digital Oman - part 2

Following the last post...

The industry is incapable at the current period of time to install such an advanced technological vision because of other aspects and requirements that are not met such as the e-payment gateway that is yet to see the light mainly because the Central Bank of Oman is holding out on giving the green light towards the project over doubts that it could cause potential harm more than its advantages towards the Omani economy.

Even though there are many banks that allow you to use an e-payment system through the Internet it doesn't overcome the actual need to be able to use your own credit card in local online transactions despite the many facilities that are made available by banks such BankMuscat; National Bank of Oman; and Oman Arab Bank.

There are also legal issues that are not met in the sense of developing special laws that would encourage online transactions between companies, ministries and consumers alike. Such as the special online laws that have been run by international credit card companies to accept online transactions between various parties such as Visa; MasterCard; and American Express.

This isn't to say that the financial industry is incapable of meeting the requirements but it does say something about planning out a good financial base for such a project to arise not to mention the fact that without such a foundation there is no way such a project would ever succeed.

There is a need for all sectors of the Omani economy and government institutions to gather around for a good serious discussion between them to develop a sound map to actually seeing this project happen by it's deadline.

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Links:

- BankMuscat

- National Bank of Oman (NBO)

- Oman Arab Bank (OAB)

- Visa

- MasterCard

- American Express

digital Oman - part 1

Of late, Oman has been pushing up the momentum to become a digital society in the sense that all services are done electronically without the need to move away from the luxury of your laptop/PC. And although it may seem that everything is going according to plan, there are a number of things that - in my opinion - are obstructing the process.

OmanTel, the dominating telecommunications provider in the Sultanate, is one of the obstacles because of the ill-planned out telecommunications infrastructure in many terms, through bad communication lines, worse customer service, and lack of a competitive advantage on a global scale. Almost every single new service that OmanTel has rolled out has always suffered badly such as the GSM, GPRS and Internet services. How efficient it is in terms of speed because of badly mapped out plans in those fields. In terms of customer service, they lack the friendliness that is available from it's counterpart Nawras, since because when you show your customer they would give back the appreciation that you look forward to as a company that offers services and in terms of services they are lacking to move up to competition that offers the latest technologies while Oman still lives in the stone age.

And as company that unfortunately dominates the telecommunications market, not because they offer the best products and services but because they are of a monopolistic nature since they are the only Internet and fixed lines provider in the Sultanate of Oman; this lessens the chances of Oman ever moving forward into the digital era.

Other reason is consumer spending because of low income values against buying their own personal laptops or desktops for personal or business use. This has a great effect on the integration of the 'digital Oman' project into the community so that people may better understand how to cope with the technological switch.

Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done unless there is a direct intervention from private organizations by providing the latest consumer technologies in Oman at more affordable prices - a decision that cannot be taken unless there is a direct decision from the companies headquarters in its homeland.

On the other hand, OmanTel must learn that to better earn customers of instead of the loss trend that is currently happening, it had better learn to treat customers more professionally, in a more friendlier manner and making the customer their their target to which will then draw profits in the end.

To be continued..

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Links:

- Oman Telecommunications Company (OmanTel)

- Oman Mobile Telecommunications Company (Oman Mobile)

- Omani Qatar Telecommunications Company (Nawras)

- Oman moves closer to 'digital society' dream

regret

Most of the people I encounter are the type that have no regrets based on the fact that if they did have any they would actually not be the person they are today. While that is true, it is also true that no matter how you may think of it there is always something in your life that makes you cringe in with that sense of fear - the fear that it could happen again.

I have had my share of regrets in my life and I admit that I would take the chance to go back in time and change what had happened; even if I didn't have the knowledge that it would happen onwards in the time-line of life.

I regret that at some point in life that I degraded myself from a human being to the purity that an animal has with it's basic instinct. Look at it at this way; God gave us our minds to help guide us in differentiating between what's right and wrong. And having to degrade ourselves and walking into the trap with the knowledge that this is wrong is like a smoker smoking away despite all the warning signs from medical institutions, or small font writings on billboards, cinemas and ciggarette packets - ignorance.

I would go back and change that about me if it was ever possible. Unfortunately, though, it isn't.

Therefore, I have to live now with that knowledge by bearing it mind and not making the same mistake again and thinking more wisely if not more on a more broader perspective.

