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What can be done about Iraq? MERNEWS editorial.
By MERNEWS
Iraq is in a mess--a real mess. MERNEWS believes that this mess can be sorted out but it is going to cost a fortune. Why are terrorists (kindly called insurgents), still pouring into this country? Why are car bombs still going off daily?
MERNEWS reports that if Bill Clinton is worried and criticizes the Bush administration for errors in Iraq, then we are hearing from someone who speaks with authority. Clinton (speaking in Dubai, Wednesday), declared, probably openly critical of Bush for the first time, that Iraq was becoming a problem and that the invasion may have been inopportune.
The troops are there now though---and committed-- and amidst other problems (such as the use of white phosphorous and a Bhagdad torture ring), they have an almighty job on their hands. They need more help.
They need more help to stop insurgents crossing over the borders of Syria and Iran. They need more help to stop car bombers and suicide bombers. They need to seal off border posts and city zones and public places. They need to calm Iraq so the citizens can get on with their lives again.They need more troops. And they need more effective deployment of these troops.
It is easy to criticize and it is easy to say that the US and the UK have under-estimated the forces of evil still active in Iraq, but the deed has been done. We are there and we need to sort this out. We have two options:
Place a million troops in Iraq and effectively stop explosive-laden vehicles coming near any Iraqi civilians or the troops themselves. Stop anyone crossing the borders. Stop under-estimating the size of the problem.OR:
Get out and get out soon. The terror of the torture chamber reminds us that Iraq will not change. The divisions between Kurds, Shia and Sunni will not change. The divisions between Iraqis and the US troops will not change. The Invasion has made life intolerable for many Iraqi citizens. They perceive life as being worse under US occupation, not better.
We should have left them alone. After all, Sadaam, evil tyrant that he was, had no WMD's and no suicide bombers either.
(Comment by MERNEWS editorial staff).
* Posted on: Fri, Nov 18 2005 5:04 PM
November 15, 2005
MERNEWS :Chaos!
By MERNEWS
Most bloggers must be concerned about the chaos in the world today. If you watch TV you'll see riots in France, bombs in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. There is definitely an assault by immigrant communities on their living standards as far as France is concerned but the bombs in Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan and Pakistan lead most people to believe that Al Quaeda is to blame. They probably are to blame (or Al Quaeda cells or imitators), as their aim is to destabilise communities and disrupt any moves by the USA to control or administer Iraq. It boils down to a group of terrorists who are hell bent on turning US- biased countries against the US and creating as much mayhem as possible.
What the Al Quaeda people don't seem to realize is that by targetting Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan and Afghanistan, they are arousing anti-Al Quaeda sentiments and that their message: " Stop supporting Bush or we'll act" is about to cause a backlash in the Arab world. If the might of the Middle East countries really gets angry, Israel will be put on the back-burner. Pity Bin Laden and his cohorts when fellow Arabs hunt them down---they'll find them a darn sight quicker than Bush will.
* Posted on: Tue, Nov 15 2005 5:43 PM
November 11, 2005
Weekend MERNEWS.
By MERNEWS
BRITAIN'S TOP COP
The top cop in Britain is a 48 year old Ex-South African Police Services Captain (According to The Sunday Times). Perhaps this serves to tell us that the kindly British Bobby of old is now far too soft for these much more demanding times. Or might we be cheeky and use the adjectives : unmotivated, untrained and unable to get up in the morning?
Captain Coetzee has made 300 collars in the time it takes for a British policeman to arrest 9.5 criminals. What are we going to do about it? Send our bobbies to South Africa for training of course!
Bombs in Jordan
Cowards attack happy wedding parties with bombs and guns. King Abdullah says the Jordanians will track down the culprits and deal with them. On a very serious note, this News Channel predicts--after attacks in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia,Egypt and, now Jordan--that Al Quaeda need not fear George Bush as much as the angry Muslim world. If the Middle East really does decide to take on Bin Laden and his cronies there will not be a hole in the ground that is safe for cowards of this type.
* Posted on: Fri, Nov 11 2005 4:13 PM
November 9, 2005
MERNEWS Headlines.
By MERNEWS
Dithering: MERNEWS had called for military invention and curfews in France days ago:How can a small news channel know what is good for France if France doesn't know what's good for France? We don't recommend live bullets but we do ask for strong leadership.
