14 January 2011 Where are the ‘democracy promoters’ on the Tunisian uprising?, asks Marc Lynch. It’s a fair question: Thus far, a month into the massive demonstrations rocking Tunisia, the Washington Post editorial page has published exactly zero editorials about Tunisia. For that matter, the Weekly Standard, another magazine which frequently claims the mantle of […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
Violent Media Rhetoric Beyond Tucson: When Some Calls for Violence Are Acceptable
The discussion of violent and paranoid rhetoric in the media is long overdue, whether or not it is ever determined that accused Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner was somehow influenced or motivated by such rhetoric. Before the shooting, there had been a remarkable surge of politically motivated violence (FAIR Blog, 1/12/11). Despite media efforts to […]
Arafat’s Ghost
Asʻad Ghanem. Palestinian Politics after Arafat: A Failed National Movement. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010. x + 208 pp. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-253-35427-3; $24.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-253-22160-5. November 2010 marked the sixth anniversary of the death of Palestinian National Authority (PNA) president Yasser Arafat. For the last two years of his life, the once […]
End “Supermax” Isolation in Ohio State Penitentiary
TO: Warden David Bobby, Ohio State Penitentiary Director Gary Mohr, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Chief William A. Eleby, Bureau of Classification Ohio Department of Rehabilitation We the undersigned call for an end to isolated “supermax” imprisonment in Ohio State Penitentiary. We are especially concerned about the cases of Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Carlos Sanders); […]
Tunisia: The Force of Disobedience
Sadri Khiari, Tunisian activist exiled in France since early 2003, is one of the founding members of the Party of the Indigenous of the Republic (PIR), of which he is currently one of the key leaders. He has published, among others, Tunisie. Le délitement de la cité : coercition, consentement, résistance, éditions Karthala, Paris, 2003; […]
People’s Rights Forum 2011, Ankara, 21-23 January 2011
People’s Houses (Turkey) is preparing to organize the second People’s Rights Forum on 21-23 January 2011 in Ankara, in a time when people’s rights struggles against neo-liberal capitalist aggression on labour, humanity and nature are growing. The first People’s Rights Forum was held in July 2007 with the common initiative and contributions of People’s […]
Lebanese Bloggers Support Tunisian Protests against “Arab Pinochet”
Lebanese bloggers have joined the chorus of concern over the Tunisian riots that have thus far claimed 24 lives. Sympathy and support is extended to the Tunisian youth protesting the authoritarianism, corruption, and poor economic management of President Zine el Abidine ben Ali, dubbed the “Arab Pinochet” by Lebanese blogger, the Angry Arab. The protests […]
One Year after Haiti Earthquake, Corporations Profit While People Suffer
One year after an earthquake devastated Haiti, much of the promised relief and reconstruction aid has not reached those most in need. In fact, the nation’s tragedy has served as an opportunity to further enrich corporate interests. The details of a recent lawsuit, as reported by Business Week, highlights the ways in which contractors — […]
Greece to Build Wall on Turkish Border
Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. “The year 2011 promises to be auspicious for the security industry. On the 31st of December, the Greek government announced its intention to build, on the land border with Turkey, a barbed-wire wall to prevent entrance of migrants. A few weeks before that, Israel began building a barrier […]
The C-word in Germany
Once again it was the annual big weekend for German leftists of every conceivable persuasion. It was also a weekend with tons of slush, the result of weeks of cold and snow now ending in thaw weather, but, in the eyes of most participants, also provided by most of the media. As every year, Sunday […]
Israel’s View of the Iranian Nuclear “Threat”
Over the last few weeks, some senior figures in Israel’s national security establishment have made — in an Israeli context — relatively moderate statements about their perception of the Iranian “threat” to their country. Last month, Deputy Prime Minister (and former IDF chief of staff) Moshe Yaalon said that, because of technical difficulties and the […]
Turkey: The Kurdish Test
Shown the word “Kurd” on an eye chart . . . : General: “Turk!” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “Voter!” Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. Delphine Strauss, “Turkish Army Wades into Kurdish Debate” (Financial Times, 17 December 2010). | Print
Racist Rage: Islamophobia, the Tea Party, and Endless War
We are witnessing an unprecedented surge in racism against Muslims in the US. There is a real fear among US Muslims that if there’s a successful terrorist attack on Americans, particularly on US soil, we will surely face pogroms and detention centers. The growth of the Far Right and, more specifically, the Tea Party over […]
The War Party Pushes Obama for Even More Iran Sanctions
The first issue of The Weekly Standard for 2011 includes an article by Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz, entitled “The Logic of Our Iran Sanctions: Accelerate Them Now.” Gerecht and Dubowitz are both affiliated with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and are prominent voices in neoconservative circles focused on Iran. We highlight their […]
Iran’s Subsidy Reductions: Upon Whom Will the Costs Fall?
The long awaited liberalization of energy commodities in Iran has finally begun. President Ahmadinejad stated: “At this stage, we don’t want to free prices, rather we are going to regulate and reform them.” How regulated will this new system be? Iranians with private cars get a monthly ration of about one full Iranian tank of […]
Expanding US Raids in Pakistan: Interviews with Mike Ferner, Kathy Kelly, Michael Marceau, and Ann Wright
On 20 December 2010, the New York Times reported (Mark Mazzetti and Dexter Filkins, “U.S. Military Seeks to Expand Raids in Pakistan”): “Senior American military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for an expanded campaign of Special Operations ground raids across the border into Pakistan’s tribal areas. . . . Now, American military officers appear confident […]
Afghanistan and Iran: War, Human Rights, and Socioeconomic Development
Listen to the interview with Jerica Arents and Mary Dean: Jerica Arents: What’s interesting, we heard many people who are in higher echelons of society [in Bamiyan Province in Afghanistan] say that “US forces need to stay, they are protecting us,” but ordinary people, ordinary Afghans, whom we talked to said, “We want the […]
“Dear Afghanistan”: A New Year’s Call for Peace
While the US may be the world’s single superpower in military terms, it faces another superpower: the voices of war-weary millions who detest violence and killing. In Afghanistan, in the United States, and among the populations of countries whose governments have joined the NATO coalition, millions of people are calling for an end to war […]
We Are Afghans for Peace
“We believe the US and NATO forces cannot liberate Afghan women, nor defeat the Taliban, nor bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.”
Happy New Year
Makhlouf is a cartoonist in Egypt. The cartoons above were published by Al-Masry Al-Youm on 20 and 22 December 2010 under a Creative Commons license. | Print
