By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka again declined to say on Wednesday in an NPR interview whether President Trump believes Islam is “a religion.” He also doubled down on calling Muslim radicalism “radical Islamic extremism.” In the end he clarified that the US is not at war with […]
Afghanistan: We Lost a long Time Ago, and are Still at War
William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – America’s war in Afghanistan is now in its 16th year, the longest foreign war in our history. The phrase “no end in sight” barely covers the situation. Prospects of victory — if victory is defined as eliminating that country as a haven for Islamist terrorists […]
Sorry, Trump, China’s cut-back on Coal Dooms Industry
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald Trump has said many foolish things, but his pledge to bring back coal takes the cake. Coal is the dirtiest source of energy. Not only does it produce enormous amounts of carbon dioxide when burned, but releases other toxins as well, including mercury. Mercury is […]
Top 5 Ways Obama is Behind Leaks, Protests against Trump
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump did an interview with “Fox and Friends” for this morning in which he alleged that former president Barack Obama is behind the leaks that have bedeviled Trump’s White House. The Fox agent provocateur asked Trump a leading question as to whether Obama is also behind […]
Would Trump let Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali back into the Country?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Mahershala Ali, 43, last night won an Oscar for best supporting actor, in Moonlight . The film treats themes of sexual repression, gayness, and the plague of drug dealing and addiction. Moonlight, of course, also won Best Picture, after a historic error in which the winner […]
Spurned Reporters should dump Trump Briefings, turn to Investigative Journalism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald Trump was unhappy Saturday that the major media had neglected to report a point made by Herman Cain in an interview on Fox. Cain alleged that in Barack Obama’s first month, the Federal budget deficit rose $200 bn., but in Trump’s first month it fell […]
Top 5 Hypocrisies of Trump Friday
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Friday, Trump was making news again, after having appeared to be subdued (or muzzled?) by his staff midweek. But he addressed the conservative equivalent of that bar scene in Star Wars, CPAC. As usual, the sum total of his wacky pronouncements added up to a […]
“Get out of my Country!” White Terrorist Shoots Asian-American Engineers in Wake of Trump Visa Ban
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – It is alleged that Adam W. Purinton, a regular at a bar and grill, went up to two Indian-American patrons on Wednesday night in Olathe, Kansas and screamed racial slurs at them. He was asked to leave by the bartender, but 15 minutes later came back, […]
Buyers’ Remorse: Americans think Trump is bad at almost Everything
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The vast majority of Americans in a new Quinnipiac opinion poll do not believe that Donald J. Trump is level-headed or shares their values. Of course, this is only one poll, and likely the plus or minus swing is 3 or 4 percent. But actually the […]