Vladimir Putin on Thursday hailed the possibility of a run for the presidency of Egypt by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the architect of the July 3 coup against the elected Muslim Brotherhood government. Al-Sisi flew to Moscow this week in search of such support and of arms sales. The implicit message is that he is […]
Israel to Implant 9-Storey Ultra-Orthodox Seminary in Palestinian East Jerusalem
(Via AFP) Israel to build high rise in annexed E.Jerusalem area: NGO (via AFP) Jerusalem’s planning committee moved forwards on Wednesday with plans to build a nine-storey Jewish seminary in the heart of a densely-populated Palestinian neighbourhood near the Old City. Plans for the new tower block, to be built in the Sheikh Jarrah… […]
Did Religious Extremism drive 2 Million Egyptian youth to Unbelief?
(By Juan Cole) Egyptian journalist Hilmy al-Namnam said last fall that some researchers had concluded that there were 2 million Egyptian atheists. He blamed the rapid increase in unbelief among young people on the period of Muslim Brotherhood rule and the hypocrisy of television preachers. Educated young women are especially dismayed at the discourse on […]
We’re all Living in the World Dick Cheney Made
(By Mark Danner via a href=”http://www.nybooks.com/”>NYRB and Tomdispatch.com) If you’re a man of principle, compromise is a bit of a dirty word. — Dick Cheney, 2013 1. “We Ought to Take It Out” In early 2007, as Iraq seemed to be slipping inexorably into chaos and President George W. Bush into inescapable political purgatory, Meir […]
Obama & Hollande stress Hope for Iran Breakthrough
(By Juan Cole) In his news conference with French President Francois Hollande, President Obama outlined four areas of diplomatic progress. The first is foreign policy, including Iran, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. Re: negotiations with Iran, Obama said, “Our unity with our P5-plus-1 partners, backed with strong sanctions, has succeeded in halting and rolling back […]
The Arts of the Arab Uprisings at the Arab-American Museum
VOA interviews my colleague Christiane Gruber of the Art History Department at the University of Michigan on the exhibit she helped curate at the Arab-American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, which came out of our symposium in November at which Arab bloggers and graffiti artists and other practitioners of the arts of protest presented alongside academics […]
Iraq illegally Jailed thousands of Women, Torture & Abuse Alleged
(Human Rights Watch) (Baghdad) – Iraqi authorities are detaining thousands of Iraqi women illegally and subjecting many to torture and ill-treatment, including the threat of sexual abuse. Iraq’s weak judiciary, plagued by corruption, frequently bases convictions on coerced confessions, and trial proceedings fall far short of international standards. Many women were detained for months or […]
Big Green Energy is Remaking Africa and Asia
(By Juan Cole) A significant part of the population of Africa and Asia at present has no access to electricity, and in some countries those deprived amount to as much as 80 percent of the population. That is true in Ethiopia, for instance. Demand for electricity will therefore grow enormously in Africa and Asia over […]
Top 10 Reasons Rand Paul’s Lewinsky Gambit Can’t Obscure GOP War on Women
(By Juan Cole) Sen. Rand Paul, in preparation for his run at the presidency in 2016, has been attempting to deflect the GOP disadvantage with women by bringing up the Bill Clinton/ Monica Lewinsky scandal. It is a desperate ploy and, like many of Paul’s initiatives, quirky and a little bit creepy at the same […]
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