Author Archives: Mehrunisa

About Mehrunisa

Mehrunisa Qayyum is the founder of PITAPOLICY Consulting & Blog. PITAPOLICY Blog is listed on Muftah.Org. As @PITAPOLICY she tweets about politics, interests, technology and analysis in the "pita-consuming" region and contributes to the Huffington Post Blog, A Better People, and Triple Pundit. Regarding international affairs and trade issues, she worked at the United States’ Government Accountability Office for four years. Prior to that, she earned her MPP and Certificate in Contemporary Arab Studies from Georgetown University and a BA in both Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations and Public Policy from the University of Chicago. Her recent writing experiences include analytical pieces on civil society, transparency & governance, human rights, political economy of Syria, and social media forums' impact. She enjoys watching the Colbert Report in her free time.

United Nations General Assembly Speeches Underline #SyriaCrisis

The Annual United Nations General Assembly Summit is convening in New York.  The good news: the UN Secretary General –the highest office within the multilateral organization–Ban Ki Moon expressed support by looking forward to raising the Palestine flag like other … Continue reading

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UNCTAD says Gaza Could be Uninhabitable by 2020 #BDS

…no human being who visits can remain untouched by the terrible devastation that one sees here in Gaza… the devastation of peoples’ livelihoods is 10 times more shocking~ United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, during a … Continue reading

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Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics

Algeria Shows Symptoms of Resource Curse

“Oil settles below $39 a barrel for the first time since Feb. 2009″~MarketWatch Given the dramatic decrease in oil prices, Saudi Arabia could cut investment spending, estimated to be about $102 billion dollars this year, by about 10 percent or … Continue reading

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Economic Impact of Iran Sanctions, or “PersiaStroika”

“Our countries (United States and Iran) can reach a detente — or ‘Persia-Stroika’ if you will” ~ Jon, Stewart of The Daily Show  [Note: “Perestroika”, or “openness”, was a term coined by Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev in 1986, to describe … Continue reading

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Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics, Technology

Terrorism Hijacks Local Economy

“We must…confront the fact that poverty is producing terrorism,”~Beji Cadi Essebsi, Party Leader of Nidaa Tounes Tourism is what matters.  Terrorism is its anti-matter.  Tourism pretty much gives life to Tunisia’s economy (after agriculture) as it employs about 500,000 of … Continue reading

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SELL, SELL, SELL … “Bye-Bye” Reform Ceiling #Saudi

Greetings PITAconsumers… and best wishes to those of you observing the practice of abstaining from food, drink, and smoking 😉 from sunrise to sunset.  Fasting has begun on the first day of the Ramadan month!  But for those fasting and … Continue reading

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Yemen Has Two Options

Once upon a time, there were seven brothers. Mother Earth blessed the first six with gold. Father time buried the youngest one’s treasures very deep beneath the sand. Mothers and fathers worry about sibling rivalries. Sheba took care of the … Continue reading

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Leveraging Cultural Practices of Hospitality in the Hospitality #Biz

  The three hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha are blessed with fortunate commercial geography: They are a four-hour flight to one-third of the world’s population and an eight-hour flight to two-thirds.  Any self-respecting McKinsey study would have told … Continue reading

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First US-GCC Summit on Regional Security Tables Yemen on Agenda

Once upon a time, there were seven brothers. Mother Earth blessed the first six with gold. Father time buried the youngest one’s treasures very deep beneath the sand. Mothers and fathers worry about sibling rivalries. Sheba took care of the … Continue reading

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Filed under Analysis, Interests, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics

Middle East’s Oil Industry Remains Strong Despite Turmoil

Middle East’s Oil Industry Remains Strong Despite Turmoil By Kim Reynolds In the world of investment, the prices of important commodities go up whenever there’s political turmoil that can strain the flow of trade. Oil’s value has always been volatile … Continue reading

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Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics