A lens to Bahrain: where Persia nudges Arabia

Back to Bahrain, A purely Palestinian protest- an internal affair to fix the home front, a woman's work still not done in the Middle East, and an innovation in reporting out of the region.

Pearl Roundabout, Bahrain's Tahrir, hot spot for Bahrain's battle

Muftah [2]

Bahrain’s Uprising

Yazan Al-Saadi brings us a much needed run-down of Bahrain's standoff between protesters and government over the last 3 weeks, as it got sidelined by Libya's bloodier and more showboating leader. It's perhaps a little on the lengthy side, but worth the content and detailed overview and historical profiling of the island's path that sowed the seeds of discontent, bringing us to this boiling point. "In light of the Bahraini demonstrations, ruling families across the Gulf must realize that the doling out of cash payments to their citizens is insufficient to stave off domestic discontent. Rather, Bahrain has forced the Gulf nations to undergo significant policy changes that embrace a more progressive agenda, without which the long-term stability and prosperity of these countries will remain questionable." And finally, "What is certain is that the events in Bahrain will likely have a significant effect on the future direction of the Gulf, reinforcing the notion that a new power dynamic has been established not only in North Africa, but also in the Gulf region."

The Electronic Intifada [3]

Palestinians schedule protest on Palestinian divided leadership

Palestinian civil society groups are preparing to wage their own protest for a day of mass sit-ins on 15 March, to campaign against the widening split between Palestinian political and resistance factions as Israel's illegal occupation grinds on. Their message will be -- while not protesting against Israeli occupation directly- a reminder that the Israeli state government should be the target of grievances but can't be til they've sorted out their own affairs. Word on the heaving Arab street suggests the date has been shifted back to April. Watch this protest schedule.

Intifada Voice of Palestine [4]

THE BEACON THAT IS ISRAEL: SELF-SERVING BY DELAY AND DENIAL

William A. Cook reports how Israel has conveniently ignored its own problems in governance of Arabs to remark that these Arab uprisings clearly demonstrate that it is not the issue of Israel that is rocking the Arab world, but the presence of arbitrary and repressive regimes. "Israel alone stands immune from the repression and arbitrary policies of the abusive regimes that face the multitudes in the streets." Therefore no problem here..

Lama's Scrapbook [5]

What we really need

I think she's talking about women's rights in a certain Middle Eastern country that could be any number of those with interchangeable conditions for the Madam. "A while back, my mom was planning a business trip to a certain Arab country but realized she didn't have sufficient time for the visa. Since my dad knew the ambassador, he decided to call and see if there was any way to issue the visa earlier...." "The only way a woman can be liberated and yet accepted in our society is to be married to a gentleman instead of an insecure man, of whom many exist. The men in our families are the only ones who really protect us. But nothing protects us from them." "As for me, I am realizing more and more how unaccepting I am of my society (and I belong to several similar ones), one that only gives me the right to vote and work, on condition that my father, brother or husband approve. And I am even less accepting of a society that permits me to become a citizen because I married into it, but not because my mother was born with that nationality."

Treasure of Baghdad [6]

News Gathering in the Arab World Revolutionized

A lot of news organizations already know what “crowdsourcing” is. Some have already started using it. However, a new real-time crowdsourcing project is making news gathering take a new turn. “Alive.in” knows how! The goal, according to the project’s website, is “to reach a wider audience.”