But this year the Israeli left is especially concerned.

Centrist and left-leaning parties have been decimated over the past decade by internal squabbling, and a public that turned to right wing parties on security issues.

So the left is hoping to energize the people who took to the streets for “occupy-Tel-Aviv-like” demonstrations.

Tens of thousands marched in 2011 to protest skyrocketing housing costs.

Many set up tent cities in downtown Tel Aviv.

Itzik Shmuli was a Protest leader and is now candidate for the Labor Party. He said the anger expressed back in 2011 is still around.

And it will get people to the polls on January 22nd.

“Today people in Israel think differently and act differently too,” Shmuli said. “Suddenly they believe in their ability to bring about change. This energy must now be translated in the election into higher voting rates and the right vote for Labour, so that we can translate it into achievements and budgets, laws and a change of policy.”

But the Israeli government isn’t especially optimistic that young people – left, right or center – will show up at the polls.

So The Israeli Election Committee has trotted out a new video campaign.

It features the Israeli version of an uber hipster couple sitting at a Tel Aviv cafe.

The man and woman complain that only when coming back from Berlin – currently a very trendy destination for Israelis – do you understand how much of a third, fourth or even fifth world country Israel is.

Suddenly the “Complaining Police” show up and give the couple a ticket.

The slogan: “Not voting? Don’t bitch!”

Polls suggest that the Israeli voters who are likely to show up for elections in two weeks will keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in power.

And they suggest that far-right – not left-leaning parties – are gaining ground.

Two years ago Monday, Mohamed Bouazizi committed a personal act of protest. The young fruit seller from the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire – and set off a revolution.

The Arab Spring, as it came be known, unseated a dictator in his country.The upheaval also sent leaders in Egypt and Libya packing. The reverberations are still being felt around the Middle East.

And by Bouazizi’s family.

His mother, Manoubia, now lives in a Tunis suburb. She notes that some Tunisians complain about what’s happened in the past two years. But she says that’s not Mohammed’s fault.

“He was just a reason that God gave. He did not do anything. It was meant to be. Mohammed was humiliated and had a difficult life,” Manoubia said.

“What Mohammed did was not for nothing because one does not set oneself on fire for nothing. If he was not slapped in the face, if he did not cry, if he did not scream and shout, the revolution would not have been so big. But it’s true, after the people shouted, took to the streets, put their lives at risk, got beaten up and wounded, nothing happened or changed. So it is understandable that people are frustrated.”

Manoubia, mother of Mohamed Bouazizi, gives a speech to mark the first anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution in Sidi Bouzid. (Photo: REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi)

Manoubia said she’s proud of what her son did.

But since Bouazizi’s act of defiance, his mother and the family were driven from their hometown. They were fed up with neighbors who claimed they had benefited from their son’s death. She says they never got any money.

What she does want on this anniversary, said Manoubia, is for the current government to take stock of the debt it owes to people like Mohammed and the others who helped topple the former regime.

“Until now, I see a kind of disregard and lack of attention from the government. The government could have at least helped the mothers of the wounded from the revolution. They did not receive and financial or moral compensation. People are still waiting,” she said.

“We are still sad and upset about that, especially now that the anniversary of Mohammed’s death is approaching. I am still saddened by his death and he is always in my heart and the hearts of all the mothers and the people who made the revolution.”

The Guardian has an informative page dedicated to the end of the world. It’s called “Apocalypse Live.”

And there’s this video from The Guardian, called “The Mayan apocalypse: how to destroy the Earth.” Science correspondent Ian Sample demonstrates how the world could end using a variety of household props, including a blow torch, some pebbles from his garden and a miniature snooker table.

Facebook, of course, is a font of fun photos about the end of the world. Here’s a nice shot of Dr. Who taking credit for saving the world. I’m not sure exactly where this comes from.

Doctor Who Takes Credit for The Saving the World

And here’s a fantastic posting from The Telegraph. It’s got an almost minute-by-minute look at the day it all should’ve ended. And it includes this video.

