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Archives: June 2013
![GE’s ‘Brilliant’ Wind Turbines offer Cheaper Energy than Coal, Gas, & have Battery Storage](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/brilliant-turbines-battery.html-187x137.jpg)
GE’s ‘Brilliant’ Wind Turbines offer Cheaper Energy than Coal, Gas, & have Battery Storage
GE's Brilliant wind turbines generate electricity more cheaply than coal or gas according to Clean Technica , and have battery storage for when the wind isn't blowing: Here's a well-done video on…![US bugged EU offices, Collects 1/2 Billion German Internet & Phone Connections Monthly](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/collects-internet-connections.html-187x137.jpg)
US bugged EU offices, Collects 1/2 Billion German Internet & Phone Connections Monthly
Der Spiegel has two explosive stories on NSA spying from Edward Snowden's leaked documents. The first is that the US has bugged the telephones and the computers of the European Union offices…![Obama at Soweto University: New Generation of Africans taking its Place on World Stage](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/university-generation-africans.html-187x137.jpg)
Obama at Soweto University: New Generation of Africans taking its Place on World Stage
President Obama's address at Soweto University, via Channel 4 News:![Duelling Demonstrations Divide Egypt over Morsi and Fundamentalism](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/duelling-demonstrations-fundamentalism.html-187x137.jpg)
Duelling Demonstrations Divide Egypt over Morsi and Fundamentalism
Tens of thousands of leftist, liberal and centrist protesters gathered in Tahrir Square on Friday for "The Last Warning" aimed at President Muhammad Morsi of the Brotherhood. Morsi has ruled Egypt for…![Glenn Greenwald: Good journalism is measured by how angry you make the people you’re covering (Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/greenwald-journalism-covering.html-187x137.jpg)
Glenn Greenwald: Good journalism is measured by how angry you make the people you’re covering (Video)
Greenwald's video appearance at the Socialism conference in Chicago (via We are Many:Everything you wanted to Know About NSA Surveillance *but were afraid to ask (Stray)
Jonathan Stray writes at ProPublica: There have been a lot of news stories about NSA surveillance programs following the leaks of secret documents by Edward Snowden. But it seems the more we…![Clashes in Egypt during Morsi protests](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/clashes-during-protests.html-187x137.jpg)
Clashes in Egypt during Morsi protests
Egypt is beset today with dueling large protests for and against President Muhammad Morsi. In some places, as in Alexandria, they turned violent, and in the provinces a number of headquarters of…![Seven things you can learn from Mandela’s Life (CNN Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/seven-things-mandelas.html-187x137.jpg)
Seven things you can learn from Mandela’s Life (CNN Video)
CNN/Buzzfeed review the 7 things we can learn from the life of Nelson Mandela.Top Ten Ways the Beltway Press will treat Gen. Cartwright differently from Snowden
NBC reports that Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright is under investigation as the source for David Sanger's 2012 New York Times article revealing that the United States is behind the Stuxnet computer virus,…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/surveillance-saboteurs-entrapment-180x137.jpg)
The Other Face of Gov’t Surveillance: Informers, Saboteurs and Entrapment Artists (Gitlin)
Todd Gitlin writes at Tomdispatch.com Only Martians, by now, are unaware of the phone and online data scooped up by the National Security Agency (though if it turns out that they are…![Goree, Senegal’s Notorious Slave Island (Video) (President Obama’s Itinerary)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/notorious-president-itinerary.html-187x137.jpg)
Goree, Senegal’s Notorious Slave Island (Video) (President Obama’s Itinerary)
Here is a UNESCO documentary on Gorée, the Slave Island off Senegal,: which President Obama and his family are visiting during their visit to that country. Although the island was itself a…![Germans Vigorously Protest Massive British/ NSA Spying on Email, Telephone Calls](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/germans-vigorously-telephone.html-187x137.jpg)
Germans Vigorously Protest Massive British/ NSA Spying on Email, Telephone Calls
The German government has demanded answers from the British state with regard to revelations by Edward Snowden that the British spy agency GCHQ has a program called Tempora that allows it to…![Under European Pressure, Tunisia suspends Sentence of 3 Protesters who Bared Breasts](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/suspends-sentence-protesters.html-187x137.jpg)
Under European Pressure, Tunisia suspends Sentence of 3 Protesters who Bared Breasts
A Tunisian court has given suspended sentences to three European members of Femen (2 French, 1 German) who had bared their breasts in public to protest the jailing of a Tunisian woman…![Egypt: Morsi Fails to Appease Critics as Violence breaks out in Provinces](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/appease-violence-provinces.html-187x137.jpg)
Egypt: Morsi Fails to Appease Critics as Violence breaks out in Provinces
Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi gave a major speech on Wednesday, commemorating his first year in office and attempting to mollify his political opposition, which is planning to try to unseat him with…Correa on Smearing of Snowden: “The World Order is not only unjust, it is immoral”
The USG Open Source Center gives highlights from the Ecuadorean press on the issue of asylum for Edward Snowden. It includes a translation of President Rafael Correa's tweet slamming the Washington Post…Did the Supreme Court strike down DOMA because it was Theocratic?
