Month

Archives: September 2014

The Other Iraq Reality: Shiite Militias besieging Sunni Towns

By Erin Evers, HRW Shia militias, still operating under the control of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, are laying siege to Latifiyya, especially the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq militia. Failure to address the…

Tony Blair obsessed with Religious “Crusade” against Iraq, like Bush: Former British Dep’ty PM

Channel 4 News: "Former deputy prime minister John Prescott calls his ex boss Tony Blair a 'crusader' because of Blair's recent calls to send troops back into the Iraq." 'Tony Blair is…

Pretext for US Syria Bombings?: No sign that Dread “Khorasan” Group even Exists

AJ+ Imran Khan "The Khorasan Group: The U.S. government insists it's one of the biggest threats facing the country. But until a couple of weeks ago most people had never heard of…

Top 5 Differences between Hamas and ISIL (Pace Netanyahu)

By Juan Cole Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered a speech at the UN to a half-empty hall in which he tried to exemplify the most logical fallacies in a short period…

13 Misconceptions About Global Warming

Veritasium: 13 Misconceptions About Global Warming

Palestine Pres. Abbas will urge Int’l Boycott of Israel if US vetoes UN Resolution

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas will wage "political war" on Israel if there is a negative response to Palestinian steps at the UN to end the occupation, Fatah leader Nabil Shaath…

Where Books Are Banned, The Internet Can Be a Lifesaver

By Jillian York via EFF The censorship or banning of books is a phenomenon that occurs in countries around the world. Books that are considered “scandalous” or inciteful in some way are…

Why Obama underestimated ISIL in Syria and Iraq

By Juan Cole President Obama admitted on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday that the US had underestimated the military potential of ISIL. Obama understands that a generational struggle is going on in…

Iraq’s Humpty-Dumpty Factor: Even if ISIL is Defeated, Can it ever be put Together Again?

Nawzat Shamdeen | Berlin | via Niqash.org As local forces appear to be preparing to take on Sunni Muslim extremists in charge of their hometowns, discussion has already started about what happens…

Super-Rich Oil and Gas Companies Routinely Underpay own Workers

By Naveena Sadasivam via ProPublica A ProPublica review of U.S. Department of Labor investigations shows that oil and gas workers 2013 men and women often performing high-risk jobs 2013 are routinely being…

Michele Bachmann declares Christian Jihad on all Muslims

Michele Bachmann (R-MN) declares Christian Jihad on all Muslims

The Young Turks: "Michele Bachmann took the stage at the Values Voters Summit today, and fired up the crowd with shots at President Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as a firm…

Iraq: Shiites Paralyzed by infighting as ISIL menaces Baghdad

By Juan Cole The pan-Arab London daily "al-Sharq al-Awsat" [The Middle East] is reporting from a source inside the new Iraqi government that former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, now one of three…

Syria: If Violent Extremists are the Problem, why is al-Assad Jailing Peaceful Democracy Advocates?

By Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch In a speech before the European Parliament in 2009, Syrian activist Mazen Darwish warned that unless civil society was strengthened “[the whole] region, not only Syria…

Palestinian family forced to demolish own house in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian family has begun to demolish part of a building it owns in East Jerusalem to avoid paying fines after the Israeli municipality issued a demolition order, the…

‘You killed a million people in Iraq’ George Galloway tells Blair Cabinet Member

BBC "George Galloway told a former member of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's cabinets she killed one million people in Iraq. The former Labour MP, now a Respect MP, turned on Jacqui…

Michele Bachmann declares Christian Jihad on all Muslism

Michele Bachmann declares Christian Jihad on all Muslims

The Young Turks: "Michele Bachmann took the stage at the Values Voters Summit today, and fired up the crowd with shots at President Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as a firm…

Is Mahmoud Abbas right that Israel is Guilty of War Crimes, Genocide in Gaza?

