US politics

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Vladimir Putin is admired on the American Right as no foreign leader has been since Adolf Hitler. Today’s counterparts of Charles Lindbergh and Father Coughlin are arguably more organized, and they have the advantage of prominent perches in both old and new media. 1. Tucker Carlson likes Putin in a […]

Bernie Sanders

Democrats in Congress Want Windfall Tax on Big Oil, Consumer Rebates, and cheap Green Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has introduced, and several other congressional Democrats have co-sponsored, a bill to curb big petroleum companies engaged in profiteering. Whitehouse said at his site, “We’ve seen this script before, and we cannot allow the fossil fuel industry to once again collect a massive windfall by taking […]

Russia

Why Apple, Disney, IKEA and hundreds of other Western companies are abandoning Russia with barely a shrug

The Conversation

By Douglas Schuler and Laura Marie Edinger-Schons | – Many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been quick to sever ties to Russia – going well beyond applying the sanctions ordered by their governments. IKEA, Nike and H&M are temporarily closing their Russian stores. Disney, Sony and Warner Bros. paused the release of new […]

Arab Spring

Ukraine: What the Libya War tells us about Why we Really don’t want a NATO No-Fly Zone

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tracy Wilkinson at the Los Angeles Times writes about the no-fly zone proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and the flat refusal of the Pentagon to go in that direction. The clamor for a no-fly zone among some in Congress and in US civil society, however, displays a remarkable […]

Arab Americans

US Media (Rightly) focuses on Ukrainian Rights, but it Racializes Muslims deprived of those Same Rights

Assal Rad

(Special to Informed Comment) – Speaking about the significance of knowledge and its role in democracy, President John F. Kennedy once stated that only an “informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” One of the most important institutions that informs public […]

China

Would a “Cold” War Be the Best News Around? Ukraine, Taiwan, and Other Flashpoints in a New Age of Geopolitics

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been widely described as the beginning of a new cold war, much like the old one in both its cast of characters and ideological nature. “In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake — freedom will prevail,” President Biden asserted […]

Donald Trump

Can the Republican Party shake its Putin Habit, as Pence takes on Trump?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s response to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s horrific invasion of Ukraine was to call Vlad the Invader a “genius.” A majority of Republicans seems to agree. Their idolization of the Russian martinet appears to be rooted in their perception of him as a white Christian nationalist. There were even cheers […]

racism

GOP Hostility to Ketanji Brown Jackson Goes Beyond Hypocrisy

OtherWords

( Otherwords.org ) – Republicans complain about “reverse discrimination” on the Supreme Court. Their real complaint is against constitutional democracy. By Mitchell Zimmerman | March 2, 2022 No one can seriously dispute that Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee for the Supreme Court, is a brilliant and eminently qualified candidate. Jackson has had a distinguished […]

Authoritarianism

Trump knew of Capitol Breach when he Tweeted against Pence; had Conspired Criminally with Eastman: Jan 6 Committee

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The January 6 Select Committee in the House of Representatives showed its hand for the first time on Wednesday, alleging in a court filing that Donald J. Trump and attorney John Eastman formed a criminal conspiracy for the purpose of overthrowing the elected government of the United States. The Committee […]