Somah's Blog

Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East by Robin Wright

Objective Look at The Future of The Middle East
My review on Amazon

Robin Wright has always been my favorite reporter on Middle East affairs. The stories and accounts she has written in The Los Angeles Times and The New Yorker have consistently been impressive in quality and effortlessly impartial. Robin has a unique ability to leverage her vast network of resources to tap into the most intimate thoughts and feelings of that region and relay them uncensored to her audience. So needless to say, I was pretty excited to read this book to learn from her what future my people have and how they might get a shot at it.

I was very impressed, and now like the author, hopeful.

Robin takes on the most volatile players in the Middle East (Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Morocco and Iraq to be exact) and paints with words the most descriptive portrait for each. Having grown up in the region, I know how revealing those portraits are for those who dare peruse them. Her intimate knowledge of Egyptian politics, culture, modern history and collective psyche is astounding. It's evident that her superb soft skills have allowed her to penetrate these cultures and gain the trust of the people who told their story and to whom she listened. 

The book is written for a Western audience, who might find the information provided in it completely conflicting with what they thought they knew about the Middle East. The accounts and stories presented in the book aren't clouded with opinions, agendas or spins. The facts are stated and the quotes are relayed. It's pure and simple journalism.

I also believe that another audience might benefit greatly from reading this book--the very people this book is about. Middle Easterners will find in this book a candid reflection of their current affairs. It's imperative for people to know how they are perceived in order to complete their perception of who they really are. We give this feedback to friends and family daily, but nations and cultures don't do that with each other frequently. Here is a chance that I hope doesn't get wasted.

The book in general voices optimism in the future of the Middle East, despite the war in Iraq and despite the rise in Islamic fundamentalism. Painful stories from across the region about fledgling dreams trying to make it and desperate youth fighting to dream are recounted so vividly by the author, who uses her magic to point out the silver lining in each of these stories and in turn keeping our hopes alive for a better tomorrow in the region.

It was definitely an entertaining, informative and thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it.

Annals of Football (soccer) Hooliganism: Egypt vs. Algeria

The history of football hooliganism is well-documented and dates back to 12th century England, where football (or soccer) was banned because it was strongly believed that it led to social unrest and even treason. The recent hooliganism demonstrated by both Egyptian and Algerian soccer fans prove that time (eight centuries of it to be exact) has done little to assuage the primal, borderline barbaric sentiments triggered by the sport making its impact on social unrest and diplomatic tensions ever so evident.

Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 at their much-anticipated and much-publicized game in Sudan yesterday after an impressive Egyptian win on Saturday. Hoards of Egyptians fans made it down to the neighboring country to support their national team but found themselves dealing with something far worse than fervent Algerian fans--they dealt with mobs of violent, vicious Algerians even after the game ended with Algeria's win.

The recent violence has muffled the hollow and hackneyed cries of Arab unity and brotherhood echoed by both nations for over half a century. It has also exposed a deep-seeded resentment that both nations have harbored for each other for twenty years now. In 1989, an eerily similar situation took place when Egypt beat Algeria in the World Cup qualifier, triggering widespread fights and an incident where an Algerian player gouged out an eye of an Egyptian fan with a broken glass bottle.

This violence is a symptom of deeply depressed societies, in my very humble opinion. Both countries are emasculated by their political regimes and imprisoned by their own cultures and traditions. Nationalism carries a heavy emotional weight but rarely any substance in the Arab world. Add to that the highly emotional and histrionic nature of both peoples and you have a recipe for disaster. Historically, soccer has been the best platform to which this explosive recipe is applied, and its always heightened when the opponent is another Arab country.

Both Egyptians and Algerians have stooped to a new level with these recent actions and have done irreparable damage to their already marred public and international image. When I hear the term "football hooligan" in the future, I'll longer envision a young English drunkard yelling "bloody murder" but rather I'll be thinking of a mob of histrionic North Africans who lost all hopes in country and God and took refuge in yelling at and terrorizing others.

UPDATE (Nov 20, 2009): It looks like FIFA started an investigation over the Algerian bus attack in Cairo, Egypt. Meanwhile, the tension is rising rapidly between the two countries. I've never seen such hatred in my life! Sick. 

The National Book Award of 2009 in Fiction Goes to ...

Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann. The complete list of all the National Book Awards winners was published today.

Sarah Palin: rouge or rogue?

This is hilarious, and considering the level of intelligence of those who would buy Sarah's book, there is no telling how many will confuse the second book for hers. I don't want to misunderestimating anyone's intelligence here or anything, but dog darn it "rogue" and "rouge" have the same letters, just ordered differently. They can't vary that much in meaning, now can they?

Above, on the left: the autobiography from Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, set to be released on November 17. And on the right -- and slated for release the exact same day -- a collection that looks to be critical of the high-profile Republican, subtitled, as it is, "Sarah Palin: An American Nightmare."

Note that in the above paragraph, "left" and "right" are meant to denote image locations only, not political perspectives.

The book covers bear no small resemblance to each other. So, too, the titles: Sarah Palin's book is  "Going Rogue," a phrase taken from her deviation from John McCain's views during the 2008 campaign. The other book is entitled "Going Rouge," a phrase that comes from nowhere except a switcheroo of the letters "u" and "g" from Palin's title. (And is being used by a coloring book, too).

"Going Rouge," which is being edited by two senior editors from The Nation, is being published by the young imprint OR Books. The company seems to be hoping to either catch the wave of enthusiasm greeting Palin's book -- it's currently the #2 bestseller on Amazon, and Palin will be a guest on Oprah the day before the book arrives in stores -- or to confuse Palin supporters into purchasing the Palin-unfriendly book.

