Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iranians are increasingly impatient with Europe’s lack of concrete steps to protect Iran from Trump’s severe sanctions, and the frustration made for a tense visit Tuesday by German foreign minister Heiko Maas to Tehran. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani told him to his face that Europe had reacted in the politically […]
Is Jared Kushner Literally in Bed with the Saudis?
The Guardian’s Jon Swain broke the story on Monday that Cadre, a real estate investment firm in which Jared Kushner has as much as a $50 million stake, has received a mysterious $90 million infusion of cash from unknown and possibly foreign sources. At least $1 million came in from Saudi Arabia, according to Swain. […]
Very Early Muslim Piety toward the Prophet Muhammad: Blessings and Intercession
The great scholar Annemarie Schimmel quoted Arthur Jeffrey, the Australian scholar of Islam, to this effect: “Many years ago . . . the late Shaikh Mustafa al-Maraghi remarked on a visit to his friend, the Anglican bishop in Egypt, that the commonest cause of offence, generally unwitting offence, given by Christians to Muslims, arose from […]
Bipartisan move in Congress to Cancel Trump’s Stealth $8 bn Arms sale to Saudis
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dan De Luce at NBC News reports on a bipartisan attempt in Congress to block Trump’s sidelining of the legislature in fast-tracking an $8 bn arms sale to Saudi Arabia that includes components useful in building ballistic missiles. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified the step on the grounds of […]
No, WSJ, Palestinians have Not given up on National Rights
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Wall Street Journal yesterday trolled he Palestinians with a breathless head line that “some” Palestinians are giving up on having their own state. Anyone who has been following the Palestine issue knows that for some time a plurality of Palestinians has swung behind a one-state solution and now want […]
Top 5 Ways The Moon is part of Mars
Trump tweeted that the moon is a part of Mars. People cried dementia, but here are some alternative ideas as to what he meant. 1. It is true that meteors strike Mars and send Mars soil and dust to the moon. And vice versa. 2. Both the moon and Mars (and earth) congealed from space […]
On D-Day: Remembering the Muslim Troops who Fought the Axis
Updated. By Juan Cole One of the frustrations for a world historian is the unyieldingly parochial vision of the North Atlantic common among journalists and even many historians, and consequently among the public. The world leaders gathering for the D-Day commemoration should by all rights include the Pakistani and Indian prime , Indian Prime Minister […]
Hey, Psst, Prince Charles: Here are Some Graphs on Global Heating that maybe Even Trump could Understand
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump says that a meeting with Prince Charles that was supposed to last for 15 minutes extended to an hour and a half conversation as the prince attempted to convince him of the reality of climate change. Prince Charles may as well have saved his breath. There are nothing but […]
Headcanon: Review of Juan Cole, “Muhammad: Prophet of Peace” at Northwest Progressive Institute
David A. Johnson has written, for The Cascadia Advocate (a project of the Northwest Progressive Institute), a review of my new book on the Prophet Muhammad: Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires, published October 9, 2018 Available at Barnes and Noble And Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor And Hachette And Amazon Here […]
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