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Archives: January 2014
Dirty Fuel Corporations to American Public: Frack You!
(By Ellen Cantarow) For the past several years, I’ve been writing about what happens when big oil and gas corporations drill where people live. “Fracking” -- high-volume hydraulic fracturing, which extracts oil…
US Economic Policy in Afghanistan Doomed it: From Dogmatic Privatization to Neglect of Rural Sector
(By Graciana del Castillo via The Boston Review) . . . The promises made by President Bush in April 2002 to help rebuild Afghanistan in the tradition of the Marshall Plan created…
Rep. Cathy Rodgers Exemplifies GOP: Benefit from Gov’t yourself, Deny Benefits to Others
(By Juan Cole) Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in giving her response to President Obama's State of the Union message exemplified everything wrong with today's Republican Party. Ms. Rodgers spoke of being the…
Bad for the Jews: Israeli Annexation of Palestinian West Bank, Scarlett Johansson and BDS
(By Juan Cole) The determination of the Likud Party to annex the Palestinian West Bank is damaging the interests of world Jewry. This harm is clearly visible in the controversy that has…
330 US drone strikes in Pakistan recorded in Leaked official document
(By Alice K. Ross) The Bureau is today publishing a leaked official document that records details of over 300 drone strikes, including their locations and an assessment of how many people died…
La Follette’s Anti-Imperialism is Still Controversial at the Wall Street Journal
(By Richard Drake) On 11 January 2014, Lewis Gould reviewed my book, The Education of an Anti-Imperialist: Robert La Follette and U.S. Expansion, in The Wall Street Journal. One of the chapters…
Solving the Mideast Water and Energy Crises: Large-Scale Solar Desalinization in UAE
(Via CleanTechnica) 120 MW Solar Power Plant In The Works In The UAE (via Clean Technica) Utico Middle East, a solar developer currently working to develop a 40 MW solar power plant…
Obama as Unreliable Narrator on Climate Action: from SOTU to NSA spying at Copenhagen
(By Juan Cole) When President Obama looked us in the eye and said that the US is not engaged in electronic surveillance for economic reasons, but only for the sake of security…Circle Cafe serves up global tastes in a homely space
Stepping into Circle Cafe in Al Raha Gardens on a cold winter’s night is a relief. The space is warm and toasty, unlike most restaurants in the UAE, where the thermostat always…Will God have a say in Super Bowl outcome?
A new poll finds 48% of Americans think God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success
Why Pres. Obama wants to Raise Minimum Wage: 49 mn Americans Food Insecure
(Via PRNewswire) The State of Hunger in America: Feeding America Issues Annual Report (via PR Newswire) CHICAGO, Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In connection with President Barack Obama's . . . annual…
Don’t Break up Syria: WW I-Style Imperial Divide & Rule is a Failure
(By Christopher Dekki) Since the beginning of this terrible conflict in Syria, I have been closely listening to people’s reactions to the violence and devastation occurring there. What is astonishing is how…
US Pivot to Asia Should Deploy Soft Power, not the Marines
(By John Feffer) In a future update of The Devil's Dictionary, the famed Ambrose Bierce dissection of the linguistic hypocrisies of modern life, a single word will accompany the entry for "Pacific…U.S. Congress secretly approves weapons for ‘moderate’ rebels
Light arms supplied by the United States are flowing to moderate Syrian rebel factions in the south of the country and U.S. funding for months of further deliveries has been approved by…
Dovish SOTU: Obama will Veto AIPAC Iran Sanctions, Pledges Afghanistan Wind-Down
(By Juan Cole) President Obama's State of the Union address addressed some key foreign policy issues--Afghanistan and Iran above all-- though it was primarily aimed at domestic issues, and mainly at those…
Syria: Trapped Women of besieged Homs decline evacuation, fearing for their Men
(Via Globalpost) Women and children fearing for male relatives refuse to leave Syria's Homs (via GlobalPost) More than half of the 500 women and children trapped in the Syrian city of Homs…
NSA sucks up Phone App data from Google Maps to Angry Birds
(By Andrea Germanos) As part of their arsenal of spying tools, the National Security Agency and its British counterpart, the GCHQ, are sucking up personal data leaked from smartphone apps, according to…
Edward Snowden Interview: NSA is Engaged in Industrial Espionage for Interests, not Security
Via Liveleak: German Television does first Edward Snowden Interview
The 18th Brumaire of Gen. al-Sisi in Egypt
(By Juan Cole) On Monday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) announced that Field Marshall Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (also the minister of defense) was free to run for president if…
Using up Everything Fast: Extractive Capitalism, Sealing and Muslim Slaves in Latin America
(By Greg Grandin) The Two Faces of Empire Melville Knew Them, We Still Live With Them By Greg Grandin A captain ready to drive himself and all around him to ruin in…
Is Iran Back? Foreign Policy after the Nuclear Deal
(By Paul Rogers) Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton at the EU+3 and Iran talks, November 2013 Summary If Iran and the P5+1 succeed in negotiating a…
The Future of Cool: Electric Muscle Cars at the Detroit Auto Show
(By Juan Cole) I dropped by the Detroit Auto Show this weekend (its last this year) at Cobo Center as it was wrapping up. Regular readers know that I am a big…
Israeli PM Netanyahu faces Zionist Racism from Son dating Norwegian
(By Juan Cole) Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is caught in a firestorm of controversy because his son Yair, 23, is dating a Norwegian woman whom he met while she was studying…Turkish PM Erdoğan: Turkey rejects false prophets
Turkish PM Erdoğan has described Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen as a 'false prophet' without naming him, which comes as the latest move in the dispute between the government and the Gülen’s Movement
The Human Cost of Income Inequality in America
BBC: "What does Income Inequality mean for Americans?"
