My interview on Arab feminism, youth activism, and revolution with Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman of Yemen is now up at YouTube. I asked her not only about high politics but about social issues such as the role of women in the revolution and the threat of religious radicalism. I asked each question twice […]
Archives for December 2011
Obama and NDAA: Chipping away at the Constitution – HRW
Press release from Human Rights Watch: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 Human Rights Watch For Immediate Release US: Refusal to Veto Detainee Bill A Historic Tragedy for Rights President Decides to Sign Ill-Conceived National Defense Authorization Act (Washington, DC, December 14, 2011) – US President Barack Obama’s apparent decision to not […]
Tomgram: Barbara Ehrenreich and John Ehrenreich, The Fall of the "Liberal Elite"
Until a few months ago, the 99% was hardly a group capable of articulating “the identity of their interests.” It contained, and still contains, most “ordinary” rich people, along with middle-class professionals, factory work…
Israel to defend its Military from Israelis
Coddling violent fanatics who attack and steal from Palestinians might just backfire on the Right wing Likud government. What? It already has? I wonder if there is a connection?? The USG Open Source Center translates reaction from the Israeli press: “Israeli Media Urge ‘Harsh’ Punitive Steps Against Jewish Right-Wing ‘Criminals’ Israel — OSC Summary Wednesday, […]
Top Arab Revolution Stories the US Media Ignored
Long time human rights activist Moncef Marzouki became Tunisia’s president this week. Tunisians wept, at the idea that this principled man, forced into exile by the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, should now himself tread the official red carpet as president of his country. Marzouki is an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and a secularist. […]
US Congress Abruptly Passes Resolution Against Dogs
Italian cat inherits $16 million. Feline lobby in the making?
Post-American Iraq by the Numbers
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Washington this week, in something of a commemoration of the withdrawal of all US troops from his country. As the American War on Iraq draws to a close, the Neoconservatives have been trying one last time to depict one of the modern world’s great catastrophes, the Bush Administration invasion […]
Map of countries US/Israel have bombed or in which US has bases
From Loonwatch: “This “three-decade war for domination of the Middle East” becomes apparent when we consider how many Muslim countries the peace-loving United States and her “stalwart ally” Israel have bombed.” (I generally agree, but there are a couple of problems here, see below) [I may be having a senior moment, but I actually don’t […]
Tomgram: Nick Turse, Did the Pentagon Help Strangle the Arab Spring?
As the Arab Spring blossomed and President Obama hesitated about whether to speak out in favor of protesters seeking democratic change in the Greater Middle East, the Pentagon acted decisively…