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Joy Merlino

Impatient Palestinians Eye Arab World In Flux : NPR - 0 views

www.npr.org/...story.php

Palestinian Middle East Uprising

shared by Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Could the Arab Spring pass over the Palestinians?
  • With the peace process going nowhere, the threat of new violence increasing and the Palestinians badly divided, people in the West Bank and Gaza are surveying the rapid changes in the rest of the Arab world — and growing impatient with stagnation at home.
  • In Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, officials are quietly working on a plan: Going for statehood without agreement with Israel, bypassing the moribund peace process.
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  • Although revolt seems unlikely for now, the crowded coastal strip has experienced a series of demonstrations with youths calling for national reconciliation between the two Palestinian territories.
  • "I believe that change is coming to our part of the world. We need as Palestinians to catch the moment," said Saed Issac, a 22-year-old law student in Gaza. "It's time for national unity first, to elect new leaders, and to work hard to achieve our task to end the occupation."
  • Issac was referring to Israel's control over Palestinians' lives — which Palestinians feel applies not only to the West Bank, where power is shared in a complex arrangement dating back to the 1990 autonomy accords, but also in besieged Gaza, even though Israeli settlers and soldiers pulled out five years ago.
  • In Israel, many eye the changes in the Arab world warily, fearing freedom could unleash more hostility — and that is doubly true when it comes to the Palestinians.
  • the Palestinians were influenced by "the trauma of Hamas' rise in the Gaza Strip, relative prosperity in the West Bank" and the expectation of statehood materializing within months. If that expectation is disappointed "a political tsunami" will result, he predicted.
  • A paradoxical challenge results: Hamas won elections but rules Gaza in authoritarian fashion, while Fatah, despite canceling recent elections, has made strides in convincing the world community that in the West Bank it is genuinely laying the foundations of a functioning independent state.
  • The picture that emerges from interviews with top Palestinian Authority officials, most off the record, marks a break from past policies that ranged from negotiations to violence and terror attacks. It combines what seems like genuine commitment to nonviolence with utter impatience with more talks with Israel.
  • "Negotiations have hit a dead end, and the U.S. administration is not willing to pressure Israel. Therefore, we have no other option except taking our case to the international community," said Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Ishtayeh.
  • Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, has long cited September 2011 as the moment his people will be ready for independence, after a two-year program of rehabilitating courts, police and other institutions. It also coincides with the annual meeting of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
  • The Palestinians say 120 of the 192 countries in the General Assembly have already granted full diplomatic recognition to Palestine, including a recent string of Latin American nations. Many have said the state should be based along the pre-1967 boundary between Israel and the West Bank — effectively taking the Palestinians' side on the border question, since Israel hopes to keep parts of the West Bank under a future deal.
  • Israel had previously dismissed the General Assembly as toothless, but that is starting to change.
  • In an interview with the Jerusalem Post Friday, former Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev warned that a General Assembly resolution might be meaningful if passed under the auspices of so-called Resolution 377, a little-used device dating back to the Korean War that permits the body to recommend measures ranging from sanctions to the use of force in cases where the Security Council members cannot reach unanimity and peace is imperiled. "This would seek to impose on us some kind of Palestinian state," Shalev was quoted as saying.
  • Although a General Assembly declaration might not force immediate change on the ground, the Palestinians see it as a major step that would "give us new political, moral and legal standing against the Israeli occupation," Ishtayeh said.
  • Inspired by the unrest elsewhere in the region, the Palestinians are also considering backing the diplomatic offensive with peaceful — and photogenic — mass marches and sit-ins across the West Bank, confronting Israeli checkpoints and settlements.
  • One senior Palestinian official said the strategy, following the successful uprisings that ousted leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, would be meant to push the U.S. to take action.
  • A Facebook group called "Let's End the Occupation" has already sprouted up, saying it is preparing demonstrations near the Beit El settlement near Jerusalem later this year.
  • If all else fails Palestinians warn they might disband the Palestinian Authority — a move that would saddle Israel with responsibility for civil and security affairs in the West Bank, huge expenses and a public relations nightmare.
  • As long as peace talks were an option, Abbas could not afford to alienate Israel by embracing its archenemy this way. But the equation changes now that hardly a single Palestinian official can be found who believes in peace talks anymore: World recognition demands a unified front. And because the new strategy does not actually require the Palestinians to offer Israel formal peace, Hamas could be more likely to go along.
  • But there is a certain foment growing from within. Its scale is difficult to gauge, because fear is still widespread, but recent weeks have seen repeated popular protests, which Hamas has alternately supported and violently dispersed.
  • "Hamas needs to listen to the young generation's demands," Fahmi said. "The whole world is changing. You can feel it. So can Hamas."
  • Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11
     
