<?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-538641173379278805</id><updated>2012-01-29T03:09:02.682-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Iraq</title><subtitle type='html'>This blog is on Iraq, Middle East and other Muslim countries. It has Analysis, critiques and inside stories of religion, culture and politics all done with good intention and for the sake of having more freedom and less dictatorships.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>50</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-1610310540014846838</id><published>2009-03-13T05:07:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-18T05:07:20.378-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Shoe throwing, Bush and Al Zaidi the iraqi journalist</title><content type='html'>I am quite annoyed by the sentence passed on Al-Zaidi the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at President Bush. A three years sentence represents the fear and paranoia of Iraqi figures in authority from been treated the same way. Therefore such unreasonable sentence comes from fears of losing face rather than from a rational decision that is proportionate to the act itself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In legal sense there may be two kinds of assaults, one that causes physical harm which in a court of law a punishement will depend on how much the physical damage is? The other kind of damage caused by the assault is related to how much is the emotional is the emotional damage? Obviously neither of those damages ware evident in incident. Apparently the sentence aimed at setting precedent for the rest of the Iraqis rather than showing justice. I think this isn’t fair for a country that is just learning about the right of protest and democracy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A week or two in detention or a fine would be proportionate rather than coming down heavy handedly on people similar to what Saddam used to treat Iraqis.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-1610310540014846838?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/1610310540014846838/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=1610310540014846838' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1610310540014846838'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1610310540014846838'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2009/03/shoe-throwing-bush-and-al-zaidi-iraqi.html' title='Shoe throwing, Bush and Al Zaidi the iraqi journalist'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6727381572241571250</id><published>2008-12-25T12:09:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-25T12:13:14.373-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Thomas Friedman, Conflict Prevention and Peace in Middle East and Iraq</title><content type='html'>Thomas Friedman, Dell’s theory of Conflict Prevention and development of peace in the Middle East starting with Iraq&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thomas Friedman in his book “The World is Flat” discusses Dell’s theory of Conflict Prevention. In its essence the theory suggests that countries with mutual economical dependency and benefits through free market economy would not resort to wars if the heat of political or religious confrontation arises. He takes China and Taiwan as two countries that developed mutual economical benefits through Hi Tech western investments in both countries. Everyone knows that the conflict is about the China’s claim of Taiwan and Taiwan’s claim for independence. Dell’s has invested billions of dollars in hi tech manufacturing components in both countries and that has generated mutual economical dependency and subsequently prevented catastrophic wars.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think the model can be implemented in the Middle East to create the peace we all wants starting with Iraq as the first fledging democracy where western investments can be injected followed by further investment in neighbouring countries to generate mutual economical dependency and benefits.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To some this proposal may seem simplistic but it can happen as it did happen in China and Taiwan.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6727381572241571250?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6727381572241571250/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6727381572241571250' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6727381572241571250'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6727381572241571250'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/12/thomas-friedman-conflict-prevention-and.html' title='Thomas Friedman, Conflict Prevention and Peace in Middle East and Iraq'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-3791288285311474987</id><published>2008-12-22T02:28:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-22T03:01:18.196-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Muntazer al-Zaidi, shoe throwing and Mr Bush</title><content type='html'>Muntazer al-Zaidi has chosen to deny the fact that Iraq is much better place than Saddam's times. He vented his anger by throwing his shoes at Mr Bush. His anger is a clear manisfestation of the sense of shame attached to been liberated by foreign forces from a horrible dictatorial and savage grip.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This act is a good representation of tribal people's inability to express their emotions in a form of language or articulate them more effectively or the inability for better emotional expressions, subsequently they resort to throwing shoes, violent acts, hysteric episodes...etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As someone from that part of the world, I know how such defecit (the inability of effective emotional expression) hampers and delays our emotional development and subsequently our rational thoughts. It also makes children feeling inferior for all times to come.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The other side of coin is that this event is a great representation of the sense of security Iraqis now feeling when it comes act of defiance that isn't violent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finally, I don't think a 15 years sentence should be imposed, this man should be freed as soon as possible or perhaps fined or sentenced to a community services penalty rather than trying to intimidate the rest of Iraqis for protesting in this manner.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-3791288285311474987?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/3791288285311474987/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=3791288285311474987' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3791288285311474987'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3791288285311474987'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/12/muntazer-al-zaidi-shoe-throwing-and-mr.html' title='Muntazer al-Zaidi, shoe throwing and Mr Bush'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6686051762240199837</id><published>2008-08-02T11:53:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-02T11:54:21.424-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Gun fights among Hamas, PLO and a powerful family</title><content type='html'>Today’s clash or I should say gun fights among Palestinians (i.e. Hamas, PLO and Halas family) is good evidence Palestinians' inability to tolerate each other and incapable of working with each other for the common good of all Palestinians. My question to Arabs and Muslims in general and Palestinians in particular is quite simple, why differences among Arabs and Muslims are usually dealt with by violent means? Contrary to that their neighbours the “horrible” Israelis though differ in their views don’t pull guns and fight to resolve a conflict.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Relating to the above my ultimate fear is that Iraqis may fail to develop democracy in Iraq due to similar inability to tolerate each other and fail to resolve difficult situations by peaceful means unless they become acutely aware of the fact that negotiation is a better option for every Iraqi.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6686051762240199837?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6686051762240199837/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6686051762240199837' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6686051762240199837'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6686051762240199837'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/08/gun-fights-among-hamas-plo-and-powerful.html' title='Gun fights among Hamas, PLO and a powerful family'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-624113837052167021</id><published>2008-07-31T23:17:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-07-31T23:31:14.174-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Sawah Abu Saif tortured by Hamas, why?</title><content type='html'>An Arab journalist, by the name Sawah Abu Saif, working for a German newspaper was detained and tortured by Hamas gangs claiming he is a spy for Fatah. This spying business is a disease plagued the Arab world for decades and has to be exposed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Any Arab who may disagree or not committing himself to blind loyalty to an Arab tribe or a religious sect and dares to speak the truth about the inhumane treatment of others is normally accused of spying and espionage by whoever in power. Hamas or other radical Arab and Muslim group may detain westerners but surely will not torture them, but if the detained person is an Arab or an Arab by origin then he had it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is a similar parallel of mistreatment of Arabs or naturalised Arabs when visiting another arab country. When you get to passport control of an Arab country and the passport control officer learns from your name or by other means that you are an Arab then delays, demanding bribes, and threatening gestures is what you get. I lived such experience when visiting Egypt. In my first visit I pretended that I do not speak Arabic therefore was no delay but in my next visit I spoke Arabic then demand for bribes and delays was evident. A westerner will never be treated the same way.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-624113837052167021?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/624113837052167021/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=624113837052167021' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/624113837052167021'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/624113837052167021'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/07/sawah-abu-saif-tortured-by-hamas-why.html' title='Sawah Abu Saif tortured by Hamas, why?'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-7389880982184889845</id><published>2008-07-31T12:20:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-07-31T12:21:17.627-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Al Bashir president of Sudan and crimes against humanity</title><content type='html'>Asking for the head of Omar Al Bashir the president of Sudan by the international court of crimes against humanity is a model that requires extension to become the norm in global policies against genocides or ethnic cleansing, political and religious dictatorial regimes, and other systems of the similar calibre of brutality. The court should be given real judiciary and military power to arrest presidents, prime ministers…etc of oppressive regimes and giving them sentences that even range from few months to life sentences. This idea may sound a bit cynical for its suggestion to arrest head of states or members of states involved in oppressing or the killing of their own people, but the new 21st century realities demands the total elimination of dictatorial and brutal regimes hiding behind the concept of sovereignty. Mugabe is another example who should be sent to this court to be tried.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-7389880982184889845?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/7389880982184889845/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=7389880982184889845' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7389880982184889845'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7389880982184889845'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/07/al-bashir-president-of-sudan-and-crimes.html' title='Al Bashir president of Sudan and crimes against humanity'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-88400627675358225</id><published>2008-07-01T08:07:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-07-01T08:08:30.433-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Iraqi oil industry infrastructure</title><content type='html'>Iraq has decided to open up its oil industry’s infrastructure for renovation by outside companies; companies who develop United Arab Emirates from a desert into a country that can be one of the biggest financial centres in the Middle East and Asia and that was within 25 years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This very courageous move is going to detach Iraq from the stupidity of Arabs nationalistic politics and the simplistic idea of foreign companies steals Iraqi oil wealth; let these companies steal the Iraq oil if that takes Iraq to where the United Arab Emirates has reached now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Currently oil price is quite high and Iraq can benefit from that by exporting 6 millions barrel a day in the next 10 years. This is what Iraq needs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Globalisation has a great impact on nations like Iraq where Gordon Brown’s recent proposal of countries like Iraq can invest into British renewable energy industries and Britain and other western nations can invest in developing better oil industry’s infrastructure. This is called innovation and not stealing, this is called 21st century business deals, this is called old colonial practices cannot be practised in 21st century, this called the best way forward for Iraq to disentangle itself from the rest of the Arab defective politics and develop independent of them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although I disagree with ideology of party leading the current Iraqi government, I endorse its proactive move to develop Iraq’s oil industry infrastructure and snubbing all Arab nationalism’s nonsensical voices and focus on how their ancestors the Babylonians build the Tower of Babylon and the infinite library of Babylon.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-88400627675358225?