By: Hassan Al-Haifi 

"I tell you, we have become a full fledged democracy like all those Europeans. We are the only country in the area where the top post in the country is now up for grabs to the best candidate - and it is the people who will decide and not the nozzle of the tank!" One of the passengers - a zealous advocate of the People's General Congress was explaining to his fellow passengers in the bus the significant political changes the country was undergoing as they set out on the bus for the sports stadium to hear the "opposition" candidate spell out his election platform. 

But not all the passengers seemed so assured: Why bother going? They are going to show it on TV anyway." The bus driver was laying out the choices for monitoring the election proceedings, continuing, "do you all know really what you are going to see and hear."One of the other passengers, who was sitting on the chair added by the driver, just before the last row in the bus, to increase the passenger capacity of the bus, which usually put the passenger on a 45 degree slant so that his weight is shared equally by the slanting seat and the passenger to his left, said: "I do not understand why none of the other parties could not come up with the candidate who could run for President." Yet, the ruling party came up with the two candidates competing for the post!""It goes to show you that the ruling party has truly mastered the political games people play, using all the resources it has at its disposal to arrange the democratic process to its own whims and ambitions", said the passenger who had the burden of sharing half of the last speaker's weight heaved upon him by the slanting chair beside him.
 

The PGC advocate, making sure nobody tried to fill people's thoughts with any corrupting ideas, said: "You should stop reading the opposition papers, who, because of their lack of popular support rely on hitting the Peoples General Congress with lies and false accusations in the hope of attracting sympathy for their lost cause." 
"You cannot tell me that you really believe that this staged election is for real?" said the passenger who is playing the balancing act, after noting the annoyance of the passenger next to him at having to carry half his weight. 
"The PGC is undoubtedly the people's choice and is capable of producing, not one, but two candidates who qualify for the nomination and the Presidency, whereas all the opposition parties put together could not get a candidate to win parliamentary nomination, let alone the elections! Even the Islah Party was smart enough not try to compete with the PGC, and went along to support the incumbent." said the PGC defender in the back. 

The driver volunteered some clarifications: "The Islah and the PGC, as far as I am concerned are one and the same Ð almost. In any case the Islah is sure to have assured itself something in return for keeping its ally at the helms, this way it can continue sharing power, without having to worry about being blamed for the shortcomings of the government. It is a delicate understanding that no one is sure what the final outcome of, will be, but for now it seems an interesting political sideshow that keeps a mixture of power centers deciding the fate of the nation in a precarious way, with no foreseeable trends that could raise hopes.""What was a disappointment to me was the way the Yemeni Socialist Party leader was unable to master the interview on the Qatari satellite channel last week! To think that the guy also was a contender for the Presidency!" said a guy, sitting next to the PGC advocate, who seemed to feel that he was let down by the interview, continuing, "Here is a big chance for the leading party in the opposition to air the views of a significant element of the population throughout the world, who felt that the whole election process is nothing more than a disguise for a referendum, but somehow just could not get his act together."

The driver had a comment about that, as he pressed the on the brakes noting a man crossing the street, who seemed to be on his senior years, who believed that pointing his scarred bent cane ahead of him, as though this was Moses' cane, could have no difficulty bringing traffic to a standstill as Moses' cane was able to open up a canal in the sea: "The YSP paper claimed that the satellite channel had fallen under the remote control of the GPC, and thus went on to try to give the head of the YSP a hard time during the interview."The slanted man came back with a remark: "Even if that was true, which seems to be highly unlikely, the interviewee should have been prepared to meet any unforeseen barrage of attacks or comments. I do not know what has happened to the once eloquent YSP, whose rhetoric used to have such a fantastic rousing grass roots appeal."

The driver came back with a justification: "Most of the real smart big whigs of the YSP are out of the country after their defeat in the last civil war. Those who are here are just carrying the name and banner, without really having any political clout. It is hard to decide whether to feel sorry for them or to give up hope on them ever becoming a significant force again in the political arena.""What I really want to know is who's this second candidate and how did he all of a sudden jump to national prominence?" said the guy sitting next to the driver who has been just squeezed in as an additional passenger, although his right thigh has now become a continuous victim of the gear shift changes, with the gear-shift handle hitting him as the driver shifted down to stop for the new Moses crossing the street. 

