By Hugh Curran | – (Special to Informed Comment) – St.Patrick’s Purgatory at Lough Derg was first written about in the 11th century as one of the most rigorous pilgrimages in Europe. Our small family went there for a three-day retreat and given only bread and water while having to walk in bare feet throughout […]
Archives for March 2021
Yemenis face Famine of the Century and Mass Starvation unless President Biden pressures Saudis to Stop Port Blockade
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley said at a news conference this week covered by al-`Arabi al-Jadid (The New Arab) that five million out of 28 million Yemenis are in severe danger of starvation and 16 million are food-insecure. Food insecurity is a state of being […]
DHS’s Mayorkas brands “Crisis” language about Border as Trumpian, Says Challenge Doesn’t Require Cruel Family Separation
By Ryan Knappenberger | – ( Cronkite News) – WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden administration’s immigration policies Wednesday, but conceded the department faces “historic and unprecedented challenges” coping with a surge in migrants, particularly unaccompanied minors, in recent months. Mayorkas’ comments came in his first appearance as secretary before a […]
Syria needs Long-Term Housing for the Neediest, and the US needs to Stop Blocking it
By Hany Al Banna | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – March 15, 2021, will mark a grim milestone—the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the popular uprising that led to the civil war still engulfing Syria. As we all grapple with the deadly crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world’s […]
Climate Change is making Sea levels rise fastest in big cities – here’s why
By Sally Brown and Robert James Nicholls | – It is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. What is less well know is the threat of sinking land. And in many of the most populated coastal areas, the land is sinking even faster than the sea is rising. Parts of […]
A Green New Deal: Arkansas School District goes Solar, Gives Teachers $1000s in Bonuses with Savings
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Climate Wire reported last fall on a remarkable story about the way renewable energy not only saves the earth from the destructive climate emergency but can at the same time improve our lives and those of our children. Our hero is Michael Hester, who some years ago became the superintendent […]
Amid Global Pandemic, Recession, Israel still Keeps Palestinians of Gaza under Siege
By Maher Al-Tabba | – (Middle East Monitor ) – The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue to suffer from the Israeli-led blockade imposed since 2007. Add to this Israel’s military offensives and frequent incursions and it is easy to see why the economic crisis is acute. The destruction of the infrastructure has affected all […]
On January 6th, the U.S. Became a Foreign Country
By Kevin Tillman | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Just about everyone was shocked by what happened at the Capitol building on January 6th. But as a former soldier in America’s forever wars, horrifying as the scenes were, I also found what happened strangely familiar, almost inevitable. I thought that, if only we had taken our […]
Every day is war’ – a decade of slow suffering and destruction in Syria
By Ammar Azzouz | – Abduljalil sent me a photo of his ruined home in Homs, Syria. “It is the third floor”, he told me over WhatsApp. The building still stands but it looks like an empty skeleton. Most of its facade has been destroyed, while piles of debris surround it. Residents have not been […]