Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Incredible new developments in electric vehicles are taking place in China with global implications. China’s BYD sold $100 billion worth of its electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024, outstripping Tesla, the sales of which were $97 billion. Since CEO Elon Musk has ruined the Tesla brand by attacking Americans’ social security, […]
Archives for March 2025
Iraq’s Climate Crisis is a Human Rights Crisis
Sarah Sanbar Iraq Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division ( Human Rights Watch ) – By any metric, Iraq’s environment is under severe pressure. Lakes, rivers, and marshlands are shrinking, and in some cases entirely disappearing. Sandstorms are increasing in frequency and severity, resulting in hospitalizations and the grounding of flights. Decades of conflict-related […]
Making America White Again: The Deafening Silence of Trump’s Black Supporters
( Tomdispatch.com ) – During the 2024 election campaign, candidate Donald Trump’s most controversial rally occurred at New York’s Madison Square Garden. A comedian on the program referred to the island of Puerto Rico — and by implication Puerto Ricans — as garbage. He and the Trump campaign were rightfully pilloried and called out for […]
Syria after Assad: Why many Syrian Refugees aren’t returning Home
By Charlotte Al-Khalili, University of Sussex and Melissa Gatter, University of Sussex (The Conversation) – When news of Bashar al-Assad’s downfall broke on December 8 2024, 13 years after the beginning of the Syrian uprising, Syrians around the world rejoiced. We rejoiced along with them, having spent the last decade in conversation with Syrians displaced […]
Doublethink and the Struggle for Survival in the Gaza Genocide
( Middle East Monitor ) – In a genocidal war that has spiralled into a struggle for political survival, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and the global powers supporting him continue to sacrifice Palestinian lives for political gain. The sordid career of Israel’s extreme far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, epitomises this tragic reality. […]
Shamash! “Night Flight”
Panel #40 Previous panels : >
Top Seven Things People Get Wrong About the Ukraine-Russia War
As the Russo-Ukraine war drags into its third year, peace talks are finally underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All parties to the conflict are busy trying to control the narrative. While we do not exonerate Russia from its very bad behavior, others have behaved badly as well. Let us briefly describe some of the major […]
Signalgate shows Trump bombing of Yemen just for Show, Ignores Dead Yemeni Children
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The high-level Trump administration Signal message thread on bombing Yemen on which someone on the staff of National Security Adviser Michael Waltz included The Atlantic‘s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg is what is impolitely called in the military a SNAFU (Situation Normal All F*cked Up). Yes, it is a security breach of […]
Middle East Studies Assn, AAUP, and Knight Inst. file Lawsuit over Trump Arrests and Deportation for lawful Speech
Middle East Studies Association | – Policy has created “climate of fear and repression” on campuses around the country, groups say FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2025 CONTACT: Adriana Lamirande, adriana.lamirande@knightcolumbia.org; AAUP, Kelly Benjamin, kbenjamin@aaup.org BOSTON—The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) today filed a lawsuit seeking to […]