Friday, October 27, 2017

Is antisemitism a myth?


Antisemitism is not a myth.

It is real, Jews have been slaughtered in Europe way before the Holocaust. For long they were considered by the Church the 'killers of Christ'. And their living in ghettos and not mingling did not help.
Muslims and Arab were also demonized for centuries by the Church, thus the crusades.

Before the creation of the state of Israel, they thrived and were an integral part of life in the Arab world, the Middle East, and Islamic world as they ethnically they are Semites like all other Arabs and Islam recognized the Jewish religion as a mainstream religion.

Then came the Balfour Declaration which was in itself an antisemitic. It destroyed the fabric of Semite societies and pitched Jews against Arabs, both Semites. One could say that it was in line with the colonial policies of 'divide and rule'.
Definition: Divide and rule (or divide and conquer, from Latin dīvide et īmpera) in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.
So antisemitism is not a myth, it is a sad reality but the word modern use is in itself is antisemitic. It is racism and chauvinism against Jews and Arabs and Muslims.



An article from the INDEPENDENT
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-anti-seminitism-israel-palestine-balfour-declaration-a8021191.html

A Facebook Post  https://www.facebook.com/Middle-East-Examiner-533390296813334/
I wonder if celebrating the Balfour declaration would be described as antisemitic given that Palestinians are Semites too!
Definition of Semite
1 a :a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs
b :a descendant of these peoples
2 :a member of a modern people speaking a Semitic language

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Is there a truth is the fake news talk?

I resisted for long the idea of the responsibility of the media in shaping our populist crazy times.
After reading today about the Austrian elections on CNN and in the New York times and in so many other supposedly mainstream respectable news media, I started wondering.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/16/opinions/austria-nationalism-hockenos-opinion/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/opinion/austria-election-sebastian-kurz.html

 I do not understand the  discourse about the Austrian_elections. OVP is not a far right party, it is the equivalent of the Conservatives in England. True that the discourse was populist trying to win some of the FPO (extreme right) party voters, but they remain the liberal right and not the extreme right.

The results indicate that Austrians are unsettled by the influx of refugees. Austrians received the refugees with open arms at first. They went to the boarders with Hungary after they were badly treated by the Hungarian authorities. Austria received the highest number of refugees at this time if we calculate the number of refugees per inhabitant. The rest of Europe did not share the burden. With time this caused stressed and populist politicians played on the fear and frustration.

But the results also indicate that even those frustrated by emigration did not move to the extreme right, they chose to vote for one of the mainstream parties. OVP has been ruling Austria in coalition since long.
One needs also to pay attention to the fact that SPO (social democrat) was in the lead until a month ago when a financial scandal was revealed. Many people shifted then to vote for OVP because Austrians are very sensitive to corruption.

So why the warmongering of the media with references to Ausria' WWII baggage? The reporting was pure sensationalism, no real background research effort or fact check analysis.

For me it was like the drop that made the vase overflow.

I often wondered about why I was hearing simple two dimensional reporting and sometimes straight out false  statements on news from the Middle East. I often said it was due to laziness in research, lack of understanding falling in line with foreign policy priorities, etc. Not to say these are good excuses but they made sense to me.

This time, it is clear to me that the mainstream media, like mainstream politicians have dropped ethics and values for quick easy gains.

Sad state of affair; it is the failure of democracy when there are no proper fact checks and people do not have access to honest information.
Maybe fake news is not as crazy as it sounds.


Sunday, August 6, 2017

What is Corbyn take on Brexit?


Reading today in the Guardian
Vince Cable hits out at hardline Brexit 'martyrs'

Made me wonder about Corbyn thought process about Brexit.

It is quite clear now that Brexit will not result in job creation for those who vote for Brexit. They will not replace the EU ' migrants'. In fact, ll studies say that many of the NHS services will suffer dearly; an accountant or clerk will not be able to replace nurses and doctors.
The same scenario reverberates across all sectors.

