Month: August 2006

Arab Media Accuses Iran and Syria of Direct Involvement in Lebanon War

MEMRI: Latest News
The war between Israel and Hizbullah has revealed profound disagreement in the Arab world between countries that support Hizbullah and those that oppose it, headed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The disagreement was reflected in the Arab media, which published articles supporting Hizbullah along with harsh criticism and accusations against it.

One of the accusations leveled against Hizbullah was that the organization does not serve the interests of the Lebanese people, but acts in the service of Syria and Iran, thereby jeopardizing Arab interests. Many articles argued that Syria and Iran had manufactured the crisis in order to draw world attention away from the Iranian nuclear issue and away from the results of the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri. It was also claimed that Iran was working to destroy the Arab countries from within by encouraging armed militias to rebel against the Arab regimes.

Supporters of Hizbullah in Syria and Lebanon rejected the claim that Hizbullah was serving Syrian and Iranian agendas. They countered that it is Israel that is acting in the service of the West, which aims to redraw the map of the Middle East.

The following are excerpts from articles published in the Arab media:

Must Haves: Cellphones Top Iraqi Cool List

Must Haves: Cellphones Top Iraqi Cool List
Even more telling are the text messages and images that Iraqis share over their phones. From all over the city, Baghdad cellphones practically shout commentary about Saddam Hussein, failed reconstruction and violence, always the violence. One of the most popular messages making the rounds appears onscreen with the image of a skeleton.

“Your call cannot be completed,” it says, “because the subscriber has been bombed or kidnapped.” Continue reading “Must Haves: Cellphones Top Iraqi Cool List”

Netherlands ‘does most for poor’

BBC NEWS | Business | Netherlands ‘does most for poor’
While the Netherlands led the pack on generous investment aid as well as measures to curb greenhouse gases, the CGD added they could work harder.

By contrast Japan ranked in last place due to a combination of factors including its low aid and high barriers to imports and migrants from poorer nations.

Meanwhile, despite the US giving the largest amount of aid that donation was the smallest in relation to the size of its economy.

The CGD added that a lot of the money was also contingent on the purchase of US goods, and so was in fact a “backdoor subsidy for American interests”.

America was also criticised for its handling of aid in Iraq with the CGD claiming that 90 cents in every dollar was lost to violence and corruption.

However, the country fared well on the trade front, ranking second after New Zealand as barriers to exports from developing countries are not as high as those from the other nations in the Commitment to Development Index

Are children getting cleverer?

FT.com / Arts & Weekend / Living – Are children getting cleverer?
Today’s children are almost certainly no more inherently intelligent than those of yesteryear, they are certainly no dumber. They are just learning different skills – skills, incidentally, that enable them to do better in IQ tests than their parents.

After all, a generation ago, before the dawn of the information age, information was much harder to come by than it is now, so schools attached a lot more importance to rote learning and the accumulation of knowledge. You had to be able to name all the world’s capital cities, list the world’s longest rivers and memorise famous poems. Continue reading “Are children getting cleverer?”

An exclusivist Sino-American diplomacy track?

An exclusivist Sino-American diplomacy track? :
With the war between Israel and Hezbollah overlapping with planning for a “post-Castro Cuba,” it seems that America has temporarily turned its interest away from North Korea. However, the international political situation on the Korean peninsula now stands at the crossroads. Changes in Chinese policy towards the North – a policy once perceived only in between the lines of diplomacy – have grown more pronounced this summer. Continue reading “An exclusivist Sino-American diplomacy track?”

Turkey wooed by Saudis against Iran

Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz starts a historic three-day visit to Turkey, the first by a Saudi monarch since King Faisal visited Istanbul in 1974.

History tells us the ambitions of the Safavi dynasty, which converted Iran to Shiaa Islam, and sought to convert others, was hindered by the Ottoman Empire. It seems history will repeat itself and Iran’s political ambitions and those of its agents in the region will be thwarted, especially as the Americans appear to be, more than ever before, ready to withdraw from an ailing Iraq, with whom Iran has a long history. Will the Saudis do so? Will Turkey get closer? These questions await answers.

What is the significance of Aug. 22?

Bernard Lewis’s Editorial in the Wall Street Journal (excerpted below) started the Aug. 22nd buzz.

Update- And just in-time for Aug. 22
  TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — The Iranian army said on Thursday that it would launch a large-scale military exercise soon, the state television reported.
And here is another commentary

In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time—Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as “by the end of August,” but Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statement was more precise. Continue reading “What is the significance of Aug. 22?”

Benard Lewis – Visionary Historian

It sounds like an Oxymoron, but Professor Benard Lewis understands the axiom thet “Those who don’t learn history are bound to repeat it”. In February of 1998, he read in an obscure Arabic paper, which was published in London, Bin Laden’s American Jihad declaration.

In 1990, The Atlantic published his prophetic warning to the West “The Roots of Muslim Rage”. He just happened to have his book “What went Wrong” come out at the time of 9/11, which catapulted him from academic obscurity to the best seller list and controversy.

The rage of Islam was no mystery to Mr. Lewis. To no great surprise, it issued out of his respect for the Muslim logic of things. For 14 centuries, he wrote, Islam and Christendom had feuded and fought across a bloody and shifting frontier, their enmity a “series of attacks and counterattacks, jihads and crusades, conquests and reconquests.” For nearly a millennium, Islam had the upper hand. Continue reading “Benard Lewis – Visionary Historian”

More Play, Less Toil Is a Stressful Shift For Some Koreans

WSJ.com – More Play, Less Toil Is a Stressful Shift For Some Koreans
Her husband’s employer just started giving him two Saturdays off a month. The 36-year-old wrestling teacher’s new schedule, though, means Ms. Jun has to spend more of her time cooking and doing extra housework. Plus, she grumbles, after staying out late with his buddies on Friday nights, her husband sleeps a lot on Saturdays — cramping their two children’s indoor playtime.

“Home is supposed to be women’s space and I don’t like it when he spends more time in my space,” says Ms. Jun, also 36. “It’s like an invasion.”

Continue reading “More Play, Less Toil Is a Stressful Shift For Some Koreans”