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Tag: Middle East
Sanjay Suri the Indian born London-based journalist, editor in chief of IPS News Service, and writer of the book Brideless in Wembley an account of the immigration experiences of Indians in Britain, has published an article on IPS titled ‘Star Rises a Little’ Suri states “Any comparison of energy output from renewables to conventional energy sources must necessarily fail at the start. Renewables are new, they are a beginning, and it’s still too early to weigh such figures and to discount renewables. But despite significant advances in Abu Dhabi and Morocco, and promising commitments by the Saudis, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was reminded it is still doing less than many others. “The total installed capacity (in the MENA region) is less than 1 gigawatt (GW), excluding hydro,” Tareq Emtairah, executive director of the Regional Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency in Egypt, told a meeting. …billed “MENA, A Rising Star in Renewable Energy Investment”. “Between 2002 and 2011 less than six billion dollars was invested,” he said. “Italy alone did that much in 2011.” In the larger pattern, he said, “of 22 Arab countries, 16 have indicative targets. But we do not see stability in commitment to renewable energy.” Emtairah said the pricing and tariff structure was not conducive to deployment of renewable energy. …subsidies for conventional electricity in MENA countries were already costing 50 billion dollars annually. …that brings up the comparative issue again. Why compare to conventional energy sources? Compare to the zero, some say, where renewables were not long back. “Ten years ago, Masdar (the Abu Dhabi company leading investment in renewable energy) did not exist,” said Yousif Al Ali, director of the Shams solar project in Abu Dhabi, the biggest in the region. “…I am optimistic and excited. I believe we will be a rising star. We have put the foundation to be a rising star.”  Inspired by Sanjay Suri, IPS News ow.ly/hnL3e Image source PenguinBooksIndia ow.ly/hnLfs Star Rises a Little (February 16 2013)

Sanjay Suri the Indian born London-based journalist, editor in chief of IPS News Service, and writer of the book Brideless in Wembley an account of the immigration experiences of Indians in Britain, has published an article on IPS titled ‘Star Rises a Little’ Suri states “Any comparison of energy output from renewables to conventional energy sources must necessarily fail at the start. Renewables are new, they are a beginning, and it’s still too early to weigh such figures and to discount renewables. But despite significant advances in Abu Dhabi and Morocco, and promising commitments by the Saudis, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was reminded it is still doing less than many others. “The total installed capacity (in the MENA region) is less than 1 gigawatt (GW), excluding hydro,” Tareq Emtairah, executive director of the Regional Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency in Egypt, told a meeting. …billed “MENA, A Rising Star in Renewable Energy Investment”. “Between 2002 and 2011 less than six billion dollars was invested,” he said. “Italy alone did that much in 2011.” In the larger pattern, he said, “of 22 Arab countries, 16 have indicative targets. But we do not see stability in commitment to renewable energy.” Emtairah said the pricing and tariff structure was not conducive to deployment of renewable energy. …subsidies for conventional electricity in MENA countries were already costing 50 billion dollars annually. …that brings up the comparative issue again. Why compare to conventional energy sources? Compare to the zero, some say, where renewables were not long back. “Ten years ago, Masdar (the Abu Dhabi company leading investment in renewable energy) did not exist,” said Yousif Al Ali, director of the Shams solar project in Abu Dhabi, the biggest in the region. “…I am optimistic and excited. I believe we will be a rising star. We have put the foundation to be a rising star.”

 

Inspired by Sanjay Suri, IPS News ow.ly/hnL3e Image source PenguinBooksIndia ow.ly/hnLfs

More settler than the settlers (December 18 2012) More settler than the settlers (December 18 2012)

