Coup, shmou — in his Orwellian branding the military overthrow of Egypt’s elected regime the restoration of democracy Kerry puts the Obama administration squarely on the wrong side of history:
- Kerry: Egyptian Military Was ‘Restoring Democracy,’ Didn’t Take Over Egypt (Huffington Post)
- John Kerry Chose a Strange Country from Which to Defend Egypt’s Military Takeover (Washington Post)
- Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood ‘Disappointed’ by John Kerry’s Remarks (Guardian)
- American Aid Makes the U.S. Complicit in the Egyptian Army’s Acts (Washington Post)
- Egypt State TV: Police to Besiege Pro-Morsi Protest Camps in Cairo Within 48 Hours (AP / Winnipeg Free Press)
- Muslim Brotherhood Rejects Offer of Safe Exit for Egypt Protesters (Irish Times)
In Tunisia, despite the assassination of key opposition figures and a war on violent  extremists …
… yet “even the most bitter disputes have a certain civility. At an ongoing sit-in by rival protesters outside the constituent assembly in Tunis, fiery slogans are offset by singing, and both police and popcorn vendors look on.” Both the secular and Islamist camps want “democracy, free speech, and respect for human rights”:
- Egypt This Is Not: Tunisia Stays Calm as It Debates Democracy (Christian Science Monitor)
No specific threat has been cited behind the State Dept. embassy closings and travel warning alleging an increased threat of terrorism on “Lailat-ul-Qadr” (the Night of Measure) commemorating the anniversary of the initial revelation of the Qur’an:
“’Our relationship with America is a relationship of people who don’t know what they want,’ muses Dr. Youssef in the first episode of his new series ‘America in Arabic,’ describing his people as ‘schizophrenic.’ ‘No one knows whether we love or hate the States’”:
- No, Seriously, Guys: Egypt’s Jon Stewart Probes Love-hate Relationship with US (Christian Science Monitor)
Press TV corrects an Iranian Student News Agency misquote, but but only after Netanyahu jumps on the original story to drop yet another hint that nuclear-armed Israel would start a war if Iran doesn’t drop its enrichment program for energy and medicine:
“Out of the negativity of Ahmadinejad has appeared something that we predicted would come years ago, but didn’t come: a new power in the center that would grow to include moderates from both sides†— anonymous “veteran analyst” in Tehran:
- After 8 Defiant Years, Ahmadinejad Leaves Iran Isolated and Cash-strapped (Christian Science Monitor)
“Sisters in Islam (SIS) had recently suggested that fatwa[s] be deliberated by a legislative body before they are made binding on Muslims after it deemed the current procedure “un-Islamic and undemocratic’”:
- Fatwa on Muslim Athletes a Bad Call, Says Khairy (Daily Mail)
There is nothing seditious about making a video “to show that dogs are not ‘haram’ (forbidden)” and contact with them may only impose a “ritual cleansing performed by Muslims when they come into contact with items considered ritually unclean, of which wet dogs are considered to be by some followers of the faith”:
- Muslim Dog Trainer Remanded 2 Days over Aidilfitri (Daily Mail)
Artificially sustained by foreign intervention rather than by sound economic policy, Afghanistan’s “newly established and mostly urban middle class is in danger of rapidly shrinking once again as more international aid projects and nongovernmental organizations shut down ahead of the 2014 transition”:
- Afghanistan’s Middle Class: What Will Happen to Us When the US Leaves? (Christian Science Monitor)
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