Month

Archives: August 2015

Can a Loose Federal system save Syria and Iraq?

By Jerome Joffe | (Informed Comment) | - - In recent months, prospects for applying the principles of federation and constitutional protection for minorities as a basic political solution for the conflicts…

Islamic Declaration on Climate Change Turns Up Heat Ahead of Paris Talks

By Kitty Stapp | (Inter Press Service) | - - NEW YORK (IPS) - Following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who has taken a vocal stance on climate change, Muslim leaders…

‘We Must Face Reality. Iraq Can No Longer Be Ruled In A Centralised Way’ – Former VP Salih

Zhyar Mohammed | Niqash.org | Sulaymaniyah | - - Senior Iraqi Kurdish politician Barham Salih doesn't pull his punches: The Iraqi army is over, as is the national Iraqi project. And extremists…

Palestinians Christians Clash with Israeli Soldiers after Sunday Mass over Bethlehem Confiscations

Palestinian Christians Clash with Israeli Soldiers after Sunday Mass over Bethlehem Confiscations

by IMEMC News | - - Palestinian Christians clashed with Israeli forces, following mass on Sunday, when priests and demonstrators marched to protest renewed work on the apartheid wall in the Christian…

Top 5 Green Energy Breakthroughs Today

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - - Switching to green energy sources like wind and solar is necessary to save the planet from increased concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide,…

“You Stink!” Movement Gives Lebanese Gov’t 72 Hours to Meet Protesters Demands

By Amira Al Hussaini | (Global Voices Online) | - - Lebanese protesters at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut earlier today. Photo credit: You Stink Movement official Facebook page Lebanese protesters today gave…

Campaign of fear: Donald Trump’s battle against birthright citizenship

By Anthony J Gaughan | (The Conversation) | - - Donald Trump is a man of extraordinary self-confidence. Since launching his presidential bid in June, he has boasted of his immense wealth,…

Louisiana Muslim-Haters call 911 in Panic over Hebrew Sign

Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Report) | - - "Some Louisiana residents panicked when they found a sign written in what they thought was Arabic. It turned out to be…

Palestine overwhelmed by Illegal American Immigrants

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - If there were a Palestinian Donald Trump, he'd be fulminating against illegal immigrants swamping the Palestinian West Bank. And he'd be complaining that…

Ghoul’s Glossary: “Migrants” or “Refugees” or “Anchor Babies”?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Migrants: Those who voluntarily go to another country to live and work, seeking a better life. Refugees: Those who are forced out of…

Appeals Court Falls for Government’s Shell Game in NSA Spying Case

By Cindy Cohn | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s opinion today in Klayman v. Obama is highly disappointing and, worse, based on…

Missing, Believed Murdered: ISIL in Mosul Releases 1st ‘Death List’ of 2,070 Victims

Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) The Islamic State group in Mosul has released lists of locals whose families thought they were missing, but who have been executed. The extremists are also…

Are Turkish Pres. Erdogan’s anti-PKK Campaign, Snap Elections Backfiring?

By Kubilay Yado Arin | (ISLAMiCommentary) | - - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons) Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan this week called for new elections on November 1, after his…

Austrian Truck Tragedy echoes Palestinian Story, reminding us of 7 mn still stateless

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The gruesome discovery of an abandoned truck in eastern Austria with 71 dead refugees in it, 4 of them children, has horrified the…

Can Donald Trump Become President Without Latinos?

AJ+ | (Video Report) - - "After attacking immigrants, Mexicans and other Latinos, can Donald Trump become president without their votes? We look at the numbers and come up with an answer."…

What if it were your kids’ School the Israelis were demolishing?

