Not-So-Public Transportation

As routine as riding a city bus may seem to Americans, it has proven to be one of the many surprisingly complicated and controversial issues of Israel. Originally, any Palestinian with an entrance permit was allowed by law to freely ride the public buses in and out of Israeli cities (though in actuality, this was not always the case). One Israeli transportation company, Afikim, is has turned this notion and the industry on its head with its new initiative.

As of March 4^th, Afikim will be offering Palestinian-only and Israeli-only bus lines running from the West Bank into central Israel. Passengers will not even board the buses together. Palestinians, who can not enter the settlements where the Israelis board, will be picked up from several stops along the Trans-Samaria Highway. The company claims the segregated lines are nothing more than an attempt to appease customers – on both sides. Israelis disliked Palestinians on their buses because, among other things, they believed they posed a significant security risk. While for Palestinians, the line promises reprieve from the unfair treatment seen on other lines and a more cost-effective alternative to private transportation services, often crowded vans or trucks. The company is hoping these improvements are enough to entice the thousands of Palestinian workers who make the daily trip into Israel.

This article relates to our discussions of the difficulties in relations between Israel and Palestine, specifically the Settler Movement. Because developed central Israel offers greater economic opportunity, most Israeli settlers work outside of the West Bank or Gaza Strip. This also means that many settlers need a cheap public option for transport back and forth. It is here that the settlers often cross paths with the many Palestinian workers riding the buses for largely the same reason. As mentioned above, Palestinians are forbidden from entering many Jewish settlements, so when the two groups cross paths on a public bus, the mutual fear and racist attitudes created by such a lifestyle come to a head. Without settlements as a factor, the issue of shared public transportation would have far less fuel; it represents another issue in Israeli-Palestinian relations complicated by the Settler Movement.

Linkto Haaretz Article

Matt Leap

Syrian Refugees

Fighting rose again in Syria on Sunday. This was started the rebels who set a surprise attack launched in the city of Homs. This area, known as the Baba amr district, was regained by Pro-Assad forces one year ago after serious fighting was had. What had happened with this was the rebels crept into the district during the night. As soon as morning hit the attack occurred and "those manning the army checkpoints barely had time to realize what was going on." Videos of the attack have been posted online and show smoke rising and the sound of gunshots is present. During this attack 14 people were killed.

Over the past two years as many as 70,000 people have died in the conflict. Antonio Guterres of Turkey speaks of the "risk of explosion" that could happen if the fighting does not come to an end. Over one million Syrians have been registered as refugees in neighboring countries and this will continue to rise if nothing is done. It is estimated that this number could possibly double or triple this year. This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Something should be done to prevent these attacks and to promote peace in the area. People should feel safe in their homes and the need to uproot and leave everything behind so they can start fresh somewhere else where the fighting is not as present is very sad. We have spoken of how many refugees have been reported in middle east areas and it continues to rise. More action should be pushed toward this to keep people where they are comfortable and not force them into surrounding countries as the flood of refugees stresses other countries as well.

Link to article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21733331

Anthony Morello

Iran, and World Powers Talk

World powers agree to talks over Tehran's nuclear program.

The six nation meeting consisting of Britain, France, the US, Russia, Germany, and China made up the negotiators of the past P5+1 meeting. The head negotiator for Iran has said that the other six countries remain committed to a diplomatic resolution for dealing with Iran's nuclear program. The two sides, Iran and the rest of the other six nations, seem to be coming closer to an agreement on the issue. Even still, Iran faces sanctions for violating a UN resolution that stopped Iran from enriching uranium. The economy and supplies in Iran have slowly diminished due to these sanctions. The US and Europe have put further sanctions on Iran's ability to trade gold and other metals. Even in the face of this tension, other world powers have been trying to work with Iran, not against it. By trying to move closer to Iran's view points, maybe this is a sign that these other countries really don't want a fight with Iran, but want to defuse the situation before it gets out of hand.



http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/world/meast/kazakhstan-iran-talks/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

Michael E

World Powers have been holding talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program

World  Powers have been holding talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program

Negotiators from Iran are meeting counterparts from the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. There is suspition that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, however Iran strongly denies these accusations. Iran says that its purposes are purely civilian, and it needs enriched uranium to make medical isotopes. Iran has been enriching uranium to a level of 20% since 2010, which is important technological step toward being able to produce enriches weapons-grade material.