NASA got in on the action, trying to reassure people that the world didn’t end.

According to Time Magazine, NASA has been inundated with people asking whether the world would really end on December 21. Because of the clamor, NASA has taken the fears of the end of time seriously.

And although NASA scientists may think the concept is bunk, they were afraid that the panic about the end of the world could spark widespread irrational and potentially dangerous actions from people.

Watch NASA’s video on the Mayan 2012 Apocalypse “Why The World Didn’t End Yesterday” below:

And as the Christian Post reports, the Pope also joined the fray. The Vatican’s chief astronomer warned people not to anticipate any kind of Armageddon on Friday.

Here are a couple fun shots that we’ve found.

Enjoy Doomsday.

This all got me thinking about other planned capitals around the world and my time in Islamabad.

Islamabad can be either the most boring or most wonderful city in Pakistan, depending on your tolerance for chaos.

The modern Islamabad was constructed from whole cloth in 1960 to be Pakistan’s capital. But it certainly isn’t brand new. The plateau where the city sits is regarded by some as one of the oldest human settlements in the region, up to a half million years old. It is now one of the most extensively and successfully planned cities in South Asia.

And that means it’s shockingly orderly. The streets are not swarming with vehicles, motorbikes and pedestrians. They’re not chaotic. In fact – and this may not raise eyebrows if you haven’t spent time in Asia or the Middle East – people actually stop at traffic lights. And there are wide sidewalks.

Greek architects laid the city out on a triangular grid, kind of like Washington, DC. The neighborhoods are actually named in grid-like fashion. So you might live on Street 43 in G-10/4. Here’s a nice map.

View Larger Map

As you’ll see on the map, there’s also lots of green space. And lovely trails into Margalla Hills.

Tilla Grani is a 3874 feet high peak in Margalla Range, at the edge of Islamabad. (Photo Credit: Wiki Commons)

Contrast this planned city with neighboring Rawalpindi, just a few miles drive away. It is the proverbial teeming metropolis. To put it into numerical perspective, Islamabad in 2011 had a population of 1.15 million people in its 350 square miles. Rawalpindi, 42 square miles, had a population of more than 3 million.

But while Islamabad was relatively calm and orderly, Pakistan could always be a violent place. Not long before I arrived in October 2008, a suicide bomber had attacked the Marriott hotel, killing 52 people. And we were warned not to walk the streets alone.

Other capital cities that were planned by government to house the seat of government include Abuja, Nigeria (1991); Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil (1855); Ankara, Turkey (1923); Austin, Texas (1839); Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (1897); Dhaka, Bangladesh (1971); Brasília, Brazil (1960); Canberra, Australia (1927); Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil (1933); Islamabad, Pakistan (1960); Frankfort, Kentucky (1792); Jefferson City, Missouri (1821); Jhongsing New Village, Taiwan (1955); New Delhi, India (1911); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1889); Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1857); Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil (1989); Quezon City, Philippines (1948–1976); Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (1792); Washington D.C., USA (1800); and Wellington, New Zealand (1865).

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This is an image posted on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Twitter feed, @IDFSpokesperson, soon after the assassination of Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari:

Ahmed Jabari: Eliminated. twitter.com/IDFSpokesperso…

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 14, 2012

The IDF also posted this:

This is how Hamas sees Israel. twitter.com/IDFSpokesperso…

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2012

And so much more. All day today, the IDF has been posting messages and, as the Washington Post puts it, “more videos, graphics and calls for retweet than a social media best-practice class.”

Not to be outdone, @AlqassamBrigade, the military wing of Hamas, has posted taunts and videos of its own.

