Maxwell School News and Commentary

“As the world prepares for COP28, the onus is on global leaders, corporations and individuals to rise to the occasion and champion the cause of climate justice. Wealthy nations must start putting real funding towards loss and damage, while ramping up their mitigation and adaptation efforts, and reining in the influence of the fossil fuel industry in climate policies,” Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, writes in The Guardian.

Matthew Huber, professor of geography and the environment, calls the outcome of the strike a huge victory for the United Auto Workers and its workers. “It shows that when workers harness their collective power through strikes, they can force employers to give in to workers’ ambitious demands,” he says.

Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says many young Japanese women would like to get married, “but they simply cannot afford it. The result is that people don’t get married.”

"The reality is a ceasefire is needed now and that's not something the United States is willing to agree to. The most the United States is willing to do is a humanitarian pause, but that's not nearly sufficient. And on this, the United States and Israel are an outlier in the international community," Osamah Khalil, professor of history, tells BBC News.

"The state’s new election system, combining nonpartisan primaries and instant-runoff general election voting, makes elections more competitive and encourages cooperative governance," writes Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

If the (Biden) administration does not incentivize an electric transition, it means the U.S. will cede EV [electric vehicle] leadership to China," says Tod Rutherford, professor of geography and the environment. "The Europeans are very alarmed by this and especially the German manufacturers are scrambling to catch up."

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says the next diplomatic challenge for the Biden administration is “reducing tensions” in the Middle East and working with other international allies to determine what a “post-conflict era” looks like in Israel.

Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says the authority should install at least small metal gates to make the system safer. “It’s better than nothing,” she says. “If there’s somebody pushed, just by accident, and if you have metal bars, I think that would definitely help.”

“This kind of division is one we’ve seen for a very long time and so there is nothing new here. This was evident when McCarthy got the position in the first place—on the 15th vote—and that got a lot of attention,” Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells The Hill.

“Biden’s strong support for Israel has contributed to the heightened anger and frustration in the region. As we have seen in the protests of the last 24 hours, that anger is palpable and will only grow as long as the United States continues to block a ceasefire or even a humanitarian pause at the U.N.,” Osamah Khalil, professor of history, tells El País.