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UN warns likelihood of ‘extreme weather events’ as El Nino set to intensify

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  The United Nations’ weather watchdog is warning governments and humanitarian organisations to brace for “extreme weather events” including heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement on Friday that El Nino conditions had already set in and are “forecast to strengthen rapidly” between July and September. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Are Europe’s extreme summers the new normal? What the science says list 2 of 3 World’s oceans experience hottest June ever, scientists say more heat ahead list 3 of 3 What is a heat dome? The US heatwave explained end of list El Nino typically peaks between November and February. The UN agency has activated climate information services and early warning systems to help governments and humanitarian agencies prepare support plans for farmers and vulnerable communities. “El Nino conditions are already under way and are forecast to strengthe...
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Monsters Playing Victims: Danny Danon’s Twisted War on the Truth by Ramzy Baroud

  Whether Israelis will ever comprehend the irreparable damage inflicted upon their country’s reputation by their UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, is a moot point. The damage Israel has done to itself through its barbaric practices in occupied Palestine is simply impossible to overcome. Danon, however, utilizes a peculiar approach to defending Israel within international institutions: he relies on bullying, intimidation, and an overt attempt to silence anyone who dares to challenge the official Israeli narrative—particularly women leaders. Yet, what makes his behavior most outrageous is his deployment of these abrasive tactics to suppress an issue that demands the utmost sensitivity: the systemic use of sexual violence and human rights abuses against Palestinians. The confrontation took place during a UN General Assembly session convened to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Senior UN officials were presenting harrowing findings documenting ...
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Iran: The Veil, the Beard and the Bomb by M. Reza Behnam

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  Absorbing the revelations in the book Regime Change by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, I posed a question to my American colleague:  Why do figures like Donald Trump continue to get elected?  With his signature measured calm, he offered a chilling truth.  He suggested that Americans have not felt history’s harsh winds blow with hurricane force since the Civil War, which has left our society dangerously naive and perilously unserious. On the global front, many Americans are poorly informed about the geopolitical realities of other countries, particularly regarding West Asia.  Consequently, they have historically been susceptible to Israeli-aligned narratives, allowing Zionist and pro-Israel influencers to disproportionately shape U.S. public opinion and foreign policy in Israel ’ s favor . This dynamic applies especially to Iran, which has been severely impacted by the widespread consumption of a distorted and overwhelmingly negative narrative....
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Democratic Primaries Reveal What the DNC Autopsy Buried by Jamal Kanj

  The Democratic National Committee’s 192-page post-mortem on the 2024 election, titled “Build to Win. Build to Last,” failed to build, to win, or to learn. It never answered the only question that mattered: how did a twice-impeached, multiply-indicted former president walk back into the White House with more votes than prior to his indictments? The report, authored by Democratic strategist Paul Rivera and released in May 2026 after months of stonewalling by DNC Chair Ken Martin, reads less as a serious political reckoning than as a confirmation-bias pamphlet drafted by people determined not to upset the party’s old guard. It calls for renewed focus on “Middle America,” criticizes years of disinvestment in state parties, and faults poor economic messaging. It is not wrong on any of these points. But these points alone did not cost the party America — not just Middle America. The report boasts of conducting more than 1,200 interviews to assess the health of state parties in every st...
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250th: Their Heroes Are Monsters to Us by Ishmael Reed

  The segregated American media spent the week leading up to the Fourth of July praising the founding fathers and paying tribute to other American heroes. Heroes to them. Monsters to us. For CNN, Kit Carson is a hero. They showed a scene in which Carson walked miles, nearly barefoot, to rescue his men. We grew up watching the exploits of Kit Carson on cartoon shows. Our Settler education didn’t inform us that  Kit Carson committed atrocities against the Navajo. How did the Navajo regard the American hero, Kit Carson? From a site called Partnership with Native Americans . In 1863, General James Carleton began a renewed effort to eradicate the Navajo. In charge of the operation was Colonel Kit Carson. Knowing he couldn’t defeat the Navajo militarily, Carson began to destroy the Navajo homes, crops, and livestock. More than two million pounds of corn, a staple of the Indian diet, were burned. Forced to survive on nuts and berries many families, starving during the long winter mon...
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