Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – California’s energy mix was powered 97% by renewable energy on Sunday, April 3 at 3:39 p.m., the highest contribution of renewables to the state’s grid on record, according to David Knowles at Yahoo News. Although the milestone lasted only for a brief time, it points to a future in which […]
Was Jared Kushner the anti-Jon Snow in the Saudi Game of Thrones?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to investigative journalist Vicki Ward, Jared Kushner, a minor New York hustler who managed to marry into the Donald Trump crime family, became the anti-Jon Snow in the Saudi game of thrones. That is, he enabled the worst possible ruler to come to power, and got a $2 billion […]
France’s Macron: “I am combating the Project of the extreme Right … which is to put an End to Renewable Energy”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The two frontrunners in France’s presidential election who now face a run-off election against one another, Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, have diametrically opposed stances on the climate emergency and renewable energy. Le Pen, the far right demagogue known for ugly hate speech and having a soft corner for […]
For Easter: The Joyous, Dancing Ascendant Christ in a Love Poem of Hafez
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Just as Good Friday is a time for sober reflection and grief at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, so Easter Sunday is a time for blissful celebration at his rising from the dead and his ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. In keeping […]
Israeli Police Raid Sacred al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, Wound 158 Palestinians
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that at dawn prayers on Friday Israeli security forces mounted an assault on the worshipers at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in the Muslim religion, in the midst of the Muslim Lent or fasting month, Ramadan. They injured some […]
Zelensky warns against Russian “Blood Oil;” In fact, buying any Oil is paying Blood Money
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The BBC reports that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, during an interview, accused Germany and Hungary of paying “blood money” for Russian petroleum. Russia could earn $320 billion from energy exports in 2022, fueling Moscow’s war machine. Zelensky is perhaps making an analogy to blood diamonds, an issue Aryn Baker explained […]
Hearkening Back to Ancient Glory, Greece opens Largest double-sided solar farm in Europe
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Maeve Campbell at Euronews/ Reuters reports that Greece has brought online the continent’s largest double-sided solar facility, which will generate enough electricity to power 75,000 homes. There are about 4.5 million households in Greece, a country of 10.7 million. So this one facility covers 1.6 percent of them. While Greece […]
Is Joe Biden Right that the Russians are committing Genocide in Ukraine?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kevin Liptak reports for CNN that on a visit to Iowa President Biden talked to reporters about Russian actions in Ukraine and for the first time called it “genocide.” Last week, the president and spokesmen for his administration had avoided using that term. Biden said, “I called it genocide because […]
Why did the Saudis invest $2 bn with Jared Kushner?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Sunday, David D. Kirkpatrick and Kate Kelly of the New York Times got a big scoop — they gained access to internal documents of the board that vets investments for the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund. These memos demonstrate that the board argued against […]