Site Search:
 
Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Arab Spring

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:03 pm    Post subject: Arab Spring Reply with quote

Remember all the hogwash we heard and read from the media ? Could no one see that the "Arab Spring" part of the process of increasing Islamicisation of politics in the Region ?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's kind of like the opposite of Daylight Savings Time: Fall Forward - Spring Back. Very Happy

Regards,
John


Last edited by johnslat on Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Qaaolchoura



Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 539
Location: 21 miles from the Syrian border

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh no, plenty of people saw it. We just saw it as a risk we had to take. Let the rebels overrun our "allies" (at least the ones without oil; Bahrain and Saudi are a different story, though I wish they weren't), pray for them to overrun our enemies, and hope that democracies are more pliable to foreign pressure, leading to a stable alliance that doesn't depend on one man.

Great example is in Eastern Europe, which reformed under pressure from its newly-empowered people (with help from the West), except for Belarus and Russia. (Belarus had a strong man, Russia has too much hydrocarbon and mineral wealth to be pressured).

Of course a counter-example is Iran, which stopped holding fair elections (Iranian elections were never free because of Council of "Experts" entrance restrictions, but used to be fair) once we began notching up sanctions over the nuclear program. But Iran, like Russia, has natural resources that there will always be someone to buy.

~Q
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's a "phase" they're going through.

Of course, it may be a very long "phase" in many cases. You and I scot are not likely to see them emerge from it.

But it's a necessary part of the process - what my Mom used to call "growing pains." Very Happy

Regards,
John
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2012 6:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnslat wrote:
It's kind of like the opposite of Daylight Savings Time: Fall Forward - Spring Back. Very Happy

Regards,
John


...orrrr...I have to go westward to get to The East.

...or something like that, as long as I don't take a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Warm regards,
fat_chris
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2012 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The continuing story is a reminder that we should be careful about taking seriously the coverage we get on the "Meeja". People who present themselves as "experts" turn out to b e journalists with degrees in sociology and zero-level Arabic. Even those who pretend to know (BBC's Frank Gardner or Lise Ducette) are AMATEURS.

Best coverage I have seen is on AL JAZEERA
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

scot47 wrote:
Best coverage I have seen is on AL JAZEERA


Seconded! Hear, hear!

Warm regards,
fat_chris
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

Teaching Jobs in China
Teaching Jobs in China