Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AFP quotes Trump as saying at a news conference and then on Twitter: “”We don’t want hostility, but if they are hostile to us, they’re going to regret it like they’ve never regretted anything before . . . If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed! . […]
Iran Covid-19 Deaths Rival US as Trump Blockade blocks Medical Supplies; and Europe Defies Washington
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Union has activated the Instex trading mechanism for the purpose of sending medicine and medical supplies to Iran to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Instex operates in Euros rather than dollars and avoids US banks, so that the US Treasury Department cannot claim jurisdiction over it. The Instex bank […]
Trump admits that Easy Voting would Defeat Republicans. That’s because they’ve made Their Base White and Evangelical
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Colin Kalmbacher at Law&Crime surveys reactions to Trump’s admission in an interview on Fox News that a mail-in ballot program that made it possible for the public to vote with ease and increased turnout would keep Republicans from ever being elected again. Voter suppression has not always been a purely […]
Trump bashed Immigrants, but Nearly 1/3 of US Doctors are Foreign-Born, on Pandemic Front Lines
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It turns out we need those foreigners after all, despite what Trump thinks. On Sunday British investigative journalist Iain Overton tweeted, The names of the first three doctors to die fighting COVID-19 in the UK Amged el-HawraniAdel el-TayarHabib Zaidi — Iain Overton (@iainoverton) March 29, 2020 The significance is that […]
Wind Power surges by 20 Percent! Why Gov’t Should Put Stimulus Money into it to Help Economy and the Earth
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Wind power is growing by leaps and bounds, with new installations up 20 percent in 2019. A whole 60 gigawatts was installed globally last year, mainly by China and the US. So writes Jim Timmer at Ars Technica. The good news is that 20 percent growth year on year is […]
No Mercy even in a Pandemic: Israeli Occupation Authorities Demolish Makeshift Field Hospital in Palestinian Hamlet
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Demonstrating that the technologies of settler colonialism never take a break, Israeli Occupation forces have demolished an emergency clinic set up by Palestinians in a small town inside the Palestinian West Bank, according to the Israeli peace organization, Btselem. It writes, “This morning, Thursday, 26 March 2020, at around 7:30 […]
The Novel Coronavirus has a Well-Known Left-Wing Bias
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The character played by comedian Stephen Colbert, back when he was parodying Fox “News” anchors, lamented that “Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” The fact is, the novel coronavirus has a well-known left-wing bias. Given the hoaxes perpetrated on the American people by the Right wing for the past few […]
The Contango Tango: SecState Pompeo Pressures Saudis to Raise Gasoline Prices, Harming US Consumers
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a phone call with Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Tuesday. So reports Sam Meredith at CNBC. Then the State Department issued a statement on Wednesday that said, “Secretary Pompeo and the Crown Prince focused on the need to maintain stability in global […]
5 Years into Saudi War on Yemen, 14 mn. in Acute Need, 1/2 of Hospitals closed, and Coronavirus Looms
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Five years ago, Saudi Arabia launched its ruinous war on Yemen. In 2020, the oil-rich kingdom has nothing to show for this albatross around its neck. The war was the brainchild of then defense minister Mohammed Bin Salman, who is now the crown prince. Yemen is a country of 28 […]