By Gail Ukockis | (Informed Comment) | – – The image of Donald Trump looming ominously behind Hillary Clinton still disturbs me on a visceral level. He may have belittled his previous opponents (e.g., “Little Marco”), but he never threatened to lock them up. Trump’s attempt to intimidate Clinton had nothing to do with […]
Archives for September 2017
Our failing Forever Wars and the End of Democracy
By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – When it comes to the “world’s greatest military,” the news has been shocking. Two fast U.S. Navy ships colliding with slow-moving commercial vessels with tragic loss of life. An Air Force that has been in the air continuously for years and yet doesn’t have enough […]
What will Iran do if Trump tears up the Nuclear Agreement?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Recently I was asked whether, if Trump succeeded in undermining the Joint Plan of Collective Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal, whether Iran would reply by going for broke to create a nuclear weapon. A related question is whether a collapse of the JCPOA would strengthen […]
UN: Rohingya Crisis ‘Textbook Example’ of Ethnic Cleansing
TeleSur | – – Top U.N. official Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the “brutal security operation” against the Rohingya was “clearly disproportionate” response to the attacks led by the insurgent The United Nation has strongly condemned Myanmar’s treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority in the Rakhine state, saying the situation appears to be a “textbook […]
Why we should be wary of Calls for an “Islamic Reformation”
By Todd Green | ( Mizan Project ) | – – This year marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Reformation in Germany, a monumental event in Christian history that generated permanent divisions in the body of Christendom. As commemorations of Luther’s Reformation commence throughout the world, it’s likely that some of Islam’s most ardent […]
Our CO2 intensified Harvey & Irma; Worse is yet to Come
By Andrew King | (The Conversation) | – – There has been no let up since Hurricane Harvey dumped record-breaking rains on the Houston area of Texas. Hurricane Irma lashed parts of the Caribbean and Cuba and is now heading onto the US mainland, having devastated the Florida Keys and the state’s west coast. We […]
Will Iraqi Kurdish Independence Referendum Further Roil the Middle East?
By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President in June 2017 announced September 25 as the day for a referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq. In August, U.S. Central Command Head Gen. Joseph Votel and Defense Secretary James Mattis separately sat down with Kurdish […]
On 9/11: How we slighted the real Threat, Climate Change, and Hyped Terrorism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US is commemorating the victims of September 11 today at the same time it is mourning the serial devastation that struck Texas and Florida. Both are key moments in our history. The problem is that we over-did our response to 9/11 and have ignored the […]
China studies Banning fossil fuel Car, going 100% Electric
TeleSur | – – Last year, China became the largest supplier of electric cars – electric and gasoline-electric hybrids rose 50 percent over 2015 to 336,000. China, one of the world’s largest pollutant contributor, is gearing up to ban the use of fossil fuel. The government is making plans to gradually phase out the fuel […]