By Juan Cole: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday at the United Nations that Israel was guilty of war crimes in Gaza and even "genocide." The US and Israel condemned his speech…

Climate Change is Costing Lives: Coal Plants Killed 1.2 mn. in China: World Bank’s Jim Yong Kim

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- World Bank President Jim Yong Kim discusses the growing threat from climate change with Trish Regan on "Street Smart." Bloomberg News: Climate Change Is Costing Lives: World Bank's…

Can Iraq Convince its Sunnis to Fight Extremists?

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad via Niqash.org Local opposition to Sunni Muslim extremists in control of parts of Iraq is building – and it’s being formalised with the creation of a new…

Right Wing on Holder: al-Qaeda, Black Panther, Stalinist

MediaMatters4America: mediamatters4america: The Worst Right-Wing Smears About Eric Holder

Syria to Afghanistan: US Military Policy hasn’t Solved the Zone of Crisis & may Enlarge it

By Amin Saikal, author of Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq The Middle East and its wider eastern environs are in the grip of multiple humanitarian and geopolitical crises. The…

US strikes ISIL oil fields in Quest to Defund it: But will it Replace oil with Fracking?

By Juan Cole Sawt al-Iraq [Voice of Iraq] reports that during the past two days, Saudi, UAE and American fighter jets attacks small oil refineries originally built for Syria by Turkey, which…

Munich aims to get all its Energy from Renewables by 2025

Siemens "From 2015, DanTysk will supply up to 1.3 billion kWh of electricity – and will also help Munich achieve a more sustainable energy supply system. Siemens: " Offshore wind for Munich’s…

What Arab partners will get in return for strikes on Syria

By Lars Berger The decision by President Obama to launch missile and air strikes against Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaeda affiliate “Khorasan” in Syria draws the United States ever closer to…

Israeli forces re-open Holy Aqsa Mosque compound after heavy clashes

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Hundreds of Palestinian Muslim worshipers were allowed to access the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday at noon after being prevented from entering the…

Hidden Camera Reveals Chilling Life Under ISIS Control

The Young Turks: ""A mother, with an AK-47 slung over her shoulder, walks her child to a playground. A man driving a car orders a woman to cover her face: 'God loves…

Syrian Media Hail America as Damascus Ally, Support UN Ban on Foreign Fighters

by Juan Cole Aljazeera Arabic reports on the reaction in Syria to US air strikes against ISIL, which included attacks on Wednesday on their oil installations, an important revenue stream for the…

Is this Iranian the most powerful man in Iraq?

BBC "Gabriel Gatehouse reports for BBC Newsnight on the secretive Iranian General described as the most powerful man in Iraq." BBC Newsnight: "Is this Iranian the most powerful man in Iraq? -…

Apocalypse Now, Iraq Edition

By Peter Van Buren via Tomdispatch.com I wanted to offer a wry chuckle before we headed into the heavy stuff about Iraq, so I tried to start this article with a suitably…

Will Shiite Houthi grip on Yemen’s capital Provoke al-Qaeda Response?*

SANAA, 23 September 2014 (IRIN) - With northern rebels claiming the capital Sana'a and Al-Qaeda militants increasing their attacks in the south, Yemen's security crisis is likely to continue, experts believe. While…

Syrian regime Propaganda coup as Israel Downs Syrian Plane over Golan

By Juan Cole Israel shot down a Syrian MiG fighter jet on Tuesday, saying it had penetrated into Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights. The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took…

RAK Zoo opens its doors to the public

RAK Zoo opened its doors for the first time on Tuesday with its owner and residents positive it will help boost tourism in the emirate.

Climate Protesters Flood Wall Street – And A Polar Bear Is Arrested

AJ+ "Hundreds of people attended the #FloodWallStreet demonstration to protest the role big business plays in fueling climate change. The protest was largely peaceful, but police arrested a number of people by…

Student Debt Factories: The Scandal of For-Profit Colleges

By Astra Taylor and Hannah Appel via Tomdispatch.com Imagine corporations that intentionally target low-income single mothers as ideal customers. Imagine that these same companies claim to sell tickets to the American dream…

The Syrian Maelstrom: How Repression, Drought & Climate Change Drove the Civil War

By Tareq Ramadan Long before March of 2011, when Syrian demonstrations calling for reform and in some cases, regime change, morphed into a full-blown military conflict that has transformed into a supranational…

