Syrians finally Won the Arab Spring; Can they avoid Pitfalls and Win Democracy?

Juan Cole Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Syrian Revolution of 2024 has succeeded in deposing the al-Assad dynasty, in power since 1970, throwing off the rule of the once mighty Syrian Socialist Baath Party, a feared and murderous one-party state. Rebel forces streamed into the capital, Damascus, Sunday morning, facing no significant resistance from government troops,… Read More Syrians finally Won the Arab Spring; Can they avoid Pitfalls and Win Democracy?

Dilip

A Massive Database of Evidence, Compiled by a Historian, Documents Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza

NB: This is the most painful thing I have ever posted on Palestine, and is painful reading, but it needs to be circulated. It is to the credit of the Israeli historian that he has done this work. We can only bow our heads to the victims. DS A woman with a child is shot… Read More A Massive Database of Evidence, Compiled by a Historian, Documents Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza

Dilip

Why Iran can’t Stand up for the al-Assad Government and Russia isn’t Offering Air Support

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The strategic situation in Syria is dire for the Baathist government of Bashar al-Assad. Typically in military history, if an invader takes the capital of the other country, it secures its victory. Damascus is the prize. Damascus has an Achilles heel. It is landlocked, deep… Read More Why Iran can’t Stand up for the al-Assad Government and Russia isn’t Offering Air Support

Dilip

Gujarat court acquits former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in custodial torture case

NB: A welcome and good judgment. Given the glaring procedural anomalies (highlighted below) and lack of evidence in this case, one has to ask how and why the original conviction was arrived at or obtained, in the first place. Will there be any restitution to this ex police officer? Was he punished for testifying against… Read More Gujarat court acquits former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in custodial torture case

Dilip

Adani bribery scandal: Modi govt’s failure to investigate sends wrong signal to corporate India

NB: Everyone has a finger in the pie.. even those who cry about corruption. What a bunch of crooks. DS Irrespective of what happens in the US courts, it is incumbent on the Indian government to investigate the impact of the indictment on Indian businesses and policy making within the country. Bharat Bhushan An independent… Read More Adani bribery scandal: Modi govt’s failure to investigate sends wrong signal to corporate India

Dilip

‘Did not expect to be accused of terrorism’: Sharjeel Imam in his note from prison

He was arrested by the authorities on January 28, 2020 after being accused of inciting communal violence through speeches made by him in December 2019 and January 2020 at peaceful protests opposing the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). Sharjeel Imam, the Muslim student leader, spent well over four years in prison before he could even get… Read More ‘Did not expect to be accused of terrorism’: Sharjeel Imam in his note from prison

Dilip

Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide, Amnesty International report finds / Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing

Human rights group says Israel ‘brazenly, continuously and with total impunity … unleashed hell’ on strip’s 2.3m population A report from Amnesty International alleges that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip constitutes the crime of genocide under international law, the first such determination by a major human rights organisation in the 14-month-old conflict. The 32-page… Read More Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide, Amnesty International report finds / Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing

Dilip

Fury as US argues against climate obligations at top UN court

The current UN climate change regime “embodies the clearest, most specific, and the most current expression of states’ consent to be bound by international law in respect of climate change”, Margaret Taylor, legal adviser at the state department, told the ICJ judges on Wednesday. “Any other legal obligations relating to climate change mitigation identified by… Read More Fury as US argues against climate obligations at top UN court

Dilip