Tag Archives: MENA

Misreading Chile: The mythos of Pinochet and the WSJ’s bad advice for Egypt

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Jacob Bathanti

A couple days ago, the second-worst editorial page in America weighed in on the tumult in Egypt. Of course the results were anodyne at best, and rather maliciously silly at worst: the piece praises the existence of Egypt’s “competing power centers” … Continue reading →

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Concern-trolling the Revolution

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Jacob Bathanti

A couple days ago David Rothkopf surveyed ongoing protests in Egypt, as well as Turkey and Brazil –  and found them wanting. Protesters, he claimed, are steadily revealing that they don’t know what it takes to enter the halls of … Continue reading →

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As I sit in a Lima hotel room writing this missive, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsy has more or less just finished a speech in which, as usual, he demonized opponents of his rule and called them “feloul” (remnants (of the … Continue reading →

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Jacob Bathanti | Leave a comment

Opening data in an absolute monarchy: notes on Oman’s Open Government Data & Best Practices Symposium

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Jacob Bathanti

No better example of the modishness of “open” can exist than holding an open government summit in an absolute monarchy. It would seem that such an event would indeed “open” itself to accusations of deliberately delicious irony, or deliberate contradiction. … Continue reading →

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