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Archives: February 2016
Oscars: Chris Rock on lack of Diversity in Hollywood
Chris Rock | (ABC - Academy Awards) | Oscars 2016: Chris Rock's Best Lines The host had Hollywood's A-list laughing with jokes about the controversy over the lack of diversity at this…
How Much will Iran Change after Ayatollah Khamenei?
By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - The succession question in Iran has come to the fore recently with the election of a new Assembly of Experts, the 88-member…
Best Movie of 2016: Michael Moore skewers US Inequality in “Where to Invade Next”
By George Lakey | ( Waging Nonviolence ) | - - Many fields of endeavor have what they call “best practices,” and self-respecting workers look for those. I wouldn’t expect Michael Moore…
On Eve of Super Tuesday: Can Bernie Sanders outmaneuver Democratic Party Corporatism?
By Arun Gupta | ( TeleSur | - - Bernie Sanders has the ideas and passion, but his campaign has run smack into the deep state backing Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders supporters…
In Dem Race, African-American women could be decisive on Super Tuesday
By Evelyn M. Simien | (The Conversation) | - - As the Democratic nominating contest speeds up, African-American voters – especially women – have some tough, and influential, choices to make .…
US-Backed Saudi-Led Airstrikes Kill 40 People in Yemen, Mostly Civilians
TeleSur Saudi Arabia has been accused of bombing weddings and carrying out other war crimes against Yemeni militants it claims are aligned with Iran. Airstrikes carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition…
After largest Methane Leak in US History, will California Ban Fracking, go for Solar & Wind?
The Tree | - - A natural gas well that leaked over four months in California is finally under control, paving the way for the “road to recovery” and justice. The Aliso…
New Resignation Calls: MI Gov. Snyder’s Aides Knew Flint Water Was Toxic in 2014: “Scary”
By Nika Knight, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) | - - New emails reveal that top advisers knew about problems with Flint water as far back as 2014, reinvigorating calls that 'the…
Obama Signs Trade Law protecting Israeli Squatters from Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
By IMEMC | - - US President Barack Obama, this week, signed into law a sweeping trade agreement which protects Israel from boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) by countries who oppose the…
Syrian Ceasefire: A Signal that Russia is winning the War?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Whether or not the cessation of hostilities in Syria holds, it is a major turning point in the revolution and civil war that…
Iran Election Results Show that when US rewards Pragmatists, they Win
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Early results in Iran's parliamentary elections suggest that the centrists, pragmatists and independents will have more seats than the Khomeinist far right. For…
US Mil. ‘Expert’ equates Muslim Veiling with ‘Passive Terrorism’; One woman has Questions for Him
By Domenica Ghanem | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - The U.S. military apparently thinks Muslim women’s clothing choices — rather than, say, drone strikes — are a driver of terrorism.…
Poll: Trump Barely Has Any Support Among Latinos
TeleSur | - - According to a new poll, more than 80 percent of all Latinos in the U.S. view Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump unfavorably. The popularity of United States Republican…
Egypt Jails Novelist Ahmed Naji for 2 years for His ‘Sexually Explicit’ Novel
By Mohammed Hasan | ( Global Voices | - - A Cairo appeals court sentenced Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji for two years in prison for publishing a chapter containing “sexually…
European Union, Palestinian PM condemn Israel’s deliberate destruction of EU-funded Structures
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Thursday condemned Israel's "deliberate" destruction of EU-funded structures in the occupied Palestinian territory, as he called on…
Rubio’s 7 Fallacies on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In last night's Republican debate co-sponsored by Telemundo, billionaire bigot Donald Trump, usually a resident of Mars, briefly came back to earth long…
Money Pit: America’s Forever War in Mideast has Gained us What, Exactly?
Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) | It may be hard to believe now, but in 1970 the protest song “War,” sung by Edwin Starr, hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.…
Beyond Syria: Saudi Arabia’s Strategies for Dealing with Iran
Joseph Benzekri | ( Your Middle East | - - "Claiming to fight ISIS can serve as a valuable pretext for defending one’s own interests" The difficulties facing Saudi Arabia and its…
The Evolution of Social Media use in Mideast 5 years after the Youth Revolts
By Damian Radcliffe | (The Conversation) | - - In 2011, the Arab Spring rocked many parts of the Middle East. Regime change in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya saw the departure of…
Turkey’s Elections no longer for Democracy but for Nationalist-Conservative Domination
By Umit Cizre | ( OpenDemocracy) | - - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's readiness to circumvent elections, illustrates that promises to end the conflict were contingent on securing a mathematically permanent conservative-nationalist electoral…
How to Empower the Women and Girls rescued from ISIL
Leanne K Simpson | (The Conversation) | - - Violence against women, especially in war, is so pervasive around the world it’s often not considered news. But the barbaric treatment of women…
Elections in Iran, a Test for the Regime
By Farhang Jahanpour | (Inter Press Service) | - - Farhang Jahanpour is a former professor and dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Isfahan. Prior to that…
Anti-Orientalism: Artists 3-D Scan looted Egyptian treasure in German museum
By Cory Doctorow | ( Boing Boing | - - Nora Al-Badri and Jan Nikolai Nelles, an Iraqi/German artistic duo, covertly scanned a famous looted Egyptian treasure, the Bust of Queen Nefertiti,…
Great Barrier Reef Endangered: Ocean turning Acidic from our Our Coal, Oil, Gas emissions
By Mathieu Mongin, Andrew Lenton, Jennifer Skerratt & Mark Baird | (The Conversation) | - - Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have travelled to spectacular coral reefs marvel…
Kerry warns of break up of Syria; but is that Realistic?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Amid ongoing talks in Geneva around a cessation of hostilities in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday night in a joint…
How the US went Fascist: Mass media Makes excuses for Trump Voters
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The rise of Donald Trump to the presumptive Republican standard bearer for president in 2016 is an indictment of, and a profound danger…
The $10 Billion Contest: Money and the 2016 US Presidential Elections
By Jack Rasmus | ( TeleSur ) | - - Poll after public opinion poll in the US today consistently show that US voters overwhelmingly share the opinion that big money billionaires…
Wikileaks: Netanyahu used Italy to pressure US on Illegal Squatter Settlements in Palestine
By Nadia Prupis, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | - - Among the NSA's targets was UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon. "If the Secretary General can be targeted without consequence then everyone from…
Arbitrary: Egyptian Military Court Sentences 3-Year-Old to Life
Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – A life sentence apparently handed down by mistake to a 3-year-old boy on February 16, 2016, exemplifies the arbitrariness of Egyptian courts that are…
Palestinian Children under Israeli Occupation come in 195th in world on access to justice
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The occupied Palestinian territory has been ranked 195th in the world on how effectively children can take legal action to defend their rights,…
Does Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo go far enough in restoring Constitution?
TeleSur | - - President Obama is making his case to the nation to finally close the much maligned detention center in his final year in office. President Barack Obama presented a…
Trump must honor the Immigrant & Undocumented Veterans of American Foreign Wars
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Donald Trump, the ultimate chickenhawk, pretends to be a big booster of veterans, but as far as I can tell he's never done…
The Saudi-Russian Oil Price Freeze is about Power, not Money
By Nafis Alam | (The Conversation) | - - Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s two most powerful oil producers, have reached a tentative agreement to freeze oil production at its current…
Sewage, clean Water provided to Palestinian village by EU after 49 yrs of Israeli Rule
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamallah and European Union representative Ralph Tarraf on Sunday laid the pave-stone of the first wastewater treatment plant in…
Mideast Arms Purchases Continue Despite Falling Oil Prices, Austerity
By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS, Feb 22 2016 (IPS) - The continued decline in oil prices is threatening to have a direct and indirect impact…
Arab Youth join socialist Syrian Kurdish militia to fight ISIL
TeleSur | - - The news comes amid rising tensions between the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia and Arabs in Syria. The “first group of Arab fighters” joined the Syrian Kurdish militia known as…
Gianna Toboni’s Cycle of Terror Debrief (VICE on HBO)
Vice | Video Report | - - Reporter Gianna Toboni gives a brief report on the attitude towards Muslims and Islam following the attacks in Paris. Vice: "Gianna Toboni's Cycle of Terror…
As Syrian Army advances East of Aleppo, ISIL strikes back with Bombings that kill 140
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) said Sunday that it was behind the horrific bombings that struck Shiites in Damascus and Homs. Twelver Shiites congregate in…
Two Children Die Every Day Trying to Cross the Mediterranean
TeleSur | - - Children make up 36 percent of the those making the perilous migration journey across the sea, often to flee conflicts. As the refugees crisis surges on with thousands…
Can Morocco Create a New Middle East through Green Energy?
