US politics

Amb. Sondland, who Reversed himself on Ukraine Quid Pro Quo, once Stood up for Khizr Khan against Trump

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, potentially facing perjury charges owing to his earlier testimony that conflicted with that of other State Department personnel on the Ukraine quid pro quo, “refreshed his recollection” on Tuesday. In testimony to the impeachment inquiry, he said, “I now recall speaking individually […]

National Security State

America: Bases, Bases, Everywhere, and Not a Base in Sight

Nick Turse

( Tomdispatch.com) – They called it Castle Black, an obvious homage to the famed frozen citadel from the HBO series Game of Thrones. In the fantasy world of GoT, it’s the stronghold of the Night’s Watch, the French Foreign Legion-esque guardians of the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. This Castle Black, however, was all […]

Displaced and Refugees

Syrian Kurds charge Turkey with Ethnic Cleansing as US Military frets it will be “blind” without Kurdish Help

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeast Syria today accused Turkish forces of conducting ethnic cleansing campaigns in the Kurdish region they have occupied between Tel Abyad and Ra’s al-Ayn. The communique said, “and after more than 300,000 civilians fled from its cities and villages and hamlets and houses and hospitals […]

Donald Trump

Trump in Blunder-land or Down the Rabbit-Hole

Tom Engelhardt

(Tomdispatch.com) – There can be no question about it. Donald Trump is Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts. “Off with his head!” was the president’s essential suggestion for — to offer just one example — a certain whistleblower who fingered him on that now notorious Ukrainian phone call. And if The Donald hasn’t also been playing […]

Climate Crisis

To Address Climate Change, We Need to Take Back the Supreme Court

Yes! Magazine

By Thom Hartmann | – (Via Yes! Magazine) – There were those among the founders and framers of the Constitution who didn’t mean for the Court to have as much power as it does today—Thomas Jefferson among them. My new book The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America dives into […]

Bashar al-Assad

Syria’s Al-Assad: Trump, Openly Criminal, is the best US President we could Wish for

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Syrian strongman (and mass murderer) Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to Syrian media in which he expressed his happiness that Trump is president of the United States, “because he is the most transparent, so he says, ‘We want the oil,’ and this is the reality of American policy.’” Al-Assad said, […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: CIA-Backed Forces Commit Atrocities: HRW

Human Rights Watch

Disband All Irregular Paramilitary Forces, Cooperate With Independent Investigations

Congress

Impeachment was only Made Possible by a Grassroots Mass Movement

Waging Nonviolence

By Anthony Torres (1st Published at Waging Nonviolence) – The last few weeks have been a turning point for impeachment. Suddenly, dozens of members of Congress dashed at once to announce their support until the pro-impeachment faction had grown to a majority of the House of Representatives. And today the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution […]

Arab World

Looming Trump Impeachment puts him in Company of Challenged Corrupt Mideast Leaders

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – If we think about mass politics in the Middle East during the past 8 years as anti-corruption drives, it is easier to see the ways in which Trump resembles a typical Middle Eastern dictator. Americans are prosecuting him in the House of Representatives rather than in the streets, but then […]