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Archives: January 2016
Not just Madaya: A million people under Food Sieges in Mideast
By Nadia Prupis, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) | - - Despite international laws prohibiting the use of starvation against civilians, forces on all sides preventing aid from reaching blockaded towns in…
8 Ways Nonviolence can Combat Terrorism
By George Lakey | ( Waging Non-Violence) | - - One of my most popular courses at Swarthmore College focused on the challenge of how to defend against terrorism, nonviolently. Events now…
Zika: As temperatures rise from CO2 Emissions, epidemics spread
The Tree | - - "“Zika is a disease of poverty, similar to other neglected tropical diseases such as chikungunya and dengue. The burden falls disproportionately upon poor populations living near open…
That Swedish black-clad anti-refugee Mob beating Children? Neo-Nazis.
TeleSur | - - The neo Nazi Swedish Resistance Movement claims it was behind a wave of violence in Stockholm targeting homeless refugee children. Swedish police have made at least four arrests…
Exasperated by Netanyahu, France Prepares to Recognize Palestinian State
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Even the staunchly pro-Israel French Socialist Party has had it with Israeli expansionism and aggression. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced Friday that…
Will Iowa’s Women Dems choose Hillary or Bernie?
Judy Woodruff | (PBS Newshour Video Report) | - - "Three days out from the Iowa caucuses, Democrats are weighing whether to go with the presumed favorite, Hillary Clinton, or to defy…
Iowa Primary wins Predict Nothing: #Iowasowhite & doesn’t look like America
By Donald Kaul | (Otherwords.org) | - - Who prevails in the Iowa caucuses won’t matter much, except in the fevered imaginations of the political reporters covering the spectacle. The Iowa caucuses…
World can Bomb Syria but Can’t negotiate end to War
By Simon Mabon | (The Conversation) | - - International talks meant to help resolve the Syrian Crisis are due to commence in Geneva, but a range of impossible problems still stand…
Iran: The New China?
By: Pepe Escobar | ( TeleSur) | - - If Iran successfully engages in a Chinese-style economic development program it would further enhance its geopolitical status and significance. It’s currently quite a…
Iran’s Rouhani: “US now sees Iran as only country able to fight terrorism in the region”
France24 English | Exclusive | (Video News Report) | - - 'The Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is in Europe for a historic trip. A visit both to renew economic ties and also…
Anne Frank’s Stepsister: Donald Trump Is Another Hitler
TeleSur | - - Eva Schloss, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, said the U.S. presidential candidate was acting like Hitler, while the world acts as “bystanders” to the refugee crisis. Donald Trump…
Rhetorical Terror: GOP Candidates Pledge War Crimes, Carpet-Bombing, Asian Land Wars
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - At the Trumpless GOP debate Thursday evening, the candidates once again promised to bankrupt us with military and intelligence spending and to commit…
While Flint Was Being Poisoned, Gov.’s office sent State Workers Water Coolers
By Common Dreams staff | ( Commondreams.org) | - - Following release of new document and emails, Gov. Snyder told he must 'explain to the people of Flint why his administration trucked…
Will Yemen be the Graveyard of the new Saudi Empire?
By Helen Lackner | ( OpenDemocracy) | - - Those deciding for war in March 2015 gave little thought to Yemeni realities, military, logistic, topographic, social or political, human cost, or an…
Iran Unleashed: Rouhani’s Triumphant European Tour
Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Virtually as soon as the Iran nuclear deal was finally approved by the UN Security Council, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani headed for Europe. He…
Will Trump destroy the Republican Party, or Push it to Far Right?
