Featured

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Abeer Butmeh writes at Al Jazeera English that because of the Israeli blockade on Gaza, equipment for water purification has not been imported and 97% of the Strip’s water is now polluted. Gaza has a population of about 2 million, equivalent to that of the entire state of Nebraska. Only […]

Afghanistan

In Wake of “Afghanistan Papers” Scandal, Trump to Yank Out 4,000 Troops

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – VOA reports that Trump will pull 4,000 US troops from Afghanistan, leaving less than 9,000 in country. Of the 13,000 US troops now in Afghanistan, 8,000 are training the Afghanistan National Army, while 5,000 are actively engaged in counter-terrorism operations. Last week Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that any […]

Featured

Fossil Fuels cause Climate Crisis and Wars: Turkey forces Israeli Ship to leave research on Cyprus Undersea Gas

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Daily Sabah is reporting that a couple of weeks ago the Turkish navy made an Israeli research vessel leave the territorial waters off Turkish Cyprus. The island has been divided politically into a Greek-speaking Cyprus and a Turkish province since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Since 2011 there have been […]

Democracy

From Tory Landslide to Trump non-Impeachment: Can Filthy Rich Liars sink Democracy in Britain and the U.S.?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The danger to democracy posed by our new information system plus our new levels of wealth concentration cannot be overestimated. The degree of inequality both in the US and the UK is now virtually unprecedented, as is media consolidation. That is, fewer and much wealthier people own more and more […]

Climate Change

Top 5 Differences between Chill Trump and “Angry” Greta Thunberg

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump bullied environmentalist Greta Thunberg over her Time magazine cover on Thursday. In a tweet he called the award “ridiculous” and accused her of having “anger management issues,” advising her to “chill.”

Featured

Israel’s Racism Cripples its Democracy as it Heads for 3rd Election under Indicted Caretaker PM Netanyahu

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli parliament has voted to dissolve itself and go to new elections, as the attempts by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz to form a government failed. The Jewish-majority parties in Israel refused to allow the Joint List, largely representing Israelis of Palestinian heritage, into the […]

Climate Crisis

Sizzling Arctic: Top 5 Climate Horror Stories in NOAA’s Report Card

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – NOAA has issued its annual report on the Arctic. It is a big report, but there are some terrifying findings. Because this point is not always made in the journalism, it is important to underline why these monstrous things are happening. It is because you are driving your gasoline-fueled automobile […]

Afghanistan

We didn’t Need the Documents: America’s Trillion $ Failure in the Afghanistan War has been Obvious All Along

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Craig Whitlock at the Washington Post brought out a blockbuster report Monday on the lies US government and military personnel have been telling the American people about the Afghanistan War since 2002. The Post also published 611 of the primary documents here. A lot of the reporting off Whitlock’s article […]

Featured

In Wag the Dog Move, Indicted Israeli PM Netanyahu Moves to Annex 25% of Palestinian West Bank

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Interim Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu committed again on Sunday that his government will steal the entire Jordan Valley from the Palestinians. He had floated this plan two months ago but now seems to be determined to move ahead. It makes up 25% of the Palestinian West Bank. Israel is […]