2019

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration made a grand and empty show Friday of announcing the dispatch to the Middle East of 1,500 US military personnel, allegedly to signal Iran not to attack US troops in the region. Update: Actually, it is 900 new troops and 600 having their deployment extended. I.e. nothing. […]

Iran

Alarmed Iranians Fret over Devastating new War after 4 Decades of Conflict

Golnaz Esfandiari

(RFE/RL) – As verbal sparring, economic pressure, and military jockeying intensify between Tehran and Washington, Iranians are closely following the standoff and appear increasingly alarmed at the prospect of a conflict with the United States. Even conservative authorities and frequently combative media in the Shi’a-majority country of around 81 million people look to be treading […]

Pollution

Suffocating Ourselves: Dumping Plastic into Ocean Poisons the Bacteria that Produce 10% of our Oxygen, underpin Marine Life

The Conversation

By Petra Cameron and Philippa Kearney | – We’ve all seen the impact of our plastic addiction. It’s hard to miss the devastating images of whales and sea birds that have died with their stomachs full of solidified fossil fuels. The recent discovery of a plastic bag in the Mariana Trench, at over 10,000 metres […]

Green Transportation

The Green Future is Here: Audi to sell a Million Electric Cars a Year within 5 Years

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – (Clean Energy Wire) – German carmaker Audi has announced the goal of selling one million electric cars per year by the mid-2020s and to offer 30 e-car models by that time, with 20 models being purely electric. Audi CEO Bram Schott told shareholders tthat the company intends to “take the […]

Featured

Jared Kushner is surprised he can’t get Palestinian Businessmen on Board with Promises of Prosperity

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Palestinian business groups accounting for 80% of Palestine’s gross domestic product say they are declining to attend a conference in Bahrain that is part of the roll-out of Jared Kushner’s “Deal of the Century.” The conference was intended to focus on “economic peace,” which is shorthand for investments in and […]

Iran

US is Already Attacking Iran–Severe Sanctions are Hurting the Wrong People

The Conversation

By David Cortright | – Many are worried about the risk of war with Iran after the Trump administration leaked discussions of a troop deployment in response to claimed threats to U.S. warships in the region. And in recent days, the rhetoric has only gotten more heated, with President Donald Trump saying a war would […]

Israel/ Palestine

Is Israel Planning total Annexation of Jerusalem and Jordan Valley of Palestine?

Middle East Monitor

By Hamada Fara’na | – The Israeli government and its agencies are launching a concerted programme, with great urgency, to achieve the complete annexation of Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. They want to be able to impose a fait accompli through superior firepower and America’s diplomatic, economic and military cover. Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, […]

Pentagon

Our ~8,000 Military Dead in US Mideast Wars: ‘Words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain’

Andrew J. Bacevich

(Tomdispatch.com) – Earlier this month, I spent a day visiting Marseilles to videotape a documentary about recent American military history, specifically the ongoing wars that most of us prefer not to think about. Lest there be any confusion, let me be more specific. I am not referring to Marseilles (mar-SAY), France, that nation’s largest port […]

Donald Trump

Iran’s Leader, Khamenei, Blasts Pres. Rouhani for Negotiating Nuclear deal with US