By Jessica Corbett, staff writer| ( Commondreams.org ) | – – New York Times reporters uncovered “consistent failure by the coalition to investigate claims properly or to keep records that make it possible to investigate” in what “may be the least transparent war in recent American history” An 18-month investigation by a pair of New […]
World, horrified at Trump, sends US Ranking Plummeting
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US is usually number 1 in the German research firm Gfk’s rankings, headed up by political consultant Simon Anholt. They ask some 22,000 people around the world to rank countries on six scales. This year it fell five full places to number 6. No such […]
Pres. Aoun: Saudi Holding Hariri an Act of Aggression
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Beirut newspaper Al-Nahar [The Day] reports that President Michel Aoun of Lebanon said Wednesday, “Nothing justifies Prime minister Saad Hariri’s failure to return to Beirut after the passage of 12 days from his announcement of his resignation.” Aoun said he considered Hariri to have been […]
After Trump lets hundreds of ISIL Leave Raqqa, Turkey Enraged
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Tuesday, Turkey lambasted the US and its largely Kurdish allies in Syria, the YPG, for having made a deal that allowed 250 Daesh fighters and all their children and relatives to flee from Raqqa. Turkey’s prime minister Binali Yildirim said, “The YPG terrorists let Daesh […]
The Civil War inside Buddhism caused Ethnic Cleansing of Muslims
Paul Fuller | (The Conversation) | – – There is a desperate humanitarian crisis underway in Myanmar, centring around the Rohingya Muslims. There is what has been described as a “textbook case of ethnic cleansing” against the approximately one million Rohingya who live in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine. As well as retaliations from […]
Protests as Trump promotes Coal at Climate Summit in Berlin
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Trump White House actually did a pro-coal exhibit at the Bonn climate summit in Germany, COP23. It did not go over well. Indeed, this sort of absurd stunt has the makings of a complete end to American leadership in the world. Mark Twain once observed […]
Lebanon’s Big Crisis, and What Saudi Arabia could Lose
By Billie Jeanne Brownlee and Maziyar Ghiabi | (The Conversation) | – – The Twitter account of Lebanon’s prime minister, Sa’ad Hariri has been inactive since November 6, just after he announced his resignation in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. Hariri justified his decision as a move to escape an assassination plot. So far, both […]
Former CIA Dir.: Trump is afraid of Putin Kompromat
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Two former intelligence officials on Sunday more or less said openly that Trump is compromised by Russia. Jake Tapper asked former CIA head John Brennan about Trump’s statement on Friday that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin when he said that Russia did not interfere in […]
Wind powered all of Scotland in October & other Renewable Success Stories
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Wind and solar keep falling in price– each fell 6% in 2016. That fall was not as big as the two previous years, but there is every reason to expect price drops much bigger in coming years, as new technology makes the move from basic science […]
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