By Tom Giesen | (Informed Comment) On July 6th, 2013, a train composed of tank cars filled with shale oil sat on the railroad tracks above the town of Lac Megantic, Quebec. The train’s brakes were not secure, the crew was absent, the train began to move, and it rolled into Lac Megantic at a […]
Archives for March 2015
Gaza: Child Survivors with PTSD – Aftermath of the Israeli offensive
RT | – “The UN is looking into possible war-crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. RT’s Bel Trew has the stories of those who survivor the offensive.” RT: “Child Survivors: Aftermath of Israel offensive in Gaza”
Why is no one asking? Did GOP & Israel Lobbies write Iran Letter for the good of America?
By Hamid Zangeneh | (Informed Comment) People who worry about American national interests and security fall in one of the two categories: they either trust the President to advance national interests and security or not. The Republican authors and signatories of the letter to the Iranian leadership fall in the second category; they are the […]
Could Sunni-Shiite Rift make Tikrit a Pyrrhic Victory? Al-Azhar & Shiite Militias
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) The foremost Sunni Muslim seat of learning, al-Azhar University in Cairo, has stirred controversy by issuing a considered legal opinion (fatwa) condemning the Shiite militias or “Popular Mobilization Forces” that are now fighting alongside the Iraq army to take Tikrit back from Daesh (ISIL or ISIS). To be fair, […]
European Leaders: GOP Letter Helped Iran in Nuclear Negotiations
By Sarah Lazare | (Commondreams.org) – An open letter to Iranian leaders from 47 Republican senators has provoked sharp rebuke from European countries that are party to the nuclear talks. Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier blasted the U.S. GOP senators on Thursday, telling journalists, “This is not just an issue of American domestic politics, but […]
Cyclone Pam & Vanuatu’s Global Warming future: Fewer but Worse Storms
BBC News | – “A huge tropical cyclone with winds up to 270km/h (170mph) has devastated parts of the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Cyclone Pam is being described as one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the region with unconfirmed reports that 44 people have been killed.” Vanuatu: Dozens […]
Why Tough Talk from Netanyahu won’t Guarantee his Election Victory
By Simon Mabon | (The Conversation) – For decades, Israeli politicians have argued that they live in a “tough neighbourhood” in an effort to justify and legitimise their foreign policy. While historically the threat posed to Israel came from the surrounding Arab states, in recent years, the threat has shifted to non-state actors and Iran. […]
Could a Netanyahu loss in Israeli Elections change Everything?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Israeli polling is suggesting that Binyamin Netanyahu’s party might get only 21 seats or less in the 120-seat Israeli parliament, with his rivals, the Zionist Union, getting 24 or 25. There is even the possibility of the gap between the two widening and Netanyahu doing even worse. The […]
GOP Senators tried to instruct Iran, showed own Ignorance of the Law
By Curtis A Bradley, Duke University | (The Conversation) – On March 9, forty-seven Republican Senators signed an open letter directed at Iran’s leaders, ostensibly to warn them about the limited effect of any agreement they might reach with President Obama about their nuclear program. Embarrassingly, the letter’s effort to provide a civics lesson to […]
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