US politics

By Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Sometimes I get sick of saying it, but just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse… Donald Trump’s continual cabinet reshuffling — otherwise the stuff of reality-TV drama — has become genuinely frightening. Like so many Russian matryoshki or nesting dolls, the president has been […]

Donald Trump

Trump wants out of Syria within 6 months, Seeks Saudi Aid: AP

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – AP’s Josh Lederman reports that on Tuesday, Trump told national security aides meeting in the White House that his patience is running out with the Syria operation. “I want to get out. I want to bring our troops back home. I want to start rebuilding our […]

Iranian-Americans

Between Iranian and American (AJ+ Video)

contributors

Yara Elmjouie | (AJ+ Video Clip) | – – “Iranian-American AJ+ Producer Yara Elmjouie takes us to meet his parents and reflects on his own experience growing up as a second-generation Iranian-American.” AJ+: “Between Iranian And American” See also Iranian In L.A.: More Than Just A Stereotype [Becoming Iranian-American, Pt. 2] | AJ+ and Why […]

China

Oceania and Eastasia? New Cold War, this Time against both Russia and China?

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Think of it as the most momentous military planning on Earth right now. Who’s even paying attention, given the eternal changing of the guard at the White House, as well as the latest in tweets, sexual revelations, and investigations of every sort? And yet it increasingly looks as if, […]

Arms Sales

Donald Trump and the Art of the Arms Deal (for Everyone)

contributors

By William D. Hartung | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – It’s one of those stories of the century that somehow never gets treated that way. For an astounding 25 of the past 26 years, the United States has been the leading arms dealer on the planet, at some moments in near monopolistic fashion. Its major […]

Climate Change

How to Survive Climate Change: Learn from Puerto Ricans & Hurricane Maria

contributors

By Jane Palmer | ( Mosaic) | – – The rest of the world can learn from Puerto Rican communities rallying together to recover from a natural disaster fuelled by climate change. Christmas is a big deal in Puerto Rico – celebrations traditionally run from November to February – but festivities are in scant supply […]

Donald Trump

As N. Korea Summit Looms, Trump’s New Security team are hardly Diplomats

contributors

By Christopher R. Hill | (Project Syndicate) | – – While Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have shown that they can communicate with Donald Trump, neither has ever shown any capacity for dealing with a crisis, much less arresting the decline of US leadership in the world. The expected meeting between Trump and North Korean […]

Corruption

Swampy McSwampface: EPA Chief Ruining Environment Living in Polluter Lobbyist Condo

contributors

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) | – – “As he has done over and over again, he showed contempt for transparency, ethical guidelines, and the public interest.” As key figures of the Trump administration face mounting concerns about conflicts of interest, a growing number of critics are calling for the resignation of […]

Central Intelligence Agency

John Bolton Skewed Intelligence, Say People Who Worked With Him

contributors

By Sebastian Rotella | ProPublica | – – Former colleagues say the next national security adviser — whose job is to marshal information and present it to the president fairly — resists input that doesn’t fit his biases and retaliates against people he disagrees with. In early 2002, as the Bush administration hunted for Osama […]