Despite Reform Pledges, Rouhani’s Iran remains Human Rights Nightmare
(By Sarah Leah Whitson) (Beirut) – Iranians are facing serious rights abuses, despite President Hassan Rouhani’s numerous promises to respect people’s rights following his June 14, 2013, electoral victory, Human Rights Watch…
Only post-Snowden did FISA Court even Consider if NSA Bulk Phone Collection is Legal
(By Michael Masnick) FISA Court Waited Until After Snowden Leaks To Actually Explore If Bulk Phone Record Collection Was Legal (via Techdirt) One of the most common defenses of the NSA's bulk…
54 Dead in an Egypt Polarized between pro-Military, anti-Coup on Revolution Anniversary
(by Juan Cole) January 25 marked the third anniversary of the revolution that overthrew dictator Hosni Mubarak, and Egyptians observed it in three distinctively different ways. In the iconic Tahrir Square downtown,…
The Real Irony of Rep. Harman being interrupted on NSA Spying by Bieber Bulletin
(By Juan Cole) MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell interrupts former Rep. Jane Harman, speaking on NSA surveillance from Davos, for breaking news about Justin Bieber's DUI arrest The real irony of interviewing Harman on…
Why Tunisia’s Transition to Democracy is Succeeding while Egypt Falters
(By Juan Cole) On Sunday, Tunisia's parliament will vote on the final text of the new constitution. If it passes by a two-thirds vote, the text will not have to go to…
China Installed More Solar Power in 2013 than the US has in its Whole History
(By Joshua S. Hill) China’s Solar Market Beat All Expectations For 2013 (via Clean Technica) Despite predictions all through 2013 suggesting that Japan would walk away the dominant solar PV market, Bloomberg…
Israel’s KKK: Violent Squatters increasingly Attacking Palestinians
(By César Chelala) Increasing acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories have been repeatedly denounced. Together with the increasing number of settlements being built on Palestinian land,…Who’s most innovative of all? Not Israel, says Bloomberg
This year’s Global Innovation Quotient furnishes a reality check for the Start-Up NationAKP winning perception war
Erdogan has been surprisingly successful in framing the graft probe in his favor, while purging the bureaucracy on an unprecedented scale.
3 Years Later, Young Bloggers who made the Tahrir Revolution are in Jail
(By Jillian C. York) Civil Society to Egypt: Release Alaa Abd El Fattah And All Unjustly Detained In Egypt (via EFF) The military “interim government” in Egypt is cracking down on virtually…
CSI Baghdad: Why don’t Crime Units in the Carbomb Capital of the World do their Job?
(By Mustafa Habib, Baghdad) It is estimated that around 250 car bombs exploded in Baghdad last year. This year the numbers are climbing and bombers’ skills are improving. This is taking a…
Death toll of Obama’s Drone Campaign 5 Years Later: 2,400
(By Jack Serle) Obama has launched over 390 covert drone strikes in his first five years in office Five years ago, on January 23 2009, a CIA drone flattened a house in…
On eve of Revolution Anniversary, Cairo Shaken by deadly Bombings
(By Juan Cole) Two bombings shook the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Friday morning. The first was apparently a car bomb detonated at 5:30 am that targeted the Directorate of Security, leaving 4…
Top Ten Ways GOP could avoid “War on Women” Label
(By Juan Cole) Mike Huckabee objects to the charge that the Republican Party is waging a war on women. The GOP obviously is increasingly a party of angry white men. It suffers…
Israel and Saudi Arabia on Same page re: Keeping Iran a Pariah
(Via Globalpost) Iran: The one issue Israel and Saudi Arabia can openly agree on (via GlobalPost) Enlarge An unidentified International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades…
World was Hot Again in 2013; Australia, others, Hottest on Record
(Via Environment News Service) Global Temperature Rise Persists Despite U.S. Cold Snap (via Environment News Service) NEW YORK, New York, January 21, 2014 (ENS) – The year 2013 tied with 2009 and…
Egyptian Professor Defends Himself from Coup Gov’t’s McCarthyite “Grand Espionage” Charges
(By Emad Shahin) Statement to my Students, Family and Friends January 23, 2014 It was with severe shock that I received news that I have been named in a case known as…
Perennial US Rush to War: Syrian Chem issue was too Foggy to Justify Bombing
(By William R. Polk) Nearly five months have passed since the United States nearly went to war with Syria. The issue has cooled down but has not been resolved. Resolving it is…
Iran Breakthrough a Triumph For Pragmatists and a Defeat For the Warmongers (Cole @ Truthdig)
My esssay, "Iran Breakthrough a Triumph For Pragmatists and a Defeat For the Warmongers" is out in Truthdig today. Excerpt: "By 2011, the U.S. Congress and the Department of the Treasury had…
Syria Conference Roiled by Shouting Matches, Insults
(By Juan Cole) The Geneva II negotiations at Montreux, Switerland, opened on a sour note on Wednesday. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem droned on interminably and charged the rebel forces with being…Can Syria lecture Turkey on terrorism?