At the same time it is clear that breaking with the EU will not automatically guarantee free trade agreements with the US or other trading groups. The negotiating power of  the U.K. market of 65 million persons is not a match for the negotiating clout of the EU market of  28 member states and about 500 million people.

The division in the EU that the pro Brexiteers were betting on such as German car manufacturing lobby are dreams that went up in the air now that the negotiations are on the way. German car industry made its position clear in standing behind its EU market rather than the UK.

It seems that what remains from Brexit is 'national sovereignty', in other words ultra-nationalism and the stiff upper lip that is ready to trade economic growth with 'pride'.

Here I came to wonder... Corbyn is not an ultra-nationalist, in fact, the contrary. So from where comes his Euro skepticism and his apathy as to fighting Brexit.

All I can think about is that he lives in another era where 'Internationale socialism' dreamt of  'workers of the world unite', ...
Joan Baez singing here's to you Nicholas and Bart Her's to you Nicholas and Bart

Beautiful and uplifting, but dear Mr. Corbyn, with due respect, it is an echo of the past.The EU is promoting the value of Social Democracy among powers such as the US and Russia where naked capitalism is prevailing.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Arrogant capitalism is the culprit


Today I came across an article about the relevance of the 1917 revolution. Very interesting. A century later we indeed need to take a close look.
Why does the Russian revolution matter? China Miéville

For me the relevance is visible in everyday life.
We need to look at the 1917 Revolution in the perspective of the times it took place in.
The world was ruled by kings, emperors, and regimes that took root in the French revolution and the industrial revolution.
It was a world where a few ruled viciously the masses. From serfdom people moved to avid capitalism where workers had no rights, were cruelly overworked, and paid less than subsistence wages. Hopelessness and a wall of monopolies and cartels surrounded them, wealth was a far dream.
The novel the ''Grapes of Wrath''  by John Steinbeck and published in 1939 is a perfect depiction.

The Russian Revolution was the precursor to the Stalinist Soviet Union, but it was also the event that brought to light the ideals of social justice that started to blow over the dry land of workers around the world.
Capitalism, to survive had to adapt within the processes of democracy and present a more human face. Thus, the birth of anti monopoly laws, workers unions, social democrat parties, peace movements, and so many progressive concepts and movements to the left in the West that lead to improving the lives of the workers and minorities.

With the demise of the Soviet Union, capitalism won and became arrogant once more. Wages did not improve in real value, while astronomical bonuses were granted to CEO of banks and multinationals.
Today wealth is distributed as such: 1% own half the world wealth, the remaining half is distributed over 99% of the world population.
According to The New York Times, the "richest 1 percent in the United States now own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent". And at the bottom it is even more skewed , the bottom 80% of Americans have just 7% of the nation's wealth.

What is really worrying is that the trend has been going on gradually steadily for the last 30 years.

The rise of social nationalism in Europe, the Trump phenomena, Brexit, the demise of main parties in France, the rise of fundamentalism, and, and, may just be consequence of the anger of many to feel left behind with no hope for improvement.

This is why the Russian Revolution and the failure of Stalinist Russia is still relevant today.

Friday, March 31, 2017

The only solution for Lebanon's mess

Booking a taxi to the airport, I was surprised when they asked asked me to where I was going. I answered to Cyprus, wondering why this question. They cheerfully informed me that their company has a taxi service in Cyprus and when they quoted the price, I noticed it was 15 euros less that the company I booked online, and it was the cheapest by far!

Lebanese business ingenuity will never stop amazing me. They function well and efficiently in a dysfunctional environment where the Government is just there to set bureaucratic corrupt regulation.

Some say it is due to our Phoenician heritage, some say to our individualistic mercantile Mediterranean culture, some... whatever it is, it is working. Lebanese businesses are surviving unbelievable circumstances, Lebanese young entrepreneurs are drilling their way through a stone age situation, and born and bread Lebanese emigrants are drawing success stories all over the world.

