Winds of change.

When dictatorship becomes a fact revolution becomes a right.
When Bashar Al Asaad ordered the killing of peaceful demonstrators he sealed his fate. His speech to his parliament was an exercise  in vanity and shows the lack of perspective and how out of touch with reality the Syrian  President is.
Barring US defence Chief Robert Gates comments that the Americans were not considering interventions in Syria as they did in Libya now it is only a matter of time before his demise despite Israeli efforts to secretly support his regime.
With the defection of Moussa Koussa the Libyan Foreign Minister , to Britten cracks are at last beginning to show in Mad Mo's regime.
Though the Arab world is suffering from revolution fatigue it looks like Yemen will succumb to regime change sooner rather than later.
The Monarchies bar Bahrain I believe will survive a little longer.
Jordan has handled prodemocracy demonstrators pretty well, Morocco is rushing in constitutional change and so it is only Saudi Arabia with threats of cutting off citizens fingers and Bahrain from the Gulf Arabs that will continue to face problems.
Qatar, home of Al Jazeera, the satellite  TV station credited with being part of this wind of change, which was coincidentally set up by the Israelis, has so few Citizens and so much gas revenue that if any meaningful protests took place the Emir could take them out to lunch to resolve matters.
The UAE faces more problems from expatriate workers rights than their locals but like Oman will have to face the inevitable change.
In the words of John .F. Kennedy " those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable ."

Ship High In Transit.

Back to Libya , as delegates from around the world met in London , at a conference chaired by Willie Hague, to discuss a post Gaddafi scenario. Over forty countries and organizations sent representatives including the United Nations and NATO. 
Talk of continued bombing, possible exile for Mad Mo, arming the resistance, or even a starring appearance at the ICC for war crimes were being bandied about.
In the end they agreed to meet in Qatar soon.
It all reminds me of the origins of the word shit, which was derived as as folk etymology describes it as a nautical term used in the transportation of manure.
Certain types of manure used to be transported (as everything was back then) by ship. In dry form it weighs a lot less, but once water (at sea) hit it. It not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas.
As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen; methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern. BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was discovered what was happening.
After that, the bundles of manure where always stamped with the term "S.H.I.T" on them which meant to the sailors to "Ship High In Transit." In other words, high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Very much like the results of the conference I fear.

Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?

Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?



The following is an actual question given on a McGill University chemistry mid-term Exam paper:
Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Support your answer with a proof

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyles Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that most people and their souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyles Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities.

If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Celine LeBlanc during my Freshman year - that "it will be a cold night in Hell before I sleep with you" - and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then (2) cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic.


The student got the only A!

Freedom etcetera...

After a long walk in the early hours of Sunday morning trying to adjust my body clock to the one hour change from Greenwich mean time to British summer time, I was thinking of the words an Israeli friend wrote to me just a few days ago in response to my blog Liberty and Lightening.
" as to the content I endorse your proposal to give people the rights they seek. It is a real necessity around here. The problem is that " people " is not a unified entity, and each one understands the term " rights" in a different manner. I am sure that you and me understand it in the same way, but we are fortunate. It looks different from the prosperous Mayfair or Ramat Aviv neighborhoods then the rundown sections of Cairo or Gaza."
Wise words , but it puzzled me why our expectations or hopes should be different,nothing is as precious as one's freedom. Dreams, aspirations, and ideals mean nothing if one does not have the freedom to pursue them without fear of repression or reprisal.
The Arab Spring seems to be suffering from revolution fatigue as there are many forces at work that are afraid of change.
The Americans have stated that the brutal suppression of dissent in Syria is unlikely to evoke the same response as Libya.
The same applies to the Gulf countries where staunch allies are suppressing their people's right to economic and political enfranchisement and therefore the international community is prepared to allow their vassals to continue their rape and pillage of universally acknowledged principles of human rights for short term benefits.
Do not be fooled the ball has started to roll and regime change now only becomes a question of time.
The regimes that have managed to cling onto their seats by colluding with the west at the expense of their own peoples aspirations and desires are short lived.
When the late King Farouk of Egypt said "In a few years there will be only five kings in the world the King of England and the four kings in a pack of cards," he was not wrong.
With the advent of the information age , with the relative ease of discovery of information and the visual medium of television giving both news as well as lifestyle imagery it becomes so much harder to keep people in the dark.
It is true that we may manage our expectations differently but we all desire the same basic principles of self determination and freedom of choice.
When Ronald Reagan said "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same",he was right and so was Nelson Mandela when he said there is no such thing as part freedom.
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
And while we either participate , encourage or turn a blind eye to the suppression around us then we are all as guilty as the ruler who turns his guns on his own people or the countries that use force and fear to humiliate our natural desire to be free. 

The exception and the rule.

The now he is, now he isn't fiasco of Ali Saleh's resignation is only adding to the confusion that is endemic in the Middle East. After declaring his resignation was immanent the embattled President has now declared he will serve out his term.
In Syria the clashes are getting more and more violent, with armed security forces reportedly shooting at protesters in the Cities of Latakia and Daraa.
In Jordan despite the use of the Saudi trick of getting religious scholars to give edicts not to demonstrate , the protests for constitutional reform continued with students waving banners reading " Democracy is action not words".
Iraq has warned that continued suppression of the Shiite majority in Bahrainand the military intervention by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates could spark a sectarian war.
Unlike Egypt or Libya where the issues were not sectarian the issues here have "become between Sunnis and Shias "  said the Iraqi PM.
That has not stopped the continuance of the crackdown on Bahrainis.
The soon to be fingerless citizens of Saudi are however benefiting from the stick / carrot approach of the regime as the state coffers swell with the proceeds of climbing oil prices and production.
Despite their ongoing involvement in the occupation of Bahrain the United Arab Emirates who rely on western patronage to remain in power have committed six F -16 and six Mirage fighters to help enforce the no fly zone over Libya . The pilots I suspect will not be UAE nationals.
With continued bombing of pro Gaddafi positions the outcome is as opaque as ever.
Though the intention of stopping the massacres in Tripoli have so far been achieved and that territory reclaimed by Gadaffi has been retaken by the resistance it is difficult to say what extent this success can be deemed a victory.
The other intention of intervention we were told was the signal it would send out to other despots.
No doubt that it disturbed some in the Middle East but with back room deals being done sealed with the blood of innocents some are still precariously balancing on their perches.
Meanwhile Israel continues to pound Gaza as the United Nations and European Union try to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
In the absence of a coherent political solution the long term strategy remains unclear especially as double standards and hypocrisy are no longer the exception but the rule.

A case of the Emperor's clothes.

“Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised”.....Leo Tolstoy.

Double standards applied by the  international community on how they view Libya's suppression of it own people and have gone to war, justly, in order to stop Mad Mo from massacring his own yet are" monitoring" the situation in Yemen, have urged restraint and  are appalled  by the excessive force used  to to repress and intimidate the citizens of Syria, have turned a blind eye in Bahrain and the threats to the soon to be fingerless Saudi citizens have not even evoked public criticism or concern, continues to astound and worry me. It vexes not only the core of all that is right,decent and just but allows much darker forces to thrive which I suspect can only compound the on going chaos and certainly gives a morally toxic message to future generations. If we do not stand up for the fundamental human rights then all else is meaningless.
As Plato once said - We can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
 I fear it is the International community who are afraid of the light for what I can only perceive to be a misguided moral fabric and  like the Emperor, naked for all the world  to see.

