Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

Donate

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Email
  • RSS
  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2021 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Month
  • 2021
    • January 2021 (108)
  • 2020
    • December 2020 (125)
    • November 2020 (122)
    • October 2020 (128)
    • September 2020 (122)
    • August 2020 (125)
    • July 2020 (122)
    • June 2020 (124)
    • May 2020 (131)
    • April 2020 (127)
    • March 2020 (133)
    • February 2020 (120)
    • January 2020 (130)
  • 2019
    • December 2019 (122)
    • November 2019 (113)
    • October 2019 (119)
    • September 2019 (117)
    • August 2019 (101)
    • July 2019 (126)
    • June 2019 (122)
    • May 2019 (130)
    • April 2019 (118)
    • March 2019 (143)
    • February 2019 (130)
    • January 2019 (152)
  • 2018
    • December 2018 (160)
    • November 2018 (137)
    • October 2018 (154)
    • September 2018 (142)
    • August 2018 (147)
    • July 2018 (137)
    • June 2018 (132)
    • May 2018 (136)
    • April 2018 (133)
    • March 2018 (126)
    • February 2018 (116)
    • January 2018 (131)
  • 2017
    • December 2017 (132)
    • November 2017 (135)
    • October 2017 (146)
    • September 2017 (127)
    • August 2017 (130)
    • July 2017 (121)
    • June 2017 (125)
    • May 2017 (126)
    • April 2017 (127)
    • March 2017 (139)
    • February 2017 (135)
    • January 2017 (127)
  • 2016
    • December 2016 (124)
    • November 2016 (116)
    • October 2016 (115)
    • September 2016 (95)
    • August 2016 (66)
    • July 2016 (109)
    • June 2016 (114)
    • May 2016 (128)
    • April 2016 (157)
    • March 2016 (156)
    • February 2016 (162)
    • January 2016 (149)
  • 2015
    • December 2015 (153)
    • November 2015 (156)
    • October 2015 (147)
    • September 2015 (149)
    • August 2015 (153)
    • July 2015 (151)
    • June 2015 (152)
    • May 2015 (145)
    • April 2015 (148)
    • March 2015 (147)
    • February 2015 (136)
    • January 2015 (155)
  • 2014
    • December 2014 (157)
    • November 2014 (150)
    • October 2014 (138)
    • September 2014 (139)
    • August 2014 (151)
    • July 2014 (156)
    • June 2014 (146)
    • May 2014 (160)
    • April 2014 (146)
    • March 2014 (143)
    • February 2014 (122)
    • January 2014 (181)
  • 2013
    • December 2013 (166)
    • November 2013 (62)
    • October 2013 (62)
    • September 2013 (69)
    • August 2013 (76)
    • July 2013 (118)
    • June 2013 (109)
    • May 2013 (109)
    • April 2013 (85)
    • March 2013 (89)
    • February 2013 (70)
    • January 2013 (73)
  • 2012
    • December 2012 (96)
    • November 2012 (76)
    • October 2012 (92)
    • September 2012 (74)
    • August 2012 (66)
    • July 2012 (99)
    • June 2012 (77)
    • May 2012 (76)
    • April 2012 (98)
    • March 2012 (107)
    • February 2012 (93)
    • January 2012 (64)
  • 2011
    • December 2011 (60)
    • November 2011 (51)
    • October 2011 (41)
    • September 2011 (39)
    • August 2011 (42)
    • July 2011 (36)
    • June 2011 (49)
    • May 2011 (64)
    • April 2011 (62)
    • March 2011 (54)
    • February 2011 (52)
    • January 2011 (74)
  • 2010
    • December 2010 (79)
    • November 2010 (57)
