Urgent appeal - Gay men escaping Iraq
I got a call today that I would rather not have received. M called and told me that his partner was dead. The Sadr militia caught him, super-glued his anus shut and then beat him to death. M is...
View ArticleEaster Sermon for the Birds
I’ll admit I’m an odd person to be writing an Easter sermon. Some of us prefer our epiphanies grounded in the external world, even feathered and something we can hold in our hands. Some of us...
View ArticleAfghanistan Onion - comedy and tragedy in Afghan press
I thought I'd share a few news stories in the Afghanistan Observer and the Daily Afghanistan Outlook newspapers - stories that alternately make one laugh or cry. This diary is not a detailed...
View ArticleNews update - multiple large blasts in Baghdad
Just got an email from a friend who sent me a BBC link - seems there have been about 10 coordinated explosions in Baghdad, many of which appear to be car bombs in primarily Shia' areas of Baghdad....
View ArticleEyes on Iraq - Demonstrations Today
I wanted to write about some events today in Iraq related to the series of popular uprisings that are spreading throughout the Arab world. I manage some programs in Iraq and am currently in the Iraqi...
View ArticleLibya to release NYT reporter Anthony Shadid
OK, this will be a short diary, but this is very good news. Libya has acknowledged capturing Pulitzer-prize winning NYT reporter Anthony Shadid and three of his colleagues and will release them. They...
View ArticleBreaking - Iran implicated in plot to assassinate Saudi ambassador in US
I'm watching this on Al Jazirah outside the US but didn't see it posted yet on Daily Kos. Al Jazirah is reporting that the FBI has arrested an Iranian-American and indicted a leading Iranian...
View ArticleTripoli Celebrates!
Brit suggested I write a diary to expand upon his, so I'll do so. If you haven't read his yet it's here: http://www.dailykos.com/... Some brief background. I work for a US-based non-profit...
View ArticleLibya - After the Revolution
This diary is a follow-up to one I published here last week, here: http://www.dailykos.com/... Some readers suggested that I continue providing updates on the situation in Libya, and add a little...
View ArticleAdvocacy Alert: Senate Com on Intelligence Torture Report
Dear Friends,Do you have a few minutes for a little quick and painless advocacy? Do you live in California or Maine? Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) faces an...
View ArticleSyria in context (not a rant)
I've felt that the diaries on Syria over the last few days have been more about the US than Syria and that there's been a gap in analysis. Meteor Blades encouraged me to write a diary on the Syrian...
View ArticleMeanwhile in Iraq (Updated - US planes attack IS)
[UPDATE: Just received reports from the NGO coordinating committee and some of our partners in Erbil that the US has begun airstrikes against IS forces between Mosul and Erbil. WP reports that US...
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Dawn Chorus: Sweden
Mute swan - Cygnus olorI was in Stockholm for work, and had a chance to spend a few days in this beautiful city. We absorb images of Scandinavia from stories and books in childhood; Stockholm...
View ArticleWe milk the goat even if it's male
The so-called Islamic State calls out to be mocked... and plenty of comics in the Middle East are happy to rise to the challenge. Some say that they are so brutal, so awful, and cause so much tragedy,...
View ArticleBlack cops charged for police brutality
So what happens when black police use excessive force? As the nation focuses on two instances in which white cops committed acts of violence against black citizens, perhaps it is worth looking at what...
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Images of Muhammad in Islam
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, I thought it would be a good idea to provide background information on the prohibition of depicting the human form in Islam, including the Prophet...
View ArticleBill Clinton encouraged Trump
My sweetie just sent me a Washington Post article that discloses that Bill Clinton talked with Donald Trump about running on the GOP ticket. I haven't seen it diaried here, so I thought I'd send this...
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Major Kurdish offensive begins against Islamic State
A major battle to retake the strategic town of Sinjar started overnight, with approximately 7,000 Kurdish troops surrounding the town and cutting the main road between Mosul and the “Islamic State”...
View ArticleIbrahim for Citizen Urgent Action Please!!!
I’m writing to ask for your help.Those of you who have been to SE Michigan may have come across bumper stickers that say “Ibrahim for Citizen”. These bumper stickers are part of a campaign that has...
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A Fake Progressive and A Confederate Scumbag Kill Immigration Reform
I’m going to confess right up front that this is an exercise in propaganda — I am writing this diary to make a point and not to attack Bernie Sanders. I like both Sanders and Clinton, and I will vote...
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