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Juan Cole

Uncategorized
PBS, Self-Censorship and the Koch Big Oil Empire (Democracy Now!)

PBS, Self-Censorship and the Koch Big Oil Empire (Democracy Now!)

Juan Cole

Following up on a hard-hitting article by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, Democracy Now! asks if PBS self-censored to avoid offending a major donor, the oil magnates the Koch brothers:

Russia
Syria needs a dozen S-300 batteries to protect itself - Russian general; Kerry Denounces Plan

Syria needs a dozen S-300 batteries to protect itself – Russian general; Kerry Denounces Plan

Juan Cole

Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday deplored the Russian plan to ship S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Syria, saying that it will not lead to peace. The batteries would constrain Israel from bombarding targets in Syria and so would be a game-changer for Israeli security, and they would likely put paid to any talk of […]

Energy
Top Ten Green Energy Good News Stories, 6/1/13

Top Ten Green Energy Good News Stories, 6/1/13

Juan Cole

1. Scotland Goes Ahead With World’s Largest Wave Energy Project. “At 40 megawatts (MW), it will provide energy to nearly 30,000 homes” once the requisite cable is laid, by 2017. 2. Gujarat’s wind power capacity has grown to be the highest in India over the past 4 years. “Installed wind power generation capacities in the […]

Turkey
Taksim Square Protests in Turkey Spread to other Cities, Police accused of Brutality

Taksim Square Protests in Turkey Spread to other Cities, Police accused of Brutality

Juan Cole

Protests at Taksim Square in Istanbul that began by opposing the privatization of a park (one of the last spots of green in that part of the city) took on a different life when they were met with a disproportionate response by police. The authorities used water canon and fired tear gas at young people […]

Uncategorized
Falsely Accused Pot Mom Released in Mexico; Case Argues for Decriminalization

Falsely Accused Pot Mom Released in Mexico; Case Argues for Decriminalization

Juan Cole

The release of Yanira Maldonado from a Mexican jail after an apparent attempt to frame her for marijuana trafficking underlines the need to end the disastrous “war on drugs” and to legalize marijuana. Maldonado only escaped a very unpleasant fate because she happened to be exonerated by a surveillance video showing her boarding a bus […]

Uncategorized
A German Guru and his Solar Park for the Brahma Kumari Community in Rajasthan

A German Guru and his Solar Park for the Brahma Kumari Community in Rajasthan

Juan Cole

The Brahma Kumari spiritual community in Mt. Abu, Rajasthan, seeks to live a life in harmony with nature. Their solution to the need for power for residents and the 20,000 pilgrims a year? A solar farm being built with backing from the Indian and German governments. Germany is a leader in solar energy and is […]

Uncategorized
Egyptian-Ethiopian Conflict Spikes as Addis Ababa dams Blue Nile

Egyptian-Ethiopian Conflict Spikes as Addis Ababa dams Blue Nile

Juan Cole

The Ethiopian government’s unilateral and high-handed decision to build an enormous dam on the Blue Nile has thrown Egypt into a state of high anxiety. Egyptians already suffer from too little water (700 cubic meters/ yr vs. about 1,000 cubic meters average in rest of world). Water shortages were among the impetuses to rural populations […]

Uncategorized
McCain's Photo Op raises Questions about Arming Syrian Rebels

McCain’s Photo Op raises Questions about Arming Syrian Rebels

Juan Cole

Lauren Williams of The Daily Star (Beirut) reported that when Sen. John McCain made a visit to rebel-held northern Syria on Monday, one of his photo ops was with a man implicated in the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shiite religious pilgrims, 9 of whom are still being held. The report provoked controversy because it undermined […]

Uncategorized

Iran candidates all “Loyal Servants of Dictator”: Kadivar

Juan Cole

by JULIE POUCHER HARBIN, EDITOR, ISLAMiCommentary, on MAY 30, 2013: Mohsen Kadivar Several Iranian opposition figures have declared Iran’s upcoming June 14 presidential election illegitimate, following last week’s decision by Iran’s constitutional body to disqualify several candidates. Among the disqualified is leading opposition-backed candidate and former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Exiled Iranian dissident and […]

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