International Politics and Economy

By Kamal al-Ayash | Ramadi | ( Niqash.org) | – – Locals are struggling to get rid of the explosive booby-traps the Islamic State left as they withdrew from Ramadi. For one group of daring locals, defusing the bombs has become a lucrative new job opportunity. In the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, it is […]

Arms Sales

America’s New Reality: Mad Bombers, Merchants of Death, & Lawmaking Harlots

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Recently, sorting through a pile of old children’s books, I came across a volume, That Makes Me Mad!, which brought back memories. Written by Steve Kroll, a long-dead friend, it focused on the eternally frustrating everyday adventures of Nina, a little girl whose life regularly […]

Corruption

George Clooney Report Ruffles Feathers in South Sudan

contributors

TeleSur | – – The report “can only jeopardize the pursuit of peace and stability,” South Sudan representatives said. A new report claiming that South Sudan’s leaders have exploited the country’s ongoing civil violence has been criticized by the country’s government. It comes as the world’s youngest nations stands on the brink of a renewed […]

Arms Sales

Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Must End, Says UK Parliament Report

contributors

TeleSur | – – Two parliamentary committees said it was likely Saudi Arabia used U.K. weapons to target civilians, but Tory lawmakers blocked a vote on suspending sales. Sales of British weapons to Saudi Arabia must be suspended until an international investigation takes place into the kingdom’s crimes against the Yemeni people, two British parliamentary […]

Dissent

Shadows of Plutocracy darken over our Democracy in this Election

contributors

By Bill Moyers | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Sixty-six years ago this summer, on my 16th birthday, I went to work for the daily newspaper in the small East Texas town of Marshall where I grew up. It was a good place to be a cub reporter — small enough to navigate but […]

Christianity

The Violent Christian West should drop Islamophobia and work on itself

contributors

By Johan Galtung | (Inter Press Service) | – – ALICANTE, Spain (IPS) – Watching Christianity nearly a century–fundamentalist Christians fighting ritualistic Christians fighting secularism, generally moving fundamentalism–>ritualism–>secularism–maybe the same for Islam? Their similarities make “Islam right now” a repetition of Christianity; their differences shout, Watch Out! Let us see where this leads us. Johan […]

Iraq

‘Unacceptable’ UN says US-Backed Iraqi Militias Recruiting Children

contributors

TeleSur | – – The United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” about reports the groups are using children on the frontlines of the fight against the Islamic State group. Amid reports that U.S.-backed Iraqi militias are recruiting children to fight the Islamic State group, the United Nations said Wednesday it is “deeply concerned” and […]

Authoritarianism

Massive Brain Drain from Turkey begins in wake of Failed Coup, Crackdowns

contributors

By Ibrahim Sirkeci | (The Conversation) | – – On July 15, a group within the Turkish military staged a coup. It failed. But since then, the Turkish government has restricted rights and freedoms of its people. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stepped up the pressure on Fethullah Gulen and his supporters. Gulen, a […]

Featured

Juan Cole, “The Idea of Peace in the Qur’an” (Kluge Center Blog)

Juan Cole

Juan Cole | Library of Congress | John W. Kluge Center | – – The past summer I had an appointment at the John W. Kluge Center that allowed for research in the Library of Congress collections, and have written most of a book about peace in the Qur’an or Koran, the Muslim scriptures. This […]