13 Years after US started Bombing it, Afghanistan Still Unstable

News Analysis: Afghan Deal Leaves Room For National Disunity By Frud Bezhan via RFE/RL After months of wrangling and high tension, Afghanistan has finally named a president-elect. Ashraf Ghani's name was officially…

Shock & Awe In Syria: It never Works

By Juan Cole The London pan-Arab daily "Hayat" [Life] reports this morning on the air strikes conducted on ISIL positions in Raqqah, Syria, by the United States and several Arab allies. The…

Largest Climate Rally ever in New York City, other World Capitals

By Deirdre Fulton, Commondreams.org Global mobilization is exceeding expectations on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets demanding action on climate change on the eve of the UN…

Turkey takes in 60,000 Syrian Kurdish Refugees as ISIL attacks their Villages

I lived to see the Day when thousands of Kurds take Refuge in Turkey

Reuters: "About 60,000 Syrian Kurds flee into Turkey in the space of 24 hours, a deputy prime minister says, as Islamic State fighters seize dozens of villages close to the border. Sarah…

Heresy & Superheroes: Broken legs, death threats and fatwas: the trials and tribulations of THE 99

By Naif Al-Mutawa Many years ago, I was the volleyball counsellor at a summer camp in New England. It was 1990 and I was fit for five minutes. It seems there’s always…

NYC Climate Demo: Top 5 Massive Rallies that had no Effect

By Juan Cole Don't get me wrong. I am all for demonstrating and admire everyone who came out in New York City on Sunday (some 400,000 according to Time magazine) to demand…

Iraq: Are Sunni Arabs of Kirkuk Province Turning on ISIL?

Ahmad Mohammed | Kirkuk | via Niqash.org Sunni Muslim extremists continue to kidnap, execute and otherwise impose their authoritarian rule on locals in the areas they control, such as in southwestern Kirkuk.…

How The Koch Brothers Corrupted Florida State University (+163 Other Colleges) (Young Turks)

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks "In 2007, when the Charles Koch Foundation considered giving millions of dollars to Florida State University’s economics department, the offer came with strings attached. First, the…

Climate Marchers join Alarmed Scientists against “Drill-Baby-Drill” Corporations & Politicians

AJ+ interviews Naomi Klein "As people gather in New York City for what organizers are billing as the largest climate-change protest in history, AJ+ asks Naomi Klein about her new book, This…

The Arab Political Crisis: It isn’t a Matter of Civilization and it isn’t Unique

By Juan Cole Hisham Melhem has a piece on what he calls the collapse of Arab civilization. The piece is riddled with contradictions and fuzzy thinking and with all due respect to…

Dubai to Build the World’s Largest Airport

TheLipTV "Dubai is planning to build the world's largest airport as part of a $32B expansion. The project is expected to be long and expensive, which brings into question how it will…

Israeli forces begin home demolitions in Bedouin village near Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces raided a number of Bedouin communities east of Jerusalem on Thursday days after handing them demolition and evacuation orders, a local activist said. Popular committee spokesman Hani…

Kerry sees role for Iran in ISIS war, France joins air campaign

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that Iran had a role to play in a global coalition to tackle ISIS militants, as France carried out its first airstrike against the…

‘We’re on edge of large war in MidEast’ – Daniel Ellsberg

RT: "With Washington wading into another war in the Middle East, one iconic US whistleblower says Americans are being kept in the dark about the risks of the latest intervention. And he…

Changing US-Iran Relations: Kerry: Iran has a Role in Defeating ISIL Militants

by Juan Cole Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Iran has a role to play in defeating ISIL. Addressing a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, he said…

The Saddest Story In Mosul: Love In The Time Of The Caliphate

By Nawzat Shamdeen | Berlin | via Niqash.org All Mosul women must now wear either black or white niqab. A young Mosul man tells NIQASH how his social life, and the lives…

How does this End? 35 Military Interventions since 1980 and Terrorism Grows

Brave New Films: "Since 1980, we have militarily intervened at least 35 times in more than 27 countries. We keep bombing, we continue spending trillions of dollars, but we're no safer as…

