Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kevin Liptak and Natasha Bertrand report at CNN that the Biden administration has decided to split the $7 billion in Afghanistan government money held in the US and confiscated last August when the Taliban took over the country. $3.5 billion will be released for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan itself, while […]
From War on Terror to War on Climate Change: US Army to seek Green Electricity by 2030
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US military has been worried deeply for over a decade about the impact of the climate emergency on its bases and operational readiness. The Department of the Army has just released its first Climate Strategy for dealing with what Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calls an “existential crisis.” The […]
Iraq Pays off $52.4 bn. in Reparations for Invading Kuwait in 1990, but the US will Never Pay a Dime for Invading Iraq
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Stephanie Nebehay at Reuters reports that Iraq has finally paid off the $52.4 billion in war reparations imposed on it by the United Nations as punishment for its invasion and attempted annexation of Kuwait in 1990, which led to the Gulf War of 1991. The headline we’ll never see is […]
Biden’s Moonshot: Announces Green Race with China for Electric Vehicle Dominance as MSM Misses Story
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden admitted on Tuesday that, regarding electric vehicles, “China has been the — leading that race up to now. But this is about to change . . .” The president of the United States announced a Green Race with Beijing for dominance of the electric vehicle manufacturing sector, in […]
Even Red-State Louisiana Eyes 5 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Generation, replacing declining Oil Industry
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Windpower Monthly reports that the state of Louisiana’s Climate Commission Task Force assembled by Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards is eyeing 5 gigawatts of electric power generation through massive new wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico, by 2035. The project would be part of the state’s goal of getting […]
Did the Pegasus Spyware Netanyahu used against Palestinians and gave to Saudis bring him Down?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Pegasus spyware made by the Israeli NSO company and backed by the Israeli state has been used extensively against Palestinians to keep them stateless, and former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu used access to the software as an incentive for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to improve relations […]
Beer Hall Putsch 2.0: Republican Nat’l Committee Channels their inner Hitler in defending Capitol Insurrectionists
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Republican National Committee’s censure of Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) slammed the two for “participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse” and of “utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes.” The […]
Is Peace on the Verge of breaking out between US and Iran? Biden waives some Trump-Era Sanctions
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera English reports that the Biden administration has restored a key waiver for Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program that allows third parties such as Russia and France to consult with Tehran about how to dial back and repurpose the program. Without the waiver, if some officials had gone off […]
The Great Disruption Begins: Global Market Share of Electric Cars doubles in a Year, Triples in Two
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – International Energy Agency analysts Leonardo Paoli and Timur Gül write that, globally, electric car sales more than doubled in 2021 to 6.6 million, while they had been 3 million in 2020 and 2.2 million in 2019. Moreover, they say, all the net increase in automobile sales in 2021 came from […]