Human Rights

The military “interim government” in Egypt is cracking down on virtually all meaningful form of assembly, association, or opposition. Following the passage of a November 2013 law banning peaceful protest, dozens of activists and organizers have…

Climate Change

Top Ten Ways GOP could avoid “War on Women” Label

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Mike Huckabee objects to the charge that the Republican Party is waging a war on women. The GOP obviously is increasingly a party of angry white men. It suffers from a significant gender gap, which helped elect Barack Obama twice. Huckabee wants to just wish all these realities away. But in the […]

Dissent

Egyptian Professor Defends Himself from Coup Gov’t’s McCarthyite “Grand Espionage” Charges

contributors

(By Emad Shahin) Statement to my Students, Family and Friends January 23, 2014 It was with severe shock that I received news that I have been named in a case known as the “Grand Espionage,” which also included former President Mohamed Morsi and senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. These claims are baseless and politically […]

Bashar al-Assad

Syria Conference Roiled by Shouting Matches, Insults

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Geneva II negotiations at Montreux, Switerland, opened on a sour note on Wednesday. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem droned on interminably and charged the rebel forces with being “traitors” supported by bloodthirsty foreign powers. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded that President Bashar al-Assad step down in favor of a transitional […]

Human Rights

Human Rights Abuses grow in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

contributors

(By Sarah Leah Whitson) (Jerusalem) – Human rights abuses by Israel and by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank grew during 2013, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2014. Israeli forces killed more Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and demolished more Palestinian homes than in 2012. Israel continued to build […]

Africa

Climate Change is real, and Endangers East African Food Security

Juan Cole

By Kieran Cooke, Climate News Network LONDON – The report, East African Agriculture and Climate Change, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), looks at threats to food supplies in 11 countries in East and Central…

Human Rights

Israeli Policy Divides Palestinian Families

contributors

(By AFP) Israel policy splits Palestinian families (via AFP) Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian movement between Gaza and the West Bank is separating relatives and making family life impossible for tens of thousands of people, an Israeli human rights report said Monday. Jointly published by rights watchdogs… ——– Related Video: RT reports on “Between the […]

Bashar al-Assad

Massive War Crimes: Syrian Regime Tortured, Starved, Murdered 11,000 Prisoners

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) A new report by three respected jurists argues that photographic evidence provided by a defector from the Syrian police proves systematic torture and summary execution of thousands of prisoners by the Baath regime headed by Bashar al-Assad. Ian Black at the Guardian broke the story . The authors of the report write, […]

Barack Obama

After Defending Pot, Obama has to Pardon Medical Marijuana Growers He Jailed

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Barack Obama has a weed problem. Not just that he’s admitted using it. He said clearly when campaigning for president in 2008 that he approved of medical marijuana. Yet his Attorney General, Eric Holder and his Department of Justice went on to launch punitive campaigns against legitimate marijuana businesses operating within state […]