The Supreme Court decision authored by Justice Kennedy spends a lot of time arguing that marriage is a matter for the states to regulate, and that the Federal intervention to punish a…![Texas Near-Ban on Abortion foiled by People’s ‘Gallery Filibuster’](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/abortion-gallery-filibuster.html-187x137.jpg)
Texas Near-Ban on Abortion foiled by People’s ‘Gallery Filibuster’
This is the "gallery filibuster" -- shouting by pro-choice advocates in the Senate halls after Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis's filibuster was shut down-- that so delayed the vote on a proposed law…Snowden: Top Ten Signs that Putin might not be on Washington’s Side
The American political class and corporate press professed itself shocked, shocked, when Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to order the arrest Edward Snowden, marooned in a transit lounge at the Moscow airport,…Critics: Obama’s Climate Plan a Day Late and a Penny Short (Lazare)
President should renounce “all of the above” energy strategy and nation's reliance on dirty fossil fuels, say environmentalists - Sarah Lazare, staff writer, Commondreams Environmentalists warn that President Obama's 'climate plan'—announced Tuesday…NSA says they can’t reveal if they Spied on You because it would ‘Help Our Enemies’ (Larson)
Jeff Larson writes at ProPublica Shortly after the Guardian and Washington Post published their Verizon and PRISM stories, I filed a freedom of information request with the NSA seeking any personal data…![Egypt’s ‘Rebellion’ Movement Plans Protests as Generals Warn they’ll Intervene](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/rebellion-generals-intervene.html-187x137.jpg)
Egypt’s ‘Rebellion’ Movement Plans Protests as Generals Warn they’ll Intervene
Egypt is facing its severest crisis since the January-February 2011 revolution against dictator Hosni Mubarak as the country moves toward nation-wide protests on June 30. The elected president, Muhammad Morsi, has been…Millennials take over Qatar, but Real Change has Yet to be Accomplished
The quirky Emir of Qatar since the mid-1990s, Sheikh Hamad b. Issa al-Thani, stepped down in favor of his fourth son, Tamim, 33, this morning. It is a historical step and insofar…![The Syrian War comes to Lebanon as Sidon Explodes into Violence](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/lebanon-explodes-violence.html-187x137.jpg)
The Syrian War comes to Lebanon as Sidon Explodes into Violence
The Syrian civil war spilled over onto Lebanon dramatically on Sunday and again on Monday morning when violent clashes broke out between the Salafi militia of Sheikh Ahmad Asir in Sidon and…Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)
US television news is a danger to the security of the United States. First, it is so oriented to ratings that it cannot afford to do unpopular reports (thus, it ignored al-Qaeda…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/snowden-horrible-ecuador-187x137.jpg)
Why Correa might give Snowden Asylum: All the Horrible things the US has done to Ecuador
Rafael Correa of Ecuador, who won a third term this year, has significantly improved the lives of his people, reducing poverty rates and building out infrastructure. Correa, an economist trained at the…Top Ten American Steps toward a Police State
The police state, a term first coined in the mid-19th century in German (Polizeistaat), is characterized by a standing political police, by intense domestic surveillance and by restrictions on the movements of…![Arab Idol Winner performs “I want it that Way”](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/winner-performs-that.html-187x137.jpg)
Arab Idol Winner performs “I want it that Way”
