Ma’an News Agency | – – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The European Union on Saturday called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, and reiterated “the EU’s firm opposition to Israel’s settlement policy.” In a statement, the EU said Israel’s most recent moves in the occupied West Bank — from settlement […]
Parable of the Elephant (GOP Pathologies)
Paul Jamiol | ( Jamiol’s World Cartoon ) | – – Via Jamiol’s World . Wikipedia notes: “Rumi, the 13th Century Persian poet and teacher of Sufism, included it in his Masnavi. In his retelling, “The Elephant in the Dark”, some Hindus bring an elephant to be exhibited in a dark room. A number of […]
As GOP Candidates pledge return of Torture, Pentagon forced to release Bush-era Abuse Photos
By Lauren McCauley, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) ‘What the photos that the government has suppressed would show is that abuse was so widespread that it could only have resulted from policy or a climate calculated to foster abuse.’ The record-dump was the result of a Freedom of Information Act request and nearly 12 years of […]
Israeli forces begin construction over Bethlehem-area Roman historical site
Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Wednesday began construction work on top of a historical site in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Jala, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said. The PA ministry condemned the Israeli authorities for allowing work to begin on a road […]
Says Syria: Any invading Saudi Troops Would Return Home in ‘Coffins’
TeleSur | – – The Syrian foreign minister also accused Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of undermining the U.N. peace talks. Any ground troops who would “attack or violate” Syria’s sovereignty would return to their countries in a “wooden coffin,” the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told reporters Saturday, a few days after Saudi Arabia […]
The Deep History of Iran – Arabian Relations (I)
By Khodadad Rezakhani | ( Mizan ) | – – This essay is an attempt at collecting some thoughts on an important historical event and its related historiographical questions. It is not written with the intention of providing definitive answers to the larger questions surrounding the Arab conquests or the specific case of the fall […]
Undertaxed: Top 62 Billionaires doubled wealth to $1.76 Trillion since 2010
By Sam Pizzigati | (Inequality.org) | – – Our world’s billionaires don’t merit either their billions, the Oxfam economist Didier Jacobs suggests, or the right to claim we’re all living in a ‘meritocracy.’ Debunk the meritocracy defense of extreme inequality on its own terms, says Oxfam economist Didier Jacobs, and the flacks for grand fortune […]
End of Research in Egypt? The murder of my friend Giulio Regeni is an attack on academic freedom
By Neil Pyper | (the Conversation) | The body of Giulio Regeni was discovered in a ditch in Cairo on February 2, showing evidence of torture, and a slow and horrific death. Giulio was studying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge, and was carrying out research on the formation of independent trade unions […]
Turkey descends into civil war as conflict in southeast escalates
By Joris Leverink | (Inter Press Service) | – – ISTANBUL, Turkey, (IPS) – – The latest footage to come out of Sur, the historical district in Diyarbakir that has been under total lock down by Turkish armed forces for the past sixty days, shows a level of devastation one would sooner expect in Syria. […]