‘Difficult to know friend from foe’
‘Biden no different from predecessors’
“ONCE again, as politicians in the United States have been accustomed to us in every election, whether congressional or presidential, and to win the votes of the Muslim voters in America, the rival presidential candidate, Joe Biden, issued a statement recently to tickle the feelings of Muslims there, by promising them a better future and more effective participation for them in his administration if he won the presidential race against the current president Donald Trump,” columnist Faisal Muhammad Sabt wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“Joe Biden went out to America’s Muslims in a video clip wearing the turban of Muslims and cited the Hadith (saying) of Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him ‘Whoever among you sees an abominate figure, let him change it ...’, referring the ‘abominate’ to current US President Donald Trump, and this means the Muslims in America should vote for him in the next presidential elections, to replace him in the White House.
“Joe Biden, who made resounding promises to Muslims, is no different, even an inch, from Donald Trump or his predecessors who promised Muslims and then repudiated them after winning their chairs. He was VicePresident to Barack Obama during his presidency of America, which lasted for eight years. What did he offer to Arabs and Muslims? The distance between them is not the size of the tip of a finger.
“Actually, it is Biden who denied the rights to the Palestinian people during his term. He was once quoted as saying, ‘Israel has transformed the desert into something wonderful’. By saying so, Biden was aiming to emphasize the Israeli claim alleging that Palestine was a desert without people prior to settling the Jew immigrants there.
“Meanwhile, Biden, spent eight years in the White House as the deputy to the former president Barack Obama, and saw seeing the oppression and the mistreatment that was facing the Muslims in America post the explosion of New York’s Towers (the World Trade Center in Sept 11, 2001), we had not heard anything from him in this connection except supporting the decisions of the US Congress against Muslims or abstaining from voting although he was implicitly supporting all decisions (he was during that time member in the then American Congress).
“Donald Trump came and decided to move the US embassy in Tel Aviv in Israel to Jerusalem, violating the historical rights of Muslims, and despite this crime, Joe Biden stood by and watched and supported the decision.
“A few days ago, the American broadcaster NBC television station, Joy Reid, while talking about US President Donald Trump, attacked Muslims and their leaders, describing everyone as terrorists who do not hesitate to kill those whom they see as their enemy, and yet we did not hear from Joe Biden any comment or objection.
“According to what the presenter said, ‘This is Joe Biden, who went to preach America’s Muslims to vote for him in the US presidential elections, underestimating them and manipulating their feelings as others did before’.
“Here, we would like to refer to a suspicious role played by Washington-based The American-Islamic Relations Council which since the very beginning of its foundation has been working hand in hand with the Democratic Party to such an extent this council has been looking at its benefits at the expense of the Muslims in general and the American Muslims in particular. It is difficult for us to perceive any effective move for this council in this connection.”
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“The world lives today in an unfamiliar situation, for most of the world’s population has not witnessed events similar to what happens today as a result of the epidemic known as Corona, as this situation is exceptional in various aspects and will inevitably constitute a major turning point in the history of humanity as a whole, not only because of its seriousness but also due to its dire effects on the economic, social and political levels,” columnist and attorney Riyadh Al-Sane’a wrote for Annahar daily.
“Also, as is known, the dangers of epidemics and diseases throughout the ages have raised many questions and problems, and this is the same discussion that the Corona pandemic poses now as a global epidemic, which directly affected international human, commercial and political transactions, as the outbreak of the epidemic forced people to take a set of measures and precautionary measures – isolation, quarantine, social distancing and travel bans, which have negatively affected the economy, as it has become in a state of severe recession and sudden contraction, and thus the emergence of an unexpected global economic crisis.
“While the Organization of the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economic forecast for 2020 predicts a year of steady growth if not increased growth, the outbreak of the corona virus came, and caused a major shock to the global economy, the organization halved its forecasts from 2.9 percent to 1.5 percent, and things may get worse.
“The degree of recording a deficit in global income of $2,000 billion, which means the collapse of the global economy as a whole, similar to the Great Depression that followed the global economic crisis of 1929, as no country, whether developed or developing, was spared from it by virtue of the global inter-connectedness between the economies of countries.
“Since its outbreak, the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the global economy until it paralyzed it, as it has obstructed production, supply and air transport across the world, weakened global demand, isolated countries and placed them under quarantine, and others under curfew, and hit the financial, aviation, transport and tourism sectors with heavy losses.
“Given the world’s inability to determine when the virus will end, the crisis will likely be prolonged, and both the consumer and the investor will become more cautious and anticipate the possibility of another wave.
“And since the economic wheel is also affected by the moral and psychological aspect, the long quarantine and the large losses, whether in material or in life, fear of the future, job loss, and the loss of close associates, will make consumers and investors very reluctant to take risks and resume normal activity, that will delay the return of natural growth and moving the economic wheel.
“In general, due to the short period of time since the beginning of the crisis, the long-term economic repercussions have not yet emerged.
