I wrote many times in this column that Ronald Reagan was demented, or that he developed Alzheimer's disease (memory loss) when he was still in office in the eighties. I also wrote that the Israel gang, or the neoconservatives, or the extreme right, call them what you wish, ruled the country with him as a front. They also ruled through George W. Bush, who did not develop Alzheimer's disease – because he never learned anything to forget it -, and destroyed America's economic power and military strength, murdering 1.3 million Muslims so far in the process. Next month, the U.S. will mark the centennial of Ronald Regan, its' fortieth president. His son Ron, a liberal radio host, wrote a book on this occasion, in which he admits that his father suffered from the symptoms of Alzheimer's when he was still in the White House, and provided examples of this, such as when Ronald Reagan addressed Lady Diana as ‘Lady David'. However, this was refuted by Michael Reagan, who was adopted by Ronald Reagan and his first wife, and who denied that the father developed Alzheimer's disease then. This was also echoed by the Ronald Regan Presidential Library, which said that he developed the disease after he left the White House. I will probably review the book for the readers when it is published and when I read it. But now, I just want to say that the same evil cabal wants to put Sarah Palin in the White House, as she combines both Reagan's Alzheimer's dementia and the ignorance of Bush, so that the cabal may rule through her and serve the interests of Israel above all else. I shall continue with other stories, before they get lost among the crowd: - The world population has recently exceeded seven billion, including 4.157 billion in Asia, 1.03 billion in Africa, 739 million in Europe, 585 million in South America, and 344 million in North America. The new decade will be Chinese par excellence. China is now influential all around the world, from Africa to Latin America and our countries, and everywhere else. China will no doubt overtake the U.S. by 2020 or 2030 at the most. However, Bronwen Maddox, editor of Prospect, also nominated Indonesia, Brazil, and Turkey as emerging players, as well as South Africa and Egypt in the African continent, and did not discount a possible surprise from Mexico and Iran in this regard. But where are the Arabs in all this? Despite the nod to Egypt, which is fundamentally an economic one, I find that there are 300 million Arabs constantly registering the highest percentage population increase in the world, and then I find that they are 300 million useless adolescents. - For the sake of objectivity, I mention a rare Arab breakthrough, namely that our countries are among the most popular tourist destinations around the world, if not the most popular ones. I write after gathering in the recent days alone, without requesting it at all, a wide range of news and reports on tourism in Arab countries. Again, Egypt had the lion's share, and I came across many stories on the country, including one entitled: From This… (a picture showing the pyramids) …To This (the shore in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada), and about the construction of a replica of Tutankhamen's tomb for tourists as the original tomb, the ancient and rare item, is being damaged by large crowds of tourists. An English writer even told the story of how a woman tricked him in Aswan. There was also a full page in the Financial Times that reviewed three books on Egypt's antiquities and tourism, and a two-page report on cruises in the Nile. Other Arab countries also had a share. I read a comprehensive report on tour operators, which organize trips to Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains, and also a report on tourism in Jordan, specifically in Petra. I also read a two-page report entitled: “Mad about Marrakesh? Then it's time to discover Damascus”. The report contains much praise of the charming historical monuments in and around Damascus, the Souks of the Syrian capital, and the new small hotels there. The most comprehensive report I read, however, was on the ‘The Other Oman'. The report's author takes tourists to the mountains of Oman instead of its beaches, in three pages in foolscap full of images. - The Japanese have lost their sex drive. A poll has shown that 36.1 percent of Japanese teenagers, between the age of 16 and 19, admitted that they are not interested in sex, and some even said that they despise it. The new number is the double of what it was in a similar poll conducted two years ago, about people who expressed their lack of interest in sex. Japan is one of the few countries in the world where the population is shrinking instead of increasing. The government and relevant bodies are all expressing concern for the future. My opinion here is for the Japanese to come to our countries to have their problems solved, since we are only successful in the bedroom, and I won't say more. - In contrast, failure is colossal in our countries, with its most prominent manifestations being that we are a nation that does not read. For example: The best-selling books in Arabic may record sales numbers of five to ten thousand copies, with some exceeding these figures, although that is a rare exception to the rule of the lack of readership. On the other hand, the English version trilogy published by the late Swedish writer Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Girl Who Played with Fire, and the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, has sold more than one million copies since it was translated in 2008, i.e. more than all what the Arabs printed in the same period combined. Only our failure sells by the million. [email protected]
