By James Gelvin | — Response to criticisms of the G.E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies The G.E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies (hereafter CNES) of UCLA is one of the oldest such centers in the United States. It is also one of the largest, currently including seventy-six affiliated faculty (among […]
Jon Stewart Talks Press Freedom at Rosewater Premiere
AJ+ | — “Jon Stewart of The Daily Show’s talks to AJ+’s Dena Takruri at the New York premiere of Rosewater.” AJ+ “Jon Stewart Talks Press Freedom At Rosewater Premiere”
Iraq Shocker: Sunni Tribe invites Shiite Militias into al-Anbar to fend off ISIL Massacres
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | via Niqash.org — Shiite militias are making inroads into the mainly Sunni province of Anbar. Previously Anbar’s Sunni tribes have not allowed the controversial militia groups in but now one tribe has invited them to help. Things are becoming ever more complex in Anbar and the arrival of US […]
Gen Dempsey: US Considering Ground Troops in Iraq
VOA | — “America’s top military leader says he is considering deploying a limited number of U.S soldiers to fight with Iraqi troops against Islamic State militants. General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the remarks Thursday during testimony before the U.S. Congress. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details from […]
Militant Buddhist Monks stir attacks on innocent Muslims in Myanmar
AJ+ “Buddhist monks were a symbol of hope and defiance during the dark years of Myanmar’s military dictatorship. But as the country opens up to the world, some have taken a radically sectarian turn. Since 2012, violence has uprooted more than 150,000 members of the country’s Muslim minority. And in July 2014, Buddhist mobs attacked […]
Climate Change: Afghanistan on Front Line (& You Thought the Taliban were Bad)
By Joe Dyke (IRIN) MAZAR-I-SHARIF, November 2014 (IRIN) – In northern Afghanistan, the residents don’t often use the phrase – most don’t even know it. But as they describe how increasingly extreme weather patterns are making their lives harder every year, they map out many of the symptoms of climate change. As a new UN […]
The Real Jesus was Bill O’Reilly’s Worst Nightmare – Reza Aslan
Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) “The Jesus of history was the exact opposite of everything Fox News host Bill O’Reilly thinks, according to religious scholar Reza Aslan. The professor made the remarks while speaking at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in February. Video of the event was uploaded on Tuesday. During the discussion about […]
Stealth Drone Proliferation: Iranians Reverse engineer captured US Spy Drone
Press TV: | “Iran has released a video showing the test flight of an Iranian-made version of the captured US RQ-170 spy drone. The stealth drone was designed and made in less than three years and will be ready for surveillance, combat and other related missions in the next few months. The RQ-170 Sentinel stealth […]
Starving Gazans of Protein: Israeli Navy destroys Palestinian Fishing Boat
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — | Israeli naval boats on Wednesday evening fired at and sank a Palestinian fishing boat in the sea off the coast of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said that army boats fired shells at a boat belonging to the al-Bardaweel family, completely destroying it in the process. People aboard […]