Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Wednesday, Al-Quds al-`Arabi reports two rockets were fired at `Ayn al-Asad base in al-Anbar Province, Iraq, where US troops are stationed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin both put pressure on Iraqi prime minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani. Al-Sudani reaffirmed his determination to […]
Archives for October 2023
Is the One-Sided US Response to the Gaza Crisis a Sign of our Civilizational Decline?
We are all witnessing horrors and carnage going on in the tiny landmass called Gaza – a land squeezed between Egypt and Israel where 2.3 million people were living before the beginning of the butchery. As horrific as Hamas’s attack of October 7 on Israel was, nothing justifies the demolition of civilian city quarters from […]
Republican Contradictions: Are they Fascists or Nihilists — or Both?
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Sometimes the right wing in this country seems like a riddle wrapped in an enigma encased in a conundrum. Do they want to strengthen the government in line with the once-fringe doctrine of the “unitary executive,” concentrating most official power in the hands of a president who would then rule more […]
A Divided European Union can’t Even Agree on need for Ceasefire in Israeli Campaign against Gaza
Munich (Special to Informed Comment) – The European Union’s initial response to the current Israel-Hamas war has been chaotic. Shortly after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel – which left at least 1,400 Israelis dead – Olivér Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, announced the suspension of “all payments” by the European Commission […]
Gaza and the Deepening Crisis of Western Democracy
Cairo (Special to Informed Comment) – Western democracy is under strain, and we have been observing the symptoms of its decline for some time now. These symptoms include the rise of far-right extremism, increasing rate of xenophobia, a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, and its questionable efficacy in handling crises. In addition to […]
In War Crime, Israel is Still Blocking Water, Electricity to Gaza’s Palestinian Civilians
Sari Bashi Program Director @saribashi ( Human Rights Watch ) – The Israeli government is deliberately deepening the suffering of civilians in Gaza by refusing to restore the flow of water and electricity and blocking fuel shipments. Willfully impeding relief supplies is a war crime, as is collectively punishing civilians for the actions […]
Palestine Forgotten
Berkeley, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – During the last decade, Israel had come close to achieving what for many of its citizens had been a longstanding aspiration: the ability to forget the Palestinians. Thus, during the massive protests of recent months against the juridical reforms proposed by the Netanyahu administration, and against the […]
“Killers of the Flower Moon” puts Oklahoma’s Dark History of Native Osage Murders on Display
By: Carmen Forman ( Florida Phoenix) – OKLAHOMA CITY — Although many Oklahomans were long ignorant about how white settlers systematically murdered members of the Osage Nation for their oil wealth in the 1920s, “Killers of the Flower Moon” will mark a milestone in how the state addresses its complex and painful history. The Friday […]
Hamas, Islamic Jihad: Holding Hostages is a War Crime
Free Civilians Held in Gaza; Treat All Humanely; Don’t Use as Human Shields