LobeLog has really been blanketing the coverage of the opposition to the Iran deal this week, so if you're interested you should check out a few of their recent pieces. Ali Gharib, for example, had a lot of fun picking apart Leon "why is this man still getting paid writing gigs" Wieseltier's anti-deal argument (assuming … Continue reading Here’s your “opposition to the Iran deal” update

Potentially huge progress has been made in terms of developing an Ebola vaccine: When Ebola flared up in a village, researchers vaccinated all the contacts of the sick person who were willing – the family, friends and neighbours – and their immediate contacts. Children, adolescents and pregnant women were excluded because of an absence of … Continue reading Good news on the Ebola front

Let me say upfront that of all the announced 2016 candidates, I identify most closely with Bernie Sanders at this point. I know this because I am a reasonably thoughtful adult human being who is pretty well-informed about politics and about my own political preferences, and also because every time I take one of those … Continue reading Bernie Sanders needs some better answers

Grotesque: A one-and-a-half year-old Palestinian infant was burned to death and three of his family members were seriously wounded late Thursday night after a house was set on fire in the village of Douma, near Nablus. According to reports, settlers were those who set the house on fire after targeting it with firebombs and graffiti. The … Continue reading By all means, let’s keep giving these guys more settlements

Robin Wright, one of the best Western journalists out there when it comes to reporting from inside Iran, has a new piece in The New Yorker today on the common Iranian chant, "Death to America." If you are unfamiliar with Iran and perhaps troubled by their use of this chant, or perhaps you're a Republican … Continue reading If you’re worried about Iranians chanting “Death to America,” I found something for you to read

So the Taliban officially acknowledged that Mullah Omar is, in fact, no longer among the living, though one wonders how long they've been trying to Weekend at Bernies this whole thing, if the reports that he died two years ago are accurate. He's reportedly been replaced (though again, when he was actually replaced is an … Continue reading Meet the new Taliban boss (?), Akhtar Mansur

This whole "today in Middle East history" thing that I do is a little bit of a cheat, since most events in the Middle East at least from the founding of Islam have been happening, officially, on the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, which is a lunar calender and thus never quite lines up with the Western … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Happy birthday Baghdad (762)

Speaking of Israel and Palestine, there seems to be a growing concern that the Israeli government may do something to change the legal status of al-Aqsa: On Monday, chunks of rock still peppered the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site. Volunteers worked to remove shards of glass and metal, but parts of … Continue reading Is something big about to happen at al-Aqsa/the Temple Mount?

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when Saudi King Salman took a somewhat surprising meeting with Hamas's political leadership? Well, it seems that Hamas might have had good reason for meeting with the chief regional rival to their ostensible Iranian patrons: Iranian aid to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has drastically decreased, a senior Hamas … Continue reading Hamas may need a new sponsor

You couldn't make this stuff up: a day after the Obama administration announced that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard will be released from prison in November, Benjamin Netanyahu expresses his gratitude like so: Israel gave final approval on Wednesday for plans to build 300 new homes in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, … Continue reading Just in time for Jonathan Pollard to live in one of them!