Uncategorized

(By Julia Angwin) In the course of writing her book, Dragnet Nation, ProPublica reporter Julia Angwin tried various strategies to protect her privacy. In this blog post, she distills the lessons from her privacy experiments into useful tips for readers. One of the easiest and simplest things you can do to protect your privacy is […]

Climate Change

Giant Rhubarb Battery may save the World (Really!)

contributors

(By Tina Casey) Hook Up Your Solar Panels To A Giant Rhubarb Battery (via Clean Technica) Yes, all you rhubarb fans take note. A new energy storage breakthrough is under way at Harvard University, and it is based on a common little molecule that is almost exactly the same as one found in rhubarb. The […]

Dissent

40 prominent Journalists Call for Release of Detained Colleagues

Juan Cole

Sharif Abdel Kouddous: In a strong show of solidarity, nearly 40 correspondents and editors representing 29 international media organizations are calling for the immediate release of journalists detained in Egypt. On December 29, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed from Al Jazeera English were arrested by Egyptian authorities and have been held arbitrarily […]

Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam (497): “You’re beast and demon, angel, human being”

Juan Cole

You who distill within you the whole world, attend to this voice from the realm beyond: You’re beast, and demon, angel, human being; whatever you show forth, you are that thing. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 497

Israel

Ariel Sharon’s Legacy for Israel and the Middle East

contributors

(By Yoav Peled) Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday, had been known as a brilliant tactician and lousy strategist. But when he took office as Israel’s Prime Minister, in February 2001, he had a clear strategic vision for the country, which he pursued doggedly and successfully. Sharon’s vision consisted of two elements, both having to […]

Christianity

Tripoli Residents Protest as 80,000 Rare Books in Lebanon Torched by Salafis

Juan Cole

(AFP) Angry Lebanese protest over attack on priest’s library (via AFP) Hundreds of Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday to protest the torching of a decades-old library owned by a Greek Orthodox priest. The demonstrators held up banners that read “Tripoli, peaceful town” and “This is… —– […]

Iraq

Kurds increase their Autonomy amid chaos in Arab Iraq

contributors

(By Globalpost) As Iraq spirals, the Kurds take advantage (via GlobalPost) ERBIL, Iraq — As sectarian violence in Iraq reaches new heights and threatens to return the country to civil war, the semi-autonomous Kurdish north could be set to capitalize on the instability. An estimated 6,818 people were killed in Iraq’s violence… —– Related […]

art and photography

A Bridge of Boats across Frozen Tigris River, Mosul, 1903

Juan Cole

The authors say locals in Mosul told them that the last time the river froze was 1750. That freezing became more rare after that date is significant, since 1750 marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and increased coal burning for energy. The period 1250-1850 or the medieval cooling period (often incorrectly called the ‘little […]

Climate Change

Spain, Portugal show that 50%, even 70% Power from Renewables is Possible Right now

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The miserable record of the United States in tackling its deadly carbon dioxide emissions (5 billion metric tons a year) sometimes obscures how very possible it is for industrial economies to go green. Spain, a country of 47 million, was nearly at 50% renewables for electricity generation in 2013. That 50% from […]