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Arabs to discuss Syria escalation

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Feb. 12 (News Report) - Basic supplies are said to be running low in Homs Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo on Sunday to decide their next move after a resolution on Syria failed in the UN Security Council last week.

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How to Listen for Racism on the Campaign Trail: Jeffrey Goldberg

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:05:00 -0800

Bloomberg - By Jeffrey Goldberg, Bloomberg - Jan. 31 - Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for the Atlantic, is the author of "Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror." He was formerly a Washington correspondent and a Middle East correspondent for the New Yorker. Here are some things you could lea

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Why Aren’t More Arab Americans Working in Mainstream Journalism?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Columbia Journalism Review - Jan. 31 - There are anywhere between 3.5 and 5.1 million Americans of Arab descent, according to figures from the Arab American Institute, yet relatively few work in journalism full time. While meaningful estimates aren’t known, as journalism scholars that conduct demographic research in American newsrooms do not typically tally newsmakers of Arab descent, the National Arab American Journalists Association counts around 250...

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Stop the Madness

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Foreign Policy - By Rebuttal - Jan. 19 (News Analysis) - This isn't the first time that hawks have raised the alarm about Iran's nuclear program, claiming that the sky is falling. Breathless, hypothetical timelines to an Iranian bomb have continued almost unabated since the time of the shah.

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Latitude: Possible Change in Lebanon's Electoral System Is Move to Address Sectarianism

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Elias Muhanna - Jan. 17 (Opinion) - The president's move to introduce proportional representation to Lebanese elections is a bold step toward dismantling political sectarianism.

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Shay Charka uses pen to skewer all corners of Israeli society

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:21:10 -0800

Public Radio International - By PRI's The World - Jan. 16 - Shay Charka describes himself as a bit of a fanatic, when it comes to drawing cartoons. Ever since he could pick up a pen he’s been sketching caricatures. In his teens, Charka did cartoons about life as a student in Jewish religious school and about Israeli politics. But he never really thought he'd make a living as an artist because, he said, he didn’t like the idea of people telling him what to draw and how to do it. By 17-year-old Charka started getting his stuff published in a youth magazine and no one was telling him how to draw. And he hasn’t stopped. Charka lives in a Jewish settlement called Zufim. It’s a neighborhood of suburban-style single family homes that sits on a hilltop above the Palestinian city of Qalqilya. Charka reckoned he’s Israel’s only syndicated political cartoonist who is also a settler. “I really felt in love with that area,” he said. “The olive trees, the rocks, the hills, the everything. The feeling like living in the Bible somehow.” Charka’s cartoons are full of Biblical references and scenes from Jewish and ancient history. His sense of humor is playful and slightly brutal all at once. The political issues he covers range from Palestinian suicide bombers to Europe poking its nose into Israeli affairs to radical settlers. And Charka draws a lot of inspiration from his own life experience. One of his books, called “Beyond the Line,” is very much autobiographical. The protagonist is a short, yarmulke-wearing Israeli cartoonist living in a settlement. Other characters include a friendly Arab neighbor, an extremist Jewish settler, a bearded Rabbi and a handsome – but not very bright – TV reporter. “There’s a stereotype about settlers,” Charka said. “People think they all hate Arabs and they’re against peace. But that’s not the whole story.” Charka said he has Palestinian friends and that he would like to live in peace with all his neighbors. But like many Israelis, he’s skeptical about the idea of giving the Palestinians a state of their own on the West Bank. “Peace will only come when each side comes to terms with the reality that the other side is here to stay. Israelis have understood that about the Arabs. But I don’t think the Arabs have ever completely agreed,” he said. And that’s why Charka is against giving up land in hopes of peace with the Palestinians. He thinks the whole two-state solution idea won’t work. Charka’s politics put him in profound disagreement with many Israelis, including fellow cartoonist Uri Fink. But the two men remain good friends and fans of each other’s work. “Shay’s work should be seen by everybody because it’s really, really good. Even if you disagree with the politics, like I do, I still enjoy reading it. And I think the voice of Shay has nothing to do with the crazy settlers that you see in the news all over the world,” Fink said. On a recent day, the news was full of reports about an attack by Jewish settlers on an Israeli army base in the West Bank. Vandals slashed tires and smashed windshields. Nnot far away, an Israeli officer was injured by a rock in another clash with settlers. The incidents followed a string of suspected settler attacks against Palestinian property, including mosques. “I’m shocked by these people and I think they should be put in jail,” Charka said. “But I understand where some of their frustration comes from.” A few days later, Charka published a cartoon showing a masked Jewish extremist standing next to West Bank settlements. The settlement are sitting on top of a giant bomb. The extremist is challenging the Israeli government to try to dismantle illegally-built settler homes ... as he’s about to light the bomb’s fuse.

