2022

US Media (Rightly) focuses on Ukrainian Rights, but it Racializes Muslims deprived of those Same Rights

(Special to Informed Comment) – Speaking about the significance of knowledge and its role in democracy, President John F. Kennedy once stated that only an “informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” One of the most important institutions that informs public […]

Human Rights

Ukraine: Russian Assault Kills Fleeing Civilians, suggesting Laws of War Violations (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – For several hours on March 6, 2022, Russian forces bombarded an intersection on a road that hundreds of civilians were using to flee the Russian army’s advance in northern Ukraine to Kyiv, Human Rights Watch said today. The repeated nature of the attacks, which according to the government killed […]

Climate Crisis

Our Ukraine Wake-Up Call: The Global Age is Upon Us

Karen J. Greenberg

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In recent days, experts have begun laying out the potential hardships the Russian invasion of Ukraine might inflict here in the United States, thousands and thousands of miles from the battle zone. As former White House national security official Richard Clarke bluntly put it, “Russia will bring the war to our […]

Featured

Western Sympathy for White Ukrainian Refugees, while ignoring, demonizing Palestinian Refugees from Israeli Aggression

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Raed Qadura writing at Al Jazeera points to the “Hypocrisy Crisis” in the international coverage of Russia in Ukraine versus the way Israel and Palestine are covered. When hundreds of Ukrainians in the city of Kherson hit the streets to protest Russia’s occupation, they are lionized as brave heroes. Article […]

Feminism

Combating Honor Killings among Kurds: Is a New kind of Education Needed?

Alex Poppe

(Special to Informed Comment) – Four women were victims of honor killings during the week of February 17, 2022 in Iraqi Kurdistan. The following week, a fifth woman died after being burned alive by her husband. Despite the launch of an app to combat violence against women, the establishment of a support hotline for gender-based […]

Feminism

International Women’s Day: Evolution and Challenges

Middle East Monitor

By Hatice Nur Keskin | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Proclaimed by the UN in 1975, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global event celebrated annually on 8 March. Although this was considered initially to be the legacy of a western movement, women’s rights were debated in other parts of the world long […]

Democracy

Economic sanctions may deal fatal blow to Russia’s already-weak domestic opposition

The Conversation

By Brian Grodsky, University of Maryland, Baltimore County | – The West has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by imposing harsh economic sanctions. Most consequentially, key Russian banks have been cut out of the SWIFT payments messaging system, making financial transactions much more difficult. The United States, European Union and others also moved to […]

Bashar al-Assad

America’s Allies Accept the Pain of Cutting off Russia, Except for Israel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reported on Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s three-hour meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. The meeting was advertised as a mediation attempt, but Israel is not in a position to mediate with Putin. Mediators to a conflict usually bring wealth or power to the […]

Authoritarianism

How Zelenskyy emerged as the antithesis of Putin and proved you don’t need to be a strongman to be a great leader

The Conversation

By Michael Blake, University of Washington | – Whatever happens in the coming weeks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will go down as the face of Ukrainian resilience during the Russian invasion of his country. His response to the Russian invasion of his country has been widely praised, both at home and abroad. His speech to the […]

Archives for 2022