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9412. bhelpuri - 6/21/2010 7:40:05 AM Well, well, there may be life in the old thread yet.
Greetings and salutations, Pseuder. It is nice to see you still connected to this space. I was hoping that was the case.
Shall we play a game? 9413. bhelpuri - 1/30/2011 9:03:00 AM Well, it is a bit of the old feeling all over again, standing riveted and agog as another hugely pivotal moment in history pops out of a clear blue sky, and another monumental edifice that was built to last crumbles to dust right in front of our eyes.
Egypt, wow. The Mubarak regime was obviously much more rotten and crumbling on the inside than the West expected, but it was less than a week ago that Biden was endorsing his leadership! Now, I doubt he even gets to give another speech!
One of many ways that this incident reminds me of the 9/11 moment, is the immediate apprehension of global reverberations from this regime falling the way it has; devastatingly quickly and completely, and broadcast live across the region and the world.
I do not subscribe to any domino theories and other neocon wet dreams, but at the same time I very much doubt that we are seeing the end of this wave of "people power", even "satyagraha" in the region. The timing is right for these tactics to be highly effective. If the Palestinians got their act together right now, they could have their state by summertime. 9414. bhelpuri - 1/30/2011 9:31:02 AM Thinking about America's place in the world ten years after 9/11, and more specifically the Middle East, it's hard not to come to the conclusion that its ability to lead and influence political events in the region have dramatically waned, even if its military positioning is improved via the occupation of Iraq and huge new bases in the Gulf.
With the sudden collapse of two American-supported dictatorial regimes, and a visibly building pressure on two others (Saudi and Jordan), it's pretty evident that there indeed is a "demographic tsunami" which is now manifesting itself in regional politics, and obviously features an implacable opposition to the US presence. We can probably now start to use words like "defeat" to describe what has happened to the US in the Middle East over the past decade.
It's interesting how clearly I recall how I felt when I posted this amazingly prophetic article, probably in this very thread. The writing was already on the wall then. 9415. bhelpuri - 1/31/2011 9:00:26 AM 9416. bhelpuri - 1/31/2011 6:33:29 PM The hypocritical and sanctimonious division of countries by the U.S. and the West between the "axis of evil" on the one hand, and the "moderates" on the other, has collapsed. If there is an axis of evil, then it includes all the non-democratic regimes, including the "moderates" and the "stable" and the "pro-Western." Today Egypt, tomorrow Palestine. Yesterday Tunis, tomorrow Gaza.
Not only is the Fatah regime in Ramallah and the Hamas regime in Gaza destined to fall, but perhaps also, one day, the Israeli occupation, which certainly meets all the criteria of criminal tyranny and an evil regime. It too relies only on guns. It too is hated by all levels of the ruled people, even if they stands helpless, unorganized and unequipped, facing a big army. The first conclusion: Better to end it well, with agreements based on justice and not on power, a moment before the masses have their say and succeed in banishing the darkness.
A second, no less important conclusion: Alliances with unpopular regimes can be torn up overnight. As long as the masses in Egypt and in the entire Arab world continue seeing the images of tyranny and violence from the occupied territories, Israel will not be able to be accepted, even it is acceptable to a few regimes.
From Haaretz.
9417. bhelpuri - 2/1/2011 8:02:04 PM I don't know why people are so gaga over Al Jazeera. It isn't a patch on good old Haaretz for plain-speaking realism.
See today's editorial:
Israeli foreign policy views the reigning regional order, one of tyrants who remain in power for years, as the lesser evil. Israeli leaders have always preferred to do business with Mubarak and his ilk, on the assumption that they would "preserve stability" and forcibly repress the radical forces seeking change in the region.
This view led Israel to disregard the citizens of neighboring countries, viewing them as devoid of political influence in the best case and as hostile Israel-haters in the worst case. Israel viewed itself as a Western outpost and displayed no interest in the language, culture and public opinion of its immediate surroundings. Integration into the Middle East seemed like a trivial, if not a downright harmful, fantasy. As a result, Israel never prepared for the changes that were occurring behind the sclerotic facade of these countries' rulers.
The revolution in Tunisia and the mass anti-government protests in Egypt demand a shift in the way Israel's leaders see the regional order and Israel's place in it. Instead of seeking refuge in the known and the familiar - the tired claims that "there's no one to talk to and no one to rely on" - Israel's foreign policy must adapt itself to a reality in which the citizens of Arab states, and not just tyrants and their cronies, influence the trajectory of their countries' development.
The time has come to start preparing for a new regional order. Instead of clinging to the old, collapsing order, Netanyahu must seek peace agreements with both the Palestinians and with Syria in order to make Israel a more welcome and desirable neighbor.
It don't get any plainer than that. 9418. bhelpuri - 2/4/2011 11:24:57 AM But the United States has long ceased to be a puppet-master among the Arab states, if it ever was. The U.S., however, still has enormous influence over the most democratic country in the region. Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands is hardly the only issue of moral, political, and strategic importance in the region—the dispute was barely a slogan on the streets of Tunis or Cairo—but there is no doubt that its swift and fair resolution, after forty-four years, is necessary not only to satisfy the demands of justice but to insure a future for Israel as a democracy. The Netanyahu government’s refusal to come to terms with the Palestinians, and its insistence on settlement building, have steadily undermined both the security and the essence of the state, which was founded as a refuge from dispossession. Israel has grave and legitimate concerns about Hamas and Hezbollah on its borders, to say nothing of the intentions of Tehran, but its prospects will not be enhanced by an adherence to the status quo. That was true before the uprising in Cairo, and will remain true after it. Judgment whether rendered by gods or by people—can be postponed but not forestalled.
