Bookmarks 09/04/11

• Anonymous strikes back — RT Anonymous has struck back after the arrest in recent days of alleged members of the hacktivist group. Their target this time was the Texas law enforcement. A massive dump of what was supposed to be confidential police chat brings bigotry and racism out to the open. Take a read! tags: Anonymous racism Texas Islam Islamophobia publishtoblog

• Libya: Media on the frontlines of revolution – Listening Post – Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera’s Listening Post asks whether the proximity of the media with the rebels in Libya has impacted on the coverage of the conflict there. The program features my friend Antoun Issa. Also, an interestng take (around 14.30) on the Western spin doctors working behind the scenes to keep Arab dictators in power. My friend Nasser Weddady is featured here as well. tags: libya media revolution listening post english Al Jazeera publishtoblog o Since the beginning of the Arab revolutions, embattled regimes have faced a barrage of criticism in the press. To counter this, Arab dictators have employed the services of western PR companies to clean up their image. Consulting companies like the Washington-based Qorvis Communications and the London-based Bell Pottinger have been quietly working for governments in Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. For these companies, as the bad press has grown worse for these governments, business for them has improved. But their work has pushed them into unfamiliar territory – under the spotlight and some have had to defend their business deals. The Listening Post‘s Meenakshi Ravi takes a look at the spin-doctors working behind the scenes in the Arab spring.

• US embassy cable – 09RABAT170 This cable describes a meeting US diplomats had with two prominent Moroccan human rights activists, Amine Abdelhamid and Samira Kinani. tags: US embassy cable publishtoblog Samira kinani Amine AMDH

• US embassy cable – 07SINGAPORE2254 Wikileaks cable describes Global Voices as a gay rights group website! I’m LMAO! tags: publishtoblog embassy singapore cable US globalvoices global voices

• 12 mesures pour restaurer la confiance des marocains dans les élections | Blog de Omar El Hyani Excellent billet de Omar El Hyani Je note cependant que je ne suis pas en faveur du vote obligatoire pour les raisons suivantes : il est illusoire de penser que le vote obligatoire puisse empêcher l’achat des voix. Il permets tout au plus de rendre la corruption plus onéreuse. En effet un candidat qui aurait des moyens financiers suffisants pourrait faire en sorte, moyennant argent et services, qu’un segment de l’électorat, dans une circonscription donnée, vote d’une certaine manière. Au delà de la question (importante) de la corruption le fait de rendre le vote obligatoire prive l’électeur de la liberté de boycotter un système qu’il peut considérer fondamentalement corrompu. Une liberté à laquelle je tiens personnellement si je venais à choisir de ne pas voter sous l’actuelle constitution en considérant que cela cautionnerait le Makhzen. C’est un acte politique dont personne, et surtout pas l’Etat, ne devrait me priver.Autre objection, je ne suis pas en faveur d’empêcher quiconque de se représenter, quand bien même il s’appellerait Abdelouahad Radi. C’est aux électeurs de décider, même si tout porte à croire que la 12ème mesure relève plus du sarcasme qu’autre chose.Pour le reste je rejoins Omar complètement. tags: publishtoblog omareh omar el hyani maroc morocco elections intikhabate élections o Il existe une réelle fracture au Maroc entre politiciens et citoyens. o D’un coté, la concentration des pouvoirs aux mains du roi, encore présente dans la “nouvelle” constitution, laisse penser que le gouvernement n’est qu’un simple exécutant de la politique royale. o Deuxième cause de cette fracture, est la perte de confiance dans l’élite politique du pays. o Troisième cause de désintérêt pourrait
être le sentiment que les élections ne sont pas si transparentes que cela.

• China offered Gadhafi huge stockpiles of arms: Libyan memos – The Globe and Mail China’s double game: Chinese state-controlled arms manufacturers allegedly offered embattled Gaddafi huge stockpiles of arms. According to uncovered documents shipments were meant to go through Algeria and Sout Africa. tags: china arms gaddafi libya publishtoblog

• Polisario after Gaddafi: The Price of Patronage | Al Akhbar English The unintended consequence of Gaddafi’s fall: bolstering Moroccan position in the conflict over Western Sahara. Why am I under the impression Moroccan (inept, I dare say) diplomacy will squander this historic opportunity to reach a permanent settlement? tags: gaddafi alakhbar Polisario morocco libya algeria publishtoblog o Rebel forces reportedly arrested nearly 500 Polisario mercenaries for collaborating with Gaddafi’s forces. Most of the prisoners were apprehended at Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli or in the town of Zawiya. o Former American diplomat Edward Gabriel says that Polisario collaboration with Gaddafi against NATO and the rebels is “fomenting tension in the region” and threatening American interests. He adds that “the international community will have to intervene to punish it and deter it.” o Polisario’s president, Mohamed Abdelaziz, cut short his holiday on a Spanish island to return to Tindouf for an emergency meeting to discuss the unwelcome developments and explore new strategies for winning the war against Morocco. o Mustafa Salma Wild Sidi Mawlood believes that the decision to stand by Gaddafi and send fighters to assist him was a “grave mistake.” He points out that this position “does not reflect the opinions of all Sahrawis who have supported the Libyan revolution from day one.”

• Report: Turkey navy to escort aid ships to Palestinians in Gaza – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News A bluff? I doubt Turkey will have a go at Israeli war ships but who knows? tags: Newspaper turkey navy israel gaza erdogan haaretz publishtoblog o “The eastern Mediterranean will no longer be a place where Israeli naval forces can freely exercise their bullying practices against civilian vessels,” a Turkish official was quoted as saying. o Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed his foreign ministry to organize a trip for him to the Gaza Strip in the near future. o “We are looking for the best timing for the visit,” a Turkish official was quoted as saying. “Our primary purpose is to draw the world’s attention to what is going on in Gaza and to push the international community to end the unfair embargo imposed by Israel.”

• The UAE’s global ambitions post-Libya – Blog – The Arabist Now here’s a country with a foreign policy that raises many question marks, the UAE. According to this article from the Arabist, citing the NYT, “Mr. Prince, [founder of Blackwater Worldwide (now Xe)] who resettled here last year after his security business faced mounting legal problems in the United States, was hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the U.A.E.” The perceived Iranian threat and the sectarian way by which regional politics are shaped may be announcing a troubled future for the region. tags: arabist UAE publishtoblog

By Hisham Almiraat
A Moroccan blogger's ramblings on culture and politics