By Sarah Lazare 'By denying water service to thousands, Detroit is violating the human right to water.' As thousands of people in Detroit go without water, and the city moves to cut off services to tens of thousands more, concerned organizations have taken the unusual step of appealing to the United Nations to intervene and […]
Archives for June 2014
Religion and the Fight over Public Space in Egypt
By Marwa Fikry Abdel Samei | Cairo (Special to Informed Comment) “Have you pronounced blessings on the Prophet today?” These words alarmed the Egyptian regime and impelled it to announce a war on the posters carrying them. Last week, whenever you go around the streets of Cairo and some other governorates, you could hardly miss […]
Hardliners in Israel & Iran Resist US Pivot to Iran over ISIS
By Juan Cole The continued advances of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) on Sunday brought the radical Sunni movement to the borders of Jordan and consolidated its control over al-Anbar Province. The Iraqi military continued its rapid collapse into uselessness, losing all the country’s military border outposts to ISIS. There […]
Afghanistan and the Artificial US War on Terror (Anand Gopal’s New Book)
By Juan Cole I guest-hosted a book salon over at Firedoglake on Sunday concentrating on Anand Gopal’s expose of the so-called ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan. Below is my review of the book. Do go to FDL to read the whole salon, where Mr. Gopal was kind enough to answer our questions about the book […]
Circumcision ceremony at Eskişehir archeology museum stirs controversy
A circumcision ceremony held in the midst of ancient monuments at the ETİ Archeology Museum stirs controversy
Israel Threatens Witnesses to its Killings of Palestinians, and it Must Stop
Via Human Rights Watch Israeli Army targets Man Whose Cameras Recorded Deaths Israel should be investigating these deaths, but instead its forces seem intent on intimidating witnesses and ensuring future abuses won’t be caught on camera. The Israeli response to the killing of two boys looks more like an attempt to cover up than a […]
In American Turning Point re: Settler Zionism, Presbyterians Divest
By Andrea Germanos "Divestment is not the end, it’s the beginning of non-violent means to fight the oppression of our Palestinian brothers and sisters," said Ruling Elder Rick Ufford-Chase. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Friday to divest from U.S. companies linked to Israel's occupation of Palestine. The vote by the church's General Assembly passed […]
Koch Bros. Laguna Beach Black Sabbath targets Green Energy Activists with Greenbacks
Via Sourcewatch and The Young Turks: Anti-Regulation Energy Initiative At a secretive summit held in June 2014 at a resort in Laguna Beach, California, the Koch Brothers discussed their plan to launch a new energy initiative that will be spearheaded by the Freedom Partners. The Daily Beast obtained an April 2014 email sent by Kevin […]
Neo-Zangid State erases Syria-Iraq Border, cuts Hizbullah off from Iran
By Juan Cole With the alleged fall to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria of Qa’im on Saturday, and of Talafar a few days ago, the border between Iraq and Syria has now been effectively erased. A new country exists, stretching from the outskirts of Baghdad all the way to Aleppo. In history, it […]
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