Iran has rejected Western calls to stop enriching uranium because they say it is an inalienable right. This meeting is to come to some sort of a compromise where proposals are being put forward which EU hopes will allow Iran to be more flexible. However, there has been little sign of change. Iran said it has found major new uranium deposits and was planning to expand its nuclear power program this month. 

Qatari poet appeals over life in prision

This article is somewhat old but I found it to be quite interesting.  Mohammed al-Ajami wrote a poem back in November of 2012 that insulted the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his son, the crown prince.  In the Arab world, poets are supposed to praise those in power and not talk down about them.  Mohammed al-Ajami was sentenced to life in prison for this poem he wrote.  It seems very odd for a country to be able to sentence to someone life in prison for a poem he wrote.


Here is a link to the full article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20550160 


As of yesterday, Mohammed al-Ajami had his sentenced reduced to only 15 years in prison instead of life.  Human rights activist have condemned his conviction by saying that his trial was done with secret court trials that he did not know about. I found these two articles to be quite interesting because I had no clue it was possible to sentence someone to years in prison for writing a poem.

Article from yesterday
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21572072

Iran nuclear crisis: 'Useful' talks in Kazakhstan

What happens when a state is developing nuclear arms when everyone has asked them not to? Well, aside from the general freaking out and "Why aren't they listening to us?", they hold meetings to talk turkey. Or, in this case, Kazakhstan. This Tuesday, various Western officials met with Iranian negotiators in Kazakh City of Almaty to talk about this.

These are the first meetings to discuss this since July of 2012 ended with little success. International powers suspect Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a claim that Iranian officials deny. The signs are there in that since 2012, Iran has been enriching uranium up to a level of 20%, which they claim is for making medical isotopes. Iran has been ordered to stop this process but has constantly rejected the Western call, claiming it an inalienable right.

At the meeting, the various Western parties have offered to loosen their sanctions on Iran in return for their cooperation. The other option is that Israeli will stop Iran militarily if nothing else works. The table for discussion is open for now, and they are going to meet again on Wednesday, but there's only so much time left before someone does something rash.





http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21572075

Vice on Iranian Cinema

Vice has a cool section called The Vice Guide to Film.  Fitting to our class they reviewed Iranian Cinema recently.  Here are the three sections its broken into...

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/the-vice-guide-to-film/inside-iranian-cinema-part-1-of-3

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/the-vice-guide-to-film/inside-iranian-cinema-part-2-of-3

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/the-vice-guide-to-film/inside-iranian-cinema-part-3-of-3

I know we've moved onto Israeli Palestinian cinema but this is still interesting.

Josh Bing - Private Review

The film we recently viewed in class, “Private”, is a great film that pertains to the Arab Israeli conflict. The film’s use of the single camera technique, in which filmmakers use only one camera during filming, results in long shots which make the viewers feel like they are part of the conversations taking place. Furthermore, there are many point of view shots which makes the viewer feel like they are viewing the events taking place firsthand. These film techniques combined make the film seem incredibly realistic to the viewers and, thus, makes the film easy to relate to. The story deals with the Israeli army occupying a house owned by an Arab family. In a way, the film sends the message that the Arab Israeli conflict may be able to end peacefully. This can be seen towards the end, when the leader of the occupiers says “Shalom” to the father of the family, rather than “hello”. The movie could be sending a message that Arabs should rise up against the Israelis. This can be seen when one of the family’s children sets up a trap with a live grenade in their greenhouse. All in all, “Private” gives an intriguing, almost first person view of a very long conflict.

Is a third Intifada approaching in the near future?

Is there a possibility of another Palestinian uprising against Israel?

Last Saturday, Feb. 23, a Palestinian prisoner being held in an Israeli jail passed away. The death of Arafat Jaradat has created a high tension level in the region with Israeli troops preparing for what they fear could be another uprising. 

The first two Intifadas occurred in part because of a high level of deaths that occurred from protests and attacks between Israel and Palestine and Israel believes this situation might pave way for a third intifada. There are numerous hunger strikes happening with Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel's jails. If any more deaths occur in the near future it might spark widespread violence from the Palestinian protestors. 

A third intifada could have serious consequences for both Israel and Palestine. Any attacks against Israel would serve very little purpose for the peace process between the two groups, not to mention the unnecessary amount of deaths and injuries that would most likely occur. In my opinion, the last thing this region needs is more conflict that shifts focus away from important goals and portrays Israel as the sole victim in this situation. Maybe a non-violent uprising would render much better results rather than violent protests and attacks that leave both sides unsuccessful. 

Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-26/207914-israel-fears-new-palestinian-uprising-could-erupt.ashx#axzz2M1RaYbSv

Interesting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxyfTP7bCrA

Where is Egypt Headed?

With the upcoming parliamentary elections fear arises due to the instability of the state. ElBaradei a major figurehead in Egyptian Politics has urged Morsi to not go through with elections saying that it’ll bring chaos and military intervention back to Egypt. There is good reason for this though, in the past few weeks protestors have been gaining traction – the youth want instant change, but Egypt has been driven to the ground over the last 30 years. Everything that happens in Egypt is blamed on Morsi like a train crashing or the loss of profit in taxi drivers. Morsi has taken a job that is in such a bad state it makes Obamas job look easy.

Then there are movements like the black bloc which have gained a lot of traction in Egypt who take an aggressive approach. The problem is circular like stated above the damage has been done over 30 years, but the youth can’t wait that long. This is further exacerbated by the fact that over 30% of people under the age of 30 are unemployed, so you have over a million angry Egyptians that have nothing better to do then to protest. The Egyptian Government I think has responded in the worst kind of way in the past year with Military Curfew in certain provinces, and the blocking of YouTube for over a month. Anything that ties the new regime with the old arises fear, so these actions create a lot of disturbance.



It will be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming months because as they say in the Al Jazeera Blog, Egypt is a train that is headed for a cliff and they’re arguing who the conductor is. The youth may have gotten rid of Mubarak, but the problem is time, and Morsi is running out of it. 



ElBaradei warning of parliamentary elections: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21566270


Al Jazeria (Did the Egypt’s youth movement backfire?) – Interesting watch http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201302062301-0022531

Syria 'Ready" for Talks with Rebels

Syria's almost two year civil war may finally begin to reach the end of the tunnel. Syria's foreign minister stated that the government was ready to hold talks with all parties, armed rebels included, who would like to discuss an end to the conflict. "We are ready for dialogue with all who want dialogue, including those who are carrying arms," said Walid al-Muallem. "We still believe in a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem." There are some that are skeptical to the advances. John Kerry, the new United States Secretary of State, questioned how the country could extend an invitation for the talks while there are still innocent civilians being killed. With the added recent flip flopping of the rebels, it will be quite the achievement to have hold peaceful talks. 

ChapmanR_Prompt 3_artillery image

An image or video that connects to our course. Provide information on where you found the image/clip and how it evokes ideas or questions relevant to our course.

            This is an image of everyday life, still, for many American and Afghan soldiers. This was taken in beginning of the month. This is a shot of the 2-14 Infantry Mountain Division Artillery unit in Paktika, Afghanistan. I think people forget that things like this are still going on. This picture is so important for people to see because it is still happening. Many people now call this place their home, including my ex boyfriend. For the next 12 months this is his front and back yard.

            Like I said before Steve sent me this picture only two weeks ago. Two of his men died here. It is hard for us to see pictures like this because they are too real. The media censors a lot of things and it think it is important for people to see real pictures like this. This relates to our class because I feel like we have such a limited understanding of what is going on in the Middle East. This shows the reality of what is happening right this second in many parts, specifically Afghanistan. The west has many perspectives on the Middle East, good and bad, and this is just one of the perspectives we see.

Private, the most recent movie we watched in class, had some interesting themes throughout. It focuses on a Palestinian family with five children, living between a Palestinian village and an Israeli settlement. In the middle of the night their home is raided by Israeli soldiers, and the family is forced into their living room. The Israeli commander explains that their house is now going to be under their control, the family must spent the night in their living room, while during the day they can roam around their first floor, but the second is entirely off limits. Throughout the story the soldiers were portrayed as these harsh characters, while the family was humanized. You saw a concerned father, a scared mother, heavily affected children and a rebellious older daughter. We were able to see their reactions to what was going on, and saw how the father tried to defend his family, the older son try to get back at the soldiers by planting a grenade, and the children just be children. But the end has a surprising twist, after the oldest daughter goes upstairs she ends up spying on the soldiers, and they too become human. She sees them interact with one another, and explains to her little brother how they're people too, they tease one another, they fight, and one of them even ends up protecting her as she was almost caught. Interestingly enough, the movie was made by an Italian director, so it's not as though there is an inherently biased side. I think one of the results of (if not aims of) the movie is showing that there are real people on both sides of this conflict. Governments can make resolutions and claims, but if we forget about the real people affected by these actions we cannot be successful.

"A Palestinian clearing a tunnel of sewage in Rafah, between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip."

Published: February 20, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/world/middleeast/egypts-floods-smuggling-tunnels-to-gaza-with-sewage.html?ref=egypt

Egyptian Military is trying out a new tactic in hopes to shut down the smuggling coming from within the tunnels that's connecting Sina and Gaza. Resulting

In flooding the tunnels with sewage, "they are determined to shut the tunnels, to block the destabilizing flow of weapons and militants into Sina from Gazass," said by Mr.

Morris, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhoos political army five months ago before they resulted in flooding the tunnels. Egypt has a right to protect their boarders don't get me wrong, I just 

Don't agree with flooding them with sewage, that is plain disgusting and unsanitary. After the tunnel spike last August resulting in 16 deaths of Egyptian soldiers. This is believed to be the reasoning 

For the truce between Hamas and Isreal, ending the week long fight. This caused as ease of restrictions on imports over the boarder.

By loosening the restrictions this lead to crack down on the tunnels resulting in gassing and eventually flooding the tunnels with 

waste water, over two dozen of them were flooded compared to the overall 200-odd tunnels. The Palestines are saying the flooding

Is hurting individual livelihoods, but not the transportation of goods underground. It comes to show when the Egyptains are trying to 

Protect their boarders and their people they are actually hurting others and not stopping the root to the problem.

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Jon Stewart Interview with Afghanistan's First Female Parliament Speaker

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-13-2013/fawzia-koofi

Extended:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/extended-interviews/423839/playlist_tds_extended_fawzia_koofi/423822

Since I wrote my paper on the subject of women's rights in Afghanistan, I found this interesting when I saw it on the T.V. the other day. Fawzia Koofi is the first female to be in the parliament in Afghanistan, and she's also planning to run for president in the next election. She talks briefly about her hardships, and how she got out of that to get to where she is today. She also talks about her hopes for Afghanistan. It's amazing how fast the rights for women have grown after the Taliban fell from power. Even after Hamid Karzai's remarks on how woman should act by ethics a year ago in March that could have set back women's rights by many years if enforced, they grew right past it like nothing happened to get this far.

-Mitchel Hamilton

Innovation in Israel

After our interesting discussion last class, the Pan-Arab movement has been on my mind. I have yet to be convinced that it is a feasible resolution to unify the Middle East, which is so segmented and complex. An article titled, “Israel’s Innovation Formula” published today caught my eye. It contains a few comments that were stated during an interview with Nava Swersky Sofer, the founder and co-chair of NanoIsrael, about Israeli innovation and their military.

            Nava explains that, “We have a cultural heritage of academic excellence. We also are a small country with not many friends around us, and we managed to find the only corner of the Middle East with no natural resources.” in response to Israel’s recipe for success.

The first part about academic excellence seems to be true, as well as the statement about not having many friendly neighbors. The portion about natural resources refers to oil, I am assuming. I mention this because it paints a picture that similarly reflects the perception of an ignorant Westerner, which I found astonishing.

Nava continues to state that, “That leaves you with brainpower and brainpower alone—and the determination to make things work.” This is very interesting as it excluded to note the massive military and financial aid the United States provides.

The second question Nava fielded was, “On how the military helps business culture.” Nava states, “The military takes people at the age they would normally go to university or college in the U.S., and they spend time in compulsory military service. You find yourself doing things at a very tender age that you wouldn't normally do at that age in other countries. People grow up. People develop skill sets that they might never develop.”

This is a fresh perspective. Using the military as a means to facilitate personal growth and foster development before attending higher education.

            Nava concludes her comment saying, “These are people who have learned problem-solving skills, to think quickly on their feet, to work together as teams. Typically, that takes time to learn in life.”

All of these skills are important in being successful in business. It is a very positive way of looking at the role of serving a mandatory term in the military prior to college. Overall, I found this article to be highlight how Israel does not consider themselves to be a part of the Middle East, they are independent, solidifying that the Pan-Arab movement would not successful.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323384604578325923254882416.html

No need for special effects, just the need of meaning.

