Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Presidents have two major legacies, on domestic policy and on foreign policy. Big foreign policy mistakes can throw even gargantuan domestic wins into the shade. President Lyndon Baines Johnson reshaped the United States with his Great Society programs, and at least acquiesced in finally ending Jim Crow racial discrimination. Johnson’s […]
Over half of Turkey’s Electricity now comes from Renewables as it seeks to Escape Energy Dependence on Russia
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Turkiye is finally making strides toward a renewable grid. In the first half of 2024, according to the energy think tank Ember, over half (53%) of Turkiye’s electricity was generated by renewables. In the first two quarters of the previous year, 2023, that figure was only 44%. Moreover, the percentage […]
China and the Slowing Petroleum Market: EVs displaced 1.5 mn. Barrels per Day in 2024
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency signaled last week that the rate of increase in world petroleum demand fell in the second quarter of 2024 to an 18-month low. The increased demand was only 710,000 barrels a day. The world used 102.04 million barrels per day of petroleum as of May. That […]
New Labour Government in UK Unleashes Onshore Wind, with 61% of British Electricity now Low-Carbon
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The new Labour government in Britain last week took steps to remove the ban on onshore wind farms instituted by the Conservative government, which made it possible for such projects to be forestalled even by a single objection. Gavin McGuire at Reuters reported that for the first time this winter, […]
From “Hang Mike Pence,” to “Paul Pelosi Hammered” to “Shooting Trump” — Political Violence is Deadly to Democracy
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – American politics has entered the most dangerous phase of its nearly 250-year existence, with the assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump on July 13 in Pennsylvania. As of this writing, the gunman and one audience member are being reported dead, and two other audience members are in critical condition. One […]
Biden now falsely Claims Netanyahu has “accepted” Detailed Peace Plan, as Israeli Atrocities Continue
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – At his rally in Detroit on Friday afternoon, President Joe Biden at one point said, “That’s why I put together a detailed plan that the United Nations accepted that the Israelis accepted that the Palestinians have accepted to end this war. This war must end must end.” Biden probably would […]
Biden’s $270 mn Gaza Aid Pier to be Mothballed, but “Famine has spread across the Entire Gaza Strip”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Navy Times reports that the US aid pier at Gaza will be permanently decommissioned. The $270 million pier could not be reattached this week because of heavy seas. President Joe Biden announced the pier in his State of the Union address, pledging that “massive amounts” of humanitarian aid would […]
The Great Soccer Massacre: Israeli Air Force Kills 29 Refugees as it tries to get at one Militant
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Turkish news service TRT reports from wire services that an Israeli air strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in Khan Younis, where people had gathered to watch a soccer match, killed at least 29 persons on Wednesday evening. The weapon was an American-provided 250-pound bomb of the sort used […]
Israeli Campaign against Gaza may Kill 186,000 or More — 8% of Population: The Lancet
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Rasha Khatib, Martin McKee and Salim Yusuf, The Lancet calculate that 186,000 or more people may be killed* by the Israeli total war on Gaza, about 8% of the population. If you do not see this study reported on your cable “news” channel, you may conclude that the corporation that […]