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/88400627675358225/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=88400627675358225' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/88400627675358225'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/88400627675358225'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/07/iraqi-oil-industry-infrastructure.html' title='Iraqi oil industry infrastructure'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6648866501237579059</id><published>2008-07-01T00:13:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-07-01T00:21:53.509-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Iran accuses Ashtari of spying for Israel</title><content type='html'>Iran has taken another victim accused of spying for Israel. Ashtari is a businessman who is sentenced to death by one of those brutal revolutionary courts normally headed by a bloodthirsty Mullahs such as the early eighties judge called larijani whose victims’ blood still on his hands.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is a pattern in all of this business of spying for foreign agencies or Israel where all dictatorships share. When dictatorships get cornered as in tightening economic sanctions on them or threat of bombing their nuclear facilities as in the Iranian case, they tend to display their strength and defiance by exhibiting extreme intimidating actions and victimisation of their own people; that sort of action is a good representation of cowardice and lack of courage to confront whoever involved in the sanctions or threat. The closest example I remember is the 1969-70 Saddam’s regime public hanging of ten innocent Iraqis accused of been Israeli agents despite the fact Saddam’s regime was just a couple of years in power and Israel had no idea what sort of regime it was? This sort of sick dynamics represents a good example of dictatorships’ projection of extreme fear, neuroticism and paranoia on their own people.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The way dictatorships do such thing [e.g. hanging of the innocents] can be fast and furious; in other words it happens like lynching where crowd of supporters display their anger in the streets of the capital or making the news of catching the spy public in a flash or by other immediate means. I can tell everyone that actions like that can be very intimidating and paralysing; one would freeze and submit to the will of the powerful of the brutal Revolutionary Guards for example.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ashatari could be innocent victim of the Mullahs’ brutal regime or perhaps he was lured to some business dealings with Mullahs’ regime but watched to make some mistakes then caught and accused of being an Israeli spy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By the way this business of Israeli spy is used by all dictatorial regimes in the Middle East.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6648866501237579059?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6648866501237579059/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6648866501237579059' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6648866501237579059'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6648866501237579059'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/07/iran-accuses-ashtari-of-spying-for.html' title='Iran accuses Ashtari of spying for Israel'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-5679862389059921002</id><published>2008-06-30T06:44:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-30T06:45:15.474-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Africa and the despot Mugabe</title><content type='html'>The world is watching carelessly the despot Mugabe taking the fate of Zimbabweans in his cruel hand and leading them into another hell again; he is taking an oath that he doesn’t’ deserve and claims to serve the country. Aren’t these despots like Saddam Hussein ashamed of themselves for claiming patriotism, anti-imperialism and their serving the people of those countries? Aren’t the world and the UN are ashamed of watching the brutal events happening without any action? Aren’t the world in general and the UN particular are ashamed of letting those dictators hide behind International Laws and the brutal concept of sovereignty?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We call on the international community to intervene directly to establish democracy in Zimbabwi and other oppressed nations and take solid action to protect those nations by allowing stationed troops for further protection. We call on UN to stop its own corruption in turning blind eye of such mockery and allocate some funding through cutting some of its staff fat salaries to station troops.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;People of this world deserve protection from the claws of dictatorial regimes hiding behind the cruel concept of sovereignty. The west must start taking real steps toward the ending of those regimes and toward the freeing of oppressed people wherever they are?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-5679862389059921002?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/5679862389059921002/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=5679862389059921002' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/5679862389059921002'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/5679862389059921002'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/06/africa-and-despot-mugabe.html' title='Africa and the despot Mugabe'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6471759833138940379</id><published>2008-06-19T04:40:00.002-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-19T04:57:23.504-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Iran and Light Water Reactors proposal</title><content type='html'>Recently it has been suggested to the government of Mullahs in Iran to use Light Water Reactor to limit the likelihood of producing nuclear bomb. Of course the mullahs refused the offer and their refusal clearly tells everybody the mullahs’ intention of the Uranium enrichment process, it is to construct a nuclear bomb.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please don’t let this mad dog or any other regional dictatorial regime such as Libya, Egypt, Syria…etc acquire nuclear weapon because these dictatorial mad dogs would drop a nuclear bomb just of getting upset with someone or as a simple act of retaliation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some people argue and say: why Israel was allowed to continue its nuclear research and later manufactured a nuclear bomb, obviously the answer to such question is: a nuclear bomb in the hand of dictatorial radical Mullahs is more dangerous than a nuclear bomb in the hand of a rational mind. I think the idea of letting only Israel to have a nuclear bomb and not to allow any of its neighbouring or regional mad dogs such as the Mullahs’ regime of Iran, Syria, Egypt, Libya…etc is a reasonable thing to do. Just imagine the Palestinians having the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb…Well; they would annihilate Israel as soon it is in their hands. I think deterrents should be in the hand of nations that have reached a stage where its citizens are reasonably content and has the democratic power to stop states’ mad acts such as dropping a nuclear bomb just to retaliate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just as we have the "Anti War Movement" we should have a campaign "Anti Mad dogs’ acquisition of nuclear bombs"&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6471759833138940379?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6471759833138940379/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6471759833138940379' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6471759833138940379'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6471759833138940379'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/06/iran-and-light-water-reactors-proposal_19.html' title='Iran and Light Water Reactors proposal'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-8583674578270496621</id><published>2008-06-13T05:46:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-20T01:17:46.403-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Former Palestinian collaborators forge new life in Israel</title><content type='html'>Article title: Former Palestinian collaborators forge new life in Israel Guardian 13 June 2008:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/13/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/13/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Five Palestinian families decided to seek refuge not in an Arab dictatorial state who always claim sympathy with Palestinian issue but Israel after helping it to acquire intelligence on radical Palestinians’ activities. These courageous people broke a mould that no one dared to break; a mould instilled by dictatorial regimes that chained the souls of all ordinary Arabs and stifled them for decades. The mould always manifested itself in the form of shame attached to admiring or working for a fair, compared with regional dictatorial regimes, Israeli system which is seen by Arab dictatorships as the only enemy. These people must have been tormented by Arabs’ dictatorial misleading patriotic nonsense and want a decent life under the only neighbouring humane system.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One can be sure that majority of ordinary Arabs are against suffocating dictatorships and wish an end to them, but the tremendous fear of being prosecuted or even annihilated made the nightmare to carry on for decades.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One should be glad to see people like those families taking a huge risk and set precedence for other Arabs to make similar move.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Israel should start encouraging these sorts of moves among Arabs and not to fear anything. Encouraging Arabs to leave their countries seeking better life in Israel may be the necessary move leading to the end of dictatorial Middle Eastern regimes which always threaten Israel security and suffocate their own people. Since the majority of ordinary Arabs if given the opportunity to live decently under the rule of law would appreciate that and Israel shouldn’t fear a thing; on the contrary Israel will be seen as the only state that sympathise and protect if necessary oppressed people from its neighbouring countries.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-8583674578270496621?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/8583674578270496621/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=8583674578270496621' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8583674578270496621'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8583674578270496621'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/06/former-palestinian-collaborators-forge.html' title='Former Palestinian collaborators forge new life in Israel'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-3211747819887015206</id><published>2008-06-13T00:55:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-13T04:03:29.328-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Gadafy’s view of Obama</title><content type='html'>Gadafy of Libya predicted that Obama can be worst than white men in their racism and bias to Israel. The genius Gadafy uses crude psychology to make flawed generalisation which is distinctive feature of Arab dictators.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let me give some background before delving into details. In the late sixties while studying for my degree at Baghdad state university, I got exposed to Gadafy’s crude and simplistic theories of social and political development. How I was given that rare opportunity to read an Arab’s genius theories was down to a friend of mine who went visiting Lebanon and on the way back to Iraq smuggled in few banned books and one of them was Gadafy’s “The Green Book”. In his book “The Green Book” Gadafy spelled out his crude social and political theories. Of course Iraq was controlled by Saddam brutal Baath party that banned every single piece of literatures that isn’t inline with Baath’s dogma including Gadafy’s crude book. Initially I imagined The Green Book as volumes of books telling us what we need to know about the universe and its intricacies. Next day the friend brought the book and there it was three small pamphlets filled with lots of nonsense or to describe mildly patch work. So that is Gadafy at the time and I don’t think he has changed or developed his thinking further since then but one must admit his inflated ego is tamed due to old age.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Back to the main point, although Gaday believes his country is part of Africa, he also believes as an Arab he is superior to all blacks and he should be leading them rather than being part of them because they haven’t got the capacity to run their affairs intelligently. The idea of leading African blacks was endorsed by some African nations who were desperate for Gadafy’s aides which at the time he was throwing at them. One needs to remember that because other stronger Arab dictators controlling the arena of leading the arab nations, Gadafy’s dream to lead Arabs had been shattered therefore flirting with Africans to lead them would compensate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So really he hasn’t got high opinion of blacks anyway and his recent comment on Obama as someone who may be worst than whites because of some inferiority complex is a typical crude racist remark by an Arab dictator.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The article: &lt;a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/13/barackobama.libya"&gt;http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/13/barackobama.libya&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-3211747819887015206?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/3211747819887015206/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=3211747819887015206' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3211747819887015206'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3211747819887015206'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/06/gadafys-view-of-obama.html' title='Gadafy’s view of Obama'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2882791271415922775</id><published>2008-06-03T00:29:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-05T00:12:41.792-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Naomi Klein and city of Shenzhen-China</title><content type='html'>Naomi Klein, city of Shenzhen-China and police states In yesterday’s Guardian Naomi Klein again threw up her hatred for a climate, free market economy and liberalism, which allows her to access unrivalled freedom of speech by any standard. She claimed that having CCTV cameras in the major industrial city of Shenzhen-China can be seen as the move toward a police state, but what she forgot is that communist China is a police state already and all what it is doing is using available technologies to monitor the movement of every citizen in China whatever the origin of technologies is. Of course what she is implying is that installing CCTV cameras in western cities such as London can be a prime factor to change a liberal democracy into a police state! this is a nonsensical argument. Liberal democracies have proper effective mechanism to maintain liberties.