I understand that this class was structured so that our readings would coincide with the research on our specific countries. But this week in particular I found it to be very true. Reading about Nasser and his ability to make peace with the young, educated urbanites reminded me of what I had read about Bouteflika in Algeria. He too, in order to circumvent the spreading of the Arab Spring revolts into Algeria, had pandered to those most likely to protest. Bouteflika, as I believe was shared in our first brief, had worked to decrease unemployment for young Algerians and work towards bettering education. The increase of funding to other social services, and the increased importance on civil rights, also can help to explain Algeria's general lack of protesting (which parallels Nasser's Egypt). Who knows how long the parallel will continue.
BBC World published a surprising and intriguing article just a few hours ago. The city of Jerusalem has been taken over. By over 2 million feral cats.
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