Quatrain no. 22 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám again invokes the image of the way the living are walking atop those who lived and died before them, leaving them alone in the “room” of the world. The departed dead are dressed in blooms, i.e. flowers grow […]
New Irish President Catherine Connolly’s Victory and Europe’s Moral Rebellion against the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Catherine Connolly’s victory: Europe’s moral rebellion against the Israeli occupation By Adnan Hmidan ( Middle East Monitor ) – When Catherine Connolly was elected President of Ireland, the shockwaves were felt far beyond Dublin. Her victory was not a symbolic gesture, nor a routine political milestone. It was a direct moral rebuke to the Israeli […]
First Circuit Judges Strike down Israel Lobby Suit against MIT for Permitting Gaza Protests
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Erik Uebelacker at Courthouse News Service reports that a three-judge appeals panel of the US Court of Appeals, First Circuit, in Boston, struck down a lawsuit by a pro-Israel pressure group against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alleging that the university permitted pro-Palestine students to harass Jewish students. The […]
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 […]
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 […]
Juan Cole on Gaza, U.S. Policy, and the Future of the Middle East
I was welcomed onto David Lin’s Podcast, “The David Lin Report” to talk about Gaza, the Middle East and the US-China rivalry. Embedded video and transcript below. He describes it this way: The David Lin Report! I’ll be reporting on the most impactful market-moving events, as well as interviewing experts in finance, economics, science, and […]
“And one by one crept silently to Rest:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:21
Stanza 21 of the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám continues with the theme of the shortness of life and the finality of death, but introduces new emotions, of grief for lost loved ones and nostalgia for the past. These poignant lines have sometimes made me cry. We get […]
Ypsilanti, named for a Greek Freedom Fighter against Tyranny, Rallies against Trump on “No Kings” Day
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the 1820s Greece waged a successful war of independence against an authoritarian king, the Ottoman Emperor Mahmoud II. The American public, enthralled with this saga of a quest for liberty, idolized the revolutionaries, who were led for a few years by Demetrios Ypsilantis. They took his name for the […]
Infectious Diseases “Spiraling out of Control” in Gaza as Israel Cuts Aid Entry in Half
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The terms of the Trump ceasefire in Gaza required Israeli authorities to allow 600 trucks of food and medical aid into the Strip daily, in a full court press by the United Nations and NGOs to flood the zone with nutrition after the Israeli blockade provoked famine in parts of […]
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