Wikileaks and things

Wikileaks has in combination with social networking media sites such as facebook and twitter and satellite TV channels such as Al Jazeera changed  the way the Arab Street gain and exchange information. This citizens empowerment has helped in the mobilization  of the Arab youth  in successfully overthrowing two repressive regimes and have laid the foundation for the fall of many more.

It was with great sadness that we see autocratic regimes turn their weapons on their own.
Libya, Bahrain, Yemen , Saudi Arabia and Syria have made this fundamental mistake and therefore have lost legitimacy in their right to rule.
The world is changing and in this modern age of instant information the way a government interacts with it's citizens has been transformed . Regimes that are unable to adapt and have to use force or torture have no role to play in our future.
As we look at their guilt and inevitable downfall we have to have a thought for a young American soldier, Bradley Manning.
He is being held in solitary confinement at the Quantico base in Virginia awaiting trial on nearly two dozen charges, including aiding the enemy. That enemy is the truth.
The 23-year-old former intelligence analyst is accused of handing over confidential US military and government documents to the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.
His treatment by the Department of Defense is inexcusable . As inexcusable as the arbitrary detentions that fuel the Arab Spring or the  self-immolation of Mohammad Bouazzi the Tunisian street vendor whose actions brought about by humiliation and despair became the catalyst for the revolutions that are sweeping the Middle East.
Whatever the motivations of such sites as Wikileaks and others it is true to say they have put dictators on notice all over the world that the days of lying and double dealing with the knowledge that you won't be found out are over.
That I pray will auger in a new era. The Hague awaits those who continue to ignore this new reality.

Liberty and Lightening

"Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup cake" said Nurse Diesel in the 1977 Mel Brooks film High Anxiety
Well anxious we all are as no one is sure about anything in the Middle East any more.
With a split amongst the Americans on how to address the legitimate concerns of the people from Morocco to the Arabian Gulf , there is only confusion as the hypocrisy of the international community's stand becomes naked for all to see. A little bit of the Emperors clothes me thinks....
Now America has chosen to be the 911 or 999 call that those oppressed seek to look to for guidance , remember those famous words of the  Statue of Liberty  song which include  the iconic lines" Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free "
Well nobody is asking to mass migrate but We do have a collective responsibility to safeguard basic human dignity and universally acknowledged human rights.
Those rights include but are not limited to the right of free assembly and the right to self determination.
The Saudis are panicking on how to deal with the " Arabian Spring" which has nothing to do with the weather but the liberating tsunami that has engulfed the Middle East.
Threats of fingerless citizens still have no place in the current climate.
The Gulf Arabs have cut an unconscionable deal to suppress their own people in giving the International community the support it needs in neutralizing Mad Mo and others of his ilk a little further away.
Yemen as well as Bahrain is proving even more confusing to the leaders of the free world. With no idea how to respond appropriately and much at stake this procrastination will cause many headaches for a long time to come.
The fiction of an Islamic terror conspiracy is banded about for fear mongering and has even lead to the first public confrontation between the Russian President and his Prime Minister.
Before this does turn into a clash of civilizations and allows other darker forces to work let us unite in giving the people the rights they so clearly seek.
Otherwise it will be liberty that is struck by lightening.

Morally tainted in Cairo.

Although the endgame in Libya remained unclear, Gates, not Bill but Defence chief Robert, said during a visit to Egypt that mounting pressure on Mad Mo's regime could encourage his associates or even members of his family to turn on him.
"I think there are any number of possible outcomes here and no one is in a position to predict them, whether there are further major defections within his own ruling circle, whether there are divisions within his family," he said.
Great so Psycho Saif and Mad Mo won't be playing monopoly together soon and we still don't know what the endgame is.
Now If that is not an even more moronic propaganda coup for the Gadaffi regime than Willy Hague's  " it is not about regime change" mumbo jumbo then slap my ass and call me Sally .
On the one hand you have the coalition claiming they have taken out his eyes and ears and destroyed his Air force whilst still saying they are in there for the long haul.
What does all this mean?
For the love of God if you can't take out a bloodthirsty deranged and under equipped dictator whose military assets are nearly as old as the regime itself then you are in the wrong business.
Why put us under potential terrorist reprisals because that is exactly what he will do as his swan song.
He has to be neutralised otherwise you are opening a Pandora's box of tricks and boy will it be ugly.
Well at least the cross dressing Arab Beleagueres are having fun in Cairo, don't you love these almost weekly get togethers where there is more methane than a manure farm?
Now what about Yemen and Bahrain?
What has happened to the moral fibre in the world, have we all become so morally tainted that we can not differentiate between right and wrong?

Top Guns and cross dressers.

Qatari Top Guns

As Qatar sends it's " Top Guns" to support the imposition of the no fly zone over Libya the Saudis send weapons and the United Arab Emirates send cash.
Woopie. Well they can't send troops they are already up to their military capacity in defending the invasion of Bahrain by, God forbid ,Bahrainis.
 Ah if only we could import our soldiers from elsewhere. As the Saudi Foreign Minister promises to cut off the finger that is raised against them, I wonder who will be able to summon the waiters, if all their citizens are fingerless?
Organized slaughter, we realize, does not settle a dispute; it merely silences an argument.
Now that the cross dressing Arab Beleaugers seem to have been brought back into line by that brilliant stateswoman Emma Moussa, not to be confused with the  Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa it is the Americans who seem to be also dilly dallying as no one is quite sure what to do next. Who is in charge?
Well as we have been repeatedly told it is not about regime change  then what the hell were we thinking?
It's not about oil either we are told. So that rules out sending in owners of gas guzzling sports utility vehicles to support the boys of Bengazi then.
So what is it about?
Freedom? Human Dignity? The right to self determination? Economic and Political enfranchisement ?
To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man. Let us not fool ourselves any longer, call a spade a spade and get on with it.
Well Mad Mo and his son Psycho Saif may well be booking their long overdue holiday tickets , though personally I think they should stand trial as should a plethora of Arab leaders who have turned their guns on their own. You get my drift Sal?Ah but then Saudi will withdraw all its investments if you dare put a deposed dictator on trial. I sense an acknowledgement of the inevitable must be behind that diplomatic gem.
As Henry Kissinger once said "No country can act wisely simultaneously in every part of the globe at every moment of time."
Just do it and do it quick, never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.
You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.  At least let us act with the dignity that recent tragedies in Japan have shown us the human spirit possesses.

Weddings Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

'I suppose this means I won't be getting an invitation to the Royal wedding.'

