Assad Supporters Rally After Israeli Airstrike

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/world/middleeast/syria-israel.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0

The article I found discusses the issue of an Israeli airstrike near the Syrian Capitol of Damascus.  The strike took place in the outskirts of Damascus and American intelligence says that it was carried out on a convoy carrying sophisticated anti-aircraft defense systems intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.  Syria does not admit to the attack being on a convoy but says rather that the attack was carried out on a scientific research facility in the suburbs of Damascus.  Surrounding countries have taken their stands on the attack already, Russia continues its plead for a political solution to be found and "The unacceptability of external intervention".  Both Iran and Hezbollah have fully backed Syria, saying that the Israeli attack was "flagrant aggression" with an end goal of "undermining stability and calmness in the country".  Israel reportedly informed the U.S. of the attack and claimed the purpose was to make sure that Hezbollah is unable to take advantage of the chaos in Syria at the moment to bolster their own defenses.  But when questioned by the public Israel denied the airstrike.  analysts of the situation say that while retaliation may seem immanent, the reality is that neither Syria or Hezbollah have enough invested interests in a response attack to warrant its happening.  Israel had made it clear to Syrian officials that if they felt Syria had lost its control over its chemical weapons or given control to Hezbollah then they would feel compelled to act.  Apparently Israeli intelligence didn't like what they saw and made a move.
   

"Chief of Egypt’s Army Warns of ‘Collapse’ as Chaos Mounts"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/world/middleeast/egypt-protest-updates.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=world

Many Egyptians are unsettled with the change in government and power they've seen in their country after the Arab Spring. From this article, I gathered that a good portion of the population does not actually view Mohamed Morsi as being an "Egpytian President," but rather as being a "Muslim Brotherhood's President." 

The differing political forces in the country have been creating a clashing of ideas and unrest. The President's choice to instate a month long state of emergency in Port Said, as well as two other regions in the Suez Canal zone, has led to rioting and violence. Furthermore, Morsi has failed to reform the justice system, and police officers and soldiers who kill civilians in riots are not being punished for their actions. 

Port Said has declared itself an independent city, unwilling to be lumped inw ith the Muslim Brotherhood. Citizens have begun lighting tires on fire to screen themselves from tear gas, birdshot, and, bullets. Sunday, the death toll rose to at least seven civilians. 

If Egypt doesn't find a way to unify itself and make compromises politically, then the Arab Spring will have been for nothing. 


John W

A look at Iran's Shipping Industry

The following is just a brief look at how the shipping industry is affected by international politics, sanctions, natural resources and more. For further information and a look at the full article see the link at the bottom.

In 2008 the US, UN, EU and other private parties placed sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) in Iran due to the shipment of materials violating UN agreements, the falsification of documents, and other illicit trade. IRISL is also suspected of helping to advance Irans nuclear programs, along with using front companies to hide other actions. These sanctions prevent the associated parties from trading with IRISL.

In 2011 further sanctions were placed on an additional 10 shipping companies which may be linked to IRISL. Furthermore the "Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance released a 317-count indictment of 11 companies and five individuals" (AFP) associated with IRISL.

An article in Forbes uncovers a few ships that are still able to function even with the sanctions in place. Forbes looks at the Tour 2, an oil tanker, in particular. They mention that has been associated with five different countries and three different names, along with "at least three shell company owners in three different countries over the past year" (Forbes).

Even throughout these name and ownership companies the ship is still able to be tracked via it's International Maritime Organization (IMO) number which reveal the ownership and name changes, along with its location.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/claudiarosett/2013/01/29/a-tale-of-iran-syria-and-a-busy-oil-tanker/

Bodies Found in Aleppo, Syria

Syria crisis: 'Bodies of executed men' found in Aleppo

Large numbers of bodies were found on the banks of the Quwaiq River, which runs through Aleppo. The bodies had been executed, with their hands tied behind their backs. At least 65 bodies were found but more remain in the water. The death toll could reach 100. 

There is not enough information to tell who is responsible for the bodies but people are pointing fingers. Activists claim that the victims were arrested by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, then killed. 

Sources from the Syrian government claim that the victims were kidnapped by "terrorists,"the term officials use to describe the rebels. 

Aleppo was been a center for conflict for some time now. It is occupied by both government and rebel forces, neither of which can push out the other.

