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ARTICLE: Kingdom Allows Photography in Public Areas, By Raid Qusti, Arab News, 3 August 2006.Little by little, the world gets let in. The more you connect to the outside world, the more people want to be able to do the same things at home that other people get to do abroad.
Thanks to Robert for sending this in.
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Comments (5)
Well, this made me turn to the Core/Gap map and sure enough the Saidis are Gap. Hmm, but then so is our NATO ally Turkey, and a shocker: Israel (I thought it would be connected), but Mexico (the people who laughed in the streets on 9-11) they are Core. I must be missing something.
Posted by Jim Eagle Feather | August 27, 2006 12:42 AM
Not if you read either book.
Posted by Tom Barnett | August 27, 2006 9:30 AM
Jim,
I did some work on the Core-Gap divide with hard numbers. Turkey may be a Gap country (a very good definition of the Gap is countries in the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the African Union), but Israel is a Seam State and Mexico is New Core.
Posted by Dan tdaxp | August 27, 2006 1:05 PM
While this is a positive advance forward, it reminds me of how backward some societies are. For example, would it be significant if say the Taliban declared recgonition of women as human beings? Sure, it would be positive, but sheesh...
Posted by Steven | August 28, 2006 9:05 AM
Turkey is Seam not Gap. Since '02 economy growing at 7.5% (thank you IMF) with '05 FDI at $9.6 B & similar numbers for '06. Secular, democratic, multi-party constitutional republic (thank you Ataturk): member of NATO, OSCE, OECD, with plenty of bi-lats/tax deals with US. Major ally in GWOT thus far, even though intensely opposed to Iraq invasion.
*99%* MUSLIM POPULATION with the VAST MAJORITY SUNNI. But 'they' don't have a democracy gene, no?
This *is* the wild west & Istanbul is St. Louis.
Posted by Jarrod Myrick | August 28, 2006 10:52 AM