By Liam Kennedy | (The Conversation) | - - When Richard Hofstadter described “a paranoid style in American politics” in 1964, he was referring to “the sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and…
Daesh/ ISIL making Play for Moderate Muslims, as GOP Candidates deny they Exist
By John Feffer | ( Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - While ISIS makes war on the world's vast majority of "moderate Muslims," hardliners in the West pretend they don't exist.…
Gaza speaks: This is what the decade-long Israeli siege has done to us
By Ramzy Baroud | (Ma'an News Agency) | - - Whenever Mariam Aljamal’s children hear the sound of thunder at night, they wet their beds. Their reaction is almost instinctive, and is…
Bundy White Terrorists detained, one Killed in suicidal Shoot-out
Contessa Brewer | (CBSN Video News Report) | - - "Ammon Bundy, the leader of an armed militia that occupied a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than three weeks, has…
Why Israel’s Netanyahu has no standing to accuse UN Sec. Ban of inciting Terrorism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke out this week in an address to the UN Security Council against Israel's policy of stealing Palestinian land…
Israel’s land grab undermines Palestinian statehood – and violates international law
By Amy Maguire | (The Conversation) | - - Israel is preparing to make its largest land seizure in the West Bank since August 2014. Israeli settlers are already farming the 154…
6 National Security Questions the Establishment Candidates don’t want to Answer
By Andrew J. Bacevich | ( Tomdispatch.com To judge by the early returns, the presidential race of 2016 is shaping up as the most disheartening in recent memory. Other than as a…
Toward a New Islamic Golden Age through Science
By Nidhal Guessoum | (Project Syndicate) | - - SHARJAH – The Muslim world’s past contributions to science and education were extraordinary. The Islamic “golden age” – during which scholarship and learning…
No, Donald Trump, we can’t just “take their oil”
By Emily Schwartz Greco | (Otherwords.org) | - - Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign ad pledged to “take their oil.” That’s what President (gasp) Trump would do after having “quickly cut the…
Top 5 Ways Putin has won big in Syria and why Europe is embracing him
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Russia is so far winning big in Syria, and making Moscow's projection of force in the Middle East a reality that the other…
Why has Turkish Foreign Policy Gone Rogue & What does it mean for the US?
By Nader Habibi | (The Conversation) | - - Turkey has become one of America’s most vital partners in the Middle East in promoting stability and growth in the region and a…
Are Palestinian-Israelis going from 2nd Class Citizens to 3rd Class?
By Nadim Nashif and Raya Naamneh | Al-Shabaka | (Ma'an News Agency) | - - Israel still portrays itself as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet in practice, as its Palestinian citizens…
Why Flint’s Tainted Water is a Human Rights Disaster
By Amanda Klasing, Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division | (Human Rights Watch) | - - Nearly two years ago, the city of Flint, Michigan switched to a less expensive water source that…
Not just “Immigrants”: 3 Arab-Americans Central to American History
By Hsain Ilahiane | (Informed Comment) | - - Arabs and Muslims Made and Are Still Making America Great: One came on foot, one with camels, and one brought Apple products to…
Tahrir 5 Years Later: The Hurdles to Democratization & Arab Youth Revolts
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - A frequently met-with Western political and often journalistic narrative of the 2011 youth revolts in the Arab world is that idealistic young people…
Daesh/ ISIL in the Digital Realm v2.0
By Michael Degerald | ( History X ISIS ) Not long ago I wrote a piece that explored various facets of how Daesh, the organization, relates to the internet most broadly. The…
The Kurdish Women fighters taking on Daesh/ ISIL: An Eyewitness Account
By Brian Glyn Williams | (Informed Comment) | - - It was the sort of invitation that causes both excitement and trepidation, an invite to visit the autonomous mountain enclave in northern…
Netanyahu voices support for Israeli squatter takeover of Palestinian Buildings in Hebron outside Israel
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his government’s support of illegal settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem “at any time”…
‘We had to destroy the Country to save it, Sir!’ The US Imperial Treadmill in Iraq etc.
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com) One of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in…
Dragon & Phoenix: Khamenei Lauds New Sino-Iranian ‘Strategic Partnership’
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iran's clerical leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke Saturday on the occasion of the state visit to Iran of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He…
Fearing the Bern, Billionaire Bloomberg Threatens to Buy Election for Establishment
By Jon Queally, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org ) | - - Former New York City mayor indicates willingness to spend "at least $1 billion"... especially if Sanders bumps Clinton. Is the…
The Surprising Reasons Oil Prices Keep Falling
By Marcelle Arak and Sheila Tschinkel | (The Conversation) | - - Global stock markets have been in a tailspin this week. And the sinking price of oil received at least some…
71 UK doctors call on World Medical Association to Expel Israel over Torture
Ma'an News Agency | - - 'BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A group of British doctors is pushing for the World Medical Association (WMA) to expel the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), the IMA’s chairman…
How Bad Is The Violence In Iraq?
