Middle East

Paul Craig Roberts: Putin Dresses Down The Group of Eight

"'You want President Bashshar al-Asad to step down? Look at the leaders you’ve made in the Middle East in the course of what you have dubbed the 'Arab Spring.' [...] 'In Syria all of you are standing on the side of the forces that for the last 10 years you have claimed to be fighting against under the rubric of ‘fighting terror.’ Now today you are with them, helping them to take power across the region. You declare that you’re going to arm them and work to facilitate sending their fighters to Syria to bring it down, weaken it, and break it up.' Putin asked, 'In God’s name what kind of democracy are you talking about?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Putin Dresses Down The Group of Eight

Rally at Oklahoma Capitol opposes U.S. intervention in Syria

"An estimated 200 Oklahomans put aside their political and philosophical differences Friday night to join together to oppose U.S. intervention in the Syrian civil war.For an hour Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians, conservatives and liberals, hawks and doves didn't seem to mind the nearly triple-digit temperatures during the anti-war rally on the south steps of the state Capitol. Those attending the rally are concerned the United States may support the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has regained the upper hand more than two years into an insurgency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRally at Oklahoma Capitol opposes U.S. intervention in Syria

Rand Paul Introduces Bill To End Foreign Aid To Egypt

"On Thursday Sen. Rand Paul introduced legislation to prohibit the United States from sending foreign assistance to the government of Egypt, as a result of the country’s military coup d’état on July 3, 2013. This week, it was reported that the Obama Administration was moving forward with plans to deliver four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt despite the political unrest in the country. Earlier this year, the Senate voted against an amendment introduced by Sen. Paul that would have prohibited the U.S. government from selling F-16 military aircraft, M1 tanks, and similar military weapons to the Egyptian government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul Introduces Bill To End Foreign Aid To Egypt

A Flourishing $40 Million Medical Marijuana Industry Helps Israelis Forget

"Illegal for recreational use, today medical cannabis is prescribed to some 11,000 Israeli patients, up from 1,800 in 2009, according to the Israeli Health Ministry. It is used to treat an extensive list of illnesses including cancer, Parkinson’s, Tourette syndrome, and PTSD. While government attempts to limit use have sparked a heated debate, legislation is still relatively liberal. In May, Health Minister Yael German announced that an additional 11 doctors would be certified to prescribe cannabis—bumping up the number to 19—by the end of the year. While rabbinic support for medical cannabis has long existed in Israel, government regulation is relatively new." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Flourishing $40 Million Medical Marijuana Industry Helps Israelis Forget

Woolwich murder: Younger brother of Michael Adebolajo ‘was paid thousands to spy in Middle East’

"The younger brother of one of the men accused of murdering Drummer Lee Rigby was paid thousands of pounds by MI6 as part of spying operations in the Middle East, The Mail on Sunday has discovered. Jeremiah Adebolajo, who uses the name Abul Jaleel, was also asked to help ‘turn’ his brother, Michael, to work for MI5, who were already aware of Michael’s close links to extremist groups. Police and security services are under huge pressure to explain what they know about Adebolajo and his alleged accomplice, Michael Adebowale. Despite warnings stretching back ten years, Michael Adebolajo is said to have been considered ‘low risk’ by MI5." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoolwich murder: Younger brother of Michael Adebolajo ‘was paid thousands to spy in Middle East’

Car bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon

"Syria's civil war is increasingly being fought along sectarian lines, with Sunnis dominating the rebel ranks fighting Assad's regime, which is composed mostly of Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. At least one Syria-based Islamist brigade claimed responsibility for the attack on its Facebook page, but its authenticity could not be verified. The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group denounced 'in the strongest terms the terrorist explosion.' Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar blamed 'Israel and its tools in the region' for the attack. Hezbollah, like the Syrian regime, refers to those fighting to topple Assad as agents of Israel and the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCar bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon

Deep Divides Threaten Egypt’s Path Forward

"It is a good 15-minute drive from Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo to Raba'a al-Adaweya Square in the Nasr City quarter of the capital. Yet worlds divide the Egyptians who have been gathering at the two sites in recent days. In Tahrir Square on Tuesday, people were selling posters of the country's new strongman, General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who toppled then-President Mohammed Morsi last week. On Raba'a al-Adaweya Square, however, demonstrators held images of Morsi aloft. They are the followers of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement -- and they have vowed not to vacate their tent city until Morsi is back in office."Deep Divides Threaten Egypt's Path Forward Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeep Divides Threaten Egypt’s Path Forward

Reality of Egypt – Not What You Think?

"The Muslim Brotherhood was the first choice of Western powers, from what we can tell, and was only discarded when its leadership declined to go along with a US$4 billion International Monetary Fund plan. The military, meanwhile, has been portrayed as being of one piece, but as we have pointed out previously, it may be a mistake to believe that the military is cohesively pro-Western and at the service of the Pentagon. It may be at the top, but who can speak for the rank-and-file? The social chaos and bloody destruction now being predicted for Egypt may not simply be the result of a scripted clash between the military and Islamic factions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReality of Egypt – Not What You Think?

Egypt orders arrest of ousted Brotherhood leaders after army kills 53 protesters

"Washington, treading a careful line, has neither welcomed Mursi's removal nor denounced it as a 'coup', which would require it to halt aid, including the $1.3 billion it gives the army each year. The Brotherhood's downfall has, however, been warmly welcomed by three of the rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf. Kuwait promised Egypt $4 billion in cash, loans and fuel on Wednesday, a day after Saudi Arabia pledged $5 billion and the United Arab Emirates offered $3 billion. Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. agency chief, has been named vice president and supports a stalled $4.8 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt orders arrest of ousted Brotherhood leaders after army kills 53 protesters

UN: Iraq violence could lead to civil war

"The level of violence reached its lowest level in 2011, with 2,771 people killed, according to UN figures. But it is once again on the rise, fuelled by widespread Sunni discontent with the Shiite-led government, and fanned by the civil war in neighbouring Syria. 'A lot of the radical groups are getting oxygen from what is going on there,' Motta said of Syria. 'The more people die (in Iraq), the greater the chance of counter-reaction and the greater chance it has to spiral out of control,' he said. 'If the casualties keep going at this rate it will be well over 5,000 at the end of the year, so we’re looking back at figures of 2008,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN: Iraq violence could lead to civil war