US politics

By Morgan Marietta, UMass Lowell | – Draft opinions circulated among Supreme Court justices are meant to allow for deliberation and editing before a final version is released. They are not the last word, nor ready for public reaction. But on the evening of May 2, 2022, Politico published a bombshell: a leaked draft of […]

Christianity

Could Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “Satan’s Controlling” the Catholic Church Stance Break up the Republican Party?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In an interview with a far-right Roman Catholic pundit, conspiracy theorist and extremist white nationalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) discussed those church groups, such as Catholic Relief Services, who seek to help resettled undocumented immigrants and refugees as satanic. She said, “What it is, is Satan’s controlling the church. […]

Pentagon

Bodies beyond Bucha: The Civilian Deaths You Haven’t Heard About

Nick Turse

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Madogaz Musa Abdullah still remembers the phone call. But what came next was a blur. He drove for hours, deep into the Libyan desert, speeding toward the border with Algeria. His mind buckled, his thoughts reeled, and more than three years later, he’s still not certain how he made that six-hour […]

censorship

Disney Targeted on Gay Rights by both DeSantis’ Christian Taliban and Saudi Muslim Obscurantism

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis notoriously just came after the Walt Disney Co. for its opposition, if belated, to his “don’t say gay” legislation forbidding school teachers to mention the subject of gay relationships to children under 9. The act vaguely insists that mentions before children older than that had to […]

African-Americans

Under DeSantis, Republican “Child Identity” McCarthyism comes for Mickey Mouse

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Gov. Ron DeSantis’s attack on the Disney Corporation may seem odd, coming from a pro-business governor in a state where Disney is one of the largest employers. But DeSantis is pushing back at Disney on behalf of big capital, in a roundabout way. The entertainment corporations are problematic for the […]

Batteries

California Briefly Runs on 97% Renewable Energy, Showing a Future in which Oil and Gas Dictators like Putin are defunded

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – California’s energy mix was powered 97% by renewable energy on Sunday, April 3 at 3:39 p.m., the highest contribution of renewables to the state’s grid on record, according to David Knowles at Yahoo News. Although the milestone lasted only for a brief time, it points to a future in which […]

Corruption

Was Jared Kushner the anti-Jon Snow in the Saudi Game of Thrones?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to investigative journalist Vicki Ward, Jared Kushner, a minor New York hustler who managed to marry into the Donald Trump crime family, became the anti-Jon Snow in the Saudi game of thrones. That is, he enabled the worst possible ruler to come to power, and got a $2 billion […]

Joe Biden

Can President Biden Wage Economic war against Russian Aggression without Hurting US Economy?

The Conversation

By Gorana Grgić, University of Sydney | – Any sort of analysis that tries to draw lessons from an evolving event such as an ongoing major war is a potentially futile task. On the one hand, there is a fog of war that prevents us from understanding the tactical developments. On the other hand, the […]

Arms Sales

The New Gold Rush: How Pentagon Contractors Are Cashing in on the Ukraine Crisis

William D. Hartung

By William D. Hartung and Julia Gledhill | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought immense suffering to the people of that land, while sparking calls for increased military spending in both the United States and Europe. Though that war may prove to be a tragedy for the world, one […]