Søren Schmidt writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in Syria The nineneteenth-century German chancellor Otto von Bismarck is said to have remarked that the wise statesman listens to the footsteps of history. It seems that Syria’s president, Bashar al-Asad, is tone-deaf and has not understood that it […]
SOPA & PIPA Blackout Day
Informed Comment is on strike on Wednesday January 18, 2012, to protest the so-called “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and “Protect IP” or “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011” (PIPA). Please, please, take a moment to write your elected officials to protest these two horrid pieces […]
Perry talks Crazy about Turkey, but is Par for GOP Course
As an American, I’m deeply relieved that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is highly unlikely to be president of the United States. As a blogger who occasionally enjoys a bit of satire, I have to say it is a real shame. Sometimes I spend an hour or so scouring for what news I want to […]
Petition against the Murder of Iranian Scientists
Scholars, Academicians, Journalists, and Activists Condemn Murder of Iranian Technical and Scientific Experts On January 12, 2012, a bomb ripped apart a car in Tehran, killing Iranian scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan and his driver, and injuring several others. In the past two years, four other Iranian scientists have been killed in a similar manner. By […]
Tomgram: Nick Turse, Drone Disasters
American fighter jets screamed over the Iraqi countryside heading for the MQ-1 Predator drone, while its crew in California stood by helplessly…
Obama warns Israel against Iran Strike, Cancels Joint Military Exercises
Here are two signs that the Obama administration is attempting to dial down tensions with Iran, sending powerful symbolic signals that Washington does not want to see the crisis with Iran militarized. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will hold talks this week with his Israeli counterparts. He appears to be […]
Elbaradei Quits Egyptian Presidential Race
Mohammad Elbaradei has withdrawn from the Egyptian presidential election. He is the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and was a thorn in the Bush administration’s eyes because of his honesty and lack of tolerance for false accusations. Elbaradei says he is afraid that the presidential election will be fixed by Egypt’s powerful […]
Omar Khayyam (6)
When I die, prepare my body in wine, and in place of a eulogy lift a glass! On Resurrection Day you’ll find my dust stirring beneath the threshold of the bar. translated by Juan Cole From Whinfield 6 ___ For the life and thought of the Iranian humanist, Omar Khayyam, see the Stanford Encyclopedia of […]
Israeli Mossad Agents allegedly Impersonated CIA in fostering Baluch Terrorism against Iran
Mark Perry reveals that Israeli Mossad intelligence operatives pretended to be American field officers when contacting members of the Baluch Jundullah terrorist group, presumably in Pakistan, and funding and encouraging Jundullah to blow up targets in Iran. Among Jundullah operations was a July, 2010, bombing of a Shiite mosque in Zahedan in July of 2010– […]