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The release of another fabulous video by Gisha, a small Tel Aviv nonprofit that champions freedom of movement for Palestinians, points to what a professor of rhetoric might term the vital importance of tone when making a persuasive argument. If your field is advocacy, it never hurts …
Updated 5/31/11
Those of us who cover the developing world deal increasingly today with a new kind of inflation: disaster inflation. I first really noticed it in 1998, while reporting Hurricane Mitch. The storm ravaged Honduras and Central America, but governments felt compelled to inflate the death toll. Even today, the official …
The line may well earn a spot aside infamous expressions of denial like Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook”, Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”, and MLB star Roger Clemmons’ suggestion a fellow pitcher “misremembers” their discussions about The Rocket’s use of banned steroids. Like other …
To get an idea of just how badly things are going in Afghanistan, take a look at the latest “good” news coming out of the prominent southern city (and Taliban strong hold, and heroin trafficking center) of Kandahar: the appointment of a new police chief, Brig. Gen. Abdul Razik, to replace the earlier one who was killed in a suicide …
Remembering Taseer — In the Express Tribune Ayesha Tammy Haq reflects on the life and death of Salman Taseer. “Today he would have been 67-years-old but we have silenced him and with him, killed hope,” she writes. Moderate Pakistanis must speak out against the violence: “The quieter we stay, the more difficult it becomes for people to …
Another day, another corruption scandal. So goes life in China, where tales of official graft are so common that a newspaper wouldn’t be complete without a rundown of the sordid details. But even by Chinese standards, this one looks like a doozey. According to state media—and by the time it appears in the official press, chances are …
Is the downfall of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn amid charges of attempted rape in the U.S. inspiring women in France to denounce the sexual coercion and aggression they’ve suffered from men for so long? The resignation Sunday of a French government minister accused of sexually harassing and assaulting …
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Pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed Monday that she’s planning a visit to Burma’s provinces this summer. “I hope to be able to travel out of Rangoon in the month of June, as soon as I have got rid of all the work that has piled up,” she said in a video …
Last Legs— Panicking over the demonstrations, Assad has backtracked on economic liberalization, reports our correspondent in Syria. Will economic collapse end his rule?
Control Freaks — America’s response to the ‘Arab Spring’ is an attempt to re-assert its control over the region, argues Soumaya Ghannoushi at AJE. “After watching …
Parts of Inner Mongolia, the region that forms much of China’s northern border, have been put under tight control following protests touched off by the hit-and-run death of a herder who was run over by a coal truck. The killing of Mergen, who like some ethnic Mongolians goes by a single name, has raised concerns about development and …
South African President Jacob Zuma flies into Tripoli Monday to try to forge peace between Libyan leader Mouamar Gaddafi and the country’s rebels. Top of the agenda, according to Agence France-Presse: persuading Gaddafi to go. Zuma’s initiative, conducted on behalf of the African Union (AU), has met widespread skepticism, particularly …
Egypt’s decision to officially re-open its border to the Gaza Strip may be officially tut-tutted over by Israel, which in Hosni Mubarak had a willing partner for besieging the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas. But as a practical matter, the siege effectively ended a year ago Tuesday when Israeli commandos killed nine civilians on …
The illicit arms business is booming in Lebanon today, as my colleague Nicholas Blanford pointed out in a story a few days ago.
And while Hezbollah arms dealer Abu Jihad claims that he doesn’t sell weapons to the Syrian opposition, since it would be akin to arming his enemies, he does allow that many Syrians are stocking up for …
