Honor Killing

By Syed Akbar Ali

I am always researching material for my future references. Everyday I learn something new. Sometimes it is nothing new but it is new to me. History does repeat itself. I learn that many of the bad things that happen around us happen because somewhere a long time ago in human history, some moron wrote down some of these bad things in some book, then called it the ’Word of God’ and then weak minded people started believing and following these beliefs.

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One such evil is honor killing. Honor killing where fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles and aunties kill their daughters, sisters and nieces. In the modern age, this still happens among Muslims.

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There is absolutely NO SUCH thing in the Quran. Repeat : NO SUCH THING IN THE QURAN.

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Here is something from Wikipedia:

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An honor killing or honour killing is the killing of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community) that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community.

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Honour killings are directed mostly against women and girls.

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The perceived dishonor is normally the result of one of the following behaviors, or the suspicion of such behaviors:

(a) dressing in a manner unacceptable to the family or community,

(b) wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice,

(c) engaging in heterosexual sexual acts outside marriage, or even due to a non-sexual relationship perceived as inappropriate

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Women and girls are killed at a much higher rate than men.

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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that perhaps as many as 5,000 women and girls a year are killed by members of their own families. Many women's groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia suspect the victims are at least four times more.

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According to the UN in 2002 : The report of the Special Rapporteur... concerning cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women (E/CN.4/2002/83), indicated that honour killings had been reported in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Yemen, and other Mediterranean and Persian Gulf countries, and that they had also taken place in western countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, within migrant communities

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In April 2008 it came to light that a woman had been killed in Saudi Arabia by her father a few months before for "chatting" to a man on the social networking Internet site Facebook. The killing became public only when a Saudi cleric referred to the case to criticise Facebook for the strife it caused

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In 2005 Der Spiegel reported: "In the past four months, six Muslim women living in Berlin have been killed by family members". The article went on to cover the case of Hatun Sürücü, who was killed by her brother for not staying with the husband she was forced to marry, and of "living like a German".

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In March 2009 Turkish immigrant Gülsüm S. was killed for a relationship outside her family's plan for an arranged marriage.

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Where do these sick beliefs come from? They definitely had to have some ‘legitimacy’ sometime back in history. Here are some references from a well known ‘text’ that do talk about killing your own sons and daughters for various reasons, including of course to protect your honour.

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I will not name the book that says all these things. People are sensitive and start getting defensive. I just want to point out that this concept of killing your own children has been written down before (in history) in such books.

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I know there are those among you who read these books DO NOT believe these parts of such books anymore. Good. Thank you. I am not passing judgement on you. I am merely saying that these things have been written down before in such books. They are not new ideas.

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And they certainly cannot be found in the Quran.

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KILL THE REBELLIOUS SON/DAUGHTER !

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. – (reference deleted)

He that curseth his father, or his mother [A rebellious son/daughter], shall surely be put to death. –(ref deleted)

Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in I****l, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you. --- (ref deleted)

"Any woman who prays with her head unveiled dishonors her head. It is the same as if her head were shaven, for if a woman will not veil herself then she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven , let her wear a veil. (ref deleted).

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None of the above are found in the Quran.

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And here are some more interesting things about women that we have heard quite recently even in our own country Malaysia.

i. Wives must be in total subjection to their husbands.

ii Women must remain silent during prayer.

Iii Women CANNOT be leaders in the country.

Here is where these beliefs come from too :

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at HOME, good, OBEDIENT to their HUSBANDS... ------ (ref deleted)

Likewise, ye wives, be in SUBJECTION to your own HUSBANDS. ----- (ref deleted)

Women should remain SILENT in the C****h. They are NOT ALLOWED to speak, but must be in SUBMISSION, as the Law says. – (ref deleted)

"I permit NO woman to TEACH or have AUTHORITY over men". –( ref deleted)

Just something I learnt today, while having breakfast by the beach. Also a working day. An honorable day.

ETP : Things That Do Not Add Up

By Syed Akbar Ali

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First of all I am glad that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been discharged from IJN today (Saturday May 28^th 2011). I hope he continues with his rest.

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I also want to thank and congratulate the Prime Minister and the Government for NOT closing the roads in Kuala Lumpur city centre to celebrate the International Youth meeting. The meeting is being held in Putrajaya and about one million youths are expected to converge there. You can see the picture here.