AJ+ | (Video News Report) | - - "A UN report on the violence in Iraq from January 2014 to October 2015 makes for sober reading. 19,000 civilians were killed, 36,000 injured…
Turkey-Russia Tensions Spike as Russia moves into Northern Syria
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Russian air strikes in Syria are coming closer and closer to the Turkish border in Latakia in the northwest, and there are rumors…
Flint’s water crisis is a blatant example of environmental injustice
Robert D. Bullard | (The Conversation) | - - Many observers see race and class as factors in Flint, Michigan’s drinking water crisis. Earlier this week Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, said, “It’s…
Airbnb profits from Israeli theft of Palestinian Land with Squatter Listings
AJ+ | (Video News Report) | - - "Palestinians are angry at Airbnb. The website advertises dozens of homes located in illegal Israeli settlements." Israeli Settler Homes On Airbnb Opinion:"Airbnb takes a…
Iranian Pres. Rouhani slams Hard Liners: Ban on Liberal Candidates makes Parliamentary Vote Pointless
By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | - - Iran's president has criticized the mass disqualification of candidates in next month's parliamentary elections, suggesting the decision could make the vote pointless. The…
Iraq: Facebook Group debunks hate-provoking Urban Legends on Social Media
Mustafa Habib | (Niqash.org) | - - An extremist ‘hero’ with a mortar in his shoulder. A secret plot bringing the Iraqi Kurdish and the Islamic State together. Iraqi social media can…
The Surprising Reason we Keep Falling for ISIL/ Daesh Propaganda
Haroro J. Ingram | (The Conversation) | - - The rise of [the so-called] Islamic State [group] (IS) has reaffirmed what al-Qaeda and the Taliban proved last decade: strategic communications, particularly counter-propaganda…
“Stunning” Sanders Surge in Iowa over Clinton on Healthcare, Wall Street Stands
Jon Queally, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | - - With nations first caucus less than two weeks away, poll shows Sanders making gains for strong proposals like Medicare for All and holding…
5 Years after Tahrir Square, Egyptian Government in Crackdown on Dissent ahead of Jan. 25 Anniversary
Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report | (Globalvoices.org) | - - Activists online and on the ground in Egypt have faced heightened scrutiny and legal threats from government authorities since early January, as…
The Collapsed Iraqi Army: How to Succeed at Failing, Pentagon-Style
By Nick Turse | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - There’s good news coming out of Iraq... again. The efforts of a 65-nation coalition and punishing U.S. airstrikes have helped local ground forces…
Netanyahu demands more billions from US after Iran Deal, insults US Envoy, Steals more Land
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - At the Davos World Economic Forum, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that the deal between the UN Security Council and Iran limiting…
UNESCO: “Deepest Concerns” for Mideast Christianity after Daesh/ISIL Razes oldest Iraqi Monastery
UNESCO | (Media Services) | - - “I express my deepest concerns after the destruction of the Monastery of St Elijah. It was the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq and an invaluable…
Who’s Against the Successful Iran Deal? War Profiteers and Chauvinist Rabble Rousers
By John Feffer | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - The Middle East is hardly a cheery place these days. But there's one silver lining: The Iran deal is paying off…
Arabs Caught between Trump and ISIL: Casino Capitalism driving backward Identity Politics Worldwide
Maged Mandour | ( OpenDemocracy) | - - Backwards looking politics is a malaise affecting both the west and east. It breeds violence as global elites clamber to maintain their grip on…
It’s the CO2, Stupid!: 2015 ‘by far’ Hottest Year on Record & New Torrid Normal
By Janette Lindesay and Mark Howden | (The Conversation) | - - It’s official: 2015 was the hottest year on record. The US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has confirmed overnight that…
No, Gov. Snyder, Flint’s water wasn’t poisoned by “Government”: It was by your Appointee
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Perhaps it is inevitable but it is a shame that some people are gaming out how to profit politically from the lead poisoning…
British Parliament Debates ban on Donald Trump: “He is a Wazzock!”
