Martin Michaels

Martin Michaels is a Mint Press staff writer specializing in immigration, international affairs and social justice issues. A native New Yorker, Michaels graduated with a degree in international relations and democratization in the Middle East. He has traveled to Jordan, Egypt and Israel, conducting research and studying human rights issues there. Michaels has also worked in various positions with J Street and Occupy Wall Street, promoting peace and social justice. Contact Martin at [email protected] or follow Martin on Twitter at @MMichaelsMPN.

Al-Qaeda: A New Phase of Soft Power Ideology?

FILE – This undated file image from video seized from the walled compound of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and provided by the U.S. Department of Defense shows Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden spent his last weeks in a house divided, amid wives riven by suspicions. On the top floor, sharing […]

Martin Michaels
Par Martin Michaels
FILE - This undated file image from video seized from the walled compound of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and provided by the U.S. Department of Defense shows Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden spent his last weeks in a house divided, amid wives riven by suspicions. On the top floor, sharing his bedroom, was his youngest wife and favorite. The trouble came when his eldest wife showed up and moved into the bedroom on the floor below. Pakistan will deport Osama bin Laden's three widows and their children to Saudi Arabia next week after they finish a 45-day prison sentence for illegally entering and living in the country, their defense lawyer said Friday, April 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Department of Defense, File)

(Mint Press)— Seventeen documents released from Osama Bin Laden’s personal correspondence give new insight into the ideology and strategies of the weakened al-Qaeda organization. The documents, totaling 175 pages, were recovered during the American raid on Bin Laden’s Abbatabod compound last year. The deceased terrorist leader remained an

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California Death Penalty Ban On November Ballot

Ronnie Sandoval, left, Lorrain Taylor, comfort each other as they hold photos of their slain children, and a news conference where they joined others in supporting a Novemer 2012 ballot intiative to end the death penalty, held in Sacramento, Calif. Monday, Aug. 29, 2011. Sandoval's son, Arthur Carmona, was murdered in Santa Ana in 2008 […]

Martin Michaels
Par Martin Michaels
Ronnie Sandoval, left, Lorrain Taylor, comfort each other as they hold photos of their slain children, and a news conference where they joined others in supporting a Novemer 2012 ballot intiative to end the death penalty, held in Sacramento, Calif. Monday, Aug. 29, 2011. Sandoval's son, Arthur Carmona, was murdered in Santa Ana in 2008 and Taylor's twin sons with gunned down together in Oakland in 2000. Both mothers spoke against the death penalty and support the initiative that would replace capital punishment with life prison terms. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

(Mint Press)— The SAFE California Act, a citizen led ballot initiative that has gathered more than the minimum 500,000 petition signatures needed to be placed on the ballot, could abolish the death penalty in California this November making it the sixth state since 2007 to end capital punishment. If successful, the proposed California act could

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Growing Bolivarian Sentiment Sweeps Latin America

Alfonso Cano, a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander, was assassinated by the Colombian military on Nov. 4, 2011. In this photo Cano attends a practice ceremony for the political party opening outside of San Vicente del Caguan in the FARC controlled zone of Colombia (Photo: Scott Dalton/AP) Timoleon Jimenez, leader of the Revolutionary […]

Martin Michaels
Par Martin Michaels

Timoleon Jimenez, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced Thursday that the leftist guerrilla group has no plans of surrendering to the Colombian state any time soon. Although the FARC recently abandoned its long held practice of hostage taking, a  2 tonne cocaine seizure over the weekend shows the FARC has no interest

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Recent Kabul Attacks Mark Setback for Afghan Security

Afghan special forces stand in formation during their graduation ceremony at a military training center on outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, April 5, 2012. The process of taking over security from around 100,000 NATO-led ISAF forces by Afghan troops should be completed by the end of 2014, when Afghanistan army will take over the full […]

Martin Michaels
Par Martin Michaels
Afghan special forces stand in formation during their graduation ceremony at a military training center on outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, April 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

(MintPress)—The coordinated attacks over the weekend by the Taliban and the Al-Haqqani network that left 47 people dead and dozens more injured, are casting doubts on the long-term security of Kabul. The bombings and subsequent gun battles represent the most brazen insurgent attacks since the start of the American invasion in 2001. While these

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