While discussing the in class film "Private" we briefly went over what type of special effects were used along with what items held a specific meaning. We discussed what the closet that Mariam was hiding in, was representative of a place to hid things, to keep them out of sight. That the closet can be compared to how the family is feeling, being locked away in their own home with out being able to fully stand up for themselves. Also the type of camera work was discussed; such as when the scene didn't cut out, instead the situation was panned throughout, which means that it was a continuous shot. Thus showing the importance of each situation. Also if you notice there were not actual "special effects" used, no explosions, no graphics, no green screen; just all set in one location using what was available in the area. Throughout most films these days there is a great rely on special effects, something to catch the viewers attention; though "Private" was able to do just that just by intensifying the situations with the voice of the characters, and the situations at hand.
The fact of special effects can make or break a movie, whether or not it is used or how it is used throughout the film. "Private" was a film that used no special effects but instead used the characters and the items to tell the story. Each item and situation represented something bigger, each character represented a different viewpoint of the the ongoing horror throughout the time.

Egypt: Amend Draft Demonstrations Law

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/25/egypt-amend-draft-demonstrations-law

Egypt: Amend Draft Demonstrations Law

This article describes a draft law that has gone through the cabinet and been submitted to the Shura council. What this draft would do is effectively limit Egyptians rights in terms of peaceful protest and demonstration. There are several articles in this draft that are especially worrisome that give the police the ability to use excessive force, digression of when to use it, and etc..


"The law also fails to place clear limitations on how the police use force in dispersing protests, in terms of methods used and conditions of escalation, Human Rights Watch said.  Instead of creating a clear obligation on the police in line with international standards to use force only if non-violent means are ineffective and to "exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence,”article 15 merely suggests that the police “should to the extent possible” take measures starting with warnings and then progressing to water canon or tear gas. Article 16 further states that the police may use additional force as stipulated in the penal code and police law, which give the police excessive discretion in the use of live ammunition to disperse protests, Human Rights Watch said. "

This bill would make it almost impossible for citizens to have their voices heard. Hopefully they can slow things down until the election of the house of representatives. 

The Importance of Graphic Design in the Middle East

Could Good Type Design Promote Literacy In The Middle East?

This article discusses how the industries of graphic design and type design have a huge impact on the way Arabic is read. In this particular article, the writer discusses how one type designer has used her skills to try and improve literacy rates in the Middle East. Nadine Chahine is a Lebanese type designer who used an eye-tracking machine to follow the eye movements of people reading Arabic. She had the different people reading three different “styles” of Arabic: Naskh, Traditional and Simplified. Each one is slightly different in the way that the letters can be represented and whether vowels are used or not. Her study found that what was important was the message and it’s context. For instance a traffic sign that needed to be read quickly should use the simplified version so people can read faster. Overall, in the article Chahine says that it is important for a designer to understand the audience and purpose of a piece of literature. The usage of design and understanding literacy in the Middle East seemed to be interconnected issues. Both topics can have a large impact on the other. Chahine highlights this point in the article: “What we need to do is collect design, education, and literacy and look at them as one subject… We need to present material in a way that is visually enticing and encourage people to read to their kids before they go to school and transition into literary Arabic.”  Both parts of this quote show the importance of designing, education and literacy in a country where the literacy rate is very low. It is important for designers, not just in the Middle East, to realize that their job is far bigger than designing. Chahine illustrates this by saying: “We need to acknowledge how designers influence culture and environment…It’s not enough to design logos and books. This is a talent, to be able to communicate to the masses.”
As a graphic design major, I found this article to be interesting because it is sometimes easy to get wrapped up in the way we design. It is important for designers to understand how the audience will read the piece we are designing. If the reader cannot understand or read what we are trying to portray to them, then our design is not effective. This article is a prime example of why designing is so influential.

Afghan Street Kid heads to the Oscars

Here is an image of Fawad Mohammadi who is 14 years old. He spends his days selling maps in Afghanistan. Now he is headed to the Oscars this Sunday because he was found by a director and acted in a film, that ended up being nominated. This reminded me of the class because we are always looking at films either based in the Middle East or that involves a Middle Eastern actor/actress.This movie is also shot all in Afghanistan which make it even more interesting! 

"French cast Mohammadi as one of the main characters in “Buzkashi Boys”, a movie shot entirely in Afghanistan and nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards on February 24.

The film is about two youngsters growing up in Kabul who dream of becoming Buzkashi horseback riders in Afghanistan’s dramatic national sport, which uses a headless goat in place of a ball in a wild version of polo."