(By Juan Cole) Dear President Obama: You have said repeatedly that if negotiations with Iran do not limit its nuclear enrichment activities solely to peaceful uses, i.e. production of fuel for energy plants, that you would be willing to go to war with that country to ensure that it does not develop an atomic bomb. […]
Islamic State of Iraq & Levant too Extreme for al-Qaeda (Not the Onion)
(By Juan Cole) Ayman al-Zawahiri, now the leader of the international terrorist organization, al-Qaeda, has disavowed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ISIL (also called ISIS, substituting Syria for ‘Levant’) controls Falluja and part of Ramadi in Iraq, along with parts of Aleppo and its hinterland in Syria. It has been involved […]
The Cheapening of American Politics: Why did Obama reward O’Reilly with an Interview?
(By Juan Cole) President Obama subjected himself to an interview by Bill O’Reilly of Fox “News” on Sunday before the Superbowl. Obviously, intellectually it was Obama Seahawks rolling over O’Reilly Broncos. And maybe it felt good to tell Fox News off for its serial propaganda against the administration. But I just regret that he lent […]
Israeli Pols attack Sec. Kerry over Boycott Remarks: “Can’t negotiate with a gun to our Heads”
(Via AFP) Israel, US locked in spat over Kerry boycott remark (via AFP) Israel and Washington were at loggerheads on Sunday after senior Israeli figures attacked US Secretary of State John Kerry for warning of a growing boycott threat if peace talks fail. The latest spat erupted a day after Kerry warned of the potential… […]
Egyptian Women Learn Kung Fu for Fighting Sexual Harassment
VOAnews reports “Egyptian Women Learn Martial Arts to Combat Sexual Harassment”
Director Steven Spielberg speaks at UN Holocaust Remembrance Day: “There are no Bystanders to History”
ITN reports, “Director Steven Spielberg talks at UN Holocaust Remembrance Day”
Turkish Gov’t Compares Internet Freedom to Battered Spouses
(Via Techdirt) Turkish Government Says Online Freedom Is Like Violence Against Women (via Techdirt) As anyone who has been following the news knows, Turkey has been going through a turbulent patch recently. It’s also been trying to control dissenting voices online, as Techdirt has reported. So it comes as no surprise that it is bringing […]
Photo of the Day: Women in Mosul, 1902
From M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume, Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman’s Eight Years’ Residence Amongst the Women of the East (1909). The authors note that these are Christian women, presumably Iraqi Chaldeans, and they alleged that Muslim women declined at that time to be photographed. Since […]
Now Peace Talks, John Kerry, are “Anti-Semitic” in Eyes of Israeli Far Right
(By Juan Cole) The Likud-led Israeli government doesn’t like US Secretary of State John Kerry at all. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon ridiculed him as “obsessive” and “messianic.” Economy Minister Naftali Bennett earlier this week slammed Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as being under Kerry’s influence, when Netanyahu was said to be considering leaving Israeli squatters […]
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