"We want Willie, We want Willie". Chanted the crowd in support of the Queens popular grandson as he finished his tour of earthquake hit New Zealand and Australian disaster zones.
Later this year he will marry his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton. I suspect that Psycho Saif and his father Mad dog Mo will not be attending the wedding nuptials.
As forces of the coalition of the brave continue to bombard pro Gadaffi positions  while Emma Moussa of the Arab cross dressing Beleagueres dilly dallies like a Nancy boy we can only pray for a rapid end to this crises.
As they say in the "Scottish play"
" if it were done when 'tis done, then  t'were well it were done quickly." so Macbeth grabbed his dagger and killed the King.
As in the play the results may not be what we expect but at least it lays the foundation to a more rightful future.
Ahh thank God for Mad dogs and Englishmen who go out in the mid day sun.

Don't Quit!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit. 

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
Author Unknown

IF.....

'if' by rudyard kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

About me

In these traumatic times it is a great comfort to rely on one's roots and ones faith to give us the moral courage to persevere and to remind us what generations before us sacrificed to allow us to continue the struggle for justice and equality  in this most turbulent of times.
Though I can trace my family tree back to the eighth century I have decided to look at the remarkable lives of my great grandfather, maternal grand father and father, three extraordinary men who I am proud to have been descended from.
I wish one day to be worthy of them and be able to achieve at least a fraction of what they were able to in their lifetime.
Sadly they are no longer with us.Only fond memories of an era gone by remembered  by historical archival documents and the love of those that survived them.
It is to them I give my thanks, and pray that the almighty is looking after them as they themselves looked after their people.
I am a product of their love , generosity , failings and triumphs .


Obituary Palestine Post April 15 , 1938.
Tewfik Bey Al Ghussein
We regret to announce the death in Wadi Hanein, near Ramleh, of Tewfik Bey Al Ghussein one of the most prominent Moslem land- owners in the southern coastal district, at the age of 71. Tewfik Bey died late on Wednesday.
The owner of considerable landed estates in the region bounded by Rishon- le-Zion, Ness Ziona and Beer Yaa 'qov ( Sarafand) the late Tewfik Bey had many Jewish friends among the pre -War rural population and, inspite of political difficulties maintained his friendly relationships.
He was born at Ramleh in 1867 and after being educated at Beirut, entered the Turkish civil service holding the posts of Kaimakam ( Governor) successively at Beersheba, Hebron, Tripoli (Syria ) and Jaffa.
                               Eve of Nebi Saleh.
It was a sad coincidence that he should have passed away on the eve of the Nebi Saleh festival , which is a local feast at Ramleh, as the head of the the Ghussein family holds the right of being banner bearer at processions under an old Ottoman firman.
Tewfik Bey was the father of Yacoub Bey Ghussein, Arab youth leader and member of the former Arab Higher Comittee, who is now in the Seychelles, and of Fawzi Bey Ghussein of the Attorney Generals department.
The funeral took place yesterday at Ramleh.


Yaqub al-Ghussein (Arabic: يعقوب الغصين, Ya‘qoub al Ghussein) (1899-1947) was an aristocratic Palestinian landowner from Ramla and founder of the Youth Congress Party. He graduated in law from the University of Cambridge. Ghussein was elected president of the first National Congress of Arab Youth, held in Jaffa in January 1932. He was a member and representative of his party in the Arab Higher Committee from its formation in 1936. In 1937 he was a member of the Supreme Muslim Council. On 1 October of the same year he was exiled by the British to the Seychelles Islands for being a member of the Arab Higher Committee, which was outlawed by the British on 27 September 1937, following the assassination of the Acting British District Commissioner of Galilee, Lewis Yelland Andrews.
He was a member of the Palestinian delegation to the London Conference at St. James's Palace in February 1939.
Ghussein reconstituted his faction in 1945. He died in Jerusalem on 27 December, 1948.

Jaweed al-Ghussein, who has died aged 77, was a Palestinian philanthropist, educationist and former chairman of the Palestinian National Fund. In that role, he drew attention to the extensive corruption of his colleague Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). His whistleblowing was met with a sustained campaign of persecution by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Ghussein was born in Gaza, the son of a prominent land-owning family. He attended the Friends school in Ramallah, but with the creation of Israel in 1948, the family, like many fellow Palestinians, became refugees. However, unlike many others, the Ghusseins could afford to send their son to complete his education at the American University in Cairo, where he studied economics and first met Arafat. The two became friends: while the young Arafat pursued a political career, Ghussein went into business, with huge success.

In 1964, having moved his family to Britain, he set up, with an American consortium, an engineering and construction company, Cordoba, in Abu Dhabi. The company became a major player in establishing the infrastructure of the oil-rich desert sheikdom. Cordoba built the first water pipeline from the oasis of Al Ain to Abu Dhabi city as well as roads, hospitals and many of the most important buildings in the emirate, including the iconic Sheik Zayed cultural centre.

During this time of plenty, Ghussein clung on to his Palestinian roots and traditions. He personally funded the education of many young Palestinians and then made sure they got the jobs to match their qualifications, either at Cordoba or elsewhere. He was a passionate believer in peaceful co-existence with Israel and determined to ensure the rights of all Palestinians. Inevitably, he entered politics.

In 1984 Ghussein was reunited with Arafat, and became chairman of the Palestinian National Fund, the financial arm of the PLO. He soon began to suspect that money intended to help families and fighters in the resistance was being siphoned off by the PLO leader into secret bank accounts. "None of us ever knew how much Arafat got from the Arab states," he said recently. "It could have been billions." Known payments included two from Saddam Hussein, each for $50m, which were neither acknowledged nor audited.

Ghussein kept his suspicions to himself, out of loyalty to the PLO and a fear of what he called "washing dirty linen in public". But when he criticised Arafat's backing of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait, instigating the first Gulf war in 1990, their relationship collapsed. Six years later Ghussein, sickened by the deceit and hypocrisy that surrounded him, resigned very publicly on Abu Dhabi television when he called for accountability and transparency in the PLO.

From that moment on, he was a marked man. An extraordinary campaign of innuendo and accusation was orchestrated by the PA, alleging misappropriation of funds. Despite all accusations against him being quashed, in 2000 Ghussein, while attending a wedding reception in Abu Dhabi, was abducted and bundled into a private jet, taken to Gaza and held captive by the PA. He was eventually allowed to travel to Cairo for cancer treatment, but a group of armed men burst into his hospital room, kidnapped him and took him back to Gaza. Only international pressure led by Amnesty International secured his release, and he was finally brought to London for urgent medical treatment.

This period of persecution left Ghussein's health permanently damaged, and saw the huge wealth he had built up virtually disappear. Cordoba, with a one-time annual turnover of around $1bn, had ground to a halt, mostly because clients had allowed huge debts to accumulate. They remain unpaid.

Ghussein insisted on maintaining the Palestinian tradition of warmth and boundless hospitality at his London home in Mayfair. Every evening, guests, not necessarily invited but always welcome, would turn up for good conversation, followed by the inevitable itfaddalou - sit, eat, join us at our table. He had, according to his daughter Mona Bauwens, an "open house, open heart".

He never stopped trying to ease the Palestinian people's suffering and was co-founder, with the industrialist Arnold Weinstock among others, of the New Century Foundation, a non-governmental organisation created specifically to encourage dialogue between adversaries.