American pastor sentenced to 8 years in Iranian prison.

source: http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/american_pastor_sentenced_to_8_years_in_iran/

US Department of State has stated that an American pastor who has been jailed in Iran has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.  While the State Department is trying to get the Iranians to release Saeed Abedini there is no guarantee.

Earlier this month the Iranian semi-official news agency, ISNA, quoted Abedini’s attorney as saying his client stood trial in the Revolutionary Court on charges of attempting to undermine state security by creating a network of Christian churches in private homes.  He denies it.

The agency condemns Iran's continued violation of his universal rights and freedoms and is seeking to fix this issue.

Iran denies reports of explosion at Fordo nuclear site

BBC News: Iran denies reports of explosion at Fordo nuclear site

This article is very relevant with our current conversations in class. It is about an alleged explosion heard at the Fordo Nuclear Facility. Recently there has been planned talks between the US and Iran about their nuclear activity. When asked about it, Saeed Shamseddin Bar Broudi, deputy of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that it was "Western Propaganda" designed to influence the outcome of the negotiations. The Iranian parliament's national security and foreign affairs committee also denied the reports.

A leaked report by the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that the Fordo facility is ready to double its output of medium-enriched uranium. Experts say that the uranium could be enriched to weapons-grade in a relatively short amount of time. Tehran says that its nuclear activities are only peaceful but Western nations are still obviously concerned.

It is very ironic that the US provided so much support with weapons and nuclear technology in the past and is now worried that the very nation we supported will attack us. Things, perhaps, may have been different if the US had not sided with the Shah during the conflicts in the 80s. It is unfortunate that money, in this case in the form of oil, drives all of the world's powers.

Iranian Journalists Arrested

Iranian Journalists Are Arrested and Accused of Links with Foreign News Media

By: Rick Gladstone

Published: January 28, 2013

An unsettling event happened in Iran today. Security forces arrested journalists from four Iranian newspapers. They accused them the journalists of consorting with hostile foreign news media. The Iranian rights advocates stated that the arrests were “part of a broader campaign of intimidation to forestall political unrest before the presidential election in June.”

It is unclear on how many journalists were arrested. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media advocacy group based in New York, claims that at least eleven journalists were arrested today.

It was the largest “crackdown” the occurred in the last four years.

The Mehr news agency and many other journalists were taken into custody on Sunday after the raids on the outlets. None of the arrests were reported by the organizations that raided the journalists. The Mehr news agency stated that the journalists were accused of “collaborating with some of the Persian-language foreign media.”

Since this incident happened just earlier today, there is not a lot of information out about the arrests yet, but this is definitely a news topic that would be good to follow up on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/world/middleeast/iranian-journalists-arrested-accused-of-ties-to-foreign-media.html?ref=middleeast

-          Angela Squillante

Article- Iran Journalists Arrested

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/world/middleeast/iranian-journalists-arrested-accused-of-ties-to-foreign-media.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0

Journalists have been arrested in Iran by security forces and are being accused of consorting with hostile foreign news media. Most of the journalists were arrested after raids that were regarded as reform -minded. It is said that the arrests are a an attempt by authorities to pre-emptively silence independent news coverage ahead of the presidential elections in Junes and to forestall and political unrest before the elections. 

They want to have a very controlled and quiet election without any popular outbursts. This ties into the discussions we have been having in class about the different riots and protests that have been happening around the Middle East including the Arab Spring. 

Article- Protests Grow on Fifth Day of Unrest in Egypt

On the fifth day of unrest, unruly protest continues to grow across Egypt as president Mohamed Morsi called out the army to attempt to regain control of three cities along the Suez Canal. 45 have been killed over the past 3 days. The president had declared a curfew in the city of Port Said, and one man of the city said "and we declare civil disobedience." Others of Port Said have said they dont recognize him as their president, but as a president of the Muslim Brotherhood. The violence only keeps increasing and over the past two years the public's trust in the government has eroded. The biggest opposition seems to be the city of Port Said, where many have proclaimed their city as an independent nation. 

