Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Le Monde reports that a European Union diplomatic delegation to Tel Aviv announced Monday that it was canceling the diplomatic reception for Europe Day there because the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had selected far-right extremist Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir to represent it. The site of the French […]
A Final Burial for the Arab Spring: Arab League Readmits Syria under al-Assad, as Tensions with Iran Subside
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The foreign ministers of the Arab League states, meeting in Cairo on Sunday, approved the end of Syria’s suspension from membership in that body. Syria was suspended in November 2011 as the Syrian Arab Army was deployed to massacre civilian protesters. The decision was a recognition that the Baath government […]
Sir Gawain and the Green King: What can Newly Crowned Charles III do to Combat the Climate Emergency?
Revised Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – We can argue about the character of Charles’s philosophy of nature and whether it is conservative or not. I don’t really care about the origins of his concern for the dangers we face from the climate emergency. I’m just glad he takes this stance, unlike so many of his […]
King Charles III as Defender of all Faiths, including Islam
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Although King Charles III will, like his predecessors going back to Henry VIII, be styled “Defender of the Faith,” he intends the phrase to be understood in a pluralistic rather than exclusivist manner. Harriet Sherwood at The Guardian reports that before Charles takes the oath on Saturday, the Archbishop of […]
Iran’s President Raisi in Damascus for Victory Lap, Expanded Trade
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Hard line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took a victory lap in Syria this week. He led an Iranian delegation of officials and cabinet members to Damascus for consultations with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Among those in the entourage were Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, and Oil […]
Yes, Mr. DeSantis, Palestinians are Indigenous, Descended from the Canaanites, and Palestinian Identity is not New
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Here is Part 2 of my argument with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis concerning his uninformed and bigoted comments about Palestinians. Part I is here Who are the Palestinians? Nowadays, they are the Arabic-speaking inhabitants of the area stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, who have gained a political […]
Turkiye opens Europe’s Largest Solar Plant, with 3 mn. homemade Panels
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Europe’s biggest solar farm has come online, and its location is a surprise. It is near Konya, Turkiye (Turkey). Konya, a city of 1.4 million, is known for its religious conservatism. It is the site of the tomb of the famed mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273). Nowadays it is […]
Electric Vehicles may form 18% of New Purchases this year, as Gov’ts eye end of Internal Combustion Engine
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual report by the International Energy Agency on electric vehicles is just out, and it confirms the global rush to electrify transportation. Globally, some 14% of new cars registered in 2022 were electric. That comes to 10 million electric cars sold, while in the entire European Union only 10 […]
Lula is Right that the UN Security Council Can’t Resolve Major Conflicts, whether Ukraine or Palestine
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made a state visit to Portugal and Spain last week. He was primarily seeking trade agreements, and especially wished to prepare the way for agreement this summer on a huge European Union – Latin American free trade zone. Article continues after bonus IC […]
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