By Moha Ennaji | ( Project Syndicate) | - - FEZ – The global oil-price bust has devastated economies across the Middle East and North Africa. Having seen severe price declines in…
Afghanistan: Washington’s Twenty-First-Century Opium Wars
By Alfred McCoy | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - In October 2001, the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan largely through proxy Afghan fighters with the help of Special Operations forces,…
Israeli forces demolish sole school in Bedouin community
Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday demolished a Bedouin school for children in the Abu al-Nuwaar community near the town of al Eizariya in the…
Spirit and Sensuality in the mystical Sufi poetry of Rumi
By Nesreen Akhtarkhavari and Anthony A. Lee, Translators | (Informed Comment) | - - The poems of Rumi, the thirteenth-century teacher, scholar, and poet known simply as Mowlana in the Muslim world,…
Trump’s SC Victory and anti-Muslim Hatred
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Billionaire bigot Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary Saturday with about 32.5 percent of the vote. He was about ten points ahead…
Trumpism & Europe’s Refugees: Poland says it cannot coexist ‘with Middle East people’
By Sarantis Michalopoulos | ( EurActiv.com) A dispute over how to shelter 160,000 refugees in Europe got deeper today when Poland said its population is unable to live with people from the…
As ISIL goes Global, Will the ‘War on Terror’ extend for Decades?
By Paul Rogers | ( OpenDemocracy.net) | - - The war against ISIL has seen 18 months of of airstrikes by United States-led coalition forces in both Iraq and Syria. An even…
Black, Brown and Progressive: A New Voter Majority in the US?
By Sonali Kolhatkar | ( TeleSur With the US becoming more racially diverse, left-leaning people of color in alliance with their white counterparts means that there is a progressive voting majority right…
Gaza: Palestinian Women’s unemployment reaches “astronomical” levels as Israeli siege Continues
Ma'an News Agency | - - GAZA (Ma'an) -- The unemployment among women in the Gaza Strip has reached more than 60 percent, a women’s organization said on Saturday. Fida Abu Darbi,…
Will Syrian Kurds defeat ISIL , helping Democrats win White House in 2016?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Bad news came out of Syria for Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on two fronts Friday: Aleppo and, in Syria's far east, Hasakah. This has…
Strongest Tropical Storm ever in S. Hemisphere Hits Fiji (It’s Getting Hot in Here)
Breaking News | (Video, Twitter report) | - - Cyclone Winston: Incredible conditions in Savusavu, Fiji | 20 02 2016 Winston now strongest tropical cyclone on record in Southern Hemi. Worst case…
Koch Brothers Declare War On Electric Cars
Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola, Ana Kasparian & Ben Mankiewicz | (The Young Turks Video) | - - "This is the election where we're finally focusing on the corrosive affect of money in…
Iran: Poet of Gender Discrimination flees Lashes, 11.5 Year Sentence
By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - To get her first book of poetry past the Iranian censor, Fatemeh Ekhtesari did what other Iranian writers often have to do:…
How the FBI is endangering everyone’s Security to get at one iPhone
By Joseph Bonneau | ( Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - The legal dispute between Apple and the FBI might prove pivotal in the long-running battle to protect users' privacy and right…
France: Turkish-Russian ‘War’ Possible over Syria
TeleSur | - - The French president said Russia and Turkey could engage in war over Turkish involvement in Syria as Russia called for an urgent U.N. Security Council. There is risk…
Why Trump’s tiff with the Pope endangers his Political Future
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Billionaire bigot Donald Trump's tiff with Pope Francis continued on Thursday, though Trump appears to have gotten cold feet about taking on the…
No, it isn’t all one Thing: The Variety of Religious Experience in Islam
By Aaron W. Hughes | (The Conversation) | - - The rise of Islamic State has led to much speculation about the group’s origins: how do we account for forces and events…
Civility? Professor Proposes Israel “flatten” a City of 1 million
By Belén Fernández | ( TeleSur ) | - - No, Israel Should Not Flatten Beirut: A debate over whether Israel should commit war crimes and wipe out a city of at…
Exxon-Mobil’s past Crimes against the Earth are nothing Compared to its Present Ones
By Bill McKibben | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - Here’s the story so far. We have the chief legal representatives of the eighth and 16th largest economies on Earth (California and…
UN: Over 400 Palestinians displaced by Israel in 6 weeks
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Over 400 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been displaced due to Israeli demolitions during the first six weeks of this year,…
Syria: 500 Turkey-backed Sunni Arab Fighters Cross to defend Azaz from Kurds
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - This morning, according to the Syria Observatory and the Arabic press some 500 Sunni Arab rebels based in Turkey crossed back into Syria…
Turkey’s New Normal?: Bombing in Ankara kills Dozens
By Winston Obertan | ( GlobalVoices.org ) | - - Ankara. Wikimedia image. A bomb blast, believed to have originated from a car bomb, has killed at least 28 people and injured…
Are Outside Interventions in Syria undermining Int’l Law & our own Security?