Recently he was honoured by the American University in Cairo in recognition of his services to education in Palestine. In his acceptance speech at the ceremony in London, all he uttered was a cry for help for Palestine. He is survived by his wife Khalida, Mona and son Tawfiq.

· Jaweed al-Ghussein, businessman and political activist, born July 18 1930; died July 1 2008

Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are dead!

It is so frustrating when after the mammoth international effort to get UNSC resolution 1973 passed then finally get surgical strikes to stop Mad Mo massacring his own people that the Arab League does a one eighty degree turn.
No moral backbone from regimes that should have long gone.
Madness ! Then you have Qatar openly supporting the effort  and the United Arab Emirates trying to support it secretly. More pure madness. Either be proud of what you are doing or don't do it.
In case Willy Hague is a complete moron then it is better for him to remain silent and seem a fool then open his mouth and remove all doubt.
It is about regime change, don't fool yourself or others by saying it is anything else.
All this double speak just causes confusion and gives the sick regime propaganda coups that are unnecessary.
End the regime now otherwise evil will take hold all over,we owe it to future generations.
It is the least we can do.

You're braver than you beleive.

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
 Christopher Robin to Pooh---AA Milne.

Wise words that the oppressed  in the Middle  East should not forget.
As the coalition forces finally give the the Libyan resistance the much needed help to combat Mad Mo and his Psycho son Saif we should not forget about the aspirations of the others in the region.
A message has been sent that should not be misinterpreted .
In Bahrain  unarmed civilians were repressed by invading mercenaries.
In Yemen a faltering regime does not know how to exit with dignity only blood. This story is repeated again and again throughout the Arabian world.
Gadaffi no doubt is ruthless but so are the rest. Legitimacy is lost when you turn your guns on your unarmed civilians demanding their dignity and right to self determination without fear of unlawful arrest or arbitrary detention.
Hopefully the hypocritical attitude we have witnessed from the International Community with regard to the others rights will not continue for much longer.
Our concerns should be for all people wishing freedom regardless of race colour or creed.
We live in a world of information and satellite television , the wool can no longer be pulled over people's eyes. Wikileaks and others like it have ensured that secret wheeling and dealing are a thing of the past. Call it straight and you have nothing to fear be duplicitous at your own peril. The people are smarter and braver than you think.
" if the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient it may be he has a small piece of fluff in his ear".
Wise Mr Milne....

Hate, ignorance or evil.

The revolution has reached Syria and no doubt the regime in Damascus will be as ruthless as their history suggests in quelling unrest and suppressing the people's demands of broader economic and political freedoms.
Unlike the Saudi's who can throw money at their dissenters whilst simultaneously coercing them into acceptance ,the Syrian regime does not have this luxury.
With double digit unemployment, a large rural urban divide and an economy in shambles it is only natural that a disaffected people will rise up.
As there have been no templates with how to deal with the wave of unrest throughout the Middle East the autocratic regime seems confused as it goes back to old tried and tested methods.
Perhaps they should take a page from Sultan Qaboos's example and rapidly reform as that may at least deflect from the Asaads dark history and go some way to apologizing to the stolen generations.
As we put aside our fears we have to remember that we are all responsible for the continuance of these autocratic regimes not just as victims but also co-creators. Our silence has given them strength, our lack of moral courage has allowed them to thrive.
It is time to throw off these shackles and take responsibility for our actions.
There is no panacea , no super fix , the best leaders cannot achieve much on their own without the participation and therefore the collective responsibility of the people.
It is easy to put the blame on our previous rulers for everything, but this will not exonerate us from our duty and obligation to act independently ,freely and reasonably. The path ahead is long but filled with exciting possibilities , let us not lose sight of this as we stride to a better stable Middle East that is not deviled with sectarian or religious violence and accepts there is no place for " hate, ignorance or evil ".
As Jean-Jacques Rousseau said so beautifully " I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery". 

Reasons to intervene

The Libyan government has announced an immediate ceasefire, less than two hours after Prime Minister David Cameron said British fighter jets would be deployed to enforce a United Nations no-fly zone.
This is a cynical move by Mad Mo to buy breathing space from foreign attacks after last nights historic UNSC resolution 1973.
Though many skeptics will see any intervention as a violation of Libya's sovereignty and set a precedent for the superpowers to have a field day as it will take the impetus from the resistance as the people will become beholden to them and lose control of their own destiny I believe that intervention is crucial to ending the tyranny inflicted on the Libyans by Mad Mo and psycho Saif.
Though implementation of a No Fly Zone  may initially escalate the conflict as the old regime tries ruthlessly to grab on, the safeguards in UNSC resolution 1973  means that there will not be a full scale armed presence as in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The Libyans deserve their up to now denied aspirations.
We should not be under any illusions, the forces at work are already embroiled across the Middle East, trying to preserve their interests and influence as their vassals are falling one by one. Yes it is about oil, markets and stability.
There may be turmoil for the foreseeable  future as power vacuums need to be filled but unlike Iraq, Libya's current regime is relying on mercenaries to keep it in control so I do not see any need for an invading ground force, just good logistical support to the decent Libyan resistance.
No one can guarantee that the new regimes that take up the mantles of leadership in the New Arab awakening are not corrupt or that old adversaries will reconcile .
Real freedom is a process not an event.
And that should not be denied to the people of Libya, Palestine Yeman, Saudi or Bahrain whether Pearl square is demolished or not.
Everyone deserves the right to choose their own destiny. Let us give the people their dignity back.

Disgrace or chaos, your call!

Disgraceful , disgraceful, disgraceful.
When Mad Mo and psycho Saif are allowed to continue their spree of butchery because the decent remain silent then God help us all.
The Mad Dog sounded ruthless as he vowed no mercy . Let us pray that this is just the rantings of a regime in it's death throws and the International Community will stop this threatened bloodbath .
What effectively were foreign mercenaries helping break up peaceful protesters in Manama is as disgraceful as allowing the regime in Libya stay in power.We understand that there are forces at play in Bahrain with six leaders of the opposition arrested. This is not right.
Regional players, foreign interests  and large amounts of money are all contributing factors that will continue to change the dynamics of the Middle East.
We are stunned and impressed by how rapidly Sultan Qaboos of Oman responded to demands for change in order avert turning his guns on his own people.
We were shocked by the ferocity of the Saudi response to their people's legitimate aspirations and their arming of the regime in Yemen.
Israel has so far been lucky that it's repression of Palestinian rights has come out of the limelight but rest assured this is only a temporary setback. These issues will be on the front burner soon.
For stability to prevail  the universally acknowledged aspirations of all the peoples of the Middle East have to be addressed.
The will of the people has to prevail. We have not to be afraid , the security of the world is dependent on this.
The recent tragedy in Japan has shown the inherent dangers that are present in the nuclear power industry.
 Oil is here to stay for the foreseeable future. When the will of the people is not recognized  then how the house of cards falls which it invariably will as it did in Communist Eastern Europe two decades ago will effect our collective security.
We have to have the moral courage and natural decency to defend these aspirations and desires, basic  human rights , otherwise it will be chaos for us all for a long time to come.

