During the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, believers circumambulate the square ‘House of God’ called the Kaaba. It is said to have predated Islam, and to have been cleansed of idols by the Prophet Muhammad in January of 630, when the town of Mecca swung to his leadership by acclamation. There is some new archeological evidence […]
Archives for February 2019
A Victim of Trump? Iran’s Centrist Foreign Minister Mysteriously Forced Out
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned via Instagram on Monday, apologizing for his inability to continue in office and for any shortcomings in his past service to the nation. A member of parliament said that Zarif had submitted letters of resignation to President Hassan Rouhani on several occasions but […]
Why Proposal to Sell Saudis Nuclear Technology without Safeguards is Terrifying
By Chen Kane | – According to a congressional report, a group that includes former senior U.S. government officials is lobbying to sell nuclear power plants to Saudi Arabia. As an expert focusing on the Middle East and the spread of nuclear weapons, I believe these efforts raise important legal, economic and strategic concerns. It […]
Israeli Bulldozers uproot 300 Palestinian-Owned Trees near Jenin
JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli bulldozers razed dozens of dunams and uprooted hundreds of Palestinian-owned trees, on Monday afternoon, on lands belonging to residents from the Bartaa village, southwest of the northern occupied West Bank district of Jenin. According to local sources, Israeli forces along with bulldozers stormed the area and began to raze about 28 […]
Khamenei hails Assad in Tehran as Key to “Resistance” to US
Tehran (AFP) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Monday on his first visit to the Islamic republic since the start of the Syrian conflict. During the meeting, Assad expressed his gratitude to Iran for all that it has done for Syria during the conflict, according to the Syrian presidency’s […]
Not Trump’s America: On How the Oscars looked Like the Real America this Year
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump calls women he finds uppity “pigs,” he discriminated against African-American tenants, he slapped a visa ban on Muslims and Arabs, and he denigrates Mexican-Americans as rapists and drug dealers against whom he intends to build a wall. Trump’s America is a thin, diminished slice of the country, the barracuda […]
The Green New Deal puts Climate Back on the Agenda
By Tan Copsey | – (China Dialogue) – The weeks after the Democratic Party won back control of the House of Representatives saw the longest government shutdown in US history, as President Trump unsuccessfully demanded money to pay for a wall on the Mexican border. Now that the shutdown is over, Democrats have started setting […]
With Trump AWOL, Europe Woos Mideast, fearing Russian & Chinese Dominance
By Lachlan Carmichael and Menna Zaki in Cairo | – Sharm el Sheikh (AFP) – European and Arab leaders on Sunday opened their first summit in a bid to bolster cooperation as EU President Donald Tusk said neighbours “should not leave it to powers far from our region”, alluding to China and Russia. Host Egyptian […]
A Teenage War Resister in Israel: An Antiwar Story from the Embattled Middle East
By Rory Fanning | – (Tomdispatch.com) – Hilel Garmi’s phone is going straight to voicemail and all I’m hoping is that he’s not back in prison. I’ll soon learn that he is. Prison 6 is a military prison. It’s situated in the Israeli coastal town of Atlit, a short walk from the Mediterranean Sea and […]
© 2026 All Rights Reserved