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New York Times article discussing how the US and Russia are getting involved in the Syrian conflict have turned it into a proxy war. I bookmarked this because I think it's significant to keep this in mind and how it echoes the events leading up to say Vietnam.

So now the Russians are accusing the US of interfering in Syria. Honestly, keeping up with these reports is ridiculous. The supposed "world powers" are constantly aiming falsified accusations at each other. If you're a "world power" shouldn't you at least have ethos?

I really appreciated how in-the-loop the Jerusalem Post keeps its readers in Israel. They have their own section on their main website dedicated to U.S. Elections, w/recent news about our candidates and the primaries. There are actually some really good articles on here written about Bernie vs. Hillary and its interesting to read from a different stance other than America's.

This Washington Post article discusses how several world leaders, particularly in the Middle East, have tried to ban the internet and or social media and how they have fail. By looking at several examples such as Mubarak in Egypt, Ben Ali in Tunisia, and now the government in Turkey, it is easy to see patterns and trends that go along with censorship in the government.

Algeria is known for being a destination and gateway for human trafficking. There are organizations that try to help children avoid being victims of human trafficking by trying to keep them off the streets at a young.

IS left behind hundreds of mines in the town of Palmyra. Experts are currently working on disarming them, and have disarmed 150 bombs so far in the city. The mines are keeping historians from reaching remote sites in the town to assess damage done by IS. 

Eighty-eight years have passed since the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood on March 22, 1928 at the hands of Imam Hassan Al-Banna. They expand on the importance of a religiously led government in the region and importance of keeping their mission in mind and reforming to democratic legitimacy they say.

This author gives an analysis of where the Egyptian youth failed and succeeded in their revolution. He applauds their original motivation: overthrowing the oppressive regime and seeking political freedom. However, he criticizes the movement for not having organized goals with practical implications. Their focus was so set on overthrowing Mubarak that they did not have a plan once that was achieved. As a result, the youth allowed the military to become politicized and enforce their political ideas. The author claims this move set a dangerous precedent for the future and took away the attention of the military from places it was needed. The author claims that by endorsing the army to act militarily against the first civilian elected president of the country, the youth is undermining their original goals. He goes on to explain his suggestions for the Egyptian youth to get back on track and follow through in the remaining phases of the revolution.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke at the World Economic Forum about the world's lack of assistance in the transition to democracy in the Middle East and how that ultimately facilitated the birth of ISIL. He explains how a number of EU states were able to maneuver into the democratic realm with the assistance and guidance of the EU, illuminating the idea that the Middle East should be no different. Davutoglu condemns the west for abandoning Middle Eastern states in their dire time of need. While countries around the world supported the Arab Spring, they did nothing to support or finance it to success. He says it would be wrong to correlate the birth of ISIL with Islam, explaining how Islamic communities are perfectly capable of embracing democratic systems. However, assistance in its implementation is vital.

This article focuses on the graffiti on the streets of Cairo and how the graffiti has started to stand for more than just an expression of tagging, but rather art and a way of the revolution. The artists use graffiti as a way to communicate to others that they are seeing the injustices that are going on. This street art also binds together the artists of this city and their ideologies.

In this article, the Smithsonian presents Egypt's murals more than just art but as a part of the revolution.

This article was a great introductory to what graffiti art has become in Egypt, what it stands for and the meaning behind the paint. It explains that around 2011 individual people and other artistic groups began documenting the wrong doings, brutality and cruelty of the Egyptian regime. The author interviewed artist Ahmed Naguib, and he said, " people singing revolutionary slogans come and go, but the graffiti remains and keeps our spirits alive."

Conflict broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli forcing Mitiga airport, primary airport since Tripoli International was closed due to damages, to close down worsening the bloody proxy war thus escalating the crisis. Egypt and UAE have been aiding the Islamic opposition, helping to fight against the Islamic militants backed by Turkey and Qatar. Apparently Qatar's involvement in Libya goes back to the revolution that ousted Gaddafi, contributing $2 billion in support of the Islamic movements as a part of its vision to establish an Arab regime ruling through Sharia Law. As of now, no players are willing to compromise in this "state of war." 

This article from News Week basically paints a picture of Libyan history and how Gaddafi's reign devastated the state economically, socially, and politically. Author Dirk Vandewalle uses the phrase "a political tabula rasa" which in Latin means a blank slate, to describe the fate of Libya after Gaddafi's rule and convey the extent to which the country has to literally reconstruct every component that makes up a society and its government. He highlights major events that led to the downfall of both the Gaddafi regime and the Libyan state as a whole such as Arab nationalism, Jamahiriya, the Green Book, security apparatuses snuffing all opposition, terrorist incidents, isolation and international sanctions, the Lockerbie bombing, weapons of mass destruction, human right violations, divide and rule policies, and his use of oil revenue to fuel his insurgency. Vandewalle concludes the article with uncertain ideas thoughts towards Libya's future and the way the state is going to literally rebuild themselves from this "blank slate" that Gaddafi left behind. 

Author J.M. Berger discusses ISIS's strategy on Twitter, comparing their highly skilled techniques on this platform to the likes of a P.R./ marketing team working for a Western corporation. Berger goes on to discuss programs that automatically post tweets to users accounts, an app they developed that provides updates, and an intricate system able to surpass Twitter's spam and security teams.

While it is still unclear as to who will win the Syrian conflict, there are people who are already looking towards the future and a better Syria. Plans are being made but, of course, these plans will entirely depend on who wins the war. 

Saudi will supply full contracted volumes of crude oil to at least two Asian term buyers in May