AJ+ | (Video Report) - - "Members of the UK Parliament debated whether or not to let Donald Trump into their country after a petition to ban him got more than 570,000…
US Response to Saudi Wars & Human Rights Violations? $49 Bn. in new Arms Sales
By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The West continues its strong political and military support to one of its longstanding allies in the Middle…
The Real Zombie Apocalypse: Climate Change
Bill McKibben | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - When I was a kid, I was creepily fascinated by the wrongheaded idea, current in my grade school, that your hair and your fingernails kept…
Palin for Trump: ‘Political Correctness’ (anti-racism) is a Suicide Bomb Vest
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The term "political correctness" has a long and varying history, but what do Donald Trump and Sarah Palin mean when they attack it?…
Human Rights Watch: Businesses must cut off Israeli squatter settlements
Human Rights Watch | - - (Jerusalem) – Businesses should stop operating in, financing, servicing, or trading with Israeli settlements in order to comply with their human rights responsibilities, Human Rights Watch…
GOP Billionaires Complain Super-Pacs aren’t Buying Election Effectively
Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Report) | - - "Republican billionaires are used to being able to buy elections, and are now crying about how Super-PAC’s aren’t all-powerful. Donald Trump’s…
The Failure of Aljazeera America proves that the future of TV is the Web
By Scott Bridges | (The Conversation) | - - Yesterday came the surprising announcement that Al Jazeera America (AJAM), the not even three-year-old US news franchise of the Arab media giant, was…
Israeli PM Netanyahu Still trying to derail Iran Nuclear Deal
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - BBC Monitoring reports that over the weekend, even as the great Powers were certifying that Iran was in compliance with the UNSC deal…
A radical solution to Daesh/ ISIL: Stop Intervening in the Middle East
Peter Van Buren | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - How can we stop the [so-called] Islamic State [group]? Imagine yourself shaken awake, rushed off to a strategy meeting with your presidential candidate of…
Israeli Squatters scrawl hate graffiti on Jerusalem Church
Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Suspected Israeli extremist wrote threatening hate speech on the doors of an ancient church in the Old City of Jerusalem >overnight Saturday, Wadie…
Jubilation in Iran on “Implementation Day” ending Sanctions
By Mahsa Alimardani | ( Globalvoices.org) | - - Share this: The Sunday January 17 cover for Iranian reformist newspaper Ghanoon states: “Hello to a Iran without sanctions: We are…
On MLK Day, let’s Remember Ike’s warning about the Military-Industrial Complex
By Shahid Buttar | Electronic Frontier Foundation [Sunday] marked the 55th anniversary of a world-historical speech by the last war hero to occupy the White House: President Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower. His…
Evangelical Militarism & Islamophobia? Does the Wheaton College Hawkins case signal a Problem?
By Damon F. Lynch | (Informed Comment) | - - Evangelical university Wheaton College has generated global attention by suspending and initiating the firing of Professor Larycia Hawkins. She had asserted that…
Daesh/ ISIL carries off 400 Women & Children from Deir al-Zor to a fate worse than Death
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on Sunday attacked an isolated outpost of the Syrian Arab Army in a few neighborhoods in the north of the…
Can Twitter be Sued for ‘Facilitating’ ISIL Terrorism?
