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Democracy Under Way, Tunisia Turns To Tough Economic Agenda - Gulf Business - 0 views
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With a new economic agenda being created and putting into place the people of Tunisia are worried. With the term "reforms" people of Tunisia are worried that the wrong issues are going to be handled. Like for instance creating jobs instead of increasing prices. Authorities tried to raise money by imposing a tax of $20 on foreign travellers, that angered residents but also hurt trade with Libya. This caused protests, caused officers to react with physical abuse.
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The many battles of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - Al Jazeera English - 1 views
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The internal power struggle present is causing, "the worst case of state oppression in modern Egyptian History, " according to analysts. This instability causes the other groups fighting against the regime to lose confidence in the Brotherhood. The lack of leadership also adds to the Muslim brotherhood having an uphill battle in the years to come.
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Nato commander: Isis 'spreading like cancer' among refugees | World news | The Guardian - 0 views
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US general Philip Breedlove is worried that the Syrian Refugees who are being dispersed throughout Europe and to the United States are causing the terror group of ISIS to "spread like cancer". He blames the Russian bombing in the name of Assad for causing this because civilians are forced to leave their land and are further pushed toward no other choice but joining ISIS.
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How ISIS Spread in Syria and Iraq-and How to Stop It - The Atlantic - 0 views
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This article approaches understanding ISIS by looking at it from the root cause rather than trying to understand based on their current movements and attacks. The movement has spread so easily because it is fighting for the noble cause, to so many people, of making the world a better place and moving towards the end of the world.
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Understanding Syria: From Pre-Civil War to Post-Assad - The Atlantic - 0 views
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So it is important to understand how their “social contract”—their view of their relationship with one another and with the government—evolved and then shattered.
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Nationalists took this diversity as a primary cause of weakness and adopted as their primary task integrating the population into a single political and social structure.
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or Hafez al-Assad, the secular, nationalist Baath Party was a natural choice: it offered, or seemed to offer, the means to overcome his origins in a minority community and to point toward a solution to the disunity of Syrian politics
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small group gathered in the southwestern town of Daraa to protest against government failure to help them
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All observers agree that the foreign-controlled and foreign-constituted insurgent groups are the most coherent, organized, and effective
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a whole generation of Syrians have been subjected to either or both the loss of their homes and their trust in fellow human beings.
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How YouTube Is Aiding The Libyan Revolution | SocialTimes - 0 views
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When people are long distances away from revolutions, it is easy to not focus or forget about them. That is why the use of video is so important. This article discusses the uprising in Libya and how the over 9,000 videos uploaded to youtube impacted their causes. It also discusses another platform called Citizentube that helped people upload videos even when youtube is blocked. Being able to see all of the whats really going on really puts things in perspective and helps to spread message on a global scale.
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When people are long distances away from revolutions, it is easy to not focus or forget about them. That is why the use of video is so important. This article discusses the uprising in Libya and how the over 9,000 videos uploaded to youtube impacted their causes. It also discusses another platform called Citizentube that helped people upload videos even when youtube is blocked. Being able to see all of the whats really going on really puts things in perspective and helps to spread message on a global scale.
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shared by aromo0 on 05 Oct 14
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VOICES: Women's Rights in Egypt - Re-examining a Revolution | Middle East Voices - 1 views
middleeastvoices.voanews.com/...e-examining-a-revolution-99467
rights egypt women muslim brotherhood
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The setbacks women experienced since the Muslim Brotherhood gained political power vary, from the approval of a constitution that lacks a clear statement on women’s rights
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he Women Deliver conference, coined as the largest meeting of the decade focused on the health and rights of women and girls.
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I’m not defending the Islamists, but I’m saying that the general mood around the world is more conservative. And this is clear in particular in the case of anything related to women, whether rights or services or freedom
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Tallawy pointed out that in Egypt the political hurdles are intensified by a strong wave of anti-female sentiment where women’s actions are policed at all times, coupled with a decreased emphasis on education in favor of marriage and homemaking.
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women’s causes is further hindered by the fact that non-governmental organizations operate within a framework of harsh government restrictions and a perpetual lack of funding. But she also believes that women’s rights groups have not changed their ways enough since the revolution, often working in a reactionary way rather than developing new ideas or tackling the deeper issues.
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So we have more work to do on the real common issues between all women, and to develop their sense of empowerment to make choices, set their own priorities, and express themselves well.”
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more on-the-ground interaction and research will be required. The second consideration, Abouzeid believes, must be the high rates of illiteracy, which can be addressed by utilizing audiovisual media campaigns, along with changing a media culture dismissive of women and their plight.
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The article from June of 2013 addresses the issues women face in Egypt and the causes of those issues. The article reflects on the need for women to identify the roots of their injustices and seek opportunities to prevent further restrictions on their rights. The article concludes by recognizing the means that will work best for encouraging women to pursue their rights, such as sing audiovisual media campaigning as well as well as developing "their sense of empowerment to make choices."
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This article mentions setbacks in the progress to women rights. These include setbacks by the government and societal norms within the culture.
