Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – There was a difference of opinion in the Russian press about whether the Putin-Trump Helsinki summit was contentless or whether new agreements were reached, especially on strategy and Syria. BBC Monitoring of the Russian press reports an editorial in the Vedomosti business daily on the Helsinki summit, which says that […]
DC Elites Shocked at Trump Bromance with Putin but Give Israel’s Netanyahu a Pass
The inside-the-beltway crowd was absolutely outraged and appalled by Trump’s performance at Helsinki. There, Trump violated all the principles of American hawkishness. He sat next to Vladimir Putin, leader of a rival power, signaling that Russia is a peer. He sided with Putin over the assessments of the CIA, the NSA and other US intelligence […]
Trump calls EU “Foe,” on Eve of Putin Summit, on basis of his Zero-Sum Mercantilism
In an Interview with CBS Evening News, Trump categorized the European Union as a “foe” of the US, appearing to put it on the same footing as Russia and China, which he also characterized as “foes.” The EU strongly overlaps with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the chief US military alliance. Trump said, “Well, I […]
Top Three Ways London’s Sadiq Khan is a better Leader than Donald Trump
Sadiq Khan as mayor of London is the opposite of Trump in every way. Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Khan is a second-generation emigrant whose father drove a bus. Trump hates immigrants and Muslims (though of course there is a sense in which Trump is a 2nd-generation immigrant as well, […]
An Offer they Can’t Refuse: Trump’s “Mob Boss Style” on Display in London
Hundreds of thousands of Britons took to the streets to protest Trump’s visit on Friday, as he was ridiculed with a baby Trump blimp. The vast majority of Britons deeply dislike the American president, our homegrown weird hybrid of Mussolini and the scheming trickster Newman from Seinfeld. Trump’s visit was marked by a peculiarly vicious […]
Trump Threatens Iran with “Escalation;” Could it Spin out of Control?
Both Trump and his hyperactive but ineffectual secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, ratcheted up their rhetoric on Iran on Thursday. In fact, Pompeo has been more or less threatening acts of war for the past week. Trump said at a NATO news conference, “I would say there might be an escalation between us and the […]
No Trump, Germany doesn’t Get 70% of its Energy From Putin; it gets 41% from Renewables
Trump just made the claim that Germany gets 70% of its energy from Russia (via imports of natural gas). It is being pointed out that this assertion, like most things that come out of Trump’s mouth, is completely untrue. Germany gets about 9% of its energy from Russia, as Alberto Nardelli noted: Trump fact check: […]
No, Trump is not going to Save UK or Theresa May from Economic Consequences of Brexit
Most observers are puzzled as to why British Prime Minister Theresa May is hosting a Trump visit to her country, a visit that is likely to put a couple hundred thousand protesters in the streets of London alone and to offer opportunities for serial embarrassment to all concerned. Some 45% of the British don’t want […]
Trump Trade War: China Refiner dumps US Crude, seeks Iranian Oil
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Irina Slav at Oilprice.com notes that China’s Dongming Petrochemical Group is dropping imports of US crude for its refineries and replacing them with oil from Iran, according to Iran’s IRNA news service and Japan Today. Moreover, China is said to be preparing to slap 25% tariffs on imports of American […]
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