Adobe used hidden fee to trap people into paying for subscription plans, FTC says
June 22nd, 20240 By Andrew Rayo Maybe you want to try out a product for a little while before you make a long-term decision. So, you sign up for a monthly subscription plan. Everything is fine until you want to cancel and it turns out to be a yearly subscription with monthly payments. Surprise! That’s what the FTC says...
I lost my father in a drowning accident: How to prevent such tragedies
June 21st, 20240 Sixteen summers ago, I lost my dad due to a drowning accident. Death by drowning is an often overlooked cause of death and yet it affects thousands of people worldwide. In Michigan alone, drowning incidents are a significant concern, especially during the summer months when people flock to the Great Lakes and other bodies of water for...
“Wishful thinking” – Does Israel have all the cards in Gaza?
June 21st, 20240 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often criticized for failing to produce a vision for the "next day", meaning the day following the end of the Gaza war. Some of these criticisms emanate from Israel’s traditional Western allies, who are wary of Netanyahu’s personal and political agendas, which are fixated on delaying his...
Biden’s stance on Israel will cost him Michigan in November
June 14th, 20240 Joe Biden will lose the state of Michigan in the November election. Whether that leads to him losing the presidency is an open question. Even though the alternative is worse, actually much worse, many voters like myself cannot stomach voting for a president who has approved of and supported the intentional killing of tens of thousands of...
America isolated: Why some Western capitals are shifting positions on Gaza
June 14th, 20240 On June 6, Spain joined South Africa’s case at the United Nations top Court, accusing Israel of genocide. This move followed a decision by Madrid and two other Western European capitals – Dublin and Oslo – to recognize the state of Palestine, thus breaking ranks with a long-established U.S.-led Western policy. As per American...
End of an era: Pro-Palestine language exposes Israel, Zionism
June 7th, 20240 If one were to argue that a top Spanish government official would someday declare that “from the river to the sea, Palestine would be free”, the suggestion itself would have seemed ludicrous. But this is precisely how Yolanda Diaz, Spain's deputy prime minister, concluded a statement on May 23, a few days before Spain officially...
Americans have lost trust in government
June 7th, 20240 Americans are more dissatisfied with their government than the citizens of any other major democracy, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. And we seem to be growing more skeptical of government every year. In 1964, when I was first elected to Congress, nearly 80 percent of Americans trusted government to do the right thing...
The untold ICC story: How the Global South helped Palestine challenge Western Institutions
May 31st, 20240 Even the most optimistic of political analysts did not expect that the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor would be uttering these words: “I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu... and Yoav Gallant... bear criminal responsibility for... war crimes and crimes against humanity...” Aside from...
Nakba resurrected — how the Gaza resistance ended segmentation of Palestine
May 24th, 20240 Inadvertently, Israel has pressed the reset button on its war with the Palestinian people, taking back the so-called conflict to square one. Save a few self-serving Palestinian officials affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA), most Palestinians do not seem consumed with the return to the peace process, or even engaged in...
The U.S. is no longer the dominant superpower
May 24th, 20240 It was an article of faith, through most of my life, that the United States was the world’s dominant power. We had the most powerful military, the biggest and most vibrant economy and the most influential culture. For better or worse, we were the envy of the world. If we’re honest, we have to admit that’s no longer the case....
Western powers and the paradox of freedom and self-determination
May 24th, 20240 This Wednesday saw three European nations formally announce their recognition of a Palestinian state — a momentous decision that elicited swift condemnation from Israel and commendation from Palestinians. Ireland, Norway and Spain's declarations represent the latest diplomatic setback for Israel, which faces increasing international...
Universities should protect student rights, promote safety and champion open discourse
May 10th, 20240 By Jamal I. Bittar In the past few weeks, over 2,600 students have been arrested across the U.S. as universities and colleges, traditionally seen as bastions of free expression, now grapple with clashes between students and overly aggressive law enforcement. The reliance on police enforcement and punitive measures to suppress protests...
Educate, don’t intimidate: Reimagining campus responses to protests
May 10th, 20240 By Morhaf Al Achkar, MD, PhD* In recent weeks, university campuses across the United States have transformed into epicenters of political activism. Sparked by the ongoing conflict in Gaza, students have established pro-Palestine encampments, seeking to express solidarity and raise awareness. Rather than engaging with these peaceful...
