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August 2006 Archives

August 27, 2006

Losing and Winning: Constituency Service

Roula Khalaf, who I may add is simply one of the must-read journos on Middle East has a fine profile in FT on Hezbullah's reconstruction efforts

I know from work I am engaged in right now that this will send France, US and others into a tizzy.

But there is no beating them. Quick roll out of Western institutional aid is simply not going to be competitive, because the networks are not there.

Where the damage is, the institutions are Hezbullah.

Continue reading "Losing and Winning: Constituency Service"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:59 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Business, Private , EU Foreign Policy , Foreign Policy & MENA , Levant , Political Development , US Foreign Policy

Published: World Bank Report on MENA - 2006

Perhaps I will make this a tradition, but let me draw your attention to the semi-newly published (June, hey I didn't notice) World Bank report on MENA economic prospects, for 2006.

Last year's got me all inspired to rant on a bit and otherwise criticise a noble if somewhat flawed effort. It also inspired some parties to suggest I write "Development Porn" - I suppose writing the following engendered this:

Continue reading "Published: World Bank Report on MENA - 2006"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:44 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Economic Development , MENA Region General

August 26, 2006

Returning to Agit Prop

Without further comment, I share:
"I Was a Propaganda Intern in Iraq"
Electronic Iraq - USA: He was just 22 years old and he was an intern at the Lincoln Group, the Washington-based government contractor.

Contra my usual impression of "activist" sites, this particular article is fairly well-done and interesting. I will note that the intern's comments match my own impressions and what I heard through other sources.

Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:02 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Filed Under: MENA Region General , US Foreign Policy

August 24, 2006

Giddiness: MENA Private Sector & New America Foundation

In reading the first paragraphs of a Washington Post Op Ed by a fellow at the New America Foundation, entitled The Real 'New Middle East' I thought I was going to be pleased, sadly though the author took real observations and mixed them in with simple-minded swallowing of corporate and governmental PR spin to produce absurd tripe typical of the wide-eyed neophyte or the paid propagandist.

A pity as the author's main thesis in a less over-done and gullible form has merit.
_{Cross posted from The Lounsbury}

Continue reading "Giddiness: MENA Private Sector & New America Foundation"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Business, Private , Economic Development , Foreign Policy & MENA , MENA Region General , US Foreign Policy

August 23, 2006

Do-It-Yourself Profiling and Islamophobia

Following up on Matthew's barbuphobia entry, I would like to draw attention to some relatively minor yet rather disturbing events. Mere blips, but indicative of a growing acceptance of Islamophobia as an appropriate response to the current situation in MENA and the West.

Via Progressive Islam, the media has reported two separate incidents where passenger hysteria led to the ejection of Muslims from a plane. On a Malaga-Manchester flight, passengers overheard two Asian men speaking "Arabic" and refused to fly until they were removed. Similarly, a Canadian doctor returning home from a conference in Denver was escorted off a plane because one of the passengers found his behaviour suspicious and reported it to the flight crew. He was reciting evening prayers.

Continue reading "Do-It-Yourself Profiling and Islamophobia"

Posted by eerie at 04:46 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Ethnic Minorities , Islam & Politics , Op-Ed , Religious Minorities , Society & Culture , Terrorism

Barbuphobia: Clerics, Beards, Pre-Judgment, Piety & Stuff

Egyptian author Mona Eltahawy confronts her own presumptions about Les Barbus, presumptions derived from her experiences growing up in Saudi Arabia. By les barbus, I refer of course to a nickname used elsewhere for those conservatively pious, sometimes Wahhabi, Muslim gents who tend to sport long beards. They are often presumed -- can we say profiled? -- to harbor intolerant or reactionary social and religious views (not to mention explosives). The author herself concedes holding such statistically valid presumptions presupposing judgmental viewpoints on the part of conspicuously beadred Muslim men. But she soon comes to discover that such presumptions aren't always a reliable guide to each individual, especially after encountering a new person of the barbus type who turns out to be worth getting to know as a three-dimensional being in his own right, during meetings they had in and around a conference in Copenhagen on modern Muslims .

