Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) I dropped by the Detroit Auto Show this weekend (its last this year) at Cobo Center as it was wrapping up. Regular readers know that I am a big fan of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, so I had a lot of fun window shopping and fantasizing. I have a Chevy Volt […]

Featured

Israeli PM Netanyahu faces Zionist Racism from Son dating Norwegian

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is caught in a firestorm of controversy because his son Yair, 23, is dating a Norwegian woman whom he met while she was studying at university in Israel. Ordinarily I would not want to bring up a story like this, since poor Yair is not a politician […]

Arab Spring

54 Dead in an Egypt Polarized between pro-Military, anti-Coup on Revolution Anniversary

Juan Cole

(by Juan Cole) January 25 marked the third anniversary of the revolution that overthrew dictator Hosni Mubarak, and Egyptians observed it in three distinctively different ways. In the iconic Tahrir Square downtown, thousands of supporters of the military coup of July 3, 2013, gathered for a big party. People never used to dance to patriotic […]

Domestic Surveillance

The Real Irony of Rep. Harman being interrupted on NSA Spying by Bieber Bulletin

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell interrupts former Rep. Jane Harman, speaking on NSA surveillance from Davos, for breaking news about Justin Bieber’s DUI arrest The real irony of interviewing Harman on NSA spying is that, as Ryan Gierach points out, she is both a victim of it and a big defender of it, which […]

Egypt

Why Tunisia’s Transition to Democracy is Succeeding while Egypt Falters

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) On Sunday, Tunisia’s parliament will vote on the final text of the new constitution. If it passes by a two-thirds vote, the text will not have to go to a national referendum, but just would become the organic law of the country. The constitution guarantees equal rights for women and wants gender […]

Arab Spring

On eve of Revolution Anniversary, Cairo Shaken by deadly Bombings

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Two bombings shook the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Friday morning. The first was apparently a car bomb detonated at 5:30 am that targeted the Directorate of Security, leaving 4 dead and 51 wounded. Car bombs have been rare in Egypt but are common in Iraq and Syria, and it is a very […]

European Union

Iran Breakthrough a Triumph For Pragmatists and a Defeat For the Warmongers (Cole @ Truthdig)

Juan Cole

My esssay, “Iran Breakthrough a Triumph For Pragmatists and a Defeat For the Warmongers” is out in Truthdig today. Excerpt: “By 2011, the U.S. Congress and the Department of the Treasury had imposed what amounted to a financial blockade on Iran. The U.S. strong-armed other countries not to buy Iranian petroleum, cutting exports by a […]

Bashar al-Assad

Syria Conference Roiled by Shouting Matches, Insults

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Geneva II negotiations at Montreux, Switerland, opened on a sour note on Wednesday. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem droned on interminably and charged the rebel forces with being “traitors” supported by bloodthirsty foreign powers. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded that President Bashar al-Assad step down in favor of a transitional […]

al-Qaeda

Gates worries Pakistan Violence blocks Polio Eradication, But is CIA Partly to Blame?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has done an amazing job in targeting diseases for eradication, and the world is very close to getting rid of polio altogether, in part because the Gates in recent years have given their support to the effort, which began in 1988. Cases have fallen 99% since […]