(By Christine Petré) A street art project aims to show the world there is more to Yemeni people than terrorism. Black and white portraits of everyday Yemenis are now decorating the walls of the capital Sana’a, as well as the cities of Taiz, Hodaida, Hadramawt and Aden. Inside Out Yemen is a project that aims […]
Archives for March 2014
Crimea, Egypt, Syria: Cole Interview on Ian Masters’ “Background Briefing”
My radio interview with Ian Masters at KPFK on developments in Egypt, Ukraine and Syria is now available on the web: Play it above or if it doesn’t display (it takes 20 seconds to load), the audio file is here The blurb: “Then we examine the effectiveness of E.U. and U.S. sanctions on Putin’s Russia, […]
Is Pope Francis good for the Democrats? Obama in the Vatican
(By Juan Cole) Could enormous popularity of Pope Francis spill over into American politics? Pope Francis is worried about inequality, a Democratic Party issue, and his statements and actions on the subject are a stunning rebuke to “evangelical Catholics” such as Paul Ryan, who tend rather to celebrate economic inequality or to deny it or […]
Obama White House Operatives Plumping for Hillary Clinton over Joe Biden (TYT)
“The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur reacts to a CNN report that “Obama White House Operatives Plumping for Hillary Clinton over Joe Biden”
Israel Guilty of Apartheid, Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians: UN Rapporteur
(By César Chelala) Richard Falk, United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories accused Israel last week of “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. Speaking at a press conference, he said that Israeli policies bore “unacceptable characteristics of colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.” “Every increment of enlarging the settlements or every incident of house demolition […]
Twitter strikes Back at Turkish Gov’t Ban in Courts
TWITTER HAS LAUNCHED a legal challenge against the block placed on its services in Turkey. Turkey effectively put up a wall between it and Twitter last week. Initially travellers to its domain were sent to a government website before a Turkish court…
Iraqi Women’s Rights Under Threat
(By Erin Evers) Few disagree that the Iraqi government’s increasingly Shia character has alienated its Sunni population—but what has mounting sectarian division meant for the rights of women and girls? Last October, Iraq’s justice minister introduced a draft law to its Council of Ministers which would legalise child marriage and severely affect women’s rights in […]
Egypt: Al-Sisi’s run for President: Bonapartism and Gulf Oil Money
(By Juan Cole) Egypt’s Brig. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, 59, on Wednesday resigned his military commission and announced that he will run for president. He was given a long spot on Egyptian television to make the announcement, still wearing his uniform (he said it was the last time he would be seen in it after […]
Donald Rumsfeld: A “Trained Ape” would be better at U.S. diplomacy than Obama
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Monday blasted President Barack Obama’s diplomacy, saying a “trained ape” could do a better job. In an interview with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, Rumsfeld complained that relations with…