Continue reading "Barbuphobia: Clerics, Beards, Pre-Judgment, Piety & Stuff"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 01:24 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Islam General , Islamism , MENA Region General , Op-Ed , Society & Culture

August 22, 2006

Bloody Hell, We Bollixed it All Up, Throw Money at It

I got a phone call today from an American financial consultacy I have from time to time worked with. It appears that US Gov is in a state of lathered panic about how fucked up their Lebanon policy is - and seeing Hezbullah providing first-on-scene reconstruction services - wish to launch some kind of micro-credit and entrepreneurial credit scheme branded under US Gov to help with reconstruction. Look to an announcement to this effect soon.

Continue reading "Bloody Hell, We Bollixed it All Up, Throw Money at It"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:44 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Business, Private

Rigidities & Employment: Small Details, Large Effects

In my small note last week, on MENA Trade, Business Culture & Americans our colleague Shaheen rightly raised the issue of negative effects of apparently small issues as well as the negative impact of what I might call "sand in the wheels" - such as heavy visa regulations that can kill time sensitive deals - an increasingly common issue in a world of accelerating decision cycles.

Aside from the conversation in comments on the challenges of visas for the entrepreneur looking to build exports (as I note, supposedly a key policy concern for the US), my own suggestion with respect to visa services was rightly critiqued for the remaining bureaucratic braking effect.

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Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Business, Private , Economic Development , Economic Policy

August 17, 2006

MENA Trade, Business Culture & Americans

While I confess this note is in part motivated by my desire to have an excuse to share this cartoon from the Moroccan business daily, l'Economiste from yesterday's - 16 Aug edition. This was emailed to me yesterday, and is worthy of a good laugh, I thought it also worthwhile to undertake some reflexions on both the subject matter and some generalisations about practical issues.

[Crossposted from The Lounsbury]

Continue reading "MENA Trade, Business Culture & Americans"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:25 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Business, Private , MENA Region General , North Africa , Society & Culture , US Foreign Policy

"Macaque" Ado: North African Linguists Needed

Here in the USA, George Allen Jr., candidate for governor of the Commonwealth (that's "State" if one is less pedantic) of Virginia, is in hot water for referring to a dark-skinned Indian-descended opposition activist as a "macaca". Allen's people sort of claim it was improvised gibberish, but now it is recalled that macaque is a kind of monkey, and furthermore, that Allen is a good French speaker and Allen's mom was a Tunisian-raised Francophone of European heritage. Tell us, o Aqoul sages of North African and francophonic wisdom, is there a "there" there, to that accusation? Has French-style bigotry really made Allen deaf to what he himself is saying, proving indeed that Le Pen is mightier than Le Sourd?

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 11:31 AM | Comments (15) | TrackBack
Filed Under: North Africa , Religious Minorities , Society & Culture

August 16, 2006

Rubenesque Conflict Seeks Single, Professional, Peacekeeping Force

Judging by these John Bolton (US Representative to UN) comments and the other background activities, it appears that no nation or force or combination of them is stepping up to volunteer to be the blessed armed peacemakers between Israel and Lebanon. Where are the Gurkhas when you need 'em? Or the French foreign legion, especially as the French were so active in putting this cease-fire plan together? Amazing, isn't it, that Israel and Lebanon are such great traditional tourist destinations, but for some reason the border between them just doesn't get the eager traffic you'd expect, even with the free (for spectators) fireworks displays.

Continue reading "Rubenesque Conflict Seeks Single, Professional, Peacekeeping Force"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 12:11 PM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Foreign Policy & MENA , Levant

August 13, 2006

15 ways of looking at a ceasefire

With the Israeli and Lebanese governments officially approving the ceasefire (as of 8 AM local time tomorrow), and Hizbullah indicating that it will respect ("with reservations") its outlines, the question arises, "who won?" Let's ask the blogosphere.

Continue reading "15 ways of looking at a ceasefire"

Posted by tomscud at 10:41 AM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Levant

August 12, 2006

Lebanon: UN Resolution 1701

CNN (and many other news services) has the text of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which appears to be at least tentatively agreed upon by the governments of Israel and Lebanon (and presumably wouldn't have been agreed upon by the Leb government unless it thought Hizbullah could be brought on board), although Israel has apparently decided that it can't decide on the Sabbath whether to stop attacking.