By: Fadwa Baroud | (Ma'an News Analysis) | - - On July 12, 2015, Israel announced that it would seek to carry out demolition orders of structures in the Palestinian village of…

Fighting at Funerals: Turkey plunges back into Conflict

T. Deniz Erkmen | (Informed Comment) | - - It has been a month since the government of Turkey has ended the tenuous peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK),…

Egypt’s al-Sisi and Putin Pledge Common Front against Terrorism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Wednesday for the third time in a year with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Putin is…

Germany decides to Accept Syrian Refugees, Waives EU Rule

Der Tagesspiegel by Andrea Dernbach translated by Samuel Morgan [NB Germany is expecting 800,000 asylum seekers this year, 40% of the EU total.] Germany has ceased applying the rules of the Dublin…

Turkey’s Snap Elections: Erdoğan is forcing his people to take sides

By Bahar Baser and Ahmet Erdi Öztürk | (The Conversation) | - - Ever since the June 2015 elections, which thwarted the proposed presidential system that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long…

Major World Aid Groups & 150,000 people demand end to Israel’s Gaza blockade

Oxfam | (Press Release) - - Oxfam Press Release : More than 150,000 people from around the world have today joined 35 aid, faith, development and human rights organizations in backing an…

Water Being Used as Weapon of War in Syrian Conflict, UN Warns

By Lauren McCauley, staff writer. | (Commondreams.org) | - - Compounded by scorching heat wave, Syrians are experiencing 'deliberate' water cut-offs, often for weeks at a time The United Nations on Tuesday…

Defending Natalie Portman on Holocaust: Sometimes it can be subverted to fear-mongering

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Actress Natalie Portman has kicked off a controversy with remarks about how to remember the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews, in which the…

Jorge Ramos explains what happened after he was escorted out of Trump’s press conference

Jorge Ramos explains his ejection from Trump’s press conference

Jorge Ramos | (Univision Noticias) (Video Interview)| - - Univision Noticias: "Jorge Ramos explains what happened after he was escorted out of Trump's press conference"

ISIL’s Assault on History: Blows Up 1st Century Baal Shamin Temple in Palmyra

RFE / RL | - - Gunmen from the Islamic State (IS) militant group have blown up a first century A.D. temple in the ancient city of Palmyra, Syrian government officials and…

Jeb Bush’s Torquemada Platform (Political Cartoon)

Paul Jamiol | (Jamiol's World) Via Jamiol's World

Coal Industry Collapsing in Appalachia, leaving behind Blighted Landscape

By Laura Gottesdiener. | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - In Appalachia, explosions have leveled the mountain tops into perfect race tracks for Ryan Hensley’s all-terrain vehicle (ATV). At least, that’s how the 14-year-old…

GOP Islamophobia: Scott Walker thinks there are only “a Handful” of “Reasonable Muslims”

Via Bridge Project Tracking islamophobia

President of Israel declares Israeli Squatting in Palestinian West Bank a “Right”, key to Zionism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday declared Israeli squatting on the Palestinian West Bank a "right" and as an essential Zionist principle. Reuven,…

A CIA Eyewitness blows the Whistle on Bushie Torturers still Justifying Crimes

By John Kiriakou | (Foreign Policy in Focus/ Otherwords.org) | - - They can call it anything they want, but the CIA tortured its prisoners. And that's a crime against humanity. The…

Trump in Alabama: Playing George Wallace & making Latinos the new N-Word

Margaret Howell and Jo Ankier | (TheLipTV Video News Commentary) | - - "Donald Trump held a pep rally at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Alabama on Friday night drawing around 30,000 people.…

Can Iraq’s Shiite Militias save the Country from Sectarian Division? Qais al-Khazali thinks So

By Mohammed al-Zaidi | Najaf | (Niqash.org) | - - NIQASH meets Qais al-Khazali, head of one of Iraq's most feared militias. The cleric and soldier answered critics, talking about what to…

Israel: Surge in Unlawful Palestinian Home Demolitions: 126 in West Bank Left Homeless

Human Rights Watch | - - (Jerusalem) – The Israeli military unlawfully demolished at least 39 structures in Bedouin Palestinian communities in the West Bank on August 17 and 18, 2015. The…

They’re Baaack! Neoconservatives, Netanyahu, and the GOP set up US-Iran War of 2017

By David Bromwich | ( Tomdispatch.com ) “We’re going to push and push until some larger force makes us stop.” David Addington, the legal adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, made that…

