International Politics and Economy

By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/ RL ) Scores of Iranian political activists and intellectuals have launched an online campaign calling on Iran to end its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and take in Syrian refugees fleeing violence there. The more than 70 activists, who include several former political prisoners, blame Assad and his […]

Elections

Dark Money Surge: Conservatives Buoyed by Historic Flood of Contributions

contributors

By Sarah Lazare, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) – – A new report from Center for Responsive Politics finds single-candidate groups have spent $16.2 million total so far—- over 55 times levels seen in 2012—- and conservatives disproportionately benefit. Political spending by outside groups seeking to the influence the 2016 presidential election is already dramatically […]

censorship

Can Digital India flourish without Freedom of Speech? PM Modi in Silicon Valley

contributors

Priya Satia | (Huffington Post) | – – The Indian community of Silicon Valley is preparing to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with open arms next week, in a route stop that has outshined the PM’s ultimate U.S. destination–his meeting with President Obama. Mr. Modi comes to promote Digital India, and local Indians are […]

Dissent

A Guru for Our Time: Eqbal Ahmad and the life of Dissent from Empire

contributors

By Stuart Schaar | (Informed Comment) | – – In the early 1960s I was living in Rabat while researching my doctoral dissertation for Princeton University. My friend, the Pakistani Eqbal Ahmad (d. 1999), who was living in Tunisia and also researching his dissertation, had just driven through Algeria as the Algerians celebrated their victory […]

Egypt

Mexican Tour Organizers, Buddhist Healers, Baffled by Egyptian Army Attack

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Gabriela Bejarano Rangel, the sister and daughter of the Mexican organizers of the tour to Egypt that met with tragedy Sunday, has been interviewed at Excelsior.com. The Egyptian military mistook the tourist convoy in the western desert near Siwa Oasis for terrorists and attacked them, killing […]

Israel/ Palestine

Leftist Corbyn win as head of UK Labour alarms Israeli Right Wing

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party on Saturday quickly led to condemnation from the Israeli press who branded the veteran left-winger “anti-Israeli” and raised allegations of antisemitism. The 66-year-old socialist was named leader after clinching a landslide 59.5 percent of […]

Authoritarianism

The 3000: Why have some Tunisians joined ISIL/Daesh in Syria?

contributors

by Youssef Cherif | (Middle East Center Blog, LSE Political Science) | – – Tunisia, regarded as the Arab ‘beacon of hope’ and the cliché of Arab secularism and liberalism, raises a lot of expectations. Hence the most pressing point when Tunisia is discussed rotates around the 3000 Tunisian fighters who joined the ranks of […]

Christianity

Pope Francis’ call to host Refugees contrasts w/ anti-Immigrant US “Religious Right”

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Not all American Christian leaders have covered themselves in glory when it comes to the issue of Syrian refugees being accepted by the US ( not many are). Evangelist Franklin Graham sees these refugees as a security threat because many of them are Muslim (though there […]

Foreign Policy

American Workers need a Raise, & the Iran Deal, and Peace

contributors

By Michael Eisenscher | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | We’ll never rebuild this country if we keep wasting money on war. This Labor Day, like others before it, finds American workers squeezed on many fronts. Inequality is rising, union membership is dwindling, and wages aren’t keeping up with job growth. Naturally, addressing all those challenges […]