Tens of thousands of Syrians demonstrated on August 5, the first Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid regime crackdowns that were especially harsh in Hama, with some 13 killed there on Friday alone. Aljazeera English reports on the Syrian government’s severe repression, especially in Hama: AJE also reports on government’s rationale that […]
Downgraded US Credit Rating: What comes of Coddling the Super-Rich
The decision of Standard & Poor to downgrade the credit rating of the United States of America from AAA to AA+ was clearly based on uncertainty in two major areas. The first and least important was the wrangling on the debt ceiling, which took the US to the brink of not being able to meet […]
Rebels claim Leader of Feared Khamis Brigade Dead
Free Libya forces are making unconfirmed allegations that Gen. Khamis Qaddafi has been killed in a NATO airstrike on a military outpost at Zlitan near Misrata. Khamis leads the feared Khamis Brigades, who are accused of using tanks, artillery and cluster bombs against civilians in Misrata. The Brigades is among the most lethal units among […]
Toothless UNSC Condemnation of Syria shows Russian, Chinese Clout
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday issued a “presidential statement,” one step below a resolution, chiding the Syrian government for its violent repression of protests (but also condemning violence by the protesters, which is a little like complaining that Jack the Ripper’s victims tried to scratch him with their fingernails). The statement was hailed […]
Mubarak on Trial but W. Is Not
The July 8 protests spearheaded by young Egyptian leftists to demand accountability and transparency were rewarded Wednesday by publicly broadcast trial proceedings against former president Hosni Mubarak, his two sons, and several associates. The sight of Mubarak, on a hospital bed in the in-court cage where the accused are kept during the proceedings, was electrifying […]
Syrian Massacre in Hama Sparks More EU Sanctions
Syria’s concerted military intervention against peacefully protesting crowds at the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan has resulted in dozens of deaths, especially in the city of Hama, with about 100 dead in the past two days. The European Union responded to this provocation by upping sanctions against Damascus. During Ramadan, devout Muslims refrain […]
Gingrich Accused of Twitter Fraud
Newt Gingrich has ten times as many Twitter followers as Mitt Romney, but it is being alleged that most of them are dummy accounts or are actually paid for. In bizarro Gingrich-world, the popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt are a dangerous illusion, the Obama administration should have clung to dictator Hosni Mubarak, the Muslim […]
Zakaria: Tea Party Tactics Immoral, Dictatorial
Vice President Joe Biden may or may not have concurred with some disgruntled Democratic politicians that in the negotiations over the debt ceiling, the Tea Party Republicans acted like “terrorists.” But what critics of the Baggers’ methods were pointing to was well described by Fareed Zakaria: Fareed Zakaria explains why the Tea Party tactics are […]
Eissenstat: Turkey’s Generals Resign
Howard Eissenstat writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Turkey’s Generals Resign: Thoughts on a New Chapter in Turkish Politics For most of my professional life I have argued that one of the chief flaws of Turkish democracy was the overwhelming influence of its military. It is for this reason I have been largely […]
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