US politics

For China, the global war for influence is about trading partners. For the U.S., it could mean something more volatile. (Foreign Policy in Focus ) – From 1830 to 1895, the British and Russian empires schemed and plotted over control of Central and South Asia. At the heart of the “Great Game” was the United […]

Immigration

The Fading Allure of the American Passport?

contributors

By Özlem Altan Olcay and Evren Balta | – Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment) – The perceived failure of the West in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the current protests against racist police brutality in the United States, screened on TV channels across the world, have reignited one of the most widely […]

China

Is Donald Trump Losing His Tech War with China’s Xi Jinping?

Dilip Hiro

( Tomdispatch.com) – For the Trump administration’s senior officials, it’s been open season on bashing China. If you need an example, think of the president’s blame game about “the invisible Chinese virus” as it spreads wildly across the U.S. When it comes to China, in fact, the ever more virulent criticism never seems to stop. […]

Climate Crisis

On Day Scientists Announce Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet ‘Irreversible,’ Trump to permit Arctic oil, gas Drilling

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration on Monday finalized its plans to permit oil and gas drilling in the arctic wildlife reserve. This drilling will further imperil endangered species just by the setting up of the rigs, and it will desecrate land holy to the indigenous Gwich’in people, who call it “the sacred […]

Democratic Party

Michelle Obama: Donald Trump is Wrong President for the Job; it is What it Is

contributors

C-SPAN | “Former First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the 2020 Democratic National Convention: “Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who […]

African-Americans

Black Lives Mattering: HBO’s ‘Lovecraft Country’ demonstrates that Racism is the True Horror

The Conversation

By Guy Stephen Webster | – Lovecraft Country, a new series from HBO adapted from the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, takes a critical look at the legacy of the controversial but classic horror writer, HP Lovecraft. By doing so it also sheds a light on the mode of literature he famously pioneered: weird fiction. […]

Donald Trump

Trump’s America Fails Coronavirus, as 170K – 202K die, Child Cases Spike, while other Countries are back to Normal

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s America is still failing Coronavirus, big time. The death toll has now passed 170,000 here, though there have been about 204,000 extra deaths so far this year above what is normal, so that is likely the true coronavirus toll. It is worrying that the CDC now says that coronavirus […]

Democracy

When Did Democracy become a Partisan Issue? The Dilemmas of Late Neoliberalism

John Buell

Southwest Harbor Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Many US citizens take comfort in the conviction that progress toward democracy has been steady even if bitterly contested on occasion. Early in the post Revolutionary War period the right to vote was extended to all white men, even those who held no property. Women achieved the […]

Donald Trump

Marriage of convenience: what does the historic Israel-UAE agreement mean for Middle East peace?

The Conversation

By Tony Walker | – The normalisation of diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has variously been described as a “breakthrough” and an important staging moment towards a comprehensive Middle East peace. These conclusions are, at best, premature. Normalisation of relations between Israel and an important Gulf state is a highly significant […]