Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death at the all too young age of 43 from colorectal cancer has been weighing on me the past couple of days. I am a fan. But I also am battling cancer, and I think I understand his incredible productivity in his last years, as he knew […]
Iraqi Shiite Militias 1, Trump 0: US Forced to Reduce its Presence by 1/3
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iraqis aren’t sure what to make of the report on Friday in the Wall Street Journal that the US military will reduce its troop presence by a third by November. The numbers will fall from 5200 to 3500 this fall. Athir Shar’ in Kitabat suspects that even the withdrawal aims […]
How Trump brought us 11.1% Unemployment, lost Manufacturing Jobs, worsened Trade Deficits and Kowtowed to China
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump supporters often acknowledge that Trump’s personal style puts them off, but that they like his economic program. They agree that the trade deficit with China is too high and that the US should not let its manufacturing sector dwindle. The problem is that Trump’s rhetoric on those issues, like […]
How our TV News is letting Trump get away with Claiming the Pandemic is Behind Us when we have a 9/11 every 3 Days
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Republican National Convention wants the pandemic to be in the past. It isn’t. Cases are up almost 1 percent this week. We still have over 40,000 new cases daily, down from a peak of 70,000 in mid-July. Some of the decline is a result of less testing, connived at […]
Top 3 Humiliating Failures of Pompeo as Secretary of State
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – When he was in the House of Representatives, Mike Pompeo bothered Hillary Clinton half to death over the deaths of the US ambassador to Libya and three colleagues in 2012. Since Clinton was not in charge of military operations, nothing that happened there was attributable to her and almost everything […]
As Party of Climate Denial Meets, Wildfires Rage and Hurricanes Target Gulf Coast
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – One of the speakers at the Republican National Convention on Monday evening was Nikki Haley, formerly Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, who helped usher the U.S. out of the Paris climate accords and who slammed Bernie Sanders’ Green New Deal. Haley when pressed will admit that the climate is […]
Explaining Nikki Haley’s Racism toward Palestinians
Reprinted from 05/16/2018 when Haley was US ambassador to the UN and was regularly bashing Palestinians US Ambassador to the United Nations Nimrata “Nikki” Singh Randhawa Haley on Tuesday walked out of the chamber when the Palestinian ambassador began to speak. Palestine, like the Vatican, has non-member observer state status at the UN. You’re not […]
Kanye West Offends Muslims by appropriating Angels of Death and Resurrection for his Sneaker Lines
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Muslim twittersphere was on fire this week with the news that Kanye West’s Adidas lines would offer two new sneakers, Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil and Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel. Israfil and Azrael are angels in the Islamic tradition. According to Dubai-based Alarabya, many Muslims found the names […]
Israel: Tens of Thousands Protest Netanyahu as Momentum Grows and Gov’t Faces Collapse
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli-Palestinian newspaper Arab48 reports that tens of thousands of protesters came out against Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday, in what has become a weekly ritual for the past three months that has grown larger and larger. The rallies disproved the allegation of pro-Netanyahu pundits that the recognition […]