Terrorism craves an audience and we are playing into Islamic State’s hands by watching

By Akil N Awan, Royal Holloway The well-known US security expert, Brian Jenkins, famously declared in 1974, that “terrorism is theatre”. And over the last few weeks, the brutal videotaped beheadings of…

Running out of Time to overrule the 1% on urgent Climate Action

By Rebecca Solnit via Tomdispatch.com There have undoubtedly been stable periods in human history, but you and your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents never lived through one, and neither will any children or…

Education, Health, and Global Warming: Top 5 Reasons 45% of Scots Wanted to Leave the Right Wing UK

by Juan Cole The US media coverage of the Scottish referendum is oddly lacking in any reference to actual politics. As usual, the corporate media concentrates on issues in ethnicity to cover…

Will Independence Harm Scotland’s Green Advantage?

(Bloomberg) –- Renewable energy is found in abundance in Scotland; nearly half of the country's electricity comes from green sources. But will an independent Scotland struggle to land orders as it faces…

Coalition Of One: Iran Leads Own Fight Against Islamic State

By Charles Recknagel, RFE/RL The United States is putting together the first international coalition to try to roll back the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria. But when the nearly…

A Way out of the Gaza Trap

By Jean-Pierre Filiu, author of Gaza: A History One person has been enjoying every minute of this summer’s fifty-day war on Gaza. He was known formerly as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, until he…

Is Israel’s Far-Right Government Inciting against the Israeli Left?

Middle East Eye Leftist Israeli activists staged weekly protests during the war in Gaza and they were confronted by rightwing protesters that shouted racial slurs and physical attacks. Middle East Eye: Israel’s…

Shiite Militias of Iraq Reject US Return, Threaten to Attack US Forces

By Juan Cole The pan-Arab, London-based daily, "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" (The Middle East) reports that the major Shiite militias of Iraq are denouncing Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi for welcoming US air support in…

The Next Conflict in Iraq? Will the Kurds try to Annex Kirkuk Permanently?

By Nawzat Shamdeen | Berlin | via Niqash.org What will happen to Iraq’s “disputed territories” once Sunni Muslim extremists have been driven out? Will the Iraqi Kurdish military, who now control some…

CBS Unjustly Punishes Rihanna For Ray Rice Controversy

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks "CBS Sports pulled Rihanna’s intro to Thursday night’s NFL game between the Ravens and the Steelers following the release of video showing Ravens running back Ray…

Gulliver and the Liliputians: It’s America’s Small Wars that are Unwinnable

Gulliver and the Lilliputians: It’s America’s Small Wars that are Unwinnable

By Tom Engelhardt It’s possible I’ve lived most of my life on the wrong planet -- and if that sounds like the first sentence of a sci-fi novel maybe, in its own…

Congressman Lloyd Doggett: Don’t be Stampeded into War

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) House Floor Speech September 16, 2014 The Middle Eastern tragedy, in which this resolution will further entangle America, is directly related to the wholly unnecessary Bush-Cheney invasion…

Should US policy toward ISIL be Containment?

By Juan Cole The US launched air strikes on Tuesday on ISIL targets, south of Baghdad and also in the north. The ones south of Baghdad were in support of the Iraqi…

Hurricane cuts off communication with Chabad in Baja California

Rabbi and 9-month-pregnant wife in early labor have not been heard from since Monday evening

I refuse to serve – the lonely conscience of Israel’s refuseniks

By Ahron Bregman, King's College London via The Conversation In 1988, I was in Kathmandu in Nepal when I found out that war was raging in the occupied territories; it would soon…

Employers’ theft from Worker Wages 3 times more than all other Theft in US

The Young Turks "As the economy slowly recovers, it’s become increasingly clear that it’s not just unemployed Americans who need help from the government. It’s those that are employed as well. "That’s…

Turkey’s Caution on ISIL War: “It’s far away for them but very close to us”

By Ali Murat Yel, Editor-in-Chief TurkeyAgenda In the United States the public has difficulty in understanding the reluctance of Turkey to join the international coalition that is going to war in the…

Must Muslim Americans Condemn ISIL? Must Turkish Jews Condemn Gaza War?

By Juan Cole During the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, a controversy broke out in Turkey about whether Turkish Jews were required to condemn Israel's actions, as some pro-Palestinian Turks…

15 Palestinians die in Mediterranean Capsizing, fleeing Israeli Siege of Gaza

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Fifteen migrants from Gaza died on Saturday after a boat they were riding in capsized in the Mediterranean sea off the coast of al-Ajami near Alexandria in northern Egypt,…

HIstoric Mass March against Global Warming: Saving the Planet Next Sunday in NYC

By Eddie Bautista, La Tonya Crisp-Sauray, and Bill McKibben On Sunday, September 21st, a huge crowd will march through the middle of Manhattan. It will almost certainly be the largest rally about…

As Sunni MPs Plea for Precision US Strikes, Iraqi Gov’t Kills 31 in School Shelter

Human Rights Watch (Erbil) – The Iraqi government should promptly investigate an airstrike that hit a school housing displaced people near Tikrit on September 1, 2014. The attack killed at least 31…

Remember Pres. Obama Saying ISIL Campaign like Yemen? Here’s Yemen

Middle East Eye: "Houthis take to the streets to mourn the protesters killed during a sit-in at a government ministry last week, as their pro-government rivals call for more state control of…

Top 5 Contradictions in Obama’s Emerging ISIL Strategy

By Juan Cole In the past week, Secretary of State John Kerry has marshaled support of some sort from both European nations and from countries in the Middle East for the US…

Climate Change: Neoliberal Capitalism is Fundamentally at War with Life on Earth (Naomi Klein)

The National: "Naomi Klein discusses her new book This Changes Everything, in which she says it's time to stop counting on the politicians to save the planet." The National: "Naomi Klein: This…

Arab Allies will wage Financial war on ISIL: Is it Enough?

By Charles Recknagel via RFE/RL As Washington vows to put together a broad coalition to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the outlines of the new alliance are beginning to…

The Gaza Siege is Passing from Media Memory but the Social Statistics are Still Terrifying

AJ+ "It's been a little over two weeks since the Gaza - Israel ceasefire. The United Nations has just released a report detailing what the 50 day war has cost Gaza so…

Dear Media: Stop Letting ISIL Manipulate You with Snuff Films

Media, Politicians should stop Letting ISIL Manipulate them

By Juan Cole Ever since George W. Bush invaded Iraq and created the circumstances under which al-Qaeda could take root and flourish there from 2003 forward, al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia (which later styled…

War or Counterterrorism? John Kerry denies it is a War

By RFE/RL White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the United States is "at war with ISIL" on September 12, after Secretary of State John Kerry refused to use the phrase. "The…

The Plutocracy Strikes Back: The Pathologies of Rule by a Handful of Billionaires

By Steve Fraser via Tomdispatch.com George Baer was a railroad and coal mining magnate at the turn of the twentieth century. Amid a violent and protracted strike that shut down much of…

The Death of Palestine: Israeli Ambition and Palestinian Weakness

By Tareq Ramadan Given the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations alongside the current policies of the Netanyahu administration, the recent Gaza episode can be viewed, in part, as one manifestation of a broader…

Middle East “Allies” decline to Commit Forces, Resources against ISIL

By Juan Cole US Secretary of State John Kerry's meeting in Jedda with ten Middle Eastern foreign ministers produced a communique on Friday, but little more. The regional states promised to do…

President Erdoğan to participate in key TÜSİAD meeting

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will join a meeting hosted by Turkey's top business group next week, in a possible sign of improved relations with the group

Arabs without God

By Brian Whitaker, author of Arabs without God In the midst of sectarian turmoil in the Middle East, one section of Arab society rarely gets much attention: those who reject religion entirely.…

The Israeli version of Steven Salaita: Occupation University fires Professor for Insufficient Zionism

By Amir Hetsroni This is how I became the Israeli version of Steven Salaita: I was teaching at Ariel University when administrators summoned me to a pre-dismissal disciplinary hearings claiming that my…

