Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed 26 civil society, private sector and government leaders from all regions to a High-level Panel on July 31, 2012.
Bahman Baktiari
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Saudi Arabia: still worried about youth employment
According to the The Financial Times, "With unemployment officially above 10 per cent, and even higher among youths, job creation is an imperative for a country that is throwing money at its potentially restive population."
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Monday, July 30, 2012
Leading Economist Says Israeli Banks Not That Secure
The University of Chicago's economist Sam Peltzman is doubtful about Israeli banks and their security.
ALMONITOR
Bahman Baktiari
ALMONITOR
Bahman Baktiari
A Mormon Foreign Policy Would be Good for America and Great for the World, But it won’t Happen…
By Inderjeet Parmar, Professor of Government at the University of Manchester, Chair of the British International Studies Association, and PI of the AHRC Obama Research Network. ARTICLE
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Sunday, July 29, 2012
French Presidential Elections
Good review of the book by Lewis-Beck, Nadeau & Bélanger's 'French Presidential Elections. Book Review: French Presidential Elections
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Stephen Walt: "Why Condi Rice does not Inspire."
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has an op-ed in the Financial Times today, where she argues that America must overcome its "reluctance to lead." Given her own track record between 2001 and 2008, when she played a key role in a series of foreign policy disasters and rang up precious few genuine achievements, one might wonder why anybody would place much stock in her counsel today. But her piece is in fact quite valuable for underscoring the dearth of genuine strategic thinking about U.S. foreign policy these days.
See Stephen Walt's article
Bahman Baktiari
See Stephen Walt's article
Bahman Baktiari
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Palestinians in Syria get pulled into the Syrian civil war
Excellent report on how Palestinian are dragged into the Syrian civil war. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
New Publication: The Twilight War Between The U.S. and Iran, David Crist
“In The Twilight War, government historian David Crist outlines the secret history of America’s 30-year conflict with Iran. The book, based on interviews with hundreds of officials as well as classified military archives, details how the covert war has spanned five American presidential terms and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations into open warfare.”
Tariq Ramadan Book "In the Footsteps of the Prophet.”
In his book, "In the Footsteps of the Prophet,” Tariq Ramadan explains why the prophet Mohammed is more modern than many believe and why reconciliation between conservative Muslims and secular societies is possible. See the review HERE
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Twitter in Turkey
According to this article, Turks turn to Twitter as Erdogan muzzles traditional media. ARTICLE
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Future of Syria
Why do Middle East tyrants hold on to power till the very end, even to the point of death, and do not seem to be pragmatic?
Syrian government troops retake crossing at Iraqi border
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Massive bombing inside Syria
BEIRUT, Lebanon - President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and Syria's defense minister were killed on Wednesday when a suicide bomber attacked a crisis group of senior ministers and security chiefs meeting in central Damascus, according to state ..
Democratization in the Arab World: Prospects and Lessons from Around the Globe
"Daunting challenges lie ahead for Arab countries where revolutions have upended longstanding authoritarian regimes. These unexpected events created new uncertainties in a troubled region: Would the Arab Spring lead to a flowering of democracy? Would loosening of the political systems in these countries unleash dangerous forces of extremism or ethno-sectarian conflict? Would new autocrats replace the old ones?"
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
The rise of Pakistan's televangelists
A new breed of Islamic TV evangelist has emerged, leading to a confrontation with liberals.
ARTICLE.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18729683
Bahman Baktiari
ARTICLE.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18729683
Bahman Baktiari
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz
The Nobel economist savages the neoliberal ideology that has made society intolerably unfair. REVIEW
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Friday, July 13, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Sanctions are already making daily life difficult for ordinary Iranians. U.S. Increased the sanctions today.
"In the latest ratcheting up of pressure on Iran, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday imposed new financial sanctions against Iranian and other companies whose operations allegedly support the country’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programmes.
The Treasury Department said it was blacklisting 11 companies and several individuals associated with Iran’s defence ministry, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as Iran’s national shipping line.
It also blacklisted several companies in Hong Kong, Switzerland and Malaysia, as well as the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), which the treasury alleged have been used by the national oil company to evade existing sanctions against Iranian oil experts."
Guantanamo Inmates Forcibly Given ‘Mind Altering Drugs’ Prior To Investigations
Detainees in U.S. military custody at Guantanamo Bay were regularly interrogated under the influence of antipsychotics and other “mind altering drugs,” according to a declassified Department of Defense (DOD) report obtained by Truthout. See the full article HERE.
Tehran Abuzz as Book Says Israel Killed 5 Scientists
By ARTIN AFKHAMI THE NEW YORK TIMES
The latest literary sensation in Tehran is a thriller about Iran’s nuclear program that is laden with espionage, cunning and political murder. But its authors are not former Iranian intelligence operatives or Iranian military fiction writers. They are not the Iranian equivalent of Tom Clancy.
The book, “Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars,” has set off a buzz among both government and opposition news media inside Iran for the assertion by its authors — Yossi Melman, widely regarded as a leading Israeli military and intelligence journalist, and Dan Raviv, a CBS national political correspondent — that five Iranian nuclear scientists killed in the past five years were all assassinated by operatives, most likely of Persian Jewish heritage, employed by Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A recent Pew poll suggests that the majority of Muslims in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Pakistan want Democracy, Personal Freedoms, and Islam in Political Life
“More than a year after the first stirrings of the Arab Spring, there continues to be a strong desire for democracy in Arab and other predominantly Muslim nations. Solid majorities in Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan believe democracy is the best form of government, as do a plurality of Pakistanis.