By Ingvild Bode | (The Conversation) | - - Since 2012, the war in Syria has lurched from one escalation to another. Syrians have been subjected to large-scale military force not only…
Can the Nuclear Deal survive the Iranian and American Elections?
By Farhang Jahanpour | (Inter Press Service) | - - OXFORD (IPS) - Although the implementation of Iranian nuclear deal has been welcomed by all those who had been involved in the…
Donald Trump attacks Pope Francis as puppet of Mexico on Immigrants’ Rights
TeleSur | - - Trump accused Pope Francis of being an instrument of the Mexican government because of his pro-immigration stance. The Vatican responded. U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is no…
PA: Israel concealed prisoner’s hunger strike for 43 days
Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority Committee for Prisoners' Affairs on Tuesday accused Israel of concealing a 43-day long hunger strike being undertaken by a Palestinian…
The Chinese are Coming: First ‘New Silk Road’ Train reaches Iran’s Capital
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In a sign of China's increasingly powerful role in Central Asia and the Middle East, on Tuesday a Chinese train arrived in Tehran…
Do Drug Profits actually drive Terrorism in the Muslim World?
Robert Rotberg | (The Conversation) | - - Terrorists are in it as much for the loot as for the ideology. . . . ISIS, could hardly exist, whatever its Islamist fervor,…
Turkey: Erdogan’s Domestic War for a Presidential System
By Rosa Burç and Burak Çopur | TeleSur | - - The current war against the Kurds and oppositional voices is being waged to push an autocratic presidential system. The surprising electoral…
Why Americans are Angry: The Minimum Wage Trap
By Peter Van Buren | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - When presidential candidate Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality, and when other candidates speak about the minimum wage and food stamps, what…
Syria: Instead of a Cease-Fire, have Great Powers unleashed new Proxy Wars?
By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | - - MADRID (IPS) - - When 25 million Syrians–half of them refugees abroad or at home and the other half terrorised by daily…
George W. Bush, who Mirrored & Inflamed Public passions, attacks Trump for It
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - George W. Bush came out of political exile on Monday to be his brother JEB!'s surrogate in attacking Donald Trump. W. allowed as…
Hot Sugar Daddies Of The 2016 Election
Francesca Fiorentini | (AJ+ Video Report) | - - "Political sugar daddies have a strong grip on the 2016 election. These billionaires know what they want, and what they want is candidates…
Confirmed: ISIL used Mustard Gas Against Kurds in Iraq
TeleSur | - - A chemical weapons investigator confirmed earlier reports that the extremist group used the banned chemical weapon. [ISIL] used chemical weapons against Kurdish militants last year, Reuters reported Monday.…
UK Government to Ban Universities, Public Bodies from BDS of Israel
By IMEMC | - - On February 14th, 2016, the UK Government announced that it would be setting up guidelines to prevent public bodies from supporting the Palestinian rights through their procurement…
Why is ISIL still trying to Slaughter and Enslave the ancient Yazidi Minority?
By Brian Glyn Williams | (Informed Comment) | - - On February 3, the New York Times quoted the desperate plea of a Yazidi, a member of an ethnic-religious group facing communal…
Could a post-Scalia court restore Campaign Finance Sanity & pull back from Plutocracy?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - There is no guarantee that the successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia will be a liberal. But only if Cruz wins the…
Will Obama Sign Israel Trade Bill regularizing Colonies in Palestine, Discouraging BDS?
By IMEMC | - - US President Barack Obama reportedly intends to sign a sweeping trade agreement which includes provisions that fail to differentiate between Israel and illegal settlements in the occupied…
The Day Beyoncé Turned Black – SNL
Saturday Night Live | (Video satire) | - - "It's the day white people never saw coming: when Beyoncé turned black." Saturday Night Live: " "The Day Beyoncé Turned Black" - SNL"
Has the Turkish-Saudi direct Military Intervention in Syria Begun?
By Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | - - The news that Turkey has begun military strikes against the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) militia inside Syria marks an ominous chapter in…
GOP Robo Speech: It isn’t Just Rubio (Cartoon)
Paul Jamiol | ( Jamiol's World ) | - - Via Jamiol's World See Jamiol's second book, on what America is not
Palestinian Refugees in Syria, besieged by ISIL, receive critical UN Aid at Last amid Faltering Ceasefire
TeleSur | - - Humanitarian aid has reached refugees in the Syrian town of Yarmouk, on the outskirts of Damascus, for the first time in nine months, according to UNRWA, the U.N.…
Top 5 Scalia Rulings that helped Progressives
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Justice Antonin Scalia died in Texas on Saturday. IC sends condolences to his family. Scalia is widely recognized as having been a brilliant…
GOP Candidates’ Sick, Illegal, Fixation on Torture
By John Kiriakou | (Otherwords.org) | - - GOP presidential candidates are endorsing torture, again. For anyone who cares deeply about being informed, watching Republican presidential debates can feel like a form…
Muslims in Europe: A Crisis of Liberalism, not a Clash of Civilizations
Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville by JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE and JULIE POUCHER HARBIN | ISLAMiCommentary | - - Are Muslims embraced as part of the mosaic of Europe? Or,…
Russia Says World in ‘New Cold War’ over Syria
TeleSur | - - "Sometimes I wonder if it's 2016 or if we live in 1962," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told the Munich Security Conference, Saturday. The world has sunk into a “new…
European Parliament demands immediate end to Israel Squatting, Home Demolitions, in Palestine
By IMEMC | - - The European Parliament (EP’s) Delegation for relations with Palestine, expressed alarm at the deteriorating situation on the ground, calling for an immediate stop to Israeli expansion of…
Despite Syria Cease Fire, Belligerents Plot military Victory
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Despite the announcement at Munich of a cessation of hostilities in Syria, to be implemented in the next week or so, all the…Despite Risks, Egypt’s Cartoonists Take on increasingly Authoritarian Regime of al-Sisi
By Mohamed Hassan | ( Global Voices ) | - - Cartoonist Islam Gawish. Photograph from his Facebook page. Photograph by Mostafa Darwish. Less than two weeks after the fifth anniversary of…
The Costs That Come With Russia’s Gains In Syria
Charles Recknagel | ( RFE/RL | - - With Russia's monthslong air campaign in Syria now focused on a key rebel stronghold, Moscow can claim success in putting its stamp on the…
Do Latinos really view Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio as their Leaders?
By Adriana Maestas | TeleSur | - - The problem with promoting Cruz and Rubio as “Latino leaders” is that they have turned their backs on the Latino community with their policy…
Israel: Former official Labeled Traitor for backing Vets Denouncing Occupation
By IMEMC | - - Former Israeli FM Director Vilified for Support of "Breaking the Silence" Attendees of an Israeli Knesset Education Committee meeting, on Tuesday, called for the dismissal of former…
A Bizarre Argument From a Conservative Israeli Lawmaker Against Palestinian Statehood
AJ+ | (Video report) | - - Anat Berko, a conservative member of the Israeli Knesset, said there could be no Palestine because there's no letter “P” in Arabic. She made the…
Clinton and Sanders on Mideast War and Kissinger’s Legacy (PBS Debate)
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Both the Middle East conflicts and the ghost of the Vietnam War haunted the PBS Democratic debate Thursday evening. Vietnam was symbolized by…
Is our Military-Industrial Complex a Fat Spoiled Brat?
By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - The word “affluenza” is much in vogue. Lately, it’s been linked to a Texas teenager, Ethan Couch, who in 2013 killed four…
Russia and Iran are allied in Syria – but are they as close as they seem?
Marzieh Kouhi-Esfahani | ( The Conversation | - - After years of isolation, Iran is slowly coming back in from the cold after the deal to curb its nuclear programme. And as…
Russia Warns of ‘World War’ as Saudi Plans Syria Intervention
TeleSur | - - Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops to Syria is “final” and “irreversible,” Saudi military spokesman Ahmed Al-Assiri told reporters Thursday evening as he confirmed earlier comments about sending…
In PBS Debate, did Clinton succeed in Hurting Sanders with Black Voters?
Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian, Jimmy Dore and John Iadarola | (The Young Turks Video) | - - "What was the biggest fail at the PBS NewsHour Democratic Debate? The Young Turks panel…
Israel razes Over 40 Palestinian homes, buildings in Jordan Valley
Ma'an News Agency | - - TUBAS (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed over 40 Palestinian homes and structures in the Tubas district of the occupied West Bank as ongoing Israeli…
Israel: Friedman of the NY Times surrenders to One-State Solution, sees ME Apocalypse
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Tom Friedman of the New York Times has completely given up on a two-state solution, forthrightly abandoning the polite fiction that there will…
Turkey must not strand new Wave of Syrian Refugees, & nor should Europe
Human Rights Watch | - - (Istanbul) – Turkey should allow Syrians at its border fleeing the fighting in and around Aleppo to seek protection in Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today.…
The GOP’s Anti-Government Line created Trump: Movement conservatism and the rise of the demagogues
By David M. Faris | (Informed Comment) | - - Donald Trump has now won a primary, and looks positioned to win many more. The GOP establishment nightmare looks more plausible by…
The Choice: Fear & Militarization or Curing the Disease of Violence
By Mairead Maguire | (Inter Press Service) | - - BELFAST (IPS) - The World Health Organization has said that ‘Violence is a preventable disease’ and people are not born violent, rather…
Israeli Parliament Targets Human Rights NGOs
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli Knesset on Monday approved the first reading of the "NGO transparency bill," denounced by critics as a move to delegitimize and…
VICE Special Report: Fighting Isis (Ben Anderson Debrief)
Journalist Ben Anderson gives a debrief on the current affairs occurring in Iraq and Syria and the events that led to the quagmire we currently see there today.
Did Muslim-Americans lose the New Hampshire GOP Primary?
AJ+ | (Video News Report) | - - "This is what the Republican presidential candidates said about Muslims in their most recent debate." AJ+: "The GOP Has A Muslim Problem"
Did Bashar al-Assad win New Hampshire? Trump & Sanders Mideast Policies
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders won big in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Caution is in order, since that state is demographically not very…
Failed Syria Talks raise specter of new Refugee wave, Misery in Mideast, Europe
By Alpaslan Ozerdem | (The Conversation | - - The Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis it has caused is the greatest humanitarian disaster facing the world right now. But while…
Kahlil Gibran: “Lazarus & His Beloved”
Kahlil Gibran | (New York Public Library) \ - - New York Public Library, Billy Rose Theater Production Photograph File Genre: Photograph [of Tableau Vivant] --- Related Book: Kahlil Gibran, The Vision,…
Not just the Children of Flint: Has Industrial Society Poisoned Us?
By David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - “I know if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself if my kids’ health could be…
The Evil Genie U.S. Let Out of Bottle in Iraq Continues His Rampage
By Russ Wellen | ( Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - As time passes, whatever responsibility Americans took for atrocities in Iraq, which are ongoing, has almost completely disappeared. The word…
Erdogan Threatened Europe with Refugees, now Demanding US abandon Syrian Kurds
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Reuters reports that Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan allegedly bullied European leaders and threatened to drown Europe in refugees if his terms were not…
Can Hillary Close Gender Gap? Young Women for Bernie in NH
Lester Holt | (NBC News video report) | - - "Hillary Clinton is trailing far behind Bernie Sanders amongst young women — a paradigm that appears to be a surprise to the…
Oil Dictator Dominos
By Bill Emmott | Project Syndicate | - - LONDON – Price movements as large and rapid as those that have upended oil markets since June 2014 are sure to cause pain…
Beyonce angers US Right by bringing up African-American Rights at Superbowl
TeleSur | - - Beyonce and her powerhouse backup dancers are facing threats of a boycott for speaking out against police brutality. Social media has been awash with both criticism and praise…
Russia, Syria Daily using Cluster Bombs in Attacks: HRW
Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – The Syrian-Russian joint military operation in Syria has included the use of internationally banned cluster munitions in at least 14 attacks across five governorates…
Is Netanyahu Readying the next Israeli Assault on Blockaded Gaza?