Continue reading "Lebanon: UN Resolution 1701"

Posted by tomscud at 04:22 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Levant

August 11, 2006

'Aqoul's Greatest Hits: Volume 1

Rather belatedly, I've gone through the 'Aqoul archives to find the most popular and/or controversial entries of the past year. Perhaps this will be a small respite from the Lebanon war that continues to drag on with no end in sight.

Readers are free to suggest their own favourite entries in the comments section.

Continue reading "'Aqoul's Greatest Hits: Volume 1"

Posted by eerie at 05:59 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Site News

Lebanon & Regional Blowback (Updated)

The rising chorus of commentators horrified at the American-Israeli desire to play a self-indulgent Thelma & Louise drive-off-the-cliff policy in MENA continues to grow.

Ranging from a late echo to my own "Guns of August" allusions, in the Washington Post yesterday (although the lunatic Thelma & Louise approach is reaffirmed by Gingrich and Krauthammer today), to Roula Khalaf's analysis in the Financial Times last week, to intelligent Israeli analysts realising that this 1982 business is not going to get any better, whatever the utterly magical thinking going on in Bush and Olmert governmental quarters, to The New York Times (in a generally decent if somewhat superficial review) noting the disastrous impact this useless war is having on American policy interests.

Continue reading "Lebanon & Regional Blowback (Updated)"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 07:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Filed Under: EU Foreign Policy , Foreign Policy & MENA , Levant , MENA Region General , US Foreign Policy

August 10, 2006

More Death in the Levant: A Personal Note

David Lelchook was cut down by a Hizbullah rocket landing in or around Kibbutz Sa'ar, Israel on August 2. He was bicycling, unsuccessfully, to a bomb shelter. The rest of his family had relocated to the south for safety. He was hit by the explosive force of the random projectile. I didn't know him or his views, but I have known his sister for quite some time. Reading the latest news the other day, David's rare surname jumped out. A phone call confirmed the relation.

Continue reading "More Death in the Levant: A Personal Note"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 05:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Levant , Op-Ed , Terrorism

Of, by and for the Lebanese

Michael Young has an article in the upcoming New York Times Sunday magazine discussing Lebanon's politics, the rise of Hizbullah, and the nature of the conflicting visions for the country. It's a good piece, and very different from much of Young's output over the past couple years. There's a sense of humility to it, and a willingness to look at the warts on "his" side of the equation as much as on the other side.

The main thing that sets it apart from so much of the commentary on the war is a willingness to look at Hizbullah as a Lebanese phenomenon, run by Lebanese with a vision of what Lebanon ought to be, and responding to Lebanese circumstances. This is something I was getting at back at the war's start, and which raf picked up on in his analysis. And it's the kind of thinking that is the only way that Lebanon is going to be able to get itself out of the mess it will be in, even after the bombs stop falling.

Continue reading "Of, by and for the Lebanese"

Posted by tomscud at 06:46 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Levant , Op-Ed

August 09, 2006

Frothy: Fund Developments, Private Equity & MENA

A queer indicator of the amount of froth that characterises the MENA capital markets at present, my very own self got a call from an American firm looking to enter the MENA market for the first time and raise a private equity fund. Looking for a "face."

Quite frankly, they need someone grey-haired and I told them that right out, for the kind of investment they're thinking of; but on the other hand, I would be a decent face to give an image of.... "best practices" given me rep as Mr Clean.

This being said, this is not really about me, but the froth. With oil at nearly USD 80 and likely to remain well above USD 70, the amount of money flowing into the Gulf - and to a lesser extent places like Algeria and Libya - is astounding and looking like a replay of the 1970s. [Crossposted from The Lounsbury]

Continue reading "Frothy: Fund Developments, Private Equity & MENA"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Business, Private , Economic Development , MENA Region General

August 06, 2006

In the UAE, even poor people are rich

As long as they are Emirati of course:

Dubai: The municipality has finalised designs for 10 residential complexes which will cater to low-income UAE nationals.

...