The just-announced winner of Arab Idol 2013, Muhammad Assaf of Gaza, performs a cover of the Back Street Boys' 1999 "I want it that Way." The video is here: Assaf sings classical…Obama’s New Syria Strategy is Nixon’s Vietnam Negotiation Tactics Redux (Meyer)
Carlyn Meyer writes in a guest column for Informed Comment For better or worse, Obama came of age well after the Vietnam war. Had he lived through the daily body counts, he…So When will Dick Cheney be charged with Espionage? His Crime was the Same as Snowden’s
The US government charged Edward Snowden with theft of government property and espionage on Friday. Snowden hasn't to our knowledge committed treason in any ordinary sense of the term. He hasn't handed…Snowden was Right, they’re Reading your Mail: How British Intelligence and the NSA are Tag-Teaming US
When President Barack Obama said 'no one is listening to your phone calls,' he was either misinformed or was being disingenuous. The British are at least gathering up the voice signals of…![Jon Stewart with Bassem Youssef in Cairo: “If your regime can’t handle a joke, you don’t have a regime.”](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/stewart-youssef-handle.html-187x137.jpg)
Jon Stewart with Bassem Youssef in Cairo: “If your regime can’t handle a joke, you don’t have a regime.”
Almost all of the segment is in English except the first half-minute. Jon Stewart makes an appearance in Cairo on Bassem Youssef's comedy show. He is introduced as a prominent spy, and…![Climbing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – World’s Tallest Building (Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/climbing-tallest-building.html-187x137.jpg)
Climbing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – World’s Tallest Building (Video)
Joe McNally videos the climbers climbing the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building:![India-Pakistan Daily Border-Closing Ceremony, courtesy the Ministry of Silly Walks](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/ceremony-courtesy-ministry.html-187x137.jpg)
India-Pakistan Daily Border-Closing Ceremony, courtesy the Ministry of Silly Walks
Sanjeev Bhaskar and the Ministry of Silly Walks bring you the daily India-Pakistan border closing ceremony: Here is the video:![Egypt’s Morsi Provokes Anger, Astonishment with appointment of Governor from former Terrorist Group](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/astonishment-appointment-terrorist.html.jpg)
Egypt’s Morsi Provokes Anger, Astonishment with appointment of Governor from former Terrorist Group
As Egyptians demonstrated against him again on Friday, in preparation for big rallies on June 30, President Muhammad Morsi has shot himself in the foot with a series of ill advised appointments…Asia will Drown, Africa will Starve in 30 years: World Bank Report on Global Warming
The World Bank report, "Turn Down the Heat," (available in pdf form here warns of severe climate effects even if we manage to limit global warming to 2 degrees C., and a…Stephen Colbert’s Touching Farewell to his Mother
As a one-time guest of the Colbert Report, let me express my condolences to Stephen Colbert on his mother's death. Here is his poignant eulogy:Why the 9/11 Argument for NSA Spying Fails: They Tracked, Lost their Suspect (Elliott)
Justin Elliott writes at ProPublica In defending the NSA's sweeping collection of Americans' phone call records, Obama administration officials have repeatedly pointed out how it could have helped thwart the 9/11 attacks:…Iran’s New President is on a Collision Course with the Supreme Leader (Kadivar)
Mohsen Kadivar writes at IslamiCommentary A key was the symbol of Hassan Rowhani’s presidential campaign, but what, if any, doors to real power will it unlock? Mohsen Kadivar “This is the victory…![Will Mali get back stolen Timbuktu Manuscripts?](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/stolen-timbuktu-manuscripts.html-187x137.jpg)
Will Mali get back stolen Timbuktu Manuscripts?