"Look, we now have a chance to get to know him, which is why we are going to the stadium," said the PGC defense spokesman. 
"You think we are going there by our own free will? Our local leaders insisted that we go, or else we will loose the right to gain projects and other favors from the government," said the man sharing the weight of his neighbor, who started to sense a slight pain from the unusually sharp shoulder of the man next to him, thanking God that his neighbor did not happen to be overweight, while continuing: "Can you imagine the regime insisting that we go hear the 'opposing candidate'."The driver again knew how to explain the real circumstances they are going through: "This is what I mean when I say that the whole process has been masterly designed to the last decorative step. The local leaders and all the other major players are going through the theatrics because they know they will be rewarded, while all the rest of you have nothing but threats or intangible promises that only Moses' cane can make true. How many promises and flowery statements have we heard in the past in return for all our support and sacrifices, to insure that the regime carries on its series of theatrics? What is the outcome of all the support? Nothing, but more flowery statements and endless promises."A wise old man sitting in the back said just as he gathered his things to get off: "I do not know why all this talk of democracy and elections is bothering you people, when you still have to worry about finding jobs that will enable you to feed your kids". 
The driver wanted to tease the old man: "Hay, you can't get out here. I have a contract only to let people down at the stadium and take them back where I picked them up in Sana'a. You forgot that you have been drafted to take part in Yemen's politics.""Look, son, nobody drafts me to do anything! In my old age, I am ready to die rather than be forced into nonsense that costs billions of Rivals, just so some sleazy politicians can continue playing with people's minds. Son of a former President or not, I am not interested in playing a game, the outcome of which has been pretty much decided. So let me off to see to the small flock of sheep I have to watch out for. You guys can be herded along all you like, but for me, I like to be the one doing the herding, not the one to be herded. That is the politics I like to play!" With that the old man, also with a Moses' cane managed to steer his way out, even over the45 degrees passenger, to the backdoor of the bus and down its steps to the edge of the road, at the same time showing a sorry look on his face for the way his fellow passengers seem to display a lack of insight, dignity and self-pride. 

Part II 
By: ALI MUHAMED  
AL-HAMZI-EZZANI, 
Yemen Times 

The following contained in this article is by no means intended to undermine or mock European civilization, or European-American contributions to the world. The following is based on true facts and experiences, that I experienced or learned. Although some of these facts might be a bit blunt or direct, the purpose of the following article is to level out the unlevel playing field-one inferior, one superior and bring us all back to the reality of the equality among us and in practice. Anyone taking this article as a direct offense is only hurting themselves, through their ignorance and not my pen. They have only themselves to blame because I've done nothing wrong and don't in the least bit feel apologetic. 

I left off last week stating that I was going to disprove the colonialist mindset of my people through my knowledge and experiences. This week I plan on disproving this mindset through four unprincipled and unbased lies that have created this God-slave relationship. This is also the start of confidence-building among mainly Yemeni youth, not forgetting our elders of course, called the new era of the unapologetic Yemeni. Let's commence! 

First, many Yemenis see America and the western world as God! Below is a list of achievements and characteristics they feel that this "so called" God has achieved: 
1) They only true democracy in the world. 
2) The best-looking physical features. 
3) An honorable civilization, while we are an uncivilized people. 
4) A history of justice and equality. 

To the dismay of the worshiper and the "so called" God, I am about to prove all of the above wrong! 
Incorrectly, America is called the only true democracy in the world, but its really a fasad. Democracy comes from the Greek word Demoscates, which means people rule. This is not the case in the United States. Let's take for instance the office of the president. This above all positions should be selected in the most democratic fashion. 

To the contrary, it is not the people who decide the office of the presidency, its the electoral college that does. A matter of fact there have been a few cases in history where the candidate won the popular vote of the people, but lost the race and wasn't elected to President because they didn't win the electoral college. In fact, the cartoon character Mickey Mouse won the popular vote in the last election. 

