TeleSur | – – Three U.S. senators introduced a bill calling for U.S. embassy to be relocated to Jerusalem and recognizing city as Israeli capital. As it convened for the first Tuesday of the New Year, the new U.S. Congress made one of its primary orders of business the introduction of a bill to move […]
Archives for January 2017
Could Erdoğan be losing his grip on a dangerous, divided Turkey?
By Alpaslan Ozerdem and Bahar Baser | (The Conversation) | – – Turkey’s New Year was marred by a terrorist attack, claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS), that killed 39 people and injured many more at a famous nightclub in Istanbul. After nearly two years of deadly incidents and alarming political instability, Turks were […]
Iran reaps the benefits, as US and Saudi Flounder in ME
By Shahram Akbarzadeh | (Informed Comment) | – – The Islamic republic of Iran starts 2017 in a strong regional position, much to the annoyance of its detractors. Iran has managed to secure reprieve from international sanctions, see its ally in Syria survive a most devastating threat, and grow its military influence in the region […]
Rebuking Fundamentalists, Funeral for Palestinian-Israeli Istanbul Victim draws Thousands
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – One of the thirty-nine victims of the Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) shooting at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Layan Nasser, 19, was buried on Tuesday in her home town, Tira, in central Israel. Roughly a fifth of Israeli citizens are of Palestinian heritage, the majority of them […]
Can Anti-Fracking Movement mount resistance to Trump?
By Emilio Godoy | (Inter Press Service) | – – LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, USA , Jan 4 2017 (IPS) – Earl Hatley, a descendant of the Cherokee/Delaware tribe, has witnessed the consequences of using hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” on his native land to produce shale gas. “Fracking is harmful to water supplies, wildlife, and property […]
Some Animals are Better: An American Version of the One-Party State
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Know thyself. It was what came to mind in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory and my own puzzling reaction to it. And while that familiar phrase just popped into my head, I had no idea it was so ancient, or Greek, or for that […]
Some Israeli Officials Backing ‘Shoot-to-Kill’ disarmed Palestinian Suspects
Human Rights Watch | – – Calls for Extrajudicial Killings of Palestinian Suspects Proliferate (New York) – Some senior Israeli officials have been encouraging Israeli soldiers and police to kill Palestinians they suspect of attacking Israelis even when they are no longer a threat, Human Rights Watch said today in an analysis of those statements. […]
Iran confident Trump’s bond with Putin will Benefit it, too
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iran’s pundits are confident that the country is sitting in the catbird seat. They are elated over the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad proving victorious, with Russian help in Aleppo. They are exulting in their newly strengthened ties with Moscow. They believe that the Obama administration’s […]
Turkey’s Syrian blowback
London (Informed Comment) – With the New Year terrorist attack in Istanbul now being claimed by the Islamic State (IS) movement, it is clear that Turkey has suffered yet more blowback from its earlier tolerance of the Middle East’s most vicious terrorist network. The rampage, suspected to have been carried out by a Central Asian […]