Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Member Profile

Total number of comments: 28 (since 2013-11-28 16:38:22)

Ronaldo

Showing comments 28 - 1
Page: 1

  • Reality Show violence in the Age of Trump: Striking Syria
    • Ron Bruce 04/15/2018 at 7:01 pm with 1 replies

      Last but not least is the win, win for shareholders at Rayethon , who will need to replace the 100+ cruise missiles fired into syria.

  • A Crisis of Democracy: Trump's block of Dem Response to Nunes
    • Ron Bruce 02/11/2018 at 4:38 pm

      "Trump has been more comfortable making allegations about others. He led the charge against the Central Park Five, five African American youths wrongly convicted of rape, running advertisements implying they should be executed.
      He has still maintained in spite of DNA evidence that the five are guilty."
      link to theguardian.com

  • Russia Mounts intensive Syria Air Campaign in Response to Downed Jet
    • Ron Bruce 02/04/2018 at 5:04 pm

      The video of the shoot down shows a jet flying at no more than 5000' - whether it is the true video of this event is not known (Is it time stamped?)
      link to zerohedge.com

  • Egyptian parliament moves to make atheism a crime
    • Ron Bruce 12/30/2017 at 5:43 pm

      Meanwhile in enlightened Western countries (USA excluded), religion in any form is on a massive downhill slide. This goes hand in hand with smaller families.
      The knowledge gained in Space exploration of the past fifty years - just the numbers of galaxys, stars and their planets - which are now known to number in mega trillions, make belief in a Creator of the Universe a difficult idea to swallow.
      Compared with the size of the known Universe during the era when the Bible was written - it mainly consisted of a few thousand miles around the Mediterranean Sea.

  • How Trump could avoid another $7 trillion bill in Mideast: Back off war with Iran
    • Ron Bruce 12/23/2017 at 9:45 pm with 2 replies

      Sherm: "My guess is that the well developed plan for “war” against Iran starts out with the biggest, longest, bombing campaign in the history of mankind".
      How long would it take Russia to airfreight in a few hundred S-300s or even S-400s? Those weapons would turn "The biggest ... bombing campaign" into a suicide mission - and I'm sure the USAF command knows this, even if Trump does not.

  • FCC begins restoring Corporate Privilege to the Internet
    • Ron Bruce 12/15/2017 at 5:52 pm

      Elon Musk might be a game changer with his 4,425 satellites enabling phone calls and data to the whole World...
      "In November, SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to launch 4,425 satellites into orbits between 690 and 825 miles above the Earth. “Once fully deployed, the SpaceX System will pass over virtually all parts of the Earth’s surface and therefore, in principle, have the ability to provide ubiquitous global service,” SpaceX said in its application. “Every point on the Earth’s surface will see, at all times, a SpaceX satellite.”
      SpaceX will first deploy 1,600 satellites to offer Internet access in the U.S., and the rest to expand coverage around the world. It’s not clear whether SpaceX will offer access directly or through other companies like Google, which in 2015 participated in a $1 billion investment in SpaceX to help it build satellites." link to fortune.com

  • Massive worldwide Rallies Condemn US, Courtesy Trump Jerusalem Call
    • Ron Bruce 12/09/2017 at 3:15 am with 1 replies

      A real dealmaker would have traded stopping settlement building, as the price of recognition of Jerusalem as the Capitol -

  • Trump in a Firing Mood; is US Commander in Afghanistan Next?
    • Ron Bruce 08/04/2017 at 6:41 pm

      Trump has never studied history - a brief study of Afghanistan's history would indicate that A'stan is a very hard nut to crack, many great nations have faltered in their efforts to conquer Afghanistan.
      USA should learn from their own history with Vietnam, that superior numbers and greater fire power isn't always enough...!

  • Extremist Israeli Squatters literally kick Palestinians out of Home, Move In
    • Ron Bruce 08/01/2017 at 6:50 pm

      Stories like this don't make it in the Murdoch press - thanks Juan.

  • Is Trump's Cabinet Collapsing?
    • Ron Bruce 07/26/2017 at 6:43 pm

      Never a truer word was spoken...!

