Common Ground News Service

The Palestinian Women Who Dared to Dream

The Palestinian Women Who Dared to Dream

NORA MURAD, CGNEWS: How do you encourage women afflicted by a ‘can’t do’ mentality to build a park? By challenging them with one simple word: ‘Dream’

 James M. Dorsey

Libya: MidEast Model or Revolution To Go Awry?

Libya: MidEast Model or Revolution To Go Awry?

JAMES M. DORSEY: Libyans unlike Egyptians and Tunisians will be in a position to dismantle the former regime’s apparatus.

 The View From Fez

Should There Be A ‘Standard Ramadan Time’?

Should There Be A ‘Standard Ramadan Time’?

IBN WARRAQ, THE VIEW FROM FEZ: With Ramadan times varying hugely around the world is it time, for the sake of individuals’ health, to adopt a standard time?

 Juan Cole

Aqaba: To Boldly Go Where No King Has Gone Before

Aqaba: To Boldly Go Where No King Has Gone Before

JUAN COLE: Klingons and Romulans wandering through the souk in Aqaba? Could be sooner than you think if King Abdullah’s ambitious plans come to fruition.

 The Moor Next Door

Reasons to be Cheerful: A Poem entitled ‘Smile’

Reasons to be Cheerful: A Poem entitled ‘Smile’

THE MOOR NEXT DOOR: Elia Abu Madi was a very well-respected Syro-Lebanese poet in the early twentieth century.

 Mich Cafe

Pigeon Rocks: Re-Discovering the Beauty of Beirut

Pigeon Rocks: Re-Discovering the Beauty of Beirut

MICH CAFE: Many places were out of bounds during the Civil War so it came as an enormous pleasure to wander freely during my recent trip.

 Naseem Tarawnah

Living in My Jordanian ‘Bubble’: Lessons Learned

Living in My Jordanian ‘Bubble’: Lessons Learned

NASEEM TARAWNAH: So Jordan’s Independence Day has come and gone. It’s a good time perhaps to reflect on some of the lessons I’ve learned.

 The Moor Next Door

Obama’s Speech: The Key Points Made

Obama’s Speech: The Key Points Made

THE MOOR NEXT DOOR: There was little new in Obama’s ‘Arab Spring’ speech. Nervous light criticism of Bahrain, no reference to Gulf allies and a minor poke of Israel.

 Crossroads Arabia

Protecting Arabic In Digital Communications

Protecting Arabic In Digital Communications

CROSSROADS ARABIA: No language—not even ‘dead’ languages like Latin—are immune to change. Latin is constantly developing to deal with new technology and social developments.

 Mishaal Al Gergawi

Opportunity Knocks in the Saudi Oil Conundrum

Opportunity Knocks in the Saudi Oil Conundrum

MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: Unlike an Emirati or Qatari, a Saudi doesn’t have delusional expectations of financial entitlement and pre-deserved stature at the marketplace. A Saudi is glad to find a job at all.

 Crossroads Arabia

Strange Timing: Saudi Announces Nuclear Deal

Strange Timing: Saudi Announces Nuclear Deal

CROSSROADS ARABIA: With demand for energy soaring in the Kingdom it’s no surprise that the authorities are looking at nuclear energy. In the wake of the Fukushima catastrophe they will, though, face questions from an uneasy public.

 Mishaal Al Gergawi

Dismal Education System Threatens GCC Future

Dismal Education System Threatens GCC Future

MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: We seem to be in a constant state of ‘re-assessment’ or ‘re-evaluation’ of education in the region. Bottom line: We’re still not delivering.

 Eman-Al-Nafjan

The Saudi Time Machine – Only Goes Backwards

The Saudi Time Machine – Only Goes Backwards

EMAN AL NAFJAN: These past couple of weeks have convinced me the government has made a huge scientific discovery, the time machine.

 Michael J. Totten

Among the People of Benghazi: A Westerner’s View

Among the People of Benghazi: A Westerner’s View

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Very little seems to be known about the rebels who are fighting Qaddafi. When I found out that a trusted source was effectively ’embedded’ with them I had a few questions to put to her.

 Alexander McNabb

An Inflection Point for Arab Entrepreneurialism

An Inflection Point for Arab Entrepreneurialism

ALEXANDER MCNABB: Seeing this level of digital entrepreneurialism in the region is a delight and, rightly or wrongly, I see ArabNet as an inflection point.

 The Moor Next Door

Why the West Supports Autocracy & Democracy

Why the West Supports Autocracy & Democracy

TMND: The dominant official American attitude toward democratic reform in Egypt is concerned with the possibility that the Muslim Brothers might sweep the polls.

 Steve Royston

A Message for Davos – Waste Not, Want Not

A Message for Davos – Waste Not, Want Not

STEVE ROYSTON: Taxpayers’ money that could have been spent on new hospitals, refurbished schools, or improved public transport – down the drain.

 Ramzy Baroud

Tunisia: How We Got Here and the Task Ahead

Tunisia: How We Got Here and the Task Ahead

RAMZY BAROUD: In Tunisia that ‘unprecedented anger” has reaped unprecedented results, leaving Tunisia with the great task of rebuilding a civil society.

 Steve Royston

Saudi Arabia – Why Western Consultants Fail

Saudi Arabia – Why Western Consultants Fail

STEVE ROYSTON: If they are to be lasting, appropriate and sustainable, the solutions themselves must come from within, not from the West.

 James M. Dorsey

Demographics, Expats, Rights – & Hope in Football

Demographics, Expats, Rights – & Hope in Football

JAMES M. DORSEY: Just 13% of the UAE’s population has citizenship. In Qatar it’s 26% and Kuwait 34%. And those percentages are dropping.