Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Two visions of the future of Gaza are congealing, in two different power centers. One is the Arab and Muslim foreign ministers who met Monday in Istanbul, including Türkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Tuesday morning that the […]
When Zohran Mamdani campaigned in Arabic, He was Speaking an old American Language
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani made a campaign ad in quite passable colloquial Arabic for the some 180,000 Arab residents of New York, who live primarily along Steinway Street in Queens and in Brooklyn. Mamdani’s wife, artist Rama Duwaji, is a Houstonian whose family hails from Syria. Some observers are suggesting […]
Egypt’s Magnificent new Museum: Nationalism, Tourism, and the Economy
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Egypt’s new billion-dollar museum near the Giza pyramids opened on Saturday. It has 100,000 artifacts, including a massive statue of Ramses II (1279 BCE – 1213 BCE). It may be the biggest museum in the world. Given that Egypt is now a rigid dictatorship with few rights for citizens, the […]
With China’s Help, Saudi Arabia is Deploying Solar Power Faster than any Country in History
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jeffrey Beyer and Stephen Gitonga of the UN Development Program present an overview of Saudi Arabia’s full court press to get 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. The kingdom is aware that fossil fuels, the source of its fabulous wealth, are on their way out. Its leaders want […]
“Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:23
In Quatrain no. 23 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, we find an explicit denial of the afterlife. This denial is repeated throughout the poetry, and it surely was one of the more challenging themes in this poetry for Victorian Britain and the United States. Of course, […]
Hurricane Melissa was 33% more Destructive in Jamaica because of People-Caused Climate Breakdown
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Hurricane Melissa is the most devastating storm to hit Jamaica in recorded history, CNN reports. It rapidly intensified over the past few days, with its winds reaching 185 miles per hour at the time of landfall. This intensification is a feature of hot water, and the Caribbean in that area […]
“And we, that now make merry in the Room:” FitzGerald’s The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 1:22
Quatrain no. 22 in the first edition of Edward FitzGerald’s translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám again invokes the image of the way the living are walking atop those who lived and died before them, leaving them alone in the “room” of the world. The departed dead are dressed in blooms, i.e. flowers grow […]
First Circuit Judges Strike down Israel Lobby Suit against MIT for Permitting Gaza Protests
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Erik Uebelacker at Courthouse News Service reports that a three-judge appeals panel of the US Court of Appeals, First Circuit, in Boston, struck down a lawsuit by a pro-Israel pressure group against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alleging that the university permitted pro-Palestine students to harass Jewish students. The […]
Iraqi Kurdistan aims at 3 Gigawatts of Solar, as Households and Villages Rush to Rooftop Panels
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iraqi Kurdistan is developing an interest in sustainable energy, despite being an oil exporter via Kirkuk. Solar provides little of Iraq’s electricity at the moment, but the situation is set to change rapidly over the next decade. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has set a goal of putting in 3 […]
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