Or maybe OR Books wasn't thinking about the similarities at all. Maybe they were simply remembering that Palin paid a makeup artist more than $20,000 for two weeks' work. And if anyone wants to know how she rolls, rouge-wise, the makeup artist used blushes from Mac and Chanel. 

As for going rogue, she is, in some Republican circles, still a bit roguish, in the sense of being an outsider, or perhaps even mischievous. Top of the Ticket reports that her offer to assist in governors races in New Jersey and Virginia was declined.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

via latimesblogs.latimes.com

Desert Hot Springs is fighting for its life -- latimes.com

Good article on the state of affairs in Desert Hot Springs. Before running out to buy a house there, read this first.

A military-style police operation has put a dent in crime. The next job is revitalizing the city.

Donna Lozano wanted answers about her son's death. Her calls launched a massive clean-up campaign. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / July 8, 2009)

via www.latimes.com

'Tagging' or just hanging out -- busted either way? -- latimes.com

A great article on taggers and the blight surrounding us in Los Angeles.

L.A.'s city attorney wants to give police the ability to arrest graffiti 'taggers' simply for hanging out together, without having to catch them in the act. The proposal raises constitutional issues.

A graffiti-marred wall in South Los Angeles. City Atty. Carmen Trutanich wants to make it a crime for documented "taggers" to associate in public. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times / August 21, 2009)

via www.latimes.com

Foreigners Attending US Grad Schools Way Down: Wake Up, Xenophobes

Oh no. This is not good. Will America still lead if it continues to stem the flow of raw, ambitious and hungry foreign talent? The answer is no.

What's really sad is that instead of stopping the illegal, poor masses flooding this country every day, setting us back culturally and economically, we're keeping out the educated, smart guys who can actually lift us out of the state of stagnation in which we've been bogged down for so long.

Foreigners Attending US Grad Schools Way Down: Wake Up, Xenophobes

It’s happening: Lou Dobbs’ dream come true and Silicon Valley’s worst nightmare. We’re already seeing the reverse brain drain as smart immigrants take their US educations and experience building companies and creating technology back to their home countries.  But now, xenophobia and the lack of any sensible H-1B visa policy is keeping the world’s brightest minds from coming to the U.S. in the first place.

U.S. grad school admissions for would-be international students plummeted this year, according to the Council of Graduate Schools—the first decline in five years.  The decline was 3% on average, thanks to increases from China and the Middle East, but some countries saw double-digit declines in interest in a U.S. education. Applicants from India and South Korea fell 12% and 9% respectively—with students turning their sights on schools in Asia and Europe instead.

via www.techcrunch.com

The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Leader America to a New Era of Prosperity by Geraldo Rivera

Misses the Point and Doesn't Deliver
My review on Amazon

I enjoyed reading some of the passages in this book pertaining to the contributions of the hispanic community to America's culture and economy. The information provided, however, was incomplete and frequently missed the point.First of all, Geraldo regards Latinos in the US as the big monolith that they certainly are not. He believes that the biggest obstacles in the face of this monolithic community are what he calls "the education siesta" (true in some Latino communities but not all) and immigration (also relevant to one community (i.e. Mexican) but not all.) Lumping the distinct Latino communities in America into one will not go well with most Latino readers, I suspect.

Also, I didn't quite understand the parallels her tried to draw between the flow of Jewish, Italian and Irish "legal" immigrants at the turn of the century and the flood of "illegal" immigrants today. He failed to mention the role geography has played in both situations. The main reason the illegal immigration today is far more serious than ones past is that it is constant and unrelenting due to the land continuity between the US and Mexico. This very important difference and its impact on the overall culture, quality of life and public services in this country was never even mentioned in the book.

There was also very little mention of suspect groups like La Raza and others that are viewed by the vast majority of Americans as separatist and their impact on the Latino communities and the country as a whole.

My biggest beef with this book is that it didn't really deliver on its promise. Geraldo didn't really explain "how" Hispanics will lead America to a new era of prosperity. He didn't paint a prosperous future where the Hispanics where the leading force. He gave little hints here and there but nothing that one would expect from the title of the book.

Although the book was lacking in the areas I mentioned above and many more, I found it pretty entertaining and down right funny. The part where Geraldo compares himself to Oprah and Lassie is friggin' hilarious!

Skip this book, unless you you want to drink Geraldo's Kool-Aid.

Gay Marriage is Legal in California

Finally, same-sex couples that choose to tie the knot are now able to do so in the great State of California. Of course, gay marriage opponents (or homophobes) have succeeded in adding a measure to the November ballot that would amend the State's constitution to define marriage to be strictly between a man and a woman. Now it's up to the voters to decide whether or not their compatriots have a right to pursue their happiness, which is one of the unalienable rights granted to them by the Constitution.

The last survey I read suggested that a bit over half of all Californians rejected a constitution amendment that bans gay marriage. That's great news and shows how far the State has come in the tolerance department. Having said that, I believe we cannot put the fate of others in the hands of voters and call that Democracy. If we had put the fate of African-Americans in the hands of the voters back in the 60's, Black folks would still be treated as second-class citizens today.

The judges have spoken and they law is on the gays' side. Voters cannot decide the fate of a minority because the mob mentality will take over and almost always the minority ends up getting victimized .. again.

Let the gays get married and let's move on to more important, rather urgent, issues like the devalued dollar and the crumbling economy. Now those are issues that the American voters have a chance to correct come November and I pray to God that we collectively make the right choice since we failed to do so back in 2004 and 2000. With a vote track record like this, the only thing I can trust the voters with is American Idol.