By Zara Rahman | ( GlobalVoices.org) | – – Eight of Turkey’s most respected human rights defenders were arrested last week, along with two information technology trainers from Sweden and Germany. All ten of those arrested are still in police custody but have not been charged with any crime. The group had gathered for digital […]
Saudi Bloc: Qatar’s Al Jazeera can Stay, it Just has to Report as We Say
TeleSur | – – Al Jazeera said it rejects any “external intervention” and reiterates its “independence and professional editorial stance.” The four Arab countries currently boycotting Qatar are set to drop their demand that the Al Jazeera Media Network be shut down, a United Arab Emirates minister said. The closure of the Qatar-based broadcaster and […]
Who are the Trumps’ Russian Fixers? Meet Rinat Akhmetshin
By Mike Eckel | ( RFE/RL) | – – WASHINGTON — As recently as last year, Rinat Akhmetshin could be seen regularly pedaling through downtown Washington, D.C., nattily dressed, with a pocket square and heavy-framed thick glasses, riding a retro hipster orange bicycle. He also showed an affinity for vintage motorcycles, which he parked for […]
Trump’s Worst Collusion Isn’t With Russia — It’s With Corporations
By Peter Certo | (Otherwords.org) | – – The billionaires who backed Trump are making out a lot better than Putin. I’ve always been a little skeptical that there’d be a smoking gun about the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia. The latest news about Donald Trump, Jr., however, is tantalizingly close. The short version […]
Does Sunni Fragmentation after ISIL threaten Iraq’s Future?
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – As the date for a Baghdad summit on unity nears, the cracks are showing. It seems the country’s Sunni politicians can’t even get together to discuss their possible unity, in post-Islamic State Iraq. In mid-July, there is to be a conference in Baghdad for Sunni […]
What good is our Nat’l Security State if we’re afraid to Leave Home?
By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Has there ever been a nation as dedicated to preparing for doomsday as the United States? If that’s a thought that hasn’t crossed your mind, maybe it’s because you didn’t spend part of your life inside Cheyenne Mountain. That’s a tale I’ll get to soon, […]
Arab Youth Bulge: Could this Generation Explode Again?
By IPS World Desk ROME/AMMAN (IPS) – More than ever before, the Arab region now registers an unprecedented youth population growth while facing huge challenges such as extremely high unemployment rates –more than half of all regional jobless population–, and inadequate education and health provision, in particular among young women. These challenges come amidst increasing […]
The Real Victims of Trump-Putin Illiberalism: Women
By Gail Ukockis | (Informed Comment) | – – When I first read about the Russian government decriminalizing domestic violence recently, my first thought was: it can’t happen here. Then I realized that the past year has been such a series of unbelievable political events that maybe such unconcealed misogyny could happen in the U.S. […]
Novelist Arundhati Roy and her mission to inspire in the ‘Ministry of Utmost Happiness’
By Ali Kazimi | (The Conversation) | – – Anjula Gogia, the activist bookseller from Another Story Bookshop in Toronto, had patiently nudged me over a few weeks to introduce and host Arundhati Roy on stage when she read from her new book, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. Roy would, in turn, acknowledge and thank […]