By Bruce Baer Arnold | (The Conversation) | - - If ISIS and its supporters use Twitter to facilitate terrorist action or merely spread propaganda, is the social network liable? A lawsuit…
Sanders: Michigan Governor Must Resign over Flint Lead-Poisoning Crisis
By Common Dreams staff | ( Commondreams.org) | - - Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign for his administration’s failure to…
Iraq: Ethnic Fighting endangers Civilians; now it’s Kurds and Shiites
Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Kurdish and Shia Turkmen armed groups have repeatedly harmed and endangered civilians in clashes in Iraq’s Tuz Khurmatu district, in Salah al-Din province, since…
Out of Gas in Iranian Waters
By Michael G. Roskin | (Informed Comment) | - - Why did two U.S. Navy boats drift into Iranian waters? And why was it so easy for Iran to capture them? The…
Israeli plan for minorities slammed as bid to ‘divide and conquer’
By: Chloe Benoist | (Ma'an News Agency) | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A plan approved by Israel's cabinet last week to provide half a billion dollars worth of assistance to Israel's…
Triumph of Diplomacy: Iran, on cusp of Sanctions relief, releases 5 Iranian-American Detainees
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iranian news agencies announced Saturday that the government had released four dual nationals (Iranian-Americans with both passports). A fifth release was later reported.…
Palestinian Kids Dodge Settler Attacks Daily
AJ+ | - - "These Palestinian kids need an army escort to get to school." AJ+: "Palestinian Kids Dodge Settler Attacks"
Five years on, Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution continues from the ground up
By Adnan Saif | (The Conversation) | - - Tunisians are marking five years since the culmination of their “Jasmine Revolution”. Since its longtime authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was…
Americans more likely to get hit by Lightning than Terrorism, but 51% Fear It
By Peter Certo | (Foreign Policy In Focus) | - - One in 3.5 million: That’s your annual risk of dying from a terrorist attack in the United States, at least according…
Swedish FM: Israel Extrajudicial killings; Netanyahu: OK to Kill Assailants
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday waded into a growing row over a call by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom for an…
Noam Chomsky slams Turkish Pres. Erdogan for Arresting Academics, supporting Extremism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Matthew Weaver of the Guardian reports retired MIT linguist Noam Chomsky's reply to a personal attack by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan criticized…
War Talk, Jingoism and White Supremacy at GOP Debate
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The GOP presidential debate last night veered even further right on international issues, given the absence of Ron Paul, who represents the Libertarian…
For Iraqi Minorities, ‘Immigration No Longer A Choice, It’s Inevitable’
By Saad Salloum | Baghdad| (Niqash.org) | - - In an interview, Raad Jabar al-Khamis, a representative of the Christian Sabean-Mandaean minority, talks about why all minorities in Iraq will leave the…
Israel Sued in US over Flotilla Attacks
By IMEMC | - - Four people, including three Americans, have filed a civil suit against the state of Israel, seeking compensatory damages for injuries suffered during an attack aboard a U.S.…How a Medieval Muslim thinker invented Sociology
Stephen Dale/ Joseph Preville/ Julie Harbin | (ISLAMICommentary) | - - Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville by JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE and JULIE POUCHER HARBIN for ISLAMiCommentary on JANUARY 7,…
How I Explained to My Impressionable Student That Islam Is Not Monolithic
Asma Afsaruddin | (Huffington Post) | - - On Sept. 29, 2015, President Obama addressed the United Nations summit on violent extremism. He stated that part of the international effort to stamp…
Top 6 Wind Energy stories Today: Cost down 60% since 2009
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - 1. This press release from Windpower Engineering notes that in 2015: "The German electricity system has reached a new milestone, generating 85.4 billion…
The Fifth Anniversary of Arab Uprisings: A Turning point in Modern History?
By Farhang Jahanpour | (Informed Comment) | - - The tumultuous developments that have rocked the Arab world and have come to be known as the Arab Spring resulted in the toppling…
German lawmakers rush to respond to Cologne attacks as Vigilante Attacks Break Out
by Dario Sarmadi (trans. by Samuel Morgan) | ( EurActiv.de) | - - After the attacks carried out on women in Cologne on New Year's Eve, the German government wants to act…
Once Auctioned, What to Do with Syrian Refugees?
By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | - - MADRID, Jan 12 2016 (IPS) - Few months ago, an unprecedented “humanitarian auction” was opened in Brussels at the European Commission, shortly…
US–Saudi relations and the search for leverage
By Russell E. Lucas | (The Conversation) | - - Russell E. Lucas, Michigan State University The alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States provides one of the foundations of American…
Obama: Islamophobia harms US Interests; Daesh/ISIL a dangerous Fringe
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Obama's last State of the Union address this year was largely lacking in specifics and replete with high ideals and ambitious goals…
Istanbul explosion: overview of this year’s surge in terror attacks in Turkey
France 24 | (Video News Report) | - - "Istanbul explosion: overview of this year's surge in violence and terror attacks in Turkey. As no claim of responsibility has been issued for…
None of the GOP Candidates knows anything about Syria & Why that’s Scary
By John Kiriakou | (Otherwords.org) | - - "Ending this imbroglio requires robust diplomacy." One ongoing theme [of the GOP campaign has] bothered me — a lot. It seems to me that…
UNRWA: Only 20% of Gaza Reconstruction Funds Received
By IMEMC | - - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that it received only 20 percent of the money needed for…
8,000 Suddenly Dead Birds in Alaska; What does it Mean?