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The story starts like this: Shenzhen is a Chinese city hosting thousands of successful high-tech collaborative manufacturing businesses between China and Western Corporations. Klein claims that over a million CCTV cameras have been installed in the city and that to Klein is enough proof for consolidating a police state, but again what she forgets is that billions of dollars businesses need protection rather than seeing it as an evidence of a start of a police state (China) which is a police state already.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pompous writers like Klein need a taste of Saddam’s brutal police state for example to appreciate what she has in the West and not to blindly supporting dictatorships just to attack liberal capitalism. This shouldn't be understood that we shouldn't criticise the liberal west, but Klein and the like shouldn’t present the West as the worst place on this planet and even side rotten dictatorships to prove an anti-capitalism political point of view. Klein and the like should be equally critical of rotten dictatorial regimes and any negative aspects of liberal democracies. But unfortunately those western radical leftists are more interested in criticising the liberal west and say nothing about the brutality of dictatorships around the world; on the contrary they praise these dictatorships to support their criticism of western democracies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once and on Big Brother programme the one I dislike most Goerge Gallaway was asked if the people of Iraq loved Saddam Hussein and his reply was yes they did; a complete lie. These lies propagated by some leftists are quite damaging and may justify the oppression and brutality of those dictatorships. Klein and the like is guilty of such crime. When I was 17 years old young man and in conversation with family German friends visiting us in Iraq I was asked: what would I choose if I had to choose between freedom of speech and the daily necessary meals and my reply was freedom and I still believe so. But pampered people like Gallaway praising Cuba for its educational and health systems as if human beings are designed to accept being stripped off basic rights such as freedom of speech if offered good education and health. What a stupid argument?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wish to see a new generation of western leftists who invest the same amount of efforts and energy to criticise the liberal west's negative issus as much as exposing the brutality of despotic regimes and work effectively toward ending them.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2882791271415922775?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2882791271415922775/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2882791271415922775' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2882791271415922775'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2882791271415922775'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/06/naomi-klein-and-shenzhen-china.html' title='Naomi Klein and city of Shenzhen-China'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-3031430605731574057</id><published>2008-05-30T01:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-30T01:40:19.806-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Fallujah’s deformity cases as reported by channel five</title><content type='html'>In last night news on channel five, it was reported that some children from Fallujah suffer from facial and other body’s deformities. Children’s parents were told by local Fallujan doctors that these deformities are consequences of the American bombing of Fallujah when Al Qaeda followers started to launched their attacks to terrorise the country. Of course you could see the tears in Natasha Kiplinsky’s eyes, the newly crowned channel five’s angelic princess, reporting on those cases. What channel five has forgotten is that politically motivated individuals from Fallujah trying very hard suggests implicitly that Falluja is a victim of an American campaign and the evidence is quite clear through reported deformity cases.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fallujah used to be one of Saddam regime’s pillars but after the fall of Saddam’s regime the tribal Sunni elite, not ordinary poor people, lost the power they enjoyed for decades and subsequently trying to compensate for that through siding the Sunni Arabs’ anti-American campaign by creating a newly heroic image of themselves displaying a self destructive sense of Arabs and Sunnis’ bravery and courage. What these people forget (i.e. tribal leaders of Falluja) is that by siding Arab nationalism and Arabs’ anti-American sentiments are not going to pave a way to democracy and freedom but another form of self-destructive Arab dictatorship.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Look at how Palestinian youths are wasting their lives through suicide bombing proving their Arabism, heroism and recently religious dogma. Anyone’s heart would bleed for the waste of Arabs’ youth under a detrimental sense of tribalism, blind loyalty, religious manipulation and cultural machismo.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-3031430605731574057?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/3031430605731574057/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=3031430605731574057' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3031430605731574057'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3031430605731574057'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/05/fallujas-deformity-cases-as-reported-by.html' title='Fallujah’s deformity cases as reported by channel five'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-3858127003526064378</id><published>2008-05-27T00:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-28T07:03:17.820-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Can the despot Mubarak feed the people of Egypt?</title><content type='html'>So the wealth-sucking Vampire of Egypt Murbark has decided to send the Egyptian army and police force to bake bread for the starving Egyptians; also he increased the salary of all civil services’ employees by 30% to cope with the rising prices of basic food stuff. These are measures of a despot pampering starving Egyptians. Perhaps few questions can shed more light on the despots’ intentions of such measures: first, how the Egyptian despot managed to cater for 30% increase just like that, there must be some cash stashed somewhere in his private accounts or it is a lie to temporarily stop people from complaining? Second, knowing that the army and the police if employed to bake bread for the nation can only cater for 1% of people’s need, how such measure is going to help to control the a desperate situation?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The whole thing is rotten and despotic and reflects typical dictatorships’ stupid gimmicks. I remember similar gimmicks when living in Iraq; these gimmicks are more of dictatorial regimes traditional tactics to make people happier and subsequently getting their loyalty, what nonsense? Here is one of them out of my memories in Iraq: people are granted an extra day off work to go out and demonstrate against Israel or something that keeps dictators longer in power. Obviously having a paid day off work makes the regime the loveliest of all in the eyes of majority even if it annihilates 99% of its political opponents.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What amazes me or actually makes me more angry is that decade after decaed and the same dictatorial misleading practices produce the same result, the staying of despotic regimes!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-3858127003526064378?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/3858127003526064378/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=3858127003526064378' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3858127003526064378'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3858127003526064378'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/05/can-despot-mubarak-feed-people-of-egypt.html' title='Can the despot Mubarak feed the people of Egypt?'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-390179486333148804</id><published>2008-05-23T00:22:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-23T00:34:53.413-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Consortium for Uranium enrichment on Iranian soil !!</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;The Iranian proposal to let her build a factory for Uranium enrichment on her soils as part of an International Consortium should be thought a bit more in order to prevent the oppressive regime of mullahs who is desperate to join the nuclear club to intimidate neighbours, from constructing a covert replica or the acquisition of Uranium enrichment expertise. The international community should accept the Iranian offer but subject it to conditions as in:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. All personnel from shop floor to top management must not include any Iranian personnel to stop any attempt to acquire Uranium enrichment expertise.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. The Government of Iran must acquire the product via means as if it buys enriched Uranium from abroad.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. All security personnel must not be Iranian.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. By no means the Iranians should be able to nationalise the facilities as despotic regimes normally do as sign of patriotism.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5. Monitoring of the facilities shouldn’t be given to UN for its lax attitude toward nuclear threats in the region. The monitoring should be in the hand of the Security Council. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;6. Military presence for the protection of the facilities should be thought of carefully, no nonsense of not having foreign troops on our soil because we are sovereign country. You want enriched Uranium you get with conditions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-390179486333148804?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/390179486333148804/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=390179486333148804' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/390179486333148804'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/390179486333148804'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/05/consortium-for-uranium-enrichment-on.html' title='Consortium for Uranium enrichment on Iranian soil !!'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-970305169845789504</id><published>2008-05-20T07:55:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-20T08:14:42.103-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Mubarak of Egypt leading democratic reforms!</title><content type='html'>In his visits to Middle East, Mr Bush is been openly critical of oppressive regimes in the region. People of the Middle East would openly support any open views that expose those dictatorships that have plagued these nations for decades. In the past the United States was not as open as it is now in criticising dictatorial regimes such as the one in Egypt. In the last couple of days Mubarad the ancient dictator of Egypt reacting with claims that democratic reforms are underway, what is amazing about dictators like Mubarak is that he claims leading democratic reforms in Egypt but the question one may ask is: why would a dictator like Mubarak spearheads democratic reforms? Is it because he would like to remove himself from his own throne? Or what?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We need the support of all nations around the world to put pressure to oust dictatorial and brutal regimes around the world in general and those medieval killers of the Middle East such as the one in Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, Palestinian authority …etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If George Bush is sincere about his criticism of Middle Eastern dictatorships then we would like him to spearhead and encourage the international community to set effective pragmatic plans to free those nations or at least effectively help them to free themselves from the tight grip of brutal dictatorships and not to let those dictatorships hide behind what is called sovereignty.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Human rights and people freedom must the 21 century priority and all nations and pressure groups of the world have an obligation to free their brothers and sisters from the brutality of those killer dictatorships.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-970305169845789504?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/970305169845789504/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=970305169845789504' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/970305169845789504'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/970305169845789504'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/05/mubarak-of-egypt-and-democratic-reforms.html' title='Mubarak of Egypt leading democratic reforms!'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-4061824586068516100</id><published>2008-05-20T00:16:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-20T00:17:11.852-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Persepolis the movie</title><content type='html'>The movie is simply a brilliant historical account of the events that struck Iran since the mullahs took over power in 1979; it is also a personal account of a woman who sincerely trying to portray a picture of a country plagued with dictatorial practices from Shah’s to the turban-led one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The movies showed very accurate scenarios of revolutionary guards’ and Baseege (i.e. the young rottweilers of revolutionary guards) dogmatic belief, intrusive and aggressive behaviour and their obsession with controlling people lives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The very funny episode is when the young woman was running in the street of Tehran to catch up with her university lecture where she was followed by revolutionary guards who at some point asked her not to run and wiggle her bum although it is fully covered with the thick and loose Islamic dress; I supposed they were quite excited and do not want to fanaticise about her since doing so is a great and unforgivable sin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The people of this poor nation are still captured by the mullahs and their paranoid and brutal revolutionary guards and young rottweilers and this reality is well portrayed in the movie; it is a good portrayal of silent cry for help to be freed from the claws of this brutal regime.