Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Republican National Convention wants the pandemic to be in the past. It isn’t. Cases are up almost 1 percent this week. We still have over 40,000 new cases daily, down from a peak of 70,000 in mid-July. Some of the decline is a result of less testing, connived at […]
Top 3 Humiliating Failures of Pompeo as Secretary of State
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – When he was in the House of Representatives, Mike Pompeo bothered Hillary Clinton half to death over the deaths of the US ambassador to Libya and three colleagues in 2012. Since Clinton was not in charge of military operations, nothing that happened there was attributable to her and almost everything […]
As Party of Climate Denial Meets, Wildfires Rage and Hurricanes Target Gulf Coast
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – One of the speakers at the Republican National Convention on Monday evening was Nikki Haley, formerly Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, who helped usher the U.S. out of the Paris climate accords and who slammed Bernie Sanders’ Green New Deal. Haley when pressed will admit that the climate is […]
Explaining Nikki Haley’s Racism toward Palestinians
Reprinted from 05/16/2018 when Haley was US ambassador to the UN and was regularly bashing Palestinians US Ambassador to the United Nations Nimrata “Nikki” Singh Randhawa Haley on Tuesday walked out of the chamber when the Palestinian ambassador began to speak. Palestine, like the Vatican, has non-member observer state status at the UN. You’re not […]
Kanye West Offends Muslims by appropriating Angels of Death and Resurrection for his Sneaker Lines
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Muslim twittersphere was on fire this week with the news that Kanye West’s Adidas lines would offer two new sneakers, Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil and Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel. Israfil and Azrael are angels in the Islamic tradition. According to Dubai-based Alarabya, many Muslims found the names […]
Israel: Tens of Thousands Protest Netanyahu as Momentum Grows and Gov’t Faces Collapse
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli-Palestinian newspaper Arab48 reports that tens of thousands of protesters came out against Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday, in what has become a weekly ritual for the past three months that has grown larger and larger. The rallies disproved the allegation of pro-Netanyahu pundits that the recognition […]
Trump admits War Crime in Syria as Damascus Slams US ‘Oil Theft’
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last Monday, CNN reports US troops on patrol in eastern Syria were allowed to move through Syrian territory by the Syrian Arab Army, but then abruptly a small unit of Syrian troops fired on them. The US soldiers fired back, and took no casualties, but killed a Syrian soldier. There […]
Trump walks Alone: Former US Allies Britain, France, Germany join Russia and China in Forcefully Rejecting Trump Iran Sanctions
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – LeMonde reports that France, Germany and Britain have rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to reimpose UN Security Council sanctions on Iran that were revoked in early 2016 with the signing of the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). Their joint statement said, “France, Germany and the […]
Was F-35 Stealth Jet Sale to Arab UAE at heart of deal with Israel and Trump? Did Netanyahu Lie?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Only a week after the breathless announcement of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) recognition of Israel, the two newlyweds are already having their first spat. On Wednesday, Matthew Lee of AP reports, Trump broached the sale of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Stealth fighter jets to the UAE. Trump said, […]