By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – I saw a lot of headlines on Friday trying to link violent attacks by radical Muslims in France, Tunisia and Kuwait, but I just don’t think there is a connection. Even the concerted attempt to find a pattern here is probably misguided. Worse, it plays into […]
Top 6 Achievements of Obamacare: (Hint, millions more insured)
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA, Obamacare) has beaten back all judicial challenges, it is worth revisiting its vast success. A single-payer system would have been far preferable. But the present system is substantially better than nothing. As Jay Bookman pointed out in early May […]
If Southerners want a Symbol, Why not the Moultrie Liberty Flag?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | — There was a rash of Confederate flag removals on Wednesday. The governor of Alabama had it removed from the statehouse. The governor of Virginia recalled vanity plates with the flag on them. Some Mississippi legislators proposed removing it from the state flag. Amazon, E-Bay and other retailers […]
As 700 Die in Pakistan from Extreme Heat, Pakistanis Deny Climate Change
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Pakistan is in the midst of an extreme heat wave with highs around 110 degrees F., which has killed 700 persons in the past 3 days. Three weeks ago it was India’s turn, when extreme heat killed 1200 in the country’s south. Despite the severe dangers […]
What South Carolina needs to do for Racial equality (taking down the flag is just symbolic)
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – – Governor Nikki Haley announced on Monday that she would attempt to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the statehouse, recognizing the pain it causes the one-third of the state who are African-Americans (about a quarter of whites also don’t care if it is up or […]
Top 5 Reasons Confederate Flag should stop Flying at SC Statehouse
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – 1. The Confederate flag in its current form was adopted by the seceding slave states to differentiate their banner from the Stars and Stripes on the battlefield. It isn’t a symbol of regionalism. It is a symbol of violent attack on the Union. 2. Those who […]
European Islamophobic Networks influenced Roof to Kill in Charleston
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Muslim-hatred of the Geert Wilders and Marine LePens in Europe, for which Daniel Pipes, and Pamela Geller, and the whole Islamophobic network are cheerleaders and enablers, was a key influence on Dylann Roof, according to his manifesto. These same hatemongers helped whip Norwegian white supremacist […]
How Lindsey Graham & GOP lost the Chance to be Presidential over Charleston
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in my view never had any chance of becoming president, though he has thrown his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination. So it would be an overstatement to say that he lost the opportunity because of his maladroit response to […]
Sexism, Racism and Terrorism: Roof’s Misuse of Women to justify Lynching
By Lisa Wade | (The Conversation) | – – Many important things will be said in the next few weeks about the murder of nine people holding a prayer meeting at a historic African American church in Charleston, South Carolina on the evening of June 17. Here I want to focus on what the suspected […]