David Cameron flew to the middle east on November 5 for a three day trip, aiming to promote British businesses. The prime minister visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to try and showcase the NHS, boost British defence exports to the area and also discuss the unrest to the region Iran is causing.

The most talked about aspect of the trip, however, was his aim to sell weapons to both countries. If successful, his trip could provide a vital boost to the UK’s economy and defence industry, which is worth 5.4 billion in annual exports.

Last year, exports to the Gulf Coast were up by 18% and the government is attempting to continue this trend. Mr Cameron is hoping to sell as many as 100 Typhoon jets during his trip, according to the Daily Telegraph, and this deal could be exactly what BAE need after their failed merger with EADS.

However, the visit has caused concern with human rights groups. Amnesty International said David Cameron shouldn’t be attempting to sell weapons to any countries with such questionable human rights. Amnesty are also doubtful that any assurance either country give to the UK is credible saying “assurances often don’t amount to much.” To prove how likely it is that these weapons will be used to commit human rights abuses, Amnesty highlighted the Saudi Arabian air force operations in North Yemen in 2009, where they killed hundreds/thousands of civilians. Despite calls from Amnesty International, no proper investigation took place into the events. It is likely to have been the UK supplied weaponry that were used in these attacks.

The Human Rights Watch, in their world report 2011, said how “Human rights conditions remain poor in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah has not fulfilled several specific reform promises.” The European parliament is also critical, releasing a resolution concerning the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates. In the resolution the European Parliament say how it “expresses great concern about assaults, repression and intimidation against human rights defenders, political activists and civil society actors” and goes on to say “the evidence indicates that national security is the pretext for a crackdown on peaceful activism designed to stifle calls for constitutional reform and reform on human rights issues”

In the face of such evidence, detailing the lack of human rights in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates one has to wonder why the UK are still attempting to sell weapons and jets to both countries.

The gorvernment claims that it is reducing the risk of arms exports being used for human rights abuses. It is an advocate of the Arms Trade Treaty, that would ensure that no trade in weapons would be allowed if there was any risk they would be used in violations of international human rights.

Its actions belie this though. The Foreign and Commonwealth office lists Saudi Arabia as a cause for concern in its 2011 report. The UK trade & Investment website meanwhile makes no mention of human rights abuses instead mentioning how Saudi Arabia has been “Designated a ‘High Growth Market’ by UK Trade & Investment”

If the UK was truly committed to protecting human rights, if it was committed to creating and following an international Arms Trade Treaty as it says it is, then it would not sell weapons to countries with poor human rights and a history of using UK weapons to repress or kill citizens. Instead it seems to be focusing more on reducing unrest in the middle east and boosting its economy.

Image Courtesy : The Prime Minister’s Office

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Etihad airway, the national airlines of United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced its plans to have direct, daily nonstop flights from Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, to São Paulo, Brazil starting in June 2013.

São Paulo would be the first South American Destination in Etihad’s list; the new route would be to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, the main international airport in the city.

According to Business Traveler websites, Mr. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and CEO, said “Brazil is a logical next step for us and will mark the sixth continent we serve and our coming of age as a truly global airline.”

Etihad airlines would be the second UAE airline to have direct flights from the country to a Brazilian city; Emirates airlines was the first.

In 2014, Brazil will be the hosting country of the FIFA World Cup. UAE in general, and especially Abu Dhabi, will be the main hub for the football fans and sports journalists from Asia and the Middle East looking for direct flights to Brazil.

Also, São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport would be a great transit point for the connecting traveler to other destinations in Brazil and other Latin American Countries. The airport is connected to all South American airports directly by different airlines.

Abu Dhabi will be a major connecting point to their original homeland for the large Arab community in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Most Arabs in Brazil are originally from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Additionally, it will ease the travel for students from Middle Eastern and Asian countries between Brazil and their countries for holidays and after graduation. Brazil is considered an attractive education spot for the scholar who is looking for high quality education with low tuition fees and living costs.

The new flights between the two cities will give a push to the growing business between the two countries. Brazil is considered to be the 4th largest trading partner to the UAE, with trade business valued about 2.85 billion US dollars. Officials in the two countries are hoping to expand the trade relation to 10 billion US dollars in the next 5 years.

According to the National, the official UAE English newspaper, Mr. João de Mendonça Lima Neto, the Brazilian ambassador to UAE, stated “We are witnessing significant growth in the bilateral relations between Brazil and the UAE and we are certain that Etihad Airways flights will create new opportunities for government, trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.”

Image Courtesy of   TBSteve

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In a continued attack against the education of women in Afghanistan, 160 female students were poisoned Tuesday at a school in the north-eastern province of Takhar. The second wave of violence in only a week’s time, the incident follows a similar pattern as the first, with police suspecting the classroom had been sprayed with a toxic material before the girls arrived to take their lessons.

Aged 10 to 20, the students reportedly smelled a strange odor upon entering the room, before experiencing symptoms such as headaches and dizziness, with many vomiting before losing consciousness. All were immediately taken to the hospital; most were discharged after only a few hours.

While none of the victims are in critical condition from the poisoning, there remains the obvious potential for emotional trauma after the incident – which is undoubtedly the true goal of this vicious assault. Extremists in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, have long opposed the many attempts to educate women in the country.

From throwing acid in the faces of girls on their way to school, to setting off bombs near institutions that allow education for both sexes, it has never been a secret how these groups feel about the women of their country garnering knowledge.  One of the major goals of their campaign is to keep women ignorant, and what better way is there to do so than to emotionally scar girls from attempting to go to school again? From making these children fear the concept of it?

While no one has formally claimed responsibility for the poisoning of the schools, many have already pronounced the Taliban as the guilty party due to their history of violence and threats against schools and women. The militant group, however, denies any culpability in the incident, instead going so far as to claim that NATO and the United States are attempting to frame them for the heinous act.

Whether the Taliban was involved or not, the poisonings only serve to further increase concern about a potential comeback for the insurgents in the government, after the Western states agreed to pull their military forces out of the country by the year 2014.

The Taliban held a strong reign on Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when U.S troops invaded to try and foster democracy within the nation.  Prior to U.S intervention, there was a ban on education for women, which many believe will come back into effect if the Taliban find themselves in a position to return to power.

Image Courtesy of   Lizette Potgieter / Shutterstock.com

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The women of Saudi Arabia may have a chance of partaking in the London 2012 Olympics. Saudi Arabia is the last country to confirm the participation of  women in the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has met with the Saudi Olympic officials and said in a statement that it was “confident that Saudi Arabia is working to include women athletes and officials at the Olympic Games in London.”

Qatar, Brunei, and Saudi Arabia’s Olympic team only consisted of all-male teams in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Progress has been made, and the women of Qatar and Brunei are planning to compete this year. “Saudi Arabia is the last to hold out, denying women and girls the ability to take part in sports,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“The clock is running out for Saudi women to join the games and for the international community to insist that the Saudi government allow women to participate.”

The Olympic Charter’s 6^th Fundamental Principle of Olympism has been considered violated by a statement made by Prince Nawwaf al-Faisal, the Saudi sports minister and head of the Saudi National Olympic Committee. He stated, “Female sports activity has not existed in the kingdom, and there is no move thereto in this regard. At present, we are not embracing any female Saudi participation in the Olympics.” The Human Rights Watch has made it clear that discrimination under the means of gender is not in consensus with the Olympic movement.

