Sydney celebrates the New Year in its own style

Sydney does it again, it celebrates the start of the new year in its own fashionable style.

Last night, close to 1.5 million people had gathered around one of the most known Sydney's landmark - the world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge - to celebrate the new year 2009. They enjoyed a spectacular display of fire works. According to the City of Sydney Council, the whole ceremony - fire works included - has a total bill of around 5 million AUD. Nevertheless, Mayor Moore believes the cost was well justified. She believes this kind of ceremonies has the potential to bring people together regardless of their beliefs, religions or the political affiliations - and I think she is right.

I wish a happy, prosperous and above all a peaceful new year for all.

Merry Christmas

Today is Christmas-day. The day on which Jesus-Christ is born. He was a prophet of peace. He sacrificed his life to save his people. However, what some of his contemporary followers in the United States, and for different purposes, has been doing in the last 8 years was contrary to the Jesus' message-peace.

One can only hope that the real Christians send a strong message to those who violate their prophet's wish. One would then be able to write a much more positive note for the Christmas-day next year.

I wish a merry Christmas for all the Christians in the world.

Honorable Judge Will Be Retired Next Year

Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia will be retired from the bench next year. Why should we, all Australians, be proud of having the honorable Judge among us?

Well, in a democracy such as Australia and in certain circumstances; there is always a possibility to have an infamous political times, such as the Howard's era. An extraordinary political environment of the era shed light over role of the High Court of Australia and its judges; the role of protecting the Constitution, rule of law, citizen’s rights and the society in general from tyrannical actions of rulers.

It is when we, Australians, need judges like the honorable Justice Kirby at the bench of the High Court of Australia.

And now, regardless of his honor being at the bench or retired, it is a great honor to live in a country where his honor lives as a citizen.

Best wishes and regards to his honor.

Americans have elected their Obama and now, it is Iranians' turn

The US presidential-election is over, and the American people have re-written the country's history. They chose a black person to be their 44th president for the first time in the American history. And now, Iranian people are looking forward to their next year presidential-election seeking their own version of Obama. Today and facing a volatile world political terrain, their task is a crucial one.

As it has been predicted here long before the US election, Mr Obama was the only option America and, for the world peace, the world had. By electing Mr Obama, Americans have shown their disapproval for the Bush administration and policies which have been implemented by it, or at least tried to, in the past eight years in the office, policies such as invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. America has plunged into the political mine-fields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Political mine-fields which, perhaps, are only comparable to those of the Korean war of 1950s and the Vietnam war of 1950s-70.

After many years, not being able to bring the precarious situations in Iraq and Afghanistan under control, let alone elsewhere in the world, has already had a detrimental effects on the US international status. The situations vivify an old saying from the president Johnson era in regard to the Vietnam War which says: "The United States has the power to destroy but no power to control". The failure badly dents the image of the world only Superpower to such extent that the notion of 'the world's only Superpower' is no longer relevant.

Nevertheless, I strongly believed, as was predicted here long before the election, Americans had no choice but to elect Obama. Why? firstly, Because electing yet another Neo-conservative war-mongering republican was out of the question. And secondly, between the two democrat candidates, Obama and Clinton, the choice was obvious.

Now that, they did their part, it is the Iranian people turn to search for their own version of Obama. They are facing the exact dilemma which the American people were facing. However, their task is somehow bigger and more important than their American counterpart, they have to produce a capable Iranian-Omaba and to do it in an un-democratic environment!