Jon Elmer the Canadian writer and photojournalist specializing in the Middle East and Canadian foreign and military policy, has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘”More settler than the settlers”: Canada’s UN policy and Israel’ claiming since Israel’s inception, Canada has been at the forefront in its unwavering support of the Jewish state. Elmer states “Even before Canada officially cast its “no” vote at the United Nations, Palestinians knew which way the Canadian wind would blow. At the gates of Canada’s heavily guarded “embassy” in Ramallah the day before the vote, protesters carried signs of Prime Minister Stephen Harper emblazoned with a dogs snout and the dismissive slogan, “this dog doesn’t hunt”. The next day in New York, Canada joined Israel, the US, the Czech Republic, Panama and four small countries in the Pacific Islands – including Nauru, population 10,000 –  in voting against a General Assembly resolution granting Palestinians Non-Member Observer State status. The final tally was 138 to 9 in favour. Before the vote, analyst Mouin Rabbani aptly characterised the antagonists: “Those openly opposing this vote can easily be counted on the fingers of an amputated hand: Israel; the United States, which is more pro-Israel than Israel itself; Canada, which is more pro-Israel than even the United States.” Indeed, the very next day Canada voted against six more resolutions on Palestinian rights that were adopted, including one on the “peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine” (163-6). Canada opposing resolutions dealing with Palestinian rights is not new, nor is it the effect of a particular government or another. Opposing such resolutions has been a core Canadian diplomatic tactic since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 – by both Liberal and Conservative governments.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/g22OM image source WorkingTV ow.ly/g22I7

Now my play yard to fight by words (September 27 2012) Now my play yard to fight by words (September 27 2012)

Yehia Jaber the Lebanese poet celebrated for the bitter comedic work he often performs like stand-up comedy has been profiled by filmmaker Roxana Vilk on Aljazeera. In the profile titled ‘Yehia Jaber: Laughter is My Exit’, takes us on a journey across Lebanon, and into his past, to explain why this former fighter of Lebanon’s long civil war now battles for change with nothing but words. Vilk states “There is something very enticing about filming poets. Here are these characters, reflective and questioning by nature, living through a truly historic time of change in the Middle East. …when I first met him, it was his laughter that immediately drew me in: it is warm, infectious, and cannot help but gather you up in its path. …he is everything you imagine a poet to be, questioning society and politics around him, and spot on with his sharp, funny observations of life. …Lebanon’s history is complicated. The country has been ravaged by so many wars, and Yehia with his own complex past seemed like the perfect quirky character to guide us. “In this comedy that is Lebanon,” as he sees it, “we are always re-building and re-war-ing.” …[he] become a communist fighter during the civil war and the consequent invasion by Israel. It was the horror and disillusionment of his fighting years that finally led him to pick up his pen. “Now this violence inside me, it will be by words, because there is no blood. Perhaps this is now my play yard to fight by words,” he says.”

 

Inspired by Roxana Vilk ow.ly/dPbDA image source Twitter ow.ly/dPbvX

Dodging the drones: How militants have responded (September 21 2012) Dodging the drones: How militants have responded (September 21 2012)

Aaron Y Zelin the American researcher focusing on Salafi politics, global jihadi activism and reactions to the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa has published an article on Afpak titled ‘Dodging the drones: How militants have responded to the covert US campaign’. Zelin states “Over the past decade U.S. drone strikes have killed between 1,800 and 3,100 people in Pakistan, along with hundreds more in drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia, as a result of the United States’ efforts to combat al-Qaeda and its affiliates. The rise in strikes since the beginning of the Obama administration, and the growing stridency of questions surrounding the legal, moral, and practical efficacy of the program, have led to a lively debate among the commentariat. This debate is indeed important, but it is also crucial to understand how the drone program has affected the jihadis, and how jihadis have deployed the issue of drones in their propaganda. This is a necessary part of gaining a wider understanding of whether the program is a worthwhile endeavor. …In the documents collected by Navy SEALs during their raid of Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan last May, bin Laden nicknamed Pakistan’s tribal areas the “circle of espionage” for the network of spies that helps identify targets and place tracking devices for the strikes. …The fear of infiltrators has created an atmosphere of paranoia within the jihadi movement, and has led many of al-Qaeda’s operatives in the Pakistani tribal areas to move to more urban areas like Karachi. …Bin Laden also suggested that individuals flee to Afghanistan’s Kunar province, where he thought they would be safer from the spy networks that have supported the drone campaign.”

