Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Early twentieth century humorist Will Rogers once remarked, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Nearly a century later, the observation is still true. The Democrats should have added a charge in the impeachment of Trump for the Stormy Daniels scandal. Trump paid […]
Israeli Blockade of Gaza Causing Contaminated Water, 25% of Illnesses and 12% of Infant Deaths
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Abeer Butmeh writes at Al Jazeera English that because of the Israeli blockade on Gaza, equipment for water purification has not been imported and 97% of the Strip’s water is now polluted. Gaza has a population of about 2 million, equivalent to that of the entire state of Nebraska. Only […]
In Wake of “Afghanistan Papers” Scandal, Trump to Yank Out 4,000 Troops
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – VOA reports that Trump will pull 4,000 US troops from Afghanistan, leaving less than 9,000 in country. Of the 13,000 US troops now in Afghanistan, 8,000 are training the Afghanistan National Army, while 5,000 are actively engaged in counter-terrorism operations. Last week Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that any […]
Fossil Fuels cause Climate Crisis and Wars: Turkey forces Israeli Ship to leave research on Cyprus Undersea Gas
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Daily Sabah is reporting that a couple of weeks ago the Turkish navy made an Israeli research vessel leave the territorial waters off Turkish Cyprus. The island has been divided politically into a Greek-speaking Cyprus and a Turkish province since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Since 2011 there have been […]
From Tory Landslide to Trump non-Impeachment: Can Filthy Rich Liars sink Democracy in Britain and the U.S.?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The danger to democracy posed by our new information system plus our new levels of wealth concentration cannot be overestimated. The degree of inequality both in the US and the UK is now virtually unprecedented, as is media consolidation. That is, fewer and much wealthier people own more and more […]
Top 5 Differences between Chill Trump and “Angry” Greta Thunberg
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump bullied environmentalist Greta Thunberg over her Time magazine cover on Thursday. In a tweet he called the award “ridiculous” and accused her of having “anger management issues,” advising her to “chill.”
Israel’s Racism Cripples its Democracy as it Heads for 3rd Election under Indicted Caretaker PM Netanyahu
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli parliament has voted to dissolve itself and go to new elections, as the attempts by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz to form a government failed. The Jewish-majority parties in Israel refused to allow the Joint List, largely representing Israelis of Palestinian heritage, into the […]
Sizzling Arctic: Top 5 Climate Horror Stories in NOAA’s Report Card
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – NOAA has issued its annual report on the Arctic. It is a big report, but there are some terrifying findings. Because this point is not always made in the journalism, it is important to underline why these monstrous things are happening. It is because you are driving your gasoline-fueled automobile […]
We didn’t Need the Documents: America’s Trillion $ Failure in the Afghanistan War has been Obvious All Along
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Craig Whitlock at the Washington Post brought out a blockbuster report Monday on the lies US government and military personnel have been telling the American people about the Afghanistan War since 2002. The Post also published 611 of the primary documents here. A lot of the reporting off Whitlock’s article […]