(By Juan Cole) The Republicans in Congress keep beating the dead horse of Benghazi. Now they have sprung a briefing memo for Susan Rice, based on CIA talking points. I shows that the briefing hewed to the CIA line of the time, which was that the Benghazi disturbances were copy cats of those in Cairo, […]
Archives for May 2014
Rick Jacobs Threatens to Pull URJ Out of Presidents Conference After J Street Fiasco
Reform Movement leader Rabbi Rick Jacobs has signaled that the Union of Reform Judaism could consider dropping out of the Conference of Presidents in response to yesterday’s vote to reject membership to the progressive pro-Israel group J Street. Click here for the rest of the article…
Why Oklahoma’s Botched Execution is an Argument for ending Death Penalty
Yet more evidence that the death penalty is cruel and inhumane arrived today at 8:00PM from the state of Oklahoma. Charles Warner, convicted of raping and murdering an 11-month-old girl, found his execution stayed today after the attempted execution…
The PLO-Hamas Unity Agreement: an Opportunity for the United States and Israel
(By Joel Migdal) The unity agreement announced last week between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization drew swift, negative reactions from Israel, including suspending its participation in the U.S.-sponsored peace talks. Israel said flatly it would not negotiate with a team that included those dedicated to its destruction. The response by the United States to […]
On how the Death of Turkish Democracy this Year wasn’t exactly Clickbait
(By Ola Claësson) I can’t help being surprised of how little that has been reported in the foreign media about the development in Turkey after the local elections. Before the Gezi protests less than one year ago, Turkey was perceived as a promising, developing democracy. But now, the country has embarked on a path in […]
Fox censors ‘Scientific American’ editor on Climate Change because, Future
(By Scott Kaufman) ‘Scientific American’ editor: Fox censored my discussion of climate change as ‘future trend’ (via Raw Story ) Scientific American editor Michael Moyer went on Fox & Friends this morning to discuss “Tech trends for the next decade and beyond,” which producers told him did not, under any circumstances, involve certain issues: Fox […]
Iraq’s first Post-American Elections by the Numbers
(By Juan Cole) Iraqis went to the polls on Wednesday in the first national parliamentary elections since US troops pulled out of the country completely (in late 2011). The results won’t be in for a while, but here are some early statistics: 1. Preliminary estimate of turnout: 60% 2. Number of people who died in […]