Original essays, research notes, and reports
by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The recent wave of violence in Egypt is new evidence that the Arab peoples want real changes, not cosmetic ones. The military leaders in Tunisia acted professionally and within the mandate of any professional military. They acted to protect the people, not a regime or a constitution that was written by Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The leader of al-Nahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, made his first visit to a foreign country after the first post-revolution Tunisian elections. His choice was the State of Qatar. Analysts see many messages in this gesture but some Tunisians are troubled by the invitation he had extended to the Emir of Read more
Continue ReadingOn November 10, 2011, the National Archives in College Park, MD opened 26 files from its Records of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force (WSPF) collection including transcripts of President Nixon’s grand jury testimony of June 23-24, 1975, pursuant to the July 29, 2011, order by Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth, Chief Judge of the Read more
Continue ReadingA Thomson Reuters’ report An attack on Iran will bring oil price to above $250 a barrel according to a report published by an Israeli financial firm. A leading Israeli investment firm said on Thursday any military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would exact an economic price too high for the world to accept, and Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Before January 14, 2011, al-Nahda was the main opposition group in Tunisia. No one, even its most severe critics, could question the fact that it was the most persecuted group in terms of the number of political prisoners, exiles, and disappearances. Its politics aside, al-Nahda did not shy away from challenging Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The country that started the Arab Spring made its first step towards pluralistic, representative governance. On October 23, 2011 and before the eyes of hundreds of national and international monitors, observers, and reporters, Tunisians lined up to elect their representatives for the Constituency Council (Assembly). Nearly ten months after the overthrow Read more
Continue Readingby Henry Blodget The “Occupy Wall Street” protests are gaining momentum, having spread from a small park in New York to marches to other cities across the country. So far, the protests seem fueled by a collective sense that things in our economy are not fair or right. But the protesters have not done a Read more
Continue ReadingHow is this for Fair and Balanced Coverage: Thus far Fox’s only pieces on Occupy Wall Street have been poorly developed hit jobs like this [Clip] one from Bill O’Reilly, in which a producer makes fun of ill-informed children. But when Greta van Sustern attempted a similar stunt later last week, her producer got far Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The mainstream media, analysts, and the so-called experts are struggling to make sense out of the emerging global protest movements. Recent articles published in major papers like the New York Times, Washington Post, and almost all cable television websites contained an assertion that the protesters are leaderless, goal-less, and fragmented. Apparently, Read more
Continue ReadingWill people’s encampments emerge in financial districts around the world? by Micah White and Kalle Lasn On Saturday, September 17th, many of us watched in awe as 5,000 Americans descended on the financial district of Lower Manhattan, waved signs, unfurled banners, beat drums, chanted slogans and proceeded to walk toward the “financial Gomorrah” of the Read more
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