The curious case of blood money and the chequered shirt.

Blood money has been paid to secure the release of Raymond Davis the CIA operative who shot and killed two people in broad daylight earlier this year.
In an extraordinary turn of events the psycho killer with the chequered shirt was released and immediately flown out of Pakistan.
That may bode well for the relationship not only between Islamabad and Washington but may explain the Mad dogs son Saifs recent successes in Libya.He seems to have many of these sartorial gems.
 I gotaa get me one of those chequered shirts with those magical qualities which seemingly allow known bloodthirsty psychopathic murderers off scott free. Just think of all the great things I could do if I harness this magic for good.
I wonder if they are made in Langley ?

Black gold ,America ,Iran and innocents slaughtered.

Martial law is imposed on Bahrain as the GCC troop invasion to prop up the failing Al Khalifa regime faces peaceful protesters with violence and brutality killing and injuring many.
Bahraini security operatives continue to employ force on unarmed protesters in Pearl Square who were only demanding their legitimate aspirations for constitutional change and greater participation in their own political destiny.
Bahrain is a polyglot state religiously and racially but with the ruling regime mainly Sunni but majority of the populous being Shia.
The Bahraini community is relatively small with around six hundred thousand citizens made from Sunni  tribes associated with the Al Khalifa regime such as the Utoob tribes , Al Mannai ,Dawasir,Al Nuaim etc.
The are Ajam who are ethnic Persians from both Sunni and Shia faith. There are the Baharna who are Shia Arabs divided between those indigenous to the Islands and the Hassawis from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.The Afro Arabs who are descendants  of black African slaves , the Howlas who are descendants of Sunni Arabs who migrated to Persia then returned ., the Najdis  non tribal urban Sunni Arabs whose ancestors were pearl divers and traders. Then two smaller groups the Bania or Banyan who are of Indian origin and then a small Jewish community.
While international law is being violated and the International community turns a blind eye at attacks on the unarmed  civilian population one can't but help see what powers are at play.
Iran a major regional player and de facto  leader of "The Shia crescent" which now extends from Iran through to Iraq and up to Lebanon is begining to show concern at events there. This frightens western interests as that gives them vast control over the oil fields.
If Iran is successful in patching up at least in private it's very public rift with the United States then The Al Khalifa regime may be eventually sacrificed in order to keep America's other vassals in power and stability in the area.
These back room dealings are unfortunately part and parcel of the morally contaminated world we live in. War crimes are being committed by all who have a direct or indirect hand in events in Bahrain.
Meanwhile Mad Dog Gadaffi and his family continue to slaughter their own people.
For the sake of decency the resistance in Libya has now got to be armed. The double standards being employed by the US will only lead to more instability and heartbreak for families in the region who continue to lose loved ones.

War crimes and mercenaries.

The GCC troops that have currently invaded Bahrain, as there really no other word for it, are a military intervention on behalf of a failing regime in order to prop it up.
Our TV screens show tanks armoured vehicles and a range of weaponry that is inconsistent with the regimes claim that they have been invited there to help bolster the police and security forces. 
They are there to quash a peaceful uprising by a people no longer happy with a corrupt and now I believe illegitimate leadership. When a regime not only turns it's guns on it's own people but brings in foreign mercenaries to use force on the local population as is the case here as well as Libya then they have no right to rule.
Though the US says it does not regard this as an invasion  the intervention itself causes a plethora of transgressions in international law.
Bahrain is important to the US as the Al Khalifa regime have been a key in safeguarding American interests  in the area and is home to the Fifth Fleet.
That does not make it right for them to agree with the violence deployed.
I think it is time for these mercenaries, those that sent them and the Bahraini regime to be put on notice of war crimes if the brutality that is ongoing continues. 

Its a mad mad world

We face many uncertainties as we push ever forward unto wonderland with Mad Hatter and March Hares abounding and the Queen of Hearts looming." I don't want to go amongst mad people," Alice remarked. " Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat:"We're all mad here. I'm mad . You're mad."
While some no doubt will lose their heads let us hope we do our best to keep our lives.

Bahrain invaded by it's citizens

Bahrain, GCC troops , first time since Iraq invaded Kuwait that GCC troops go into a country. Didn't think Bahrain was invaded.
Does anyone else smell a rat?

1215 and all that!

To digress a little from my usual frustrations on the Middle - East I want to throw my tuppence into what I perceive to be the problems we are facing in general.
It has to do with governance .
Not what people particularly want to hear but I think pertinent in our present climate, whether it is a victory of centralisation over decentralisation or  it is the victory of a King over his parliament .
We have I think to examine the economic and political developments and their relationship with political democracy.
Britain has  as do many of the Middle - Eastern  countries an intelligent elite, but urbanisation changes our thought patterns and there becomes an urban rural cleavage .
That coupled with mass migration causes problems in the west particularly when you have had,as is the example of Britain, a case of laissez faire liberalism .
 This  has caused in the UK at least many dilemmas ,as to how to integrate their Empire guilt with their social responsibility . For hundreds of years they raped and pillaged the world and unlike their American  successors  who for the most part act like the Junkers,Prussian Aristocracy with a military ideology (Shoot first ask questions later ) the Brits know they have a price to pay for their past.
In Saudi once the realpolitik took place and the International Community turned a blind eye over current back room dealings there was no division between Mosque and state . The Al Sheiks who were traditionally the religious leaders gave the Al Sauds  the backing they needed to suppress any thoughts of freedom or participation on quasi religious grounds  in the  political process that coupled with the complete hypocritical standards applied by the West in general and the United States in particular.
So where do we go from here? In the UK one can see the influence of the executive over the judiciary in so far as the Government gives directives on how to judge and guidelines on sentencing .
Not as extraordinary as Obama's executive decision last week but definitely worth examining.
In 1215 in a small town called Runnymede the Magna Carta was signed. It established the supremacy of parliament over the monarchy  while at the same time laying the foundations for constitutional rights . Though Britain does not have a codified constitution in one document, Acts of Parliament , the supreme law making body acknowledges  the separation of duties, particularly the separation of powers between governance and law.
Sadly due to mass commercialism these boundaries are regularly and constantly being eroded .
In Arabia, I love using generalities, goals and beliefs / political culture has sensed that the relationship between the state and society and symbols that once evoked  positive emotions are rapidly crumbling. Once regimes start to massacre their own then it is time for them to leave.
The failure of these benevolent  despots or cruel dictatorships to adapt and provide for their  peoples means it is a time for change. When loyalty is given without reciprocal protection and an ability to flourish and no fear of wrongful persecution , then it is time for these Warlords to pack their bags.
Good governance means social responsibility balanced with both economic and political opportunity for all.

Let nothing be called natural.

''Let nothing be called natural 

in an age of bloody confusion, 

ordered disorder, planned caprice, 

and dehumanized humanity, 

lest all things be held unalterable!'' 

