By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – ISIL (ISIS, Daesh) lashed out at the civilian population in Iraq on Tuesday with three bombings and over 60 casualties. With its signature warped sadism, the organization sent a suicide bomber with a truck into a crowded square in the upscale, largely Shiite shopping district of […]
Coal in Death spiral as India cancels 14 gigs, and Solar prices Plummet
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – China and India have knocked the United States off the top spot of the index of best places to invest in renewables. Analysts cite the impact of Trump’s policies in favor of coal and petroleum. Meanwhile, as Trump talks up a return of coal in the […]
Germany: We Europeans must Depend on Selves, not Trump’s USA
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, certainly knew what she was doing when she made her otherwise cautious statement. “The times,” she said, “in which we can entirely depend on others, are gone. This, I have experienced in the last few days. We Europeans must take […]
Allies Furious as Trump w/draws from G7 Climate Commitment, May leave Paris Accord
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump bombed at the G7 summit in Italy. Despite an “intense” discussion with Germany, France and the others, who made it clear as sunshine that they wanted the US to meet its Paris Climate obligations, Trump refused to join in the issuance of a joint statement […]
Top 5 Questions about Kushner’s back channel to Moscow
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a meeting with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US, WaPo reveals that Jared Kushner asked that a private, encrypted back channel be set up to the Kremlin. The report is based on a leak to a WaPo reporter from last December, which the […]
Only Putin is happy with Trump’s NATO Bull-in-China-Shop Catastrophe
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) Back in 2016 the talking heads on tv kept expecting candidate Trump, who made headlines almost daily saying racist and offensive things, to “transition.” Their theory was that he was acting out for his base in the GOP primaries but then would dial it back in the general election. […]
Pope to Trump: Climate Change is Real and we have to act in Solidarity
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Pope Francis gave Donald J. Trump a going away present after their meeting on Wednesday. It was a copy of his Encyclical on the challenge of climate change, Laudato Si’, mi Signor,”Praised may you be, my Lord.” This document begins with a paean to Saint Francis, […]
The Other Terrorism: Toxic CO2 Gas Promoted by Trump Budget, Shell
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Terrorism is properly defined as non-state actors using violence against civilians to achieve a political purpose. Some argue that this definition lets states off the hook too easily, and that there is state terrorism as well. International law, however, puts those actions under the rubric of […]
Supreme Court Strikes down N. Carolina’s Racial Gerrymander
TeleSur | – – Ultra-conservative Justice Clarence Thomas sided with four liberal justices in the 5-3 majority decision. Yesterday the Supreme Court struck down North Carolina’s congressional map. The court found the that the Republican legislature was unconstitutional when it used race to draw the district lines, which reduced the voting power of minorities in […]
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