COMMON SENSE
By Hassan Al-Haifi
"What is worrying you dad?" Raouf said to his father as they were eating breakfast.
"Your father was not pleased with your grades", his mother answered trying to help her husband out in response to their son.
"But I still am the first in the class!" Raouf pointed out proudly.
"Your father never thinks in relative terms. He always looks towards the optimum." The mother always had a knack for reading her husband's mind.
"What optimum?", the father was ready to speak his mind, "These days, the government has pointed out that the only optimum that exists is the amount of taxes it can bleed out of the poor citizen without giving anything back in return. Even the basic service of education is subject to distortions and inefficiency beyond description."
"But at least we have taxation with representation", joked Raouf.
The father was not going to buy that as he sat reading the paper and gulping down his morning coffee: "With the representation we have today in Parliament, you are better off placing your bets on a pack of monkeys looking over your government. When have you heard the government being accountable for all its inefficiencies and corruption that exists within its corridors?""But my dear, democracy is not an overnight process; it takes a few generations to get it to be ingrained within the mind set of the governed and the government". The mother had to show that you can't have everything all at once.
The father was now ready to give a discourse on what is eating at his mind: "Look, my dear, I cannot see where you find the excuses for the fumbling of the government so easily. There is no point in saying we have democracy, when we know that no matter how the elections come out we will still see the same faces running the show with the 'business as usual' attitude we have been seeing now for two generations. Just look at the education sector. We have yet to see any improvement in the most important sector that affects to only our lives, but the lives of the generations to come. Look at the optimum we are seeing in Raouf. If you ask him how many Arab states have elected Parliaments, he will tell you that they never mentioned that in his social studies class! If you ask him who invented the microscope, he will tell you that they have not had East Asian History yet! I am not asking for the optimum anymore. I am just asking for very basic fundamentals in the education system and in every sector of our uncoordinated society. Do you know how much corruption plagues the education sector? Have you ever heard Parliament discuss the reasons for this serious flaw in government services? No, the fact is that government has become a playground for opportunists to enjoy as they please, while they bleed its coffers, not worrying about facing any accountability. My dear, your son is in the first year of secondary school and he does not know who invented the microscope, and he is the first rank in his class! How can we go to sleep with such clear signs of failure in the education system?"
"But dad, I have no intention of being a bacteriologist", reported Raouf to his disappointed father.
You probably will not make it to be a brick layer, with the educational system we have. How many children really know what they want to be? There is no clear direction that our educational system goes by to guide our children as to their future. In fact for all intents and purposes, I can say that the output of our education comes down to a few literates, who find that they cannot find anything worthwhile to read, unless they go to the internet. But then how many can afford to have such a luxury? Even those who can afford it are unable to look for the right avenues that will lay the foundations for their future. Therefore, can you please tell me what our son is going to turn out to be when he finishes his high school? Not even your hairdresser knows for sure!"

Terrorism: we all pay

BY ISMAEL AL-GHABRY
i_gabri@hotmail.com
Terrorism is an awful crime that is the result of extremism and fanatic beliefs. It so happens that a bunch of unhealthy souls have spread their venom into the Yemeni society, harming the good interests of the country and going against the true measures and commands of Islam. Yet ironically, they claim that they are the closest to it.
In the economical field, according to the latest official statistics, the amount of loss has reached $1.8 billion and $446 million, the value of investment projects frozen because of terrorism.
Also international insurance companies have enforced a great fee reaching 300 per cent on ships and marine crafts that enter Yemeni ports, indirectly making those ships change their path and landing in neighboring ports.
This creates a loss of more than $25 million monthly for the country. This money could have been used to build, roads, hospitals and schools.
There was the attack on the American navy ship USS Cole in Aden in 2000, and the attack on the oil tanker Limburg this past October, passing by all the destructive acts and targeting companies and oil pipes explosions.
And finally there was last weeks tragic incidents of the assassination of YSP general secretary Jarallah Omar in Sana'a and the three Americans killed at Jibla Hospital.
All these terrorist acts call for vital and immediate responses from the authorities and to refer to sense and logic when dealing with such sensitive situations.
We need to take a stand against these social diseases. This is a national and patriotic duty for all in order to finally reproduce the happy Yemen with all the good will and kind faces of its people.