How the Gaza War Backfired on Netanyahu

By Ramzy Baroud (Maan News Agency) Netanyahu's war-turned-genocide in Gaza has backfired badly -- his strategy has helped resurrect Hamas, the very movement he tried desperately to crush. Aside from being a…

Russia denounces Obama Plan for Syria Air Strikes as Violation of Int’l Law

By Juan Cole Russia on Thursday pushed back against President Obama's state plans for taking on the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) in Syria. Russian Foreign…

Obama’s ISIL Actions are Defensive, Despite Rhetoric of going on Offense

By Juan Cole President Obama's speech launching his war on ISIL avoided the qualifications that he had earlier made, which had produced caviling inside the Beltway from politicians who confuse careless belligerency…

ISIL isn’t Medieval: Revolution, Terror and Statemaking are Modern

By Kevin McDonald, Middlesex University Over recent weeks there has been a constant background noise that Islamic State and its ideology are some sort of throwback to a distant past. It is…

ISIL Fighting With Weapons From US and 'Moderate' Syrian Rebels: Report

By Sarah Lazare via Commondreams.org The Islamic State (IS) is now in possession of lethal weapons formerly owned by so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels, as well as large quantities of arms produced in…

US, Iraq have same child homicide rate – UNICEF

RT America: "America leads all Western nations in the number of child homicide victims, according to a new report from UNICEF. In 2012, there were four adolescent homicides per 100,000 people in…

Gaza and Israel: Serial “Ceasefires” and the 70-Year War Continues (Chomsky)

By Noam Chomsky On August 26th, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) both accepted a ceasefire agreement after a 50-day Israeli assault on Gaza that left 2,100 Palestinians dead and vast landscapes…

Climate Change is the real Terrorist (Young Turks)

Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks "Atmospheric volumes of greenhouse hit a record in 2013 as carbon dioxide concentrations grew at the fastest rate since reliable global records began, the World Meteorological Organization…

Hamas, Shmamas: It’s about Israeli National Ambitions

By Brian K. Barber, special to Informed Comment Much recent commentary on forging a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israel makes two deceptive and unproductive claims: 1) Hamas is responsible for the…

3 Years War? Obama to Bomb Syria in fight against ISIL

By Juan Cole Juliet Eilperin and David Nakamura at WaPo report on a Monday evening dinner at the White House attended by foreign policy experts, in which President Obama expressed confidence that…

“Obama to outline campaign against ISIS” (Juan Cole at Chris Hayes, “All In”)

Juan Cole at MSNBC Juan Cole hosted by Chris Hayes, "All In": "Obama to outline campaign against ISIS" ------------- screenshot

Are ISIL fighters Afraid of Women with Guns?

BBC "In Kurdish areas of northern Syria, fighters have been battling Islamic State - or ISIS - for two years - and unlike Iraq's kurdish forces, they get no help from the…

Iran begins to Emerge from three Decades of Isolation

Channel 4 News Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi tells Channel 4 News that there is a genuine negotiating bond of respect with the United States, but the negotiations are hard. Channel…

Will the People’s Climate March be this generation’s March on Washington?

By Nick Engelfried On August 28, 1963, 200,000 people swarmed into the nation’s capital for one of the most iconic moments in the civil rights movement: the March on Washington for Jobs…

New Iraqi Government: Less than Meets the Eye?

By Juan Cole The Iraqi parliament finally voted in the government of new Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi on Monday, in what US Secretary of State John Kerry called a "turning point." There…

Do Latinos in US have to Change their Names to Get a Job?