Bertolt Brecht, dramatist, poet and a refugee. The Exception and the Rule, 1937 


As anticipated Saudi forces quelled the " Day of Rage" with The Saudi Foreign Minister quoted as saying "It will cut off any finger raised against it."
US Defence secretary Gates turns up in Manama to show support for Bahrain's regime. 
Gadaffi in the meantime is getting bolder with many billions salted away to pay for his mercenaries and no doubt a dictator or two who gave him support at the meeting of the African Union.
Well what did you expect? There is a brotherhood of thieves.
Though Qatari based Al Jazeera was conspicuously absent in its reporting on Saudi it had  covered the protests in Bahrain. 
The historical tensions between the two, due to territorial disputes with tribal -dynastic overtones may have a role to play in this.
Time and Wikileaks will most probably reveal the various forces at work and how it has affected their behaviour in the secret deals that are being carved out.
In the Emirates the federal experiment is working so far and has not seen the demonstrations prevalent elsewhere in the Gulf only a calm petition signed by a few hundred notables requesting reform. It may herald in an end to the absolutism that is currently the reality in each Emirate. Cash is king .
Lack of adherence to the rule of law and their bad track record on human rights are put to one side as Obama's executive order on Guantanamo has given all these regimes the green light to be brutal.
The resistance in Libya needs proper weaponry so I hope all these backroom deals for America and the International community to turn a blind eye to the shameful suppression of their peoples legitimate aspirations and not interfere leads to real weapons being delivered soon.
There is something unnatural in all this that is plain for all to see. 

Earthquakes, executive orders and shootings.

Wow an earthquake has hit Japan with tsunamis about to hit many of the Pacific Rim countries. It was massive.
The pictures on our TV screens are of apocalyptic proportions. Refineries on fire, a wall of water destroying everything in it's way.
My heart goes out to those that will suffer for the foreseeable future as after shocks will bring about more misery.
Meanwhile in America Obama has done an extraordinary thing. Yesterday he signed an executive order claiming the right to incarcerate persons in Guantanamo bay military prison even after acquittal. No western government ever has claimed this right. Not only is this is a dangerous move as it violates natural law and turns the US constitution on its head it also gives the green light to dictators everywhere to do the same.
Now a deal has been struck between Washington and Riyadh to supply the resistance in Libya with arms the suppression of their own people has started with protesters being fired upon in the eastern region of Saudi. Let us hope it is not too brutal.
The hypocrisy is startling .
God save us all.       

No Cannes do.

Yesterday morning I witnessed one of the most bizarre events I think I have seen in London.
Next door to my home are the offices of Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz , who unfortunately were arrested in a raid by the City of London Police.
 What astounded me was not so much the arrests but the ferocity of the action,  and then the subsequent publicity surrounding the raid.
Guns cameras action.
Now I am not defending nor attacking either party or judging the guilt or innocence of the brothers. That will eventually fall to the British courts and those far wiser than me.
I have known the two  for most of my adult life and found them both charming and repulsive depending on my mood and the state of my love life at various points in time.
We share still up to now common friends and acquaintances.
What was bizarre was the truck load of police from the City, not their usual jurisdiction, the amount of visible weaponry and the arrival of the press to capture it on film. For a split second one could have thought we were in Benghazi or Basra, not the quiet enclave I call home.
There may be politics behind the scenes as their arrest was linked to their role in a now defunct Icelandic bank, Iceland's recent reneging of sovereign guarantees to the UK etc.... and perhaps by a little anti semitism on the part of the Establishment.
It all reminded me of words of wisdom told to me by a director of Lazards in the city nearly a quarter of a century ago when I questioned him about the then arrests of a group of highly respected Jews for insider trading, which was up to then a common practice that was part and parcel of City life.It is now referred to as the Guinness affair.
He told me then " We allow the Catholics the insurance and reinsurance business , the Jews and Arabs and foreigners  property and clothing etcetera , but general mergers and acquisitions  are the domain of us white Anglo - Saxon Protestants".  
Well I must say those words seem to ring true as over the years most of the City scandals that have been pursued always seem to have involved non Anglo- Saxon Protestants.
As the property world converge on  Cannes for their annual knees up, the Tchenguiz brothers whose boat , which is moored in the port and venue of the more salubrious parties, will not be there.
A case of no Cannes do.         

Baaa and the Wolf

I don't have much to say today apart from the story about the sheep.
Sheep always needed sheep dogs to guard them and let them frolic in their own domain.
Thus sheep dogs came to power to let the sheep frolic and prosper in return for protection and stability.
Whilst out there were wolves that envied the prosperity of the sheepdogs and desired the life of the sheep.
So when the sheep dogs either became sheep by their lifestyle or became complacent about their role the wolves came in.
Ahh what big teeth you've got.....

I can't waltz only belly dance.

Well what an interesting few days we have had.
While Washington and Riyadh hammer out a deal for the Saudi 's to send arms to the resistance in Benghazi no doubt on the understanding that they can continue suppress their own dissenters without rebuke from Washington, a number of SAS operatives from a group known as the increment and a MI 6 agent were captured in what proved to be a PR coup for the mad dictator.
 Though eventually freed amongst claims that they were trying to make contact with the leaders of the uprising it took the HMS Cumberland and frantic diplomatic negotiations to ensure their safe return .
So William Hague's contention that it was a diplomatic mission,regardless that there was a firefight and all those maps  and passports they had with them when as  political commentator Andrew Neil tweeted " takes so long for folk to get just one renewed these days ", proves another embarrassing fiasco.
The Americans however, in a diplomatic coup of their own, were able to get the Gulf Cooperation Council to request the imposition of a no fly zone over Libya.
There can now be no doubt that the US and Europe will turn a blind eye to the repressions the  GCC will impose on their own people as the Saudis and Co. funnel arms as requested to Libya.
The Al Khalifa regime in Bahrain and others may be safe for a while longer in this trade off , but all will be clearer once the extent of the brutality in surpressing internal dissent is known.
 Remember Willy Hague's comments a few weeks ago " to avoid excessive violence " as if a little cruelty will be OK.
 Well let us hope that the international community does not allow this deal as an excuse for the Gulf regimes to suppress the legitimate aspirations of their peoples.
Meanwhile in Vienna, Silvio's former squeeze and center of the Italian PM's own nightmare Karima Al Mahroug aka Ruby, attends one of Austria's most prestigious shindigs, the world renowned  Opera Ball, relegating the Libyan revolution and other news events to the back pages of their newspapers.
" I can't waltz, I can only belly dance", she purred, as Toni Faber the head priest of St Stephen's Cathedral warned those that were shocked by her presence  " the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into heaven before you."
It's surprising that Prince Andy wasn't there or at least Fergie as Ruby was paid an alleged$50k to attended. Oh well they do have problems of their own.

A puzzling statement by Deutche bank as they declare that payments to prostitutes and lap dancers are no longer an acceptable business expense, makes me wonder if all this time all these politicians and princess did no wrong, as obviously they must have once been legitimate! 

 Ah to bank with those city boys!  

I wonder if Tony is considering giving the money he got from Gadaffi Inc to charity yet? Hmm I don't think hell has frozen over yet, well not according to the Morgans anyway.
               

