Western Arab

Let me just start with the video of the full Obama speech in Cairo, Egypt.

Impressive speech. Obama is an excellent speaker. He is well educated and clever. He knows how to reach people and make them trust him. He genuinely shows understanding of people.

Obama used Arabic words and phrases from the Quran in his speech to connect with his audience. He spoke of common interests between America and the Muslim world. He also spoke of Islamic contributions to the world and similarities between the Muslim world and America.

Obama assured Muslims that America is not at war with Islam and never will be. And we must not be bound by the past of fear and mistrust. We must move forward.

Obama addressed seven issues. The first issue being dealing with extremists. Specifically the huge trauma after September 11 and how some reactions after it were understandable and some were against American beliefs. That the war in Afghanistan was one of necessity, unlike the one in Iraq that was one of choice. Obama made no mention of the reasons behind the extremists and the root causes that drive them to such. Or perhaps he did as the next issue is that.

The second issue is Palestine and Israel. He spoke of refugees in the West Bank and Gaza, without mention of those in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and around the world, which tends to give the impression that he opposes the right of return for Palestinians. He stressed that he will pursue the two state solution which will require both sides of the conflict as well as the Arab countries to work towards. He also addressed rockets being fired at innocents and buses blown up without mention of the attacks Israel commits on Palestinians, occupation, harassment, prisoners and so on, what you can call the reasons for the violence that comes from the Palestinian side. However he did mention one of the reasons and that is settlements that must stop. And further that the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the lack of opportunity in the West Bank do not benefit Israel or it’s security.

Obama stated that “we will say in public what we say in private to Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs”. I found this statement to be important. America has always been very open with Israel, while keeping the Arab world in the dark. What the Arab leaders were told was told to Israel prior and received the Israeli stamp of approval. What the Israeli leaders were told was always kept secret. Obama is in the very least admitting of this biased behavior. Finally he spoke of a secure Israel and a secure Palestine.

The third issue was the shared interest on rights and responsibilities of nuclear weapons. Specifically Iran. The U.S. and Iran had a thorny past, but Obama would like for them to be not trapped in that past and work for the future. The goal is to stop a nuclear arms race in the Middle East while acknowledging that there are some whom have them without mention of whom, which is Israel. Obama went on further to say we must work towards a nuclear weapon free world and that Iran should have the right to peaceful nuclear energy so long as it complies with the nuclear proliferation treaty.

The fourth issue was of democracy and the controversy about it’s promotion particularly in recent years and specifically Iraq. Obama stated that “no system of government can or should be imposed on any nation by any other”. Obama calls for free elections and human rights and governments that protects these rights are more successful and aligned with America. He further stated that some advocate for democracy only when they are out of power and once they are in power are ruthless in suppressing rights of others. Was this a little message to Hosni Mubarak?

The fifth issue was of religious freedom. Obama stated that Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance and mentioned respect and tolerance about all people in the Arab world including Maronites in Lebanon, Coptics in Egypt and the fault lines between Muslims. He also mentioned an example of the U.S. rules that make it hard for Muslims to perform one of their religious duties of charity (zakat).

The sixth issue was that of women’s rights. Obama rejects the view some have in the west that a woman who covers hear head is less equal but he opposes women being denied an education equating it to denying equality. Obama was clear not to imply that this is a Muslim issue but rather a world issue including in America. Obama is confident “our daughters can contribute just as much as our sons” and respects a women’s choice of the traditional role so long as it is her choice.

And finally the seventh issue was economic development and opportunity. Countries in the Gulf can’t rely on oil wealth alone and must work towards education and innovation, which will be the “new currency of the 21st century”. He used Japan as an example of an economy that grew while still keeping it’s distinct culture and traditions. Dubai was also mentioned as such but that is questionable and a whole other story.

Obama’s speech was important and is a great effort at diplomacy that is respectful to the Muslims and the rest of the world unlike his predecessor whom stated “you are either with us or against us”. Obama is seeking to work with the world to solve conflicts. While it is merely a speech that Obama admits is not going to solve anything but it is a step in the right direction to address the issues and to turn the page.

Finally I am still left with the question, are we great fools? Can this speech just fool us into believing there will be change? Only time will tell but at least we can try to work towards these issues even if Obama or whoever else was just fooling us and never intended for us to do so. However I believe that Obama is genuinely working for change, equality and understanding.

I now leave you with an important quote from President Barak Hussein Obama’s inaugural address to Israel.

“… and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

Left 4 Dead

Valve has decided to release a new game called Left 4 Dead 2 or L4d2. Errr Valve is advertising it as a new game.

So what is Valve offering in this “new” game? There are new melee weapons. These include a chainsaw, frying pan, axe, baseball bat and more. There are new weapons. From what I saw, these are, the same Uzi but it has a silencer and new sound, and the auto shotgun which looks like a copy straight from Tactical Ops. They probably have some more, at least I hope.

Next we have new survivors. The characters are not as interesting as the original 4. The new ones are Nick, Ellis, Rochelle, and the Coach. In addition there is a new special infected called the charger. The original survivors Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey are much better, at least from what I saw so far.

Valve is introducing AI Director 2.0 in this “sequel”. This new AI Director can change weather effects, objects, and paths in addition to tailoring enemy population, effects and sounds based on player performance. Valve also claims the game to be larger, offering more co-op campaigns, more versus campaigns, and maps for survival mode at launch. And there is a new game mode currently kept hush hush.

Louis missing in action as always

The new missions are played in daylight. There is apparently new witch behavior where she wanders around in the day time. The finales in the missions are not all going to be last stand type, instead they can be a stretch of highway or road that the survivors have to fight their way through.

The good news is that the current maps will supposedly work with the new L4d, which isn’t surprising as it is the same exact game and same engine. All Valve is doing is releasing a mod. L4d probably had the shortest lifespan in a game that I can think of and Valve is milking this money tit. But this isn’t surprising considering EA is involved in this game. Valve better do the right thing and charge $25 to current owners of L4d and not full price. If not I will not buy it, I will wait for their half price weekends which they did so many times after I bought L4d at full price.

Here is the teaser for the game.

Summer is here. It is already June. Time flying as usual. June starts hurricane season in Florida for 6 months.

Seems my better eating habits and exercise did not pay off as intended. I still need to take Crestor. Regardless. better eating habits and exercise will continue. They must. So that just means everyone should watch what they eat and exercise regularly. I used to exercise a lot, but what really got me here wasn’t just the lack of exercise when I stopped going to the gym. It was a combination of things including not exercising, eating fatty foods, and the type of work I do. I work on the computer all day long, I sit the entire day. This lack of movement, not exercising and eating fatty foods is why.

I loved fried foods, I would eat anything fried. Chicken, fries, shrimp, cauliflower, fish … if you fried it, I probably liked it. Did I mention Crestor is very expensive and the price keeps going up very two or three months it seems. Perhaps I should consider something in the medical field, a huge business that will always be around.

So it will continue. I will watch what I eat, prohibit myself from certain foods. I will exercise weekly, even if it is 2-3 times a week as it is now.

I have stopped drinking soda for a while and that wasn’t bad at all. When I did drink it recently I found it to be very acidic. I also stopped eating fast food, I actually find that it tastes really bad now that I haven’t ate it in a while. In the end it seems like I almost have to be a vegetarian. I need to eat plenty of vegetables, little meat, or avoid eating meat as much as possible. Eggs and cheese are to be avoided as well. And of course junk food is out. Garlic and onions are healthy to eat so I try to have garlic or onion with food I am eating. And I will still eat fruits, I think fruits are fine.