Article link - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/world/middleeast/egypt-protests-cairo-port-said.html?ref=middleeast

Article - Iran's Space Program

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/world/middleeast/iran-says-it-sent-monkey-into-space.html?ref=middleeast
Where to begin...?
     Well, earlier today Iranian state television broadcaster Press TV reported that Iran has successfully launched a monkey into space.  However, as stated by this article, "There was no independent corroboration of the report," and the exact date of the alleged launch was not made clear either.  It supposedly occurred recently, but monitors in the West have not announced any missile launches from Iran in the past few days.  Despite this, those at Press TV have lauded the event as "yet another scientific achievement" of their country.  It has been claimed that Iran will be capable of sending humans into space within the next five to eight years, and has plans to launch a satellite into orbit by the end of March.
     Many are skeptical of these claims (myself included).  However, this article points out that if Iran truly has these capabilities, they could easily use the same technology to launch nuclear warheads.  Meanwhile, the country continues to ignore Western pleas to shut down its nuclear program, and has turned down a request to meet on the subject in Istanbul at the end of this month.
     Admittedly, this article is a bit "out there".  But it caught my interest, and upon further inspection, I found that it definitely pertains to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Ariele's Article- Iraqi Sunni Fallujah funerals draw thousands

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21215303

            In this BBC News article it focuses the funeral that was held in the Iraqi city of Fallujah for Sunni protesters.  This funeral took place on Saturday; one day after the shootings occurred.  These protesters were killed by army troops.  There were 5 people shot dead and several others left wounded.  After the funeral other protests broke out against Iraq’s Shia-led government.  The article then goes into detail as to why there were protests to begin with.  The Iraqi Sunni felt like the government was discriminating against them.

            This article relates to our class because lately we have been talking about Sunni and Shia and how they are not alike and what truly is the different between the two.  We have been talking about their way of thinking differs from each other.  This article is a great example because it shows that the Sunni’s and Shia’s are almost battling against each other to get what they individually want.  This article also brought up a lot of questions that I had towards the two groups and how they got to be so far apart.

Hollywood movies production after 9/11

According to this article "American Cinema and the War on Terror in Stanford Daily, the author argues that since the aftermath of 9/11 the message of movies production within Hollywood had changed. The author noted that  "Instead of dutifully assembling a line of patriotic propaganda-fests replete with good old-fashioned foreigner-bashing, lamented Douthat, Hollywood had consistently churned out 70s-style anti-government, anti-corporate conspiracy flicks that blamed secretive cabals within America for the rise of terrorism" (M. Unterriner)

The author briefly summarize some Hollywood top movies production after 9/11 to show how the message within these movies connect with the U.S influence within the Middle East. 

Some of the movies Unterriner presumes to have a direct relationship with America's fight against terrorism are: The Dark Knight, Act of Valor, Taken 1 & 2, Gangster Squad, Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, The kingdom and etc. 

 This is the link to the article"American Cinema and the War on Terror"

-Lawuo

Rioters being sentenced in Egypt

Football Riots

On Saturday 21 Egyptians were sentenced to death. This sentence was sparked from a football riot from last year. When the clashes began there were 22,000 people inside of the stadium which can hold up to 25,000 people. Fans from both sides started bashing each other with rocks and chairs. Many died from falling from the bleachers, and some even suffocated in the mob. The football incident left 74 people dead, and 1,000 injured. This was coined the nation’s worst stadium disaster, and soon after the sentencing protests erupted outside of the prison. This protest left 20 civilians and two soldiers dead. These riots started in an attempt to free loved ones. These crowds fired guns, and hurled rocks at the security forces in an attempt to free their loved ones. In turn the security forces had to use tear gas on the crowd. Armed forces had to be sent in to restore peace. The sentences must be reviewed by Egypt’s highest religious authority, and they will not hear his decision until March 9^th. In addition to the 21 that have already been sentenced and additional 54 defendants will also be sentenced on this date. The Muslim Brotherhood blamed Egypt’s military for all of these deaths. Egypt’s government blamed the fans for provoking the police. Witnesses said that the police did little to try and stop this. 

Article Link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/26/world/meast/egypt-soccer-deaths/index.html

Curfews in Egypt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21224643

This is a BBC article about the recent riots in Egypt, and President Morsi's response to them. There have been several riots over the weekend leaving 33 people dead in Port Said. As a result, President Mohammed Morsi has declared a state of emergency in Port Said, Suez, and Ismalia; imposing a curfew from 9 PM until 6 AM for 30 days starting Monday. The riots were allegedly caused by a court ruling in Port Said, where people who were unhappy with Morsi's rule caused rioting elsewhere.

This ties into our class because we have recently been talking about the Arab Spring, riots, protests, and the like in the Middle East. Even after protests lead to an election and a new president, people are still unhappy. This seems to be a part of a recurring pattern in the region, with similarities to past events that we are learning about now.

