The Syrian government massacre at Houla has probabaly killed the faltering Annan peace plan, which envisioned a ceasefire between the Syrian Baath army and the rebel Free Syrian Army that would be monitored by UN observers. The ceasefire not only has not held, the fighting has intensified as the regime has insisted on using tank […]
Omar Khayyam (135) “You … checkmated the king of Babylon”
Your cheek is fairer than a wild white rose, and your face outshines those China dolls. You flirted with your eyes and checkmated the king of Babylon, after you took his pawns, bishops and rooks away. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 135
In Race against Carbon Catastrophe, Solar Power is Making Strides
The world probably needs to get back to 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere if truly radical climate change is to be avoided. But we are going in the wrong direction fast. In April, the Mauna Loa observatory measured CO2 in the atmosphere at about 396 parts per million, the highest […]
Code Pink Takes on Obama’s Drones (Woods)
Chris Woods writes at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Walk into any US bookstore and the stacks are crowded with hundreds of books on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet more than a decade in, its hard to find anything on the escalating use of armed drones by the United States. Now Medea Benjamin, […]
Will Houla be al-Assad’s My Lai? Artillery Massacre of Children in Syria
Syria’s military bombarded the town of Houla in Homs province on Saturday, killing 90 persons, including dozens of children, according to opposition sources. The Baath regime in Syria has survived despite 14 months of popular rallies, demonstrations and revolts because at least half of Syrians, especially in the big cities such as Aleppo and the […]
“All Wars are Follies” (Benjamin Franklin Poster)
Is the Egyptian 2010s a Replay of the American 1960s?
It now seems clear that the run-off in the Egyptian presidential election will be between Muhammad Mursi of the Freedom and Justice Party (Muslim Brotherhood) and Gen. Ahmad Shafiq, former Aviation Minister in the Mubarak government and the deposed dictator’s last prime minister. This outcome is a polarizing one and promises a rocky road ahead […]
Egypt’s Presidential Election: Between Revolution and Counter-Revolution
The results of the Egyptian presidential election, held on Wednesday and Thursday, won’t be announced until Monday, say official sources in the government. In contrast, the High Electoral Commission is indicating that it will announce the results as soon as they are definitively known. Egypt is on a precipice between a relatively smooth transition and […]
Shell’s $4bn lobbying campaign cleared the way for Arctic oil drilling (Ross)
Alice Ross writes at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Offshore oil drilling in the Arctic has long been considered off-limits – but as the New York Times revealed . . ., a sustained and ingenious campaign by Shell has overcome all objections. The campaign to win permission to drill in the Arctic is a masterclass […]
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