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-4061824586068516100?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/4061824586068516100/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=4061824586068516100' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4061824586068516100'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4061824586068516100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/05/persepolis-movie.html' title='Persepolis the movie'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-417394018170864084</id><published>2008-04-30T00:17:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-30T00:30:36.844-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Killing women in Iraq</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/zeina_zaatari/profile.html"&gt;Zeina Zaatari&lt;/a&gt; wrote an article in the Guardian CiF addressing the problem of a surge in killing Iraqi women and it starts:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Iraqi women's organisations and international observers point to an escalating &lt;a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-iraqconflict/women_2681.jsp"&gt;war against women&lt;/a&gt; in Iraq, aided by widespread chaos and lawlessness under the US occupation”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Link to the article:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/zeina_zaatari/2008/04/caught_up_in_the_whirlwind.html"&gt;http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/zeina_zaatari/2008/04/caught_up_in_the_whirlwind.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First I don’t think killing women in Iraq is due to chaos and lawlessness but due to typical Arab and religious misogyny facilitated by chaos due to the occupation. After the fall of Nazi Germany German people did not go around killing each other or killing women but let the law take its natural course. So suggesting that killing women in Iraq is a direct by-product of occupation is an utter nonsense and what we need to look at is stories of honour killings in Iraq and in the rest of Arab and Muslim world even during the secular and brutal regime of Saddam.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One of the CiF commentators by the name Freewoman suggested angrily that Iraqi women need to learn how to protect themselves by even carrying a gun and shoot any man who tries to harm or kill them. I thought that is really good idea but it needs to be expanded more to stop those religious and tribal misogynists from killing women for whatever reason. I think it is the duty of US and others international forces to form local women groups, arm them and train them to protect women in neighbourhood. This is a similar exercise to arming local Sunni misogynists to protect their communities from attacks by the other misogynists of the Shiite militias.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-417394018170864084?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/417394018170864084/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=417394018170864084' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/417394018170864084'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/417394018170864084'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/killing-women-in-iraq.html' title='Killing women in Iraq'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-1304695833188241769</id><published>2008-04-23T03:21:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-23T03:24:06.598-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Hillary Clinton and the obileration of the iranian regime</title><content type='html'>Hillary Clinton’s language of the US’s capacity to obliterate Iran if, in the next ten years, it chose to drop its home-made nuclear bomb on Israel is a language the Iranian regime understands/uses very well; it is called the language of intimidation; a language the Iranian regime is well-versed in and uses for the last 29 years in its daily oppression of its own people; Saddam used the same language for 45 years to stay in power, Mubarak of Egypt for the last few decades…etc. Also the Iranian regime love to push its luck to its favourite position “Being the victim of a superpower especially the US”. This political concept is part of what is called in psychological terms the self-destructiveness and is inline with Iranian mullahs’ push for every young soul to seek martyrdom the mullahs' biggest nonsense.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By no means to suggest that self-destructiveness is unique to the Iranian regime but a human phenomenon normally triggered by feeling unable to reach one’s potential as desired deeply. This fatal dynamics is due to the belief that something beyond us (can be others) stopping us from reaching our real potential. This feel normally plagues desperate young people and oppressive regimes take advantage of it to stay in power. But brutal regimes cannot stay misleading their people by simple games therefore seek varieties of clashes to avoid misleadingly the feel of its own and those of young people self-destructiveness via for instance developing nuclear bombs followed by real threats of dropping such bombs on other nations if the opportunity arises. To calm the spirit of the youth those brutal regimes play a major game of creating something that misleading injects some meaning into those young souls’ lives. One can see that clearly in how Palestinian brutal leaderships brainwash the youth to commit suicides through suicide bombing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To save those young souls, Hillary Clinton and anyone else interested in stopping mad regimes like the Iranian regime from dropping nuclear bombs on Israel should be thinking of the democratisation of those brutal regimes through direct intervention rather than threatening to obliterate them.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-1304695833188241769?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/1304695833188241769/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=1304695833188241769' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1304695833188241769'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1304695833188241769'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/hillary-clinton-and-obileration-of.html' title='Hillary Clinton and the obileration of the iranian regime'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-4453249529573884332</id><published>2008-04-21T00:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-21T05:08:08.754-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Iraq’s crack down on religious militias</title><content type='html'>What we need to consider when Iraq cracks down on religious militias?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today’s Guardian reported US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice praising Iraqi government and Prime Minister Al Maliki for the crack down on the mad and the misogynous mullah Moqtada Al Sadr’s militias. As someone from Iraq would like to announce publicly my anxieties on such exercise:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. We need to make sure that Saddam’s legacy and its deeply rooted Arabs’ culture of political elimination is out the equation or we will fall in “Only us know the rights and duties of Iraqis and let us kill whoever disagrees with us or opposes our brilliant progressive moves for being ignorant of the Iraqi people needs” old trap of Iraqi and Arabs’ politicians.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. Like other Arab countries Iraq would easily slip into the oppressive and sick authoritarianism if politicians are not coached and monitored properly; therefore a continuous monitoring and coaching of Iraqi governments for the next three to four elections is vital and essential to the survival of democracy. People may think that I don’t have faith in my people…. not yet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. Of course disarming militias is one of the vital moves, but we need to educate people that it is ok for women to dress the way they like and speak their minds and to depart from religious and common misogyny.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. Distrust between citizens and governments is an integral part of Arabs' and Iraqi history which stems from the lack of protection or support of dictatorial governments toward their citizens. This has been the disease of Arab world for the last century and it plagued Iraq for decades. Therefore building new ways of protecting citizens and showing that nobody is above the law would help to break this eternal antagonism between people and governments and build bridges of trust with Iraqi governments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5. We need to show Motada Al Sadr and others Sunnis or Shiites that they are not above the law but protected by law if choose to protest on abuses or malpractices by Iraqi governments through political means not physical elimination.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-4453249529573884332?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/4453249529573884332/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=4453249529573884332' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4453249529573884332'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4453249529573884332'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/iraqs-crack-down-on-religious-militias.html' title='Iraq’s crack down on religious militias'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6173890940594086261</id><published>2008-04-11T03:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-11T04:13:01.841-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Ali Eteraz writes about the treatment of Hidus in Pakistan</title><content type='html'>Ali Eteraz writes in today’s Guardian on the treatment of Hindus in Pakistan. Read this humane account and how Muslims should behave. Link: &lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2008/04/protecting_pakistans_hindus.html"&gt;http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2008/04/protecting_pakistans_hindus.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I must thank people like Ali Eteraz for been brave and courageous to expose these kind of daily inhumane practices in Pakistan and other Islamic states or countries with Muslims’ majority....Thank again Ali for such important exposure and thank for being so precise in categorising human's prejudice in Pakistan and other so-called Muslims' countries. This delusion of feeling superior to other religions is a plague and a social and religious defect which struck Islam by the most ignorant people "the mullahs" who continually brainwashing general public to feel superior to cover a deeply rooted inferiority complex. One can find that happening in Egypt presumably educated people influence by ignorant mullahs teaching children as young as 5-6 years old that Koran mentions how the Jews are related to pigs and apes, how black non-Muslims are inferior to Muslims and how Muslims must wash their hands if accidentally touched a Jew, Christian, Hindu..etc. One would find these practices in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and other Muslims' countires.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I lived it myself in Iraq when I was a child. As a young boy I used to have a very dear friend who as it happened be Christian. We got on very well and used to play together, my family never objected about him but the rest of society look down to Christians as lesser than Muslims.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We need more courageous and brave people who lived such horrible experiences in their own Muslims' country to expose such horrifying public perception of Muslims toward other people of different religion or creed.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6173890940594086261?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6173890940594086261/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6173890940594086261' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6173890940594086261'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6173890940594086261'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/ali-eteraz-write-about-treatment-of.html' title='Ali Eteraz writes about the treatment of Hidus in Pakistan'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-8729074058529873444</id><published>2008-04-10T01:05:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-10T03:40:03.537-07:00</updated><title type='text'>What Iraqis must do?</title><content type='html'>As an Iraqi I am very concern about Iraqis’ inability to truly love their country and very sad for not stopping the destruction of the country through their nonsensical sectarian fighting which is aided by social defects and tribal and religious narcissism. I would like to say to those destroying Iraq to wake up and start building Iraq rather exploiting the language of blame to justify their inability to love themselves and others. Arabs’ self-hatred has infected Iraqis and influences them to just pretend loving their country but it is deeply rooted pretension. It is high time to get out of Arabism and Islamism and related narcissism and move forward.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I really believe that it doesn’t matter what the intention of the Americans is and whether to stay or leave? Iraqis can, if willing, to force America not by fighting her but by solid and persistent negotiation and assertion to build Iraq and its flourishing democracy. We need people young and old who are confident and prepared to take on the rest of the world and take the necessary steps to make Iraq the first democracy among those rotten Arabs’ dictatorships and stop playing the old Arabs’ role “the victim” and just speaking the language of blaming for their misery.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-8729074058529873444?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/8729074058529873444/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=8729074058529873444' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8729074058529873444'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8729074058529873444'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-iraqis-must-do.html' title='What Iraqis must do?'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-797912815188593178</id><published>2008-04-09T10:34:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-09T10:38:19.898-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Five years after the liberation of Iraq &amp; Anas Al Tikriti</title><content type='html'>&lt;span class="byline"&gt;SonOfLiberty is one of the audience on Comment is Free CiF on the Guardian wrote: “&lt;/span&gt;The only ones to blame here are the Iraqi's for not standing up and taking advantage of the help offered by us for a better tomorrow.”    