China says it is planning joint projects with Iran on solar and wind energy. This news is potentially very important. I once took a 24-hour bus trip through the Great Salt Desert (Dasht-i Kavir) from Tehran to Zahedan, and I guarantee you there is lots of space there for solar panels, and lots of sunlight […]
Amanda Knox and Troy Davis
The overturning of the conviction for murder of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito by an Italian court on Monday contrasts with the fate of Troy Davis. In both cases, a conviction was built on shoddy evidence. In both cases, during the appeal the weakness of the case became apparent. But in the US, the verdict […]
Iran Business Partners: Cheney & Reagan, not Just the Koch Brothers
Bloomberg’s revelations that a subsidiary company owned by the radical rightwing billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch, sold millions of dollars in refinery equipment to Iran has produced widespread outrage on the blogosphere, given that Koch-backed politicians of the Tea Bagger persuasion have been among the more vociferous hawks calling for war on Iran. The […]
Panetta Slams Israeli Isolation; Is Israeli Policy Destabilizing US Allies?
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta , on a visit to Israel and Palestine before heading to Egypt, publicly upbraided the Likud government of Israel for having become isolated diplomatically in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring, and warned direly that brute military force would not be enough to provide for Israel’s […]
New York and Cairo Protests Show Egyptian 1% more Responsive than the American
In two protests thousands of miles away from one another on Saturday, a similar spirit of demand for government responsiveness to the people was made. In both cases there was a police crackdown and some clashes broke out. But in one case, the government showed flexibility and attempted to take steps to calm the anger […]
Al-`Awlaqi Should have been Tried in Absentia
A CIA drone operator killed the notorious proponent of radical terrorism against the United States, Anwar al-`Awlaqi, on Friday. The killing has provoked some controversy because al-`Awlaqi was a US citizen and was simply assassinated without any due process. Ron Paul has protested, as has the American Civil Liberties Union. Being a terrorism expert myself […]
Al-Qaeda Brands Ahmadinejad a Conspiracy Theorist!
The al-Qaeda-linked magazine “Inspire” has reprimanded Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for indulging in “stupid” “conspiracy theories” because of his stance, repeated at the recent United Nations meeting, that 9/11 was a Bush administration inside job. When al-Qaeda accuses you of being a conspiracy theorist, you’re really a space cadet. Incidentally, a far rightwing Muslim fundamentalist […]
Arab Spring Roundup
A pro-Baath mob in Damascus attacked the convoy of US ambassador Robert Ford, pelting his and other vehicles with tomatoes and eggs. Ford has visited dissident cities as they protested the regime of President Bashar al-Asad, and been denounced by the government for interfering in Syrian politics. The regime has consistently attempted to paint the […]
Why we Need a Palestinian State: (Cole at Truthdig Podcast)
In my interview by podcast for Truthdig this week, I discuss Palestinian statehood and how foolish the US government is in sptopping this movement. I also describe the demonstrations at Wall Street
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