Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Egyptian comedian charged for defaming Morsi

Remember, it is called the Freedom and Justice party!

Bassem Youssef in an earlier show

Comedian Bassem Youssef has been accused of defaming President Mohamed Morsy in a lawsuit filed by 12 individuals. Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah has ordered investigations into the charges.

The plaintiffs accused Youssef of "insulting the president, [who represents] the prestige of the state before the whole world" in Friday's episode of his show El-Bernameg, aired on the privately-owned satellite channel CBC.

In the show, Youssef screened segments of Morsy's recent TV interview and said that the president should be given an Oscar for best actor, editing, directing, screenplay and picture, the complaint said.

The plaintiffs claimed that they "suffered massive harm [from Youssef's commentary], and were psychologically affected by this nonsense, ridicule and slander addressed to the head of state."

I can see how they have psychological problems, but I suspect that those issues pre-date any satirical TV program.

Bizarre defense of Erdogan's remarks, in Al Monitor

From Mustafa Akyol in Al Monitor:

Last week, during a visit to Vienna, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initiated an international controversy by condemning “Zionism,” albeit in passing. "As is the case for Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism,” he said, “it is inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity.”
...
But why did Erdoğan create such a fuss? And what did he really mean?

As a longtime observer of the Turkish prime minister, here is my humble advice for anyone who would like to find an answer to such questions: Erdoğan is a very Turkish politician. He, in other words, thinks and speaks in very local terms, not international ones. Therefore when he speaks of “Zionism,” what he has in mind is what most Turks have in mind, rather than what Ban Ki-moon, Netanyahu and Kerry have in theirs.

And there is a big gap between these two. Zionism, by international definitions, is a form of Jewish nationalism that is focused on founding and securing a Jewish state in what Jewish sources call “the Land of Israel.” ....

In Turkey, however, the term “Zionism” is almost always taken as synonymous with its most radical version, and is perceived as the plan to permanently occupy the whole “the Land of Israel,” while suppressing or destroying the native Arab population. In this sense, Zionism only implies humiliation, death and destruction of the Palestinians, a people for whom the overwhelming majority of the Turks have genuine sympathy.

Moreover, in the common Turkish mind, the term Zionism even evokes extravagant conspiracy theories against Turkey itself. For years, popular writers have claimed that Israel’s ultimate “Promised Land” is much bigger than Palestine, consisting much of the central Middle East, including Turkey’s restless southeast region...

It is notable that the very second result of a Google search for “Siyonizm” (the Turkish version of the word) presents such a Super-Greater-Israel theory, with references to the infamous hoax, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The same article also includes a map showing a large part of Turkey to be the target of “Zionism.”

See? Erdogan didn't mean he was against Israel at all - he was just invoking a keyword that every Turk would understand as an anti-semitic conspiracy theory!

How dare the US and UN complain about something so innocuous!

Tuesday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Palestinians' Double-Standards Exposed Again by Khaled Abu Toameh

What is surprising — and disturbing — is that the UN, the international media and human rights groups are willing to be complicit in this effort to prevent the outside world from learning about what is going on in Palestinian prisons in the West Bank. Once again it has been proven that a story that reflects negatively on the Palestinian Authority leadership has no chance of finding its way to the international media. But a story that reflects negatively on Israel will always be welcomed by the international media, human rights organizations and the UN.

BBC continues to conceal terror connections of Palestinian hunger strikers

The highly discredited Richard Falk was recently removed from a concurrent post at Human Rights Watch on account of a long history of anti-Israeli bias, 9/11 conspiracies and often overt antisemitism. Falk – who predictably repeats and promotes the Palestinian Authority’s entirely unproven accusation that Arafat Jaradat died “during interrogation” in an Israeli prison in this quote – would of course have been highly unlikely to say anything else, but the use of that quote allows Knell to garnish her article with what she apparently assumes to be an air of UN-related supposed authority.
Knell’s failure to adhere to BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy and impartiality means that her article joins its predecessors on the subject as yet another example of political campaigning badly disguised as journalism.

PMW: PA rejects Norwegian TV report about PA hate incitement and terror glorification

The Palestinian Ambassador also tried to minimize the damage the story caused to the PA, saying "these are weak voices in the Norwegian media." In fact, NRK is the main TV station and the TV report had a significant impact. It led to high level debates in the Norwegian parliament and prompted the Norwegian Foreign Minister to call the office of PA Chairman Abbas for clarification.

