Blowouts and Brownouts - Happy Monday!

Happy Monday... if only you had a restful weekend rather than one wracked by thunder, lightning, and gale-force winds. The weekend-long power outages in NoVa-Arlington and some parts of DC ranged anywhere from annoying to hazardous as thermometers continued to rise throughout the region. 

Yet in many parts of the world, constant and reliable electrical power is a luxury, if not downright impossible to obtain. Here, Nadia explains the concept and toils of  power "loadshedding:" A practice common in urban areas of many developing countries, including Pakistan and Iraq, and what Pakistan intends to do to solve its energy crisis (Hint: Israel would be pissed)

Pipelines
By Nadia Sheikh

Electricity shortages are one of Pakistan’s biggest vices. In its cities, loadshedding can occur anywhere from 6-10 hours a day; in the rural areas, it’s 10-12 hours at the least.  With the summer heat,  loadshedding only further intensifies. Recent protests in Khairpur and Lahore illustrate the level of frustrations Pakistanis have with their elected officials, who do not share the burden, and cannot relate to the impact on productivity, output, and the psyches of their constituents.

With these problems at hand, the Pakistani government has looked outward for solutions for years, recognizing the need for external sources of gas and energy as opposed to building up infrastructure within the country.

In particular,  Pakistan has gravitated toward the idea, the notion of  building pipelines of gas -- one with Iran,  known as Iran-Pakistan Peace Pipeline, much to the chagrin of the Americans; the other, with Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, & India (TAPI), which is hailed as a symbol of regional cooperation.­­. Whether these projects are feasible in  development and implementation, it is hard to say.

Guest Post: Getting Your Money's Worth

When Nadia Sheikh (Georgetown '09) told her Dean how she hadn't found "gainful employment" despite having both a Bachelor's and Graduate Degree, that Dean joked: "Does she want her money back?"

Nadia is now pursuing a career in international development consulting in Pakistan, where she is keeping a blog journal of her experiences living and working abroad. You can find more of Nadia's writings at nadiainpakistan.blogspot.com, or follow her on twitter (@sheikhandbake).

Getting Your Money's Worth
By Nadia Sheikh

About two months ago, Dean Gillis, the dean of the College at Georgetown University made a pit stop in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. During the Q and A section, my mom raised her hand and told him about my story -- how almost three years post-graduation, I haven't found gainful employment despite honors from Georgetown and now LSE. In his response, first, he made a joke, 'does she want her money back?' Then went on to say that I could contact him.

I sent him a friendly email, explaining my circumstances and how I've done everything in my power to get a job. I interned throughout college (six internships), volunteered post college, had part-time jobs, and did another internship for eight months post college. I went to the career center at LSE and Georgetown for weeks on end, getting appointments whenever they'd let me this past year, gone to every networking and career center event I could possibly go to to meet HR reps, career fairs, 500+ applications, and continued calling and meeting alums on the alumni networks for both schools in the US and even in Pakistan. Why do I not have a job yet? Is it just bad luck? The economy? Interviewing skills? My field of choice? Lack of connections?

Guest Post: Iraq, Five Months Later

Five months after the last American soldiers left Iraq, the country remains at a crossroads.  This post comes to us from Kennan Khatib, a fellow Georgetown grad and currently a Critical Threats Specialist with the DC-based American Enterprise Institute.  Given Kennan's intricate knowledge of Middle Eastern affairs and foreign policy, we asked him to comment on the state of the fledgling Iraqi democracy, and how Iran factors into the situation. 

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Iran's Got Her Eye on Iraq

By Kennan Khatib 

After nearly eight years of the Iraq War and over 4,000 deaths among U.S. troops, the abrupt end to military operations severely mitigated the gains made following the surge in 2007.[1] While the U.S. accomplished several goals including deposing Saddam, establishing a semi-functional democracy, and eliminating the threat that Iraq posed to its neighbors, Iran is bearing the fruits of America’s labor.

President George W. Bush’s aim of establishing a secular, pro-American democracy slowly crumbled with the election of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. America’s withdrawal made it even easier for Maliki to separate himself from America’s interests, most notably accepting aid from Iran and picking fights with Turkey.[2] While it is true that America’s relationship with the leadership in Iraq was always shifty, having boots on the ground actualized America’s investment in the future of Iraq and its people. The diplomatic mission in Iraq is strong with nearly 16,000 workers at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, but with al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) still active, albeit severely weakened, in its mission to incite sectarian violence between Shi’is and Sunnis (including the Kurds) paired with Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army, security remains a major issue.