By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In 2016, the Middle East continued to be a major focus of the US public, and it often came up in the primary and presidential debates. Alas, the Middle East referenced by US politicians and many pundits does not actually exist, and the American fixation on […]
Archives for December 2016
Even in the Trump Era, Inequality can be Reduced
By Josh Hoxie | (Otherwords.org) | – – With Washington looking hopeless, it’s up to local communities to close the gap between the richest and the rest. In a lot of ways, 2016 was a big year for reducing inequality. Five states raised their minimum wage through citizen-led ballot initiatives. A job-killing free trade agreement, […]
Syria: Now that the US has Failed, what does 2017 Hold?
By Christopher R. Hill | (Project Syndicate) | – – DENVER – The end of the fighting in Aleppo will not end the Syrian war, despite the countrywide ceasefire that has just been agreed. Nor will it ease the suffering of the city’s population, much of which has been displaced. What the Aleppo siege will […]
Does Israel’s UN Tantrum Actually Further Palestine’s Struggle?
TeleSur | – – Though the motion is largely symbolical, Israel’s heavy retaliation has further isolated the apartheid state while increasing support for Palestine. Israel’s tantrum against the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning its illegal settlements in Palestinian land has entrenched its extremist nature, and has actually deepened the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions […]
Trump’s Extreme Oligarchy
By Simon Johnson | ( Project Syndicate) | – – WASHINGTON, DC – US President-elect Donald Trump is filling his cabinet with rich people. According to the latest count, his nominees include five billionaires and six multimillionaires. This is what is known as oligarchy: direct control of the state by people with substantial private economic […]
Top 5 Ways Obama Sanctions on Russia work for Democrats
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama’s sanctions on Russia are small potatoes and will have almost no effect on the Russian Federation. The high officials sanctioned are unlikely to have assets in the US that Washington can attach. When you hear that the US is sanctioning the FSB (the Russian […]
After all these Years, Iraq still generating Fake News, this time in Mosul
Special Correspondent | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Controversial videos are common on Iraqi social media. Viewed by millions, they increase social division and violence. NIQASH tries to separate two particularly disturbing examples into fact or fiction. The divisions between the different components of Iraqi society, whether those are ethnic or religious, has only […]
Russia Vows Response to ‘Aggressive’ Obama Sanctions
TeleSur | – – The Russian diplomats will have 72 hours to leave the United States. The United States’ new sanctions against Russia prove the foreign policy of the Obama administration is “aggressive,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin press-secretary, said Thursday, as the Kremlin indicated retaliatory measures against Washington. “In our point of view such actions […]
Kerry: Slams Palestinian Authority, but admits Israel Jeopardizes Peace
TeleSur | – – John Kerry claimed the Palestinian leadership enables terrorism as he defended the U.S. decision to let the U.N. resolution on Israeli settlements pass. After kicking off his speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Wednesday with a lengthy condemnation of what he called Palestinian terror and the Palestinian leadership’s alleged celebration of “terrorists,” […]