    • October 2010 (65)
    • September 2010 (58)
    • August 2010 (56)
    • July 2010 (51)
    • June 2010 (59)
    • May 2010 (41)
    • April 2010 (48)
    • March 2010 (52)
    • February 2010 (51)
    • January 2010 (73)
  • 2009
    • December 2009 (65)
    • November 2009 (70)
    • October 2009 (49)
    • September 2009 (53)
    • August 2009 (60)
    • July 2009 (65)
    • June 2009 (78)
    • May 2009 (56)
    • April 2009 (52)
    • March 2009 (78)
    • February 2009 (46)
    • January 2009 (94)
  • 2008
    • December 2008 (84)
    • November 2008 (105)
    • October 2008 (75)
    • September 2008 (84)
    • August 2008 (84)
    • July 2008 (66)
    • June 2008 (62)
    • May 2008 (66)
    • April 2008 (47)
    • March 2008 (49)
    • February 2008 (43)
    • January 2008 (61)
  • 2007
    • December 2007 (63)
    • November 2007 (69)
    • October 2007 (67)
    • September 2007 (68)
    • August 2007 (95)
    • July 2007 (74)
    • June 2007 (59)
    • May 2007 (82)
    • April 2007 (56)
    • March 2007 (51)
    • February 2007 (50)
    • January 2007 (61)
  • 2006
    • December 2006 (49)
    • November 2006 (45)
    • October 2006 (55)
    • September 2006 (63)
    • August 2006 (94)
    • July 2006 (91)
    • June 2006 (72)
    • May 2006 (85)
    • April 2006 (69)
    • March 2006 (66)
    • February 2006 (53)
    • January 2006 (62)
  • 2005
    • December 2005 (60)
    • November 2005 (77)
    • October 2005 (76)
    • September 2005 (77)
    • August 2005 (86)
    • July 2005 (95)
    • June 2005 (85)
    • May 2005 (79)
    • April 2005 (76)
    • March 2005 (81)
    • February 2005 (69)
    • January 2005 (63)
  • 2004
    • December 2004 (80)
    • November 2004 (86)
    • October 2004 (77)
    • September 2004 (67)
    • August 2004 (99)
    • July 2004 (98)
    • June 2004 (102)
    • May 2004 (172)
    • April 2004 (114)
    • March 2004 (130)
    • February 2004 (131)
    • January 2004 (118)
  • 2003
    • December 2003 (128)
    • November 2003 (139)
    • October 2003 (166)
    • September 2003 (134)
    • August 2003 (36)
    • July 2003 (33)
    • June 2003 (29)
    • May 2003 (34)
    • April 2003 (31)
    • March 2003 (25)
    • February 2003 (25)
    • January 2003 (31)
  • 2002
    • December 2002 (16)
    • November 2002 (19)
    • October 2002 (30)
    • September 2002 (29)
    • August 2002 (17)
    • July 2002 (15)
    • June 2002 (4)
    • May 2002 (3)
    • April 2002 (8)
Category
  • Africa (147)
    • Cameroon (1)
    • Djibouti (2)
    • Eritrea (1)
    • Ethiopia (5)
    • Kenya (6)
    • Nigeria (18)
    • Senegal (1)
    • Somalia (14)
    • South Africa (13)
    • South Sudan (6)
    • Sudan (26)
    • Zimbabwe (1)
  • Animals (1)
  • Asia (841)
    • Central Asia (13)
    • East Asia (181)
      • China (146)
        • Hong Kong (2)
      • Japan (18)
      • North Korea (22)
      • South Korea (6)
    • South Asia (619)
      • Afghanistan (393)
        • Taliban (119)
      • Bangladesh (11)
      • India (80)
      • Nepal (2)
      • Pakistan (207)
        • Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (1)
        • FATA (30)
        • Haqqani Network (13)
        • Nawaz Sharif (8)
        • Pakistan People's Party (3)
        • Zardari (2)
    • Southeast Asia (46)