Playground Of Time

The wind hallowed in my face
Asking to make a decision, but not in haste
I try to think
I try to see
I try to focus my mind
I implore for a sense of direction

I see myself going somewhere
I see myself going somewhere
I see that I can achieve something
But I can't seem to move
To budge

I am thinking that what I am doing right now is pathetic
I am thinking that what I am doing right now is time consuming
I barely have time around me to get around
The hands of time move slow to give me that sense that I end up losing somehow

I think that I think too much
I think that there's so much to achieve
And yet so little time
So much going for me
So much potential
So much that I can end up doing

But I guess it's as they say 'all in good time'
As the playground that I am in plays it's sound in due time

the think tank

There are only so many times that we find ourselves in a moment's peace all by our own. And it depends on what kind of a nature we hold within on how we respond to such a situation.

For some it's a moment well deserved that we long for and as we take it in, we would breathe a sigh of relief.To others, it's a moments of reflection where we think back to everything that we had done in past and ask ourselves the hard questions and judge our every decision that had been taken, too.

If that doesn't last too long, then it's just fine that we get along the way and nothing happens in the mental sense of emotional setback; otherwise, it's down the whirlpool of drama, deflection and demotivation for us.

Something, we all try to avoid.

a nation's money: a taxpayer's rights

There have been speculation in the past that the since the oil and gas market is quite unreliable that the government of the Sultanate of Oman would resort to imposing taxes on services provided at small prices within the grasp of anyone who resides in the country.

The government has, though, denied this 'incorrect piece of information' saying that it would never come to impose anything more on the citizen/resident/national because the individual already bears the financial turmoil of having to balance anything from a loan from a local bank to a marriage preperation during the course of their lifetime.

Having said that, it started imposing a fee for people who wish to cross the road borders between itself and the United Arab Emirates in different rates, excusing that to a matter of gathering funds to keep maintenance costs down. It also set out to impose other indirect taxes that it categorizes as part of keeping the deficit of the country's budget down such as tourism tax, service tax and Municipality tax (5%; 5%; and 4% respectively).

In western societies, having formed taxes of which the local taxpayer pays for means giving people the power to speak up about anything that the government considers looking to use that money into whether it was to wage a war, or even building bridges and residential plots.

Keeping that concept in mind, howcome is it in Oman that we don't have a say in what goes on the country of projects of which our good money is being wasted in? Even if it was a few mesely baisas that I paid some day that I can remember very vaguely. Point is: I paid my share and without that small amount the government organization may not have been able to come up with the sum needed for such a project.

In short, the term 'power to the people' doesn't apply here because of many reasons of which the most important - in my opinion - is the Omani residents/citizens/nationals ignorance of their own rights in the country towards the money they pay up. While the second reason - which has an enormous question mark on top of it - is why the government does not apply this concept here in Oman?

What is it that they fear?

My point of view on this matter is that the government - lead by His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos - is afraid of handing over this power over to the people because they fear that the concept is far too early for the Omani population to handle. As it is in the rest of the GCC countries, with the Sultanate marking the lead as an example in history.

But, mark my words, there will come a day.

chew on this

• After 4 months of waiting, OmanTel - our beloved ISP - has finally delivered their ADSL service to me. And I am the lucky one; some people have been waiting a whole year and still haven't gotten theirs yet. And here's the cracker; they're not offering anymore ADSL connections because they have ran out of space in their exchanges and in the long run are waiting until they install the extra 100,000 lines to facilitate the demand. Talk about long-term planning.
  

• People in Oman don't respect the law, they're only afraid of it. For example, if there's no police around on a traffic signal that clearly has a no U-turn sign on it's island, drivers will take the turn, unless there is a police car nearby. There is no respect at all for the least demanding laws like a no-entry sign, or pedestrian crossings. It's no wonder Oman has such a high road-fatality rate.

• The development course that the Sultanate of Oman is going through, is not just in the physical sense by implementing new laws but in the mental sense, too. Many people in Oman are very narrow minded mainly because of traditional values that camouflage the truth that runs through. I mean, who in the world marries their own sister?

• As long as people in Oman still have low salaries (no matter how many times the government may publish an enormously ridiculous figure of 1,000 Omani Rials of the average salary that the Omani gets over a month's period), they will always rob, cheat, drink, and do the worst atrocities that we fear ourselves - and I speak for myself, here - from doing to ourselves. That's why it's called the ripple effect; anything that happens has a consequence on everything else that surrounds us (or was that the butterfly effect?).

