ITN reports :
Solving the Mideast Water and Energy Crises: Large-Scale Solar Desalinization in UAE
(Via CleanTechnica) 120 MW Solar Power Plant In The Works In The UAE (via Clean Technica) Utico Middle East, a solar developer currently working to develop a 40 MW solar power plant in the United Arab Emirates, recently made the surprise announcement that the project will/could be tripled in size if the plant can be […]
Obama as Unreliable Narrator on Climate Action: from SOTU to NSA spying at Copenhagen
(By Juan Cole) When President Obama looked us in the eye and said that the US is not engaged in electronic surveillance for economic reasons, but only for the sake of security and anti-terrorism, he was lying through his teeth. He should be careful. His approval ratings have tanked in some large part because he […]
Why Pres. Obama wants to Raise Minimum Wage: 49 mn Americans Food Insecure
(Via PRNewswire) The State of Hunger in America: Feeding America Issues Annual Report (via PR Newswire) CHICAGO, Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In connection with President Barack Obama’s . . . annual State of the Union address, Feeding America has issued its annual “State of Hunger in America,” assessing the prevalence of food insecurity and… […]
Dovish SOTU: Obama will Veto AIPAC Iran Sanctions, Pledges Afghanistan Wind-Down
(By Juan Cole) President Obama’s State of the Union address addressed some key foreign policy issues–Afghanistan and Iran above all– though it was primarily aimed at domestic issues, and mainly at those where executive orders and policy might make at least a marginal impact. Opinion polls show that US public support for the Afghanistan War, […]
Syria: Trapped Women of besieged Homs decline evacuation, fearing for their Men
(Via Globalpost) Women and children fearing for male relatives refuse to leave Syria’s Homs (via GlobalPost) More than half of the 500 women and children trapped in the Syrian city of Homs refuse to be evacuated, saying they fear leaving male relatives behind, activists said Monday. “Some 200 women and children, those suffering the worst […]
Edward Snowden Interview: NSA is Engaged in Industrial Espionage for Interests, not Security
Via Liveleak: German Television does first Edward Snowden Interview
The 18th Brumaire of Gen. al-Sisi in Egypt
(By Juan Cole) On Monday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) announced that Field Marshall Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (also the minister of defense) was free to run for president if his conscience led him to do so. There had been a question whether the officers wanted him to get directly involved in politics. […]
The Future of Cool: Electric Muscle Cars at the Detroit Auto Show
(By Juan Cole) I dropped by the Detroit Auto Show this weekend (its last this year) at Cobo Center as it was wrapping up. Regular readers know that I am a big fan of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, so I had a lot of fun window shopping and fantasizing. I have a Chevy Volt […]