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;To read the full article go to : http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anas_altikriti/2008/04/shock_and_despair.html&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;As an Iraqi I fully agree with SonOfLiberty; Iraqis should’ve grabbed that opportunity of been liberated from the most brutal regime and develop a better Iraq, but the stupidity of Arabs’ tribal culture gets them into a deep power struggle which they consider as healthy and good. The trouble with such culture is that everyone thinks and believes that s/he knows the rights of Iraqis for better living more than the majority of Iraqis and even better than the West which gave such a golden opportunity, this is typical of tribal narcissism. People like Anas Al Tikriti who are more interested in &lt;st1:country-region st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place st="on"&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;suffocating Iraqis under his rigid believes than liberting them. We need people above the deeply rooted tribal and religious power struggle to save &lt;st1:country-region st="on"&gt;&lt;st1:place st="on"&gt;Iraq&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; and its people from the claws of Sunnis and Shiites.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-797912815188593178?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/797912815188593178/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=797912815188593178' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/797912815188593178'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/797912815188593178'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/five-years-after-liberation-of-iraq.html' title='Five years after the liberation of Iraq &amp; Anas Al Tikriti'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-8604054389172371606</id><published>2008-04-04T00:07:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-04-04T00:08:46.522-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Sadr's men of Iraq are just a gang of misogynists</title><content type='html'>On the behalf of the rest of good humanity Jonathon Steele and men alike keep suggesting that US withdrawal from Iraq would stop Sadr’s gang from attacking civilians and will lead to more stable country. OK let us take his scenario a bit further by letting Mr Steele know that Sadr’s gang are not driven by patriotic duty as he implicitly suggests but by the imposition of their religious believes as their graphity on the walls of Basra suggest declaring war on women using beauty products and do not wear hijab. Sadr’s men like religious Sunnis men are a blend of extreme misogynists and women haters who condemn first the beauty of women and worst than that if women demonstrate an equal intelligence and capacity to lead as men. So Mr Steele asking for US withdrawal may satisfy your left desires but will not solve the current mess in Iraq. So enlighten us with a more practical solution to a mess created by the necessity of ousting Saddam’s brutal regime.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-8604054389172371606?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/8604054389172371606/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=8604054389172371606' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8604054389172371606'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8604054389172371606'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/04/sadrs-men-of-iraq-are-just-gang-of.html' title='Sadr&apos;s men of Iraq are just a gang of misogynists'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-7336690473825960217</id><published>2008-03-31T04:34:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-03-31T05:03:29.775-07:00</updated><title type='text'>What Moqtada Al Sadr of Iraq trying to prove?</title><content type='html'>A macho culture such as Arabs’ or Muslims’ culture or a culture plagued with blindness to the usefulness of pragmatism may get men into battles that don’t serve Iraq or its people. Al Sadr and his followers worrying to be seen betraying their country if they stay quite without fighting the elected government as opposed to the Sunnis who proclaimed heroism fighting the occupiers is getting Al Sadr’s gangs into proving their patriotism regardless how hampering their activities to the development of Iraq.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Iraq is a country that’s plagued with disabling machoism and its young men are more absorbed in proving their virility or their ability to fight rather than thinking and taking courses of action that serve Iraq and its people. This may suggest that the root of dictatorial regimes dominating Iraq through history.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As an Iraqi I am very angry about Iraq being shattered by fanatic and savage factions bogged down into power struggle to monopolise the political arena through the elimination of each other. When this nation gets out of its tribal and backward mentality and does something that helps itself developing a stable democracy?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-7336690473825960217?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/7336690473825960217/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=7336690473825960217' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7336690473825960217'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7336690473825960217'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-moqtada-al-sadr-of-iraq-trying-to.html' title='What Moqtada Al Sadr of Iraq trying to prove?'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-1337141308076259500</id><published>2008-03-18T01:54:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-03-18T04:01:42.996-07:00</updated><title type='text'>The Battle for Haditha by Nick Broomfield</title><content type='html'>Western leftists try very hard to locate heroes from other cultures to sympathise with them; Nick Broomfield is not an exception. If we examine closely this identification with heroes from other cultures, we find that western leftists pick their heroes from groups that they think are the underdogs and in “The Battle for Haditha” it happens to be the Sunnis and subsequently support their cause and stories they come up with. So what makes the leftists sympathise with what they believe the underdogs from other culture? The answer can be as simple as they believe that they are the underdogs in their on societies and identification with other underdogs is justified.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In “The Battle for Haditha”, although Broomfield tries to portray an unbiased picture of the events by telling accounts from both sides, but one can see that he sympathises with Sunnis and portrays their violent reaction as a natural reaction of the American troops’ behaviour forgetting that those Sunnis have lost a privileged life under Saddam regime and are not interested in patriotism as Broomfiled try portray them rather than loyalty to the dead brutal regime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This western leftists’ obsession with Sunnis has to stop and they should focus on how Iraqis are suffering now including the Shia and come up with solutions to the current situation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Final word, regarding human brutality I always wondered and ask the following question: why people like Naomi Klein, Broomfield and other western leftists come with detailed accounts of American and western oppression but never wrote, argued or display images of the brutal torture of Saddam regime of the Iraqis?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-1337141308076259500?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/1337141308076259500/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=1337141308076259500' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1337141308076259500'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1337141308076259500'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/03/battle-of-haditha-by-nick-broomfield.html' title='The Battle for Haditha by Nick Broomfield'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2339848430311791278</id><published>2008-03-16T08:44:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-03-17T01:29:27.571-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Interventionism and British troops withdrawal</title><content type='html'>Iraqis are protesting against the withdrawal of British troopsAndrew Marr in his Sunday morning program announced to his Sunday audience that Iraqis are not happy with the idea of withdrawing British troops from south of Iraq therefore protesting by marching in the streets of Basra. Then in an interview with William Hage he asked him if the timing of withdrawal is the right. Mr Hage replied yes because we need to let the Iraqis to take over controlling the south and because there have been more attacks by Al Qaeda on British troops recently. We need to look at the situation closely from different angle and conclude.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first scenario is that if Iraqis police and army are given control of the south then there won’t be attacks on British troops but still possible that attacks on Iraqi police continues and Al Qaeda or Shia militias will gain more ground to enforce the backward Shariaa laws. So we save the skin of the troops but get religious fanaticism in all shapes or forms taking control and abusing human right and this is in reality what’s happening.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The second scenario is that if British troops withdraw then Iraqis would appreciate the presence and the protection of the troop compared with the oppression of religious fanatics and will do something about it, but then how can they do something about it without the help of the international forces?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The third scenario is that the troops stay and support and protect the majority who are protesting against the oppressive practices of those religious groups regardless of the possible increase of attacks on British troops and Iraqi police and army, but the they [British troops] can take a supportive role to Iraqi police and army rather than planning to abandon them after making huge difference in the lives of Iraqis through the removal of most brutal regime on the face of planet, i.e. Saddam’s regime. Of course there are so many scenarios one can envisage, but one may conclude that in complex situation such as the one in Iraq direct interventionism can be a good option. Interventionism has the capacity to focus on parameters that aid achieving planned outcomes and produce desired results, on the other hand exhaustive calculated planning may end up with doing nothing but exhaustive planning and nothing to stop the oppression human beings in Iraq and around the world.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2339848430311791278?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2339848430311791278/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2339848430311791278' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2339848430311791278'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2339848430311791278'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/03/interventionism-and-british-troops.html' title='Interventionism and British troops withdrawal'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2875368531106206242</id><published>2008-03-06T01:22:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-03-06T01:25:35.003-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Racism in the Arab world</title><content type='html'>The following link leads to an article written by a brave sudanease women:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nesrine_malik/2008/03/a_paler_shade_of_black.html"&gt;http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nesrine_malik/2008/03/a_paler_shade_of_black.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Racism in Arab countries comes in different dress. In Iraq, I experienced it in the form of not belonging to an Arab clan. For example if someone like me of Iranian ancestors he won’t be welcomed in his attempt to belong to Iraq; Iraq is insignificant before belonging to an Arab tribe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I remember scoring very high in my Baccalaureate examinations [equivalent to the A level] and I was entitled for a scholarship to Britain to study engineering but I was refused a place through twisted game of the authorities which lasted weeks subsequently missed the deadline.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I admire people like the writer who is from that part of the world and have the courage to speak of negative cultural issues of their origin. I applaud the writer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nesrine_malik/2008/03/a_paler_shade_of_black.html"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2875368531106206242?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2875368531106206242/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2875368531106206242' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2875368531106206242'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2875368531106206242'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/03/racism-in-arab-world.html' title='Racism in the Arab world'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-4963217683344029072</id><published>2008-03-05T03:41:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-03-05T03:43:20.495-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Fresh view on Islam and secularism</title><content type='html'>An argument on how Muslims mustn't be indoctrinated not to accept secularism Interesting argument on Islam and secularism by Ali Eteraz of the Guardian newspaper: &lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2008/02/the_prophet_and_politics.html" target="_blank"&gt;http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ali_eteraz/2008/02/the_prophet_and_politics.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-4963217683344029072?