In the opening session of the Geneva II talks the Syrian foreign minister stormed the conference, bitterly accusing 'foreign powers' of their responsibility over the ongoing civil warEU envoy: Israel will pay price for settlements
A senior European official on Wednesday painted an alarming picture for Israel if Mideast peace efforts fail, saying the country could face deepening economic isolation if it presses forward with construction of…Pro-choice, pro-mixed marriage film rooted in Jewish values
‘Obvious Child’ is a good-natured, foulmouthed romantic comedy — complete with Birthright jokes — centered around an abortion
Human Rights Abuses grow in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(By Sarah Leah Whitson) (Jerusalem) – Human rights abuses by Israel and by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank grew during 2013, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report…
Hard Times for Journalists, but A Golden Age for Canny Readers
(By Tom Englehardt) It was 1949. My mother -- known in the gossip columns of that era as “New York’s girl caricaturist” -- was freelancing theatrical sketches to a number of New…
As Geneva II Conference Opens, 1.3 mn. Syrian Refugees Shiver in Lebanon
(By Molly Crabapple) COFFEE WITH REFUGEES (via techexile.com) “In Lebanon’s Mountains, Syrians Face a Grim Future The teacher never imagined he would live in a tent. He once taught high school philosophy…
Climate Change is real, and Endangers East African Food Security
Climate Change Threatens East Africa’s Food Security (via Climate Central) By Kieran Cooke, Climate News Network LONDON – The report, East African Agriculture and Climate Change, published by the International Food Policy Research…
Gates worries Pakistan Violence blocks Polio Eradication, But is CIA Partly to Blame?
(By Juan Cole) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has done an amazing job in targeting diseases for eradication, and the world is very close to getting rid of polio altogether, in…Draft to mandate TurkishPM’s consent for prosecution of top commanders
The draft makes necessary to receive the PM’s approval before trying senior army officers
The Economist Pulls 'Anti-Semitic' Cartoon on Barack Obama and Iran
The Economist removed a cartoon from an article on its internet edition that has been characterized as anti-Semitic. Click here for the rest of the article...
'Palestine' Soccer Team Agrees To Yank 1-State Map From Jersey
Chile’s top soccer league has penalized the Palestine Football Club with a fine after playing in three official matches wearing uniforms showing the entire map of Israel as Palestine. Click here for…Syria accused of systematic torture and 11,000 executions: Report
Three former international prosecutors have accused Syria of large-scale killing and torture in a report based on evidence of a defector
Israeli Policy Divides Palestinian Families
(By AFP) Israel policy splits Palestinian families (via AFP) Israel's restrictions on Palestinian movement between Gaza and the West Bank is separating relatives and making family life impossible for tens of thousands…
Unbalanced: 85 Super-Wealthy own as Much as Half the World’s Population
(By Andrea Germanos) The global elite have rigged the rules so that "economic growth looks more like a winner-take-all system" that undermines democracy and threatens future generations with a "cascade of privilege…
Healing Iraq’s Rift requires less Black and White Thinking
(By Nelson Lowhim) The news from Iraq has grown dire lately. Al Qaeda has taken over certain cities (hotbeds of insurgency in earlier times) and has pushed the Iraqi government into a…
Many Thanks for Warm Support, Successful Fundraiser
(By Juan Cole) I just wanted to thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who donated to our annual fundraiser, which was enormously successful and came very close to meeting a…
Massive War Crimes: Syrian Regime Tortured, Starved, Murdered 11,000 Prisoners
(By Juan Cole) A new report by three respected jurists argues that photographic evidence provided by a defector from the Syrian police proves systematic torture and summary execution of thousands of prisoners…Iran says it starts implementing nuclear deal
TEHRAN: Iran's state TV says the country has halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment work as part of a landmark deal struck with world powers. The broadcast said Iran halted its 20…
Netanyahu Tells Kerry he will Grab 13% of Palestinian West Bank
(By AFP) Israel wants to annex fourth settlement bloc: radio (via AFP) Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US Secretary of State John Kerry that he wants to annex a fourth…
NSA Surveillance is about Control & Leverage, not Security
By Alfred McCoy | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - For more than six months, Edward Snowden’s revelations about the National Security Agency (NSA) have been pouring out from the Washington Post, the New…
After Defending Pot, Obama has to Pardon Medical Marijuana Growers He Jailed
(By Juan Cole) Barack Obama has a weed problem. Not just that he's admitted using it. He said clearly when campaigning for president in 2008 that he approved of medical marijuana. Yet…
Gov’t used Surveillance of MLK in Bid to Destroy Him: Now they want us to just Trust Them
(By Juan Cole) Among the ironies of Barack Obama trying to sell us the gargantuan NSA domestic spying program is that such techniques of telephone surveillance were used against the Reverend Martin…
Turkey Purges Officials in Bid to Quash Corruption Probes
(By AFP) Turkey widens purge after graft probe (via AFP) The Turkish government's mass purge of police and prosecutors has extended to the banking and telecoms sectors as well as state television,…
Fear is Driving Diplomacy on Syria, not Humanitarianism
(By Martin Gascoigne) Syria, like many countries in the region, is a demographically young country. With a population of 23 million. Slightly over a third are estimated to be below the age…
US Intel Officials keep Talking about Killing Snowden, then say “trust us with your data”
(By Mike Masnick) The Fact That The US Intelligence Community So Readily Admits To Fantasies Of Killing Ed Snowden Shows Why They Can't Be Trusted (via Techdirt) We've mentioned things in the…
The Shame and the Danger of Egypt’s 98% Vote
(By Juan Cole) The announcement on Saturday by the Egyptian government that there was a 38% turnout for the referendum on the new constitution was unexceptional. It was more than the 33%…Turkish police break up Internet protest
Riot police in Istanbul have used water cannons against hundreds of people protesting a government plan to expand controls over the public's use of Internet.
