Previous work for masters

I know this is very sad posting my work so far lol, but here it goes!

http://www.speedyshare.com/351917442.html

hit the link and tell me what u think of my responses to:

1. Examine The Successes & Failings Of The GCC & Assess Its Role In Global Governance

2. How Effective Is The Policy Process In Dealing With The Threat Of Terrorism

3. Are We Moving Towards A Control Society

Essays & Dissertations, Yikes!!

Not worked on my blog in a while, so thought I'd drop a line to any1 reading lol. I'm started to feel my stress levels rising as deadlines draw nearer. I'm gonna be in Kuwait between 26th and 13th April, after which I have two days to hand my essays in. I've got two questions I need to answer, any1 wanna help feel free to drop me a line!

1. Monarchy failed as a regime type in Iraq and Iran, but still persists in Saudi Arabia. What explains that difference?

2. Assess power-sharing as a peacemaking approach in Lebanon

The million dollar question (my thesis! lol) is:

Explore the origins of and prospects for the opening of 'space' for political Islamists in the Kuwaiti political system

Control society!!

Just got out of a meeting with my tutor. We both agreed it would be best if I focused more on political Islam rather than simply democratisation in Kuwait. This is my tentative thesis title:

"Explore the origins of and prospects for the opening of space for political Islamists in the Kuwaiti political system"

What shocked me about our little meeting is that as a Kuwaiti, or better yet simply a 'Muslim', if I access certain documents online, then I'm considered suspicious and can come under supervision by the security services, so I need to fill out a form stating what I'm researching before I touch any of these websites and documents. This is the latest in a series of indicators that we are moving towards a control society, where the material you read gets monitored, oh and based on your 'ethnicity' and 'identity', different responses are taken.

I laughed at my tutor when she said be careful, but the case of a University of Nottingham student, who was arrested and held for 6 days, shows that I should take it more serious! He downloaded an Al-Qaeda training manual, but it was from the US STATE DEPARTMENT WEBSITE, SO IT WAS FREELY AVAILABLE! You can read more about this poor guy's ordeal here:

This is no way to fight terror

KLM Suck!!!

I planned to come to Kuwait over easter to do some research for my dissertation. I'm going to watch Lemar in concert on 25th March, so I figured I'd book my flight for the 26th, the day after. I found a great deal with KLM, so I went ahead and booked it. Literally 2 days after booking it, I come across the London School of Economics' website, which is hosting a conference in Kuwait called "Globalisation and the Gulf: Economics and Security" with notable academics due to give speeches and its free to attend. When is this going down? The 25-26th!!!! So I call KLM and plead with them to let me change my flight to the 23rd, but they won't budge, they won't even let me pay a charge for altering my booking. I guess I'm just not meant to be there...

info about the conference

A Kuwaiti in Moscow!

I was fortunate enough to attend the Champions League final between Man Utd and Chelsea with my cousin and his friends. This is us singing after getting off the metro. The atmosphere was amazing; I was simply glad that we didn't lose, oh and that I got some songs rolling!



I also got to meet Sir Bobby Charlton, one of Man Utd's greatest players




Ok this is the last one, me and Hamid, my older brother, getting our picture taken with David Beckham at Man Utd's training ground in 1996. We was annoyed because we wanted pictures with Eric Cantona and Ryan Giggs, we were like 'minoo hartha Beckham maskharra' lol.

A talk with Annabelle Sreberny and being a 'Creamy'

Last Wednesday in class we had the pleasure of listening to Professor Annabell Sreberny, an expert on Iran, and especially women and their portrayal in Iranian media. She gave us a valuable insight into the lives of Iranian women, but what interested me was that she was married to an Iranian but has since divorced and has a daughter of mixed heritage who has decided to study in Iran. I can relate to that as though my mother and father are still married, they live in their own countries, so rather than having a singular identity to wrap yourself around, you have two poles, one Kuwaiti and one British, and it seems your identity either shifts on the line between the two, or is a mash-up of both. As with her daughter, it is interesting to see how children of mixed marriages, who have grown up in the "West", sometimes make a conscious decision to return to their paternal country, and how they fit in to those societies.

This problem arises in a recent film, Australia, which shows the problems facing a half Aborignie/ half white boy. He notes that to others, he is neither white nor black, but 'creamy', and is effectively shunned by both cleavages. Its a brilliant film, a must see!

Prof. Annabelle Sreberny

Australia

Polar opposites

I'm sat here on Friday morning, watching Sleepless in Seattle whilst taking notes from F. Gregory Gause - Oil Monarchies, wondering if I could be doing anything more opposite to one another than these two! I know its cheesy and cliched, but it must be said, the film is a classic! Oh and the book is alright too I guess...

The Book

The Film