ISIS Desecrates, Razes Ancient Christian Monastery in Syria

Iraq-Syria News | (Video News Report) | - - "Yet again, ISIS violated the sanctity of Christianity in the Middle East and in Syria in particular. This time, the target was the…

NOAA: July 2015 was most Torrid Month on Record, caused by burning Fossil Fuels

IBTimes UK | (Video News Report) | - - IBTimes UK: "Global warming: July 2015 was the hottest month ever recorded" Addendum: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports: "The July average…

Israel’s Illegal blockade of Gaza based on “made-up laws”; resistance outlawed

By Azeezah Kanji | (OpenDemocracy) | - - Israel invokes the privileges of engaging in international armed conflict but denies Palestinians their corresponding entitlements under the same body of law. This is…

Is Israeli military using Barak in struggle w/ Netanyahu over Iran Deal?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - - The revelations from former Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's memoir keep coming. Another excerpt was broadcast by Israel's Channel 2 on Sunday. Barak gave…

Youth Revolts are back– Lebanon, Iraq Shaken by demand for Services, end to Corruption

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The master narrative of much Western journalism is that the youth protests of 2011 have been replaced by civil war and terrorism. But…

Slovakia Will Only Accept Christian Migrants

Jo Ankier and Jose Marcelino Orti | (TheLipTV Video News) | - - "Slovakia announced Thursday that it will only accept Christians when it takes in refugees fleeing conflict in Syria under…

Israel issues demolition order for mosque in Palestinian East Jerusalem

Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli municipality officials delivered a demolition order Friday to the al-Qaaqaa Mosque, a house, and a studio apartment in the Silwan neighborhood of…

American Heroes on French Train show Courage, not Billions, needed to Face down Terrorism

Deutsche Welle | (Video News Report) | - - "Three Americans are being hailed as heroes, after overpowering a gunman aboard a European high-speed train. Reports say the suspect was armed with…

How Islamic State is moving its Egyptian battle from Sinai to Cairo

By Natasha Ezrow | (The Conversation) | - - Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for a powerful car bomb detonated outside a state security building in northern Cairo which injured 29…

Barak– Netanyahu was on verge of Attacking Iran 3 Times 2010-12 (Why Listening to him on Iran Diplomacy is Daft)

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In a radio interview, former Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak revealed that the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was on the verge…

Momentum growing for Iran Deal: Obama Wins Over Jewish Democrat Nadler

Wochit News | (video News Report) | - - "President Barack Obama seeking to reassure a Democratic congressman who represents the most Jewish district in the nation calls the nuclear agreement negotiated…

Syria: Impose Arms Embargo on Regime Following Deadly Airstrikes

Human Rights Watch | - - (New York) – The United Nations Security Council should impose an arms embargo on the Syrian government following the government’s repeated air attacks on Douma’s popular…

Iran Pres. Rouhani criticizes Hardliners, is slapped down by Revolutionary Guards

By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | - - Iran's Guardians Council, long accused of being a tool for hard-liners in factional power struggles, is at the center of a new war…

Global Warming: Humans made California drought 15-20% worse by Burning Coal, Gas, Oil

By Park Williams | (The Conversation) | - - With each passing year, human-caused global warming bullies California for more water. Each year, the heat squeezes more moisture from soils and ecosystems.…

Crisis in Iraqi Kurdistan: Attacked by ISIL & Turkey; and Now Leaderless

Honar Hama Rasheed | Erbil | (Niqash.org) | - - As the issue of Iraqi Kurdistan's vacant presidency heats up, delegations from the US, Turkey and Iran have all visited to have…

Huge ISIL Blast at Cairo Security Bldg. Injures 29; Sisi Security Claims in Tatters

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - An enormous explosion damaged a building housing secret police in a northern district of Cairo (Shubra al-Khayma) on Thursday early morning, wounding nearly…

Israel and the BDS debate: two scholars respectfully agree to differ

By Ingrid Matthews and James Arvanitakis | (The Conversation) | - - From Australia, we watch Israel at a great distance, safe in the knowledge that the regular and horrific levels of…

“The Iranian Threat”: Who Is the Gravest Danger to World Peace?