    How does the conflict in Israel affect the future of Israeli children compared to Palestinian children? Summary: This article is discussing whether or not the uprisings in the Middle East will spread to the palestinian lands. Given the fact that the leaders in the Palestinian lands no longer believe in the effectiveness of Israeli peace talks, the thought is that the spirit of the riots being held in neighboring countries will be caught by the Palestinian people. The attempt is to become recognized as a sovereign state; before this was to be attempted through peace talks, now the thought of many is to forgo the peace talks and deal directly with the international community.  Reflection: Our research question was focused mainly on the Israeli conflict alone; however, with the current rebellions and unrest in the rest of the MIddle East, it makes logical sense to explore their effect on this conflict as well. It is very true that these uprisings may lead to a want for an expedited statehood. We will just have to see how this all plays out.  
Brielle DeFrell

Oil unrest grips Nigeria; Turbulent delta raises fears of global energy shock - 0 views

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blood oil nigeria

shared by Brielle DeFrell on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Search
  • On Jan. 11, a militia group calling itself Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) seized four Shell engineers and held them hostage for three weeks. Armed forces attacked a flow station, killed several workers and cut Nigeria's oil exports by 10 percent. Shell removed more than 500 employees from the region.
  • 1998, a military group from the Ijaw, the largest ethnic tribe in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta, stormed Shell pipelines and platforms, cutting off one-third of the country's oil exports.
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  • the fifth-largest exporter of crude oil to the United States
  • Before Nigerian elections in 2003, an ethnic uprising shut off 40 percent of the country's oil exports.
  • From January to September 2004, there were 581 cases of pipeline vandalism in Nigeria, according to the Energy Information Administration, a U.S. agency that provides official statistics.
  • "We don't see an end to conflicts in the near future," said Taylor B. Seybolt, an analyst at the U.S. Institute of Peace. "There is a host of problems entangled together, and we expect to see more violence coming."
  • China
  • National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) struck a $2.27 billion deal with Nigeria in mid-January.
  • The Nigerian government aims to increase oil output from 2.5 million barrels per day to 3 million by the end of the year and to 4 million in 2010
  • MEND has adopted tactics different from the old pattern. It asked Shell to pay $1.5 billion to Bayelsa state, stop all oil exports and expel all foreign workers from the delta. It also demanded that the government release Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a Niger Delta militia leader arrested in 2003.
  • Mr. Albin-Lackey, however, said the government is reluctant to push the militias too hard. "It is afraid that cracking down on the militias would ignite bigger conflicts, which would disrupt the country's oil production,
  • Nigeria's oil revenue accounts for 40 percent of the nation's gross domestic product and 76 percent of the federal government's revenue.
  • . A civil war in Nigeria could send the global oil price to $98 a barrel,
  • "Oil can be stolen on such a large scale that they have to use oil tankers to carry the oil out without people being caught," Mr. Albin-Lackey said. "They must be connected with people in a position of influence."
  • . "After only two or three months in power, officials have already begun their lives of luxury."
  • The nine oil-containing states of southern Nigeria have been plagued for years by oil spills and air pollution. After a half-century of drilling, many pipes are leaky. Explosions occur now and then, and the frequent sabotage adds to the spills. Acid rain and toxic water damage fishing and farming, and pose great threats to the health of residents.
  • Even as gasoline prices increase in the United States, Nigeria burns oil by-products 24 hours a day.
  • Sitting atop the world's ninth-largest concentration of oil, many ordinary Nigerians don't have basic necessities such as running water, electricity, health clinics and schools. The wealth from oil does not return to the land that produced it.
  • Nigeria, which exports oil worth $30 million to $40 million per day, average personal income per year is $390.
  • The federal government has promised that 13 percent of oil revenues would be returned to the oil states, but most of the money seeps away through various level of officialdom.
  • Shell began drilling in Nigeria in 1956, when it was still a British colony. Over the past 50 years, the company has become an icon of oil wealth to many Nigerians, and for most of the time, a quasi-governmental institution.
  • In 1993, after a massive spill in Ogoni state, local poet and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa began the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni people and demanded $10 billion from Shell for environmental damage.
  • On Nov. 10, 1995, he and eight Ogoni colleagues were executed by the Nigerian government for campaigning against the devastation of the delta by oil companies, prompting international condemnation.
  • Brielle DeFrell on 17 Feb 11
     
