By Juan Cole | — Some observers have alleged that lower oil prices will slow down the green energy revolution. This allegation is unlikely to be true even in the short term, and it is laughable in the medium to long term. 1. Solar and wind power are for electricity generation. For the most part, […]
Top 5 Planks of 2016 GOP Platform? Torture, War, Bank Corruption, Paid-For Elections
By Juan Cole | — This week, the release by the Senate of a report on torture as practiced in the zeroes by the CIA, along with Thursday night’s dramatic vote on an omnibus spending bill, laid bare the shape of the GOP platform in 2016. (Some Democrats were dragooned into voting for the spending […]
The Trial of Richard Bruce Cheney
By Juan Cole | — Satire alert : The hall at the International Criminal Court in the Hague was packed today as the trial began of former US Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney [they always give all three names of suspected felons in the newspaper.] The ICC justices begin with the first charge, that Mr. […]
Israel, Egypt Implicated in Torture: Middle East Reactions to Senate Report lament own Involvement
By Juan Cole | — That the release in Washington of a dense 450 page report on CIA torture conducted a decade ago would provoke massive demonstrations in the Middle East all along struck me as unlikely. It could perhaps provoke small terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, but those groups are already plotting out attacks […]
Why the Founding Fathers thought banning Torture Foundational to the US Constitution
By Juan Cole | — I have argued on many occasions that the language of patriotism and appeal to the Founding Fathers and the constitution must not be allowed to be appropriated by the political right wing in contemporary America, since for the most part right wing principles (privileging religion, exaltation of ‘whiteness’ over universal […]
Climate Change and Yemen’s Agony
By Juan Cole | (The Nation) — From “Why Is Yemen So Violent? Because It Is So Poor and Thirsty” . Answer: “Yemen’s troubles are only beginning, and one worries that much of the population will end up displaced, as has already happened to Syria. That vast further social disruption would not exactly tamp down […]
Real Independence: In 2014, Scotland used more Renewable Energy than Nuclear, Coal or Gas
By Juan Cole Edie.net reports that in November, wind energy alone produced more than enough electricity for every home in Scotland. Over all in 2013, Scotland produced 46.6% equivalent of its gross electricity from renewables. Scotland, with a population of 4 million, is well on its way to getting 100% of its electricity from renewables […]
GOP Squirms at Release of CIA Torture Report, warns of “Violence” (So why did they Torture?)
By Juan Cole | — Outgoing House Intelligence Committee head Mike Rogers (R-MI) was on Candy Crowley’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, speaking against releasing any details concerning CIA use of torture in the period after the September 11 attacks. The Senate report is due out this week and is already the object of […]
Over 100 ISIL/Daesh Fighters Killed in US Airstrikes in Iraq; Attack on Syria Base Repelled
By Juan Cole | — The US war on Daesh (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria takes up less and less space in the MSM. The group and its issues haven’t gone away, however. A source in Iraqi security told AFP Arabic that US and allied air strikes had killed about 100 fighters near Mosul on […]
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