The Layalina Review: Volume VI No. 10 | Layalina Productions, Inc.

The Layalina Review

	The Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media The Layalina Review is a peerless bi-weekly source for monitoring developments in the spheres of public diplomacy and Arab media. Its readers include academics, Foreign Service Officers, students, members of Congress and their staffs, foreign diplomats, and professionals in both the private and public sectors. Published 26 times per year, the review is free to subscribers and available in PDF, HTML, and RSS formats. The Layalina Review is brought to you thanks in part to a grant from The Dr. Scholl Foundation of Illinois.
Statistic of the Week The UAE is the 'most connected' Arab country, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in a new study. PDF RSS Twitter Facebook Recent Issues Vol. VI No. 10: 5/7-5/20, 2010 Vol. VI No. 9: 4/23-5/6, 2010 Archives Subscribe to our Publications Layalina Review Staff Leon Shahabian Senior Editor Anne Hagood Managing Editor Mirna Oud Contributor Lorraine Jablonsky Contributor Elodie Liobard Contributor The views expressed here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Layalina Productions, Inc.	VOL. VI NO. 11, May 21-June 3, 2010 Al-Jazeera's Contentious Relations with Bahrain The increasingly influential Al-Jazeera is now embroiled with Bahrain over a report detailing the treatment of laborers in the country. While many of its opponents denounce its bias and questionnable editorial policies, its supporters still hail the channel as a media landmark in the region. Shanghai's Pavilions: A New Diplomatic Step The United States will participate in the World Expo 2010 fair in Shanghai over the next six months. Despite the Pavilion’s aimed role in improving US-Chinese strategic and economic ties, some fear that it may lead to the privatization of the Department of State's public diplomacy activities considering the sources of its funding. Israel’s Public Image Goes Adrift The Israeli army raid on the Turkish-sponsored flotilla, dubbed the "Freedom Flotilla" in the Arab world, sparked worldwide criticism for its disproportionate use of force. The Israeli government justified the raid, which killed nine and injured dozens, by claiming that it threatened the Jewish state’s national interests. Sex and the City Sells Bias, Not Tickets The sequel movie, Sex and the City 2, recently released in theaters across America, has been widely panned for its gross misrepresentation of Arab culture with its deluge of cliches regarding Arab women and gender stereotyping in the region. The Many Facets of Global Engagement The Center for a New American Security recently published a report analyzing the Obama administration's global engagement strategy, its achievements and shortcomings. Critics observe a pattern which may hurt the administration's agenda and emit additional recommendations. Critiquing the Bureaucracy As the Departments of State and Defense have increased their budget requests, policy experts debate the efficacy of their current diplomacy and development initiatives, citing the shortcomings of the US government's bureaucracy. Facebook: to Add, to Ignore, or to Block? Facebook, increasingly used to challenge political ideologies and social norms, is now becoming a primary source of information for its users, potentially rivaling newspapers. Detractors decry the lack of reliability of social media and maintain that newspapers abide by accountability practices not enforced by Facebook. Domain Names Now Available In Arabic Following the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' approval of Arabic language domain names in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, some argue that the inclusion of Arabic URLs will not necessarily lead to a large increase of Arab internet users.

The Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media

The Layalina Review is a peerless bi-weekly source for monitoring developments in the spheres of public diplomacy and Arab media.

Its readers include academics, Foreign Service Officers, students, members of Congress and their staffs, foreign diplomats, and professionals in both the private and public sectors.

Published 26 times per year, the review is free to subscribers and available in PDF, HTML, and RSS formats.

The Layalina Review is brought to you thanks in part to a grant from The Dr. Scholl Foundation of Illinois.

Statistic of the Week
The UAE is the 'most connected' Arab country, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in a new study.

Recent Issues

Vol. VI No. 10: 5/7-5/20, 2010

Vol. VI No. 9: 4/23-5/6, 2010

Archives

Layalina Review Staff

Leon Shahabian
Senior Editor

Anne Hagood
Managing Editor

Mirna Oud
Contributor

Lorraine Jablonsky
Contributor

Elodie Liobard
Contributor

The views expressed here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Layalina Productions, Inc.

VOL. VI NO. 11, May 21-June 3, 2010

Al-Jazeera's Contentious Relations with Bahrain
The increasingly influential Al-Jazeera is now embroiled with Bahrain over a report detailing the treatment of laborers in the country. While many of its opponents denounce its bias and questionnable editorial policies, its supporters still hail the channel as a media landmark in the region.

Shanghai's Pavilions: A New Diplomatic Step
The United States will participate in the World Expo 2010 fair in Shanghai over the next six months. Despite the Pavilion’s aimed role in improving US-Chinese strategic and economic ties, some fear that it may lead to the privatization of the Department of State's public diplomacy activities considering the sources of its funding.

Israel’s Public Image Goes Adrift
The Israeli army raid on the Turkish-sponsored flotilla, dubbed the "Freedom Flotilla" in the Arab world, sparked worldwide criticism for its disproportionate use of force. The Israeli government justified the raid, which killed nine and injured dozens, by claiming that it threatened the Jewish state’s national interests.

Sex and the City Sells Bias, Not Tickets
The sequel movie, Sex and the City 2, recently released in theaters across America, has been widely panned for its gross misrepresentation of Arab culture with its deluge of cliches regarding Arab women and gender stereotyping in the region.

The Many Facets of Global Engagement
The Center for a New American Security recently published a report analyzing the Obama administration's global engagement strategy, its achievements and shortcomings. Critics observe a pattern which may hurt the administration's agenda and emit additional recommendations.

Critiquing the Bureaucracy
As the Departments of State and Defense have increased their budget requests, policy experts debate the efficacy of their current diplomacy and development initiatives, citing the shortcomings of the US government's bureaucracy.

Facebook: to Add, to Ignore, or to Block?
Facebook, increasingly used to challenge political ideologies and social norms, is now becoming a primary source of information for its users, potentially rivaling newspapers. Detractors decry the lack of reliability of social media and maintain that newspapers abide by accountability practices not enforced by Facebook.

Domain Names Now Available In Arabic
Following the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' approval of Arabic language domain names in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, some argue that the inclusion of Arabic URLs will not necessarily lead to a large increase of Arab internet users.