By Mahsa Alimardani | (Global Voices) | – – The Iranian government is reportedly taking steps to expand regulations on large public news channels on the instant messenger Telegram. The move would apparently affect groups with more than 5,000 subscribers. It remains unclear, however, if state officials seek dramatic changes to controls on these online […]
Archives for December 2016
Trump’s plan to drown World in Oil is a Planetary Nightmare
By Michael T. Klare | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Scroll through Donald Trump’s campaign promises or listen to his speeches and you could easily conclude that his energy policy consists of little more than a wish list drawn up by the major fossil fuel companies: lift environmental restrictions on oil and natural gas […]
Why do GOP Presidents get to go Hard Right, and Dems are just GOP Lite?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – I belong to no organized political party. I am a Democrat. After it was confirmed that Donald J. Trump will appoint former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson Secretary of State, the shape of the Trump cabinet and team has become clear. Neofascist Steve Bannon is White […]
It’s the Economy, Stupid: Ending ‘Religious’ Violence in the Middle East
Moha Ennaji | (Project Syndicate) | – – FEZ – The escalation of radicalism, violence, and civil wars in the Middle East since the so-called Arab Spring revolts began in 2010 has exacted a massive toll in human lives and welfare. The need to build effective states that support peace, provide greater opportunity and prosperity, […]
Donald Trump claims torture ‘works’ – but what does the science say?
By Coral Dando | (The Conversation) | – – The US president-elect Donald Trump has on several occasions insisted that torture is a good idea and that procedures such as water-boarding are not “tough enough” when dealing with terrorist groups like Islamic State. The view is clearly morally and ethically questionable. But if we put […]
Fearful of Trump Climate Conspiracy nuts, Scientists Fervently Copy Data
TeleSur | – – “People have felt a call to arms. We need to be outspoken,” said Adam Campbell, a researcher at Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica. High on the list of threats posed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump have to do with his outright denial of climate change. In the wake of his election, […]
After Aleppo, Russians prepare to defy Trump re: their Iran Alliance
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – the left-leaning Lebanese newspaper al-Safir [Ambassador] reports that the armed resistance to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the East Aleppo pocket is finished. Reports from Wednesday morning say that the ceasefire that Russia and the regime signed onto in hopes that the few hundred hold-outs […]
2/3s of Palestinians think 2-state solution doomed & 52% say Trump Should stay out of Mideast
Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Two thirds of Palestinians believe the two-state solution is no longer viable and want Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to step down, a Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) poll revealed on Wednesday, as the public perception of the Palestinian situation remained ever more grim. […]
A Yemeni Child Dies Every 10 Minutes as Saudi Attacks Continue
TeleSur | – – The U.N. said malnutrition and other preventable diseases are killing thousands of children in Yemen as its health system is on the verge of collapse. Every 10 minutes at least one Yemeni child dies of preventable diseases such as malnutrition, diarrhea, and respiratory tract infections, the United Nations said Tuesday, blaming […]