We predict that, after he lost the anti-terror bill today in the Commons, that Tony Blair has about six months of political life left.
Zimbabwe's government has summoned Chris Bell, British Ambassador in Harare, to a hand-slapping for telling the truth about the poor economy and the reasons for it. Ambassador Bell told it like it is: The country is an economic mess and mostly due to corrupt government. Let them give you 40 lashes, Chris, then get out if there. If we had Her Majesty's ear, we would recommend that the UK withdraw from Zimbabwe altogether. What have they got to lose? Comrade Bob and his cronies are so riddled with Alzheimers (we're being nice), that any attempt to make them listen to any sense of reason, could end with a firing squad for Sir Chris. This African country has gone from being a breadbasket to a basket case! By the way it is rumoured that Comrade Robert bought an expensive Swiss watch on his recent UN sponsored junket. Hope it's not a fake Bob.
* Posted on: Wed, Nov 9 2005 6:29 PM
November 7, 2005
France Burns as Chirac Fiddles.
By MERNEWS
The rioting in France has gone far enough, MERNEWS reports. It needs a big stick--short term , and an all-encompassing policy to address the social, physical and economic problems of an immigrant community that has been disparaged and neglected in the past. This community will not go away and it is useless to demand deportation or imprisonment for thousands of French-Africans, many of whom are French, not African. In fact the Africanisation of the French population is not the issue. It is the Francophone umbrella of insecure life that has disrupted France today. It is akin to a firework half-lit and waiting to go off after many years of sublimation. This firework has now exploded and France is in an unprepared position to deal with the anger.
We do not use the word 'anger' lightly. If Chirac and all the forces available to him do not damp down this fire it could spread to other countries with similar dissatisfied immigrant communities --and there are many--in the UK, Holland and Spain, for example.The flames are already flickering on Germany's borders.
There are obvious solutions but De Villepin and his advisors have probably been told this already,and we cannot say whether they will work. However, we believe a State of Emergency should be declared, along with strict curfews and the Army should be brought in to restore order. The US has done this before--France can too!
* Posted on: Mon, Nov 7 2005 4:21 PM
November 5, 2005
MERNEWS on Saturday Night.
By MERNEWS
Who's Who in the news this week?
* Who's Hugo? The President of Venezuela tries to win fans at a Rally in Beunos Aires. He says Dubya wants to invade his country. Oil-rich Venezuela is ripe for invasion but we don't think Dubya wants to deal with Hugo and his cronies just yet. After all, President Chavez is so unpopular in his country that his citizens may well initiate the invasion themselves!
* C& C in the US. Prince Charles has long been a figure of ridicule in his own country. How we wish that all peoples, on both sides of the Atlantic, realised how much HRH and his good lady are, in fact, excellent ambassadors for their country. History aside, they are a charming, sincere and well-meaning Royal couple. MERNEWS deigns to predict that their popularity is on the rise and let's hope the Yanks treat them accordingly.
* David Blunkett is(was), a seemingly wise Senior Minister in Tony's cabinet. He resigned (again ), this week and MERNEWS feels that he should have put his (complicated), private life in order before accepting a new post.
* Kuwait's new airline, Jazeera Airlines, is up and away this coming week. We wish them happy air-miles and pleasant journeys. This is a sure sign that Kuwait is recovering from the Saddam invasion of 1990.
* MERNEWS feels that any planned execution of Saddam Hussein will simply complicate the peace process in Iraq. We think this matter should be considered very carefully. We think that exile would be the best solution. After all, the erstwhile President of Haiti is living extremely comfortably in Pretoria, South Africa, but it keeps him quiet and out of the way. Our "spooks" say that Pretoria is preparing to build a guest house for Robert Mugabe as well. Mbeki's Republic could well turn into a celebrity country with dinner parties in the suburb of Menlyn enhanced by the presence of former dictators. Pretoria could even be re-named as "Dictatoria"!
* On a more serious note to the above, the police in Paris are preparing for night no. 10 of riots that are spreading to other parts of France.It is a situation approaching anarchy and MERNEWS, with little qualified experience about this sort of thing, feels that the Army should be called in. There is only so much that you can expect your police forces to achieve. The Army must damp it down, arrest the culprits and deport the ringleaders. A State Of Emergency must be declared--even if the De Villepin government is reluctant to do so.
