Middle East

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – At a campaign event in California late on Thursday, President Joe Biden said, “Don’t worry, we’re going to free Iran, they’re going to free themselves pretty soon.” Biden’s pledge drew a sharp rebuke from Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi, who said the Iranians had already freed themselves with their 1979 Islamic […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: hijab Protests reflect Society-wide Anger at Regime which trashes Rule of Law and Human Rights

The Conversation

By Saeed Bagheri, University of Reading | – The death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police in September for not wearing the hijab properly was a fracturing point, prompting Iranian women to come on to the streets en masse to protest the regime’s violence and injustice. But our understanding of these […]

Israel/ Palestine

After another Israeli Election, must the Palestinians Prepare for a new Mass Expulsion?

Middle East Monitor

By Motasem A Dalloul | – With what looks like a resounding election victory, Benjamin Netanyahu seems certain to return as prime minister of Israel, a post he has already held for twelve years. This time, though, his cabinet will not include left or centrist parties; it will be filled with far right religious fanatics. […]

Featured

Top 5 Worst things that Far-Right Netanyahu Could do as Prime Minister to Israeli Democracy and Palestinian Society

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Now that far, far right Israeli politician Binyamin Netanyahu has been elected, what are the major negative consequences Israel and the world might see, according to the Israeli press and other sources? I’m drawing in part on a roound-up by BBC Monitoring. 1. Netanyahu’s more fascist allies have demanded that […]

Authoritarianism

What to Expect from COP27 in Egypt’s Police State: Medea Benjamin Interviews Sharif Abdel Kouddous

contributors

Medea Benjamin interviews Sharif Abdel Kouddous | – (Code Pink) – The global climate meeting called COP27 (the 27th Conference of Parties) will be held in the remote Egyptian desert resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt from November 6-18. Given the extremely repressive nature of the Egyptian government, this gathering will likely be different from others, […]

Climate Crisis

Egypt’s Alexandria in Danger of becoming a modern Atlantis, as Climate Conference opens in Sharm El Sheikh

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The second-largest city in the country hosting this year’s international climate change conference, Alexandria in Egypt, will struggle for its life the rest of this century and may be 33% under water in only 30 years. We may be seeing the end of a city founded 2,353 years ago. The […]

Displaced and Refugees

The Rise of Israeli Fascism as the Swing Vote in Parliament, and the Project of Ethnic Cleansing

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Despite Israeli propaganda about being a democracy that shares values with the liberal West, the country has for some time gone down a much darker path. Exit polling done by the major Israeli television channels in Tuesday’s election suggests that Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, in a joint slate with […]

Authoritarianism

‘Bloody Friday’ highlights the Plight of the Baloch in Iran

Middle East Monitor

By Samand Muhammad-Shahi | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – A month after a brutal massacre, protests continue in Iran’s restive region of Balochistan, home to the Baloch-Sunni ethno-religious minority. Six more people, including three children, were reported to have been killed on Friday as Iranian security forces opened fire on the demonstrators in […]

Afghanistan

A Different World is Possible: From Yemen War to Afghan Starvation, Our Tragedies are Exacerbated by Letting the US Military-Industrial Complex Run Wild

Peter G. Prontzos

Vancouver (Special to Informed Comment) – Right now, we have more than enough knowledge, wealth, and the capacity to create a just and prosperous world, but we are nowhere near realizing this dream. One reason is that we are constantly told about so-called “scarcities”, and how expensive it would be actually to help people and […]