      • Indonesia (1)
      • Myanmar (36)
      • Philippines (1)
      • Thailand (2)
      • Vietnam (2)
  • Australasia (2)
    • New Zealand (2)
  • Australia (6)
  • Authoritarianism (182)
  • Canada (1)
  • Cats (1)
  • Culture (421)
    • art and photography (62)
    • Books (47)
      • The New Arabs (4)
    • Dance (3)
    • Entertainment (75)
      • Humor (46)
        • Cartoon (7)
      • Sports (6)
    • film (44)
    • Graphic Novel (6)
    • Music (43)
    • Philosophy (3)
    • poetry (169)
      • Omar Khayyam (146)
    • Popular Culture (10)
      • Comic Books (1)
    • Science Fiction (8)
    • Television (4)
  • Dehydration (1)
  • Democracy (248)
    • Elections (132)
  • Dissent (288)
  • Economy (730)
    • Banking (52)
    • Debt (8)
    • Democratic Socialism (19)
    • Development (17)
    • Employment (80)
    • Inequality (269)
    • Investment (60)
    • Middle Class (50)
    • Neoliberalism (98)
    • Plutocracy (445)
    • Poverty (107)
    • Trade (98)
    • Weapons sales (1)
  • Education (75)
    • Universities (28)
  • Elderly (3)
  • Energy (1,086)
    • Batteries (1)
    • Coal (80)
    • Fossil Fuels (190)
    • Fracking (43)
    • Geothermal (4)
    • Green ammonia (2)
    • Green Energy (260)
    • Green Hydrogen (2)
    • Natural Gas (48)
    • Nuclear Energy (110)
    • Petroleum (180)
    • Solar Energy (190)
    • Tar Sands (13)
    • Wave Energy (3)
    • wind energy (141)
  • Environment (1,515)
    • Climate Change (975)
      • Acidification of Oceans (47)
      • Dehydration (4)
      • Denialism (98)
      • Desertification (121)
      • Extreme Weather (188)
      • Flooding (33)
      • Forests (2)
      • Green New Deal (21)
      • Mass Extinction (21)
      • Methane (12)
      • Rainforests (7)
      • Sea Level (190)
      • Soil Carbon Release (9)
      • Super Storms (42)
      • wildfires (31)
    • Climate Crisis (259)
      • Extreme Heat (25)
    • Drought (45)
    • Environmentalism (223)
    • Green Transportation (120)
    • Ice Melt (42)
    • Oceans (16)
    • Pollution (159)
      • plastic (8)
    • Water (47)
    • wildlife (4)
  • Europe (790)
    • Eastern Europe (405)
      • Balkans (6)
      • Hungary (2)
      • Russia (381)
        • Chechnya (3)
      • Ukraine (39)
    • Eurasia (14)
      • Armenia (6)
      • Azerbaijan (5)
      • Shanghai Cooperation Council (4)
      • Shanhai Cooperation Council (1)
    • European Union (323)
      • Austria (2)
      • Belgium (10)
      • Denmark (2)
      • France (82)
      • Germany (79)
      • Greece (11)
      • Ireland (4)
      • Italy (6)
      • Netherlands (7)
      • Poland (1)
      • Scotland (5)
      • Spain (17)
      • Sweden (6)
    • Norway (5)
    • United Kingdom (89)
  • Featured (2,687)
  • fiction (5)
    • Comic Books (1)
    • Fall of the New Year Throne (1)
    • Flash Fiction (1)
  • Food (8)
  • G20 (1)
  • Guns (9)
  • Health (465)
    • Addiction (4)
    • Epidemics (304)
    • Food Security (20)
    • Health Care (291)
    • Mental Health (39)
    • Pharmaceuticals (1)
    • Psychology (3)
    • Social Safety Net (2)
  • History (241)
    • Archaeology (29)
    • Cold War (10)
    • Colonialism (89)
    • Ottoman Empire (11)
    • slavery (4)
  • Human Rights (994)
    • Apartheid (235)
