From the web page of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Dr. Zarif’s Response to the Letter of US Senators Asked about the open letter of 47 US Senators to Iranian leaders, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Javad Zarif, responded that “in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda […]
Archives for March 2015
Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman Suggests Decapitation for Disloyal Arabs
By IMEMC News | – Israeli Foreign Minister and the head of Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Lieberman, lashed out at Israel’s Arab citizens, Sunday, threatening to cut their heads off with an axe. “Those who are with us deserve everything, but those who are against us deserve to have their heads chopped off with an […]
From Iraq’s Next big Front: Kurdish Fighters Closing in on Mosul
VICE News | – “With the timeline unclear for a forthcoming US-led coalition assault on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Mosul, Kurdish peshmerga fighters continue to man the trenches at the strategic junction of Keske, just outside the northern Iraqi city. VICE News traveled to Keske to meet with peshmerga fighters and to learn […]
Bombing Iran: What would Happen if the Hawks got their Way?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Some of those who believe that Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program is inevitably dual use (that it can be used to produce a nuclear weapon) are alarmed at the prospect of a diplomatic deal between Washington and Tehran that will allow Iran to continue enriching under inspections. After […]
Is Israel’s Election about enacting Jim Crow for 20% of its Citizens?
By Jo Roberts | (Informed Comment) – Israelis go to the polls on March 17 to elect a new government. The incoming Knesset will face an issue that fractured the previous coalition: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s proposal to amend the constitutional Basic Laws and define Israel as a Jewish State. In an increasingly racialized society, […]
Treason of the Wonks: How to Create a National Insecurity State
By Andrew J. Bacevich | (Tomdispatch.com) – Policy intellectuals — eggheads presuming to instruct the mere mortals who actually run for office — are a blight on the republic. Like some invasive species, they infest present-day Washington, where their presence strangles common sense and has brought to the verge of extinction the simple ability to […]
Iraqi Flees ISIL to Dallas, Shot Dead while taking Picture of First Snowfall
By RFE/RL | – Police in Dallas have released surveillance footage on March 7 of four suspects in the shooting and killing of an Iraqi man. Police are not ruling out that the shooting of Ahmed al-Jumaili, 36, on March 4 was a hate crime, but have no evidence to support it. Alia Salem of […]
Tel Aviv: Tens of Thousands Rally against Netanyahu
By IMEMC News | – Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied on Saturday evening, in Yitzhak Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, calling for the current Israeli Prime Minister to be replaced in the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to Israeli and international media. The event’s organizers, Israel Wants Change, said that more than 35 thousand people attended, […]
African-Americans still struggle for Full Citizenship Rights, Voting Rights
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – 50 years after the Selma march to Montgomery, African-Americans still face substantial impediments to their full citizenship in the United States. We all saw the scene in the film “Selma” where the Oprah Winfrey character has to pass an arbitrary test to vote (and is always failed by […]