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I do hope the Prime Minister will speak to Dato Raja Nong Chik, the Minister in charge of the Wilayah Persekutuan to make sure that the DBKL does NOT issue any more permits to anyone to host bicycle races, music shows etc in the Dataran Merdeka that requires the road to be closed. Janganlah menyusahkan manusia.

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Anyway I just received the following sms from an ultra right wing UMNO Blogger : “Najib dah announce Labu Sendayan utk ganti airport TUDM Sungai Besi. Peninglah. Sat lagi keluar cerita jho loh, 1mdb dan Mubadhala”.

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With all the turmoil in the Middle East, do they still have their “investment funds”? Halal ke? Jangan pula the “rebels” kick out the Oo of “Oo Ba Doo” from his throne and then the “rebels” send a Truth Commission over here to recover back their money? Wont that be embarrassing?

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This was followed up by a second sms from my friend: “Rakyat takda kerja. Pribumi merintih sendiri”.

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Anyway, earlier in the day I read this piece of news:

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• “KUALA LUMPUR: Government in talks with investors ..setting up 1Malaysia malls in Vietnam and China.
• Domestic Trade Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said land identified in Ho Chi Minh City
• “Vietnam and China will be the first two countries the 1Malaysia malls will be opened,”
• ..India and Iran had also expressed interest . ..
• 1Malaysia malls, one of the ETP (entry point projects) under the retail National Key Economic Area, would be a private sector initiative. Ismail Sabri said 50% of the products sold would be Malaysian-made.

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Let me say first off that Ismail Sabri would not know the difference between business and trade from a hole in the ground. Why in heaven’s name are we building 1Malaysia Malls outside Malaysia?

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What is meant by “a plot of land has been identified in Ho Chi Minh City”? Who has identified this land? The Government? Why? Is this taxpayer’s money involved again? Why are we taking our taxpayer’s funds to build shopping malls in other countries?

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It is bad enough that the DBKL and Raja Nong Chik are using taxpayer’s funds to promote Indonesian ‘warong businessmen’ in Kuala Lumpur. They are helping Indonesians. Now Ismail Sabri is taking our taxpayers funds and investing in Vietnam, India, Iran and China? Whats going on guys?

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Back to the question : who has identified the plot of land in Ho Chi Minh? How much do we have to pay for this plot of land? Market value ke? Over valued ke? Crony punya valuation ke? Siapa bayar duit untuk tanah ni Ismail ? Do you understand what you are saying?

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If the excuse is that a private sector company is involved, why then is a Government Minister announcing what a private sector company is buying in Vietnam, Germany or Japan? (err Dato, for your information Khazanah, 1MDB, Felda semua tak aci tau. They are not private sector. They are Geee Elllll Ceeee meaning Government Linked Company meaning taxpayer funded).

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I am a little bit puzzled - how can building a shopping mall in Iran, India, Vietnam and China be Entry Point Projects for the Malaysian economy? Please see again the second sms my friend sent me : “Rakyat takda kerja. Pribumi merintih sendiri”

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So Dato, kalau kita buat shopping mall di Vietnam atau China, agaknya berapa banyak peluang pekerjaan yang dapat kita sediakan untuk anak-anak muda kita yang sedang menganggur dalam Negara kita? Unemployed graduates saja dalam berpuluhan ribu. Unemployed SPM holders in the tens of thousands.

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Who will pay for these projects? Somehow I am not convinced that Indians and Iranians will be willing to finance the construction of 1Malaysia Malls inside their countries so that we can go and sell Malaysian products in their countries (and put their factories and manufacturers out of business – these are still emerging economies).

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Dato boleh faham ke? Cuba fikir Dato, will we allow the Indians to come here and build 1India Shopping Malls in Malaysia so that they can sell 50% (at least) “Made in India” products only? Biar kilang kita semua tutup ke? And will we be so stupid to also provide financing for the Indians to build their 1India Malls here in our country? Kita ini bodoh sangat ke?

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So by the same argument Dato, how can we expect the Indians and Iranians to “invest” their money in 1Malaysia Malls so that we can sell 50% “Made in Malaysia” products in their countries and put their manufacturers out of business? Depa pun bodoh ke?

