Oranges and apples

Despite the usual virginal attire and her army of priests, Yulia couldn't do it .
Analysts and commentators are wondering on the failure of the orange revolution and the defeat of Putin's candidate .
In reality a revolution, specially if controlled from the outside, can't bring anything new but in this case it served the purpose to create the environment for a better future .
It will take several years before Ukraine can go back on track .
And the blonde lady was not Putin's candidate because she's sneaky as a woman can be, in the same way Yanukovich is not pro-West or pro-Kremlin .
Nowadays ex-USSR countries need to find a balance .
History can't be cancelled and definitely Ukraine is still part of Russia but must find its way in the world .

Prayers

It is with the deepest regret and sadness to advise that my Prince, my life partner, the love of my life, Abdullah, passed away in the early hours on 08 February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Noone fought harder than him in his battle against a very aggressive leukemia. However I now know where he is, Who he is with, and that he is no longer in pain. American Bedu

As I am a dreamer, I was fascinated by their love story .
But life is a mix of tears and smiles which is what makes it such a great gift from God .
May Allah have mercy on his soul and make it easy on Carol, a great courageous woman .

Confidence

Majorities in six of the eight predominantly Muslim
publics included in the study express confidence in Saudi King
Abdullah to do the right thing in world affairs. However, while
support for the Saudi leader remains high, confidence levels have
slipped since 2007 – with the greatest decline found in Lebanon.
Moreover, Abdullah provokes a sharp divergence of opinion
between many of the religious groups in the countries surveyed. pew research center

Saudi newspapers are celebrating with fireworks without presenting the paper as evidence .
Given the high scores obtained by King Abdullah in American protectorates and the related decline of Shia leaders and OBL, I have my doubts on the genuinity of the survey .
Indeed people are tired of violence but that's not enough to declare him as leader of Islamic nations .
He didn't bring many results . Saudis have the feet in too many shoes and that's their limit .
Arab countries need a more balanced leadership which is not dependant on Anglo-Americans and NATO .
Sultan Qaboos is the only who can try a solid mediation for the end of the conflicts in the M.E.
It's about time for him to come back on the front line .

Stunned after tomorrow

"The Iranian nation, with its unity and God's grace, will punch the arrogance [Western powers] on the 22nd of Bahman [Feb. 11] in a way that will leave them stunned," washingtontimes

Must be some fireworks .
We are in the East so we're gonna miss the surprise .

We value greatly our friendly relations with the Sultanate of Oman. On the agenda now is the question of expanding mutually advantageous cooperation in the trade and economic and energy sectors. We are also interested in building up our cooperation on regional security issues, including the joint fight against piracy at sea. kremlin

Oman-Russia : that would be the alternative to patriots and to American spreading carpets Gulf puppies .
They share very close views on politics and both reject interference in other countries internal affairs .
That will be a couple which would open the doors to a multi polar world .

Patriotically

The U.S. announcement of the defensive measures therefore has three audiences: Iran, Israel and the American public. Israel and Iran obviously know all about American efforts, meaning the key audience is the American public.George Friedman

Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, secretary general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Sultanate’s position on such matters is fixed and that it does not accept bids from anyone or enter into alliances or axis against any state.

Al Busaidi also stressed that the country does not allow its territory to be used to carry out any military operations against any country in the region. Timesofoman

A missile defense system is, in American language, a declaration of wanted war, so Sayyid Badr statement is technically correct for whatever developments there will be in the future .

Maybe Iran has built the biggest bomb of all times, but as of now, we don't have enough data to be certain of this .
The reason why all major networks broadcasted Tony Blair hearing last Friday for more than six hours and many of us were in front of the TV to watch it, is that we don't want for any reason whatsoever, to see the repetition of the history of the last twenty years and more, in the near future .
If there must be a war, it has to be on solid grounds, without lies and approximations .
If a terrorist threat is detected in al Qaeda locally, that must happen since the beginning, that is for example, since when President Saleh created it as his own army, and not just today .

It's about time for American governments to understand, that if they need gas for their European friends, then they can go to Tehran and negotiate to buy it .
If they think that countries like China and Iran are a threat to international security, they can open a serious dialogue with them, not like what they've done til now .
If the Saudis think that their oil production monopoly can be broken like it happened recently by Russia, and as forecasted, in the near future by Iraq and Venezuela, they must be brave enough to work with their own resources, without sending jihadis to destabilize the Northern Caucasus and destroy Iraqi oil fields .
If they know that Iranians are plotting to break their leadership in the region through small wars, they must find orthodox ways to reaffirm their dominion over Shia governments .

In other words, we need credible people and not puppets who destroy regions and later become special envoys to them, earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal advices or participation to seminars, and risk to be elected at the presidency of the EU .

The Sultanate is trying to mediate not only because in need of Iran commercial partnership, but because understood that the time of modern colonialism has come to an end and the tactics of divide&rule are not giving results anymore .
The other Gulf states seem to stick to the old mentality of their own little games for power .
They miss a long term vision, which today Sultan Qaboos alone, has : a nation can serve its people and empower them, only if the government is strong and independent enough .

Mickey Mouse goes to Israel

The Italian leader brought seven cabinet ministers along on the trip to underline the importance of bilateral ties.

"This shows that we consider Israel one of the European countries, and you, Benjamin, you know - because I told you years ago and reiterated in our meeting in Cernobbio near Lake Como - that as long as I am one of the shapers of politics, my greatest dream is to include Israel among the European Union countries," Mr Berlusconi said at a welcoming ceremony with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Italian premier said Italy and Israel have an affinity because of their place in history: "We are here to show our recognition and our pride in the fact that we are part of a Judeo-Christian culture that is the basis for European culture." EUObserver

When he goes to the M.E., he'll say something similar about the Arab Muslim culture .

Silvio can sell camels to the bedouins, but for the time being he lost my vote .

And by the way he is the only to believe to be a shaper of politics .