Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas authorized the Palestinian foreign ministry to send a 30-member rapid response team to Malatya in southern Turkey. They were split into two teams and are paired with Turkish colleagues combing collapsed buildings for survivors. About half of the delegation were members of Palestinian Civil Defense, 10 […]
As Death Toll Soars, can President Erdogan Survive Turkey’s Earthquake Politically?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Monday’s massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in south-central Turkey, in which at least 20,000 have died — and probably tens of thousands more — has shocked that country and the world. It inescapably has political implications, with Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for mid-May. President Tayyip Recep Erdogan is facing […]
IEA: Renewables plus Nuclear are able to meet 90% of Globe’s New Electricity demand Through 2025
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency, in a new report that is just out, estimates that 90% of new global electricity demand through 2025 will be met by low-carbon sources — renewables and nuclear. It is mostly renewables, but the report mentions the French bringing their reactors back on line and the […]
What the Pundits Get Wrong about Biden and SOTU: People are Confident in his Policies even if they Don’t Think He is Charismatic
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The State of the Union address contained no surprises. Joe Biden’s policies are by now a known quantity. It is remarkable, however, how much progress he made in implementing them in the first two years of his presidency. Those who saw the Republican Party become the party of “no” under […]
With Thousands Dead or Wounded, Will earthquake Aid for Syria be Impeded by US Sanctions?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A 7.8 earthquake that struck south-central Turkey and northwest Syria early on Monday morning. Although over two thousand are being reported dead in Turkey at midnight on Monday and more than a thousand in Syria, the death toll will grow a great deal as the rubble is combed by rescue […]
Iran’s Khamenei admits to holding “Tens of Thousands” of Prisoners of Conscience, Offers Amnesty if they Apologize for anti-Regime Protests
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The official website of Iran’s “August Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Sunday that “tens of thousands” (دهها هزار) of political prisoners arrested for participating in the nationwide protests since the middle of September last fall will be granted amnesty or have their sentences much reduced. He said this move came […]
Why is the Biden Administration So Worried about Israel’s New Government? (Juan Cole Video Interview)
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I am interviewed by prominent journalist Steve Clemons, editor at large of the global news site Semafor, for his Al Jazeera English show, The Bottom Line, on “Why is the US worried about Israel’s new government?” It is a rollicking 24-minute conversation. Here is the YouTube description of the show: […]
Edwards Air Force Base Near LA to host Largest Solar-plus-storage Project in the World
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California, near Los Angeles and San Bernardino, is now home to the largest solar power array on any Air Force base in the country, as of this past week. Indeed, with a goal of “1,118 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and 2,165 megawatts […]
No, Militant Israeli Squatters haven’t Exceeded 500K in Occupied Palestine: It is more Like 733,000
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AP is reporting that what it calls the Israeli “settler” population in the Palestinian West Bank has now exceeded 500,000, quoting an Israeli squatter organization. Later in the article AP admits that about 200,000 Israelis also live in East Jerusalem, but does not specify that their presence there is illegal, […]
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