On the other side of the equation, Lebanese fail dramatically to function as citizen and their Government and political classe is driving the country to ruins. The Lebanese economic miracle as it used to be called until a few years ago is at the edge of the abyss today.

Though ideologically I am a person of the Left, I cannot, with all honesty except say that privatization is the only solution.
The private sector can take over failing governmental instituions and quickly make a success of it.
What needs to be done is just set checks and balances on monopolies and cartels.

Free market forces and competition will reduce corruption and put a limit to nepotism.
Just take a look at the banking sector, as well as  Zahle's private solution for electricity and the Post office though these two are private monopolies.

Reduce taxes and reduce government intervention is the only workable solution for Lebanon today.
Maybe in a generation or two we will be able to aim for a more human system.

Today
Government = nepotism, inefficiency and + epotism,corruption that is never reinvested in the country.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Muslim women, wake up!


commenting on
WORLD NEWS | Tue Feb 21, 2017 | 4:33am EST
French far-right's Le Pen refuses to wear headscarf to meet Lebanon's Grand Mufti

I give up! If a non fundamentalist Mufti refuses to meet a woman not wearing a veil, then there is no hope.
He wants to impose his reading of religion on others and gives woman's hair the ultimate importance in piety!
If women submission is their main theological flag then there is no place for me with them.

I am the last person to defend Le Pen.
She is even more intolerant than the Mufti.
I suspect the only reason why she wanted to meet him was to let the world know that she would not cover her head. A cheap electoral stunt and her smirk showed it clearly!

Nonetheless each and every time Islam manages to shoot itself in the foot.
It is time for Muslims to take a honest look at the source of all problems facing them.
It is simply intolerance towards dissent in the interpretation of religion and a power grabbing effort by a religious establishment that is not even an integral part of Islam.
It is a modern times creation.
There is no institutional Church in Islam. No middle man between man and God.
The Koran even says that you should not preach religion because only God can give faith. 

What a mess and what a warped Islam is being preached today!

Monday, February 20, 2017

Le Pen in Lebanon, Kafkaesque!

Marie Le Pen managed to find a country to receive her. It is for her a validation of her stature on the foreign policy dimension of her candidacy.
President Aoun is happy to receive her as it is a validation of his inflated ego on the international scene.
Both want also to validate Bashar Al Assad in Syria. God knows why?!

For Marie Le Pen it is a logical component of her extreme right ideology that advocate for so called Christian values and the alliance of minorities in the Middle East. A nice extension of colonialism.
Yet there is a backside to her visit.
Dual French/Lebanese citizens have voted strongly for her in the last elections. Many of them because of being bigoted Christians and to a certain extent populist with a tilt towards fascism, some because they are extreme right and more Gauls than the Gauls, others due to pure ignorance. They cannot understand that they are Arabs like all the other Arabs and will not be treated differently.
Her visit will give publicity to her policy that says that if she is elected she will require all people from non European origins to give up their original nationality if they want to keep the French one.
A racist policy that clearly discriminates against a group of citizens. But she really does not care about the values of democracy, does she!?

For Aoun it corresponds to his agenda of Christian rights and the alliance of minorities. Yet it is once again a knee jerk and ego boosting exercise. What are his gains? None.
Even in the case Le Pen wins the elections, she will not be able to do a lot when France gets out of the EU and falls into economic disintegration.
And if she does not win, then he has alienated the next President of France and the rest of the EU.

Another sticking point in all of this is Aoun relation with Hezbollah and the problematic of this relation with the new Trump administration declared anti Iranian policy. It might reflect on the support of the US to the Lebanese Army. And how is Le Pen explains her positiont given her declared admiration and alliance with Trump. And what about the Russian factor and their interference in all European election to promote extreme right candidates including Le Pen. The Russians until now are maintaining their alliance with Iran.

What a mess! and what is Hariri doing in the middle of all of this? until where his compromise will go? Who is the Godot he is waiting for?