By Noam Chomsky | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - Throughout the world there is great relief and optimism about the nuclear deal reached in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 nations, the…

Trump Takes on the World

By John Feffer | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - It was 1972. The flamboyant rock star Alice Cooper, not quite a household name at that point in England, was booked…

No, AP, Iran doesn’t get to Inspect its own Nuclear Facilities under Deal

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Eminent Iran and security expert Gary Sick pointed out in an email late Wednesday that the Associated Press just ran a shamefully inaccurate…

Syria: Daesh/ ISIL Kills aged Archeologist who refused reveal hidden Palmyra Antiquities

Syria: Daesh/ ISIL Kills aged Archeologist who refused to reveal hidden Palmyra Antiquities

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | - - "ISIS beheaded 82-year-old Khaled Al-Asaad on August 18, 2015, in the 2,000-year-old city he spent his life restoring. Syria's most prominent antiquities scholar is…

To Contain Carbon Bomb, US Must End Fossil Fuel Leasing on Public Lands

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | - - 'Each new lease puts us farther down the path toward climate catastrophe,' says Friends of the Earth If the U.S. government wants…

70 Top nuclear Experts: Iran Deal a ‘Net-Plus’ for Non-Proliferation Worldwide

By S. Chandra | (Inter Press Service) - - WASHINGTON (IPS) - As the U.S. Congress prepares to vote next month on the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was…

Huckabee’s virtual Genocide: erases Palestinians from West Bank, declares it “Israel”

IMEMC | - - US presidential contender Mike Huckabee said during a visit to Jerusalem, on Wednesday, that he did not consider the West Bank occupied by Israel. The Republican and Baptist…

Defying Saudis, Iran: Muslim thinkers call for Action on Climate Change at Istanbul Conference

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Attendees at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in Istanbul from 20 countries produced, and 60 of them signed, a declaration this week…

Despite Sordid Past, Nuclear Deal can Repair US-Iran Relations: An open letter to Congress and the White House

Francis A. Mlynarczyk, Jr. and Walter M. Cadette | (Informed Comment)| - - Washington has an opportunity to repair its tattered relations with Iran. The opportunity is there on the premise that…

Iran’s Support for Syria Pragmatic, not Religious (or, Who are the Alawites?)

By Ari Heistein | (Informed Comment) | - - The Shia government in Teheran and the Alawi regime in Damascus have had warm relations since Iran’s Islamic Revolution, and many attribute that to a…

Hard to get Good Help: Are US Generals just Incompetent?

By William J. Astore | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - Thomas Jefferson Hall, West Point’s library and learning center, prominently features two quotations for cadets to mull over. In the first, Jefferson writes George Washington…

As Oil Prices Crater, Algeria needs an Actual Economy or big Trouble Looms

By Allan Christelow | (Informed Comment) | - - Like other oil producers, Algeria faces difficulties with the sharp decline in prices since 2014. But unlike oil producers in the Gulf region,…

How many thousands US troops would GOP Hopefuls send to Iraq and Syria?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Bill Barrow of the Associated Press took a look at the specifics of plans for US troop deployments in the Middle East put…

Young Muslim-American entrepreneurs Fight ISIL Online

Ayman Mohyeldin | (NBC News Video report) "Startups are launching to help young Muslims, who might fall to ISIS’ luring appeal, grapple with issues of identity and religion." NBC News: "Young Entrepreneurs…

How Black Lives Matter is making Bernie Sanders a better candidate

By Kate Aronoff | ( Waging Nonviolence) If you spent any time in the progressive blogosphere this past week and a half, chances are that you have some feelings about activists in…

Egypt’s “Terrorism” Law Violates “Fundamental Freedoms”

By Kitty Stapp | (Inter Press Service) | - - NEW YORK (IPS) - Egyptian authorities are already holding a record number of journalists behind bars, and a draconian new anti-terror law…