Israel Tries to Bully Europe over Criticism of Planned 1800 Squatter Units on Palestinian Land
(By AFP) Israel hits back at EU over settlement protest (via AFP) Israel called in European ambassadors in a tit-for-tat move on Friday after four EU states lodged formal protests against the…
4 Ways Obama has Misled on NSA Surveillance
(By Kara Brandeisky) President Obama on Friday announced some reportedly limited reforms to National Security Agency surveillance programs.Since the first disclosures based on documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Obama…
Assange on Obama Speech: “Embarrassing,” Dragged Kicking and Screaming to Reform by Snowden
Julian Assange responds to Obama speech on NSA reform at CNN AFP reports: Obama surveillance pledge will change little: Assange (via AFP) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday dismissed President Barack Obama's…
Taking on al-Qaeda: Syria’s Uprising within an Uprising
(By Rania Abouzeid) It was bound to happen, this uprising within an uprising against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a transnational ultraconservative Islamist group that ostensibly fights alongside Syria’s…
Last Chance – Annual Informed Comment Fundraiser
I hope you all like the new design. Of course, the changes are a work in progress but 2014 is an important year for Informed Comment. We will be adding some editorial…
The GOP’s War on Science Endangering America: Climate Change, Evolution, Regulation
The Republican Party is increasingly emerging as an anti-science party. Since American greatness was built on its science and technology (and not on the odd cult of biblical inerrancy), this development is…Beware of self-destructive Turkish propaganda
Yesterday, the Hürriyet Daily News reported about a recent warning by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan to all ambassadors of Turkey who were gathered in Ankara for an annual “envoy’s conference.”Gül keeps pressing for a way out
Turkish President Abdullah Gül keeps pressing for a way out of the political crisis in the country despite the opposition’s refusal to keep cooperating on a constitutional changeTurkish state fund seizes assets of CHP Istanbul candidate Mustafa Sarıgül
The decision was taken after the current mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district failed to repay loans worth $3.5 mln taken out in 1998, daily Hürriyet reportsUNESCO cancels event on Jewish ties to Land of Israel
Days before opening of Paris exhibit, UN cultural body bows to pressure from Arab states, who said it would harm peace talks
The Iraqi Heroine who Took on al-Qaeda in Northern Iraq
(By Ahmad al-Sayegh) Locals in the northern province of Ninawa are worried that extremists fleeing conflict in Anbar are going to end up back in Mosul, a traditional base for them. As…
America Black Ops Wars in 134 Countries
(By Nick Turse) They operate in the green glow of night vision in Southwest Asia and stalk through the jungles of South America. They snatch men from their homes in the Maghreb…
NSA Collects Hundreds of Millions SMS Text Messages every Day
(By Mike Masnick) NSA Collecting Hundreds Of Millions Of Text Messages Daily, Looking At 'Untargeted' Messages & Data (via Techdirt) The latest in the ongoing revelations for the Ed Snowden leaks is…Kerry urges opposition to attend Geneva on eve of vote
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday put in a last-ditch plea to Syria’s opposition-in-exile to attend next week’s peace talks in Switzerland.
Five Reasons Benghazi Wasn’t Hillary Clinton’s Fault
(By Juan Cole) Republicans like Marco Rubio are making hay of a Senate report on the Benghazi attack on a US consulate that left 4 Americans dead, including Ambassador to Libya Chris…
The Great Urban-Rural Struggle over the Constitution in Egypt
(By Juan Cole) The tale of two constitutions, 2012 and 2014, in Egypt has to be seen in my view as significantly an urban-rural struggle. Neither referendum had a big turnout, but…
Obama NSA Defense FAIL: The al-Mihdar Red Herring
In his speech on the National Security Agency domestic surveillance program on Friday, Obama offered an explanation of its origins: "The program grew out of a desire to address a gap identified…The BDP’s difficult choices over Dec 17
At last, the Kurdish movement had found an interlocutor who gave hope of a political solution and peace.
