Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The family of slain American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is asking for a meeting with President Joe Biden during his trip to the Middle East this week. So reports Yasmin al-Qassas at Sada al-Balad. In a letter to Mr. Biden, Shireen’s brother Anton Abu Akleh wrote that the family “feels […]
Archives for July 2022
Biden once wanted to make Saudi Arabia a ‘pariah’ – so why is he playing nice with the kingdom’s repressive rulers now?
By Jeffrey Fields, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences | – (The Conversation) – Even before setting foot in the Middle East for his first visit to the region as president, Joe Biden felt compelled to defend a portion of the trip. “I know that there are many who disagree with my decision […]
Iran Moves To Tighten Abortion Restrictions
By Golnaz Esfandiari | – ( RFE/RL ) – Maryam ended her pregnancy two years ago using abortion pills. Her husband supported her. The couple already have a boy and a girl, and they decided they did not want a third child. Abortion pills are not easily accessible in Iran due to government restrictions. Maryam […]
‘Waste no more time’ — a teacher’s call to act on gun violence
By Michael Nagler and Francesca Po | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – Given the almost inconceivable tragedy that has been visited on our schools — and believing that no democracy can survive without a viable education and a safe space for children — Michael Nagler spoke with career teacher, peace activist and Metta Center board […]
Why Iran’s Provision of Drones to Russia for Ukraine War is a Diplomatic Failure of the Biden Administration
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden’s National Security Advisor on Monday spoke of the goals of the president’s trip, which begins today, Tuesday, to the Middle East. I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow. But at the end of his remarks, Sullivan dropped a bombshell. He revealed that Iran is sending Unmanned Aerial […]
Palestinians are Uniting, caught between Alliance of Authoritarian States and Western Indifference
By Tareq Baconi | – ( Al-Shabaka ) – Over the course of the past decade, a new regional architecture has come into focus in the Middle East and North Africa. The US has shown greater signs of withdrawal and retrenchment from the region. Tensions have arisen and subsided between regional powers, proxy wars continue […]
Lebanon’s Plan to Deport 15K Syrian Refugees per month back to Syria Is Unsafe and Unlawful
By Lama Fakih, Director, Middle East and North Africa Division | – Human Rights Watch – Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine announced a government plan this week to begin returning 15,000 Syrian refugees to Syria a month, saying: “The war was over and the country has become safe.” The alarming news, which […]
Militant white identity politics on full display in GOP political ads featuring high-powered weapons
By Ryan Neville-Shepard, University of Arkansas and Casey Ryan Kelly, University of Nebraska-Lincoln | – (The Conversation) – Republican Eric Greitens, a candidate for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat, shocked viewers with a new online political ad in June 2022 that encouraged his supporters to go “RINO hunting.” Appearing with a shotgun and a smirk, […]
On Cusp of Biden visit to Saudi Arabia, GAO questions US Accounting for Civilian Harm caused in Yemen by its Weapons
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden is on the cusp of going off to Saudi Arabia as one part of his upcoming Middle East trip. One of the failures of Mr. Biden has been completely disengaging the US from the Saudi-led war on Yemen, which he had pledged to do. Although there has been […]
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