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/4963217683344029072/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=4963217683344029072' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4963217683344029072'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4963217683344029072'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/03/fresh-view-on-islam-and-secularims.html' title='Fresh view on Islam and secularism'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-7604925042856583851</id><published>2008-02-27T00:30:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-27T05:10:02.078-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Transsexuals in Iran</title><content type='html'>The BBC TV programme on transsexuals in Iran sheds good light on social issues that young men have to deal with in oppressive societies such as the Iranian one. There were few interesting points made by participants:One of the programme’s participants declared that life is a lot easier for women than men in the current religious Iranian one. This particular statement was stressed by other young men who were going for a female sex change. One angle to all this is to suggest that a society led by mullahs who love and treat women of submissive behaviour better than men [this has been recently stressed by Ahemadinejad’s talks at Columbia university] can generate a social dynamic that places greater pressure on young men to either take a tiring macho role and ask not to be loved or go for sex change. Obviously this dynamic may lead to severe inadequacy and confusion for those young men and furthermore attempt to please through sex change.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another participant said that “Seegha” [temporary marriage which can last from an hour to months or years] is becoming an easy option to earn good money. Because transsexuals cannot conceive then it is more convenient for older men to strike temporary legitimate sexual contracts with transsexuals rather than with females who may conceive and subsequently men have to take responsibility of any conceived children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is how the mullahs of Iran are legitimising a form of prostitution….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-7604925042856583851?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/7604925042856583851/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=7604925042856583851' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7604925042856583851'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7604925042856583851'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/transsexuals-in-iran.html' title='Transsexuals in Iran'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-171528202551541886</id><published>2008-02-26T03:21:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-26T03:22:36.596-08:00</updated><title type='text'>British manipulative game in Iraq</title><content type='html'>As a matter of guilt, the British now trying to compensate - by sending experts to collect and protect ancient Iraqi artefacts and places - for deserting the south of Iraq in the hand of religious group who is currently imposing by intimidation Sharia law. Labour government failed to stay in the south of Iraq to protect people from the mad man Moqtada Al Sadr because of the tremendous bullying of western left despite the fact that the British military man in charge of the south of Iraq and on a number of occasion reiterated the fact that it is too soon to withdraw troops from there.&lt;br /&gt;Sending experts to protect ancient Iraq artefacts and places as a compensation for troops’ withdrawal is an old game usually played by parents to confuse children and subsequently control or quieten them. When I was child I remember been given an apple and banana to stay at home with my grandmother while the rest of my family heading to Turkey. The feeling was very confusing for a little child where I was happy with the apple and the banana and therefore have to stay with my grandmother but resentful for not joining the rest of the family for the nice trip to Turkey. The British plays the same game with Iraqis giving them attention for their ancient artefacts and places but leaving them in the hands of mad religious people.&lt;br /&gt;In the long run, these manipulative games normally leave very deep resentment in the heart of a child or a nation…Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-171528202551541886?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/171528202551541886/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=171528202551541886' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/171528202551541886'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/171528202551541886'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/british-manipulative-game-in-iraq.html' title='British manipulative game in Iraq'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2849983440775401121</id><published>2008-02-19T10:37:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-22T05:58:26.050-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The wrath of the Egyptian God “Al Fayed”</title><content type='html'>Few words on the Egyptian God’s culture, paranoia and his ambition:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can the Egyptian God “Al Fayed” abuse authorities in the current blood sucking dictatorship of Egypt? The obvious answer is NO and if he does he would be put in prison for the rest of his life and all his possessions will be confiscated. So why he is abusing a reasonably just and democratic system where he lives in currently? The answer is: when a Middle Eastern acquires a powerful status whether it is the acquisition of money or political power then his dictatorial traits surface and he would start challenging anyone stands in his way.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Egyptian God “Al Fayed” can be seen as an extension of the typical Middle East’s obsession with conspiracies which can give a clear way to see oneself as a victim and that is an integral element of culture of the region [i.e. victimhood]. So his current claim of an international plot that killed his son; he is using his son death as platform to defy a reasonably just legal system [that one of his ambitions] at the same time acting as a victim of this system [his paranoia].&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One can predict The Egyptian God’s next step it would be to ally with even Al Qaeda to break a system that did not facilitate proving his son’s death conspiracy; he already draw some reasons for the conspiracy summarised by the fact that Britain cannot handle a marriage of a Muslim [his play boy son Dodi] to a royal princess; what a fantasy but then The Egyptian God is a great fantasist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beside his campaign to prove Britain's conspiracy against his son, why doesn’t' he campaign to stop the circumcision of the 95% of the women in Egypt?…Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2849983440775401121?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2849983440775401121/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2849983440775401121' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2849983440775401121'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2849983440775401121'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/wrath-of-egyptian-god-al-fayed.html' title='The wrath of the Egyptian God “Al Fayed”'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-1922863660138650008</id><published>2008-02-12T10:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-12T10:03:40.220-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Introducing democracy around the world</title><content type='html'>Tonight David Milliband the foreign secretary spelt it loud and clear suggesting that Britain must be at the forefront at promoting democracy around the world. He may be the first British official who dares to recognize that the rest of the world needs liberal democracies to intervene in the promotion and the introduction of democracy to those deadly Dark Age dictatorships around the world. Of course the western left is quite skeptical about this and will come up with all sort of conspiracy theories which may suggest that western liberal democracies are not interested in the spreading of democracy around the world but to create wars to benefit from as Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine where she promote her complex and intellectual but wouldn’t-care–less-about-the-rest-the-world-if-killed-by-dictatorships argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, Britain had colonized the world and sucked it’s blood during 19th century, but that doesn’t mean any humane step by Britain toward introducing democracy replacing rotten dictatorial regimes around the world should be ruled out. Although western leftist intellectuals have a great input into the global dynamic but they need to be made aware of the necessaty of introducing democracies replacing those brutal dictatorships.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The question I would like to ask Mr Milliband is: if mistakes were made in Iraq then Britain should start fixing those mistakes and not just to talk about promoting Britains’ future role in introducing democracy around the world. Hey Milliband do something about my country Iraq and don’t let it slip into the hands of a religious dictatorship…Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-1922863660138650008?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/1922863660138650008/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=1922863660138650008' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1922863660138650008'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1922863660138650008'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/introducing-democracy-around-world.html' title='Introducing democracy around the world'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-8682798320047213744</id><published>2008-02-07T02:41:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-07T02:56:04.129-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Sayed Pervez Kambaksh &amp; religious tradition treatment</title><content type='html'>Sayed Pervez Kambaksh –the Afghan student imprisoned for distributing women’s right literature in Afghanistan – telling us about his brutal experience in prison where threat of being killed exists coupled with the likelihood of been sexually abused to break him. Those experiences neither been admitted by young men nor imagined or acknowledged by westerners.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can identify with Pervese through similar experience. During Saddam’s regime my brother and I were imprisoned for three months. In the first night we were put in a cell occupied by a young man with severe mental disorder who was not allowed to leave his cell so his urine and faeces were all over the cell. On that night we heard one guard telling the other about us and how they were instructed to break the spirit of the two young engineers by putting them in the same cell as the man with mental disorder. Few nights later we were transferred with other young educated prisoners where we all fed with poisoned food which left us with severe stomach pain.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In cultures dominated by rigid traditions or by religious or political dogma you find young spirits present the most dangerous and threatening elements to figures in authority, and if the opportunity arises then those culture allow men in power to break or even annihilate young spirits.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-8682798320047213744?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/8682798320047213744/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=8682798320047213744' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8682798320047213744'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/8682798320047213744'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/pervez-kambaksh-treatment-of-religious.html' title='Sayed Pervez Kambaksh &amp; religious tradition treatment'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2813217485590130869</id><published>2008-02-05T01:57:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-05T01:58:19.978-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Iranian regime and public hanging</title><content type='html'>A week or so ago, one Iranian religious figure pretending to be the kind element of the brutal regime called for the suspension of public hanging. We all know that public execution has an immense impact on people and it is seen as the most intimidating tool brutal regimes can use to subdue a nation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I remember the first public hanging of ten or so innocent people accused of spying and espionage after Saddam and his gang took power in 1968. The impact of that day was immense; fear seeped deep into every Iraqi soul. Those innocent people were hanged publicly and their bodies were left dangling for one day in the capital Baghdad “Al Tahrir Square”. Public hanging is the most powerful tool used to suppress any nation, it is brutal, it creates a mix of deep anxiety and intense curiosity in the event. I remember people from all around iraq left their work and their daily jobs and went to see the bodies in Al Tahrir Square….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2813217485590130869?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2813217485590130869/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2813217485590130869' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2813217485590130869'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2813217485590130869'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/iranian-regime-and-public-hanging.html' title='Iranian regime and public hanging'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-5488727695913229998</id><published>2008-02-05T00:20:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-05T00:41:39.236-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Honour Killing - article from the Guardian</title><content type='html'>Here is an article and comments by the public regarding the barbarous killings of women in muslims' and arabs' countries in the name of honour:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/james_brandon_and_salam_hafez/2008/02/crimes_in_the_name_of_honour.html"&gt;http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/james_brandon_and_salam_hafez/2008/02/crimes_in_the_name_of_honour.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Honour killings and female circumcision are two issues that need to be addressed by the international community. It is known for example that 95% of Egyptian women are circumcised against their will. These practices must be stopped regardless of their origin whether it is religious or cultural…Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-5488727695913229998?