A trove of three boxes of rare manuscripts from Timbuktu has turned up near the Algerian border and seems likely to be returned to its original library. Timbuktu was a major intellectual…![Obama in Berlin foreshadows Coming Epic Battle against Climate Change](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/foreshadows-against-climate.html-187x137.jpg)
Obama in Berlin foreshadows Coming Epic Battle against Climate Change
President Obama is readying a major policy change on combating climate change. He adverted to it in his Berlin speech yesterday. In my view, this step is more important than anything else…![The Struggle over the Qur’an in Morocco (Video report)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/struggle-morocco-report.html-187x137.jpg)
The Struggle over the Qur’an in Morocco (Video report)
In Morocco, as in most Muslim countries, there is a lively contest over the meaning of the Qur'an and Islam. The official government-approved Qur'an contains some commentary of a moderate, Sunni, sort,…![Mueller: FBI Drones on US Soil, used ‘Minimally’ (Young Turks)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/mueller-drones-minimally.html-187x137.jpg)
Mueller: FBI Drones on US Soil, used ‘Minimally’ (Young Turks)
FBI director Robert Mueller admitted Wednesday that the FBI sometimes deploys drones over US territory. Cenk Uygur reports: Cenk points out that if the Bureau can use the drones minimally, there is…![On-Again, Off-Again US Talks with Taliban in Doha; Kabul Furious](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/talks-taliban-furious.html-187x137.jpg)
On-Again, Off-Again US Talks with Taliban in Doha; Kabul Furious
The attempt of the US State Department to open negotiations with the Taliban, who now have an office in Doha, Qatar, foundered on a series of SNAFUs on Wednesday. First, the Taliban…![Iran’s Pres. Rouhani News Conference: Transparency on Nukes and Talks with US](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/rouhani-conference-transparency.html-187x137.jpg)
Iran’s Pres. Rouhani News Conference: Transparency on Nukes and Talks with US
CNN profiles Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani and interviews Hillary Mann Leverett: The USG Open Source Center translated the first news conference held by newly elected President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. Some…![US Drone Operator says, ‘I became a sociopath’, regrets 1626 Killings (Lest we forget)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/operator-sociopath-killings.html.jpg)
US Drone Operator says, ‘I became a sociopath’, regrets 1626 Killings (Lest we forget)
Lest we forget (from last summer): Brandon Bryant is haunted by his career as a drone contract killer for the US government. Drone operator: 'I became a sociopath', regrets 1626 assassinations.![I am Bradley Manning (celebrity video protesting treason charge)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/bradley-celebrity-protesting.html-187x137.jpg)
I am Bradley Manning (celebrity video protesting treason charge)
The celebrity video 'I am Bradley Manning: protests against the 'aiding the enemy charge' against leaker Manning, who is now being tried in a military court. The organization website is here.![Dear Jenny McCarthy and Bill McKibben: Coal Plants are causing Autism, Let’s Sue Them!](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/mccarthy-mckibben-causing.html-187x137.jpg)
Dear Jenny McCarthy and Bill McKibben: Coal Plants are causing Autism, Let’s Sue Them!
The situation comedy actress Jenny McCarthy has done great damage to public health by her wrong-headed thesis that vaccines cause autism. This is not true, as much research has confirmed. But now…Russia: Iran is ready to Cease Enriching Uranium to 20%
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated in an interview with the Kuwaiti press on Tuesday an assertion he has made before, i.e. that Iran stands ready to cease enriching uranium to 19.75%…60% of Free Syria Army fighting for Islamic State: Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News interviews a journalist who has been with the Free Syria Army for the past 6 months on what motivates them. He says that 60% want an Islamic state. Inigo…![Brazil Protests (In the Eye of the Storm Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/brazil-protests-video.html-187x137.jpg)
Brazil Protests (In the Eye of the Storm Video)
Brazilians in the hundreds of thousands have been protesting the high cost of city bus tickets, diversion of government funds to international projects like the world cup, and 'poor public services, police…![Why Cheney is the Traitor, and Why we Can’t Believe Obama on Safeguards (The Ultimate Clip of Gov’t Lies)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/traitor-safeguards-ultimate.html-187x137.jpg)
Why Cheney is the Traitor, and Why we Can’t Believe Obama on Safeguards (The Ultimate Clip of Gov’t Lies)
Dick Cheney on Monday called NSA leaker Edward Snowden a traitor, and Snowden shot back that given Cheney's own lies about Iraq, it is an honor for any American to be accused…![Japan’s Feed-in Tariff Kicks off Explosive Renewables Growth (Video Report)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/japans-explosive-renewables.html-187x137.jpg)
