By Nicholas McGeehan via Human Rights Watch Follow @Ncgeehan Many Bahraini activists have borne the brunt of their government’s unjust laws, unfair convictions and unlawful tactics, but few have resisted with such steely resolve as the activists in the al-Khawaja family. Maryam al-Khawaja’s August 30 arrest on charges of assaulting a police officer at Manama […]
Archives for September 2014
Leonardo DiCaprio Ice Bucket Challenge: Calls out Canadian PM Harper, Shell CEO on Tar Sands
Via The Tree Actor Leonardo DiCaprio accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this week and used the opportunity to not just raise awareness for ALS, but to also highlight the dangers of developing the Canadian tar sands in northern Alberta. Standing with Chief Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Chief Courtoreille of the Mikisew […]
Israel’s blockade on civilians of Gaza – no signs of loosening
(IRIN) NGOs are eager to increase aid to the Palestinian region after a 50-day Israeli bombing campaign left over 2,000 dead, thousands wounded and much of the enclave’s infrastructure in ruins, but access rules continue to present huge challenges. While the exact terms of the ceasefire agreement, reached last week between Israel and various Palestinian […]
What the Hackers did to Celebs? The NSA has been Doing that to All of US instead of Predicting ISIL
By Juan Cole There has been a lot of justifiable outrage about the invasion of privacy of celebrities and the posting of their private, nude photos at 4Chan by hackers who apparently got into their cloud accounts. It seems odd to me that the discussion of this issue has been completely unconnected to the Snowden […]
Iraq Flashpoint: Can the Kurds defend themselves from ISIL?
By Verena Gruber, Talalward, Kurdistan (Special to Informed Comment) There is something incredibly odd about seeing the black flag of the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)” flapping in the wind; particularly when you see it, not on a television screen, but through a pair of binoculars. Today my journey led me […]
Solar could make your Electricity Bill Zero: But Pols, Utilities are Conspiring Against You
TheLipTV: “Solar panels are being denied to certain states as utilities companies and politicians are looking out for their own interests in an effort to eliminate the competition. We look why homes are being prevented from supplying stored energy, in this Lip News clip with Lissette Padilla and Mark Sovel.” TheLipTV: “Solar Panels Denied to […]
Israeli settlers destroy Palestinian grape vines as Israel Steals More Land
HEBRON (Ma’an) — A group of Israeli settlers chopped down grape vines on Palestinian agricultural property in northern Beit Ummar on Monday, a popular committee spokesman said Monday. Muhammad Awwad said the settlers destroyed seven grape vines in the Wad Abu al-Rish area near the illegal settlement of Beit Ein. The vines belong to Hammad […]
History and Betrayal: UNSCOP and Palestine, 1947
By William Polk The British Foreign Secretary told Parliament on February 18, 1947 that “there is no prospect of resolving this conflict by any settlement negotiated between the parties.” Further, he said, according to the League of Nations mandate, the legal basis for Britain’s rule over Palestine, Britain did not have the authority to partition […]
Can Iraqi forces take back Saddam’s Birthplace from ISIL?
By Juan Cole Joint Iraqi and Kurdish forces began moving into Tikrit on Tuesday night into Wednesday after victories over the so-called Islamic State of Syria and the Levant in villages around Amerli, including Sulaiman Bek. Several previous attempts to take Tikrit this summer have failed. On Monday, allied Iraqi forces cleared the Shiite Turkmen […]
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