“However, in the event that the crisis continues, and the lack of adoption of fiscal and monetary policies to address it, the global economy is expected to witness the following – bankruptcy of companies that are unable to meet their financial obligations, as part of a vicious economic downturn; bankruptcy of individuals unable to pay their debts, such as home and auto loans, as part of a vicious economic downturn; layoffs of employees who work for companies that are unable to pay their salaries, and the collapse of the financial system due to pressure on liquidity.
“Add to this the decline in globalization and a rise in self-sufficiency in the production chains of each country, in an effort to avoid similar future economic crises, but at the expense of the rise in the standard of living.
“While awaiting practical and realistic solutions to address the economic situation with proactive, realistic and rapid programs, the global economy remains threatened by imminent recession and collapse.”
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been following the differences in opinions concerning the virus between world scientists and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the exchange of accusations between China and the United States of America,” Fatmah Al-Asaily wrote for AlAnba daily.
“In recent years, we have all noticed the intensification of the economic conflict between China and the USA. America has failed to catch up with the Chinese progress that has swept across the world without competition. And of course the highest pride “America Hanim” does not allow any country to be outdone.
“A new pole appeared, dominating the economy and international relations in all fields of progress. It thus remains the dominant one in the world, and pokes its long nose in the external and internal affairs of each country. Its history is full of conflicts and wars that it waged over the ages, such as its war on Japan, its destruction of Hiroshima with bombs, its conflict with Russia and its keenness to dismantle it into 24 countries, which led to the weakening of their power during the Cold War. This is apart from plundering the wealth of most Arab countries in the name of “provision of military protection”! Also, the deployment of its military bases, which are in fact just multiple tails attached to the head of the snake, so that we remain under its threat and mercy. It has destroyed the rest of the country either with its weapons such as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, or by assigning terrorism to sabotage and destroy such as Yemen, Syria and now Libya. We will not overlook the hot war between it and Iran, as well as its support for the snake tongue (the Zionist entity) in the occupation of Palestine, and the implementation of the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’.
“So, who remains in this world to be a superpower like it?!
“There are suspicions that that country is the one behind coronavirus, especially since the “manufactured virus” is meant to cause an economic collapse in the whole world so that it is not the only one suffering from an economic decline.
“Who benefits from the fall in the prices of the oil produced by Arab countries? Who emerged on the scene and announced the manufacture of a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus, even though it cannot ensure complete recovery, so that the world continues to purchase its medicines and vaccines? In whose interest is the move made by WHO to prohibit autopsy on victims’ bodies until a short period in order to prevent access to data and eventually find treatment for the viral infection? Is it reasonable that this comes from an organization that holds accountable those countries that do not follow transparency in procedures, statistics and information?!
“Who is among the great countries that have been exhausted militarily and have been economically mobilized because of the wars on some countries and the support of some others while supplying others with weapons, soldiers, money and other facilities!?
“Is the current situation in Libya a struggle for black gold and natural resources only? Or are there other schemes cooked up in the rotten kitchens of politicization that feed only the mouth of the snake and its offspring Israel as well as some mercenaries who are traitors to their homelands!?
“For how long will America mess with everything, spread corruption, and suck the blood of the Arab world?!
“The curfew has ended, along with the era of emergency decisions. We have nothing left but to prepare for the post ‘Covid-19’ era. We will not rush to return to the life we had in February of this year, as we would rather take the safe and appropriate course to deal with the current period and the next,” columnist Dr Nada Sulaiman Al-Motawa’a wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“Away from the bustle of Parliament and the crowding of the interrogation platform, let us recall the platforms that were effective during the corona crisis and reflected the government’s management of the crisis during the global pandemic.
“They were models of successful strategies and effective applications, including the ‘Shlonak’ application of the Ministry of Health, which formed a huge database of health data that the State may benefit from in terms of future studies.
“One of the successful strategies is the ‘Ma’akum’ platform launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to communicate with citizens stranded abroad, in addition to our children, students who wish to return. This is in addition to the platform for organizing appointments at cooperative societies and hospitals. These tools succeeded, thanks to the unknown soldiers from the emergency teams in the ministries who worked during the crisis.
“Now, as we carefully get ready to return to the daily routine, I wonder: Will the government present an implementable post ‘covid-19’ plan? Will the Parliament give the government time to catch its breath? Or will the Parliament shower the government with a bundle of endless parliamentary questions until it loses its balance?”
“The law criminalizing by-elections should be abolished ... because it is a tool designed to escalate tension between groups of people,” columnist Dr Waleed AlTanaib wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Some believe that by-elections are prohibited and that it is one of the reasons for depriving qualified people access to the council ... As some believe, this means there is clear injustice in the country.
“On the other hand, some believe that these are consultations, not by-elections ... For some groups of people, their representation and presence in Parliament are threatened if these consultations are not held.
“History testifies the tribes got rid of many customs and traditions that negatively affected their members. Just recently, most tribes eliminated the tradition of giving cash gift during a wedding (Al-Aniyah). It burdened many tribesmen and caused embarrassment to many of them, which may have compelled some of them to borrow in order to fulfill the Aniya obligation -- giving cash gift during a wedding.”