(By Juan Cole) Binyamin Netanyahu is again beating the “Israel is a Jewish state” drum, and now wants to have it legislated into Israeli organic law. On Sunday, Netanyahu said, “There are those who do not want Israel to be defined as the national homeland for the Jewish people…” “They want a Palestinian national homeland […]
Archives for May 2014
Taking Voting Rights from Felons preserves the Legacy of Slavery
(By Pippa Holloway) Nearly six million Americans are prohibited from voting in the United States today due to felony convictions. Six states stand out: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. These six states disfranchise seven percent of the total adult population – compared to two and a half percent nationwide. African Americans are particularly […]
Egypt going Big Into Solar Energy, Announces $1 Billion Investment
The new Egyptian government apparently sees solar energy as being a key part of the country’s future, based on recent comments made by its Local and Administrative Development Minister Adel Labib. At the recent inauguration of a conference organized…
Jose Antonio Vargas’ “Documented” on Plight of Undocumented to air on CNN after Theatrical Release
(By Juan Cole) I was privileged to see a special screening of Jose Antonio Vargas’s breathlessly awaited documentary, “Documented,” when I was in Los Angeles last week, and honored to meet Vargas himself along with executive producer Janet Wang (“The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs Larry Flynt”). The film was shown in a class […]
Boycott, divestment, sanctions movement seeks justice for Palestinians
(By Marilyn Jerry) Opinion: Boycott, divestment, sanctions movement seeks justice for Palestinians (via NJ.com) By Marilyn Jerry With the collapse of Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to promote a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, many are asking, “What now?” Given the number of times such talks have failed, it doesn’t seem likely… […]
Obama Quips at White House Correspondents Dinner: ‘Orange is the New Black’
CBSNews.com Web Extras: “President Obama skewers the press, pols, and Obamacare at correspondents dinner” AFP reports: Obama yuks it up with Washington reporters (via AFP) President Barack Obama cracked jokes about the government’s disastrous health care policy rollout and mocked political opponents at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The annual event, known informally as the […]
Greenwald vs NSA’s Hayden: Glenn Wins in a Slam Dunk
( Commondreams.org joint project ) Greenwald vs NSA's Hayden: Glenn Wins in a Slam Dunk Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who brought the Edward Snowden documents to the world, debated former CIA and NSA head Michael Hayden last night in Toronto. The debate was hosted by Munk Debates and also featured Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and rightwing […]
The Ukraine Crisis and Qatar’s Ascendancy should Make us think Big Solar, not Gas
Originally published on SolarWakeup.By Yann Brandt Solar may be a small portion of energy production globally but the importance in geo-politics continues to grow. All energy usage may be local, when a homeowner plugs in their cell phone charge into…
Condoleezza Rice, Charged with War Crimes at Rutgers, withdraws as Commencement Speaker
(By Juan Cole) Condoleezza Rice on Saturday pulled out of giving the commencement address at Rutgers University after professor and student protests. Rutgers historian Professor Rudy Bell argued that while it would be appropriate to have Rice on campus as part of an academic debate, she is unsuitable as a commencement speaker because of her […]