Books go Online for Free in Norway
(By AFP) Literature goes online for free in Norway (via AFP) Most books published in Norway before 2001 are going online for free thanks to an initiative that may have found the…
American Public Pushes back against AIPAC Senators seeking Iran Conflict
(By Sarah Lazare) A congressional drive for new sanctions on Iran, backed by the lobbying muscle of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, is meeting growing push-back from a public that does…
How the Arab Spring Left the Palestinians Behind
(By Abdalhadi Alijla) Reading about the murder of Hassan Hassan, the Palestinian actor and comedian, in Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria was like a bombshell. Hassan and his wife were arrested by…
Pension Managers should divest from Fossil Fuels: UN Official
(By Juan Cole) Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told investors at a conference on Wednesday that they should move pension funds out of fossil fuels.…‘I think I can still improve my strength’ says Shinji Kagawa, aiming to make bigger impact with United
The Japanese Manchester United midfielder said on Wednesday that, 'I realise the Premier League is a very tough league and I know I have to be stronger' as he looks for a…
Messianic Israeli Minister obsessed with Palestinian Land accuses Kerry of Messianic Obsession
(By AFP) US slams Israeli defense minister attack on Kerry (via AFP) A senior US official on Tuesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly disavow a complaint by Israel's defense…
Colbert: Christie Bridgegate a diversion from Obama’s Afghanistan War
Stephen Colbert reports on Robert Gates's criticisms of President Obama, noting that Gates said he though Obama made the right decisions, but was beset by second thoughts. He contrasted him to President…
Take Control of your Internet Privacy
(By Julia Angwin) In the course of writing her book, Dragnet Nation, ProPublica reporter Julia Angwin tried various strategies to protect her privacy. In this blog post, she distills the lessons from…
Giant Rhubarb Battery may save the World (Really!)
(By Tina Casey) Hook Up Your Solar Panels To A Giant Rhubarb Battery (via Clean Technica) Yes, all you rhubarb fans take note. A new energy storage breakthrough is under way at…
The Ruling that Endangers the Internet as we Know It
(By Juan Cole) A Washington D.C. federal panel has struck down the Federal Communication Commission position on net neutrality, threatening the corporatization of the internet. The reason readers of Informed Comment can…
3 Years after Democratic Revolution, Egypt Decides it Prefers North Korean Model
(By Juan Cole) The title of this piece is provocative and a little tongue in cheek. Were I in Egypt as I publish it, I'm not sure, though, that the authorities would…Israel should reach out to separatist Syrian Kurds
Israel should consider the Kurdish achievement of establishing an autonomous region in Syria and reach out to those groups which fight extremist Islamic powers in the country.
Dubai Calls for End to Iran Sanctions, Says no Nuclear Threat
(By Juan Cole) Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum of Dubai has called in a BBC interview for an end to economic sanctions on Iran if the civilian character of their nuclear enrichment program can…
NSA Bulk Surveillance has had no Impact on Fighting Terrorism
(By Jon Queally) An in-depth analysis of 227 individuals recruited by al Qaida or like-minded groups, and charged in the U.S. with an act of terrorism since 9/11, shows the contribution of…
“Fox was Romney’s War Room”; GOP being run by Fox News: Zucker & Gabriel Sherman Agree
The new head of CNN, Jeff Zucker, replied to Fox News' Roger Ailes obituary for CNN by alleging that the Republican Party is being run out of Fox. Then Gabriel Sherman, author…
Turkey’s Fierce Battle on the Religious Right
(By Ayşe Soysal) ... What is happening in Turkey now doesn’t feel like just a simple political disagreement, or even a war-game. It’s an all-out war, whose opening gambits have been politically…
False Nostalgia: The Original Fallujah Campaign Destabilized Iraq
(By Juan Cole) We've been treated to a rash of articles about how US veterans of the Fallujah campaigns of 2004 are upset about the return of al-Qaeda to that city and…
Top Ten Ways Ariel Sharon Ruined Israel and the Middle East
(By Juan Cole) Arik Scheinerman, who became Ariel Sharon, was from a Russian family that emigrated to Palestine at a time when Palestinians had been deprived of the right to set immigration…
40 prominent Journalists Call for Release of Detained Colleagues
Sharif Abdel Kouddous: In a strong show of solidarity, nearly 40 correspondents and editors representing 29 international media organizations are calling for the immediate release of journalists detained in Egypt. On December…
Fossil Fuels causing Antarctic Glacier to Melt Irreversibly, raise Sea Levels
(By AFP) Giant Antarctic glacier beyond point of no return (via AFP) Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier, one of the biggest single contributors to world sea-level rise, is melting irreversibly and could add…
Top Ten Things wrong with NSA Surveillance of Americans
(By Peter Van Buren) The debate Edward Snowden envisioned when he revealed the extent of National Security Agency (NSA) spying on Americans has taken a bad turn. Instead of a careful examination…
Ariel Sharon should have been Tried for War Crimes: Human Rights Watch
(By Human Rights Watch) (Jerusalem) – Ariel Sharon died without facing justice for his role in the massacres of hundreds and perhaps thousands of civilians by Lebanese militias in the Sabra and…
Did Ariel Sharon get a pass on War Crimes because he was White?