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This article mentions setbacks in the progress to women rights. These include setbacks by the government and societal norms within the culture.
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Re-examining a revolution that is needed in order to create a better environment for women. The Muslim Brotherhood coming into power damaged women's rights.
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shared by allieggg on 28 Sep 14
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Islamists Aren't the Obstacle | Foreign Affairs - 0 views
www.foreignaffairs.com/...islamists-arent-the-obstacle
middle east democracy Islamists institutions egypt politics tunisia
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A minority of the population -- 26 percent of Tunisians and 28 percent of Egyptians -- believes that Islam should play a large role in government.
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Islamist parties received considerable support in both countries' recent elections -- not only because there is a broad ideological affinity for Islamism among the population but also because of Islamist parties' effective campaigning.
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When asked about the most important feature of a democracy, 69 percent of Egyptians and 32 percent of Tunisians put providing people with basic necessities or narrowing the gap between rich and poor at the top of their lists.
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Tunisia has fared better than Egypt so far in the post-Arab Spring transition, with less violence, fewer demonstrations, and greater political stability. This is in part because challenges are easier to confront in a country of only 11 million, 98 percent of whom are Sunni Muslim, compared to the more diverse and populous Egypt. But Tunisia's success is primarily a result of its stronger institutions, which provide a conduit for political debate.
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Egypt's institutions are weak and have been routinely undermined by entrenched interests. The countries' different geopolitical situations play a role here. Tunisia's minimal strategic importance means that foreign countries have less reason to intervene. But Egypt's proximity to Israel and the Palestinian territories, its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and its role as an intermediary between Israel and Hamas make its political developments important to Israel and the United States. Consequently, Egypt is vulnerable to foreign interference, particularly to attempts to prop up its military. Furthermore, beyond serving as a pillar to Egypt's authoritarian regimes, the Egyptian military has significant business interests and accounts for ten to 30 percent of Egypt's gross domestic product.
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Many onlookers claim that Egypt's more tumultuous post-revolution trajectory is because of the country's legacy of religiosity and Islamism.
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Egypt's judicial branch, which is also more powerful than Tunisia's, has at times undermined democratic processes.
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Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the Islamist-dominated parliament and the Constituent Assembly it elected were unconstitutional, because Islamist parties contested seats intended for independent candidates. The move polarized the country and pushed the executive branch to take extreme measures.
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Egyptian democracy is undermined by the inability of institutions to address citizens' demands and the impulse of powerful actors to interfere, not by the divide between Islamists and secularists. Institutions in Egypt fail to provide a meaningful forum for debate. As a result, violent street protesters and extremist sheiks are gaining power.
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U.S. policy must support institutions rather than actors, and processes rather than outcomes, in order to help Egypt and Tunisia achieve their democratic potential.
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The Council on Foreign Relations published an article about democratization in the middle east and the major obstacles that are present in the process. While most assume Islamists and Islamic embedded institutions are the root of the delayed democratic transition, the problems are much bigger than that. While Islamist regimes do indeed stunt the growth of democratic progress in terms of creating a stable government, Arab countries struggle with economic and social factors as well. The Arab Spring Revolutions have caused economic and social degradation across the region, resulting in a road block of political leadership. Without a reliable and capable government structure, the states are unable to progress economically. However, in order to have a stable government, social and economic institutions must be in place to create this capitalist economy that they strive for. Because most wealth resides in oil, the revenue that the states bring in isn't distributed properly throughout society and is concentrated within few business elites. The article stresses that instead of foreign aid going into the hands of an unstable leader or regime, it should be invested in institutions in order to spur economic growth and eliminate corruption. Rather than focusing on the Islamist-secularist divide, the world should be working towards the strengthening of institutions to create a stable foundation for governance.
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Efua Dorkenoo fought against female genital cutting - The Globe and Mail - 0 views
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Dorkenoo started organizations to battle genital cutting and co-ordinated the effort more broadly as acting director of women’s health at the World Health Organization in the late 1990s.
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“She inspired a generation of feminists across the world to take up the cause of banning the procedure,
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Last year, the UN General Assembly voted unanimously to recognize female genital cutting as a human-rights violation.
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African-led organization she helped found, The Girl Generation: Together to End FGM, began work this month.
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teenage girls were less likely to have been cut than older women in half of the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where the practice is concentrated.
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In Egypt, where more women have been cut than in any other country, surveys showed that 81 per cent of 15- to 19-year-olds had undergone the practice, compared with 96 per cent of women in their late 40s.
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Female genital cutting involves pricking, piercing or amputating some or all of the external genitalia
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The World Health Organization says female genital cutting has no health benefits and can cause severe bleeding, problems urinating and, later in life, cysts, infections and infertility.
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125 million women living today in the countries where it is concentrated have experienced such cutting.
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The mother was so badly scarred, she said, that she could not deliver her baby through natural childbirth.
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Foundation for Women’s Health and Development to promote the health of African women and girls, with a focus on abolishing female genital cutting
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co-ordinated national action plans against female genital cutting in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan.
