Woman defies the Saudi dress code

Women in Saudi Arabia have to endure what is probably the most strict dress code in the world, requiring them to wear loose-fitting, full-length robes in public plus, if they are Muslim, a headscarf. But a young model who goes by the name ‘Khulood’ decided to defy that code and had herself filmed as she walked around a historic fort in Ushayqir wearing a short skirt and a crop top. The video has been circulating on Twitter and needlessly to say has all the religious conservatives all of a doo-dah at the sacrilegious sight of women’s skin.
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The re-emerging neoconservative-Democratic party alliance

The neoconservatives in the US have been responsible for the most disastrous turn of events in modern history, wreaking havoc in the Middle East and creating the basis for the blowback the west has experienced as a result. They got the foothold in power they had long wanted during the Bush-Cheney era but then guessed wrong during the last election when they harshly turned against Donald Trump because (at that time at least) he did not seem to want to pursue their goal of imposing US military might around the globe.
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Easy access to water is essential to free women

It is easy for those who live in the developed world or the unban centers of the developing world to not appreciate what a tremendous boon it is to have easy access to clean water. For many poor rural communities, getting water takes up much of the time and energy of people who have to make a trek to the source of relatively clean water, and then carry it back to their homes.
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Does a threat of doxing constitute blackmail?

Merriam-Webster defines ‘dox’ to mean to “publicly identify or publish private information about (someone) especially as a form of punishment or revenge” and the practice is generally frowned upon. Some of you may be familiar with the recent case involving CNN and the person who modified an old video clip of Trump engaging in a phony wrestling fight with someone. This person had superimposed the CNN logo over the head of the person getting ‘pummeled’ by Trump and Trump had (of course) re-tweeted the clip. CNN uncovered the identity of the person who had created the video and in the process found out that he had also posted racist and anti-Semitic content on the web.
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New revelations on CIA overthrow of Iran’s democracy

The deep suspicion with which the West is viewed in the Middle East can be traced way back to the way that the west, especially the British in the early days, exploited that region’s oil reserves. This culminated in the 1953 coup that was organized by the CIA (and backed by the British) to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Iran Mohammad Mossadeq and replace him with their puppet Reza Pahlavi who was known as the Shah of Iran. His autocratic rule, his secret police that tortured and killed so many, and the lavish lifestyle of his family, laid the ground work for the rebellion led by Ayatollah Khomeini and the subsequent dominance of the Muslim clergy in running the country.
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“Social justice isn’t copyrighted”

Here are highlights of the interview that Naomi Klein of The Intercept conducted with Jeremy Corbyn where he gave a rousing reiteration of his theme of how acting in a collective manner is far better than extreme individualism. See the bit at around the 5:00 minute mark where in a fiery speech in February 2003, like so many of us on the left, Corbyn predicted the spiral of conflict and misery that would ensue if the west went ahead with its plans to invade Iraq.

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No, it is not harder being rich than being poor

The rich share many self-serving conceits. One is that they are rich because they are more clever and work harder than those who are not. They dismiss any idea that luck had anything to do with it, especially the luck that resulted in them being born into a family that, even if not overly wealthy, yet belong to a race, ethnicity, and nationality that automatically put them into the top brackets of income and wealth in the world.
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Great moments in punditry

Clinton partisans among the Democrats are providing their own overheated rhetoric as they seek revenge for what they see as an election victory that was stolen from them by Russians. Paul Begala is a top Democratic insider and close confidante of the Clinton family who served as counselor to Bill Clinton when he was president. He is now a commentator on CNN. On Anderson Cooper’s show, he actually suggested that Donald Trump should “blow up” Russia’s KGB, GSU, or GRU (the intelligence services of that country) because “we were and are under attack by a hostile foreign power” and “should be retaliating massively”.
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Trump and his lawyer make a perfect couple

We are truly plumbing the depths of politics these days, with Donald Trump and members of his family and his administration making bizarre statements. We know that Trump rages against anyone who has the temerity to challenge him or his grandiose claims. But in politics, like attracts like. Take this story about how Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, his lawyer mind you, the person who should be practicing restraint in his speech, responded to a critical email he received from a total stranger.
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Torture victim secretly won case against UAE in 2013

Thanks to leaks of US State Department cables given to The Intercept, we are now aware of a $10 million settlement agreed upon in 2013 paid to a US citizen Khaled Hassen by the UAE. The UAE had fought to keep secret the fact that people at the highest levels of that country, which is a loyal puppet of the US and Saudi Arabia, including members of their royal family had acknowledged being involved in torture.
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