Ann Arbor – (Informed Comment) – I love New Orleans, and have been known to hit the jazz clubs on Bourbon Street into the wee hours myself. So what happened there is a gut punch, and I want to express my condolences to the families of the victims and to the community there for its […]
“Raise a Glass with Someone Pretty:” New Year’s Day in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I am rewriting a previous essay here and adding some new translations. The world has seen a lot of misery this past year, I thought it might be nice to talk about poetry and rebirth today. In 2020, I brought out a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, […]
With Israel’s Destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital, UN Rapporteur calls for Global Medical Boycott
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Israeli-Occupied Palestinian Territories, reacted forcefully to the complete destruction by the Israeli military of Kamal Adwan Hospital at Beit Lahia in northern Gaza and the arrest and abuse of its patients and its director. She called for a world-wide medical boycott of […]
Jimmy Carter’s Victory against the Guinea Worm, with only 7 Cases this Year Worldwide, down from Millions
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On the occasion of former President Jimmy Carter’s death, I am reprinting this column with some updates. The guinea worm may be the second major human disease after smallpox to be completely eradicated. It is a parasite that you get from drinking water with small fleas in it. The larvae […]
2024 Word of the Year: Genocide (as in, Gaza)
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The word of the year was certainly “genocide.” It was alleged of Israel’s Gaza campaign by South Africa in a case brought before the International Court of Justice, and this charge was also lodged by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders, and the UN Special Committee to investigate […]
Egypt opens 500 MW Solar Plant, Plans Factory with Sweden to Manufacture Photovoltaic Panels
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Egypt is perfect for solar power, even though the country has not implemented much of it yet. The Egyptians had installed 1.8 gigawatts of solar by the beginning of this year, most of it at the Benban Solar Park some 400 miles south of Cairo in the Aswan Governorate. But […]
Israel Brings its Doctrine of Total War to Yemen
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli Air Force on Thursday extended its total war on its neighbors to Yemen for a fourth time. The Air Force has gained the technical capability of refueling fighter jets in mid-air, for which the Israelis and other US allies in the region used to have to depend on […]
In 2024, did the US Demand for Israeli Impunity Fatally Undermine International Law?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – 2024 was a pivotal year for international humanitarian law. On the one hand, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court functioned as they were intended to by the idealists who founded them. On the other, the International Humanitarian Law that underpins those institutions was profoundly, perhaps fatally […]
For Christmas: The Persian Poet Nezami’s Story of Jesus Finding Virtues even in the Lowliest
On Christmas Day, I like to recall the significance of Jesus and the nativity for Muslims. I’ve talked about Rumi, Attar, and other mystics. Today it is Nezami’s turn. The great Persian poet Nezami (1141-1209) was from the city of Ganja in northwestern Iran when it was ruled by the Seljuk Empire. That was the […]
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