Gulf citizens pessimistic about Arab Spring. Media Book. Series 4 highlights. Series 5 highlights. Series 6 highlights. Wikileaks: Tim Sebastian Tackles US Wrong-doing Head On. Tim Sebastian. A meeting of district executives of Ludhiana Telecom was organised at Bharat Nagar chowk here on Friday in which BSNL workers from all over Punjab took part.
Addressing the meeting, NT Sajwani, secretary general of NFTE, said,"The BSNL workers' union will fight against the anti-worker and anti-BSNL polices of the government in power, be it NDA or UPA. " He said that it was their policies which were responsible for BSNL's lagging behind in competition with the private sector. Doha Debates homepage. An Insider’s Perspective. The 'Doha Debates' is a brainchild of Tim Sebastian, the BBC award-winning journalist who rose to fame in the last decade as the host of BBC's 'HARDtalk'.
It is held in Doha, Qatar, and occurs eight times a year; this year marked the completion of its fifth season. It discusses and debates – Oxford Union style – topics of relevance in the Middle East, spanning religious, social and political issues. Tim proposes a “motion”, two people debate for it, and two against it. Tim and the audience have the opportunity to grill all four of the speakers, after which the audience votes on the motion, and it either “passes” or “fails” the house. It is aired on BBC, and estimated to have a viewership of a few hundred million people. Four months ago, while attending the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) conference in Doha, some of us were invited to be part of the audience for a debate over the motion, 'This house believes that political Islam is a threat to the West'.
Dr. Dr. Dr. In Doha, I struggle with my elitism. On Saturday night I flew business class to Qatar for the Doha debates.
I always fly economy, but as the saying goes, I could get used to this fast. The seats on the Boeing 777 folded down to make a full bed and I was next to a guy from Cesar Pelli’s architectural firm. At the Four Seasons in Doha, I sent my wife an email. “They have Occitane soap in the bathroom.” “Life is good,” she responded. The debate was over the proposition, Obama is too weak to bring about Middle East peace, and I argued the affirmative along with a guy from American University of Beirut named Ahmed Moussali.
He and Cohen clashed a lot during the debate. Moussali talked about the right of return. Before the debate Cohen and I had met in the Four Seasons lobby and both regretted that we were on opposite sides. Still I don’t know how a liberal can say that it is a good thing for people who are denied basic political rights and human rights to accept a hot lunch of economic progress. An Island of Free Speech. Speaking freely in the Middle East. Wikipedia. The Doha Debates logo The Doha Debates are a forum for free speech in Qatar and tackle the region's most controversial and topical issues.
They are sponsored by Qatar Foundation and their broadcasting rights are sold to BBC World News where they are aired monthly, eight times a year. The Debates entered into their eighth series in October 2011. Qatar Foundation[edit] The Doha Debates are hosted and funded by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development - a private, chartered, non-profit organization, founded in 1995 and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned. Format[edit] Facebook page.
How does the D-D choose its topics? Arabs, not NATO, dealing with Libya. Monday April 18 2011 MOTION REJECTED by 45% to 55% Arab governments should stay out of the conflict in Libya and leave it to NATO, according to a majority vote at The Doha Debates.
In a tense, argumentative session, the mainly-Arab audience heard repeated claims that their own governments lacked both the power and commitment to protect civilians in Libya Aisha Aghliw, from Misrata, scene of heavy fighting between rebel and pro-Gaddafi forces, said, "all Libyans would have liked to see Arabs come to their help. Libyans were crying for help for one month and no one came. We could not have waited another month". The motion: "This House believes Arabs, not NATO, should be dealing with Libya" was rejected by 55 percent. Dr. He added that Arab governments were enemies of democracy and human rights and had shown indifference towards unrest in other parts of their region. Both speakers claimed Arab interference in Libya would have led to more civilian casualties. Watch online. Watch April18 debate. Opinion poll - April26 - May2. Monday April 18 2011 MOTION REJECTED by 45% to 55% A staggering 75 percent of Arabs want to see the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi forcibly removed from power, according to an opinion poll commissioned by The Doha Debates.
A similar number of respondents support immediate, external intervention in Libya, but insist that Arab governments should mount the operation, without assistance from NATO. In April, by contrast, more than half the mainly-Arab audience at The Doha Debates supported military action led by the Western alliance. The latest opinion survey was conducted between April 26 and May 2 by 1,000 respondents in 16 Arab states. Only one in 10 Arabs now believe Colonel Gaddafi is legitimate - compared to 41 percent who have thrown their support behind the National Transitional Council based in Benghazi.
Polling dates: 26th April - 2nd May 2011 Download the polling data [PDF] Watch online.