MEMRI: Chairman of Egypt's MB Party Calls for Jihad for the Destruction of Israel in 2006 VIDEO
Saudi Cleric Muhammad Musa Al-Sharif Calls to Continue Suicide Bombings in Israel VIDEO

Israel: Hamas halted flow of goods into Gaza
Hamas-Fatah dispute over Palestinian trucking company halts flow of goods, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

Israel had planned to open the crossing Monday, after closing it for six days to protest the Palestinian-launched rocket from Gaza that landed near Ashkelon on February 25.
But on Monday, Hamas asked the Palestinian company, which transports the goods from Kerem Shalom into Gaza, not to show up at the crossing, according to Israeli security sources. The company complied.
According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), it is the first time that Hamas has closed the crossing for this reason.
Technically, Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah jointly operate the crossing, and make all formal decisions with respect to the passageway through separate land crossing authorities; this includes choosing a trucking company to transport goods in and out of the sterile area at Kerem Shalom.

Recidivist-Led Hamas Terror Cell Detected in Hevron
Israel security agents have foiled a Hevron terrorist cell led by an operative released in the 2011 Shalit hostage-prisoner swap deal.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) released for publication on Monday that security agents have foiled a terrorist cell created in Hevron, led by an operative released in the 2011 Shalit hostage-prisoner swap deal.

Israel envoy urges UN action to stop fire from Syria
‘Up until now, Israel has displayed restraint. You must act before things deteriorate,’ warns Ron Prosor

Israel will not stand by while its citizens’ lives are in danger, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor warned in an urgent letter to the UN Security Council Monday, following a weekend that saw three mortars fired from Syria land in the southern Golan Heights.
“Up until now, Israel has displayed restraint. You must act before things deteriorate,” wrote Prosor, adding that the cross-border fire constituted a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria and had potential to stir up the already restive region.

GCC countries slam world inaction on Syria and Iran’s ‘interference’
Six Gulf monarchies on Sunday criticized world inaction on Syria and Iranian “interference” in their internal affairs. (Al Arabiya)

The six Gulf monarchies on Sunday criticized world inaction on Syria and Iranian “interference” in their internal affairs ahead of a visit to the Saudi capital by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
“The Syrian crisis has become more of a quasi-catastrophe through the unjustified killing of the Syrian people,” Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa said at the opening session of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting.

Iran Must Allow Immediate Access to Parchin, Says IAEA Chief
Yukiya Amano calls on Iran to allow access to the Parchin military base, where nuclear weapons research may have taken place.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano said that this should be granted "without further delay" and without waiting for stalled talks to reach an agreement on investigating other alleged "westernization" activities.
"I request Iran once again to provide access to the Parchin site without further delay, whether or not agreement has been reached on the structured approach," Amano told the IAEA board of governors meeting.

Despite Obama opposition, Beirut bombing victims win judgment in court

Surviving family members of the U.S. Marines and soldiers killed in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 had reason to celebrate good news on Friday in New York City, in spite of President Barack Obama's opposition to their court case, according to a spokesperson for the victim's families.
The U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York's Judge Katherine B. Forrest ruled that the victims of the 1983 Beirut bombing were entitled to collect $1.8 billion of their $2.65 billion judgment against Iran for its role in the terrorist bombing in Beirut.
Iran's culpability stems from the fact that the terrorist group responsible of the deaths of U.S. servicemen was the Lebanese-based Hezbollah, an organization funded and armed by the Iranian government. Hezbollah is a known "proxy" for Iran's war on the West.

Belly dancer: Islamists have destroyed art and creativity in Egypt

A once-prominent Egyptian belly dancer said she has decided to stop dancing, saying Islamists have destroyed art and creativity in Egypt.
“Artists are sitting at home because Islamists destroyed art and creativity,” 70-year-old Nagwa Fouad told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “Perhaps I should look for work in Turkey.”

IDF Blog: Exclusive Photos: The Druze Battalion in Action

The Herev Battalion is composed exclusively of Druze soldiers and at the moment guards the northern region of the country. The battalion just completed its combat training course. Here, we bring you exclusive photos from their final beret march.
The “Herev” Battalion is an infantry battalion, unique because it is composed exclusively of soldiers from the Druze community. Today, 83 percent of this community chooses to enlist in the IDF, and the majority choose to serve in combat units. 87 percent are drafted into the “Herev” Battalion.

