Category
- Africa (96)
- Asia (528)
- Authoritarianism (99)
- Cats (1)
- Culture (333)
- Dehydration (1)
- Democracy (152)
- Dissent (259)
- Economy (431)
- Education (50)
- Elderly (2)
- Energy (729)
- Environment (850)
- Europe (467)
- Featured (1,369)
- fiction (5)
- Food (5)
- Guns (8)
- History (142)
- Human Rights (802)
- Immigration (13)
- International (467)
- Islamophobia (193)
- Juan Cole (264)
- Latin America (28)
- Latinos (3)
- leisure (21)
- media (278)
- Middle East (4,781)
- Arab World (3,517)
- Iran (416)
- Israel (575)
- Israel/ Palestine (1,096)
- Israel/Palestine (8)
- Kurds (173)
- Turkey (282)
- military (101)
- Modernism (1)
- nationalism (86)
- NATO (3)
- Natural Disasters (7)
- nuclear weapons (22)
- Peace (51)
- Persian mythology (1)
- Popular Culture (22)
- Poverty (3)
- privacy (19)
- racism (181)
- religion (584)
- Rights (107)
- Romance (1)
- science (75)
- Secular (West) (7)
- Secularism (18)
- South Pacific (1)
- Spirituality (18)
- Statelessness (14)
- Surveillance (239)
- Terrorism (940)
- Tolerance (2)
- Uncategorized (7,998)
- United Nations (54)
- Urbanization (2)
- US Foreign Policy (388)
- US politics (2,031)
- Anti-War Movement (4)
- Campaign Finance (21)
- Censors (18)
- Central Intelligence Agency (49)
- Civil Rights (74)
- Constitution (205)
- Democratic Party (406)
- Domestic Terrorism (14)
- Drone Warfare (17)
- Espionage (99)
- Ethnicities (183)
- Far Right (106)
- FBI (26)
- Foreign Policy (154)
- Gay Rights (11)
- Guns (39)
- Immigration (90)
- Israel Lobbies (58)
- Militarization (180)
- National Security State (306)
- Native Americans (12)
- Nuclear arsenal (5)
- penitentiaries (5)
- Pentagon (145)
- Police (17)
- prison reform (1)
- Reproductive Choice (7)
- Republican Party (1,085)
- Supreme Court (17)
- Voter suppression (14)
- Whistleblowers (3)
- Xenophobia (4)
- Veterans (15)
- Voting Rights (4)
- War (170)
- Western Religion (295)
- White Supremacists (20)
- wikileaks (8)
- women (171)
- workers (99)
- Writing (5)
- Youth (94)
Archives: February 2011
Rudolph: Can You Pass The Saudi Arabia Quiz?
Jeffrey Rudolph writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Saudi Arabia, an Islamic absolute monarchy, has enjoyed extremely close relations with the United States, a constitutional republic. This relationship highlights the…Top Pieces of Unfinished Business in the Mideast
1. Some 6000 protesters marched in Jordan on Friday. They said they wanted to transform the Jordanian monarchy into a European-style, constitutional monarchy and to return to an unamended 1952 constitution. 2.…Popular Army to March on Tripoli, as Qaddafi Massacres Protesters
Aljazeeera Arabic is reporting that Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has lost control of much of Tripoli and really only dominates the area of the capital immediately around his palace. Certainly, his security…
Qaddafi invokes Phony Al-Qaeda Threat as he Massacres Protesters
Muammar Qaddafi continued to be little more on Thursday than the mayor of Tripoli, but he bared his fangs with murderous attacks on protesters in the vicinity of the capital.. And, note…Clueless in the District of Columbia (Engelhardt)
I was thinking that in light of the labor and youth revolutions of 2011, Washington's focus on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past two decades seems increasingly odd, like a…
90% of Libya in Rebel Hands
The LAT reports that the rebellion against Muammar Qaddafi's 41-year dictatorship in Libya headed toward an end-game on Wednesday, as Misurata, the country's third-largest city (pop. 600,000), fell to the opposition. Significantly,…
30% of Libya in Hands of Youth Movement
If we begin at the eastern border of Libya with Egypt this morning and move west, we find the country is now divided in two, with the east largely in the hands…
Qaddafi’s Bombardments Recall Mussolini’s
The strafing and bombardment in Tripoli of civilian demonstrators by Muammar Qaddafi's fighter jets on Monday powerfully recalled the tactics of some decades ago of Benito Mussolini, who spoke of imposing a…
The Gates of Hell Have Opened in Tripoli
I am watching Aljazeera Arabic, which is calling people in Tripoli on the telephone and asking them what is going on in the capital. The replies are poignant in their raw emotion,…
Revolutionary Situation in Libya