    Summary: As NIgeria has grown in their production of oil they have been dealing with many uprisings from the Nigerian people and different groups. The NIgerian government is planning on increasing oil output as the years go on, hoping they can have more world oil giants join them. MEND has used new tactics than in the past and has asked Shell to pay $1.5 billion and to stop all oil exports. They also asked them to get rid of all foreign works from the delta and to release Mejahid Dokubo-Asari, a militia leader they captured in 2003. The government knows to take care of the violence it needs to push the militias, but is afraid that doing so will create bigger problems. Since oil is 40% of Nigeria's revenue it is afraid that more violence would hurt the country's economy, also effecting the rest of the world's energy market. A civil war in Nigeria could send the global oil price to $98 billion a barrel! The militia is able to take the oil without getting caught, which has told the Nigerian government that the people taking it are connected to those of people in a position of influence. They are usually able to figure out who these people are after two or three months because the officials start showing their money in lives of luxury. All of the oil production has caused many oil spills, air pollution, explosions, acid rain, and toxic water, all posing great threats to the health of the Nigerian people. 
Nick Mast

Academic OneFile  Document - 0 views

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egypt

shared by Nick Mast on 11 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Synopsis: Fewer than 3 in 10 Egyptians (28%) in 2010 expressed confidence in the honesty of elections in their country.
  • s that might be included in a new constitution, large majorities said they would support freedom of speech and religion.
  • When asked hypothetically in 2009 about rig
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  • But the 2010 ele
  • ctions that
  • esulted in a landslide victory for Mubarak's National Democratic Party were mired with widespread fraud allegations.
  • nearly all Egyptians (96%) said they would "probably agree" with the inclusion of free speech as a guaranteed right in a new country's constitution. A majority of them (75%) also said they would probably agree with constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and freedom of assembly (52%) or the right to congregate for any reason or in support of any cause.
  • gyptians' lack of confidence in the honesty of elections in previous years highlights the need for quick constitutional guarantees to set the stage for free and transparent elections.
  • Nick Mast on 11 Mar 11
     
    Before Uprising, Egyptians Lacked Faith in Honesty of Elections; Nearly all in 2009 said they would in theory support freedom of speech as a constitutional right.(survey) By: Gallup Organization Byline:Mohamed Younis Summary: In 2010 3 in every 10 people trusted the current Egyptian government. Many people thought that Mubaraks win in 2010 was rigged by people inside the government.  People in the country want in there next leader someone who listens and a lot of people want to be given freedom of religion and freedom of speech.The voting and choosing of leaders after the citizens protests is important they make the right moves and decisions for there country and the world will all be watching as this evolves carefully.  Reflection: To read this article and see that only 3 out every 10 people expressed confidence in the egyptian government, that low of a number just shocked me. No wonder everyone in the country revolted, no one trusted them. So now that the people have gotten rid of there old president they need to put there trust back into the government in making a smart choice about who is going to be the next leader, and they have to make sure they pick a leader who will hear there voices, for freedom of speech and religion and more.  Questions: What do people in Egypt now think of there governmental stand? Are more people starting to believe in the government? Do the people trust the government they have in place now? What would government have to change to make people trust them again?
Laurel Ackerman

