long history of political animosity; this is a history that continues until our present day.
Group items matching
in title, tags, annotations or url
1More
1More
The Arab spring, five years on - 0 views
-
Charting five years since the onset of the Arab spring.The Arab revolutions produced few leaders, few credible programmes for action, and few ideas.
1More
Iran, Saudi Arabia in War of Words After Cleric's Execution - 0 views
-
Rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia were given fresh fuel Monday with both sides issuing tit-for-tat verbal volleys. Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have been trading blows in an escalating war of words since Saturday following the former's move to execute prominent Shiite opposition cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Iran's Shiite leaders blasted the Sunni kingdom verbally, while protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi Arabian embassy.
1More
EU leaders say Russia is committed to Syria ceasefire - 0 views
-
temporary ceasefire agreement issue remain to be the interest to the great powers. While suspend or forget about the central issue which is the removal of Bashar al-Assad.
1More
The Muslim Brotherhood Struggles in a New Egypt | TIME - 0 views
-
Discusses the leadership role in the Muslim Brotherhood, and how it has changed overtime due to many of the senior leaders being jailed. Gives the affects of these actions relative to the Brotherhood rather than anything else in the country.
1More
U.S. behind Syria strike that killed top Nusra Front militant | The Japan Times - 0 views
-
The U.S. is supposedly behind the attack this past weekend that killed a prominent al Nusra leader. This could suggest that the U.S. is increasing their military presence in Syria.
29More
How long can Saudi Arabia afford Yemen war? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 14 views
-
-
"However, as Saleh continued to kill, these countries had no choice but to issue a forceful declaration to show that they were not in favor of Saleh's relentless, murderous campaign to ignore a civil war in Yemen." pg 128
-
-
Yemen's treasury was burdened by the costs of unification such as paying for southern civil servants to move to the new capital, Sanaa, and paying interest on its massive debt. On top of its other economic challenges, Yemen was to absorb the shock of 800,000 returnees and their pressure on the already weak job market. With their return, the estimated $350 million a month in remittances
-
"My father had decided to leave Eritrea and return to Yemen, his homeland, after long years of exile..." pg 110
-
-
Civil war broke out in the summer of 1994 in what could be interpreted as a symptom of economic failure.
- ...20 more annotations...
-
By 1995 the Yemeni government implemented a program of macroeconomic adjustment and structural reforms with support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and reduced spending on defense and civil service and cut subsidies. The Yemeni economy started showing signs of recovery and stability.
-
Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, wrote in 2012 that “fiscal sustainability will be an issue” for Gulf Cooperation Council countries. In its 2012 regional economic outlook, the IMF recommended to “curtail current expenditures while protecting the poor” as a response to the risk of declining oil prices.
-
Policies to cut spending were unlikely to be introduced in a monarchy like Saudi Arabia, especially after the Arab Spring, where tax-paying citizens along with non-tax-paying Bahrainis and next-door Yemenis went out on the streets to claim their rights in shaping the policies that govern their daily lives. The risk of people demanding more political rights was growing and cutting spending was not the optimal strategy for the kingdom.
-
"The students of Sanaa were unique, marching straight out onto the street from their classrooms and chanting, 'The people demand the fall of the President and the regime.'" pg 126
-
-
As the kingdom continued its generous fiscal policy by providing more benefits to its citizens in response to the people’s dissatisfaction with the economic and political situation, it ran a deficit of 3.4% of GDP in 2014 due to a fall in oil revenues.
-
The kingdom's economic reforms of raising gas and diesel prices, cutting fuel subsidies in half and supporting the introduction of a GCC-wide value-added tax might ease the pressure of sustaining a war for nine months and perhaps longer. These structural reforms were long overdue and their introduction at this time is revealing.
-
CIG pg. 120 -> "We live in a world with many layers of linkages between countries. Nations will exchange goods and services through trade and will engage in cross-border investments from bank loans to setting up businesses. Each of these linkages can serve as a transmission mechanism in a time of crisis."
-
-
the political inclusion of the taxpaying citizen. It's a price the kingdom is now willing to pay, as we have seen Saudi women not only
-
and suffered an uprising fueled by anger at economic failure. The Saudi economy is trying to absorb
-
As they introduce revenue-collecting mechanisms, they should also reform mechanisms of capital transfer to the public to minimize the gap between the rich and the poor, as it is known that the poor are the most affected by tighter revenue-collecting policies. Otherwise, the Saudi war on Yemen will mark the beginning of an economic downturn that will surely spill over onto its political system in the long run.
