Review of : Christopher Phillips, Battleground: 10 Conflicts That Explain the New Middle East. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024. Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– The title of Christopher Phillips’ latest book, “Battleground: Ten Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East”, might scare off some potential readers. Here comes another […]
Archives for July 2024
Defeat Culture: The Decline and Fall of Presidential America
( Tomdispatch.com ) – It’s not a happenstance or some sad mistake that, barring a surprise, Americans will go to the polls in November to vote for one of two distinctly ancient men, now 77 and 81, both of whom have clearly exhibited language and thought problems for a significant period of time. To put this […]
Hamas’ War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity (HRW)
“I Can’t Erase All the Blood from My Mind” Palestinian Armed Groups’ October 7 Assault on Israel October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups ( Human Rights Watch ) Questions and Answers: The Hamas-Led Armed Groups’ October 7, 2023 Assault on Israel Early in the morning of October 7, 2023, Sagi Shifroni, […]
China and the Slowing Petroleum Market: EVs displaced 1.5 mn. Barrels per Day in 2024
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency signaled last week that the rate of increase in world petroleum demand fell in the second quarter of 2024 to an 18-month low. The increased demand was only 710,000 barrels a day. The world used 102.04 million barrels per day of petroleum as of May. That […]
For Republicans, the Bill is coming due for their “Project 2025”
‘I’m not trying to scare us; I’m trying to inform us.’ ( Florida Phoenix ) – On June 30, actress Taraji P. Henson paused her BET Awards hosting duties to warn viewers about the danger Donald Trump and Project 2025 pose to most U.S. citizens. “They are trying to bring the draft back. Who do […]
Lebanese Society is Split over a Potential War with Israel
Rola El-Husseini, Lund University | – (The Conversation) – Hezbollah began launching rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians shortly after the start of the war in Gaza. These attacks prompted skirmishes along the border that have escalated and spread further into the territory of both countries. On July 10, for example, the Israeli […]
NATO must rethink Expansion Plans, step back from Precipice of Nuclear Confrontation with Russia
Auburn, Alabama (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – There’s a history to the war between Russia and the West going back to the Cold War and the unification between East and West Germany. Thomas Friedman once asked George Kennan, (the architect of the US Cold War strategy on containment), what he thought about NATO expansion, […]
Moral Passion over Gaza and the Extremes of Protest
By Nan Levinson ( Tomdispatch.com ) – It began with Aaron Bushnell and a visceral response of mine: Why would anyone do such a thing? Bushnell was the 25-year-old active-duty airman who set himself ablaze on February 25th in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., to protest that country’s brutal war in Gaza. […]
Hopes for Gaza Ceasefire Fade Again
Sam Phelps, The Conversation | – Northern and central Gaza have been hit by Israeli airstrikes this week as troops return to battle Hamas fighters in areas they claimed to have cleared many months ago. The intensified military offensive unfolded just days after mediators thought they were making headway in negotiations for a ceasefire. On […]
© 2025 All Rights Reserved