By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Ret. 3-star general Michael Flynn, under investigation by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, has ceased sharing information on his case with the Trump white house. Analysts think that this move may be a sign that Flynn is turning state’s evidence and may provide information damning to Trump. […]
Archives for November 2017
Is Palestinian Pres. Abbas refusing to take Jared Kushner’s Phone Calls?
Middle East Monitor | – – Haaretz reported on Thursday 23 November, 2017, that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused Wednesday to answer a phone call from Jared Kushner, adviser to US President Donald Trump who is responsible for mediating an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Instead of answering Kushner’s call, Abbas forwarded it to the representative of […]
“Give me Liberty & Give Me Liquor” Anbar, Iraq after ISIL
Kamal al-Ayash. | Anbar | (Niqash.org) | – – Even before the extremists were in control in Anbar, selling alcohol was banned. During extremist control, selling liquor was punishable by death. But now liquor stores have become a sign of freedom. Sign of hope? Beer on sale at a bar in Iraqi Kurdistan. These days […]
Could Africa skip Pipelines straight to Solar Panels?
By Benjamin Fox | EURACTIV.com | – – Nearly €340 ($403) billion of investment will be needed to achieve universal access to electricity across Africa by 2030, the World Energy Network forecasts. That is a tall order. The combined grid capacity of the 48 sub-Saharan African countries is around 70 gigawatts, roughly equivalent to that […]
Remembering Puerto Ricans–Americans–on Thanksgiving
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Many Puerto Ricans are spending Thanksgiving on the mainland, away from home and family and friends, as climate refugees. I guess this catastrophe is something that should be on our minds on this day of feasting. Thanksgiving was a northern, regional holiday until 1863 when Abraham […]
Saudi Debacle as Hariri returns to Beirut, remains PM
France 24 English | (Video News Report) | – – “Lebanon: PM Saad Hariri puts off stepping down. FRANCE24”s correspondent in Beirut Adam Pletts tells us more.” France 24 English: “Lebanon: PM Saad Hariri puts resignation on hold pending talks”
Will Fleeing Puerto Ricans ever return home from the Mainland?
By Alexis R. Santos-Lozada | (The Conversation) | – – Even before this year’s devastating hurricane season, the team of demographers I work with at Penn State and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics had predicted that the population of Puerto Rico would decline over the next few decades. Have Hurricanes Irma and María accelerated […]
Yemen: Twitter Bots and Fake Accounts ‘Blocking News’
TeleSur | – – British-Irish independent journalist Iona Craig, who focuses on Yemen and the Arabian peninsula, blocked about 9,000 bots on Twitter in the space of a few hours. Fake Twitter bots are blocking the dissemination of information from within Yemen as the crisis gripping the country deepens, according to international journalists and academics. Iona […]
The New Arab League Cold War
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Arab League is embroiled in a new cold war among its own members, largely over Iran’s role in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have so much influence in the Arab League that they got through a resolution of the foreign ministers committee […]
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