Islamists kill 48 Syrian soldiers - in Iraq!

From AP:

Dozens of Syrian soldiers who had crossed into Iraq for refuge were ambushed Monday with bombs, gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack that killed 48 of them and heightened concerns that the country could be drawn into Syria’s civil war.

The fact that the soldiers were on Iraqi soil at all raises questions about Baghdad’s apparent willingness to quietly aid the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The well-coordinated attack, which Iraqi officials blamed on al-Qaida’s Iraq arm, also suggests possible coordination between the militant group and its ideological allies in Syria who rank among the rebels’ most potent fighters.

Iraqi officials said the Syrians had sought refuge through the Rabiya border crossing in northern Iraq during recent clashes with rebels and were being escorted back home through a different crossing farther south when the ambush occurred. Their convoy was struck near Akashat, not far from the Syrian border.

Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, provided the death toll and said nine Iraqi soldiers were also killed. The Syrians had been disarmed and included some who were wounded, he told The Associated Press.

He said the soldiers had been allowed into Iraq only on humanitarian grounds and insisted that Baghdad was not picking sides in the Syrian conflict.

“We do not want more soldiers to cross our borders and we do not want to be part of the problem,” al-Moussawi said. “We do not support any group against the other in Syria.”

The Iraqi Defense Ministry said 10 additional Syrians were wounded in the assault. In a statement, it warned all parties in the Syrian war against bringing the fight into Iraq, saying its response will be “firm and tough.”

Iraqi officials who provided details of the attack described a carefully orchestrated assault on the Syrians’ convoy, with a senior military intelligence official saying the attackers appeared to have been tipped off ahead of time.

He and another Iraqi official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information, said it was unlikely that Syrian rebels had managed to cross into Iraq to carry out the attack.

“This attack bears the hallmarks of the al-Qaida terrorist organization,” said Jassim al-Halbousi, provincial council member in Anbar, the restive western region where the attack happened. “The borders should be secured at the highest level of alert.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the AP last week that he feared a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war would create a new extremist haven and destabilize the wider Middle East, sparking sectarian wars in his own country and in Lebanon.

The Islamists' goal isn't Syria, but to create a new caliphate throughout the Middle East. All of Syria's Arab neighbors are in danger from this spillover.

This is really big news.

Kerem Shalom open today?

Palestinian Arabic media is reporting that Israel is sending some 390 trucks of goods into Gaza today, and allowing the export of flowers as well from the sector.

Yesterday, the crossing was closed as Hamas replaced the concessionaire at the crossing, something that violated the agreement between Israel and the PA.

It is unclear what changed between yesterday and today.

This is the first time the crossing has been opened since a rocket attack on Israel early last week.

UNRWA cancels Gaza Marathon because Hamas refuses to allow women

In December, UNRWA announced a marathon in Gaza to raise money for children's programs.

Today, UNRWA says the marathon was canceled:

We regret to announce that the UNRWA Gaza Marathon, due to be held on 10 April 2013, has been cancelled following a decision by the authorities in Gaza not to allow women to participate.

Registered Marathon participants who still wish to come to Gaza are welcome; UNRWA is working on an alternative programme of events which will be forwarded to those interested as soon as possible.

UNRWA is disappointed with this decision, and sincerely regrets the inconvenience this may cause to those who planned to participate in the marathon.

It appears that women were allowed to run in previous marathons.

Spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said, "Unfortunately, the cancellation decision was taken after lengthy negotiations with the government of Gaza, which has rejected the participation of women in the marathon."

Notice that UNRWA stays away from mentioning "Hamas" and does not condemn or criticize the misogynist decision, only saying it is "disappointed."

And Gaza's slide into Islamist Hamastan continues, while the world pretends Hamas is "moderating."

Sort of like Egypt.

Over 1000 Palestinian Arabs killed in Syria. Ho-hum.

From Hamas' Qassam website:

The workgroup for Palestinians in Syria has said that 1038 Palestinians were killed in Syria since eruption of the popular revolution in that country almost two years ago.

It said in a statement on Sunday that 14 Palestinian refugees were killed last week due to the continued attacks and sniper fire in refugee camps.

