2020

The Southwest once had 4000-year-long Droughts; Could Human-Caused Climate Emergency bring them Back?

By Judy Fahys ( InsideClimate News/ Cronkite News Creative Commons. —— Bonus Video added by Informed Comment: The Enigmatic Montezuma Castle and Well in Arizona, USA | Ancient Architects

censorship

Exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar sentenced to 27.5 years in prison for Reporting on Ankara’s aid to Syrian Fundamentalist Rebels

Committee to Protect Journalists

( Committee to Protect Journalists) | – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned a Turkish court’s conviction and sentencing of exiled journalist Can Dündar. On December 23, the 14th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes announced that Dündar, who lives in Germany, had been sentenced to 18 years and nine months in prison for an espionage […]

Antisemitism

The term ‘Judeo-Christian’ has been misused for political ends – a new ‘Abrahamic’ identity offers an alternative

The Conversation

By Toby Greene | – Upcoming elections in the Netherlands and Germany in 2021 will test the strength of the radical right, which has a distinct vision of European identity. In contrast to those who view democratic values as essentially secular and universal, and not tied to specific cultural or religious roots, radical right parties […]

China

How incompetent Boob Trump took down America and launched the Chinese Century

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The twentieth century was dubbed “the American Century” in 1941 by Time magazine publisher Henry Luce. Luce hoped that Americans would abandon their isolationism and seek international allies, joining against the Axis in WW II. It was then more wishful thinking on his part than reality, but his wish arguably […]

Democratic Party

Biden won 306 to 232; Why 2/3s of Republicans don’t believe it

The Conversation

By David M. Mayer | – The electoral votes have confirmed Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election. The presidential electors gave Biden 306 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 232 votes. Biden also recorded a solid lead of over 7 million in the popular vote. Voters deeply divided over election process and […]

Donald Trump

US Government must Ensure Iranians Equitable Access to Covid-19 Vaccines

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch) – We, the undersigned human rights and humanitarian organizations, call on all stakeholders to ensure people in Iran have swift, unencumbered, and equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable Covid-19 vaccines. We particularly call on the government of the United States to provide assurances to financial institutions that they will not […]

China

With US AWOL on Climate Leadership, are EU Members like Holland Turning to China?

China Dialogue

By Charlotte Nijhuis | – ( China Dialogue ) – Both countries have their work cut out to reach emissions-reduction goals, but China is already learning from Dutch expertise in offshore wind. With half of its territory below sea level, the Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The country is a […]

Climate Crisis

Whodunnit?: Hundreds of Thousands of Birds fell out of the Sky in Southwest and now we Know Why

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 horror film, The Birds, our avian cousins abruptly and for no apparent reason turned hostile and began attacking humans. It is based on a story by Daphne du Maurier. I fear that in 2020, humans turned the tables on a vast scale. In August, masses […]

astronomy and outer space

The U.S. Needs COVID Relief and Renewable Energy, Not a Space Force

Conn M. Hallinan

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – When President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 21, he will be faced with some very expensive problems, from bailing out the COVID-19 economy to getting a handle on climate change. Vaccinating over 300 million people will not be cheap, and wrestling the U.S.’s hydrocarbon-based economy in the direction […]

Archives for 2020