Sharp Divides Emerge over Saudi Reforms
STEVE ROYSTON: It’s not easy for a nation to move from a state where all things flow from the King to one where a country’s wealth belongs to its citizens.
The Investment Industry: Don’t Forget the Humans
STEVE ROYSTON: Too often, financiers ignore the blindingly obvious questions. Who is this person or team in whom I am going to invest?
Labour: The GCC’s Most Dangerous Addiction
STEVE ROYSTON: Low-paid migrant workers keep their host countries running by doing the jobs that the locals refuse to do. Their presence is resented by many.
Comment on Politics, Meddling and Al Jazeera’s Independence by Steve Royston
So do I Misha, and especially their documentaries, which are often superb.
It’s also a rare pleasure to hear someone like Tariq Ali, whose writing I greatly admire. He has the gift of being able to speak in perfectly formed papragraphs – a comment once made about the erudite British politician, the late Enoch Powell, whose writing I’m afraid I didn’t admire.
It’s an ability you don’t often see on TV.
Comment on Politics, Meddling and Al Jazeera’s Independence by Steve Royston
Thanks David
One of the reasons I asked for feedback is that it’s hard to comment definitively on Aljazeera without speaking both English and Arabic. I’m not sure I would agree that the bias of the English channel is crass.
For sure, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz are no more likely to appear regularly on Aljazeera than Tariq Ali on Fox News. Equally, you wouldn’t expect the Daily Mirror in the UK to be rooting for the far-right British National Party.
International viewers like me tend to flip from one channel to another to get their balance. We have a wide choice. But Arabic-speaking friends tell me that over the past month they have tended to look at only two Arabic channels for their coverage of Egypt, Tunisia et al – Aljazeera and Arabiya. That gives those channels much power – and responsibility.
In the Call to be Heard, Millions are Ignored
STEVE ROYSTON: Many, if they looked into their hearts, would admit that they take those workers for granted, and could do more…
Why Bahrain Trumps Dubai – Demographics
STEVE ROYSTON: This is not intended as a fluffy message of support. Bahrain has simply travelled further than any of its neighbours down the path of open-mindedness. And it’s a ‘real’ country.
Politics, Meddling and Al Jazeera’s Independence
STEVE ROYSTON: At one time or another, Al Jazeera has made enemies of Bahrain, Kuwait, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Iraq, but is that just the price of reporting ‘the truth’?
What’s Needed for Democracy in the GCC
STEVE ROYSTON: This post is more than a five-minute read. I apologise, but I don’t apologise: Sometimes you need more than a few hundred words.
Bahrain Bulletin: How to Get out of the Stalemate
STEVE ROYSTON: I can’t believe that anybody in Bahrain, except possibly those who would like to see the country purged by fire, wants the economy to suffer.
Bahrain: Retaining Reason in a Battle of Emotions
STEVE ROYSTON: It’s 4am. Outside my window there’s a full moon , the harbinger of madness. Cocks are crowing and the thak-thak-thak of nearby helicopters has woken me.
Bulletin From Bahrain: Wisdom in Demand
STEVE ROYSTON: The protesters of Bahrain are sailing with the winds of Tahrir behind them. The next few days will show where those winds take them.
GCC Cities: Out of Sync with their People?
STEVE ROYSTON: What does it mean to be a citizen in any one of the identikit GCC cities? And what will it mean to be a citizen in the future?
Egypt: A Role Model for the ‘Have Nots’
STEVE ROYSTON: Regional fallout from the events in Tunisia and Egypt is expected. But other countries around the world have been watching.
Arab Heart Revealed in Tahrir and Jeddah
STEVE ROYSTON: It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for the peoples of Cairo and Jeddah. Adversity has brought out the best in people.
Watching Egypt – The View From The Other Side of the Arab World
STEVE ROYSTON: I have had a few conversations whether Egypt will impact Saudi. My answer would be no – at least not in the current conditions.
Middle East Turmoil – Questioning Assumptions
STEVE ROYSTON: Amid the frenzy in the Middle East and beyond about the future of Egypt, many people seem to be working on a set of assumptions that are worth questioning.
A Ceaucescu Moment: Protest Coming to a Head
STEVE ROYSTON: The Egyptians are lovely people. It’s heartbreaking to see heads breaking and eyes white with hatred. Please God it ends soon.
The Crisis in the Arab World – The Long View
STEVE ROYSTON: A focus on regeneration will have a longer-lasting effect than quick political fixes that will do nothing to alleviate the lot of the frustrated…
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.
