By John Sifton | Asia Advocacy Director | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – The Biden administration has decided to recommend directing $3.5 billion of Afghanistan’s $7 billion in foreign currency reserves in the United States to a trust fund for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, while agreeing to release another $3.5 billion to families […]
Archives for February 2022
US Sanctions on Afghanistan are Complicit in Mass Hunger, even as Biden withholds $3.5 bn in Afghan Money
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kevin Liptak and Natasha Bertrand report at CNN that the Biden administration has decided to split the $7 billion in Afghanistan government money held in the US and confiscated last August when the Taliban took over the country. $3.5 billion will be released for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan itself, while […]
If the US Gov’t Can Swing into Action on Covid, why Can’t it provide us Universal Health Care?
( Othwerwords.org ) – There has been a Jekyll and Hyde quality to American health care over the past two years. One the one hand, the federal government has been actively intervening to help people avoid COVID-19 or recover from it. On the other, it’s standing by as Americans struggle with other ailments, exposing the […]
Bet on institution building, not Manchin
By Katey Lauer | – This story was first published by The Forge. (Waging Nonviolence ) – Last year, I wrote an article in The Forge making the case for leaving Joe Manchin be. The argument went like this: Joe Manchin got elected by amassing a war chest of corporate money and influence. Because of […]
What responsibility do Western troops fighting ISIL have for the Children that Terrorists use as Human Shields?
By Beth Morrison and Shannon Zimmerman | – Islamic State recently staged their most sophisticated attack since 2019 – a prison break to release former IS fighters in an effort to refill their ranks once again. According to Save the Children, hundreds of boys and teenagers were allegedly used as human shields during the fighting. […]
From War on Terror to War on Climate Change: US Army to seek Green Electricity by 2030
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US military has been worried deeply for over a decade about the impact of the climate emergency on its bases and operational readiness. The Department of the Army has just released its first Climate Strategy for dealing with what Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calls an “existential crisis.” The […]
The Terrifying World of 2025: The Coming MAGA Cultural Revolution?
( Tomdispatch.com ) – I’ve just wrapped up my shift at BurgerBoy and I don’t have much time before the weekly self-criticism session at town hall. This hour with my diary is precious, especially when I have to make a big decision. Writing used to be my job, but it’s so much more difficult after […]
US Gov’t depends on Amnesty Int’l for Human Rights Reports, but Rejects Finding of Israeli Apartheid
( Otherwords.org ) – One day last spring, Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank declared a general strike to protest years of repression they faced under Israeli rule. The nonviolent strike came as Israel attempted to evict seven Palestinian families from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem, part of a longstanding effort to […]
The Rich produce the most Heat-Trapping CO2, but Heat Waves hit the Poorest Hardest
By Mojtaba Sadegh, John Abatzoglou, and Mohammad Reza Alizadeh | – Spend time in a developing country during a heat wave and it quickly becomes clear why poorer nations face some of the greatest risks from climate change. Most homes don’t have air conditioning, and even health clinics can get overheated. These countries tend to […]
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