Vice News “When Islamic State jihadists launched a major offensive on the majority Kurdish town of Kobane in September, more than 180,000 people fled across the border into Turkey. Local authorities struggled to cope with the influx at first, and thousands of refugees were forced to sleep on the streets of the Turkish border town […]
Archives for October 2014
Top 7 Ways US Intervention in Iraq/Syria could turn Catastrophic
By Peter Van Buren via Tomdispatch.com What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Seven Worst-Case Scenarios in the Battle with the Islamic State By Peter Van Buren You know the joke? You describe something obviously heading for disaster — a friend crossing Death Valley with next to no gas in his car — and then add, “What […]
Ebola & Immigrants and Muslims, Oh My! Operating the Fear Machine
by Rebecca Gordon Like many people around the world, four-star Marine General John Kelley is really worried about Ebola. But he’s not worried about the more than 4,000 people who have died of the disease in western Africa. And he’s only tangentially worried about people dying in this country. What is the real threat Ebola […]
Will Ireland Recognize Palestine?
By Juan Cole After Sweden recognized Palestine, the Irish government began considering doing so. On Thursday, the Irish parliament asked Irish Foreign Minister, Eamon Gilmore, questions regarding this plan. Gilmore affirmed that the Irish government is planning at some point in the near future to move ahead with recognition. A few European Union member states […]
Surprising Map of Which Countries Recognize Palestine
AJ+ “Sweden became the first European Union country to recognize the State of Palestine on Oct. 3, and the United Kingdom parliament voted 274-12 in favor of recognizing the State of Palestine. More than 134 countries have recognized Palestine’s bid for statehood since 1988. Here’s a look at the spread of support around the world.” […]
Humanitarian Crisis: Health Care and Jordan’s 600,000 Syrian Refugees
By Katy Montoya I was scrambling to take notes when the First Lieutenant of the Jordanian Security Forces joined my conversation with security personnel in one of the small offices of Ruba’a al-Sarhan. “No other country would do this for Syria’s civilians,” he declared. Located close to the Syrian border in the al-Mafraq governate, Ruba’a […]
The New McCarthyism on Israel: Naming and Shaming . . . Hillel
By Alice Rothchild Jewish communal and religious organizations have become increasingly donor driven and sclerotic when it comes to discourse on Israel/Palestine. This is clearly in evidence when it comes to the dogmatic guidelines espoused by Hillel International, the umbrella organization for local Hillel chapters on American campuses. Despite spouting pluralism and tolerance, the organization […]
Turkey bargaining with base for US, wants no-fly zone in Syria
By Juan Cole Earlier this week Turkish officials met American ones on the issue of combating ISIL. The US wants to use Incirlik Air Force Base for the purpose, but Turkey has been cagey about whether that permission will be forthcoming, at least through Wednesday evening. The no fly zone idea is coupled with the […]
Real Estate Agents to the Terrorists: ISIL Steals Mosul Refugee Property to Raise Money
By Nawzat Shamdeen via Niqash.org The Sunni Muslim extremist group that has taken over the northern city of Mosul has a new source of income: real estate. The Islamic State group has confiscated the properties of all those who fled or taken them off those they consider enemies. Locals say the plan is to auction […]