US politics

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 […]

Featured

The Night Biden became President: Pledges Crippling Sanctions on Russia, bans Flights, for Ukraine Aggression

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Foreign policy abruptly hijacked President Biden’s State of the Union Address Tuesday night, making the occasion less partisan that it might otherwise have been. Pundits were always declaring that Donald Trump’s response to some crisis was “the day he became president.” They made themselves look a little silly, though, since […]

Joe Biden

Turkey will Block Certain Russian Warships from Bosphorus, but still Seeks Neutrality on Ukraine War

Global Voices

By Lamiya Adilgizi | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – Over the last week, nations and corporations all over the world have announced extensive economic and political sanctions against Russia, targeting the finance, energy, transport, technology, and visa sectors. A number of Russian banks have been removed from the SWIFT messaging system. Russia’s Central Bank assets […]

Germany

Could the G7 Wealthy Countries Really Boycott Russian Petroleum?

The Conversation

By Amy Myers Jaffe | – One option the U.S. and other nations have for ratcheting up pressure on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine is reducing their Russian energy purchases. U.K. Foreign Minister Liz Truss has proposed that the G7 nations – the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – […]

Joe Biden

What advice would JFK have for President Biden about Putin and Ukraine?

Andrew J. Bacevich

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Dear Mr. President: I send greetings from the other side — and no, I don’t mean the other side of the aisle. I refer to the place where old politicians go to make amends for their sins. Apart from our shared Catholicism and affinity for sunglasses, I suspect you and I […]

Israel Lobbies

U of Washington should not have Cancelled Israel Studies over Professor’s Criticism of Israel (MESA)

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom, Middle East Studies Association Letter to the President of the University of Washington Ana Mari Cauce President, University of Washington Dear President Cauce: We write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern about […]

Donald Trump

The Republican Party Persecuted US Leftists for tilting to Moscow but Makes Excuses for Putin-Loving Trump

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s fawning admiration of Vladimir Putin is well known, but it has often been brushed off as a quirk. We should have known how dangerous Putin was when he praised Trump as “impressive.” Trump is impressive the way spoiled butter left out too long is, rancid and foul-smelling. Now Trump […]