Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday characterized the United Nations Security Council resolution 2728 demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict as “non-binding,” a phrase also used by US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The US was rebuked by China, according to Akmal Dawi at VOA: “‘Security […]
As Israel defies UNSC demand for Gaza Ceasefire, UN Human Rights Body slams ongoing “Genocide”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Security Council has finally passed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, from which the US abstained, so it was passed by the other 14 members. Although UNSC resolutions are binding, and countries like Iraq and Iran have been severely punished for disobeying them, the US is running interference for […]
The Middle East Ranks at the Bottom of Gallup’s Happiness Index, except for Rich Oil States; is the US to Blame?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual Gallup report on happiness by country came out this week. It is based on a three-year average of polling. What struck me in their report is how unhappy the Middle East is. The only Middle Eastern country in the top twenty is Kuwait (for the first time in […]
Is ISIL attack on Moscow Concert Blowback for Chechnya and Syria?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Friday an ISIL terrorist team killed dozens of people and wounded over 145 at the Crocus City Music Hall on the outskirts of Moscow. They later announced that they had committed the deed. The four attackers sprayed the crowd with machine gun fire and threw grenades, setting the facility […]
The Prospect of Mass Famine in Gaza is beginning to Change Minds in Washington
By Jonathan Este, The Conversation | – (The Conversation) – As the casualty count on the Gaza Strip approaches 32,000 people, in itself a terrible and distressing statistic, another number also stood out this week. It is reported that in the past week, more than 100 aid workers have been killed. Twenty-three on March 19 […]
Is Canada’s Decision to cut Arms Sales to Israel a Bellwether for NATO?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The vote in the Canadian parliament this week to halt new arms exports to Israel is of great symbolic importance in ways that may not be apparent on the surface. The measure called for no new arms and military technology transfers to Israel, for support for the International Court of […]
UN and EU slam Israel: Imposing on Palestinians ‘Levels of Food Insecurity never Recorded anywhere in the World’
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Union’s Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borell and the European Commissioner for Crisis management Janez Lenarčič, issued a statement on Monday on the findings of a UN-backed report that found that Israel’s total war on Gaza has put the remaining Palestinian population in imminent risk of starving […]
First US Offshore Wind Farm goes Live off Long Island in Omen of a Green Future, Cheaper Electricity
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – This past week, the United States joined the rest of the advanced industrial countries in the world in having at least one functioning large offshore wind farm. Governor Kathy Hochul and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, among others, flipped a large electrical switch to signal that all 12 of […]
S. Africa Will Arrest Dual Nationals Fighting in Gaza, Demands Halt to Starvation of Palestinians
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – South Africa’s Townpress reports that Naledi Pandor, the country’s foreign minister, pledged this week to arrest any South African/ Israeli dual citizen who fought in Gaza. She said at a pro-Palestinian gathering in Pretoria attended by a number of officials from the ruling African National Congress, “I have already issued […]
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