• I never imagined myself to be of 30 years old one day. Then again, I can't imagine myself being of 50 years old, either. But, it goes to show that age is just a number and that the number of years that pass you by should not be measured by how old you are but rather what you have accomplished so far. And by that philosophy, I have failed tremendously. On the other hand, I have hope, that I will become a lot better in what I know to do. Like, not failing.
  

adreniline

We would all like to live in a perfect world; no matter how much we may deny it to ourselves or to our loved ones. And we would want it any other way which is the reason why we pursue that never ending dream of getting there. Even though, in the subconscious sector of our brain, we all know that we will never reach it, but we reach to a certain level or degree of perfection that allows us to be satisfied yet still willing to move on.

That level of pursuit is what we call hope.

But the events through our lifetime chase us trying to pin us down by showing us what reality isn't what it always seems to be. And it is our choice whether to accept those factors as an obstacle or as a challenge.

And it is through that choice that we determine the course of our natural existence in this world.

The reason I am mentioning all this is because there are times when you just wake up to the world with a pair of new sense of sight as if the clouds have been erased away by some miracle that you feel that nothing can ever stand in your way.

What's that got to do with anything?

That is exactly how I felt today.

The Beauty of Love In Life

I feel happy; free
Free of anxiety
I feel like I can touch the sky
Be up where the birds fly up so high
Hear them squawking amongst each other
Trying to figure out whose arguing and whose the lover

Smiling; laughing away
Smiling like a fool until your face turns red
Laughing until your belly aches and you're all over the floor in turns and sways
The happiness I am filled with now
Shoots me off of the ground

'I wonder what love is really all about?
Is it really worth all the self doubt?
I wonder if the time is right
For me to be
Feeling like this?
I wonder if love is just like Heaven?
Where all you see are Angels?
And all you're ever filled with is happiness
Where you get to see the one you love
Be truly up there for the rest of your life
And live it to the beauty that it is
And there is not one moment you want to miss

I wonder what love is really all about?
Is it the flowers?
Is it the rain?
Is it the happiness that you are in self gain?
Is it the wonder to look into their eyes
Where every moment is a true surprise
And all you wish to see is the beauty within the smile

I wonder what love truly is?
The hold on my heart, the chains I want to dismiss
For the beauty of life, ever to be
Is the wonder
The presence of your existence
That it precedes'

lose the hypocricy

Apparently, a Bahraini national has been stripped of his nationality for taking part in an athletic competition in 'Israel' (please see links).

Such things happen in most of the GCC countries since none of them have any diplomatic ties with 'Israel'; or so it would appear. Which is quite sad, since most of these countries secretly take on trade agreements with the Jewish state behind everyone's back, never to announce it, and when all is exposed they break it up over the outcry of their population on how Palestinians are suffering in their occupied lands and how no one is lending a helping hand to them instead.

For instance, you have the Sultanate of Oman who had a trade office in one of the local 5 star hotels a long time back until they closed it down under the excuse of the escalating situation in Palestine along with postponing Muscat Festival back then, too. Saudi Arabia, surprisingly, has one of its members going behind the scenes trying to make things move along for the sake of 'peace in the Middle East'. I don't know about the other GCC countries; but it seems that the state of Qatar is the only country that is open about supporting both the 'Israeli' and Palestine cause by talking very freely about the subject and asking other GCC countries to follow in it's stride.

What is annoying is the fact that the GCC countries bitch about not having any sort of ties with any Jewish establishment or department of state but then again they import all the businesses that have an enormous Jewish shareholding turn-out, like Pepsi, Starbucks, Coca Cola, and even the service based product that we have come to depend on in our daily lives in areas of telecommunications such as the Internet.

All I am trying to say is that I'd like to see us stay on one path and not change it from time to time because of stupid politics in the region or world over. And another thing, the citizen/national/resident shouldn't have to pay for mistakes that the country makes in it's own political matters.

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Links:

- Bahrain athlete loses citizenship

and the 'de de de' award goes to..

Let's be completely frank; I seriously think that we have the worst people in the authoritative positions here in Oman, especially in some governmental positions.

I seriously do.

Here's why..

The Under-Secretary of Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment & Water has just announced that the ministry had signed an agreement with a company to draw up a plan to establish a damn in the Wadi Udai and Qurum areas, that were devastatingly hit in the last drench of scattered showers on Muscat not so long ago (please refer to links).

