AP reports that women in Saudi Arabia can now find abayas with designs on them for purchase in local boutiques. Jeddah leads the charge for most stylish abayas available. The transition of these abayas from taboo to mainstream is a mystery (at least to this writer): No one really knows why or how it became […]
As a testament of their commitment to the liberal arts tradition in their new satellite campus, NYU has named Alfred H. Bloom, former president of Swarthmore, the head of its new Abu Dhabi campus. This is interesting because I am pretty sure the Swarthmore version of a liberal arts tradition looks totally different than the […]
Ehud Olmert, current lame-duck Prime Minister of Israel, conceded yesterday in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth that Israel will have to give up land in order to achieve peace with Palestine, specifically land in the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, and the West Bank. Summary quote: “In the end of the day, we will have to withdraw […]
30% of people surveyed from 23 different countries in a BBC poll believe that the war on terror has strengthened al Qaeda. Skepticism is never unhealthy with respect to the accuracy of polling data, but this seems like a pretty compelling argument for the role of public diplomacy in foreign affairs, in addition to, uh, […]
William Hybl, Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, answers FAQs about Getting the People Part Right: A Report on the Human Resources Dimension of U.S. Public Diplomacy. (This last link downloads the PDF). The report calls for, essentially, a reconfiguration of the way that the Foreign Service thinks about public diplomacy, with the […]
For the past few years there is always something happening in Lebanon. And rarely is something good.The country did not have a President, the government was weak and did not really work, the Parliament was closed. Then the clashes started inside the country. Then we have seen Doha and now we are in the post-Doha […]
Hours before the parliament convened to vote on the electoral law on Monday, an explosion occurred in al-Bahsas in Tripoli. Reports suggest the explosion targeted a military bus carrying at least 20 soldiers, leaving at least six dead and 17 injured. The Voice of Lebanon radio station reported that a Renault 18 sedan, which was […]
AP is reporting that the Sudanese Military killed six and captured two kidnappers after a high-speed desert chase on Sunday. According to the two captured kidnappers the tourists are being held hostage in Chad. The interesting part of the article is that the Sudanese Government linked the eight kidnappers to a rebel group in Darfur. […]
Absent of any near-term threats to natural security from a land invasion, the Egyptian military continues to strengthen its conventional land forces to deter long-term threats and bolster its reputation as a powerful, or perhaps the most powerful, fighting force in the Middle East and Africa. But Egypt does have a significant national security threat […]
Autumn is slowly coming to Beirut. For almost two months I kept on complaining about the heat and the humidity. Now I might start with the brief rainfalls. While dining with friends I found out that today is al Quds day and that many Hizballah fans went to the border. It was a no comment […]
Excellent reading about Hizballah's controlled suburbs. As it looks, Hizballah's Pentagon, as some called dahyeh was not as controlled as many thought. Don't get me wrong, Hizballah is strong, but far from being invincible. NOW Lebanon: The Internal Security Forces (ISF) recently implemented what it has called a "security plan" in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs […]
Hamida Ghafour, Afghan-Canadian journalist, is skeptical about Sarah Palin's symbolic value for feminism not just in the United States but globally. The piece is a bit disjointed, but her point, namely that women around the world are fighting an uphill battle for their rights, and having an anti-women woman in the White House isn't going […]
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