By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Demographically, the 21st century will be the Muslim Century, as the Pew Research Center on Religion in Public Life has shown. Muslims will go from 24% of the world’s population today to 31% by 2060. I.e. they will equal the Christian population of the world by […]
Don’t want to lose the Next Mideast War? Don’t Fight One
Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Make no mistake: after 15 years of losing wars, spreading terror movements, and multiplying failed states across the Greater Middle East, America will fight the next versions of our ongoing wars. Not that we ever really stopped. Sure, Washington traded in George W. Bush’s expansive, almost […]
As Leftist Turks Protest, Trump congratulates Erdogan on Authoritarian Turn
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Several hundred Turks demonstrated in Istanbul on Monday in protest at the referendum result on Sunday transforming Turkey into a presidential system and handing vast powers to right wing politician Tayyip Erdogan. In contrast, US president Donald J. Trump called Erdogan to congratulate him on his […]
Turkish Democracy in Trouble, but not Because of Presidential System
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey’s historic referendum on Sunday will move the country from a parliamentary to a presidential system. Many observers are sounding a death knell for Turkish democracy as a result, but the move to presidentialism in and of itself isn’t the problem. Interestingly, Erdogan won with a […]
Why Population Exchange Fails: Over 100 Dead as Buses Bombed
by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Someone detonated a car bomb in the (rebel-held) Rashideen district of Aleppo Province Friday night, killing over 100 and wounding over 500. It targeted lead buses that had brought in evacuees from two Shiite villages being evacuated because their sectarian complexion makes them sitting ducks in […]
40% of California Grid Power from Solar, Sometimes Costs less than Nothing
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – For the first time, on the day of March 23, 40% of Californian grid power between 11 am and 2 pm was generated by utility-scale solar plants. This proportion was a seasonal effect but not a fluke, and it certainly points to what will be routine […]
In 3 months, Trump has Charged into 4 Mideast Wars, to no Avail
Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In his less than three months in office, Donald Trump has escalated four wars, and all of his escalations have been failures. To be fair, Trump inherited all 4 wars from Barack Obama– Afghanistan, Iraq v. ISIL, Leftist Kurds v ISIL in Syria, and targeting support and […]
Can we survive simultaneous Trump, Ahmadinejad Presidencies?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring, which translates foreign-language news reports, has a rundown on reactions in Persian to the surprise registration by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to run for president in the May 19 Iranian elections. Ahmadinejad was a complete disaster and made Iran a laughingstock by his erratic pronouncements, his […]
Washington’s demonization of Foes jumps Shark with Sean Spicer on Hitler
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – White House spokesman Sean Spicer is as ill-suited for his job as his boss Donald Trump is ill-suited for his own. The most astonishing things routinely slip from the lips of both. But Spicer’s belligerent malapropisms soared to new heights of WTF on Tuesday with his […]
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