AJ+ | - - "The death of about 8,000 Alaskan birds might be due to unusually warm waters. “Seabirds are indicators of the health of the ecosystem. Now they’re dying, and that…
The Oil Pricequake: From Russia to Saudi Arabia & Iran, a suddenly Perilous World
By Michael T. Klare | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - As 2015 drew to a close, many in the global energy industry were praying that the price of oil would bounce back…
Prince of Araby: The reckless power behind the Saudi throne
By Susan de Muth | ( OpenDemocracy) | - - King Salman's son Mohammad seems to be piloting Saudi Arabia into a series of ever more risky adventures. In the past year,…
New Polls: Is Bernie Sanders *more* electable than Sec. Clinton?
Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Report) | - - "Here comes Bernie! New polls show Hillary Clinton’s Iowa lead is all but gone… within the margin of error. She has…
Thwarted Territorially in Ramadi, Daesh reverts to Terrorism in Baghdad
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - One of the problems Iraq and Syria will face as Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) is gradually rolled back from its territorial acquisitions is that…
Putin: Syria’s Al-Assad welcome to Refuge in Russia
Vladimir Putin | (Der Bild) | - - Excerpt from part II of Russian President Vladimir Putin's interview in the German publication, Der Bild, on Jan. 12, 2016, according to the Kremlin…
The Best Way to Close Guantanamo? Give It Back to Cuba
By Alli McCracken | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - In one fell swoop, President Obama could erase the stain of Guantanamo and make major headway on normalization with Cuba. President…
Politics, not just Bombs, will defeat ISIL/ Daesh
By Frank-Walter Steinmeier | (Project Syndicate) | - - BERLIN – The November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris – which struck at the heart of France and of Europe as a whole…
Why Arson was suspected in Fire at Offices of Israeli Human Rights & Peace Group B’Tselem
Nir Hasson | Haaretz | (Video News Report) | - - Update: N.B. an investigation by the Jerusalem fire brigade appears to have concluded that an electrical wiring fault was responsible for…
Oregon Standoff: What If The Armed Men Were Muslim Or Black?
Jessica Sherry | AJ+ | (Video News Report) | - - "The Ammon Bundy–led armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon isn't just about land rights. Dena Takruri gets…
Beset by Loneliness and Memories, Syrian Refugees Struggle even in Safe Spaces
By Silvia Boarini | (Inter Press Service) | - - ZARQa, Jordan (IPS) - Emelline Mahmoud Ilyas is an outgoing 35-year-old mother of three from Syria. Sitting in a community centre in…
Majority of Jerusalem Palestinians detained in 2015 were minors
Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained more than 1,900 Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem in 2015, the majority of whom were minors, a prisoners’ rights group…
How We Learned to Stop Worrying About People and Love the Bombing
By Rick Shenkman | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - After Senator Ted Cruz suggested that the United States begin carpet bombing Islamic State (IS) forces in Syria, the reaction was swift. Hillary Clinton…
How the fate of Syria’s al-Assad divides the GOP Field: Cruz, Trump, Rubio
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Foreign policy is not a strong suit for most of the Republican candidates for president. Many of them probably couldn't find Syria on…
Teen Girl Accused Of Bullying For Criticizing Israel
Ana Kasparian, Jimmy Dore, Jayar Jackson, and Becca Frucht | (The Young Turks Video) | - - "A teen in New Jersey has been reprimanded by her high school for bullying. She…
Media Blackout on Bernie Sanders Continues even though he leads Trump in Polls
By Jim Hightower | (Otherwords) | - - The Tyndall Report, a non-partisan media monitoring firm that has been tracking the nightly news broadcasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC, found that Trump…
The Saudi-Iranian crisis reveals a deep power struggle in Tehran
By Kamran Matin | (The Conversation) | - - Ever since Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shia dissident Nimr al-Nimr was met with violent protests at the Saudi embassy in Iran, the two…
US: Israeli Defense Minister ‘undermining’ two-state solution
