Human Rights

British preacher Abu Hamza guilty on US terror charges (via AFP) A New York jury convicted British hate preacher Abu Hamza on 11 kidnapping and terrorism charges Monday, opening the way for a judge to impose what will almost certainly be a life sentence. The hook-handed imam, who became a tabloid bogeyman in Britain… […]

Christianity

Will Pope Francis’s Visit to the West Bank be a Challenge to Occupation?

contributors

"This visit will help us in supporting our struggle to end the longest occupation in history." (By Lauren McCauley) On an upcoming trip to the Middle East, Pope Francis is expected to prioritize his visit with Palestinians, including a refugee camp, in a move interpreted by many as a 'recognition' of a future Palestinian state. […]

Apartheid

Occupartheid is Isolating and Degrading Israel

contributors

(Open Letter from Daniel Bar-Tal, Tel Aviv) “Love your neighbor as yourself” This is the core requirement for overcoming blindness caused by hate and fear needed for peacemaking. Dear Friends, I write this letter with great concern for the future of my society and the State of Israel with the belief that the views presented […]

Central Intelligence Agency

America as Torture Central: From Prisons to “Black Sites”

contributors

(By Sarah Lazare) Amnesty International report on global torture exposes inhumane acts perpetrated by United States Thirty years after ratifying the UN Convention Against Torture, the U.S. government has dodged accountability for perpetrating torture in domestic prisons and CIA black sites and embroiling foreign states in inhumane acts. So finds a report on global torture […]

Economy

Under World Cup Pressure, Qatar reforms Guest Worker Laws, abolishes Sponsorship System

Juan Cole

Qatar to end sponsorship system for foreign workers (via AFP) Qatar, host of the 2022 football World Cup, said Wednesday it will abolish its controversial sponsorship system for foreign workers, whose treatment in the energy-rich state has stirred mounting international criticism. FIFA chief Sepp Blatter described… ——- AFP: “Qatar to end sponsorship system for […]

Africa

Sudan judge orders Christian woman to hang for apostasy

Juan Cole

A Sudanese judge on Thursday sentenced a heavily pregnant Christian woman to hang for apostasy, a ruling which Britain denounced as “barbaric” and left the United States “deeply disturbed”. Born to a Muslim father, the woman was convicted under the…

Dissent

Rising Numbers of Palestinian Children Subjected to Solitary Confinement

Juan Cole

Rising Numbers of Palestinian Children Subjected to Solitary Confinement (via PRWeb) A new report from Defense for Children International Palestine (DCI-Palestine) finds that in 21.4 percent of cases documented in 2013, children detained in the Israeli military detention system reported undergoing solitary confinement as part of the… ——- Related video: The Guardian: “Cell 36: […]

Domestic Surveillance

When Greenwald met Snowden: “Spark a … movement against the dangers of state surveillance”

Juan Cole

(By Glenn Greenwald via Tomdispatch) [This essay is a shortened and adapted version of Chapter 1 of Glenn Greenwald’s new book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Security State, and appears at TomDispatch.com with the kind permission of Metropolitan Books.] On December 1, 2012, I received my first communication from […]