By John Esposito | ( OUPBlog) | – – The horrific attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have captured headlines and triggered responses from journalists, politicians, and religious leaders. Some Western heads of government have once again threatened a global war against terrorism, while some political commentators have even invoked World War III. In the […]
Archives for January 2016
Separating anti-Semitism from Anti-Zionism
By Lillian Rosengarten | (Informed Comment) | – – The distinction between Zionism and Judaism remains in constant need of clarification and discussion. Fanatics closed to discussion believe in their moral superiority and create political terror so as to silence and deny. The charge of “delegitimizing Israel “ requires one to question what the Israeli […]
How Realistic is the Big 5 Peace Plan for Syria?
By Baher Kamal | (IPS) | – – MADRID (IPS) – The “big five” – i.e., the most military powerful states on earth (US, UK, France, Russia and China) have just agreed that it would be about time to end the Syrian five-year long human tragedy. Before reaching such a conclusion, they waited until 300,000 […]
The Surprising Reasons Washington’s ISIL Obsession obscures the Real Threats
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com) It’s time to panic! As 2015 ended, this country was certifiably terror-stricken. It had the Islamic State (IS) on the brain. Hoax terror threats or terror imbroglios shut down school systems from Los Angeles to New Hampshire, Indiana to a rural county in Virginia. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, citing terror […]
ISIL/ Daesh Threatens to attack Saudi Arabia after Executions
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has pledged to attack and destroy the two Saudi political prisons, al-Ha’ir (Riyadh) and al-Tarfiya (Qaseem region), where Muslim radicals are typically held, and release their inmates. These prisons hold several thousand Saudis accused of involvement in terrorism. It was the organization’s first […]
What is an H-Bomb?
Arirang News | (Video Short Documentary) | – – “So North Korea claims it′s a hydrogen not an atomic bomb that it′s tested. But what exactly is the difference, and if true what would the implications be? Kwon Jang-Ho explains. Atomic bombs are also known as fission bombs, as they use nuclear fission reactions to […]
A Letter from Norway on our Epidemic of Mass Shootings
By John L Hanson | (Informed Comment) | – – Why is it easier to buy a gun than to board a Plane? Why doesn’t America change their weapon law? What is your view on the Gunlaw in the USA? I am teaching in Norwegian Upper Secondary schools this academic year as a Fulbright Scholar […]
In Iraq, some Sunni refugees’ bulwark against ISIL is . . . the Gated Community
Kamal al-Ayash | Fallujah | (Niqash.org) | – – Families who fled the [so-called] Islamic State [group] have found new homes in a residential complex south of Fallujah. But even with several families sharing one home, rents are rising as other Iraqis profit from their misery. The district of Amiriyah is about 30 kilometres south […]
Saudi Arabia: Prominent Shia Cleric dead in largest mass execution since 1980
Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Saudi authorities carried out the largest mass execution in the country since 1980, putting 47 men to death on January 2, 2016. According to the Saudi state news agency, all of the men were convicted on terrorism charges, and most were members of Al Qaeda. The mass […]