Last Post of MENA Class

Last blog post of this class. However, I hope to continue to blog as this has become something that I enjoy tremendously.

One thing I wanted to mention to our class; I thought that the past few discussions we’ve had have been the best of the class. We got to hear many different opinions and I feel that is something we haven’t done very much over this semester. Of course we are commenting on people’s blogs and that is great and all. However, I believe that there is much more significance in talking with people, one on one or in a group forum. I urge people, however, to keep in mind that when making an argument, make sure not to talk just for the sake of talking. You can make your points much stronger when you are succinct and to the point. Of course it is important to make sure that your voice is heard; however, make sure you don’t add too much outside information that is not relevant. I am being quite critical here but I think that for future Dickinsonians this is important. Thanks for a great class.

Dickinson Riots?

Really, these were riots? What constitutes a riot? Dictionary.com says that a riot, is a "a noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons, as by a crowd protesting against another group, a government policy, etc., in the streets." Violent? I don't think this crowd of people at Dickinson was violent. And this WAS NOT A PUBLIC DISORDER. People were celebrating the death of a terrible criminal who helped plan a killing of thousands of innocent Americans. Dickinson administration and anybody who had a problem with this "riot", let us be happy for this. Don't come at us with all your BS about how we should not celebrate someone's death. This gave some people who lost loved ones on Sept. 11 a chance to feel like there was some sort of justice. If you want to disagree with things, bark up another branch. Because I do not think that there is ANYTHING wrong with celebrating Osama Bin Laden's death. I also will never change my point of view on this. Above is the supposed "Riot." People really seem to be angry!! That is sarcasm.

Sometimes bored Posts are the Best Posts

I've been sitting here thinking about a blog to write and could not come up with anything. So, in my bored state of mind I typed into a google search, "Interesting Things About the Middle East." After searching around for a while I found something that I thought to be significant and of importance to this class. The website page was entitled "10 Things that Everyone Should Know about the Middle East."  While I knew most of these things, I definitely needed a reminder for a few, especially #1. The Website Page is here. Below is the list of the 10 things that Everyone should know about the middle east. Enjoy!

1. Arabs are part of an ethnic group, not a religion. Arabs were around long before Islam, and there have been (and still are) Arab Christians and Arab Jews. In general, you’re an Arab if you 1) are of Arab descent (blood), or 2) speak the main Arab language (Arabic).
2. Not all Arabs are Muslim. There are significant populations of Arab Christians throughout the world, including in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Northern Africa and Palestine/Israel.
3. Islam is a religion. A Muslim (roughly pronounced MOOSE-lihm) is someone who follows the religion. So you wouldn’t say someone follows Muslim or is an Islam, just as you wouldn’t say someone follows Christian or is a Christianity.
4. Shia Muslims are similar to Roman Catholics in Christianity. They have a strong clerical presence via Imams and promote the idea of going through them to practice the religion correctly. Sunni Muslims are more like Protestant Christians. They don’t really focus on Imams and believe in maintaining a more direct line to God than the Shia.
5. People from Iran are also known as Persians, and they are not Arabs.
6. Arabs are Semites. We’ve all heard the term anti-Semitism being used — often to describe Arabs. While antisemitism does specifically indicate hatred for Jews, the word “Semite” comes from the Bible and referred originally to anyone who spoke one of the Semitic Languages.
7. According to the Bible, Jews and Arabs are related [Genesis 25]. Jews descended from Abraham‘s son Isaac, and Arabs descended from Abraham’s son Ishmael. So not only are both groups Semitic, but they’re also family.
8. Sunni Muslims make up most of the Muslim world (roughly 90%). ¹
9. The country with the world’s largest Muslim population is Indonesia. ²
10. The rift between the Shia and Sunni started right after Muhammad’s death and originally reduced to a power struggle regarding who was going to become the authoritative group for continuing the faith.

Syria Problems Begin, Big

The Syrian army has started to utilize tanks to disrupt the protests that have plagued the country for the last few months. In my last blog I talked about planning for Syria. The plan needs to start now. Here is a New York Times article about the situation. 

Planning for Syria

Looks like Syria is in big trouble. An article in the New York Times noted that authorities were playing off the assassinations as something done by no-governmental forces. Is this true? Personally, I am leaning towards NO. I feel as though Middle Eastern governments has spun off their own mistakes in the media by the simple task of blaming someone else. The next few days will be interesting as we see what transpires with the assassinations and protests.
Here is the article from the NY Times.

Follow Up

I wanted to follow up on the video that I posted previously. This video was made by a source that was looking to show how Israeli defense forces had brutally attacked this group of protesters (not sure if they were protesting or not). In response, the Israeli government tried to mark up the video to make it look like it was necessary to use force at the time.

