Category Archives: middle east

Benghazi Is Not A Tom Clancy Novel

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Benghazi Is Not A Tom Clancy Novel”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mail On CNN yesterday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) expressed dissonant disapproval of the president’s failure to teleport reinforcements to the US consulate in Benghazi. You have to admire the way he … Continue reading →

Posted in Cognitive Dissonance, Global Security Issues, middle east, Republican Party, Republicans Meet The Teabag Terror | Tagged libya | 1 Comment

On Armies and Revolution

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “On Armies and Revolution”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mail A Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier stands in line during a rehearsal of the Independence Day ceremony in Juba, Sudan, on July 5, 2011. The last king of France had blown his … Continue reading →

Posted in Jasmine Revolutions, middle east, military, national security | Tagged military history | Leave a comment

Watch Out! Here Comes the Empire of Qatar

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Watch Out! Here Comes the Empire of Qatar”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailThe Economist warns that a wide assortment of foreign actors stands to undermine the independence of the new Libya. And there’s a surprise: The worst offender is Qatar, according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Jasmine Revolutions, middle east | Tagged libya, qatar | Leave a comment

Bobby McFerrin in Riyadh

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Bobby McFerrin in Riyadh”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailAlaa Wardi covering Fi Hagat by Nancy Ajram. I’ve watched this ten times already to identify each part he’s doing. Ajram’s original here.

Posted in middle east, music, Muslims and modernity | Leave a comment

Rock in the Arab World

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Rock in the Arab World”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailAs I said about Libya this morning, I have faith in the power of rock and roll. Arab kids love rock — so much that they have adapted it for their own uses, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jasmine Revolutions, middle east, music | Leave a comment

Morning Awful: Violence in Bahrain

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Morning Awful: Violence in Bahrain”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailThe protests were peaceful, the regime wasn’t. Two were killed, dozens injured, and one ABC correspondent beaten. But that is how nonviolence works — by exposing the oppressor. This is as consequential to … Continue reading →

Posted in Al-Jazeera, Jasmine Revolutions, middle east, Morning Awful | Tagged bahrain, demonstrations, pearls square, protests, uprising | Leave a comment

Your Time Is Now

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Your Time Is Now”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailIn the northern neighborhoods of Tehran the other night, cries of “death to the dictator” and “death to Khamenei.” Video after the jump…

Posted in Civilization, climate change, Jasmine Revolutions, middle east, Sunday Sermon | Tagged China, egypt, food, iran, oligarchy, prices, russia, tunisia, wheat, yemen | Leave a comment

Morning Awful: Mubarak Mummy Curse

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Morning Awful: Mubarak Mummy Curse”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailA joke in Arabic: mubah-rak (as the Egyptian despot’s name is pronounced) means “blessed,” and indeed the man is blessed with great wealth. Barak (or Barack, in the presidential spelling) is a blessing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jasmine Revolutions, middle east, Morning Awful | Tagged demands, egypt, fail, january 25, mubarak, people, square, tahrir | 1 Comment

Morning Awful: Egypt Crackdown

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Morning Awful: Egypt Crackdown”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailWith Friday bringing crowds of millions to the streets, Cairo’s oligarchy has shut off the internet in that country — an ominous sign of approaching bloodbath. The Mubarak regime appears ready to put down … Continue reading →

Posted in Jasmine Revolutions, middle east, Morning Awful | Leave a comment

Assassination Squad Unmasked By Police

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Assassination Squad Unmasked By Police”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mail Today’s edition of Virtual Reality Living contains this tale, via AP, of an assassinated Hamas leader in Dubai and a security-video review that unmasked the assassination ring down to the details. Lt. … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, middle east, Virtual Reality Living | Tagged Espionage, Surveillance Society | Leave a comment

Peace Breaks Out

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Matt Osborne

Share the post “Peace Breaks Out”FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInDiggStumbleUponE-mailThe United States has already begun talking to Tehran about the nuclear issue. Actually, to be more specific, Barack Obama has been talking to Iran for almost a year. Foreign Policy has the story: Over … Continue reading →