International Politics and Economy

(By Peter Van Buren) The Obama administration has just opened a new front in its ongoing war on whistleblowers. It’s taking its case against one man, former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Air Marshal Robert MacLean, all the way to the Supreme Court. So hold on, because we’re going back down the rabbit hole with the Most […]

Dissent

Paranoia strikes Deep: Russian Media Propaganda Feeds Ukraine Crisis

contributors

(By Dan Peleschuk) Russian TV beats war drum on home front (via GlobalPost) MOSCOW, Russia — Ukraine’s new authorities are an ultranationalist, neo-fascist gang who’ve seized power with covert Western support and are bent on marauding Russian-speaking southeastern Ukraine and forcing its peaceful citizens into submission… ——– Related video: Euronews: “Sergei Lavrov defends Russia’s […]

Peace

Will a Multi-Polar World be more Peaceful? The Failure of the Project for a New American Empire

contributors

(By Tom Engelhardt) There is, it seems, something new under the sun. Geopolitically speaking, when it comes to war and the imperial principle, we may be in uncharted territory. Take a look around and you’ll see a world at the boiling point. From Ukraine to Syria, South Sudan to Thailand, Libya to Bosnia, Turkey to […]

Barack Obama

Don’t Let the Global 1% off the Hook: Obama should Press Saudi State on Human Rights when he Visits Riyadh

contributors

(By Sarah Leah Whitson) President Barack Obama The White House Dear President Obama, As you prepare for your upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, we write to urge you to include critical human rights issues in all your discussions with Saudi officials. While the purpose of your visit may be to discuss “ongoing cooperation to […]

Iraq

One Million Afro-Iraqis say “Yes We Can” in Next Election

Juan Cole

(By Mustafa Sadoun for Niqash, in Basra) There are an estimated 1.5 million African Iraqis in Iraq today and with these coming elections, the group has not yet given up on the idea of representation in Parliament and recognition as a legitimate minority in the country. That means we make up about 5 percent […]

Dissent

Peeping Toms of the Intel World: Recording Bulk Private Yahoo Webcam Chats

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In the same way that pedophiles are attracted to professions where they come into frequent contact with children, peeping Toms surely are attracted into electronic surveillance work. That seems to me the only explanation for the US National Security Agency and British intelligence’s Optic Nerve program, just revealed by The Guardian from […]

Environment

GOP v. Nature: House Voted Against Environment 95 Percent Of The Time In 2013

contributors

House Republicans voted in line with environmental interests on key environmental legislation an average of just 5 percent of the time in 2013, according to a new scorecard. The scorecard, released each year from the League of Conservation Voters, tallied…

al-Qaeda

Obama and the Golden Calf of National Security: Broken Commandments

Juan Cole

(Karen J. Greenberg) In January 2009, Barack Obama entered the Oval Office projecting idealism and proud to be the constitutional law professor devoted to turning democratic principles into action. In his first weeks in office, in a series of executive orders and public statements, the new president broadcast for all to hear the five commandments […]

Islam

Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” video Decried as Blasphemous by Some Muslims

Juan Cole

Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” music video, set in ancient Egypt, has stirred controversy because of a scene where a man is struck down who is wearing a pendant with “God” (Allah) written on it in Arabic. An online petition decries it as blasphemous. Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks points out that in ancient Egypt […]