CrisesMagazine.org / June 18 to June 25, 2009

[sergio]

CriseMagazine.org
June 18 to June 25, 2009


Class v. Culture Wars in Iranian
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/class-v-culture-wars-in-iranian.html

Some comentators have suggested that the reason Western reporters were
shocked when Ahmadinejad won was that they are based in opulent North
Tehran, whereas the farmers and workers of Iran, the majority, are
enthusiastic for Ahmadinejad. That is, we fell victim once again to
upper middle class reporting and expectations in a working class
country of the global south...


Iran's day of destiny
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/irans-day-of-destiny.html

It was Iran's day of destiny and day of courage. A million of its
people marched from Engelob Square to Azadi Square - from the Square
of Revolution to the Square of Freedom - beneath the eyes of Tehran's
brutal riot police. The crowds were singing and shouting and laughing
and abusing their "President" as "dust"...


Is Halliburton Forgiven and Forgotten?
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/is-halliburton-forgiven-and-forgotten.html

The Houstonian Hotel is an elegant, secluded resort set on an 18-acre
wooded oasis in the heart of downtown Houston. Two weeks ago, David
Lesar, CEO of the once notorious energy services corporation
Halliburton, spoke to some 100 shareholders and members of senior
management gathered there at the company's annual meeting. All was
remarkably staid as they celebrated Halliburton's $4 billion in
operating profits in 2008, a striking 22% return at a time when many
companies are announcing record losses. Analysts remain bullish on
Halliburton's stock, reflecting a more general view that any company
in the oil business is likely to have a profitable future in store...


Elections in Lebanon: What purpose did they serve?
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/elections-in-lebanon-what-purpose-did-they-serve.html

The Lebanese parliamentary elections on June 7 re-elected the 14 March
Alliance, with a comfortable majority. But this is far from settling
the questions arising from the crisis in the Lebanese political
system, which continues to divide the country into two tightly-knit
camps, none of which can be excluded in the quest for a stabilized
political formula. How to find a new consensus and go beyond the task
of crisis management is the challenge facing Lebanon, which has jolted
it periodically since the civil war ended officially in 1989 with the
Taef agreements. This article poses these questions and describes the
elements of the crisis. They all remain as relevant today as they were
before the elections...


Status quo victory
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/status-quo-victory.html

Two of the rules that have come to define Lebanese politics during the
past three decades were given a new lease of life by the outcome of
Sunday's polls. Rule number one is that there is no victor and no
vanquished in the never-ending struggle over Lebanon's identity. No
force has been defeated in any existential sense. The elections have
merely given a new mandate to a majority that was already there...


From Cairo with love
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/from-cairo-with-love.html

The US president has announced that he is going to address the Islamic
world. Let's listen to what he has to say. The Arab media has heralded
the event using the same words, saying that "the US president is to
deliver a speech addressing the Islamic world." The countdown to the
event has been marked with such expressions as "the awaited speech"
and the "expected address"...

Obama’s overture to Islamic world
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/obamas-overture-to-islamic-world.html

President Barack Hussein Obama’s address from Cairo on the
relationship between the US and the Islamic world lays the foundation
for a radical change in western attitudes towards Muslims. Obama’s
speech, calling for “a new beginning,” comes when the whole Islamic
world, including “moderate” states like Egypt, is angry at violent US
interventions in Muslim-majority countries. Opinion polls show that
Muslims everywhere, including their three-fourths majority who live
outside the Middle East, welcomed the tone of the speech. Muqtada al-
Sadr, the fiery Iraqi cleric, appreciated it as “soft-spoken and
eloquent.”...


Dream Come True meeting with Dr Binayak Sen
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/dream-come-true-meeting-with-dr-binayak-sen.html

On May 29th Morning I left Mumbai for the fact finding mission to
Dantewada for demolition of the Gandhi an Himanshu’s Vanvasi Chetna
Ashram. I reached Raipur, but I could not keep my excitement to meet
Dr Binayak Sen, the journey from airport to his home seemed like a
century...


No future without a political solution
http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/no-future-without-a-political-solution.html

The civil war which has raged in the north and east of Sri Lanka for
more than 30 years now has taken a significant turn since mid January.
The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa has launched an offensive with the
full military might of the Sri Lankan army seeking to definitively put
an end to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). For the first
time in thirty years, the LTTE seems on the way to being defeated...