Japan’s Feed-in Tariff Kicks off Explosive Renewables Growth (Video Report)
This video report argues that Japan's introduction of feed-in tariffs has given a huge boost to its renewable energy market, and that India should follow suit. Infographic on feed-in tariffs, which are…![juancole_caricature](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/06/juancole_caricature.jpg)
Syria, NSA Spying, Popular Mobilization and History: Cole Interview in La Prensa (Ricky Martinez)
Interview with Juan Cole by Ricky Martínez (These are the English notes of the interview rearranged in pyramid form; they were translated and published in a different sequence in Spanish at La…PATRIOT Act Drafters worried about Library Privacy, had No Idea everyone’s Phone Records would be Dragooned (Elliott)
Justin Elliott writes at ProPublica In the months following the October 2001, passage of the Patriot Act, there was a heated public debate about the very provision of the law that we…![Dubai: Solar-Powered Teardrop Building to Suck Water from Air](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/powered-teardrop-building.html-187x137.jpg)
Dubai: Solar-Powered Teardrop Building to Suck Water from Air
On the proposed sustainable 'Water Building' in Dubai See also the "most sustainable building in the world," in Dubai: The Change Initiative on Sheikh Zayed Road.![Egypt’s Morsi Calls for No-Fly Zone over Syria: A step toward regional Sunni-Shiite War?](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/toward-regional-shiite.html-187x137.jpg)
Egypt’s Morsi Calls for No-Fly Zone over Syria: A step toward regional Sunni-Shiite War?
Egypt's President, Muhammad Morsi, called Saturday for a no-fly zone over Syria authorized by the UN Security Council. At the same time, he cut off diplomatic relations with Syria. It was the…British Gov’t Spied on Diplomats at G20 (& on UN before Iraq War)
The Guardian is reporting that: "Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/temptations-surveillance-engelhardt-180x137.gif)
Top 5 Temptations the Surveillance State Can’t Resist (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com The Making of a Global Security State As happens with so much news these days, the Edward Snowden revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) spying and just…![A Brief History of Typography (Animated Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/history-typography-animated.html-187x137.jpg)
A Brief History of Typography (Animated Video)
A History of Typography, by Ben Barrett-Forrest:Obama Isolated at G8 on Arms for Syrian Rebels
President Obama met with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday in advance of Monday's G8 summit. The 8 leaders meeting in Northern Ireland, will likely focus in a big way on…![Erdogan Clears Gezi Park Protesters, sets Stage for Polarization](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/erdogan-protesters-polarization.html-187x137.jpg)
Erdogan Clears Gezi Park Protesters, sets Stage for Polarization
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday evening into Sunday morning had police deploy water cannon and tear gas (some say laced with pepper spray) to clear Gezi Park of protesters and tents,…An Outbreak of Reasonableness in Tehran: Top Ten Conclusions from Iran’s Early Election Returns
Update: Centrist Hassan Rouhani is Iran's new president, having won a massive victory in a field of 6 candidates. 13:19 ET, 6/15/13 Early election returns in Iran suggest that former National Security…Obama should Resist the Clintons & Europe on Syria
Former president Bill Clinton criticized President Obama on Thursday for his inaction in regard to Syria. This step seems extraordinary and surely has something to do with positioning Hillary Clinton to run…![The Emir of Kuwait’s War on Twitter](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/emir-kuwaits-twitter.html-187x137.jpg)
The Emir of Kuwait’s War on Twitter
Kuwait in 2005 was hailed as a budding Arab democracy, with among the freest press in the Arab world. In the aftermath of the 2011 Arab revolutions the government of the Emir…Qatar Press Condemns Hizbullah Intervention in Syria (Without Irony)
The USG Open Source Center translates or paraphrases reactions in the Qatari Arabic press to the Lebanese Shiite organization, Hizbullah, having successfully intervened in Syria to help the Baath regime retake the…![Chinese Humorists Satirize the Snowden/ NSA Surveillance Scandal (Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/humorists-satirize-surveillance.html-187x137.jpg)
Chinese Humorists Satirize the Snowden/ NSA Surveillance Scandal (Video)
Next Media Animation (a Taiwanese subsidiary of a Hong Kong firm) satirizes the Snowden/ NSA surveillance scandal by cartoon (English subtitles):![Sunni-Shiite Conflict Spikes as al-Qaeda Massacres 60 Shiites, Gulf States Sanction Hizbullah](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/conflict-massacres-hizbullah.html.jpg)
Sunni-Shiite Conflict Spikes as al-Qaeda Massacres 60 Shiites, Gulf States Sanction Hizbullah
A massacre of Shiite militiamen and other villagers by al-Qaeda in Hatla, Deir al-Zor, Syria, is sending shock waves through the Middle East, which has already witnessed a sharpening of conflict between…Who you Call is Far more Revealing than what you Say: Landau on Gov’t Spying (Democracy Now!)
