VOA interviews my colleague Christiane Gruber of the Art History Department at the University of Michigan on the exhibit she helped curate at the Arab-American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, which came out of our symposium in November at which Arab bloggers and graffiti artists and other practitioners of the arts of protest presented alongside academics […]
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Tunisia
Dovish SOTU: Obama will Veto AIPAC Iran Sanctions, Pledges Afghanistan Wind-Down
(By Juan Cole) President Obama’s State of the Union address addressed some key foreign policy issues–Afghanistan and Iran above all– though it was primarily aimed at domestic issues, and mainly at those where executive orders and policy might make at least a marginal impact. Opinion polls show that US public support for the Afghanistan War, […]
Last Chance – Annual Informed Comment Fundraiser
I hope you all like the new design. Of course, the changes are a work in progress but 2014 is an important year for Informed Comment. We will be adding some editorial staff and expanding our coverage to include the most important news organisations in the Middle East to provide a comprehensive political and news […]
Tunisia’s Political Compromise & the Legacy of Mohammed Bouazizi
(By Silvia Colombo) The agreement on the new prime minister that will have the arduous task of lifting Tunisia out of the current impasse came almost exactly three years after the symbolic and at the same time concrete gesture of Mohammed Bouazizi, the street vendor who set himself on fire and by doing so ignited […]
From Tahrir to New Orleans: Hope has not Failed, it has only Begun
(By Rebecca Solnit) Hope, History, and UnpredictabilityBy Rebecca Solnit North American cicada nymphs live underground for 17 years before they emerge as adults. Many seeds stay dormant far longer than that before some disturbance makes them germinate. Some trees bear fruit long after the people who have planted them have died, and one Massachusetts pear […]
“Hallelujah” cover by Tunisian Folk Singer Emel Mathlouthi
Emel Mathlouthi covers Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” Mathlouthi has been an important voice of the ongoing Tunisian political upheavals provoked by leftist youth activism.
Tunisian Rapper Jailed for 4 Months for Insulting the Police
Tunisia Live reports that: “Rapper Ala Yaacoubi, known by his stage name Weld el 15, turned himself in to a court in Hammamet today, where his 21-month prison sentence was reduced to four months.” He was sentenced for public indecency (because of his rap lyrics) and for insulting officers of the state (his most famous […]
Tens of Thousands Rally to support Fundamentalist Government in Tunisia
Since the assassination of leftist leader Mohamed Brahmi of the Popular Front on July 25, Tunisia has been thrown into a new round of political turmoil. Thousands have gone to the streets to demonstrate against the center-right, religiously inflected government Ali Larayedh for not cracking down hard enough on Muslim extremists. The left and the […]
Top Ten Ways Bradley Manning Changed the World
Bradley Manning will be sentenced today, having been found guilty of 20 counts on Tuesday, including espionage (despite the lack of evidence for intent to spy and the lack of evidence that his leaking ever did any real harm). Whatever one thinks of Manning’s actions, that we deserved to know some of what he revealed […]