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/5488727695913229998/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=5488727695913229998' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/5488727695913229998'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/5488727695913229998'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/02/honour-killing-article-from-guardian.html' title='Honour Killing - article from the Guardian'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2769494306417808408</id><published>2008-01-24T00:24:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-24T00:25:30.954-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Ahmadinejad visiting iraq</title><content type='html'>The Iraqi government has invited the crazy Ahmedinejad of Iran to visit Iraq for the following possible reason:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After learning that Labour government can change its mind about British troops in south of Iraq at a whim due to approaching election and after witnessing the recent withdrawal of those troops, all that coupled with the likelihood of Bush losing the next election to Obama who would pull american troops from Iraq in two days the Iraqi government and people of Iraq lost faith in western commitment toward the protection of democracy in Iraq; all that accompanied with Iran plaguing the region with continuous intimidation of Iraq and the neighbouring countries Iraqi government tries to dampen the relationship with the Iranian bully, just in case western forces leave at a sudden, by inviting Ahmadinejad to visit Iraq and massage his big ego and his immense appetite for nuclear weapons….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2769494306417808408?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2769494306417808408/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2769494306417808408' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2769494306417808408'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2769494306417808408'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/01/ahmadinejad-visiting-iraq.html' title='Ahmadinejad visiting iraq'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-3686817026366712271</id><published>2008-01-10T02:21:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-14T06:51:40.837-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Why the Iranian Revolutionary Guards provoke the American in the Gulf?</title><content type='html'>The reasons behind the provocative act of the Iranian revolutionary guards in the Strait of Hormuz can be seen in its simplest and trivial form:&lt;br /&gt;Life for young men is very boring in a country where religious preaching is the only “creative” activity young men and women can engage in. Dictatorial regimes such as the Iranian can get obsessive about everyone in the country to accept and praise its ideology. There isn’t much difference between a religious or secular dictatorship behaviour-wise; both are normally absorbed by severe narcissism. Narcissism can affect individual human beings or regimes in the same way; it is a form disorder that fogs human creativity to see alternatives and set the human focus on matters that the individual hasn’t develop great of conviction in them; subsequently those individuals try to push forcefully the importance of these matters to raise the level of conviction and self-esteem. This form of behaviour [pushing forcefully the importance of matters] if taking the minds of the elite of the dictatorial regime then young people have no choice but to get sucked into the regime’s rigid ideological practices and processes such as martyrdom. Martyrdom is a brainwashing exercise that is very luring for young men in particular due to the superior sense of heroism involved. Similar dynamics was evident during Iraq Iran war where Iranian young men walking on mines to clear the way for the regular army. The recent provocative act is a thrill for those young men and it can go further if necessary….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-3686817026366712271?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/3686817026366712271/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=3686817026366712271' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3686817026366712271'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3686817026366712271'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/01/why-iranian-revolutionary-guards.html' title='Why the Iranian Revolutionary Guards provoke the American in the Gulf?'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-7681975670713495228</id><published>2008-01-09T04:00:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-09T04:05:13.617-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The Boys from Baghdad high on BBC2</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The video diaries created by those four Iraqi teenagers[ a Kurd, a Christian, a Shiite, and mixed of Shiite and Sunni and a Sunni] were brilliant and a very touching documentary. It triggered an immense optimism about Iraqis’ capacity to speak their minds without the old fear instilled in their hearts during Saddam brutal dictatorship.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At some point two of them reminded me with how we used to avoid religious studies classes by all means; they used the same tricks to skip that boring class. One of them, a Christian, chatting to his mate saying that he doesn’t need to attend religious studies class because he is Christian and his Muslim friend said I have just decided to be Christian so I am skipping this class laughing at his own comments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the hour and a half documentary it was apparent that everyone in the documentary:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1.&lt;/strong&gt; Was pleased with Saddam’s death sentence;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2.&lt;/strong&gt; Said that Saddam deserves that because he tortured and killed Iraqis in their thousands;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3.&lt;/strong&gt; Said that insurgency is driven by foreign terrorists rather than Iraqi resistance as some western leftists fantasise about it;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4.&lt;/strong&gt; Never wished that international forces to leave the country as some western media trying to push.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5.&lt;/strong&gt; Wished that Iraq get back on its own feet&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6.&lt;/strong&gt; Was openly critical about elements of Iraqi culture that don’t assist Iraqis or support them in achieving their ambitions. One of the mothers asked: why the government is making it difficult for my son to get a document that proves been Iraqi although he was born here? This particular issue reminded me with the same treatment thirty years ago, but still there. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seeing that documentary triggered some optimism that Iraqis are trying to free themselves from the old fear society to the new free society….Al&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-7681975670713495228?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/7681975670713495228/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=7681975670713495228' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7681975670713495228'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7681975670713495228'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/01/boys-from-baghdad-high-on-bbc2.html' title='The Boys from Baghdad high on BBC2'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6368199098844050606</id><published>2008-01-08T06:50:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-10T06:54:23.091-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Enlightened men and women is what Iraq needs</title><content type='html'>This man, a member of Iraqi parliament, and many others of the same calibre are what Iraq needs to develop democracy further. He was a target of four assassination attempts by religious fanatics. Here is a link to his views: h&lt;a href="http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1641.htm" target="_blank"&gt;ttp://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1641.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6368199098844050606?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6368199098844050606/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6368199098844050606' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6368199098844050606'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6368199098844050606'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/01/enlightened-men-and-women-is-what-iraq.html' title='Enlightened men and women is what Iraq needs'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-9111863480435719987</id><published>2008-01-02T12:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-02T12:54:02.674-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Women in Basra and how to defy religious fanatics.</title><content type='html'>On one of Iraqi TV channels women publicly admitted that it is becoming hard for them to wear what they choose; this has been pointed out by the head of the Iraqi police in Basra.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Men of proud religious dogma coupled with rigid tribal values are becoming bold to tell women to wear appropriate Islamic dress. Let me put some cultural prospective to this phenomenon and put forward some thoughts on how to stop those fanatics from intervening in others’ lives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Men of that category can be very aggressive if confronted by women wearing less Islamic dress, but they can be easily intimidated by women who abide to Islamic dress but promote ideas or practices that promote women’s freedom or even ideas that differ from Islamic values. Therefore women who are pro-women freedom must gather in groups and be aggressive in their behaviours toward those men but they need temporarily to abide to Islamic dress until the time becomes right where they should go in their thousands to demonstrate for more freedom. This is purely tactical move and women should adopt it to gather better momentum and then take the street in their masses to demonstrate against those religious fanatics.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since those religious fanatics are brought up in a social environment like Ahmedinejad's of Iran one, i.e. they shy away from groups of strong women but they may brutalise single strong women. Those men are normally afraid of women in groups, subsequently women must form groups when defying those fanatics….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-9111863480435719987?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/9111863480435719987/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=9111863480435719987' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/9111863480435719987'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/9111863480435719987'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/01/women-in-basra-and-how-to-defy.html' title='Women in Basra and how to defy religious fanatics.'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-2766176337905660982</id><published>2008-01-01T04:21:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-02-05T00:24:48.900-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Nuclear technologies may fall in the wrong hands. Sarkozy and Mubarak regime</title><content type='html'>Sarkozy is welcomed in Egypt by its long serving parasitic dictator Mubarak whose speciality is siphoning billions of American and European aids into his corrupt institutions to consolidate his dictatorial regime. Sarkozy is there to strike lucrative deals to supply Egypt with French nuclear technologies. This is France the sensible European nation who always wore the colourful mask of world’s peace more than anybody else. It is interesting to see that Europeans are not so concerned of the deal; if it was America then we find half the Europeans screaming mad. The West should start questioning the concept that dictatorships may bring stability to the region and democracies are high risk that won’t bring stability to the region. The West must learn that dictatorships are entities of high risk and maintenance and mustn’t be supported anymore and democracies have to replace them as a natural alternative. Parasitic regime like Mubarak’s mustn’t be supplied with nuclear technologies for reasons obvious to everyone. Although the dictatorship has lasted over 25 years and seems misleadingly stable, but Egypt is one of most fertile breeding ground for religious radicalism and a collapse of the regime can lead powerful technologies in the wrong hands….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-2766176337905660982?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/2766176337905660982/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=2766176337905660982' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2766176337905660982'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/2766176337905660982'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2008/01/nuclear-technologies-may-fall-in-wrong.html' title='Nuclear technologies may fall in the wrong hands. Sarkozy and Mubarak regime'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-5924442246728369932</id><published>2007-12-18T08:42:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-19T00:36:01.327-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The Guardian newspaper blocked me from posting comments on its website</title><content type='html'>I just learnt that my account on The &lt;strong&gt;Guardian newspaper&lt;/strong&gt; section "Comment is free" has been disabled by the Guardian website adminstrator. The newspaper hasn't explained why, but I presume that the newspaper is more interested in imposing censorship on what I write on their site. What I write was not offensive whatsoever but it has a bitter taste of reality I must confess.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I suppose the &lt;strong&gt;Guardian &lt;/strong&gt;didn't like someone who knows quite well what is it like to live in a backward Middle Eastern culture and telling stories from the inside that are bitter but true and may clash with the newspaper mild sympathy with Middle Eastern dictatorships and radical Islam.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-5924442246728369932?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/5924442246728369932/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=5924442246728369932' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/5924442246728369932'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/5924442246728369932'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/guardian-newspaper-blocked-me-from.html' title='The Guardian newspaper blocked me from posting comments on its website'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-3988873239508836791</id><published>2007-12-18T04:56:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-18T03:05:50.409-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Ahemadinejad’s speech at Columbia University</title><content type='html'>Ahemdadinejad is a typical dictator who is confused and demagogic in his approach to debate serious issues; he wants to confuse his audience using the analogy of research in physics and its resemblance to conduct a research on the holocaust. If he is setting the scene of debate in the way he did then we could ask him the following question: “Since the Quran is written 70 years after the death of Prophet Mohammad, therefore one can hypothesis about its originality as the word of God”. So why doesn’t’ he inject some of mullahs funds into finding out more about the truthfulness of Quran?