The government of Muammar Qaddafi is making a wideranging attempt to dominate as much of the country as possible before Western powers begin patrolling Libya’s skies with fighter jets, probably on Saturday night or Sunday. Aljazeera Arabic is reporting mid-morning Saturday Libyan time that hundreds of people have been wounded in Benghazi by the heavy […]
Yemeni Troops Massacre 46, Wound Hundreds
Thousands of protesters in Yemen mounted a massive protest in the capital of Sanaa on Friday, but ran into a trap set by government forces, which fired on them from rooftops and killed 46, wounding some two hundred. It is alleged that the troops set tires on fire and created walls of flame with gasoline, […]
Libya Threatens Mediterranean Planes, Ships if Attacked
Aljazeera English reports on the eruption of delight in Benghazi at the announcement Thursday evening New York time that the UN Security Council had authorized a no-fly zone over Libya and the taking of all measures necessary to protect civilian life. The Qaddafi regime sent mixed signals after the announcement, with the deputy foreign minister […]
Eissenstat: Libya and Turkey
Howard Eissenstat writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Libya and Turkey: Ankara’s foreign policy goes off key For a while, at least, Turkey seemed to be riding high as a wave of protests swept from Tunisia to Egypt to a half dozen other states in the Middle East and North Africa. After a […]
The UN to the Rescue in Libya: Is it too Late?
The United Nations Security Council has just authorized a no-fly zone over Libya and implicitly allowed the United States, France and Britain to bomb military forces and facilities loyal to Muammar Qadddafi. Aljazeera live is covering the session and is showing enormous, delirious crowds celebrating in downtown Benghazi, which Qaddafi had threatened to occupy earlier […]
Stewart Skewers King on Islamophobia
Jon Stewart at the Daily Show lampoons Rep. Peter King (R-NY)’s witch hunt against Muslims in light of King’s own long and virulent support for the Irish Republican Army. The Daily Show – Radical Muslim HearingsTags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
What if? and the Meltdown Threat
If the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been a bank of wind turbines, we wouldn’t all be on hanging on every item about radiation release. The talk would just be about rebuilding the turbines. Germany is hoping to replace its aging nuclear reactors with offshore wind farms… Euronews reports that reactor number 3 may already […]
Rebels Hold Key Libyan Towns as UN Considers Intervention
Forces loyal to Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi launched a two-pronged attack on Tuesday and Wednesday, on Misrata near Tripoli and on Ajdabiya in the east, with an eye to controlling all major population centers from the Tunisian border to the gates of Benghazi, the center of the rebel movement. Through Wednesday into Thursday morning, the […]
Sunni-Shiite Tension Boils in Iraq, Gulf over Bahrain
Reuters Arabic reports that the Saudi invasion of Bahrain on Monday has inflamed sectarian passions in Iraq. Likewise it has angered Iran, which openly condemned the move. Sectarian tensions are boiling throughout the Gulf. Security forces, possibly including Saudi troops, moved Wednesday morning against the hundreds of protesters still camped out at the Pearl Roundabout […]