Democracy Now! interviews Susan Landau, mathematician and former Sun Microsystems engineer, author of the book Surveillance or Security?: The Risks Posed by New Wiretapping Technologies. Excerpt from the transcript: "This may surprise…NSA Leads come from others’ police work, not from data mining: the case of Headley (Rotella)
Sebastian Rotella writes at ProPublica June 12: This story has been updated with NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander's Senate testimony on surveillance.Defending a vast program to sweep up phone and Internet data…![Sen. Rand Paul: Snowden’s ‘Civil Disobedience’ seeks “to defend the Fourth Amendment”](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/snowdens-disobedience-amendment.html-187x137.jpg)
Sen. Rand Paul: Snowden’s ‘Civil Disobedience’ seeks “to defend the Fourth Amendment”
Sen. Rand Paul pushes back against the National Security Agency and its massive surveillance of telephone records, in an interview with Jake Tapper of CNN. He pledges to introduce legislation forbidding "generalized…![You are the Terrorist (Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/the-terrorist-video.html-187x137.jpg)
You are the Terrorist (Video)
"You are the Terrorist" German with English subtitles; chilling.Learning the Wrong Lessons from Tahrir Square: Erdogan Assaults Taksim in bid to break up Protests
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday launched an assault on the demonstrators in Taksim Square. It was a puzzling and desperate act, which threatened to undo many of his impressive accomplishments.…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/government-endangered-quagmires-180x137.jpg)
The Government Endangered us with Foreign Quagmires; it’s the Bradley Mannings that might keep us safe (Madar)
Chase Madar writes at Tomdispatch.com The prosecution of Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks’ source inside the U.S. Army, will be pulling out all the stops when it calls to the stand a member of Navy SEAL…![The Dictator: Imagine if America was a Dictatorship (Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/dictator-america-dictatorship.html-187x137.jpg)
The Dictator: Imagine if America was a Dictatorship (Video)
The Dictator: Imagine if America was a dictatorship:Great Moments in Police Clearing of Protesters: Zucotti Park, Nov. 15, 2011 (Democracy Now! Video)
Democracy Now! was the only media to do an extensive on the scene video report: ">Top Ten Ways the US Government will Smear, Slight Whistleblower Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden said that he stepped forward because he came to realize that the US government is engaged in invasions of Americans' privacy on a vast and unprecedented scale, and was hiding…![Turning the Tables on the Surveillance Class (Cole on Majority Report)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/turning-surveillance-majority.html-187x137.jpg)
Turning the Tables on the Surveillance Class (Cole on Majority Report)
Here are part 1 and part 2 of Michael Brooks's interview of me on Sam Seder's Majority Report on Monday. Part 1: and Part 2:![Police Clear Taksim Square: Turkey’s Protests and the Neoliberal Market (Cole interview)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/neoliberal-interviewed-majority.html.jpg)
Police Clear Taksim Square: Turkey’s Protests and the Neoliberal Market (Cole interview)
Update On Tuesday morning, police in Istanbul moved on protesters at Taksim Square, using teargas and water cannon to clear them out. Police began dismantling the barricades erected by protesters. 301Plus News…Its the Corporations, Stupid: Why we are 2nd Amendment Fundamentalists but the 4th Amendment doesn’t Count
The Second Amendment to the Constitution is interpreted by lawmakers and judges in an absolute manner. Every American, we are constantly told-- even mentally ill ones like the shooter at Santa Monica…Istanbul Rising: VICE Explains the Turkish Protests (Video)
