Video: The Kites
A girl is playing on the green slopes of a valley in Kurdistan, on the border between Iran and Iraq, when her kite is suddenly swept across the river by the wind. Three boys on the other side see her calling for help, but cannot make out what she is saying: she is just too far away. Separated by the river, the children try to communicate with each other – yet between them lie the explosive remnants of past wars.
Nick Turse: Castle Black
The United States dominates the world through its military power. Due to government secrecy, our citizens are often ignorant of the fact that our garrisons encircle the planet.
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard: We Stand in Solidarity with Rojava, an Example to the World
Since 2012, around 5 million people – Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen, Yazidis and others – have built the autonomous region of Rojava, demonstrating how a multi-ethnic society can respectfully coexist beyond the constraints of nation state, patriarchy and capitalism.
Choman Hardi: Homeland, what shall I do with you?
What shall I do with you, homeland?
What shall I do with all this blood?
Where shall I put you
to prevent you from filling my days
with damage and grief?
Khury Petersen-Smith: Trump’s Betrayal of the Kurds Is Terrible, But the Answer Is Not Endless War
If the U.S. wants to help the Kurds today, the answer is not more war. Instead, it could suspend its military aid to Turkey, and end its racist exclusion of refugees.
Vox Populi 
Peter Van Buren: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Seven Worst-Case Scenarios in the Battle with the Islamic State. You know the joke? You describe something obviously heading for disaster — a friend crossing Death Valley with next to … Continue reading →