(By Juan Cole) It is shameful that Vice President Joe Biden should be attending the funeral of Ariel Sharon today, given that the former Israeli prime minister was clearly guilty of a…Iran interim nuclear deal to begin January 20
A landmark interim nuclear deal between Iran and world powers will begin on January 20.
Iran Negotiations Breakthrough: Reduction of 19.25% Enriched Uranium Stock begins Jan. 20
(By AFP) White House confirms Iran nuclear deal to take effect Jan 20 (via AFP) The White House confirmed Sunday that a nuclear agreement with Iran will take effect from January 20,…
New Congressional Sanctions on Iran Will Backfire . . . on Congress
(By Farhang Jahanpour) Despite strong opposition by the White House and the States Department and despite the pleadings of some of the most prominent bipartisan US foreign policy luminaries who have warned…
Pakistani Boy who Tackled, Thwarted School Bomber Honored
(By AFP) Pakistan honours teenage bomb hero with bravery award (via AFP) A Pakistani teenager who sacrificed his life to stop a suicide bomber, saving the lives of hundreds of students, has…
Omar Khayyam (497): “You’re beast and demon, angel, human being”
You who distill within you the whole world, attend to this voice from the realm beyond: You're beast, and demon, angel, human being; whatever you show forth, you are that thing. Translated…Israel’s indomitable protector, Ariel Sharon emblemized military audacity, evolving politics
Ben-Gurion called him the ‘greatest field commander’; later, the country entrusted him with its security, knowing the consequences could be unpredictable
Ariel Sharon’s Legacy for Israel and the Middle East
(By Yoav Peled) Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday, had been known as a brilliant tactician and lousy strategist. But when he took office as Israel's Prime Minister, in February 2001, he…‘Hezbollah missiles can now hit anywhere in Israel’
Revolutionary Guards commander warns the Shi’ite organization’s new might will come to light should war break out
Iran: Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Allies in US Senate Seek Vote to Scuttle President Obama’s Talks
(By AFP) White House won't predict Iran sanctions vote (via AFP) The White House declined Friday to renew its previous prediction that a Senate bill slapping new sanctions on Iran, which it…
Tunisia’s Political Compromise & the Legacy of Mohammed Bouazizi
(By Silvia Colombo) The agreement on the new prime minister that will have the arduous task of lifting Tunisia out of the current impasse came almost exactly three years after the symbolic…
Fallujah Tribes broker extremist withdrawal deal to forestall Gov’t invasion
(By Mustafa Habib) A secret deal was done between the tribes of Anbar and Sunni Muslim extremists this week – the result has seen extremists withdraw from Fallujah. But questions remain: Will…
The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem c. 1900 (Photo of the Day)
The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, c. 1900 (From Gertrude Bell, Syria: The Desert and the Sown, 1908)
Ban Coal: Coal Industry Chemical Threatens 300,000 in West Virginia
(By Juan Cole) Some 300,000 West Virginians are at risk from their tap water after a company making MCHM spilled it into the river, turning it a little purple and making it…1,000 rial
January 10-2014 The Central Bank has decided to lop some zeros off the rial (photo) next year. Mahmud Ahmadi, a senior official of the Central Bank, said the plan was to make…Israeli vandals fell fruit trees in revenge attack on Arabs
Suspected Jewish extremists cut down fruit trees belonging to Israeli Arabs in an apparent revenge attack for Palestinian villagers beating up Jewish settlers, police say.
Fox News: Christie Scandal Coverage pretext to Ignore Gates Revelations
(By David Edwards) Fox host on Christie: ‘Bridge thing’ ruining coverage of Bob Gates’ Obama-bashing (via Raw Story ) Fox News host Steve Doocy on Thursday lamented the fact that the media…
Libya: The Dictatorship of the Militias
(By Imad Mesdoua) "Ansar Al-Sharia cleans the streets of Benghazi and conducts social work to further enhance its standing" Terrorism Security in Libya still remains an ephemeral prospect. The country is awash…
Peak or no Peak, Oil is Unsafe at any Price
(By Michael Klare) Among the big energy stories of 2013, “peak oil” -- the once-popular notion that worldwide oil production would soon reach a maximum level and begin an irreversible decline --…
“It’s all Right to Make Fun of the Government”: Bassem Youssef (Egypt’s Jon Stewart)
Bassem Youssef: "It's OK to make fun of ourselves" "BBC Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman talks to Bassem Youssef, also known as the "Egyptian Jon Stewart", about making people laugh in Egypt today."
