Jane Kinninmont writes for ISLAMiCommentary Kuwait has traditionally had the greatest freedom of speech of all the Gulf monarchies, as well as having the most powerful parliament. Yet, like all its Gulf neighbours, it has started to crack down on criticism of the ruler since the onset of the Arab spring. At least […]
Israel Spy Scandal and Press Censorship
Russia Today reports on the scandal surrounding the mysterious death in prison of Ben Zygier, an Australian who had been recruited into Israeli intelligence, Mossad. Rumors swirl that he had had a crisis of conscience about the assassination in Dubai of suspected Hamas operative Mahmoud Mabhouh, in which Mossad field officers used passports of living […]
Big Money is buying our Politics, and how to Fight Back (Bill Moyers video)
Bill Moyers explores the subversion of American democracy by big money, and what could be done by it. A third of campaign donations in the past election were ‘dark money,’ i.e. from anonymous rich people. Some 150 persons had an outsized impact with their $9 million each. The blurb for the show: “Full Show: The […]
The Crisis of Urdu (Farouqui)
Open letter from Ather Farouqui in New Delhi on the Crisis of Urdu Dear Friends, I am writing this note as the General Secretary of the Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind) to all allies who can help rescue Urdu from the grave quagmire it is currently confined in, branded as a ‘Muslim language’, ‘language of terrorists’, […]
Video of Russia Meteor Strike (but what if it had been bigger?)
Russia Today compiles amateur videos of the meteorite that struck Chelyabinsk, Russia, (900 miles east of Moscow) wounding hundreds, mainly because of flying glass. Here is what happens if a really big meteor hits: I think we need our space program back.
Bahrain dissidents Commemorate 2 Years of Protest, Condemn Repression
The USG Open Source Center translates a report from the Bahrain newspaper al-Wasat for Feb. 14, entitled “Bahraini Opposition Condemns Security Solution, ‘Ill-Treatment’ of Prisoners.” (They mean by ‘security solution’ the regime’s preference for dealing with dissent by violence instead of negotiation.) Bahrain is an ethnically divided society of some 550,000 citizens, mostly Arab, and […]
Another Kurdish Initiative in Turkey: Is Peace Finally Achievable? (Tezcür)
Güneş Murat Tezcür writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: The last year saw a significant escalation in the armed conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish insurgency (PKK) fighting for autonomy. 2012 was the most violent year since the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. At least 541 individuals lost their lives, a […]
Arab Television Reacts to Obama’s State of the Union Address, on Afghanistan, Iran (OSC)
The USG Open Source Center reported on the reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union speech on two major Arabic-language satellite news channels, Aljazeera Arabic and Alarabiya. Aljazeera’s commentators seemed disappointed that Obama does not plan a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. Alarabiya’s respondent concluded that Obama does not intend to do anything dramatic with […]
War of Logistics in N. Syria as Rebel Forces Close in on Aleppo Airport
The rebel strategy of taking Syrian government bases and airports in north Syria to prevent the regime from resupplying its forces in the north has made strides this week. The LAT reports that the revolutionaries are fighting for Aleppo International Airport, having taking Jarrah military airport a couple of days ago. The regime cannot easily […]
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