By Miranda Cady Hallett | – Clouds of dust rose behind the wheels of the pickup truck as we hurtled over the back road in Palo Verde, El Salvador. When we got to the stone-paved part of the road, the driver slowed as the truck heaved up and down with the uneven terrain. Riding in […]
What is Ashura? How this Shiite Muslim holiday inspires millions
By Noorzehra Zaidi | – Tens of millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world will visit Iraq on Sept. 10 this year to see the shrines of Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, and his brother Abbas on the day of “Ashura.” Ashura in Syria. Tasnim News Agency, CC BY-SA This annual pilgrimage marks the […]
Kashmir: How Modi’s Virulent Hindu Nationalism Brought India & Pakistan to the Brink, Again
By Abdullah Yusuf | – August is immensely important in the history of the Asian subcontinent, marking the month that India and Pakistan gained independence from the British in 1947. Now, in 2019, it has once again proved momentous, when, ten days before India’s Independence day celebrations, prime minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the autonomy […]
Could Climate Crisis’ Extreme Weather Threaten American Prosperity?
By Gary W. Yohe | – Scientists say climate change is causing powerful hurricanes like Dorian to increasingly stall over coastal areas, which leads to heavy flooding. Officials in the Bahamas feared “unprecedented” devastation after Dorian hovered over the islands for two days, pummeling it with rain. But beyond more intense and slow-moving hurricanes, the […]
Will Boris Johnson taking Britain to New Elections Result in an Even More Ideological Government?
By Matthew Cole | – Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has confirmed that he will call a vote on holding a general election if MPs legislate to block a no-deal Brexit. His pledge came after he lost a key vote to the so-called rebel alliance of MPs, which included numerous members of his own […]
In the Democrats’ bitter race to find a candidate to beat Trump, might Elizabeth Warren hold the key?
By Dennis Altman | – Conservative former congressman Joe Walsh recently announced he would challenge Donald Trump for the Republican Party’s 2020 Presidential nomination. Challenging an incumbent president is not new: both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter faced very significant challenges when they sought a further term. But Trump’s hold on Republicans suggests that no […]
Climate Crisis Explained: How to Cut Carbon Emissions & Prepare for Impacts
By Ralph Brougham Chapman | – First, let’s accept climate change is happening and will have major negative impacts on New Zealand. Second, let’s also accept that even if New Zealand did absolutely everything possible to reduce emissions to zero, it would still happen, i.e. our impact on climate change is negligible. Third, reducing our […]
Jewish Liberalism v. Jewish Nationalism: How Trump’s tweets on Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Pitched an Old Divide
By Noam Pianko |- President Trump recently asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deny entry to two Democratic congresswomen planning to visit Israel. Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, Trump claimed, “hate Israel and all Jewish people.” Within a few hours, the Israeli prime minister banned the representatives. Subsequently, Trump questioned how any Democrat […]
Plants Provide our Food, Medicine & Oxygen: We’re Driving them Extinct 350x Faster than Normal
Plants are going extinct up to 350 times faster than the historical norm By Jaco Le Roux, Florencia Yanelli, Heidi Hirsch, José María Iriondo Alegria, Marcel Rejmánek, and Maria Loreto Castillo | – Earth is seeing an unprecedented loss of species, which some ecologists are calling a sixth mass extinction. In May, a United Nations […]