International Politics and Economy

Glenn Greenwald spends the last third of his excellent new book, “No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the US Surveillance State”, exposing the mentality and function of pseudo-journalists like David Gregory, who are in fact better understood…

Apartheid

Anthony Bourdain on Palestinians: “The World has visited many terrible things on” them, robbed of their Humanity

contributors

Anthony Bourdain: it is something we do all the time: “Show regular people doing everyday things–cooking and enjoying meals… It is a measure, I guess, of how twisted and shallow our depiction of the people is that these images come as a shock to so many. The world has visited many terrible things on the […]

Dissent

Iran “Happy” Video Arrestees out on Bail but Pharrell Cover goes Viral

contributors

Iran frees ‘Happy’ video dancers on bail (via AFP) Six young Iranians arrested for dancing on rooftops to US singer Pharrell Williams’ hit “Happy” in a video that went viral on the Internet have been released on bail, reports said Wednesday. The reports were confirmed by Tehran-based fashion photographer… — Related video: The Young […]

Dissent

If Senate’s Phony Journalist “Shield Law” wouldn’t Protect a Glenn Greenwald what Good is It?

contributors

Back in March, we pointed out that Senator Chuck Schumer had more or less admitted that his attempt at a media shield law (protecting sources) likely wouldn’t protect Glenn Greenwald. While Schumer argued that it was still “better than current law,”…

Apartheid

Israel Accused of War Crime over Army “Execution” of Innocent Palestinian Teens

contributors

(By Lauren McCauley) According to rights group Defense for Children International — Palestine, which obtained and circulated the security camera footage, Nadeem Siam Nawara, 17, and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh, 16, sustained fatal gunshot wounds on May 15 by Israeli Defense Forces after participating in a demonstration near the Ofer military prison in the West Bank. […]

Censors

When the McCarthyites tried to Ban “Robin Hood” as a Communist; and the Green Feather Movement

contributors

(By Alison Kysia) On November 13, 1953, during the height of the McCarthy era, Robin Hood and his band of “merry outlaws” made headlines. Mrs. Thomas J. White of the Indiana Textbook Commission called for a ban of Robin Hood in all school books for promoting communism because he stole from the rich to give […]

Democracy

Sunnis Big Losers in Iraq Elections, PM al-Maliki has Largest Party

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The results of the Iraqi parliamentary elections are in, and everybody lost. There will be another hung parliament that gets almost nothing done. The Sunni Arabs ended up dividing their vote and doing poorly. The Shiites likewise are deeply divided. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s party did best, positioning him for a third […]

Democracy

After Occupy: Is Economic Democracy Possible?

contributors

(A conversation on economic democracy with Tom Malleson via OUP) How do we address the problem of inequality in capitalist societies? Tom Malleson, the author of After Occupy: Economic Democracy for the 21st Century, argues that by making sure that democracy exists in both our economy and in our government, we may be able to […]

Apartheid

Occupartheid is Isolating and Degrading Israel

contributors

(Open Letter from Daniel Bar-Tal, Tel Aviv) “Love your neighbor as yourself” This is the core requirement for overcoming blindness caused by hate and fear needed for peacemaking. Dear Friends, I write this letter with great concern for the future of my society and the State of Israel with the belief that the views presented […]