Lebanon is a doomed country lead by politicians whose strategy is knee jerk reactions based on corruption, nepotism, and self serving policies. These same leaders are re-elected by the Lebanese every four years... Kafkaesque!

Sunday, February 12, 2017

I do not understand CNN anymore

Many will wonder why I am writing this blog. Those who witnessed the birth of CNN and how it affected access to information and was critical in shaping global public opinion might understand my nostalgia and emotional relation to CNN.

I am glad to have them expose the weaknesses and dangerous ideology of a Trump presidency.
But I am sad because they seem to be leading a political campaign which is not what balanced media is all about.

I rely on them for information, specially that I am almost all the time on the move.
Lately, I have just been shutting off the TV because I am bored of hearing them going after Trump all the time, for everything. Many important news is not covered. In addition, the sound criticism is being lost within all the hoopla.

Lately what shocked me is the line they are adopting towards the Iranian declarations and caricatures of Trump during the revolution celebration. Smirks and as if they are happy if the Iranians demean the USA. It is shocking. I would understand if they are taking side with a third country opposing the US on values of human rights and freedoms. But Iran??

This is counterproductive. Their audience is global, it is not formed of people who just want to hear what they like. Their audience wants balanced news.

It is sad if CNN becomes the other side of the coin of Fox News.
How can we fight populism and national socialism if we do not have a balanced media?

Thursday, February 2, 2017

The Trump witch hunt might be counterproductive

In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I would write such a blog.
Trump embodies an ideology that goes against all of my believes and what I fought for since the early 1970s.

I am furious that I am witnessing the rise of populist social nationalism around the world, I am angry at the erosion of gains in women rights, I am disheartened to witness the demise of a drive that lead to the creation the European Union, but what saddens me is the failure of the left, whether social democrats, progressive, or just liberals.

It is not right to have a witch hunt like criticism of Trump by many democrats, liberal and progressive media people, or just some intellectuals.
I hate hearing people taking side with Iran because Trump is saying he will take a taught stand on Iran. It does not make sense. Iran is a fundamentalist Islamic state that is wrecking havoc in the region. Just come to Lebanon and see the actions of Hezbollah and go to Syria and look at the sectarian crimes committed also by Hezbollah.
I hate hearing people going against safe zones for Syrians, idealizing the Obama presidency, sweeping under the rag all the failures of an administration that saw a dictator barrel bombing its own people while he meddled in a leading from behind policy saying that he is not lead by values, rather by putting the interests of the US first.

Standing against the Trump ideology is not taking sides by negating all of his actions while engaging in a never ending comparison with Obama who was a nice educated and wordily President but who was also stubborn, never heard the advice of Clinton or any of his other advisories, who sacked many of them, and who rules by Presidential decrees because he failed to unite or work with the Senate or the Congress.

It is time to take responsibility for eight years that ended by giving us Brexit, an emboldened and strong Putin, an Arab spring and a Green revolution that fell into violence and destruction, disabused youth, the Black Lives Count movement.... and certainly bears some responsibility for people in the US turning towards a person that is i Washington state and Minnesota n fact not electable such as Trump.

It is time to pay attention to the average person's concerns and to work on stopping this trend through winning the next election.
It will not happen by launching a witch hunt but by putting on the table logical and reasonable alternatives to Trump policies.

Just a day after I wrote this blog I was so happy to see intelligent people challenge Trump in the proper manner.  Washington state and Minnesota took the complaint against the Presidential order to court and District judge James Robart granted a temporary restraining order on Friday after hearing the arguments. 
Washington state’s attorney general, Bob Ferguson, who by the way sewed previously the Obama administration, hailed the decision as an important victory against.
“We are a nation of laws. Not even the president can violate the constitution,” Ferguson told reporters outside the courtroom. “No one is above the law, not even the president.”
This is an intelligent and effective answer!

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Muslims around the world: food for thought

Brexit and Trump and Le Pen and the rise of national socialism around the world and more so in the "West" is depressing.

