US politics

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Syrians are rejoicing at the announcement on Tuesday by President Donald J. Trump that he will lift U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, at the advice of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, among others. Saudi Arabia gave Trump the quid pro quos he wanted for […]

anti-science

Can we Even Remember it? How America was Disappeared before our Eyes

Karen J. Greenberg

( Tomdispatch.com) – In these first 100-plus days of the nation’s 47th presidency, President Donald Trump and his sidekick Elon Musk have cast a frightful spell over the country. As if brandishing wands from inside their capes — poof! — offices and their employees, responsibilities and aims, norms and policies have simply disappeared. The two […]

Donald Trump

US: Don’t Forcibly Transfer Migrants to Libya

Human Rights Watch

Deportations Would be Unlawful, Subject Detainees to Horrific Conditions ( Human Rights Watch ) – (New York) – The United States should not forcibly transfer migrants to Libya, where inhumane detention conditions are well-documented, including torture, ill-treatment, sexual assault, and unlawful killings, Human Rights Watch said today. Based on numerous media reports citing US officials, […]

Donald Trump

Iran, US Conclude ‘Difficult But Useful’ Round Of Nuclear Talks In Oman

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By RFE/RL’s Radio Farda ( RFE/ RL ) – The fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States has ended in Muscat, with Tehran suggesting a new round will be scheduled by Omani mediators. Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Esmail Baqaei wrote on X that the talks on May 11 were “difficult but […]

Corporations

Donald Trump’s Feverish Lust for Green Energy Resources isn’t about the Climate

Joshua Frank

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Ancient oak trees rise above gigantic boulders scattered across a high desert mesa in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. This is Oak Flat (Chi’ chil Bildagoteel), a sacred site for Native Americans, including the Western and San Carlos Apache. And like many other lands across the West, it’s under grave threat from multinational […]

Bill of Rights

Rümeysa Öztürk freed, as Judge Warns of Grave Threat to Free Speech

Common Dreams

“There has been no evidence that has been introduced by the government other than the op-ed,” U.S. District Judge William Sessions III said, referring to Öztürk’s article urging divestment from Israel. By Brett Wilkins | – ( Common Dreams ) – Rümeysa Öztürk, one of several pro-Palestine scholars kidnapped and imprisoned by the Trump administration […]

Conspiracy Theories

When Politics Leaves Reality Behind

Bahman Fozouni

Sacramento (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The traditional left–right political spectrum no longer captures the forces driving division in America today. That model works when we’re dealing with competing ideologies and when ideological disagreement is the primary driver of division in society. But today, we face something more destabilizing: a profound rupture in shared […]

Bill of Rights

Antisemitism Awareness Act – Protecting Jews from What?

H. Scott Prosterman

Last year, Congress proposed the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA) (S.558 and H.R. 1007) to combat anti-Semitism, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sen. Tommy Tuberville and other Republican officials object to the bill because it infringes on the right of far-right Christians to express that Jews are to blame for the death of Jesus? Excuse me, […]

Pentagon

The Real Evil Empire May Surprise You

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Forty years ago this month, I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. I would be part of America’s all-volunteer force (AVF) for 20 years, hitting my marks and retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2005. In my two decades of service, I met a lot of fine […]