US politics

( Waging Nonviolence ) – I’m encountering a great deal of alarm among progressive activists regarding continued Republican claims of a stolen election. Do these anti-democratic efforts mean a coup attempt is under way? Despite being among the first to write about the possibilities of a coup, I have to say (as of this moment) […]

Donald Trump

What’s behind Trump’s refusal to concede? For Republicans, the end game is Georgia and control of the Senate

The Conversation

By Markus Wagner | – The world may have expected the chaos and uncertainty of the US presidential election to end when Joe Biden was declared the winner last weekend. But these are not normal times and Donald Trump is not a conventional president. Concessions that used to be a part of the political process […]

Climate Crisis

Georgia’s Embattled Sen. Perdue Protects own Beach-Front Mansion from Climate Emergency, while voting to Burn more Fossil Fuels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Republican Senator David Perdue of Georgia, facing a run-off against Jon Ossof, has an opulent six-room beach-front mansion that has been protected with newly built, pricey jetties and sea walls against sea level rise, storm surges and coastal erosion. Why, it is as if Perdue thinks the climate emergency is […]

Donald Trump

In Reward for Israeli ties, Trump to sell F-35 Stealth Bomber to Emirates despite its killing of Civilians in Yemen, Libya

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Yemeni news site Maarib Press headlines the news that Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced that he is authorizing the sale of $23 billion worth of F-35 Stealth fighter jets and other super-sophisticated weapons to the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates, a small federation of seven […]

Antisemitism

Why is the Israeli Gov’t Rooting for a 2nd Term for Trump and his White Nationalist, anti-Semitic Allies?

Middle East Monitor

By Bruno Beaklini | – ( Middle East Monitor) – As I write, the United States is going through two simultaneous processes: the formal victory of the Democratic Party oligarch, Joe Biden, the former Delaware state senator and the former vice president of Barack Obama (2008-2016); and legal appeals from incumbent President Donald Trump to […]

Climate Crisis

Climate change: Joe Biden could ride a wave of international momentum to break deadlock in US

The Conversation

By Richard Beardsworth and Olaf Corry | – Joe Biden’s presidency is likely to be dominated by “the three Cs”: COVID-19, China and climate change. Each one of these behemoths could make or break him. Despite wildfires and hurricanes, this was not the long-awaited climate election. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris campaigned on the […]

censorship

Pompeo’s touting of “Second Trump Administration” craters State Department’s Credibility on Democracy Promotion

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Nicole Gaouette, Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood at CNN report that secretary of state Mike Pompeo insisted there would be a smooth transition to a second Trump term. The statement, which appears to have been sardonic rather than in earnest, disgusted a lot of people, especially ambassadors. If it was […]

Donald Trump

State of Chaos: Can America Escape Trump’s Hellscape?

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com) – In 2016 as now, he was the candidate of chaos. Yes, he was a billionaire (or wanna-be billionaire or in-hock billionaire, not to mention a liar, a cheat, and a scoundrel), but from the beginning he appealed to the forces of order in America that were also, as it happened, the forces […]

Afghanistan

Trump fires Mark “Yesper” Esper as SecDef; Was it over Afghanistan withdrawal?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Barbara Starr, Ryan Browne and Nicole Gaouette at CNN report on the firing of secretary of defense Mark Esper on Twitter by Trump. Esper appears to have adopted a relatively mild demeanor with Trump for the past 18 months, though he was known gingerly to disagree with the president on […]