The Lounsbury | Comments (0)
May 26, 2011 07:33 PM
The Tunisian elections situation is unfortunately not clarifying. Yesterday it was on, today it is to be delayed. The Independent Electoral Commission (who seem to be serious people) declaring that elections must imperatively be delayed to October. Their arguments are rational (the issue of large numbers of voters without proper...[
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The Lounsbury | Comments (3)
May 24, 2011 04:12 AM
Sunday's demarche to delay the elections, noted here Tunisians split on call to delay free elections - The National is not a bad thing, given what I am seeing on preparation on the ground. Not just an issue of the Islamist party being the only one with its act together,...[
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The Lounsbury | Comments (4)
May 22, 2011 08:09 PM
Well, I must say I misread that speech, I thought it was a somewhat banal (as I listened to it, in translation queerly enough), boring speech of no consequence. However, Obama Challenges Israel to Make Hard Choices Needed for Peace indicates in fact it was an interesting long-game gambit re...[
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The Lounsbury | Comments (3)
May 20, 2011 09:57 AM
A Sr. US diplo asked me last night, as we sat in the bar watching this thing, what I thought of it. My reaction was, "mmmm maybe interesting to people in the US, but I don't see anyone out here really caring much for more yapping."...[
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The Lounsbury | Comments (0)
May 15, 2011 09:13 PM
Following up on this note back in February, on the Libyan Berbers Revolt, it is not surprising that the Berbers in the mountains are holding out, despite getting - it would appear - almost zero outside assistance (unlike the apparently generally incompetent fighters from Benghazi, or the competent and rather...[
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The Lounsbury | Comments (0)
May 15, 2011 09:03 PM
Catching up on this piece of strange news, FT reported that the GCC had extended invite to Morocco and Jordan to join the GCC... The Gulf Co-operation Council could be turning itself into the club of Arab monarchies as it considers bringing Jordan and Morocco into its fold, a move...[
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The Lounsbury | Comments (0)
May 15, 2011 08:50 PM
No surprise that Recession fears for Egypt and Tunisia (FT) are looming, given the ongoing instability. Mr Abed [of IFI] was optimistic about the prospects of Egypt financing its current account deficit. He said that Gulf countries were likely to provide a package of measures including grants, long-term loans and...[
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Matthew Hogan - July 2, 2011 09:26 PM | Comments (2)
Filed Under: Egypt Mamlouk Coup
, North Africa
, Political Development
, Society & Culture
, The MENA '48
, Tunisia Revolution
Anne Applebaum of the Washington Post, basing herself on initial elections in post communist Poland apparently working to move democracy forward despite flaws, says that the lack of fully functional electoral procedures shouldn't delay getting people as a whole into the process of participation. Otherwise the old regimes' allies and like-minded in the state will reassert themselves or start a new despotism afresh.
Continue Reading
Matthew Hogan - June 10, 2011 11:48 AM | Comments (0)
Filed Under: Maghreb
, North Africa
, Political Development
, Society & Culture
, The MENA '48
, Tunisia Revolution
It looks like it's official. Tunisian constitutional assembly ("Constituent Assembly") elections will be held in October, back from the initial July set date. October 23 to be exact.
Books & Media
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Matthew Hogan | Comments (0)
I caught this MENA-set French film by accident while aiming to see another, and misreading the schedule. My mistake angers me. Why? Because it caused me to see this flick. Make no mistake, this film, about an aging sleazoid expat...[More]
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Matthew Hogan | Comments (0)
Coincidentally, I re-picked up this 1867 humorous classic travelogue of Mark Twain's for a (re-)glance not too long after Mr. Netanyahu had threatened to (re-)use it for sundry and sordid Middle East polemics. The Israeli Prime Minister had planned to...[More]
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Journals
The Lounsbury - May 23, 2011 10:29 AM | Comments (1)
Filed Under: Biz - Policy & Development
, Biz - Private in MENA
A remarkably naive note, A Strong Dollar Isn’t Always a Good Thing - Economic View - NYTimes.comAT a recent news conference, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, was asked about the falling dollar. He parried the question, saying that...[
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Matthew Hogan - July 17, 2010 09:23 PM | Comments (1)
Filed Under: Egghead Stuff
, Random Personal
, World War 2
Good book, with serious caveats. It was probably a bit overpraised when it was first released over a decade ago. But no one had done it before, or as well, at least in English....[
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