The Young Turks ""Zamora’s story was the same as those of so many Americans nowadays who are struggling to find a job. Zamora stated that he probably sent out between 50 and…

Do Palestinians have Freedom of Assembly? West Bank Protests Repressed

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hundreds of Palestinians took part in marches across the West Bank on Friday calling for an end to the Israeli occupation and in protest against the continued confiscation of…

5 Things to Know Today about the Fight Against ISIL

By Juan Cole 1. On Sunday evening, BBC reports that Iraqi fighter jets bombed the villages of al-Riyadh and al-Nirab in the vicinity of Hawija, north Iraq, leaving 14 dead and 10…

Cole’s “The New Arabs” at Firedoglake Book Salon

By Juan Cole Firedoglake Book Salon on Juan Cole, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is changing the Middle East See also this recent NYT review by Irshad Manji FDL Book…

“Have you heard the one about the Ayatollah?”: Iran Hard Liners outraged at Internet Humor

By Golnaz Esfandiari via RFE/RL A friend of the Imam asks him, "Would you like to drink vodka or tequila?" Outraged at the indignity, the pious Imam slaps the man in the…

Elizabeth Warren: Taking on Entrenched Wall Street Interests that have Rigged the Game (Moyers)

Bill Moyers: "The Massachusetts senator talks to Bill about taking on the entrenched political and Wall Street interests that have rigged the game against the rest of us."

Did Anyone win the Gaza Conflict? Was it even a “War”?

By Ramzy Baroud (Maan) In the rush to analyze the outcome of Israel's 51-day war in Gaza, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, some may have neglected an important factor: this was not a…

Top 5 Signs the US is de facto allied with Iran versus ISIL

By Juan Cole 1. Karen DeYoung points out that the siege of the Iraqi Shiite town of Amerli could not have been broken without the help of Shiite militiamen from the Badr…

Can Obama Resist Hawks’ Pressure to Rush to Syria Quagmire?

By Adam Quinn, University of Birmingham via The Conversation US president Barack Obama has yet to work out exactly what America’s strategy is in confronting Islamic State (IS), and has been foolish…

Putting the ‘Hero’ back in ‘Superhero’: How the Muslim Superhero Can Save the Genre

By A. David Lewis for for ISLAMiCommentary A. David Lewis Muslims don’t present a problem for superhero comics. They present a solution. A previous installment of “Comics & Dialogue” addressed an apparent…

What You won’t See on US TV: Iranians Sympathetic to US over ISIL Attacks

Channel 4 News Channel 4 News: "What does Iran make of Islamic State?" Meanwhile, although some Iranian sources deny it, the BBC's sources say that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader has…

Elon Musk’s Nevada Gigafactory may Save the World

By Juan Cole KRQE: "Official: Tesla picks Nevada for Gigafactory" Clean Technica points out that the battery-making factory is on track to reduce battery prices by 30% by 2017, making EVs indisputably…

Israel: Reverse Illegal Plans for West Bank

Human Rights Watch (Jerusalem) – Israel should immediately reverse its illegal appropriation of a large swath of land in the occupied West Bank south of Jerusalem, Human Rights Watch said today. The…

America is a Gas Hog and we’re not going on a Diet even if Global Warming Kills Us

By Michael T. Klare Considering all the talk about global warming, peak oil, carbon divestment, and renewable energy, you’d think that oil consumption in the United States would be on a downward…

Natural Gas Battle: Ukraine vs Russia – An Animated History

AJ+ "While the West threatens further crippling sanctions on Moscow for invading and supporting Ukrainian rebels, Russia controls the nozzle that supplies Europe and Ukraine with natural gas. And they've already cut…

Paying For The Caliphate: When Extremists Become Bad Bank Managers In Mosul

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org Dinar worries: some Mosul locals fear that extremists will take all of thier money. Up until now, locals in Mosul, the northern city under…

Obama & Cameron find little Enthusiasm at NATO for new Iraq War

By Juan Cole The NATO summit in Wales was supposed to be all about getting out of Afghanistan. Instead, two new issues dominated it-- the Ukraine and ISIL in Iraq and Syria.…

Duck Dynasty star to Hannity: Convert or kill ISIS (Chris Hayes)

Chris Hayes, "All In": "The Duck Dynasty patriarch offers his advice on dealing with ISIS: convert or kill them" "Partial Transcript from Hannity: HANNITY: Welcome back to HANNITY. New video surfaced earlier…

Mosul’s First Death By Stoning: Extremists Distract With Displays of Savage Justice

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org Mosul locals were invited to witness the city’s first death by stoning late last week – extremists who had taken over the city in…

Gaza: 100,000 Palestinians Left Homeless, Fear unexploded Bombs in Rubble

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- UNRWA researchers and engineers will begin evaluation and assessment of damages to the homes of the displaced across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, an official said. UNRWA media…

In 1948, Jewish Forces in Palestine outnumbered Palestinian and Arab Fighters

By William R. Polk The General Assembly had issued its verdict [in late 1947 suggesting a partition of Palestine] but it left open the question of how to actually carry out the…

Would a US/ NATO war in Syria be Legal in International Law?

