Some 80 people were killed and over two hundred wounded on Monday in a clearly coordinated set of bombings and attacks in 17 Iraqi cities. The prime suspect is radicalized Sunni Arabs who are typically called “al-Qaeda” in Iraq even though they likely have little connection to the original. The biggest toll came from two […]
Rebels Advance, Surround Tripoli, as Qaddafi Totters
The long slow slog of the Libyan struggle to throw off the rule of Muammar Qaddafi, accelerated this weekend, possibly decisively, with rebel forces making major advances. Tripoli was said to be ready to embrace the rebel youth when they came into the capital. Free Libya forces made substantial advances over the weekend, coming up […]
Rick Perry and the Hucksterism of the Rich
Rick Perry’s announcement of his presidential ambitions marks the triumph of fantasy over reality in American politics. Among our more pressing problems are global climate change caused by human production of greenhouse gases; religious fanaticism and interference in governance; and the structural deficit faced by the US government It used to be that political divisions […]
Iraq declines to Cut Syria Off
As Syria passed another bloody Friday of protests, Arab journalists and now the New York Times are noting that the Iraqi government of PM Nouri al-Maliki has declined to withdraw its ambassador from Damascus or to put any significant pressure on Syria with regard to the suppression of protests. The NYT speculates that Baghdad has […]
Paul, Santorum and the Sixth War (on Iran)
One of the places foreign policy emerged in the GOP Iowa debate last night was an exchange between Ron Paul and Rick Santorum on Iran, as right wing analyst Thomas R. Eddlem has explained in detail. Chris Wallace of Fox News asked libertarian Rep. Ron Paul why he was soft on Iran and opposed economic […]
Obama may Call for al-Asad to step down
President Barack Obama is seriously considering calling publicly for Syrian President Bashar al-Asad to step down, according to press reports. He is said to be awaiting a briefing by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who met with al-Asad for 6 hours on Tuesday, as Aljazeera English reports:. On Wednesday, the US slapped sanctions on Syria’s […]
Jordan Plans Green Star Trek Theme Park
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has big plans to renovate the port of Aqaba, and among them is the building of a $1.5 billion Star Trek theme park powered by green energy. King Abdullah of Jordan is a huge Star Trek fan, and appeared in a cameo in Star Trek: Voyager: The mixture of futurism, […]
London Riots: Its the Economy, Stupid (Not a Clash of Civilizations)
The unfortunate riots in Tottenham in London tell us a great deal about the problems of immigrant communities, and what they say to us most eloquently is that people want to be treated with justice. They want to be treated in accordance with a rule of law, and not singled out for extra policing on […]
50 US & NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan in Past Week
Another US helicopter got into trouble on Sunday, and had to make a hard landing in the eastern Paktia province, though no one aboard was hurt. It may have been forced down by Taliban fire. Seven US & NATO troops have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan in the past 48 hours, on top of […]
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