VICE: "On Friday, May 31, Turkish riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray into a peaceful protest held to save Gezi Park, one of the last green areas in central Istanbul.…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/torture-corrupted-brittain-180x137.jpg)
Gitmo comes Home to America: Torture, Gag Orders and Legal Dirty Tricks have Corrupted the System (Brittain)
Victoria Brittain writes at Tomdispatch.com A four-month hunger strike, mass force-feedings, and widespread media coverage have at last brought Guantanamo, the notorious offshore prison set up by the Bush administration early in…How America Became Orwellian: A Short History of Big Brother Sam (ProPublica)
Cora Currier, Justin Elliott and Theodoric Meyer write at ProPublica On Wednesday, the Guardian published a secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over data for all the calls made on its…![We Misunderstood Barack: He only wanted the Domestic Surveillance to be Made Legal, not to End It](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/misunderstood-domestic-surveillance.html-187x137.jpg)
We Misunderstood Barack: He only wanted the Domestic Surveillance to be Made Legal, not to End It
We misunderstood Barack Obama years ago when he slammed the Bush administration for arbitrary intrusion in the privacy of citizens, in the name of the war on terrorism. No more illegal wiretapping…![Sen. Wyden Warned us in 2011 that the Government was Running wild on Surveillance (Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/government-running-surveillance.html-187x137.jpg)
Sen. Wyden Warned us in 2011 that the Government was Running wild on Surveillance (Video)
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) warned two years ago that when the US public discovered how the Patriot Act is actually interpreted by the FBI and NSA with regard to domestic surveillance, they…![“I am Bradley Manning” Celebrity Support Video (Leaked Teaser)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/manning-celebrity-support.html-187x137.jpg)
“I am Bradley Manning” Celebrity Support Video (Leaked Teaser)
"I am Bradley Manning" [Leaked teaser] : for celebrity support video.PRISM: The US Government is mad at Bradley Manning for doing to it what it is Doing to All of us
Bradley Manning, who spilled the beans on the US blowing away of unarmed Iraqi journalists and overlooking war crimes by the US military and allied Iraqi troops, released thousands of low-level cable…Turkey: Erdogan’s Blindness to People Power will Diminish Him (IslamiCommentary)
Julie Poucher Harbin, EDITOR, ISLAMiCommentary, interviews two scholars on Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan: A small demonstration against bulldozing a park in Turkey escalated into nationwide political unrest over the past week…Fresh US covert Drone Strikes in Pakistan and Yemen (Serle and Woods)
Excerpted from a report by Jack Serle and Chris Woods for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Pakistan The only drone strike reported to hit Pakistan in May killed Wali Ur Rehman, second-in-command…NSA-Verizon Surveillance: Welcome to the United States of Total Information Awareness
It turns out that the National Security Agency demanded and got Verizon phone records of all US telephone calls, mobile and otherwise, within the US and between the US and abroad, from…Obama pledged investigation of Alleged Taliban Prisoner Massacre by US-Backed Afghan Warlords; Where is it? (Currier)
Cora Currier writes at ProPublica In his first year in office, President Barack Obama pledged to "collect the facts" on the death of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Taliban prisoners of war at…Bradley Manning Trial aimed at Silencing Whistleblowers? (Democracy Now!)
