2024

By James Weber, University of Reading; and James A. King, University of Sheffield | – (The Conversation) – Tackling climate change by planting trees has an intuitive appeal. They absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere without using expensive technology. The suggestion that you can plant trees to offset your carbon emissions is […]

Displaced and Refugees

UN-Appointed Human Rights Experts Demand Halt of Arms Shipments to Israel for Violations of Laws of War

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – More than thirty independent experts appointed by the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations said Friday that arms exports to Israel must cease immediately, given Israeli violations of the international laws of war and the government’s announced intention to invade Rafah in south Gaza, […]

Hamas

Iran’s “Axis of Resistance:” Different Groups, Similar Goals

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/RL ) – Iran’s so-called axis of resistance is a loose network of proxies, Tehran-backed militant groups, and an allied state actor. The network is a key element of Tehran’s strategy of deterrence against perceived threats from the United States, regional rivals, and primarily Israel. Active in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, […]

Egypt

Microplastics found in Nile River Fish: Toxic Pollution threatens World’s Longest River

The Conversation

By Dalia Saad, University of the Witwatersrand | – The Nile is one of the world’s most famous rivers. It’s also Africa’s most important freshwater system. About 300 million people live in the 11 countries it flows through. Many rely on its waters for agriculture and fishing to make a living. The Nile’s two main […]

Featured

The Battle for the Soul of Judaism: Tribalism, Amalek and the Axial Age Universalism of Isaiah

Brian Victoria

Kyoto (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Viewers of Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with Vladimir Putin may have been surprised by Putin’s lengthy reference to the historical founding of Russia. What does that have to do with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine one might ask. Yet, as any student of history, let alone a diplomat, […]

Anti-Zionism

Eyeless in Gaza: Being Jewish and Being Heartbroken by the War

Tomdispatch

Introduction by Tom Engelhardt ( Tomdispatch.com ) – I grew up in the least-Jewish Jewish family around in the 1950s. We celebrated Christmas every year in a big-time fashion: tree, decorations, and all. And despite the desires of my dear grandmother, there would be no temple, no Sunday Hebrew school, no religion of any sort. […]

Displaced and Refugees

If Israel continues War on Gaza for 6 Months, death toll will Exceed 100,000 from Trauma and Disease: Public Health Study

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Crisis in Gaza: Scenario-Based Health Impact Projections, a joint report by the the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University, issued this week, warns that a further 85,750 Palestinians could die in the next six months from […]

Israel/ Palestine

Could the Int’l Court of Justice find that Israel’s 56-year Occupation of Palestine is the Crime of Apartheid?

Middle East Monitor

by Rabia Ali ( Middle East Monitor ) – Emotions ran high yesterday as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) started its hearing on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, with Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour moved to tears as he delivered his final remarks. Mansour spoke about a future where the children of Palestine would […]

Archives for 2024

Why Planting Forests alone is no Panacea for the Climate Crisis