By Robert F. Kennedy Jr In this column, Robert F. Kennedy – son of Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy – looks behind the U.S. embargo against Cuba which, he argues, has been a “monumental failure” and is loaded with powerful ironies that make the United States look hypocritical to […]
Egypt’s 2014 Thermidor: The Counter-Revolution Wins Out
By Simon Mabon and Lucia Ardovini | (The Conversation) — It was a year of huge transition for Egypt. Gone was the Muslim Brotherhood, in both word and deed, while the military regime of Abdel Fatah al-Sisi strengthened its control across the state. Despite facing numerous challenges – political, economic, secessionist and security related – […]
Yemen in 2014: 1500 Killed as Extremist Shiites took over Gov’t, battled al-Qaeda: What Next?
SANAA, December 2014 (IRIN) — After a negotiated transfer of power agreed in early 2012, the annual death toll dropped to about 1,100 and nearly halved again in 2013 to fewer than 600, according to the International Crisis Group. The uptick in violence in 2014 is the result of a number of distinct but inter-related […]
Iraq: Yezidis return home to find Mass Graves, Daesh/ISIL Massacres
Euronews | — “Yazidi refugees from the Iraqi village of Hardan returned to their homes for the first time on Tuesday after being driven out by Islamic militants in August. They were hoping to find out what happened to their friends and family who were captured by ISIL. What they discovered confirmed their worst fears: […]
“Even a 10 percent loss of Antarctica’s ice would cause catastrophic flooding of coastal cities”
NOVA | (PBS) — “Almost three miles of ice buries most of Antarctica, cloaking a continent half again as large as the United States. But when an Antarctic ice shelf the size of Manhattan collapsed in less than a month in 2002, it shocked scientists and raised the alarming possibility that Antarctica may be headed […]
Gap between Wealthy and everyone else in USA is now Insane
Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks) — “”The wealthy are getting wealthier. As for everyone else, no such luck. A report released on Wednesday by the Pew Research Center found that the wealth gap between the country’s top 20 percent of earners and the rest of America had stretched to its widest point in at […]
Dissident Youth, Facing Military-Media Crackdown, begin new Exodus from Egypt
By Muhammad Moneib | (Your Middle East) — “A lot of posts share tips and tricks about finding a legal way out of Egypt” Perfectly timing the theatrical run of Ridley Scott’s epic new movie, starring Christian Bale as Moses, God’s prophet who leads the oppressed Israelites out of ancient Egypt through the miraculous parting […]
Gaza’s 6-yros Struggle with Nightmares of the 3 Israeli Wars they’ve Already Experienced
Agence France Presse | — “Muntasser survived an Israeli strike on Gaza this summer which killed his young brother and three cousins. Five months later the Palestinian boy remains haunted by the memory.” AFP: “Gaza’s children struggle to overcome nightmares of war”
Syrian Refugees in Turkey struggle to Cope with Frigid Winter
CCTV | — “As budget shortfalls continue to plague UN relief agencies, the colder weather brings with it further challenges for the millions of Syrian refugees who have fled the war zones in Syria. While some refugee camps inside Syria and Iraq are being equipped with emergency winter kits, including heating stoves, blankets, mattresses and […]