By Sandy Tolan | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – Washington has finally thrown in the towel on its long, tortured efforts to establish peace between Israel and the Palestinians. You won’t find any acknowledgement of this in the official record. Formally, the U.S. still supports a two-state solution to the conflict. But the Obama administration’s recent […]
Archives for October 2016
Even if Mosul is liberated, it won’t be the end of Islamic State
Simon Mabon | (The Conversation) | – – After weeks of speculation about an attempt to retake the city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State (IS), Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaimed the start of the offensive. “God willing, the decisive battle will be soon,” he said at a press conference. This could well […]
7 Things to Know about Mosul
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Iraqi government has announced that the campaign to take the large northern city of Mosul back from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has begun in earnest. The Iraqi Army, the Peshmerga (Kurdistan Regional Government national guard), Sunni Arab tribal levies, and Shiite militiamen from the south are […]
The Jewish vote may swing key undecided counties, study says
By Daniel Parmer | (The Conversation) | – – Jews may account for roughly only 2 percent of the American adult population, but their concentration in a number of swing states and counties makes them a potentially pivotal demographic in this fall’s presidential election. Between 80 and 85 percent of Jews turn out to vote […]
Can America’s Middle Class make a Comeback?
By Munir Moon | (Informed Comment) | – – The middle class is getting crushed. But there is hope. The most common argument about the middle class destruction is the declining or stagnant income, which is true. However, the main culprits are the costs of healthcare, education, and housing that have increased at a much […]
N. Dakota Judge Laughs Riot Charges against Amy Goodman out of Court
TeleSur | – – A state prosecutor had sought to charge Goodman with participating in a “riot” for filming an attack on protesters. A North Dakota judge has dismissed the “riot” charges against Amy Goodman for covering the Dakota Access pipeline protests, Democracy Now! confirmed Monday. “This is a complete vindication of my right as […]
As Winter Comes: 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza still Homeless from Israeli Airstrikes
By Ma’an News Agency | – – GAZA (Ma’an) — The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov Thursday expressed concerns over the situation in Gaza, and urged Israel to understand that its policies on the besieged enclave only “escalates violence.” Mladenov stressed in the statement that Israeli authorities must come […]
ISIL’s loss of Dabiq: It was never about Armageddon, but Weak States
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Albawaba has an interview with political scientist Khalid Rif`at of the Tayyiba Center for Political Studies, saying that the forced withdrawal of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) from the town of Dabiq in northern Syria on Sunday under heavy Turkish army bombardment and in the face of advancing […]
The Vanity of the Billionaires: Circuses and no Bread
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Rome was a republic until between 40 and 27 BCE, when the generals overthrew it. Military dictator Gaius Octavius put the nail in the coffin when he made himself Augustus Caesar on the latter date. The later satirist Juvenal, to whom we owe the phrase ‘bread […]
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