War and Peace

Links on a Slow Saturday. Including, Of Course, Iran

Published June 20, 2009 @ 07:03PM PT

[Footage from today's demonstrations in Tehran]

Just a few quick links from the past week:

- Like everyone else, I can't stop following the developments in Iran.  Granted, this has little to do with humanitarian issues, but impossible to ignore.  The two sources I've been turning to are the Vigilante Journalist (amazing photos and video) and, of course, Andrew Sullivan.

For an excellent analysis of the overall situation, see this piece by Farhang Erfani.  (In the interests of full disclosure, Farhang is a friend.  But, more importantly, he's also a) Iranian, and b) brilliant.)

- Steve Bloomfield at Things Seen and Heard responds to Gordon Brown's recent assertion that "You cannot have Rwanda again because information would come out far more quickly and public opinion would grow to the point where action would need to be taken."  According to Steve:

"It’s a nice thought, but as Darfur activists would point out we’re not short of information on what happened there and very little of the action which Brown talks about has taken place. [Let's leave aside for now the issue of whether it's a genocide or not.]

Here’s the problem. There is no direct correlation between us knowing about a tragedy and us doing something about it. Make Poverty History was one of the most popular grassroots campaigns in Europe since the anti-apartheid movement, but that hasn’t stopped countries backsliding on their commitments."

- Chris Blattman has an interesting review of Michela Wrong's latest book It's Our Turn To Eat, about corruption in Kenya.

- Following through on her recent post about ten ways to make development better, Alanna Shaikh at Blood and Milk explains what we can learn from missionaries.  She also has a great piece on what preventing malnutrion actually means on the ground.

- Finally, Harry Rud's take on protecting the aid worker:

"[I]it seems we too have joined the ranks of the endangered (for evidence, read this report) and general wretched of the earth, and so it is time to act!

...

What’s more, is it fair and right to objectify Aid Workers in such a fashion? I’m not sure I care for the use of the definite article in the campaign title. We are all individuals with different needs. Who has the right to offer me their protection, to speak on behalf of all Aid Workers?

Seriously, no disrespect to the Stephen D. Vance Foundation. I salute you, and may even sign your pledge. It might be a start to also get international aid organisations to themselves do more to protect their national staff, who bear the brunt of all attacks. Or how about a year of actively demilitarising aid? (I have no idea how.) But anyways, ‘Protect Me!’"

The idea of aid worker security is something I hold near and dear - as seen by my (perhaps compulsive and slightly morbid) listing of aid worker fatalities.  That said, I agree with Sahib Rud that slogans mean little, or nothing, if we're not willing to ask some hard questions.  And any campaign that ignores national staff isn't a campaign at all.

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Comments (8)

  1. Danny Moldovan

    Hey Michael, I'd also recommend following @LaraABCNews on Twitter. She's a friend who reports for ABC News out of Dubai. Her coverage has been terrific.

    Posted by Danny Moldovan on 06/21/2009 @ 11:35AM PT

  2. Michael Bear

    Gracias

    Posted by Michael Bear on 06/21/2009 @ 10:29PM PT

  3. Reply to thread
  4. james m nordlund

    Ni hao.  If the Iranian supposed election opposition embraces violence, won't they just be an arm of the usa republican conspiracy?  I agree with the poster's sentiments, while their plan isn't realistic; as well as politically impossible- for, everyone knows, since the united suck of assassins put Iran on the "Axis of Evil" list, of countries they'll destroy, the central lack of intelligence agency, and the Israeli gov't and their Massad, have been doing just that.  As well, everyone knows that the "October Surprise", where the, hoping to be, Reagan Admin., through Bush, Sr., agreed to give military parts shipments, etc., to Iran if they would just hold the hostages until after the election, denied Carter a second term; which the Iranians did, holding them until 1 hour after Reagan was innaugerated.  So, we know top Iranian Gov't officials are willing to conspire with the usa for $, was Mousavi, or the power figure behind him, one of those?  Also, how much of this, so called, election contesting, yet, not election reforming, 'movement' is actually CLIA and Massad paid operatives; we don't know?  Hasn't anybody noticed how, especially at first, it was clearly staged?  "We, ...", don't want to be duped into supporting a CLIA/Massad led civil war, which could be 'used' by Israel to justify destroying Iran's nuclear energy capacity, which would force Iran to declare war on Israel, which would then, supposedly, force the usa to declare war on the non-CLIA/Massad half of Iran; again, as in Iraq, realizing the head of the remocratic conspiracies global supposed Chrtistian, anti-Islam and life, blitzkrieging spear- a, supposedly necessary, unnecessary war against Iran and Islam, etc..  Have a good one.  Ciao.   

