By William J. Astore via Tomdispatch.com In June, tens of thousands of Iraqi Security Forces in Nineveh province north of Baghdad collapsed in the face of attacks from the militants of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS), abandoning four major cities to that extremist movement. The collapse drew much notice in our media, but not much in the way of […]
Iraqi Kurds to Turkey: Let Volunteers Through To Defend Failing Kobani
By Charles Recknagel via RFE/RL A top official of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region is calling on Turkey to let volunteer fighters through to the besieged Syrian city of Kobani, where Syrian Kurds are waging a desperate battle against Islamic State (IS) militants. Speaking on a visit to RFE/RL in Prague on October 13, Falah Mustafa, […]
French Planes bomb Damascus to put Down Syrian Revolt, 1925 (Video: This Day in History)
“Title reads: “Defence of Damascus. French troops – barricades – and armed posts – now circle the town of view of threatened attack by Rebels”. Having invaded and occupied Syria, French troops who brutally suppress an uprising against them in 1925 were described in British newsreels as “defending” Damascus against “rebels.” british Pathe: Damascus Revolt […]
The Tunisian Exception
By L. Carl Brown What has made Tunisia’s transition from authoritarian government, for all its ups and downs, more successful than those of its Arab neighbors? It will soon be four years since December 17, 2010 when Muhammad Bu Azizi from Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia immolated himself in protest against local government officials who barred […]
Columbus Day: How is it Still a Thing? (John Oliver)
John Oliver, “Last Week Tonight” “Christopher Columbus did a lot of stuff that was way more terrible than “sailing the ocean blue,” but we don’t learn about that. Columbus Day: How is it still a thing?” Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Columbus Day – How Is That Still A Thing (HBO)
Top Five Worst Disease Epidemics (Historical Footage)
Top 5 Worst Disease Epidemics – British Pathé
Cold as Hell: North Dakota Burns up the World with Fracked Oil
By Laura Gottesdiener via Tomdispatch At 9 p.m. on that August night, when I arrived for my first shift as a cocktail waitress at Whispers, one of the two strip clubs in downtown Williston, I didn’t expect a 25-year-old man to get beaten to death outside the joint. Then again, I didn’t really expect most […]
Hundreds of Israeli public figures urge British Parliament to recognize the State of Palestine
Hundreds of Israeli public figures urge British Parliament to recognize the State of Palestine Gush Shalom, Israel. Press Release, October 13, 2014 363 Israeli public figures have signed a letter to the Members of the British Parliament, calling upon them to vote in favor of British recognition of a Palestinian State, to be created side-by-side […]
Israeli firm looks to keep solar power generators running at night
Reuters Plus: “Israeli firm Brenmiller Energy aims to solve the conundrum of producing solar power at night with a new energy storage system that it says is an alternative to other solar technologies and will help provide clean electricity at a competitive price. Jim Drury reports.” Reuters Plus: “Israeli firm looks to keep solar power […]
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