Asia

Taliban ‘has not changed,’ say women facing subjugation in areas of Afghanistan under its extremist rule

By Homa Hoodfar and Mona Tajali | – The Taliban insurgents continue their deadly war to seize control of Afghanistan after the departure of United States and NATO forces. As they close in on major cities that were once government strongholds, like Badakhshan and Kandahar, many Afghans – and the world – fear a total […]

Featured

Under Pressure from Biden, Japan pledges to double target for Renewables in energy mix by 2030, to 38%, and to Slash Emissions

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The importance of having a U.S. leader like Joe Biden, who has come to believe in the necessity of drastically cutting the emission of greenhouse gases, was demonstrated Wednesday when Japan announced that it was doubling its proposed cuts to carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. This according to Reuters. Japan […]

China

German carmakers likely to overtake Chinese rivals in e-car production, with US Lagging Behind

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – German carmakers look set to overtake Chinese companies in the production of e-cars next year, according to an analysis by conducted McKinsey. “In terms of production, Chinese and German manufacturers are expected to be on a par this year, with around 1.6 million e-cars […]

Afghanistan

Who Authorized America’s Wars? And Why They Never End

Tomdispatch

By Andrea Mazzarino | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Sometimes, as I consider America’s never-ending wars of this century, I can’t help thinking of those lyrics from the Edwin Starr song, “(War, huh) Yeah! (What is it good for?) Absolutely nothing!” I mean, remind me, what good have those disastrous, failed, still largely ongoing conflicts done […]

Afghanistan

China Cautiously Eyes New Regional Leadership Role As Afghanistan Fighting Intensifies

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Reid Standish | – ( RFE/RL ) – As the security situation in Afghanistan worsens, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has begun a high-profile tour of Central Asia that analysts say is an effort by Beijing to boost its interests in the region. The weeklong visit to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan comes as the […]

China

On the Brink in 2026: U.S.-China Near-War Status Report

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – It’s the summer of 2026, five years after the Biden administration identified the People’s Republic of China as the principal threat to U.S. security and Congress passed a raft of laws mandating a society-wide mobilization to ensure permanent U.S. domination of the Asia-Pacific region. Although major armed conflict between the United […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: two decades of Nato help leaves a failed and fractured state on the brink of civil war

The Conversation

By Natasha Lindstaedt | – ( The Conversation )- Afghanistan is falling apart. With US and Nato troops leaving the country earlier than planned, experts are warning that the Taliban could take control of the country within six months. Currently the insurgents control the strategically important province of Helmand, and control or contest territory nearly […]

Donald Trump

As CPAC Tinfoil Hat Crowd Decries Vaccines, Delta Variant ‘Velociraptor’ Menaces US Red States with India-Style Wave

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-II is to the original vanilla COVID-19 strain as velociraptors were to gentle plant-eating sauropods. And it is coming for America. What is worse, the Republican Party and its media arms such as Fox, Newsmax and OAN, are playing the wicked witch to GOP voters’ Hansel […]

China

Shanghai leads way in China’s carbon transition, but Does not have Much Time to Act

China Dialogue

By Shi Yi | – ( China Dialogue ) – Many Chinese cities and provinces are working on plans to hit peak carbon before 2030. Shanghai, China’s most developed city, is set to lead the way. Somewhere on the eastern side of Shanghai’s Chongming Island, 300,000 solar panels lie over rows and rows of aquaculture […]