Oman has always had it's share of rains ever since it rained on the old Muttrah corniche area in the 1890s and made a river out of it (source: theweek). But back then, we had the excuse that we didn't have the technology to help us provide the necessary solutions to avoid such natural disasters.

Now, fast forward 36 years into the renaissance and keep in mind that we still have our seasonal scattered showers every few years.. you would think, that even the most basic logical even temporary solution would suggest that you take care of the problem until a more permanent solution is put into place to be acted upon in the opportune moment.

But to think that it took them 36 years of going through the same catastrophe over and over again just to make that move; it makes me think 'God help us when they do start on the actual projects if and when they do'.

I mean, it's not that I am against the very idea of them creating idea - quite the contrary - I am very much for it, but what puzzles me is why it took them so damn long to come up with that simple solution and avoided losing all that money, all that effort, all those poor souls' lives?

Another issue in Oman that is clearly one of the oldest and requires much attention is the issue of the rise of tobacco being used by the Sultanate's population (see links) that has risen up to 23% (23% men; 2-3% women, 1 in every 5 school students is a smoker) in the last few years.

Most of you who read that small percentage and shrug off their shoulders to dismiss the importance and significance of this fact when in fact what should also concern you also is the fact that 75% of Oman's population is under the age of 21 which is alarming because this means that most of the smokers in Oman are still in their young age of youth.

What's ironic though, is the fact is that there was a legislation passed by the government banning smoking in two phases; the first of which was to ban it in governmental and official buildings, whilst the second phase was supposed to focus on banning it in public places such as restaurants, cafe's, areas where toddlers and children alike could spend most of their time - alas, though, this second phase never got to being passed.

As non-smokers in the Muscat area we were hoping that we would see smoking being banned in all manners and forms that it could ever come across but then that was one sweet dream. Now, the government through the Ministry of Health is sounding the alarm because it can't put a curb on the habit or stop it from being marketed? Sounds like an April fool's joke out either too late or too early to me.

There are lots of ways to make this work; create a solid law that bans selling any type of tobacco to a minor under the age of 21 and if such a case was found then a big hefty fine is in need against the establishment or prosecution.

The matter of waging a war against tobacco in Oman isn't just financial, it could also be political as the people behind the tobacco industry in Oman have some political ties that link up with other retail outlets in Oman that offer many jobs to Omanis. Kind of a blackmail issue if you want to look at it that way.

Marketing the products is something that is up to the people that require the money like the local theatres that would gracefully open their arms to anyone who would help in paying their extra bills through advertising on their screens, and as a fact, the tobacco companies such as Marlboro pay big sums of money to get their 'flavor' across the screens with the traditional small font warning that it is a direct cause to lung cancer. While the world is alarmed at how Walkman headphones could seriously damage a human being's sense of hearing.

Doesn't that make your blood boil?


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Links:

- Under-Secretary of Ministry of Regional Muncipalities, Environment & Water announces plans for construction of damns in the Muscat area (Arabic only)

- Sultanate's battle against tobacco needs teeth

- Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment & Water Resources

Beauty Is A Flower

'If there was once life, it would be with you
For without you, I would live my life in solitude'

I'm trying to think of what to write
I'm trying to sing a song tonight
I look outside
I look at the people
I look at their eyes
And sink deeper

I'm trying to search
For what it is I am searching for
The life I wish
That I aim for

A sense of happiness
In the cold air
Of a smile
From a woman's glance that is so beyond compare

For wonder of beauty and love that is right
For a battle against what's wrong, to instate the light

If life was life
And a dream was a dream
Why do we aspire
When we cannot achieve?

If the hope of life
Was bent on one promise
And the promise was never found

Then why oh why
Do we spend the days tempted
When all is forgotten?

And if a flower was of beauty and not vain
If happiness was a broken chain
If the heart was never torn but strong of reign
Then how is it we still have
Depressing moments
Such as today?

where would I be?

If there is echo to sound
If there is a whistle to the bending trees
If life was without bound
And no seagulls on the seas' beach
..Then where would I be?

If there was lightening beyond the clouds
If the sun would ever rise
If my eyes could not be opened after tonight
And only dreams would I live in for all my life
..Then where would I be?

I've asked for this night a million times
I've seen what I've seen all my life
I've been where I've been
Tried every taste
Lived upon every dream
And yet..

