Arab government and civil society activists are slowly learning the importance of community media. The Arab Spring and local activists demand decentralisation of power and freedom of expression for marginalised communities, especially outside the capitals....The Palestine experience will no doubt be thoroughly tapped on as local, regional and international activists, NGOs and development agencies are looking to the Arab Spring beyond just political changes."

"The status of Pakistan is different from all the rest of the Muslim states. Islamic system is adopted by any other Muslim country or not, for Pakistan it is a point of death and life. The reason is that Pakistan has no raison d’etre for its existence except Islam. This country had come into being on the only pledge of establishing the system of God here. It was promised that a model of a just system based on the Divine Guidance would be established here and the Law of Allah will be superior to all other laws, customs and traditions. This was given the name of the ‘Ideology of Pakistan’. 

"Binyamin Netanyahu prides himself on his huge success in America, indeed in the entire world: he has managed to get everybody deeply concerned about the (not yet existing) Iranian nuclear bomb. The Palestinian issue has been completely wiped off the map. And here he sets in motion another round of fighting that reminds people everywhere that the Palestinian issue is alive and kicking, and that it may explode at any moment. Does that make sense even from the point of view of a Netanyahu or a Barak?"

"What nuclear weapons? Israel says it has no nukes! Of course the world knows they are lying thanks to the heroic Christian convert Mordechai Vanunu who is still being persecuted for telling the world about the Zionist State's deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons. The poor man has served his sentence but he is still not allowed to leave Israel where he is under continuous surveillance. The vindictiveness of the state knows no bounds when it comes to this man."

"No one should ever be surprised when innocent children die in war zones. In fact, every time a Drone fires a weapon, or a bomb is dropped from a plane, it is probable that innocent civilians are killed....Because too many US voters lack the critical thinking skills necessary to understand how the world works. We have a dysfunctional political system, a culture that celebrates stupidity and violence, and an inferior educational system. Of course there are exceptions. Some teachers are smart, dedicated, and supportive of their students. There are not enough of them. Some people choose C-Span Book TV over the reality shows. But not enough citizens make that wise choice. It seems that the national IQ is at an all time low. People don't know what they don't know. Uninformed voting is epidemic and has disastrous consequences."

"An Israeli attack could produce an Iranian response against American troops that are now spread throughout the region. Finally, an Israeli attack might cause Iran to retaliate against the Arab Gulf allies of the United States and the world's main oil producers, generating dire economic consequences."

"At the end of the day, the combination of Iran, Arab revolutions and US elections has placed all these calculations on the back burner. Those in the international community who are not otherwise preoccupied should be exploiting the hiatus of 2012 to think about better alternatives to Oslo....From this standpoint, the problem is not Iran."

"The imperative now is for the international community to support and improve capacity-building measures at the grassroots while strengthening the judicial infrastructure. The focus should be on humanitarian, development and infrastructure projects - through credible independent NGOs - a strategic shift which could strike a decisive blow against Taliban recruitment efforts without firing a single bullet."