Top 5 US Government Decisions that put Troops more at Risk than Snowden Did
(By Juan Cole) The propaganda wars in Washington continue over Edward Snowden's revelation that the National Security Agency and other Federal government departments have in the past decade quietly abolished the Fourth…Anti-Arab graffiti scrawled in West Bank village
Latest price tag attack appears to be revenge for beating of settlers near Esh Kodesh earlier in the week
60 Minutes goes Benghazi on Cleantech & Gets that Wrong Too
(By Joe Romm) 60 Minutes Ignores The Facts In Clean Energy Segment (via Clean Technica) Originally published on ClimateProgressby Joe Romm Clean technology is booming by every key indicator — but you…
Iraq’s Real Problem: A US Occupation legacy of Sectarian Politics
(By Mohammed Alomari) Violence in Iraq is again in the news. The biggest problem we face about what is going on in Iraq is the disinformation campaign to which we have been…
How Egypt’s Revolution veered toward Authoritarian Crackdown
(By Mohammed Fadel) In response to a December 24 bombing in the town of Mansoura, the Egyptian government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The decision, which came despite the fact…
Gatesgate: Why Obama was right to Distrust his Generals on Afghanistan
(By Juan Cole) Among the charges in former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's memoirs against Barack Obama is that the latter did not trust his generals, did not adopt the Afghanistan War…Caleb Jacoby, teenage son of Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, is missing
MassLive: Teen missing since Monday afternoon
About that Country you Destroyed: A Letter to George W. Bush
(By Ralph Nader) George W. Bush Presidential Center PO Box 560887 Dallas, Texas, 57356 Dear Mr. Bush: A few days ago I received a personalized letter from your Presidential Center which included…
Daily Show on Global Warming Confusion (Video of the Day)
Jon Stewart of the Daily Show reviews the silly things climate change denialists are saying about the cold snap, inasmuch as they confuse weather events with long-term climate trends. For more see…
Franken-GOP (Cartoon of the Day)
(By Paul Jamiol) Courtesy Paul Jamiol, Jamiol's World
Tripoli Residents Protest as 80,000 Rare Books in Lebanon Torched by Salafis
(AFP) Angry Lebanese protest over attack on priest's library (via AFP) Hundreds of Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday to protest the torching of a…
Top Ten Things Bob Gates was Wrong about, Some Criminal
(By Juan Cole) Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in his new memoir is said to have slammed Vice President Joe Biden for having been consistently "wrong" on foreign policy matters over…
Note to GOP: Yes, the Polar Vortex Could be Global Warming
(By Peter Spotts) How frigid 'polar vortex' could be result of global warming (via The Christian Science Monitor) A bitter Arctic blast spanning the central and eastern US has propelled the phrase…
The Year in Drone Strikes: As Many as 35 Civilians Dead, 5 Children
(By Alice K Ross and Jack Serle) In 2013 the number of drone strikes to hit Pakistan fell to the lowest levels of Obama’s presidency: 27 strikes reportedly hit the country’s tribal…
Kurds increase their Autonomy amid chaos in Arab Iraq
(By Globalpost) As Iraq spirals, the Kurds take advantage (via GlobalPost) ERBIL, Iraq — As sectarian violence in Iraq reaches new heights and threatens to return the country to civil war, the…
A Bridge of Boats across Frozen Tigris River, Mosul, 1903
The authors say locals in Mosul told them that the last time the river froze was 1750. That freezing became more rare after that date is significant, since 1750 marks the beginning…
Spain, Portugal show that 50%, even 70% Power from Renewables is Possible Right now
(By Juan Cole) The miserable record of the United States in tackling its deadly carbon dioxide emissions (5 billion metric tons a year) sometimes obscures how very possible it is for industrial…
Syria: Rebel Militias take on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(By Joshua Landis with A.J.N.) A major confrontation has broken out between the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Syria’s other rebel militias. It is being led by two newly…
Kerry may Nix Keystone XL for Global Climate Agreement
(By Tina Casey) John Kerry Throws More Cold Water On Keystone XL Pipeline (via Clean Technica) The tubes have been buzzing over a new New York Times report on Secretary of State…
The Failure of the Trillion Dollar National Security State
(By Tom Engelhardt> In a 1950s civics textbook of mine, I can remember a Martian landing on Main Street, U.S.A., to be instructed in the glories of our political system. You know,…
Iran Rock Video: Chrymez, “Fight for Your Rights”
David Nejadi's Iran Chrymez Rock band plays "Fight for your Rights" for more see Reverbnation
Recognizing Israel as a Jewish State is like saying the US is a White State
(By Juan Cole) Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is adding a fifth demand to his negotiations with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas: That the Palestinians recognize…Israeli hardliners object to Kerry pressure
Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners step up pressure on the Israeli prime minister, threatening to topple the government if he caves in to American pressure to accept a key Palestinian territorial demand…
Israel Rejects Kerry Proposal to Relinquish Control of Palestine-Jordan Border, Endangering Talks
(By AFP) Israel rejects US proposals on Jordan Valley (via AFP) Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley, a cabinet member close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday,…
