By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In his never-ending trolling of the American public, Donald Trump has now come out and urged banning Muslim immigration into or even entrance into the United States. Some of the below is revised from an earlier text Forbidding people from entering the United States on the […]
Archives for December 2015
Obama vs. Daesh/ISIL: Freedom is more powerful than Fear & We Refuse to take the Bait
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama addressed the nation on Sunday night, in an attempt to calm the public mood after the San Bernardino killers were tied to Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) — though the connection seems to spring merely from common radicalism and murderousness rather than any organizational tie. Obama […]
Our new Cold War is with Global Warming
By Tom Engelhardt | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – For six centuries or more, history was, above all, the story of the great game of empires. From the time the first wooden ships mounted with cannons left Europe’s shores, they began to compete for global power and control. Three, four, even five empires, rising and falling, […]
ISIL/ Daesh can be Starved of Oil Revenue: Here’s How
By David Stupples | (The Conversation) | – – The high costs of running the Islamic State’s “caliphate” and fighting a ground war are largely met from selling oil, supplemented with donations and money extorted from Christians and hostages. Preventing the jihadists from profiting from oilfields under its control should be a priority for the […]
A brief guide to Climate Change, COP21 and the Middle East
By Lina Eklund | ( Your Middle East “When it comes to climate change the Middle East is part of the problem and will definitely be affected by it,” Dr. Lina Eklund writes just as global leaders gather in Paris for the climate summit. The 21st Conference of Parties, or the “2015 United Nations Climate […]
Vacuum of Knowledge: What you Need to know about the History of Syria
Via ISLAMICommentary Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville by JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE and JULIE POUCHER HARBIN for ISLAMiCommentary on DECEMBER 4, 2015: Is there a more tragic country in the world today than Syria ? How did it descend into chaos, conflict, and crisis? John McHugo offers some answers in Syria: A History […]
Peak Inequality? 400 US Billionaires are wealthier than 190 Million fellow Americans
By Chuck Collins & Josh Hoxie, | (Institute for Policy Studies) | – – This report exposes the extreme wealth concentrated within the fortunes of the 400 wealthiest Americans and compares this wealth to the much more meager assets of several different segments of American society. The report proposes several solutions to close the growing […]
Turkish Dr. faces Prison for Comparing Pres Erdogan to Gollum of Lord of the Rings
AJ+ | (Video news report) | – – “Turkish doctor Bilgin Ciftci posted a meme with side-by-side pictures comparing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to “Lord of the Rings” character Gollum. Ciftci faces a two-year sentence for “insulting the head of the state” – and trilogy director Peter Jackson lends his expert opinion. ” […]
Top Seven Myths about Muslims
By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – MADRID, Dec 3 2015 (IPS) – Of all over-written, under-reported issues and regions, the Middle East is perhaps one of the oldest, outstanding ones. To start with, it is a common belief – too often heralded by the mainstream media – that the Middle East […]