Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The 2025 “World Happiness Report,” produced by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, powered by Gallup analytics and in partnership with the UN, is out. The bad news is that Americans, despite all their wealth and power, only rank 25th in the world for self-reported happiness and […]
CO2 in Atmosphere Higher than in 2 Million Years, with 2024 the Hottest Year Ever Recorded
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual report of the World Meteorological Organization concludes that in 2023, the latest year for which a complete analysis has been carried out, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere reached its highest level ever recorded —- about 420 parts per million (ppm). That’s 151% higher than […]
“Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza:” Peter Beinart in Conversation with Juan Cole
Peter Beinart in conversation with Juan Cole on Beinart’s book, “Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning”; Program in Arab and Muslim American Studies, Department of American Culture, University of Michigan, March 10, 2025. Excerpt from auto-generated transcript (caveat emptor): Juan Cole: … I haven’t lost my interest in Middle Eastern spirituality, and […]
Israel’s Renewed Gaza Genocide on Black Tuesday: 420 Dead (175 Children) and 540 Wounded
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that Israeli airstrikes shattered the supposed ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday, dropping heaving munitions on inhabited apartment buildings and killing entire extended families who lived in them, with a death toll of at least 420, and over 500 wounded. Many bodies were still under […]
Trump’s Air War on Yemen Escalates as Civilian Population Suffers Food Insecurity, Cholera Epidemic
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration began bombing Yemen last weekend, when the US Air Force launched 47 air raids on at least seven provinces, killing some 53 persons. On Monday the air raids continued, hitting not only the capital, Sanaa, but also Saadeh in the north, the hometown of the movement of […]
European CO2 Emissions keep Plummeting, as 47% of Electricity is Green
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The 27 countries of the European Union, with a population of about 450 million, produce 3.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, helping heat up and destabilize the global climate. This is according to the new EU report on energy dated 2025. But the good news is that […]
Israel’s use of Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Humiliation, and Destruction of Women’s Healthcare in Gaza was Genocidal: UN
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – An independent UN commission has found that “Israel has increasingly employed sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians as part of a broader effort to undermine their right to self-determination and carried out genocidal acts through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities.” The commission […]
We are All Mahmoud Khalil
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The arrest of legal permanent U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil, 29, by Department of Homeland Security agents for thought crimes is a shot across the bow of the American Constitution. All Fascist governments despise free speech, and the Trumpist regime is no exception. Khalil is only a test case. The Trumpists […]
Israel Cuts Electricity for Water to Gaza, as Smotrich plans Expulsion of 5,000 Palestinian Civilians a Day for One Year
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Basil Maghribi at the Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen ordered late Sunday that all electricity deliveries from Israel to Gaza be halted immediately. Maghribi cautions that Israel does not deliver very much electricity to Gaza — most of it is generated by an […]
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