By RFE/RL December 04, 2014 A U.S.-based rights watchdog says Internet freedom around the world has deteriorated for the fourth consecutive year, with the steepest declines in Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. In…
By Juan Cole | --- The United Nations General Assembly (where all 193 countries in the world get a vote) has almost unanimously demanded that Israel give up its nuclear weapons and…
By James L. Gelvin, University of California, Los Angeles The most serious attempt to bring the Syrian regime and representatives of the opposition together around a negotiating table together took place at…
By Juan Cole | --- My blog entry at The Nation is out: "After Acquittal, Egypt’s New Left Vows Mock Trial of Mubarak" Excerpt: "A youth “New Left” is still a significant…
By Juan Cole | --- The US Pentagon is confirming that Iranian F-4 fighter jets have flown bombing missions against Daesh or the so-called 'Islamic State Group' in Iraq. They helped Iraqi…
Euronews / France24 | --- VIDEO 1 (Euronews): "French MPs vote to recognise Palestinian state The French parliament has voted in favour of recognising the state of Palestine by a large majority.…
By Tareq A. Ramadan It has been recently reported by Daesh (what most Arabs call the self-styled "Islamic State Group" or IS) that it will be producing and circulating its own coinage…
By Richard Foltz | --- Having committed ourselves to military involvement in Iraq, we in North America should be asking ourselves exactly what goals we hope to achieve. Personally, after recently spending…
Euronews | -- "An integrated Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem has been vandalised by suspected Jewish extremists who set fire to a classroom. It happened late on Saturday at the Hand-in-Hand school where…
By Nadia Hijab and Diana Buttu (Ma'an) | --- Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the…
By Golnaz Esfandiari (RFE/RL) A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for an end to domestic criticism of Tehran's nuclear negotiations with major world powers. Former Foreign…
By Juan Cole | --- The Russian annexation of Crimea and heavy interference in the Ukraine has had a significant consequence for its hydrocarbon industry. President Vladimir Putin has been forced to…
DeutscheWelle [DW] | -- "Supplies of weapons and fighters bound for Islamic State militants are crossing over the border from Turkey into Syria, mostly unhindered." DW: "Goods crossing Turkish border bound for…
By Juan Cole | --- What an incredible year this has been! Informed Comment has gone from strength to strength. We expect 2015 to be as dramatic, and will continue to expand…
By Juan Cole | -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi announced to his parliament on Sunday that inspectors had uncovered 50,000 non-existent soldiers in four divisions of the Iraqi Army. Their pay…
Human Rights Watch | -- (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities need to take clear action to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) following the country’s first trial on the crime ending…
Middle East Eye "The 2011 Egyptian revolution is usually thought of as an uprising against dictatorship and corruption, with the aim of establishing a European or American style democratic system. But underlying…
Reuters | --- "On the first day of his visit to Turkey, Pope Francis has called for interreligious dialogue "so that there will be an end of all forms of fundamentalism and…
By Juan Cole | --- An Egyptian court on Saturday found found deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak and his former interior minister Habib Adly not guilty (or rather just dropped the charges) the…
By Cathrin Schaer | Berlin | (Niqash.org) -- The extremist Islamic State group has been very effective on social media, terrifying their enemies and boosting their own prestige. Now a new group…
AJ+ | --- "Dec. 3, 2014, New York City: The widow of Eric Garner, the unarmed black man who died after an NYPD officer killed him by chokehold, says she doesn't accept…
By Cenk Uygur (The Young Turks) | --- ""The conservative commentator Glenn Beck failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit by a Saudi Arabian student who Beck repeatedly…
By Munir Moon The area inside the Beltway consists of Washington, D.C., and surrounding counties, and what I call the Beast includes defense contractors, lobbyists, Wall Street, think tanks, advocacy groups, journalists,…
American Geophysical Union | -- West Antarctic melt rate has tripled "Joint Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – A comprehensive, 21-year analysis of the fastest-melting region of Antarctica has found that the melt…
The World Bank | -- "Some regions will have too much water and others will have too little, according to a comprehensive new study on climate change by the World Bank Group.…
By John Quiggin, The University of Queensland The controversy ignited by the Australian National University in October, when it decided to sell its shares in seven resources companies, has raised two important…
By Alex Shams and Salam Muharam (Ma'an News Agency) The alleyways of the Old City of Hebron leading away from the famed Ibrahimi mosque -- where the biblical patriarch Abraham and his…
The Young Turks | --- ""Americans' assessments of their personal freedom have significantly declined under President Obama, according to a new study from the Legatum Institute in London, and the United States…
Northwestern University News | --- Megan Fellman writes: "An interdisciplinary research team [from Northwestern University] has discovered that the pattern of information written on a Blu-ray disc -- and it doesn’t matter…
World Bank | --- "Romania is committed to moving towards a greener and more competitive low carbon economy that makes efficient use of resources and is resilient to climate risk. Therefore, the…
Solar Reserve | --- "Take an exclusive look at this revolutionary solar energy plant that works day and night.This is the world’s first 110 MW solar thermal power plant with advanced molten…
The Young Turks | --- "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani weighed in on the Ferguson grand jury decision Tuesday night and said that if it were his case, he would prosecute…
Hanni Fakhoury and Jennifer Lynch (Electronic Frontier Foundation) Once again, a federal court will decide whether police can track your movements over an extended period of time without a search warrant. Federal…
By Juan Cole | --- The popular story about Thanksgiving is an environmental parable that we would do well to remember today. It was a harvest festival in 1621, participated in by…
By Andrea Germanos, staff writer (Commondreams.org) "Even very ambitious mitigation" can't change the fact that the world has already "locked in" mid-century warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial times, a new report from…
By Peter Bloom, The Open University (The Conversation) The decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson with the unlawful shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown has reignited protests across the US.…
By Juan Cole | --- With regard to employment, African-Americans got hit harder by the Bush Depression than did whites, and jobs have not come back for them at nearly the same…
By Julian Hipkins III (Zinn Education Project) In light of the grand jury decision, we share this collection of teaching ideas and resources, originally published by Teaching for Change in August of…
By Andrew J. Bacevich (Tomdispatch.com) | -- “Iraq no longer exists.” My young friend M, sipping a cappuccino, is deadly serious. We are sitting in a scruffy restaurant across the street from…
Bill Moyers | --- Bill Moyers: "How Public Power Can Defeat Plutocrats" via BillMoyers.com "Government has become a clearinghouse for corporations and plutocrats with deep pockets to buy the politicians who grease…
Foreign Policy
Watchdog Says World Internet Freedom In Decline
By RFE/RL December 04, 2014 A U.S.-based rights watchdog says Internet freedom around the world has deteriorated for the fourth consecutive year, with the steepest declines in Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. In…UN General Assembly Demands Israel Mothball its Nuclear Arsenal
By Juan Cole | --- The United Nations General Assembly (where all 193 countries in the world get a vote) has almost unanimously demanded that Israel give up its nuclear weapons and…Could Years more of Syrian Civil War be Avoided by Comprehensive Talks with Iran?