For our case study we are studying Israel and I plan on using this video to demonstrate the penetration of digital social media into the Israeli society. It is fascinating that the government is now using YouTube channels to relay messages that help to save Israel's reputation. I am very curious to see if any other classmates who are studying different countries have found something similar to this? Have other Middle Eastern countries been using YouTube or Twitter to relay messages to their people and the outside public?

Interesting Video

Found this interesting video while doing some research for our group project on Israel.

Put up or Shut up, Pakistan.

Today the Pakistani Government and people have been complaining about CIA drones that have been flying around the country. I have only one thing to say to this; Pakistan, stop harboring terrorists and we will stop the drones. It is widely known that Pakistan is a safe haven for many terrorist organizations, therefore drones are necessary. I hope that some of you (classmates and followers) will be tempted to challenge me on this, I will defend this statement to the end. The article from the WSJ is here.

Japanese Crisis vs. Middle East Crisis

This is somewhat of a random blog post but it has been on my mind throughout this whole situation in the Middle East and Japan. I find to to be quite unbelievable how quickly and easily the American media can shift gears and transfer their focus onto a different crisis/situation. For example, for months we were dealing with the situation in the Middle East and then all of a sudden, the crisis in Japan occurred. As this crisis (Japan) evolved, it seems that the Middle East was put on the back burner while the US attempted to provide coverage of the situation in Japan. I only read one newspaper consistently  (The Wall Street Journal) but this one in particular has made the Middle East seem to be almost a petty issue at this point;  something that will eventually be solved but is not in our front conscience at this time. Does any one else feel this way or am I over-thinking it? Are other countries besides the USA able to switch their media coverage so efficiently and quickly?

Trouble with Ivory, Ripple Effect

While this blog has been focusing on primarily Middle East political issues, REMEMBER, this blog is named, "Middle AND North Africa Media and politics." Meaning that I will include North African issues when I think that it is nececessary. Whats going on in the Ivory Coast is a necessary situation to talk about. Yesterday troops who side with President Elect Ouattara raided the house of his rival, Lauren Gbagbo who has refused to leave his office. There were reported gunshots and violent noises coming from the area as neighbors of the community began to wonder what was going on. This is an interesting story that this blog will follow as we get more detail as to what is going on with Ivory. I have mentioned this before but there seems to be a "ripple effect" going on in the eastern world right now. As violences begins and ends in a country, ANOTHER country starts to revolt and protest with violence. Here is a link for the Ivory Coast Story.
Above is a picture of Ouattara's troops.

Quran Burning?

This is just straight up embarrassing for America. A few floridians were burning a Quran which ignited a spur of protests in Afghanistan. There really isn't much more to say about this other than EMBARRASSING. Although, the middle eastern world has had its fair share of burning Old Glory....

Here is a video of the protests that occurred as a result of this Quran burning.

Has the Middle East Gotten It Right All Along?

Have we (The US) been wrong in intervening into Middle Countries? Are these protests going to eventually solve the problems in the Middle East? I have been asking myself these questions tonight as I heard about the protests going on in Syria. My optimistic side wants to think that there is a slight chance that these protests might be the right thing to do. My pessimistic side thinks that these countries are simply feeding off of each other and will have nothing to show for it at the end of it all. Above is a picture from the protests in Syria today.

Twitter

I used to despise Twitter. I am now a huge fan. I used to think that all Twitter was used for was to tell me... "Today I went to the grocery store, I bought pasta! I am so excited for dinner!" I really didn't want to hear that. However, now, I realize that this form of communication means so much more. It allows you to get into the lives of your favorite celebrities, athletes, and news stories, making everything seem so much more connected to you. I personally really enjoy being able to see small segments about what is going on in the world. It will be very interesting to see what Twitter does to evolve and expand within the next 2 or 3 years.. maybe too connected?

Libyan Protest Video

Found this video on YouTube which depicts some of the protesting that went on in February. Some pretty raw video footage but you get a sense for how out of control some of the protests have been. In the background you can hear police firing off rounds of ammunition.

Journalists returned from Libyan Government

I read an interesting story about some journalists who were captured while covering the situation in Libya. The four journalists were unharmed and did not appear to struggle during the captivity. This made me wonder if there were any incentives for the Libyan Government to detain these writers? The protests in Egypt demonstrated how important communications are in an international crisis. Therefore, the Libyan government may have believed that controlling the media flow from Libya by capturing journalists would prove to be beneficial for them.

The full story is here

Be a Man

The Obama administration is beginning talks about intervening into Libya. George Bush's presidency will forever be rembered for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Will the Obama administration be remembered for Libya? Does Libya provide enough for it to be considered "Obama's Libya Intervention." I think that involvement will prove to be very bad for the United States's reputation, much like what happened in Iraq. People around the globe will think that the US is intervening for the sole reason of oil, not to actually spread democracy. In fact, I wonder what the Obama adminstration will base their intervention around. It can't be "Spreading Democracy," that was W's thing. Obama, be a man and say you're intervening and going in because the United States is the largest consumer of oil and Libya's oilfields are important for our economy. You haven't taken any risks yet and your squeeky clean image is beginning to annoy me.

