International Politics and Economy

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 […]

Democracy

Tunisian women hit campaign trail as equals to men

contributors

By Aymen Jamli | – – Tebourba (Tunisia) (AFP) – Tunisian women “have the chance to act”, says Ines Boussetta, as she hits the campaign trail in northern Tebourba, listening attentively to the problems of the rural region’s inhabitants. Boussetta is one of hundreds of Tunisian women heading party lists in May 6 municipal polls […]

Featured

Is Mike Pompeo Soft on White Terrorism Against Muslim Immigrants?

Juan Cole

The Senate Foreign Relations committee narrowly voted in favor of former CIA director Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State on Monday, after President Trump called up Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and convinced him to change his negative view to a positive one. Those pundits who expressed confidence that GOP Libertarians and traditionalists would foil Trump’s […]

Corruption

The Hannity Case is so Serious it Requires a Consumer Boycott of his Advertisers

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The problems at Fox Cable “News” go way beyond Sean Hannity. But he is a major problem. For him to go on air and defend attorney Michael Cohen numerous times without so much as mentioning that Cohen is his legal adviser is the height of journalistic […]

Democracy

As Lebanon prepares to vote, Amnesty for the disenfranchised provokes Fierce Debate

contributors

Haley Bobseine | (Informed Comment) | – – After almost a decade of multiple postponements stalling the national political process and depriving citizens of their right to vote, Lebanese parliamentary elections will be held next month under a new legal framework. Passed in June 2017, the new election law replaces the majoritarian system with multi-member […]

Corruption

Behind the Struggle with Mueller & Comey: Trump is the Triumph of Privilege over Law

contributors

By Martin Powers | (Informed Comment) | – – Frustration and bewilderment are common in media accounts of this administration’s expansive chaos. Even well educated writers turn to expletives, as if proper language were inadequate to convey the shock and dismay. Still, it is not that difficult to identify the source of puzzlement: neither Trump […]