By providing a “protective presence” in the West Bank, international activists hope to deter unprecedented settler attacks. By Jaisal Noor ( Waging Nonviolence ) – On July 22, in the Palestinian village of Ibziq, bright lights pierced through the tent at 12:30 a.m., jolting Baltimore, Maryland-native Nikki Morse and a fellow activist awake. The […]
Archives for October 2025
How Wildfires and other Climate Disasters put Health Systems under extreme Pressure
By Bhavini Gohel, University of Calgary (The Conversation) – Wildfires are no longer rare disasters in Canada. They are now an annual reality, and 2025 has already been one of the worst on record, with 3,582 fires burning 6.2 million hectares as of July 30 — quadruple the 10-year average. At a time when hospitals […]
Iraqi Kurdistan aims at 3 Gigawatts of Solar, as Households and Villages Rush to Rooftop Panels
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iraqi Kurdistan is developing an interest in sustainable energy, despite being an oil exporter via Kirkuk. Solar provides little of Iraq’s electricity at the moment, but the situation is set to change rapidly over the next decade. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has set a goal of putting in 3 […]
Peace in Gaza Depends on Palestinians’ Right to Remain — and Return
Trump’s peace plan includes a promise not to expel any Palestinians from Gaza. Can’t that promise be kept? By David Vine | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Amid some extremely cautious optimism for peace following a tenuous and incomplete ceasefire in Gaza, any hope for Gaza’s future depends significantly on a little-noticed point […]
Syria’s new Leader promised Democracy, but excluded Women from Parliamentary Elections
By Kinda Alsamara, The University of Queensland; Eleanor Gordon, Monash University, and Elliot Dolan-Evans, Monash University (The Conversation) – Women’s political participation is often treated as a measure of a country’s commitment to equality and democracy. Earlier this year, Syria’s new leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, described his country as moving in a “democratic direction” after […]
As a Palestinian, Trump’s 20-Point Gaza “Peace Plan” Scares Me
Belfast (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Like most Palestinians, I was initially excited about the ceasefire agreement in Gaza — even though, judging by recent history, Israel has breached every agreement it signed and never lived to its commitments. But I’ve concluded that Trump’s twenty-point plan will only lead to the continuation of suffering. […]
Vance: “A Stupid Political Stunt:” Israeli Knesset Approves Reading of Bills to Annex the Occupied West Bank
( IMEMC and Middle East Monitor) – On Wednesday the Israeli Knesset approved the preliminary reading of one bill to annex the West Bank and impose Israeli sovereignty over it, and another to impose sovereignty over the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem. Both drafts still must pass three additional readings to become law. […]
Famed Cartoonist Jules Feiffer Taught Us to Fail Up and Never Surrender
By Robert Lipsyte ( Tomdispatch.com ) – It’s been more than nine months now since my friend, famed cartoonist Jules Feiffer, died, a week before his 96th birthday after continually warning me that the evil spirit that had descended on this country was leaving him frightened and dispirited. He was glad, he told me, that […]
Int’l Court of Justice Finds Israelis Broke Law by Starving Palestinians of Gaza
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Court of Justice, established by the UN to adjudicate issues among nations, issued an advisory opinion on Wednesday branding the Israeli blockade on food and medical aid into the occupied Gaza Strip illegal. I mean, surely this conclusion is simple common sense. You can’t starve people. That’s not […]
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