An open letter to President Obama
By ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ The writer is a prominent professor of law at Harvard University and a well-known advocate for Israel. The Jerusalem Post: Israelis desperately want peace, normalization and […]
Haaretz analysts and contributors round up Obama’s first presidential visit to Israel
Haaretz: Chemi Shalev believes Obama may be more effective than thought in rekindling the peace process, Aluf Benn considers how as Israeli dependence on the U.S. will rise as it […]
Cyprus bailout deadline set for Monday
Source: Washington Post: Petros Giannakouris/AP – Women pass a Russian commercial bank in Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus’ troubled banks in place until Monday but will cut it off after that unless a suitable rescue program has […]
Obama: It is not just when settler violence against Palestinians goes unpunished
The Times of Israel: The US president is delivering the main address of his Israel visit, to students in Jerusalem, before a state dinner at the President’s Residence. Earlier, in […]
Australian Prime Minister Survives Ouster Attempt
Source: NY Times: SYDNEY, Australia — Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday survived an effort by a senior lawmaker within her own party to oust her from her job, after her predecessor Kevin Rudd, whom she deposed in a 2010 party coup, unexpectedly declined to run against her. More:
PEW Research : Veterans of Post-9/11 Wars Ambivalent about Whether Iraq Was Worth It
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq — a war that started with solid public support, but ultimately became a politically-divisive issue. A survey of […]
Kurdish ceasefire boosts peace process in Turkey : Historic gesture by PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan shows peace talks launched last year are building momentum
Constanze Letsch in Istanbul guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 March 2013 The jailed Kurdish guerrillas’ leader, Abdullah Öcalan , has used the Kurdish new year celebrations to call a ceasefire in the […]
US backs independent Palestinian state – Obama
Source: BBC President Barack Obama has said on a visit to the West Bank that the US is “deeply committed” to creating a sovereign state of Palestine. Speaking after talks […]
How the Secret Service Almost Shot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Atlantic Monthly: One morning in September 2006, during the United Nations General Assembly, President George W. Bush’s daily intelligence brief contained a particularly chilling item. It was three sentences long, and it scared the hell out of the dozen or so White House officials cleared to read it. According to […]
The photos Saudi Arabia doesn’t want seen – and proof Islam’s most holy relics are being demolished in Mecca
The Independent: The authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun dismantling some of the oldest sections of Islam’s most important mosque as part of a highly controversial multi-billion pound expansion. Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections […]
Robert Fisk: The cost of war must be measured by human tragedy, not artefacts – What does heritage matter in the face of such tragic desolation?
by Robert Fisk, The Independent What is a child’s life worth against all the antiquities of Syria? Any reflection of Syria’s architectural disasters must include this question. The child, a humanitarian must say, is worth all the columns of Palmyra and mosques of Damascus. The child, a cold-hearted historian might […]
How real is the rise of Africa?
Source: The Economist: The continent has entered its 2nd decade of sustained growth. Most countries have been growing at more than 5% every single year since 2003, and projections show that this momentum will continue. While the new services industries are important, they alone will not enable African countries to […]
World Focus: The eyes of the world are trained on Israel. But will there be anything to see?
by Robert Fisk, The Independent So will it be tragedy, farce or tourism? Obama’s a tourist, so says the Davy Crockett of the American journalistic frontier and philosopher king of The New York Times (aka T Friedman, Esq), but he’s wrong. The winner of the Nobel Prize for Public Speech-making […]
Letters: An appeal to Indonesian Muslims
Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 will be noted as a sad day in the history of Indonesia. On that day, a group of people on their way home from attending an Islamic New Year parade attacked the Santo Albertus church under construction in Bekasi. Fortunately, no one was injured in the […]
Iraq Anniversary: 10 Lessons from America’s ‘Dumb War’
Source: Spiegel Polish special forces and US Navy Seals pose for pictures under a portrait of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the port of Umm-southern Iraq in March 23, 2003. A decade on, polls suggest that a majority of Americans view the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a mistake. Right […]
Pakistan’s Extremist Democracy
by Ahmed Rashid NYR BLOG This spring was supposed to open a new chapter in Pakistan’s tenuous embrace of inclusive democracy. At midnight on March 17, following constitutional rules, the […]
Decentralize the Church: How the New Pope Can Combat Catholic-Phobia
Source: Spiegel. The Catholic Church is out of touch with believers, and risks losing more of the flock if it fails to reform. An important step would be giving national […]
Al-Assaf: Fitch move boosts Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s global standing
Jeddah: ARAB NEWS Thursday 21 March 2013 Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said that yesterday’s positive rating announced by Fitch Ratings, an international agency, would enhance confidence in the strength of Saudi economy and its continued growth. His remarks came after Fitch Ratings affirmed Saudi Arabia’s Long-Term foreign and local currency […]
Community in Crisis: Bitter Conflicts Divide Berlin Jews
Source: Spiegel dapd Amid accusations of waste, nepotism and smear campaigns, long-established members of Berlin’s Jewish Community are in open conflict with relative newcomers from abroad. Severe financial difficulties are at the core of their problems with one another. More:
Pope Francis Talks Celibacy, Pedophilia In 2012 Interview (Report)
Epigraph: Then We caused Our Messengers to follow in their footsteps; and We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow them, and We gave him the Gospel. And We placed […]