And, unsurprisingly, they are not pleased. Even more unsuprisingly, it is not Al Qaeda in Iraq or Al Qaeda from a cave in Pakistan that responded but Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and for Islamic Maghreb we can read Former French Colonies, particularly Algeria, and the country of origin for a good number of […]
Israel mandates 3 years military service for males (and 2 years for women) from all its citizens starting at the age of 18. After fulfilling their duty, citizens must spend approximately 1 month a year serving int he IDF reserves. However, many Israelis avoid military service through a variety of ways, most prominently by claiming […]
After intense diplomatic pressure by the United States, including a letter from President Obama, the Kyrgyz Republic has decided to allow US troops to use the Manas air base as a transit stop for the mission in Afghanistan. The US will have to pay $60 million dollars a year, up from $17 million it has […]
The Israeli navy intercepted a ship carrying aid to the Gaza Strip today, as the activists aboard the Gaza-bound boat accused the IDF of threatening to fire upon them. The small ferry boat left Cyprus declaring that its docking port as Egypt’s Port Said. The Israeli government denied claims that it threatened the boat, however […]
Support for the militant terror group Hamas dropped nearly 10-percent from last year, according to a new study conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre. In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, approval of the group dropped from 27.7-percent to 18.8-percent. The organization explains the plummet in support for the group due to the […]
Professor of English David Bromwich contrasts the arguments in Leslie Gelb’s new book Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy with Obama’s speech at Cairo University in this week’s New York Review of Books. (One has to appreciate the unorthodoxy of this assembly: a doctor of literature reviews a speech and a […]
For his birthday on Friday, Russia’s most famous prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky held an online Q&A with readers of Gazeta.ru, a popular online daily. In it he defends himself against allegations of robber-baronism and asset stripping, and says: “I decided to take the risk and have never felt sorry for that”. But much more interesting than […]
Even though U.S. policy unequivocally opposes all forms of settlement activity in the West Bank, Americans remain a staunch pillar of financial support for settlers, according to an op-ed in today’s Washington Post. The author cites multiple organizations in North America that function as non-profit organizations in support of settlements. Moreover, many Christian groups support […]
Yesterday saw me sampling the good, the bad, and the ugly of travel in South Africa. The Good: The Springbok game was all I could have hoped for. The Lions came out storming, compensating for their sins of last week by controlling the pack and taking the fight to a Springbok squad that seemed lackluster […]
It has been nearly three weeks since the Lebanese parliamentary elections, and the current climate of cooperation and reconciliation is cause for optimism. The highly contentious June 7 elections pitted Amal and Hizballah, along with General Aoun’s Christian Free Patriotic Movement bloc against the Saad Hariri-led March 14 coalition composed of Sunni, Christian, and Druze […]
It’s game day here in South Africa as in a few hours the Springboks will take the field for their second test match against the British and Irish Lions at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld, home of the Blue Bulls, and which arguably represents the Afrikaner heart of Springbok pride. last night the pubs were swarming with […]
Despite my positive outlook about life, I get extremely depressed when I look at Pakistan as an observer from outside. At times, I just don’t know how can the country deal with serious issues threatening Pakistan’s very existence. For me, one way is to stick my head in sand and keep pretending that all is […]
It is fashionable in Pakistan to oppose America. Perhaps, it is a phobia that has gripped the country that America is bad. Or, it is just plain stupidity that people in Pakistan love to be anti American. No matter how you look at it, there is a campaign in Pakistan against the United States of […]
Put the kabobs, shishlik, shwarma, and gefilta fish down for at least one day a week. A new initiative is set to launch in Israel to encourage residents to dine vegetarian-freindly at least once a week. Because of the environmentally conscious attributes of vegetarianism, the new initiative urges restaurants to publish veggi-friendly specials on Mondays. Ilan Gur, […]
As I have discussed yesterday, Taliban supporter and anti American politician, who by the way has failed for 10 years in politics is in America. Apparently, he is there to raise funds for the victims of Swat Operation. Well, only in America. Yes, only in America can a man like Imran Khan, who supports the […]