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  • Foreign policy impotence gripping U.S. Foreign policy impotence gripping U.S.

    In an article published May 15, 2013, American historical social scientist Immanuel Wallerstein wrote, "Nothing illustrates more the limitations of Western power than the internal controversy its elites are having in public about what the United States in particular and western European states should be doing about the civil war in Syria." Those limitations are palpable in both language and ...

  • Obamas drones Gitmo speech welcomed in Pakistan Yemen

    President Barack Obama's speech on the use of drones and the fate of Guantanamo prisoners has been welcomed by two key countries affected by the policies - Pakistan and Yemen. At the same time, Pakistani officials criticized Obama for not announcing an end to drone strikes against Islamic militants in the country in his landmark speech on Thursday, as they have long demanded. According to the ...

  • UN agency calls on Syrias neighbours to keep borders open for refugees UN agency calls on Syrias neighbours to keep borders open for refugees

    24 May 2013 150 The United Nations refugee agency today called on countries around Syria to keep their borders open for refugees, while also stressing the need for "urgent and robust" international support for host countries and aid agencies. There are already over 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). ...

  • Min. Lapid NYT interview no freeze united Jerusalem

    [Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: On the one hand, Minister Yair Lapid's remarks against a settlement freeze and the division of Jerusalem should serve to dash hopes among those who saw him as the point man for pushing through such policies. On the other hand, Mr. Lapid takes the profoundly dangerous position supporting the immediate creation of an interim Palestinian state. If the idea is to ...

  • Hard choices needed in Israel

    US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a news conference in Tel Aviv on May 24, 2013. Kerry urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Friday to take "hard decisions" to revive the Middle East peace process, which has stalled for almost three ...

Movie Review

La bête humaine [DVD]

La bête humaine [DVD]

Rarely has the title of a film been more seemingly blunt in denoting its view of humanity than Jean Renoirs La bte humaine, which translates as The Human Beast. However, the film is not nearly as complete in its dark view of human nature as the title or the source novel by mi ... ...

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  • 17 Palestinians transferred to Nauru

    A GROUP of 17 Palestinian men seeking asylum have been transferred to a detention centre on Nauru. Department of Immigration said the group arrived at midday (AEST) on Saturday and were accompanied by detention centre staff, interpreters, doctors and Australian Federal Police officers. They are the seventeenth transfer to Nauru but the first group of Palestinian nationals. The federal government ...

  • UN refugee agency prepares to aid Syrian refugees during winter

    UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency ( UNHCR) said that it is budgeting more than 64 million U.S. dollars for winter preparations for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries and internally displaced Syrians, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said on Friday. UNHCR statistics showed that the total number of Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration in Jordan, Lebanon, ...

  • Explosion rocks southern Afghan town causing casualties

    KABUL, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- A blast rocked Qalat city, the provincial capital of southern Afghan province of Zabul Saturday morning, leaving casualties, local media Tolo News ...

  • Lebanese president opposes military intervention in Syria

    BEIRUT, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Friday that Lebanon objects to any military intervention in Syria. "A military intervention in Syria is not an acceptable move. We would not back a military intervention. But if a political solution requiring Arab support is proposed, then it would become possible for Lebanon to take part in it," Suleiman said in an ...

  • Syria-Turkey conflict to benefit West Iranian lawmaker

    A senior Iranian lawmaker said Friday that military conflict between Syria and Turkey will drag the two countries into a war that will only benefit the West, Press TV reported. Hossein Sobhaninia, a member of Iran's Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said Western countries have failed in their efforts to change the Syrian government and now seek to ...

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