The second reason why America is not a political democracy is because running a campaign is costly and the one who has the most funds from the lobbyist's is the one who will win the campaign. So, who is the largest lobbyist group in the United States? AIPAC-The American Israeli Political Action Committee. It is well-known that anyone taking an anti-Israeli stance will not be elected. Surprisingly, every Arab elected to office supports the illegal stated of Israel. 

Bearing all this in mind America, stop mocking our democracy because your lack of democracy isn't our model and let's face it, a lobbyist group is an intellectual phrase for a bribery organization. 
The second characteristic of this "so-called" God that I am going to disprove is the one believed that western physical features are superior to Yemeni physical features. First, it is important to figure out that while some Yemenis do everything in their might to look like westerners or Europeans, they are doing the same. In the west, men and women pay substantial amounts of money to tanning salons and hair parlors to look like us. That's right, they pay lots of money to get tans that you have naturally and get perms which make their hair curly like yours. They go as far as willing to be diseased with skin cancer to look like you. Is this what civilized people do? 

This brings me to my next point, that America and the west are civilized and we aren't. By Allah's blessing and through their good intentions-structurally and technologically, that is true. In a refusal to disrespect myself as a Muslim, Hashemite or Yemeni, I must admit that my people have taken many steps back in the area of civilization. However, lets not forget that our Muslim-Arab dynasty, that lasted over 800 years, was the most civilized and just dynasty ever. Even our "so called" enemies-the Jews, admit to this. 
Civilization, at least nowadays, includes progress for the future, while always benefiting from the past. From the perspective of progression through our history, it is extremely vital to point out that without the Muslim-Arab contributions to civilization, there would be no America and society would not be as nearly advanced as it is today. Lets not forget, just about anything civilized in America has both an Islamic and Arabic root. 

Lets first start with the English language and U.S. common law. Is it not true that the English language and alphabet originated from Arabic. If this is not the case than why does nearly 1,000 words of the English language derive directly from Arabic. Better yet, why did Ancient English literature need to be translated via first Arabic, then Farsi, Hindi and Castillian Spanish. All groups mentioned above admit to the borrowing of Arabic literature till this very day, but America and the West can't. 

It also has been brought to my attention through many lawyers, books and college classes that American laws are still being translated from their Arabic roots. This is ironic, because although Islamic law is perceived by many in America and the West as radical and extreme; America follows Islamic law too! For example it wasn't until the Muslim-Arab expansion into Southern Europe that the European cavewoman received equal, but different rights to her European caveman. This later resulted in what is now common law in America, that is, that there be at least two witnesses to any marriage certificate or important legal document. The issue of whether this is Islamic law need not be discussed. I can go on and on about the Muslim and Yemeni contributions to the world in all areas of study. A matter of fact I will write a series of articles on this at a later time. 

My final point that I want to make is, since I have been here people have always referred to America as the model of justice, peace and equality. On this point, I can honestly say that they are progressing now, more than any other time in history and is making a noble effort to move forward-to cover their nightmare of yesterday. 
This confirms my last point and that is Yemen's history is much greener than America's. We haven't oppressed nobody. However, we have a history of being oppressed by the Ethiopians, Turks, British, other Arabs and the West. Its about time Yemen takes a firm stance towards oppression, no matter who it is. 

In terms of America's history, America have you forgotten about the millions of Indigenous Indians you killed? What about the Africans and Iraqis? What about Hiroshima and Nagasaki? And yes, have you forgotten that there was a Berlin in America, except they were Japanese! 
All in all, I feel much better in Yemen and I would like to give the Yemeni people a model to learn from and hopefully, Yemen can strengthen ties with them. This country is Libya. It is a model to the world. Believe it or not, there is not even one homeless person in Libya, even with the embargo. So, I would like to thank one of my role models-Colonel Momar Al-Khadafi for setting an international model of justice, peace and equality. 

In closing, I would like to share a famous quote I made up a few years back as a political activist to the Yemeni people here and abroad and that is the following: 
"Freedom does not lay in the hands of the oppressor, but rather in the mind, heart and soul of the oppressed and the best weapon you have in attaining your freedom is not just the sword you use in combat, which is also very important. But, more importantly, it is the sword Allah has given you between your ears." 
Anyone interested in working with me to make Yemen and the world a better place can contact me at: Al _Hamzy@hotmail.com.