By: Ramzy Baroud | (Ma'an News Agency) | - - It is not true that only three wars have taken place since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 in the Occupied Palestinian…
Israel frets about “Iran as Neighbor” if Aleppo falls & al-Assad Regime Wins
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - An Arabic site that aggregates Facebook and other social media postings reports that Israeli officials are filled with anxiety and consternation about the…
Would Trump or Cruz be worst President ever? & Why Jimmy Carter’s Answer will Surprise you
By Ana Kasparian & John Iadarola | (The Young Turks Video Report) | - - "Who would be worse for America as President, Donald Trump or Ted Cruz? Former President Jimmy Carter…
After 14 Years it sinks in: Maybe US is just not Good at Asian Counter-Insurgency
By Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - Here’s my twenty-first-century rule of thumb about this country: if you have to say it over and over, it probably ain’t so. Which is…
European Union rebukes Israel for home demolitions, squatter settlement expansion in Palestine
Ma'an News Agency | - - JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- The European Union on Saturday called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, and reiterated "the EU's firm…
Parable of the Elephant (GOP Pathologies)
Paul Jamiol | ( Jamiol's World Cartoon ) | - - Via Jamiol's World . Wikipedia notes: "Rumi, the 13th Century Persian poet and teacher of Sufism, included it in his Masnavi.…
5 Worst Foreign Policy Moments of GOP New Hampshire Debate
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The New Hampshire GOP debate's most charged moments were probably more domestic, as with Chris Christie putting Marco Rubio in his place as…
As GOP Candidates pledge return of Torture, Pentagon forced to release Bush-era Abuse Photos
By Lauren McCauley, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) 'What the photos that the government has suppressed would show is that abuse was so widespread that it could only have resulted from policy or…
Israeli forces begin construction over Bethlehem-area Roman historical site
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday began construction work on top of a historical site in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Jala, the…
Says Syria: Any invading Saudi Troops Would Return Home in ‘Coffins’
TeleSur | - - The Syrian foreign minister also accused Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of undermining the U.N. peace talks. Any ground troops who would “attack or violate” Syria’s sovereignty would…
The Deep History of Iran – Arabian Relations (I)
By Khodadad Rezakhani | ( Mizan ) | - - This essay is an attempt at collecting some thoughts on an important historical event and its related historiographical questions. It is not…
Syria Rebels face Collapse as Thousands flee North Aleppo
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - On Friday, the Syrian Arab Army and its Hizbullah and Iranian/ Afghan allies made further progress in taking the area just north of…
Undertaxed: Top 62 Billionaires doubled wealth to $1.76 Trillion since 2010
By Sam Pizzigati | (Inequality.org) | - - Our world’s billionaires don’t merit either their billions, the Oxfam economist Didier Jacobs suggests, or the right to claim we’re all living in a…
End of Research in Egypt? The murder of my friend Giulio Regeni is an attack on academic freedom
By Neil Pyper | (the Conversation) | The body of Giulio Regeni was discovered in a ditch in Cairo on February 2, showing evidence of torture, and a slow and horrific death.…
Turkey descends into civil war as conflict in southeast escalates
By Joris Leverink | (Inter Press Service) | - - ISTANBUL, Turkey, (IPS) - - The latest footage to come out of Sur, the historical district in Diyarbakir that has been under…
Brazil opens Palestine Embassy after rejecting Israeli Squatter Envoy
TeleSur | - - The inauguration comes weeks after Brazil rejected Israel's ambassador, a former leader of West Bank settlers. The Palestinian Authority inaugurated its first embassy in the Western Hemisphere in…
Syria: The Mother of all Battles for Aleppo is Joined
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Aided by a massive Russian bombing campaign and Hizbullah and Iranian (or likely actually Afghan) reinforcements, the Syrian Arab Army has broken out…
Who Won the 2/4 Democratic Debate, Sanders or Clinton?
Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola & Jimmy Dore | (The Young Turks Video) | - - "Between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton who was the biggest winner of the Democratic Debate on MSNBC?…
The ISIL Challenge: Neither WW III nor a Minor Threat
By Julie Poucher Harbin, editor/ Alberto Fernandez | ISLAMiCommentary | - - Dozens of Middle East studies scholars, students and the general public packed a public talk — “Beyond Hysteria and Apologia:…
Muslims who saved Jews from Holocaust Honored (& Case of Albania)
Interfaith Peacemakers | - - [N.B. The interfaith 'I am your Protector" Campaign, founded by Dani Laurence, last week commemorated in several cities the Muslims who saved Jews from the Holocaust. Laurence…
Rubio wants to give each millionaire $220K by Eliminating Taxes on Stock Earnings
Chuck Collins | Inequality.org | - - Bad tax policy ideas never die, they just get recycled. The latest retread is GOP candidate Marco Rubio’s proposal to entirely eliminate taxes on capital…
Saudi Arabia ‘Ready’ to send Thousands of Ground Troops to Syria
TeleSur | - - The Saudi military said it is ready to contribute thousands of troops to Syria as part of the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State group coalition. Saudi Arabia, already involved in…
