Ann Arbor (informed Comment) – The custom of Iowa having the first Democratic primary (or as they are pleased to arrange it, caucus) goes back to 1972, because of the complexity of their process. I have often spoken in Iowa and love the state, but it should not be the first Democratic primary state. I […]
On the Big Issues, Bernie Sanders is the Only one who Can Save America
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Generations of orators have told the story that if you put a frog in a pan of steaming water it will immediately jump out, but if you put it in a pan of cold water and gradually heat it, it will be lulled and end up boiled to death. The […]
In Humiliating Rebuke, Arab League and Palestine Slap Down Kushner Plan, as Palestine severs all Relations with US and Israel
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that Palestine president Mahmud Abbas announced Saturday that he has informed the Israeli government and the Trump administration of “a severing of all relations with the two of them, including security relationships.” The move came in response to the Kushner Plan for the Palestinians announced by Trump […]
Enthusiastic Review of Juan Cole, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires in Washington Report
Eleni Zaras, who has has a BA in the History of Art from the University of Michigan and a masters degree in History at the Universite Paris Diderot, just reviewed my recent book, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid a Clash of Empires (New York: Bold Type Books, 2018) at the Washington Report on Middle East […]
With Visa Ban, has Trump’s US just Lost Nigeria to China?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump and his white nationalist pet Stephen Miller have placed Nigeria on their racist visa ban. But Nigeria is not Chad, and there could be serious repercussions for the United States of slapping around Africa’s most important country. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country at over 200 million persons, and […]
Top 3 Ways America has been Deeply Wounded by Supporting Israel Lobbyists like Jared Kushner
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jared Kushner is essentially an Israeli squatter on Palestinian land in the West Bank, and so it is little wonder that his plan for Palestinians is that they should continue under the Israeli jackboot and that a third of their territory in the West Bank should be given to Israel. […]
Juan Cole, “International Liberation and Nonviolent Noncooperation: Martin Luther King and Afro-Asia” (Video)
The nonviolent activism of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is associated in the minds of many primarily with the Civil Rights Movement against institutionalized racism in Jim Crow America. King was, however, a keen observer of decolonization and the awakening of colonized peoples in Afro-Asia to aspirations for self-determination. This anti-colonial perspective led to […]
As anti-Trump Protests Erupt in Palestinian West Bank, Israeli Occupation forces wound Dozens
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dozens of Palestinians were injured in protests throughout the Palestinian West Bank by Israeli Occupation troops on Wednesday. Gaza was closed down by a general strike. This according to the Egyptian newspaper al-Misrawi. Two Palestinians were wounded by live fire by Israeli troops in al-Bira. Palestinian demonstrations and confrontations with […]
Top 5 ways Trump plan for Palestinians is a Crime against Humanity
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Tuesday, an American president being impeached for abuse of power announced a historic plan for Israel-Palestine alongside an Israeli prime minister who was just indicted for bribery and corruption. (The Israeli parliament declined to grant Netanyahu immunity, and he withdrew the request, allowing the formal indictment to be filed.) […]