Women taking part in a sport outside of the Olympics is an issue in the country itself. The government bans Saudi girls from physical education classes in state schools. Women are unable to have access to sports facilities, and private gyms created by women have been shutdown because of allegations that they were unlicensed.

Discrimination among the women of Saudi Arabia is not unfamiliar in their own cultural day-to-day lives. Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most oppressed Arab countries. Saudi Arabia is ruled by King Fahd Bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud and is a dynastic monarchy. Patrolling the country are secular security forces and the Mutawwa’in, the religious police.

The government allows the forces to treat citizens as they choose, resulting in torturous treatment. Democracy does not exist in the country, and the people have no voice in government. Freedom of religion is exempt, and citizens have to be Muslim. Citizens of America viewing what other countries endure on a daily basis would appreciate the luxury of freedom.

Image Courtesy of  fstockfoto / Shutterstock.com

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San Francisco, U.S.A. - In 2010, the self-immolation of a produce vendor in Tunisia catalyzed a series of massive democratic revolutions and uprisings throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

These events would come to be known as the Arab Spring. In some countries, strongmen who had held power for decades collapsed under the force of youthful popular movements. In others, despots violently and mercilessly clamped down on demonstrators.

Now That We Have Tasted Hope  is a collaboration between San Francisco–based publishers McSweeney’s and Byliner Inc. The substantial e-book collects the most important primary source documents from those historic uprisings, telling the story of the Arab Spring from the perspective of those who lived it—men and women, young and old, from all sectors of society: musicians, poets, writers, political activists, actors, labor unionists, journalists, workers, and professionals.

Voices from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria provide a comprehensive and captivating narrative of the momentous events of last year. From the harrowing accounts of tortured protesters to the hollow appeals of crumbling regimes and the triumphant songs of revolutionaries, these documents catalog the events of the Arab Spring in all its complexity and drama. They will remain fresh and urgent for a long time to come.

Now That We Have Tasted Hope is edited by Daniel Gumbiner, the associate director of the Zeitoun Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the continued rebuilding and social advancement of New Orleans and to the promotion of understanding between people of disparate faiths around the world.

The foreword is written by Diana Abouali, an assistant professor at Dartmouth College, and the introduction is by Elliott Colla, coeditor of the e-magazine Jadaliyya and author of Conflicted Antiquities: Egyptology, Egyptomania, and Egyptian Modernity.

Image Courtesy of   MOHPhoto / Shutterstock.com

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Some skin lotions and antiseptic soaps claim to clean and lighten skin while removing freckles and wrinkles. Instead, these illegally imported cosmetic products make consumers ill from exposure to high levels of mercury.

The U.S. Government is warning consumers about these products after dozens of people in at least seven states were diagnosed with mercury poisoning. Victims include a woman in California who was hospitalized after using an unlabeled skin lotion for three years. Several members of her family also had high levels of mercury in their bodies, even though they didn’t use the lotion.

“Exposure to mercury can damage your kidneys and nervous system. It also interferes with brain development in unborn babies and very young children,” said Gloria Sanchez-Contreras, a spokesperson for the Food and Drug Administration.

Immigrants Are at High Risk

The FDA has identified dozens of products that contain high levels of mercury, and has taken steps to deny shipments of these products into the United States. However, many of these lotions and soaps are brought into the country by mail or by international travelers. Once here, they often end up on store shelves that cater to immigrants, including Hispanics, Asians, Africans and people from the Middle East.

People who buy these products are not putting only their own health at risk, small children can also be exposed to mercury by breathing in the vapors of a skin lotion or by touching someone who has used the cream and then putting their fingers in their mouth.

“That’s why it’s so important for consumers and sellers to know about the dangers of possible mercury poisoning associated with the use of or exposure to these skin products,” said Sanchez-Contreras.

The FDA prohibits the use of mercury in skin lotions and cosmetic soaps manufactured abroad. To avoid skin lightening and anti-aging products tainted with mercury.

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Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a new nonstop flying route from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai. The airline takes its name from an Arabic word that literally means Union, which refers to the seven emirates that makes UAE.

Etihad’s new flight route is to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which is the primary international airport serving Shanghai city. The airline has planned to operate five weekly flights by Airbus A330-300 starting April 15, 2012. Shanghai is the third destination of Etihad airways in China after Beijing and Chengdu.

The outbound flight to Shanghai number EY862, while the inbound flight to Abu Dhabi number is EY867. The EY refers to The International Air Transport Association (IATA) code of Etihad airways.

The EY 862 is scheduled to depart from Abu Dhabi international airport at 10:10 local time and arrive in Shanghai at 21:45 local time on all days except Mondays and Fridays. The flying time of the EY 862 is 7 hours and 35 minutes.

The EY867 is scheduled to depart from Shanghai Pudong international Airport at 00:20 local time and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 06:30 local time on all days except Tuesdays and Saturdays. The flying time of the EY867 is 10 hours and 10 minutes.

The difference between the duration of inbound and outbound flights is due to factors such as wind direction and the earth’s eastbound rotation. When a plane travels from east to west it takes longer than if it was flying in the other direction.

By adding Shanghai to Etihad’s list of destinations, new options have been created for travelers from Europe and the USA. Also, it bolsters tourism in the UAE and especially to Abu Dhabi city. Near Abu Dhabi international airport there are a lot of tourist attractions such as Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island and Saadyat Island.

Also it is expected to add value to the booming trade between Middle East and China which hit 190 billion USD in 2010 according to the Chinese commerce ministry.

Lastly, the newly opened route is expected to ease the traveling of Chinese employees in the UAE to their homeland. Many Chinese citizens work in one of the 2000 Chinese firms in the UAE. Most of these firms work in the booming construction field.

Earlier in 2004, the Dubai-based airline Emirates was the first UAE originated airline to operate direct flights to Shanghai. Right now, the Emirates airline has three weekly flights by Airbus A380, the biggest passenger plane in the world.

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Brussels, 27 February 2012. The Council adopted the following conclusions:

“1. The EU welcomes the conduct of elections to both the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council in Egypt and congratulates the candidates and parties that took part in the democratic process. The EU supports Egypt’s transition towards a democratic, pluralist and stable country. The holding of free and fair elections is a first and crucial step in this regard.

2. The EU welcomes the inauguration of a new Parliament by the end of February. The newly elected Parliament will face many serious challenges, including in meeting the need for progress in democratic reform, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia freedom of expression and assembly. The EU encourages an inclusive and constructive approach in tackling them.

3. The EU looks forward to the appointment of the Constitutional Committee responsible for the drafting of a new Constitution reflecting a democratic Egypt, protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the important role of women. The EU emphasises the importance of an inclusive and transparent drafting process, representative of all elements of the Egyptian society, including persons belonging to minorities.

4. The EU underlines the importance of transfer of power to civilian rule as soon as possible and encourages the authorities to establish a definitive timetable for the holding of Presidential elections. The EU reiterates its offer of electoral support. In the meantime, the interim authorities should ensure the protection of civilians in full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and ensure early completion of investigations into recent violence, including against religious communities, as well as adequate follow-up of the recommendations following from these investigations.

5. The EU reiterates its deep concern with regard to restrictions on civil society organisations in Egypt. While fully respecting the independence of the judicial system in Egypt, the EU intends to monitor closely the ongoing legal proceedings against NGO staff and underlines expectations regarding due process.

Egyptian civil society has played and continues to play a crucial role in the transition. An active and independent NGO community is fundamental in any democratic society. EU’s support to civil society is a key component of the revised European Neighbourhood Policy, which is based on mutual accountability and a shared commitment to the universal values of human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law.

