2023

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The California Energy Commission reports that in the second quarter of this year, 25% of new vehicle registrations in that state were zero emissions electric cars. Moving rapidly to electric vehicles makes the US more secure geopolitically, since oil states such as Saudi Arabia and Russia can no longer use […]

Climate Crisis

That time Ron DeSantis Rejected Federal Funds for Clean Energy and Cost Florida $350,000,000

Florida Phoenix

By: Mitch Perry – ( Florida Phoenix ) – Tampa Bay area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor remains livid that Gov. Ron DeSantis turned down $354 million for energy-efficient measures provided through federal legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden. Among the $511 million in projects that DeSantis vetoed at the end of June […]

Democratic Socialists of America

Progressives Unveil OLIGARCH Act to Combat ‘Existential Threat’ of Extreme Wealth Inequality

Common Dreams

By Jake Johnson | – ( Commondreams) – A group of progressive U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a wealth tax that would automatically rise during periods of surging inequality and fall once inequality moderates. The tax is at the heart of new legislation called the Oppose Limitless Inequality Growth and Reverse Community Harms (OLIGARCH) Act, […]

Archaeology

Dismantling the Myth that Ancient Slavery “Wasn’t that Bad”

The Conversation

By Chance Bonar, Tufts University | – As someone who researches slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially in the Bible, I often hear remarks like, “Slavery was totally different back then, right?” “Well, it couldn’t have been that bad.” “Couldn’t slaves buy their freedom?” Most people in the United States or Europe in the […]

Climate Crisis

Oceans Hit Hottest Average Temperature ever Recorded, endangering Ecosystems on which We Depend

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The world’s oceans hit an average temperature of 20.96°C (69.728°F ) this week, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. It is the highest average ocean temperature ever recorded, beating a previous record from 2016. So reports Rosie Frost at Euronews. Climate scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change […]

African-Americans

‘Knowledge of self’: How a key Phrase from Islam became a Pillar of Hip-Hop

The Conversation

By Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, University of Michigan | – (The Conversation) – I was 9 years old when Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” dropped. I have vivid memories of the bass-laden track booming out of car stereos and hearing it on Black radio, like Kiss FM’s top eight at 8 p.m. countdown. On […]

China

Green Jobs take off in China after Beijing’s Carbon Neutrality Pledge

China Dialogue

Jiang Mengnan ( China Dialogue ) – Around the world, tech and finance companies have been laying staff off. In 2022, tech firms’ payrolls fell by 164,000 employees, with a further 166,000 jobs cut in the first quarter of 2023, according to tracking platform Layoffs.fyi. In China, youth unemployment is also rising, hitting 20% this […]

Food Security

Russia’s Agricultural Warfare: Bomb and Blockade Strategy Imperils World’s Hungry

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Saudi Arabia is pissed off at Russia. It’s not as if the Gulf state has released any angry statements to the press. Rather, Riyadh has made clear its displeasure in an indirect way. It has offered to host a “peace summit” next week that Ukraine will organize. Brazil, […]

Featured

Israeli Extremists Shamefully propose “Puerto Rican” Model for Palestinians