By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bolstered his majority and rid himself of a troublesome voice of conscience Thursday by appointing the extremist Avigdor Lieberman minister of defense. This move strengthened Netanyahu’s hand politically, removing a critic in the form of Moshe Yaalon, the previous minister of […]
Archives for May 2016
Is it ISIL? US Official Says Likely Explosion Happened on EgyptAir Plane
TeleSur | – – EgyptAir said the plane’s emergency devices sent a distress signal at 4.26 a.m. local time, about two hours after the previously stated radar contact. A senior U.S. Intelligence official familiar with the U.S.’s capabilities in the region told NBC News that infrared and multi-spectral imagers strongly suggest there was an explosion […]
The late great Fourth Amendment: Feds, Police and Intrusive Technologies
By Matthew Harwood and Jay Stanley | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Can’t you see the writing on the touchscreen? A techno-utopia is upon us. We’ve gone from smartphones at the turn of the twenty-first century to smart fridges and smart cars. The revolutionary changes to our everyday life will no doubt keep barreling […]
Baghdad takes Rutba from ISIL: Jordan-Iraq Commercial Route to Reopen
by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iraqi forces have taken Rutba in al-Anbar province, hundreds of kilometers west of the provincial capital, Ramadi, which is also now in government hands (though much of its population is displaced). Only a few dozen Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) forces were in Rutba in the end and […]
Saudi bombing, Rebel Shelling leave 7 Million in Yemen Food Insecure
By Tharanga Yakupitiyage | (Inter Press Service) | – – John Ging, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs briefs journalists on his recent trip to Yemen. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas John Ging, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs briefs journalists on his recent trip to Yemen. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas UNITED NATIONS, May […]
Marketing & Terrorism: Is ISIL’s vaunted ‘brand’ actually weak and vulnerable?
By Brendan Canavan | (The Conversation) | – – [The so-called] Islamic State (IS) is the most notorious terror group in the world. Its name and values are known and feared globally, and it provokes, inspires and incenses to an extent most terrorist groups can only dream about. It owes a lot of that power […]
This is America! Man Facing Jail For Ripping Veil Off Muslim Woman
Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “A man in North Carolina has pleaded guilty to ripping a hijab off of a woman’s head as they were on a flight. Gill Parker Payne faces one year in prison and a possible fine for religious obstruction. Cenk Uygur and […]
Give Syria’s Survivors a Voice
By Hadeel al-Shalchi | ( Human Rights Watch ) | – – Twelve days ago Fatema Qaitani, a 35-year-old mother of four, was sitting in a tent teaching her daughter how to read when her life was changed forever. Fatema’s tent, one of many that sprang up in a camp for displaced Syrians on the […]
Why does Iran fear Kim Kardashian is a 007 Targeting Tehran?
Joya Mia Italiano and Elliot Hill | (TheLipTV2 Video Report) | – – “Iranian officials have reportedly accused Kim Kardashian West of working for Instagram as a secret agent. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp accused Kardashian West, during a news program Sunday night, of working with the social network’s CEO as part of a secret […]