By Francis Zwiers and Ronald Stewart | – Extreme weather and climate events causing extensive damage are a fact of the Canadian climate, and this year is no exception. On June 13, a mammoth hailstorm pounded Calgary with damage in excess of $1 billion dollars, the most expensive hailstorm in Canadian history. In early July, […]
Archives for September 2020
Fears Pandemic could Spur Dramatic Spike in Homelessness
By Jessica Myers (Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship): ( Cronkite News) – PHOENIX – For more than three decades, André House just west of downtown has provided food, showers, temporary housing and other services to Arizonans experiencing homelessness or poverty. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of families seeking such services has […]
With US AWOL, NATO Allies rattle sabers: Turkish Ruling Party says Greece is now a Rogue State
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Greece and Turkey have been having loud shouting matches this summer, with some pretty ominous language at times. The two are supposed to be NATO allies, but you couldn’t tell it from their bellicose rhetoric. A nationalist Turkish politician, Devlet Bahceli, is quoted as having said of said this past […]
There’s nothing left of the Republican Party but Trump’s Maniacal Cackle
( Otherwords.org ) – The Republican platform — and the Republican Party itself — has been reduced to one word: Trump. By Jim Hightower | September 2, 2020 With our national election looming, someone should put up “lost dog” signs in every neighborhood saying, “Missing: Republican Party Platform.” Voters won’t find one though, for this […]
Climate Emergency is Drowning Bangladesh; is Dhaka Finally Dumping Coal?
By Tom Baxter | – ( China Dialogue) – Bangladesh’s minister of power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, surprised energy watchers recently when he said the country is planning to “review” all but three of 29 planned coal plants. “We are keeping the three coal-fired power plants that are under construction. At present, we […]
US punishes International Criminal Court for investigating potential war crimes in Afghanistan
By Susan M. Akram | The Trump administration has sought to weaken or abandon various international agencies since 2016. Now it’s taking aim at the International Criminal Court, a global tribunal that investigates and prosecutes war crimes, torture and genocide. Claiming the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan poses a […]
China slams Trump Admin. as “Saboteur” on Iran Deal, “Making a Mockery of Int’l Law”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Iran nuclear deal was horse trading. Iran gave up 80 percent of its civilian nuclear enrichment program and was supposed to get in return the lifting of all sanctions. Instead, Trump maximized sanctions, in what is essentially a trade and financial blockade on the country. So it is like […]
Saudi Arabia must stop Executing Children: Human Rights Watch
By Bill Van Esveld | – ( Human Rights Watch) – On August 26, the Saudi Human Rights Commission announced the judiciary would review three death sentences in accordance with a recent decree to halt capital punishment for child offenders. Ali al-Nimr, Dawoud al-Marhoun, and Abdullah al-Zaher were sentenced to death for allegedly committing crimes […]
Palestinians in Gaza Face Covid-19 Alone and Isolated, in Israel’s Open-Air Prison
By Eman Abusidu | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Since Covid-19 first appeared, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have tackled the pandemic with typical determination. Without delay, they implemented a strict quarantine regime with mandatory 21-day isolation in government-run facilities adjacent to the border posts. This seems to have worked well until last […]