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In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II named Ms. Dorkenoo an honorary officer in the Order of the British Empire.
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Words of Women from the Egyptian Revolution | Episode 11: Aya Tarek - YouTube - 0 views
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This artifact focuses on Aya Tarek, a 24 year old Egyptian graffiti artist, who discusses how she began her journey into the art scene and what she believes in. An avid supporter of the revolution, Tarek also talks about how important it is to fight not only for the causes you believe in, but also for who you are.
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Daniel Byman | Why Drones Work | Foreign Affairs - 0 views
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Whereas President George W. Bush oversaw fewer than 50 drone strikes during his tenure, Obama has signed off on over 400 of them in the last four years
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And they have done so at little financial cost, at no risk to U.S. forces, and with fewer civilian casualties than many alternative methods would have caused.
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So drone warfare is here to stay, and it is likely to expand in the years to come as other countries’ capabilities catch up with those of the United States.
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Critics of drone strikes often fail to take into account the fact that the alternatives are either too risky or unrealistic.
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Even the most unfavorable estimates of drone casualties reveal that the ratio of civilian to militant deaths is lower than it would be for other forms of strikes.
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signature strikes,” which target not specific individuals but instead groups engaged in suspicious activities.
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After a strike in Pakistan, militants often cordon off the area, remove their dead, and admit only local reporters sympathetic to their cause or decide on a body count themselves. The U.S. media often then draw on such faulty reporting to give the illusion of having used multiple sources. As a result, statistics on civilians killed by drones are often inflated.
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Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, also at times allowed drone strikes in his country and even covered for them by telling the public that they were conducted by the Yemeni air force.
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As officials in both Pakistan and Yemen realize, U.S. drone strikes help their governments by targeting common enemies.
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A 2012 poll found that 74 percent of Pakistanis viewed the United States as their enemy, likely in part because of the ongoing drone campaign. Similarly, in Yemen, as the scholar Gregory Johnsen has pointed out, drone strikes can win the enmity of entire tribes.
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Many surveys of public opinion related to drones are conducted by anti-drone organizations, which results in biased samples.
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And for most Pakistanis and Yemenis, the most important problems they struggle with are corruption, weak representative institutions, and poor economic growth; the drone program is only a small part of their overall anger, most of which is directed toward their own governments.
How Anti-Jewish Jokes Hurt the Palestinian Cause - The Atlantic - 0 views
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Sisi warns Egypt students against 'malicious' acts - 0 views
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On Sunday, Sept. 28, President Sisi made a speech at Cairo University, declaring his affection and support for the Egyptian youth. He also warned the students against "malicious" activities and that universities were "solely for education." The speech followed the draft of a new controversial law allowing for the arbitrary firing of faculty members. Sisi pledged to dedicate state resources like special councils and scholarship funds to the cause of the youth demographic.
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Islamic State executes three of its Chinese militants: China paper | Reuters - 0 views
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But Beijing has also shown no sign of wanting to take part in the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to use military force against the militant group
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Chinese man was "arrested, tried and shot dead" in Syria in late September by the Islamic State after he became disillusioned with jihad and attempted to return to Turkey to attend university
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"Another two Chinese militants were beheaded in late December in Iraq, along with 11 others from six countries. The Islamic State charged them with treason and accused them of trying to escape
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Chinese officials blame separatists from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for carrying out attacks in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people. But they are vague about how many people from China are fighting in the Middle Eas
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"China is willing to work with the international community to combat terrorist forces, including ETIM, and safeguard global peace, security and stability," Hong said.
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Human rights advocates say economic marginalization of Uighurs and curbs on their culture and religion are the main causes of ethnic violence in Xinjiang and around China that has killed hundreds of people in recent years. China denies these assertions.
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hina has criticized the Turkish government for offering shelter to Uighur refugees who have fled through southeast Asia, saying it creates a global security risk.
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The Islamic State has killed three Chinese militants who joined its ranks in Syria and Iraq and later attempted to flee
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China has expressed concern about the rise of the Islamic State, nervous about the effect it could have on its Xinjiang region, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Tunisia cuts 2012 growth forecast to 3.5 pct - Daily News Egypt - 0 views
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Tunisia cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent, down from a previous forecast of 4.5 percent due to declines in foreign investment and tourism. Tunisia's government said in December the economy would grow 4.5 percent in 2012, but ongoing strikes have put off foreign investment, forcing it to cut its forecast. In 2011 the leaving of Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali sparked the "Arab Spring". This caused revolts, which shrank the economy to 1.8 percent in 2011. The supplementary budget also increased in spending of 1 billion dinars.
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Did Obama's Drone War Help Cause Yemen's Collapse? - 1 views
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in the time since the drone campaign was launched, al-Qaida has only grown in size, two pro-American governments have been overthrown, and the country is on the brink of splitting in two.
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Civilians struggle to cope as Yemen conflict escalates - Al Jazeera English - 0 views
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Shopkeeper Rassam Ali told Al Jazeera that every day is a battle for survival for residents as the war rages on.