To this night
To this day
To this very moment where my emotions tumble and sway

To this very hour
To this very minute
To this very second that I live within as I live and breath

I have no clue
No idea
Just the hope
A pursuit
A notion
A smile within my heart
A boost within my soul

The diminished horizon is now clear
The clouds that were once are no longer there
The life that is in front of me I can see
I can face
I can now find a trace
To the long lost hope where the wind came through a window oh so brisk

But if all hope is gone
If love was just labor torn and lost
If sunrise was never born

Then, tell me..

...

Where would I be?

at a moment's glance

Cherish the flower, the field, the sunrise on the beach
Cherish the smile that is on your face that awakens the giant beneath
Cherish the night, the chilled air that is filled with happiness
Forever the night is yours, like the sparkle in your eyes, the devouring scent of love that entangles the nearest light

Founded religion of love and romance
Of a child's smile of seeing his mother at a glance
Of a man's heart filled up with so many emotions of the night that he can never forget

There is only one light to guide my way
There is only heart that could light up my day
There is only one star in my eternal night

A sudden move would mean sudden death
A sudden touch of reality would take me away from reality
The touch of life I long for
The soul that ignites me within is the fire I yearn for

But there is only one life
So what is there to lose apart from what has already been lost?
The choice I know as is the result
But, why the fear?

the environment is calling: global warming

Yesterday, the weather was unbelievably cold that we could see the small pitter patter of the dense water in the atmosphere actually slightly thickening to a point that we all thought that we are about to experience snow. But that's not far away, since we're beyond global warming and now actually cooking as the environmental kitchen is put into turbo for extra devastative results and not just in the Middle East region but all over the world.

I wasn't going to write about this but fact of the matter is that it's not just one nation's fault, but everyone on this Earth is to blame and the biggest reason is the population explosion that this planet is increasingly experiencing the world over with over 6.5 billion habitants breathing, living, eating, sleeping, drinking, burning more wood for warmth, shelter while our beloved Earth is trying so hard to cope with all the developments that are happening on it's surface that it's no wonder having a helping hand from nature by sending the worst natural calamities to the rescue so it can turn that number down by a few hundred million.

The last few years have only showed us how greedy we all are towards our environmental responsibilities of the only planet that we could ever inhabit. Like for instance how the United States' first move with the 'new' Bush administration's move in the UN was to retract back from the Kyoto agreement for lowering pollution levels cause by the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline because - as it was quoted - that that would slow down the industrial wheels of the US economy. There are also the other 3rd world countries that try to offer the image that they are trying to bring in environmental sense into their countries by introducing the recycling of products - that's not done locally in the GCC - plus that they use unleaded fuel. But most of it is just a front so not to get criticized by world media and other countries that are trying their best to cut down on all types of environmental pollution levels.

And in countries where we see the worst, there's always someone saying 'oh, but we're better than so and so country'. Which is a very lame excuse because in order to do what's right for the better good of anything you have to aim to be number 1; thus means that 2nd place is not an option - especially if the category is the environment. There are only two ways that such things can be done; the right way or the wrong way.

What is happening in Oman is probably the wrong way - or rather what I would call the U-turn effect since we are blowing 36 years of preserving the environment down the drain with giving it away so that we can 'afford' to live a better a life.

How lame is that?

We don't recycle in Oman. We don't reuse the items that are in use over a period of time. We encourage the use of plastic. We use items that endanger the ozone layer like CFC packed containers. And we still all produce gas, petrol as a means of transportation, and what's worse there is no approval for cleaner produce of fuel in Oman especially when you have it all around, like solar power.

Its things like these that keep you asking what's the point of protecting the environment if we can't be serious about it for the future generations?

a moment's weakness

Turning the day, the past, the present
Turning the thoughts, in my mind, of grievance

Look upon the shallow waters
Upon the semi dry beach
Watch the sea gulls ride through the breeze
Watch the children play around
Listen to their laughter, that hysterical sound

People smile and move on by
Grabbing, holding hands as they walk on by

The chilled air is filled should be filled with happiness, not gloom
But if that's the case, tell me why is it I can't shake the thought of you?