Andy the other Mandy, and RBS.

 As Prince Andy is coming under increased criticism for his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeff Epstein and may have to evoke diplomatic immunity rights to stop being questioned by US investigators  what  seems to have been missed by the media  is his close links with the Abu Dhabi royal family.
His old flame and saviour of Barclays has turned up again on the cover of a property magazine being described as the £100m woman and Dubai's golden girl apparently not only can she buy Banks for the rich Sheiks of the UAE but it seems she is a dab hand at buying them property too .
In an article  published in 2008 in the Times she is reported to have netted £40m commission on the Barclays deal and a further £10m on the purchase of Manchester City FC both for Mansour Bin Zayed.
"It would not matter if I was making £8m or £200m . I just want to go to bed at night and say I've done a good job", says the former model and business partner of the one time Minister of  Fun.
Now I have to take my hat off to her as it was not so long ago she was facing financial dramas that would make Fergie look like an amateur. What is interesting to note is what was Andy's role if any in introducing her to his Arabian friends and what remuneration if any did he receive?
Now I only ask as it transpires that the Abu Dhabi lot not knowing what to do apart from throwing parties with and without Camels (one last night for example in SW quelque chose) usually attended by more "artistes " than Silvio could have ever handled in his lifetime are now rumored to be using their investment arm to eye a stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland which is 83% owned by the British taxpayer.
 With no money left in the government coffers I can see how tempting it might be to relieve the Emarartis of money they have purloined from the back of hard working expatriates..
Amazing that not only have they been buying lawmakers and  properties on both sides of the Atlantic but they are regarded as fit to own British institutions as well as football teams. It seems there were no lessons learnt from the Abu Dhabi owned Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
It makes a mockery of compliance regulations as the UAE has zero adherence to the rule of law or to universally held principles of human rights.
When we are living in an age of no secrets thanks to Assange and others it will only be a matter of time that it will become obvious who got what, when and why.
Let's hope all sides do the right thing soon otherwise there could be egg on a lot of faces.       

Twitter on to victory you deserve it.

The  new Egyptian Prime minister is an indication that real change is finally happening after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak . Announcements on his appointment even being posted on Facebook before being announced on State television. He in turn returned the favour by replacing the Interior Minister via the same medium . Ah the clever  little zucker who gave us this latest weapon in the war on liberating information.
Meanwhile the relationship status between Washington and Islamabad has gone from being "in a relationship" to "it's complicated".
Well what do you expect when a CIA operative and double murderer shoots and kills two people in broad daylight?
In China a blogger has been arrested for subversive activities against the state. His crime blogging for social justice .
The Chinese who have a talent for suppressing  dissent with a brutality that is worthy of African dictators, remember Tianamen Square, could become a victim of tsunami  proportions if this wave of liberation that is rolling across the Middle East takes hold there.
The role of  social media has been  discussed extensively in the recent uprisings, awakenings and revolutions that are currently underway and I for one believe the dissemination of real information has and will continue to be an important tool in educating both the rulers as to the hopes and desires of the young and enabling the electronic generation to both vent their disaffection and mobilize for action if necessary .
It is however ironic to note that Julian Assange the founder of Wikileaks which provides  information on governments and corporations to individuals for free is regarded as a villain whilst Mark Zukerburg  who provides information on individuals to governments and corporations for money is hailed a hero. Both play an important role in the current and ongoing struggle for freedom and dignity.
 As do the plethora of independent television news channels that beam information into our living rooms giving us both insight and motivation to empower ourselves to a better future. Well done Al Jazeera and all. Those of us who are not so connected rely on you to at least keep us informed.
Certain parts of central and southern Africa whose populations have so far been repressed have been slower to organize as internet and television availability is limited and or out of reach of the masses for the time being, but in this fluid environment dynamics change daily and they too will not be denied their freedom.
As for me I am hooked on these mediums and power does not have to be evil.
Twitter on to victory you deserve it.                   

I'm a lumberjack and I don,t care.

CIA operative Raymond Davis

It seems that psycho Saif and mini psycho Raymond share the same taste in chequered lumberjack shirts.
There must be a homicidal maniac special on these sartorial gems.
I wonder how many similar shirts are hanging in the closets of Middle Eastern palaces?
The magical murderous qualities of these shirts have hitherto been unknown. They must have taken the words of that popular ditty literately.
I,m a lumberjack and I don,t care.......I'll keep killing to hang on to this Chair and so will I added the Langley spare...

Psycho Saif demonstrating strangling techniques

House for the homeless available.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. the son of the Libyan leader, is planning to make more than half a million pounds a year renting out his home in north London. He is trying to rent out an eight-bedroom home in Hampstead for £9,750 a week. He bought the house two years ago through a British Virgin Islands-registered company for £10 million. A Sunday newspaper reported that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Col Muammar Gaddafi, bought the house in the wealthy suburb of Hampstead in north London and spent some time there with his entourage
Picture: Glentree International

Watching Saif being interviewed as he clasps his hands in prayer while talking as if he is in charge denying that there is a problem yet asserting he knows everything that is going on is quite sad. It was only recently he was waving a machine gun and shooting at innocent people, but seeing him in his black and white lumberjack shirt arguing a lost cause is repulsive.
Without doubt he is very slick and it is obvious he has been well rehearsed this time as he spouts sound bites compared  to the interview he gave just a few days ago.
All the buzz words are correct but the logic is fundamentally flawed.
It really is up to the international community to put an end to this nonsense immediately.
" If we are weak they don't respect us" ,"We know this game"and " Be  happy"  he smirks.
That is not a reason to commit atrocities on a people who have been denied the right to dignity and freedom, and it is not a game you psychopath.
The regime continues to slaughter without fear of retribution as they ruthlessly attempt to hold on to power.This has to be stopped.
Now on a practical side assets are continually being seized with a shipment of $160 million of Libyan currency having been intercepted and confiscated.
Claiming he has no assets outside Libya  Saif should not mind if his house in Winnington Close, Hampstead or as he says not his house (as it is utilized more often by his brother Alsaadi of Hollywood and football prowess) is used to shelter the homeless? As it not his,there should be no objections if the property is seized as assets obtained by dubious means and he prefers to stay at the Dorchester and Intercon hotels when he is not at Nats country estate anyway.

Come on Dave give the order! Your predecessors know as well as your old school mates whose house it is .
Just do the right thing.