Therefore, the EU calls upon the Egyptian authorities to do everything possible to resolve the current situation in a timely and constructive manner. The EU underlines the importance of the adoption of a new law that would be consistent with Egypt’s international obligations.

6. The EU expresses its deep concern regarding the deterioration of economic situation in Egypt and conveys its continued support, including in the framework of the Deauville Partnership and of the revised European Neighbourhood Policy. It underlines the importance for Egypt to engage in the necessary social and economic reforms and to allow the effective use of available international assistance.

7. Recalling the principles and objectives set out in the Council Conclusions of 20 June 2011, and its commitment to supporting democratic reform in its neighbourhood, the EU has outlined an agenda of available assistance to Egypt, including financial support, further integration of markets and launching of a dialogue on migration, mobility and security.

The EU remains committed to working with the new Egypt, its new democratic institutions and eventual government in this regard. Egypt remains a key partner in the region sharing the goal of building stability, peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean and Middle East region.”

Souce: European Council

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahmedcarlos/

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Imagine a married man with two kids, and a great executive position in a multi-national company. Because of his position he makes excellent money that allows his wife to shop at her pleasure, but also makes his family a target for threats and kidnapping. He uses his money to hire security guards to protect his family, and to pay for a high-end alarm system for his home.

Now imagine that this man loses his job, but the threats to his family persist. He cannot afford both the shopping of his wife and the security guards for his family. To reduce expenses, he gets rid of the guards, and the alarm system, but keeps giving his wife money to shop for shoes as she wishes.

Doesn’t that scenario seem a bit odd? Wouldn’t it be more responsible to cut the shopping and continue to pay for the needed security of the man’s family?

The scenario painted above is the exact one facing the U.S. regarding the security and defense of the country. In the real world, President Obama is the man, and his family is the United States population. His decision last month to reduce the size and scope of the military is just like the man’s decision to get rid of security guards that are protecting his family from kidnapping, to save money.

The United States is facing a fiscal crisis that has the potential to send the country into an economic tailspin. With a national debt of 16 trillion dollars, and yearly spending at a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit, President Obama knows that cuts need to be made in spending.  Following in the grand tradition of liberal Democrats before him, he is trying to solve the problem by raising tax rates, and of course going after defense spending. This is wrong-headed, dangerous, and short sighted.

In his defense, President Obama, is not doing anything that other politicians have not done. Long before Obama stepped onto the scene, President Herbert Walker Bush began cutting troop levels. Clinton followed suit with the closing of numerous bases and offering what he termed, a “peace dividend.” Truth be told, politicians have been cutting the military first, ever since the time of Rome and Carthage.  It is an easy foil, but always has consequences that are bad.

The problem is that no one, politicians or generals, are any good at predicting the future of military conflicts. During the Korean War, it was determined that since we had long-range missiles on our fighter jets, we didn’t need guns on them or needed to bother teaching dog fighting (aerial combat) skills. The result? U.S. planes were getting shot out of the sky left and right. Forcing the air force to spend money to retro fit the planes with guns, and bringing fighter pilots out of retirement to teach dog fighting.

At the start of the Iraq war, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld determined that the U.S. would use a lean and mean war effort. The result was huge casualties, because troops were spread thin, and fatigued from multiple tours that came because of the troop reductions that Bush and Clinton made in the 1990’s.

Now, President Obama is doing the same thing. Cutting troops, reducing spending on hardware like fighters and aircraft carriers. Instead, they will use more drones, and a focus on elite forces like the Seals, and Special Forces. The rationale being that there will be no large-scale wars in the future.

Aside from the fact they cannot know that, even current conditions could point to that view being totally wrong. Drone air attacks have been very successful, but that’s partly due to the desert environment of the Middle East. Drones are practically useless in the jungles of Southeast Asia, or South America. Drones will not be able to see through the canopy of jungle trees, so they cannot be fully utilized as though they are in Afghanistan, or Iraq.

China is continuing to build up its military—new fighters, ships, drones– Russia is a sleeping bear that reared its ugly head two years ago in Georgia, and who knows what will happen in the middle east between the Muslim world and Israel. All around the globe there are warm spots of conflict, a spark away from flaring into hot spots of war and strife.

Lastly, relying on elite forces ignores the fact that the people in them take a long time to train, and do need breaks in deployment. Have we not learned that lesson from the wars of the last ten years? By reducing the force numbers,—already too low—we hamper our ability to handle conflict in different locations.

It’s not a stretch to see us mired in the Middle East again, while simultaneously dealing with terrorists in African, Asia, and problems in South America. Of course, it’s easy to say, “We just don’t need to get involved so much.’ But who says we have a choice? We were not in some protracted war before 9/11, but they attacked us anyway.

The reality is that we increase our troops, and spend money on military hardware, not for what happens three years from now, but what happens 10, 15, or 20 years from now. The hardware we used in the first Iraq war was developed during the Reagan years. President Obama, and our military leaders have no clue about what will happen in the next 10 years. They can guess, but every time they decisions like this in the past, they have been wrong. So it is better to over prepare, and under utilize, rather than be under prepared and have to scramble to catch up.

The world is a complicated and dangerous place. A weak America makes it more dangerous, not less. Especially for American citizens that may live or die based on the decisions our leaders are making today. If we cut the military, the country, and indeed some places in the world, shall end up paying the price. A price far higher in blood and tears than the price of what we’re spending on the military now.

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Conservative Muslims shouted anti-Semitic slogans when Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Gaza government, arrived in Tunisia. The leader of the Tunisian Islamic party chastised them for their discrimination, which had shocked the Jewish community in the area. Tunisia is among the more secular Arab countries, and the remarks made by the group of Muslims distressed and mortified the government.

Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda party which is at the head of the government, said the Jews of Tunisia are “full citizens with equal rights and duties.” He said in a statement, “Ennahda condemns these slogans which do not represent Islam’s spirit or teachings and considers those who raised them as a marginal group.”

Haniyeh was greeted by Salafists chanting, “Kill the Jews!” and “Crush the Jews!” when he arrived at the Tunis Airport, according to online videos of the incident. The Salafists are conservative Muslims who have been very vocal in the country as of late.

Roger Bismuth, the president of Tunisia’s Jewish community stated, “It is worse than bad, it is catastrophic for Tunisia — particularly in regard to the repercussions that these attitudes provoke abroad.” Ghannouchi and Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali met with him on Monday and assured him they would deal with this the state of affairs and might even address the nation about it.

Perez Trabelsi, the head of the Jewish community on Djerba, the island where most of the Jewish community resides, said the chants were “unreasonable” and that the government “could not let it pass.”

After decades of oppression, the elected Ennahda party wants to prove their belief in the universal rights and freedoms of the Tunisian people. They have been embarrassed by the conservative Muslim groups that appeared after President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown last year.

The groups have staged sit-ins over women university students not being allowed to wear face veils to class and have protested over other various moral issues. When the Ennahda party lagged in reproaching them, it received criticism from the already suspicious liberal groups who are unsure of the Islamist party.

“I think if Ennahda doesn’t come up with some way of being unequivocal in its rejection of some of these ideas and tactics, it really does risk damaging its credibility with some of its coalition partners, progressive voters, and international donors,” said Chris Alexander, an expert on Tunisia from North Carolina’s Davidson College. “I think a lot of people will see that hesitancy as a mark of their true intentions.”