USA Begins its Transition into the "New" Middle East Crisis

Today, President Obama made a statement that indicated that his administration had begun talking about a possible intervention into the Libyan crisis. This was in reaction to Col. Gadhafi's forces who launched an airstrike on the outskirts of the oil town of Ras Lanuf.

I made a statement earlier that the issue of oil would become a big concern for the global economy and specifically, the United States. Does anyone else find it interesting that once the rebels started attacking oil areas, the US all of a sudden begin talks about intervening? There is a definite correlation and I almost wish the US would be outright and say, "These rebels are attacking oil fields, oil is a strong interest for the US economy, we want to protect these oil fields."
Here is an article about the airstrike.

Libya has been most violent of Protests

A WSJ article today showed a picture of Libyan protesters firing off rounds from their AK47s as the protests in Libya continue to take over the country's capital. I understand that change is good, but this is getting out of hand. Governments, armies, someone just step up and stop this madness. That or change your governmental policies immediately because this has gone on long enough. I appreciated the thoughts on my last blog posts and I hope they keep coming. I am very narrow minded in how I approach these protests because I believe that many of the leaders in these countries are completely inept individuals and politicians.


Link to article

whats better, old west or middle east?

Has there been any correlation between the middle east protests and the ones occurring at Dickinson for sexual assault? There's many ways to look at it. I feel like when people are surrounded by protests they feel like they should question their own lives; this may or may not have happened with the people outside oldwest. Whether you agree with it or not, it sure is interesting to see such a large rally at a seemingly small school. Check out the hashtag on twitter #oldwest for some interesting stuff.

Good luck, Obama.

It is such an interesting time to be studying the Middle East in a college level course. Interesting but also extremely scary. A new wave of protests broke out in Libya yesterday amid the Mid east political unrest. It almost seems that we are on the horizon of a Middle Eastern Armageddon. It would not be surprising if another country broke out in political protest tomorrow.

Where do we even begin to solve this?

I don't have faith in most Arab governments. I think they stand a better chance with U.S. involvement. However, can the U.S. Economy and country withstand more war? Mark my word: Obama will not run for President in 2012. He won't even want to.

Middle East Economics

As someone who is interested in global markets and economics I am always looking for information that affects the marketplace; whether that be in commodities such as oil prices or currency trading. With all the political unrest in the Middle East I will be interested to see how the price of oil responds to the influx of protesting that is going on. In the last three weeks the US market has shown significant gains amidst the string of Egyptian protests. However, how long will these gains last? Oil is trading at about 86 dollars (US) a barrel. Three or four years ago the price was much higher but the financial crisis and the Iraq war drove down that price significantly (see chart below). Can the commodities market handle another wave of fluctuation should the United States become involved in any of the ensuing political protests?

 

Is Egypt Responsible for Bahrain?

Protesters stormed the streets of Manama, Bahrain yesterday, proving that the political rebellion in Egypt might only be the beginning of a long string of Middle East protesting. In my last blog, I suggested that Egypt may be in the process of becoming a terror-influenced society. I am pleased to say that I was wrong; there are no terrorists yet, but the Egypt protests have influenced the start of a  Middle Eastern political protest war! Go ahead Bahrain, protest away. Egypt has shown you that when you get large groups together (like the 50,000 person protest planned for Saturday in Bahrain), you will get your political message across. Hey, any other Middle Eastern countries interested in overthrowing their governmental powers? Join in.


Here is an article about Bahrain in the Wall Street Journal.

Mubarak is out. Is this the "Egyptian Dream"?

After almost a three week, 24/7 battle with protesters, the Egyptian people have finally forced Mubarak out of office. The Egyptian armed forces are now in control. The article below mentions that by forcing Mubarak out, many Egyptians have achieved the "Egyptian Dream?" What is this dream? A Democracy? More political freedom?

I can't help but to speculate that Egypt will fall into the realm of something like the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Only time will tell...

The Wall Street Journal has the full story.

What is a Blog?

I assume that I will learn more about what exactly a blog is in the coming weeks as I continue to write. However, at this point I feel that a blog is no more than a collection of thoughts. The way that some blogs do better than others is simply because some people have better thoughts than others. In order to have a good blog you need more than a collection of thoughts. You need information that supports your ideas and creates a forum for discussion amongst peers.

Bloomberg Article about Egypt

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-02/mubarak-step-down-pledge-fails-to-calm-protests-as-unrest-spreads-to-yemen.html

Problem in Egypt

First Blog post.

Something that I posted on Juan Cole's "Informed Comment" blog....


What I have found particularly interesting about the Egypt crisis is the profit that the Egypt crisis made on the American markets today. Today journalists speculated that the Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.1 points due to the fact that Egypt bonds were pricing extremely low which allowed the Euro and therefore the sectors of the U.S. Markets to increase.