International Politics and Economy

New York (CPJ) – Egyptian authorities should release immediately Wael Abbas, a blogger who has documented Egyptian police abuse, and end their senseless campaign against the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police at dawn today detained Abbas at his Cairo home and took him to an undisclosed location, according to news reports, […]

Islamophobia

Review of Bernard Lewis’ “What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response”

Juan Cole

Review of Bernard Lewis’ “What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response” by Juan Cole Reprinted from Global Dialogue, vol. 4, no. 4, Autumn 2002. Bernard Lewis. What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. 172 pp. Index to p. 180. Hard covers, $23. Bernard Lewis’s What […]

Islamophobia

Islamophobia, Inc.: Sinister Billionaires and White Nationalists breed Hate (Documentary)

Al Jazeera English

“Across the United States, there has been a growth in organizations that portray Islam as a threat. Over two years, the number of groups that make up what’s become known as the Islamophobia industry has more than tripled. This investigation reveals the tactics these groups use to instigate a fear of Islam, including how they […]

Corruption

Russian Firm That Paid Michael Cohen also hired Trump Lawyer Kasowitz

Justin Elliott

(ProPublica) The news on Tuesday that the same shell company that Michael Cohen, a longtime personal lawyer for Donald Trump, had used to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels had also received about $500,000 in 2017 from a firm linked to a Russian oligarch set off a frenzy of commentary on Twitter and cable […]

Corruption

Treason: Obama Iran Deal Officials allegedly targeted by Trump via Israeli Black Cube

Juan Cole

On Saturday, The Observer broke the story that soon after Trump’s visit to Tel Aviv last year, his aides initiated a dirty tricks campaign to smear Obama-era officials Ben Rhodes, Colin Kahl (and likely others) in an effort to discredit the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal. Apparently the thinking […]

Elections

Iraqi Journalist Who Threw Shoes at Bush Running For Parliament

TeleSur

After the incident that made him famous worldwide, Muntazer Zaidi started a foundation aiming at providing relief to Iraqi victims of the U.S. occupation. Ten years after he threw both his shoes at George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, making worldwide headlines and sparking a small diplomatic crisis, journalist Muntazer Zaidi is […]

Arms Sales

Saudi Arabia world’s 3rd highest military spender but 41st in World Population

Middle East Monitor

Saudi Arabia has ranked third across the world with military spending which reached $69.4 billion in 2017. It replaces Russia, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a new report on Wednesday. According to the report, military spending across the world has increased by 1.1 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year […]

Elections

How Troll Farms & Fake News are being Weaponized against Iraq’s Women Politicians

Niqash

Special Correspondent | Niqash.org | – – (Baghdad) As Iraqi elections near, the epidemic of disturbing and divisive fake news on local social media only gets worse. But who exactly is behind it? And are they motivated by profit, popularity or a political agenda? Last week, a rumour swept social media in Iraq: The authorities […]

Corruption

Will it be the Accountants who bring down Trump and his Cronies?

Rebecca Gordon

San Francisco ( Tomdispatch.com) – They call people like us “bean counters” — the soulless ones beavering away in some windowless accounting department, the living calculators who don’t care about desperation or aspirations, who just want you to turn in your expense report on time and explain those perfectly legitimate charges on the company credit […]