Archives for Октябрь 2014

Iraqi Christians Seek Shelter In Jordan After ISIS Threats

Around 11,000 Iraqis have registered with UNHCR this year, bringing the total number of Iraqis in Jordan to 37,067.

Iraqi Christian

AMMAN, Oct 31, 2014  - Watching videos and pictures on social media of the advance of the Islamic State (IS) inside Syria made it all seem far from reality to Iraqi Marvin Nafee. “We did not believe it,” said the 27-year-old, “it seemed so imaginary.” Only months later, his home city Mosul fell to the IS in two hours and he and thousands of

Hagel Blasts America’s Syria Strategy In Memo

Hagel warned the fighting in Syria could go on for years without any clear end, and that Syrian President Bashar Assad was deriving benefits from the US campaign.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel issued a memo to National Security Adviser Susan Rice which was deeply critical of the administration’s military strategy in the ongoing ISIS war in Syria, saying the plan was “in danger of unraveling.” The memo, described by officials familiar with it, centered on the lack of an endgame strategy as well as the

Police Using Controversial Patriot Act Authority For ‘Everyday’ Cases: Civil Liberties Group

Created under the guise of fighting terrorism, ‘Sneak and Peek’ now being used to spy on drug suspects, immigrants, rights group finds.

A contentious surveillance provision of the Patriot Act, which allows law enforcement to conduct searches while delaying informing the suspect, is broadly used, but almost never in terrorism cases—despite Justice Department officials arguments to the contrary, according to an analysis by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "Yet again,

FBI Quietly Seeks Broader Hacking Powers

Department of Justice proposal raises ‘significant and troubling’ privacy concerns, ACLU says.

The FBI is seeking to expand its hacking and surveillance powers through "an apparently backdoor route," the Guardian reported Wednesday, a move that civil liberties groups say could infringe upon constitutional rights. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed (pdf) an amendment to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, having

An Israeli newspaper published this stupid 9/11 cartoon. Here’s the REAL reason you should be mad

For people who genuinely care about US policies with respect to Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East more broadly, the real reason to be perturbed is that it’s a massive, unnecessary distraction from a serious diplomatic problem and from a crisis on the ground in East Jerusalem that’s set to explode.

haaretz_cartoon_lead

Oh boy... That was probably the experience readers of Ha'aretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper, had today when they discovered this cartoon, which shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flying an airplane into one of the World Trade Center towers. Below the cartoon, editors wrote "US-Israel tensions: The crisis with Washington is here to

The ‘Silent Intifada’ In Jerusalem Grows Louder By The Day. Here’s How Things Got So Bad

The ‘silent intifada’ in Jerusalem grows louder by the day. Here’s how things got so bad.

JERUSALEM — The press here has been talking recently of a “silent intifada”: the city has been convulsed by violence for months, but most of it happens at night, bottled up inside the Palestinian districts of occupied East Jerusalem. By Thursday afternoon, though, after two shootings and a day of clashes, the situation in Jerusalem had become