By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Jeb Bush gave a maiden foreign police speech in Chicago yesterday in which he mixed up Iran with Iraq and alleged with science fictional inaccuracy that Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) has 200,000 men under arms. The actual number of fighters is probably 20,000. His office later admitted that […]
Archives for February 2015
Cigarettes to Kill 1 Billion this Century Despite Global Treaty (+ John Oliver)
By Laurent Huber | – GENEVA (IPS) – February 27 will mark the 10th anniversary of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first global public health treaty. Today the FCTC has 180 Parties, making it among the most widely-adopted international instruments. About 90 percent of the world’s population falls under […]
Obama Says: U.S. At War With Terrorism, Not With Islam
By RFE/ RL | – U.S. President Barack Obama has said the United States is not “at war” with Islam, but with people who distort the religion. Speaking on February 18 at the three-day White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, Obama said, “We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with […]
Iran Nuclear Talks: They said it Couldn’t be Done
By Carlyn Meyer | (Informed Comment) – According to sources familiar with negotiations between the international P5+1 group and Iran, the Obama Administration is optimistic that a deal can be reached over Iran’s nuclear program. A recent article in Al-Monitor reports that the chances of a successful deal have increased considerably in the past week […]
Holy War: How Bill O’Reilly & Daesh/ ISIL Share The Same Goal
Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks) “Bill O’Reilly stated definitively, multiple times tonight, that he believes the United States and the world are in a “holy war” against ISIS and the White House needs to accept that fact. He said, “This is now a so-called holy war between radical jihadists and everyone else, including peaceful […]
Iraq: Kurds repel ISIL/ Daesh w/ help of the Shiite Militiamen they Distrust
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – In a bold move, Daesh (i.e. ISIL or ISIS) fighters moved Monday on Kirkuk and Erbil, two cities patrolled by the Iraqi Kurdistan paramilitary, the Peshmerga (those who stand before death). Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Kirkuk is an oil city and is disputed among Turkmen, […]
Russell Brand: Chapel Hill Vs Copenhagen – Which Is Terrorism?
Russell Brand | (The Trews) – “Reaction to the media coverage of the Chapel Hill killings last week and the shootings in Copenhagen.” Chapel Hill Vs Copenhagen – Which Is Terrorism? Russell Brand
Not your Founding Fathers’ America: Permanent War, Permanent Election Campaigns, Guns, Drones and Surveillance
By Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) I never fail to be amazed — and that’s undoubtedly my failing. I mean, if you retain a capacity for wonder you can still be awed by a sunset, but should you really be shocked that the sun is once again sinking in the west? Maybe not. The occasion for […]
Just when you thought they Couldn’t be Worse: ISIL trafficking Human Organs
RT | – The Islamic State is harvesting human organs to finance its blood-driven caliphate, according to Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations, urging its Security Council to investigate the issue. Envoy Mohamed Alhakim called on the 15-member body to look at allegations of organ removal by the Islamic State (formerly ISIS) as bodies with […]