Human Rights

DW | — “Bethlehem – the traditional birthplace of Jesus is sacred for many believers. But it means big business for Palestinians who sell souvenirs there. Even with heightened tensions in the region, Christmas offers a bit of light in tough economic times.” DW: “Christmas in Bethlehem | Journal” What I wrote a few years […]

African-Americans

The Other Torture Report: What the USA looks like to the World

Rebecca Gordon

(special to Informed Comment) — At long last – despite the attempts at sabotage by, and over the protests of the CIA, and notwithstanding the dilatory efforts of the State Department – the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has finally issued the executive summary of its 6,300-page report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. […]

Displaced and Refugees

Kurds inflict first Major Defeat on Daesh/ ISIL, Rescue Yezidis of Sinjar

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) — The pan-Arab London daily, Al-Hayat [Life] reports that the Iraqi Kurdistan paramilitary, the Peshmerga, have taken Mt. Sinjar from Daesh (what Arabs call ISIL or ISIS). They have therefore saved several thousand members of the Yezidi (Izadi) Kurdish religious minority, who have been besieged and sometimes enslaved or […]

Apartheid

Palestinians Under Threat In Jerusalem

contributors

AJ+ | — “With tensions rising in Jerusalem, hate crimes against Palestinians have increased in recent months. Mohammed lost his cousin to one such incident a while ago, and now he is one of the newest victims. Like others, he fears for his life. This is the story of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and […]

Displaced and Refugees

The Yezidi Minority, Daesh/ISIL, and Iraq’s Human Rights Catastrophe

contributors

by Patrick Ball Patrick Ball with Yezidi boys at an informal camp in Sharya, Iraq. Farhad (not his real name) got the call from ISIS on his personal cell phone just after lunch: we have your sister, and we will give her back if you pay us $6000, plus $1500 for the driver. Carrying little […]

Apartheid

Europe Must follow Through on votes in Favor of Palestine Recognition

contributors

By John V Whitbeck European parliamentary resolutions urging their governments to recognise the State of Palestine must be followed by actual recognitions of the State of Palestine The European Parliament, after a late compromise in pursuit of consensus, has now passed, by a vote of 498 to 88 with 111 abstentions, a resolution stating that […]

History

‘The Struggle for Pakistan’ (Ayesha Jalal)

contributors

By Joseph Richard Preville and Julie Poucher Harbin (ISLAMiCommentary) Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville| — Pakistan is a nation with a strong will to survive. It has endured political upheavals, ethnic discord, military dictatorships, and the challenges of religious extremism. In her new book, The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and […]

Bill of Rights

“President Authorized Torture Techniques”: Cheney and Rove throw Bush under the Bus

contributors

Cenk Uygur “The Young Turks” | — “”Former President George W. Bush knew about and authorized the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other controversial tactics, according to Karl Rove, Bush’s former top political adviser. A report released last week by the Senate Intelligence Committee asserted that Bush was […]

Islamic Jihad

Israeli forces thwart radical ‘suicide bombing’ planned by 5 suspects

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s army and Shin Bet agency on Monday said they had thwarted a suicide bombing planned by five Palestinian suspects from Tulkarem, a statement said. The five suspects allegedly confessed that Yasmin Shaaban was planning a suicide attack using an explosive belt while disguising herself as a pregnant Israeli woman, the statement […]