Middle East children share dreams for 2013

Middle East children share dreams for 2013

By aljazeeraenglish

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwid17_middle-east-children-share-dreams-for-2013_news

This is a film clip from Aljazeera where children from around the Middle East are asked what they  most wish for in the New Year.
Two young girls in Iraq wish for better education and greater saftey. They want their country to be like Europe or Asia where car bombs don't regularly go off.
A young man living in the West Bank wishes for reconciliation and national unity.
Other children there also wish for their football teams to win the World Cup; to be able to go on picnics; and for a free society.
In a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey, the children, who live in tents, are afraid of never getting back to their countries and of having to stay in the camps.

What these children want most of all, it seems, is to be "normal"--to trade their often violent and tumultuous lives for the safety that so many other modern countries realize to a great degree. In a global society, they are a generation unlike the majority of of adults around them. They have access to the internet and the world beyond; ranting extremists will be hard-put to sway them. When they get older, perhaps they will overthrow the extremist factions of power by simply not listening.

Egypt unrest: Morsi declares emergency in three cities

 As of now, Egypt is now in curfew mode. By decree of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, there will now be a daily curfew from 21:00 to 06:00 (that's 9:00 PM to those that don't know military time). The curfew is due to ever increasing unrest in Egypt, the most recent being the death of 30 civilians after a court ruling caused a riot. Indeed, much of the unrest is stemming from Morsi himself; many people blame him and his administration for a variety of things (deepening economic crisis, being autocratic, driving through a new constitution that does not protect adequately freedom of expression or religion, etc.).

The state of emergency applies to the three cities along the Suez Canal, and their surrounding regions (mainly Port Said, Suez and Ismalia). In a message to the people, Morsi stated that while he is against any emergency measures he will if I must stop bloodshed and protect the people. Morsi was quoted as saying "If I must I will do much more for the sake of Egypt. This is my duty and I will not hesitate." Quite frankly given the facts of this case, if one was to pick sides, Morsi would be in the right for this.

The court case that caused the most recent deaths was over an event that occurred roughly a year ago. In Port Said, a football game had taken place where hometown fans attacked the visiting teams supporters. In the end, 74 people had died. 21 of the people that had caused the violence were the ones who were on trial and who's sentenced sparked the riot. Say what you will about Morsi, but there's more blood on the hands of his people then himself at this time. They can now add the 30 from the riot, and 3 more from the mass funeral following Sunday.

One can only hope all of this passes peacefully.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21224643

Recently in Saudi Arabia the first female Council had been formed. This ia a big step forward because in Saudi Arabia being such a holy country women have very few rights. We don't think about it much because here in the United States we try to say that everybody has equal rights and while this isn't exactly true we have much better luck than most other countries. Women have all the same rights as men do, or are supposed to but while in Saudi Arabia, women cannot even drive a car. The fact that this move was made to add women to the Kings council is a huge move. Whether or not they will even be regarded in any matters is another story. Regardless this is a huge step forward for the women of this country and that maybe the country will become more modernized soon and really start making some changes. If you read the article they talk about how this is a huge revalation but women are still being stricktly looked after. Men now have a much easier time "monitoring" their women when they leave the area. As you can see a huge step forward was made but many more leaps and bounds are necessary.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/world/middleeast/women-appointed-to-saudi-council-for-first-time.html?_r=0

Matt Upshall Blog Post 1

In our last few classes we touched upon the topic of the Arab Spring and the role that social media played in the situation. Most of our class seemed to conclude that social media was a factor in the Arab Spring that created opportunity, spread information and united groups to help implement change. I personally don't think the Arab Spring would have been nearly as effective without the help of twitter and Facebook.

Keeping this in mind, I see the Middle East is growing from an electronic standpoint and digital marketing trends are growing rapidly across the pond. Statistics show that the number of Facebook and social media users have skyrocketed in the last few years. Roughly 30.2 Million people in the middle east are active on Facebook and other social media. Saudi Arabia's percentage of twitter users jumped 240% in 2010, a massive increase for a year! With all the talk about how effective or not social media was to fostering change in the Middle East, do you think that this 240 % increase reinforces amount of power that social media holds?

In an effort to connect this to my major in marketing, the following link http://www.socialbakers.com/blog/130-interesting-digital-marketing-trends-in-the-middle-east discusses the current digital marketing trends in the Middle East. Recent Budget changes in the middle east reflect how and where the effort of marketers are going. Almost 30 % of all marketing budgets are directed towards the use of social media. Reflecting the important role that social media plays, not only pertaining to the Arab Spring but also as the most dominant way for Marketers to reach their target audience.