BY ABDO ZANDANI*
azandan@nycboe.net
The news of the three U.S. citizens killed in Jibla, Yemen is tragic loss. They were providing humanitarian assistance to the poor and needy.
Yemeni-Americans from the area mourn their loss. My uncle tells me that my aunts were treated by them. My cousin's wife said she remembers Kathy and her endless kindness. They charged very little if you had money or treated the sick for free if they could not afford it.
The news from Jibla tells similar stories of how William, Kathy, and Martha helped the poor the sick and the needy. A resident of Jibla spoke to Dr. Myers treating her when she was confined to bed for months to avoid miscarrying. She said, "Every day, she looked after me; she used to come to my house, until I was able to stand and walk without endangering my pregnancy."
The stories from both sides of the ocean are the same. Yemeni Americans living in Brooklyn and Yemenis in Ibb Province recall similar experiences. Their death at the hand of a deranged man will discourage others like them from traveling to Yemen to assist those in need.
The view on this side of the ocean is that Yemen is loosely controlled and law and order beyond the major cities is non-existent. Guns are readily available and government control in remote provinces is very weak. Consequently, the country is a haven for terrorists linked to al-Qaeda.
Clearly,the central government needs to establish law and order across the country if it is to rid it self of terrorists linked to al-Qaeda. It needs to enact gun control legislations that will control the flow of guns and crack down on black markets that peddle guns and heavy artillery. It needs to persuade its citizens to surrender their guns and in return the government would provide security in remote areas.
Humanitarian organizations, companies wishing to do business, and tourists will be hesitant to travel to Yemen as long as lawlessness is rampant and government control is non existence beyond city lines.
This is the view from abroad. It is sad but true. It is the hope of this author that this perspective will slowly change for the better, to a Yemen that is secure and not conducive for a deranged man to walk into a hospital and kill three U.S. citizens who have devoted their lives to providing help and assistance to the needy.

* Mr. Abdo Zandani is the Information Technology Director of the Community School District 17 in Brooklyn, New York

BY MOHAMMED AL-MASANI
The president's speech during the conference for Interior Ministry leaders Jan. 6 to 8 had a clear vision in which he addressed the opposition and invited all of Yemen's citizens to stand abreast to face the challenges.
He, on one hand, manifested the wisdom of authority, that is to act and impose laws and prevent crimes from happening.
On the other hand he pointed out that his invitation to unite together does not change the idea of participation in authority ensuring that the participation only comes through vote boxes and getting people's trust.
So the opposition really needs to get the point of the president speech - to address the public instead of mistrusting the participation in the ruling government - and to start to adopt practical programs related to raise awareness among the people about their rights and assist them to get developed and improved through parties adoption for developmental programs according to their capabilities or through their merged associations.
The president insisted on first getting people's trust which is undoubtedly the only way to that the opposition has to take if they want the power and implement their programs.
In all cases, it is supposed to hold strongly all the religious and national values and principles in favor of the country, far from the conspiracies and exchanges and accusations against each other. This certainly serves the external enemy who would invest these conspiracies to err discourse among Yemeni people.
Finally, let's make the president our reference that is respectable by all.
I am not adopting the authority' point of view but I invite the opposition to change the way they work into adopting the development instead and getting closer to people, not through the newspaper but through reality.
The country is the responsibility of all, the authority and opposition. Let's take Dr. Abdul Aziz al-Saqqaf's unique experience. A lot of people miss him. He was a pioneering example in opposition and encouraged the development of participation and giving advice as well.

By S. ALLEN
PrincipalInvestigator@hotmail.com
I read with horror today the views of several Americans who had taken the time to write you regarding recent political events. Please allow me a moment to state an alternate opinion.
In this conflict there is obviously two opposite sides, but there is also a middle and this is where we must place our efforts. There will always be the political fringe and radical zealots who have nothing but hate in their hearts. But on this earth, we are all brothers and sisters, and we will get nowhere with violent words and deeds.
It seems to me the only way out of this very difficult dilemma is to try to bring those with moderate views closer together. It is important for Americans and Muslims alike to consider the other's viewpoints.
For example, I think it is important for Americans to hear exactly the concerns of the Muslims in this world. I think it is important for us to address their concerns and move towards a more acceptable foreign policy. American children and Muslim children all deserve a right to grow up in a society where they are loved and respected, where they have food, and water, and an education. Deep down, I believe, we all want the same things. But this must happen through negotiation, for what can follow violence but retaliation?
It is important for Yemenis and Americans and all the citizens of the world to find our middle ground. If we give an equal voice to negotiation, and to those who would consider the other's viewpoints, we can advance peace on this planet most effectively. For example, I go online daily to foreign newspapers to get the viewpoints I cannot in local newspapers. I encourage you and your readers to do the same. We must begin to see each other not as enemies but as brothers and sisters. I am not Satan, and nor are you. We are all children searching for hope.