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The only way this insane idea will work is if Malaysian taxpayer’s money is used first to buy the land in India, Iran or Vietnam. Then more Malaysian taxpayer’s money is used to build the 1Malaysia Malls. Then more Malaysian taxpayer’s money is used to finance all the shops that are going to be opened in these malls. I think the Malaysian taxpayer is being taken for another ride. Better still, the Indians, Iranians and Vietnamese will insist that they also be appointed the turnkey contractors to build these 1Malaysia Malls – and we finance it with taxpayer’s money. (But there is another real story here isn’t there?)

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This scheme is actually a perfect ‘black hole’ – obviously thought up by some scheming con-sultan - to make Malaysian taxpayer’s money disappear. Here is the reason why : Where is Ho Chi Minh City? Where is Hyderabad? Where is Isfahan? Who is going to go and check what is happening in these places where our taxpayer’s funds will be poured into great big holes in the ground? And if there is mismanagement (wanna bet?), cost over runs, corruption (wanna bet?) then NO ONE from Malaysia can investigate.

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The MACC has no jurisdiction in Iran or Vietnam. If anything goes wrong (it most certainly will, wanna bet?) the Malaysian Police, the Income Tax Department – in fact NO ONE from Malaysia can investigate anything. So isn’t this a perfect scheme to make our taxpayer’s money disappear? The smart beggar who thought up this scheme is real slimy. They are still around.

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Now, do we seriously expect to fill up whole shopping malls in Vietnam, Iran, India and China with 50% ‘Made in Malaysia’ goods? Goods jenis apa Dato? Can you name three of them? Just three of them. Please give brand names ok? (keropok lekor not counted). Do you seriously expect our goods to outdo cheap ‘Made in China’ goods that fill all the malls throughout the whole world?

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Here is the truth ok : walk into any mall in Malaysia (especially the hypermarkets) and then answer this question : how many per cent of the goods sold in our Malaysian shopping malls and shopping complexes are "Made in Malaysia"? I know some hypermarkets where close to 100% of the manufactured goods are "Made In China”. You cannot find 50% of the goods sold in our own shopping complexes that are ‘Made in Malaysia’. No way. Its all ‘Made in China’.

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So how do you expect to fill up 1Malaysia shopping malls in China with 50% “Made in Malaysia” goods ? ? ?

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"Made in Malaysia" handbags are going to outsell ‘Made In China’ handbags in China ? Or even in Vietnam. Heloooo? Anyone home up there? Dato Ismail Sabri, why not try and sell 'Made in Malaysia" ice cubes to the Eskimos? (Dato boleh faham ke apa maksudnya 'sell ice cubes to the Eskimos?)

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Now here is the real funny part. While Ismail Sabri - who knows nuts about business - is suggesting we build 1Malaysia Shopping Malls in Iran, India (those are crazy countries ok) here is another piece of news. This is good news:

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• Tycoon Li Kashing firm buying malls in Malaysia
• PETALING JAYA: Singapore-based ARA Asset Management Ltd, which is linked to Hong Kong tycoon Li Kashing, is in different stages of negotiation to buy between five and 10 malls throughout Malaysia.
• Asia Dragon Fund has a fund size of US$1bil (RM2.9 Billion) to buy Asian assets.
• ARA currently has assets in Singapore, Hong Kong and China exceeding RM44bil in value.
• 1 Mont’Kiara Mall (1MK), which was purchased by the Cheung Kong Group last year for about RM333mil. This will be ARA’s third property, the other two being the AEON Mall in Malacca and Summit in Subang Jaya.
• ARA has 25 malls throughout Asia – 14 in Hong Kong, four each in China and Singapore and three in Malaysia.”

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Li Ka Shing is buying shopping malls in Malaysia instead. It appears that Li Ka Shing has more faith in Malaysia than Ismail Sabri. Li Ka Shing will also be creating more employment opportunities for Malaysian workers, including unemployed graduates, unemployed Mat Rempits etc. Here is my suggestion. Just lend some money to Li Ka Shing to enable him to buy even more shopping malls in Malaysia. We will move to a higher income economy much quicker.

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Folks, note this down – the 1Malaysia Malls overseas are just another disaster in the making.

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Subsidies and market prices

By Syed Akbar Ali

Folks say that the ‘non announcement’ of the subsidy rationalisation at the very last minute by the Government (day before yesterday) is an indication that the General Elections are getting close. Well at least another Minister was saved the embarrassment of making a fool of himself again.

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I don’t think the General Elections should be held anytime this year. Or even next year. They are not due until 2013 anyway. Also the Pakatan State Governments have said they don’t want to dissolve the State Assemblies before the five year term is completed (in 2013).

