TeleSur | – – The announcement comes as the legal heat is turning up for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, for cases of bribery and fraud. Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could likely be indicted on charges of fraud and misuse of state funds, Israel’s Justice Ministry said on Friday. […]
You’ve Got Veil: Secular Tajikistan Gov’t sends Millions of Texts imposing Hijab Ban
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service | – – DUSHANBE — Private mobile-phone companies in Tajikistan have begun sending out text messages to millions of citizens, reminding them to obey a new law that makes Tajik national clothing obligatory at “traditional” gatherings such as weddings and commemorative ceremonies for the dead. The legislation is widely seen as an […]
Why Climate Criminals like Exxon should pay for Hurricane Destruction
By Jake Johnson, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) | – – “It may take tens to hundreds of billions of dollars to support disaster relief and recovery among Gulf Coast communities affected by Hurricane Harvey. ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP have collectively pledged only $2.75 million,” note Peter Frumhoff and Myles Allen. “It may take tens […]
Burnt out by Climate Change: Our Hurricane Compassion Fatigue
By Gail Ukockis | (Informed Comment) | – – Harvey’s destructive force on Texas and Louisiana has generated many compelling pictures and disturbing stories. Irma’s violent impact has already started in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Jose and Katia are whirling into possible threats. Other natural disasters in the world involve even more casualties, such as […]
What are American Soldiers really still dying for in the Mideast?
By Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – I used to command soldiers. Over the years, lots of them actually. In Iraq, Colorado, Afghanistan, and Kansas. And I’m still fixated on a few of them like this one private first class (PFC) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011. All of 18, he was short, scrawny, […]
Trump “presidency” as Ponzi Scheme: Madoff in the White House?
John Feffer | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – Here and abroad, Trump’s wealthy backers understand that his populist rhetoric is a masquerade. In 1993, I arrived one fall evening in the Romanian city of Cluj. The railway station was mysteriously full of people, and the city outside was crowded and frenetic. I was […]
On top of everything, Will the Middle East run out of Water?
By George Joffe | (The Conversation) | – – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) already the most water stressed region in the world, faces a worsening crisis in terms of its access to water in the decades to come. A country is water stressed when it cannot provide the minimum water supply to […]
Weathering the Violence of Climate Change
By Gulrez Shah Azhar | (Project Syndicate) | – – SANTA MONICA – With India experiencing its worst drought in 140 years, Indian farmers have taken to the streets. At a protest in Madhya Pradesh this summer, police opened fire on farmers demanding debt relief and better crop prices, killing five. In Tamil Nadu, angry […]
The rise and rise of Iran: How Tehran has become pivotal to the future of the Middle East
By Mohammed Nuruzzaman | (The Conversation) | – – Iran and the US are once again on a dangerous collision course. President Trump’s search for excuses to decertify the July 2015 nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama administration, is exacerbating new tensions in their frayed relations. The US, in a bid to keep the Iranians […]