Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Big Brother and The City – The Case of Damascus’ By @Hanibaael

By Guest Blogger Hani Naim

Our life is defined by cities. Those we belong to and love stir deep emotions in us such as pride, home, inspiration and nostalgia. Dictators also love their cities, but theirs is a story of obsession and control. An abusive relationship that can last for decades and can only be broken by force or revolution!

Once considered routine in the Middle East, this bizarre relationship between tyrants and cities has become a pressing issue in light of the Arab Spring. In Syria today, Bashar al-Assad is a dictator hanging by the capital city of Damascus, refusing to relinquish power even if the entire country is destroyed one city at a time, and every message of dissent killed along with its messenger.

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Labels: Guest Blog

Monday, March 26, 2012

Arab Youth, Diamonds In The Rough

Arab youth have made news in the past year as leaders of change, carriers of hope and the architects of a bright future of freedom and liberty.

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Monday, March 19, 2012

When Tyrant Bashar Meets Lover Boy Sam

As embarrassing as it must have been for Syria’s First Family to have their personal e-mails spilled all over the world for everyone to see, mock, dissect and criticize mercilessly, there are definitely worse things that can happen to the modern-looking couple.

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Monday, March 12, 2012

You Have Your History Books and We Have Ours

Ever since I was a child, the history we were taught was that of other nations and other people. We learned about the French, the British, the Germans and other European nations. We memorized what the Japanese have done through history and took tests on our region in light of World War I, World War II. We were encouraged to recite with pride and honor the drama of Lebanon’s ever-glorious independence from the French Mandate, which, as far as I’m concerned, can be reduced to a carved stone by a river.

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Monday, March 5, 2012

No, Israel Does Not Want War With Iran!

Anyone who thinks that the Israeli Prime Minister’s desire for war with Iran speaks for all of Israel must think again. And anyone who believes that the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC still has the same old ‘holier than thou’ power it mustered for decades in the U.S. needs a reality check. Those who expected or feared, that President Barack Obama might fall for the war drummers and do as he was told in very specific terms, to support an Israeli attack on Iran, must now be either puzzled scratching their heads or just in a state of glee.

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