-
"So the young revolutionaries fight on, until all their demands are met and they are free to build their State: a state founded on social justice and equality between all citizens where Saleh's reign is just a page in the history books." pg 129
-
CIG pg. 116 -> "Globalization, in the shape of freer trade and multinational investments, has been generally a force for good and economic prosperity. But it has also advanced, rather than harmed, social agendas"
-
-
-
But it became apparent that Saleh was not going to leave me to my own devices. He declared war in mid-1994, occupying the South and defeating the Socialist Party. Everything was finished, or so I believed. Its property stolen by the regime, the paper shut down, and once more I found myself broken, defeated and without hope. Worse, I was a known employee of the Socialist Party through my work at the paper. In the region where I lived agents for the regime had been hunting down and detaining anyone who had belonged to the Socialist Party or getting them fired from their jobs. Although I had not been a party member myself, just worked at a party newspaper, the regime made no distinction. My mother intervened, however, and hid me. She wouldn't let me out of the house. My mother always protects me. (2013-12-31). Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution: Voices from Tunis to Damascus (p. 115). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
-
-
-
Civil War: in 1994 Jamal currently in high school, describes the times as a world, when the color of his skin would define him. The Civil War, "interpreted as a symptom of economic failure", was evident in the reading when Jamal described the lack of jobs as a college graduate, members of the socialist party were completely shut out when Saleh took the presidency, depriving hard workers the ability to integrate into the economy.
-
-
-
CIG Ch. 4 -> in relation to international rulemaking on fiscal policy -> is international intervention needed to contain and reverse financial crises in countries, esp. when it comes to the human rights and economic equality of citizens
-
-
-
Relating to page 120 Sanaa could not find work after college. While his degree wasn't very fluid, he was unable to find work for about 5 years. He got into journalism which blacklisted him against the government. Now he is unemployed again.
-
-
-
This paragraph, while not highlighted, is important to the idea of globalization and why the war is not stopping. There is a flow of revenue from these oil prices that Yemen is reliant on, but they are also competing with countries that produce higher amounts of oil. This would have happened during the time Sanaa was in College writing scathing articles
-
-
-
On page 113 around this time the author was working as a journalist for the newspaper.
-
-
-
Related to page 129 Sanaa is still living in hiding and in poverty. The animosity keeps him in fear.
-
-
-
-
-
When Saleh came to power he and the leader of the southern part of Yemen, Salem al-Beid, agreed to coesxist as leaders of Yemen. WIthin weeks of this in play, Saleh began to try to make the south his and this created the civil war.
-
-
-
Jamal notes that the standard of living in Yemen was decreasing gradually the longer Saleh stayed in power.
-
-
-
People, including Jamal, were writing about the Saleh regime and how they were upset with them.
-
-
-
When Saleh's son was coming into power, Jamal saw that Yemen was moving towards a monarchy, realizing that his and the country's future was in the hands of an unqualified person.
-
1More
Saudi Arabia's Key to Security Is Not the Sword - 0 views
-
Saudi Arabia's mass execution of 47 people on January 2 was a bloody emblem in the country's self-marketing as a leader in the global campaign against ISIS and other armed extremist groups. But it was also a stark example of what Saudi Arabia, and many other countries, are getting wrong in that effort.
1More
Three Libya Oil Ports Set to Reopen - 0 views
-
Three Libyan oil ports that have been closed for over a year are set to reopen, now that a unity government has arrived in Tripoli, militia leaders said, a rare positive sign for an oil sector that has been under siege.
45More
Prevalence of female genital cutting among Egyptian girls - 0 views
-
-
-
fundamental violation of women’s and girls’ rights
-
50% or highe
- ...41 more annotations...
-
female circumcisio
-
harmful physical, psychological and human rights consequences has led to the use of the term “female genital mutilation
-
women who have undergone FGC do not consider themselves to be mutilated and have become offended by the term “FGM”
-
no definitive evidence documenting when or why this ritual began
-
practised in ancient Egypt as a sign of distinction, while others hypothesize its origin in ancient Greece, Rome, Pre-Islamic Arabia and the Tsarist Russian Federation.
-
97% of married women surveyed experienced FGC.3
-
94.6% of married women had been exposed to FGC and 69.1% of those women agreed to carry out FGC on their daughters
-
41% of female students in primary, preparatory and secondary schools had been exposed to FGC.
-
females interviewed was 38 816. The prevalence of FGC among schoolgirls was 50.3%. The prevalence of FGC was 46.2% in government urban schools, 9.2% in private urban schools and 61.7% in rural schools.