Israel Marks 60 Years Since Palestine Split - International News | News of the World | ... - 0 views

www.foxnews.com/...0,2933,314105,00.html

Israel Palestine History Choices Partition

shared by Laurel Ackerman on 26 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Three full-scale wars and two bloody Palestinian uprisings
  • Three full-scale wars and two bloody Palestinian uprisings have failed either to change the two-state formula or bring it much closer to reality
  • Violence has marked the process from the outset. When the General Assembly voted to partition the land on Nov. 29, 1947, it was clear it would set off a war between Jews and Arabs.
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  • The day of the vote is legendary in Israel. Its 600,000 Jewish inhabitants huddled around their radios to listen to the live broadcast from the United Nations.
  • d, the partition was approved, 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions.
  • With the end of the British mandate on May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence, and Arab armies invaded from three directions.
  • Local Arabs, charging that the Zionists stole their land, responded to the 1947 vote with violence, launching a series of attacks that left dozens of Jews dead. Nov. 29 is considered a day of sadness by Palestinians, and they mark May 14 as the "day of catastrophe," because about 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the war that followed.
  • Today about 1 million Arabs are Israeli citizens, another 4 million live under Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza, and hundreds of thousands still languish in refugee camps in neighboring countries.
  • Forty years passed before the main Palestinian organization, the PLO, recognized Israel and abandoned its stated goal of destroying the Jewish state. In 1993, Israel and the Palestinians signed their first interim accord, setting out a formula for peace talks to resolve the conflict.
  • Laurel Ackerman on 26 Apr 11
     
    How does the internal conflict between Israel and Palestine as well as the social, political, and geographical tensions of the region affect the political status of Palestine?  Associated Press. "Israel Marks 60 Years Since Palestine Split." Fox News. Fox News, 30 Nov. 2007. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. Summary: This article gives a brief explanation of the history between Britain, Israel, and Palestine and it gives an insight into the Palestinian view on what has happened with the partition. This article also gives a few statistics on deaths, percentages, refugees, and dates.  Reflection:
Troy Rietsma

Cable: Leaders, military behind Nigeria oil thefts - World news - Africa - msnbc.com - 0 views

www.msnbc.msn.com/42531798

oil thieves politicians leaders

shared by Troy Rietsma on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Politicians and military leaders — not militants — are responsible for the majority of oil thefts in Nigeria's crude-rich southern delta, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable quoting a Nigerian official and released by WikiLeaks.
  • A member of a government panel on troubles in nation's Niger Delta implicated Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, a general whose brother became president, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as being the biggest forces behind the thefts, the cable claims
  • Those thefts also fuel arms sales to the restive region while causing environmental damage and cutting production in a nation crucial to U.S. oil supplies.
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  • The diplomatic cable quotes Uranta as blaming "no more than 15 percent" of oil thefts on militants operating in the delta, a tropical maze of creeks and waterways about the size of South Carolina. Instead, politicians, retired admirals and generals and others in the country's elite profit from the thefts. Typically, thieves solder or cut into oil pipelines running through the mangrove swamps of the delta. Some refine the crude into kerosene or diesel in crude refineries, while other oil sails out to foreign ports for sale.
  • The large-scale theft, compounded by anger over unceasing poverty and pollution in the delta despite 50 years of oil production, led to an uprising of militants in the region beginning in 2006. Military-grade weapons funneled into the region, turning gunrunners into militant leaders who espoused political ideas — but kept their eyes on the profits from stolen oil.
  • Troy Rietsma on 14 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: What effect does the competition of oil have on the people of Nigeria? 1. Source: Gambrell, Jon. "Leaders, military behind Nigeria oil thefts." MSNBC.com. MSN, 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. . 2. Summary: The oil bandits that I mentioned in an earlier post have an unsuspected force behind them. That force is allegedly the politicians and military leaders who lead the country. One of them was Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, a general whose brother became president.They allegedly supported the thieves who cut production of oil that is crucial to our own supplies. 3. Reaction I think this article is really going to give us a lead on our research question. Although we don't see exactly why these leaders would do this so clearly, we do see the corruption around the oil. It's hard to believe that leaders would do this; we take it for granted that although our leaders aren't perfect, we still have relatively loyal people leading our country. 4. Questions: How have the people of the country reacted? Are the people going to be pressed with charges? What kind of actions will follow such a find?
Joy Merlino

