Reprint edition The Mueller report sheds further light on the infamous Seychelles meeting in January, 2017, which appears to have aimed at establishing a back channel for the Trump administration to the circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin, brokered by Mohammed Bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates. That is, this story is not about […]
Iran: How Bolton tricked Clueless UK Conservatives into Confrontation with Tehran
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Simon Tisdall at The Guardian explains the difference between Socialist Spain and the disorganized Conservatives in control of UK on foreign policy. US national security adviser John Bolton tried to hoodwink both of them about the Grace I, a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker carrying Iranian petroleum through the Straits of Gibraltar. […]
Even Red States are going Solar, dumping Coal, as just Good Business
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Arizona, despite being GOP-dominated, is number 3 in the US for residential solar power production. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, Arizona homeowners put in 52.83 megawatts of new solar installations. As for industrial-scale solar, Arizona utility APS generates 1.4 gigawatts worth of solar power, equivalent to a small […]
Is Trump setting the US up for further al-Qaeda attacks by putting Troops in Saudi Arabia?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump is sending US troops to be based in Saudi Arabia, and King Salman has signed off on the paperwork. Several hundred US military personnel will be at Prince Sultan Air Base, accompanying fighter jets and Patriot missile defense systems. US troops were first based in Saudi Arabia during the […]
No, John McCain’s Response to Obama being Called “an Arab” was not Exemplary: Here’s Why
A video of Sen. John McCain from the 2008 presidential campaign wherein he disagrees with a woman at one of his campaign rallies about Obama being “an Arab” has gone viral again. It is being contrasted with Trump’s insouciance as his blackshirts chanted “send her home” concerning Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). People who are holding […]
Putting the American in Somali-American: Why does Ilhan Omar put a Scare into the US Power Elite?
Reprint edition. By Juan Cole | – Trump has attempted to depict Rep. Ilhan Omar’s reformism as an expression of hatred for the US. It is not. It is a recognition of the dark underbelly of this country’s history, its entanglement in colonialism and slavery and class oppression. She makes this critique from a unique […]
Notorious Moments in Modern History when Dictators Sent their own Citizens “Back”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s crowds have started chanting “Send her back!” referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali-American who came as a refugee when a child and was naturalized. The idea that some citizens are less loyal or less patriotic or less deserving of residency than other citizens is not new in […]
Pew: ‘Israel is as Religiously Restrictive as Iran,’ as Ed. Minister backs LGBTQ Conversion Therapy
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Haaretz reports that the PewForum has found Israel one of the twenty most religiously restrictive countries in the world. Indeed, it rivals theocratic Iran on that measure. One of Pew’s criteria is whether a government explicitly favors a particular religion. Israel favors Judaism big time. It also takes account of […]
It isn’t just the Racism: Trump’s Stupid Trade Wars have Driven US Manufacturing into Recession
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It’s official. Trump has put US manufacturing, which is about 14% of the US gross national product, into recession, according to AFP. Recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline. The recession in manufacturing has many reasons, including a cyclical slowdown in the Chinese economy. But on top of […]