Ma'an News Agency | - - ISRAEL (Ma’an) -- The United States came down Friday on a decision by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon to incorporate a southern West Bank church compound…
Russian Strike on al-Qaeda Lair kills 51 at Prison, as US hypocritically slams Moscow
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Russian air war against al-Qaeda in Syria (the Nusra Front or the Support Front) took a tragic turn on Saturday when a…
Paiute Native Tribe: Oregon Militia is Polluting our Ancestral Land
AJ+ | (Video News Report) | - - "The armed group occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Burns, Oregon, are being sent a message from the indigenous Paiute tribe whose actual ancestral…
People in Lead-Poisoned Flint Still without clean Water
By Andrea Germanos, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | - - Important Reminder in the Flint Crisis: People Still Have No Safe WaterEmergency declared by governor, but there is no city- or state-run…
Yemen: Coalition Drops Cluster Bombs in Capital: Indiscriminate Weapon Used in Residential Areas
Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces airdropped cluster bombs on residential neighborhoods in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, early on January 6, 2016. It is not yet clear…
The Ultimate Blowback from U.S. Foreign Policy? Donald Trump.
By Walden Bello | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) | - - How the CIA, bad trade deals, and wanton military intervention caused the social crises that gave us the Donald.…
Jews and Arabs Kiss in Protest against Banning of Novel
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Dorit Rabinyan's novel Borderlife treats a love affair in New York between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man, which ends when they…
Burns, Or. Residents to Armed Bundy Men: ‘Leave! Now!’
AJ+ | (Video News Report) - - "The town of Burns, Oregon, has mixed messages for Ammon Bundy and his crew of armed occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Dena Takruri…
In Cartoons: How Iranians, Saudis See Each Other
By Joanna Paraszczuk and Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - Cartoonists on each side of an Iranian-Saudi diplomatic dispute are highlighting what they perceive as the other's double standards. …
Turning to the Dark Side: US Candidates Compete to Promise the Most Torture and Slaughter
By Rebecca Gordon | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - They’re back! From the look of the presidential campaign, war crimes are back on the American agenda. We really shouldn’t be surprised,…
Airline apologizes for letting Racist Israelis force Palestinian-Israeli passengers off Plane
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Greek Aegean airlines on Wednesday apologized to PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat for the forced removal of two Palestinians from a flight. CEO of…
Syrian Army lets food Aid into Starving Madaya
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - France24 Arabic reports that the Syrian government agreed Thursday to allow humanitarian aid into Madaya and two other besieged towns near the Lebanese…
In Irony, Trump Trolls Ted Cruz with Birtherism; WH Amused
Nancy Cordes | CBS Evening News | (Video News Report) | - - "Donald Trump is back in the "birther" game. The GOP presidential candidate is taking on Ted Cruz by questioning…
An Islamic Reformation? There have been Many
Sami Zubaida | ( Open Democracy) | - - We keep hearing calls for an ‘Islamic Reformation’, but the Protestant Reformation was not a liberal enterprise: it was the original ‘fundamentalism’, whence…
Britain’s Debate over Banning Trump by the Numbers
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The British parliament will debate a motion to ban Donald Trump from the UK on January 18. Typically 100,000 signatures on a petition…
Why have we normalized Islamophobia?
By John Esposito | ( OUPBlog) | - - The horrific attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have captured headlines and triggered responses from journalists, politicians, and religious leaders. Some Western heads…
Separating anti-Semitism from Anti-Zionism
By Lillian Rosengarten | (Informed Comment) | - - The distinction between Zionism and Judaism remains in constant need of clarification and discussion. Fanatics closed to discussion believe in their moral superiority…
How Realistic is the Big 5 Peace Plan for Syria?