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Here is a scenario. Say the General Elections are called early and the four Pakatan States DON’T participate. The BN wins back Parliament and the remaining nine States (Perlis, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Sarawak, Sabah). Then closer to 2013 the four Pakatan states call for elections - it is possible that the people may hand over the four states back to the Pakatan, just to keep the BN on their toes.

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So if there are early General Elections and the four Pakatan States don’t participate, then the risks are higher for the BN.

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It is better for the BN to wait. Also the more time passes, the weaker is the Pakatan. The Sodomy Trial is coming to an obvious end. Their party will even be evicted from their party headquarters. They have not been paying the rent so the bank is foreclosing on the building. Apa punya turr.. PAS will be having party elections in about 10 days. The party may be even more weakened after this round. Men of a certain clique are expected to win big.

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It is also possible to have Parliamentary elections only without calling for nationwide State elections. Or vice versa - nationwide State elections without Parliamentary elections. (India recently conducted nationwide State elections). This will cost everyone more money and time wasted politicking and talking rubbish. All things come to he who is patient.

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Coming back to subsidies, my view is we have to get to market prices asap. We have to get rid of subsidies. Paying below market prices (subsidy economy) in the long run, makes us very unhealthy. Paying above market rates (corruption, overpriced Government contracts, Government wastage) makes a few people very illegally rich and the rest of us very illegally poor.

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When we operate at market rates then wages, supply demand equilibrium etc will all fall in line. Rest assured that the prophet Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” will be acting in the market. Let us not be afraid of market prices.

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But we must avoid 'cold turkey' methods, like during the time of Slumberjack, they raised the harga minyak by 70 sen per litre overnite. That caused a lot of chaos in the country.

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It is better to allow the petrol and diesel prices to rise say 5 sen every two months (or maybe 10 sen every four months). The economy will not feel the price hike so "violently". Less ‘cold turkey’ treatment. And in one year petrol will be up by 30 sen per liter - closer to market prices. The Government will save money on subsidy payments (and spend the savings on RM63 billion MRT projects - the single most expensive Government project since the Kesultanan Melaka. Of which RM300.0 million is going to be paid to McMoney - ‘make money’ - Con-sultans from Chicago or someone like that lah)

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The same way, remove the subsidies slowly but surely for rice, flour, cooking oil and stuff. Maybe over a slow and easy 36 month period to completely remove subsidies. Then prices, wages, profit margins etc in the economy will slowly and automatically adjust by themselves . They have to.

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In the meantime we must focus on that more difficult part in the economy - improving the productivity of the people. This is where the disparities (the jurang perbezaan) really begins. Different groups (racial and religious groups) have different levels of productivity. This is where the problem lies.

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Here is something I read yesterday (in another very angry “anti-Islam” book titled ‘They must be stopped‘ by the Lebanese American writer Brigitte Gabriel) : in an underperforming situation, the difference between expectations and reality translates into the degree of the disappointment.

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For example, the student hopes that he will get eight As. He only obtained four As. His disappointment is therefore the “distance” of the four As in between that he did not achieve. This is an easy example. The achievement can be quantified. Eight As versus four As. The achievement can even be reduced to a function of the number of hours of work put in by the student, the reference materials he used, homeworks and assignments completed well and on time.

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It gets more complicated when we are undertaking nation building; to reduce the “jurang perbezaan” between the races. So how do we measure the disappointment between the expectation (“our system is going to be better than anything else the world has seen“) and the reality (“the non performance, the failure of the system, the ‘adherents‘ becoming relatively poorer vis a vis their ‘non adherent‘ neighbours?”)

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And it becomes even more difficult to measure the disappointment when there is a constant stream of subsidies in the economy to camouflage the disappointment - and give us a false sense of ‘feel good’. In other words we do not feel or realise our underachievement.

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This argument applies throughout a ‘subsidy economy’. The difference between ‘market prices’ (the reality) and the subsidized economy (the ‘false’ expectation) translates into the degree of ‘underachievement’ or ‘underperformance’ of the subsidized economy. Subsidies actually make us weaker by the day.

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If we price ourselves at market rates, we will have to “work” at market rates, to earn market wages or make market profits. Then we can buy goods at market rates too. Our productivity also has a higher chance of being at market rates - as good as the next fellow‘s productivity. We should be at par. Jurang perbezaan should be reduced drastically or disappear.