The explosive fresh air

As everyone from the London School of Economics , who accepted money from Gadaffi to train Libya's new batch of psychopaths to the large bottomed diva of pop and new scrabble entry , Beyonce, are rapidly trying to distance themselves from the regime I notice a silence from the The other quartet, namely the Nat , Andy , Mandy and Blair section of the orchestra.
Whilst the singer donated her fees which she received for crooning to one of the tyrant's offspring,  to a Haiti charity the LSE somewhat surprisingly said it was going to give the donation back. To whom they plan to give the money back will be interesting to see. I wonder if the quartet will be that charitable?
Meanwhile the suffering mounts as the Libyan regime continues to commit crimes against it's people. It is somewhat heart warming to hear that the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno - Ocampo put Libya's ruler and inner circle on notice that they will be investigating the war crimes that are being committed .
The United States however are being their usual two faced self.
One seasoned US diplomat recently quipped  " They don't know their chemical weapons from a can of Raid ( the well known household insecticide) "- He was talking about a recently filmed video, smuggled out of Libya taken by anti Gadaffi freedom fighters claiming what on closer inspection turned out to be aircraft ejection canisters as chemical weapons .
Now for an administration that never had a historic relationship with the truth and went to war with Iraq based on a lie , remember those weapons of mass distraction, I am curious by this  honest outburst. What was the meaning of this seemingly innocent remark?
It is apparent that the Americans, who as the Brits like to remind them are always late to a party are procrastinating.  Two world wars  and recent hesitation and outright indecency on matters of historical significance such as the Palestinian Israeli dilemma  come to mind, expose the  delay tactics that are increasingly being employed as their traditional vassals fall like a house of cards .
They were quick to freeze over $30 billion in Libyan assets, yet both the Brits and the Yanks have strategic interests in the Middle East and are both major arms providers to the dictatorship that is falling .
Are these tactics a frag mint of their imagination , really a breath of explosive fresh air, or just an excuse to sell more weapons to a new generation of clients? Only time will tell.
So far the evolution  of the revolution has been about gaining freedom , no anti western sentiment of any significance is apparent. However if Gadaffi is allowed to stay then that could change rapidly.

               

The Syphilis factor

Puff piece after puff piece as these regimes are trying to portray themselves in a softer light are only adding insult to injury.
More western P.R agencies sucking up millions from these Dictators and their families giving them advice that not only shows a lack of understanding of the events occurring but are downright irresponsible as they will only further inflame an already volatile situation.
Looking at lobbying statistics published in the US you see that the UAE tops the list of spend, but they are all as guilty as each other of it.
Jamal Mubarak squandered fortunes with Bell Pottinger in the UK for his now corpse of a campaign.
The latest additions to sully our already overloaded minds are the Bahraini claims that Tanks crossing the causeway are their own just on their way back from Kuwait. Yeah right!  If a single round is fired then the death knell for the Al Khalifa regime must surely sound. Apart from the bloody atrocities committed already,  Saudi Tanks? Hello is there anybody there?
Then The Iconic fashion magazine Vogue runs an Ill-timed glamorous profile of Asma Al Assad the wife of The Syrian President that happens to coincide with the brutal crackdown on pro democracy protesters.what the hell were they thinking?
It would not surprise me if Dubai goes ahead with its Racing World Cup, which will only go to show that those that are advising them are as perverted as The Regime themselves.
Don't they realize this is not a time for racing extravaganzas or shopping festivals. Real people are being massacred across the Middle East and no one is immune from it. Carry on at your own peril.
I certainly have no sympathy for their self inflicted downfall as they say sympathy is just a word in the dictionary, and you find it between shit and syphilis .
    

Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

It beggars belief the shear fear that exists amongst the current crop of Middle Eastern despots that are plundering their nations as if they were personal fiefdoms.
The latest statement that came out of the Arab Beleaguers was so wishy washy that it was a waste of time for their Foreign Ministers to meet at all. I am surprised it did not make the more honest of these diplomats, and there are a few, cringe with embarrassment at the fraud they are helping perpetuate on their people.
Ah well a little like expecting the foxes to guard the hen house I suppose.
Thank goodness the Arab world has a new generation of brave competent and energized youth who will no longer accept the shackles and lies imposed on them by a corrupt and decadent leadership.
Finally they have found a cause that not only are they prepared to fight for but if necessary to die for.
The fear America and its satellites are showing is quite irrational as it belatedly pays lip service to the aspirations of these young freedom fighters who are only demanding what here in the West people take for granted namely the right to self determination, the right to choose and the right to prosper.
The Brits and Europeans are also giving so many mixed messages  it has become obscene.
The Russians love to upset everyone as they have their own repression issues.
The Chinese are quaking in their boots not only  if freedom fever moves towards them but if it spreads in Africa where they have become paymaster general as they have been surreptitiously  buying African resources on the cheap.
 Proxy diplomacy that is costing Arab blood  is no longer acceptable.
 Don't interact with  us as your factotums.The  universe will conspire to give you your comeuppance, history has shown that.
Is it so hard to understand we just want to be treated with respect and dignity? We just want our freedom. For the love of God let us have it.
Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.  

The vulgar cars are back!

The complete detachment of the Colonel from reality and his continued homicidal bombings have got to be acted upon.
This man and his family have to be stopped and tried for the crimes they are committing. It is an outrage that those who have the military capability and assets in the area don't do a black box operation. There certainly is enough International condemnation at what is happening on the ground that a move like that would be universally supported.
There is human suffering of an epic magnitude, common decency has to prevail.
Meanwhile in the Arabian peninsula  the desire to be free from the shackles of tyranny continue.
On my daily strolls I noticed more of those vulgarly shiny cars ,that have been absent since the summer are once again being parked outside the five star hostelries . This time with UAE plates, which goes to show that bad judgement and taste has no bounds , whilst the youth of Arabia are nobly fighting and dying to enfranchise themselves in order to have a better future  the  Sheiks who have denied so many of their human rights continue to spend with such wanton abandon. It is disheartening to see and compounded by the fact that they are buying public opinion in the west with a ferocity that would have been better spent applying the rule of law in their own countries.
Ah well even though the weather is supposedly cool this time of year in the Gulf to many of these tinpot Sheiks it may be getting too hot.
And how can they disguise and hide their assets if they were at home.
 London Geneva and New York will no doubt be very busy in the upcoming weeks as they scramble to squirrel their ill gotten gains from any potential international sanctions.

Beware not everybody has Nelson's eye or Beethoven's ears.

Walking into the light

It's a wicked game that is being played out in the Middle East.
Accusations of Command and Control  centers in Tel-Aviv , brain warping TV coverage out of Doha , drug taking youths in Benghazi to Al Qaida operatives and the resurgence of militant Islam.These despots are blaming everyone except themselves.
Well make up your minds this is not some grand master scheme with a Hollywood villain stroking, ironically, a white Persian .
Physician heal thyself. And that's what the Middle East is doing. We are purging ourselves from the Dictatorial maniacs who have been denying us the freedom of choice and right of self determination that we yearn for.
No doubt there are several countries and or Organizations that have an interest in the instability and chaos that is ensuing but the majority don't. A few will benefit short term but in this age where freedom of information is a human right and easily collated nothing is hidden for long.
The funny thing with revolutions is they don't ever go the way one expects.
The Intelligence community at large is running around like a headless chicken as they are not as competent as they had us believe.
Should we be hating the players or the game? Both most probably;The result however I am sure will be sensational.
Now that the extent of the barbarism and cruelty  that has been employed in propping up and keeping these regimes in power is known it makes you wonder what we have been afraid of for so long.
It reminds me of the words of Plato "we can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light".
The Children of Arabia have lived in the dark for too long. Now they are walking bravely into the light the world should be encouraging them.