International Politics and Economy

This could be the single event that our grandchildren — well, the privileged ones who know how to read and have access to e-books and such — will know as the straw that broke the left wing’s back. No less of a historian than Rush Limbaugh declared…

art and photography

George W. Bush Used Top Google Results For All His Paintings; Is he in Legal Trouble?

Juan Cole

You may have heard the recent stories about former President George W. Bush’s new exhibit of paintings of world leaders. There’s been plenty of chatter about the former President picking up painting as a hobby since leaving office. While many may have…

Drones

#Notabugsplat: Artists erect a giant portrait of drone victim for pilots (+ Vice Video)

Juan Cole

(By Eric Stoner) A portrait of a drone victim in Pakistan as seen from a drone. (notabugsplat.com) In a brilliant creative action, an art collective with the help of enthusiastic locals unfurled an enormous poster in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of a young girl who lost her parents and two younger siblings to a drone […]

Economy

Tunisia has made strides in Democratic Transition: Can it get the Economy Right?

Juan Cole

(By Francis Ghilès) Tunisians have reasons for optimism. For any regular visitor to Tunis, the change of atmosphere in the capital in the first months of 2014 – compared even to autumn 2013, and certainly to 2012 – is striking. The underlying reason for the change is the adoption of a new constitution in January […]

Constitution

America’s Post-9/11 Dystopia: No-Fly Lists, Secret Gov’t Databases and Guilty even if Proven Innocent

Juan Cole

(By Peter van Buren) Rahinah Ibrahim is a slight Malaysian woman who attended Stanford University on a U.S. student visa, majoring in architecture. She was not a political person. Despite this, as part of a post-9/11 sweep directed against Muslims, she was investigated by the FBI. In 2004, while she was still in the U.S. […]

Afghanistan

Top 7 Surprising pieces of Good news in Afghanistan Presidential Election

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Afghanistan went to the polls on Saturday, despite threats by the Taliban to disrupt the elections and calls by the extremists for Afghans to boycott the vote. As it turns out, the elections appear to have been a success, despite many problems (including a last-minute shortage of ballots as more voters showed […]

Inequality

Can We Safeguard Our Democracy After Supreme Court Decision?

Juan Cole

The Supreme Court’s evisceration of our campaign finance rules is a powerful argument for the cleansing properties of sunlight. We should respond to McCutcheon by pushing for the full and timely disclosure of every penny donated to advance a political…

Afghanistan

Will electoral Fraud undermine Afghanistan’s new President?

Juan Cole

(By Djeyhoun Ostowar) War-torn Afghanistan does not possess a civil registry. It therefore lacks reliable statistics. Given widespread corruption, the absence of an identification system and the high security risk of voting, is mass-election fraud a necessary and acceptable price for peace? On April 5, the Afghan people will vote in the country’s presidential elections, […]

Iraq

In Iraq Elections, Rich Parties get Richer on State Funds

Juan Cole

(By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | Niqash) Election posters are everywhere now that campaigning has officially started. Campaigning for Iraq’s general elections officially began this week on April 1. And several trends are already noticeable. The bigger the posters the better. Local politicians are doing a lot of door knocking. And nobody seems to want […]