The Red Velvet Lawyer

A Hero in Qatar's Successful Resistance to the Blockade On June 5, 2017, four neighboring countries --  Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt -- imposed a blockade of land, sea, and air routes to and from Qatar.  In my book chapter , on Qatar's strategic and successful responses to the blockade, I discussed the role of the Hamad Port.  See Paula Marie Young, The Siege of Qatar:  Creating a BATNA that Strengthened the Tiny Country’s Negotiating Power , QATAR: POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES (Nova Science Pubs. 2019). In that chapter, I said: Access to alternative ports played a bigger role in Qatari planning. Its new Hamad Port, the largest port in the Middle East, opened for what appears to be a soft-launch in December 2016, with an accelerated opening of other facilities at the port shortly after the siege began. Qatar made a QR 27 billion ($7.3 billion) investment in the site. Port officials reported an intent to expand its capacity through 2020, cr

Strategic Impasse that is Unlikely to Change Absent Third-Party Intervention Pushing the Limits: US –  Iranian Brinkmanship in the Gulf Brookings Doha Center October 20, 2019 Intercontinental Hotel, Doha Qatar Three panelists expressed pessimism and pragmatism last week in assessing the current tensions between the US and Iran.  The moderator, Ali Fathollah-Nejad , Visiting Fellow, Brookings Doha Center, began the program by giving a brief summary of recent actions taken by both belligerents. He described President Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the US from the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) . In 2018, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iran , that among others things, affected Iran's ability to sell and export oil and natural gas. While European countries promised to mitigate the economic impact of these sanctions, their promises fell short.  As a consequence, Iran adopted a “maximum resistance str

Be Prepared U.S. citizens must begin carrying a REAL ID Act-compliant ID or driver's license by this time next year.  To apply for this ID at the state level, the law requires people: to provide documentation showing their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, two proofs of address of principal residence, and lawful status.  The ID will allow people to travel by air.  A passport will also provide the information required by airport security under the 2005 law. More information appears here . States asked for an extension of the October 2020 deadline because COVID-19 is hampering their employees ability to process the REAL IDs.  Trump granted the extension  See here .

An Expat's Life:  Appetite for the New and Novel As I plan my retirement abroad, I'm reading a ton of books about expat life and living overseas. One book in particular has a passage that seems to sum up very well traits that successful expats share. Here is the quote, Being an expat requires a true appetite for new and novel situations - or at least a hefty tolerance for them - because it's unlikely you'll ever clear up an unfamiliar situation by saying, "This isn't the way we do it back home." Successful expats thrive on novelty and unfamiliar situations. They relish the challenge of figuring out how to get things done, often in new - and possibly better -ways. You will never really know if you are cut out to be an expat until you try it.  Suzan Haskins and Prescher Dan. Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget (2014). Thought it was worth sharing.  I was born ready for the expat life.

Passionate Voices  Seeking an End to the Suffering Last week, I attended a somewhat chaotic event that showcases the intractability of the conflicts that exist in the Arab Gulf region. The event focused on the Yemeni war.  While some of the speakers briefly mentioned international parties, including the US, in their remarks, the focus remained on the interests of Yemenis.  Speakers also mentioned the intervention of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran in the conflict  Their focus may have changed if  Qatar University had hosted the event, just a few days later, after the drone attacks on the Saudi Arabian petroleum facilities on September 14, 2019. The information about the event appears below.  My summary appears after that information.  In summarizing the comments of the speakers and attendees, I suffer from several disabilities.  First, I must rely on the translators because I do not speak Arabic. Second, I have not done any in-depth research into Yemen's politi

Annual Meeting of the International Association of Law Schools,  Al Mukhtasar Ballroom,  The Ritz Carlton, Doha  November 11, 2018  Panel 3: Emerging Voices in Law & Legal Education  * * *  Summary of Decolonising the Law Movement in Africa:  Emerging Voices in Law and Legal Education  * * *  Lethokwa Mpedi  Executive Dean, University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Law, South Africa  From colonization (the laws, rules and regulations; its cultures, customs and values) to decolonization (independence, apartheid, and reconolonization), Mpedi reflected on what people are teaching and its relevance to Africa’s location and social context. The key players are academics, students, judiciary, legislature, and civil society. Academics must ask who is teaching, what is being taught, why/how is it taught, and how is it assessed? Academics must also ask if they know/understand their students, and importantly, how to bridge the gap between “them/u