Adaequatio intellectus et rei Since 2012 var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-30875165-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Tumblr (3.0; @thesqr)http://thesqr.org/<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2d0mrFFfn1rrcisbo3_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2d0mrFFfn1rrcisbo1_400.png"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2d0mrFFfn1rrcisbo2_400.png"/><br/> <br/><p><a href="http://www.juancole.com/">Informed Comment</a> (USA)</p> <p><strong>Poetry and Drones: Talking to the Taliban</strong></p> <p><em>Scholars Alex Strick van Linschoten, 28, and 32 year old Felix Kuehn have swapped the musty libraries of London for the dusty streets of Kandahar, spiritual home of the Taliban. There the two have lived for almost five years, engaging with those many call the enemy in an effort to further understanding.</em></p> <p><em>Their research has resulted in two outstanding books. <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enemy-We-Created-Afghanistan-1970-2010/dp/1849041547/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331223573&sr=1-1" target="_blank">An Enemy We Created: The Myth of the Taliban/ Al Qaeda Merger</a> challenges the orthodoxy that the two militant organisations are much alike. Understanding any distinction may be critical if tentative peace moves with the Taliban are to have any chance of success.</em></p> <p><em>Next month the duo is also publishing <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poetry-Taliban-Alex-Strick-Linschoten/dp/1849041113/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331224388&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Poetry of the Taliban</a>, containing more than 250 translated poems written by Afghan Taliban fighters which presents them in a rarely-glimpsed cultural context.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.juancole.com/2012/04/afghanistans-taliban-a-differing-view-of-drones-woods.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29&utm_content=Google+Reader"><br/>(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/20957139689http://thesqr.org/post/20957139689Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:20:00 +0200afghanistandroneskuehnlinschotenpoetrytalibanthesqr<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2czuv8SX11rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><div class="entry-body"> <div> <div class="item-body"> <div> <p><a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/">FP Passport</a> (USA):</p> <p><strong>Putin supports new term limits…for the next guy</strong></p> <p><em>Vladimir Putin says he <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUyDQAjtSXjbE1otngNAumbQ6oOA?docId=5cca06989c584029bfd70a6cae297bc7" target="_blank">wouldn’t mind</a> amending Russia’s constitution to prevent future presidents from doing what he did — returning to the presidency for a non-consecutive third term: </em></p> <blockquote> <p><em> On Wednesday, during a Q&A session in Parliament, Putin said it would be “reasonable” to remove the mention of consecutive terms. But he added that this would not affect him because such a legislation cannot be retroactive — implying that his third term would considered his first term under the new law. </em></p> <p><em> “Once it’s passed, I will have a chance to work for the next two terms. There’s no problem here,” he said in televised remarks. </em></p> </blockquote> <p><em> Now he tells us.  </em></p> </div> </div> </div> </div>http://thesqr.org/post/20956866323http://thesqr.org/post/20956866323Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:04:00 +02002012electionmedvedevpoliticsputinrussiavladimirthesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2biqcD0mQ1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/">In Moscow’s Shadows</a> (New York)</p> <p><strong>Is Putin planning on building a new Russian national guard?</strong></p> <p><em>According to <a href="http://www.ng.ru/nvo/2012-04-02/1_gvardia.html">Nezavisimaya gazeta</a> (April 2, 2012), President-elect Putin is planning to create a new National Guard, a domestic security force uniting the MVD VV Interior Troops, the MChS Ministry of Emergency Situation forces and various other security and military elements.</em></p> <p><em>This Natsionalnaya gvardiya would include not just paramilitary security forces but also light airmobile units with their own transport aircraft, specialized motorized infantry brigades, and special forces. The Guard would also assimilate the 20,000 officers in the new <a href="http://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/on-military-police-in-the-moscow-news/" title="On Military Police in the Moscow News">Military Police</a>, making it in many ways similar to the French Gendarmerie Nationale or Italian Carabinieri: a parallel police service, parallel military and internal security force all in one.