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His twisted argument is aimed at discrediting the history of the holocaust and joining fascists who attempts to deny the most horrendous 20th century crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dictators like him hang two young homosexuals in public to subdue the Iranian public to the will of a dictatorial regime and claim that homosexuality doesn’t exist in Iran. We should be thankful for him to lecture a western audience about his twisted thoughts and ideology so we can know more about him and his regime. He should be invited more often to expose himself more.…Al Atar&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-3988873239508836791?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/3988873239508836791/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=3988873239508836791' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3988873239508836791'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/3988873239508836791'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/ahemadinejads-speech-at-columbia.html' title='Ahemadinejad’s speech at Columbia University'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-7763178383056282418</id><published>2007-12-17T03:49:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-17T04:05:29.459-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The TV programme “Make me a Muslim”</title><content type='html'>The programme takes volunteers from different backgrounds and subjects themselves to the experience of becoming Muslim. The programme got more interesting as one of the Muslims starts lecturing the audience about how people in Britain have lost touch with spirituality suggesting that only Islam out of all faiths and religions is concerned with loss of spirituality and has the antidote for that. It gave my friend watching the programme together a sense of “who the hell this man to lecture us with not just a hint of arrogance and forcefulness but an abundance of it”.&lt;br /&gt; People around Britain do mention their annoyance of Muslims speaking of solutions to humanity’s problems with a forceful tone suggesting that no one else on this planet has dealt with those problems the way Islam does. But all that coupled with the shallowness of issues raised trying to convince us of the depth of their argument. For example, in the above programme all of those Muslims speak of women not dressing modestly [i.e. cover from top to toe] suggesting that is what make women feeling unprotected and they may invite men for rape. What those Muslims don’t realise is that the matter isn’t just about feeling protected but about choices women can have or entitled to have, but then again that what Muslims and Islam have always trouble with…the human choice..............Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-7763178383056282418?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/7763178383056282418/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=7763178383056282418' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7763178383056282418'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/7763178383056282418'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/tv-programme-make-me-muslim.html' title='The TV programme “Make me a Muslim”'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-4903361740540924656</id><published>2007-12-17T00:27:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-17T02:54:11.697-08:00</updated><title type='text'>So far 45 women were killed after Britain hands power to religious militia</title><content type='html'>It is reported that 45 women, in Basra-south of Iraq, were killed for not wearing Islamic dress, well done Labour for such brilliant job and for twisting the truth about what is happening after troop’s withdrawal. I therefore must agree with the anti-war movement for not trusting Labour going into war in the first place since British politics is about half solutions. But then one can ask what else they could’ve done? Good question; beheading women is a cultural issue and Britain cannot do much about it and one has to go along the idea of cultural relativism and suggests: unless religious militia and ordinary Iraqis get an open mind about the role of women in society, nothing can be done about it. But then I don’t agree with this business of cultural relativism and its clash with basic human rights. I subsequently suggest that Iraqis inside and outside Iraq must initiate a mass movement for the protection of women under those brutal conditions first and second push for the imposition of protective measure for the rest Iraqis if chose not to abide to religious practices.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think we would be happier if Labour tells the truth about what is happening in Basra rather than twisting the truth and telling us rosy tales of what is really happening there…..Al Atar&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-4903361740540924656?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/4903361740540924656/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=4903361740540924656' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4903361740540924656'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/4903361740540924656'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/so-far-45-women-were-killed-after.html' title='So far 45 women were killed after Britain hands power to religious militia'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-6582159371804823094</id><published>2007-12-13T01:41:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-14T03:24:15.028-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Honour Killing across the Arab and Muslim world</title><content type='html'>Few weeks back The Guardian reported the honour killing story of Banaz Mahmod’s a 20 years old Iraqi Kurd. The British authorities are not willing to request extraditing the other killers who escaped to north of Iraq.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In my childhood days in Iraq, the early fifties, I used to hear stories about women who got pregnant due to rape incident or had premarital sex and subsequently got murdered by their fathers/brothers/close relatives. Normally the killer goes free regardless of the heinous crime. Those stories used to annoy me and instigate a deep questioning of such brutal social and cultural fabric and used to wonder: why people seemed to pretend that those crimes are acceptable to commit?; why people cannot expose the hideous nature of those crimes or condemn them? On the contrary we used to hear accounts of murderers strolling proudly the streets of their home towns and are admired by others for been brave enough to defend their honour. Admiration stems from a brutal idea labelled “Washing the shame”. “Washing the shame” is an old Arabic expression, still in use, in Arab, Muslim and other backward societies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Friends telling stories of honour killings in Egypt despite their self-portrayal of being the elite of the Arab regarding social development! But then claiming elitism and having religious figures calling for the killing of Kafirs (non-believers) and the Jews is hardly an elitist.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As Guardian suggested that an effective way to stop honour killings is to demonstrate to the rest of society that those killings are punishable crimes and men mustn’t be proud of them or be misled by the sense of pride attached to those murders.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The United Nation or I should ignore the UN for its corrupt nature and focus on honest international groups and liberal nations to campaign for more effective intervention rather than thinking in terms of “cultural relativism” and nations’ sovereignty….Al Atar&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-6582159371804823094?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/6582159371804823094/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=6582159371804823094' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6582159371804823094'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/6582159371804823094'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/honour-killing.html' title='Honour Killing across the Arab and Muslim world'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-1593197203454181893</id><published>2007-12-13T01:16:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-14T03:29:15.325-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Young Iranian-German footballer’s refuses to play for Germany vs Israel</title><content type='html'>Youth in the Middle East are exposed to extreme flood of anti-&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;&lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Semitism&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; or I should say dislike of the Jews at very early stages of their development. Those brainwashing exercises include stories of:&lt;br /&gt;1. Uncleanness of Jews and Christians&lt;br /&gt;2. Uncleanness of things they handle and how compulsory it is washing oneself or things if got in contact with them&lt;br /&gt;3. How it is forbidden to eat food cooked by Jews and Christians&lt;br /&gt;4. How defile they are as a common expression used by the majority&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Besides the above stories, people are warned in similar way about dogs; that obviously gives pretty good idea of the scale of the problem and how such intolerance would hamper attempts to develop solutions between Palestinians and Israelis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Friends tell me that the above childhood’s accounts are still around in majority of Middle Eastern social makeup and that tells us the kind of indoctrination Middle Easterners are exposed to.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A friend telling me about his latest visit to Egypt: in my visit to Egypt, he says, I came across the same old stories about Jews and their uncleanness and honesty that is similar to the ones I heard when I was young in Iraq. He continues: I sensed the immensity of antagonism and dislike for the Jews in every part of Egypt I visited. It was an experience that gave an insight that no matter what the Jews would do they are not forgiven for been just Jews. In most of the Middle East countries you still hear descriptions of the Jews that make one feel living the days of Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Misled people should know about such social dynamic and subsequently I would like to assert that unless this brainwashing process stops there seem to be no way of achieving peace between Israel and Middle Easterners. To the world this should be some sort of precondition to work around achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians….Al&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-1593197203454181893?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/1593197203454181893/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=1593197203454181893' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1593197203454181893'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/1593197203454181893'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/young-iranian-german-footballers.html' title='Young Iranian-German footballer’s refuses to play for Germany vs Israel'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-538641173379278805.post-889238784604295197</id><published>2007-12-12T00:04:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-12T00:08:26.339-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Britain pulling troops from Iraq, why?</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Pulling troops from Iraq, why?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In his visit to south of Iraq Gordon Brown promised big reduction of troops and full withdrawal by mid 2008; he looked very serious no smiles no visit to Iraq’s prime minister apart from a phone call probably saying “quick hello I am off to Afghanistan sorry cannot meet up you Iraqi guys are a bit of trouble; need to tell my troops in there that we need to stay longer to secure democracy”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not been cynical but to tell the truth, of course the British had failed in their job in Iraq and that can be narrowed down to the following reasons:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. The fear and paranoia of Iraqi politicians of being labelled, by pan-Arab movement, as traitors of the Arabs’ cause for letting foreign troops on home territories and been selfish and in not considering the higher priority of the big Arab nation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. Pulling out the troops would secure the next election and Gordon Brown has to show by all means that his government succeeded in its task in Iraq and no mess been left behind. Labour portrays a rosy picture of Iraq as if everything is hunky dory. As a result of that, troops are handing power to local militia, supported by Iran, to set Shariaa courts and do the normal duties of locking up dissents, whipping women for not wearing hijab or dare to go astray from the normal Islamic practices like the Iranian regime’s normal practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. For election purposes again, Gordon Brown feels that pulling the troops out of Iraq will please the strong UK and European anti-war movement who are obsessed with Iraq and not other parts of the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. To please the Arabs who always blamed Britain for their misery and who always rejected the idea of been conquered by others and fought fiercely to stay free from foreign imperialism but happy to rot under local dictatorships oppressing them like hell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We should thank labour led by Gordon Brown for such brilliant move…Al Atar&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/538641173379278805-889238784604295197?l=iraqalatar.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/feeds/889238784604295197/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=538641173379278805&amp;postID=889238784604295197' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/889238784604295197'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/538641173379278805/posts/default/889238784604295197'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://iraqalatar.blogspot.com/2007/12/britain-pulling-troops-from-iraq-why.html' title='Britain pulling troops from Iraq, why?'/><author><name>Al &amp;amp; Albert</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10221388826450980747</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
