(By Juan Cole) The attempt launched earlier this week by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) to take and hold city quarters in Falluja, Ramadi and Khalidiya in al-Anbar province has provoked an enormous political crisis in Iraq. The insurgents and supporters chased police and soldiers away from their stations, burned […]
Former Pakistan Dictator suffers “heart problem” on Way to Treason Trial
(by AFP) Musharraf suffers ‘heart problem’ on way to treason hearing (via AFP) Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was rushed to hospital Thursday after suffering a “heart problem” on his way to court, in the latest dramatic twist in his treason trial. The 70-year-old had been summoned to the special tribunal in… — […]
Space Exploration as Reality Show: 1000 chosen for Private Mars Colonization Mission
(By AFP> More than 1,000 chosen for one-way Mars reality-TV mission (via AFP) More than 1,000 candidates — from 200,000 hopefuls — have been chosen to train for a private Mars colonisation mission to be partly funded by a reality-TV show following their training and subsequent steps, organisers said Thursday. They are to be… […]
GOP isn’t Getting more Ignorant on Evolution, it is Just getting Older
(By Juan Cole) Polling by the Pew Charitable trust shows that the gap between Republicans and Democrats on evolution has substantially widened in just 5 years. The percentage of Republicans who say that human beings have been unchanged since they originated rose from 39% to 48% just since 2009. Meanwhile, the percentage of Democrats who […]
Street Kebab Chef in Mosul, Iraq, 1903 (Photo of the Day)
From M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume, Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman’s Eight Years’ Residence Amongst the Women of the East (1909).
Egyptian Military Junta Jumps the Shark, Interrogates Islamist Muppet
(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 […]
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