After the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi fell to the protest movement on Sunday, clashes broke out in the Libyan capital of Tripoli late that afternoon, the first time that city saw…Alimagham: What Egypt & Tunisia Tell us About Iran
Pouya Alimagham writes in a guest column for Informed Comment What the Egyptian and Tunisian Revolutions Tell Us about Iran There has been much debate about whether the recent revolutions in Tunisia…
Top Five Myths about the Middle East Protests
5. Dear right wing blogosphere and also Bill Maher: You can't generalize about women's position in Muslim countries based on a reprehensible mob attack on CBS reporter Lara Logan. Generalizing about a…
Days of Rage in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain
ITN has video on Friday's dramatic protests in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain (for the latter scroll down). Some 80 protesters have been killed in the past three days in Libya, and 35…50,000 Protest in Bahrain Before Another Bloody Crackdown
Breaking News: Bahrain security forces appear to have run out of ammunition at the downtown Pearl Roundabout, as thousands of Shiite protesters flooded in Saturday morning. The demonstrators took the square and…
Iraq Roiled by Protests, 2 Killed in Sulaimaniya
What I can't understand is, if the American Right Wing were correct that George W. Bush was 'right' in trying to kick start democracy in the Middle East by invading and occupying…
Bahrain Shiites Withdraw from Parliament, Call for King’s Overthrow
Members of parliament from the Shiite Wifaq Party, which had 18 of 40 seats in the lower house of the Bahrain legislature, have resigned en masse from their positions. They were objecting…The Great Arab Revolt: Cole in the Nation
My essay is out in The Nation, entitled "The Great Arab Revolt". 'These governments took steps in recent decades toward neoliberal policies of privatization and a smaller public sector under pressure from…
Egypt Situation Still Explosive
The military government of Gen. Mohammad Hussein Tantawi, the minister of defense, has taken important steps toward mollifying the Jan. 25 protest movement, but it is not clear that these measures can…
Bahrain Army Cracks down Hard on Protesters, kills 4, wounds 95
Bahrain's king, Hamad Al Khalifa, ordered troops and tanks into Pearl Square in downtown Manama in the early hours of Thursday morning. They fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and used batons to…
Bahrain: US Naval Base or Iranian Asset?
What is at stake for Americans in the Bahrain unrest? 1. Bahrain is a major center for the refining of crude petroleum, refining some 270,000 barrels a day. This amount is not…Pressman: “Coup with a mass(ive) twist”
Jeremy Pressman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Since Mubarak’s departure, I have followed several discussions among academics and analysts about what just happened. Some contend it was a military…Fear Not the Muslim Brotherhood Boogeyman: Cole in Truthdig
My column in Truthdig is out, entitled Fear Not the Muslim Brotherhood Boogeyman Excerpt: ' The hysteria in American media about Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is not only ignorant and demagogic, it is…
Iran, Bahrain Crack down on Protesters, as Rallies Held in Yemen
Last Friday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed support for Egyptian protesters. "Despite all the [West's] complicated and satanic designs ... a new Middle East is emerging without the Zionist regime and U.S.…
Top 5 Effects of Egyptian Revolution
5. Thousands of protesters marched Sunday on the presidential palace of Yemen's Ali Abdullah Salih, who has ruled since 1978. The United States has increasingly forged a relationship with the Yemeni military…Communique No. 5 Suspends Constitution, Prorogues Parliament
The Egyptian military high command council issued Communique no. 5 Sunday, answering some of the lingering questions being posed by protesters on Sunday. McClatchy has the translation. The communique makes it clear…Egypt Protests Spark Confrontations in Yemen, Algeria
An attempt by the military police to clear Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo Sunday of all protesters seemed as though it were succeeding until mid-morning. They removed most of the tents, and…
Egypt After Mubarak: Cole on Russia Today
Here is the Russia Today roundtable on the implications of the stepping down of Hosni Mubarak, in which I participated.
