By Mandy Smithberger and William D. Hartung | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – The way personnel spin through Washington’s infamous revolving door between the Pentagon and the arms industry is nothing new. That door, however, is moving ever faster with the appointment of Patrick Shanahan, who spent 30 years at Boeing, the Pentagon’s second largest contractor, […]
Archives for January 2019
Bolton & Trump’s Gerontocrats may drag us into Venezuela over Oil when they could just buy an EV
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – There are many things wrong with National Security Adviser John Bolton, but the worst is his fixation on petroleum politics. His response to the complex crisis of Venezuela is to hope that US energy corporations can produce some of that country’s oil (“It will make a big difference to the […]
Social Media Ridicule: Emirates’ Gender Equality Award Winners All Men
The award was meant to promote female participation in government, however, this year only men were honored. A storm of tweets bombarded the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after it was clear women had been completely excluded from this year’s gender-equality awards ceremony. “Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions,” said UAE vice […]
Syria and Iran Sign Strategic Economic Plan, including Tartus Naval Base
Damascus (AFP) – Syria and Iran signed 11 agreements and memoranda of understanding late Monday, including a “long-term strategic economic cooperation” deal aimed at strengthening cooperation between Damascus and one of its key allies in the civil war that has torn the country apart. The agreements covered a range of fields including economy, culture, education, […]
Trump & Taliban Close to Deal on US Withdrawal, but Risk of Free For All
By Shaun TANDON | – Washington, DC (AFP) – The United States and the Taliban appear closer than ever to a peace deal, but fears are mounting that President Donald Trump could accept a quick accord that pours fuel on — rather than douses — Afghanistan’s war. Negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad, a key player in George […]
Defying US, Bahrain Affirms Life Sentence against Shiite Leader “farcically” charged with Spying
Dubai (AFP) – A Bahraini court on Monday upheld a life sentence for opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman for spying for Gulf rival Qatar, a ruling his party slammed as “political revenge”. Salman, who headed Al-Wefaq, a now-banned Shiite movement, was convicted by an appeals court in November in a decision rights groups called a […]
America’s 7 Racist Exclusions: From Muslim Visa Ban to 1930s Exclusion of Jews
Revised.- ed. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The two-year anniversary of Trump’s Muslim visa ban and Holocaust Remembrance Day have arrived more or less together, and it is worthwhile reviewing how they reveal an ugly side to America. US history is replete with racism as public policy. It has been more often our history than […]
The Main Drag on Saving Planet from Boiling? The Super-Rich
(Otherwords.org) – Millions of years ago, life on Earth survived an existential climate crisis. But that Earth had a distinct advantage: no rich people. We either keep fossil fuels in the ground, or we fry. That’s the conclusion of another new blockbuster study on climate change, this one from the National Academy of Sciences. Our […]
One Dead as Israeli Squatter Mob Shoots Palestinians in Occupied West Bank
Hamdi Taleb Na’asan, a 38 year old farmer, was killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of al-Mughayer. Israeli settlers shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Palestinian officials and the Israeli military said. The incident followed a confrontation between settlers and Palestinians near the city of […]
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