Satellites in the Arab world Stop their orbit

http://www.economist.com/node/17366175?story_id=17366175&fsrc=rss

Yo Egyptians!!

when are we gonna stop complaining about each & everything?
when are we gonna stop being that shallow seeing nothing but the outer line of the west and think they're all living in heaven?
when are we gonna start realizing that the bigger part of our problems actually lye within us and not only the government and the corrupted dictatorship regime?

i'm not living in denial or underestimating the amount of corruption we're facing in our political system.
but who doesn't?
i've tried to name one single country that lacks corruption, couldn't find any!
the richest countries of the world have corruption, unemployment, terrorism, high crime ratios, lack of medical insurance, racism, fake claimed democracy, manipulation, poverty and the list is rather long...

So before you start cursing, sending me hate messages and assure everyone that i'm a member of the national democratic party and maybe hired from that Mr. X to be part of the government conspiracy to brainwash the mass, let me tell you where i'm coming from and list down few facts that might be of your interest.

i've recently seen the latest social indicator in the last 10 years that was published in a special report on Egypt in the Economist by Max Rodenbeck titled the long wait:

i wouldn't say much, you can simply refer to the report for further elaboration, but i believe that the above box says it well and for further reference please listen to the reporter interview regarding the same topic.


another report that i personally think everyone who allowed him/herself to complain & accuse others, should read, KNOW and acknowledge that despite all the challenges, Egypt is still moving forward somehow - Egypt Human Development Report 2010 -


couple of days ago, i had a very surprising conversation with a good french-spanish friend of mine about the escalated depression & suicidal rates amongst french young people, which made me dig deep and try to know more on where do we stand from this holly-preceived world called the west and that's when i found A LOT and picked some random facts & figures.

• Unemployment rate in France hits 10% versus 8.7% in Egypt
• Crime rate in USA is 21.1% versus 9.43% in Egypt
• Fatal no. of terrorism attacks from 1968 - 2006 is 983 in Algeria, 522 in Turkey & 366 in United Kingdom versus 306 in Egypt
• Egypt supersedes most of the Arab countries in democracy level "it's true, don't jump",  leaded the entire Arab world in women's suffrage & has the highest percentage of parliamentary elections registered voters in the Middle East
• Egypt considered to be one of the Arab countries with least restraints on press and has the largest space among Arab world in freedom of speech & expression 
• Ranked the 7th worldwide out of 210 countries in electricity production

i'm obviously picking our top & best ranks in whatever we're doing good and avoiding any negative ones, which are many as well!

okkkaayyy, enough of that utopian world and back to the drama.

What are the major problems other than poverty that irritate you? 

Let me list down the very common ones that will come out of anybody's mind once asked that question

• Traffic
• People behavior & attitude
• Education system
• Political repression
• Overpopulation
• Medical care

fine, we've got loads of shit, but we really also have an issue with our perception to the government role!

we're always expecting to be fed in the mouth and cuddled afterwards if possible, we grow up with the idea that everything is -and should always be- subsidized! bread, gasoline, transportations, water, electricity and all other commodities! even entertainment, TV has to be for free including satellite channels ;\


and after a long deep thought, I kept sticking to my personal belief: a big part of fixing most of our problems MUST be initiated by us, we should be doing the change.
we should put our corrupted brutal regime excuse aside for a bit and start working on ourselves, educate ourselves and the forthcoming generations how and when to take actions; not only complain, nag & snap then keep doing nothing!!

Hamas and dialogue

By   Ali Ibrahim

October 3, 2010, 7:02 pm

LONDON: It is not the first time that Hamas has announced its desire to begin dialogue with the United States. The only thing that is new this time is its insistence. Hamas issued a statement confirming that it has sent a message to Barack Obama, via a US delegation that recently visited Gaza, inviting him to open direct dialogue with the group, and to remove what the group considers to be an American veto on Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas has been careful to stress that it is not opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state based upon the 1967 borders, a stance which mirrors that of its rival, the Palestinian Authority.
If this situation is genuine, then an intriguing question needs to be answered: what is the origin of the dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which necessitated not only a bloody coup, but led to a sharp split in the Palestinian movement between its two governments? The first government, in Ramallah, is considered by the outside world to be legitimate, whilst the second in Gaza is considered illegitimate, but is well-established, has a large arsenal of weaponry, and is committed to the status quo in Gaza. This question is followed by another regarding the content of the dialogue which Hamas wishes to initiate with Washington: Is this related to its participation in the direct negotiations and the Palestinian state project that is currently being discussed, along with all the details surrounding its establishment, both in a political and security sense? Or, will the dialogue be limited to an attempt to legitimize the status quo in Gaza, or in other words strengthen the Palestinian division?
This time round, it is most likely that Hamas is simply afraid of “missing the boat” after witnessing the determination to generate momentum in the US-sponsored direct negotiations between Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu, and it seems that in this attempt to establish peace in the Middle East, Washington is keen to avoid past mistakes, and has extended the peace process to include other parties, such as Syria and Lebanon. Damascus is expected to respond to this, following its experience with the Turkish sponsored indirect negotiations with Israel. If Damascus does respond to this, it is likely that Lebanon will also enter negotiations.
The problem is not dialogue itself but the conditions of the dialogue, and the willingness of Hamas to respond to these, for Hamas needs to change a lot of its previous attitudes before it can become a credible party. Hamas has opposed negotiations since the Oslo Accords as well as during the era of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat; the group has worked vigorously to undermine the peace process, carrying out bombings and suicide attacks. This continued until the last episode in this well known series of events, ending with the current state of affairs. Even with the launch of the current round of direct negotiations in Washington, the Hamas military wing carried out two attacks in the West Bank. It is not known whether this was approved by the leadership of the movement, or if it was a ‘field initiative’ as one Hamas leader described it. In any case, this had no influence upon the negotiations which, in light of past experiences, have almost become immune to such acts.
If what a number of Hamas commanders have stated is true and the group does not oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, then in principle, there is no problem. However nobody will take Hamas seriously if it only conveys this in statements to the media or press interviews. The Hamas leadership needs to make an official announcement in order to reveal the group's official political position on this issue.
What would you bet on the possibility of this happening? Indications are that there is no other option. In the event of the negotiations actually achieving something, Hamas will have to move in this direction if it wants to have a political future in the proposed Palestinian state. The restless inhabitants of Gaza are well aware of this fact, and they exchange jokes via text messages and the internet on the subject of how to rule the Gaza Strip. If this were to take place, reconciliation will be simple, as will Hamas participation in the negotiations; the group would participate as part of a unified Palestinian government.

Ali Ibrahim is Asharq Al-Awsat’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief, based in London. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) with permission from Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, http://www.aawsat.com