By John Feffer | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – My wife and I were recently driving in Virginia, amazed yet again that the GPS technology on our phones could guide us through a thicket of highways, around road accidents, and toward our precise destination. The artificial intelligence (AI) behind the soothing voice telling us where […]
Biden is a Transformative President Domestically, but from China to Iran he embraces the Same old Washington Militarism
America is back–to the same old, same old. ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) -On the domestic front, Joe Biden is flirting with transformational policies around energy, environment, and infrastructure. It’s not a revolution, but it’s considerably less timid than what Barack Obama offered in that pre-Trump, pre-pandemic era. When it comes to foreign policy, […]
Iran’s Hardliners: We’re Back, Too
( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – To some critics, U.S. elections are managed affairs. According to this cynical view, the “powers that be” narrow the field of candidates, the two parties don’t represent the real range of public opinion in the country, and periodic elections are just shadow plays staged by powerbrokers behind the […]
Twilight of the Pandemic? Bracing for a Surge of Trumpism or . . .
(Tomdispatch.com ) – I went to a birthday party recently. The celebrants greeted each other with hugs on the patio. After an outdoor barbeque dinner, we stood shoulder to shoulder around the island in the kitchen, eating cake from small paper plates. We sang “Happy Birthday.” Ordinarily, an event like that wouldn’t be worth noting, […]
Democracy: On the Precipice?
( Foreign Policy in Focus) – If we extrapolate from the current trend lines, democracy will be gone in a couple decades, melted away like the polar ice. But although down, democracy is not out. By John Feffer | June 2, 2021 Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarussian dictator, snatches a dissident from midair. Military strongman Assimi […]
They’re Not Conservatives, They’re Extremists
( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – By mislabelling the radical members of the Republican Party “conservative,” the mainstream media gives them a veneer of respectability. By John Feffer | May 26, 2021 The House Freedom Caucus is routinely described as conservative, by its members, by the mainstream media, by Wikipedia. The caucus, which draws […]
For Greying Geriatric Wealthy Countries, Immigrants are the Solution, not a “Crisis”
( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Germany faces a major crisis. The German birth rate is considerably below what’s needed to replace the population. German seniors, meanwhile, are living longer and drawing more on state resources for their pensions and health care. There are basically two ways out of this demographic crisis. First of all, […]
The Cold War Has Already Turned Hot — on the Internet
( Tomdispatch.com) – America has a serious infrastructure problem. Maybe when I say that what comes to mind are all the potholes on your street. Or the dismal state of public transportation in your city. Or crumbling bridges all over the country. But that’s so twentieth century of you. America’s most urgent infrastructure vulnerability is […]
Afghanistan’s Green Future? Earth Minerals and Renewables
( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Can Afghanistan’s mineral wealth finance a transition to a carbon-neutral future? By John Feffer | April 21, 2021 Everyone has a different Doomsday scenario for Afghanistan once U.S. and NATO troops withdraw by September 11. The Taliban will take over and reimpose their repressive social agenda. Al-Qaeda will […]
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