Obama Condemns hatred of Muslim-Americans, Affirms their Importance to Nation
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Obama spoke Wednesday at a Baltimore mosque in an explicit pushback against the hatred for Muslims being promoted by billionaire real estate…
Poll: Most Americans Want Redistribution Of Wealth
Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola | (The Young Turks Video Report) | - - "Now that Bernie Sanders knows that people will show up and vote for him in large numbers, the…
Let’s Talk About Bernie Sanders and the Middle East
By Derek Davison | Lobelog | Foreign Politicy in Focus | - - On foreign policy, the Vermont independent's "political revolution" hasn't done much to distinguish itself from Hillary Clinton or Barack…
Pentagon, running out of Smart Bombs, will Double anti-ISIL Budget
TeleSur | - - Despite the deep social and economic issues President Barack Obama is confronted with, military expenditure was conceived as a priority. The Pentagon plans to spend four more times…
Israel Continues to Spray Crop-killing Chemicals on Gaza Farmlands; Cancer Fears
By IMEMC | - - Israeli planes have reportedly sprayed chemical substances on farmlands across the besieged Gaza Strip, killing off the crops in the already impoverished Palestinian territory. Several farmers informed…
Gazans Are Struggling to Stay Warm This Winter (AJ+)
Al Jazeera+ gives viewers a look into the daily lives of people living in the Gaza Strip. Israeli policy has led to interesting adaptations by the Gazans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1P6-1NcCF0
Is the future Socialist? Bernie Sanders swept 84% of the Youth Vote in Iowa
TeleSur | - - Sanders captured the youth vote in Iowa. However, youth voter turnout was down 4 percent from when President Barack Obama ran in 2008. In what the Iowa Democratic…
The Final Breakup of Iraq? Barzani calls for Kurdistan Referendum
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, has called for an immediate non-binding referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan over whether its people…
Canada offers world example in integrating Syrian refugees
By Sarantis Michalopoulos | ( EurActiv.com ) | - - While EU politicians are still bickering over their share of the burden of refugees in Europe, Canada is seeking ways to rapidly…
Could Saudi Arabia’s grip on oil prices bring Russia to its knees?
James Henderson | (The Conversation) | - - When Saudi Arabia led an OPEC decision to end a restraint put on oil production in November 2014, it marked the beginning of a…
“Ai Weiwei Will Not Let You Forget About Europe’s Refugee Crisis (AJ+)”
AJ+ | (video News report) | - - Ai Weiwei reminds the world about the ongoing refugee crisis sparked by a mass exodus of peoples from Syria, who are fleeing a land…
Palestinians Need a Strategy & it must Achieve their Rights
By: Amal Ahmad | al-Shabaka | Ma'an News Agency | - - The Palestinian people began the New Year facing a bleak political situation, with a weak and compromised leadership, a geographically…
Foreign Policy Winners and Losers in Iowa
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Iowa Caucus voters likely voted mainly on domestic policy issues, though security and terrorism have been a big part of the campaigns…
Fears of Trafficking: 10,000 Refugee Children Missing In Europe
AJ+ | (Video News Report) | -- "At least five children and 34 adult refugees died after their boat capsized off the Turkish coast. But for the children who make it to…
Also-Ran Trump urges Thugs to Knock ‘the Crap’ out of Protesters, will cover Legal Fees
Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Report) | - - "Donald Trump has encouraged his followers to commit violence before. Now he’s taking it up a notch, offering to pick up…
Iran Dragooning Thousands of Undocumented Afghans as Cannon Fodder in Syria
Human Rights Watch | - - (New York) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has recruited thousands of undocumented Afghans living there to fight in Syria since at least November 2013, Human…
After Prisoner Deal, Iranian Nobelist Calls on Tehran to ‘Make Peace With Its Own People’
Global Voices Online/ International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran | - - While expressing joy at Iran’s recent release of four imprisoned Iranian-Americans, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has called on…
The Great War of Our Time: Book Review
Book Review By Brian Glyn Williams | (Informed Comment) | - - Michael Morell. The Great War of our Time. The CIA’s Fight Against Terrorism, from Al Qa’ida to ISIS. New York;…
ISIL kills 70 in bombing of Shiite Area, Damascus, in bid to derail Talks
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) claimed responsibility Sunday for bomb attacks in the Syrian capital of Damascus that seem likely to have aimed at derailing…
Every day Life under Occupation: Clashes near Ramallah as Israeli checkpoint strands hundreds
Ma'an News Agency | - - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Clashes broke out on Sunday afternoon between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces in the village of Jabaa near Ramallah City in the West…
A Teacher in Afghanistan: Is the Future Democracy or Muslim Extremism?
By Jeffrey E. Stern | (Informed Comment) | - - A few months ago, in downtown Kabul, a small man stood on top of a car with a megaphone in a city…
The “Democracy” of Billionaires & the Most Expensive Election ever Bought (Except for Bernie Sanders)
By Nomi Prins | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - Speaking of the need for citizen participation in our national politics in his final State of the Union address, President Obama said, “Our brand…