Tunisians woke Saturday morning to delirious joy at the advent of political liberty, but many worried about the simultaneous advent of social anarchy. The fall of the government of dictator Zine al-Abedin Ben Ali after 23 years left behind a number of political and social vacuums. As for the security breach, it was gangs and […]
The First Middle Eastern Revolution since 1979
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidin Bin Ali has fled the country before the advancing crowds pouring in to the capital’s center. A French eye-witness said of the masses thronging Bourguiba Avenue that “it was black with people.” The Speaker of Parliament [first minister] is caretaker leader of the country, though Aljazeera is reporting that there are […]
Sadr Demands Oil Shares for Iraqis, Insists on US Withdrawal
Washington observers are worried that the return to Iraq of Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr will forestall a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement. The SOFA specifies that the remaining 47,000 US troops be out of Iraq by the end of this year. The military-industrial complex wants to find a way of keeping thousands of US […]
Over 9,000 Murders by Gun in US; 39 in UK
Number of Murders, United States, 2009: 15,241 Number of Murders by Firearms, US, 2009: 9,146 Number of Murders, Britain, 2008*: 648 (Since Britain’s population is 1/5 that of US, this is equivalent to 3,240 US murders) Number of Murders by[pdf] firearms, Britain, 2008* 39 (equivalent to 195 US murders) *The Home office reported murder statistics […]
Another US Quagmire? Lebanon Government Falls
Ironically, while Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri was meeting with President Obama on Wednesday, his government fell. As one Arab commentator observed, he went into the meeting a prime minister and came back out a civilian. It is a joke of course. Al-Hariri will be caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed, which […]
Palin Borrows ‘Blood Libel’ from Israeli Far Right
Sarah Palin in her response to the controversy over her violent political imagery and that of the US right wing in general in the wake of the Tucson massacre, provoked a new controversy when she said, “Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence […]
Random Shooting in Egypt or Sectarian Hatred?
Was it sectarian hatred or a policeman’s random meltdown? The answer is not clear, though many press accounts are rushing to judgment. One thing that seems clear is that people who have firearms should be checked for mental stability! A stray Egyptian policeman on a train in Upper Egypt opened fire at a party of […]
Biden: US Could be in Afghanistan Past 2014; Bombing Shakes Capital
Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday in Kabul that the US might keep troops in Afghanistan after 2014 if asked to do so by the Afghanistan government. He thus reversed his earlier pledge that the US would be out of that country by that date, “come hell or high water.” He has been under pressure […]
Death Penalty for Blasphemy Rare in Muslim World
Pakistani campaigners against the country’s blasphemy laws are pointing out that out of 54 Muslim-majority countries in the world, at most 5 permit capital punishment for blasphemy. They are Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and possibly Afghanistan (the new Afghan constitution incorporates human rights norms that could affect statutes treating blasphemy as […]
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