-
FGC has remained a common practice in the countries where it has traditionally been performed.4
-
Egypt are type I (commonly referred to as clitoridectomy) and type II (commonly referred to as excision).5 In Africa, the most common type of FGC is type II (excision of the clitoris and the labia minor) which accounts for up to 80% of all cases.6 I
-
In 1995, a ministerial decree forbade the practice and made it punishable by fine and imprisonment
-
The difference in the prevalence rates of FGC is mainly due to educational status in both rural and urban areas
-
There is an obvious negative correlation between the female’s parents’ education and the practice of FGC
-
Parents with low or no education are the most likely to have circumcised their daughters with prevalence rates ranging between 59.5% and 65.1%
-
higher degrees of education are the least likely to have their daughters circumcised and the prevalence rate ranged between 19.5% and 22.2%.
-
age at which FGC is performed on girls varies
-
4 and 12 years old
-
the procedure may be carried out shortly after birth to some time before the age of marriage.6
-
some girls mentioned that they were circumcised soon after birth, during the neonatal period.
-
. In Egypt, in the past, the majority of FGC procedures were performed by traditional midwives, called dayas. However, according to the Demographic and Health Survey (1995),16 the number of
-
An immediate effect of the procedure is pain because FGC is often carried out without anaesthesia.
-
Short-term complications, such as severe bleeding which can lead to shock or death
-
include infection because of unsanitary operating conditions, and significant psychological and psychosexual consequences of FGC
-
complications (early and late) such as severe pain, bleeding, incontinence, infections, mental health problems, sexual problems, primary infertility and difficult labour with high episiotomy rate. In addition, the repetitive use of the same instruments on several girls without sterilization can cause the spread of HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
-
Fathers played minor roles as decision-makers for the procedure (9.4%
-
mothers are the main decision-makers for the procedure of FGC (65.2%)
-
circumcision is an important religious tradition (33.4%)
-
religious tradition is still the most important reason for performing FGC in Egypt,
-
In these surveys, 72% of ever-married women reported that circumcision is an important part of religious tradition and about two-thirds of the women had the impression that the husband prefers his wife to be circumcised
-
one-third of ever-married women cited cleanliness as a reason while a small number saw it as a way to prevent promiscuity before marriage.
-
milies refuse to accept women who have not undergone FGC as marriage partners
-
Around 12% of girls believed that there is no religious support for circumcision.
-
. It is an issue that demands a collaborative approach involving health professionals, religious leaders, educationalists and nongovernmental organizations.
-
partial or total cutting away of the female external genitalia
-
Female genital cutting (FGC
-
Past issues Information for contributors Editorial members How to order About the Bulletin Disclaimer Prevalence of female genital cutting among Egyptian girls
-
100 and 130
-
cultural or other non-therapeutic reason
-
28 African countries and the Middle East have been subjected to FGC.2
-
million girls and women
-
This is such a controversial topic. I saw a reference to it recently (was it possibly something that was brought up in the Bill Maher/Ben Affleck dust-up?) that pointed out that the practice is almost unheard of outside of central and northeastern Africa, with a few small pockets in Iraq and the Gulf.
1More
In Blow to Leadership of '11 Revolt, Egypt Activists Are Given 3 Years in Prison - 1 views
-
In accordance with the new anti-protest law, three of the leaders in Egypt's revolution were sentenced to three years in prison. The new law is aimed at Morsi's Islamist supporters after he was removed from office. More recently, officials have seen the law as protecting against the threat of the youth activists who led Mubarak's overthrow. The activists and other supporters call the law and the imprisonment revenge against their former actions. This sentencing followed new charges against Morsi implicating him in conspiracies to destabilize the country. From prison, one of the activists wrote a letter describing police stations as still torturous, suspicion against the Ministry of Interior, and the return of oppression of freedoms.
1More
Khamenei calls Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons a myth - 0 views
-
Ali Khamenei is Iran's Supreme Leader. On Sunday, April 19, 2015, he pronounced that Iran's nuclear program and that nuclear weapons are a myth made up by the U.S. and European nations. As a result, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has launched investigations regarding the possible military dimensions of the nuclear program.
1More
Tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and Iran - 0 views
-
As we all see the war in Yemen is really way larger that the land of Yemen. It seems like indirect war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This video talks more about what the roles of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
20More
Syria's beleaguered Christians - BBC News - 0 views
-
Christian men have been fighting in the multi-layered conflict - either alongside Kurdish militias or alongside relatively secular rebel factions, or government forces.