First Time at the Rodeo? (Political Cartoon)

Paul Jamiol | (Jamiol's World) | - Via Jamiol's World

The Long Knives Come out in Baghdad

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In principle, the idea of streamlining the Iraqi government and making it more efficient is a capital one. But the reforms being pursued…

Gaza: Managing the Disaster isn’t Enough; not one of 11,000 buildings repaired

By Charlie Hoyle | (Inter Press Service) | - - The rubble of twisted concrete and metal bakes in the hot Mediterranean sun of a regional heat wave. A year on from…

California at the Cutting Edge of our new Mega-Drought Normal

By William deBuys | ( Tomdispatch.com) - - Long ago, I lived in a cheap flat in San Francisco and worked as the lone straight man in a gay construction company. Strangely…

Is Wind Energy taking over the Planet and Saving it?

By Nicole Jewell | (Fix.com) | - - Renewable energy has come a long way in a relatively short time. But there are still many questions about the cost effectiveness and feasibility…

Is Syria doomed to become Sunni version of Theocratic Iran?

By Hakim Khatib | ( Your Middle East ) - - War in Syria The Syrian upheaval has, increasingly, been fixed in a religious framework – Sunnis against the rest, writes Hakim…

New Poll: only 1 in 4 in US want more American involvement abroad; Cuba & Iran lower on List

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - - A new NORC/ AP poll, done before the Iran deal was announced by President Obama, shows how out of touch most of the presidential…

Israeli troops Suppress Demo for Hunger-Striker Allan, in Coma

By Saed Bannoura - (IMEMC News) Dozens of Palestinians suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation, Saturday, after Israeli soldiers assaulted hundreds of residents marching in solidarity with hunger striking detainee Mohammad…

ISIL: What nonviolent steps could the US take to defeat it?

By Adil E. Shamoo | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - There may be a responsible way to fight the Islamic State, but the U.S. will have to leave its boots…

New Proof: AT&T and NSA’s Long Surveillance Partnership shredded 4th Amendment

By Mark Rumold | ( Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - Reports today in the New York Times and ProPublica confirm what EFF’s Jewel v. NSA lawsuit has claimed since 2008—that the…

Is al-Zawahiri’s oath to Taliba a sign al-Qaeda is finished? Will ISIL step In?

Is al-Zawahiri’s oath to Taliban a sign al-Qaeda is finished? Will ISIL step In?

By Joanna Paraszczuk | ( RFE/ RL ) - - After almost a year of silence, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has released an audio message swearing bay'ah -- an oath of allegiance…

How the Israel Lobbies hurt U of Illinois-UC and damaged our 1st Amendment (Salaita Case)

How the Israel Lobbies hurt U of Illinois-UC & 1st Amendment (Salaita Case)

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - There is no honor among thieves or ideologues, and it is sad to see a great university's leadership descend into petty squabbling and…

Brothers in Arms: Jeb Bush Won’t Say ‘No’ To Future Torture

By Jon Queally, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org | - - 'This is what happens when you don't prosecute officials for illegally torturing people.' While also foregoing the opportunity to condemn the…

Turkey Hit by Wave of Attacks as It Continues Mideast Military Strikes

By Anne Koopman | ( Global Voices Online) | - - At least nine people fell victim to a spate of attacks in the Turkey's largest city Istanbul and the south-eastern province…

Israeli Lawmaker: Palestinians ‘preventing expansion’ of settlements

Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- An Israeli Knesset member this week convened a meeting to stop Palestinians from "preventing the expansion" of Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West…

Syria: Kurdish YPG Expels “bloodthirsty” ISIL “gangs” from Hasaka (VICE News)

VICE News | (Video Report) | - - "The northeastern city of Hasakah is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse in Syria. Its population of Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Christians…

Putin pitches Grand Alliance against Daesh/ ISIL, but Syria Rebels want al-Assad Gone

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Russian Federation is a key player in Syria, and backer of the dictatorial government of Bashar al-Assad. Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday…

GOP Hopefuls Get $62M From Fossil Fuel Donors: Origins of Climate Denialism?

