ISLAMIC STATE BRINGS HIGH DEFINITION BEHEADINGS TO LIBYA

I just watched the latest Islamic State video where they simultaneously beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians on the Libyan coast, and while horrifying to watch, I am struck by the way these made-for-social media productions eerily resemble something which director Michael Mann would construct: beautiful, vacation-like scenery wihich is paired with bloody violence. As typical with […]

AN ADDITIONAL COUNTRY HELPS AL-NUSRA GROW

Not to be outdone by Boko Haram and Islamic State, terrorist group al-Nusra Front has upped its stake in the global caliphate race by claiming a part of Northern Syria, thus making the current Syria war even more complicated, deadly and difficult to resolve. And history books years from now will be able to cite […]

DETROIT, WATER, BANKS & HUMAN RIGHTS

Anyone following the Detroit water crisis will have learned a valuable lesson this week: living a healthy life has nothing to do with human rights—at least not when paying for clean, running water is concerned. I’ll tone down my heavily-opinionated approach today and let you reach your own conclusion about US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes’ […]

ISIL BITS

While President Obama and other world leaders converge on the UN General Assembly and clog New York City street traffic, It may be a good time to map a few of the latest ISIL news stories to the themes I’ve been writing about. Read these first To fully understand where I’m coming from, read: A […]

THE BEHEADING KINGS

You thought ISIL holds the Most Brutal title with its beheadings of civilians? Wrong. This is what the United Nations‘ Human Rights office has to say about Saudi Arabia (emphasis mine): According to the experts, so far in 2014, at least 45 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia. Between 4 and 22 August, […]

ARE THE US-IRAN TALKS GOING TO MAKE IT?

There’s a chance that an agreement can be reached between the US and Iran about the latter’s nuclear program, but any successful negotiation will obviously depend on how far-reaching the demands are. And that’s why I’m afraid negotiations will ultimately fail. Cast aside the conspiracy theorist’s argument for a moment about Iran’s place […]

OBAMA SAID WHAT?

President Obama’s speech to the UN General Assembly is possibly the most gangsta prose ever uttered by a sitting American President. In the President’s own words, but with my added emphasis: let me take this opportunity to outline what has been U.S. policy towards the Middle East and North Africa, and what will be […]