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Juan Cole

Uncategorized
NSA-Verizon Surveillance: Welcome to the United States of Total Information Awareness

NSA-Verizon Surveillance: Welcome to the United States of Total Information Awareness

Juan Cole

It turns out that the National Security Agency demanded and got Verizon phone records of all US telephone calls, mobile and otherwise, within the US and between the US and abroad, from mid-April of this year. The order, obtained by The Guardian and which I guess the government would say it is illegal for us […]

Afghanistan
Obama pledged investigation of Alleged Taliban Prisoner Massacre by US-Backed Afghan Warlords; Where is it? (Currier)

Obama pledged investigation of Alleged Taliban Prisoner Massacre by US-Backed Afghan Warlords; Where is it? (Currier)

Juan Cole

Cora Currier writes at ProPublica In his first year in office, President Barack Obama pledged to “collect the facts” on the death of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Taliban prisoners of war at the hands of U.S.-allied Afghan forces in late 2001. Almost four years later, there’s no sign of progress. When asked by ProPublica about […]

Uncategorized
Bradley Manning Trial aimed at Silencing Whistleblowers?  (Democracy Now!)

Bradley Manning Trial aimed at Silencing Whistleblowers? (Democracy Now!)

Juan Cole

Democracy Now! considers the Bradley Manning trial in the context of attempts to intimidate and punish government whistle blowers. That the world general reading public that can now see low-level cable traffic is depicted by government lawyers as the nefarious ‘enemy’ is a sign of this mindset. blurb: “The military trial of Army whistleblower Bradley […]

Uncategorized
Speaking of Bad Storms (editorial cartoon on GOP by Paul Jamiol)

Speaking of Bad Storms (editorial cartoon on GOP by Paul Jamiol)

Juan Cole

by Paul Jamiol courtesy Jamiol’s World

Turkey

Turkey: It’s about the Right to be Different (Soysal)

Juan Cole

Ayşe Soysal, in Istanbul, writes for ISLAMiCommentary : Ayse Soysal It was a ‘Wow!’ weekend indeed. My niece Elif, a college student, was one of the protesters in Taksim Square — the first time ever that she participated in a public protest. She was there for the environmental concerns she supports, and the protest movement […]

Turkey
Woman in Red (Turkish Police Spray Tear Gas on Modern Young Protester)

Woman in Red (Turkish Police Spray Tear Gas on Modern Young Protester)

Juan Cole

(Courtesy Reuters) This young woman being teargassed at the Taksim protests in Istanbul has become an internet icon. Unveiled and bare-armed, she is clearly secular and modern. Many but not all of the supporters of Justice and Development Party Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan wear headscarves and dress modestly. But she is also just young, female, […]

al-Qaeda
Have we no Shame?  Will Hunger Strikes and medical Torture finally close Guantanamo? (Hickman)

Have we no Shame? Will Hunger Strikes and medical Torture finally close Guantanamo? (Hickman)

Juan Cole

John Hickman, author of Selling Guantanamo, writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Curious isn’t it how the decision-making of the United States Government is also imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay? In a seemingly escape-proof blame game President Obama insists that the U.S. Congress prevents him from closing the prison while Congressional Republicans insist either […]

Turkey
Police Brutality and Turkish Protests (Compilation Video)

Police Brutality and Turkish Protests (Compilation Video)

Juan Cole

Compilation video of police brutality in Turkish Gezi Park protests: As usual with grassroots Youtube videos, the authenticity of it cannot be independently verified from abraod.

Turkey
Defiant Erdogan Risks Turkish Economy, as Unions enter the Fray

Defiant Erdogan Risks Turkish Economy, as Unions enter the Fray

Juan Cole

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is now risking Turkey’s economic miracle by his imperious reaction to the protests in dozens of cities that have roiled Turkey and are entering their fifth day. Two are dead and hundreds injured. The Turkish stock market, which had been up 300% since 2009, has taken a hit. The country’s […]

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