What? Gunshot wounds don’t hurt! (Tess AC)

So this isn’t related to North Africa and also doesn’t have to do with my blogger. Andrew Heavens is dead to me. But posting has dwindled and the suburbs are dull this time of year (most times of year, really).
Many probably saw the front page of the NY Times, it had an article about labor [...]

Iran: Less Scary Than We Thought (Sam C.)

The Bush administration has systematically slandered Iran over the last few years, turning the once ally into a member of the “Axis of Evil.” This week the Economist published an article discussing the sudden shift within the Intelligence community concerning Iran’s nuclear programs.
IT REPRESENTS a remarkable change of [...]

Somalia PM seeks dialogue with Islamists

Somalia’s new Prime Minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, who formed his new cabinet on Sunday has vowed to try and open a dialog with the Islamists in an attempt to end the violence that has killed an estimated 6,000 civilians this past year. Hussein Mohamed Mohamoud, a spokesman for the president, told the Associated Press, “The [...]

A Message to Darfur from Dory: Just Keep Swimming… (Tess)

So, the International Crisis Group has issued a report on the Darfur peace talks, which have now been put on hold. Just to recap the process from a couple weeks ago until now:
Until this report was issued, media coverage seemed fairly limited (meaning I couldn’t find much recent information on the internet). The blogger I [...]

Israel, Palestinians OK Negotiating Plan

After an abundance of coverage on national television, and a surprise appearance on a certain International Relations quiz, the first direct peace talks between Israel and Palestine in nearly seven years concluded the same way it began– with awkward handshakes and forced smiles. The one-day session, led by President Bush, featured 44 participating countries, all [...]

Sudanese protesters demand death for teddy teacher–Max Willner

This article is about how hundreds of Sudanese Muslims took to the streets demanding the death of a British teacher who insulted Islam by naming a teddy bear Mohammad after the Prophet. The British teacher was sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation from Sudan, yet all the protestors demanded a stricter punishment and [...]

Women Gets Raped and Is Sentenced to 6 Months in Jail and 200 Lashes

    This week in the Economist there was a story about a women who was raped in Saudi Arabia, and then through the process of their legal system was also punished for the events that happened.  This is not to say that the men who kidnapped her and raped her were not also punished, but [...]

Classroom teddy bear causes a “storm in a teacup” in Sudan

Ann Noling

Last Sunday Gillian Gibbons, a British schoolteacher at a Christian school in Khartoum, was arrested. Ms. Gibbons is being held in custody while the Sudanese officials decide whether or not to charge her for blasphemy for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. During a unit on “animals and their habitats” she [...]

Candidates and the Arab Community (da silva)

In this particular article Nouri criticizes both Obama and Clinton for the efforts regarding the Arab American community. At the Arab American Institute conference both did not attend. Nouri says that if they actually cared for the Arab community then they would have shown up and I agree with him.           [...]

UN Glad to See Appointment of New Somali Prime Minister

by Nick Freundlich
The article
Somalia has not had a central government since 1991, and continuing violence has plagued the region, displacing around one million people in recent months.  However, Colonel Nur Hassan Hussein has been appointed the Prime Minister of the Federal Transitional Government of Somalia.  This appointment could lead to decreased violence and perhaps the [...]