International Politics and Economy

(By Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch) (Jerusalem) – The Israeli military should immediately stop shooting at Palestinian civilians inside Gaza. Israeli military forces have killed 4 and wounded more than 60 civilians near the perimeter fence with Gaza since the beginning of 2014, according to UN figures. There have been no reports of armed […]

Dissent

The Cost of Whistleblowing: Being consigned to the Minimum-Wage Underclass

Juan Cole

(By Peter van Buren via Tomdispatch) There are many sides to whistleblowing. The one that most people don’t know about is the very personal cost, prison aside, including the high cost of lawyers and the strain on family relations, that follows the decision to risk it all in an act of conscience. Here’s a part […]

Internet

FCC Plots Murder of Blogs on Behalf of Billionaire Media Lords

Juan Cole

Breaking: FCC Will Announce the Death of Net Neutrality Tomorrow (via Americans Against The Tea Party) If you thought corporations played a big role in your life already, just wait until tomorrow, when the FCC gives up on trying to find a way to enforce equal access to broadband and finally kills net neutrality. What […]

Crime

GOP: Giving CDC money to study Gun Violence would be “Funding Propaganda”

Juan Cole

(By Lois Beckett via ProPublica). After the Sandy Hook school shooting, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) was one of a few congressional Republicans who expressed a willingness to reconsider the need for gun control laws. “Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table,” he said less […]

Politics

IRS Targeted Liberal Groups More Than Tea Party: Newly Released Records

Juan Cole

Think Progress obtained a series of IRS documents via the Freedom of Information Act that contradict Republican claims that the IRS targeted only conservative Tea Party groups for scrutiny because of their political beliefs. The 22 “Be On the Look…

Featured

Israel, US Complain about not being able to Divide and Rule the Palestinians

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) This week the Fateh Party (secular Arab nationalist) of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas met in Gaza with members of the Hamas Party (fundamentalist Muslim), seeking a reconciliation and a government of national unity. The Ra’y News Service of Gaza wrote, “The Palestinian Government has welcomed the [reconciliation] delegation sent by President Mahmud […]

Dissent

The Limits of ‘Protest Tourism’ in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank

Juan Cole

(By “Jill Saunders”) “Jill Saunders”, a pseudonym, frequently attends the weekly demonstrations in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. In this reflective piece, “Jill” questions the very idea of ‘protest tourism’ in the West Bank. The wind from the open window blows dusty air across my face as our minibus winds down the roads from […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

A War of another Kind: Joint US-Yemeni Strikes on al-Qaeda kill 68

Juan Cole

(via AFP) Dozens killed as Yemen, US mount air war on Qaeda (via AFP) An “unprecedented” US and Yemeni aerial campaign in Yemen killed at least 68 Al-Qaeda militants in a bid to head off attacks by the network’s local affiliate, officials said Monday. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been linked to a […]

Africa

Triumph of the Immigrant American Spirit: Meb Keflezighi and the Boston Marathon

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Yesterday Boston responded with its vigorous spirit of community and transcendence to the cowardly terrorism that marred the Boston Marathon in 2013, coming out in record numbers for the 2014 event. The fastest man in the competition is being touted as the first American male to win since 1983. But of course […]