By Baher Kamal | (IPS) | - - MADRID (IPS) - The “big five” – i.e., the most military powerful states on earth (US, UK, France, Russia and China) have just agreed…
The Surprising Reasons Washington’s ISIL Obsession obscures the Real Threats
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com) It’s time to panic! As 2015 ended, this country was certifiably terror-stricken. It had the Islamic State (IS) on the brain. Hoax terror threats or terror imbroglios…
ISIL/ Daesh Threatens to attack Saudi Arabia after Executions
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has pledged to attack and destroy the two Saudi political prisons, al-Ha'ir (Riyadh) and al-Tarfiya (Qaseem region), where Muslim radicals…
What is an H-Bomb?
Arirang News | (Video Short Documentary) | - - "So North Korea claims it′s a hydrogen not an atomic bomb that it′s tested. But what exactly is the difference， and if true…
A Letter from Norway on our Epidemic of Mass Shootings
By John L Hanson | (Informed Comment) | - - Why is it easier to buy a gun than to board a Plane? Why doesn’t America change their weapon law? What is…
In Iraq, some Sunni refugees’ bulwark against ISIL is . . . the Gated Community
Kamal al-Ayash | Fallujah | (Niqash.org) | - - Families who fled the [so-called] Islamic State [group] have found new homes in a residential complex south of Fallujah. But even with several…
Saudi Arabia: Prominent Shia Cleric dead in largest mass execution since 1980
Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Saudi authorities carried out the largest mass execution in the country since 1980, putting 47 men to death on January 2, 2016. According to…
Iraqi Shiites up in Arms, claim Saudi “Spying on behalf of ISIL/Daesh”
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Saudi Arabia's execution on Saturday of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr has so far not created a crisis between Riyadh and the…
Do Drug Gangs in Mexico kill more than ISIL? & other Big Security threats that will Surprise You
By Natasha Ezrow | (The Conversation) | - - This has been a remarkably violent year – and many of the worst threats to human security that have dogged people all over…
White Oregon Terrorists mocked: YeeHaw-dists, Y’all-Qaeda
AJ+ | (Video Report) | - - "A group of armed men took over a building on federal land in remote western Oregon. They've been there for a few days without any…
Syrian Peace Groups: This is not a Civil War, it is a Set of Foreign Invasions
By Mairead Maguire | (Inter Press Service) |- - BELFAST (IPS) - In November 2015 I visited Syria together with an International Peace delegation. This was my third visit to Syria in…
Vatican: Historic Accord with Palestine Takes Effect
By IMEMC | - - The Vatican’s first accord with the Palestinians — an agreement that Israel has attacked as counter-productive to the Middle East peace process — has come into force,…
The Question isn’t of Saving the World via Renewables but of how Much can be Saved
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Humanity is not abandoning fossil fuels fast enough to avoid some massive changes to our world's climate, with all the implications that change…
Saudi Arabia Executes Top Shia Cleric Nimr Al Nimr Under “Terrorism” Charges
By Amira Al Hussaini | ( GlobalVoices.org) Saudi Arabia announced today it had executed 47 people under “terrorism” charges, including top shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr who was seen as a leader…
Turkish Pres. Erdogan cites Hitler in case for Presidential System
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday cited Hitler in support of his contention that a presidential system can coexist with a "unitary state,"…
In the past 12 months, Iraqis finally lost all Hope
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - In 2015, every Iraqi – almost without exception – paid a price for events in their country. Some Iraqis lost their jobs,…
Palestinian population to exceed that of Jews by 2020 in Israel/Palestine
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Figures released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday suggested that Palestinians will outnumber Israeli Jews in historic Palestine by 2020.…
Radical Al-Shabab uses Trump in Recruiting Video & Muslim preachers denounce him along with ISIL
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The foremost academic expert on Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) and Muslim radical thought, Will McCants at Brookings, tweeted out late Friday: Shabab uses Trump's…
Strangest New Year’s Eve Celebrations From Around The World
AJ+ | (Video report) | - - "While fireworks are a common sight in many countries for New Year's, some parts of the world celebrate in a more traditional manner." AJ+: "Strange…
Top 7 Middle East Foreign Policy Challenges in 2016
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - My own feeling is that the US engagement with the Middle East is likely to remain so intense only for another two decades…