Good luck finding a negative word about Syria in website of the "pro-Palestinian" International Solidarity Movement.

Or the "pro-Palestinian" BDS movement webpage.

Or "Students for Justice in Palestine."

Or the blog of the "Free Gaza" movement.

It makes you wonder what exactly "pro-Palestinian" means, doesn't it?

Giant, "mutant" rats plague Tehran

No joke:

Photo with article might be only illustrative

Tehran, the capital of Iran, is battling an invasion of "genetically mutated" giant rats.

Iran has sent in sniper teams to clear Tehran's streets from the massive rodents weighting up to five kilos plaguing 26 district of the Iranian capital, the city's environmental agency said.

"They seem to have had a genetic mutation, probably as a result of radiations and the chemical used on them," Ismail Kahram, Teheran city council environment adviser and university professor Ismail Kahram told Qudsonline.ir.

"They are now bigger and look different. These are changes that normally take millions of years of evolution. They have jumped from 60 grams to five kilos, and cats are now smaller than them."

The "mutated rats" have been running rampant in the capital, as cats are scared off by their giant size and traditional poison appear to have no effect on them.

To stop them storming of restaurants' backyards and scavenging public waste containers, the council has deployed ten snipers teams armed with infra-red sighted rifles.

"We use chemical poisons to kill the rats during the day and the snipers at night, so it has become a 24/7 war," the head of the environment agency, Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, said.

Rats' carcasses are burnt or buried in lime.

So far 2,205 rats have been shot dead, but the war is far to be won and the council is planning to bring the snipers team up to 40.

Between the Tehran rats and the Cairo locusts, we Zionists have had a busy week getting our zoological friends to do our nefarious bidding! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

(h/t Motti)

EoZNews: Interview with NGO Monitor's Gerald Steinberg

On the first full day of my recent trip to Israel, I visited NGO Monitor, the organization that keeps track of abuses by NGOs - both the supposedly unbiased NGOs like Human Rights Watch and the many specifically anti-Israel NGOs that have spouted up.

I was warmly welcomed, and had a nice time meeting all the employees over a Big Apple Pizza lunch. (It isn't Pizza Hut, but it isn't bad!)

I took the opportunity to interview its president, Gerald Steinberg, about how NGO Monitor started, the Israeli NGO transparency law that has caused such angst among the anti-Israel crowd, and NGO Monitor's own transparency.

Monday Links Part 2

From Ian:

Ashton's £240m EU ministry is attacked as wasteful and clueless in damning report
-European External Action Service is accused of squandering money
-Conclusions are a humiliation for Baroness Ashton, appointed in 2009

The report, drafted by a group of experts after five months' research, warns that morale in the service is falling because of lack of trust, internal quarrels, clashes with other European institutions and an opaque chain of command.
The conclusions are a humiliation for Baroness Ashton, who was appointed to head up the new service in 2009.
The Labour peer is regarded as a political lightweight by opponents in Brussels and has been pilloried for her inability to speak a foreign language.
One of the report's authors, Geert De Maere, a Belgian law professor, said: 'We specifically decided not to say too many things about Baroness Ashton so as not to allow the report to be interpreted as a character assassination, which is why we focused on her office instead.'

Missing Peace: Relationship between EU and Israel increasingly complicated
Relations between Israel and the European Union hit a new low last week when the EU funded NGO Breaking the Silence leaked an internal EU report which blasted Israel’s policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians.

Another official said the report, and other annual reports put out by the EU heads of missions in east Jerusalem and Ramallah, is a result of their living in an “echo chamber.”
He said the EU representatives there are forbidden to be in contact with Israeli government officials, and are only exposed to the Palestinians and the NGO community – organizations such as Breaking the Silence.
“As a result, it is not a surprise they come out with one-sided partisan reports,” he said. “This is a structural problem. One part of the EU’s foreign policy bureaucracy is institutionally anti-Israel, where their whole milieu is Palestinian activists on the West Bank and NGOs that share their same agenda.”

Oren: We Want Peace, Now
Ambassador sounds pacific note at AIPAC conference, ahead of Obama visit.

"We do not want a peace process," Israel's U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren said at Sunday's AIPAC Conference. "We want peace."
"We do not want to start negotiations tomorrow; we want to start them today, now – in Jerusalem, in Ramallah and here in Washington," Oren said.