By James L. Gelvin, University of California, Los Angeles The most serious attempt to bring the Syrian regime and representatives of the opposition together around a negotiating table together took place at…Cole at the Nation: Egyptian Left Plans Mock Trial of Mubarak
By Juan Cole | --- My blog entry at The Nation is out: "After Acquittal, Egypt’s New Left Vows Mock Trial of Mubarak" Excerpt: "A youth “New Left” is still a significant…Iran-Iraq War 2.0? Iran Flies bombing Raids on Extremists in Iraq
By Juan Cole | --- The US Pentagon is confirming that Iranian F-4 fighter jets have flown bombing missions against Daesh or the so-called 'Islamic State Group' in Iraq. They helped Iraqi…In Rebuke to Israel, French Parliament votes Resolution to Recognize Palestine
Euronews / France24 | --- VIDEO 1 (Euronews): "French MPs vote to recognise Palestinian state The French parliament has voted in favour of recognising the state of Palestine by a large majority.…ISIL, Coins, and the Caliphate: Banking on Idealism
By Tareq A. Ramadan It has been recently reported by Daesh (what most Arabs call the self-styled "Islamic State Group" or IS) that it will be producing and circulating its own coinage…Iraqi Kurdistan: Can a Bastion of Tolerance and Democracy survive in the Middle East?
By Richard Foltz | --- Having committed ourselves to military involvement in Iraq, we in North America should be asking ourselves exactly what goals we hope to achieve. Personally, after recently spending…Jewish Terrorists set Fire to joint Arab-Jewish School in Jerusalem
Euronews | -- "An integrated Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem has been vandalised by suspected Jewish extremists who set fire to a classroom. It happened late on Saturday at the Hand-in-Hand school where…It is Time for the PLO to go to the UN, Int’l Criminal Court for Palestinian Independence
By Nadia Hijab and Diana Buttu (Ma'an) | --- Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the…In Slam at Hard Liners, Iran Leader Khamenei’s Aide Calls For End To Criticism Of Nuclear Talks
By Golnaz Esfandiari (RFE/RL) A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for an end to domestic criticism of Tehran's nuclear negotiations with major world powers. Former Foreign…Putin, Blocked by Europe, turns to Turkey for Gas Pipeline
By Juan Cole | --- The Russian annexation of Crimea and heavy interference in the Ukraine has had a significant consequence for its hydrocarbon industry. President Vladimir Putin has been forced to…Is Turkey letting Daesh/ISIL Weapons & Fighters Cross Freely to Syria?
DeutscheWelle [DW] | -- "Supplies of weapons and fighters bound for Islamic State militants are crossing over the border from Turkey into Syria, mostly unhindered." DW: "Goods crossing Turkish border bound for…2014 Annual Informed Comment Fundraiser
By Juan Cole | --- What an incredible year this has been! Informed Comment has gone from strength to strength. We expect 2015 to be as dramatic, and will continue to expand…Bush Admin. Spent Billions on an Iraqi Army with 50,000 “ghost” Soldiers
By Juan Cole | -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi announced to his parliament on Sunday that inspectors had uncovered 50,000 non-existent soldiers in four divisions of the Iraqi Army. Their pay…Egypt’s Female Genital Mutilation Shame and the Failure of Prosecution
Human Rights Watch | -- (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities need to take clear action to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) following the country’s first trial on the crime ending…The Workers Movement and Class Struggle in the Egyptian Revolution
Middle East Eye "The 2011 Egyptian revolution is usually thought of as an uprising against dictatorship and corruption, with the aim of establishing a European or American style democratic system. But underlying…Pope Francis in Turkey calls for interreligious dialogue to stop terrorism
Reuters | --- "On the first day of his visit to Turkey, Pope Francis has called for interreligious dialogue "so that there will be an end of all forms of fundamentalism and…Cairo Erupts as Mubarak, Adly Declared Innocent in Deaths of Protesters
By Juan Cole | --- An Egyptian court on Saturday found found deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak and his former interior minister Habib Adly not guilty (or rather just dropped the charges) the…The Rolex Caliph’s Camel Selfie: How Iraqi Youth are Ridiculing Daesh/ISIL Online
By Cathrin Schaer | Berlin | (Niqash.org) -- The extremist Islamic State group has been very effective on social media, terrifying their enemies and boosting their own prestige. Now a new group…