Month: August 2015

Egypt’s plans for a new election can scarcely be called a return to democracy as long as its war on civil society continues at full tilt … Egypt Sets Oct Election Date, After Three Years Without Parliament (Reuters) Amal Clooney’s Dilemma over al-Jazeera Trial (BBC) The Latest: Greste Calls on El-Sissi to ‘Undo Injustice’ (AP…

“Amnesty International has condemned the three-year prison sentences given to three Al-Jazeera English journalists, calling them the ‘death knell for freedom of expression in Egypt’: The Latest: Amnesty Criticizes Al-Jazeera Trial Verdict (AP / abc News) “[T]he permit, filed in June, was suddenly revoked Tuesday — less than a week from the scheduled event —…

“Lord Justice Clarke of the appeal court upheld an earlier ruling to stay the deportation of people originating from all but three Afghan provinces…. However, at least one person from another province was returned despite the court order”: Afghan Asylum Seekers Deported from UK May Have Been Unaware of Rights (Guardian) “The general guideline was set…

“The man who boarded a high-speed Amsterdam-to-Paris train with a Kalashnikov rifle before being tackled by passengers was on the radar of authorities in three countries, had ties to radical Islam and may have traveled to Syria”: France Train Attack: Ayoub El-Khazzani Had Ties to Radical Islam – and May Have Been in Syria (Independent)…

“This deal isn’t perfect and no one trusts Iran, but it has become clear to me that the world is united behind this agreement with the exception of the government of Israel” – Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo … Obama Iran Deal Gains Democratic Backing Heading Toward Vote (Christian Science Monitor) … Although most Israelis oppose the…

By supporting the Israeli lobby’s effort to sabotage the best hope for insuring Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon, Senator Robert Menendez does nothing to lend credibility to his denial of corruption charges for which he was indicted last April: Senate Democrats Stake Out Both Sides of Iran Deal (Reuters) “Even Senator Lindsey Graham…

On top of lying about how and why the government killed over a thousand people at Rabaa Square a new report shows Egypt even lied about whom they were shooting and why they were there … Who Actually Died in Egypt’s Rabaa Massacre (Washington Post) … and new laws have such an extremely broad definition…

The agreement is “the most effective means currently available to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” and a precondition for any conceivable “international support for military action against Iran”: Dozens of Retired Generals, Admirals Back Iran Nuclear Deal (Washington Post) Ignoring the vast majority of Muslim women to celebrate a few who fit our stereotypes of…

Dr. Salaita’s tweets implicate every “central concern” of the First Amendment … (regulation of political speech, regulation of speech in a public forum, and regulation based on the content of the speech)”: Steven Salaita, Professor Fired for ‘Uncivil’ Tweets, Vindicated in Federal Court (Nation) Support of liberal Islam “ought to be kept separate from counter-terrorism,…