</em></p> <p><a href="http://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/a-russian-national-guard-not-so-fast-or-so-likely/">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/20902777774http://thesqr.org/post/20902777774Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:56:35 +0200moscowputinsecurityelectionnational guardvladimirmedvedevrussiapoliticsScott Horton (New York): Yesterday the Obama Administration, after a delay of several years,...http://thesqr.org/post/20902056449http://thesqr.org/post/20902056449Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:32:13 +0200scott hortontortureconCondoleezza Ricezelikowbushobamaciaguantanamopoliticsthesqr<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2bh7s0uoM1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/">TomDispatch</a> (USA):<strong><br/></strong></p> <p><strong>Echoes of Vietnam in Afghanistan</strong></p> <p><em>Somehow, over the endless years, no matter what any American president tried, The War — that war — and its doppelganger of a syndrome, a symbol of defeat so deep and puzzling Americans could never bear to fully take it in, refused to depart town.  They were the ghosts on the battlements of American life, representing — despite the application of firepower of a historic nature — a defeat by a small Asian peasant land so unexpected that it simply couldn’t be shaken, nor its “lessons” learned. </em></p> <p><em>National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger was typical at the time in dismissing North Vietnam in disgust as “a little fourth rate power,” just as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Thomas Moorer would term it “a third-rate country with a population of less than two counties in one of the 50 states of the United States.”  All of which made its victory, in some sense, beyond comprehension.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175527/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_the_smog_of_war/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tomdispatch%2FesUU+%28TomDispatch%3A+The+latest+Tomgram%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/20901821202http://thesqr.org/post/20901821202Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:23:51 +0200afghanistawarvietnamnixonthesqrnational securitypoliticsforeign policyreagan<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m16su9RYE81rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://syrianrevolutiondigest.blogspot.com">Syrian Revolution Digest</a> (Washington, D.C.):</p> <p><strong>The fight for Syria’s future reaches the capital</strong></p> <div class="MsoNormal"><em> <span>The clash that took place between members of the local resistance and security forces loyal to Assad took place less than a block away from our apartment, still awaiting our eventual return. My mother lives just across the highway. The local security headquarters that came under attack is one that I know very well, as I have been interrogated there on a number of occasions. The battle is coming home. </span></em></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><em><span><br/></span></em></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><em> <span>Sounds of the nighttime battle </span></em><span><a href="http://youtu.be/nzBgmqxV8rE"><a href="http://youtu.be/nzBgmqxV8rE">http://youtu.be/nzBgmqxV8rE</a></a></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span><br/></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><em> <span>Just a little north, a couple of blocks really, is Mazzeh Jabal and the famous Commune 86, an unplanned settlement inhabited by Alawite soldiers and officers whose guard rushed in to join the fray, and ended up killing many of their own. Most mid- and high-ranking loyalist officers have been evacuated, and are unlikely to return anytime soon. But the foot soldiers and security guards will likely become more vicious, and that will only pave the way for more clashes, as things in the neighborhood has been heating up for a while.</span></em><span></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span><em><br/></em></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span><em>Besides this attack, and the two bombings that targeted security headquarters in Tahrir and Jamarek, there were other relatively minor incidents all across the city over the last couple of days, confirming what I have been saying for a while now: Assad’s recent victories are rather pyrrhic, he and his henchmen have only succeeded in transforming the country into one giant battlefield.</em></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span><em><br/></em></span></div> <p><span><a href="http://syrianrevolutiondigest.blogspot.de/2012/03/thank-you-fickleness.html">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></span></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19626331455http://thesqr.org/post/19626331455Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:13:00 +0100syriarevolutionassadnewsrevoltdamascusthesqr<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m16sag4ntB1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.agoodtreaty.com">A Good Treaty</a> (USA):</p> <p><strong>Nationalism and the possibility of a ‘color revolution’ in Russia</strong></p> <p><em>With Russia’s sixth presidential election having reached its preordained conclusion, what remains unclear is how Moscow’s already seething political opposition will respond to the prospect of six more years of Vladimir Putin.