VOA reports, ‘The U.S. National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security suffered a legal defeat Tuesday as a feisty T-shirt designer reaffirmed the right to ridicule these large and powerful federal agencies. As VOA’s Jim Randle reports, the issue concerns satire, free speech, and the process of democracy.’
Bill Nye Science Guy to Debate GOP Rep Gohmert on Gravity
(By Juan Cole) Satire David Gregory’s Meet the Press today hosted a debate between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on whether gravity is just a theory. “Sure,” Gohmert said, “things fall down all the time. But that doesn’t mean gravity is a law. Look at the Leaning Tower of […]
Palestinian Children Arrested by Israeli Troops Face Abusive Violence
Three in four Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank last year endured physical violence during arrest and interrogation, according to Defense for Children International Palestine research. Data compiled by DCI-Palestine from 98 affidavits of Palestinian children aged 12 – 17 also showed that night arrests between midnight and 5 […]
Three Years Later: Can the Libyan Revolution Succeed?
Libyans on Monday celebrated the third anniversary of the beginning of their popular revolution against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. The commemoration was bittersweet, since although personal freedoms have much expanded, 3,000 non-governmental organizations have been founded, and political activity is relatively unconstrained on paper, the persistence of militias and low-intensity violence have cast a […]
Kerry Blasts Climate Denialists, equates Climate Change with Terrorism, WMDs
(By Juan Cole) Secretary of State John Kerry was in Asia this weekend, and one of his emphases in China and Indonesia was the urgency of dealing with the climate disruption caused by carbon dioxide emissions/a>, which he said is as great a threat as terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: “When […]
Taliban jump Shark, Kidnap alleged Spy Dog (Colbert Report)
The Colbert Report on the Taliban Dognappers
Dear GOP: Top 5 Biblical Marriage Moments far worse than Gay Marriage
David Edwards at Raw Story quotes Mitt Romney from Meet the Press as saying “But I think marriage should be defined in the way that it has been defined for several thousand years . . .” implying, by the Bible. (Mitt says it is all right with him if gay people just shack up with […]
Fisticuffs in Parliament as Turkish Gov’t undermines Independence of Judges
(Via AFP) Lawmakers brawl as Turkey tightens grip on judiciary (via AFP) Turkey’s parliament passed a contested bill Saturday tightening the government’s grip on the judiciary, sparking a fist-fight that left one lawmaker with a broken nose. Fighting erupted between ruling party and opposition lawmakers as the bill — tabled… ——— Related video: Euronews […]
Race Inequality in America by Graph, from Crime Sentencing to Income
(By Juan Cole) Most death sentences are handed out for killing white people, even though African-Americans make up 50% of murder victims (they are only 12% of the population). So if an African-American male had fired ten shots into the SUV of some white suburban kids playing their music too loud, killing one of them, […]
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