Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – I am betting that before November 2020 Congress will pass and the President will sign another major relief package. More interesting will be the debate on the measure. That debate already says a lot about the underlying anxieties that grip both parties and their aspirations for the […]
Archives for June 2020
The Outpouring of Grief over George Floyd’s Death gave America a chance at Rebirth: Will we take it?
( Tomdispatch.com) – They were relegated to the protest equivalent of a ghetto. Their assigned route shunted them to the far fringes of the city. Their demonstration was destined for an ignominious demise far from any main thoroughfare, out of sight of most apartment buildings, out of earshot of most homes, best viewed from a […]
All the Lies Trump told the West Point Graduates about American Militarism
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It was bad enough that Trump endangered the health of the graduating class at West Point for the purposes of a photo op for his reelection campaign by insisting on bringing them back to campus. It was bad enough that he gave an alarming performance in which some observers saw […]
Information warfare: COVID-19’s other battleground in the Middle East
By Saoussen Ben Cheikh | – ( Globalvoices.org) – COVID-19 has exacerbated existing political tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, a region already marred by decades of conflict. Now, unscrupulous politicians blame their political enemies or neighboring governments for the spread of the novel coronavirus. Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros […]
America’s Wars always Come Home
( Foreign Policy in Focus) – It was entirely fitting that Senator Tom Cotton would be the one to say the quiet part out loud — very loud — in the New York Times. Usually, Cotton specializes in inciting war against black and brown people in other parts of the world. He does so with […]
Trump’s Infatuation with the Insurrection Act Recalls Worst Political Divide in US HIstory
The Vice President rebelled and sought to be Emperor of the West
Another Screw-Up: Iraq announces Gradual US Troop Withdrawal, in Aftermath of Trump’s Strike on Local Generals
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Thursday, the new Iraqi government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi concluded its first security review with its US partner, according to Arwa Ibrahim at Al Jazeera. They issued a joint statement saying, “”In light of significant progress towards eliminating the ISIS [or ISIL] threat, over the coming months the US would […]
How the Coronavirus could be a Climate Game Changer if it shifts 30% of Jobs Online
By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – The coronavirus pandemic has boosted digitalisation because it forced many people to do without business trips, work remotely and shop online, which offers new opportunities for climate protection, according to analysis commissioned by Germany’s environment ministry. “We are experiencing a break with many routines we […]
Drones and Protesters: How High-Tech Surveillance Amplifies Police Bias and Overreach
By Andrew Guthrie Ferguson | – Video of police in riot gear clashing with unarmed protesters in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filled social media feeds. Meanwhile, police surveillance of protesters has remained largely out of sight. Local, state and federal law enforcement organizations use […]