Washington Post (January 17, 2014)
“Over the past few months, the Middle East has become an even more violent place than usual. Iraq is now once again home to one of the most bloody civil wars in the world, after Syria of course, which is the worst.” There is no quick fix that outsiders can provide. “In fact, the last thing the region needs is more U.S. intervention.” The Middle East’s deep-rooted tension is part of “a sectarian struggle, like those between Catholics and Protestants in Europe in the age of the Reformation. These tensions are rooted in history and politics and will not easily go away.”
Tags: Catholics, Civil war, Europe, History, Intervention, Iraq, Middle East, Politics, Protestants, Reformation, Struggle, Syria, Tensions, U.S., Violence
Bloomberg (August 2)
“Earth’s atmosphere seems to have found a way to get back at the human race. For almost three centuries, we humans have been filling the air with carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases. Now, it turns out, the climate change these emissions have wrought is turning people against one another.” Researchers have found “a surprisingly close link between climate change and civil wars, riots, invasions and even personal violence such as murder, assault and rape.”
Tags: Air, Atmosphere, Civil wars, Climate change, CO2, Earth, Emissions, Greenhouse gases, Human race, Methane, Researchers, Violence
Time (January 7)
The gang rape of a female student on December 16 has kept India on edge. Protests have been held demanding social change and “swift justice” for the woman who died on December 29. “The upheaval of the past three weeks has exposed other deep fractures, raising difficult questions not only about the status of women in India but also about increasing violence, widening class divides and the delivery of justice in the world’s largest democracy.”
New York Times (December 7)
“The revolution in Egypt is in danger of being lost in a spasm of violence, power grabs and bad judgments…. It was Mr. Morsi’s dictatorial edict placing himself above the law last month that ignited this crisis.”
“The revolution in Egypt is in danger of being lost in a spasm of violence, power grabs and bad judgments…. It was Mr. Morsi’s dictatorial edict placing himself above the law last month that ignited this crisis.”
Tags: Crisis, Egypt, Morsi, Revolution, Violence
The Economist (August 27)
Over 1,000 workers turned violent at the Maruti-Suzuki car factory near Delhi, killing an HR manager and leaving 96 others injured. The company is now reopening the plant, but there is still uncertainty about why the violence broke out. “The picture emerging is that of a young impressionable workforce with an average age of only 25. It was vulnerable to outside influences from political and other groups wanting to create unrest. Neither the shop floor managers nor the trade union officials appear to have had sufficient experience to handle industrial relations crises.”
Tags: Delhi, Factory, India, Industrial relations, Maruti-Suzuki, Violence
The Economist (February 24)
“Brutality and persecution” allowed Muammar Qaddafi to hold power for 41 years. The Economist hopes that his reign will finally end, yet fears “that even now Mr Qaddafi will somehow clamber over the bodies littering the streets to seize back the power that has slipped away from him.”
