Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden is on the cusp of going off to Saudi Arabia as one part of his upcoming Middle East trip. One of the failures of Mr. Biden has been completely disengaging the US from the Saudi-led war on Yemen, which he had pledged to do. Although there has been […]
The Islamic Peace Studies Initiative
The Islamic Peace Studies Initiative – Presentation by Juan Cole at the Conference “Fi Subul al-Salām: Pacifism and Nonviolence in Contemporary Islam” at Manchester University, Tuesday, May 17 2022. Many thanks to Walaa Quisay. “Juan Cole and Samer Ali have directed the Islamic Peace Studies Initiative at the Center for Middle Eastern and North African […]
After the Jan. 6 Hearings: or How Law Enforcement Ignored White Supremacists While Spying 24/7 on Muslim Americans
This golden oldie column appeared at Tomdispatch.com . I’m bringing it back in the wake of the Jan. 6 Committee’s revelations about Trump’s role in fomenting the Capitol insurrection, ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson excused one of the leaders of the extremist Oath Keepers organization implicated in the January 6th insurrection […]
UK Conservative Party dumps Johnson, but the US GOP Refused to dump Trump
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – By Trumpian standards Boris Johnson is a boy scout, The British prime minister, who on Wednesday said he would resign, was trailed by the sort of scandals that wouldn’t even be noticed in corrupt US politics. Johnson went to a party in 2020 after he forbade the British to hold […]
694 Milllion tons of Rare Earth Metals, Essential to Wind Turbines and EVs, found in Türkiye
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 […]
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