United Kingdom

Review of Hil Aked, Friends of Israel: The Backlash against Palestine Solidarity (London: Verso, 2023). Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Amid Israel’s assault on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank in early July, the House of the Commons passed a bill with significant implications for the United Kingdom’s relations with Israel/Palestine. […]

Authoritarianism

70 Years ago, an Anglo-US Coup condemned Iran to Decades of Oppression — But now the People are fighting Back

The Conversation

By Simin Fadaee, University of Manchester | – The 1953 coup d’etat in Iran ushered in a period of exploitation and oppression that has continued – despite a subsequent revolution that led to huge changes – for 70 years. Each year on August 19, the anniversary of the coup, millions of Iranians ask themselves what […]

Climate Crisis

For First Time, Wind provided more Power than Fossil Gas for Britain, enough to Power 300 mn. Teslas

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new study commissioned by the UK private electric utility Drax and carried out by professors at Imperial College London has confirmed that in the first quarter of this year, wind turbines in Britain generated more electricity than did fossil gas plants. This is the first time the UK got […]

Climate Crisis

Sir Gawain and the Green King: What can Newly Crowned Charles III do to Combat the Climate Emergency?

Juan Cole

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 […]

Featured

King Charles III as Defender of all Faiths, including Islam

Juan Cole

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 […]

Islam

Why London’s first Ramadan Lights Celebration has been so Important for Muslims Everywhere

The Conversation

By Farouq Tahar, University of Sheffield | – (The Conversation) – On March 21 2023, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Hamza Taouzzale, lord mayor of Westminster, stood on Coventry Street in central London and switched on the capital’s first ever Ramadan illuminations. Every evening throughout the holy month, 30,000 coloured lights have lit […]

Canada

Germany Welcomes G7 Goals: 150 GW in New offshore Wind, 1,000 GW of Solar by 2030, and no more Coal

Clean Energy Wire

Sören Amelang ( Clean Energy Wire ) – The German government and NGOs have welcomed the first G7 commitment to concrete targets for the rollout of renewables, but environmentalists also warned that the rich nation’s inclusion of carbon capture and storage (CCS) could lead to a “huge greenwashing show”. Following a meeting of climate, energy […]

Climate Crisis

Scotland, aiming at 40 GW of Offshore Wind, has just installed the Deepest Fixed-bottom Wind Turbine in the World

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The small country of Scotland, with a population of about 4.5 million, has forged ahead with renewable energy at a much faster pace and to greater effect than most other industrialized countries. Virtually all of its electricity consumption can now be met from wind, solar, or hydro, though because it […]

China

Deaf to History’s Questions: A Tale of Two Elizabeths, One Joe, One Donald, and Us

Andrew J. Bacevich

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Britons mourned the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and understandably so. The outpouring of affection for their long-serving monarch was more than commendable, it was touching. Yet count me among those mystified that so many Americans also professed to care. With all due respect to Queen Latifah, we decided way […]