By Kevin A. Young, UMass Amherst (The Conversation) – Donald Trump’s first term as president saw some of the largest mass protests seen in the U.S. in over 50 years, from the 2017 Women’s March to the 2020 protests after George Floyd’s murder. Things feel different this time around. Critics seem quieter. Some point to […]
Archives for March 2025
America, the Unhappy: Lonely, Suspicious, Gun-ridden, and Stingy, the US Ranks Low for Well-Being
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The 2025 “World Happiness Report,” produced by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, powered by Gallup analytics and in partnership with the UN, is out. The bad news is that Americans, despite all their wealth and power, only rank 25th in the world for self-reported happiness and […]
Unenforced ICC Arrest Warrants are just Part of the wider Israel impunity Framework
Unenforced ICC arrest warrants are just part of the wider Zionist impunity framework ( Middle East Monitor ) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be following up on his Hungarian counterpart Victor Orban’s invitation to visit his country, Israeli media have reported. This, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu, which signatories […]
Microplastics Hinder Plants’ Photosynthesis, threatening Massive Crop and Seafood Losses
By Jack Marley, The Conversation (The Conversation) – A graph I saw in high school appeared to show the Earth breathing. It was a graph that plotted carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st. CO₂ had risen steadily, and then more rapidly, but it hadn’t gone […]
CO2 in Atmosphere Higher than in 2 Million Years, with 2024 the Hottest Year Ever Recorded
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual report of the World Meteorological Organization concludes that in 2023, the latest year for which a complete analysis has been carried out, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere reached its highest level ever recorded —- about 420 parts per million (ppm). That’s 151% higher than […]
Middle Eastern Monarchies in Sudan’s War: what’s driving their Interests
By Federico Donelli, University of Trieste (The Conversation) – The civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023 involves several external actors. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in a quest for political and economic power. The situation has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. […]
Trump’s Shock and Awe: Move Fast and Break Things
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Yes, “shock and awe” is back in the second age of Donald Trump. His border czar, Tom Homan, used that very phrase to describe border policy from day one of the new administration and, whether the president has actually said it or not, it’s now regularly in headlines, op-eds, and so […]
“Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza:” Peter Beinart in Conversation with Juan Cole
Peter Beinart in conversation with Juan Cole on Beinart’s book, “Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning”; Program in Arab and Muslim American Studies, Department of American Culture, University of Michigan, March 10, 2025. Excerpt from auto-generated transcript (caveat emptor): Juan Cole: … I haven’t lost my interest in Middle Eastern spirituality, and […]
Israel’s war on Gaza is deliberately targeting Children – new UN Report
By Rachel Rosen, UCL and Mai Abu Moghli, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (The Conversation) – A fresh round of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza which has killed more than 400 Palestinians has destroyed any hope that the ceasefire negotiated in January would hold. A statement from the child rights group Defence for Children Palestine claimed […]