By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org Dinar worries: some Mosul locals fear that extremists will take all of thier money. Up until now, locals in Mosul, the northern city under the control of Sunni Muslim extremists, have not been able to withdraw their money from their bank accounts. That changed last week. However […]
Duck Dynasty star to Hannity: Convert or kill ISIS (Chris Hayes)
Chris Hayes, “All In”: “The Duck Dynasty patriarch offers his advice on dealing with ISIS: convert or kill them” “Partial Transcript from Hannity: HANNITY: Welcome back to HANNITY. New video surfaced earlier today showing the brutal execution of captured American journalist Steven Sotloff by ISIS terrorists. Now, this comes just two weeks after the radical […]
Mosul’s First Death By Stoning: Extremists Distract With Displays of Savage Justice
By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org Mosul locals were invited to witness the city’s first death by stoning late last week – extremists who had taken over the city in early June had sentenced a man to death for adultery. Eyewitnesses say the event was shocking. And many in Mosul expect more of […]
Gaza: 100,000 Palestinians Left Homeless, Fear unexploded Bombs in Rubble
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — UNRWA researchers and engineers will begin evaluation and assessment of damages to the homes of the displaced across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, an official said. UNRWA media adviser Adnan Abu Hasna said that “hundreds of researchers and engineers were fully trained on how to deal with the remains of explosives […]
In 1948, Jewish Forces in Palestine outnumbered Palestinian and Arab Fighters
By William R. Polk The General Assembly had issued its verdict [in late 1947 suggesting a partition of Palestine] but it left open the question of how to actually carry out the resolution when no UN-controlled military or police forces were available. Britain’s 84,000 troops were leaving. And they had proved insufficient to maintain law […]
US, UK look other Way as Bahrain Imprisons Dissidents (Maryam al-Khwaja is Latest)
By Nicholas McGeehan via Human Rights Watch Follow @Ncgeehan Many Bahraini activists have borne the brunt of their government’s unjust laws, unfair convictions and unlawful tactics, but few have resisted with such steely resolve as the activists in the al-Khawaja family. Maryam al-Khawaja’s August 30 arrest on charges of assaulting a police officer at Manama […]
Leonardo DiCaprio Ice Bucket Challenge: Calls out Canadian PM Harper, Shell CEO on Tar Sands
Via The Tree Actor Leonardo DiCaprio accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this week and used the opportunity to not just raise awareness for ALS, but to also highlight the dangers of developing the Canadian tar sands in northern Alberta. Standing with Chief Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Chief Courtoreille of the Mikisew […]
Israel’s blockade on civilians of Gaza – no signs of loosening
(IRIN) NGOs are eager to increase aid to the Palestinian region after a 50-day Israeli bombing campaign left over 2,000 dead, thousands wounded and much of the enclave’s infrastructure in ruins, but access rules continue to present huge challenges. While the exact terms of the ceasefire agreement, reached last week between Israel and various Palestinian […]
Iraq Flashpoint: Can the Kurds defend themselves from ISIL?
By Verena Gruber, Talalward, Kurdistan (Special to Informed Comment) There is something incredibly odd about seeing the black flag of the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)” flapping in the wind; particularly when you see it, not on a television screen, but through a pair of binoculars. Today my journey led me […]