By Juan Cole The European Union climate summit has agreed to cut emissions by 40% by 2030, after hard bargaining by Poland and the UK failed to derail an agreement. The 28 nations of the EU also agreed to improve energy efficiency by 27% over the next decade and a half, and to ensure a […]
Archives for October 2014
Renewables & the Future of India: IT Center Bangalore goes Solar to avoid Brownouts, High Electricity Bills
News9 “The city [of Bangalore] is struggling with frequent power cuts. Those who were smart enough to invest in solar energy are the only ones coping with it. We take you through a few places in Bengaluru [Bangalore] that entirely uses solar power. Thanks to solar energy, for these smart cookies, it’s no hassle of […]
Climate Treaty Follies: How Inaction is Endangering the World
By Tom Giesen “To be quite candid the idea of a 2°C target is largely out of the window.” Sir Robert Watson, former IPCC Chair. 2012 Since the late 1990s, the stated goal of world governments has been to hold average global warming to no more than 3.6 degrees F. (2 degrees centigrade). However, many […]
Could ISIL be Put on Trial? Challenge for International Law
DUBAI (IRIN) – The international outcry to the openly advertised atrocities committed in Iraq by the jihadist group calling itself Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS or ISIL) has led to calls for investigations and punishment, with US President Barak Obama saying “justice will be done” after the killing of journalist James Foley. This has […]
Understanding Islam: Kecia Ali on ‘The Lives of Muhammad’
Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville by JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE and JULIE POUCHER HARBIN for ISLAMiCommentary The life of Prophet Muhammad has inspired the development of a vast body of literature over the centuries. Kecia Ali takes a look at this diverse literature in her new book, The Lives of Muhammad (Harvard University […]
The end of National Sovereignty in the Middle East? Iraqi Kurdistan sends troops into Syria
By Juan Cole: Al-Manar reports that the legislature of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (a super-province of Iraq) has voted to send Kurdistan forces to the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane to help it fight off a concerted attack by ISIL. The vote opens the way for Iraqi Kurdistan to intervene in the Syrian civil […]
Top 4 Things we can learn from War on Terror in “War on Ebola”
By Karen J. Greenberg via Tomdispatch.com These days, two “wars” are in the headlines: one against the marauding Islamic State and its new caliphate of terror carved out of parts of Iraq and Syria, the other against a marauding disease and potential pandemic, Ebola, spreading across West Africa, with the first cases already reaching the […]
The momentum to recognize a Palestinian State is unstoppable
By Farhang Jahanpour Once again, the British Parliament has led the way with an epoch-making decision. On Monday 13 October 2014, British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of recognizing Palestine as a state. With 274 to 12 votes they passed a motion stating: “This House believes that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine […]
America didn’t learn the Lessons of Tribes & Counter-Insurgency in Vietnam, Leading to the Iraq Quagmire
By David Moore The rise of ISIL, as well as the resurgence of the Taliban, has brought numerous “experts” out to offer analyses on the best way to combat these developments. The consensus is to bomb and arm (or re-arm Sunni) groups to fight ISIL. Since I have written a book on insurgency and counter-insurgency […]
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