</em></p> <p><em>If the protests continue, will they be met with harsh reprisals? That was the route taken in Belarus when Alexander Lukashenko won a fourth consecutive presidential term in 2010. Police intervened as soon as demonstrators assembled the night after the election, and hundreds of protesters along with seven presidential candidates were jailed.</em></p> <p><em>Alternatively, could we see a repeat of Ukraine’s 2004 “Orange Revolution”, when demonstrators camped out in downtown Kyiv and the authorities backed off, allowing a re-run of the election, which the opposition won?</em></p> <p><em>In the Russian case, neither wholesale repression nor revolution is likely. After the State Duma elections triggered demonstrations last December, the Kremlin cannily abandoned its initial response of arresting protesters, and started issuing permits for demonstrations. Since then, the opposition has generally cooperated with the authorities in limiting their protests to officially sanctioned locations and times. The March 5 demonstration was approved for Pushkin square, about one mile from the Kremlin, and participants were only arrested after the officially-designated time had elapsed.</em></p> <p><em>If protests continue in their current pattern — peaceful gatherings at approved locations — then the opposition movement is likely to subsume into the background noise of Russian urban life. Opposition figure Aleksei Navalny has suggested that the time is ripe for escalating the level of confrontation, by protesting directly in front of government buildings and daring the authorities to crack down. Last week he wrote on Twitter, “Only Lubyanka. Only hardcore.”</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.agoodtreaty.com/2012/03/18/tough-choices/">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19626049988http://thesqr.org/post/19626049988Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:01:27 +0100russiaputinelectionrevolution2012protestthesqr<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m16rv5mUOu1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://nottspolitics.org/">Ballots & Bullets</a> (UK):</p> <p><strong>Have French twenty-somethings deserted the Socialist Party?</strong></p> <p><em>Much has been made in recent days of Nicolas Sarkozy <a href="http://leplus.nouvelobs.com/contribution/453754-hollande-sarkozy-et-les-sondages-pourquoi-les-courbes-se-croisent-elles.html">overtaking</a> François Hollande for the first time in polling for the first round of the French presidentials. This symbolic croisement may or may not reflect a change in Sarkozy’s fortunes and the first step towards an historic electoral turnaround. It certainly reflects a trend to date found only in the IFOP polls, well within the margin of error and not replicated in the second round polls, which still all give Hollande a <a href="http://www.parismatch.com/Actu-Match/Politique/Actu/Presidentielle-en-temps-reel.-Hollande-recule-au-second-tour-383285/">clear if reduced victory</a>. This campaign key moment has overshadowed a potentially more interesting – and troubling – polling phenomenon overlooked by most of the press.</em></p> <p><em>On 14 March, the French press reported that an <a href="http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/politique/les-18-22-ans-votent-hollande-et-le-pen_1093627.html">IFOP poll of les primo-votants</a> – first-time voters – put François Hollande way out in front, with 31% of vote intentions, followed by Marine Le Pen (23%) and Nicolas Sarkozy (21%). The same day, <a href="http://www.csa.eu/multimedia/data/sondages/data2012/opi20120313-la-course-2012-vague-18-mars-2012.pdf">a CSA poll</a> carried out amongst those in the 18-30 age category concluded that Hollande was out of step with the young electorate, managing only 18% of this group, against 26% for Le Pen and 25% for Sarkozy. On Monday evening, amongst 18-24 year olds, an <a href="http://www.ifop.com/media/poll/1793-1-study_file.pdf">ostensibly earlier IFOP poll</a> had 27% for Hollande, 26% for Sarkozy and 16% for Le Pen.</em></p> <p><a href="http://nottspolitics.org/2012/03/20/have-french-twenty-somethings-deserted-hollande/">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19625844833http://thesqr.org/post/19625844833Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:52:00 +0100sarkozyhollandefranceelectionpresidentle penvotethesqr<iframe class="tumblr_audio_player tumblr_audio_player_19625677092" src="http://thesqr.org/post/19625677092/audio_player_iframe/thesqr/tumblr_m16rhzqks01rrcisb?audio_file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Faudio_file%2Fthesqr%2F19625677092%2Ftumblr_m16rhzqks01rrcisb" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" width="500" height="169"></iframe><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/">TomDispatch</a> (USA):</p> <p><strong>TomCast podcast for March 18, 2012: Ever More and Ever Less</strong></p> <p><em>Karen Greenberg, the executive director of the New York University Center on Law and Security, and author of The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo’s First One Hundred Days, talks about the current status of the American legal system as it applies to the so-called war on terror and what Karen describes as ‘legal limbo.’