#Israeli media sources addressing audiences reporting: “Sorry, #Hamas hit Tel Aviv now” #Gaza #ShalStones #GazaUnderattack #Palestine

— Alqassam Brigades (@AlqassamBrigade) November 15, 2012

Al Qassam publishing a video of launching “Fajer 5″ missile at “Tel Aviv” Tel El Rabee city for the first timeyoutube.com/watch?feature=…#Gaza

— Alqassam Brigades (@AlqassamBrigade) November 15, 2012

This might be comical if it weren’t so tragic. As a friend posted on twitter:

Oy! RT @weddady: “I kill u! No, I kill u first! ” “@daliaezzat_: Fascinsting tweet exchange between @alqassambrigade and @idfspokesperson“

— Aaron Schachter (@worldaaron) November 14, 2012

I once suggested to an Israeli government official during another time of deadly confrontations that Israelis and Palestinians were like six-year-old boys fighting in a sandbox — “you started it; no you did!” He didn’t deny it exactly. His response? “We’re more like eight year olds.”

Well, the boys are killing each other on the ground and fighting for hearts and minds in cyberspace. And some indications are that Hamas is winning that battle, at least if that Washington Post story is to be believed.

This isn’t some random attempt at public diplomacy, at least on Israel’s part. The country’s Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced today that it’s opening a Special Operations Center that will “turn to Diaspora communities and Jewish organizations around the world in order to both assist them and benefit from their assistance vis-à-vis public diplomacy activity in their languages and local environments” in dozens of countries.

Get thee to the internet and see for yourself.

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Host Aaron Schachter has more.

The show recently picked up four Emmys, including best drama and and best writing. Its two top stars – Claire Danes and Damian Lewis – won Best Actress and Best Actor.

Well, now, the show is making waves for something else: Worst portrayal of Beirut, according to the Lebanese government.

Tourism Minister, Fadi Abboud, says the government may sue the program for depicting Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood as a hotbed of violence.

He said the program “does not portray the real image of Beirut,” with its scenes of roaming militiamen and street fights.

Now, politics in Israel is rough and tumble. At a committee meeting earlier this year, an Arab legislator screamed “shut up” at an ultra-nationalist colleague during a heated debate. She got so steamed by his yelling that she dumped her water glass on his head.

The fight was over school students attending a human rights rally.

Not to excuse the behavior, but that kind of thing is parliamentary theatrics. In general, Israeli voters aren’t filled with the same kind of us vs. them, red vs. blue rage that divides us here in the US. There are so many political parties, you can’t really hate them all.

But that’s not to say there aren’t divisions, some of them pretty deep and heated. They’re mostly left vs. right or secular vs. religious.

There’s a politician in Israel who’s also talking about bridging the gap. Yair Lapid is smart, good-looking, and pledges to map a course straight through the Israeli center.

He also has great hair.

The World’s Matthew Bell profiled the former Israeli TV star and son of storied politician Tommy Lapid this summer, just as Lapid was announcing his candidacy.

His new political party is called “Yesh Atid,” or “There is A Future.” Lapid was expected to try to grab votes from the center left and center right, Labor and Kadima. Yet now, the centrist is making a grab for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “right wing” voters.

Lapid gave a speech this week in Ariel, one of the three settlement blocs that Israel expects to keep in any peace deal with the Palestinians. He accused Netanyahu of failing to revive peace negotiations that broke down in 2010 in a dispute over settlement construction.

And he invoked an oft-repeated line from the right that a unified Jerusalem was non-negotiable.

Lapid also challenged Netanyahu’s hawkish stance on Iran, saying Israel should rely on international pressure to curb what Israel and the West believe is Iran’s drive toward nuclear weapons. The Netanyahu government has threatened to bomb Iran if it doesn’t abandon its nuclear program.

Now, Yesh Atid isn’t expected to get all that many seats; maybe 15 out of the 120 in parliament. But Lapid is saying that he won’t join a government that doesn’t pledge to return to peace talks — and that’s something new in this political season.

Most Israeli polls predict right-wing and religious parties closely allied with Netanyahu will win a solid majority in next January’s election. But if the opposition parties want to effect any change, Lapid’s pledge may force them to actually, finally, take another look at peace… in a sort of multi-partisan way.

