By Christopher Merchant, University of Reading | – A 13-month streak of record-breaking global warmth has ended. From June 2023 until June 2024, air and ocean surface water temperatures averaged a quarter of a degree Celsius higher than records set only a few years previously. Air temperatures in July 2024 were slightly cooler than the […]
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Archives for 2024
Ultra-Orthodox Threaten to Bolt Netanyahu’s Government over Prayer at the Temple Mount
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Times of Israel reported that a schism is brewing on the Israeli right wing. The Ultra-Orthodox object to Jews praying at the Temple Mount on the grounds that it is the holy site of the Second Temple and for Jews to pray there before the Messiah comes is impious […]
Sadism as a Tool of War in Gaza
By Samah Jabr | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Prisoners have recounted being paraded before the Israeli public in cages, being spat at and having bananas thrown at them. Human rights and recent press reports detail instances where soldiers inserted a mobile phone into a prisoner’s anus and then called it, laughing as […]
3 Years after the Taliban’s Return, Afghanistan is a broken country facing problems of Terrorism Again
By Amin Saikal, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – This week marks the third year since America’s retreat from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power. The United States had intervened in Afghanistan in response to the September 11 2001 terror attacks by al-Qaeda. The aim was to combat international terrorism and chart […]
Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine – Elastic Empire
Review of Lisa Bhungalia, “Elastic Empire: Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine” (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2023). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– The impact of US military aid on Palestine is there for everyone to see. For decades, Israel has been the largest recipient of US military aid. The list of military […]
How Rupert Murdoch helped create a Monster – the era of Trumpism – and then lost Control of it
By Rodney Tiffen, University of Sydney | – (The Conversation) – You can’t help but feel sorry for Rupert Murdoch. In Mary Shelley’s famous novel, Dr Frankenstein created a monster that took on a life of its own, and which he could no longer control. Murdoch has outdone Frankenstein and created two monsters over which […]
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s War on Rooftop Solar is a Bad Omen for the Country
( Tomdispatch.com ) – California Governor Gavin Newsom appears to be taking climate change seriously, at least when he’s in front of a microphone and flashing cameras. His talk then is direct and tough. He repeatedly points out that the planet is in danger and appears ready to act. He’s been called a “climate-change crusader” […]
Florida Universities ordered to Scrutinize Course Materials for Criticisms of Israel (“Antisemitism”)
By Jay Waagmeester | – ( Florida Phoenix ) – Florida university presidents have been instructed to scan their syllabi for material deemed antisemitic or exhibiting anti-Israeli bias following concerns raised by Rep. Randy Fine. Republican Fine, who is Jewish and has sponsored several laws advocating for Jewish Floridians, raised concern on X in late […]
Did Turkey Ban Instagram over Shadowbanning Palestine? Why did it Lift the Ban?
Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; feature) – On August 2, Turkey blocked Instagram, the country’s most popular social network. Although Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) did not officially state the reason for the ban, the move came after Fahrettin Altun, the Presidential Communications Director, criticized Instagram for preventing users from sharing content related […]