One feels as if Daesh has won. They managed through fear to separate the world with a deep bridge in between.
On one side the Islamic world amalgamed with Arab culture whether Muslim or Christian.
On the other side what was the world that upholds democracy and human rights who seems to have crumpled into bigotry and intolerance at the first sign of stress and danger.

In the middle, most of us in both worlds that do not belong and are foreign to the stereotyping.
Stuck in the middle, betrayed by the social and liberal democrats who are supposed to uphold solidarity, we see women rights and minorities rights eroded and trampled under the brunt of the "fight against terrorism".

Then today, and following the Trump messed up border protection decree of banning people from Muslim countries entry to the US, I saw people sitting in airport to defend Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis, and all citizens from countries included in the ban.

I also heard Trudeau welcoming refugees to Canada and Pope Francis who faithful to his name seek Francois D'Assise, entered the debate setting the precept of Christianity away from bigotry and the "Christian values" of intolerance preached be the extreme right. Respect! His words count for many and are respected and admired by the other half.

It gave me hope, and belief that maybe Daesh did not win after all. And that the values I believe in are still alive.

It also drives me to say to Muslims around the world that it is time that they stand against injustice and violence and extremism. They cannot cower and be driven by an intolerant doctrine that seems to prevail.

Many of the young Arab women I meet these days, ask me about the sixties and seventies and if it is true that they were enlightened times. They tell me that their mothers tell them about the time they did not wear the veil and where they had more freedoms than today.
The majority of the young women wear the veil, not out of conviction, but due to societal pressures.

It is high time for the majority of Muslims that are not part of the actual fundamentalist interpretation of Islam to take to the streets, not against dictators only, but against the religious institution that is driving them into the direction of the dark ages.



Friday, January 27, 2017

May -Trump, the alliance of necessity?

Hearing May talking yesterday to a caucus of Republicans made feel the spectator of a tragicomedy.

She talked about many things and hit the right buttons to reach a trade deal that could save the UK, in her opinion, from the economic mess of a hard Brexit. She is desperate, keeping a stiff upper lips, playing a game of poker whose end is not certain.

Many times she made reference to Reagan and Thatcher, the cold war, and the common values of conservatism and democracy.

What she swept under the carpet is that Trump doctrine is blunt self serving interests leaving behind the embellishment of  promoting the values  of freedom and democracy around the world.
What she swept under the carpet is that Trump doctrine is one of protectionism and divorce of globalism and free trade.
What she shied away from noting is that Trump conservatism is linked to a tough stand on abortion that many women in her own party oppose. Many health service providers in the UK will suffer from the ban on funding operations overseas that not only provide abortion service but "mention the option".

What she promoted is again the international dimension of Great Britain, the links and ties to India, Pakistan, countries in Africa, etc. Turning a blind eyes to a history of colonialism and occupation. These are old colonies whose relations with Great Britain were forged in blood an injustice.
When she addressed the transnational organizations and in particular the UN, she reminded that the UN was formed by the US and the UK and that they should go back to their primary goal of serving the interest of the people of these nations!

In short she promoted a world lead by the US and the UK, based on self serving interest and using the fight against terrorism to support dictatorships ready to engage in this fight.
In fact a British neocolonialism under the umbrella of the US as Great Britain alone is incapable to achieve such an aim today.

I wonder if those who voted to get out of EU, a coalition of 450 million people united under values of democracy, freedom, women equality, and solidarity are on board for this new alliance.
I wonder if Corbyn has any idea of where his euro skepticism is leading the UK.

A real tragicomedy!





Saturday, January 21, 2017

Partisan or failed media?

Hearing the analysis of Trump inauguration on a US international media broadcast made me wonder about an issue that gave me food for though for long.

Is the media failing to play its role of providing balanced relevant information to the public? Is it an important factor in the formation of a public opinion that seems polarized to the extremes, intolerant, and unable to hold politicians accountable for what they say?

I cannot pretend to hold the answer, all I can say is that the coverage of the inaugural seemed to me an exercise in futility, as deep as a tea cup.