Palestinians to hold elections by September - USATODAY.com - 0 views

www.usatoday.com/...12-palestinian-elections_N.htm

palestinians Elections Hamas

shared by Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank on Saturday promised to hold long-overdue general elections by September, a surprise move spurred by political unrest rocking the Arab world and embarrassing TV leaks about peace talks with Israel.
  • In principle, elections could help end the deep political split between West Bank-based President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, the other territory the Palestinians want for their state.
  • Still, it c
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  • uld become difficult for Hamas to reject elections at a time of growing calls for democracy throughout the Middle East. Hamas itself has praised the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a victory for the Egyptian people.
  • The call for elections came a day after Mubarak stepped down, forced out by mass protests against his ironfisted 30-year rule. The Egyptian uprising and another successful revolt in Tunisia a month earlier have inspired calls for democratic reform throughout the region.
  • Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said Saturday that preparations were underway for legislative and presidential elections later this year. "We call on parties to put aside all of their differences and to focus on conducting the elections by September at the latest,"
  • The announcement appeared to be an act of desperation by an embattled government that has been weakened by the standstill in peace efforts with Israel, its rivalry with Hamas and the loss of its key Arab ally in Egypt. Mubarak had served as an important mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, and rallied Arab support for Abbas when needed.
  • The documents showed that in 2008 Abbas agreed to major concessions toward Israel by dropping claims to parts of east Jerusalem, the hoped-for Palestinian capital, and acknowledging that most Palestinian refugees would never return to the lost properties in what is now Israel.
  • With the call for elections, Abbas is trying to signal that he is attentive to his people's demands. By putting his job on the line, he can portray himself as a leader committed to democracy. It was not clear whether Abbas, who has said he would step down after his current term, would seek re-election. But the move is a gamble. With peace talks on hold, Abbas and his Fatah party will have no major accomplishment to present to voters.
  • And Hamas, which seized Gaza from Abbas' forces in 2007, said it would not participate in the elections. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, called the election "illegitimate."
  • September is shaping u
  • At that time, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expects to complete a two-year process of building the state from the ground up. The Palestinians have also signaled they will ask the U.N. Security Council, whose decisions are legally binding, to formally recognize an independent Palestine at that time.
  • Israeli officials have dismissed the Palestinian tactics, saying unilateral recognitions will not change the situation on the ground and that there is no replacement for direct negotiations. However, Netanyahu's hardline government, already reluctant to making deep concessions to the Palestinians, appears unlikely to make any bold offers while the Egyptian situation remains fluid.
  • Joy Merlino on 14 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: How does the conflict in Israel affect the future of Israeli children compared to Palestinian children? Summary: This article states that the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank is planning on holding general elections by September. This has been brought about as a response to the TV leaks, and the unrest in the surrounding Arab countries. This is an attempt to end the conflict between the Hamas and the West Bank. However, this article does not think that the Hamas will respond favorably to this call for democracy. But with the unrest in the surrounding nations, they might be pushed into cooperation.  Reflection: If these elections do in fact take place, this would mean a dramatic change for the future generation of Palestinians and Israelis alike. If Palestine could become an independent state, this would mean that there would hopefully be an end to the conflict that is associated with the borders. However, this is not certain. The Palestinians best hope would be to get the recognition of the UN. Unfortunately, this could be a challenge due to the relations held between the US and Israel, and the veto power that the US holds. This would also have an effect on the future generation of Israeli citizens. As the conflict would almost certainly dissolve to an extent or reach a boiling point that would inevitably lead to military action. The occurrence of these elections -- or lack thereof -- has the potential to entirely reshape the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 
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