By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Nativist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, 44, is encouraging members of his Sadr Movement to vote in the upcoming national elections for parliament. “Vote,” he said, “and save our country from corruption.” A newly formed political party, al-Istiqama or the Upright Party, will hew the Sadrist line. […]
Surprise withdrawal of Syrian guerrillas from East Ghouta as Regime advances
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Syrian War is largely over, but the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers appear determined to mop up the remaining enclaves of rebel opposition, despite sweet talk of de-confliction zones and of negotiations in Sochi or Astana. It would be better […]
20,000 Scientists are Deeply Alarmed about Humanity and So should you Be
by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The “Letter Warning Humanity” from scientists has now been signed by over 20,000 scientists, as The Independent notes. The reason for this alarm is given in these charts: They show alarmingly accelerating carbon dioxide emissions (we were up worldwide again last year), declining access to fresh […]
Saudi Prince: Turkey, Iran & Extremists are ME “Triangle of Evil”
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Egypt’s al-Shuruq newspaper, which tilts liberal and secular, reports on the press conference in Cairo conducted by neophyte crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman, 32 on Wednesday. Bin Salman said that the current “Triangle of Evil” [paraphrasing George W. Bush’s speechwriter David Frum] was Iran, Turkey and […]
Top 4 myths about Electric Cars & why they should not Discourage You
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – China produced 680,000 electric vehicles last year, as much as the rest of the world combined. But by 2020 the Chinese hope to make and sell 2 million EV’s a year, and to go on up from there. The Chinese Communist Party is determined to reduce […]
What is Missing in our Sunni-Shi’a Conflict Narrative?
Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The Sunni-Shi’a schism provides for different narrative and prescriptions for arriving at the ‘utopian Islamic society’ and the incoming of the Messiah, al-Mahdi. The theological, doctrinal and jurisprudential differences between the two main branches of Islam has translated into two different visions on the role of […]
Our High Schoolers as Assault Weapon Guinea Pigs
By Belle Chesler | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – “It was no surprise to anyone who knew him to hear that he was the shooter.” — Emma Gonzalez, Senior, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Over the past three weeks, the impassioned voices and steadfast demands of the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have […]
Tower of Jello: The Struggle of Russia and UAE over Tillerson’s helming of State Department
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The New Yorker reports that there was a further Steele memo, prepared by the same ex-MI6 intelligence officer who authored the notorious “golden shower” dossier, which reported Russian foreign ministry boasts that they had blocked Trump from appointing Mitt Romney as secretary of state. Romney had […]
Netanyahu & Trump, both under Investigation, Meet on phony ‘Deal of the Century’
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Far right Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet Monday with far right white nationalist president Donald J. Trump in an apparent effort to hurry up Trump’s announcement of the “Deal of the Century” between Israel and the Palestinians. The Arabic press is speculating that Netanyahu, […]
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