NATO’s never-ending war: The 75-year-old bully is faltering
May 8th, 20243 The Western discourse on the circumstances behind the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 75 years ago, is hardly convincing. Yet, that over-simplified discourse must be examined in order for the current decline of the organization to be appreciated beyond the self-serving politics of NATO’s members. The...Netanyahu assures Israelis of “total victory”, while teetering on the brink of total defeat
May 8th, 20240 By Jamal I. Bittar Last Friday, Israel launched an assault on Iran in response to an Iranian incursion onto Israeli soil the weekend prior, involving over 300 missiles and drones. Among the various options available to the Israeli government – ranging from assaults on numerous nuclear facilities, military bases and key national......
American Intifada for Gaza: What should we expect?
May 6th, 20240 The mass protests at dozens of U.S. universities cannot be reduced to a stifling and misleading conversation about anti-Semitism. Thousands of American students across the country are not protesting, risking their own futures and very safety, because of some pathological hate for the Jewish people. They are doing so in a complete...
Killing humanitarian workers as a strategy: Israel’s endgame in Gaza
April 12th, 20240 Israel described its clearly deliberate killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza on 1 April as a “grave mistake”, a “tragic event” of a kind that “happens in war.” Obviously, Israel was lying. In fact, this entire so-called war in Gaza — which is in reality a genocide — has been based on a series of lies, some of......
Washington employs a blatant double standard, which is both evident and hypocritical
March 30th, 20240 By Jamal I. Bittar After numerous unsuccessful efforts spanning five months during Israel's destructive conflict in Gaza, the United Nations Security Council finally approved a resolution on Monday, urging for an immediate ceasefire. The United States, previously the sole obstacle to such a decision, opted not to veto the resolution...
The big question about the U.N. Security Council’s Gaza ceasefire resolution
March 30th, 20240 On March 25, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2728, regarding the ongoing war in Gaza, by a vote of 14-0. The United States abstained rather than — as it usually does when the Israeli regime dislikes a resolution — using its "permanent member" veto. The meat of the resolution "emands an immediate ceasefire for...
Immigrants drive U.S. economy
March 15th, 20240 The American economy is thriving, and immigration should get some of the credit. That’s the message from experts who highlight the critical role that immigrants are playing in the workforce. This may seem surprising when immigration is under attack and chaos at the border is a staple of political rhetoric. But immigrants are filling...
Words vs. action: A supplication for Gaza, and humanity
March 15th, 20240 “All we can do for Gaza is just offer our Du’a.” This is an oft-repeated statement by enraged Arabs and Muslims who feel helpless before the Israeli genocide in Gaza. But is it true that only invocations and supplications are possible, as tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are being killed and wounded by the......
Confessions of a Condor | The Gaza genocide and the war in Ukraine: More connected than we realize
March 15th, 20240 “America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time” — Jimmy Carter, July 16, 2013 “The government in Washington represents powerful interest groups, not American citizens.” — former Reagan assistant Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts, February 6, 2016 The statements above, remember, were made BEFORE the...
United against Israel: Time to end world’s longest occupation
March 8th, 20240 Left to its own devices, Israel would never grant Palestinians their freedom. In the past, some, whether ignorantly or not, claimed that peace in Palestine can only be achieved through “unconditional negotiations.” This mantra was also championed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when he cared enough to pay lip......
Suicide vs genocide: Rest in power, Aaron Bushnell
March 1st, 20240 By Belén Fernández On Sunday, February 25, 25-year-old active duty member of the United States Air Force Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in the U.S. capital of Washington, DC, in a one-airman revolt against the U.S.-backed slaughter currently being perpetrated by the Israeli military in the Gaza...
Netanyahu’s last battle – no victory, just slaughter in Rafah
February 28th, 20240 The Palestinian city of Rafah is not just older than Israel, it is as old as civilization itself. It has existed for thousands of years. The Canaanites referred to it as Rafia, and Rafia has been almost always there, guarding the southern frontiers of Palestine, ancient and modern. As the gateway between two continents and two worlds,......