I am no fan of Trump, in fact, he represents all that I fought against all my life. He is the epitome of national socialism.
But comparing him to Obama all the time saying that Obama is a unifier while Trump will not be is ridiculous, specially that Trump never pretended being a unifier, he always presents himself as somebody elected to shake the system.
Obama was not able to pass any of the policies that constituted his main election promises. Even Obama care was passed by executive order. Obama was not able to get his own party on-board, so how he can be a unifier? Just because he makes nice speeches?

Then moving to analyse the inaugural speech again on the basis of a comparison with Obama as to the relation of the US with the world is counter productive.
And more so by talking about the role of the US in the world. Get real! Obama doctrine was leading from behind. The result is an empowered Putin that is the major player in the Middle East and is threatening ex Soviet bloc European countries. After eight years of Obama nobody trust the US, it undermined an important ally like Turkey, an drew red lines without keeping their commitment.

Then in comparing the first ladies as to style... honestly I do not care, but I do not understand how anybody can say that Evana is not stylish.

In fact, the coverage by insisting on comparing Obama and Trump was not able to address the real concerns of a Trump presidency, and they are many.
Comparison is taking sides with one against the other, and thus delegitimizing the criticism.
It seemed to me that they are taking the easy way out.
It does not require real analysis based on research and fact check.


Monday, January 16, 2017

War on the "loss of hope" rather than terrorism

Reading the Oxfam report on distribution of wealth worldwide made me realize that the "war on terrorism" that consists in bombing people, destroying lives and livelihoods is grotesque when
“While one in nine people on the planet will go to bed hungry tonight, a small handful of billionaires have so much wealth they would need several lifetimes to spend it. The fact that a super-rich elite are able to prosper at the expense of the rest of us at home and overseas shows how warped our economy has become.”
Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam GB, said:
“This year’s snapshot of inequality is clearer, more accurate and more shocking than ever before. It is beyond grotesque that a group of men who could easily fit in a single golf buggy own more than the poorest half of humanity."
One just needs to look at the numbers to understand that globalization made it possible for the few to enslave us all.
You wake up early morning go to work, come back in the evening, take care of your personal chores, sleep and then the cycle starts again.
You wait for the week end to supposedly enjoy life, but it often consists in trying to make ends meet.
It does not differ a lot whether you are that the middle or lower levels of any institution.
And if you are a dedicated worker, you are working hard to increase the income of the wealth owners.

All value added production from the combination of our work will not trickle down to us. It is gathered by thNorway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark filled the top five places in the WEF’s inclusive development index, with Britain 21st and the US 23rd. The body that organises the Davos event said rising inequality was not an “iron law of capitalism”, but a matter of making the right policy choicese owners of the means of production. Reminds me of the pillars that gave way to Marxism. The experience of socialism failed on the political level. But the experience of capitalism did not succeed.
"Between 1988 and 2011 the incomes of the poorest 10% increased by just $65, while the incomes of the richest 1% grew by $11,800 – 182 times as much"
The trend of inequality in the distribution of income is on geometrical progression.
A year ago, 62 billionaires owned the same wealth as the poorest half of the global population. Today the world’s eight richest billionaires control the same wealth between them as the poorest half of the globe’s population. It said that over the next 20 years, 500 people will hand over $2.1tn to their heirs – a sum larger than the annual GDP of India, a country with 1.3 billion people.

It is time to call to arms, the real war should be on the loss of hope resulting from grotesque warped inequalities in the distribution of wealth.

Trump, Brexit, terrorism, and the rise of national socialism are a knee jerk reaction but they are definitely not the answer.
Lets look at Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark who filled the top five places in the WEF’s inclusive development index.
Yet I wonder if rising inequality is not an “iron law of capitalism”, they say it is a matter of making the right policy choices, I wonder?

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jan/16/worlds-eight-richest-people-have-same-wealth-as-poorest-50?CMP=share_btn_gp