Showing posts with label Middle East Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle East Politics. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

My Hero to Zero- Muammar Gaddafi!

Picture Courtesy- Google Image Search
The moment i think Gaddafi, i simply can't repress my knowing smile. Of course, maniacs remember each other so well, don't we? When i further think about him, the smile burgeons into imminent laughter- reminiscing his 'style' statements, his various 'phobias'. What a man! The longest reigning dictator who must have been chained in a psychiatric asylum long ago. Libya and Gaddafi are inseparable, so much that you think they were man and wife! Libya's synonym is Gaddafi and Gaddafi's synonym is 'mad man'. Now it is so ironical that the 'mad man' is made a 'bad man' by a bunch of cyber activists and Western media men. Shame on them! Can they hide the charisma of our Hero? Gaddafi climbed to power at the age of 27, when most of us would have been struggling with our love lives. Which President calls himself- " Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution"? Our Brother Gaddafi does! What if blood soaks the streets of Tripoli, my hero will fight it till the end. He is a la Tom Cruise in khakhis, how many ever missiles you aim at him, he goes unscathed- He is a Mission 'Impossible!'

For those who don't know the history of my Hero, i urge enrol yourselves in a Libyan school right now! King Idris must now be laughing his head off from Hell, ( Well, i can say he is there because our Hero put him there!) seeing history, his-story being repeated. Gaddafi overthrew King Idris in 1969 and now tables are turned against him. But being a Hero, he simply refuses to budge. I rather grew fond of his trendy fashion statements, his Phil Spector styled hairdo and Snoopy resemblance weirdo impressed me. He seems a man encased in a time capsule, still in 60's hairstyle, 60's dresses and undying love for Idi Amin. Here are few snapshots of my favorite Hero-

Duh! He forgot to get off his bath robe and hey, the woman in the backdrop- his Body Guard!
Image Courtesy- Google Image Search
 

Apparently my Hero likes drapes better than suits and ties! Drapery, stolen from Hotel Suite:)
 


Two like minded gentlemen, look at Brother's pin ups;)
  Does he copy any Hollywood Hero like our Bollywood men? No! Gaddafi has his own eccentric style, color and grace which the entire Hollywood Bollywood pack lacks. President Obama looks a little bit lost and out of focus when he is near my Hero and Berlusconi simply adores the General...slurp...slurp...Oh Silvio, i thought you date 19 year olds...No other leader of our era has the kharisma oh my, typo, its charisma, the charm and the sense of fashion Gaddafi has. May be after retirement  ( or death) from the Brother's post, Gaddafi can find ramp walk easy cake walk. The likes of Armani, Versace, D&G, Lacroix- all please rope him in for an innings in Paris Fashion Show. He is a sure crowd puller. Or may be i think, my Hero can start his own line of Designer clothing, of course named L&G- Libya and Gaddafi!

Gaddafi's phobias are world reknown, now made public for umpteenth time by Wikileaks. He likes to pitch tent in hotel rooms, he takes his prized camel everywhere he goes , he refuses rooms in top floors of hotels, refuses to let his jet fly over water, his camel suffers from jet lags, he never embarks on an overseas trip without his Ukrainian Nurse ( how dare you think it could be a male nurse?) She is a femme fatale, of course! And his female bodyguards force of 100 luscious and vicious women is something Berlusconi might already be thinking of taking over;) Let it all be, what i am worried about my Hero is- Will he go to Hell down below when he dies? He hates heights and apparently The Heaven Above! Or Hero will order God to bring Heaven below or fight Him till He budges! Go Brother, GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

All Images above- courtesy google Image Search:)

Friday, 18 February 2011

Bahrain imbroglio

This Friday, Bahrain sits on quiet anger that is raging underneath. Early morning raids on February 17 saw further five deaths and the situation is tense. The Pearl Roundabout looks like it has been ripped apart by a storm. Bahraini riot police had raided the unsuspecting civilians sleeping in make shift tents at 3 am yesterday, teargassing, firing rubber bullets and throwing sound bombs. The entire area was earlier cordoned off and the men, women and children ran helter-skelter. Ambulances were prevented from reaching the dead and injured. Reports put the dead at 5 and grievously injured at 43, other injured at 195. It is indeed inhuman and painful to read reports of the brutal clampdown and to see the women wailing for the dead in the Salmaniya Hospital premises.


Pearl Roundabout after the early morning riot police crackdown
So is the Arab world's uprising spreading to Bahrain? Yes, indeed. There is no denying the fact. What is the cause behind the struggle? Widespread unemployment and inequalities in wealth, as in all Arab nations. The Sunni minority Autocratic Government ruled by Sheikh Hamad Ibn Isa Al Khalifa is ruling the tiny island nation from 1999. The Prime Minister of 40 years Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa heads the 25 member Cabinet of which 80% are from the Bahraini Royal Family, the Al Khalifas, who were given rights to rule the country in 1971 by the British with the Freedom Treaty. The British have the catastrophical effect of bifurcating any country they set their foot on, their divide and rule working perfectly here, a Sunni family heading a country with 70% predominantly Shia population. The Shia youth are denied job opportunities in all plumb sectors, including Defense and Police. Most of them remaining unemployed have took this opportunity to show their anger, emboldened by similar uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. There had been revolts in 1981 and 1990 earlier by the Shia Muslims, but was clamped down as well. So this revolt was much expected. This is not just a Shia uprising, but a social uprising by cyber savvy Generation of unemployed Bahrainis taking up face book and twitter campaigns as a platform for Reform.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have already spoken volumes of Human Rights violations in Bahrain and now the whole world sees it. Yesterday night the GCC Foreign Ministers Meet was held in Manama and the outcome was as expected- They offer unconditional economic, defense and moral support to Bahrain's King. Ironically, it was British exported crowd control ammunitions used in Bahrain's clamp down that is being probed now. It is heartening to note the British Foreign Ministry is planning to cancel licenses for export of such crowd control ammunitions being used in Middle East against innocent civilians. UK Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt rightly acknowledges- "We closely consider allegations of human rights abuses. We will not authorise any exports which, we assess, might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, which might be used to facilitate internal repression." Big Brother too is bothered by what transpires in Bahrain, as it hosts US Navy's Fifth Fleet. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said- "We call on restraint from the government to keep its commitment to hold accountable those who have utilised excessive force against peaceful demonstrators and we urge a return to a process that will result in real meaningful changes for the people there." See her interview here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAphcFMIPgU

Protesters mourning the dead, Salmaniya Hospital, Manama
Even as thousands of mourners are pouring into Salmaniya Hospital chanting " We want democracy!", the entire Arab World is watching in silence as to what will happen next in the Kingdom of Bahrain. I do sincerely hope the people settle down in a peaceful Constitutional Democracy, enjoying basic human rights which they are otherwise denied.

Good luck to them! Bettawfeeq!!!