Say what you will about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks—and plenty has been said about them. Because of them a window has been opened on foreign relations in an age of international intrigue, conflict, terrorism and open warfare. We may not like how that window got opened; we may or may not like what we see through that open window and we may be offended by the fetor entering our home through that open window,...

This article by Alberto Goncalves of Diario de Noticias has created an uproar in Portugal since it was printed on Saturday. When you read it you’ll understand why. Focusing his attention on the sexual assault against U.S. reporter Lara Logan by a joyous mob of 200 in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Goncalves goes into excruciating detail about why he and people like him have trouble trusting Muslims and...

One can always count on seeing some very exciting and spirited debates at The Moderate Voice, whether the subject or issue is religion, politics, culture, war, gender issues, our military, women in combat—or just plain principle and individual rights. Well this one has just about a little bit of “all of the above” and I am curious as to how the debate will go. Readers may remember that, back in 2001,...

Are the ongoing uprisings in the Muslim world due to ‘weariness’ with the materialism of the West, led by the U.S.? To judge from the above photo, at least, it isn’t only materialism making Iranians ‘weary.’ In this latest explanation for the Muslim revolution from Tehran, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reports that the supreme leader has once again congratulated...

In the past, has China resisted meddling in the internal affairs of weaker nations – and is it time for Beijing to turn over a new leaf? According to this editorial from China’s state-controlled Global Times, while China has in the past followed a course of non-interference with the domestic affairs of other states, the ongoing series of uprisings in the Middle East may call for a whole new strategy. The...

What can we expect from the uprisings that have suddenly erupted in Muslim lands? Highlighting the confusion over Egypt, La Jornada columnist Jose Steinsleger, who appears to be a confounded, left-wing revolutionary from Latin America, writes that whatever the risk that their dreams may be thwarted – he sides with the young people who have faced down a tyrant. For Mexico’s La Jornada, columnist...

After having heard and read ad nauseam criticism from the far-right neocons on the handling—or “non-handling”—of the recent Egypt crisis by the Obama administration, I braced myself for additional piling on by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a recent Washington Post opinion piece. However, it turned out to be one of the most fair and balanced opinion pieces on this subject by...

No one has ever accused San Francisco of not taking strong action that might spark controversy. First, in November, the Board of Supervisors voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald’s Happy Meals as traditionally served. And now it looks like another controversial measure will go on the ballot showing that San Fransciso is a ballsy city. Well, perhaps not totally in this case: Most bans...

It’s Friday evening, the end of a long week and in some ambiences it’s happy hour time: half price beer, half-price something stronger. Since I am writing this, I’ll forsake my beer for now. Quite a sacrifice, since—as you may have noticed if you read my posts—I love beer. As I love Dutch beer, especially Heineken and Amstel Light, one might deduce that I acquired the taste while living in...

Why Republicans Should Support Planned Parenthood by Tina Dupuy The GOP wants to paint itself as fiscally conservative. In the face of all evidence to the contrary (i.e. George W. Bush skyrocketing the size of government and the unpaid tax cuts bearing his name being championed by his party), they want to pretend they’re the “grownups” on budgetary matters. Yes, conservatives are prudent and sound when...

Can Islam and democracy exists side by side? Columnist K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran contests the notion that a free election can happen ‘only once’ in Arab countries, and warns those who have led uprisings in Egypt and Algeria that the eyes of the world are upon them – and most are against them. For Le Quotidien d’Oran, K. Selim writes in part: “Bush or bin Laden:...

Yes, that’s exactly what the British celebrity woman Jemima Khan, former wife of the world’s legendary cricketer Imran Khan, has to say. All governments lie at some time or the other. But when the web of lies becomes untenable and threaten world peace and financial security, then the alarm bells are set off. Jemima Khan in this video (http://bit.ly/dTDFaV) states: “Corruption, war crimes and...

Kate Sheppard writes in Mother Jones about a bill under consideration in the South Dakota legislature that would expand the definition of “justifiable homicide” to include actions taken to prevent the death of an “unborn child.”

Like I said, if George W. Bush or any of the current Republican contenders for the White House were there right now, this mentality would not be confined to the nutcases who show up at CPAC — it would be driving U.S. policy toward Egypt and in the Middle East in general.

The Trust Women Political Action Committee reports on its website:

At over 30 pages in print (26 on the web) and 23,000+ words, Lawrence Wright’s massive investigation of The Church of Scientology, The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology, is a long read. And a devastating expose. Haggis, an academy award-winning screenwriter and director who was a member of the Church he now calls a “cult” for 34 years, rose through Scientology’s levels...

President Obama has just given his reaction to the momentous and fast-moving events in Egypt. Some of his comments: There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history…The people of Egypt have spoken. Their voices have been heard… Egypt will never be the same…This is not the end of Egypt’s transition. It is the beginning…Egyptians have made it clear that...

I’ve often wondered what Nicolae Ceausescu , the former and cruel dictator of Romania who enslaved the Romanian and Swabian people post-Uncle Joe (Stalin), literally selling human beings as slaves to other countries, thought when he came to his balcony one day, and saw the streets crammed with demonstrators demanding his resignation. And more. Much more. Ceausescu too, like Mubarak, tried to mollify the...

UPDATE: Lest we misunderstand, the Vatican clarifies, “One cannot speak in any way of ‘confession by iPhone.’ ” ——- “I invite young people above all to make good use of their presence in the digital world,” said Pope Benedict XVI in his World Communications Address on January 24. Some App developers in Indiana took the Pope up on his word. From the iTunes store description: Designed...

Do Arabs, particularly people living in states alongside Egypt, have a right to be skeptical of claims that America is a defender of democracy and human rights? Americans may not like to hear it – but there is massive suspicion that the U.S. does and is doing everything it can to extend the rule of Hosni Mubarak and other friendly dictators. According to one of the leading commentators in the Maghreb,...

What chance is there that Arab militaries will give up the power to choose who rules to those now protesting in the streets? Columnist Issa Goraieb of Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour warns of the unlikelihood such a thing, particularly in Egypt, and also cites his native Lebanon in cautioning Arab protesters to consider what will happen when some form of democracy is finally achieved. For Lebanon’s...

The sense that the Egyptian people have reached a watershed and are finally going to insist on greater influence over their leaders is palpable in this article from Amal al-Oumma, the newspaper of the Muslim Brotherhood of Alexandria. The author, Reem al-Masry, writes of what the Egyptian uprising means to him and what it has taught his people about Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled that nation for 30 years. For...

The Stars and Stripes reports that several House Democrats are asking the Pentagon to allow troops previously dismissed under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law to petition the boards of correction to upgrade their discharges to “honorable” if they received a lesser discharge. Such an upgrade would make them eligible to receive veterans’ benefits. According to the Stripes: Under Department of...

Evan McMorris-Santoro has a write-up on congressional Republicans’ latest attempt to place the lives of fetuses above the lives of women (emphasis is mine):

Is the violence in the streets of Cairo destined to worsen? Rafiq Khoury of Yemen’s Al-Wahdawi warns that – whatever the outcome – there is little doubt that those protesting against Hosni Mubarak are about to confront a far more harsh reaction than they have until now. Explaining why Egypt is no Tunisia, for Al-Wahdawi, Rafiq Khoury writes in part: No noise is louder than the sound of change...