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My hypothesis as to why three FBI agents ended up murdering Ibragim Todashev

RT TV is getting better and better, mostly thanks to the truly excellent reporters they hire. And no, I don’t mean Larry King (Larry King Now), though hiring him was a nice PR coup, but rather folks like Peter Lavelle (Cross Talk) and Abby Martin (Breaking the Set) who talk to the right people and ask the right questions. This time, I want to draw your attention to a most

What basic logic suggests to me about the situation in Egypt

I was just listening to the latest news out of Egypt about the hundred or so people killed today and I kept wondering what kind of convoluted logic would be used to blame it on the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).  And, sure enough, I heard one pundit saying that the demonstrators were responsible because they were not peaceful but armed.  Another commentator then admitted that holding the democratically elected president in

Speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the annual Iftar dinner of the Women Committee of the “Islamic Resistance Support Organization”

I take refuge in Allah from the stoned devil. In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Most Merciful. Peace be on the Seal of prophets, our Master and Prophet, Abi Al Qassem Mohammad and on his chaste and pure Household and on his chosen companions and on all messengers and prophets. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. First, I would like to welcome you all. I

According to the Russian Foreign Ministrey Al-Qaeda-linked extremists hold 200 Kurdish civilians hostage as ‘live shield’ in Syria

RT reports that, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Al-Qaeda-linked extremists hold 200 Kurdish civilians hostage as ‘live shield’ in Syria: Civilians remain hostage after Syrian Kurds clashed with Al-Qaeda linked militants in the north-eastern Syrian towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, along the Syrian-Turkish border over the weekend. “In these areas, there has long been confrontation between the troops of the international extremists affiliated with al-Qaeda and local

Al-Qaeda says its prison raids in Iraq freed 500

Al-Akhbar reports: Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for simultaneous raids on two Iraqi prisons and said more than 500 inmates had been set free, in a statement posted on militant forums on Tuesday. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between al-Qaeda’s affiliates in Syria and Iraq, said it had carried out the attacks on Abu Ghraib and Taji jails after months

Speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the annual Iftar dinner of the “Islamic Resistance Support Organization”

I take refuge in Allah from the stoned devil. In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Most Merciful. Peace be on the Seal of prophets, our Master and Prophet, Abi Al Qassem Mohammad and on his chaste and pure Household and on his chosen companions and on all messengers and prophets. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. First I would like to welcome you all in

EU politicians reach a new landmark in mindless subservience to Israel

Recently, we had the EU politicians committing an act of “air piracy” on behalf of the USA, now we have the same folks committing an act of abject subservience to Israel: they have declared that the military wing of Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.  Of course, this statement has nothing to do with terrorism, it is an attempt at punishing Hezbollah for its successful intervention in the Syrian conflict.  The

FSA statement about an al-Qaeda state in northern Syria – fact, rumor or fabrication?

Yesterday, I posted an article and a video about the statement made by FSA officials that al-Qaeda had decided to create an Islamic state in northern Syria.  As posted it “as is” since I did not have the time to comment about it, which is what I want to do today.The first thing which came to my mind yesterday is that this was probably not true, and that the FSA

FSA says Al-Qaeda to announce Islamic state in Syria

Iranian.com reports:FSA says Al-Qaeda to announce Islamic state in Syria. Europeans now believed unlikely to arm Syrian opposition. Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—A senior figure in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has told Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Qaeda was about to announce an Islamic state in northern Syria. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the time for the announcement was confirmed to be the first day of Eid, at the end

Why the military coup is a disaster for the Egyptian Christian community

The Lebanese newspaper Daily Star published the following article: Wave of attacks on Egypt Copts, state failing to act: NGO CAIRO: Egypt’s Christians have been targeted in a wave of attacks since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, and the state is failing to protect them, an NGO said Monday. Sectarian violence since the latest political upheaval in Egypt began has killed four Coptic Christians in Luxor governorate, with

Russia breaks into top 5 world economies, displacing Germany

RT reports: Russia has overtaken Germany as the fifth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the latest World Bank ranking that measures 214 economies based on their 2012 GDP performance. Russia’s oil and export driven economy, ranked fifth amongst the top ten economies in the world with $3.4 trillion in GDP. In 2011, Germany surpassed Russia in GDP with $3.227 trillion compared to Russia’s $3.203 trillion.

Russian armed forces are conducting large scale military exercise in the Far East and Pacific Ocean

Since Putin sacked Serduikov and replaced him with Shoigu, the Russian military has been regularly tested in surprise large-scale military exercises involving a sudden order to prepare for battle typically followed by a long distance move to an unknown location.  This time it is the the Eastern Military District which has undergone such a readiness test, but on a scale previously unknown.  It involved an emergency relocation from the city

Latin American states to recall ambassadors from Europe over Bolivian plane incident and Snoden asks for political asylum in Russia

Plenty more good news this Friday. First, all the members of the MERCOSUR trading alliance have decided to recall their ambassadors from the European countries involved in the grounding of the Bolivian president’s plane. I am particularly happy to see that Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff supported the decision and did not cave in to Anglo pressures. Of course, a similar decision by UNASUR would have been even better, but with

Al-Qaeda militants killed Syrian rebel commander – FSA spokesman

RT reports: A senior figure of the rebel Free Syrian Army has been executed by Al-Qaeda-linked militants during negotiations. Multiplying conflicts between moderate and extremist rebels confronting President Assad might lead to an opposition split-up.  Supreme Military Council member Kamal Hamami, also known for his call-sign Abu Bassel al-Ladkani, was meeting with members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the Syrian port city of Latakia when

The collapse of legitimacy: How Egypt’s secular intelligentsia betrayed the revolution

by Khaled Abou El Fadl for ABC Religion and Ethics Legitimacy (shar’iyya) is a key word in the Arab world these days. In Egypt, it is the most contested word in the political language of the day. Morsi’s supporters are willing to die in the name of shar’iyya, and his opponents claim that the true source of shar’iyya are the masses of Tahrir Square. The Egyptian intelligentsia do not seem

For Egypt’s Islamists, War Is Now a Legitimate Option

By Michael Scheuer for Information Clearing House Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood were elected a year ago in what the so-called “International Community” judged a free and fair election. They and Egypt’s Salafist movement garnered nearly 65-percent of the vote. On Friday, Egypt’s military intervened in the political arena and overthrew and detained Morsi. Why? Because those who deservedly and miserably lost to the Islamists in 2012 did

Puzzled thoughts of a self-confessed ignoramus

Unlike most bloggers, I am by no means an Egypt specialist, never been and never will be.  In fact, let me begin this post by confessing to the fact that I am a self-confessed Egypt ignoramus.  Please keep that in mind and forgive me all the nonsense I am about to write below and let me begin by saying that I am very disturbed not only by the events in

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