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Blaming U.S. and Israel, Iran Reports Killing of Nuclear Scientist

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Alan Cowell, Rick Gladstone - Jan. 11 (News Report) - A bomber on a motorcycle killed a scientist from Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site and his bodyguard-driver on Wednesday during the morning commute in Tehran, Iranian media reported, in an assassination that could further elevate international tensions over the Iranian nuclear program and stoke the country’s growing anti-Western belligerence.

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What's Happening in the Persian Gulf Explained

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Adam Weinstein, Hamed Aleaziz - Jan. 03 (Special Report) - The basics: Iran and the United States appear to be heading for a showdown in the Persian Gulf. Amid already-high tensions over Iran's advancing nuclear program, the US has imposed harsh new economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran and begun to move se

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Rick Santorum: I Would Bomb Iran

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - Jan. 01 (News Report) - Republican Rick Santorum says that if he's elected president, he would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities unless they were opened for international arms inspectors....

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Could Iraq descend into a civil war again? - CSMonitor.com

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Christian Science Monitor - By Dan Murphy - Dec. 20 (News Report) - The scars of Iraq's painful bloodletting are deep, and a powerful disincentive against a return to open warfare. But Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is moving against Sunni Arabs, his political enemies.

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At War Blog: What Iraqis Think of the American Withdrawal: Mosul and Basra

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Stephen Farrell, Baghdad Bureau - Dec. 15 (Opinion) - At opposite ends of the country, Basra and Mosul are Iraq's second- and third-largest cities, but with two very distinct populations.

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Gingrich Describes Palestinian People as 'Invented'

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Fox News - Dec. 10 (News) - Newt Gingrich declared in an interview that Palestinians are an invented people, though his campaign afterward claimed the candidate still supports the establishment of a Palestinian state.

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Prepping Americans for an Iran War

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Consortium News - By William Blum - Dec. 03 (Opinion) - There’s no letup, is there? The preparation of the American mind, the world mind, for the next gala performance of D&D — Death and Destruction. The Bunker Buster bombs are now 30,000 pounds each one, six times as heavy as the previous delightful model.. But the Masters of War still want to be loved; they need for you to believe them when they say they have no choice, that Iran is the latest threat to life as we know it, no time to waste.

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U.S. Senate Passes Iran Oil Sanctions as EU Blacklist Grows

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:51:00 -0800

Business Week - Dec. 02 - (Updates with oil settlement prices in 11th paragraph.) Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate took aim at the Iranian central bank in an effort to choke off oil exports, while the European Union stopped short of targeting crude as it tightened sanctions

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EU adds more sanctions against Iran

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:54:00 -0800

The Independent - Dec. 01 - Europe stepped up economic and diplomatic sanctions against Iran today, in a move Foreign Secretary William Hague said was not prompted by the attack on the UK embassy in Tehran. At talks with fellow EU foreign ministers Mr Hague welcomed what he describ

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EU sanctions tighten screw on Iran over nuclear weapons

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:26:19 -0800

The Independent - Dec. 01 - The European Union announced yesterday that new tough new sanctions will be imposed on Iran over the country's alleged attempt to acquire a nuclear arsenal, but the meeting in Brussels failed to agree on the imposition of an oil embargo aimed at hitting Tehran's main source of revenue.