</em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19625677092http://thesqr.org/post/19625677092Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:44:00 +0100guantanamowar on terrorpoliticsnewsthesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m13econkPd1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.juancole.com/">Informed Comment</a> (USA):</p> <p><strong>Top ten Catholic teachings Santorum ignores</strong></p> <p><em>Rick Santorum is claiming that if he wins the Illinois primary, he has virtually won the Republican nomination. It seems an appropriate time for this golden oldie:</em></p> <p><em>The right wing Republican politicians who have been denouncing the requirement that female employees have access to birth control as part of their health benefits as an attack on religious freedom completely ignore the church teachings they don’t agree with. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are both Catholics, and wear their faith on their sleeves, but they are hypocritical in picking and choosing when they wish to listen to the bishops.</em></p> <p><em>1. So for instance, <a href="http://catholicism.about.com/od/thechurchintheworld/f/popes_on_iraq.htm"> Pope John Paul II was against anyone going to war against Iraq</a> I think you’ll find that <a href="http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Senate/Pennsylvania/Rick_Santorum/Views/The_War_in_Iraq/"> Rick Santorum managed to ignore that Catholic teaching</a>.</em></p> <p><em>2.The Conference of Catholic Bishops <a href="http://old.usccb.org/sdwp/national/brochure1.pdf"> requires that health care be provided to all Americans</a>. I.e., Rick Santorum’s opposition to universal health care is a betrayal of the Catholic faith he is always trumpeting.</em></p> <p><em>3. The Catholic Church <a href="http://www.americancatholic.org/news/default.aspx?categoryid=39"> opposes the death penalty for criminals</a> in almost all situations. (Santorum <a href="http://2012.republican-candidates.org/Santorum/Capital-Punishment.php"> largely supports executions</a>.)</em></p> <p><em>4. The US Conference of Bishops <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/raise-federal-minimum-wage-catholic-bishops-urge-congress-53349332.html"> has urged that the federal minimum wage be increased</a>, for the working poor. Santorum in the Senate <a href="http://santorumexposed.com/pages/issues/issues-wage.php"> repeatedly voted against the minimum wage.</a></em></p> <p><em>5. <a href="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/welfare-safety-net/temporary-assistance-to-needy-families.cfm"> The bishops want welfare for all needy families</a>, saying “We reiterate our call for a minimum national welfare benefit that will permit children and their parents to live in dignity. A decent society will not balance its budget on the backs of poor children.” Santorum is a critic of welfare.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.juancole.com/2012/03/top-ten-catholic-teachings-santorum-ignores-reprint-edn.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19522920544http://thesqr.org/post/19522920544Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:07:36 +0100santorumreligionpoliticscatholicelection 2012electionthesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m13dkc44sl1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://tabsir.net/">Daniel Varisco at Tabsir.net</a> (New York)</p> <p><strong>Indonesian lawmakers claim women are raped due to provocative clothing<em> <br/></em></strong></p> <p><em>Why is it that men blame women for their own failures? Whenever I hear a variant of the phrase, “Well, he couldn’t help himself,” I can’t but think that this excuse is in need of a lot of help. In <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/06/198972.html">Indonesia there is a bill being considered in parliament</a> that would ban female lawmakers from wearing provocative clothing, such as miniskirts. Given that the number of Indonesian lawmakers wearing miniskirts must be a whopping minority, why is this needed? Here is the rationale:</em></p> <blockquote> <p><em>“We know there have been a lot of rape cases and other immoral acts recently, and this is because women aren’t wearing appropriate clothes,” house of representatives speaker Marzuki Alie said.</em></p> <p><em>“Women wearing inappropriate clothes arouse men, so it needs to be stopped. You know what men are like — provocative clothing will make them do things.”