Ann Arbor (Special to Informed Comment) – A year ago, last September Jennifer Rubin wrote in the Washington Post: “The wanton disregard for the lives of helpless citizens, for the fair application of the law and for our democracy is what we would expect in dictatorships around the world where might makes right.” She was […]
Archives for January 2022
Will China Dominate the Electric Car Market this Year? Why it May Not
By David Tyfield | – In the wake of surging electric vehicle (EV) sales in China, it might seem that the Chinese market has already won the “EV race” – meaning the race to secure global dominance of this new technology. But this judgement seems premature. Most commentary focuses on Chinese strengths in EV technology […]
Selling Out Democracy: Corporations are again Backing Pols who Tried to Overthrow President Biden
By Kyle Herrig | – ( Otherwords.org) – One year ago, the foundation of our democracy was jeopardized in a full-blown coup attempt by seditionists egged on by former president Donald Trump. People died. Confederate flags were waved inside the Capitol. People with zip ties and weapons were ready to do harm or even kill […]
Afghans face Harsh Winter, Hunger, lack of Health Clinics: How much of it is our Fault?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The ancient Greek philosopher Bion of Borysthenes said that boys throw stones at frogs in jest, but the frogs die in earnest. The United States government hasn’t placed sanctions on Afghanistan as a joke, but it certainly has done so in a blunt way, and Afghans are on the verge […]
France’s Eric Zemmour and the Strange Story of Fascist Minorities Promoting Hate of . . . Minorities
Belfast (Special to Informed Comment) – Before joining university in England, I knew that encountering racism was inevitable. What I did not know was that my first encounter was going to be with a dark-skinned teenager who was with his two white friends when he told me with his English accent “go back to your […]
Iran doesn’t even have a Nuclear Weapons Program: Why does the US keep passing it off as a Threat?
( Iran Daily) – The American foreign policy establishment is complex and has many layers. Foreign policy in the United States, as in other countries, is presumed to promote its national interests. However, the nature of the state-society relations in the United States allows for many different layers of forces and influences in shaping foreign […]
The Rise of the (Real) Murderbots and why we Need to Abolish Them before it is is too Late
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Here’s a scenario to consider: a military force has purchased a million cheap, disposable flying drones each the size of a deck of cards, each capable of carrying three grams of explosives — enough to kill a single person or, in a “shaped charge,” pierce a steel wall. They’ve been programmed […]
How New Mexico just became the Saudi Arabia of Wind, with Largest Green Facility in Western Hemisphere
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Pattern Energy Group has announced that its massive 377-turbine Western Spirit Wind facility in New Mexico, with a name plate capacity of over 1 gigawatt, has gone on line. It can provide electricity to 365,000 homes. Pattern also built a 155-mile 345 kV (Extra High Voltage) transmission line, which cost […]
Jan. 6 Coup attempt became Republican Road Map: Whether democracy survives is up to us
( Otherwords.org ) – The defeat of Donald Trump in 2020 was supposed to put an end to America’s delusional national politics. The quashing of the January 6 insurrection — and the brief, near-unanimous revulsion among members of Trump’s party for that violence — provided some hope that the fever dream had passed. But the […]