Samuel Perry / Shutterstock.com

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As talks in Amman, Jordan continue, Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East urges Israel and the Palestinian Authority to summon historic political courage and take the steps that are necessary to return to direct peace talks and the successful negotiation of a final status peace agreement.  On the Israeli side, this would include freezing settlement construction on the West Bank.

“The status quo is not neutral,” according to Rev. Dr. Peter A. Pettit, of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA and Fair Witness Executive Committee member.  “It eats away at the dignity and hope that must ground a peace agreement.  Therefore, we strongly urge Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to refrain from continued settlement building.

We also strongly urge Palestinian President Abbas to engage in direct peace talks without pre-conditions, as the Quartet has proposed, and Israel has agreed.  That is the only way to reach a final status agreement and peace.”

“Both Palestinians and Israelis continue to suffer while their respective leadership appears locked in a ‘lose-lose’ pattern of obstinacy,” lamented Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College and Fair Witness Executive Committee member.   Rev. Chilton added that “continued Israeli settlement building creates facts on the ground while peace talks are delayed.

However, the Palestinian refusal to engage in direct negotiations without a settlement freeze is equally unhelpful.  The way to stop settlement building is to create a mutually agreed upon border.  And that cannot happen until the parties sit down and negotiate.”

“As the New Year begins, we bring the message of peace and goodwill to all people,” says Rev. Pettit.  “We pray especially that peace will finally come to the people of Palestine and Israel.”

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Hummus is the perfect food. What can best these levels of protein and fiber? Hardly any carbs? No meat? Wait, it only costs one dollar to make a dozen servings? It takes minutes to make? You do not have to use an oven or microwave? Endless customizable options? Jesus ate it?

Hummus is an ancient food eaten during biblical times. Incorporating the garbanzo bean (chickpea), ground sesame seeds, and Mesopotamian spices, the dish has been eaten for eons. While donning a robe and manipulating a mortar and pestle is the traditional, more cathartic method of grounding the elements together, a food processor will be the only tool really needed to enjoy this exotic, yet simple dish.

The mistake of using a single large can of chickpeas is an error most first-timers will make. Go for dry. Although it is more instantly gratifying to open into a can of soft beans floating amidst a salty brine, go for dry. If using canned, the final hummus product will be done in no less than ten minutes. Grow wise and realize that dry is the advantageous option.

A standard bag of garbanzo beans will yield four batches of delicious hummus per preparation. This annihilates the canned variety, which yields only one-per-can. Bag versus canned is not even a close contest. Bagged chickpeas yield over half your daily fiber serving. It is good to stay regular. Canned beans offer you only 20 percent of colon-cleansing benefits. Both varieties should pack between 7-8g of protein.

The instructions for making hummus are as follows:

Take a bag of dry chickpeas, and rinse and drain 1.5 dry cups worth.

Look out for stones and dark brown rejects.

Introduce into slow cooker along with 4 cups water. (There is no science to this ratio, as long as the chickpeas come out of the cooker brown and soft. Jesus and Moses did not need measurements and technology to enjoy this nutritious dish.)

Proceed to heat them in a slow cooker overnight on low for 8 hours.
Douse two red peppers with olive oil and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes until they start burning.
Flip up and over once or twice while they cook.
Prepare the rest of the elements.

Gather several garlic cloves and procure bottles of lemon juice, tahini (sesame-seed paste), cumin powder, and pita breads.

Remove the peppers and place in a closed container, allowing the steam to break the outer skin down. Using the blender as the receptacle is ideal.

Rinse in cold water to allow easier handling.                                                                                                                                                                             Peel away the pepper skin, then rip off the stem to subtract the inner membrane containing seeds. Leave seeds in if you want a spicy hummus.

Remove as much water from the peppers as possible. Use a “salad-spinner” if feeling fancy.
Now you are ready for the genesis of a hummus batch.

Throw the peppers into the blender along with 2 to 5 garlic cloves, 3 tbs. tahini (sesame-seed paste), liberal splashes of lemon juice, and 1-2 tbs. cumin powder.

Blend this together before adding chickpeas.                                                                                                                                                                                       Once it is broken down and liquid, start adding beans. You may need a tool to fold the mixture around if blender blade ceases effectiveness.

If the mixture becomes too thick, and you want to add viscosity or want hummus-soup, introduce some olive oil.

Upon full assimilation, and when no full beans can be seen, transfer hummus into a storage device to be chilled.
The dish can be enjoyed cold or warm.

Pita is the most authentic device to transfer hummus from storage to mouth/body. Markets provide packs of ten for close to an American dollar. Heat one briefly in the oven until malleable. Now sit cross-legged in desert sands beside a camel to dip and consume whilst drinking mint tea.

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According to award-winning novelist and relative of Columbine shooting victim, Daniel Rohrbough, there is a direct link to school shootings and Al-Qaeda. “When I researched school shootings, more and more evidence pointed to how the Internet is being used to infiltrate, deceive, and recruit boys into the dark world of terrorism,” says Linda Rohrbough.

Formerly a computer book author, Rohrbough discovered a link between school shootings and Al-Qaeda while searching for answers after her nephew was gunned down at Columbine. “My first inkling of the connection to Al-Qaeda was when I attended the Columbine memorial service. I recognized General Colin Powell at the center of the platform in full military dress. He was never mentioned or introduced, and he never spoke. He was just there.”

Powell is an expert on the Middle East, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and credited for successful execution of Operation Desert Storm, which expelled the Iraqi army from Kuwait.

Further reports unveiled the Columbine shooters bragged theirs would be the first of many shootings. Also, the teenage shooters low-level formatted the hard disk drives of their computers before heading out to kill. Rohrbough wanted to know, “How could they know other shootings would follow? And why erase their hard disk drives? What were they trying to hide?”

Fortunately, in two cases, the authorities got to computers before the low-level format was complete. First, in a school shooting in Paris, and second, when a teenager in Florida flew his dad’s plane into a building. In both cases, e-mails traced back to Al-Qaeda operatives. Most recently, three teens in Louisiana were caught before shooting and are being held on conspiracy to commit terrorism charges.

Rohrbough’s extensive research resulted in her new novel, The Prophetess One: At Risk, published on April 20th, 2011, the 12th anniversary of the Columbine shooting.

Image Courtesy of  Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com

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With 2011 coming to an end, Egypt is now left with the remains of a revolution that delivered mixed results. Like several Middle Eastern countries, Egypt has been through a lot, with the loss of many innocent lives and the lack of a stable government.

According to Egypt’s Ministry of Health, the death toll from the Qasr al-Aini street clashes between protesters and the military on December 22 left, at least, 17 dead. Reports emerged stating that family members of those killed were forced by the military and police to sign death certificates that falsified the true cause of death at the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo. Women protesters were also beaten and harassed by Cairo police recently.

“Tantawi stripped your women naked. Come join us!” the crowd chanted to passers-by, referring to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military council. “The daughters of Egypt are a red line,” they chanted.

In response, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued the following statement: “We express a strong regret to the great women of Egypt over transgressions that occurred during recent incidents in the protests outside the parliament and cabinet.”

Ever since January 25, the only constant has been the rising number of deaths. Protesters are filled with anger and grief that vengeance holds a free rein in the name of liberty, in such a way that may lead the best of men to misinterpret and misapply the fairest of laws that may eventually threaten the acquisition of liberty.

Protester Islam Mohammed, 22, said a friend, Shehab Abdullah, died from a live bullet fired by police.“I will avenge his death. We all will,” he said. “We are defending Tahrir square. If we sleep, police will attack us.”

