Juan Cole
banner
jricole.bsky.social
Juan Cole
@jricole.bsky.social

Historian, essayist: Middle East, South Asia, Islam, Social History, Foreign Policy, Environment, Culture, Progressive Politics;
Signal: Juan Cole

John Ricardo Irfan "Juan" Cole is an American academic and commentator on the modern Middle East and South Asia. He is Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Since 2002, he has written a weblog, Informed Comment (juancole.com). .. more

Political science 68%
Sociology 17%

Conflict in Mecca: The Prophet Muhammad and Soft Power
Conflict in Mecca: The Prophet Muhammad and Soft Power
I believe that the earliest source we have for the life of the Prophet is the Quran itself. And I believe the Quran is early.
dlvr.it

“Into this Universe:” Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29
“Into this Universe:” Heidegger and FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:29
He brought me first into being, to my alarm./ This life increased nothing but my bewilderment
dlvr.it

“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi
“Identity is never fixed:” Interview with Iranian-American Artist Soraya Sharghi
Sharghi unveiled a luminous universe where mythology, memory, and material intertwine
dlvr.it

Reposted by Juan Cole

““The political appointees ..determined the outcome almost before the investigation had even started,” said Swedish, referring to Trump administration officials who declared publicly that punishing colleges for antisemitism would be a priority. She resigned in May.”

www.latimes.com/california/s...
Times Investigation: Ex-Trump DOJ lawyers say 'fraudulent' UC antisemitism probes led them to quit
The Times spoke to nine former Department of Justice civil rights attorneys tasked with investigating antisemitism complaints at the University of California. They all resigned during their invetigati...
www.latimes.com
Today, I spoke with Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife, Jennifer. In April, when I met with him in El Salvador, Trump said he would never set foot in the U.S. again.

This case has never been about one man alone; if the govt can violate the constitutional rights of one, all our rights are threatened.

Reposted by Juan Cole

trying to distract the classifier with pictures of the golden gate bridge because of some half-remembered thing i read about language models once
Michael C. Rockefeller got shipwrecked in 1963, washed up on an island, and was promptly eaten by cannibals.

Reposted by Juan Cole

UN resolution falls short on peace for #Palestine: "...Since the truce came into force, at least 340 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been killed, which can hardly suggest that #Gaza is more secure"

READ: maghrebi.org?sdm_process_...

Reposted by Juan Cole

🔴 “Today, I’m sending my seventh letter to the Secretary of State. There’s no evidence of a report or any written proof of an investigation from the IDF, and there’s no evidence that the IDF interviewed the shooters involved in the attack.“

— Sen. Peter Welch (X: @SenPeterWelch) said Thursday...

Reposted by Juan Cole

This is basically EVERY university in the Anglophone world.
They claim financial exigency, but then turn down $4 million pledges to keep the PhD programs open and disregard financial analyses that point to the real problem—bad real estate deals, spending on consultants, and their own salaries 2/2
The goal of the Trump administration is an ethnic cleansing that is actively being enacted, and that promises to destroy the diversity & freedoms that were ever the strength of this imperfect nation.

My latest in @theguardian.com.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The ethnic cleansing of the US will destroy it | Heba Gowayed
Trump’s racist remarks on Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants reveals his vision for the US as a white Christian nation
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Juan Cole

Thanks for this. Always good to be reminded about other places around the world where massive changes are happening.

cc @yastreblyansky.bsky.social

Rumi and Shakespeare: On Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rumi and Shakespeare: On Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273) has sometimes been called “the Shakespeare of the East.” The comparison is just
dlvr.it

One Year After Assad’s Fall: Iran’s Strategic Collapse In Syria
One Year After Assad’s Fall: Iran’s Strategic Collapse In Syria
Iran grapples with the collapse of its key regional ally. Tehran lost up to 50 billion dollars invested over a decade,
dlvr.it

The Transatlantic Rift over Gaza’s Future
The Transatlantic Rift over Gaza’s Future
The cleavage threatens the post-conflict architecture, compromise the humanitarian response, and cast a shadow over Western coherence
dlvr.it

Youssef Nabil , "I saved my Belly-Dancer XXIV," 2015, LACMA @lacma http://dlvr.it/TPnZhg

Reposted by Juan Cole

Being held because of religious beliefs or non-beliefs is something we must fight. FREEDOM OF RELIGION is our core with the caveat of as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.
‘They attacked my religion, my faith’: Muslim photojournalist detained by ICE speaks out
Ya’akub Vijandre, held in ICE detention in Georgia, tells Guardian he is concerned for safety of family and friends
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Juan Cole

California, other states sue Trump administration over $100,000 fee for H-1B visas
California, other states sue Trump administration over $100,000 fee for H-1B visas
Multiple states argue the $100,000 fee for each new skilled worker visa for foreign employees working in the U.S. threatens critical education and healthcare services.
www.latimes.com

Reposted by Juan Cole

Meta's algorithmic suppression of Palestinian voices, and how it stoked activist tactics towards survivability and visibility
Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Abrego Garcia Case
Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling temporarily freed Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody. It also savagely indicted Trump’s lawless handling of this whole affair from start to finish.
newrepublic.com
A tiny trial in New York has shown that personalized mRNA vaccines can provoke massive, lasting immune responses against pancreatic cancer, even as sweeping federal cuts now threaten the fragile labs required to produce them.
theintellectualistofficial.substack.com/p/a-breakthr...

Europe agrees to cut emissions 90% by 2040 flip.it/fLGaza
Europe agrees to cut emissions 90% by 2040
The amendment to the EU Climate law also includes guidance on removal credits.
flip.it

Mars Has a Surprising Influence on Earth's Climate, Scientists Discover flip.it/lOepNL
Mars Has a Surprising Influence on Earth's Climate, Scientists Discover
Earth's climate has swung between ice ages and warmer periods for millions of years, driven by subtle changes in our planet's orbit and axial tilt.
flip.it

Winter storm rips through Gaza, exposing failure to deliver enough aid to territory flip.it/xhnP6q
Winter storm rips through Gaza, exposing failure to deliver enough aid to territory
Rains drenched Gaza’s tent camps and dropping temperatures chilled Palestinians huddling inside them Thursday as winter storm Byron descended on the war-battered territory, showing how two months of a...
flip.it

Amnesty says Hamas attacks and Gaza hostage treatment amount to crimes against humanity flip.it/iA3Y9l
Amnesty says Hamas attacks and Gaza hostage treatment amount to crimes against humanity
Crimes ​against humanity included murder, extermination, imprisonment, ⁠torture and rape. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
flip.it

Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo returns trophy to protest Israel’s participation flip.it/Zn6p-x
Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo returns trophy to protest Israel’s participation
Swiss Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo announced Thursday they are returning their trophy in protest over Israel’s continued participation in next year’s contest amid the Gaza war. The singer said the deci...
flip.it

Venezuela Accuses Trump Administration of ‘Piracy’ After Oil Tanker Seizure flip.it/2vz6MR
Venezuela Accuses Trump Administration of ‘Piracy’
In the latest escalation, the U.S. military seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast that was allegedly carrying sanctioned oil.
flip.it

US Christmas shoppers are paying a high price for Trump’s tariffs flip.it/QC7d_e
Outside In | It’s an expensive Christmas for Americans thanks to Trump’s tariffs
It’s been years since the US president extolled the virtues of trade wars: how much longer before he recognises tariffs harm the US economy?
flip.it