 

Inspired by Afpak http://ow.ly/dEopj image source Washinton Institute ow.ly/dEonO

Is Israel trying to lead US to war (August 30 2012) Is Israel trying to lead US to war (August 30 2012)

Dan Murphy the American Journalist reporting extensively on Southeast Asia and the Middle East has published an article on the CSMonitor titled ‘Is Israel trying to lead the US to war with Iran?’ In the article Murphy states “After months of quiet, the drumbeat out of Israel for a war with Iran has started again. Iran is on the verge of a nuclear bomb, a point of “no return” as some Israeli politicians have it, and squadrons of anonymous sources, credulous reporters, and columnists have been mobilized to get out the word. …Israel’s security establishment is far from united on Iran, with many warning that a preemptive war could do more harm than good to Israel’s interests. Israel and Western powers have been periodically warning that the Islamic Republic of Iran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb since the early 1980s. As far back as 1992, Mr. Netanyahu, then a member of the Israeli parliament, said that Iran was five years away from a bomb and that its nuclear program must be “uprooted by an international front headed by the US.” …But until then the talk of war is best seen as an attempt to sway American politicians and public opinion. Netanyahu and his allies, as a matter of national interest, want to persuade the US to go to war with Iran under certain conditions, well aware that striking a definitive blow against Iran’s nuclear program is beyond their own capacity. …If Israel were to unilaterally attack, the US would almost certainly be drawn into the war. Obama’s advisers know it. Watch for pushback from them on the idea in the days ahead.”

 

Inspired by CSMonitor ow.ly/d7g0M image source Twitter ow.ly/d7fwI

Norman Gary Finkelstein the 58 year old USA political scientist, activist and author has been profiled by Natasha Mozgovaya on the Haaretz blog in reference to his latest book that she describes as surprisingly optimistic, despite its title ‘Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End’. “In June, Norman Finkelstein will mark 30 years of criticizing Israel. He remembers the exact day – the beginning of the Lebanon war, which ended his indifference to the Middle East’s troubles. …he [says he] is “not going to be an Israel-basher anymore.” It’s not that he’s changed his mind on the conflict, he just says blaming Israel has become too easy. “Nobody really defends Israel anymore” …They’ve lost the battle for public opinion, they claim it’s because American Jews know too little – I claim it’s because they know too much about the conflict, and young liberal Jews have difficulty defending the use of cluster bombs in Lebanon or supporting the Israeli settlements. I was bashing Israel in the past because nobody else was exposing its true record. Many people are doing it now, so I switched hats from a critic of Israel to a diplomat who wants to resolve the conflict. I have not changed, but I think the spectrum has moved.”

 

Inspired by Natasha Mozgovaya http://ow.ly/aONIu image source Miguel de Icaza http://ow.ly/aOND0

Michael C Hudson the US Professor of Government and International Relations, and currently serving as the Director of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, states “For an unforgettable ‘Groundhog Day’ experience, there is nothing better than a trip to Palestine and Israel.  We’ve experienced multiple revolutions over the past six decades in information technologies, social mores and political upheavals. The Soviet empire collapsed, democracy advanced around the globe, Asia began to rise and the West began to decline. It is all quite disorienting. But one thing remains constant: The Arab-Israeli conflict. It just grinds on and on. For those of us who have been studying it professionally, there is something oddly reassuring about that. For most others not directly involved, it has just become boring. Too bad, because, like a smoldering peat fire, the Palestine problem helps keep the entire Middle East on the boil… the US is out to lunch as far as this matter is concerned … the Obama administration appears resigned to “muddling through” even though its fecklessness feeds America’s many other problems across the region.”

