Featured

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US Founding Fathers had a cynical side. They did not think people in government could be trusted to do the right thing. They thought people often do what they can get away with. The point of James Madison’s checks and balances was not just to guard against tyranny but […]

Climate Crisis

As Climate Emergency Worsens, Freak Lightning Storm sends Snow, Scorpion Plague on Egypt’s Aswan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – How freakish and biblical our climate emergency could become was illustrated this week in the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan, which was struck in November by rolling lightning storms, downpours, snow and a plague of scorpions. High winds blew the deadly Egyptian black, fat-tailed scorpions from the surrounding desert into […]

Climate Crisis

Good Climate News: US will increase Solar Power by nearly 50% in 2022, and add 29 Gigawatts of Wind

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Both at COP26 and in the U.S. Congress, a lot of attention is rightly focused on what governments are doing to confront the dire challenges of our climate emergency. Ultimately, governments are the only entities with sufficient reach and power to guarantee an energy transition away from fossil fuels. Nevertheless, […]

Donald Trump

In Irrational COVID Policy, is there any Difference between Republicans and Iran’s Ayatollahs?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – David Axe at the Daily Beast reports on what he says is very bad news for the US red states whose Republican governors are depending on herd immunity to get us past the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Iranian provinces have, since its beginning, reported more cases of the coronavirus than they […]

China

After 30 Secret Meetings, US and China announce Joint initiative to Combat Global Heating in Diplomatic Thaw

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Owen Churchill at the South China Morning Post reports that the United States and China at the UN Climate Conference COP26 have agreed on a statement of principles aimed at limiting extra global heating to 2.7 degrees F. (1.5C) above the late 18th century norms before humanity began dumping billions […]

Donald Trump

Paul Gosar’s Fantasy of War Rape against AOC is Frustration that the Impotent Capitol Insurrection Failed

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Arizona Congressman, dentist, and inveterate nutcase Paul Gosar posted to Twitter a photoshopped Anime video showing himself as a cartoon character plunging a sword into the neck of a monster with the face of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of Queens and the Bronx. He is also seen menacing Joe Biden. Threatening […]

Featured

“A Cruel, Ingenious Cage:” Israel’s Panopticon for Palestinians archives the Bodies of the Occupied

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Two breathtaking reports out on Monday underlined the vast and unprecedented Israeli electronic surveillance of an entire population — the some 3 million stateless Palestinians of the Occupied West Bank. Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post interviewed Israeli veterans from Breaking the Silence, who oppose the Israeli occupation of the […]

Featured

American Legacy of Instability in Iraq continues as caretaker Prime Minister Narrowly avoids Assassination by Drone

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al-Jazeera reports that Iraqi authorities on Sunday announced that Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped being assassinated by three drones loaded with explosives that targeted his residence in the Green Zone in the center of Baghdad around dawn. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which damaged the prime […]

Climate Crisis

Goodies for Greens in Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Act

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was passed by the Senate some time ago and then passed by the House of Representatives on the evening of Friday, November 6, has some great news in it for greening the economy. It is admittedly a mixed bag, but let’s consider […]