International Politics and Economy

By William R. Polk With everyone’s attention focused either on the European elections, President Obama’s speech at West Point or the Ukraine, a story by Eric Schmitt in The International New York Times of Tuesday, May 27, 2014 may not have caught your attention. I believe, however, that it provides an insight into some of […]

Islam

Reconciliation between Judaism and Islam is Possible

contributors

By Joseph Richard Preville via IslamiCommentary Israeli-American businessman, scholar, and activist Rabbi Shai Har-El’s new book — Where Islam and Judaism Join Together: A Perspective on Reconciliation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) — is a powerful meditation on how Jews and Muslims can discover the path to reconciliation, especially in the turbulent Middle East. Har-El shows how […]

Dissent

Snowden: Clapper pattern of Lies about My Complaints to NSA

contributors

After NBC confirmed Ed Snowden’s earlier claims that he had tried to make use of internal channels to question NSA surveillance programs, James Clapper released a single email from Snowden to the legal department at the NSA, which they claim shows he…

Bill of Rights

“Man-Up” Kerry tries to Swiftboat Ed Snowden

contributors

By Jon Queally U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is facing widespread criticism for his comment that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden—increasingly seen by the American public as a heroic figure for exposing government surveillance—should "man up" by returning home to face criminal charges. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempt to bully Edward Snowden with […]

Bill of Rights

Gov’t to Class of ’14: Getting to Know You, Getting to Know all About You

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt via Tomdispatch Internet Class of 2014, I’m in awe of you! To this giant, darkened auditorium filled with sparkling screens of every sort, welcome! It would, of course, be inaccurate to say, as speakers like me once did, that after four years of effort and experience you are now about to leave […]

Islam

Israeli PM Netanyahu Vows never to Return Occupied E Jerusalem to Palestinian Residents

contributors

On Jerusalem Day Netanyahu vows never to divide the city (via AFP) Tens of thousands of religious Jews waving Israeli flags marched into mainly Arab east Jerusalem Wednesday as the country celebrated the anniversary of its capture in the 1967 Six-Day War. Fearing clashes, police closed the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque… —– related video: PressTV: […]

Bahrain

US Ally Bahrain’s Courts are Corrupt, in service of Injustice

contributors

Human Rights Watch A police officer in Bahrain who kills a protester in cold blood or beats a detainee to death might face a sentence of six months or maybe two years, while peacefully calling for the country to become a republic will get you life in prison. Bahrain’s problem is not a dysfunctional justice […]

Democracy

Press Freedom is the Issue, not Glenn Greenwald’s Personality

contributors

By Barry Eisler via Freedom of the Press Foundation: One of the most fascinating aspects of Glenn Greenwald’s journalism is the way it provokes various people who think of themselves as journalists to reveal their actual priorities. I wrote about this at length last week in a response to Michael Kinsley’s non-review review of Greenwald’s […]

Crime

Not Snowden but Keith Alexander: Hero or Traitor (the debate we should be having)

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole NBC News’s Brian Williams interviewed Edward Snowden in Moscow on Wednesday night. But then Mr. Williams followed it up with a panel discussion of whether Snowden is a hero or traitor. It was a cowardly and venal thing to do, and Mr. Williams should be ashamed of himself. By framing the post-interview […]