Indeed, these publics do not just support the general notion of democracy – they also embrace specific features of a democratic system, such as competitive elections and free speech.” See the results of the poll here.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Arafat's widow to file charges in France over Palestinian leader's unexplained death"
Recent Al Jazeera report points to radioactive poisoning, and now Arafat's widow is filing a lawsuit in France.
Richard Falk on Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East
Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East:
What is the best way to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon?
What is the best way to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon?
Bahman Baktiari
Monday, July 9, 2012
"Canada's PM Stephen Harper faces revolt by scientists"
Scientists to march through Ottawa in white lab coats in protest at cuts to research and environmental damage.
See the Article.
Bahman Baktiari
See the Article.
Bahman Baktiari
Economist piece on the current state of the Palestinian Authority
An excellent article in the Economist on the current state of affairs in the Palestinian Authority.
Bahman Baktiari
Bahman Baktiari
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Once Just a Stopover for Drug Traffickers, Argentina Has Now Become a Destination
It is hard to believe that Argentina has become a major transit point for drug dealers. Everyday people read about drug traffickers in their newspapers.
See the article.
Bahman Baktiari
See the article.
Bahman Baktiari
Friday, July 6, 2012
Commentary: Some Possible Obstacles to Iranian agreement in Moscow
Some Possible Obstacles to Iranian agreement in Moscow
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi
If the P5+1 offered a more palatable deal which offered sanctions relief they might countenance its closure, but not as the first real stage in the negotiations.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
PBS Documentary Showcases Islam’s Contribution to Civilization
ALMUSLIM
July 5, 2012 By Guest Contributor
Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D. is a Fulbright Scholar and Associate Professor of Finance at the University of North Florida. This article originally appeared in Huffington Post. This documentary will air on July 6. Check your local listings for the time.
Nearly four in ten Americans hold anunfavorable view of Islam and Muslims. That number has remained steady since 9-11. Several factors contribute to this negative perception, certainly none greater than Muslims – albeit a few – who commit terrorism in the name of Islam. The media exasperates this negativity, as aptly noted in Edward Said’s 1981 classic Covering Islam. However, some media outlets are more egregious than others.
A 2011 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that the majority of Fox News viewers perceive that Muslims want to establish Shari’a law in America and express the distressing view that Muslims are NOT an important part of America’s religious fabric. Nearly seven in ten viewers of Fox News believe that the values of Islam are at odds with American values. In contrast, fewer than four in ten viewers of public television hold such negative perceptions.
The difference between Fox News viewers and those who watch public television is palpable. Spurring the gulf of difference is the content of programming. Fox News did not find anything morally objectionable with airing the virulently Islamophobic movie “Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam.” While cognizant of the threat from those who kill in the name of Islam, public television and radio has better grasped the importance of providing viewers and listeners with the opportunity to develop a more holistic view of Islam. The fact that four in ten Americans have never socially interacted with a Muslim, necessitates such continuing efforts.
On Friday, July 6 at 9 p.m. EST, PBS will nationally broadcast a documentary titled, “Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World” narrated by Susan Sarandon. The documentary is a timely reminder about the many contributions made by Muslims to art and culture. As an educator, I am looking forward to this documentary as it adds to a growing collection of well-made documentaries that provide a semblance of balance to the general propensity in the media to stereotype Muslims.
Recently, I was conducting a Sunday school class for a group of Muslim teenagers at my mosque. To my great disappointment but not surprise, I found that the Muslims are almost as ill-informed as my non-Muslim elderly students who attend my continuing education class on Islam that I teach at my university. Both groups did not have an appreciation for the many innovations that the Muslim world has given us, which we take for granted in our daily lives.
The word coffee has its genesis in the Arabic qahwa, which became the Turkishkahve, then the Italian caffé. The game of chess originated in India but it was introduced to Europe by the Moors in Spain during their tenth century rule. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means a chariot. A millennium before the Wright brothers, Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to build a flying machine. He had constructed a device that allowed him to stay in flight for more than ten minutes. He crash landed and correctly concluded that he had forgotten to give his invention the tail it needed to stabilize while landing.
Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to King George IV. Many of the modern-day surgical instruments are nearly the same design as devised by a Muslim physician named al-Zahrawi in the tenth century. Almost half a century before Louis Pasteur, children in Turkey were being vaccinated to inoculate against small pox.
The British non-profit and non-religious organization the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilization through their 1001 Inventions exhibits and research is helping to reintroduce these facts to not only the Western world but also to Muslims. They have held exhibitions and film shows from New York to Istanbul.
Criticism of Muslims, when warranted, is a legitimate exercise in public discourse. But our national interests are ill-served if we only criticize and never appreciate. We are still paying the price of our many adventures in the Muslim world often initiated on a foundation of misguided views about the beliefs, history and culture of Muslims. Recently TIME magazine ran a cover story asking the rhetorical question “Is America Islamophobic?” I do not believe so.
PBS airing yet another documentary about Islam suggests that a small but critical mass of Americans remain open minded about better understanding other cultures and religions. Critics of public radio and television, I am sure, will accuse PBS of a pro-Islam bias. And many Muslims may hastily conclude that the negative attitude of Fox News viewers is representative of the general unawareness of Islam in America. PBS’s Friday night national broadcast provides both critics countervailing facts to reconsider their stereotyping.
Elections in Libya: the rebirth of a country at stake
By Ayman Ayoub,
After more than 50 years of oppression, but only 9 months following the fall of the dictator, the Libyan people will finally face the ballot boxes and freely elect their representatives. For this young society, where people are feeling the taste of freedom for the first time ever, this is a giant step forward in a tough yet determined quest for democracy. See the article The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The Latest from Iran (4 July): "Neither Side Understands the Other" in Nuclear Talks
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)