Abdul Rahman Sifai, Director of the Government Housing Department at the municipality, said it was the first time that apartment blocks were to be built for nationals.

Continue reading "In the UAE, even poor people are rich"

Posted by dubaiwalla at 05:31 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Gulf , Society & Culture

Sarkozy, Lebanon & French Arabs

[Editor's Note: Our occasional contributor Shaheen sent us this interesting note on Euro-Arab developments re Lebanon and French policy]

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's recent remarks about Lebanon (for those who don't understand French, he's basically siding with Israel) infuriated quite a few French Arabs (once more). Yet, the ascending interior minister and probable next president is the story of a big failure from French Arabs' part, first and foremost.

Continue reading "Sarkozy, Lebanon & French Arabs"

Posted by Shaheen at 12:04 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Filed Under: EU Foreign Policy , Ethnic Minorities , Levant , North Africa , Political Development , Religious Minorities

August 05, 2006

Another death fatwa for the war?

I don't know if MEMRI has translated this one yet.

Continue reading "Another death fatwa for the war?"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 01:12 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Levant , Political Development , Religious Minorities , Society & Culture , Terrorism

August 03, 2006

Creative Destruction & Own Goals - "The New Middle East is Already Dead"

Text: "Uncle Sam wants to 'educate' our political parties"
TV: "War in Lebanon - Massacre"
US: "Lesson 1, turn off the telly."

The entry title comes from a radio report I just heard on RFI. The above is from a Moroccan business journal online, l'Economiste, normally a fairly liberal publication. Fairly amusing in the end, and illustrative of the spill over effects of the public US diplomatic position.

Continue reading "Creative Destruction & Own Goals - "The New Middle East is Already Dead""

Posted by The Lounsbury at 12:55 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Filed Under: EU Foreign Policy , Levant , MENA Region General , US Foreign Policy

August 02, 2006

Darfur and Dom Perignon: Social Side Effects of UN Presence in Sudan

The United Nations is now conducting the largest humanitarian operation in Sudan because the Darfur issue has demanded increased UN support. The number of employees in Khartoum has quadrupled, and with this increased presence some rather interesting and somewhat colonial social spillovers mave materialized. In the past five years, the UN Mission in Sudan has opened two new offices and recruited hundreds of employees, mainly by skimming the cream of the foreign educated Khartoum elite. These young up-and-comers returned from their self-imposed exile in Cairo, London and the Gulf to take up positions that previously would have been hard to come across in Sudan.

Continue reading "Darfur and Dom Perignon: Social Side Effects of UN Presence in Sudan"

Posted by Meph at 09:11 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Society & Culture

Letter from Hizbullah to Israel

Recently received intelligence via my Hamas contact, Mel Gibson*, in which it was learned that Hizbullah has sent a "thank you" letter to Israel. Text follows.

* Expelled for intoxication.

Continue reading "Letter from Hizbullah to Israel"

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 12:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Levant

August 01, 2006

New Month Open Thread

As dictated by hoary old tradition, an open thread for readers to introduce themselves, complain (and be largely ignored), offer praise (shameless flattery is permitted) or ask questions about the site, its contributors, etc.

Am a bit tired of hearing about Lebanon, perhaps we might fixate on something trivial and stupid today.

Posted by eerie at 06:51 PM | Comments (52) | TrackBack
Filed Under: Site News

Baalbek (Updated: 2 Aug)

The madness continues.

Sats (Arab and Euro) are reporting Israel is attempting an air-mobile operation in Baalbek (Mid-Lebanon, Beqaa).

The sole value in this entire madness is a near perfect illustration of tactical considerations, poor leadership and domestic politics getting the better of cold-blooded rational calculation of state interest.

[Update: watching Hezbullah spokesman on al Jazeerah, I found it interesting that in ranting on about Arab occupied lands he finessed the issue of Israel - i.e. cited Golan, Chebaa, Gaza, but not Israel qua Israel. Artful that was. Added further, caught on BBC World Service interview w Leb rep, who ostentatiously refused to take a bait to whinge on about Syria but was highly US critical]

Continue reading "Baalbek (Updated: 2 Aug)"

Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:19 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Filed Under: EU Foreign Policy , Levant , US Foreign Policy