  • Not Winning in Afghanistan: Why?
    • Ron Bruce 07/24/2017 at 5:47 pm

      “If I’m president, we’ll win so much, you’ll get bored with winning.”

      I'll bet that Donald Trump has never even read as much as the summary above, on the problems related to "winning" in Afghanistan...I

  • Top 4 Lessons Trump can Learn from Napoleon in Russia
    • Ron Bruce 07/22/2017 at 11:52 pm

      I think Putin and Xi would have something to say to - whoever is running Saudi Arabia - when they prepare to wage nuke war with Iran -
      Also the SA forces can't even subdue a bunch of rebels in Yemen, with more modern armaments than almost any second world country on the planet - good luck invading or attacking Iran...!

  • 25% of Australian Homes have gone Solar and other Green Triumphs this Week
    • Ron Bruce 07/15/2017 at 5:48 pm

      I live in Australia and have had solar panels on my roof for 6 years - As I signed up when there was a 40cent rebate for every kilowatt generated, I used to get a rebate of around $20 a month. However the utility, not being able to void our contract , put a $93 "transmission" charge on per quarter...!

  • 4 Nations twist Qatar's arm, to close down Aljazeera
    • Ron Bruce 06/23/2017 at 6:39 pm

      So where does the US stand here?
      Rex Tilliotson seemed last week to be standing firm with Qatar, while the sword- dancing- buffoon- in- chief just loved the reception given him by the Saudi royals.
      While the Saudi military may possess many billions of dollars worth of hardware - do they have the military or airforce personel to match Iran's?
      I would think not - Juan?

  • Iranian Women push back against Cleric who likened Loosely Veiled Women To Prostitutes
    • Ron Bruce 06/13/2017 at 6:49 pm

      Can the hard liners quote the line in the Koran where it demands women wear veils?

  • Sorry, Trump, Electric Car sales doubled last Year, dooming dirty Fossil fuels
    • Ron Bruce 06/12/2017 at 2:39 am

      We've had solar panels on our roof for 6 years - and we have a Lexus Hybrid - it uses half as much gas as the Subaru Forester we owned previously.
      Our next car will be a Tesla Model 3.
      PS: More than 20% of Australian homes now have solar panels.

  • Did Trump's Climate Disavowal just kill Capitalism?
    • Ron Bruce 06/04/2017 at 1:00 am

      Wall Street and the US FED must bear much of the responsibility for this ongoing disaster.
      Zero interest rates on your savings, drive people to invest in the stock market, that is being fueled by money printed by the FED - allowing the corporations to borrow money at nearly 0% to buy back their own shares, thus driving the share prices ever higher.
      When the black swan event, that "no one saw coming" happens, the small shareholder will get screwed once again.
      Maybe then they will reach for the pitchforks and we'll see bankers hanging from lamp posts - and not before time...

  • The Mystery of Washington's Iran Derangement Syndrome
    • Ron Bruce 05/31/2017 at 2:18 am

      Wondering why both Republicans and Democrats only see Iran as an enemy, who exports terrorism and will build an A-bomb if allowed - should look no further than the Israel lobby- AIPAC.

  • Trump in Absolute Monarchy during Iran's Election
    • Ron Bruce 05/21/2017 at 8:18 pm

      When Daesh are finally driven out of Mosel and especially Raqqa, do yo think they might find Saudi Arabia somewhere they could hole up and lick their wounds?

  • Putin's Winning Hand in Syria, as Turkey Apologizes and Obama Deals
    • Ron Bruce 07/03/2016 at 1:02 am

      Peter Tracy - Russia is the only country actually in Syria with the permission of the "elected" Assad govt.
      The US has a deal with the Iraqi govt to operate in their airspace, but does not have any "official" permission to fly missions over Syria. Not that the US has ever bothered about such things.

  • The end of the Beginning: The Fall of ISIL in Fallujah
    • Ron Bruce 06/19/2016 at 1:20 am

      I have been following the re-taking of Iraq back from ISIS, by the Iraqi govt forces and I have never read of prisoners being taken. Are there no POWs in this war?