Obama Era a new Gilded Age, with Rich Getting Richer, Poor Poorer
(By Paul Buchheit) Anyone reviewing the data is likely to conclude that there must be some mistake. It doesn't seem possible that one out of twenty American families could each have made…
Europe Abandoning Hydrocarbons: Closing 30% of Gas, Coal Plants in Favor of Green Energy
(By Zachary Shahan) Europe’s Fossil Fuel Exit — 30% Of Fossil Fuel Power Capacity To Close By 2017, UBS Analysts Project (via Clean Technica) Following up on a Credit Suisse report stating…
“Zariya”: A. R. Rahman, Jordan song, Nepal Buddhist Hymn
India's MTV program "Coke Studio" (sponsored by Coca Cola) presents: Published on Aug 1, 2013 Giving a whole new spin to the term 'world music' -- A.R.Rahman spins his magic on an…
John McCain and Lindsey Graham Want to invade Falluja Yet Again
(By Juan Cole) There were conflicting reports on Sunday morning about whether the Iraqi government and its allied tribal levies had regained control of the western city of Falluja, which had fallen…
Gaza: the challenges faced by the young women (Video of the Day)
France24 does what no US news channel will, reporting on the challenges facing young women in occupied Gaza Related article: Gaza power plant back online as fuel supply resumes (via AFP) The…
The Politics of War Casualty Counts, from the “GWOT” to Syria
(By Michael Munk) Counting the casualties of war is a highly political exercise. We recall the competition for promotion and decoration between US military commanders in Vietnam for Vietcong “body counts.” When…
Bringing medieval Persian verse to the West: Dick Davis Interview
PBS Newshour's Jeff Brown interviews Dick Davis, among the foremost Persian scholars and translators of our time, on the delights and glories of Persian poetry. Davis is the translator of Faces of…
Iraq’s Sunni Civil War
(By Juan Cole) The attempt launched earlier this week by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) to take and hold city quarters in Falluja, Ramadi and Khalidiya in…No parallel organization within state can be tolerated, particularly inside judiciary: President Gül
President Abdullah Gül has expressed his concerns over claims relayed by several high-level officials of a 'gang within the state' aiming to topple the government
Iraq: Government assault as Sunni Extremists Take al-Anbar City Quarters
(By AFP) Clashes kill 32 civilians in Iraq's Anbar (via AFP) Fighting killed at least 32 civilians on Friday in the Anbar province cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, where Al-Qaeda-linked militants took…
Australia burns, swelters in Hottest Year on Record (Climate Instability Story of the Day)
(By AFP) Australia endures hottest year on record (via AFP) Australia experienced its hottest year on record in 2013, the Bureau of Meteorology said Friday, enduring the longest heatwave ever recorded Down…
Former Pakistan Dictator suffers “heart problem” on Way to Treason Trial
(by AFP) Musharraf suffers 'heart problem' on way to treason hearing (via AFP) Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was rushed to hospital Thursday after suffering a "heart problem" on his way…
Space Exploration as Reality Show: 1000 chosen for Private Mars Colonization Mission
(By AFP> More than 1,000 chosen for one-way Mars reality-TV mission (via AFP) More than 1,000 candidates -- from 200,000 hopefuls -- have been chosen to train for a private Mars colonisation…
GOP isn’t Getting more Ignorant on Evolution, it is Just getting Older
(By Juan Cole) Polling by the Pew Charitable trust shows that the gap between Republicans and Democrats on evolution has substantially widened in just 5 years. The percentage of Republicans who say…
Syria: 73,000 were Killed in 2013 Carnage as Refugees Brace for Winter
(By AFP) 73,000 dead in Syria in 2013, war's bloodiest year (via AFP) More than 73,000 people were killed in Syria in 2013, the bloodiest year yet in the brutal civil war…
Is a Third Palestinian Uprising on its Way?
(By Ruthie Blum) On December 25, Ali Jarbawi published his blockbuster Op-Ed "The Coming Intifada" with The New York Times. ”We Palestinians are living through the worst situation in years,” he wrote.…
Street Kebab Chef in Mosul, Iraq, 1903 (Photo of the Day)
From M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume, Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman’s Eight Years’ Residence Amongst the Women of the East (1909).
Egyptian Military Junta Jumps the Shark, Interrogates Islamist Muppet
(By Juan Cole) When the venerable al-Ahram newspaper, then under the control of the government of Hosni Mubarak, published the allegation during the 2011 revolution that the crowds were just coming down…
Solar Ascendancy: Minnesota Court Ruling for Solar over Gas a Harbinger of Things to Come
(By Juan Cole) Minnesota Judge Eric Lipman found that solar is a better deal than natural gas for Xcel Energy, permitting Geronimo Energy to construct 20 huge solar facilities worth $250 million…
Apple: We didn’t help NSA put the Dropoutjeep Backdoor in our iPhones
(By Jon Queally) Apple, the company giant behind the iconic iPhone, declared on Monday that is has never assisted the NSA in its efforts to create "back doors" to its signature mobile…
Turkey’s Secretive Gulen Movement Challenges its Prime Minister as Religious Right Splits
(By Alexander Christie-Miller) The Gulen movement: a self-exiled imam challenges Turkey's Erdogan (via The Christian Science Monitor) The man some see as the architect of a political storm threatening to topple Turkey’s…
Tagore’s “The New Year” (Poem of the Day)
(By Rabindranath Tagore) The New Year LIKE FRUIT, shaken free by an impatient wind from the veils of its mother flower, thou comest, New Year, whirling in a frantic dance amid the…