Elliot Hill and Mark Sovel | (TheLipTV Video Report) | - - "Eight out of the 17 Republican presidential candidates have received at least $62m in donations from a small number of…

Settlement Expansion Largely Responsible for Violence in Occupied West Bank

By Kanya D'Almeida | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - Just weeks after an 18-month-old baby was killed in an arson attack in the Palestinian village of Duma,…

Good Earth News: Are Tar Sands & Fracking Doomed by Long Oil Glut?

By Michael T. Klare | (Tomdispatch.com | - - The plunge of global oil prices began in June 2014, when benchmark Brent crude was selling at $114 per barrel. It hit bottom at $46…

Did Ayatollah Sistani just save Iraq from Iran-backed militias by pushing Gov’t Reforms?

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org)| - - During last week's protests, secret plans were made to use demonstrations to topple the government. But a senior Shiite spiritual leader seems to have…

Why Partitioning Iraq is a Terrible Idea

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - I think the remarks of outgoing US Army chief Gen. Ray Odierno on the possible partition of Iraq have been reported in a…

GOP Pres. Candidates AWOL on Clean Power Plan

The Tree | - - Exactly one week after the United States government finalized its historic Clean Power Plan, the traditional opponents of the transition from dirty energy to clean renewables have…

Bernie Sanders Surges Past Hillary In N. Hampshire

Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola | (The Young Turks) | - - "Up until this week we were asking the question, “Can Bernie Sanders ever catch up to Hillary Clinton?" After today…

Saudi-led war in Yemen provokes Humanitarian Crisis, 1.2 mn. displaced

By Kitty Stapp | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - Doctors Without Borders . . . is warning that the violence in Yemen “has radically increased” since March,…

Petition Calling For Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Arrest Goes Viral

By IMEMC | - - A British petition demanding the arrest of the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, upon his arrival in the UK next month, went viral in just a few…

Memo to Jeb Bush: It was the Surge that created ISIL, not Hillary

Memo to Jeb Bush: It was W’s Surge that created ISIL, not Hillary

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Jeb Bush very unwisely went after Hillary Clinton last night on the grounds that her Iraq policies gave us Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). Bush…

Straws in the Wind: Obama has likely already won re: Iran Deal

By Carlyn Meyer | (Informed Comment) | - - Republicans have derided President Obama as weak and incompetent for years. Summer 2015 is shaping up to be pay-back time. As President Obama…

Trump: My Iran Deal would be 100x Better, I’d Make World Obey

CNN | (New Day Video Report) | - - "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks to CNN's New Day about the nuclear agreement with Iran." CNN: "Donald Trump: My Iran nuclear deal…

Why is the GOP listening to Netanyahu on Iran? They just hate Obama & anything he does

Hamid Zangeneh | (Informed Comment) | - - We have been bombarded with a great deal of punch and counterpunch with regard to the nuclear deal reached between Iran and 5+1 countries.…

Where did the anti-War Movement go?

By Tom Englehart | ( Tomdispatch.com) Let me tell you a story about a moment in my life I’m not likely to forget even if, with the passage of years, so much…

If it’s going to push us to War, is it time for AIPAC to register as foreign Agent?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Most polls show that Jewish Americans are the Americans most enthusiastic about the diplomatic deal reached at Vienna between Iran and the UN…

Hillary v. Bernie on Student Debt: Whose Plan is more Progressive?

AJ+ | (Video report) | - - "Hillary Clinton announced on August 9 her New College Compact plan to tackle America's $1 trillion student debt problem. Clinton worked with education experts on…

Turkey: As Violence hits Istanbul, southeast, Can Pres. Erdogan turn it to Political Advantage?