Oren to Abbas: Unity with Hamas sets back peace

Israel’s top envoy in America warned Fatah leaders on Sunday against entering a national unity deal with Hamas, arguing that it would set back prospects for peace.
“We hope that [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas will not follow through on reconciliation with Hamas,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the US, during the opening plenary of the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in the US capital. “We see that very much as a game-blocker.”

Argentina’s About-Face on Terror By Fabián Bosoer and Federico Finchelstein

Mrs. Kirchner’s decision to abandon Argentina’s longstanding grievances against Iran is particularly galling because it comes just weeks after Bulgaria, another country victimized by Iranian-sponsored terrorism, accused Hezbollah of staging a suicide attack on Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian town of Burgas last year. That attack, like the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires, was part of a shadow war against Jewish civilians across the world. Bulgaria’s government, unlike Argentina’s current administration, decided to stand up to Hezbollah and forthrightly accuse it of the crime.
Argentina’s president is undermining her own country’s prosecutors, who have for several years tried to pursue the suspected perpetrators. Many observers have denounced Mrs. Kirchner for giving Iran a free pass. As Laura Ginsberg, whose husband was killed in the 1994 attack, has put it, the Argentine government has terminated the possibility of justice.

British MEP Relents, Removes Derogatory 'Jew' Remarks
British MEP David Ward removes derogatory "Jews” statement from his website following further calls for disciplinary action.

British Member of the European Parliament (MEP) David Ward has finally removed a derogatory statement about “the Jews” from his website following further calls for disciplinary action, The Jewish Chronicle (JC) reported.

New DC institute aims to put Israel in the Ivory Tower
Non-partisan organization hopes to boost study of Jewish state via new programs, financial resources and academic partnerships

In the crowded alphabet soup of Washington, DC, Jewish think tanks, advocacy groups and associations (AIPAC, WINEP, APN, JCPA, JINSA…), a new institute opened its doors last week with a novel mission: to advance the scholarly study of modern Israel in the United States and around the world.
The Israel Institute, established by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, aims to be something of an academic clearinghouse for scholars pursuing Israel-related research and schools looking to expand their offerings of Israel studies courses and programs.

Trains, bikes and shoppers: The quiet unification of Jerusalem
Jerusalem’s physical division once seemed imminent. Today, urban planning is subtly bringing the capital’s disparate parts closer to each other than ever before

The idea of an “east” and “west” Jerusalem has always been more a theoretical shorthand than a workable description of reality. There are Jewish neighborhoods to the east of the Arab ones of “east” Jerusalem, and Arab neighborhoods to the west of Jewish ones in the “west.” But the recent developments are additional proof — at least for some of those concerned about the city as a place where people live rather than as a chip on the poker table of the peace process — that Jerusalem’s urban health lies in the integration of its parts, and that any solution will have to involve sharing the city, not splitting it.

The Nine Lives of ‘Hava Nagila’
A new documentary looks at the many iterations of the popular tune, from Hasidic niggun to American kitsch

On today’s podcast, guest host Rebecca Soffer, a New York-based producer and writer, talks to Grossman about how this project came to be, the song’s status among American Jews today, and Bob Dylan’s “talking blues” interpretation which is, depending on your perspective, a mangling or a brilliant articulation of Jewish ambivalence. [Running time: 19:50.]

Davutoğlu refused to shake hands with Ehud Barak

From Today's Zaman:

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu refused to shake hands with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Munich Security Conference held in early February, Today's Zaman has learned.
Davutoğlu did not shake hands with Barak, thus rejecting an attempt by US and German officials to break the ice between Turkey and Israel during a dinner hosted by Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer on the sidelines of the conference last month.

According to the seating plan prepared by US and German officials, Davutoğlu sat next to Seehofer and US Vice President Joe Biden, while Barak sat opposite the Turkish minister. When officials sitting in Davutoğlu's row started to shake hands with the figures sitting opposite them, the Turkish minister immediately stood up and greeted the Macedonian and Croatian presidents. Seeing Davutoğlu not responding to his attempt to shake his hand, Barak said, “As the distance between the two sides of the table is wide, we could not reach each other's hand.” Davutoğlu replied: “No, the problem is not the size of the table. There will always be a distance between us unless you meet our demands.”

