February 28, 2006
And the Killing Goes On
Professor Juan Cole at Informed Comment has a fairly comprehensive roundup of news and opinion on the sectarian killings in Iraq.
Such killings are expected when the social fabric in a country is violently disturbed, whether by internal or external forces.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2006
Haiti's Preval Says Aristide Can Return Home
Haitian President-elect Rene Preval said February 22, 2006 that his position on the return of exiled former Haitian President Jean Betrand Aristide "and any other citizen who wants to come to Haiti ''is simple."
Speaking at "his first news conference since he was declared the winner of the February 7 [2006]election," according to The Associated Press, Mr. Preval said, "Article 41 of the Haitian Constitution says that no Haitian needs a visa to enter or leave the country.''
Some reports say the Bush Adminisatration, which forced Mr. Aristide into exile, opposes his return. If he returns, I wonder how long before Mr. Preval is ousted for letting Aristide return.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2006
IMF: Caribbean Has Lost 70 Percent of Skilled Work Force
The Jamaica Gleaner reported February 20, 2006 that An International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper has suggested that there is evidence of high emigration and brain drain from the Caribbean."
"The paper says Caribbean countries have lost 10-40 per cent of their labour force to emigration to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member-countries."
"The migration rate is particularly high for the high-skilled," the Gleaner reported.
The publication said the IMF found that, "Many countries have lost more than 70 per cent of their labour force, with more than 12 years of completed schooling - among the highest emigration rates in the world."
For more, please see "'Major brain drain' - IMF says Caribbean has lost 70 per cent of workforce."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:47 PM | Comments (0)
Nigerian Government Reportedly In Talks With MEND
The Daily Independent of Lagos, Nigeria, reports that "Abuja (the seat of the national government) has sent emissaries to negotiate with Niger Delta militants [from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)] who abducted another set of nine foreign oil workers on Saturday," February 18, 2006.
The publication said, "The committee set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to secure their release began to take action on Sunday [February 19, 2006], and one of its members, Governor Goodluck Jonathan of Bayelsa State, pledged that the crisis would be handled differently this time around."
For more, please see "Hostages: Federal Government In Talks With Kidnappers."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)
Is President Obasanjo to Blame For Crises in Nigeria's Delta Region?
"Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has blamed President Olusegun Obasanjo for the worsening security crises in Niger-Delta, saying that he masterminded the “monumental corruption in the oil industry and the political system” that was at the root of the problem in the region," Sufuyan Ojeifo, staff writer for the Daily Trust of Nigeria reported February 20, 2006.
For more, please see "CNPP blames Obasanjo over crises".
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)
Mend Vows to Stop Royal Dutch Shell's Nigeria Oil Operations
Christine Eke at the Black Britain weblog reported February 21, 2006 that The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), the Nigerian group "holding nine foreign hostages" in the delta, "has vowed to stop Royal Dutch Shell (from) using the damaged pipe which accounts for 15 percent of Nigerian (oil) production, and has warned more attacks on the whole region could come."
The pipe was sabotaged February 20, 2006.
According to Black Britain, they told The Associated Press in an email: “We are going to continue with the destruction of oil facilities in Delta State while concluding arrangement for our wider attacks on the entire region.”
For more, please see "New attacks on shell oil in Nigeria."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)
China View: 'Africa, Pleased and Tortured By Oil'
China View published a People's Daily article on February 20, 2006 that says "Over the past year, African oil has leapt into international attention as world demand increases and price hikes. Along with ever enlarging exploration, extraction and sale, African producers, while gaining considerable profits, also see a series of problems such as environmental pollution, farmland damage and grain shortage," the article contends, adding:" So, people here always show mixed feelings when talking about oil."
China is a major player in African oil politics. For more, please see "Africa, pleased and tortured by oil."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:34 PM | Comments (0)
The Mideast Monitor Makes Its Debut
The first edition of Mideast Monitor, edited by Gary C. Gambill , "a country analyst for Freedom House" and "editor of Middle East Intelligence Bulletin from 1999 to 2004," made its debut in February 2006.
The Monitor, according to publication's website, "is a monthly nonprofit publication devoted to specialized analysis of political developments, issues, and actors shaping the Middle East today."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
Newsweek International Looks at China's 'Blogger Nation'
Newsweek International's Sarah Schafer reports in the February 27, 2006 issue that the "phenomenon" of blogging " is itself a challenge to the old order" in China. She noted: Since the communist revolution Chinese writers have worked under the jurisdiction of writers' associations, obligated to compose for the glory of the party. Now, for the first time they are self-publishing in large numbers, and the state does not entirely control the flow of information.
Schafer said, "Many bloggers don't consider themselves activists but insist they are changing the country for the better simply by engaging in open discussion."
For more, please see "Blogger Nation:A proliferation of voices is slowly dismantling the status quo in China."
Note: This post can also be found at The blogging Journalist, my other blog.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)
WSJ's Farnaz Fassihi Describes Life 'Under the Gun' in Iraq
Farnaz Fassihi, The Wall Street Journal's Beirut-based "senior Middle East correspondent," tells what working and living "Under the Gun" was like during her three years covering Iraq. She "began going to Iraq in October of 2002, when it was still ruled by Saddam Hussein. I covered the war from the Kurdish northern area, moving to Baghdad after the regime fell," she writes.