More signs al Qaeda in Mali orchestrated Algeria attack

On January 25, 2012 at around 2:40am (EST) Al Qaeda was believed to be apart of an attack on an Algerian Oil Field. United States has reason to believe that it was a radical group that orchestrated the attack in which an oil field was partly destroyed and hostages were taken.  

To the blind eye, this may seem like just another attack on one of the Middle East most valuable natural resource. However, to American Officials, if there are radical Jihadists attacking Oil Fields in Algeria, then that means there are a lot more "terrorist" groups in Northern Africa than previously predicted. It is interesting to watch this story unfold and I will stay up to date on it.

This relates to our class in many ways. Not only are we talking about the First Gulf War, but that exact war was mostly over Oil too. We also express how the media likes to only give us certain parts of stories in order to get a bigger reaction from their viewers, and that makes me think, "What is the media hiding in this story?" Now there is no way for me to find out the full story, but I think it would be interesting if we could compare what really happened in Algeria to what CNN had reported. The link to the story is below:

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/25/more-signs-al-qaeda-in-mali-orchestrated-algeria-attack/?hpt=hp_c1

Post #2, modern day advancement in the Middle East

What seems to come up a fair amount in our class discussions is the way the west and the mid east are different in some way or another. 

I found this article.....

http://travel.cnn.com/modern-architectural-wonders-middle-east-750096?hpt=imi_t5

by CNN travel, and was happy to see the architectural; advancements going on in the middle east today.

We traditionally think in the western world, that the middle east is just desert, and low tech rural areas. Seeing from this article, these assumptions, although  probably accurate 100 -150 years ago, no longer describe the area and its full potential. Not only are a lot of these buildings amazing visually and architecturally, they describe the overall advancement of the region. 

As the article talks about, once the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 hit, a lot of the expensive projects in the region were abandoned. But now that the world is coming back form that crisis, at least partially  some of those famous buildings and ideas can move forward with construction.

Most of these great buildings and advancements in building technology are being seen in Dubai , a country finding itself rich with money form oil. But I think this is a sign of bigger things to come, in the technology, architecture  and research sectors. 

The financing and project ideas coming to the peaceful areas of this region might have something to do with the change in politics  and popular culture/ideas in the area. This sort of general advancement and cooperation can only help the people and government of the area overcome the challenges they all face.

these changes can also help involve other countries in the continual betterment of the region, through improvements to architecture and the like.

Israel's New Government

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/23/world/meast/israel-elections/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing party, victors of Tuesday's national elections but chastened over the rise of centrist challengers, heard the voters' populist voices loud and clear. Netanyahu announced Wednesday three top priorities straight from the playbook of a new and surprising centrist rival, Yair Lapid, as he starts to pursue the formation of a new government. 
They are: increasing equality in the burden on the public, seen as a reference to the practice, unpopular among secularists, of giving military exemptions to the ultra-Orthodox; the grinding issue of affordable housing; and changing what many see as Israel's "ineffective" system of government.

These happen to be major planks of Lapid's upstart party, Yesh Atid, which surprisingly came in second in Tuesday's elections to Netanyahu's Likud Beitenu party. And they are messages hammered home by others in the center and on the left.

In addition to security and diplomatic responsibilities, Netanyahu said, these three principles will be the focus in the formation of Israel's new government.
"We awoke this morning after the election with a clear message from the public," Netanyahu said. "We want to put together the widest possible government that will bring these changes to the nation and people of Israel."
No single party in Israel ever gets a parliamentary majority of more than 60 seats, so parties must rely on coalition-building. The question is whether Netanyahu will stay on the right or move to the center in political jockeying over government formation.
Netanyahu's statement indicates that he might try to attract centrists into a government coalition rather than form a hard-right bloc.
Their presence could mean a greater focus on addressing economic ills. It could also usher in a more amenable stance toward pursuing peace negotiations with Palestinians, a stance that would be embraced by the United States.
The Labor party, like Lapid, stressed domestic problems, while the new party Hatnua, led by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, focused on peace talks.

How can they embrace peace?

Al Qaeda Leader Dead According to "Tweets"

     It has become very obvious in the last few years that social media has been playing a huge role in everyone’s daily lives, anywhere from relationships, politics, activist movements, and has even become some people's only news source.  We saw what happened in Tunisia with the Arab Spring movement, which began in December of 2010.  Social media was the reason why the events that were ongoing in Tunisia were broadcasted across the globe.  What was happening there was real and because of the fast speed and far reach that the internet has, Tunisian governments had no way to cease those videos and photos from going viral.    