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Sahar Aziz: Rule Of Law, Not Rule By Law for Egypt

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:58:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Sahar Aziz - Nov. 26 - Egypt is forever changed. Whether ruled by a civilian government or a military junta, gone are the days when the government can blithely dismiss the will of the people or coerce them into obedience. This most recent wave of mass protests demonstrates Egy

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Egypt prepares for Friday protest

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 25 (Opinion) - Egyptians are preparing to hold another mass rally on Friday to demand that the country's military rulers step aside ahead of planned elections.

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Gaza militants renew rocket fire toward Israel - Ha'aretz

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Haaretz - Nov. 06 (Other) - CTV.caGaza militants renew rocket fire toward IsraelHa'aretzBoth rockets launched overnight exploded in open fields south of Ashkelon; rocket attacks come hours after IDF strikes targets in Gaza. By Haaretz Tags: Palestinians Gaza rockets Gaza Strip Hamas Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip renewed their ...Israeli air raids kill Gaza militantAFPIsrael Begins Deportation of Gaza Flotilla ActivistsVoice of AmericaIsraeli air strike kills Palestinian militant in GazaReutersNew York Times -CNN International -TIMEall 1,962 news articles »

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AP: U.S. drops keeping troops in Iraq

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

USA Today - Oct. 15 (News) -

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US preparing for post-Assad Syria: report

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:19:00 -0700

Dawn - By Afp - Sep. 20 - Members of Syrian opposition living in Turkey, wave their national and Turkish flags as they stage a protest against the Syrian regime outside the United Nations headquarters in Ankara on September 19, 2011. – AFP Photo WASHINGTON: The United States is i

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How Washington Creates Global Instability

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Tomdispatch.com - By Nick Turse - Sep. 19 (News Analysis) - It’s a story that should take your breath away: the destabilization of what, in the Bush years, used to be called “the arc of instability.” It involves at least 97 countries, across the bulk of the global south, much of it coinciding with the oil heartlands of the planet. A startling number of these nations are now in turmoil, and in every single one of them -- from Afghanistan and Algeria to Yemen and Zambia -- Washington is militarily involved, overtly or covertly, in outright war or what passes for peace.

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“They Just Started Shooting Us From Everywhere”: Scores of Protesters Killed in Yemen

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 19 (News) - In Yemen, the government's violent crackdown on protesters has intensified, leading to the bloodiest two days in several months. At least 21 protesters have been killed today in the capital of Sana’a. On Sunday, 26 demonstrators were gunned down and hundreds were injured. Demonstrators are calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule as he has repeatedly broken promises to step down. Last week, Saleh authorized his vice president to negotiate a transfer of power with the opposition. The initiative was proposed by the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council and sets the path for a peaceful transition of power from Saleh, who has ruled Yemen since 1978. We go to Yemen for an update from Abdul Ghani al Iryani, a political analyst based in Sana'a and co-founder of the Democratic Awakening Movement. [Check back soon for complete transcript.]

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Foreign policy: intervention after Libya

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - Aug. 24 (Opinion) - It can be said that in narrow military terms the west's action over Libya has worked, and that politically there was justification It is too early to claim that the Nato intervention in Libya has been a success in the full meaning of that word. It will be weeks before we have a sense of where Libya is heading, months before there is any certainty about its future, and years before we can properly assess the impact of the decision to use force to aid the rebels. But it can now reasonably be said that in narrow military terms it worked, and that politically there was some retrospective justification for its advocates as the crowds poured into the streets of Tripoli to welcome the rebel convoys earlier this week. The argument that we had foolishly gone in on one side in a civil war must be weakened by such scenes, which suggest that the picture of a majority wishing to see the back of Gaddafi is closer to the truth than the alternative picture of a people more or less evenly divided between ...

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Qaddafi's many hideouts help him elude rebels

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

CBS News - Aug. 24 (News Report) - Even after rebels stormed into the capital and overwhelmed his residence, Libya's Muammar Qaddafi has plenty of places to hide. Underground, for example. The man who ruled Libya for 42 years is known to have deep bunkers under his Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, which rebel fighters seized Tuesday. Some former officials say the compound is connected by long tunnels to far-flung parts of Tripoli in a hidden network that would provide a quick escape route.

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