Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A Special Committee of the United Nations Office of the High Commission on Human Rights has issued a new report on Israeli actions in Gaza concluding that they fit the profile of genocide. The report says, “The developments in this report lead the Special Committee to conclude that the policies […]
China opens World’s Largest offshore Solar Power Facility, as U.S. Falls Farther Behind
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Solar panels are great sources of energy. We have them on our roof and they have saved us a lot of money, especially in spring-summer-fall. Some observers complain about their bulk compared to the energy they put out, though. I’ve had engineers argue to me that there just isn’t space […]
As COP 29 convenes, Human-Caused Climate Change Menaces the Middle East Across Borders
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Centre for Development Policy Management has issued a new report on the threats of human-caused climate change to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, concentrating on cross-border dangers that affect more than one country. Heat and drought would rank high on this list. The Middle East […]
What Rough Beast? President Biden’s Gaza Policy Leaves the Middle East in Flames
This is my summation of President Joe Biden’s Middle East policies for Tomdispatch.com. Check out Tom Engelhardt’s searing introduction. And note his recommendation for my new book, Gaza Yet Stands.. ( Tomdispatch.com ) – President Joe Biden has now joined the ranks of Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush as a president whose Middle East […]
IPC warns of Imminent Israeli-caused Famine in Gaza, with 133K facing “Catastrophic Food Insecurity”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United Nations is again warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza. A panel of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification committee (IPC) released an alarming report on Thursday. The IPC panel said that urgent steps must be taken by concerned countries to avert mass starvation “within days not weeks.” […]
Conservative Muslim Cleric in North Gaza denounces Hamas for violating Islamic Laws of War
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Rushdi Abualouf of the BBC reported on a new fatwa or considered legal opinion issued by the conservative Salafi scholar Dr Salman al-Dayah, who had once been a dean at the School of Islamic Law and Civil Law at the Islamic University of Gaza. The controversial opinion lambasted Hamas for […]
Germany: For First time, Wind and Solar Power Generation exceeds Fossil Fuels
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Ember energy analysis firm reports that for the first nine months of 2024, Germany generated more electricity from wind and solar than from fossil fuels for the first time in history. Wind and solar combined accounted for 45 percent of electricity. All in all, 59% of German electricity, almost […]
Israel’s Scholasticide and the Irrelevance of US Politics: 11,923 Palestinian Students didn’t Go Back to School this Fall because Israel Killed them
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Palestinian Ministry of Education released a report this week detailing that 11,923 students in Gaza have been killed by Israel’s total war in the past year. In addition, 19,199 have been wounded, many with life-altering injuries. A physician working in Gaza last summer reported to HRW, “We are talking […]
Trump would be an “Extinction-Level Event” for the Planet, Turbocharging Climate Change. Vote Accordingly.
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – UC Berkeley scholars warn that “with plans to expand the production of fossil fuels, curtail environmental regulations, dismantle key climate monitoring agencies and even undermine the Endangered Species Act, there is no question that Project 2025 would be disastrous for the climate.” Project 2025, despite his dishonest denials, is Trump’s […]
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