Juan Cole / TomDispatch In early April 2003, as American forces sought to wrap up their conquest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and take strongholds to its north, the Marine Corps formed “Task Force Tripoli.” It was commanded by General John F. Kelly (who would later serve as Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff).… Read More America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl
Adam Tooze ‘Vautour II’ flying in the cloud of the ‘Canopus’ nuclear explosion, the first explosion of a French thermonuclear bomb, over the lagoon of the Fangataufa atoll in French Polynesia in 1968. The Vautour II was taking samples of material from the cloud. Source: Marlène Aviation https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/russia-under-sanctions-the-foreign?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands: A… Read More Mushroom cloud over Fangataufa atoll, French Polynesia, 1968
In a rare condemnation of Israel, the UN has denounced the country’s excessive use of force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a refugee camp in the West Bank. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, clearly angered by the impact of the Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said it had left… Read More UN condemns Israel’s use of excessive force in attack on Palestine
In a revealing interview with The Wire, Meitei MLA Nishikant Singh Sapam, Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Ethics in the Manipur Legislative Assembly, stated that the conflict primarily revolves around land. It becomes evident that labelling Kukis as ‘terrorists,’ ‘narco-terrorists,’ ‘illegal immigrants,’ or ‘foreigners’ serves no purpose other than undermining their legitimacy, subjecting… Read More Manipur Conflict: Echoes of History & Perils of False Narratives
Correspondence with Vladimir Kara-Murza In April 2023 the Russian opposition politician and human rights activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison for speaking out against the war on Ukraine. He was found guilty of ‘running an ‘undesirable organization’, of ‘spreading falsehoods about the Russian army’ and of high treason – likely in connection with… Read More ‘Deep political changes are only a matter of time’
RAMONA WADI ( Middle East Monitor ) – If Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, can find excuses for the hilltop youth’s colonial violence, how much more is the concept of settler-colonial presence as a form of violence normalised? During a meeting called by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir described the hilltop youth as “sweet boys” forced into… Read More Israeli Officials Now Promoting Impunity for Settler-Colonial Violence
Mark Townsend in Marseille Little more than 12 hours before the police killing of a 17-year-old boy 500 miles north in Nanterre would convulse the country, scores of officers clutching assault rifles and bulletproof riot shields clashed with teenagers of north African descent, trading insults as officers profiled potential troublemakers. Wassida Kessaci had decided not to join the crowd… Read More ‘We are seen as less human’: inside Marseille’s districts abandoned by the police / Rokhaya Diallo on police racism
Only political leadership can bring about peace in Manipur; but, the Modi government and the BJP are hog-tied by having links with both camps engaged in the violence. Bharat Bhushan Since ethnic violence began in Manipur two months ago nearly 50,000 people have been displaced, nearly 130 lives lost, and hundreds injured from both the… Read More Manipur vs Kashmir: Different strokes for different folks
Mother of Cities to me / For I was born in her gate,Between the palms and the sea / Where the world-end steamers wait Rudyard Kipling, To the City of Bombay “Few people who have criticized England from the inside have said bitterer things about her than this gutter patriot”: George Orwell IT WAS a pity that Mr.… Read More On Rudyard Kipling: by George Orwell (1942)
The failed coup by the Wagner Group has exposed the Russian president’s fatal weaknesses. By John Feffer | June 29, 2023 The former hotdog salesman rose about as high as he could. He became a caterer to the Russian elite and a confidante of the president. He led his country’s premier paramilitary force. He was one of… Read More The Beginning of the End for Putin?
