Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden ran on making Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” given that the CIA accused Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of authorizing the murder in 2018 of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Istanbul Saudi consulate. Biden and a bipartisan majority in the US Congress were also upset about […]
Ukraine War: Europe declares Independence of Russian Petroleum, Looks to Mass Transit, EVs to Achieve “Freedom” Goal
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – France 24, with AFP, reports that the 27-member European Union succeeded on Monday in agreeing to a sixth round of boycott measures against Russia. Most importantly, Europe pledged immediately to halt two-thirds of all European purchases of Russian petroleum, and to halt 90% of such imports by the end of […]
Will Japan be the Godzilla of Deep Sea Current Energy?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – If you were going to try to generate electricity from a deep water ocean current, you’d like it to be flowing in one direction and to be fast and steady. Most deep sea currents are unidirectional because of the earth’s rotation. and this tendency is reinforced where they flow through […]
Shouting “Death to Arabs,” Far Right Israeli Squatters Storm Palestinian Holy Sites, Towns and Schools
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that hundreds of Israeli squatters on Palestinian land organized taunting processions “of the flag” in various parts of the Occupied Palestinian West Bank under the protection of the Israeli army. At the same time, attacks on Palestinians continued as dozens of squatters stormed the […]
On Memorial Day, let’s get the 900 US Troops out of Syria and away from any War with Russia or Iran
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Memorial Day or Decoration Day (referring to the decoration of the graves of soldiers killed in combat) began after the Civil War and has been commemorated since 1868. It is no wonder that the mourning began then. Historian J. David Hacker has estimated that 750,000 troops died in the war, […]
In Global Sea Change, 52% of Prospective Car Buyers Aim for New Energy Vehicles as Gasoline Spikes
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The accounting firm Ernst & Young reports on its recent global Mobility Consumer Index poll with 13,000 respondents across 18 countries concerning car-buyers preferences. The poll found that for the first time, a majority– 52% — of respondents who planned to buy a new car in the next two years […]
The other Gun Problem: Israeli Squatter-Settlers in Palestinian West Bank have Killed, Injured Dozens of Palestinians with Assault Weapons
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that 37 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli squatter-settlers on Palestinian land since 2006. In 30 cases, the squatters shot down the Palestinians with live ammunition. Among those killed have been nine children, much like the ones killed in […]
In Final Slap to Bush-Era Neoconservatives, Iraq Criminalizes Contacts with Israel
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Neoconservatives who pushed for the Bush-Cheney war on Iraq in 2003 hoped that by toppling the Arab nationalist dictator Saddam Hussein they could recreate Iraq as a country friendly to US interests and regional allies like Israel. I was told by one military officer that he was in the […]
Turkey wants Anti-Kurdish Pledges in Writing from Finland and Sweden before they can Join NATO
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Turkey is still holding up the application of Finland and Sweden to join NATO over what President Tayyip Erdogan says is the two countries’ support for what he considers Kurdish terrorist organizations and the Gulen sect. Turkey has been a member of NATO since it was formed in 1949 and […]