</em></p> </blockquote> <p><em> So men rape women because women wear miniskirts. I have not seen the statistics, but I suspect the majority of women in Indonesia do not fall for the idea that all they have to do is dress conservatively and there will be no danger of a man raping them. This notion that the male rapist cannot really be blamed because “provocative clothing will make them do things” is not limited to any national or religious group. What is rather bizarre in this case is that the ban would only be to protect male lawmakers and not for the public at large. So either there is an epidemic of male lawmakers raping female lawmakers in Indonesia or these males are so easily aroused that the ban need only be to stop those provocative female lawmakers. I guess once outside the parliament building, male lawmakers can contain themselves. </em></p> <p><a href="http://tabsir.net/?p=1734">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19521947390http://thesqr.org/post/19521947390Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:50:36 +0100indonesiawomenpoliticsnewswomen's rightsthesqrAl-bab (UK): Next week, The Assad House for Arts and Culture (as the building is officially known)...http://thesqr.org/post/19521487353http://thesqr.org/post/19521487353Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:42:28 +0100syiraassadrevolutionartpoliticsnewsthesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m104jy1SVp1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.maysaloon.org/">Mayasaloon</a> (Syria):</p> <p><strong>Looking at the conflict in Syria from different angles</strong></p> <p><em>…supporting the Syrian revolution is not a binary choice of siding with the Muslim Brotherhood against Assad’s fascist secularism. Taking a principled stand against brutality and murder, and for a dream of a better Syria, is a difficult one, but it is not impossible. If you are a Syrian then you should speak up - if you haven’t done so already - and debate the best way you would like to govern your own country. <strong>Supporting the Syrian revolution does not mean you are supporting some foreign conspiracy against the country, or that you want to be invaded, it means you are fed up with being afraid to speak your own mind.</strong> For far too long, the fear of having your name “noted down” by some of Assad’s secret police has meant that we have all opted for silence. Today that is no longer an option, and as the country hurtles down an abyss, it is more important than ever that each and every one of us starts to articulate our own position.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.maysaloon.org/2012/03/letter-to-syrian.html">(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19420763657http://thesqr.org/post/19420763657Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:43:10 +0100syriaassadmuslim brotherhoodrevolutionrevoltthesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m102c7F9Jc1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>In Moscow’s Shadows (New York):</p> <p><strong>Putin vs the opposition: Famed activist’s husband sentenced to 5 years in labor camp</strong></p> <p><em>The decision today to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/15/us-russia-opposition-idUSBRE82E11W20120315">convict Alexei Kozlov</a> on fraud charges and sentence him to 5 years in a labor camp, seemingly as retribution against his wife, the activist journalist Olga Romanova, raises a crucial issue in terms of Russian reform. I appreciate that I am unfashionable in being mildly optimistic about police reform in Russia and the prospect that — over years, not overnight — it might lead to the emergence of a force concerned less with protecting the interests of the state and the elite and more with upholding the law and providing security for all. However, that will be impossible or meaningless without a corresponding change in the nature and culture of the Russian court system. If the courts are corrupt and/or subject to undue political influence, then police reform will be largely irrelevant: the guilty can arrange for themselves to be released, even if arrested, through bribery and blat (influence, connections), while the innocent who fall foul of the state or the elite will still be at risk. As is, time and again the courts appear to be — as in Soviet times — nothing more than instruments of factional and elite interest, from <a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/detour-to-jail-interrupts-dacha-trip/454724.html">denying environmentalists their rights</a> to <a href="http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/03/14/russian-court-ruling-bans-lgbti-group-from-2014-winter-olympics/">characterizing efforts to confront homophobia as ‘extremism.’</a></em></p> <p><a href="http://inmoscowsshadows.