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Ghaith Abdul-Ahad on Syria

6/7/2013

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If you've ever read anything by Ghaith then you'll realise I don't need to say much here.  He's a fantastic writer, perhaps the best journalist of our times.  I see him as a modern day Ryszard Kapuściński.

In this piece, the absurdity of war comes across perfectly as he discusses the new oil barons of Eastern Syria.  Could they end up seceding and joining their tribal brothers across the border in Iraq?  A fascinating article I recommend to everyone.
A northern wind had been blowing since early morning, lifting a veil of dust that had blocked the sun and turned the sky the colour of ash. Abu Zayed was sitting on the porch of his unfinished concrete home, watching the storm build. He loved sandstorms. They reminded him of Dubai, where he had lived before the war. He admired the people there for turning a desert into a paradise. They had vision, he told his followers.
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Far From The Madding Crowds

10/6/2013

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Thought this was a really interesting perspective on the Turkish protests.  It looks at the impact of Erdogan's policies on the poor, most of whom can't afford to attend the protests.  I think that the one thing we've been missing abroad is how often Turkish people talk about development & building as being a source of discontent - we tend to focus on the problems getting alcohol.  Aside from the corruption, with a shopping centre being built in a city where they keep closing for lack of business, we've seen time and time again the problems of basing an 'economic miracle' on construction:
The building boom is part of Erdoğan's political and economic strategy. There are plans for two entire new cities, each of a million people, on either side of the Bosphorus. But it was another development project, the demolition of a city centre park to make way for another shopping centre, a kitschy replica of an Ottoman military barracks, that was the trigger for the protest that has escalated nationally and is now targeted at the person of the prime minister.

"Linking the whole economy to the construction sector is very problematic," says the urban activist and academic Yaşar Adanalı. "It turns a city into something that is supposed to generate profit without taking into account the needs of the city and the people."

The article also points out the problems of building these million strong new cities in places with no jobs and no amenities, pointing out they look like banlieues of the future.
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Afghanistan: Centre of Civilisation

1/6/2013

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Great article here about a huge ancient site from when Afghanistan was the centre of the world.  The ancient city came about because it was atop perhaps the worlds biggest copper deposit.  It is now being excavated double quick time so that the Chinese can come in and get mining.  The implications for Afghanistan's economy and security are breathtaking, even if it means destroying a site of such importance:
In September 2012, the Chinese security chief, Zhou Yongkang, visited Kabul and announced a turnaround in Chinese policy. As well as signing contracts for more mining and oil exploration, the Chinese announced plans for road- and rail-building projects linking north-east Afghanistan with western China through the Wakhan Corridor. A railway is now being planned from Kashgar to Iran via Herat; another will run from Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif. China has also made a start on security co-operation with Karzai's regime, and is currently training a first batch of 300 Afghan policemen. The politics of this are delicate, but, potentially, extremely important. China is possibly the only country to which the Pakistani security establishment defers. If China continues to invest in Afghan mineral resources, and the roads and railways with which it can extract them, it will expect Pakistan to protect its interests and not allow the Taliban to disrupt these operations in Afghanistan. This could hold out the best hope for future peace in Afghanistan.
Things aren't quite going to plan so far, though:
Geologists estimate that Afghanistan holds vast hydrocarbon and mineral deposits that could be worth $1tn – including oil, gas, copper, iron, gold and lithium that China will need in the decades ahead if its economy is to expand. Yet Mes Aynak shows the scale of the problems that will have to be overcome. Most of the mineral deposits in Afghanistan are in the south-east of the country, where the Islamist insurgency is strongest. Despite massive investment in the fortified camp at Mes Aynak, and enormous security, there have been several Taliban attacks on the Chinese mining camp and most of the 150 Chinese staff in residence recently fled back home. One British observer who worked with the Chinese at Mes Aynak remains sceptical about their resolution: "They are scared, confused, and have little understanding of Afghanistan," he told me. "They may well be regretting ever having got involved in Mes Aynak. Their workmen are attacked – there was another bomb last week, and they have no Dari or Pashto speakers. Rather than ruthlessly efficient, I have found them sweet and a bit hopeless." Certainly, their camp is currently empty except for security and caretakers.
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No News is Good News?

17/4/2013

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I thought this was a really interesting article about the ways that news is bad for you.  The author's conclusion is that the only solution is to cut out all news:
We are not rational enough to be exposed to the press. Watching an airplane crash on television is going to change your attitude toward that risk, regardless of its real probability. If you think you can compensate with the strength of your own inner contemplation, you are wrong. Bankers and economists – who have powerful incentives to compensate for news-borne hazards – have shown that they cannot. The only solution: cut yourself off from news consumption entirely.
Whilst I agree with many of the author's premises, I come to quite a different conclusion: we need different kinds of news.  As the author acknowledges, most of the problems he discusses arise from the bite sized nuggets of news we often consume, as opposed to really learning about a subject:
In the past few decades, the fortunate among us have recognised the hazards of living with an overabundance of food (obesity, diabetes) and have started to change our diets. But most of us do not yet understand that news is to the mind what sugar is to the body. News is easy to digest. The media feeds us small bites of trivial matter, tidbits that don't really concern our lives and don't require thinking. That's why we experience almost no saturation. Unlike reading books and long magazine articles (which require thinking), we can swallow limitless quantities of news flashes, which are bright-coloured candies for the mind.

Read More
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Egypt: Two Years of a Shrunken State

27/1/2013

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I love this blog - it's fantastic for keeping up to date with what's going on in the middle east.  Here's a great summary of what's been going on in Egypt since the revolution: what's changed, and what ways forward are possible.
"...  Still, consensus -- for all the hurdles it must overcome -- remains the most likely way out. For all its political polarization, Egypt still has a genuine abhorrence for violence that makes a civil war unlikely -- for now. The experience with one dictatorship means that the country may be reluctant to go back to another, and this makes a coup unlikely -- for now...  Every year in which the protests continue, traffic is paralyzed, the pound devalues, and voters shake their heads at the flames and bodies on their television screen increases a public desire for some resolution, any resolution, at whatever cost. More widespread violence or a return to military rule, currently barely imaginable, may become real possibilities. This specter, the more likely it becomes, will bring Egypt's factions to work together to rebuild state authority. They still have some time."
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2013/1/27/two-years-of-a-shrunken-state.html
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China's Affluence Trap

25/1/2013

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Rubbish title for an interesting look at the way China's problems are viewed inside China, and the possible ways it might move forward.  Includes the scary fact that, according to official statistics, there was a major riot in China every 2 minutes in 2010.
"...  Yet although China’s footprint will become ever more important for the world, the drivers of its internal debates will be increasingly domestic. In the past, Europeans assumed that as China became wealthier and more developed, it would inevitably become more like us. This led to a lack of curiosity about the country’s internal debates and an attempt to divide its thinkers and officials into “reformers” who embrace western ideas and “conservatives” who want to return to the Maoist past. Europeans now need to change their mental map to deal with a China whose internal structure and structural relationship with the rest of the world have been turned on their head."

http://www.newstatesman.com/business/business/2013/01/chinas-affluence-trap
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