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Middle East

The US’s Afghan exit may depend on a Syrian one

Trumped up chemical weapons charges against the Syrian government this month failed to produce evidence to convince a skeptical global community of any direct linkage. And the US’s follow-up pledge to arm rebels served only to immediately underline the difficulty…

The empire strikes back

We are in a very dangerous period in world history as the old power structure collapses and the US dominance begins to wane.  But the empire strikes back.  By Mazin Qumsiyeh The US and Israel try to strength neoliberal governments that depend on…

Turkey – dynamics of stillness

Dear friends, The latest news from Turkey is that in many cities in Turkey now the people are standing still, without moving, also in Ankara and Istanbul, in squares, in streets, in malls, in courts and all kind of other…

Occupy Gezi: the cultural impact

I am sitting drinking tea with friends in the Cafe Grand Boulevard in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul. It is evening and the place is busier than usual. We are sat so close together all our knees are touching. Regular…

Erdogan pushes the people to where and what?

The news coming out from Istanbul via news services such as Al Jazeera show a lot of violent action from the side of the police and their allied security forces. Update – from Ankara. Listening to the speeches of the…

Rohani Becomes Iran’s New President

Reformist Hassan Rohani has won Iran’s 11th presidential election by a landslide win, the results in on 14 June, 2013. The announcement brought the Tehran population into the streets in jubilation. Clearly this is what the majority wants, change, and…

Why Washington Fears Iran

“Tehran has developed technical expertise in a number of areas – including uranium enrichment, nuclear reactors, and ballistic missiles – from which it could draw if it decided to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons,” reads Director of National Intelligence James R.…

Why Arabs Need Iran

In 2011, when Arab revolts began to sweep the Middle East and North Africa, the view from Washington and its closest allies was one of concern. How would the removal of mostly pro-Western dictatorships affect the balance of power in…

Ankara – calm before the storm

The correspondents heard that people were gathering at the central square of Kizilay, so they went out at 3pm walking down to the main road to Kizilay Square where many people were walking in that direction with slogans, banners and…

Turkey – letters to the world

Dear humanist brothers and sisters from all over the world from Hüseyin Öntas, Turkey. Thank you for sharing testimonies of the people of Turkey with your loved ones. After all the violence in Turkey a different kind of siblinghood and…

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