British man of letters Edward FitzGerald translated the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám from two Persian manuscripts and published it in 1859. He had substantial help from young Orientalist Edward Cowell, who discovered a manuscript of the Rubáiyát dated 1460 CE in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Rubáiyát means “quatrains,” and in Persian poetry they consist […]
US Green Beret: Israeli “Hunger Games in Gaza” (h/t Sen. Chris Van Hollen)
Senator Chris Van Hollen interviews Anthony Aguilar, former Green Beret and former contractor in Gaza, on what Aguilar witnessed there. Warning: Graphic language, Images. Transcript: This is the YouTube auto-generated transcript but cleaned up by Google Gemini. Caveat Emptor. Senator Van Hollen: Well, thank you for getting together. Let me start by thanking you for […]
Wildfire “Apocalypse” in Türkiye as Temperature rises to Record 122.9º F.
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Türkiye is facing “apocalyptic” wildfires according to one official in the northwest Bursa region. Temperatures in central Anatolia hit an unusual 108.32º F [42.4º C.]. But the record-breaking temperature was recorded in the southeastern town of Silopi — of 122.9º F. [50.5º C.] — in the largely Kurdish Şırnak province. […]
Pariah State: Israeli Cruise Ship, Rebuffed at Greek Island Ports over Gaza Genocide, becomes Flying Dutchman
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Extreme-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to turn Israel into a 21st century version of the Flying Dutchman. Britannica tells us that Europe produced the legend of the “Flying Dutchman,” a ghostly vessel that is fated to sail forever. When sailors descry it in the distance, they know […]
Islanders of Tuvalu Prepare first Mass Migration because of Sea Level Rise, as ICJ grants them Right to Sue
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The entire nation of Tuvalu, 11,000 people, is making preparations to relocate, reports Sophie Mak at Nikkei Asia . The nine atolls making up Tuvalu are for the most part only two feet above sea level, which is rising as our carbon dioxide emissions are causing surface ice to melt […]
We’re All Palestinians Now: How Trump is Middle-Easternizing the United States
Here is my most recent column for the legendary Tom Engelhardt’s Tomdispatch.com.Be sure to check out his searing introduction. ( Tomdispatch.com ) – The United States has focused on the Middle East since World War II, seeking its oil, gas, and other mineral resources and coveting control of its strategic waterways. The old colonial powers […]
25 Nations Toothlessly Demand Israel end Gaza War Now: Suffering of Civilians has Reached “New Depths”
The foreign ministers of 25 nations, including much of Europe along with Japan, Canada and Australia, have issued a Joint Statement demanding that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end its total war on Gaza immediately. The governments of these countries issued what they called a simple and urgent message: “the war in […]
Top 10 Signs that Israeli Gov’t is starving People in Gaza
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli military has destroyed most of the cropland in Gaza and won’t let Palestinians fish. There isn’t enough food in the Strip, and Israeli authorities are actively preventing the massive food stockpiles on the border from entering. The Israelis let a little bit of food and fuel in as […]
As Huckabee and MTG attack Israel over anti-Christian Pogroms, is the Alliance with White Christian Nationalism Fraying?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israeli squatters on Palestinian land in the militarily occupied West Bank conducted a pogrom against the Christian-majority village of Taybeh, setting fires and desecrating the ruins of the ancient Christian Church of St. George that dates back to 400s CE, to only a century after Roman Emperor Constantine began backing […]
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