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When we have subsidies, we become weaker to a degree that reflects the difference between the market price and the subsidy price.

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Say the basket of goods for one week costs RM300 in the market. We should work at a productivity level of at least RM300 per week to be able to afford those goods.

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But if RM60 worth of subsidies are provided per week for that basket of goods, we can now work 20% less, be less productive by 20% and yet still be able to buy RM300 worth of goods. Over the long run, we will become lazier by 20%, less creative by 20%, less productive by 20%. If these subsidies are never ending, it can become cancerous, with terminal consequences.

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Who wants to work hard like a lembu and kill themselves? Who likes to work hard? If I can avoid it, I don’t want to work hard too. This is especially relevant in private business where we have to break our backs. If we don’t work, we don’t eat. As simple as that.

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So if I can get 20% “free money” every year (subsidy), maybe we can close shop one day a week. (In Masjid India all the shops are open seven days a week). But if I do that, I will be losing 52 days of sales a year. That’s 14% less sales than my ‘non subsidy’ competitors.

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While my ‘non subsidy’ competitors continue working hard, I can become 14% more relaxed - and still make as much money as them. Eventually I will become much weaker than them. Not only will I work 14% less, I will think 14% less, be 14% less creative, be 14% less in everything. Jurang perbezaan will kick in. The next generation will not inherit the business from me.

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How to make the people more productive? Throw them into the market. We must speak English. Stop the khayal.

Harga Barang Turun?

By Syed Akbar Ali

Palm Oil : "The price of palm oil may decline as much as 30 percent this year as supply increases, putting pressure on producers including Golden Agri Resources Ltd., the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) said in a report. . . . The oil is likely to reach 2,500 ringgit ($821) a metric ton by the end of this year with the market being in excess surplus from July, RBS analyst John Rachmat said in the report dated May 18. Crude palm oil futures reached a 35-month high of 3,967 ringgit a ton on Feb. 10..."

Crude Oil : "A Reuters monthly poll of 30 analysts showed Brent crude oil averaging $108.80 a barrel in 2011, $107.20 in 2012 and $110.70 in 2013, little changed from the previous monthly forecast and not far away from Wednesday's price of above $112. . . But while bears cited weak demand and ebbing geopolitical risk premiums as reasons for oil to plunge to $75 per barrel . . . "

"NEW YORK — Oil dropped more than 2 percent Monday as the dollar strengthened and an energy research group said it expected the growth in Chinese demand for oil to slow later this year. . . At the pump, gas prices continued to fall as oil retreated.

Benchmark crude for July delivery lost $2.40, or 2.4 percent, to settle at $97.70 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude gave up $2.29 or 2 percent, to settle at $110.10 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange..."

Silver : Silver prices plunged 28.4% over the week to 5 May 2011, highlighting the immense volatility inherent in an asset many are calling a “safe haven”.

Gold : Gold is holding steady after dropping a little over the past two - three weeks.

Maybe more later.

Slavery In The Bible, Shariah And Quran

By Syed Akbar Ali

This is one of the topics I mentioned about the other day. A bit late to put it up. I still have two more topics left ie I. Idris Jala and ii. The Literal Quran.

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There is a lot of misconception among people, including Muslims, that the Quran allows slavery. In the Quran, the Arabic word for slave is raqaba (singular). The plural is riqab.

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Raqaba actually refers to ‘neck’. A slave or ‘raqaba’ is hence a person who has his neck tied to a yoke (like the oxen’s neck tied to the yoke in an ox cart or kereta lembu).

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Unlike the Quran the theology books written by the so called scholars have plenty of references to slavery. And the fact is, it is the writings of these scholars which have become the reference material to formulate the Shariah and stuff.

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One of these famous scholars is Imam Malik bin Anas who is believed to have written the famous Book of Fiqh (pronounced ‘fake‘) or jurisprudence known as the Al Muwatta. Latter day scholars say that Imam Malik’s book Al Muwatta is the “First Formulation of Islamic Law”.

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Nauzubillah - May Allah protect us. This book has much reference to slavery and the treatment of slaves. In other words Malik’s book clearly supports slavery. This is why many people, Muslims included, believe that slavery is allowed in Islam.

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In the Quran however there is no such thing. Before we show the verses from the Quran, here is a selection from Imam Malik’s Al Muwatta on the subject of slavery.

