International Politics and Economy

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a phone call with Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Tuesday. So reports Sam Meredith at CNBC. Then the State Department issued a statement on Wednesday that said, “Secretary Pompeo and the Crown Prince focused on the need to maintain stability in global […]

Donald Trump

Trump trying to Bolster his Far Right Agenda with the Pandemic, but will it Expose his Utter Incompetence?

John Feffer

The Politics of the Coronavirus

Corruption

There’s a name for Trump playing down the threat and failing to take action against the virus: Institutional betrayal

The Conversation

By Anne P. DePrince and Joan M. Cook | – U.S. intel agencies issued dire, classified warnings to President Trump in January and February about the dangers posed by the coronavirus, according to revelations reported in The Washington Post. For weeks, U.S. communities coast to coast sounded the alarm. They didn’t have enough tests to […]

Far Right

Israel’s Democracy at a Crossroads: Can Benny Gantz halt the Slide into Illiberalism?

The Conversation

By Eitan Tzelgov | – After Israel’s third election in a year in early March, parties opposing Benjamin Netanyahu – the Israeli prime minister known as Bibi – secured a small majority in parliament. In a blow to Netanyahu, on March 15 these parties informed the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, that his rival Benny Gantz […]

Bernie Sanders

Can Bernie Sanders yet make Socialism Cool Again?

The Conversation

By Jason Hannan | – Love him or hate him, Bernie Sanders … has inspired a massive, energetic, hardworking and fiercely loyal following, determined to carry him to victory at the Democratic National Convention in July. To the great agitation of his rivals and critics, Sanders has demonstrated a stunning popularity among a diverse cross-section […]

Bernie Sanders

The Real Losers on Super Tuesday: Urgent Climate Action, Medicare for All, Anti-Plutocracy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Primaries can be long drawn-out affairs. The Obama-Clinton struggle of spring-summer 2008 went down to the wire, still being contested in June. As I write Tuesday evening, the delegate count for Super Tuesday is still not known, and the actual count for California could take a long time to nail […]

Corruption

Can’t we All get a Presidential Pardon from Life Imprisonment in the Trump Penal Colony?

Tom Engelhardt

(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

Maybe Try Friendship? Hatred and Enmity are bad Politics for America and a World in Crisis

Richard Penaskovic

We live in an era where animosity and even rage are the norm in the political arena. Both Democrats and Republicans are deeply divided in Congress so that little can be done legislatively. Correspondingly, millions of families are often split down the middle in terms of their political views with relatives divided among Democrats, Republicans […]

Elections

Iran goes from Bad to Worse: Hardliners win elections, thanks in part to Trump’s treaty withdrawal

Reese Erlich

(Progressive.org) – ‘TEHRAN—The parliamentary candidates had rented a large hall for a campaign rally, but only a few hundred supporters showed up. They came to see Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, a leading hardliner and possible presidential candidate next year. As warm-up speakers droned on, the audience responded with ritualistic chants but little enthusiasm. Many stared at their […]