Belgian Minister Says What Biden Won’t: Israel Is Wiping Entire Palestinian Villages Off the Map

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I heard Noam Chomsky speak in my youth about the press coverage of the Middle East in the United States, and as I remember it he at one point remarked that it was sometimes the regional newspapers, such as the San Francisco Chronicle that had the most… Read More Belgian Minister Says What Biden Won’t: Israel Is Wiping Entire Palestinian Villages Off the Map

India, voice for the poor, clears slums as G20 draws near

The government justified the demolitions by saying the structures are “illegal” and has said it intends to rehome some of the affected communities. But activists have questioned the timing, claiming instead that the demolitions are part of a “beautification” project – a campaign to rid the city of its beggars and slums – to impress… Read More India, voice for the poor, clears slums as G20 draws near

Casting Them Out

The RSS… is aware that Hindu–Muslim couples are only acting out the oldest impulse of our species—the pairing off of two persons attracted to each other. This impulse is not easily curbed. It resurfaces in even the most difficult of circumstances. This means that its prevention requires the constant threat of violence, which can only… Read More Casting Them Out

‘Gender apartheid’: UN experts denounce Iran’s proposed hijab law

A new draft law that would enshrine harsh punishments for women and girls who fail to wear a hijab in Iran could amount to “gender apartheid,” UN experts said in a statement on Friday. “The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination… Read More ‘Gender apartheid’: UN experts denounce Iran’s proposed hijab law

‘Collective’ is an exposé of killer corruption & how journalism and the people fought back

First posted November 21, 2020 By Gary Kramer Alexander Nanau’s extraordinary documentary “Collective” unfolds in the aftermath of a 2015 tragedy in the Bucharest nightclub Colectiv that gives this film its title. While 27 people died in the fire, more than 100 were injured and sent to area hospitals. However, an additional 37 of the 100-plus victims died as a… Read More ‘Collective’ is an exposé of killer corruption & how journalism and the people fought back

‘Reporters Shield’ Launched on World Press Freedom Day

To confront the growing threat of vexatious lawsuits intended to harass and silence independent media worldwide, Reporters Shield launches today as a new membership program defending investigative journalism against such lawsuits, known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPPs.  Corrupt and criminal figures file SLAPPs to threaten, intimidate, and financially burden journalists. Fighting them entails paying… Read More ‘Reporters Shield’ Launched on World Press Freedom Day

Climate nihilism in the USA

By SABRINA HAAKE Anyone who watched the first Republican presidential debate last week watched the candidates — minus Donald Trump, of course —punt on climate. Ron DeSantis, who angrily deflected the issue, has called climate change “left-wing stuff,” while Vivek Ramaswamy exuberantly declared that “climate change is a hoax.” Nikki Haley, whose debate performance was otherwise borderline-reasonable, thinks the U.S.… Read More Climate nihilism in the USA

‘Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962’ – by Yang Jisheng

First posted September 23, 2016 Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962 – by Yang Jisheng Reviewed by Jonathan Mirsky ‘I call this book Tombstone. It is a tombstone for my father who died of starvation in 1959, for the thirty-six million Chinese who also starved to death, for the system that brought about their death, and perhaps for… Read More ‘Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962’ – by Yang Jisheng