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I don’t understand some of these quotations and neither do I expect you to understand either. But it is clear that they are talking about slaves.

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Book 39, Number 39.1.1: Malik related to me from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "A mukatab is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains to be paid." (I think this refers to debt slavery.)

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Book 39, Number 39.1.2: Malik related to me that he had heard that Urwa ibn az-Zubayr and Sulayman ibn Yasar said, "The mukatab is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains to be paid." Malik said, "This is my opinion as well."

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Book 39, Number 39.2.4: Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us is that when slaves write their kitaba together in one kitaba, and some are responsible for others, and they are not reduced anything by the death of one of the responsible ones, and then one of them says, 'I can't do it,' and gives up, his companions can use him in whatever work he can do and they help each other with that in their kitaba until they are freed, if they are freed, or remain slaves if they remain slaves."

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Book 38, Number 38.1.1: Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "If a man frees his share of a slave and has enough money to cover the full price of the slave justly evaluated for him, he must buy out his partners so that the slave is completely freed. If he doesn't have the money, he partially frees him.

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Book 38, Number 38.3.4: Malik related to me from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman that a man in the time of Aban ibn Uthman's amirate freed all of his slaves and did not have other property than them. Aban ibn Uthman took charge of the slaves and they were divided into three groups. Then he drew lots on the basis that which ever group drew the dead man's arrow would be free. The arrow fell to one of the thirds, and that third was freed.

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I find this reference particularly strange. Only one third of the slaves were freed. What happened to the remaining two thirds of the slaves? And this was done through the drawing of lots (arrows).

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The Quran says that games of chance, drawing lots, drawing arrows are the work of the satan. Here is the Quran:

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Surah 5:90 “O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed.”

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But according to the book Al Muwatta of Imam Malik, someone called Aban ibn Uthman drew lots by pulling arrows to free only one third of a group of slaves. I think this is a cruel way of ‘freeing slaves’ - by a game of chance. Like Russian Roulette. (You are personally damned if you lose)

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Slavery is also mentioned in the Bible. Here are some references in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament:

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Lev 22:11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

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Exod 21:32 "If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned."

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Lev 25:44-46

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44. ‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.

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45. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.

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46. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly

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Here is the New Testament:

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Matthew 18:25: "But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made."

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Mark 14:66: "And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids (SLAVES) of the high priest:"

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Now here are ALL eight occurences of the word SLAVE (RIQAB) as they are found in the Quran:

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Surah 90:12-13 Which one is the difficult path? The freeing of slaves (raqaba).

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Surah 58:3-4 Those who estrange their wives in this manner, then reconcile thereafter, shall atone by freeing a slave (raqaba) . . .. If you cannot find a slave to free etc etc.

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Surah 9:60 Charities shall go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, the new converts, to free the slaves (riqab) ..

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Surah 5:89 ..If you violate an oath, you shall atone by feeding ten poor people from the same food you offer to your own family, or clothing them, or by freeing a slave . .

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Surah 4:92 No believer shall kill another believer, unless it is an accident. If one kills a believer by accident, he shall atone by freeing a believing slave (raqaba) ..etc etc. . . you shall pay the compensation in addition to freeing a believing slave (raqaba).

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2:177 Righteousness is not turning your faces towards the east or the west. Righteous are those who believe in GOD . . etc . and to free the slaves (riqab)…

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These are the eight occurences of the word raqaba and riqab (referring to slaves) in the Quran. The command is the same throughout : free the slaves. That is all. There is no buying, selling or inheriting slaves. All of these occurences refer to freeing the slave.

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The Bible and the Al Muwatta of Imam Malik have some similarity in their treatment of slaves. Both books dwell on the issue of owning and handling slaves. The Quran only mentions the feeing of slaves.

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If you were a Muslim (during the time of the Prophet, now and in the future) the moment you read these commandments in the Quran, you would start looking for slaves to be freed.

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But who wants to obey the Quran?

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Here is another question : do you think the Shariah laws about slaves can be derived from those seven verses in the Quran quoted above ? Think carefully.

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Pakistanis

Allegations that Pakistan's intelligence service was involved in the Mumbai terror attacks will be scrutinised in an American court case starting on Monday when the man who helped plan the 2008 strikes testifies against his alleged accomplice.

