2023

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have put out a one-year progress report on Puerto Rico’s green energy transition and grid resilience. As a Caribbean island, Puerto Rico has suffered massive damage in this century from hurricanes, which are becoming more intense and […]

Far Right

Having brought in Disruptive Israeli Extremists, Can Netanyahu’s Government Survive?

Middle East Monitor

By Motasem A Dalloul | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Before it was formed, the new far-right Israeli government coalition has been plagued with disputes and disagreements, despite the fact that all of its members are from the right-wing parties and all of them, at least, share the same principles, although each Party […]

Antisemitism

Combating Antisemitism today: Holocaust Education in the era of Twitter and TikTok

The Conversation

By Alan Marcus, University of Connecticut | – (The Conversation) – In the era of social media, antisemitism and Holocaust denial are no longer hidden in the margins, spewed by fringe hate groups. From Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – and NBA player Kyrie Irving to members of Congress on both sides of […]

Gay rights

Who Will Speak Up for My Child, the Drag Queen? And the Non-Binary and Transgender Folks Among Us, Too

Tomdispatch

By Ira Chernus | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – What makes a good society? Is it a guaranteed right to pursue happiness, as our Declaration of Independence proclaimed? Perhaps, as Gandhi said, it’s providing the poorest and most vulnerable among us with the means to control their own lives. But what happens when it’s the […]

Featured

Turkey’s President Erdogan Says Swedish NATO Application out of Question after Qur’an burning in Stockholm

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Sweden can forget about membership in the 30-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Erdogan is demanding that Sweden cooperate with Turkey in repressing Kurdish activist expatriates in Sweden, all of whom he views as terrorists. He also says he is furious about the […]

censorship

Iran Charges 16, Including Several Teens, For Protests Amid Reports Of Forced Confessions

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Ardeshir Tayebi | – ( RFE/RL ) – Iran has charged 16 people, including several teenagers, in the northwestern Iranian city of Urmia for planning demonstrations and accusing them of espionage amid reports those detained gave confessions after being beaten. In November, 25 people were arrested for allegedly having connections with “spy organizations” and […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel’s New West Bank Entry Rules Further Isolate Occupied Palestinians (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Jerusalem) – New Israeli guidelines on access to the West Bank for foreigners threaten to further isolate Palestinians from loved ones and global civil society, Human Rights Watch said today. The guidelines, which came into force in October 2022 and were amended in December 2022, set out detailed procedures for West […]

Climate Crisis

As US-EU Trade Tensions Rise, Conflicting Carbon Tariffs could undermine Climate Efforts

The Conversation

By Noah Kaufman, Columbia University;Chris Bataille, Columbia University; Gautam Jain, Columbia University; and Sagatom Saha, Columbia University | – Rising trade tensions between the U.S. and the European Union, two of the most important global leaders when it comes to climate policy, could undermine key climate initiatives of both governments and make it harder for […]