By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters is reporting that some 22 Russian special operations forces have set up a base in Western Egypt near the Libyan border in preparation for an intervention in Libya. Other recent reports have suggested that Russian mercenaries have been active in eastern Libya. The Russian government […]
Dear Rep. King: Our Civilization isn’t White and American Babies aren’t Other
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Rep Steve King of Iowa (whose constituents should be ashamed to show their faces in public went full-on racist again, supporting hate-speech master Geert Wilders in his quixotic quest to reverse globalization and ban Muslims from Europe. King lauded Wilders’ supposed wisdom and added “we can’t […]
How Much of Globe’s Humanitarian Crisis is Fault of US?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned Saturday that the globe is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II. 2016 set post-war records in misery. * More than 76 mn persons from 31 countries needed assistance. * […]
Close the Coal Plants: How to Reply to Pruitt’s Lie about CO2 & Climate
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Having Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency is sort of like the plot of that Showtime thriller Dexter, where the police forensic technician trying to catch criminals is in his spare time a vigilante serial killer. Pruitt is Koch and ALEC. Pruitt actually […]
Syria: As 400 more Troops go in, What’s Trump’s Mission?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US had about 500 troops embedded with the People’s Protection Units (Kurdish acronym YPG) until this week, when another 400 were deployed, along with heavy artillery. It is rumored in the Arabic press that yet more troops, perhaps as many as 2000, will soon be […]
Is the Public turning on Trump over Russia Ties, Sessions’ Perjury?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Americans have become deeply concerned about Russia. Some 75% of them see it as a very or moderately serious threat. This, according to an ORC/ CNN opinion poll. They are ranking it just after North Korea and Iran. This level of anxiety about Moscow is irrational, […]
Let them eat iPhones: Jason Chaffetz on Health Care & the Poor (Young Turks)
Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Clip) | – – TYT metadata: “Poor people don’t fund Jason Chaffetz’s campaigns, so they can take a long walk off a short pier. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down. . . “Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is proposing a quick fix for low-income Americans […]
What Syrian Refugees think of Trump’s Refugee Ban
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters Arabic reports that a wave of anger swept the Syrian refugee camps of southern Lebanon Monday and Tuesday when they learned that Trump intends to ban Syrians and five other nationalities from coming to the US for at least 3 months and all refugee entries […]
Why Trump EO is Still a Racist Muslim Ban
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Whether or not the new Trump Executive Order banning visas for citizens of 6 Muslim-majority countries for a 90 day period and likewise excluding all refugees for six months stands up in the courts, it is still a piece of sordid bigotry. The rationale for the […]
© 2025 All Rights Reserved