International Politics and Economy

(By Nick Turse) It’s 2053 — 20 years since you needed a computer, tablet, or smart phone to go online. At least, that’s true in the developed world: you know, China, India, Brazil, and even some parts of the United States. Cybernetic eye implants allow you to see everything with a digital overlay. And once […]

CIA

The Day the 5th Amendment was Droned to Death

contributors

(By Peter van Buren via Tomdispatch) Terrorism (ter-ror-ism; see also terror) n. 1. When a foreign organization kills an American for political reasons. Justice (jus-tice) n. 1. When the United States Government uses a drone to kill an American for political reasons. How’s that morning coffee treating you? Nice and warming? Mmmm. While you’re savoring […]

Dissent

Fisticuffs in Parliament as Turkish Gov’t undermines Independence of Judges

Juan Cole

(Via AFP) Lawmakers brawl as Turkey tightens grip on judiciary (via AFP) Turkey’s parliament passed a contested bill Saturday tightening the government’s grip on the judiciary, sparking a fist-fight that left one lawmaker with a broken nose. Fighting erupted between ruling party and opposition lawmakers as the bill — tabled… ——— Related video: Euronews […]

Crime

Race Inequality in America by Graph, from Crime Sentencing to Income

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Most death sentences are handed out for killing white people, even though African-Americans make up 50% of murder victims (they are only 12% of the population). So if an African-American male had fired ten shots into the SUV of some white suburban kids playing their music too loud, killing one of them, […]

Human Rights

Descent into Bigotry: 21st Century Americans increasingly negative toward Muslims, Minorities

contributors

(By Charles Kurzman via IslamiCommentary) Islamic terrorism has proved to be a relatively small threat to public safety in America since 9/11. Isolated individuals have engaged in sporadic violence such as the Boston Marathon bombings, but radicalization has remained far more limited than security officials feared. A report issued this month by the Triangle Center […]

Africa

CAR Muslims Risk Ethnic Cleansing: What if Thousands of Christians were forced out of a Muslim Country?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Central African Republic has a population of 4.5 million, about 15 percent of them Muslim, or about 670,000 people. Those Muslims are now, according to Amnesty International, in serious danger of being ethnically cleansed. “The group [Amnesty Interntional] said attacks against Muslims had been committed “with the stated intent to forcibly […]

censorship

Donkeys on the Nile: The Egyptian Gov’t’s Problem with Journalists

contributors

(By Jonathan Moremi) “While Cairo was exploding, Egypt’s State TV aired pictures of a donkey pulling its cart peacefully along the banks of the river Nile” Three years after the revolution, the donkey seems to have become the metaphor for how Egypt’s military rulers spell the word ‘truth’ and intend to tell the story of […]

Egypt

Putinism in Cairo? The Rise of the Russian Model

Juan Cole

Vladimir Putin on Thursday hailed the possibility of a run for the presidency of Egypt by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the architect of the July 3 coup against the elected Muslim Brotherhood government. Al-Sisi flew to Moscow this week in search of such support and of arms sales. The implicit message is that he is […]

Afghanistan

UN: Civilian drone deaths triple in Afghanistan

contributors

(By Alice K. Ross) Civilian drone deaths in Afghanistan tripled last year, according to a report by a UN agency. Forty-five civilians died in drone strikes in 2013. The report, by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), found that drone strikes accounted for at least a third of all civilian deaths in air […]