By Juan Cole Efforts are being made in Congress give to President Barack Obama the formal authority to conduct air strikes in Syria against ISIL. Vice President Joe Biden is now talking,…

US, UK look other Way as Bahrain Imprisons Dissidents (Maryam al-Khwaja is Latest)

By Nicholas McGeehan via Human Rights Watch Follow @Ncgeehan Many Bahraini activists have borne the brunt of their government’s unjust laws, unfair convictions and unlawful tactics, but few have resisted with such…

Leonard DiCaprio Ice Bucket Challenge: Calls out Canadian PM Harper, Shell CEO on Tar Sands

Leonardo DiCaprio Ice Bucket Challenge: Calls out Canadian PM Harper, Shell CEO on Tar Sands

Via The Tree Actor Leonardo DiCaprio accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this week and used the opportunity to not just raise awareness for ALS, but to also highlight the dangers of…

Israel’s blockade on civilians of Gaza – no signs of loosening

(IRIN) NGOs are eager to increase aid to the Palestinian region after a 50-day Israeli bombing campaign left over 2,000 dead, thousands wounded and much of the enclave’s infrastructure in ruins, but…

What the Hackers did to Celebs? The NSA has been Doing that to All of US instead of Predicting ISIL

By Juan Cole There has been a lot of justifiable outrage about the invasion of privacy of celebrities and the posting of their private, nude photos at 4Chan by hackers who apparently…

Iraq Flashpoint: Can the Kurds defend themselves from ISIL?

By Verena Gruber, Talalward, Kurdistan (Special to Informed Comment) There is something incredibly odd about seeing the black flag of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)" flapping in…

Solar could make your Electricity Bill Zero: But Pols, Utilities are Conspiring Against You

TheLipTV: "Solar panels are being denied to certain states as utilities companies and politicians are looking out for their own interests in an effort to eliminate the competition. We look why homes…

Israeli settlers destroy Palestinian grape vines in Beit Ummar

Israeli settlers destroy Palestinian grape vines as Israel Steals More Land

HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A group of Israeli settlers chopped down grape vines on Palestinian agricultural property in northern Beit Ummar on Monday, a popular committee spokesman said Monday. Muhammad Awwad said the…

History and Betrayal: UNSCOP and Palestine, 1947

By William Polk The British Foreign Secretary told Parliament on February 18, 1947 that "there is no prospect of resolving this conflict by any settlement negotiated between the parties." Further, he said,…

Can Iraqi forces take back Saddam’s Birthplace from ISIL?

By Juan Cole Joint Iraqi and Kurdish forces began moving into Tikrit on Tuesday night into Wednesday after victories over the so-called Islamic State of Syria and the Levant in villages around…

The Military Diminishment of Judaism

By Shalom Goldman In our time, Judaism, in all of its magnificent complexity and subtlety, has been reduced to supporting "team Israel" -- whatever its policies or methods. Yes, American Jews, according…

ISIS Panic (Colbert Report)

Colbert Report: "ISIS Panic" The Colbert ReportGet More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive -------

“Let my People Fish”: After the war, Israeli Blockade leaves Gaza Civilians Protein Poor

DW: "People in Gaza are trying to rebuild their lives as the ceasefire holds. Fishermen have returned to work [still under severe restrictions]; people salvage what they can from the wreckage of…

Top 5 Reasons “Labor Day” isn’t for Laborers Anymore

By Juan Cole Calling the bottom of a river a "bed" is a metaphor. Imagine the river restlessly sleeping on its muddy mattress. But when we've so internalized a metaphor that we…