Beirut (AFP) – “The crackdown on civil society actors and political opponents increased significantly in Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia,” the rights watchdog said in its annual regional report. “Is it acceptable for activists to undergo arbitrary detention, torture, sexual harassment … and even enforced disappearances simply for expressing their opinions in a peaceful way,” […]
New Archeological Evidence for the Kaaba, Sanctuary of Peace, in Early Islam
During the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, believers circumambulate the square ‘House of God’ called the Kaaba. It is said to have predated Islam, and to have been cleansed of idols by the Prophet Muhammad in January of 630, when the town of Mecca swung to his leadership by acclamation. There is some new archeological evidence […]
A Victim of Trump? Iran’s Centrist Foreign Minister Mysteriously Forced Out
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned via Instagram on Monday, apologizing for his inability to continue in office and for any shortcomings in his past service to the nation. A member of parliament said that Zarif had submitted letters of resignation to President Hassan Rouhani on several occasions but […]
Not Trump’s America: On How the Oscars looked Like the Real America this Year
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump calls women he finds uppity “pigs,” he discriminated against African-American tenants, he slapped a visa ban on Muslims and Arabs, and he denigrates Mexican-Americans as rapists and drug dealers against whom he intends to build a wall. Trump’s America is a thin, diminished slice of the country, the barracuda […]
Can AIPAC sell Netanyahu’s Kahanist Terrorists to Middle America?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – American television news, having fainted with the vapors at the very idea that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) might openly say that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobby for Israel that directs money to the campaigns of American politicians, has abruptly fallen silent on the issue of Israel’s […]
Leftist Syrian Kurds Rejoice that Trump will Keep Hundreds of US Troops in Syria
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The left wing Democratic Union Party of Kurds in Northeast Syria and its paramilitary, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), warmly welcomed President Trump’s about-face and decision to keep at least 200 US troops in Syria on Friday. A YPG militia commander said that this American step “will prevent the region […]
Israeli PM Netanyahu partners with Kahanist Terrorist Elements, seeking another Term
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday formed an electoral coalition with the extremist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party, thus giving followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane a bigger role in Israel politics. Kahane, a major violent hate group leader, founded the Jewish Defense League, seen by the FBI […]
How Kushner and other Key Trump Officials Plotted to Give Saudis the Atom Bomb in Return for Billions
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform has issued a Report on a plot to make billions of dollars by selling Saudi Arabia sensitive American nuclear technology that could allow the Kingdom to develop nuclear weapons. The scheme required breaking US law, which forbids technology transfers that might […]
Morocco Produced 35% of its Electricity from Renewables in 2018
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Morocco produced 35% of its electricity last year from wind, solar, and hydroelectric sources, putting it on track to its goal of getting 42% from green sources by 2020. It had a further goal of 52% renewables by 2030, but now hopes to go even faster. In contrast, the US […]
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