However, Egyptian heroes did not die in vain. The first phase of elections for the People’s Assembly and Shura Council was launched on November 28 and will end on March 11 of next year. Egyptian people hope that this progress will end the transitional period and act as a stepping stone towards democracy. For the first time in Egypt’s history, citizens living abroad are given the right to vote through embassies and consulates. Egyptians hope that the election results will actually reflect the will of the people.

Nonetheless, the country still faces many questions. Will the elected Parliament take control of the transitional government? Will the drafting of the new constitution be conducted by the elected parliament or ruling military council? Will Egypt’s falling economy rise again?

Paul Vinten / Shutterstock.com

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Since the beginning of the year, most of the Islamic world has been in uproar over the demand for recognition of people’s rights and an end to the autocratic regimes set up in the vast majority of these countries. While some revolutions have been successful — for instance, the example of Egypt and most recently the fall of Libya’s Gadaffi — others have not been able to enjoy the liberties brought by the Arab Spring revolutions.

Bahrain has often been regarded as a modern and reasonable country, even though recent reports claim riot police targeted Shiite Muslim protesters and caused the death of a 14-year-old boy.

The demands of the Bahrainis for a more democratic and equalitarian state were never met and protesters were soon detained. Shiites account for more than 70% of the population but are ruled by a Sunni minority, being treated as second-class citizens and often ostracized. Most of the activists in this battle have turned to social media websites to fight for their freedom.

Youtube and other video-sharing websites are also being used as a means to raise awareness concerning the anti-government movement and their human rights rallies. Facebook has proved to be one of the strongest weapons against the establishment. It is being used by protesters as an information outlet to the rest of the world, as well as a means to gather activists.

The page TrueRoyalDemocracy devotes itself to help organize pro-democracy demonstrations and expose police brutality. However, police and government officials have also resorted to social media in order to track down and identify protesters, having arrested and tortured them in the past.

According to Nancy Messieh, Middle East editor at The Next Web, demonstrators are aware of the danger and risks of posting anti-government messages online, but continue to do so in the hopes of eventually reaching their goal: “Even if you look at the extent that people will go to, away from social media, like what we are seeing in Syria at the moment, they know the consequences, they know what they’re getting themselves into and they’re still willing to do it, and I think even with social media it is exactly the same thing.

If this is a tool that they can use, they’re going to use it, despite the risks.” Social media platforms were a monumental tool for the change in Egypt, and the same could happen in Bahrain. In light of recent events, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has vowed to investigate recent killings in Bahrain and develop reform, in an attempt to meet the demands Bahrainis have called for.

Could this be a sign of change to come or is it merely a tactic to silence the ever-growing voice of the opposition? We might know soon enough.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mahmood/

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Israel has been having its fair share of domestic and international problems recently. Tel-Aviv has become the latest staging ground for large-scale demonstrations which protesters rallying against economic stagnation and dwindling opportunities for Israelis.

The social protest movement boasted an estimated 500,000 people who marched down Rothschild Boulevard where a massive tent has been put up to initially demonstrate against rising housing prices. The protests have been fueled by dissatisfaction with the direction of the Israeli economy – a historically state-run enterprise that has been increasingly privatized in recent years.

The latest rally in Tel-Aviv on September fell short of its advertised goal of one million people. Protests in other cities added to the numbers with tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets around the country, according to local reports.

Israeli Arabs, a large number of whom live below the poverty level, have joined the demonstrations, lending credence to the assertion that the whole of the Israeli population is represented and not just the elites or upper/middle classes. A row with Turkey has also threatened to boil over after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to apologize for last year’s military action aboard the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara.

A recently released UN report has established that Israeli commandos used unreasonable force during the raid of the ship. Netanyahu regretted the loss of life but refused to apologize, saying that Israel would unconditionally defend its soldiers “in every forum.” In response, Turkey expelled its Israeli ambassador, froze all military agreements and pacts with Israel and threatened legal action against the country.

Relations between Israel’s right-wing coalition lead by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a champion of the Palestinian cause, have never been robust but seems likely to become even icier in the future.

The Palestinian Authority is also gearing up for an imminent bid for final status – effectively statehood – as the United Nations Generally Assembly reconvenes. Although the Obama administration has promised to exercise the United State’s veto power if the measure were to come before the Security Council, the bid comes at a bad time for Israel internationally.

It threatens to highlight the state’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories, as well as alleged human rights violations there. These economic, social, and international travails are making the way forward seem even hazier for Israel.

In the past year, both the botched raid on the aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip and the government’s defiant refusal to halt further construction of settlements in occupied territory, have skewed the image of Israel to the world — especially in conjunction with a recent ceasefire-violating missile strike in Gaza. Israel seems to have alienated itself from its allies and the international community at large.

Mikhail Levit / Shutterstock.com

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Turkey has proposed its new vision for a new system in the Middle East based on an alliance with Egypt, at a time when the Arab Spring continues to stir revolutions and popular uprisings against various rulers of the region.

According to The Washington Post, this proposition was presented by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davut Oglu. Oglu’s proposal came after weeks of deteriorating and strained relations with both Syria and Israel, and following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest visit to various Arab countries including Egypt.

Oglu accompanied Ardugan alongside 280 Turkish business men to Egypt and he stated that over $1 Billion were signed in contracts in one day. Turkey holds Israel responsible for the collapse of the relations between both states because of its refusal to apologize to the Turkish government and people, as well as compensating for the victims of the Gaza flotilla incident.

Oglu also accused Syrian President Bashar Al Assad of being dishonest after Turkish officials gave the latter a final chance to save his regime by ceasing the unjust and violent suppression of Syrian protestors demanding change, which has not stopped.

Oglu is seen as the architect of successful Turkish foreign policies in the Middle East in which Turkey has emerged as both a credible and imperative player with the Islamic world in the turbulent region.

This alliance is proposed on the basis that both countries possess two of the most powerful armies in the region, are of the most populated, and able to exert a considerable amount of influence; in a time where Oglu explained that the US’ control of the Middle East is decreasing steadily.

“This will not be an axis against any other country – not Israel, not Iran, not any other country, but this will be an axis of democracy, real democracy, this will be an axis of democracy of the two biggest nations in our region, from the north to the south, from the Black Sea down to the Nile Valley in Sudan,” he added.

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In 2004 Iranian woman Ameneh Bahrami´s face, scalp and body were burnt with acid by the man that she declined to marry. According to the “eye for an eye” Iranian law the man should pay the same punishment that he did to her. One week ago, her attacker Majid Movahedi was about to received his penalty when suddenly Bahrami forgave him.

When the doctor was about to put some acid drops in the attacker´s eyes, who was waiting on his knees, he asked Bahrami, whose face is still disfigured, what she wanted to do then.

“I forgave him, I forgave him,” she answered at the last minute.

As Bahrami explained to Iranian state television she didn´t want any revenge, and forgiven was more important for her that any other thing, “it is best to pardon when you are in a position of power,” Bahrami remarked.

Movahedi, said Bahrami was “very generous.”

“I couldn’t imagine being blinded by acid,” said Movahedi as he cried against a wall.

In Iran, victims are allowed to ask for the appliance of Islamic law. According to the law, if no agreement is reached “quisas” also known as the “eye-for-an eye” vengeance is compulsory.

In Bahrami’s attacker’s trial, held November 2008, the court verdict permitted the woman to have a doctor drop acid on one of his eyes as retribution.

After the sentencing, Bahrami told a Spanish radio station that she was satisfied with the ruling. “I am not doing this out of revenge, but rather so that the suffering I went through is not repeated,” she said in the March 2009 interview.