Davutoğlu was referring to Turkey's demand for an official apology from Israel for a deadly attack on the Mavi Marmara bound for Gaza in May 2010.

Classy, right?

Meanwhile:

Last month, Israel agreed to send promised electronic systems to Turkey, which will integrate those systems into its Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) military aircraft purchased from the US. In addition, Israel also offered to build an undersea gas pipeline from Israeli-owned offshore gas rigs to Turkey's south coast for Turkish business conglomerate the Zorlu Group.

And:

A senior member of the Turkish government, former Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, recently visited Israel for stem cell treatment. Unakitan, who is suffering from chronic renal failure, served seven years in Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government from 2002-2009.

According to Turkish media, the 67-year-old Turkish politician was treated at Tel Aviv’s International Center for Cell Therapy & Cancer Immunotherapy (CTCI) for almost two and a half months.

It seems that instead of sending advanced AWACS equipment and offering to help Turkey in other ways, Israel should simply say that unfortunately the distance between the two states has become insurmountable, and it might decide to use its goodwill towards friendly Greeks and Kurds instead.

Let's recall how friendly a reception the IDF received when it boarded the Mavi Marmara:

(h/t Silke, Zvi)

Jordanian columnist describes Arab childishness perfectly

In my last speaking engagement, I stressed that the Arab world must be held accountable for choosing to act like children, instead of the coddling that the West has been giving the Arab world, where outrageous behavior is simply considered normal.

This op-ed from Ammon News in Jordan is directed to Jordanians only, but it describes how childishly a large part of the Arab world acts.

It’s Friday and we must have a protest in Jordan. Someone, somewhere in Jordan has done something that peeves us and makes us angry so we need to go out, block the roads, cry foul and snarl traffic because we have nothing constructive to do but protest. We seem to be doing a lot of that in Jordan lately.

The latest spat is because the government has raised fuel prices that are already subsidized by another 4%. So let’s go out and protest against these government civil servants and their leadership that must be corrupt.

It cannot be that the fuel prices have been kept low for so long by subsidies that the government cannot continue to maintain due to large debts, and fuel prices that are going up. It has to be because they are corrupt.

It cannot be because we refuse to walk anymore to burn off some of the fat from our overly obese bodies (The rise of Diabetes in Jordan is staggering). Or the fact that some of us cannot walk a kilo without collapsing because of all the cigarette smoking we do and the fact that this vile, dangerous, costly, dirty habit is killing us and our children who have to live with second hand smoke (Cancer and many other disease linked to tobacco use in Jordan is growing rapidly).

We don’t want to change our poor habits. We don’t want to take a bus or taxi (because that is beneath us). We don’t want to walk or try different alternative sustainable energy methods that in the long run will make it cheaper for us and our country. We just MUST HAVE cheap fuel.

It cannot be because we are lazy and do not want to try to make things better by attempting new innovations or thinking. It’s because it must be the corrupt civil servants and their leadership that is doing this to us.

We don’t want to leave our wet nurse, we don’t want to grow up and start to think and live on our own and pay our own way. We want to be moochers of the government coffers, because after-all they are our mommy’s and daddy’s.

So when we do not get our way, we need to throw a fit. We need to go out and protest. We have to show them and the world that we can throw a tantrum just as well as a teenage kid, when they are told that they are spending too much time playing and on the phone with his friends and not studying and applying new skills.
...

My brothers and sisters we of all people know that we have been living like wet nursed children for so long. We know that we need to wake up and move on alternative sustainable energies. We know that we need to raise prices not just on fuel but things that we are fully aware are killing us and our children principally tobacco use.

This product must be taxed to limits that will deter its use. We know that we have to control this dangerous narcotic as we control other dangerous narcotics. But I have yet to hear a protest or demands about its flagrant use in our public building and street and at tobacco companies, who are profiting on the demise of others.

We must get our heads out of the sand and stop pretending that we do not live in the real world. When things get hard we must rise to the challenge. That does not mean we let our public officials off of performing their duty to us, but understand that things in our country must change for us to survive. So like my father used to say, “Pull up you big boy pants and get to work”.

Westerners are so afraid of criticizing the Arab mentality the way that some brave Arabs do. But that criticism itself is a necessary precondition to forcing the Arab world to grow up. By giving them a free pass, the childish behavior is being rewarded and reinforced. This hurts everyone - including the Arabs themselves.