By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani has written a letter to the parliament of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government announcing that he will not run for president again and will go out of office on November 1 as his much-extended term of office ends. Barzani had taken heart from […]
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Featured
Scotland Wind Revolution: First Offshore floating Turbines power 20,000 Homes
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The BBC reports that five massive floating wind turbines off the coast of Aberdeenshire in Scotland have gone operational. They generate enough electricity to power 20,000 homes. This “Hywind” project was built by the Norwegian firm Statoil. It is an exciting development, since a lot of […]
Continued Conflict: Iraqi PM rejects Kurdish offer, insists Referendum be Annulled
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi was in Tehran on Thursday for consultations with the Iranian government (no, Abadi isn’t afraid of Trump.). During his meeting with Iranian vice president Ishaq Jahangiri, his office released a statement replying to Massoud Barzani. Barzani is the president of the […]
Solar: Elon Musk already got a San Juan Hospital running & more to Come
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As Techdirt reported, Elon Musk has already put up a solar power generating facility at the Hospital del Nino in San Juan, with a Powerwall storage capacity so that the electricity will still be there at night. Musk believes that this model could replace Puerto Rico’s […]
Top 7 ways Saudi could learn from Qatar about Moderate Islam
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Saudi Crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman has announced that he wants to take his kingdom toward a more moderate Islam. The state religion of Saudi Arabia is what outsiders call Wahhabism, a puritanical and strident interpretation of the religion. Only about 40% of Saudis are thought […]
Fading ISIL in Syria lashes out, kills 128 in reprisals as Gov’t takes back Town
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The so-called Islamic State group of Syria and Iraq, which locals call Daesh (in US, it is ISIS or ISIL), needs a new name. It hardly exists in either of those countries, much less as a state. Maybe “Losers anywhere” would work for them. The extremists, […]
Tillerson tells Iraqi Shiite Militias to “go home.” Sad.
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump-style ignorance and faux pas are spreading, with Tillerson making missteps on Iraq. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for consultations, called on Iranian militias in Iraq to “go home.” There is one problem. There are no Iranian militias in Iraq. The Popular […]
No, Trump, British Crime isn’t going up because of Muslims
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Hate crimes are up 30% in the UK over the previous year, rising from 62,518 reported offenses in 2015-16 (the year ends in March). The following year, 2016-17, that number rose to 80,393. Brexit and Islamophobic reactions against extremist terrorism are thought to explain the increase. […]
Last counties in Kirkuk fall to Iraqi Gov’t as Sistani calls for protection of Kurdish Citizens
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Iraqi military and its Shiite militia auxiliaries have completed their reassertion in Kirkuk. The last pockets of resistance fell as units advanced on Altun Kupru, the last check point before you get to Erbil, one of the three Kurdistan provinces. In the process, there was […]