Inspired by Michael Hudson http://ow.ly/7OEPm image source Georgetown Uni http://ow.ly/7OEF2

Kalle Lasn the 69 year old Estonian Canadian author, activist and co-founder of the anti-consumerist Adbusters magazine has been credited with “branding” the OWS Movement by William Yardley in a New York Times article, “…as uprisings shook the Middle East and much of the world economy struggled, Mr. Lasn … felt the moment was ripe to tap simmering frustration on the American political left. On July 13, he and his colleagues created a new hash tag on Twitter: #OCCUPYWALLSTREET. They made a poster showing a ballerina dancing on the back of the muscular sculptured bull near Wall Street in Manhattan … For Mr. Lasn, they were tools to begin remodeling the “mental environment,” to create a new “meme,” the term coined by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins for a kind of transcendent cultural message. “There’s a number of ways to wage a meme war … I believe that one of the most powerful things of all is aesthetics.”

 

Inspired by William Yardley http://ow.ly/7VnB5 image source freerepublic http://ow.ly/7VogT

Jake Davis the 18 year old hacktivist known as Topiary and Gardenslayer has been arrested by UK police in the isolated Scotland Shetland Islands as a core leader of the hacktivist group Lulz Security (LulzSec). LulzSec are an important sub-group of ‘Anonymous Operations’ in their support for WikLeaks and maintaining internet freedom, and behind various attacks online over a 50 day hacking spree which included government websites throughout the middle east, FBI, CIA, Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, Sony etc. Davis ran the popular LulzSec twitter feed that described himself ‘Topiary’ as a “simple prankster turned swank garden hedge”. The twitter site has been sweeped clean of its feed with only one remaining “You cannot arrest an idea”. Davis has been charged with five offences including unauthorised computer access and conspiracy. Inspired by Michael Santo ow.ly/5XAKu image source Anthony Devlin ow.ly/5XAEk You cannot arrest an idea (August 11 2011)

Jake Davis the 18 year old hacktivist known as Topiary and Gardenslayer has been arrested by UK police in the isolated Scotland Shetland Islands as a core leader of the hacktivist group Lulz Security (LulzSec). LulzSec are an important sub-group of ‘Anonymous Operations’ in their support for WikLeaks and maintaining internet freedom, and behind various attacks online over a 50 day hacking spree which included government websites throughout the middle east, FBI, CIA, Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, Sony etc. Davis ran the popular LulzSec twitter feed that described himself ‘Topiary’ as a “simple prankster turned swank garden hedge”. The twitter site has been sweeped clean of its feed with only one remaining “You cannot arrest an idea”. Davis has been charged with five offences including unauthorised computer access and conspiracy.

 

Inspired by Michael Santo http://ow.ly/5XAKu image source Anthony Devlin http://ow.ly/5XAEk

Warren Minor Christopher the former Secretary of State during the Clinton first presidential term has died at the age of 85 from complications of kidney and bladder cancer. Described as a diplomat’s diplomat for his talent and dedication, President Obama referred to him as a "resolute pursuer of peace" for his work in the Middle East and the Balkans.  He is renowned for negotiating a settlement in 1980 to the Iran hostage crisis on the eve of Reagan’s presidential win, and as the force behind the US eventual confrontation to the ethnic violence in the Balkans and Rwanda. Christopher shunned publicity and avoided the spotlight even while being in high profile positions throughout his career, allowing his underlings to take the limelight in his place. Inspired by Jamie Klatell ow.ly/4kwgh image source Wikipedia http://ow.ly/4kwfB Preventer of crises than as a crisis manager (March 26 2011)

Warren Minor Christopher the former Secretary of State during the Clinton first presidential term has died at the age of 85 from complications of kidney and bladder cancer. Described as a diplomat’s diplomat for his talent and dedication, President Obama referred to him as a “resolute pursuer of peace” for his work in the Middle East and the Balkans.  He is renowned for negotiating a settlement in 1980 to the Iran hostage crisis on the eve of Reagan’s presidential win, and as the force behind the US eventual confrontation to the ethnic violence in the Balkans and Rwanda. Christopher shunned publicity and avoided the spotlight even while being in high profile positions throughout his career, allowing his underlings to take the limelight in his place.

 

Inspired by Jamie Klatell ow.ly/4kwgh image source Wikipedia http://ow.ly/4kwfB

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