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The World’s Aaron Schachter went to one of the most educated zip codes in the United States, Cambridge 02138, to hear what people think about China during the debate season: How they feel about the country’s currency manipulation, and why it’s a such a political punching bag.

There is a picture, so I don’t fault you for thinking the worst. But honestly, I read the article. And I must admit that I’m a little torn.

The story is about a group called Femen, led by a Ukrainian feminist, Inna Shevchenko. She told The Guardian, “We are taking off our clothes so people can see that we have no weapons except our bodies. It’s a powerful way to fight in a man’s world. We live with men’s domination and this is the only way to provoke them, the only way to get attention.”

On the one hand, naked Ukrainian women teaching French women how to be self-declared “topless warriors” doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. But on the other hand, what does it say about society that an increasing number of women believe they can only get our attention on issues like female exploitation, the perils of Sharia law, dictatorship and over-reaching religion by getting naked?

The question asked in the Guardian article is whether anyone even cares about naked breasts anymore. Across the pond there in London, there’s a certain British newspaper with its “Page 3 girls.” And the People Magazine-like glossies in Europe are chock full of carefree topless women.

But in this YouTube-saturated, social media-dominant time, it seems that only the most outrageous acts are pulling people out of their stupor.

Consider the case of the Russian female punk collective Pussy Riot. While there have been tens of thousands taking to the streets in Russia against what they see as an increasingly authoritarian Vladimir Putin, it wasn’t until the case of “the girls” that many began paying attention.

The women were sentenced to two years in jail for their “punk prayer” in a revered Moscow cathedral. Offensive, perhaps, but there are real questions about whether the punishment fits the crime of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.”

GQ Jailhouse Interview with Two Members of Pussy Riot

Nadya: We knew we were in a kind of risk zone. But we deliberately did things that were peaceful and nonviolent and didn’t even damage other people’s property. We specifically made sure not to break any laws. When people asked us if we were afraid, we’d say, “We’re not doing anything illegal—and if someone decides to put us in jail, they’ll do it anyway.”

As the saying goes, “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History.”

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But the degree to which Israel’s leader has been inserted into the campaign has caught some pundits by surprise.

The World’s Aaron Schachter explains.

Considering what’s happening on the streets of Middle Eastern capitals, these are fair questions.

But they’re very American questions.

Perhaps the question we should be asking is, “does what we see on those streets actually represent hate, or something else?”

Karen Elliott House, author of the book “On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines – And Future” believes it’s something else.

“I don’t believe they do hate America,” House told me. “I believe they are incredibly frustrated because all of these countries have enormous numbers of now-educated and unemployed youth, connected to the Internet who know what life is like [elsewhere]. And it’s humiliating to have a society that’s fundamentally been in decline for three or four hundred years.”

House’s book comes out this week. We spoke on Monday about the situation in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East as a whole. Here’s a clip from our conversation. You can hear the interview on Wednesday.

Many Middle East analysts seem to consider, “why do they still hate us” naïve, but not offensive. Another question, posed recently, is a different story.

“Was the Arab Spring Worth It?” wondered CNN in its segment “Situation Room.” And it’s gotten a whole rash of angry responses. Arab Spring activist Nasser Weddady addressed the question, broadly, on The World last week. He’s with the American Islamic Congress.

As he and others point out, America’s transition to statehood wasn’t without bloodshed. There was the American Civil War. Just this week, The World remembered the immigrants, mainly Irish and German, who fought in the battle of Antietam. Then there was the civil rights movement and women’s right’s movement; not exactly shining moments in American history.

Bassam Haddad wrote about the question as well in a brilliant article. It’s published by the Arab Studies Institute. He writes:

“After nearly one hundred thousand deaths since January 2011 when the uprisings started, and after decades of brutal repression that were steadfastly supported and partly funded by Western powers (namely the United States), we wonder about the value of breaking from such shackles, as though it was a bad investment in Facebook stock.”

