Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al-Jazeera reports that the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the Arabian Sea port of Aden has declared independence. Aden is a little more populous than Philadelphia inside city limits, at about 1.7 million, which makes it about 5 percent of Yemen’s 28 million population. The STC maintains that the Riyadh […]
Archives for April 2020
Israel’s New Jim Crow Government is only United against the Palestinian-Israelis, 1/5 of the Population
( Middle East Monitor ) – Shortly after an agreement to form a “national emergency government” in Israel, leader of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) party, Benny Gantz, tweeted triumphantly that ‘democracy’ in Israel has been ‘safeguarded’. But how is a deal that would grant Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a veto power […]
Even German Conservatives, Corporations make Green New Deal, Climate “Top Priority” after Pandemic
By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Top politicians from Germany and more than 60 large companies have warned that the climate crisis must continue to be a top priority, even as the world economies grapple with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Ahead of this week’s digital Petersberg Climate Dialogue, […]
How the Corporate Food System Is Making the Coronavirus Crisis Worse
By Walden Bello | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – The global food system has been very much front and center in the COVID-19 story. Everyone, of course, is aware that hunger is closely tracking the virus as its wreaks havoc in both the global North and global South. Indeed, one can say that, […]
Netanyahu confident Trump will Let him Annex vast Swathes of Palestinian Territory
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he is confident that the Trump White House will sign off on his planned annexation of vast swathes of Palestine this summer. Netanyahu secured agreement on the illegal annexation, reminiscent of Mussolini’s annexation of Nice from France during World War II, from […]
Medieval Guilt by Association? Trump/ Miller denied Stimulus Checks to US Citizens whose Partners lack SSN
Ann Arbor (Special to Informed Comment) – According to the Chicago Sun-Times Trump is being sued for denying stimulus checks to U.S. citizens who file jointly with spouses lacking a social security number. Assuming the administration regards unregistered aliens as “illegal”, this would be tantamount to guilt by association for their spouses. Many legal immigrants […]
To Stop America’s downward Spiral into the Great GOP Depression, Save the States!
Southwest Harbor, Me. (Special to Informed Comment) – Congress recently juiced up its Paycheck Protection Program with another 310 million dollar authorization. Much of the discussion centered around what businesses qualified for this assistance and whether and when Congress might be asked to provide more. Too little attention focused on larger and more immediately pressing […]
The US is no Longer the World’s Science Leader: Trump Fiddled While South Korea, Germany, China Swung into Actions
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Historically, in hyper-crises, local and global systems can change fundamentally. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit first China and then the rest of the globe, the question of whether the American imperial era might be faltering was already on the table, amid that country’s endless wars and with the world’s most capricious […]
Trump’s Buddies in Saudi Arabia abolish Flogging, but Dissidents are Still Dying in its Jails and Journalists being Threatened
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Middle East Online reports that Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment. Henceforward, offenders will be fined or jailed instead. It had been one of some 29 countries that still apply corporal punishment. Most of these countries are formerly British colonies that have retained older British penal laws from […]