I have always been driven to do the right and decent thing. And my standards are seldom self-serving. I often find myself having to go against my own wishes and desires, against some of my own internal predispositions even, to do what appears to me right and decent by the “traditional” if not “universal” standards for these things, albeit filtered through my personal experiences. After all, ignoring my desires and wishes is one thing, but I cannot ignore the dictates of reason conscience. Continue reading “Happiness, Nostalgia & Longing!”
Month: May 2006
From Ali to Alaa. From Syria to Egypt!
Egyptian Sandmonkey wants us to move heaven and earth on behalf of Egyptian blogger and democracy activist, Alaa, who got arrested today during a protest to support the Judiciary’s branch fight for independence. Seeing that I am a fellow blogger, an advisor to the Committee to Protect Bloggers, and a member in the international jury that voted to grant Alaa (and his wife Manal) the special award offered by Reporters Without Borders in late 2005, I say, let’s do it. Details here.
The Shape of Things to Come!
If Ali ‘Abddlah and his two sons’ family has finally managed tofind outwhere they are, the family of Fateh Jamous is stilllooking, five days after his arrest.
This is the new style that Assef Chawkat, the head of the military security apparatus which we now know was behind the dramatic disappearance of Ali and his two sons, seems to have selected for dealing with all those dissidents who were daring enough to try to bridge the gulf between the internal and external opposition groups, even when their efforts were not necessarily that successful. For, unlike his former comrade in arms, Riyad al-Turk, Fateh’s enduring old-style communist predilections had already constrained his abilities to enter into serious dialogue or strike a serious deal with any of the existing groups in Europe. Continue reading “The Shape of Things to Come!”
The Case for Regime Change in Syria (5)
According to reports coming out of Syria, security forces are currently laying siege to two different villages in the northern parts of the country, in the provinces of Idlib and al-Hassakeh to be specific. The two sieges are separate and have been instigated by two different sets of very local circumstances. In other words, there are no political overtones here.
Still, the two incidents are rather significant and quite ominous on two counts: the incompetence and corruption of the local authorities seem to lie at the heart of both incidents, and, in both cases, local authorities seem to be acting completely on their own, serving the interests of their various local leaders and being given a free hand by the central authorities. Continue reading “The Case for Regime Change in Syria (5)”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 