After the attack, the 34-year old woman lost one eye and 40 percent of her vision in the other. Despite attempts to recuperate the damaged eye with a special treatment in Barcelona, Spain, she finally lost all of her eyesight.

According to Iran’s ISNA news agency, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said Movahedi would remain in jail until a court decides on an alternative punishment. In addition, her aggressor will have to pay financial compensation. In the past, Bahrami asked for up to $200,000 in compensation.

This type of aggression is not the last one to happen in Iran. Last week, a young woman died after a man dropped acid on her face when she declined to marry him.

Amnesty International criticized the Iranian law for allowing this kind of cruel torture to the attackers under medical supervision.  As a consequence to these kinds of sentences, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement that, “the Iranian authorities should review the penal code as a matter of urgency to ensure those who cause intentional serious physical harm, like acid attacks, receive an appropriate punishment; but that must never be a penalty which in itself constitutes torture.”

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Farid al-Ghadry, President of the Reform Party of Syria, the opposition party which is based in United States, visited Italy and participated to a international meeting to discuss the situation is Syria and in the Middle-East area.

Ghadry met the Italian President of Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini in occasion of a press conference, organized by the Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Commission Fiamma Nirenstein, in which the Reform Party President was the main guest.

He asked Italy to cut its diplomatic relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, but to keep the relations with Syria. “Europe should vote for a humanitarian resolution in support of Syrian people,” he said. “We have to stop atrocities and violence against women, children and men tortured by Assad’s forces.”

“The regime is not able to survive to this revolution, we have just to speed up the fall. For this reason we don’t want external military intervention in the country. We ask Europe to go on pressing on Assad’s regime in order to create the conditions for a military coup d’état within the country, which could free Syria”, added the reformist leader.

He asserts that “The fall of the regime will be the beginning of a new season for the relations with Israeli, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, but especially could push also for a change in Iran,” referring to the so-called “domino effect”.

Italy expressed its support to Syria and its commitment for the Syrian cause and its democratic aspirations. Ghadry, sincerely moved by the Italian support and solidarity, thanked Italy and the politicians who welcomed him and organized the conference, in which many crucial points about the Syrian repression and the situation in many of the Middle-Eastern countries were discussed.

Farid al-Ghadry currently lives in United States where he emigrated in 1964 with his parents, but he was born in Aleppo, Syria. His Syrian citizenship was revoked by President Assad in 2007 after visiting Israel’s Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He founded the Reform Party of Syria in US, gathering Syrians who are living in America and other countries.

Syrian government doesn’t allow the formation of opposition parties, and doesn’t recognize the Reform Party as representative of Syrians. Political opponents as Ghadry are obliged to choose exile.

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“Why, the whole world of knowledge is not worth that child’s prayer to dear, kind God! I say nothing of the sufferings of grown-up people, they have eaten the apple, damn them, and the devil take them all! But these little ones!”

The Brothers Karamazov

Waking up to a brand new day, to this flawed yet protected world of mine, I check the street I live in. Every single house is standing still, since there are no bombs falling through sky. People are outside, rushing somewhere, getting lost in daily life. Nobody puts a gun against someones head, against my head; my head is still at its right place, still hasn’t abandoned me yet. The “bell jar” that surrounds me is still there, being this transparent border between me and the rest of the world. Being completely safe and sound, I am all set, to get myself into trouble. I still hold the freedom of being open to this world where I reside, with all my possibilites, while somewhere, somebody is living in an extreme vulnerability, in complete chaos, where serenity doesn’t drop by. I encounter the Other’s trouble through a screen everyday, since this is what I intent, what i ask for: to get myself into trouble.

AJEnglish tweets on June 1st at 8.04 a.m: “Tortured and killed: Hamza al-Khateeb, age 13 – death in custody sparks further furious protests in Syria”. I follow the tweet till the end, and read the coverage. Hamza dissapears during a protest in Syria on 29th of April, and been held under Syrian custody until 24th of May, until returned dead to his family as just a body, that holds the marks of a horrible torture, reports Al Jazeera: “Hamza’s eyes were swollen and black and there were identical bullet wounds where he had apparently been shot through both arms, the bullets tearing a hole in his sides and lodging in his belly. On Hamza’s chest was a deep, dark burn mark. His neck was broken and his penis cut off.”

The famous nausea seizures me, real slow, making sure that I cannot get away with it. I have to go till the end, I shall take the burden on my own shoulders, so I dare to watch the censured video of the marks of the torture of Hamza’s violated body. Trying to collect the ghosts of this 13 year old’s existence, I curse to this nonsense, how on earth is it possible for the rest of us to move on?

Not being able “to die his own death”, his possibilities were taken away from him in hideousness. Hamza’s story drags me to Rilke, in whom I seek  shelter, yet not comfort:

“God everything is presented ready-made. One comes along, one finds a life all prepared, one only has to put it on. One wants to leave or is forced to; no strain:

Voilà votre mort, monseiur (Here is your death, sir)”

Hamza became the symbol of the Syrian uprising:

https://www.facebook.com/hamza.alshaheed?sk=wall

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This past Sunday, 15th of May, a huge demonstration against liberty of expression was performed by hundred of thousand Turkish citizens. They all represented a mash up of Internet users, and gathered together in Taksim Square, located in  the center of Istanbul. They protested against the “draft bill that was appealed by Bianet in an application filed to the Council of State in April” (Bianet).

The demonstration was organized through Facebook and Twitter. The citizens walked through Istiklal Avenue. The main message they want to send out was  that the freedom of expression and right to access information of Internet should not be obstructed. Many organizations such as the Linux Users Association, the LGBTT initiative LambdaIstanbul, the Hands off the Internet Initiative, also many different groups took part in the manifestation.

The walk lasted around three hours, with the support of 31 Turkish provinces. The citizens protested against the filtering system, which will come into effect on August 22nd of the present year. Which will ban sites such as Youtube, Blogspot, WordPress and many other thousands of websites in Turkey.

The people express themselves by shouting and showing slogans that contains phrases as: “Internet without TiB”, “The strings of the BTK are attached to Fetullah’s hand” and “ Hands off our freedom, opinions, books and Internet”.

In a press released exposed and emitted by the Sourtimes, the declaration of May 15^Th, 2011 regarding some great points about why fundamental rights and Freedoms Cannot Be Obstructed are exposed:

• The BTK (IT and Communications Institute) decision dated 02/22/2011 with number 2011/DK-10/91 lacks legal basis. The unjust decision gives BTK a right, which is not prescribed by law. The legal decision also limits basic rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution and international treaties directly. While open and unfiltered Internet access is being regarded as a basic human right by international institutions, in Turkey filtered Internet is about to become “the standard”

• The comments made by the BTK president claiming the “standard profile” is the current standard and anybody who opts-out will be left out of the filtering system are not correct. Neither there is a notion called neither “the standard profile” nor an established filter mechanism currently. With the forthcoming mechanism it will not be possible to stay out of the filtering system. If the government officials are really sincere they have to provide an “unfiltered” alternative to Internet users in Turkey.

• Internet is about to become “the standard”. “The BTK filtering system which will take effect on August 22nd, 2011 is unpredictable by the users, arbitrary, and essentially a control and censorship mechanism structurally. The criteria for filtering websites through the different profiles under the BTK system are not disclosed to Internet users. The full authority to build and maintain the filtering lists is handed to BTK by BTK itself. Now BTK will render hundreds of thousands of websites unreachable arbitrarily which is far beyond the current disproportional blocking caused by Law No. 5651. Illegitimate, disproportional and arbitrary administrative operations are unacceptable in a democratic country.

