Feb
20
2011
By Daoud Kuttab
US President Barack Obama was on the right side of history when he supported the young, nonviolent protesters in Egypt, but his administration will go down in history as unjust after Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, vetoed, on Friday, a UN Security Council resolution condemning Jewish settlements illegally build on Palestinians’ lands.
The resolution, supported by 14 countries, including US allies, repeated the exact same language that the Obama administration had used with the Israelis and the Palestinians. Calling Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal merely reflects reality according to international law. The World Court at the Hague has said that Israel’s activities in the occupied territories are illegal. Continue Reading »
Feb
20
2011
(This was published in June 29th, 2010)
By Daoud Kuttab
Ingenuity and media entrepreneurship, helped out by technological changes, provided a rare opportunity for many Jordanians to follow their favorite teams vying for the World Cup.
For the second time in eight years, football fans in Jordan were denied the pleasure of watching the World Cup this year. For sure the games were available to Jordanians, but with a fee. In order to watch the games, you needed to have a satellite dish as well as a special card to be purchased from Al Jazeera Sports Channel, which had bought the exclusive rights for the games to the Arab world. Some relief was provided by Jordan’s crown prince in the form of huge screens that were erected in major locations throughout the country. Anyone who was willing to go to a restaurant or other public locations that served drinks, food and water pipes were also able to watch the games. Continue Reading »