By Alpaslan Ozerdem | (The Conversation) | - - Armed attacks on the US consulate and a police station are the latest in a wave of bloody violence in Turkey that has…

Don’t Sit Tight: Congress Can Still Tank the Iran Deal

By Phyllis Bennis and Kevin Martin | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - Lawmakers need to hear from their constituents who support diplomacy over war. Members of Congress are fleeing Washington’s…

The Nuclear Deal has turned Tehran into Diplomatic Capital of Mideast

By Javad Heirannia / Farhang Jahanpour | (Tehran Times) | - - TEHRAN - Farhang Jahanpour, a former Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University, says the confirmation of the nuclear deal between…

Game of Groans: How focus on Trump Taunts hides GOP war on Middle Class, Workers

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The condition of late capitalism produces a press discourse strangely devoid of any mention of class. Last Thursday we had 10 rich males,…

Is ISIL/ Daesh biggest threat to Saudi Arabia?: Mosque of Secret Police Bombed

By Mohammed Al Nemer | ( Global Voices Online) | - - Another suicide bomb hit Saudi Arabia on Thursday, this time at a mosque inside a Special Forces headquarters in Asir,…

Offshore Wind in Europe Surges, Powers 7 mn. Households

The Tree | - - Europe’s offshore wind industry is set for a record 12 months, as new analysis from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) reveals a bumper start to the…

Controversy: Did Turkish anti-PKK Airstrikes hit civilian Kurdish village of Zargeli?

BBC | (Video News Report) | - - "Turkey may have joined the air war against Islamic State militants across the border in Syria. The nation has also been taking action against…

Obama Says Netanyahu’s Interference in American Politics “Unprecedented”

By IMEMC | - - US President Barack Obama, in an interview with CNN, said that Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s interference in American politics is "unprecedented", especially following the Iran deal.…

Top Iran General Endorses Nuclear Deal with US, UNSC

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iranian Chief of Staff Major-Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi said Saturday that despite some reservations, he saw 16 major advantages to the Iran deal. He…

How Iran Deal Could Change the Middle East

By Benjamin Tua | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - Washington's rapprochement with Iran has opened the door for major realignments from Israel to Afghanistan. Similar to the dissolution of Yugoslavia…

If Germany can get 27% of its Energy from Wind/Solar, why can’t US?

Germany Trade & Invest | (Short Video Documentary) | - - "Germany Trade & Invest presents its short film about Germany’s Renewable Energy Revolution, the so called Energiewende (energy transition). Voices from…

Palestine: Funeral-Protest for father of burned Baby draws Thousands

By IMEMC | - - Thousands of Palestinians participated, on Saturday evening, in the funeral procession and ceremony of Sa’ad Dawabsha who died Saturday of serious burns and injuries resulting from the…

The Real Palestine: Bethlehem festival celebrates diversity of culture and faith

By: Anna Kokko | (Ma'an News Agency) | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- At the end of Star Street in the Old City of Bethlehem, turquoise metal doors that are usually locked…

Daesh/ ISIL takes 250 Captive, including 60 Christians in Syria

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In more bad news for the Baath regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) fighters have taken the town of Al…

Senior Iranian Official Reveals Details About Secret Talks With U.S.

By Golnaz Esfandiari | (RFE/ RL) | - - "When Rohani learned about the details of the talks, he couldn’t believe it," says Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's head of its Atomic Energy…

And the Winner of the Fox News GOP Presidential Debate?… Bernie Sanders

By Jon Queally, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) | - - Sen. Bernie Sanders took on the entire top-tier of the GOP field from his Twitter account on Thursday night... and for…

Can Obama’s CO2 reductions set pace at Paris world Climate Congress?

By Nora Happel | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - This week, U.S. President Barack Obama formally unveiled the details of his Clean Power Plan (CPP), a comprehensive…

Water Wars from the Pharaohs to the West Bank in 2 mins. via Lego Animation

AJ+ | (Video report) | - - We wanted to tell the story of water wars throughout history. We also wanted to play with Legos. Here's the result. The programs conducted by…

Top Cringe Worthy Foreign Policy Moments in GOP Debate

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Well we had the primetime GOP debate, so the 2016 election season has formally begun. Trump declared himself more or less an independent.…

Iran Deal: Can Schumer still succeed Reid after taking Netanyahu’s side against his Party Leader?

