By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Sen. Bernie Sanders, the presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination, has trouble being taken seriously by the corporate media, what with him being a democratic socialist and all. If you go to Google News and put in his name, you get headlines about him being nothing more […]
Archives for May 2015
As Elections approach, Turkey’s Political Wildcard is the Kurds
H. Akın Ünver | (Informed Comment) | – Regardless of the outcome of June 7 elections, Kurds have already grown into Turkey’s main corrective political camp with domestic and international implications. The real, long-term effect of Turkey’s People’s Democracy Party (HDP), which is the only political outlet rooted in the Kurdish movement, goes beyond the […]
Palestinians drop motion on Expelling Israel from In’tl Soccer for Apartheid
Update: Having made their point, Palestine dropped this motion at FIFA on Friday, likely because of behind the scenes assurances the harassment will stop. (note: title has changed.). By Camila Benson | (IMEMC) | – Palestinian Football Association chief, Jibril Rajoub, says of the vote to expel Israel from FIFA that “the situation has not […]
Hawks think the US alone can Still Garrison the Planet: How’s that Working Out?
By Michael T. Klare | (Tomdispatch.com) | – Take a look around the world and it’s hard not to conclude that the United States is a superpower in decline. Whether in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East, aspiring powers are flexing their muscles, ignoring Washington’s dictates, or actively combating them. Russia refuses to curtail its support for […]
Why the so-called USA PATRIOT Act can’t actually Keep America Safe
by CHARLES KURZMAN for ISLAMiCommentary: Charles Kurzman With the “USA PATRIOT Act” set to expire at the end of the month, you might expect supporters of domestic surveillance to tout the take-down of the biggest plot of violent extremism America has experienced so far this year. Not the plot by two men who drove to […]
Iraq: Shiite Militias change Ramadi Campaign to “I’m Here, O Iraq”, capture southern reaches
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – After an outcry and Pentagon criticism, the Shiite militias in Iraq have changed their name for their current campaign to take Ramadi from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) from “I am here, O Husayn’ to “I am here, O Iraq.” A spokesman for the militias said that the two […]
Kaplan: An Impish Desire for Imperial Déjà Vu
Daniel Martin Varisco | (MENA Tidningen) | – A recent online commentary by Robert Kaplan for Foreign Policy displays the provocative title: “It’s time to bring imperialism back to the Middle East”. The punch line surfaces in the final paragraph: “Imperialism bestowed order, however retrograde it may have been”. Retrograde? How about brutal? Let’s see: […]
Turkish Voters worried about Integrity of Elections, Deterioration of Democracy
By Deniz Erkmen | (Informed Comment) | — As Turkey approaches a pivotal parliamentary election on June 7, there is growing doubt about just how “free and fair” this election is going to be. A recent survey conducted by academics Ali Çarkoğlu and S. Erdem Aytaç shows that among the public, trust in the […]
Amnesty: Hamas Killings, Torture during Gaza Assault were War Crimes
By: Charlie Hoyle | (Ma’an News Agency) — BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The extra-judicial executions of at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s military offensive last summer could amount to war crimes, Amnesty International reported Wednesday, with abuses by Hamas security forces deliberately calculated to spread fear. “In the chaos of the conflict, the de […]
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