“The conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism is a long-term strategy and the effect on the Australian media is obvious. It is a proven way to silence critics, ensure questions remain unanswered and media coverage muted” …
- Why Are Australia and Its Media So Fearful of Debate on Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians? (The Guardian)
… as exemplified by Israel’s stranglehold on FaceBook and Pay Pal and the smear campaign against an activist-journalist-photographer’s coverage of Israeli human rights violations:
- Israel/Palestine: Facebook Censors Discussion of Rights Issues (Human Right Watch)
- Rights Groups to PayPal: End Discrimination Against Palestinians (Aljazeera)
- I Filmed a Settler Pogrom. Now the Israeli Media Is Smearing Me (972)
The Hazaris demand the right to defend themselves from terrorists the Taliban cannot control. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never abridged the right of his people to keep and bear arms; why do the Taliban?
- Islamic State Claims Mosque Blast in Kunduz, Afghanistan, that Killed Nearly 50, Injured Dozens (Washington Post)
A Muslim feminist wonders whether her thoughtful article on the hijab was “an unwitting continuation of the tradition of Western colonizers who condemned the veiling of women while they invaded and plundered foreign lands”:
In the cities women could go to schools and get jobs with the corrupt puppet government, but in the rural areas the U.S. only brought death:
- ‘Everyone Here Hated the Americans’: Rural Afghans Live with the Taliban and a Painful U.S. Legacy (Washington Post)
Academics accuse Professor David Miller’s critics of using “false allegations and the weaponisation of the positive impulses of anti-racism so as to silence anti-racist debate”:
- Chomsky and Pilger among 400 Academics to Back Uni Professor over Israel-Palestine Views (Morning Star)
“Afghan textbooks teach different schools of Muslim religious law separately. They also keep religion out of secular subjects.” Not so in Pakistan:
- Comparing Textbooks: Even Afghanistan Scores Better than Pakistan (Middle East Soccer)
“Security forces in Indian Kashmir have detained more than 300 people for questioning in recent days as they try to stem a wave of targeted killings that has spread panic among minority groups”:
Iran continues it’s proxy face-off with the U.S. in Iraq at the ballot box, directly negotiates with the Taliban, and meets with Syria’s dictator even as it is a major player in the civil war there:
- Caught Between US and Iran, Iraqis Face Choices in Elections (AlJazeera)
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Holds Talks with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad (AlJazeera)
- War Still Rages in Syrian Border Town at Heart of Iran’s Regional Ambition (The Guardian)
- Afghanistan Dispatches: ‘Iran Has Entered into Direct Negotiations with the Taliban and Has Now Signed an Agreement with Them’ (Jurist)