Justin Elliott writes at ProPublica Amid the media frenzy over former CIA director David Petraeus’ extramarital affair, we were struck by a quick reference in a Washington Post story about Petraeus’ time running the war in Afghanistan: Prominent members of conservative, Washington-based defense think tanks were given permanent office space at his headquarters and access […]
How the UN’s ITU could take over and destroy Internet freedoms this December (Video)
How the UN’s International Telecommunications Union may take over governance of the internet and threaten freedom of expression: The ITU, by the way, held its 2005 conference on internet freedom in the Tunis of dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, and couldn’t be dissuaded from giving him this unwarranted vote of confidence. A friend of […]
Egypt Breaking News: Justices will Oversee Constitutional Referendum, Other Judges announce Strike (Democracy Now! Video)
Democracy Now! interviews Sharif Abdel Kouddous on the decision of the Egyptian judges to go on strike against the decrees of fundamentalist president Muhammad Morsi. Plus: BREAKING NEWS: The most senior Egyptian justices of the Supreme Judicial Council have overruled their colleagues and will assign personnel to oversee the December 15 referendum on the constitution. […]
Last Chance: Annual Fundraiser for Informed Comment
Update We’re coming into the final stretch of the annual fundraiser. I am *so* grateful to all the fans who have donated. We’re having a great year and are coming down the home stretch. Just to underline that readers here are getting a different, and I would argue more accurate view of the world than […]
Climate Negotiations falter at Doha as CO2 Emissions Push Earth toward 1400-year Storms
Human beings are hurtling toward an average temperature increase on earth by 2100, just 88 years from now, of 9 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5-6 degrees C.), according to a new study by the Global Carbon Project. The United States accounts for 16 percent of global emissions, and Americans are the world’s biggest carbon polluters […]
NSA Whistleblower: Everyone in US under digital surveillance, Trillions of Messages Stored
National Security Agency whistle-blower William Binney explains how the NSA puts all the electronic communications of all Americans under constant surveillance and then stores zetabytes of data permanently. RT reports: Binney says that social networks analysis is being carried out on all Americans, and that if for any reason the clique in charge of the […]
Omar Khayyam (484) “Summer’s new warmth has melted memories of last December”
You’re fast on your feet, server, and dawn is breaking. Let’s have another song, and bring more wine! For summer’s new warmth has melted memories of last December, and of the hundred thousand famous kings and leaders who have been laid beneath the hard, cold earth these past few months. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar […]
US Mass Media ignore Bahrain until Kim Kardashian gives them Two Reasons not To
The real scandal of the Kim Kardashian visit to Bahrain is that it is what it took for Western media to mention the word “Bahrain” on the evening news. I did a search at Lexis Nexis Broadcast Transcripts under “CBS and Bahrain” for the past 3 months and got … 10 hits. Now, this methodology […]
Egyptians to Decide on Fundamentalist-influenced Constitution via Referendum
The draft constitution was handed over in a ceremony on Saturday to President Muhammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, and he in turn immediately scheduled it for a national referendum on December 15. These high-handed moves provoked outrage among liberals, leftists and many centrists , while hundreds of thousands of rural fundamentalists were bused in […]
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