     As social media continues to play such a huge role in so many lives, we begin to see many of the negative effects.  Tuesday January 22, 2013 it was announced that Sanaa Yemen, the head leader of the Al Qaeda had died.  How was this announced?  Simply via a tweet.  The word that Yemen had died spread quickly around the Arab community, which lead to the world news as well.  However as the story spread it became clear that there was no proof of his death and according to "Three senior Yemeni Defense Ministry officials told CNN the country has no evidence proving his death."  (Almasmari)  

     Although social media has been a great source for spreading the word and awareness, it can also be used in a negative way.  Yemen could have simply sent out that tweet in order to try and trick the Saudi government in an effort for them to stop looking for him.  Social media can be used for both good and bad and doesn't always give you the full story.    

Blog Post #1 Tia Martin

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/22/world/meast/yemen-terror-leader/?hpt=zite_zite6_featured

Report: Top al Qaeda leader killed

By Hakim Almasmari, for CNN

updated 7:26 AM EST, Wed January 23, 2013

Arles NS 1st Post - Israel/Palestine Voting

In Israel, most Palestinians cannot vote in the elections because they are not considered Israeli citizens. About only 1.5 million Palestinians may vote, while 2.5 million may not. However there is a new initiative called Real Democracy that is being tried by some in Israel and it is gaining both traction and interest.

Rea; Democracy allows people voting in the Israeli elections to "donate" their vote to ineligible Palestinians. Because of Israeli policy regarding the movements of both Israeli citizens and Palestinians between the West Bank and the rest of Israel, this entire process is done online, mostly using Facebook. Israelis and Palestinians are "paired up", the Palestinian chooses who they would like to vote for, and then the Israeli votes for those people, regardless of their own views or opinions.

Personally I think that this is a very interesting idea and system. I think that is is admirable that there are those willing to sacrifice their own vote in order to help those who's ability to vote is being suppressed. I wish that this sort of camaraderie and caring extended into all politics.

I think that this article, and Real Democracy are relevant to our course because they are dealing with the issues between Israel and Palestine, specifically those regarding the rights of the people. One cannot look at Israel and/or Palestine without looking at the rights, or lack of rights in some cases, and how they effect the people living there.

-Arles Netherwood-Schwesig

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21087019

Palestinian-Israeli turnout to hit record low

Israel’s elections are currently underway, but the turnout is very low for the Arab population. The reason that this is a concern is that Palestinian issues may be put to the side for a prime minister that doesn’t have the interest of its Palestinian-Israeli citizens in mind.  The problem that the voters are facing is discrimination at the voting poles due to racial profiling. Also the concern of the Arab population is focused heavily on economic stability rather than Palestinian Strife’s. Which is true in America as well – the people want a steady pay and do not care about the Iraqi War. I would have thought that the Palestinian strife would be the concern for every Palestinian-Israeli, but they have the same qualities that the common American citizen has, and probably the rest of the world.

Another interesting thing it brings up is that the Palestinian-Israeli citizens loyalty is always questioned, and the parties that support them.  I could see how this could make the Palestinian-Israeli demographic hesitant to try and push radical reform which could end up revoking their right to vote entirely – pushing for economic policy sounds like a much safer route.

Al Jazeera – http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/2013120124011374273.html

Blog Post #1 - Keith MacLeod

http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/01/saudi-arabia

The Economist - Saudi Arabia: Forced Into Extinction

               
           With the ever-expanding territory of the internet and the growing influence social networking/blogging sites such as Twitter one might wonder if public officials and governments around the world will ever be able to act while remaining out of the public eye. Recently the Saudi Arabian officials from the Agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a dedicated task force for preserving the good image of a religious that is completely funded by the government, shut down an educational dinosaur exhibit in a shopping mall (rather ironically given where most of the governments money comes from) and have been receiving flak for it on Twitter. Most of the complaints stem from how the agents handled the situation, by cutting the power to the exhibit and demanding that everyone leave immediately. This action was in very poor taste and without any kind of deliberation between the government and the people; it also frightened many children and parents alike who were at the exhibit as the reason for the evacuation was not clear. It is still unclear exactly why the CPVPV shut down the exhibit but it is likely because it goes against the Qua'ran's teachings.


