Group items tagged

Egyptian art historian and graffiti artist, Bahia Shehab, discusses how she was first commissioned for an art piece in 2010 called "A Thousand Times No" that consisted of the way the word "no" had been represented in history over different continents in different art works. This later translated into her graffitiing the word all over Egypt as a way to speak out again the dictators and the violence that she witnessed.

"But Hezbollah appears to be the only military force capable of effectively fighting against ISIS - in the northeast of the country, on the border with Syria, and elsewhere. It is also the only organization providing a reliable social net to those hundreds of thousands of poor Lebanese citizens"

In Feb. the United Nations demanded Turkey to open its borders to thousands of Syrian refugees. Erdogan responded "are you mocking us?" and accused the UN for overstepping its powers and to basically back off from the Syrian conflict.

Another issue Turkey is constantly dealing with, is the problem with the thousands of Syrian refugees at their border, in addition to the mini-civil war w/the Kurds, and its questionable oil business with ISIS. This article points out Erdogan's requests for the EU to deliver more funds to control the border situation. Different point of view from the other two articles I bookmarked this week.

Kurdish fighters from Turkey and Iraq are scrambling to help defend a vital Kurdish safe haven in northern Syria, where tens of thousands of Kurds have fled after an offensive by Islamic State (Isis) militants.

Kurdish fighters from Turkey and Iraq are scrambling to help defend a vital Kurdish safe haven in northern Syria, where tens of thousands of Kurds have fled after an offensive by Islamic State (Isis) militants.

This article states what I have seen many times that President Bashar Assad denies the use of barrel bombs. This link goes into the fact that barrel bombs are crudely made and are indiscriminate killers. The bombs have killed thousands of people but the UN is still waiting to take action.

The article mentions the views of Americans and the views of Egyptians regarding the state of Egypt with concerns surrounding the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptians were able to carry a message to Americans. Egyptians voiced their want for U.S assistance with terrorism. 

This is a report published on November 6, 2014 by the International Crisis Group about the current peace talks between Turkey's President Ergodan and leaders of the PKK. It discusses how after decades of conflict which cost tens of thousands of people their lives, neither Turkey nor the PKK believe that military victory is possible, and are meeting to discuss a peaceful resolution. However, the events in Syria has reignited ever-present tensions between the two groups, and a fruitful compromise between them is seeming less likely. In this report, the International Crisis Group details the parameters of a possible peace deal, and states that differences need to be put aside so that basic issues like "transitional justice, disarmament and decentralization" can be resolved.

After a long delay, Syria has begun its destruction of dozens of storage facilities used to house chemical weapons. Syria joined the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) after an attack in Damascus killed more than 1000 people in 2013. Syria has handed over thousands of pounds of chemical agents since joining the OPCW but has yet to disclose any documentation about its chemical weapons program.

What happens when thousands of well-educated college graduates can'’t find jobs? Troy Camplin talks about the revolution and unemployment.

Ben Netanyahu is finally talking to Hamas to attempt to end the problem between the two parties. This a month after thousands of lives were lost in the most recent assaults.

The European Union is having some issues with Syrian refugees not staying in the country to where they first applied for asylum. This, and the ever growing number of Syrian refugees in Europe, has lead to a call to reform the Dublin Law. 

A Syrian no-fly zone has been proposed that could potentially bring safety to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. Russia is the main obstacle in the way of implementing the zone, reluctant to end its airstrikes. 

REUTERS - Weddings in Iran have long been an over-the-top affair with families spending thousands of dollars to celebrate a union. But now some couples are splurging on an entirely different sort of nuptial celebration: a divorce party. Local media outlets and blogs have been abuzz for months about lavish parties, complete with sarcastic invitations and humorous cakes, for couples splitting up.

This article offers a differing perspective than most, stating that social media was more of a contributing factor in the middle eastern revolutions rather than "the driving force." Another interesting aspect of this article is the fact that it was written very recently. I think it's interesting how the difference of opinion over time on how social media has impacted and is continuing to impact revolutions in this area.

On 25 January 2011 hundreds of thousands of protesters started to gather in Tahrir Square and planted the seeds of unrest which, days later, finally unseated the incumbent president, Hosni Mubarak, after 30 years of power.

This is an article about Yugoslavia which doesn't want the interference of NATO in their lives any more. NATO and Yugoslavia gets into details about foreign policy