Watching the Shadows

Benghazigate and Internet freedom

The provocateur video that supposedly incited the Benghazi attack is at the center of a persistent news story—but we can't see it, because the Ninth Circuit ordered it suppressed.

New York City

NYPD disbands Muslim surveillance program

The new commissioner of the New York Police Department, William Bratton, announced the disbanding of a controversial surveillance unit used to spy on Muslim communities.

East Asia

Uighurs feel pressure in Flight 370 case

The presence of an acclaimed Uighur artist among those on the missing Malyasian airliner has fueled speculation about terrorism—prompting protests from the Uighur diaspora.

Greater Middle East

Syria’s Christians become propaganda pawns

Syria’s Christians are becoming propaganda fodder in an international war of perceptions, with atrocities carried out by the jihadist Nusra Front being attributed to the FSA.

Greater Middle East

9-11 and Syria: a propaganda field day

The popular meme "I didn't join the army to fight for al-Qaeda in Syria" is a betrayal of Syria's secular civil resistance—which continues even now to exist and struggle for freedom.

Europe

France: whither the hijab intifada?

The on-again/off-again Parisian intifada has exploded once more—this time over the arrest of a man whose wife was ticketed for wearing a face veil in the suburb of Trappes.

Europe

Bulgaria protesters say ‘NOligarchy!’

Over the past 10 days, thousands of protesters have repeatedly taken to the streets of Bulgaria to oppose the interim coalition government of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski.

Europe

The London attack: context vs. apologia —again

Reactions to the jihadist slaying of a British solider in London are polarized along predictable lines—emphasizing either the context of imperial wars or the threat of political Islam.

North America

Glenn Greenwald full of beans on Boston

Glenn Greenwald called out the New York Times for putting the word "terrorism" in "scare quotes" after a Damascus blast—but does exactly that regarding the Boston blasts!

The Caucasus

Chechnya war comes to Boston —or not?

Voices on the left seek to play down jihadist involvement in the Chechen struggle, while the neocon right plays it up—ironically in line with Moscow's propaganda.

North America

Chechen rebels see anomalies in Boston attack

The Kavkaz Center, voice of the Chechen mujahedeen, issued a statement suggesting that the suspects in the Boston attacks were framed in a plot to discredit their struggle.