          Though maybe not nearly as influential as the Arab Spring this movement shows just how little control a government has these days about remaining out of the public eye. Any sort of mistreatment or abuse of power can be immediately reported to the masses, organized, and digested in a matter of seconds effectively setting up a groundwork for a movement and documenting these events for the entire world to see on Twitter (or other such blogging/social networking sites). While this is a very important tool in the fight for human rights and government responsibility it may also be a driving force behind more oppressive governments implementing a Chinese-style firewall to control the flow of information on the internet.

Post #1: French Airstrikes Push Back Islamists and Regain Towns in Central Mali

                The struggle for independence and basic freedom are still very much alive in many countries in the Middle East. We are lucky enough to live in a country that supports the awareness of these issues, and spreads them through our innumerable media and journalistic outlets. However, even with all the freedom we possess, many of us (myself included) are blind to struggles that aren’t reported day in and day out by our nation’s skewed newscasters. With all of the attention on the Middle East, it is easy to forget that there are problems outside of this conflict heavy area.

This article, from the New York Times, outlines the conflict taking place in Mali, which rests right below Algeria in western Africa. Radical Muslims have moved into Mali from the north, and have successfully overrun the northern half of the country in an attempt to capture the nation’s capital, Bamako. The Malian people do not have much confidence in their own military, which let half of Mali’s territory slip away along with two decades of democratic rule. But, they luckily gained support from the French army this weekend, who combatted this Islamic overtaking with airstrikes and foot soldiers, successfully reclaiming the town of Diabaly and pushing back the militant Muslims toward the northern border of Mali.

This is an ongoing struggle that has ties to religion and resources, so this will not be the last we’ll be hearing about this. I realize that Mali isn’t exactly in the Middle East, but I thought it was important to bring attention to continuing struggles in that part of the world that fall by the wayside of many more prominent struggles in the Middle East.

Protests in Jordan Over Elections

Tomorrow, Jordan will be holding the first elections it has had since the Arab Spring uprisings. In response to the elections, activists are gathering citizens to protest the elections for a reform in government. Among the groups protesting the elections are the Muslim Brotherhood. The reason for protest is that people believe that King Abdullah II has too much power over the government and that the elections are there to say that “Jordan has a democracy”.

Jordan's government is currently a Constitutional Monarchy run by King Abdullah II. He only recently gave up the power of appointing the Prime Minister to Parliament, but it appears that compromise was not enough to settle the masses. Abdullah II's power as King and Head of State allows him to dismiss any part of the government, which some argue that power should be given to the Parliament.

The rise of protests got me interested due to our class discussion on how protests organize. While the articles do not mention whether or not social media was used, it is hard to believe that it played no role in the protests. Also with these protests, it appears there are some larger organizations focusing on rallying protesters. The Muslim Brotherhood branch in Jordan is one of the bigger groups trying to get people to boycott the election. As it was mentioned in class last week, this is exactly the thing the Muslim Brotherhood does when they are unable to win an election. These protests though, do not seem to be random people getting connected through social media. Rather, they look like they are being organized by larger groups and activists with a set goal in mind.

Jordan is going to be a place to keep an eye on after these elections take place. A new candidate for Parliament related Jordan to “a grenade ready to explode” and that the only thing preventing it are these elections.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/201311814194824370.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/world/middleeast/as-elections-near-protesters-in-jordan-increasingly-turn-anger-toward-the-king.html?_r=0  

Qatar's Wealth Inequality

            When people think of the Middle East, they tend to think of poverty, or armed conflict. They probably don’t think about mind-boggling wealth. And yet that is exactly what you’ll find in Qatar. The nation sits on the world’s third largest deposit of natural gas, and has the highest GDP per capita of any nation on Earth. So, while the rest of the region is dealing with protests driven in part by impoverished masses, Qatar enjoys a great amount of stability.

            But this wealth and stability does not come without cost. Of Qatar’s almost 2 million residents, native Qatari’s make up only 15%. The nation has a staggering number of migrant workers, working in conditions described by Human Rights watch as slave labor. The nation’s demographics seem to reflect the earlier age of feudalism, with a large servant class serving a relatively small number of land-owners. Essentially, the entire country is a gated community.

