The Qardaha Boyz!

Small and seemingly minor events can sometimes convey the truth much more clearly and effectively than any amount of deep political analysis.

While security officers are busy rounding up young students and activists for daring to try to establish a democratic youth forum where they can exchange ideas about the future of their country, members of the President’s family (yeah, those good old Qaradah Boyz) long known for their involvement in smuggling activities, kidnapping, extortion and heists, seem to have decided to flex their muscles a little and show the country who’s really the boss there. They did so by stealing the Mercedes Phantom belonging to the country’s new Minister of Interior, Brig Gen Bassam Abdulmajid, in a move that constitutes a major blow to his yet un-established prestige. Boohoo. Continue reading “The Qardaha Boyz!” →

How Judicious!

Another protest demonstration took place in Damascus yesterday, this time it involved a groups of judges protesting the President’s decision to lay them off, a move that had been billed in the media at the time as part of anti-corruption campaign targeting the country’s infamous judiciary system. The constitutionality of the President’s decree in this regard has always been suspect as it infringed on the separation of powers instituted by the Baath Constitution itself. Continue reading →

The Good Boycott!

The boycott against Danish goods by righteous believing Muslims all over the world, albeit hardly justifiable on any logical ground in this case, does, nonetheless, signal an interesting development that should in principle be encouraged.

For while we need to point out that resort to this procedure in this case may not be correct, the method itself, we should notes, is a very legitimate, effective and downright civilized manner for expressing discontent – one that is far superior morally and tactically to rioting and arson. Continue reading “The Good Boycott!” →

The Hamas Factor!

Hamas’ electoral victory, although billed as a “surprise” or a “shock” by many newspapers, did not really come as a major surprise to most observers of Palestinian politics. In fact, the whole reason why Abu Mazin seemed to have entertained postponing the elections for a while was directly related to his firm conviction that holding the elections at this point in time will result in a surrounding victory by Hamas. Continue reading →