David Headley, a Pakistani-American businessman who has confessed to his involvement in the attacks, will be the star witness in the trial of Tahawwur Rana, his childhood friend, in Chicago.

Rana is charged with providing material support for terrorism in the assaults, which killed 166 people, as well as a plot in Denmark that was never carried out. Opening arguments in the case, based on the deaths of six Americans in Mumbai, will begin on Monday.

The case has drawn international attention because Headley's testimony is expected to reinforce allegations that Pakistan plays a double game in the fight against terrorism. Its success will depend largely on how the jury views Headley, 50, who is said to have juggled relationships with multiple wives, terrorist groups and intelligence agencies.

Headley is a former informant for the US Dr ug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He pleaded guilty last year to conducting reconnaissance for the Mumbai attacks and for the Danish plot. His confessions painted a devastating portrait of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) – he says ISI officers helped the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group plot the commando-style attacks on Mumbai.

The 21st Century

By Syed Akbar Ali

Saudi woman detained for defying driving ban

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Authorities detained a Saudi woman on Saturday after she launched a campaign against the driving ban for women in the ultraconservative kingdom and posted a video of herself behind the wheel on Facebook and YouTube to encourage others to copy her.

Manal al-Sherif and a group of other women started a Facebook page called "Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself," which urges authorities to lift the driving ban. She went on a test drive in the eastern city of Khobar and later posted a video of the experience.

"This is a volunteer campaign to help the girls of this country" learn to drive, al-Sherif says in the video. "At least for times of emergency, God forbid. What if whoever is driving them gets a heart attack?"

Human rights activist Walid Abou el-Kheir said al-Sherif was detained by the country's religious police, who are charged with ensuring the kingdom's rigid interpretation of Islamic teachings are observed.

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This is why you must always have alternative means of transport. Check this out.

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The Colour White

By Syed Akbar Ali

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Here is a video of the late Sai Baba. He is performing his famous 'golden egg' trick where he vomits up a golden egg. The followers (who are all dressed in white, orange "was" reserved for the boss) all cheer and clap. This video is taken in the 21st century OK.

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I think the followers are still glad that Sai Baba produced the golden egg from his mouth - and not from the other end of his body. I say this because real chickens lay their eggs from their nether ends. Oh well.

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Here is another recent picture. These are Shiah and Sunni Members of Parliament in Kuwait having a fistfight. Some Shiah fellow had said something against Al Qaeda and the Sunni MPs went into a rage and started punching them.

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Notice that these folks also are wearing white dresses as their uniform. Moral of the story : Maybe they should wear orange. And 'lay' golden eggs.

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Here is a picture of a motorbike. I took this picture this morning after my wife and I stopped for a quick breakfast at an Indian restaurant near our home. The bike is parked just outside a Sai Baba centre which is located right there. Most of the time when we stop for breakfast at this restaurant, there is some activity going on at the Sai Baba centre there, with lots of people wearing white clothes, eating meals and stuff. I dont know if anyone lays any golden eggs - from either end.

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Anyway, there were many cars parked along the road at that time - the parking spaces were quite full. I was looking for a parking spot. There was just one almost 20 feet of space available, but it was taken up by this kapchai motorbike parked right in the middle of the 20 foot space. The motorbike owner (who was sitting on his bike) was obviously a Sai Baba member. Like the nice guy that I am, I smiled at him and gestured to him if he could move his 'kapchai' bike a few feet so that I could park my car. They guy just looked at me, then deliberately got off his bike and disappeared into the Sai Baba centre.

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Meaning : he was not going to move his bike three feet so that someone else could also park their car here.

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I dont know what type of value system these folks have adopted. I had no choice but to reverse my car back to the end and squeeze into the kerb at the corner.

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Folks : religion is dangerous. Religion that wears uniforms (especially white uniforms - white usually means 'I am pure. I am holier than thou') can be quite mad. Thats what I saw again today. I am sure we will see it again tomorrow as well. And the day after that.

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Repeat after me : religion is mad, religion is mad, religion is mad.

Obama’s Middle East Shift : Saudi Arabia’s Days Numbered

By Syed Akbar Ali.

Last night President Barack Obama delivered a keynote speech at the US State Department. It is being called ‘Obama’s speech to the Arab world’. The speech sets the direction for US policy towards the Middle East. It is a major earth shaking event.

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Great change is taking place in the Middle East now. The Arab Rebellion is gathering steam.

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Hosni Mubarak and the Tunisian fellow have left the scene.