I want to bang my head on the wall
I want to crash the bonnet head on my car
I want to relieve myself from this anger that fills inside
I want to know why I have to be so alone, so lonely, so 'just me' - by my side

I try to think rationally but all I can do is doubt
I try to think happy thoughts but all I can ever do is joke about

Life shouldn't have to be this way
I shouldn't have to think this way, either

But a moment's whim and desire
I would probably cry in my place looking for a lonely place to retire
I would jump ship with Jack and Rose
I would avoid that iceberg, but that's not the point

An interest in the spark is what I have
An interest in not being alone is what I am trying, against, to guard

No longer will the faithful - I suppose - live a happy life of their dreams
No longer will the honest, ever be able to achieve

And the sun will set in their horizon only to say
You've gone off, and wasted your whole life all away

I wish I was never born
I wish I was nothing, not even a grain

the last of the wedding nights

It's all done and over with now
And now it's me on my own
The last of the wedding nights was a success
The choice that was made is over and done

The focus no longer on anyone
Anymore
The time that is left
Is no longer waiting for anyone

Time is now gone and taking over someone else's life
The right to what I seek
The beauty in this dark, so bleak
The hardened feelings that I live by
The sunshine that I long to rise by
The sunrise I talk to by night

And reality does not change the fact
That this was the last of the wedding nights

Fate's Card

I had so much to say to you. I thought you were the one that would pull me through. I thought I was going to live my life along with you. I saved my heart. I held back whatever lust. I locked the door on the way out. I even mesmerized over how we would talk.

I thought we would smile. Have a tea. And just chat. I thought we would cry over having laughed so hard. Over tears that we hold in our hearts. Over love that slowly ignited itself in the dark.

I was going to smile and make you smile with me. I was going to laugh, giggle and glee. I was going to make you laugh so hard. I was going to cherish that night till the hour that would set us apart. I was going to sell my soul for another minute just with you. I was going to kill myself if I ended up being without you.

You sat down and looked at me with those brown hazel eyes. Your hair dangled up inside your veil, your smile - on your face - would leave a trail. And everytime you talked, your eyes would spark. Like the twinkling of a star that is so far apart.

You took your drink. You wouldn't even look this way.

I sat down trying to think of what I should do or even say.

I couldn't move, mutter, or even begin to think.

And as my time got wasted; you stood up..

.. And went away.

The Human Being

Mists of wonder
Of mystery
But no delight

Life is just another footstep for me to step on
To climb up the ladder of success
To change my 'luck' as I wish I would like

It feels like that the sun has gone down on me
Like the light of day has been taken away
Since there is no one in my life
No one to lead me to happiness
No one tell me that they miss me
No one tell me that they wish to be with me for the new year and more

Life is now all about being responsible
But what am I responsible for?
For me?
For someone else?
For extending the truth?

I am the man behind the mask
I am the person who will not hide his feelings for the sake of being nice
I am not the person who will be the one you always 'wanted' to be in your life

I am just me
I am the rising sword of truth
I am the passionate heart of a poet long dead

I.. am the human being within me

what's to stop this from happening?

So, Saddam Hussein is dead - or so it would seem.

Forget about the fact that this deceased human being had brought upon his own neighbors and nation a dreaded fear and system that should anyone even try to think of opposing him that he would not live the night to see the next day.

Forget about the fact that this man had done many monstrousties in his time that he was considered a madman of his time. A madman that many were lead to believe would free the Arab world of the western grasp on the Middle Eastern region by terrorizing 'Israel' with a few long range missiles that the UN was convinced by both the UK and the US certain satellite images that Iraq had a hold of Weapons of Mass Disillusion to wage a war on 'terror' before it struck a homeland attack.

Forget about the fact that Saddam was left to hang before the Sun even rose on the first day of Eid - a day of which Muslims all over the world celebrate forgiveness and tolerance towards another.

Forget about the fact that the entire trial that was attending to Saddam's long list of crimes was a complete joke since the world knows that you cannot trial a former president by people who actually hold a grudge against the very same person, nor can you condemn the man to death by whichever way you look at it because as per international laws, the maximum penalty you can condemn a guilty man of a former powerful and authoritative position is life imprisonment in some lonely island (i.e.: Nelson Mandela).

If this whole track of incidents shows anything, it shows just how weak the entire Arabic political system is in the face of any western intervention - whichever country it may be - into meddling with internal affairs of any Arab countries such as the preparation that is being scheduled against Iran in the Gulf waters as we speak.

It shows that any system that does not abide by the west's desires is sure to get the very same result that the former Saddam regime got. What's to stop anyone from outside to come into our country and cripple us to our knees just as what happened to Iraq?

What's to stop it, exactly?