Motasem A Dalloul | @abujomaaGaza | – Israel’s General Election two weeks ago has presented it with its second major political deadlock this year. The Blue and White party won 33 seats and the Likud won 32; the other parties will only be significant if they join a coalition with one of these two major […]
Archives for October 2019
Trump Talks tough with Journalists but Lets Real Strongmen like Turkey’s Erdogan Walk all over Him
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last week during the visit of the Finnish president, Trump acted out with a journalist, James Mason of Reuters who asked him a simple question. What exactly did Trump want from Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky during the notorious July telephone call? Trump did a bad de Niro impression, asking him, […]
Baghdad’s Youthquake: Iraq’s Young Protestors ‘Have Nothing Left To Lose’
(Niqash.org ) – Anti-government protests in Baghdad were led by the younger generation, one that has grown up under military rule, lived a more liberal life online and is now questioning the very basis of local, political culture. More than a hundred deaths and over 4,000 wounded as a result of five days of anti-government […]
How the Saudi Oil Field Attack Overturned America’s Apple Cart
(Foreign Policy in Focus) – For all their overwhelming firepower, the U.S. and its allies can cause a lot of misery in the Middle East, but still can’t govern the course of events. In many ways it doesn’t really matter who — Houthis in Yemen? Iranians? Shiites in Iraq? — launched those missiles and drones […]
Why Trump’s bad Nixon imitation may cost him the presidency
By Ken Hughes | – Whatever Donald Trump does, Richard Nixon usually did it first and better. Nixon got a foreign government’s help to win a presidential election over 50 years ago. Trump’s imitation of the master has proven far from perfect, and that may cost him the presidency. Trump’s first mistake was soliciting foreign […]
Iraqi Gov’t Teeters as Protest Death toll Rises to 100, with 4,000 Wounded
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Protests broke out again in Baghdad on Saturday, leaving 15 dead. The government had shut down the internet a few days ago in a bid to quell the widespread rallies, but returned partial service yesterday, which allowed activists to call for further protests. The Neoconservatives and the Bush administration pledged […]
Saudi looks ‘positively’ at Yemeni truce proposal
Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Salman believes that his country looks “positively” at the truce proposal announced by Houthis in Yemen, Arabi21.com reported on Friday. In a series of tweets, the prince wrote “we look positively at the truce announced by Yemen because this is what we have been seeking. We hope it is really implemented.” […]
Solar Power: How China can Spur Regional Growth without more Carbon Emissions
By Kathryn G Logan, Shi Chen and Xi Lu | – China has invested US$90 billion in the countries involved in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since 2013. The BRI involves developing infrastructure in 126 partner countries to boost trade within a region stretching from Indonesia to Western Europe via the Middle East and […]
Trail of Tears: Refugees at Our Southern Border
“There were many trails of tears all over North America of indigenous peoples who were forcibly removed by government forces. The indigenous peoples who are making their way up from the southern hemisphere are a continuation of the Trail of Tears.” – Joy Harjo (Informed Comment) – Children, families and caravans of brown-skinned people arriving […]