Politics

Ossama Bin Laden, head of Al-Qaeda, appeared in a video posted on some sympathetic web sites. This is the first time in 3 years he has done so.

Noting that he looks more youthful, Western media has noticed his shorter trimmed bird, and less grey hair compared to before.

Moreover, Radio Free Europe analyses certain aspects of the video message, including:

Back in August, opposition newspapers in Egypt reported that president Hosni Mubarak's health has deteriorated, as well as speculation about the succession.

It seems that this is a sensitive topic among the ruling elite,
because in a rare reaction, Mubarak was interviewed in Al Ahram, the
semi official newspaper and the headline read : "I know who is
spreading these rumors and their objectives".

I am not a supporter of the Muslim veil (Niqab or Burka, among other names), as I think it is more cultural than religious. But I certainly do not mind someone wearing it for whatever reasons she may think.

Now,
Elections Canada said that veiled women will not have to uncover their faces to have their identity verified for the upcoming elections.

CBC reports:

While I all for a long weekend in the only month that does not have one (February), the proposal from the Ontario Liberals wreaks of a bribe.

These are the same party who lied about not increasing taxes, only to impose a hefty health premium. These are the same party who would rather deprive Jews, Catholics and Mennonites of arbitration rather than grant Muslims the same rights.

The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.

A new report by the Iraqi NGO coordination committee and Oxfam concludes that 4 million Iraqis have been displaced since the invasion by the US began in 2003.

Over the years, I have seen many people getting "accused" of having Jewish ancestry by their political adversaries. This tactic is used to discredit the person, throw doubts on their loyalty, and attribute undefined ulterior motives for their often controvertial actions.

These rumors are appealing to the masses because it offers a simple (wrong) answer to complex questions (actions of leaders).

People that I have seen in the Arab region and the Middle East accused of this include:

We all know how sectarian violence between Shia and Sunnis was caused by the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003. Old prejudices became magnified, external influences meddled, and the power vacuum made things much worse.

In a strange move, the presence of US presence is causing at least some Shia and some Sunnis to unite against the USA, ignoring all the sectarian violence in other parts of the country.

One would think that Israelis would be more welcoming to more financial aid from the USA. It is free money, in the tune of $2.4 billion annually.However, the case is not as simple as just getting money. Rony Bart, a research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv makes a compelling argument for cuts in US aid to Israel. He also notes that Benjamin Netanyahu, the ex-prime minister, has started the trend of cutting aid annually.

Avraham Burg, is an Israeli politician who was the former speaker of the Knesset from 1999 to 2003. He was also the chairman for the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the World Zionist Organization. In 2003, he wrote an article for The Yediot Aharonot (translated for the Guardian) titled: The End of Zionism. In that article he says that "...