(By Juan Cole) When the venerable al-Ahram newspaper, then under the control of the government of Hosni Mubarak, published the allegation during the 2011 revolution that the crowds were just coming down to Tahrir Square for KFC chicken, it was the beginning of the end of the Mubarak establishment. It might have survived being repressive, […]
Solar Ascendancy: Minnesota Court Ruling for Solar over Gas a Harbinger of Things to Come
(By Juan Cole) Minnesota Judge Eric Lipman found that solar is a better deal than natural gas for Xcel Energy, permitting Geronimo Energy to construct 20 huge solar facilities worth $250 million in Xcel’s service area in that state. The amount of solar power in the state would increase by a factor of 7. The […]
America’s Foreign Policy Challenges in the Middle East, 2014
Those who suggest that the United States as a superpower is weaker in the Middle East today than nine years ago overestimate the impact on the region of the Bush administration’s frenetic invasions and occupations. Iraq and Afghanistan were off in corners of the Middle East, and the US clearly got bogged down in them […]
Dubai Fireworks for New Year 2014
(By Juan Cole) Dubai Fireworks spectacular for New Year at Burj Khalifa (2 million gather): Dubai will be the site of the 2020 world expo which will help it further emerge as a major hub of world commerce. Dubai has an annual GDP of over $80 bn, and a population of 2.1 million, about the […]
17% of Americans Support Afghanistan War: CNN (Video of the Day)
(By Juan Cole) A CNN/ ORC International poll has found that only 17% of Americans support the war in Afghanistan. That is down from 52% in 2008. 82% of Americans are against the war. Other recent polls found that 57% of Americans think the US was wrong to go into Afghanistan in the first place, […]
Top Ten Middle East Stories 2013: How the Region has Changed
(By Juan Cole) 10. Tunisia suffered the assassination of two leftist politicians, provoking demonstrations bigger than the ones that brought down the government of dictator Zine El Abidin Ben Ali in 2011. The second of these assassinations, this summer, provoked students, youth activists and the major national labor union to mount concerted demonstrations demanding that […]
Israel plans 1400 New Squatter Homes in Palestinian West Bank
(AFP reports) Israel plans new settler homes while freeing Palestinians (via AFP) Israel will reveal plans to build 1,400 settler homes in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem to coincide with the weekend release of Palestinian prisoners, military radio said Friday. A third batch of Palestinian prisoners is due to be released on Sunday… […]
Assange warns of Information Apartheid & Encompassing State: “This is the Last Free Generation”
(By Juan Cole) Wired notes that Wikileaks activist Julian Assange addressed the Chaos Communication Congress by Skype Sunday. Assange said, “This is the last free generation… The coming together of the systems of government and the information apartheid is such that none of us will be able to escape it in just a decade.” . […]
Iraqi Troops sent by Shiite PM al-Maliki arrest Sunni Parliamentarian, kill his Brother
(AFP reports) also at the Jordan Times Iraq forces arrest Sunni MP, kill brother and guards (via AFP) Iraqi security forces on Saturday raided the home of a Sunni MP who backs anti-government protesters, arresting him and sparking clashes that killed his brother and five guards, police said. The raid threatens to inflame widespread discontent […]
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