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Archives: November 2013
Thousands of Egyptians Protest Anti-Protest Law
On Friday, thousands of Egyptians protested Egypt's Draconian anti-protest law. Most were Muslim Brothers, but leftists and liberals also rejected the law, which requires protesters to apply to police for permission to…
Climate-Changing US Methane Emissions 2.7 Times Higher than Estimates (Chamberlain)
For some oil and gas producing regions, the study found the methane levels not 1.7 times higher but 2.7 times higher. I think in my research I saw that they even found…
Syrian Refugee Children by the Tragic Numbers
The United Nations High Commission on Refugees has issued a new report on the plight of Syrian refugee children. The numbers are horrifying: Population of Syria: 22 million Number of Syrians made…
French Court Fines Members of BDS Group Calling for Supermarket Boycott
A French court imposed a $1,300 fine on members of an anti-Israel group who called on supermarket shoppers to boycott Israeli products. Click here for the rest of the article...
Karzai, Pakistan Protests against US Drone Strikes may force US out
Afghan President Hamid Karzai complained Friday that a US drone strike in Helmand Province targeting a Taliban commander on a motorcycle appears to have gone bad and ended up killing a 2…
Greenwald to BBC: Journalists must investigate the Powerful in Gov’t since they Lie to the People (BBC Surprised)
Glenn Greenwald on the BBC's Hardtalk seems to surprise the anchor by asserting that journalists need to investigate the powerful since the latter tend to lie to the people. This is how…
Egyptian Heavy Metal Band Massive Scar Era – “Between The Waves “
Egypt's Heavy Metal band, Massive Scar Era, which is predominantly made up of women and led by Sherine Amr, performs their "Between the Waves." Live at the Sakiya in Zamalek: The band…
Egypt’s Counter-Revolution: 21 Women and Girls Harshly Sentenced, Liberal Bloggers to be Arrested
The new anti-protest law in Egypt is roiling the country. On Thursday, a student at Cairo University was killed by police using live ammunition against a student demonstration. Youth leaders of the…John F. Kennedy’s Thanksgiving Ideals, 1962– How different they are from Ours
The fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has brought forth a flood of books and documentaries. On this Thanksgiving, what strikes me is the ideals JFK put forward…Breaking “America’s Last Taboo”
Author(s): Alex Lubin American Zionism has made any serious public discussion of the past or future of Israel -- by far the largest recipient ever of US foreign aid -- a taboo.…
NSA monitored visits of “Radicalizers” to Chat Rooms, Skin Sites to Discredit Them
Six persons living abroad, one of them a "US person," were targeted by the National Security Agency for discrediting, according to information leaked by Edward Snowden and reported on by Glenn Greenwald…
Pope Francis: Why are Deaths of the Homeless not a Headline but a 2-point Dow Jones rise is? (Germanos)
Andrea Germanos writes at Commondreams.org Pope Francis has issued a new document in which he rails against growing inequality, trickle-down economics and the current socioeconomic system that "is unjust at its root."…
Brubeck Jazz Classic “Take Five” in Pakistan Style (Video)
Dave Brubeck called the cover of his band's classic "Take Five" (Paul Desmond) by the Pakistani musical group Sachal the "most original" he had ever heard. See why in this video:
The Middle East warmly welcomes Iran Deal, sees it as Step toward Denuclearizing Israel
Israel and Saudi Arabia have loomed large in reporting about the regional reaction to the UN Security Council plus Germany's preliminary deal with Iran as they negotiate an end to the international…
Does the Road to Mideast Peace Run through Tehran?
The diplomatic breakthrough at Geneva is still only a down payment on a much bigger deal, and it is early to begin speaking of realignments in the Middle East on this basis.…
Today’s America is the Real Hunger Games: Why aren’t we Terrified? (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com: . . . gazillions of movie viewers have seen ... films with the usual array of sharks, dinosaurs, anacondas, axe murderers, mutants, zombies, vampires, aliens, or serial…
US-Iran War Averted by Agreement to Negotiate on Nuclear Enrichment
The decade-long Neoconservative plot to take the United States to war against Iran appears to have been foiled. In response for a loosening of sanctions, worth some $7 billion to Iran, President…
Tim Berners-Lee Warns “Tide of Surveillance and Censorship” threatens Democracy
Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web in 1990, is disturbed at the revelations of the degree of surveillance pursued by governments of ordinary people and warns that it could harm…
Another Reason to Divest: Global outrage at dirty Coal threatens Investors’ Profits
The divestment movement on US college campuses against Big Carbon (coal, oil and gas) signals more than just the arrival of a new, determined and idealistic generation of students. It is a…
Does Syria Stalemate Benefit Baath Regime?