    • censorship (161)
    • Death Penalty (7)
    • Displaced and Refugees (441)
    • Gay rights (7)
    • Human Rights Watch (75)
    • Slavery and Trafficking (11)
    • Torture (67)
    • Unlawful Imprisonment (15)
    • War Crimes (264)
    • War Rape (3)
  • Immigration (17)
  • International (607)
    • Arms Sales (36)
    • Corruption (195)
    • Crime (84)
      • Drugs (10)
      • Piracy (1)
    • Domestic Terrorism (14)
    • Drones (93)
    • Politics (234)
      • Far Right (99)
      • Left Politics (62)
    • Politics&Culture (17)
    • Propaganda (1)
  • Islamophobia (308)
  • Juan Cole (268)
  • Latin America (68)
    • Brazil (10)
    • Caribbean (2)
    • Costa Rica (1)
    • Cuba (5)
    • Mexico (6)
    • Venezuela (8)
  • Latinos (3)
  • leisure (21)
    • Intoxicants (3)
    • Sports (2)
  • media (377)
    • Internet (142)
      • social media (105)
    • journalism (214)
      • Political Cartoons (1)
    • television (18)
  • Middle East (7,275)
    • Arab World (4,626)
      • Algeria (10)
      • Arab Spring (86)
      • Bahrain (56)
      • Egypt (459)
      • GCC (54)
      • Gulf (36)
      • Iraq (1,797)
        • Iraq War (244)
      • Jordan (21)
      • Kuwait (21)
      • Lebanon (108)
        • Hizbullah (35)
      • Libya (207)
        • Gaddafi (1)
      • Morocco (13)
      • Palestine (447)
        • Hamas (9)
      • Qatar (80)
      • Saudi Arabia (539)
      • Sudan (10)
      • Syria (1,064)
        • Bashar al-Assad (139)
        • Free Syrian Army (95)
      • Tunisia (98)
      • UAE (88)
      • Yemen (365)
        • Houthi (95)
        • Saleh (40)
    • Iran (916)
    • Israel (704)
      • Haredim (13)
      • Israel Lobby (83)
      • Mizrahim (6)
      • Palestinian-Israelis (35)
    • Israel/ Palestine (1,953)
      • Gaza (1)
    • Israel/Palestine (8)
    • Kurds (264)
    • Turkey (446)
  • military (105)
  • Modernism (1)
  • nationalism (102)
  • NATO (6)
  • Natural Disasters (11)
  • nuclear weapons (59)
  • Patriarchy (2)
  • Peace (75)
    • Nonviolence (21)
  • Persian mythology (1)
  • Pete Buttigieg (1)
  • Popular Culture (24)
    • Comic Books (1)
    • Zombies (4)
  • Poverty (11)
  • privacy (19)
  • racism (354)
  • Rape (5)
  • religion (841)
    • Buddhism (24)
    • Christianity (157)
      • Assyrians (13)
      • Chaldeans (11)
      • Copts (10)
      • Dominionism (4)
      • Evangelicals (10)
      • Papacy (21)
      • Protestants (8)
      • Roman Catholicism (17)
    • Cults (4)
    • Eastern Orthodox (9)
    • Fundamentalism (20)
    • Hindu Nationalism (6)
    • Hinduism (2)
    • Islam (634)
      • Islamic History (13)
        • Inscriptions (2)
      • political Islam (223)
        • Muslim Brotherhood (27)
      • Qur'an (62)
      • Shiites (237)
        • Alawites (6)
        • Alevis (2)
        • Druze (6)
        • Ismailis (1)
        • Zaidis (20)
      • Sufism (15)
      • Sunnis (188)
        • Salafis (62)
      • Wahhabis (32)
    • Jewish History (35)
      • Holocaust (10)
    • Judaism (84)
      • Antisemitism (21)
    • Millenarianism (1)
    • Sikhism (1)
    • Yezidis (15)
    • Zoroastrianism (1)
  • Rights (128)
    • BDS (14)
    • BDS Occupied Territories (36)
    • Gay Rights (2)
    • Privacy (14)
    • Torturers (30)
