Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – William J. Ripple et al. writing in BioScience warn that we are deep into a climate emergency, which they call “code red on planet earth.” They point to the increased frequency and severity of weather-related disasters, producing “untold human suffering.” Human-driven global heating, especially in the Arctic, which is warming […]
The Stochastic Ex-President: How Trump set up the Pelosis for Attack
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden noted Friday evening — concerning the assailant who fractured Paul Pelosi’s skull with a hammer in the Pelosi home in San Francisco — “that the same chant was used by this guy that they have in custody that was used on January 6, the attack on the […]
IEA: Peak Fossil Fuels will come in 2025, as Renewables are Turbo-Charged by Russia-Ukraine War and Energy Crisis
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Fatih Birol, among the world’s foremost energy economists, has a new report at the International Energy Agency, which he directs. In it, he argues that recent developments such as the Ukraine War energy crisis are good news for low-carbon energy such as wind and solar and bad news for fossil […]
Iran: Police fire on some of the Thousands of Demonstrators Commemorating 40th day after Mahsa Amini’s Death
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Wednesday was the fortieth day after the death of the Kurdish young woman, Mahsa “Zhina” Amini, 22, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. It is customary in Iran for family and friends mourning a departed loved one to come together one last time on the 40th day, to visit […]
Israel’s Racism Controversy over the “Problematic” “Arab Womb.” Should Palestinian-Israelis be fined for Having Children?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Adnan Abu Aamer writing at the pan-Arab newspaper Arabi 21, reviews the controversy roiling the Palestinian-Israeli community, over a physician’s remarks on the alleged “danger” posed by the Palestinian “womb.” The chief of heart surgery at Saroka Medical Center in Beesheba, Gideon Sahar, addressed a question to far right wing […]
Zelensky Lambastes Israel for not Helping Ukraine, Warns of Russian Aid to Iran’s Nuclear Program
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky lambasted Israel on Monday, saying that the latter’s refusal to provide Ukraine with anti-missile defenses and its neutrality on the war had permitted Iran and Russia to deepen their ties, with benefits for Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The “Zelensky Official” channel at YouTube made available a […]
One City in China Plans More Offshore Wind Capacity by 2030 than the Entire United States
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Shenzhen Daily reports that the city of Chaozhou in China’s southern Guangdong Province is planning the world’s largest offshore wind farm, at 43.3 gigawatts. The United States has almost no offshore wind now, but the Biden Administration has a goal of 30 gigawatts by 2030 and the Interior Department […]
On Turning 70 in a Graying, Climate-threatened World where Christians and Muslims must learn to Understand Each Other
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A daily column is inevitably personal, even if the focus is, as with Informed Comment, on current events. Today I’m going to reflect, not so much on my turning 70 as on the world I confront through these old eyes, and how my experiences help me cope with it and […]
Israeli Squatters in Palestinian West Bank launch 100 attacks in 10 Days, Pepper-Spray own Troops like Jan. 6 Insurrectionists
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Palestinian West Bank, which is militarily occupied by Israel and which is being steadily colonized by Israeli squatters on Palestinian-owned land, is a seething cauldron. Some sort of gag rule appears to deter American television “news” from covering these dramatic events, which are pregnant with sinister implications for American […]