Featured

Over the past 15 months, the international community has failed to prevent genocidal atrocities in Gaza. Dismantling the UN refugee agency would perfect the nightmare. New York (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Early in the year, State Department officials briefed Joel Rayburn from the Trump transition team there could be a humanitarian “catastrophe” in […]

censorship

Professor Katherine Franke on being Fired from Columbia Law School for Palestine Advocacy

Katherine M. Franke

Statement from Katherine Franke, January 10, 2025 For the last year and a half, as students at Columbia University and across the globe have protested against the Israeli government’s genocidal assault on Palestinians after the October 2023 attacks, a response that has resulted in horrendous devastation in Gaza, I have ardently defended students’ right to […]

Congress

Representative, it is Shameful that you Voted to Sanction the Justices of the Int’l Criminal Court for Netanyahu Arrest Warrant

Hugh J. Curran

Letter to Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) Dear Representative Jared Golden: Your decision to vote in favor of sanctioning the International Criminal Court of Justice, (ICC) which had ordered Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, was dismaying. This recent vote to sanction the ICC by Representatives of Congress erodes the ability of the […]

Featured

Crime of the Century: CBS’ 60 Minutes Exposes the Biden Administration’s Complicity in Gaza Genocide, Interviews the Whistleblowers

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The amazingly brave Cecilia Vega at CBS’ 60 Minutes did a groundbreaking segment on Sunday in which she interviewed US government officials involved with the Israeli war on Gaza, who resigned in protest either explicitly or implicitly. She also screened the sort of horrific footage of the aftermath of Israeli […]

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New Solar Installations double to 24.5 Gigawatts in 2024 in India — World’s 5th Largest Economy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – India installed 24.5 new gigawatts of solar power in 2024, along with 3.4 gigawatts of new wind. That represented a doubling of solar installations over 2023. This surge in renewables installations is unprecedented in the country’s history. In all, India has roughly 100 gigawatts of installed solar capacity. The United […]

Featured

Palestinian Deaths from Military attacks in Gaza 69% Higher than Estimated, 60% Women, Children, Elderly

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A team of researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Yale has published a study in The Lancet finding that the Gaza Ministry of Health substantially underestimated war deaths in Gaza. Casualties were 69% higher than reported. The current estimate by the Ministry of Health for […]

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The Center of the World: A Global History of the Persian Gulf

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Allen James Fromherz, The Center of the World: A Global History of the Persian Gulf from the Stone Age to the Present (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Historically known as the Persian Gulf, the body of water stretching from Iraq on the northwest to […]

Climate Crisis

Yes, Human-Caused Climate Change Contributed to the Burning of Los Angeles

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Los Angeles wildfires destroyed over 1,000 buildings, forced thousands from their homes, and left at least five dead as of this writing. The Pacific Palisades fires destroyed many historic structures, including the home of legendary comedian and actor Will Rogers (d. 1935). Reading some of his quotes, I conclude […]

Featured

Ireland to Int’l Court of Justice: Gaza War is no Excuse for Israel Genociding Palestinian Civilians

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ireland has filed a declaration with the International Court of Justice of its intention to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel for its tactics in the war on Gaza. So reports Kerry O’Shea at IrishCentral. The Statute of the International Court of Justice, Article 63, provides for the […]