2023

( Counterpunch ) – Controversy about Charles Austin Beard began in 1913 when he published An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. He turned thirty-nine that year. Until then, his books had appeared to widespread praise within the profession and to the benign neglect of the general reading public. A highly successful […]

Arms Sales

Merger Mania in the Military-Industrial Complex: Tackling Pentagon Waste Means Battling the Big Weapons Makers and Asking More of Congress

Tomdispatch

By Julia Gledhill and William D. Hartung | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – It’s early in the new Congress, but lawmakers are already hotly debating spending and debt levels. As they do so, they risk losing track of an important issue hiding in plain sight: massive Pentagon waste. At least in theory, combating such excess […]

Batteries

Ford Announces $3.5 Billion Next-Generation Battery Plant for its Electric Vehicles in Michigan, “to lead the EV Revolution”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ford Motor Co.’s CEO, Jim Farley, tweeted on Monday, “Today @Ford is announcing a $3.5B investment to build the first automaker-backed LFP battery plant in the U.S. bringing 2,500 jobs to Michigan. Good for America and our customers! All part of our $50B+ plan to innovate & lead the EV […]

Climate Crisis

Big Oil’s trade group allies outspent Clean Energy Groups by a Whopping 27x, with Billions in Ads and Lobbying to keep Fossil Fuels Flowing

The Conversation

By Christian Downie, Australian National University and Robert Brulle, Brown University | – (The Conversation) – You’ve probably seen ads promoting gas and oil companies as the solutions to climate change. They’re meant to be inspiring and hopeful, with scenes of a green, clean future. But shiny ads are not all these companies do to […]

Israel/ Palestine

In ‘War on Palestinians,’ Israel ‘legalises’ Colonial Squatter Outposts in Palestine, causing further Irritation in Washington

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitors ) – Israel has “legalised” nine colonial outposts in the occupied West Bank, turning them into official settlements. The decision, which is said to be the first legalisation of such outposts by the Israeli government since 2012, has caused further irritation in Washington. According to Axios, in addition to the legalisation […]

Israel/ Palestine

European Union insists on Rules-Based Int’l order in Ukraine, but Commission Runs Interference for Israeli Crimes in Palestine

Human Rights Watch

Published in: EU Observer Claudio Francavilla Senior EU Advocate @ClaFrancavilla @ClaFrancavilla ( Human Rights Watch ) – The recent spike in deadly attacks and repression in the occupied West Bank should surprise no one. Last year, Israeli forces killed more Palestinians in the West Bank than in any other year since […]

Climate Crisis

Is Turkey’s Prosecution of Shady Builders after 12,141 Structures Collapse in Earthquake a Model for going after Big Oil for Climate Disasters?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Turkish government has issued 100 arrest warrants for building contractors suspected of erecting structures that did not meet building code standards in the 10 provinces most affected by last week’s massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which has left at least 32,000 dead and perhaps twice that. Some of the contractors […]

Authoritarianism

‘They Deserved To Die’: Iranian Doctors Who Treated Wounded Protesters ‘Arrested, Tortured’

Golnaz Esfandiari

The authorities have killed hundreds of protesters and arrested thousands of people since the demonstrations erupted in September. ( RFE/RL ) – In late November, three Iranian doctors traveled to the country’s western Kurdistan region, the epicenter of ongoing antiestablishment protests, to help treat wounded demonstrators. But within days of their arrival, […]

astronomy and outer space

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria: how Satellites can help rescue Efforts