times a day and that unfortunately needs a place to do so.

I mean seriously, people are stuck in a room praying and all this phobia surfaces? Americans are not Americans anymore. No, they do not believe in the words of their forefathers anymore. shame that.

You don't think you're biased?

USA supports Israel with $30,000,000,000.00 (30 billion) over the next 10 years in ARMS ONLY.

Which mean there are MORE aids going to it later!
The amount is BD11340000000 (Almost BD94500000 - ninety four million and a half dinars - per month).
Now why is America doing that?
Did they do that to... lets say, South Korea? Who is their friends and faces danger from the North?
Did they do it to Finland? It is a "friend" isn't it?
Why not Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Bahrain, Mongolia, Fiji Islands, Poland. Why don't you let any other small, faraway, another continent country take over your decisions?
Why do you always give to Israel, which didn't give anything back to the taxpayers who are paying for this anyway?
If you do not think USA is biased and or is controlled by this tiny "state", you must be on something. This, my friends, is another reason why terrorism still goes on.

The reason why Bin laden is in the US, and the US is in Iraq

Watch the video first. It's a republican debate between Ron Paul & Rudy Guiliani. If you did then: Paul is absolutely correct. Guiliani is an idiot, in fact, rallying masses behind an "ideal" thought is what Bin laden does.
I mean, who the hell would hate anyone because they're free? Seriously? The biggest gripe about the US I hear all the time comes basically to "Why are they doing this to us?" and "Why don't they mind their own business?"
Did Americans really think they were liberating Iraq? Why not Liberate Nigeria from its leaders, huh? Do they care about Iraqi citizens? Where were the US when it approved of sanctions that killed millions?
They raised hell when an Emarati company (a "company" for goodness sakes, not army) managed one of Their ports. How would they feel if the French or Russian came to them and opened military bases on their soil?
For the record, I do not approve of Bin laden, he takes the Holy Quran out of context in a horrible way, hijacking and defacing my religion. But seriously, He wouldn't go all the way across the Atlantic if it wasn't for US's interferences.
You want proof?
All the American Soldier boys came all the way to Afghanistan & Iraq because they think It's in retaliation to the 9/11. Same thing, Bin laden and others think 9/11 is in retaliation for something else.
The problem really isn't in politics, but in stupid sheep-like people, that are herded to an absurd idea!
The US says they hate us for our freedom, and everyone goes, oh yeah, your right, lets get them!
Did they THINK we would prefer.. I dunno, OPPRESSION for example?
Bin laden says the Quran says we have to fight, so idiots go "yeah yeah lets go". For goodness sake, just read the rest of the Quran will you? The Quran is a whole book! You have to fight temptation, you have to fight daily to provide for your family, physically you have to defend your self if and only when you are attacked. But do people take 3 seconds to go "What a minute.."? no.

So, I'm glad people are starting to question things. I know that a lie, if repeated enough can be the truth. But it's a lie non the less, dig deep enough and you'll hit the truth.

PS: Being a Bahraini in the middle east, I have nothing to do with the elections and I do not support Paul or any other candidate. Just for the record.

Attack on Iran: We are toast.

I don't like toast. I prefer to have my bread un-toasted, thank you. With that in mind, I didn't ever think that I'd become one.
Today's Akhbar Alkhaleej headline "Israel requests an air passage over Iraq to attack Iran", is not something that I want to read while eating my daily un-toasted sandwich. I have nothing to do with both countries. However, I am stuck in the middle, sandwiched by the two (hence the toast analogy).
Another very good reason for the analogy is the Nukes, which, if deployed, will do the actual toasting of my physical existence.
The U.S. are not doing me any favours by this. Granting Israel their wish will at best increase shipping rates to astronomical figures (shippers will declare a premium for "war zones") and then my wallet will be toasted. All prices will just rocket along with the actual rockets.
Most reasonable people are against such escalation, including a good number of US Generals, who the Times reported, said they'll quit if Bush orders the attack. Lets hope that the rest of the forces feel as strongly.

How to make a planet hate your f***ing guts

This is not a post to Bahraini or Arab readers as much as it is for American readers.
I have alot of American friends.
I have business relations with Americans.
I like Americans... usually as individuals. But when they become governments and Armies, Planet Earth hates their guts.
Now, some Americans will go "Well, the world hates us because we have FREEDOM!"
No you blithering fool! Who would hate anyone for that?
Earth hates you for you arrogant attitude. Things like:

Iraqi Kids running after an American water bottle


Crushing a taxi drivers CAR


oh, and they taught the British a thing or two also!

British Soldiers beating children, and ENJOYING IT!


Disgusted? I'm sure you would be.
Good luck fellas expecting the war to end like that.

I know some decent Americans are really furious about this now, just like I always am when Alqaeda does something as arrogant. and for those furious ones, sorry, the world will still hate you. Better work on sending people who can represent you better.

Kudos go to boing boing for these.