(By Juan Cole) A Washington D.C. federal panel has struck down the Federal Communication Commission position on net neutrality, threatening the corporatization of the internet. The reason readers of Informed Comment can reach it as quickly and conveniently as they can reach a multi-billion dollar corporate web site is the principle of internet neutrality, built […]
3 Years after Democratic Revolution, Egypt Decides it Prefers North Korean Model
(By Juan Cole) The title of this piece is provocative and a little tongue in cheek. Were I in Egypt as I publish it, I’m not sure, though, that the authorities would get the joke. The 2011 revolution, which was in part about dignity and personal autonomy and censorship and police torture, apparently went too […]
Dubai Calls for End to Iran Sanctions, Says no Nuclear Threat
(By Juan Cole) Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum of Dubai has called in a BBC interview for an end to economic sanctions on Iran if the civilian character of their nuclear enrichment program can be proved. He pointed out that the sanctions also inflict economic pain on the United Arab Emirates, a major financial center attempting to […]
“Fox was Romney’s War Room”; GOP being run by Fox News: Zucker & Gabriel Sherman Agree
The new head of CNN, Jeff Zucker, replied to Fox News’ Roger Ailes obituary for CNN by alleging that the Republican Party is being run out of Fox. Then Gabriel Sherman, author of a new biography of Ailes, weighed in, saying that Fox was the “War Room” of the 2012 Romeney campaign. Ailes decided, he […]
False Nostalgia: The Original Fallujah Campaign Destabilized Iraq
(By Juan Cole) We’ve been treated to a rash of articles about how US veterans of the Fallujah campaigns of 2004 are upset about the return of al-Qaeda to that city and the now dominant position of the extremists. Despite my respect for US soldiers who risked their lives, these veterans are making a political […]
Top Ten Ways Ariel Sharon Ruined Israel and the Middle East
(By Juan Cole) Arik Scheinerman, who became Ariel Sharon, was from a Russian family that emigrated to Palestine at a time when Palestinians had been deprived of the right to set immigration policy into their own country. He would go on powerfully to shape the lives of most people in Israel and the Middle East, […]
40 prominent Journalists Call for Release of Detained Colleagues
Sharif Abdel Kouddous: In a strong show of solidarity, nearly 40 correspondents and editors representing 29 international media organizations are calling for the immediate release of journalists detained in Egypt. On December 29, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed from Al Jazeera English were arrested by Egyptian authorities and have been held arbitrarily […]
Did Ariel Sharon get a pass on War Crimes because he was White?
(By Juan Cole) It is shameful that Vice President Joe Biden should be attending the funeral of Ariel Sharon today, given that the former Israeli prime minister was clearly guilty of a host of war crimes. Much Mideast instability must be laid at his feet. Since a pattern of war crimes comes to equate to […]
Omar Khayyam (497): “You’re beast and demon, angel, human being”
You who distill within you the whole world, attend to this voice from the realm beyond: You’re beast, and demon, angel, human being; whatever you show forth, you are that thing. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 497
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