  • robots (1)
  • Romance (1)
  • science (117)
    • Artificial Intelligence (3)
      • Robots (2)
    • astronomy and outer space (26)
    • Evolution (8)
    • Mass Extinction (3)
    • Technology (20)
      • Domestic drones (2)
  • Secular (West) (8)
  • Secularism (25)
  • Sexual Assault (2)
  • South Pacific (1)
  • Spirituality (21)
    • Meditation (1)
    • Sufism (9)
  • Statelessness (14)
  • Surveillance (259)
    • Corporate Surveillance (12)
    • Domestic Surveillance (168)
    • Government surveillance (219)
  • Terrorism (1,036)
    • al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula (39)
    • al-Qaeda (183)
    • Al-Shabab (2)
    • Boko Haram (10)
    • Counter-Terrorism (65)
    • Far Right (28)
    • Irgun (2)
    • Islamic Jihad (2)
    • Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (607)
    • Israeli Squatters (34)
    • Jabhat al-Nusra (89)
    • Pakistan Taliban (50)
    • PKK (3)
  • Tolerance (4)
  • Uncategorized (8,045)
  • United Nations (80)
    • International Criminal Court (11)
  • Urbanization (3)
  • US Foreign Policy (593)
  • US politics (4,001)
    • Anti-War Movement (6)
    • Campaign Finance (27)
    • Censors (21)
    • Central Intelligence Agency (59)
    • Civil Rights (83)
    • Congress (38)
    • Conspiracy Theories (6)
    • Constitution (322)
      • Bill of Rights (168)
    • crime (5)
      • rape (3)
    • Democratic Party (576)
      • Barack Obama (227)
      • Bernie Sanders (105)
      • Elizabeth Warren (10)
      • Hillary Clinton (77)
      • Jennifer Granholm (1)
      • Joe Biden (77)
      • Kamala Harris (10)
      • Obama (4)
    • Democratic Socialists of America (14)
    • Domestic Terrorism (16)
    • Drone Warfare (26)
    • Espionage (116)
      • CIA (47)
      • National Security Agency (61)
    • Ethnicities (287)
      • African-Americans (185)
      • Arab Americans (74)
      • Asian-Americans (11)
      • Iranian-Americans (15)
      • Latinos (72)
    • Far Right (224)
      • Steve Bannon (47)
    • FBI (42)
    • Foreign Policy (203)
    • Gay Rights (15)
    • Guns (65)
    • Immigration (194)
    • Israel Lobbies (83)
    • Marijuana (1)
    • Militarization (229)
    • National Security State (384)
    • Native Americans (26)
    • Nuclear arsenal (6)
    • penitentiaries (6)
    • Pentagon (367)
    • Police (34)
    • prison reform (6)
    • Private Prisons (1)
    • Puerto Rico (25)
    • Religious Right (1)
    • Reproductive Choice (7)
    • Republican Party (2,496)
      • Bush (76)
        • Richard Bruce Cheney (39)
      • Donald Trump (1,795)
      • Neoconservatives (11)
    • Supreme Court (60)
    • Voter suppression (19)
    • Whistleblowers (4)
    • Xenophobia (8)
  • Veterans (29)
  • Voting Rights (4)
  • War (279)
    • Chemical Weapons (11)
    • Nuclear weapons (13)
  • Western Religion (376)
    • American Jews (16)
    • Christians (60)
      • Fundamentalists (40)
    • Islam-hatred (221)
    • Muslim-Americans (212)
    • Roman Catholics (6)
    • US Buddhism (1)
    • Western Jews (32)
      • Antisemitism (18)
      • Zionism (10)
    • Western Muslims (67)
  • White Supremacists (95)
  • wikileaks (8)
  • women (292)
    • Feminism (55)
  • workers (147)
  • Writing (5)
  • Youth (121)
    • Children (44)

Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism
How does the 25th Amendment work, and can it be used to remove Trump from office after US Capitol attack?

How does the 25th Amendment work, and can it be used to remove Trump from office after US Capitol attack?

The Conversation

By Stephanie Newbold | – A day after President Donald Trump incited supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office, saying “This president should not hold office one day longer.” The 25th Amendment, ratified by the states […]

Authoritarianism
Why Trump’s Senate supporters can’t overturn Electoral College results they don’t like – here’s how the law actually works

Why Trump’s Senate supporters can’t overturn Electoral College results they don’t like – here’s how the law actually works

The Conversation

By Donald Brand | – On Jan. 6, the United States Congress will gather in a joint session to tally the votes of the Electoral College, which cast its ballots in state capitols last month. In his role as president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence is slated to officially announce Joe Biden as […]

Authoritarianism
Democracy’s Night of the Living Dead:  Trump’s GOP Zombies Lost by a Landslide, but they’re back to eat our Brains

Democracy’s Night of the Living Dead: Trump’s GOP Zombies Lost by a Landslide, but they’re back to eat our Brains

Dan Dinello

By Dan Dinello | – Like a political remake of Night of the Living Dead, the Republican Party — put to death by the Lame Duck’s poisonous presidency — has reanimated as the Zombie Party. This hollowed out duplicate looks the same, but has been implanted with the traitorous delusions of the demented ex-President. Denying […]

Authoritarianism
Trump’s ‘smoking gun’ tape is worse than Nixon’s, but congressional Republicans have less incentive to do anything about it

Trump’s ‘smoking gun’ tape is worse than Nixon’s, but congressional Republicans have less incentive to do anything about it

The Conversation

By Ken Hughes | – At least Donald Trump’s “smoking gun” tape is simpler than Richard Nixon’s. Schoolchildren can easily grasp Trump’s high crime, in contrast to the complex, Machiavellian plot immortalized on the tape that led to Nixon’s downfall. It will be harder to explain to them why congressional Republicans decided to hold Nixon […]

Authoritarianism
Turkey: Bill on ‘Preventing Terrorism’ actually Targets Freedom of Association, Civil Society

Turkey: Bill on ‘Preventing Terrorism’ actually Targets Freedom of Association, Civil Society

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – (Istanbul) – The Turkish government should withdraw provisions in a draft law that would arbitrarily curtail nongovernmental organizations’ activities and have the potential to violate the right to freedom of association, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliament was due to vote on the law on December 24, 2020. The […]

Authoritarianism
Tragedies, Farces and Trump’s Coup d’état: The History of an Idea

Tragedies, Farces and Trump’s Coup d’état: The History of an Idea

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Amy Gardner at the Washington Post got the scoop. In an hour-long telephone call to Georgia officials, including the the secretary of state, Trump browbeat them and hinted around that he could arrange jail time for them or foment unrest or spoil the January 5 senatorial run-off unless they found […]

Authoritarianism
From biblical times to Trump, false messiahs have doomed societies

From biblical times to Trump, false messiahs have doomed societies

The Conversation

By Kimberly Stratton | – The prophet Jeremiah records in excruciating detail the catastrophic events leading to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE. Jeremiah describes the devastating famine, escalating sense of fear and ominous foreboding that permeated the city despite optimistic oracles issued in the royal court by prophets, who promised divine […]

Authoritarianism
Trump aping Mideast Tinpot Dictators and raving about declaring Martial Law, which even Iran Prohibits

Trump aping Mideast Tinpot Dictators and raving about declaring Martial Law, which even Iran Prohibits

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – With Trump raving in White House meetings, prompted by the equally certifiable Michael Flynn, about declaring martial law, it sets an old Middle East hand like me thinking. In my part of the world, leaders declare martial law or a “state of emergency” at the drop of a helmet. And […]

Authoritarianism
How Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook will Turn America into a Banana Republic

How Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook will Turn America into a Banana Republic

The Conversation

By Lena Surzhko Harned and Luis Jimenez | – Six weeks after the U.S. election, President Donald Trump had still not accepted defeat. This behavior is not typical in mature democracies. And it’s reminiscent of countries with what political scientists call “hybrid regimes” – nations that have elements of democracy but in practice are not […]

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • …
  • Page 21
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Support Us

Help keep independent journalism alive and donate online, or make checks payable to:
"Juan Cole"
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
(No parcels, please)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter and have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.


Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2021 All Rights Reserved