Although it is hard to know what is going on in Syria on the ground, it does seem clear that the momentum is with the regime now, and no longer with the…CIA drone strikes Militant Seminary in Pakistan Proper, Killing 6 (Ross)
Alice K. Ross writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism A CIA drone strike hit a religious school in Hangu, Pakistan [on Thursday], killing at least six and injuring several more. It…
How We the People can Stop Climate Change through Disinvestment (Gitlin)
Todd Gitlin writes at Tomdispatch.com: Apocalyptic climate change is upon us. For shorthand, let’s call it a slow-motion apocalypse to distinguish it from an intergalactic attack out of the blue or a…
Tony Blair let the American NSA Spy on Millions of Britons and Store their Private Data
The Guardian and Channel 4 News report that Tony Blair allowed the US National Security Agency to spy on millions of Britons, and to record and store their browser history and email.…
US seeks Broad Powers, Immunity for post-2014 Troops in Afghanistan (Lazare)
Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Wednesday that a text had been agreed on between the US and the government of President Hamid Karzai concerning a post-2014 role for US troops…
Syrian Civil War Spreads to Lebanon: Beirut Shaken by Iran Embassy Blast, kills 23, wounds 150
Al-Hayat [Life] reports on the targeting by two suicide bombers of the Iranian embassy in south Beirut on Tuesday, which killed 23, including the Iranian cultural attache and embassy guards, and wounded…
Egypt: Youth Remember Martyrs, Reject both Army and Muslim Brotherhood
A couple of thousand demonstrators came into Tahrir Square on Monday evening to commemorate the massacre of protestors at Muhammad Mahmoud St. off Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on November 19, 2011.…
Kenya’s KTN outshines American Media in Climate Change Coverage: 2013 among 10 Hottest Years since 1850
Kenya's KTN television news reports on the Warsaw Climate Conference and on a new report by the World Meteorological Organization showing that 2013 is one of the 10 hottest years since 1850.…
The Coming Drone Wars: Iran Unveils its own Drone, with a 1200-mile Range
It was foreseeable that when the United States began deploying drones wherever it likes, its rivals would also develop that capability. In fact, you wonder if sending the drones around doesn't create…
Israel forces Gaza Children to Wade through Sewage as Creepy, Evil Blockade Continues
The health minister in the Gaza Strip has warned that the territory is on the verge of a major health catastrophe. Children are risking cholera and worse because they have to walk…
Planet Tahrir: The Coming Mass Demonstrations against Climate Change (Klare)
Michael T. Klare writes at Tomdispatch.com: A week after the most powerful “super typhoon” ever recorded pummeled the Philippines, killing thousands in a single province, and three weeks after the northern Chinese…
State of Emergency in Libyan Capital as More Militia Clashes Break Out
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan declared a 48-hour state of emergency in the capital of Tripoli on Saturday as fresh fighting broke out at Tajoura to the east of the capital. On…
US tries to Censor British Report on Secret Bush-Blair Push for Iraq War (Lazare)
Sarah Lazare writes at Commondreams.org If the U.S. gets its way, the world will never know the details of top-level discussions between George W. Bush and Tony Blair that paved the way…
Guinness World Record Day shows Human Spirit Indomitable and Silly
Thursday was devoted to breaking Guinness world records on the part of people who walked over 60 upright bottles, did 41 handsprings in a row, and coordinated masses of hula hoop dancing.…43 Dead, 500 Wounded in Tripoli attack by militia on peaceful Protesters
Update: There was further fighting at Tajoura just east of Tripoli on Friday night into Saturday, with the death toll rising to 41 with 500 injured. The fighting seems to be in…Our Gasoline thirst fuels Mideast Fundamentalism, Violence – EVs are the Answer
The Greater Middle East has much of the proven oil and natural gas reserves in the world, and it is those hydrocarbon resources that give the region its central position in US…Take that, France: Iran has Halted Expansion of Nuclear Facilities: IAEA
Iran has actually done some of the things that French Foriegn Minister Laurent Fabius was demanding when he derailed the agreement on confidence-building at the Geneva conference last weekend, according to the…
American Writers are Self-Censoring to Avoid NSA Scrutiny (McCauley)
Lauren McCauley writes at Commondreams.org: Recent disclosures of the NSA's widespread dragnet program coupled with its frequent targeting of journalists are having a 'chilling effect' on American writers, stifling their freedom of…
Muslim-American Artists Perform to Challenge Stereotypes
VOA reports:: " Going back decades, Arab actors have been successful in Hollywood. Among the most successful, such as Omar Sharif, Tony Shalhoub, and F. Murray Abraham; the latter won an Academy…Is the White House Right that More Iran Sanctions put US on “Path to War?”
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday warned the US Congress that imposing further sanctions on Iran at this juncture, just when negotiations have begun with Tehran, would be tantamount to a…
How America’s Global Surveillance Empire made it a Helpless Giant (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com Given how similar they sound and how easy it is to imagine one leading to the other, confusing omniscience (having total knowledge) with omnipotence (having total power)…
Will Avigdor Lieberman’s return as Israeli Foreign Minister scupper Talks with Palestinians?
Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the far, far right nationalist Yisrael Beitenu Party in Israel (which is currently merged with the equally right wing Likud Party), was acquitted of corruption charges and then…Top 10 Ways to Really Honor our Veterans
November 11, 1918 marked the armistice that began the end of the Great War (later called World War I), which was formally ended the following summer at Versailles. President Eisenhower later reconfigured…
Commemoration of Kristallnacht in Berlin
Deutsche Welle reports on the commemoration in Berlin yesterday of the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht [the Night of Broken Glass], when the National Socialists in Germany went on a hate-filled rampage against…France Crashes the Geneva Party, Scuttles Iran Deal
The Iranian newspaper Tabnak printed a minute-by-minute account of Saturday's dramatic on-again off-again push toward a diplomatic agreement on Iran's nuclear enrichment program. It contains little editorializing but by the key placement…We’re Still in the Dark on Obama’s Drones Despite Washington’s Promises (Currier)
Cora Currier writes at ProPublica : This story has been updated to reflect new developments.Nearly six months ago, President Obama promised more transparency and tighter policies around targeted killings. In a speech,…
“Off the Charts”: Deadliest Storm in History Kills 1200, Displaces Millions in Philippines
ABC News reports on Super-Typhoon Haiyan, which is now estimated to have killed at least 1200 in the Philippines, and which forced millions from their homes, with winds of 195 miles per…
US loses UNESCO Voting Rights: How Kow-Towing to Israeli Policy Weakens America
President Obama called America "the greatest country in the world" on Friday, but the same day the US lost basic voting rights on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).…Top Reasons Israel’s Likud Really Opposes an Iran Nuclear Deal
Rightwing Israeli politicians like Binyamin Netanyahu are squawking furiously about the prospect that Sec. of State John Kerry might reach an agreement with Iran over its civilian nuclear enrichment program. The US…
Arts of the Arab Uprisings at the Arab-American Museum, Dearborn
The Arab-American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, has mounted an exhibition on the Arts of the Arab Uprisings. It includes art, photography and video by street artist Amr Nazeer and celebrated social justice…
How American Troops in Afghanistan became Unreal (Jones)
Ann Jones writes at Tomdispath.com The last time I saw American soldiers in Afghanistan, they were silent. Knocked out by gunfire and explosions that left them grievously injured, as well as drugs…
Record High Warming Gases in Atmosphere: Earth Losing Race Against Time (McCauley)
Lauren McCauley writes at Commondreams.org The amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere reached a record high in 2012, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), continuing an upward and accelerating…It wasn’t Arafat who was Assassinated but the Palestinian People
Aljazeera America has the exclusive on the Swiss scientists' findings that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned with polonium, after the fashion of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. That the Likud government of…
Ms. Marvel and the Rise of the Muslim Superhero in America
Umberto Eco argued that Superman, from the character's inception in the 1940s through about 1970, was a politically conservative figure. The stories were about protecting property and combating petty crime, rather banal…
Dear Press: Stop Enthusing About Habitable Planets until People like Va.’s Cuccinelli Stop Destroying this One
The issue of habitable planets, earth's own disastrous climate change, and Virginia politics don't intersect every day. But today they do, and that does not reflect well on the human species or…
Israelis plan new Colonies, Oil Drilling, on Palestinian Land during “Peace Talks”
The current round of so-called peace talks between Israel and Palestine is marked by so much bad faith on the part of the Israelis that only the corruption and perfidy of the…White Terrorist is “Gunman,” “Alleged Shooter,” no Mention of Wingnut ‘New World Order’ Beef
This Chicago Tribune story amalgamated from its sources and wire services on the LAX shooter is interesting for its language. Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, is charged with "murder" and called a "suspected…Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Kerry in Cairo
US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Cairo on Sunday in his first trip to Egypt since last spring, when Muslim Brotherhood President Muhammad Morsi was in power. Interim Egyptian Foreign…
CIA Drone Kills Pakistan Taliban Leader on Eve of Peace talks with Islamabad
The CIA drone strike in North Waziristan yesterday killed 25 persons and targeted a high-level meeting of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan or TTP). It finally killed TTP leader Hakimu'llah Mahsoud…
“Disposition Matrix”: America’s Drone Wars and Civilian Casualties (Moyers)
Bill Moyers reports on America's drone wars The blurb: "America’s Drone Wars November 1, 2013 This week, members of Congress heard testimony for the first time from victims of drone attacks, including…
Al Gore on the Oil, Gas and Coal Bubble: Investors Beware! (Queally)
John Queally writes at Commondreams.org Former U.S. Vice President turned climate campaigner Al Gore and his longtime business partner David Blood, a former Goldman Sachs executive, are out with a bit of…