journalism

By Alexander Bisley | (Special to Informed Comment) — “By the end of this hour I will be seen by many as a terrorist sympathizer, a Zionist tool, a self-hating Jew, an apologist for American imperialism, an orientalist, socialist, fascist, CIA agent, and worse,” the inimitable Anthony Bourdain introduced his vital Gaza/West Bank episode Bourdain’s […]

Bill of Rights

3 Ways the Mainstream Media let the Gov’t off the Hook on Torture

contributors

By Rebecca Gordon | (Tomdispatch.com — American Torture — Past, Present, and… Future? Beyond the Senate Torture Report By Rebecca Gordon It’s the political story of the week in Washington. At long last, after the endless stalling and foot-shuffling, the arguments about redaction and CIA computer hacking, the claims that its release might stoke others […]

Economy

Russell Brand v. Press Lord Rupert Murdoch: Who won?

contributors

AJ+ | — “The British twitterati is in a tizzy over a brawl between Russell Brand and Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun. The “manarchist” comedian has been accused of hypocrisy for championing housing rights and decrying tax-evading gentrifiers all while paying rent to a tax-dodging landlord. Find out who’s winning here.” AJ+: “Russell Brand Vs. Murdoch’s […]

Bill of Rights

Watchdog Says World Internet Freedom In Decline

contributors

By RFE/RL | — A U.S.-based rights watchdog says Internet freedom around the world has deteriorated for the fourth consecutive year, with the steepest declines in Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. In its “Freedom On The Net 2014” report, released on December 4, Freedom House says that Iran, Syria, and China are the world’s worst abusers […]

Islam-hatred

Court allows Glenn Beck to be Sued For Defamation By Saudi He Constantly Defamed

contributors

By Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) | — “”The conservative commentator Glenn Beck failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit by a Saudi Arabian student who Beck repeatedly accused of involvement in and being the “money man” behind the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston on […]

Afghanistan

What if it was Russia and China invading and Bombing? The Blindness of MSM and Washington

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt (Tomdispatch.com) | — Let’s play a game, the kind that makes no sense on this single-superpower planet of ours. For a moment, do your best to suspend disbelief and imagine that there’s another superpower, great power, or even regional power somewhere that, between 2001 and 2003, launched two major wars in the […]

Iran

Iran Pressures Media over coverage of Acid Attacks on Women

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari via RFE/RL Iranian officials are moving to muzzle media coverage of a string of recent acid attacks targeting young women in the central city of Isfahan. The attacks have sparked outrage and fear among many Iranians who last week took to the streets of Isfahan and Tehran to protest and call for […]

Economy

Does Fox “News” cultivate Closed Minded “Right Wing Authoritarians”?

contributors

TheLipTV “Is Fox News creating content that appeals to closed minded people of a “right wing authoritarian” mind state? That is the case being argued by a University of Alabama Psychologist, Dr. William Hart, who cites the Republican slanted cable news channel as a mirror for similarly ideologically minded people. Does this create a distortion […]

Bill of Rights

Islamophobia: Is Sam Harris As Dangerous As Sarah Palin? (The Young Turks)

contributors

The Young Turks: “”Whether you think him a truth-teller or a bigot, Bill Maher deserves credit for launching one of the most robust public cultural/intellectual debates in recent memory. Two weeks ago today, he said on HBO that “a vast number of Muslims across the world” believe people who do not share their religious beliefs […]