By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – Beyond the campaign rhetoric and Twitter controversies over domestic and foreign policies, the question remains what actual policies the Trump administration is cooking up for the American people and the broader global community. Some campaign rhetoric is (will be) abandoned, e.g., one-China policy; Mexico paying […]
Archives for February 2017
Netanyahu rejected offer by Kerry & Arab Leaders of Comprehensive Peace Talks
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Last year this time, Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to put together a huge peace deal between Israel and the Arab world, according to Aron Heller and Matthew Lee of the Associated Press. The proposal built on the 2002 Arab peace plan, which offered […]
Danger as Turkey votes on Presidential System while in State of Emergency
By Arzu Geybullayeva | (Globalvoices.org) | – – On April 16, Turks will head to polls to yay or nay constitutional amendments which have been approved by the 550 seat parliament where the majority of seats (317) belong to the ruling party of Justice and Development (AKP) under the control of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. […]
Trump’s Russia scandals could be about to get much, much worse
Luca Trenta | The Conversation | – – Whatever one thinks of the Trump administration’s policies, it is difficult to ignore that the new president’s tenure has so far been characterised by incompetence and carelessness. And while it’s easy to laugh at daft missteps such as an aide plugging Ivanka Trump’s clothing line in a […]
Eight People Flee U.S. Border Patrol to Seek Asylum in Canada
TeleSur | – – As the U.S. looks to tighten its policies on refugees and illegal immigrants, people seeking refugee status have been pouring over the Canada-U.S. border. Eight asylum-seekers, including four children, barely made it across the Canadian border on Friday as a U.S. border patrol officer tried to stop them and a Reuters […]
Trump invents Sweden Terror Attack, Lies about Immigrant Crime
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump made up another alleged terrorist attack at his rally on Saturday, this one about a figment of his imagination that did not actually take place in Sweden on Friday night. It is clear that Trump and his white supremacist mafia (Steve Bannon et al.) despise […]
Garden Party, 1640: Iranian Lady entertains European Gentleman
Metropolitian Museum of Art | Isfahan Tile | – – “At the center of this scene, a lady leans on a bolster pillow and languidly holds out a filled cup. Making somewhat immodest eye contact with the viewer, she displays burn marks, associated with mystics and lovers, on her lower arms. A male figure in […]
Are Republicans Shielding Trump from Special Prosecutor and Russia Inquiry?
By Nadia Prupis, staff writer | Meanwhile, some experts say there is a case for appointing a special prosecutor. Republicans are dismissing the mounting call to thoroughly investigate the Trump campaign’s connection with Russian intelligence, and party leadership is seemingly pushing for members to fall in line behind the president amid growing outrage. House Intelligence […]
Not Over: Trump Ban still ruining life of Iraqi Interpreter for US Military
by Megan Rose | ProPublica | – – In 2006, when I arrived at Camp Taqqadum in Iraq to embed with the U.S. Marines, I was immediately invited for tea by the unit’s interpreter. A quiet, exceedingly courteous father of three young girls, Haider told me how he spent three months at a time away […]