    reality

    Posted by james m nordlund on 06/26/2009 @ 08:01AM PT

  5. Michael Bear

    It's always nice to see that conspiracy theories are alive and well

    Posted by Michael Bear on 06/28/2009 @ 12:45PM PT

  6. james m nordlund

    Ni hao. Ah, you mock me and my essay, and diagnose me, did you just make-up a medical degree and four more years of internship, to be a psychiatrist, for this purpose; yet, you don't even suggest that any one thing I say is even inaccurate- this while I'm the mental health professional. Again, the facts are the facts, MI6, CLIA and Mossad, not to forget the supposed Christian (and other Orthodox religions)conspiracy, bragged about eventually taking down the Iranian Gov't for decades and now that they're seriously trying to do it, the corporate structure's enforcer, the remocrat conspiracy, through their non-stop 'use' of their 'tool', the multi-media conspiracy, projects that this, so called, election contesting, yet, not previously election reforming, 'movement' against the Gov't of Iran is about 'freedom', and not a take over, by force, of the Iranian Gov't; while everyone knows that MI6, CLIA and Mossad, have been fomenting, funding, and engineering this very scenario for decades. Hoping it will lead to a civil war, which could be 'used' by Israel to justify destroying Iran's nuclear energy capacity, which would force Iran to declare war on Israel, which would, then, supposedly, force the usa to declare war on the non-CLIA/Mossad/MI6 half of Iran; again, as in Iraq, realizing the head of the remocratic conspiracies global supposed Christian, anti-Islam and life, blitzkrieging spear- a, supposedly necessary, unnecessary war against Iran, Islam, and all life, etc., dictating nothing will be able to stop their 'getting' the strongest 'organizing' force in human history, the extinction of humanity and large mammals. So, they can steal everybody's everything, etc., while projecting and ‘making believe' the tsunamis, earthquakes, draughts, volcanoes, super cyclones, hurricanes, floods (all unnatural disasters, caused by the remocrat conspiracy to happen at greater severity and frequency, through their dictating the permanent altering of the weather cycles), holes in the ozone layer, global ‘warming', etc., ‘did it', ‘they' didn't do ‘anything'; only possible through uber-militarization and unnecessary global wars, etc., like the so-called 'war on terror', etc.- stopping the evolution in its tracks, etc.. Have a good one. Ciao.

    reality

    Posted by james m nordlund on 06/28/2009 @ 08:28PM PT

  7. Michael Bear

    I'd flie that last comment under "having enough rope to hang yourself".  And, to be honest, not interested in debating the points, as I don't think you and I share enough perspective to make a discussion possible, much less enjoyable.

    Posted by Michael Bear on 06/28/2009 @ 09:44PM PT

  8. james m nordlund

    Hi. Ah, less exaggerated insults, yet, insulting, never the less; at least, you're consistent. Consistency, which you have in common with a machine part, aside, you're not being "honest", at all; that's supposed to suggest an excuse for your insulting me in your first extremely short reply to my essaic reply- yet, there's no excuse. Yes to "err is human", though, to not err is also human, as well as humane; and, I would suggest, it's even more human. You purport, you "don't think you and I share enough perspective to make a discussion possible", this while we're having one, and people who don't "share enough perspective", have discussions constantly; poor excuse for your insults and desire to not bother to spend the time to discuss a topic you're the supposed blog leader and initiator of- not to forget the fact that, as here, the accuracy to which I would elucidate my points would just dispel yours. You add, "... much less enjoyable.", so, according to you, if something isn't enjoyable, you don't want to do it; what a fine example one would set for the one year olds, if they were one, on how to be a terrible two, if they were to concur with you. Hopefully, others reading this, will wish to bother to discuss this most serious set of issues, even if they don't find it enjoyable; as that's how one, and others, learn and grow- and self and others actuation to advocate and act on their civic responsibility, happens. Have a good one. Ciao.

    reality

     

    Posted by james m nordlund on 07/01/2009 @ 11:25PM PT

  9. Michael Bear

    I definitely await to see if others take you up on your debating offer.  All best,

    MBK

    Posted by Michael Bear on 07/02/2009 @ 08:31PM PT

  10. Reply to thread

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Author
Michael Bear

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

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