By Thalif Deen | – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Saudi Arabia’s right hand does not know what its left foot is up to, belittles an Asian diplomat, mixing his metaphors to describe the political paradox in the ongoing military conflict in Yemen. The Saudis, who are leading a coalition of Arab states, have been accused […]
Archives for April 2015
Fossil Fuels have to Stay in the Ground: But Renewables are anyway Cheaper
By Will Steffen and Martin Rice | (The Conversation) Ninety per cent of Australia’s current coal reserves will need to be left in the ground for Australia to play its role in limiting warming to no more than 2C. That’s according to a report released today by the Climate Council, “Unburnable Carbon: why we need […]
How U.S. will monitor Iranian ships in Yemen
CNN | – “CNN’s Tom Foreman uses virtual reality to show how the U.S. intends to monitor Iranian ships off the coast of Yemen.” CNN: “How U.S. will monitor Iranian ships in Yemen”
Top Ten ways to prove you Love the Earth on Earth Day
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – I was a junior in high school on April 22, 1970, on the first Earth Day, called for by Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-Wi) (d. 1981). The road leading to our school had been littered with trash, and a group of us went out with black plastic bags and […]
Iraq’s Future in the Balance: Will Sunni Arab Tribes join or fight ISIL?
By Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) | – The key to long lasting victory in northern Iraq is the loyalty of it’s Sunni Muslim tribes. Both the Iraqi Kurdish and the extremists are starting new flirtations with the tribal leaders of Ninawa. But how genuine are these suitors? At a recent meeting in Ninawa, […]
Controversy as the “Forgotten Genocide” of the Armenians turns 100
AJ+ | – “April 24 marks the 100th anniversary of what’s been called “The Forgotten Genocide” and the “Armenian massacres,” when hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of Armenians were killed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire’s Young Turks at the start of World War I. Here’s a breakdown of what happened. […]
Ousted Egyptian President Morsi Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) – Morsi was convicted of ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during the clashes that erupted in December 2012 Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, along with 14 other defendants, was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in maximum security prison and five years of parole over the […]
Pakistan as Hong Kong West: China’s New Silk Road & US Failure
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit, full of pomp and circumstance, to Pakistan on Monday, but its centerpiece was a $46 billion investment in the country, dwarfing the US Congress’s $7.5 bn. program initiated in 2008. Whereas the US likes to sell useless weapons systems that […]
ISIL’s Libya Affiliate Murders 30 Ethiopian Christians
By EurActiv | – A video purportedly made by Islamic State and posted on social media sites on Sunday (19 April) appeared to show militants shooting and beheading about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya. Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the video, but the killings resemble past violence carried out by Islamic State, […]