Tag Archives: war

Catch up with War News Radio

Been listening to War News Radio recently? If not, get back in the groove with this month’s broadcast.

This month on War News Radio, “Back to Work “. First, we examine the problem of youth unemployment in Morocco. Then, we look into the persecution of physicians in Syria. Finally, we hear about a peace activist whose surprising devotion to the cause didn’t seem to match his flat personality.

The latter piece about a peace activist refers to the recent lecture by Michael Doyle on Roy Kepler and Kepler’s bookstore.

Graphic novels, memory, and war in Lebanon

“Remembering a past that has hardly passed”

Carla Calargé

November 5th, 4:30-5:30pm

Keith Room (Lang Center)

While the war that ravaged Lebanon between 1975 and 1990 can be described as a microcosm of the conflicts plaguing the Middle East, persistent socio-historical factors have, until recently, suppressed its discussion and effectively silenced its memory. Recent emerging accounts have started to unearth this past, whether to understand it, heal its wounds, or extract lessons for the future.

This talk discusses two graphic novels by Lebanese women who grew up during the war: Je me souviens. Beyrouth published by Zeina AbiRached in 2009, and Lamia Ziadé’s Beyrouth 1975-1990 published in 2010. A close examination of these works will reveal the tension between the need to remember, and the limitations of remembering in a context largely defined by collective and state-sponsored amnesia.

Carla Calargé is Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Florida Atlantic University. Her work focuses on the Francophone Arab novels and comics.

Prof. Dominic Tierney Launches Iran War Clock

It’s 10 Minutes to Midnight: Political Scientist Dominic Tierney Launches Iran War Clock

by Susan Clarey

3/15/2012

[original post from Swarthmore College News and Information http://www.swarthmore.edu/x35177.xml]

Iran clock Three students – Jonathan Emont ’12, Lorand Laskai ’13, and James Mao ’12 – provided essential research assistance.

TheAtlantic.com recently launched The Iran War Clock created and directed by Dominic Tierney, associate professor of political science.

Drawing together a panel of 22 high-profile experts from the worlds of policy, academia, and journalism, The Iran War Clock reflects the average of each contributor’s estimate that war will break out in Iran in the next year.  Based on this number, the Clock is adjusted so that the hand moves closer to, or further away from, midnight.

The aim of the project is to estimate the chances of war while producing a more informed debate on this highly-charged subject.

“Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the Iran War Clock is correct in March 2012 and there’s roughly a 50/50 chance of war,” Tierney explains. “Americans need to have an accurate view of this reality. If they wrongly thought there was just a 1 percent chance of conflict it could be dangerous. And if Americans misperceived and felt there was a 99 percent chance of war, this could also be hazardous.

“When you approach the cliff edge,” he says, “you need to know how far away the precipice is.”

In a Sunday interview with MSNBC’S Alex Witt, Tierney discussed what he called the “dream team” of panelists working on The Iran War Clock and explained the methodology behind it.

Three students provided research assistance: Jonathan Emont ’12, an Honors history major and political science minor from Ridgewood, N.J.; Lorand Laskai ’13, an Honors political science major and a course history major from Berkely Heights, N.J.; and James Mao ’12, an Honors political science major and economics minor with a course major in economics, from Beijing, People’s Republic of China.