Human Rights

By Cindy Cohn and Nadia Kayyali Over the past year, as the Snowden revelations have rolled out, the government and its apologists have developed a set of talking points about mass spying that the public has now heard over and over again. From the President, to Hilary Clinton to Rep. Mike Rogers, Sen. Dianne Feinstein […]

Economy

Despite dire predictions, Denver crime falls over 10 percent in wake of pot legalization

Juan Cole

Despite dire predictions by anti-marijuana activists, overall crime rates in the city of Denver are down more than five months after legal marijuana sales began in the Rocky Mountain state. According to the Denver Department of Public Safety, rates…

Apartheid

Prelude to Ethnic Cleansing? Israel Plans 3200 more Squatter homes on Palestinian Land

Juan Cole

Israel huge new settlement push raises Palestinian ire (via AFP) Israel unveiled plans for 3,200 settler homes Thursday in retaliation for the formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas and the international community, raising the Palestinians’ ire. Tenders for nearly 1,500 new settlement houses… ——- Related Video: Press TV: “Israel announces 1500 […]

censorship

Iran’s Rouhani pulls a Pope Francis: ‘Let People choose own path to Heaven’

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari Twenty-five years after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death, the clerical establishment ushered in by the Islamic republic's founding father is at odds over how far its influence on Iranians' lives should extend. The debate pits powerful, hard-line religious conservatives against Iran's relatively moderate president, Hassan Rohani. And at the center of the debate […]

Asia

Tiananmen still Under Lockdown after all These Years

contributors

By Philip Cunningham I approached the Square from Qianmen which back in the old days of the Qing Dynasty was the traditional gate into the Forbidden City; nowadays it’s the gate to a quasi-forbidden public square. In better times, one used to just walk onto the Square, from almost any direction, at almost any time. […]

Apartheid

US support for Palestinian Gov’t a ‘Knife in the Back’ says Israel, after Sabotaging Kerry Talks

contributors

Israel decries US ‘knife in back’ over Palestinian govt (via AFP) Washington’s support for a new Palestinian government backed by Israel’s Islamist foe Hamas, has left the Jewish state feeling betrayed, triggering a new crisis with its closest ally. Several Israeli ministers expressed public anger on Tuesday after… ——- Related Video: New Palestinian government: […]

censorship

Turkey’s Erdogan Calls CNN Reporter arrested on air “Lackey,” “Agent of Chaos”

contributors

Turkey PM accuses international media of spying, singles out CNN (via AFP) Turkey’s embattled prime minister lashed out at international media on Tuesday, accusing news outlets of stirring unrest during the one-year anniversary of mass anti-government protests. Recep Tayyip Erdogan singled out CNN International, whose reporter… —– Related video: CNN: “CNN reporter detained by […]

Censors

NYT’s James Risen risks Jail For Protecting Sources after SC declines to Take Appeal

contributors

By Trevor Timm: The Supreme Court today rejected New York Times reporter James Risen’s appeal of a 4th Circuit decision that ruled the government can compel him to reveal his source under oath. The case, one of the most important for reporter’s privilege in decades, means that Risen has exhausted his appeals and must now […]

censorship

No Regime? Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssef Cancelled b/c “Enormous Pressure”

contributors

So, no regime then? Jon Stewart was on al-Barnamag [“The Program”] last year this time and remarked of the then Muslim Brotherhood government’s prosecution of his Egyptian counterpart, Bassem Youssef, for political libel of President Muhammad Morsi, “If your regime can’t handle a joke, you don’t have a regime.” AFP reports: Egypt satirist who mocked […]