Steve Royston

World Cup Wailing: Thoughts on the World Cup decision

World Cup Wailing: Thoughts on the World Cup decision

STEVE ROYSTON: However FIFA arrived at its decisions, if the motive is to put the tournament where there’s real passion for football, then both Russia and Qatar are good choices.

 Jonathan Cook

Wikileaks, The U.S. and the New Global Order

Wikileaks, The U.S. and the New Global Order

JONATHAN COOK: At work here is a set of global forces that the US, in its hubris, believed it could tame in its own interests. By the early ’90s that arrogance manifested itself in the claim of the “end of history…

 Ramzy Baroud

Lebanon at Stake: Turkey Must Reveal Its Cards

Lebanon at Stake: Turkey Must Reveal Its Cards

RAMZY BAROUD: Promises Turkey will no longer stand idle as children and women are killed no longer suffice. Israel seems unmoved by words…

 Osama Al Sharif

Wikileaks: It’s all about damage control for the U.S.

Wikileaks: It’s all about damage control for the U.S.

OSAMA AL SHARIF: It is not what diplomats do which will change, but the way they do it. In the age of digital information it is proving difficult, almost impossible, to keep anything hidden.

 Michael J. Totten

What the Wikileaks reveal about the Arab League

What the Wikileaks reveal about the Arab League

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: The publication of these leaks is eerily reminiscent of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed a decade-long attempt by U.S. officials to distort and conceal unpalatable truths about Vietnam.

 Shibli Zaman

How the Muslims Killed ‘Count Dracula’

How the Muslims Killed ‘Count Dracula’

SHIBLI ZAMAN: This Ottoman general had a greater war, a war against darkness. He hunted the very progenitor of the vampire legend who impaled his enemies and drank their blood – Vlad al III-lea Tepes, also known as Vlad Draculea, who would go down in infamy as, simply, Dracula.

 Ahmed-Al-Omran

Top 10 Twitter Users in Saudi Arabia

Top 10 Twitter Users in Saudi Arabia

AHMED AL-OMRAN: Twitter’s swept the world but has it made serious inroads into Saudi Arabia? Yes! And here’s my personal ‘Top Ten’ countdown of the Kingdom’s leading Twitter users.

 Jonathan Cook

Publish it Not – Israel and the Sultans of Spin

Publish it Not – Israel and the Sultans of Spin

JONATHAN COOK: Most freelancers forced into this position would either have learned to tailor their reporting to what was expected by the news desks or have headed off to another conflict zone. I stayed…

 Steve Royston

The Power, and the History, of the Thaler

The Power, and the History, of the Thaler

STEVE ROYSTON: Thaler Tales was published in 2006, so this is not exactly a hot-off-the-press post. But hey, the thaler’s been around for 250 years, so no matter.

 Steve Royston

Are they Messengers or Missionaries?

Are they Messengers or Missionaries?

STEVE ROYSTON: Successful companies tend not to fire their communications people. That’s not to say that politics, ambition and personal fiefdoms won’t get in the way

 Ramzy Baroud

Obama – Surrendering Palestinian Rights

Obama – Surrendering Palestinian Rights

RAMZY BAROUD: It looks like President Obama will finish his term having secured no advance in Arab-Israeli negotiations. The Israelis do the talking, Washington does the listening. And the giving…

 James M. Dorsey

The Booming Voice of Pent-Up Middle East Anger

The Booming Voice of Pent-Up Middle East Anger

JAMES M. DORSEY: As dark as that moment was for Casablancan rockers, the trial was a turning point setting Morocco on a path to becoming one of the Arab world’s more liberal societies when it comes to alternative lifestyles.

 James M. Dorsey

Why the U.S. Should Push for Democracy in Egypt

Why the U.S. Should Push for Democracy in Egypt

JAMES M. DORSEY: Repression of the opposition, intimidation of the media and electoral restrictions may guarantee Mubarak’s win. But for the U.S., the perception it is perpetuating authoritarian rule may outweigh any benefits.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

Entrepreneurs to leave mark for next generation

Entrepreneurs to leave mark for next generation

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Arab governments need to understand that without pan-Arab initiatives, true prosperity will not be achieved. We must capitalise on our strengths as a region with a population larger than the United States…

 Sultan Al Qassemi

A Monument of Tolerance in the Heart of Dubai

A Monument of Tolerance in the Heart of Dubai

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Nestled in one of Bur Dubai’s older districts is one of the emirate’s best kept architectural secrets: the Ismaili Centre of Dubai.

 James Mullan

Frenemies, NBFs, Snatch Squads…

Frenemies, NBFs, Snatch Squads…

President throws stone, new ‘best friends forever’ hang out, Obama snubbed, ‘The Elders’ regional tour kicks off. A week is, indeed, a long time in Middle East politics

 Mira-Edelstein

The next battleground: Water more important than oil for Middle East peace

The next battleground: Water more important than oil for Middle East peace

People often associate the Middle East with oil. But in the region’s cities, villages and farms, access to a different resource is becoming rather problematic: water. Finding a solution here may also reveal another – the path to peace.

 James Mullan

The number ’9? car plate could be worth much more than the 10m paid for it

The number ’9? car plate could be worth much more than the 10m paid for it

10 million dirhams was paid last Saturday at auction in Abu Dhabi for the number 9 plate, but its value could be much more if the cash was put to good use.

 Alexander McNabb

Google Voice, Censorship, Media Idiocy

Google Voice, Censorship, Media Idiocy

There has been a great deal of concern and speculation this week regarding a possible move against Google by the UAE’s telecom regulator, the TRA. Much of this concern has been triggered by appalling journalism…

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