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/judicial-reform-the-necessary-flip-side-of-police-reform/">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19418130751http://thesqr.org/post/19418130751Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:55:19 +0100kozlovКозловАлексейrussiaputinnews2012thesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m101lpQ8FX1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://asecondglance.wordpress.com/">A Second Glance</a> (Gaza):</p> <p><strong>Terminally ill patients in Gaza denied proper health care</strong></p> <p><em>“I had been tired for a while and had pains throughout my body. It was the 20^th of August in 2009, and I was in my classroom, teaching my students when I suddenly felt close to collapse. I had pain everywhere, but especially in my upper legs. I went to the clinic located 100 meters away from the school where they gave me some medicine. The next day the same thing happened. Blood tests were done; they came back abnormal and I was referred to the hematology department of al Shifa Hospital. The following day I went to take the results and they told me I have chronic myeloid leukaemia.”</em></p> <p><em>Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip suffering from cancer or <a href="http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7949:cutting-the-life-line-&catid=65:narratives-under-siege&Itemid=209" target="_blank">chronic illnesses</a>, have been denied their basic right  to life and healthcare over the years. They are struggling to receive medicines and medical treatment or elsewhere, many of them encountering obstacles in terms of availability, access, funding, and bureaucracy. And the crisis continues to worsen. </em></p> <p><em>The depletion of<a href="http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_1309.pdf" target="_blank"> substantive amounts</a> of essential medicines in the Gaza Strip is caused by a combination of factors: the on-going illegal Israeli closure, the international boycott of the Hamas authorities, and the political <a href="http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7905:pchr-concerned-over-medical-shortages-in-gaza-strip-hospitals-&catid=36:pchrpressreleases&Itemid=194" target="_blank">rift </a>between Fatah and Hamas.</em></p> <p><em>The right to health is a basic human right that cannot be held hostage by occupation and internal politics. The abundance of political meetings and statements is in stark contrast to the lack basic care for people’s lives.</em></p> <p><a href="http://asecondglance.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/failing-gazas-patients-the-story-of-akram-abu-sefan/">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19417264346http://thesqr.org/post/19417264346Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:39:24 +0100gazapalestineisraelhamashealth carenewsthesqr<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m100h6CQiG1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.arabist.net/">The Arabist</a> (Cairo):</p> <p><strong>After the revolution: Temporary barriers divide Cairo</strong></p> <p><em>This mural was painted a few days ago on the wall blocking Sheikh Rihan Street, at the corner of the American University in Cairo. There are still at least half a dozen cinder-block barriers cutting off streets in Downtown Cairo — most notably the major artery of Kasr Al Aini Street. Many of the walls block the way to the Ministry of Interior (after clashes between demonstrators trying to reach the ministry and police). Others just block the way to Tahrir Square, create enormous traffic jams, and seem part of the ruling generals’ general passive-aggressive strategy of making life in Egypt as uncomfortable as possible right now (“how do you like that whole revolution thing now?”). No one knows, but at this point it looks likely that the streets will remain closed until after the presidential elections. They are a spectacularly apt metaphor for the short-sighted heavy-handedness and senseless obstruction that has characterized the military leadership’s handling of the transition.</em></p> <p><em>And this artwork is a sweet reminder that the current barriers won’t last forever.</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.arabist.net/blog/2012/3/16/looking-through-walls.html">(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19415955117http://thesqr.org/post/19415955117Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:15:00 +0100egyptarab springrevolutioncaironewsthesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0zz8pKcFs1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://nottspolitics.org/2012/03/16/breivik-trial-in-one-month/">Ballots and Bullets</a> (UK):</p> <p><strong>Anders Behring Breivik and the state of right-wing extremism in Western Europe</strong></p> <p><em>One month from now, the trial of Anders Behring Breivik will begin. Aside from sparking a vigorous debate in Norway over the mental state of Breivik, the case has also <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/24/norway-bombing-attack-far-right">prompted an upsurge of interest</a> in the underlying causes and perpetrators of right-wing extremist violence. In the UK, the events on July 22 2011 prompted a Home Affairs Committee on the <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmhaff/1446/144602.htm">Roots of Violent Radicalisation</a> to devote greater attention to a form of extremism that, as the Committee noted, has often only been paid ‘lip service’ . Elsewhere in Europe, commentators and policy makers have paused to ask whether governments have established the right balance in their approach to tackling violent extremisms.