By RFE/RL | – – WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state who is now a leading contender to be the next president, has called for a stronger response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Syria, saying Moscow’s objectives were “to stymie, to confront, and to undermine American power whenever and wherever.” […]
Archives for September 2015
Russia Ramping up Military Involvement in Syria?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters reports, based on sources in Beirut, that Russia is increasing its involvement in Syria, backing the military of beleaguered dictator Bashar al-Assad. Russia appears to be offloading tanks at its Tartous naval base on the Syrian coast, and may also be establishing an interior air […]
As Vanguard for Climate Action, Low-Carbon Cities Could Save $22 Trillion
By Deirdre Fulton | (Commondreams.org) | – – Compact, connected, and efficient “low-carbon” cities could generate global savings of up to $22 trillion, while sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions, alleviating poverty, and improving public health, says a new report out Tuesday from leading international economists. Accelerating investment in building energy efficiency, public transit, and better […]
Kurds unite, from Conservatives to Far Left, in Fight against ISIL
By Karlos Zurutuza | (Inter Press Service) | – – KIRKUK, Iraq (IPS) – Reminders of the last occupants of camp K1 in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk are only visible on the murals at the main gate leading into the compound: Iraqi soldiers saluting the flag, pointing their weapons or being cheered on […]
Nearly all of Gaza’s Water ‘Undrinkable’
By Celine Hagbard – (IMEMC) | – – Reporters from RT (Russia Today) traveled to Gaza to look into last year’s report that 90% of Gaza’s water is undrinkable. As they sampled water from different parts of the coastal Strip, they found that the report is accurate – the water throughout Gaza is dirty, salty […]
The lost fortunes of Palestine’s dynamic Ottoman-era merchants
By Charlie Hoyle | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – The pink stone mansions hidden among the modern urban geography of Bethlehem —surrounded by an eight-meter high concrete wall and penned in by Israeli settlements — contain a rich untold history of phenomenal global success:The city’s pioneering 19th century merchants. An interior view of the […]
What if Kim Davis Refused to License Marriages of Inter-Racial Couples?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Kentucky court clerk Kim Davis was released from prison on Tuesday after having been jailed for 5 days for contempt of court because she will not issue marriage licenses to her gay constituents. Her release was turned into a circus by Mike Huckabee, seeking a way […]
How Persian Literature shaped the culture of Iran and India
Sunil Sharma interviewed by Maryam Kamali | ( Iranian Medieval History) Sunil Sharma is the Associate Professor of Persianate and Comparative Literature at Boston University’s Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature Dear Prof. Sharma, it is my great pleasure to have an interview with you regarding medieval Persian literature. One of the controversial issues […]
How the Sept. 11 Attacks Changed American Lives Forever
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.org) | – – Fourteen years later and do you even believe it? Did we actually live it? Are we still living it? And how improbable is that? Fourteen years of wars, interventions, assassinations, torture, kidnappings, black sites, the growth of the American national security state to monumental proportions, and […]