Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Israeli-Occupied Palestinian Territories, reacted forcefully to the complete destruction by the Israeli military of Kamal Adwan Hospital at Beit Lahia in northern Gaza and the arrest and abuse of its patients and its director. She called for a world-wide medical boycott of […]
Archives for December 2024
Letters from Gaza: Praise God, We are not OK
( Middle East Monitor ) – Over the past 14 months, I have received hundreds of messages from family members throughout the Gaza Strip. The nature of the messages often conveyed a sense of urgency and panic but, at times, contentment in God’s will. Some of those who wrote these notes have been killed in […]
The American Oil Industry’s Playbook, Illustrated: How Drillers Offload Costly Cleanup Onto the Public
by Mark Olalde. ( ProPublica ) – In December 1990, officials in the federal agency tasked with regulating offshore oil and gas drilling received a memo with a dire warning: America faced a ticking time bomb of environmental liability from unplugged oil and gas wells, wrote the agency’s chief of staff. Those wells and their […]
Jimmy Carter’s Victory against the Guinea Worm, with only 7 Cases this Year Worldwide, down from Millions
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On the occasion of former President Jimmy Carter’s death, I am reprinting this column with some updates. The guinea worm may be the second major human disease after smallpox to be completely eradicated. It is a parasite that you get from drinking water with small fleas in it. The larvae […]
Syria’s De Facto Leader Wants To Maintain ‘Respectful’ Ties With Iran, Russia
( RFE/RL ) – New Syrian de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television channel that he wants relations with Iran and Russia, but he insisted any ties must be based on mutual “respect.” Russia and Iran were major allies of Syria under the regime of President Bashar al-Assad until the totalitarian […]
Climate Change is making Plants less Nutritious − that could already be hurting Animals that are Grazers
By Ellen Welti, Smithsonian Institution (The Conversation) -More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs. Now climate change is reducing the nutritional value of […]
2024 Word of the Year: Genocide (as in, Gaza)
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The word of the year was certainly “genocide.” It was alleged of Israel’s Gaza campaign by South Africa in a case brought before the International Court of Justice, and this charge was also lodged by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders, and the UN Special Committee to investigate […]
What is the Drug Captagon and how is it Linked to Syria’s Fallen Assad Regime?
By Nicole Lee, Curtin University (The Conversation) – After the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, large stockpiles of the illicit drug captagon have reportedly been uncovered. The stockpiles, found by Syrian rebels, are believed to be linked to al-Assad military headquarters, implicating the fallen regime in the drug’s manufacture and distribution. But as […]
The War on Gaza Crystalizes Israel’s Image
( Russia in Global Affairs ) – Modern Israel attracts much attention from analysts and the public but our ability to understand it is hindered by ideology, prejudice, and myth. Many tread carefully when discussing Israel lest they be accused of antisemitism. In an earlier article, I explained what distinguishes anti-Zionism from antisemitism. However, the […]
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