The videos linked to below help explain the noteworthy results of the 2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll, which was produced by Brookings Institution along with Zobgy International.
This year’s poll surveyed 3,976 people in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates, during the period of June 29–July 20, 2010.
Among the key poll findings are:
A substantial change in the assessment of President Obama, both as president of the United States and of Obama personally.
Remarkably stable views on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the prospects of its resolution.
A majority of the Arab public now see a nuclear-armed Iran as being better for the Middle East.
American politics is in a state where criticizing Israel just isn’t done very often, at least not in mainstream forums.
Brilliant blogger Gleen Greenwald somehow gets on MSNBC while refusing to play by the rules, one being that Israel is to be defended at all costs. Here is a clip of Greenwald on Dylan Ratigan’s show with guest host Eliot Spitzer.
While the U.S. hesitates to criticize Israel strongly for the recent raid of a Turkish ship, much of the rest of the world is outraged. I’m not here to say that Israel was definitely wrong, but the environment in American mainstream discourse, which discourages strong criticism of Israel for any reason, is dangerous.
Update on June 3, 2010: Max Blumenthal has an interesting piece showing how days before the raid, the Israeli government had publicly discussed plans for a possibly violent confrontation.
I watched Waiting for Armageddon tonight online via Netflix. From now on, when people ask me why fundamentalist Christianity scares the crap out of me, I can point to this documentary as exhibit A. The film is done respectfully, with no narration. Christians lay out their beliefs regarding the end times, and a few people comment on how dangerous those views are, and the audience is left to decide. I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know, but this movie is a good primer for someone who isn’t aware of how some segments of Christianity are obsessed with the end times, and with Israel’s role therein, and how their eagerness for the second coming twist them to the point where they see peace as bad, and world war as good.
The truly frightening part is that this belief is shared by a lot of powerful people. One reason I was so worried about Sarah Palin being so close to the presidency is her ties with elements of the end-times movement.