Democracy Now! considers the Bradley Manning trial in the context of attempts to intimidate and punish government whistle blowers. That the world general reading public that can now see low-level cable traffic…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/speaking-editorial-cartoon-187x137.gif)
Speaking of Bad Storms (editorial cartoon on GOP by Paul Jamiol)
by Paul Jamiol courtesy Jamiol's WorldTurkey: It’s about the Right to be Different (Soysal)
Ayşe Soysal, in Istanbul, writes for ISLAMiCommentary : Ayse Soysal It was a ‘Wow!’ weekend indeed. My niece Elif, a college student, was one of the protesters in Taksim Square — the…Woman in Red (Turkish Police Spray Tear Gas on Modern Young Protester)
(Courtesy Reuters) This young woman being teargassed at the Taksim protests in Istanbul has become an internet icon. Unveiled and bare-armed, she is clearly secular and modern. Many but not all of…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/torture-finally-guantanamo-2-187x137.jpg)
Have we no Shame? Will Hunger Strikes and medical Torture finally close Guantanamo? (Hickman)
John Hickman, author of Selling Guantanamo, writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Curious isn’t it how the decision-making of the United States Government is also imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay? In…![Police Brutality and Turkish Protests (Compilation Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/brutality-protests-compilation.html-187x137.jpg)
Police Brutality and Turkish Protests (Compilation Video)
Compilation video of police brutality in Turkish Gezi Park protests: As usual with grassroots Youtube videos, the authenticity of it cannot be independently verified from abraod.Defiant Erdogan Risks Turkish Economy, as Unions enter the Fray
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is now risking Turkey's economic miracle by his imperious reaction to the protests in dozens of cities that have roiled Turkey and are entering their fifth day.…Syria as a Prisoner of Western History (Harms)
Gregory Harms writes in a guest op-ed for Informed Comment The influential Egyptian Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi recently issued a fatwa, or religious proclamation, with regard to Syria. The sheik called for…![Binary Signaling & Turkish Protests (Izmir Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/signaling-turkish-protests.html-187x137.jpg)
Binary Signaling & Turkish Protests (Izmir Video)
People in Izmir apartments turning off and on their lights in support of the protests in Turkey.![Turkish Opinion Poll Finds Majorities Slam Erdogan policies on Alcohol, Syria](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/turkish-majorities-policies.html-187x137.jpg)
Turkish Opinion Poll Finds Majorities Slam Erdogan policies on Alcohol, Syria
On Sunday night into Monday morning in Turkey, clashes again broke out between demonstrators and police in a number of cities, and an attempt was made to set the ruling Justice and…How the US Can Facilitate Peace in Syria: Talking to All Sides including Iran (Lawson)
Fred H. Lawson writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Secretary of State John F. Kerry took a major step toward engaging the United States in the quest to find a…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/abusing-garbage-rising-180x137.gif)
Abusing the Sea: from Garbage Dump to Rising Waters & CO2 (Lapham)
[This essay by Lewis Lapham will appear in "The Sea," the Summer 2013 issue of Lapham's Quarterly. This slightly adapted version is posted at TomDispatch.com with the kind permission of that magazine.] In…Dear US Government: Your ‘Terror’ map of the Muslim World is from the Time of Shakespeare (Kurzman))
Charles Kurzman writes at Islamicommentary Screenshot of the National Counterterrorism Center’s Interactive Map, April 30, 2013. “The United States is not at war with Islam,” President Obama said last week at the…![Stateless! The Core of the Palestinian Crisis (Juan Cole Video)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/stateless-palestinian-crisis.html-187x137.png)
Stateless! The Core of the Palestinian Crisis (Juan Cole Video)
My talk at the Jerusalem Fund (the 2013 Hisham B. Sharabi Memorial Lecture with Dr. Juan Cole) The Jerusalem Fund & Palestine Center: Hisham B. Sharabi Memorial Lecture with Dr. Juan Cole…PBS, Self-Censorship and the Koch Big Oil Empire (Democracy Now!)
Following up on a hard-hitting article by the New Yorker's Jane Mayer, Democracy Now! asks if PBS self-censored to avoid offending a major donor, the oil magnates the Koch brothers:![Syria needs a dozen S-300 batteries to protect itself – Russian general; Kerry Denounces Plan](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/batteries-general-denounces.html-187x137.jpg)
Syria needs a dozen S-300 batteries to protect itself – Russian general; Kerry Denounces Plan
Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday deplored the Russian plan to ship S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Syria, saying that it will not lead to peace. The batteries would constrain Israel from…![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2016/04/green-energy-stories-187x137.jpg)
Top Ten Green Energy Good News Stories, 6/1/13
1. Scotland Goes Ahead With World's Largest Wave Energy Project. "At 40 megawatts (MW), it will provide energy to nearly 30,000 homes" once the requisite cable is laid, by 2017. 2. Gujarat's…![Taksim Square Protests in Turkey Spread to other Cities, Police accused of Brutality](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630223744im_/https://media.juancole.com/images/2013/11/protests-accused-brutality.html-187x137.jpg)