Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Middle East Online reports that Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment. Henceforward, offenders will be fined or jailed instead. It had been one of some 29 countries that still apply corporal punishment. Most of these countries are formerly British colonies that have retained older British penal laws from […]
Sneak Peak at Juan Cole’s Exciting new translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Bloomsbury is offering a Sneak peak at The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in Juan Cole’s new, “radically modern” translation. .@ibtauris is publishing @jricole's new, radically modern translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam on April 30th. Find a sneak peek here: https://t.co/ZyFDW6wcma and DM us if you'd like a review copy #Rubaiyat #translation #persian #literature […]
Israel’s Occupation Policies may Contribute to deaths of Many Elderly Palestinians, But Palestinian Youth are Poised to Flourish
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The age bias of the novel coronavirus has geopolitical implications. Although it is not true that it leaves children and youth alone, it is true that their symptomatic infection rate and mortality is tiny compared to that of the elderly. In Europe, WHO reports that up to half of coronavirus […]
Trump goes Peak Batshit Crazy, Urging UV Irradiation and Chlorine Injections, and Cable TV Greedily Broadcasts it
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jeff Zucker, the CEO of the Cable News Network, has a Harvard B.A. in American History and his father is a cardiologist, so he definitely knows better. So too does Steve Burke, the CEO of Comcast / NBC Universal. Suzanne Scott at Fox Fable News probably doesn’t know better, but […]
Trump failed to vanquish Coronavirus with Hot Air, now wants to “shoot down” tiny Iranian Skiffs
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The diarist and attorney James Boswell recorded that the writer Samuel Johnson remarked on the evening of April 7, 1775 that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” He wasn’t condemning a healthy love of country but the manipulation of public opinion for narrow sectional purposes. Johnson might observe […]
Amid Trump’s Immigration ban, Muslim-Americans step up on Covid-19 to donate Masks, PPE, to Hospitals and to help Unemployed, Homeless
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Muslim-Americans have stepped up to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus in ways that may not be apparent from watching cable television. They are disproportionately a first- and second-generation American community who have faced discrimination at Trump’s hands, and are among the targets of his two-month ban on […]
US Oil “Technically Worthless,” and Coal Plants Shuttered, as a Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Looms
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – May contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil went as low as -$37.63 on Monday. So report Jillian Ambrose and Martin Farrer at The Guardian. The price, well below zero, was a first for the US oil market, and showed the conviction of traders that the economy would not […]
Protesters slam ‘Crime Minister” Netanyahu’s Assault on Democracy in Israel, Praise Palestinian-Israeli Medics fighting Coronavirus
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some two thousand demonstrators gathered in formation in Rabin Square on Sunday in Tel Aviv for a “black flag” protest against the “destruction of democracy” by indicted prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. They carefully kept six feet apart and wore surgical masks imprinted with the slogan “Crime Minister.” So reports Omar […]
Is Covid-19 Killing the Coal Industry in Egypt and around the World? In the Meantime, Solar Shines
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Simon Nicholas at South Africa’s Business Live reports that the proposed huge new Hamrawein coal-fueled power plant in Egypt has been shelved. There are now no new coal plants planned in Egypt, which is pivoting toward renewables after years of mainly relying on fossil fuels. One cause for the demise […]
© 2025 All Rights Reserved