            Qatar’s stability doesn’t look to be permanent, as it is largely maintained through government handouts and subsidies, many of which are unsustainable in the long run. Even the wealthy native Qatari’s (average income of $690,000) have very little political representation, with the nation being run, largely without oversight, by the emir, a position similar to king. What’s interesting looking forward is where things will start to break. Will the money run dry, causing native Qataris to demand more representation as compensation? Or will the downtrodden working class realize who has the numbers advantage and stage a proletarian revolution? This is all assuming things come to a boil at all, of course; it is entirely possible that Qatar will continue to avoid the wave of revolution in the region. One thing’s for sure; this insanely wealthy nation is one to keep an eye on in the coming years.  

Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21029018

Internet Shutdown in Syria Creates Information Void

On our first or second day of class, we talked about some important events happening in the Middle East with this story being one that I brought up. That being the complete shutdown of Syria's Internet and social media. This story is somewhat current, being a little under two months old.

According to the news article, the Syrian government blamed the outages on technical problems and suspected terrorist activity. However, analysts said it's more likely that Assad had ordered the Internet and cellphone connections to be switched off to quell protests. The government has shut down Internet services before, often in specific regions right before launching attacks. These outages were throughout the entire country and occurred on two other occasions.

“Most of the activists rely totally on the local Internet services. The government wants to pressure the activists who rely on the Internet services by limiting the spread of information” (Timberg, Craig). Although this may have some effect in doing so, the U.S. State Department says it has sent 2,000 pieces of 'communications equipment' to the rebels in Syria to assist in distributing videos even if the Internet remains shut down.

As we discussed in class, the rising popularity of technology in the Middle East has helped bring awareness about some of the horrible events in this region. It has also helped jump start several movements where nearly anyone could gain vital information about current issues. It appears that Assad is trying to disorganize activists and help stop any sort of steam that these movements are gaining.

"It's a sign that the regime is going to take its gloves off," said Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow and Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "They're going to make sure they're the only ones who can communicate, or at least they are going to try." (Timberg, Craig).

Article Link: http://www.theledger.com/article/20121129/news/121129231?tc=ar

James Kellogg

Post 1

Israel Elections: Voters prepare to go to polls

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu challenged for right-wing vote 

          Since we haven’t really moved beyond the basic introductory task of familiarizing ourselves with the Middle East, it is in this same area of interest that I find my thoughts residing. I realize that our young minds are largely sculpted by all manner of skewed media and that, despite our attempts to appear knowledgeable of the world, our limited experiences with foreign cultures prevent us from breaking the shackles of preconception. It is unfortunate and counterproductive, but it is also, more or less, true. It has already manifested as a core tenet, and been exemplified in multiple video clips we’ve watched, that the Middle East is not actually as different as we may believe.  While I may believe that any who took the antiquated illusions of “the oriental” as fact are incredibly foolish, they have undoubtedly served as blinders to many. To that end, it is important that we educate ourselves on the topics of culture, politics, and economics in foreign nations, lest we perpetuate the stigmatic stereotype of the ignorant American.

          It is this line of reasoning that piqued my interest in this article from the BBC. As it seems redundant to summarize the article in full considering that a link to it has been provided, I will say only that it deals with projections for the approaching Israeli general election, with an emphasis on the favored candidate, as well as projections for the various parties at play. What interested me most is that, as you read through this article and other related ones, you may notice some political trends that are quite similar to those which surfaced during our own presidential election so recently. This is especially evident in the second article (the older of the two). It serves as a polarization of our views, to put our presidential race beside the Israeli election, and see the same political power plays in action in such a similar governmental structure.

First Blog Post

Hostage crisis's and sieges are fairly common these days in the Middle East. One prime example occurred this past weekend with an attempted siege of a gas plant in Algeria by a group of terrorists. The original plan was to blow up this gas plant and was attempted by planting mines around the holding tanks of the facility. When the terrorists took hold of the plant they also took hostages. This was apparently due to the French intervention of Islamists in Mali at the beginning of this month even though the attack was supposedly being planned for over two months. Religion always plays a major role in Middle East affairs whether it be Islamic , Christian, or Judaism. People of this area take their religion very seriously and when it is involved in serious issues many people reach out and become angered.  This attack was led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a militant leader who recently fell out with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. It is not only people from this area that are affected when religious outbreaks occur. There were 37 people killed in this attack from countries such as Canada,  Tunisia, Egypt, Niger, and Mali. These attacks and disputes in the Middle East are having an effect on multiple nations, religions, and ethnicities and needs to be brought to an end. The Middle East has a high volume of violence and more needs to be done to bring to to a lower level.  

Here is the link to the article.