Arab Spring: Where are we Two Years after it Started?

Almost two years that the Arab Spring started, it is interesting to do an overview of what it brought to the region and to the world. First some Arab countries got rid of their presidents-heads of state who were ruling with an iron fist and no democracy for the people. Obviously everyone will name Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia. Those three countries are now free to elect new presidents and members of their parliaments and governments. It is, whatever some people might think, a great step ahead as it showed that Arabs were and are searching for democracies to live in. The former stance that some western countries were saying about the lack of maturity of Arab people, although completely false, is no more valid. Goverments interests were above what the Arab people were really looking forward to: living in peace and in a "normal" regime that would take their interests, their needs and their opinions in account.
However, a lot of other Arab countries are still living in tough dictatorships or at least regimes that don't give the people a lot of freedom to express themselves. Corruption and favoritism are still very much in use in those countries that d oone speaks about Algeria, Bahrein, Mauritania and to a lesser extent, Morocco.
Syria's situation is the most difficult one in the Middle East with, for the moment, no hope for any peaceful solution.
So what could the other Arab people do in order to stop the bloodshed in Syria and try to help the other countries to change their regimes, peacefully if possible?
First they have to understand that not one single country, western mainly, will help them. They have to start their revolution themselves.
Second they must unite in their country to show only one opposition to the regimes.
But no solution will be found if the people don't start speaking loud against their regimes and showing that they only want fairness, equality and responsibility from their leaders.
Is it a dream? Probably as the worst political dictators have been overthrown. But one thing remains: corruption. It seems that it still is the cancer that eats a lot of Arab countries and their leaders and regimes. So maybe the best solution would be to fight against corruption first before looking for democratic regimes. The only danger would be that other Arab people would stop fighting for their rights thinking that their leaders will never give up power. And they should think of the famous song by the late Freddy Mercury and the Queen: "The Show Must Go On".

US Presidential Elections

Obama has been re-elected for a second term president of the USA. Well, after all it is well deserved. Obama has been a good president and he will probably a good one after his last term. He did things and tried hard to do others. No president can fulfill all his or her promises. What a lot of people forget is that in a democracy a president is not the only one who makes laws. He has to work with his own party and also with a chamber whatever we call it. In the US, a president has to work with the Congress, the House and the Senate. The Congress is not always on the same political side than the president, and that is fortunate. Otherwise we are in a dictatorship. And a president cannot just ignore the Congress and all the elected people who might be against his proposals. Once again, we are in a democracy and not in a dictatorship. And the other good thing of this election is that having a president who is black is not an accident but it is now almost normal. Now the US must, in the future of course, have a woman president, a Latino, Asian, Arab American president and not to forget a Native president. But it is already a very good sign to have an African American president.
I am happy for the USA.

New French Government

Now that France has a new government after the election of the new president, the country will go back to normal. And normality is exactly what this new president is showing. François Hollande is just the right president that France needed. A normal guy, polite, smart and who has good ideas to implement in order to try to get the country out of the crisis it is in. One can already feels that the atmosphere in the country is completely different than a few weeks before. Fortunately French people did not make the mistake Americans made by voting twice for G. W. Bush. The problems faced by the country and by Europe are huge but only someone who thinks twice and who wishes to do well for the majority can succeed. Someone who does not think of himself but thinks of the people and to improve their life. Obviously it does not mean that he'll fix the problems quickly but everybody knows that he'll do his best. And that is what is important.
So good luck to you, Hollande.

A new era in France

A new era is starting in France since François Hollande has been elected president. People seem more relaxed and less stressed by the political climate. It is obvious that Hollande will have a lot of problem to take care of and it is also sure that he won't be able to satisfy everybody. But first his party, the Socialist Party, has general elections next month that will give a new majority to the House of Parliament. At least that is what he hopes. If he gets the majority, then he'll be able to govern easily. If not he'll have to form alliances with other parties in order to govern. The worst scenario for him is that the current ruling party wins the elections and gets the majority. In this case, he'll have to appoint a prime minister who belongs to it. The best scenario is that his party wins the majority. Then he'll be able to rule the country as he wants but above all to keep the promises he made during the campaign. But in any case, we got rid of the current president and it is a great thing for France. Fortunately, French voters didn't make the mistakes American made when they voted Bush twice.

French Elections 2012

WOW. Congratulations to François Hollande, the new president. We got rid of sarkozy and his racist and incompetent government. We did not do like the Americans who voted twice for Bush. Our Bush has been ousted by French people. At the same time, he deserved it. An arrogant little man who thinks highly of himself and who despises everyone should not be president of a country. And his last days of campaign showed that he only wanted one thing: to keep his job. Thanks God we, French voters, decided that enough was enough. And we voted for his challenger, François Hollande, the socialist politician, to head the country. It was beautiful to see the diversity of people who went to Bastille Square in Paris where a huge gathering had been planned for Hollande, in case he wins. And he won. Hundred of thousands of people, all races, all skin colors, all ages and of course as many women and girls as men and young boys came to the party. And people were happy which is the most important thing. The good thing with Hollande is that he is a modest person, not arrogant and rather intelligent. Now the real job starts but at least French can come back to normality in relation to the way that the country will be run.
Congratulations François Hollande.

Racism in France is still very alive

On Monday, March 19, a man opened fire in front of a Jewis school in the southern city of Toulouse and killed a man and his two sons. Another child has also died. They were just entering their school when a man on a motorbike and a helmet that hid his face is the killer. A video camera showed the motorbike and the man shooting but not his face. It is a tragedy that followed two other similar cases that happened in the area. Three soldiers were shot dead in the streets of a neighboring city. And this happened while France is in presidential campaign. All candidates went to Toulouse to pay their respect to the dead and to the Jewish community who is shocked by the terrible event. For me the fact that the president and his minister of interior as well as various politicians from the ruling party have been talking about immigration and the fact that the country should close its borders to stop the flow of immigrants is responsible for the killings. Jewish French as French indeed but once a high level politician speaks about immigrants in a racist way there is no limit to hate and anti-immigrant and anti-antisemitism. One cannot play with people because they are different or because they have different religion or skin color. It is a little bit like Pandora's box. Once you open it you don't know what you will get from it. And it is not a coincidence that three US medias, amongst which Time Magazine and the New York Times said in recent articles that French president is xenophobic. And they are right. So for the sake of differences in France, let get rid of him and his party.

French Elections

French elections are only two months away and nothing is sure. Candidates are too close to each other to have a clear idea of who will win. But I hope that Hollande will get us rid of the racist who is president. He is incompetent and liar. I wonder how a so unpopular person can still attract voters? It is time to have someone normal who can bring some hopes to the French. They are in a horrible economical situation and the future is all but bright. Something has to change and to improve. First the government and the people who take good decisions. It is so terrible to live in such a country where Arabs and Blacks are again the sole responsible for the situation. I hope that the result will be the one I am hoping for: the win of François Hollande. Let's hope.