By Juan Cole Ilaf reports that rebels in East Aleppo, Syria are deeply divided over the prospect of President Obama ordering US air strikes on the so-called “Islamic State” (IS). IS is vicious and has spent most of the past 18 months studiously avoiding actually fighting the Baath government of Syria, concentrating instead on destroying […]
Archives for August 2014
Mansplaining Women’s Pay Gap (John Oliver satire)
John Oliver explores America’s wage gap between men and women and proposes a possible solution. Note: Solution proposed is 100% sarcastic. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: The Wage Gap between Women and Men
As Int’l Powers focus on Kurds and Sunni Arabs, have Shiite Politicians lost Iraq Forever?
Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | via Niqash.org In Baghdad [last] week, Iraq’s most senior Shiite Muslim politicians are lamenting their increasing isolation from the international community. The EU and the US are bypassing Baghdad to support Iraq’s Kurdish forces militarily; they’re also holding meetings with Iraq’s Sunni Muslim leaders and have apparently promised to support […]
Can you Pass the Hamas Quiz?
By Jeffrey Rudolph (updated) The degree of mainstream media distortion concerning Hamas is endemic in the US and Canada. In my local newspaper, the Montreal Gazette, one searches in vain for meaningful coverage of the respected Goldstone Report yet references to Barak’s (mythical) “Generous Offer” persists and ahistorical reporting on Hamas rockets dominates. While one […]
Why Would They Stay? Making Sense of ISIS and Iraqi Sunnis
By Nathan Spannaus ISIS’s meteoric rise to prominence has brought renewed attention on Iraq’s Sunni population and their relationship with radical forms of extremism. Outside of Iraq, the condemnations of ISIS have been frequent. In light of its recent media notoriety, dozens of governments and institutions within the Islamic world have spoken out against the […]
Open-Ended Ceasefire reached in Israel/ Gaza: But how Long will it Last?
By Juan Cole Israel on the one side and Hamas and Islamic Jihad on the other have announced an open-ended cease-fire brokered by Egypt, the terms of which are similar to those of 2012. Mass celebrations broke out among war-weary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians could argue that they have won some concessions. […]
The new Jewish exodus: Emigrating Israelis replaced by European Jewry
By Naava Mashiah via Your Middle East So much ink has been spilled over the past month during the latest eruption of violence between Israel and Gaza. An overflow of comments and statements, adjurations, appeals, dissensions, analysis and condemnations have been posted on social networks, media and published by think tanks. I am not in […]
Veils, Gloves and Violence: New Extremist Rules See Women Disappear From Mosul’s Streets
By Nawzat Shamdeen | Mosul | via Niqash.org Extremists are forcing Mosul’s women to wear full facial veils. Mosul was always a conservative city when it came to women’s rights. However the Sunni Muslim extremists who took control of the town have made it even more difficult for females. Women must now wear facial veils […]
Reading Africa: How exciting Literature takes us beyond the Dreary Headlines
By Shaun Randol There is not one positive news story on the front page. The two news organizations might as well tack up a single headline—“Africa Implodes”—and call it a day. The negativity, by the way, is not limited to the Western media. A snapshot of headlines on the same day presented by AllAfrica.com reveals […]
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