Middle East

Jason Derulo, A$AP Rocky Also Among Celebrities Slated to Perform

Visiting Tabaneh, where Palestinians under Israeli Occupation travel 4 hours to get Healthcare

( Middle East Monitor) – Before the Separation Wall was built around East Jerusalem it was easy for residents of Tabaneh village in the West Bank to get to Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem. Now they must go to Jericho and a simple check-up can take the whole day. Because of the effort involved, pregnant […]

Democracy

In the Middle East, the US was Never about Democracy Promotion

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – How much of the blame should U.S. policy take for the decline of democracy in the twenty-first century, with the reversions to dictatorship and the rise of illiberalism in older democracies? In a fine article at the New York Times, Max Fisher discusses how an NYT team mined data at […]

Corporate Surveillance

How Israel’s Tech for Cyber Surveillance of Palestinians is now Targeting You

Ramzy Baroud

( Middle East Monitor) – The revelation a few years ago that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had been conducting mass surveillance on millions of Americans reignited the conversation on governments’ misconduct and their violation of human rights and privacy laws. Until recently, however, Israel has been spared due criticism, not only for its […]

China

As Biden and Xi Zoom, the Iran issue Looms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden and his counterpart Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for half an hour on Monday by video, as Biden attempted to establish “guard rails” in the relationship of the two countries so that tensions do not spiral out of control. Biden is a status quo president, attempting to […]

Corruption

All Trump’s Cover-Ups: From Syria Airstrike on Civilians to US COVID Genocide

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US Founding Fathers had a cynical side. They did not think people in government could be trusted to do the right thing. They thought people often do what they can get away with. The point of James Madison’s checks and balances was not just to guard against tyranny but […]

Israel/ Palestine

Biden’s gestures at more Even-Handed Israel-Palestine Policy Derailed by far-right PM Naftali Bennett

Middle East Monitor

By Kamel Hawwash | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Any hopes that the removal of Benjamin Netanyahu from power would bring us closer to a revitalised peace process or less oppression of the Palestinian people have been dashed. The new Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, has been unequivocal in his rejection of attempts […]

Climate Crisis

As Climate Emergency Worsens, Freak Lightning Storm sends Snow, Scorpion Plague on Egypt’s Aswan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – How freakish and biblical our climate emergency could become was illustrated this week in the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan, which was struck in November by rolling lightning storms, downpours, snow and a plague of scorpions. High winds blew the deadly Egyptian black, fat-tailed scorpions from the surrounding desert into […]

Climate Crisis

After Unprecedented Wildfires, Turkey finally ratifies the Paris Climate Accord, sets 2053 to Eliminate Carbon Emissions

Global Voices

Arzu Geybullayeva | – ( Globalvoices.org) – More than five years after signing it, Turkey has become the final G20 member state to ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. On October 7, the Turkish parliament approved the bill unanimously. The decision comes ahead of the 2021 United Nations […]