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Lately in the West Bank there have been mass protests, general strikes and a great deal of handwringing. Our own Matthew Bell did a story this week about what’s going on.

He didn’t get caught up in any of the real violence, but it’s there. At least 50 people were injured in protests Wednesday. In what the Jerusalem Post calls, “scenes reminiscent of the first Intifada,” protesters blocked roads, burned tires and threw stones at Palestinian policemen and some official buildings.

Many are questioning whether these demonstrations are the beginning of a Palestinian Spring-like move to topple the current government, or whether the people are venting their natural anger over the dismal economy. With high prices, low salaries and dismal unemployment figures, Palestinians have a lot to be angry about.

As far as the Palestinian leadership goes, long-time Palestinian columnist Hani al-Masri lays out a stark choice today in Al Monitor: “Choice For Palestine’s PM: Resignation or Resistance.”

Al-Masri praises the Palestinian Authority and its police for allowing the demonstrations to take place without killing anyone. But that’s faint praise.

Regardless of what is driving the protests, al-Masri writes that what’s clear is the PA has outlived its usefulness. It can neither confront Israel, nor make deals with the United States, and its waffling could lead to something very, very scary.

The PA’s discourse, the shape it is in, the internal tension between Fatah and Hamas, and the economic crisis are making people worried about internationalization and confrontation. They are standing naked without the necessary means for steadfastness and without any weapons while they are facing a comprehensive economic, political and social crisis. The US and Israel are threatening the PA, trying to prevent it from submitting a request for either full UN membership or observer status.

Any hint of “Intifada” shouldn’t be taken lightly.

I moved to Jerusalem in 2002, a little under a year after the Second Intifada kicked off. I rented an apartment relatively close to the city’s downtown. When I asked the landlord for directions, he said, “just tell your taxi driver it’s right near the café and the pizza place that were blown up, you can’t miss it.”

The Moment Café had been attacked about six months prior to my arrival. Eleven people were killed in that attack, 54 wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility.

Later, at a briefing with the Israeli police spokesman, I was shown pictures of the explosion’s aftermath. Bodies were strewn around the room; some of the dead actually remained where they sat, headless, at the bar.

It was, as you can imagine, a gruesome scene.

And more was to follow, on both sides of the line that separates Israel and the Palestinian territories. The cycle of violence led to the deaths of some 5,500 Palestinians and 1,100 Israelis (Jews and Arabs), as well as 64 foreigners.

Local and international politicians need to think long and hard before whipping up anger or “the Arab Street,” as it’s called.

If I may quote Hani al-Masri again: “There is a big difference between freedom of expression, economic struggle and fighting the occupation on the one hand, and chaos on the other. We have experienced and paid the price of chaos and lawlessness many times. There is no need to try it again.”

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Chen’s story is like something out of Hollywood. Just ask Steven Colbert, who this week called Chen “a total bad ass.”

“This dissident was guarded by 90 to 100 police. So he feigned illness, lulling his guards into complacency. Then he slipped out of the house in darkness, and scaled a wall, injuring his foot, jumping to the ground but still managed to cross a river, then rendezvoused with friends who drove him more than 300 miles to the capital Beijing… and, he’s blind,” Colbert said.

Susan Moeller, who heads the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland says “the Chinese activist community is incredibly savvy about how the world’s media works.”

She said, as Colbert suggested, that Chen’s story resonates with an American public raised on Mission Impossible and other action flicks. And she believes that Chinese activists know how to appeal to that sensibility.

“They’ve learned at least since Tienanmen Square what the world pays attend to,” Moeller said. “And I find it hard to believe that there wasn’t some intentionality is Mr. Chen coming to the fore. He’s got a great back story.”

Moeller said there are lots of moments in history when a man or woman who didn’t necessarily have the most obvious credentials as a revolutionary became an instant media hero.

Take Wael Ghonim.

The Google executive rose to prominence during last year’s Egyptian revolution, grabbing the limelight from activists who’d spent decades fighting the Mubarak regime.

