(By Juan Cole) The United States and the United Kingdom have suspended aid to the Syrian National Council and its Free Syrian Army, headed by Gen. Salim Idriss, after FSA warehouses of arms were raided by the Islamic Front. It also captured a key border crossing with Turkey. The Islamic Front, a coalition of fundamentalist […]
Five Women Human Rights Activists who are Changing the Middle East
By Tasnim Nazeer Despite setbacks in the wake of the “Arab Spring”, the region’s female activists gained strength following the uprisings and have no plans to stop fighting for better and fairer societies. Here is a rundown of five of the most prominent female human rights activists in MENA. 1. Tawakkol Karman The first Yemeni […]
Sec. Hagel threatens to cut $1.6 bn Pakistan aid b/c Drone Protests Blocking NATO Convoys
by Sarah Lazare U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel threatened Pakistani [leaders] on Monday with cutting off up to $1.6 billion in aid if the country's mass protests against U.S. drone strikes continue, Pentagon officials said, according to The New York Times. The warning came after nonviolent blockades in protest of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan […]
Has a European Boycott of Israeli Colonies in the Palestinian West Bank Begun?
By Juan Cole First, the European Union decided last summer to exclude Israeli Occupation institutions from Israel-EU cooperation initiatives. That is, Israeli institutions are routinely invited to European scientific conferences and projects as though they were members of the EU, but those based in the Palestinian West Bank are no longer welcome. Nor will the […]
Jon Stewart: NSA Totally Doing all those Things Obama Admin denied they were Doing
Jon Stewart reviews the false statements by President Obama and administration officials about the nature and scope of National Security Agency electronic surveillance of Americans. It is in fact scooping up emails and telephone calls. They’re even in ‘Worlds of Warcraft.’ They’re monitoring the locations of 5 billion smartphones every day. They “want it all.” […]
Video of the Day: Turkish Economy Flourishing but needs to go Green
Euronews reports, “Turkey’s economy continues to boom” Euronews notes that the Turkish economy had a growth spurt in the third quarter, and it is certainly doing better than other non-oil states in the region or than most in Europe. One drag on the economy, though, is an increase in Turkish petroleum imports. This problem is […]
Dear Pres. Obama: Dissent isn’t Possible in a Surveillance State
By Juan Cole In his stirring eulogy of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first president to be legitimately elected, by the entire South Africa people, President Barack Obama said, “There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing […]
Presidents shaking Hands with Dictators
By Juan Cole President Barack Obama’s casual hand shake with Cuban president Raul Castro at the memorial for Nelson Mandela has, predictably, set off a wave of outrage among right wing politicians and pundits who are anyway perpetually outraged by anything Obama does or indeed, just by his being president. Sen. John McCain, who frankly […]
Google, Microsoft, Silicon Valley Giants Demand Rollback of out-of-control NSA Spying
By Andrea Germanos In an open letter to President Obama and members of Congress, AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo, write: We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. But this summer’s revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide. The balance in many countries has […]
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