Muammar Khaddafy is counting the days to exit.

Yemen is next, followed by Bahrain.

Then Syria’s Assad may split.

Regime change could happen in the Emirates (Qatar, Dubai) and also Jordan.

The Big One will be Saudi Arabia.

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Lets wait and see..

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All this is not happening on its own. I don’t think the US, Britain and the rest of the West (France, Italy) just stood by and watched while the “Libyan” gas station which was pumping two million barrels of oil per day suddenly ran out of an owner.

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Or that the US just woke up one morning and discovered that Egypt, which controls the most vital Suez Canal, suddenly did not have a Boss-man in charge of the place. The world does not function that way at all.

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President Antonio Manuel Noriega, who was a CIA agent at one time, was ousted from Panama because he had wild ideas of having total control over the Panama Canal. Anyone who controls the Panama Canal has a chokehold on the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet (the 7th Fleet) and US nuclear submarines which sail back and forth between the Pacific and the Atlantic. Noriega was obviously hallucinating. He was therefore taken out. He is now in prison for life in the United States.

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That is how the world really works. So please lets not be duped into thinking that what is happening in the Middle East now is happening all by itself.

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Was the world totally not warned? On hindsight now, not at all. Recall that President Barrack Obama made his famous ‘Cairo Speech” on June 4th, 2009 at Cairo University It was billed ‘Obama’s address to the Muslim world’. At the very beginning of that speech, Obama said :

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“I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

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Obama at Cairo University, June 4th, 2009

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“to seek a new beginning . . . one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition”

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Well since there is no way that American women are going to wear hijab or Obama is going to start living in a tent, I think what this meant was that there is going to be more democracy in the Middle East. There is going to be more apple pie and pizza there. I think the "sudden" Arab Spring that began in January of this year is part of this 'new beginning' that Obama promised in June 2009 in Cairo.

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Club of Doomers must understand that if you cannot manage your affairs, then other people will come and manage your affairs for you. This is what is hapening in the Arab countries now.

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Here are snippets from today’s ‘The Guardian’ newspaper from the UK :

• Barack Obama to realign policy on Middle East
• shift from ..support for autocratic regimes to pro-democracy movements
• promised "new chapter" in US diplomacy. . . on the side of popular uprisings not only in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya but also in Syria and, for the first time, in Bahrain – a longtime American ally. . . .
• "The status quo is not sustainable," Obama said
• US turning its back on ..dictatorships .. will embrace democracy and human rights.
• US behind popular movements that began with the death of a Tunisian street vendor.
• "We have embraced the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator ... After decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be," he said.
• "Square by square, town by town, country by country, the people have risen up to demand their basic human rights. Two leaders have stepped aside. More may follow."
• "The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy. President Assad now has a choice: he can lead that transition, or get out of the way," Obama said.

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Obama said plenty about Israel and the 'pre 1967' borders too but I think that is a trap for the Arabs - which they will fall into anyway. Pointedly there was absolutely no mention of Saudi Arabia.

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However Obama appeared to be washing his hands on Bahrain - despite the US having a huge naval base there. If Bahrain falls, then Qatar and even the UAE or United Arab Emirates can be shaken to the bone. "Fly Emirates" may assume a different meaning. Dato Tony Fernandez of Air Asia may be able to buy a cheap airport or two. It also means that there will be less stealing of the regions oil wealth by royals and cronies. (‘Middle Eastern’ investors who have been wooed by Malaysia could face “obstacles” in sourcing their billions).

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For the first time, Obama mentioned President Bashar Assad of Syria and has asked him to go. Obama's speech will of course give a super duper boost to all the pro democracy forces which are fighting the corrupted regimes in the Arab world. I am sure that the people in Benghazi - Libya, in Dara'a in Syria, the folks in Bahrain, protesters in Jordan and women with driving licenses in Saudi Arabia have been given a major shot in the arm from Obama's speech.

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If Bahrain is allowed to fall, it means that the US is also prepared to pull the rug from under the feet of Saudi Arabia. I am quite certain that after last nite's speech, most of the Saudi Royals had to take blood pressure medication. Since last nite the Bahraini royals are most likely on charcoal tablets already - for loose stomachs.

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This speech by Obama is significant. Regime change from within is a much cheaper option than imposing regime change via the US Navy, Airforce and US Army. Who is capable or equipped to take over?