Tweeting the Egyptian Revolution (2)

A selection of tweets related to the Egyptian Revolution, I have excluded most retweets as well as tweets in Arabic or tweets that simply link to articles and news reports. Most tweets reflect personal thoughts of information obtained from monitoring reports from the ground sent by in-country activists and journalists.

Some of the tweets below (4-6) reflect an early enthusiasm and hope that we might be able to tame not only the regime but the Islamists as well. In retrospect, that was naïve. But the early days were indeed dominated by more secular and pragmatic forces. The Islamist takeover of the Revolution in Egypt (and Tunisia) happened mostly on account of their relative cohesion and superior organization skills, not their larger numbers. Continue reading “Tweeting the Egyptian Revolution (2)” →

Normalcy in Syria, a mere façade

Underneath the façade of normalcy that Syrian authorities are good at orchestrating for the benefit of their foreign visitors, the human rights situation in the country is in constant deterioration on account of continuous and intensified crackdowns. Indeed, Syrian jails now host the world’s oldest dissident (Haitham Al-Maleh, 80) and the world youngest (Tal Al-Mallouhi, 19). Indeed, the latter has not been seen by anyone since her arrest less than a year ago, and is rumored to have died under torture. Despite a massive international campaign demanding her release, Syrian authorities continue to withhold all information regarding her whereabouts and condition. Meanwhile, European and American leaders are busy engaging Bashar Al-Assad in the misplaced hope of breaking his regime’s long-term strategic alliance with Iran, and for this, they are willing to put up with the man’s murderous practices in Syria and across the region. Syria is an authoritarian state and the Assad regime is corrupt and repressive. The world should not be made to forget this fact, and the world’s free press should continuously highlight it. CNN needs to do a report to bring a semblance of balance to coverage related to Syria.

Ideas and Sterility

Comment 1: Indeed Arab attitudes towards America are far more complex than traditional media and scholars let on. The fact that foreign policy is not a priority for the Arabs though, should not come as a surprise to anyone; foreign policy is hardly a priority for any people. People’s immediate preoccupation is always with their specific living conditions. But as people understand more and more the intimate linkages between domestic and foreign policy, perhaps their attitudes will change. There is this myth among many Arabs that just because they can name the leaders of so many countries around the world, this, somehow, makes them more knowledgeable about the world, than, say, the American people, who often fail to name even their own leaders. But there is more to knowledge, especially knowledge of foreign policy and world affairs, than naming names. The reality is we are no less ignorant about the world than it is about us. But we are paying the price for our continued ignorance in this regard, because we are the weaker link. Continue reading “Ideas and Sterility” →

Of Real Politick and Resistance Ideology!

Comment 1: Michael McFaul’s interest in human rights is quite genuine I am sure. But the Obama’s Administration rather cynical sense of realpolitik has made a mockery of any talk of human rights. The Russian activists are right: this is political theater, and it is badly directed at that. Since the commitment is obviously not real, as the Freedom Agenda is no longer on the table, Obama might as well shy away from any show of hypocrisy in this regard. No amount of political theater can undo the damage done to America’s standing or the cause of freedom. Spare us. Continue reading “Of Real Politick and Resistance Ideology!” →