nationalism

Euronews | — “The Turkish President has triggered fresh controversy, declaring in a speech that women are not equal to men. Recep Tayyip Erdogan also criticised the feminist movement, claiming they do not accept or understand the concept of motherhood. He spoke at a global justice and women’s summit in Istanbul. An English translation of […]

Egypt

The Historical Drivers of Modern Day Developments in Iraq (Cole Interview)

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole, interviewed by Bassam Haddad | — Bassam Haddad, a prominent Syria specialist at George Mason University, interviewed me this fall for the new web radio program Status Hour , on the Middle East. Do check out the range of important interviews already up at the site. My own audio interview is here. […]

Israel

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas Denounces Synagogue Killings

contributors

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday condemned an attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem that killed four Israelis earlier in the day. Abbas’ office said in a statement that the presidency always denounced the killing of civilians by any party. “Consequently, today the presidency denounces the killing of worshipers at a place of […]

History

Turkish President Alleges Muslims ‘discovered’ America before Columbus

contributors

Ruptly TV | — [ What follows is some crackpot theory completely divorced from reality… for another attempt at mystifying the Ottomans in the New World see this earlier blog post about the map of Piri Reis– Juan] RUPTLY TV TRANSCRIPT: “Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (Turkish): ”Two Ottoman ships left Istanbul port to Basra […]

Featured

Far Right Extremist Avigdor Lieberman says Swedish Recognition of Palestine will Strengthen Extremists

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole There was a time when people like Avigdor Lieberman were not welcome in Israeli politics, or, indeed, in Jewish circles in the United States. Dogged by accusations of corruption (though acquitted in the Israeli courts) and widely considered a racist and flamethrower, Lieberman has emerged as Foreign Minister, a powerful cabinet post. […]

Barack Obama

Double-Edged Sword: Can US overcome its Feelings of Exceptionalism?

contributors

By David Bromwich via Tomdispatch.com The origins of the phrase “American exceptionalism” are not especially obscure. The French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville, observing this country in the 1830s, said that Americans seemed exceptional in valuing practical attainments almost to the exclusion of the arts and sciences. The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, on hearing a report […]

Asia

The Yasukuni Shuffle: China and Japan duke it out via T.V. Serials on the Wrongs of WW II

contributors

By Philip J Cunningham Everyday hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese and Japanese kill one another on Chinese television. Hundreds of Anti-Japan war dramas were churned out last year and the genre dominates China’s airwaves round the clock like never before, even though eight decades have gone by since Japan’s war of invasion. What’s more, […]

Apartheid

The Gaza Siege is Passing from Media Memory but the Social Statistics are Still Terrifying

contributors

AJ+ “It’s been a little over two weeks since the Gaza – Israel ceasefire. The United Nations has just released a report detailing what the 50 day war has cost Gaza so far, including the death toll. For the full report, go here

Featured

Top 10 Mistakes of former Iraq PM Nouri al-Maliki (That Ruined his Country)

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Now that Nouri al-Maliki has resigned as prime minister, it is worth looking at the way his two terms as prime minister (2006-2010, 2010-2014) shaped Iraq. Did his policies help create the country’s current impasse? 1. Al-Maliki was so partisan in 2006 when he first came to power that he denied that […]