Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The green energy revolution so far is dependent on certain raw materials, including silicon for solar panels and lithium for lithium-ion batteries. Another group of such primary materials is rare earth minerals, essential to wind turbines. The largest producer of them is China, but Russia, Vietnam and Brazil also have […]
With Highland Park 4th of July Mass Shooting, Supreme Court and Congress have Blood on their Hands
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is a hell of a note when you can’t have a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, without some gun nut with a military weapon turning the place into Falluja, killing 6 people and wounding 31. The Republicans in Congress, beholden to campaign money from gun companies, […]
In Sea Change, US Presbyterian Committee brands Israel’s Occupation of Palestinians Apartheid, calls for end to Collective Punishment in Gaza
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last week, the International Engagement Committee of the 1.2-million-strong Presbyterian Church passed a resolution entitled, “On Recognition That Israel’s Laws, Policies, and Practices Constitute Apartheid Against the Palestinian People.” There are roughly 75 million Presbyterians around the world, and it has a strong presence in Africa, with 3.4 million members […]
How the Trump Supreme Court became King George III, Depriving us of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Declaration of independence begins with the famous words, crafted by Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure […]
Does Megadrought of the 500s in Yemen help Explain the Rise of Islam?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new article in the journal Science gives evidence for a prolonged dry spell in the kingdom of Himyar (which now would comprise Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia and Oman) in the 500s. Since the Prophet Muhammad is traditionally said to have been born in 567 or 570, any new information […]
Unlike SCOTUS, Iraqi Kurds are Rethinking Lax Gun Laws after Shootings; Will even Iraq be Safer than the US?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Other countries can just adopt rational policies to deal with severe social problems. The United States is locked into various weird metaphysical dogmas that make reasoning about such issues difficult. The second amendment, for instance, has nothing to do with universal gun ownership, whatever ideologues on the Right assert. The […]
Türkiye gets its Way on Kurdish Groups, agrees to Swedish, Finnish NATO Bids, as Biden weighs F-16 Sales to Ankara
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Türkiye (formerly Turkey) spent this spring vowing that Sweden and Finland would not be admitted to NATO because of their stance on the Syrian Kurdish organization, the YPG. He seemed adamant, but the stance was clearly a bargaining position, whereby he sought to wring as […]
In 13 Years, Gasoline will be as Illegal in Europe as Heroin for New Car Buyers
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Les Echos reports that after a marathon 16-hour negotiating session, the 27 European Union countries agreed to issue five new laws aimed reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and at reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Frans Timmermans, the chief EU Climate official, noted that […]
Great Car Fight Movie Scenes Reminiscent of Trump’s attack on Agent Bobby Engel on Jan. 6
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Cassidy Hutchinson testified on Tuesday that Trump grew violent in the presidential limousine, nicknamed the beast, toward a member of his Secret Service detail. Trump had orchestrated the attack on the Capitol by the Oath Keeper and Proud Boys white nationalist militias and had promised them he would lead them […]
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