Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump showed up in Afghanistan, or rather on the US Bagram base in Afghanistan, on Thanksgiving, where he gave one of his typical Long Lies of a speech. Katie Bo Williams writes at Defense One that this year, 17 US troops have been killed and 124 wounded in action, the […]
Syrian Kurds, abandoned by Trump, Face War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing at Hands of Turkey’s Fundamentalist Proxies
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Human Rights Watch reports that the fundamentalist Arab fighters Turkey brought with it to the Kurdish regions of northeast Iraq are guilty of war crimes. In the area Turkey has militarily occupied, which it is pleased to call a “safe zone,” the Arab fighters stand accused of shooting down civilian […]
On Thanksgiving, Let’s Be Thankful we Can Still Address our Climate Emergency: And then Do It
Revised for 2019 By Juan Cole | — The popular story about Thanksgiving is an environmental parable that we would do well to remember today. It was a harvest festival in 1621, participated in by the 50 (out of 100) survivors at Plymouth Plantation and 90 Native Americans. Some of these latter, such as Squanto, […]
Iran and the US Come Closer: Ayatollah Rick Perry’s Evangelical Theology of Trump as God’s Chosen is just like Khamenei
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jay Willis at GQ reports that Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said on Fox and Friends that Trump is God’s Chosen One. He said he told Trump, “If you’re a believing Christian, you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet and our […]
Expelling Human Rights Watch: Israel Joins Burundi, Uzbekistan and other Authoritarian States
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel on Sunday expelled the in-country director of Human Rights Watch from the country. Israel thereby joins dictatorships such as Uzbekistan, Burundi, Azerbaijan, and Egypt, which have also expelled HRW human rights workers. Breathless headlines in the US are saying that Israel became the first democracy to do so, but […]
Nunes as Fox Guarding Henhouse: Parnas alleges he was part of Ukraine Scandal
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sean Collins at Vox reports that two lawyers for Lev Parnas say that Parnas tells them he arranged meetings for Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) in the Ukraine for the purpose of pushing investigations of Hunter Biden and Burisma. They say he has offered to testify to Congress. Nunes is a […]
What does Fraud and Bribery trial of Israeli PM Netanyahu tell us about Trump Impeachment?
Revised By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit on advice from the police, indicted caretaker Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on fraud and bribery charges Thursday. On Friday, he refused to step down. Netanyahu is charged in three cases. In Case 4000, Netanyahu is accused of giving the […]
Israeli “Crime Minister” Netanyahu Indicted, Political System in Freefall
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel’s attorney general has indicted prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Ari Shapiro and Daniel Estrin report at NPR, on charges of “bribery, fraud and breach of trust.” Israeli protesters against the far right and openly racist Likud leader have for some time chanted against him as the “crime minister.” Netanyahu lost […]
Quid Pro Quo: 4 GOP Defenses of Trump that Sondland and others have Shot Down
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – 1. No quid pro quo (“this for that”). The Republicans, and Trump himself, kept asserting that the president didn’t offer a bribe. That is, he didn’t ask Ukraine for a thing of value in return for his bestowal of some favor on Kyiv. It isn’t necessary for Trump to have […]
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