Fassihi, left Iraq on Dec. 18, 2005, after "the British security firm we hired had warned in an email that insurgents were plotting to kidnap a female American journalist and advised women not to leave their hotel unless absolutely necessary."
"Several weeks later," Fassihi continues, 'my friend Jill Carroll, a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, was abducted in broad daylight at gunpoint as she left an interview in Baghdad. Her Iraqi translator was murdered. As I write this, despite pleas for her release the world over, Jill remains in captivity."
Note: This post can also be found in The Blogging Journalist, my other blog.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2006
'Ankara will fill in grey areas itself'
The New Anatolian, which bills itself as "Turkey's only independent English-language daily," has an informative analysis on the political fallout from Hamas' visit to Turkey. Zeynep Gurcanli wrote on February 19, 2006:Stung by backlash over Hamas visit to Ankara from both Turkish and intl (international) actors, AK Party [Justice and Development Party] tries to save itself by forging new policies for the Mideast. 'Up to now we permitted others to fill in the grey areas in Mideast policy,' says high-ranking diplomat, referring to the US, EU and Israel, without naming names. 'Now it's time for Turkey to fill in the grey areas itself...'
With these words, the official was signaling Ankara's goal of being more influential in the region.The diplomat added, according to The New Anatolian: "It was important that Hamas heard messages and recommendations from a country that could be at intimate intl (international)meetings where Arab country leaders could be.'
For more, please see "Ankara will fill in grey areas itself."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)
White House Vows to Watch Hamas
The Associated Press quotes Frederick Jones, the Bush Administration's National Security Council spokesman, as saying on February 18, 2006: Our position on Hamas has been quite clear on what they need to do. They must disarm, renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. We'll still continue to watch closely and wait and see. We'll see what approach they take as they govern.
The Bush Administration is engaging in wishful thinking if it expects Hamas to disarm. The moment it does is the moment it will be hunted down and wiped out.
For more, please see "White House to Watch Hamas Closely, Wait." Question: Who's going to watch the White House?
Posted by Munir Umrani at 06:52 PM | Comments (0)
What Conundrum? Hamas Won Fair and Square
The Belgravia Dispatch's Gregory Djerejian opines in a February 17, 2006 post on "The Hamas Conundrum" that, No one in Washington DC officialdom appeared to predict the political earthquake that occurred in the West Bank and Gaza now several weeks back. The conventional wisdom was that Hamas was going to put in a good show, maybe creeping into the mid-40s% (which they actually did, but more on why that analysis missed the point below), but that the Fatah old guard would carry the day. But the CW was wrong, of course, as we all now know.
Djerejian explains why they were wrong. The question is will Israel and the U.S. let the results stand or attempt to overthrow Hamas. Hopefully, common sense will prevail and policy makers will remember the 1991 National Assembly elections in Algeria and what happened after the military cancelled them when it became obvious that so-called Islamist would win. A vicious civil war ensued.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
Cobban Sees "Some Good Sense From Tom Friedman
In a February 17, 2006 commentary, Helena Cobban, proprietor of Just World News, said "New York Times uber-columnist Tom Friedman has a pretty good column in today's paper. Basically he's urging everyone in Israel and the US (perhaps especially the US) not to get completely hung up on the nature of Hamas rhetoric, but to focus on the movement's deeds instead."
"A very good point!" she writes.
Cobban quotes Friedman as saying: "[I]t is critical that Israel, the U.S., and the Palestinians not get themselves up in a tree right now over words. There is nothing Hamas could say today that would reassure Israelis, but there is a lot it could do on the ground that would have a huge impact over time. That-- for now--is where the test should be."
For more, please see "Some good sense from Tom Friedman."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:40 PM | Comments (0)
Informed Comment Revisited
Today I visited Informed Comment, which presents University of Michigan History Professor Juan Cole's "Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion," for the first time in weeks. He's still offering insightful news and commentary. I'm sure he's still offending critics who think he should shill for the Bush Administration.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:30 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
Since I Last Posted Here
Since I last posted here, I've spent most of my blogging time at The Blogging Journalist, my "Weblog on Blogging by Professional Journalists, Citizen Journalists and Pundits in an Era of Changing Media."
I also haven't blogged much at The Opinion Gazette, my other blog. In fact, I've turned it over to Nelson A. Brown, a Chicago-based attorney, who will offer comments on both domestic and international issues. I will occasionally contribute.
Finally, during the last month, I've strongly considered shutting down The Diplomatic Times Review, and concentrating on the less strenuous Blogging Journalist weblog. Most nights when I get home from work--I specialize in discovery in litigation-- I'm too tired to conduct research on international affairs and then blog about what I've found. I'm going to give it another six months. Hopefully, that's enough time to get back up to speed. If I don't, then I'll shut The Times down and concentrate primarily on The Blogging Journalist.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)