-
10% of Syria's 22 million people.
-
Greek Orthodox Church,
- ...16 more annotations...
-
Christians have long been among Syria's elite
-
The founder of the Baath Party
-
was a Christian, and Christians rose to senior positions in the party, government and security forces
-
not seen to have any real power compared with their Alawite and Sunni colleagues.
-
large proportion
-
Sunnis also tolerated or supported the Assads,
-
guarantors of stability
-
When pro-democracy protests erupted
-
many Christians were cautious and tried to avoid taking sides.
-
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham said last year that more than 1,000 Christians had been killed, entire villages cleared, and dozens of churches and Christian centres damaged or destroyed.
-
This has led some Christians to express support for President Assad,
-
if President Assad is overthrown, Christians will be targeted and communities destroyed as many were in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.
-
concerned by the coming to power of Islamist parties in post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia.
-
Other Christians are believed to be assisting the opposition.
-
Syrian National Council, whose leader
-
is from a Christian family.
-
Thsi article explores the state of Christians in Syria. Patriarch Gregorios and Bishop Ibrahim add to this discussion.
1More
Nuclear weapons are a sin, says Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - 1 views
-
In 2012, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisted that Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons, claiming that "holding these arms is a sin as well as useless, harmful and dangerous". Why atomic weaponry is considered a religious sin in the Islamic culture.
1More
ISIS\'s Rise After al Qaeda\'s House of Cards - Part 4 of \"Smarter Counterterrorism\" - 0 views
-
Ayman al-Zawahiri must have awoke to the news of Bin Laden's death on May 2, 2011 with the excitement of soon being al Qaeda's global leader followed shortly by the anxiety of leading an organization and associated jihadi movement in sharp decline.
13More
Russia's Putin, Egypt's Sisi say committed to fighting terrorism | Reuters - 0 views
-
United by a deep hostility toward Islamists, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russia's Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday they were both committed to fighting the threat of terrorism.
-
Sisi, who is fighting a raging Islamist insurgency in the Sinai region, said Putin had agreed with him that "the challenge of terrorism that faces Egypt, and which Russia also faces, does not stop at any borders
-
utin, making his first state visit to Egypt in a decade, said they agreed on "reinforcing our efforts in combating terrorism
- ...9 more annotations...
-
The Kremlin chief was the first leader of a major power to visit Egypt since former army chief Sisi became president in 2014
-
Sisi has repeatedly called for concerted counter-terrorism efforts in the Middle East and the West. Egypt has fought Islamist militancy for decades, mostly through security crackdowns that have weakened, but failed to eliminate, radical group
-
Putin has also resorted to force against Islamists, sending troops to quell a separatist rebellion in Chechnya, but still confronts insurgents in parts of the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region
-
Putin, facing Western isolation and sanctions over his support for pro-Russian separatists in neighboring Ukraine, received a grand welcome in Cair
-
Sisi has since opened up to Moscow, describing Russia on Tuesday as a "strategic friend"
-
Egypt and the Soviet Union were close allies until the 1970s when Cairo moved closer to the United States, which brokered its 1979 peace deal with Israel.
-
Putin said he expected a new round of talks on the Syrian conflict, following on from a meeting of some opposition figures and the Damascus government in Moscow last month
-
The Moscow talks, which ended on Jan. 29, were not seen as yielding a breakthrough as they were shunned by the key political opposition in Syria and did not involve the main insurgent groups fighting on the ground
-
Moscow has been a long-standing ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
-
Not only is Russia aligning with Syria, but it is also getting closer to Egypt and its government. Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi believes that its relationship with Russia is a "strategic alliance" which is what other middle eastern countries, such as Syria, believe.
1More
Obama Says Nuclear Deal Offered to Iran Is 'Extraordinarily Reasonable' - 0 views
-
"President Obama said that he and other world leaders have offered Iran an 'extraordinarily reasonable deal' that will test whether the leadership of the Islamic nation is serious about at last resolving the dispute over its nuclear program." If Iran verifies that they are not developing a weapons system, then there is a deal to be had. However, they have not said yes to any verifications or program constraints.
1More
Meet the female peshmerga forces fighting IS - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 2 views
-
Author: Shaida al-Ameen Posted August 11, 2014 Kurdish female peshmerga fighters have been active during battles against the Islamic State (IS). According to the female troops' leaders based in the Sulaimaniyah governorate, Kurdish female fighters have been on the front lines in the battles against IS.