By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump’s approval ratings are in the toilet compared to any other modern president at this stage of his presidency. At least some of that public disapproval comes from his repeated attempts to issue overly broad or discriminatory or otherwise unconstitutional executive orders. These were promptly blocked […]
India’s Electric-Car Plans could Leave Trump & US in Dust
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – India’s announcement that it wants to have its automobile fleet go completely electric by 2030 is a bigger deal than it seems on the surface, if in fact the government follows through. Power Minister Piyush Goya said Tuesday at the Confederation of Indian Industry, “We are […]
Trump’s Real sin in DC is not distinguishing between “Good” and “Bad” Dictators
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald J. Trump’s peculiar comments about and relationship with dictators and loonies among foreign leaders have upset a range of observers, from sincere human rights activists to cold-blooded Think Tank Rats. First he welcomed the Philippines’ demagogue and possibly cold-blooded murderer Rodrigo Duterte to Washington. Then […]
Trump sends US Troops to Patrol Turkish-Syrian Border as Ankara Threatens US Allies
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Only one fighting force in Syria is practically speaking taking on Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on the ground, and that is the Syrian Democratic Forces, the bulk of whose fighters are leftist Kurds of the “People’s Protection Units” (YPG). They are joined by some rural Arab clans […]
As Millions March for Climate, Stab in Back by EPA & NYT
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – An estimated 200,000 climate protesters rallied in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, braving record temperatures in the 90s, well above the average temperature for April 29 in the national capital. They were allowed to surround the White House from a distance. The protesters were pushing back against […]
On Day of Climate March, Remember advance of Solar globally
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US public may have to march today for our government to recognize the dangers of climate change. But in the rest of the world many governments are placing a large wager on clean solar energy. The largest concentrated solar plant in the world is not […]
Climate March: How many more atomic bombs is Trump setting off in our Atmosphere?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The People’s Climate March on Saturday will protest the Trump administration’s pro-Climate Change policies of increasing US carbon dioxide and methane emissions. Just how bad will it be? The US committed at Paris to reducing its emissions by 1/4 of 2005 levels by 2025. So far […]
Planet Ravagers: How Trump & GOP are like Aliens in “Independence Day”
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – “They’re like locusts. They’re moving from planet to planet, their entire civilization. Once they consume every natural resource, they move on.” — President Thomas Whitmore, “Independence Day” You expect the Republican Party, when it wins a national election, to pass some laws benefiting the business classes. […]
Trump Sanctuary Threat Quashed by Court – Is anything he does Constitutional?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – US district judge William Orrick responded to a lawsuit by the county of San Francisco and by Santa Clara county against a Trump Executive Order conveyed to them by the Department of Justice, threatening to deny Federal funding to self-proclaimed sanctuary cities by striking down the […]