Scenarios for Egypt’s Future: How Democratic Will it Be?
Hosni Mubarak is gone to the wild elation of Egyptian crowds. The country is now being run by a council of military officers. They say that they want a transition to a…Egyptian Crowds Reject Mubarak Speech, Pledge Massive Friday Protests
Having refused to jump, Mubarak was pushed out by the military on Friday. Was traveling, will update tonight. The roller coaster media ride on Thursday centered on stories coming out of unnamed,…Amr: Memo from Egypt: We Shall Not Be Moved
Ahmed Amr writes from Cairo in a guest column for Informed Comment Memo from Egypt: We Shall Not Be Moved With every passing day, the Egyptian uprising gathers strength as more citizens…Wael Ghonim vs. Barack Obama: Change we Can Believe in, Yes we Can
Ooops, somehow an older draft got auto-published. This is the actual posting.Wael Ghonim vs. Barack Obama: Change we Can Believe in, Yes we Can
It is no secret that President Barack Obama has been in some regards a profound disappointment to the American Left, and his erratic and often disgraceful performance on the Egypt crisis exemplifies…Egyptian Protests Swell in Response to Ghonim
The crowds in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo were again very large on Tuesday, and new networks of people joined in them, showing that the protest movement is expanding. Many newcomers appear…Anzalone: The Muslim Brotherhood Myth
Christopher Anzalone writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood & the Demonstrations: Fact vs. Fiction Since the start of mass popular protests by Egyptians against their country’s autocratic…
Cole on Egypt at Virtually Speaking
Here is part of an interview I did Monday evening with Susie Madrak via Virtually Speaking's Blogtalk Radio: The full interview is here: Listen to internet radio with Jay Ackroyd on Blog…
Egypt’s Google Gandhi Released, Interviewed
The Egyptian military government, which is still running the country in accordance with martial law "emergency rules," on Monday released from custody Wael Ghonim, the young Google executive who played a role…Meyer: Clinton’s Fear-Mongering about Egyptian ‘Chaos’
Carlyn Meyer writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment The Egyptian Uprising is not a Revolution - “Chaos’ Fear a Cynical Red-Herring Over the last few days, Hillary Clinton has been…Foreseeing Egypt’s Unrest
I noticed a lot of television commentators wondering why no one predicted the unrest in Egypt. I'd just like to draw attention to the number 1 item in my New Year's list…
Christians, Muslims “One Hand” in Egypt’s Youth Revolution
Sunday saw a return to Egypt of themes of national unity across the Christian-Muslim divide that recalled the heyday of early Egyptian nationalism in 1919, when the modern nation was formed in…Amr: Official Egyptian Press Tall Tales about the Protesters
Ahmed Amr writes from Egypt in a guest column for Informed Comment The campaign against the Egyptian protest movement by Egyptian officialdom, has been two-pronged. One tactic has been to attempt to…Egypt: I ask Myself Why
I ask myself why. Why would authorities in a European county like Switzerland entertain the idea of trying George W. Bush for torture if he came to give a talk in that…
5 Year Old Child Heads Demo in Alexandria Egypt
5 Year Old Child Heads Million Strong Demo in Alexandria Egypt He is chanting about freedom, the nation, the need for the regime of Hosni Mubarak to fall, and complaining about "American…Top Ten Accomplishments of Egypt Demonstrators
The protest movement in Egypt scored several victories on Friday, but did not actually succeed in getting President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Their accomplishments include: 1. The hundreds of thousands (the…Cunningham: Every Uprising is Different
Philip J Cunningham writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Every uprising is different. But given shared human strengths and weaknesses, the dynamics of crowd behavior, crowd control, and crowd chaos…
Repression Fails as Thousands Demand Mubarak Departure
Anti-Mubarak Egyptians prepared themselves on Friday for a major campaign of street protests that they are calling not another "Day of Wrath" but rather a "Day of Departure," an attempt to force…
Mubarak Defies a Humiliated America, Emulating Netanyahu
It should be remembered that Egypt's elite of multi-millionaires has benefited enormously from its set of corrupt bargains with the US and Israel and from the maintenance of a martial law regime…
Mubarak’s Basij
On Wednesday, the Mubarak regime showed its fangs, mounting a massive and violent repressive attack on the peaceful crowds in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. People worrying about Egypt becoming like Iran…