Chris Woods writes at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Walk into any US bookstore and the stacks are crowded with hundreds of books on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet more than a decade in, its hard to find anything on the escalating use of armed drones by the United States. Now Medea Benjamin, […]
Archives for May 2012
Will Houla be al-Assad’s My Lai? Artillery Massacre of Children in Syria
Syria’s military bombarded the town of Houla in Homs province on Saturday, killing 90 persons, including dozens of children, according to opposition sources. The Baath regime in Syria has survived despite 14 months of popular rallies, demonstrations and revolts because at least half of Syrians, especially in the big cities such as Aleppo and the […]
“All Wars are Follies” (Benjamin Franklin Poster)
Is the Egyptian 2010s a Replay of the American 1960s?
It now seems clear that the run-off in the Egyptian presidential election will be between Muhammad Mursi of the Freedom and Justice Party (Muslim Brotherhood) and Gen. Ahmad Shafiq, former Aviation Minister in the Mubarak government and the deposed dictator’s last prime minister. This outcome is a polarizing one and promises a rocky road ahead […]
Egypt’s Presidential Election: Between Revolution and Counter-Revolution
The results of the Egyptian presidential election, held on Wednesday and Thursday, won’t be announced until Monday, say official sources in the government. In contrast, the High Electoral Commission is indicating that it will announce the results as soon as they are definitively known. Egypt is on a precipice between a relatively smooth transition and […]
Shell’s $4bn lobbying campaign cleared the way for Arctic oil drilling (Ross)
Alice Ross writes at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Offshore oil drilling in the Arctic has long been considered off-limits – but as the New York Times revealed . . ., a sustained and ingenious campaign by Shell has overcome all objections. The campaign to win permission to drill in the Arctic is a masterclass […]
“The Exact measure of Injustice” (Frederick Douglass Poster)
A Memorial Day to Break your Heart (Engelhardt)
Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com: May is the official month of remembrance when it comes to our war dead, ending as it does on the long Memorial Day weekend when Americans typically take to the road and kill themselves and each other in far greater numbers than will die in Afghanistan. It’s a weekend for […]
Iran, UNSC talks have the effect of Averting War
The meeting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) with Iran in Baghdad is apparently producing a lot of detailed proposals for resolving the crisis. Apparently the one place there could be a breakthrough, if not at Baghdad then later this summer, is with regard to Iran’s enrichment of […]