Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On June 13, I analyzed the report of The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel for the UN’s Human Rights Council, which found Hamas guilty of war crimes and found the Israeli government and military guilty of crimes against humanity in Gaza. On […]
Climate Emergency strikes Islam’s Holy Ritual, with nearly 600 dead of Heat stroke at 124.24° F. in Mecca
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – As the temperature in Mecca reached 125.24° F. (51.8° C.) on Tuesday, word leaked out that nearly 600 pilgrims had died of heat stroke and 2,000 have been hospitalized for treatment. A virtual clinic treated more thousands remotely. Some 324 of the dead were Egyptians,, while dozens were from Jordan. […]
A Baby born in April 2023 has never Experienced a Month that wasn’t the Hottest on Record
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – When a baby born on April 1, 2023 reached 14 months and became a toddler this month, it had never lived through a month that wasn’t the hottest on record. The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Agency has announced that May 2024 was the hottest May on record. But even more […]
Israel, Defying UNSC Ceasefire Order, “Completely Dehumanizes” Palestinians (MSF), Shooting Fish in a Barrel
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports on the humanitarian situation in Gaza this week in the aftermath of the United Nations Security Council demand (14-0 with Russia abstaining) for a ceasefire in Gaza. It required Hamas and Israel to reply with a letter outlining their response. […]
How Netanyahu and Fascists in his Coalition shot down the Biden Peace Plan
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is attempting to peddle the line that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the Biden proposal for negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire, but that Hamas has rejected it. This position is simply dishonest, and forms part of a pattern whereby the Biden administration […]
Israel joins ISIL, Taliban, Sudan on UN Blacklist of Violators of Children, Killing or Maiming 20,000 last Year
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United Nations has added Israel to its blacklist of nations that commit harms against children. It joins Russia, DR Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar. Non-state actors in this category include ISIL, the Taliban, and the Lord’s Resistance Army. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have […]
UN Commission of Inquiry: Israel guilty of Crimes against Humanity, Hamas Guilty of War Crimes
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel issued a report on Wednesday in which it charged both Hamas and Israel with war crimes. The IICIOPTI made an extensive investigation into the October 7 massacre in Israel staged by the Hamas paramilitary and its […]
As Israel Rejects UN Ceasefire, 3,000 Palestinian Children in S. Gaza in Danger of Starving before their Parents’ Eyes
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The children of Gaza do not care. They do not care about US Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s posturing on the UN Security Council demand for an immediate ceasefire. They do not care that Hamas says it accepts the resolution. They do not care that Israel’s far right extremist government […]
How a Faster Move to Clean Energy will Save everyone Money on Power Bills
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last week, the International Energy Agency put out a new report that turns conventional wisdom regarding the clean energy transition on its head. It is cheaper for everyone to adopt solar, wind, batteries and other renewables as soon as possible than to go on depending on coal, fossil gas and […]