Corruption

(Tomdispatch.com) – Here’s the truth of it: I’d like a presidential pardon. Really, I would. And I think I deserve it more than Michael Milken or Rod Blagojevich or — because it’s obviously heading our way — Roger Stone (not to speak of Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort). Unlike the rest of them, I genuinely […]

China

Trump, head of GOP, demands Chinese Communist Party Prosecute Businessman for Crime of Making Money

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A particularly unperceptive and unfeeling wag came up with the bon mot defining a “socialist” as someone kept up at night by the fear that somewhere someone was making money. (Socialists are actually haunted by people working but not making money because the capitalist class is stiffing them). But by […]

Climate Crisis

The New Age of Protest

John Feffer

(Foreign Policy in Focus) – People are hitting the streets to protest government inaction, repression, and corruption. Does that mean democracy is in trouble or stronger than ever? By John Feffer, October 2, 2019. Print School strike for climate in Melbourne (Julian Meehan via Flickr) Led by young people, climate strikers blocked traffic on two […]

Corruption

Bribery & High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Did Trump finally go Full Impeachable in Ukraine Calls?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that in the course of his conversation in July with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump pressed him on eight separate occasions to investigate Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden. Biden when vice president is known to have pressured the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor […]

Corruption

Top 5 Trump Officials who Resigned because of Shocking Scandals

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The resignation of Trump’s Labor secretary, Alex Acosta, is only the most recent in a string of such scandals for Trump. In fact, what with all the things Trump himself has done plus those around him, his is surely the most scandal-ridden presidency in history. Let us just review the […]

Corruption

Trump Broadcasts Free Ad via Disney to Thuggish Regimes, requesting Hacked Dirt on Dems

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump revealed again on Wednesday that he has no legal or ethical compass. In an interview with ABC news Chief Anchor George Stephanopolous, Trump was asked if he would go to the FBI if a foreign government contacted him with dirt on his Democratic opponent or if he would accept […]

Corruption

Is Jared Kushner Literally in Bed with the Saudis?

Juan Cole

The Guardian’s Jon Swain broke the story on Monday that Cadre, a real estate investment firm in which Jared Kushner has as much as a $50 million stake, has received a mysterious $90 million infusion of cash from unknown and possibly foreign sources. At least $1 million came in from Saudi Arabia, according to Swain. […]

Corruption

Chickens Came home to Roost: US meddled in Foreign Elections for Decades

Tom Engelhardt

(Tomdispatch.com) – In this country, reactions to the Mueller report have been all-American beyond belief. Let’s face it, when it comes to election meddling, it’s been me, me, me, 24/7 here. Yes, in some fashion some set of Russians meddled in the last election campaign, whether it was, as Jared Kushner improbably claimed, “a couple […]

Corruption

The Seychelles Plot: Mueller on the UAE Role in Russian Influence-Peddling with Trump and Kushner

Juan Cole

The Mueller report sheds further light on the infamous Seychelles meeting in January, 2017, which appears to have aimed at establishing a back channel for the Trump administration to the circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin, brokered by Mohammed Bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates. That is, this story is not about pre-election collusion […]