</em></p> <p><a href="http://nottspolitics.org/2012/03/16/breivik-trial-in-one-month/">(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19414529698http://thesqr.org/post/19414529698Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:48:24 +0100right wingextremismnewseuropebreivikthesqrThe Booman Tribute (USA): Some are suggesting that Newt Gingrich can be of more help to Santorum by...http://thesqr.org/post/19345012060http://thesqr.org/post/19345012060Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:07:48 +0100romneygingrichsantorumelection 2012primariesthesqrvote<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xka8ggn61rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://nottspolitics.org/">Ballots & Bullets</a> (UK):</p> <p><strong>Notes on Putin’s victory: Is Russia changing?</strong></p> <p><em>In the end, for all the fevered discussion of recent months, Putin’s third <a href="http://english.ruvr.ru/elections2012_map/" target="_blank">presidential election victory</a> on March 4, 2012 looks on face value much like his previous two: a first-round landslide that surpassed all his opponents put together; the communists in a distant second, and a rag-bag of liberal, nationalist and pro-regime candidates polling in single digits. What’s more, Putin’s result comfortably surpassed the 49 percent score for the pro-regime United Russia party in December, the 50 percent threshold for avoiding a second-round and his 53 percent support in 2000.</em></p> <p><em>Of course, this score was likely massaged: it’s notable that Putin was the <span>only </span>candidate whose final tally surpassed the exit-poll estimate given by VTsIOM (58.3) and FOM (59.3), and even Russia-watchers who are not normally particularly anti-Putin (such as <a href="http://www.sublimeoblivion.com/2012/03/05/provincialization-russian-fraud/#top" target="_blank">Anatoly Karlin</a>) estimate the rate of fraud at 3-4 percent.</em></p> <p><em>Still, such peripheral fraud is nothing new to Russian elections and a support base of nearly 60 percent is enviable for a leader entering his twelfth year at the political apex. But Putin’s post-victory tears (though he blamed them on the bitter wind) indicate that this was Putin’s most emotional and hard-fought victory yet, and perhaps one that he was never fully sure of until the count. So is the initial impression of business-as-usual merely illusory? How much has actually changed?</em></p> <p><a href="http://nottspolitics.org/2012/03/15/putins-pyrrhic-victory-no-change-or-all-change/">(read more)</a></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19344104298http://thesqr.org/post/19344104298Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:30:08 +0100putinrussiapoliticselectionpresidentunited russianews2012thesqr<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xjde7UXw1rrcisbo1_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xjde7UXw1rrcisbo2_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xjde7UXw1rrcisbo3_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xjde7UXw1rrcisbo4_500.jpg"/><br/> <br/><p><a href="http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/">Egyptian Chronicles</a> (Egypt):</p> <p><strong>Egyptian football fans march in Cairo, demand justice following stadium massacre</strong></p> <p><em>Thousands of Ultras Ahlaway fans are marching to the office of the public prosecutor at the cessation court Downtown Cairo along with the families of the martyrs of the Port Said stadium massacre demanding justice for the victims of the massacre.</em></p> <p><em>Now the Ultras Ahlaway aka UA07 has announced that they will start a sit in at the Cessation court till the retribution for the victims. It is expected that Ultras White Knights “Zamalek SC” and Ultras Ismaili “Ismaili SC” to join the sit in. </em></p> <p><em>Yesterday late night the public prosecutor <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/36793/Egypt/Politics-/Port-Said-security-head-and-three-assistants-detai.aspx" target="_blank">ordered the detention of Port Said security officials along some officials from El Masry Club as well leading members of El Masry Club and Ahly Club Ultras groups.</a> The public prosecutor had ordered the detention of 3 leading members of Ahly Club from couple of days ago and the answer of Ultras Ahlaway members to the police was “Come and get them from the protest on Thursday if you are men !!”</em></p> <p><a href="http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2012/03/ua07march-ultras-anger-that-paralyzed.html">(read more)</a><em><br/></em></p>http://thesqr.org/post/19343648461http://thesqr.org/post/19343648461Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:10:00 +0100cairodemonstrationegyptport saidstadium massacrethesqrnews