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Excellent piece on the long-term conflicts that destabilize CAR and questions about why CAR is so little understood and talked about in the media. Tip of the hat to Black Looks
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Bright Simmons has a very interesting theory on China's focus on piracy in the Gulf of Aden – an attempt to assert military influence on the African continent
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Qatar is leasing land from Kenya to grow fruits and vegetables, paying Kenya with funds to support port construction. Echoes Saudi Arabia leasing farmland from Ethiopia. Fascinating and complex dynamics here – is this good news or bad for poor, agrarian countries?
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Richard Silverstein looks at Israeli efforts at online hasbara – explanation, public diplomacy, propoganda – and wonders whether it can possibly be effective. Interesting to think about whether these techniques could be more effective around other causes.