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 […]
As Climate Emergency Worsens, Freak Lightning Storm sends Snow, Scorpion Plague on Egypt’s Aswan
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 […]
Good Climate News: US will increase Solar Power by nearly 50% in 2022, and add 29 Gigawatts of Wind
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, […]
In Irrational COVID Policy, is there any Difference between Republicans and Iran’s Ayatollahs?
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 […]
Juan Cole’s “Muhammad” is one of Best Five Books on the Prophet Muhammad (Muqtedar Khan Youtube)
Muqtedar Khan is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware. His doctoral dissertation at Georgetown University was on Islamic political thought. He edited Debating Moderate Islam: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West (University of Utah Press, 2007) and authored Jihad for Jerusalem: Identity and Strategy in International Relations (Praeger […]
After 30 Secret Meetings, US and China announce Joint initiative to Combat Global Heating in Diplomatic Thaw
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 […]
Paul Gosar’s Fantasy of War Rape against AOC is Frustration that the Impotent Capitol Insurrection Failed
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 […]
“A Cruel, Ingenious Cage:” Israel’s Panopticon for Palestinians archives the Bodies of the Occupied
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 […]
American Legacy of Instability in Iraq continues as caretaker Prime Minister Narrowly avoids Assassination by Drone
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 […]
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