• Similar to previous blocking decisions, state officials are trying to use irrelevant countries as examples to legitimize their unjustified decisions. They are intentionally perverting the description of various state policies in their justifications. It is impossible to accept the state officials’ appeal to negative examples from across the globe to interfere with everybody’s lives in Turkey.

• Member states must encourage the use of filtering software in houses, school computers and Internet cafes but must avoid employing mandatory nationwide filtering policies.If filter use is found appropriate by families, that should be use on their own personal computers.

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Syria is no Libya. It was never designed as such. Its important to keep that in mind while watching events unfold in the Middle East and North Africa.

In Libya the Little Green Book shapes the government structure (or the lack of one). If you aren’t familiar with the Green Book, suffice it to say that it was written by Qaddafi and that he rode his own revolution into office by championing the ideas within it. The Green Book included Qaddafi’s vague vision of what government should look like and how it should be run. He apparently wrote the whole thing to serve as a model to what his presumed utopia would one day look like. Syria’s Baath Party too once had an idealistic utopia in mind for Syria and the rest of the Arab world. Both countries developed different paths to shape their government structures. Both countries rewarded corruption, cronyism and dictatorship rule as well.

And that is where the similarities end.

The reason I am hopeful that Syria’s President, Bashaar Al Assad, will indeed be toppled is because of the subtle political similarities between Syria and Egypt. Like Egypt’s former President Mubarak – the effect of saying former still hasn’t quite rubbed off yet – Assad has accommodated his autocratic authority by keeping his cronies satisfied. But even dictators can have a hard time pleasing everyone, especially when they face popular discontent and revolt on the scale we have been seeing recently in the Middle East. Granted that the army seems to be much more in line with Assad’s plans to crush the revolution taking place there than say it was in Egypt. Nonetheless there are other reasons that the regime may crack.

Syria is an autocratic country. Unlike Libya, the structure there allows for opposition political parties, much like Egypt did, however they are consistently and methodically harassed by a skewed constitution, impartial judiciary and a demented, power crazed executive branch. Assad certainly has reason to keep it as such, being that he is an Alawite, a minority sect of Shia Islam.

But this is where the similarities with Egypt end and those with Iraq begin.

Like Iraq during Saddam’s reign, Syria is dominated by the Baath Party (resurrection in Arabic), a secular political party that was founded in Syria, and manifested itself at different times in Iraq, culminating with its rule predominately under Saddam. But secularism here is enforced. It is not accompanied by liberal ideals of tolerance. In fact, tolerance in most of the Arab world, is used mainly as a reactionary argument by their regimes against the occasional religious clashes or any other forms of internal social rift that would at any time seem to threaten the stability of those who rule. It is not proactive and it is certainly not embodied in the spirit of the Baath party. Sadly, tolerance is engineered by these regimes for one reason and one reason only, to keep a minority or unelected group of individuals in power. As cynical as that assessment may be, unfortunately that is how the situation currently stands in Syria and much of the Arab world.

If the protests rocking Syria in the past few weeks hint at anything however, it is that the ruling party and the establishment system as a whole is vulnerable and that their propaganda efforts are failing them. One important factor to consider is if that vulnerability will eventually culminate in the rejection of Assad’s one party dominates all rule.

So how are things going to end up for Assad and his Baath party should Syria fall?

My assessment is that it won’t be a pretty picture. The possibility of a fair power sharing agreement between the Sunni’s and Shia and Alawite’s is doable but not likely. An additional variable also adds worry to this already risky situation and that is the Muslim Brotherhood In Syria. Unlike Egypt, Syria had lagged in the degree of political reform during the early years of this century. The situation in Egypt pre-revolution allowed for a more vocal and heightened opposition to government rule. When the government tried to choke off the stream of reforms, the country imploded. It remains to be seen however if Syrians will be able to fight off the army – a situation that Egyptians mostly avoided during the revolution – and succeed in their cause of toppling the violent dictatorship that rules them today.

Will Syria too fall? Is so, what are the chances of it creating a multi faceted vibrant civil society to replace its currently established dictatorship? Let us know your opinion here. You can also comment on this article through our facebook page!

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What if the whole domino set falls? What then? Will a new hopeful Middle East arise from the ashes of its former self or will it end up being the theocratic extremist monster of the world, a title it seems to hold today.

The Middle East has yet to wrestle with issues of separation of church and state in any conclusive manner. Although the debate has been raging on for centuries among Islamic scholars, the current changes taking place in the different countries of the region offer a unique opportunity for the debate to take center stage.

With the recent uprisings suggesting that change is in fact being created from the ground up, the degree of separation between organized religion and the state will be dictated by a newly empowered national audience. In doing so, this debate will be contentious and at times slightly dangerous. However if the Middle East is to ever be expected to fix the fundamental issues that currently plague its various institutions, it must learn to do so on its own. That would entail no course correction interventions by world powers, no matter how difficult it is to fight back the urge.

It would be naive to think that democracy and direct public participation will lead to any single government in the region being composed entirely of liberal, western oriented public servants. Islam is a part of the social fabric of these societies. Like evangelicals in America, religion is the preferred narrative of many in the region. The responsibility of figuring out how to temper both religion and liberalism so that they may coexist will fall to the people of the Middle East and they should knowingly invite this new challenge. After all, it is their history and their future that will be at stake.

The president of the United States can lead the international community in this regard by issuing a public statement promising to leave the Middle East dictate its own future. Such a statement would go a long way in fortifying a sense of confidence and ownership among the people. It would simultaneously help dispel whatever rumors and hyper conspiracy theories to come in a region that has a seemingly over abundance of both. However with the unfortunate intervention in Libya,

How exactly the individual countries in the Middle East will look like in the future is quite frankly impossible to tell with any degree of certainty. However a strong combination of both conservative religion and liberal ideals might be the dominant feature of the region, with each country inching towards one or the other. In either case, both will face numerous and ongoing challenges. Conservatives will have to temper their brands to fit within a framework of democracy, while liberals will have to make liberalism fit and adapt into the larger cultural narrative.

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In a small office somewhere in Boston, Massachusetts sits an old man and his books. Despite the man’s fragile presence, his ideas are feared among the Mullahs of Iran and the current president of Venezuela; bookstores have been burned down for selling his work in Russia and there is a great possibility that ex-dictators Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak have nothing but distain for the 83-year-old scholar. Jorgen Ullerup from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported from the home of the American professor who is said to the author of the ABC to non-violent revolution.

Doctor Sharp is known as the world’s most outstanding expert on non-violent action and his words have guided many populist revolutions from the Balkans to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. His most popular work ‘From Dictatorship to Democracy’ has been translated into 34 languages and is available for free on his website. It was written for the dissidents of Burma in 1993 after the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi but soon spread to the rest of the world.

The professor believes that non-violence is the most important ‘weapon’ against tyranny. He acknowledges that it takes sacrifices to oust a dictator but that a smart and deliberate campaign can free a people. “After Egypt and Tunisia, the assumption that it takes an invasion to free a country has proven invalid,” says Doctor Sharp and explains that the secret to freedom is to “free yourself.”

The advices given for non-violent resistance includes everything from hunger strikes to naked protest to parody. According to Mr Sharp, the key is to identify the pillars that support the dictator and direct a campaign towards undermining this foundation. It is always important to only make use of non-violent means but at the same time, the protesters should be careful in negotiating with the dictatorship. “It is a matter of hard realpolitik. Dictators will always aim to negotiate to strengthen their own position.”

