Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The new Labour government in Britain last week took steps to remove the ban on onshore wind farms instituted by the Conservative government, which made it possible for such projects to be forestalled even by a single objection. Gavin McGuire at Reuters reported that for the first time this winter, […]
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United Kingdom
Britain’s Labour beat the Right, but Must hasten to Win Public Trust and heal Rift with own Left
Oxford (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Britain’s latest General Election held on 4th July was nothing short of a major political earthquake that put an end to 14 years of often tumultuous and chaotic Conservative rule. The Labor Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, overturned a big Conservative majority of 80 seats in the […]
Blinded to all but the Anglo-Saxon “Five Eyes:” The Bias of US Policy toward Asia
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Wherever he travels globally, President Biden has sought to project the United States as the rejuvenated leader of a broad coalition of democratic nations seeking to defend the “rules-based international order” against encroachments by hostile autocratic powers, especially China, Russia, and North Korea. “We established NATO, the greatest military alliance in […]
Tempest in a Teapot: British Illusions and American Hegemony from Iraq to Yemen
Review of Tom Stevenson, Someone Else’s Empire: British Illusions and American Hegemony.. London: Verso, 2023. Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Everything is going well in the “Special Relationship” between the US and the UK. After an American chemist dared to suggest that adding salt to the quintessential British cup of tea could represent an […]
US-UK Airstrikes Risk strengthening the Houthi Rebels in Yemen and the Region
By Mahad Darar, Colorado State University | – The U.S.- and U.K.-led strikes on the rebel Houthi group in Yemen represent a dramatic new turn in the Middle East conflict – one that could have implications throughout the region. The attacks of Jan. 11, 2024, hit around 60 targets at 16 sites, according to the […]
In Blow to Democracy, British Parliament Votes to Outlaw University and Council Boycotts of Israel amid Gaza Genocide
Belfast (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – On January 10, the UK parliament passed the third and final reading of the anti-boycott bill proposed by pro-Israel Conservative hawk Michael Gove, who serves as Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Governmental Relations. The House of Lords still needs to approve […]
Renewables now Generate more of Britain’s Electricity than Fossil Fuels
By Will de Freitas, The Conversation | – (The Conversation) – At the start of 2016, in an article noting some exciting changes in British energy, The Conversation published the following paragraph: Wind, solar and hydro – the weather-dependent renewables – together generated 14.6% of Great Britain’s electrical energy in 2015, the highest ever annual […]
Britain: Its Empire and Corporations, and Their Current Traces
Review of Philip J. Stern, Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press, 2023. Munich (Special to Informed Comment) – After the death of British monarch Elizabeth II in September 2022, then president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta ordered 4 days of national mourning. The president’s decision was not well-received among […]
“Friends of Israel:” Trying to outlaw Solidarity with Palestine
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. […]