Qasem Soleimani, the head of the special operations Jerusalem (Qods) Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, spent Thursday morning taunting US president Donald Trump, whom he called a casino gambler. He warned Trump, “We are closer to you than you think. Keep in mind that I am keeping account of you. And you know […]
“Reject the Evidence of your Ears:” Trump, Orwell, & Cohen Bunny Tape
Trump’s success stems in large part from his hucksterism, from his disregard for facts and his ability to pull the wool over the eyes of his cultists. It also stems from a shrewd use of logical fallacies in argument. After the catastrophic Helsinki summit, the question was, ‘Is he Putin’s poodle?’ That is a good […]
“Hypocritical Clergymen”- How the Trump-Pompeo Slam of Iran Backfires
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s rant against Iran on Sunday accused the leadership of that country of hoarding the country’s wealth, behaving like a mafia, and being hypocritical clergymen. While these allegations are not without basis in fact, Pompeo’s own record undermines the critique. The Trump administration is itself a government of billionaires, by billionaires […]
Trump and Iran’s Rouhani Threaten each other with the Mother of all Wars
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In remarks Saturday to the Iranian foreign policy establishment in Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani gave some warnings to Donald Trump. He said, “Mr. Trump, do not play with the lion’s tail. The only result of such a course will be profound regret.” With regard to Washington’s current attempts to sow […]
Haider Ali, Pakistan’s Truck Art, and Islam’s Message of Peace
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – We have been honored to have with us in Ann Arbor the past few days the celebrated Pakistani truck artist, Haider Ali of Karachi. As his art has become celebrated, he has become a little itinerant, going off around the world to fulfill commissions or grace gallery and museum exhibitions […]
Iran’s Khamenei endorses Closing Gulf Oil Shipping if US Blockades
Iran’s clerical Leader, Ali Khamenei, spoke Saturday to a gathering of diplomats in Tehran. Speaking of the Trump administration’s full court press to put Iran under severe sanctions now that Trump has violated the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Khamenei said he approved of the threat made by President Hassan Rouhani on his recent visit […]
Surprise! On how Muhammad never preached “Jihad”
The word “jihad” has become pervasive in English. The Western Right wing is trying to use the term to replace the Communist Manifesto as the ultimate in the threatening Other. It figures prominently in FBI charges against militants. It is often glossed as “holy war.” People, especially those who dislike Islam, think that it means […]
With Nationality Law, Israel openly Declares Apartheid and Racial Supremacy
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel has for decades been running the occupied territories of Palestine–Gaza and the West Bank– with Apartheid tactics. As with black South Africans under Apartheid, most Palestinians have been deprived of citizenship in a real, recognized state. Their villages have been isolated by a network of what often amount to […]
Benedict Trump
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Donald Trump to let Russian security forces interrogate former US ambassador in Moscow Mike McFaul on US soil, and that Trump did not dismiss the request out of hand. He would, Sanders said, take it under consideration and […]
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