Dissent

(By Tina Casey) John Kerry Throws More Cold Water On Keystone XL Pipeline (via Clean Technica) The tubes have been buzzing over a new New York Times report on Secretary of State John Kerry’s aggressive pursuit of a new global climate agreement, which has some clear implications for approval of the controversial Keystone XL tar […]

Dissent

Egyptian Military Junta Jumps the Shark, Interrogates Islamist Muppet

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) When the venerable al-Ahram newspaper, then under the control of the government of Hosni Mubarak, published the allegation during the 2011 revolution that the crowds were just coming down to Tahrir Square for KFC chicken, it was the beginning of the end of the Mubarak establishment. It might have survived being repressive, […]

Dissent

“Terrorism” tag is tool of Political Repression in Egypt

contributors

(By Human Rights Watch) (New York) – The Egyptian government’s designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization appears to be aimed at expanding the crackdown on peaceful Brotherhood activities and imposing harsh sanctions on its supporters. The government should promptly reverse the decision and stop interfering with the Brotherhood’s health, education, and other […]

Dissent

Freed Pussy Riot Band Members call for ‘Russia without Putin’ (Video of the Day)

Juan Cole

Channel 4 News reports: On this occasion of their release, it is worthwhile reprinting excerpts from the translation of an interview by Elena Masyuk with Maria “Masha” Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova from last January that appears on the Free Pussy Riot web site: Masyuk: “— I attended almost every single day of your [Maria’s} trial […]

censorship

Snowden’s Christmas Message on Privacy: Does NSA threaten 9th, 14th Amendments, ‘Inviolate Personality’?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Edward Snowden’s Christmas address, carried by the British Channel 4, concentrated on the disappearance of privacy. He said that a child born today might “never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves, an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought.” People walk around with a tracking device in their pockets, he noted, […]

Dissent

Egyptian Junta designates Muslim Brotherhood as “Terrorist Organization” in Attempt to Crush Dissent

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In Egypt, the interim appointed government of Prime Minister Hazem Biblawi, backed by the military junta that made the coup of July 3, on Wednesday formally categorized the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The decree was published by the feared Interior Ministry (kind of like US FBI but with torture) on […]

Dissent

Damascus’s Other Battle: Regime Cyberwar on the Opposition

contributors

(By Dave Maass) Social Engineering and Malware in Syria: EFF and Citizen Lab’s Latest Report on the Digital Battlefield (via EFF) More than two years into the Syrian conflict, the violence continues both on the ground and in the digital realm. Just as human rights investigators and weapons inspectors search for evidence of chemical weapons, […]

Dissent

Is Edward Snowden a modern Martin Luther?

contributors

(By J.M. Porup) Quiz time, people. Identify the following: A powerful church that has betrayed its founding principles. A secretive priesthood that knows all your sins. An empire that anoints princes. But one priest’s complaint provokes a backlash, and the empire crumbles. Who am I? If you guessed Martin Luther, you guessed wrong. Try Edward […]

censorship

Dear Pres. Obama: Dissent isn’t Possible in a Surveillance State

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole In his stirring eulogy of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first president to be legitimately elected, by the entire South Africa people, President Barack Obama said, “There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing […]