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 […]
What exactly did Trump Promise Putin on Syria, START Nuclear Treaty?
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 […]
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