Slavery and Trafficking

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – John Kelly’s ignorant remarks about the Civil War and compromise on Laura Ingraham’s show have rightly angered a lot of people. One of the arguments he made was for historical relativism: ““I think we make a mistake, though, and as a society and certainly as, as […]

History

What to do with Confederate statues?

contributors

James Glaser | (The Conversation) | – – Could Russia teach us something about how to deal with difficult aspects of our national history? Many places in the South – from New Orleans to Louisville – are in the process of bringing down statues that glorify the Confederacy. That process raises questions about what to […]

Iraq

Freeing Fayza: A Journey to War-Torn Iraq to Rescue a Yazidi ISIL Slave Girl

Juan Cole

By: Brian Glyn Williams and Christopher Natola | (Informed Comment) | – – It began with an electrifying text message from a Yazidi member of a network dedicated to freeing Yazidis (an ancient people from Northern Iraq who adhere to a faith rooted in old Iranian religion and influenced by Sufi mysticism). The message was […]

Children

Demand-Side Slavery, Libyan Instability and European Crime Networks

contributors

Neil Thompson | (Informed Comment) | – – After several years in which refugees and migration have featured heavily in the Western media narrative, a disturbing correlation between human trafficking and conflict zones is well established. But new studies indicate that conflicts do not just cause human trafficking as refugees seek to flee warzones; wars […]

Far Right

Alabama Passes Bill to Protect Confederate Monuments even at cost of Economy

contributors

TeleSur | – – Some Southern cities are rethinking the appropriateness of keeping such emblems on public property. Not Alabama. Alabama lawmakers on Friday approved a bill that prohibits the removal of Confederate monuments and other long-standing historical markers. The bill, passed in both the House and Senate, prohibits “the relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or […]

History

GOP Politician: ‘ISIS Has Won’ After Confederate Monument Removed

contributors

Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks) | Video News Clip | – – “Hey Confederates: your side lost. Yankees kicked your traitor slaver asses. Deal with it. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down. “Corey Stewart, the former chairman of President Donald Trump’s Virginia campaign and a current candidate for Virginia governor, […]

Donald Trump

Ben Carson thinks Slaves came as “Immigrants,” earned “Less”

contributors

CBS | (Video News Clip) | – – “Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson is facing backlash after referring to slaves as immigrants. CBSN’s Vlad Duthiers has the story on what exactly Carson said.” “13:26: BEN CARSON: “That’s what America is about. A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who […]