Featured

(By Juan Cole) I was privileged to see a special screening of Jose Antonio Vargas’s breathlessly awaited documentary, “Documented,” when I was in Los Angeles last week, and honored to meet Vargas himself along with executive producer Janet Wang (“The Joy Luck Club,” “The People vs Larry Flynt”). The film was shown in a class […]

Bush

Condoleezza Rice, Charged with War Crimes at Rutgers, withdraws as Commencement Speaker

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Condoleezza Rice on Saturday pulled out of giving the commencement address at Rutgers University after professor and student protests. Rutgers historian Professor Rudy Bell argued that while it would be appropriate to have Rice on campus as part of an academic debate, she is unsuitable as a commencement speaker because of her […]

Featured

In Deep South where GOP Rejected Obamacare, tens of 1000s die Unnecessarily every Year

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Center for Disease Control house found that 900,000 people a year die of five leading causes every year in the US, and that 20% to 40% of these deaths are preventable (i.e. 180,000 to 360,000 needn’t die). The five are heart disease, cancer, lung disease, stroke and unintentional injury. Smoking cigarettes […]

Climate Change

43% of Denmark’s Power from Renewables: Aiming for 70% by 2020

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Denmark is now getting 43% of its power from renewable energy (mainly wind and biomass). It is thus on track to meet its ambitious goal of 70% renewables by 2020. DeutscheWelle explains how Denmark is getting community buy-in for the onshore turbines. Residents get lower electricity prices when there are turbines in […]

Bush

Top 10 Attacks on US Embassies in Republican Administrations that Lindsey Graham doesn’t Care about

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Republicans in Congress keep beating the dead horse of Benghazi. Now they have sprung a briefing memo for Susan Rice, based on CIA talking points. I shows that the briefing hewed to the CIA line of the time, which was that the Benghazi disturbances were copy cats of those in Cairo, […]

Featured

Iraq’s first Post-American Elections by the Numbers

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Iraqis went to the polls on Wednesday in the first national parliamentary elections since US troops pulled out of the country completely (in late 2011). The results won’t be in for a while, but here are some early statistics: 1. Preliminary estimate of turnout: 60% 2. Number of people who died in […]

Climate Change

Did the Supreme Court just Kill Dirty Coal Plants & Save the World?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed that the Environmental Protection Agency has the prerogative to regulate air pollution that spills across state lines. The EPA wants to force 28 states to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from their power plants. Sulfur dioxide causes acid rain and breathing problems. Nitrogen […]

Featured

The Sterling Racism Scandal: What about Associating with Muslim People?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) LA Clippers owner Donald Tokowitz Sterling is alleged to have told Maria Vanessa Perez (“V. Stiviano”) off for putting up an Instagram photo of herself with Magic Johnson: “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people.” He denies the charge. But Sterling has a […]

Featured

John Kerry admits Israeli Apartheid; and 5 Ways he is Understating It

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In a closed-room meeting of the Trilateral Commission last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israel is on the verge of becoming an Apartheid state, according to a recording obtained by The Daily Beast. The remark will raise a firestorm of criticism from Palestine-deniers, who are if anything more blindered […]