The Syrian military has taken an important Homs neighborhood that had been in the hands of the rebels for over a year, as part of its counter-offensive in the strategic center of the country. With the help of the Lebanese militia, Hizbullah, it recently took al-Qusayr, a town near Homs. And now it is taking […]
Red Baraat makes NYC Music with a Punjabi Beat (Video)
Blurb: “New York City’s multicultural population is fertile ground for fusions in art and music. VOA’s Carolyn Weaver reports on Red Baraat, an eight-member band from Brooklyn blending Northern Indian bhangra – a high-energy dance music – with jazz, hip-hop, and other genres.” VOAnews reports:
BOIJ on Pakistan: First the CIA Droned them, Then it Droned the Rescuers (Woods and Yusufzai)
Chris Woods writes at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (Additional reporting by Mushtaq Yusufzai) A field investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in Pakistan’s tribal areas appears to confirm that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) last year briefly revived the controversial tactic of deliberately targeting rescuers at the scene of a previous drone strike. […]
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Defiant as Government Mulls Dispersing Crowds in Cairo, Giza
There are two places the Muslim Brotherhood is emulating the revolutionary youth of 2011 and occupying a public square– the place in front of the Rabi`a al-`Adawiya Mosque near Nasr City and the Nahda Square in Giza. The interim Egyptian cabinet ominously directed the Interior Ministry on Wednesday morning that it intended to disperse these […]
Afghanistan: If a White House Report on a Massacre isn’t Released, did the Massacre Happen? (Currier)
Cora Currier writes at ProPublica Soon after taking office, President Obama pledged to open a new inquiry into the deaths of perhaps thousands of Taliban prisoners of war at the hands of U.S.-allied Afghan fighters in late 2001. Last month, the White House told ProPublica it was still “looking into” the apparent massacre. Now it […]
‘Every Stroke you Type’: Greenwald Reveals Xkeyscore, Vindicating Snowden
When Edward Snowden went public, he alleged that as a low-level analyst, he could see you type your emails in real time: “I, sitting at my desk . . .” could . . . “wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email”.” […]
Top Ten Ways Bradley Manning Changed the World
Bradley Manning will be sentenced today, having been found guilty of 20 counts on Tuesday, including espionage (despite the lack of evidence for intent to spy and the lack of evidence that his leaking ever did any real harm). Whatever one thinks of Manning’s actions, that we deserved to know some of what he revealed […]
Bahrain Cracks Down in Bid to Stop its Tamarod Movement (a la Egypt)
The Bahrain struggle is still going on two and a half years later. A coalition of Shiite groups and some Sunnis (the Waad or Promise Party) continues to agitate against the authoritarian practices of the Sunni monarchy. The dissidents have formed a Rebellion (Tamarrud) Movement in emulation of the one that brought down President Muhammad […]
Where has all the Water Gone? How Climate Change and Soaring Water Demand are Drying out the Southwest (deBuys)
William deBuys writes at Tomdispatch.com: Several miles from Phantom Ranch, Grand Canyon, Arizona, April 2013 — Down here, at the bottom of the continent’s most spectacular canyon, the Colorado River growls past our sandy beach in a wet monotone. Our group of 24 is one week into a 225-mile, 18-day voyage on inflatable rafts from […]
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