Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Hamas leaders have said they were driven to their attack on Israel this weekend by two major considerations, the danger posed by right wing religious Zionism to the al-Aqsa mosque complex, the third holiest shrine for 1.8 billion Muslims, and a wave of Israeli squatter attacks on Palestinian hamlets in […]
Tribalism versus International Law in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!” Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?” William Roper: “Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!” Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was […]
New Gaza Conflict shows that “Abraham Accords” can’t bring Peace as Long as Israelis keep Palestinians Occupied and Stateless
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The conflict that broke out on October 7, 2023, between Palestinian militants and Israel underlined once again that the status quo, with Israel occupying 5 million stateless Palestinians, is unsustainable. In the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign, Republican standard-bearer Mitt Romney was recorded giving a fundraising speech in which […]
US celebrates Nobel for Iran’s Narges Mohammadi, but We have Executions, Torture and Prisoner Abuse Too
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize this year to Iranian feminist and human rights worker Narges Mohammadi, 51. It was the second time that an Iranian woman had won, the first having been attorney Shirin Ebadi in 2003. Mohammadi, although trained as a physicist, worked as a journalist […]
In Historic Announcement, Biden Bans Anti-Muslim, Anti-Jewish Discrimination under Title VI for Federal Agencies
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is a truism that there are some ethnic groups in the United States toward whom it is still permitted to show bigotry. Whereas public figures can be cancelled for racism against African Americans, Hispanics, and other groups, ragging on Muslim Americans is a blood sport in American politics. Trump […]
Extremist Minister Ben-Gvir opposes Jailing Ultra-Orthodox who spit on Christians in Jerusalem, as Pope Francis Fumes
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli journalist Nir Hasson at Haaretz put a spotlight on the disturbing practice of some Ultra-Orthodox Israelis of eastern European heritage of spitting on Christians in Jerusalem. The incident concerned what appeared to be Filipino pilgrims carrying a cross, but the people who suffer most from such forms of aggression […]
Frankenstein’s Monster of a Climate Emergency: Dangerous Global September Heat Spike
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The data from scientific institutions around the world is pouring in here in the beginning of October, regarding September, 2023, and the consensus is that it was freakishly hot, unprecedentedly torrid, off-the-charts sweltering. It was the Frankenstein’s monster of months. Much of the extra heat came from human-caused climate change, […]
Arizona Dems Finally end GOP Sweetheart Deal for Saudis to exploit Arizona Water to Feed the Kingdom’s Cattle
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Arizona state government of Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes are terminating the license of a Saudi company, Fondomonte, owned by Almirai, which had essentially given the company carte blanche to pump scarce Arizona water to grow alfalfa, which it then exported to Saudi Arabia […]
Devastating Earthquake showed Resiliency of Morocco’s Solar and Wind Farms, as it Meets its Paris Commitments
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – One advantage of solar and wind as renewable sources of energy is that they appear to be especially resilient in the face of natural disasters. A paradox of the battle against human-caused climate change is that some of our best tools, such as low-carbon hydroelectric power, are also the most […]