On the question of US and NATO involvement, the professor advises foreign powers not to intervene. His worry is that if American airplanes would bomb Gadaffi’s headquarters, the pride and accomplishment of bringing down a tyrant will not be that of the Libyan people. “It is possible to transfer knowledge and ideas on how to revolt but you cannot export democracy the way President Bush attempted to through invasion and use of force. Revolt needs to come from the grassroots themselves.” His own fear is that the dissidents in Libya, by engaging in armed resistance, are stepping into the violent realm of Colonel Gadaffi and provide him with an excuse to engage in a bloodbath.

Doctor Sharp’s own interest in liberation without violence began with a study on Nazi-resistance in Germany and of public resistance in Norway against the introduction of Nazism to the country. In spite of his age, the professor is still active – albeit not having fully embraced the age of digital media. He still writes his work by hand and is not convinced by the credit given to Facebook and Twitter during the recent revolts. “These are ways of communication just like a telephone, a letter or a smuggled message. Importance should not be given to the medium but what you are trying to communicate.”

Finally, Doctor Sharp makes clear that it is important for a non-violent revolution not to have a single leader but many. The reason is that one leader can be mistaken, get killed or imprisoned. Or one man can turn a revolution in a wrong direction such as Lenin after the revolution in 1905. “All those people in a revolution which we never hear about are often more important than those we recognize the name of.”

Despite his work, Gene Sharp is not a household name. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 but was beaten to it by President Barack Obama.

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The recent developments in Libya represent a dire situation indeed for the country’s people.  The country is now effectively split in two and it remains unpredictable which side will emerge victorious.

There are rumors that a provincial government is now being established, a coordinated effort between the cities that broke free of Qaddafi’s grip. Although the opposition has shown a high level of tenacity in the face of Qaddafi’s barbaric air and ground attacks, it is far from a foregone conclusion that they will be able to hold on to their advances indefinitely. Therein lies the situation that the U.S finds itself in. Having formally lent its support to the opposition, the humane urge of America to stop the killings of the innocent people of Libya and prevent them from being slaughtered by their leader is being tested.

Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman are amongst the two most vocal critics of the Obama administrations restraint in the Libyan matter. Their ideas range from imposing a no fly zone over Libya to arming the opposition with weapons to help them overthrow their own government. This represents a direct intervention in another country’s business, the same kind of intervention that usually teems with looming trouble in the future.

We have seen this tired story before. The reason it almost always backfires is that especially in the Middle East, American foreign policy is perceived with a grain of salt, to say the least. No matter how sincere these efforts by the U.S to stop the murderous killings occurring in Libya, these actions will never be perceived the way Americans would naturally think they would.

The cynical view of an ulterior motive will always win over in a country that has grown accustomed to hearing that all things evil things tend to be American. Therefore instead of being greeted as “liberators”, as probably both senators mentioned earlier would presume, U.S intervention in Libya’s business will be perceived as a ploy perpetrated by America in order to gain smoother access to Libya’s huge oil reserves.  Conspiracy theories will invariably arise and there will be no shortage of those in power who would hammer that point over and over to score political points.

The solution should be for the Obama administration to vocally support those around the world aspiring to have the same levels of freedom that Americans enjoy. That effort should be coupled with a unified statement to the region, that from now on, the U.S will not intervene in any way to shape the future of any individual country in the region, no matter the reason.

Given these actions, there would be nothing more symbolically important in the way of diffusing tension and establishing trust in the region that the U.S could do.

The article The Case for Keeping America out of Libya’s Business appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Continuing unrest in Libya as well as other North African and Middle Eastern countries has led to the highest crude oil prices since 2008, the U.S. Engery Information Administration (EIA) reported March 8.

In correlation to the disturbance of crude oil exports in countries such as Libya, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and other crude oil benchmarks have risen around $15 per barrel since mid-February— $14 higher than previously predicted— allowing  an estimation of $105 per barrel of crude oil to refiners in 2011.

Acceleration of spot crude and gasoline prices has begun to affect consumers in retail environments.  Increases in pump prices will continue to rise through the spring due to delayed relay between crude oil and gasoline.

Motorists can expect regular-grade gasoline to average around $3.56 per gallon, 77 cents higher than the 2010 average, and 40 cents higher than initially predicted for 2011. However, during the peak driving season, (April through September) EIA predicts drivers will pay $3.70 per gallon, considering regional disparity.

Significant uncertainty within the current market has led analysts to predict there is a 25 percent chance that the national average for gas prices this summer could exceed $4.00 per gallon. This may be due not only to rising crude oil prices, but higher refining margins as well.

As long as world oil markets tighten and unrest persists throughout North Africa and the Middle East—the world’s largest oil producers—uncertainty in the oil market will remain.  If instability in the Eastern Hemisphere continues to spread, there will be adverse side effects for the oil market.

Auto Manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Toyota have been strategically reaping the ambiguity facing crude oil.

Although Tesla Motors is given credit with creating the first purely electric car, the roadster (est. 2008; msrp 109,999 and model s (expected to be released in 2012 with a base price of 49,900), Chevrolet and Toyota are making gas and emission free cars more available to middle income families.

Introduced in October 2011, the Chevy Volt is an electric car which uses gas to create its own electricity for up to 40 hours of drive time. Even if the driver is unable to recharge the car, Volt will use a generator which produces several hundreds of miles on a single tank of gas.

Toyota, maker of the hybrid Prius, is expected to release a plug-in version of the popular car in the beginning of 2012.  Recently, they and several other companies such as GE and Schneider Electric have begun manufacturing at-home electric car chargers.

The expansion and increase of residential conveniences toward green cars questions when gas powered vehicles will become obsolete. As emission free technology broadens, techniques for finding and extracting oil will as well.

The development of electricity as an alternative dominate energy source seems plausible, but is the world prepared to move away from the internal combustion engine?

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Made famous by the fact that Chandler from Friends once fled there to avoid an ex-girlfriend, Yemen is the latest Arab nation to be undergoing a revolution. The countries current dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh has ruled the nation since it was officially formed in 1990. However his career leads back much further then that, as he also served as the president of North Yemen for 12 years before the nations unified.

Saleh is another president with ties to the US, like Hosni Mubarak he has been supportive of a variety of US policies, and is still struggling with links to al-Qaeda operatives within the nation. This came to an abrupt end as Saleh made several furious statements blaming the US for the widespread protests in the Yemeni capital of Saana.

Much of the protest is concentrated at the University of Saana grounds in the capital city. Al Jazeera has reported the protests are daily now in the capital, with thousands demanding an end to the government’s reign. Yemeni protesters are frustrated with widespread corruption and nearly a third of the workforce is out of a job. More than 40 per cent of Yemen’s 23 million people live on less than two dollars a day.

The protests in Yemen have now been going on for weeks, with Saleh trying a number of tactits to end the protests in the capital. There have been reports of attacks from soliders resulting in the deaths of protestors, Saleh has tried blaming both the US and Israel for the protests, giving an impassioned speech against President Obama and has even attempted to propose a unity government.

Like Libya the future of the Yemen opposition movement will only be revealed through time – but it does seem possible that at least three large arab nations could overthrow long-standing dictators by utilizing the power of peaceful protest.

Photo Credit: Messay Shoakena – 2011 Messay

The article Yemen, Saana the Epic Center of the Protests appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.