Assad is already counting on soldiers still at school to fill the gaps left by 30,000 casualties There are intriguing hints that the conflict is changing. There are mini-ceasefires now

by Robert Fisk, The Independent We were driving down the main road from Homs – fast, of course, as the Syrian war now requires – when, just outside the Damascus suburb of Harasta, a government soldier asked for a ride into town. I have always stopped for hitch-hiking soldiers, especially […]

The Ahmadiyya Congressional Caucus

Source: independent.com In the Spirit of Freedom of Religion, Reps Form New Group The impetus of the United States was but a handful of pilgrims fleeing from religious persecution. Since the founding of this great nation in 1776, freedom of religion has been etched into the fabric of our Constitution and impressed […]

Lack of Sleep leads to Brain Damage

Source: BBC Health Sleep loss may be more serious than previously thought, causing a permanent loss of brain cells, research suggests. In mice, prolonged lack of sleep led to 25% of certain brain cells dying, according to a study in The Journal of Neuroscience. If the same is true in humans, […]

Oh US! Asia will not ‘isolate’ Russia

Source: Asia Times: The Hague Declaration comes complete with the kiss of death, as in, “The International Monetary Fund has a central role leading the international effort to support Ukrainian reform, lessening Ukraine’s economic vulnerabilities, and better integrating the country as a market economy in the multilateral system.” That’s code […]

Turkish Twitter ban

Source: ET Until a day ago, the ban was widely circumvented by Turkish Twitterers, but on March 22, the government blocked Twitter access at the IP level. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE The battle for free speech in the age of the internet is going on across the world. Freedom of speech, these […]

Bangladesh moves to ban Jamaat-e-Islami

ET: DHAKA: Bangladesh war crimes investigators moved on Tuesday to outlaw the country’s largest Islamic party, accusing it of genocide and other atrocities during the 1971 struggle for independence. Government investigators handed a report detailing war crimes allegations against  to prosecutors, in the latest move against the party which has banned […]

University ‘bridges’ US-China gap

Source: China Daily By JACK FREIFELDER As scholars and academics continue efforts to encourage the study of China, Pace University, in New York City’s Lower Manhattan, is trying an alternative tack to promote its students’ interests in the world’s second-largest economy — by subsidizing a chance to study abroad. The […]