Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United Nations is again warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza. A panel of the Integrated Food Security Phase […]
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New Wikileaks: US Knew Tunisian Gov. Rotten Corrupt, Supported Ben Ali Anyway
The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten released a series of US diplomatic cables from 2006 on massive and pervasive corruption and nepotism in Tunisia and its effect […]
Tunisia: Government of National Unity or Tanks in the Street?
The video on Aljazeera shows Tunis as a war zone on Saturday afternoon, with burned out vehicles in the streets and heavy black smoke floating […]
Tunisia between Democracy and Anarchy
Tunisians woke Saturday morning to delirious joy at the advent of political liberty, but many worried about the simultaneous advent of social anarchy. The fall […]
The First Middle Eastern Revolution since 1979
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidin Bin Ali has fled the country before the advancing crowds pouring in to the capital’s center. A French eye-witness said of […]
Sadr Demands Oil Shares for Iraqis, Insists on US Withdrawal
Washington observers are worried that the return to Iraq of Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr will forestall a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement. The SOFA […]
Over 9,000 Murders by Gun in US; 39 in UK
Number of Murders, United States, 2009: 15,241 Number of Murders by Firearms, US, 2009: 9,146 Number of Murders, Britain, 2008*: 648 (Since Britain’s population is […]
Another US Quagmire? Lebanon Government Falls
Ironically, while Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri was meeting with President Obama on Wednesday, his government fell. As one Arab commentator observed, he went into […]
Palin Borrows ‘Blood Libel’ from Israeli Far Right
Sarah Palin in her response to the controversy over her violent political imagery and that of the US right wing in general in the wake […]
Random Shooting in Egypt or Sectarian Hatred?
Was it sectarian hatred or a policeman’s random meltdown? The answer is not clear, though many press accounts are rushing to judgment. One thing that […]