The Tree | – – The Dutch government has put its citizens in danger by failing to address greenhouse gas emissions, a court [has] ruled . . . In a landmark verdict, the judge said the government “must do more to avert the imminent danger caused by climate change” and ordered it to reduce CO2 […]
As Love wins out at Supreme Court, did Justices in Minority encourage States, Fundamentalists to Defy Ruling?
By Danielle Weatherby, Timothy Holbrook and Robert A. Schapiro | (The Conversation) | – – Editor’s note: Today the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that marriage is a legal right – striking down same-sex marriage bans in 14 states and ordering states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Marriage is a fundamental right Today’s […]
A Black President Eulogizes a Black Reverend and State Senator Slain for Being Black
Barack Obama | (PBS NewsHour Video) | – – “President Barack Obama delievered the eulogy at the funeral for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of the victims of deadly shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.” PBS NewsHour: “Watch President Obama deliver eulogy at Rev. Pinckney’s funeral”
Israelis demolish 1,000 Palestinian Homes in Negev Per Year
By IMEMC | – – The Israeli Interior Ministry and Land Administration Agency, in cooperation with the Regavim NGO and the Jewish National Fund (JNF), have been demolishing 1,000 Arab homes in Al-Naqab every year, under the pretext that they were built without permits. Days of Palestine reports that this has been revealed by Amichai […]
Iran Talks Down to the Wire: Diplomatic Breakthrough or Prelude to War?
By Jasmin Ramsey | — WASHINGTON (IPS) – A final deal on Iran’s nuclear programme wouldn’t only make non-proliferation history. It would also be the beginning of a better life for the Iranian people—or at least that’s what they’re hoping. Iranians, who are keeping a close eye on the talks which will resume Saturday in […]
Why Boycotting Israel will Backfire, just as Netanyahu’s Blockade of Gaza Has
By Guy Laron | (Informed Comment) | – – Many people who support a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict believe that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has a good argument. With the recent elections in Israel renewing Binyamin Netanyahu’s mandate to pursue hardline policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians and the lack of will […]
As Kobane comes under ISIL attack, Kurds Encircle, cut off “caliphate”
By Amy Austin Holmes | (Informed Comment) | – – (Kobane, Syria) The liberation of Kobane in late January led to jubilant celebrations almost everywhere. It was both a turning point in the war against Islamic State militants and the beginning of an emancipatory grassroots democratic experiment known as the Rojava Revolution. Now, IS militants […]
Journalists Pay the Price in Egypt’s Crackdown on Dissent
By Kitty Stapp | – – NEW YORK (IPS) – The Egyptian government is holding a record number of journalists in jail, a press freedom group said Thursday, despite promises to improve media freedoms in the country. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets then Egyptian Minister of Defence General Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi in […]
Top Five ways for Washington to Fail in Iraq
By Peter Van Buren | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – In one form or another, the U.S. has been at war with Iraq since 1990, including a sort-of invasion in 1991 and a full-scale one in 2003. During that quarter-century, Washington imposed several changes of government, spent trillions of dollars, and was involved in the deaths […]