International Politics and Economy

By Andrew J. Bacevich (Tomdispatch.com) | — “Iraq no longer exists.” My young friend M, sipping a cappuccino, is deadly serious. We are sitting in a scruffy restaurant across the street from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. It’s been years since we’ve last seen each another. It may […]

censorship

Junta arrests Thai Protesters using ‘Hunger Games’ 3-finger Salute at Mockingjay Premiere

contributors

TomoNews & The Telegraph | — [Taiwan Animators (TomoNews)] “I’m sure you remember this touching scene from ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ where Katniss shows her resolve and will to fight after her friend was killed. She turns to the camera and puts up her hand with the first three fingers outstretched in an act of […]

Dissent

An Israeli-Arab Spring? 1.6 mn Palestinian-Israelis are Marginalized, Angry and Defiant

contributors

By Emile Nakhleh | — WASHINGTON, Nov 20 2014 (IPS) – The recent killing of an Arab youth by the police in the Israeli Arab village of Kafr Kanna, outside Nazareth, the ongoing bloody violence in Jerusalem, and the growing tensions between the Israeli security services and the Arab community in Israel could be a […]

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 […]

BDS Occupied Territories

UCLA Mideast Center fights Smears by off-campus Israel-Lobby Extremists

contributors

By James Gelvin | — Response to criticisms of the G.E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies The G.E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies (hereafter CNES) of UCLA is one of the oldest such centers in the United States. It is also one of the largest, currently including seventy-six affiliated faculty (among […]

Democracy

Jon Stewart Talks Press Freedom at Rosewater Premiere

contributors

AJ+ | — “Jon Stewart of The Daily Show’s talks to AJ+’s Dena Takruri at the New York premiere of Rosewater.” AJ+ “Jon Stewart Talks Press Freedom At Rosewater Premiere”

Buddhism

Militant Buddhist Monks stir attacks on innocent Muslims in Myanmar

contributors

AJ+ “Buddhist monks were a symbol of hope and defiance during the dark years of Myanmar’s military dictatorship. But as the country opens up to the world, some have taken a radically sectarian turn. Since 2012, violence has uprooted more than 150,000 members of the country’s Muslim minority. And in July 2014, Buddhist mobs attacked […]