So, Chen Guangcheng as a potential subject for, say, People Magazine is not that far-fetched.

And, as Steven Colbert said, there always the fact that he’s blind.

And, he also always wears cool shades – because he’s blind.

And he’s kind of good looking.

But Chinese writer Diane Weilang, author of “The Eye of Jade,” says there’s more even than Chen’s personal story.

“His case coupled, I believe, with the Bo Xilai scandal, seems to be somehow a new scenario in China that a lot of these events traditionally had been covered up or been able to be dealt in private are now public knowledge and public, almost a sort of staged event.”

There’s also the fact that he ran to the American embassy just as Hillary Clinton was arriving in Beijing.

But what could have been an easy, made-for-TV story of a blind dissident escaping and finding refuge with US help is today not so clear cut.

“It’s the naiveté part that I really have the hardest time with,” Susan Moeller said. “I think frankly there’s a lot more of the story to come out.”

Why did a man who’d been harassed for years think the Chinese government would let him live a normal life, regardless of what deal was cut with the US?

Why did Chen change his mind about asking for US asylum?

Right now, the once simple tale of a blind Chinese dissident hero isn’t so easy to follow.

But perhaps that will make it more interesting.

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It calls on Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, to break from her husband and renounce the violence in the country. Asma has stood beside her husband throughout a 13-month conflict that the UN said has left more than 9,000 people dead.

From glamor-queen to sanctioned wife of an increasingly brutal dictator, Asma al-Assad’s fall from grace has been precipitous. A little over a year ago she was glowingly profiled in Vogue magazine, and giving speeches about justice.

“We all deserve the same thing. We should all be able to live in peace, stability, and with our dignities,” she said in one 2008 speech.

But then her husband launched a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

And someone leaked emails that appeared to show Asma in the midst of an online shopping binge, spending tens of thousands on candlesticks, designer shoes and chandeliers from Paris.

And swapping jokey YouTube videos with her husband.

Those emails were the last straw for critics.

The European Union added Asma to a sanctions list to prevent her from traveling – or shopping – in Europe.

And now, a video appealing to al-Assad opponents worldwide.

“This is a letter to Asma al Assad, signed by women all over the world,” begins the video.

The video includes gruesome images of death and destruction, and a plea to Asma to break from her husband.

“Some women pretend to have no choice,” the letter reads. “And some women just act. What happened to you, Asma?”

The idea for the video came from Sheila Lyall Grant, wife of the British Ambassdor to the UN and Huberta von Voss-Wittig, wife of Germany’s UN Ambassador.

“We think she can speak out openly, publicly, that the bloodshed has to stop,” said von Voss-Wittig. She said Asma must insist on peace over violence.

“Peace has to come along. And it might be a risk for her, but thousands of Syrian women are taking risks every day since a year.”

But Asma al-Assad may not be one to take those kinds of risks.

Andrew Tabler, author of “In the Lion’s Den, An Eye Witness Account of Washington’s Battle with Syria,” said Asma is a “stand by her man” kind of woman.

“It would be significant, though, if she did leave Syria or she somehow broke with her husband. It would be a real shot in the arm to the Syrian people,” Tabler said. “But I don’t expect that any time soon.”

But don’t knock the Ambassador’s wives for trying, said Joshua Landis.

He’s Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

He said the video is part of a wider public relations battle to get the west – especially the US – to act against the Assad regime.

“If you want to overthrow the regime, you know in democracies you have to mobilize public opinion and today most Americans don’t want to get involved in Syria according to opinion polls, and I think the politicians are sensitive to that,” Landis said.

One of the potential roadblocks, should Asma decide to renounce her husband’s regime is where she’d go.

Besides the EU ban, Britain has made clear she’s not welcome there either… even though she’s a British citizen.

The U.S. Embassy in Damascus did not produced this video, but we fully support its effort… fb.me/1wbE5OPIA

— U.S. Embassy Syria (@USEmbassySyria) April 18, 2012