Masterly editorial from David Remnick.
9419. Ms. No - 2/13/2011 5:38:12 AM bhelpuri,
I'm hoping you can help me out here.
I have a Pakistani student who speaks Urdu. He has been in the States for a little over two years but has very little English.
I've been trying to get the district to send us a tutor, but they don't have or haven't been able to find one who speaks Urdu and won't let us go and hire one from the Mosque down the street until they've exhausted their search for someone already on their payroll. Idiots.
At any rate, I have no knowledge whatsoever of Hindustani linguistics so it's very difficult for me to help this student. I don't know if there are articles/determiners or if words have gender or what the order of certain words are in sentences --- does the verb come at the beginning or the end of things?
My student is literate in Urdu, so if I can find some ways to connect/compare Urdu to English, I feel like I can help him immensely.
Then I only have to figure a way to get him to tutoring in a way that won't offend him or his family. I feel he is uncomfortable when I give him attention and I suspect it's because I'm female. He is very respectful, but I have a feeling he would be more comfortable in a tutoring situation with a male present.
God, I'm so hopelessly ignorant, but he really needs help.
He is a very devout Muslim and often makes references to the Koran in his personal narratives. Would it be a breach of etiquette if I asked him to translate the Koran into English? If we worked on say, a passage at a time, I could then correct the English part and he might better be able to make connections. 9420. bhelpuri - 2/14/2011 7:30:59 AM Dear Ms. No,
How nice for this student that he has a teacher who cares about him in this manner.
1) I don't think it will be particularly useful for you to "connect/compare Urdu with English" in seeking to help this student, however you may find the Urdu resources on this page useful: http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/hindilinks.html
2) I wouldn't worry about poetntial discomforts about taking lessons from you, in fact he's likely to respect anyone in the role of teacher.
3) I don't see any "breach of etiquette" in asking someone like this to translate the Koran. But why not ask him to translate a few songs instead, maybe off vids from this wildly popular Pak TV show? - http://cokestudio.com.pk/ -
If you find out where this person is from in Pakistan, and what is the precise community, it would help. 9421. Ms. No - 2/15/2011 7:04:02 AM Thanks so much! I initially thought of the Koran because it appears so often in his personal writings, but I'm happy to look at any translations.
I'll also have him do some personal narratives --- that takes the pressure off of any content/research and will also help me get to know him better.
You're a peach! 9422. Wombat - 3/13/2011 10:12:41 PM Hellooo! Back from the Middle East. 9423. arkymalarky - 3/14/2011 1:07:32 AM WOMBAT! Are you glad to be back? Were you near all the recent events? 9424. Wombat - 3/15/2011 3:26:07 AM Arky,
Glad to be back. No I wasn't. Spent all my time in Iraq with a couple of days in peaceful Qatar on the way home. 9425. bhelpuri - 3/15/2011 8:39:33 AM Hey Wombat - I'm going to be in Qatar next month. Is it worth a couple days?
Also, how about an Iraq travelogue? Pics/vids? Lay it out, homes. 9426. Wombat - 3/16/2011 3:07:42 AM Bhel:
Qatar is worth a couple of days--possibly more. The National Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art are reputed to be world class (ran out of time, so didn't see either.
Went out to the camel racing complex about 30 minutes outside of Doha, which was enjoyable (loved the robotic camel jockeys). Stopped at the Emir Feisal Museum on the way back. Imagine a Victoria and Albert-like collection set in the desert.
Was in Iraq to work, so not much of a travelogue. Helicoptered all over Northern Iraq at night once, so saw the lights of Mosul and Kirkuk (the gas flares from the oil wells gave the latter an inferno-like aspect). 9427. bhelpuri - 3/22/2011 9:07:24 AM Sounds pretty cool, Wombat, thanks. If you have some photos, please share them.
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Also, because I have not been paying attention, can someone please explain to me the justification used by Obama and the USA to bomb Libya at this point. To me it appears a dog of a decison, really piss-poor even by GWBush standards.
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And further, old friends, can someone with appropriate game-constructing skills please work out a fair points system for a kind of Dead Pool to be run in this thread, this year, for the ME regimes/dictators/monarchs/emirs?
My concept: players list the countries which are going to see regime change in 2011, in precise order for bonus points.
For instance, I might fancy Saif is good to hold out a few weeks longer than the Yemeni dictatorship, and could read current events to indicate that Morocco is next, besides calculating that Syria and Iran are long shots.
So:
1) Yemen
2) Libya
3) Morocco
4) Syria
5) Iran
Sounds like fun, yes? So, who's in?!
9428. bhelpuri - 3/22/2011 9:25:16 AM About Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the rest of Arabia, these are particularly interesting countries to watch in the coming months. They might seem tough bets to take in our game, but look how quickly Mubarak became last century's man, completely buried by history after just a few taut weeks.
Similarly, it is far from inconceivable that one or more Emirs finds himself chased off to exile in Saudi Arabia or Texas. Time will tell. These states could wind up being the difference between defeat, and glorious triumph in The Mote 2011 Dead Pool for (Mostly) Middle Eastern Regimes.
9429. judithathome - 3/23/2011 1:28:42 AM Okay...I'll bite...why Texas? 9430. wabbit - 7/10/2011 9:33:55 PM Congratulations to the people of South Sudan. May their lives improve greatly, and may they have good people in charge. 9431. vonKreedon - 7/12/2011 6:31:59 PM Afghan President Kharzai's half-brother has been assassinated in Kandahar. He was the head of the Kandahar provincial council and widely regarded as corrupt and involved in the opium trade. So, is this a mostly bad or good thing for us and the Afghanis?
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