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However, the most recent manifestations of violence in the South Sinai governorate are not a function of northern resentment of southern “prosperity.” Rather, since the uprising—which brought a halt to tourism nationwide—southern tribes have expressed increased support for more drastic means of resistance. The most recent examples—the abductions of American and Korean tourists and the seizure of the Aqua Sun coastal resort by tribal gunman—were aimed not at destruction, but toward mounting an open and embarrassing challenge to state authority. Grievances and demands were quickly issued and met; attacks were poised as reprisals for the detention of family members with the goal of a “hostage exchange” in addition to protesting their exclusion from land they claim as part of their territory. In keeping with tribal values, these attacks were not intended to cause physical harm (traditional Bedouin notions of honor and hospitality demand just treatment of strangers). The distinctly bloodless outcomes (hostages were quickly released, unscathed) easily dispel widespread media accusations that this was the work of al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgents, whose operations almost always end in bloodshed.
Compared to the recent manifestations of resistance, the differences in methods and damage seem conspicuous and highlight the distinction between tribal forms of resistance and Islamist violence. Sinai kidnappings and resort takeovers vent economic grievances, and these types of attacks in both the north and south retaliate against state policies of marginalization, using “hostage negotiations” and the leverage of the state’s public image abroad to free their fellow tribesmen.

Feb

2012

How SCAF is seeking to resolve corruption cases behind closed doors - Blog - The Arabist

www.arabist.net/...uption-cases-behind-close.html

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scaf military GAFI executive law bullshit economy economics corruption

Law 4 of 2012 permits the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, the regulator of investment and companies in Egypt, to settle with investors who have committed either in person, or as an accomplice of a government employee, embezzlement, theft, illegal acquisition or misuse of public funds and property, harming the public welfare, and similar offences, while undertaking any of the investment activities covered by the law, provided they restore the disputed amounts or reimburse the state for their approximate value at the time the offence was committed. The settlement can take place any stage before a defendant is convicted by the final court of appeal.
the investor and a GAFI representative sign a document together with the terms of the settlement, which is subject to the approval of the Chairman of GAFI. It need hardly be stated that this presents a conflict of interest, as the Chairman of GAFI, if not actually personally implicated by the crime in question, has a strong interest in protecting unfettered investment and avoiding legal issues with foreign investors in particular.
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- An even greater miscarriage of justice is that the amendment neatly circumvents the supervision of the judiciary, by stipulating that these settlement agreements will be binding and enforceable – and thus not subject to judicial review, placing entire responsibility for this process in the hands of one person
- Essentially, the amendment defeats the three objectives behind all criminal laws: deterrence, punishment and rehabilitation.

Jan

2012

Fossil fuel subsidies and global warming: We could cut the climate change problem in half simply by abolishing inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. - Slate Magazine

www.slate.com/...nt_fossil_fuel_subsidies_.html

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energy energy-policy environment subsidies climatechange oil coal renewable poverty development politics economy economics

Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency is telling you exactly that. In data released this month as part of the IEA’s latest World Energy Outlook report, he shows that in 2010 the world spent $409 billion on subsidizing the production and consumption of fossil fuels, dwarfing the word’s $66 billion or so of subsidies for renewable energy
In no case do these subsidies make sense.
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- f roughly half of what needs to be done can be achieved simply by eliminating economic distortions—economic distortions that would be unwise even if there were no concern about pollution—then the whole framework of a trade-off between prosperity and sustainability is largely misguided.
- At the end of the day, pure laissez faire can never meet the world’s environmental challenges. If you want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, you need to cap them and then you need to reduce the cap. But a surprisingly large step toward that target can occur by simply allowing the market to do its work by removing the subsidies that encourage lavish and inefficient consumption of fossil fuels.