Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
By James M. Dorsey A condemned Turkish stadium harbours a dark warning of the long-term consequences of ethnic cleansing or what Turks euphemistically call the population exchange almost a century ago when Turkey and Greece expelled their respective Greek and Turkish minorities. It is a message that has not lost its urgency as Turkey fights…
Read More “A Turkish stadium harbours a stark message for multiculturalism” »
10 years ago this month, Israel withdrew from its brutal and oppressive occupation of the Gaza Strip, replacing it with an even more oppressive embargo and even worse military chokehold with more deaths and more violence. And yet Israelis continue to lie about how they left Gaza and the Palestinians never used the gesture for “peace.” By…
Read More “10 years since Israel withdrew from Gaza on Israeli lies” »
The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) expressed concerns with evidence of recent chemical attacks in southern Syria against civilian targets and civilian neighborhoods. Field staff working with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) reported the use of a chemical agent in a recent attack in Erbin, Eastern Ghouta. The exact chemical agent remains unknown as field staff…
Read More “Chemical weapons in Syria raise international concerns” »
The Liberation of Aden, progressing but with challenges By Gamal Gasim Taking control of the Aden province and its transformation into a free and safe area has been a huge challenge to the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which has been based in Riyadh before the beginning of the Saudi-led military operation on…
Read More “The Liberation of Aden, progressing but with challenges” »
By James M. Dorsey Israel and Palestine are playing political soccer with Palestinian football as the ball. It is a match which Israel is unlikely to win and that could prove to produce a bruising loss. The stakes for Israel are far higher than for Palestine. Israel is effectively on probation as it seeks to…
Torture by Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which an inmate is isolated from any human contact except for members of the prison staff for at least 22 hours a day. By Eileen Fleming Last week, New York Times reporter Erica Goode wrote: I’ve been covering solitary confinement on and off for…
Read More “Solitary Confinement ‘Sanctified’ State Torture” »
Troubled Waters Under the Tigris and Euphrates Bridges By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey — Last summer I was in the southeastern province of Mardin, when social-demand riots erupted in the majority of Kurdish villages and towns. Burning tires and barricades blocked the roads as farmers protested the cut-off of electricity and especially of water needed to irrigate…
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Pro-Israel groups are engaged in a disinformation campaign to discredit organizations that support Palestinian civil rights. The prestigious independent organization Public Interest Investigations has identified a new campaign by extremist pro-Israel groups with U.S. Funding to discredit the important UN Economic and Social Council and the Palestine Return Centre (Center) By Ray Hanania Pro-Israel groups…
Read More “Israeli campaign to spread lies exposed by prestigious British group” »
Gaza’s children came out into the streets this past week to show support for the victims of Israeli extremist brutality, including the arson murder by an Israeli settler of an 18 month old child, Ali Dawabsheh. Dawabsheh died when his home was set fire by Jewish terrorists from nearby illegal Israeli settlements By Mohammed Asad Children in…
Read More “Gaza youth protest Israel’s killing of children” »
It was a fundamental truth that most Americans were too overcome with anger to anticipate. The unnecessary American war against Iraq in March 2003 only accomplished one unintended goal, making Iran a much more powerful nation than it was. The Iraq war failed to free the Iraqi people and it had nothing to do with…
Read More “Obama argues the Iraq war only helped strengthen Iran” »
The Israeli company SodaStream, which is based in Airport City adjacent to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, reported a significant loss in revenue for the first half of 2015. The Israeli owned company became a legitimate of non-violence protestors and activists when it launched a factory in the Occupied West Bank in the industrial zone…
By James M. Dorsey Israel is struggling with how to deal with groups some of which are underground that are linked to a banned nationalist political party that has emerged at the core of recent racist, anti-Palestinian incidents and include a militant soccer fan group that was responsible for last month’s violent clashes during a…
Matt VanDyke, a timid 26-year-old with obsessive-compulsive disorder, left home in Baltimore in 2006 for what he called a “crash course in manhood.” He bought a motorcycle, a video camera and set-off to film himself on a multi-year, 35,000-mile odyssey through North Africa and the Middle East. When revolution broke out in Libya, he joined…
Read More “American man joins Libyan revolution in ‘Point and Shoot’” »
By James M Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s four-month old bombing campaign against Houthi rebel forces in Yemen has had mixed results beyond devastation in the region’s poorest country. The insertion of Saudi-trained Yemeni ground forces that support exiled president Abd Rabbah Mansour Hadi led last month to the capture of the port city of Aden from…
Read More “Yemen and Arab Uprising: Fissures and Repercussions” »
International sporting associations struggle to balance adherence to human rights with hosting events in autocratic countries
Israeli settler terrorists were blamed for the burning death murder Friday (July 31, 2015) of an 18 month old Palestinian child. Israeli settlers continue to terrorize Christian and Muslim civilians without response from Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu’s settler policies have encouraged attacks against Christian and Muslim civilians, as his rhetoric was blamed for the assassination of his predecessor…
Read More “Jewish settler terrorists murder 18 month old Palestinian child” »
Access to soccer fields not available to everyone in Qatar where economic and social class distinction is still the rule. Migrant worker populations continue to increase, but not the benefits By James M. Dorsey Walking around Qatar’s monumental Aspire Dome sports academy, coach Fred Engh noticed kids playing soccer on an indoor field big enough…
Read More “Qatar’s quagmire: existential fears and missed opportunities” »
By James M. Dorsey This month’s premier league final between Cairo’s two storied clubs, Al Ahli SC and Al Zamalek SC, once the world’s most violent derby, was more than a clash between two soccer giants. It was a clash between management styles and diametrically opposed approaches towards militant, highly politicized, street battle-hardened soccer fans….