Trump’s petulant letter to North Korean President Kim Jong Un cancelling the planned Singapore summit between the two leaders was all but foreordained. The entire endeavor was poorly conceived and badly planned, and attended with fantastic, typical Trump snake oil and hype. North Korea does not have the slightest intention of renouncing its nuclear weapons. […]
Archives for May 2018
To Fight Talibanism, Pakistan finally gives Rights to People in Tribal Areas
Islamabad (AFP) – Pakistan passed legislation Thursday paving the way for its restive tribal areas, long a focal point in the global war on terror, to enter the political mainstream, ending a colonial-era arrangement that endorsed collective punishment and fuelled militancy. The constitutional amendment would see the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the […]
Why the Youth of Gaza Protest: It is their Squalid Open Air Prison, not Hamas
San Francisco (The Progressive) – On my most recent reporting trip to Gaza, I stayed with a family living just a short walk from the Israeli border. At dusk we watched a beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean and could forget the ongoing conflict for just a few minutes. Living conditions for the family have gotten […]
Should Trump Have the Discretion to Murder at Will? His Drones Are at It
San Francisco (Tomdispatch.com) – They are like the camel’s nose, lifting a corner of the tent. Don’t be fooled, though. It won’t take long until the whole animal is sitting inside, sipping your tea and eating your sweets. In countries around the world — in the Middle East, Asia Minor, Central Asia, Africa, even the […]
Syria’s New Map: War Has Created Ethnic Cantons, Massively Displaced Communities
Co-author: Rouba El Husseini | – – Beirut (AFP) – Seven years of war and massive displacement have redrawn Syria’s demographic map, erecting borders between the country’s ethnic, religious, and political communities that will be hard to erase. Displaced Syrians, analysts, and rights defenders have described to AFP a divided country where regime opponents have […]
Khamenei, in reply to Trump, gives Europe 6-point Ultimatum on Nuclear Deal
Iran’s clerical Leader, Ali Khamenei, weighed in on Trump’s violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear accord of 2015, which the US signed off on along with the rest of the UN Security Council and Germany (informally representing the European Union). Speaking frankly to Iran’s European trading partners, the ayatollah […]
Wrong: Netanyahu thinks Massive Israeli PR can cover up Occupation & end of Peace Process
Sidney (The Conversation) – The opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem last week represented a major PR coup for Israel, a move the country had sought for decades. It also came hot on the heels of another celebrated Israeli PR victory – the win by Israeli singer Netta Barzilai in the hugely popular Eurovision […]
Saudis to let women drive but Jail a dozen Women’s Rights Activists
Dubai (AFP) – Saudi authorities have widened a crackdown on women’s rights advocates, detaining at least three more activists a month before the kingdom lifts its decades-old ban on women drivers, campaigners said Tuesday. Saudi authorities on Saturday announced the arrest of seven people, mostly identified by rights groups as women who have long campaigned […]
Ethnic hostility is contagious: Czech-Slovak study
Prague (AFP) – Hostility towards ethnic minorities is contagious and the acceptability of destructive behaviour towards them can easily change depending on how others behave, according to a new study by a Czech-Slovak team. “Social norms regulating anti-social behaviour are very fragile if this behaviour is aimed at ethnic minorities,” researchers Michal Bauer and Julie […]
© 2026 All Rights Reserved