* David Cameron, the new Tory Prince, may be castigated for his early 'druggie" life and his posh connections. But this Conservative hope cuts an extremely powerful profile standing behind the ancient opposition podium. He is forceful, verbose and is obviously politically charismatic. We urge you to witness his rise towards opposition leadership.
MERNEWS publishes three times a week and on Saturday Night.
* Posted on: Sat, Nov 5 2005 4:55 PM
How does MERNEWS work?
By MERNEWS
An Interview with MERNEWS:
Margaret Thorpe quzzes veteran blogger Robin Swan and his ideals for MERNEWS.
-Are you based in the Middle East?
---RS:Yes, we are based right in the middle.
-What exactly is MERNEWS? Is it political?Is it biased?
---RS:Last question first: No it is unbiased but does comment on political events at times and will judge as all newslinks do. This is not our most important function. We have no political affiliations but we support the African Continent in its entirety. Too few people do that. MERNEWS is small, for bloggers and blogreaders. We will have a website next year but we feel it must be professionally done before going into it.
-Why Bloglines?
---RS:Because it is a site with a good readership and is far more professional than some sites which have little exposure to, say, the Guardian Blog promoter or BBC etc.In fact many blogsites offer their subscribers too little and demand too much.
-Isn't blogging going downmarket?
---RS:On the contrary blogging is getting so sophisticated that many blogs are quite famous (American academic Chomsky has a blog!). Some are so well-designed that they make some company web-pages look amateur in comparison.There is so much scope nowadays to build a 'cool' looking blogsite with excellent graphics and functions.
-What about the blogsites that kids, teenagers and adults use as diaries or photo showcases? Some are very crude and often vulgar.
---RS:Blogging must have a place for everyone. That's how blogging started, remember, people writing for fun --displaying their hearts on a sleeve--showing their cars off etc. They are the pioneers of blogging and they must have their say.
-Do you, as a veteran blogger yourself, see any room for censorship in blogs?
---RS:Ah, good question. Look, if Kitty from Minneapolis wants to show her personal naked pics I have no problem with that.BUT, Kitty should password protect those pics. It can be done. However, and I feel strongly about this, if the sex webcams, videos and porn people are not stopped from using blog sites to show sex shows and all the filthy bits that are found in porn sites, we are going to be taken over by these people. They'll destroy blogging and youngsters will be further exposed to this sort of thing. I don't think its healthy for kids or for blogging.
-What can be done about it?
---RS It should be exposed. I know of one blogsite that has no 'moral' control over what it allows and MERNEWS is going to expose blogs like this. I mean, really Little Karen has learnt how to build a blog; she uses it as a diary and it's great fun. But Karen's blog-keeper has a list appearing on her screen with the latest blog posts and they include, for example, 'latest sluts on camera' or ' the biggest stud on film now'---that's out. For me that's a no-no.
-When you say 'expose', is this going to be some sort of morals campaign?
---RS:No, MERNEWS is for news and comment. If we hear of an uncensored blog site that is not quite, let's say, 'healthy', we'll expose it. That is news too and news people have civic responsibilities, right?
-Thanks for giving us all this insight. You are a great campaigner for blogging.
---RS:Thanks--there are plenty of us.
* Posted on: Sat, Nov 5 2005 3:46 PM
November 4, 2005
Welcome to MERNEWS!
By MERNEWS
Welcome to MERNEWS.
We are based in Cairo and MERNEWS stands for Middle East English Regional and Global News. We do not plan to compete with the greats such as Al Jazeera or Reuters but would rather be known as a Blog News Channel. In other words we'll submit news to our own blogs and other blogs as requested. MERNEWS is used for newsfeed to blogs for some very important reasons: There are blogs that require a newsfeed and we can provide it.There are blogs that require a reference site and we provide it. There are blogs in the Middle East that require an English slant and we do that too!
Some blogs to read as a starting point:
http://robcairo.tblog.com
http://www.weblogpage.com/robswan
http://adnauseam.joeuser.com
http://www.gotouregypt.com
We hope to add more as time goes on BUT PLEASE NOTE that MERNEWS is not a bloglinker! We have genuine News Feed from reliable sources.
* Posted on: Fri, Nov 4 2005 4:58 PM