By Omar Safi | – The election of Kais Saied, a 61-year-old former law professor and political outsider, to the Tunisian presidency was not surprising: he represents the Tunisian ideal of how the ruling class should be. The size of the vote in his favour was impressive. He won 73% of the vote in the […]
Archives for October 2019
Lebanon: Security Forces Use Excessive Force Against Protesters
(Human Rights Watch) – (Beirut) – Lebanon’s security forces used excessive and unnecessary force against protesters in downtown Beirut on October 18, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. The Internal Security Force’s riot police fired tear gas at thousands of largely peaceful protesters, including children, in downtown Beirut. The army cleared the areas, sometimes using […]
No, Trump’s Withdrawal from Syria is not Like Obama Leaving Iraq
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some observers are likening Trump’s abrupt departure from Syria and President Barack Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. The two events show no resemblance whatsoever, and the frequently-made charge that Obama could have stayed in Iraq is incorrect. Here’s the difference. 1. Obama did not betray America’s allies in Iraq, […]
Trump Blows it Big Time in Syria: Dumps Kurds as the Empire Crumbles
In less than two weeks, President Donald Trump has managed to create a massive and avoidable crisis in Syria. By greenlighting the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, Trump’s policy forced more than 160,000 Syrians to flee their homes. And guess who emerged as the political and military winners? Russia, Iran, and the Syrian government of […]
Thank You, Tunisia: The only Democracy in the Middle East
By Mohammad Ayesh | – The overwhelming election victory of Tunisia’s new President, Kais Saied, and the statements he made in its aftermath send a very clear message: the counter-revolution in Tunisia has failed; it has been defeated; it has ended. Tunisians have always embraced the saying, “If people fight for life, destiny will listen […]
Dem Leadership brands as “Shameful” Pence’s Agreement for Turkey “Pause” in Kurdish Areas
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Mariam Khan at ABC News reports that yesterday speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority Leader Chuck Schumer lambasted the pause in fighting by Turkey negotiated by vice president Mike Pence “sham ceasefire.” They added, “President Erdogan has given up nothing, and President Trump has given him everything,” […]
The Greening of the New Deal
By Steve Fraser | – (Tomdispatch.com) – “We are in a new era to which I do not belong,” ex-President Calvin Coolidge confided to a close friend on a cold December day in 1932 when the country and the world were already in the depths of the Great Depression. A few weeks later, he punctuated […]
Are Israel Lobbies Primary Threat to First Amendment? Report Exposes Right-Wing Effort to Ban Criticism of Israel in US Schools
By Jessica Corbett, staff writer | – ( Commondreams.org) – “Fanatical Zionists are pushing U.S. state legislatures to pass sweeping new restrictions on free speech.” Human rights and free speech advocates responded with alarm Thursday to a Guardian report revealing that pro-Israel and right-wing lobbyists are encouraging Republican state lawmakers to pass legislation that could […]
By rejecting stereotypes, Slam and Ramy show us authentic Arab Muslim men on screen
By Sherene Idriss | – There is a long history of damaging stereotypes of Arab and Muslim men on screen. Because of this, audiences from culturally diverse migrant backgrounds understandably crave more positive representations of their ethnic and cultural communities. Two new screen productions – Ramy and Slam – tell stories embracing the complexity of […]
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