  • Arab Youth view ISIL as major Mideast Obstacle, want less Religion
    • Ron Bruce 04/14/2016 at 2:01 am

      I've been posting on several Western websites since the internet first commenced. I've noticed a much greater tolerance for Atheism and dis- interest in religion among the several hundred people I've got to know well over the years. This is in USA, GB, Australia and Northern Europe.
      I don't have any difficulty believing the educated young Arabs would have lost interest in public religion and may privately becoming atheists.

  • ABC: Bush's Neocon Spokesman for Illegal US Occupation of Iraq Slams Russia for Crimea
    • Ron Bruce 03/24/2014 at 1:41 am with 1 replies

      I wish somebody would stand up and point out to the sabre-rattling neo-cons, that Russia is NOT Iraq, Iran or Libya!
      Russia has in excess of 5,000 nukes and they are nearly all pointed at USA!

  • Scenarios for Egypt's Future: How Democratic Will it Be?
    • ronaldo 02/12/2011 at 4:24 pm

      I have been following events on Jim Lehrer's News Hour the past weeks.
      They have had a parade of Arab and Egyptian experts giving opinion and comment on events. As well old hands like Zbignew Brezinsky and Stephen Hadley giving us some geo-political insites.
      Margaret Warner , PBS anchor/reporter gave great coverage from Tahrir square during recent days.

      Along with al Jazeera, PBS News Hour kept us informed in Australia, of the Egyptian revolution.

      Who needs the networks and their spindoctors?

      ronaldo

  • Mubarak Defies a Humiliated America, Emulating Netanyahu
    • Ronaldo 02/03/2011 at 4:25 am with 1 replies

      Juan nails it again!

      ronaldo

  • Wikileaks Gates: No Iranian Help to Taliban
    • ronaldo 11/29/2010 at 3:21 am with 2 replies

      Now that wikileaks has established that the Saudies are the principal financiers of al Qaeda...
      " Saudi donors remain the chief financiers of Sunni militant groups like Al Qaeda, and the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar, a generous host to the American military for years, was the “worst in the region” in counterterrorism efforts, according to a State Department cable last December. Qatar’s security service was “hesitant to act against known terrorists out of concern for appearing to be aligned with the U.S. and provoking reprisals,” the cable said."

      Can we now expect to see some action to take down these bastards, responsible for 911 and the rest of the stuff they have done in many countries?

      It can only be be the rich relatives (princes) of the King funding this organisation, al Qaeda sure isn't being financed by the expat workers in Saudie Arabia who make a pittance compared with the billions each one of the 1000 princes is worth.

      So why does the West, NATO, USA and everyone else who is at war with al Qaeda put up with this situation?

      The Saudies are screaming out for attacks on Iran and demanding Iran lose all access to international banking, so how about sticking it to them, that they lose all travel rights and banking rights if the kingdom allows it's princes to fund al Qaeda?

      Ditto for Qatar... get on board, or lose your international priveledges!

      ronaldo

  • Mercy Flotilla for Gaza About to Set Off
    Israelis Threaten to Block it with War Ships
    • Ronaldo 05/27/2010 at 5:35 pm

      * On tonight's TV news, the outspoken head mullah Nasrullah of Lebanon in front of a large audience threatened to shower Israel with rockets if it tries to stop the Freedom flotilla from landing their stores....

      I doubt this threat will stop Israel blocading the Freedom Fleet, but who knows, Nasrullah may do what he says... and then it will really be on!

  • Blog Migration
    • Ronaldo 04/12/2010 at 5:26 am

      Juan , along with many others I'm sure, I'm faced with the same dilema. Change my website name to xxx.com@ blogger or start afresh.
      Looked at Wordpress.... It's beyond my technical ability to use it. Haven't yet figured out an alternative.

      Good to see you have battled through, to get this thing working as I rely on you for reliable info on that troublesome part of the world.

      ronaldo

Showing comments 28 - 1
Page: 1

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • The Day Evin Prison Burned: Why Israel's Attack Crossed a Moral Line
  • After Mamdani Victory, Progressives Call for Primary Challenges to Democratic Establishment
  • A Middle East without Nukes
  • The Assault on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: The US v. Canada
  • How Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayoral Primary could Ripple across the Country

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved