Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Les Echos reports that after a marathon 16-hour negotiating session, the 27 European Union countries agreed to issue five new laws aimed reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and at reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Frans Timmermans, the chief EU Climate official, noted that […]
Archives for June 2022
Sudan: Voices of Protesters Should Be Heard, Not Sidelined
By Mohamed Darish, resistance committee member | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – Sudan’s tenacious street protesters and other supporters of the social movement have continued to take to the streets and find ways to express their resistance to the country’s October 2021 military coup. They’ve faced the military’s organized repression, including the use […]
Palestinians ‘are not animals in a zoo’: On Kanafani and the need to redefine the role of the ‘victim intellectual’
Years before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, US media introduced many new characters, promoting them as ‘experts’ who helped ratchet up US propaganda, ultimately allowing the US government to secure enough popular support for the war. Though enthusiasm for war began dwindling in later years, the invasion of Iraq had begun with a […]
American gun culture is based on frontier mythology – but ignores how common gun restrictions were in the Old West
By Pierre M. Atlas, Indiana University | – In the wake of the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings, 70% of Republicans said it is more important to protect gun rights than to control gun violence, while 92% of Democrats and 54% of independents expressed the opposite view. Just weeks after those mass shootings, Republicans and […]
Great Car Fight Movie Scenes Reminiscent of Trump’s attack on Agent Bobby Engel on Jan. 6
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Cassidy Hutchinson testified on Tuesday that Trump grew violent in the presidential limousine, nicknamed the beast, toward a member of his Secret Service detail. Trump had orchestrated the attack on the Capitol by the Oath Keeper and Proud Boys white nationalist militias and had promised them he would lead them […]
Israeli Squatter-Settlers are Expanding Colonies in Palestinian West Bank in Advance of Biden’s Visit and another Election
By Adnan Abu Amer | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – As soon as it was announced that Israel is heading for yet another General Election, and the visit of US President Joe Biden to the region next month was confirmed, it was obvious that Israel’s illegal settlers are going to take advantage of […]
Why Going “Hard” Is Taking the Easy Way Out: Hardening Schools and Arming Teachers Is the Wrong Approach
( Tomdispatch.com ) – American schools are soft, you say? I know what you mean. I taught college for 15 years, so I’ve dealt with my share of still-teenagers fresh out of high school. Many of them inspired me, but some had clearly earned high marks too easily and needed remedial help in math, English, […]
Why the Supreme Court’s Football Decision is a Game-Changer on School Prayer
Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton | – The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently banned school-sponsored prayer in public schools. At the same time, lower courts have generally forbidden public school employees from openly praying in the workplace, even if no students are involved. Yet on June 27, 2022, the Supreme Court effectively gave individual […]
As US Electric Vehicle Sales Double in One Year, Biden calls for Lowering their Price to Defeat Oil Tyrant Putin
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden called last week for a vast expansion of green energy in the United States to offset what he calls the “Putin price hike” caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions. He pointed out that since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the assault on […]