By Tom Engelhardt | Tomdispatch.com) | – – Honestly, I don’t know whether to rant or weep, neither of which are usual impulses for me. In the wake of the slaughter in Paris, I have the urge to write one of two sentences here: Paris changed everything; Paris changes nothing. Each is, in its own […]
Sowing fear of Refugees is playing into ISIL’s Hands: HRW
Human Rights Watch | – – (New York) – Governments should not allow the recent attacks in Paris and similar mass casualty attacks elsewhere to undermine the responsibility to protect refugees around the world, Human Rights Watch said today. Concern that a small number of militant extremists may seek to take advantage of the movement […]
Obama: GOP afraid of little Syrian Girls; Cruz: ‘You want a piece of me?’
John Iadarola and Elliot Hill | (The Young Turks Video) | – – “President Obama is speaking out against Republican politicians and members of the media demonizing Syrian refugees, implying that we shouldn’t allow them into our country because of the inherent risks associated. Ted Cruz took the opportunity to dare Obama to insult him […]
Arrest Warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu for War Crimes in Spain, South Africa
IMEMC | – – South Africa issued, on Tuesday, an arrest warrant against four Israeli officials over their role in deadly attacks on pro-Palestinian international activists. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Against the Israeli occupation in Africa said, in a statement: “South Africa’s Directorate of the Priority Crimes Investigation Unit has issued warrants of arrest against […]
Grand Alliance against ISIL: Can Putin come in from the Cold?
By Brian Whitmore | ( RFE/RL ) | – – He wasn’t ostracized. He wasn’t isolated. And certainly nobody threatened to shirtfront him. In the space of a year, Vladimir Putin has gone from being the pariah of Brisbane to being the star of Antalya. The contrast between last year’s G20 summit in Australia and […]
Obama to Hawks: You can’t Occupy all the Countries in the Middle East
By John Hickman | (Informed Comment) | – – There was something very reassuring about President Obama’s delivery of a carefully reasoned explanation for his Middle East foreign policy during Monday’s Press Conference in Antalya, Turkey. Against the anxious handwringing of the reporters and the improbable outrage of pundits, the president exhibited his trademark self-possession […]
Swedish FM worries about Muslim & Palestinian Youth Despair, draws Israeli Rebuke
By IMEMC | – – Following the Paris attacks on Friday, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom made a connection between Islamic State extremism and the Israeli occupation, causing a feud between the two governments, that the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned its Swedish envoy on Monday. In an interview with a Swedish TV channel, following the […]
Paris attacks: how effective has the military response been?
By Scott Lucas | (The Conversation) | – – Even as Parisians were trying to assess the scale of the attacks by Islamic State (IS) which killed 132 people on November 13, politicians were promising a decisive and effective military response. French President Francois Hollande assured, “We will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic […]
After Paris, Rights Groups warn against Police State Tactics
By Nadia Prupis, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – ‘Whilst closed oppressive societies breed hatred and barbarism, open reflective states built on rights, freedoms and the rule of law ultimately prevail.’ As some European leaders pitch a reactionary response to Friday’s brutal attacks in Paris, human rights and civil liberties groups are warning against […]