Default: Political Cowardice & Ratings Agencies
STEVE ROYSTON: I would suggest that to downgrade US debt while leaving other sovereign debts at a higher rating is a meaningless exercise.
Egypt’s Youth: Losing Touch With the People
JACO STOOP: Demonstrators need to develop a new strategy to achieve their goals. Without grassroots support, demonstrations will not be tolerated
Salwa al Mutairi: A Gift to Muslim-Haters
SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: She’s certainly made an impression but unfortunately it’s a damaging one for Muslims
After 17 Years Trying to Visit Gaza, I Am Home
RAMZY BAROUD: Today the border at the Rafah Crossing officially opens. It’s another significant milestone of the ‘Arab Spring’.
The Day My World Was Turned Upside Down
NASEEM TARAWNAH: I joined the March 24th group’s sit-in with little expectation. What I witnessed has changed my view of my homeland.
Sunni-Shi’a Friction Takes Sharp Turn for Worse
CROSSROADS ARABIA: As a state of emergency is announced in Bahrain tension between Sunni and Shi’a in the region is on the increase.
Comment on The Reasons Why Saudi Arabia Will Not Fall by Leila Awad
I refuse to be a second class citizen. We are demanding change like everyone else. Life in Jeddah is dismal and oppressive. Change can happen when women are represented in all walks of life including government. I am fed up of not being heard or repr…
Omanis, Protests, and The Right to Pursue Success
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: In stark — but unsurprising — contrast to the uprisings around the region, Oman’s protest did not call for the fall of its regime or even its ruler.
Libya: People are People, Even When World’s Apart
MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Two years ago I spent time in Libya. It seems like a good time to revisit my experience of a kind people but an overarching, clamping presence.
Algerian Authorities Well Positioned to ‘Tough Out’ Protests
TMND: With a divided leadership and worries among the populace regarding their motives the protest movement in Algeria faces considerable challenges.
How are the Saudis Reacting to the Regional Turmoil?
EMAN AL NAFJAN: Shocked as they are by the events in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Jordan there are strong historical reasons why Saudis remain viewers, not participants.
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.
Why Obama has an Obligation to Confront Israel
PHILIP WEISS: The Goldstone Report lays bare the humiliations of the Gaza people. By failing to deal with this issue Obama is failing in his constitutional duty.
Generalizing Tunisia: What’s the (Real) Story
RAMZY BAROUD: Understanding Tunisia as just another “Arab regime”, another possible podium for al-Qaeda’s violence, is convenient but also unhelpful…
WikiLeaks Indicts, & Vindicates, U.S. Diplomats
RAMZY BAROUD: Despite their high number, the documents raise many questions, but answer few. Since more are coming, one must wait and see…
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.
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…
PRs, Blogging, and (Not) Understanding Your Audience
Anyone that wants me to go to a launch announcement ‘as a blogger’ has similarly not invested the time to work out that not only do I not care, I actively do not care. I vocally and negatively do not care.
