Informed Comment - Part 2046

Saudis gone Wild

Saudi revelers put the “fire” in “celebratory fire”:

Japan on the Anniversary of Fukushima: Anger, Protests and Hope

On the two-year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, 40,000 people rallied in downtown Tokyo against the current conservative government’s plans to start back up Japan’s […]

Juan Cole

Uncategorized

Karzai accuses Taliban of Serving US Interests, Slams (Non-Existent) US-Taliban Talks

Once again, the erratic president of Afghanistan, had US officials shaking their heads in disbelief after he gave a speech while Secretary of Defense Chuck […]

Juan Cole

Pakistan

Pakistan: Violence against Christian Neighborhood rooted in Blasphemy Law, Union Contest

On Sunday, Pakistani police rounded up 70 suspects in the mass arson attacks on Saturday on the Christian neighborhood of Joseph Colony on Noor Road […]

Juan Cole

Egypt

Cairo Burning: The Great Soccer Riots of 2013 and the Revolution

Some two thousand angry youth in Port Said attempted to block ferries and sent speedboats into the canal zone, aiming at disrupting shipping in the […]

Juan Cole

Syria

Humanitarian Catastrophe in Syria: Why don’t We Hear More, Do More?

Oxfam says that the Syrian refugee crisis is ‘spiraling out of control’; Amy Christian reports: The Real News Network interviews Omar Dahi on this humanitarian […]

Juan Cole

Afghanistan

Two Bombings Kill 18 As Hagel Arrives in Afghanistan

The Taliban appear to have strategized embarrassing new Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. As he arrived in Kabul on his first visit to Afghanistan, a […]

Juan Cole

Afghanistan

Overcoming Woman-Hatred in Afghanistan: 3 Stories

In honor of International Women’s Day, here is a short documentary on women in Afghanistan, focusing on three women who have achieved something in recent […]

Juan Cole

Lebanon