By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring surveyed the Arabic press on 27 May for the issue of the Iranian role in the Iraq government campaign to take Fallujah from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). Although Saudi and other newspapers say they want to see Daesh defeated, they are deeply critical of the […]
Archives for May 2016
ISIL Advance Traps 165,000 Syrians at Closed Turkish Border
By Gerry Simpson | ( Human Rights Watch ) | – – There are two walls on the Turkey-Syria border. One is manned by Turkish border guards enforcing Turkey’s 15 month-old border closure who, according to witnesses, have at times shot at and assaulted Syrian asylum seekers as they try to reach safety in Turkey […]
Solar Surges: Renewable Energy Jobs Topped 8 Million in 2015
By Andrea Germanos, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org ) | – – In the U.S. alone, solar grew nearly 22% since the previous year On the heels of clean fuel milestones in Germany and Portugal , a new report finds that the renewable energy industry employed over 8.1 million people worldwide in 2015. According to […]
After Obama in Hiroshima: Israel’s Gigantic Nuclear Elephant
TeleSur | – – The criminalization of truth when it comes to Israel’s nuclear capabilities means that its arsenal has been converted into a gigantic elephant in the room. The online version of a recent Economist magazine article comes equipped with the tantalizing headline “Israel’s atomic angst: A textile factory with a difference.” The summary […]
Kurdish lawmakers Depart Baghdad: “Straighten up or We Won’t Be Back”
By Histyar Qader | Erbil | (Niqash.org) | – – After protestors invaded Baghdad’s Green Zone, Iraqi Kurdish politicians fled home. Despite the fact that their absence could paralyse Parliament, they say they won’t be back until certain conditions are met. After the first set of demonstrations during which protestors made it inside Baghdad’s highly […]
Obama in Hiroshima, Memorial Day and the Iran Deal
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama in Hiroshima gave an anti-war speech. He said, ” But among those nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them. We may not realize this goal in […]
Sanders: “Tough Guy Trump” is afraid to Debate me
TeleSur | – – Trump initially told reporters he would “love to debate Bernie.” The Republican nominee flip flopped from his initial openess to debating the democratic socialist senator from Vermont. Donald Trump announced Friday he will not debate Senator Bernie Sanders because he thinks the Democratic Party will not allow Sanders to win the […]
Israel’s demolition orders against West Bank water wells ‘atrocious’: PM
Ma’an News Agency | – – Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah gestures during an interview at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on September 7, 2014 (AFP Photo/Abbas Momani) Ramallah (Ma’an) — Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah issued a statement Thursday condemning Israel’s illegal practice of destroying Palestinian water infrastructure as “atrocious.” […]
US Spec Ops Troops on Front Line in Syria with Leftist Kurdish Insignia: AFP
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Agence France Presse got the scoop on Thursday, with their reporters in Fatisa just 19 miles from Daesh territory in northern al-Raqqa Province, Syria saying they saw some 20 US special operations troops embedded with leftist Kurdish YPG units and wearing YPG insignia. (The latter move […]