Wochit News | (Video report) | - - "New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, is breaking with President Barack Obama and will oppose the Iran nuclear deal. Schumer…

Losing Hope, Iraqi Youth become Illegal Immigrants to ‘Save Themselves’

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Previously it was the unemployed or those threatened who tried to leave Iraq for good. But a new wave of would-be immigrants is…

Leader of extremist Israeli organization calls for torching churches

Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) --The leader of a Jewish extremist group in Israel allegedly called for arson attacks on churches in front of Israeli students, Israeli media reported…

In Honor of Jon Stewart’s Finale, that time he showed a Juan Cole clip re: al-Qaeda

By Juan Cole | (informed Comment) | - - Jon Stewart is the most brilliant man on television, and Steve Colbert said it well, that we've all learned from him "how to…

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the single greatest acts of terrorism in human history?

by Akil Awan | (The New Statesman) - - Surely 70 years is long enough for us to put to rest the tired canard of the atomic bombings on Japan being "the…

Obama: Opponents of Iran Deal are Warmongers

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Lame duck Obama pulls no punches. In his major address Wednesday on the Vienna deal reached with Iran, Obama let his critics have…

Despairing of 2-State Solution, E. Jerusalem Palestinian apply for Israeli Citizenship

Despairing of 2-State Solution, E. Jerusalem Palestinians apply for Israeli Citizenship

VOA | (Vidoeo Report) | - - "Most Palestinians living in East Jerusalem have long rejected the option of full Israeli citizenship, seeing it as a betrayal to their political cause -…

Deep South, biggest Climate Deniers, will be among worst hit by Global Warming

Tan Copsy | ( Risky Business) | - - Atlanta, Georgia – The Southeastern United States and Texas are uniquely at risk from climate change, according to a new report by the…

Could Scott Walker’s Legal Victory Expand PAC Superpowers?

By Robert Faturechi | (ProPublica) - - A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on Gov. Scott Walker's campaign practices clears the way for state candidates to work more closely with legally independent political…

A demolished Palestinian village comes back to life

By Melanie Nakashian | (Waging Nonviolence) | - - Among the hundreds of Palestinian villages that were evacuated between 1947 and 1951, there is one whose descendants are actually getting close to…

How Likely are the GOP Presidential Candidates Top 10 to drag us into War?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Fox Cable News announced its pick for the 10 Republican presidential candidates it will allow in its Thursday debate. These are candidates who…

Iran Moves To Silence criticism of Nuclear Deal by Hard Line Media

By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | - - Iran’s state media watchdog has suspended a hard-line publication and warned two other like-minded outlets for criticizing the nuclear deal reached last month…

How Dropping the A-Bomb on Japan initiated the Military-Industrial Complex

By Michael Hiltzik | (Author, Big Science) | - - This summer -- August 6 and 9, to be precise -- marks the 70th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and…

Why Israelis have cut down 800,000 Palestinian Olive Trees

Text by Elle Kurancid, photos by Bryony Dunne | (Jadaliyya) | - - Olive tree felling is a longtime strategy of Israel’s occupation regime in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since…

Support for Iran Nuclear Deal: L. A. Jews for Peace Statement

L.A. Jews for Peace | The agreement negotiated between the P5+1 (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany, and the European Union) and Iran is a good deal because it diplomatically…

Major Indirect Benefits of Obama’s Climate Plan that could save the World

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Obama spoke on Monday on his plan to use the Environmental Protection Agency to pressure states to close high-carbon power plants and…

Russia Condemns US Mission Creep, New Bombing Plans for Syria

Russia Today | (Video Report) | - - Editorial note: Russia Today is an organ of the Russian government, so this report is not independent, critical analysis. On the other hand, Russia…

Pic of the Day: Palestinians shield Israeli policewoman from stone-throwers

Striking photo of Palestinians shielding Israeli policewoman from stones thrown by settlers. https://t.co/gburzyw8jP pic.twitter.com/8N6hDqgaFl— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) August 2, 2015 N.B. A reader wrote in to say that they were protecting her…